The legal battle commenced when the news broke in January that the South African National Defence Force had donated its fleet of unused Alouette helicopters to the Zimbabwean army. AfriForum approached the North Gauteng High Court to obtain an urgent interdict against the delivery of the helicopters. News regarding the donation broke at a time when serious concerns were surfacing regarding Zimbabwe's human rights record.
In terms of applicable South African legislation and the Constitution, the State or any other person may not export arms or military equipment to another country without the proper permit. A permit may only be granted if the National Conventional Arms Control Committee was satisfied that the human rights record of the receiver was acceptable. This never happened and AfriForum is now applying to have the decisions of the South African National Defence Force reversed.
This morning's proceedings could not continue because senior council acting on behalf of the Minister of Defence indicated, after his arrival at the court, that he was ill and had to consult a doctor. He offered on behalf of his clients to carry the wasted expenditure for fruitless preparation of the court proceedings and offered that the interim interdict against the delivery of the helicopters remain in place.
Legal representative for AfriForum, Willie Spies, said in a statement after the day's events that AfriForum still had an interdict and a cost order against the State. "The helicopters aren't going anywhere. In practical terms it is a victory for us," he said.
Post published in: Africa News