Just a few weeks after Professor Lovemore Madhuku showed some interest to form a political party criticism came in different forms across the Zimbabwe. Some people accused him of trying to dilute votes in the next election and some went further claiming that the Professor is trying seek attention from his former allies in the MDC party. The three parties in the government of national unity know that Madhuku could be a force to reckon with regardless of a poor showing in the just ended constitutional referendum. Small threats like these led to the dilution of votes in the harmonized elections of 2008 when the Mavambo/Kusile party was launched.

After falling into a deep slumber for the past five years of basking in the glory of the government of national unity the MDC woke up to the shocking voting patterns in the recent constitutional referendum.

This surprise wake up call brought shivers to the MDC executive and recent media reports suggest that the Prime Minister is now trying to resuscitate broken relationships with former Comrades to forge an alliance ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for this year. The biggest worry is whether this is a unity of purpose or a strategy to silence critics. After the results were published the rural areas commanded a large turn out as compared to the urban areas. Recent the MDC has been shooting down research findings carried out by independent groups. They believe that they still command a large support base. The MDC should 1) lobby the rural electorate 2) weed out corruption amongst its leaders 3) stop wasting resources wining and dining in Harare to please ex-cadres.

Zimbabweans’ priorities for the new Constitution

Given that both Zanu PF and MDC-T were campaigning for a Yes Vote in last weekend’s Constitutional Referendum, it’s not surprising that the Referendum passed by a wide margin, and the Draft Constitution will go before Parliament soon.

But as the case of Beatrice Mtetwa recently demonstrated, it’s one thing to have a Constitution, and another thing to follow it.

With this in mind, Kubatana recently solicited Zimbabweans’  priorities for the new Constitution via text message. We received hundreds of replies, and by far the most pressing concerns were for respect for human rights (including freedom of speech, media freedoms and freedom of assembly), adherence to the rule of law, security sector reform and free and fair elections. The word cloud above is a visual representation of all subscribers’ responses.

Where possible, we mapped this feedback as well, and we found over 200 points on a map of Zimbabwe, with subscribers sharing their priorities from across the country. Link to the interactive map below, and click on individual points to read these subscribers’ feedback in their own words, by location and category.

Open map in new window

Beatrice Mtetwa granted bail, reports Reuters, after more than a week in custody. Sanity has finally prevailed after the High Court granted Zimbabwe’s prominent human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa $500 bail.

I found myself feeling enormously relieved – But also angry at my relief. Of course, it’s good news that this inspiring, powerful woman has been released, and that she hasn’t had to wait until 3 April, as determined by the Magistrate last week.

But the fact that she has been in custody for over a week is an injustice. Her “crime?” Acting as a lawyer for her clients, and asking the police to see their search warrant and requesting an inventory of items seized from her client. In the meantime, she’s suffered the harsh conditions of Harare’s prisons on remand for a week, been bundled from one police station to another, and missed untold court appointments – meaning that her clients are also delayed access to justice.

It’s a relief for her sake that she’s been granted bail. But it’s an insult to justice in Zimbabwe that she was detained in the first place, never mind held in custody for eight nights.

Mentioning this name to anyone who is an avid follower of Zimbabwean news what quickly comes to mind is human rights. With an outstanding law practice background spanning almost thirty years Beatrice stood out to be one of the most fearless women Zimbabwe has ever produced. Even her profile on wikipedia portrays a history of activism complemented with multiple awards for her work. Today she finds herself being bundled into a prison van and wearing a green prison garb similar to those worn by female prisoners in Zimbabwe. Some of the women who wore this same uniform are now free after she successfully defended their rights in the courts of law.

Caught up in her line of work while trying to defends the rights of Prime Minister’s staff during a police raid has led her to appear before a local magistrate at a lower court answering charges of obstruction of justice after a High Court order for her release was ignored. Prison time weakens some and makes other come out strong and I believe Beatrice’s incarceration will make her strong.

I used to read about Beatrice Mtetwa in the papers and my first encounter with this fearless woman was when I found myself at the notorious law and order section at Harare Central Police station. It was in the middle of a grueling and nerve breaking moment when she arrived in the company of members of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights team and I could see hope and confidence coming back to the faces of my colleagues, both men and women. Even though she was not assigned to our case she managed to come in to where we were being grilled to check on us. It was a tense situation, which no man would want to be associated with at that time but Beatrice’s presence changed the tense atmosphere.

In Zimbabwe lawyers like Beatrice have managed to defend successfully the rights of the vulnerable and as the accused yesterday she had her rights fought for by fellow human rights defenders. And if you value the work she has been doing show your support by signing a petition to set her free.

It isn’t hard to see who looks happier.