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.
In respect of those who are alleged to have engaged in unlawful violence the law must continue
to take its course. However these cases must be dealt with according to the ordinary rules of
procedure and evidence which are there to ensure that accused persons receive fair trials. Any
cases that were hurriedly processed through the courts in the emotionally charged atmosphere
following upon the food riots must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure that no miscarriages of
justice have occurred. The sentences in these cases must also be carefully scrutinised to ensure
that they were fair and not disproportionate, taking into account the all the relevant factors
that have a bearing upon sentence, including the fact that the criminal action may have been
an expression of anger and frustration about harsh economic conditions. On the other hand,
more deterrent sentences are obviously appropriate for hooligans and criminals who simply took
advantage of the troubled situation to commit crimes.
Last but certainly not least, mechanisms must be established to ensure that businesspersons who
suffered financial loss as a result of the riots receive compensation or at least soft loans to allow
them to re-establish their businesses.
There was no response from the government, and thus the Human Rights Forum took the step of
lobbying the UN Human Rights Committee at its meeting in 1998 to consider the implementation
by Zimbabwe of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. When the Committee
produced its final report in September 1998, it made a strong statement endorsing the call by the
Human Rights Forum for an independent commission of inquiry. The UN Committee made two
specific recommendations in respect of the Food Riots:
16. The Committee expresses its concern over recent reports of excessive use of force by the police
and the army during food riots in 1998. The Committee urges that all cases of alleged excessive
use of force committed by members of the police or the army be investigated by an independent
and impartial body, that action be taken against those officers found to have committed abuses
and that compensation be paid to the victims; the State party should report to the Committee
thereon. Intensive training and education programmes in the field of human rights for members
of the army and law enforcement officials are recommended. The Committee urges that the list of
situations in which the use of lethal force is allowed under domestic law be reduced.
30. The Committee requests the State party to ensure the wide dissemination in Zimbabwe of the
Covenant, the State party report and the Committee’s concluding observations.
There was no wide dissemination of the report as requested, and, since the government took no
steps either to constitute a commission of inquiry or to compensate those who suffered human rights
violations, the Human Rights Forum decided to go ahead and support the request by survivors
for civil claims against the government. Forty-two suits were filed against the Zimbabwe Republic
Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Defence. The government, through the
office of the Attorney-General, initially indicated that it would contest all claims.
The Human Rights Forum then issued a second, and much more comprehensive, report as an
extension of the original report submitted to the President and Parliament.5 This report made use of
5
See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, A Consolidated Report on the Food Riots 19–23 January 1998 (Harare:
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, 1999).
2