January 2019
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
ABOUT ZPP
Meltdown
Introduction
As the sun set nonchalantly over 2018, the
smouldering ruins of post-election violence might have
physically been extinguished but the memories of the
carnage were, at the very least, glowing embers of
indignation in the minds of many a Zimbabwean.
We contend that this is the backdrop against which the
current malaise should be contextualised.
Further, and based on the illustrated findings
contained in this monthly monitoring report, it is our
considered position that whereas many analyses from
within and without the fraternity of civic society will
instinctively point to the fuel price hike as the spark that
set off the chain of violent events early this year, the
powder keg of pent-up anger and frustration could
have been set alight by anything.
The organisation was founded in 2000 by church-based and
human rights organisations. The current members of ZPP are
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Zimbabwe Council of
Churches (ZCC), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in
Zimbabwe (CCJPZ), Counselling Services Unit (CSU), Zimbabwe
Human Rights Association (ZimRights), Civic Education Network
Trust (CIVNET), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
and Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ).
ZPP was established with the objective of monitoring,
documenting and building peace and promoting the peaceful
resolution of disputes and conflicts. The Zimbabwe Peace Project
seeks to foster dialogue and political tolerance through nonpartisan peace monitoring activities, mainly through monitors who
document the violations of rights in the provinces.
The monitors, who at full complement stand at 420, constitute the
core pool of volunteers, supported by four Regional Coordinators.
The Regional Coordinators relate with the national office headed
by the National Director and programme officers in various units.
By the same token, the incumbent political establishment would have responded in the same
currency it used a fortnight ago. The indiscriminate character of state-sanctioned violence
confirms the uncertainty that haunts the reigning administration. Ergo, the stage has always
been set for a meltdown—it was no longer a question of when, not if. Something had to, and
perhaps must still give in the future. The floodgates of pent-up emotions could only hold back
the groundswell of anarchic rampage for so long.
In the illustrative tools below, we have, for ease of interpretation and utility for the reader,
assigned nine categories of incidents that occurred or did not occur for each of the constitutive
provinces of our Republic.
The data collected reported six hundred and eighty eight human rights violations, which have
been incorporated into the Shutdown Atrocities Report of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO
Forum (of which ZPP is member). The Atrocities Report has compiled violations from all of the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum members; the report is contained below:
http://www.hrforumzim.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Shutdown-Atrocities-Report-6February-2019.pdf.
55.6% of the perpetrators of violence were uninformed forces; the remaining 44.4% represents
the looters and protestors who had gone on rampage. Other perpetrators documented include
Zanu PF members 5.4%, municipal police 3.4%, CIO 2.2%, War veterans at 0.4% and MDC
Alliance members 0.3%. The victims recorded present a different picture. 97.2% of the victims
were of unknown affiliation, 1.8% were MDC Alliance members and 0.8% Zanu PF.
The highest violations were recorded for harassment and intimidation with three hundred and
eighteen (318), followed by one hundred and forty five (145) assaults, eighty eight (88) for
malicious damage to property, and fifty six (56) theft/looting. We recorded twelve (12) cases
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