By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
WINDHOEK, Nimibia- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal in Windhoek, Namibia has ruled against Zimbabwe and ordered them to pay compensation to torture victims who settled their cases against the country between 2003 and 2007. The case was brought before the SADC in 2009 by 12 victims alleging Zimbabwe had refused to pay the judgments awarded them by Zimbabwe’s High Court, which total almost seventeen million US dollars. The judgment, given by SADC Justice Arrirange Govindasamy Pillay, reads in part:
We hold, therefore…that the Respondent (government) is in breach of [. . .] the treaty in that it has acted in contravention of various fundamental human rights, namely the right to an effective remedy [and] the right to have access to an independent and impartial court or tribunal and the right to a fair hearing.
All the victims originally sued and were awarded damages after the High Court ruled that they had been victims of state sponsored violence and torture carried out by state agents. The claims stem from election violence that occurred approximately eight years ago. The injuries range from gun shot wounds to paralysis and beatings. One victim, Kerina Gweshe, was awarded nearly one million US dollars after her and her husband were assaulted by soldiers in 2003. In court documents from the original suit, Gweshe stated that soldiers broke into her home during the early morning hours, cut the telephone lines and beat Gweshe and others in her home. During the course of the assault, Gweshe’s arm was broken when she raised it to defend against a soldier who was trying to hit her with a chair. At one point, a soldier put the barrel of a gun in Gweshe’s mouth and demanded money.
The Zimbabwean government did not defend the case at the tribunal hearing, asserting that besides the tribunal being illegitimate, the State Liability Act protects the state and its assets from being attached to pay damages. As part of his ruling, Justice Pillay stated that the “State Liability Act is a relic of the legal regime which was pre-constitutional and placed the state above the law.” Even though Zimbabwe is a SADC treaty signatory, the current regime does not recognize its judicial power. President Robert Mugabe and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa have publicly called the rulings ‘null and void’ and Zimbabwe’s High Court has denied the authority of the Tribunal’s land reform rulings. In a broadcast this week on SW Radio Africa, analyst Professor John Makumbe said the government’s actions are “a major threat to the cohesion of the region, because it makes the Tribunal superfluous. [. . .] I can’t see how any other member state will abide by the Tribunal if Zimbabwe disregards it and gets away with it.”
For more information, please see;
Zimbabwe Independent- Zim Should Compensate Violence Victims–Tribunal– 13 Jan., 2011
ZimOnline- Landmark SADC Torture Ruling– 15 Jan., 2011
The Zimbabwean- SADC Court Says Zim Government Undermining Rule of Law– 15 Jan., 2011
Law and Justice Zimbabwe- 06-HH-028 Kerina Gweshe vs Minister Of Defence– 15 Sept., 2006
