JOHANNESBURG, March 26 (Reuters) – Rights activists began a
legal bid on Monday to compel South Africa to investigate and
prosecute citizens of neighbouring Zimbabwe suspected of crimes
against humanity.
The activists argue that South Africa is failing to meet its
obligations in international law. A court ruling in their favour
would cause a headache for South Africa, which could see its
courts clogged with prosecutions and its diplomacy with the
power-sharing government in Harare hobbled.
President Robert Mugabe and top members of his ZANU-PF party
are already subject to international sanctions for suspected
human rights abuses including using death squads to intimidate
voters and torturing political prisoners. Zimbabwe’s courts and
security apparatus are largely under ZANU-PF control.
“The High Court has an opportunity to set an important
precedent, which will ensure that South Africa lives up to its
legal responsibilities to prosecute the perpetrators of
international crime,” said Nicole Fritz, executive director of
the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, one of the applicants who
brought the case to court.
Prosecutors were not immediately available for comment but
have said they are looking into the matter. Legal experts say it
is questionable whether South African courts could be used to
hear cases of crimes committed in Zimbabwe.
Last week a court in Zimbabwe found six activists guilty of
trying to topple Mugabe for meeting to watch videos of the Arab
Spring protests that toppled northern African leaders, but
sentenced them to fines and community service instead of the 10
years’ jail demanded by prosecutors.
Mugabe, in power for more than 30 years, says the
allegations of abuses are part of an international plot to
unseat him.
South Africa allowed more than a million people from
Zimbabwe to enter without documents three years ago when its
destitute neighbour was swept up in political violence and its
already unsteady economy was being crushed by hyperinflation.
Many thousands of these say they are victims of political
violence, and so could bring lawsuits if the court decides in
favour of the rights groups.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz)
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
