40% of clients were judged to have injuries in the severe, or moderate to severe category, with a
further 32% sustaining moderate injuries.
9.
Conclusion
Political violence has affected several hundred people in Zimbabwe already this year. In 46% of
cases, agents of the state, in particular the police, are alleged to be the perpetrators. Torture
remains very widespread, and the injuries being sustained are in some cases likely to have
permanent negative effects on the health of victims. Of particular concern is the high number of
head injuries. Violence has been prevalent in a range of contexts, all linked to political
contestation at one level or another. However, worrying as any political violence may be, the
violence of 2011 is currently very significantly less intense than in 2008, and the state strategy at
the moment seems to be largely to rely on intimidation, backed by some violence. Mbare and
surrounding areas have been an exception to this, where violence has been more widespread at
times, and has resulted in displacements as well as injuries and damage to property.
Violations during the rest of 2011
It is likely that the rest of 2011 will be characterized by a continuation of the trends established
already this year, in particular the shutting down of democratic spaces. The state is likely to
become more directed and more targeted in terms of whom it arrests, and whom it beats. As
SADC and others are keeping events in Zimbabwe under scrutiny in the wake of the recent SADC
meeting in Zambia, it is NOT likely that Zanu PF will use a sledgehammer at this stage, and will
rather intensify intimidation methods. These can be very effective in breeding apathy and fear,
and in distancing people from opposition political activities, yet are very difficult to measure
forensically.
The state will concentrate on continuing to harass and wear down those NGOs that it considers
most threatening, which are those that document human rights abuses. While intense and
widespread state organized violence during 2011 seems unlikely to the authors at this stage,
Zanu PF is a party that has regularly shown that when all else fails, violence is considered a good
fallback. Mugabe’s uncertain health, and the general uncertainty of Zimbabwean politics as
evidenced over the last decade, means that 2011 remains unpredictable in human rights terms.
However, the agreement to establish a SADC committee to work alongside JOMIC in Harare could
be an important step towards reducing blatant human rights violations.
46
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