Event Summary
On 20 August 2025, Zimbabwean civil society briefly celebrated the acquittal of prominent human rights defenders (HRDs) Namatai Kwekweza (Director of WeLead and ZimRights member), Robson Chere (Secretary General of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe) and Samuel Gwenzi (ZimRights member). Their release followed a year-long ordeal that began with their abduction from a plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport in July 2024, towards the convening of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Summit of Heads of State and Government. The abduction was followed by alleged torture and prolonged detention on charges of “disorderly conduct” linked to a peaceful march outside the Harare Magistrates Court on 27 June 2024. The overwhelming evidence indicating their non-involvement in the alleged activities underscores the violations of their rights to freedom of assembly and expression. Fellow HRDs Last Chifodya and Vusumuzi Moyo have also been acquitted. In a similar trend in acquittals, Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) leader Emmanuel Sitima was also found not guilty by the Harare Magistrate Court. Yet his ordeal left deep scars of the trauma, the enduring physical and psychological toll of harassment.
While acquittals may offer momentary relief to civil society, they do not reflect a genuine shift toward an enabling environment for CSOs. Instead, they reflect a broader trend in Zimbabwe, where HRDs are routinely arrested, subjected to prolonged pretrial detention, and dragged through lengthy trials. Such tactics are less about securing convictions than about intimidating activists, exhausting their resolve, and undermining their work. They expose the Government of Zimbabwe’s systemic use of lawfare to punish dissent using pretrial detention, long and unnecessary trials, which result in acquittals, but not before HRDs are arbitrarily detained, humiliated, and prosecuted, enduring trauma and financial ruin. These outcomes highlight the precarious nature of human rights work in the country, underscoring that structural change is still far from reach.