Overall Analysis
ZPP noted with regret and trepidation the violent encounter perpetrated by riot police on protestors and the
blatant disregard of due process by law enforcement agencies. ZPP recalls the recommendations by the
Motlanthe Commission that “The Police should be given the skills and capacity to deal with rioters. They
should also be trained to be professional and non-partisan.” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana, highlighted that police have been retrained in crowd control skills in order to avoid the loss of life and violent encounters such as that of August 1,
2018.
However, the response of the police during the January 2019 Shutdown protests as well as the recent August
16 demonstrations indeed reveal that the state still has a very long way to go before embracing progressive
methods of policing. August 16 protestors were actually sitting on the ground and did not display any violent
inclinations towards the police. Yet they were brutalised and severely beaten, something which flies in the
face of government’s assertion that the police sector is being reformed. Progressive and non-violent policing
strategies could have been implemented to disperse people from the streets such as water cannons, tear gas
and even arresting offenders. The violent encounters which were beamed all over the world have portrayed the
second administration as no better than former President Robert Mugabe’s rule.
This is also most apparent in the alarming abductions, torture and assault of activists and of those perceived to
be critical of government. The Constitution has one of the most progressive Bill of Rights which provides for
Freedom of Assembly and Association (Section 58), Demonstrate and Petition (Section 59), Freedom of
Expression and Freedom of the Media (Section 61) as well as Political Rights (Section 67). Therefore citizens
have the right to express their displeasure with current tough living conditions without the state deeming it a
regime change agenda. Violence must never be the answer to quell dissent but only progressive engagement
through dialogue can yield desirable results.
ZPP is aware that through the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) government had created a platform with the
aim to depolarise the political landscape and promote unity and peace as per recommendations of the
Motlanthe Commission. Furthermore, the Commission had recommended that political actors should be
leaders in preaching unity and peace. ZPP prays that the POLAD becomes one of the many platforms ensuring
that the process is broad based so as to ensure that it does not become an elite pact devoid of the myriad of
issues at the heart of the problems of the many ordinary Zimbabweans. It is only when the many voices of