Zimbabweans show their scars on world torture day

By Violet Gonda
26 June 2006

June 26th is the United Nations international day in support of torture victims, and it holds a lot of meaning for Zimbabweans as many have suffered torture at the hands of the Mugabe regime.

In recent years there has been an increase in state-sanctioned acts of torture in the form of severe beatings on the body; electric shocks on the genitals, mouth and the soles of the feet, rape, psychological trauma in the form of displacements and unlawful arrests against ordinary civilians and the opposition in Zimbabwe.

The UN General Assembly decided in 1997 to observe 26th June in support of torture victims, with a view to total eradication of torture in countries like Zimbabwe. But unfortunately torture is far from over.

Meryl Harrison former Chief Inspector of the Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA) is one of many Zimbabweans who commemorates the UN torture day. “This is a special day for me in which I remember when my twin brother. He died in 1986 as a result of sustaining a prolonged beating of four hours at Beitbridge at a police station and he subsequently died four days later.”

She said Colin was not involved in politics and had not provoked the police when he was arrested after having had a few to drink. Harrison said he was frogmarched to Beitbridge Police Station where he was subjected to torture. A post mortem of her brother, who had a major physical disability that affects the spine, revealed that every internal organ in his body had been ruptured as a result of the beatings.

The Member in Charge of the police at Beitbridge (Mischeck Zvavachakwe) and the officer in charge of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) at Beitbridge (Blessing Zumidza) only spent 6 months at Chikurubi Maximum Prison after being charged with murder. Meryl said not only did they receive a full salary during their short stay in jail but the charges were dropped two years later as they appeared on the president’s amnesty list.

This is one of the many cases showing the completely brutal action of members of the Mugabe regime and how the culture of torture and oppression has been in place for many years.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO forum estimates there were 136 reported cases of torture and more than 4 000 cases amounting to degrading and inhumane treatment in the year 2005.

With this in mind, some activities were organised around this day including the participation of Zimbabwean torture victims, human rights and civic leaders in international commemorations at the British Houses of Parliament on Monday morning. Victims of torture and violence in Zimbabwe were also remembered at a church service at St Martins-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square. The service also highlighted the suffering and commemorated victims of torture in Sudan.

Human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba was among the nearly 100 Zimbabweans who attended the remembrance events in London. He is himself a torture victim who has been forced to live in exile in South Africa after being a victim of state agents. Shumba, his brother, and an opposition Member of Parliament Job Sikhala, were severely beaten and received electric shocks during interrogation. Shumba who has filed a lawsuit against Mugabe at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights said the state agents used electric shocks in his mouth and genitals. “Some of the perpetrators ended up urinating in my face claiming that this was humiliation and seemingly enjoying it,” he added.

Since then he has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of torture survivors and address the closed meeting at the Houses of parliament on Monday.

Keynote speakers who spoke on organized violence and torture in Zimbabwe were Arnold Tsunga the Director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and Ahmed Motala the executive director of the South African based Centre of the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Shumba said of major concern to the human rights defenders is that torture seems to have been institutionalised now in the Zimbabwe government psyche leading to a massive exodus of Zimbabweans.

A survey conducted recently by human rights groups Action Aid and Amani Trust revealed that one in 10 Zimbabweans need psychological help and one in 10 people over the age of 30 in Matabeleland is a survivor of torture. The human rights bodies revealed the shocking statistics after assessing 824 people affected by Robert Mugabe’s Operation Murambatsvina and found that 69% of the victims were in need of clinical help or psychological attention. The group conservatively estimated that 820,000 people in Zimbabwe need psychological assistance.

The United Nations estimates that 700 000 people were made homeless and at least 2.4 million were directly affected by the government so-called clean up exercise. Many have disappeared into remote rural areas while others have been dumped in informal camps. Rights groups, churches and lawyers say they are allowed very little access into these holding camps

A spokesperson from the Amani Trust has said that Zimbabwe has a population that has been exposed to "multiple traumas" which, if untreated, will become "chronic disorders".

In addition to this misery Zimbabwe is a country with 80% unemployed, the world’s fastest shrink economy, with the world’s highest inflation at 1193.5% and a collapsed health sector. It’s estimated that 3 000 people are dying from AIDS related illnesses each week and there is very little access to appropriate medication.

Little international pressure has been placed on the Zimbabwean government to respect its obligations to human rights. Rights groups also criticise South Africa’s inaction and it’s complicity in blocking action on Zimbabwe in the African Union and the international community. The groups that met with the British MPs and peers urged the international community to put pressure on Thabo Mbeki, as South Africa is key to resolving Zimbabwe’s crisis.

Shumba said the House noted that a document adopted by the UN General Assembly beholds the international community to intervene in situations such as Zimbabwe – where the state has failed to protect citizens. It is time to start acting on that document and what was agreed was that SA needs to be publicly named and shamed with regards to its lack of response to Zimbabwe.