Relatively peaceful national elections marred by disputed results and post-election violence signified that little had changed in Zimbabwe in 2018. The declaration of Emmerson Mnangagwa as winner of the July 30 presidential race, which for the first time in 30 years did not have former President Robert Mugabe on the ballot, was followed by a military crackdown on political opponents. Mugabe’s ouster by the military in November 2017 paved the way for his erstwhile deputy, Mnangagwa, to take over the reins of power as interim president, and then as ruling ZANU-PF flagbearer in the national elections.
On August 1, soldiers shot and killed at least six people
during opposition protests in the capital, Harare. Mnangagwa later established
a commission of inquiry into the post-election violence, chaired by former
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe.
At time of writing, the commission had not published its
findings. Throughout the year, Mnangagwa and other high-level government
officials made numerous promises to deliver governance reforms to mark the
post-Mugabe era, but took few steps to demonstrate commitment to
accountability, justice for human rights abuses, and respect for the rule of
law.
Mnangagwa, who has his own long record of human rights
abuses, called on Zimbabweans in December 2017 “to let bygones be bygones,”
paving the way for continued widespread impunity for abuses by the military and
state security agents.
The administration has also struggled to revive the economy,
and to effectively respond to the outbreak of cholera in August, which killed
at least 50 people and infected thousands in Harare. Freedom of Expression and
Media On October 29, state security agents briefly detained and harassed
journalist Violet Gonda at State House where she was officially accreditated to
report on President Mnangagwa’s meeting with business leaders.
On September 21, police briefly detained Pauline Chateuka, a
Community Radio Harare journalist, for filming police officers as they arrested
street vendors in Harare. On September 19, police also briefly detained Gilbert
Nyambavhu, editor of the online publication, New Zimbabwe, and his colleague
Idah Mhetu.
On September 24, a group of publishers, editors, and
journalists met with senior officials of the ruling ZANU-PF party in the
Midlands city of Kwekwe to register complaints over cases of intimidation and
threats issued against local journalists by some party members. ZANU-PF
officials urged journalists to report any cases of intimidation involving party
supporters to them.
The Mnangagwa administration failed to amend or repeal
repressive laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA), the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), and the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act. These laws were used under Mugabe to severely
curtail basic rights through vague defamation clauses and draconian penalties.
Partisan policing and prosecution worsened the impact of the
repressive provisions in the AIPPA and POSA laws. Women’s and Girls’ Rights,
Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity Three years after Zimbabwe’s
Constitutional Court declared child marriage unconstitutional and set 18 as the
minimum marriage age, the government has not put structures in place to
implement the court decision and ensure that girls under 18 are not forced into
marriage.
Although Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution stipulates that “no
person may be compelled to enter marriage against their will” and required
authorities to ensure that children are not pledged into marriage, the
government has yet to amend or repeal all other existing marriage laws that
still allow child marriage.
During his State of the Nation address on September 18,
Mnangangwa said that the current parliament is expected to consider the Child
Justice Bill and the Marriages Bill, which seek to provide a child justice
system and outlaw child marriages.
The parliament has yet to consider these bills at time of
writing. Critical steps have not been taken to address the routine eviction of
widows from their marital homes and confiscation of their property by in-laws
with little recourse to the formal justice system, which Human Rights Watch
documented in 2017. Many of the victims continue to struggle to claim rights
for reasons unique to their status as widows. Few women formally own the
property held during their marriage.
As a result, they were unable to keep jointly held property
upon the death of their husband. Section 73 of the Criminal Law (Codification
and Reform) Act, 2004 punishes consensual same-sex conduct between men with up
to one year in prison or a fine or both. This restrictive legislation
contributes to stigma and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) people.
In September, a teacher at a Harare school who came out as
gay resigned after he received death threats from members of the public over
his sexual orientation. Ahead of the July 2018 national elections,
representatives of the LGBT community in Zimbabwe met with top ruling ZANU-PF
party officials.
The Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) advocacy group
thanked Mnangagwa for this unprecedented meeting and for “understanding” them
better than his predecessor Mugabe and the opposition parties. Right to Health
The Ministry of Health on September 6 declared a cholera outbreak in Harare
after confirmation of 11 cases. The government subsequently declared a national
emergency after scores had died and thousands became infected. Between August
2008 and July 2009 Zimbabwe experienced Africa’s worst cholera epidemic in 15
years when more than 4,000 people died and over 100,000 were infected.
The conditions that allowed the devastating epidemic to
flourish in 2008 persisted in 2018: little access to potable water, inadequate
sanitation services, and limited information on water quality. Rule of Law
Authorities continued to ignore human rights provisions in the country’s 2013
constitution.
The government did not enact new laws or amend existing
legislation to bring them in line with the constitution and Zimbabwe’s
international and regional human rights obligations. The Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission on August 7 strongly condemned the use of live ammunition and
excessive force against unarmed protesters in Harare in August when the
military fatally shot at least six people.
Security forces have intensified a crackdown on supporters
of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDCA) in the
aftermath of post-election protests in Harare. They also beat up and harassed
scores of people in Harare as they searched for opposition party officials. The
whereabouts of pro-democracy activist and human rights defender Itai Dzamara
remains unknown. He was abducted on March 9, 2015. In October, prominent
activist and director of Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina Mukoko, a victim of
enforced disappearance and torture for three weeks by state agents in December
2008, finally received compensation after a Zimbabwe High Court ordered the
state to pay her US$150,000. Key International Actors Following the November
2017 military coup, the leadership of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) called on Zimbabweans to peacefully resolve the nation’s
political challenges. SADC leaders welcomed Mugabe’s decision to resign under
military pressure, pledging to support future national elections. The African
Union initially condemned the military takeover, but later welcomed Mugabe’s
resignation. The AU and SADC adjudged the July 2018 elections as peaceful and
in accordance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic
Elections, which were established to promote regular free and fair,
transparent, credible and peaceful democratic elections in the region.
International observer missions, including those of the European Union, the AU,
SADC and the Commonwealth, issued a joint statement on August 2 appreciating
the generally peaceful and orderly pre-electoral and voting day environment,
but expressing grave concern about the post-election violence. They condemned
vandalism and destruction of property and called on political party supporters
to abide by the law. They also denounced the excessive use of force to quell
protests and urged the police and army to exercise restraint. On August 8,
United States President Donald Trump signed into law the amended Zimbabwe
Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, which renewed sanctions against the
Mnangagwa administration.
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