By Tatenda Gabi
As Zimbabwe prepares to host the 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit on August 17, 2024, the country is facing a worrying escalation of political violence and human rights abuses, according to a statement issued by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum).
The Forum, a coalition of 21 human rights organizations, has expressed grave concerns over the “deteriorating human rights situation” in the country. The statement cites a concerning pattern of arbitrary arrests, assaults, torture, and detention of opposition party supporters, civil society activists, and perceived dissenting voices, carried out at the instigation of the state.
Incidents of crackdown on civil liberties include the forcible removal of four pro-democracy campaigners from a plane at the Robert Mugabe International Airport, where they were allegedly held incommunicado and one of them, Robson Chere, was reportedly tortured. The Forum also notes the arbitrary arrest of 70 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters, including infants and minors, who have been denied bail for over six weeks.
The acceleration of the crackdown appears to be driven by hate speech and systematic intimidation from high-level government officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Minister of Home Affairs Kazembe Kazembe, and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Jenfan Muswere, who have issued threats against potential protests ahead of the SADC summit.
The Forum reminds the government that the Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees the rights to freedom of association, assembly, and free speech, and that the right to protest peacefully is a fundamental right of every citizen. The organization calls on the government to end the repression of citizens, ratify the UN Convention against Torture, and stop the weaponization of the law to silence dissenting voices.
The Forum also urges SADC to promote respect for human rights in Zimbabwe by calling on the government to end the arbitrary arrest and persecution of opposition and civil society members, and to engage the African human rights systems to ensure Zimbabwe fulfills its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The escalating political violence in Zimbabwe is a concerning development that threatens to undermine the country’s democratic progress and the right of its citizens to freely express their views and participate in the political process.
As the SADC summit approaches, the international community will be closely watching to see if the Zimbabwean government takes concrete steps to address these human rights concerns and uphold its constitutional and international obligations.
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