The right to demonstrate peacefully in public is guaranteed by the constitution and must be respected by the law enforcement agencies and as long as demonstrations are peaceful they must be permitted, argues rights watchdog, Veritas.
In its analysis of the constitution and complaints against the police, Veritas says the government has a duty to ensure that public gatherings are policed responsibly.
When they turn violent the security services are entitled to use force to quell them, but the force must be reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.
Demonstrators who are arrested must be treated with respect for their inherent dignity and must be accorded all their rights as set out in section 50 of the Constitution.
Everyone is equal before the law and the law must be administered impartially. All those who commit violent acts, whether members of the public or security service personnel, should be brought to justice.
Below is the write-up:
The Constitution and Complaints About Police & The Role of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission
Introduction
Section 58 of the Constitution gives people the right to assemble together freely, and section 59 gives them the right to demonstrate, provided they do so peacefully. These rights are vital to any free democratic society, and they must be respected by the police and other law enforcement agents when they deal with public meetings and demonstrations that may become unruly.
So important are those rights that if members of the security services [i.e. the Police Service, the Defence Forces and intelligence agencies] use excessive force to control or break up demonstrations, even unruly or riotous ones, then they must be brought to book and dealt with according to the law, because no one is above the law and everyone is equal before the law [section 56 of the Constitution].
Investigation of Complaints Against Security Services
Section 210 of the Constitution obliges the Government to enact legislation setting up an effective and independent mechanism for receiving, investigating and remedying complaints from the public about misconduct on the part of members of the security services.
No such mechanism is in place although it is now three years since it was supposed to have been established. An application to expedite its establishment was taken to the Constitutional Court by Veritas. It was heard in January this year, but although the judges gave our counsel a sympathetic hearing they have not yet given judgment.
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