Desperately Seeking Sanity: What Prospects for a New Beginning in Zimbabwe?

A man in Gokwe sits in the ruins of his house destroyed by youth militia  and war vets in May 2008.

In its report on the March 29th 2008 Harmonised Election the Solidarity Peace Trust recorded the widespread state-led violence that followed the Zanu PF’s electoral loss in that plebiscite, in the context of the SADC led mediation that failed to break the political deadlock in the country. The lack of an outright winner in the […]

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Tue, July 29 2008 » Election violence, Global Political Agreement, Human rights, Reports » 1 Comment

Punishing Dissent, Silencing Citizens: The Zimbabwe Elections 2008

Report Cover Photo: In a brave act of defiance, posters of Morgan Tsvangirai hang on the wall of a hut burnt by ZANU PF supporters in Shamva, April 2008

The 2008 Harmonised Election in Zimbabwe was arguably the most historic of the post-independence elections, as for the first time in the last 28 years the ruling party lost its parliamentary majority and the President lost the first round of the Presidential election. This result represented the culmination of a decade of political and civic […]

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Wed, May 21 2008 » Election violence, Human rights, Reports » No Comments

Out for the Count: Democracy in Zimbabwe

Report Cover Photo: Archbishop Pius Ncube listens to an 83 year-old woman reporting denial of access to food in Insiza District

Two teams of Church observers from South Africa entered Zimbabwe ahead of the Election 2005, to observe the election process and also in order to absorb life of ordinary Zimbabweans.  The first, pre-election group consisted of four ordained priests, a church youth worker and a university professor. A seventh priest was denied entry to the […]

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Sun, May 15 2005 » 2005, Church commentators, Elections, Reports » No Comments

National youth service training – “shaping youths in a truly Zimbabwean manner”

Report Cover Photo: Cover of reference manual used since 2001 to train youth militia in Zimbabwean history

In the last two years, Zimbabwe has seen a new national youth service training programme moving rapidly from a supposedly voluntary, small scale training that allegedly aimed at skills enhancement, patriotism and moral education, to what is now intended to be a compulsory, large scale, paramilitary training. The need for national service has to date […]

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Fri, September 5 2003 » Election violence, History, Human rights, Reports, Youth militia » No Comments

“We’ll make them run” : A report on post election violence in Zimbabwe, March to May 2002

Linear lesions spread all over the body were caused by beatings with sjamboks and a chain.

In association with Physicians for Human Rights, Denmark The Presidential election in Zimbabwe took place on 9th – 11th March 2002. In a process described by almost all international observers as “unfree and unfair”, President Robert Mugabe was announced the winner of the poll. Gross human rights violations were documented throughout the current election process, […]

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Tue, May 21 2002 » 2002, Election violence, Human rights, Impunity of the State, Reports » No Comments