My friend was recently stopped at a police roadblock in Harare. The police officer requested to see her license, which she showed him. She said he went on to check the motor vehicle license disk whilst still examining the driver’s license. And when he got back to the driver’s window he requested to see the fire extinguisher and other safety accessories. She opened the boot where her fire extinguisher, two reflective triangles, reflective vest, spare wheel, jack and the wheel spanner were. To her surprise the police officer told her to hang the reflective vest on the driver’s seat.  And yes she was so shocked. It’s true that most motorists in the city have their reflective vests hung on the driver’s seat but is it mandatory for one to do so? When she shared the story I was equally shocked but for a while I thought she was joking until she convinced me that it happened. I thought that this was Zimbabwe police’s ‘latest’ line in trying to find fault with motorists.

How foolish is it to have on the one hand AIDS activists (including the government) giving out condoms especially to sex workers and on the other hand police officers taking these away from them?

In a report Criminalizing Condoms, published by the Open Society Foundation it is revealed that Zimbabwean police officers are amongst those who confiscate condoms from sex workers. By carrying condoms the police assume that women are prostitutes.

In as much as prostitution is illegal in Zimbabwe the state however should not be discouraging safe sex practices. If one is ‘proven’ guilty of prostitution let the law apply. But assuming that one in possession of a condom is a prostitute and further going on to confiscate condoms is absurd.
The report brought to light that in some countries where sex workers are arrested and have their condoms confiscated, they still make it back to the streets on the same night and end up having unprotected sex. And in other instances, sex workers have resorted to not carrying condoms at all to stay safe from police harassment or arrest. Confiscating condoms places the life of sex workers at risk and compromises disease prevention.

Zimbabwe is to hang three men in its first executions in the country since 2005. The men who committed murders have been in jail for as long as seven years. The Supreme Court confirmed yesterday that the three would face the death sentence. For a long time human rights groups have appealed to the government to abolish the death penalty. The call to abolish the death penalty was even appealed for by Pope John Paul II, during a visit to Zimbabwe in 1988. Today in 2012, Zimbabwe’s new draft constitution still upholds the death penalty with the exception of females.

Out going US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray had this to say at a farewell round table yesterday:

… my time here in Zimbabwe has been interesting or to quote a favorite science fiction of mine, fascinating. It’s never been boring. It has often added a few more grey hairs to my already grey hair; I have never regretted any day I have been here, mainly because of the most valuable resource in this country, its people. There has been a lot of news about diamonds and other stuff, but the most valuable resource that Zimbabwe has is its people and that is what makes it fascinating to be here even sometimes during less than happy times.

Read more on the US Embassy website.

Some years back HIV positive people were voiceless as HIV negative people represented them and so their deepest concerns were never really uttered. But Zimbabwe’s 24-year-old Anna Sango has put an end to this as she represented Zimbabwe women both living with HIV and not, at the first ever International AIDS Conference held in the United States. In her line of work back home Anna Sango is a peer educator in Bulawayo. She is a well-known vocal activist who founded her own community-based support group for women affected by HIV. She advocated for the inclusion of all women in matters of policy formulation in matters that affect them.

It is also at this conference that sex workers demanded their fuller inclusion. Sango in her presentation said:

“Frankly we are getting tired of repeating ourselves… why do so many of the same old problems exist? 2012′s pandemic has a woman’s shape… we need to look with clear eyes to see old problems, why are we working on the same old problems every 2 years? What is missing? We are missing! I’m a young woman, transitioning into full adulthood, full womanhood, I would like to do that in a safe space, I ask you, how are you holding yourself accountable?  An AIDS free generation looks like a generation which takes global responsibility for the safety and quality of life of all of its women and girls by discussing, implementing, and following through on plans for addressing racism and women’s equality. Policy decisions that affect women must include them in the decision-making process…This means all women, including women who use drugs and women sex workers.”

Whose right is it to kill?

Many countries in the world have abolished the death penalty but in Zimbabwe it is still in existence. Zimbabwe is crafting a new constitution and COPAC has submitted a Second Draft Constitution and if it passes will undergo a referendum. In this draft the death penalty is abolished – but only for women. This has led to many human rights organisation calling for an absolute abolition of the death penalty. The Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO) an organisation committed to advocating for justice in prisons of Zimbabwe is amongst these organisations.

In Zimbabwe there are 71 people on the death row and three of them are women with the last execution being carried out in 2005. Elisha Chidombwe of ZACRO indicated that on each of their visits to Harare Central Prison they visit a guy who has served 15 years waiting for a resolution. Sadly he mentioned that many people facing the death penalty die before their penalty day because of isolation and the fear of death itself.

ZACRA believes that the death penalty is revenge and not justice. The organisation opts for the provision of correctional activities in prisons for those who would have committed offenses that carry the death penalty. The organisation is currently circulating a petition to present to Parliament to abolish the death penalty. They are hoping to get 2 million signatures.

If you want to put an end to the death penalty in Zimbabwe, contact ZACRO and make your signature count as your voice!