Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko; the Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe

The abduction and trial of Jestina Mukoko; the fight for human rights in Zimbabwe tells the story of Jestina Mukoko, former broadcast journalist, who parted ways with the Zimbabwean state broadcaster in 2000 after becoming concerned about the level of editorial interference. In 2002, while she was working for an independent radio station, she became a human rights activist. Mukoko poignantly describes how, at the crack of dawn, in her night clothes and in front of her teenaged son, she was bundled into an unmarked vehicle and abducted. In flashbacks combined with narratives related to her childhood, her family, and her work at the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina documents what happened to her between 3 December 2008 and her first appearance in court on Christmas Eve of the same year. During her many appearances in court and, continuing persecution, Jestina challenged her abduction, torture and the fact that she was not protected by the law. Jestina¿s family also suffered in their desperation to find her, visiting government offices for assistance and getting none, searching hospitals and morgues and feeling hope and despair whenever the body of a woman was found ¿ even visiting the much-feared Goromonzi prison. Mukoko¿s recollections provide a gripping and chilling account of one of the most turbulent and repressive periods marred by a wave of massive human rights abuses and violations in Zimbabwe¿s history. In doing so, the book stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit and the will to survive. Jestina has garnered many local and international accolades for her work as an activist, among them the United States Secretary of State Women of Courage Award. Jestina Mukoko is based in Harare and grew up in the high density suburb of Mambo in Gweru and attended the University of Zimbabwe.¿ Mukoko was formerly an acclaimed broadcast news journalist at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. ¿¿An award winning peace and human rights campaigner, she is currently¿the National Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project