JUSTICE IN ZIMBABWE 24 ____________________________________________________________________ Introduction As part of the coercion of the judiciary, dealt with in the preceding Part, there has been a series of cases in which government officials and the police and have refused to comply with court orders, and in which government officials have displayed a contemptuous attitude towards the courts. The cases reflect an ever-increasing tendency by government officials to behave as if they were a law unto themselves. The ignoring of court orders and the contemptuous attitude towards the courts adopted by high-ranking government officials has led other officials to behave as if they were immune from the law. The failure on the part of the police to enforce court orders has severely undermined the rule of law and the whole administration of justice. 32 The cases of Chavunduka and Choto In January 1999, after the Standard newspaper published a story that there had been a failed military coup, Mark Chavunduka, the paper’s editor, and one of the papers reporters Ray Choto were arrested by the police. They were illegally handed over to the military33 who detained them for several days at a secret detention centre and subjected them to vicious and prolonged torture. Mr Chavunduka was stripped naked. His head was plunged into water. He was then handcuffed and electrical shock treatment applied all over his body. Mr Choto was stripped naked and electrical shock treatment was applied to his genitals and other parts of his body. The intensity of the shocks was progressively increased. He was beaten on the soles of his feet. His head was forced into water. His hands were stamped upon. He was slapped on the ears for a long time and one of his eardrums was perforated. He was made to roll around on ground that seems to have had spikes in it. Both journalists were threatened with death. They were told that the law and courts would not protect them and that President Mugabe had authorised their killing. Despite an international outcry, no government leaders condemned the assaults upon the journalists by military personnel. In fact, despite independent medical verification