Charles Taylor trial signals possibilities for Zimbabweans
By Tererai Karimakwenda
June 05, 2007

The trial of the former Liberian President Charles Taylor, which opened in a United Nations backed court on Monday, has been the subject of discussion for many Zimbabweans who see the possibility that those who are committing crimes against opposition officials and supporters will one day be brought to justice. And the name Robert Mugabe keeps coming up.

Taylor is accused of directing brutal acts of rape, mutilation and murder and is the first African leader to be put on trial at a U.N.-backed court for war crimes. It is hoped that many others currently in power, plus leaders who will come in the future, will view Taylor’s prosecution as a signal that they cannot escape punishment.

Gabriel Shumba, the South Africa based Zimbabwean activist who is himself a torture victim and has a case pending against Mugabe, said Taylor’s trial is a huge departure from the culture of impunity that has existed in Africa for a long time. He said Robert Mugabe can also be prosecuted for crimes against humanity linked to tragic events such as the demolitions of Operation Murambatsvina and the Gukurahundi deaths that occurred in Matabeleland in the mid 1980s.

But Shumba pointed to the fact that unlike Taylor, Robert Mugabe has the opportunity right now to intimidate possible witnesses because he is still in power in Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, a British Foreign Office minister on Monday said Mugabe risks the same fate as Taylor. Britain's Minister for Africa, David Triesman said: "Robert Mugabe is at one of those points where dictators have to consider whether if they press on they don't fall into the category of committing crimes against humanity on the sort of scale that the law proscribes." Triesman also told reporters that those who commit terrible crimes will come to trial and be convicted and go to prison.