8 The High Court Judges Initially at the commencement of the election petition cases, three High Court judges were assigned to preside over them: Judges James Devittie, Paddington Garwe, and Vernanda Ziyambi. Justice Ziyambi was the first to hand down a judgment, in favor of Zanu (PF) in the Zvishavane case. Justice Devittie announced four decisions at once: Buhera North, Hurungwe East, and Mutoko South in favor of the MDC, and Shurugwi in favor of Zanu (PF). However, shortly after announcing theses decisions Judge Devittie resigned from the bench, amidst speculation that he had been threatened by the government and by the war veterans’ association. Justice Ziyambi later released judgments on Chiredzi North and South, in favor of MDC and Zanu (PF) respectively. She was then appointed to the Supreme Court later in the year, and discontinued hearing the election petition cases. However, she had been promoted in the midst of presiding over the Seke case, and returned to the High Court late in October 2001 to release her judgment, in favor of Zanu (PF). Justice Garwe was appointed Judge President of the High Court in August, but did not officially discontinue hearing election petition cases. Garwe J. had presided over three cases: Chinhoyi, in which he decided in favor of Zanu (PF); Makoni West, in which Minister Mahachi died so that the case, though complete, was not decided upon; and Makoni East, in which he still has reserved judgment. Due to the promotions of Ziyambi and Garwe, Judges Benjamin Hlatshwayo and Rita Makarau were assigned to the election petitions, and split Ziyambi’s caseload. As of January 2002, Justice Hlatshwayo had not released judgments in any of his cases. Witnesses Many witnesses who testified in the election petitions were residents from rural communities, and were unfamiliar with the legal system. Those who had experienced torture and other crimes could be seen to be still traumatized by their victimization, as evidence by their testimony and the tenor of it. Some were MDC supporters who were only card-carrying members who attended membership meetings and only had membership cards. Others were officeholders or held other leadership positions in the MDC. Other witnesses were unaffiliated with MDC, or just related to MDC members. Testimony is also related in which children were violently attacked. Though witnesses were not sophisticated regarding their court experiences, many were strong though the officers of the court and the surroundings were intimidating. Witnesses were sometimes thoroughly badgered, harassed, and yelled at on the stand by the respondent’s attorneys. This would occur unchecked by the judges and it is to the credit of the witnesses that they were able to handle the pressure of testifyingxi. Witness Intimidation However, the victimization did not cease after the election period. Some witnesses were intimidated, threatened, and assaulted before and after they testified in the election petition cases. The intimidation of witnesses has not ended. In Murehwa North, the witness testified in the election petition that she had been intimidated before she was to appear in court. Two witnesses in Mount Darwin South and Makoni West were threatened after their election petition cases had begun, and reported it to medical staff when they were assessed. xi The effects of testifying will be covered in a subsequent publication. The AMANI Trust has undertaken a study of the effects of testifying on victims of organised violence and torture. AMANI TRUST: Neither Free nor Fair: High Court decisions on the petitions on the June 2000 General Election.