Governance and crisis states
Security sector reform in Zimbabwe: what, why and how?
Zimbabwe: assessing security sector reform
Authors:
C. Hendricks; L. Hutton
Publisher:
Institute for Security Studies, South Africa, 2009
On the 15th of September 2008, a power-sharing agreement was brokered between the major political parties in Zimbabwe, namely, the Tsvangirai-led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T), the Mutambara-led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-M) and the then ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) of Robert Mugabe. This Global Political Agreement (GPA) paved the way for the establishment of a Government of National Unity and the reconstruction of the society at large.
The formation of the new inclusive government provided an opportunity for considering fundamental reforms in the provision of security and justice services to the people of Zimbabwe. This policy brief considers the need for security sector reform in Zimbabwe - which is also necessary for the stability and development of the region as a whole.
The authors make the following recommendations, including:
- In the short-term, any agenda for security sector reform should balance the requirements for stabilisation with the needs of the security establishment and the people of Zimbabwe. The initial concern is to ensure that the military cannot play the role of determinant of political fate
- The unity government should deal with de-legitimating influences caused by the perversion of justice and misuse of security service providers
- Particular attention should be given to addressing gender-based violence. In addition, attention must be paid to strengthening complaints and grievance mechanisms within these institutions
- In the long-term an overhaul of the criminal justice system is going to be required with highly controversial issues such as impunity, vetting and the restoration of judicial independence being addressed
- Immediate interventions need to be made to provide food, clothing and medical supplies to prisons.
The authors conclude by stating that short and medium term interventions will need to focus on interim stability and preventing the collapse of the unity government. A further imperative is to support processes, systems and mechanisms for accountability, most particularly to parliament, the auditor general and commissions. Opening the space for media and civil society engagement is a first step towards participatory governance.
