In an interview with The Zimbabwean, the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Abel Chikomo, said elections in Zimbabwe were associated with arrests and the intimidation of civil society members.
Chikomo’s remarks follow a recent crackdown by police on human rights defenders.
On January 14, ZimRights Director Okay Machisa was arrested on allegations of publishing falsehoods, fraud and forgery after allegedly conducting illegal voter registration.
His arrest followed the detention of another ZimRights official, Leo Chamahwinya, on the same charges. Other people arrested in connection with the matter are Dorcas Shereni, Tanaka Chinaka and Farai Bhani.
In November last year, police raided offices of the Counselling Services Unit in Harare and arrested the organisations’ senior members, Fidelis Mudimu, Zachariah Godi and Tafadzwa Geza.
Recently, an official with the Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe, Tsepiso Mpfu, revealed that members of the organisation in Matabeleland North were living in fear due to late night visits by suspected members of the Central Intelligence Organisation.
“During elections a lot of human rights violations occur and it’s sad that at times the human rights defenders themselves are targeted,” said Chikomo.
He said that the forthcoming polls would be no exception and that arrests of human rights defenders limited civil society’s role as a watchdog.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum is a coalition of 12 non-governmental organisations dedicated to assisting victims of organised violence.
Chikomo predicted a harsh working environment for civil society groups in the next election.
“It has never been easy for human rights activists in this country, especially during election periods. We always have to deal with an adverse environment because people in the government consider us their opponents,” said Chikomo.
He blamed the Government of National Unity for failing to honour it’s pledge to restore the respect for human rights in Zimbabwe.
“We believe that the GNU is equally responsible for the erosion of the rule of law in this country. It is equally responsible for the harassment of civil society leaders,” said Chikomo.
He bemoaned that selective application of the law still exists in Zimbabwe, despite the formation of the Inclusive Government.
“If you look at civil and political rights, there is not much improvement. The same applies to the police; they have not changed their attitude. The Attorney General’s Office has not changed and the selective application of the law is still there,” said Chikomo.
He added: “We call upon the government to respect our democratic right to participate in national issues as well as our right to freedom of assembly and association as outlined in the country’s constitution.”
Post published in: Politics