Human Rights Monitoring Report - Kubatana

cognizant of the fact that there are other incidences that go unreported because the victims would rather not risk reprisals of being
outspoken. ZPP recognizes the courage of those victims who have reported violations perpetrated against them. The facts and
figures at ZPP’s disposal demonstrate that the political temperature is definitely rising with June recording 792 cases up from 671
cases in May.
HALF YEARLY ANALYTICAL REPORT – JANUARY – JUNE 2007
To date January recorded the highest incidences of human rights violations standing at a staggering 832. Of these 633 occurred in
the Northern region which comprises Harare/Chitungwiza, Mashonaland West, East and Central and Manicaland and 199 were
recorded in the Southern region made up of Bulawayo, Matebeleland North and South, Masvingo and Midlands.
More specifically, 498 cases of harassment/intimidation were recorded, 194 of assault. In January there were four cases of torture,
6 of abduction/ kidnapping, 2 cases of rape and one case of murder.
In January, the nation started the year on a controversial note after the ruling party Annual People’s Conference the previous
month which had made a proposal to harmonise Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2010. The proposal sparked outrage
from all sectors and some citizens faced harassment/ intimidation, assault for expressing opinion on the matter. While most
citizens appreciated that harmonization was a noble idea they felt that the proposal to have elections in 2010 was a ploy by the
sitting Head of State to want to extend his term of office through the back door. In the opposition circles, the proposal sparked
outrage and it appeared the opposition was ready for a confrontation as they made it clear that come 2008 they were going to the
polls.
Operation ‘Chikorokoza Chapera’ which had been launched in late 2006 continued to take its toll. January also saw the last stages
of the preparation for the Chiredzi South by-election which had been slated for February. Election campaigns have always been
violent in Zimbabwe and this particular election was no exception, as it saw traditional chiefs threatening villagers with eviction
and hunger if they did not vote for the ruling party.
Intra party violence in the opposition MDC had its fair share of incidences recorded but of particular note was intra party
violence within the ruling party whose cracks were amplified by the harmonization and elections in 2010 proposal.
In February, there was a marked reduction in cases recorded at 527 with 350 of these being in the Northern region and 177 in the
Southern region. Like in January the cases of harassment topped the list at 299 followed by assault recording 155 cases. There
were 6 cases of rape, 5 of abduction/kidnapping, 4 of torture and 1 of murder. The significant decrease of incidences in February
could be attributed to the banning of rallies and demonstrations which saw the heavy handedness of state security agents fall on
citizens who were also subjected to unofficial curfews. Although there was a marked reduction in recorded incidences February
experienced cases of people being forced to contribute towards the President’s birthday. As the voice of teachers and nurse got
louder against their meagre salaries they were responded to with harassment. In Manicaland, the diamond rush saw the police
violating the rights of innocent civilians by subjecting them to inhuman body searches for the elusive stone. Women were
subjected to searches in their private parts. Citizens in general and teachers specifically were victims of the government and the
ruling party as the search for shortwave radios continued in particular Mashonaland East. Grade one pupils in most schools were
more than happy to provide information on who they had seen with the said radios.
March 2007 has gone down in history as the most violent month in the period under review not as a result of the recorded cases
but because of the intensity of the violations. On March 11, opposition and civil society leaders who were going to attend a prayer
meeting organized by Save Zimbabwe Campaign, were detained and tortured in police custody. It was the events of March 11 that
saw even SADC looking closely at Zimbabwe resulting in the meeting in Dar es Salaam where President Thabo Mbeki was
tasked to initiate dialogue between the ruling party and MDC. Two cases of murder closely related to the March 11 events were
recorded. From 500 cases in February, incidences increased to 657 in March. In the Northern region 439 cases were recorded as
compared to 218 in the Southern region. Thirteen cases of torture were recorded a significant increase from 4 the previous month.
In March there were 27 cases of partisan distribution of food that were recorded. Cases of unlawful detention rose sharply from
19 to 42 and this is explained by the swoops on the opposition offices in search of petrol bombers. In the aftermath of the March
11 events there was a spate of petrol bombings of a police station, a commuter train, a ruling party office in Mbare and the attack
of public transport in Harare. A large number of citizens also experienced abuse for putting on either MDC regalia or just the
colour red as it is associated with the MDC.
© ZPP Programmes Dept. June 2007
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