Opinion / Columnist
Justice delayed is justice denied, says MDC-T
20 Nov 2014 at 09:46hrs | Views
The MDC T South Africa Province joins the whole world in receiving the much awaited Judge Khampepe report on the Zimbabwe 2002 Presidential election. To us there is no reason for celebration nor jubilation.
Ours is an observation that finally, the world knows and vindicates our long held cry that the entire electoral system and most if not all civil institutions in the country had been militarized.
The report being released after a protracted, lengthy judicial process - with the Mail & Guardian Newspaper being the chief role player has exposed the Mugabe regime. We as the MDC have always argued that Mugabe has turned Zimbabwe back to the Stone Age Era when most nations are racing towards the Space Age.
The report which has only been released twelve years after the injustices now only serves on an academic argument basis. It truly has been overtaken by events. Some of the people implicated are late, some victims have already succumbed to the great pain and long term injuries. The rogue regime has no intentions or willingness to respect nor implement the recommendations or even act on the basis of this extra- terrestrial document. The orphans, widows and those impoverished by these acts of madness as they go scot-free have no recourse for redress.
As the MDC T, we receive, accept the attempt to articulate and narrate the situation prevailing in Zimbabwe during the particular election season as a true account despite it's failure to capture all the atrocities committed by the dictatorial regime of Robert Mugabe. The report has covered much and we still believe it could have done more.
We thank all that participated in the information gathering, the judges and sympathize with the victims of the violence. To the South African government we thank you for the good intent but have no good or kind words for the response thereof.
Now the people know who won the 2002 Presidential Elections in Zimbabwe .
President Tsvangirai paid tribute to the Mail and Guardian newspaper.
"I want to pay tribute to the unstinting pursuit of the truth particularly by the press corps at the Mail and Guardian. Their audacious and persistent journalism has led to the publication of the report," the President said.
"But while it has taken 12 years for the judges' report to be made public, the irony is that even after those 12 years, this report has come out earlier than the verdict of our court challenge that we filed in 2002.
"Today, we are still awaiting judgement on our court challenge and it appears the ruling on my court petition filed in 2002 may not even come in my lifetime. That delay is certainly a major statement about the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
"Reading their final verdict of the 2002 Presidential election, the two judges may well have been talking about the July 2013 election, which was fraught with similar irregularities that they noted in their report," the President said.
Long Live the Spirit of Freedom
Long Live President Dr. Morgan Richard Tsvangirai
Ours is an observation that finally, the world knows and vindicates our long held cry that the entire electoral system and most if not all civil institutions in the country had been militarized.
The report being released after a protracted, lengthy judicial process - with the Mail & Guardian Newspaper being the chief role player has exposed the Mugabe regime. We as the MDC have always argued that Mugabe has turned Zimbabwe back to the Stone Age Era when most nations are racing towards the Space Age.
The report which has only been released twelve years after the injustices now only serves on an academic argument basis. It truly has been overtaken by events. Some of the people implicated are late, some victims have already succumbed to the great pain and long term injuries. The rogue regime has no intentions or willingness to respect nor implement the recommendations or even act on the basis of this extra- terrestrial document. The orphans, widows and those impoverished by these acts of madness as they go scot-free have no recourse for redress.
As the MDC T, we receive, accept the attempt to articulate and narrate the situation prevailing in Zimbabwe during the particular election season as a true account despite it's failure to capture all the atrocities committed by the dictatorial regime of Robert Mugabe. The report has covered much and we still believe it could have done more.
We thank all that participated in the information gathering, the judges and sympathize with the victims of the violence. To the South African government we thank you for the good intent but have no good or kind words for the response thereof.
President Tsvangirai paid tribute to the Mail and Guardian newspaper.
"I want to pay tribute to the unstinting pursuit of the truth particularly by the press corps at the Mail and Guardian. Their audacious and persistent journalism has led to the publication of the report," the President said.
"But while it has taken 12 years for the judges' report to be made public, the irony is that even after those 12 years, this report has come out earlier than the verdict of our court challenge that we filed in 2002.
"Today, we are still awaiting judgement on our court challenge and it appears the ruling on my court petition filed in 2002 may not even come in my lifetime. That delay is certainly a major statement about the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
"Reading their final verdict of the 2002 Presidential election, the two judges may well have been talking about the July 2013 election, which was fraught with similar irregularities that they noted in their report," the President said.
Long Live the Spirit of Freedom
Long Live President Dr. Morgan Richard Tsvangirai
Source - Dr. Wangu Mazodze - MDC T South Africa Province Spokesperson
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