Zimbabwean Jails Reserved For Lawbreakers, Not Just Opposition - ZANU PF
The ruling ZANU PF party says Zimbabwean jails are not exclusively for opposition activists, but rather for individuals who commit crimes, including members of the party itself.
This comes amid the recent detentions of scores of opposition activists without bail, as the ZANU PF-led government has made it clear it will not tolerate protests during the upcoming 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government Summit on August 17.
In an interview with NewsDay on Tuesday, ZANU PF’s director of information, Farai Marapira, defended the government’s actions, saying the police arrest criminals regardless of their political affiliation. He said:
Jails are not set on partisan matters. We also have some ZANU PF members who are in jail. If you commit a crime, you are arrested and this is clear.
We have several people from ZANU PF who are also in jail and it is not fair for the opposition party to point fingers at us because we don’t force anyone to commit a crime.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi contested ZANU PF’s claims, claiming that CCC members and human rights activists have been arrested without committing any criminal offences. Said Mkwananzi:
We are continuing to see arrests of our members and this has become too much. We are even finding it difficult to attend national programmes like the Heroes Day celebrations because we do not have a guarantee that our members are safe.
On June 16, CCC chief administrator Jameson Timba, along with 77 other party activists, were arrested while commemorating the Day of the African Child. The CCC members have remained in detention since that time.
In the weeks following the initial arrests, authorities have continued to detain and charge numerous activists with a range of offences, including allegations of disorderly conduct and holding unlawful gatherings.
More: Pindula News
