Mugabe's jailers release two-year-old-boy, after weeks inside
A boy of two has finally been released from jail in Zimbabwe after being held for weeks with his parents who face political charges.
Nigel Mutemagau was given to relatives yesterday after a judge said there was no reason to hold him.
His parents, opposition party members Collen Mutemagau and Violet Mupfuranhehwe, are accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.
At a court hearing today, at which they appeared without Nigel in their arms for the first time since they were detained, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausika ordered that all the defendants be taken to a hospital for examinations to investigate charges they were tortured.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the charges against the boy’s parents and six other defendants were “trumped up.” The party said those detained – even Nigel – were abused by security agents.
Defence lawyer Charles Kwaramba said Nigel was beaten as he and his parents were taken from their home, and that fact would be included in a dossier of evidence showing that detainees were tortured.
Nigel and his parents were among a group that included prominent peace activist Jestina Mukoko, whose whereabouts had been unknown for weeks. Police had denied they were being held.
The activists were finally brought to court on December 24, the same day state media reported they were accused in a plot widely dismissed as a fabrication. They have yet to be formally charged.
The defendants are accused of attempting to recruit anti-government fighters to train in neighbouring Botswana.
Zimbabwean officials have repeatedly made such accusations, which Botswana and the opposition party have denied.
Activists fear the Mugabe government could use the charges as an excuse to declare a state of emergency and withdraw from power-sharing talks.
A power-sharing deal signed in September calls for Mugabe to remain president and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to take the new post of prime minister. The agreement has stalled over a dispute about who would control key Cabinet posts – and over charges Mugabe has stepped up harassment of dissidents.
Cholera, meanwhile, continued to spread because of Zimbabwe’s crumbling health care system and water supply infrastructure. The United Nations said the death toll had risen to 2,106, with more than 40,448 people infected since the outbreak began in August.
The UN and others caution the official figures may be far lower than actual cases because many Zimbabweans are dying before they can reach medical help.
