THE CONTEXT The Zimbabwe nation state has for decades grappled with the question of justice for past human rights violations by the state as well as private individuals acting with the acquiescence of the state. The human rights violations which reached the level of atrocities such as the Gukurahundi massacres are well documented. Furthermore, the human rights violations have straddled across different epochs of Zimbabwe’s history from the colonial period, through independence up to the long rule of Robert Mugabe. Human rights organisations and other civil society organisations have fought over the years to have these human rights violations officially recognised by the Government of Zimbabwe through advocating for comprehensive, consultative and inclusive transitional justice processes where the whole nation participates. There is a rich history of these efforts which is well documented by several human rights organisations such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. While the different epochs of violence have been well documented, it is also important to recognise the varied types of victims and human rights violations that have spanned the political, social and economic strata. Zimbabwe has experienced violence based on a political level during major political events such as elections, national demonstrations and other important national events. These violations have been perpetrated with thousands of fatalities for opposition political party members, civil society and the general citizenry. The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has dedicated its work to documenting human rights violations since 1998 when it was formed and this information is publicly available. On the economic front, serious violations have been recorded with rampant bank closures, the devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar at the time of dollarization after the formation of the Government of National Unity as well as the loss in value of pensions for millions of pensioners. The political and economic challenges faced by Zimbabwe over the years have led to a serious haemorrhage of the social fabric leading to rampant drug abuse by young people, a steep rise in domestic violence, an increase in cases of depression and other social ills in the population. 21 November 2017 saw a major event occurring in Zimbabwe when the military overthrew long time President, Robert Mugabe in a ‘coup-that-was-not-a-coup’. His erstwhile Vice president, Emerson Mnangagwa who had been sacked returned to the country and took over as President. Subsequent elections were held on 30 July 2018 and ZANU PF won the Presidency and a majority in Parliament although the results remain contested. An EU report on the elections noted that among other questionable outcomes that the elections were unverifiable. With all these challenges in mind, civil society organisations have remained steadfast and resilient pushing for reforms on the political front as well as demanding for transparency in the spending of public finances and an end to corruption. The Emmerson Mnangagwa led government has opened democratic space leading to civil society coming out and putting the transitional justice question on the agenda. More articles and opinion pieces have been written about past human rights violations including the Gukurahundi question. The government has also come on board and given life to the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) by appropriating a budget and supporting the institution establish new activities. This move has been welcomed by civil society with caveats that the NPRC must do more to address past human rights violations including the Gukurahundi question, past economic justice violations as well as other civil and political rights violations. 4 2018 TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE POLICY SYMPOSIUM REPORT