Zimbabwe, Mass Repression: At the Summit of Southern African States, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Call for an End

ROMA – The two human rights organizations urged the Zimbabwean authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested for exercising their rights and to promptly and effectively investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, ensuring that those responsible are held accountable in fair trials. Sadc (Southern African Development Community) must urgently call for an end to the ongoing assault on human rights, just as it prepares to hand over leadership of the organization to Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The massive repression of dissent. “Since mid-June, the Zimbabwean authorities have carried out a massive crackdown on dissent. More than 160 people have been arrested so far, including members of parliament, other opposition figures, trade union leaders, students and journalists,” said Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. “Police forces have fired tear gas into a private residence, beaten people so severely that they have had to be hospitalised, disappeared people for hours and tortured detainees. The authorities must immediately put an end to these human rights violations and release all prisoners,” said Farise.

The authorities urgently need to change course. Second Amnesty International e Human Rights Watch It is necessary that the leaders of the states of Sadc speak out against the human rights violations committed by the Zimbabwean government and demand that the authorities change course by releasing all those unjustly arrested, before the situation worsens further. President João Lourenço of Angola, the current chairman of Sadc, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who chairs the body that deals with political, defense and security cooperation, need to make their voices heard.

A large-scale crackdown. The current wave of repression began on June 16, when police raided the home of Jameson Timba, leader of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change party, during a private meeting, arresting 78 people. Police fired tear gas and beat people with truncheons, causing several injuries, one of whom required surgery.

The crime of “disorderly conduct”. Authorities charged the group with “assembly with intent to incite public violence” and “disorderly conduct” and held them for more than two days without bringing them before a judge, in violation of Zimbabwean law. Authorities released two minors and granted bail to one adult, but 75 people remain in arbitrary detention. On June 24, police arrested 44 members of the National Union of Students of Zimbabwe, including President Emmanuel Sitima, forcing them to pay fines for “disorderly conduct” before releasing them. Police later arrested Sitima again on charges of “criminally unbecoming conduct,” but released him on bail the following day.

Protesters beaten and arrested. On June 27, Zimbabwe’s president warned citizens against “opposition political parties that seek to spread falsehoods and incite disorder especially before, during and after national and international events.” Hours later, police outside the Harare courthouse beat and arrested peaceful protesters who were demanding the release of those arrested at Jameson Timba’s home. The next day, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere threatened “members of the opposition, some politicians and some civil society organisations,” saying their days were numbered.

Punished for raising funds for families in difficulty. On June 29, police arrested five members of the National Democratic Working Group, a social justice movement, while they were at a private residence in Harare to raise funds for families in need. They were later released. On July 1, police broke up a memorial service for a member of the Citizens Coalition for Change who was killed in 2022. On July 3, police arrested six people affiliated with the organization Community Voices of Zimbabwe in Gokwe, but released them without charge.

The escalation of repressive violence. And so, in an escalation of violent repression, on July 31, when four activists were forced off a plane shortly before it took off from Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport and disappeared for nearly eight hours; and then on August 1, when authorities arrested more than 30 people across Zimbabwe, including Sitima for the third time, a city council member, a senator, a religious leader, a parliamentarian and 13 others in the town of Kariba. And again on August 8, in Harare, masked people attempted to break into the offices of the civil society organisation Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition in Harare.

The government should not be criticized. “The grave violations we are witnessing, including violent attacks, abductions, torture, arbitrary arrests and more against opposition, government critics and activists, are just the latest example of the failure of President Mnangagwa’s government to promote, protect and respect fundamental human rights,” said Idriss Ali Nassah, Africa Researcher at Human Rights Watch. Sia Amnesty International That Human Rights Watch complain about the lack of public positions taken by the Sadcwhich should instead take a clear stand against the ongoing repression in Zimbabwe, especially as President Mnangagwa approaches his rotating presidency. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights must demand the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights.