MDC-T activists languish in prison
Thirty MDC-T activists, arrested on their way from the burial of the late Jack Ndeketeya — the driver of the commuter omnibus that killed eight people in Harare last week — are still languishing in prison.
They will likely appear in court today.
However, Ndeketeya’s ailing parents and grandparents, who were also arrested together with their relatives and MDC-T supporters, were released on Saturday after spending two nights behind bars.
They were arrested last Thursday, together with 73 other mourners, on allegations of provoking farmers at the Boka Tobacco Auction Floors after burying Ndeketeya, an MDC-T activist. But, the mourners said they were ambushed by suspected Zanu PF activists at the Mbudzi roundabout resulting in the clashes.
Saturday’s release came following an outcry over why the ailing parents and the elderly from villages had been arrested.
Harare police provincial spokesperson James Sabau, however, insisted MDC-T youths provoked farmers at Boka Tobacco Auction Floors leading to clashes.
Yesterday, Billiart Ndeketeya, the late commuter omnibus driver’s ailing father, said he went on a hunger strike while in custody.
“I am not feeling well and was made to sleep with no blanket. I sat the whole night — that’s why you see my legs are swollen,” he said with difficulty.
“I asked why they were treating me like that and was prepared to die and follow my son. I even asked them to kill me.”
Esme Banda (65), Ndeketeya’s grandmother, said women were ordered to remove their bras, jerseys and shoes.
“We slept with no blankets and endured the cold,” she said.
“They said we were ululating while our children were beating people up but I don’t know anything about what they were saying. They threatened to beat some of us for pleading with them to release us or allow us to put on our jerseys. It was a painful experience and for me, it was my first time to be in police cells.”
Nelson Chamisa, the MDC-T MP for Kuwadzana, where Ndeketeya stayed, blasted the arrests.
“We have been giving them food, but some of them need medication. It is unAfrican for people in mourning to be incarcerated. It’s unheard of and it goes to the heart of what we always say on how we are being treated by the police,” Chamisa said.
MDC-T youth assembly spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo said they would petition Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri and urge him to stop treating MDC-T supporters as “second class citizens”.
He said it was unfortunate Zanu PF had “taken terror to the cemeteries” describing this as disrespect for the dead.
“It is scary now to go and bury our beloved ones because we will be arrested. It is not fair and we will be writing to Chihuri to urge his officers to treat us fairly. It is our duty to protect our parents from attack and this form of attack is something we cannot smile at,” he said.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said: “At the Sadc summit as the MDC-T, we will be calling for security sector reform. We will insist we must not have a partisan army, a partisan police and a partisan CIO.”
Last month, MDC-T and Zanu PF activists clashed at Warren Hills Cemetery where Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had gone to lay the wreaths on the tombstones of five MDC-T supporters who died at the hands of suspected State security agents and Zanu PF activists during the bloody 2008 polls.
However, Ndeketeya’s ailing parents and grandparents, who were also arrested together with their relatives and MDC-T supporters, were released on Saturday after spending two nights behind bars.
They were arrested last Thursday, together with 73 other mourners, on allegations of provoking farmers at the Boka Tobacco Auction Floors after burying Ndeketeya, an MDC-T activist. But, the mourners said they were ambushed by suspected Zanu PF activists at the Mbudzi roundabout resulting in the clashes.
Saturday’s release came following an outcry over why the ailing parents and the elderly from villages had been arrested.
Harare police provincial spokesperson James Sabau, however, insisted MDC-T youths provoked farmers at Boka Tobacco Auction Floors leading to clashes.
Yesterday, Billiart Ndeketeya, the late commuter omnibus driver’s ailing father, said he went on a hunger strike while in custody.
“I am not feeling well and was made to sleep with no blanket. I sat the whole night — that’s why you see my legs are swollen,” he said with difficulty.
“I asked why they were treating me like that and was prepared to die and follow my son. I even asked them to kill me.”
Esme Banda (65), Ndeketeya’s grandmother, said women were ordered to remove their bras, jerseys and shoes.
“We slept with no blankets and endured the cold,” she said.
“They said we were ululating while our children were beating people up but I don’t know anything about what they were saying. They threatened to beat some of us for pleading with them to release us or allow us to put on our jerseys. It was a painful experience and for me, it was my first time to be in police cells.”
Nelson Chamisa, the MDC-T MP for Kuwadzana, where Ndeketeya stayed, blasted the arrests.
“We have been giving them food, but some of them need medication. It is unAfrican for people in mourning to be incarcerated. It’s unheard of and it goes to the heart of what we always say on how we are being treated by the police,” Chamisa said.
MDC-T youth assembly spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo said they would petition Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri and urge him to stop treating MDC-T supporters as “second class citizens”.
He said it was unfortunate Zanu PF had “taken terror to the cemeteries” describing this as disrespect for the dead.
“It is scary now to go and bury our beloved ones because we will be arrested. It is not fair and we will be writing to Chihuri to urge his officers to treat us fairly. It is our duty to protect our parents from attack and this form of attack is something we cannot smile at,” he said.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said: “At the Sadc summit as the MDC-T, we will be calling for security sector reform. We will insist we must not have a partisan army, a partisan police and a partisan CIO.”
Last month, MDC-T and Zanu PF activists clashed at Warren Hills Cemetery where Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had gone to lay the wreaths on the tombstones of five MDC-T supporters who died at the hands of suspected State security agents and Zanu PF activists during the bloody 2008 polls.
