The World Council of Churches (WCC) has strongly condemned the Zimbabwean government’s intensified crackdown on human rights defenders.
Several activists, including Robson Chere, the Secretary General of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), Namatai Kwekweza, the leader of the WeLead Trust, Samuel Gwenzi, the Harare City Council’s Ward 5 councillor, and Vusumuzi Moyo, were recently abducted, tortured, and then released to the police.
During their incommunicado detention, which lasted at least 8 hours, Chere was allegedly subjected to severe torture. When he appeared in court on Friday, he seemed to be in severe pain.
In a statement issued on Friday, 02 August, WCC General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to address these egregious violations that undermine Zimbabwe’s constitution and international human rights law.
Pillay called for the immediate release of the detained human rights activists. Reads the statement:
It has been reported to the WCC that recently three civil society leaders were taken out of a plane at the Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare, were severely tortured, and then released to the police the following day.
These arrests follow recent reports of clampdown and closure of civil society space in the context of the upcoming Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting starting in Harare on 17 August.
We reiterate the WCC’s commitment to the people of Zimbabwe that goes back to the WCC’s Programme to Combat Racism through which the WCC supported Zimbabwe’s liberation from colonialism. We stood with Zimbabweans in the past; we will stand with them today.
The WCC condemns in strongest terms all forms of torture and clampdown on civil society and calls on President Mnangagwa to address these violations that undermine the constitution of Zimbabwe and international human rights law and release the detained human rights activists.
The WCC seeks to amplify the recent statement by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches at its 47th General Assembly, regarding the “politically fragile and polarized political environment” and its call to the nation to recommit to “constitutionalism” and the rule of law.
The WCC urges the SADC to provide leadership in addressing outstanding governance grievances that threaten the instability of Zimbabwe and the region.
The WCC prays for peace, freedom of speech, and the upholding of human rights and dignity in Zimbabwe.
The ZANU PF government has launched a crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners and opposition activists, apparently out of fear that they may engage in protests during the 17 August 44th SADC Summit in Harare, potentially embarrassing the government.
This crackdown represents a troubling escalation of the Zimbabwean government’s suppression of dissent and civic freedoms ahead of a high-profile regional event.
By targeting pro-democracy voices, the ZANU PF administration seems intent on silencing criticism and maintaining a veneer of stability, even if it comes at the expense of fundamental human rights.
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