On 19 September 2026, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) held a Police Brutality Day commemoration in Harare. At the event, Secretary-General Tirivanhu Marimo said that police had dispersed corresponding gatherings in Masvingo, Mutare and Chinhoyi. The commemorations recalled the police assault of trade unionists during demonstrations on 13 September 2006. The reported dispersals raise concerns about workers’ ability to assemble and publicly discuss past abuses. The Harare event proceeded, indicating that the reported restrictions were not applied uniformly and raises a question about why workers in the other cities could not hold corresponding gatherings.
