News / National
SA court ruling: It's time for an eye for an eye
20 May 2012 at 07:59hrs | Views
Diplomats from Southern Africa have said the time might have come for governments in the region to "square up" with former Rhodies and their influential friends in South Africa who are abusing democratic institutions in that country to continue their war against Zimbabwe in provocative ways that are now threatening to destabilise the region.
War veterans in this country have also added their voice, saying the former Rhodies and their friends in South Africa should know that "we are fully aware that they committed lots of unspeakable atrocities before our country's independence and they continue to do so up to this day and so the time is fast approaching to return fire with fire."
The concerns raised by the diplomats and the outrage from the war veterans follow a ruling handed down recently by Judge Hans Fabricius of North Gauteng High Court in South
Africa calling on authorities in that country to probe alleged atrocities in Zimbabwe under statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of which SA is a signatory.
Zimbabwe is not signatory to the ICC and so does not recognise the court which analysts say was established by the West to target African leaders who refuse to dance to their tune.
The ruling followed a petition by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and the Zimbabwe Exiles' Forum, organisations that have close links to former Rhodesians who seem to have discovered that their first choice to effect regime change in the country â€" the MDC â€" has failed dismally and are resorting to abusing democratic institutions in SA.
Harare lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who has represented top MDC-T officials in court on several occasions, is a trustee at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre.
Diplomats who spoke to The Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity for diplomatic reasons expressed grave concern that what started as a fight between Zimbabwe and the former Rhodesians was fast escalating to levels that are now threatening stability in the region.
"The outrage that has been sparked in Zimbabwe and indeed the whole Sadc region by the unprecedented decision by the South African court is not surprising at all if you consider the fact that the decision was made by a white judge who seemed to be intent on being provocative against both the ANC and Zanu-PF as former liberation movements.
"You must also remember that South Africa is home to very large numbers of former Rhodesians who are now very influential in that country's judiciary, legal fraternity, media, business and NGO community and those former Rhodesians have for some time now been using their critical positions and influence in South Africa to settle their Rhodesian scores with Zanu-PF in reckless and dangerous ways that may end up being very harmful to South Africa's national interest to the detriment of cohesion and stability within Sadc.
But fundamentally the decision has no basis in either South African or international law and is an unenforcable legal nullity which means that it was specifically made for political and propaganda purposes designed to soil relations between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"If the South African government does not appeal against that decision, then obviously its own interests in Zimbabwe and the region will be in serious jeopardy because ZImbabwe and other countries in the region can retaliate through their own legal systems, not only against former Rhodesians who are now South Africans who committed genocidal crimes during the apartheid days up to as recent as 1994 but also against the South African government itself which is liable to legal claims for compensation," said a Harare-based Sadc diplomat.
Another diplomat added that the issue about the threat stemming from the actions of the former Rhodies in SA "is being discussed extensively in diplomatic corridors and soon it will be taken to the appropriate levels for concrete action."
Said the diplomat: "We have been observing what has been happening from the sad days of the disbanded Sadc Tribunal up to the latest ruling in South Africa. As diplomats from the region, we are noticing a worrying trend in the fight by the former white farmers against the Government here. Slowly the issue is spiralling out of control and is fast becoming a Sadc issue in general and an issue for liberation movements in the region in particular. We are still in discussions to see how best we can deal with this issue that has to be contained before the region is plunged into serious security problems."
War veterans leader Cde Jabulani Sibanda said the people behind the SA court case and the judge who presided over it clearly show "the mentality of the white men in a free Africa".
"Yesterday, these same people regarded us as sub-human and they ill-treated us. We fought for self-determination through the liberation struggle and we defeated them. Now they are regrouping in South Africa using that country's white-controlled legal system.
"I can assure you that even if they use whatever techniques and whatever flawed legal system, we will still defeat them. The judgment in SA was not only against Zimbabwe. It was also against the liberation movements in that country and the whole region because it was instigated by former Rhodies and their apartheid friends representing the white struggle.
"We will stand up against this new onslaught and these Rhodies and their friends should know from the liberation struggle that we can return fire with fire. Those who committed violence in 2008 were charged and our courts are very competent to handle such matters," charged Cde Sibanda.
According to the recently published WikiLeaks, a Harare regional co-ordinator for intelligence for the MDC, Charles Mutama, told the US Embassy in Harare that the security, intelligence and youth branches of the MDC were planning to attack police stations, Zanu-PF-owned shops and gas stations in five cities in the country.
Several police stations and railway lines were subsequently bombed in 2008 while several houses in rural areas were burnt during the same period leading to the arrest of many MDC activists who had received military training in Botswana and South Africa.
Some of the activists who were brought before the courts accused of banditry, insurgency and terrorism include Gandi Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Dhlamini, Andrison Manyere,
Zacharia Nkomo, Regis Mujeyi, Garutsa Mapfumo and Chinoto Zulu.
Retired Brigadier-General Dr Felix Muchemwa on Friday described the disturbances that took place in 2008 that saw the bombings of police stations and the burning of houses in rural areas as a "Selous Scout operation."
"These former Rhodies are saying the violence in 2008 should be investigated but we know that the former Selous Scouts were behind those disturbances. You see, when we took this country in 1980, we took it from General Peter Walls' special forces. These forces wanted to carry out a coup and take out both President Mugabe and Vice-President Nkomo and so at independence we insisted that these special forces should be disbanded because we knew their machinations.
"When they failed to carry out the coup, they went out on a mission to destabilise the country after running away to South Africa. The Selous Scouts under these special forces carried out dirty tricks to discredit both Zanla and Zipra by carrying out the bombings of the Mambo Press, the Anglican Cathedral in Mbare and two of them actually blew themselves to pieces in a bid to tarnish the image of Zanla and Zipra.
"These Selous Scouts later regrouped in SA and they continued their dirty tricks in 2008 to discredit Zanu-PF. When in 2008, I was briefed by the security that there were bombings of police stations and burning of houses in rural areas, I quickly realised that we were not dealing with the MDC or any other political party, but this was the ugly head of the Selous Scouts trying to tarnish the image of Zanu-PF.
"These former Rhodies know they killed people in 2008 and now they are turning around to say go and investigate. Well, Muchemwa can go to SA today and say charge me but then the courts there have no extra-judicial powers over Zimbabweans.
"You see, the ruling was taken by the white-controlled courts which don't have the arresting powers. The police have the arresting powers. Let the police in SA make a wrong move and arrest one of ours and we will also make a wrong move," warned the veteran soldier. The Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, has already dismissed the ruling, saying it has brought the SA justice system into disrepute while Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana dismissed the judgment, saying Zimbabwean citizens will not be subjected to South African and international laws that the country is not party to.
War veterans in this country have also added their voice, saying the former Rhodies and their friends in South Africa should know that "we are fully aware that they committed lots of unspeakable atrocities before our country's independence and they continue to do so up to this day and so the time is fast approaching to return fire with fire."
The concerns raised by the diplomats and the outrage from the war veterans follow a ruling handed down recently by Judge Hans Fabricius of North Gauteng High Court in South
Africa calling on authorities in that country to probe alleged atrocities in Zimbabwe under statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of which SA is a signatory.
Zimbabwe is not signatory to the ICC and so does not recognise the court which analysts say was established by the West to target African leaders who refuse to dance to their tune.
The ruling followed a petition by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and the Zimbabwe Exiles' Forum, organisations that have close links to former Rhodesians who seem to have discovered that their first choice to effect regime change in the country â€" the MDC â€" has failed dismally and are resorting to abusing democratic institutions in SA.
Harare lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who has represented top MDC-T officials in court on several occasions, is a trustee at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre.
Diplomats who spoke to The Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity for diplomatic reasons expressed grave concern that what started as a fight between Zimbabwe and the former Rhodesians was fast escalating to levels that are now threatening stability in the region.
"The outrage that has been sparked in Zimbabwe and indeed the whole Sadc region by the unprecedented decision by the South African court is not surprising at all if you consider the fact that the decision was made by a white judge who seemed to be intent on being provocative against both the ANC and Zanu-PF as former liberation movements.
"You must also remember that South Africa is home to very large numbers of former Rhodesians who are now very influential in that country's judiciary, legal fraternity, media, business and NGO community and those former Rhodesians have for some time now been using their critical positions and influence in South Africa to settle their Rhodesian scores with Zanu-PF in reckless and dangerous ways that may end up being very harmful to South Africa's national interest to the detriment of cohesion and stability within Sadc.
But fundamentally the decision has no basis in either South African or international law and is an unenforcable legal nullity which means that it was specifically made for political and propaganda purposes designed to soil relations between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"If the South African government does not appeal against that decision, then obviously its own interests in Zimbabwe and the region will be in serious jeopardy because ZImbabwe and other countries in the region can retaliate through their own legal systems, not only against former Rhodesians who are now South Africans who committed genocidal crimes during the apartheid days up to as recent as 1994 but also against the South African government itself which is liable to legal claims for compensation," said a Harare-based Sadc diplomat.
Another diplomat added that the issue about the threat stemming from the actions of the former Rhodies in SA "is being discussed extensively in diplomatic corridors and soon it will be taken to the appropriate levels for concrete action."
Said the diplomat: "We have been observing what has been happening from the sad days of the disbanded Sadc Tribunal up to the latest ruling in South Africa. As diplomats from the region, we are noticing a worrying trend in the fight by the former white farmers against the Government here. Slowly the issue is spiralling out of control and is fast becoming a Sadc issue in general and an issue for liberation movements in the region in particular. We are still in discussions to see how best we can deal with this issue that has to be contained before the region is plunged into serious security problems."
"Yesterday, these same people regarded us as sub-human and they ill-treated us. We fought for self-determination through the liberation struggle and we defeated them. Now they are regrouping in South Africa using that country's white-controlled legal system.
"I can assure you that even if they use whatever techniques and whatever flawed legal system, we will still defeat them. The judgment in SA was not only against Zimbabwe. It was also against the liberation movements in that country and the whole region because it was instigated by former Rhodies and their apartheid friends representing the white struggle.
"We will stand up against this new onslaught and these Rhodies and their friends should know from the liberation struggle that we can return fire with fire. Those who committed violence in 2008 were charged and our courts are very competent to handle such matters," charged Cde Sibanda.
According to the recently published WikiLeaks, a Harare regional co-ordinator for intelligence for the MDC, Charles Mutama, told the US Embassy in Harare that the security, intelligence and youth branches of the MDC were planning to attack police stations, Zanu-PF-owned shops and gas stations in five cities in the country.
Several police stations and railway lines were subsequently bombed in 2008 while several houses in rural areas were burnt during the same period leading to the arrest of many MDC activists who had received military training in Botswana and South Africa.
Some of the activists who were brought before the courts accused of banditry, insurgency and terrorism include Gandi Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Dhlamini, Andrison Manyere,
Zacharia Nkomo, Regis Mujeyi, Garutsa Mapfumo and Chinoto Zulu.
Retired Brigadier-General Dr Felix Muchemwa on Friday described the disturbances that took place in 2008 that saw the bombings of police stations and the burning of houses in rural areas as a "Selous Scout operation."
"These former Rhodies are saying the violence in 2008 should be investigated but we know that the former Selous Scouts were behind those disturbances. You see, when we took this country in 1980, we took it from General Peter Walls' special forces. These forces wanted to carry out a coup and take out both President Mugabe and Vice-President Nkomo and so at independence we insisted that these special forces should be disbanded because we knew their machinations.
"When they failed to carry out the coup, they went out on a mission to destabilise the country after running away to South Africa. The Selous Scouts under these special forces carried out dirty tricks to discredit both Zanla and Zipra by carrying out the bombings of the Mambo Press, the Anglican Cathedral in Mbare and two of them actually blew themselves to pieces in a bid to tarnish the image of Zanla and Zipra.
"These Selous Scouts later regrouped in SA and they continued their dirty tricks in 2008 to discredit Zanu-PF. When in 2008, I was briefed by the security that there were bombings of police stations and burning of houses in rural areas, I quickly realised that we were not dealing with the MDC or any other political party, but this was the ugly head of the Selous Scouts trying to tarnish the image of Zanu-PF.
"These former Rhodies know they killed people in 2008 and now they are turning around to say go and investigate. Well, Muchemwa can go to SA today and say charge me but then the courts there have no extra-judicial powers over Zimbabweans.
"You see, the ruling was taken by the white-controlled courts which don't have the arresting powers. The police have the arresting powers. Let the police in SA make a wrong move and arrest one of ours and we will also make a wrong move," warned the veteran soldier. The Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, has already dismissed the ruling, saying it has brought the SA justice system into disrepute while Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana dismissed the judgment, saying Zimbabwean citizens will not be subjected to South African and international laws that the country is not party to.
Source - zimpapers
