OPPOSITION activist Davidson Negonde has gone into hiding following a recent crackdown by the government ahead of the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) Summit slated for August 17 in Harare.
The crackdown on political players and civil rights activists has so far seen the abduction and dramatic arrest of three prominent activists, Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere and Samuel Gwenzi.
The trio has been charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly protesting outside the courts following the arrest of dozens of opposition supporters this month.
Negonde’s activism over the years has made him a continual target for harassment, torture, and threats from state agents since the run up to the August 2023 harmonised elections which saw President Emmerson Mnangagwa being elected for his second and final term in office.
A source close to the activist said Negonde’s support for the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) had seen him being persecuted, forcing him to go into hiding.
“As tensions heightened leading up to the Sadc summit, crackdowns on opposition figures intensified,” the source said.
“On June 16, during a private CCC meeting to commemorate Day of the African Child, Zanu PF operatives, masquerading as police officers, raided our gathering where he (Davidson) managed to escape as he had been sent to the shops.”
State security agents have been on high alert and under direct orders to pick up anyone suspected to be organising protests despite this being a democratic right as enshrined in Zimbabwe’s constitution.
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According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, more than 160 people, opposition politicians, activists, union leaders have since been arrested by Zimbabwean authorities since mid-June.
Reports of abductions, torture and arrests of political and human rights activists have set a dangerous tone for Sadc’s commitment to human rights under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s chairmanship.
