REDRESS/AMANI I. INTRODUCTION I.1 . The Legal Framework A. The Constitution Zimbabwe is an independent republic and has a population of about 12 million people, comprised of two main ethnic groups, the Shona (83%) and the Ndebele (16%). There is a small white population of less than ½ %. The official language is English. Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, was under white-minority rule until achieving independence on 18 April 1980 under a new Constitution. 1 This followed a Britishsupervised general election won by Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union party (Zanu, later called Zanu-PF), the first democratically held multi-party election in which the black majority could fully participate. Independence ended the rule of Ian Smith’s racist Rhodesian Front (RF) government, which had illegally declared the country independent from Britain 15 years earlier on 11 November 1965, an event known as the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The 1980 Constitution is commonly referred to as the Lancaster House Constitution.2 The Constitution contains a justiciable bill of rights (called the Declaration of Rights3), which recognises a wide range of civil and political rights, including the protection of the right to life and to personal liberty. There are also provisions to secure every person’s entitlement to the protection of the law. 4 The courts of general jurisdiction consist of the Magistrates Courts and the High Courts, which hear both civil and criminal cases. The High Court has both original and appeal jurisdiction. The Supreme Court hears appeals and constitutional cases. A person who alleges a contravention of the Declaration of Rights is entitled to approach the Supreme Court directly for redress. 5 There are also local courts and small claims courts, which with Magistrates Courts are known as inferior courts, while the High Courts and the Supreme Court are known as superior courts. The local courts have limited jurisdiction over civil disputes involving persons subject to African customary law. Magistrates Courts hear certain civil cases as courts of first instance, depending on the amount of money involved, and appeals from local courts. The High Courts6 hear certain criminal and civil appeals from inferior courts, 1 The Constitution of Zimbabwe was published as a Schedule to the Zimbabwe Constitution Order 1979 1979/1600) of the United Kingdom. (SI 2 It arose from negotiations held at Lancaster House in London in 1979 under the auspices of the British Government. These negotiations led to a ceasefire in the guerrilla war which the black liberation movements had been waging against the UDI regime. These movements were Zanu-PF, and the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union party (Zapu, later called PF-Zapu) led by Joshua Nkomo. The armed wing of Zanu-PF was Zanla, and that of PFZapu was Zipra. 3 See Chapter 3, Sections 11-26 of the Constitution. 4 Section 18 of the Constitution. 5 Section 24(1) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court therefore has original jurisdiction to adjudicate on contraventions of the Declaration of Rights. This is dealt with more fully below at IV. 1.A. , p. 31. 6 The High Courts are in Harare and Bulawayo. High Court judges also go on circuit to hear criminal cases only in Mutare, Masvingo and Gweru. 1