ACHPR Chief Legal Officer, Dr Robert Eno on
18 November 2008 confirmed to MISA-Zimbabwe in Abuja, that a
draft decision had been arrived at on the merits of the case
brought against the government by MISA-Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the Independent Journalists Association
of Zimbabwe (IJAZ) challenging a number of sections of AIPPA.
Dr Eno said the draft decision will now be submitted to the African
Commission for its consideration pending a final decision in
the matter. Details of the decision will only be known when the
Commission makes its final decision.
MISA-Zimbabwe, ZLHR and IJAZ allege that provisions requiring
registration and accreditation of the media sector by the state
appointed Media and Information Commission are inconsistent with
Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.
Other cases before the Commission include that of the Associated
Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) publishers of the banned Daily News
and Daily News on Sunday; Capital Radio; and that of Andrew Meldrum.
Dr Eno said the state had filed its submissions on the merits
of the ANZ case but was still to file similar papers in the Andrew
Meldrum case. He said that the state was still to file its arguments
on admissibility in the matter brought by MISA-Zimbabwe, Capital
Radio Pvt Limited and Article 19 challenging the inconsistencies
in certain sections of the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) with
Article 9 of the African Charter.
The process that cases taken to the ACHPR undergo is three-pronged
and begins at the Seizure stag, which entails presenting the
matter before the Commission. At the seizure process, there is
need to prove that the respondent state that that the complaint
raised is against is signatory to the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights, and that it state has violated provisions
of the Charter.
The second stage is the Admissibility stage. At this stage the
ACHPR declares a case admissible where the applicant has proved
that domestic remedies do not exist, have been exhausted or are
not working. In Zimbabwe’s three cases, all the matters
went to the Zimbabwe’s highest court, the Supreme Court,
signifying exhaustion of domestic remedies.
The final stage is when all the involved parties argue the Merits
of the matters in question. The Commission will conclude its
44th session underway in Abuja on 24 November 2008.
Background
In 2000, Capital Radio in Zimbabwe began broadcasting from the
Monomotapa Hotel after the Supreme Court nullified Zimbabwe’s
monopolistic broadcast laws. Security services raided the hotel
and seized the equipment.
In June 2003, Andrew Meldrum, a freelance journalist, was abducted
by state security agents and deported from Zimbabwe despite the
existence of a High Court order which declared his deportation
illegal.
The Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday refused to register
under AIPPA choosing instead to fight the law's constitutionality
and were closed down by the sate appointed Media and Information
Commission (MIC). The government confiscated 127 computers from
the paper's headquarters.
Rashweat Mukundu
Programme Specialist: Media Freedom Monitoring
MISA Regional Secretariat
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel: + 264 61 232 975
Fax:+264 61 248016
Mobile: 00 264 813 675 362
E mail rashweat@misa.org, misaalerts@gmail.com
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