Activist claims US$550k for abduction, torture

AN activist has filed a lawsuit at the High Court, claiming US$500 000 in damages after he was allegedly abducted, tortured and subjected to waterboarding by people believed to be State security agents.

 

Robson Chere is suing ZRP Commissioner-General, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) and Tafadzwa Hunda, who was allegedly among the assailants.

 

The activist is being represented by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

 

On July 31, 2024, Chere was aboard a fastjet flight to Victoria Falls to attend the Africa Philanthropy Conference when, at around 12:50pm, “a team of unknown individuals stopped the flight from taking off and forcibly ejected the plaintiff from the plane.”

 

The assailants, some wearing tags inscribed with ACZ’s logo, did not identify themselves or explain their actions.

 

Chere, along with three others — Samuel Gwenzi, Vusumuzi Moyo and Namatai Kwekweza — was taken to a disused room at the airport’s domestic terminal.

 

There, he says, he endured hours of brutal interrogation and torture.

 

According to the court declaration, the unknown individuals seized Chere’s mobile phone and “forced him to enter his PIN to gain access to it.”

 

He submitted that they then “plucked the plaintiff’s dreadlocks forcefully” and “threatened to rape his wife and harm his children.”

 

“They threatened to rape his wife and harm his children if he organised demonstrations during the Sadc summit,” the court papers read.

 

The torture escalated as they “assaulted him all over his body, including his legs and head, with an iron bar and wooden logs.”

 

Chere alleged that he was subjected to waterboarding, a notorious torture technique.

 

“They placed a wet cloth to cover his mouth and nose and poured cold water on his face as he faced upwards,” the court papers state.

 

Some of his attackers reportedly filmed the abuse.

 

At around 9pm, Chere and the others were reportedly handed over to police officers from Harare Central’s CID Law and Order Section.

 

“The police officers wilfully co-operated with his captors. No meaningful investigations were conducted to bring the perpetrators to account,” the court papers indicate. Despite his visible injuries — which medical examiners later said put him at very high risk of suffering from acute kidney failure. He was charged with disorderly conduct.

 

His lawyers located him after hours of serious a search, according to court papers.

 

The lawsuit states that the police were complicity in the torture, noting that Chere’s seized phone was later found in police custody.

 

“The police officers proceeded to treat our client, who was visibly injured, as a suspect and no arrests were effected on his captors,” ZLHR stated in an October 2024 notice of intent to sue.

 

The plaintiff argues that the defendants are vicariously liable, as the attackers “were acting within the scope and course of their employment.”

 

ZLHR said Chere’s constitutional rights were violated.

 

“The abduction and torture of the plaintiff violated his rights to personal security, freedom from torture and dignity under sections 51, 52 and 53 of the Constitution,” the court papers state.

 

The plaintiff is demanding US$550 000, broken down to US$100 000 for pain and suffering, US$200 000 for torture and remainder for unlawful detention, trauma and humiliation.

 

Interest and legal costs are also being claimed.

 

The defendants had 10 days to respond to the summons. If they failed to do so, the court may rule in Chere’s favour by default. Newsday