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Seven members of a religious sect die
after drinking tea suspected to have been poisoned
AP (23.05.2002)/HRWF International Secretariat (24.05.2002) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - E-mail info@hrwf.net - Another 47 people were taken ill after drinking the brew at a gathering Sunday of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church, a Christian fundamentalist group, near the town of Nyazura, 190 kilometers (120 miles) east of Harare.
Among the dead was a four-year-old boy.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said foul play was suspected. He said traces of pesticide were found in containers used to make tea for the sect's Sunday gathering.
The sect, with followers across Zimbabwe, bases its teachings on Christianity alongside traditional African beliefs in ancestral spirits and the powers of tribal healers, known in the West as witchdoctors.
Forensic tests were being carried out, Bvudzijena said.
No arrests had been made.
"We are still verifying the implications," he said.
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Church leaders arrested in Zimbabwe
Compass Direct (21.02.2002) - HRWF International Secretariat (26.02.2002)-Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - Eleven church leaders were arrested on February 16 following a series of prayer meetings in the Hillside suburb of Bulawayo, this southern African nation's second largest city located about 250 miles southwest of the capital, Harare.
Relatives who visited the prisoners the next day found them in good spirits and "proud to be in prison for Christ." The Christians have since been released on bail of $1,000 each.
The 10 men and one woman had been taking part in a series of interdenominational services organized by four Hillside churches to pray for peace in the forthcoming presidential elections, which are due to start on March 9.
The participants planned to march from church to church in silent protest at the widespread political violence currently taking place in Zimbabwe.
However, Anglican minister Rev. Noel Scott warned them at the first church that the police had forbidden the march for security reasons. So the decision was made to drive between the churches. At each of the services, a police presence was visible.
At the end of the final service, Scott, who had been leading the prayers,was arrested by the police and detained under the Public Order and Security Act. This new law is intended to control public demonstrations, and critics of President Robert Mugabe and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) party say that the recently-passed law gives police unlimited power to stifle public protests and imprison opposition leaders.
Ten Christians accompanied Scott to the charge office. While he was taken inside, they knelt on pavement outside and prayed. Police then came out and arrested all 10 Christians and charged them with obstruction, which carries a maximum two-year jail sentence.
The church leaders were told to report to the police every week. A date for trial has not yet been set.
Meanwhile, preparations are being made for a massive Christian rally in Bulawayo on February 23 to pray for peace and for the forthcoming elections. Organizers are concerned that this latest police action will cause fewer Christians to attend.
Critics both inside and outside the country have railed against Mugabe's handling of the land redistribution issue and the forthcoming elections,
which have left a trail of arbitrary imprisonments, beatings, state confiscation of property and threats against blacks and whites. Journalists attempting to report the truth have been sacked or imprisoned. Foreign journalists have been expelled.
Recently, Mugabe evicted the head of the European Union's election observation team, Sweden's Pierre Schori, putting into doubt the role of international monitors for the forthcoming elections. In reply, the European Union imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions on Zimbabwe on February 18 and froze the foreign assets of Mugabe and other government leaders.
Many church leaders are concerned that the new laws will be used to limit their activities and their rights to protest. Church leaders and clerics
who have dared to criticize the tactics of the ZANU government have been threatened, lost jobs or been forced into exile.
On February 13, nine Roman Catholic bishops called for an end to intimidation and violence or "any anti-social activities that diminish peace in the run-up to elections."
"We are now living in fear," said Tarcey Zimbiti, acting director of the Catholic Council for Justice and Peace. "We cannot feel secure anymore. You can never be sure what will happen to you tomorrow."
One source told Compass Direct that the security situation in Bulawayo had deteriorated, and most people expect the violence to increase as the election approaches. According to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum, January was the worst month so far for political deaths, with 16 people killed. Most victims were members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change,which is challenging Mugabe's ZANU party at the polls.
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