Zvamaida Murwira — A diplomat accredited to the United States Embassy in Harare, Mr Eric Kimpton, who ran over and killed an 11-year-old girl in Dema in June this year, does not enjoy absolute diplomatic immunity in terms of the Vienna Convention which protects accredited diplomats, an official has said.
Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi, said while diplomats the world over enjoy immunity from both criminal and civil proceedings, that immunity can be revoked subject to compliance with some laid down procedures.
Amb Chimbindi said this on Monday evening on a Star FM current affairs radio programme, "Muriro on Monday."
Mr Kimpton, under the shield of diplomatic immunity, left the country with his family before the case had been finalised, a development that threatened to escalate into a diplomatic tiff between Harare and Washington.
Commenting on the incident which has left the family of the girl in grief, Amb Chimbindi said diplomats, the world over, are obliged to uphold the laws of the host country.
He said they have since engaged the US embassy in Harare over the case and failure by Mr Kimpton to wait for the due process to be completed before leaving the country was a cause for concern.
"We all share the agony and grief that the bereaved family is going through. Of course, we are dealing with a diplomat and you rightfully pointed at the Vienna Convention. But the convention does not give total immunity from some of these issues you are discussing," said Amb Chimbindi.
"Of course, there are certain processes that we have to follow in line with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic practices. So, we have engaged the US embassy and continue to do so. One of the first duties and responsibility of a diplomat is to observe the laws of an accrediting country, so that is standard operating procedure. Even though they enjoy diplomatic immunity, there are also responsibilities and obligations that are attendant to that immunity."
He said his Ministry together with other Government departments have put their hands on deck to make sure that there was finality to the case. "So, we are pursuing the matter and as you can see it was covered widely in the press but the Ministry and the Government at large are doing everything that should be done to ensure some recourse and closure is found," Amb Chimbindi said.
Article 31 of the Vienna Convention, which provides diplomatic immunity, reads: "A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction."
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The article provides exceptions where such immunity will not apply.
Article 32 also provides for waiver of diplomatic immunity and reads: "The immunity from the jurisdiction of diplomatic agents and of persons enjoying immunity under Article 31 may be waived by the sending State".
It spells out circumstances under which the waiver could be invoked.
Mr Kimpton ran over and killed Ruvarashe Takamhanya who was staying with her grandmother, Gogo Beaular Machingura (63).
While the diplomat, through the US embassy, contributed some money towards the funeral wake, nothing was subsequently heard from him. Mr Kimpton has not even had the courtesy of meeting the bereaved family to console them nor did he come to see where the deceased was buried.
