Rule of law "in tatters", says UN Special Rapporteur

As Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe arrived in Paris on Wednesday to attend a Franco-African summit, in spite of a European Union travel ban on him and cabinet ministers, concern was mounting back home over the arrest of High Court Judge Benjamin Paradza. Paradza was arrested on Monday on charges of attempting to defeat the course of justice and was released on bail. He faced an alternative charge of allegedly trying to persuade judges to breach a section of the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, he allegedly asked three judges to release the passport of a business associate facing a murder charge to enable him to travel to Spain. Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, expressed his "grave concern" over Paradza's arrest, and noted that Paradza had previously handed down decisions that were "unpalatable" to the Zimbabwean government. Paradza had recently released Harare Mayor Elias Mudzuri, who had been accused of illegally holding a political meeting, and in August he struck down eviction notices affecting 54 farm owners on grounds that they were not correctly served under the government's land nationalisation laws. Cumaraswamy compared his arrest with that of retired Judge Fergus Blackie last year for allegedly obstructing the course of justice by delivering a judgment quashing an appeal of a jail term imposed on a woman without concurring with the other judge who sat on the appeal with him. "What is common and very conspicuous about the alleged charges against Justice Paradza and retired Judge Blackie is that the principle witnesses to prove the alleged charges would be fellow judges. This is pitting judge against judge and setting the members of the judiciary on a collision course between what will be seen as the independents and the compliants. "While judges are not above the law, subjecting them to arrest and detention in such humiliating circumstances is tantamount to intimidation of the gravest kind. This leaves a chilling effect on the independence of the judiciary," Cumaraswamy said. "This latest development is but one in a series of institutional and personal attacks on the judiciary and its independent judges over the past two years, which have resulted in the resignations of several senior judges and which have left Zimbabwe's rule of law in tatters. "When judges can be set against one another, then intimidated with arrest, detention and criminal prosecution there is no hope for the rule of law which is the cornerstone of democracy. It paves the way for governmental lawlessness," he concluded. The Law Society of Zimbabwe, whose president Sternford Moyo and the society's secretary Wilfred Mapombere were arrested last year for allegedly conspiring to organise mass demonstrations to force a rerun of the disputed presidential election, joined the condemnation of Paradza's arrest. In a statement Moyo said that except for very serious criminal conduct, where there was a danger of the judge absconding or interfering with investigations, allegations of misconduct levelled against judges should be dealt with in terms of the constitution. This requires an inquiry to establish whether or not the allegations of misconduct are well founded. "The Law Society urges all concerned to show respect for the judiciary and the judicial office so that confidence in it may not be unduly determined. Undermining confidence in the judiciary has a negative impact on the quality of the administration of justice," Moyo said. Meanwhile, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC) has demanded "an end to the harassment of civil society leaders" following last week's arrest at a public meeting of John Makumbe, chairman of Transparency International Zimbabwe, Bishop Trevor Manhanga, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Brian Kagoro co-ordinator of CIZC and Ian Makore, a member of the public. "The ink is not yet dry on [Nigerian President Olusegun] Obasanjo's letter to [Australian Prime Minister] John Howard claiming that all is normal in Zimbabwe," said Kagoro in a statement. "And yet the clampdown on democratic voices is worsening. Is this naked aggression against civil liberties and freedom what Obasanjo and [South African President Thabo] Mbeki condone?" Last week Obasanjo and Mbeki, part of a Commonwealth troika on Zimbabwe along with Howard, indicated that they favoured lifting Zimbabwe's suspension from the group of nations as Obasanjo felt the political situation in the country had improved. Besides Paradza's arrest, and arrests made at the CIZC meeting, a communiqué from Women of Zimbabwe Arise said that 73 people participating in a Valentine's Day peace march had been arrested in Bulawayo, Harare and the tourist town of Victoria Falls. A recent European Union agreement made an exception to Mugabe's renewed travel ban to allow him to attend the summit in France on the grounds that the country's human rights record would be discussed. However, a spokeswoman for the South African delegation said there was no direct reference to Zimbabwe on the agenda.