Robert Mugabe

The army took control of the Marange diamond fields. Human Rights Watch documented more than 200 deaths during the operation's first weeks, along with torture, beatings, forced labour involving adults and children, extortion and smuggling.

State of the evidence

Documented

After ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority and Mugabe came second in the first presidential round, security forces, militias and party supporters launched a campaign of violence against the MDC. Human Rights Watch documented at least 200 deaths and approximately 5,000 people beaten or tortured; Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the runoff.

State of the evidence

Documented

Zimbabwe experienced massive economic contraction, the collapse of public services and historic hyperinflation. The IMF recorded a decline of approximately 40% in real GDP between 2000 and 2007, followed by another sharp contraction in 2008, while inflation reached extreme levels.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Police harshly suppressed an opposition gathering in Harare and arrested more than fifty activists, including Morgan Tsvangirai, several of whom were severely beaten in custody.

State of the evidence

Documented

The government launched a major campaign to demolish informal housing, businesses and urban neighbourhoods. According to the UN and human rights organisations, approximately 700,000 people lost their homes, livelihoods or both, without adequate rehousing.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Accelerated land reform, intended to correct land ownership patterns inherited from colonialism, was accompanied by violent farm invasions, assaults and killings of farmers and farm workers, as well as politically driven allocation of land to people close to the government.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Ahead of the 2002 presidential election, the government strengthened laws restricting gatherings, media and political activity, while opposition activists and journalists suffered intimidation, arrests and violence. Independent observers strongly challenged the freedom and fairness of the election.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Mugabe repeatedly made strongly hostile statements about gay people, which became a lasting feature of his domestic and international political rhetoric.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following a parliamentary election campaign marked by serious violence, Mugabe granted a pardon to perpetrators of political offences committed between January and July 2000, notably excluding murder, rape and fraud.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Mugabe granted another amnesty covering a broad range of politically motivated offences, including beatings, arson, abductions and torture. According to human rights organisations, this measure reinforced a culture of impunity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Two security service agents convicted of attempting to assassinate opposition figure Patrick Kombayi were pardoned by Mugabe. The case became a prominent example of protection afforded to agents involved in political violence.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Political responsibility

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Following the agreement between ZANU and ZAPU, a clemency measure covered security force members and dissidents involved in violence during the preceding period. Human Rights Watch regards this practice as a milestone in political impunity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Under Mugabe, the Fifth Brigade was deployed against a purported dissident insurgency in Matabeleland. Operations involved massacres, torture, disappearances and violence against Ndebele civilians. Human Rights Watch cited at least 10,000 deaths, while other estimates reach approximately 20,000.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Command responsibility