Opinion: Jestina Mukoko, who was abducted under Mugabe's regime, speaks of her hopes and fears for a new Zimbabwe
Jestina Mukoko visited Ireland in August 2018 to raise awareness about human rights in Zimbabwe.
An outspoken defender of human rights, she acts as the National Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project. This organisation monitors and documents human rights violations in Zimbabwe and Trócaire has supported their work for many years.
Jestina arrived in Ireland as Zimbabwe is on the cusp of a new beginning. Mugabe has departed, and fresh elections have been held. These are historic times, after decades of Mugabe’s rule. Yet the elections have been disputed by the opposition, and marred by violence.
Ten years ago, Jestina was abducted by Mugabe’s agents in the middle of the night.
"I was abducted, tortured and kept away from my family for weeks on end, and at the end of the day had to face trumped up charges".
She was missing for nearly three weeks, and her family thought that she had been killed. Her brother went through the morgues searching for her body. Thankfully she survived this experience and the charges against her were eventually dropped. However she is still seeking compensation for her ordeal, and hopes to finally see a court decision this year.
"When Mugabe was ousted, I was really excited", she says. "I was happy that he had been removed because it was during his regime that I was abducted, tortured and really went through a lot of pain".
"I know that he had established a system and as head of that system, that was the beginning of that system crumbling".
She adds that "they say that a fish rots first from the head and that was the kind of situation I felt at the time".
Following Mugabe’s departure, fresh elections were held in late July and the pre-election period was markedly different to previous campaigns. According to Jestina, "it was not as violent as other elections that we have observed and monitored" and hopes were high for a fair election which was free of violence.
But while polling day was calm and there was a euphoric mood on the streets, things turned violent once the disputed results were in. "Six people are confirmed to have lost their lives and scores of others were injured when they army came to the streets and they used live ammunition on unarmed civilians".
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Sarah McCann, Trócaire Country Director for Zimbabwe, discusses the latest from the elections after violence breaks out on Morning Ireland
The opposition party took a constitutional case which challenged the ruling party's claim of winning the Presidential election. That case was rejected by the Constitutional court in Harare, and Emmerson Mnangagwa from Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party has been declared the winner.
Despite the questions around the election and the violent acts by the armed forces, Jestina remains optimistic about the future. "I think as a Human Rights defender I do have hope for the country or I would not find myself doing this work". She says she looks forward to a Zimbabwe where people’s rights are respected and "a democratic society where you will do things as a free citizen and not think about the repercussions afterwards".
Her own experience of violence and oppression has not deterred her from defending human rights. She says that her experience of being abducted and the targeting of her work by the state showed that "the work that I was doing was recognised by the system". This shows "the impact of the work that Zimbabwe Peace Project does, work that is supported by Trócaire".
In Ireland, Jestina spoke at a Trócaire seminar on Women’s Leadership during the World Meeting of Families, amongst other speaking and media engagements. "During my difficult times, I have been able to come to Ireland where I have had the opportunity to come to Ireland and cool off away from the frontline".
"What really drives me is when I see people that we work with wear a smile, it just keeps me going".
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
