Analysis of Arrests, Charges and Convictions
after the Food Riots
This section outlines the findings from an investigation of the legal proceedings taken against
rioters in the Harare and Chitungwiza Magistrates’ Courts. It was thus necessarily a select group
and cannot claim to be wholly representative of the legal proceedings that took place throughout
the Food Riots, and did not include any data from other areas of the country; but the data did cover
the areas in which the disturbances were arguably the worst.
It is worth recapping here on the reports emanating from the press. These reports showed very
conflicting numbers of arrests. According to the Herald (22 January 1998), a police spokesman
reported that 2,300 persons had been arrested in Harare and Chitungwiza. A court official (Herald,
22 January 1998) reported that over 1,000 persons had been arrested in Harare alone. Subsequent
to these newspaper reports, no government official has indicated what the final figures were. The
ZRP report indicates that 3,000 persons were arrested, but gives no indication of the number finally
charged and sentenced.6
Harare
As can be seen from Table 1, the Forum reported on a total of 730 cases. The cases were drawn from
Braeside, Glenview, Harare Central, Hatfield, Mabvuku, Machipisa, Marimba, Southerton, Warren
Park, Waterfalls, and a large number from unidentified – ‘Unspecified’ – suburbs.7
Table 1: Legal consequences for Food Riots cases in Harare
Warrant
issued
Withdrawn
before plea
Withdrawn
after plea
Remand
refused
Remand
Acquitted
Suspended
sentence
Fined
Prison
21
102
38
407
18
45
1
14
84
2.88
13.97
5.21
55.75
2.47
6.16
0.14
1.92
11.51
As can be seen, the great majority were discharged either before pleading or at the remand hearing.
In fact, 14% were discharged before pleading, 5% were discharged after pleading, and 56% had
their remand refused at the remand hearing, making 75% in all being released after periods in
excess of three weeks already in remand. In addition, a further 6% were acquitted of the charges.
Of the remainder, 13.1% were convicted of the charges, with the great majority receiving custodial
sentences. The sentences were generally severe, about 12 months, while the fines imposed were
rather moderate, about Z$250 on average. The data did not allow any determination of the charges
for which sentence was imposed, which is a pity as it would have been useful to know whether
custodial sentences were being imposed for theft or for public violence.
As can be seen from Table 2, there were considerable differences between the different areas, but the
general trend was the same: many more people were discharged than convicted. In the cases from
Hatfield, virtually everyone arrested was released unconditionally or remand was refused, which
was also true for Marimba. There were higher conviction rates in cases from Mabvuku and the
Unspecified cases. However, the general trend remained similar in the cases from all the suburbs:
many more people were arrested than were convicted, with the vast majority having applications
for their remand refused at the remand hearing. There were no data on the outcome for those who
6
7
‘Police Report on the Food Riots: Issued by ZR Police General Headquarters’, The Outpost, June 1998.
‘Unspecified’ here means that the area could not be established from the court record.
4