Mtetwa arrest backfires

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THE recent arrest of human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa on what is widely viewed as “flimsy” charges, appears to have backfired on Zanu PF and the security sector, analysts have said.

THE recent arrest of human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa on what is widely viewed as “flimsy” charges, appears to have backfired on Zanu PF and the security sector, analysts have said.

BY PATRICE MAKOVA

They said the arrests have put Zimbabwe back on the international spotlight with renewed calls for security sector reforms ahead of the forthcoming elections.

Mtetwa was released by the High Court last week after spending eight days in jail for allegedly obstructing justice.

She was arrested at the home of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s director of research and policy, Thabani Mpofu.

Prosecutors said she shouted at the police officers and took photographs of them as they searched the house.

Mpofu himself and three other communication staffers in Tsvangirai’s office endured 10 days in prison after they were arrested on charges of illegally compiling information on high-level corruption.

Political analyst, Thabani Nyoni said it took the arrest of Mtetwa for the international community and other political parties in the country to realise that all was not well in the country.

He said the arrest came at a time when a crackdown on civil society was either being brushed aside or not being taken seriously.

Nyoni said Mtetwa’s arrest came when everyone else was celebrating the peaceful environment that prevailed during the constitutional referendum, a yardstick which was going to be used to predict the manner in which the forthcoming elections would be held.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) spokesperson said after the referendum, there was a perception that Zimbabwe was now a “done deal”, but all that had now changed.

“The security sector got excited and crossed the line. The arrest of Mtetwa has brought a lot of international condemnation with many people now realising that the situation is not conducive for elections,” he said.

Mtetwa’s bail hearing attracted US human rights lobbyist Kerry Kennedy, a niece of former US President John Kennedy.

This has irked Zanu PF officials who for strange reasons now threaten Mtetwa with deportation.

American film, stage and television actress, Alfre Ette Woodard was also present at the hearing together with Kerry, daughter of Robert F Kennedy.

Several human rights organisations also wrote to President Mugabe complaining about the detention of Mtetwa.

These include Zimbabwe Watch, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, Lawyers for Lawyers and European Democratic Lawyers.

Nyoni said while Zanu PF has been pushing for South African President, Jacob Zuma to take a laid-back approach to the Zimbabwean crisis, the Sadc facilitator had now realised that something was seriously amiss in the country.

“The impression now is that it will be disastrous to hold elections under the current conditions. Zuma is now insisting on the implementation of critical reforms before elections,” he said.

The CiZC spokesperson said it was interesting to note that the arrest of Mtetwa had now led to the “persecution” of the judiciary, particularly High Court judge, Charles Hungwe.

“Mtetwa was granted bail by the High Court but she was not released in a clear contempt of court,” he said. “Zanu PF is now persecuting Justice Hungwe. Things not related to the case are now being brought up to discredit the judge.”

Nyoni said the attack on democracy activists only helped to show that the security sector was still partisan and that there was no due process of the law.

He said this now justified the need for Sadc to send an early team to monitor the watershed elections.

‘Lawyer’s incarceration bad for Zim’s foreign image’

Political analyst, George Makoni said the international outcry generated by Mtetwa’s arrest puts “an egg on the face” of President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF considering their grip on the judiciary and police. He accused Mugabe of using the police and the judiciary against the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

Makoni said the crackdown “rubbished” the credit which had been given to the inclusive government, in conducting a non-violent plebiscite.

“It is also an advantage to the MDCs in the sense that it is an eye-opener,” he said. “It gives them more room to fight such things. It also gives them more sympathy in the sense that these attacks are synonymous to a disabled person being bashed by an able-bodied person.”

Another analyst, Ernest Mudzengi said the MDCs were powerless to act as they were given less influential posts in the inclusive government.

Mudzengi was of the opinion that the MDCs should have bargained for some of their members to be given top civil service positions. “The GPA was never in their [MDCs] favour,” he said. “The GPA puts the MDCs in a position that it cannot control arms such as the police.”

Mudzengi said the crackdown on democracy activists was now putting question marks on the readiness of Zimbabwe to hold free and fair elections and the commitment of Zanu PF to such a process. But Nyoni said the MDCs were also to blame for the current predicament as they had become unwitting accomplices to Zanu PF machinations.

He said for some time now, the MDCs have been largely quiet while similar crackdowns were taking place, including the incarceration of 29 Glen View MDC-T youth assembly members for almost a year.

“What we are hearing is him [Tsvangirai] defending questionable appointments of Justice Rita Makarau as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson and Jacob Mudenda as the Human Rights Commission boss. It now appears there is little difference between Zanu PF and the MDCs.”

Zanu pf firing warning shots, says analyst

Gift Mambipiri, a political analyst, was of the view that the recent crackdown was part of the “grand strategy” by some political players to use force whenever elections were on the horizon.

He said the crackdown, which began with civil society leaders a few months ago, would likely continue until election day.

“Whereas in 2008 the ordinary people were beaten to conform to the wishes of a political party”, Mambipiri said, “this time around fear will be instilled into their heads and hearts through the crackdown on the pro-democracy leaders the ordinary people have thought are beyond the reach of the violent groups. Once the leaders are arrested and persecuted, the message to get to the ordinary citizen is: if gold can rust, what of iron?”

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