Amnesty International Taunton Local Group

At least six women and their young children have been forced to flee their homes in Mukumbura district after being threatened with violence and forcible evictions after the 31 July election. Some of the women had to leave children behind.

The women alleged they had been targeted for refusing to follow instructions from ZANU-PF supporters to feign illiteracy, blindness or physical injury, which would have allowed someone else to ‘assist’ them by marking the ballot on their behalf .  One of the women reported that she had first been threatened in her village two weeks before the election and reported the matter to the police but no action was taken. The six displaced political activists told us that there are more families in the same predicament who remain stranded in the district under threat of violence.

Please click here to generate a fax to the Police Officer in command of Mashonaland Central Province asking him to investigate these allegations of harrassment.

Note: Amnesty does not endorse or oppose any political party and will engage with any government to emerge from these elections to address human rights violations in Zimbabwe – past and present.

Tags: action, elections, human rights, letter writing, Zimbabwe