Abducted activists and MDC officials now face death penalty

Zimbabwean opposition politicians and human rights activists abducted by
state security agents on terrorism charges now face the death penalty. They
claim they were tortured into making confessions. As they continue to be
detained, a film is being distributed to the presidents of South Africa, the
SADC, the AU and the ANC calling for urgent action on Zimbabwe. The film,
Time 2 Act, made by Civicus, an alliance of international civil society
organisations, contains interviews with a wide range of ordinary Zimbabwean
people, including church leaders, trade unionists and children. The film's
key message is that the situation in Zimbabwe is far worse than is believed
inside and outside Africa. The desperation it describes is attributed to the
escalating health crisis, to the crackdown on basic freedoms and the
breakdown of governance. This is exemplified in the abductions and
intimidation of activists such as Jestina Mukoko and her colleagues from the
Zimbabwe Peace Project.

Mukoko, who was abducted from her home in Norton on December 3, has become
the focus of the campaign against the widespread abductions that have taken
place since last year's elections. She has been accused of recruiting
Zimbabweans for training in Botswana to become insurgents against the Mugabe
regime. So far, she has withstood the torture and has not made any false
confessions. Now Amnesty International - which considers Mukoko and her
colleague Broderick Takawira prisoners of conscience - is calling for their
immediate and unconditional release as well as for the 30 or so other
activists abducted between October and December last year to be either
charged or immediately and unconditionally released. A Zimbabwe police
charge sheet in the possession of the Weekend Argus reveals that MDC
officials Gandhi Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Emmanuel Dhlamini, Care international
employee, Zacharia Nkomo, freelance journalist Andrison Manyere, and MDC
supporter Chinoto Zulu are jointly charged.

According to the state, the five were involved in a series of bombings of
strategic places. The charge sheet reveals that Dhlamini, who is the MDC's
head of security, was the first to be arrested and that he implicated the
others. However, in Dhlamini's affidavit, he claims he was severely tortured
and he ended up calling out names to stop the beatings. The state claims
searches led to the recovery of cordtex, safety fuses, tear smoke grenades
and 48 rounds of ammunition. In their affidavits, all of them, except the
journalist, say they were tortured to confess what they did not do. Some of
them said they only met for the first time while in custody. Manyere said he
was not tortured but denied ever working with the others to bomb the police
station. Political commentator and former Zanu PF official Ibbo Mandaza said
the party was so desperate to destroy the MDC it had resorted to dirty
tactics of kidnapping people and forcing them into confessions. "The aim is
clearly to break down the MDC. They just want to cause terror and I'm sorry
to say they are succeeding in a way because even their president Morgan
Tsvangirai is scared of coming back home."