The National Youth
Development Trust (NYDT) would like to register its concerns over the continued
police intimidation of civic society members generally and of NYDT members
particularly. Police Officers are reportedly visiting NYDT members in the
pretext that they are searching for evidence of voter registration material
despite them not producing authentic search warrants for this purpose. The
reported incidents have occurred in Bulawayo and Lupane.
In cases where the
youths have allowed the police officers to carry out searches, they have found nothing concrete to substantiate their claims. NYDT is concerned that
these unwarranted acts of intimidation on its members, come at a time when the
country is heading towards the Referendum and General Elections, and this may
only serve to lessen youth participation in these important national process.
These moves are also
limiting the intentions and gains made so far by civic society organisations
and even Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to lure young people to actively
and effectively participate in national processes. These actions are not only
reflecting a lack of sincerity by some sectors of the security forces to
protect Zimbabweans but also that there is little or no sincerity in attempts
to create a free and fair environment for elections to be carried out in.
NYDT therefore condemns
such arbitrary and illicit searches and therefore calls on the Ministry of Home
Affairs to intervene and call the police to order, over such unwarranted
searches and general harassment of youths seeking to exercise their rights as
citizens of Zimbabwe.
