13th June 2021

On Saturday 12th of June 2021, the North Branch of the UK Chapter of ROHR Zimbabwe held their monthly meeting on the Zoom platform from 14:19 till 15:31. Branch Chairman Vengai Mutsawu chaired the meeting.

Attendance:
Vengai Mutsawu (North Branch Chairman)
Nontokozo Malaba Ncube (North Branch Vice Chairman)
Karen Nhakaniso (North Secretary)
Margaret Tashayawedu (North Branch Vice Secretary)
Blessing Goronga (Midlands Branch)
Harriet Ndlovu (Scotland Branch)
Grace Makoni (Midlands Branch and National Treasurer)
Collen Ndlovu,
Shalom Gunda (South Branch)
Thabani Muleya (South Branch)
Delina Mutyambizi (North Branch)
Mavis Harrison (Midlands Branch)
Phylis Melody Magejo (North Branch member)
Edineth Mtengwa (Scotland Branch)

Apologies:
Omega Mpofu

Meeting Agenda:

  1. Update on fundraising for Noxolo Maphosa
  2. Human Rights situation in Zimbabwe
  3. Amnesty International letters for Noxolo and Tawanda and American Embassy letter addressing employment of Tapiwa Makore’s uncle.
  4. Fundraising for PPE and borehole drilling
  5. Financial Report
  6. AOB

1. Update on fundraising for Noxolo Maphosa
The North Branch raised £100 to assist Noxolo and her child in South Africa. She fled persecution from the Zimbabwean government after she was abducted, beaten, tortured and dumped. Noxolo has been communicating with Vice Chair Nontokozo Malaba Ncube.  Noxolò asked that Nontokozo thank the whole branch for the fundraising. This has gone a long way in assisting our fellow activist and her child.

2. Human Rights and Situation on the Ground in Zimbabwe
Nontokozo gave us a summary of the recent case of 2 MDC activists that were falsely imprisoned for 8 years. This is a prime example of the lack of rule of law and the miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the ZANU PF controlled judicial system. These two men are not being compensated. These men need justice. As ROHR activists can we not raise our voices to de-cry this injustice?
Grace added that let’s not forget that these men had left families behind whilst in jail. One of the men was left by his wife and she remarried. Other issues discussed were the Fire at Mpilo Hospital that destroyed vital resources for staff and patients. Mental Health institutions are being forced by circumstance to discharge patience prematurely. An example is the case of a Lupane mentally unwell man who stabbed and killed a young woman for calling him insane.
The situation in Zimbabwe is getting worse. Our leaders seem to be out of touch with what is going on. There was a picture on social media of ED Mnangagwa and Passion Java enjoying a cup of tea. This seemed so out of touch with the reality on the ground. This is under the guise of using Passion Java, a charismatic socialite and prophet to get unsuspecting people to sign up to AAG, the new government initiative. If you do not have a ZANU PF card then there is no chance of getting aid and assistance.
As North Branch we need to keep abreast with these human rights violations so we can tailor our campaigns to highlight these to the international community so we can drive change in our country.

3. Referral for Amnesty International for fellow activists (Noxolo Maphosa and others)
There are letters that are being written to the international organizations and should be ready by this weekend. We have Noxolo and her baby. She is homeless and has been struggling to get support. Tawanda Muchehiwa needs psychological help to deal with the ordeal he faced. He was suicidal for a while. The only organization that is able to help is Amnesty International.
We are also writing to the American embassy, the employer of the uncle of Tapiwa Makore. Tapiwa Makore was beheaded and buried without his head. His uncle is accused of the crime.

4. Fundraising for various projects
We are looking for donations for various projects in Zimbabwe that seek to help citizens in the country. As a branch we encourage members to donate. Our projects include donations of PPE equipment for Harare Hospital and other hospitals and borehole drilling for Bulawayo communities without access to safe water. Can we have pledges from here and spread the word to other branches.

Pledges:
Delina Mutyambizi £50
Vengai Mutsawu £20
Nontokozo Malaba Ncube £20
Karen Nhakaniso £5
Mavis Harrison £20
Margaret Tashayawedu £10
Phylis Melody Magejo £20
Edineth Mtengwa £10
Thabi Muleya £10

We currently have 1000 face masks.

5. Financial Report
Unfortunately the treasurer is not here today.

AOB
No AOB.

All agenda items and any other business having been exhausted, Vengai Mutsawu thanked everyone for attending and declared the meeting closed at 1531 hrs.

To view pictures taken at the event, follow this link.

By: Information & Publicity Department