Youth leaders arrested as police raid offices

By Lance Guma
04 February 2008

Two youth leaders were arrested at the weekend when more than 10 police officers raided offices belonging to pressure group ‘The Youth Forum.’ On Saturday Terence Chimhavi an advocacy officer and Farirai Mageza, were arrested and detained at Avondale police station. Police are said to have interrogated them for 8 hours over allegations the forum was behind the spraying of graffiti around Avondale Shopping centre. The graffiti denounced Mugabe’s regime for its misrule of the country. The 2 youth leaders were released the same day at midnight, without any charges being laid.

The arresting officers are said to have arrived at the Youth Forum premises accompanied by a Harare property tycoon known as Mapfumo, who apparently owns the building. Mapfumo is said to have demanded the eviction of the Youth Forum from the building because he did not like the nature of their work. A Youth Forum statement said Mapfumo made it clear he wants to offer the office space to the Ministry of Policy Implementation in the Office of the President. He made further complaints that some of the posters inside the offices were subversive and insulted Mugabe. The youths were given until Monday 4th February to vacate the property.

In other reports, police arrested Themba Maphenduka, the newly elected Treasurer of the Zimbabwe National Students Union on Wednesday, before they dumped him 30 km outside Bulawayo in Nyamandlovu. After addressing students at the Bulawayo Polytechnic Maphenduka had been waylaid by 4 plain-clothes policemen who took him to Bulawayo central police station. Once at the station the police switched cars and drove him to Nyamandlovu before dumping him in a bush. Maphenduka had to walk for at least an hour before he got to the Harare-Victoria Falls road around 2am. The student leader was not assaulted on this occasion.