CCC leader denied bail for third time; Timba and 64 supporters detained for 14 weeks now

By AFP

HARARE: A Zimbabwe court denied bail on Monday to the jailed opposition leader and 64 supporters for a third time since their widely condemned arrest 14 weeks ago.

Critics have long accused Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party – in power since independence in 1980 – of stifling both democracy and dissent.

Jameson Timba, leader of the main opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), and the others were arrested at his home on June 16 as part of what rights groups said was a crackdown ahead of a southern African summit in July.

They were acquitted of a charge of disorderly conduct on September 4 but an allegation of participating in an unlawful gathering remains.

In denying bail Monday, the magistrate said there “are no new circumstances warranting their release” from pre-trial detention.

Timba was arrested with nearly 80 people ahead of the July 17 summit in Harare of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) where Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa started a one-year stint as chairman.

Rights groups including Amnesty International say that around 160 opposition supporters and human rights defenders were arrested before the summit. Several of them have been released since.

A dozen of those arrested with Timba were acquitted of all charges on September 4.

The CCC is the main opposition to Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF, which has been in power since independence in 1980.

A global alliance of civil society organisations, CIVICUS, added Zimbabwe to a human rights watchlist announced Monday “due to a rapid decline in fundamental civic freedoms”.

“The relentless crackdown on civil society and opposition figures in Zimbabwe is alarming and demands urgent attention,” said CIVICUS Monitor Researcher for Africa, Sylvia Mbataru.

“The international community must act swiftly to defend and uphold fundamental human rights in the country before further damage is done,” she said in a statement.