Harare - A senior judge in Zimbabwe said on Monday the judiciary expected signatories to the country's power-sharing administration to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights.
Rita Makarau, who heads the High Court, said she was confident President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would lead by example and respect the courts.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai last February formed a coalition government following a disputed election.
Zimbabwe's judiciary has been largely purged of independent judges by Mugabe's government since 2000. It has been accused by human rights groups of lacking courage to defend the rights of citizens in the country.
Makarau spoke a day before the start of the trial of MDC treasurer Roy Bennett, who has been charged with terrorism. Bennett, Tsvangirai's choice as junior agriculture minister, faces a death sentence if convicted.
He can serve life imprisonment if he is found guilty of another charge of inciting people to commit terrorism. Bennett denies the charges, saying they were trumped up to destabilise his party.
- SAPA
ehsan: leecopperten
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