HUMAN rights watchdog Amnesty International Zimbabwe (AIZ) has called for the government to conduct a thorough, independent, effective and transparent investigation into Itai Dzamara’s disappearance.
The late Dzamara, a staunch critic of the late former President Robert Mugabe and the ruling party disappeared on March 9 2015 after he was allegedly abducted by suspected State security agents at a barbershop in Glen View, Harare.
In a statement released on Thursday, AIZ executive director Lucia Masuka said the state’s failure to account for Dzamara eight years later is evidence that authorities have no political will to do so.
“The failure of Zimbabwean authorities to account for the enforced disappearance of Itai Dzamara, eight years after he was last seen, speaks volumes about the lack of political will to account for him.
“The world and Itai Dzamara’s family want truth and justice for his disappearance. His family also want to be freed from the agonizing uncertainty they have been subjected to since his disappearance.
“We join Itai’s family in calling on the Zimbabwean authorities to conduct a thorough, independent, effective, and transparent investigation into his disappearance,” Masuka said.
Masuka added: “Since his disappearance, no meaningful investigation has taken place and his whereabouts remain unknown. We need to see an inquiry with findings that are made public, and suspected perpetrators brought to justice.”
“Amnesty International is reiterating its call for the government to set up an independent judge-led Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances around the abduction of Itai Dzamara, with powers to subpoena witnesses.
