Zimbabwe Peace Project

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MONTHLY
MONITORING
REPORT

-19

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MAY 2020
EDITION

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2020_ZPP MMR May 2020 - Tyranny 'Masked' as COVID-19 Enforcement

Monthly Monitoring Report

Executive Summary: On 23 May 2020, Paul Munakopa of Bulawayo died in circumstances that could have well been avoided. The 34-year-old was a victim of the police’s heavy-handedness. He was shot during a car chase, and the police who shot him were using an unmarked vehicle in an operation that they are yet to reveal. This is just one of the incidences that speak to the continued rise in cases of human rights abuses perpetrated by state security agents. For the second time in the year, the police and army topped the list of perpetrators of human rights violations. Overall, the police contributed to 41.21 percent of the human rights violations, while the army contributed to 22.26 percent of the violations. The state security agents have been on the frontline of enforcing the lockdown imposed since March 30th. It is in the same period, starting April, that the country grappled with the economic and social effects of the COVID19 pandemic. It has become apparent that COVID19 is not just a health matter, but touches on economic, political, social and human rights aspects of people. This explains why by the end of May, police had arrested over 40,000 people for defying lockdown regulations; mostly in an effort to conduct economic activities to earn an income. ZPP recorded cases of arrested citizens not being taken through the formal arrest procedure, but enduring harassment, intimidation and assault at the hands of law enforcement. Victims told horror stories of their experiences at the hands of law enforcement agents. This makes arrests in Zimbabwe a human rights issue.

Documents

ZPP Monthly Monitoring Report May 2020.pdf
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