Ruling party liable in US courts

A US federal court judge ruled last week in New York that Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party can be held liable in US courts for political violence in the southern African country. Judge Victor Marrero ruled in a 130-page opinion that although President Robert Mugabe was protected from being personally sued because of immunity granted to heads of state, in his capacity as head of ZANU-PF he was legally liable. The ruling clears the way for a US magistrate's court to award damages in a lawsuit filed last year which sought US $63 million in compensation for victims of political violence and their relatives. "If ZANU-PF assets can be identified and attached, then this is an important avenue for Zimbabweans seeking justice in these cases," international criminal lawyer Chris Roederer told IRIN on Tuesday. A spokesman for the plaintiffs, Topper Whitehead, told IRIN that it was unlikely that Mugabe or ZANU-PF would pay compensation and that arrangegments had already been made to identify his US assets. "He's got plenty of money here and we know about it," he said. Legal experts told IRIN that under US federal law, information about ZANU-PF bank accounts anywhere in world could be legally requested if the institution holding the account had any business in the United States. "A US court couldn't necessarily get the money from say, Switzerland, but it would be legally empowered to get details of accounts held in Switzerland if the bank there has US holdings," Cathi Albertyn of Wits Law School in Johannesburg said. Relatives of three Zimbabweans who were killed and a political opponent who claims she was beaten before Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections last year sued Mugabe in a US District Court under the 211-year old Alien Tort Claims Act. The law gives nationals of other countries the right to file civil suits in US courts for injuries suffered in violation of international law, although it is rare to collect judgments in such cases. Mugabe accepted the summons in October 2000 while on a US visit as he entered Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Harlem. Foreign Minister Stanley Mudenge refused to accept the papers but they were recorded as having been duly served after they were placed at his feet during the same visit. Adella Chiminya is suing ZANU-PF on behalf of her late husband, Tichaona, a senior opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) advisor who was allegedly burnt to death by ZANU-PF supporters identified in court as Tomu Kainos "Kitsiyatota" Zimunya and Joseph Mwale. Another plaintiff, Elliot Pfebve, was an MDC parliamentary candidate for Bindura, a town 50 km north of Harare, who survived several assassination attempts, although his identical brother was killed in a case of mistaken identity. Maria Stevens, also suing, lost her husband David, who was abducted from a police station and killed. No Zimbabwean official has contested the suit and the government in Harare has denied the case's existence. Several Zimbabwean journalists and at least one newspaper have been charged with criminal defamation for reporting on the lawsuit. The success of this recent action against Mugabe and ZANU-PF could open the door to other such claims in US courts, experts warned. "I think we're likely to see more of these kind of cases. Lots of lawyers have started specialising in them because of the big sums involved and last week's judgement could open the flood gates," Roederer said.