Okay
Machisa is a good man with a good heart, one of the truly few good men that one
can mention without hesitation. Hailing from Penhalonga, the 42-year-old Okay
is a product of humble beginnings and man of modest means, who grew up at
schools and developed a passionate love for music. He eventually taught music, and
even as he carries out his other duties, still finds time to perform, arrange and
organise arts events. He is an arts
industry aficionado. He is father to two lovely daughters, one in High School,
the other in Primary school, and husband to a loyal loving wife, Candice.
His
pursuit for the Zimbabwean dream of freedom and a land full of milk and honey,
took him from a profession in the theatre arts (with Rooftop Promotions) that
he loved. In 2007, Machisa joined the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
where as a Programs Associate; he was specifically tasked with infusing art and
creativity in the Coalition’s work. This task, he performed beyond expectations,
presiding over one of the best and most successful campaigns that the Crisis
Coalition has done to date, “ The Get Out The Vote Campaign for 2008”. The
campaign had as its centre piece “Rock Da Vote Concerts”.
His
success in this quest saw him being persuaded to take up leadership as Director
of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights). At that time, after close
to 20 years of existence, Zimrights was in dire need of new energy and
reinvention. In a short space of time, Okay was able to infuse into ZIMRIGHTS
his enthusiasm, passion and creativity, and rebuild and grow its grassroots
structures to the over 300 branches. It now boasts over 70,000 members from a
cross section of society. In the process and through his creative leadership,
the unassuming Okay won the Association accolades not just in their core-business
of Human Rights defense and promotion – as ZimRights was awarded the Human
Rights and Governance Award for 2010, but other uncharted waters for Civil
Society, in film. A ZimRights documentary, which had a photo exhibition twinned
with it, won the Best Short Film Award at the Zimbabwe Film Festival in 2010.The
exhibition was staged in Zimbabwe before being banned. It was displayed
internationally in Hungary, Norway, Switzerland, London, Germany, Botswana and
South Africa. His ability to lead and connect people; his ability to influence
and get things moving is now a record beyond reproach. This saw him being asked
to Chair the Coalition that first introduced him to civil society work and gave
him the opportunity to show the world his passion and love for a better
Zimbabwe.
On
January 4, 2012, while sitting in the High Court of Zimbabwe, attending a bail
application case in which a colleague of his, Leo Chamahwinya, a Zimrights
employee was questionably charged with fraud and forgery Okay was surprised to
hear the Prosecution Attorneys saying that they wanted Leo remanded in custody
because they could not locate the ZimRights Director. There were further allegations
that the director – Machisa – had skipped the country with his Secretary Faith
Mamutse, to Norway. Leo Chamahwinya, had been arrested on December 13 by Harare
police, who had initially left with him from his ZimRights Office to “assist in
identifying people who had allegedly been defrauding ZimRights. Leo’s lawyer,
Trust Maanda, who had noticed Okay’s presence in court, promptly offered to
show him to the court in a bid to secure bail for his clients, an offer the
court refused.
Okay
got in touch with his lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who then engaged the police on
the matter, and accompanied him to the Harare central Police station on January
14, 2013, ostensibly for an interview. The visitby the end of the day had
turned into an arrest, with Okay spending the night at Rhodesview Police
station. For two days prominent lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa tried to secure his
release through some very persuasive legal arguments which clearly showed that
Okay and ZimRights had no case to answer. This was in relation to trumped up
charges of Forgery and Conspiracy to commit fraud, with people who Okay didn’t
know and had no dealings with ZimRights, at the Magistrate Court. Okay was remanded
in custody to January 30, 2013. A clearly unmoved Magistrate Mahwe, denied Okay
bail ostensibly on the grounds that his matter was
“A national security
issue, his co accused have all been denied bail so he cannot be treated
differently and investigations are yet to be carried out at all the
organization’s regional offices”.
What
is the issue really in this matter? It seems apparent that when finally heard,
Okay and ZimRights will be exonerated of any wrong doing. It is said that the
police officers who first came to ZimRights and left with Leo Chamahwinya, said
they had come to help ZimRights in a case in which ZimRights could have been
defrauded. The Zimbabwe Republic Police were investigating a case in which they
had arrested three people found in possession of falsified documents from
Headmaster’s letters to Residents permits for foreigners, one of whom had fingered
Dorcas Shereni, a ZimRights Local Chapter Chairperson. She then asked her kids
to call Leo for advice on what to do since Highfield police had arrested her,
and thought Leo could help. The police called Leo, and on learning that he was
at ZimRights, came to ZimRights on the originally stated premise.
Leo
works for ZimRights and by extension for Okay. Without subverting the role of
the courts, it seems, someone saw an opportunity. Okay is a careful man, and
law abiding citizen. ZimRights is a registered organisation, which has legally
operated for 20 years as a Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO); its mandate is
clear and broad, and difficult to stray away. So what really is the issue here?
It’s
almost obvious that there are several things at play. Someone somewhere saw an
opportunity to dent the credibility of ZimRights by tying the institution to
criminals and criminal acts they had nothing to do with as an institution. It
is clear that the work of ZimRights of promoting and defending human rights is
not criminal, but through charging the institution and its leader, that work is
being criminalized. This is not surprising, as there is a standing ZANU PF
Conference resolution made in Gweru last month to deal with “ errant” NGO’s, “
operating outside their mandate”, which can be translated to mean organisations
working on Human Rights and Governance like ZimRights and other organisations
of its ilk. This link can be found based on a previous ZANU-PF conference
resolution made in Bulawayo in December 2011. There is an attempt to damage
the credibility of and intimidate democratic actors and misdirect the public
from real issues to carefully planted ruses.
Why
go after ZimRights’ credibility? Credibility is loosely defined as the quality
of being trusted or being believed in. Often, this is a character that one
gains through time, effort, and a track record in ones’ work, in the process
becoming a trusted and credible commentator, actor, advocate or provider of
information. To deal with the credibility of ZimRights, they have to be
presented to the world, as nothing but a group of forgers and fraudsters, and
see who would then want to be associated with or listen to forgers and
fraudsters.
Okay’s
case is not a new phenomenon, and a clear look at the above strategy shows that
many a people in leadership in civil society may yet suffer the same before
elections are held in Zimbabwe. Outside Leo and Okay, ZimRights is the same
organisation that had to go for well over a year without its National
Coordinator Cynthia Manjoro, who had to leave a suckling baby to go to jail on
trumped up charges of “murder in the first degree”. She only returned after 255
days when the baby, David, could walk and could say a few things except “mama”.
Along with Cynthia 29 other people were charged with the same crime, and 27 of
them including her were released on bail after more than a year. Indications
are clear that most if not all of them really had nothing to do with the
so-called murder, if indeed pre-meditated murder did take place.
ZimRights
is one of the oldest Civil Society Organisations in Zimbabwe. There is nothing
criminal about their work, yet now it is being criminalized. These Campaigners
for Human rights are now victims of their message and also their success, in a
clear case of targeting by elements of the state who are afraid of an enlightened
society. They feel that a society that knows and demands its rights, including
the right to vote is the biggest threat to their continued existence in power.
In Zimbabwe, people have started to dismiss envy and being targeted by saying “usatye
kumakwa, because anomakwa ndeane bhora, asina anosiwa akadaro” (don’t be afraid
to be ‘targeted’, because only the one who has the ball is targeted, the one
who doesn’t is left alone). This targeting, if for no other reason is an
affirmation of the great work that ZimRights is doing in encouraging people to
exercise their right to vote by first registering as voters. If at all ZimRights
were hard pressed to find indicators of success on the work they are doing as
an association, here is a loud acknowledgement from the state that they are
winning. ZimRights and its members thus have to take this badge of honour,
which the state thinks is targeting, and victimisation, wear it with pride and
continue doing their good work.
As
certain as day, ZimRights will not be the last organisation to have its work criminalized, we have already stated that it is not the first. During the
course of 2012, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO’s Forum and its Director Mr. Abel
Chikomo were consistently hounded and the director detained on ludicrous
charges of “running an illegal organisation”. A clinic in Harare, which offers
clinical and counselling services, was raided in November of 2012, and some of
its clinical and counseling staff charged spraying graffiti on some wall in Bulawayo.
Journalists have been criminalized as liars, bribe seekers and gossipers, while
the bulk of civil society have been bulkanised, and most of them labelled
sell-out lap dogs of the west, European and American spies.
We
have stated before that this line of march, on the part of ZANU PF and some
elements of the State is not new. In the past Human Rights Defenders were
persecuted and charged under laws that are repressive and would clearly show
that they were being persecuted for their work, like POSA, or held under no
charges at all like Jestina Mkoko. Now their work is being criminalized. It may
sound a slightly different pitch but it is the same old song. Initially people
may be hoodwinked by the new approach, but because the beat is the same, sooner
rather than later monotony will set in. People will recall why the beat had
become boring and not worth listening to. If you are credible you are credible,
and it will take much more than this criminalisation to erode that credibility.
It
is inevitable and imperative to conclude that as we head towards the end of the
Inclusive Government (IG), the space for elections has been effectively shut by
the recent anti-NGO campaign. Any NGOs that will be involved in matters distantly
related to elections will be targeted.
