Zimbabwe judge orders medical aid for activists

Zimbabwe's chief justice on Wednesday ordered urgent medical care for human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and other activists who say they were tortured while in police custody. Mukoko, described by the attorney general as a threat to society, is accused with the others of plotting to topple President Robert Mugabe. In a ruling released on Wednesday, chief justice Godfrey Chidyausiku ruled that: "Applicants be accorded appropriate medical attention as a matter of urgency." Lawyers for Mukoko and eight co-defendants will apply on Thursday to have the case referred to the constitutional court. The case has raised further doubts over Mugabe's September power-sharing deal with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Four months on, the accord, seen as the best chance to save Zimbabwe from total economic collapse, remains unimplemented. Attorney General Johannes Tomana, appointed by Mugabe last month, told the state-owned Herald newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that there was enough evidence to suggest Mukoko committed a crime and should not be released. "Any attorney general in the world would do what I am doing given a case like the one involving Mukoko," Tomana said. "Evidence gathered proves that she is a threat to society and she should not be released now." TORTURE ALLEGATION Mukoko and other activists accuse state security agents of torturing them to extract confessions and deny the charges against them. The government says it does not use torture. The MDC accuses Mugabe of using the arrests to exert pressure to force it into joining a unity government from a position of weakness and without the posts it seeks. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said the cases could wreck the power-sharing agreement with Mugabe. A cholera epidemic has added to Zimbabwe's misery. Latest figures from the World Health Organisation showed 2,196 people dead from 40,448 cases. Neighbouring Mozambique said the epidemic had spread there too, killing 40 people. Tomana, who sits in cabinet as a non-voting member, but is meant to prosecute cases independent from government influence, denied that the case against Mukoko was political. However, he said he was proud to be a supporter of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party. The ruling party lost its parliamentary majority to the MDC in March last year, the first time since independence in 1980. But the Herald said the opposition might lose its slim majority after one of its legislators was convicted for forgery. Legislator Lynette Karenyi was convicted of forging signatures to secure nomination for the vote. She denies the charges but it is not clear whether she is appealing against the conviction.