More opposition figures were arrested in Zimbabwe on Friday as the hearing for four democracy activists seeking the release of opposition leader Jameson Timba was postponed.
Critics have long accused the ruling ZANU-PF party, which has been in power since 1980, of suppressing democracy and dissent. Human Rights Watch reports an intensifying crackdown on the opposition and civil society ahead of a regional summit hosted by Zimbabwe in August.
Home Minister Kazembe Kazembe claimed the opposition is inciting demonstrations around the summit to elicit a “heavy-handed response” for international attention. Timba was arrested in June along with many others. On Friday, additional arrests included opposition figure Jacob Ngarivhume and a religious leader. The hearing for the four activists arrested in Harare on Wednesday was postponed to Monday; they were charged under public disorder laws for participating in protests demanding Timba’s release.
“They were subjected to torture, both physical and mental,” said the activists’ lawyer, Timashe Chinopfukutwa, outside the court. Additionally, 14 people were arrested in the small town of Kariba on Thursday, according to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). The president of the Zimbabwean National Students Union, Emmanuel Sitima, was also arrested in Harare on Friday.