Zimbabwe Supreme Court restores democratic thinking
There’s not much that’s right with Zimbabwe, but occasionally something happens that almost makes it look as if democracy is alive and well, even if the reasons are less than savoury. One such event has been a Supreme Court ruling that the government cannot prosecute a leading human rights activist who was abducted from her home and tortured in numerous secret locations. The state claimed Jestina Mukoko was guilty of an anti-government plot, but Reuters reports that Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku said the state, through its agents, violated the her constitutional rights to the extent that this entitled her to a permanent stay of criminal prosecution. In a country where people are routinely arrested, beaten up and sometimes murdered, the ruling could set a potent precedent preventing authorities from arbitrarily keeping activists in jail.
