Recommendations
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, which is mandated to protect, promote and ensure
observance of human rights and freedoms in Zimbabwe, should direct the CommissionerGeneral of Police to investigate the cases of arson and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Criminalising the work of Civil Society: ZESN and ERC Raids
Towards the close of polling day, members of the police and central intelligence units raided
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) satellite offices in the Grange and confiscated
laptops, cellphones and information gadgets accusing them of conducting parallel vote
tabulation. More than 40 human rights defenders from ZESN and the Election Resource Centre
(ERC) were arrested while some went into hiding following the crackdown. Reports confirm that
the accused persons were denied access to lawyers by state security agents. The Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum was also visited by members of the central intelligence organisation in
coordination with the police law and order department, a move by the state to criminalise the
work of civil society organisations.
Page 5