Jestina Mukoko alive

Just a few days before Christmas Eve news started filtering that abducted Human Rights activist, Jestina Mukoko, was still alive, but held in custody. Police, who denied knowing her wherabouts, were actually responsible for her illegal abduction. Instead of being freed she now stands accused of high treason.

ZimbabweWatch is reliefed that lawyers were able to locate Jestina and a number of others who had been victims of “enforced disappearances” in various police stations around Harare. However the abductions and accusations by the court are a total travesty of justice. Jestina Mukoko and nine others [four of whom are women and one a child aged two] were produced at the magistrates court for a remand hearing on Christmas Eve.

Another nine men listed among the disappeared were produced between Christmas and New Year. All eighteen turned out to have been in the hands of state agents during the time they were missing and all have sworn affidavits describing their torture during the period they were illegally held. These have been corroborated by medical evidence. Even the two year old was beaten with his mother.

Since Christmans there have been numerous court applications that the tortured should be admitted to hospital for proper medical investigations and treatment. Only one judge, Judge Omerjee, has ordered this and the State immediately appealed against his judgment, thereby suspending it. The victims are being held in solitary incarceration at Chikurubi maximum security prison and their remand hearings in the magistrates court are still being dragged out by numerous delays on the part of the State. Jestina and the other women will have their next hearing at the magistrates court on Wednesday 14th of January. These delays are a complete travesty of justice.

For a timeline of the abductions see an overview by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights: