THE British barrister defending ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has offered to represent President Robert Mugabe were the Zimbabwean leader to be brought before the tribunal which is based at The Hague in the Netherlands.
Courtenay Griffiths, a flamboyant Jamaican-born and Rastafarian-following lawyer is defending Taylor against multiple charges – including allegations of cannibalism, rape and torture – relating to a bloody conflict in the West African country of Sierra Leone.
The ebullient attorney’s swashbuckling style and use of rap lyrics during cross-examination has made him an unexpected star of the trial.
And now Griffiths, who says he “enjoy the challenge of defending those who seem to the rest of the world quite indefensible”, says he would be keen to represent Mugabe if a case was secured against the veteran Zimbabwean leader.
"I would definitely like to represent Mugabe – from a defence point of view he would be an interesting challenge. In the eyes of the world, he is a complete power crazed ogre, I would like to present another side to him," Griffiths told a UK newspaper.
Critics insist Mugabe and key members of his inner circle should face charges for crimes against humanity committed in the country over the last three decades.
A United States-based rights group Genocide Watch recently described as genocide the killing of thousands of people in the Matebeleland and Midlands regions between 1982 and 1987.
“We call upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a full investigation of the Gukurahundi, with the aim of establishing a mixed UN – Zimbabwean Tribunal to put Mugabe and his co-perpetrators on trial for their crimes,” the group said in a report.
However Griffiths slammed what he described as an "unbalanced" application of international law against African leaders.
"There are no fewer than five African leaders awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court," he explained.
"How is it possible that in 2010 we have a situation where every indicted individual at the International Criminal Court is African and every investigation is, guess where, Africa?"
He said ex-British prime minister Tony Blair and former US president George W Bush should also be prosecuted for conducting an “illegal war” in Iraq.
"Look, I am not suggesting that African leaders should not be on trial, but I do think that everyone has to be equal before international law.
"Why is it that the Tony Blairs and the George W Bushes of the world are not being investigated for conducting an illegal war?
"I am a defence lawyer, but if Blair came to The Hague, I would definitely have to switch sides and do some prosecuting.”