South Africa Communique
7 June 2010
Publisher to obtain report on Zimbabwe election

High Court Judge Stanley Sapire has ordered president Jacob Zuma to make available information containing the 2002 Zimbabwe election that has been kept under wraps for eight years to the Mail & Guardian newspaper.

Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe wrote the report for former president Thabo Mbeki. It dealt with “legal constitutional challenges” in the run – up to the disputed elections.

Mail & Guardian editor Nic Dawes told Business Day he suspected the report would contain information that would contest the view that the disputed election was free and fair. The Mail & Guardian should see the report before 23 June 2010, unless Mr. Zuma appeals.

The paper’s attorney Dario Milo described the order as victory for openness, transparency and accountability. He said it proved the Promotion of Access to Information Act had “sharp teeth”. Mail & Guardian Media, had requested access to the report in 2008 in terms of the act.

Mr. Milo said the order “also shows that even the office of the Presidency is subject to the access to information laws and cannot without proper justification keep official documents secret”.

The Southern African Development Community’s council of ministers and the Organization of Africa Unity declared the 2002 Zimbabwe election “substantially free and fair”.

But the Commonwealth Observer Group said that the conditions “did not adequately allow for free expression of will by the electors”. Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), disputed the result.

The presidency said it had no comment.

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