By Success Majaramhepo and Rutendo Bamu
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa came into office in November 2017, he vowed to usher in a new era for Zimbabwe, however, almost a year into his administration the jury is still out on whether he has meaningfully broken with the past that was filled with atrocities and clamp down of democratic spaces.
Mnangagwa’s promised to bring a new political and administration culture during his 2018 election campaigns, but the reality has been different after the military was used to control demonstrations in Harare that left dozens dead and hundreds maimed.
The President’s rhetoric has also been called out by the United States embassy in Harare as all talk and no action.
Mnangagwa’s dimming star was further highlighted last week when United Nations human rights expert has produced a damning report on Zimbabwe, saying citizens’ expectations for a new dispensation were fast fading
UN special Rapporteur Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, who visited Zimbabwe for 10 days and met with top government officials, opposition officials, civic organisations and victims of human rights abuses has highlighted gross human rights abuses particularly by state security agents.
Voule said Zimbabweans now doubt the government’s capacity to implement its promises, as there is serious deterioration of the political economic and social environment, with people lining in fear, frustration and anxiety since August 2018.
“Albeit the common belief that a transformation will come, I believe that the long awaited hopes are fading. The population is now questioning the government’s capacity to bring about such changes. They feel they have not experienced concrete and tangible results. On the contrary, I have perceived from my different meeting around the country, that there is a serious deterioration of political, economic and social environment since August 2018 resulting in fear, frustration and anxiety among a large number of Zimbabweans,” he said.
At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mnangagwa told world leaders that his administration had repealed draconian laws such as Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and Access to Information Privacy and Protection Act (AIPPA) which infringed on human rights.
Voule, however, cited the proposed Maintenance of Peace and Order (MOPO) which is meant to replace POSA as nothing, but a disguise to deceive the international community into believing that the government had reformed. The UN envoy said the Bill needed further reform for it to conform to the international best practices.
“While I acknowledge that there is a need to enact a new law in accordance with international human rights, norms and standards, the MOPO bill has worrying similarities to the POSA revealing a common scope in which the exercise of right to peaceful assembly is not fully guaranteed. Instead, the MOPO bill continues to give law enforcements agents broad regulatory, discretion and powers. The MOPO bill does not propose significant substantive amendments targeted to address the main problems prevailing in the POSA,” Voule said.
He also condemned the use of military and the police in clamping down on protests and prohibition of demonstrations by the police saying it was becoming common place and that they were unlawful and a serious breach of fundamental human rights.
The UN Rapporteur called on the government to set up a public complains mechanism to enable citizens to report abuses by the State security forces.
