Justice James Devittie's judgements on the MDC's electoral petitions last week clearly caused him some anxiety. If he wishes to expand upon such subjective matters as the national interest and historical processes it may be a good time to point out that the social justice the nation sought since pre-independence times has been betrayed by a parasitic class that is holding on to power through violence and intimidation. The task of the judiciary is to uphold the rights of Zimbabweans as guaranteed under the constitution. That includes the right to the protection of one's life and property and the right to choose a government. Ruling on issues as fundamental as these should cause no anxiety whatsoever.
All judges have to do is the right thing.
Anybody listening to Joe Winter's interview with the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association's Kobus Joubert last week will understand our point that the government deported the wrong person. Joubert patiently explained to Winter that farmers' inputs had shot up while prices remained fixed by an unfriendly exchange rate. Farming was a business in which farmers had every right to secure the best price. Admittedly, by suggesting tobacco farmers had a good crop to sell, Joubert had minimised the impact of invasions. But the interview exposed an underlying antipathy to commercial farmers that has long been a facet of Winter's reporting.