Nixon Nyikadzino v Zimbabwe
90. Moreover, the African Commission in Article 19 v Eritrea 28 has found that "it is
incumbent on the Complainant to take all necessary steps to exhaust, or at least attempt
to exhaust local remedies. It is not enough for the complainant to cast aspersion on the
ability of the domestic remedies of the State due to isolated incidences".
91. The African Commission therefore is of the view that, as conceded by the Complainant,
there is a chance that domestic courts could remedy the subject matter of the Complaint
and hence the Complainant should have tried to pursue them instead of casting
aspersion on the ability of the domestic remedies due to isolated or past incidences.
92. Non-implementation of decisions of courts by Zimbabwean authorities, as indicated
above, is the third ground upon which the Complainant tries to justify why they have
not attempted to exhaust local remedies. They argue that in cases where the judges have
tried to act independently and have issued court orders in cases perceived to be
politically sensitive and/ or contrary to government interests, Zimbabwean authorities
have refused to enforce those orders, making remedies meaningless.
93. The Complainant makes particular reference to two cases wherein Zimbabwean
authorities refused to investigate and prosecute torture claims despite court orders.
Moreover, the Complainant refers to reports by Amnesty International and Human
Rights Watch on cases of torture and human rights abuse by security and military
personnel and the reported failure of Zimbabwean authorities to investigate and
prosecute those responsible.
94. The Complainant in the case of Mr. Obert Chinhamo v Zimbabwe 29 case argued that
even if local remedies were available, they were not effective because the State has the
tendency of ignoring court rulings taken against it. The Complainant cited among others
the High Court of Zimbabwe's decision in the Commercial Farmers Union Case and the
28
29
Article 19 v Eritrea, para 65.
Mr. Obert Chinhamo v Zimbabwe para 83.
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11 th Extraordinary Session of the ACHPR
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