Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) members who are called "toyi-toyi" leaders; whether they engage in forcible recruitment of youths to join their party; under whose authority they act; their actions; area of operations; treatment they impose on those who refuse to be forcibly recruited (2000-September 2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZWE40014.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) members who are called "toyi-toyi" leaders; whether they engage in forcible recruitment of youths to join their party; under whose authority they act; their actions; area of operations; treatment they impose on those who refuse to be forcibly recruited (2000-September 2002), 1 October 2002, ZWE40014.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4e403.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No references to individuals called toyi-toyi leaders could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. There are, however, many references to the act of toyi-toyi. A 20 April 2000 Guardian report refers to toyi-toyi as a "protest dance," while a 25 April 2002 Daily News article notes that during the run-up to the 2002 presidential elections, supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were barred from singing or wearing their party's regalia, nor were they permitted to "toyi-toyi to interfere with Zanu-PF activities on that day." Similarly, the MDC director of elections, Paul Themba Nyathi, is quoted in a 7 March 2002 Daily News article as stating that Zanu-PF supporters were free to toyi-toyi, gather anywhere and campaign door to door.
There are several reports which refer to Zanu-PF supporters forcing others to toyi-toyi to show their support for Zanu-PF or for reasons that are unclear (BBC News 5 Mar. 2002; Sunday Telegraph 20 Jan. 2002; Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights 11 Apr. 2001; The Financial Gazette 12 July 2001).
Two of these reports also refer to MDC supporters being taken to a "torture camp" (BBC News 5 Mar. 2002) or a "torture base" (The Financial Gazette 12 July 2001). According to BBC News, a member of the MDC was taken from his home to a camp near the Bosha business centre where he, with other MDC supporters, was beaten and forced to confess that he supported the MDC (5 Mar. 2002). In his account of his 16 days at the camp, as reported in BBC News, the individual stated that he and another prisoner were woken up at five in the morning and "asked to shout Zanu-PF slogans and toyi-toyi (jump up and down)" (ibid.). The Financial Gazette also reported that school children were taken to what the article refers to as the "Chiveso torture base" and "forced to spend most evenings singing Zanu-PF songs and performing revolutionary toyi-toyi dances" (12 July 2001).
A 24 February 2002 Zimbabwe Standard article, which reported on the presence and activities of Zanu-PF youth brigades in Bulawayo, quotes a resident as stating the following:
What is frightening is when the youths toyi-toyi around the suburbs carrying sticks and sing revolutionary songs, because that is when they just assault anyone they meet on the way.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
BBC News. 5 March 2002. "Eyewitness: 'I Was Dragged to a Torture Camp'." The Daily News. 25 April 2002. "Mutare Police Forbid Tsvangirai to Use Loudspeakers at Rally." (NEXIS)
_____. 7 March 2002. "Zanu-PF Slammed for Stifling Opposition Activities." (NEXIS)
The Financial Gazette. 12 July 2001. "Zanu PFs Terror Campaign Numbs Bindura." (NEXIS)
The Guardian [London]. 20 April 2000. "Mugabe's Victims: This is Not Racism, It's Politics; A Township Mourns in the Shadow of Outcry Over Farm Attacks." (NEXIS)
Sunday Telegraph [London]. 20 January 2002. Philip Sherwell. "My Brush with Zanu Mob on the Election Trail of Terror." (NEXIS)
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. 11 April 2001. "Zanu-PF Members Attack Lawyer." (Africa News/NEXIS)
Zimbabwe Standard. 24 February 2002. "Zanu-PF Intensifies Terror Campaign." (Africa News/NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
World News Connection (WNC)
Internet sites including:
All Africa.com
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, Organised Violence and Torture in Zimbabwe, 6 June 2000
Physicians for Human Rights, Zimbabwe 2002: The Presidential Election: 44 Days to Go, 24 January 2002
