The SADC tribunal should act on Mugabe

The victims of the regime's judiciary excesses are now seeking justice through external judiciary systems.

A Zimbabwean farmer, William Campbell, whose farm has been seized by the state, has sought an urgent interim interdict against his government from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal. The case is to be heard next Tuesday in the Namibian capital, Windhoek - the seat of the Tribunal. This is the first test case for the seven-year-old Tribunal. Does the tribunal have any independence enjoyed by the similar institutions such as European Court and others? 

Campbell has evoked Article 6 of the SADC Treaty that bars member states from discriminating against any person on the grounds of gender, religion, race, ethnic origin and culture. He argues that the Zimbabwean government's land reforms are racially motivated.

The ever-gregarious Zimbabwean legislative drafters, who have been churning out 'creative' legislative pieces at breakneck speed since 2000, have one that permits seizure of farmland without recourse to compensation and the courts of law. Campbell has appropriately described the Zimbabwean situation thus: 'What we have in Zimbabwe is rule by law, not the rule of law.'

Indeed, there has been a drought of good governance for long in Zimbabwe. Campbell admittedly sought recourse from the regional judiciary body, as there is no rule of law at his home country. How could there be justice in a set-up where police chiefs, magistrates and judges (not to mention the political leadership) are themselves direct beneficiaries of the land grab?

Campbell is not alone in his quest for justice. Dutch nationals are demanding P90 million in compensation for lost land after dragging the Zimbabwean government to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). They argue that their investments were protected under bilateral investment treaty between the two governments signed before the 2000 land reform. Apparently the Mugabe regime tacitly accepts responsibility and has indicated it will pay up when it is able to do so. And there are many similar such agreements with other countries, including fellow SADC member states of Mauritius and South Africa.

In principle, no one would be against land reform or land distribution. People are reacting to the queer land grab masquerading as redistribution. The initiative is reckless and lawless. We hope the SADC Tribunal, being the region's highest judiciary body, will at long last drive the point home to the Harare regime that the region can no longer entertain lawlessness.

                                                     Today's Thought
There is no crueller tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.
                                                     - Charles de Montesquieu