By Own Correspondent| The recent High Court ruling which compelled the State to pay $150k to prominent human rights defender and Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) director, Jestina Mukoko has been hailed as victory for constitutionalism, rule of law and the mortal blow to impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights violations.

Mukoko said this while addressing the media in the capital Harare where she said while this ruling could not  erase the social and emotional scars inflicted by her experience at the hands of the state, the ruling reignited hope for victims of human rights violations and their defenders in the country.

Said Mukoko in her statement: “The High Court’s decision sends a clear signal to the Zimbabwean authorities who must do everything in their power to guarantee victims access to impartial justice and to put an end to impunity that is enjoyed by torturers and the perpetrators of serious human rights violations.”

Below is Mukoko’s full statement: