In the last month of 2025, December, Zimbabwe Peace Project documented a total of 86 human rights violations. The violations affected 1964 victims.
Among the victims were 988 women and 976 men, 15 of the victims were persons with disabilities.
The human rights breaches included violations of rights to personal security, equality andnon-discrimination particularly in government aid distribution and threats of violence and intimidation.
Other civil and political rights such as restrictions on freedom of assemblyand association and that of expression were recorded. Other violations included limitation of access to social services, unjustified arrest, and displacement among others.
In the provincial statistics, more violations, 21, were recorded in Manicaland in the reporting month.
Harare recorded 11 human rights violations while 10 were documented in Masvingo and nine in Mashonaland Central. Other provinces recorded: Mashonaland East (eight), Midlands and Matabeleland North both recorded eight, Matabeleland South (five) and Mashonaland West four while three were recorded in Bulawayo.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police topped the perpetrators’ list accounting for 26.2% of the violations followed by the ruling party supporters who accounted for 20.2% of the violations and its party leaders standing at 17.6%.
Local authorities accounted for 7.9% of the violations, traditional leaders 5.6%, artisanal miners 6.7% and other government agents 4.9% also contributed to the breaches of such human rights violations.
- Veteran football administrator Chishanga dies
- Letters: PWDs remain susceptible to abuse
- Political violence escalating: Report
- Cops to pay US$4 500 for vandalised vehicle
Keep Reading
Members of the Zimbabwe National Army accounted for 1.9% and 3% of the violations were perpetrated by school authorities while 6% were perpetrated by members with no known affiliations.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project acknowledges, in the section Towards Sustainable Peace in Zimbabwe, the efforts of the National Dialogue Conference convened by the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD)in December, which highlighted inclusive, continuous dialogue as essential for national unity, reconciliation, and development.
This report highlights in the ‘Ten steps backwards’ section, how the politicisation of food aid and government agricultural inputs continues, violating fundamental human rights and exacerbating food insecurity.
Discriminatory distribution of aid not only denies vulnerable communities access to life-saving support but also deepens structural inequalities, heightens humanitarian suffering, and undermines prospects for social cohesion and sustainable peace.
In incidents documented in December 2025, at least six serious violations of constitutionally protected human rights in Zimbabwe were breached, with the right to personal security, as enshrined in Section 52 of the constitution, being the most prominently violated.
In Manicaland Province, Rusape (Makoni South), a female victim was physically assaulted during a food aid distribution after being denied assistance on the basis of her perceived support for an opposition political party, violating not only the victim’s right to personal security but
also the rights to equality and freedom from discrimination.
In Bindura, Mashonaland Central, a shoe vendor in Chipadze, was brutally assaulted by police officers resulting in loss of sight. The victim had failed to deliver the money in a routine extortion scheme in which police demanded nightly payments from vendors to allow them to operate.
The victim was pursued, harassed, and violently beaten by officers, including being struck in the face with a baton until his eye popped out.
Some of the incidents involved the excessive use of force and indiscriminate attacks on civilians by state security agents, particularly the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the National Army.
In Shurugwi, Midlands Province, five artisanal miners were assaulted by members of the national army at a site where alleged gold deposits had been discovered, violating their rights to personal security.
In Harare Province, police officers in Chitungwiza’s St Mary’s suburb assaulted vendors at a shopping centre for selling foodstuffs in public places, injuring five people and infringing their rights to personal security, dignity, and livelihood.
Similarly, in Epworth Ward 3, riot police indiscriminately beat civilians found in public spaces after 7 p.m., including at shopping centres, bars, and vending sites.
Comparable incidents were also recorded in Silobela Constituency, Midlands Province, where police assaulted civilians around 10 pm and subjected some to degrading treatment by forcing them to roll on the ground.
Such cases illustrate a wide pattern of violations affecting multiple constitutional rights, including personal security, dignity, equality, freedom from discrimination, and protection from violence. - Zimbabwe Peace Project
