Zimbabwe Peace Project
Source: ZEC
POLITICALLY MOTIVATED VIOLENCE
In Ward 5 of Chipinge RDC, following the election on June 14, 2025, 15 ZANU PF
members were attacked by individuals who are suspected of being ZANU PF members.
This intra-party violence was instigated by some ZANU PF supporters who did not want
Singatini Humbe to be a candidate, preferring Tinoda Mukachana instead. As a result of
this internal disagreement, ZANU PF youths and ZANU PF local leaders severely assaulted
15 fellow ZANU PF members and non-ruling party members. At one of the victims’
residences, more than 6 trucks branded with the ruling party’s logo and colours were used
to transport the perpetrators who assaulted targeted victims. The victims sustained
injuries from logs and sticks that were used in the assault. One of the victims, a vendor,
was assaulted for refusing to chant the ruling party’s slogan. ZPP is concerned about the
implications of such internal disputes escalating into violence and impacting the safety of
citizens.
ASSISTED VOTERS
In Chipinge RDC Ward 5, voters were coerced to declare that they cannot read and write
and therefore, require voting assistance. At Musapingura polling station, 292people were
assisted by persons provided for by the ruling party. Reports gathered further show that
teachers from Chipangayi High School who include the headmaster were assisted to vote.
Businesspeople and other literate people claimed they could not read or write and were
assigned people to assist them. In one village in Ward 5 of Chipinge, the village secretaries
collected Identity Documents of the electorate days prior to the election and handed them
to the people who would assist them to vote. This process was planned several days before
the by-elections, with specific ZANU PF members assigned as aids. These incidents raise
significant questions about the integrity and fairness of the assisted voting process. These
practices represent a serious concern about potential voter manipulation and coerced
voting. ZANU PF used assisted voting as a political tool, coercing voters into falsely
declaring illiteracy to allow party agents to influence their choices.
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