Activist Arrested Over National Healing Story

SW Radio Africa (London)

Tererai Karimakwenda

11 May 2011

The Bulawayo Agenda rights group has reported that Mziwandile Ndlovu, a member of their weekly “Agenda” newsletter team, is being detained at Hwange police Station. He was summoned by the police on Tuesday and is facing criminal charges over a story about national healing activities that took place in Victoria Falls last month.

The police allege that Ndhlovu wrote a “fictional story” that was published in the Weekly Agenda in April and are using the controversial Criminal Law Codification Act to prosecute him.

The story was about a meeting that was jointly organized by Victoria Falls Agenda and several rights groups in the area, who had gathered people to discuss important issues concerning national healing.

The event had to be cancelled after guest speakers Vice-President John Nkomo and Minister Sekai Holland, failed to turn up due to “other commitments”. They are both co-Ministers for the National Healing Programme.

It is not clear what aspect of the story led to Ndhlovu’s arrest, but there has been an escalation in the arrests and intimidation of journalists and newspaper vendors by ZANU PF elements. His lawyer was due to apply for bail on Wednesday.

As SW Radio Africa reported last month, the third co-Minister for National Healing, Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, was arrested in Hwange after a healing prayer service for victims of the Gukurahundi massacres of the mid-eighties. Father Mkandla, the Catholic priest who conducted the service, was also arrested.

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