Mugabe to retire after elections: Tsvangirai

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Richard Chidza, Staff Writer
Sunday, 17 February 2013 14:12
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe is tired and will go into retirement after
the next elections, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said.

Tsvangirai said this yesterday while addressing family and friends gathered
at the memorial service of co-Home Affairs minister Theresa Makone and his
personal advisor’s daughter Nyarai who died in an apparent suicide last
December.

“Let us go and vote. Those that are tired will go and rest; into retirement
while the younger ones will take over,” Tsvangirai said in apparent
reference to Mugabe.

The Prime Minister said Zimbabwe has a bright future only if the next
elections expected in July are peaceful.

“The way we are going to conduct the next elections will determine whether
this country will go forward or backwards. We want peace and Mugabe called
for peaceful elections yesterday and I want to support that.

“The future of this country is bright. Each time we identify a problem and
seek solutions to it; that is an opportunity to move forward,” Tsvangirai
said.

MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti who also spoke at the memorial service
said the past 24 months saw many cadres die, but they would not question God’s
wisdom.

“When I wake up every morning I can smell the aroma of change. It is all we
can do for those that have left us including Nyarai, John Makumbe, Tichaona
Mudzingwa, Seiso Moyo, Simangaliso Chikadaya and others.

“Zimbabweans have been fighting a holy war but it is coming to an end; we
can see Canaan,” Biti said.

Tsvangirai urged Zimbabweans to embrace different diseases and love their
children suffering from such conditions as Bi-polar and epilepsy.

“It is time to accept our situation if we have one in the family. In the
1920s, tradition dictated that if twins are born one of them had to be
killed. My father was a twin and one of them had to be killed.

“We do not need to do that now. People can live with conditions such as
Epilepsy. My grandfather Chibwe, suffered from the disease (Epilepsy) and
because tradition dictated that such people be burnt alive in a hut, that
had to be done,” the Premier revealed.

Nyarai suffered from clinical depression for almost 10 years according to
family members.

Earlier this week an exhibition was held to showcase Nyarai’s works of art
at which the Makones launched a benefit fund for parents and children
suffering from Bi-polar disorder.

Copac starts draft distribution

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

17.02.13

by Edgar Gweshe

The constitution select committee will from tomorrow (18 February) start
distributing copies of the draft constitution to all the country’s ten
provinces in an effort to make people acquaint themselves with the contents
of the proposed new charter before it goes for a referendum.

The referendum is set for16 March this year. Zanu (PF) COPAC co-Chairperson,
Munyaradzi Mangwana confirmed in an interview with The Zimbabwean that they
will be embarking on a massive distribution of the draft constitution in all
the country’s ten provinces.

“Starting Monday, we are going to be deploying COPAC staff and members to
all the 10 provinces in the country. We will be distributing 10, 000 copies
per province.

“We will also be distributing a summary of the main issues in the draft
constitution and in this regard we will be distributing 20, 000 copies to
each province,” said Mangwana.

He added: “We will also be moving from district to district conducting
stakeholder meetings. We will engage with civic society who will also be
conducting the stakeholder meetings and we expect the media to play a role
in informing people about the contents of the draft constitution.”

Mangwana expressed optimism that Zimbabweans will have ample time to
understand the draft constitution before they go to vote in the referendum.

His sentiments were echoed by MDC-T spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora who said:
“People will have ample time to understand the draft constitution. We are
going to be distributing the draft constitution in all the provinces
starting from Monday alongside COPAC.”

Critics are however concerned that the 16 March date for the referendum is
too near to adequately educate voters on the contents of the draft
constitution.

‘Zanu PF rigging well underway’

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Sunday, 17 February 2013 14:19
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) says Zanu PF rigging is well underway as scores of civil servants and
other strategically-positioned citizens are surreptitiously registering as
voters.

This also comes as the funding and pronouncement of a much-anticipated
election date are unclear, and which issues have allegedly frustrated the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) whose chairperson Simpson Mtambanengwe
resigned this week.

However, Zanu PF secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa yesterday
dismissed the allegations as nonsense.

“Is it rigging elections when we register soldiers and their spouses? Tell
them (MDC) that I said pfutseki. Soldiers are close to us dating back from
the liberation struggle and should we abandon them because we are now
sharing power with Tsvangirai?

“Soldiers are Zimbabweans and they should vote just as trade unionists vote
for the MDC,” the Zanu PF number five man said on Friday, adding “soldiers
are close to us” and there was no issue in that process.

With the official registration process reportedly in shambles and elections
only a few months away, the ex-majority party is leaving nothing to chance
after a shattering defeat in the 2008 polls, which led to the Government of
National Unity (GNU).

And as the keenly-awaited polls draw by or close, President Robert Mugabe’s
party has launched several initiatives, including door-to-door campaigns
where bemused, and frightened members of the public are being forced to
register, and buy Zanu PF cards.

On the other hand, the 50-year-old movement is also using village heads and
chiefs to swell up its numbers at grassroots levels.

However, the MDC’s latest complaint centres on a Zanu PF strategy and where
members of the uniformed forces’ families are being sneakily registered — in
urban centres — ahead of the key elections.

Yesterday, Tsvangirai’s party said it had noted — with dismay — a process at
Tredgold Building in Bulawayo and where the selective registration of voters
was already underway.

“The MDC condemns the selective registration process of people which targets
security personnel and people aligned to Zanu PF. The exercise is flawed and
reminiscent of the rogue processes employed by the drowning party towards
democratic elections,” it said in a statement late on Friday.

The facility, it added, was also used by the security forces to carry out
its Maguta operations.

But critically, the on-going exercise had raised fears and suspicious of
vote rigging by the octogenarian leader’s party, as it was exclusively for
the military’s rank and file.

According to the MDC, voter registration exercises for the public had been
halted in January in Zimbabwe’s second largest.

Recently, police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri compounded these
fears for an exclusive process after urging wives of senior police officers
to not only register, but also vote for Zanu PF in the pending elections.

As things stand, police officers at Harare’s Morris Depot have been
instructed to register for the watershed polls, sources told the Daily News
on Friday.

Ever since Tsvangirai’s party entered into an uneasy coalition with Mugabe’s
Zanu PF four years ago, the parties have been squabbling over a number of
issues, including critical security sector reforms ahead of polls this year.

Amid heightening clashes over the electoral process in the ruling coalition,
the Registrar General’s office has been slated for duplicating roles with
the Zec, thus raising further concerns about the status of the country’s
voters’ role.

Consistently, the Joyce Kazembe-led institution has said it would intensify
voter registration and education exercises once funding is availed.

While there are growing fears about a parallel electoral system and the army’s
role in Zimbabwe’s public affairs, other democratic players such as civic
organisations have been barred from involvement in the process.

And those that have suffered in the process, include Habakkuk Trust, the
National Youth Development, Zimbabwe Peace Project and Zimbabwe Human
Rights.

Instead, Mugabe’s party is wont on using its tried and tested allies in the
security sector, and some of who have also threatened a coup should their
preferred candidate lose an election.

To this end, Zanu PF has also resisted attempts to reform this critical
sector even though these are part of the Southern Africa Development
Community’s mediation efforts.

“The intimidation tactics are not new as Zanu PF has always employed the
same tactics before national elections,” the MDC said.

New constitution must be rejected: Gwisai

Police raid MDC MP home

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

17.02.13

by Gladys Ncube

Police in Gwanda on Saturday morning raided the home of former Gwanda North
Member of Parliament Thandeko Zinti Mkandla accusing him of keeping
subversive material.

Six armed police officers from Gwanda Police Station with a search warrant
descended at the home of expelled MDC-N MP Thandeko Zinti-Mkandla at
Christopher Flats in Gwanda town on Saturday morning accusing him of keeping
large number of radio receivers and satellite receivers meant for regime
change. Police said the items were smuggled into the country by unnamed NGO
and given to Mkandla to distribute to villagers in his constituency.

“They came at my home early morning with a search warrant and accused me of
keeping some smuggled radios receivers and satellite receivers. They said I
was given these items by an NGO which smuggled them into the country and
meant for regime change.

“They searched everywhere including my bedroom but they didn’t find
anything. They promised to come back, but I know this is just harassment
since as elections are near,”said Mkandla who was at home during the
raid.Mkandla was expelled from MDC-N but still holds his parliamentary seat
of Gwanda North.MDC-N fired him last year together with several other MPs
and Councilors accussing them of secretly working with MDC-T.

Meanwhile members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) on Thursday
summoned MDC-T Zaka West MP Festus Dumbu to their Chiredzi offices accusing
him of insulting them on a social network Facebook.Dumbu says CIO head in
Chiredzi known as Katsande phoned and summoned him to their offices at NSSA
building in Chiredzi town where he was questioned and harassed over a post
on his Facebook Wall where he posted: “CIO want to divide my party MDC-T”

In the past weeks there has been an upsurge in the number of human rights
activists and MDC members being arrested or harassed by security forces.

Last week police raided a youth civic society organisation National Youth
Development Trust (NYDT) in Bulawayo on allegations that the group is
conducting illegal voter registration and keeping subversive material.

Last month, Okay Machisa, the director of Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
and chairperson of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition was arrested and appeared in
court on allegations of conducting illegal voter registration and publishing
false statements prejudicial to the State.

Moyo attacks Gono’s ‘house nigger’ logic

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

16/02/2013 00:00:00
by Gilbert Nyambabvu

ZANU PF politburo member Jonathan Moyo has launched a shock and scathing
attack on central bank chief Gideon Gono, accusing him of working to derail
the country’s empowerment programme and trying to undermine the party’s
campaign for elections due later this year.

Moyo claimed that Gono planted media reports alleging gross irregularities
in the indigenisation programme, in particular the US$750 million compliance
deal reached with South Africa-based Impala Platinum regarding its Zimbabwe
unit, Zimplats.

Writing in the Sunday Mail, Moyo said: “What complicated things for the now
embattled Governor of the Reserve Bank is … that the (media) articles (which
were) replete with defamatory lies about the Zimplats transaction were so
clumsily done as to leave little to the imagination as to the identity of
their source.”

The Tsholotsho North legislator said it was not a coincidence that Gono also
published an article touting his alternative supply-side empowerment
approach at the same time the Zimplats deal was being attacked in the media.

“(Gono’s connivance) was reinforced by an ill-advised, ill-timed, misplaced
and ideologically bankrupt opinion piece that (he) audaciously published
under his name … essentially opposing the equity or ownership model of
indigenisation in favour of the so-called supply side model whose
reactionary trappings loomed as large as its treacherous intentions.”

Gono has publicly expressed reservations about the government’s equity-based
empowerment programme and stated in May, 2011 that: “It has to be realised
that not everybody can fit or benefit from the equity-ownership model we are
pursuing. Only a few will and that's a fact.”

The RBZ chief has also clashed with Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere
over forcing foreign-owned banks to comply with the indigenisation law. Gono
has proposed an alternative approach which would essentially compel foreign
companies to procure the majority of their requirements from indigenous
entities.

But Moyo scoffed at the proposal saying: “the (logic of the) so-called
supply side model touted by Gono is akin to that of a house nigger whose
hopeless mentality is that it is far better to profit from selling the
furniture of the house as a vendor under the spell of Maslow’s discredited
hierarchy of needs than to own the house even if it does not have any
furniture.”

Meanwhile, Moyo hinted at possible divisions within Zanu PF ahead of
elections expected later this year and suggested that the RBZ chief was
fronting for elements within the party keen to thwart President Robert
Mugabe’s re-election bid.

He wrote: “If by attacking the equity or ownership-based model of
indigenisation in favour of the so-called supply side approach, the Governor
of the Reserve Bank is hoping to be a striker in the Bhora Musango brigade
ahead of the forthcoming general election that is around the corner, he
honestly and seriously should think again.

Elections

“This is not 2008. The game this time round is Bhora Mugedhi and the players
are Zanu PF only. This should be food for thought for the misguided comrades
out there who imagine that they can settle their personal or political
scores with the Minister Kusukuwere by hiding behind Gono or by fronting him
to fight the indigenisation reform programme in the treacherous hope that
its failure would mark Kasukuwere’s political demise.
“It has now become all too clear that when some spineless cowards in our
midst want to attack a Zanu PF policy or when they want to attack President
Mugabe, they hide their nefarious agenda by attacking the minister
responsible for that policy.”

He also dismissed allegations that the Zimplats deal had been concluded
without consultation, quipping that there was no need to consult Gono
because “if you oppose a national programme in public, you forfeit the
courtesy to be consulted because your views are public and thus known.”

Moyo rejected claims in the Daily News newspaper that UK courts would have
jurisdiction over Zimbabwe’s indigenisation deals.

“Anyone who thinks this Act is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in
London is very, very dangerous and needs to be watched very closely,” said
Moyo.

“(The Zimplats agreement) makes (it) clear that the interpretation of the
arrangements relating to the vendor financing will be in terms of English
law, this does not mean the interpretation will be done by English courts in
the same way the application of Roman Dutch law in Zimbabwe does not mean
the jurisdiction is with South African or Dutch courts.

“It is a fact that in Zimbabwe we have common law, Roman Dutch Law and
English Law. Vendor financing is much clearer in English law which is in
force in Zimbabwe than it is in Roman Dutch law which is also in force in
Zimbabwe.”

The former information minister also said it was a bit rich for RBZ
officials to claim that Brainworks Capital, a local company advising on the
indigenisation deals, had been handed the contracts without going to tender.

He charged: “Was there any tendering during Baccossi? Did Finance Minister
do any tendering in his distribution of the IMF Special Drawing Rights to
dubious companies and banks under dubious companies? Why are some people
making holier-than-thou noises when the public record is so loud against
them?”

Mujuru sucked into church wrangle

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Sunday, 17 February 2013 14:04

HARARE - Zanu PF’s quest to use indigenous churches in the coming elections
has reached new levels with Vice President Joice Mujuru’s name being dragged
into a ragging bitter war for the control of Zion Apostolic Faith Mission
Church.

Mujuru is the matron of the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ),
an ecumenical board of Apostolic and Zionist churches led by Zanu PF-aligned
Archbishop Johannes Ndanga.

The younger claimant to the throne, Ezra Pedzisai alleges that Ndanga is
using his political connections in Zanu PF and in particular Mujuru to
subvert his father’s will.

“Ndanga is using the name of Vice President Mujuru to cow everyone to submit
to his whims. It is a shame he deliberately uses the ACCZ’s name to achieve
his objective. It is against what my father wanted,” Ezra said.

Ndanga immediately poured cold water on the claims accusing the younger heir
of being childish and working against Christian values.

“By resorting to the courts to solve religious cases he (Ezra) is going
against the grain of what governs Christianity.

“He has also dragged the name of the deputy president to gain sympathy from
Zanu PF under the pretext that he is being labelled an MDC sympathiser. It
is all hogwash,” said Ndanga.

Ndanga denied claims he had ordained or was in favour of the elder son
Jameson.

“These people are misguided missiles and they need to sober up. They went to
court against my advice because the Bible discourages that and now that they
are losing their case they want to drag Mujuru into something she has
nothing to do with just to give weight to their assertions.

“Succession in the church is clearly defined by their constitution that the
eldest son takes over but they want to overturn that for reasons best known
to themselves,” the ACCZ president said.

He denied that he is using his political connections.

“Our relationship with Zanu PF is simply that we are both indigenous in
scope and character. We support a government that recognises priesthood just
as King David would govern with the priests,” Ndanga said.

Ezra, on the other hand, accused Ndanga and the ACCZ of poking their nose
where they are not wanted.

“It’s not their (ACCZ) business to determine who leads the church. In any
case who is Ndanga to challenge my father’s will?

“I am not claiming to be the heir, I am one,” said Ezra, a lecturer at
Bindura University of Science Education. Early this month, things came to a
head when the elder son tried to hold a second memorial service, which,
according to Ezra, was supposed to anoint Jameson as the rightful church
leader.

Ezra says he tried to stop the ceremony by publishing an advert in the
State-owned media but this was countered by a stinging letter allegedly
written by Ndanga on an ACCZ letterhead bearing Mujuru’s name to the paper
threatening unspecified action.

“The newspaper was then forced to drop the advert and refunded us the $502
we had paid. It is clearly abuse of office by Ndanga and if anything abusing
the name of the vice president who we believe may not be aware of this
issue,” said Ezra.

Ezra claims Ndanga sweet-talked them into withdrawing a pending High Court
case.

“Now that we have withdrawn the case, Ndanga is telling anyone who cares to
listen that we are afraid of him.

“We will keep on fighting until the church is in the hands of its rightful
leader as required by the founding leader,” he told the Daily News on
Sunday.

The Zionist movement’s late leader and father to the warring sons, Andreas
Pedzisai Shoko reportedly anointed his younger son Ezra instead of Jameson,
the eldest, triggering the acrimonious fight.

The other two branches of the three Zionists sister churches formed by a set
of brothers while working in South Africa in the 1930s are led by David
Masuka (Zion Apostolic Church) and Makuva Mutendi (Zion Christian Church)
who Ndanga claims are the ones who should anoint a leader across the
movement. - Richard Chidza and Mugove Tafirenyika

Zanu PF tackles empowerment scam

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Sunday, 17 February 2013 14:04

Indigenisation minister, Saviour Kasukuwere.
HARARE - Zanu PF’s key administrative organs — the politburo and central
committee — are soon expected to tackle the indigenisation programme in the
aftermath of revelations about its dodgy implementation, the Daily News on
Sunday can reveal.

While the party was still determined to use this otherwise-noble initiative
as its election trump card in polls due mid-year, the envisaged debate comes
after a series of exposés by our sister publication the Daily News and
particularly how a few connected elites were benefitting from the process.

Didymus Mutasa, the Zanu PF secretary for administration, yesterday
professed ignorance about how various empowerment deals, including the $1
billion Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats) transaction, were structured,
although he stressed that any corrupt elements within their ranks would be
“grassed” to the police.

“Corruption is not accepted in Zanu PF. The President has said no to that
and we stand by that. People who live in glass houses should not throw
stones, but they should not expect us not to throw them if there are
corrupt,” he said.

“If we find any corrupt elements, we will throw them to the police and let
the law take its course,” Mutasa added.

Of concern to party leaders, insiders say, was how a Harare-based
consultancy Brainworks Capital Management (Brainworks) was “handed” the
mandate to advise the process, which is being championed by the National
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB).

Crucially, the contracts announced so far had the potential to embarrass
President Robert Mugabe and discredit the whole process in that certain
aspects of the deals were only implementable according to the English law,
and there are charges of gross undervaluation of the companies’ mineable
resource.

On the other hand, the process has been marked by little consultation among
key government departments such as Obert Mpofu’s Mines ministry and the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), while it is also unknown whether Johannes
Tomana’s office was in the loop about all these transactions.

In its Thursday and Friday editions, the robust Daily News disclosed that
George Manyere’s Brainworks was in line for a $45 million windfall from the
Zimplats deal alone and it remains unclear whether the omissions — and
commissions — in the current contracts were deliberate or genuine mistakes.

With the advisory firm also handling Anglo Platinum’s Unki Mine, British
American Tobacco, Caledonia Mine (incorporating Blanket), French-owned
Lafarge, Winston Chitando’s Mimosa and Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC)’s
empowerment deals, the Newlands-based consultancy is expected to earn more.

As with any public job or business above $300 000, this kind of work must be
put to tender, but Manyere — Brainworks’ chief investment officer and
managing partner — denies any wrong-doing or misconduct in how he won the
multi-million dollar contracts.

And as the war of attrition over the indigenisation process boils over,
virtually all Zanu PF factions have rounded up on Saviour Kasukuwere and
Wilson Gwatiringa’s NIEEB for their handling of the key process, which they
believe has been marked by “blatant misrepresentations”.

“As you know, the old man (Mugabe) is an egomaniac and can you imagine him
going to the Royal Courts (UK justice hub) to settle disputes that may arise
from these empowerment deals?” said a party source yesterday.

“Can you imagine what it means for him after telling ex-premier Tony Blair
to ‘keep your England?’ So, from that standpoint, coupled with the fact that
the President has been made to preside over non-existent transactions, it is
really a stinker and potential embarrassment,” they added.

As things stand, the source of consternation — and uneasiness — in Zanu PF
also arises from the fact that the 51 percent share due to locals will only
be achieved in 10 years-plus under Brainworks’ so-called vendor financing
mechanism.

According to government documents seen by our sister publication, the
proposed 10 percent interest and dividend forfeiture to repay the loans
provide by indigenised companies was not only unsustainable, but would
render the achievement of the process impossible.

Looking at Zimplats’ profitability margins and performance, for instance,
the same papers suggest it would take up to $160 million a year to purchase
the majority share, thus the decade-long agreement was impractical,
potentially deceptive and prejudicial to Mugabe’s plan.

Gwatiringa — a trained lawyer and the NIEEB chief executive — has failed to
take up offers for comment on this crucial matter.

And as government, and Zanu PF anxiety increases over the localisation
process, several independent parties like Central Bank governor Gideon Gono
have tried to intervene by calling for meetings to sort out the mess.

“To be honest, I think authorities must re-examine these deals. The RBZ
governor has… an arsenal of information not so favourable to some of these
transaction leaders, but he is at pains as to how the situation can be
normalised,” said an insider who attended one of the recent meetings
attended by Kasukuwere, NIEEB and his ministry officials.

“While he (Gono) is viewed as anti-indigenisation in some circles and hence
the sustained personal attacks, we appreciated that the deals could actually
be lopsided,” he said. It also emerged that some of the Indigenisation
ministry officials and NIEEB board members were not in control of processes,
as a call to new chairman Mike Nyambuya revealed.

In his quest to help government, the RBZ boss even sought to establish a
working committee comprising Empowerment ministry officers, Gwatiringa’s
executives and central bank officials to fully understand the nature of the
agreement, but the efforts came to naught, the Daily News reported last
week.

Amid fears that the indigenisation process may not benefit the country at
all, Gono’s intervention came after he had dropped hints about how some
government consultants were mishandling the process.

However, Kasukuwere has harshly shot back at his critics and those fearful
of an implosion of the process, and mainly based on the fact that if the
deals proceed in the current state, this may jeopardise Mugabe’s election
plan and legacy.

In a highly-charged tweet on Thursday, the Mt Darwin South legislator said
“wolves are at the door” in remarks pointedly aimed at Gono and others
reportedly offering an alternative method.

Mounting confusion over prospective Diaspora MPs

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com

Staff Reporter 18 hours 1 minute ago

HARARE - There is growing confusion surrounds the status of Zimbabweans
based in the Diaspora who wish to run for office in the forthcoming general
elections with experts differing on the interpretation of the Electoral Act.
Section 23 of the Electoral Act states that a person who wishes to run for
office should be resident in the constituency they intend to run in, a
requirement which some analysts claim disqualifies aspiring candidates
living abroad.
Reads part of the Act: “Subject to the Constitution and this Act, in order
to have the requisite residence qualifications to be registered as a voter
in a particular constituency, a claimant must be resident in that
constituency at the date of his or her claim.
“Provided that if a claimant satisfies the Registrar-General of Voters that
he or she is or intends to be a candidate for election as a Member of
Parliament for a particular constituency in which he or she is not resident,
the claimant may be registered as a voter in that constituency.”
However, some analysts maintain that a person is eligible to run for office
if they are registered as a voter and are in Zimbabwe when the nomination
court sits.
Constitutional Law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku said ordinarily for a
person to be a registered voter one needs to be a resident in that
particular constituency.
“The law is clear, for a person to stand as a candidate, one needs to be a
registered voter in that particular constituency and for one to be a
registered voter you need to be a resident in that constituency, all you
need to do is to prove that you are a resident, among other requirements,”
he said.
Prominent Zanu PF lawyer Mr Terrence Hussein concurred with Dr Madhuku,
saying that it was common cause that aspiring candidates need to be resident
in the constituencies they want to contest in.
“The law requires people to be resident in those respective constituencies
they wish to stand as candidates provided they are on the voters’ roll,” he
said.
Zanu PF strategist Professor Jonathan Moyo, in an informal briefing with
journalists, suggested the two UK-based parliamentary aspirants faced major
legal hurdles.
Moyo said: “It's not a surprise that to qualify for their primaries they
must show British residence. But to qualify to contest elections in
Zimbabwe, they must demonstrate that they were resident in the country for
12 continuous months preceding the elections.
“It’s not only their names which have a common E, their intentions to
contest elections in Zimbabwe also have a common problem. They cannot
rectify it in time for elections.”
Moyo’s argument is based on a reading of Section 23 (3) of the Electoral
Actdealing with “residence qualifications of voters”. It provides for the
removal by the constituency registrar of individuals from the voters roll on
the disqualification or death of such persons, or their absence from their
constituencies for more than 12 months or the redomiciliation of such
persons in another country.
Lawyer and Copac co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana who last year
during the the Constitutional reform debate blasted Professor Jonathan Moyo
as masquerading as a lawyer said people who have not been resident in
Zimbabwe for at least 12 months before the elections are not eligible to
stand.
“People who are not ordinarily resident in the country for a minimum of 12
months prior to the election date cannot stand as candidates. One also needs
to realise that one needs to be on the voters’ roll in that particular
constituency or ward for one to stand as a candidate,” he said.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief executive officer Mr Lovemore Sekeramayi
said the Electoral Act was vague on the status of foreign-based Zimbabweans
who intend to run for office.
“The Act says one has to be a Zimbabwean and resident in the constituency
they intend to contest for. However, it does not state for how long one has
to be residing in that constituency . . . it’s open to different
interpretations,” he said.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora, who disclosed that his party has
over 20 Diaspora-based members who have expressed interest in running for
office, insisted that being registered as a voter qualified one to run for
office.
“I don’t have the exact figure of our party members in the Diaspora who want
to represent the party in the next elections, but I think they are around 20
or so and we don’t foresee them having problems in meeting the criteria,” he
said.
MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube, a constitutional lawyer, said: “If they
are registered as voters, and as long as they are back in Zimbabwe by the
sitting of the nomination court, I can’t see anything to stop them from
participating in elections.”
Alex Magaisa, a former law lecturer who is now Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Chief of Staff, said Moyo’s interpretation was “selective and
incorrect”.
He explained: “A close reading of Subsection 3 of Section 23, shows that a
person who is registered in terms of the proviso to subsection 1 is exempt
from the residence requirement. The proviso to subsection 1 states that ‘if
a claimant satisfies the Registrar-General of voters that he or she is or
intends to be a candidate for election as a member of Parliament for a
particular constituency in which he or she is not resident, the claimant may
be registered as a voter in that constituency’.
“Eric Knight and Ezra Sibanda and indeed many other aspiring candidates that
are not resident in the prospective constituencies fall into that category.
When you read the subsection 3 on the residence requirement which applies to
all other voters, it specifically makes an exception in regards to the
special category of persons who are registered under the proviso to
subsection 1, i.e. non-resident persons who are or intend to be candidates
for election as MPs.
“There are probably many aspiring candidates who do not reside or have not
resided for a continuous period of 12 months in the constituencies which
they aspire to represent.”
Taffy Nyawanza, a UK-based Zimbabwean lawyer, added: “Section 23 of the
Electoral Act is what is known as a ‘durational residence requirement’. The
overriding part of section 23 is the part which says ‘subject to the
Constitution’. The provision in question must therefore be interpreted to
comply with the Constitution and in particular, not to offend against the
provisions relating to the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and
movement.
“There are therefore three main ways to argue this; first, that such a
requirement of minimum residency for a parliamentary candidate offends
against the fundamental freedoms protected by the Constitution on the basis
that it is not reasonably justifiable in a democratic society; or second;
that it offends because it is unreasonably long and is therefore arbitrary
or; three; that in any event the petitioners have always had their domicile
in Zimbabwe; domicile being a nuanced way of arguing residency.
“Ezra and Eric will likely be met with the argument that the Constitution
itself lists in its Schedule 3 the same 'durational residence requirements'.
However, in the famous Munhumeso case of 1994, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe
ruled that in a situation where there is inconsistency between separate
provisions of the Constitution, the Constitution must always be interpreted
in favour of the liberty of the petitioner.”
Brighton Mutebuka, who runs a Leeds law firm in England, said that
particular section of the Electoral Act was “poorly drafted” – but insisted
that it was unlikely it could be interpreted to thwart Sibanda and Knight’s
political ambitions.
He said: “The key issue is the interpretation of the following provision: ‘a
claimant shall be deemed to be residing in a constituency while he or she is
absent therefrom for a temporary purpose’.
“Who determines or interprets what is a temporary purpose? I have looked at
Section 4 of the Act which deals with interpretation to see whether the term
is defined in the Act but it clearly isn't.
“Given this state of affairs, and given how poorly drafted the provision
is – it is open to being interpreted widely – it follows that there is
nothing that can stop Ezra and Eric to argue that they were in the UK for a
‘temporary purpose’. This can include being in the UK for the purposes of
education and employment.
“Further, continued ownership of immovable property, remittances of money
for the payment of rent or rates or similarly related expenses in the
relevant constituencies would seem to suffice with regard to the issue of
intention to return.
“Judges often refuse to interpret poorly drafted legal provisions narrowly,
particularly in situations that involve the interpretation of fundamental
human rights such as the right to vote.”
Lance Mambondiani, a banker and legal expert, appeared to agree with Moyo
only in so far as ordinary voters were concerned, but suggested Moyo had
“misread the provisions in the Electoral Act regarding the eligibility of
aspiring MPs.”
“In my view, the Act would prohibit voters who have not been resident in a
constituency from 12 months from voter registration, but exempt prospective
MPs from the 12 months residency rule. If the Act were to be applied
strictly, the restriction would not apply to the prospective Diaspora MPs,”
he said.
“Section 23 (1) generally outlines that for anyone to be eligible for
registration as a voter, you need to be a resident of that constituency at
the time. However, an exemption is made for prospective MPs. For example, if
an MDC-T or Zanu PF candidate wants to be an MP in a constituency in which
they are not resident, they can be registered as a voter in that
constituency provided they satisfy the Registrar General that they are
indeed a prospective MP.
“Subsection 2, then clarifies the term ‘resident’ and the circumstances
under which a person can be disqualified for registration. Firstly, a person
is still deemed to be residing in a constituency if you have been absent for
a temporary purpose.
“The contentious provision which have been interpreted to exclude MDC-T
candidates from the Diaspora from eligibility is subsection 3, which
disqualified voter registration for people who have not been residing in a
constituency for a continuous period of twelve months. However, that
disqualification specifically excludes 'a voter who has been registered in
that constituency in terms of the proviso to subsection (1)’.
“The exclusion from the 12 month residency requirement refers specifically
to those people who are registered in a constituency in terms of section 23
(1) by virtue of be
United Kingdom-based broadcasters Eric Knight and Ezra Sibanda are among the
MDC-T members who have expressed interest in running for office during the
forthcoming elections. Knight is reported to eying the Mbare House of
Assembly seat while Sibanda has expressed an interest to contest in Vungu
constituency.

Death, sanctions and big business in the struggle for Zimbabwe's diamonds

http://www.guardian.co.uk

As sanctions against Harare come under review, MPs call for a FTSE 100
company to be investigation for its involvement in the strife-torn Marange
diamond region

Simon Goodley
The Observer, Sunday 17 February 2013

Back in late October 2008, up to 30,000 ordinary Zimbabweans had spread
across the country's diamond fields. They had flocked east in the hope of
unearthing gems to ease the hardship of the financial crisis – but however
savage the economy might have felt at the time, their situation was about to
become more brutal.

Infantry, estimated to be 1,500 strong, supported by helicopters, descended
on the area. As the freelance miners ran, soldiers and paramilitary police
began firing AK-47s directly at those fleeing. More than 200 people in
Chiadzwa, a previously peaceful but impoverished part of the Marange diamond
zone, are thought to have been massacred.

The purpose of the assault, campaigners say, was to clear the diamond fields
and hand control to the military. The WikiLeaks cables record James D McGee,
US ambassador to Zimbabwe, filing this report on 7 January 2009. "[An
official] met with Newman Chiadzwa, the tribal chief of the Chiadzwa region
that contains the diamond-rich Marange fields, to discuss violence in the
region as well as recent developments in the turbulent Marange diamond
trade. Chiadzwa described how the military expansion in Chiadzwa in late
November has been displacing the police and diverting the diamond flow from
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the Zimbabwean military." The Zimbabwean
embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

Clearly these assaults will forever haunt those involved, but four and a
half years after the nightmare in Marange, the issue remains current: this
week, the European Union will review the sanctions it imposes on Zimbabwe,
which could result in a lifting of restrictions, despite protests from the
UK.

Simultaneously, UK parliamentarians are calling for tougher measures against
all Marange diamond miners, including naming them on the sanctions list, as
well as asking for an investigation into one major City name – FTSE 100
financial services firm Old Mutual – that has an indirect investment in the
Zimbabwean fields.

Kate Hoey, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Zimbabwe, said
Marange diamond companies were "suspected of directing millions of dollars
to corrupt and violent interests associated with Zanu-PF," adding: "Old
Mutual needs to be investigated for a potential breach of sanctions." Hoey
said it was a stakeholder in one of the shareholders in Marange miner Mbada
Diamonds "and was therefore effectively in a joint venture with a sanctioned
entity – the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation [ZMDC]. We cannot allow
a British company to behave like this."

Old Mutual, which opened its first office in Harare 86 years ago, indirectly
holds a 1.5% stake in Mbada Diamonds, after investing its clients' funds in
a 6% stake in a scrap metal company, New Reclamation Group (NRG). NRG
subsequently acquired 25% of Mbada, while a further 50% of the diamond
company is controlled by ZMDC, a state-owned company on HM Treasury's
sanction list because of its close association to President Robert Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party.

A spokesman for Old Mutual said: "Our holding in this investment is legal
and we would never knowingly take action that did break any laws." He added
that Mbada had passed the "Kimberley Process" – the international agreement
established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the
mainstream rough diamond market – and that an Old Mutual investigation had
found "no human rights abuses" since the company had been formed.

"In our view, our involvement should be good for Zimbabwe," he said. "We
will stay in this investment, while, like all our investments, keeping it
under review."

Sanctions experts said that in most circumstances an indirect investment in
a company part-owned by a company on the sanctions list was unlikely to be
illegal. However, Old Mutual's position on the mine's human rights record is
being directly challenged.

In July 2011, the campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) interviewed 10
miners in Marange who claimed to have been mauled by dogs and beaten by
private security guards. They claimed that the majority of incidents
involved guards working for Mbada. One miner said: "The Mbada guards are the
worst. They don't hesitate to set the dogs upon you and they also beat you
up."

The campaign group reported another incident in which Mbada private security
guards set four dogs on a handcuffed artisanal miner caught digging for
diamonds close to the company's mines. "I was attacked by all of them," said
the man. "The dogs were biting me and I was screaming. It was terrible."

Mbada did not respond to repeated requests for comment on HRW's research.
Old Mutual declined to say if it had contacted the campaign group but added:
"We have engaged with a number of stakeholders and NGOs regarding the Mbada
mine. In addition, the independent directors of our Old Mutual life company
in South Africa conducted an extensive on-site visit of the mine last year
and are confident that human rights are being respected at Mbada." Old
Mutual declined to identify which NGOs it had approached, however.

And some believe these debates represent only a fraction of a wider issue.
Roy Bennett, treasurer general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
which since 2009 has shared power in Zimbabwe with its rival Zanu-PF, said:
"The broader immorality of the move is clear to any fair-minded person.
First, mining rights were stolen by the government and handed over to Mbada.
Second, their control of the area was secured on the basis of egregious
human rights violations; Mbada was the direct beneficiary of this. And
third, the operations of Mbada and the revenue generated by it has been
completely opaque."

Nor does Mbada's accreditation under the Kimberley Process impress everybody
in the diamond trade. The jeweller Tiffany's states: "We have advised all of
our business partners of our zero tolerance policy for diamonds of Marange
origins." Meanwhile, the campaign group Global Witness, which was one of the
key bodies behind the original establishment of the Kimberley Process, left
the scheme in December 2011. It claims the process "has failed to address
state-sponsored violence in the Marange diamond fields and resisted calls
for reform", and it has also raised concerns that "Mbada Diamonds … has a
complex structure, with associated companies located in secrecy
jurisdictions including Mauritius, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands and
Dubai."

Mbada did not respond to questions. However, Old Mutual said: "Mbada's
remittances to the treasury and other relevant government departments are
audited by KPMG on an ongoing basis. This has established that all
remittances from Mbada related to royalty payments, reserve depletion fees,
taxation and dividends sent to the Zimbabwean treasury are substantial and
in line with existing agreements and regulations.

"As you are no doubt aware, Tendai Biti, the secretary general of the MDC,
heads the Zimbabwean treasury. We also sought guidance from the MDC in
Zimbabwe, and were given assurances by Morgan Tsvangirai, the president of
the MDC, and Tendai Biti that they want Old Mutual to maintain its indirect
investment in the mine. The MDC is clear that the revenues from the Mbada
diamond mine will help finance Zimbabwe's recovery."

Or, as Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC's spokesman, puts it: "The MDC's position
is that all diamond mines should be nationalised." Like all things in the
diamond trade, it depends which way you cut it.

Gravel mining wreaks havoc

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Sunday, 17 February 2013 13:58
HARARE - Gravel mining is turning some of Harare’s areas into an eyesore.

While the gravel goes into constructing of state-of-the-art buildings such
as the Chinese-built mall in Warren Park, residents are left to dig their
own way out the holes left behind.

Mereki Shopping Centre (Mereki) is one of Zimbabwe’s most popular braai
spots.

But motorists are thinking twice before venturing there as roads have become
disastrous owing to gravel miningoccuring nearby.

The beleaguered shopping centre in Warren Park D was apparently set for a
major face-lift with help from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority after plans
were mooted to turn it into a tourism destination.

That has all turned into dust.

What used to be a favoured road to the popular “gochi gochi” place has now
become bumpy and potholed — thanks to the City of Harare and the Chinese
developers constructing a mall and hotel at a wetland nearby.

The local authority and land developers are mining gravel at Warren Hills,
and this has affected more than the roads as even the dust is finding its
way to meat on braai stands at Mereki.

Moreover, Warren Park D residents have lamented the effects of the gravel
mining saying their roads and environment have been destroyed by the
activity.

However, the responsible authorities, Harare city council and the
Environmental Management Agency (Ema) seem to be oblivious to the damage and
are yet to take tangible action to rectify the situation.

Residents say they have not benefited from the mining activity and feel
shortchanged.

“The heavy duty lorries that are used to transport the gravel from the hills
are also to blame for the potholes,” said Norman Muvavarirwa, a resident.

“Throughout the windy season, dust from the operations finds place in our
homes and this has brought fear of diseases and environment pollution.
During this rain season accelerated sheet erosion takes place,” he said.

Ironically, the city council says the gravel is being used to repair roads
yet residents say the trucks are causing more damage to the roads ostensibly
supposed to be repaired by the same gravel.

City of Harare environmental management committee chairperson Stewart Mtizwa
said council will carry out an assessment to determine how best the
situation can be solved.

“I will visit there and assess the situation to see how best we can attend
to it,” he told the Daily News on Sunday.

Though the city council and Ema say the soil is being used for roads, loaded
trucks have been observed going in and out of the Chinese hotel and mall
being constructed on a nearby wetland between the National Sports Stadium
and Belvedere suburb.

Responding to that Mtizwa said: “As council we have people paying us to get
that gravel because it is an area designated for gravel mining,” he said,
adding he was unsure if the Chinese were part of such customers.

Ema spokesperson Steady Kangata said his organisation, which is charged with
enforcing environment rules, had started engaging council on soil
rehabilitation on the area. - Bridget Mananavire

Mugabe: Marking birthday of hero...villain

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Sunday, 17 February 2013 14:08
HARARE - As President Robert Gabriel Mugabe celebrates his 89th birthday
this Thursday, it boggles the mind how far he has come.

He is loved and loathed in equal dose and is credited with staying ahead of
political curvatures.

If he were an animal, a cat would be envious as he evidently possesses more
than nine lives.

His presence is probably the glue that is holding the fractious former
ruling party from collapse as he is its core.

Observers say Mugabe is always a step ahead of his political foes and
subordinates through sheer brainpower, a gift of the gab and a reputation
for being vicious when provoked.

Ian Smith once referred to him as “an apostle of satan”, and then did a
“hook-and-Larry” and said that he now amazingly found him “sober and
responsible” soon after taking power.

It is difficult to strike a bulls-eye in evaluating exactly who he is and
what character he is without looking at experiences that have been
watersheds in the development of his character.

In his early childhood, he was just any other boy herding cattle in the
rural area of Kutama where activities such as bullying and ridicule, are
rife.

He seems to have developed a very hard emotional shell that was open to very
few people from that time.
The late James Chikerema, who grew up with Mugabe said as a boy, the veteran
ruler would isolate himself from the crowd if he was picked on when herding
cattle.

His prodigious intellect earned him the opportunity to be schooled by the
Jesuits who found young Robert leagues ahead of his peers.

His best friends were his books, in reading he found himself in a different
space.

Robert Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924, in Kutama.

Mugabe was fortunate in attending school at the local Jesuit mission under
the supervision of school director Father O’Hea.

This must have made him realise that not all whites were supremacist. O’Hea
taught Mugabe that all people deserved equal treatment.

Mugabe’s teachers, who called him “a clever lad,” were early to recognise
his abilities as considerable.

Mugabe ended up at University of Fort Hare in South Africa, graduating with
a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English in 1951 before returning to
Kutama to teach there.

By 1953 he had earned his Bachelor of Education through correspondence
courses and in 1955 moved to Northern Rhodesia.

There he taught for four years at Chalimbana Training College while also
working toward his Bachelor of Science in Economics through correspondence
courses with the University of London.

After moving to Ghana, Mugabe met his first wife, Sarah Heyfron, whom he
married in 1961.

Whilst in Ghana, Mugabe declared himself a Marxist, supporting the Ghanaian
government’s goal of providing equal educational opportunities to the
formerly designated lower classes.

Upon returning to introduce his fiancée in 1960 to his beloved mother, he
found that many black families had been displaced and the presence of whites
had boomed.

So great was his frustration that by April of 1961, Mugabe publicly
discussed starting a guerrilla war.

Fiery in nature, especially when provoked, he is said to have declared
defiantly to a policeman, “We are taking over this country and we will not
put up with this nonsense.”

In 1963, Mugabe and other former supporters of Joshua Nkomo founded their
own resistance movement, called the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu).

The Rhodesian government later arrested Mugabe and sent him to jail where he
would remain for over a decade before moving to execute the liberation war
which resulted in him becoming Zimbabwe prime minister in 1980 after winning
the first post-independence election.

In less than six months from now, he faces what could be his last and most
difficult election.

The loss of popularity due to the cascade of the economy, sanctions after
taking over white farms, attempts at a one-party state, effects of droughts,
allegations of intimidation to opponents, corruption and the rise of the MDC
all pose a danger to his continued rule.

Yet he has moved from the tough leader he is known for and has been at the
forefront of calling for peaceful elections, even if that might see an end
to his three decades plus rule.

Observers say Mugabe’s seemingly last election campaign seems to be an
attempt to patch up the tattered script of his life’s legacy.

And an invite to rival turned coalition partner Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to attend the birthday celebrations could just be the sign that
the man wants out peacefully. - Simbarashe Kunedzimwe

Zuma save Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 16th February 2013

As the Mugabe regime intensifies its onslaught on civic society organisations, the Vigil is to appeal to President Zuma to insist on the implementation of the GPA reforms ahead of the elections.

We plan to deliver a petition to President Zuma via the South African High Commission in London during our Vigil next Saturday marking Mugabe’s 89^th birthday when we will alert the world to the old man’s determination to steal yet another election. The demonstration is part of the 21^st Global Free Zimbabwe movement which has protested every month since January 2012. The letter to President Zuma reads:

‘Dear President Zuma

The Zimbabwe Vigil is disturbed at indications that you are prepared to allow elections to go ahead in Zimbabwe without the implementation of reforms provided for in the Global Political Agreement.

The Vigil believes the following reforms must be implemented before elections:

· Non-partisan security forces

· Honest voters’ roll

· Impartial electoral commission

· Foreign observers

· Open airwaves

· No hate speech

We think that, without reforms guaranteeing a level playing field, there is no hope of free and fair elections and urge you, as facilitator, to insist on these reforms.

The Zimbabwe Vigil has been protesting outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London every Saturday for the past eleven years in support of human rights and free and fair elections.’

Our fears of a rigged election were supported by comments by President Khama of Botswana who said those responsible for the ‘brutality and intimidation’ of the last elections remain in place and ready to act. ‘I have not seen any evidence that they have changed their attitude towards trying to ensure that Zanu (PF) will emerge victorious’,
he said, adding: ‘I think that they (Mugabe supporters) are still capable of trying to engage in intimidation, deploying the security services to bring that about . . . telling the people in the security services how they should vote. The potential for that is still there.’ (see: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/feb16_2013.html#Z5 – Khama sceptical about Mugabe peace calls).

The MDC T says voting is already being rigged, with soldiers and their wives being registered to vote while other people are being turned away (See: http://www.mdc.co.zw/index.php/news/42-rokstories/2212-zanu-pf-embarks-on-a-massive-rigging-exercise.html - Zanu PF embarks on a massive rigging exercise Friday, 15 February 2013 10:16). At the same time Zanu PF’s grip on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is being tightened, with the departure of the new chairman Mutambanengwe – apparently forced out by Zanu PF. It leaves the organisation with the same officials who were in charge during the last rigged elections (see: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/feb16a_2013.html#Z20 – Zec integrity still doubtful).

Other points

· Vigil supporter Wilbert Mukori has been urging us to campaign against the constitution but we felt our energies should be devoted to what is really important: free and fair elections. Indeed, we have been dismayed that so much time and money has been devoted to the ludicrous constitution at the expense of more vital things. The Vigil has been copied into correspondence about this matter involving Dale Dore, Ben Freeth and Eddie Cross which you can see on our campaigns page (see: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/474-a-necessary-compromise-too-far. The dialogue is also covered on this link: JAG open letter forum - No. 827- Dated 14 February 2013 – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/feb16_2013.html#Z25).

· The Vigil met earlier than usual today to support an Amnesty International protest on behalf of WOZA. The Vigil displayed a poster protesting at the brutal treatment of WOZA at their Valentine Day’s demonstrations in Harare and Bulawayo. Roses were laid on the doorstep of the Embassy.

· Vigil supporters discussed staging a protest outside the Belgian Embassy because of Belgium’s insistence on watering down EU sanctions to benefit the Antwerp diamond trade. People were shocked that Belgium was still ruthlessly pursuing its own interests after its abominable colonial behaviour in Africa.

· We were saddened to learn from Arnold Magwanyata of Zimbabwe We Can about the death of his two grand-daughters (14 and 10) of malaria --another tragedy caused by the looting of Zimbabwe’s resources resulting in the failure of health services.

· The ROHR / Vigil dance troupe had their first practice today and they enjoyed our new drum which boomed down the Strand.

· We have been asked if anyone wants an almost full set of copies of The Zimbabwean dating back to 2003. Please contact the Vigil if you are interested: co-ordinator@zimvigil.co.uk.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil website.

FOR THE RECORD: 56 signed the register.

EVENTS AND NOTICES:

· Round 14 of the Free Zimbabwe Global Campaign (FZGC). Saturday 23^rd February. Meet at the Zimbabwe Embassy at 2 pm. Move to the South African High Commission at 3 pm. We have reliable information that President Mugabe will be with us to mark his 89^th birthday.

· Launch of the ROHR Southampton Branch. Saturday 23^rd February at 2 pm. Venue: Swaythling Neighbourhood Centre, off Broadlands Road, Southampton, SO16 3AY. This special event will provide a platform to discuss the upcoming constitutional referendum and elections. Traditional Zimbabwe food will be available. The President, Mr Ephraim Tapa and the UK Executive will be there. Contact: Taylor Madondo 07456405678, Manfred Mambo 07774538359 and Natalia Chiurunge 07812663656.

· Next Swaziland Vigil. Saturday 23^rd February from 10 am – 1 pm. Venue: Swazi High Commission, 20 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB. Please support our Swazi friends. Nearest stations: St James’s Park and Victoria. www.swazilandvigil.co.uk.

· ROHR Central London Branch meeting. Saturday 2^nd March from 12 noon to 1.30 pm. Venue: Strand Continental Hotel (first floor lounge), 143 Strand, London WC2R 1JA. For directions see entry below. Contact: Fungayi Mabhunu 07746 552 597, Cynthia Mutede 07548 609 683.

· Zimbabwe Action Forum (ZAF). Saturday 2^nd March from 6.30 – 9.30 pm. Venue: Strand Continental Hotel (first floor lounge), 143 Strand, London WC2R 1JA. The meeting will take place straight after the Vigil. Directions: The Strand is the same road as the Vigil. From the Vigil it’s about a 10 minute walk, in the direction away from Trafalgar Square. The Strand Continental is situated on the south side of the Strand between Somerset House and the turn off onto Waterloo Bridge. The entrance is marked by a big sign high above and a sign for its famous Indian restaurant at street level. It's next to a newsagent. Nearest underground: Temple (District and Circle lines) and Holborn.

· Mike Campbell Foundation: Hope in a Desert. Thursday 7^th March at 7 pm. Venue: Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR. Speakers are Ben Freeth, Dr Craig Richardson and Gillian Higgins. The event will be chaired by Kate Hoey MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe. Tickets: £15. Check: http://www.mikecampbellfoundation.com/images/rgs2013flyer.pdf for more information.

· Zimbabwe Vigil Highlights 2012 can be viewed on this link: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/467-vigil-highlights-2012. Links to previous years’ highlights are listed on 2012 Highlights page.

· The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents the views and opinions of ROHR.

· Vigil Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.

· Vigil Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil...

· Useful websites: www.zanupfcrime.com which reports on Zanu PF abuses and www.ipaidabribe.org.zw where people can report corruption in Zimbabwe.

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 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.