A well-known activist and fierce critic of the late former
President Robert Mugabe’s government, Dzamara disappeared in 2015 and his
whereabouts remain a mystery.
The journalist was allegedly abducted by State agents at a
barber shop in Glen View, Harare, eight years ago.
In 2016, Sheffra, in the company of Itai’s late brother,
Patson, submitted a petition to the United Nations Children’s Fund over Itai’s
disappearance.
In 2020, she penned an emotional open letter to President
Emmerson Mnangagwa begging him to use his powers to find Itai.
“My efforts have yielded no answers. We once attempted to
talk to government, but up to now, they are quiet. It is very painful to come
to the understanding that the Zimbabwean government, which is supposed to
shield and protect its citizens, is doing nothing with regards to my husband’s
case,” Sheffra told NewsDay yesterday. “It pains me everyday to think that we
are not free in our own country when the government takes no action after one
of our own disappears.”
Sheffra said she had now left everything in God’s hands.
“Life has not been that good as my children constantly ask
where their father is. I have nothing to tell them. I want to appeal to
government to assist us in finding what happened to Itai since he was a citizen
of this country. It will also help us find closure. I plead with international
organisations not to tire and keep asking about Itai’s whereabouts.”
In commemorating Dzamara’s disappearance yesterday, Amnesty
International Zimbabwe said the continued failure of Zimbabwean authorities to
launch an effective investigation into his disappearance was a travesty of
justice, which sends a chilling message about the security of others who demand
accountability from government.
Amnesty International Zimbabwe executive director Lucia
Masuka said: “The failure of Zimbabwean authorities to account for the enforced
disappearance of Dzamara eight years after he was last seen speaks volumes
about the lack of political will to account for him.
“The world and Dzamara’s family want truth and justice for
his disappearance. His family also wants to be freed from the agonising
uncertainty they have been subjected to since his disappearance,” she said.
“Today, we join Itai’s family in calling on the Zimbabwean
authorities to conduct a thorough, independent, effective, and transparent
investigation into Itai Dzamara’s disappearance.” Newsday
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