His case will only be heard in court on December 28, a Harare court ruled, sending him into custody. Bunya's arrest comes barely a month after another man was jailed for eight months after branding Mugabe "a dictator who rules by the sword".

Bunya was arrested on a commuter omnibus after admonishing his young brother. During the row, Bunya reportedly said that his brother was being as intransigent as President Mugabe.

Over the past three years the government has promulgated draconian laws among them the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) that seek to forbid the public from insulting or undermining the authority of the president.

Such a crime, under these laws is punishable by a fine or a jail term of up to a year.

These are not the only laws that have been cobbled up to ensure that the President is shielded from abuse.

There is the amended Road Traffic Regulations, drafted by the government in 2002. The amendment makes it an offence to swear or gesture "within the view or hearing of the State motorcade with the intention of insulting any person travelling with an escort or any member of the escort".

The regulation does not define the gestures, which could be construed as offensive. It therefore means that people cannot make any sort of gesture in full view of the motorcade, lest this be misconstrued as offensive to the occupants.

Over the past months a number of people have been arrested for "insulting President Mugabe".

Arnold Tsunga a Human rights lawyer and activist said the arbitrary arrests could only be found in a dictatorship. "This can only happen in an environment where a country is sinking into dictatorship. " Tsunga said.

Susan Matambo of Mabvuku said it was becoming increasing dangerous to comment on events in the country.

"You never know who is seating next to you, CIO or informers? Bunya never knew that a CIO operative was in a kombi, it's really intimidating," Matambo said.

"Please be advised that due to delays in bank transactions of our payroll as a result of some technical problems, some employees will not be able to access their December salaries on pay day," reads part of the memo.

The memo was from the general manager (corporate affairs) Obert Nyatanga and assured the rest of the workers they whould receive their salaries by 24 December.

Efforts to get a comment for the group's corporate affairs department proved fruitless. They were all said to have gone on holiday.

"There is no one to help you today but who gave you that memo? Why don't you call after the holidays when they would be back?" advised a secretary who responded to The Standard call yesterday.

The production chain from the farmer, who grows wheat to the millers and bakeries had resulted in the price of bread to the consumer becoming unaffordable. But by making use of its existing milling operations and the bakeries, the GMB will be offering consumers bread at a cheaper price.

"This will provide customers with an alternative and help in stamping out profiteering by some of the bakeries. All the projects are aimed at benefiting the common man in the street through price stabilization and providing basic commodities at affordable prices.

"We are putting commodities within the reach of even the most vulnerable members of our society by making these basic food items affordable to them," he said.

The eventual aim, he said was to occupy 90% of the housewife's basket.

The GMB already produces maize meal, rice, sugar beans, popcorn, nyimo, salt, samp and coffee and it is the expertise honed from producing and marketing these foodstuffs that the parastatal is hoping to see it successfully roll out its ambitious bakeries project.

In a major step that will locate it at the centre of stockfeed and cooking oil production, the GMB will by June next year launch a stockfeed manufacturing plant at its Norton depot. This would produce dairy, beef, layers; pig and pet feed concentrates.

At about the same time it will also commission an oil extraction project to produce cooking oil and soya/sunflower cake at the same depot.

Muvuti said the projects are expected to stabilize the prices of cooking oil by breaking monopolies and cartels that have been put in place by traditional players in the market. The GMB roject is also expected to play an important role in employment creation.

In an interview, Dabengwa said Zanu PF had come up with a 'non-violent campaigning strategy and clear policies' which they would put before the electorate in order to make the right impact in Matabeleland region.

"The reason why Zanu PF lost in Matabeleland during the 2000 election was because of its failure to fulfil certain promises it made to the electorate but this time the ruling party has done its homework.

"Zanu PF has successfully implemented a lot of developmental projects for the Matabeleland region hence its chances of reclaiming seats it had lost to the opposition MDC," said Dabengwa.

Dabengwa, who lost in the 2000 election, says he is not so sure whether he will stand because the people have not yet approached him. The ruling party, he said, was yet to conduct its primary elections.

Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, the new secretary for education in Zanu PF's Politburo, echoed the same sentiments saying the commissariat department had revamped the ruling party in Matabeleland region to an extent that those who voted for MDC during the 2000 elections would abandon the opposition. Ndlovu was, until this month, the deputy national political commissar of the ruling party.

"Zanu PF has undertaken a number of projects built in Matabeleland including schools, roads such as the one from Bulawayo to Tsholotsho, hospitals, universities and tertiary colleges at Lupane and Gwanda.

"The ruling party has addressed a lot of problems. It is now a different situation from 2000 when people from the Matabeleland region voted just to oust the ruling party without considering how some individuals performed," Ndlovu said.

He said, with the developments undertaken between 2000 and 2004, he might consider standing for Mpopoma constituency in Bulawayo where he lost to the opposition MDC.

"Mpopoma residents have invited me to stand and I will be there for them. I would not let them down when they need my help most," Ndlovu said.

The Minister of Home Affairs and Beitbridge Member of Parliament, Kembo Mohadi, said the "disaster" of 2000 would not happen again.

"MDC know it quite well that the victory they registered in 2000 was as a result of a protest vote. Zanu PF was caught unawares in Matabeleland region and I am glad that the giant has awoken," Mohadi said.

However, Zimbabwe's main opposition political party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says it will maintain its lead in the region where it is predicting a 97 percent victory if the SADC protocol on guidelines and principles for democratic elections are implemented.

Several legislators from opposition MDC said they didn't see any indications that Zanu PF would 'rise from the dead' in Matabeleland region.

Member of Parliament for Umzingwane, Nomalanga Khumalo (MDC), predicted the opposition would score a 100 percent landslide victory if elections were violence-free.

"Zanu PF here in Matabeleland region is seriously engaged in some in-house fighting, a move that is positively going to work in favour of the opposition," Khumalo said.

David Coltart, the MDC Secretary for Legal Affairs and Bulawayo South legislator, said prediction of the 2005 elections outcome would only depend on how they would be run.

Coltart said the MDC would win 97 percent of seats in the Matabeleland region if the elections were held in a free and fair atmosphere.

Mauppa who pleaded guilty to the assault charge, was accused of intending to cause grievious bodily harm on the CIO operative he beat up at a Mutare Hotel last month.

The State alleged that Mauppa on November 16, 2004, while drinking beer at the Wise Owl Hotel in Mutare with other patrons, had an altercation with Tapfuma over political differences.

Mauppa, an MDC councillor, is alleged to have been infuriated by statements made by Tapfuma to the effect that, he (Mauppa) was a puppet of (Morgan) Tsvangirai, the MDC leader as he had been with the now defunct Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) then led by former Zanu PF political firebrand Edgar Tekere.

The State alleged Mauppa assaulted Tapfuma several times on the head with clenched fists leading to the complainant sustaining some injuries to the mouth.

Provincial Magistrate Billiard Musakwa blamed Mauppa for failing to control his temper as a civic leader.

"You are a civic leader and should lead by example. If you fail to do so the courts are there to teach you how to behave in future," said Musakwa.

Mauppa who paid the $200 000 fine faced an alternative 20 days in in prison.

Founded in 1994, SAfAids has through its newsletters, toolkits, fact sheets, books, manuals, videos, TV and radio programmes reached thousands of people who require HIV and Aids information in the region. According to the organisation's executive director, Lois Lunga, her organisation seeks to harness state of the art information and communication technology to ensure that those in need of information in the region access it easily.

Lunga said: "We have an operational satellite resource centre in Namibia and will soon be opening another one in Zambia."

To scale up information dissemination in the region, SAfAids has embarked on an ambitious programme to set up satellite resource centres in southern Africa. Already, such a centre has been set up in Windhoek, Namibia, in collaboration with the Namibian Network of Aids Service Organisations (NANASO).

The satellite resource centres are modelled on the main resource centre based in Harare. The Harare centre offers an array of services including electronic and hard copy versions of documents for researchers and other general users.

The centre, which was launched recently, boasts of a video room where the facility's users can view many documentaries on HIV and Aids, Internet facilities for researching on world wide web (WWW) and a variety of materials in audio format. The satellite resource centres coordinator, Cecilia Mhiti, says the Harare resource centre is a mine of information for those yearning for HIV and Aids information and that the facility is user-friendly.

Mhiti says: "The resource centre is a one-stop shop for HIV and Aids information where all the available material is current, relevant to our target readers and is readily available because we use cutting edge information and communication technology."

Satellite resource centres are set to be the hubs of SAfAids activities in the region. For example, the organisation has been training journalists on effective coverage of HIV and Aids in the region. It is anticipated that trained journalist will make the resource centres their focal points which they can use as their meeting points and also use them to research their articles for their various media organisations.

Also, the resource centres in the region will be used to host discussion forums on key and topical issues on the pandemic. Currently, discussion forums are held on a quarterly basis in Harare whereby experts are invited to share the current developments in the area of HIV and Aids. SAfAids is eager to replicate this activity in the region. The last discussion forum was an opportunity for experts who attended the Bangkok 15 International HIV/Aids Conference to share their experiences with Zimbabweans who did not get an opportunity to go to Bangkok.

The use of the electronic media has been exploited by SAfAids to reach a wider audience in Zimbabwe and beyond. One of the organisation's main electronic media production is the Perspectives programme that is aired every Tuesday evening on ZTV. A joint venture between SAfAids and ZTV, Perspectives has paraded a number of prominent experts who have appeared as the programme's guests to talk and field questions on many topics around the pandemic.

The presenter of the programme, Tariro Makanga, believes Perspectives is making a difference in people's lives. She says: "The most gratifying thing is that we receive many telephone calls at SAfAids after the programme has gone on air. Many people call to get more information on the topic of the programme that has been aired. This is very encouraging because it shows us that viewers are benefiting from the programme."

Makanga invites constructive comments, both positive and negative on the programme saying it is through such feedback that the programme can be improved and serve the audience better.

Lunga believes providing relevant HIV and Aids information is a great challenge given the dynamism of the pandemic. With greater international focus on improving access and reducing the costs of HIV treatment, many countries in southern Africa began the process of scaling up anti-retroviral (ARVs) distribution.

"This has placed a spotlight on the need for more information related to human rights, treatment and health policies," she says. Undaunted, Lunga believes the 10-year-old SAfAids has what it takes to rise to the challenge of providing accurate and timely information on HIV and Aids in the region.

And as we accurately predicted all those many months ago, Moyo's downfall - which will eventually be crowned when he is finally booted out of the Cabinet (did I hear you scream: When, when?) - is now just a formality and the motor-mouth junior Minister will soon be history; just as the dodo or the Rhodesian dollar.

But before we gaze at Woodpecker's famed crystal ball and announce (or pronounce) the futures of some of our politicians and celebrated citizens, let's take time to digest the year that has sailed past us and in the meantime recognise the individuals (or institutions) that made it relevant for us to say one day: indeed I was in Zimbabwe when that so-and-so did so, so. Ladies and Gentlemen: let me introduce to you the inaugural Woodpecker "Man of the Year" award.

Man of the Moment

WOODPECKER's Man of the Year for 2004 is none other than Uncle Bob. The veteran Zanu PF leader, the grandmaster of African politics, once again rode high above any pretenders to his crown.

The history of Zanu PF (and indeed the political history of President Robert Mugabe) has shown that it is one who stays longest on the course who emerges the winner. Many people (Woodpecker included) were beginning to write off Uncle Bob and it was becoming easy to come across phrases like: "tired", "too old", "old fashioned" and "about to quit" when conversations centred on the man at State House.

There were stories that he would not last the course and would choose the grand stage at the party's long-awaited December congress to make his (long-awaited) departure from the Zimbabwe political landscape.

There were reports (some of them almost verified by the likes of Thabo Mbeki) that Uncle Bob was tired about the never-ending Zimbabwe political and economic crises that he would, before the year expired, name his eventual successor.

There were even reports that the "old man" is busy putting final touches to his Borrowdale mansion (by the way if that is Zhing zhong, let me have it) and cannot wait to move in because he has finally realised that his sale-by day is long gone.

Such talk might have influenced the so-called Young Turks to conclude that since time and tide waits for no man, it was better to influence events by meeting "engale eTsholotosho" and plan that should Uncle Bob try to play a quickie, they would have their own government-in-waiting in place.

But they, as many others before them such as the late Ndabaningi Sithole, "Two Boy" Edgar Tekere and the late Eddison Zvobgo - among many others living or dead - miscalculated and in the heat of the moment, they gave the game away.

The grandmaster made his move and in one stroke he dealt the killer blow to the Young Turks' ambitions while at the same time gaining a substantial support base by doing the impossible: rooting and pushing for a woman Vice President.

The rest (and the Young Turks), as they say, is history.

Crystal ball - the heavies

LOOKING at my crystal ball, what do I see?

UNCLE Bob: Though faced with a tricky election and possible revolt in Zanu PF, President Mugabe will ruthlessly deal with any dissent and drop almost all of the so-called Young Turks from Cabinet before March 2005. While the crystal ball is hazy on whom and when, it says Uncle Bob might make a Cabinet reshuffle before or just after his annual holiday.

JONATHAN Moyo: The crystal ball says Zimbabwe's Joseph Goebels will be dropped from Cabinet at the first reshuffle. It also says his chances to try and stand for Tsholotsho are doomed: his enemies are going for the jugular and what better way to celebrate 2005 than to have his head on the table.

MORGAN Tsvangirai: The star continues to shine for the MDC leader who over the years has greatly matured and become world-wise. The MDC might fail to snatch the 2005 general election but if Tsvangirai plays his cards right, he might be the future tenant of State House, come 2008.

JOYCE Mujuru: The youngest of the Zanu PF heavies also has a good 2005 on the cards. Not only shall she influence who will get what in the Cabinet, her husband's rural home of Chikomba shall replace Zvavahera (the late Mzee's home village) as the place where political - and indeed business - deals are made and cemented. So many a politician will soon be beating the path to Chikomba.

JOSEPH Msika: The sunset is setting for the veteran politician who once declared that he was also "ready to rule". The emergence of Mujuru (and the powerful clique behind her) means that should Uncle Bob decide to take early retirement, it is never going to be a shoe-in for the ebullient and well liked Vice President.

EMMERSON Mnangagwa: The man once known as "the crocodile" (ngwena) might be down, but he is certainly not out, says Woodpecker's crystal ball. The crystal ball adds that, like the crocodile, the Speaker might wait patiently for his turn and pounce at the right moment. The art would be when to judge the right moment. Once bitten, twice shy.

Crystal ball: the lighties

PUFFY and Company: The crystal ball has only one phrase for that boot-licking lot - the short route to oblivion beckons!

For our favourite cartoon character Joseph "Chinos" Chinotimba, it is also sad news. The crystal ball says Chinos might be history soon because he made the mistake of setting foot in Tsholotsho at the same time the rural town was hosting its favourite son, the troublesome motor mouth minister.

The demise of the promising political career of our Chinos - which for him might mean a day job at the city of Harare's municipal police desk - would be a great disappointment to his legion of fans, Woodpecker included.

On the soccer front, the green machine of Caps United will continue to stream roll its way to more fortunes and medals in 2005. For the first time, Caps might actually make themselves noticed on the continent.

But the same year would see the re-emergence of the sleeping blue giant, Dynamos. Dynamos supporters - of whom Woodpecker is prominent - should seriously consider discarding the "DeMbare" tag. Since cheap newspaper columnists started calling Zimbabwe's most successful team "DeMbare", everything has gone haywire.

On that happy note: let's raise our glasses to a successful 2005. Minus Nutty Nathaniel!

Some of the documents were allegedly intercepted recently and it is believed they were bound for South Africa.

The swoop, which has also netted newly-appointed Zimbabwe's ambassador to Mozambique, Godfrey Dzvairo, and former Metropolitan bank senior executive Tendai Matambanadzo, was apparently triggered after a foreign power tried desperately to get hold of secret Politburo documents.

The sources say the foreign power, intrigued by the intense power play towards the December Zanu PF congress, wanted the documents to ascertain how the top Zanu PF leadership viewed events in the country and region.

According to the sources, Zanu PF deputy security chief Kenny Karidza, was reportedly the first to be picked up by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) after the spy agency stumbled on information that issues discussed in the Politburo were getting into the hands of a foreign power.

Karidza is said to have led State security agents to others who included Zanu PF External Affairs director Itai Marchi, Matambanadzo as well as Zimbabwe's former consul general in Johannesburg, Dzvairo.

"They (captives) would record information in the Politburo and some of the documents were faxed to SA using facilities in Matambanadzo's office. The CIO somehow intercepted some of these documents," said a source.

It was not immediately clear how Chiyangwa, a flamboyant businessman believed to be related to President Robert Mugabe, was involved in the whole saga.