after his return on 27 November, Piki sought
audience with the Commission of Inquiry to go
ahead with giving his testimony. But his request
was declined with the officers of the Kgalema
Mothlanthe-led probe team indicating that they
had completed hearing evidence from all
witnesses. Human rights campaigners among
them Itai Dzamara, Patrick Nabanyama and Paul
Chizuze remain missing and unaccounted for
after they were subjected to enforced
disappearances several years ago.
Warren Park from 1 to 7 August. The soldiers
accused many of the victims of participating in
the 1 August opposition-led protests. A local
NGO reported that from January to June, 23
victims of organized violence and torture sought
assistance after security agents found them
mining illegally at the Chiadzwa diamond mine
in Manicaland Province. Victims reported that
security forces detained them at torture bases,
beat them with sticks, kicked them, and
sometimes allowed security dogs to attack them.
Extra-Judicial Killings
Freedom of Movement
There were two reported incidents of the
government or its agents committing arbitrary or
unlawful killings. On 1 August 2018, the military
killed six unarmed protestors when it responded
to an opposition-led election related
demonstration in Harare’s CBD. A seventh
individual died from injuries related to the
protests. The police killed two civilians on 22
February while enforcing a ban on vendors and
unlicensed taxi drivers in Harare. By year’s end
there were no arrests or charges of members of
the security forces related to these cases.
In May, the Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede
was ordered by High Court judge Justice
Thompson Mabhikwa, to issue an emergency
passport to 79-year-old Emmah Gireya who
urgently required to travel to Namibia for
specialist treatment within 48 hours. Gireya was
born in Zimbabwe to parents of Mozambican
origin, and the Registrar-General office refused
to issue her the document, demanding $5 000
for renewal of her citizenship which they
believed had expired. In September, previously
exiled freelance journalist Violet Gonda
approached the High Court after the RegistrarGeneral’s office refused to issue her with a
passport because she was blacklisted by the
government. Gonda has not been charged or
convicted of any offence to justify placing her on
a restriction list, and in any event, her
Zimbabwean citizenship could not be revoked
or lost under any circumstances whatsoever.
Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede later
conceded that his officers erred by refusing to
grant a passport to Gonda, stating that Gonda
faced some “administrative problems” with a
junior officer and should have “escalated” her
issue to a senior person in his office.
Torture
Torture by the security forces remained a
mainstay of government’s abuse of human rights.
Individuals who were arrested were assaulted in
custody, or at the point of arrest. This included
psychological torture. According to one NGO,
from January through August, 367 victims of
organised violence and torture sought medical
treatment and counselling after sustaining
injuries in multiple incidents across the country.
The NGO reported that ZANU-PF supporters
committed 35% of the violations, ZRP
committed 31%, and the army committed 22%.
Most of the cases, about 39%, occurred in
Harare. Over 51% of the victims were associated
with the opposition MDC Alliance, while about
10% were associated with other smaller
independent political parties. Over 39% did not
indicate their political affiliation.
Identity and Citizenship
The provisions dealing with citizenship in the
Constitution are sections 36 (citizenship by birth,
section 37 (citizenship by descent), section 38
(citizenship by registration) and section 43 which
grants citizenship to people who were born in
Zimbabwe before 22 May 2013 and were
ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe, and when they
were born both their parents were not
Zimbabwean citizens and were citizens of
countries that belong to the Southern African
According to the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission (ZHRC) and local NGOs,
uniformed soldiers systematically assaulted
civilians in the Harare CBD and suburbs of
Chitungwiza, Highfield, Kuwadzana, Seke, and
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STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ZIMBABWE 2018
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