Prosecute Zim officials accused of crimes against humanity, SA court to be told

THE South African High Court will today hear a landmark case on South Africa's obligations as a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum want the court to compel South Africa to abide by its legal obligations to investigate and prosecute high-level Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity.

The activists argue that South Africa is failing to meet its obligations in international law. A court ruling in their favour would cause a headache for South Africa, which could see its courts clogged with prosecutions and its diplomacy with the power-sharing government in Harare hobbled.

In 2008, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre wanted South Africa to arrest the Zimbabwean officials who were fingered in the torture allegedly committed after a raid by ZRP on the MDC headquarters in 2008, but South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) refused, saying it was impossible or impractical to investigate crimes committed in Zimbabwe.

In his response filed in October 2010, South Africa's suspended NPA boss Menzi Simelane said the arrest in South Africa of Zimbabwean cabinet ministers and heads of department would have a serious effect on the functioning of the safety and security portfolio in that country and lead to a diplomatic rift.