Table 9: Alleged perpetrators of human rights violations Zimbabwe National Army Zimbabwe Republic Police Riot Squad Criminal Investigation Department Support Unit 16 23 2 1 4 The medical complaints of these survivors were split between those who had been shot – death, bullet wound and amputation – and those who had been assaulted – fracture, pain. Two persons complained that they had lost employment as a result of the injuries sustained. One man, for example, sustained permanent disability – loss of function in his arm – as a result of a bullet wound, and was unable to continue his employment as a driver owing to the disability. Table 10: Injuries and disabilities of victims of Food Riots Death Bullet wound Amputation Fracture Pain Loss of job Epilepsy 1 10 1 4 12 3 1 As regards the deaths, the Human Rights Forum was able to obtain information on the followup to only one death, that of Kudzai Ndlovu, who was shot and killed in Gweru. The public inquest, which was concluded in March 1999, revealed a wholly unsatisfactory situation. The presiding magistrate noted that no satisfactory investigations were conducted in order to reveal the identity of the perpetrator, and went so far as to state that the ZRP in Gweru were actually stifling investigations. He then recommended that the investigations should be taken over by an independent team of investigators from a different town. This is clearly at variance with the assertions of ZRP Spokesperson, Superintendent Bvudzijena, and the ZRP’s own report. Torture Torture can be identified according to various different definitions, the most common of which are those contained in the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment,11 and the Declaration of Tokyo.12 The latter has remained the most complete statement about torture yet produced by the medical profession. As this definition states: For the purpose of this Declaration, torture is defined as the deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons acting alone or on the orders of any authority, to force another person to yield information, to make a confession, or for any other reason. For the purposes of the UN Torture Convention torture is defined as involving the following elements: 11 See United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Adopted and Opened for Signature, Ratification and Accession by General Assembly Resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984. 12 See World Medical Association, Declaration of Tokyo: Guidelines for Physicians Concerning Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Relation to Detention and Imprisonment. Adopted by the 29th World Medical Assembly, Tokyo, Japan, October 1975. 10