WRONGFULLY ACCUSED: THE PAINFUL STORY OF NAMATAI KWEKWEZA

Sometimes, people get arrested or convicted for crimes they did not commit. This is a serious injustice. Being falsely accused and convicted of a crime one did not commit is painful and unfair. Sadly, this happens more often than it should. There are many reasons why someone could be wrongly accused. These reasons include mistaken identity, false testimony, bad evidence, or even a poor defense in court. Sometimes, prosecutors focus too much on one suspect and ignore other important information.

This is exactly what happened to a well-known Zimbabwean human rights activist named Namatai Kwekweza. On 1 August, she was stopped from boarding a flight to Victoria Falls at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare. Namatai Kwekweza is known for her strong stand on human rights. She has faced harassment by the police before. In 2023, she won the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize, which shows her dedication to democracy and human rights. Despite all her good work, she was arrested along with three other pro-democracy advocates: Robson Chere, Samuel Gwenzi, and Vusumuzi Moyo.

They were accused of taking part in protests to demand the release of an opposition leader named Jameson Timba and 78 others. The government said that these protests caused public disorder near the court. Timba and the others were arrested because they were honoring Youth Day on 16 June at a house in Avondale, Harare. In response to this, the government has been cracking down on civil society and opposition activists, especially as an important Southern African Development Community summit was coming up in Harare on 17 August. President Emmerson Mnangagwa had a lot at stake politically in this summit.

After their arrest, reports came out that Robson Chere was tortured badly. He may have even suffered kidney damage due to this. Chere and the others are now facing charges under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The state claims that on 27 June, Namatai Kwekweza and others protested at the magistrate’s court in Harare, disrupting public peace through disorderly conduct.

However, new evidence has come out proving that Namatai Kwekweza was not even in Harare on the day the protests took place. Travel records show that she left Harare for South Africa on 23 June 2024 on an Airlink flight. She only came back to Harare on 28 June 2024 on a Fastjet flight. This means she was not in Zimbabwe when the protests happened. It is impossible for her to have been in two places at once. She could not have taken part in the protests if she was not even in the country at the time.

This wrongful arrest has caused Namatai Kwekweza a lot of pain and suffering. She has lost her freedom and has suffered physically. She is also going through emotional trauma. Besides that, there are financial burdens from the legal process. Her reputation has also been damaged by this situation. Her relationships with others may be strained due to the unfair treatment she is going through.

In a fair legal system, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. This is a key part of the rule of law and due process. But in Zimbabwe, it seems to be the opposite. People are often treated as guilty until they can prove their innocence. This was also the case with Job Sikhala, another high-profile activist, who faced a similar injustice. His case was also a clear violation of the constitution and a serious miscarriage of justice.

The case of Namatai Kwekweza is a painful reminder of how fragile justice can be. It shows the urgent need for a legal system that truly respects the presumption of innocence and the rule of law. No one should have to suffer for a crime they did not commit. The justice system must protect people and ensure that the innocent do not face punishment.