US & Amnesty International call for release of abducted activist

HARARE – The United States and Amnesty International on Wednesday called for the immediate release of prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist Jestina Mukoko who was abducted from her home earlier in the day by unidentified men thought to be state secret agents.

US ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee called on the in Harare administration, its police force or whoever was responsible for Mukoko’s abduction to release her “now” but did not say what action, if any, Washington would take if the human rights activist was not freed.

In a statement issued from London, Amnesty International put the blame for Mukuko’s disappearance squarely on President Robert Mugabe’s government, describing the abduction as “part of a well established pattern of harassment of human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities”.

Mukoko, a former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation staffer and now head of human rights organisation Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), was abducted in the early morning hours on Wednesday from her home in Norton town, 50km west of Harare.

“We all know that Jestina Mukoko was supposed to be the master of ceremony but was abducted at 5am this morning,” said McGee, who was speaking at the Auxillia Chimusoro award a ceremony held to honour individuals and organisations involved in combating HIV/AIDS.

Mukoko had been scheduled to officiate at the USAID-backed awards ceremony before her abduction by a group of 15 armed men who were wore plain clothes and who the human rights community in Harare suspect to be agents of the state’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation.

McGee said: “I call upon whoever has abducted Mukoko, whether it is the government, the police or anyone to release her. We want Mukoko released now.”

Amnesty said the men who abducted Mukoko had identified themselves as members of the police.

The men, who were driving in two cars one of which had no registration plates, forced Mukoko – while still barefoot and dressed in her pyjamas – into one of the cars and immediately drove off without saying where they were taking her, Amnesty said quoting eyewitness.

"The abduction or arrest of Jestina Mukoko is part of an established pattern of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities in an attempt to discourage them from documenting and publicising the violations that are taking place," said Amnesty’s Africa programme director Erwin van der Borght.

According to Amnesty, a group of about six men it said were believed to be part of the gang that kidnapped Mukoko on Wednesday had attempted to enter her house at the weekend by falsely claiming to be her workmates. They were apparently denied entry.

Mukoko had not been seen or heard from by close of business yesterday, while police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available to shed light on whether police had made any progress tracking down her kidnappers.

Van der Borght said: "We hold the Zimbabwean authorities responsible for anything that may happen to Jestina Mukoko. She should be released immediately and while in detention the authorities should guarantee her safety and ensure that she has access to a lawyer and family, as well as food, warm clothes and medication."

Mukoko’s ZPP has played a crucial role in monitoring and documenting politically motivated violence before and in the run-up to the March 2008 elections and in the run-up to the June presidential run-off election.

The ZPP, which produces periodic reports on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, has built an authoritative archive of rights violations compiled through a network of community based human rights defenders.

Political analysts and human rights groups say Mugabe’s government has increasingly resorted to repression and terror tactics to keep public discontent in check in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis, marked by the world’s highest inflation of 231 million percent, and shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel.

Mugabe’s government routinely targets supporters of the opposition MDC party for abuse but has in recent months stepped up repression against human rights defenders and other representatives of civil society in Zimbabwe to try to intimidate them from recording or publicising cases of rights violations.

And as reports of Mukoko’s abduction surfaced on Wednesday, armed police were rounding up scores of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union leaders, representatives of doctors and nurses for calling anti-government protests in Harare.

The arrested activists were still in police custody by close of business Wednesday, with the exception of ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe who was released to allow him to attend a meeting with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono tomorrow.