Increased Involvement of the
Security Services in Civilian
Affairs
Following the 1 August, 2018 shooting
of civilians which led to the death of at
least 6 civilians and the violence that
characterised the aftermath of the
#shutdown protests which also led to
the death of at least 17 civilians and left
hundreds more injured, the NTJWG
notes with concern the increased
involvement of the security forces in
civilian affairs.
Under the provisions of section 208
(d) of the Constitution among many
other things, ‘neither the security
forces nor any of their members
may, in the exercise of their
functions, violate the fundamental
rights or freedoms of any person.’
This comes at a time when Zimbabwe is
trying to re-engage the international
community and one of the reforms that
has been set as a pre-condition for reengagement is the respect, promotion
and protection of fundamental human
rights which as a country we have not
shown.
Fu r t h e r m o r e , w e n o t e t h a t t h e
deployment of the military in January
2019 did not follow the required
Constitutional process for such
deployment. As laid down in section
214 (Political accountability for
deployment of Defence Forces), and
noting Section 213 (Deployment of
Defence Forces), we are concerned that
parliament was not promptly and in
appropriate detail, and that this does
not create an impression of a desire by
the government to adhere strongly to
constitutionalism.
Implementation of the Recommendations
of the Montlanthe Commission
As a country, Zimbabwe should be seen making
efforts to curb impunity and break the cycle of a
legacy of violence.
The NTJWG also calls on the government to fully
implement the recommendations of the
Commission of Inquiry report and also hold to
account the people who murdered civilians on
August, 2018 in Harare. The NTJWG implores the
government to ensure that the security forces, but in
particular the army, to remain in the barracks and
allow the police to exercise their duties as provided
for in the Constitution. This way, there will not be a
recurrence of incidences such as the ones that
occurred on 1 August, 2018 and in the aftermath of
the #shutdown protests. The Government is
encouraged to initiate the process of security sector
reform to ensure that the security services operate
within the confines of the law according to the
principles outlined in the Constitution with greater
attention to the respect for human rights.
The Government should quickly establish a National
Reparations Fund specifically for victims of human
rights violations as a permanent Fund to cater for the
victims of August 1 shootings and all the other victims
whom the Government has refused to compensate
over the years. Even though on 13 April, 2019 the
Sunday Mail reported that ‘compensation for August
1 victims commences,’ the process must be
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EXECUTIVE BRIEFING: JANUARY - MARCH 2019