Amnesty International Report 2017/18

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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

On 26 June, police arrested Pastor Evan 

Mawarire in the capital, Harare, after he held 

prayers with University of Zimbabwe medical 

students during a protest against fee 

increases. He was held in Harare Central 

Police Station for two days before being 

released on bail on charges of inciting public 

violence and disorderly conduct. He was 

acquitted on 29 September, although 

separate charges remained against him 

relating to a different arrest (see below 

“Freedom of expression”).

In July, Darlington Madzonga and Edmund 

Musvubi were arrested by police during a 

peaceful protest in Harare, held by the 

opposition Movement for Democratic Change 

youth against the Zimbabwe Electoral 

Commission’s failure to implement reforms. 

They were charged with killing a police officer 

during the protest and they remained in 

detention in Harare at the end of the year 

while their case was pending in court.

On 10 November, the police disrupted a 

meeting in Marange Village, in the east, of 22 

activists from Latin American and Southern 

African countries to commemorate the ninth 

anniversary of the killing of 200 people by the 

military. The 200 had been killed after they 

took control of the diamond fields in protest 

at government plans to hand over diamond 

mines to Chinese businesses. The 22 

activists were arrested and charged with 

entering a protected area without a 

government permit. They were released on 

11 November after pleading guilty and were 

each fined USD100.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The state restricted the right to freedom of 

expression particularly of human rights 

defenders and other activists.

On 16 January, Pastor Philip Mugadza was 

arrested by police in Harare and charged 

with criminal nuisance after he said that 

President Mugabe would die on 17 October. 

He was released on bail on 10 March. His 

case was pending in the Constitutional Court 

at the end of the year. If convicted, he faces a 

jail sentence of up to six months.

Pastor Evan Mawarire was targeted for 

various public statements he made criticizing 

the government. He had fled the country in 

July 2016, but was arrested by police in 

Harare, upon his return on 31 January, on 

charges of subversion and insulting the 

national flag. He was released on bail on 8 

February. On 24 September, Pastor Mawarire 

was arrested again and charged with 

subverting a constitutionally elected 

government after he published a video on 23 

 September in which he complained about 

fuel shortages and rising prices. He was 

released from the Harare Central Police 

Station on 26 September. On 29 November, 

the Harare High Court acquitted him of all 

the charges.

On 10 August, Energy Mutodi, a 

businessman and supporter of Emmerson 

Mnangagwa, was arrested in Harare by police 

officers of the Criminal Investigation 

Department for suggesting on Facebook that 

a coup was likely if President Mugabe did not 

choose his successor carefully. He was 

charged with undermining the President’s 

authority and causing disaffection among the 

police and defence forces. On 23 August, he 

was released from Harare Remand Prison on 

bail but his case was ongoing at the end of 

the year.

Victor Matemadanda, an executive member 

of the National Liberation War Veterans’ 

Association, was detained by police at Harare 

Central Police Station in August on charges of 

undermining the office of the President and 

causing disaffection among the police and 

defence forces. He had called on President 

Mugabe to step down. He was released on 

bail after several days but his case remained 

pending at the end of the year.

On 2 October, journalist Kenneth Nyangani 

was arrested by police in the city of Mutare 

for reporting that the President’s wife donated 

clothing, including used underwear, to 

ZANU-PF supporters in Mutare. He was 

bailed on 4 October and was awaiting trial 

until 13 December when the state failed to 

bring him to trial.

On 3 November, journalist Martha 

O’Donovan, a US national, was arrested at 

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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

407

home by the Harare Police and charged with 

insulting the President and attempting to 

subvert a constitutionally elected 

government. She was alleged to have insulted 

Robert Mugabe on Twitter. She was released 

on bail from Chikurubi Maximum Security 

Prison on 10 November; she had not been 

brought to trial by the end of the year.

ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS

The military police arrested a number of 

suspects on charges of fraud and corruption. 

Those arrested included senior state officials, 

implicated in corruption, whose rights were 

denied on arrest, including by being denied 

access to lawyers.

During the military takeover in November, 

army personnel detained several members of 

a ZANU- PF faction who were alleged to 

support Emmerson Mnangagwa’s dismissal. 

They were held for more than the 

constitutionally permitted 48 hours before 

being brought to court. Former Finance 

Minister Ignatius Chombo, ZANU-PF Youth 

League Commissar Innocent Hamandishe, 

and ZANU-PF Youth League secretary 

Kudzanayi Chipanga, were arrested and 

detained by military police on 14 November. 

During their detention they were denied 

access to their lawyers and were not taken to 

court until 25 November. Ignatius Chombo 

was charged with corruption and criminal 

abuse of office; Kudzanayi Chipanga and 

Innocent Hamandishe were charged with 

publishing or communicating falsehoods after 

they claimed at a press conference that Army 

Commander General Chiwenga stole money 

from the sale of Marange diamonds.

FORCED EVICTIONS

In April, police used excessive force to evict 

around 15 families from Manzou Farm in the 

Mashonaland Central Province which 

consists of several small farms. The evictions 

contravened a High Court order on 24 March 

which directed the government to end the 

practice of arbitrary evictions and home 

demolitions without providing compensation 

or alternative land to those evicted. The 

residents had lived on the farmland since 

2000; the forced evictions from Manzou have 

left over 200 families homeless and without 

compensation.

LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR 

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

In August, Parliament passed a bill amending 

section 180 of the 2013 Constitution. MP 

Jessie Majome challenged the bill in court on 

the basis that the vote did not meet the 

required two-thirds majority and threatened 

judicial independence. The bill gives the 

President power to unilaterally appoint the 

most senior judicial positions.

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL 

RIGHTS

Economic instability, drought, high poverty 

levels and unemployment put obstacles in 

the way of access to education, health and 

adequate food. In July, Zimbabwe reported to 

the Voluntary National Review of Sustainable 

Development Goals for the UN High Level 

Political Forum that over 76% of children in 

Zimbabwe lived in consumption poverty, and 

a quarter lived in extreme poverty. Difficulties 

in paying basic school fees were widespread; 

the national Food and Nutrition Council 

found that at least 63% of school-age 

children were turned away from school for 

non-payment of fees. An estimated 4.1  

million people in rural areas were reported to 

be food insecure.

The right to health was increasingly 

threatened as allocation of budget to health 

decreased to only 8.2% of the national 

budget. The Auditor General’s June report 

highlighted a crisis in health service delivery, 

and noted shortages of essential medicines 

and equipment, unavailability of water and 

specialized personnel.

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

In October, UNICEF reported that 34% of 

girls and women were married by the age of 

18. The government was yet to amend the 

Marriage Act or related legislation to comply 

with the Constitutional Court’s 2016 judgment 

under which marriage under 18 was 

unconstitutional. NGOs and girls and women 

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