Arnold Tsunga is a highly respected lawyer and outspoken advocate for human rights in Zimbabwe.  He is the chairperson of ZIMRIGHTS, a grassroots organization that monitors human rights violations occurring in Zimbabwe, and the executive director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).   He also serves on the board of directors of a number of internationally respected Zimbabwean human rights, independent media, and student organizations. 

Mr. Tsunga and ZLHR provide legal representation to victims of human rights abuses, including human rights defenders who are arrested and jailed; conduct trainings in human rights for Zimbabwean lawyers; and conduct information sessions for Zimbabwean citizens about their rights under Zimbabwean, African, and international law.  Mr. Tsunga also collaborated closely with Human Rights First to mobilize regional and international pressure on President Mugabe's government, urging it to respect the rights of all Zimbabweans. 

It is because of this invaluable work that Mr. Tsunga has become a target of his government.  Like other leading human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, over the last few years he has been harassed and threatened by the Zimbabwean authorities.  In 2002, he was seized without warrant by government officers, held for 4-5 hours, and then beaten in full view of the public. 

But the new threats against him are an escalation in the danger Mr. Tsunga faces.  Since the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), lost parliamentary seats in late 2005, the most potent critics of Mugabe's government have become credible, independent human rights defenders like Mr. Tsunga.  As a result, defenders are under much greater risk of surveillance, arrest, beating, and murder now than ever before.   In this context, the criminal charges against him and the threat to his life are cause for grave concern.
   
On January 21, 2006, in the early hours of the morning, two police officers and one soldier forcibly entered Mr. Tsunga's home.  Finding Mr. Tsunga not at home, the officers took his housekeepers to the police station and would not release them until Mr. Tsunga presented himself for questioning and arrest.  While in custody for four days, the three workers were severely beaten, one suffers a perforated eardrum as a result.  The police appear to have unlawfully detained these workers in an attempt to place pressure on Mr. Tsunga, and those responsible for this should be held accountable for their actions.

When Mr. Tsunga reported to the police station, he and five others were charged with operating a broadcasting service in Zimbabwe without a license under Section 7.1 of the criminal code, an offence that carries a two year sentence.  All six of the charged individuals serve on the board of a radio station called Voice of the People which is registered, located, and operated in Madagascar.  The law does not apply to this radio station and, therefore, the charges appear to have been fabricated as a way to intimidate Mr. Tsunga and his colleagues.  Mr. Tsunga was permitted to see a judge right away, and was granted bail for 4 million Zimbabwean dollars (about $80) with a weekly reporting requirement. A hearing will take place on February 10.

Furthermore, on January 26, a soldier came to the ZIMRIGHTS office, asking to meet with Mr. Tsunga.  He was not in the office, but a colleague managed to convince the soldier to explain his business.  The soldier, who was behaving in a nervous and agitated manner, explained that a hit squad of the Military Intelligence Corps was monitoring Mr. Tsunga's movements and had an order to kill him.  The soldier claimed that he had come to see Mr. Tsunga to warn him of the danger he was in.  It is possible that this soldier intended to kill Mr. Tsunga on that day.

Soon thereafter, an editor of the Zimbabwean newspaper The Standard came to see Mr. Tsunga at his ZLHR office and told him that he saw a member of the military outside the office, perhaps conducting surveillance on Mr. Tsunga's activities.  There is therefore a credible threat by the Zimbabwean authorities against Mr. Tsunga's life.  In Zimbabwe, where judges are intimidated by government, legislation silences independent media, and vigilante mobs attack human rights defenders, Mr. Tsunga is vulnerable to attack for his non-violent advocacy of human rights.

 

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