Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court on Thursday declared that four Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) leaders’ rights had been violated and had been discriminated against when they were arrested and detained in filthy detention cells at Harare Central Police Station in April 2010.
Consequently, the court ordered the co-Ministers of Home Affairs, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and the then Attorney General Johannes Tomana to take all the necessary steps to ensure that the detention cells are clean and salubrious and allow women detainees keep and put on their undergarments and bras and be allowed access to clean water to drink while in detention.
WOZA leaders Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Celina Madukani and Clara Manjengwa through their lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) petitioned the Supreme Court seeking an order compelling the government to ensure that holding cells at Harare Central Police Station meet basic hygienic conditions.
In their application the WOZA leaders wanted the police to provide a clean mattress and adequate blankets, as well as adequate bathing or shower installations for each person detained in police custody overnight. They also wanted detainees to have access to sufficient drinking water suitable for consumption and for detainees to enjoy daily exposure to natural light and appropriate ventilation and heating.