In a world where justice is supposed to protect the innocent, there are times when people are arrested or even convicted for crimes they did not commit. This is a serious problem that can happen for many reasons. Wrongful identification, false testimony, and tampered evidence are just a few of them. Sometimes, the people investigating the case or the prosecutors might focus on one suspect and ignore other possibilities. This is called confirmation bias. When this happens, the real truth is often missed, and innocent people can end up suffering for something they did not do.
A recent case in Zimbabwe has shocked people who care about justice and human rights. Namatai Kwekweza, a well-known human rights activist, was arrested on 1 August at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare. She was taken from a flight that was headed to Victoria Falls. Kwekweza has been a strong voice for human rights in Zimbabwe for some time. Her work is recognized internationally, and she was the first winner of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize in 2023.
Kwekweza was not arrested alone. Three other pro-democracy activists, Robson Chere, Samuel Gwenzi, and Vusumuzi Moyo, were also taken off the same flight. They were accused of being part of protests that demanded the release of opposition leader Jameson Timba and 78 others. The government said that these protests had caused public disorder near the court. Timba and others were arrested earlier for holding a Youth Day commemoration on 16 June in Avondale, Harare. As the Southern African Development Community summit approaches, there has been more pressure on activists and civil society. The government is cracking down on anyone who speaks out against them, which has led to more arrests and repression of activists.
One of the activists, Robson Chere, was reportedly tortured after his arrest. There are concerns that he may have suffered kidney damage due to the abuse he faced. Chere and the other activists are now being charged under a section of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The state says that Kwekweza and the others disrupted public peace by protesting at the magistrate’s court on 27 June. But there is a big problem with the state’s case against Kwekweza.
Travel records show that Kwekweza was not even in Zimbabwe on the day of the protest. She had left Harare on 23 June 2024 on a flight to South Africa and only came back on 28 June 2024. This means that she could not have been at the protest because she was not even in the country when it happened. It is impossible for her to be in two different places at the same time. The situation the state is trying to argue could only happen in the world of quantum physics, not in real life.
The wrongful arrest of Kwekweza has caused serious harm. She has lost her freedom and experienced physical pain, emotional suffering, and financial costs. Her good name has been damaged, and her personal relationships have been affected. In Zimbabwe, it often feels like the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is not respected. Instead, people are treated as guilty until they can prove that they are innocent, as seen in the case of Job Sikhala, a well-known opposition figure.
The case of Kwekweza is a shocking example of how justice can be misused, and how innocent people can be punished for crimes they did not commit. It serves as a reminder that the fight for human rights and justice is not over, and those who take a stand for these values are often the ones who suffer the most.