by Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa (17 May 2010)
‘Gukurahundi’ visual artist Owen Maseko says his arrest and the banning of his exhibition is helping him to get his point across and the police actions are proving his point.
Maseko was arrested in March when he opened an exhibition showing an artist’s impression of the Gukurahundi atrocities of the 1980s, at the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo. This was the first exhibition of its kind in Zimbabwe, about this violent period that led to the deaths of an estimated 20 000 Ndebeles in Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces.
Police could not remove the graphic pictures and graffiti which had been painted directly onto the walls of the gallery, so they stormed the building and shut the exhibition down. They also covered the windows with newspapers so that people walking past the gallery could not see the images.
On Monday Maseko told SW Radio Africa that while it has been difficult for him personally to be arrested and going to court, his persecution is allowing people to talk about this terrible episode in Zimbabwe’s history.
He made an urgent application in the High Court to have the exhibition re-opened, but this was thrown out. The artist is expected to appear in a Bulawayo magistrate’s court on May 26th where he is challenging his remand. He said it is at this hearing where it will be decided whether he is going to trial or the charges will be dropped. (Read more…)
Tue, May 18 2010 » Zimbabwe Update » Leave a comment
Invitation to an interactive exhibition on Zimbabwean Refugee Children in South Africa
The Solidarity Peace Trust in Partnership with the Central Methodist Church (Johannesburg) will be organizing an Exhibition in Johannesburg on the Zimbabwean Refugee Children.
Date: 19 May 2009
Time: 10am
Venue: Albert Street School, cnr Albert Street and Kruis,
opposite J’Burg fire station, Marshalltown, Johannesburg
This is an interactive exhibition with recordings from the children themselves. It highlights the plight of the Forgotten Children who fled Zimbabwe’s political turmoil, in search of a better life, peace and security. (Read more…)
Mon, May 10 2010 » Press Releases, Zimbabwe Update » Leave a comment
Amnesty International today [30 March 2010] called on Zimbabwe’s Government to end repression of public debate on past and ongoing human rights violations, following the detention of a well known artist for work depicting atrocities committed in the 1980’s.
Owen Maseko was arrested on 26 March after participating in a show at the Bulawayo National Art Gallery, which depicted atrocities that took place in the Matabeleland region, known as Gukuruhundi, in western Zimbabwe during the 1980s where thousands of people were killed, mainly by state security agents.
The artist who faces charges of “undermining the authority of the President”, “inciting public violence” and “causing offence to people of a particular tribe, race, religion”, under the Public Order And Security Act (POSA), was released on bail today and ordered to report to a police station every Friday.
“President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai should demonstrate their commitment to end human rights violations in Zimbabwe by publicly condemning attempts by police to silence activists and all charges against Owen Maseko should be immediately and unconditionally withdrawn,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Africa programme director. (Read more…)
Thu, April 1 2010 » Zimbabwe Update » Leave a comment
Report Cover Photo: Authentic leader - billboard
There is a general consensus that the Global Political Agreement (GPA), signed in September 2008 and initiated in February 2009, has not yet lived up to expectations, and has been seriously stalled in the implementation of some of its key components. There are clearly key blockages in the process that are locked into a number of factors, namely Zanu PF’s determination to remain in power at any cost, the MDC’s rightful claim to demand the opening up of democratic spaces promised in the GPA, the limitations of SADC’s capacity to respond to the Zimbabwe crisis, and ambiguities around the Western response of limited economic engagement with the Inclusive Government and continued implementations of targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime. (Read more…)
Wed, March 31 2010 » Global Political Agreement, Reports » Leave a comment
Report Cover Photo: Blind Zimbabwean in the room he shares with other blind friends in Johannesburg
The largest mass movement of people into South Africa in its history is continuing into its seventh year, yet the Government appears to have a policy that consists mainly of window dressing and broken promises. The desperate plight of migrants, caught in a twilight world of poverty and unbelonging, involves over one million Zimbabweans of all walks of life and of all ages. Two case studies in this report highlight two small groups – one reviews 82 unaccompanied minors, and one reviews 456 Zimbabweans displaced in November 2009 in De Doorns in the Western Cape. This latter group, part of around 2,400 in De Doorns, had their shacks destroyed during clearly orchestrated and premeditated xenophobic attacks: four months later they remain, more or less forgotten, on a playing field. (Read more…)
Wed, March 31 2010 » Diaspora, Reports » Leave a comment
