Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise - released after five days in detention

d | 09.05.2006 11:49 | Education | Repression | Social Struggles | World

This is an update of the story posted here:  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/339908.html

WOZA demonstration before the arrests
WOZA demonstration before the arrests


UPDATE – 8th MAY
Monday evening

Day Five and the 105 charged by the police in Bulawayo
have at long last been released. Lawyers went to court
early this morning where the prosecutor refused to
proceed with the charges against the group. Section 7c
of the Miscellaneous Offences Act refers to behaviour
which is “likely to materially interfere with the
ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quiet of the
public”. The prosecutor asked if the police could
produce members of the public who had been
discomforted or inconvenienced and without such
evidence insisted that those still in custody be
released immediately. If the police wish to proceed
with the case, they can do so by the way of summons.
It is yet to be seen whether they will choose to do
so.

Despite the fact that the order for their release came
through just after 9am, the last of the group was only
released around 3pm. With their release, it has
emerged that amongst the group detained for the last
five days was a seven-month pregnant woman and a
physically disabled man.

Whilst members in Bulawayo were nearing the end of
their five day ordeal, their sisters in Harare took to
the streets at 1pm this afternoon to continue the
demand for affordable education for all. Approximately
200 women and 10 children marched from Nelson Mandela
Avenue to Kwame Nkrumah Ave. Singing, carrying
placards reading amongst others, mothers demand their
children’s right to education" and handing out flyers,
the group passed several soldiers outside Parliament
before stopping outside the offices of the Ministry of
Education. There they left copies of the Woza Moya
newsletter, which lists WOZA’s demands to the
government, before dispersing. There have been no
reports of arrests so far.

After a difficult five days, WOZA declares a victory
for those Zimbabweans who are prepared to stand up and
be counted. We also salute the spirit of the women and
men who withstood harassment and intimidation by
police to defend their children’s rights. We
especially want to pay tribute to the 73 children
arrested for defending their own rights. Their courage
is an example to us all. The campaign for affordable
education for all is not over however. Until the
astronomical school fee increases have been reversed,
WOZA will continue to apply pressure. We invite all
those Zimbabweans who have chosen to say NO to passive
acceptance of intimidation and humiliation to join us
in demanding an end to these increases.

_______________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE – 7th MAY
Sunday evening

Day Four and conditions for those in custody remain
unpleasant. At Hillside Police Station, the women,
most of them elderly, are only allowed out for ten
minutes, three times a day to eat, during which time
they are kept under armed guard “in case they try to
escape”. The painkillers that lawyers had to fight to
gain them access to were only given to them late last
night. The women also continue to be on the receiving
end of intimidation. At Bulawayo Central, the women
have been denied access to blankets despite the cold
weather and the fact that there allegedly plenty of
blankets in the cell administration office. Due to the
cold weather and being forced to sleep on concrete
floors, many women are becoming ill. This afternoon a
Law and Order officer at Bulawayo Central, Ngwenya,
told those bringing food to the group that he would
not allow them to have dinner “because they are
getting too much food”. Nonetheless, food has been
received at all stations for all meals today.

We have also learned that police were actively
targeting children for arrest after Thursday’s
peaceful demonstration. At Bulawayo’s central commuter
omnibus rank, police were looking for children in
school uniform and removing them and their mothers
from the commuters to arrest them. Behaviour which
clearly demonstrates the callous nature of this regime
and their blatant disregard for children’s rights.

It has also emerged that a 16-year old boy has been
amongst the group detained since Thursday. Lawyers
secured his release, and that of an 18 year-old girl,
this afternoon. It is hoped that the rest of the group
will be brought to court early tomorrow morning.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_

UPDATE – 6th MAY
Saturday afternoon

We can at last confirm the number of adults arrested
was 112, eight of them mothers with infants. Together
with the 73 children, the total arrested on Thursday
was 185. The remaining mother and baby at Mzilikazi
Police Station were finally released today. The
officer at Mzilikazi who denied them their freedom
last night has been identified as Assistant Inspector
Mugute. The other 104 women and men will remain in
custody until Monday when they will be brought to
court. Police continued to use delaying tactics this
morning, ensuring that they could not be brought to
court today.

Whilst food has not been denied so far, painkillers
(paracetemol) were denied at Hillside Police Station
until a lawyer and the Officer-in-Charge from Bulawayo
Central (a 15 minute drive away) came and insisted
they be allowed to be given to the women, some of them
elderly, who are in pain from having to lie on
concrete floors for two days.

Spirits remain strong amongst the different groups,
despite the discomfort and cold nights.

d

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech