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Political violence report: February 2006 - Overview
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
March 28, 2006

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Overview
The month of February was awash with violations of human rights which included the wrongful death of an infant. The infant was shot by a police officer in Marondera during a scuffle with gamblers and died at Parirenyatwa Hospital two days later. The mother of the infant was also shot in the process. The Human Rights Forum deplores such tragic and unnecessary loss of life, especially in the circumstances outlined.

A total of 1070 cases of human rights violations were recorded in the month. Human rights most violated were the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. The sharp increase in violations was due to a number of demonstrations that took place in the month of February. Women from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) held demonstrations on 13 and 14 February in Bulawayo and Harare respectively. 181 were arrested in Bulawayo and 60 in Harare. Students, mainly from state sponsored tertiary institutions, held several demonstrations across the country over the sharp increase in tuition fees by the government. This resulted in the arrest of several student leaders who were also subjected to assault and unlawful detention. The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) held a demonstration in Harare on 21 February and 43 of its members were arrested. It is with regret that the Forum notes that in all of these demonstrations, the police assaulted some of the demonstrators.

On 5 February, an apparently innocent person was arrested, assaulted and unlawfully detained for five days by members the of Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). This took place allegedly at the instigation of the wife of a General with the ZNA. The victim was accused of stealing from the company belonging to the wife of this General. He was only released on 10 February after the intervention of a lawyer and when the prosecutor declined to prosecute for lack of evidence. The Forum deplores such abuse of power as a means of settling personal vendettas by people who appear to consider themselves above the law.

Totals: 1 February 2006 – 28 February 2006

Cumulative Totals: 1 January 2006 – 28 February 2006

The graph should be read along with the table depicting the monthly totals of violations from 1 January 2006 to 28 February 2006. The total quantifiable number of victims reported in February 2006 is 500.

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