Three prominent human rights defenders, Robson Chere of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ), Namatai Kwekweza, and opposition councillor Samuel Gwenzi, have been arrested at Robert Mugabe International Airport. This incident occurred as they were about to board a plane, according to reports from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

Robson Chere, the Secretary General of ARTUZ, is well-known for advocating for improved working conditions and salaries for teachers. Namatai Kwekweza, a young human rights defender and survivor of an alleged state-sponsored abduction, is also among the detained. Samuel Gwenzi, representing Harare’s Ward 5 for the Citizens Coalition for Change, was elected in last year’s elections.

ZLHR reported that the three were removed from the plane but their current whereabouts remain unknown. “We are greatly concerned about the whereabouts of pro-democracy campaigner Kwekweza and two other people, who reached out to us after they were removed from a plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport,” said ZLHR.

The arrests add to a growing list of over 70 opposition activists detained ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit scheduled for August in Harare. Former MP Ostallos Siziba stated, “This comes as the regime attempts to silence voices ahead of the SADC summit. Human rights activists, trade unionists, student leaders, and democratic opposition members are being targeted. The fight is on, it’s homeland or death! #ZanuPFMustGo.”

Analysts suggest that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is cracking down on potential protests that could disrupt the upcoming summit. State security agents are reportedly under orders to arrest anyone suspected of organizing demonstrations, despite constitutional rights to protest.

Among those detained is a mother with a one-year-old baby currently being held at Harare Central Remand Prison. The arrests at senior CCC member Jameson Timba’s home on The Day of the African Child have sparked widespread online petitions calling for the release of the mother and child.

As the SADC summit approaches, tensions rise with the regime’s heightened security measures and increasing arrests of opposition members and human rights defenders.