AMNESTY International (AI) has called on the government to come clean on the whereabouts of pro-democracy activist and journalist, Itai Dzamara, who was abducted by alleged State security agents and disappeared nine years ago.
Dzamara was abducted on March 9, 2015 by five men while he
was at a barber shop in Harare’s Glen View suburb.
He has never been seen since.
AI’s deputy regional director for east and southern Africa,
Vongai Chikwanda said failure by the government to launch a genuine
investigation into Dzamara’s disappearance sends a chilling message to
pro-democracy activists.
“His family needs closure from the agonising uncertainty
they have been subjected to. The feeling of insecurity and fear that his
disappearance has generated is not limited to his close relatives, but also
affects the broader civil society community,” Chikwanda said.
“AI reiterates its call for the government to set up an
independent, judge-led Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding
Dzamara’s abduction, with powers to subpoena witnesses.
“The findings must be made public and those suspected of
criminal responsibility should be brought to justice in fair trials. Members of
the public with information to contribute to the Commission through submissions
must be allowed to do so and the authorities must ensure their safety and
protection.”
Dzamara had addressed a rally in Harare on March 7, 2015
two days before he was made to vanish where he called for mass action against
the late former President Robert Mugabe.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) spokesperson, Marvelous
Kumalo said government was guilty as charged for failure to account for
Dzamara.
“Due to their failure to address the issue, we are forced
to suspect that the first and second Republic are but one thing,” Kumalo said.
“We are disappointed as CiZC that even apart from the
promises by (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa that during his tenure as Minister
of Justice and leader of government business back then in Parliament, he rose
through the ranks to become the Vice President and now the President . . . he
has [in his three portfolios] still failed together with his government to
account for Dzamara whereabouts.
NewsDay could not get a comment from Dzamara’s wife
Sheffra, as she did not pick up her calls by the time of going to print.
In 2016, Sheffra, in the company of Itai’s late brother,
Patson, submitted a petition to the United Nations Children’s Fund over her
husbands’ disappearance.
In 2020, she penned an emotional open letter to President
Emmerson Mnangagwa begging him to use his powers to find Dzamara.
The United Nations during the 10th Geneva Summit for Human
Rights and Democracy in Switzerland on February 20, 2018 implored the
government to probe Dzamara’s disappearance. Newsday
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