Contempt Of Court - Or ZANU PF?

Much has been written and said about Morgan Tsvangirai’s angry response to the courts rejecting the two year old election of Lovemore Moyo as Speaker of the House. Without going into too much detail, the courts basically said that senior members of the MDC had failed to hide their ballot papers once they had made their selection.

Tsvangirai issued a blistering attack on the judiciary saying that many of those on the bench were representing ZANU PF instead of the law.

Morgan Tsvangirai could face criminal charges from his outburst as political turncoat Jonathan Moyo has been hyping up the statement, inferring that it showed Tsvangirai was in contempt of court.

We wait to see if the ZANU PF mechanisms, together with the unilaterally Mugabe appointed Attorney General, Johannes Tomana actually hands the paperwork to the police for them to effect an arrest.

But the argument as to whether Tsvangirai was right in his assertions rages on.

For me, the most incredible statement that has come out of it all, comes from Jonathan Moyo himself, who in previous years - while he was in purgatory for attempting to have Mugabe dethroned in a 2004 plan that was leaked to the security forces.

I find it surprising that Moyo was not taken to court for his actions, and, indeed, has now been welcomed back into ZANU PF circles with open arms.

I have read some of the comments that Moyo made about the judiciary when he was in the political wilderness, and am surprised that he was never dragged before a court for his utterances.

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Now he says: “We are aware that the majority of our people, learned men and women on the bench, owe it to the (President Robert) Mugabe regime, and obviously it is a given that when it comes to a call when they have to make decisions, crucial decisions for that matter, they have to pay back the master. In this case, do things in favour of ZANU PF.

"So I was not shocked because I knew that 99 per cent they would certainly favour their master."

ZANU PF, in the form of one of their own - Professor Jonathan Moyo - admits that what Tsvangirai stated in his angry outburst following the rejection of the court’s judgement, was nothing less than correct!

If what Tsvangirai said is true, then how can it be a statement in contempt of court?

Before someone can be found guilty of a crime, the court prosecutor has to prove that a crime did take place. If ZANU PF admit openly that the court does rule in favour of the ‘master’ – ZANU PF/Mugabe - then how can Tsvangirai’s comments constitute a crime, unless Moyo’s comments also are a crime?

It cannot be allowed, in any court, in any country anywhere in the world that two sets of laws and regulations are applied - one for the party that believes they are in power, and another for the party that should be in power, but have been denied that right by the first party.

It just makes an absolute nonsense of the law. But, in Zimbabwe, that is quite normal.

In Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, the bigger crimes seems to have been contempt of his ZANU PF party.

Robb WJ Ellis

The Bearded Man