State security, the rule of law and politics of repression in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has often been portrayed as an exception to the gloomy picture of African politics, where the culture of democracy and government accountability is conspicuous by its absence. There have, however, been disturbing trends which have tended to suggest that sooner or later Zimbabwe will adopt a system of political repression found in other African countries. Critical voices have been raised to protect the multi-party system, as entrenched in the .Lancaster House constitution, against the expressed intentions of the ruling party to introduce a one-party political system. It is the object of this paper to discuss and highlight some of these trends with a view to demonstrating that behind the facade of "constitutionalism and democracy" which has been created of the Zimbabwean state in fact lies a brutal legal system as well as serious violations of basic democratic rights, human rights and the rule of law. Hence the description of these trends as ''politics of repression". For Zimbabwe to establish a real system of constitutional democracy, according to Welshman Ncube, a complete renunciation of the politics of repression is needed.

A seminar paper on politics of repression and the rule of Law in Zimbabwe.