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Instability escalates with disruptions, assaults and police bans in Harare
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
July 23, 2011

Supporters of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) on Saturday 23 July 2011 descended on Parliament building in Harare in large numbers to intentionally disrupt a public hearing organised to solicit people's views on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Bill. This follows chaotic disruptions witnessed in the last four days at similar parliamentary committee hearings organised in Chinhoyi and Mutare.

The boisterous ZANU PF supporters, some of whom were visibly drunk at 10am, disrupted proceedings of the Joint Committee of the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and the Senate Thematic Committee on Human Rights from the onset.

They insisted that the national anthem be sung, and subsequently verbally abused and assaulted Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Member of Parliament for Hwange Central, Hon. Brian Tshuma for allegedly not singing the anthem. They refused to allow him to remain in the room and he eventually had to be removed under escort of riot police for fear of further attack.

The crowd also turned its inexplicable anger and violence on journalists from the private media, including Levi Mukarate of The Financial Gazette and Nqaba Matshazi of The Standard who were covering the hearing, and ejected them from the meeting room. The journalists were also accused of not singing the national anthem and writing falsehoods in their newspapers.

Mukarate sustained some bruises from the assault while Hon. Tshuma lost one of his mobile phones and some money.

Initially the crowd prevented members of the public and civil society organisations from making submissions. They also demanded that deliberations take place in Shona and not English. The ZANU PF supporters, who included Godwills Masimirembwa, then demanded the abandonment of proceedings to gather people's views on the ZHRC until the Constitution Select Committee has completed the ongoing chaotic constitution-making process.

They protested that dozens of their colleagues had been left out of the proceedings as they could not be accommodated in the small meeting room. For unexplained reasons, the venue had been changed from the Senate Room to the smaller Government Caucus Room. Another rowdy mob had forced its way into the main lobby of Parliament using the Nelson Mandela Avenue entrance and were locked into the area by Parliament security details who did little to contain the escalating situation.

The deployment of anti-riot police helped to save the situation from deteriorating even further. Eventually the mob left the building and spent considerable time dancing and protesting outside Parliament. Police did nothing to disperse the crowd, even when they attacked vehicles and members of the public who were passing by.

Saturday's hearing, which is one of the seven meetings held around the country, was meant to gather public views on the ZHRC Bill before it is debated in the House of Assembly and later in the Senate. The Joint Committee will produce a report which will be presented in both houses when the Bill comes up for its Second Reading.

Meanwhile, Warren Park police on Saturday also barred MISA Zimbabwe and the Artists for Democracy Trust from staging a "Free the Airwaves concert" in the high density suburb citing a report carried in a local daily newspaper.

The police had granted approval for the staging of the concert which seeks to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of expression and the need to have more players in media especially in the broadcasting sector.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) unreservedly condemns the conduct of the rowdy mob, the disruptions of the public hearing not only in Harare, but also in Chinhoyi and Mutare, and the assaults on a legislator and journalists. These disruptions, which constitute contempt of Parliament in terms of the law, are criminal offences. As such, these actions must be immediately investigated by parliamentarians and the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and the culprits - including the invisible masterminds behind the disruptions - identified in order to bring them to book.

Whilst the riot police prevented the situation from escalating further, their inaction in terms of arresting the violent culprits and dispersing an unlawful gathering which caused public disorder is unacceptable and a further indication that the law enforcement agents are partisan and not willing to protect peace-loving citizens who wish to contribute in a peaceful manner to legislative and other civic processes. This is moreso when witnessing the zeal with which the same police force banned the lawfully authorised and peaceful concert in Warren Park.

ZLHR personnel were present at Parliament and witnessed the chaotic scenes. It is a sad day indeed when Zimbabweans are unable to gather peacefully and in their diversity to calmly debate and contribute to the improvement of measures for human rights promotion and protection in our country. Serious and urgent measures need to be taken to inculcate a culture of respect for diverse views and peaceful and tolerant discourse, particularly in the youth, who continue to be used and abused by politicians lurking in the shadows for their own negative personal and party political interests.

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