Posted on 01/27/2003 9:13:00 AM PST by Clive
Five foreigners believed to be partners of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a Christian developmental organisation, were searched and had part of their luggage confiscated by the police in Zvishavane on Friday night before being placed under “house arrest” at a hotel.
Three Zimbabweans, a Daily News reporter, Fanuel Jongwe, 30, and two drivers from the Lutheran Development Services (LDS), were also caught in the net, but had not been charged by last night.
The LDS oversees the federation’s developmental projects in the Midlands and Matabeleland South provinces. Reports in the State-controlled Sunday Mail suggested that the five were journalists on a mission to write stories to tarnish the image of the government, while those close to the delegation said the five worked for radio stations and magazines.
The foreigners – one each from the United States, Kenya, Finland and two German citizens – were still at the Hotel Nilton by last night. “We were ordered not to leave the hotel,” said Jongwe, who was supposed to cover the tour.
Although police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, declined to comment, he told a British news agency, Reuters, that the group had not been arrested.
“Technically they are not under arrest, but we picked them up on information that they entered the country under false pretences, declaring that they were working for some aid agency and they had come to monitor food distribution.
“Our laws say foreign journalists must apply to come here. These journalists also have some interesting documents suggesting they could be on some clandestine mission.”
Bvudzijena said if the group was charged, “we could charge them for
entering the country under false pretences or under the Public Order and Security Act, while the local journalist could be charged with assisting in contravening national laws.”
If it emerges that the five were pursuing legitimate business, the incident has the potential to set back projects such as food distribution, orphan care, combating HIV, and the construction of dams and bridges in the drought-prone Midlands and Matabeleland South.
A spokesman for the United States Embassy in Harare, Bruce Wharton, said: “We saw the story in The Sunday Mail and we have established that one American citizen has been detained or arrested in Zvishavane.”
Although the foreigners were said to have been detained in police custody, it emerged that they were only ordered not to leave the hotel.
The delegation was supposed to tour projects in Gwanda and Zvishavane before proceeding to Malawi, where they have similar projects for underprivileged communities.
The tour could not proceed because of the curtailment of their movement.
Sources close to the delegation said the tour was to obtain an appraisal of the problems facing the communities before the LWF holds its 10th assembly in Winnipeg, Canada, in July.
The theme for the summit is “Healing of the World”. Appreciation of the problems facing the poor communities would have helped donors get a clear picture of the required funding for the projects.
Zimbabwe is already under the international spotlight for human rights violations. Speaking from Zvishavane yesterday, Jongwe said their ordeal started on Friday at about 10pm, when they checked into the Hotel Nilton. “Detectives came to the hotel and accused the delegation of being on a political mission. They took away a laptop computer, cameras, notebooks and literature.”
Jongwe said they were taken to Zvishavane Police Station where they were questioned until just before midnight. On Saturday morning, they returned to the police station for further questioning.
Describing Jongwe’s “house arrest”, Gugulethu Moyo, the legal adviser for Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, the publishers of The Daily News, said: “The police had no basis for confiscating his notebook. It was the usual harassment and violation of human rights which they continue to do.”
An LWF official yesterday drove to Zvishavane to seek clarification on the status of the five workers.
Last night, Jongwe said they were asked to make statements to the police at Zvishavane Police Station this morning. In Other News:
Alert the Mormons!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.