Zimbabwe Gazettes Extradition Treaty With The United States of America

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has gazetted Statutory Instrument 199,  Extradition (Designated Country) United States of America Order 2018 treaty,  which will allow the smooth extradition of criminals between the two countries. Former president Robert Mugabe’s administration sat on the treaty which was signed in the late 1990s but did not comply with the requirements of the Extradition Act by incorporating the treaty into law. Commenting on the matter, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Cain Mathema said,

For the purpose of this treaty, the following offences shall not be considered to be political offences; a murder or other willful crimes against the person of a Head of State of one of the contracting states, or of a member of the Head of State’s family;

An offence for which both contracting states have the obligation pursuant to a multilateral international agreement to extradite the person sought or to submit the case to their competent authorities for a decision as to prosecution. The executive authority of the requested State may refuse extradition for offences under military law which are not offences under ordinary criminal law…It is also tied to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in that if a person has committed a crime and runs away, for example, from Zimbabwe to the US to seek asylum, that person can be brought back to face the law.

More: Sunday Mail