The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Photos from the MDC human rights protest outside the South African Embassy in London on 20th April 2002 - Click HERE
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Scotland on Sunday


Zimbabwe’s terror goes on


WE CAN’T seem to focus on more than one horror at a time. Perhaps we are
only able to take so much, or it may be that the relentless appetite of news
agendas dictates that yesterday’s disaster has to be jettisoned in favour of
today’s new sensation. At the moment, of course, our obsession is with the
West Bank, and the terrible events unfolding in Jenin and Chabril.

But bad news in other places does not disappear just because our attention
has shifted elsewhere. It grinds on remorselessly, awaiting its next summons
to the headlines of our impatient media.

I keep in touch with friends in Zimbabwe, a country with which we are
inextricably linked, but which has vanished from the foreign pages ever
since the rigged elections which allowed Robert Mugabe back into power last
month. My friends, whom I cannot identify because it would be far too
dangerous for them, are white farmers in the north of the country. I’ll call
them Robert and Mary. They have lived there for close on two generations,
and consider themselves Zimbabwean first, British second. They love their
country with a deep and abiding passion. But they know that their days are
numbered. The threats and violence from the so-called war veterans who lurk
outside the gates of their farm come closer every day. They hang on more
through true grit than with any confidence that things will get better. They
are responsible not just for their own security but for the black workers
who depend on them, and Mary calculates that they feed close on 150 mouths
every day. She is only too aware that if she and Robert leave, their workers
will be exposed to the revenge of the thugs from Zanu PF.

What comes across, however, in our telephone conversations is a brisk,
no-nonsense cheerfulness which is instantly familiar and undeniably British.
They sound as I imagine people did during the war, when they talked of
standing up to the Nazi menace - and making the best of it. When Mary
admitted the other day that they had fetched their suitcases down from the
attic, just in case they had to make a swift exit, she couldn’t help adding:
"Well, the place needed a good clear-out." They live with fear from day to
day, but they talk about it in the same matter-of-fact way that we might
complain that the post was late or the train was cancelled. Not so long ago
they watched a neighbouring farm being put to the torch. Their workers are
regularly seized, interrogated and beaten up. They keep in touch with a
network of friends and regularly hear about atrocities, which sometimes
include murder.

It is, however, the erosion of civil liberties and the naked corruption of a
country that once boasted civilised values that still shocks those who live
there, and maybe the comparison with Nazi persecution is not so wide of the
mark. I have just been reading the brilliant novel Austerlitz by W G Sebald,
which contains a description of Prague after the occupation, when
anti-Jewish persecution began. The way that the pressure was gradually
stepped up against anyone who infringed an increasingly baffling set of
rules sounded just like the violence directed against farmers in Zimbabwe.
Sebald describes "the invisible terrors beneath which the City of Prague lay
cowering... the perversion of the law under the Germans, the acts of
violence they committed daily… you could be condemned to death for a
trifle."

There is one difference, however - the Germans were methodical in the way
they tightened the rules. In Zimbabwe the violence is random . On one level,
the country still has a legal framework - a police force, judges, a code of
law. But they are routinely exploited and perverted. Robert and Mary, like
most of their persecuted friends, receive a newsletter three times a week
containing a catalogue of recent attacks, threats and acts of intimidation.
It is chilling in its detail and the almost banal terror it records.
"Sometimes I cannot bring myself to read it," says Mary, and I can see what
she means.

Here are just a few extracts: Harare South - war vets harass the owner’s
wife and force her to chant Zanu PF slogans… Canterbury - war vets demand
funds for victory celebration, beat up foreman and others on the farm…
Featherstone - farmer told not to milk his dairy cattle, forced off farm.
Workers intimidated and fear to return. Mashonaland - farmer given 24 hours
to leave his land, despite the fact that it has not been ‘designated’.
Police refuse to intervene. Masvingo - war vets deliberately scare cattle,
causing cow to break its leg, then run the entire herd into the next one,
which was infected with contagious abortion. The entire herd had to be
slaughtered. Matabeleland - a scorched earth policy, aimed at driving
farmers off their land. Self-appointed war vet leader claims farm as his
own. Water supplies critical. Gwanda - wildlife poaching increased, 35
giraffes snared and killed.

That was only a small sample of the incidents that make daily life in
Zimbabwe a combination of terror and evil. Their banality does little to
undermine their impact, and the corruption is endemic. The best farms are
handed over not to deserving citizens but as rewards for ministers, civil
servants and judges in the Mugabe administration. There is no lack of young
Zimbabweans coming out of agricultural college in Harare who would be
delighted to take on and farm some of the land that has already been seized.
But they receive no help, and all too often the land stands derelict and
unused. A once great agricultural economy is on its knees.

There is, of course, real bitterness at the failure of the West to respond
to the rigging of the elections which returned Mugabe to power. The stories
of intimidation and straightforward fraud are still going the rounds, and a
letter from one white woman who has been collecting evidence sums up the
frustration of those who now face another six years of dictatorship and
fear. "Do not believe for a moment that the rural people vote for Mugabe,"
she writes. "They simply did not vote - so Mugabe’s men did it for them.
Quite easy when you have arranged that there is no MDC [the opposition
party] representation at the polling booths, so there is no check on the
boxes. The roads to the polling stations were lined with militia in red
berets. There was a large element of terror tactics at work." That terror is
still in force, and the fact that it has faded from the headlines does not
mean it has lessened.

When governments turn their face away from violence and corruption there is
not a great deal that the ordinary citizen can do. The only thing we can
contribute, the only comfort we can offer, is to ensure that the spotlight
does not die away altogether. The terror that is being inflicted on the
white farmers and the black workers of Zimbabwe by this evil and oppressive
regime is a daily reality. The least we can do is to remind the world what
is happening.
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Sunday, 21 April, 2002, 05:42 GMT 06:42 UK
Zimbabwe facing further drought

International aid officials have warned that Zimbabwe could face another
drought in the coming year because of a possible lack of rainfall during the
rainy season beginning in November.

A United States-based aid agency, the Famine Early Warning System Network
said warm sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, usually associated
with poor rainfall in Southern Africa, were beginning to develop.

Zimbabwe is already struggling to cope with a critical food shortage and has
been importing grain.

The agency warned that the number of people relying on outside food aid
could increase from just over 500,000 to 2.5m in the next few months.

The United Nations Food Programme blames the food shortages in Zimbabwe on a
combination of factors, including the effects of the government's land
reform programme, economic hardship, and drought in key areas.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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Libyans arm twist state over land 
 
By Chengetai Zvauya
 
THE Libyan government has arm-twisted President Robert Mugabe into surrendering an additional 10 000 hectares of prime farm land as part payment for fuel supplies from the north African country, The Standard has established.
 
In addition to the land, Mugabe has proposed giving the Libyans a block of flats in Harare, reliable sources told The Standard last week.
Mugabe is said to have made these concessions to his Libyan counterpart, Muammar Gaddafi, during his recent visit to Tripoli.
According to the agreement between the two countries, Tripoli supplies fuel to Harare in exchange for assets within the foreign currency starved southern African country.
Prior to this latest development, Zimbabwe had already surrendered thousands of hectares of prime farmland to the Libyans and allowed them to buy shares in companies where government has a stake.
Libya bailed Zimbabwe out of a crippling fuel crisis in 2001 when it provided a US$360 million credit facility which guarantees fuel supplies to Zimbabwe until August this year.
During Gaddafi's visit to Zimbabwe last year, the Libyan leader toured some of the farms which Mugabe had proposed to surrender to his country.
Following the tour, some 8 000 hectares of industrial and farming land were allocated to Libya, whose business entrepreneurs indicated that they would produce fruit and crops on the land for the purpose of export to the north Africa country.
They also expressed interest in venturing into business with local farming and manufacturing companies.
Most of the Libyan companies which supply fuel to the country had threatened to discontinue the supplies following the failure the country to pay the debt because of foreign currency, shortages. According to their agreement, if Zimbabwe does not pay in assets it must do so in foreign currency but this is not available.
Efforts by Mugabe to settle the outstanding debt in exchange for beef were rejected by the Libyans who insisted on receiving land instead.
The Libyans, who supply 70% of the country's fuel requirements, were also reluctant to import Zimbabwean beef because of the suspension of exports to the European Union following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Matabeleland last year.
As part of the barter deal between the two countries, the Libyans have also acquired the government's 70% stake in the Oil Blending Company of Zimbabwe. Initially, a French company, Oil Invest, which has a 30% stake in the blending company, was poised to take over the government's shares, but the deal was scuttled at the last minute when Libya expressed interest in the company.
Zimbabwe has been experiencing an acute foreign currency shortage for the past two years with foreign investors shunning the country because of the prevailing lawlessness.
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Independence flame blows out 
 
By Itai Dzamara
 
IN what traditionalists have described as a bad omen, the Independence flame blew out as soon as it had been lit by President Mugabe on Thursday at the occasion to mark the country's 22nd birthday.
 
As Mugabe was walking away from the torch which symbolises Zimbabwe's independence, the flame blew out and he had to return to light it for the second time.
Superstition has it that the blowing out of such a flame signifies an unpleasant happening. Generally, it is viewed as symbolising the end of an era.
Peter Sibanda, the secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (Zinatha), said the blowing out of a flame or fire symbolised the plunging of society into darkness.
"When a fire or light blows out, it means there is no guidance or light, only darkness, but this is not politics," he said.
The outspoken Zinatha leader also questioned why traditional leaders were always being left out of national events. "Traditional leaders are not being included in the country's affairs. Only the government and Christians are. We wonder why we are being disregarded," he said, adding: "Was there an agreement during the war that when power was obtained, the spirit mediums would be left out?" 
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Mengistu relocates 
 
By Chengetai Zvauya
 
FORMER Ethiopian president, Haile Mariam Mengistu, has left his Gunhill mansion for a farm in Mazowe, after being advised by Zimbabwe state security agents that his Harare residence had become a security risk, The Standard has established.
 
Mengistu's family, which fled Ethiopia in 1991 in fear of reprisals from political opponents, has been residing in Zimbabwe under a diplomatic status accorded them by his long time friend, Robert Mugabe.
When The Standard visited Mengestu's mansion in Garvin Close last week, it learnt that Mengistu had moved out last month, although some members of his family were still residing there.
Home affairs minister John Nkomo was unable to shed light into circumstances surrounding the Ethiopian's relocation.
"I do not know anything about that. I will have to refer you to the police protection unit which deals with the matter," Nkomo told The Standard.
However, the head of the Police Protection Unit, Senior Assistant Commissioner Wilson Changara, could not be reached for comment.
Mengistu fled Addis Ababa on 22 April 1991, after being toppled in a popular uprising. The current Ethiopian government wants the former president to be repatriated to face charges of genocide.
On arrival in Harare, Mugabe was quick to provide Mengistu with 24-hour armed security from the Presidential Guard, as well as a villa in Gunhill. Entry into Mengestu's street is restricted to visitors with appointments.
 
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Mugabe's Merc arrives 
 
By our own Staff
 
PRESIDENT Mugabe's state-of-the-art limousine, a customised armoured Mercedes Benz S600 LV AMG (Pullman size), has arrived in the country, The Standard has learnt.
 
Mugabe's vehicle arrived together with two Mercedes Benz S320 saloons ordered for his two vice presidents, and 19 presidential escort trucks. A third S320 has already been allocated to Emmerson Mnangagwa, the speaker of parliament. The total value of the vehicles is estimated at over $250 million.
Government last year floated a tender resolution TBR 0751 for the supply of vehicles for top government officials.
Mugabe's Merc, which was manufactured to personal specifications in Germany by the company Cloer, was transported into the country from South Africa.
Dr Swithun Mombeshora, the minister of transport and communication, confirmed that the vehicles had been procured.
"We were given directives by the president's office last year and we made a request to the tender board to bid for the resolution. The rest of the details can be provided by the ministry of finance and economic development as it is not the responsibility of my ministry," he told The Standard.
Efforts to obtain comment from the finance ministry were unsuccessful at the time of going to press.
The president's office requested Cloer to bullet proof Mugabe's limousine to the highest level possible, that of B7 Dragunov high level protection.
Intelligence sources told The Standard that upon arrival, Mugabe's limo was taken to a local garage where it was swept for bugs.
 
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Targets of a dictatorship  

localinsight By Chenjerai Hove

MANY years ago, Zimbabweans used to regard Malawi as a country brought into dictatorship by the ignorance of its people.

The lesson we have learnt in Zimbabwe is that dictatorship does not just arise. It creeps in slowly, like a snake creeping into your house.
The fact of the matter is that Zimbabwe is now in a state of dictatorship. How do dictatorship behave, we may ask?
The first targets of any dictatorship are journalists and the media. The dictator wants reality to be changed in his/her favour. One such dictator in South America decreed that it was illegal for journalists to quote people not qualified on the subject.
It meant that even in the case of an accident, a journalist could not quote an eye-witness who was not an expert on car accidents. If he did so, he was jailed for a long time.
Geoff Nyarota is a journalist who has been targeted. New laws are being made in order to turn him into a criminal. Nyarota has refused to paint reality in the colours prescribed by the dictatorship. Nyarota is made to appear like a criminal, and I wonder if at times his children are not confused by this.
Aha, that is part of the agenda of dictators: to make your immediate family feel that you are a criminal and should be in jail. How many of our wives have been recruited into the secret service? That is subject to speculation but it is one of the workings of a dictatorship.
In the eyes of a dictator, the reality is what he alone sees. If a flying bird suddenly perches on a tree, the dictator will want you to say the bird is still flying. He wants the journalist to write that the world is dark and miserable without him.
So, the first item on the agenda of a dictatorship, is to subdue the media so that the kind of things written about the dictator are such claims as that he is responsible for bringing the rain. His praise-singers and flatterers will enhance that message by telling him that he is even in charge of the air we breathe. Church women actually convert songs in praise of Jesus Christ into songs in praise of the dictator. Traditional leaders change the songs in praise of ancestors into songs in praise of the dictator.
As far as the dictator is concerned, reality is only what he sees and dreams about. The piece of sky he sees is the only one which everyone must see. The moon too, is dictated by him. If there is no moon, he wants journalists to write that he has brought the moon and it is somewhere in the sky. Those who do not see it perish. Those who see it are allowed a permanent place under the sky.
One dictator ordered that all books be burnt in the public square, in full view of the writers and the public. The lesson he wanted them to learn was that fiction was dangerous and had be left out of the popular imagination.
But the writers were happy because the dictator instructed his flatterers and praise-singers to buy all the books in the shops and burn them. At least the writers received their royalties!
One thing a dictator needs is space, I mean physical as well as imaginative space. The problem is that he does not have much of an imagination. He thinks state house is the end of the world; he thinks what he sees is the only thing to see; he thinks reality is painted only in the colours of his choice; he thinks all the songs and poems of the country should be those in praise of his health and he seriously believes that he does not fall ill like normal humans.
I recall being very frightened when I first heard the late Ndemera's slogan in praise of President Mugabe. It went like this:

VaMugabe havafi
Kana vakafa havaori
Kana vakaora havanhuwi
(President Mugabe does not die
If he dies, he does not decay
If he decays, he will not smell)

Oh my God, how can a man come out with such rotten thinking?
All dictators love such lies. They love to listen to their liars telling them the wonders of their fictitious achievements even when they have not achieved much in life. Lies are at the core of the dictator's existence for without lies, they are lost in the world of power.
The other day, a man was writing that the president used to be a good fighter even when he was herding cattle, boxing the others and forever winning.
I know from being the son of a farmer that you cannot box everyone and win all the time. I even tell my friends of how I once challenged a big boy called Julius and how he beat the hell out of me. I lost the fight and many others while he won some and lost others. That is what life is about. You cannot always win as dictators would have us believe.
One word which does not exist in a dictator's vocabulary is 'sorry'. No, they never make mistakes, so they have nothing to apologise about. While they hate fiction, they themselves live a lie which is worse than fiction! They have lies and historical fabrications about achievements, never any failures.
Dictators also like enemies, including fake ones. They will manufacture an enemy just like that; mobilising the population against an enemy whom only they see. One day it is Tony Blair, the next day it is the commercial farmers and the next it is people without totems. The reality of our situation in Zimbabwe, this beautiful piece of earth, is that we are now living under a dictatorship. We have to live this pain, and the pain is there for those who can see it.
The lesson of life is that those who inflict pain on others usually do not want it themselves.

Chenjerai Hove is a renowned Zimbabwean writer.

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Zanu PF set to intensify propaganda 
 
By our own Staff
 
ZIMBABWEANS should brace up for yet another media empire that will churn out raw Zanu PF propaganda, complementing the efforts of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and Zimpapers.
 
At a time when the public media is fast losing ground to the independent press, the Department of Information and Publicity in the President's Office has intensified moves that will culminate in the launching of New Ziana (NZ), a government owned multimedia organisation, in the coming few weeks.
According to plans, NZ, a wholly government owned private company, will have three strategic business units: a news agency, a radio and television station and a community publishing unit in a venture that is expected to cost taxpayers up to $10 billion.
The news agency is set to recruit highly skilled journalists who will write stories that Zanu PF hopes will take away the market from established organisations such as Reuters and AFP, which have been accused by the government of writing falsehoods about Zimbabwe.
It will ensure that the outside world gets stories with a Zimbabwean point of view. The 24 hour-radio station will churn out official news while the satellite television will beam its Zimbabwean propaganda further from Zimbabwe's borders.
The community publishing section, dubbed New Ziana Community Publishing, will take over the five newspapers: Masvingo Star, The Times, Indosakusa Ilanga, Chaminuka Manicaland News and the Guardian Telegraph. Three more titles will be added to this section to ensure that the papers, written in the vernacular, reach all in Zimbabwe. Nearly all Zimbabwean languages will find space in the eight newspapers, which will all be weeklies.
An earlier plan to acquire Kwayedza from Zimpapers and revive Umthunya was dropped due to unclear reasons. A brainchild of Professor Jonathan Moyo, who is eager to create a new information order friendly to Zanu PF, the new company has been on the drawing board for the past 12 months, but has failed to materialise due to the shortage of funds. Sources close to the Department of Information and Publicity told The Standard it was only a matter of weeks before the new company was launched.
"It's not a matter for debate anymore, preparations are at an advanced stage and you will hear about the launch anytime from now," said a source.
The modalities that will see the merging of the old Ziana and the Community Newspapers Group (CNG), are being worked by a board that was appointed last month. Headed by businessman Munacho Mutezo, Zanu PF's secretary for administration in Manicaland province, the board includes Dr Rino Zhuwarara, Elizabeth Karonga, former Chronicle editor Stephan Mpofu, Ngugi waMirii, Engineer David Chikowore and Sally Ntabeni, a Midlands State University lecturer.
Mutezo told Ziana recently that NZ would be launched soon after formalities of registering it as a private company wholly owned by the government and appointment of key staff have been made.
Said Mutezo: "The vision of the organisation is whereby it becomes the cutting edge in news provision and preferred source of news on the government and the national point of view. The New Ziana will concentrate on nation building and the healing process, particularly as we look at the post independence election, and also to input the development process and the general wellbeing."
Sources told The Standard that NZ, which is expected to recruit over 200 journalists, will give the government a wide platform to disseminate its policies in the face of increased opposition from dissenting news organisations that have gained considerable ground in the country.
Moyo has not made the intentions of the NZ secret. Last year he held several meetings with editors of Ziana and Community Newspapers where he drove the message home that the organisation would be pro-government.
Without mincing his words, Moyo said any editor who was not willing to toe the Zanu PF line the NZ was free to leave the organisation and start his own newspaper, radio or television station.
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Teachers victimised 
 
By our own Staff
 
THE ministry of education, sport and culture has started dismissing teachers and education officials who were blacklisted by war veterans and Zanu PF supporters during the presidential election campaign period, The Standard has learnt.
 
Already several teachers, suspected to be supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, are no longer on the payroll of the Public Service Commission (PSC) and many more have received suspension letters, pending dismissal.
Nearly all teachers who fled their schools due political violence are being reported to be on a list that was complied by war veterans and the Zanu PF militia. This move has caused anxiety among teachers who are not sure who is next in the firing line.
Two regional directors and a number of officials at the ministry's head office have also received a retirement request from the PSC. One of the officials who preferred not to be named said: "It's true that I am one of the affected. The request was made under Section 18.4(g) of the Public Service Regulations of 2000, which empowers the PSC to ask employees to retire if it's in the interest of the public service."
Under these regulations, an employee is notified of termination of service three months in advance.Worried by this development the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) says it will urgently seek an an audience with the minister of education, sport and culture, Aeneas Chigwe-dere.
Zimta's first vice- president, Erisson Huruba, told The Standard ahead of the organisation's 21st Annual National Conference in Bulawayo last week that they had received many reports of teachers whose services had been terminated, or replaced in circumstances that are not clear.
"Although we are still to finalise the issue, the feeling here is that we will have to take up the issue with the minister who has indicated his willingness to discuss the issue," he said.
A teacher who attended the congress said: "War veterans and Zanu PF activists have compiled a long list of teachers they claim were supporting MDC during the past presidential election. Many of these teachers are now out of employment."
President Mugabe has vowed that all civil servants who were involved in opposition politics will be dismissed from the service.
 
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Zanu PF militia hijack police duties 
 
By Kumbirai Mafunda
 
ZANU PF youths hijacked the manning of the main gates to the National Sports Stadium during the Independence Day celebrations on Thursday.
 
The youths, clad in Zanu PF regalia, reduced police officers to mere spectators as they took on the manning of the gates and the searching and screening of entrants.
The Standard witnessed 'inappropriately dressed' people being harassed by the militias, while those in Zanu PF regalia received preferential treatment.
Said a visibly distraught Tendai Chirenje of Highfield: "I lost $1 000 at the gate. They forced me to surrender my wallet saying they were searching for weapons and knives, and when they returned it, my money was missing."
The youths also interrogated those who arrived after President Mugabe had delivered his speech, accusing them of not respecting the Zanu PF leader.
As has become the norm at Independence Day celebrations, a number of people arrived well after Mugabe's speech had been delivered, but in time for the main attraction, the soccer match between Dynamos and Highlanders. However, not everyone who arrived after the speech gained entry as the stadium gates were closed by 1pm. Those who did enter did so at the discretion of the militias, while others were turned away for giving unsatisfactory answers to questions asked.
Police spokesman, Chief Inspector Tarwirei Tirivavi, said there had been nothing irregular in the manning of the gates by the youths.
"Of course, if it is a political event politicians take over the manning of the gates. This happens at all political rallies, be it Zanu PF or MDC, their security take over," said Tirivavi.
On being reminded that the Independence Day celebrations were a national event, the police spokesman referred all questions to Zanu PF.
When contacted for comment, Saviour Kasukuwere, the deputy national chairman for the youth, said he was unaware of the incident. "I wasn't there, I was in Mount Darwin," he said. 
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'Keep an eye on Zimbabwe' 
 
By Kumbirai Mafunda
 
THE Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has expressed great concern over the human rights crisis in the country and the Zanu PF government's failure to uphold internationally-recognised freedoms following President Robert Mugabe's re-election.
 
The US-based organisation said the fact that the case of Zimbabwe seemed to have receded in importance in the US and Europe should not detract attention from the serious human rights violations still being committed throughout the country.
"The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights is extremely concerned that human rights and civil society groups seeking to exercise their basic rights to assemble and criticise the government of President Robert Mugabe are being prevented from doing so by threat of arrest, prosecution and physical attack," said the committee.
The committee cited the Public Order and Security Act as one of the weapons being used to muzzle anyone attempting to speak out against the government or to demonstrate.
Heavily armed soldiers, police and Zanu PF militia descended on members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) while they were attempting to demonstrate for a new constitution during the first week of April.
Lovemore Madhuku, the NCA chairman, and other members of the organisation, were arrested and charged under the Public Order and Security Act. They were accused of holding an illegal gathering.
"This legislation contains many provisions which are contrary to the international and regional human rights standards contained in instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party," said the committee.
The committee urged all states to ensure that Zimbabwe complied with international human rights laws. "All states must ensure that Zimbabwe complies with its obligations under international human rights law and its commitments through regional initiatives, such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Part of ensuring such compliance involves providing strong support to local civil society groups and human rights activists.Without the contribution of these people and organisations to democracy, rebuilding the rule of law and respect for human rights, Zimbabwe and the southern African region face an even bleaker future."
Individuals and organisations involved in the documentation and dissemination of the information on human rights abuses were commended for their work. "These individuals and groups must be protected and supported as they expose killings, torture, rape and arbitrary detention by government agents and advocate changes in legislation and government policies," said the lawyers. 
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Witch hunters create confusion over Aids 
 
By Euphracia Mahenga
 
SELF-proclaimed witch hunters operating under the name of Tsikamutanda, are creating havoc within families in Mawabeni village, 45km south of Bulawayo, as they seek to reduce the growing number of deaths among the young people which they attribute to witchcraft.
 
Their activities have caused confusion over how society perceives the Aids pandemic.
Instead of using the high death rates to instil Aids awareness in Mawabeni, the headman and the Tsikamutanda are attributing them to witchcraft.
The area is situated along a highway which links Bulawayo to South Africa and is frequented by long-distance truck drivers who operate internationally and engage in prostitution with the villagers.
Mawabeni is inhabited by the Sotho tribe who have managed to maintain their cultural beliefs and traditions including a deep-rooted faith in witchcraft.
Speaking to The Standard, one villager said the rising death count had prompted them to consult the Tsikamutanda to try to end the tragedy.
"The death rate has increased to such an extent that we are attending funerals almost on a daily basis. Worse, it is the young people who are dying. During our time, it was unheard of for the young to die so often, so we feel that the village needs to be cleansed to scare away these evils which are causing deaths among the youth," said the villager.
Another villager, identified only as Dzikamai, pointed to witchcraft as the main factor since all the young people affected seemed to exhibit the same symptoms before death.
"Our children are all dying in a similar way. They contract chronic dysentery, get thinner and eventually die. The only thing which could be causing this sickness is witchcraft and that is what we are trying to get rid of with the help of Tsikamutanda," said Dzikamai.
The resultant cleansing of the village by the Tsikamutanda, has seen many old women and widows being labelled witches responsible for the deaths of the youth. Those so branded find themselves isolated or ejected from the village, or having to take part in cleansing rituals which may involve being burnt to death. Nomagugu Dhliwayo told The Standard how her face and right arm had become deformed as a result of a Tsika-mutanda ritual.
"People were dying and the Tsikamutanda said I was responsible. They made me crouch over a bucket of boiling water and they covered me with a blanket. When I cried out that the steam was hurting me, I could hear the Tsikamutanda saying that the devil was being destroyed," said Nomagugu.
Another woman, Shuvai Ncube, was labelled a witch by Tsikamutanda and chased from the village.
"When my husband and two children died of Aids, my in-laws consulted the Tsikamutanda who later accused me of having bewitched them. I was later ejected from the village with practically nothing of value," said Ncube who is also from Mawabeni.
These revelations are just the tip of the iceberg for the Tsikamutanda have been operating in this village for almost a year now, resulting in the suffering of many women.
Zinatha secretary-general, Peter Sibanda, told The Standard that his organisation was opposed to the activities of the Tsikamutanda. "We tried to stop them but they would not listen. The problem is that they have the support of the chiefs and headmen, with whom they share the returns accumulated from the exorbitant fees they charge for their services. What they are doing is daylight robbery and people should not take them seriously," said Sibanda.
The Tsikamutandas have reportedly been given permission by government authorities to operate in the country. Efforts to obtain comment from any official in the organisation were fruitless. 
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Wutaunashe gives thumbs up to 'land reform' 
 
By Itai Dzamara
 
REV Andrew Wutaunashe, chairman of the Faith for the Nation campaign, a coalition of local churches aligned to the government, has reiterated his support for the chaotic Zanu PF land reform programme, describing it as a "Godly process" and the epitome of Zimbabwe's independence.
 
He said this during a sermon on Thursday at the Independence Day celebrations at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Despite emphasising the need for nation-building and political tolerance, Wutaunashe came out in support of the status quo and blamed the country's problems on what he said was the battering it was receiving on the international scene, as well as the fight for power inside the country and Zimbabweans' thirst for making unwarranted criticisms.
Said the evangelist, who claims to be a prophet: "This is not the time for people to be seeking power but to be uniting in building the nation."
He added that the talks between the ruling Zanu PF party and the opposition had to be pursued in the spirit of unity and nation-building.
Said Wutaunashe: "One politician said the two parties are as far apart as the North Pole and the South Pole, but I would like to remind the nation that it is these poles which bind the earth together." He was referring here to comments made on the talks by the minister of information and publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo.
Towards the end of his sermon, he emphatically declared: "Forward with the land struggle," a slogan which was at the centre of the Zanu PF election campaign.
He said he noted with pride how some families which had before looked gloomy and desperate, were suddenly looking hopeful and happy at the prospect of gaining land in the on-going land reform exercise.
The much-criticised fast-track programme which involved the arbitrary acquisition of commercial land by Zanu PF supporters, is generally blamed for the country's current economic mess. Mugabe has accused the predominantly white commercial farmers of bankrolling the opposition MDC.
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You know you are in Zimbabwe when... 
 
 
YOU know you are in Zimbabwe when people who are peacefully demonstrating are suddenly descended upon by anti-riot police and accused of breaching the Public Order Security Act.
 
Who is disturbing public order here, the one marching peacefully or the one beating up a peaceful demonstrator?
You know you are in Zimbabwe when you spend half the day in a mealie meal or cooking oil queue and when the delivery at last arrives, policeman and soldiers jump the queue and you go back home empty-handed.
You know you are in Zimbabwe when the only songs you hear being played during commercials are political songs by Chinx, Bryn Mteki and Joshua, the white son of the soil.
You know you are in Zimbabwe when people of the private media snub an invitation to comment on public media and when all criticism is put on the opposition political party by what is supposed to be our national television.
You know you are in Zimbabwe when you hear that the chief executive officer of the ZBC, known for its anti-gay stance, is caught in a homosexual act at a restaurant.
Zimbabwe is truly a country of wonder.
 
Wisdom Mangwiro
Gweru
 

 

 
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A constitution should mirror our beliefs 
 
(sundayopinion By Frank Matandirotya)
 
At the height of peril to his own nation, Winston Churchill spoke of the darkest hour. Today, we join together as a nation to pray for the political victims lost during the darkest days of our history.
 
We pray and mourn for the children who now go to bed without their mothers and fathers. We pray for the mothers and fathers who have lost the children they loved. We pray also for a nation united in politically-inflicted grief. For we know that the freedom we so cherish as a people and for which many sacrificed their lives, exposes us to the wicked, the murderous and the cowardly forces of hate.
The year 2000 will always be known as the beginning of the day when a dark cloud descended over Zimbabwe. But clouds always pass. And the sun always breaks through. And we know as Zimbabweans that God's light will again shine across this land and that our free and strong people's will, shall prevail. The forces of evil which are committing political atrocities, have caused pain that will last for generations, pain that has claimed the lives of innocent men, women and children. But evil never prevails. Freedom, despite its vulnerability, will always prevail.
Zimbabwe was founded through the indomitable will of thousands of people who felt they were a nation too distinct to be relegated to the unalterable position of political minority. Zimbabwe was founded so that millions of the people would be able to live according to their opinions and the event ultimately represented the triumph of an idea. The idea was of liberty which has had its ardent followers in all climates and countries.
The achievement of freedom is not an instantaneous event. It is a process. The seed is planted, but before the tree can take root, grow and spread, it has to be nurtured untiringly by innumerable hands. It is therefore pertinent to note that a country's constitution should be paramount, democratic and people-driven. The constitution should be a true mirror of our beliefs and our sincere aspirations. To frame a genuine constitution people need to scrutinise their own minds and souls very closely.
Time-honoured maxims and hallowed principles embodied in a constitution are of little validity unless a nation feels that it possesses the spiritual strength to live up to them, unless they echo the voice that is heard unfalteringly in the inner most recesses of its soul. The main features of the constitution to which a people put their seal with a conscience free of all restrains, doubts or qualms should be unequivocally clear. The constitution should guarantee every citizen fundamental human rights, equality of status and opportunity before the law, social, economic and political justice, freedom of thought and expression, belief, faith and association.
And the state should exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people and this can only be done through the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, and not through militias and war veterans. And only through this will Zimbabwe prosper and attain its rightful and honoured place among the nations of the world and make full contribution towards the peace, progress and happiness of its citizens.
 
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Take what UK Zimbos say with a pinch of salt 
 
(londonline By Ken Tendayi Mano)
 
TAKE with a pinch of salt, whatever a Zimbo from this place tells you about his or her status. Forget about the model of car driven or the trendy clothes worn. Zimbos can easily acquire them without having first attained the status which goes with them.
 
Cars are so cheap that it is less expensive to buy a new one than have a broken-down one repaired. That is why broken cars are left to rot along many roads in London and elsewhere. Or they become playthings for the yobs who take pleasure in burning them or simply destroying them in any way they deem exciting.
I found this situation wasteful in my first days here because back home, I used to drive a 1973 Mitsubishi Colt model, which leaked oil and let in cold, dust and rain. It was as if I was out in the open rather than in a car. I now understand what this place is all about. It's a land of wastage, a land where everything has been cheapened, artificialised.
It's not just cars that are dumped by the roadside. Furniture too is dumped. To be honest, the set of sofas I have now, I picked up just up the block. They are still new and by Zimbo standards, they are bound to be here for the next five years. Well, laugh, if you want to, but I know of homes back there in Zimbabwe where you have to test-sit a sofa first before sitting on it. Those are the sofas whose bottoms have been eaten by age.
And it's not just sofas whose bottoms have been eaten up by age. I think Temba Mliswa's mind is just like a sofa eaten, not by age though, but by a profound ignorance which the bright lights of Luton could never cure.
His comments in The Independent of 12 April 2002 about the people refused entry into the United Kingdom, were most unfortunate, insensitive, irresponsible and disgusting. How could he claim that most Zimbos who have been turned away at the British points of entry have Aids or are HIV positive?
Temba runs an organisation known as Education UK which purports to assist aspiring teachers to find placements in the education system of the United Kingdom. According to the information I collected before I left Zimbabwe, people are supposed to pay œ100 for their papers to be processed. They are also supposed to be given letters to show immigration officers in order to facilitate entry. But the letters have failed to perform miracles at entry points resulting in some of the people being turned away.
Now Temba, typically of him, refuses to take responsibility for this. He drags the equation of Aids and HIV into it. What a shame.
By now, one would have expected the Aids pandemic to have touched every family, village, city and soul. Many people have lost one or more relatives and friends to Aids. I have lost relatives and friends to Aids. It touches me and it touches all of us and the worst thing for us is to have someone make irresponsible comments which dampen the hope we are trying to give to those who are affected and infected.
I have yet to meet a Zimbo who has been forced to undergo an HIV test here in London or at Gatwick, Heathrow, London City Airport, or even Stanstead. So how does Temba know that people who have been turned away are HIV positive? Does he have the records of such people?
The bottom line, Temba, is that you misled people into believing that you could help them when you can't. By taking their money, you committed fraud, especially when you now turn around and say those who were turned away were HIV positive. If you knew their HIV status, why did you take their money?
However, I am not surprised that these comments are coming from Temba because whatever Temba touches turns to dust. He should therefore be crowned Prince Fiasco. He is known for taking to his heels when confronted with difficulties.
But I digress.
The issue, however, is for you not to take whatever a Zimbo from these parts of the world tells you about his/ her status.
There was this fellow who used to tell us that he was studying medicine here. The cheeky fellow even posted this information onto a web site which seeks to bring old school friends together.
He even returned home at one time armed with various credit cards which he used to treat his friends to lavish meals at posh hotels. At one hotel, however, the credits cards refused to yield cash and, boy oh boy, what trouble there was.
Well what I know about this guy is that he is not a doctor, or even a nurse. He tried training as a nurse but was not able to sustain it. He does something in a psychiatric home. But whatever it is, falls far too short of a nursing vocation.
Another Zimbo I know used to tell me that he owned two BMW cars, a big house and various other paraphernalia. When I phoned him informing him that I was in London and wanted to see him, he began to tell me that he had sold his cars and moved house. When I try to call him now, he switches off his mobile.
There you are. Just take it with a pinch of salt.
At the time of going to press, Oliver Mtukudzi was billed to perform in London at Strutford. Now, according to many Zimbos here, getting lost in the Zimbo beat, merits foregoing the shift.
A few women I spoke to a while ago said that they were taking two days off.
A flicker of light in the dark.
 
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Economic Woes Set to Escalate


Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

April 21, 2002
Posted to the web April 21, 2002

Paul Nyakazeya


AS the country enters its second quarter, Zimbabweans who had pinned their
hopes for an economic recovery on the outcome of the March presidential
election are bound to find 2002 the toughest year ever since 1980.

Against the backdrop of political upheaval which started in February 2000,
economic analysts have ruled out an early respite for the country's long
suffering citizens. To add to the country's woes, the precarious situation
has been exacerbated by the increasing isolation of the Robert Mugabe
regime, which is now widely viewed as illegitimate following the
controversial March 9-11 presidential election.

So pessimistic are the projections for Zimbabwe's economic performance that
economists have predicted that the economy will shrink by a further 10%,
against last year's decline of 7,5%. It is also generally agreed that
President Mugabe's rushed 10 point economic recovery plan will not have any
impact on the country's economic prospects.

What is needed is a political solution to bring Zimbabwe back to its feet,
say the economists. Harare-based economic consultant, John Robertson, told
Standard Business that 2002 was going to be particularly difficult because
Zimbabwe was under attack from its own authorities.

"I foresee a situation where much of the population is going to lose most of
what they already have. The government has not been very open about what
they are doing to revive the economy. There is a lot of misconception. This
year could be one of the worst. Basic commodities are not present on the
market, where they are present, the prices are uncalled for. It seems the
cost of living is rising uncontrollably every day," said Robertson.
Prominent Bulawayo economist, Eric Bloch, has predicted that inflation,
currently pegged at about 113%, will shoot to 150% by the end of the year.

Bloch warned of grim prospects in 2002 if the government did not immediately
reverse its policies. "Policies of price controls, mandatory massive wage
increases, rigid unrealistic exchange rate maintenance, tacit condonation
and support of industrial unrest and disregard for the fundamental tenets of
law and order are causing escalating and accelerating economic collapse,"
Bloch said.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry (CZI) president, Jacob Dube, said 2002
was proving to be one of the worst years as far as the cost of living was
concerned. Said Dube: "The inflationary environment is having negative
effects on company production costs for both domestic and export markets.
This is reducing the competitiveness of the country's exports, thereby
compounding the current foreign exchange crisis.

A lot of people are being retrenched, worsening the situation in many
people's homes." Presenting the 2002 budget last November, the minister of
finance and economic development, Simba Makoni, was equally pessimistic
about 2002. Said Makoni: "The escalating prices of goods and services in the
country, high unemployment and escalating retrenchments have eroded the
quality of life for citizens... As a result, an estimated over 75% of the
population will be living below the poverty datum line."

Last year all sectors recorded negative productivity, with agricultural
production declining by 12,2%; construction_5,2%; hotel and
distribution_9,1%; manufacturing_7,5%; mining_7,4% and transport and
communication_3,5%. Theses sectors are expected to decline further by the
end of the year.
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MSNBC

Zimbabwe accuses Senegal of betraying Mugabe



HARARE, April 21 — Zimbabwe has accused Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade
of betraying President Robert Mugabe by joining Western countries in
condemning Mugabe's controversial re-election last month, state media
reported on Sunday.

        In a statement in the official Sunday Mail newspaper, Foreign
Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge said Zimbabwe was surprised that Wade had
joined a ''chorus led by Britain and its Western allies in discrediting''
the presidential poll.
       Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party has insisted the March 9-11 election
was free and fair, but his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, has accused Mugabe of
electoral fraud. The poll has been condemned by the Commonwealth, European
Union and United States.
       In an interview with the New York Times published on April 10, Wade
was quoted as saying: ''Mr. Mugabe did not respect the rules. The opposition
could not wage its campaign. There were many deaths. Electoral laws were
changed days before the election. We can't call that an election.''
       Wade said of African leaders who have endorsed Mugabe's victory: ''I
refuse to belong to this trade union of presidents. Mugabe or not Mugabe is
not my concern. My concern is what the people of Zimbabwe wanted.''
       Mudenge said Wade had no independent information on the elections,
noting that Senegal had not responded to Harare's invitation to send an
election observer mission to Zimbabwe.
       ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will
next month resume talks seen as unlikely to result in opposition demands for
an election re-run being met.
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IOL

Mugabe 'dumping people in the wilderness'

April 20 2002 at 06:58PM



Zimbabwe's food crisis, exacerbated by drought, is deepening as President
Robert Mugabe's economic and land-grab policies come home to roost for
ordinary Zimbabweans.

Shortages of basic commodities spawned by Mugabe's decision to impose price
controls last year are worsening by the day, and an expensive black market
for such daily needs as cooking oil, sugar and maize meal has sprung up.

Queues for basic foodstuffs form at dawn at supermarkets around the country
and last until dusk, often without any such items being on sale. Desperate
citizens simply want to make sure they won't lose out should consignments
arrive.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the arid southern parts of the country
are facing mass starvation despite efforts by the United Nations to
distribute relief supplies.

60 percent drop in agricultural output
Mugabe's indiscriminate seizures of white farms, which started in February
2000, combined with a crippling drought, have caused a 60 percent drop in
agricultural output and the country needs to import 700 000 tons of maize
and wheat to feed its people. State hospitals and clinics that cater for the
needs of at least 90 percent of the population are short of basic drugs and
equipment.

There is no end in sight to crippling foreign currency shortages that have
been caused by the destruction of the commercial agriculture sector, the key
foreign currency earner through tobacco exports.

The business sector now buys all its foreign currency on the black market.

One South African rand fetches 30 Zimbabwe dollars, one US dollar buys Z$330
and the British pound is worth Z$450.

Companies have no option but to pass the costs of these hard currency
transactions on the black market to the consumer.

Dumping people in the wilderness
But it is Zimbabwe's 113 percent annual inflation and the resultant price
hikes and shortages of basic commodities that have caused misery to many.

A black market for basic commodities is now thriving because of the price
controls, which have forced manufacturers to either slow down or stop
production.

Because of the extreme difficulties in getting these basic goods in the
supermarkets, most of the fixed official prices become irrelevant as those
who can afford it resort to the black market.

Economists have one explanation for Zimbabwe's debilitating economic woes -
Mugabe's 22-year-long mismanagement of the economy and his determination to
remain in power by whatever means, which culminated in his re-election in
the widely discredited March election.

They say the only solution to reversing Zimbabwe's relentless slide towards
conditions of deprivation is to implement radical economic policies that
will bring back international donor support and much-needed foreign
investment to help alleviate the record unemployment rate of 60 percent.

Mugabe's approach has centred on force, which has led to human rights abuses
and disregard for property rights.

This has achieved the effect of attracting economic sanctions from major
donor countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank pulled
out in 1999, citing Mugabe's mismanagement.

Mugabe has since said that his government officially abandoned free market
policies and IMF and World Bank-sponsored economic policies in favour of a
Marxist command system, which it followed in the 1980s with disastrous
consequences.

Mugabe has also announced a new agriculture-driven economic policy based on
boosting agricultural productivity on farms seized from whites for peasant
resettlement.

Economists say this policy is a recipe for disaster.

"His resettlement scheme has been about dumping people in the wilderness
without giving them the basic infrastructure needed for them to maintain
productivity," said James Jowa, a respected economist .

"Modern economies are not driven by agriculture, but by industry," Jowa
said.

His sentiments were shared by other economists, who argued that Mugabe had
failed to implement agrarian reforms that were production oriented in favour
of ad hoc land seizures.

"As far as things stand... there is no hope for this country as long as
Mugabe hangs around," said a central bank economist who preferred to remain
anonymous.

"This is why all major firms in the banking, manufacturing and tourism
sectors are relocating to other regional countries."



The following items give a guide to what food price increases mean in
everyday terms for Zimbabwe's people.


A 5kg bag of low-grade maize meal, which cost Z$50 (R4,30) around this time
last year, now costs Z$125 on the official market and Z$400 on the black
market.


A similar quantity of special- grade maize meal, which cost Z$120 in April
last year, now costs Z$200 on the official market and Z$500 on the black
market.


A 750ml bottle of cooking oil that cost Z$40 a year back now costs Z$150 on
the official market and Z$300 on the black market. A kilogram of salt, which
cost $19 last year, now costs Z$45. - Foreign Service
The Times

April 22, 2002

Mugabe's farm endgame recalls Stalin
From Jan Raath in Harare



AFTER about 50 years of farming in Zimbabwe, Guy Cartwright and his wife,
Rosalind, are left with a rented flat in Harare, two vehicles, furniture and
a pension worth £5.77 a month after the Government seized their property.
Two weeks ago his 4,000-acre farm, Waltondale in Marondera, with assets
apart from the land worth £900,000, including 260,000kg of tobacco just
harvested, 600 head of cross-bred cattle, eight tractors and two dams, came
under the control of Brigadier (retired) Ambrose Mutinhiri, the local MP for
President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu (PF) party.

On April 12, he allowed the Mr Cartwright, 69, to take some of their
personal effects from the homestead. Much, including valuable antiques, has
been destroyed or looted. Everything else he was ordered to leave behind.
The farm had not even been listed by authorities for confiscation and
resettlement. Mr Mutinhiri has produced an unsigned document that allegedly
allocates him 1,000 acres of Waltondale.

The Cartwrights’ flat is bare except for a couple of suitcases and two
armchairs. “We’ve been through being scared, the anger. Now we’ve collapsed
in a heap. What do we do now?” Mrs Cartwright, 61, asked.

Since the flawed presidential elections last month, 150 white farmers have
been evicted illegally from their properties and the pace is gathering.
Among the new occupants of the properties are Cabinet ministers, MPs and
senior officers of the Army, police, secret police and the prisons
department.

The farmers have been told that they have to leave behind all their farming
equipment, crops and livestock.

Some managed quietly to move their equipment into storage but since then
police have set up roadblocks in many areas and ordered lorries caught
carrying farm implements to return the goods.

Behind the wave of lawless seizures of land and equipment lies a bizarre
strategy comparable to Stalin’s collectivisation of farms, and it promises
the same frightening consequences. Maize meal, the national staple, is in
desperately short supply, and the situation is about to deteriorate rapidly.

The maize crop about to be harvested has been reduced by drought and the
wholesale disruption of white commercial farms. Supplies of wheat will run
out in July. White farmers have traditionally produced almost enough to meet
demand, but tens of thousands of acres of land in the winter wheat-growing
areas lie bare.

White farmers have been allowed to carry out almost no planting. Instead,
Joseph Made, the Agriculture Minister, has urged “emergent” black commercial
farmers to move on to land that has been allocated to them. When the
Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) asks officials how the new occupants will
manage to grow the wheat crop, they are told, “By using existing
infrastructure” — the white farmers’ equipment.

Mr Made said on April 12 that he would soon issue regulations to force
evicted farmers to leave behind their equipment. None has been issued yet
but the seizures are being carried out anyway.

The only mention of compensation was contained in a threat from Mr Made
yesterday. “Their (white farmers’) objective is to destroy the
infrastructure in farms we have resettled by our new farmers. There will be
no compensation for those who vandalise equipment,” he said.

The wheat crop has to be planted by early next month. Later than that,
yields diminish rapidly and before long late-planted seed will produce no
grain at all. There is no sign of the seed and fertiliser that Mr Made has
promised. Farmers forced off their land have switched off the electricity
supplies for which they pay. It has not been explained how the new occupants
are expected almost immediately to pick up the complicated technicalities of
managing irrigation.

Mr Made’s plan to grow winter maize has been greeted with disbelief. The
crop is highly sensitive to frost and will not germinate without high
humidity. The Government says that it has just planted 4,500 acres in fallow
canal-irrigated sugar plantations in the arid south-eastern Lowveld region.

“It’s been tried before and it didn’t work,” Jerry Grant, CFU deputy
director, said.

“Even if they do manage to get germination, the yields will be so low and
the whole operation would have been so costly that it would have been
cheaper to import it.”
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--> News update - Thomas Bayley is taken to Hospital
(On behalf of the Commercial Farmers’ Union)

Thomas Bayley (89 yrs), who walks with the aid of a frame had a fall on
Friday night and had to taken to Hospital on Saturday morning. This ends 37
days of remaining in their home under siege by war veterans and youth
militia. His wife Bobs (Edith) 79 yrs, and their helper (unnamed for fear of
reprisals) have also left the property. The couple came to Mazoe in 1936
from the United Kingdom and built up their farm from virgin bush.

Danbury Farm owned by the Bayley family is just 30 kilometers from central
Harare. The hilly farm normally has 350 hectares of seed maize; soya beans
and runs beef cattle. The farm is under a compulsory notice of acquisition
but the owners are due to argue their case in administrative court. Before
the problems began, there were eighty workers employed on the farm and most
lived there with their families.

Mrs Bobs Bayley is very shaky with Parkinson's disease whilst Mr Bayley
senior, walks with a frame and needs assistance following a hip replacement
operation 2 years ago.  Members of the youth militia are on perpetual guard
around their house.

Ends

21st April 2002
For more information, please contact Jenni Williams
Mobile +263 11 213 885 or +263 91 300 456
Email jennipr@mweb.co.zw or prnews@telconet.co.zw
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