By Staff Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has raised alarm over the torture of proponents against the Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3.

The matter reached a crescendo over the weekend with the brutal assault of Professor Lovemore Madhuku and his National Constitutional Assembly members by alleged state agents prompting the ZCTU to implore the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) and Parliament to intervene and put a stop to the wave of abductions and torture.

In a statement, ZCTU Secretary General, Tirivanhu Marimo urged Parliament’s and ZHRC’s to urgently intervene on the matter.  

“The actions by alleged security officers are in direct and brazen violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration of Rights,” said Marimo.

Marimo said the actions by alleged security officers were in direct and brazen violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which is the supreme law of the land.

“The Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration of Rights. The Constitution clearly guarantees, among other things, the right to personal liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention; protects the inherent dignity of every person; provides for the right to bodily and psychological integrity, including freedom from all forms of violence from public or private sources and categorically provides that "No person may be subjected to physical or psychological torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

“Above all, in section 58 and 59, it guarantees freedom of assembly and association and the right to demonstrate and petition peacefully. The alleged assault on Professor Madhuku and his colleagues constitutes not merely a direct repudiation of the Constitution itself, but also violation of Zimbabwe National Centre for the Labour Movement International Law and United Nations Conventions. Zimbabwe is bound by international law obligations prohibiting torture and excessive use of force. The security forces must be deployed to protect and nothing else,” he said.

He said the assault on Madhuku is reminiscent of the brutal assaults that the labour movement was subjected to by the state in the period running to the International Labour Organization Commission of Inquiry in 2009 concerning violations of freedom of association in Zimbabwe.

“That Commission documented patterns of arrests and detention of trade unionists and police brutality against peaceful assemblies…..It is deeply disturbing that similar patterns appear several times during the current dispensation and they keep on emerging. Zimbabwe cannot plausibly claim reform while reverting to methods that were internationally condemned,” said Marimo.

Recent reports indicate a surge in political violence following the gazetting of Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3. The bill proposes extending presidential and legislative terms from five to seven years and shifting to a parliamentary election system for the presidency.

One Lazarus Chacha, a member of Defend the Constitution Platform (DCP) was allegedly targeted in Gokwe and forced into hiding following a “witch hunt” against those opposing the bill. Constitutional Defenders Forum (CDF leader, Tendai Biti’s offices were recently cordoned off by armed police.