200 WOZA and MOZA activists detained briefly after demo at police station in Bulawayo
By Tichaona Sibanda
2 October 2007

On Monday over 200 Women of Zimbabwe Arise and Men of Zimbabwe Arise activists marched through the city of Bulawayo. WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams said representatives from Harare, Mutare, Masvingo and rural Insiza joined local members to demand ‘peace’ and an end to police harassment from the brutal regime.

The group of singing protestors marched from near St Mary's Cathedral,
pausing to send messages of solidarity to Bishop Pius Ncube, whose
courageous outspokenness against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe has often made him a target of the State.

The activists then marched several blocks to Southampton House, the location of the Police Licensing Inspectorate, the office that receives and processes applications for peaceful gatherings. Several hundred members proceeded to sit down peacefully on the pavement outside the police building to await arrest, which was not long in coming.

Williams told us all 158 members who were arrested were later released.
She said they were kept in police custody for more than 5 hours. All 127 women and 31 men were released without charge.

Williams has said civil society organisations will press for more direct input into the mediation talks led by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

Speaking to Newsreel on Tuesday, she said to avoid any future constitutional deals that might be detrimental to a new Zimbabwe, civil society organisations should be consulted widely during the SADC talks.

‘We will still engage with President Mbeki but we need to have direct input to what they discuss. We are the watchdog to these talks and we firmly believe the MDC are on the wrong track after agreeing to the piece meal amendments to the constitution,’ Williams said.

State security agents interrogated leaders Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, whilst the others had their names recorded. Attempts were made to keep Williams and Mahlangu in custody but the rest of the members refused to be released without them.