PROMINENT ACTIVIST WRONGFULLY ACCUSED: A DEVASTATING MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE

Sometimes, people get arrested or even convicted for crimes they did not commit. This is a serious injustice. Being falsely accused and convicted of a crime one did not commit is a painful and unfair experience. Unfortunately, this happens often. There are many reasons why someone could be wrongly accused. These include mistaken identity, false testimony, bad evidence, or even a poor defense. Sometimes, prosecutors may focus too much on one suspect and ignore other important information.

This is exactly what happened to a well-known Zimbabwean human rights activist named Namatai Kwekweza. On 1 August, she was seized from a flight going to Victoria Falls at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare. Namatai Kwekweza is known for her strong stand on human rights. She has been harassed by the police before. In 2023, she even won the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize, showing her commitment to democracy and human rights. But despite her good work, she was arrested along with three other pro-democracy advocates: Robson Chere, Samuel Gwenzi, and Vusumuzi Moyo.

They were accused of taking part in protests to demand the release of an opposition leader named Jameson Timba and 78 others. The government said these protests caused public disorder near the court. Timba and the others were arrested because they were remembering Youth Day on 16 June at a house in Avondale, Harare. The government has been cracking down on civil society and opposition activists, especially with an important Southern African Development Community summit coming up in Harare on 17 August. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has a lot at stake politically in this summit.

After the arrest, it was reported that Chere was tortured badly and may have even suffered kidney damage. Chere and the others are facing charges under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The state claims that on 27 June, Kwekweza and others protested at the magistrate’s court in Harare. They are accused of disrupting public peace through disorderly conduct.

However, new evidence shows that Kwekweza was not even in Harare on the day of the alleged crime. Travel records prove that she left Harare for South Africa on 23 June 2024 on an Airlink flight. She only returned to Harare on 28 June 2024 on a Fastjet flight. This means she was not in the country when the protests happened. She could not have been in two different places at the same time, which is impossible for any human being.

This wrongful arrest has caused Kwekweza a lot of pain and suffering. She has lost her freedom, suffered physically, and gone through emotional trauma. There are also financial burdens from the legal process and damage to her reputation. Her relationships with others may also be strained due to this situation.

In a fair legal system, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. This is a key part of the rule of law and due process. However, in Zimbabwe, it seems to be the opposite. People are often considered guilty until they can prove their innocence. This was also the case with Job Sikhala, another high-profile activist, who faced a similar injustice. His case was a clear violation of the constitution and a dramatic miscarriage of justice.

The case of Namatai Kwekweza is a painful reminder of how fragile justice can be. It shows the need for a legal system that truly respects the presumption of innocence and the rule of law. No one should have to suffer for a crime they did not commit.