Trudy Stevenson
Trudy Stevenson (born 16 September 1944) was a Zimbabwean politician. She was also a founding member of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Zimbabwe and the first white woman to be voted into the MDC National Executive. Trudy died in August 2018 in Dakar Senegal.
Personal Details
Born: In the United States.
She then moved to Zimbabwe in 1980 and became a Zimbabwean citizen in 1990.
School / Education
Trudy attended school at Wymondham College in England from 1955 to 1962.
She obtained a BA degree (French and Italian, joint honours from the University of Reading and a Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Zimbabwe. [1]
Service/Career
She was quoted as saying "Mugabe does not frighten me, I feel it is my duty to stand up for the rights of all."
Positions Held
She was Member of Parliament for Harare North in Parliament. She served as MDC's national secretary for Policy and Research, then in a smaller faction of the then Movement for Democratic Change (Mutambara) (MDC-M).
In the 2000 Parliamentary Election (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Harare North returned to Parliament:
- Getrude Bavier Lottie Stevenson of MDC with 18 976 votes,
- Nyasha Chikwinya of Zanu PF with 4 852 votes,
- Nhamo Chester Mhende, Independent, with 707 votes,
- Justin Chiota of ZPP with 222 votes,
- Lily Angela Anne Murapa, Independent, with 202 votes.
Trudy Stevenson, won Harare North.
In 2009, Stevenson was appointed Zimbabwean Ambassador to Senegal.
Events
Political Harrasment
In July 2006, Stevenson together with Mr Linos Mushonga the faction’s acting organising secretary for Harare province and Mrs Simangile Manyere, the provincial treasurer of the smaller faction of (MDC-M) were severely assaulted and left for dead by a mob. Then a commission chaired by Advocate Happias Zhou was set up following the assault.[2]
In July 2006, after attending a political meeting in the Harare suburb of Mabvuku, Stevenson was attacked and suffered panga wounds to the back of her neck and head. The leadership of the rival faction of the MDC immediately claimed that the attack was carried out by ZANU militants. However, while recovering in the hospital, Stevenson positively identified her assailants, in fact, as members of the MDC-T faction, which is led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Ambassador
After the July 2013 elections Trudy Stevenson was spared in a diplomatic reshuffle when President Robert Mugabe recalled other ambassadors. Ambassadors Hilda Mafudze and Trudy Stevenson will remain in Khartoum, Sudan and Dakar, Senegal respectively. Mafudze is from the MDC-T while Stevenson is from the Welshman Ncube led faction. [3]
Further Reading
References
- ↑ Info | Trudy Stevenson, 2BMoto, Retrieved: July 4, 2014
- ↑ Mabvuku Violence Commission Extended, Joomla, Published: August 11, 2006, Retrieved: July 4, 2014
- ↑ Mthulisi Mathuthu, Mugabe spares MDC envoys in diplomatic reshuffle, SW Radio Africa, Published: November 29, 2013, Retrieved: July 4, 2014
