Police Monitor Harare Students
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By Ontibile Kababongwe*
Harare: Police are closely monitoring University of Zimbabwe students because of government fears that they might demonstrate in solidarity with arrested civil society leaders. Government worries over further protests in the wake of Sundays demonstration in Harare - in which a teenager was killed and scores of people injured and beaten - may be eased by the likely closure of the university tomorrow (Thursday) as a result of a stalemate in a negotiations over pay increases for lecturers. In another attempt to stem future trouble, police raided the offices of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions yesterday. Reports said they seized material in connection with a two-day national strike planned for next month. The effects of the force with which police suppressed the Sunday demonstration were seen in court yesterday when opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai appeared with a swollen eye and stitches in his head. Lovemore Madhuku, leader of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), another of those facing charges, had a bandaged head and an arm in plaster. Opposition activist Grace Kwinjeh could not even walk. The arrival at the court of these and others arrested at the weekend was greeted by both jubilation and tears. Initially, no magistrate was ready to take charge of the hearing. Court officials claimed that they had not been informed of the case. Riot police entered the court wielding truncheons and guns and asked everyone who was not a prisoner, a lawyer or a journalist to leave. Realising that the police were trying to provoke the crowd, relatives of the detainees started to leave before lawyers for the Movement for Democratic Change, Innocent Chagonda and Eric Matinenga, intervened and lectured the police on court procedures. Police broke the camera of photojournalist Tsvangirai Mukwazhi and the videocamera of broadcaster Tendai Musiyazviriyo. In court, the Reverend Magaisa prayed for a speedy recovery to the civil society leaders wounds. He also prayed that the storm created by the ailing economy and lack of tolerance of peoples rights might calm. NCA national spokesperson Madock Chivasa described the torture undergone by the detainees as birth pangs in the creation of a new Zimbabwe. Detainees were ferried to hospital in heavily guarded ambulances. They will appear in court again today. To add insult to injury, Dr Nathan Shamuyarira, the ruling partys Secretary for Information and Publicity, speaking from South Africa, said Morgan Tsvangirai and his colleagues had got what they had been asking for. * The writer has to use a pseudonym because of the danger faced by Zimbabwean journalists + EYE-WITNESS REPORT: 'It is a sorry sight for Zimbabwe but we pray that freedom will come' |
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