LONDON Aug 11 (Reuters) -
Frenchman Tony Estanguet, who won a third Olympic canoeing gold medal at the
London Games and Zimbabwe swimmer Kirsty Coventry will become International
Olympic Committee members after being elected onto the athletes' commission
on Saturday.
The two were joined by James Tomkins, former Australian
Olympic rowing champion, and Slovakian shooter Danka Bartekova as the four
new members of the commission elected by their peers that also secures them
a spot in the IOC for the next eight years.
The commission is
designed to be the athletes' link in the decision-making process of the
Olympic body.
"The athletes are at the centre of everything we do, and
the commission ensures that their voice is heard in all important decisions
taken by the IOC," commission chairwoman Anita DeFrantz told
reporters.
Some 6,924 athletes - 64 percent of all eligible voters -
chose from among 21 candidates from the same number of countries.
The
commission is composed of 12 athletes (eight summer and four winter) elected
for eight years by the athletes participating in the Olympic Games, and of
up to seven athletes appointed by the IOC president, to ensure a balance
between regions, genders and sports.
Written by Wendy Muperi and Xolisani
Ncube Saturday, 11 August 2012 13:30
HARARE - President Robert
Mugabe will address the Heroes and Defences Forces holiday gatherings on a
dry platter, as Harare runs dry.
In a statement, Harare City Council said
most suburbs in the capital city would run dry following a power outage at
its major pump station; Warren control Pump Station.
“The City of
Harare wishes to assure its valued customers that all efforts have been made
to rectify the challenges associated with the power outage,” said the city
in its statement.
The water shortages would be a challenge to Mugabe who
will have to address two crowds during the Heroes and Defences Forces
holidays slated for the National Heroes’ acre and National Sports Stadium
respectively.
Officials from council told the Daily News that following
the power failure at its pump station, most Eastern and Northern suburbs of
the city could be dry for the next two weeks.
A director at Harare
water who could not be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media
said areas such as Mabvuku could get water supply on Monday while Highlands
and Greendale will go for two weeks without the precious liquid.
This
development comes as most residents have resorted to unsafe water sources
due to erratic water supply which has exposed them to communicable diseases
such as typhoid and cholera.
As of last week, more than 200 cases of
typhoid had been confirmed amid fears that the outbreak could get out of
hand if water supply continued to be erratic.
Harare mayor Muchadeyi
Masunda this week admitted the local authority was overwhelmed by demand for
water and called for government intervention to avoid a
disaster.
After taking over water management from government in 2008,
council has managed to improve water production from a mere 200 mega litres
a day to 600 mega litres a day but still falls short of the
demand.
Harare and its combined satellite towns need 14 00 mega litres
per day which is double what the capital city can produce as of now.
ZANU PF has turned on its representatives in the
constitutional reform programme, accusing them of making too many
compromises and being insensitive to issues the party considers critical and
non-negotiable.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Communications
counteropart Nicholas Goche represent Zanu PF in negotiations with the MDC
parties while senior official, Paul Mangwana, represents the party on the
Parliamentary constitutional select committee (COPAC) which led the process
to write the country’s new constitution.
Chinamasa initially said
that Zanu PF was happy with 97 percent, a claim that has since turned out to
have been overly optimistic after the party’s politburo, its main
decision-making body outside congress, demanded several amendments to the
document.
Party spokesman, Rugare Gumbo, Saturday accused Chinamasa and
his negotiating team of making too many compromises during negotiations with
the MDC parties. “There are certain areas which negotiators did not seem
to appreciate the sensitivity of the party,” Gumbo said.
“They were
looking for compromises and not the party cause. It makes a difference when
people indulge in compromise and the party should do something about
it.” Chinamasa refused to respond to the apparent rebuke, telling The Herald:
“I am not commenting at all about that issue.”
Zanu PF has so far
held three meetings “scrutinising and auditing” the draft, frustrating its
coalition partners who argue that the party agreed with the constitutional
reform process every step of the way.
The MDC parties in the coalition
government have since endorsed the draft and want the process to swiftly
move to its next stages that include a second stakeholders'
conference.
Said MDC official Qubani Moyo: “Every paragraph, line, comma
and full stop were negotiated and agreed on by the parties and signed by all
their negotiators as confirmation that they identify with both the content
and process of Constitution-making,” he said.
“As such, let the
document that has been signed be taken to a referendum as it is and the
people will decide through a referendum whether they want it or
not.
“If Zanu PF is strongly against the draft as we are hearing now,
they have an option of mobilising their supporters to vote “NO” and if their
views are truly the views of the majority of Zimbabweans then obviously they
will prevail.”
Gumbo said Zanu PF was finanlising its proposed
amendments which would be taken to the coalition principals President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for approval, a move opposed by
the MDC parties.
“We are totally against any further negotiations because
it is time-wasting and unproductive. Besides, this document is a product of
the outreach and negotiation processes,” MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora
said.
“The document must be taken to the Second All Stakeholders
Conference where Zanu PF is included, to interrogate the document. They can
also wait for the referendum to air out their views.”
But Zanu PF
politburo member, Jonathan Moyo, said coalition principals had the final say
over the fate of the draft constitution.
“Only principals make the final
agreement after consulting with their parties using their structures. The
GPA was signed by principals not negotiators; they have the final say,” Moyo
told state radio.
“In the case of the draft negotiators, they signed to
indicate that that the words on the pages are theirs and they signed to say
they have finished their part. Mwonozora and all those who think like him
are correct that they finished their part,” he said.
ARMY commander, Lieutenant General Phillip Sibanda, has
said there was nothing “illegal” about a recent recruitment exercise which
Finance Minister Tendai Biti blamed for the increasingly parlous state of
the country’s finances.
Biti reacted angrily to reports the army was
massing its ranks with new recruits as he was forced to cut-back his 2012
budget projections due to poor revenues amid civil servants unrest over the
government’s failure to increase their wages.
The Finance Minister
told parliament that the monthly state wage bill had risen to $190 million
after what he called illegal hiring of 4,600 recruits by the army and 5,400
people by the Interior Ministry and other government departments from
January to May.
He added that the "illegal recruitment exercise" had
created "serious problems, especially in military barracks, where food
shortages have been recorded", and that the government had had to divert
money meant for pensions to cover the new recruits. But General Sibanda
denied the army was engaging in “secret” recruitment programmes.
“It
is very unfortunate that somebody decided to call our recruitments illegal
or to term them illegal because, as far as we are concerned, we made our
plans known,” he told The Herald newspaper.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Defence
Forces (ZDF) commander, General Constantine Chiwenga said allegations of
partisanship within the top ranks of the security services were inaccurate,
insisting the country’s defence forces had always been “loyal to civilian
authority”. “That is absolutely nonsense!" he said. “If we were partisan,
this country would have gone to the dogs,” he said.
Still, a number
of serving army commanders have openly vowed they would not serve under a
leader who did not participate in the liberation struggle, an apparent
reference to MDC-T leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The MDC-T
leader also claims that service chiefs have privately told him he would
never be allowed to take over power even if he wins the next
elections.
Chiwenga said army commanders could not be expected to
ignore their links with the liberation struggle but insisted they would
always respect the principle of “subordination to a civilian
authority”.
“Can someone really say one must cut off his history and
throw it away? People have been to the struggle, be it in Zipra or Zanla and
that is a fact (but) throughout the world no other force has been as loyal
as ZDF,” he said.
“But we also have to safeguard our sovereignty
(and) national integrity. For them (critics) to say that, there is freedom
of speech, it also has to be known that everyone has that right to freedom
of speech.”
Bulawayo, August 11, 2012- The Welshman
Ncube led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has condemned war veterans
and ex ZANLA members for undermining Ndebele traditional customs, values and
culture, saying this will spark a tribal war.
This comes after more
than 500 war veterans’ last Wednesday descended at Matobo Hills in
Matabeleland South to conduct their cleansing ceremonies at the sacred
Ndebele shrine in Njelele.
“The MDC is disturbed and condemns the
continued violation of the culture of the people of Matabeleland by some war
veterans’ elements led by some Chiefs from Mashonaland who on Wednesday
invaded Njelele to conduct an unexplained cleansing ceremony.
“The
MDC stands by the position taken by the traditional leadership in
Matabeleland that this action clearly undermines their authority and is a
cause for a serious national conflict.
“Such kind of actions has a
potential of creating national instability and will certainly undermine the
efforts of national healing and reconciliation,” Nhlanhla Dube, the MDC
national spokesperson said in a statement released on Friday.
The war
veterans were reportedly in the company of 10 traditional leaders from
Mashonaland, among them Chiefs Marange, Chivero, Zimunya, Mugabe, Makoni,
Makumbe, Nematombo, Chundu, Goronga and Nyajena.
Dube said the MDC has
“since asked members of our party at senior government level to take this
issue up to the relevant authorities.”
ZANLA war veterans have from last
year been forcibly visiting Njelele shrine to bath naked at nearby rivers as
part of their cleansing ceremonies and have also threatened to grab land at
Matobo to settle their children to appease the spirits of their departed
comrades.
The visits have angered Matabeleland traditional leaders, civic
groups, cultural activists and Zanu-PF leadership with ZIPRA ex combatants
taking the lead to bar the ZANLA former liberation fighters from continuing
with the visits.
ZANLA ex-combatants have also been attempting to dig
up Cecil John Rhodes grave in Matopo Hills to pave away for the reburial of
the remains of their departed comrades that are at Chimoio burial site in
Mozambique.
Maputo - Justice ministers of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), meeting in Maputo, are overwhelmingly in favour of
reactivating the SADC Tribunal, which was suspended in
2010.
Spokesperson Pedro Nhatitima (head of the Mozambican Legal Aid
Institute), said yesterday the great majority of SADC member states
“recognise the need to revive the tribunal as soon as
possible”.
Zimbabwe was the only member to object to the SADC
tribunal.
For, according to Nhatitima, the majority of the ministers
recognised that the tribunal “has legal existence” – that is, it was
properly constituted and had legitimate jurisdiction.
The suspension
of the tribunal followed the Zimbabwean government’s refusal to implement a
tribunal ruling, in favour of several dozen white commercial farmers, which
found that parts of the “fast track” land reform were
illegal.
Nhatitima explained that the justification for
non-compliance with the tribunal ruling was that the government of President
Robert Mugabe denied that the court had “legal existence” because the SADC
protocol on the tribunal had not been ratified.
But the other member
states hold that ratification of the protocol is quite unnecessary, because
the tribunal was incorporated into the SADC Treaty of 1992. The treaty
states that rulings by the tribunal are “final and binding”.
Acceptance
of the treaty is a requirement for membership of SADC, and in 2001 the
article about the tribunal was quite uncontroversial.
“SADC needs a
tribunal. It makes no sense for a country to be a party to the treaty but
not to the tribunal,” Nhatitima pointed out.
He said the ministers of
justice were proposing that the heads of state approve a new protocol on the
tribunal. But cases that were pending when the tribunal was suspended will
be heard under the old protocol, and only new cases would be heard under the
new one.
Zimbabwe had complained that the land reform was a matter of
state sovereignty and therefore outside the jurisdiction of international
courts. So the ministers are proposing that in a new protocol, it will be
stated that citizens may only appeal to the SADC Tribunal once they have
exhausted all national avenues for redress.
Nhatitima admitted that
in fact this was already the case, “but it shall be made
explicit”.
But what could be done, if Zimbabwe, or any other member
state, defied a ruling from the tribunal? Nhatitima said that was something
the annual heads of state summit would have to decide. In principle, the
summit could decree sanctions against a member which disobeyed the
tribunal.
PRISON servces chief, retired Major General
Paradzayi Zimondi, has insisted conditions are improving in the country's
detention centres, denying reports that most facilities were overcroded with
diseases and food shortages rife.
Local human rights groups claim
overcrowding is rife in Zimbabwe’s prisons; with the 55 prisons holding
approximately 22,500 inmates at any given time against an official capacity
of 17,000.
It is also estimated that 30 percent of the prison population
is awaiting trial and many detainees have remained in pre-trial detention
for up to 10 years. But Zimondi told NewZiana that the number of inmates
was well below the prisons’ holding capacity.
"Our holding capacity
is 17,000. At the moment we have under 15,000 inmates. We are below capacity
and the only prison that is overcrowded is the Harare Remand Prison, but the
ones for convicted prisoners, the population is below capacity," he
said.
Rights groups also claim that lack of food, insufficient access to
medical care, absence of clothing and lack of legal assistance are common
realities in Zimbabwean prisons, allegations dismissed as inaccurate by
Zimondi.
"Situation in our prisons has improved a lot. We have food and a
lot of maize from our farms. We have also several trucks to transport
prisoners to court but they are not enough," he said.
Still, the
permanent secretary for justice, David Mangota, admitted last September that
conditions in the country’s prisons were appalling adding the government was
struggling to feed the inmates.
“Over-crowding is evident mostly in our
remand prisons and these prisoners (must be looked after even though they
are) producing nothing of benefit to society. When that takes place the
nation suffers in very great measure,” he said.
“These prisoners must
be fed, clothed, provided with soap, blankets, medicines and other
necessities of life which must all be met by tax payer
money.”
Officials say the country’s prisons system was not spared
from economic hardships of the last decade which President Robert Mugabe and
his Zanu PF party blame on sanctions imposed by the West.
Budgetary
constraints caused by the sanctions are said to have led to food shortages
and the proliferation of diseases such as tuberculosis, scabies as well as
diet-related illnesses in the prisons.
Written by Tendai Kamhungira, Senior
Court Writer Saturday, 11 August 2012 13:29
HARARE - A Harare
magistrate has freed two mainstream MDC officials after ruling they were
being charged under a non-existent section of the law.
Shepherd Munetsi,
46 and Laison Katumba, 42, were yesterday removed from remand by Harare
magistrate Don Ndirowei, to enable the state to put their house in
order.
The two had been accused of convening a meeting without notifying
the regulating authority in contravention of Section 24 (1) (6) of Public
Order and Security Act.
Magistrate Ndirowei ruled that there is no
such section, according to the law when the matter came to court yesterday
for trial.
The state is to proceed by way of summons after amending the
charge sheet.
According to court papers, Munetsi is MDC secretary for
Ward 36 in Mufakose, while Katumba is an MDC member but both are City of
Harare employees and councillor Joyce Kariwo’s assistants.
Kariwo is
the councillor for Ward 36 in Kambuzuma.
The two had been accused of
convening a meeting in April this year along Crowborough Way in Mufakose,
without notifying the regulating authority.
It is alleged police
officers; acting on a tip-off went to Mufakose where they discovered that a
public meeting was in progress.
The meeting which was allegedly attended
by 20 people was organised by Kariwo as a residents feedback meeting to give
the Constitutional Development Fund breakdown.
The two were
represented by Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
Written by Pindai Dube Saturday, 11 August 2012
13:21
BULAWAYO - Deputy minister of Justice and Legal Affairs
Obert Gutu says Zimbabwe will not be able to move forward as long as the
issue of Gukurahundi is not resolved.
Addressing a Bulawayo Agenda
public meeting on human rights on Wednesday in the city, Gutu who also
belongs to mainstream MDC said no society will be able to move forward when
they turn a blind eye to a genocide like the Gukurahundi
massacre.
“Gukurahundi issue has to be resolved for Zimbabwe to move
forward. Perpetrators of these massacres should be punished. If a society
turns a blind eye to such human rights violations like Gukurahundi it loses
its claim to legitimacy. Even if these violations of human rights took place
28 years ago, we cannot turn a blind eye on them. In fact Gukurahundi was
genocide and crime against humanity,” said Gutu.
Gutu added: “We have
many people in Midlands and Matebeleland regions who have no birth
certificates up to now because their parents were killed during Gukurahundi,
these people are stateless. There is nothing which also gives perpetrators
of these massacres right to say ‘let bygones be bygones.”
President
Robert Mugabe has refused to apologise for the killings although the
Zimbabwean leader has called the crackdown “a moment of madness”.
During
Gukurahundi massacres in the 1980s more than 20 000 civilians were killed
while others disappeared. They were buried in mass graves while some were
thrown alive in disused mines.
The Gukurahundi operation was
conducted by the notorious 5th Brigade army under the commandership of now
Air Force of Zimbabwe boss, Perrance Shiri.
Top government officials,
army and Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) officials were also
involved in the brutal murder of the civilians in Matabeleland and the
Midlands.
The Washington DC-based Genocide Watch last year called for the
prosecution of Mugabe and his allies for genocide and crimes against
humanity for the Gukurahundi massacres.
Genocide Watch president
Gregory Stanton called for the establishment of a mixed UN-Zimbabwean
Tribunal to put Mugabe and his army generals on trial for crimes against
humanity and genocide.
The international community has been accused of
turning a blind eye on the massacres because Mugabe was a darling of the
West during the Gukurahundi murder.
The MDC formation of Zimbabwean Industry Minister
Welshman Ncube has condemned as an act of desecration the occupation of the
Njelele shrine by a group of former freedom fighters reportedly for cleansing
purposes.
The war veterans from Mashonaland province descended on the
revered Matabeleland spiritual site on Wednesday despite earlier condemnations
against a similar act by another team of former fighters a few months
ago.
“We stand by the position taken by the traditional leadership in
Matabeleland that this action clearly undermines their authority and is a cause
for serious national conflict,” said MDC spokesman Nhlanhla Dube.
War
veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda has also previously criticized his colleagues,
describing them as “renegades” acting irresponsibly. Interview With Nhlanhla
Dube
A few months ago, the Zanu PF politburo took up the issue
after the party’s leadership from Matabeleland raised concerns.
Located
in Matopo, just outside Bulawayo, Njelele is a sacred shrine where the Ndebele
people have historically sought spiritual intervention in case of natural
disasters such as drought and famine, hence the consecration.
Any effort
to undermine the shrine is considered unforgivable in Matabeleland.
“We
are shocked at the record level of disrespect,” Dube said. “We do not take this
lightly, and we have since asked our members at senior government level to take
this issue up to the relevant authorities.”
EDUCATION
Minister David Coltart has spoken of his sympathies for the quest by former
West Norfolk mayor Zipha Christopher to recover artwork produced by King’s
Lynn-born Thomas Baines from Zimbabwe.
Coltart has suggested that a
compromise could be reached between Zimbabwe and the UK over the paintings
and sketches.
The 40-plus items were sent out “on loan” in 1947 by the
then King’s Lynn Council to the government of the then Southern Rhodesia but
have never been returned to the UK.
North West Norfolk MP and Foreign
Office Minister Henry Bellingham spoke to Coltart about the artwork as they
watched Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry attempt to defend her Olympic
title in the 200m backstroke.
Thomas Baines was an English artist and
explorer of British colonial southern Africa and Australia. Born in King’s
Lynn on November 27, 1820, he left England aged 22 for South Africa and
worked for a while in Cape Town as a scenic and portrait artist, and as
official war artist during the Eighth Frontier War for the British
Army.
Bellingham said: “I’ve been doing a lot of work on Zimbabwe
recently and had a very good meeting with Coltart before going to the
Aquatics Centre with him.
“It was there I raised the Baines pictures
with him and he told me he knew of the paintings and that he was very
sympathetic to the cause to return them to the UK.
“He then said
although his portfolio doesn’t cover the artwork, he thinks a compromise
could be reached after next year’s elections.
“Whether this means we
would be able to recover all of the pieces or have them loaned to us, I
don’t know but I hope we would be able to reach an amicable
settlement.
“I think there is a good chance we will see some, if not all,
of these paintings in King’s Lynn again but there is still a long way to go
and I don’t want to raise hopes unnecessarily.”
Zipha Christopher,
who lived in the then Rhodesia as a child, begun her quest to recover the
paintings in 2010 and said she still believes there will be national and
international interest in the paintings should they return to
Norfolk.
And with reports suggesting President Robert Mugabe will step
down as president if his party loses his country’s elections early next
year, she hopes the country’s new leader might also be sympathetic to her
cause.
“It has been quite a long process so far but I have been
advised I might have a better chance of getting these paintings back once
Mugabe has gone,” she said.
“My only concern with this is – despite
the fact he is nearly 90 - he could hang onto power for years and I have no
idea who will come in after him and what they might think about letting us
have the paintings back. “You would hope, however, they would want to improve
relations with the UK and this might be one way of doing so.”
This
latest twist to recover the items comes after the oldest living descendant
of Baines, John Youngman, vowed to personally write to President Mugabe
demanding the artwork be returned.
Relations between Zimbabwe and its
former colonial ruler have been strained for years with President Mugabe
denouncing Britain on many occasions and blaming it for his country’s
problems.
As well as expeditions across Africa, Baines was also sent to
Australia to join a quest to find suitable colonial settlement in the 1850s.
He was also presented with the Freedom of the Borough of King’s Lynn in 1857
and died on May 8, 1875 from dysentery in Durban, South Africa.
By Associated Press,
Updated: Sunday, August 12, 4:41 AM
JOHANNESBURG — Journalist and author
Heidi Holland, who chronicled the rise of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe
from freedom fighter to power-obsessed leader, died Saturday at her home in
South Africa, police said. She was 64.
Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale said a
gardener found Holland’s body Saturday in her home in Melville, a suburb of
Johannesburg, dead from an apparent suicide. Mogale said there were no signs
of foul play, nor any items missing from her home to suggest a
burglary.
Holland grew up in Zimbabwe, then white-controlled Rhodesia,
but described in her 2008 book “Dinner With Mugabe” her sympathy for the
future president and others fighting to wrest control of the nation back to
black Africans. She recounted first meeting Mugabe in 1975 at a dinner, and
having to leave her toddler son at home alone to drive him to a train he was
about to miss.
Holland interviewed Mugabe in November 2007, after he
ordered white-owned farms seized, which saw hundreds of thousands of black
farm laborers lose their jobs, fertile lands wasted and nearly a third of
the population flee. Later in his rule, he’d unleash soldiers and ruling
party members on opposition supporters, who killed and injured with
impunity. Though Zimbabwe is now run by a unity government, it remains
fragile and there are few signs that Mugabe, who has ruled the nation since
1980, will give up power willingly.
“I think he’s in denial, I think
he can’t face what he’s done in Zimbabwe because that isn’t what he intended
to do,” Holland told The Associated Press in 2008. “He did genuinely, I
think, want to be the savior of his people, the liberator of an oppressed
nation.”
Holland recently published “100 Years of Struggle: Mandela’s
ANC,” a book about South Africa’s governing African National Congress. She
has had articles published in a number of newspapers as a freelance
journalist, and had an occasional column in Johannesburg newspaper The
Star.
She is survived by sons Jonah Hull, a correspondent for satellite
news channel Al-Jazeera English, and Niko Patrikios.
Defending champions Australia opened their
Under-19 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive victory against England,
set up by a powerful fast-bowling performance on a quick pitch in
Townsville. Their top order struggled against the new ball during the chase,
but that wobble was shored up by Travis Head and the captain William
Bosisto, who played mature innings and shared a match-winning partnership.
England could manage only 143 in 38.3 overs and Australia replied with 147-4
in 36.
Papua New Guinea was beaten comprehensively by Zimbabwe at
Endeavour Park. A five-wicket haul from Christopher Kent, the captain who
also bowls leg-spin, kept Zimbabwe to 249 but it proved too much for PNG.
They were bowled out for 145 with Sese Bau managing a highest of 34 at a run
a ball. Kent made 24 but PNG kept losing wickets too frequently. Each of
Zimbabwe’s six bowlers managed at least a wicket; offspinner Matthew
Bentley, legspinner Peacemore Zimwa and seamer Luke Jongwe bagged two each.
Zimbabwe, presumably, would have hoped for much more than what they managed,
since they got an excellent start from their openers Kevin Kasuza (97) and
Luke Masasire (47) who added 109.
Afghanistan crashed to a 109-run
defeat at the hands of Pakistan at John Blanck Oval. Afghanistan chose to
field and was able to keep Pakistan to 253 for 6. Pakistan captain Babar
Azam top-scored with 75 but his effort at the top of the order was almost
undermined by a middle-order wobble as a result of which the team slipped to
5 for 148 in the 37th over. But Mohammad Nawaz stepped up amid the pressure,
smashing 66 off just 50 balls, including seven fours and a six, to take the
score past 250. He added 103 with No.5 batsman Umar Waheed, who was unbeaten
on 43 off 44 balls. Left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq starred with the ball, taking
four wickets Afghanistan were bowled out for 144 in 45.1 overs.
After a history dominated by political wrangling, can
Zimbabwe cricket shine 20 years on from its first Test?
Nine years on since the Zimbabwe
cricketers Andy Flower and Henry Olonga took to the field in black armbands, the
country's cricket has hopes for its future again. Photograph: Reuters
Photographer / Reuters/Reuters
All teams have their own story. Most involve
highs, poor performances and cup exits. Some include financial issues, player
protests and management resignations. But few contain dictators and death
penalties. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe Cricket, their rollercoaster tale
encompasses all of the above.
This July will the see the 20th anniversary of a
date which will be ingrained in few cricket fans' minds. But for the nation of
Zimbabwe, and more specifically their cricketers, it will mark 20 years since
their status as a full Test playing nation was confirmed by the International
Cricket Council.
The African nation became the ninth Test member;
a whole 115 years after England and Australia contested the first official Test
match. But what the country's cricketing heritage may lack in years, it more
than makes up for in drama.
Since 1992, most international cricketers have
largely been able to focus purely on their game . But unfortunately, in South
Africa and Zimbabwe, cricket has proven to be yet another example of how sport
and politics are synonymous.
But where South Africa has a cricketing pedigree
which now spans 124 years to fall back on, as well as a sport-mad public to
support, cricket in Zimbabwe has struggled to impact at a time where there are
bigger issues present. The overriding issue is, of course, the one which led to
Zimbabwe Cricket's most renowned moment; the black armband protest made by Andy
Flower and Henry Olonga to mourn the death of democracy in their
country.
The rule of Robert Mugabe has been a constant in
a Zimbabwe Test match history where there have been few ever-present factors.
Unfortunately, it's this one constant which has put paid to any others. Funding
has fluctuated as has player availability and even Test status.
As a result of these issues, which can't be
ignored, Zimbabwe's on-field efforts are often forgotten. This is a shame for a
country that has produced a series of great players, including a batsman that
was at one stage the best in the world.
Bright beginnings and false dawns
In their first outing in the Test match arena on
October 18, 1992 against India, Zimbabwe managed to exceed all expectations. The
batting of David Houghton had been instrumental in their push for inclusion in
Test cricket, and he once again led the side with a knock of 121 to set up a
first-innings total of 456.
After such a promising start, they went on to
draw that match. Unfortunately, this was to be one of many false dawns in
Zimbabwean cricket as the nation went on to win a solitary Test match in the
next six years. At the time of their self-exclusion, they had won just eight in
their first 13 years as a full ICC member.
Despite the poor record, there were some
highlights. A memorable first Test series win came away from home against
Pakistan. Two wins against India on home soil and numerous victories over the
only Test nation less experienced than them, Bangladesh, suggested that Zimbabwe
could have the talent to emerge as a major cricketing nation.
But before all of that came their first Test
victory in 1995 when they defeated Pakistan by an innings and 64 runs in Harare.
Not only was this match significant because of its result, but it also included
the first black Zimbabwean to be capped.
That Zimbabwean was Henry Olonga. He explains
that while Zimbabwe did have a great team in their first period of Test cricket,
they still weren't good enough to compete with the top teams.
He said, "I think it's fair to say that Zimbabwe
was the ninth best Test playing nation in the world and that was reflected by
the results.
"The top five or six countries were in another
league. We weren't going to play against them and beat them often. We might beat
them once in a while, but not often enough to say that we were a dominant
side."
Olonga went on to take 68 wickets in 30 Test
appearances for Zimbabwe. But it isn't his bowling record that made Olonga so
well known throughout the cricketing world.
His 2003 World Cup black armband protest with
Andy Flower against Mugabe's rule had monumental personal consequences. It not
only meant that he wasn't able to play for his country again, but that he
couldn't even return there for fear of being charged with treason.
This incident was one of many in a turbulent
post-millennium for the African nation's cricket. On numerous occasions players
had spoken out about the influence of Mugabe's government on the Zimbabwe
Cricket Association. Heath Streak's sacking, a players' strike and eventually a
self-imposed suspension from Test cricket all followed to see Zimbabwe cricket
descend to its darkest days.
A 2005 tour to South Africa was described in the
following year's Wisden Almanack as "an embarrassment to all who saw
it."
Reflection and rebuilding
Now living in England, Olonga is able to speak
candidly about his experiences but admits that his exile means he no longer has
his finger on the pulse of Zimbabwean cricket. Even so, he is still able to
emphasise how important Zimbabwe's return to Test match cricket last August has
been for to the country.
He explained: "It's a huge boost calling
yourself a Test match nation as it has connotations of prestige and means that
you're one of ten countries good enough to compete at this level.
"Test cricket has preserved the sport for a
little longer in Zimbabwe. I'm not saying it was dying, but it certainly would
have if Zimbabwe had lost Test status, which it didn't – it was just
suspended."
It now appears that along with this new era of
Zimbabwe Cricket has come a new mentality. Relationships between the country's
board and players, while still strained at times, are far better than before
while the domestic franchise system remains promising.
Symbolic of their renewed commitment to compete
at the highest level is the decision to appoint a team of national coaches
rather than the previous system of just one. This team is being headed up by
Alan Butcher, who took on the role of head coach in January 2010.
Having previously spent time in Zimbabwe,
Butcher was well aware of the real state of Zimbabwe's cricket before he arrived
and was not put off by perceptions of the country.
He revealed: "I knew that I would have to be
careful about airing any political opinions, but I am not here as a politician.
I also spoke to people I respect to put any fears I had to rest."
As an outsider with his own Test experience,
Butcher echoes the sentiments of Olonga by stressing just how important
Zimbabwe's return to Test cricket was.
"It is still the supreme test of all cricketing
skills and for us to claim a place at the top table, we must play Test cricket
and be competitive. The same goes for the players, they will want to be able to
measure themselves against the best in the world in all formats."
Now that Zimbabwe once again have the chance to
compete against most of the world's best (England will still not play against
them), the onus is very much on the Zimbabwe Cricket Board to enable their
players to be competitive. As an Englishman, Butcher had the benefit of an
impartial view and came to Zimbabwe with a clear idea about what was
needed.
He added, "As far as the team was concerned, it
was about making them more competitive as quickly as possible. I thought it
would take the best part of a year to work out the best group of players in
terms of ability and temperament.
"I think now we have established our best 15 to
18 players, and have proved ourselves to be competitive in the Test matches that
we've played, we can look forward to making progress."
After comprehensibly beating Bangladesh in their
comeback Test, Butcher's side has been competitive at times in their other three
matches. A seven-wicket loss to Pakistan was followed by a tight 34-run defeat
to New Zealand before a reverse to the same opposition in Napier by an innings
and 301 runs.
Zimbabwe's cricketing future
Off the pitch, the political problems that
plagued the game at board level appear to have subsided. Butcher, although
unlikely to badmouth his employers, alludes to no indication of unsavoury
relationships between the coaching/playing staff and the country's cricketing
admin.
He claimed, "It is difficult to assess where we
can go as a cricketing nation, but I firmly believe that with the black
Zimbabwean population taking to the game that there are huge grounds for
optimism.
"There is tremendous talent in the country and
with a bigger playing base than was ever available when cricket was pretty much
a white-only sport. I'm certain the future is bright as cricket becomes more and
more a part of the tradition of black sporting culture."
A new effort to get along with players was
certainly on show when Tatenda Taibu compared the country's current cricket
setup to a "newly-painted house with rotten foundations" on the eve of their
return to Test cricket. Rather than the disciplinary sanctions that we might
once have seen, then chairman of selectors Alistair Campbell was seen speaking
to Taibu on the outfield before the game and publicly admitted that Taibu's
concerns needed to be investigated.
In Zimbabwe, the behaviour of board members and
their treatment of players are every bit as important as what goes on the pitch.
It's thanks to the new understanding approach employed by the board and the
enthusiasm of an Englishman and his team that Zimbabwe can put behind them the
events that led to two men not being able to return to their own
country.
One of those men, Olonga, remains optimistic
about Zimbabwe's cricketing future and, although he won't be part of it, looks
forward to their endeavours.
He declared, "There was a lot of loss to the
game, but it's hopefully on the mend now and will survive all of the challenges
in the coming years. Zimbabwe can be a strong cricketing nation; they just need
to be given the platform to prosper."
Everything about life in Zimbabwe this past fortnight has
been very confusing. On the natural front, spring arrived. Musasa pods began
splitting and dropping and deciduous trees started shaking off their dusty
winter leaves. Our gardens came alive with returning migrant birds such as
woodland Kingfishers and Orioles; African Hoopoes resumed their tireless
termite stabbing in dry scratchy lawns and once again our early mornings
were greeted with the mocking ‘go-away’ taunts of the grey Lourie’s.
Temperatures rose, jerseys came off during the day and extra blankets were
folded off our beds and put back into the cupboards for another year. Then
climate confusion kicked in. A freezing blast hit South Africa and we saw
dramatic pictures of snow in many parts of our neighbouring country. It took
the usual three or four days for the weather to reach us in Zim and back out
came the blankets, jerseys and scarves. As a youngster at a Catholic
boarding school in the 1960’s, the nuns always promised us we would get a
day off school if it snowed; maybe snow in Zimbabwe is not as crazy a
proposition as it sounded all those years ago.
Confusion also reigns
on the administrative front in the country. The outgoing American Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, said recently that we were all too obsessed with
politics and should concentrate on development and getting on with our
lives. It’s something we would love to do after so many years of turmoil but
it’s easier said than done. Only in Zimbabwe could an ordinary population
census be turned into a political bun fight.
Schools around the country
were ordered to close a week early to enable the co-ordinating, registration
and training of civil servants who will be conducting the August population
census. Parents re-arranged their lives and changed their work schedules,
holiday bookings were disrupted and tourists suddenly found that they
couldn’t get a hotel room or hire a car anywhere. When the national count
was less than a fortnight away we suddenly started seeing very belated
census adverts in the press and then the mayhem began.
With utter
disbelief we watched as soldiers hijacked the census preparations. At
centres around the country soldiers arrived in numbers and demanded that
they be registered as enumerators despite the fact the positions had already
been allocated and the teachers were about to be registered and trained for
the task. For days the reports got worse and worse: soldiers refused to go
away; refused to let enumerators into training centres; confiscated
clipboards, training material and foodstuffs and prevented training
workshops from being held; journalists were harassed. Riot police arrived at
one centre in Harare and they wouldn’t let government officials, organisers
or enumerators in. Government ministers waded in and the registration
process was announced as having being postponed for a day, then another day.
Then what was openly being called ‘anarchy’ was taken to Cabinet. They said
that only the pre-agreed 1,500 soldiers would be accredited to take part in
the census and they would count people at prisons, police and army bases, as
has always been the practice. This was a far cry from the 10,000 places the
soldiers had been demanding in the census counting. We’re not sure what
happened behind the scenes but next came a statement from the Acting Finance
Minister saying the training of census enumerators had been cancelled but
that the census would not be affected as most of the enumerators had been
trained and undertaken previous census counts. A day later this changed
again and census enumerators were told to report to their centres, the
training was back on. Confusion reigned.
And the unforgettable quote in
the midst of the mayhem came from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesman.
Contacted for comment by NewsDay newspaper about soldiers disrupting census
registration, the Colonel said: “Were they wearing uniforms? I am not aware
that such a thing has happened.” All this might seem absurd to outsiders,
but to Zimbabweans waiting for a constitutional referendum and an election
within the next few months, we dread to think what lies ahead for us; this
has sent cold shivers down our spines. Until next week, thanks for reading,
love cathy.
“It’s not what the people want,” the presidential spokesperson
declared, speaking about the draft constitution. Even before a referendum is
held on this contentious document, Zanu PF claims that it knows what the
people want. Easier to say what the people do NOT want and that is the
increasing violence that is being reported all over the country. As we head
towards the elections. Zanu PF appears increasingly desperate to hold onto
power. The licensing of two new independent papers seemed at first to be a
good omen for democracy until we heard that the papers are banned,
unofficially it’s true, at Bulawayo airport and in many rural areas. Freedom
of the press is a fragile plant at the best of times.
The issue
of the draft constitution has taken a back seat as plans for the forthcoming
census become more entangled. Why a simple people-counting exercise should
be so controversial is not immediately obvious until one realises that the
census results will determine constituency boundaries and thus have a direct
effect on the electoral process. To complicate matters further, the army and
the police have chosen to get involved. There are reports of 10.000 soldiers
being secretly recruited to oversee the census. On Tuesday a meeting of the
Zimbabwe cabinet laid down very precise figures for military participation,
in effect a reduction from 10.000 to 1.571, comprising 292 Prison officers,
541 Police officers, 467 military personnel and 271 CIO officers. It was all
in line with the SADC guidelines and as clear as daylight you would think
but the whole census exercise has been thrown into chaos as the army and
police have taken over.
Is it all about money? That would be
understandable in a country where it is calculated that a family needs
$556.47 every month just to survive. The census enumerators will earn $800
for every one of the ten days of the operation and, if news reports are to
be believed, soldiers are anxious to implement their salaries. So sensitive
is this whole issue that the army is anxious to stop any public discussion
of the matter. Passengers travelling in a minibus in Mutare were overheard
talking about the census shambles by a soldier in civilian clothes. He
reported the matter to his superiors and the passengers were ordered to
dismount from the cab. They were detained at an army barracks where their
names and addresses were taken and they were warned that ‘there would be a
follow-up’; so much for free speech in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe! Soldiers and CIO
officials have done their level best to block the training of civilian
enumerators from Harare to Masvingo, Karoyi and, significantly at Marange
where police and soldiers invaded Marange High School and confiscated census
equipment. The 200 policemen involved said they were angry because they had
not been given the chance to earn extra cash. Meanwhile, it is reported that
Robert Mugabe has spent huge amounts on new vehicles for his motorcade. How
the new vehicles have been paid for in bankrupt Zimbabwe is the question
Zimbabweans must be asking. The Zimbabwe parliament has, at Mugabe’s behest,
ratified a large loan of $164 million from Mugabe’s friends, the Chinese.
They own Anjin, of course, and the 1500 workers who were dismissed by their
Chinese bosses have been told they can re-apply for their jobs now that a
judge has ruled their strike was illegal.
Like one vast spider’s web
spread over the whole country, these issues are all connected: the Chinese,
the diamonds, the military, the police, the CIO, even the judiciary and, of
course Zanu PF. Trapped in the web’s centre are the ordinary people of
Zimbabwe; not for them the pleasures of shopping in Harare’s exclusive new
mall that has just been granted planning permission by Minister Chombo. And,
as we approach another Heroes weekend in independent Zimbabwe the same old
scam goes on with civil servants and shop keepers being threatened and
intimidated to give money for the celebrations. Failure to donate must mean
you are an MDC ‘sellout’ in Zanu PF’s thinking. Their claim to know ‘what
the people want’ means Zanu PF must be in charge of everything!
Yours
in the (continuing) struggle Pauline Henson.
