so far. The first group of the twenty seven (27) MDC Alliance supporters who
were arrested at the party’s headquarters were all released on $50 bail each
while others are on different bail conditions.
On 21 August, ZRP officers arrested and detained the leader of the Children
of Zimbabwe War Veteran Association at Harare Central police station. The
victim is alleged to have been tortured while in police custody. The victim was
charged with criminal nuisance for allegedly posting some offensive
statements on facebook between March & May 2018 against President
Mnangagwa. The victim was also charged with public violence for allegedly
participating in the 1st of August protests over delays in the announcement of
presidential results.
•
•
•
•
Trends of arrests:
Dragnet arrests/ detention, when the state actors are not clear on what they
want to do, for instance the MDC Harvest House search. Those found at the
premises were taken for profiling, screening and then arrested;
Clear and systematic targeting of leadership within MDC Alliance, who are
deemed to be the organisers of the protests, as a way of silencing any further
action;
Police arresting to investigate, instead on investigating first and then arresting
– some released on summons even after arrest or being summoned to court
when the National Prosecuting Authority is not ready to prosecute due to lack
of evidence or incomplete state papers that cannot sustain a prosecution;
Harassment and or targeting of relatives or friends to put pressure on those
that the police want to arrest but cannot locate as a way to force those
targeted to hand themselves over to the police.
4.1 Cases Reported to the Police
Of the two hundred and forty (274) cases received, a total of twenty two (23) victims
reported their cases to various police stations at the time of reporting as shown in
Table 3 below. The 55 victims of arrests are all being represented by ZLHR. A total
of twenty nine (29) victims who were interviewed by the Forum lawyers indicated that
they were not willing to report their cases to the police for fear of reprisals whilst
some went into hiding after seeking medical attention. A total of 56 victims received
assistance from the CSU medical assistance and couselling from the CSU. Some of
the Victims had gun shots woulds, while others had bullets lodged in their bodies.
The table below shows cases that have been reported to the police. However, to
date, no perpetrator has been brought to book to our knowledge.
Table 2: Cases reported to police
12
Select target paragraph3
Add to table of contents