Human rights lawyers Muchadehama & Makoni arrested

By Violet Gonda
4 May 2007

Alex Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni, the lawyers who have been defending and representing the 30 MDC political detainees, were arrested on Friday afternoon. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the two were picked up from their legal offices in Harare. At the time of broadcast a team of lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights were at the Harare Central Police Station trying to ascertain why their colleagues had been arrested. We could not get a comment from the police.

An official from the Crisis Coalition said: “From a political perspective one can notice a trend that is developing in Zimbabwe and orchestrated by the ruling ZANU PF party to exterminate and kill off any voices of dissent, or any organized organizations that express gross human rights abuses of this government.”

Since March 11 hundreds of opposition activists have been beaten and jailed. Most of the secretariat or administrative personnel in the Tsvangirai led MDC, including MP Paul Madzore and presidential aide Ian Makone, have been in police custody for the last four weeks.

Lawyers and doctors have in most cases been denied access to the detainees who are reported to be in bad health.

The current crackdown on opponents has also spread to Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) who were last month told they will be vetted through an accreditation system. The NGOs see this as an attempt to silence critics of the regime.

The arrest of the two lawyers is the latest attack on rights defenders. The official from the Crisis Coalition said: “This is the third step that the government of Zimbabwe is taking to close off and exterminate human rights defenders before the crucial election next year.”

In a related issue, Pishai Muchauraya  the MDC’s spokesperson for Manicaland was released on Friday morning after paying a fine of Z$ 2,500.00 for "Disorderly Conduct".  The Tsvangirai MDC said: “But, for four days and nights he was subjected to torture and beatings because he would not admit to petrol bombing a police station in Manicaland.”

It’s reported he has sustained deep tissue bruising of the buttocks, bruised ribs and a fractured finger.