(MISA/IFEX) – MISA Zimbabwe is shocked both at the government’s continued defiance of the High Court orders to release the editor of the “Standard” newspaper, Mark Chavunduka, as well as the way the government has now used the judiciary process to trick Chavunduka’s colleague, Ray Choto, into handing himself over to the police. According to […]
(MISA/IFEX) – MISA Zimbabwe is shocked both at the government’s continued
defiance of the High Court orders to release the editor of the “Standard”
newspaper, Mark Chavunduka, as well as the way the government has now used
the judiciary process to trick Chavunduka’s colleague, Ray Choto, into
handing himself over to the police.
According to the Deputy Editor of the “Independent” newspaper, Iden
Wetherall, the Ministry of Defence, told the country that Chavunduka was now
in the hands of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). When the newspaper’s
lawyers tried to visit him though, the police said they would be given
access to Chavunduka only if Choto gave himself up. Believing that the ZRP
was being sincere, the owners of the “Standard” gave Choto the choice of
either remaining in hiding or giving himself up to the police accompanied by
the newspaper’s lawyers. Choto decided to give himself up and was
promptly arrested. Meanwhile, Chavunduka is still being denied access to his
lawyers, family and employers. Wetherall says no one knows were Chavunduka
is being held. The “Standard” is a sister newspaper of the “Independent”.
The above developments add a new twist to a saga which may create a major
constitutional crisis for the country, since one arm of the state, the
presidency, is now openly defying the other arm, the judiciary. According to
press reports, the ministry of defence and its lawyers did not even bother
to turn up for the hearings which resulted in the ruling by High Court Judge
James Devitte ordering the ministry to release
Chavunduka by 10 p.m. (local time) on 18 January 1999.
The Deputy Sheriff of the High Court served the orders on the Minister of
Defence, Moven Mohachi as the first respondent, Secretary of Defence Job
Whabira as the second respondent, and Major Mhonda as the third respondent,
compelling all three to present themselves before the High Court in the
company of Chavunduka. Failing this, they would face contempt of court
charges.
The order was to no avail as the three did not show up and Chavunduka was
not released. However, they informed the court that Chavunduka had been
released from military detention and had been handed over to the police, who
continued to detain him. It was at a meeting between the “Standard”‘s
lawyers and the police in a bid to secure access to Chavunduka, that the
police duped the lawyers into convincing Choto to come out of hiding.
Background Information
Chavunduka was detained on 12 January by the Zimbabwean military and is
being held in a yet unknown place in that country. He has been denied access
to legal representation, family and friends and no one knows his exact state
of health. He has not been charged with any offence either.
Chavunduka was detained in connection with a story published in the
“Standard” newspaper alleging that about twenty three soldiers may have been
detained for attempting to overthrow the government of Robert Mugabe.
On 14 January, the Zimbabwean High Court ordered the government to release
Chavunduka arguing that his detention was unlawful. The government
(military) however refused to abide by the court order, saying civilian
courts have no jurisdiction over military camps where Chavunduka was being
held. A second order was issued by the High Court, demanding that the
Minister of Defence produce Chavunduka before 22:00 hours (local time) on 18
January. Again the military defied this and instead pretended it would be
handing Chavunduka over to the police to be charged under a civil process.
The Zanu-PF government has a history of defying the judiciary, especially on
matters of national security. During the early 1980s, the government refused
to release several white senior airforce commanders following incidents of
sabotage at the country ‘s main airforce base, Thornhill, in Gweru.
The current Minister of Home Affairs, Dumiso Dabengwa, and his deceased
colleague in the Zimbabwe African Peoples Liberation Army (ZIPRA) , the late
Joseph Masuku, felt the full wrath of this defiance when they were held in
prison for a number of years despite countless orders by the judiciary to
release them. This was during the height of the dissident war which was
fueled by former ZIPRA combatants in Matebeleland.
The state owned daily newspaper reported that Chavunduka and Choto were
likely to face allegations of contravening the Law and Order Maintenance
Act.
