Zimbabwe remains in a constitutional crisis with the proposal of 27 amendments to a Constitution that
is less than seven years old. A Constitutional Amendment Bill was gazetted on 31 December 2019
and the gazetting corrected on 17 January 2020, much to the surprise of citizens who are unaware of
consultations regardless of their being stakeholders to the Constitution making process.
The ZRP continued to act in a selective manner evidenced by the initial ban of the MDC Alliance State
of the Nation Address (SONA) that was scheduled for the 15th of January 2020.The police later
overturned the ban and the SONA took place on 21 January 2020. The police also raided MDC party
headquarters, (Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House) in search of machetes and other subversive
material. They confiscated laptops and party documents; contrary to the specifics stated in the search
warrant. On 31 January 2020, police also prevented the MDC president, Advocate Nelson Chamisa
from launching a clean -up campaign advising that he should join the one initiated by the president of
Zimbabwe.
During the month, ZPP recorded violence targeting suspected MDC supporters by Zanu PF supporters
at Magaba home industry in Mbare. Property including furniture, warehouse structures and other
goods were destroyed.
The machete wielding gangs continued with their acts of terror, extending into urban areas where they
robbed unsuspecting citizens of valuables, in broad daylight. The majority of these cases were
recorded in Chegutu, Kadoma and Chakari. In a tragic case reported in Chegutu, a family of five
women were raped and hacked with machetes resulting in the killing of two related women (aged 80
years and 16 years). On 19 January 2020 a well-known gold dealer was stabbed to death by a gang
of artisanal miners in Chiadzwa, Mutare West. The brazen lawlessness of the mining gangs was also
revealed in an incident where 50 machete wielding artisanal miners besieged a police base in Gokwe
North demanding the release of their colleagues who had been arrested for robbing a local miner.
During the month of January 2020, ZPP recorded a total of 185 human rights violations up from 119
recorded in December 2019.