Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE
Head of state and government: Robert Mugabe
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed

President Robert Mugabe was re-elected in March amid serious concerns about the fairness and transparency of the elections. The run-up to the election was marred by intimidation, arbitrary arrests, torture and attacks on the political opposition, as was the period following the election. This pattern was repeated during local council and parliamentary by-elections also held during the year. Violations reported during 2002 included at least 58 political killings and widespread torture and ill-treatment throughout the country. Legislation passed during the year further curtailed freedoms of expression, association and assembly. An estimated six million Zimbabweans were at risk of starvation by the end of 2002. Food shortages resulting from sub-regional drought were exacerbated by the government's acquisition of commercial farms and the political manipulation of the delivery of food aid by officials and supporters of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

Background

Despite several attempts, the Commonwealth "troika", consisting of the Australian Prime Minister and the Presidents of Nigeria and South Africa, was unsuccessful in mediating the worsening political crisis. Efforts to promote Zimbabwe as a potential test case for the efficacy of the newly launched African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development failed, following reluctance by most African leaders to condemn the Zimbabwean government's human rights record. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a "no-action motion" on a resolution criticizing Zimbabwe.

In May the government issued notices under Section 8 of the Land Acquisition Act to over 2,500 commercial farmers to vacate their farms. Approximately 250 commercial farmers were subsequently arrested for ignoring the deadline. Despite an August High Court ruling declaring the eviction orders invalid, subsequent amendments to the Land Acquisition Act validated the May eviction notices.

Soldiers from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces were involved in extrajudicial executions and other serious human rights violations in diamond concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The official withdrawal of Zimbabwean troops from the DRC was due to be completed by October.

Elections

The international community, including election observers from the Southern African Development Community and the Commonwealth, and Zimbabwean civil society, expressed serious concern about the fairness and transparency of the March presidential election in response to widespread evidence that ZANU-PF rigged the election, used violence against opposition supporters, barred thousands from voting and manipulated the electoral laws before and during the election.

Following the election, the Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe from its ruling structures, opting against full suspension.

Many election monitors from civil society organizations were denied accreditation to monitor the presidential election and restrictions were placed on the deployment of international observers. Intimidation, harassment and attacks on opposition members and supporters by "war veterans" and state-sponsored militia occurred systematically in the run-up to and following the election.

Officials and supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who acted as polling agents during the elections were threatened, attacked and abducted. In April, the MDC filed an election petition under the Electoral Act challenging the results of the presidential election. By the end of the year no trial date had been set to hear the petition.

Local council elections in September and parliamentary by-elections in Hurungwe West, Mashonaland West province, and Insiza, Matabeleland South province, were also marred by political violence and intimidation directed at opposition candidates and supporters.

Impunity

Victims of human rights abuses were systematically denied justice by the authorities' repeated and deliberate failure to bring suspected perpetrators to justice. State security forces – police officers, army officers and agents of the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) – committed widespread human rights violations with impunity. The authorities also organized, coordinated and encouraged militias and "war veterans" to carry out threats, assaults, abductions, torture and killings against real or perceived opposition supporters and human rights defenders.

Break-down of the rule of law

Intimidation of and attacks on judicial officials and lawyers intensified. Judges and magistrates who demonstrated judicial independence were threatened with investigation and disciplinary action for alleged misconduct. They were also subjected to intimidation and attacks for rulings perceived to be favourable to MDC supporters.

  • In August, Chipinge district magistrate Walter Chikwanha was dragged from his courtroom by people believed to be "war veterans" and assaulted. The attack was reportedly in response to his dismissal of an application by the state to remand in custody five MDC officials accused of burning two government tractors, on the grounds that the state did not have sufficient evidence.
Police involvement in abuses

The government intensified its misuse of the police to repress freedoms of expression, association and assembly. In the run-up to the presidential election, opposition rallies and other campaign gatherings were marred by political violence perpetrated by ZANU-PF youth militia, often with the direct collusion of the police. Police officers also actively committed human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, assaults and torture. The police failed to intervene to protect communities under attack by ZANU-PF militia, while protecting militia members alleged to have carried out assaults. Suspected perpetrators of these human rights abuses who were apprehended were not brought to justice, nor were police officers who colluded with or acquiesced in violations by the militia. Police who acted impartially were purged from service or transferred to inferior postings or administrative positions.

Torture and ill-treatment

More than 1,000 cases of torture and ill-treatment were reported during 2002. Victims were primarily targeted for their perceived or real affiliation with the political opposition. Among those responsible were members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the CIO and the Zimbabwe National Army.

ZANU-PF youth militia, trained in national youth service camps established throughout the country, were deployed to suburbs and rural areas in the run-up to elections and were implicated in the widespread harassment and torture of the political opposition. The number of reported cases of rape and other forms of sexual torture perpetrated against women suspected of supporting the political opposition increased. This intimidation and political violence created a climate of fear, and of impunity for perpetrators of human rights abuses.
  • Five men – Tendai Maluzi, Cosmos and Barbabas Ndira, Tom Spicer and Reuben Tichareva – were arrested in September and charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) with public violence allegedly in connection with an incident where police were stoned by a crowd in a Harare suburb. All five were MDC youth members. They were reportedly beaten and tortured while in police custody for three days. Tom Spicer was tortured with electric shocks and beaten on the soles of his feet.
New restrictive legislation

The POSA, enacted in January 2002, imposed severe restrictions on civil liberties and criminalized a wide range of activities associated with the freedoms of expression, assembly and association. It provides for the imprisonment of journalists convicted of "causing hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President". The POSA criminalizes false reporting and statements that "incite or promote public disorder or public violence". It also requires that police be notified in advance of any public gathering of more than two people, and prohibits those which police believe could cause public disorder.
  • Approximately 80 opposition supporters were arrested during a rally held in June to commemorate the 25th anniversary of South Africa Youth Day. They were charged with unlawful assembly under the POSA. A Supreme Court application challenging the constitutionality of the POSA was filed and the case was adjourned to January 2003.
In March, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) was enacted. Under the AIPPA, journalists and media houses are required to register with the government-appointed Media and Information Commission. The Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe challenged the constitutionality of those sections of the AIPPA which prescribe the compulsory registration of journalists and punish journalists who write what the Act describes as "falsehoods", on the basis that they violate freedom of expression. Judgment on the appeal was expected in early 2003. In October, the government amended the AIPPA to tighten loopholes in the legislation and accord additional powers to the Media and Information Commission and the Minister of Information.
  • In July, Andrew Meldrum, a US national and journalist with the United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian, was charged under the AIPPA with "abusing journalistic privilege by publishing a falsehood" in connection with a report regarding the alleged beheading of a woman by ZANU-PF supporters. Although he was acquitted, within hours of the ruling he was served with a deportation order by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Following a High Court application, his deportation was suspended and the matter was referred to the Supreme Court. No date was set for a Supreme Court hearing.
Independent media under attack

In addition to the introduction of restrictive legislation, the government intensified its efforts to clamp down on independent journalists and media houses through harassment, attacks and arbitrary arrests. At least 12 journalists were arrested following the enactment of the AIPPA in March, some repeatedly. The Ministry of Information refused to renew work permits for an Agence-France Presse (AFP) journalist and the bureau chief. Newspaper street vendors were harassed and attacked for selling independent newspapers, and the sale of independent newspapers was reportedly banned in many rural areas. In August, the Harare office of the Voice of the People, one of two independent broadcasting organizations, was bombed. While no one was injured, damage to the building was extensive. No one had been arrested in connection with the bombing by the end of the year.
  • Geoff Nyarota, former editor-in-chief of the Daily News newspaper, was arrested for a third time in less than a year in October and charged under the POSA with "undermining public confidence in the police" in connection with a Daily News story on the arrest and reported torture of five MDC youths while in police custody. At the end of 2002 Geoff Nyarota was facing six separate charges.
Crack-down on human rights defenders

In September, the government issued a public notice advising non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to register with the government in accordance with Section 6 of the Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Act. The notice warned that those NGOs which continued to operate without registering risked prosecution. Although the PVO Act was enacted in 1997, it had not previously been fully enforced. Recent government attempts to enforce the PVO Act were part of an overall campaign to further restrict freedoms of association and expression and prevent human rights organizations from investigating and publicizing human rights abuses. There were also indications that new legislation would be introduced which would further curtail the activities of NGOs, such as increased restrictions, or a total prohibition, on the receipt of foreign funding by local NGOs, along with harsher penalties for breaches of the PVO Act.
  • Dr Frances Lovemore, the Medical Director of Amani Trust, a human rights NGO, was arrested in August, following allegations that the Trust was guilty under the POSA of "publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state". The arrest stemmed from press reports which referred to Amani Trust's work with victims of torture and politically motivated rape. The offices of Amani Trust were raided and searched by police. Dr Lovemore was released the day after her arrest. In November, the government accused Amani Trust of threatening peace and security and warned that arrests would be made in connection with the organization's failure to abide by the PVO Act. Shortly after, Amani Trust closed its offices and by the end of the year had not resumed its work.
Teachers and students

Harassment, torture and attacks on teachers perceived to support the political opposition intensified, forcing many to leave their jobs. A national teachers' strike organized by the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) in October was met with excessive force by police and over 600 teachers were subsequently dismissed by the government. Protests by students were also dispersed with excessive force by police and student leaders were repeatedly harassed, arrested and tortured. Student demonstrations were met with riot police using batons and shooting tear gas canisters into enclosed areas, such as classrooms and dormitories.
  • Raymond Majongwe, the PTUZ Secretary General, was arrested twice following a national teachers' strike in October and charged under the POSA with "invading the rights of others" for allegedly encouraging other teachers to strike. During his first arrest, Raymond Majongwe was tortured in custody by police. His case was adjourned to January 2003.
  • Tinashe Chimedza, Secretary General of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), was arrested in October together with eight other ZINASU members. All were released the day of their arrest, except for Tinashe Chimedza who was held in police custody for two days during which time he was tortured. He was charged with "inciting public violence" in connection with writing and distributing ZINASU posters that called on students to support the PTUZ strike.
Food shortages

Serious food shortages and famine resulting from drought in the sub-region placed approximately six million Zimbabweans at risk of hunger and starvation by the end of 2002. In the run-up to the presidential elections, the government banned the distribution of food aid except through state channels. Following the elections, widespread reports emerged of the government's politicization of the distribution of international food aid and the deliberate denial of food aid by ZANU-PF officials to MDC members and supporters. Youth militia stationed outside long queues to buy grain reportedly targeted MDC supporters for assaults and intimidation to prevent them from getting food.

Internally displaced people

Political violence, intimidation and land invasions in the rural areas and on commercial farms by state agents and state-sponsored militia resulted in the forced displacement of many farm workers, commercial farmers and their families. Large numbers fled to urban areas as a result of threats, physical violence and rape.

AI country visits

AI delegates visited Zimbabwe in March.

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