Zimbabwe Events of 2024

They
continued
to
weaponize
the
criminal
justice
system
against
perceived
critics
and
the
political
opposition.
Impunity
for
the
ruling
party
ZANU-PF
violence,
intimidation,
harassment,
and
repression
against
opposition
members
and
civil
society
activists
restricted
civic
and
political
space.

The
authorities
failed
to
uphold
the
government’s
domestic
and
international
human
rights
obligations
to
respect
peaceful
activism.

Intensified
Crackdown
on
Government
Critics

Ahead
of
the
August
17
Southern
African
Development
Community
(SADC)
heads
of
state
summit
in
Zimbabwe’s
capital,
Harare,
the
authorities
intensified
the
crackdown
on
opposition
members
and civil
society activists.
Security
forces
arrested
more
than 160
people,
including
a
religious
leader,
elected
parliament
and
council
officials,
political
activists,
union
leaders,
students,
and
journalists.

On
June
16,
police  arrested over
70
people
at
a
private
event
to
commemorate
the
Day
of
the
African
Child
at
the
home
of
Citizens
Coalition
for
Change
(CCC)
party
leader,
Jameson
Timba.
The
police
charged
the
detainees,
including
Timba
with
“participating
in
a
gathering
with
the intent
to
promote
violence,
breaches
of
peace
or
bigotry,”
as
well
as
disorderly
conduct.
The
detainees’
lawyers
said
the
police
had
beaten
their
clients
during
arrest,
and
further
ill-treated,
tortured,
and
denied
them
medical
care
and
other
rights
in
detention.
The
detainees
included
a
woman
with
a year-old
child.  Tambudzai
Makororo,
whose
leg
was fractured during
the
arrest,
was
not
allowed
surgery
until
23
days
later.
Makororo’s
son
died
while
she
was
in
custody,
but
the
authorities denied her
request
to
attend
the
funeral.

On
June
24,
police arrested
44
members of
the
Zimbabwe
National
Students
Union,
including
its
president,
Emmanuel
Sitima,
and
required
them
to
pay
fines
for
“disorderly
conduct”
before
releasing
them.

At
a
ZANU-PF
meeting
on
June
27,
President
Emerson
Mnangagwa
said
he
was
“aware
of
certain
rogue
elements within
the
nation
who
are
bent
on
peddling
falsehoods
and
instigating
acts
of
civil
disorder,
especially
before,
during,
and
after
regional
and
world
stage
events.”
He
said
security
agencies
were
on
high
alert
to
decisively
deal
with
the
so-called
rogue
elements.

Police
on
June
29
arrested
in
a
private
home,
five
members
of
a
movement
called National
Democratic
Working
Group, for
allegedly
holding
an
“unsanctioned
gathering”
and
“agitating
for
criminal
acts
in
the
country.”
A
spokesperson
for
the
five
said
they
were meeting
to
organize food
disbursements
to
needy
people
in
their
area. On
June
30,
authorities disrupted a
memorial
event
for
an
opposition
supporter
killed
in
2022
and
arrested
several
participants.

On
July
31,
suspected
state
agents pulled
four
activists off
a
plane
before
takeoff
at
the
Harare
International
airport,
and
forcibly
disappeared
them
for
nearly
eight
hours.
Lawyers
said
the
agents
subjected
all
four
to torture
and
other
ill-treatment,
and
that
the
agents threatened
to
rape and
kill
the
wife
of
Robson
Chere,
one
of
the
detained
activists.
The
authorities
charged
the
four
activists
with
“disorderly
conduct”
for
allegedly
participating
in
a
protest
on
June
27.
Three
of
the
four
activists
were granted
bail after
35
days
in
detention.

On
August
2,
Jacob
Ngarivhume,
leader
of
the
opposition
party
Transform
Zimbabwe,
was
arrested
and
charged
for
allegedly
participating
in
a
July
16
event
where
police
arrested
over
70
CCC
members. Ngarivhume
was granted
bail on
October
23,
after
82
days
in
detention.

The
authorities
have
continued
to
deny
those
arrested
their
rights
to
bail
and
a
fair
trial.
A
leading
opposition
politician,
Job
Sikhala, was
freed in
January
after
being
jailed
for
595
days
on
charges
of
inciting
public
violence.

On
August
20,
the
ZANU-PF
spokesperson
said
activists
had
been
arrested
as
a
“preventative
measure”
and
could
be
released
following
the
“success”
of
the
SADC
Summit.
However,
authorities
at
time
of
writing
are
yet
to
unconditionally
release
detained
activists
and
opposition
members
since
the
SADC
Summit
ended
in
August.

Repression
of
Civil
Society
Organizations

The
authorities
have
continued
to
restrict
civic
space
and
the
rights
to
freedom
of
expression,
association,
and
peaceful
assembly.
The
government
has
sought
to
enact,
or
has
enacted,
legislation
that
would
substantially
compound
existing
restrictions
on
human
rights. The
Private
Voluntary
Organizations
Amendment
Bill 2021
passed
by
parliament
in
February
2023
failed
to
get presidential
assent and
lapsed
in
August
2023.
A
new
bill
was
passed
by
the
senate
on
October
17
and
if
signed
into
law
by
the
president,
it
will
directly
affect
the
structure
and
management
of
civil
society
organizations.
It
will
also
allow
the
authorities
to
cancel
the
registration
of
organizations
deemed
to
have
“political
affiliation”
with
little
to
no
recourse
to
judicial
review.
Actions
considered
in
violation
of
certain
provisions
of
the
law
could
be
prosecuted,
with
penalties
ranging
from
heavy
fines
to
imprisonment.

Impunity
for
Abuses

The
authorities’
failure
to
investigate
and
prosecute
abuses
primarily
committed
by
state
security
agents
has
entrenched
the
culture
of
impunity.
On
June
29,
2024,
media
quoted
the
National
Army
commander,
Lt.
Gen. Anselem
Sanyatwe,
who
has
been
placed
under
sanctions
by
the
United
States
government,  as
saying that
in
future
elections,
people
would
be
marched
to
polling
stations
to
vote
for
the
ruling
ZANU-PF
party,
“whether
you
like
it
or
not.”

For
decades,
Zimbabwe’s
military
and
other
state
security
forces
have interfered in
the
nation’s
political
and
electoral
affairs
in
violation
of
citizens’
civil
and
political
rights. The
government
and
military
hierarchies
have
repeatedly
ignored
the
provisions
of Zimbabwe’s
Constitution, which
prohibits
members
of
security
agencies
from
acting
in
a
partisan
manner,
further
the
interests
of
any
political
party,
or
cause
or
violate
anyone’s
fundamental
rights
or
freedoms.

In
March,
the
US
government
renewed sanctions
against
11
individuals,
including
President
Mnangagwa,
and
three
entities
for
their
involvement
in
corruption
or
serious
human
rights
abuses.
The
announcement
noted
that
Zimbabwe’s
security
forces
had
engaged
in
the
violent
repression
of
political
activists
and
civil
society
organizations.

Proposed
Abolition
of
the
Death
Penalty

In
March,
Zimbabwe’s
cabinet
approved a
bill that,
if
passed
by
parliament,
would
abolish
the
death
penalty.
Although
Zimbabwe
carried
out
its
last
executions
in
2005,
courts
have
continued
to
impose
the
death
sentence.
There
are
currently 63
prisoners on
death
row. The Constitution  protects
the
right
to
life,
but
empowers
courts
in
limited
circumstances
to
impose
the
death
penalty
for
people
convicted
of
the
charge
of
aggravated
murder.
The
proposed
law
would
prohibit
the
imposition
of
death
penalty
in
the
country
and
would
require
the
Supreme
Court
to
substitute
the
death
penalty
on
appeal,
for
some
other
appropriate
penalty.

Sexual
Orientation
and
Gender
Identity

Section
73
of
the
2006
Criminal
Code
of
Zimbabwe
criminalizes
same-sex
sexual
activities
between
men.
Sentences
include
a
maximum
penalty
of
one
year
and
a
fine.
Article
78(3)
of
the
Constitution
prohibits
same-sex
marriage.
Lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
and
transgender
people
frequently
face
threats,
harassment
and
violence.
In
August
2024,
two
men
were arrested
and
charged
under
sodomy
laws while
they
were
seeking
justice
for
blackmail
and
extortion.

Children’s
Rights

Child
labor remained
a serious
problem, with
children
participating
in
hazardous
work
in tobacco
farming and
other
sectors. School
fees continued
to
pose
a barrier to education. Pregnant
girls
and
adolescent
mothers continued
to
face
challenges
continuing
formal
education.

Post
published
in:

Featured