Dzamara arrested

Harare Bureau
PATSON Dzamara, who recently released a grainy photo that he claimed showed his missing brother – MDC-T activist-cum-journalist, Itai, in detention – has been arrested.

Police chief spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed that Patson was arrested in Harare yesterday.

“I can confirm that he has been arrested and investigations are still in progress,” she said without revealing further details.

Police recently summoned Patson after the effigy was published. Legal experts and observers recently said the burden of proof lay with the Dzamara family.

For a family that purports to be grieving over a missing relative, the analysts said, it was surprising that they would parade the effigy instead of taking any information they may have to the police to assist with investigations. The family’s failure to alert the police, analysts said, raised serious questions over the authenticity of the picture given the opposition’s penchant for importing and doctoring images in a bid to cast aspersions at the government.

During the Press conference, Patson claimed, without availing evidence, that Itai was abducted by the military intelligence. The MDC-T activist-cum-journalist was reported missing in March last year.

Snr Asst Comm Charamba recently said police were doing all they could to ascertain Dzamara’s whereabouts.

In July last year, police offered a reward of $10,000 to anyone with information on the whereabouts of Itai as investigations into his disappearance intensified.

Police had been submitting fortnightly updates on investigations into his disappearance to the High Court and working closely with human rights lawyers, in compliance with a court order issued in March last year.

Director of army public relations Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore recently said the military intelligence had nothing to do with Dzamara’s disappearance.