Our relations with Zim cannot stand in the way of the law
The Times Editorial | 11 May, 2012 00:58
The Times Editorial: Even though President Jacob Zuma has adopted a far
tougher approach to the recalcitrant Robert Mugabe than Thabo Mbeki ever
did, our police service has had no qualms in cosying up to their Zimbabwean
counterparts.
So much so that members of the SA Police Service’s elite Hawks unit stand
accused of being involved in the illegal, CIA-style rendition of several
Zimbabwean suspects who were taken over the border and murdered or tortured
by Zimbabwean authorities.
Among the victims was former Movement for Democratic Change organiser Gift
Nhadzi, who was allegedly tortured, along with his wife, after he was
spirited over the border.
When the Sunday Times lifted a lid off this shameful state of affairs in
October last year, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa initially denied the
allegations. But an investigation was launched and Mthethwa told parliament
on Wednesday that the probe was nearing completion.
Yesterday, activists from the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum threatened to take
several members of the Hawks to The Hague over crimes against humanity if
they are not brought to justice in South Africa.
The exiles forum was also one of the applicants in a landmark case in the
Pretoria High Court, which ruled that police and the National Prosecuting
Authority were obliged – under the Rome statute of the International
Criminal Court Act – to investigate and charge senior Zimbabwe officials
suspected of crimes against humanity should they enter South Africa.
Judge Hans Fabricius was not persuaded by the NPA’s argument than such an
undertaking could hamper cooperation with the Zimbabwean police in criminal
investigations or undermine relations with Zimbabwe, saying “political
considerations or diplomatic initiatives are not relevant . having regard to
the purpose of the ICC Act”.
They might not want to upset the powers-that-be in Zimbabwe but our police
and prosecuting authority will have to obey the law.