APRIL2018
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Also likely to continue and escalate into the general election are incidents of
political violence. Mainly intraparty so far, once the electoral candidates for
the upcoming general election are settled, the intraparty violence observed
so far will naturally mutate into interparty violence and escalate. Already,
there is a palpable streak of violence in both the two dominant political
parties, ZanuPF and the MDC-T, and it is just a matter of time before the two
parties face off. For now they have been preoccupied with the primaries and
have mainly been crossing swords among themselves.
On a promising note however, the incidents violence observed so far are
mainly localised and do not seem to emanate from a central source. They do
not appear to be coordinated or centrally sponsored and should therefore be
easier to contain with the concerted efforts of the national leaders of the
respective parties and the law enforcement agents among others.
The conduct of the police is especially critical, as they could easily
exacerbate the situation, even unwittingly. The police force should endeavour
to act in a decisive and impartial manner if it is to stay on top of the situation
as well as regain public trust. As seen in Masvingo, where one local officer in
charge reportedly failed to contain factional fighting during ZanuPF primary
elections and ended up seeking the intervention of the ruling party’s
provincial leader, some members of the force still appear hesitant to come
down strong on the ruling party. More engagement with the police will
therefore be required, including open dialogue between the police and all the
political parties. Electoral training of the police, perhaps with the help of civic
organisations, would also be helpful.
Equally worrying and potentially spelling doom as we go to the general
election is the wayward conduct of some elements in the army, who, as
observed earlier, are taking the law into their own hands. While their
conduct, though no less deplorable, has so far not been politically motivated,
it could easily become so if it continues unchecked. More so, given the
noticeable involvement of senior military personnel in politics since the
ouster of President Robert Mugabe. It is therefore important to closely
monitor the conduct of military officers and to report any wayward conduct
to army superiors. At the same time, going to the election, there is need to
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