Senegal: Ex-Chad leader Hissène Habré arrested in Senegal
Former Chad president Hissène Habré who is accused of thousands of political killings and systematic torture under his rule between 1982 and 1990 was arrested on Sunday morning in Senegal and is now in police custody upon the request of the chambers’ Chief Prosecutor Mbacké Fall.
Habré was deposed in 1990 by President Idriss Déby Itno and fled to Senegal where he has been living for more than 22 years. In 2000, Habré was indicted in Senegal, but the Court cited lack of jurisdiction to try him there. Subsequently, the victims filed the case in Belgium and after four years of investigations, a Belgium judge indicated Habré and requested his extradition to Belgium.
This request was declined by Senegal and the African Union (AU) who wanted Habré to be tried in Dakar. Belgium took the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the ICJ ordered Senegal on July 20, 2012 to prosecute Habré “without further delay” or to extradite him. Based on this decision of the ICJ, Senegal under president Macky Sall and the AU decided to create an Extraordinary African Chamber to try Habré. The court was inaugurated on February 8, 2013 and conducts the process within the Senegalese judicial system.
The Court will prosecute “the person or persons most responsible” for international crimes committed in Chad between June 7, 1982, and December 1, 1990 and it is possible that Habré will be the only person tried before the court.
Under the Senegalese law, a person can be detained for up to 48 hours for investigation purposes if there is any evidence to believe that the person has committed an offense. This can be extended for another 48 hours with the permission of the prosecutor. Habré could be remanded in custody while the judges conduct their pre-trial investigation if he is indicted by the judges. The pre-trial investigation is expected to last 15 months and a trial will probably follow in late 2014 or early 2015.
If this trial takes place, it will be the first time a former leader of an African state has been tried by another state. Irrespective of the outcome of this process, it is a positive move towards fighting impunity in Africa as a whole and granting Chad a chance to reshape its democratic future.
Zimbabwe: The Term of Parliament expires
The tenure of the power sharing government in Zimbabwe ended on June 29 paving way for President Mugabe to rule by decree. The Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa declared that the sole authority mandated to make law in Zimbabwe in the current situation is President Mugabe and this situation will prevail until the next president is sworn into office. President Mugabe had unilaterally determined the new election date as July 31 which has been opposed by the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who wants the election to be not earlier than August 25. The SADC Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique in mid-June 2013 called upon the unity government to delay the elections by two weeks. Although President Mugabe has intimated that he plans to retire in the future, he has not ruled out running for office in the forthcoming elections against his main rival Prime Minister Tsvangirari.
Kenya: ICC cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto
The commencement of the trial facing President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto is scheduled for November and September 2013 respectively. There has been concerted effort to transfer these cases back home or in the neighboring countries but this has not borne fruit.
The Rome Statue makes it difficult to change the location of the trial after the process has already started. Article 19(4) states that after the commencement of the process, the case can only be stopped if its shown that the accused has been tried by another court for conduct which is subject of the proceedings of the International Criminal Court. But Kenyan Courts have not tried Kenyatta and Ruto for the crimes before the International Criminal Court (ICC). That means that the opening of the cases at the ICC poses an irreversible reality to Kenyatta and Ruto.
Kenya wants to transfer the cases closer home because it will be a big challenge for Kenyatta and Ruto to govern the country while facing trial in The Hague. Some experts project that the proceedings may go on for not less than five years. President Kenyatta has already requested the ICC to allow him to participate in the proceedings via a video-link. This request is not yet decided upon by the ICC. On the other hand, Deputy President Ruto has been allowed to skip some of the proceedings on certain conditions including, a waiver of his right to appeal on matters presented before the Court in his absentia. However, the ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is appealing against this decision stating that ‘…politicians should be treated like all other accused persons and should not have a special treatment due to their occupation.’