Zim Online
Fri 11 August
2006
BULAWAYO - One police officer died and another one developed
mental
illness after severe beatings and torture during patriotism training
last
month at a police camp near Buchwa mine, more than 400 km south-west of
Harare, ZimOnline has learnt.
Senior officers at police
headquarters in Harare, who did not want to
be named for fear of
victimisation, said their colleagues were part of a
group of about 150
officers newly-promoted to the rank of inspector who were
attending a
patriotism induction course at Buchwa.
They were tortured after
staging a sit-in at the camp, demanding more
food after having gone for more
than two weeks doing strenuous exercises but
with little food. Patriotism
training mainly consists of rigorous exercises
and long lectures of ruling
ZANU PF party propaganda, meant to ensure
unquestioning loyalty to the party
and President Robert Mugabe.
Our police sources identified their
female colleague who died after
the July 10 beatings and torture as
Inspector Gloria Mandonya.
Mandonya, who was with
the police law and order section and based at
Morris depot in Harare, was
asthmatic and had a letter from her doctor
confirming that she was not to
carry out strenuous physical exercises.
But her torturers from the
police's paramilitary Support Unit squad
ignored the letter forcing Mandonya
to roll in wet mud with the rest of the
patriotism trainees and to run
several times up and down a steep slope as
punishment for taking part in the
food sit-in.
"No one was spared from the punishment," said an
inspector who was at
Buchwa. He added: "They (Support Unit) took us to a
water tap in the camp
and poured water on each of us after that we were told
to roll on the ground
in that wet state. We were then ordered to run up and
down a nearby steep
slope and all the time the guys would follow us beating
us up.
"The whole thing took about three hours and stopped only
when some of
our colleagues began fainting and collapsing because of
exhaustion as we had
gone for days without proper meals."
The
trainees were then ordered back to their base while those who had
fainted
were ferried in police cars to a small clinic at satellite police
camp
nearby. The trainees were also given food supplied by their Support
Unit
torturers.
But Mandonya did not quite recover from the punishment
which those who
were present said had triggered off an asthma attack. She
was first rushed
to the camp hospital at her Morris depot base but was
transferred to
Parirenyatwa Hospital after her condition
deteriorated.
She died at the hospital on July 11 and was buried
days later in her
home town of Victoria Falls.
The police
officer who developed mental illness was only identified as
Inspector Shava.
Our sources said Shava had appeared stable and well before
the torture but
suddenly started removing his clothes as Support Unit
officers severely beat
him up on the head with baton sticks.
"They accused him of being
stubborn and continued beating him on the
head," said another inspector, who
witnessed the beatings.
Shava was said to be recuperating at his
home in Harare.
On being informed of events at Buchwa, Police
Commissioner Augustine
Chihuri ordered the patriotism training course to be
called off on July 13,
about two weeks before it was supposed to end on July
31. But no action was
taken against those who had tortured the police
officers.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvidzijena confirmed the premature
ending of
the training programme but denied that police officers had been
tortured or
that Mandonya's death could have been as a result of the
punishment at
Buchwa.
Bvudzijena said: "I do not know about
anyone who died at the training.
The pass-out programme (completion of
course) was brought forward because of
some technicalities and logistics
that I cannot disclose to you.
"Also, there is nothing sinister
about the training programme because
the members just repeat what they did
at their depot recruit training. Maybe
they find it hard because some of
them have grown so old and fat they cannot
handle any physical
training."
While the police have often been accused of torturing
perceived
opponents of Mugabe's government, this is the first time that
police
themselves have been reported to have been victims of
torture.
Torture is outlawed in Zimbabwe although human rights and
pro-democracy groups have reported an increase in recent years in the
illegal use of torture especially by the police and other government
security agents.
A recent joint report by two non-governmental
organisations working
with victims of abuse and torture, Amani Trust and
Action-Aid, says one in
10 Zimbabweans needs psychological help after having
been subjected to
torture, while another one in 10 people over the age of 30
in the southern
Matabeleland provinces is a survivor of torture. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 11 August 2006
HARARE - The 9th of January in the
year 2000 is a day that will
forever remain etched in Maria Mteriwa's
mind!
On that fateful day, Mteriwa was on her way home from an
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party meeting in Harare's
Budiriro
suburb where she stays with her family, when events that were to
completely
change her life took place.
In a split second, a
black Mercedes Benz car pulled up in front of
her, blocking her way as she
walked along the street and almost
simultaneously, three men hastily dragged
her into the car.
Moments later the occupants of the vehicle - led
by a man she was to
later discover was Dr Chenjerai Hunzvi, a controversial
medical doctor and
leader of the pro-government veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s
liberation war -
were to inflict the most humiliating injury on Mteriwa at a
medical surgery
operated by Hunzvi in the suburb.
Mteriwa
recounts the events that followed after her abduction: "They
drove around
the suburb with me before we finally headed for Hunzvi's
surgery. During the
drive no one had said anything much to me but once at
the surgery, my
nightmare immediately began.
"I was dragged out of the car and into
the surgery where Hunzvi, three
other men and a woman began assaulting me.
They ordered me to undress, while
the woman shoved an object into my vagina
as punishment for supporting the
MDC.
"They beat me up so bad
that I was unable to cook or use my hands for
six months. In fact, I am
lucky to be still alive. When I went to the police
they refused to get
involved saying the matter was political."
The police kept their
word. They did not act against Hunzvi until his
death in June 2001, while
President Robert Mugabe and his government were
more than ready to honour
the war veterans leader, bestowing upon him
national hero status reserved
for only the most outstanding of Zimbabwe's
patriots.
And as
Zimbabweans prepare to commemorate on Monday the 14th of August
those buried
at the national Heroes Acre shrine in Harare and other
independence war
fighters lying in thousands of unmarked graves across the
country, Mteriwa
relives the nightmare of January 9, 2000.
Mteriwa says the
nightmares got worse last week after state television
began airing a special
programme paying tribute to fallen heroes, among them
Hunzvi. The face of
Hunzvi on television had her scream with fear, she says.
She told
ZimOnline: "That man (Hunzvi) destroyed my life. I could
never be the same
again. I experience nightmares when I sleep. It got worse
last week when
they started showing pictures of him on television, now even
in broad
daylight I sometimes hallucinate and see him torturing me all over
again."
Mteriwa's story captures well a rancorous disagreement
among
Zimbabweans over what values and attributes one should possess to
qualify
for national hero status.
Many accuse Mugabe and his
ruling ZANU PF - who strangely have the
monopoly to decide who to declare a
national hero - of defiling the heroes'
acre shrine and turning it into a
burial ground for murderers and common
thugs simply because they backed the
party during their lifetime.
But the debate about who should be a
hero echoes a more crucial debate
raging in Zimbabwe about the values of
the country's liberation struggle.
Many people especially those from among
civic society and the opposition say
the fact that Mugabe and ZANU PF could
make Hunzvi a national hero was the
clearest sign the President and his
party have long forgotten about the
ideals of the freedom
struggle.
"The heroes holiday next week, which Mugabe appears to
hold dearest,
unfortunately come as a stark reminder to Zimbabweans of how
their
liberators turned into blood sucking oppressors," said Harare lawyer
and
political commentator Archibald Gijima summing up the views of most
people
who spoke to ZimOnline.
He added: "Some of the people
buried at the Heroes' Acre are only
remembered for their lifetime zeal of
harming those who shared a different
political view with
Mugabe."
In obvious reference to people like Hunzvi interred at the
Heroes Acre
shrine, ZANU PF liberation war secretary general Edgar Tekere
says he is
"dismayed" at the calibre of people being touted as national
heroes.
"Some of us who led the liberation struggle are obviously
dismayed at
the calibre of people touted as heroes today. Some of them have
hazy
liberation war histories, and only got known 20 years after
independence for
their viciousness against political opponents. This erodes
the values we
should cherish on days like Heroes' Day," says
Tekere.
Tekere, now back in ZANU PF after being expelled in the 80s
for
opposing attempts by Mugabe to establish a one party state in Zimbabwe,
says
he does not wish to be buried at the Heroes Acre shrine because it had
been
demeaned for political expediency.
Among some of the
heroes Zimbabweans will commemorate is Border Gezi,
a former political
commissar of ZANU PF, who is also buried at the national
shrine.
But this is how 68-year old Amon Matinha, from the
eastern Marange
rural district, remembers the former ZANU PF political
commissar: "He
(Gezi) was fearsome and spoke with a lot of authority. He
personally led the
attack on my property saying I should be punished for
supporting the MDC.
"He ordered the ZANU PF youths to burn down my
shop and they obliged.
They also beat me up and by the time the whole ordeal
was over, I had lost
all I had worked for in more than 40
years."
Matinha says Heroes Day next week is for him a time to
reflect on the
pain inflicted on him by the late Gezi and the ZANU PF
youths. He will
probably not be alone.
There are hundreds of
mostly opposition supporters across the country
who escaped death at the
hands of national heroes like Gezi and Hunzvi by a
whisker - they will also
probably take time during Heroes Day to thank God
that they made the escape.
- ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 11 August
2006
HARARE - Fuel queues have resurfaced in Zimbabwe following
last week's
crackdown by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono
on illegal
foreign currency dealers.
Gono, last week ordered
state security agents to seize cash from
individuals holding any amounts
above Z$100 million as part of sweeping
monetary measures meant to stabilise
the currency and also to knock down an
illegal black-market for foreign
currency.
Under the new monetary changes, individuals and companies
handing over
to the banks money in excess of $100 million and $5 billion
respectively,
must explain the source of the funds or have the cash
forfeited to the
state.
But the new measures have triggered a
fresh crisis in the fuel sector
as fuel merchants who depended on the
parallel market for foreign currency
have found it difficult to do so
following the central bank's reforms.
Fuel queues had disappeared
in most cities and towns in Zimbabwe
following the deregulation of the
energy sector last year.
A survey conducted by ZimOnline showed
that most garages had run out
of the commodity this week as the central bank
blitz suffocated fuel
dealers.
A garage owner in Harare, who
refused to be named for fear of
victimisation, said the central bank had
cleaned out the cash from fuel
suppliers who are no longer holding on to
huge sums of cash to buy foreign
currency for fuel imports.
"Most of the fuel dealers have been keeping large volumes of cash
which they
used to buy foreign currency from parallel market dealers.
"Now
that people are no longer allowed to carry large volumes of cash,
it has
become difficult for them to access foreign currency to buy fuel.
Fuel
queues will continue until such a time as the new currency has flooded
the
market," he said.
Zimbabwe has battled severe fuel shortages since
1999 after the
International Monetary Fund withdrew balance-of-payments
support to Harare
following sharp disagreements with President Robert Mugabe
over monetary
policy and other governance issues.
The fuel
shortages have resulted in most private and public buses
being forced off
the roads with many commuters being left with no option but
to walk or cycle
to work. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 11
August 2006
BULAWAYO - Three of Zimbabwe's thermal power stations
stopped
generating electricity about three weeks ago due to a shortage of
coal
supplies, according to a senior official at the state-owned Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) power firm.
Most cities and
towns in Zimbabwe have been frequently plunged into
darkness over the past
few months as the country grappled with a severe
electricity
shortfall.
Yesterday, ZESA general manager for Western Region,
Simbiso Chimbira,
said the recent power shortage in the country was due to
lack of activity at
three of the country's thermal power stations after
running out of coal.
Chimbira was addressing a consultative meeting
called by business
leaders in Zimbabwe's second biggest city of Bulawayo to
look into the power
crisis.
"The thermal power stations are not
running at the present moment. The
massive coal shortages at thermal
stations are so much that we now face an
additional deficit of 450 megawatts
from the deficit we been facing all
along," Chimbira said.
Zimbabwe's sole coal mining firm, Hwange Colliery Company, has been
battling
to meet local demand over the years due to lack of foreign currency
to buy
spares and replace ageing equipment.
The three thermal power
stations in Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare
contribute about 450 megawatts of
the country's daily electricity demands of
1 670 megawatts. Chimbira said
ZESA has had to step up its power rationing
through-out the country to deal
with the deficit.
Frequent power cuts are common in Zimbabwe which
is in its sixth year
of a bitter economic recession most critics blame on
President Robert
Mugabe's policies. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 11 August 2006
HARARE - Police commissioner Augustine
Chihuri has ordered the
immediate withdrawal of police officers stationed at
the country's border
posts following serious allegations of
corruption.
The police officers were deployed at the border posts
last week to
block individuals from attempting to smuggle back into the
country huge
amounts of money following recent monetary changes by the
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ).
Sources within the police said
Chihuri was forced to act after RBZ
governor, Gideon Gono, complained to him
in a strongly worded letter this
week that senior police officers were
throwing spanners into the government
operation.
Gono said the
senior police officers were blocking RBZ officials as
well as junior police
officers and youth militia stationed at the borders
from seizing cash being
illegally repatriated back into the country.
A source within the
police told ZimOnline yesterday: "Several senior
police officers have been
caught shielding their tycoon friends from having
their cash confiscated at
police roadblocks, a development that has
infuriated Chihuri.
"Gono yesterday wrote a strongly worded letter complaining about the
corrupt
tendencies of senior police officers whom he said were tainting the
sincerity of the operation and the image of the country," the source
said.
According to the source, a new team of police officers will
soon
replace the old one with special instructions to search vehicles
belonging
to senior police officers who are accused of protecting their
friends during
the crackdown.
Police spokesman, Wayne
Bvudzijena confirmed that the withdrawal of
the police officers at the
border posts but denied that the withdrawal was
due to
corruption.
"This operation is being done in good faith and is
targeting every
corrupt individual whatever position they hold in society.
The fact that
some police officers have been arrested shows this is a
transparent
process," he said.
Last week, there were reports
that the police were taking advantage of
the chaos brought about by the
government crackdown to rob individuals of
their cash as they seized cash
below the Z$100 million limit set by the
central bank.
The Law
Society of Zimbabwe and other local human rights groups this
week condemned
the cash seizures by President Robert Mugabe's government
saying they were a
violation of human rights. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 11 August
2006
JOHANNEBURG - At least 100 Zimbabweans marched in Johannesburg
central
on Thursday to protest against the on-going harassment of Zimbabwean
nationals living in South Africa.
The protestors, who belong to
a faction of Zimbabwe's splintered
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party led by Arthur
Mutambara, later handed a petition to Ian Robson,
a senior official in the
Department of Safety and Security
Services.
In a statement to the media, MDC information officer,
Nqabutho Dube,
who was part of the protesters, said his party was concerned
by the on-going
raids on Zimbabweans in Johannesburg.
"We
support the South African government in their fight against crime.
Most of
us are victims of violent crime. There is no way we can protect
criminals.
"What is of concern to us is the manner in which the
police in the
middle of the night raid our flats. The police are no longer
hunting down
criminals but are now targeting Zimbabweans who are victims of
the
(President Robert) Mugabe regime."
Last week, South
Africa's Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula
blamed Zimbabweans and
other foreigners for stoking violent crime in the
country. But Zimbabwean
civic groups have rejected the claims saying the
remarks promoted xenophobia
against Zimbabweans. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 11 August
2006
HARARE - Commemoration of Heroes' Day is one of the most
important
annual activities for our country and nation.
It is a
reminder of our liberation struggle: the revolution that bound
worker and
peasant, young and old, guerilla and collaborator, and urban and
rural
folks in the fight for national self-determination.
Moreover,
Heroes' Day serves to remind us of the many that paid the
ultimate sacrifice
in the fight to free our land from minority rule and
colonial
oppression.
The Zimbabwean nation should never forget thousands of
our compatriots
whose remains lie scattered in the mountains, ravines, and
valleys of this
country and beyond.
Today, tomorrow and into
eternity, we should acknowledge the gratitude
we owe our gallant fighters
who lie buried at Freedom Camp, Nyadzonya,
Chimoio, Tembwe, and countless
other places outside and within our borders,
whose blood irrigates the
democratic institutions we seek to grow.
This country should never
make the mistake of losing its future
direction by forgetting its history.
The importance and historical
significance of our war of liberation should
never be a subject of debate or
equivocation.
Heroes' Day
provides an opportunity for the entire nation of Zimbabwe
to reflect on the
values that formed the foundations of our national
struggle: democracy;
liberty; universal suffrage; and socio-economic
justice.
Zimbabwe's liberation struggle was founded on the twin principles of
full
national determination and individual economic and political rights.
Heroes' Day is a time when we should take stock of the progress (or lack
thereof) we have made in realising these values and
aspirations.
Of necessity we should also pinpoint factors that have
impeded the
full realization of these principles and reflect on ways and
means to
reaffirm them.
Embracing Our Heroes: A
Revisit
As we remember our national heroes we must expand the
framework of
analysis beyond the ahistorical and self-serving ZANU PF
definitions.
We must include other gallant freedom fighters such as
Edison Sithole,
Ackim Ndlovu, Edgar Tekere, James Chikerema, Ndabaningi
Sithole, Nikita
Mangena, John Mataure, Lookout Masuku, Dzino Machingura
(Wilfred Mhanda),
Mukudzei Mudzi, Moffat Hadebe, Crispen Mandizvidza, and
Henry Hamadziripi.
We also need to embrace the unsung heroines of
our struggle, such as
Sheiba Tavarwisa, Jane Lungile Ngwenya, Catherine
Garanewako, Jane Ndlovu,
and Doreen Ncube.
Women fought
shoulder to shoulder with men in both ZIPRA and ZANLA.
Where is their
history and recognition?
By the way, it was not just Oppah
Muchinguri and Joyce Mujuru. There
were many female fighters quite senior to
these two heroines.
We should also acknowledge the role played by
ordinary women who
provided food, shelter and clothing to the armed
guerrillas.
Furthermore, let us address the welfare of the families
of all freedom
fighters, in particular the widows of the heroes we
recognise. For example,
whatever happened to the widows and families of
Nikita Mangena, Josiah
Tongogara, Lookout Masuku, and George
Silundika?
Do we even care? All we do is abuse their husbands'
legacy as we
further entrench our misrule and primitive
accumulation.
Have we considered the welfare of the surviving
families of all those
who perished at Nyadzonia, Chimoio, Tembwe and
Freedom Camp?
Of all the land we seized, how much of it went to
families of those
freedom fighters who actually died during the struggle?
Shame on us!
Resolving the Technocratic Challenge
Twenty-six years into independence, the very foundations upon which
our
liberation struggle rested are under assault.
Our vision and
aspirations for a free Zimbabwe are now mirages and
illusions existing only
in the realms of dreams and imagination, but not
attainable. Our country is
in the middle of an economic meltdown of epic
proportions.
Starvation, unemployment, deplorable working conditions, unmitigated
suffering, and unprecedented hopelessness have become endemic. Basic and
essential commodities are either unavailable or unaffordable.
Hyper-inflationary conditions in a shrinking economy characterized by
school
fees, property rates, rentals and agricultural inputs that are
beyond
reach.
The crippling fuel crisis, erratic power supply, destruction
of
commercial agriculture, food shortages, and lack of housing are
devastating
the population.
Inflation has soared to record
levels of over 900 percent,
unemployment is above 85 percent, while poverty
levels are above 90
percent.
There is rampant corruption in
both the private and public sectors,
accentuated by poor public sector and
corporate governance.
These problems constitute a technocratic
challenge for Zimbabwe. If a
new government was to assume power tomorrow,
how will it transform this
failed state and collapsed economy into a
globally competitive and highly
industrialized society?
We need
a new type of hero. These problems require technical solutions
beyond sheer
political change. As we seek governance solutions we must also
develop
technical remedies simultaneously.
We need specific answers to
address fundamentals of the Zimbabwean
economy (inflation, interest rates,
exchange rate, investment, trade,
manufacturing).
This should
go beyond the ineffective piecemeal RBZ efforts that
address symptoms of the
crisis, while violating human and legal rights of
Zimbabweans.
Through its chaotic land reform programme driven by greed, patronage,
and
political expediency, ZANU PF has created more problems than answers in
agriculture.
How will an alternative government specifically
resolve the land
revolution challenges (equity and fairness, compensation,
security of
tenure, productivity, secondary agriculture)?
We
need clear technical strategies in healthcare (HIV/AIDS), trade and
investment, science and technology, education, and
industrialization.
How are we as Zimbabweans going to embrace
globalization, and leverage
the global ICT revolution? We need all these
answers now.
Some elements of the technocratic solution include
crafting a national
economic vision & economic strategy, while
developing comprehensive &
tested blueprints. There is also scope to
leveraging global best practice
(Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, India,
Ireland), in tandem to constructing
unique and customized Zimbabwean
economic models.
There is also need to build economic and
technocratic leadership
capacity. What do our opposition leaders know about
running a country? This
question cannot be answered when they are in office,
it must be addressed
now.
We must develop and build personal,
institutional and organisational
capacity in our political parties. We must
also develop performance
monitoring and measurement systems for government
activities. If you cannot
measure it you cannot manage it.
All
this work to address the Zimbabwean technocratic challenge must be
done
BEFORE opposition parties achieve political power.
The Case for a
New Value System
Core to the Zimbabwe crisis are issues of
governance and legitimacy.
Before the technocratic heroes can implement
their economic blueprints,
these foundational issues must be
addressed.
Elements of the political and governance solution
include a new,
people-driven democratic constitution and the general
levelling of the
political playing field through legal and electoral
reforms; leading to
internationally supervised, free and fair
elections.
However, it is not enough to have a new people driven
democratic
constitution. How do you ensure that leaders respect that
institution?
In Zambia they had a good constitution with term
limits but Fredrick
Chiluba tried to subvert it and seek a third term.
Fortunately he was
stopped by the people.
The exact same
situation obtained in Muluzi's Malawi and Obasanjo'
Nigeria. How do you
ensure that there is a strong belief in, and reverence
for the
constitution, such that leaders do not even think about changing it
for
flimsy and personal interest?
How do you ensure that leaders
respect the rule of law? Why is it that
US army generals never even
contemplate carrying out a coup detat to assume
power, and yet their
counterparts in Africa overthrow democracies and
institute military
regimes?
It is not enough to have a good institution such as a
people driven
democratic constitution.
We have to build a new
value system that is rooted in the principles
and values behind the good
institution, cherishes respect for the
institution, and is underpinned by
the belief that the rule of law, human
rights, freedom, and property rights
are sacrosanct.
This value system cannot be legislated or imposed.
It has to be
developed over time through social mobilization, education,
and exemplary
leadership.
Developing this new political culture
rooted in values of democracy,
non-violence, tolerance, accountability, the
rule of law and good
governance will take years, but we have to start
today.
In the US, after Bill Clinton's two terms he was evidently
more
popular than Albert Gore and Gorge W. Bush put together. He was only
54
years old and would have definitely made a much better president than any
of
the contenders.
Why is it that the US polity never even
considered changing their term
limits to allow Clinton to run for a third
term?
Denying their country the opportunity of four more years of
the great
presidency of Bill Clinton was a small price for the US to pay in
order to
keep a great constitution that protects society from the excesses
of
individuals. Good institutions are not free.
There is
always a price to pay. We should never depend on
personalities but rather on
institutions. Hence institution building and
the respect of those
institutions should be key elements of our nation
building
strategy.
We must also build a national consensus on what
constitutes the
national interest in Zimbabwe. Once this is established all
political
stakeholders across the political spectrum should subscribe to,
and defend
this national interest.
In the US, their consensus
is build around the US constitution, the
American revolution, US strategic
and economic interests, and to a lesser
extend the US foreign policy
objective.
What is it that we can agree upon as
Zimbabweans?
Beyond Zimbabwe, it is imperative for SADC and the AU
to realise that
Zimbabwe's failure is their demise too. Under globalization
there is no
country that can prosper and stay competitive without effective
regional
integration.
The global survival paradigm is regional
economic integration
predicated upon regional sovereignty that supersedes
national sovereignty.
Any economic meltdown in one regional member
is catastrophic to the
group's strategic, economic and political
interests.
As the SADC annual summit convenes in Maseru next week,
while we
reflect on our liberation heroes, we urge SADC countries to take a
vested
interest approach to the resolution of the Zimbabwean political and
economic
crisis.
In any case, the liberation struggles in
Southern Africa were
intertwined. Economies of SADC countries were
destroyed because of their
support for the struggle in Zimbabwe and SA.
Clearly, the history and future
of SADC countries are irrevocably
linked.
However, when the chips are down, Zimbabweans will be
masters of their
own destiny. We will liberate ourselves. As we celebrate
Heroes' Day, let
us take stock of the gains and failures of the past 26
years.
Our decision should be that only a new political
dispensation is
needed to realize, reinstate, and defend the original
ideals of the heroes
of our nationalist armed struggle. The situation
demands generational
intervention.
The baton has to be seized
from the reluctant old guard by a new crop
of freedom fighters and
technocrats, who will then pass it on to subsequent
generations. Every
generation has its mandate.
Ours is resolving the Zimbabwean
economic crisis, and the time is now.
There are hard choices to be made.
There are even more sacrifices to be
made.
For this fight,
heroes and heroines are needed. Selflessness,
compassion, hard work,
creativity, agenda clarity, singleness and tenacity
of purpose are critical
as the road that lies ahead is fraught with
imponderables.
But
we shall overcome. Right is mighty.
Let us close ranks, put
national interest before self-interest, work
together, unlock synergies
amongst all the democratic forces, and
rededicate ourselves to the
liberation of our country from the tyranny of
Robert Mugabe and ZANU
PF.
Together we can resolve the national economic crisis and make
Zimbabwe
the Singapore of Africa. It is our heroic mission.
Defeat is not on the agenda & Victory is certain.
The Struggle
Continues Unabated.
* Arthur G.O. Mutambara is the president of a
faction of Zimbabwe's
splintered Movement for Democratic Change
party
VOA
By
Tendai Maphosa
Harare
10 August 2006
In
Zimbabwe, a lawyers' organization is preparing to challenge the
widespread
seizure of cash from Zimbabweans, in the wake of the revaluation
of the
country's currency and introduction of new bills.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights organization is preparing to take the
government to court
to challenge so-called Presidential Powers Regulations.
The regulations are
used to seize money from citizens who have more than the
amount stipulated
by central bank governor Gideon Gono, who put limits on
how much money
citizens can carry or deposit.
Because of Zimbabwe's hyperinflation,
Zimbabweans had become accustomed to
carrying large amounts of cash. To make
it easier for consumers, Gono
announced a changeover to new notes. The
exercise should be complete on
August 21.
Gono alleged that most of
Zimbabwe's currency was not in circulation, but
was in private hands for
money laundering purposes. And, he announced limits
to amounts that can be
put in banks or carried by individuals and
businesses.
The ensuing
crackdown has seen police, the army and the youth militia
mounting
roadblocks and manning border posts, where they carry out searches,
and take
money from those caught with sums in excess of those prescribed. So
far,
more than 10 trillion Zimbabwe dollars have been seized.
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights spokesperson Otto Saki told VOA that the
organization is
consulting widely before proceeding with its challenge.
Another group,
The Law Society of Zimbabwe, also says the seizures are
illegal. In a
statement, the society says the presidential decree
legitimizing the
seizures does not provide for the confiscation of money.
The statement
condemns what it calls the arbitrary, invasive and degrading
actions of the
police, the army and the youth militia. It called the
stopping and searching
of members of the public on roads and other public
places grossly invasive,
a violation of the individual's right to privacy,
dignity and integrity of
the person.
The regulations grant immunity from being sued to the
government, any
financial institution, or any employee of the state for
anything done in
good faith.
By Lance Guma
10 August 2006
Attempts by the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to launch a
legal challenge over ongoing
currency seizures suffered a major setback when
their client withdrew at the
last minute. The application was supposed to
have been lodged at the High
Court on Thursday the unnamed client who had
his money seized by police has
'developed cold feet.' Otto Saki a lawyer for
ZLHR told Newsreel they were
raring to go in challenging the
unconstitutional nature of some of the
Reserve Bank's measures but without a
client brave enough to come forward
the matter would go nowhere.
Saki said the ZLHR did not have the
legal standing to advance the
matter on their own. He put out a call to
people affected by the cash
seizures to come forward and help them advance
the test case in the courts.
The ZLHR are unhappy at the use of youth
militia to enforce the Reserve
Banks directives. They argue that the 'green
bombers' are not a legally
recognised law enforcement agency and have no
right to carry out searches at
the border. The Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ)
also declared the cash
seizures illegal and criticised the direct use of
executive powers by the
government.
Mugabe's regime is using
the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures)
(Currency Revaluation)
Regulations 2006 and has seized more than $Z10
trillion in the old currency.
The LSZ has argued that the same law does not
provide for the confiscation
of money. Section 5 (6) of the regulations is
also set to be challenged
because it seeks to grant the government, Reserve
Bank, or any government
employee immunity from any civil suits arising from
losses suffered by
financial institutions. The LSZ said 'such blanket and
generous protection
does not only promote and cultivate police and state
agent impunity, but
also amounts to an ouster of the jurisdiction of the
courts to decide
whether the private individual's rights have not been
infringed or violated
by any person acting under these
regulations.'
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
By
Tererai Karimakwenda
10 August 2006
When Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono introduced the recent campaign
to switch to a new
currency he said the intention was to make life easier
for Zimbabweans who
are carrying around too much cash as prices soared due
to inflation. But the
opposite has happened. People are being prosecuted for
carrying too much
cash and the search for this so-called illegal currency
has led to untold
hardships for travellers at roadblocks. The police, RBZ
officials and youth
militia manning these check points have been accused of
stealing money from
people and humiliating them by conducting strip searches
And fuel has gone
up in price again leading to increases in bus fares. So to
avoid the
roadblocks and to travel at affordable prices Zimbabweans are
turning to the
railways whenever they can. As the only provider of rail
services in the
country, the National Railways of Zimbabwe is reported to be
overwhelmed.
Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa said the
demand for rail
services has increased so much that people need to buy
tickets at least 3-4
days in advance. He said groups of travellers are
sleeping at train stations
and waiting in long queues rather than take a bus
and risk being searched at
numerous roadblocks on one single journey.
Muchemwa said trains are also
much cheaper than any bus service available.
But he added that the increased
demand has brought with it a lot of
corruption involving ticket agents who
are demanding bribes.
A
cross-border trader who travelled from South Africa through
Beitbridge last
Thursday told Muchemwa that all bags were searched
thoroughly several times
during the trip and everyone had to get off the bus
each time. He complained
that the authorities are even searching coffins
saying that members of the
Mapostori religious sect used to smuggle foreign
currency and watches in
coffins.
We also spoke to a woman who travelled from Chimanimani to
Harare on
Thursday. She told us the bus left at 4:00 am and reached Harare
just past
2:00 pm. after passing through 6 roadblocks. She paid Z$1,5
million for the
trip on a ZUPCO bus but she told us minibuses are charging
twice that
amount. The obviously frustrated woman said the first roadblock
was at
Nedziwa and everyone was ordered off the bus. Women were searched by
women
and all bags including sacks with food items were opened and examined.
She
said some gold panners were ordered to get off and were dumped at
Nedziwa
because a state agent who was on the bus did not like what they were
talking
about.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
New Zimbabwe
By Lebo
Nkatazo
Last updated: 08/11/2006 04:31:21
ZIMBABWE'S State Security
Minister Didymus Mutasa has threatened a lawsuit
against a public prosecutor
and a privately-owned newspaper over allegations
made in
court.
Mutasa has threatened The Zimbabwe Independent with a $1 billion
lawsuit if
it doesn't retract allegations made by prosecutor, Levison
Chikafu, in open
court at the trial of Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa
last week.
Chinamasa is accused of offering bribes to a state witness to
withdraw his
testimony against 23 of Mutasa's supporters in order to spare
Mutasa,
President Mugabe and his Zanu PF party embarrassment.
Mutasa,
through his lawyer, Gerald Mlotshwa, on Thursday demanded an apology
from
state prosecutor Levison Chikafu for saying he had broken the law by
intimidating magistrates -- a development that led to the collapse of
Chinamasa' trial, as magistrates refused to preside.
The case was
brought back to life after a retired magistrate was roped in.
A Rusape
magistrate told an open court just before he recused himself from
the case
that Mutasa had intimidated magistrates, leading to Chikafu
condemning the
minister's action.
In open court, Chikafu said Mutasa had "tampered with
the justice system."
The prosecutor added: "What he did was unlawful. The
fact that he has not
been brought to trial does not mean that he is not
coming.
"Mutasa is a powerful person.his wings must be clipped to the
greatest
extent."
Mutasa said Chikafu's utterances in open court were
defamatory as they
painted him as a criminal and demanded an apology from
both the prosecutor
and The Independent.
Mutasa's lawyers said in a
letter to Chikafu: "Our client has taken great
exception to your utterances,
made in open court on Tuesday, 1 August. These
comments were made by
yourself during a trial in which our client is not one
of the accused
persons.
"Our client views your comments as not only malicious and
reckless but also
slanderous."
In the same letter, Mutasa threatened
a $1 billion lawsuit against Clemence
Manyukwe, a political reporter with
the Independent, who reported Chikafu's
utterances as well as the paper's
editor, Vincent Kahiya.
The Independent's news editor, Dumisani Muleya,
told New Zimbabwe.com
Thursday night that they were not perturbed by
Mutasa's threats.
Said Muleya: "We were hoping the minister would address
the very serious
allegations made by the magistrates which are a concern to
all Zimbabweans.
"One would also expect the minister and his lawyers to
know that newspapers
have qualified privilege on reporting matters from
parliament and the
courts."
The Australian
By Jim
Morton
August 10, 2006
AN Australian cricket side will visit Zimbabwe for
the first time since the
national limited-overs side's controversial
mini-tour of 2004.
The 14-man Centre of Excellence squad will play three
limited-overs matches
against Zimbabwe in Harare as part of a four-week tour
of Africa, starting
next week.
Australia hasn't played Test or
limited-overs cricket in Zimbabwe since the
scheduled Test series in 2004
was cancelled due to player disputes in the
African nation.
Leg
spinner Stuart MacGill had already made headlines by refusing to tour on
moral grounds amid protests of human rights abuse in the country.
In
the end, the sides played three lopsided limited-overs internationals,
with
the world champion recording a whitewash.
Zimbabwe has since lost Test
status, but officials hope to regain it with an
International Cricket
Council review in 2007.
The academy squad, to leave Brisbane for
Johannesburg on Wednesday, is set
to travel with a security guard, but coach
Tim Nielsen played down safety
concerns for its week-long stay in
Harare.
"Politically it's not my place to say, I'm going there to play
cricket under
the ICC set-up,'' Nielsen said.
"The only reason we
wouldn't tour was if there was a safety issue.
"We're going there to play
good cricket against their national teams as part
of the ICC family. As long
as we're safe and secure we're happy to help out.
West Australia quick
Brett Dorey will spearhead a five-man pace attack on
the nine-match tour,
which also includes matches against Kenya and a South
African development
side.
"This African tour provides our scholars with an exciting
opportunity to
experience the rigours and expectations that come with
touring
internationally," Nielsen said.
New South Wales left armer
Doug Bollinger and wrist spinner Beau Casson will
miss the tour along with
Victoria right armer Peter Siddle due to injury.
Tasmania quick Brendan
Drew, who enjoyed a fine end to the 2005-2006 season
with the Tigers, and
Queensland fast bowler Grant Sullivan, have reinforced
the squad.
Reuters
Thu Aug 10, 2006
1:56pm ET
By Matthew Bigg
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Only one in five people with
HIV in poor and
middle-income countries receives the drugs that treat the
virus, said a
report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
on Thursday.
That is despite a 200 percent rise in the number of people
receiving the
drug treatment between 2003 and 2005 as individual countries
worked to meet
a target of treating 3 million people with the drugs by 2005,
the government
agency's report said.
The dramatic increase in the
number of people receiving the drugs means that
globally there will be a
rise in people living with HIV and thus a growing
need to boost measures
against HIV transmission, said the report.
In all, 4.1 million people
were newly infected with HIV and 38.6 million
were living with HIV and AIDS
in 2005 in an epidemic focused on sub-Saharan
Africa.
"Approximately 10
percent of the world population lives in sub-Saharan
Africa but the region
is home to approximately 64 percent of the world
population living with HIV
... More women are HIV-infected than men," said
the report.
Some
African countries including Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe have seen a
decline
in adult HIV prevalence but in southern Africa, the epicenter of the
pandemic, only 17 percent of those infected with the virus received the drug
treatment.
The drugs save lives by treating infections caused by
retroviruses,
including HIV.
The report was published ahead of the
16th International AIDS conference in
Toronto, Canada, which starts August
13
There has been major progress in the drive to prevent HIV-positive
mothers
passing the virus on to their children but only 8 percent of the
relevant
women receive services such as health education, the report
said.
Researchers in a separate study by the CDC and the Thailand
Ministry of
Health found an "alarming" 64 percent increase in sex between
men in Bangkok
between 2003 and 2005 and "low awareness" of HIV status among
all men in the
study."
"The study ... underscores the need to reach
(the group) with more effective
behavioral and biomedical interventions,
more frequent and increased access
to HIV counseling and testing, improved
STD diagnosis and treatment and
community awareness and support," said the
report.
FROM THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL
Message from Harris, one of our supporters: an
invitation to all Vigil
supporters to attend a meeting (Friday, 11th August
at 6.30 pm) on the way
forward for Zimbabwean asylum seekers following the
tribunal decision.
Dear all,
May I take this opportunity to
apologise to those organisations that felt
they were not consulted
adequately in terms of the way forward. Please
accept my apologies and let
us move on.
I think after the Tribunal determination in our case, a
number of action
plans were mooted by different organisations. Just to
mention a few: 1. meet
with the Home Office, 2.Express our unhappiness by
way of demonstrations.
On the first action ie to meet with the Immigration
Minister, I asked the
Refugee Council to organise this on our behalf. The
Home office has now come
back to the Refugee Council. They want a list of
names of the
representatives going on behalf of the Zimbabwe Community and
more important
the Agenda of the meeting. The message from the Home Office
is "they are
happy to meet with representatives of the Zimbabwe community at
an official
level".
Yesterday I rang almost everyone on this mail
list with the above details
with the exception of Brighton whose number I
have misplaced and Arthur
whose phone went to voice mail. There was an
agreement that we meet
urgently to agree on the composition of the delegates
and again on the
issues or concerns to be raised with the Minister. The
date agreed was this
Friday 11/08/06 at 1830 prompt as we have other people
who will be
travelling back home out of London. (See below for venue and
directions.)
Last but not least may I take this opportunity to introduce
to you Fazil
Kawani who is the Refugee Council's Director of Community
Development.
Fazil will take over the co-ordination and arrangements of the
meeting with
the Home Office and I am sure with the IOM (International
Organisation for
Migration) as well. Fazil worked with the Zim community in
arranging a
similar meeting with the Home Office last year. That delegation
I was told
was initially made up of Sarah Harland of the Zimbabwe
Association, Brighton
Chireka of the same org and Arthur Molife who at the
last minute could not
attend. Fazil is also very familiar with the goings on
within the Home
Office at a policy level. Again I had already informed many
of you of this
development yesterday to which there was general consensus
that Fazil would
be the best person to act as a midwife in this process. I
am sure Fazil
will be writing to all of us shortly with additions or
corrections and
introducing himself personally to those he has not had
contact with already.
(I am pleased to say Fazil will be attending Friday's
meeting).
Regards
Harris Nyatsenza
Meeting details
Venue:
The Rose and Springbok, 14 Upper St Martins Lane, WC2H 9DL
Time: 6.30
pm
Date: Friday, 11 August 2006
Nearest tubes: Leicester Square, Covent
Garden.
Map link: http://makeashorterlink.com/?N2D231EA6
Directions:
From Leicester Square tube, exit onto Long Acre (turn right from
the Charing
Cross Road (East Side) exit). At the first traffic lights, turn
left and the
pub is across the road on your right. From Covent Garden turn
left into Long
Acre and right at the lights and the pub is on your right.
The pub is within
easy walking distance of the Zimbabwe Embassy and Charing
Cross. From
Charing Cross - cross the Strand, turn left into Duncannon
Street (towards
Trafalgar Square), at the end of Duncannon Street turn
immediately right.
Keep walking up St Martins Lane, go straight across a
many road
intersection, the pub is very shortly afterwards on the right.
From the
Embassy, take the road that runs diagonally from where the Vigil is
held
(William IV Street) at the end of the street turn right into St Martins
Lane
and then follow directions as above. If you get lost, phone 07970 996
003
for directions.
Vigil co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place
every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00
to protest against gross violations of
human rights by the current regime in
Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in
October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk