Zimbabwe Peace Project
ABUSE OF OFFICE
Reports from across Zimbabwe indicate widespread abuse of office and violations of
human rights by local leaders and Agritex officers in the collection of maize on behalf of
the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). Instead of following the official requirement of 10kg
per household, councillors, traditional leaders, Agritex officers, and ZANU PF party chairs
are intimidating and coercing communities, threatening exclusion from presidential and
social welfare schemes for non-compliance, a practice that undermines the right to
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the highest
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administrative
underpoint
Section
68been
of the
Constitution
and contravenes
Section 281,
which requires traditional leaders to remain impartial and act in accordance with the law.
In Chipinge South Ward 21, village secretaries have been demanding either 2 gallons or
10kg of maize per household and forcing payments of 20 South African Rands for the
Agricultural Show, while in Mt Darwin West Ward 16 households were compelled to
provide 20kg of maize each under instructions from councillor Edmore Mushuhwa.
Similarly, in Mutoko South Ward 5, all individuals who benefitted from the presidential
input scheme were forced to provide 10kg of maize, even when from the same household,
and in Mutasa Central Ward 13, traditional leaders were directed by ZANU PF party chairs
to force every household to contribute 10kg of grain or risk being labelled opposition
supporters.
Communities in Marondera West, Chiwundura in Midlands Province, and other areas
report inflated demands of between 20kg and 30kg of maize despite widespread poor
harvests, exacerbating hunger and violating the right to food. Financial exploitation
compounds the abuse, with households required to pay $1 for grain transportation in
many districts, while in Chiwundura Constituency each household must pay $3 in
addition to 10kg of maize, with no transparency on the use of funds.
These practices reflect a broader pattern of intimidation, politicisation of food aid, and
misuse of authority that violate citizens’ rights to food, dignity, political freedom, and
equal access to social protection, and they highlight the urgent need for accountability,
protection of community members from abuse, and enforcement of constitutional
safeguards against partisan misuse of traditional authority.
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