Zimbabwe - July 2024

More than 160 people were arrested and dozens beaten in a crackdown by Zimbabwean police that began in mid-June and continued into July. Those targeted included members of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), union leaders, students and journalists. While many were released without charge, by early August, 75 of the 78 CCC members arrested on 16 June remained arbitrarily detained, according to rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Lawyers for three arrested activists alleged that their clients had been severely tortured during their detention. In late June, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa had issued a warning against ‘opposition political parties bent on peddling falsehoods and instigating acts of civil disorder, especially before, during and after regional and world state events’ – a reference to the Southern African Development Community summit scheduled to be held in Harare on 17 August.      

Sources: Human Rights Watch, ZimLive, University World News, Reuters, International Federation for Human Rights, The Herald

On 16 July, President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched community hearings in which survivors of the historical ‘Gukurahundi’ atrocities are to give accounts and provide evidence. The atrocities included large-scale massacres, rapes, torture and disappearances, and were perpetrated by a unit of the Zimbabwean army between 1983 and 1987, mostly against the country’s Ndebele-speaking communities. Gukurahundi, meaning ‘the rain that washes away the chaff’ in Shona, was the codename of the operation under which the atrocities were committed. The hearings are to begin in August and will be led by local chiefs. They are intended to address the legacy of the Gukurahundi, which has left lingering ethnic tensions. Previous public hearings have stalled and some survivors have expressed doubts about the current programme, citing Mnangagwa’s proximity to the atrocities, as he was Minister of State for National Security at the time. The President has repeatedly denied allegations of involvement.

Sources: Al Jazeera, British Broadcasting Corporation, President of Zimbabwe, Heal Zimbabwe Trust, The Sunday Mail, The Herald