Oct 4, 2015 | News
With support from the European Union (EU) and ICJ, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) held the first of two training of trainers in Bulawayo from 2-4 October 2015.
The training focused on regulations, code of ethics and prosecutorial guidelines and was attended by 50 senior prosecutors, senior law officers and office directors in attendance.
The participants are expected to then roll out the training at their various stations to cover the entire 500 women and men strong team of prosecutors.
Prior to adoption of the 2013 Constitution, prosecutors were supervised by the Attorney General under the Ministry of Justice.
Issues in respect of conduct, discipline, appointment, performance appraisal and other related conditions of service were dealt with through the line ministry and civil service commission.
The passage of the Constitution and the enactment of the NPA Act introduced the office of the Prosecutor General equally tasked with regulating the conduct of its staff through the NPA Board or any other delegated authority within the NPA.
The regulations and code of ethics were gazetted on 7 August 2015.
The code of ethics provides for the independence, integrity, propriety, impartiality, political engagement, competence and diligence of prosecutors in Zimbabwe.
The Prosecutor General also developed prosecutorial guidelines as mandated by the Constitution and the NPA Act on the institution of and conducting of criminal proceedings.
The objectives of the training were to equip senior officials with skills to conduct trainings for middle and lower officers to ensure greater compliance with the requirements of the new constitution of Zimbabwe; to familiarize senior officials on the regulations and code of conduct to ensure greater compliance with the requirements of the new constitution of Zimbabwe and to familiarize and train senior officials on the application of prosecutorial guidelines consistent with the requirements of the new constitution of Zimbabwe.
Following the completion of the trainings, the ICJ and NPA will conduct routine and random visits to different stations for purposes of observing the implementation, roll out of trainings and spot checks.
Remote support will also be provided in terms of statutes, such as the NPA Act, the regulations and code of ethics.
Further work is being explored to produce an updated prosecutor’s handbook that covers issues of prosecutorial conduct, ethics and guidelines.
Contact
Arnold Tsunga, ICJ Regional Director for Africa, t: +27 73 131 8411, e: arnold.tsunga(a)icj.org
Sep 21, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ made a submission to the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review in advance of the Human Rights Council’s review of Swaziland in April/May 2016.
In its submission, the ICJ expressed concern about the following issues:
1) independence and impartiality of the judiciary and fair trial rights; and
2) international human rights instruments and mechanisms.
A copy of the submission can be found here:
Swaziland-ICJ-UPR-SWAZI SUBMISSION FINAL AS LODGED-Advocacy-2015-ENG (full text in PDF)
Aug 2, 2015 | News
From 31 July to 2 August 2015 the ICJ supported a training and induction workshop for the Zimbabwe National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Harare, with over 200 participants.
The public prosecutors came from the Eastern Division comprising of Midlands, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.
The objective of the training and induction workshop was to appraise the prosecutors of the changes brought about by the Constitution, international and regional standards in the conducting of prosecutorial duties, their independence and accountability.
The presentations also focused on the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act as the main guiding framework for public prosecutors which has been significantly altered with the assumption of a new Constitution in respect of fair trial rights.
The NPA and the public prosecutors required a platform to collectively familiarize themselves with the changes and conducting of their duties guided by national, international and regional standards.
For purposes of infusing best regional and international practices, presentations included international principles and standards for prosecutors under United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Prosecutors; the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa; the relationship of the NPA and other arms such as the Judicial Service Commission and the Police.
An array of resources persons were invited and included Justice Chinembiri Bhunu, from the Judicial Service Commission, Virginia Mabiza, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Andrew Chigovera, former Attorney General of Zimbabwe, former Commissioner on the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and Dr. Tarisai Mutangi, law lecturer Midlands State University.
As a new establishment under the Constitution, the NPA explored the available and needed continuous professional development for prosecutors to fully equip them for their mandate.
The Principal of the Judicial College of Zimbabwe (a partner of the ICJ), Mr. Shana, presented on the opportunities for continuous professional development for prosecutors for acquaintance with new legal developments.
The training follows additional support that ICJ made to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) under a European Union (EU) funded agreement to develop a strategic plan for the NPA in respect of which a strategic planning workshop was held from 6 to 8 July 2015,
Contact:
Arnold Tsunga, ICJ Regional Director for Africa, t: +27 73 131 8411, e: arnold.tsunga(a)icj.org
Jul 31, 2015 | News
The ICJ held a colloquium on this issue on 30-31 July. Judges, magistrates, lawyers, members of academia, and civil society leaders from SADC, ECOWAS and the East African Community attended the event.
The Acting Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Swaziland, MCB Maphalala and the Secretary General of ICJ, Wilder Tayler, officially opened the colloquium.
The participants discussed the concept of gender-based violence; the efforts to combat impunity in sexual offences and gender based violence at the national, regional and international level and made recommendations to eliminate the scourge.
One of the key objectives of the workshop was to contribute to the process of enacting sexual offences and domestic violence legislation in Swaziland.
The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill of Swaziland is before the house of assembly, which has asked stakeholders to submit their views, on what should be included in the law.
The judges, lawyers and civil society leaders had robust and honest discussions touching on effective innovative strategies to combat sexual and gender based violence.
Some of the recommendations included the training of judicial officers to be gender sensitive, changing societal attitudes and prejudices, raising awareness amongst parliamentarians, creative interpretation and application of regional and international standards when adjudicating cases of sexual offences and gender based violence as well as observance of fair trial standards at the national, regional and international level.
The colloquium was made possible with funding from IrishAid.
Jul 30, 2015
The ICJ today released its trial observation report of the trial in 2014 before the High Court in Mbabane, Swaziland, in The King v The Nation Magazine, Bheki Makhubu, Swaziland Independent Publishers (Pty) Ltd, and Thulani Maseko.
In February 2014, Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu wrote an article entitled “Speaking my mind”, published in the Nation Magazine, which is owned by Swaziland Independent Publishers (Pty) Ltd. In March 2014, Thulani Maseko wrote a second article entitled ‘Where the law has no place’, also published in the Nation Magazine.
The articles criticized the manner in which the former Chief Justice of Swaziland, Justice Michael Ramodibedi, had handled an allegation of contempt of court against Bansthana Vincent Gwebu in January 2014.
The charges against the four defendants arose from the fact that the articles were published before the case against Bansthana Vincent Gwebu had been disposed of.
The defendants were accused of unlawfully and intentionally issuing statements contemptuous of the court.
The ICJ’s report The Failure of Justice: Unfair Trial, Arbitrary Detention and Judicial Impropriety in Swaziland concludes that the arrest and detention, trial, conviction and sentencing of the defendants involved multiple violations of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial in Africa and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu were subjected to unlawful and arbitrary arrest and detention, including violation of their right to legal counsel and their right to a public hearing with respect to their initial appearance before the Chief Justice in his chambers.
All aspects of the trial, including pre-trial proceedings before the Chief Justice and the trial judge, involved violation of the right of all defendants to a hearing by an impartial tribunal.
The defendants were improperly convicted, in violation of the right to freedom of expression. Even had the convictions been proper, they were sentenced to disproportionately severe sentences, particularly in the case of the sentences of two years’ imprisonment of Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu.
Although the improper convictions and disproportionate sentences have been ‘self-corrected’, through the Supreme Court of Swaziland’s unopposed setting aside of convictions and sentences, it remains the case that Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu were arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, including because this resulted from the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression.
Swaziland-Maseko Trial Observation-Publications-Trial observation report-2015-ENG (download full report, in PDF)
