In a 7 February ruling in favour of two Zimbabwean human rights groups, the court ordered the President to release the reports of the 1982 and 1984 Commissions of Enquiry into thousands of cases of killings , 'disappearances' torture and arbritary detention by government forces in Matabeleland and the Midlands.

Amnesty International UK said:

'The President must acknowledge the massive human rights violations by Zimbabwean forces in the 1980s and should ensure that those responsible are held to account.'

The failure to release the Dumbutshena (1982) and Chihambakwe (1984) Reports would open the PresidentÃŒs office to the possibility of legal action by the Zimbabwean human rights groups insisting on their publication.