Lawyers insist Zim land ruling still binding

Posted by on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 in SADC, Zimbabwe politics | 24 comments

The Tribunal has been suspended for over a year as a result of its landmark ruling against the Robert Mugabe regime

By Alex Bell
08 August 2012

The 2008 ruling that Zimbabwe’s land grab campaign was unlawful is still binding, despite attempts both in and outside Zimbabwe to undermine the regional human rights court.

This is according to top legal groups in Southern Africa, who are campaigning for the human rights mandate of the SADC Tribunal to be upheld. The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC), the International Commission of Jurists and the SADC Lawyers Association are urging regional leaders to reinstate the Tribunal with its full human rights mandate, when the leaders meet for the upcoming SADC summit in Maputo next week.

The Tribunal has been suspended for over a year as a result of its landmark ruling against the Robert Mugabe regime which stated that the land grab was unlawful because it was ‘inherently discriminatory’. The then ZANU PF government refused to honour the court’s orders to compensate farmers who lost land in the land grab and also ignored the order to protect the remaining farmers from further threat.

SADC leaders then appeared to demonstrate loyalty to one of their own by suspending the court instead of taking action against the Zim government, despite the country violating its commitments to the SADC Treaty by snubbing the Tribunal.

The court’s fate is now set to be decided at the upcoming SADC summit. But there is serious concern that the jurisdiction and core mandate of the Tribunal will be hobbled, as part of its potential revival.

Nicole Fritz, the executive director of the SALC, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that preliminary documents drafted by SADC Justice Ministers “propose that the Tribunal be divested of its human rights jurisdiction.” This is despite SADC not yet adopting a human rights protocol that is independent of the Tribunal.

“This is a worrying and disturbing feature that will be a big blow and setback for the protection of human rights and rule of law in Southern Africa,” Fritz warned.

She continued: “Plans by SADC to remove the Tribunal’s human rights mandate, pending the adoption of a human rights protocol, are ill-advised. If such a proposal is adopted by the SADC leaders in Maputo, the rights of citizens to obtain justice and protection of rights will be violated.”

The threat to the authority and jurisdiction of the Tribunal has also intensified since the release of Zimbabwe’s draft constitution, which contains specific clauses and wording to undermine the regional court.

The controversial land clauses in the draft undermine the 2008 Tribunal ruling by stating that the government is not responsible for compensation of land ‘acquired’ by the state. The draft goes on to specifically state that no compensation challenge can be made on the basis of ‘discrimination’, while the future takeover of land cannot be challenged at all.

The draft also imbeds racism against non-indigenous Zimbabweans into the country’s laws by separating the rights of indigenous Zimbabweans and others in terms of compensation. This blatant discrimination in itself goes against the human rights commitments stated in the charter.

SALC’s Fritz told SW Radio Africa that despite these threats to the future of the SADC Tribunal, the rulings it has made before it was suspended are still binding.

“The proposed amendments to the SADC Tribunal protocol cannot undo its previous rulings. So whatever changes are to come, the rulings still stand. However, it does mean no one else will ever be able to make these kind of challenges in the court again,” Fritz said.

For further information

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or tweet @albell88

  • Nero

    DREAM ON!

  • Chimbwido Warvet

    There is a need to have a fresh look at personalities that comprise this tribunal. In other world, who is who in this tribunal? A tribunal that serves no useful purpose should be suspended or disbanded altogether. A tribunal that protects criminals who invaded and stole our land serves the interests of rhodies and not of my people.

    • Trueafrican

      Warvet, you are a BLACK RHODIE – surpressing the majority at the sake of the minority!! After 32 years of Poor Management, nothings has changed still blaming others!!
      Warvet the Black Rhodesian

      • Chimbwido Warvet

        The only BLACK RHODIE I know is Wilbert and not Chimbwido Warvet who represents the down-trodden people of Zimbabwe. There could have been 32 years of poor management of the economy whose roots can be traced to the machinations of rhodies against my country. But that is not the issue here. The Warvet wants to know the personalities that comprise this so-called tribunal. He further states that a tribunal that serves no useful purpose should simply be suspended or disbanded altogether. And a tribunal that serves the interest of criminals who stole our land and now want to be compensated for their wrongful acts, serves the interests of rhodies and not of my people, end of story.

        • super mondo

          32 years is the issue,and the people you love so much are brutalised by police,intimidated by the army,not allowed to speak their minds and kept alive by overseas charities.you have never spoke or commented about zanu oppression.m/f

          • Chimbwido Warvet

            Which overseas charities are you talking about when the country is under siege. Just name one overseas charitable organisation helping my country.

          • Trueafrica

            Chimbwido Warvet, without food charity millions of your brothers’ children would die of hunger maybe your younger sisters child is in need.

            In Asia, you see monkey’s on chains smoking in the hope of earning a cent from passing tourist …

            With that in mind, after 32years of ‘ZANU PF goodness’ has your mind, like a caged animal, become unable to wounder outside its cage…… trapped in smoke seaching for the your make believe truth…

            I feel sorry for you! Better to be a fool than have an educated mind, unable to think…shame!

          • chimbwido warveteran

            I asked a very simple question and you are just beating about the bush. Just answer the question I posed. I do not need to know what monkeys and baboons do in Asia because that is not the issue at stake. Of course, you are dealing with an educated war veteran who seeks an educated argument and not the above crap.

          • Trueafrica

            As a man, with a chinese laptop and a second class english uni education – Warvet, you need only to search on google to find one of thousands, of charities that are helping the millions of people, here in zimbabwe.

            Look around, we’ve got 90% unemployed, 40% Aids and ZANU PF leaders who believe themselves to be “Kings”.. war veterans that are blind to the pain of the street children suffering…

            In 1980,1990, 2000- how many street children did we have… and today, could these children be grandchilden of fallen comrades that never came home because they saved you…

            This comrade, you do not know, but next time stop and look into the childs face and think of your fallen comrade and ask yourself are you true!

          • super mondo

            he cant answer the truth

          • chimbwido warveteran

            You are struggling to divert peoples’ attention from the issue at stake. All you are talking about are what I may term as side issues we can debate upon another time. Let us focus our attention to the verdict passed by the SADC tribunal. My views in this respect are
            there for all to read and digest. I am keen to know the composition of this tribunal tgst appears to me as protecting the interests of rhodie farmers at the expense of my people. It is no wonder I support the idea that it be suspended or if need be disbanded altogether. That is me and what do you say?

          • Trueafrica

            Comrade, you have sold out on your fallen comrades dreams for a few gold coins!!

          • chimbwido warveteran

            My friend, no one pays me a penny for holding and expressing my views. If the MDC and rhodies pay you for supporting and promoting their cause, then you must be the richest idiot in the whole world.

          • super mondo

            you know the truth why so ignorant

      • Anonymous

        This man so called “Warvet” is a BLACK idiot a disgrace to the millions of peace loving, hard working black white and brown Zimbabwean
        The man is mentally deranged in other words he is completely and utterly fucked up.

        • Chimbwido Warvet

          Calling others names only helps to explain just how shallow the human mind can be. How on earth can a man who represents the interests of his people be described as an idiot and a disgrace to the people he is part of? Is it not a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury but signifying nothing?

    • Anonymous

      “My people” you are obviously referring to the black crooks in Zanu PF they are in my opinion worse than the white man. The white man selfishly helped themselves to the best land but they developed this virgin land into surplus producing farms. What have your chefs done? All they have done is steal at gunpoint the same land which the white man poured all his sweat into only to only create a new black land aristocracy. Each of these Zanu PF thugs are the owners of multiple farms which to this day they have not been paid a farthing for.

      • Chimbwido Warvet

        And therefore the country should have maintained the status quo? The white farmers should have continued to occupy 99 per cent of the prime land in my country while my people who are in the majority only controlled 1 per cent of prime land? You must be out of your mind, my rhodie friend.

        • Anonymous

          What you are doing above is merely stating the obvious. We all know that most of Zimbabwe’s land was occupied by the whites, we are not idiots we have more intellect than you will ever dream of having.
          Zanu PF concubines like yourself will not acknowledge that your sick party has created privileges for its chefs. The land grab was nothing but an act of thievery all it did was replace a privileged white class with a black aristocracy. This is what happened and ever since then our agriculture has never grown instead it has descended into chaos.
          What are you so proud of you imbecile that we are now the recipients of food aid, charity from the west.

          • Chimbwido Warvet

            You mother f..kers will never acknowledge the obvious that the west has found stooges in the lot of you who have no eyes to see that the country is under siege by the west for taking the farms from your rhodie friends. You expect wonders when the lot of you have been advocating that economic sanctions be imposed against your country. I have read your posts before and you think we are bloody stupid. It is you who is the greatest fool ever graced on this planet who has no respect from the people of Zimbabwe.
            No matter how much you protect the criminality of rhodie farmers against my people, this will not work, you sausage. The farms have gone and gone for ever and who ever got it is not my primary concern at the moment. For me, as long as the recipient of the farm is indigenous, that is what matters to me. Rome was not built in a day as I am convinced those who were lucky enough to get land will learn the art of the trade to be accomplished farmers one day. Nobody is born a farmer but it is a skill one learns with time, you sausage. Wakananzwiswa nhata yema rhodie, you idiot.

          • Anonymous

            Now you imbecile seeing that you have lost the argument you resort to filthy gutter language, Why do people do this is simply because you are imbedded in hate and have nothing to offer
            You bet “Rome was not built in a day” but people like yourself who came out of a cave it is difficult to remove that cave mentality out of you, not now or even in a thousand years you mother fucking asshole.

          • chimbwido warveteran

            No no I did not lose a thing. I indicated that there was a need to have a fresh look at the composition of the tribunal. In other words I asked who is who in this tribunal but none of you has answered this crucial question. It should be emphasized that a tribunal that is seen as serving the interests of rhodies will necessarily be suspended or disbanded for political reasons.

          • super mondo

            it does not matter what the make up of tribuneral is .its verdict of various minds of africa.and thats why its genuine .stop fining fault with democracy.half head

          • Anonymous

            Forget about this tribunal its not going anywhere. The land grab is now a fact, the whites can forget about getting it back.
            Since most of the farms have landed in the hands of a new breed of black aristocrats the only hope is that any future civilized government will have to mobilize Zimbabweans giving them a fair share of this land. It will require a lot of thought in working out an equitable land distribution.