I would say we were not handled as if we were human beings when I was taken to the police station. I was just handled terribly… I was held like a criminal. Everything was harsh… I used to cry when I was in the cell. Cry for myself. In the evening.. All those I remember very well, I can say ¾ of the days I was in the remand holding cells I wasn’t sleeping. I didn’t have time to sleep. It was just terrible those days… That was my first time to be held, in such a way, in a such situation. So it made it tough, cause when I start to remember that I was in for nothing. I was in for no reason at all. I was just makes me go wild, I just.. I just don’t feel like I’m a person with my rights. I was deprived of my rights. I was assaulted. I was hassled. I was assaulted badly at that time when I think of those days. I ..I just feel I wasn’t born. I just feel as if I wasn’t existing in this place. (Survivor from Mabvuku) 1. Introduction As the Minister of Home Affairs himself commented in his address to the House of Parliament on 3 February 1998, “...the just ended three day food riots which came soon after the announcement of the general increase of prices of basic commodities, mealie meal, rice, cooking oil and bread represent the most violent riots the country has experienced since independence”. Indeed the whole nation was shocked by the Food Riots; not just by the rioting of ordinary citizens, but also by the violence of the State’s response. Eight deaths, uncounted injuries, thousands of people being arrested and detained made an enduring impression on the nation. The human rights community of Zimbabwe made strong appeals to Government to control the situation and to obey the principle of “minimum force” that needs to be observed when dealing with civilians. Amnesty International made a strong appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs to repudiate his view that the situation required the use of arms of war and the shooting of unarmed civilians. The human rights NGOs in Harare swung into action following the many reports of human rights violations, and the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (Human Rights Forum) was formed. This group, a loose alliance of NGOs, provided assistance to detainees, persons complaining of human rights violations and ill-treatment, and produced a report on the riots — Human Rights in Troubled Times: An Initial Report on Human Rights Abuses During and After Food Riots in January 1998 — which was forwarded to the President and Parliament in support of the request for an independent commission of inquiry. As was stated in the report: The human rights organisations call upon Government to set up, as soon as possible, an independent Commission of Inquiry headed by a High Court Judge to investigate these allegations of human rights violations. In the interests of transparency and accountability the findings of this Commission must be made public. Pending the setting up of such a Commission, the organisations request Parliament to establish its own Committee to look into these allegations and report its findings to Parliament. In conducting these investigations the Parliamentary Committee should enlist the assistance of the Ombudsman’s office which now has jurisdiction to investigate allegations of human rights abuses on the part of members of the police, army and prison service. Although the Ombudsman may only investigate when complaints have been made to that office, the proposed Parliamentary Committee would be able to refer some of the complainants to the Ombudsman’s office so that their complaints can be investigated by personnel in this office. Following these inquiries arrangements must be made for compensation to be awarded to all persons found to have suffered human rights abuses without those persons having to bring claims in the courts. Government must also take stern disciplinary action against all those who are proven to have perpetrated human rights abuses to send a clear signal that this sort of misconduct will not be tolerated.