Overall Analysis
At the rate that the socio-economic situation is deteriorating and the political environment becoming more
repressive the cries of the citizens will only get louder unless something is done to salvage the situation.
The fact that the police who are supposed to be defenders of human rights and are mandated by the
Constitution to protect life and property continue to violate the rights of the same citizens, is cause for
concern. Instead of being the harbinger of peace, Zimbabwean police are now a tool for effective repression
and suppression of people’s rights despite the ongoing narrative that they are being transformed into a
service that is undergoing necessary training including issues of human rights.
Running battles between police and vendors and the brutal assaults by police led to the death of Tamangani.
By and large the general wanton use of violence in policing should be condemned with the contempt it
deserves. Section 50 of the Zimbabwe Constitution states that any arrested person ‘Must be treated
humanely and with respect for their inherent dignity’, furthermore, Subsection 5 (d) highlights that ‘a
detained person must be subjected to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity,
including the opportunity for……..medical treatment’.
This due process should have been followed and the rule of law observed to avoid loss of life as in the case
of Tamangani and Luka. When the very people who are supposed to protect citizens are the biggest
persecutors; who will protect citizens from their supposed protectors?
It was quite disheartening to hear government’s narrative of the human rights situation in the country while
presenting its report to the 65th ACHPR. The belief by the state that abductions are ‘timed’ for negative
impact on the image of the country are unfortunate. The bigger question however, in the issue of abductions
is the argument that they are fake and also that they are being perpetrated by a ‘third force’. How can they
be fake but still have responsibility attributed to the ‘third force’?
The procedure at the ACHPR is that the state in preparation of its report should involve all stakeholders
and ensure that all participate, but for the combined report submitted by government CSOs are concerned
they were never consulted and did not participate; only to be shocked when the African Commission
uploaded the report on its website. This ‘omission’ on the part of government eventually had CSOs
approaching the African Commission for the submission of a shadow report even as it was out of time.
Additionally, it is sad to note how the state diminishes the agency of Zimbabweans by inferring that the
#Shutdown January 2019 demonstrations were due to people being incited by a few elements who had
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