On Thursday 5 June, the Zimbabwean Constitutional Court made a ruling on the constitutionality of detaining Women of Zimbabwe Arise (“WOZA”) leaders in filthy conditions where they were denied access to sanitary facilities. The Court ruled that several of their constitutional rights were violated after they were arrested in April 2010 and detained in filthy detention cells at Harare Central Police Station. It held that the conditions constitute inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of their rights enshrined in Section 15 of the old Constitution. The ConCourt also ruled that the WOZA leaders’ right to protection against discrimination enshrined in Section 23 of the old Constitution had been violated. The WOZA leaders had alleged that they were treated in a discriminatory manner by the police who subjected them to sanitary conditions, restrictions or disabilities that peculiarly isolate them and amount to inhuman degrading treatment. Read more: ConCourt Orders Overhaul Of Zim’s Filthy Detention Cells As Police Held Accountable For Violating WOZA Leader’s Rights
