Zimbabwe perpetrators of crime against humanity must have their day at “The Hague”!
Written by Administrator Monday, 30 April 2012 17:51
The conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Thursday, 26 April 2012, by the UN backed Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague for aiding and abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone during the country's 1991-2002 civil war comes with worldwide celebrations. Charles Taylor was charged with 11 counts of murder, rape, conscripting child soldiers and sexual slavery during intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone which claimed the lives of 50,000 people. Taylor was also accused of directing the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in a campaign of terror to plunder Sierra Leone's diamond mines for profit and weapons trading.
The conviction of Taylor is an indication of the reality that the wrath of the law shall descend on perpetrators of crimes against humanity. More importantly, the conviction comes as a source of hope for Zimbabweans, who for more than three decades have watched their families and friends being slaughtered by elements in the Mugabe regime with impunity. Though not to the magnitude experienced in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Zimbabwe has had its fair share of rights abuses by the state through the uniformed forces and quasi military groups including war veterans and youth militias.
Between 1983 and 1987, the Korean trained Fifth Brigade killed 20,000 civilians according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), tortured thousands more and burnt entire villages to the ground in what has largely been referred to as the Gukurahundi. In April 1983, President Mugabe, justifying the atrocities said;
“We eradicate them (citizens of Matabeleland and parts of Midlands). We don't differentiate when we fight because we can't tell who is a dissident and who is not"
After signing the 1987 Unity Accord, Mugabe signed a number of amnesty bills which pardoned all persons involved in the genocide including current Air force of Zimbabwe Commander, Air Marshal Perrence Shiri and members of the Fifth Brigade. Such pardoning of perpetrators of human rights abuses sends the wrong message to would be perpetrators of similar offences.
The crimes of Gukurahundi are yet to see their day in court. Currently Honourable Moses Mzila Ndlovu, co-Minister in the Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, is on trial after motivating Lupane Villagers to remain vigilant on the need for truth and justice on the matter of Gukurahundi attrocities committed by the Fifth Brigade. He is facing allegations of addressing an ‘unsanctioned’ Gukurahundi meeting at Silwane Primary School, during a memorial service for victims of the Gukurahundi in January. Many would wonder if the charges will not be mere scape goats given to the authorities to appease the spirits of those who lost their loved ones while the real culprits continue with their lavish lives without question.
Since the Gukurahundi atrocities, perpetrators of human rights abuses have received blanket immunity with the courts failing to bring them to book. Political violence has characterised Zimbabwe’s key political moments including the post 2000 land grabs and elections (including those held in 2002, 2005 and 2008). Yet, the compromised judiciary dismally failed to bring perpetrators to account for their actions. In instances where the courts convicted known rights abusers, they have failed to follow up on the convictions. For example, the judiciary is failing to follow up on the conviction of rogue Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent, Joseph Mwale for the murder of Tichaona Chiminya and Talent Mabika in Murambinda in 2000 and the issuing of an arrest warrant thereafter. Reports abound of Mwale working for the government yet the judiciary seems to have conveniently forgotten that he is a convicted felon. Such miscarriage of justice shows how the judicial structures in Zimbabwe are compromised and unable to deliver justice for crimes perpetrated over the past 32 years presenting the need for international intervention through The Hague.
How can a man who has overseen such atrocities be left unpunished? Over 30 years of instilling fear and disharmony among Zimbabweans cannot continue. Mugabe and his generals have to answer to their crimes if national healing should ever be achieved. Zimbabweans need UN intervention; They must have their day at “The Hague”.