This statement from Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) describes the harassment currently being experienced by their members:

Seven members, two beaten, all spending night in custody in Bulawayo and were denied food brought in by relatives.

At noon, today 28 February 2011, three Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) members were arrested in Entumbane at a member’s house. Police came into the house where the members were meeting. They made the men present; numbering about 15, hold out their hands. They then arrested Proud Pandeya, Noah Mapfuma who they said had black hands, and according to them this is a sure sign that they smoke cannabis. At this point Gift Nkomo walked in and was also subsequently arrested. They were taken by these plain-clothes police officers to their local police station. One of the police officers fisted Proud four times in the face when they were arrested. They were released them after 2 hours. At five pm, police officers then came to re-arrest them and tried to arrest a fourth member who was not at home. The were said to be being taken to Bulawayo Central Police station for questioning but the feeding team could not locate them there.

At 4pm today, another 4 members were arrested, three women and one male.  They were arrested in the Mabutweni suburb of Bulawayo at the home of  Sitshiyiwe Ngwenya. They were sitting in the house and counting burial society contributions. The four who include Joyce Ndebele, Moreblessing Dube, one a nursing mother, and the male member Kholwani Ndlovu were arrested by plain clothed police officers from Western Commonage police station. They were loaded into a white van and taken to Western Commonage police station in Mpopoma south. The lawyer, Lizwe Jamela of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights was unable to see them as they were being relocated to Bulawayo Central police station.

Relatives, who sacrificed to buy food at a food outlet, as there was no electricity to cook food, arrived at the police station to give the food to the activists but were detained for an hour. Police Officer George Levison Ngwenya, threatened to arrest them for bringing ‘bought’ food but another police officer told them to leave with the food. Kholwani was obviously in pain from being severely beaten and him and the three women arrested at Mabutweni were seen by their relatives in the Law and Order department and were being made to answer profile questions and were due to be relocated for a third time to Sauerstown police station along the airport road.

WOZA leaders wish to express concern for members arrested and for the two male members beaten by police. We also express concern about the whereabouts of the 3 members arrested in Entumbane who were not to be found at Bulawayo Central police station.

WOZA is currently consulting members on the introduction of a development programme to be entitled Demand Dignity – Demand Development. This programme is based on the works of Mahatma Ghandi who combined an obstructive and constructive programme to mobilise independence to the Indian people. The CONSTRUCTIVE (productive and practical) Program emphasises on “cooperating with good” whiles the OBSTRUCTIVE (disruptive and defiant) Program’s emphasis is on “resisting evil.”