Gukurahundi testimonies reveal scale of atrocities

However,
questions
over
the
credibility
of
the
national
healing
process
continue
to
linger
after
the
government
has
indicated
the
hearing
phase
could
conclude
within
months.

This
has
led
to
growing
calls
for
clarity
on
whether
the
testimonies
will
be
made
public
or
a
transparent
compensation
framework
would
be
established
and
if
those
responsible
for
the
abuses
will
face
prosecution.

This
week,
Attorney-General
Virginia
Mabiza,
who
heads
the
secretariat
of
the
Matabeleland
Peacebuilding
Outreach
Programme,
revealed
to
state
controlled
media
that
the
cumulative
number
of
documented
testimonies
had
now
surpassed
25
000.

Mabiza
indicated
the
community
consultative
programme,
launched
by
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
in
July
2024
yet
officially
started
last
year
in
June
could
move
towards
conclusion
within
the
next
four
months.

The
hearings,
spearheaded
by
traditional
leaders
across
Matabeleland
North
and
South,
are
part
of
what
the
government
describes
as
a
“home-grown
solution”
to
solve
the
1980s
genocide.

However,
for
observers,
the
sheer
number
of
testimonies
collected
four
decades
after
the
violence
underscores
the
magnitude
of
the
atrocities
and
raises
urgent
questions
about
truth-telling,
accountability
and
compensation.

Bulawayo
mayor
and
human
rights
lawyer
David
Coltart
said
the
figure
itself
is
telling.

“The
fact
that
25
000
people
gave
testimony
regarding
Gukurahundi
human
rights
abuses
over
40
years
since
they
happened
in
itself
demonstrates
Gukurahundi’s
horrendous
scale,”
he
said.

Coltart
was
one
of
the
contributors
to
the
1997
landmark
report,
Breaking
the
Silence,
Building
True
Peace,
compiled
by
the
Catholic
Commission
for
Justice
and
Peace
(CCJP)
and
the
Legal
Resources
Foundation.

The
report
documented
widespread
killings,
torture
and
sexual
violence
in
Matabeleland
and
parts
of
the
Midlands
during
the
early
years
of
independence.

“When
we
published
‘Breaking
the
Silence’
in
1997
we
said
it
was
written
conservatively
to
make
sure
that
its
findings
could
never
be
challenged
or
disputed,
which
they
haven’t
ever
been,”
Coltart
said.

“These
testimonies
show
that
the
murders,
rapes,
torture
and
other
abuses
documented
in
‘Breaking
the
Silence’
were
just
the
tip
of
the
iceberg.”

Between
1983
and
1987,
the
North
Korea-trained
Fifth
Brigade
carried
out
operations
in
Matabeleland
provinces
and
parts
of
Midlands
following
allegations
of
dissident
activity.

The
crackdown
left
thousands
of
civilians
dead
and
many
more
traumatised,
according
to
civic
groups.

Coltart
said
the
next
phase
of
the
process
would
be
crucial.

“The
first
question
we
now
face
is
whether
the
testimony
of
these
25
000
witnesses
is
ever
going
to
be
published
so
that
the
public
knows
the
truth,”
he
said.

“Secondly,
what
is
the
government
going
to
do
to
compensate
those
who
have
suffered
so
much?
Thirdly,
what
is
the
government
going
to
do
to
bring
the
perpetrators
of
such
abuse
to
justice?
Finally,
what
is
the
government
going
to
do
to
ensure
that
Zimbabweans
are
never
again
subjected
to
such
crimes
against
humanity?”

These
questions
were
echoed
by
political
analyst
Mxolisi
Ncube,
who
expressed
scepticism
about
the
structure
and
intent
of
the
current
process.

“What
should
worry
people
most
is
that,
if
the
government
were
this
genuine
about
the
process,
why
conduct
a
separate
after-the-fact,
closed-door
hearing
process
instead
of
just
using
the
already
existing
literature
from
the
Chihambakwe
and
Dumbutshena
reports,
and
civic
group
reports
by
the
likes
of
the
CCJP
report?”
he
said.

Ncube
noted
some
of
those
currently
in
government
were
part
of
the
political
establishment
during
the
period
under
review.

“Some
of
the
people
who
are
in
charge
of
the
government
right
now
are
those
who
were
directly
involved
in
the
atrocities,
they
know
the
reasons
and
impact
of
Gukurahundi
in
Matabeleland
as
well
as
the
after-effects
on
the
country’s
social
fabric,”
he
said,
arguing
the
initiative
risks
being
reduced
to
a
symbolic
exercise.

“I
think
this
whole
process
lacks
the
genuine
spirit
of
seeking
to
resolve
the
atrocities
and
is
only
meant
to
lead
to
a
pre-planned
‘case-closed’
declaration
of
peace
with
neither
reconciliation
nor
justice.

“It’s
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
desperately
trying
to
give
credence
and
substance
to
his
‘let
bygones
be
bygones’
declaration,
this
time
claiming
it’s
from
the
victims
themselves.”

Ngqabutho
Nicholas
Mabhena,
leader
of
the
Zimbabwe
Communist
Party
(ZCP),
also
raised
concerns
about
transparency
and
questioned
the
reliability
of
the
25
000
figure
in
the
absence
of
independent
oversight.

“We
do
not
have
evidence
that
what
the
government
is
saying
is
accurate
but
we
rely
on
the
media
to
report.
So
if
the
government
says
it
has
received
or
collected
25
000
testimonials
we
do
not
know,”
Mabhena
said.

He
pointed
out
that
victims
in
the
Diaspora
may
have
been
excluded
and
that
the
closed
nature
of
the
hearings,
from
which
the
media
was
barred,
makes
verification
difficult.

“Because
of
the
media
blackout,
we
do
not
know
if
victims
were
able
to
present
the
testimonies
without
any
fear
or
intimidation.
Since
this
was
a
closed
testimony,
we
suspect,
given
the
nature
of
our
body
politics
in
Zimbabwe,
that
victims
may
have
been
intimidated
to
give
testimonies,”
he
claimed.

Mabhena
noted
that
compensation
should
not
precede
a
full,
independent
investigation.

“In
our
view,
when
we
talk
of
compensation
it
must
be
the
last
to
be
done
after
an
international
body
has
investigated
the
circumstances
that
led
to
Gukurahundi
and
the
genocide’s
modus
operandi,”
he
said.

He
questioned
whether
traditional
leaders
have
the
institutional
capacity
to
handle
such
a
complex
and
politically
sensitive
matter,
arguing
that
the
historical
context
involves
international
dimensions
that
require
scrutiny.

Mabhena
referenced
the
role
of
former
Prime
Minister,
the
late
Robert
Mugabe,
during
that
time,
who
travelled
to
North
Korea
soon
after
independence
to
sign
a
military
pact
that
led
to
the
training
of
the
Fifth
Brigade.

“An
international
investigating
body
must
be
established
to
know
what
that
agreement
entailed,
and
how
the
training
was
conducted,”
he
said.

He
added
that
Britain,
which
played
a
role
in
integrating
the
former
liberation
armies,
ZPRA,
ZANLA
and
the
Rhodesian
forces
at
independence,
should
also
account
for
what
it
knew
about
developments
at
the
time.

Seven-year terms could delay voter accountability, critics warn

The
Bill,
which
is
under
consideration,
seeks
to
lengthen
the
terms
of
the
President
and
Members
of
Parliament
elected
in
the
2023
harmonised
elections.
While
it
does
not
expressly
mention
councillors,
legal
experts
say
the
changes
could
automatically
apply
to
local
authorities.

Supporters
argue
the
extension
would
reduce
what
they
call
perpetual
“election
mode”,
allowing
more
time
for
policy
implementation
and
national
stability.
But
critics
warn
it
could
weaken
democratic
accountability,
particularly
at
local
level,
where
residents
frequently
complain
about
refuse
collection,
water
shortages
and
crumbling
infrastructure.

Constitutional
and
human
rights
lawyer
Vusumuzi
Sibanda
said
the
implications
of
the
Bill
stretch
beyond
national
office
bearers.

“I
think
since
elections
are
harmonised,
this
means
the
councillors
also
stay
for
another
additional
two
years
and
their
cycle
is
also
changed
to
seven
years
in
principle,”
he
said.

He
added
that
although
the
Bill
does
not
expressly
amend
provisions
relating
to
councillors,
the
omission
could
trigger
legal
challenges.

“The
question
might
arise
on
the
express
amendment
of
sections
dealing
with
councillors
which
has
not
been
included,
but
that
could
be
used
in
court
to
argue
that
separate
local
elections
would
be
required,
which
would
be
costly,”
he
said.

Another
constitutional
lawyer,
Musa
Kika,
pointed
to
Section
278
of
the
Constitution,
which
links
the
tenure
of
councillors
to
that
of
Members
of
Parliament.

“What
it
means
is
the
drafters
of
this
Bill
realised
they
did
not
need
to
make
an
explicit
provision
for
councillors
because
whatever
applies
to
Members
of
Parliament
in
terms
of
the
end
of
their
tenure
applies
to
councillors,”
he
said.

“If
MPs
move
to
seven
years,
councillors
would
also
do
seven
years.”

That
interpretation
suggests
councillors
elected
in
2023
could
remain
in
office
until
2030
without
seeking
a
fresh
mandate
from
voters.

The
Mayor
of
City
of
Bulawayo,
David
Coltart,
said
the
proposed
changes
would
effectively
lengthen
councillors’
time
in
office
and
should
therefore
be
subjected
to
a
referendum.

“The
Urban
Councils
Act
is
silent
about
the
term
in
office
and
so
they
will
argue
that
councillors
will
automatically
remain
in
office
until
the
next
harmonised
election,”
he
said.

“I
don’t
disagree
with
such
an
interpretation,
but
because
the
effect
of
the
amendment
is
to
lengthen
a
councillor’s
time
in
office,
then
as
incumbents
that
is
prohibited
and,
if
changed,
that
change
must
be
subjected
to
a
referendum.”

Mr
Coltart
has
publicly
rejected
proposals
that
could
see
him
remain
in
office
beyond
his
five-year
mandate,
describing
the
amendment
as
self-serving
and
disconnected
from
the
interests
of
citizens.

“This
amendment
won’t
just
benefit
the
President
but
also
mayors,
councillors
and
MPs,”
he
wrote
on
X.
“It
is
nothing
about
the
interests
of
the
people

it
is
simply
about
the
interests
of
all
in
the
political
elite
who
were
elected
by
the
people
for
five
years,
but
who
will
now
have
jobs
and
perks
for
at
least
another
two
years.”

He
said
his
tenure
as
mayor
would
end
five
years
after
his
election,
regardless
of
any
changes
to
the
Constitution
that
are
not
endorsed
through
what
he
described
as
a
lawful
and
fair
referendum.

His
stance
was
echoed
by
councillor
Denford
Ngadziore,
who
said
his
mandate
runs
until
2028
and
cannot
be
altered
through
political
processes.

“Constitution
is
the
supreme
law,”
he
said.

Foreign farmers prioritised over locals in Zimbabwe land payouts, SADC watchdog says

Ahuman
rights
advocate
has
criticised
Zimbabwe’s
compensation
framework
for
former
commercial
farmers,
warning
that
it
favours
foreign
landowners
over
local
citizens.

Ben
Freeth,
spokesperson
for
SADC
Tribunal
Rights
Watch,
made
the
comments
in
an
open
letter
to
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa.

In
the
letter
dated
24
February
2026,
Freeth
commends
the
government
for
moves
to
compensate
the
small
percentage
of
landowners
from
countries
that
have
bilateral
investment
treaties
(BITs)
with
Zimbabwe,
however
argues
that
Zimbabwean
farmers
and
others
from
non-BIT
countries
are
treated
unfairly
and
discriminatorily.

“I
am
writing
to
you
out
of
a
deep
sense
of
love
for
Zimbabwe,
her
people
and
our
collective
future,”
Freeth
said
in
the
letter,
acknowledging
the
government’s
efforts
to
compensate
“the
0.5
percent
or
so
of
landowners
who
come
from
foreign
countries
which
have
treaty
agreements
with
Zimbabwe.”

He
specifically
cited
investors
from
the
Netherlands,
Germany,
Switzerland
and
Denmark.

“These
landowners…
are
either
being
paid
for
their
farms
or
given
the
option
to
go
back
to
their
farms,
if
they
wish
to
take
that
option,”
Freeth
said.

He
argued
that
once
these
farms
are
paid
for,
or
returned,
“the
title
deeds
and
the
rights
that
they
bestow,
will
be
good,
and
any
future
on
those
farms
will
be
able
to
be
secure
and
blessed.
Secure,
transferrable
and
bankable
property
rights
are
the
key
to
a
productive
and
prosperous
future.”

However,
he
contrasts
this
with
the
treatment
of
Zimbabwean
farmers
and
those
from
countries
without
bilateral
investment
treaties.

“Unfortunately,
the
moves
to
compensate
farmers
and
landowners
who
are
Zimbabweans
or
from
countries
that
do
not
have
bilateral
investment
treaties,
are
different,”
Freeth
said.

“Such
farmers
are
only
being
given
the
option
of
receiving
a
one
percent
payment
in
cash
for
a
discounted
valuation
of
the
improvements
on
their
farms
followed
by
a
further
one
percent.
Any
further
payments
are
due
to
be
in
government
bonds
which,
if
history
is
a
judge,
will
not
be
worth
very
much.”

Freeth
argued
this
will
create
a
dual
system
of
rights.

“We
therefore
have
a
very
weighted
system
of
favouritism
where
foreigners
are
being
allocated
massively
disproportionate
rights
over
and
above
the
rights
of
local
people.
How
can
one
group
of
people
be
allocated
more
rights
than
another
group
of
people?
This
is
discriminatory,”
said
the
spokesperson.

His
comments
come
as
some
have
said
that
many
of
the
affected
Zimbabwean
farmers
are
elderly
and
struggling
because
their
farms
were
their
pensions
and
have
nothing
to
fall
back
on.

Freeth
also
invokes
the
landmark
Campbell
case
before
the
now-defunct
Southern
African
Development
Community
Tribunal,
commonly
known
as
the
SADC
Tribunal.

“You
will
be
aware
of
the
Campbell
Judgment
in
the
regional
court
of
justice
and
court
of
last
resort,
the
SADC
Tribunal
on
28
November
2008,”
he
said
referring
to
the
ruling
that
found
Zimbabwe’s
land
seizures
discriminatory
and
ordered
compensation.

The
case
was
brought
by
commercial
farmer
Mike
Campbell
and
others.
Freeth
says
the
Government
was
ordered
to
compensate
Campbell
and
two
other
farmers
by
June
2009.

“President
Mugabe
did
not
do
so.
Nearly
17
years
later,
those
three
farmers
have
not
received
any
money,
or
any
offer
of
any
money,
as
compensation
for
their
property,”
Freeth
said,
further
alleging
that
when
the
farmers
returned
to
the
Tribunal
seeking
enforcement,
political
pressure
resulted
in
the
suspension
of
its
judges
in
2011,
leaving
the
court
unable
to
function.

“The
SADC
Tribunal
has
still
been
unable
to
deal
with
the
case…
because
the
judges
have
still
not
been
reappointed
by
SADC.”

Read: https://cite.org.zw/sadc-tribunals-17-year-suspension-denying-justice-to-millions/

Freeth
stated
although
other
farmers
involved
in
the
SADC
case
were
initially
told
they
could
continue
farming,
most
were
later
removed
during
the
tenure
of
former
President
Robert
Mugabe,
often
amid
violence.

“None
of
them
have
been
compensated
or
afforded
the
opportunity
to
go
back
to
their
farms
during
the
eight
years
since
President
Mugabe
left
office,”
he
said,
arguing
that
failure
to
address
the
SADC
judgment
undermines
investor
confidence
and
international
relations.

“In
the
interests
of
encouraging
investors
and
investment,
this
situation
needs
rectifying.
We
as
Zimbabwe
cannot
remain
in
contempt
of
a
final
and
binding
judgment
given
under
the
SADC
Treaty.”

Freeth
added
that
compliance
with
SADC
Tribunal
judgments
has
been
cited
by
the
United
States
as
a
prerequisite
for
American
investment
and
support.

His
letter
also
references
Mount
Carmel
farm,
formerly
owned
by
Campbell,
which
he
claimed
was
now
occupied
by
businessman
Paul
Tungwarara
“in
contravention
of
the
SADC
Tribunal
judgment.”

“It
is
tragic
to
note
that
the
late
Mike
Campbell…
died
as
a
result
of
the
injuries
sustained
when
thugs
abducted
him
two
weeks
before
the
court
case,
trying
to
dissuade
him
from
continuing
with
the
high-profile
case,”
Freeth
said.

Freeth
alleged
that
Tungwarara
was
also
awarded
a
US$15
million
tender
to
build
a
wall
around
State
House,
a
figure
he
contrasts
with
the
US$3
million
reportedly
allocated
in
the
national
budget
for
compensating
thousands
of
non-BIT
farmers.

“This
figure
alone
is
five
times
the
paltry
US$3
million
amount
allocated
in
the
budget
for
paying
out
the
thousands
of
farmers
who
do
not
have
the
rights
afforded
to
them
that
have
been
afforded
to
the
foreign
farmers,”
he
said.

“Locals
are
suffering
while
foreigners
and
the
elite
are
allocated
uncompensated
farms
and
large
sums
of
the
State’s
limited
resources.”

The
Zimbabwean
government
has
previously
defended
its
compensation
framework
as
a
pragmatic
approach
that
balances
constitutional
obligations
with
fiscal
realities.

It’s Not The Size Of The Firm, It’s How You Use It: Ninth Circuit Smacks Down Fee-Shaming Of Small Law – Above the Law

The
Ninth
Circuit
just
made
clear,
size
isn’t
everything.
And
pretending
otherwise
is
just
compensating
for
something
else
entirely.

In
a
recent

decision
,
the
Ninth
Circuit
ruled

unanimously

that
attorney’s
fees
awarded
to
successful
plaintiffs
cannot
be
discounted
simply
because
the
winning
law
firm
is
small.
The
case
involved
four-lawyer
boutique
Gaw
Poe,
which
secured
a
2024
jury
verdict
finding
that
Prestige
Consumer
Healthcare
illegally
gave
Costco
better
pricing
on
eyedrops
than
it
offered
to
wholesalers.
(You
know,
just
a
casual
little
antitrust
violation
over
your
irritated
eyeballs.)

After
winning
at
trial,
Gaw
Poe
asked
for
more
than
$7.6
million
in
attorney’s
fees.
But
U.S.
District
Judge
Michael
Fitzgerald
slashed
that
request
down
to
about
$3.1
million.
Why?
Because
the
firm
had
previously
been
awarded
lower
rates
in
a
different
case,
and
because
the
judge
worried
he
would
create
“a
new
benchmark”
for
future
fee
petitions.

Ah
yes,
the
classic
judicial
fear:
What
if
people
start
expecting
excellent
lawyers
to
be
paid
like
excellent
lawyers?

On
appeal,
the
Ninth
Circuit
was
unimpressed.
Writing
for
the
court,
Judge
Salvador
Mendoza
Jr.
made
clear
that
courts
should
not
treat
firm
size
as
a
proxy
for
skill,
experience,
or
reputation.

Mendoza
went
further,
emphasizing
that
first-rate
lawyers
who
win
are
entitled
to
first-rate
fees,
full
stop.

“First-rate
attorneys
who
prevail
in
litigation
are
entitled
to
receive
fees
commensurate
with
their
skill,
experience,
and
reputation,
even
if
their
clients
are
mom-and-pop
businesses
that
don’t
have
Fortune
500
budgets
to
hire
big
law
firms,”
he
wrote.

Founder
Randolph
Gaw
summed
it
up
more
bluntly

to
Reuters
.
“What
matters
most
is
the
results
we
achieved

not
the
size
of
their
law
practice.”

And
honestly?
That’s
the
whole
thing
right
there.

Gaw
also
noted
the
particularly
rich
irony
that
tends
to
surface

after

boutique
firms
beat
Biglaw
at
trial,
“When
we
win,
our
Big
Law
opponents
often
suggest
that
our
fees
should
be
lower
than
what
they
were
paid
to
lose
the
case
to
us.”

So
no,
courts
don’t
need
to
worry
about
creating
a
“new
benchmark”
where
excellent
lawyers
are
compensated
appropriately,
regardless
of
how
many
names
are
on
the
door.

And
just
like
in
other
areas
of
life,
obsessing
over
size
often
misses
the
point
entirely.




Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of

The
Jabot
podcast
,
and
co-host
of

Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer
.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email

her

with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter

@Kathryn1
 or
Mastodon

@[email protected].

US winds down health programmes after Mnangagwa rejects $367m deal

HARARE

The
United
States
has
announced
it
will
begin
winding
down
health
assistance
to
Zimbabwe
after
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
walked
away
from
negotiations
over
a
proposed
bilateral
health
agreement.

The
diplomatic
rupture
puts
1.2
million
HIV
patients
at
immediate
risk,
unless
the
Zimbabwe
government
steps
up
to
fill
the
funding
gap.

In
a
press
statement
issued
after
ZimLive
on
Monday
revealed
the
breakdown
in
talks,
US
Ambassador
Pamela
Tremont
confirmed
the
consequences
would
be
swift
and
sweeping.

“We
will
now
turn
to
the
difficult
and
regrettable
task
of
winding
down
our
health
assistance
in
Zimbabwe,”
she
said.

Tremont,
who
met
Zimbabwe’s
foreign
minister
Amon
Murwira
last
week,
said
the
Zimbabwe
government
had
“assured
us
it
is
prepared
to
sustain
the
fight
against
HIV/AIDS.”

“We
wish
them
well,”
she
added
in
a
comment
that
read
less
as
a
pleasantry
than
a
pointed
transfer
of
responsibility.

The
memorandum
of
understanding
(MoU)
was
being
promoted
by
Washington
as
the
future
framework
for
US
health
support
to
Zimbabwe
under
its
America
First
Global
Health
Strategy
(AFGHS).
But
Harare
found
its
conditions
unacceptable
on
multiple
fronts.

A
letter
first
reported
by
ZimLive
dated
December
23,
2025,
and
written
by
foreign
affairs
secretary
Albert
Chimbindi
instructed
the
secretaries
for
finance
and
health
to
halt
all
discussions
immediately,
on
direct
orders
from
the
president.

“The
president
has
directed
that
Zimbabwe
must
discontinue
any
negotiation
with
the
USA
on
the
clearly
lopsided
MoU
that
blatantly
compromises
and
undermines
the
sovereignty
and
independence
of
Zimbabwe
as
a
country,”
the
letter
stated.

Diplomatic
sources
said
Mnangagwa
objected
specifically
to
US
demands
for
access
to
Zimbabwe’s
national
health
data,
which
officials
characterised
as
intelligence
overreach,
and
to
provisions
linking
the
deal
to
access
to
the
country’s
critical
mineral
resources.

The
US
pushed
back
hard
on
that
characterisation.
The
embassy
said
the
rejected
MoU
would
have
provided
$367
million
over
five
years,
slightly
more
than
the
$350
million
figure
first
reported,
covering
HIV/AIDS
treatment
and
prevention,
tuberculosis,
malaria,
maternal
and
child
health,
and
disease
outbreak
preparedness.

It
described
the
deal
as
the
largest
potential
health
investment
in
Zimbabwe
by
any
international
funder,
built
on
a
co-funding
model
intended
to
put
Zimbabwe
on
a
path
toward
self-reliance
by
gradually
increasing
its
own
health
budget
alongside
American
support.

Washington
also
pointed
to
the
broader
continental
picture
as
a
rebuttal
to
Harare’s
framing.
Sixteen
African
countries
have
now
signed
similar
agreements,
unlocking
a
combined
$18.3
billion
in
new
health
funding

$11.2
billion
from
the
US
and
$7.1
billion
in
co-investment
from
the
recipient
countries
themselves.

“The
United
States
has
a
responsibility
to
American
taxpayers
to
invest
their
resources
where
mutual
accountability,
transparency,
and
shared
commitment
are
assured,”
Tremont
said.

The
US
has
provided
more
than
$1.9
billion
in
health
support
to
Zimbabwe
since
2006,
and
American-funded
programmes
are
credited
with
helping
Zimbabwe
achieve
the
UNAIDS
95-95-95
targets,
the
global
benchmark
for
HIV
treatment
and
suppression.
The
1.2
million
Zimbabweans
currently
receiving
HIV
treatment
through
US-supported
programmes
now
face
an
uncertain
future
as
those
programmes
are
wound
down.

Mnangagwa’s
government
has
not
said
publicly
where
it
intends
to
source
replacement
funding,
nor
detailed
a
timeline
for
transitioning
patients
to
alternative
support.

Zimbabwean lawyer, rights activist Brian Kagoro is expelled from Kenya

NAIROBI,
Kenya

Kenyan
authorities
have
expelled
Zimbabwean
constitutional
lawyer
and
civic
activist
Brian
Bright
Kagoro,
accusing
him
of
involvement
in
a
foreign-backed
scheme
to
foment
political
unrest
through
organised
protests.

Kagoro,
the
managing
director
of
programmes
at
the
Open
Society
Foundations
(OSF)
Africa,
was
declared
persona
non
grata
and
deported
late
Sunday
after
being
detained
and
questioned
for
several
hours
by
immigration
and
security
officials.

He
was
escorted
out
of
the
country
via
Jomo
Kenyatta
International
Airport,
officials
confirmed.

Security
agencies
say
the
decision
followed
a
months-long
investigation
into
what
they
allege
was
a
coordinated
effort
to
mobilise
political
dissent
in
Kenya,
exploiting
economic
pressures
and
youth
activism.

Kenya’s
Capital
FM,
citing
officials
who
spoke
on
condition
of
anonymity
because
they
were
not
authorised
to
brief
the
media,
reported
that
Kagoro
made
several
trips
to
Nairobi
in
2025
and
allegedly
undertook
to
help
raise
approximately
US$1.2
million
to
support
activist
networks
in
the
country.

Authorities
claim
the
funds
were
intended
to
reignite
the
youth-led
protests
that
rocked
Kenya
in
2024,
forcing
the
government
to
abandon
proposed
tax
increases
and
triggering
weeks
of
nationwide
demonstrations.
The
protests
were
largely
organised
through
social
media
platforms.

Organisers
of
those
demonstrations
have
consistently
denied
receiving
foreign
funding,
insisting
the
movement
was
grassroots-driven.

A
senior
security
official
said
intelligence
gathered
over
six
months
pointed
to
what
authorities
believe
was
a
deliberate
strategy
to
manufacture
unrest.

“We
have
evidence,
gathered
painstakingly
over
the
last
six
months,
that
indicates
a
calculated
attempt
to
engineer
civil
disorder,”
the
official
said.

The
government
has
warned
that
foreign
nationals
suspected
of
interfering
in
Kenya’s
internal
political
processes
will
be
denied
entry,
closely
monitored,
or
expelled.

During
questioning,
Kagoro
reportedly
rejected
the
allegations,
telling
investigators
that
his
visit
to
Kenya
was
for
personal
reasons
and
professional
engagements.
He
said
he
had
travelled
to
attend
a
family
event
and
participate
in
a
conference
focused
on
critical
minerals
and
artificial
intelligence.

While
acknowledging
long-standing
relationships
with
Kenyan
civil
society
organisations,
Kagoro
denied
coordinating
protests
or
financing
political
activity,
Capital
FM
reported.

Security
agencies
nevertheless
allege
that
some
of
his
public
engagements

including
appearances
at
a
judiciary
accountability
forum
and
a
technology
innovation
event

were
used
to
broaden
activist
networks.

Investigators
also
cited
Kagoro’s
connections
to
the
Open
Society
Foundations,
an
international
philanthropic
organisation
that
has
faced
criticism
from
some
Kenyan
political
leaders,
who
accuse
foreign
donors
of
meddling
in
domestic
politics.

Kagoro
is
a
co-founder
of
the
Crisis
in
Zimbabwe
Coalition
and
has
spent
nearly
two
decades
working
in
Nairobi,
where
he
became
a
prominent
figure
within
regional
governance,
democracy,
and
civic
advocacy
circles.

Supporters
describe
him
as
a
seasoned
strategist
and
mentor
to
civic
movements
across
Africa.

Security
officials
further
claimed
Kagoro
participated
in
encrypted
messaging
platforms
and
is
being
examined
for
possible
links
to
election-related
unrest
in
Tanzania,
though
no
evidence
supporting
those
allegations
has
been
made
public.

Tariff Turmoil Is Turning Into A Biglaw Billing Bonanza – Above the Law



Ed.
note
:
Welcome
to
our
daily
feature, Quote
of
the
Day
.


Virtually
all
of
our
clients
at
our
firm
are
interested
in
this,
and
the
firm
has
thousands
of
clients.
Every
single
one
of
them
is
following
this
issue.
It’s
more
important
to
some
than
to
others.



— Aaron
Cummings,
a
shareholder
at
Brownstein,
Hyatt,
Farber
&
Shreck,
in
comments
given
to
the

National
Law
Journal
,
concerning
client
inquiries
about
tariff
refund
litigation
in
the
wake
of
the
Supreme
Court
striking
down
President
Donald
Trump’s
signature
tariffs
on
imports.
In
fact,
clients
are
so
interested
in
recouping
their
money
that
Quinn
Emanuel
has
created
a
tariff
refund
litigation
task
force
to
advise
clients
on
their
legal
options.
Dennis
Hranitzky,
a
partner
at
Quinn
Emanuel,
said
the
firm
has
been
“deluged
with
inbounds
from
clients
and
prospective
clients.”





Staci
Zaretsky
 is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to email her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on BlueskyX/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.

Supreme Court Airs Dirty Laundry – Above the Law

The
Supreme
Court
struck
down
Donald
Trump’s
effort
to
use
IEEPA
to
impose
arbitrary
tariffs
across
the
world
and
in
the
process

delivered
around
170
pages
of
epic
shade
.
Meanwhile,
the
administration
informed
prospective
military
lawyers
that
they’re

no
longer
allowed
to
attend
the
top
law
schools
in
the
country
,
presumably
because
the
Pentagon
is
getting
tired
of
lawyers
who
can
actually
identify
a
war
crime
when
they
see
one.
Finally,
the
public
got
another
look
at
how
lawyers
do
their
job
and
predictably
overreacted.
Les
Wexner’s
attorney
got
caught
on
a
hot
mic
giving
his
client…

blunt
advice

and
a
court
ruled
that

“wings”
don’t
mean
“wings.”

The Board Briefing Mistake Even The Best GCs Still Make – Above the Law

Every
GC
I
know
is
preparing
AI
updates
for
their
board.
Some
send
quarterly
decks.
Others
prepare
deep-dive
strategy
sessions.
Many
scramble
to
distill
fast-moving
regulatory
developments
into
digestible
talking
points.
Yet
the
same
problem
keeps
surfacing.
Boards
walk
away
overwhelmed,
underinformed,
or
unsure
what
to
do
next.

The
issue
is
not
expertise.
The
issue
is
the
communication
structure.

AI
is
not
a
single
topic.
It
is
a
category
of
technologies,
risks,
opportunities,
and
governance
challenges
that
shift
every
quarter.
Boards
expect
GCs
to
make
sense
of
that
ambiguity,
but
most
legal
teams
still
present
AI
the
way
they
present
other
legal
updates.
They
start
with
the
complexity
and
hope
the
board
can
extract
the
insight.

This
is
backward.
Boards
need
a
narrative
spine
that
orients
them.
They
need
a
clear
answer
to
three
questions
before
anything
else.
What
is
happening?
Why
it
matters.
What
they
should
do.

This
is
where
many
well-intentioned
updates
fall
apart.


How
Complexity
Crowds
Out
Board-Level
Judgment

Boards
do
not
have
infinite
cognitive
bandwidth.
When
legal
teams
walk
in
with
dense
memos,
long
lists
of
risks,
or
technical
descriptions
of
model
behavior,
directors
lose
the
plot.
They
stop
hearing
what
they
need
and
start
trying
to
reconcile
details
that
are
irrelevant
to
their
role.

This
is
not
a
board
failure.
It
is
a
communication
failure.

The
board’s
job
is
not
to
understand
every
model
parameter,
regulatory
nuance,
or
implementation
detail.
Their
job
is
to
understand
what
the
company
is
trying
to
achieve
with
AI,
the
level
of
exposure
that
strategy
creates,
and
the
quality
of
the
decision-making
process
behind
it.
Anything
that
does
not
help
them
do
that
job
becomes
noise.

The
challenge
for
GCs
is
that
AI
produces
a
lot
of
noise.
Without
a
disciplined
way
to
structure
the
conversation,
the
board
gets
a
firehose
instead
of
a
signal.
That
is
how
misalignment
builds.
It
is
how
companies
end
up
with
boards
that
either
overreact
to
AI
risk
or
treat
it
as
a
passing
technical
curiosity.

Both
outcomes
hurt
the
business.


A
Simple
Principle:
Don’t
Communicate
AI
Until
You
Know
The
Story

Before
you
brief
the
board,
the
GC
must
answer
one
foundational
question.
What
is
the
story
of
AI
in
this
company
right
now?
Are
you
using
AI
to
improve
internal
efficiency?
Are
you
integrating
AI
into
customer-facing
products?
Are
you
navigating
heightened
regulatory
scrutiny?
Are
you
trying
to
get
ahead
of
competitors
who
are
moving
quickly?

If
you
cannot
articulate
the
story
in
one
sentence,
the
board
will
not
grasp
it
either.

Once
the
story
is
clear,
you
can
translate
it
into
the
governance
conversation.
But
most
lawyers
never
get
the
chance,
because
they
start
with
information
instead
of
meaning.
They
walk
the
board
through
the
activity
instead
of
the
direction.
They
overindex
on
what
legal
teams
are
seeing
rather
than
what
directors
need
to
understand.

This
is
where
the
What,
So
What,
Now
What
model
becomes
indispensable.


Why
The
What,
So
What,
Now
What
Model
Works
For
AI

The
model
forces
clarity.
It
requires
you
to
explain
the
situation,
the
significance,
and
the
next
steps
without
drowning
the
board
in
unnecessary
complexity.
It
aligns
the
GC’s
instinct
for
thoroughness
with
the
board’s
need
for
strategic
focus.
And
it
forces
the
GC
to
make
a
judgment
call,
not
a
data
dump.

AI
is
moving
too
quickly
for
meandering
updates.
Boards
want
to
understand
whether
AI
is
creating
opportunity,
introducing
exposure,
or
reshaping
operational
assumptions.
They
want
to
know
where
the
company
is
positioned
relative
to
peers.
They
want
to
feel
confident
that
management
is
not
only
aware
of
the
risks
but
is
actively
shaping
the
company’s
future.

The
model
helps
you
do
that
by
building
a
pathway
from
information
to
meaning
to
action.
It
guides
the
conversation
so
the
board
can
govern
with
clarity
rather
than
react
with
confusion.


How
GCs
Lose
Credibility
Without
a
Framework

Even
sophisticated
legal
teams
unintentionally
overwhelm
the
board
when
they
treat
AI
like
a
traditional
compliance
topic.
They
include
too
much
detail
about
regulations
that
have
not
been
finalized,
too
many
definitions,
or
too
many
examples
of
model
failure.
They
confuse
breadth
with
credibility.
They
think
thoroughness
builds
trust.

It
does
the
opposite.

Boards
trust
clarity.
They
trust
judgment.
They
trust
the
GC
who
can
walk
into
a
meeting
and
say
something
simple
and
true.
Here
is
what
is
changing.
Here
is
why
it
matters.
Here
is
what
we
recommend.
That
kind
of
communication
signals
maturity
and
strategic
leadership.
It
also
demonstrates
that
the
GC
understands
what
the
board
needs,
not
only
what
the
legal
team
knows.

This
is
the
difference
between
a
legal
update
and
a
governance
moment.


AI
Requires
A
Governance
Lens,
Not
A
Technical
Lens

AI
is
transforming
business
models,
cost
structures,
customer
expectations,
and
competitive
dynamics.
It
is
also
attracting
political
scrutiny,
regulatory
fragmentation,
and
public
uncertainty.
Boards
want
to
know
how
those
changes
affect
the
company’s
risk
profile
and
long-term
health.
They
do
not
need
a
technical
seminar.
They
need
a
governance
frame.

The
What,
So
What,
Now
What
model
shifts
the
GC
into
that
governance
posture.
It
distills
complexity
down
to
the
elements
directors
use
to
exercise
oversight.
It
keeps
the
conversation
grounded
in
business
impact,
not
technical
curiosity.
It
also
helps
the
GC
anticipate
the
kinds
of
questions
directors
will
ask.
How
exposed
are
we?
How
does
this
affect
our
strategy?
What
safeguards
have
we
built?
What
decisions
require
board-level
engagement?

Without
this
structure,
conversations
drift.
With
it,
conversations
sharpen.


A
Better
Path
Forward
For
AI
Board
Communication

The
resource
you
shared,
What,
So
What,
Now
What:
Effectively
Communicating
With
Your
Board
About
Transformative
Technology
Such
as
Artificial
Intelligence,
lays
out
this
communication
method
in
depth.
It
gives
GCs
a
repeatable
way
to
brief
boards
with
clarity,
conciseness,
and
credibility.
It
breaks
down
how
to
diagnose
the
core
message,
separate
operational
detail
from
governance
insight,
and
close
the
conversation
with
a
clear
recommendation.

It
is
a
practical
tool
for
every
in-house
lawyer
navigating
AI
conversations
with
directors,
and

you
can
access
it
here
.

The
model
does
not
oversimplify
AI.
It
helps
you
explain
it
in
a
way
that
empowers
better
oversight.
For
boards,
that
is
the
real
value.


The
GC’s
Role
Is
Evolving,
And
Communication
Is
Now
A
Core
Skill

AI
is
accelerating
the
evolution
of
the
GC
role.
Directors
expect
legal
leaders
to
steward
risk,
influence
strategy,
and
communicate
with
clarity
in
environments
that
lack
stable
answers.
Frameworks
like
What,
So
What,
Now
What
help
GCs
deliver
that
clarity
consistently.

They
also
help
legal
teams
build
stronger,
more
confident
relationships
with
their
boards.
And
they
prepare
the
organization
for
a
future
in
which
the
pace
of
technological
change
will
continue
to
accelerate.

If
you
want
to
sharpen
your
ability
to
communicate
about
complex
emerging
technologies,
start
with
a
structure
that
makes
meaning
out
of
complexity
instead
of
amplifying
it.

Boards
do
not
need
more
information.
They
need
a
signal.
And
the
GC
who
delivers
it
becomes
indispensable.




Olga
V.
Mack
is
the
CEO
of
TermScout,
where
she
builds
legal
systems
that
make
contracts
faster
to
understand,
easier
to
operate,
and
more
trustworthy
in
real
business
conditions.
Her
work
focuses
on
how
legal
rules
allocate
power,
manage
risk,
and
shape
decisions
under
uncertainty.



A
serial
CEO
and
former
General
Counsel,
Olga
previously
led
a
legal
technology
company
through
acquisition
by
LexisNexis.
She
teaches
at
Berkeley
Law
and
is
a
Fellow
at
CodeX,
the
Stanford
Center
for
Legal
Informatics.



She
has
authored
several
books
on
legal
innovation
and
technology,
delivered
six
TEDx
talks,
and
her
insights
regularly
appear
in
Forbes,
Bloomberg
Law,
VentureBeat,
TechCrunch,
and
Above
the
Law.
Her
work
treats
law
as
essential
infrastructure,
designed
for
how
organizations
actually
operate.

Join The Resist And Unsubscribe Movement, Cancel Your Streaming And AI Services, Punch Back At Trump’s Out-Of-Control ICE – Above the Law

Over
the
past
decade
plus
of
extreme
political
polarization
(not
originated
by,
though
dramatically
worsened
through,
Donald
Trump),
boycotts
have
been
deployed
by
activists
on
both
ends
of
the
political
spectrum
to
mixed
results.
Turns
out
it
is
really
hard
to
get
enough
Americans
to
give
up
convenience
in
acquiring
the
real-world
products
they
need
such
that
you
can
make
a
meaningful
political
statement
to
the
intended
recipient.

This
month,
however,
podcast
host,
author,
and
marketing
professor
Scott
Galloway
has
been
waging
a
unique
campaign
to
strike
back
in
the
face
of
ICE’s
lawless
operations.
Called
Resist
and
Unsubscribe,

Galloway’s
initiative

“targets
tech
and
AI
companies
and
inflicts
maximum
damage
with
minimum
impact
on
consumers.”

Resist
and
Unsubscribe
is
premised
on
the
idea
that
the
president
is
unfazed
by
citizen
outrage,
the
courts,
or
the
media.
Rather,
Trump
responds
to
only
one
thing:
the
market.

Galloway
correctly
recognizes
that
boycotting,
say,
certain
retailers
is
unlikely
to
have
a
significant
enough
effect
on
the
broader
stock
market
to
move
the
president.
On
the
other
hand,
seven
tech
companies
alone
account
for
more
than
a
third
of
the
S&P
500
index,
many
of
them
propped
up
by
massive
spending
on
AI
of
late.

Hurting
the
bottom
line
of
the
largest
tech
firms,
as
well
as
the
sycophantic
CEOs
running
them
in
accordance
with
Trump’s
whims,
would
actually
be
noticed.
Tech
companies
also
have
the
unique
flaw
(or
in
this
case,
advantage)
of
often
being
highly
reliant
on
speculative
measures
of
future
potential
revenues,
like
number
of
subscribers,
as
opposed
to
companies
selling
tangible
goods
that
are
valued
on
more
established
metrics.
Forgoing
a
few
of
many
available
subscriptions
is
also

a
relatively
easy
sacrifice
to
ask

of
the
individual
consumer.

All
this
means
that
consumers
like
ourselves
can
have
a
much
bigger
influence
on
market
capitalization
by
canceling
Amazon
Prime
than
we
can
by
skipping
a
few
trips
to
Target.
It
also
means
that
the
market
is
uniquely
vulnerable
to
consumers
who
are
willing
to
shun
AI
products.

The
first
step,
according
to
Galloway,
is
unsubscribing
from
OpenAI’s
ChatGPT
and
Anthropic’s
Claude
(if
you
are
among
these
platforms’
few
paying
users).
The
next
line
of
attack
consists
of
unsubscribing
from
other
tech
services
provided
by
companies
that
have
“outsized
influence
over
the
national
economy
and
our
president”


including
the
services
offered
by

Amazon,
Apple,
Google,
Microsoft,
Paramount+,
Meta,
Uber,
Netflix,
and
Twitter
(X).
Lastly,
Galloway
identifies
a
number
of
consumer-facing
companies
as
“active
enablers
of
ICE”
which
may
not
be
susceptible
to
the
standard
tech
industry
subscription
revenue
multiplier
of
10x
in
calculating
the
implied
market
capitalization
effect,
but
are,
nonetheless,
also
obviously
worth
avoiding
(I
will
provide
a
link
directly
to
Galloway’s
website
in
the
final
paragraph
so
you
can
easily
access
the
full
list
of
companies
along
with
convenient
“unsubscribe”
links).

Well,
I’m
a
little
late
to
this
party.
I
also
don’t
have
many
services
that
I
can
unsubscribe
from
to
begin
with
(two,
to
be
precise).
Nevertheless,
in
the
spirit
of
solidarity,
I
just
jettisoned
50%
of
my
subscriptions.
Goodbye
Netflix,
and,
hopefully,
hello
to
a
future
where
we
all
have
something
more
concrete
to
look
forward
to
than
the
next
season
of
“3
Body
Problem.”

The

Resist
and
Unsubscribe
campaign

runs
(at
least)
through
the
end
of
February.
If
this
is
the
first
you’re
hearing
of
it,
let
me
be
the
first
to
welcome
you
aboard.
I
have
friends
everywhere
(if
you
need
something
to
watch
now
that
you’ve
completed
your
unsubscribing
mission,
check
out
“Andor”
on
Disney+,
that
one’s
not
on
Galloway’s
list).
As
to
whether
or
not
this
is
working,
well,
all
I
can
say
for
now
is
that
as
of
market
close
on
February
24,
the
NASDAQ
and
the
S&P
500
are
definitely
down
for
the
month.




Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of 
Your
Debt-Free
JD
 (affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at 
[email protected].