ZIMBABWE recorded an unprecedented surge in human rights abuses, attributed mainly to suspected State security agents, ahead of the 44th Sadc Heads of State and Government Summit held in August this year, a new report has revealed.
According to the report produced by Heal Zimbabwe Trust, the country witnessed an increase in human rights violations in August, with the State and its agencies perpetrating the majority of abuses prior to the summit hosted in Harare on last month.
According to the report, the crackdown on dissent was meant to shut down any prospects of citizens exercising their right to protest during the Sadc summit.
“The month of August saw a sharp rise in human rights violations and conflict, particularly those perpetrated by the State and its agencies,” Heal Zimbabwe said in the report.
“The period preceding the Sadc summit was punctuated by arbitrary arrests, pretrial detention, abductions, intimidation and a litany of human rights violations targeting human rights defenders, prodemocracy voices, opposition activists and government critics.
“The crackdown on dissent was meant to shut down any prospects of citizens exercising the right to protest during the Sadc summit.”
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At least 160 citizens were arrested and charged with various offences with the underlying factor being that all of them were interrogated on their plans to protest during the summit.
Heal Zimbabwe flagged statements by Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage minister Kazembe Kazembe, who confirmed the arrests and detention of government critics were meant to thwart the possibility of protests during the summit, stating that government had “outplayed” them.”
Zanu PF national spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa confirmed the crackdown saying the arrested prodemocracy activists could be released as the Sadc summit was over.
The report showed that as of August 31, a total of 128 opposition activists, pro-democracy campaigners and government critics were in pre-trial detention in prisons across the country.
Heal Zimbabwe documented cases of abduction, intimidation and surveillance across Zimbabwe, including 17 cases of intimidation directly linked to the Sadc summit and 12 incidents of surveillance of human rights defenders, opposition activists and prodemocracy campaigners.
The report also noted instances of police brutality, including the mauling of a 17-year-old by police dogs in Nkayi and assault cases on citizens in Harare.
The report further noted that the surge in numbers of human rights abuse cases were a mirror into the state of human rights in Zimbabwe as the country experiences further democratic backsliding post the Robert Mugabe era.
“Intimidation has become a weapon of choice in the post Mugabe era in suppressing opposition voices while State surveillance on prominent human rights defenders and opposition activists is another intimidatory tactics used,” it said.