Leicester rallies in solidarity with Evenia Mawongera

So far over 700 people have signed the online petition asking Home Secretary Theresa May to release Evenia Mawongera from detention and allow her to come back to Leicester where she belongs. A further 438 people have signed hard copies of the petition during a series of rallies that were held at various venues in Leicester over the past 4 days.

At the first rally, there was song and dance and speeches in solidarity with Evenia Mawongera. The rally was held at the Secular Hall in Leicester on Friday, 12 July.



This was followed by a second rally on High Street on Saturday, 13 July, where over 100 flyers about the campaign were given out and about 100 more people signed hard copies of the petition.

A third rally was held on Sunday, 14 July, on Humberstone Gate. Close to 200 flyers were given out and a further 124 people signed hard copies of the petition.

On Sunday, a number of churches in Leicester and beyond confirmed that they too have joined the campaign and are making information about it available to their congregations and are encouraging the congregations to take part in the campaign.

A fourth rally was held at the Town Hall Square in Leicester on Monday, 15 July. The rally saw members of the Zimbabwe Association Choirs stage a performance while Evenia's friends and relatives distributed flyers and talked about Evenia and encouraged people in the Square to sign the petition. Over 300 flyers were given out and 214 people signed hard copies of the petition. Justin Wood, an office manager in Leicester West Member of Parliament, Liz Kendall's office delivered a letter of support from Liz Kendall to the campaigners and spoke at the rally. He emphasised that Liz Kendall was acutely aware that the United Kingdom should never send someone back to a country where they were going to be tortured and persecuted.

Enniah Dube, chair of the Leicester branch of Restoration for Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe also spoke at the rally. She reiterated that the risk of arrest, persecution and extremely serious ill-treatment that Evenia Mawongera was facing should she be returned to Zimbabwe was very real. She urged Home Secretary Theresa May to reconsider her decision and allow Evenia to stay in Leicester with her daughters and grandchildren.

Roy McFarlane, one of Birmingham's poet laureates, also dropped by and signed the petition. He urged Home Secretary Theresa May to accord protection to Evenia as did a representative from FC Kolektivo Victoria, a local anti-racism five-aside football club.

A fifth rally will be held at the Town Hall Square in Leicester on Tuesday, 16 July. The rally will start at 1pm and run till 3pm. At this rally, as at the rally that took place on Monday, Evenia's friends and relatives will hand out flyers and encourage people to sign the petition. The Zimbabwe Association Choir will also be performing at the event. The rally and the performance will start at 1pm and run till 3pm.

Further rallies will take place at the Town Hall Square in Leicester everyday until Evenia is released from detention.