Tsvangirai aide celebrates rape victim's court victory

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai's advisor Alex Magaisa has hailed a ruling by the Supreme Court compelling government to compensate a woman who gave birth after being raped by robbers.

The court said officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs and their counterparts in the then Health and Child Welfare ministry acted negligently by delaying to terminate the pregnancy after the victim reported that she had been raped.

Judge of Appeal Justice Bharat Patel said the Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Health and Child Welfare were accountable for their employees' actions and, as such, should be ordered to compensate the rape victim.

"It is not often that I find cause to celebrate a decision of our courts. But today is one of those rare occasions.

"The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe's decision today to find the state liable to compensate a rape survivor (rape victim in common but non-PC parlance) for failing to provide as it is required by law to do a facility to enable the lawful termination of the resulting pregnancy is a landmark decision," Magaisa said.

"I have not yet read the full judgment but the mere finding of state liability in circumstances where the state failed to do what it is legally required to provide is fundamental.  In anticipation of an obvious question let me say, although there is a general prohibition against abortion, the law allows abortion to be carried out in specific circumstances of which where pregnancy is a result of rape is one of them."

Magaisa, a lawyer, said he hoped the decision gives impetus for the government to conduct a general review of the treatment of rape survivors.