Violence escalates in Manicaland

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Minister linked to Nyanga reign of terror

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:13

BY KHOLWANI NYATHI

NYANGA — It took a petty fight over a rocky football pitch at Nyamakomba
Business Centre between MDC-T supporters and Zanu PF youths to trigger the
deadly political violence now stalking this picturesque district.

The tension had already reached fever pitch and it was a question of who
would cast the first stone.

Battle lines had been drawn in a series of “provocative” incidents blamed on
Harare South MP Hubert Nyanhongo and a band of Zanu PF youths roaming the
constituency.

Nyanhongo, who is also the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development,
is reportedly eyeing the Nyanga North constituency where Nyamakomba and
Nyamaropa, the epicentres of the violence currently rocking the district,
lie.

Nyanga North is represented by MDC-T’s Douglas Mwonzora.

On the fateful day on February 13, Mwonzora had gathered about 500 people
under a tree near a football pitch at Chatindo Primary School to brief them
on the Constituency Development Fund.

But Zanu PF youths loyal to Nyanhongo allegedly started pelting the crowd
with stones saying they wanted to use the pitch for their social soccer
match.

There was complete mayhem as the people at the meeting fought back and the
fight moved to nearby shops where several windows were shattered.
Christopher Taziwa, an elderly shop owner linked with Zanu PF says he
survived the attacks by a whisker as he had been sitting outside when the
fighting broke out.

However, Webster Baipai, who is believed to be one of the youths linked to
Nyanhongo, was not so lucky as he had his left eye plucked out in the
attack.

He is recovering at Nyanga Hospital together with another Zanu PF supporter
who was left for dead by the angry mob.

A few kilometres from Nyamaropa Police Station, Sheila Sabadza believes her
husband, a Zanu PF youth leader survived death by the grace of God after his
bedroom hut was set alight by unknown people while he was asleep.

Zanu PF supporters openly admit that they are outnumbered by MDC-T members
in the area making Nyanhongo’s fight for the constituency a desperate one.

In a dossier compiled for the Joint Monitoring Committee (Jomic) — a body
set up to monitor adherence to the provisions of the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) — Mwonzora accuses Nyanhongo, a former soldier, of using
military tactics to try and wrestle the constituency.

He accuses Nyanhongo and the Zanu PF youths of spearheading the February 13
violence.

“Hubert Nyanhongo’s vehicles, including a Nissan Hardbody ABD3740, a Mazda
BT50 and a tipper lorry, were used by Zanu PF youths pursuing my motor
vehicles,” Mwonzora said in a letter detailing events on the day.

“At gunpoint they abducted Tendai Chetsanga, Munyaradzi Zeta, Zondai
Chipanga Manyanga, Gift Busiti and Obey Mwadiwa.

“They took them to Nyanhongo’s homestead in Nyadowa where they tortured
them.

“Two of these were only released when the MDC-T youths threatened to block
an ambulance carrying an injured Zanu PF activist.”

Mwonzora said the police officer in charge of Nyamaropa police station,
whose name was not given, refused to take action against the abductors.

The MP, who is also the co-chairperson of the Constitutional Parliamentary
Committee (Copac), says Nyanhongo has also roped in the Manicaland
provincial head of traditional leaders, Chief Saunyama.

Saunyama is accused of removing headmen he suspects of being sympathetic to
MDC-T, replacing them with Zanu PF activists to aid Nyanhongo’s campaign.

One of the kraal heads Peter Chipatarongo under Chief Katerere was
reportedly relieved of his duties under Nyanhongo’s watch.
He was replaced by Pios Chipatarongo who is said to have links with Zanu PF.

Saunyama on Wednesday told a Jomic team that he had been sent to investigate
the violence and that he was only replacing headmen who were not doing their
jobs.

“I did not know that there are MDC-T or Zanu PF headmen in this district,”
he said.

Despite the strenuous denials, Saunyama could not hide the fact that he does
not see eye to eye with Mwonzora.

Saunyama accused Mwonzora of bad-mouthing him and said he would be sending
emissaries to his clan’s elders in Mozambique with the Jomic dossier to
consult on what action to take against the MP.

He said they asked the deputy minister to spearhead development in the area
because the MP had not done anything for his people.

Nyanhongo’s supporters are also accused of threatening two teachers at
Chitando Primary School for accepting a CDF donation.

The teachers are reported to have crossed the border to Mozambique fearing
that the youths would make good their threats.

MDC-T is also not happy with what it believes is the selective application
of the law by the police who are letting the Zanu PF perpertrators roam
free.

Jomic is planning to convene a meeting between senior leaders of the two
parties to try and diffuse the tense situation, which has become a stark
reminder of the 2008 violence that almost brought Zimbabwe to its knees.

Nyanhongo was not available for comment but Zanu PF provincial officials who
attended the Jomic meeting denied accusations that the party was behind the
violence.

Mwonzora and 22 other villagers linked to MDC-T have since been arrested in
connection with violence rocking the district but the law has not been swift
enough to catch up with any Zanu PF members implicated in the chaos.

Although the two gladiators are still accusing each other of triggering the
violence, it is clear to any outsider that Nyanhongo’s interest in the
constituency has raised the tempers ahead of elections expected later this
year.

Zanu PF officials in the area say Mwonzora and his supporters provoked the
youths since they could have used the school grounds for the meeting instead
of the pitch since it was a constituency gathering.

Mugabe threatens to grab Nestle Zim

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 20:07

BY PATIENCE NYANGOVE

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday marked his 87th birthday saying government
is taking over Nestle Zimbabwe because it refused to buy his milk.
Mugabe told Zanu PF supporters at the birthday party organised by the
communist style 21st February Movement that he wants government to also take
over South African owned mining giant Zimplats accusing it of externalising
profits.

“Nestle refused to buy milk from Gushungo dairies,” he told a crowd of about
6 000 Zanu PF supporters.

“I told (Youth Development, Indeginisation and Empowerment minister Saviour)
Kasukuwere to begin with them and tell them he was sent by Gushungo.

“We should deal with them; let them get out of the country.”

In 2009, Nestle bowed to international pressure and stopped buying milk from
Gushungo Holdings, a company owned by the Mugabe family.

This led to major fallout between the government which accused the Swiss
based company of applying sanctions on Mugabe’s family.

Government to take over Zimplats

Mugabe’s threat to also grab Zimplats is likely to unnerve jittery investors
who are already having sleepless nights over the country’s unpredictable
indeginisation policies.

Zimplats is a member of the Impala Group of Companies. Impala holds 87% of
Zimplats shares and is one the country’s biggest employers.
“Zimplats has never given us any substantial money,” Mugabe said.

“They are taking all the money to South Africa that’s why I have told
Kasukuwere to deal with those mines.

“We have got to get companies to account,” Mugabe said amid wild cheers.

He said Zanu PF was also pushing ahead with plans to seize all companies
whose owners were from the European Union and the United States.

On Tuesday the party would launch its two million signatures campaign as it
intensifies its rhetoric against Western sanctions.

Mugabe also repeated his threats that elections would be held this year with
or without a new constitution.

He accused the Finance Minister Tendai Biti of delaying preparations for
elections by refusing to release money.

“We would want to get to elections as soon as possible,” he said. “If others
are to drag we will get out of the agreement.

“Biti says there is no money, the money there is only to pay credits so that
we could be given money. We have money in the country.”

Mugabe turned 87 on Monday but he usually uses the big lavish birthday
parties organised days later to attack his perceived enemies.

Wearing a red neck scarf of the 21st Movement, the veteran ruler looked fit
and sharp, putting to rest that his recent health problems had taken their
toll on him.

He cut three giant cakes, one resembling a Zimbabwe flag and another
depicting the Great Zimbabwe monument.

Mugabe who has been in power since 1980 said although he was now old he
still had political ideas of a young man.

“87 is only 8 plus 7. I want to remain with you. My body may get spent but I
wish my mind will always be with you,” he said.

The birthday parties have always been criticised for their extravagance and
are often boycotted by Mugabe’s opponents.

Sikhala arrested for alleged kidnapping

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 20:28

BY JENNIFER DUBE

MDC99 leader Job Sikhala was on Friday arrested on allegations of kidnapping
two men in Mutare.

Lawyer Obey Shava said Sikhala was arrested at his house in Chitungwiza at
around 5pm.

Harare spokesperson James Sabau said he did not have any information on the
case as it was being handled by the Border Control Minerals Unit.
“When we arrived at St Mary’s Police Station, we were told that they did not
have laptops and printers so we had to go to the minerals’ unit to record
the statement,” Shava said.

“But he is being charged with kidnapping two adult men, one of them his
brother-in-law and another long-time friend he stays with at his house.
“But we believe that this is purely political persecution because the police
do not have statements from complainants and when we arrived at the station,
they first mentioned the million men march then mentioned minerals before
finally settling for kidnapping.”

Shava said Sikhala was being detained at St Mary’s Police Station and the
police kept telling them that they were waiting for one Superintendent Churu
to come with the witnesses’ statements.

“The investigating officer does not appear satisfied with the charges,”
Shava said.

“He was just told to arrest Sikhala on allegations that Sikhala kidnapped
the two in Mutare on February 19 and a report was made at St Mary’s police
four days later.

“The alleged victims are currently in Mutare, having left home peacefully
last Sunday (20 February).

“What it means is that they made the report to St Mary’s police while in
Mutare and it is not clear if they did this by phone or other means.”
Some activists say they are planning a “Million Men March” on Tuesday to
protest against President Robert Mugabe’s long rule.

Tsvangirai fathered my baby, Byo lady

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:41

A 23-year-old Bulawayo woman claims Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is
neglecting their three-month-old child in revelations that might put a dent
on the MDC-T leader’s image.

The woman identified as Loreta Nyathi is now preparing to drag Tsvangirai to
court in an effort to force him to pay maintenance for the child.

Top Bulawayo lawyer Josphat Tshuma of Webb Low & Barry confirmed on Friday
that he had received an instruction to draft a maintenance letter of demand
to Tsvangirai.

“We have not done the letter yet because I am attending a funeral. We hope
to finalise everything by Monday,” he said.

The woman’s father who could be identified yesterday confirmed that he had
been informed about the case but sought to absolve Tsvangirai of any wrong
doing.

He said his daughter had a boyfriend in the UK.

“I have heard those rumours but they are completely false,” he said from
Bulawayo yesterday.

“Loreta is my daughter and the only thing that I know is that she has been
trying to get money from some people who received it on her behalf from her
boyfriend. I want to warn people that we are ready to sue if they continue
peddling that rumour,” said the father.

But Loreta who said she was forced to move out of home when the pregnancy
was discovered by her parents said she did not have a boyfriend.
She said her father was not fully briefed about the circumstances
surrounding her pregnancy and the birth of her son named Ethan.

Late yesterday when The Standard again spoke to the father, he said he had
not been in the picture when he earlier denied that Tsvangirai was being
blamed for the pregnancy.

He however said he preferred to have the matter solved through traditional
channels.

Sources close to Loreta say she was first introduced to Tsvangirai in 2009
at the Churchill Arms hotel in Bulawayo’s Hillside suburb by a mutual
friend.
The two are said to have kept in touch through phone calls and text messages
before they met again in February last year when Tsvangirai was on a tour to
assess the food situation in Matabeleland.

They reportedly met at the Holiday Inn where they became intimate and Nyathi
claims that is where she fell pregnant.

In early November Loreta says she travelled to Harare where she met Ian
Makone, the permanent secretary in the office of the Prime Minister who
allegedly gave her another US$2000 for her upkeep.

However when the woman reportedly went back to Makone’s office early this
month for money for rent and the baby’s upkeep she was told in no uncertain
terms that she was not getting any more money as they had given her a lot of
money already.

The woman who for over a week had refused to speak to this journalist said
she was hoping the situation would be resolved amicably.

“I thought they would want us to resolve this issue amicably but they don’t
even want to communicate with me,” she said.

Makone refused to comment on Friday saying he was not Tsvangirai’s
spokesperson.

Luke Tamborinyoka, the prime minister’s spokesperson said Tsvangirai would
not comment on the issue.

“We are sick and tired of these stories. The PM is worried about pressing
national issues like violence, the issue of civil servants salaries and the
roadmap to elections,” Tamborinyoka said.

Last month, state media reported that Tsvangirai had been linked to a
Bulawayo businesswoman Aquilina Pamberi leading to a breakdown in her
marriage.

Pamberi’s husband Jacob Mandeya reportedly wanted to end the marriage
because he was convinced his wife was seeing Tsvangirai.

The PM’s office dismissed the story saying it was part of the state media’s
campaign to vilify Tsvangirai.  The MDC-T leader is a widower after his wife
died in March 2009 in a road accident.

Secessionists pile pressure on Mugabe

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:38

BY OUR STAFF

ACTIVISTS campaigning for a separate Matabeleland state have formally
written to President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
calling for self-determination.

Although Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba yesterday refused to comment on
the matter, the activists were circulating the documents on the internet the
whole of last week.

The documents include a draft “independence agreement for Mthwakazi
Republic.”

A militant movement, the Matabeleland Liberation Front (MLF) was formed in
Bulawayo late last year and has been pushing for the secession of
Matabeleland arguing that the region has been marginalised for too long.

Although many people believe the activists will not get enough support for
the creation of a separate state, their campaign would bring to the fore
serious problems that have remained unsolved in Matabeleland since
independence.

The region already has two other parties calling for a separate state or a
semi-autonomous region in the name of the Patriotic Union of Matabeleland
and Zapu Federal Party.

Other national parties such as Zanu PF, MDC-T, MDC and Zapu say devolution
is the answer.

Activists inspired by protests in North Africa

Analysts say the activists have been buoyed by the recent referendum that
saw the creation of an independent South Sudan.

In the letters to Mugabe and Tsvangirai, the activists say they were
motivated by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, which toppled presidents
Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali respectively.

“Your Excellency, whether by accident or design of history we all find
ourselves living in a time when we have to make a decision about uMthwakwazi
independence,” reads the letters in part.

“Yes it is a decision we otherwise wish did not confront us, but it does. We
must confront it, honestly and bravely.”

Mutambara in U-turn over Ncube

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:38

BY OUR STAFF

DEPUTY Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara says he never planned to remove MDC
president Welshman Ncube from his ministerial post even after claiming to
have expelled him from the party.

Last month, Mutambara announced that he had expelled Ncube from the party
after the MDC national council sought to redeploy him to the Regional
Integration and International Co-operation portfolio.

Ncube, who replaced Mutambara at the MDC congress last month, was supposed
to take over as DPM but President Robert Mugabe refused to swear him in.

In a response to a provisional order instructing him to “stop masquerading”
as the MDC president, Mutambara said the reports in the state media
suggesting that he wanted to remove Ncube and other ministers who engineered
his ouster were false.

“For the record, I never announced through the ZBC that I was going to be
announcing a cabinet reshuffle of the MDC ministers,” Mutambara said as he
tried to thrash out the certificate of urgency for the urgent chamber
application.

Mutambara’s u-turn could be an indication that he has lost the battle for
the control of the party.

According to the constitution, for one to be a cabinet minister they have to
be a member of the House of Assembly.

The next step was for Mutambara to inform the Speaker of Parliament Lovemore
Moyo that a vacancy had been created with the “expulsion” of Ncube.
The robotics professor still claims to be the president of the MDC and
denies that he voluntarily gave way to Ncube.

But Mugabe revealed recently that Mutambara confided in him that he would
not be contesting the presidency because officials in the party had ganged
up against him.

Zanu PF supporters fume over Mugabe inputs scheme

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:10

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE

SENIOR Zanu PF officials are allegedly looting farming inputs distributed
under President Robert Mugabe’s US$33 million inputs scheme while giving
poor urban farmers fertiliser and maize seed in lunch boxes.

The scheme, which the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation
Development Joseph Made said was meant to help revive agriculture, is only
benefitting Mugabe’s supporters countrywide as the inputs are strictly being
distributed at Zanu PF gatherings.

Sources in the President’s Office say a report has already been made to
Mugabe indicating that his trusted lieutenants were looting the inputs.

“This was communicated to the President three weeks ago but I don’t know
what action he will take,” said one source.

“The problem is that we are going towards elections and he would not want to
antagonise his cronies because most guys will be found wanting should there
be an investigation.”

Reports say the looting of the inputs scheme was not restricted to Harare
but was widespread in the country.

In 2009, several Zanu PF chefs, senior army, police and prison officers were
fingered in the looting of agricultural inputs from the Grain Marketing
Board meant to benefit the poor.

Made last week professed ignorance that Zanu PF officials were helping
themselves to the inputs but confirmed that people were getting small
amounts of seed and fertliser due to demand.

“There is massive demand for inputs as you might be aware that donors
withdrew some three or so months ago,” said Made. “We are very grateful to
the President for this initiative because it has raised hopes for food
security around the country.”

Made said the scheme, establi-shed under the President’s Well-wishers’ Fund,
was not a Zanu PF project but was designed to benefit every Zimbabwean.

He said the scheme would be-nefit over half a million people recover from
the effects of “illegal” sanctions and droughts experienced over the past
years.

In addition to seed maize, fertilisers and small grain seeds, the inputs
scheme for the 2010/11 agricultural season which shot up from US$10 million
last year to US$33 million, has expanded to include cotton and livestock.

Made could not disclose the source of the funding.

Mugabe started the ball rolling by giving the inputs to all delegates who
attended the Zanu PF congress in Mutare that chose him to represent his
party in the next elections.

Farm workers accuse employer of abuse

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:09

BY JENNIFER DUBE

A row over wages at a Marondera farm has turned nasty amid allegations of
rampant abuse of employees agitating for an increment.

In separate interviews, employees from Bemba Farm said management were
unprocedurally sacking workers, especially those engaging in union
activities.

“Workers are being dismissed without any discussions and Zanu PF youths are
called in to throw them away,” one employee said.

“The youths facilitate the removal from the farm of all employees whose
contracts have been terminated and transport them during the night.”

The 700 workers who are earning the national employment council approved
wage of US$55 per month for general agriculture, have since last year been
agitating for the higher agro-wage. They argue that the farm is improperly
classified as it also has interests in piggery, milling and honey
processing, among others.

The agro wage currently stands at US$80.

“Sometime last year, we formed the farm’s first workers’ committee with the
help of unionists but the farm owner was not pleased, resulting in the
dismissal of all those involved in unionism,” Guidance Chipere said. “In my
case, the farmer just called me to his office and told me that he no longer
wants me on his farm.

“I had been employed at the farm for two years but he just handed me US$700
without explaining how he arrived at the figure.”

Chipere alleges that the Zanu PF youths transported him on a rainy day and
dumped him by the roadside in Murehwa.

His property and family were soaked by heavy rain, leading to the death of
his one-year-old child a few days later, he claims.

Johannes Mfiri alleges he was sacked on January 4 for encouraging workers to
join the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union (Gapwuz).
Although employees said many have been affected in a similar way, Gapwuz’s
Marondera branch said it has only handled 18 such cases since July last
year.

“A man (Cleopas Kundiona), whose company provides security services at the
farm, threatened that those seen going to the unions will be drowned in a
nearby dam like what happened to many people in 2008,” another employee
said.

The unionists said they have also received death threats from Kundiona whom
they allege presides over the “throwing away” of workers.

But Kundiona, who said he is also spokesperson and legal advisor to Francois
Smit, owner of the farm, said unionists were manipulating the workers and
trying to extort the farmer.

“We have since sued Gapwuz Union, their representatives and some of the
workers for US$1 114 500 being compensation for damages caused during an
illegal strike they organised at the farm last year.

“One of the unionists is also facing a charge for trying to extort US$4 000
from Mr Smit saying if he gave him that amount, he would stop the strike”.

Kundiona said management has since applied for classification of the farm
but before that happens, the status quo regarding everything, including
remuneration, will continue as advised by the NEC last year.

Shabanie mine collapse ruins lives

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:07

BY TATENDA CHITAGU

MASVINGO — A strong stench of human waste and uncollected garbage signals
the decay at Shabanie Mine’s residential compound.
The stench is unmistakable throughout what used to be business magnate
Mutumwa Mawere’s distressed Shabanie Mashava Mines (SMM), which also
encompasses Gaths Mine in Mashava, a few kilometres out of Masvingo town.

Water supplies have been cut off at some houses in the compound as the mine
owes Zvishavane town council more than US$3 million. Only communal toilets
have been spared to avert a possible cholera outbreak.

The closure of the mines has also squeezed life out of the asbestos mining
area, which now resembles a ghost town.

Out of the mess that SMM found itself in following Mawere’s specification
and subsequent placing of the empire under re-construction, many sad tales
have been told of the suffering that the more than 1 300 workers now have to
go through.

The Standard learnt of harrowing tales that have gone unnoticed such as the
fate of widows, the disabled and those living with HIV and Aids.

While some who are able bodied and healthy are doing menial jobs to survive,
life has been a hell on earth for Aids patients and widows.

While HIV and Aids support groups preach adherence to the life-prolonging
Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs, those living with the virus said they sometimes
fail to raise the money to buy drugs.

They also cited lack of a proper balanced diet, which led many to early
deaths.

“Some of us are HIV-positive, but we cannot take the drugs regularly.

“We do not have the money to keep buying the drugs, or even travel to nearby
hospitals where they are given for free.

“Some cannot even raise a dollar to register with the Zimbabwe Network of
People Living with HIV (ZNPP+) so that they can access free medication,”
said Norman Zivengwa from Mashava, who said he has been living with the
disease since 1994.

He told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines recently
that he had seen many Aids patients dying a premature death.
And the disease is spreading fast as many are turning to prostitution to
earn a living,” Zivengwa said.

The committee, chaired by Edward Chindori Chininga, was also told that
prostitution was rife in Zvishavane and Mashava, threatening the country’s
anti-HIV and Aids war.

A widow, Mary Kampango, said life had been unbearable for her, as she has
been “totally forgotten” by mine management from the time when the mine’s
fortunes started dipping.

“While some of the workers were given some stipends, especially when the
mine’s problems were surfacing, I was forgotten,” she said.

“I have not been given any benefits or my late husband’s pension, although
he died in 2009.

“Management actually wanted to chase me out of the mine house.

“At one time, all my belongings were thrown outside as I was kicked out of
the house that was given to my husband. But I was later given a few rooms in
another compound, despite the fact that my husband had been employed here
for 40 years,” she said, with her eyes becoming watery with tears.
She also told of discrimination at the mine.

“At one time I fell ill, nurses refused to treat me, saying my days were due
in the mine,” Kampango said.

A nurse at Zvishavane Mine clinic said although she has also been affected,
those who were ill were worse off.

“This is not the right time to fall ill. I am also afraid of getting ill
this time as there are no drugs,”said the nurse.

“You prescribe some drugs to patients and tell them to take the drugs after
food, and they ask you, ‘where do you think I will get the food as I have
not been paid’.”

Underground, no mining has been taking place since September last year and
the tunnels are flooded and electricity has been cut off owing to a
ballooning debt accrued over the years.

Civic organisations to protest against harassment

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:06

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) spokesperson Phillip Pasirayi said the
current wave of arrests of pro-democracy activists was designed to pre-empt
any attempt by Zimbabweans to revolt against Mugabe’s rule.

“These arrests are acts of intimidation designed to pre-empt any murmurs of
disgruntlement among Zimbabweans,” he said. “However, if people are pushed
against the wall they will face their abusers.”

But the CiZC spokesperson said civic organisations in the country have
agreed to soon stage peaceful protests against government’s arrest,
harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders.

“We don’t want to topple the government but we want an end to violence
against defenceless citizens and respect for basic human rights,” Pasirayi
said.
“If lobbying fails, we will come together as pro-democracy groups and there
is already consensus that we must revert to our strategy of 2007 which
brought results.”

On March 11 2007, the civic society groups staged prayer meetings  in Harare
which were violently crushed by armed police.

The marches were organised by the CiZC under the auspices of the Save
Zimbabwe Campaign.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was among those who were severely assaulted
at Machipisa Police Station in Highfield.

Mugabe moves to pre-empt Egypt-style uprising

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Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:04

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE

THE ongoing arrests of human rights activists in the country is an attempt
by an increasingly paranoid President Robert Mugabe to quash mounting
dissent before it replicates mass uprisings in North Africa, political
analysts have said.
Mugabe, who turned 87 years old last week, fears that the revolution wave,
which toppled Tunisian and Egyptian presidents, might cascade down south to
engulf the country he has ruled with an iron fist for the past three
decades, the analysts said.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled after he had ruled for
three decades while Tunisia’s Ben Ali had been at the helm for 24 years.
The analysts said that the Arab protests were making Mugabe and his inner
circle nervous and at the same time more determined to nip any form dissent
in the bud.

There has been heavy presence of armed soldiers in Harare’s high-density
areas in the past week, a scenario which analysts said is meant to cow
frustrated Zimbabweans.

Already, armed soldiers are roaming around rural areas campaigning for
Mugabe ahead of elections whose date is still to be announced.

In the past month, over 100 people, mostly Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) activists have been arrested on allegations that the party claim were
“cooked up.”

Political violence, spearheaded by Zanu PF militia in Harare’s high-density
areas, has displaced over 1 000 MDC supporters in the past few weeks.

The analysts said the recent arrest of former Highfield MP Munyaradzi Gwisai
and 45 others was designed to send a clear message to would-be protestors
that they would be punished severely.

Gwisai, the general co-ordinator of the International Socialist Organisation
(ISO), together with the 45, are accused of plotting an Egypt and
Tunisia-style uprising to topple a “constitutionally-elected government.”

MDC-T legislator for Nyanga North Douglas Mwonzora and 22 villagers are
currently in jail on charges of public violence.

Although they were granted US$50 bail, the state revoked the notorious
section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act to suspend the bail
order for a week pending the filing of an appeal by the State in the High
Court.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has demanded that the increase
in the extent and frequency of harassment, arrests and persecution of
political and human rights activists cease forthwith.

“The Supreme Court should further urgently set down for consideration the
constitutional challenges pertaining to Section 121, as the continued delay
is having a negative impact on the fundamental rights and freedoms of
numerous legitimate political activists and human rights defenders,” said
ZLHR, an organisation that gives legal representation to human rights
defenders.

Mugabe’s heavy-handedness comes at a time when some Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora have called for a “Zimbabwe Million Citizen March” to force Mugabe
out of power.

But some analysts said such actions would be disastrous for a country that
was beginning to enjoy the benefits of a government of national unity (GNU)

“It will be foolhardy to follow such a stupid way,” said one commentator who
requested anonymity. “Let us go for elections. We cannot erase the benefits
of the GNU in a day just because someone wants power.”

‘Police’ shoot an unarmed man

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:02

BY JENNIFER DUBE

AN Epworth man is lucky to be alive after police officers allegedly recently
opened fire on him and his family accusing him of being an armed robber.
Wilmore Ndlovu says he was shot on February 11 after stopping to close his
car windows.

“I had just closed my grocery shop at Aca-dish Shopping Centre around 9pm
and was driving home, which is some 5km away.

“I realised a lot of air was coming in through an open window and I feared
for my son’s health so I stopped to close the window,” he said.
“A white Isuzu twin cab passed by but quickly reversed and two men in
civilian clothes jumped out.”

He said the two men asked him what he was doing by the roadside and he told
them he was closing the car window to which they responded by ordering
everyone out of the car.

“They ordered us to put our hands on the boot and look downwards,” Ndlovu’s
11- year-old daughter, Em-ilia said.

“That was when we heard the sound of a gun shot before they ordered us to
proceed home without looking back.”

Ndlovu, who was with his wife, his wife’s brother, his daughter and a
one-year-old son was shot on the left side.

While his family sought refuge at a nearby house, the men took him to Dombo
police station where they left his car and drove him in their car to
Parirenyatwa Hospital where he was admitted and treated.

“The government paid my bills and the men told me they thought I was an
armed robber which baffles me because I have never heard of armed robbers
who walk about with little children,” he said. “I am going to the police on
Monday so they can record a statement from me and give me my car.”

Harare police spokesman James Sabau yesterday said he was busy at a function
and could not comment on the matter immediately.

MDC-T restructuring thrown in turmoil

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:01

By Mugove Tafirenyika

The restructuring exercise being carried out by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s MDC in Chitungwiza has been thrown into turmoil, The Standard
has gathered.

This follows the establishment of parallel structures by disgruntled party
cadres who accuse their colleagues in the district and provincial executives
of deliberately sidelining them.

The disgruntled members allege that provincial chairman Alexio Musundire’s
loyalists are being preferred ahead of them as the party’s elective congress
scheduled for end of May looms.

The party’s former chairman for Zengeza east district Felix Chihoro,
organising secretary for the youth assembly Frank Machingura and deputy
youth chairman Taurai Shenje have said they do not recognise the new party
structures.

The three say the structures were secretly established by the district youth
chairman Jabulani Mtunzi without the knowledge of organising secretaries of
all wings as must be the case.

“We do not recognise the so-called new structures because they are products
of a flawed process aimed at elbowing us out of the executive to ensure
Musundire’s re-election as provincial chairman.

“We are viewed as a threat to Musundire’s political survival after we
supported James Makore at the last provincial election. The so-called
restructuring exercise was done secretly by Mtunzi and a few others without
informing the district chairman and the organising secretaries of all wings
as must be the case.

“As far as we are concerned all the old structures are still functional
until we conduct a proper restructuring exercise which will be attended by
all party cadres,” said the trio at the weekend.

Chihoro and company have since written to the national organising secretary
Elias Mudzuri to register their grievances. In a letter to Mudzuri, a copy
of which is in our possession, dated January 26 2011, the trio charge that
elections in wards 13, 14, 16 and 20 were not properly conducted.

Contacted for comment on the situation Mtunzi, who retained his post as
district youth chairman, confirmed the existence of parallel structures but
played down its impact on the party’s preparation for the congress.

He dismissed Chihoro’s camp as one made up of fly-by-night politicians who,
after realising that they had no support, saved themselves from
embarrassment and stayed away from the elections but were now raising dust.

From thw Editor's Desk: Popular outrage razes Gaddafi's invincibility

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:19

Often when a person is portrayed repeatedly as omnipotent, omniscient and
omnipresent — in short, as a god — the general public begins to believe that
he is invincible. The Brother Leader Muammar Gaddafi is one such example.

He has many titles to his name, the most prominent of which being “The Guide
of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People’s Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya”.

Imagine this title being prefixed to his name each time it is read on radio
and TV. He came to power in February 1969 through a military coup, hence the
title.

History is replete with examples of people who boasted that they were
invincible but a closer look at their behaviour shows that they had human
frailties that betrayed their monolithic stature.

Although Julius Ceasar bestrode the “narrow world” like a Colossus, he was
hard of hearing in one ear. This “little ailment” was symbolic; he didn’t
“hear” many things that were loud and clear around him, including warnings
of imminent danger such as the Soothsayer advising him to “Beware the ides
of March”.

On assuming the presidency of the United States, Ronald Reagan was asked by
a journalist what he thought of Valery Giscard d’Estaing. His answer was
that he had no idea who the bugger was. D’Estaing was the French president
at the time. Americans should have known there and then that Alzheimer’s had
set it. It is argued by some of his biographers that episodes of
forgetfulness haunted his eight-year presidency signalling the extent of his
illness. He too was human.

In spite of all the pomp and circumstance that accompanies Gad-dafi wherever
he goes, he is pathologically afraid of flying. He also fears using
elevators. He is not by any means the only one in the world with such
phobias; so he is human too. But why had we come to think that Gaddafi was
invincible?
Jamahiriya means “state of the masses” so Libyan Jamahiriya would mean the
People’s Republic of Libya.

Gaddafi rejected democracy and came up with his own political philosophy
which he expounded in the Green Book which much like Chinese leader Mao’s
Red Book were considered to be bibles of the people’s revolutions.

According to the Green Book Libya is a “direct democracy” without any
political parties, governed by its populace through local popular councils
and communes called Basic People’s Congresses. Official rhetoric disdains
the idea of a nation state; tribal bonds remain primary even within the
ranks of the military.

Libya literally floats on oil; according to one diplomat I spoke to many
years ago some wells have oil so pure one could pour it into a diesel engine
and the engine would run perfectly.

To the outside world Libya’s direct democracy seemed to work. The world
assumed that the wealth from the oil was evenly distributed among all
Libyans.

One of Gaddafi’s follies was the Great Man-Made River, the water pipeline
project designed to bring millions of litres of water from beneath the
Sahara Desert, northward to the Benghazi region on the Mediterranean coast.

Under the giant scheme, according to internet sources, water is pumped from
aquifers under the Sahara in the southern part of the country, where
underground water resources extend into Egypt and Sudan. Then the water is
transported by reinforced concrete pipeline to northern destinations.
Construction on the first phase started in 1984, and cost about US$5
billion. The completed project was billed to total US$25 billion.

South Korean construction experts built the huge pipes in Libya by some of
the most modern techniques. The engineering feat involves collecting water
from 270 wells in east central Libya, and transporting it through about

2 000 km of pipeline to Benghazi and Sirte. The new “river’’ brings two
million cubic meters of water a day. The system involves 4 000 km of
pipelines, and two aqueducts of some 1 000 km.

Asked on Chinese TV a week ago: “Sir, in retrospect, for the past 40 years
of your rule, what achievements have you accomplished during the process?”
Gaddafi replied: “It is not I who am ruling. It is the people who are
ruling. I think the most important achievement is having built a people’s
regime and founded a republic.”

Asked about succession he said:  “First, I don’t have imperial power. I am
not a king or a president. The question of considering a successor doesn’t
exist. In Libya, the regime belongs to the people. People rule themselves.
Why do we need a successor? I don’t have the authority to intervene either.
Since the regime is in the hands of the people, people can choose whatever
method they please.”

This was the picture of Libya portrayed to the world but those studying the
workings of the regime saw through the façade. They discovered that the
so-called “basic people’s congresses” were systematically being used as
tools of political repression.

The Libyan people’s anger simmered under the surface stoked by a situation
“in which foreign companies won the prime government contracts and thousands
of foreign workers from China, Egypt and Vietnam secured many jobs” and
“years of frustration at Gaddafi’s foreign adventures and white elephant
infrastructure projects while most Libyans lived on in poverty.”

Because people’s anger simmered underneath, Gaddafi was just a giant with
legs of clay; one day they would give way under the pressure of the people’s
outrage. But like anyone else who has, over decades, turned a country into a
personal fiefdom, he would like to go down with the country. He doesn’t mind
killing his own people to achieve this. But the people will not be defeated
as they have become masters of their fate.

In Julius Caesar one of the conspirators had this to say about him:

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus; and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs, and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Caesar was felled, so eventually will Gaddafi and all dictators.

Sunday Opinion: Courage is contagious

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:17

By Maclean Dhlodlo

“We must constantly build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear” —
Martin Luther King Jr.

Courage is a virtue present in our daily experiences but often overlooked.
People make decisions everyday that depend on them having to draw from this
resource — business ventures, making the marriage vows, moving into a new
city, a new job, a new school. All these take some guts. What is rare,
perhaps, is that act of bravery exhibited in life-threatening situations.
The high level of the nature of the risk associated with the act
distinguishes the act and the actors as extraordinary. This is what
ordinarily separates the brave from the cowardly; how we respond when the
stakes are high.

Courage is not a denial of the presence of fear. Rather it is defiance of
fear. In Christian theology fear is acknowledged as a phenomenon that is a
consequence of human imperfection. The violation of God’s boundaries opened
human beings up to fear and shame. Remember the words of Adam as he
responded to God’s calling out in the garden, “Adam, where are you?” He
answered and said: “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). From then on fear
became a primary emotion in human relationships.

The presence of God in us however makes a difference. God is love and
perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Therefore boldness is not a
refutation of the fear phenomenon. It is defiance of the very nature of fear
and contempt of its very source, be it of satanic or human derivation. This
boldness does not hinge on self. It leans on God who is greater than fear
itself or the sources of it. That is why the author Dorothy Bernard said
“courage is fear that has said its prayers.” Courage is dependent on God.

Courage is a decision to believe God. It is a conviction that we continue to
build, a confidence in His person, a steadfast faith in what He has said,
and a certainty that He will perform of His plan concerning us, our
families, communities and nations. “For I know the plans I have for you”,
says the Lord “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a
future and a hope” (Jeremiah 28:11).

Courage is what moves us to participate in God’s plans for us and our
children, saying “thy will be done, Lord.” Courage is what impels us to
compel ourselves in the resolve to step out of the fear detention in order
to possess the God dream for ourselves and to apprehend the future for
posterity. Corra Harris once said, “The bravest thing you can do when you
are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly.”  Courage believes.

For the Christian, courage is commanded. In numerous places God commands
various ones to be courageous, and assures them of His abiding presence.
Likewise, His servants instruct His people at critical times to be steadfast
in their stance in Him, unmoved by fear of people or circumstances. I will
cite one such occasion.

The setting is the highlands of Kadesh-Barnea. The land of promise lies not
far beyond. The occasion is leadership transition. Yes, leadership
transition. As is normal practice for any leader as they exit office, Moses
addresses the nation. He tells them that his time is up, and his task is
done. He is handing over to one that God has chosen, one whom he has had an
opportunity to mentor as well. This one, Joshua by name, would take over and
complete the assignment. Oh, what a leader!

Moses does not go into convulsions about handing over the baton. So what
does he say to the people of critical importance? He commands them saying,
“Be strong and be of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them
 (enemies)” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Why is he commanding courage? The land of
promise had inhabitants. The possibility of the nation being intimidated
from entry into the land of promise by these nations was very real. So they
needed to be encouraged not to be timid. Moses, like his God, commanded
courage.

Moses turns to Joshua, the successor he has groomed. With the cool of a
mature and Godly leader, he instructs him also, “Be strong and take heart:
for you are to go with this people into the land which the Lord, by his oath
to their fathers, has given them; by your help they will take it for their
heritage” (Deut 31:7). He is courteous to admonish him to be wary of the
pitfall of fear. The downside of fear is the shift in confidence. Fear is
indicative of the fall-back to trusting in human abilities than in God.

Fear puts to doubt the integrity of God, His capability to deliver on
promise. Essentially Moses emphasizes to Joshua to maintain his trust in
God.
It is notable that setting in motion this transition was in itself an act of
great courage on the part of Moses. In this context courage can also be
understood as the ability to envision a future of hope and prosperity for
others without you in the picture. I like the way that Mignon McLaughlin
captures this idea: “The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you
from one moment to the next.” In this case, Moses was able to usher Joshua
and the whole nation into their next moment or season without pain. What a
courageous leader! It remains to be seen how many such leaders will emerge
in our time.

Courage is a choice made to step out of an enforced fear coral-reef with the
full knowledge that the coastguard is watching. At best you swim to liberty.
At worst you drown or the bullet ensures your exit from the earth. Such
courage defies logic. It is a step of faith that says “I know that my Savior
is watching over me and shall carry me under His wings. Should He not, my
body may perish. However, the idea of liberty is indestructible.”
What is the incentive for bravery? We are motivated by the knowledge that
outside of the cage of fear awaits a world unexplored, pregnant with every
conceivable possibility and more. I speak not here of heaven which will be
our reality when we exit the earth. I speak here of that which is our
inheritance and that of our children and their children in the here and now,
if the Lord tarries. I speak of that privilege which the devil through
willing henchmen is intent on keeping every child of God everywhere in the
world from accessing and enjoying.

Outside the confines of fear awaits one who Paul extols in a doxology, a
song of praise: “Now to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we
think or imagine, through His mighty power at work in us, to Him be the
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever
and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20, 21). God waits to fulfill every promise He
has made. All we need to do is step up by faith, not by might, and take a
stance with the knowledge that “life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s
courage” (Anais Nin in The Diary of Anais Nin, Vol 3, 1939-1933).

Finally, when we do take a courageous stance, others will be encouraged to
follow suit. Billy Graham once said that “courage is contagious. When a
brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” You can
dare stand and hold back the tide of fear. Courage is honourable.

SundayComment: Use of torture is despicable

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:16

THE treatment of Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 others by law enforcement agents
is a cause for concern for all the progressive forces fighting for democracy
in Zimbabwe.

Gwisai, who runs the International Socialist Organisation (ISO) chapter in
Zimbabwe, has been charged with treason, a very serious crime which can
attract the death penalty.

While the merits of the case are now for the courts to determine, what is of
major concern is the manner in which Gwisai and his co-accused were picked
up and treated by their interrogators.

According to testimony made by Gwisai in court, police beat up and tortured
the accused in a bid to extract treason confessions from them.

Gwisai’s lawyer said his client was lashed more than 20 times on his back by
his torturers using a plank. Such humiliating treatment in police custody is
a gross violation of the accused persons’ rights and of the law.

Despicable as it is, the police actions are not surprising, given the timing
of the arrests. With revolutions taking place in North Africa and the Middle
East, it is clear Zimbabwe’s state security machinery is already hard at
work, launching pre-emptive strikes at any groups of people who may wish to
start Egyptian- or Tunisian-style uprisings.

Arresting and torturing political opponents is a cut-and-dried strategy that
has worked for President Robert Mugabe’s regime in the past when faced with
the prospect of mass action. The same strategy is again being used by the
regime bent on maintaining the status quo in the face of a wave of uprisings
sweeping autocrats out of office.

The violence unleashed in Mbare during the past few weeks could also be part
of this grand strategy to strike fear into the hearts of the regime’s
perceived opponents and weaken their resolve to take to the streets. The
million dollar question is: Can the winds of change blasting everything
autocratic in their wake in other countries be stopped in Zimbabwe?

Only time will tell.