Page 2

ZLHR Condemns Persecution of Fadzayi Mahere

0

ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) condemns the selective application of the law and abuse of some provisions of the Public Order and Security (POSA), by some Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers who arrested Advocate Fadzayi Mahere, a pro-democracy campaigner and lawyer on Saturday 28 October 2017.

Mahere, an aspiring parliamentary candidate for Mt Pleasant constituency in Harare, who had convened a sports tournament at Groombridge Primary School in Mt Pleasant, was arrested, detained and interrogated for about seven hours at two police stations namely Marlborough Police Station and at Harare Central Police Station, where ZRP officers recorded a warned and cautioned statement from her after accusing her of breaching the provisions of POSA.

The ZRP officers then released Mahere, who is represented by David Drury of Honey & Blanckenberg Legal Practitioners, and advised her that they will summon her to report at their offices.

The arrest of Mahere and the disruption of a legitimate sports tournament raise concerns on the sincerity of the authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of association and assembly as well as other fundamental rights as provided in the Constitution and ahead of the 2018 general elections.

The disruption of such a gathering, which is guaranteed in the Constitution due to imprudent application of POSA is of great concern to ZLHR as it was done in a very heavy handed manner in defiance of the rights of those affected including participants at the sports tournament. It is disturbing that children who were present at this tournament were exposed to this unfortunate conduct by law enforcement agents who gave Mahere barely five minutes to terminate the event. Such a heavy-handed manner of disrupting a sports tournament is not in the best interests of the children.

ZLHR is distressed that ZRP officers as the law enforcement agents continue to conveniently misinterpret the provisions on gatherings provided in POSA.

In any event, POSA is one piece of legislation which urgently needs to be repealed wholly as it does not comply with the Constitution.

The ZRP officers’ actions did not only prevent Mahere from interacting with residents and children from Mt Pleasant constituency but also serve to intimidate other human rights defenders from interacting with people residing in their constituencies.

Therefore, ZLHR urges the ZRP to;

Immediately drop any charges against Mahere and stop persecuting her.

Desist from selectively arresting human rights defenders and legitimate political players without adequately investigating  and gathering credible evidence to sustain a prosecution.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US:@ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER | ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

SAHRDN Petitions Tanzania and Zuma Over Situation of Human Rights Defenders in SADC Region

0

THE Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN) on Tuesday 24 October 2017 petitioned the Tanzanian government and Southern African Development Community (SADC) over the persecution of human rights defenders (HRDs) by State actors, which impede the legitimate work of human rights defenders.

 

SAHRDN, a coalition of Southern African HRDs organisations delivered the petitions to the Embassy of Tanzania and the South African embassy for onward transmission to President Jacob Zuma, who is the Chairperson of SADC.

 

Through the petition, which has been endorsed by more than 100 organisations and individuals, SAHRDN noted with grave concern the deterioration in the human rights situation in the SADC region and which escalated with the recent arbitrary arrest and detention of 13 people including lawyers and activists, after law enforcement agents raided a meeting they were attending in the capital Dar es Salaam last week.

 

These 13 people are from Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda, and include lawyers who were attending a legal consultation organised by the Community Health Services and Advocacy (CHESA) and the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA). The purpose of the  legal consultations were in respect of a  case which CHESA and ISLA intend to file before the Tanzanian courts to challenge the Tanzanian government’s decision to impose some limitations and discontinue the provision of some health services.

 

SAHRDN together with other African human rights defenders and beyond consider the arrest and detention of the 13 people as an attempt to stifle freedom of expression, assembly and association as guaranteed in the Tanzanian Constitution and is an abuse of laws by the Tanzanian authorities.

 

More worrying is the arrest and detention of lawyers which appear to be a concerted effort to prevent legal practitioners from taking on cases and representing their clients without interference.

 

We consider the arrest and detention of the HRDs in Tanzania as judicial harassment through levying of criminal charges, which is clearly aimed at intimidating human rights defenders and diverting attention away from their human rights work.

 

As a network committed to fostering a culture of human rights and respect for the rule of law in Southern Africa, we urge the Tanzanian authorities to appreciate that freedom and independence of the legal profession is an essential component for the proper functioning of the rule of law in any democracy.

 

SAHRDN reminds all SADC governments to uphold and guarantee the civil and political and socio-economic rights guaranteed of SADC citizens as provided under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights as well as the various Constitutions of SADC members.

 

 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (JHB)

ASSOCIAÇÃO JUSTIÇA, PAZ E DEMOCRACIA (AJPD)

CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND REHABILITATION (CHRR)

DESK FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA (DFSD-ELCRN) AND NAMIBIA NGOS FORUM (NANGOF TRUST)

DROITS HUMAINS SANS FRONTIERES

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS (ICJ)

LAW SOCIETY OF BOTSWANA

LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SWAZILAND

NATIONAL LEGAL AID CLINIC FOR WOMEN

SOUTHERN AFRICA LITIGATION CENTRE (SALC)

TRANSFORMATION RESOURCES CENTRE (TRC)

ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM

ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

 

 

 

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF SAHRDN

 

The establishment of a network that creates a platform for the collective protection of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in Southern Africa was on the agenda for over a decade. After several initiatives by HRDs in the region, the dream finally became a reality on 22 February 2013 when the operational framework of the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN) was finalised. An interim leadership structure consisting of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) as the Chair and the Truth and Reconciliation Centre (TRC) as the Vice-Chair of the Network has been set up, while Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights houses the Secretariat of the Network.

 

For more information please contact;

SAHRDN

Email: lizwejamela@gmail.com, bchinowawa@gmail.com

kmafunda@gmail.com

Phone: +263 772 257 247

Petition to the Government Of Tanzania

0

We call on the Government of Tanzania to Respect, Promote and Protect Legal Practitioners and Human Rights Defenders From All Forms Of Threats, Harassment And Intimidation

Human rights defenders standing in solidarity with the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN), are deeply committed to fostering a culture of human rights and respect for the rule of law in Southern Africa.

We have observed that the Tanzanian authorities have arrested and detained 13 people including  lawyers and activists, after law enforcement agents raided a meeting they were attending in the capital Dar es Salaam. These 13 people are  from Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda, and  include lawyers who were attending a legal consultation organised by the Community Health Services and Advocacy (CHESA) and the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA). The purpose of the  legal consultations were in in respect of a  case which CHESA and ISLA intend to file before the Tanzanian courts to challenge the Tanzanian government’s decision to impose some limitations and discontinue the provision of some health services. Although the 13 were initially released on bail, bail was subsequently revoked and they were taken into custody  by police on 20 October 2017.

The SAHRDN together with  other African human rights defenders consider the arrest and detention of the 13 people as an attempt to stifle freedom of expression, assembly and association as guaranteed in the Tanzanian Constitution and is an abuse of laws by the Tanzanian authorities.

More worrying is the arrest and detention of lawyers which appear to be a concerted effort to prevent legal practitioners from taking on cases and  representing their clients without  interference. . We urge the Tanzanian authorities to appreciate that freedom and independence of the legal profession is an essential component for the proper functioning of the rule of law in any democracy.

We urge the Tanzanian government to recognise  the valuable role played by lawyers and to promote and support their work in line with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which in Paragraph 23 states that lawyers, like other citizens, are entitled to freedom of expression.

Human rights defenders and the SAHRDN remind the government of Tanzania that it has a fundamental obligation under paragraph 16 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers to ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference and are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad and that they must not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognised professional duties, standards and ethics.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Tanzania is a signatory, and the African Union’s Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa (“the Principles and Guidelines”), also reaffirm these rights. The Principles and Guidelines further stipulate that the independence of lawyers shall be guaranteed. Further the African Commission Resolution 376 on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Africa calls upon states to refrain from harassing human rights defenders. In particular, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Resolution 376 enjoin states to:

  1. Take the necessary measures to provide human rights defenders with a conducive environment to be able to carry out their activities without fear of acts of violence, threat, intimidation, reprisal, discrimination, oppression and harassment from State and non-State actors;

 

  1. Adopt specific legislative measures to recognize the status of human rights defenders and protect their rights and the rights of their colleagues and family members, including women human rights defenders and those working on issues such as extractive industries, health and HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, sexual orientation and gender identity, promotion of peace and democracy, fight against terrorism, and respect for human rights.

Therefore we collectively issue an urgent call for the following, as a matter of extreme urgency:

TO THE TANZANIA EXECUTIVE

  1. To drop all charges against the human rights defenders and lawyers and to immediately release them unconditionally from detention.

  1. To take urgent steps to guarantee the security and safety of all human rights defenders and legal practitioners and ensure that they are able to carry out their activities without fear of harassment, intimidation, arrest or detention as prescribed in Tanzania domestic laws, African Commission Resolution 376 and other international and regional standards applicable to Tanzania.

TO THE TANZANIAN LEGISLATURE

  1. To take steps to domesticate all international treaties, statutes and instruments guaranteeing the independence of the legal profession.
  2. To take steps to ensure that adequate legal provisions exist or are included in national legislation to protect the independence of legal practitioners and allow them to carry out their professional duties without hindrance.
  3. Through the Committee system, to ensure that attacks on lawyers and their professional work are swiftly investigated through a public hearing of documented cases, including an inquiry into action taken by the appropriate authorities.

23 October 2017 

ON BEHALF OF SOUTHERN AFRICA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS NETWORK, and IN SOLIDARITY WITH SAHRDN – HRDS AROUND THE WORLD

  1. African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (The Gambia)
  2. African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (Sudan)
  3. Associação Justiça, Paz e Democracia (Angola)
  4. Digital Society (Zimbabwe)
  5. DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights (Botswana)
  6. Dullah Omar Institute – University of Western Cape (South Africa)
  7. Centre for Human Rights -University of Pretoria (South Africa)
  8. Centre for Environmental Rights (South Africa)
  9. Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (Malawi)
  10. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (South Africa)
  11. Civicus (South Africa)
  12. Colombia Diversa (Colombia)
  13. Community Legal Aid Institute (Zimbabwe)
  14. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (Zimbabwe)
  15. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (Egypt)
  16. Endorois Welfare Council (Kenya)
  17. Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
  18. Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (Uganda)
  19. Human Rights Institute South Africa (South Africa)
  20. International Commission of Jurists – Kenya  (Kenya)
  21. Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (Uganda)
  22. Institute for Democracy and Leadership (Swaziland)
  23. Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (The Gambia)
  24. International Federation for Human Rights  [FIDH] (France)
  25. International Service for Human Rights (Switzerland)
  26. International Youth for Africa (South Sudan)
  27. Kenya Human Rights Commission (Kenya)
  28. Lawyers for Human Rights (South Africa)
  29. Lawyers for Human Rights (Swaziland)
  30. Lawyers for Lawyers (Netherlands)
  31. Lembaga Bantuan Masyarakat (Indonesia)
  32. Leteipan and Makau Advocates (Kenya)
  33. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (United States of America)
  34. Sexual Rights Centre (Zimbabwe)
  35. Social and Economic Rights Action Center (Nigeria)
  36. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (Nigeria)
  37. Southern Africa Litigation Centre [SALC] (South Africa)
  38. Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Southern Africa)
  39. Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Zimbabwe)
  40. World Organisation Against Torture [OMCT] (France, Belgium, Switzerland)
  41. Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimbabwe)
  42. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (Zimbabwe)
  43. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (Zimbabwe)
  44. Adolfo Ruiz Ferreira (Paraguay)
  45. Adrian Jjuuko (Uganda)
  46. Agnes Muzondo (Zimbabwe)
  47. Ali Mohamed (Namibia)
  48. Andrew Makoni (Zimbabwe)
  49. Beatrice T Mtetwa (Zimbabwe)
  50. Bellinda Chinowawa (Zimbabwe)
  51. Beverley Hargrove (South Africa)
  52. Blessing Gorejena (Zimbabwe)
  53. Bradley Blackburn (Namibia)
  54. Brian Penduka (Zimbabwe)
  55. Caine Youngman (Botswana)
  56. Charles Kwaramba (Zimbabwe)
  57. Chester Samba (Zimbabwe)
  58. Clarence Siziba (Zimbabwe)
  59. Conrad Bosire (Kenya)
  60. Corlett Letjlojane (South Africa)
  61. Cynthia Nunu (Zimbabwe)
  62. Danthong Breen, Union for Civil Liberty (Senior Adviser & Head of Death Penalty Division)
  63. Daphine Agaba (Uganda)
  64. Dewa Mavhinga (South Africa)
  65. Diana Tjombe (Namibia)
  66. Dr Nora C. Ho Tu Num (Mauritius)
  67. Ennid Roberts
  68. Eric Bizimana (Burundi)
  69. Eric Matinenga (Zimbabwe)
  70. Evan Mawarire (Zimbabwe)
  71. Evan Tjombe (Namibia)
  72. Ferdinand Tjombe (Namibia)
  73. Fiona Iliff  (Zimbabwe)
  74. Gift Mtisi (Zimbabwe)
  75. Godfrey Mupanga (Zimbabwe)
  76. Humphrey Ndondo (Zimbabwe)
  77. Inna Shapaka (Namibia)
  78. Jabulani Leader Mhlanga (Zimbabwe)
  79. Jacob Mafume (Zimbabwe)
  80. Jeremiah Bamu (Zimbabwe)
  81. Job Sibanda (Zimbabwe)
  82. Joseph Modi (South Sudan)
  83. Juergen Schurr (France)
  84. Judy Oder
  85. Karin Pluberg
  1. Keikantse E. Phele (Botswana)
  2. Linda Masarira (Zimbabwe)
  3. Linda Sibanda (Zimbabwe)
  4. Lison Ncube (Zimbabwe)
  5. Lizwe Jamela (Zimbabwe)
  6. Lovemore Madhuku (Zimbabwe)
  1. Kumbirai Mafunda (Zimbabwe)
  2. Marufu Mandevere (Zimbabwe)
  3. Mary Mutupa (Zambia)
  4. Mlweli Ndlovu (Zimbabwe)
  5. Moses Nkomo (Zimbabwe)
  6. Nadine Essmat (Egypt)
  7. Nokuthula Moyo (Zimbabwe)
  8. Nontokozo Dube-Tachiona (Zimbabwe)
  1. Norman Tjombe (Namibia)
  2. Obey Shava (Zimbabwe)
  3. Okay Machisa (Zimbabwe)
  4. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet – Director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (Thailand)
  5. Prisca Dube (Zimbabwe)
  6. Raphael Tjombe (Namibia)
  7. Raphael Tjombe Jnr (Namibia)
  8. Romeo Gumede (Zimbabwe)
  9. Roselyn Hanzi (Zimbabwe)
  10. Rumbidzai Dube (Ethiopia)
  11. Sarudzayi Njerere (Zimbabwe)
  12. Shepherd Chamunorwa (Zimbabwe)
  13. Shuvai Busumani Nyoni (Kenya)
  14. Simon Sadomba (Zimbabwe)
  15. Susan Mutambasere (Zimbabwe)
  16. Tanaka Muganyi (Zimbabwe)
  17. Tapiwa Muchineripi (Zimbabwe)
  18. Ter Mannyang Gatwech (South Sudan)
  19. Thandaza Moyo-Masiye (Zimbabwe)
  20. Trust Maanda (Zimbabwe)
  21. Zemelack Ayele (Ethiopia)
  22. Zita Arends (South Africa)

ZLHR Statement in Commemoration of Africa Human Rights Day

0

ON the occasion of Africa Human Rights Day on 21 October, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) stands in solidarity with human rights defenders who are languishing in detention in Tanzania and calls upon African governments to foster a culture of respect for human rights on the continent.

Commemorated annually on 21 October, Africa Human Rights Day, which is set aside by the African Union, is a continental enunciation of human rights to reflect upon the entry into force in 1986 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“the African Charter”).

As we commemorate Africa Human Rights Day, ZLHR remembers and honours all those who laid down their lives fighting for the emancipation of the oppressed majority on the continent and in Zimbabwe to realise the inherent dignity of each and every African and Zimbabwean citizen.

However, ZLHR is perturbed by the insincerity and the lack of the commitment by African leaders to respect, promote and protect human rights on the continent, which reached a new low on the eve of Africa Human Rights Day as Tanzanian authorities detained 13 human rights defenders (HRDs) including some lawyers who were attending a meeting in the capital Dar es Salaam. Although the 13 were initially released, they were re-arrested by police on 20 October 2017. Media reports say Dar es Salaam police head Lazaro Mambosasa told journalists during a media briefing that the 13 people were arrested and detained for allegedly promoting homosexuality.

The arrest and detention of the human rights defenders is a shameful attempt to stifle fundamental and constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and rights such as freedom of expression, assembly association guaranteed in the Tanzanian Constitution and is an abuse of laws by the Tanzanian authorities.

More worrying to ZLHR is the arrest and detention of lawyers, which we consider to be a concerted effort to prevent legal practitioners from exercising their legitimate rights to represent their clients without any interference or hindrance. Such association of lawyers with the causes of their clients is deplorable.

In Zimbabwe, ZLHR, whose mandate is to foster a culture of human rights and respect for the rule of law in Zimbabwe and throughout the region is gravely concerned by the erosion and restriction in the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms and rights despite the adoption of a new Constitution four years ago.

Citizens continue to be seized with blatant violations of social and economic rights with State actors at the forefront of fuelling violations of the right to shelter and the right to work.

With many Zimbabweans now resorting to informal trading as a source of livelihood, this occupation has been beset with numerous challenges regarding regulation.

ZLHR is worried by the brutality faced by informal traders in urban areas and the arbitrary deprivation of property.

ZLHR reiterates the need for the government to reflect on its shortcomings in relation to adherence to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its obligations to implement recommendations from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), which is a body of African specialists in human rights chosen by African governments themselves.

With elections set for 2018, ZLHR is worried that the government continues to procrastinate in implementing recommendations of the African Union organs such as the ACHPR, which in 2013 delivered a landmark ruling directing the government to allow its citizens in the diaspora to vote in national elections.

This urgently calls for the government to ensure that the right to vote for all citizens is upheld, speed up electoral reforms and the creation of a conducive electoral environment that guarantees the respect and enjoyment of universal suffrage and fundamental freedoms.

Therefore, ZLHR calls upon the government to;

  • Fulfill obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
  • Speed up the process of harmonising laws with the Constitution and regional and international human rights instruments.
  • Ratify, domesticate and implement the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance (The Charter) ahead of the 2018 elections.

 

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US: @ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER

ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Local Authorities’ Engagement of Debt Collectors, Jeopardises Council’s Constitutional Mandate

0

ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) notes with deep concern the pervasive practice by local authorities in engaging the services of debt collectors who have been issuing out threats of litigation, ultimatums and attachment of property against ratepayers in order to induce payments of utility charges.

Debt collectors have been wreaking havoc in most parts of the country after being contracted by some local authorities to collect arrear utility payments from some defaulting ratepayers.

The role of some government officials who have been ‘encouraging’ local authorities to use whatever means is at their disposal, including debt collectors to recover money owed by ratepayers is disturbing. This misinformed position is not only overzealous but illegal.

In terms of the Legal Practitioners Act, only a registered legal practitioner in possession of a valid practising certificate can threaten legal action or offer legal advice to their principal for a fee or reward, and doing so without meeting these requirements is a criminal offence.

Local authorities and central government need to appreciate that only legal practitioners have exclusive power to give legal advice, threaten legal action and represent someone legally for reward. In deploying debt collectors to collect arrears and threaten residents with legal action, the local authority is in effect participating in an illegality. Further, debt collectors are not statutorily regulated or controlled and they do not possess any special qualification or learning for their trade, it follows that their practices cannot guarantee lawfulness in the way of procedural regularity and fairness.

This pervasive practice of contracting debt collectors is becoming the desired approach with some government-run hospitals preferring this methodology to induce some patients to settle outstanding medical bills. This is a violation of section 68 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to administrative justice.

Section 68 (1) of the Constitution provides for a right to administrative conduct that is lawful, prompt, efficient, reasonable, proportionate, impartial and both substantively and procedurally fair.

Therefore, it is not reasonable and neither is it fair for local authorities to employ the services of debt collectors to collect outstanding debts.

It follows therefore that by entrusting their administrative functions to the whim of debt collectors, local authorities have jeopardised their constitutional mandate.

Local authorities should appreciate that they have a higher mandate to safeguard and protect the rights of ratepayers, from their position of being a custodian of the welfare of residents.

Leaving the rights of citizens to the whims of private debt collectors cannot guarantee the rights of citizens over which the local authorities are placed to guard and therefore it is not reasonable.

In the face of a rigid approach by local authorities and central government, ZLHR warns local authorities that various legal remedies remain at the disposal of ratepayers, which can be filed against the local authorities for the illegal practices of debt collectors which they have contracted.

ZLHR reminds local authorities that they have a constitutional mandate as public administrative bodies to safeguard public interests and rights.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US:@ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER | ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Local Authorities’ Engagement of Debt Collectors, Jeopardises Council’s Constitutional Mandate

0

ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) notes with deep concern the pervasive practice by local authorities in engaging the services of debt collectors who have been issuing out threats of litigation, ultimatums and attachment of property against ratepayers in order to induce payments of utility charges.

Debt collectors have been wreaking havoc in most parts of the country after being contracted by some local authorities to collect arrear utility payments from some defaulting ratepayers.

The role of some government officials who have been ‘encouraging’ local authorities to use whatever means is at their disposal, including debt collectors to recover money owed by ratepayers is disturbing. This misinformed position is not only overzealous but illegal.

In terms of the Legal Practitioners Act, only a registered legal practitioner in possession of a valid practising certificate can threaten legal action or offer legal advice to their principal for a fee or reward, and doing so without meeting these requirements is a criminal offence.

Local authorities and central government need to appreciate that only legal practitioners have exclusive power to give legal advice, threaten legal action and represent someone legally for reward. In deploying debt collectors to collect arrears and threaten residents with legal action, the local authority is in effect participating in an illegality. Further, debt collectors are not statutorily regulated or controlled and they do not possess any special qualification or learning for their trade, it follows that their practices cannot guarantee lawfulness in the way of procedural regularity and fairness.

This pervasive practice of contracting debt collectors is becoming the desired approach with some government-run hospitals preferring this methodology to induce some patients to settle outstanding medical bills. This is a violation of section 68 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to administrative justice.

Section 68 (1) of the Constitution provides for a right to administrative conduct that is lawful, prompt, efficient, reasonable, proportionate, impartial and both substantively and procedurally fair.

Therefore, it is not reasonable and neither is it fair for local authorities to employ the services of debt collectors to collect outstanding debts.

It follows therefore that by entrusting their administrative functions to the whim of debt collectors, local authorities have jeopardised their constitutional mandate.

Local authorities should appreciate that they have a higher mandate to safeguard and protect the rights of ratepayers, from their position of being a custodian of the welfare of residents.

Leaving the rights of citizens to the whims of private debt collectors cannot guarantee the rights of citizens over which the local authorities are placed to guard and therefore it is not reasonable.

In the face of a rigid approach by local authorities and central government, ZLHR warns local authorities that various legal remedies remain at the disposal of ratepayers, which can be filed against the local authorities for the illegal practices of debt collectors which they have contracted.

ZLHR reminds local authorities that they have a constitutional mandate as public administrative bodies to safeguard public interests and rights.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US:@ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER | ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Zim Court Acquits Chiredzi Man Charged for Insulting ZRP Officers Over Corruption

0

A ZIMBABWEAN court on Wednesday 18 October 2017 acquitted a Chiredzi man who had been on trial for allegedly insulting some Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers, whom he accused of collecting funds from members of the public through corrupt means.

32 year-old Zephania Virimai, who resides in Tshovani high-density suburb in Chiredzi in Masvingo province, had been on trial since last month after he was arrested on 01 August 2017 and charged with undermining police authority as defined in Section 177 (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 09:23.

Virimai, who was represented by Blessing Nyamaropa of ZLHR and who pleaded not guilty when trial commenced on Thursday 14 September 2017 before Chiredzi Magistrate Tafadzwa Mhlanga, was arrested on 01 August 2017 for allegedly insulting two ZRP members namely Lazarus Nyahonzo and Slyna Nyamaropa, whom he accused of depositing funds into a local financial institution collected from members of the public through corrupt means.

However, on Wednesday 18 October 2017, Magistrate Mhlanga acquitted Virimai after ruling that the state had failed during trial to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the 32 year-old Chiredzi resident. Magistrate Mhlanga also ruled that the evidence of the state witnesses who testified during the trial was inconsistent and therefore he could not convict Virimai.

Prosecutors had claimed that Virimai insulted the law enforcement agents by saying “Mbavha idzo ngadzibvepo, which prosecutors translated to mean “Thieves move away from there” as they were queuing up in a banking hall.

After realising that Nyahonzo and Nyamaropa were unmoved by the alleged insult, Virimai reportedly intensified the verbal attacks on the ZRP officers by saying “Zvimapurisa zvinobhenga mari yecorruption”, which prosecutors translated to mean “Rogue police officers who bank corruption money”.

Prosecutors had charged that because of Virimai’s conduct, there was a real risk of engendering feelings or hostility towards such police officers or the police force or exposing the ZRP officers to contempt, ridicule or low esteem.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US:@ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER | ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Duo Tormented Over Mugabe “Old Age” Comments

0

HARARE Magistrate Josephine Sande on Thursday 12 October 2017 ended the detention of two Zimbabweans who were arrested early this week for allegedly passing some comments over President Robert Mugabe’s advanced age, which were deemed unpalatable and insulting by some authorities.

Magistrate Sande on Thursday 12 October 2017 granted $200 bail to Sten Zvorwadza, a pro-democracy campaigner and the leader of the National Vendors Union Zimbabwe (NAVUZ) Sten Zvorwadza, who was arrested on Tuesday 10 October 2017 and charged with undermining authority or insulting President Robert Mugabe as defined in Section 33 (2) (a) (ii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

Prosecutors claimed that claim that 48 year-old Zvorwadza, who is represented by Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) undermined authority of or insulted President Mugabe when he granted an interview to the Daily News, a local national daily newspaper, in which he allegedly stated that the ZANU PF leader was day dreaming, old and a dead man walking.

In an article published on Monday 09 October 2017, the Daily News quoted Zvorwadza dismissing utterances by President Mugabe who told his ZANU PF party supporters in Harare on Saturday 07 October 2017 that the government would drive out some informal sector traders from operating in the central business district.

Zvorwadza was remanded out of custody to Thursday 16 November 2017.

Magistrate Sande also set free 28 year-old Abrahama Rukwava,who had spent two days in police detention after he was arrested on Tuesday 10 October 2017 by a ZRP member and a state security agent, who were aboard a commuter omnibus, he was travelling in from Harare’s central business district to the high-density suburb of Kuwadzana and charged with undermining or insulting authority of Mugabe.

Prosecutors charged that Rukwava, who was represented by Jeremiah Bamu and Noble Chinhanu of ZLHR contravened section 33 (2) (a) (ii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 when he uttered the words “Mutungamiri wenyika ino achembera haachakwanisa kuita chinhu muno munyika” which they translated to mean “The president of this country is too old and is not able to do anything in this country.

The State has also pressed an alternative charge of disorderly conduct as defined in section 41 (b) of the  Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

The state claimed that by uttering the alleged offensive statement, Rukwava wanted to cause hatred and cause members of the public to lose trust towards President Mugabe.

Magistrate Sande remanded Rukwava out of custody to Thursday 16 November 2017.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US: @ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER

ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Journalists Under Siege as Zim Authorities Intensify Onslaught Against Media Practitioners

0

ZIMBABWEAN authorities on Monday 02 October 2017 intensified their onslaught against media practitioners after they arrested and detained Kenneth Nyangani, a journalist working for the privately-run NewsDay newspaper for allegedly writing and publishing a story over the donation of some used undergarments by First Lady Grace Mugabe.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) members arrested Nyangani around 10 PM at his home in Dangamvura high-density suburb in the eastern border town of Mutare and detained him overnight at Mutare Central Police station and indicated that they would charge him with criminal defamation over a story published in Newsday newspaper’s edition of Monday 02 October 2017.

Newsday reported that Esau Mupfumi, the ZANU PF Member of Parliament for Chikanga-Dangamvura constituency handed over the donation from Grace comprising of used undergarments and night garbs to some ZANU PF party supporters at a meeting held in Mutare in Manicaland province over the weekend.

However, Nyangani’s lawyer, Passmore Nyakureba of Maunga Maanda & Associates, who is a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, challenged the ZRP members’ preference to charge the journalist with criminal defamation as such a provision under Section 96 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act was struck down by the Constitutional Court.

ZLHR understands that Mupfumi filed the report with the police and deposed to a statement which is unclear if the legislator is the complainant himself or the First Lady.

Nyangani remains in police detention at the Law and Order Section at Mutare Central Police Station as no warned and cautioned statement has been recorded from him.

Meanwhile, two Daily News journalists, Mugove Tafirenyika and Brighton Goko sustained serious injuries after they were brutally assaulted by some ZRP officers while they were covering an anti-government protest held on Friday 29 September 2017.

Tafirenyika and Goko had to be hospitalised at a local medical facility from Friday 29 September 2017 until they were discharged on Monday 02 October 2017 and on Tuesday 03 October 2017 respectively.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Kodzero/Amalungelo House

No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118

Email: info@zlhr.org.zw

www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US:@ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER | ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Joint Statement On Drug Shortages In Zimbabwe

0

The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme (DOMCCP) express grave concern over the slow pace at which the ongoing shortages of anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs particularly the second line regimen drug – Abacavir – is being resolved.

These shortages put the health and welfare of over one million people living with HIV at high risk. We call upon the government of Zimbabwe to urgently prioritize the allocation of foreign currency towards the procurement of ARVs.

Over the past two months, we have noted with concern that thousands of people living with HIV have been caught up in the on-going shortages of the life-saving second line ARV drug – Abacavir.

We are equally concerned that the country will not be able to cope if the clients on second line have to be moved to third line (a much more expensive combination) due to treatment failure and an increase in defaulters due to unavailability of treatment in public health institutions.

It is disheartening to note that while the country has been commended globally for its response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, we still face the risk of drug shortages and stock ruptures. This has the effect of watering down the remarkable progress made by the country to date.

We appeal to both the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Ministry of Health and Child Care to avail the desperately needed foreign currency to ensure an uninterrupted supply of the lifesaving drugs especially considering that PLHIV on second line are already at high risk.

We implore the same parties to put in place requisite mechanisms to ensure that a similar situation does not occur in the future.

Providing one month’s supply of second line treatment only adds to the financial burden already faced by people living with HIV.

While providing three month’s ART supply for clients on the first line treatment regimen is commendable, we urge the Ministry of Health and Child Care to consider providing at least six months’ supply for PLHIV in high emergency alert areas commonly affected by floods in emergency settings.

We also urge the government to make ARVs available to PLHIV free of charge to reduce morbidity and mortality to HIV and AIDS and address social issues such as poverty which are causing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

We support calls for the localisation of the manufacture of ARV drugs. This will assist in preventing interruptions caused by time lags and potentially bring down the prices of ARV drugs. This is of significant importance considering that this year we celebrate the enrolment of one million people onto the national anti-retroviral therapy programme.

Finally, we encourage the Ministry of Health and Child Care to rigorously investigate the causes of the high levels of treatment failure among people living with HIV.

This is the only way that we can attain the 90-90-90 goal by 2020.

For more information contact;

Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) Tel: +263 4 741824; facebook: www.facbook.com/znnpinfo; twitter: @znnpinfo; website: znnpblog.wordpress.com; email: info.znnp@gmail.com

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Kodzero/Amalungelo House, No. 98 Baines Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 4 764085/705370/708118, Email: info@zlhr.org.zw, www.zlhr.org.zw

FOLLOW US: @ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER, ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK

Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme, St Joseph’s Mission Box SK60 Sakubva , Mutare Zimbabwe, Telephone: +263 20 69263 / 67680, http://www.domccp.co.zw

123...6Page 2 of 6
2017© Website Developed by Cyberplexafrica. Hosted by GreenNet.