19 WOZA & MOZA activists arrested while playing sport in Masvingo

By Violet Gonda
7 August 2007

In the past members of the pressure group Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise have been arrested while praying, walking or marching in the streets, but on Tuesday, playing sport was added to the list of crimes for the group. WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams said 19 activists were arrested at Macheke Stadium in Masvingo while they were playing netball and mixed-gender soccer.

At the time of broadcast, a lawyer had been deployed to the police station to find out the reason for the arrests. They are currently being held at Masvingo Central Police Station.

Williams said people had been playing netball and mixed soccer as part of peaceful non-violent community activities. She said members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrived while people were playing and arrested one of the members. The agents are said to have returned to arrest more people.

The pressure group has been at the forefront of peaceful protests against repression in Zimbabwe. The WOZA coordinator said: “We will continue to do whatever we want to do as long as it is peaceful, non-violent and promotes the full and unlimited practice of our human rights.”