UNI Africa is dismayed by the news that Kwasi Adu Amankwa, the ITUC-Africa General Secretary, was held in detention at the Robert Mugabe International Airport and faces deportation from Zimbabwe. Kwasi Adu Amankwa was in the country for an international solidarity meeting with the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). He was also scheduled to the meet the Zimbabwean Ministry of Labour, the ILO and the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe to gain an understanding of the issues that workers in particular, are faced with in Zimbabwe.
His arrest came at a time when the Zimbabwean Government was calling for dialogue with all stakeholders in the country in an attempt to address the economic difficulties faced by Zimbabweans that led to widespread demonstrations. Labour is an important stakeholder and organ of civil society which always seeks to be part of the solution in difficult conditions.
The arrest of the ITUC-Africa General Secretary brings into question how genuine the Zimbabwean Government is about resolving the current impasse through dialogue.
UNI Africa is calling upon the Zimbabwean Government to do the right thing and to allow Kwasi to continue with his mission free from intimidation.
