Zimbabwe female activists arrested, jailed

HARARE, Zimbabwe – HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Four women from a rights group have been denied bail after staging an allegedly illegal demonstration and will remain in jail until Tuesday, the end of a two day holiday marking 30 years of independence in Zimbabwe, their group says.

In a statement Saturday, the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) group says activists Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa and Celina Madukani were arrested Thursday after staging a protest against regular power outages and prices outside offices of the state power utility in Harare.

Nearly 60 women were briefly arrested under sweeping security laws banning unauthorized protests. The group says the four remain in jail and refuse to admit wrongdoing.