State security agents involved in abductions, torture, and state-sponsored violence are not immune to prosecutions according to Osisa executive director and human right defender Sipho Malunga, The Standard reports.
Malunga was speaking at the Sapes Trust’s 10th online edition of the policy dialogue forum when he said:
The perpetrators feel that they walk on water like Jesus, they can literally get away with everything because they have gotten away with anything,The truth is they cannot get away with everything.
The abuses we have seen in post-independent Zimbabwe are crimes under our laws. They must invite criminal consequences and under our laws, criminal consequences are an arrest and prosecution. All acts described over time constitute a crime.
If found guilty, a conviction and a sentence or imprisonment. Every crime committed in Zimbabwe is visited by those consequences.
It is a crime to beat somebody in Zimbabwe, it is called assault, if that assault results in death, it is called murder. There are other crimes like abduction, they are kidnapping.
Malunga made reference to the abduction of 22-year-old MSU journalism student, Mduduzi Mathuthu’s nephew who was abducted by suspected state security agents on 30 July and was subsequently tortured. The Abductors used an Impala Car Rental car but the investigation into his abduction is yet to yield any meaningful results.
More: The Standard