Zimbabwe’s new inclusive government, formed in 2008, provides an opportunity to consider provision of fundamental reforms of security and justice services to the people of Zimbabwe. This Institute for Security Studies paper examines Zimbabwe’s need for security sector reform (SSR) and recommends measures by which to construct an effective security sector. The will to achieve widespread democratic reform does not currently exist in Zimbabwe; long-term, comprehensive SSR will occur only when it becomes politically necessary.
Zimbabwe’s political and socioeconomic crisis began in 1987 with the downsizing of the public sector, cutting of government subsidies and creation of a de facto party state. Growing civil unrest and growth of civil society organisations resulted in an express desire for constitutional reform. Elections in 2008 resulted in a unity government which might display the will to tackle the country’s critical problems.
Zimbabwe’s security sector displays a typical post-colonial orientation towards regime security and lack of transparency and accountability. It also exhibits the potential for use of security for political ends and a willingness to use excessive force against perceived enemies.
While the following Zimbabwan security sector components perform functions generally prescribed by law, they are alleged to operate above the law and for partisan ends:
- Zimbabwe’s army and air force, constitutionally prescribed to defend the country, is involved in domestic law enforcement detrimental to civil-military relations and public trust. There is a lack of oversight of the sector; public accountability does not exist.
- While legislation ostensibly ensures that the police remain politically neutral, police have been implicated in acts of violence and political intimidation. The force is under-resourced; it lacks a code of conduct and culture of respect for human rights.
- The current constitution is silent on the intelligence sector. Absent a system of controls and checks and balances, the agency is perceived to have infiltrated all levels of society and is involved in repressing political opposition.
- While judiciary functions are constitutionally defined, in practice the sector has contributed to the decline of the rule of law. Executive control over the judiciary has increased, corruption is rampant, and citizens suffer from politically-motivated arrests and lack of access to counsel.
- Prisons in Zimbabwe are described by some as “death traps”. Facilities are overcrowded; abuse of prisoners constitutes a humanitarian crisis.
To avoid the risk of military coup and rebuild public trust, the military should be removed immediately from domestic law enforcement. Other recommendations include:
- Establish basic management information systems to capture human resource information and stabilise payment of security sector wages.
- End security sector partisanship and the perceived impunity of service providers.
- Overhaul the criminal justice system incrementally. Begin by aligning the judiciary with international standards and human rights.
- Focus on maintaining interim stability and preventing the collapse of the unity government.
- Balance the requirements for stability with the needs and fears of both the security establishment and the people.
