Since 29 March 2008, many presiding and polling officers have been arrested
and accused of having been part of a plot to rig the elections in favour of
candidates from the Movement for Democratic Change. In this on-going
exercise, 34 Presiding Officers have been arrested in Masvingo province
alone during the recounting process which commenced on 19 April 2008. The
presiding officers are currently detained at Masvingo Central Police Station
and are being represented by ZLHR lawyers.
Over and above the arrests, non state actors such as ZANU-PF officers and
war veterans have attempted to extract ‘confessions’ from these hapless
presiding officers. Notable is the unlawful detention and assault of one of
these presiding officers in an attempt to make him write a statement
incriminating himself of having misled voters who required assistance and
having made them vote for the opposition when they desired to vote for the
ruling party.
The war veterans and ZANU-PF officials have attempted to justify their
unacceptable conduct by saying that they were ‘taking instructions from
Harare’. There is no lawful justification for non state actors to involve
themselves in relation to detainees and the investigation of alleged
criminal conduct. This is the role of the police, and non state actor
participation constitutes unacceptable interference in such processes which
must be condemned and must cease forthwith.
ZLHR reiterates its calls for transparency and non-interference by state and
quasi state functionaries in an already heavily disputed electoral process.
The involvement of non state actors in interrogating presiding officers
raises concerns as to whether this is due process at work, justifiable
prosecution or merely persecution. The arrested presiding officers are
public servants who have served the nation devotedly under extreme hardships
for years on end under conditions which amount to a contemporary form of
slavery as defined under international law.
Involvement of this range of actors must be seen and condemned for what it
is – an intimidatory tactic to compromise their ability to carry out their
constitutional duties without fear or favour. It will also have a residual
impact in the event that a run-off is held which will require these public
servants to once again provide their services in the electoral process.
ZLHR also takes note of the extreme violence which has engulfed the nation,
particularly in rural areas, as is the place where the unlawful detentions
and assault noted above occurred. We thus demand that the undignified
attacks upon these long-suffering presiding officers ceases forthwith and
that police carry out their duties without interference from other players
and without fear or favour to ensure that all people are safe and duly
protected by law.
We also demand that the various departments of the administration affected
by the unlawful threats and the arrests of members of staff take a stance
against the harassment of their members – the entire governance and
administrative system is at stake as teachers and other state employees have
been forced to flee their workstations for fear of victimisation. The entire
electoral process has been subverted.
Post published in: News