The United Nations has joined the chorus of statements from local NGOs to speak out against persecution of political and social activists in Zimbabwe.
This came as 59 community organistions known as CSOs (Community Service Organisations) teamed up in Harare following the incarceration of human rights leader Okay Machisa who this week appeared in court in leg chains after which he was denied bail and remanded in custody to January 30. The CSOs spoke out against what they said are arbitrary arrests of activists adding that there is a betrayal of justice in Zimbabwe.
“The primary goal of launching this onslaught is simply meant to criminalize the work of civil society, discredit it and showcase civil society as unpatriotic and devoid of national interest.
“This discourse, which has been peddled by some elements in the state and other political parties seems to have gathered
momentum and has now been turned into action by deliberately and subtly intimidating and harassing CSO activists and the Human Rights Lawyers who defend them, based on trumped up charges or for simply doing their job. This relentless assault on CSO’s and accusing them of several misdemeanors is to suggest to the public the existence of a wide-ranging conspiracy targeting the stability of the country and
to paint civil society organisations as a danger to State security.
“As Civil Society we unequivocally reject all the insinuations and willful misrepresentations of our legitimate work…” the statement read in part.
The NGOs were joined by the United Nations in Geneva who also condemned what it described as a crackdown against civil society groups.
“We condemn recent attacks against human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, including arbitrary arrests, intimidation and harassment… We’re concerned about the crackdown on non-governmental organizations and dissenting voices seen as critical of President Robert Mugabe’s rule,” U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Friday.
Mugabe, 88, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, promised in December to fight like a “wounded beast” in order to stay in power.

Zimbabweans will reject Mugabe?
An online activist spoke out against Mugabe Friday afternoon:  “Mugabe is going to turn 89 in February next Month and will become one of the oldest political candidates to contest an election. Zimbabwe will reject him at the ballot box. The inability to change its leadership will almost certainly condemn ZANU PF to political history.
Zimbabweans cannot invest their future into an 89 year-old candidate and this is a quandary for ZANU-PF and a huge problem for Mugabe and this is not opposition driven, it is self inflicted,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has a bitter past.”
A top Zimbabwe MP aspirant, Elliot Pfebve, also weighed in to say that Zimbabwe has a bitter past but parties should now engage in constructive nation building.
Said Pfebve: “The news that the principals have agreed on the COPAC constitution draft, should be applauded as the epitome of Zimbabwean political maturity. The COPAC draft is not the perfect document for a prosperous Zimbabwe but it is the start of a journey of hope and stability.
“I hope that all parties,  ZANU (PF), MDC-T and MDC-N will respect their signatures even way after the ink has dried up. It must be made clear that as Zimbabweans we are no enemies of each other but a rich nation of divergent views, which make us what we are, a proud nation.
“Any party that will democratically win the 2013 harmonised election must not stoop low into retribution but unite the nation without witch hunting; any eye for an eye can only lead to a blind nation.
“Mindful of the fact that we have a bitter past, let us redefine our sovereignty based on mutual respect, where the weak is protected and the strong is just,” he said.