February 2018
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Of Entitlement, ‘Cockpit and chunhu chedu’
(our thing) Politics
ABOUT ZPP
The organisation was founded in 2000 by church-based and
human rights organisations. The current members of ZPP are
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Zimbabwe Council
of Churches (ZCC), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ), Counselling Services Unit (CSU),
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZimRights), Civic
Education Network Trust (CIVNET), Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR) and Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe
(WCoZ).
Introduction
A dark cloud engulfed the country in the early
evening hours of the ‘day of love’ February 14 as
news of the passing on of the champion and icon
of democracy Morgan Richard Tsvangirai filtered.
Tsvangirai leaves an indelible footprint in the
fight for democracy. In death Tsvangirai who
succumbed to colon cancer was saluted even by
those who caused him and his supporters untold
suffering over the years since the formation of the
Movement for Democratic Change in 1999.
Described as an icon and one who transformed the
political profile of Zimbabwe since 1999, the
demise of this larger than life figure saw
Zimbabwe witness words of praise from the most
unlikely quarters but what was clear was that
Tsvangirai’s passing united Zimbabweans as they
mourned him. The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)
acknowledges Tsvangirai’s contribution to
democracy and also reflects on the multitudes of
victims the organisation has had to profile and
refer for assistance, their crime being the holding
of divergent views.
ZPP was established with the objective of monitoring,
documenting and building peace and promoting the peaceful
resolution of disputes and conflicts. The peace project seeks to
foster dialogue and political tolerance through non-partisan
peace monitoring activities, mainly through monitors who
document the violations of rights in the provinces.
The monitors, who at full complement stand at 420, constitute
the core pool of volunteers, supported by three Regional
Coordinators. The Regional Coordinators relate with the
national office headed by the National Director and programme
officers in various units.
homestead as a group of youths bayed for their
blood and threatened to burn down the hut.
While the MDC-T struggled with violence against
some of its own, in Zanu PF deepening factions
and conflicts reveal that factions and did not
disappear with the seismic political shift in
November 2017. In some communities while the
supposed victors from November 2017, Lacoste
faction, seek to consolidate their power and
influence and regrettably punishing perceived G40
members, the influence of the ‘icon’ Robert
Mugabe seems to be real. There are reports that in
some communities in the Mashonaland provinces
in particular Mashonaland Central some citizens
claim they are not aware that former president
Mugabe has been replaced. The G40 sought
attention of the regional and continental bodies the
Southern African Development Community and
the African Union to consider the November shift
of power as a coup, a method of power transfer
not recognised by both groupings. The catch 22
situation is that both organisations have officially
recognised the government in Harare. Even the
As the 2018 harmonised elections draw closer,
according to a roadmap released by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC), expected anytime
between July 21 and August 22, 2018, what is
happening in political parties is disturbing as it
does not by any measure foretell free, fair and
credible elections. The death of Tsvangirai
heightened tensions in the opposition MDC-T as
the Vice Presidents jostled for the ultimate
position in the ‘cockpit’ which saw his funeral
marred by ugly incidents of violence and
rowdiness. One of the vice presidents Thokozani
Khupe and three other officials Douglas
Mwonzora, Lwazi Sibanda and Abednigo Bhebhe
had to seek refuge in a hut at the Tsvangirai rural
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