Back to Index

Parliament makes a mockery of justice in Zimbabwe
Paul T Nyathi, Secretary for Information and Publicity (MDC)
October 29, 2004

The Movement for Democratic Change is shocked but not surprised by the sentence proposed by the Paul Mangwana, Zanu PF MP and lawyer and adopted by parliament through the Zanu PF MPs vote against Honourable MP Roy Bennet. There can be no legal or moral justification for depriving a man of his freedom for a year for the minor offence of pushing a fellow parliamentarian.

The sentence, which is clearly driven by hate, has all the hallmarks of a vindictive, racist and tribalist regime whose only legacy to the country is rape, genocide, poverty and corruption. The men and women in Zanu PF most of whom clearly did not agree with the sentence, must be ashamed sitting in their homes knowing that they acted against their consciences simply because they are driven by their fear of a geriatric dictator.

The MDC is not surprised by this absurd decision by the Zanu PF dominated Parliamentary Committee because it is yet one more illustration of the partisan and prejudiced nature of justice in Zimbabwe.

This is a country where Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa uses parliament to scoff at the irrelevance of High Court rulings and yet he receives no sanction for this blatant contempt of the judicial process. He is able to insult Bennet and yet he receives no sanction nor does the committee take this provocation into account. ZANU PF MP, Didymus Mutasa also joined in the scuffle but his actions were never reviewed by the parliamentary committee. There is a clear selective application of justice.

Justice Minister Chinamasa is also guilty of openly threatening the former chief justice and two former Supreme Court judges.

Under this Minister of Justice’s tenure over 300 members of the MDC have been murdered, some in broad daylight, some by accused persons who have been identified. Not one of these murderers has even been tried yet. Thousands more have been grievously assaulted, tortured and raped, and yet prosecution has not been brought against the culprits.

In this case Patrick Chinamasa himself, a man of similar age to Bennet and taller than Bennet, was not injured not even bruised and yet Bennet is sentenced to 15 months with labour when Zanu PF supporters guilty of murder are allowed to go scot-free. This is a total pervasion of justice.

While the MDC has never and will never condone the use of violence to settle an argument, regardless of the provocation involved, the party condemns the disproportionate nature of this sentence. A sentence which is motivated more by vindictiveness than justice. It further indicates evidence of a deep seated political crisis in Zimbabwe, especially when read against the back drop of the recent forced deportation of the representatives of COSATU.

Bennett is a true parliamentarian who has the well being of his constituents at heart and he has had and will always have their support and the support of his party. We stand in solidarity with him. The injustice against him is a true reflection of the injustice that is experienced by all Zimbabweans who are fighting for a new beginning in Zimbabwe today.

Regardless of the powers that the state brings against our parliamentarians and our supporters, they can never overcome the loyalty and dedication the party has to see a better future for all Zimbabweans.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP