A battle is raging in Zimbabwe over how the country is to be governed after it was revealed that officials of Mr Robert Mugabe's government had tortured two journalists.
Human rights groups and church organisations have held demonstrations in protest, foreign diplomats have issued strongly worded statements, and yesterday a delegation of lawyers pressed the government to investigate the offences.
The government has studiously ignored the well-documented charges of torture and contempt of court, and the state-controlled media have largely avoided mentioning the row. But cabinet ministers have angrily denounced the critics and warned of further reprisals.
The country's fledgling civil society groups find themselves suddenly burdened with the urgent defence of basic legal rights against a hostile government. The two journalists, Ray Choto and Mark Chavunduka, work for the Standard newspaper. Mr Choto looked sad and a little scared when he and Mr Chavunduka were unexpectedly released on bail last week. He could not hide the signs of torture - his hands swollen like balloons and a limp. "I don't think Mark and I will ever be fully free in this country again," he said.
He had been warned by his interrogators not to speak publicly about the torture, but the next day both journalists described in harrowing detail the electric shocks, the near-suffocation and the beatings they had endured.
They were detained after reporting that 23 army officers opposed to Zimbabwe's participation in the war in Congo had been arrested for allegedly plotting a coup.
"This is all about elections in 2000," said Mr Tendai Biti, co-chairman of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. "The government does not care about the economy or about democracy or about basic rights. The only thing it cares about is power. And they will hold on to it at any cost."
Patick Laurence reports from Johannesburg:
In South Africa, the country's Human Rights Commission has initiated its investigation into "racism in the media" despite an expression of serious concern from the World Association of Newspapers.
The controversy is generated in part by the status of the HRC as a state-funded institution vulnerable, in theory at least, to pressure from the government.
The HRC investigation is a sequel to a complaint against two newspapers, the Sunday Times and the Mail and Guardian, from two black organisations, the Black Lawyers' Association and the Association of Black Accountants.
The newspapers were accused of practising "subliminal racism" and subtly undermining the confidence of blacks, a charge they vehemently denied. The commission decided against investigating the specific charges, preferring instead to investigate racism in the media in general.
The Paris-based World Association of Newspapers stated in a letter sent to President Mandela: "We find it completely inappropriate for a government commission to set itself up as a judge in these matters or to interfere in any way at all with editorial content."