Evaluations of selected civilian oversight institutions for police accountability in the Republic of Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study evaluated selected police oversight institutions in Zimbabwe. Primary data were obtained from representatives of external accountability institutions (N = 126) through a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews. The Court was considered to be the most effective oversight institution and it plays its role through scrutinising propriety of police actions and presiding over civil suits against the police. Second was the civic society, which comprised the media and non-governmental organisations, and is playing its oversight role through exposing incidents of police abuse and offering legal assistance to victims of police abuse. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) handles human rights-related complaints against the police, though findings revealed that investigations are done by the police. Parliament’s main oversight role is through monitoring the police through the relevant portfolio committee. The major obstacles to police oversight are: the unfavourable operating environment for the civic society, limited investigative powers for the ZHRC, and the dominance of Parliament by a single political party.