MDC, ZPP DETAINEES TO GET CHRISTMAS EVE COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 001138 SIPDIS AF/S FOR B. WALCH DRL FOR N. WILETT ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/24/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM KDEM ZI SUBJECT: MDC, ZPP DETAINEES TO GET CHRISTMAS EVE COURT APPEARANCES REF: HARARE 1100 Classified By: Charge Katherine Dhanani for reason 1.4(d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) After weeks of repeated public denials by the GOZ that dozens of MDC and civil society leaders were in state custody, lawyers learned on the afternoon of December 23 that numerous abductees were in police stations around Harare. After hours of searching individual police stations, lawyers confirmed the locations in Harare police stations of 14 individuals who had recently been subjected to enforced disappearances by the state. The government mouthpiece, The Herald, reported on December 24 that Jestina Mukoko, Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project and 13 others will face charges of recruiting people for military training in an effort to overthrow the current government. In a press and diplomatic briefing by lawyers on the morning of the 24th, lawyers reported that the police continued to be uncooperative and refused to tell them of the charges their clients faced. Lawyers continue to be denied access to the abductees and have not been allowed to give them food. The group of 14 is scheduled to appear in court to be charged on the afternoon of December 24. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- Police Uncooperative, in Direct Violation of High Court Orders -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) To date, at least two dozen MDC members and civil society leaders have been abducted since October 30 (reftel). Lawyers affiliated with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have sought detainees at police stations and have obtained numerous petitions from the High Court in recent weeks ordering police to do everything possible to locate the abductees. One court order states, in part, that police should do "all things necessary to determine their whereabouts" and to "dispatch a team of detectives to work closely and in conjunction with lawyers appointed by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, to search (for all people) at such places as may be within their jurisdiction in terms of the Police Act." These court orders were directed to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Commissioner General of Police, who should have directed their subordinates to act. Police have denied holding them or having any knowledge of their abductions. On December 23, ZLHR began to receive information that some of the abductees were in Harare police stations. Lawyers searched numerous Harare police stations that afternoon and found 14 abductees, including two they did not know had been abducted, in eight different Harare police stations. In a press and diplomatic briefing on December 24, ZLHR Director Irene Petras said that they strongly believe more abductees are in police custody, in direct contravention of the High Court orders. ¶3. (SBU) ZLHR board member and long-time human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who is also representing Jestina Mukoko, detailed a series of encounters with police in which they refused to allow the lawyers to see the log books of detainees in the jails, refused to meet with her and other lawyers regarding these cases, and were uncooperative, despite the court orders. At the Mabelreign police station on December 23, the superintendent confirmed he had two of the detainees in his custody, but said no one could see them without permission from a superior officer. In addition, one member of civil society told us that she gave one off-duty policeman a ride on December 24 who confessed that others are HARARE 00001138 002 OF 003 in jail but police are under strict orders to not reveal their whereabouts. ZLHR further detailed that the operation has been led by Chief Superintendent Magwenzi along with other police officers from the Law and Order section. Magwenzi conceded to lawyers on December 23 that he is the investigating officer in these cases and has all missing persons in his custody. He told lawyers that the two detainees at Mabelreign had been moved, but refused to say where they were or when lawyers could see them. He went on to say he was unaware that any high court order regarding the detainees existed. (NOTE: In response to the court order regarding Mukoko, lawyers have placed numerous, full-page ads with her photo in Zimbabwean newspapers, including The Herald. END NOTE.) ZLHR is again filing an urgent High Court application on December 24 directing police to bring all detained persons before a court of law, to grant them access to legal and medical services, and to release them as a result of the unlawful treatment they have endured. ¶4. (U) ZLHR laid out six points of concern in connection with the abductions: (1) the continued trend of separating detained people in various police stations, hindering their legal access, (2) police contempt of at least six High Court orders in connection with these cases, (3) unlawful search and seizure of property without search warrants, (4) the now commonplace practice of denying detainees access to food, medical care, and their lawyers despite clear constitutional protective provisions, (5) the failure or refusal of the investigative officer and other police officials to disclose charges against these individuals and to allow lawyers to meet with their clients before they are brought to court, and (6) the continued breach of the September 15 agreement that called on all political parties to ensure security and fundamental rights and freedoms. ¶5. (U) As of 10:30 on the morning of December 24, lawyers were still unaware of the charges facing their clients. Mtetwa said that she also had read in The Herald that the detainees would face charges of recruiting people to undergo military training to overthrow the government. She also said that in one police station, an empathetic officer allowed them to see the log book of detainees -- against orders from his superiors -- which showed some are due to face charges under sections 23 and 24 of the Criminal Code, which deal with banditry and conspiring to commit banditry. Lawyers argue that all of the detainees should be released because they were arrested and have been held unlawfully. ¶6. (U) ZLHR has confirmed the location of the following detainees: Jestina Mukoko (ZPP Executive Director) Broderick Takawira (ZPP Provincial Coordinator for Harare and Mashonaland East) Pascal Gonzo (ZPP driver) Concillia Chinhanzvana (MDC MP candidate for Zvimba South, MDC Mashonaland West Women's Assembly provincial chairperson, and MDC National Council Member) Emmanuel Chinhanzvana (Ward 25 Councilor in Zvimba South, married to Concillia Chinhanzvana) Pieta Kaseske (Affiliation unclear) Gandhi Mudzingwa (Former personal assistant to Morgan Tsvangirai) Zachariah Nkomo (Brother of human rights lawyer Harrison Nkomo) Mapfumo Garutsa (Affiliation unclear) Regis Mujeyi (Affiliation unclear) Violet Mupfuranhehwe (wife of MDC Zvimba South Youth Chairperson, Collen Mutemagawo, who was also abducted and is still unaccounted for) HARARE 00001138 003 OF 003 Nigel Mutemagawo (Two-year-old son of Violet Mupfuranhehwe and Collen Mutemagawo) Mr. Makwezadzimba (Affiliation unclear, first name not known) -------------- -------------- Detainees Appear at Court in South African Plated Vehicle -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Mtetwa told us that after the press briefing, she and other lawyers "stalked" the police stations in an effort to find their clients and determine when they would be brought to court. When they saw several of the abductees being taken to vehicles, they went to the magistrates courts and found some of their clients. Strangely, five detainees were brought to court by police in a red Volkswagen van bearing South African license plates (HNL-223-GP). Mtetwa told us she had already reported the license plate to the South African embassy to check if it is a real license plate or not. Usually detainees are brought to court with armed guards traveling in a separate vehicle. However, in this case, three armed police were in the van with them. Members from the press and diplomatic corps were on hand to see them and the South African plated vehicle. When the detainees were paraded out of the vehicle in front of the press, they appeared exhausted and disheveled, but did not show outward signs of physical abuse. Even when the detainees were brought into the court's holding cells, lawyers were still not allowed to see their clients. As of noon, only nine of those charged had been brought to court; they are scheduled to appear in court at 2:15 on December 24. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Even in Zimbabwe, where the entire judicial and law enforcement system has become increasingly corrupt, Mtetwa told us she had "never seen something like this before." The Mugabe regime has shown complete disregard for the rule of law by holding Zimbabwean citizens incommunicado for almost two months, ignoring their constitutional rights and showing blatant contempt for court orders. It has been known for weeks that coerced testimony from some of these abductees was the centerpiece of the case the regime made to SADC outlining trumped up accusations of MDC military training in Botswana. Although they remain in grave jeopardy from the corrupt Zimbabwean justice system, the abductees' surfacing is generally regard as good news. Those facing charges are alive, and we continue to hope the others will be located quickly. END COMMENT. DHANANI