Zimbabwean police arrested the interim opposition party leader Jameson Timba and 70 other youths for disorderly conduct during a private meeting held over the weekend at Timba’s residence, according to their lawyer Agency Gumbo on Monday.
“Timba and the youths were severely beaten and injured,” said Gumbo. In the statement, Gumbo added that Timba is presently detained at Avondale police station with 20 others and the remaining are held in Harare central police station. Gumbo also demanded the immediate release of the detainees and contended that the arrests violated human rights.
In his interview with Reuters, Gumbo stated that they are working on the release of Timba and the others. He also estimated that the authorities would charge them with the maintenance of public order laws. Previously, the Zimbabwean authorities similarly quelled political gatherings by invoking clause 7 of the 2019 Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, such as the arrest of opposition legislator Costa Machingauta and 24 other opposition activists who were found holding an internal meeting at Machingauta’s home. Clause 7 requires that organizers must give notice to the regulating authorities before holding any public meetings, demonstrations and processions.
The rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly are protected by Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The articles impose on states an obligation to ensure that limits on the rights must be proportionate and necessary. Although notification systems are permissible, a failure to notify the authorities should not be used for imposing undue sanctions such as charging the participants or organizers with criminal offenses. The UNHRC also noted that states have the burden to demonstrate that the assembly creates a real and significant risk to the safety of persons and properties before restricting an assembly.
Timba, Costa Machingauta and the opposition activists were all members of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), which is the main opposition party running against the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). In the 2023 elections, ZANU-PF won the Presidency, the National Assembly and the Senate. In January 2024, the former leader of the CCC, Nelson Chamisa, resigned from the party. Timba’s appointment is an interim replacement after Chamisa’s resignation. Chamisa accused ZANU-PF and its presidential candidate, Emmerson Mnangagwa, of “hijacking” the CCC and electoral intimidation during the 2023 elections. Amnesty International previously observed the repression of dissent, deteriorating the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, took place in Zimbabwe during the election period and warned that the CCC were the main targets of repression.
