MTHWAKAZI Republic Party (MRP) leader Mqondisi Moyo has said they have exhausted all internal remedies without success in their efforts to restore the Mthwakazi State.
The opposition party is also pushing for human rights violations such as the Gukurahundi massacres, marginalisation and exclusion of the Matabeleland and Midlands regions in Zimbabwe’s development to be addressed.
Moyo said they had written to the Judicial Services Commission head Justice Luke Malaba, Parliament, African Court in Tanzania, African People's Commission on Human Rights and the Southern African Development Community to no avail.
“We have exhausted all the internal engagements for our cause to be heard, but no positive outcome has been attained, but we will not stop pushing,” Moyo said.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the MRP, Mike Campbell Foundation, SAAI, AfriForum and the Office of Kgosi Mogakolodi Masibi of the Batlharo Boo Tokwana Ba Ga Masibi Cultural Community have called for the restoration of the Sadc Tribunal.
They sent a memorandum to the Sadc secretariat calling for the restoration of the Sadc Tribunal.
“The representatives also signed a copy of this memorandum at the historic Turnhalle Building, the former seat of the Tribunal.
“Members of the Namibian Law Society, local farmers, family members and supporters of this campaign for justice also joined the historic event,” read their statement.
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“The symbolic signing of the memorandum was the final step of a two-stage trek undertaken by Ben Freeth, executive director of the Mike Campbell Foundation that started at the gate of the farm Mount Carmel in central Zimbabwe on 28 November 2023.”
Freeth noted that the closure of the Tribunal is a travesty of justice that denied access to justice to 400 million citizens of the 16 Sadc countries.
Moyo said the Matabeleland region continued to suffer from historical injustices, such as Gukurahundi, marginalisation perpetuated through displacement, denial of economic opportunities, access to productive land and denial of the right to practise their culture through the restoration of their kingdom.
“The restoration of the Sadc Tribunal will establish vital checks and balances on short-term political interests and re-affirm Sadc’s commitment to human rights, regional legal order and justice for all citizens,” Moyo said.
SAAI executive board chairperson, Theo de Jager said: “We need the international community to play its part to ensure that compensation is paid to the white Zimbabwean farmers who have not been compensated for the land violently taken from them.”
Head of Intercultural Relations and Co-operation at AfriForum, Barend Uys said a restored Sadc Tribunal had a critical role to play in ensuring peaceful coexistence and a free, safe and prosperous future for all cultural communities in southern Africa, especially in circumstances where justice is denied to communities and individuals.
Kgosi Mogakolodi Masibi said: “We fully support the call for the restoration of the Sadc Tribunal, as it will send a message to potential donors, investors and the international community that Sadc governments are truly committed to the rule of law.”
