Amnesty International calls for an end to rights abuses in Zim

By Staff Reporter

GLOBAL rights lobby group, Amnesty International has implored Zimbabwean authorities to  end the crackdown against opposition and civil society members ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit scheduled for 17 August 2024 in Harare.

The organ said authorities must also promptly and effectively investigate allegations of torture or other ill-treatment of detainees and hold any suspected perpetrators accountable in fair proceedings, the groups said.

Further, SADC must urgently demand an end to this assault on human rights as it prepares to hand the bloc’s leadership to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“Since mid-June, Zimbabwean authorities have conducted a massive crackdown on dissent. More than 160 people have been arrested so far including elected officials, opposition members, union leaders, students and journalists,” said Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

The authorities must stop committing such violations and immediately release all detainees.

Khanyo Farise, Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa “Security forces have tear-gassed people in a private residence, beaten people so badly they needed hospitalization, forcibly disappeared people for hours and tortured people in custody. The authorities must stop committing such violations and immediately release all detainees.”

SADC leaders must condemn the Zimbabwe government’s human rights violations and demand that the authorities reverse course by releasing everyone unjustly arrested before the situation worsens further, the groups said.

 President João Lourenço of Angola, who is the SADC chairperson, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who chairs its Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation Organ, need to speak out.

A wide-ranging crackdown

The current crackdown began on 16 June, when police raided the home of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party leader, Jameson Timba, during a private gathering and arrested 78 people. Police fired tear gas and beat people with batons, resulting in multiple injuries, including one requiring surgery.

The authorities charged the group with “gathering with intent to promote public violence and disorderly conduct” and held them for more than two days without bringing them before a court, in violation of Zimbabwean law. The authorities released two children and granted bail to one adult, but 75 people remain arbitrarily detained.

On 24 June, police arrested 44 members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), including its president, Emmanuel Sitima, and forced them to pay fines for “disorderly conduct” before releasing them. Police then re-arrested Sitima for “criminal nuisance” before releasing him the next day on bail.

On 27 June, Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa warned against “opposition political parties bent on peddling falsehoods and instigating acts of civil disorder, especially before, during and after regional and world state events.” Hours later, police outside the Harare Magistrate’s Court beat and arrested peaceful protesters, who were demanding the release of the people arrested at Timba’s house.

The next day, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere threatened “elements within the opposition, certain politicians, and some civil society organizations,” saying that “their days are numbered.”

On 29 June, police arrested five members of the National Democratic Working Group social justice movement at a private home in Harare during a meeting to raise funds for impoverished families, then released them.

On 1 July, the police broke up a memorial service for a CCC member killed in 2022. Police arrested another six people affiliated with the Community Voices Zimbabwe media organization in Gokwe on 3 July before releasing them without charge.