President Robert Mugabe yesterday showed his extraordinary view of the rule of law by issuing a blanket amnesty for politically-motivated crimes committed this year during the June parliamentary elections and afterwards.
The sweeping clemency pardons thousands of supporters of Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who are blamed for the deaths of 32 supporters of opposition parties, serious assaults on more than 10,000 people and the destruction of considerable property owned by opposition supporters.
Although the clemency order, issued by Mr Mugabe in an extraordinary government order, exempts crimes of murder and rape, police have laid very few charges over the killings of MDC supporters, despite numerous witnesses and identifications. Legal experts believe the amnesty will be used to sweep away any charges against Mr Mugabe's supporters.
The opposition leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, yesterday criticised Mr Mugabe for issuing the amnesty for politically-motivated crimes committed between January 1st and July 31st this year.
"This amnesty must be condemned. The government is going deeper and deeper in undermining the rule of law," said Mr Tsvangirai. "Mugabe is giving amnesty to thousands of Zanu-PF thugs, murderers and rapists. He has encouraged people who committed election violence to continue. Zimbabwe is likely to be plagued by political violence again in the presidential elections [due in 2002]."
Mr Tsvangirai said it is well know that MDC supporters were implicated in very few cases of political violence.
He was speaking yesterday afternoon after experiencing first hand Zimbabwe's increasingly skewed legal system. He was taken by police for questioning yesterday over a speech he made in which he allegedly threatened Mr Mugabe with violence. Mr Mugabe's government will now decide whether to lay charges against Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The government may be hesitating in its campaign to incarcerate Mr Tsvangirai because it was unable to successfully prosecute three MDC members of parliament for allegedly inciting violence. All charges were dropped against the three MPs at Harare Magistrates Court yesterday. The three politicians said their two days in jail was a "political baptism" which only strengthened their opposition to the Mugabe government.
Mr Tsvangirai also remained defiant, saying even if he is jailed it will not change his view that it is time for Mr Mugabe to step down. Mr Tsvangirai harshly attacked Mr Mugabe for issuing a blanket clemency.