Zimbabwe: Dissent and repression (2000-2007)

Updated January 2008

In January 2000 President Robert Mugabe announced that the draft constitution would be put to the electorate in a referendum in February (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290). The December draft allowed President Mugabe to serve two more terms and to dissolve Parliament without cause and also granted government officials immunity from prosecution and sanctioned the seizure of white-owned commercial farms without compensation (Wikipedia 2007). Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) campaigned for a yes vote while the newly formed opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai led the campaign for the no vote. In the referendum the proposal was rejected by 53% of the voters, but voter turnout was extremely low (26%) (see Referendum 2000: Results for more detail). This defeat stunned the ruling party and revealed the strength of the opposition MDC (Encyclopedia of the Nations 2007). Shortly thereafter local and international monitors reported a marked increase in human rights abuses (US Department of State 2001). The geographic spread of voter turnout figures indicated that the MDC had been more successful in mobilizing its urban constituency than ZANU-PF its rural peasant base (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290).

Towards the end of February white owned commercial farms were illegally and often violently invaded by land-starved rural poor people led by the war veterans; it quickly became apparent that government condoned these actions and may have initiated them (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290; Esterhuysen 2004; see especially Selby 2006, 286-290). It was clear that this was an attempt on the part of the government to mobilize support in the rural areas ahead of the House of Assembly elections later in the year and the police did nothing to halt or reverse the invasions (Masunungure 2004, 177; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290; Esterhuysen 2004). In July 2000 the government launched an initiative that aimed at speeding up the identification and acquisition of 5 million hectares of land and its settlement, along with the provision of agricultural, economic and social infrastructure using national rather than donor resources (Hanyama Undated). By mid-2001 the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) reported that 95% of commercial farms (8.3 million hectares) had been listed for appropriation (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291). By the end of 2003 the CFU estimated that less than 900 of the original 4500 commercial farms in 2000 were still operating (Columbia Encyclopedia 2005; Selby (2006, 319) estimates that about 600 farmers were still farming).

The immediate effect of the land invasions was to sharpen the simmering conflict between the judiciary and the executive as the government ignored repeated court rulings that the law be enforced and that the government remove the invaders; in reply the courts were occupied by ZANU-PF supporters to intimidate judges and matters came to a head when the chief justice was forced from office in March 2001 and over time new loyal appointments to the bench ensured the compliance of the judiciary (Esterhuysen 2004; ICG 2004, 90). Food production declined rapidly, food shortages emerged by mid-2001 and food had to be imported, foreign exchange shortages notwithstanding; in April 2002 food shortages, as a result of drought and the farm invasions, forced the government to proclaim a state of disaster (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291; ICG 2004, 86, 100-102). Food aid supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP) was used to reward ZANU-PF supporters, while perceived opposition supports were punished by denying them food (Esterhuysen 2004; ICG 2004, 102-103).

The land invasions further undermined the already fragile economic capacity of the country as commercial agriculture and related activities contracted (Esterhuysen 2004). As the economy unraveled the manufacturing sector, which had been hard hit by the Economic Structural Adjustment Program of the 1990s, declined rapidly (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291). Tobacco exports, a major component of commercial farming and earner of foreign exchange, declined by three-quarters by 2004. In the same period GDP fell by 30% and unemployment, already high, rose to about 70% and about 80% of the population were living below the poverty line by the end of 2001 (Esterhuysen 2004; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291). The state budget deficit before borrowing ballooned as did domestic debt and the arrears on foreign debt, while inflation soared from the high level of 198% in December 2002 to an unmanageable 623% in January 2004 (Kanyenze 2004, 132).

Mugabe responded to the challenge presented by the new opposition by intensifying control of ZANU-PF through silencing dissent, sidelining opponents within the party and filling key positions with loyalists (Esterhuysen 2004). The MDC was subject to attack and harassment in different ways and on various levels; the youth brigades that had been effective in silencing dissent in the countryside prior to the elections and the war veterans were used to attack opposition public meetings and threaten individual members and supporters (Esterhuysen 2004; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290). The media was subject to attack, critical foreign journalists were deported, the offices of a newspaper, the Daily News, was bombed and journalists were harassed by police (Esterhuysen 2004).

The run up to the election was characterised by intensified violence that claimed 34 victims and intimidation and torture of MDC members were reported; approximately 18 000 people experienced various violations of their human rights (Masunungure 2004, 177-178; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290). Masunungure (2004, 178) observes: "The repression was methodical and systematic". Irregularities of various kinds that cast serious doubts about the fairness of the process, though no serious incidents were reported on polling day itself (see 2000 General Elections for details). ZANU PF narrowly won the parliamentary elections on 24-25 June 2000 (2000 House of Assembly national election results). With only 62 of the 120 elective seats and 48.10% of the votes cast, ZANU PF was faced for the first time with a sizeable opposition (its narrow majority was bolstered by the Presidential appointment of 20 MPs and the loyalty of the chiefs in the House to ZANU-PF ). The MDC secured 46.72% of the votes, primarily in urban constituencies, and won 57 of 120 elected seats in the National Assembly. Critically, it meant that ZANU-PF no longer had a large enough majority to unilaterally alter the constitution; the MDC also easy qualified for state funding, which strengthened its position immensely (Masunungure 2004, 181).

In January 2002 two pieces of legislation were pushed through Parliament that imposed severe restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly: The Public Order and Security Bill and the General Law Amendment Bill. The Public Order and Security Act criminalized criticism of the President and established that any communication or publication of a statement deemed prejudicial to the state could be banned and its author prosecuted (Public Order and Security Act 2002, 15, 16). The Zimbabwean police were authorised to arrest anyone at political meetings who failed to produce an identity document on demand (Public Order and Security Act 2002, 32). Amendments to the Electoral Act effectively disenfranchised 2-3 million Zimbabweans living abroad (General Laws Amendment Act 2002, 34). Campaign materials such as bills, posters and pamphlets required consent from the relevant authorities before they could be distributed and election observers became subject to accreditation (General Laws Amendment Act 2002, 116A, 14B). The subsequent Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (2002, 101) barred foreign journalists from working in the country and local journalists were subjected to licensing. By mid-2002 10 journalists had been detained and remaining foreign journalists deported while independent newspapers such as the Daily News and the Tribune were forced to close (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292).

In February 2002 a controversial video was shown on television in Australia that was construed by the government to prove that Tsvangirai was plotting to assassinate Mugabe and he was charged with treason (ICG 2004, 97). Meanwhile conflict between the government and the European Union (EU) led to the withdrawal of EU observers and the EU imposed limited sanctions on senior officials and government members (ICG 2004, 97)-98. The 2002 Presidential election was highly contested and extremely violent. The Human Rights NGO Forum (2003) reported that between 1 January and 14 April 2002, 54 deaths occurred from politically motivated violence. Other acts of violence reported included 945 cases of torture, 214 kidnappings, 229 cases of intimidation or threats, 143 cases of unlawful detention, 29 disappearances, 99 cases of unlawful arrests, five cases of rape, 48 school closures and about 1 000 confiscations of identity documents (see also Masunungure 2004, 182-183). The reports also noted the establishment of camps where militia youths supporting the ruling party were massed. These youths were deployed to intimidate the voters and observers were detained in the camps (Human Rights NGO Forum 2003). Violence was primarily the work of the war veterans, the youth brigades, the police and the army; nor did these acts of violence cease after the elections (Masunungure 2004, 177-178, 186; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1290).

The figures for election results provided by Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network observers, the Electoral Supervisory Commission and those announced by the Registrar-General's Office (for these see 2002 Presidential election results) did not tally, and fraud was widely suspected. The Solidarity Peace Trust (2005) observed, "The most striking outcome of the 39 original petitions [involving electoral fraud in 2000] is that... not one case was ever fully resolved by the judiciary" (cases brought in 2002 by the MDC were still pending in April 2005). According to the Registrar General's Office Mugabe obtained 56.06% of the vote to Tsvangirai's 42.10%, the rest being shared amongst three other candidates. Tsvangirai rejected the election results and labeled Mugabe's win illegitimate. The election violence and rigging, coming on top of the chaos unleashed by land reform, resulted in Zimbabwe being suspended from the Commonwealth in September 2002 and Zimbabwe subsequently withdrew from the body in December 2003 (ICG 2004, 100).

The deteriorating economic situation and the shortage of staple foods as a result of land redistribution was not ameliorated and public sentiment was further outraged when in February 2003 it emerged that the bulk of the land earmarked for redistribution had been allocated to members of the ZANU-PF ruling elite; a presidential review of land reform in August 2003 (the Utete Report) indicated that only 134 000 families had been resettled on the land that had been acquired and only 5% of the poupulation had benefited from allocations by the close of 2003 (ICG 2004, 105-106, 109; Selby 2006, 294). The economic meltdown led to declining state revenue so that real government expenditure on social services declined rapidly and school enrolment and the quality of health services deteriorated markedly, while HIV/AIDS prevalence continued to rise reaching 30% of the adult population in mid-2003 (Esterhuysen 2004; Encyclopedia of the Nations 2007). Life expectancy declined from 61 years in 1991 to 36 years in 2004 (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291).

One of the consequences was mass emigration, first by skilled Zimbabweans and then in later years by others, with about half a million skilled people leaving the country by mid-2003 and about one-third of Zimbabeans in economic or political exile by the 2005 elections (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292-1293). The white community shrank from about 200 000 in 2000 to 25 000 in March 2005 (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292),

The cycle of opposition strikes and government crackdowns continued through 2003 and demonstrations in June were followed by the arrest of MDC members and Tsvangirai (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1291). Tsvangirai was again arrested in 2004 and he and the MDC Secretary General, Welshman Ncube, were charged with treason (the charges were dropped in August 2005. Columbia Encyclopedia 2005; Encyclopedia of the Nations 2007; Esterhuysen 2004). The repression impacted on the MDC's organisational structures and the party lost a string of by-elections as a result (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292).

The 2005 elections were preceded by a degree of electoral reform, but all the legislation discussed previously remained in force. Aspects that encouraged electoral transparency and impartiality were welcomed, while it was claimed that neither of the laws met the standards laid down in the SADC Principles and Guidelines and the MDC rejected the reforms as inadequate (Tsunga 2005; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292). The period of the elections was calm and peaceful and incidents of violence and intimidation reported declined markedly on previous elections.

The official results gave ZANU PF 59.59% of the votes and 78 seats (which, together with the nominated seats gave it the two-thirds majority required to unilaterally change the constitution), the MDC 39.52% of the votes with 41 seats; an independent, Jonathan Moyo, won a seat with 0.64% of the vote (for more detail see 2005 House of Assembly results by party). Once more the results were greeted with skepticism and widespread electoral fraud was alleged by civil society actors and the MDC. The MDC resolved to challenge the electoral outcomes in 13 constituencies with the intention of demonstrating the widespread and systematic fraud they believe to have been perpetrated. They also threatened strikes and demonstrations (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292).

Soon after the House of Assembly elections, in May 2005 at the onset of winter, the government launched a campaign to clean up the urban areas by removing illegal housing and business premises (Tibaijuka 2005, 12-13). The effect of this operation was to punish the voters in the MDC urban strongholds for their continued support for the opposition (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292-1293). On page 33 of her July 2005 report the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlements Issues in Zimbabwe, Anna Tibaijuka, gave government figures of 92 460 housing structures demolished affecting 133 534 households and premises of 32 538 business demolished and estimated that 569 685 people lost their homes and that 97 614 people directly lost their livelihoods.

The Senate, which had been abolished in September 1987, was reconstituted in by an August 2005 constitutional amendment (Lodge et al 2002, 435; Amendment 2005; see Senate reconstitution and composition for more information). The body included 50 members elected on a provincial basis in first-past-the-post constituency elections, with each of the ten provinces returning five members and elections were set for 26 November 2005. The MDC divided sharply on regional and ethnic lines on whether to contest or boycott these elections and over time positions hardened so that the two factions virtually constituted two separate parties with different leaderships (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292-1293; Wikipedia 2007). The majority based more heavily in the north rallied around party president Morgan Tsvangirai who argued for a boycott, while a minority, led by party secretary general Welshman Ncube, decided to contest some of the Senate seats (Wikipedia 2007). The elections were easily won by ZANU-PF who took 43 of the 50 seats, but voter turnout was under 20% (see 2005 Senate election national results ).

Severely weakened and deeply divided, the MDC was unable to provide effective opposition to the ZANU-PF government in 2006 and 2007; moreover its supporters were brutalised by years of repression and state terrorism and many of its supporters had been driven abroad. The economic crisis continued to deepen with inflation reaching 1200% and the shortage of foreign exchange resulting in a lack of imported consumption commodities and production inputs of every kind and mass starvation in some rural areas, leading to a renewed flood of emigration, perhaps as many as 4 million in South Africa by 2007 (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1293, 1295; Wikipedia 2007). In June 2007 the government attempted to ameliorate spiraling inflation by ordering all businesses to cut their prices by half, but the measure back-fired as businesses closed and consumption items disappeared from retailers' shelves (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1294).

In March 2007 the central committee of ZANU-PF resolved to harmonise elections in the country and to hold parliamentary elections due in 2010 concurrent with the presidential elections (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1292-1294). In the same month footage was shown in the international media of senior MDC leaders, including Tsvangirai, were severely beaten by police at a prayer rally where an MDC activist killed (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1294; Wikipedia 2007). The images galvanised international action and the United States and the European Union tightened sanctions (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1294; Wikipedia 2007). At an emergency summit of the Southern African Development Community at the end of the month, South African president, Thabo Mbeki, was mandated to mediate between the government and the opposition (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1294; Wikipedia 2007).

Negotiations, begun in mid-2007, managed to achieve agreement on a package of constitutional, electoral and other reforms at securing freedom of speech, assembly and expression, which were passed rapidly and unanimously by the Zimbabwean parliament in December 2007. Reforms included restructuring the composition of the houses of parliament (with the House of Assembly expanded and made wholly elective), the abolition of the delimitations Commission and the transfer of its functions to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), a curtailing of the powers of the security forces and the abolition of many restrictions on the media, on public demonstrations. Negotiations continue, with the MDC demanding that a new constitution be adopted, the elections be delayed beyond March 2008 and that the delimitation of constituencies and registration of voters undertaken by the ZEC be revisited; ZANU-PF wishes to keep to the March date so as to reduce the opportunities for the opposition to reorganise and campaign in the new more open political climate and to ensure that the preparatory work of ZEC done thus far is not subjected to public scrutiny (ZESN 2008).

References

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