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The Legal Monitor - Issue 20
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
November 09, 2009

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Tomana outstanding issue - SADC

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has tasked Zimbabwe's political leaders with resolving outstanding issues to the Inter-Party Agreement Political (IPA), including the contentious appointment of Attorney General (AG) Johannes Tomana, within a month.

Tomana, whose appointment Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai insists is irregular and should be reversed, has been receiving political support from President Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF. In defending Tomana, Mugabe had argued that the AG's job was not part of the IPA also known as Global Political Agreement (GPA), and therefore non-negotiable.

But a Communiqué released after the SADC Troika meeting in Mozambique last week re-affirmed the regional bloc's decision in January that the transitional government should review Tomana's appointment, together with that of the Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono.

SADC, which pushed for the power sharing arrangement after rejecting results of the violent June 2008 presidential election run-off, are the guarantors of the IPA.

"Summit decided as follows: (i) the political parties signatory to the GPA should engage in dialogue with immediate effect within fifteen (15) days and not beyond thirty (30) days; (ii) the dialogue should include all the outstanding issues emanating from the implementation of the GPA and SADC Communiqué of 27 January 2009," read a section of the 5 November 2009 SADC Communiqué.

The 27 January Communiqué referred to by the Maputo summit stated in part that: "The appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General will be dealt with by the inclusive government after its formation."

Tomana and Gono's appointments are part of issues such as the continued abuse of security and judicial institutions to persecute rights defenders, political violence, stalled democratic reforms and the inequitable sharing of government posts that should be resolved.

Since the formation of the transitional government in February, the AG's Office has come under intense criticism for its partial handling of political cases and increased targetting of lawyers handling such cases.

Rights groups use the example of the continued prosecution of human rights and political activists on terrorism, banditry and sabotage charges as one example of Tomana's abuse of his disputed status as AG to pursue pro-democracy rights and political activists. Tomana has refused to be swayed by a Supreme Court ruling freeing a peace activist whose circumstances are similar to those of the other activists.

The Supreme Court in September freed Mukoko on the grounds that her rights had been infringed when she was abducted, tortured and held incommunicado by State security agents last year. The arrest and prosecution of top lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu last week added to more than a dozen politically motivated prosecutions that the AG's Office has continued to push in defiance to calls for reform.

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