MAY 2018
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
party officials, neither Zanu PF nor the MDC-T has taken any disciplinary action against
the alleged culprits. Both parties appear hesitant to take decisive action which might
alienate party functionaries or supporters as the election draws closer. Yet by openly
promoting impunity both parties are only emboldening their supporters and breeding more
violence going to the general election.
The law, on the other hand, was also not very effective in addressing the recorded
incidents of political violence. Of the 26 or so cases of intraparty and interparty political
violence that were recorded, only five cases or so involved the police, either because the
police were not present or were not able to act or because the cases were not reported.
Police presence and capacity to act in political cases, especially in rural areas, thus
remains an issue that must be addressed urgently. Presently, it appears that in some rural
areas, local police are powerless to deal with some of the local political leaders. There is
however also a corollary duty on members of the public to report criminal conduct to the
police and to come forward as witnesses in political cases and this needs to be
emphasised to them.
Besides the police, other state institutions like the Council of Chiefs or the
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission have also not been very effective in relation to the
unconstitutional and sometimes criminal conduct of some of the traditional leaders who
continue to delve in political matters or to act in a partisan manner.
Conclusion
Unless concerted efforts are taken by the relevant institutions of the state and all the
political parties concerned, human rights violations, including those that were subdued in
May, will likely escalate going to the general election. Political violence such as was
witnessed during the primary elections, unless punished effectively within the political
parties concerned as well as through the law will likely escalate. Likewise, unless
checked effectively, the heightened incidents of victimisation, intimidation and harassment
recorded in May are also likely to rise towards the election. Equally, although subdued in
May, incidents of coercion, especially forced meetings and forced donations, which have
largely gone unchecked, are also likely to increase as election campaigning escalates. In
the same manner, as more state resources, including food aid, are made available, leading
up to elections, more cases involving the partisan distribution of government aid by ruling
party officials are also likely to increase.
There is therefore need for ZPP and other non-governmental organisations to
continue to engage all the critical players to ensure that human rights violations do not
escalate towards the general election. Perhaps more urgently, all the political parties must
be encouraged to not only denounce political violence publicly. They must also be
encouraged to take positive disciplinary action against known culprits as inaction breeds
impunity which in turn breeds more violence. With respect to police action in relation to
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