Zimbabwe Peace Project
INTIMIDATION AND HARASSMENT
Intimidation and harassment remain among the most frequently recorded human rights
violations in the process of grain collection, with the ruling party, and traditional leaders
consistently
identified
as
top
perpetrators.
The
current
trend
of
forced
grain
contributions highlights the same patterns of abuse.
Local party structures and village heads are at the forefront of coercing communities to
surrender maize, using threats and harassment as tools of control. During community
meetings, villagers are told that failure to contribute grain will result in exclusion from
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agricultural inputs or government aid, a practice that amounts to the partisan distribution
of food aid and undermines the right to equality and non-discrimination.
In Gokwe Sesame, community members were informed that the list of grain contributors
would be used as the same list for input allocations in the next season, effectively forcing
compliance through fear of exclusion.
In Headlands, villagers were subjected to arbitrary deadlines, with 22 August 2025 set as
the final date to deliver grain to their village heads, creating undue pressure potentially
worsening food insecurity among families who recorded low yield. The intimidation
extends beyond physical spaces into digital platforms, where WhatsApp groups managed
by local leaders were used to reinforce the threats that non-contributors would be
excluded from future programs and food aid, thereby institutionalising coercion and
discrimination. In areas like Chivhu Nharira, those without grain were compelled to pay
USD $2 to their village heads, who will then remit the money to the councilors, with no
transparency on how the money would be used, amounting to extortion and a violation of
the right to dignity and property.
These practices directly contravene Section 56 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which
guarantees every person the right not to be unfairly discriminated against on the basis of
social or economic status, political affiliation, or opinion, among other grounds. The
weaponisation of food and agricultural aid for political purposes not only perpetuates
structural inequality but also entrenches fear and dependency, thereby eroding
communities’ ability to freely exercise their political and socio-economic rights.
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