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Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Torture By State Agents In Zimbabwe
Analysis of Cases in Appendix 2
Appendix 2 of this report summarises 80 cases seen by member organisations of the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum from January 2001 to August 2002, a period that covers the Parliamentary byelections,
the Presidential election and the post-election period. The cases are a sample of all the cases
of torture by state agents documented by the Human Rights Forum in the period (numbering over 234 in
all). In all the cases the victims provided affidavits about their experiences and most victims could
provide witnesses to support their statements. (None of the cases are taken from press reports)
The cases give considerable cause for concern. They indicate that the police are becoming increasingly
involved in serious crimes of violence amounting to gross human-rights violations, as defined in
contemporary international instruments. The cases also indicate that previously identified perpetrators,
who have escaped liability through the various amnesties granted by the President, continue to be
involved in gross human-rights violations.
Political Affiliation of Victims of Torture
Of the victims who reported to the human-rights organisations, 51% stated that they were active
members of the MDC and that their membership was the basic reason for the crimes committed against
them. A further 32% stated that they were not active members of the MDC: they either had no connection
with the party or were merely related to someone who was. However of this 32% stated that the crimes
committed against them were related to accusations about their possible MDC membership. Another
20% did not raise MDC membership as a reason for their violation, but in this group were farm workers,
persons accused of crimes and persons who got into disputes with the police.
Types of Violations Reported
The types of violations conform to those reported in all previous reports (see Appendix 1). As can be
seen from Table 2 below, torture was reported in virtually all cases, but, it must be pointed out that the
cases of torture were accompanied by other forms of abuse, ill treatment or human rights violations. For
example, many persons reported being tortured whilst in police custody and this torture was
accompanied by unlawful arrest (no proper charge was made) and illegal detention (detention exceeded
the statutory limit). The reference to abductions is to cases where the victims were kidnapped by “war
veterans”, Zanu PF supporters, or youth militia and were then surrendered or handed over to the police.
The term “property offences” refers to the destruction of property or theft of victims’ property.
Table 2
Nature of human-rights violations reported
Type of Human Rights Violation
Percentage reporting
Torture 99%
Abduction 7%
Unlawful arrest & illegal
detention
62%
Property offences 7%
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