I thank my fearless lawyer who, against even my family – because I think all my family wanted to hear was that I’d been granted bail, but she insisted there were applications and things she needed to do as a lawyer, which, if she did not do, she would be questioned in the future in terms of what she had done for me. And so she made an application to challenge the fact that I was abducted, the fact that I was tortured and the fact that I was not protected by the law. And we were seeking for it to be referred to the constitutional court.
And at that time, my family was really up in arms that they were tired of all these applications and all they wanted to hear was a bail application. And my lawyer asked me to talk to them. I spoke to them and made them understand that it was important that these applications take their course. The case was referred to the constitutional court. And it was heard in the constitutional court in June 2009. And on September 28, 2009, the constitutional court, which is known as the Supreme Court in Zimbabwe, ruled that they unanimously agreed on the bench that my rights had been violated by the state through its agents, and as a result, there was going to be a permanent stay of criminal prosecution.
And that’s how I was cleared of all the crime that I had been accused of. But then even after the end of the case, I think things have lingered on. And I think even up to now there are times when I think about what I went through. But at least for now, I don’t think about it as why me, why did it have to be me? I think I have changed from that position and recognize that probably there was a reason why I had to go through the pain that I went through.
Jestina M. Mukoko is the National Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, a nonprofit organization that monitors and documents political violence in Zimbabwe. As Zimbabwe’s premier monitoring body, the organization maintains a strong network throughout the country that is able to bring widespread attention to occurrences of political violence.
A long-time leader in the human rights and activist communities in Zimbabwe, Ms. Mukoko was abducted from her home on December 3, 2008, by state security agents for her work monitoring the brutality of the Robert Mugabe government. During her 21-day abduction, she was tortured, beaten, and forced to confess to a crime she did not commit. She remained detained until a court granted her bail on March 2, 2009.
For her steadfastness on issues related to human rights, Jestina Mukoko was named the 2009 Laureate of the City of Weimar (Germany) Human Rights Prize and a 2010 recipient of the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award. In 2009, Ms. Mukoko was awarded the NANGO (National Association of Nongovernmental Organizations) Peace Award. For her commitment and perseverance, she received the French National Order of the Legion of Honor award in 2011.
She serves on several boards, including those of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, and the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe. A former news anchor for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, she is also mentoring with the Female Students Network, a youth organization.
A peace and human rights campaigner, Jestina Mukoko is also a mother. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Politics and Administration from the University of Zimbabwe. Ms. Mukoko was the 2010 Fellow at the Oak Institute for International Human Rights at Colby College in Maine. In 2012, she joined other mid-career professionals as a Draper Hills Summer Fellow on Democracy and Development Program at Stanford University.
Mugabe’s social and economic policies have been disastrous. An estimated one-fifth of the population is infected with HIV. Life expectancy has declined dramatically since 1990. Land redistribution in the 1990s cut food production and led to hunger and disease. The government’s mismanagement of the economy led to hyperinflation in the 2000s, reaching an estimated peak of 13 billion percent in November 2008.
Mugabe has stifled democracy and human rights since coming to power. The government cracks down on opposition political parties and civil society groups. Basic rights such as freedom of expression and assembly are not respected. Violence surrounding the 2008 elections led to a power-sharing agreement between ZANU and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Freedom House rates Zimbabwe as not free in political rights and civil liberties, noting Mugabe’s frequent abuses of power, corruption, regime-sponsored political violence, the lack of independent media, and flawed electoral processes.