Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/zimbabwe.txt

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TITLE:  ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                            ZIMBABWE


Zimbabwe is governed by President Robert Mugabe and his
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) which
has dominated the legislative and executive branches of
government since independence in 1980.  The Constitution allows
for multiple parties; in addition to ZANU-PF, there are a large
number of smaller parties.  However, they are poorly organized,
poorly financed, and subject to periodic intimidation by the
ruling party and government security forces.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) are responsible for
maintaining law and order.  The Police Internal Security and
Intelligence (PISI) Unit, a branch of the ZRP, and the Central
Intelligence Organization (CIO) under the Ministry of State
Security are responsible for internal and external security.
The Zimbabwean National Army and Air Force also have
intelligence staff structures, which perform a variety of
intelligence and security functions.  Since 1991, the CIO and
PISI have not been permitted to arrest or detain suspects in
internal security cases.  The CIO and PISI were accused of
human rights abuses in the past, including the use of torture,
and still periodically harass opposition political parties.
There were no new reports of other human rights abuses
committed by the CIO or the PISI.  There was one instance of
wrongful use of lethal fire in 1994, and there were credible
reports that police sometimes beat suspected criminals.  A
significant number of police officers were tried and punished
for such abuses.  ZRP authorities cooperated with local human
rights groups to incorporate a legal and human rights
curriculum into regular police training.

Zimbabwe's economy has strong agricultural and mining sectors,
a diversified manufacturing base, and a growing services
sector.  The country is 4 years into its Economic Structural
Adjustment Program (ESAP), which has led to a host of changes
and dislocations, such as the removal of subsidies for staple
foods, that have caused living standards to fall.  The
unemployment rate remains above 45 percent, and both domestic
and foreign investment are well below what is needed to spur
solid economic growth and job creation.  The pace of Zimbabwe's
land acquisition program, which was used in the past to punish
political opponents of the Government, slowed in late 1994 as
the Government concentrated on resettlement and land tenure
issues.

The human rights climate in Zimbabwe generally improved, led by
several Supreme Court rulings that bolstered the rights of
women, free assembly, freedom of the press, and due process.
The Government took some steps to address continuing problems
of harsh prison conditions and sought to improve police
performance through training and prosecuting officers
responsible for abuses.  However, the Government took no action
to investigate and prosecute those responsible for atrocities
committed during the 1982-87 "Matabeleland Dissident Crisis."
The ruling party continued to dominated the political arena, in
part because opposition parties were unable to qualify for
public funds disbursed under the 1992 Political Parties Finance
Act.  President Mugabe's pardon in January of a CIO agent and a
ruling party official convicted of the 1990 attempted murder of
an opposition candidate for Parliament sent a negative signal
that human rights abuses and violence committed on behalf of
the ruling party would be tolerated.  Although the small
independent press was increasingly open and critical of the
Government, the more influential electronic media remained
government controlled.  Domestic violence against women
remained widespread, and traditional, often illegal,
discrimination against women and the disabled continued.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political killings by government
security forces, but the police killed one person in a shooting
incident.  The ZRP launched its own investigations of
approximately 10 lethal fire incidents in 1993.  The Government
prosecuted or disciplined well over a third of police officers
involved in shooting incidents.

The inquest into the 1990 death in police custody of
15-year-old Happy Dhlakama was inconclusive.  The presiding
magistrate ruled that Dhlakama had been beaten by police
special constables but was unable to determine whether or not
he had died of his injuries.  The inquest revealed problems
with the handling of medical treatment and records in
questionable deaths.  The Catholic Commission for Justice and
Peace (CCJP) is now pursuing compensation for Dhlakama's family
in civil court.

The Government refused to reopen investigations of the 1988
death of Captain Edwin Nyela and the 1991 death of Lieutenant
Shepard Chisango, despite continued calls from Zimbabwean and
international human rights groups for inquests.  The
Government's handling of these cases will likely inhibit
military officers from denouncing corruption in the armed
forces in the future.

There was no progress in the Simplicius Chihambakwe
Commission's investigation into atrocities committed during the
1982-87 Matabeleland Crisis.  The information collected in 2
days of interviews in mid-1993 was reportedly so damaging that
the investigation was indefinitely suspended.  Human rights
groups continued to collect information on reports of deaths
and disappearances, but many relatives of the victims are too
frightened to come forward with information.  However, the
newly enacted Births and Deaths Registration Amendment Act of
1994 will make it easier for relatives of the victims of the
Matabeland Crisis to obtain relatives' death certificates and
thereby enroll children in school, obtain identity and travel
documents for children, and settle estates.

Despite President Mugabe's 1992 assertion that no compensation
would be paid to victims of the Matabeleland Crisis because
atrocities were committed "during a state of war," two cases in
1994 set an important precedent for victims.  In May the
Ministry of Home Affairs and the ZRP agreed to pay compensation
to the widow of Gibson Sibanda, whom police arrested and later
murdered for political reasons in 1985.  In late 1993, the
Government admitted liability for the wrongful arrest and loss
of property and income stemming from Lloyd Kudzai's detention
by the CIO from 1983-1987.  Kudzai's High Court testimony
included allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners
at Ross Camp in Bulawayo.

The CCJP believes that the mass graves discovered at Antelope
Mine near Kezi in 1992 contained the remains of victims of
extrajudicial killings committed by the army between 1983 and
85.  The CCJP has called for a full-scale investigation.
However, the Government has taken no action to investigate the
site and also failed to respond to the Catholic Bishop of
Bulawayo's request that a "service of reconciliation" be held
at the mine to commemorate the dead.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reported disappearances in 1994.  The case of
Rashiwe Guzha, who disappeared in 1990, has not been reopened
despite calls from the CCJP and the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Association (ZIMRIGHTS) for a new investigation.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

There were no credible reports of torture in 1994.  The
Government has not actively pursued allegations that torture
was used in the past and did not prosecute CIO or ZRP officials
for such abuses in 1994.  Despite improved ZRP training, the
beating of criminal suspects and detainees by the ZRP remained
a problem in 1994, particularly among low-ranking police and
poorly trained parapolice called special constables.

Prison conditions have not improved since the CCJP issued its
1993 report describing extreme overcrowding, shortages of
clothing, and poor sanitary conditions.  Over 22,000 prisoners
are incarcerated in a prison system built to accommodate
16,000.  In some prisons, prisoners are allowed about one-half
square meter per person.  Overcrowding and poor sanitation
aggravated outbreaks of cholera, diarrhea, and AIDS-related
illnesses.  According to the Zimbabwean Prison Service, an
average of 25 prisoners a month died in custody, 18 from
AIDS-related illnesses.  (The HIV-positive rate of the general
Zimbabwean population is roughly 10 percent; the rate is likely
much higher in the prison population, most of whom are in the
most affected 19- to 49-year-old-age bracket.)  The Supreme
Court ruled in August that restrictions limiting prisoners to
one letter per month were excessive.

In response to the problems, the Ministry of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs and the Zimbabwean Prison Service, in
conjunction with the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), a human
rights group that focuses on legal rights, have undertaken a
program in human rights training for prison service employees
in the hopes of improving their treatment of prisoners.  Prison
Service officials who violate prison rules and mistreat
prisoners are routinely punished.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The police must by law inform an arrested person of the charges
against him before he is taken into custody.  Although a
preliminary hearing is required before a magistrate within 48
hours (or 96 hours over a weekend), the law is often
disregarded if a person does not have legal representation.  A
1992 amendment to the Criminal Procedures and Evidence Act
substantially reduced the power of magistrates to grant bail
without the consent of the Attorney General or his agents.
Although the rule has been decried by legal practitioners and
magistrates, in practice a circular issued by the Attorney
General giving a general authority to grant bail has lessened
the negative impact of the rule.  High Court judges grant bail
independently.

The Government may still apply a wide range of legal powers
under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) or the Law and Order
(Maintenance) Act (LOMA).  Originally promulgated 30 years ago
and widely used in the past to prosecute political opponents of
the government in power, the LOMA gives extensive powers to the
police, the Minister of Home Affairs, and the President to
address political and security crimes that are not clearly
defined.  The Government has not invoked the LOMA frequently,
fearing that its oppressive provisions might be declared
unconstitutional.  However, in February several leaders of the
telecommunications union strike were detained briefly under the
LOMA.

Pretrial detainees spend an average of 3 months in prison
before their trials because of a critical shortage of
magistrates and court interpreters.  Zimbabwean law lacks
provisions to allow judges to take time spent in pretrial
detention into account in sentencing.  Overall, 20 percent of
detainees in Zimbabwean jails in 1994 had not yet been tried,
down from 22 percent in 1993.  In August the Supreme Court
ordered a detainee's release after ruling that long pretrial
incarceration violated his right to a speedy trial.  However,
Daniel Machabe, whose murder trial has been delayed for more
than 7 years, remained in custody.  To reduce pretrial
detention, the Government appointed additional High Court
judges and expanded the magistrates courts.

The Government held no political detainees at year's end.
Exile is not used as a means of political control.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Customary Law and Local Courts Act of 1990 created a
unitary court system, consisting of headmen's courts, chiefs'
courts, magistrates' courts, the High Court, and the Supreme
Court.  With this restructuring, civil customary law cases may
be heard at all levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme
Court.  The reactivation of chiefs' and headmen's courts made
the legal system much more accessible to people in remote areas
who had had little contact with the formal court system.  The
Government implemented training programs for presiding officers
in chiefs' and headmens' courts to help eliminate traditional
but illegal practices such as the custom of forcing a widow to
marry her late husband's brother.

Zimbabwe's judiciary has a well-deserved reputation for
independence.  Judges serve life terms and can be removed from
the bench only for gross misconduct.  They are not discharged
or transferred for political reasons.  However, magistrates,
who are part of the civil service rather than the judiciary,
hear the vast majority of cases in Zimbabwe and are sometimes
subject to political pressure.

The Government generally abides by court decisions even when it
is strongly opposed to the rulings.  However, in the past, the
Government passed a series of constitutional amendments which
undermined major Supreme Court rulings.  For example, Amendment
11 changed the Constitution to allow corporal punishment of
minors after the Supreme Court ruled that caning of minors
constituted cruel and inhuman punishment; the Government also
asserted that death by hanging was not cruel and inhuman, in
anticipation of a CCJP test case challenging hanging as a
method of execution.  Similarly, Amendment 13, passed just
weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that long incarceration on
death row constituted cruel and inhuman punishment, declared
that neither treatment of prisoners nor delays in carrying out
sentences entitled prisoners to a stay or remission of sentence
(see Section 1.c.).

The Magistrates Court found the CIO and ZANU-PF officers who
shot opposition party candidate Patrick Kombayi during the 1990
campaign guilty of attempted murder.  President Mugabe granted
the two a remission of sentence within 48 hours of the Supreme
Court's ruling upholding their conviction.  The pardon sent a
negative signal to the Zimbabwean public that abuses on behalf
of the ruling party would be tolerated, as did the subsequent
appointment of one of the two men to the ZANU-PF Central
Committee.  Further investigations of the part Vice President
Simon Muzenda's driver and bodyguard may have had in the
shooting have not been carried out.

Every defendant has the right to a lawyer of his or her
choosing.  However, well over 90 percent of defendants in
magistrates courts go unrepresented.  In criminal cases an
indigent may apply to have the Government supply an attorney,
but this type of representation is rarely applied for and
rarely granted.  In capital cases the Government will provide
an attorney for all defendants unable to afford one.  However,
human rights groups have highlighted the poor quality of some
of the representation provided to indigents, particularly in
capital cases.  Litigants in civil cases can request legal
assistance from the LRF or the Ministry of Justice's Citizens
Advice Bureau.  All litigants are represented in the High Court.

The Supreme Court has instructed magistrates to ensure that
unrepresented defendants fully understand their rights and to
weigh any mitigating circumstances in criminal cases, whether
or not the accused presents them as part of his defense.  The
right to appeal exists in all cases and is automatic in cases
in which the death penalty is imposed.  Trials are open to the
public except in certain security cases.  The legal system does
not discriminate against women or minorities.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The Constitution protects citizens from arbitrary search or
entry, and since the lifting of the State of Emergency (SOE) in
June 1990, these protections have been generally respected.  It
is widely known, however, that the Government monitors private
correspondence and telephones, particularly international
communications.

Although the need for land reform in Zimbabwe is almost
universally accepted, pursuant to the 1992 Land Acquisition Act
farmers whose lands have been designated for acquisition may
only appeal the amount of compensation in administrative
courts, not the decision to acquire their farms.

The Act has been implemented largely along racial lines; the
Government stated that black-owned commercial farms would not
be subject to designation.  In some cases, land has been
designated for acquisition to achieve political goals.  The
designation of former Member of Parliament (M.P.) Henry
Ellsworth's home farm for acquisition, highlighted in the 1993
Human Rights Report as an example of the Land Acquisition Act's
use as a political tool, has been revoked.  However, opposition
party leader Ndabaningi Sithole is still fighting the
Government's acquisition of his Churu farm.  After the
Government's late 1993 attempt to evict more than 2,500
families living on the property, several thousand Churu farm
residents were resettled on a holding farm where several died
as the result of abysmal sanitary conditions.  The situation at
Churu farm remained at a standoff until October 1994, when the
ZRP evicted the remaining 1,600 residents and resettled them at
a camp formerly used by Mozambican refugees.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of expression but allows
for legislation to limit this freedom in the "interest of
defense, public safety, public order, state economic interests,
public morality, and public health."

Zimbabwe's major print media (seven English-language newspapers
and one vernacular broadsheet) belong to the Mass Media Trust,
a holding company heavily influenced by the Government and
ruling party.  The Zimbabwe Inter-Africa News Agency (ZIANA
Wire Service) is controlled by the Ministry of Information.
The Government influences mainstream media through indirect
ownership, editorial appointments, directives to editors, and
removal of wayward editors.  There is no real opposition press,
but a small independent press, consisting primarily of a daily
that ceased publication for financial reasons on December 25,
an economic weekly, two Sunday tabloids, and three monthly
magazines, carefully monitors government policies and opens its
pages to opposition critics.  Other minor independent
publications exist, mostly monthlies, with circulations under
3,000.  The independent press has been increasingly critical of
the Government and the ruling party.  Despite its harsh public
attacks on many of the independent publications, the Government
has taken no overt punitive measures against them.

There is a high degree of self-censorship in both the
government-influenced and independent press, aggravated by
antidefamation laws which make no distinction between public
and private persons and an extremely broad OSA.  In February
the authorities brought a Daily Gazette reporter and his editor
to court and questioned them for alleged contravention of the
OSA after the Gazette published a story about income tax
evasion by state-owned enterprises.  The Act, based on the
first British OSA, makes it a crime to divulge "any information
acquired in the course of official duties."

In March a High Court judge ruled that a reporter may keep his
sources confidential if he uncovers the commission of a crime
or the existence of corruption because revelation of sources
would make future informants reluctant to come forward and
would therefore be detrimental to the public interest.

Radio and television are entirely government owned and
controlled.  The Broadcasting Act gives the Zimbabwe Broadcast
Corporation monopoly status.  The Government has repeatedly
refused to license independent radio and television stations.
Journalists report that ZANU-PF Secretary for Information (and
Foreign Minister) Nathan Shamuyarira is often involved in
determining what news is broadcast.  Opposition party rallies
and press conferences receive only limited television or radio
coverage.

The University of Zimbabwe Amendment Act and the National
Council for Higher Education Act greatly restrict the
independence of universities, making them subject to government
influence and extending the disciplinary powers of the
university authorities against staff and students, thus
curtailing academic freedom.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for the right of assembly and
association for political and nonpolitical organizations,
including a broad spectrum of economic, social, professional,
and recreational activities.

Organizations are generally free of governmental interference
as long as their activities are viewed as nonpolitical.  In
March, as part of the trial of six trade unionists arrested
under the LOMA for participating in a prohibited demonstration
in June 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 6 of the
LOMA (requiring police authorization for demonstrations) was
unconstitutional because it interfered with the right to free
speech.  There are many active unions, political parties, and
human rights organizations.  The formation of unions and
political parties is not restricted.  In law and in practice,
however, serious obstacles prevent the full exercise of this
right, particularly in the case of political associations (see
Section 3).

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Freedom of religion is respected in Zimbabwe.  There is no
state religion.  Denominations are permitted to worship openly,
pursue social and charitable activities, and maintain ties with
affiliates and coreligionists abroad.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

There were no reports of restrictions on domestic or
international travel in 1994.  Zimbabwean citizens do not have
automatic right of return.

In June the Supreme Court ruled that the practice of allowing
only Zimbabwean men, not women, to confer citizenship or
permanent residence status on their spouses and children was
discriminatory.  However, at year's end, the Immigration
Service had not received implementing regulations to institute
the change.  The new Zimbabwean Citizenship and Immigration
bill, presented to Parliament in mid-1994 but not yet law,
tightens prohibitions against dual citizenship and reduces the
period a person can be out of the country without losing his
Zimbabwean citizenship from 7 to 5 years.  Zimbabwean human
rights groups are concerned that these provisions will affect
white Zimbabweans, many of whom hold dual citizenship, more
directly than black Zimbabweans and will interfere with
citizens' right of return.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), in 1994 the registered refugee population went from
over 100,000 to approximately 750, mostly Mozambicans.  Prior
to Mozambique's elections, the Government and the UNHCR
repatriated nearly 5,000 refugees per week.  The Government
permitted UNHCR officials unrestricted access to refugee
camps.  There were no reported instances of forced repatriation
to a country where a refugee fears persecution.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens have the legal right to change their government
through democratic means, but the last general election in
March 1990, which was marked by intimidation by the security
forces, lopsided media coverage, inaccuracies in the voters'
rolls and voting irregularities in some constituencies, called
into question the ability of citizens to exercise that right.
The ruling party captured 117 of the 120 seats in those
elections.  The 10 chiefs who sit as M.P.'s are elected by
their peers.  The President has the power further to appoint 8
provincial governors, who sit as M.P.'s, and 12 nonconstituency
M.P.'s; as a result, there is no effective parliamentary
opposition.

President Mugabe and his Cabinet are the preeminent political
figures, and the ruling party, ZANU-PF, is the dominant
political organization in the country.  Following the amendment
of the Constitution in 1987 to create a strong executive
presidency, Robert Mugabe, who previously served as Prime
Minister, became in 1988 both the Head of State and the Head of
Government.  The Executive President was elected in 1990 to a
term of 6 years.  The President appoints both vice presidents
and the rest of the Cabinet, who serve at his pleasure.

There are many small political parties.  However, the Political
Parties Finance Act inhibits their growth by providing
government funding only to those parties that have more than 15
parliamentary seats, effectively giving all public funding to
the ruling party.  The 1994-95 budget provided $4.2 million for
ZANU-PF.

The net result of several constitutional amendments has been to
consolidate the power of the executive branch and limit the
M.P.s' ability to go against the party line.  However, there
was a small group of backbenchers in Parliament who vigorously
confronted the Government on a number of issues ranging from
corruption to government spending.

The Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) ruled that both the
July and December parliamentary by-elections were free and
fair.  However, the July by-elections were marred by various
unfair practices.  There were credible reports that CIO agents
intimidated would-be voters in Gwanda North by warning that the
infamous "Fifth Brigade" (which left a trail of murder and
torture there from 1982 to 1987) would return if they did not
vote for ZANU-PF.  Rural dwellers reported that government
agents warned that they would not be eligible to receive food
aid if they supported opposition candidates.  There were
credible reports that people in several districts in Manicaland
were denied food aid unless they could prove that they had
registered to vote, or, in at least one case, could produce a
ZANU-PF card.

The CIO occasionally harassed and threatened opposition party
members.  In May ZANU-PF Youth League and Women's League
supporters attacked the site of a Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM)
rally, burned a trailer, and beat up 10 ZUM supporters guarding
the rally ground.  The ruling party provided transportation for
the perpetrators to the rally site.  After ZANU-PF supporters
interfered in a ZANU-Ndonga rally in June, supporters of both
groups hurled stones and bottles at each other, and a ZANU-PF
member was wounded by an arrow.  In July several opposition
party leaders called on their supporters to arm themselves.
Zimbabwean human rights groups expressed concern that President
Mugabe's call for a youth league "door-to-door campaign" would
lead to a repeat of 1985 campaign violence when gangs of youths
went from house to house demanding that residents produce their
party cards.  In several incidents in the Midlands and
Masvingo, the police fined individuals who threatened
oppositionists.

In preparation for 1995 parliamentary elections, the Registrar
General's office continued to update the voter rolls which were
"in a shambles," according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Members of Parliament and opposition party members complained
that copies of the voter rolls were not made available to
them.  In early 1994, the Registrar General refused to allow
opposition parties to distribute voter registration forms at
their meetings, saying voters needed to come individually to
the Registrar General's office or other registration points to
register.  Opposition parties and human rights groups also
complained that some of the ESC's five members, tasked with
overseeing the conduct of the campaign and the general
election, have not renounced their ties to ZANU-PF.  The ESC
currently lacks the institutional capacity to supervise the
campaign or oversee Zimbabwe's more than 2,000 polling
stations.  The CCJP noted that during the 1990 elections the
ESC acted promptly to deal with irregularities.

Women participate in politics without legal restriction.
However, Zimbabwean women's groups assert that husbands,
particularly in rural areas,  commonly force their wives to
vote for their candidates.  One female Minister of State and
three female deputy ministers (none of whom actually sits in
the Cabinet) serve at the cabinet level, but of the 150 M.P.'s,
only 17 are women.  In addition, some critics charge that the
existence of women's wings in political parties, notably the
ruling party, marginalizes women from mainstream political
activities.