In an important ruling earlier this year, a South African court considered the interaction between complementarity and universal jurisdiction in a case involving allegations of torture in Zimbabwe, which is not party to the International Criminal Court. At present, the Supreme Court of Appeal has granted South African authorities a hearing on whether to grant leave to appeal (or not) but no hearing date has been set. This Insight reviews the South African case and highlights some key legal issues, including complementarity in a universal jurisdiction context and the immunities afforded to foreign officials under customary international law.