Rights activist Betty Makoni & broadcaster Amai Chisamba arrested

30 August 2007
By Violet Gonda

Last week Betty Makoni was arrested for allegedly smuggling two US nationals into Zimbabwe, to make a film about the country’s crisis without accreditation. On Thursday the Director of the Girl Child Network was back in detention, this time charged with violating the Child Protection Act. Makoni was arrested together with talk show host Rebecca Chisamba of the popular Amai Chisamba Show.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the human rights campaigner is being accused of violating the Act after showing a television programme on abused minors for the local broadcaster – the ZBC. The Coalition said in a statement: “During the program, Betty was calling for every concerned citizen to safeguard the rights of the girl child as a panacea to national development.”

Their lawyer Tafadzwa Mugabe confirmed that Amai Chisamba recorded what was supposed to be a feature on women and children survivors of rape and child sexual abuse. The participants for that particular feature are presently being sheltered by the Girl Child Network. Makoni brought in the victims to participate on the ZBC programme broadcast on June 16th.

Mugabe said: “Now two months down the line the police then come down on Betty Makoni and Rebecca Chisamba alleging that they broke the law by publishing or publicising these minors.”

It is unlawful to publicise the identities of minors. But the lawyer said these are trumped up charges as the minors’ faces were concealed during the Mai Chisamba show.

We could not get a comment from the police.

Makoni was released without charge last week, while the two US nationals were deported last Thursday after being denied access to lawyers. They were accused of filming a documentary on the Girl Child Network without permission from the state.

The Girl Child Network is an organization that works with orphans and abused children in Zimbabwe and Makoni has been at the forefront, exposing perpetrators of violence against children and women. The outspoken activist has been on a campaign of mobilizing women in parliament and the NGO sector to fight domestic violence. She has been following cases where those in positions of power are believed to be abusing minors. It is the exposure of these abusive lawmakers that is believed to be behind her recent arrest.

Some critics accuse the state of hypocrisy, saying the authorities themselves splashed pornographic pictures allegedly of Archbishop Pius Ncube in the state media. This was in direct contravention of the Censorship Act, the Child Protection Act and the Broadcasting Services Act, among other laws.