Twelve Women in Governance and Peacebuilding women Human rights defenders arrested over demonstration.
12 female human rights defenders were arrested on 24 April 2023 and charged with section 37 of the Criminal Law Codification, participating in unlawful gatherings with the intent to promote public violence.
The twelve Women in Governance and Peacebuilding activists were arrested by police over a demonstration held at Rutenga Mwenezi, the women were fighting against land eviction and proper service delivery in Mwenezi. The arrested members are polite Mapengo,Memory Chikago,Precious K,Berlin kwangware,logic Makozvo,levinia mutero,moline M,Fadzai T and 6 others.The women human rights defenders are going to appear in court on 08/05/2023.
While the five Human rights defender’s admitted at hospital after brutary and assaulted by the police officers .The houses of Women in Governance and Peacebuilding staff members were raided and are on the run. Due to human rights work of human rights defenders has placed them to at risk .
As the country is heading for 2023 elections, any demonstration or demand for quality services is taken as political, henceforth that will be not the case.
Lives of HRDs is now under threat also as a result deliberate shrinking of civic space by the government and it’s state machinery
Demonstration waged after the meeting facilited by Women in Governance and Peacebuilding at Rutenga business Center noted that Villagers
say that their livestock will soon have no grazing lands as much of the
reserved land was being sold to the highest bidder.
Women in Governance and Peacebuilding members urge the local authorities to help and protect grazing lands . Here in Mwenezi we have a huge herd and if
we do not leave the grazing lands what will happen to that herd?
Women in Governance and Peacebuilding is worried with the dispute between home seekers,
who are encroaching grazing lands .If the local authorities fail to resolve the matter, the Women in Governance and Peacebuilding demand the release of the 12 Women rights defenders.