Online Reporter
Obey Musiwa
Herald Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has announced progress toward launching a national enquiry into the country’s fractured public transport system, a move expected to reshape access to justice, dignity, and basic freedoms for millions of citizens.
Building on the success of its first national enquiry into civil registry access, which led to significant improvements in obtaining IDs and passports, the commission now seeks to spotlight how transport failures undermine fundamental rights, from freedom of movement to healthcare access.
In a previous interview, the ZHRC chairperson, Ms Fungayi Jessie Majome, said the enquiry will examine how the absence of a coordinated transport system restricts Zimbabweans’ ability to travel freely and access government services.
“Public transport is like a nerve centre of the enjoyment of all human rights. Without reliable buses or trains, my right to freedom of movement is already breached,” she said.
She said “mushika-shika,” and overcrowded minibuses expose passengers to harassment, abuse, and unsafe conditions.
“We have had stories of children who have gotten lost, some who have been sexually abused due to inappropriate loading. Their rights of dignity and security are violated daily in chaotic, unsafe vehicles,” said Ms Majome.
She said Zimbabwe ranks second globally in road fatalities, a crisis linked to the lack of mass transport options.
“Our roads are the second most lethal in the world, she warned, the injuries burden the health system that is already strained.”
Ms Majome said with no reliable public transport, citizens resorted to buying cars, inflating fuel imports and diverting resources from essential services.
“Personally, I estimate that maybe 70 percent of the cars on Zimbabwe’s roads today should not be there. If we had a proper system, people would invest in businesses instead of cars,” she said.
She added that the enquiry also ties into strengthening the commission’s visibility as Zimbabwe’s public protector, ensuring citizens can challenge poor service delivery.
“My hope is that Zimbabweans will say yes, we have a public protector in Zimbabwe. If I go into a Government office and I am not served well, I should be able to report it to the commission,” she said.
When we warned people that the talk by the President about the revival of ZUPCO and the parading of a few buses from Belarus and other places was a mere election gimmick, we were called names. We were anti-development, anti-ZanuPF but these kind of gimmicks happen in political environments all the time. And if applied to a gullible population like ours they take effect. Who can tell us now what happened to the momentum of getting the public transport up and running that we saw in the early years of the Second Republic? Where is ZUPCO today? Where is our commuter trains? Where is Air Zimbabwe? ZHRC is absolutely lax when it comes to rights of our population. Just like all other government entities, it’s all talk talk talk.