SADC Justice Ministers meet in Victoria Falls to deliberate key legal frameworks

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) Committee of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General has convened its high-level meeting in Victoria Falls, with three legal instruments topping the agenda as the region pushes to deepen integration amidst a shifting global geopolitical landscape.

Zimbabwe’s Attorney General, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, is leading the host nation’s delegation, with the Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Albert Mazungunye also in attendance.

The deliberations seek to transform regional commitments into binding legal realities.

The three pivotal draft legal instruments under scrutiny are an Agreement amending Article 33 of the SADC Treaty to introduce sanctions for non-payment of contributions; a draft Agreement establishing the SADC Tourism Univisa to facilitate seamless cross-border tourist movement; and a draft Charter establishing the SADC Pharmaceuticals Pooled Procurement Services to enable collective medicine purchasing.

Speaking during the official opening on Friday morning, the Chairperson of the SADC Committee of Ministers of Justice and Attorney General, who is also South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi, urged member states to move beyond goodwill towards enforceable commitments.

“Without them (legal instruments), Honourable Members, we operate on goodwill alone. With them, we operate on binding, enforceable commitment that ensures certainty,” Minister Kubayi said.

She warned that delays in signing and ratifying protocols continue to hamper the regional integration agenda, calling on Justice ministers to fast-track national consultations.

Attorney General, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, said the success of regional integration is measured not by the volume of documents signed, but by tangible improvements in citizens’ lives.

“As leaders of the legal sector, we must continue to ask ourselves a fundamental question: How do we ensure that the regional legal architecture remains relevant?” Mrs Mabhiza asked.

She said new technologies, transnational crime, and the demand for efficient justice systems require coordinated responses that transcend national borders.

SADC Executive Secretary, Mr Elias Magosi, called for the expedition of implementation saying prolonged national consultations stall progress.

“To do national consultations for more than 10-15 years will not help this region to move with the speed that the geopolitical developments require us to move with,” Mr. Magosi said.

The Committee is also expected to deliberate on the re-operationalisation of the SADC Tribunal and the appointment of new judges for the SADC Administrative Tribunal, whose current terms expire later this year.

The outcomes of the meeting will feed into the SADC Council of Ministers summit scheduled for August 2026 in South Africa.