ZCTU+Secretary+General+assaulted+and+detained,+ZCTU+and+COSATU

ZCTU and COSATU (2 pages), 16 August 2006
=ZCTU Secretary General assaulted and detained by Police=

The Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Wellington Chibebe, was arrested at a roadblock and detained at Waterfalls Police station yesterday.(15/08/06)

Chibebe was coming to Harare from Masvingo with his family when he was stopped at a roadblock near Waterfalls. The Police wanted to search his car supposedly to look for cash, but Chibebe informed them that what they were doing was illegal. (The Zimbabwe lawyers for human rights are preparing a challenge on the searching a confiscation of money from Zimbabweans by Police at roadblocks.)

The Police did not take kindly to Chibebe's words and one policeman tried to forcibly remove him from his car while his seat belt was still buckled on. The policeman then vigorously clapped Chibebe twice and accusing him of resisting to be searched. All this was done in front of Chibebe's family.

The Police then arrested Chibebe and took him to Waterfalls Police station where they then charged him with common assault for allegegly assualting a policeman when in fact he is the one who was assaulted.

The ZCTU lawyer who attended to Chibebe informed us that the Police deliberately changed the charges to common assault so as to make the issue more serious since it was Chibebe.

Chibebe is still being held up at Waterfalls Police station and is yet to go to court.

The ZCTU condemns this arbitrary arrest and the barbaric action by the Zimbabwe Republic police especially as it comes when Zimbabweans are commemorating heroes day. This is not the freedom Zimbabweans envisaged when they sacrificed their lives in the liberation struggle.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Mlamleli Sibanda Information Officer ZCTU Box 3549 Harare Tel: 263 4 702517 Cel: 263 11 620 232 Fax: 263 4 728484 E:mail: info@zctu.co.zw Web : [|wwww.zctu.co.zw]**



=COSATU demands release of ZCTU Secretary General=

The Congress of South African Trade Unions strongly condemns the arrest of Wellington Chibebe, the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), at a roadblock. We particularly deplore the fact that he was reportedly assaulted by one of the police officers, in front of his family, and that he was then detained at Waterfalls Police station on 15 August 200 and charged with common assault for allegegly assualting the policeman, when it was he who was assaulted.

COSATU demands his immediate release and the dropping of the charge, and that the Zimbabwe state ceases it campaign of intimidation against the trade union movement. Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)**
 * Congress of South African Trade Unions**
 * 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets**
 * Braamfontein, 2017**
 * P.O.Box 1019**
 * Johannesburg, 2000**
 * SOUTH AFRICA**
 * Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24**
 * Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667**
 * Cell: 0828217456**
 * E-Mail:** **patrick@cosatu.org.za**

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