President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, Beatrice Mtetwa said that Justina Mukoko, director of the NGO, Zimbabwe Peace Project which documents human rights violations was arrested last week Wednesday on trumped up charges while her colleagues, Broderick Takawira and Pascal Gonzo were on Monday abducted by six gunmen driving an unmarked car. Mtetwa told journalists at the Botswana Centre for Human Rights (Ditshwanelo) that the whereabouts of Mukoko are unknown. She said lawyers in Zimbabwe constantly face arbitrary arrests by the government of President Robert Mugabe. She disclosed that female judges have turned a blind eye to the violence against women and children. "You would have expected sensitivity from women judges but the justice system is full of political appointees. Judges have been given brand new cars by the governor of the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank," she said. "Magistrates are under pressure not to give bail to those who want the rule of law to prevail. For instance, an advocate spent three weeks in custody despite having been granted bail. Thirty-eight Movement for Democratic Change politicians have been in custody for more than 40 days without being formally charged," Mtetwa said.
She stated that litigation by the Law Society of Zimbabwe which seeks to force the government to allow lawyers to discharge their duties according to international standards is still pending before the courts. "What we are saying is that the court should discharge its functions according to the laws of the land without political interference. If a state fails to protect its people, regional groupings like SADC must intervene. SADC should not stop other bodies like the AU and UN from intervening. At practical level, nothing has come out of the SADC mediation to relieve Zimbabwe from the current crisis.
