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In Their Capacity as Human Rights Defenders: Women
whilst travelling into the city centre, subsequently removed to Glenview police station,
assaulted by police officers, and detained without charge. While Moyo was waiting outside
the police station, Jocelyn Chiwenga, the then wife of the Commander of the Zimbabwe
National Army, arrived at the police station accompanied by a personal "bodyguard", Kelvin
Chadenyika, as well as riot police and soldiers. Chiwenga approached Moyo and, upon
learning that she worked for the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, began to assault her.
Moyo was punched and fell backwards, hitting her head on a stone. Chiwenga then
unlawfully searched her handbag. Various threats were made, including references to the
Matabeleland atrocities that were "nothing compared to what will happen to you today" and
insinuations that Chiwenga was able to do anything to the lawyer with impunity, due to her
position in society and her influence over judges in the courts. The assault on Moyo continued
unabated in the presence of some 60 police officers (some of whom had come out of their
offices to witness the spectacle) and uniformed soldiers. Moyo was then locked up in a cell on
the orders of Chiwenga, where she was detained for two hours. Moyo was then placed in a
truck together with other arrested persons to be removed to Harare Central Police Station. On
Chiwenga’s instructions, five riot police continued to assault Moyo on the way to Harare
Central. She was hit with baton sticks and booted feet and told by them that "police stations
are not for lawyers". Chiwenga met them at the Law and Order Section, where the officers
once again followed her instructions to lock up Moyo, together with her client Philimon
Bulawayo. On the strength of a High Court order, Moyo and Bulawayo were taken to
Parirenyatwa Hospital for medical attention at around 22:00. When their lawyer and
employer, respectively, attempted to talk to them, the police removed the detainees from the
hospital before a doctor could examine them. Moyo and Bulawayo were then detained at
Harare Central police station, and were only released on the afternoon of Thursday 20 March
2003, after their lawyers had obtained a further High Court order and upon the intervention
of the Attorney-General’s Office. No charges were preferred.
10 January 2004: Blessing Gorejena, then a public prosecutor with the Ministry of Justice, was
arbitrarily arrested and detained for three nights by members of the ZRP after she exercised
her discretion in a judicious manner to consent to bail in a criminal case. Apparently this
caused dissatisfaction to some elements within the state apparatus, leading to her arrest.
After her arrest and detention the police struggled to come up with charges against her.
Initially, they charged her with obstructing the course of justice in that she did not oppose a
bail application by the accused person through his lawyers. Later the charges were changed to
contravening a section of the Prevention of Corruption Act. By the time her case went to trial
in April of that same year, she was facing a different charge of showing favour to the accused
person. She was subsequently suspended from duty, following her arrest, on misconduct
charges including the allegation she failed to seek authority from superiors before consenting
to bail, despite her being qualified to handle such matters and having been granted the
authority to prosecute by the state. Her team of lawyers from ZLHR successfully challenged
both the criminal charges and the misconduct allegations, resulting in the discharge of her
case and her subsequent re-instatement in April 2004.
10 February 2009: ZLHR lawyer, Roselyn Hanzi, was arrested at around noon for representing
a male colleague, Tawanda Zhuwarara, who had been arrested by unidentified members of
the ZRP as they were returning to their office (situated next to the Parliament building) after
taking an early lunch. Initially Zhuwarara was arrested and accused of being a journalist. The
police officer accused him of taking pictures of a demonstration which had occurred outside
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