CIO agents visit Maisiri over son’s death in arson attack

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
26 February 2013

Four CIO operatives on Tuesday visited the home of Shepherd Maisiri in
Headlands, the scene of the gruesome death of his son, Christpower in a
suspected arson attack. He will be buried on Thursday in Dzikiti village,
his father confirmed.

Maisiri, and MDC-T official in the area, told SW Radio Africa that the
operatives drove to his homestead in a Mazda pick-up truck that had no
number plates. He refused to discuss the incident with them on the grounds
that ‘murders’ or ‘crime scenes’ are investigated by the police and not
state security agents.

“The fact that they came to my house with a vehicle that had no plates was
also a bit suspicious. I asked them about it and they claimed they could
have fallen off on their way to my home,” Maisiri said.

He explained: “Even in my state of grieving I’m not that stupid or naïve to
believe that. Those people (CIO’s) are killers of innocent civilians. They
could have simply kidnapped a person of interest and fled with them without
trace.”

The angry Maisiri said he was not amused by comments made by ZANU PF
Minister Didymus Mutasa that he had nothing to do with Christpower’s death,
because he was a ‘friend’. Mutasa claimed in a newspaper interview that
Maisiri was a ZANU PF cadre who was no threat to him.

“I read what Mutasa said in that interview and all I can say is that he is a
mad man and needs to have his head examined. To say that he is my friend is
a total joke. If he was…he should be here with me paying his condolences
with the rest of other people gathered here,” a fuming Maisiri said.

The horrific death of his son has totally been ignored by the state
controlled media. The incident on Saturday night has been extensively
covered by the independent newspapers in the country as well as the
international media.

The MDC-T’s deputy Justice Minister, Senator Obert Gutu said the media black
out just goes to show that the state media is not sure how to cover the
tragic event, because it involves a senior member of ZANU PF.

Gutu claimed that the primary target for Saturday’s attack was Shepherd
Maisiri, Christpower’s father. The Senator told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday
that Maisiri was the intended target of the attack because he dared
challenge a senior member of ZANU PF in the forthcoming parliamentary
elections.

Maisiri has openly accused ZANU PF’s Mutasa, the MP for Headlands, of
allegedly leading efforts to ‘eliminate’ him from the poll race. Maisiri is
the local deputy organising secretary of the MDC-T in the same area.

Gutu pointed out that as long as perpetrators of the June 2008 violence were
still roaming freely, there was likelihood the electioneering period this
year will be bloody.

“ZANU PF is very good at talking peace but acting war. You must realise that
the primary target was Shepherd Maisiri primarily because he has dared
challenge someone big in that party,” Gutu said.

Zimbabwe cabinet ministers clash over Headlands killing

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
22 February 2013

There was an explosive Cabinet meeting Tuesday as MDC-T ministers confronted
ZANU PF over the death of a 12 year old who died in a suspected arson attack
in Headlands this weekend.

Cabinet meetings are closed to the media. But some ministers who spoke on
condition of anonymity said the issue of the Headlands tragedy was first
brought up by Jameson Timba from the Prime Minister’s officer, saying it was
politically motivated.

The sources told SW Radio Africa that Finance Minister Tendai Biti then
‘spoke with more flesh’ and fingered Didymus Mutasa, the ZANU PF MP for
Headlands.

Biti is said to have gone prepared with laminated graphic pictures of the
charred body of Christpower Simbarashe Maisiri, who died in the fire on
Saturday. Biti reportedly told the shocked ministers that he was showing the
full cabinet the pictures of the horrific attack on one of his party’s
members so that ‘no one can hide behind ignorance’.

Mutasa, who is also the ZANU-PF secretary for administration and Minister of
State for Presidential Affairs, tried to deny any involvement but Biti and
others challenged him about why cases of politically motivated violence
seem to take place more in his area.

Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Elton Mangoma is said
to have also challenged Mutasa to a joint public meeting where the
government ministers can speak about peace.

But some ZANU PF ministers fought back, with Information Minister Webster
Shamu blaming the disturbance on outside forces with an ‘imperialist agenda’
who he said were trying to portray his party in a bad light as the country
prepares for elections.

Education Minister David Coltart reportedly told Cabinet that what was
happening in the country, where people are arrested for owning radios and
for registering to vote, is a reflection of the poison in Zimbabwean
society.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai appealed for peace and is said to have told his
ZANU PF counterparts that ‘no one has a retributive agenda’.

“He told them that they did not have to go to the lengths of killing people
to stay in power because they have nothing to fear,” said the source.

Ministers called on the police to investigate the atrocities and to be more
objective.

Boy's father speaks, Zanu PF denies killing

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

26/02/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

ZANU PF said Tuesday that it had “nothing to do with” the death of a
12-year-old boy in what the MDC-T says was an arson attack, even as
Christpower Maisiri’s father laid the blame squarely at the door of
President Robert Mugabe’s party.

Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said the claims that militants linked to the
party started the fire in a small village in Headlands, Manicaland, were
“baseless, offensive and malicious”.

The MDC-T claims the real target of Saturday night’s fire was Shepherd
Maisiri, described as the party’s district deputy organising secretary.

Fire gutted a hut in which five children were sleeping, and four escaped but
young Christpower was burnt to death after the roof caved in.

Zanu PF, which holds the Headlands parliamentary seat through Didymus
Mutasa, said it was satisfied that none of its members could have carried
out the attack, saying in a statement that “if anything, we have received
reports of the existence of a cordial relationship between our supporters
and Maisiri’s family.”

Gumbo added: “Police are now investigating the matter and we are confident
there they will get to the bottom of it as timeously and as diligently as
possible because it is in the public interest that they do so.

“Zanu PF as a party does not condone violence. Our leader, President Robert
Mugabe, has relentlessly called for tolerance and non-violence and we have
no reason to believe that our members would so openly defy his genuine
efforts to make sure we have a peaceful referendum as well as free and fair
elections.”

Gumbo accused the MDC of “relying on violence as a campaign strategy”,
adding: “We believe that this particular incident, like several others
before it, was staged to try and put Zimbabwe in the international spotlight
with a view to discrediting what is now an imminent and inevitable Zanu PF
victory in the coming elections.

“It is a well known fact, as confirmed by the three independent opinion
polls so far released, that the MDC-T has lost considerable support and that
it has no real prospect of winning in the forthcoming elections.”

Christpower, who was a Grade 4 pupil at Ruura Primary School, had survived
previous fire attacks, according to his father.
“This is the ninth time they have burnt my house down. My son who died on
Saturday survived another such attack in June 2008. He already had burn
marks on his back from the previous fires,” Shepherd Maisiri is quoted as
saying by the NewsDay newspaper.

Maisiri said local Zanu PF activists had been threatening to “deal” with him
for causing the incarceration of their leader, Lovemore Manenji, who was
convicted for various counts of politically-motivated crimes, including
public violence and rape.

He was sentenced in 2009 to 52 years and is presently in jail.
“Since the MDC was formed, these mountains have been my home,” Maisiri said.
“They have burnt my houses nine times since 2000. I lost two children to the
cold weather while I was hiding in the mountains.

“In 2003, they stabbed my younger brother to death after mistaking him for
me. They have also been attempting to take away my fields.”

Christpower will be buried at Dzikiti Village, also known as Village 55, on
Thursday, the MDC-T said in a statement.
A post-mortem was due to be conducted on his body at Harare’s Parirenyatwa
Hospital on Tuesday following which the body will be taken to Rusape
Hospital mortuary before burial.

MDC-T officials say party leader Morgan Tsvangirai will likely attend the
burial along with other senior party figures.
Police investigating the fire say they have so far found no evidence of
arson, and have appealed to the public for help to uncover the truth.

Tsvangirai to confront Mugabe

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 26 February 2013 12:34

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says he will confront President
Robert Mugabe over escalating cases of violence which culminated in the
tragic death of a 12-year-old boy in Headlands on Saturday last week.

Tsvangirai’s MDC called an urgent press conference yesterday to warn that
business in the coalition government will never be the same again unless
Zanu PF stops violence.

At the Principals meeting last week, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, came up with a Code of Conduct to end endemic
violence.

The MDC says it will not allow a repeat of 2008 atrocities in which at least
200 of its supporters were murdered while thousands were displaced.

Christpower, son of Shepherd Maisiri, an aspiring MDC MP who is seeking to
challenge Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa, died in an
arson attack at his dad’s Headlands home as political temperatures rise
ahead of polls.

Tendai Biti, MDC’s secretary general, told journalists yesterday that his
party will not allow the country to relapse into a “mini genocide”.

“We cannot expose our people to the same mini-genocide similar to that
experienced in 2008, if we do that we would be an irresponsible party,” he
said.

Biti said “hideous” events as those experienced in 2008 are in replay
because “Zanu PF is not walking the talk and events of the past days are a
forbearer of things to come. If we continue on this path, we will go back to
2008.”

While Zanu PF is refuting the murder charges, Biti said the former
ex-majority party’s fingerprints were written all over the death of the
school boy, Christpowers.

“We hold ..... (name withheld) unequivocally and unambiguously responsible
for the death,” Biti said.

“We also hold the police to account. This is a complete reproduction of all
the commissions and omissions on the part of the police and CIOs that we saw
in 2008.”

Biti said they will engage Sadc, the African Union (AU) and the world
community at large to squeeze reforms agreed in the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) to be implemented before polls.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, said the PM is set to confer
with Mugabe over the rising cases of political violence as well as the
sustained clampdown on civil society by the police force.

Apart from banning shortwave radio receivers, the police have also vowed to
ban non-governmental organisations which they accuse of operating outside
the law.

“The Prime Minister is taking this issue seriously. It is sad that this
murder comes after the two (Mugabe and Tsvangirai) talked about violence and
they agreed to create an environment ahead of polls that would be violence
free,” said Tamborinyoka.

Mugabe, who has been preaching peace at every forum, now stands accused of
not walking the talk as violence spreads ahead of a referendum set for March
16.

“The violence that is on the rise gives the impression that there are people
who are preaching peace and then not practicing it, so at the next meeting
the PM is going to push the president to walk the talk,” said Tamborinyoka.

The Prime Minister will also seek to engage regional leaders who have the
role of monitoring the implementation of the Code of Conduct for security
agents who have threatened mutiny if the former trade unionist wins
presidential elections, he said.

Zimbabwe PM's Party Reports Increase In Violence

Feb 26, 11:54 AM EST

BY ANGUS SHAW
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- The party of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said Tuesday that violence against its supporters is increasing
as political tensions rise before upcoming elections.

The Movement for Democratic Change party said an arson attack on the home of
an election candidate in eastern Zimbabwe killed the politician's
12-year-old son. The attack was one of 120 incidents of violence recorded so
far this year, said the third ranked MDC official, Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.

The candidate's house has suffered nine attacks surrounding previous
elections and the last violent and disputed elections in 2008. The child's
burial is to be on Thursday.

Biti said his party was "enraged at the increase in politically motived
violence throughout the country" that he blamed on a faction of President
Robert Mugabe's party.

Biti accused Mugabe's ZANU PF party of attempting to once again instill fear
in the electorate.

"ZANU PF intends to harvest fear in the 2013 elections," he said.

He also alleged that Mugabe's security services have crafted a strategy of
intimidation, arrests and possible assassination attempts against leaders of
the former opposition in a shaky coalition government with Mugabe.

Voters go to the polls March 16 in a referendum on a new constitution,
followed by parliamentary and presidential elections slated around July to
end the coalition brokered by regional mediators after the troubled 2008
vote.

No arrests have been made in the death of the 12-year-old. Party officials
said it took seven hours for police to reach the scene of the fire in the
Headlands district, 140 kilometers (90 miles) east of Harare, on Saturday.

Mugabe's party, blamed along with loyalist police and military for much of
the political violence surrounding elections over the last decade, has
denied the involvement of its supporters in the fire at Headlands, a
stronghold of a staunch veteran Mugabe ally, Didymus Mutasa.

The United States embassy in Harare immediately called for urgent and
impartial investigations into the alleged arson attack.

"Respect for the law and apolitical policing are essential for creating
conditions for credible and non-violent Zimbabwe elections this year," it
said in a statement.

Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have repeatedly called for violence-free
elections.

Human rights monitors of an independent group, Heal Zimbabwe Trust, said
authorities on Tuesday attempted to stop mourners and sympathizers gathering
at the scene of the fire.

Tsvangirai party activist and aspiring lawmaker Shepherd Maisiri, the father
of the dead child, said communities were fast losing confidence in the calls
for peace by political leaders, according to the trust's information
bulletin on Tuesday.

The trust quoted Maisiri telling its monitors: " I am told I must trust
Robert Mugabe that elections are going to be peaceful. Well, this is proving
false. My son is dead before we even get to the referendum. What more will
happen as we approach highly contested elections?"

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network also reported Tuesday its observers
noted the re-emergence of feared pro-Mugabe youth militia groups in several
parts of the country.

It reported "instability and political tension" across the nation.

"Observers continue to report the presence of intolerance and a generalized
lack of freedom of association and expression," the group said.

Tsvangirai calls for international help with peaceful elections

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
26 February 2013

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has appealed to the international community
to continue to watch developments in Zimbabwe closely, to ensure that there
is peace and stability as the country prepares for elections this year.

Tsvangirai was speaking at an international conference on peace, security
and human development in South Korea this weekend.

He was also in the South-East Asian country to receive an honorary doctorate
degree in Public Administration from the Sun Moon University, in recognition
of his efforts towards democracy and peace in Zimbabwe. He also attended the
inauguration ceremony of President Park Geun-Hye on Monday.

The PM told delegates at the world peace summit that Zimbabwe is standing at
the crossroads and that solidarity from the international community will
help the county achieve “real sustainable peace and pull down years of
inequity and injustice.”

“The world must continue to nudge us to be open about this transformative
process; to be accountable to humanity; to embrace tolerance; and to allow
the will of the people to prevail.”

He said: “What confronts us requires global attention if Zimbabwe is to move
away from dinner-table discussions, where it has been dominant, clearly for
wrong reasons, for the past few years.”

The Prime Minister’s calls come in amid increasing political disturbances
and blatant threats by the police against human rights defenders, as the
country prepares for crucial elections.

Innocent Matibiri, the deputy police commissioner-general responsible for
operations told a parliamentary portfolio committee on Home Affairs the
police will also target non-governmental organizations that have been
distributing shortwave radios in the country and will confiscate radio
receivers from listeners.

The MDC-T has also accused ZANU PF activists for the fire that killed the
12-year-old son of a party activist, an issue that is said to have raised
temperatures during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

Sources said MDC-T ministers seriously clashed with their ZANU PF
counterparts in government, who they accused of ‘pretending to talk peace
but embarking on violence’.

Meanwhile, the PM’s visit was criticised by ZANU PF, who have close ties
with the South East Asian county’s bitter rivals and neighbour North Korea.

The President’s spokesman George Charamba, who is widely believed to be the
author of the Herald’s Nathaniel Manheru column said, prior to the PM’s
visit: “Not to be beaten, Tsvangirai has also been trying to diversify his
benefactors, which is why he is headed for South-east Asia where he hopes
not just to get campaign money, but also to slough off this tag of massive
Western hand-holding which cannot be shaken away.

“Again the South-east Asian country he is set to visit is the Nordic
equivalent of American imperial power.”

Mujuru: No Western election monitors allowed

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
26 February 2013

Vice-President Joice Mujuru has indicated that no election observers from
Western nations will be allowed to monitor Zimbabwe’s next poll, despite the
country turning to Western donors for election funding.

“Why should we be monitored by other countries outside the Southern African
Development Community when we are a sovereign state?” Mujuru was quoted as
saying in the Sunday Mail.

Mujuru said countries that have imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe wanted to
“impose themselves on our national election processes to influence the
outcome in their favour.”

Finance Minister Tendai Biti has been urging Western nations to fund the
country’s elections because the government cannot afford it. He dramatically
announced earlier this year that the state coffers were almost empty, in
what he said was an attempt to convince international donors to fund the
poll.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) meanwhile has started taking
applications from individuals and organisations who want to observe the
forthcoming referendum.

Acting ZEC chairperson Joyce Kazembe said all applications, foreign or
local, would be considered by the Commission’s Observer Accreditation
Committee, and that committee would then recommend who should be approved
for accreditation.

“According to the electoral law the committee is chaired by the ZEC
chairperson and the deputy chairperson is also a member together with a
Commissioner,” she said.

She added: “Other members will include representatives from the Ministries
of Justice and Legal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs mainly the
immigration department. This is the committee which looks at all the
applications and makes recommendations.”

Chinamasa backtracks and says election funding IS secured

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
26 February 2013

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has again stated that local funding for
the upcoming constitutional referendum has been secured, hours after denying
he made such comments to the Sunday Mail.

Chinamasa was quoted by the newspaper on Sunday as stating that some US$80
million had been secured from local firms to fund the referendum, set for
March 16th.

He then told SW Radio Africa’s correspondent Simon Muchemwa on Monday that
he was “misquoted” and that no money was secured.

This was backed up by Finance Minister Tendai Biti who told a press
conference in Harare on Monday that no money had yet been secured. He had
told journalists last Friday that there was no enough time to get money from
international donors, and the government would be turning to local firms.

However, Chinamasa later on Monday backtracked and said the money has been
secured. The Minister, currently in Geneva, told SW Radio Africa’s Muchemwa
that acting-Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was set to make a statement
and that “we just need to figure out the modalities on how we get this money
to ZEC.” He gave no other details about where the money has been sourced
from.

Economist John Robertson told SW Radio Africa that if funding is sourced
from within the country the money will most likely come from the Mbada
diamond mining firm or from Econet.

“Econet is not only earning money in Zimbabwe. It has broadened its base
across Southern Africa and its revenue source is larger than Zimbabwe’s
market. So they (Mbada and Econet) appear to have between them at least
US$65 million that is needed,” Robertson said.

He explained that very few other companies in Zimbabwe are able provide the
millions required by the government on such short notice, saying that “the
purchasing power of Zimbabwean consumers remains very constrained.”

Robertson also speculated that there have been “few details of the
agreements published because partly the government might be embarrassed to
admit they can’t be sure of a repayment date. And lenders could be
embarrassed because they have been pressured into lending something without
seeking the assurances of repayment they needed first,” Robertson said.

He added: “There is caution on both sides because people are not happy about
an agreement that have been forced into making.”

Police Vow to Seize Radios Linked to VOA Studio 7

http://www.voazimbabwe.com

Irwin Chifera
25.02.2013

A senior Zimbabwe police officer Monday vowed to crush broadcasts from the
Voice of America saying its Zimbabwe flagship program, Studio 7, is beaming
into the country illegally.

Deputy commissioner-general responsible for operations, Innocent Matibiri,
told parliament’s Home Affairs portfolio committee the police will continue
to confiscate radio receivers from listeners and non-governmental
organizations that have been distributing shortwave radios in the country.

The police have been targeting independent groups that have been
distributing shortwave radios and confiscating them claiming they are
communication gadgets being used to destabilize the country ahead of crucial
elections and the constitutional referendum.

Asked why the police would confiscate radios that were donated to
communities, Matibiri said: “I have made myself very clear as to why we
confiscate some of the gadgets and it’s not only the radios that we have
confiscated. We have confiscated so many things with ZIMRA (Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority) if we are not satisfied with the manner in which the gadgets have
been getting into our country.

"It would be laxity on our part if we just see things being donated, being
distributed, some unusual kind of generosity taking place,” he said.

He questioned the generosity of those distributing the radios and what he
chose to call communication gadgets.

“By the way, we have been told again and again that there is Studio 7 and so
on and so forth and that according to the agreement that was signed between
the principles its unlawful and when you distribute gadgets in order to
facilitate something that is unlawful, don’t expect that the security forces
will fold their arms,” Matibiri said.

When told that drivers can easily access Studio 7 in their cars, Matibiri
said the police were concerned with the manner in which the shortwave radios
were getting into the country and nothing more.

Reacting to the police commissioner's remarks, VOA Africa Division Director
Gwen Dillard said: "Free access to information is a universal right. Studio
7, produced by the Voice of America, provides accurate, objective and
comprehensive news to the people of Zimbabwe."

Article 19 of the Global Political Agreement of 2008 states that all
Zimbabwean nationals, including those currently working for or running
external radio stations, be encouraged to make applications for broadcasting
licenses, in Zimbabwe, in terms of the law.

Unity government principals agreed to “call upon the governments that are
hosting and or funding external radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe to
cease such hosting and funding; and encourage the Zimbabweans running or
working for external radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe to return to
Zimbabwe”.

Meanwhile, Matibiri told the committee that the Zimbabwe Republic Police is
ready for the constitutional referendum and elections expected later in the
year.

He said an elections command center is already in place to manage the two
national events.

Matibiri said the police have been preparing for the elections and
referendum since 2010. The referendum has been slated for March 16.

Mugabe listens to Studio 7: Chamisa

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Tuesday, 26 February 2013 12:34

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has accused President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu PF of trying to outlaw radio stations that they listen to and
comment on.

Nelson Chamisa, MDC organising secretary told thousands at a rally in
Chitungwiza some 30 km outside Harare, that his party was extremely worried
by the behaviour of the police.

“How can they honestly arrest people for owning a radio yet Mugabe listens
to studio 7?” Chamisa said. “He told me the other day that he had heard me
speak on the station and was actually appreciating my mastery of Shona.

“You cannot successfully stop people from seeing because the people of
Zimbabwe are much cleverer than you think. Mvura inorambidzwa ndiyo
inotapira saka vanhu vanotonyanyanya kuteerera Studio 7. (The forbidden
fruit is the sweetest, and people will continue listening to Studio 7)”

While appearing before the parliamentary committee on Home Affairs
yesterday, police bosses claimed that they are banning Studio 7 along with
other extraterrestrial radio stations arguing they are enforcing provisions
of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which calls on parties to the
inclusive government to ensure an end to their operations.

Chamisa criticised the police’s heavy handedness in confiscating the radios
and cracking down on civil society groups.

Chamisa said Zanu PF’s behaviour exposed it to international scrutiny.

“There is no law in the country that outlaws ownership of radios, NGOs are
harassed by Zanu PF agents but one wonders what harm they think Jestina
Mukoko who used to read news for them and Okay Machisa can possibly do to
them,” Chamisa said. “The international community naturally gets interested
and they will blame the MDC for sanctions.

“Please stop preaching peace but practicing violence because we have always
been victims of violence. Zanu PF will never win an election that is free
and fair but we will never participate in a violent election. We however
will not be intimidated because they can only kill some of us but certainly
not all of us. They cannot stop an idea whose time has come.”

MDC Chitungwiza provincial chairperson Alexio Musundire said his party’s
failure at the previous elections to unseat Mugabe was because of a flawed
Constitution, adding the new draft charter set to go to a referendum in
March is the “key to State House”.

“We are concerned with the next generation as opposed to the next election
and the key to a new Zimbabwe is this constitution,” Musundire said.

“We must adopt it in order to deliver our president to State House because
it deals with institutions of dictatorship. This constitution is our baby
and not Zanu PF’s that is why we must overwhelmingly vote for it.”

A tripartite parliamentary select committee commonly referred to as Copac
crafted a new draft constitution that is set to pave way for a free, fair
and legitimate election. - Mugove Tafirenyika

Bennett claims diamond cash being used to ‘clean’ ZANU PF image

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
26 February 2013

The MDC-T Treasurer General Roy Bennett has accused ZANU PF of using diamond
money in a campaign to ‘clean up’ its image, as part of its pre-election
strategy.

Bennett was speaking on SW Radio Africa’s Diaspora Diaries series, where he
welcomed a recent call for an investigation into the role of financial
services giant Old Mutual in Zimbabwe’s diamond trade.

He warned that the diamond sector remains under ZANU PF control and the
profits that are not benefiting Zimbabweans are instead being used to help
cleanse the party’s reputation.

“I know for fact that there are credible PR (professionals) and lobbyists in
the UK that have been approached through high level investment funds to
represent the Mugabe regime in cleaning up ZANU PF’s image ahead of
elections, and cleaning up the wrongs they have done,” Bennett said.

He added: “The human rights abuses, the thefts, the extrajudicial killings,
the rapes, they are all forgotten about when the bottom line is profit and
that is what is so disgusting”

He said that recent attempts to normalise, for example, the destructive land
grab exercise, formed part of this diamond-funded strategy. He was referring
to recent academic reports and publications that have attempted to paint the
ZANU PF led land grab campaign as a success.

“It wouldn’t take an investigative journalist too long to dig into that and
find out where the funding had come from for these academics to do the
research and trace how their bank balances have swelled… all to try to clean
up the image of a discredited regime that has absolutely destroyed and
obliterated the country,” Bennett said.

The MDC-T official, who has never been sworn into government and remains in
self-imposed exile in South Africa, also warned about the involvement of
multinational companies that are working in Zimbabwe and are supporting the
ZANU PF regime.

This includes Old Mutual, which is again facing criticism for its indirect
involvement in the Marange based diamond mining firm Mbada. Earlier this
month, UK MP Kate Hoey called for an investigation into Old Mutual’s role,
stating that Marange diamond companies were “suspected of directing millions
of dollars to corrupt and violent interests associated with ZANU PF.”

“Old Mutual needs to be investigated for a potential breach of sanctions.”
Hoey said, because the Mbada firm is a joint venture with the state run
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) that is on the European
sanctions list. She said: “We cannot allow a British company to behave like
this.”

Old Mutual 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.
That group then acquired 25% of Mbada, which is 50% run by the ZMDC. Old
Mutual has stated that its involvement “post-dated any reported wrongdoing
in the mining area. As a result, Old Mutual is most certainly not associated
with activities which contravene the human rights of citizens.”

A spokesman for Old Mutual has recently been quoted by the UK media as
saying that: “Our holding in this investment is legal and we would never
knowingly take action that did break any laws.” He added that an Old Mutual
investigation had found “no human rights abuses” since the company had been
formed.

But the MDC-T’s Bennett on Tuesday said these excuses are not good enough,
and insisted that “they have a case to answer.”

“These multinationals and corporates that are propping up ZANU PF with the
involvement with them for profit in thoroughly discredited investments and
investments that lack morality against laws of UK where guys are in bed and
partnership with sanctioned entities is totally unacceptable,” Bennett said.

He added: “My involvement in politics has been a journey that has revealed a
lack of morality and decency when it comes to profits. And it stinks.”

MDC-T sends SADC dossier on political violence

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
26 February 2013

The MDC-T has dispatched to the regional SADC bloc a dossier on the recent
upsurge in violence in Zimbabwe, the party’s secretary-general Tendai Biti
has said.

Briefing journalists in Harare on Monday, the Finance Minister said his
party will request SADC leaders to convene an extraordinary meeting to
tackle the recent upsurge in electoral violence.

“Events in the country are degenerating into what happened in 2008. SADC
must act now to prevent the escalation of violence,” Biti said.

Sources told SW Radio Africa that the party has a ‘massive dossier’ of
events in the past months where a number of party activities have been
killed, intimidated, assaulted and prevented from registering to vote in
general elections expected in July.

The latest killing was that of 12 year-old Christpower Maisiri who died in a
suspected arson attack in Headlands on Saturday. Biti claimed the house
Christpower was sleeping in was fire-bombed by elements linked to the
powerful ZANU PF Minister Didymus Mutasa.

Mutasa is the ZANU PF MP for Headlands while Christpower’s father, Shepherd
is an MDC-T official who is challenging the ZANU PF stalwart in the
forthcoming parliamentary elections.

For two months after the March 2008 polls, the country was consumed by
violence and forced evictions. The ZANU PF militia, aided by the partisan
security forces cracked down on known MDC supporters, killing over 500,
maiming thousands more and forced half a million others from their homes.

Surprisingly nobody has yet been convicted by the courts. Human rights
activists routinely point out that no ZANU PF activists, party members,
armed state security agents or ministers or generals who incited and funded
the trigger-happy gangs have been held to account to the bloody violence
five years ago.

Since 2000, after the formation of the MDC, elections in Zimbabwe have been
divisive and violent. There have been disturbances in 2002, and again in
2005 before 2008 exploded.

Tsvangirai summons ministers

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Tuesday, 26 February 2013 12:34

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has summoned two ministers over
the escalating crackdown by the police on Zimbabwean human rights defenders.

Tsvangirai has met with co-Home Affairs minister Theresa Makone, responsible
for the police, and Labour and Social Services minister Paurina Mpariwa, to
express worry over the rising cases of arbitrary arrests and raids targeted
at key human rights groups ahead of the March 16 referendum and subsequent
general election.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, confirmed the meeting, and
said the PM has urged robust action from the ministers to put an end to the
crackdown.

“He made concerns about developments on the ground which point to continued
harassment,” Tamborinyoka said.

“The PM wants a conducive environment for the referendum and election. He
remains concerned about goings-on on the ground.”

Tsvangirai’s action follows a police raid at the offices of election
monitors Zimbabwe Election Support Network in Harare and Masvingo last week
ostensibly to look for short wave radios.

Earlier last week on Monday police raided the office of the Zimbabwean Peace
Project (ZPP) in Harare with a warrant to search for “subversive material
and illegal immigrants”.

This follows the brutal crackdown on a “love march” that saw eight members
of Zimbabwean women’s social justice movement, Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(Woza), arrested outside the Zimbabwean Parliament in Harare for handing out
roses and teddy bears during their annual Valentine’s Day demonstration.

The police have also raided and arrested pro-democracy activists at
Zimrights including the chairperson, Okay Machisa, raided the National Youth
Development Trust (NYDT) and outlawed meetings by the Centre for Community
Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ).

Civil society groups appealed to Tsvangirai at a recent State-civil society
interface forum at the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition head office held in
Harare, to stop the crackdown.

Tsvangirai said plans were on course to ensure the conduct of the security
sector is in sync with the dictates of Article 13.2 of the GPA.

“During the last National Security Council, we were discussing a code of
conduct for the police and the army and that is already work in progress,”
Tsvangirai told civil society leaders."

“We will ensure that their conduct is codified and aligned with
professionalism and integrity.”

Civil rights activists say Zimbabwe is heading toward a “flawed transition”,
characterised by positive reforms but with the incumbent still determined to
manipulate State institutions and electoral processes to gain an unfair
advantage that allows it to retain State power.

“However, at this juncture the incumbent might be trying to gain political
legitimacy through grand concessions such as on the Constitution and
election dates without ceding much on democratising State institutions which
gives room for manipulation of the whole process,” said Phillan Zamchiya,
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional coordinator.

“However, due to the fact that Sadc, civil society and the media have kept
on trekking the transition and exposing the anomalies, it appears difficult
for the incumbent to opt for a derailed transition.” - Gift Phiri, Political
Editor

Zanu (PF) MP forces schools to close

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

26.02.13

by Gladys Ncube

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) says Zanu (PF) parliamentary
chief whip Jorum Gumbo who is Mberengwa West legislator forced the closure
of more than 10 schools in the constituency last Friday, as teachers and
students were ordered to attend his rally at Masase Mission.

“Schools in Mberengwa West on Friday 22 February were forced to close by
Zanu (PF) chief whip Jorum Gumbo with teachers and students commandeered to
attend the MP's rally. As PTUZ we condemn outright the loss of teaching and
learning time for partisan politics and reiterate the long-held view that
schools must be political free zones. For many times we have respected Gumbo
as one of the few reasonable Zanu (PF) guys but the latest move has proved
he is a zealot like others and exposing teachers and students to Zanu PF
thuggery,”PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou told The Zimbabwean this week.

Zhou added: “What is worrisome is the fact that Mberengwa District Education
Officer Mrs Shirichena also ordered headmasters to ensure that all teachers
and students in Mberengwa West had to attend a rally at Masase Mission.”

Teachers and students who attend Gumbo's rally were from schools like
Guruva, Chovuragu, Chizungu,Vubwe ,Matabo and Zverenje Secondary Schools.
Some were from Gaha, Masase,Marovovondo,Chebvute,Nyororo,Chavengwa and
Mutsime Primary Schools.

When contacted Gumbo said PTUZ is misinformed as the Masase Mission meeting
is his annual event called “Meet the Your MP” where he also donates school
furniture,soccer balls and some money.

“There are just misinformed. I have been holding these meetings every year
where i meet people from my constituency to donate furniture, money and
soccer balls to schools. This year I gave a total of US$50 000 to all
schools in that area. On top of that we also held a soccer tournament under
“Meet the MP where students from these schools participated. Even people
from MDC and other parties attended this meeting and also senior officials
from the Education Ministry were in attendance. I don’t do cheap politics,”
said Gumbo. Mberengwa has been Zanu PF stronghold since independence and it
has been a no go area for other parties.

Mpilo Hospital authorities appeal for help

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Nomalanga Moyo
26 February 2013

Management at Mpilo Central Hospital are appealing to Zimbabweans at home
and abroad to step in and help revive the institution.

The hospital was once a symbol of hope to millions of Zimbabweans in
Matebeleland and the Midlands provinces. However over the years, standards
have deteriorated so much that only the very poor seek still seek treatment
at the facility.

The situation is so bad that authorities have described it as ‘pathetic’,
and falling far below “the basic standards expected of a health
institution.”

In a wide-ranging interview the hospital’s chief executive officer, Dr
Lawrence Mantiziba, told SW Radio Africa that a team has been put together
to mobilise resources.

Mantiziba said management was now looking outside government for a solution
to Mpilo’s persistent challenges, and appealed to individuals and the
private sector to assist in cash or kind.

He said: “We badly need everyone’s support to revive Mpilo and to
rehabilitate most of the hospital infrastructure.”

Challenges at the facility include closed patient wards, leaking roofs on
most buildings, a critical shortage of bed linen (with only 40 pairs of bed
sheets available for 600 beds), as well as broken down washing machines and
incinerators.

The hospital also needs ambulances, water booster pumps, a new boiler, and
essential repairs to its dilapidated dental unit, doctors’ quarters, the
student nurses’ quarters, staff accommodations, warehouse and the pharmacy.

Authorities say at least $5 million is required to improve standards at
Mpilo.

Built in 1957 Mpilo Hospital was meant to cater for Bulawayo urban, which
had a population of 100,000 at the time. Since then, this figure has grown
to almost one million people. The hospital is also a referral centre for
patients from Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, the Midlands, and
Masvingo. This means serving a combined population of about six million
people.

Despite promises by the country’s leadership to speed up the process of
rehabilitating the country’s health institutions, not much has been done,
with the Treasury constantly disbursing less than the allocated funds to
hospitals such as Mpilo.

In 2012, the facility only received $1.1 million out of the $4.1 million the
Treasury had promised.

In 2011 only $1 million was disbursed to the hospital out of the $4.4
million allocated in the national budget. At the time, Mpilo required about
$12 million to meet its obligations.

Cont Mhlanga, renowned playwright and founder of Bulawayo-based Amakhosi
Theatre Productions, said the situation at Mpilo mirrors the general decline
of Zimbabwe’s health sector.

Mhlanga blamed bad political leadership, and said reviving institutions such
as Mpilo requires stamping out corruption within government.

“At the moment politicians are more concerned about consolidating their
positions rather than prioritising people’s health,” he said, adding: “We
need is to fix our politics first, and then the economy will improve, and
important sectors such as health will be allocated adequate budgets to
enable them to function.”

Mhlanga said even with vast mineral resources, it is unlikely that the
Treasury will have enough funds for the health sector, given the
‘self-serving nature’ of those who control these resources.

Zimbabwe has the largest diamond reserves in the world, the second largest
platinum reserves in the world, and also boasts deposits of gold, coal,
granite, nickel, copper, zinc, limestone, phosphate, clay and dolomite,
among other resources.

Constitution Outreach Meetings Flop on First Day in Bulawayo

http://www.voazimbabwe.com

Only one person turned up in Killarney Hall and seven people showed up in
Lockview Primary School in the city’s Imbizo district.

Sithandekile Mhlanga
25.02.2013

WASHINGTON — The Constitution Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) says its
outreach programs to educate people on the draft charter, which kicked-off
Monday, were not successful in Bulawayo province, as only one person turned
up in Killarney Hall and seven people showed up in Lockview Primary School
in the city’s Imbizo district for the meetings.

COPAC co-deputy chairman Believe Gaule said the provincial leadership has
scheduled an urgent meeting Tuesday to map the way forward.

Mr. Gaule said COPAC placed advertisements in the local Chronicle newspaper
in the hope that the public may turn in large numbers.

Gaule said advertising the meetings in the press may have resulted in the
low turn-out because some people do not have access to newspapers.

He added that Monday meetings will be rescheduled for the beginning of next
month.

VOA Studio 7 could not independently verify attendance in other provinces in
the country but COPAC co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora said the meetings were
successful with people requesting exact time for the commencements of the
programs.

Ambrose Sibindi, organizing secretary for the Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association, said COPAC should involve his organization, as they have
structures that successfully co-ordinate meetings.

Mr. Sibindi said similar meetings held by political parties in the city’s
Pumula suburb and the City Hall were successful, which shows that COPAC did
not adequately publicize the meetings.

He added that his organisation has started alerting Bulawayo residents about
simiilar Tuesday meetings scheduled for Barham Green and the Small City
Hall.

Air Zimbabwe revives Victoria Falls-Johannesburg route

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

25/02/2013 00:00:00
by Business Reporter

AIR Zimbabwe will to re-introduce the Victoria Falls-Johannesburg route in
April, a senior government official has revealed.

The development is part of the country’s preparations for the United Nations
World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly in August.

Zimbabwe is co-hosting the event with neighbouring Zambia at Victoria Falls
resort on the border between the two countries.
Transport and communications permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa said it
was important that Victoria Falls was linked with Harare and Johannesburg
ahead of the UN tourism meeting.

He said the airline, which currently services the Harare-Bulwayo-Victoria
Falls route three times a week, would also increase the frequency of its
flights beginning April.

“We have set in motion plans to re-introducing the Victoria
Falls-Johannesburg route from April,” Munodawafa told reporters in the
resort town last week.

“This is because most airlines change their flight patterns in April which
coincides with the summer season in Europe. So a plan has been set in motion
to re-strategise come April. In terms of aircrafts to be used, we are ready
on that front,” he said.

Air Zimbabwe was forced to pull out of the Johannesburg and London routes in
December 2011 after two of its planes were seized there by creditors.

Officials recently revealed that the airline’s debt had increased to US$188
million from about US$140 million last year.
Munodawafa said US$30 million of the debt comprised foreign obligations
which must be paid to enable Air Zimbabwe to resume international flights.

Mujuru pleads for partnerships to save agriculture

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

26.02.13

by Tarisai Jangara

Zimbabwe needs strategic business partnerships in the agriculture sector to
ensure it is adequately funded for the country to regain its bread basket
status.

Zimbabwe was at one time well-renowned as a vibrant farming country, until
agriculture was disrupted by an unplanned land redistribution programme that
started in 2000 and drove away close to 5,000 commercial white farmers.

The period coincided with a series of droughts that further brought
production down.

Mujuru told a visiting business delegation from the United Arab Emirates
that Zimbabwe was keen to do business with the Asian country and was also
looking for business partnerships in the areas of mining, energy and tourism
which face serious funding problems.

“We wish to develop irrigation infrastructure for increased agricultural
production. Water bodies, land and technical knowledge are some of the
critical resources that we clearly have.

“The missing link is agriculture financing. Once financing in its various
forms is added to the model, agriculture becomes a reality, so we will be
the source of adequate food and nutrition security not only for Zimbabweans,
but our neighbours and the rest of the world which include the UAE,” she
said.

Sheikh Saud, a member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of the Ras al
Khaimah is in the country with his business delegation to explore business
opportunities in Zimbabwe.

Saud said his country was willing to embark on partnerships that would
transform Zimbabwe’s economy, adding peace was the breeding ground for
economic prosperity.

“ We are willing to partner with Zimbabwe to boost its economy only after we
have done a scan of the environment,” he said.

Mujuru invited the UAE to partner Zimbabwe in the energy sector and
alleviate the country’s energy woes that have resulted in acute power cuts.

Mujuru added: “For all we know, generation of electricity will have a
catalytic effect on the performance of other sectors in the economy and is
therefore a priority.”

She said the country was suffering from a liquidity crunch that has crippled
potentially profitable ventures such as the pharmaceutical business and
mining.

Police officers 'stole from Nkomo home'

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

25/02/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

TWO police officers ransacked Vice President John Nkomo’s house days after
his death on January 17 and stole property worth US$7,200, a Bulawayo court
heard on Monday.

Constables Costa Fandi, 25, and Hilary Ncube, 29, stole and resold household
goods including a plasma TV, a laptop and a digital camera from Nkomo’s home
on Muchbinding Road in Worringham, prosecutors said.

The prosecution provides an insight into what went on at Nkomo’s home in the
days following his death – with the property virtually deserted until his
son, Jabulani, visited on February 20 and discovered the theft.

The two officers from the Police Protection Unit, both from Gwanda, were
guarding Nkomo’s home.
They were not asked to plead when they appeared before Bulawayo magistrate
Witness Mtetwa on Monday, charged with unlawful entry and theft.

They were remanded in custody to Tuesday pending a bail application hearing,
with their trial set to begin on March 11.

Prosecutor Tarisai Mutarisi said the two officers were arrested last Friday
after Nkomo’s son filed a complaint.

Mutarisi said both men had admitted stealing the property in police
interviews.
An inventory of the stolen items produced in court included a plasma
television set, a decoder, a laptop, a mercer card, laptop bag, digital
headphones, digital camera, a sword, a pair of binoculars, 25kgs of beef,
six suits, shirts, ties, tracksuits, bathing towels, vests, a track suit, a
hat, a cap, handkerchiefs, a parliamentary black bag, a pair of shoes, an
electronic fan, flask, necklace, 5kg of maize seed, an umbrella, vehicle
laptop charger, a radio and perfume.

Prosecutors say almost all the property has been recovered, apart from
perishables.
Defence lawyer Nyengera Tungamirai said he would ask a magistrate to grant
the two men $50 bail each on Tuesday, denying they are a flight risk.

Lead investigator Detective Inspector Thembinkosi Sibanda of Hillside Police
said the two officers were not cooperative while in custody, and feared that
they might abscond and not stand trial if granted bail.

Prosecutors are expected to oppose bail.

Report Tackles Mystery of Zimbabwe's Disappearing Diamonds

Glen View defence lawyer describes State counsel as farce

The defence lawyers in the trial of the 29 MDC members who are facing
false murder charges have described as a farce the way the State is
handling and delaying in bringing its final witness to testify at the
High Court.

The charges were made today during the trial before Justice Chinembiri
Bhunu when the State again failed to explain why for the past six
months it had failed in subpoenaing a Cuban pathologist.

The pathologist, Dr Alveiro-Aguero carried out a post-mortem of the
Petros Mutedza.

The delay by the State in bringing the Cuban, Dr Alviero-Aguero has
resulted in the case failing to be concluded and seriously affecting
the day-to-day lives of the 29 members.

Five of them Last Maengahama, an MDC national executive member, Harare
councillor, Tungamirai Madzokera, Simon Mapanzure, Yvonne Musarurwa
and Rebecca Mafukeni are in remand prison under filthy conditions at
Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison after they were denied bail last
week. They have been in remand prison for over 21 months since their
arrest in May 2011.

The State has been coming up with never-ending excuses on why the
pathologist was failing to come and stand as a State witness.

Various reasons have been offered by the State counsel, Edmore
Nyazamba including that there was need for the Cuban government
through the Zimbabwe Ministry of Foreign Affairs to approve the move
since the pathologist holds a diplomatic passport.

Yesterday, Innocent Muchini, who was standing in for Nyazamba, said
the State will today call one Mr Ncube from the Foreign Affairs
Ministry and Assistant Commissioner Godfrey Munyonga to explain the
reasons why the Cuban national was not available to give evidence
after defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa opposed the prosecution
application to postpone the matter to March 6 this year.

Justice Chinembiri Bhunu ruled in favour of the defence saying the
court could not rely on hearsay evidence.

Both Ncube and Munyonga failed to turn up in court with police sending
in Superintendent Jeremiah Nhamo Murenje to stand in for Munyonga.
Ncube was reported to be attending a workshop.

Murenje failed to explain to the court why the police were failing to
get a subpoena for the pathologist in the past six months but failed
to give a satisfactory answer.

The defence counsel attacked the behaviour of the State and police
describing it as a farce.

“It seems as we have one law for the State witnesses and another for
everyone, as Ncube should be here but is attending a workshop. It
seems they are above the law,” said Mtetwa.

Justice Bhunu ordered to the State to bring in correspondences between
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police in their attempts to
plead with the Cuban government to allow the doctor to stand as a
State witness.

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Harvest House
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Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: 00263 4 770 708

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Together, united, winning, ready for a real change

Zanu PF in a state of panic and on full scale violence - MDC-T

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe

AUTHOR:SOKWANELEDATE:FEB 25, 2013

Via MDC Press Release: The MDC is extremely enraged at the increase of
politically motivated incidents of violence taking place throughout the
country at the instigation of the chaos faction of Zanu PF.

At the weekend a 12 year old boy Christpowers Simbarashe Maisiri, the son of
the MDC Headlands district deputy organising secretary, Shepherd Maisiri was
callously murdered on Saturday by Zanu PF thugs.

The police from Inyati Mine Police Station were informed about the incident
at around 12 midnight but said they could not attend the scene because they
had no fuel.

They only arrived at the scene 7 hours later.

This is the ninth time Maisiri’s house has been attacked by Zanu PF
gendarmes but typicaly no arrests have ever been made.

In Gutu Central Constituency, 50 year old Albert Musvosvo an MDC branch
chairman in ward 17 was severely assaulted by a mob of Zanu PF supporters at
last weekend and sustained horrible injuries. Again no arrests have been
made.

In another incident, barely a month ago, William Sibanda, an MDC youth
supporter was abducted by a known agent from the CIO at gun-point at
Nyamandlovu bus terminus in Matabeleland North province. The CIO operative
is only known as Chibango and operates from Lupane Police Station but he has
not been arrested.

As if to compliment these acts of barbarism by Zanu PF, the Police have
embarked on a crusade against the people in particular carrying out raids
against MDC leadership. Just a week ago they raided the home of Hon Reggie
Moyo in Bulawayo looking for what they called subversive material.

For the MDC this harassment of pro-democracy institutions by the state is
totally unacceptable.

The partisan and unprofessional conduct being displayed by the police and
army is totally unacceptable. We note with displeasure the incessant attacks
on nongovernmental organisations and other voices of dissent.

The confiscation of radios, continued police raids and arrests of
pro-democracy activists at: Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights),
the National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) and of late at the Zimbabwe
Peace Project (ZPP) and Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) points to a
serious indictment of a free democratic environment which we envisage as we
approach the election period this year.

In Matebeleland the police have also been harassing civic organizations and
people perceived to be aligned to the MDC. Recently the Habbakuk Trust and
National Youth Development Trust offices were ransacked by security
personnel looking for what they called subversive material.

The intimidation tactics are not new as Zanu PF always employs the same
tactics before national elections.

In January, ZimRights director Okay Machisa was arrested and charged by the
police in Harare for allegedly conspiring to ‘commit voter registration
fraud and publishing or communicating falsehoods.’

Machisa becomes the fifth to face similar charges after Leo Chamahwinya,
Dorcas Shereni, Tanaka Chinaka and Farai Bhani were arrested last year and
are still being held in remand prison.

The MDC’s position is that the resurgence and obvious perpetuation of a
culture of impunity that has permeated the Zimbabwe body politic lately, is
totally unacceptable and should be stopped forthwith if this nation is to
move forward.

It is even more ridiculous that such unpleasant developments are happening
at the backdrop of Zanu PF leader; Robert Mugabe’s repeated calls for peace
and the need for violence free elections.

As much as Mugabe has been declaring such good intentions, the behaviour of
State institutions and some of his party stalwarts points towards some very
disturbing irony.

The clear selective application of the law and continued raids by the
Zimbabwe Republic Police is ridiculous and puts paid to our call for serious
reforms of institutions, including the security sector realignment before
holding of the next elections.

It is in light of such unacceptable developments that the MDC reiterates its
call for a realignment of all institutions of the State which have a direct
bearing on the holding of free, fair and peaceful elections.

Our benchmarks in Conditions for a Sustainable Election in Zimbabwe (COSEZ)
remain as follows;

1. The adoption and implementation of an agreed new Constitution for
Zimbabwe.

2. Reform of legislative requirements for the elections:

a) Adoption of a new Electoral Act which incorporates, regional and
international standards governing the conduct of elections.

b) Media reforms that include the issuing of community radio licences to
impartial and non partisan organisations.

c) Repeal of all legislation that restricts the freedom of movement and
association in Zimbabwe including POSA, AIPPA, the Broadcasting Services Act
and the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act.

d) No member of the uniformed forces and intelligence service should
participate in any way in electioneering on behalf of any political party,
individuals or any other organisation.

3. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to be in charge of all electoral
processes including:

a) The Appointment of non partisan and impartial staff to manage the affairs
of the commission.

b) Preparing of a new voter’s roll.

c) Provide voter’s education on a national basis.

4. Official election observers and monitors to be in place six months
before and six months after the election to:

a) Ensure the eradication of state sponsored violence and intimidation.

b) Guarantee the secrecy, security and integrity of the vote and the voter.

The MDC wishes to point out that it is also aware of the fact that scores of
soldiers and their spouses are registering to vote in the coming national
elections in suspicious circumstances that are believed to be part of a Zanu
PF ploy to rig in the next elections. The soldiers are registering at the
Tredgold Building in Office 16 in Bulawayo, which office is responsible for
the army led Maguta Programme.

The voter registration exercise for the public was halted in Bulawayo last
month amid speculations that the Registrar General’s office only allows
people aligned to Zanu PF party to register to vote. Scores of people are
being sent away from registration centres while police and army personnel
are being allowed to register to vote.

A visit to the Tredgold building revealed that ordinary people are not being
allowed to register to vote. This trend is now widespread with about 40
people being arrested in Lupane a fortnight ago while trying to exercise
their right to vote in the coming local and national elections.

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.

The MDC remains steadfast in the march towards a new democratic
dispensation, which recognizes and respects the rights of every Zimbabwean.
The time has come for every Zimbabwean young and old to define your future
through your vote.

NCA vs The President - High Court Application update

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/nca-vs-president-high-court-application-update/26022013

AUTHOR:SOKWANELEDATE:FEB 26, 2013

Via NCA Press Release: The matter in which the NCA is seeking a court order
for the President to give Zimbabweans more time before the referendum was
heard by the High Court yesterday. It was heard in chambers as an urgent
application. The presiding judge was the Judge President, Justice George
Chiweshe. The President was represented by a team of lawyers led by Deputy
Attorney General Mr. Prince Machaya. The NCA was represented by Mr. Alec
Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni from Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni.

The President, through his lawyers, raised a preliminary point challenging
the jurisdiction of the High Court. They argued that the President had
certain prerogatives which cannot be questioned by the courts. One such
prerogative is setting a date for a referendum. The President`s lawyers
argued that the court had no powers to review the President`s decision of
setting March 16 as the date of the referendum. On that basis alone, they
wanted the court to dismiss the NCA application. They relied on a section on
presidential powers in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. For the NCA, Mr.
Muchadehama submitted that the High Court had jurisdiction to review the
decision of the President. He argued that the section of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe relied on by the president`s lawyers for their argument was not
applicable and that every exercise of power by the President was subject to
review by the courts.

The judge reserved judgment on this preliminary point and promised to make
his decision on Wednesday, 27 February. It is that decision on Wednesday
which will determine whether or not the case proceeds to the merits. On the
merits, the NCA is seeking an order to set aside the March 16 date and for
the President to give Zimbabweans at least two months to study the Draft
Constitution and make up their minds.

When a white farmer in Zimbabwe gets shot in the face

http://www.rnw.nl

Published on : 26 February 2013 - 5:00am | By RNW Africa Desk

Farmer Piet Zwanikken was shot in the face, while standing outside his home
on the tobacco farm in Mashonaland West that he’s owned for the last 11
years. Although Zimbabwe’s remaining white farmers may not regularly make
headlines these days, pressure to get off land seems to be rising as the
country’s elections loom. Zwanikken says the trouble began a year ago when
someone in the elite with political ties had set his eye on the farm. Here’s
his story as told to RNW correspondent Arne Doornebal.

On the 17th of December at about 7 o’clock in the evening, I heard a knock
at my gate. My wife told me to be careful when I went out with my torch. My
14-year-old son followed me to the gate and, when I got within about ten
metres, I shone the torch. I identified three of the people waiting for me
as people staying on the farm for the last ten years. I knew them as
trouble-causers who were part and parcel of helping remove me from the farm.

So, after greeting them by their names, I asked from a distance what they
wanted. The shooter – I knew him very well – addressed me first. He said:
“Good evening, Mr. Zwanikken, we have uncovered a big problem with tobacco
being stolen from your field.”

This was a ploy to get me closer. I did, in a way, smell a rat. But that
ruse of saying my tobacco was being stolen drew me to the security fence. I
went pretty close, I would say within two metres, to listen to their story.
As I turned my head from listening to what the one guy was saying to the
person on his left, the shooter bought up a handgun and fired. I saw this
out of the corner of my eye, but it was too late to do anything. The shot
didn’t go straight, but ended up going through my nose and cutting through
my right cheek.

Zimbabwe then and now
There used to be over 4,500 white farmers in Zimbabwe. We played an
important role in the food production of this country. Today, less than 300
remain.

My father warned me. As a child he was thrown out of Indonesia, a former
colony of the Netherlands. He never wanted to own land as he realized we
could get expelled again. I only began farming in the late 1990s, soon after
which, things turned ugly. The Zimbabwean government started taking land
from white farmers and redistributed it to so-called veterans of the
liberation war. But most people who were awarded farms were just political
allies.

Our Riverhead tobacco farm measures 546 hectares. The government carved it
up into 29 smaller farms. Soon after we were informed about this, a convoy
of trucks stopped in front of our house, bringing 29 families and their
belongings. Effectively, this meant that from 2001, we were without our own
land on that farm. The only option to continue operating was to pay off
these families. I gave them fertilizers, seeds and money. We found a way to
live with it, but it wasn’t easy. Each day people would knock on our door
with problems they wanted us to solve. I spent 20,000 euros per year on
these people, but still managed to make a living for my own family. In the
end, we grew over a hundred hectares of highly profitable tobacco.

“I would mean business”
That night, my son and I reacted extremely quickly. We sprinted back to the
house. My son was very traumatized. But we got in the house, we switched the
lights off. I got one of my hunting rifles and fired a shot through the
window, up into the trees, just to let those guys know I was OK and I would
mean business if they tried to come in and finish the job.

Afterwards, they were rounded up. They claimed not to have been there, to
have no knowledge of the shooting. Being very simple people, they were well
represented by a lawyer and let out on bail for 100 dollars within two and a
half weeks after the shooting. The whole thing is very political – a fat
cat, someone aligned with the upper echelon of the Zanu-PF, has obviously
done a lot of negotiating in the party to put pressure on the judge to
release these people.

As the present political situation stands, it’s going to be extremely
difficult for me to remain on the farm with these killers at large. They
might feel untouchable, having been let out so quickly after attempting a
murder. They may just try this murder again, and I don’t want to take that
chance by being around.

Oxford charity dinner to support Zimbabwe’s orphans

After the deep recession that blighted the country – culminating in the
dollarization of our currency and the formation of a unity government in
2009 – things are starting to look up for Zimbabwe. Despite the challenges
that remain, Zimbabwe has been experiencing strong economic growth, has a
relatively stable government and the continued discovery of rich natural
resources means that the nation has the potential to be become the jewel in
Africa’s crown again.
However, one of the challenges that remain is that of looking after Zimbabwe’s
orphans while we wait for the country to realise its potential. SuChHope – a
UK charity set up by Zimbabwean philanthropist Henry Chitsenga – estimates
that Nyanga district alone has got about 8,000 orphans. The main cause of
this has been HIV/AIDS, which has devastated a large proportion of Zimbabwe’s
adult population. At SuChHope, we believe that – regardless of who is to
blame for the plight of the orphans – it is our responsibility as
Zimbabweans and as fellow human beings to look after them. Nelson Mandela
famously said that “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul
than the way in which it treats its children”. We have been given a
challenge here to reveal the soul of our society.
To help with this challenge, SuChHope is holding its inaugural fund-raising
dinner at St Edwards School, Oxford on 16 March 2013. We invite all
well-wishers to this event. Tickets are £25 per head and need to be bought
in advance by 1 March 2013. Payment should be made securely via the
following Just Giving link:
http://www.justgiving.com/suchhope-fundraising-dinner. The Just Giving
receipt will be the ticket to the event.
There will be an opportunity to hear more about the projects and enjoy
entertainment from Royal Destiny, a Zimbabwean musical band based in Kent.
We look forward to welcoming many well-wishers to this event.
Masimba Zata
Trustee – SuChHope
http://www.subsaharanchildrenshope.org/

Court Watch 3/2013 of 26th February [Cases against Civil Society Leaders]