By: Innocent Mawire, Programme Officer, Harare Office
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) recently held a one-day workshop in Harare to discuss key findings and lessons learned from its study visits to public protector institutions in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa which were undertaken in late 2024 and early 2025. The visits, which were undertaken with financial support from RWI within the broad framework of support under its European Commission funded Action on “Support to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission”, aimed to benchmark best practices and innovative approaches in the promotion and protection of administrative justice.
The Chairperson of the ZHRC, Honourable Fungayi J. Majome, officially opened the workshop. The event brought together ZHRC Commissioners, senior management, and all officials from both the Headquarters and provincial offices who had participated in recent study visits. Also in attendance were representatives from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI).
The workshop served as a platform to reflect on key insights gained from engagements with peer institutions – the Public Protector of South Africa, the Commission for Administrative Justice (Kenya), and the Inspectorate of Government (Uganda) – alongside other human rights bodies in these jurisdictions. Participants examined the structural, operational, and legal frameworks that underpin the effectiveness of these institutions in delivering administrative justice to citizens
Key lessons from the study visits included, among others, the importance of robust electronic case management systems in designing efficient and responsive complaints-handling processes; the need for rapid response mechanisms to address urgent human rights concerns; and the value of strong communication strategies to enhance visibility and engagement. The visits also highlighted the significance of sustained public education and outreach campaigns, the continued decentralisation of services, especially in marginalised and remote areas, and the need for greater collaboration among sister commissions in dealing with different normative and emerging human rights issues. Additionally, the workshop underscored the importance of proactive monitoring of maladministration and the effective use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving disputes.
Building on these insights, the ZHRC used the workshop to begin drafting a practical roadmap to guide the implementation of relevant internal reforms and capacity-building initiatives. The roadmap focuses on aligning ZHRC’s operations with regional best practices, enhancing the Commission’s responsiveness to public complaints, and strengthening its mandate on administrative justice as provided under Section 243 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The ZHRC expressed appreciation to RWI and the EU for their continued support and reaffirmed its commitment to advancing good governance, accountability, and service delivery through a strengthened administrative justice framework.
