Arrests in plane haunt airports firm

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has summoned the Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) to explain the circumstances surrounding the forcible removal and subsequent torture of three activists at Robert Mugabe International Airport last year.

In July 2024, activists Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere, and Samuel Gwenzi were removed from a Fast Jet flight on the tarmac at Robert Mugabe International Airport while en route to Victoria Falls for a conference. The trio alleges that they were held incommunicado and subjected to severe beatings and torture for several hours by suspected state agents before being taken to a police station. The authorities reportedly accused them of protesting outside a court a month earlier against the arrests of opposition supporters linked to Jameson Timba, a prominent opposition figure.

The ZHRC confirmed last week that it had initiated its own investigations into the case, focusing on allegations of enforced disappearance, torture, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment inflicted on the activists. As part of these inquiries, the commission has formally summoned the Airports Company of Zimbabwe for explanations regarding their role in the incident.

"The ZHRC recently summoned the Airports Company of Zimbabwe as part of ongoing inquiries into serious human rights violations," the commission said in a statement. "This follows allegations of the forcible removal of Namatai Kwekweza and others from a Fast Jet flight destined for Victoria Falls at Robert Mugabe International Airport. We are committed to ensuring accountability and protecting human rights for all!"

Reports at the time also revealed that Kwekweza was unable to replace her national identification document due to her inclusion on the government's so-called "Stop List." This list effectively bars individuals from accessing certain rights, privileges, or services and restricts others from engaging with them in business or other dealings.

The incident attracted international condemnation, with United Nations human rights experts denouncing the enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, and torture of the activists. The UN experts said the actions violated international human rights law and undermined Zimbabwe's constitutional safeguards.

"The enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention and torture, followed by the arbitrary detention of these human rights defenders is inexcusable, and not only violates international human rights law, but also makes a mockery of the safeguards contained in Zimbabwe's own Constitution," the UN experts stated at the time.

The arrests came amid a broader crackdown on opposition supporters and activists accused of planning protests to disrupt the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit held in Harare in August 2024. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International warned that the government's heavy-handed response cast a shadow over Sadc's commitment to human rights during Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's tenure as chair of the regional bloc.

President Mnangagwa assumed the rotating chairmanship of Sadc at that summit, placing Zimbabwe in the spotlight as the regional body faced scrutiny over its human rights record under his leadership.