THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has appointed a female director in more than three decades to replace Dzikamai Bere, who leaves the organisation next month.
Bere has been at the helm of ZimRights since January 2020.
ZimRights yesterday said it had appointed Gillian Chinzete director effective January 1, 2026.
Chinzete, who has been the organisation’s programmes manager, joined ZimRights in 2023 as a community engagement specialist.
The announcement was made during the organisation’s end-of-year national council meeting in Harare.
Chinzete’s rise to the helm marks a historic moment for ZimRights, Zimbabwe’s first post-independence indigenous human rights movement.
In its 34-year history, she becomes the first woman and eighth leader overall to take on the association’s top leadership role.
National chairperson Takesure Musiiwa expressed the council’s confidence in her leadership.
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“The national council was impressed with your performance over the years in service to human rights,” Musiiwa said.
“And we do not doubt that you will lead our movement well into a future of success. You have our full support.”
Chinzete said she was assuming the role with “immense humility and gratitude”.
“I come here bare-handed seeking to build a future where our collective efforts honour the legacy of those who have paved the way before us,” she said while pledging to advance a future where justice and equality prevail despite the challenging environment for civil society actors.
ZimRights has a membership of 250 000 across the country’s 10 provinces and a growing diaspora chapter.
