Justice minister Patrick Chinamasas preposterous rebuttal this week of the jurisdiction of the SADC Tribunal is absolute nonsense. It is our fervent hope that SADC will rise to this challenge and assert itself as a serious entity, not subject to the whims of its more vociferous members.Chinamasas rejection of the tribunals jurisdiction comes 10 months after its judgement in favour of dispossessed commercial farmers, whose land was grabbed under Zanu (PF) corrupt and chaotic land reform programme. Since judgement was passed, the government has refused to comply with the courts orders to compensate the farmers.
During the two years of litigation over this case, the Zimbabwe Government never raised any objections. Chinamasas statement was only made days before this weeks SADC summit, which had been asked by the tribunal to consider enforcing the its judgement in favour of the farmers.
In fact, President Robert Mugabe signed the SADC treaty establishing the tribunal in August 1992. The Zimbabwean Parliament ratified it later that year.
Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, under oath in January this year accepted that there was a binding treaty. His deputy, Prince Machaya, wrote to the tribunal on May 8, 2009, accepting its jurisdiction and promising that the government of Zimbabwe would abide by its rulings.
It is of considerable importance to government, that it is not seen to have a propensity for disregarding orders of the tribunal, said the letter. Senior government lawyers appeared before the tribunal during the two-year sitting, at enormous expense to the taxpayer. And no time was the jurisdiction of the court questioned.
Yet again, Zanu (PF) is behaving like a bunch of spoilt brats. They are only prepared to play the game if they are winning. If anything doesnt go their way, they grab their ball and refuse to play
Had judgement gone in their favour, would they still have challenged it? We doubt it.
This behaviour should make it quite clear to all the other governments in the region Zimbabwe has a lawless government. When things go against them they sulk.
For years they have made a mockery of their own judicial system, sacking judges who have ruled against them at home. Now they want to make a mockery of regional institutions too. Membership of a regional bloc like SADC brings with it certain obligations its time for SADC to stand up to the regional bully.
Either SADC is serious about the tribunal being a regional court or else it is nothing but a paper tiger, which should be dismantled in order to stop wasting the regions limited time and money.
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Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us. For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39 (Amplified Bible)
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga