p
A
African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rig~ts
Human Rights our
Collective Responsibility
~',"''- r.:,
177. The Commission notes the xesoon
. State's submission that there
was provision for compensation even
the State was only willing to
provide limited compensation for the
; . Therefore, the Commission
considers that the Victim's contention
to the nature of ownership of the
property is a misplaced argument, as
speaks to the issue of 'payment
of fair compensation'. This issue is ....
'.HL'-'.., ..........
extensively under Article 14
of the Commission's decision below.
.I.
178. The Commission however notes
the manner in which the Victim's
land was seized and the context in
I the prgF'~:r~y.was acquire raises
issues. The acquisition was not effected in acc9~:da~ce with the policy and
laws of the Respondent State, but
takep.;:..in a forceful way with
violence inflicted on the Victim, his
hiSi~:wpl9y~.et)J!lbreach of
legal procedures. The
th~t(F~ven·::-t1iiQJJ:ghthe
perpetrators who invaded the
not'1t~~ing in pursuance
of the government's policy, the
.
~~re:~linked to the
President's speech in which
his political views and not
vulnerable and expose~J!ip:!- to the
by the speech. This ther~£p:re
tion and violates
Article 2 of the Africa:rttCharfer~n'::~"
,.' .r :
/:;',.-;'
_'''~:;'':
"~'t
''.
., '~,...
~;.::"
s:'-:,._
9f Article 3 of the Miie
Alleged violation
.
"('
\.~.
179.
Article 3 (1) a:nd:{2)of the Afri~an
provides:
before the law;
i,:;(n.Every inc).,l~~s!~al
shall::\~keq
to equal protection of the law.
\~~1
:,:ijv~ryindi:Vf~Y.
:Biben '
", -r-
""->"<~ 'i.;~-:- \
':'~'"
- .-.,'
180. In Zii:i.~ab'We:;Lal/)ye1'Ef
for Human
and Develol)!J}ent in Ajrtfia v Zimbabwe
and the Institute for Human Rights
Commission held that:51
The right to equality before the law '
that individuals legally within
the jurisdiction of a State should
to be treated fairly and justly
within the legal system and be
of equal treatment before the law
and equal enjoyment of the
available to all other citizens. Its
meaning is the right to have the
I
procedures and principles applied
under the same conditions ... [Hence.] factual patterns that are objectively
equal must be treated equally.
I
181.
~f\"UMAN~
7/~0~~'
The Commission further held that e~ual protection of the law relates;;_to~
.
I
the right of all persons to have the sam eaccess to the law
i
D"<~~
51 Communication
294/04 - Zimbabwe Lawyers for Hum n Rights and Institute for ~man
ig~~
Development in Africa (on behalf of Andrew Barclay Metilrum) v Zimbabwe paras. 96.~cP~
p.1j.1j{>.
"
\~t..
?r
§}
~
i en. f
""oJ
"qJ'
p. e j'9vQ .
". c "It.
s:If;> (/
~0
\t\.<c.<;)
'?'(; ./A'Y
"'..,,"» °MME ET o'C.s~."'"
"',~~~.~p.
U
...
flf