Zimbabwean youth advocacy and pro-democracy activist Namatai Kwekweza, arrested on July 31, 2024, alongside three colleagues at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, remains in pre-trial detention after a lower court denied them bail on August 16.

Kwekweza, the founder and leader of the youth organization WELEAD Trust, is the recipient of the inaugural Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize, which she received at the Athens Democracy Forum in Greece in 2024. The prestigious award, named in honor of the late Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, recognizes and encourages young leaders who demonstrate exceptional commitment to promoting human rights, equality, democracy, and the rule of law.

Her arrest and subsequent detention are among many targeted actions against opposition members and civic society leaders by authorities in the lead-up to the 44th SADC Summit, held in Harare on August 17. Government critics view these arrests as attempts to stifle dissent ahead of and during the summit, during which the host nation’s incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, assumed the chairmanship of the regional bloc.

Kwekweza faces charges of disorderly conduct for allegedly staging a protest at the Harare Magistrates Court, demanding the release of jailed opposition activists. In denying her bail, the court cited several reasons, including the activist’s potential to commit further offenses.

The arrests, described by critics as arbitrary, have been condemned by several civic society institutions, including Amnesty International.