Zimbabwe torture case NPA, police to petition South Africa's Supreme court

THE South African national director of public prosecutions and the national police commissioner still want to appeal against a high court judgment which ruled that the head of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had a duty to investigate allegations of torture as required by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Act, the Business Day reported.

South Africa's North Gauteng High Court made this order in May after the NPA refused to investigate complaints of torture committed by suspects in Zimbabwe. Police claimed they had no duty to open an investigation because none of the perpetrators was present in SA, while the prosecuting authority said it did not have powers to investigate.

Last month, Judge Hans Fabricius refused an application by the national director of public prosecutions and the national police commissioner for leave to appeal his judgment.

Reports emanating from south Africa are that the national director of public prosecutions and the police service had indicated that they would petition the Supreme Court of Appeal.

In his judgment in May, Judge Fabricius said that when an investigation under the ICC Act was requested, and a reasonable basis existed to investigate, political considerations or diplomatic initiatives were not relevant at that stage. He said he had little doubt that on the present facts the police commissioner could have initiated the investigation in SA by interviewing witnesses.

The judgment is a test of whether South African authorities would be able to investigate crimes of torture committed elsewhere and prosecute them in SA. Even if the authorities complied with the court order, it remained unclear whether there would be co-operation from Zimbabwe if its officials were arrested in SA and whether witnesses would be able to come to the country.