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ZPP human rights and food monitoring report
Zimbabwe Peace Project
August 31, 2008

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Background

In contrast with earlier reports, this August Report is presented at a special time when prospects for a peace settlement between the main political rivals, ZANU PF and the MDC are in the air. With the signing of an MOU on 21 July 2008, hopes for peace and stability scaled new heights with erst-while protagonists under immense pressure to now walk the talk of peace by concluding a political deal that should usher in a Government of national unity. August became witness to protracted high profile inter-party Talks, with negotiators [and in some cases their principals] shuttling between Harare and Pretoria.

With this development, the national psyche became more focused on ensuring that peace and stability prevail, the two main political parties exhorted to publicly condemn the orgy of retributive violence that had visited the nation during the run up to the 27 June run-off. National hopes for peace and stability surged even higher when the political leadership on 6 August 2008 issued a joint communiqué [for the first time] condemning violence. While inter-party negotiation experiences had their "booms" and "recessions", it was refreshing to note that the nation remained agog with hopes for an immediate political deal.

It is against this backdrop that ZPP in line with its peace-monitoring mandates sought to alert the peace-loving public on how far this national quest for peace and stability has cascaded to all the rural areas of Zimbabwe's ten provinces, two months after the volatile June Elections. ZPP sincerely hopes that any highlighted gaps between social expectations and provincial unfolding scenarios will serve as a warning shot to the public to remain on high alert for any developments that may subvert prospects for social peace and stability.

Unfolding scenarios and issues

While politically-motivated violence has visibly subsided and shaded off its gross features, its stubborn retreat traits are still manifest. A cursory survey of public statements in both print and electronic media as well as snippets from provincial experiences glaringly show that most language is yet to be exorcised of retributive inclinations. The pre-election era mindset is still on the prowl, though with less impunity this time. State media coverage remains obscenely skewed in favour of the Zanu PF.

Political tolerance remains disturbingly on the low side with opposition politics to a large extent still de facto zone "where angels fear to tread". Two months after elections, reports continue to be received about people being assaulted for flimsy reasons such as celebrating the victory of the MDC candidate as Speaker of Parliament, expressing different opinions on ongoing inter-party Talks, or even wearing opposition regalia.

Several months after being sworn in as councillors, most MDC winning councillors are yet to operate as councillors with losing Zanu PF councillors reportedly refusing to hand over council stamps and materials.

Displaced people who took long to return to their villagers after the 27 June Elections, found their homesteads taken over while property including household goods, livestock, poultry, grain, farm inputs and farm yields looted and vandalized.

An unfortunate revenge mood is in the air with some pre-election victims reportedly promising to mete revenge after the Talks on known perpetrators of violence while some villagers are reported to have started demanding back their livestock and property from base commanders, who as gleaned from provincial reports have since been on the run. ZPP recommends that those aggrieved take recourse to legal channels in their pursuit for justice.

With Government sources as the main channels of food and basic commodities, provincial experiences show that the recently launched Bacossi is fast becoming a new frontier for politically-motivated food discriminations. Access to GSF (Government subsidised food) is reportedly through a very tight and highly centralized vetting process controlled by an array of political and state actors who include losing Zanu PF councillors, chiefs, village heads, war veterans, Zanu PF youths/militia, ZNA [in the case of Maguta] and RBZ officials [ in the case of Bacossi]. Given the state of polarization in the country and the absence of alternative sources of food, extant state food distribution channels have in some cases reportedly fallen prey to unscrupulous elements [especially losing councillors] who are allegedly using the GSF as an avenue to settle their political scores and even make business capital out of the political plight of the starving villagers.

Prospective food beneficiaries reportedly have to meet several strict requirements which among others, include being "righteous" [a euphemism for not being into opposition politics], being on the village register, being in possession of a Zanu PF card, being regular attendants of Zanu PF party meetings as well as being fully abreast with the latest slogans of the Zanu PF.

Provincial reports also refer to the use of the 29 March and 27 June Voter Registration Rolls, practices that are said to have further worsened the plight of starving villagers as non voters were technically left out. In some urban areas, those who want to access subsidized government supplied maize meal and other basic commodities were reportedly required to have their purchase books stamped at Zanu PF Information Centres, which in most cases were houses belonging to senior Zanu PF members.

The social externalities of election violence are reportedly rearing their ugly faces in some urban and rural areas with reported incidents of violence-related dementia, family and even churches members clashing over political differences while in some cases, close relatives reportedly refused to attend funerals of those who belong to the other party. There was also an incident in which a pastor was reported to have refused to pray for those church members who were suspected to have been participating in retributive violence. Though these incidents were isolated, they signal the need for robust post election social healing processes.

In a yet another isolated but indicative of how unscrupulous individuals can take advantage of political lawlessness to commit unethical practices, a man and woman [known opposition members] were reportedly forced to have sex without condoms while the perpetrators watched and cheered them. The fact that the July Report also carried a story of this nature is a worrisome development, particularly so in this era of the HIV and Aids pandemic. Thus although statistically insignificant, an incident of this nature has ripple effects. In fact, it amounts to sentencing the political victims and society at large to death by one stroke. How these victims are silently coping with these social experiences and scars should indeed be cause for concern to the caring public.

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