ZCTU leaders brutally assaulted by police in Harare

By Tererai Karimakwenda
14 September 2006

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions leaders and other activists who were arrested in Harare Wednesday, after riot police crushed their planned mass protests, are reported to have been heavily assaulted while in police custody and are being denied medical attention. ZCTU spokesman Mlamleli Sibanda told us a total of 256 protesters were arrested countrywide and no charges have been preferred on them yet. The lawyer representing those assaulted has applied at the High Court for an order to give them access to a medical doctor.

Of the 30 arrested in Harare 14 are at Harare Central Charge Office. The other group of 16, which includes the ZCTU leaders, was transferred to Matapi police station in Mbare late on Wednesday. Sibanda believes this was done deliberately to facilitate the vicious assaults. He told us the Mbare group was returned to Harare Central Thursday but police there refused to accept them back, saying they were in such a bad state and they wanted to ascertain who had assaulted them. Sibanda said they have now been shuttled back to Matapi and have still not been allowed access to a doctor from the Doctors for Human Rights, who is on call.

Police are being tight lipped about the arrests and have allowed access only to the lawyer Alec Muchadehama. Representatives from the International Labour Organisation have also been denied access. Sibanda confirmed that among the leaders in custody are ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo, Secretary General Wellington Chibebe and First Vice-President Lucia Matibenga. A ZCTU report said that Matombo and Chibebe could not stand after the assaults and had to change the clothes they were wearing because they were soaked in blood. Matibenga was reported to have swollen feet and could not walk.

We received information which suggests that known ZANU-PF activists and youth had been brought in to conduct the assaults. One report specifically mentioned a one-eyed female ZANU-PF activist who is known but was in police uniform plus identifiable youths who were also in police uniform but had been seen earlier in the week lurking around Harare Gardens.

The leaders were arrested as people gathered in Harare for a mass demonstration against low salaries, high taxes and workers' lack of access to anti-retroviral HIV/AIDS drugs. A ZCTU statement said 50 people arrested in Chitungwiza are still in police custody and have not been charged. 12 activists arrested in Chegutu are also in police custody and were denied access to legal representation. They are all expected to be charged under the Public Order and Security Act.