March 9, 2015. It should have been a normal day for Itai Dzamara, but it turned out to be a nightmare. Five men dragged him out of the barbershop where he was getting his hair cut, handcuffed him, and forced him into a white pickup truck. That was the last anyone has seen of him.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a normal day in Zimbabwe if you happen to belong to the opposition party to Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party, or if you are a critic of Mugabe's ruling government.
Dzamara, a 36-year-old journalist and human rights activist, has on several occasions been assaulted by police and members of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party. He has been repeatedly threatened by agents, warning him to stop his activism or face consequences.
Two days before his abduction, Dzamara had addressed crowds at a political rally calling for mass protests against worsening repression and economic conditions in Zimbabwe. Now it seems Mugabe's cronies may have made good on their threats.
A judge of the high court, at the behest of Dzamara's wife has issued a court order to all relevant authorities to do all they can to determine his whereabouts.
But senior state security officials have yet to comply with the High Court's orders.
A peaceful activist who just wants a better life for all Zimbabweans has been forcefully disappeared, leaving his family with no idea as to his whereabouts, or even if he is alive.
Sign this petition with me, and let's make a difference to one man and his family — let's stand together and send a message to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, to step in and urge the Zimbabwean government to comply with the court order and do all they can to find Itai Dzamara.
