AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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child sexual abuse, and local women’s and legal organizations challenged these decisions.
Members of the ruling party and the Government increasingly were dissatisfied
with the judiciary when judgments were not to their liking. In 2001 the Supreme
Court overturned as unconstitutional President Mugabe’s decree prohibiting the nullification
of the election of any M.P. The ruling allowed the High Court to hear challenges
to the results in 38 constituencies—all but 2 of them submitted by the
MDC—in the 2000 parliamentary elections (see Section 3).
The Government and police routinely failed to abide by court decisions ordering
the removal of war veterans and other squatters residing on commercial farms, and
the Government routinely continued to delay payment of court costs or judgments
awarded against it.
Prior to 2000, the Government repeatedly amended the Constitution in response
to judicial decisions that were protective of human rights. Amendments to the Constitution
were not ratified by the public but were subject only to the ZANU-PFdominated
Parliament’s approval. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds
majority vote, a margin ZANU-PF has been unable to muster since the MDC won
57 of 150 Parliamentary seats in 2000.
In October 2000, President Mugabe issued a presidential decree granting a general
amnesty for politically motivated crimes that occurred between January 1 and
July 31, 2000. The pardon excluded the offenses of murder, robbery, rape, sexual
assault, theft, and possession of arms, but did not exclude the charges of common
assault and assault with the intent to commit grievous bodily harm. The pardon
permitted the immediate release of prisoners convicted of the latter two offenses.
The amnesty protected nearly all the agents of the political violence campaign that
preceded the 2000 parliamentary elections and effectively prevented any criminal
prosecutions against them. Domestic and international human rights groups criticized
widely the amnesty. Amnesty International expressed concern that it would
encourage further violence in the run-up to the March presidential elections.
There were a few reports of MDC political prisoners held for sustained periods
of a month or more by CIO agents or war veterans in unofficial locations. Police frequently
detained opposition leaders and supporters for several days at a time (see
Sections 1.a., 1.c., and 1.d.).
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence.—The
Constitution prohibits such actions; however, security forces searched homes and offices
without warrants, and the Government was believed to monitor some private
correspondence and telephones, particularly international communications. The law
permits the Government to monitor and intercept e-mails entering and leaving the
country, and security services reportedly have used this authority to monitor e-mail
communication, although the extent of this monitoring was unknown.
On August 4, approximately 10 armed policemen raided MDC President Morgan
Tsvangirai’s home searching for ‘‘arms of war, illegal immigrants, and subversive
materials.’’ Although the police did not find any of the items listed on the search
warrant, they did confiscate a car that belonged to Tsvangirai’s assistant. Police
claimed the car was being used in illegal activities.
Police periodically conducted house-to-house searches in the suburbs of Harare
and Bulawayo during the year.
ZANU-PF supporters and war veterans attacked and destroyed the homes of hundreds
of opposition supporters and commercial farmers. For example, on January 5,
government militia stoned several houses in Chitungwiza and Ruwa, including those
of MDC legislators Fidelis Mhashu and B. Tumbare-Mutasa, destroying property
worth approximately $560 (Z$400,000). On January 20, police used tear gas in the
Mpopoma home of MDC M.P., Milton Gwetu.
On April 22, approximately 50 ZANU-PF youth set fire to MDC ward chairman
for Redcliff George Hungwe’s house, destroying $7,092 (Z$5 million) worth of property.
Prior to setting the fire, the perpetrators forced Hungwe and his family into
one bedroom. The Hungwes then fled through a window as flames engulfed their
house. The police claimed that an investigation was ongoing, and no one was
charged in connection with the arson attack by year’s end.
No action was taken against hundreds of ZANU-PF supporters who in 2001 embarked
on a campaign of looting and burning farmhouses, destroying crops, livestock,
and farming equipment, and forced 60 farmers and their families—approximately
300 persons—to flee the area. Many farm workers who refused to assist the
looters were beaten. There were credible reports of police involvement in the looting.
The Government continued to claim that white farmers occupied more than 70
percent of the country’s most productive land. The Commercial Farmers Union disputed
that figure, contending that members of the white minority owned only 20
percent of the country’s farmland, while the remainder comprised communal land
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