http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
08.04.13
by ZLHR
THE Attorney General’s
Office has concocted new ludicrous allegations
against prominent human
rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, in a desperate bid
to bolster its case
against the feisty legal practitioner.
State prosecutors on Friday 5
April 2013 served the human rights lawyer’s
attorneys with the concocted
allegations together with State papers to
prepare for her trial which
commences on 27 May 2013 and is expected to last
until 31 May 2013 at Harare
Magistrates Court.
A perusal of the State papers show that prosecutors
have now supplemented
the State papers by adding new allegations that were
previously not included
in the original State papers used during Mtetwa’s
initial remand proceedings
last month.
The State has now embellished
its papers with new allegations, which now
reads: “ Stop whatever you are
doing, it’s unconstitutional, illegal and
undemocratic. You confused
cockroaches” as well as “Murimbwa dzaMugabe”
which prosecutors translated to
mean “You are Mugabe’s dogs”.
In the original State papers, Mtetwa, a
board member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights was accused of telling
police officers that: “Stop whatever you
are doing, it’s unconstitutional,
illegal and undemocratic”.
The State also alleges that Mtetwa uttered the
following words: “You people,
do you know what you are doing. Murimbwa
dzaMugabe” which prosecutors
decoded to mean “You are Mugabe’s
dogs”.
Oddly, the statement above was not contained in the original court
papers
but was first brought to the public domain through a malicious
opinion
article written in the State-run Sunday Mail by Tsholotsho North
constituency legislator and Zanu PF politburo member Jonathan
Moyo.
Prosecutors also overdramatically claimed that Mtetwa conducted
herself
indecently when she threatened to relieve herself in a public
place.
On Monday, Tawanda Zvekare, the Acting Director of Public
Prosecutions in
the AG’s Office took over the lead prosecuting role and he
will be assisted
by Michael Mugabe, the chief law officer as trial
prosecutors.
The State has lined up nine witnesses to testify against
Mtetwa and these
include Chief Superintendent Luckson Mukazhi, Detective
Assistant Inspector
Wilfred Chibage, Detective Constable Ngatirwe Mamiza,
Detective Sergeant
Taizivei Tembo, Assistant Inspector Thabani Nkomo, Chido
Chawanikwa, a
police officer, Stembiwe Vera, a caretaker at Prime Minister
Morgan
Tsvangirai’s research and development office, Brian Mutusva, a
computer
technician in the PM’s Office and a driver, Zororai
Mudariki.
Mtetwa was arrested on 17 March 2013 and charged with
contravening Section
184 (1) (g) of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act for allegedly
defeating or obstructing the course of
justice.
At court, dozens of truncheon wielding police officers loitered
inside the
court house while others took positions outside the court
building.
Meanwhile, the trial of four of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s aides
will commence on 13 May 2013 and is expected to run until
17 May 2013.
Tsvangirai’s aides Thabani Mpofu, Felix Matsinde, Councillor
Warship Dumba
and Mehluli Tshuma were arrested on Sunday 17 March 2013 and
charged with
contravening Section 4 of Official Secrets Act for allegedly
receiving or
communicating secret information, Section 179 (1) of the
Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) for alleged impersonation and Section
40 (1) of
the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for possession of
articles
for criminal use.
Mpofu is also facing charges of
contravening Section 4 (1) of the Firearms
Act for allegedly failing to
renew a firearm certificate and Section 28 (2)
of the Firearms Act for
allegedly keeping a firearm in a non-secure place.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
08 April
2013
Human rights defender Beatrice Mtetwa is facing 20 fresh allegations
by the
State in its criminal case against her, in what is being described as
a
“desperate” act of “embellishment.”
State prosecutors last week
served Mtetwa’s attorneys with the new
allegations together with court
papers to prepare for her trial, which has
been set for the 27th until the
31st of May at the Harare Magistrates Court.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR) said the new allegations are a
“desperate bid to bolster
its case against the feisty legal practitioner.”
The allegations were not
included in the original papers used in Mtetwa’s
initial remand proceedings,
following her arrest last month.
Mtetwa was arrested during a raid on the
MDC-T offices in Harare and charged
with ‘obstructing the course of
justice’, on allegations she insulted police
officers who were arresting her
clients.
The ZLHR said on Monday that the State has now “embellished its
papers with
new allegations,” which accuse Mtetwa of using abusive language
against the
police officers. The State now alleges that the human rights
lawyer called
the police “confused cockroaches”, and that she said:
“Murimbwa dzaMugabe”
which prosecutors translated to mean “You are Mugabe’s
dogs”. The State is
now also claiming that Mtetwa conducted herself
‘indecently’ when she
threatened to relieve herself in a public
place.
Meanwhile, Mtetwa’s own clients, who she was attending to at the
time of her
arrest, will stand trial on the 13th May. The four, including
three former
public prosecutors, Thabani Mpofu, Felix Matsinde and Mehluli
Tshuma, as
well as a Harare City councillor Warship Dumba, were arrested the
day after
the constitutional referendum last month and then held behind bars
for over
a week.
Mpofu and Matsinde are members of staff in the
research division of the
Prime Minister’s office. Tshuma and Dumba are
believed to have been
assisting the research team. It is understood the
group was compiling a
dossier of large scale corruption involving high
ranking ZANU PF ministers
in government.
The four were arrested last
month after a police blitz that included
unwarranted searches of their
homes. The Avondale based communications
office of the Prime Minister was
also later searched by police.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
08.04.13
by
Edgar Gweshe
High Court Judge President, Justice George Chiweshe
today handed down
reasons for his granting of a court reprieve allowing
President Robert
Mugabe from complying with a High Court Order compelling
him to proclaim
dates for by-elections in three constituencies of
Matabeleland.
Justice Chiweshe, who granted Mugabe the reprieve on
Friday, had indicated
that he would hand down reasons for his judgement
today.
Mugabe was ordered by the High Court to announce by-election dates
in the
three constituencies of Nkayi South, Bulilima East and Lupane East by
March
31.
This followed an application by three former MDC
legislators, Abednico
Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu who were
dismissed from their party
in 2009.
However, Mugabe filed two urgent
chamber applications seeking an extension
of the 31 March deadline to 29
June this year, when harmonised elections
will be held saying the move made
political and economic sense.
The deputy Attorney General, Advocate
Prince Machaya, who stood for Mugabe
Mugabe argued that it was no longer
feasible to call for by-elections in the
three Matabeleland constituencies
as general elections were around the
corner with Parliament set to be
dissolved on 29 June.
Lawyer for the three former legislators, Advocate
Thabani Mpofu had
submitted in court that the lifespan of Parliament can be
extended to 29
October hence the by-elections can be held before that
period.
Justice Chiweshe said that if Parliament can be extended to 29
October, then
it will be feasible for the by-elections to be held. He said
that if the
lifespan of Parliament cannot extend beyond 29 June, then the by
elections
will no longer be feasible.
In his ruling, Justice Chiweshe
concurred with submissions from Advocate
Machaya that the lifespan of
Parliament could not be extended beyond 29 June
this year.
“It is
common cause that applicant (Mugabe) was sworn in as President on 29
June
2009.The life of the present Parliament must be deemed to run from that
date, for a period of five years. Calculated from that date, there is no
doubt whatsoever that the life of the present Parliament shall end on 29
June 2013.
“It is however permissible to extend the life of
Parliament beyond that date
on the grounds provided under s 63 (5) and (6)
of the Constitution. These
sections allow for that extension only if the
country is at war or under a
declared state of public emergency. No such
situation presently obtains in
the country. I am convinced therefore that
the life of the present
Parliament will end operation of law on 29 June
2013,” read part of the
judgement.
Justice Chiweshe, further stated
that allowing for by-elections in the three
Matabeleland constituencies will
mean holding elections in all the vacant
seats across the country and this
would mean enormous costs or the
government.
“The court is informed
that apart from the three House of Assembly
constituencies under
consideration there are further vacancies in other
constituencies, namely 16
in the House of Assembly, 12 in the Senate and 164
council wards. Should
this application fail, the country would need to hold
by-elections to fill
these vacancies.
“Again, the winners of the seats will be in their seats
for a very short
period of time. The scale and extent of these by-elections
suggests that
enormous resources would need to be mobilised,” read the
judgement.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
08 April 2013
20
members of a combined youth group in Bulawayo were arrested during a
demonstration on Monday, and interrogated for several hours about the
motives for their protest.
The group, protesting under the banner of
the Mthwakazi Youth Joint
Resolution, had organised the demonstration to
protest against the hiring
policy of the national energy supplier,
ZESA.
They accused the ZESA authorities in Bulawayo of only hiring staff
from
Mashonaland and not from Matebeleland.
The arrested group was
corned by police at Donnington Police Station and
detained there, until they
were transferred to Bulawayo Central Police
Station.
SW Radio
Africa’s Bulawayo correspondent Lionel Saungweme reported that the
group was
being interrogated about their motives. It is also understood that
lawyers
were being denied access to the group.
By the end of Monday, it was
unclear what charges the group was facing or if
they were to be released.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Nomalanga Moyo
08
April 2013
Threats to foreign-owned businesses continued this week with
the government
turning its focus on Telecel Zimbabwe and Standard Chartered
Bank
(Stanchart).
Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere told
state media this week that
communications company Telecel will not have its
licence renewed unless the
firm aligned its shareholding structure to the
country’s indigenisation
laws.
Telecel, whose licence expires in
June, was given an ultimatum to comply
with the law that requires
foreign-owned firms to cede over 51% of their
shareholding to indigenous
Zimbabweans.
The country’s second largest cellular network is 60 percent
owned by
Egypt-based Orascom, while a local consortium known as the
Empowerment
Corporation controls the rest.
Kasukuwere told the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation that his ministry was
liaising with other
departments, understood to be the communications
ministry, to ensure that
Telecel’s licence is not renewed.
In other sectors, the National
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board
(NIEEB), which is an extension
of Kasukuwere’s ministry, has ordered
British-owned Stanchart and three
mining firms to comply with the
indiginisation regulations or close up
shop.
The Board further warned the public and government departments
against doing
business with these companies.
Kasukuwere told the
Sunday Mail newspaper that banks such as Barclays had
already made their
submissions regarding compliance, but denied that the
banks were being
nationalised.
An analyst in the financial services sector said while the
51 percent
shareholding scheme is a legal requirement, the implementation
process does
not bode well for investment and investor confidence in the
country.
The analyst, who asked not to be named for professional reasons,
also said
this was not the first time that the government has threatened
Telecel over
its shareholding.
But he said it was unlikely the
company’s licence will be revoked given the
large number of Zimbabweans who
subscribe to the cellular phone network.
The analyst said: “My
understanding was that the original major shareholder
at Telecel sold a
chunk of their stake to locals, and that was a step
towards complying with
the indigenisation laws.
“Given the importance of Telecel to
Zimbabweans’s communications needs this
is not a decision that should be
taken lightly. It’s not only about the
foreign investors or the licences, it
is also about the hundreds of
Zimbabweans who use Telecel
services.
“With Stanchart, they understandably have to comply with the
law but it is
the implementation process that is
confusing.
“Recently, the Reserve Bank Governor came up with a different
model of
indigenising the banking sector and this hasn’t been concluded yet.
It would
be interesting to see how the indigenisation board intends to
proceed
without the RBZ which is well-placed to deal with the financial
services
sector,” he added.
These observations echo those of
economist Tony Hawkins who said the process
of indigenising the banks was
not clear “because you are dealing with money
that already belongs to
indigenous people,” and, along with contradictory
statements from government
officials, there seemed to be little
understanding about what will happen
next.
“So you have to ask: What is being indigenised? Is it money? Is it
brand
names? And the truth is that the majority of Zimbabwe’s banks are
already
indigenised,” Hawkins explained to SW Radio Africa last year
June.
But whatever the case might be, there is a real fear within the
business and
economic circles that the current government’s implementation
policy is
sending wrong signals to would-be investors.
“Government on
one hand says it is interested in having foreign firms
investing in the
country, but on the other, they are taking away what these
companies would
have set up. That does not create any confidence at all,”
our analyst said.
http://www.reuters.com/
Mon Apr 8, 2013 12:54pm
EDT
* Zimbabwe cannot deliver legitimate vote "right now", Biti
says
* Unity government has "outlived" usefulness
* International
community must fund Zimbabwe vote
By Stella
Mapenzauswa
JOHANNESBURG, April 8 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is on track for
another flawed
election this year unless it can refresh outdated voter
lists, approve "an
army" of outsider observers and find foreign donors
willing to pay for the
vote, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on
Monday.
However, postponing the poll to maintain a stop-gap unity
government between
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai is not an
option, with the fractious coalition well past its
sell-by date, Biti told a
Reuters Africa Summit.
"I don't
think we are in a position today, right now, of having legitimate,
credible,
sustainable elections," Biti, a leading member of Tsvangirai's
Movement for
Democratic Change, said.
"At the rate we are going, it is obvious that we
are going to have another
flawed election ... Zimbabweans cannot afford
another flawed election."
Zimbabweans last month approved a new
constitution curbing presidential
powers that critics say have been used by
Mugabe to entrench his 33-year
rule. The referendum removed the main barrier
to an election in the second
half of this year after a disputed 2008
poll.
But more reforms are needed to reassure investors who have withheld
support
over charges of human rights abuses and election-rigging by Mugabe's
ZANU-PF
party and criticism of policies such as his seizure of white-owned
farms for
blacks.
The unity pact between ZANU-PF and the MDC has gone
some way towards
arresting an economy damaged by more than a decade of
hyper-inflation which
rendered the Zimbabwe dollar
worthless.
Inflation has slowed to single digits while growth is seen
above 5 percent
this year after contracting for a decade before the unity
government was
established.
TWO CAMPS
But progress has been
hampered by wrangling between ministers from the two
camps and investors are
worried about conflicting signals on policies such
as the transfer of at
least 51 percent ownership in foreign-owned firms to
local
blacks.
"The inclusive government has done well in giving our people a
timeout
against the economic failures of the ZANU-PF regime," Biti said.
"But I
think it has outlived its usefulness."
"We need sustainable,
legitimate, credible election outcomes in Zimbabwe,
and to me that is our
number one factor arresting the economy."
The international community
would have to foot the bill for the vote, Biti
said, as Harare's coffers
have been bled dry by a recent census and the
constitutional referendum last
month.
"For any country, let alone a country like Zimbabwe with a budget
of $4
billion and a GDP of $12 billion, that's a huge strain," Biti
said.
Harare is still struggling with more than $10 billion in arrears to
the
World Bank, the IMF and the African Development Bank, meaning it cannot
access multilateral funding needed to overhaul its dilapidated
infrastructure.
"The bottom line is that the international community
must accept the
obligation on its shoulders. And by the international
community I also
include South Africa," Biti said.
Africa's biggest
economy, which has absorbed an estimated 2.5 million
Zimbabweans fleeing the
political and economic downturn, would bear the
brunt of another meltdown in
its northern neighbour, he said.
"But that doesn't mean the international
community should give Zimbabwe a
blank cheque. If Zimbabwe wants to be part
of the international community,
it has to play by the rules."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 08 April 2013 13:30
HARARE -
The West and Zimbabwe have begun to re-engage on knotty issues
ranging from
diplomatic frictions to targeted sanctions on President Robert
Mugabe’s
regime following a 13-year-long hiatus.
Representatives from all three
parties of the Government of National Unity
(GNU) — Patrick Chinamasa of
Mugabe’s Zanu PF, Elton Mangoma of Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC,
and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga of
Welshman Ncube’s MDC — met late last
month with a top level delegation
representing 22 Western countries in the
first high-level exchange between
the sides in over a decade.
The
ministerial visit marks the start of a series of meetings that will test
the
potential for cooperation between the world’s first and largest
economies
and Zimbabwe.
Although the relationship is coloured by mutual suspicion,
the two sides now
discuss an ever-broadening agenda, from development
cooperation to food
safety.
And their relatively swift resolution of
a potentially crippling crisis over
a range of sanctions imposed on Mugabe
and his cronies in the wake of a
credible March 16 referendum seemed to take
the relationship to a more
stable level.
Analysts say
Western-Zimbabwean relations are entering a much more mature
zone than they
were before, but the atmosphere is still strained.
Last week’s meeting
between Zimbabwe and Western countries came amid great
misgivings in Harare
over the West’s renewed focus on the resource-rich
southern African country
and increasing Western concerns over China’s rising
foothold on Zimbabwe’s
lucrative extractive sector, business watchers say.
However, both sides
have stressed the importance of the renewed ties.
In his opening remarks
at the London meeting held at Chatham House, Mark
Simmonds, the United
Kingdom minister for Africa, emphasised the seriousness
with which his
government was treating these meetings.
He underscored the need to move
Zimbabwe forward, acknowledged both the good
and the bad in the
Zimbabwe-British history, but more importantly he warned
those who would
seek to use the occasion to further their own parochial
interests.
While the two MDC representatives were seeking appeasement
and propitiation,
Zanu PF was combative.
“The Zanu PF position is
that friends do not impose sanctions against each
other,” Chinamasa told the
meeting.
On the sidelines of the official meetings, Chinamasa met several
Zimbabweans
based in Britain, and also set up a campaign branch in
London.
Back home, Zanu PF spin-doctors claimed victory for the
invitation extended
to Chinamasa by the so-called “Friends of Zimbabwe”
after 13 years of travel
bans at the invitation of the British Foreign and
Commonwealth Office.
“Patrick (Chinamasa) was the cynosure, the focus of
all British attention,
including the hosts,” wrote Nathaniel Manheru, a
shadowy columnist in the
State media.
London-based political analyst
Clifford Mashiri said despite travelling to
London as a single supposedly
united Zimbabwe GNU delegation, “the
unprecedented move by Chinamasa of
issuing an arbitrary counter communiqué
that does not represent the three
parties to the talks vindicated
widely-held beliefs of Zanu PF dominance and
tendency to dictate every step
amid accusations of operating a parallel
regime.”
The Western countries said in the communiqué that they attached
“great
importance” to ties with Zimbabwe and looked forward to more fruitful
cooperation.
The two sides have “some differences” but said they have
enormous shared
interests and should handle this relationship from a
strategic and long-term
perspective.
At the London meeting, Western
countries asked to observe the forthcoming
polls.
“A wide range of
international observers would contribute to building
confidence and help
enhance the credibility of the poll and the strength of
the government
elected,” the communiqué said.
The Zimbabwean government rejected the
request saying all countries that
still maintain sanctions on the country
cannot impartially observe the
polls.
The London visit marks the
highest-level of interaction between the sides
and it is hoped the ongoing
talks would lead to the normalisation of
relations between Zimbabwe and
former Western allies.
The Zimbabwe re-engagement team has been pressing
for a complete removal of
sanctions to level the playing field and enhance
the prospects for full
implementation of the Global Political
Agreement.
Relations are expected to weather a potential storm with Zanu
PF frantically
trying to be seen as strong nationalists willing to defend
what it considers
Zimbabwe’s core interests whatever the cost to the
country’s overseas
reputation.
Engagement with Washington
specifically is also dogged by skepticism over
America’s new security sector
re-alignment focus that has fuelled fears of
encirclement, as well as the
ages-old ideological battles over human rights
and democracy.
In an
interview on BBC’s Hard TALK last week, Chinamasa expressed
exasperation at
talks held between Tsvangirai and Nato commander-general
Wesley Clark last
year.
Tsvangirai, who poses the stiffest challenge to Mugabe’s 33-year
rule, met
with the Nato chief in Vienna on the sidelines of the Centre for
Global
Dialogue and Cooperation amid escalating fears in Zanu PF that Nato
may try
to target the regime if it attempts to subvert the will of the
people in the
forthcoming crucial vote as planned by Zimbabwe
generals.
“Tsvangirai has been gallivanting in Europe holding meetings
with Nato
generals without informing his colleagues in the coalition
government. What
military subjects he is raising with them … that creates
the impression that
he is part of the agenda to effect regime change and,
therefore, it creates
difficulties,” Chinamasa said.
“He (Tsvangirai)
even excludes our embassy staff from these meetings … that
raises suspicion,
surely.”
Diplomats say if Mugabe loses and the generals refuse to accept
the outcome,
Western countries might recognise the winners as the sole
representative of
the Zimbabwean people in a move that would symbolically
isolate the Mugabe’s
regime.
If such a step is taken, it would mimic
the diplomatic initiatives recently
utilised to isolate Muammar Gadhafi’s
regime before the Nato campaign in
Libya.
The United States assistant
secretary for African affairs Johnnie Carson has
already emphasised the need
to de-link State institutions from Zanu PF if
Zimbabwe’s stabilisation
efforts are to be fully realised, and warned
Zimbabwe’s security
establishment to respect the will of the people in
upcoming presidential
elections.
Carson offered in a March 21, 2013 letter to Vice President
Joice Mujuru and
Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi to mobilise
financial
support for the forthcoming elections if Americans are allowed to
observe
the polls.
But Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba has
rebuffed the overtures saying
the “Americans have taken a partisan position
on Zimbabwean politics.”
Western countries and Harare have fundamental
differences over human rights,
the level of responsibility in trying to end
the conflict in Zimbabwe and
holding of free and fair polls.
But both
sides will probably allow those fundamental differences to go
unresolved for
now. - Gift Phiri, Political Editor
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
08.04.13
by Edgar Gweshe
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission Chief Executive Officer, Ngonidzashe
Gumbo who is facing charges
of defrauding the Commission will stand trial on
20 May.
Gumbo,
who is out on $1 000 bail, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court
before
Magistrate Don Ndirowei today where the trial date was set.
Allegations
against Gumbo are that in 2010, he bought offices to be used by
the ZACC in
Mt Pleasant using government funds but registered the property
in the name
of a company he jointly owned with four of his subordinates-
Sukai
Tongogara, Edwin Mubataripi, Christopher Chisango and Gibson
Mangwiro.
The state, led by Michael Mugabe alleges that Gumbo requested
$1 680 000,00
from the Ministry of Home Affairs to purchase the property
when in actual
fact the cost was $1,2 million.
Gumbo is being charged
with prejudicing the Commission with actual intent
and the total prejudice
is pegged at $435 000,00.
http://www.7daysindubai.com/
Monday, April
08, 2013
The senior figure leading Dubai’s ambitions as a commodity hub
has defended
the emirate’s role in the trading of African
diamonds.
Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the Dubai Multi
Commodities Centre
(DMCC) - the free zone which oversees the trading of
everything from tea to
pearls in Dubai - said Western countries are making a
mistake in maintaining
sanctions on Zimbabwe’s precious metals and diamond
industries.
Rights groups have expressed concern that the revenues of
Zimbabwean diamond
sales go to the security forces of controversial
President Robert Mugabe.
The security forces are accused of abuses against
miners. But despite
beginning his remarks at the opening of the Dubai
Precious Metals Conference
yesterday with an admission that he has been
“asked time and time again not
to talk about politics during speeches” the
DMCC leader was in outspoken
form - saying sanctions denied Zimbabwe its
“lifeblood”.
The senior figure leading Dubai’s ambitions as a
commodity hub has defended
the emirate’s role in the trading of African
diamonds
The European Union recently eased its trade restrictions on
Zimbabwe amid
signs of political reform, but the country’s state-held
Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation (ZMDC) remains on its sanctions
list. A report in
the Financial Times this week said Dubai had given
Zimbabwe a “lifeline”
through its legal imports of the country’s
diamonds.
Emirates Airline operates direct flights to the Zimbabwean
capital Harare
and Bin Sulayem said other nations shunning the country’s
diamonds are being
short-sighted.
“Sanctions have been lifted in
Burma, while ethnic cleansing is happening at
the same time. Zimbabwe is
utopia compared to that,” he said. Bin Sulayem
said a consequence of major
nations shunning such trade was to “scrub Africa
out - that will harm the
African people”.
He added: “We are not taking sides here. But we will not
exclude countries
just for the sake of it.” He called for richer nations to
play a positive
role in the development of Africa, which he called
“unutilised”.
“It is very rich underground, and it is very poor over
ground. It should be
developed. It should be a superpower no different from
Brazil, Russia, India
or China,” he said. Meanwhile, the DMCC chief revealed
Dubai is exploring
increasing the size of its vaults as it seeks to increase
the share of
global gold supply that passes through the emirate from 20 to
50 per cent.
More than $70 billion-worth of gold passed through Dubai last
year, and Bin
Sulayem said he expected the value of diamonds traded through
the emirate to
have exceeded 2011’s $39 billion.
Dubai’s jewellers
are catering to Chinese tastes
GEM traders in Dubai are “transforming”
what they offer in their stores in
order to suit the tastes of big-spending
Chinese visitors, a senior figure
in the industry has said. Amit Dhamani, of
top jewellery chain Dhamani, said
that travellers from the Asian giant are
reshaping the inventories of local
merchants with their preference for
smaller, elegant pieces of jewellery.
“Typically they are into very
simple designs as clients,” he said. “They are
looking for light pieces of
jewellery - they are not looking for a 50-gram
set. Typically Chinese
clients are walking in and looking for between five
and 20 grams of nice,
lightweight jewellery,” Dhamani told delegates at the
Dubai Precious Metals
on Sunday. But while Chinese shoppers may not leave a
store as weighed down
with heavy purchases as buyers from some of their
neighbours, the jewellery
boss estimated that most will still spend between
$1,000 and $20,000 during
their trip. He estimated between 85 and 90 per
cent of Chinese visitors to
Dubai buy jewellery.
Dhamani said: “If they go to Paris they buy bags and
other stuff - but when
they come to the UAE they are landing in the
jewellery store.”
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 08 April 2013 13:47
HARARE -
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC says it wants upcoming
watershed
general election results announced in 12 hours, saying this will
kill off
any attempts of rigging the final result.
This follows the embarrassing
debacle in 2008 when election results were
announced after five weeks amid
accusations of manipulation.
Five years after President Robert Mugabe’s
disputed re-election in a poll
that took weeks to announce the outcome,
raising doubts over the credibility
of the results, MDC secretary-general
Tendai Biti yesterday told a gathering
of thousands of MDC supporters at a
rally in Harare that they will not
countenance a repeat of that
scenario.
Biti said if their election needs were not met, they will be
forced to take
matters into their own hands.
“We are giving Zec
(Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) 12 hours to announce
results or else we will
be in Stewart Room (in the Meikles Hotel) announcing
that Save (Tsvangirai)
has 75 percent,” he said.
The new Zimbabwean constitution states that the
electoral commission should
make sure “the results of the election or
referendum are announced as soon
as possible after the close of the
polls.”
The three ruling parties amended the Electoral Act so that the
Zec is
obliged to declare presidential election results not more than five
days
after the day of voting.
Biti said if other countries who have
more than 90 million voters like the
United States of America could announce
results within hours, he did not see
why Zimbabwe with around six million
voters could not follow suit.
Biti was outlining the MDC’s minimum
conditions for the next election
expected to end the Government of National
Unity which President Robert
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara were forced
into after a disputed presidential run-off poll
in June 2008.
Though the date of elections has remained a contentious
issue between Mugabe
and Tsvangirai, both parties say they have had enough
of the coalition
government and are ready for fresh polls.
Biti, who
is also Finance minister in the coalition government, said MDC
wants the
newly-appointed Zec boss Rita Makarau to be the one announcing the
results.
“As it is, the chief election officer who is (Lovemore)
Sekeramayi has the
mandate of announcing the results but we want Rita
Makarau to announce the
results,” Biti said.
The Electoral Act
however, mandates the chief elections officer to announce
the
results.
The MDC secretary-general said his party wanted to be given fair
airplay on
State-controlled TV and radio and adequate coverage in the public
media as
stated by the new constitution.
He said the Premier should
be given space and not the “usual propaganda
perpetrated” by the public
media.
Under the new constitutional order, there are provision for “all
political
parties and candidates contesting an election or participating in
a
referendum with fair and equal access to electronic and print media, both
public and private.”
Other amendments would also bar police officers
— who were accused in the
last poll of abusing their power to help disabled
or illiterate voters to
cast their ballots — from “taking part or
interfering with the electoral
process beyond maintaining law and
order.”
Zec will also be empowered to warn election candidates, election
agents or
parties implicated in acts of political violence and to set up
special
courts to try such cases.
Biti demanded that the Zec
secretariat — which critics say is packed with
Mugabe supporters and
intelligence operatives — must be wholly reformed.
The
lawyer-cum-politician said the environment around the poll should ensure
“security of the voter, security of the vote and security of the people’s
will”.
Biti said for security of the voter to be guaranteed, the
Joint Monitoring
and Implementation Committee (Jomic), mandated to implement
peace, should be
strengthened.
He said no police officers should be
allowed inside the polling stations, no
violence should be faced by voters,
and election observers from across the
world should be allowed to witness
the historic election.
“People should be allowed to campaign freely and
the police should be able
to justify why they would want any meeting to be
stopped,” he said. -
Bridget Mananavire
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Maxwell Sibanda, Assistant Editor
Monday, 08 April
2013 10:16
HARARE - A fresh purge of the judiciary is unfolding as
Zimbabweans hurtles
towards a crucial harmonised election anytime soon
pitting two fierce
political opponents — Zanu PF and MDC.
Chief
Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has reportedly opened an inquiry into the
conduct of High Court judge Justice Charles Hungwe in the wake of
allegations by the State-controlled media and some high-ranking Zanu PF
officials of misconduct and negligence levelled against
him.
Chidyausiku reportedly summoned Justice Hungwe to his chambers on
Wednesday
to enquire about the allegations so he could prepare a report for
submission
to President Robert Mugabe.
According to Section 87 of the
Zimbabwean Constitution, the president can
set-up a tribunal of at least
three members to investigate the conduct of a
sitting judge on the
recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission,
(JSC).
In terms of
the Constitution, if the president gets the report and feels the
matter
should be investigated, he immediately appoints a tribunal to inquire
into
it.
If the question of removing a judge from office has been referred to
a
tribunal, the judge shall be suspended from performing functions of his
office until the president, on the recommendation of the tribunal of the
JSC, revokes the suspension or the judge is removed from office.
The
unfolding plot would likely see Justice Hungwe suspended from his duties
while he faces a probe from a tribunal to be set by Mugabe, analysts
say.
There is a feeling Justice Hungwe — who last month ordered the
release of
human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and granted a warrant to the
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission, (Zacc) to search the offices of three
Zanu PF
Cabinet ministers accused of underhand dealings — is being unjustly
victimised.
Of late, Justice Hungwe has been subjected to a barrage
of attacks in the
State-controlled media over his alleged misconduct,
including missing court
records and failure to sentence a murder convict who
has been awaiting
sentence since 2003.
He has also been attacked over
the manner in which he allegedly handled a
civil matter over ownership of a
house, a smear campaign which analysts say
is meant to scandalise and vilify
him.
Deputy minister of Justice and Legal Affairs Obert Gutu condemned
the
attacks on Justice Hungwe, telling local media that this was part of a
Zanu
PF plot to force the bench to toe its line.
“The office of a
judge is a sacrosanct judicial office that has to be held
in high esteem by
all right-thinking people in society,” Gutu said.
“We cannot and, indeed,
we should not accept a situation whereby certain
scandalous, notorious and
dubious characters with sinister agendas are
permitted to publicly ridicule,
lampoon and slander any of our judicial
officers.
“We should never
allow a situation where every Tom, Dick and Harry is given
an opportunity to
publicly slander and savage members of the judiciary.”
Playwright Cont
Mhlanga said “an attack on anyone by the State-controlled
media is not an
attack by the media but an attack by the inner circle of the
ruling class of
Zimbabwe.
“Once you see the attacks flooding the media gate then be
warned that some
dangerous liquid is flowing towards the corridors of power
or even the State
house and that some young intelligent fire fighters on
behalf of those in
power are using the media to either build a wall, close
the leaking hole or
mop the liquid. Let those that have ears hear,” said
Mhlanga.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the Law Society of
Zimbabwe
have called for intervention to stop the persecution of the
judge.
ZLHR said in a statement, the persecution of Justice Hungwe
affects not only
the independence and integrity of the judiciary, but also
that of the legal
profession.
The lawyers’ group called on Chief
Justice Chidyausiku, Judge President of
the High Court George Chiweshe and
JSC, together with the Law Society of
Zimbabwe, to take decisive
action.
“This is not only a measure to protect the judicial officer
concerned, but
also one that is vital to reassure the entire bench at every
level, as well
as the legal profession in the public and private sector,
that they will be
free to undertake their professional and constitutional
duties without fear
or favour and not be victimised as a result of non-legal
concerns and
motives,” the ZLHR said.
Academic Rashweat Mukundu told
the Daily News the recent attacks are a
serious threat to judicial
independence and a statement to Justice Hungwe
and others that they have to
toe the line.
“The State-controlled media is without doubt pursuing the
judge in a
vindictive manner and without basis,” Mukundu said.
“The
Chief Justice must do something to protect judges; we are essentially
seeing
a repeat of the assaults on the judiciary as in the Anthony Gubbay
era.”
Theatre producer Daves Guzha said the same people complaining
about Hungwe’s
conduct of holding a hearing at his farm, used to wake up the
same judges
during the middle of the night to hear cases on land
disputes.
“When they were doing ‘hondo yeminda’ the State could wake up
the same
judges with no compunction whatsoever and ask them to preside
wherever they
are,” Guzha said.
“Now that Justice Hungwe has done the
same thing for a perceived enemy, it
becomes anathema?”
Law Society’s
president Lloyd Mhishi said the Bar Association was disturbed
by this
“onslaught”, adding the media attacks on Justice Hungwe have
“mischievous
intent.”
“The LSZ does not entertain the view that the judiciary and
judicial actions
are beyond scrutiny,” he said.
“We, however hold the
view that any criticism of the judiciary should be
measured, tampered, based
on fact and law. Any attack on the judiciary
should not be actuated by
malice and calculated to bring the institution
into
disrepute.”
McDonald Lewanika, the director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition told a
foreign radio station on Thursday that “the persecution of
Justice Hungwe
sends out a clear message that there are people who are not
interested in
the independence of the judiciary and they are not interested
in judges who
operate independently without following the whims of certain
political
actors.
“We believe this is the reason why Justice Hungwe
is being vilified. Because
he is doing what is right.”
Lewanika said
this is all part of a plan to “clean” the judges’ bench before
the next
elections; something Zanu PF has successfully done in the past to
maintain
its control of the country.
“If you look into the past, in 2002, we had a
series of judges forced off
the bench in a similar situation as we see now
with Justice Hungwe. They
were perceived to be independent and impartial,
whereas those presiding over
the State are only comfortable with a judiciary
that is malleable to the
wishes of the State,” Lewanika said adding: “There
is now clearly an attempt
to ensure the bench is fully controlled by people
who are amiable to the
president.”
Contributing to the debate,
Grey Mukondo said as Zimbabweans we gain
nothing, but confusion, from
undermining our judiciary.
“Justice Hungwe is a war veteran, who at one
time served as chairperson of
the War Veterans Association,” Mukondo said.
“There can never be a question
of him undermining our sovereignty as
insinuated in the last two Herald
articles.
“We are making many
mistakes in our carriage of justice, with police rushing
to arrest people
without solid evidence and the courts releasing these
suspects. It would
seem that anyone who questions these miscarriages
automatically becomes a
sell-out.
“Let us grow up. We belong to a political party with a solid
history. We
have always upheld principles beyond expediency. The matter
brings to mind
the bungled suspension and subsequent dismissal of Sobusa
Gula-Ndebele from
the post of Attorney General.
“We had all sorts of
unsubstantiated accusations levelled against him, which
allegations were
later thrown out by the courts. Why do we fear our own
children?” Mukondo
asked.
Precious Shumba, a civic leader said the “criminals” that have
sanctioned
the persecution of Justice Hungwe are really
cowards.
“They are hiding behind their offices to wage a shallow campaign
of
vilification against the learned Judge,” he said.
“All the
progressive forces should rally behind our judiciary and expose the
people
running this campaign to undermine our judiciary.”
He said those
persecuting Hungwe should come clean on the charges.
“Is this an attempt
at judicial cleansing to have only the compliant judges
on the bench ahead
of the elections?”
Shumba said Justice Hungwe, like all judges, is human
and can make some
professional blunders.
“However, there are
processes that should be taken to correct a situation
once it has been
noted. In the interest of justice, people should be
sentenced, once
convicted of their crimes, rather than for a person to be
kept in the
dark.
“The State-controlled media acts on behalf of their partisan
masters who
want everyone to toe the party line, irrespective of whether or
not they are
in the wrong. In my view, the judiciary is being crucified for
its role
against corruption.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 08 April 2013 10:12
HARARE -
Blood is on the floor in the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai as
the party heads for primary elections to choose candidates
ahead of a
watershed general election whose timing is still a subject of
bickering.
The MDC last Wednesday completed its vetting process, but
so intense was the
contest that “heavyweights” such as Deputy Prime Minister
and MDC vice
president Thokozani Khupe chickened out of her Makokoba
constituency after
facing the heat from State Enterprises minister Godern
Moyo.
Party sources said the vetting process was heated as different
factions
tried to elbow past candidates pushed by rival camps. Secretariat
staff
recording minutes of the meeting had to be asked to leave.
“The
president (Tsvangirai) will have a lot of work, patching the chasm left
by
the primary elections,” said a party insider, preferring
anonymity.
“Factionalism is playing out badly, particularly in Manicaland
and Masvingo
provinces where the so called Tsvangirai/Biti factions are at
each other’s
throats and can barely greet each other,” she added.
MDC
spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said “no one was protected” during the
vetting
process adding primary elections have been set for April 20.
“What is
gratifying to note is that we have more women who want to come and
contest.
But what is more interesting is that the so-called heavyweights are
going to
be challenged,” said Mwonzora, who is unchallenged in his Nyanga
North
constituency.
Heavyweights such as secretary-general Tendai Biti,
organising secretary
Nelson Chamisa and women assembly chairlady Theresa
Makone are for now
secure, but other party stalwarts such as Khupe are not
in the comfort zone.
Mwonzora chose to be diplomatic when asked about
Khupe.
“Madam Khupe is no longer going to be an elected MP because she is
a
national leader and we cannot confine her to a certain constituency,” he
said.
However, her opposite number in Zanu PF vice president Joice
Mujuru has
successively fought and won elections in Mt Darwin.
In
Harare, minister of Labour and Social Welfare Paurina Mpariwa is facing a
stern test after four people were given the nod to go for her Mufakose
seat.
Lucia Matibenga, minister of Public services is also facing
challenge in her
Kuwadzana constituency.
MDC Harare provincial
chairperson and MP for Glen View Paul Madzore will
have to wait until the
fat lady sings after Last Maingehama, a party
veteran, was allowed to
contest for the seat.
Mabvuku constituency, which is vacant, recorded the
highest number of
primary poll candidates with 11, including former radio
personality and
Tsvangirai’s chief of protocol James Maridadi.
In
Manicaland, a haven of factionalism, party chief whip Innocent Gonese
faces
former councillors Farai Arutura, Knowledge Nyamhoka, and Patience
Rumhungwe
for the Mutare Central seat.
Public Works minister Giles Mutsekwa’s
Dangamvura–Chikanga constituency has
attracted the interest of Brian James,
who had a successful run as mayor
before being booted out by Local
Government minister Ignatius Chombo.
Misheck Kagurabadza, whose tenure as
executive mayor saw massive improvement
in service delivery, will battle
Regai Tsunga for his Mutasa South
constituency.
In Mutare North,
which has no representative following the death of Zanu PF’s
Charles
Pemhenayi, four candidates are eyeing the seat. These are Irimai
Mukwishu,
Mary Kuhudzai, Tonderai Gopito and Gabriel Chiwara, who has twice
in a row
lost parliamentary polls to Zanu PF.
Chipinge Central has two contestants
Livingstone Dhlumo, Alice Chitima and
Samson Sithole.
Journalist
Grace Kwinjeh will slug it out with three other candidates for
the Makoni
Central seat.
In Masvingo, a host of professionals including lawyers,
educationists and
medical doctors have their hats in the ring in a bid to
oust a crop of
sitting MPs.
Notable legislators who will have a good
run for their money include Oliver
Chirume in Gutu Central, Tongai Matutu in
Masvingo Urban and provincial
spokesperson Harrison Mudzuri in Zaka
central.
Masvingo Central MP Jefferson Chitando has already pulled out of
the race.
An epic battle is set for Chiredzi West where sitting MP Moses
Mare is being
challenged by four aspiring candidates.
Another
bruising battle is in Gutu North where MP Maramwidze Hamandishe is
battling
medical doctor Tichinani Mavetera and retired nurse Henrica
Takaona, mother
to Zimbabwe Media Commission member and former president of
the Zimbabwe
Union of Journalists Mathew Takaona.
Tichaona Chiminya Mharadze, MP for
Masvingo West, faces Harare businessman
Takanai Mureyi.
Gutu East MP
Rensome Makamaure, will battle it out with Beria Musimudziwa, a
local
businessman while Ernest Mudavanhu of Zaka Central will battle it out
with
Harare-based lawyer Simon Mupindu.
But observers say, just like Zanu PF,
Tsvangirai’s MDC faces an uphill task
of bringing warring factions together
for a general election likely to be
the hardest fought since independence in
1980. - Fungi Kwaramba, Sydney
Saize and Godfrey Mtimba
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 08 April 2013 09:55
HARARE - Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has reacted angrily to
claims by Defence
minister Emmerson Mnangagwa that security sector
realignment is not part of
the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Mnangagwa, who is also Zanu PF’s
secretary for legal affairs, made the
claims in an interview with
State-controlled media reporters at the National
Defence
College.
“You must understand that the MDC-T and the MDC are in
Government as a
result of the GPA so they should restrict themselves to
issues of the GPA of
which security sector reforms are not a part,”
Mnangagwa told reporters.
“The major issues that are outstanding are the
issues of illegal sanctions
and the continued broadcasting of hate messages
by pirate radio stations
from abroad.
“In fact the security services
of Zimbabwe are renowned the world over for
diligence and professionalism,”
he said.
“Those who speak of security reforms are driven by the illegal
regime change
agenda to remove us (from power) and install their
puppets.
“They intend to remove the current crop of leadership within
the army and
replace them with that of their own choice who will pander to
their whims,”
he said.
Mnangagwa spoke amid escalating military
threats to veto the political
transition in the country if President Robert
Mugabe loses the forthcoming
poll.
Top Zanu PF figures have also
fanned the flames by threatening to seize
power if anyone without liberation
war credentials wins — and by vowing to
crush the opposition, described as
“puppets of the West” seeking to reverse
the gains of the liberation
struggle.
The words reflect deeply-rooted thinking in large parts of the
top echelons.
The MDC said in a statement Mnangagwa was
“lying.”
“For the record the GPA in Article XIII (13.10) states that
State
organisations and institutions of which the army, police, prisons and
the
Central Intelligence Organisation are part of, do not belong to any
political party and should be impartial in the discharge of their duties,”
the MDC statement said.
“In the same article, the GPA also calls for
the inclusion in the training
of members of the uniformed forces of the
subjects on human rights,
international humanitarian law and statute law so
that there is greater
understanding and full appreciation of their roles and
duties in a
multi-party democratic system, ensuring that all State organs
and
institutions strictly observe the principles of the rule of law and
remain
non-partisan and impartial.
“Contrary to Mnangagwa’s
unsubstantiated lies, the above article clearly
shows that some State
security organs are clearly operating against the laws
of the
country.”
The MDC statement said State institutions and organs must be
impartial and
must serve the people.
“The police must be a people’s
police,” the statement said.
“The army must be a people’s army. The CIO
must be a people’s CIO. Security
sector re-alignment has also been included
in the new constitution passed in
a March 16 referendum and is expected to
sail through Parliament next month.
Reads part of the new constitution:
“Members of the security services must
act in accordance with this
Constitution and law. Neither the security
services nor any of their
members, in the exercise of their functions — act
in a partisan manner;
further the interests of any political party or cause;
prejudice the lawful
interests of any political party or cause.”
The MDC insisted on “security
sector realignment” before holding free and
fair elections.
In his
report to the Sadc Troika on politics, defence and security
cooperation held
in Pretoria on March 9, President Jacob Zuma —Sadc’s
pointman in the
Zimbabwe dialogue — said “security sector realignment” will
have to be done
before the election, a condition vigorously resisted by
Mugabe’s Zanu
PF.
“Security sector realignment cannot be postponed any longer,” Zuma
said in
his report to the Troika. - Gift Phiri, Political Editor
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 08 April 2013 13:47
HARARE - An alleged
coup plot against Zanu PF administration secretary
Didymus Mutasa gives a
glimpse of the power struggle within President Robert
Mugabe’s party over
succession.
A clandestine meeting held on Friday night — reminiscent of
the 2004
Tsholotsho plot against Mugabe — at the home of Women’s League boss
Oppah
Muchinguri in Murambi reportedly schemed the ouster of
Mutasa.
Muchinguri denies the meeting took place. Mutasa is the Zanu PF
official
believed to be closest to Mugabe and an attempt on his office is
generally
viewed as an attack on the 89-year-old Zimbabwe
leader.
Authoritative sources say the meeting saw the “clandestine”
invitation of
senior members of the party, including party provincial
chairpersons, to a
“high-powered meeting” in Manicaland a few days before
Zanu PF’s primary
elections.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo has
said the party was in the dark about
the meeting, but said he will get to
the bottom of the matter today.
Senior Zanu PF leaders loyal to a faction
leader in Zanu PF had allegedly
plotted a coup that would have seen Mutasa
overthrown.
They accused him of imposing candidates, running a
dictatorship and denting
the party brand.
The meeting was reportedly
attended by Justice and Legal Affairs minister
Patrick Chinamasa, who was
said to be livid that Mutasa had imposed Basil
Nyabadza to square off with
him in the primary polls.
A top Zanu PF official yesterday expressed
dismay at the clandestine meeting
saying the former ruling party did not
need such distractions ahead of
elections.
“This is clearly
Tsholotsho Part 2 because some of the 2004 actors are
involved. For
Chinamasa, I don’t know what’s wrong with him because he was,
as minister of
Justice wining and dining with someone who has been suspended
by the
party.
“Chinamasa was sharing the same table with a party official who is
due to go
to court today. Is this not a conflict of interest all because
people are
seeking power?”
Deputy minister of Energy, Hubert
Nyanhongo, suspended provincial chairman
Mike Madiro, acting chairperson
Dorothy Mabika, Buhera North legislator and
businessman William Mutomba and
war veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba also
are said to have attended the
meeting.
Zanu PF, which has enjoyed 33 years of uninterrupted rule since
independence
from Britain, is embroiled in a bitter struggle over
succession.
The plot echoes the 2004 coup plot in which serial political
flip-flopper
Jonathan Moyo allegedly organised an unsanctioned meeting in
Tsholotsho,
Matabeleland North, to scuttle the nomination of Vice President
Joice Mujuru
and block the re-nomination of then Vice President Joseph Msika
and national
chairman John Nkomo into the party presidium.
Moyo was
allegedly backing Mnangagwa and then Women’s League boss Thenjiwe
Lesabe as
the party’s two vice-presidents and Justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa as
national chairman.
Six Zanu PF provincial chairpersons, including Madiro,
who attended the
meeting that came up with the alleged “Tsholotsho
Declaration” were
suspended from the party but have since been
rehabilitated. - Staff Writer
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Violet Gonda
08 April
2013
UK’s ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher died Monday morning after
suffering
stroke. Baroness Thatcher, who served as prime minister from
1979-1990, was
Britain’s first female Prime Minister and was arguably the
most significant
British leader of the 20th century. She also had an
unprecedented three
consecutive terms as Prime Minister.
Thatcher was
described by many, including the late US President Ronald
Reagan, as a woman
with incredible aura and charisma, although many critics
accused her of
dividing the country, creating an ethos of capitalist greed
and not
supporting industry. She is also accused of doing little to advance
women’s
issues.
Her achievement was to transform the British economy and serve
notice on the
old style socialists.
Thatcher was also heavily
criticized for refusing to back sanctions against
South African apartheid
and dismissing the African National Congress as, “a
typical terrorist
organization.” She preferred to pursue a policy of
“constructive
engagement”.
In Zimbabwe Thatcher would be remembered for helping bring
about a ceasefire
during the liberation struggle, as it was under her
government that the
negotiations to end the war took place. The Lancaster
House Agreement in
1979 was her first international achievement right at the
beginning of her
first term in office.
Dr Simba Makoni, a former
Minister of Finance in the ZANU PF government, was
in the party’s support
team for the Patriotic Front negotiation team in
London during the Lancaster
House talks.
Makoni, who is now an opposition leader, has fond
recollections of that
period as he was an exiled student in the UK when
Thatcher assumed office
and endured some of the drastic policy changes she
introduced there.
“But as one in the negotiating teams of the Patriotic
Front during the
Lancaster House Conference, I do recall her influence on
her team led by
Lord Carrington that resulted in the December 21st agreement
that led to our
independence in 1980.
“Even though she was not
involved directly her firm hand was felt throughout
the negotiations,”
Makoni told SW Radio Africa.
He said more significantly Thatcher accepted
primary responsibility for
solving the Rhodesian problem after the
Commonwealth Summit in Lusaka in
1979. “That’s what led to Lancaster House
negotiations and that is also why
we spent nearly three month haggling there
and she kept insisting through
her negotiators that we wouldn’t leave London
until there was an agreement.”
It’s reported that Thatcher had a good
relationship with President Robert
Mugabe and their relationship grew
stronger after independence when Mugabe
became Prime Minister.
The
“Iron Lady” was British Prime Minister during the Gukurahundi massacres
where 20 000 Ndebele people are estimated to have been killed by Mugabe’s
North Korean trained Fifth Brigade between 1983 and 1987.
“The
British covered it up and went on to knight Mugabe in 1994, four years
after
Thatcher left office,” said a commentator who did not want to be
identified.
ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa remembers Thatcher as the
British leader who at
least managed to bring development towards a ceasefire
in Zimbabwe, but said
her government was part of a plot to destroy his
party’s armed wing –
Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army
(ZIPRA).
“We in ZIPRA accuse the British of having been part and parcel
of that plot
to destroy ZIPRA and to destroy ZAPU as a party. They were
responsible. In
fact we think they hired the North Koreans to do that
because the British
themselves did not want blood on their
hands.”
Dabengwa said the British worked behind the scenes during the
Matebeland
disturbance and made sure there was no publicity about the
atrocities in
their own country.
“They stated it very clearly. We
know it. ZIPRA was too close to the
Russians. It was during the Cold War and
Russia was the enemy, so similarly
ZIPRA was the enemy,” the ZAPU leader
said.
http://www.insideworldfootball.com/
Published on Monday, 08 April 2013 12:18
By Mark
Baber
April 8 - This Wednesday the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA)
special
appeals committee is expected to make its final determinations in
the
"Asiagate" match-fixing scandal.
FIFA has been unhappy with the
way ZIFA has investigated or imposed
sanctions in the match-fixing saga
which has revealed that from August 2007
to January 2010 impoverished
Zimbabwean players and officials were easy prey
for Raj Perumal and his ring
of matchfixers.
Last year an independent investigating committee, led by
Justice Ahmed
Ibrahim, imposed bans on coaches, journalists and players
ranging from 6
months to life, with some later commuted to fines. A feature
of the appeals
process has been the requirement of defendants to pay
"appeals fees" of
$6,000, whilst some of those affected have not been called
to be heard.
According to ZIFA chief executive officer Jonathan
Mashingaidze; "The
special appeals committee will convene on Wednesday to
hear the appeals of
Luke Masomere, Thomas Sweswe, Sunday Chidzambwa, Method
Mwanjali and Taurayi
Mangwiro. It is headed by Silas Chekere and has
Advocate Thabani Mpofu and
Chris Mbanga. After these hearings we will advise
FIFA of our position and
we will expect them to endorse the bans as
effective throughout the world,"
Luke Masomere, manager of Shabanie Mines
and former national team caretaker
coach revealed in their evidence that
matches were fixed under their watch
in November 2007 at the Agribank Cup -
Zimbabwe played Finland, Uzbekistan
and Vietnam.
The match-fixing
scandal was orchestrated by then ZIFA CEO Henrietta and
involved a total of
15 matches for the national team where players were paid
to lose by
pre-agreed scores.
According to Masomer, "To win a match, ZIFA would pay
a player $100 and, to
lose, the syndicate would pay a player $4000 etc.
Everyone who went as a
player and part of the management, i.e. officials, in
any of these games,
knew very well what was happening. No-one can truthfully
say they didn't
know, especially, the technical team and senior
players.
"Gentlemen, this is the time to clean our game and, if you
don't, then you
would have betrayed our trust in yourselves and the country
at large."
Great Zimbabwe should take centre stage at
the upcoming UNWTO Conference to be held jointly between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Whilst the Mosi-oa-Tunya, the chosen venue for the conference, is of great
natural beauty and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, it does not have the
same historical impact and significance that Great Zimbabwe does on Zimbabwe and
Africa in general.
It is regrettable, yet not surprising, that
for far too long the importance of Great Zimbabwe as part of our Zimbabwean, and
more importantly our African heritage has been deliberately downplayed. When
Karl Mauch first came across the Great Zimbabwe ruins in 1871 and marveled at
the size and splendour of the ruins, he went on to proclaim that “a civilized
nation must once have lived there.” He also believed that this was proof of
Europeans presence on the African continent in the past. The rest as we know is
history….but whose story? Some of us may laugh about some assertions of Great
Zimbabwe being built by Europeans in the heart of Africa today, but this was a
microcosm of how history has always been distorted to suit narrow interests.
Today the interest in Great Zimbabwe is casual and almost nonexistent to the
outward world, and we only have ourselves to blame for this. With the upcoming
UNWTO conference to be held, I believe the shift should be towards aggressively
marketing Great Zimbabwe as the advanced ancient civilization it was. Great
Zimbabwe was a commercial and political centre built on mining, stone masonry,
construction, engineering, astronomy, agriculture and
trade.
The Great Zimbabwe site, featuring the Great
Enclosure wall, is one of the most astounding regions with monuments in Africa,
second only to the Nile Valley pyramid region. The ancient plan of Great
Zimbabwe is in two parts: the hill complex and the valley complexes. The hill
complex is where the king kept many of his treasures. Although he lived in the
Imba Huru (or Great Enclosure) in the valley, he spent considerable ritual time
on the hill. Several important enclosures exist within the hill complex. The
principles ones are the ritual enclosure, the smelting enclosure and the
iron-keeping enclosure.
The valley complexes are dominated by the
Imba Huru. The height of the main wall of the Imba Huru is about 10 m (32
feet), it is 245 m (800 feet) long, and utilizes an amazing 15,000 tons of
granite blocks. The impressive blocks were constructed without mortar. The
building of this complex took skill, determination and industry, and thus the
Imba Huru demonstrates a high level of administrative and social achievement by
bringing together stone masons and other workers on a grand
scale.
The extensive trading network made Great
Zimbabwe one of the most significant trading regions during the medieval
period. The main trading items were gold, iron, copper, tin, cattle, and also
cowrie shells. Imported items included glassware from Syria, minted coins from
Kilwa, Tanzania, and Persian & Chinese ceramics from the 13-14th centuries.
Stone spindle whorls found at Great Zimbabwe indicate that cotton was spun and
woven with greater sophistication there, than was displayed in other regions
occupied by Bantu tribes. Cotton is of course not indigenous to southern Africa,
but a few (now wild) cotton trees nevertheless seem to have been planted near
the ancient city.
Many thousands of prehistoric gold-workings
are scattered round the territory of modern-day Zimbabwe over an area, in fact,
similar to that containing the ruins. Some calculations indicate that more than
20 million ounces were extracted. The ancient gold mines required a measure of
engineering skill, containing horizontal as well as deep vertical shafts.
Furnaces, crucibles and various tools found in some of the stone ruins indicate
that the gold ornaments and jewellery accompanying them were produced locally.
The inhabitants of ancient Zimbabwe were also skilled water engineers,
constructing a number of dams feeding complex systems of irrigation channels. In
addition, regularly spaced terraces, which can still be viewed today, were
carved into many of the hills in northeastern Zimbabwe. Estimates show that the
area of ancient terracing there extended over 6500 square kilometres.
In addition to being in the heart of an
extensive commercial and trading network, the site was the center of a powerful
political kingdom, which was under a central ruler for about 350 years
(1100–1450 AD). The site is estimated to have contained perhaps 20,000
inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities of its day. The conclusion is
inescapable that Great Zimbabwe had a condensed population sufficient for it to
be considered a city. However, many Western writers have attempted to reduce the
significance of Great Zimbabwe by several methods: by estimating low population
numbers (e.g. only 5,000 instead of 20,000 inhabitants); calling the dwellings
“huts” instead of homes; calling the areas “villages” instead of towns or
cities; and identifying the rulers as “chiefs’ instead of kings. These writers
are well aware that smallness means less significance.
The importance of Great Zimbabwe has taken
on even greater significance as recent research suggests that it was also built
and used as an ancient observatory. In particular, this research seems to
suggest that the small monoliths which are embedded in the top of the eastern
arc seem to have a deliberate alignment to the stars. If one stands atop the
platform found at the eastern end of the Great Enclosure, one can see over the
wall to the horizon. To someone standing on that platform, three of the
monoliths clearly align with the three stars of the constellation Orion.
Furthermore, the tip of the small conical tower found within the Great Enclosure
of Great Zimbabwe, when viewed from the platform, also aligns the vernal equinox
sun at sunrise.
In fact, there are 35 alignments of heavenly
bodies with the perimeter wall monoliths when viewed from the platform, and this
suggests that the platform originally had emplaced, at its centre, a single
monolith that could have been two metres high, providing more precise
alignments. This means that these monoliths were used as a type of calendar
marker which used the trajectory of the planet Venus (which appears as a star at
night) to plan their agricultural season. For a sprawling agricultural based
metropolis of 20,000 people at its zenith, and stretching over an area of
approximately 7 km2, an accurate calendar was imperative.
Further evidence of this calendar can be
seen on the stones found at Dhlo-Dhlo which are decorated with snake and
crocodile motifs and also have marks which coincide with the cyclical observable
period for Venus in its synodic. The Venus synodic period lasts 583.9 days,
divided into four phases – appearance, which lasts 263 days, disappearance, 50
days, appearance, 260 days, and disappearance, 8 days.
This means that any notation of this cycle
could be recorded in a similar pattern, and the pockmarks on the Dhlo Dhlo
stones are divided in this fashion and seem to be tallied records of a naked eye
planet/moon observation with a circle and a crescent. Due to Great Zimbabwe’s
coordinate location of 20.27° S, 30.93° E, this calendar cycle would only be
accurate if observed at Great Zimbabwe. So you see Great Zimbabwe was in fact at
the epicenter of a great southern African civilization made up of many similar
sites including 300 dry-stone walled sites namely Danamombe, Naletale, Khami,
Dhlo Dhlo, Dzata, Shangagwe, Domboshava in Botswana, Manikweni in Mozambique and
Thulamela in South Africa.
Most striking, however, is the discovery
that the large conical tower in Great Zimbabwe, which dates from the 14th
century, when seen from the platform, is in alignment with the supernova (star
explosion) event believed to occurred sometime between AD 1300 and 1340, and
would have been clearly visible in the Southern Hemisphere. There is thus a most
suggestive correlation between the construction of the large tower and what
would have been a spectacular event in the heavens. Simplifying the building of
the conical tower to a phallic symbol or for “some” religious event, is another
way of making the builders of Great Zimbabwe simpletons, when in fact the
opposite was true.
What I also find most intriguing and
important is the origins and links that Nehanda had with Great Zimbabwe. The
Mhondoro (royal ancestor) spirit was the protector of the land and the bringer
of rain.
Unlike all other Mhondoro mediums, Nehanda
is believed to have two separate, equally legitimate traditions of mediums, one
in the Mazowe region near Harare, the other in the Dande area in the northern
most tip of Zimbabwe close to the border with Mozambique. As we all know, Mbuya
Nehanda, a woman named Charwe, was a major leader of the 1896 rebellion against
the colonial state of Rhodesia.
Together with another spirit medium Sekuru
Kaguvi, they were both sentenced to death and hanged. As a hero of national
resistance, she was rivaled only by Chaminuka, a mhondoro of the Zezuru peoples
of central Zimbabwe who came to be regarded as her brother. This brother and
sister pair is characterized as the original founders of the Shona
nation.
Most of the Nehanda came from the Dande
area, which is where some of the descendants of Great Zimbabwe are believed to
have settled after Great Zimbabwe began to decline in the 14th Century. The
Dzata ruins have the same stone type masonery as Great Zimbabwe, albeit on a
smaller scale. The chiefly lineage claims that its ancestors control the rain.
The Nehanda was chosen to read and count the stars and to perform the
all-important rain making ceremonies. It was forbidden for anyone else to count
the stars.
Throughout the many changes in Dande over
150 years, two features have remained constant: the possession rituals of the
mhondoro mediums and the belief in the mhondoro to bring rain. All mhondoro
mediums may be addressed by the title “Samvura”, literally “owner of rain”.
The Nehandas were astronomers who used their
knowledge of astronomy to successfully predict the rainfall season and allow for
agricultural planning, they were also able to predict supernovas, and solar
eclipses which helped build their mythical status which would have elevated
their standing in society at the time. This is also evident in part of the
rituals performed prior to the rainmaking ceremony involved the counting and
naming of the stars. This knowledge of the celestial cycles and start alignments
was passed on from one spirit medium (astronomer) to the next. “Rain control”
could have been nationalized and located at Great Zimbabwe. The beauty of all of
this is the rainmaking ceremony was based on simple scientific rationalization.
All African astronomical sites such
Mapungubwe, Meroe (Nubia), Nabta, Namoratunga, Great Zimbabwe, Mpumalanga all
share a structurally archived reverence for the vast resource of the sky in less
architecturally designed monumentalization for a special
reason.
The question of “who built Great Zimbabwe”
remains “controversial” only to contemporary racists. Great Zimbabwe’s origins
can be traced to Mapungubwe just over the Limpopo. It doesn’t matter whether
Great Zimbabwe was built by the Karanga, Sena, Venda or Zezurus as Great
Zimbabwe was a metropolis of its time with 20,000 inhabitants at its zenith, so
one ethnic group make-up would not have been possible, as its influence also
stretched from its current site all the way to the port of Sofala in Mozambique.
The distortion of history is not new and
still continues to this day and probably will do so well into the future. I
believe it was Napoleon who once said that “History is a set of lies agreed
upon”. Another example of how history can be distorted to serve narrow interests
is the origins of Ancient Egypt. Through a clever distortion of historical facts
and subsequent proliferation of misinformation, the so called historians have
skewed archeological facts and historical timelines to hoodwink the world into
believing that Egypt was built by Mesopotamians and Syrians.
The roots of "Western" civilization –
technology, religion, culture and science – are to be found not in Greece, but
in Black Egypt. In fact as early as 9000 BC to 500 A.D., black empires, from the
prehistoric Zingh of Mauritania to ancient Khemet of Egypt, were at the
forefront of development in technology, politics and
culture.
Ancient Egypt actually has its origins in
the oldest astronomical site in the world called Nabta, which was created some
6500 years ago. It consists of a circle of stones which allowed the people to
determine when the solstices occurred as well as the rainy seasons. Human
remains were also found at Nabta, but only the jawbone was left available, after
the Egyptian museum in Cairo confiscated the rest of the remains. Bear in mind
that Egypt is now effectively an Arab country who support the thesis that Egypt
was founded by Messopotamians and Syrians. A study on the previously mentioned
jaw bone led to an interesting conclusion: the Nabtians were of sub-Saharan
descent, not of Middle Eastern descent. He deduced this based on the size and
structure of the teeth and jaw compared to different ethnic groups. The
conclusion undercuts the mainstream theory that Egyptian society was founded by
Mesopotamians and Syrians. The idea that the Egyptian society was truly of
African descent may seem revolutionary to others, but self-evident to me. The
Nabta had knowledge of astronomy, the calendar year, and the science needed to
construct the circle to track their knowledge. They migrated north to form the
ancient Egyptian Civilization which began with the Early Dynastic Period (c.
3050 – 2686). This was followed by the most important stage of the Ancient
Egyptian Civilization which was called the Old Kingdom (2686 – 2181 BC). Major
advances in architecture, art, and technology were made during the Old Kingdom,
fueled by the increased agricultural productivity made possible by a
well-developed central administration. Some of Ancient Egypt's crowning
achievements, the Giza pyramids and Great Sphinx, were constructed during the
Old Kingdom. If you analyze the hieroglyphics, paintings and statues of the
time, these all depict Africans. The Sphinx itself has “negroid” features and
the one-metre-wide nose on the face is missing. Examination of the Sphinx's face
shows that long rods or chisels were hammered into the nose, one down from the
bridge and one beneath the nostril, and then used to pry the nose off towards
the south. Why was the Sphinx deliberately disfigured by removing the one
feature which would invariably complete the already obvious “negroid”
features?
After the Old Kingdom came the First
Intermediate Period (2181 – 1991BC) followed by the Middle Kingdom (2134-1690BC)
then the Second Intermediate Period (1647-1549BC). It was only at the pinnacle
of the New Kingdom (1549 – 1069BC), when the pharaohs established a period of
unprecedented prosperity that military campaigns were waged and Egypt expanded
its territories into Messopotamia and Syria, this is when the paintings in
Ancient Egypt begin depicting races other than African Egyptians. You see the
African Egyptians were the first to venture outside of Africa and conquer the
lands to the north east of Egypt of Messopatmia and Syria. Before this time,
Egypt was basically African. Only during the New Kingdom did the Assyrians
(Syrians), Libyan Berbers, the Greek, Luwian and Phoenicians invade and take
over control of Egypt. This was later followed by the Roman invasion around (30
BC) and subsequently followed by the the Arab invasion (639 AD) who crossed over
from Palestine and ended the Græco-Roman rule over Egypt. So the ethnic make-up
of today’s Egyptians is a result of thousands of years of invasions and
intermarriages between different ethnic groups which is also why the genes of
the original black Egyptians will probably be found in most of the Egyptians
today. If you compare the racial mix of Americans in less than 300 years, then
the racial mix of today’s Egypt, given its history is not much of a
surprise.
The real Ancient Egyptians were similar to
today’s Ethiopians. The so called Nubians are similar to today’s Sudanese. They
are all very African yet have very distinct physical features which can easily
be identified as being Ethiopian and Sudanese. The Europeans had mistakenly put
all Africans under the umbrella colour of black for their purposes of slavery
and colonialism, and certain historians have tried in vain to misinform the
world that the Nubians were black and the Egyptians weren’t, when it should
correctly be interpreted as the Sudanese were, and still are, darker than the
original Egyptians, yet the original Egyptians were still black.
The destruction and distortion of African
history took on new proportions with the attempted destruction of the
Manuscripts of Timbuktu when the French colonized Mali. The objective of the
French was to wipe out any trace which shows the existence of an ancient African
civilization which did not fit into the views that Africans were inferior.
Timbuktu was the “Oxford” of its time, and over a million manuscripts have been
re-discovered in Mali and about 20 million more in West Africa overall. These
manuscripts date back to 12th to 16th century period and are Africa’s
intellectual legacy of recent times. An amusing anecdote had one of these
ancient scripts on mathematics sent to France to be translated where the
University found that the mathematics in the script formed part of the second
year mathematics in the Engineering Degree course. The so called myth that
Africa never had any written history was exactly that, just another myth. There
are many more valuable artifacts, scrolls, art and items of historical value
which were destroyed in the same systematic way, to which extent we will never
fully appreciate.
Besides the Egyptian Pyramids and Great
Zimbabwe, other surviving African historical sites include Tichit Walatta ruins
in Ghana, the medieval city of Benin, Sungbo’s Eredo walls, the buildings of
Timbuktu, and many other sites yet to be discovered.
The main point that I’m trying to make is
that the UNWTO conference should be used as a platform to celebrate lost and
forgotten African History. A good starting point is to highlight and market the
African States, Kingdoms and Empires which existed before the Atlantic slave
trade.
The Kingdom of Nri (1043–1911) was the West
African medieval state of the Nri-Igbo, a subgroup of the Igbo people, and is
the oldest kingdom in Nigeria. The Oyo Empire (1400–1895) was a West African
empire of what is today western Nigeria. The Benin Empire (1440–1897), a large
pre-colonial African state of modern Nigeria. The Kaabu Empire (1537–1867), a
Mandinka Kingdom of Senegambia (centered on modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau
but extending into Casamance, Senegal) that rose to prominence in the region
thanks to its origins as a former province of the Mali Empire. The Bonoman (11th
Century–19th Century) - Earliest known Akan state. The Ashanti Empire
(1701–1894), a pre-colonial Akan West African state of what is now the Ashanti
Region in Ghana. The Kong Empire (1710–1898) centered in north eastern Côte
d'Ivoire that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso. The Bamana
Empire (1712–1896) based at Ségou, now in Mali. The Sokoto Caliphate
(1804–1903), an Islamic empire in Nigeria, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu
Abubakar. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in the early 19th century, it was one
of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest
and colonization. The Kongo Kingdom (1400–1888) was a quasi-imperial state as is
evident by the number of peoples and kingdoms that paid it tribute. The Luba
Empire (1585–1885) arose in the marshy grasslands of the Upemba Depression in
what is now southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Lunda Empire (1660–1887) in what is now the
Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola and northwestern Zambia. Its
central state was in Katanga. And of course the Mutapa Empire or Empire of Great
Zimbabwe (400–1700) which was a medieval kingdom located between the Zambezi and
Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa in the modern states of Zimbabwe and
Mozambique.
As can be seen from the above, most of the
African empires peaked in power in the late 18th century, paralleling the peak
of the Atlantic slave trade. The brutal kidnapping of millions of Africans was
to replace the indigenous Americans that Europeans had wiped out. The African
empires were forced to implement a culture of permanent and perpetual civil
warfare in order to generate the required numbers of captives required to
satisfy the demand for slaves by the European colonies. Far from “civilizing the
natives,” Europeans replaced communitarianism, cooperation and spirituality that
prevailed across Africa with a corrupt, aggressive and inhumane form of
civilization. The slave trade broke the back of African civilizations and
economies whilst creating capital for plantation owners that kick-started
Europe's industrial revolution.
The UNWTO should be used to rebrand and
refocus African tourism based on our lost and forgotten African Kingdoms. By
focusing on our wildlife and natural beauty we continue to propagate the
negative perceptions and stereotypical views to the rest of the world as Africa
being one big safari park, dotted with natives who occasionally show up on their
screens when famines and wars erupt.
As descendants of the empire of Great
Zimbabwe, there is no better stage than the UNWTO to showcase our rich African
history.
By
Clive Samvura
Jnr
E-mail: cliveks1@yahoo.co.uk
