By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday got a jolt from #Tajamuka protesters over a controversial statement issued last weekend denouncing the involvement of children in commemorating the birth of abducted journalists and activist, Itai Dzamara.
Dzamara turned 39 last week and his family and friends, among them his and other children, celebrated his birthday in the Africa Unity Square in Harare where he used to lead peaceful protests against President Robert Mugabe’s government.
On Saturday, UNICEF issued a statement complaining about the presence of children at the anniversary which the UN agency described as politically motivated.
This got a backlash from civil activists who linked the statement to the ruling Zanu PF.
The Labour minister, Prisca Mupfumira, had the previous made a similar statement, and she is mother to the UNICEF communication specialist, Elizabeth.
Police maintained a heavy presence at the UNICEF offices in Belgravia just outside the city centre and the UN agency management reportedly promised to seriously look into the matter.
The protesters under the #Tajamuka banner argued that UNICEF was being insensitive to the Dzamara children who had lost a father.
Meanwhile, a new organisation calling itself Zimbabweans Without Borders (ZWB) comprising exiles has also condemned UNICEF.
“ZWB deplores the insensitive statement from UNICEF, which was not only tone-deaf as to the nature of the celebration, but seeks to blame the victims of an unwelcome state intrusion for nothing else other than the very fact of suffering said intrusion.
“The statement assumes, incorrectly, that a private birthday celebration was a protest, then attempts to twist the meaning of Article 36 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in a situation where it clearly does not apply,’ said ZWB in a statement.
“ZWB laments that UNICEF appears to have taken the wrong moment to be involved in partisan politics, and that when it chose to do so, such an august body would choose to stand against a woman and a her children and on the side of the state that has probably killed their husband and father. ZWB implores UNICEF to reexamine its mandate and reconsider this position,” added the organisation. Nehanda Radio
