11 years on, rights groups demand answers over Itai Dzamara disappearance
HUMAN rights organisations have renewed calls for justice over the disappearance of pro-democracy activist Itai Dzamara, who was abducted 11 years ago.
Dzamara disappeared on March 9, 2015, after he was allegedly taken by unidentified men at a barber shop in Glen View, Harare, in broad daylight.
He has not been seen since.
Before his disappearance, Dzamara was one of the outspoken critics of late former President Robert Mugabe.
Marking the anniversary on Monday, Amnesty International Zimbabwe said Dzamara’s family has endured years of anguish waiting for answers on his fate.
The human rights watchdog urged the government to establish an independent, judge-led commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dzamara’s abduction.
“Itai Dzamara’s family and friends have endured eleven painful years waiting for truth and justice over his enforced disappearance,” the organisation said in a statement.
“His family needs closure from the agonising uncertainty they have been subjected to. The feeling of insecurity and fear that his disappearance has generated is not limited to his close relatives but also affects the broader civil society community.
“Those suspected of criminal responsibility should be brought to justice in fair trials,” Amnesty said.
Similarly, another rights advocacy group, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said it remained deeply concerned about Dzamara’s whereabouts and well-being, urging authorities to provide answers to his family. authorities must intensify efforts to determine what happened to Dzamara.
“Zimbabwean authorities must make more efforts to establish what happened to Dzamara and offer some answers to his family, which continues with the relentless quest for the truth and have been left to worry for the past 11 years without his whereabouts being ascertained,” ZLHR said.
Despite court orders compelling the state to investigate his disappearance, his fate remains unknown more than a decade later, with rights groups continuing to press authorities for accountability.