via ‘Missing’ Zim election report resurfaces in SA | SW Radio Africa by Alex Bell on Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The ongoing saga surrounding a Zimbabwe election report, which has been kept secret by the South African Presidency for over a decade, has taken a fresh twist after the ‘missing’ document resurfaced.
The report disappeared from the chambers of Pretoria high court judge Joseph Raulinga in February this year, but according to court registrar Louisa Mangwagape, the Presidency’s original copy has now resurfaced.
This message was passed down on Monday to lawyers representing the Mail & Guardian newspaper, which has been fighting since 2008 to have the report details made public.
No other details about the report’s reappearance have been divulged.
The report was written by judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke in 2002, after they were sent by then President Thabo Mbeki to report back on the elections in Zimbabwe that year. The report was never released to the public, although Mbeki endorsed the polls as a democratic process.
The elections however were seriously marred by violence and other irregularities, and in 2008 the Mail & Guardian newspaper went to the courts to have the document released. It argued that the evidence contained in the report was of public interest.
The disappearance of the document in February coincided with plans by the Presidency, under Jacob Zuma, to appeal against an order to release the document to the newspaper. The appeal also came months after Zuma endorsed Zimbabwe’s latest flawed elections in 2013.
The court order, the most recent in a series of rulings confirming the newspaper’s rights to access the document, was made last year by Judge Raulinga. He is one of the few ‘outsiders’ who has seen the contents of the report after taking a ‘judicial peek’ at the document in 2012. Raulinga ruled that there was enough evidence in the report to show that the electoral process in Zimbabwe in 2002 was neither free nor fair.
The appeal is still pending.
Political analyst Clifford Mashiri said Tuesday that it was “suspicious” that the report went missing in the run up to South Africa’s general elections, and now resurfaces so soon after Zuma was reelected as President.
“We can only speculate, but we know that the Zuma government fought tooth and nail to suppress the election report. It did so on the understanding that they knew the contents of the report. This is a very damaging report, which would impact negatively on Zuma,” Mashiri said.
COMMENTS
The only reason it has resurfaced is that it will have been significantly doctored and watered down and to a large extent will now exonerate zanupf. Don’t be blinded.
KIBBS you are probably right. With these corrupt murderers one cannot be surprised by the goings on with that report up to now.
All that remains now, is for it to vanish for ever!! And between ZANU PF and ANC, you can be sure that it’s not a case of ‘if’, but rather WHEN!
Investigate Joseph Raulinga!!!! He is the one who had taken the report from his office and gave it to Mail/Guardian newspaper to photocopy it. Once the photocopying was complete, the report was returned to the judge who put it back where it belongs. Let us see if the guardian newspaper is going to make use of the clandestinely obtained report in a court of law!!!! In the meantime, the South African government should continue to withhold the contents of the document for it is non of anyone’s business.
@ Nimrod
None of anyones business? Why’s that comrade? Because you know that it shows that Mugabe stole the elections – and Mbeki helped him do so.
This fool
we shouldn’t expect anything substantial to come out of this,ZANU and ANC are comrades in arms,so they will always look out for each other
The resurfacing of the report is planned. The opposiion in Zimbabwe will from now on celebrate this and pursue its publication, whilst Zanu pf is planning for 2018. It is always the case. Zanu pf gives them something to chase and forget the real issues. Baba Jukwa was know for a long time, but it was convenient for Zanu pf to pretend that it was a mysterious character. While the MDC-T was celebrating Baba Jukwa’s doses in the press, Zanu pf was making sure each constituanecy had enough of its supporters to beat MDC-T.
Go on, if you are foolish. Concentrate on the report and, by the time you raise your eyes from it, Zanu pf would have secured another term in office in 2018.
I spit on your face you bloody idiot nimrod
It’s so damn obvious what is going on. We need a revolution that takes out he leaders only. Leave the infrastructure intact. Mugabe the herd boy. Yes boy he walks like real jerk.
If Mail&Guardian have acopy we are home&dry