PROMINENT HUMAN rights lawyer Jestina Mukoko walked out of a Zimbabwean court a free woman yesterday after the presiding judge dismissed terror charges against her because she had been tortured while in jail.
Supreme Court chief justice Godfrey Chidyausiku told the packed Harare courthouse that Ms Mukoko and her eight co-accused could not be prosecuted by the government now or in the future because their constitutional human rights had been violated during their incarceration.
Ms Mukoko was abducted from outside her home on December 3rd last by 12 men thought to be state agents, and her whereabouts were unknown until the state-run Herald newspaper reported three weeks later that she had appeared in court on terror charges.
The former journalist was one of about 40 opponents of Mr Mugabe’s government who went missing in the months leading up to last February’s powersharing deal between Mr Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
After appearing in court for a bail application late last year bloodied and badly bruised, Ms Mukoko and her co-accused, many of whom are MDC members, claimed state agents tortured and beat them while in custody.
State prosecutors said the terror charges against Ms Mukoko and her co-accused related to an attempt by them to recruit people for military training to try to overthrow the government.
According to reports yesterday, Ms Mukoko cried with joy in the courtroom upon hearing the verdict, telling reporters afterwards that the ruling was a “happy day for me and my family”.
“I’m going home to rest,” she said. “I thank God for everybody who supported me.”
Defence lawyer Andrew Makoni said it was clear “from day one that she had no case to answer”.
The incarceration of Ms Mukoko, who heads the Zimbabwe Peace Project, and other activists drew widespread condemnation from around the world. Amnesty International said their plight cast a “shadow” over the country’s unity government.
The ruling by Mr Chidyausiku has come as a surprise as he was appointed by Mr Mugabe. Some analysts suggest yesterday’s ruling may signal Mr Mugabe’s new willingness to work with prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraphin London has reported that Mr Mugabe's wife, Grace, has been selling the majority of the milk she produces to food giant Nestlé, even though she has been subjected to sanctions by the EU and US. Mrs Mugabe has secured six former white-owned dairy farms under the country's controversial land reform programme since 2002, on which she produces up to a million litres of milk a year.
Nestlé has its headquarters in Switzerland, and consequently is not obliged to comply with the sanctions, but the company has been criticised for doing business with Zimbabwe’s first lady.