1.0 INTRODUCTION This study investigates the direct and indirect economic costs of police brutality on victims in Zimbabwe, from events related to the social uprising between July and August 2016. Establishing the economic costs of police brutality provides the basis for determining requisite compensation for victims’ loss of earnings; medical and hospitalization expenses; funeral expenses and for the dependants’ loss of maintenance. Collating information on the economic costs of police brutality also enables society to identify adequate responses for future police brutality episodes, recommend modalities for community policing programs, develop stronger policy (such as the costs of health care,including specialist and rehabilitation treatment) and lobby for the need for security sector reform. Zimbabwe witnessed social unrest reminiscent of the 1998 food riots between June and September 2016, characterised by a wave of demonstrations, protests, stayaways, and a national shutdown across all major cities and towns. The social unrest emanated from unresolved national grievances over corruption and the deterioration of social and economic conditions. Social movements, born out of the realisation that the state had been unresponsive to formal and informal complaints mechanisms, facilitated the mobilisation of citizens to make their voices heard by protesting against poor governance and lack of accountability. Under the banner of social movements such as #Thisflag; #Occupy Africa Unity Square; National Vendors’ Union of Zimbabwe, #Tajamuka/Sesjikile, and others, the activists used platforms such as whatsapp and Facebook to mobilise citizens to protest in what became an international movement in the virtual (web or internet) sphere. Across the country a host of residents’ and traders’ associations took to organising and mobilising for the protests. Following failed attempts to reverse controversial Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016, which prohibits importation of specified basic goods, social movements planned for a national country shutdown on 6th July, through a total stoppage of all business, formal and informal, as well as traffic movement. Government responded by using the state media, some legislative pieces and the might of the law enforcement agencies to supress the protests. 3