THE ZIMBABWE
PEACE PROJECT
In September, Zimbabwe turned the
corner and joined, full time, the dark list of
the world’s repressive regimes, where
citizens are reduced to nothing but
subjects who are not part to deciding how
the country is run in sharp contrast to the
tenets
of
democracy
and
good
governance.
As has been the case for the past six
months, government continued to use
Covid-19 as an excuse to stifle rights and
“
‘in September
the majority of
Zimbabweans
remained in
poverty, with
their disposal
income
remaining very
low, and the
food insecurity
unabated.
”
freedoms guaranteed by the supreme law,
and as evidenced by the nature of human
rights violations this month, the violations
went a notch up, and were more than ever
before, systematic and methodical. In the
month of September, there were no more
attempts to present a false face of
democracy and this is evidenced by the
following developments recorded in
September, some of which had started
earlier.
1
THE growing feeling that judicial independence is
being whittled down to such an extent that it is a
weapon to persecute by prosecution, dissenting
voices. The arbitrary/unlawful/political arrests,
abductions, torture, harassment and intimidation
that heightened in April, were widely used in May,
June and July, and fine-tuned in August and
September.
2
THE continued neglect of social services rendered
the country’s health, education and social welfare
and services sectors completely incapacitated. More
than ever before, access to healthcare, water, stable
income, food security, and other social services was
a critical human rights issue in the country. While
the Zimbabwe dollar remained stable against the
US dollar through the auction system, the majority
of Zimbabweans remained in poverty, with their
disposal income remaining very low, and the food
insecurity unabated.