Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project and Human Rights Activist, Jestina Mukoko, told The Zimbabwean that people whose rights were violated in 2008 needed redress.
“The majority of people whose rights were violated have not been healed. I think as a country we need to think about ensuring that people are healed so that they are able to carry on with their lives before engaging in another election.
“We are moving to the next election with people whose wounds have not healed. I was abducted and tortured during the 2008 election. I am still fighting for justice through the civil courts because my rights were violated,” said Mukoko.
She said many people were still languishing in poverty while others were imprisoned, with no clear action being taken against the 2008 violence perpetrators.
“I am worried because it appears as if the authorities that are supposed to be taking action against the perpetrators have already forgotten. For them it’s history, yet there are people like me who are still haunted by the 2008 violence,” said Mukoko.
About the looming plebiscite, Mukoko said Southern African Development Committee and the African Union election observers should come into the country early to monitor the election situation.
“This year ZPP has noted a depressed number in terms of incidences of human rights abuse. However, we don’t want to limit ourselves to numbers because there are also other subtle forms of human rights abuse that we are unable to pick up,” she said.
Mukoko was abducted from her home on December 3, 2008 by state security agents for monitoring the brutality of the Robert Mugabe government. During her 21-day abduction, she was tortured, beaten, and forced to confess to a crime she did not commit. To date, perpetrators of the 2008 election violence have never been brought to book and victims of violence have not received any compensation.
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