They Arrested My Body, Not My Spirit - Kwekweza

WELEAD founder, Namatai Kwekweza, says her abduction and torture by State agents ahead of the SADC Summit will not deter her from the pursuit of truth, Justice, and freedom for Zimbabweans. Below is Kwekweza’s statement:

With a stubborn hope, strengthened resolve, and clarity of purpose I write to you with the deepest utmost gratitude for the love, solidarity, and support that Robson Chere, Samuel Gwenzi, and I have received which has warmed my heart.

The love and solidarity have come from many Zimbabweans and people from around the world and it deeply inspires me to have a sense of humility, hope, and courage to continue the struggle for a better Zimbabwe even after our horrific ordeal.

The messages, the prayers, the legal support, the medical support, practical assistance, and keyboard warriors have all worked together to ensure our release and it is this solidarity that kept my brothers in the struggle and me strong until day 35 when we were released on bail.

I have also received a lot of love and solidarity from the 29 courageous women who were arrested on the 16th of June along with James Timba.

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The world must know that they are still at Chikurubi Maximum Female Prison and they have suffered a great deal from the brutal beatings they were subjected to on the 16th of June.

These are the people who took care of me when I arrived at Chikurubi Prison, traumatized and in pain, and the people who gave me the hope and resolve to remain strong until my release on bail. I am aware that a few of them were released, however, we all are not free until all of them are free.

We must take this moment as a nation to continue demanding the unconditional release of all political prisoners as there are many whose stories might never reach the media, but they still suffer greatly and their stories deserve to be told and heard.

On 31 July 2024, we (Chere, Gwenzi, and I) boarded a domestic flight to Victoria Falls at 12:50 and this was the start of our horrific ordeal.

We were abducted, taken to the domestic terminal at the airport which at the time was closed to the public due to renovations, tortured, held incommunicado, intimidated, interrogated by unidentified persons, and finally handed over to the police after 8 hours upon which the disorderly conduct charges were brought against us.

The persons who interrogated us kept accusing us of planning demonstrations to humiliate the country and the President during the SADC summit and they stated that we were on our way to Victoria Falls to meet more people to plan with.

All of us were clueless about the stated accusation and we were told that “when the SADC visitors came to Zimbabwe, we had to be well-behaved and not humiliate the country”.

In hindsight, I think of how silly these people sounded, and yet for those reasons we were abducted, tortured, and imprisoned.

What is further concerning is the charge of disorderly conduct at an incident that occurred while I was outside Zimbabwe. Chere and Gwenzi were also not present at the stated incident!

The issue is not about the charge of disorderly conduct, it is about the abduction and torture that happened prior ahead of the SADC summit and our abductors needing a justification for why we were held incommunicado for 8 hours before releasing us into police custody.

The conditions were we subject to after our arrest were macabre. The issue was that my co-accused were moved from remand prison to the D section of Chikurubi Maximum Prison for men and they would come to court with leg irons and handcuffs.

They were treated like dangerous criminals and it shocks me still that persons charged with disorderly conduct are treated like those charged with more serious crimes.

Of concern was Mr Chere whose injuries were extremely severe and walking in leg irons with his injuries is something that took courage and resilience.

Prison life is difficult and prison conditions painful not only for political prisoners but for prisoners in general.

I am thankful to the many individuals and organizations who I saw coming to visit prisoners particularly the 7th Day Adventist Church which a lot of prisoners speak highly of.

More corporations, churches, and individuals must organize programs to visit prisoners especially those with long sentences and to support some of their material needs as some of them do not get visitors to see them.

I believe Zimbabwe as a nation can do more for those in prison. I believe ordinary people and groups can work together to make our prisons better for prisoners. I pray that more people will be inspired to consistently support prisoners.

Friends and comrades, I continue the fight for a free, democratic, and safe Zimbabwe. A country in which state machinery is used to protect citizens and not weaponized against them.

In my case, I have watched in shock as different institutions have lied to keep me and my co-accused locked up for 35 days.

My conviction is in truth particularly the concept of “Satyagraha” truth force that MK Gandi believed. There are some absolute truths that can not be denied even with a thousand lies.

It is an absolute truth that I was out of Zimbabwe when the stated offence was committed. It is an absolute truth that there is an ongoing crackdown on Civil Society, activists, and any opposition to the government in Zimbabwe.

It is also an absolute truth that many of those arrested in the James Timba case are still in prison. I believe in truth and that the truth will set me free – literally!

What they arrested on the 31st of July was just my body. My spirit throughout the whole ordeal remained free!

In my heart, I have a fervent belief in the strength of the human will in its pursuit of truth, Justice, and freedom.

I move forward in the struggle for dignity.

More: Pindula News