The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) has reported a surge in human rights violations across the country during June 2025, raising concerns about the growing repression of civil liberties and political freedoms.
The organisation says a total of 107 violations were documented, affecting 1 751 people.
According to ZPP, the cases were collected through a national network of human rights monitors and physically verified.
The organisation said 1 034 of the victims were female, including 10 persons with disabilities, while 717 were male.
The ZPP said the types of violations reported include threats of violence, torture, killings, discrimination, and unfair food aid distribution. Other cases involved violations of freedoms of assembly, association, and expression, as well as access to social services.
“These violations included threats of violence, violations of the right to personal security, torture, killing, discrimination and unfair practices in the distribution of food aid. Restrictions on freedoms of assembly and association, and freedom of expression as well as access to social services were documented. Other violations included unjustified arrests, arbitrary evictions, malicious damage to property and abductions,” said ZPP.
ZPP said perpetrators of the violations came from various sectors of society, but the majority were linked to political actors.
“In this period, members of the ruling party ZANU PF were leading perpetrators of human rights violations, accounting for 35.03% of the perpetrators. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) followed with 12.59%, while local councils and government officials contributed 9.52% and 8.50% respectively,” said ZPP.
Traditional leaders were also implicated, responsible for 8.16% of the abuses.
Other groups mentioned include vendors (5.78%), artisanal miners (5.10%), state agents (2.38%), and the opposition CCC (2.72%).
ZPP said 10.20% of the violations were committed by unaffiliated members of the community.
ZPP also expressed concern over the shrinking space for media freedom and freedom of expression, and stated that there has been a clear decline in the protection of these rights.
“In our section ‘10 Steps Backwards’, we look at the retrogression in the promotion and guaranteeing of media freedom and the threat on freedom of expression,” said ZPP.
The organisation called for urgent action from all sectors of society to uphold human rights and democratic values in the country.
“There is an urgent need for stronger protection mechanisms for human rights defenders and journalists, accountability for perpetrators regardless of political affiliation, and an active push from all stakeholders, including government, civil society, and independent commissions, to promote transparency, rule of law, and inclusive governance,” said ZPP.
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