Zimbabwean human rights activists Stenrick Zvorwadza, spokesman for Restoration of Human Rights, arrested Saturday by police in Mbare for allegedly threatening violence, was arraigned Monday, released on US$100 bail and remanded to February 14.
Zvorwadza said he was arrested when he went to the Matapi police station to report the harassment of his business by more than 80 members of the Chipangano youth group allegedly tied to ZANU-PF, threatening to violently shut down his vending stand.
Zvorwadza told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that he was assaulted while in police custody, and that his lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, and some members of the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee, were barred by police from speaking with him.
ZANU-PF Harare Province Youth Chairman Jim Kunaka denied involvement by his party in the episode, saying that Zvorwadza had threatened to shoot some residents of the Mbare high-density suburb or township who besieged his business.
