Covid-19: An enemy to peace promotion in homes
COVID- 19, which has wreaked havoc across the globe, leaving a trail of socio-economic annihilation in its wake, has heightened conflict, particularly at the domestic front in Zimbabwe, thus becoming an enemy to peace promotion efforts, National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) chairman Retired Justice Selo Masole Nare has said.
Justice Nare said in an interview that the commission had not taken a back seat, but Covid-19 brought new challenges that were not anticipated, and could not possibly be planned beforehand.
The matrimonial base, he said, suffered more as everything else that came with the scourge, including the lockdown to curb its spread, hit hard on the economy, ultimately impacting on the social obverse.
“You may be aware of the fact that in Zimbabwe, as is reported in the region and elsewhere, conflicts have risen between men and women,” said Justice Nare. “A lot of domestic violence is taking place.
“You know, when people stay together as husband and wife, during the day the man may be at work, and the woman doing other chores like gardening, and they meet during the evening; but when they sit together, as is happening now, and do nothing, they are bound to quarrel.”
Justice Nare said Covid-19 resulted in a surge in domestic violence cases countrywide, as partners vented their frustrations on each other.
The major bone of contention could not be incompatibility per se, he said, but lack of productive occupation.
“Both the formal sector and the informal sector have been disturbed, particularly the later,” said Justice Nare.
“For instance, Mupedzanhamo is closed. There is very little activity there, yet most people rely on that marketplace for livelihoods.”
Justice Nare said Covid-19 brought with it a situation beyond help, especially on their part, since the scourge involves people, who were mostly struggling because they were “out of jobs”.
While conceding that there are a plethora of cases playing out in the provinces involving domestic violence, food distribution tiffs, and artisanal mining-related disputes that usually turn bloody, he bemoaned lack of movement due to Covid-19-induced lockdown restrictions.
“The challenge is that in this situation, our movements as the NPRC are curtailed,” said Justice Nare.
“We are also affected like other people. We have to get permission to move around. People cannot gather easily when we want to interview them. We can’t travel easily through the provinces without permission from the police.
“It used to be easy before the Covid-19 outbreak, as it could just take a phone call, and we would be cleared. But off course the regulations (lockdown restrictions) are there to protect us, as all of a sudden the numbers just increase.
“It has become difficult for us to move around the provinces, but well, it is understandable because of the virus. We are a law abiding Commission.”
Under level two lockdown, the country is gradually returning to full economic activity, with an orderly reopening of the informal sector under the new normal spelt out by President Mnangagwa recently: wearing of masks, registration with local authorities, high levels of personal hygiene, social distancing and minimum non-business travel. Agriculture, food markets, tobacco marketing, and most of the formal sectors have already been allowed to reopen under set conditions.
The NPRC is established under Sections 251 to 253 of the Constitution to ensure post-conflict justice, healing and reconciliation, to develop programmes to promote national healing, unity and peaceful conflict resolution.