LOVEMORE MATOMBO . . . president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions

HARARE – Zimbabwe police on Sunday arrested the leader of the country’s labour movement, Lovemore Matombo, for allegedly holding an unsanctioned public meeting.

Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), was arrested together with four other members of his organisation in Victoria Falls town where they were meeting unionists in the resort town as part of a countrywide tour of union structures.

The union leaders were detained overnight at Victoria Falls police station before being transferred to Hanger on Monday morning. There were indications that they might appear in court on Tuesday.

“The ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo was last night arrested in Victoria Falls while addressing members of the ZCTU Victoria Falls district. He was arrested together with the whole district executive and ZCTU staff members Michael Kandukutu, Dumisani Ncube, Nawu Ndlovu and Percy Mcijo,” ZCTU information officer Khumbulani Ndlovu said in a statement.

“They are being charged with contravening POSA (Public Order and Security Act) for holding a meeting without notifying the police,” said Ndlovu.

The POSA requires Zimbabweans to notify police first before holding public political meetings and demonstrations, however professional and other special interest groups such as the ZCTU are not required to notify police of meetings to discuss issues specific to their work or field.

But the police have been accused by human rights groups of using the POSA willy-nilly to bar meetings of any group perceived as unsympathetic to President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party.

The arrest of the ZCTU officials comes barely two weeks after police arrested two top members of the national association of non-governmental organisations also in Victoria Falls where they were attending a meeting of directors of NGOs working in the country.

Meanwhile more than 15 ZCTU activists who were arrested in December 2008 for organising protests by workers against banknote shortages gripping the country at the time were summonsed to appear in court on Tuesday.

The authorities have also reactivated a case against some senior ZCTU officials accused of misappropriating foreign currency. The union said the officials were summonsed to appear in court on November 23. The foreign currency case was thrown out by the courts before for lack of evidence. – ZimOnline