For over four years members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), a non-partisan, non-violent peace activist organization, have been subjected to harassment, arrests and imprisonment by Robert Mugabe’s government. The arrest continued even after the March 29th elections and the days leading to the June 27th run-off.
Annie Sibanda, spokeswoman for the organization told Nightline’s Akwei Thompson that, together with the rest of Zimbabwe, members of WOZA were determined to take part in the March 29th election and to “exercise our rights, as citizens, to chose our government.” She said they were delighted to hear the results that the "people had spoken and that they had voted for change."
However, Sibanda said, the increase in violence by Zanu-PF right after the March election was a clear indication that the June 27th run off was not going to be free and fair. “From early May, we were demonstrating against the political violence in the country and calling for the election to be postponed, or put off and for SADC and the AU to in the intervene so that the situation in the country would be normalized...”
Asked how significant it would have been for WOZA and Zimbabwe had Tsvangirai stayed in the race to give a chance to win the election, Sibanda said “I don’t there would have been any scenario where Morgan Tsvangirai would have been allowed a chance to win the run-off given the situation on the round.”
