Police, Zanu PF violations against CCC worrisome

The levels of Zanu PF and government’s political intolerance of opposition political parties — especially the newly-formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) reached alarming levels in February.

The party, in collusion with the police, sought to stifle campaigns by the CCC and used the same old tricks of arbitrary arrests, harassment, intimidation, among others.

The first major incident was the setting up of tight roadblocks along roads leading to Machipisa Shopping Centre in Highfield, where CCC leader Nelson Chamisa was due to hold a rally on February 20 to launch the party’s campaign for the March 26 by-elections.

Chamisa was due to address his first gathering after making a clean break from the MDC brand and introducing a new party name and fresh colours and branding and this made the Highfield rally a test ground for his support.

This happened as 13 CCC activists had been arrested two days earlier for simply being in a vehicle, wearing their party regalia, singing and driving around Harare city centre, in what has been termed a car rally.

On Valentine’s Day, armed police officers arrested and briefly detained CCC vice-president Tendai Biti and his aide, Emmanuel Gumbo, and took them to Harare Central Police Station’s Law and Order Section where they were released without charge.

The police allegedly arrested Biti because members of the public had cheered him on at Letombo Shops in Msasa.

As if the police action against CCC people was not enough, Zanu PF activists also mounted a systematic attack on CCC supporters and in some cases, anyone wearing the party’s yellow colours.

On February 16, Zanu PF youths led by one Nyamuzihwa assaulted an CCC activist Bright Majoni, a vendor at Makoni Shopping Centre in Chitungwiza town near Harare.

Majoni’s crime was wearing his CCC party regalia.

On February 18, 2022, DJ Vaneldo — a known CCC supporter in Highfields and his family, suffered injuries after Zanu PF supporters attacked them at their home.

On the other hand, ZPP recorded a number of cases where people in and around Harare had been forced to attend the Zanu PF rally held in Epworth on February 12.

ZPP has audio recordings of vendors and other informal traders who had received all sorts of threats to their trade if they failed to attend the rally, where dozens of state-owned ZUPCO buses and school buses hauled people from many parts of the country.

In addition, police officers and soldiers who were part of the security teams at the Zanu PF Epworth rally, assaulted people who attempted to leave the venue before the end of the rally.

Harare was one of the hotspots of politically-motivated human rights violations and this was largely due to the fact that it is the stronghold of the CCC, as revealed by the record crowd that attended the CCC rally in Highfields.

This popularity increases the cases of police or Zanu PF activists clamping down on CCC supporters.

On the other hand, Zanu PF is claiming to be making inroads into Harare and hopes to win all the seats in the by-elections and this is putting pressure on the ruling party, which, as history has shown, easily resorts to violence.

As a result of this high contestation, Harare recorded 14 cases of politically-motivated human rights violations.

In addition to the machete violence targeting CCC supporters at a rally in Kwekwe, the Midlands Province witnessed several cases of politicisation and looting of government aid.

For example, in Ward 18 of Shurugwi South constituency, a truckload of fertiliser was delivered at Musasa Primary and when people had gathered to receive the inputs, it was discovered that at least 10 beneficiaries from each village had been removed from the list, and the fertiliser was, as ZPP discovered through its networks, diverted by the ward councillor only identified as Kapeta and a government field officer, Ruth Ndana.

In Kwekwe and Gweru, while Zanu PF campaigned freely, the CCC’s attempts to hold car rallies were suppressed mostly by the police.

In Kwekwe Central as well, a car belonging to CCC aspiring candidate Judith Tobaiwa was attacked by suspected Zanu PF supporters, and to this date no arrests have been made.

The majority of the human rights violations recorded in Mashonaland Central involved the discrimination of those who do not support Zanu PF from aid processes.

This is because in Mashonaland Central, there is only one byelection in March.

What ZPP can conclude is that the ruling party, using its control in government is creating an uneven environment ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections.

By denying aid to people who do not support Zanu PF, the goal is to abuse the people’s vulnerability for political gain, which is unfortunate and against the law.

In addition, to politicising aid, Zanu PF politicians in Mashonaland Central held meetings where they issued threats to villagers who did not support the party.

Some of the cases of politicisation of aid and intimidation include those in Chihoko and Kandigi villages, where people were summoned to attend a Zanu PF meeting at Chihoko primary school in Mt Darwin East ward 14.

Zanu PF district coordinating committee members Mike Murasira, Rivert Dhidhimu, Bhebhai Mujeri and a veteran of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, Samson Hundi made intimidating remarks to the villagers and gave everyone a week to surrender their membership to the opposition CCC.

Zimbabwe Peace Project