A member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Kudzai Kadzere, who was assaulted by the police on 14 January at Budiriro police station where he was assisting opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists, has been arrested. He has been accused of “escaping from lawful custody” and “disorderly conduct”, which is typical modus operandi of the partisan police ahead of elections. Mr Kadzere sustained a fractured arm during the assault which has been widely condemned, notably by SADC Lawyers Association, a voluntary association of lawyers, law societies and bar associations from the 15-member SADC region.

Zimbabwe’s currency, the controversially resurrected Zimbabwe dollar, plunged to a record low in the parallel market/black market after the government urged suppliers not to buy foreign currency with payments recently received from the government. The Zimbabwean dollar traded at Z$950-Z$1,100 to the US dollar in the parallel market, according to Zimpricecheck.com, a website which monitors unofficial and official rates. This is significantly weaker than the official rate of Z$671 to the US dollar. In April 2009, Zimbabwe stopped printing its currency as it had hyper inflated. It was re-introduced in 2019.

Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections (date yet to be announced) should be a highlight of the country's willingness to re-join the Commonwealth but nothing is pointing in that direction noted British Labour Party legislator Sonny Leong in a recent parliamentary debate in London. Liberal Democrat Baron Jonny Oates warned that Zimbabwe was in "flagrant" violation of the Harare Declaration of 1991 and said that "severe damage would be done" to the Commonwealth's reputation by readmitting Zimbabwe while it failed to meet the basic standards of the organisation's human rights benchmark. These include the rule of international law.

Schools have become the latest hunting ground for votes for the ruling ZANU PF party after it emerged that ruling party fanatics are invading learning institutions to force learners and teachers to attend their campaign meetings.  Under the “Virgin Voters for ED” (President Mnangagwa) campaign, the invasions are occurring mainly in rural areas, instilling fear among learners and teachers. Schools opened for the first term on Monday [9 January] and ZANU PF is already targeting them in an attempt to reach its target of having five million registered voters when Zimbabwe goes for elections later this year.

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and opposition political parties have warned that the recently released preliminary delimitation report exposed a rigging plot by the partisan Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). Speaking during a delimitation meeting, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition spokesperson Obert Masaraure said: “ If we want democracy we have to say enough is enough and get to a point where citizens say away with this delimitation process. We will go to an election when the voters roll and the State media is accessible to all players and when the military is no longer part of our politics.”

The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party has blamed utterances by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga for an attack on CCC supporters in Murehwa by alleged Zanu PF youths. A heart-wrenching video of elderly opposition supporters being flogged, kicked and stepped on has been widely publicized on social media. Speaking to journalists after their ordeal, CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said the attacks had to be understood in the context of past utterances by Mnangagwa and Chiwenga on how ZANU PF should deal with CCC followers, which included killing them.

In a bid to appease war veterans, who always play a crucial role in supporting ZANU-PF in election campaigns, government has set aside ZW$4.6 billion in the 2023 National Budget towards their monetary and non-monetary benefits, as well as capitalisation of their investments in mining, tourism and farms. War veterans have over the years been demanding gratuities for their role in the attainment of Independence. In 1997, government paid out unbudgeted lump sums of nearly ZW$50 000 (US$4 300 at the time) to war veterans following months of protests. This contributed significantly to the collapse of the local currency.