"Rwendo rwuno hazvikoni (this time we won't fail)," declared an invigorated Tsvangirai during his address to trigger wild whistling and chanting of MDC slogans from the 15 000-strong crowd.

Tsvangirai was only a week away from taking on Zanu PF leader President Robert Mugabe in a landmark presidential ballot.

The MDC had in June 2000 - then only nine months old - put up a commendable challenge to Zanu PF supremacy in local politics, winning 57 seats against 63 in the parliamentary election. The opposition said it was denied outright victory by a combination of factors all beyond its control such as rigging, unfair electoral laws and the unparalleled violence visited upon its supporters in rural areas where it was denied access.

But with the crisis deepening the MDC grew in stature both at home and abroad. Tsvangirai looked set to dislodge Mugabe from his throne in 2002 despite a massive propaganda onslaught in the state media. The party was also enjoying huge support from the overtaxed urban electorate and there was unprecedented international goodwill. Victory looked certain.

But everyone seems to have underestimated Mugabe's survival instinct. The former guerilla leader retreated to his planning room and successfully schemed to retain the presidency against all odds. That victory is still the subject of a court challenge.

But daggers are drawn once again as the two parties get ready for a second duel in next year's parliamentary election. Zanu PF hopes to launch its battle plan by consolidating its rural control and moving into urban areas. On the other hand the MDC will be hoping to fan out into rural constituencies from its urban stronghold to add to its current haul of 54 seats.

"The democratic process we started in 2000 will be completed at the next parliamentary and presidential elections when we will increase our majority in parliament and assume total control," Tsvangirai told a public seminar in Harare on Monday.

He was responding to passionate concerns which have dominated the public domain of late about the MDC seeming to have slipped into a coma while Zanu PF molests the nation unchallenged.

An increase in state-sponsored violence, a plethora of amendments to legislation in addition to the promulgation of new laws have been Mugabe's main weapons to strike at voices of dissent. And the veteran politician seems to be winning the day so far. He is sharpening his spears for next year whilst the opposition and civil society appear to be mesmerised at best and totally confused at worst about what they should be doing to prepare for the contest.

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) still believes the solution lies in having a new constitution first and foremost.

"A democratic constitution leads to free and fair elections," said NCA chairman, Lovemore Madhuku. "We can't go to elections under the current conditions which give Zanu PF an unfair advantage. The way forward is street demonstrations until Mugabe succumbs. Why can't we fill the streets and debate the issues later?"

The MDC faces a serious dilemma of whether or not to participate in elections under the current flawed electoral system. The MDC believes it should push for amendments to electoral laws to create minimum requirements for a free and fair election. Then a new government, of the MDC presumably, would debate a new constitution as a matter of urgency, analysts say.

"A people-driven con-stitution can only come about when there is freedom and no restrictions put up by Posa and Aippa," Tsvangirai said. "We are demanding minimal electoral amendments for free and fair elections and then work on a new constitution under a new democratic government."

Pinile Zamuchiya, president of the Zimbabwe Students Union (Zinasu), believes the solution lies in a united front.

"We should create a united front of all democratic forces and mobilise to challenge the regime through mass action. The regime will not give us power on a silver platter," Zamuchiya said.

Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers Union also believes in engaging Mugabe on the streets.

"Talks? Whattalks, to whom andabout what?" Majongwe wondered. "Whoever is go-ing to contest elections must convince us that they are going to win elections. If they are going to lose they better not take part because they legitimise an illegitimate process."

Shepherd Murombo of Harare blamed the MDC.

"You (MDC) seem to have surrendered. Where are you? We are like a flock of sheep without a shepherd," said Murombo.

But Tsvangirai defended his party's record.

"I don't believe that the MDC has been complacent or docile. We engaged in two mass actions last year. For the first time internationally, we succeeded in shutting down the country for five days," he said in response to such criticism.

But the chances of Zanu PF acceding to demands for electoral reform are remote and that puts the opposition in an invidious position - whether to contest the polls or not.

According to papers filed with the High Court in Bulawayo, Pamire, through his lawyers Sibusiso Ndlovu & Partners, wants Mandaza evicted from the premises for failure to pay rentals as from October 2002.

The Pamires say they purchased all of the shares of Mazilikazi Investments (Pvt) Ltd, a company that comprises the butchery and a block of residential flats, from Charles William Hammer-Nel in October 2002.

Mandaza, who has been renting the butchery from Hammer-Nel, also alleges that he bought the properties for $1,4 million from the white farmer in 2001 but says Hammer-Nel has been evasive and has refused to sign papers effecting the transfer of the property.

Mandaza is also involved in a legal battle with Hammer-Nel over the ownership of five farms in Matabeleland North that Mandaza wants for his ambitious Induba Development Trust.

"I however believe that there is more to this as this is not the only war I am fighting with Hammer-Nel. I am in the Harare High Court right now under Case Numbers HC 10487/02 and HC 1597/03 fighting the same person over the sale of his five farms on which he carried out his ranching," say papers filed by Mandaza in his defence.

"It is the sale of the ranches which founded the basis upon which the butchery was also sold to me. Hammer-Nel has tried to frustrate the transfer of the farms in exactly the same way he is trying to frustrate the transfer of the stand in question. I believe therefore that Pamire and the wife are just but another Hammer-Nel front," the defence outline says.

However, attached copies from Hammer Nel's lawyers indicate that the farmer has been struggling since 2001 to get rentals from Mandaza.

Supporting papers filed with the High Court indicate that Vincent and Evelyn Pamire, through one of their companies, SK Fencing (Pvt) Ltd, bought all shares in Crocker Funeral Services in 2002. Crocker then changed its name to Mazilikazi Investments (Pvt) Ltd the same year.

"The plaintiff (Pamire) seeks an order to evict Mandaza and all those who claim through him, from a butchery situated at Makokoba township Bulawayo. Plaintiff is now the registered owner of the building wherein situated the butchery which is occupied by the defendant," the court papers say.

The Pamires want Mandaza forcibly evicted from the premises as they say other means to have him moved have failed.

"The new changes mean tobacco farmers will this year use an exchange rate based on 75% of the auction exchange rate and 25% of the official exchange rate of US$1:$824," said Miller.

Last year production was affected by the exchange rate issue which was pegged at the official exchange rate of US$1:$824 while farmers demanded an exchange rate of US$1:$1 600.

The government has also effected changes in the marketing of the tobacco crop.

"There is going to be a dual marketing system this year. The government has allowed approved private players to come in and they will complement the already existing auction floors in buying the crop," Miller said.

The Ministry of Agriculture will select the private players. Some contractors will provide farmers with inputs.

While uncertainty abounds in the agricultural sector, Zambia's tobacco crop doubled last year, boosted by Zimbabwean farmers who left the country at the height of farm invasions.

The MDC had said Mpala succumbed to wounds sustained when he was abducted and allegedly tortured by Zanu PF supporters last year.

The move to nominate a candidate so soon comes as a surprise to many as Zanu PF usually takes its time to name candidates for election.

Zanu PF's Lupane district co-ordinating committee last week nominated Martin Khumalo as its candidate to contest the by-election whose dates have not yet been announced.

Khumalo's candidacy was approved by Zanu PF's provincial chairman for Matabeleland North, Jacob Mudenda, who was present during the nominations at Lupane business centre.

Zanu PF is seeking to wrest its first seat in Matabeleland North after a disastrous campaign in the 2000 parliamentary election that saw the party failing to win a single seat in the province.

MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi told the Zimbabwe Independent that Zanu PF's behaviour was in bad taste.

"Here we are still mourning Mpala but Zanu PF is already plotting how it can take his seat," said Nyathi. "Their behaviour translates into how they govern this country without sensitivity, and we are saying this is in bad taste," said Nyathi.

However, the Zanu PF deputy national commissar Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said he would not comment until the party's district committee formally submits the name.

"Really there is nothing to comment on and branches are allowed to come up with any name they feel like mentioning and in a democracy that is allowed but we shall wait for the name to be formally submitted before we can make a comment," Ndlovu said.

The MDC director of elections Remus Makuwaza said the Matabeleland province would forward the name of the candidate to stand in Lupane after all the procedures had been followed.

"The provincial leadership will deal with the matter of nominating a candidate once everything is in place because we are still mourning Mpala. Once that is done everything will be forwarded to the national directorate," Makuwaza said.

Last year participants at the forum bemoaned the lack of action and the slow progress on the initiatives agreed upon.

The Zimbabwe Independent heard this week that the government was now reluctant to participate in the NECF which it considers a "time wasting exercise that yields nothing".

The forum had set out to implement about 148 objectives, all of which were supposed to have been accomplished before the end of last year. Close to 97 of these goals are still pending, 49 are said to be on-going while only two have been achieved. The 49 objectives that are indicated as on-going are actually not pure initiatives of the forum but were established before it was formed.

The respective stakeholders who have promised to implement some of the measures are said to be dragging their feet. So far the forum has only managed to persuade the government to suspend duty on buses and imported parts.

Tendai Makwavarara, an economist at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said the NECF had failed dismally both in its operations and objectives.

"We still have low growth, high inflation and no investor confidence. Definitely they have failed," said Makwavarara.

She pointed out that NECF programmes were likely to crumble because they were not supported by a proper budgetary allocation. The 2004 budget did not make an allocation to the forum.

Zimsun chief executive Shingi Munyeza, who has been a major participant, agreed that the forum had degenerated into a talk show but emphasised the need to remain in dialogue.

"The UN is a talk show and so is parliament. The process in the NECF might take a little longer but there is still need to remain in dialogue. Let's keep talking," said Munyeza.

He was killed when armed intruders broke into his house by pulling the back door off its hinges.

Andy van de Ruit was shot in the chest while his wife, Felicity, was shot in the stomach and had to be hospitalised. Their 18-year-old son was present at the time.

There has been a spate of armed robberies recently. While no other fatalities have been reported, people have been shot at or assaulted.

The Anti-Hijack Trust this week told the Zimbabwe Independent that armed robberies were on the increase.

"Last year alone 76 incidents were reported to us," Anti-Hijack Trust director, Deddy Thomas said.

"In all the cases guns and violence were reportedly used with shots being fired in the process," she said.

Thomas said her organisation was receiving reports from all over the country including farms.

"Our reports came from as far away as Bulawayo, Nyanga, and Mutare as well as Harare.

She said in all the incidents victims lost forex, local currency, and jewelry as well as electronic gadgets, which include DVDs and television sets and cameras.

"The first thing the gang would ask for is a safe," Thomas said. "If they don't get what they want, they then turn violent, beating up the victims, threatening to rape women and looting the houses.

"We suspect there are about four to five gangs doing the rounds throughout the country," she said.

One of the victims in the Mutare area, which has been hard-hit by robberies, complained bitterly about the level of response to their SOS calls by their security company.

"When my alarm went off to indicate that there was a problem at the house, the security company's rapid response team called us and assured us that they would be at the house in five minutes," the victim, said. "They arrived shortly thereafter but parked down the road until they were sure the coast was clear," he said.

The company later claimed it had given instructions to its staff not to enter premises where firearms were being used.

In another case a prominent Harare doctor says when a gang of five armed robbers broke into his Borrowdale home they took hostage his daughter before demanding keys to the safe. They looted millions of dollars worth of accessories as well as cash.

"My 16-year-old daughter was in the lounge practising the piano when the robbers struck and took her hostage. She screamed for help to which I responded swiftly," the doctor said. "As I approached them, the gang leader fired a shot at me.

"I told them that I would comply with all their demands if they let the girl free which they did. They proceeded to bind my wife and me, threatening to rape my wife. They demanded to know where the safe was. I surrendered the keys. They looked pleased with the money they got before proceeding to ransack the house and escape into the darkness," he said.

He said the whole operation took about 30 minutes. A relative had to go and fetch the police from Borrowdale police station.

"My sister fetched a police sergeant from Borrowdale police station. The officer promised to bring a back-up team to look into the matter, which he never did but only referred us to the CID who took five days to respond," the doctor said.

A victim in Mutare said his family was the fourth to undergo such an ordeal in the city. He lost millions worth of household goods including a Mitsubishi Colt truck in which the gang loaded their loot. He was left locked up in a toilet after being shot at.

Other victims report beatings, the threat of rape, and being tied up. One family reported two hours of terror recently when their young children were separated from them as they were subject to beatings and abuse with constant threats of rape against the women.

"I am a killer," one of the intruders told the family's young son before searching the house for money.

British embassy spokesperson Sophie Honey said Sir Brian was expected to "move on" after his tenure expired.

"The ambassador is due to complete his three-year posting in July and will be expected to move on shortly afterwards," Honey said this week.

The crack British diplomat came to Zimbabwe in 2001 from Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia where he served at the height of the 1999 Kosovo war with a difficult assignment to improve prickly relations between London and Harare.

No sooner had he settled into his office than he found himself in confrontation with the belligerent regime of Robert Mugabe that had just won a bitterly fought parliamentary election against the newly-formed labour-backed Movement for Democratic Change.

Sir Brian, who took over from an equally combative Peter Longworth, became a subject of regular attack in the state media where he was branded an MI6 operative.

Last June, Mugabe threatened him with expulsion claiming he had collaborated with the opposition MDC to organise rolling mass action against government.

"We know that the British have been behind it. They are giving them money, we know that," Mugabe said. "This guy called Mr Donnelly (sic), if he continues doing it, we will kick him out of this country."

Despite endless official hissing, Sir Brian remained defiant. Last August he said Britain would continue to speak out against oppression and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe regardless of colonial and other forms of blackmail against London.

Donnelly said since he came to Zimbabwe the political and economic situation had dramatically deteriorated.

"Two years have now passed since I arrived in Zimbabwe. It has been a roller-coaster ride, with plenty of ups and downs and with seatbelts fastened most of the time," he said last August.

"Among the ups: prices - of almost everything, the number of people needing food assistance, political violence and polarisation, violations of human rights."

Sir Brian said the downs included "economic growth, maize, wheat and tobacco production, fuel supplies, foreign trade and investment, the value of the Zim dollar, standards of healthcare and education, and tolerance.

Family members were yesterday planning to meet Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi, Zanu PF secretary for administration Emmerson Mnangagwa, the party's information supremo Nathan Shamuyarira and Justice minister Patrick Chinamansa.

Mutasa and another Zanu PF stalwart, James Makamba who is also a director at Telecel, have been detained in terms of Section 32 of the newly promulgated Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act) regulations.

The new regulations allow detention of up to 21 days for persons charged with money laundering, forex externalisation and other crimes related to trade in grain, gold and other precious stones.

Meanwhile, Telecel general manager Anthony Carter yesterday said he had not been charged in connection with the forex externalisation saga.

"I cannot make a comment because the police are still in investigating," said Carter. "As of today (yesterday) I have not been charged."