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Mukoko vindicated at last
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
September 28, 2009

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is overjoyed by today's Constitutional Court ruling in which Jestina Mukoko won a permanent stay of prosecution due to the violation of several of her fundamental rights by state agents.

In handing down the unanimous judgment of the Constitutional Court bench, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, sitting with Deputy Chief Justice Malaba, and Justices Sandura, Ziyambi and Garwe, found that Mukoko's constitutional rights had been violated, and as a result her criminal prosecution had to be permanently stayed.

Mukoko, the Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was the victim of an illegal abduction/enforced disappearance in December 2008, and was subjected to various other human rights violations during her incommunicado detention.

The court held that her fundamental right to be free from torture had been violated by "the State, through its agents". So too, the court found that State agents had violated her constitutional right to personal liberty and denied her protection of the law. The violations committed had been to such an extent as to warrant a permanent stay of criminal prosecution, and the charges against her in her criminal trial were therefore withdrawn.

ZLHR commends the Constitutional Court bench for its brave and just decision and sincerely hopes that this is a sign of genuine movement towards the restoration of the Rule of Law and the dignity of the justice delivery system in Zimbabwe. Today's ruling will go a long way in beginning to restore public confidence in the judiciary as an independent institution which can and will protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all the people of the country, without fear or favour.

The unanimous ruling was the only rightful and foreseeable outcome in light of the overwhelming facts and legal arguments presented in support of Jestina Mukoko's application.

Many of the violations and much of the wasted time, costs and anguish caused by this malicious prosecution could have been averted had the office of the Attorney General properly advised its clients, namely the police and state security agents, of their unlawful actions and properly performed its constitutional duty to ensure that such violations were punished by a refusal to prosecute. Instead, representatives of this office time and again sought to abuse their functions for the purposes of persecution, rather than justifiable prosecution. ZLHR sincerely hopes that the Attorney General will reflect deeply on how this case was mishandled and ensure that he does not tolerate similar actions by the errant law officers who were involved in this case, or any others, which may arise in the future.

Whilst we celebrate today's victory with Jestina, we are mindful that 7 other abductees remain unaccounted for to date, and we urge the Attorney General to advise the law enforcement authorities to comply with several court orders for them to investigate these disappearances and inform of the whereabouts, and/or produce Gwenzi Kahiya, Lovemore Machokoto, Charles Muza, Ephraim Mabeka, Edmore Vangirayi, Peter Munyanyi, and Graham Matehwa, which orders they continue to defy with impunity.

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