Police target lockdown violators
Publish date: 01 June 2020
Issue Number: 875
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Covid-19 crisis
Zimbabwean police say they have detained 40 000 people for breaking lockdown restrictions. The suspects have been warned, fined or imprisoned. The majority were arrested after travelling more than 5km (from their homes) or failing to wear masks. BBC News reports that the country has been in lockdown since 30 March. Coronavirus cases remain relatively low with 56 cases recorded, 25 recoveries and four deaths.
Two Zimbabwean journalists arrested while investigating the abduction of three opposition party members have been released on bail. Frank Chikowore and Samuel Takawira, working for the online news outlet 263Chat, had been held on the grounds that they had breached Zimbabwe's anti-coronavirus social distancing rules. 'The magistrate granted them US$20 bail each,' said Kumbirai Mafunda, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. A report on the News24 site notes that the pair was 'ordered not to interfere with witnesses and continue to reside at the addresses they gave the police until the matter comes to an end'. Chikowore and Takawira were arrested on Friday at a private hospital where they were conducting interviews with an opposition lawmaker and two party officials who had been assaulted.
The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) has expressed concern over reports of an increase in alleged corruption by Zimbabwe’s police and soldiers. In a statement received by Legalbrief, it warns that the behaviour of ‘corrupt public officials’ could impact on donor aid. It warned that police and soldiers are soliciting bribes in exchange for ignoring violations of Covid-19 regulations. South African human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba, who is an ACT-SA trustee, said ‘laws and regulations on corruption busting are not an end in themselves’. ‘Implementation and enforcement are critical. Government and civil society must strengthen partnership to ensure good governance, especially in so far as the protection of whistle-blowers is concerned,’ he said.
Tanzania has summoned the top official at the US embassy to object to an advisory that warned of ‘exponential growth’ of Covid-19 cases in the country. The embassy's ‘health advisory’ published this month contained inaccurate information, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. A report on the News24 site notes that it claimed that ‘many hospitals’ in Dar es Salaam ‘have been overwhelmed in recent weeks’. 'This is not true and could cause panic among Tanzanians and foreigners,' the Foreign Ministry noted. President John Magufuli has repeatedly downplayed the gravity of the pandemic, and it has been a month since the last official data reflected 480 cases and 16 deaths.
A report on the News24 site notes that 441 repatriated Malawians, including several Covid-19 patients, fled quarantine and isolation sites in Blantyre. They had been bused from SA on Monday, where they were left stranded after the country closed its borders in March to limit the spread of coronavirus. Twelve of the migrants were staying in an isolation centre after testing positive for the virus at the border and the rest were quarantined at a football stadium where they were awaiting further test results. 'If most of them have Covid-19, then we are facing very difficult times ahead,' said district health officer Gift Kawaladzira. Malawi has recorded just 101 coronavirus cases so far, including four deaths.
