The Chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Dr Lovemore Madhuku and his assistant Earnest Mudzengi were arrested in Chitungwiza on Monday. According to a statement from the NCA the two spent a total 4 hours in police custody. They spent two hours at Makoni police station before being hauled into a police truck and taken to Harare Central police station. They were not charged but questioned about an NCA meeting scheduled for the 30th May.

The statement said the two officials met an Assistant Commissioner for Operations who told Madhuku and Mudzengi that they were becoming a thorn in the flesh of the police. This apparently was in reference to the fact that the NCA was defying the police ban on political rallies and demonstrations. They were threatened with harsh treatment if they persisted in defying the ban.

The NCA says it views this as yet another incident of intimidation on its leaders by the police. ‘There have been many such incidents in the past and the NCA will not succumb to such baseless threats. The people of Zimbabwe will continue fighting for a democratic constitution that will set them free from the current political, social problems that are emanating from bad governance.’