Zimbabwe faced another deadlock this week after inter-party negotiations were abandoned only two weeks after President Jacob Zuma boasted they have reached a 'package of agreements'. Negotiators prepared a report late on Wednesday afternoon explaining the latest deadlock to Zuma. But Pretoria stated earlier it will not accept such a report if parties fail to incorporate Zuma's agreement package. Zuma as mediator will now have to go empty handed to Armando Guebuza, Mozambican President and SADC troika chair, to report on Zimbabwe. City Press reports that this is in contrast to his briefing to SADC leaders in Windhoek last week about how he has reached a 'package of agreements'. According to sources in Harare, countless rounds of negotiations ended in bickering this past week and talks were abandoned by Wednesday. Political analyst Brian Raftopoulos warns that the Global Political Agreement will buckle under its own weight if this deadlock continues. The Times reports that negotiators from President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change admitted they had failed to resolve their differences after five days of secret talks. 'I will ask President Zuma to call upon SADC to break the deadlock once and for all. We cannot allow our nation to be trapped indefinitely by the failed policies of the past while countries around us prioritise people's rights, economic development and the rule of law,' Tsvangirai said.

 

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe Wednesday swore-in members of a Human Rights and an Electoral Commission, expected to steer reforms toward free and fair elections. Mugabe formed a unity government last year with long-time foe Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, now prime minister, but reforms, which Western donors say are critical for a fair vote, have been slow. The MDC was formed in 1999 and has come closest to ending Mugabe's grip on power, but the party says Mugabe's ZANU-PF has rigged elections and used violence against its supporters. An official list seen by Reuters showed the Electoral Commission would be headed by Simpson Mutambanengwe, a former Zimbabwean Supreme Court judge who was serving as acting Chief Justice in the Namibian Supreme Court. Mugabe also swore-in members of the Human Rights Commission, the first body tasked with investigating cases of rights abuses. Reg Austin, a law professor and former Commonwealth secretariat's head of legal and constitutional affairs division, will chair the rights body. The commissions were agreed by Tsvangirai and Mugabe. Last month the government published names of members of a media commission. It said this month it would soon start licensing newspapers.

 

South African President Jacob Zuma and other officials continued Monday to try to defuse racial tensions after  the murder on Saturday of white supremacist Eugene Terre'blanche, who was killed by two black workers in what reports said was a dispute over pay. VOA correspondent Scott Bobb in Johannesburg reported on the crisis in South Africa which threatened to overshadow preparations for the World Cup of soccer to kick off there in June. African National Congress firebrand Julius Malema kept a a low profile as he left Zimbabwe late Monday, canceling a scheduled news conference blaming trip organizers for confusion about flights for his delegation though he spoke briefly with reporters following a meeting with President Robert Mugabe. VOA Studio 7 correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported that Malema rejected the notion that his anti-white declarations had anything to do with the murder of Terre'Blanche. South African opposition parties said Malema's references to the liberation song "Shoot the Boer" qualified as hate speech and had helped stoke interracial tensions.

 

The MDC formation under the leadership of Professor Arthur Mutambara is deeply concerned by the new prosecution of Senator Roy Bennett (Pictured) of the MDC (T), commenced with the service of a summons on him on the 30th March 2010, on allegations that he hoarded maize 9 years ago.
Section 18(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe states that "If any person is charged with a criminal offence, then, unless the charge is withdrawn, the case shall be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time". The intent behind this provision is to respect the principle that justice delayed is justice denied. In other words it is a fundamental breach of a person's human rights if prosecutions are not brought expeditiously against a person accused of crime. If there is a delay a person accused of a crime may not, for example, be able to call witnesses in his defence. The public interest also demands that crimes be responded to quickly.