Justice and Law
ZIG Watch : Issue 10
Sokwanele Article: November 6th, 2009
"There is nothing in the GPA that has not been done by ZANU PF, nothing at all. We have fulfilled everything that the GPA wanted us to fulfill": Robert Mugabe, 24 October 2009
October has been a month characterised by violence, lawlessness, corruption and the complete abuse of power for partisan and personal objectives. Despite Robert Mugabe’s outrageous claim to the contrary, Sokwanele has logged an incredible 3850 breaches of the GPA by Zanu PF since the start of the ZIG Watch project, making this party responsible for 88.8% of all breaches logged up until the end of October.
October began in the wake of a international public campaign demanding that Nestle stop buying milk from Gushungo Dairy Estate which is owned by Grace Mugabe. Recognising the public’s disgust, Nestle quickly capitulated and in so doing exposed itself to ruthless elements that serve to protect and defend the Zanu PF elite business interests. Nestle bank accounts were frozen by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe who also ordered a forensic audit into its dealings. (The Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono, is staunchly loyal to the Mugabe’s and Zanu PF.) Zanu PF Youths cryptically threatened to “lose it” if the company did not resume buying milk from Gushengo, and the so-called Affirmative Action Group – loyal to the Zanu PF party – threatened to take over Nestle Zimbabwe if the company did not resume its purchases. Actions like these arguably have a far more damaging impact on any prospects for investment in the country than the targeted sanctions Zanu PF is so anxious to have removed.
ZIG Watch : Issue 9
Sokwanele Article: October 6th, 2009
The month of September began with Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu PF) announcing that Zimbabwe was withdrawing from the SADC Tribunal, and declaring that the Zimbabwe Government would not be bound by decisions made there. Chinamasa's argument justifying his decision has been widely challenged in a range of legal opinions from credible organisations. It is by now widely known that the SADC Tribunal ruled in favour of 79 white commercial farmers, finding that the government's seizure of their farms was racist, unlawful and violated their human rights. Chinamasa's decision to ignore the Tribunal signals contempt for the region's decisions, and indicates that the Zanu PF elements within the inclusive government have no intention of complying with legal and human rights standards set by our African peers.
ZIG Watch : Issue 7
Sokwanele Article: August 4th, 2009
Future and potential by-elections 
The waves of democratic turmoil washed over from June to July with scores of breaches of the GPA being recorded, the majority of which fell into the following categories:
- wanton politically motivated violence, or violence driven by politicians,
- harassment, and deprivation of freedom, of individuals through contrived arrests on spurious charges,
- widespread corruption involving senior public and uniformed figures,
- the deprivation of the right to Freedom of Expression, and the abuse thereof,
- violent, unconstitutional, invasions and seizures of property and farms, and
- deliberate attempts to derail the Constitution-making process.
The month began with a group of journalists returning to court in an effort to make former High Court rulings ‘legally binding’ – calling attention to ZANU PF breaches of GPA articles covering both the rule of law and freedom of expression. The journalists had been barred from covering the COMESA summit on the grounds that they were not accredited by the Media and Information Commission (MIC). This was despite a High Court ruling in June that made it clear that the MIC was defunct, and that journalists were not required to register with it. 
Party breaches against Article 19 - click to enlarge
