In a verdict handed down in the Salisbury High Court on 2 May, Mr. Justice Beck has ruled that martial law is a lawful act of the state, and that executions of persons sentenced to death by special courts martial can therefore proceed lawfully. However, in a second decision, the judge ruled that such persons have the right to petition for clemency to the regime's President on the same terms as those sentenced to death by the civil courts. This overrules an earlier direction from the Acting President, issued on the advice of the Executive Council, that petitions seeking relief from the verdicts of special courts martial would not be dealt with by the Executive Council but would be forwarded to the Commander of Combined Operations for consideration by the Review Authority established pursuant to the proclamation of martial law, "whose decision will be final."
The High Court's ruling on petitions, which amounts to a limited curb on the authority of the military vis-a-vis the transitional government, was in response to a petition presented by Mr. John Deary, the Acting Chairman of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Rhodesia. Immediately after the verdict, the government announced that it would appeal against the decision, the appeal to be heard on 22 May. The Commander of Combined Operations, Lt-Gen. Peter Walls, described the CCJP's case as "vexatious and politically motivated", claiming that as the supreme commander of the security forces he was vested with full powers to administer martial law. A statement issued by the Ministry of Combined Operations added that no person sentenced to death by a court martial would be executed before the government's appeal was heard, unless their sentence was confirmed by the President.
It is important to stress that this High Court ruling does not mean that the rate of illegal executions of political prisoners will decrease in any way. On the contrary, it amounts to a further admission by the regime that such hangings are taking place, in defiance of previous assurances from Bishop Muzorewa and the other internal settlement leaders. In practice, whether or not a person convicted by a court martial is able to submit a petition for clemency to the President will be heavily dependent on whether he or she has access to legal defence. As reported in previous issues of FOCUS, defence counsels have experienced extreme difficulty and official obstruction in attempting to represent clients brought before special courts martial, even though the regulations governing their operation state that legal representation will be "possible". Whether or not legal representation is permitted depends entirely on the decision of the President of the court martial, who is not necessarily a man trained in law. Assuming that the government's appeal against the 2 May ruling is defeated and the petition procedure established, there is no guarantee whatsoever, given the highly secretive nature of court martial proceedings, that the local security forces concerned will not simply summarily execute convicted persons by firing squad, without any news of such trials reaching the outside world. Under the regime's 1975 Indemnity and Compensation Act, any such action on the part of the security forces, even if proven, could not be challenged in court.
Even if petitions for clemency are submitted against court martial verdicts, they still stand a strong chance of being dismissed by the President on the advice of the Executive Council or its equivalent in the proposed new governmental structure, and execution would duly take place. Out of a total of fourteen petitions for clemency known to have been submitted against death sentences handed down by the civil courts since the internal settlement agreement of 3 March 1978, three have been dismissed, three have resulted in death sentences being commuted and eight are pending.
Those known to have been sentenced to death by special courts martial include: 1. MARTIN GONZO, from Chitoa Purchase Area. 2. His brother, TODD GONZO, from the same area. 3. WONDER CHISVO, also from Chitoa Purchase Area - these three were convicted for burning a compound. 4. CHANDO, from Sipollo, convicted on charges involving the alleged killing of witches. 5. MIKE CHIMANDU. 6. GIVUS MUKUNDUNA 7. THOMAS (other name unknown) 8. JAMES KADIRIRE, from the Mashambana area of Mrewa District, arrested in December 1978. 9. PETER CHITSOTE (21), of Mangwende TTL, sentenced to death 4 January 1979 at Mrewa, for assisting and failing to report guerillas. His conviction was subsequently quashed by the Review Authority after irregularities were found in the original trial, and a re-trial ordered before another court martial. In the event there was no retrial and he was indefinitely detained. Peter Chitsote was held in Salisbury Central Prison following his conviction, together with, it is believed, ten other persons under sentence of death from special courts martial. Five of these were subsequently sent for retrial and three had their sentences reduced to 5 years imprisonment. Their names are not known. 10. MANYOWA KUPA.
