On 7 March police renewed their onslaught against prominent human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and summoned her to report at Harare Central Police Station for allegedly operating an “unregistered” organisation. Detective Chief Inspector Run’anga and Chief Superintendent Charles Ngirishi on Wednesday 06 March and 07 March telephoned Mukoko’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, summoning her to report at Harare Central Police Station to answer charges of running an “unregistered” organisation. However, Mtetwa advised Run’anga that the Zimbabwe Peace Project’s (ZPP) board had resolved that it be represented by Dr Solomon Zwana, the organisation’s chairperson and not by Mukoko, since she was simply an employee of ZPP and that she could not answer registration queries as she did not have authority from the board to speak or act on behalf of ZPP. However, Run’anga insisted that the police were interested in having Mukoko at their “offices”. Mtetwa also advised Run’anga that ZPP is a registered organisation and had provided its registration papers and Constitution to the police last month. In her conversations with the police Mtetwa also reminded them that Mukoko had been a victim of State sponsored torture following her abduction by State security agents in December 2008, where she found herself in the custody of officers from the CID’s Law and Order Section at Harare Central Police Station, who have to date refused to disclose how she came into their custody and who her captors and tormentors were. In February, the police raided the ZPP offices in Harare’s Hillside suburb and seized several documents and other materials after searching the organisation’s offices for “subversive material and illegal immigrants”. The police officers who carried out the raid charged that there were reasonable grounds that the Mukoko-led ZPP was in possession of some articles which the organisation intended to use for criminal use in contravention of Section 40 of the Criminal Law Code The police also suspected ZPP to have contravened the Immigration Act by permitting some unidentified illegal immigrants to enter the country without a work permit and to have smuggled some undisclosed goods in breach of Section 182 (1) of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:03] (the Customs and Excise Act). After the three-hour raid and search the police seized some documents and other items such as mobile phone handsets, wind up radios, files with donor information, political violence reports and DVD’s. No one was arrested but the police indicated that they were going to “study” the information. On 14 January, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) Director, Okay Machisa was charged with publishing falsehoods, fraud and forgery as authorities intensified the onslaught against non-governmental organisations. Machisa was arrested and charged with contravening Section 31, 136 and 137 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for allegedly attempting to defraud the Registrar General’s Office by forging and manufacturing counterfeit copies of certificates of voter registration. Faith Mamutse, who was employed as a secretary at ZimRights was released after the police interrogated and recorded a statement from her. Machisa, who was also the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition chairperson handed himself to the police, accompanied by his lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa a member of the ZLHR Board. His arrest followed the apprehension of Leo Chamahwinya, the ZimRights Education Programmes Manager, who was arrested on 13 December 2012 together with Dorcas Shereni, the ZimRights Highfields Local Chapter Chairperson and Farai Bhani and Tatenda Chinaka, whom he charged as not connected to the grassroots human rights organisation. On 28 January, Justice Felistas Chatukuka presided over the Machisa bail application, which had not been determined after four false starts; consequently the ruling was postponed to Tuesday 29 January. On Tuesday 29 January, Justice Chatukuta granted ZimRights Director Okay Machisa bail. Justice Chatukuta ordered Machisa to pay $500 bail, surrender his passport and report once every week at Harare Central Police Station and whilst continuing to reside at his residence. The Judge also ordered Machisa to surrender his title deeds to an immovable property worth more than $50 000 as security. 13