Zimbabwe Peace Project

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ZPP Monthly Monitor

Is this
peace…

BACKGROUND & FORMATION
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) was
conceived shortly after 2000 by a group of
Churches and NGOs working or
interested in human rights and peacebuilding initiatives, and was to become a
vehicle for civic interventions in a time of
political crisis. In particular ZPP sought
to monitor and document incidents of
human rights violations and politically
motivated breaches of the peace e.g.
violence.
Today, ZPP’s co-operating member
organizations include, Zimbabwe Council
of Churches (ZCC), Catholic Commission
for Justice & Peace in Zimbabwe
(CCJPZ), Evangelical fellowship of
Zimbabwe (EFZ), Counselling Services
Unit (CSU), Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR), Zimbabwe
Human
Rights
Association
(ZIMRIGHTS), Civic Education Network
Trust (CIVNET), Women’s Coalition of
Zimbabwe (WCoZ) and Habakkuk Trust.
VISION
A Zimbabwe where there is Peace,
Justice, Dignity and Development for all.
MISSION
To work for sustainable peace through
monitoring, documentation, advocacy and
community peace building interventions
with our members and partners.

Information Department
Zimbabwe Peace Project
25/04/2015
1

Information Department
Zimbabwe Peace Project
24/04/2012

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2015_3 March Monthly Monitor Report

Monthly Monitoring Report

Executive Summary: This report covers recorded incidents of civil and political rights violations from the ten provinces of Zimbabwe for the month of March 2015. The report also highlights the food situation in the provinces and focuses on how food and other aid continue to be used as a political tool. It has been six weeks since pro-democracy activist Itai Dzamara was abducted from a barbershop in Glen View by unidentified people. The abduction deprived Itai of all his rights and can be viewed as a strategy to spread terror within the society. Itai had been staging peaceful sit ins with some of his colleagues in Africa Unity Square as a way of communicating dissatisfaction with the country’s leadership. The insecurity generated by his disappearance is not limited to his close relatives, but also affects the nation as a whole. ZPP remains deeply concerned with the abduction and disappearance of Itai Dzamara. As an organisation whose Director and two staff members were abducted under similar circumstances in 2008, ZPP is fully aware of the anguish experienced by his family. His family alternates between hope and despair, wondering and waiting. The disappearance of Itai could be viewed as a systematic attack directed at pro-democracy activists and qualifies as a crime against humanity. The act has been described by Vice President (VP) Emmerson Mnangagwa as ‘barbaric’ but most people have been concerned about the seemingly half-hearted attention the issue is being given. ZPP reiterates its calls for the Ministers of Home Affairs, State Security and Commissioner General of police and Central Intelligence Organisation Director General to comply with the High Court Order of March 13, 2015 directing them to search for Dzamara and report progress to the court every two weeks until his whereabouts are determined. A landmark victory for the villagers in Matobo who resisted the Maleme Ranch take-over by a Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) operative Rodney Mashingaidze from a white farmer was recorded in March. The villagers claimed that Maleme Ranch was their only source of livelihood as they benefitted from the farming and poultry projects initiated by the white farmer Peter Cunningham. There was jubilation at Maleme Ranch when VP Phelekezela Mphoko announced that the government had reversed the allocation of the ranch. However, despite the victory the villagers are still apprehensive and remain suspicious that some politicians were plotting to use other tactics to get the farm and destroy their livelihoods. The restructuring process within Zanu PF and the factionalism have continued to spur conflict within the party. In March Zanu PF restructured its cell and branch structures across the country and this process was fraught with factional fights and intimidation. The process is meant to strengthen the party ahead of the 2018 elections. Due to poor attendance at some restructuring meetings, party activists resorted to forcing people to attend and in some incidents forced individuals to take up party positions at cell level. Zanu PF factional fights continued unabated in some provinces. The MDC-T was also not spared in intra party conflicts. Inter party violence between Zanu PF and MDC-T however saw some MDC-T youths being hospitalised after suffering injuries in the scuffles. The distribution of farming inputs and food handouts still remains highly politicised. The politicisation is mostly done by those who compile the lists, who in most cases are Zanu PF activists. According to Section 77 (b) of the constitution; every person has the right to- sufficient food. Every person refers to all citizens regardless of political or other affiliation. If subsidised food or food handouts or other aid like the Presidential Agricultural Input whose basis should be food security for every person are availed to communities, there should be mechanisms that facilitate transparent distribution to every person. In the month of March 156 violations were recorded and these emanated from intra and inter party fights and topping the list were harassment and discrimination cases. Whereas there are seemingly low numbers of violations, the fact that a citizen of Zimbabwe can just disappear for weeks on end without trace makes the situation unpredictable. Political tensions remain high across the country and the situation can deteriorate at any time.

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2015_3 March MMR.pdf
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