THE ZIMBABWE
PEACE PROJECT
President Mnangagwa, three years on!
November 2020 marks three years after
President Emmerson Mnangagwa was
sworn in as president, taking over from
the late long-time ruler Robert Mugabe
following a military coup.
At his swearing in ceremony on 24
November 2017, President Mnangagwa
who enjoyed widespread goodwill had a
list of promises and pledges to open up
democratic space and to fix the country’s
long standing economic woes.
Three years later, we reflect, and we make
the following recommendations, based on
the current situation the country is in
•
Government
should
institute
investigations of all serious human rights
abuses over the last three years and
ensure that citizens get justice. State
security agents who have acted outside
their mandate should be brought to book
without fear or favour.
•
All interventions should be done in
line with national law and international
standards. The government should also
take urgent steps to reform the state
security sector as spelt out in the
recommendations of the Motlanthe
Commission, and as promised by
President Mnangagwa in 2017. All those
responsible for human rights abuses
should be held to account. That way, it
creates a culture of accountability and
responsibility within the state security
sector.
•
Zimbabwe’s constitution provides a
basis for the enjoyment of all people’s and
human rights and government should
embrace a culture of Constitutionalism
and ensure that all citizens get the benefit
of all the socio-economic rights due to
them.
•
The economy has become one of
the major human rights issues and
government should take the right steps to
ensure that the labour force enjoys a
living wage and the informal sector gets
the necessary support and that those in
need of social protection get the due
protection.
Read the full statement on Mnangagwa’s
three years in power here
12