Woza protesters released without charge

The Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) pressure group have reported that 101 members arrested during peaceful protests on Wednesday were released without charge by Bulawayo police later the same evening. WOZA said many members were handcuffed while in custody.

The WOZA members had been held since their arrest Wednesday morning, along with three breastfeeding women and three minors who are not WOZA members. A WOZA statement said the women were released in groups of 5, as the police feared another protest would begin if all were freed at once.

WOZA coordinator Magodonga Mahlangu was the last to be freed and is believed to have been used by the police to try and trace the whereabouts of leader Jenni Williams, who they wanted to arrest.

The WOZA members were arrested in Bulawayo as they conducted a sit-in protest, calling for the immediate release of the draft Constitution.

SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme said riot police appear to have been tipped off about the protests because there had been a heavy police presence in Bulawayo Central. The police were also guarding the location where a memorial statue of the late Joshua Nkomo is to be erected. The site had been designated as the venue for the WOZA sit-in protest.

WOZA's sit-in or occupation style protests started on Monday in Harare, where WOZA members marched to the parliament building in two separate groups, just as they were trying to do in Bulawayo on Wednesday. Police in Harare did not disrupt the peaceful protest.

WOZA said Bulawayo police were "overzealous" and need to be investigated.

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