Harare, Zimbabwe - Activist Itai
Dzamara was grabbed from a barbershop at
gunpoint and thrown into a waiting vehicle
three months ago after staging sit-ins
demanding the resignation of President
Robert Mugabe. He hasn't been seen since.
Zimbabwean officials say they have searched
for clues into the kidnapping, but so far have
been unsuccessful in locating Dzamara.
His wife Sheffra said the abduction has
devastated the family, noting they were
entirely dependent on the support of her
husband. She said well-wishers have helped
by providing food.
"I am a mother of two very young children
and they keep asking for their father," said
Sheffra. "I don't know what to tell them."
In broad daylight on March 9, five armed
men seized Dzamara from a working class
Harare suburb, according to his family.
Crispen Makedenge, head of police's Law and
Order Unit in the Criminal Investigations
Department, said there has been no progress
made in the probe.
One lead "did not yield any positive results as
to the whereabouts of the victim",
Makedenge told Al Jazeera. "We are trying
hard to recover him."
'Do all things necessary'
A journalist by trade, Dzamara, 35, launched
the pro-democracy pressure group Occupy
Africa Unity Square to demand Mugabe's
departure from office.
The abduction has raised concerns among
human rights activists and diplomats in
Zimbabwe.
Sheffra Dzamara successfully petitioned the
courts to compel the police and the Central
Intelligence Organisation to find her
husband.
During a High Court hearing, the police and
CIO said they knew nothing about Dzamara's
disappearance.
High Court Justice David Mangota ordered
the home affairs minister, commissioner-
general of police, and head of CIO "to do all
things necessary to determine his
whereabouts", including placing ads in state
media outlets.
Mangota directed detectives to work closely
with Dzamara's lawyers "to search for [him] at
all such places as may be within their
jurisdiction", and to furnish the courts with
regular progress reports.
International involvement
The United States, European Union, and
human rights groups have asked the
government to ensure Dzamara's safe return.
After a visit to Zimbabwe on June 3,
American official Shannon Smith told the US
Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Africa in
Washington, DC that she had raised
concerns over government intimidation,
harassment, and torture.
"Mr Dzamara gained notoriety after he
presented a letter to the office of the
president and cabinet in 2014, demanding
that President Mugabe step down for failing
the Zimbabwean people," Smith said.
"During our recent visit to Zimbabwe, my
colleague and I raised this case with the
government - and in virtually every meeting.
The United States stands with Mr Dzamara
and the people of Zimbabwe in defending the
rights to freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly."
The EU delegation in Harare said in a
statement last week it was "increasingly
concerned" about the lack of progress made
by authorities in this case.
"The EU reiterates its call on the government
of Zimbabwe to take necessary measures to
ascertain Mr Damara's whereabouts,
safeguard his well being, and accord him the
full protection of the law," it
said. "Furthermore, the EU calls on the
government of Zimbabwe to ensure those
responsible for the abduction of Dzamara are
brought to justice."
The 28-nation EU has eased sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe in 2002 over human
rights violations. It resumed direct aid to the
southern African country but kept an arms
embargo in place, as well as an asset freeze
and travel ban on Mugabe and his wife,
Grace.
Right to prayer
On Sunday, Zimbabwe police stopped a public
prayer meeting that the Dzamara family had
organised in order to highlight the forced
disappearance and call for his safe return.
But later that day High Court Justice Joseph
Musakwa lifted the police ban, noting any
attempt to censor people's prayers was
unconstitutional.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has
accused Mugabe of being responsible for
"this morbid and senseless act", said the ban
on the prayer meeting vindicated his
position.
"This is how the Almighty God operates, he
makes the guilty expose themselves. We
continue to pray for the safe return of
Dzamara every day," said Tsvangirai of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party.
Two days before his abduction, Dzamara
delivered a speech at an opposition rally in
Harare offering solidarity with the MDC for
"mass action" and protests against the
deteriorating political and economic situation
in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai noted.
Weeding out threats?
Rights groups say the Zimbabwean state has
resumed its use of coercion to close
democratic space and to target activists.
Recently, 11 members of the pro-democracy
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition - a
conglomeration of 350 rights groups - were
arrested while demanding that police adhere
to the High Court order compelling them to
search for Dzamara.
"Dzamara's disappearance on 9 March 2015 is
also another sign that the regime will resort
to crude violence to weed out any potential
threat to its stranglehold," said the group's
McDonald Lewanika.
Despite 100 days since his kidnapping,
Dzamara's family say they believe he will be
returned to them safe and sound.
"We still hold on to hope. We keep on
praying," said Patson Dzamara, brother of the
missing activist.

www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/06/zimbabwe-searching-activist-100-days-150615064602936.html

May thunder fire evil-minded people.