MDC says Farai Maguwu a sacrificial lamb

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party has condemned the continued persecution of human rights activist Farai Maguwu who continues to be harassed and incarcerated at the notorious Harare Remand Prison. The party issued a statement saying “The dramatic arrest, detention and continued persecution of Maguwu, the director for the Centre for Research and Development, is a major blemish on the rule of law and the reputation of the inclusive government.”

“It is ironic that the investigating officer in this sad case has threatened that the human rights activist will spend two years in jail if he does not provide access codes to his laptop. It is a reprehensible indictment on our judiciary that a mere investigating officer, and not the magistrate, can threaten a prisoner with a sentence. It represents what is very wrong with this case which has been highly and unnecessarily politicized,” the MDC said.

“The MDC stands for the rule of law and not the rule of men. It is clear that Maguwu’s crime is that he exposed illegal diamond transactions and human rights abuses by some senior Zanu PF officials at the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Marange in Manicaland province. Rampant looting and reckless plunder of national resources is taking place in Marange, with little or no benefit to the country and the local villagers.”

The party has since urged the inclusive government to immediately stop the ‘needless persecution’ of human rights defenders. “We call upon the government to ensure that those who are looting national resources be prosecuted and not civic activists representing the interests and the conscience of a helpless nation and the defenseless villagers of Chiadzwa.”

“We again restate our position and our resolution of the national council of 16 May 2010 that what Zimbabweans need is not persecution of activists but transparency in the goings-on at Chiadzwa. The interests of the people of Marange in particular and Zimbabweans in general, must be at the forefront of our actions.

“The needless persecution of human rights defenders is an unnecessary diversion from the murky deals in Chiadzwa where sharks and tigers are making a fortune while the country fails to pay decent salaries to hard-working civil servants.  This persecution must simply stop.”

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