Zimbabwe

Civil rights campaigner reported drugged in custody

Article published on the 2009-01-04 Latest update 2009-01-05 09:50 TU

Jestina Mukoko as she is escorted to the Magistrates court in Harare
(Credit: Reuters)

The South African Sunday Independent newspaper reports that a Zimbabwean civil rights campaigner is being drugged and tortured in custody in Harare. Jestina Mukoko is being held on charges of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe. Her lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has called for a toxicology report to support the allegations.

The paper reports that Mukoko, who is in solitary confinement at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, is being force-fed drugs by prison personnel.

RFI spoke to Mtetwa, who said that drugs had indeed been given to her client, and that they had been administered not by her own doctor or a prison doctor, but by an army doctor, which did not make sense.

"This is why we wanted to ensure that whatever medication she has been given while she is in prison is medication that will be useful to her," said Mtetwa.

"Mukoko is psychologically traumatised, it is not certain that she had told the full story because every time she speaks to a doctor or a lawyer, a state official is present," Mtetwa said earlier to the Sunday Independent.

Mukoko was taken from her home on 3 December by armed men who said they were police. No one was aware of what had happened to her until she appeared before a high court judge last week.

She is being held with 15 other activists, 13 of whom are members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party and two are colleagues.

The court ruled that Mukoko is to remain in custody pending a remand hearing. She has emerged as one of Mugabe's toughest critics.

Last week a high court judge declared the detention unlawful and ordered the immediate release of the activists so they could seek medical treatment, but the government appealed.

"This is particularly shocking for us, because there was medical evidence placed before the judge and that medical evidence was not controverted,” said Mtetwa. “That judge then refused to have her released to a hospital.”

Mukoko is scheduled to appear again before the court on Monday.

"Even apartheid South Africa didn't do worse. It is an absolutely shocking state of affairs in regard to rule of law in Zimbabwe, particularly the judiciary," said Mtetwa.