SW Radio Africa (London)
Violet Gonda
30 December 2008
A two year old baby boy has been held in prison with his mother for two months and allegedly beaten by state security agents who also kidnapped his parents over an alleged plot to overthrow the Mugabe regime.
Nigel Mutemagawu disappeared with his mother Violet Mupfuranhehwe and father Collen Mutemagawo, plus at least 13 other MDC activists, who were all abducted from their homes in Banket, Mashonaland West in October.
Despite police denials of involvement, lawyers found the abductees scattered around Harare in different police stations last Tuesday. The activists appeared in court the next day, accused of plotting to overthrow the Mugabe regime.
On Tuesday one of the lawyers representing the political detainees, including civic leader Jestina Mukoko, confirmed that his clients had been beaten, including the two year old baby.
Lawyer Alex Muchadehama told SW Radio Africa that Mukoko and the mother of the baby said they had been assaulted by the people who abducted them. Although it is still not clear exactly who carried out the abductions, it is believed it was the CIO.
In papers filed to the High Court Mukoko, who is the Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, said she had been blindfolded so that she couldn't identify the places she was taken to and spent 19 days without knowing where she was.
The former broadcaster reportedly said: "I was asked to raise my feet on a table and the other people in the room started to assault me ... and that lasted at least five minutes. They took a break and then continued with the beatings after a few hours. They were all visibly drunk and some had bottles of liquor."
Meanwhile the lawyers successfully got a court order from Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe to allow medical doctors to treat the political and civic activists who are being detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
Muchadehama said the legal paperwork was issued on Tuesday and the doctors were expected to attend to the detainees the same day. During their detention the victims had not been taken to a hospital or been seen by a prison doctor to ascertain what injuries they have sustained.
Muchadehama said it is difficult to get the figures of the exact number of political detainees, as lawyers were still being denied proper access to them, especially the male prisoners. He said so far at least 35 individuals are confirmed to be in custody although it is believed there could be more, as they are scattered around police stations.
The individuals are accused of recruiting or trying to recruit people to undergo military training to overthrow the Mugabe regime. They are still being held despite High Court Judge Justice Yunus Omerjee, ordering their release on Christmas Eve and declaring the detention of nine individuals, including Mukoko, illegal. The two-year-old boy was present in court but not charged. The matter on whether they should be remanded out of custody is expected to be heard on Wednesday.
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