AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

discriminatory traditional attitudes and the
exclusion of pregnant girls.
1. Zambia: Drop sedition charges against opposition leaders (Press
release, 19 October)
ZIMBABWE
Republic of Zimbabwe
Head of state and government: Robert Gabriel Mugabe
Activists and human rights defenders
mobilized to hold the government to
account for increasing corruption,
unemployment, poverty and inequality. In
the face of increasing activism, the
authorities intensified the crackdown on
government critics, imposing blanket bans
on protest in central Harare, the capital,
and detaining journalists and activists,
some of whom were tortured.
BACKGROUND
A report by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability
Assessment Committee released in July
stated that approximately 4.1 million people
would experience food insecurity between
January and March 2017 following a drought
caused by El Niño.
Cash shortages left the government
struggling to pay civil servants their monthly
salaries, leading to government proposals to
introduce bond notes. The fear of bond notes
becoming a worthless currency and returning
the country to the unpopular period of
hyperinflation similar to 2008 sparked
continuous protest up to December.
In June, the government introduced
Statutory Instrument SI64 in a desperate bid
to curb cheap imports and promote domestic
manufacturing, sparking protests by those
opposed to the measure.
Tensions in the ruling Zimbabwe African
National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
party continued to affect the functioning of
government.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The government sought to stifle critical
reporting in the privately owned media.
In January, the Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Media, Information and
Broadcasting Services (MIMBS), George
Charamba, threatened the privately owned
media with arrests if they reported on
factional strife within ZANU-PF. His
comments followed the arrest in January of
three members of staff of Newsday: Nqaba
Matshazi, deputy editor; Xolisani Ncube, a
reporter; and Sifikile Thabete, the legal
assistant. The two journalists were charged
with publishing falsehoods. At the end of the
year, their trial was pending a decision by the
Constitutional Court on the validity of the law
used to arrest them.
In February, while attending World Radio
Day commemorations, Anywhere
Mutambudzi, Director of Urban
Communications within the MIMBS,
threatened to clamp down on community
radio initiatives, accusing them of operating
illegally. The government has failed to license
a single community radio station since the
enactment of the Broadcasting Services Act
(2001).
Journalists
Journalists faced harassment, arrest and
assault while covering protests. The Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) recorded
assaults on 32 journalists between January
and September.
Paidamoyo Muzulu, a Newsday journalist,
was arrested and detained in June together
with 15 other activists who were holding a
protest vigil in Africa Unity Square in Harare.
He was charged with robbery and obstructing
or defeating the course of justice. The
activists were charged with robbery and
resisting arrest. All were released on bail
pending trial at the end of the year.
Five journalists were arrested while
covering demonstrations against the Vice-
President’s lengthy stay in the five star
Rainbow Towers Hotel. They were detained
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