Cde Danso and his co-accused were in high spirits and showing great mental courage in the face of persecution from the State which is designed to silence them from exercising their right to call the State to account especially as the watershed 2018 elections approach.
The incarceration which Cde Danso and others are facing is part of a well choreographed plan to silence human rights defenders and prodemocracy activists by the state. Charges levelled against Cde Danso and his co-accused arise out of the alleged death of a police officer after riot police went on the rampage in central Harare assaulting innocent civilians after a peaceful march for electoral reforms.
At the time of the alleged incident, Cde Danso was attending an international conference on Zimbabwe at Rainbow Towers which was organised by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and Sapes Trust. It raises a lot of questions why the investigating officers of the case waited for a good three weeks and did not seek to verify such simple information before arrest and placement of charges.
Furthermore, facts of the murder charge itself are sketchy as the state is allegedly still looking for over 197 accomplices who are still at large. What this proves is that the state is not investigating murder but is out to silence human rights activists using fabrications and blatant lies.
Under what circumstances can 200 people get charged with murder of one police officer? It defies basic logic and the rules of natural justices and exposes the Mugabe regime’s machinations to ruthless crush any dissent to its undemocratic stranglehold on power.
It is therefore clear that Cde Danso and others are innocent and as CiZC we call for their immediate and unconditional release.
We do not not condone murder or any criminal activities however we would like to urge the Zimbabwe Public Police to conduct extensive investigations considering the gravity of charges before arresting and putting the names of people into disrepute.
It is against this background that we are motivated by the high spirits and courage shown by Cde Danso and others in the face of ruthless state persecution. Again as CiZC we remain focused on the vision for a democratic Zimbabwe and determined to pursue it to its conclusion through struggle for we know that it is only through struggles that freedoms are won.
Aluta Continua Cde Danso!!
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