On 9 August 2018, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum met with the representatives of various diplomatic missions operating in Harare to raise alarm regarding the escalating human rights situation in the country.
In addressing the diplomats, the Chairperson of the Forum Ms. Jestina Mukoko stated that they had documented 6 cases of extra-judicial killings by the military officers deployed on 1 August 2018.
“It is our submission that the military’s conduct was in violation of international standards in controlling protesting crowds.” Mukoko said.
The Forum complained of the continued military presence in the residential areas and attempts by the state to conceal evidence of extra-judicial killings.
Ms. Mukoko told the diplomats that the Forum values the solidarity of the international community, especially African colleagues. She said that elections are not an event but a process.
“An assessment on the credibility of an election that does not take into consideration the security of voters after casting their votes, remains questionable in itself. The escalating security situation in the country calls upon the region to act with haste and compassion, not simply to the leadership of Zimbabwe, but to the people of Zimbabwe whose lives are at the messy of a powerful military force,” Mukoko said.
See the communication to the African diplomats Appeal to the African Diplomats
