By Loice Dube

The looting and vandalism during the stay away last week resulted in the deployment of security forces in most residential areas across the country to conduct searches in people’s homes and properties. During this process residents also lost their valuables such as cellphones to the deployed security personnel and most residents highlighted they were scared of reporting these cases to the police.

In a press statement Zimbabwe Human Right Commission (ZHRC) said, “Complainants and witnesses who spoke to ZHRC highlighted that armed soldiers and police visited their homes starting the evening of Monday 14 January 2019. Some residents reported losing their valuables such as cellphones to the soldiers and the police during their searches of people’s homes and their property such as doors and windows were destroyed”.
The mandate of the ZHRC is to promote, protect and enforce human rights and fundamental freedoms in Zimbabwe and its establishment and functions are elaborated in Sections 232, 233, 242 and 243 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

ZHRC findings reveal that in the areas monitored the police and soldiers entered into the homes, premises and property of some of the Complainants in the middle of the night without their permission. Their doors were broken into and their windows and doors vandalised. This violated their right to privacy which protects them from arbitrary searches of their homes and unlawful entry into their home, premises or property under section 57 of the Constitution.

The ZHRC calls upon Government of Zimbabwe to respect the citizens right to demonstrate and petition as provided in Section 59 of the Constitution. At the same time, citizens of Zimbabwe are reminded that the right to demonstrate comes with a responsibility to ensure that the demonstrations are peaceful and not lead to the violations of the rights of others.