LOVEMORE MATOMBO and Wellington Chibebe, the President and General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) respectively are due to appear in court on Wednesday on charges of “communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the state”.
They are being charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23].
The two labour leaders were arrested on 8 May and charged in the wake of speeches made during May Day celebrations during which they spoke about the political crisis due to long postponement in the announcement of the election results and the ensuing wave of violent intimidation of opposition supporters.
The two leaders were supposed to appear on trial originally on 23 June, but Zimbabwean High Court Judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo later granted them ZW$20 billion bail and asked them to appear on Wednesday 30 July.
As part of their extended bail conditions they are not allowed to address political or public gatherings and were also ordered to reside at their given home addresses and not to “interfere” with any State witnesses.
GOVERNMENT’S ALLEGATIONS
State prosecutors argue that they were “inciting people to rise against the government and reporting falsehoods about people being killed.” They argued that their statements could result in the public losing confidence in Zimbabwe’s criminal justice system.
It is the State’s contention that the two told about 1 500 people at a Workers' Day commemoration in Dzivaresekwa Stadium, Harare that they had received information that Zanu PF supporters had killed two teachers at Kondo School in Guruve before urging the workers to revenge.
The two leaders are alleged to have told the crowd that they had “received a message that two teachers were killed at KondoSchool in Guruve by Zanu PF supporters and as such workers should take revenge using any means possible.”
INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION
The case has attracted a lot of international attention and condemnation.
United Kingdom’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) in London is making a giant photo mosaic of the two leaders, using pictures of hundreds of their supporters from around the world — in protest against the charges leveled against them.
“This is a photo mosaic made up of more than 2,000 photographs, sent in by individual trade unionists from around the world in support of Lovemore Matombo and Wellington Chibebe, the President and General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU),” said a statement released by the TUC.
“These charges and bail conditions are clear breaches of free speech and freedom to associate,” says the TUC.
Amnesty International also condemned the arrest saying it considered them “as part of a wider crackdown targeting human rights defenders, trade unionists, lawyers, journalists, election observers and opposition activists in the wake of the elections which took place on 29 March 2008.”
“Amnesty International believes they were arrested purely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and that they are prisoners of conscience.”
According to court papers, the allegations were false and the state daily newspaper, The Herald reported that these allegations “were calculated at inciting the workers to revolt against the Government.
The daily further alleges that, “The labour body seeks to have Zimbabwe condemned by the global labour body by exaggerating the political situation in the country” and “ZCTU machinations to put the country under the spotlight” and that “ZCTU has in the past presented exaggerated reports on Zimbabwe at ILO annual conferences.”
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