via Zanu PF most violent party, report – NewZimbabwe 18/12/2015
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party continues to be the most violent among the country’s political parties, often without any consequences to the perpetrators, a local rights group has reported.
In its latest report covering political violations in November this year, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) reported Friday that some of the violence the ruling party has routinely targeted at the opposition has caught up with its own supporters as internal fissures continue to rock the beleaguered movement.
“An overwhelming majority of perpetrators of violence for November were from Zanu PF at 93 %, compared to the October Zanu PF figure of 79.3 percent,” says the ZPP.
“…MDC-T came a far second with 0.05 percent. Such a trend shows without a doubt that Zanu PF is the dominating culprit when it comes to violence.”
Most of the victims in November, according to the report, have remained the supporters of the opposition MDC-T who accounted for 36 per cent of the violations, although a slight decrease from the October violations which were at 40 per cent.
Zanu PF victims, mostly as a result of intra-party conflict, made up 24.2 per cent of total incidences.
Factional divisions, mostly in Manicaland, are reported as one side supporting the First Lady and the other Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The remaining 39 per cent were violations targeted at individuals whose political affiliations could not be verified.
Grace linked to violations
The report furthers establishes that Mashonaland Central had the largest number of violations at 10, with all of them perpetrated by Zanu- PF.
Next was Harare with eight then Mashonaland West with seven and Manicaland six. Matabeleland provinces had no recorded violations for November.
Most of the incidents have resulted in skirmishes arising from the distribution of food handouts by the First Lady Grace Mugabe, party restructuring meetings and factional clashes.
November showed the most common type of violence being intimidation and harassment at 102 out of 208, which was a decrease from 149 out of 248 incidences in October.
Next was discrimination at 47 and then followed by assault at 21 and then 13 cases of theft and looting followed by 12 instances of malicious damage to property.
Most perpetrators were man of between 40 and 49.
Some of the most reported violations in the media was the November 14 axing of two Zanu PF supporters in Chitungwiza by one Proud Mupandwa, also a party member following factional divisions during a party restructuring process in the dormitory town.
Violent clashes between Zanu PF and MDC-T supporters took place in Harare South which left a number of MDC-T supporters injured.
Ugly scenes also followed Grace Mugabe’s provincial rallies where party supporters were abused by security details while stampeding for food hand-outs.
Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo could not be reached for comment although his party has routinely denied being the main perpetrators of political violence in the country.
The ZPP gets its information from its 420 community based human rights monitors, who observe and record cases of human rights violations in the constituencies they reside.
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