To expose the collusion within the justice system, Sikhala, upon being detained together with Chin’ono
and Ngarivhume at Chikurubi Maximum prison where dangerous criminals are kept, stated that he had
received death threats from a senior prison official. Read the full story here. For Ngarivhume and
Chino’ono, the ordeal was no better. The two were denied confidential access to their lawyers and
access to the food they need based on their dietary requirements, and at some point, they endured the
cold August nights without jerseys after prison officials claimed the ZPCS did not have jerseys. ZPP,
together with ZimRights and the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum later in the month donated
jerseys and PPE to the prisons. Watch video of the donation here
6. During the same month, a court issued an order barring top human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, from
representing Chin’ono. This was received with great concern by various jurists and lawyers’ bodies, who
felt this was an unwarranted attack on the legal profession and an attempt to deny Chin’ono his
Constitutionally guaranteed right to legal representation. In addition to being barred, Mtetwa faced
several hurdles in discharging her duties, including one well publicised incident when police attempted to
bar her from entering the Harare Magistrates’ court, as can be seen in this video.
7. State security agents also exhibited a sheer thirst to target women activists. During this period, activists
such as Heather Mpambwa (20), Noxolo Maphosa( 23) among others, were targeted. Mpambwa was
arrested for ‘undermining the authority of the president’ via a Whatsapp message. This charge has long
been used to silence and intimidate citizens from expressing themselves. Maphosa was abducted by
suspected security state agents on August 7, and was dumped near her place of residence that evening,
badly injured and traumatized. Watch a video of her narrating her ordeal
8. In addition to the human rights abuses targeting political and human rights activists, Covid19 continued to
be a critical human rights issue. The country’s health sector remained incapacitated to deal with Covid19
cases, and all other healthcare needs. ZPP documented the poor state of a quarantine centres in Harare,
where those held there did not have access to food, and were living in squalid conditions. Check out the
full story here
9. ZPP also continued to receive disturbing news of partisan aid distribution and in one of the cases, in
Matabeleland North, Mzola Central, the Ward 4 Councillor, Kenvison Ncube was accused of politicising
the government’s social welfare aid. One of the victims was an 80-year old man, who was denied food
aid and was labelled a 'traitor' for not supporting the ruling Zanu PF. In Mutasa Central, women spoke out
about the increasing vulnerability. "…this lockdown has been very hard on us. Our children look to us for
everything...we have nothing. Our daughters are also at risk due to lack of access to sanitary pads…"
said one of the women from Mutasa. Their story is typical of the experiences of women across the
country, as government continues to fail to give adequate social protection. The last that was heard of
government dishing out Covid19 relief funds was when Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced
government was giving out ZWL300.00, which is an equivalent of three US dollars.
10. August 30 was the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances and ironically, during this
month, two cases of abduction were recorded, and in both cases, the State’s involvement was apparent.
The two cases of Maphosa and Muchehiwa brought to light the realisation that government is yet to be
prepared to deal with the many unresolved cases of enforced disappearances, torture and abductions.
11. To show the extent to which civil liberties are no longer existing in Zimbabwe, village vendors in Murehwa
were arrested and fined after cheering main opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa, whose
vehicle convoy had made a stop-by at one of the vending sites along Mutoko Road. They were charged
with obstructing the free flow of traffic!
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