KEY VIOLATIONS
DENIAL AND POLITICISATION OF ACCESS TO SOCIAL
SERVICES: UNDERMINING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS
In July, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) documented 15 violations of the right to access social services,
reflecting how public goods and government-supported programs are increasingly being used as tools of
political control and discrimination. These practices directly contravene Sections 56, 75 and 77 of the
Constitution of Zimbabwe, which guarantee every citizen the rights to equality and non-discrimination;
education; food, and agricultural resources without discrimination or political bias. In Wedza South, Ward 13,
small-scale farmers who received government agricultural inputs for the 2024/2025 farming season were
instructed to surrender 10kg of their maize grain to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) without explanation. The
directive, reportedly issued by the local councilor, was enforced without providing any legal or procedural
justification. This demand not only violates the right to food and the freedom to benefit from public agricultural
support but also undermines trust in public institutions by introducing coercive and opaque practices. Similar
incidents were also recorded across the country in various constituencies such as Buhera North, Nyanga South
and Hwedza South among others.
In Mutasa Central, Ward 14, a woman was denied access to a government-provided transport service meant to
take community members to a meeting at the District Centre. Despite her name appearing on the official list
of potential beneficiaries of food aid, she was removed by a local political coordinator based on her
perceived political affiliation with the opposition. She was further humiliated and silenced when told not to ask
"silly questions." This act of exclusion and verbal intimidation demonstrates the ongoing weaponization of
basic services, where access to state-facilitated programs is denied to those seen as politically non-compliant.
These incidents represent a broader pattern of rights violations where citizens’ access to social services is
manipulated based on political loyalty, rather than need or entitlement. The politicisation of inputs, food aid,
and public services entrenches poverty, deepens inequality, and violates the principles of non-discrimination
and equal protection before the law. Such practices not only harm the individuals directly affected but erode
the legitimacy and integrity of public programs, leaving communities vulnerable and marginalized.
FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND POLITICAL EVICTIONS
Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) recorded five cases of forced displacement, revealing a pattern of politically
motivated evictions and land-related abuses that directly violate the right to adequate housing, freedom from
arbitrary eviction, and security of tenure. In Masvingo West, Ward 33, 40 individuals perceived to be aligned
with the opposition were systematically evicted from houses belonging to King Mine. The local chairperson of
the ruling party identified as Lydia Chimbare Sigauke facilitated these evictions, authorising known party
loyalists to occupy the vacated low-density housing units. This form of politically sanctioned displacement is
deeply discriminatory and represents a gross abuse of power, where political affiliation is used as a basis for
denying citizens their right to shelter and security of person. Many of the victims were left with no alternative
accommodation, instilling fear in communities and discouraging political participation. In Nyachityu Village,
Ward 10, Mutare North, a land invasion is currently unfolding involving Holy Ghost College, a Roman Catholic
institution established in 2000. Without any formal communication or documentation, the college is forcibly
taking over land that has long been occupied and cultivated by the local community. Three families,
comprising over 20 individuals, including 12 women are under imminent threat. Vulnerable members, including
widows, are particularly distressed by the ongoing land seizure. In the same case, a victim’s family farmland
has been used without consent for road access by the college. These displacements are not isolated incidents
but part of a wider erosion of land and housing rights, where political and institutional actors override
community consent and legal protections. They expose significant gaps in legal recourse, tenure security, and
institutional accountability, especially for marginalized and rural populations. Without urgent legal and policy
interventions, more families face the risk of dispossession, homelessness, and long-term economic and
psychological harm.
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