What kind of justice is this? 

Source: What kind of justice is this? – NewsDay Zimbabwe

FOR the umpteenth time, the State has flagrantly denied Citizens Coalition for Change legislators Job Sikhala and Geoffrey Sithole their constitutional right to be heard in court.

For nearly a month now the State has denied the duo’s bail application to be heard at the High Court by deliberately failing to submit their papers.

The jaw-dropping State shenanigans surrounding the two legislators’ bail application are more than intriguing.

Clearly refusing to submit its papers to the High Court, the same State is also reportedly denying Sikhala and Sithole access to their lawyers.

This is preposterous. What kind of judicial madness is this?

Then we dare stand at international pulpits swearing oaths that this country has rule of law, what monstrous hypocrisy!

One former legislator David Coltart, a lawyer by profession, aptly tweeted: “It is outrageous that the State acts with such callousness. Lawyers are meant to respect basic tenets of justice and fundamental rights, one of which includes the right to liberty which should not be deprived of flippantly. The failure to file papers is grossly unprofessional.”

Given the State’s buffoonery on this case, many now doubt whether our justice system is still impartial and making sure that we all remain equal before the law and that suspects treated as innocent until proven guilty.

The State’s tomfoolery antics are a serious embarrassment to humanity, and Africa in particular, which has for decades failed to shake off the humiliating tag of being a continent replete with countries that have little to no rule of law.

Why is the state so wont on persecuting these two men and others who it is accusing of inciting violence in Nyatsime following the brutal murder of an innocent woman Moreblessing Ali more than a month ago?

Where is the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), where is the African Union (AU) when such blatant disregard of the law and glaring human rights abuses are taking place in a member State?

Is Sadc and the AU telling us that cautioning Zimbabwe over the wayward behaviour of its personnel in the justice system would be tantamount to meddling in the affairs of a sovereign State?

Whatever the reason Sadc and AU are choosing to continue to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to Zimbabwe’s obvious flagrant transgressions will only serve to turn these groupings into toothless bulldogs.

It is during such times that these organisation must show the world that they care about what happens in member States. Keeping quiet and never bating an eyelid will only attract disrespect for these institutions.