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August 1 victims
Following a relatively peaceful election on 30 July 2018, soldiers indiscriminately shot at unarmed
civilians protesting the delayed announcement of the presidential election results on August 1,
2018. Six people were killed and several others were seriously injured. A Commission of Inquiry
was established to look into the deaths in the aftermath, and Kgalema Motlanthe, former
President of South Africa, served as its chairman. In its final report, the Commission made six
major recommendations to the government, including the need for security sector reforms and
financial aid for all victims of violence and surviving family members of the deceased.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of brutality in the security sector in Zimbabwe, as shown by the
examples of arbitrary detention of human rights defenders. To public knowledge, victims of 1
August shootings and dependents of the deceased are yet to receive the recommended support.
ZPP recommends that the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) and the National Peace
and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) to ensure the surviving families are compensated. ZPP
implores the government to compensate the victims of August 1 2018.
RRRV campaign
ZPP is running the RRRV 2023 campaign that encourages citizens to resist, reject and report
violence in 2023. ZPP strives to support a peaceful electoral process where voters can resist and
reject political orders inciting violence in the 2023 harmonised elections. ZPP developed a
mobile application - SPECC, to report Social, Political, Economic, Civil, and Cultural violations.
The application provides citizens with a platform to report violations anonymously if so desired.
The app is available on Google Play and Apple stores, and on WhatsApp through a chabot called
Batsi or Mncedisi. The verified reports are documented in the Monthly Monitoring Report, and the
victims are assisted with accessing service providers for legal or medical support. All this is
intended to create an active citizenry that resists, rejects and reports violence.