By Lulu Brenda Harris
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is calling on victims of human rights violations to sue perpetrators directly, particularly those in the uniformed forces.
They argue that legal accountability will force violators to face the financial consequences of their actions.
ZLHR has successfully pursued legal action against the police and the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) on behalf of victims of violence in the past, securing monetary awards against individuals for their unlawful conduct.
Roselyn Hanzi, Executive Director of ZLHR, highlighted the organisation’s success in obtaining financial compensation from police officers involved in acts of torture and other Section 50 violations.
“When such awards have been secured, applications for garnishee orders have been granted by the courts. The monetary award is deducted monthly from the salary of the police officer,” Hanzi explained.
“We must normalise hitting perpetrators of human rights violations straight in their pockets. Why should taxpayers foot the bill for gross human rights violations?”
Hanzi further argued that suing individuals in their official capacity ensures that those in power cannot disregard the public.
“Ministers should also be hit in the pocket,” Hanzi said, emphasising that accountability should extend beyond lower-ranking officials.
“Hundreds of judgments with monetary awards have been obtained against state actors in their official capacity.”
The idea has gained support from online participants like Cris Mulengah, who suggested creating a database of individuals implicated in human rights violations.
“There is an urgent need to have this database where everyone who has been implicated by victims of such brutality will have their name listed against their record of crimes and violations,” Mulengah stated.
“I believe in the future they will definitely pay a price for that. There is a need to have a citizen database of these human rights violators so that later in life they pay consequences for their atrocities.”
Several judgments have been awarded in cases brought against the police and ZNA by victims of violence, with some cases dating back to 2003, Hanzi cited.
One notable case in 2003 was Rutendo Munengami versus the then Minister of Defence (HC 11437/03), where Munengami claimed damages for an assault by ZNA soldiers on June 4, 2003, in Glen View, Harare.
According to the evidence presented at trial during that time, about 20 armed soldiers forcibly entered Munengami’s home, demanding to see her husband, a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) councillor.
When Munengami informed them that her husband was not present, the soldiers assaulted her with batons while she held her nine-month-old baby.
The soldiers also destroyed property and stole items such as blankets, clothing, and money from her home. She was unable to identify any of her assailants.
Other cases with awarded monetary damages that ZLHR cited include:
- Barry L. T. Gondo: Z$ 5,650,000.00 (May 17, 2006)
- Kerina Gweshe: Z$ 810,000.00 (March 1, 2006)
- Nyaradzai Katsande: Z$ 133,144.00 (February 20, 2003)
- Peter Chirinda: Z$ 3,264,000.00 (August 17, 2003)
- Phanuel Mapingure: Z$ 950,000.00 (November 16, 2005)
- Ruth Manika: Z$ 8,552.50 (July 1, 2005)
- Sophia Matasva: Z$ 4,850,000.00 (March 29, 2006)
- Trust Shumba: Z$ 1,085,000.00 (October 4, 2004)
- Mercy Magunje: Z$ 9,030.00 (January 2007)
A recent case of granted compensation was awarded in May 2024, where the courts ordered ZNA Commander Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe and Minister of Defence, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, to pay US$29,000 in compensation to a protester who was brutally attacked and shot during the 2019 shutdown protests.
ZLHR’s call to sue perpetrators of human rights violations comes as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe report increased surveillance and intimidation ahead of the upcoming 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit to be held in Harare in mid-August.
The regime is concerned about possible protests as President Emmerson Mnangagwa takes over as SADC chairman.
ZimRights recently alerted the public about unidentified individuals raiding the offices of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition in Harare.
“𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓!! Unidentified men have just scaled the walls of @crisiscoalition offices. They disembarked from a white Toyota Hilux GD6. Share widely!” read a recent social media post.
Similarly, the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) issued an alert stating, “Men in plain clothes identifying themselves as police officers have just swamped and circled our offices in Milton Park.”
A political analyst, Patrick Ndlovu, said the increased pressure on civil society highlights the ongoing struggle for human rights and accountability in Zimbabwe.
“This is why ZLHR’s call for victims to sue individual perpetrators is seen as a step toward providing justice and deterring future violations against human rights activists, politicians, and even the media,” he said.
