The Professional Trajectory of a Human Rights Lawyer in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2008

Bibliographic Data

ID3206444
AuthorsArnold Tsunga (International Center for Transitional Justice, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume35
Issue4
Pages977-991
Publication date2009-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057070903314242
OpenAlexW2156197361
LanguageEN
Citations received3

This article is based on the Bram Fisher Memorial Lecture, delivered in New College Oxford in November 2008. It draws on my own personal experiences as a human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2008, and documents the attempts made by myself and other legal practitioners to uphold the rule of law in the face of constant assault on the part of the state. The article provides an account of the events that provoked my engagement with the realm of human rights law, describes my battles with the Chimanimani police and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) as I endeavoured to represent Roy Bennett and other MDC members. It spells out the persecution that human rights lawyers received, examines state propaganda against Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the efforts to derail their work through violence and intimidation, as well as describing the effects of this onslaught on colleagues and their families

Human rights · Intimidation · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Realm · Social science · Sociology · State of emergency · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law

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