20 Apr March 2026 Human rights report

Human rights violations surged sharply in March 2026, with 291 violations recorded compared to 104 in February, as the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) documented abuses affecting 5,013 victims nationwide. Of these, 2,863 were female, including 30 persons with disabilities, while 2,150 were male, including 23 persons with disabilities. This escalation was largely driven by widespread violations of civil and political rights during the politically tense environment leading up to the Parliamentary public hearings on the Constitution Amendment Bill (No. 3) of 2026, held from 30 March to 2 April. These public hearings were described by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission as being marred by violence and other forms of human rights violations.

In this month, citizens’ freedoms were affected by overt political violence, including assaults, abductions, intimidation, and harassment, alongside systematic restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, expression, and broader political rights while socio-economic rights were also negatively affected.

Perpetrators were predominantly linked to ruling party structures, with ZANU PF affiliates accounting for 49.71% of recorded violations, followed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (13.08%), suspected state security agents (11.34%), and other government agencies (8.43%). Additional actors included school authorities (6.69%), local municipal authorities (4.65%), artisanal miners (1.45%), and traditional leaders (0.87%), while 3.78% of perpetrators were unaffiliated. Geographically, Manicaland recorded the highest number of violations (48), followed by Harare (42), Mashonaland West (38), Masvingo (35), Mashonaland Central (33), Mashonaland East (26), Midlands (23), and Bulawayo (20), with Matabeleland North and South recording 14 and 12 cases respectively.

In the “Towards Sustainable Peace in Zimbabwe” section, ZPP commends the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, under the leadership of the now reassigned Ms. Jessie Majome, for its principled stance in raising concerns over the human rights implications of the Constitution Amendment Bill and the conduct of the public hearings.