By Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is facing a lawsuit from human rights lawyer Obey Shava over his government’s failure to implement legislation aimed at combating torture in Zimbabwe.
In an application filed in the High Court last year, Shava, a victim of torture, seeks to compel Mnangagwa and Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to ratify the convention against torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1984 and effective from June 1987.
The case was presided over by High Court Judge Justice Gladys Mhuri Monday who reserved the judgment.
“High Court Judge Justice Gladys Mhuri has reserved judgment after hearing Shava’s application seeking to compel the government to ratify the Convention Against Torture and criminalize the vile practice of torture in Zimbabwe,” the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights representing Shava said in a statement.
Shava was tortured by unknown assailants in July 2023 and suffered severe injuries.
He argues that the failure to ratify the convention violates the Constitution, specifically the rights to equal protection under the law, as well as the principles of constitutionalism and the rule of law.
He further stated that “torture, violence, enforced disappearances, and abductions are widespread in Zimbabwe,” emphasizing that Mnangagwa must be compelled to accede to the convention and submit the necessary instruments of accession to the UN, as well as present it for ratification before Parliament within 12 months of the court order.
Shava also lamented the systematic pattern of enforced disappearances, abductions, torture, and degrading treatment experienced by numerous individuals, including himself, human rights defenders, supporters of opposition parties, legislators, and ordinary citizens.
