KEY VIOLATIONS
November Human Rights Violations
0
Restricted freedom of assembly and association
Unfair distribution of food aid
Assault
Threats of Violence
Restricted access to social services
Other
Displacement
Restrictred Freedom of Expression
MDP
Unjustified arrest
Hate Speech
Restricted Movements
Disappearence
Restricted Access to information
20
29
26
16
14
13
4
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
RESTRICTED FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
In November, the Zimbabwe Peace Project documented 29 breaches of freedom of assembly and association,
protected under Section 58 of the Constitution, revealing a pattern of coercion, manipulation, and partisan
control that significantly undermined citizens’ rights. In Gokwe Central Ward 6, three young men were lured to
a purported youth empowerment meeting and pressured to publicly renounce their affiliation to CCC, an act
that violated their right to freely associate and inflicted reputational and psychological harm as their coerced
declarations were circulated across the town. In Mutare North Constituency, distribution of household items
and school supplies such as 400 pens per school by Member of Parliament Hon Mahachi Admire was restricted
to ruling-party supporters, with teachers compelled to attend partisan events and constraining freedom of
association.
In Epworth North Ward 6, a community budget consultation was violently disrupted by ruling-party supporters
who turned the meeting into a partisan rally, forcing council officials to abandon proceedings and threatening
a local councillor, an incident that not only violated residents’ right to participate in civic processes but also
created an environment of intimidation for the roughly 200 attendees. In Mutoko South Ward 26, residents
were informed by ZANU PF district leadership that agricultural inputs from government would be withheld from
those without ruling-party cards, demonstrating coercive tactics that weaponise essential livelihoods to
compel political compliance. Further, across Epworth North and South, as well as in Mbare, residents were
forced to attend political meetings by ruling party leaders, including women, youth, and children, and through
a coercive closure of shops. This is largely possible due to a clandestine use of partisan structures to control
trading spaces. These incidents collectively show systematic breaches where political actors exploited
authority, resources, and economic vulnerabilities to restrict independent assembly and association, eroding
community autonomy and undermining democratic participation.
Report
Human Rights Violations
0774883417 0774883406
4