APRIL2018
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Interpretive analysis
There was a slight increase of violations in the month of April (March recorded
188 violations, whilst April had 191). The human rights violations are directly
related to the political events of the day. Just like the high cases of discrimination
in the previous months were directly linked to the rainy season when the
government rolls out the free agricultural inputs scheme, which was then
manipulated by the ruling party, the Independence Day celebrations gave rise to an
increase in extortion cases while the ZanuPF primaries gave rise to factional
fighting, voter intimidation and harassment. The upcoming general election in July
therefore portents more violations, including violence. Already there are several
worrying signs, which are noted below.
The cases of coercion, intimidation and harassment recorded in April, mainly
by the ruling party, suggest that there is an institutionalised machinery that
includes local party leaders and traditional leaders, which could easily be
deployed and will more likely be deployed towards the general election. This
machinery will most likely employ the same old tactics of coercion,
intimidation and harassment. Perhaps with even greater force as the enemy
would now be external (the opposition) and the stakes much higher (the
Presidency, Parliamentary and Senatorial seats and council seats).
The cases of intimidation and harassment associated with the BVR process
on the other hand also continue to be a cause for concern and are also likely
to persist into the general election. Originally justified as a drive to
encourage voter registration, the practice of forcing registered voters to
disclose their voter registration details to ruling party officials for recording,
has surprisingly continued unabated despite the closing of the voter
registration process, with one village head in Gutu reportedly telling villagers
to ignore media reports that the practice is illegal and local ZanuPF leaders in
Bindura telling victims that the information was required by the party’s
national office in Harare. This, coupled with the prevalence of the practice
and its tacit encouragement by different ruling party officials, suggests that
this practice is not random. It appears to be part of a policy by the ruling
party for a motive that is not yet clear but is increasingly suspicious. As
such, unless expressly, publicly and consistently denounced by senior ruling
party officials, the practice is likely to persist into the general election.
Perhaps with greater force.
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