5.3.6 Flouting of court orders and contempt for the courts With increasing frequency, government officials and the police have refused to comply with court orders, where these are favourable to members and supporters of the opposition. This has also been the case in respect of the land disputes, where commercial farmers successfully sought the protection of the courts, but invariably found that the police refused to act on the court orders they had obtained. Government officials have displayed a highly contemptuous attitude towards the courts often claiming superior authority to the courts. The seriousness of this sort of contempt appears to be diminished by its frequency, such that lesser officials now disregard court orders with confidence: a confidence which is increased by the failure of a largely cowed and compromised judiciary to act robustly when cases of contempt of court come before them. 5.3.7 The militia The Mugabe government has made extensive use of militias to perpetrate violence against MDC officials and supporters and to harass and intimidate critics of the regime. Young ZANU (PF) supporters make up the core of the militias led by the “war veterans”. As an adjunct to this, the Mugabe administration introduced a National Youth Service the intention being to politically indoctrinate young people and recruit increasing numbers for a nation-wide campaign of violence against the opposition. The government campaign against its opponents has been vigorously and ruthlessly supported by militias. Members of these militias have committed a large number of gross human rights abuses, whose activities have been controlled, incited or condoned by the Government. The activities of these militias have been fully documented in recent reports. On completion of their initial service many of the youth militia are brought into the police and army. There are now several reports indicating that they are also being recruited into the civil service. 5.3.8 The Central Intelligence Organization The CIO is under the President’s direct control. It has a separate and very large budget that is not subject to audit by the Auditor-General. Its Director is a war veteran. The primary function of this agency has not been to engage in legitimate intelligence - gathering in the national interest. Instead it has been used to harass and intimidate the opposition political parties, to infiltrate and cause divisions within these parties and to monitor and intimidate critics of the Government. The agency played a key role in organising the terror campaign against opponents of the Mugabe administration. It also helped to support the farm invasions. Most reports on human rights violations implicate the CIO, which is believed to work closely with the notorious Law and Order Section of the Police. 15