The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been biased and continues to be selective
in enforcing the law in favour of Zanu PF, as seen through arbitrary and
unlawful detentions of opposition activists and human rights defenders. The
ZRP continues to be an enforcer for the ruling party, ready to arrest those
who do not support Zanu PF and deliberately look away when the ruling
party is on the wrong side of the law. High levels of hate speech expose the
culture of political intolerance in Zimbabwe during campaigns and on social
media. According to Johan Galtung, widely known as the father of peace,
there is negative and positive peace. He states that positive peace has
characteristics such as the restoration of relationships, the creation of social
systems that serve the needs of the whole population, and the constructive
resolution of conflict. Therefore the absence of war is not peace. In line with
this, ZPP recommends the government adopt the following interventions to
ensure police officers do not abuse their powers:
Training of Zimbabwe Republic Police on their constitutional mandate and the
transformation from a force to a service as required by the Constitution
The clear separation of powers of the judiciary, legislature and executive in
line with dictates of democracy and the Constitution
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