the country in contravention of Section 182 of the Customs and Excise Act or alternatively with failure to produce a listeners’ licence. Ndebele, who was arrested on Friday 1 March and then released into the custody of his lawyers, was interrogated by the police over the possession of 180 radio sets which the police allegedly seized from the Radio Dialogue offices in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe Peace Project National Director Jestina Mukoko voluntarily handed herself to the police at Harare Central Police Station on March 8 after the Zimbabwe Republic Police claimed in a public statement on state radio and television that she was on the run. Commissioner General of Police Augustine Chihuri also mentioned that police were looking for Mukoko. She was subsequently charged with two counts of contravening the Private Voluntary Organisations Act Section 6 (2) and (3) of the PVO Act [Chapter 17:05]. Furthermore, the police preferred additional charges which included contravening the Broadcasting Services Act Section 38E (1) (a) for allegedly refusing or failing to register as a dealer and Section 182 of the Customs and Excise Act for allegedly smuggling radios and cell phones. A warned and cautioned statement was recorded from Mukoko in the presence of her legal team. Mukoko denied all the charges and explained to the police that none of ZPP’s activities were in any way illegal. In her statement to the police she also raised the irregularity of the charges and more importantly that she could not be charged in her personal capacity. Mukoko was then released into the custody of her lawyers after the interrogation and the police indicated that they would advise of any further action after assessing the docket. In the period under review the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission also found reason to disqualify organizations such as the Zimbabwe Peace Project and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association from observing the referendum on the basis that the organizations were under police probe. However, ZPP eventually received a letter authorizing it to observe the referendum weeks after the referendum. On 17 March, police arrested four members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office. They were arrested and charged with impersonation after they were found in possession of dockets on corruption. Their lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa who had been called to attend a raid at the residence of Thabani Mpofu’s, who was one of the staffers, was also arrested for obstructing the course of justice by allegedly asking for a search warrant. Mtetwa was held in custody and only released a week later on bail despite a High court ruling by Justice Charles Hungwe to release her. Mtetwa was only released on 25 March 2013 after High Court Judge Justice Joseph Musakwa ruled that a Harare magistrate had erred in denying her bail. Pressure on civic society continued in the country with demands for Memoranda of Understanding by government officials being recorded in Masvingo and Matabeleland South provinces. Despite the fact that the numbers of politically motivated human rights violations remained subdued, political tensions were very high as political parties moved to prepare for the upcoming harmonised elections. Moreover, political factions emerged within the MDC-T party and Zanu PF parties related to the selection of candidates. For example the MDC-T intra-party conflict between Morgan Komichi and Xavier Edziwa was evidenced after Morgan Komichi allegedly declared that other party members should not contest against him as he should be respected as a national leader. However, Edziwa argued that the MDC-T is for democracy and therefore no one was immune. The MDC-T Sanyati District, reported to be against Komichi allegedly signed a petition, which was sent to the national executive challenging Komichi’s decisions. On 29 March, intraparty conflict intensified as violence erupted at Mubaira Township when two Zanu PF factions reportedly clashed. The two factions emerged in January when a candidate only known as Shamuyarira made known his intentions to challenge sitting MP Sylvester Nguni. Zanu PF provincial youth chairperson known as Dommy and other supporters of Nguni allegedly attacked Zanu PF youths campaigning for Shamuyarira. Two people were seriously injured in the attack and were taken to hospital and released the following day. Property at some shops was damaged during the attack but no one was arrested in connection with the violence. Analysis of the trend in violations show that March 2013 witnessed the lowest number of human rights violations since 2008 despite the fact that there was an election in the form of the constitutional 25