Human Rights Groups Express Concern Over The Arrest Of Douglas Coltart And Tapiwa Muchineripi

Rights groups in Zimbabwe have expressed concern over the recent arrests of two human rights lawyers, Douglas Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi, on Monday night. They were arrested after requesting that the police refrain from interviewing their clients, who were hospitalized. The clients, Womberaishe Nhende and Sonele Mukhuhlani, opposition activists from Citizens Coalition for Change, claimed to have been abducted, tortured, and drugged on Saturday by individuals they believed to be state agents. The arrests have raised alarm about the protection of human rights and the treatment of activists in Zimbabwe.

Jeremiah Bamu, a representative of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told reporters outside Harare Magistrates Court on September 5, 2023, that the arrests were a clear assault on the legal profession’s independence. He said:

Their arrest amounts to criminalization of their profession. All they did was to convey advice that they had received from medical personnel about the medical condition of their clients and their ability to withstand police interviews. And because of that simple conveyance of information and representation of their clients, they have been arrested, and they are now placed on remand.

That is a direct attack on the independence of the profession and is a move that is calculated at making lawyers fail to exercise their functions.

Bamu stated that Coltart and Muchineripi, who were granted $100 bail each, will return to court on October 20 to assess the validity of the charges brought against them, which involve obstructing or impeding the course of justice.

Lucia Masuka, the executive director of Amnesty International in Zimbabwe, emphasised that individuals should not face prosecution solely for exercising their human rights, including the right to provide legal representation for those who have been arrested. Masuka said:

Everyone, regardless of their political affiliation, should be able to freely participate in peaceful activism without fear of abduction or harm. The Zimbabwean authorities must immediately stop issuing inflammatory statements that could incite attacks against political activists, human rights defenders and other people.

Masuka further stated that it is crucial for authorities to guarantee a peaceful environment after elections by fully respecting, protecting, and ensuring the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association, and expression.

The arrest of the lawyers took place on the same day that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was inaugurated for his second term, pledging to uphold the constitution. Mnangagwa expressed his commitment to democracy, good governance, the rule of law, and political tolerance under his leadership and the new ZANU PF government. However, the Zimbabwean government has faced persistent accusations of intolerance and disregard for the rule of law since the country gained independence in 1980.

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