National youth service training - Solidarity Peace Trust

Youth Militia and Rural District Council Elections
In Matabeleland, even as the first group of militia was being forced out of sight by government,
without gratuities or jobs, a new intake of youth was being trained in the major training base north of
Bulawayo. These youth were then deployed to rural business centres ahead of the Rural District
Council elections on 28 th and 29 th September 2002.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Supervisory Network (ZESN) has underlined the significance of these
elections: “To ZANU-PF the election was conceded to be a battle for supremacy and political space.
As a ruling party, its aim was to consolidate power at all levels of governance starting from central to
local governance using any means at their disposal.” 103
It has become apparent to those documenting human rights abuses, that the rural areas remain most
vulnerable to political intimidation. Throughout 2002, systematic attacks by war veterans and youth
militia occurred particularly in rural ZANU-PF stronghold areas such as Mashonaland and parts of the
Midlands. Nkayi, Hwange and Binga in Matabeleland are also well documented for high levels of state
organised violence. 104
Youth militia and the RDC election campaign
The Rural District Council elections set for September 2002 were considered key by ZANU-PF, who
needed to hold these areas to compensate for the erosion of their control in urban areas. The desperate
food situation and the need to control food distribution through control of rural district councils gave
these elections added importance. 105 The Zimbabwe Electoral Supervisory Network commented that
“[t]he land issue, the drought and the accompanying food crisis has provided an excellent opportunity
for the ruling party to exploit the rural masses and manipulate voters into voting them back into
power.” 106 It described the RDC elections as dominated by “fear of hunger and fear of assault” 107
Youth militia once more played a crucial role in the intimidation of both MDC candidates and their
supporters before, during and after the RDC elections. 108 Their activities included:
• Attacks on life and property of prospective candidates, resulting in the withdrawal of the vast
majority of MDC candidates from the election before the vote. In Manicaland alone, 100
candidates withdrew their candidature after attacks and threats, including by youth militia. 109
• Camping at the entrance to polling stations, monitoring those entering, and telling them who to
vote for. The militia also wrote down number plates of vehicles, particularly of observers. 110
103 Zimbabwe Electoral Supervisory Network (ZESN), “Report on Local Authority Election 28-29 September 2002”, pg 4.
104 Amnesty International press release, 8 August 2002: “Zimbabwe: political violence intensifies ahead of September local
elections”. See also PHR-DK reports and Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum reports.
105 Physicians for Human Rights, Denmark: Vote ZANU-PF or starve: Zimbabwe August to October 2002, Johannesburg,
20 November 2002.
106 ZESN, ibid, p. 7
107 ZESN, ibid. p. 8
108 ZESN, ibid. pp. 7, 8, 10, 11, 16; Physicians for Human Rights, Denmark: Vote ZANU-PF or starve: Zimbabwe August to
October 2002, Johannesburg, 20 November 2002 , pp. 12-16, 49-50.
109 ZESN, ibid p. 8. Out of 1397 seats countrywide, MDC in the end contested only 646, giving ZANU-PF a clear majority
before a single vote was cast. Not only youth militia, but also war veterans, women’s league and others took part in the
attacks.
110 ZESN, ibid. p. 10
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