Executive Summary
The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice, propagate, and give expression to one’s religion, in public or in private and alone or with others. Religious and civil society groups reported the government occasionally monitored public events, prayer rallies, church congregations, and religiously affiliated nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) perceived to be critical of the government, but there were no reports of specific incidents or disruptions. NGOs continued to report that some religious officials who engaged in political discourse perceived as negative toward the government became targets of the security services. Multiple church organizations released public letters appealing for tolerance, national unity, peace, reconciliation, healing, and stability while calling on the government to uphold the constitution and protect citizens’ political rights. In August, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa called the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) “evil-minded…reckless regime-change agents” who seek to incite the public to rise against the government and “sow seeds of internecine strife as a prelude to civil war” after the group issued a pastoral letter calling on the government to build peace, eradicate corruption, and strive for stability and good governance.