Zimbabwe Joins The League Of World's Repressive Govts - ZPP

The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), a local human rights pressure group says the country has joined the league of the world’s repressive government.

ZPP made the assertions in its monthly report for September, noting that the government led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has continuously used the Covid-19 pandemic to stifle rights and freedoms of citizens. Reads the report:

In September, Zimbabwe turned the corner and joined, full time, the dark list of the world’s repressive regimes, where citizens are reduced to nothing but subjects who are not part to deciding how the country is run in sharp contrast to the tenets of democracy and good governance.

As has been the case for the past six months, government continued to use Covid-19 as an excuse to stifle rights and freedoms guaranteed by the supreme law, and as evidenced by the nature of human rights violations this month, the violations went a notch up, and were more than ever before, systematic and methodical.

The report comes at the backdrop of an increase in the number of alleged state security brutality against the citizenry and government critics.

The pressure group also said collective action and dialogue were needed but observed that was a long call since the ruling Zanu PF and government are in denial that there is a crisis in the country.

The recommendations are made when previous efforts to bring all stakeholders to the table were in vain mainly because of the demands made by ZANU PF and MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa.

President Mnangagwa initiated the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), which ZPP said failed to achieve intended goals as the impasse between the government and the citizenry remains intact.

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