NATHAN GUMA
CIVIL society is calling on the Sadc region to respect human rights by calling out the Zimbabwean authorities for arbitrary arrests, torture and persecution of citizens, especially opposition and civil society activists.
The country’s human rights record is continuing to worsen, with over 160 people being arrested since mid-June in the countdown to the Sadc summit in Harare, according to Amnesty International.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the incoming Sadc chairperson, has been at pains to sanitise his legitimacy after winning a sham election that was flagged by key observer missions that include the Commonwealth, Carter Centre and the Sadc Electoral Observer Mission for being inconsistent with local and regional instruments on elections.
Arrests and torture cases have increased in the run up to the summit, with opposition MP Jameson Timba and dozens others – including a woman with a one-year-old child being arrested for allegedly plotting anti-government protests over a braai in Avondale, Harare, on 16 June.
The opposition members say they were commemorating the Soweto Uprising or Youth Day in South Africa.
This month, human rights defenders Robson Chere, Namatai Kwekweza, Samuel Gwenzi and Vusimuzi Moyo were denied bail, after they were arrested at Robert Mugabe Airport on their way to Victoria Falls.
They were arbitrarily detained and tortured after being seized from a plane that was about to take off.
A civil society organisation, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (The Forum), has urged the region to call out Zimbabwe over the worsening crackdown on human right defenders.
“Since 2017 when President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in November 2017, the country has witnessed a rise in State-sponsored human rights violations. Violence, intimidation and repression aimed principally at opposition members and civil society activists have restricted civic and political space,” The Forum said in a statement.
“Several activists have been abducted and tortured in his six-year-old term characterised by the weaponisation of the criminal justice system against the ruling party’s political opponents. The Forum, a coalition of twenty-one human rights organisations in Zimbabwe mandated to end violence and torture, implores the government to end repression of citizens by respecting their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association as well as the right to protest peacefully, ratify the convention against torture and end impunity and the weaponisation of the law to thwart dissenting voices.”
“And to Sadc, to promote respect for human rights by calling on Zimbabwe to end the arbitrary arrest of its citizens, torture and persecution of opposition and civil society members.”
The Forum has also urged Sadc to use the African Union human rights systems like the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, to force Zimbabwe to fulfil its obligations to protect the human rights of citizens in line with the demands of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
“We further remind the government, law enforcement agents and the executive of the submissions made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa through his inauguration speech on August 25, 2018. Violence should be alien and vile to our nature and traditions as Zimbabwean people.”
Economic effect The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD), a grouping of four apex organisations that represent 77.2% of the Zimbabwean population, said the continued crackdown on dissent has an effect on Zimbabwe’s economic policy.
The tainted human rights record has undermined efforts to attract foreign direct investment.
“The Zimbabwe Heads of Church Denominations (ZHOCD) has observed with deep concern the ongoing crackdown on opposition political leaders, human rights defenders and political activists as the country prepares to host the 44th Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Heads of State Summit beginning 17 August 2024,” it said.
“The church ceaselessly calls on all the people of Zimbabwe to embrace the call for an inclusive and comprehensive dialogue towards addressing the interlocked and long-standing political economic and social challenges affecting the country. The church also continues to pray for transformative peace and genuine tolerance to prevail in our country and appeal to every Zimbabwean’s better nature to carry the day.”
“The church notes that the recent events are a manifestation of the deep state of polarisation and fragmentation of our country. The church believes that ongoing attacks on civil society and political activists undermines Zimbabwe’s socio-economic development efforts which are anchored on re-engagement with the international community. Such actions jeopardise critical initiatives, including debt restructuring and the pursuit of vital foreign direct investments.”
ZHOCD has also slammed the government’s denial of the people’s right to protest, which they said is in violation of the constitution.
“While the church was relieved during the period when arbitrary arrests and abductions had stopped in Zimbabwe, the church is worried about the resurgence of these unfortunate events. There have been increased cases of hate speech from the state and the violent crackdown and intimidation of individuals advocating for the release of their compatriots,” it said.
“These arrests and arbitrary detention marked a troubling escalation in the crackdown on dissent despite clear provisions of Section 59 of our Constitution which guarantees the right to peaceful protests and petitions.”
A human rights watchdog, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), says the government should repeal laws which are being weaponised against rights defenders and opposition members.
This week, ZimRights director Dzikamai Bere called for the repeal of the Vagrancy Act [Chapter 10:25] which allows police to arrest without a warrant any person they “reasonably suspect to be a vagrant”.
“The law states that a vagrant is any person with no settled or fixed place of abode or means of support, wanders from place to place, and maintains himself by begging or in some dishonest or disreputable manner. It allows police to arrest without a warrant any person they reasonably suspect to be a vagrant. It also criminalises any person ‘who assists or encourages vagrancy’,” said the organisation on its official X handle.
Worsening human rights A report by the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) for June shows that the country’s human rights situation is worsening, with Zanu PF and the Zimbabwe Republic Police being identified as the major perpetrators.
“On June 26, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), other civil society organisations, and human rights defenders called on the government to ratify the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. Regrettably, these calls remain unheeded,” ZPP said.
“In July, two incidents of physical torture were documented, with additional cases reported in early August. The continuation of such heinous crimes is distressing. ZPP calls for an end to repression and impunity.”
Analysis of the documented incidents reveals that perpetrators affiliated with the ruling party, Zanu PF, accounted for 41.1% of violations, while members of its affiliate, Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ), were responsible for 2.26%.
Members of the security forces, including the Zimbabwe Republic Police (24.56%) and state security agents (2.76%), were also among the top perpetrators. Other culprits included Municipal Police (11.78%), traditional leaders (7.77%), members of the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (3.01%), War veterans (0.75%), vendors (2.01%), and individuals with no known affiliation (4.01%).
The highest number of human rights abuses (34) occurred in Manicaland province, followed by Harare (30) and Mashonaland Central (29).
“The Zimbabwe Peace Project notes that, the government’s calls for calm and peace during the 44th Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Summit, have been undermined by heavy-handed policing and unethical conduct by state security agents, resulting in violations of the Sadc Treaty’s principles and norms, which emphasize respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms
“We are concerned by reports of arrests, harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders and political activists in the lead up to the Sadc summit. We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained and protection of civic space,” said the United Nations Human Rights.
