Amnesty International has called on the government to reveal the whereabouts of pro-democracy activist and journalist, Itai Dzamara, who was kidnapped by alleged state security agents and disappeared nine years ago.
Dzamara was kidnapped on March 9, 2015 by five men while he was at a barber shop in the Glen View suburb of Harare.
He has not been seen since.
The government’s failure to conduct a genuine investigation into Dzamara’s disappearance sends a chilling message to pro-democracy activists, said Fungai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
“His family needs an end to the painful uncertainty they have been subjected to. “The feeling of insecurity and fear generated by his disappearance is not limited to his close relatives, but also affects the broader civil society community,” Chikwanda said.
“Amnesty International reiterates its call on the government to establish an independent investigation committee headed by a judge into the circumstances surrounding Dzamara’s kidnapping, and to give it powers to summon witnesses.
“The findings must be made public and those suspected of criminal responsibility must be brought to justice in fair trials. Members of the public with information to contribute to the Commission through reports must be allowed to do so and the authorities must ensure their safety and protection.
Dzamara had addressed a crowd in Harare on March 7, 2015, two days before his disappearance, where he called for collective action against the late former president Robert Mugabe.
Coalition Zimbabwe (CiZC) crisis spokesman Marvelous Khumalo said the government was guilty of failing to account for Dzamara.
“Because of their failure to address this issue, we are forced to suspect that the First and Second Republic are one and the same,” Kumalo said.
“We are disappointed as CiZC that even apart from the promises made by (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa that during his tenure as Minister of Justice and then Head of Government Business in Parliament, he rose through the ranks to become Vice President and now President.” . . . He has it [in his three portfolios] He and his government still failed to locate Dzamara’s whereabouts.
NewsDay was unable to obtain a comment from Dzamara’s wife, Shivra, as she had not returned her calls by press time.
In 2016, Shivra, accompanied by Itay’s late brother, Batson, filed a petition with the United Nations Children’s Fund regarding her husband’s disappearance.
In 2020, she wrote an emotional open letter to President Emmerson Mnangagwa imploring him to use his powers to find Dzamara.
During the 10th Geneva Summit on Human Rights and Democracy in Switzerland on February 20, 2018, the United Nations appealed to the government to investigate Dzamara’s disappearance. Newsday
