High Court Orders South African Authorities to Investigate Crimes Against Humanity Committed in Zimbabwe

News Release – Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)

8 May 2012

JOHANNESBURG – In a landmark decision for local and international justice, 
the North Gauteng High Court ruled this morning that the South African 
authorities must investigate Zimbabwean officials, who are accused of 
involvement in torture and crimes against humanity in Zimbabwe.
“This judgment will send a shiver down the spines of Zimbabwean officials 
who believed that they would never be held to account for their crimes but 
now face investigation by the South African authorities,” said Nicole Fritz, 
Executive Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), which 
brought the case along with the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum (ZEF).
In a very strong ruling, Judge Hans Fabricius said that the National 
Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Services (SAPS) had 
acted unconstitutionally and unlawfully in not taking forward the original 
investigation. His judgment also underlined in the strongest terms South 
Africa’s obligations under international law.
“This decision is not just about Zimbabwe, it also sets a much broader 
precedent by ruling that South African authorities have a duty to 
investigate international crimes wherever they take place,” said Fritz. “It 
is a major step forward for international criminal justice.”
In March 2012, SALC and ZEF argued in the High Court that the decision of 
the NPA and SAPS not to investigate Zimbabwean officials linked to acts of 
state-sanctioned torture should be set aside. Brought in terms of South 
Africa’s International Criminal Court Act, which defines torture as a crime 
against humanity, the applicants' argued that the NPA and SAPS had failed to 
take into account South Africa’s international and domestic law obligations 
to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of international crimes regardless 
of where they are committed or by whom. The case highlighted South Africa’s duty to investigate crimes against 
humanity, the sufficiency of the evidence presented by SALC to the NPA and 
SAPS to trigger an investigation and how irrelevant considerations – such as 
political concerns – improperly influenced the decision. The case also 
exposed divisions within the NPA after Anton Ackermann, the head of the 
Priority Crimes Litigation Unit that is responsible for the investigation 
and prosecution of international crimes, stated in an affidavit that he 
believed that an investigation should have been initiated and that he was 
not satisfied with the manner in which SALC’s request was dealt with.
For more information and interviews contact:
Nicole Fritz, SALC Executive Director, +27 11 587 5065, Cell +27 82 600 
1028;  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Gabriel Shumba, ZEF Chairperson, Cell +27 72 639 3795
Alan Wallis, SALC, Off + 27 11 587 5065, Cell +27 82 826 5700; 
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SALC promotes human rights and the rule of law in southern Africa through 
litigation, advocacy and training. ZEF seeks to combat impunity and achieve 
justice for human rights violations in Zimbabwe and to support Zimbabweans 
in exile. Lawyers for Human Rights represented SALC and ZEF in this matter.

Ethel Maphiwa-Ndlovu
Office Manager
Southern Africa Litigation Centre
t: +27 (0) 11 587 5000
f: +27 (0) 11 587 5099
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www.southernafricalitigationcentre.org