Funmi Komolafe

Lagos

The Nigeria Labour Congress has condemned the trial of two trade unionists; the president and general secretary of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Comrades Lovemore Matombo and Wellington Chibebe by the government of Robert Mugabe for allegedly making inciting statements on May 1, 2008.

It called on the government of Zimbabwe to drop the charges against the union leaders who were due to appear in in court yesterday in Harare and end the violence against trade unionists without further delay. The NLC in a letter to the Zimbabwe's High Commissioner in Nigeria, Dr. J. S. Mvundura, signed by its general secretary, Comrade John Odah, stated, "Nigeria Labour Congress is concerned that these charges are being pressed despite the fact that it is a legitimate trade union activity to deliver speeches during May Day.

The two men have repeatedly been targeted and brutalized in the past for engaging in legitimate trade union activities, as have many other trade union activists". In the letter titled, " Protest over the on-going Malicious and Politically Motivated Trials of leaders of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)", NLC said as a member of the international trade union movement, it is concerned about the violence in Zimbabwe ahead of the second round of the presidential elections. It maintained "By all accounts, the violence has specifically targeted trade unionists and many other civilians". To buttress its point, the NLC stated, "We have been informed about the murder of Sheperd Chegwu, a member of the PTUZ teachers' union and principal of Katsukunya High School, who was abducted from his home on 3 June. "His dead body was found two days later, showing signs of severe torture and a gunshot wound to his neck and head. Chegwu had previously been interrogated by "war veterans" and militia about actions taken by PTUZ members at his school to protest against governments' actions in the lead up to the re-run of the presidential election.".

NLC also urged that independent investigations into the murder of Sheperd Chegwu and the disappearance of Edward Dzeka be carried out immediately. It also recalled " On 12 June, Edward Dzeka, an official of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), was kidnapped by ZANU-PF militia, and is believed to have been taken to a torture base near the town of Chegutu. Dzeka is also the local Chegutu chairperson of the ITUC-affiliated ZCTU".

NLC reminded the High Commissioner that "Zimbabwe is under a strict obligation under international law to respect the exercise of legitimate trade union activities in accordance with ILO Convention 87 on the Right to Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise, 1948, a convention ratified by your government."