A Report on Pre-election
Political Violence in Mberengwa
November 17, 2000

Contents    « Amnesty for human rights violations

Conclusions
Politically incited violence and intimidation in Mberengwa during the run up to the June 2000 parliamentary election was clearly meant to have the effect of intimidating people into voting for the ruling party, Zanu (PF). Alternatively, it was meant to instil such fear in the electorate that supporters of the opposition would refrain from voting. It is likely that fear was the reason why 43% of the electorate in Mberengwa abstained from casting their votes.

Gross human rights violations occurred and appeared to be encouraged or at least condoned by Government officials. War veterans, members of Zanu (PF) and its supporters seemed to hold the belief that they had the right to infringe on others people’s rights without being held accountable at law. They attacked defenceless persons, including children, terrorising them, forcing them to leave their homes and live in the bush. Others were left homeless and hungry when they had their homes and granaries burnt down. Assaults were rampant and victims were picked indiscriminately. The general amnesty can only have confirmed the views of government supporters that their actions were authorised and condoned.

The police took little action to protect persons against the widespread political violence in the area. They failed in their duty to protect defenceless people against their aggressors. In some cases even stood by and watched assaults taking place.

Case 28

Problems started when I entered Maranda Bottle Store. The Zanu (PF) youths and supporters started to chant slogans. They asked me questions about my involvement in MDC meetings. As I was about to explain they started to beat me with logs and knobkerries. I bled heavily. Only after they had watched for some time did the ZRP intervene to stop the beating.

Subsequent to the election, the ZRP did take strong steps to enforce the law, with over 200 arrests being made. However, this belated attempt to enforce the rule of law was then completely subverted by the general amnesty, and especially the exclusion from prosecution of cases of torture.

Advantage was taken of the high rate of unemployment in Mberengwa. Unemployed youths were given the mandate to use the Zanu (PF) campaign as a source of income, adventure and pleasure. They went about, moving from door to door, village to village, herding hapless peasants and forcing them to attend daily political meetings, intimidating and threatening them. They also carried out severe assaults on members of or suspected members of the opposition. They became known as the Zanu (PF) youths and were named as the perpetrators in many of the incidents. Even worse was the presence of identified torture centres, such as Texas Farm, where many people were brutally tortured.

It was inevitable that this climate of aggression should prevail in various parts of the country after the President and other members of the Government had made threats against the opponents of Zanu (PF). Speaking in Shona at a ceremony relating to the opening of the water pipeline between the Pungwe and Mutare, President Mugabe said: "Those who try to cause disunity among our people must watch out because death will befall them."1 What the President was demanding was that everyone display blind allegiance to the ruling party and this meant that any persons not displaying such allegiance should be attacked. It is therefore not surprising that supporters of the President’s party unleashed such a reign of terror. The final support for this violence came in the form of an amnesty. This has given Zanu (PF) supporters a licence to continue a terror campaign against members of the opposition.  TOP

1 Daily News 17 March 2000.