60% of Zimbabweans feel unsafe protesting

At least 60% of Zimbabweans feel unsafe participating in peaceful demonstrations, according to the latest State of Peace Report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), which paints a sobering picture of a country grappling with fear, repression, and deepening social fractures.

Released last week, the 2025 report - titled "Mobilising Ideas and Action for Peace in Zimbabwe" - marks five years of ZimRights' nationwide peace-tracking initiative. It has evolved from a regional study into what the association calls a comprehensive reflection of grassroots voices from all ten provinces.

The findings highlight an increasingly shrinking democratic space, with citizens unable or unwilling to exercise their constitutional rights through peaceful demonstrations.

"Political polarisation, economic deprivation, corruption, and shrinking civic space are the dominant disruptors of peace," the report noted.
"Unemployment (67.9%) and lack of education (43.9%) are seen as structural barriers to stability. Nearly 60% feel unsafe participating in peaceful demonstrations, and 47.6% have felt threatened when exercising fundamental rights."

While the report acknowledged that freedom of religion is largely respected, it warned that other civil and political rights remain constrained by fear, repression, and partisan bias.

The report's release came as the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) deployed heavily on Friday to block calls for a "one-million men march" by war veteran and activist Blessed Geza, who had urged Zimbabweans to protest against Zanu-PF's proposal to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term of office from 2028 to 2030.

ZimRights said its latest findings reveal a nation where the constitutional promise of peace, justice, and human rights "remains aspirational" for many.

"While the Constitution enshrines a broad spectrum of rights, the majority of citizens experience these rights as conditional, unevenly applied, or actively suppressed," the report stated.
"Political polarisation, economic deprivation, corruption, and the shrinking of civic space have entrenched a climate of fear and mistrust, eroding the social contract between the state and its people."

ZimRights national director Dzikamai Bere described the publication as the country's most comprehensive community-based peace assessment to date, stressing that it placed local leadership at the heart of national peacebuilding.

"This edition is particularly special. It places community leadership at the centre of peacebuilding," Bere said.
"Communities are no longer passive recipients of peace initiatives - they are driving the agenda."

The 2025 edition builds upon last year's "Broken Calabash" report, which called for greater local dialogue and community-led peace processes. Bere said the new findings show Zimbabweans' determination to reclaim peace from political manipulation.

"People want peace so much that governments must eventually step aside and let them have it," he remarked.

A key innovation in this year's report is a new chapter titled "Improving the State of Peace in Zimbabwe," which compiles actionable ideas from a national survey and insights from 15 experts in peacebuilding, governance, and human rights.

"We want to create a national peace ideas movement where thought meets action," the report concludes. "This is not theory - it's practical and necessary."

ZimRights said the State of Peace Report would continue to serve as a mirror of public sentiment and a catalyst for dialogue in a country where peace remains both fragile and fiercely desired.