The data from the courts did not support the impression given by ZRP spokesmen to the press at
the time, nor did it conform to the report issued by ZRP Police General Headquarters.8 There clearly
were not large numbers of ‘looters’ or people being convicted of violence: over 70% of the persons
arrested could not be convicted on the available evidence before the courts.9 The investigations by
the ZRP were unable to support credible charges and resulted in very few convictions. It may also
be that many of those arrested were arrested by the army, and, unsurprisingly, the soldiers of the
ZNA were unable to formulate proper charges or carry out proper police duties. This is not to say
that there was no theft, looting or public violence, merely that the police work was inadequate to
support many charges. The data also supported the notion of ‘drag-net’ arrests, which were alleged
by many, and this is of great concern when there are credible allegations of widespread torture and
ill-treatment of those detained.
Table 4: Legal consequences for all cases from Harare and Chitungwiza
Number
21
412
223
407
45
20
14
197
4
17
Warrant issued
Withdrawn before plea
Withdrawn after plea
Remand refused
Acquitted
Suspended sentence
Fined
Prison
Community service
Other
Percentage of total
1.5
29.2
15.8
28.8
3.2
1.4
0.99
13.9
0.3
1.2
The number detained was of great concern when it was learned subsequently that so few – only 18%
overall – could be convicted in a court of law. Firstly, there were prima facie cases of unlawful arrest
and illegal detention that needed to be considered. Many of these people were detained for periods
in excess of two weeks, and suffered considerable hardship during that time and even afterwards.
It is important to point out here that a prima facie allegation of being a criminal can result in people
losing their jobs, being shunned by neighbours and their community, quite apart from the actual
hardship experienced during incarceration.
Secondly, detention may well have led to further human rights abuses. There were virtually no data
about the conditions in the prisons at the time of the Food Riots, but it is not difficult to imagine that
the injection of a further 2,300 people into the prisons in and around Harare must have aggravated
the existing overcrowding and produced extreme discomfort for all. The Human Rights Forum saw
only a single person who was imprisoned after the Food Riots, so there were no good data on the
situation in the prisons. However, according to the one report that was received, this person alleged
that there was widespread torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the ZRP in particular.
Thirdly, the possibility of coercion through torture led to concerns about those convicted. Bearing in
mind that 78% of those convicted were given custodial sentences this was not a trivial issue. There
was no attempt to establish how many persons may have been subjected to torture or duress, and,
since the Human Rights Forum received credible reports of persons being convicted on warned and
cautioned statements obtained under duress, there must be considerable concern that many people
who were convicted were convicted inappropriately.
8
‘Police Report on the Food Riots’.
It is interesting to see this in the light of reports about the inappropriate application of POSA. Here see Solidarity Peace
Trust, Disturbing the Peace: An Overview of Civilian Arrests in Zimbabwe: February 2003 – January 2004 (Solidarity Peace Trust,
<http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org>, July 2004).
9
6