By Tererai Karimakwenda
04 July 2005

The UK Home Office released a report last Friday on an unannounced inspection of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. This report was not due to be published by Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, until Wednesday 6th July. It contains many of the complaints that Zimbabwean asylum seekers had been pointing out and it is hoped that this might help their case as they continue the hunger strike that is now in its thirteenth day.

There is no sign yet of any official change in UK policy, but deportations have been stopped for the next 2 weeks. One of the detainees, activist Tafara Nhengu, told us he believes the UK has stopped the deportations only for the duration of the G8 summit to avoid bad publicity. Some of the hunger strikers have been moved to isolated cells where they can be observed constantly and others were taken to the hospital for observation.

In other asylum news: Patricia and Spiwe Zondo are at the moment in Colnbrook Short Term Holding Centre. On Saturday, Patricia was informed she was being taken to the airport on Saturday. 14 other women joined her in her room and remained there till staff in 'Riot gear' arrived and moved Patricia and Spiwe to Colnbrook's 'Short Term Holding Wing'. It is not known how long they will remain there.

Timbha Mqhubeli has been on Hunger Strike at Harmondsworth since June 2nd, weeks before the larger group joined in on June 21st. Crispen Kulinji, an MDC activist who was tortured in Zimbabwe, has a bail hearing set for this Wednesday July 6. Activists and supporters are asking as many people as possible to turn out to support him.