TABLE 26
Frequency of alleged perpetrators.
Source: Solidarity Peace Trust
APRIL 2008
APRIL TO JUNE 2008
NUMBER
%[RANK]
NUMBER
%[RANK]
War Veterans
173
14 [4]
730
21 [2]
ZPF Youth
439
35 [1]
1599
45 [1]
ZPF Supporter
257
21 [2]
600
17 [3]
ZRP
140
11 [5]
230
7 [5]
ZNA
188
15 [3]
304
9 [4]
CIO
18
1 [7]
57
2 [6]
MDC/other
30
2 [6]
44
1 [7]
Total:
1245
3564
These findings are replicated by the reports from the Human Rights Forum and the Zimbabwe Peace Project.
TABLE 27
Reported affiliation of alleged perpetrators
[n=285]89
ALLEGED PERPETRATOR
NUMBER [%]
CIO
11 [4%]
MDC
2 [0.7%]
War Veterans
45 [16%]
Zimbabwe National Army [ZNA]
69 [24%]
ZANU PF Youth
102 [36%]
ZANU PF Supporter
77 [27%]
Zimbabwe Republic Police
43 [15%]
Zimbabwe Republic Police [CID]
10 [4%]
Zimbabwe Republic Police [Riot]
10 [4%]
Unknown
24 [8%]
Since the Forum reports on violations as opposed to individual cases, strict comparison between their data and the Solidarity Peace
Trust is not possible. For the Forum data [table 27], ZANU PF supporters in total – ZANU PF Youth, ZANU PF supporters, and “war
veterans” – comprise the majority. When the rankings of the frequencies are compared between the Forum and the Solidarity Peace
Trust for the month of April, then the correlation between the two data sets is highly significant [0.96; p=0.01].
The profile of the alleged perpetrators in 2008 is different in several important respects from the reports compiled in 2000 and 2002.
A previous analysis of the named perpetrators between 2000 and 2003 also showed that non-state actors - ZANU PF Youth, ZANU PF
supporters and officials, and “war veterans” - were the most commonly identified perpetrators by a considerable margin, but indicated
that the ZNA was infrequently identified (less than 1% of the named perpetrators)90. The reports from 2008 by contrast indicate that the
ZNA was significantly involved in the gross human rights violations, and, for April 2008, even more frequently mentioned than the ZRP.
The following report, taken from the Human Rights Forum’s Monthly Political Violence Report for May 2008 is illustrative of the
involvement of the ZNA:
89
90
Page 32
Note that the number of perpetrators does not add up to 100%, as there was frequently more than one type of alleged perpetrator involved in an incident.
See again Reeler, A.P. (2003), The Perpetrators of Gross Human Rights Violations in Zimbabwe from February 2000 to March 2003, Paper presented to “Civil Society
and Justice in Zimbabwe: A Symposium”, organised by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Themba Le Sizwe and the International Bar Association, Holiday Inn,
Johannesburg, 11-13 August 2003.
Select target paragraph3
Add to table of contents