African Human Rights CLA 2.0

308/05 : Michael Majuru / Zimbabwe Summary of Facts 1. The Complainant, Michael Majuru (hereinafter called the Complainant), submitted this communication against the Republic of Zimbabwe, (hereinafter called the Respondent State), a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ( the African Charter). The Complainant is a citizen of the Respondent State and is currently residing in the Republic of South Africa. 2. The Complainant submits that the Respondent State has committed gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms against him through acts committed by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) under the Office of the President and Cabinet. 3. The Complainant alleges further that in committing the gross violations, the aforementioned organisations, individuals and organs of the state were acting in the course and scope of their employment as Respondent State’s agents. 4. The Complainant submits further that his rights were abused because of his role as a presiding judge in a case in which the Associated Newspaper Group of Zimbabwe (ANZ), a publishing house in the Respondent State, sought to challenge, before the Administrative Court, the Respondent State’s act on banning ANZ from publishing its two newspapers, the Daily Newsand the Daily News on rd Sunday. The matter was lodged before the Administrative Court on or about 23 September 2003 and he presided over the matter. 5. The Complainant states that following his decision in favour of the ANZ, he became a target of human rights abuses brought upon him by agents of the Respondent State and recounts the chronology of events that depict incidents in which the Respondent State allegedly violated his human rights. th 6. The first incident is reported to have occurred on or about 24 September 2003. It is alleged that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the Hon. Patrick Chinamasa invited the Complainant’s workmate, who was also a judge at the Administrative Court (Justice Chipo Machaka) to his office to issue instructions that the matter relating to the ANZ case that was to be presided over by the Complainant should be conducted in a manner that the said Minister was going to dictate. Justice Machaka was instructed by the Minister to convey these instructions to the Complainant, with an order that Complainant should comply with such orders. 7. It is further alleged that the Minister also instructed that the Administrative Court should delay the court proceedings until February 2004, noting that the ANZ did not deserve impartial treatment by the Judiciary because it was a front of western nations and ‘other imperialists’. Secondly, Justice Machaka is alleged to have been told that if the ANZ were granted its application for urgent appeal hearing and thereafter allowed publication at that stage this would jeopardise continuing negotiations between ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), (the biggest opposition party in Zimbabwe), which according to the Minister, had reached a delicate stage. As proof of this delicate relationship between ZANU PF and MDC, Justice Machaka was shown a draft constitution agreed upon between the two parties and some other supporting documents. 8. The Complainant submits that the he disregarded the aforesaid instructions and upon considering the ANZ’s application on its merits ruled in favour of the ANZ by granting the application for an urgent th th th appeal hearing on or about 27 September 2003. From 15 to 19 October 2003, the Complainant presided over the appeal hearing between the two parties. He adjourned the matter for judgement to th 24 October 2003. 9. Subsequently, the Complainant states that he was summoned by Enoch Kamushinda, a nd suspected member of the CIO for a meeting at Kamushinda’s office on 22 October 2003. This information was conveyed through another CIO operative with instructions that the Complainant should dismiss the ANZ appeal. As a reward for dismissing the ANZ appeal, Kamushinda promised the Complainant a fully developed farm in Mashonaland West Province.