16 and “Of course he was bashed. He deserved it. I told the police to beat him a lot. He his MDC must stop their terrorist activities38.” After the arrests and assaults, the ZRP denied the activists access to both legal practitioners and the urgent medical attention they required. Lawyers attempting to insist on their rights in this regard were themselves assaulted39. A court order compelling the police to allow such access was ignored by the police.40 Shamuyarira, in the interview referred to above, was asked why the police had denied the arrestees access to lawyers and medical attention. He was left embarrassed when, having denied that this was the case, the interviewer crossed by telephone to the lawyers waiting outside the court in Harare who were, as Shamuyarira spoke, struggling to get the court order for access enforced. In regard to this complete disregard for the rule of law and violation of court orders, the ZRP’s second report simply states: “The lawyers also falsely (sic) that Police deny them access to their clients whenever they get arrested and ask for legal representation.” Lawyers representing those arrested finally managed to have the court order enforced late on Tuesday 13th March, 2007 and their clients were admitted into the Avenues Clinic for medical attention. However, in further defiance of the court order and with singular callousness, later that night the police arrived at the hospital, removed “the accused” from their beds and took them down to the magistrate’s court. The court was, unsurprisingly, deserted. Notwithstanding the fact that most were receiving treatment at the hospital as in-patients, the accused were told to return to the court at 9.00 a.m. the following day. When they did so, some of them in wheel chairs, there was no one there prepared to undertake the prosecution or to sit to hear the matter. In accordance with the High Court order, the “accused” left the court without being charged. No charges have ever been preferred in this matter. OTHER OMISSIONS It is not intended here to detail the many unlawful assaults, abductions and arrests which ensued in the days following March 11th 2007 but simply to outline the more egregious acts which are relevant to the events mentioned in the ZRP reports and that which the reports deliberately conceal. The reports fail to mention the despicable acts which followed the killing of Gift Tandare. The ZRP made every effort to try to prevent mourners from gathering, as is traditional in Zimbabwe, at Tandare’s house, and beside shooting and wounding several 38 President Robert Mugabe addressing a ruling party rally on 29/03/07. See for example HRW report p 31 40 The courts seem to be getting inured to this sort of defiance. Giving judgment in the case of S v Mabika & Ors CRB B472-84/07, Kamocha J recalled that the police had been ordered to afford the accused persons medical attention. He went on: “Needless to say … the court order was defied by the police.” 39