Joanah Mamombe

Joana Ruvimbo Mamombe (born 18 June 1993) is a Zimbabwean politician, former student leader and a member of the Citizens Coalition for Change. She is known to be one of the youngest Zimbabwean members of parliament, representing Harare West.^[1][2][3]

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.^[1][2][4]

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.^{[5][4][3][6][7]}

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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10][11][12]

See also

• List of kidnappings

References

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

 

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Further reading

• Dube, Gibbs; Chiripasi, Thomas (25 September 2020). "Zimbabwe Opposition Activist Detained, Ordered to Undergo Mental Evaluation". VOA. Retrieved 27 May 2022.