{"id":35977,"date":"2021-03-04T22:43:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T20:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?p=35977"},"modified":"2021-03-04T18:52:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T16:52:42","slug":"zimbabwes-freedom-ratings-fall-amid-state-crackdown-on-dissent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-freedom-ratings-fall-amid-state-crackdown-on-dissent","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe\u2019s Freedom Ratings Fall Amid State Crackdown On Dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Zimbabwe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>By Leopold Munhende<\/b> – ZIMBABWE has ranked lowly in a Freedom House world index gauging the enjoyment of freedoms among citizens of different world countries.<\/p>\n

According to the latest report entitled Freedom in the World, Zimbabwe fell from the \u2018Partly Free\u2019 category in 2020 to \u2018Not Free\u2019 this year.<\/p>\n

The decline is a result of government\u2019s heavy handedness in dealing with dissent, arrest of opposing voices, journalists, total failure to address rampant corruption and its overbearing approach to the judiciary.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe has a rating of 28 out of 100 with an average score of one on some 25 categories that cover its electoral processes, individual rights, rule of law, organizational rights, freedom of expression and political participation amongst others.<\/p>\n

The report indicates some state leaders, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, hid behind Covid-19 restrictions to crush opponents, torture and kill.<\/p>\n

Freedom House argues Mnangagwa inherited late former President Robert Mugabe\u2019s system which he is now wielding against opponents the same way Mugabe did.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs COVID-19 spread during the year, governments across the democratic spectrum repeatedly resorted to excessive surveillance, discriminatory restrictions on freedoms like movement and assembly, and arbitrary or violent enforcement of such restrictions by police and nonstate actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany governments around the world withheld or distorted crucial information, imposed excessive or abusive lockdown rules, or used Covid-19 as cover to consolidate power and suppress dissent.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these developments could have an impact on global democracy that outlasts the pandemic itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new administration (Zimbabwe) has largely retained the legal, administrative, and security architecture it inherited from the Mugabe regime, and it has stepped up repression to consolidate its authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cEndemic corruption, weak rule of law, and poor protections for workers and land rights remain among Zimbabwe\u2019s critical challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journalists, opposition political party figures, critiques and students have all been at the receiving end of Mnangagwa\u2019s brutal response to dissent over his numerous Covid-19 lockdown periods.<\/p>\n

Having failed to court the West in his re-engagement drive, post the 2017 coup, Mnangagwa has been accused of weaponising courts against opponents and abusing his role as Commander in Chief to unleash the military on ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n

Mnangagwa\u2019s failure to deal with corruption has not done him any favour too.<\/p>\n

A US$60 million Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Draxgate scandal last year that involved his then Health Minister Obadiah Moyo has not landed anyone in jail in spite of numerous documents shared indicating massive maladministration in the Health and Finance Ministries.<\/p>\n

Neighbouring South Africa is rated Free at 72, Zambia Partly Free at 52, Mozambique Partly Free at 43 and Botswana Free at 72.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s decline is however not independent as 75 percent of the world recorded a decline in democracy over the Covid-19 period now spanning almost a year.<\/p>\n

It is also the 15th consecutive year of decline in global freedom according to Freedom House.<\/p>\n

Link to report: https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/country\/zimbabwe\/freedom-world\/2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Leopold Munhende – ZIMBABWE has ranked lowly in a Freedom House world index gauging the enjoyment of freedoms among citizens of different world countries. According to the latest report entitled Freedom in the World, Zimbabwe fell from the \u2018Partly Free\u2019 category in 2020 to \u2018Not Free\u2019 this year. The decline is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":35976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,35,15],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":["post-35977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nZimbabwe\u2019s Freedom Ratings Fall Amid State Crackdown On Dissent - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Leopold Munhende - ZIMBABWE has ranked lowly in a Freedom House world index gauging the enjoyment of freedoms ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-freedom-ratings-fall-amid-state-crackdown-on-dissent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zimbabwe\u2019s Freedom Ratings Fall Amid State Crackdown On Dissent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Leopold Munhende - 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