Eight years on, justice is still elusive for the families of 6 people killed and the 35 injured by Zimbabwe state security forces during the August 1, 2018, protests.
Witnesses at the time told Human Rights Watch that military officers and anti-riot police used excessive and lethal force against people who were protesting delayed election results on the streets of Harare, the capital. Security forces indiscriminately fired live ammunition at protesters and bystanders. Among the dead was Sylvia Maposa, a 53-year-old mother of two whom soldiers fatally shot in the back when she was heading home from work that afternoon.
The following day, President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for an independent investigation into the killings and said: “those responsible should be identified and brought to justice.”
Mnangagwa later appointed a commission, known as the Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry, to investigate the violence and make recommendations. Eight years later, Mnangagwa has not implemented the commission’s recommendations, including completing investigations to hold responsible members of the military and police to account.
No security personnel have been arrested or prosecuted, nor has any compensation been provided. Since the August 2018 protest, the government has taken few concrete steps to demonstrate commitment to accountability, justice, and respect for the rule of law. This culture of impunity has bred an atmosphere of governmental abuse and violence. During three days of demonstrations throughout Zimbabwe in January 2019 to protest a fuel price increase, security forces fired live ammunition, killing 17 people, and raped at least 17 women.
Since assuming power in a military coup in 2017, the Mnangagwa administration has committed serious human rights violations and shown a failure or unwillingness to institute lasting human rights reforms. Violence, intimidation, harassment, and repression aimed principally at opposition party members, journalists, students, and civil society activists have severely restricted civic and political space.
Zimbabwe authorities should demonstrate respect for human rights and the rule of law by acting on the recommendations of Motlanthe commission without any further delay and start breaking the country’s cycle of impunity.