This was meant to be an interview. A few weeks ago, I arranged to talk with Joana Mamombe, Zimbabwe's youngest Member of Parliament, about her recent experiences of state violence. Mamombe is only 27 years old and her parliamentary career began in 2018 when she was elected as the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance representative for Harare West. In these few years, though, she has experienced more hardship than most seasoned politicians ever know. When I asked if she was comfortable talking about these experiences on the record, she said, 'it's important for me to put my story out there ... it hasn't been easy.' On the day of our interview, however, Mamombe and two other MDC-A female activists - Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova - who are collectively known as 'The Trio', were arrested. Mamombe and Chimbiri were then sent to Chikurubi Maximum Security prison where they are still currently being held.
ZANU(PF)'s lockdown lawfare
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