The ruling Zanu PF party and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) have topped the list of perpetrators of violence in the 2017 State of Human Rights Report released by Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, 263Chat can reveal.
Speaking at the launch of the 2017 State of Human Rights Report, Mukoko said Zanu PF was implicated in violations related to voter intimidation while ZRP officers conducted mass evictions, torture and attack on vendors.
“One only understands the magnitude of these problems when you analyze the ranking of perpetrators, topping the list of these perpetrators in the 2017 State of Human Rights Report is ZANU PF, followed by the police. ZANU PF is implicated in violations related to voter intimidation and violence,
“ZRP is implicated in mass evictions, torture and attacks on vendors, in terms of severity the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company tops the list, implicated in the death of 5 people in Chiadzwa. But when you look at these actors, these are all in close proximity to the state hence the police are reluctant to investigate and hold such people to account,” said Mukoko.
She added that in the year 2017, the constitution of Zimbabwe suffered the worst form of violation since its own birth citing amendment number one which she said was just dragged through despite protests and the November 15 military action.
“Everyone remembers the military coup of November 2017, the complete overthrow of the constitution sowing seeds of great uncertainty,” said Mukoko.
Mukoko however emphasized that though human rights organizations have been granted an opportunity to lay out these issues they are not sure how long the type of freedom will last.
NGO Forum Executive Director, Blessing Gorejena reiterated that some of the perpetrators of violence are still walking scot-free enjoying protection from the law under the veil of political patronage.
“The Forum since 1999 has worked tirelessly to ensure accountability for victims of human rights violations yet to this day some of the perpetrators of violence are still walking Scott free and terrorize communities enjoying protection from the law under the veil of political patronage and,” she said.
In 2017, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum documented 48 200 violations against school children, 1873 households were evicted, 9 309 violations against women.
Meanwhile social spaces were reported to squeeze out persons living with disabilities with municipalities being the biggest culprits followed by the President’s office. In addition, out of 21 buildings and spaces surveyed in 2017 only three had disability friendly facilities.
Other actors who were also cited in the report include Zimbabwe Diamond Mining Company, Zimbabwe National Army, Central Intelligence Organisation, traditional leaders and municipal police among others.
