Staff ReporterCivil society organisations and family members of abducted political activist Itai Dzamara have demanded that the new President Emmerson Mnangagwa do everything in his power to bring him back to his family dead or alive.
Dzamara was abducted by five unidentified men in March 2015 and bundled into an unmarked truck near his home in the capital Harare, according to his family.
Itai Dzamara
The High Court had ordered police and the State intelligence agency to search for the journalist-turned-activist who went missing after staging sit-ins demanding the resignation of now ousted Robert Mugabe.
High Court judge David Mangota’s ruling decreed police to give a report every Friday on the progress of the search.
Efforts to get a comment on the progress of the investigation from the police spokesperson Charity Charamba could not yield results yesterday as her mobile phone went unanswered.
Since the resignation of Mugabe, pressure has been piling on the new administration to put closure on the issue.
“#Zimbabwe’s new government must act to ensure there is an investigation into Itai’s disappearance. His family deserves answers. #WhereIsItai?” international human rights group Amnesty International said on Twitter yesterday.
Itai’s brother Patson, who has previously petitioned commissioner-general of police Augustine Chihuri, former Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo, National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda over the issue, renewed his call yesterday.
“As this ‘new’ government hits the ground running, I am appealing for your help and support. I want you to help me demand answers regarding my brother’s abduction and disappearance. I know you can help amplify my voice and I need you to do so. We can afford to do this for a man who stood in the gap for all of us, risking his life,” Patson said.
Other citizens are also demanding answers now that Mugabe is gone.
Lawyer Doug Coltart said an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the journalist must be a priority for Mnangagwa’s government.
“A genuine, independent and thorough investigation into the abduction of Itai Dzamara must be among the top priorities of president Mnangagwa’s new administration. We demand answers, truth and justice. #BBID #DearED #WhereIsItaiDzamara?” he wrote on Twitter. DailyNews
