Leopard and Its Spots: Harassment and Intimidation all Over Again in Zimbabwe

Amnesty International revealed Zimbabwean police raided the offices of civil society organisations and detained human rights workers in the run-up to elections scheduled to be held on July 31.

“The clampdown on the work of human rights defenders is a worrying indicator that government agencies remain actively hostile to civil society,” Noel Kututwa, Amnesty’s deputy programme director for Africa, said in an e-mailed statement. Even, the Carter Centre, created by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, said it was refused permission to monitor Zimbabwe's elections.

Amnesty in its report titled “Walk the Talk.” said 'civil society organisations carrying out election-related activities including voters' education, domestic election observation and those perceived to be critical of government policies have had their offices raided by police and equipment, including computers, seized whilst human rights defenders have been unlawfully detained.'

Rugare Gumbo, spokesman for Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, did not answer calls to his mobile phone before the report was released according to amnesty. Zimbabweans will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on July 31, to end a power-sharing government led by President Robert Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The coalition was formed four years ago following a disputed election that was marred by voter irregularities and violence, according to international observers.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, failed in a bid to postpone the election. The Southern African Development Community, which brokered the power-sharing agreement four years ago also pushed for the ballot to be delayed to allow more time for voters to be registered and ensure certain reforms are carried out for free and fair elections but all efforts proved abortive.

Amnesty said it is 'concerned that partisanship by some members of the country’s security services, who have openly expressed their preferred outcome in the next election, is directly undermining Zimbabwe’s ability to realise its obligation to respect and protect internationally guaranteed civil and political rights.' Robert Mugabe, 89 has dubbed the election to be a 'do or die affair' showing the level of desperation which of course must definitely come with harassment.