A Report on Torture and Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe
December 2007
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
The Open Society Institute
The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture
Since early 2007, the Zimbabwean government has brutally sought to suppress political opposition with state sponsored torture and political violence. This upsurge in political violence occurred following a peaceful prayer rally organized on March 11 2007 by a coalition of Zimbabwean church and civic organizations.
This investigation, the first conducted by international health professionals since the March 2007 violence, provides evidence that the Zimbabwean government is systematically utilizing torture and violence as a means of deterring political opposition. This state-sanctioned violence targets low-level political organizers and ordinary citizens, in addition to the prominent members of the political opposition.
This report, based on forensic evaluations, documents how victims of political violence have been tortured and subjected to other human rights abuses causing devastating health consequences. Victims were detained under inhuman conditions and denied appropriate access to medical and legal assistance. Members of civil society, including doctors and lawyers assisting victims of political violence, also described being subjected to harassment by government authorities. These findings raise profound concerns as to whether elections scheduled for 2008 will be free and fair.
1. Robert Mugabe's threat to Trade Unionists before the 1998 strikes
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Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of
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462 First Avenue, C and D Building, Room
710
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www.survivorsoftorture.org
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
The Open Society Institute
The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture
"We have degrees in violence" A Report on Torture
and Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe
A Report by
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
The Open Society Institute
The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture
December 2007
Contents
Acknowledgements 1
I. Summary 2
Findings 2
Recommendations 3
II. Methods 5
Interviews with Primary Sources 5
Definitions Used 5
Consent Obtained 6
Secondary Sources 6
III. Background 6
IV. Trauma Experienced by Investigation Participants 11
Nature of Traumatic Events Experienced 11
Health Consequences of Torture/Political Violence Experienced 11
V. State Sponsored Torture and Violence after March 11 12
Political Violence and the Events of March 11 12
Violence Against Women 15
Violence and the Funeral of Gift Tandare 18
Continued, Targeted Political Violence 19
Complicity of Cio, War Veterans and ZANU-PF Youth post-March 11 21
Increased Harassment and Fear post March 11 23
Hardship and Fear for Zimbabwean Refugees in South Africa 25
VI. Photographs: Victims of Political Violence and Torture 28
VII. Health Consequences of Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe 33
Physical Health Consequences of Reported Abuses 33
Psychological Effects 35
Psychological Distress among Zimbabwean Refugees in South Africa 38
VIII. Poor Conditions of Detention and Delays in Access to Medical Care
and Legal Assistance 39
Inhuman Jail Conditions 39
Delays in Access to Legal Services while in Police Custody 40
Delays in Access to Medical Care while in Police Custody 41
Delays in Medical Care Outside of Prison 43
Difficulties Accessing Medical Care in South Africa 44
IX. Harassment of Doctors and Lawyers Assisting Victims of Torture and
Political Violence in Zimbabwe 45
Intimidation and Harassment of Doctors 45
Intimidation and Threats to Lawyers 47
X. Risks and Limitation of this Investigation 48
XI. Tables 49
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
(OSISA)
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) is a leading Johannesburg-based foundation established in 1997, working in ten Southern Africa countries: Angola, Botsawanta, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. OSISA works differently in each of these ten countries according to local conditions.
There are specialized programme managers in Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland-these being the three countries in which significant structural
governance questions still obtain. OSISA is part of a network of autonomous foundations, established by George Soros, located in Eastern and Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US.
OSISA's vision is to promote and sustain the ideals, values institutions and practice of open society. OSISA's vision is that of a vibrant Southern African society in which people, free from material and other deprivation, understand their rights and responsibilities and participate democratically in all spheres of life.
In pursuance of this vision, OSISA's mission is to initiate and support programmes working toward open society ideals and to advocate for these ideals in Southern Africa. This approach involves looking beyond
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OSI's initiatives address specific issue areas on a regional or network-wide basis around the world. Most of the initiatives are administered by OSI-New York or OSI-Budapest and are implemented in cooperation with Soros foundations in various countries and regions.
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The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture
The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care addressing the medical, mental health, and social service needs of torture survivors and their families.
The program has established an international reputation for excellence in its clinical, educational, and research activities including documenting torture and its health consequences. The Bellevue/NYU Program is a
member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.
The Bellevue/NYU Program brings together clinical and academic resources from Bellevue Hospital, the oldest public hospital in the United States, and New York University School of Medicine. Since its inception in 1995, the program has cared for more than 2,000 men, women and children from over 70 different countries.
The Bellevue/NYU Program has conducted ground breaking research in documenting torture and its health consequences in countries around the world. Recent research projects have included evaluating the prevalence of trauma and psychological symptoms among Darfurian refugees in Chad; the health consequences of detention of asylum seekers in the United States; and trauma and its health consequences among Tibetan Refugees in India.
Recently, program staff have conducted forensic evaluations of former detainees from Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, Cuba.
The Bellevue/NYU Program its staff have received numerous awards including the Jim Wright Vulnerable Populations Award from the National Association of Pubic Hospitals, the Roger E. Joseph Prize from Hebrew Union College, The Barbara Chester Award from the Hopi Foundation, The Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Human Rights Defender Award from Physicians for Human Rights, and The Robin Hood Foundation Heroes Award.
Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture
462 First Avenue, C and D Building, Room 710
New York, NY 10016 USA
Telephone: 212-994-7169
Fax: 212-994-7177
Email: (Dr. Allen Keller-Program Director) ask45@aol.com
Website: www.survivorsoftorture.org
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report was researched and written by Allen Keller, M.D., and Samantha Stewart, M.D. Dr. Keller is Associate Professor of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Director of the Bellevue/NYU
Program for Survivors of Torture, Director of the NYU School of Medicine Center for Health and Human Rights and is a member of the Advisory Board of Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Stewart is a staff
psychiatrist with the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, and an Attending Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Bellevue Hospital.
The report was reviewed and edited by Jonathan Cohen, Julie Hayes, Open Society Institute, New York, NY; Delme Cupido, Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa;
Bronwen Manby, The Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, Open Society Institute, London, UK; Helen Epstein; and Dechen Lhewa and Jessica Kim, Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of
Torture, New York, NY.
We thank Dr. Loren Landau, Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand South Africa; and Emily Sachs, Fordham University Department of Psychology New
York, New York, for their comments.
A special thanks to Selvan Chetty of Solidarity Peace Trust for all of his efforts and support in preparing this report. We are grateful to all of the individuals who agreed to be interviewed for this report and to all of the
individuals and organizations who provided information, advice and assistance in planning and preparing this report.
Support for this report was provided by the Open Society Institute.
2 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
I. SUMMARY
The 2008 Presidential campaign has already begun. This violence is the strategy of the ruling party. They want to eliminate opposition now so that the situation will appear calm in the period before the election. -Zimbabwean Human Rights Advocate
It is less than one year before Zimbabwe will hold the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2008. Since early 2007 the country has been subject to an upsurge in political violence that has
seriously undermined the democratic process and created a presumption that these elections will not be free and fair. State-sponsored violence directed toward any individuals or groups who are perceived to be
critical of President Robert Mugabe, his government or his policies, manifests a strategy to demobilize Zimbabweans from mounting or supporting an organized opposition campaign.
The international community and Southern African Democratic Community (SADC) have attempted to play a role in encouraging a democratic process by introducing South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, as a mediator between the ruling and opposition parties. However, the international community remains ineffective in its efforts to stop states-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe.
On March 11, 2007 a coalition of church and civic organizations known as the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, organized a prayer rally in Highfield, a township near the capital Harare. Police used violence and arrests to prevent the peaceful prayer rally. They shot to death an unarmed activist, Gift Tandare, and subsequently arrested several leaders of the major opposition party—the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)—as well as rank and file attendees.
While the brutal beatings and interference with medical care of the prominent MDC leaders following March 11 received considerable media attention, the persisting torture and political violence,1 particularly 1. For this report, individuals were classified as having been subjected to torture if the experience(s) they reported were considered by the examining physicians to meet criteria for torture as defined in the United Nations Convention Against Torture. (See Methods Section for complete definition).
Individuals were classified as having been subjected to political violence if the experience(s) they reported was considered, by the examining physicians, to be a violent act as a result of their political activities or beliefs, but which was not that perpetrated against rank and file political activists, have not been documented by international health and human rights experts. This report details the state-sponsored violence that occurred in the wake of the highly publicized events of March 11, 2007.
Researchers from the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture traveled to South Africa and Zimbabwe during the last week of April and first two weeks of May 2007 at the request of local
nongovernmental organizations to evaluate reports of torture and political violence. This report is based on the detailed testimony and medical examination of 24 individuals who were subjected to torture or political
violence during March and April 2007. Additionally, interviews were conducted with more than 30 health professionals, human rights advocates and representatives of non-governmental organizations in
Zimbabwe and South Africa.
This investigation, the first conducted by international health professionals with expertise in the evaluation documentation and treatment of torture victims since the March 2007 violence, provides evidence that the Zimbabwean government is systematically utilizing torture and violence as a means of deterring political opposition. This state-sanctioned violence targets low-level political organizers and ordinary citizens, in addition to the prominent members of the political opposition.
The medical evaluations of recent victims of torture and political violence document physical
and psychological evidence of violent human rights
abuses and the devastating health consequences of
such political violence. Victims were detained under
inhuman conditions and denied appropriate access to
medical and legal assistance. Members of civil society,
including doctors and lawyers assisting victims
of political violence, described being subjected to
harassment by government authorities.
Findings
In addition to prominent opposition leaders, ordinary
MDC members and local community organizers
are being systematically tortured and targeted by
Zimbabwean authorities for political violence. This
assessment is supported by the testimony and medical
evidence of the 24 Zimbabweans victims of torture
and political violence interviewed and evaluated for
considered, necessarily, to constitute torture.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 3
this report. All had clear physical and psychological
evidence of torture and abuse corroborating their
testimony. These victims of political violence included
both men and women. They were not randomly
targeted, but included national and local leaders of
the political opposition, community organizers, and
ordinary citizens. Zimbabweans who were arrested
and detained for their political activities described
being detained under filthy, inhuman conditions as
well as being denied basic necessities such as food,
water, light, and blankets.
This torture and political violence has devastating
physical, psychological and social health
consequences. At the time of evaluation, all 24 of
the Zimbabwean victims of torture and political
violence evaluated for this report continued to suffer
from substantial and often debilitating physical and
psychological symptoms as a direct result of their
abuse. Individuals suffered from severe pain, broken
bones, and unhealed wounds as a result of beatings
they had endured. Their backs and legs showed clear
marks from whips or the imprints of clubs used to beat
them. The psychological scars, including depression,
post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated
symptoms such as profound sadness, nervousness,
difficulty sleeping, and recurrent memories of
the trauma were also evident. Victims frequently
described profound fear of further torture or death as
well as threats to their family.
Furthermore, Zimbabwean authorities are interfering
with and delaying access to medical and legal services for
victims of torture and political violence. News accounts
have neglected to describe the systematic interference
with access to medical and legal services for victims
of violence. Such interference not only infringes upon
the rights of these individuals and compounds their
abuse, but is designed to increase impunity for abuse
by preventing health workers and legal professionals
from evaluating and documenting the abuse. Many of
the Zimbabwean victims of torture/political violence
interviewed described experiencing substantial delays
in obtaining medical evaluation and treatment as well as
being denied access to their lawyers.
Doctors and lawyers assisting victims of torture and
political violence described being threatened and
harassed by police and other government authorities. For
example, medical and legal professionals we interviewed
received threatening phone calls both at their homes
and at work warning them not to interfere with state-
sponsored violence.
Finally, Zimbabwean victims of torture or political
violence fleeing to South Africa often endure
substantial difficulties in obtaining refugee status and
accessing health services. Zimbabwean victims of
political violence as well as Zimbabwean advocates
in South Africa described the many problems that
Zimbabwean refugees encounter upon their arrival in
South Africa. This includes problems with obtaining
refugee status or political asylum; problems with
attaining adequate food and shelter; difficulty getting
appropriate and necessary healthcare; and ongoing
fears of deportation and discrimination.
Recommendations
1. Recommendations to the Zimbabwean
Government:
Immediately cease and investigate all acts of
torture and state-sanctioned political violence
The Government of Zimbabwe should immediately
cease all acts of torture and state-sponsored violence,
conduct transparent and credible investigations of
all allegations of torture and violence and publicly
condemn such acts. There is an urgent need to
resolve the political impasse in Zimbabwe, and this
must begin with an end to state sanctioned political
violence, including torture, arbitrary arrest, and
targeting individuals for political violence based on
their political affiliations.
Although Zimbabwe is one of 51 countries that has
not ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, it is
party to several international treaties that specifically
prohibit torture, including The International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter
on Human and People's Rights. Furthermore,
Zimbabwe's own Constitution (Section 15) outlaws
torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Ensure adequate and timely access to medical
and legal services for victims of torture and
political violence
Individuals suffering from injuries and illness in state
custody, including victims of torture and political
violence, must have access without delays to adequate
medical and legal services. The Government of
Zimbabwe must take immediate steps to protect
health professionals and legal service providers from
harassment and intimidation.
•
•
4 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Ensure accountability and legal prosecution of
perpetrators of torture and political violence
Individuals, including police, ZANU-PF party
members and members of related organizations who
have participated in torture and political violence must
be held accountable in courts of law for their actions.
Independent investigations into the excessive use of
force on March 11 2007 as well as investigation of the
organizations responsible for this and subsequent
violence must be undertaken.
2. Recommendations to the Zimbabwean Medical
Association:
Speak out against violations of human rights
including torture, political violence and denial
of medical care to detainees
The Zimbabwean Medical Association (ZIMA) should
work to ensure that the Zimbabwean government
upholds nationally and internationally recognized
human rights standards including prohibitions of
torture and the provision of medical care for detainees.
Furthermore, ZIMA should see that physicians can
fulfill their professional obligations to maintain clinical
independence without harassment and intimidation.
3. Recommendations to African leaders and the
International Community:
Governments and international bodies
including members of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), the United
Nations Security Council, and the United
Nations Commissioner on Human Rights
must hold the Zimbabwean government
accountable for its obligations under
international law regarding prohibition of
torture and political violence.
African and international leaders must strongly and
publicly condemn acts of torture and state sanctioned
political violence in Zimbabwe.
Medical and legal professional organizations
and nongovernmental organizations both in
Africa and internationally must condemn acts
of torture, state sanctioned political violence
in Zimbabwe, obstruction of access to medical
and legal services for detainees, and
harassment of medical and legal professionals
assisting victims of political violence.
•
•
•
•
Medical and legal organizations in Africa and
internationally, need to support colleagues operating
under duress and use all regulatory and professional
organizing bodies to call for internationally endorsed
standards for legal representation and provision of
medical care.
4. Recommendations to President Mbeki and the
South African Government
President Mbeki must provide strong
leadership in opposing torture and political
violence in Zimbabwe
President Mbeki must use his role as a democratic
leader in the Southern African community to uphold
international standards for opposition of torture
and political violence and promotion of free and fair
elections and basic human rights including a fair
and impartial judiciary and rights of detainees in
Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean victims of torture and political
violence, for whom it is not safe in Zimbabwe,
should be granted political asylum
consistent with the protections of international
law. Appropriate access to medical, mental
health and social services should be ensured
South Africa must provide protection for
Zimbabweans fleeing persecution and political
violence. Given recent events and historical increases
in violence prior to Zimbabwean elections, the South
African Government and refugee organizations should
prepare for an increase in the number of Zimbabwean
victims of torture and political violence. Steps should
be taken to ensure basic and non-discriminatory access
to medical and social services.
•
•
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 5
II. METHODS
Interviews with Primary Sources
In April and May 2007, detailed medical evaluations
of 20 Zimbabweans reporting experiences of torture or
political violence in Zimbabwe since March 11, 2007
were conducted. The evaluations were performed
in Zimbabwe and in South Africa. In addition,
evaluations were conducted with 4 individuals
reporting torture or political violence during the year
preceding March 11, 2007. All respondents continue to
live in fear of further torture or political violence.
Seventy-nine percent of the Zimbabwean victims of
torture and political violence evaluated were male
and 21% were female (see Table 1: Demographic
Information). The mean age was 36 (range: 19-64), and
75% of the individuals were 40 or under. All but two of
the individuals were members of or politically active
with the MDC party. Those active with the MDC party
were primarily local organizers (12) rather than those
working at the national level (6). While many of the
victims were from Harare and Bulawayo, others came
from all parts of Zimbabwe.
Clinical evaluations were performed using established
international guidelines for investigating and
documenting torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.1 Detailed trauma
and medical histories were elicited by interview;
a detailed review of physical and psychological
symptoms was conducted; and physical examinations
were performed. These evaluations were conducted
by two physicians with extensive experience in the
evaluation and treatment of victims of torture and
political violence. Each evaluation took approximately
two hours. Interviews were conducted in English for
22 of the 24 individuals. For two individuals, Shona
interpreters were used.
In addition to clinical interviews, assessment of
psychological symptoms was conducted using
two self-report standardized questionnaires: the
1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights. The Istanbul Protocol. Available at: http://
www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/docs/8rev1.
pdf.; Iacopino V, Allden K, Keller A. Examining Asylum
Seekers. A Health Professional's Guide to Medical and
Psychological Evaluations of Torture. Boston: Physicians for
Human Rights; 2001.
Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25 (HSCL-25)2 and
the post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) portion
of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ).3 The
HSCL-25 is a 25-item self-report scale comprised of
two subscales measuring anxiety and depressive
symptoms. Mean scores over 1.75 for the HSCL-25
identify individuals who are highly symptomatic.
The PTSD portion of the HTQ includes a 16-item scale
developed to quantify severity of PTSD symptoms.
Mean scores over 2.5 on the HTQ are associated with
a clinical diagnosis of PTSD. The HSCL-25 and HTQ
have been used extensively with diverse populations
in studies of trauma, and have been validated against
clinical diagnoses. Eighteen of the 24 victims of torture
and political violence evaluated in this investigation
completed these questionnaires. The remaining six
individuals did not do so because of time limitation.
Definitions Used
Individuals were classified as having been subjected
to torture if the experience(s) they reported was
considered, by the examining physicians, to meet
criteria for torture, as defined in the United Nations
Convention Against Torture.4 Individuals were
classified as having been subjected to political violence
if the experience(s) they reported was considered, by
the examining physicians, to be a violent act as a result
of their political activities or beliefs, but which was not
considered, necessarily, to constitute torture.
2. Derogatis LR, Lipman R, Rickels K, Uhlenhuth EH, Covi
L. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report
symptom inventory. Behavioural Science. 1974;19:1-15.
3. Mollica RF, Caspi-Yavin Y, Bollini P, Truong T, Tor S,
Lavelle J. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: Validating
a cross-cultural instrument for measuring torture, trauma,
and post-traumatic stress disorder in Indochinese refugees.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 1992;180:110-115.
4. United Nations General Assembly. Convention Against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/
english/law/cat.htm. According to the United Nation's
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, torture is defined
as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person
for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person
information or a confession, punishing him for an act he
or a third person has committed or is suspected of having
committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person,
or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when
such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or
with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other
person acting in an official capacity."
6 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
III. BACKGROUND
During late 2006 and the beginning of 2007,
peaceful protests and anti government opposition
in Zimbabwe prompted an upsurge in violent
reactions by the police, resulting in the arrests and
beatings of students, trade union members and
human rights advocates. On September 13, 2006
police arrested and reportedly tortured 15 leaders
and members of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTCU) after they attempted to hold a
peaceful protest concerning the deterioration of
the social and economic conditions in Zimbabwe.1
According to Human Rights Watch, in February
2007, at least 400 civil society activists and
opposition members were arrested for attending
peaceful demonstrations and organizational
meetings.2 On February 21, police imposed a three
month ban on political rallies, claiming that such
rallies would result in violence and a breakdown in
law and order.3
Then, on March 11, 2007, police violently disrupted
a prayer meeting in Highfield organized by a
coalition of civic and religious organizations called
the Save Zimbabwe Campaign. Police used tear gas,
water cannons and live ammunition against the
unarmed crowd.4 One crowd member, Gift Tandare,
was shot and killed. More than 50 others, including
the president of the major opposition party- the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)-Morgan
Tsvangirai, were arrested and reportedly beaten and
tortured. Since then repression in Zimbabwe has
only intensified.
1. Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report 2007.
Available at: http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/
Africa/Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for
Human Rights (ZADHR). Torture and Denial of Access to
Treatment of ZCTU Members. Available at: http://www.
kubatana.net/html/archive/hr/060915zadhr.asp?orgcode=z
im065&year=2006&range_start=1.
2. Human Rights Watch. Bashing Dissent: Escalating Violence
and State Repression in Zimbabwe. May 2007. Available at:
http://hrw.org/reports/2007/zimbabwe0507/.
3. Ibid.
4. Timberg C. Opposition Leaders Arrested in Zimbabwe.
Washington Post. March 12, 2007. Available at: http://www.
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/
AR2007031101520_pf.html
Examples of political violence included:
An unarmed individual being shot at a
demonstration
An individual witnessing someone being
beaten by police
An individual being threatened with arrest if
he/she continues their political activities
Examples of torture included:
An individual repeatedly beaten by police or
groups such as the Youth Militia
An individual threatened with death while in
police custody
Consent Obtained
Individuals verbally consented to be interviewed
and examined and to have the findings publicly
disseminated. No one was compensated for the
interviews or medical examinations. For safety and
privacy, victims are referred to in this report either
with pseudonyms or pseudo-initials.
Sekai Holland, who reported being tortured in
Zimbabwe following March 11, gave permission
for her name to be used. Several individuals who
provided background information requested not to be
identified.
Secondary Sources
In addition to these detailed medical evaluations,
background interviews were conducted with more
than 30 key informants in South Africa and Zimbabwe,
who were approached based on their knowledge
of the situation in Zimbabwe. This included health
professionals, lawyers, human rights advocates and
community organizers, many of whom are working
with non-governmental organizations in Zimbabwe
and South Africa. Individuals who requested
anonymity are not identified.
(See Chapter IX for Risks and Limitations of this
Investigation).
•
•
•
•
•
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 7
According to a report issued by Human Rights Watch:
The arrest and severe beating of these opposition leaders
and civil society activists by police and state security
officers marked a new low in Zimbabwe's seven-year
political crisis. It ignited a new government campaign
of violence and repression against members of the
opposition and civil society-and increasingly ordinary
Zimbabweans-in the capital Harare and elsewhere
through the country._
State-sponsored torture and political violence in
Zimbabwe are calculated to deter opposition in
the run-up to national elections and referenda, and
constitute a major threat to the country's democratic
development. In late March 2007, the "Mbeki
Initiative," was launched by the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) in an effort to
negotiate a resolution to Zimbabwe's eight-year
political and economic crisis. The initiative gave
South African president Thabo Mbeki the role of
facilitating dialogue between President Mugabe's
ZANU-PF government and the opposition MDC.
Useful talks have been marred by continued violence,
with President Mugabe asserting the violence is
government response to "terrorism."6
The report of quick and violent crackdowns on ZCTU
rallies in September and at the prayer rally on March
11th is consistent with a pattern of elevated violence
prior to past elections. Presidential and parliamentary
elections in Zimbabwe were moved forward to March
2008 shortly before the noted escalations in violence.
Additionally the reports from many of the victims
that their torturers are making anti-MDC statements
suggests that a campaign is underway to deter
political activism in the run up to the coming elections.
The current upsurge in state-sponsored violence has
the potential to intimidate and brutalize voter morale
in a country that continues to face severe declines
across all sectors.
Arguably, it is no coincidence that the escalation
in violence occurred precisely one year before
5. Human Rights Watch. Bashing Dissent: Escalating Violence
and State Repression in Zimbabwe. May 2007. Available at:
http://hrw.org/reports/2007/zimbabwe0507/.
6. Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum. Their Words Condemn
them: The Language of Violence, Intolerance and Despotism
in South Zimbabwe. May 2007. Available at: http://www.
hrforumzim.com/frames/inside_frame_special.htm.
the March 2008 Parliamentary and Presidential
elections. This supports the assertion that the torture
and political violence are the result of a deliberate
government policy to frighten into silence anyone
who might be considering supporting the opposition.
President Mugabe and the ruling ZANUPF party
have frequently stated that the opposition is being
supported by foreigners such as London-based groups
in league with the British government invoking
anti-imperialistic rhetoric. For example in interviews
conducted for this report, victims of torture and
political violence described being called "prostitutes of
Tony Blair." The rationale for such rhetoric likely has
far more to do with the internal Zimbabwean politics
than it does with Zimbabwe's relationship with Britain
or other foreign powers.
Torture and political violence results in fear and
terror that disseminates throughout the community
and entire country. In addition to the physical and
psychological impacts on the individual victims, such
torture and political violence sends a chilling message
to others: "Be silent or this could happen to you."
At least 459 cases of human rights violations have been
documented by human rights organizations between
March 11, and May 1, 2007.7 Dr. Douglas Gwatidzo,
Chairman of ZADHR noted the following:
What they are doing is targeting individuals that are
the leaders and organizers and secretaries that organize
groupings. They come in the middle of the night, pick
you up, beat you and leave you there. They don't care
if you die; that is one way they are beating people into
submission. March 11 was the peak, it came down, but
now it is a sustained level. They want people to be aware
if anyone dares oppose the government this is what is
going to happen to you8.
Dr. Reginald Matchaba-Hove of the University of
Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences, a leading public
health expert in Zimbabwe described the current
violence as follows:
7. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwean
Association of Doctors for Human Rights. A Brief Report of
Human Rights Violations in Zimbabwe since March 11 2007.
Submitted to the African Commission on Human and
People's rights, May 2007.
8. Unless otherwise noted all quotes in this report come from
testimony collected by Bellevue/NYU researchers. Precise
interview dates and locations have been omitted for security
reason.
8 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
any threats of violence will be taken seriously by local
populations.
The upsurge in state instigated violence in Zimbabwe
since March 2007 has been documented by several
organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW),9
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights
(ZADHR),10 Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR),11 the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum12 and
Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT),13 a non-governmental
organization registered in South Africa. SPT compiled
information from independent interviews with 414
Zimbabwean victims of human rights abuses during
March, April and May 2007, including targeted
attacks against the leadership of the MDC and the
civic movement in Zimbabwe. In 90% of the attacks
the perpetrators involved government agencies such
as the police and Central Intelligence Organization
(CIO). MDC activists and leaders were frequently
targeted outside of police stations, and at times they
were taken from their homes. Eighty percent of the 414
interviewees in SPT's report had physical injuries, and
in all of these cases corroborating medical evidence
was documented. Soft tissue injuries were particularly
frequent, as were body aches and headaches, sleep
disturbances, anxiety and depression. Thirty percent of
these 414 individuals reported being victims of torture.
Access to necessary medical care for victims of political
violence was also a significant concern following
the events of March 11th. On March 13, 2007 ZADHR
reported:14
9. Human Rights Watch. Bashing Dissent: Escalating Violence
and State Repression in Zimbabwe. May 2007. Available at:
http://hrw.org/reports/2007/zimbabwe0507/.
10. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwean
Association of Doctors for Human Rights. A Brief Report of
Human Rights Violations in Zimbabwe since March 11 2007.
Submitted to the African Commission on Human and
People's rights, May 2007. Also see following website for
several reports/statements relating to political violence since
March 11 2007: http://kubatana.net
11. Ibid.
12. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. http://www.
hrforumzim.com.
13. Solidarity Peace Trust. Destructive Engagement: Violence,
Mediation and Politics in Zimbabwe. Johannesburg, South
Africa: Solidarity Peace Trust. July 10 2007. Available at:
http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org.
14. Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights.
Update on denial of access to treatment of detained activists.
March 13 2007. Available at: http://www.kubatana.net/
It is systematic. It is not random. It is not the use of
torture by police who are overzealous. It is not that there
was a demonstration and things got out of hand and this
is what happened. This is not the case. As we speak now,
there is still a stream of people who are specifically being
targeted.
A Bulawayo-based healthcare worker said:
We are concerned about more violence because the last
time we had any violence—the destruction of homes—it
started from Harare and then came here and it was very
severe. If it happened there, it will happen here. We are
an opposition region. If there is a campaign, it wants to
destroy any opposition. We are bound to suffer from that
violence as well. Because we are a region that has always
been opposed to the government in that manner the
government is likely to destroy us before the elections.
Following the disruption of the peaceful demonstrations
in Harare on March 11, 2007, torture and political
violence has escalated, much of it aimed at prominent
opposition leaders, particularly those affiliated with
the MDC. Several of these leaders, including Sekai
Holland and Grace Kwinje, senior MDC officials, were
evacuated to South Africa for medical care. The political
violence did not stop with these leaders, however,
raising concerns that the government has launched a
methodical campaign to eliminate any trace of political
opposition in Zimbabwe.
A human rights activist observed, "Zimbabwe allows
someone into parliament and then tortures them with
impunity. There hasn't been one single individual
charged."
Dr. Matchaba-Hove, who served as Chairperson of the
Zimbabwe Election Support Network from 2001-April
2007 predicted:
Violence will have a lot of effect on the outcome of the
election. Firstly it is a tool of intimidation. By beating
up people like Tsvangirai they are sending the message
that no one is safe. And when word gets out into the
rural areas that you are not safe, this will have enormous
impact. There is already intimidation in past elections by
local tribal leaders who are loyal to the government—if
you don't vote for the government party you won't get
food aid. The president of the Chief's council Senator
Charumbira went even a step further and said traditional
elders should evict those who vote for the opposition.
So if you go into a situation next year, where you are
already expecting drought, in a hotly contested election,
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 9
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights
condemns the denial of access to medical treatment of
detained opposition and civic leaders that are in need
of urgent medical attention. ZADHR has been denied
access to those concerned since their arrest on the
morning of Sunday 11 March 2007. Denial of access to
treatment continues to violate the rights of those detained
and threatens their lives.
Notwithstanding a High Court order granted at 8:1_pm
on Monday 12 March 2007 compelling the police to
grant legal and medical access to those detained, the
Zimbabwe Republic Police has denied access to the
injured activities in defiance of the court order. Medical
practitioners that attempted to access those in need of
medical treatment on the night of Monday 12 March
following the granting of the court order were denied
access.
ZADHR remains concerned that the condition of those
who sustained injuries as a result of torture and assault
may be worsened by delayed access to medical treatment.
It is crucial that all those in need of medical attention be
transferred to a medical facility that affords them the best
possible medical care immediately.
Medical Organizations in Africa and internationally
have spoken out against human rights abuses in
Zimbabwe in recent months as well as delays in access
to medical care for victims of political violence and
harassment of Zimbabwean doctors assisting these
victims.
In April 2007, the South African Medical Association
issued the following statement:
Recent events of violence and human rights abuse in
Zimbabwe have grabbed the attention of the world press.
As the South African Medical Association (SAMA), we
condemn any form of human rights abuse and cannot
remain silent on such issues," said SAMA Chairperson,
Dr Kgosi Letlape, in response to international headlines
on the Zimbabwe situation.
SAMA has always advocated for the protection and
promotion of human rights, irrespective of individuals'
political affiliations. "The allegations relating to denial of
access to health care are serious since this is a fundamental
html/archive/hr/070313zadhr.asp?orgcode=zim065&year=0
&range_start=1
human right and entitlement of every person," Letlape said.
The Medical Association is aware of the plight of the
people of Zimbabwe not only through media headlines,
but also through the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors
for Human Rights (ZADHR). ZADHR has highlighted
events where doctors in Zimbabwe are being victimised
and prevented from treating political victims of human
rights abuses.
Doctors' autonomy and independence is a firm principle
which is entrenched in national and international
policies, such as the World Medical Association Code
of Medical Ethics and Declaration on Professional
Autonomy and Self Regulation. "The Hippocratic Oath
will not allow us to compromise these principles," Letlape
continued, "and doctors in all countries must be allowed
to treat patients in need of medical attention, and to
practise medicine without the fear of violence."
SAMA, like other National Medical Associations, have
an essential role to play in calling attention to any
human rights violations. Letlape urged, "The United
Nations' Charter and the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights, of which Zimbabwe is a signatory
country, must be upheld."1_
In October 2007, the World Medical Association
(WMA) adopted a resolution on health and human
rights abuses in Zimbabwe which included calling on
its affiliated national medical associations to publicly
denounce all human rights abuses and violations of
the right to health in Zimbabwe, and actively protect
physicians who are threatened or intimidated for
actions which are part of their ethical and professional
obligations. The WMA resolution also encouraged the
Zimbabwean Medical Association (ZiMA) to commit
to eradicating torture and inhumane, degrading
treatment of citizens in Zimbabwe and reaffirm their
support for the clinical independence of physicians.16
Zimbabwean President Mugabe's response to the
torture and political violence following March 11 has
been to attempt to justify it. "If they (protest) again,
we will bash them again," he declared in a speech in
response to the March 11th violence, "We hope they
have learned a lesson. If they have not, they will get
15. South African Medical Association. Press Release: SAMA
speaks out against human rights abuses. April 5 2007
16. World Medical Association. Resolution on Health and
Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe. Adopted by the WMA
General Assembly, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2007.
Available at: http://www.wma.net/e/policy/a29.htm.
10 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
similar treatment," he said later. Regarding the beating
of MDC President Tsvangirai he said: "Yes, I told the
African heads of state he was beaten, but he asked for
it. I told the police, beat him a lot. He and his MDC
must stop their terrorist activities."17
Medical documentation provides corroborating
evidence of torture and abuse.18 A number of
Zimbabwean health professionals have developed
extensive expertise and are internationally recognized
for their work in documenting and caring for victims
of torture and political violence. In mid-April,
ZADHR19 reported that following March 11, 2007, at
least 49 individuals required hospitalization as a result
of injuries from torture and political violence and
an additional 175 individuals had been treated and
discharged. Injuries included soft tissue injuries, head
injuries, fractures and gun shot wounds.20 International
medical organizations, including the International
Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)21 and
Physicians for Human Rights, Denmark22 have also
documented several cases of torture in Zimbabwe in
the past.
Ours is the first investigation of political violence
conducted by international health experts since the
March 11, 2007 prayer meeting. Our findings support
17. Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum. Their Words Condemn
them: The language of Violence, Intolerance and Despotism
in South Zimbabwe. May 2007. Available at: http://www.
hrforumzim.com/frames/inside_frame_special.htm.
18. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights. The Istanbul Protocol. Available at:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/
docs/8rev1.pdf; Iacopino V, Allden K, Keller A. Examining
Asylum Seekers. A Health Professional's Guide to Medical and
Psychological Evaluations of Torture. Boston: Physicians for
Human Rights; 2001.
19. For a complete list of publications/documents prepared
by ZADHR see http://www.kubatana.net/html/sectors/
zim065.asp?like=Z&details=Tel&orgcode=zim065
20. Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights.
Update on Assaults, Torture and Health Rights Violations Since
March 11 2007. April 15 2007. Available at: http://www.
kubatana.net/html/archive/hr/070415zadhr.asp?orgcode=z
im065&year=0&range_start=1.
21. IRCT. Organised Violence in Zimbabwe. June 2000. Available
at: http://www.hrforumzim.com/members_reports/
irct000606/irct000606e8.htm.
22. Physicians for Human Rights, Denmark. The Presidential
Election: 44 days to go. January 2002. Available at: http://
www.solidaritypeacetrust.org/reports/pres_election.pdf.
the assertions of other organizations that there has
been an upsurge in state violence since March 2007.
This report contains credible first-hand testimony from
Zimbabweans who have suffered torture and political
violence since March 2007 and provides evidence
that the Zimbabwean government is systematically
deploying torture and violence as a means of deterring
political opposition, with devastating consequences for
health and human rights.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 11
IV. TRAUMA EXPERIENCED
BY INVESTIGATION
PARTICIPANTS
Nature of Traumatic Events
Experienced
All 24 of the victims reported a history of torture/
political violence within the past year. Twenty (83%)
had experienced torture/political violence on or
since March 11, 2007 (See Table 2: History of Political
Violence/Torture). More than half (63%) reported
experiencing torture/political violence prior to March
2007 as well. All reported a substantial fear of further
violence in the period after March 11, 2007.
Individuals interviewed reported having been
subjected to a number of different forms of physical
torture/abuse (See Chapter V), most commonly
beatings with fists, kicking with boots, or beatings
with objects (shambocks, whips, gun butts). One
particularly common form of torture was falanga--
beatings on the soles of the feet.
Other physical forms of torture/abuse reported
included being shot; stabbed with knives or other
sharp objects; having food, water and basic medical
care withheld; being forced into contact with urine,
feces, and sewage; and being subjected to electrical
shocks.
Individuals also reported a variety of psychological
abuses including verbal abuse, threats to themselves
and their loved ones, and humiliations such as being
forced to undress or drink urine.
Commonly reported perpetrators of torture/political
violence included the police, members of the Central
Intelligence Organization (CIO), "War Veterans," and
ZANU-PF Youth. More than half of the individuals
interviewed (63%) reported having been jailed because
of their political activities. Another 21% reported
a history of being abducted by groups, such as the
Central Intelligence Organization, ZANU-PF Youth,
and War Veterans (see Table 3: Trauma History,
and Chapter V). All of the individuals who were
imprisoned or abducted reported a history of torture.
Health Consequences of Torture/
Political Violence Experienced
All 24 of the individuals examined had clear,
corroborating physical evidence of their torture/abuse.
All continued to suffer from significant physical and
psychological symptoms as a result of their torture/
abuse (See Table 3 and Chapter VI).
In addition to clinical interviews, profound
psychological distress was confirmed by standardized
psychological measures (the Harvard Trauma
Questionnaire for posttraumatic stress disorder
–PTSD- and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25
for depression and anxiety). These measures were
completed by 18 of the 24 individuals evaluated.
Eighty nine percent reported substantial symptoms
of anxiety, 83% reported substantial symptoms of
depression and 76% reported substantial symptoms of
PTSD (See Tables 4 and 5 and Chapter VI).
Many injuries led to persistent pain that was
aggravated by delayed or inadequate access to
healthcare (See Chapter VII).
Among the 15 individuals who were jailed, 7 reported
significant delays in receiving needed medical care
while in custody, and 6 reported being denied legal
services while in custody (see Chapter VII).
12 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
V. STATE SPONSORED
TORTURE AND VIOLENCE
AFTER MARCH 11
Since the events of March 11, 2007, the Zimbabwean
government has brutally and systematically sought
to suppress political opposition with state sponsored
torture and political violence. This was confirmed
in detailed medical/forensic evaluations of 24
Zimbabwean victims of torture and political violence
as well as in interviews with non governmental
organizations, human rights advocates and health
professionals. The violence is targeted not only at
prominent leaders of the political opposition but at
ordinary citizens as well.
Under Zimbabwe's own constitution torture is
illegal.1 Article 15 of the Zimbabwean Constitution
states: "No person shall be subjected to torture or
to inhuman or degrading punishment or other such
treatment." Additionally, Zimbabwe is a signatory
to a number of international treaties, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the African Charter on Human and People's
Rights that forbid torture and other cruel inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.2
Political Violence and the Events of
March 11
On March 11, 2007, the MDC held a prayer meeting in
Highfield, just outside Harare. The following accounts
relate to the subsequent torture and political violence
perpetrated against individuals who attended the
prayer meeting.
1. Constitution of Zimbabwe, Articles 15. Available at:
http://www.kubatana.net/docs/legisl/constitution_zim_
070201.doc
2. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. res. 2200A (XX1), 21 U.N.
GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A.6316 (1966), 999
U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force March 23, 1976, acceded to
by Zimbabwe, May 13, 1991, Article 7; African Charter on
Human and People's Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU doc.
CAB/LEG/67/3rev.5.21.l.LM.58 (1982), entered into force
October 21, 1986, ratified by Zimbabwe in 1986, Article 5.
The case of KF
KF, an MDC leader and organizer of the March 11 rally
described the scene as follows:
Unfortunately before the prayer meeting could start,
we saw police details all over the place. They ordered
us to disperse, claiming we are not coming for a prayer
meeting but a political meeting. As we resisted, they
started beating us. They indiscriminately started beating
people with clubs, using tear gas. Then there were some
water cannons. So there was confusion all over the place.
KF described subsequent indiscriminate shooting
by police, including witnessing MDC member, Gift
Tandare, shot and killed:
They started firing live ammunition into the crowd.
Eventually, they shot Gift Tandare in front of me. I tried
to help him but it was too late. From then, I could see that
he was dead. I called his name, but he could not respond.
I told my other colleagues that our friend has died.
When KF learned that MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai had been arrested and beaten, he went to
the police station where Mr. Tsvangirai was being held:
When I asked why the president was being beaten, I
was also beaten severely [by police] with sticks, the
butt of the gun, and kicked with boots. As they beat
me they said 'We are beating you for trying to unseat
the government.' We were detained there overnight,
myself and the others. Then the following day we were
transferred to the Harare Central Police Station. Then
we were again tortured, this time by members of CIO
(Central Intelligence Organization). They were in plain
clothes. We were in their office at the time. This time,
they beat me in my genitals, with a small rubber stick.
I was ordered to remove all of my clothes. They beat me
and wanted me to testify on other plans that the MDC
was engaging in.
While he was in custody, KF was blindfold and
forced to drink a liquid that he thinks was urine.
Subsequently, KF was released without any charge.
KF also described three previous severe beatings
related to his political activities. Following his most
recent beating, KF continued to suffer from frequent
headaches. He also noted decreased hearing in one of
his ears, having injured his ear when he was thrown
against a wall. Physical examination revealed multiple
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 13
scars consistent with the events he described. This
included several well-healed thin linear scars from
the stab wounds, as well as multiple scars on his back
and a smooth indented scar on his left anterior lower
leg, consistent with an injury from being kicked. A
perforation in his left tympanic membrane (ear drum)
was noted and hearing in his left ear is decreased
compared to the right.
Fearing for his safety, KF remained in hiding following
his most recent abuse. Government authorities
continued to come to his house looking for him:
They threatened my family, almost on a daily basis. They
came to investigate trying to find out my whereabouts.
They said to my wife if she was not going to reveal my
whereabouts, they would arrest her, until I surrendered
myself to the police.
KF suffered from a number of psychological
symptoms of depression and post traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) including feelings of sadness,
difficulty sleeping and frequent nightmares. He is
intensely worried about his family:
The trouble that my family is facing is very upsetting
to me. I am the provider for the family. In nightmares,
I imagine being beaten again in the police cells. I think
about it a lot when I am awake too.
The case of RP
RP is another victim of the political violence on March
ll. RP is a 35 year old male who works for the MDC
and who described being with Morgan Tsvangirai
when he went to a police station to visit other MDC
supporters who had been arrested:
When we had arrived, we were outside the police
station and we were mobbed by police officers, who
were shouting vulgar words at the MDC president.
Because they were advancing toward us we ran into the
police station.... we saw all the other MDC supporters
and civic organizers. They were all lying down and
being beaten, including Sekai Holland, Grace Kwinje,
Tendai Biti (the Secretary General), Nelson Chamisa
the Information and Publicity officer for the MDC,
and Lovemore Maduku the Chairman of the National
Constitutional Assembly. They were all lying down face
down being beaten by many police officers. I saw this
with my own eyes. They were using all sorts of weapons
like shambocks (whips), sticks and some metal iron bars.
When we arrived there, Mr. Tsvangirai was told to lie
down. He was forced to lie down. And immediately before
he lied down, a female police officer started to beat him,
and the rest joined in. They said 'You are the leader of
these people and we want you to tell Blair and George
Bush to remove the sanctions and to tell them they must
leave Zimbabwe alone.'
Subsequently RP was beaten himself:
They started beating me all over my body. They beat
me on the head, on the ribs on the shoulder-everywhere
all over the body, with the sticks iron bars, some were
jumping on my ribs to the extent that I passed out 3
times. Then they told me, 'You must go and tell the
MDC supporters that the only president is Mugabe.
Tsvangirai is not the president.'
Violence Against MDC Members and Local
Organizers: The Cases of CJ and SP
Violence on March 11 was directed at local MDC
organizers and ordinary citizens in addition to
prominent MDC leaders. For example, CJ, a thirty
year old woman and an MDC member who holds no
position with the MDC, was with a group of people
planning to attend the public prayer service when she
was arrested.
We were taken by the police to the Highfield police
station. They were accusing us of being Tony Blair's
people and they wanted the money given by Tony Blair.
I was hit all over the body. I was lying down on the
ground. They would beat you harder if you cried out. I
was beaten with iron bars, batons and open hands. After
one hour we were taken to Central police station. I was
already in great pain. We spent all day at Central police
station. I was not beaten there.
Subsequently, CJ was taken to another police station
where she was held for 3 days.
Then they were shouting at us there 'What do you get
from Morgan Tsvangirai?' We were not given water or
food for 3 days... We were in separate cells. I asked for
food, and they said 'No you are not given food.' There
was no bed, I slept on the floor. I was in great pain. I had
pain all over my body. There were no blankets. I wished I
would just die because I was in such pain.
In addition to suffering pain, CJ also described having
blisters on her legs and bruises on her back from the
beatings. At the time of evaluation, CJ continued to
14 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
suffer from pain in her legs and difficulty walking.
She had lost 10kg. She described feelings of
fearfulness, difficulty sleeping and concentrating
and frightening memories of her abuse. She
appeared numb and demoralized with slow, weak
speech and gestures, avoidant eye contact and
slouched posture. She provided limited details or
spontaneous expression during the interview and
presented as profoundly depressed:
I still have the memories of what happened, especially
when I see police. I am afraid. I have nightmares
nearly every night about what happened in the police
station. I am crying. Whenever I hear footsteps
outside, I feel scared, and I jump. When I was in the
cells, I felt the death spirit. That thought still comes
back to me.
Physical examination confirmed the beatings she
described. Multiple linear hyperpigmented (i.e.
darker than the surrounding skin) scars were
present on her back. She had multiple nodular scars
on her legs and a prominent scar on her left leg at
the site of her skin graft. Her gait was somewhat
unsteady, and she had difficulty bearing weight on
her left leg.
Another MDC member, SP, who is a local MDC
organizer, was also arrested on March 11. Prior
to March 2007, SP had been arrested and tortured
approximately 10 times. On March 11, 2007, SP was
arrested near Highfield along with several other
MDC members:
We were taken to Harare Central Police Station. Then
they started questioning us. They took me to a back
room and they came with the electric cords, and put
the cord on my penis and shocked me for a second. I
never received such a pain especially on my penis. It
was terrible. They were saying 'Why were you going
to the rally? Who authorized you to do?' They shocked
me two times. They didn't beat me so much, but the
electricity was very painful.
SP remained in jail for 3 days. Before being released,
SP was ordered to pay a fine for inciting people to
attend the rally, which SP noted had been allowed
by the Zimbabwean High Court. Subsequently,
SP reported he had learned that the CIO had been
looking for him and other local leaders on suspicion
of being involved in petrol bombings of police
stations, which he denied:
They arrested more than 12 activists and they are still in
prison. After they put them in prison, they tortured those
guys. We saw pictures of them in the court and we saw
the pictures they had blood and swollen heads...They are
torturing and making sure you won't do anything. In the
past- in 2000- I was forced to sign an affidavit, putting
allegations on myself-like beating police officers. They
were not truthful.
Fearing for his safety SP fled to South Africa:
If I go back they will definitely arrest and torture me. If
they arrest me, they will definitely torture me until I say
what they want me to say-that we were doing all of those
activities-I wasn't doing any of that.
SP described experiencing chronic pain in his right leg
and hand since they were broken by police in incidents
when he was arrested prior to 2007. He also frequently
experienced headaches. He was haunted by memories
of his trauma:
I have bad dreams especially these days. It is terrible
I dream about all the people being beaten. I feel very
nervous. I am afraid even of my shadow walking in the
street.
I'm very worried for my family. They can do anything.
Last time they beat my wife, she had a miscarriage. I
haven't been able to communicate with my family. What
they are doing is trying to put people who are influential
in prison so they can't do anything and then beat them.
When I was arrested, in March, they said 'We will make
sure that you never lead this country because you never
went to war.'
On physical examination, SP was found to have
a scar on his forehead and a well healed smooth
elliptical hyperpigmented scar on the back of his right
wrist consistent with the history of the beatings he
described.
Violence by Perpetrators Other Than the
Police: The Case of YD
Police were by no means the only ones perpetrating
violence on March 11. YD, a 29 year old male who
worked in the national MDC office was stopped by
police at a road block en route to the prayer rally at
Highfield. He was subsequently turned over by the
police to members of the Youth militia:
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 15
When we got there the roads were sealed and the police
were beating people with baton sticks and the butt of
the guns. I saw this. We were stopped by police officers
and then taken by guys in civilian clothes. One of them
showed us an official card of the youth militia and asked
if I had one (he did not). I was handcuffed by the police
with my hands behind my back the moment I was taken
from the roadblock. The police put the handcuffs on and
turned me over to the youth group.
Subsequently, YD was taken by the 6 men in civilian
clothes to the Southerton police station:
They had guns. Then they made us stay outside the police
station, and waiting for a vehicle. Then we were taken in
a vehicle to another place. I was blindfolded. They were
shouting telling me, 'You are going to meet Tsvangirai in
hell. Tsvangirai is also dying. Tsvangirai is being beaten
right now, who are you? We understand Tsvangirai is
causing trouble, we have been given information that you
have been trained to fight the government, and it was
part of the strategy to destabilize the country. Therefore
you are a sellout for Tsvangirai.'
At the second location, YD was placed alone in a room.
He was forced to remove all his clothing except his
underwear. His blindfold was removed, but his hands
were still cuffed behind his back. Then he was beaten:
They hit me with the baton sticks all over my body,
including my shoulders and on the bottom of my feet. I
was very weak. They said, 'This person won't talk, we
must try some other means.' They said, 'Do you know
what is torture?' A woman came into the room. She said
'I am a mother-I can't accept this kind of beating.' They
put my head inside her dress and said 'What do you see?'
I said I can't see anything. They kept saying 'Why are
you saying nothing?' and kept beating me, so I said I can
see red pants. Then the lady hit me very hard across my
face and said 'You are telling people what I am wearing.'
YD was told that his torturers had information about
him and his family, including where his parents lived
and that his sister was a government employee. He
reported that his sister had previously been harassed
at work as a result of his activities. He was told that if
he gave them information about the MDC, he and his
family would not be hurt. Otherwise, they would be
harmed:
They told me the name of my father, my mother, and
where my sister worked. They said we know everything
about your family. So you must know your life is really
shit, either for you or your family. If you don't tell us
what we want to know –they wanted to know about the
MDC and what it was planning.
Subsequently YD was hit on the head and lost
consciousness:
The next thing that I remember, I woke up. I was lying
along the road outside of Harare. I was now wearing
my clothes. I was soaked with blood. I suspect that they
thought I was dead. Somebody who was driving along the
road shook me and I woke up. They told me I am badly
injured. I looked at my clothes. I could feel too much pain
from my head and I had a very big wound.
YD described significant difficulty obtaining medical
care for his head wound. (See Chapter VII)
Subsequently, he learned that authorities were looking
for him:
My [relative] got a message that there were some people
at my place looking for me and wanting to arrest me
saying I was involved in the violence and part of the
people who had dropped petrol bombs [on police stations].
But I was being beaten by those people at the time when
the bombing happened.
Fearing for his safety, YD decided to leave for South
Africa. His family was also living in hiding. "I sent
them to the rural area because their life was in danger.
We couldn't stay together."
After his beatings, YD continued to suffer from
frequent headaches, chronic dizziness, poor vision
and back pain. He also experienced psychological
symptoms including difficulty sleeping, frequent
nightmares and feeling easily startled.
On physical examination, he had several well healed
scars on his back and legs consistent with the beatings
he described. There was point tenderness over the
lumbosacral region (lower back). On the left posterior
aspect of his skull was a large open ulceration (6 1⁄2
centimeter by 4 centimeters), with granulation tissue.
Violence Against Women
Five of the victims of torture and political violence
whom we interviewed were women. This is consistent
with other recent reports of state-sponsored gender
based violence in Zimbabwe. For example, in a July
16 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
2007 report by Solidarity Peace Trust3 presenting
information on 414 Zimbabwean victims of political
violence in March, April and May 2007, 24% were
women. A recent report by Amnesty International4
also highlighted the increasing number of women
subjected to torture and violence as a result of their
political activities.
Noted Zimbabwean public health expert, Dr.
Matchaba-Hove:
Women have been turning out in larger numbers for
leadership positions in the opposition. Women have
been able to reach across the political divide to deal
with issues not only pertaining to the representation
of women in governance, but also on how to resolve
the crisis in Zimbabwe. My guess is that there is a
sense that some of these women have been the key in
mobilizing for the opposition; so disable them and the
opposition is significantly affected.
The following two cases illustrate such gender based
violence.
The case of Sekai Holland_
Sekai Holland is a 64-year old woman in baseline
good health who is a prominent MDC leader. She is
active in her district and nationally in party politics,
strategy, and activism including the prayer meeting
scheduled for March 11th. She reported careful
planning on the part of party leaders on how to use
non-violent techniques to critique the ZANU-PF
government. Party leadership agreed to be present
and risk being jailed at the demonstration. She
explained, "The Women's Assembly met and said
we must find a strategy to lead any function we have
where there is bashing up."
3. Solidarity Peace Trust. Destructive Engagement: Violence,
Mediation and Politics in Zimbabwe. Johannesburg, South
Africa: Solidarity Peace Trust. July 10, 2007. Available at:
http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org.
4. Amnesty International. Zimbabwe. Between a rock and a hard
place-women human rights defenders at risk. July 2007. Available
at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR460172
007?open&of=ENG-ZWE
5. Ms. Holland was interviewed for this report in her
hospital room in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 26,
2007
So we met on March 11 at the YMCA. As we got out,
the militia was coming to the YMCA. They were going
in, we were going out. When we got to Highfield, the
police told us not to come. But we agreed to have a prayer
meeting. So we told the police we are going to have a
prayer meeting.
Police then arrested them before the prayer meeting
had begun:
So we were made to lie down in an L shape. There were
about 60 of us, and the militia started to beat us up...
There was one woman with boots who was jumping on
the women. She made a hole on me which required plastic
surgery. She was calling us prostitutes of Tony Blair.
Ms. Holland described that once Morgan Tsvangirai
had arrived the police began calling their names and
torturing them individually:
I got up, and when I was called there were _ men...
and I was standing in the center, and each was holding
a different instrument, and several men hit me. I said,
why are you hitting me? They said, you are Tony Blair's
prostitute...When we got out I was hit on the back. And
they said, 'hit her on the buttocks a lot.' When I got into
the charge office, they kept beating me. So I went out
of the charge office being hit on the back and hit on the
front. I had this done to me three times. A woman said
'sit there.' Several men came to hit me.
They had broken my glasses and my watch. They said,
'Do you want these? I took the glasses and put them in
my shoes. They said, 'She is still using her hands.' And
so now they were breaking my left hand. And then we
were told to go. [Someone] said, 'I think you have broken
your feet.'
At this point a large truck arrived to carry the
arrested activists. When some younger demonstrators
attempted to help Ms. Holland to the truck, they were
beaten. "[The police] made us lie down on the truck,
face down. It was very hot, it was late afternoon.
People started to vomit. I had diarrhea. All of us were
bleeding."
The arrested were taken to a central police station:
Before, I felt the first strike. After that I didn't feel any
pain in my body. They made me lie on the grass. Holding
the grass gave me comfort. What I remember is this
multistory building. Police lined every window. There
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 17
was not one smile, they were all very grim. They were
very upset.
The prisoners were then transported to various police
stations. Ms. Holland made an effort to be dropped
at the first station because she felt so ill. "At every
station they took off a CIO (Central Intelligence
Organization officer). They went to different police
stations, dropping different people off." At the jail she
requested to use the toilet. "I knew if we were not to
be killed this was the time to drink a lot of water and
wash myself."
We were then taken into the cell. [Another prisoner] was
so shocked by my condition. She took from the prison
blankets and cleaned me. A woman dragged me and got
me something to drink... In the morning, she went to
court; I was left alone.
Ms. Holland said the police in the jail spoke to her
saying, "You know how you were injured you fell
from the truck." She remained in a lice-infested cell for
3 days before she was brought to court with the others.
There, lawyers insisted that the injured prisoners be
brought to the hospital for treatment.
Initially only a select few were to be taken to the
hospital but Morgan Tsvangirai refused to go unless
they were all taken for evaluation of their injuries.
Ultimately Ms. Holland and Mr. Tsvangirai required
treatment in the Intensive Care Unite. Ms. Holland
had a broken arm, a broken leg, several broken ribs,
and severe soft tissue injury to a hand. She required
surgical treatment of the leg fracture and ultimately
her doctors recommended transfer to a South African
hospital. In Johannesburg she had three additional
operations including skin grafts and additional rods
placed in her broken leg. She required transfer to a
rehabilitation facility given the severity of her injuries
and length of her hospital stay.
During her hospitalization in South Africa Ms.
Holland reported having plain-clothes CIO visit her
room looking for another Zimbabwean victim. She
described fearfulness and insomnia from then on. "I
had to sleep with the buzzer beside my head."
Ms. Holland described symptoms of numbing,
insomnia, and hyperarousal. "I know I should be
angry, scared but I can't feel anything." She appeared
physically tired but alert and agitated. She was afraid
to be left alone.
Ms. Holland began the interview by stating, "The
MDC has finally realized if we shut our eyes, the
world will go to sleep and we will all die." When
asked if she planned to return to Zimbabwe she said,
"I want to get well. I left my house to go to a prayer
meeting. The worst would be if they beat me and I
never went back."
The case of DR
DR is a 62 year old woman who holds a district-
level administrative position in the MDC party.
Approximately 1 week after the March 11 prayer rally,
she was arrested along with approximately 10 other
women while visiting her daughter who had been
injured in the March 11th events:
We were ambushed and police started firing bullets
into the air outside the house. We told the police we
had come to see [my] injured daughter. Two young
kids [who were in the vicinity] ran away and they beat
up one young boy with bare hands. They were beating
the kid up saying you should tell where the rest of the
women live. We were forced into [a truck] and driven
to the police station. Several attempted to jump from
the truck and were beaten up. One woman fell on her
face.
DR was taken to a police station without being given
any explanation for their arrest:
We obeyed what they said, we were very afraid because
the police had guns and batons. We were all put in a
holding cell, 11 of us, two with children on our backs,
there was no light it was dark. Some of the women who
had been beaten up were crying...No one slept, we were
sitting on the floor and there was nowhere to sleep.
She described being taken for interrogation one at a
time and hearing the screams of other women before
being taken in for her own interrogation. "They told
us they would beat us and use electricity, the woman
returned so badly beaten she could not stand on her
own."
Of her own interrogation DR said:
After they could not get any information from me they
began beating the bottom of my feet with a baton, I
tried to escape by going under a table and they beat
my back and bottom with a baton. They were accusing
me of bombing one of the police stations and if I
18 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
didn't give enough information they were going to use
electricity on me. I was very afraid and I thought I was
going to die. It was extremely painful I could not walk
on my feet I could not sit I was actually crawling when
they ordered me to go back.
Three days after being arrested, DR and the other
women were released with the assistance of an
attorney who had previously been prevented from
meeting with them (see Chapter VII). They were
required to pay an admission of guilt fine, even
though, "The police could not give a reason why we
were arrested, just following orders."
DR was subsequently taken to a local clinic where she
was treated for swollen, painful feet and lacerations
on the back and buttocks. She said she could not sit
or walk with swelling persisting for about a week.
She continued to experience pain in her back and
under her feet when walking. She also reported
several weeks of crying and "constant fear they would
come back" that has now subsided. She continued to
have difficulty sleeping with occasional nightmares
and flashbacks and frequent chest pain believed to
be anxiety. She said, "There was one hole to use as
a toilet and since then I have lost my appetite. My
clothes don't fit anymore."
On physical examination over one month after her
abuse, she had a resolving large bruise over the right
buttock and bilateral tender soles of her feet with
residual swelling. Her symptoms of acute stress had
improved which she attributed to avoiding thoughts
of the beating and relying on support from church. She
remarked, "I feel very beat up because I was beaten up
for no apparent reason."
Violence and the Funeral of Gift
Tandare
Political violence continued at the funeral of MDC
member, Gift Tandare, who was shot and killed by
police at the March 11 prayer meeting. Several of those
interviewed reported being victims of violence while
gathering to attend his funeral.
The case of KP
KP, a male in his 20s who is active as a local organizer
in the MDC Party, was one of the individuals injured
following Gift Tandare's death. He was with a crowd
of people gathering outside of Tandare's home for
his funeral when police arrived. "The police started
beating people," KP told us:
As I tried to run away, I was shot in the arm. Another
guy next to me was shot on the ankle. The police just
arrived and didn't give any warning. They started
hitting people with sticks and then started shooting and
people started running away.
As KP fled the scene a bullet grazed his arm. He
sought medical care and his wound was cleaned and
bandaged. Subsequently, he returned to the home
where the funeral was. "It was safer to go to the
funeral than stay at home, because I know the police
were already looking for me. I was scared to go home.
I still don't go home."
KP described the following:
I went back to the funeral, the police came back late in
the evening. Again the police started beating people and
shouting 'What are you doing? Just go away.' So the
people started running away. As I am starting to move, I
just tried to run away. I was shot twice in the same arm.
One of the bones was coming out of my skin.
KP had been shot a second time. He required several
operations in the ensuing weeks. He continued
to have significant weakness in the fingers of the
twice-injured arm. Physical examination confirmed
decreased strength and sensation in several of his
fingers.
KP described frequent nightmares (1-2 times per
week) about the events of his and Tandare's shooting.
"I have nightmares about what happened, and when
I am awake I think a lot about it. If somebody drops a
bottle I jump and am easily startled." He said he slept
on average only 1-2 hours per night. He appeared
relaxed except when discussing the memories of
being shot and chased, when he suddenly appeared
withdrawn, tense and moody. His fluctuations in
mood and reported hyperarousal were consistent
with signs of PTSD.
The case of GK
GK is a male in his 40's who serves as a local District
MDC organizer. He described being beaten while
attending Gift Tandare's funeral:
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 19
The police came with a truck and I still remember there
were police with guns and other with baton sticks. As
they approached where we were, they started shooting
into the people. I saw one man shot. He was running
away. He was not doing anything to threaten the police
in any way.
Many people ran away. For the approximately 20 who
remained, GK described the following:
The police ordered us to lie down on the ground and
started beating us. The beatings were so vigorous. They
would hit the head and the chest, using police boots,
baton sticks and gun butts. We were lying face down,
and most of the injuries happened when we were lying
down. The beatings continued for about 30 minutes. The
police were yelling 'What do you want here?'
Over the subsequent days GK continued to
experience pain, particularly in his left thumb, which
he subsequently learned was broken and required
surgery.
GK described difficulty sleeping and is haunted by
recurrent memories and nightmares of his beatings. "I
dream of bad things, those things that happened to me
keep coming back."
I am very very sad, this is my own country. The
government should be protecting me. If they are going
to torture us you don't feel safe. Not at all. They come
to your home. They come to your workplace. They come
to your hospital. I feel sad every day. The injury on my
thumb reminds me of the danger. I'm always looking to
see if I'm being watched. I try not to think about what
happened, but I can't help it.
On physical examination GK had multiple linear scars
on his back, legs and buttocks consistent with the
trauma he described. An x ray, which GK had in his
possession, showed surgical clips in his left thumb,
and an old fracture noted in the thumb.
Continued, Targeted Political
Violence
Violence continued in the weeks following the events
of March 11 and the funeral of Gift Tandare. Several
individuals noted their perception of more systematic
and sustained levels of violence continuing after
March 11. One MDC leader, LG, who was arrested, on
March 11 and severely beaten stated:
In the previous episodes, the government would react and
then stop. But now it is systematic. They've got a list6
and they are following up so they will go to your own
place even in the rural areas where you are. This time
it's much more systematic. It's more thorough. They are
leaving no stone unturned.
Before he was released 3 days later police warned LG
to stop his political activities:
They said 'We know everything that is happening in the
MDC. We know which meetings you have attended.'
And they said 'If you are going to come back here for any
other charge you will regret it.'
JT, an MDC member was arrested while attending the
funeral of Gift Tandare, who was shot and killed at the
March 11 prayer meeting. At the time of his arrest JT
was hit by a police officer who shouted at him: 'You
assholes think that (MDC President) Morgan will rule
this country. We are going to finish you all.'
Any association with the MDC, real or perceived,
meant the risk of assault or worse by police or
other government operatives. Lawyers observed a
shift in methods of detention and torture toward
more frequent arrests, attacks on lower level rank
and file members of the opposition, a more chaotic
manner of detention including late night arrests
and frequent transfers of victims from police station
to police station, as well as numerous charges of
terrorism. Otto Saki, an attorney with Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) noted:
What has been of concern to us as late, the acts
of torture being carried out is systematic. The
individuals becoming the victims of torture at first
were the high profile individuals. And now they are
going for the middle layer, the individual on the
ground...If you are going to target the lower level
key players, you are weakening the structure (of the
6. Reports of such lists have appeared in several on-line
Zimbabwean news forums. Ncube B. Tsvangirai tops
fresh hit list. ZimOnline. April 19, 2007. Available at: www.
zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1246; Staff Writer.
Exposed! Mugabe's hit list. ZimDaily.Com. April 5, 2007.
Available at:
http://www.zimdaily.com/news/117/
ARTICLE/1529/2007-04-05.html.
20 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
political opposition). The core of the (MDC) party is
not in the leadership but in the core structure.
At present you have all these acts of torture being
carried out by the police and soldiers. It might even
give ZANU-PF the excuse to say these things are
being carried out in the day-to-day enforcement of
security. To them it's a way of saying they wash
their hands of involvement. That's our fear, within
ZANU-PF. They try on state sanctioned violence and
give that excuse that it is prosecution, but really its
persecution.
On March 20, 2007, Harvest House, the MDC
headquarters was raided by the police. CF, who is
involved in political organizing in his province, was
at Harvest House at the time of the raid:
They came in and took everyone who was there. About
300 people were arrested, including tenants there. We
were taken to the Central Police Station in Harare
and we were beaten thoroughly.
CF subsequently was able to escape, and fearing
for his safety went into hiding. RP, who visited
Harvest House shortly after the raid, described the
following:
I went into Harvest House, and I saw all the
destruction they had done there--destroying
computers, destroying party documents. The doors in
the office were all broken off. Everything was turned
upside down, and they took whatever documents they
saw there including birth certificates and passports.
And then I learned they were looking for me.
They arrested most of the workers at Harvest House,
many who are still in detention right now. And when
they raided Harvest House, they arrested the MDC
youth who were there and they beat them up at the
Harare police station. And it is there that they alleged
that some of the youth were being trained to make
petrol bombs. That is what the police are saying and
they have been forced to sign some affidavits that they
are involved in terrorist activities in Zimbabwe. But
we know it is false. These are being engineered by the
police. And then from there, they started looking for
me.
The following individual cases all took place during
this period following March 11 and the Tandare
funeral.
The case of FL
FL is a 25-year old man who is a member of the MDC
and works in a shop. In mid-March he and about
ten fellow employees were attacked by police while
closing up.
We were about 7 boys and 3 girls, including the
manager; they were riot police. We were trying to explain
to them we were closing, we are at work, but they just
didn't listen and were beating us with baton sticks, while
others were watching us with guns.
FL believed he was attacked because his workplace
is owned by an MDC member. During the attack,
the police said, "We know people at your shops are
MDC."
FL and several other employees were injured. "My
nose was bleeding and my left leg had a wound, and
my left hand was in severe pain." He reported that
they were afraid to go to the hospital because they
had heard CIO were looking for the injured at the
government hospitals. He went home and did not
return to work or seek medical attention for a week
because he was afraid and it was painful to walk:
I was very afraid even up to now. The police told us if
we told anyone the story they would track us down. So I
didn't go for help until the 20th because I couldn't walk.
When FL finally saw a doctor he was found to have a
broken hand requiring an operation to pin the bones.
At the time of our evaluation, his right ankle remained
swollen and painful. He appeared frightened and
had large fading bruises on his upper left thigh and
left calf. He had a raised healing scar on his left shin,
his right ankle was tender and had limited range of
motion due to pain. His hand remained in a bandage
post-surgery. He complained of trouble concentrating,
difficulty making decisions, fatigue, sadness and
anxiety. He showed poor grooming, poor eye contact,
and had evidence of ruminating, hopeless thinking
indicative of depression.
FL concluded the examination by explaining that he
couldn't decide whether or not to take his case to high
court because he was afraid he would be brought to
prison. He considered leaving the country to be the
safest option.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 21
Complicity of CIO, War Veterans, and
ZANU-PF Youth post March 11
In addition to police, groups frequently cited as
targeting individuals for political violence with
impunity following March 11th included the Central
Intelligence Organization (CIO), ZANU-PF war
veterans, and members of the ZANU-PF youth.7 In
many cases these groups were working directly with
the police.
The case of VM
VM, a 45-year old male, is an MDC organizer in his
District. Before March 2007, he was in good health
without physical or psychological problems. On March
11, he traveled from his city to Harare to participate in
the prayer rally. When he saw the violence there, he
turned around and returned home. Several days later
members of the CIO came to his home:
They knew who I was. They said come with us, they
didn't say why. There were 4 of them. They took me to
the (local) police station. On the way to the police station,
they stopped the vehicle, they took me to the bush, and
they beat me very hard all over my body, with fists and
sticks and boots. As they beat me they said 'You are the
one causing trouble. You cause the violence.' They said
they know me as an MDC organizer. They hit me on my
head and all over my body.
They had tied my hands with rope in the back of my arm
when they stopped the vehicle. Then they put me back
in the car, and drove to the central police in Bulawayo.
When they put me in the cell they said they would sort
me out. In the morning they took me to another office
and they continued to beat me. I was lying down on the
ground. There were 6 men and they were hitting me with
baton sticks. They said they were beating me because I
am a member of the MDC and that I had to resign from
the party.
7. While members of organizations such as the ZANU-PF
youth may wear characteristic uniforms, (e.g. ZANU-PF
youth often wear green military fatigues and are thus known
as "green bombers) community members in Zimbabwe are
typically aware of political affiliations i.e. who is a member
of which organization. This was confirmed in background
interviews with members of nongovernmental organizations
as well as in the interviews with victims of torture/political
violence. When an individual was unsure of who their
abusers were, this is stated.
Subsequently, VM was returned to a prison cell where
he remained for 3 days and was then released. He
was never formally charged with any crime. While
imprisoned, he was given food, but did not receive any
medical care for his injuries.
Abductions of the type described by VM were
reported by 5 of the 24 victims interviewed for this
report. All were known or suspected of being active
with the MDC.
The case of PG
PG is a 31-year old male who is a local MDC party
officer. PG had been arrested several times since 1999
because of his work as a local counselor for the MDC:
If anything happened in the area, I was arrested.
Always when arresting you they are threatening and
intimidating you and discouraging you from doing your
political activities. Sometimes they would say 'You will
die for nothing, you are too young, why don't you pursue
your private life and get out of politics- it is a dangerous
game.' This was said to me by the police. Sometimes I
was beaten but not too badly.
PG was abducted in late March after attending Gift
Tandare's memorial service:
I was in my friend's car and we decided to stop at a local
shopping center. My friend went out and was looking
for some things. When he came back, we saw a group of
men in civilian clothes surround our vehicle, and they
were calling out my name. They knew who I was. Then
they forcibly removed me from the car. There were about
10 men in plain clothes. I tried to resist, but eventually I
was overpowered. They grabbed me and threw me in the
back of a truck. Then a number of them jumped into the
truck. Immediately I was blindfolded. From then, they
drove away. I didn't know where I was going because I
was blindfolded.
On our way to the destination, they were interrogating
me. They wanted to know any information about the
MDC, what we were planning, what was my position.
They threatened me that I must give me as much
information as I could, otherwise, they were going to kill
me. Then they tied a string on my penis in the car. When
they wanted me to speak, they would pull the string so
I could feel the pain, and then I would cooperate. Then
we stopped. They changed the vehicle, and they stopped
again, and put us into another vehicle. And eventually,
they stopped it. And removed me from the car, and
22 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
made me lie down on the ground. At that time I didn't
know where I was-I was blindfolded and my hands were
tied. They removed all my clothes, I was naked except
underwear.
They asked me 'Do you want water?' I said yes, and
then they started urinating in my mouth and all over
my body. One of them was claiming he fought for this
country and he was accusing us of being agents of
imperialists-that we wanted this country to be colonized
again. Then they started to beat me all over the body. I
don't know with what because I was blindfolded, but I
suspect wooden sticks or iron bars or baton sticks. They
beat me all over, my back stomach, and legs,-particularly
my left leg. I don't think they kicked me. They were
just using those weapons. I started shivering. When
I started shivering they stopped beating me. I suspect
they thought I was dying. While beating me, they made
the same accusations- 'You are an imperialist and you
want this country to be colonized. You want ZANU-PF
to be removed from power.' And they also were asking
'why did I attend the memorial service of someone I was
not related to?' They threatened me that I was not to
do MDC work. They asked me if I have children and a
wife. They threatened that they would go and kidnap my
children if I did not cooperate. They asked me if I loved
my family. I said yes. They said if you love your family
then you must cooperate with them. Because if I don't do
that, they will do harm to my family. So when I started
shivering, they left me. They thought I was dying. Then
one of them left and removed the blindfold cloth, and this
time blindfolded me with tape, and then they went away.
They said 'Your party is not going anywhere. You are
wasting your time, because by the election time, there
won't be any MDC to talk about and that you will be
dead.'
After 20 minutes or so, when I couldn't hear their
voices, I was able to untie my hands, and then
removed the tape. Then I tried to stand up, and I
couldn't. That's when I realized I fractured my left leg,
because I couldn't walk with it. Luckily enough there
was a wooden stick nearby. I used that wooden stick
to walk slowly and I arrived at the nearest road. I was
feeling weak, and I sat down.
PG was eventually assisted by a passerby and went to
a medical facility for care. An x ray showed a fracture
on his left leg and a cast was put on. While PG had
not experienced further threats as of April 2007, he
continued to be very frightened:
The other day there were some guys claiming to be police
[they were not in uniform] visiting my neighborhood.
They were looking for another guy there and wanting
to arrest him. So when I saw this it reminded me of my
experience and I felt unsafe, that maybe they would come
again to me.
The case of MS
MS is a 39-year old male with no physical or
psychological problems prior to March 2007. He is a
local youth organizer for the MDC, as well as an active
member in a local community group, the Combined
Harare Residents Association (CHRA). On March 11
he was on his way to the prayer meeting in Harare. "I
met some ZANU-PF youth and they started pointing
at me, and we ran away." He learned that individuals
unknown to him had been coming to his home at
different hours of the day and night. "From then, I
have been living a life of moving from one place to
another. I haven't been sleeping well."
Near the end of April, MS went out with a friend to
buy food. At the time he was wearing a CHRA T-shirt.
Several men in civilian clothing approached him and
said, "We have been looking for you." He was forcibly
taken to a local ZANU-PF office:
They started beating me. They were saying 'Why are
you putting on these T-shirts for an organization that is
an arm of the MDC?' They were beating us everywhere
with baton sticks. And they knew my name and where
I stayed. And they said we are only waiting for the
time. And they beat us everywhere. I don't know what
happened--I collapsed. I had a cut on my chin and they
broke my arm.
Subsequently MS was forced to swim in a nearby pool
of dirty green water that he believed was overflow
sewerage:
They would beat us, make us swim in the water, then
bring us back to the office and beat us some more. This
happened 3 times. I got the most beatings, I was their
target. They beat us everywhere. As they beat us they said
'We are going to stop all of these small organizations--and
if we can beat Tsvangirai, we can beat you.'
MS was accused by his captors of participating in
petrol bombings of police stations, which he denied.
He was asked about future targets. "I told them I don't
know anything about it. But when you refused, they
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 23
beat you more. They took the other guy's cell phone
and were searching in the cell phone and calling the
numbers, but they were all business numbers." MS
was also forced to sing ZANU-PF songs while he was
being beaten. After being beaten on the soles of his feet
he was forced to jog in place. "The floor was mixed
with blood and water. They made us use our T-shirts
to clean that up, and then put them back on. It was
quite humiliating."
After approximately 4 hours they were released:
They said, 'We are releasing you but if anything happens
we will be coming back.' They asked me how much I was
being paid by the MDC? I said it is for the love of the
country I want to be free. They said they would destroy
the MDC. They said, 'Soon all of you will be gone. All
of these opposition groups will be gone, we are going to
destroy them.'
After I was released, I went home because I was bloodied
all over. I was feeling cold all over my body. I hurt all
over, especially under my feet and my left arm-I couldn't
move it. I couldn't walk. I was walking on tip toes
because of the beatings on the bottom of my feet with
baton sticks.
Subsequently, MS sought medical care, and was
found to have a fractured left arm. MS continued
to experience pain in his arm and feet. On physical
examination MS had several linear scars on his back,
each approximately 1⁄2 centimeter wide, consistent
with his report of baton beatings. There was diffuse
ecchymosis (black and blue marks) over his buttocks
bilaterally, consistent with having suffered recent
beatings there.
He also described experiencing a number of
psychological symptoms:
Sometimes I wake up in cold sweats, nightmares, as if I
am fighting people. I have nightmares they are coming to
take me away. If I am asleep, I hear cars passing, or even
if someone is walking here, I get frightened and wake up.
And I switch off the light. I am afraid they will come for
me here.
MS was easily startled. "I try to get my mind off by
reading a lot, but even if I read a story which is violent
it jogs my memory. I try very hard not to think about
it. I push it away."
Increased Harassment and Fear post
March 11
State-sanctioned political violence against individuals
perceived as critical of the ruling authorities in
Zimbabwe pre-dated the events of March 11, 2007.
Such individuals described increased fear after March
2007, even if they have not been victims of violence
since then.
The case of ER
ER, a 42-year old teacher from Bulawayo who holds no
formal position with the MDC, was harassed in 2006
because of a writing assignment he gave his students:
I wrote a comprehension passage for the students, where
I described how the main lion is eventually kicked out of
the pride. The reason is that his muscles will be weak, his
teeth will be worn out, but the voice remains sharp.
While he did not refer to President Mugabe
specifically, the Central Intelligence Organization
called him in for questioning about why he was being
critical of the President. Subsequently, local leaders
fired him and he was instructed to leave the district.
He then moved to another district, where he again
began teaching:
Two men came to the school where I was teaching. They
identified themselves as being from the CIO. They said
'Let's go to the police camp,' which is 30 km away.
We started walking, and when we reached an area of
thicket and bushes, they said, 'Let's go there and take a
rest.' And we left the road into the bush, and that's where
they had their torture instruments. They had a bag with
water, and big plastic ring, and batons.
They beat me up very badly with their fists and batons.
They kicked me. They said 'Tell us what you are doing
with the MDC.' And then I said nothing. And so they
said 'Now we are going to make you talk.'
And they put salty water inside a plastic bag. So one
opened it and said, put your head inside. I was leaning,
so I did that. And then they put the plastic thing around
my neck, and then up so the bag with the water was on
my head. I couldn't talk or breathe. Each time I would
fall down, they would beat me very hard on the feet-my
shoes were off. I swallowed a lot of water. Because each
time you feel the pain you scream. When they removed
24 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
the bag, I was choked and felt weak. They said 'We know
what you have been doing. We are going to get you and
get you to talk.' So I was almost unconscious and then
they left.
I woke up during the evening. I tried to walk, but I could
not walk, because my feet were sore, and so I had to crawl
back to school where a friend, another teacher, took me
to hide me. So I stayed there for a week. I was in pain all
over. I was coughing. I was bleeding.
Fearing for his safety, ER went into hiding. He learned
that CIO agents repeatedly came to his house looking
for him:
The same plain-clothes men kept coming to my house and
asking my wife where I was, she said she didn't know,
that maybe I was dead. She said they threatened to take
her. She said, 'Who will take care of the children?' so they
left her.
At the time of our evaluation, ER had fled to South
Africa out of increased fear following the events of
March:
I was in hiding during March because I was still
suffering from the beatings in December. So I was in
hiding because they were looking for me and are still
looking for me. I would have come earlier but I had no
money. I was sick from the beatings. It has taken several
months after the beatings to regain my strength.
The case of RC
Other individuals who had not been tortured or
beaten since March 11 described direct threats to either
themselves or their family.
For example, RC, a 35-year old male active in local
MDC political activities, had been arrested and briefly
detained several times prior to March 11 for his political
activities. He was not beaten during these arrests,
except for once in 2002, when he was beaten on his back
and head by police with sticks and gun butts. Since then
he has suffered from chronic backaches and headaches.
Following the March 11 violence in Harare, RC helped
to organize a rally in his city:
We had about 400-500 people marching. And the message
was put across clearly. They were singing. We were
carrying signs saying 'Mugabe must go now, please
release our president' (referring to the arrest of Morgan
Tsvangirai).
Signs also called for access to medications, access to
lawyers for those arrested, and the repeal of the Public
Order and Security Act.8 Then RC went to another
district near Bulawayo to help organize another group
of protesters:
Before we even started, the police started beating.
There were about 50-60 people there. A truck full of
police came, maybe 20-25, and they started beating up
everyone. Anyone they could see they were just beating
up. I didn't get hit myself at that time. So we dispersed.
He later learned that the same thing had happened in
a nearby town:
The police started beating people and were using water
tankers. Because of the escalating violence, a decision was
made to stop the protests. We feared all the people going to
work, school children and old people would get beaten up.
RC then learned that the police were looking for him:
I got a call from my wife, she was at the house, and she told
me plain- clothed policemen were at the house and turned
it upside down, taking all of my personal documents and
documents related to the party, and my photos. And she
was asked where I am. She told them I had gone out of
town on business. So that night I did not return home.
The following morning I phoned my house, I was told the
same people but more in numbers came back at 4 am, and
then they still asked where I was, and my wife was pushed
around, and they told her that the next time that they come
and I am not there that they will pick her up.
RC's wife went into hiding as well:
So that morning she went to my parents in another
district. And they [the police officers] came back again
at 8am. My wife had already left. So they picked up my
brother and tried to intimidate and threaten him. They put
him in the car, drove approximately 1 kilometer, and then
told him to get out. He wasn't beaten. From then, I did
not sleep at my house.
8. POSA, signed into law in 2002, declares it is illegal, among
other things, to have a gathering of more than 2 people.
(see http://www.hrforumzim.com/special_hrru/Special_
Report_4_2002%20Election/SR_03.htm)
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 25
RC learned that the police were continuing to look for
him and that he was reportedly on a "death list." He
has remained in hiding ever since. He described feeling
very sad and having difficulty sleeping. He blamed
himself for the problems that he has caused his family.
Hardship and Fear for Zimbabwean
Refugees in South Africa
Fearing for their safety, several of the Zimbabwean
victims of political violence we interviewed had fled
to South Africa after March 2007. Noted SP, who was
tortured after the March 11th prayer rally:
If I go back they will definitely arrest and torture
me. [Zimbabwean authorities] started making false
allegations and arresting our leaders. Fortunately, they
didn't catch up with me... They came to my house. I
think they were trying to remove the bridge between the
leadership and the grass roots. They don't want us to
campaign, so they use that trick to make us flee.
VM an MDC member who was imprisoned and
tortured in Bulawayo after returning from the March
11 prayer rally in Harare said:
I decided to leave because I was living a very hard life.
I was afraid they were going to come back to my house
and kill me. Because they [CIO Officers] promised me if I
continue with my party, they are going to kill me. That's
why I decided to come to South Africa.
While these individuals reported feeling safer in South
Africa, they feared deportation back to Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, the Zimbabwean refugees encountered
many difficulties upon arrival in South Africa. They
cited problems with obtaining refugee status or
political asylum; problems with attaining adequate
food and shelter; and difficulty obtaining necessary
healthcare.
LG, who fled after being arrested and beaten at the
March 11th prayer rally summed up his experience in
South Africa:
It's difficult here. It's difficult to find somewhere to sleep.
It's difficult to find food. We have no shelter. It's difficult
to secure asylum papers. And while you move around
there is a risk the police could arrest you and deport
you. [But] if I were sent back to Zimbabwe I would be
butchered.
Noted ER: "Identification is a problem here. I always
feel afraid that the police might arrest me."
Estimates of the number of undocumented
Zimbabweans living in South Africa are uncertain and
range from several hundred thousand to two million.9
While most Zimbabweans in South Africa are believed
to have left Zimbabwe for economic reasons, many
have fled political violence and persecution.
According to Zimbabwean advocacy organizations
the influx of Zimbabwean refugees always increases
during periods of crisis. Joyce Dube, director of the
Southern African Women's Institute for Migration
Affairs (SAWIMA) a referral center for Zimbabweans
in Johannesburg, told us:
All the people who came here in March are torture
victims. We send people to Zimbabwe Torture Victims/
Survivors Project ( ZTVP) (a counseling and medical
referral service for trauma victims) every day... In
March and April we got 15-20/day—double what we had
seen in previous months.
According to one human rights advocate:
People are being persecuted. [They] are likely to come into
the Diaspora because of the persecution and can't go home
because of the fear of torture. The fear of torture is real and
the world can anticipate a new wave of victims of torture
and political violence fleeing Zimbabwe. There is a need for
that to be recognized by receiving countries—the high risk
of being tortured if they are repatriated.
Zimbabwean victims of political violence and refugee
advocates described difficulties applying for political
asylum or even obtaining identification. Ms Dube from
SAWIMA explained:
The Department of Home Affairs has its own problems.
They [Zimbabweans] will stay a long time before they
are interviewed...and during that period while they're
applying they have no status. First, to get access to a
temporary permit, I know someone who was in line for 4
days. To get the status is 4, _, 6 years or even more. It's
unpredictable.
Such delays and difficulties are the result of an
inadequate and overwhelmed system in South Africa.
9. Wines M. Influx from Zimbabwe to South Africa Tests
Both. The New York Times. June 23, 2007. Page A1.
26 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
In 2006, for example, of the more than 53,000 new
applications for political asylum submitted to the
Office of Home Affairs, only approximately 5,000
were processed. 10 Of these, approximately 800 were
accepted for refugee status at the first stage. By far
the greatest number of new applications were from
Zimbabwe-nearly 19,000. Of these, fewer than 2,000
were processed and only 103 were granted political
asylum.11
One Zimbabwean refugee who had been in South
Africa for several years said:
I had all of the documents of torture. But still I was
told unless war is declared there is no way you can seek
asylum. After 3 years of waiting, in late 200_ I was
rejected... I was given a few days to leave the country... I
was ultimately granted refugee status.
According to a June 23, 2007 report in the New
York Times, approximately 4,000 Zimbabweans are
deported per week.12 One human rights advocate
described the stress of this existence:
Even when people flee to South Africa for safety, the
asylum process, which is the process you go through to
become a recognized refugee in South Africa, takes a long
time—often years, and you are not a refugee yet—you
are a citizen in limbo. And when you are in limbo you are
at risk of arrest.
Zimbabwean Refugees interviewed in South Africa
described difficulties obtaining basic needs. RC, who
fled leaving behind a small shop in Zimbabwe, said:
Things have been really tough for me in South Africa.
My life standard just changed all of a sudden. Back
home I had a nice house, but now I share a bed-just a bed
with 4 guys. All my energy here is looking for food and
accommodation. You are not yourself. As much as I want
to go back, going back would be the end of me.
In contrast to those who flee for economic reasons,
refugees fleeing violence tend to arrive less well
10. Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa.
Protecting Refugees and Asylum Seekers in South Africa.
Pretoria, South Africa: June 19, 2007.
11. Wines M. Influx from Zimbabwe to South Africa Tests
Both. The New York Times. June 23, 2007. Page A1
12. Ibid.
prepared and in need of more services. Ms. Dube from
SAWIMA noted:
When we started we realized there are 2 kinds of
victims: economic migrants, and political victims. The
economic migrants plan to come to South Africa, they
get a job, make money, and they go back and forth. They
are prepared to come and have saved up money and are
prepared to be in this country. Unlike asylum seekers—
it's hard for them because they come with nothing. They
are running away. For them to live in South Africa is
very tough.
Ms. Dube and others working with Zimbabwean
refugees agreed that South Africa does not
adequately support them. "There is no access to
humanitarian assistance when they first arrive," Ms.
Dube said, "They have no food or clothing."
NF, a local MDC organizer, fled after ZANU-PF
operatives visited her home two days in a row and
she returned to find her phone lines cut. Friends
advised her to go to South Africa, but she had never
been there before. She left the next day and tearfully
described the journey:
I was always praying, "God please keep me." I was
wearing tennis shoes. They were torn, I finally threw
them away. My feet were in pain and swollen.
She arrived in Johannesburg with "only the dress I
was wearing" and a 1500 Rand debt for transport. She
has not had any communication with her husband
because the phone line to her house was cut before
she fled. She is staying with a friend but faces many
hardships:
I am starving. At times I don't go to the bathroom for
weeks because my tummy doesn't have anything. The
place where I stay is very cold at night so I can't sleep. I
don't have blankets. I am wearing the dress I have on.
But she said, "I really am very afraid to go back to
Zimbabwe. They will kill me."
WB also decided to leave quickly after having been
forced to remain in the military and subjected to
torture for refusing to participate in pro-ZANU
political activities. He was stationed near the border:
I told myself this is the chance for me to go and I left. I
went by river. I don't know how to swim but I crossed.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 27
Then I managed to get a taxi and I went. I never paid for it.
The guy now needs his money and I don't know what to say.
Dolores Cortes from ZTVP said traumatic entry is a
common experience:
How they enter is under fences, swimming through rivers.
Women are raped, stripped of their belongings. The trauma
is quite severe. They already come into South Africa
traumatized. The flight is traumatizing and the difficulty of
surviving in South Africa—makes it difficult to cope.
At the time of our visit, the Central Methodist church
in Johannesburg was housing several hundred
Zimbabweans per night, many of whom slept in the
hallways and stairwells. They had to vacate the building
by 6:00 in the morning.
For the few who find work, labor abuses are common.
Most received intermittent wages of 40-50 Rand per day,
far below a living wage. Ms. Dube, Director of SAWIMA
explained:
There are labor abuses. People are underpaid. Asylum seekers
are underpaid... or not paid at all. The restaurant owners
will threaten to turn them in.
Refugees in South Africa are guaranteed protection
under both domestic and international law including
the South African Constitution13 and the United Nations
Refugee Convention.14 Several Organizations, however,
have raised concerns about South Africa's failure to
ensure adequate protection of refugees. For example, a
November 2005 report by Human Rights Watch noted:
These legal guarantees have not been fully put into practice
by those South African institutions responsible for the
protection and promotion of these rights. Although South
Africa now has in place a good formal legal regime for
the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, serious
flaws remain in its implementation...The inability of the
Department of Home Affairs to process asylum applications
within the legally stipulated six-month period has resulted in
prolonged insecurity for asylum seekers, in some cases for up
to five years.1_
13. South African Constitution, Act. No. 108 of 1996.
14. 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 189
UNTS150; and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of
Refugees, 606 UNTS 267.
15. Human Rights Watch. Living on the Margins: Inadequate Protection
A June 2007 report issued by the Consortium for
Refugees and Migrants in South Africa concurred:
The country's legislative framework and moral
commitments have not been supported by the necessary
human and financial resources needed to offer basic
protections to asylum seekers and refugees.16
for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Johannesburg. November 2005.
Available at: http://hrw.org/reports/2005/southafrica1105/
16. Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa.
Protecting Refugees and Asylum Seekers in South Africa.
Pretoria, South Africa: June 19, 2007.
28 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Victim of Assault (BA) by ZANUPF Youth.
Multiple linear markings are present on his
back, many of which are parallel to one another
and approximately the same width. This is highly
consistent with the history of beatings reported.
VI. PHOTOGRAPHS
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 29
Right arm of individual (KP) shot by police at
funeral of Gift Tandare. KP suffered fracture and
nerve injury as a result of gunshot wound.
30 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Infected leg wound resulting from injury
caused by beating by police while in custody. The
infection likely worsened as a result of unsanitary
prison conditions under which the individual (CJ)
was held and delay in access to appropriate
medical care.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 31
Large ulceration on head resulting from beating.
After being stopped by police at a checkpoint
on March 11, 2007, this individual (YD)
was turned over to men in civilian clothing,
who brought him to a location where he
was beaten interrogated about his political
activities, including being beaten on head.
32 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Dr. Allen Keller and Dr Samantha Stewart
interviewing MDC Leader Sekai Holland in
her hospital room in Johannesburg South Africa.
Ms. Holland suffered multiple fractures and other
injuries as a result of severe beatings she suffered
by Zimbabwean police on March 11 2007.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 33
VII. HEALTH CONSEQUENCES
OF TORTURE AND POLITICAL
VIOLENCE IN ZIMBABWE
Torture and political violence can have devastating
health consequences-physical, psychological and
social--for the individual victim, his or her family,
and the broader community through fear and
intimidation.1 All 24 of the Zimbabwean victims
of torture and political violence evaluated for this
report had corroborating physical and psychological
evidence of their abuse. All continued to suffer from
substantial and often debilitating symptoms caused by
their abuse. They complained of persistent headaches,
backaches and difficulty walking secondary to
beatings. Physical examinations revealed festering
wounds from being kicked or hit with the butt of
a gun; scars on victims' backs and buttocks from
being whipped, and broken arms and legs. The
psychological symptoms were severe and potentially
more enduring. They were haunted by recurrent,
terrifying memories of their torture. They suffered
from ruminating thoughts and intrusive flashbacks
during the day, and insomnia and frequent nightmares
at night. Those who were in hiding or had been forced
to flee the country were especially likely to describe
profound sadness and hopelessness.
According to a recent report by Zimbabwe Association
of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) and
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), 325
individuals sought medical treatment for injuries
sustained through torture and political violence during
March 2007, more than double the number typically
seen, and with the injuries sustained far more severe.2
Zimbabwean Human Rights Organizations speculated
1. Basoglu M, Paker M, Paker Ö, Özmen E, Sahin D. Factors
related to long-term traumatic stress responses in survivors
of torture. Journal of the American Medical Association.
1994;272:357-363. Quiroga J, Jaranson J. Politically motivated
torture and its survivors: A desk study review of the
literature. Torture. 2005:15;1-112. Piwowarczyk L, Moreno A,
Grodin M. Health care of Torture Survivors. JAMA. 2000;284:539-
541. Jaranson J, Popkin M. Caring for Victims of Torture.
Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press; 1998. Keller
A, Saul J, Eisenman D. Caring for Survivors of Torture in an
Urban, Municipal Hospital. J Amb Care Mgmt. 1998;21:20-29.
2. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwean
Association of Doctors for Human Rights. A Brief Report of
Human Rights Violations in Zimbabwe since March 11 2007.
Submitted to the African Commission on Human and
People's rights, May 2007.
that there may have been many more victims who
were not identified:
During this fateful period it is possible that a large
number of other cases of gross human rights violations
went unreported, as the victims did not approach legal
practitioners or medical practitioners for advice or
medical attention. 3
Among the victims of torture and political violence
who did present for evaluation and treatment, ZADHR
reported significant morbidity including frequent soft
tissue injuries, fractures, gunshot wounds and head
injuries. More than 50% of the victims demonstrated
severe psychological distress.4
The different dimensions of health--physical,
psychological and social--are interrelated and can
exacerbate one another. For example many of the
individuals interviewed described musculoskeletal
pain as a result of beatings. Such physical symptoms
often triggered psychological symptoms such as
disturbing, recurrent memories of their trauma.
Psychological symptoms such as flashbacks often
invoked palpitations (i.e. the sensation of the heart
beating fast) or somatic symptoms (i.e. without an
explanatory physical basis) including stomachaches
and headaches. Finally, many victims also felt
generally distrustful and socially isolated, which in
turn escalated feelings of sadness and hopelessness
and at times prevented them from accessing adequate
medical or psychological assistance.
Physical Health Consequences of
Torture/Political Violence
Individuals interviewed for this report described being
subjected to a number of different forms of physical
torture. The most commonly reported form of physical
torture or abuse was beatings. This included beatings
with fists and kicking with boots, as well as beatings with
objects (shambocks, whips, gun butts). One particularly
common form of torture repeatedly described was
"falanga," or beatings on the soles of the feet.
Following his arrest on March 11, LG one of the
organizers of the March 11 prayer meeting, described the
following:
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
34 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
They were using baton sticks. They would hit the
buttocks, they would hit under the feet-they would
remove your shoes and beat you under the feet. And they
were saying as they beat us, 'You are refusing to obey
police orders. This is not the first time you are here. You
are now becoming a nuisance to the State-you want to
remove the government.'
In several cases the distinct imprints of the torture
instruments used were present at the time of
evaluation. This included backs riddled with linear
markings from whips or the outlines of clubs. Scars
with indentations on legs from being kicked or on
the head from being hit with the butt of a gun were
present. Physical examinations also revealed scars
from gunshot wounds and knife injuries in several
individuals evaluated. Neurological findings such as
decreased motor strength, decreased sensation, and
perforated ear drums were clearly identified. Many
individuals had x rays that showed fractures. At the
time of the evaluation, some also wore casts from
fractures due to beatings or falls while being attacked.
YD, who was arrested and repeatedly beaten with
foreign objects, including batons, had several linear
scars on his back that were likely caused by the same
instrument. This is indicated when groupings of scars
have similar shape, depth and degree of healing. YD
had several well-demarcated scars on his leg with
atrophic changes (i.e. the skin was thin and shiny in
these areas) consistent with a history of experiencing
blunt trauma. Most notably he had a large open
ulceration on the left side of his head, consistent
with his report of being struck on the head, knocked
unconscious and awakening covered in blood with
a large wound on his head. Subsequently YD fled to
South Africa, but at the time of our evaluation had
been unable to receive adequate health care for his
injury (see Chapter VII).
BA, a local MDC organizer suffered a broken arm
in mid-February when he tried to block the blows
of police who beat him at a rally he was helping to
organize in his district. He was cared for at a private
medical clinic where his arm was placed in a cast.
In late March, BA was abducted from his home by
ZANU-PF youth.
They started assaulting me one by one. They were using
shambocks, iron bars and sticks and at times they were
using fists saying, 'You've got to tell us your MDC
structures. We want to know who petrol bombed police
stations. If we can beat Tsvangirai why can't we beat
you? You must go with us and show us where others
live.' They were using stones to try to crack and remove
my cast.
BA lost consciousness after being hit on the head and
was subsequently left naked on the side of the road
outside of Harare. "I was covered, soaked with blood.
I had great pain all over." BA heard his captors as they
left him saying "Just put him by that tree. I think he's
dead." BA subsequently was cared for at a private
clinic where he was admitted for 2 weeks. His broken
cast was replaced. He also received treatment for an
infected wound and hemorrhage in one eye.
At the time of evaluation, BA's right arm remained
in a cast. He had more than 20 linear scars across his
back and on his arms, many parallel to one another
and all approximately the same width-likely resulting
from repeatedly being struck with the same object.
He had raised, healing, circular scars on his chest,
shoulder and shin. He had superficial hypopigmented
(ie. lighter than the surrounding skin) scars on his
left forearm and shoulder. All of these findings were
highly consistent with the events he described.
Other physical forms of torture/abuse reported
included being shot; stabbed with knives and sharp
objects; forced contact with urine, feces, and sewage;
electrical shocks; and withholding of food and water.
JT was deprived of food for two days:
I was dehydrated by that time. My mouth was dry, I
asked for water. They blindfolded me. They told me to
open my mouth and I could smell and taste a bitter liquid
that they poured in my mouth, and it was warm, I think
it was urine.
All 24 individuals, continued to suffer from significant
physical symptoms including chronic back and muscle
pain, weakness, difficulty walking, neurological
symptoms such as dizziness, unsteady gait, weakness
in arms and legs from nerve damage caused by
beatings, stabbings or gunshot wounds, and chronic
headaches, dizziness and difficulty hearing as a result
of beatings on the head. Such symptoms may resolve
after a few weeks, but are often chronic, or may even
result in permanent disability.
LG, continued to have weakness in his left hand
caused by a beating by police 6 months earlier.
The beatings during his more recent imprisonment
continued to cause persistent pain in his feet. After
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 35
his release from prison, JT continued to experience
headaches and dizziness, which likely resulted from
being beaten on his head. His feet continued to hurt
after walking long distances. Many of those who
sustained injuries have experienced persistent pain
that was aggravated by delayed or inadequate access
to healthcare. The impact of physical injuries and
difficulties accessing health care continued to be a
problem for the Zimbabwean victims we interviewed
who had fled to South Africa as well (see Chapter VII).
Psychological Effects of Torture and
Political Violence
Torture and political violence can have severe and long
lasting psychological consequences.5 Zimbabwean
victims interviewed were subjected to a variety of
psychological forms of torture, including verbal
abuse, threats to themselves and their loved ones, and
humiliations such as being forced to undress or drink
urine. It is clear that physical forms of torture can have
psychological consequences as well.
All 24 of the individuals interviewed continued to
suffer from significant psychological symptoms
resulting from their abuse. Many met diagnostic
criteria for depression, anxiety and post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
Exposure to both direct and witnessed violence raises
levels of psychological distress.6 The psychological
response to trauma and torture most commonly
manifests as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and
PTSD. The most commonly reported psychological
symptoms included recurrent, intrusive thoughts,
memories or nightmares; constant feelings of being on
5. Jaranson J, Popkin M. Caring for Victims of Torture.
Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press; 1998. Keller A,
Gold J. "Survivors of Torture." In: Sadock B, ed. Comprehensive
Textbook of Psychiatry. B Sadock, V Sadock, eds. New York:
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2005:21. Keller A, Lhewa,
D, Rosenfeld B, Sachs E, Aladjem A, Cohen I, Smith H,
Porterfield K. Traumatic Experiences and Psychological
Distress Among an Urban Refugee Population. J Nervous and
Mental Disease. 2006;194:188-194.
6. Eriksson CB, Kemp HV, Gorsuch R, Hoke S, Foy DW.
Trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in International
Relief and Development Personnel. Journal of Traumatic
Stress. 2001;14:205-212. Cooley-Quille M, Boyd RC, Frantz
E, Walsh J. Emotional and behavioral impact of exposure
to community violence in inner-city adolescents. Journal of
Clinical Child Psychology. 2001;30:199-206.
guard; difficulty sleeping; and "re-experiencing" i.e.
feeling as though the event is happening again (see
Table 4). Many individuals suffered from PTSD, based
on clinical interviews and psychological testing. More
than 3⁄4 (76.4%) of those who completed the PTSD
portion of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ),
which measures symptoms of PTSD, scored above the
cutoff for clinically significant PTSD. On the Hopkins
Symptoms Checklist (HSCL) which measures symptoms
of depression and anxiety, nearly 90% of individuals
who completed the questionnaire had clinically
significant symptoms of depression and 83% had
clinically significant symptoms of anxiety (see Table 5).
CJ experienced symptoms from several of these
categories:
I still have the memories of what happened. Especially
when I see police I am afraid. I have nightmares nearly
every night about what happened in the police station.
I am crying. Whenever I hear footsteps outside, I feel
scared and I jump. When I was in the cells, I felt the
death spirit. That thought still comes back to me.
In clinical interviews, many victims manifested signs
of depression such as slow speech, downward gaze,
slumped posture, tearfulness, and describing feelings of
profound sadness. They also exhibited signs of anxiety
such as trembling, hand-wringing, and fidgeting.
Physiologic hyperarousal during the retelling of
events--characteristic of PTSD--was marked by leaning
forward in the chair, widened stare and scanning the
environment, increased rate of breathing, disorganized
and increased rate of speech, and increased tendency to
startle and describe memory with exquisite detail.
Many of the individuals exhibited evidence of Common
Mental Disorders (CMD's). CMD is the internationally
accepted term for symptoms of depression and
anxiety that clearly interfere with coping, productivity,
and recovery. CMD's may also manifest as physical
symptoms without physiologic basis such as body
aches, headaches, dizziness, insomnia and poor
appetite.
At least four of the individuals interviewed were
receiving medical treatment for insomnia, anxiety, or
depression. One reported significant problems with
alcohol since his first episode of torture. Three of the
individuals who had fled to South Africa were receiving
professional counseling. Several others who would have
benefited from psychological or psychiatric treatment
did not have access to such services.
36 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Many of the interviews took place approximately one
month after the traumatic event. This is an important
cutoff mark for diagnosing acute stress disorder versus
a longer lasting post traumatic stress disorder. Acute
stress disorder describes dysfunctional reactions that
occur within one month of a traumatic event. Post
traumatic stress disorder describes an impaired state
that persists for longer than one month after exposure
to trauma. An acute stress reaction predicts an increased
likelihood of a more prolonged post-traumatic stress
reaction.7 In some cases depressed or post-traumatic
symptoms do not emerge until well after the event.
Both are more likely to emerge with repeated exposure
to stress or trauma.8 The psychological signs and
symptoms observed during our interviews represent an
early phase of the response to trauma that may improve
in some cases and worsen in others.9
Depression
Depression is a common psychological reaction to
traumatic events such as torture, displacement, and
chronic stress.10 Depression is defined as a low mood
that persists for longer than two weeks. Common
symptoms of depression include changed sleep,
appetite, and energy levels; slowed thinking and
movements; difficulty with motivation, interest or
enjoyment of regular activities; and guilty, hopeless,
or even suicidal thoughts. Symptoms may vary in
severity and number, but all interfere with day-to-day
functioning and recovery from trauma.
The Zimbabwean victims of torture whom we
interviewed manifested many symptoms of
depression. Many had poor eye contact, slumped
shoulders, downward gaze, and slowed or quiet
speech that are consistent with the loss of energy,
lowered self-esteem, and psychomotor retardation
seen in depressed patients. A few had lost interest
in personal grooming and appeared disheveled and
unkempt. For example, FL, a previously healthy young
7. Classen,C. et al (1998) Acute Stress Disorder as a predictor
of posttraumatic stress symptoms. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 155, 620-624.
8. Ibid
9. Shalev et al. 1998 Prospective study of posttraumatic stress
disorder and depression following trauma. Am J Psychiatry
155:630-637.
10. Kendler et al. 1999 Causal relationship between stressful
life events and the onset of major depressioin. Am J
Psychiatry 156:837-841.
man, rarely looked up during the interview that took
place approximately three weeks after he was beaten
by police while closing up at his workplace. He moved
his limbs slowly and heavily and appeared not to have
washed his clothing or body. The bandage around his
left hand was dirty and partially unraveled. He peeled
dirty, foul-smelling socks off his feet to reveal injuries
near his ankle.
Nearly all of the victims described poor sleep. This
ranged from difficulty falling asleep due to fearfulness
or ruminative, anxious thoughts; to waking frequently
with nightmares; to spontaneous early morning
awakening that are highly characteristic of depression.
Many described decreased appetite and weight loss.
For example, CJ had lost 10-15 kilograms. Many
described their clothes as ill-fitting due to significant
weight loss.
The victims interviewed also showed evidence of
the cognitive effects of depression. For example, FL
described difficulty making decisions, asking the
interviewer "What should I do?" Several victims
described being plagued with guilt and worry about
the impact on their families. YD told his story in a
disorganized manner demonstrating his difficulties
with concentration.
The most predominant evidence of depression was
the sad mood described by almost all of the victims
interviewed. NF wept during her interview. LR
had a pinched frown throughout the interview.
FL had sad-appearing eyes and held back tears.
BA's expression was flat and deadened even when
describing emotional experiences. NT put it simply,
"I feel sad every day." In the cases of CJ and ER, the
depressed mood included thoughts of death described
as the "death spirit" and dreams of dying. None of
the victims interviewed described thoughts of suicide,
but many described feeling hopeless and having
given up, with statements like BA's: "I've got nothing.
Everything was taken."
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is characterized by hyperarousal (e.g.,
irritability, poor sleep, and hyper vigilance), numbing
and avoidance, and re-experiencing of a traumatic
event. The following testimonies illustrate the presence
of these symptoms in those interviewed for this report:
1) Symptoms of hyperarousal such as irritability, poor
sleep, and hypervigilance
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 37
PG: Sometimes I feel frightened- especially during the
night. If a car is just moving in the nearby road, I start to
think that maybe this is some of those guys.
SP: I have bad dreams especially these days. It is terrible-
- I dream about all the people being beaten. I feel very
nervous. I am afraid even of my shadow walking in the
street.
2) Symptoms of numbing and avoidance
NE: I try not to think about what happened because if
you do you'll go crazy, but one can't help think about it.
BA: It's like I'm in prison because I don't go out, I don't
meet other people. I only stay indoors.
And 3) Symptoms of re-experiencing
NT: You begin to tell yourself that this place is safe, and
all of a sudden that feeling starts coming over to you and
the brain starts going back to those memories of when I
was hit, when I was interrogated.
MS: Sometimes I wake up in cold sweats, nightmares, as
if I am fighting people. I have nightmares they are coming
to take me away. If I am asleep, I hear cars passing, or
even if someone is walking here, I get frightened and
wake up.
Demoralization
Many victims expressed a profound sense of
demoralization. Mental health professionals see
demoralization as an existential reaction to stress,
and one of the best predictors of suicide and loss of
productivity.
KP: Because of the situation in Zimbabwe I am sad. I
don't feel free or happy.
DR: I feel very beat up because I was beaten up for no
apparent reason.
BA: I've got nothing. Everything was taken and they're
still looking for me there.
The activists we met had been working to promote
human rights in Zimbabwe for many years, but
they considered this level of demoralization to be a
new phenomenon. In the past, torture was often an
incentive for increased political activity, but lately
victims have simply felt overwhelmed and afraid. One
local activist observed:
You would go to people after they were beaten previously,
like 2 years ago in the pre-election violence, and you
would say, 'How are you actually feeling?' and they
would say, 'My body is broken but my spirit is strong.'
And now they say, 'These people are so cruel and brutal.'
I can see the distress in their eyes and faces.
Victims said they felt incapacitated, were unable to
leave their homes, and wished to leave the country.
Fear
Fear was the most common reaction to the widespread
violence and torture, and it affected not only torture
victims, but the rest of the community as well. Noted
prominent MDC leader Sekai Holland, "People in
Zimbabwe are ruled by fear. It is a strategy to say fear
in Zimbabwe has blocked a lot of positive things."
Fear was cited as interfering with ongoing political
activism. For example, NT stated:
I was very frightened, and got even more frightened when
I saw the people beaten after March 11. Because after that
they said we are coming for his [Morgan Tsvangirai]
people. They are targeting our age group [the youth],
because they thought we are the ones who start the
rallies. I was really willing and ready to go to the rally
[in the town where he lived] but I was afraid. I knew
people who went to a rally in my town and they were
beaten by the police. I have a friend who was beaten the
week before the March 11 rallies, and that really made me
want to stay at home.
Others cited fear as a barrier to obtaining appropriate
medical care. For example, VM stated,
After I was released, I needed medical treatment, because
I was sore and couldn't hear. But I was afraid to go for
medical treatment--otherwise, they would follow me.
NT predicted that fear will prevent the upcoming
elections from being free and democratic. "Everyone
lives in fear in Zimbabwe, everyone is confused.
I don't think it's possible that they will have fair
elections. People are too afraid." He maintained that
fear was driving many out of the country:
Psychologically, I was affected. I couldn't concentrate
on much. I feared for my life and my family's safety. So
38 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
I really thought it would be a wise choice to leave the
profession and leave the country.
Impact of Fear on the Community
Fear affected our work on this report. We have
been very careful to disguise the identities of our
informants because they told us that it was nearly
impossible to determine who could be trusted. Any
evidence of sympathy with the political opposition
could be communicated back to the government
and police and lead to further harassment. Several
informants were even unwilling to discuss their
injuries and physical location with their own
families. Several of the individuals we interviewed
remained in hiding. "It's like a prison," BA said.
He believed that going to his family would be too
risky for them and for himself. "I can't tell my own
mother [about my assault and location] because
you don't know who can be trusted." FL and LR
expressed similar fears. Activists don't even speak
openly among themselves. NT related that when a
close friend said he "fell from a train," NT "didn't
buy that story," He knew the friend had been
beaten.
The fear of communication exacerbated feelings of
isolation and depression and limited the sharing of
information that could provide reality-testing and
decrease the feelings of "going crazy" common in
PTSD. Worst of all, fear of communication interferes
with the natural healing processes that takes place
through talking, sharing stories, and speaking
out. FL had been particularly affected by police
threats and had not told his story in full until our
interview. Afterwards, he appeared more relaxed
and said:
It helps to offload stress but if you tell other people,
you can't know who they are.
In addition to the impact of torture and political
violence on individuals and their relationship and
communication with others, such abuse results in
profound fear and mistrust which pervades the
broader community. Torture in this manner is used
as a tool by government authorities to intimidate
and silence current and future opposition.
Noted one human rights advocate:
The thing I always think of is people in Zimbabwe are
living such a permanent state of fear and oppression that
normal democratic processes cannot take place.
Psychological Distress Among
Zimbabwean Refugees in South
Africa
Zimbabwean victims of political violence who had
fled to South Africa typically lived without the
support of family and a pre-existing social network.
Many refugees, such as NT who fled after recurrent
harassment at his job as a teacher, felt lonely and adrift:
I feel sad every day. Because my family is back at home
and they are worrying about me. I miss my friends
and family. I also am sad for my students. I was a good
teacher, my students really loved me. I am sad because
when I called home, they told me that my students don't
have a teacher anymore. They just sit outside.
NT described other persistent psychological
symptoms:
Sometimes I have bad dreams. I always feel like I
have to look over my shoulder all the time. I think it's
psychological and mental. It really affects you when
something like that happens. You begin to tell yourself
that this place is safe, and all of a sudden that feeling
starts coming over to you and the brain starts going
back to those memories of when I was hit, when I was
interrogated.
Many refugees reported that police continued to
come to their homes and harass their families in
Zimbabwe. "I'm very worried for my family. They can
do anything to them. Last time they beat my wife, she
had a miscarriage," said SP. Others worried about their
family's economic situation. "I am the provider for my
family," said KF. "The trouble that my family is facing
is very upsetting to me."
NT shared the sentiments of many of the
Zimbabweans interviewed when he said "If Zimbabwe
is peaceful and safe, I want to go back because it is my
home and that is where I grew up, and my family, my
life is there."
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 39
VIII. POOR CONDITIONS OF
DETENTION AND DELAYS IN
ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE
AND LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Informants who had been held in police custody
described unsanitary, inhuman conditions with
no attention paid to the severity of their injuries.
Many were denied food or water and experienced
substantial delays in obtaining access to legal services
and medical treatment. A frequently reported tactic
to reduce inmates' access to both medical and legal
services was to constantly move them from one police
station to another. Such conditions and mistreatment
are in clear violation of Zimbabwe's own Constitution
as well as the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the African Charter on Human
and People's Rights, both of which Zimbabwe is
a signatory to, and the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.1 As
stated in Article 10 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights:
All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the
human person.
Inhuman Jail Conditions
Victims of torture and political violence who had been
jailed described deplorable prison conditions. Basic
needs such as food, water, light, toilets, blankets, and
access to exercise were often not provided. CJ, a young
1. Constitution of Zimbabwe, Articles 13 (3), 15 (1).
Available at: http://www.kubatana.net/docs/legisl/
constitution_zim_070201.doc; International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. adopted December 16, 1966, G.A.
res. 2200A (XX1), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N.
Doc. A.6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force
March 23, 1976, acceded to by Zimbabwe, May 13, 1991,
Articles 7 and 10; African Charter on Human and People's
Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU doc. CAB/LEG/67/
3rev.5.21.l.LM.58 (1982), entered into force October 21, 1986,
ratified by Zimbabwe in 1986, Article 5; Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held
at Geneva in 1955, and approved by the Economic and
Social Council by its resolution 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957
and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977. Available at: http://www.
unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp34.htm.
woman who had been tortured after being arrested on
March 11, spent three days in police custody and was
denied all food.
They said 'No, you are not given food.' There was no bed,
I slept on the floor. I was in great pain I had pain all over
my body. There were no blankets. I wished I would just die
because I was in such pain.
DR, a woman in her 60's who was arrested and tortured
in mid-March was not given any food for the first 2 days
of her imprisonment. During that time, she was held in
a dark windowless cell. "No one slept. We were sitting
on the floor. There was nowhere to sleep." NE, who was
arrested on March 11, described the cell in which he was
held for 3 days as "dirty, smelly and full of lice."
The cell was uninhabitable. The toilet was overflowing.
Urine was everywhere. Since we had no shoes we were
walking in urine and god knows what, and the lice would fall
off onto you. The lice that would fall on the ground would
crawl up on you and it was hell. There were two beds, but no
one dared go there because that was the domain of the lice so
we literally spent the night standing by the door where there
was a little trickle of light-otherwise it was dark and smelly.
SP's cell was overcrowded and filthy:
There were more than 2_ people in the cell I was in. They
don't clean those things. The toilet didn't work. It smelled
very bad. It was terrible.
After being beaten, JT was taken to a police station and
placed in solitary confinement:
I spent 2 nights in that cell alone. No communication, no
food, no water. I asked for water and they told me to drink
my urine. There was no toilet in the room, I was in terrible
pain, I would urinate on the walls. The cells were filthy. No
bed, no toilet, only one dirty blanket. It was lice infested.
When I got out I was itching all over and coughing.
Even if torture has not occurred, such conditions
constitute cruel and degrading treatment, violating
domestic and international law and international
standards. As stated in Articles 10 and 12 of the United
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners:
All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and
in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all
requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic
conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum
40 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation... The
sanitary installations shall be adequate to enable every
prisoner to comply with the needs of nature when
necessary and in a clean and decent manner.
"Our prison cells were found to be unfit for human
habitation," said one Zimbabwean human rights
activist:
To be beaten up and tortured is one thing. To be
beaten up and thrown into uninhabitable prison
cells is another violation. That is degrading and
dehumanizing treatment. Whatever the reason for
being in prisons you have the right to human dignity.
Such unsanitary conditions can cause
malnourishment from inadequate food,
gastrointestinal/parasitic infections, bacterial skin
infections and infestation with lice. Zimbabwe's
crowded filthy prison cells are breeding grounds for
tuberculosis.2
One human rights advocate likened extended
imprisonment in Zimbabwe to a "death sentence:"
A huge percentage of individuals in prison are likely
HIV positive. Many likely get tuberculosis. Prisoners
sleep on cement floors crawling with lice. They keep
it as dirty as possible. The TB is really serious. If they
are on anti-retrovirals (for HIV infection) they are
not getting them. So it's killing people from several
directions. It's shocking.
Zimbabwe's health care system already faces
profound challenges3 including shortages of drugs,
supplies and health workers. But as Dr. Gwatidzo,
Chairman of Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for
2. Agence France-Presse. Overcrowding, poor conditions
claim 127 lives in Zimbabwe jail: study. Available at: http://
www.aegis.com/news/afp/2005/AF050234.html.
3. Thornycroft, P. Zimbabwe public health care costs soar.
Available at: www.voanews.com/english/2006-04-26-voa40.
cfm; Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights
(ZADHR). Taking stock of health rights in Zimbabwe on
World Health Day. Available at: http://www.kubatana.
net/html/archive/health/060407zadhr.asp?orgcode=zim
065&year=2006&range_start=1. Zimbabwe Association of
Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR). Prevailing health sector
emergency. Available at: http://www.kubatana.net/html/
archive/hr/070601zadhr.asp?orgcode=zim065&year=0&ran
ge_start=1.
Human Rights (ZADHR) explained the situation in
prisons is even worse:
The number of doctors in prisons is inadequate. The
medical officers in the prisons will never be able to take
care of all the prisoners. When there is a sudden influx
of injured prisoners, they don't respond on short notice.
They don't have the capacity.
"I think it has always been dangerous to be in custody
in conditions that are filthy, degrading, and inhuman,"
noted Otto Saki, an attorney with Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR). "But now, while you are
in those conditions that are already degrading, you
are now being subjected to torture and beatings. It is
something that is on the increase."
Delays in Access to Legal Services
While in Police Custody
Several victims and human rights attorneys
described intentional delays in accessing legal
services. For example, JT, who was arrested and
severely beaten by police after attending the funeral
of Gift Tandare, was not able to see a lawyer until
the 4th day he was in police custody:
Early in the morning, they woke me up and told me
there was someone to meet me, only to see it was [a
lawyer]. He told me, he started looking for me on the
13th at Harare Central Police Station and I wasn't
there. He told me he had been looking for me for some
days. He told me some of the people who were arrested
were put in different police stations outside of Harare.
He came to a police station looking for me. I was there
at the time, but they denied that I was there--the
police station where I was. He came looking for me,
but the police officer denied my presence. He found me
by an anonymous tip.
Several inmates overheard police officers denying
to lawyers and family members that they were
present. When lawyers came looking for DR and
the group of women she was arrested with, "The
police said we were not there. We could hear the
conversation."
"Lawyers and doctors were trying to see us and
were refused to see the prisoners," said MDC
feminist leader Sekai Holland, who was imprisoned
and tortured on March 11. "The military intelligence
told us, 'The lawyers and doctors were trying to get
to you.'"
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 41
ZLHR attorney Mr. Saki distinguished between those
in remand prison (jail) and police custody. "The ones
that are in remand prison, we have access. But when
they are in police custody we are denied access."
Lawyers trying to obtain court orders to see their
clients reported that even when such court orders
were obtained, they were not enforced. Lawyers also
described an increase in the length of time it took to
obtain access to their clients from the standard 24-48
hours following arrest to a prolonged 4 to 5 days.
"Often during the first 4 to 5 days of being arrested,
we have no access at all while they are in police
custody," noted Mr. Saki. "It has become a strategy to
move individuals from one police station to another to
hamper our access. They have been using no less than
10 police stations."
Several of the victims described being moved from
one prison to another 2 or 3 times, making it harder for
their attorneys to trace them.
Domestic and International Law require access to
legal representation.4 Article 13 of the Zimbabwean
Constitution states:
Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed
as soon as reasonably practicable, in a language that he
understands, of the reasons for his arrest or detention
and shall be permitted at his own expense to obtain and
instruct without delay a legal representative of his own
choice and hold communication with him.
Delays in Access to Medical Care
While in Police Custody
There was a clear pattern of delaying or denying
access to health care for Zimbabwean victims while in
police custody in violation of international standards.5
4. Constitution of Zimbabwe, Articles 13 (3). Available at:
http://www.kubatana.net/docs/legisl/constitution_zim_
070201.doc; International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. res. 2200A (XX1),
21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A.6316 (1966),
999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force March 23, 1976, acceded
to by Zimbabwe, May 13, 1991, Article 14; African Charter
on Human and People's Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU
doc. CAB/LEG/67/3rev.5.21.l.LM.58 (1982), entered into force
October 21, 1986, ratified by Zimbabwe in 1986, Article 7.
5. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
This was true for both prominent individuals
such as senior Zimbabwean MDC leader Sekai
Holland, as well as lesser known victims.
Dr. Reginald Matchaba-Hove of the University of
Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences explained:
The denial of access is both medical and legal. The
people arrested and tortured March 11 were picked
up Sunday. By Monday, I, along with others,
rushed down there with the orders. We rushed
to the police cells and they would deny having
the people there. We went to at least four police
stations and we were denied access. Denial of
medical access has been systematic. Not just with
Morgan [Tsvangirai] but with the others—and the
world is not aware of this.
Human rights attorney, Otto Saki, noted:
In most of the individuals, they have been abducted
in the middle of the night, denied access to lawyers,
subjected to mistreatment, not given access to
medical doctors, except for government hospitals,
and we all know the state of conditions in these
hospitals and the reluctance of doctors to attend to
these cases.
According to Dr. Gwatidzo of ZADHR delays in
medical care increased medical complications in
many cases, including that of Sekai Holland.
She never got any treatment from March 11th to
the 13th. Sekai Holland had the worst injuries
and the state she was in was a result of prolonged
imprisonment and denial of access to medical
treatment. And she got complications as a result.
Her left leg she had fractured, and besides the
bruising it had become infected. It was really bad.
Ms. Holland confirmed, "My injury was on
Sunday and I had not received care until 3 days
later." She drank what little water she was given,
rather than clean herself, despite her bleeding,
inability to walk, and diarrhea.
RP, who was in jail with MDC President, Morgan
Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held
at Geneva in 1955, and approved by the Economic and
Social Council by its resolution 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957
and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977. Available at: http://www.
unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp34.htm.
42 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Tsvangirai remembered how he protested that other
prisoners needing medical care be brought to a
hospital:
I was having difficulty breathing... Mr. Tsvangirai
asked the officer in charge to take me to the hospital
and she refused. She said she had orders from
the highest order that she should only take Mr.
Tsvangirai and Mr. Maduko to the hospital and no
one else... The first two days they wouldn't let us out
of the cell.
Even after it was mandated by the court that all of
the prisoners be provided with healthcare, there
were delays, explained RP:
The third day ...we were taken to court. When we
got there, there was no magistrate in the court. But
there was an order from the high court that we should
be immediately taken to the hospital. At first they
refused, but then around 7 pm we were taken to a
clinic. I was there for five days.
LG, who had open wounds all over his body,
particularly on his feet from police beatings endured
on March 11 2007, did not receive any medical care
during the 3 days he was in detention. Following his
release, he was cared for in a private clinic where his
wounds were cleaned, disinfected, and he was given
pain medication. "I was particularly sore on the soles
of my feet which were swollen," he noted.
This was not the first time LG had been denied
medical care or legal assistance while in police
custody. In September, 2006, he was arrested, severely
beaten and tortured following his participation in the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) march.
We were at that police station for about 3 days. We were
denied access to lawyers...I needed medical attention
because my hand was badly injured [after being beaten
by police with baton sticks]. I asked 'can I see a doctor?'
and they said 'there is no room for that. You are in
prison. You don't have your freedom anymore. You are
under our custody.' We could see that the lawyers were
trying to come and wanting to see us and they were
turned away.
DR did not receive any medical care, during her 3
days of imprisonment for swollen painful feet and
lacerations on her back and buttocks, resulting from
her beatings while being interrogated by the police.
Untreated wounds easily become infected, particularly
in unsanitary conditions. CJ, who had painful open
ulcers on her legs from being beaten after her arrest
in March 2007, did not receive any medical care until
3 days after her arrest, when she was brought to a
medical facility under police guard. By then, her
wounds were infected. Her wounds were cleaned and
she received antibiotics and pain medication, but one
of the ulcers on her leg ultimately required a skin graft
likely due to the delay in treatment.
Several Zimbabwean doctors speculated that delays
in treatment may have been intended to allow time
for evidence of torture/trauma to heal and disappear.
But this was believed to be more common in the past.
Given the marked increase in violence, this strategy
was less feasible now. "If they beat them, they can't
hold them until they are healed because they don't
have the manpower," said one doctor.
Noted Dr. Gwatidzo:
I believe there are a lot of aims to what they do. They keep
them in a cell and deny them access. It's a severe mental
torture when you don't think you will get adequate
treatment.
"The police should produce people requiring
treatment for medical conditions," said a human rights
advocate:
The state has a legal requirement to do so. The problem is
the will of the state. The police prevent individuals from
getting to medical care-even with supervised evaluations.
Mr. Saki noted that recently in a number of cases
involving individuals facing terrorist charges, court
orders for detainees to receive medical care were
ignored. "When we have been successful in obtaining
an order, we have had difficulty in seeing it enforced
and allowing access to doctors."
According to ZLHR and ZADHR, 9 MDC members
arrested on March 24 on terrorist charges were
released and a court order instructed that they have
access to medical attention at a facility and by doctors
of their choice. But according to a health professional
who was present in the court room:
One of the clients collapsed outside the court. He couldn't
stand, he couldn't sit, he had been beaten so badly. He
was just lying outside the court, but police wouldn't let
any doctor attend to him.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 43
When the court order was confirmed, ambulances
were called to take them to a private hospital.
At that point the 9 individuals for about 4 days had not
received any medical care. They were being beaten during
those 4 days. When the ambulances arrived, about half
had to be carried, the others who could walk were having
difficulty walking. They were still limping along because
they had been beaten on their feet.
A doctor at the private hospital told us:
When I left the hospital, they [the victims brought to
hospital by court order] were in safe hands. The prison
officers were in the company of the consulting doctor.
Now we don't know what happened to those individuals,
because we have never seen them again. We honestly
don't know.
A nurse who was present that night witnessed the
arrival of police and a prison doctor in the middle
of the night. They moved the men into a police
truck without any communication with the treating
physician or formal transfer documentation.
When I got there two [of the victims] were waiting outside
the x-rays... The high courts had instructed the state
to let the prisoners have access to medical attention at
a facility of their choice and then doctors of their own
choice... The doctors... had seen the majority. Most had
soft tissue injuries... The others were in the observation
unit... another staff said, 'Do you know what is
happening?' By this time, the fire escape had opened, and
as I got there, he [a doctor from the prison] was already
closing the prison truck. It was a police who said, 'We
have our own hospital.'
The doctor from the prison said, 'What is your problem,
sister?' I thought they had only taken one, but in the
meantime they had come in with a lot of prison guards
and they forced the patients to get into prison uniforms.
One was wearing a uniform so tight and I said, 'It's too
tight' and the guard said, 'No worry, we will change
it.'... He [the prisoner/patient] had an IV and he was
wheeled out into the prison truck...
He [the prison doctor] did not get any information, as
far as I can see, about the patients. It was not a smooth
takeover. They were taken out the fire escape. Patients
were taken out. I was horrified...
One physician noted dispiritedly, "Generally health
professionals don't usually abduct patients."
Delays in Medical Care Outside of
Prison
Individuals reported delays in receiving medical
care for reasons aside from imprisonment including
bureaucratic impediments, fear of receiving services
at public hospitals, and inadequately staffed/supplied
hospitals.
Bureaucratic Impediments
Several individuals described a requirement at
Zimbabwean government hospitals that injured
individuals bring a police report in order to get
treatment.
YD, who suffered a severe head wound after being
beaten by members of the Youth Militia had difficulty
accessing care because he did not have a police report.
YD was found unconscious on the side of the road and
brought to a nearby government clinic, where his head
wound was cleaned. Staff at the clinic then told him to
go to a police station and file a report.
After I was bandaged, I was taken to a police station, and
asked who I was attacked by. I tried to explain to them
what happened, and they told me I was lying, that I was
beaten by robbers. I told them that I had passed through
another police station. They said 'No that's not true.'
They started questioning the people who brought me to
the police station and they got nervous, and they called
my relative.
YD's relative then went to a hospital, but was unable
to get assistance.
I couldn't get help because they didn't get a police report.
In Zimbabwe, to get treated, you have to have a police
report. The police had not given me one-they had sent me
away. So they wouldn't help me at the hospital.
Three other victims said they tried to present their
stories to the police in order to obtain further services,
but the police did not respond or refused to believe
their stories.
Delays in Accessing Medical Care Because of
Fear
Several individuals said they were afraid that if they
sought treatment, particularly in public hospitals, they
risked further abuse. When FL was beaten outside of
his workplace along with several co-workers, he didn't
44 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
go to the hospital right away because "the police told
us if we told anyone the story, they would track us
down." Added FL, "It was difficult for us to go to the
public hospitals because there were CIO there looking
for those who were injured."
VM, believed he needed medical care after being
beaten and remaining for three days in police
custody:
After I was released I needed medical treatment because
I was sore. But I was afraid to go for medical treatment.
Otherwise they would follow me.
Dr. Matchaba-Hove confirmed that public hospitals
do not always provide adequate or safe care:
The quality of care at the public hospitals leaves a lot
to be desired and from a security standpoint people
don't feel they are safe. So you won't get the best
care. But people are also suspicious because there are
military there. [After the September ZCTU rally when
many protesters were attacked by police] the head of
the casualty unit was very negative. He said these are
prisoners; this is not urgent; we can see them tomorrow.
Inadequate Availability of Medical Services
The poor state of the health system exacerbated
the victims' problems accessing care. BA, who was
abducted on a Thursday went to two public hospitals
before he found one with a doctor and necessary
medical supplies. "I was admitted on Friday. There
was no doctor. They even said the doctor was coming
the following Monday." He was given only Tylenol
even though he was still bleeding profusely and was
in severe pain.
On the third day of his detention in the fall of 2006,
LG was taken by police to a public hospital "...where
they did little to assist us. They gave us pain killers."
Upon his release the following day, he went to a
private clinic where surgery was performed on his
fractured hand and leg.
Difficulties Accessing Medical Care
in South Africa
Several of the Zimbabwean victims of political
violence interviewed for this report who fled to
South Africa encountered significant difficulties in
obtaining needed medical care there.
For example, VM, suffered a loss of hearing and pain
as a result of beatings to the head. We found he had a
ruptured tympanic membrane (ear drum). "Life is very
hard here. I can't get food. I can't get treatment. Still I
have pain in my ear, but I can't get treatment, because
they don't give it to you if you don't have any ID."
NF is an elderly woman who had symptomatic high
blood pressure upon arrival. She was prescribed
treatment but could not pay for it. "I said I am not
working and they said, 'You must work--then go to the
doctor.'"
YD, who had a severe head wound from his beating,
had a similar experience:
When I arrived in South Africa I went to a hospital and
the doctors said the blood was coming out bit by bit, so
they sewed up the veins. Then they bandaged me and
told me I should be having a skin grafting in the future. I
was supposed to be admitted but I haven't gotten refugee
status or a temporary refugee document. I applied but I
haven't gotten it yet, and so they told me I am supposed
to pay _1,000 Rand for the graft because I am a foreigner.
So I just told them I don't have that kind of money, I
don't even have a place to stay. They said they can't do
anything. They are treating more than _0 Zimbabweans
every day. So now Zimbabweans have to pay. They said
come back when I have the money. So far there is no way
I can get that money.
At the time of evaluation, YD still had a large open
wound on his head that he was doing his best to
keep clean so it would not become infected. He also
was easily startled, had difficulty sleeping, and had
frequent nightmares when he did fall asleep.
DK, an HIV positive Zimbabwean who arrived in 2002
after being tortured and raped by ZANU-PF military
described the many problems of having no citizenship
papers.
I haven't started on anti-retrovirals because I know that
it's important that once you start you don't stop, and
it's difficult for me because of my status. I have not been
granted asylum yet. I applied for asylum in 2003, and
still have not heard a decision. They are still postponing.
It's a puzzle. It seems the South African government has
taken a position that those people who are real victims of
torture— they have made a decision not to grant them
political status. My status is asylum pending. I don't
qualify for medical benefits. Nothing. I can't afford the
medications for HIV on my own. Sometimes we have it
very tough just to put a meal on the table.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 45
According to the South African Constitution, everyone
in the country, regardless of legal status is entitled
to lifesaving care. The 1998 Refugee Act provides
for even greater access to health care for refugees
and other non-citizens in the country with permits.
Access to health care for refugees and asylum seekers,
however, remains a significant challenge. According
to a recent report by the Consortium for Refugees and
Migrants in South Africa6.
Many refugees and asylum seekers report being refused
access to treatment at clinics and hospitals. Often, they
face the same understaffing, lack of medication and long
waiting times at public health care providers that many
South Africans also suffer. But in many instances,
international migrants also face discrimination and
ignorance of their rights when they attempt to access
medical services.
The refugee advocates in South Africa with whom
we spoke cited several contributing factors to this
including lack of official documentation from the
Department of Home Affairs, xenophobia, and
confusion among health providers over the rights
different categories of migrants have to services, and
ambiguous guidelines for asylum seekers.
Noted Dr Loren Landau, Director of the Forced
Migration Studies Program at the University of
Witwatersrand, South Africa:
Zimbabwean refugees and asylum seekers certainly need
better access to basic services. This can be accomplished
by strengthening and enhancing access to government
funded social, housing and medical services, and
educating providers. Furthermore, there needs to be
increased support for nongovernmental organizations
assisting Zimbabwean refugees and asylum seekers.
6. Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa.
Protecting Refugees and Asylum Seekers in South Africa.
Pretoria, South Africa: June 19, 2007.
IX. HARASSMENT OF
DOCTORS AND LAWYERS
ASSISTING VICTIMS OF
TORTURE AND POLITICAL
VIOLENCE IN ZIMBABWE
Doctors and lawyers provided numerous accounts
of receiving direct verbal threats from police and
government authorities. They reported receiving
messages at their workplaces, at home, and on their
personal cell phones warning them not to "interfere"
with state-sponsored violence. Government authorities
also obstructed lawyers' access to clients (see Chapter
VI), and insisted on being present while medical
doctors examined political prisoners. International
standards and codes of professional conduct clearly
delineate the rights and responsibilities of doctors and
lawyers to function independently and without such
harassment and intimidation.1
Intimidation and Harassment of
Doctors
One Zimbabwean human rights advocate summarized
the situation of Zimbabwean health professionals as
follows:
There is the stress of being in a system under stress, but
then being watched closely. People take an oath of caring
for someone, but then [are prevented] if you take care of a
political prisoner. Imagine if you were a doctor or nurse
1. World Medical Association. Declaration of Hamburg.
(Declaration Concerning Support for Medical Doctors
Refusing to Participate in, or to Condone, the Use of Torture
or other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment).
November, 1997. Available at: http://www.wma.net/e/
policy/c19.htm; World Medical Association. Declaration of
Madrid on Professional Autonomy and Self-Regulation. May
2005. Available at: http://www.wma.net/e/policy/a21.htm;
World Medical Association. Declaration of Geneva. September
1948 and editorially revised May 2006. Available at: http://
www.wma.net/e/policy/c8.htm; Eighth United Nations
Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders. Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. September
1990. Available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/
b/h_comp44.htm; United Nations General Assembly.
Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of
Crime and Abuse of Power. Adopted by General Assembly
resolution 40/34, November 29, 1985. Available at: http://
www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp49.htm.
46 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
at one of the hospitals where the victims were brought
and you are just trying to do your job--and you have
people in riot gear watching over you.
After forming the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors
for Human Rights (ZADHR) in 2002, its chairman Dr.
Douglas Gwatidzo was contacted by the Zimbabwean
Minister of Health and questioned by the Zimbabwean
Intelligence Service about the group's activities. In
2004, the Zimbabwean government accused ZADHR
of being "one of the vehicles through which [foreign]
forces are trying to spread malicious reports about the
human rights situation in the country."2
Dr. Gwatidzo said such claims are false and are
intended to instill fear in doctors of openly supporting
ZADHR.3 "Many doctors don't want to be identified
with ZADHR publicly," he explained to investigators.
While Dr. Gwatidzo was in New York in April 2007
speaking about the March 11 events, his wife received
phone calls at home requesting him to appear at
the police station when he returned. Otto Saki of
Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights explained
that Dr. Gwatidzo is "on the radar" due to his
documentation of police violence and interference with
medical care surrounding the events of March 11th. "He
had taken pictures of the people he was attending to
and they were not taking it lightly."
"The work I do is not acceptable to the system,"
said Dr. Gwatizdo. However, he sees it as his central
responsibility as a clinician to treat all those injured,
regardless of political affiliations. "I am a general
practitioner. I do accident and injury work," he
explained.
On March 24, 2007, ZADHR released a petition to
protest the hospital delays in caring for those arrested
after the state sponsored attack on MDC leader
Tsvangirai and others and the intimidating and
antagonistic police presence in the hospital once they
were finally brought for treatment:
Despite their best efforts, health professionals in
Zimbabwe are placed in an impossible position as they
are prevented from treating "politically unacceptable"
2. Zimbabwe Sunday Mail. July 2004.
3. Pincock S. Douglas Gwatidzo: Defending Human Rights
in Zimbabwe. The Lancet. 2005;366:363. Information also
confirmed in interview with investigators, May 2007.
citizens. Efforts taken by health professionals to
document and prevent human rights abuses meet
with further intimidation by security forces. The
treatment of the leader of the opposition, Mr. Morgan
Tsvangirai, on the night of his assault illustrates this
situation. After his arrest and subsequent assault
he collapsed while being held in police cells. He was
taken to the Accident and Emergency Department
of the government Central Hospital at 03:00hrs.
The A&E department was cordoned off. A junior
medical officer on duty was made to review him in the
presence of armed police, which he did superficially
without reference to senior colleagues. He did not
implement effective management of Mr. Tsvangirai's
injuries so that the latter was released back to the
police despite having lost sufficient blood to lose
consciousness again the next day. He was eventually
treated at a private hospital where he required a blood
transfusion.4
A spokesperson for ZADHR explained that doctors
were constantly being intimidated by the police:
It's that level of intimidation, you censor yourself.
Even at Avenues [a private clinic in Harare that
frequently treats victims of the police] the armed
police come into the examining room. It takes
someone quite mature to say' no you can't go into the
room.' Or if they are in the room (they demand) how
to do our job.
The young doctor who initially attended to Mr.
Tsvangirai on March 11 was especially nervous, Dr.
Gwatidzo said:
And so they [the police] said 'everyone else out'. For
someone who is young that is intimidating... They
were not saying, 'Don't do this.' But at the end of the
day, they are taking him [the prisoner]. The young
doctor had to examine him in the middle of the night
after March 11th in the presence of police. They have
created a very tense atmosphere.
Several doctors told us how stressful they found the
constant surveillance of their work. They did not
even feel comfortable identifying themselves for
this report because they feared harassment.
4. Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights.
The time to speak and to make a difference is now. Available
at: http://www.ifhhro.org/files/Petition_March_24_07_
ZADHR.doc.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 47
Intimidation and Threats to Lawyers
Lawyers have also been harassed by the government.5
As one ZLHR lawyer told us:
While the lawyers have been threatened in the past, it
is on the increase. I had an anonymous call soon after
March 11th. I was actually at home... the person said to
me, 'If you continue representing these guys we will f--
- you up.
On the day of the court order allowing Gift Tandare's
burial, another attorney was threatened by the
commander of the Law and Order Section of the
Zimbabwean police force, Musarashana Mabunda.
He said, 'During the liberation struggle lawyers
disappeared. So you are fighting for the liberation of the
country. So you can also disappear.
The threats, including anonymous threatening phone
calls to the wives of 2 attorneys on April 25 led ZLHR
to provide security at the homes of several of the
attorneys. Two were arrested on May 4, 2007 and all of
their records were seized.6 In response 60 human rights
lawyers attended a peaceful demonstration in front
of the National High Court building on May 8. One
lawyer was beaten up in front of the court buildings
and ten others were arrested and released that day.
According to Front Line, a Dublin-based human rights
organization:
Reportedly, three truckloads of riot police, uniformed
officers and individuals in plain clothes armed with
automatic rifles, shot guns and batons initiated the
attack, verbally abused the lawyers and physically
attacked them on charges of "not dispersing fast enough."
A number of lawyers sought protection inside the
Attorney General's office but were physically attacked
by riot police and additional officers waiting inside the
building. The lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa, Colin Kuhuni,
Chris Mhike and Terrence Fitzpatrick were placed onto a
police truck and driven to Eastlea, a nearby suburb where
they were ordered to lie on the ground on the side of the
5. Federation for Human Rights. Ill-treatment / Arbitrary
detentions and releases / Judicial proceedings / Unlawful
search - ZWE 003 / 0507 / OBS 046. Available at: http://
www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=4299.
6. Reuters. "Two Lawyers Arrested In Zimbabwe Sweep".
New York Times. May 6, 2007. Available at: http://query.
nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CEFDE1E3EF935A3
5756C0A9619C8B63.
road and beaten in full view of the public. The lawyers
were then released on the roadside.7
Some ZLHR lawyers described an increasing sense of
demoralization:
One thing we are very concerned about is that even as
lawyers we get to a stage that we are starting to burn
out. There are about 10 of us. That's why it's easy to
threaten us. They know it is the same lawyers.
Fewer and fewer professionals are willing and able to
work under such stressful conditions, and "brain drain"
is increasing rapidly according to the Southern African
Migration Project (SAMP) and others.8 "Compassion
fatigue" or "secondary traumatization," the stress of
working with those in crisis, has also been documented.9
7. Front line. Ongoing harassment of human rights lawyers in
Zimbabwe. Available at: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org.
8. See Chikanda, Abel "Skilled health professionals'
migration and its impact on health delivery in Zimbabwe"
in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, May 2006. Also
Stilwell B. Developing evidence-based ethical policies on
the migration of health workers: conceptual and practical
challenges. Hum Resour Health. 2003;1:8.
9. Beaton RD, Murphy SA. Working with people in crisis:
Research Implications. In: Figley CR, ed. Compassion fatigue:
Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat
the traumatized. NY: Brunner/Mazel; 1995:51-81.
48 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
X. Risks and Limitations of this
Investigation
While names and other identifying information of
informants and victims of torture/political violence are
not included in this report (except where permission
was given to do so), individuals were informed of the
risk of being identified based on narrative information
presented in this report. All individuals nonetheless
agreed to be interviewed.
Much of this report is based upon the evaluation of a
relatively small sample (24). One cannot necessarily
extrapolate the results of these interviews to the
population of torture victims in Zimbabwe as a
whole or to the general Zimbabwean population.
Additionally, the individuals in the sample were not
randomly selected but were referred for evaluation.
Nevertheless, the group interviewed offers a cross
section in terms of gender, age and political stature.
Individuals included both prominent leaders of the
political opposition as well as local organizers and
ordinary citizens. Furthermore, our findings were also
consistent with information gathered in more than
30 meetings with health professionals, human rights
advocates and representatives of non-governmental
organizations in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Interviews were transcribed by the evaluating
physicians (Drs Keller and Stewart). While every
effort was made to accurately transcribe individual's
comments, for safety reasons interviews were not tape
recorded to confirm exact statements made. Interviews
were conducted in English except for two evaluations
where translators were used. Errors in translation in
these two cases cannot be ruled out.
In conducting forensic evaluations of individuals
claiming harm/injury from violent acts such as torture,
the potential for individuals falsifying information,
exaggerating symptoms or falsely claiming that physical
findings are associated with their reported abuse must
be considered. The individuals in this report underwent
detailed evaluations, typically lasting 2 hours, and were
found to be highly credible and have clear physical and
psychological findings corroborating their allegations of
torture and abuse. Furthermore, as noted in the methods
section, rigorous criteria were used to define torture and
political violence. The two physicians agreed in all cases
on the classifications of individuals as victims of torture
and/or political violence.
The victims evaluated for this report did not appear
to be exaggerating or falsely reporting the events
they described. They were forthcoming about what
events they did and did not recall and what abusive
treatments they did and did not experience. The
findings on physical and psychological evaluation
were consistent with the events individuals described.
Furthermore, individuals readily acknowledged that
some of the scars noted on physical examination were
unrelated to their imprisonment and mistreatment.
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 49
XI. TABLES
Demographic Information
(n=24)
Frequency Percentage
Gender
Female 5 21
Male 19 79
Age
19-25 6 25
26-35 9 38
36-45 5 21
46-55 1 4
56-65 3 13
MDC Affiliate
Member 4 17
Local Organizer 12 50
National Organizer/leader 6 25
Non Member 2 8
Table 2:
History of Political Violence or Torture pre and post March
11, 2007
(n=24)
Frequency Percentage
Pre 3/11 Political violence 11 46
Pre 3/11 Torture 9 38
Post 3/11 Political violence 7 29
Post 3/11 Fear of political violence 24 100
Post 3/11 History of torture 16 67
Pre 3/11 Political violence OR torture 15 63
Post 3/11 Political violence OR torture 20 83
50 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe
Table 3:
Trauma History
(n=24 unless specified)
Frequency Percentage
Jailed 15 63
Abducted 5 21
Denied legal services in prison (n=15) 6 40
Delayed medical services in prison (n=15) 6 40
Denied medical services in prison (n= 15) 1 7
Continued physical symptoms 24 100
Corroborated physical symptoms 24 100
Significant psychological symptoms based on clinical interview
or diagnosis
24 100
Family persecuted/harassed 11 46
Perpetrators of pre 3/11 violence (n= 16)
CIO 3 19
Police 9 56
War Veterans 4 25
ZANU-PF Militia 2 13
ZANU-PF Youth 5 31
Perpetrators of post 3/11 violence (n=20)
CIO 2 10
Police 15 75
ZANU-PF Youth 2 10
Unknown 2 10
Table 4:
Frequency of Individuals Meeting cut-off for HSCL-25 and HTQ
Frequency above
cut-off
Percentage
Hopkins Symptom Checklist- 25 (n= 18)
Anxiety Subscale 16 88.9
Depression Subscale 15 83.3
Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (n= 17)
PTSD 13 76.4
A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 51
Table 5:
Most Frequently Endorsed Symptoms on HSCL-15 and HTQ
Frequency Percentage
Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (n= 18)
Anxiety Subscale
Spells of terror or panic 11 61
Feeling restless, Can't sit still 10 56
Feeling fearful 10 56
Faintness, dizziness, or weakness 9 50
Nervousness or shakiness inside 9 50
Feeling tense or keyed up 9 50
Headaches 9 50
Depression Subscale
Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep 15 83
Worrying too much about things 13 72
Poor appetite 12 67
Feeling blue 12 67
Feeling lonely 12 67
Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (n=17)
PTSD
Recurrent thoughts or memories of the most
hurtful or terrifying events
16 94
Feeling on guard 15 88
Recurrent nightmares 14 82
Trouble sleeping 14 82
Feelings as though the event is happening
again
13 76
Sudden emotional of physical reaction
when reminded of the most hurtful or
traumatic events
13 76 | 
