Pretoria - South Africa is obliged under international law to probe alleged atrocities by officials in Zimbabwe, the North Gauteng High Court ruled on Tuesday.
Judge Hans Fabricius ordered the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute the Zimbabweans concerned if they ever set foot in South Africa.
The officials are accused of masterminding "crimes against humanity" by instituting a state-sanctioned reign of terror in their country.
South Africa was obliged to investigate and prosecute international crimes under the Rome Statute and under its own international criminal laws, said Fabricius.
"I hereby hand down a mandatory order, with costs, which obliges the respondents [National Directorate of Public Prosecutions and SA Police Service] to investigate the docket before them."
'Moral victory'
The court action was brought by the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) and the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum (ZEF).
They had asked the court to review and set aside a decision by the NDPP and the SAPS not to investigate Zimbabwean officials linked to the alleged torture.
The offences under scrutiny included a raid by Zimbabwe's police on the Harare offices of the then opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The MDC claimed its members were detained and continually tortured.
SALC and ZEF representatives in court were elated at what they described as a "trend-setting ruling".
Zimbabwean human rights lawyer and ZEF head Gabriel Shumba said the ruling had "far-reaching effects" and was "very welcome".
"As a victim of torture myself, this is a victory for all people who suffer injustice not only in Zimbabwe, but across the world," he said.
"The ruling has proved that there are jurisdictions where victims can fight to enforce their right, or at least be heard."
Shumba hoped the relationship between Zimbabwean and South African government officials would not stand in the way of the ruling.
