KEY VIOLATIONS
HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION
During the reporting period, ZPP documented 24 violations relating to intimidation and harassment,
including threats of violence, death, and disappearance. In Murehwa North, during a ZANU PF meeting held
at Zihute Hall, the party’s Mashonaland East Provincial Chairperson and Minister of Local Government,
Daniel Garwe, issued threats targeting perceived opposition supporters. He stated that individuals in Ward
30 who support the CCC would be excluded from community development programmes and warned that
those seen associating with CCC members would face violent reprisals. These statements constitute
violations of the rights to political participation, freedom of association, and equality and nondiscrimination.
In Mutandahwe, Chipinge District, suspected state security agents and ruling party youths reportedly visited
a community activist’s home at night. When they failed to locate him, they issued death threats linked to his
public stance against copper and gold mining activities by the Chinese. The group of party youths further
threatened other activists, ordering the closure of the offices of a residents association as well as
vandalising organisational gadgets. As a result, the targeted activists are in hiding due to fears for their
safety, with their families, including children, indirectly affected through displacement, fear, and loss of
livelihood stability. In Chiwundura, ruling party members linked political messaging around the 2030
presidential term extension campaign to threats against perceived opposition supporters and civil society
actors, warning them not to mobilise or speak against the campaign.
In Chimanimani, a Central Intelligence Officer, Walter Mafuta (also known as Dembo), intimidated a human
rights defender advocating for improved shelter for Cyclone Idai survivors living in temporary structures at
Runyararo. The officer, accompanied by others, allegedly threatened the human rights defender with death
and disappearance for not informing him about the petition citing that he is an authority and should have
been informed. This represents a serious abuse of office and a direct attack on the work of human rights
defenders and the rights of disaster-affected communities to adequate housing and dignified living
conditions.
In Chimanimani West and surrounding wards, threats linked to political affiliation reportedly affected
community governance and access to education structures. At Nyanyadzi Primary (Ward 8), a School
Development Committee (SDC) chair was threatened by Member of Parliament Hon Kunhlande with death
following a school fee enforcement dispute. In Mhandarume Ward 2, an SDC chair stepped down following
threats from ruling party activists asserting that leadership positions should not be held by opposition
members. Reports further suggest political pressure influencing leadership positions in community
institutions such as schools, water points, gardens, and ward development structures, justified by claims of
protecting Vision 2030 from perceived “disruptive” elements. Such actions undermine democratic
participation, non-discrimination, and community governance rights, while creating an environment of fear
and exclusion.
Report
Human Rights Violations
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