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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Post-election violence 2008 - Index of articles & images
Beaten,
wounded, bleeding and even lost life for exercising my right to
vote - Post March 29th 2008 elections violence report no. 1
Zimbabwe
Peace Project
May 2008
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Executive
Summary
The levels of
political violence and human rights violations have gone up in the
post election period with a total of 4359 cases of human rights
violations being documented by Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP). The
patterns of violence have also shifted with the violence being more
physical with an increase in cases of assault, murder, malicious
damage to property, and kidnapping. Cases of harassment and intimidation
are still high. Manicaland tops the list of politically motivated
violence in the form of displacement. Other areas with high levels
of violence include Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland
Central Masvingo and Midlands. The areas where the violence is rampant
conform to earlier ZPP predications of hotspots in the pre-election
period as outlined in the two Violations Early Warning System (ViEWs)
reports published before the polls.
In Harare most of the
cases recorded are of assault, harassment and intimidation. In the
period under review, ZPP noted a total of 81 cases of assault and
56 of harassment and intimidation. There have also been cases of
raids of NGO offices and arrest of NGO leaders.
In Mashonaland East, harassment, intimidation and assaults are common
leading to massive displacement of people as the victims run to
neighboring towns like Harare to seek sanctuary. A total of 823
cases were recorded in Manicaland province in April alone. Cases
of malicious destruction of property of opposition supporters have
also been on the rise in the province.
Mashonaland Central has
also seen an increase in cases of harassment and intimidation, mainly
of suspected opposition supporters. As a result of the violence
in the province in April, ZPP recorded a total of 187 cases of displacement
in the province. A case of murder was also recorded.
Mashonaland West is hot
with a total of 211 cases of politically motivated human rights
violations. In total, ZPP recorded 2 murders, 99 displacements,
59 assaults in the post electoral period. Some ZANU PF stalwarts
(names supplied) are reported to be the key funders of the violence
and human rights violations in the province.
The Midlands province
remains one of the hot spots of violence with 248 cases of violence
being documented in the post election period. The most common cases
of violence were harassment and intimidation (125 cases), followed
by assault (81 cases) and displacements (10 cases). Two cases of
murder were also recorded in April. ZPP has noticed that the recurring
perpetrators were mostly from ZANU PF (names of perpetrators supplied)
and these are from areas like Mberengwa, Silobela, Gokwe Nembudziya,
Gokwe, Shurugwi, Mberengwa, Gokwe Chireya, Gweru urban and Gokwe
Nenyunga. ZPP has also noted that one of the perpetrators has been
perpetrating violations since 2001 and one perpetrator from the
MDC from Gweru Urban.
Masvingo had the second
highest recorded cases (622) of violations in the post election
period. The most prevalent violations were harassment and intimidation
(417cases), Assault (108 cases) and kidnappings (49 cases). One
case of murder was also recorded in April. It was in Masvingo that
initial claims of the presence of white farmers wanting to take
over their former farms was made resulting in the invasion of farms
and harassment of the remaining white farmers.
Manicaland recorded the
highest number of incidents with a total of 1924 incidents of violence
in the month of April. Of these cases, 823 involved displacement
and over 400 cases of harassment and intimidation, 251 cases of
assault. Two cases of murder were also recorded in the province.
The case of Manicaland being a hotspot was also predicted in the
ViEWs reports disseminated by ZPP in the run up to the elections.
Matebeleland has generally
been calm however some cases of violence were recorded in Lwendulu
village, Nkayi and Hwange. Members of the Zimbabwe National Army
(ZNA) are allegedly driving around villages with a list of observers,
and opposition supporters who are then assaulted, harassed and intimidated.
Matebeleland South is
generally calm with a few hot spots of violence. ZPP recorded 35
incidences of violence, one case of torture and one of unlawful
detention.
Bulawayo is generally
calm with no cases of displacement recorded. However, some bases
have been set up at municipal offices and schools and are designed
for harassment and intimidation. In total, ZPP recorded 47 cases
of harassment, intimidation and 5 Assaults.
In most of the reported
cases of violence and human rights abuse throughout the country
the perpetrators are alleged to be ZANU PF members, youths, some
uniformed forces and government officials. There are some cases
in Harare where MDC members have been involved in perpetrating violence.
Women, men and children
are all victims of the violence directly. There has been reported
an arson and murder case, where a child was killed as the house
they were in was burnt down. There are also numerous cases where
women and children are being taken as ransom and forcibly detained
in set up bases until their fathers or husbands who fled violence
return to their villages. Women are also being assaulted, tortured
and sexually harassed.
In most cases the police
are not playing their role of enforcing the law as they get political
pressures or become part of the perpetrators themselves.
The indications on the
ground and the increasing cases of violence point to a worsening
situation.
The reason why the recorded
incidents in Manicaland have been way ahead of all other provinces
is that in those areas not many of the ZPP monitors have been displaced
as they flee violence unlike in areas like Mashonaland East, Mashonaland
West, and Mashonaland Central. Most of our monitors have been targeted
in one way or another as most participated as domestic observers.
ZPP can safely say that it has not been able to document all the
cases of violence but it will continue to have presence on the ground
and give updates.
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