Human Rights Watchdog Says ZANU PF Harassing August Poll Agents And Election Observers

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (ZHRNGO Forum) has released a report stating that the ruling ZANU PF party in Zimbabwe is continuing to target and harass opposition supporters who worked as agents and local observers during the recent elections.

The report, titled “The New ‘Error‘,” highlights 153 cases of alleged state or party-sponsored violence, including two murders of individuals perceived as opposing the ruling party. Read the report in part:

The unprecedented levels of post-election victimization are not only uncharacteristic of a victorious political party but pose a severe threat to genuine democratic consolidation in Zimbabwe.

The Forum and some of its member organisations continue to receive distress calls from presiding officers, polling agents and some local observers who are being harassed for the work that they did in the just-ended harmonised elections.

The ZHRNGO Forum recommends the establishment of an independent body to investigate these cases. The report emphasizes that the level of victimization experienced after the elections is not typical of a victorious political party and poses a significant threat to the country’s democratic consolidation.

Zimbabwe has a history of politically motivated violence, dating back to the 1980s when late President Robert Mugabe ordered attacks on perceived supporters of the opposition ZAPU party. These attacks resulted in the deaths of approximately 20,000 people, mainly Ndebele-speaking individuals in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces. Targeted violence against opposition figures and supporters continued into the 2000s, culminating in a violent electoral period in 2008 that claimed nearly 500 lives in an attempt to overturn Mugabe’s loss to Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T party.

The report notes that last month, two human rights lawyers, two legislators from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), and approximately five councillors were arrested. Additionally, a losing candidate from within the CCC and 610 members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) have been detained. The ZHRNGO Forum has called on the government to drop the charges against the arrested individuals.

The ZHRNGO Forum urges the diplomatic community to intervene and request that the government take immediate action to halt the “unprecedented levels of post-election victimization.”

They propose the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to thoroughly investigate all reported instances of human rights violations and make the findings public.

The ZHRNGO Forum also calls on the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to investigate and bring the killers of Mayibongwe Dube and Persuade Mandara to justice, as well as seek justice for the family of Tinashe Edson Chitsunge, a 16-year-old who died before the elections due to pre-election violence.

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