Families of six people who were killed by soldiers on August 1, 2018, are still in the dark about what transpired.
But the government continues with its laid-back approach to effectively dealing with those who pulled the triggers.
Following allegations that security services used excessive force to suppress the riot, which was triggered by delays in announcing presidential results, President Emmerson Mnangagwa set up a commission of inquiry headed by former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe.
Its mandate was to investigate circumstances leading up to the riot and how the police and army reacted. The commission’s report was published on December 18, 2018, laden with recommendations, which said government must compensate families of those killed and wounded and hold perpetrators to account. However, five years down the line, they are yet to be compensated.
Speaking during a Twitter space organised by Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe this week, one of the victims’ brother said the family was waiting for authorities to bring their relative’s killers to book.
It is worrying that the government has failed to act. The perpetrators are known and some of them were captured on camera.
But the implications of their actions remain a closely guarded secret.
In neighbouring South Africa, four police officers assigned to a security team protecting deputy president Paul Mashatile were charged with assault and other offences after kicking and stomping on private citizens.
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The incident provoked outrage in South Africa, where complaints of police brutality are common, after a video of armed plainclothes officers attacking the motorist was posted on social media. The same form of action cannot be taken in Zimbabwe’s security forces if they brutally attack citizens.
The government sweeps things under the carpet. In a statement recently, the NGO Forum expressed disappointment that Mnangagwa had not fully implemented the recommendations.
“The Forum is aggrieved that five years later, there have been no meaningful attempts or steps taken to genuinely implement the commission's recommendations,” it said.
As we head for elections, the government must address all hanging issues around the August 2018 killings for its sincerity towards upholding the rule of law to be believed,” it noted. In 2019, thousands of Zimbabweans protested against price increase, along with increasing levels of poverty, the poor state of the economy and declining standards of living.
The government responded with a coordinated crackdown that resulted in hundreds of arrests and multiple deaths.
To date, nothing has also been done to the victims of state security brutality.
The government's approach to such incidences remains a concern.Going forward, the government must take a decisive approach in dealing with such sensitive matters as we head towards a potential disputed election.
