Joanah Mamombe

Last updated

Joana Ruvimbo Mamombe (born 18 June 1993) is a Zimbabwean politician, former student leader and a member of the Citizens Coalition for Change. In the 2018 Zimbabwean general election she was the youngest Zimbabwean member of parliament, representing Harare West. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early years and education

Mamombe was born in Harare on June 18, 1993. She had her secondary education at Monte Cassino Girls High School where she graduated in 2011. She proceeded to Chinhoyi University of Technology and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology. While at the university, she served as Gender Officer for the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU). After graduating from Chinhoyi University of Technology , she furthered at University of Bergen in Norway where she attained a Master's Degree in Molecular Biology with the program “students at risk”. [1] [2] [4] [5]

Career

Mamombe joined politics after completing her studies in Norway and returning to Zimbabwe in 2018. In that same year, she was elected as the member of parliament representing Harare West under the ticket of the MDC Alliance. After the elections which was held on July 30, 2018, she was sworn into office. [1]

Arrest, treason allegation and abduction

On 2 March 2019, she was arrested and charged with treason. It was alleged that she was attempting to overthrow a constitutional elected government led by president Emmerson Mnangagwa, after she led a protest on 14 January 2018. [6] [4] [3] [7] [8]

On 13 May 2020 she and two other women, MDC activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, were abducted by masked assailants at a Harare protest against the government's failure to provide for the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two days later, the women were found, badly injured and traumatised, by the side of the road sixty miles from Harare. They reported having been tortured and repeatedly sexually assaulted. [9]

Since May 2020, the three women have been arrested and detained several more times. Despite Mamombe appearing in court 129 times over the last 12 months, she has been repeatedly denied bail. [10] As part of their latest bail conditions, Mamombe and Chimbiri are not allowed to address a gathering of more than 50 people or engage in any activity, which violates Covid-19 regulations. [11] [12] [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Bennett (politician)</span> Zimbabwean politician (1957–2018)

Roy Leslie Bennett was a Zimbabwean politician and member of the British South Africa Police. He was also a member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for the seat of Chimanimani, where he was affectionately known as Pachedu. He was the Treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change party led by Morgan Tsvangirai and a member of the Senate of Zimbabwe. He was set to become the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe until President Robert Mugabe refused to swear him in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Zimbabwe</span>

There were widespread reports of systematic and escalating violations of human rights in Zimbabwe under the regime of Robert Mugabe and his party, ZANU-PF, between 1980 and 2017.

Lottie Gertrude Stevenson was a Zimbabwean ambassador and politician. She was a member of parliament for Harare North in the Parliament of Zimbabwe. She was also a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Zimbabwe, the first white woman to be voted into the MDC National Executive and, during her tenure, the country's only white female Member of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tendai Biti</span> Zimbabwean politician

Tendai Laxton Biti is a Zimbabwean politician who served as Finance Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He is the second Vice President of Citizens Coalition for Change. He was the Secretary-General of the Movement for Democratic Change and the subsequent Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) political parties and a Member of Parliament for Harare East until he was expelled from the party and recalled from parliament in mid-2014,before winning the seat again in 2018.

The Zimbabwean government claimed to have foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt involving almost 400 soldiers and high-ranking members of the military that would have occurred on June 2 or June 15, 2007. The alleged leaders of the coup, all of whom were arrested, were retired army Captain Albert Matapo, Colonel Ben Ncube, Major General Engelbert Rugeje, and Air Vice Marshal Elson Moyo.

Zimbabwe began experiencing a period of considerable political and economic upheaval in 1999. Opposition to President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF government grew considerably after the mid-1990s in part due to worsening economic and human rights conditions. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was established in September 1999 as an opposition party founded by trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonderai Ndira</span>

Tonderai Ndira was a Zimbabwe and a Movement for Democratic Change party member murdered in May 2008.

The second round of voting in the Zimbabwean presidential election of 2008 was held between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai after the first round failed to produce a 50% majority for either candidate. The election process was marred by violence against and intimidation of voters and party workers, which eventually led to the withdrawal of Tsvangirai from the poll. This left Mugabe as the winner of, effectively, a one-candidate election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai</span> Political party in Zimbabwe

The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) is a centre-left political party and was the main opposition party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections. After the split of the original Movement for Democratic Change in 2005, the MDC–T remained the major opposition faction, while a smaller faction, the Movement for Democratic Change – Ncube, or MDC–N, was led by Welshman Ncube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinhoyi University of Technology</span>

Chinhoyi University of Technology also known as CUT was established by an Act by the Parliament of Zimbabwe on 10 December 2001. It is located in the town of Chinhoyi in Mashonaland West about 120 km from Harare towards Lake Kariba and the Zambian border. It is among the first sights visible when approaching the town from Harare, across a bridge to the Chinhoyi General Hospital. The CUT hotel is located adjacent to the main campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Tsvangirai</span> Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, 2009 to 2013

Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), and a key figure in the opposition to former president Robert Mugabe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fadzayi Mahere</span> Zimbabwean lawyer and politician

Fadzayi Mahere was a prominent Zimbabwean lawyer and politician who was the National Spokesperson for the Citizens Coalition for Change, a political party in Zimbabwe. After a career in legal advocacy, she emerged around April 2016 first as an independent parliamentary candidate, and then with the Movement for Democratic Change. During the 2016–2017 Zimbabwe protests, she was arrested several times.

Protests began in Zimbabwe on 14 January 2019 following a 130% increase in the price of fuel imposed by the government of Emmerson Mnangagwa. Thousands of Zimbabweans protested against the price increase, along with increasing levels of poverty, the poor state of the economy, and declining standards of living. The government responded with a coordinated crackdown that resulted in hundreds of arrests and multiple deaths. The protests stopped after three days; by 17 January, businesses started reopening as the protests ended.

Edwina Spicer is a Zimbabwean journalist and documentary filmmaker.

Job Sikhala, nicknamed Wiwa, is a Zimbabwean politician. He is currently in pre-trial incarceration in the country's maximum prison on charges of inciting public violence.

Michael Theodore Hayes Auret was a Zimbabwean farmer, politician, and activist. A devout Catholic, he served as chairman and later director of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJP) from 1978 until 1999. He also served as a member of Parliament for Harare Central from 2000 to 2003, when he resigned and emigrated to Ireland.

Cecilia Chimbiri is a Zimbabwean pro-democracy activist and human rights defender. She served as Acting Youth Chairperson of the MDC Alliance. She is a member of the Citizens Coalition for Change led by Nelson Chamisa.

Netsai Marova is a Zimbabwean youth campaigner for the Movement for Democratic Change, who was abducted for two days at an anti-government protest in May 2020.

Yvonne Musarurwa is a Zimbabwean politician and political rights activist. She is Proportional Representative Member of Parliament and the current National Youth Chairperson of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance. She is also the chairperson of Environment, Tourism and Climate portfolio of the parliament of Zimbabwe

TakudzwaGodfreyNgadziore is a Zimbabwean politician from the Citizens Coalition for Change. In the 2023 Zimbabwean general election he was elected to the National Assembly from the youth quota for Harare Province, becoming the baby of the house.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ebatamehi, Sebastiane. "Meet Joana Mamombe, the 25 Year Old Zimbabwean MP | The African Exponent". The African Exponent. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 Clarke, Sheilan. "Young people can be leaders too | My Vote Counts". Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Joana Mamombe". www.giraffe.org. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 Thornycroft, Peta. "ZIMBABWE CRACKDOWN: Opposition woman MP on treason charge as Zimbabwe hits Mugabe replay button". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "ABOUT". Students At Risk. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "MDC MP Joana Mamombe arrested, charged with treason". NewZimbabwe.com. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ↑ Manayiti, Obey (4 March 2019). "Zimbabwe: Joana Mamombe Arrested". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "MDC Harare West MP charged with treason". Zimbabwe Situation. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Jason Burke and Nyasha Chingono, Zimbabwean MDC activists 'abducted and sexually assaulted', The Guardian , 17 May 2020. Accessed 30 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Zimbabwe: Parliamentarian Joana Mamombe must be provided urgent medical care". International Commission of Jurists. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "Mamombe Avoids 'Hero's Welcome', Sneaks Out Of Prison". NewZimbabwe.com. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  12. ↑ "Zimbabwe's MDC 'abductees arrested for lying about torture'". BBC News. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Zimbabwe: Joana Mamombe Ruling Tomorrow". allAfrica.com. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.