Yesterday, you may recall that I wrote about Mugabe’s attitude to the new SADC ruling following his ignoring the initial ruling. This is all about the land grab and the SADC Tribunal had ruled that the applicants, Michael Campbell and his son-in-law, Ben Freeth, were to be allowed to live and work on their farms and that the invaders were to leave them alone.

The thugs, representing Mugabe’s interests, then burned the households to ground.

The invaders have not left the farms and Campbell and Freeth have not been able to work the land.

A new ruling reiterates the original ruling and orders the invaders off the land.

Mugabe’s Minister of Justice has stated that the Zimbabwean government doesn’t recognise the tribunal’s ruling.

“The government has once again snubbed a ruling by the human rights courts of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), saying the ruling is of ‘no consequence’ to Zimbabwe.

The comments were made by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa over the weekend, after the SADC Tribunal ruled that the government was in contempt, for ignoring previous rulings over unlawful land seizures. The contempt ruling is the third since the government was taken to court over the land ‘reform’ programme in 2008, and the case will now be referred to the SADC summit in Namibia next month.

But ZANU PF’s Chinamasa on Sunday told the state controlled Herald newspaper that SADC rulings would never change the government’s position on land ‘reform’. He added that the position on the SADC Tribunal remained the same, in that that it did not recognise its judgements.

“Our position remains the same that we don’t recognise the SADC Tribunal for reasons that we have given before. The farmers can have as many such judgements as they can but they will be of no effect in our jurisdiction,” he said.

“The farmers are wasting their time and money and are only going there for propaganda purposes. They are entitled to play their propaganda by going to the Tribunal but we will not recognise the judgement,” he said.“

When I wrote an editorial yesterday, I stated exactly that. Mugabe will not be moved – not be SADC, not by the AU, not by the EU and not by the UN. Mugabe believes that he was ‘elected’ by the Zimbabwean people – and now he is intent on remaining in power and will shout down anyone who objects, will knock down anyone who opposes him and hold down anyone who seeks justice for the treatment handed out by his violent ZANU PF party.

Yet Mugabe believes that his party should be recognised as the ‘ruling party’ by virtue of his position as President of Zimbabwe, although his return to that office was achieved through violence, intimidation and fraud.

Whilst his government refuses to recognise the SADC Tribunal, perhaps it is time for SADC to refuse to recognise his tenure, knowing that it was achieved through surreptitious means.

“The Tribunal on Friday ruled that farmers can refer their grievances to the SADC summit in August, as the Zimbabwean government has still failed to protect them and their rights to their land. This decision followed an urgent court application made by farmers Louis Fick and Mike Campbell last month, in a bid to force SADC leaders to intervene.

The application called on the SADC Tribunal to consider measures under the SADC Treaty to terminate or suspend Zimbabwe’s membership from SADC. The basis of the application is that the government remains in contempt of the SADC Tribunal by allowing ongoing farms invasions, arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment of farmers, despite a Tribunal order to protect the same farmers.

The government was ordered to protect these rights in a landmark ruling by the Tribunal in 2008, which said that land ‘reform’ was unlawful and discriminatory. That ruling has been completely ignored by the government, which was eventually charged with contempt by the Tribunal. Previous comments by Chinamasa dismissing the Tribunal landed the government in further hot water, when another contempt charge was eventually handed down.“

The termination or suspension of Zimbabwe’s membership to SADC will achieve nothing as Mugabe will believe then that he has removed yet another yoke from his shoulders – and I believe that he will ensure that the land referred to in the rulings will not only be invaded and taken in toto, but that the invasion will be conducted with extreme prejudice.

“Chegutu farmer Ben Freeth, who heads the SADC Tribunal Rights Watch group, on Monday told SW Radio Africa that the ball is now in SADC’s court to take firm action with Zimbabwe. He explained that the Tribunal is a “visionary concept that means nothing until judgements are implemented.”

“A court with no teeth is a pretty useless thing,” Freeth said. “It paints a gloomy picture for the whole SADC region if human rights abuses are allowed to continue in this way.“

Robb WJ Ellis

The Bearded Man

(Source)