The Zimbabwe Situation

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Thinking of Roy Bennett today

My thoughts are with everyone in Zimbabwe today, but especially with Roy Bennett, who has spent yet another day in a filthy prison cell in Mutoko. In the last parliamentary elections Roy stood as an MP for the Chimanimani constituency and he won a resounding victory in what was previously a zanu stronghold. The fact that he was a completely ordinary white farmer, supported by a rural black majority, annoyed the zanu government beyond belief. How dare someone they'd branded as a 'traitor' be so popular among a population group they'd described as 'land hungry and fed up with farmers'? Roy's popularity and decency exploded the myth they tried to create.

I wonder if Roy could ever have imagined in those heady days of victory what he, his family and his constituents would endure at the hands of an vengeful, violent and vicious zanupf government in the four years that would follow? Could he have ever imagined that he'd be spending the next election day in a filthy jail cell - incarcerated outside a court of law - for a trivial trivial 'crime'?

Today must be so hard for him: the painful memories, the horrendous injustice, being isolated from the country on a day like this, and he must be torn with anxiety over not knowing how Heather, his wife, is faring in her fight to stand in his place today and make sure that the will of the people is preserved in Chimanimani.

It takes an extraordinary person to stand up to Mugabe and his government of thugs. Roy has done so time and time again. And the people of Chimanimani have stood alongside him through it all. We and the world need to step forward and protect our heros when they are hunted and hurt. Because without people as extraordinary as Roy, the rest of us don't stand a chance; neither does democracy. Roy and Heather Bennett's story is a profound example of what fighting for justice and freedom is really all about.

The world is watching today. We know in Zimbabwe that when the buzz is over the world's attention drifts very quickly onto new stories in different parts of the world, and that we are suddenly in the dark and forgotten all over again. If the unthinkable (predictable) happens, and zanu steals yet another election from the people, please don't shrug your shoulders and move on. Please don't forget about Roy. Please read his story and join us in the fight for his freedom.

I need a good nail specialist!

I got up bright and early this morning, met up with other family members and off we went to vote! We queued happily at our chosen polling station. It opened 25 minutes late – not a good start! There was a lot of grumbling from the small gathering but everyone was patient and eventually the lines started moving. The very young policemen that was manning the door, did his bit in between checking his cell phone messages. Finally, it was my turn! Damn and blast! I was told that I am no longer on that voters roll so must have been moved into a different constituency.

Back in the car and off down the road to a polling station in the next door suburb. The feeling there is very different there. The queue is longer (not surprisingly as it is now nearly an hour later). The friendly policemen greets us and assists us with instructions on which line to join. There is general chit-chat and thank goodness, shade from the African sun! A while later, I leave – pink finger and all!

Now we wait. My friends have been phoning continuously. Some have reports of low turnout while others are still in queues. I wonder if the SA Election Observer could pass on the name of the nail specialist. I am going to need it after today!!

A suprise visitor for Selina

My pinky is cerise pink, I voted at 7.35am. The police officer at our polling station was smiling and helpful. I was pleased to see the election officers jumping around and phoning other stations to try and find out if people whose names weren’t on the voters’ roll for that constituency, were perhaps registered in another constituency. I see these government workers itching to do the right thing. I just hope the situation remains calm in the rural areas, although I fear the rigging is at full swing there.

Selina phoned me this morning from the bottle store in her village. She said that many of the MDC polling agents had been sent back to town, she didn’t know why. She also said that there has been some intimidation from war vets. She is going to try and come home today if she can get transport and I will update you with her stories.

She's in for such a surprise, because we've got a visitor! Selina’s son arrived at the house an hour ago. She doesn’t even know he’s in the country. He left for South Africa two years ago to help his family keep body and soul together. He came back yesterday, ESPECIALLY TO VOTE!!!

I am so proud of him. He hates Johannesburg, living in a gangster ridden neighbourhood and he wants to stay at home. I hope he will be able to, we need committed young guys to be here at home to rebuild our poor country.

Go Gwanda Go! : Sokwanele Update #3

By 1pm today it was confirmed that 16 000 people had cast their votes in Gwanda Constituency.

Go Gwanda Go!

It's illegal to campaign today...but that doesn't stop zanu

The vote is actually under way now, and therefore imagine my surprise when I received a phone call a few minutes ago from none other than Joshua Malinga the ZANU-PF candidate for Bulawayo East constituency. I hasten to add that I don’t know the gentleman personally. What, I asked myself, could the candidate want to speak to me about ? A wrong number perhaps ? But no, Mr Malinga just wanted to ask me to go out and vote for him. I ask you ! He must have got my number from the telephone directory.

Never mind that it’s illegal for the candidates to campaign on the day – how desperate must Mr Malinga, and ZANU-PF, be to organize a phone around.

I paused, laughed and said “you must be joking !”

My vote for the MDC’s Welshman Ncube.

Still moving the goal posts : Sokwanele Update #2

Reports reaching us from a number of activists in different locations around the country indicate that, contrary to the electoral ground rules set down by zanu-pf, presiding officers are now being instructed not to publish the results of poll immediately following the completion of the vote count at each polling station. Instead presiding officers are now under instructions to convey the results to the constituency centers and to await authorization from the Harare command center before releasing the results to the public.

Our informant in Binga reports that presiding officers in that constituency have been ordered to lock the polling stations at the close of polling and withdraw all means of communication from agents to ensure that nothing is communicated. This means that the results will not be published at the polling stations when the vote has been completed. The presiding officers are under instructions not to communicate any information about the poll until the consolidated result for the whole constituency has been verified and announced centrally. This is a major departure from the electoral procedures laid down by law.

This information has been confirmed for us by an undercover source in the Hwange East constituency.

Once again zanu-pf are moving the goal posts – this time while the game is in progress.

Observing, or filing nails....?

My daughter said I need to tell people about what happened to me yesterday. I went to get my nails done at the Meikles’ beauty salon where I struck up a conversation with a charming South African woman. Finally I asked her why she was in Zimbabwe and she said she was an election observer. I was most surprised as she was booked in for nail sculpting which takes at least two hours. I thought they were supposed to be out assessing the situation.

Kickstarting my self-respect !

Went for a walk last Friday. It was long overdue – not because I need exercise, but because I needed to kickstart my self-respect again. I’ve worked with the Opposition in Zim over the past five years, but as Mugabe’s law-mongers have hacked away at anything that looks like a human right, I’ve tended to go further underground. The fresh air was wonderful! I was proud to walk alongside His Grace, Archbishop Pius Ncube as he lead the way around the streets of Bulawayo – God and our rights to the fore! Thank you Your Grace for showing me the light again! Watch out Bob – I’m on a roll again!

Sokwanele urges the public to report any irregularities

OBSERVER TEAMS 2005 ELECTION
Name of Observer Team Contact Person Contact Number/s

SADC: +263 91 244 593
ANC: +27 82 855 3249

MDC COMMAND CENTRE LINES
These lines are open to supporters to obtain information and make reports. Report any challenges you may encounter, which will be attended immediately on our hotlines, which are available 24 hours a day:

Harare:(+263 4) 793259, 793260, 781139, 773142, 793250
Bulawayo: (+263 9) 75233, 884080

Please PRINT THIS OUT NOW and put next to your telephone, and distribute by whatever means to as many people as you can. Thank you – MDC

CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE COALITION ELECTION INFORMATION CENTRE
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Election information centre (24/7 – open until 4 April 2005)
091 288 605
091 907 235;
011 612 860;
011 603 439;
011 755 600;
091 956 570;
091 266 430;
011 862 269;
011 862 804 or
Harare (04) 793263

Let's pretend there's fuel in the country - or not!

This Zim government will do anything to hold together their patchwork of lies and deceit! I was just speaking to someone who works for a large Bulawayo transport company. He said that on Thursday last week (24th March) the fuel companies were issued with a Ministerial directive to stop fuel supplies to all transport companies and other large consumers. Instead they were to supply to filling stations in and around Bulawayo until the elections were over! Well, its’s election day, and there still isn’t fuel readily available from the filling stations. Doesn’t that tell you all? What desperate manipulation! What a direct admission of failure of the zanupf regime!

Bravery and laughter

Our domestic worker (whom we fondly call Gogo – “granny” in Ndebele) came in this morning – laughing her head off. She has just come back from an Easter break with her family in Nkayi. Her first anecdote was from a zanupf rally held near her rural home.

The speaker had thundered away at the crowd for some time, then shouted “What has MDC done for you over the past five years?”. One very brave soul got up and retorted “What has zanupf done for us over the past TWENTY-FIVE years?”, at which the crowd collapsed into laughter, and started to drift away.

She also told us that she had got into commuter bus together with a staunch woman zanupf supporter. She lives quite close to us, and every now and then they hold wild noisy parties. That day, however, she was fuming and very unhappy indeed. She had a whole pile of zanupf T-shirts which she was finding impossible to give away – the people only wanted MDC T-shirts!

Happy voter, happy hoarder!

My wife always shouts at me that I never throw anything away. Today I proved her wrong, because when I finally got to the front of the queue at the Polling Station I was told I did not appear on the voters roll. I was stumped because my wife was there and not me. Like a magician I whipped out my original receipt signed, sealed and handed to me by the registration authorities. They had no choice, they had to let me vote. Strike one to us.

... very, very slooow

Well, I have voted. We went to the polling station at the school in my area and there must have been about 100 people waiting to vote. The atmosphere was pretty festive and even saw lots of whiteys, as cross as I am with the ostriches. The Election Agent checking the voters’ roll was ever so slow. I have spoken to lots of other people and it seems to be characteristic of the whole town, very, very slooow. It felt so good to put that X in the right place.

My mother of 84 rang me at 5am to ask why I wasn’t up and queueing, she was already dressed and on her way to her local station. Revving to see change at her age!

Sokwanele Update #1

So far voter turn out has been high in urban centers, but the voting process is slow and cumbersome. There have been several incidents whereby people previously registered are either struck off the voters’ roll or have been moved to another constituency.

Several reports have come in from the rural areas that MDC Election Agents are being barred from taking up their posts for a variety of excuses. Bubi-Umguza, under the infamous zanupf candidate, is a prime example as we have received information that the majority of MDC Election Agents have been turned away.

“Who is auntie Blair?”

The funniest and most encouraging things I've heard this week are: 1) lots of people are asking "Who is auntie Blair?"- having a go at ZANU PF's big "Anti-Blair Campaign". And 2) Village headmen who have been telling villagers that they need to line up behind the headmen in the polling booths have apparently been told: "we'll line up, but we're going to need 2 lines: one for you headmen and another for all the rest of us!"

A story that encapsulates many aspects of things happened yesterday: a young white Zimbabwean friend of mine was driving past a group of party activists that looked like they were putting up MDC signs on a wall, so my friend slowed down and greeted them with the open palm salute of the MDC, accompanied by the slogan "Chinja!". Much to his surprise and consternation, the group was actually ZANU-PF youths that were taking down the MDC signs! But although they began cursing him vehemently and he drove off in a frightened hurry, that was the end of the incident, which in past elections he would have been lucky to escape without serious injury.

Voting begins

At sunrise this morning there were already long winding queues of people waiting to cast their votes.

Langa can kiss goodbye Insiza!

At business centre I had a few drinks with people who told me openly that zanu pf is dead but they do not trust that MDC will win. They know that zanu pf has never won any election but wondered as to how MDC can win this time? Langa’s men are toasting about this issue. They pointed out that people in the south are the threatened people. We will continue supporting the peoples party (MDC) in this area. Langa can kiss goodbye Insiza!

Reported from a Sok activist on the ground in the Insiza District. Name withheld for security.