In a remote corner of Zimbabwe, a small clinic flickers with electric light for the first time. For the BaTonga people of rural Kariba, displaced decades ago to make way for the massive Kariba Dam hydroelectric project, it’s a symbolic step toward justice. But for Dzikamai Bere, it’s only the beginning.
A former magistrate turned activist, Bere is now the national director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), the country’s oldest and largest indigenous human rights advocacy group. With over 250,000 members, the organisation champions freedom of expression, association and community-led justice. For Bere, it’s more than a mission. It’s personal.
“Activism Finds You”
Bere’s journey began not in courtrooms or conference rooms, but in a schoolyard.
“I witnessed a staff member abusing a female student,” he recalls. “I spoke out. I was young, not diplomatic. And the system came down on me hard.”
That early experience set him on a path from student journalist to civil society leader. After a brief career in Zimbabwe’s judiciary, he made a decisive break in 2008, resigning as a magistrate during a judicial strike to join the grassroots movement for human rights.
“I needed to be closer to the ground,” Bere said. “To where the action is.”
A Calling, Not a Career
Activism in Zimbabwe is not for the faint of heart. With limited resources, legal risks, and state repression, human rights defenders face constant pressure. Bere admits he’s questioned the path more than once.
“There were times I asked myself, ‘Can this pay the bills?’” he said. “Many times, it doesn’t.”
He says his family’s support and a sense of duty beyond personal ambition sustained him.
“You realise this is not a job,” he said. “It’s a vocation.”
Shining a Light on the Forgotten
One of Bere’s current priorities is the Protection of Vulnerable Communities Campaign. Launched in 2022, it highlights the ongoing marginalisation of communities like the BaTonga, who remain cut off from basic infrastructure, including electricity, despite living in the shadow of one of Africa’s most significant power projects.
“The very people whose ancestors were displaced to give us electricity never had access to it,” he said. “That’s the injustice.”
Though the government has taken symbolic steps, such as connecting electricity to a clinic, Bere says the broader community still lives in “energy poverty.” ZimRights is now pushing for a comprehensive legal overhaul, including repealing colonial-era laws like the Communal Lands Act and Vagrancy Act. Their goal: a Protection of Vulnerable Communities Act that legally enshrines community rights.
A Manifesto for the People
In April 2023, ZimRights launched the People’s Human Rights Manifesto as part of a broader strategy to shift political power back to communities.
“We were hearing from our members that elections—instead of empowering people—were doing the opposite,” Bere said.
The manifesto outlines ten community-driven priorities and demands that political candidates sign on before seeking votes. Six political parties, including the ruling party, have endorsed it so far.
“Now, when politicians come, they don’t speak first,” Bere said. “The communities tell them: ‘Sit down. Here’s what we want.”
Power in Solidarity
As Bere continues his work, he calls on the international community—including the United Nations—to strengthen its support of local activists.
“International solidarity is the currency of small men who can’t match the power of arms or wealth,” he said.
In Zimbabwe, that currency is helping grassroots organisers like Bere illuminate communities long left in the dark — and demanding a future where no one is forgotten.
Source: Original interview from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) series: “Human Rights in Five” featuring Dzikamai Bere.
