Physically impaired teacher’s lengthy detention agonises family, colleagues

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE

ON 16 June 2024, Ronald Hondongwa, a father-of-two and teacher who is a member of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union (Artuz), walked out of his house headed to Avondale in Harare where he would converge with over 70 other people to commemorate Father’s Day simultaneously with Youth Day.

The hope was that by the end of day he would be back home to his wife and two sons, one in Grade seven at Seke 7 Primary and the other form four at Panganai High School.

Unfortunately for Hondongwa and 77 other people who had gathered at Jameson Timba’s residence, it turned out to be a fateful Sunday as they were ambushed by riot police, brutally assaulted and bundled into police vans.

They have been in custodial remand for over 100 days (140 days on 2 November 2024) and counting, but, 12 have been released from prison because of lack of evidence of participation in the crimes that they were accused of.

In amateur videos that went viral on the fateful day, Hondongwa and his co-accused were seen crawling to the police van.

It would later come to light that one woman, Tambudzai Makororo, suffered a leg fracture and had to have a separate trial because she was admitted to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.

On 4 September 2024, Hondongwa’s wife Philies Pikitayi, was keeping her fingers crossed as magistrate Collet Ncube delivered a verdict on the fate of the 78.

Much to her dismay, only 12 people of her husband’s co-accused were relieved of the charges and set free.

Her husband would remain incarcerated serving for an offence of unlawful gathering along with Timba and others.

Prior to this disappointing judgement, Pikitayi had spent two nights at Harare Central Police Station, after having been arrested for holding a placard demanding the release of her husband.

“I was ready for that because they already arrested my poor man. I was used to seeing and doing everything for him so I was dying inside. It was better to be arrested too,” she said.

The two nights she spent in jail made her prayers for the release of her husband louder. She could not fathom another night in prison for her husband whom she aids in almost all aspects because of his disability.

“Ronald is our first priority. We make sure he is safe but in prison he is not safe anymore,” she said.

Recently, his attorneys from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights alerted the magistrate that Hondongwa had been assaulted by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service personnel for disembarking the prison truck slowly.

Harare Magistrate Collet Ncube has been made aware by lawyers representing the remaining #CCC65 that yesterday, prison officials assaulted one of the accused Ronald Hondongwe who is disabled. The reason for the assault is that he is slow when embarking in a prison truck. pic.twitter.com/DOLrzX68Z1

— Costa Nkomo (@costahcostah) September 24, 2024

Her voice was reinforced by Artuz which released a statement saying the continued detention was not only a miscarriage of justice but targeted because of Hondongwa’s ties with trade unionists.

“The Zimbabwean State is deliberately putting the life of Hondongwa into harm’s way. We continue to receive reports of abuse on a daily basis. On his arrest they destroyed his prosthetic leg, now they accuse him of being slow,” Artuz complained on its X handle.

“The State will pay for all the evils perpetrated against Hondongwa. We have received reliable information that Hondongwa could have been released but is being punished for being a member of our Union.”

His continued detention has had a financial implication on his family, with the wife living on handouts from family members and well-wishers.

“My parents send me money sometimes and someone gave me US$100 last month for fees,” she said.

The two children are in examination classes, with one in primary school while the other is doing Ordinary Level.

Pikitayi is two months behind on rentals and has lost her job.

“I was (working), but not anymore. My company failed to understand my problems and said I should not bring home affairs to work. I said I am late because I was attending my husband’s court case. That’s why they said problems can’t be taken to work,” she told The NewsHawks.

Philies Pikitayi, wife to incarcerated Ronald Hondongwa

Hondongwa and his co accused were recently denied bail again with the court stating that the 65 had a propensity to commit similar offences.

The accused were initially 78 but 12 were expunged from the case.

The 12 in Timba’s case are among the many activists who were released after Zimbabwe successfully convened the Sadc regional summit that conferred President Emmerson Mnangagwa the rotational chair.

There were fears protests would erupt ahead of the three-day meeting of the Sadc heads of State summit and by hook and by crook, law enforcement agents arrested anyone deemed to be a threat.

Namatai Kwekweza, director of We Lead Trust, and her co-accused Artuz secretary-general, Robson Chere, and former councillor for Ward 5 in Harare Central Samuel Gwenzi were released on US$150 bail each after languishing in remand prison for several weeks.

In Bulawayo, councillor Bruce Mmeli was released on a US$100 bail.