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SOKWANELE

Enough is Enough

Zimbabwe

PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!

(www.sokwanele.com)

 

“Mauritius Watch”

 

The Zimbabwean Elections:

(Monitoring Violations of the SADC Principles and Guidelines)

 

 

Issue 17.    21 February 2005

 

On 17 August 2004, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders meeting in Mauritius adopted the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.  Zimbabwe, as a member of SADC, also signed the document and committed itself to implementing its standards.

 

“Mauritius Watch” provides a regular, objective and non-partisan assessment of Zimbabwe’s compliance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines. In the run-up to the 2005 Parliamentary Elections we note any significant failures to adhere to the SADC standards.

 

This special weekly feature assumes an even greater significance now that the date of the Parliamentary Elections has been announced – 31 March.  Less than six weeks remain before this crucial poll.

 

This week Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the South African Foreign Minister, was quoted as saying that “good progress was being made towards a free and fair election in Zimbabwe”.    But is she reading the situation correctly ?  After all the consequences of South Africa misreading the Zimbabwean situation (deliberately or otherwise), could be catastrophic, not only for Zimbabwe but for the entire Southern African region.  Our weekly reports are intended to provide you with the evidence upon which to make an informed and reasoned judgment.

 

 

Date

Incidents/Developments

SADC standards breached

 

 

STILL NO INVITATIONS!

 

Less than six weeks before the date of the parliamentary elections and well beyond the minimum of 90 days stipulated in the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, the Mugabe regime has still not issued any invitations to observe or monitor the Poll, either to SADC or any other group.  The SADC guidelines require the host country to issue such an invitation at least 90 days before the voting day “in order to allow an adequate preparation for the deployment of the Electoral Observation Mission”.

 

 

7.10        (Host government responsible for)  issuing invitation … to SADC 90 (ninety) days before the voting day in order to allow an adequate preparation for the deployment of the Electoral Observation Mission

 

17.02.05

 

POLICE RAID MDC CANDIDATES’ MEETING

 

Zimbabwean police raided and broke up a training meeting of the opposition party ahead of next month’s parliamentary election.  The meeting of the Movement for Democratic Change’s 120 parliamentary candidates at Harare’s Sheraton Hotel was disrupted by police on 16 February.  The MDC elections director, prominent businessman Ian Makone, was arrested during the raid and held at Harare Central Police Station for a number of hours.  No charge was laid against him immediately.

 

As the MDC meeting was about to get under way three plain clothes police details arrived and demanded to sit through the meeting.  They then informed the gathering that the meeting was illegal under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and that all those present should leave immediately or face arrest.

 

The MDC secretary for information and publicity, Paul Themba Nyathi, put out a statement saying “the MDC notes with concern the continued disruption of its campaign programme and the continued harassment of its candidates and leaders. The disruption of MDC meetings is a clear violation of the SADC guidelines on the conduct of fair and free elections.”  The statement also draws attention to the continued rejection of its advertisements and editorials by the public media, and concludes “Today’s events make a mockery of statements claiming that Zimbabwe is on course to hold fair and free elections.  Such statements only serve to encourage the Mugabe regime to further breach the SADC principles on democratic elections.”

 

(See the report in The Star (SA): www.thestar.co.za/ 17.02.05)

 

2.1.2        Freedom of association

 

4.1.1          Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens

 

4.1.2          Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections

 

7.4  (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning as well as access to the media on the part of all stakeholders …

 

 

19.02.05

 

 

PROMINENT OPPOSITION MP BARRED BY NOMINATION COURT

 

A nomination court in Zimbabwe has barred prominent opposition MDC member of parliament, Roy Bennett, from contesting in the forthcoming elections for the seat he currently occupies for the Chimanimani constituency.  Roy Bennett is serving a year long sentence of imprisonment imposed by parliament following a minor scuffle in the House when, severely provoked by the racist comments of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, he pushed the latter to the floor.  The  nomination court rejected Bennett’s nomination application on the grounds that he is now in jail, overlooking entirely the fact that the law only disqualifies a candidate from standing if he has been convicted of a criminal offence by a criminal court.

 

The MDC has given notice that it will be filing an urgent court application on February 21, seeking to overturn the nomination court decision.  Meanwhile the opposition party has put forward the name of Bennett’s wife, Heather, as a stand-in candidate until the courts rule whether her husband should be allowed to contest.

 

(See the full report in Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 19.02.05)

 

 

2.1.6        Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for

 

2.1.7        Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions

 

7.3              (Government to) establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable bodies staffed by qualified personnel, as well as competent legal entities including effective constitutional courts to arbitrate in the event of disputes arising from the conduct of elections

 

13.02.05

 

 

MINISTER TELLS OF GERRYMANDERING

 

A cabinet minister of the Mugabe regime recently visited a police recreational club bragging that the Delimitation Commission had twisted constituency boundaries to the benefit of the ruling ZANU-PF.  The revelation has sparked fresh controversy over the manipulation of the constituencies by the Commission that was appointed by Mugabe and has been accused of ignoring input from the opposition. 

 

According to The Sunday Mirror’s source, “The minister (name supplied) went to the police club where he told senior officers that Harare Central should definitely go to ZANU-PF since the Delimitation Commission had done a ‘splendid job’ by ensuring that as many voters as possible in the police, army, prisons and other security arms fell within the area by virtue of residing in military and quasi military camps”.

 

A study of the current constituency compared with the previous boundaries shows that Harare Central (easily captured by the MDC in the 2000 election) has grown in size with a substantial voting population from the uniformed forces added to the constituency.

 

(See the full report in The Sunday Mirror: http://www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror/index.html13.02.05,

and also carried in ZWNEWS: www.zwnews.com 14.02.05) 

 

 

2.1.7         Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions

 

7.3              (Government to) establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24.02.05

 

GHOST VOTERS UNEARTHED

 

The voters’ roll has glaring errors that are likely to disenfranchise thousands of voters, especially in urban constituencies, in the March 31 parliamentary election.  A voters’ roll audit conducted last week unearthed hundreds of ghost voters, with some entered more than once. There are also numerous incomplete addresses and dubious entries.

 

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party says it has identified anomalies on the Harare Central, Mbare and Harare North rolls.  The MDC is carrying out audits in all urban areas.  Anomalies include the appearance of names of people in constituencies in which they do not reside and  multiple entries of the same names and identity numbers.

 

Independent candidate for Harare Central and former member of parliament for Harare South, Margaret Dongo, claims the discrepancies are a deliberate tool to be used by ZANU-PF to rig the March election.  In 1995 Dongo won the Harare South seat in a re-run against a ZANU-PF candidate after the court had confirmed the first round had been rigged.

 

“This is a tool ZANU-PF has always used to rig elections,” she said, “and if the opposition is not critical of this process, we are likely to see a two-thirds majority for ZANU-PF.”

 

Meanwhile MDC Harare North MP Trudy Stevenson

has discovered 82 incorrect entries at the Institute of Agricultural Engineering alone, and 52 at Pomona South Quarries.

 

As the MDC audit continues, so the massive extent of the inaccuracies on the voters’ roll becomes apparent and the oft-repeated claim of those who have made a study of it, that the roll is in a shambles, is borne out again and again.

 

(See the front page report in the Zimbabwe Independent: www.theindependent.co.zw  24.02.05)

 

2.1.7        Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions

 

4.1.4         Existence of updated and accessible voters’ roll

 

7.5       (Government to) take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process …

 

 

18.02.05

 

OPPOSITION MP WINS RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST POLICE

 

The High Court in Bulawayo on February 17 ordered the police not to prevent or interfere with an exercise by opposition member of parliament David Coltart to verify whether supporters in his Bulawayo South constituency were properly registered on the constituency voters’ roll.  Earlier in the week the police had arrested seven Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists who were on a door-to-door campaign in the constituency checking whether party members appeared on the roll.

 

In his ruling in chambers Justice Misheck Cheda interdicted the police from taking any further action to interfere with the voters’ roll verification and analysis process.  The judge found the conduct of the police “reprehensible and retrogressive”.

 

The MDC accuses the police of selectively applying the law to victimize its activists and hamstring its campaign ahead of next month’s election.

 

(Reported in Zim Online:  www.zimonline.co.za 18.02.05)

 

 

2.1.6        Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for

 

4.1.4        Existence of updated and accessible voters’ roll

 

7.5       (Government to) take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices …

 

 

 

 

20.02.05

 

HOUNDED OUT BY MUGABE THUGS

 

Three senior correspondents for leading international news agencies were forced to flee the country last week as the ZANU-PF onslaught on the media intensified ahead of next month’s elections.  Jan Raath writing for The Times of London, Angus Shaw for Associated Press and Brian Latham for several South African papers, were subjected to the most intrusive and threatening police scrutiny.  They were accused of operating a spy ring and subsequently of working as journalists without being registered under the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), both of which charges they strongly denied.  In fact they had submitted their applications to the Media and Information Commission when the law came into effect, and were awaiting a response from the commission. The trio’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, denied the journalists had violated any law and said the police action against them was a “clear case of harassment and intimidation”.

 

Jan Raath describes his ordeal in an article in The Times (February 19):  “For three days they (the police) poked around our office …. It was obvious they were looking for anything they could stick on us.  On the third visit, they were led by the head of the CID’s “Law and Order” section, suggesting that the orders to raid us must have come from the very top.”  Then the trio received a tip off from a friend who had a contact in the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) that “they are gunning for you … this time it is going to be rough. You must get out now.”  The three journalists who had been reporting from Zimbabwe for many years, decided the time had come to leave the country they loved, without delay.  They put into effect contingency plans made some time ago when the level of repression began to increase significantly, and each made their way independently to different border posts.  

 

The action against Raath, Shaw and Latham is the latest in a series of moves against the independent and foreign media. The previous week the CIO launched a massive manhunt for journalist Cornelius Nduna, whom they said they wished to interrogate in connection with sensitive videotapes in his possession.  At the same time state prosecutors revived a three-year old case against newspaper columnist, Pius Wakatama, in connection with a story, subsequently proved to have been false, which he is accused of repeating in one of his columns.

 

(See Jan Raath’s report in The Times (London): www.timesonline.co.uk/ 19.02.05 and Brian Latham’s account in The Sunday Times (UK): www.timesonline.co.uk/  20.02.05)

 

 

2.1.3    Political tolerance

 

4.1.1        Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens

 

4.1.2        Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections

 

7.4      (Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning as well as access to the media on the part of all stakeholders, during (the electoral process)

 

 

17.02.05

 

MEDIA GROUP SAYS ZIMBABWE NON-COMPLIANT WITH SADC

 

The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), a local non-governmental organisation that fights for media freedom, says Zimbabwe has failed to open up public media to all political parties in line with regional requirements governing the running of elections.

 

In a report entitled “Media and the 2005 Parliamentary Elections”, the MMPZ criticizes the public media’s election coverage in the run-up to next month’s election saying it is heavily tilted in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF party and government.   The coverage flouts Southern African Development Community (SADC) regulations agreed by the regional bloc last August, says the media group.

 

“Clearly, even by mid-February, conditions for fair and equitable access to the state media by all political parties still do not exist … these media organisations (state-controlled) continue to favour the ruling party while suppressing the activities of the main political opposition.”

 

“Neither the ESC (Electoral Supervisory Commission) nor the ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) have set minimum standards for direct access and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing these standards,” it says.   The two electoral bodies, whose members were appointed by Mugabe, will run the March election.

 

Meanwhile the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party spokesman, Paul Themba Nyathi, has dismissed new government regulations purporting to allow all political parties access to state radio and television as “cosmetic” and “primarily aimed at tricking the region into believing that Zimbabwe is complying with the set guidelines.”

 

(Reported in Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 17/19.02.05)

 

2.1.5    Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media

 

 

   

 

18.02.05

 

MUGABE BLOCKS OBSERVERS – WITH SOUTH AFRICA’S  COLLUSION ?

 

The Mugabe regime is refusing to sanction the visit of a high-powered SADC delegation which wants to assess whether conditions in the country comply with regional guidelines for democratic elections.  They are not prepared to allow a team of lawyers from the SADC organ on politics, defence and security to inspect electoral conditions – and it appears that South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs at least is willing to collude with this defiance.

 

The SADC Secretariat in Gaberone, Botswana, received a letter on February 15 from the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, stating that “the issue of the legal experts’ visit should not be followed up.”

 

SADC spokesperson Esther Kanaimba said from Gaberone that they had received the South African notification from Dr Jessie Duarte’s office.  She is the director for multilateral affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs.  Kanaimba said she could not comment on the contents of the letter.  However it is believed the letter states the issue was discussed “at the highest level” in South Africa and that it was felt it was “unnecessary to follow it up.”   Kanaimba said the SADC Secretariat has no power to send in a legal team to Zimbabwe and they were awaiting further orders from South Africa – which chairs the directorate of politics, defence and security.

 

Meanwhile Mugabe is continuing to lobby neighbours to declare that he is complying with the regional electoral norms. He sent one trusted ally, Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration, *Didymus Mutasa, to seek outgoing Namibian President Sam Nujoma’s backing last week and dispatched Special Affairs Minister John Nkomo to meet Botswana’s President Festus Mogae.  Diplomats in Harare said Mugabe wanted SADC leaders to whitewash the result of the election likely to be won by his party.

 

Also last week a Democratic Alliance (DA) mission was turned back at Harare Airport, as had been a Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) delegation and two Southern African Trade Union Co-ordinating Council officials earlier in the month.

 

(Reported in the Mail & Guardian: www.mg.co.za/  18.02.05 in News24 (SA): www.news24.com 16.02.05 and The Sunday Times (SA): www.suntimes.co.za/ 20.02.05)

 

* In a report published on 8 September 2003 in Zimbabwe’s Daily News, Didymus Mutasa, then ZANU-PF’s secretary for external affairs, said Zimbabweans abroad were out to spread lies about the conditions at home. He said: "They are a crazy gang on a mission to spread falsehoods about their mother country. Everything is normal in Zimbabwe, and anyone who thinks otherwise should have his head examined.”

 

 

Paragraph 6 of the SADC Guidelines requires accreditation for SADC Election Observers, that they be given freedom of movement within the host country, unhindered access to the media, free access to all electoral legislation and to the voters’ roll.

 

Other provisions afford further rights to those appointed by SADC to observe the electoral process.

 

7.8              (Host government to) ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process by … accrediting national and/other observers/monitors

 

7.12      Host government to be responsible for) accreditation of the members of the SADC Electoral Observation and Monitoring team as election observers on a non-discriminatory basis

 

 

 

 

ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL LEGISLATION :

SADC CHECK LIST 

 

SOKWANELE has produced a detailed analysis of the Zimbabwean statutes that are in breach of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections and the policy breaches by the ZANU-PF government. 

 

Entitled “ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL LEGISLATION : SADC CHECK LIST”, the document can be seen on our website at www.sokwanele.com

 

 

 

Note:  The fraudulent and violence-ridden elections of 2000 and 2002 were narrowly “won” by Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, who have maintained their iron grip on the country by using strategies designed to annihilate all forms of opposition.

 

As many independent commentators have already pointed out, there is no prospect that the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 31 will be fair and free.  Equally, given the magnitude of the task and the few weeks remaining before the poll, there is no prospect of the regime’s compliance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.   Indeed, in recent months we have witnessed a steady movement by the regime away from compliance with any international norms for democratic elections.    Behind the façade of democracy which the regime likes to put on all their activities, we have seen a deliberate and systematic attempt to subvert every institution of government in order to secure in the forthcoming poll a pre-determined result favouring ZANU-PF.

 

 

INVITATION TO REGISTER YOUR PROTEST

 

People who would like to register their grave concern regarding the Zimbabwean government’s violations of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections and the ongoing violations of human rights and media rights in Zimbabwe are invited to record their protests.  You can do so by emailing South African President Thabo Mbeki (president@anc.org.za). Copy your messages to his spokesperson BK (bheki@po.gov.za ).

Ends 

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Mnangagwa is now a born again Christian.

From Wycliff Nyarota in Kwekwe
issue date :2005-Feb-28

SPEAKER of Parliament and ruling Zanu PF aspiring Member of Parliament for
Kwekwe Central, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is now a born again Christian. The
once-feared politician, known as ngwena (crocodile), is now preaching the
gospel in his election campaign in the constituency.
And true to his word, Mnangagwa, whose ambitions for the party
vice-presidency were scuttled by the nomination of  Joyce Mujuru, now hardly
finishes a speech without referring to God.
The veteran nationalist, who sits in the Zanu PF Politburo as secretary for
legal affairs, will contest the March 31 parliamentary elections against
Blessing Chebundo (MDC), who as a little-known politician, trounced him in
the 2000 polls.
His trouncing by Chebundo also pushed him out of government, but he came
back as Speaker of Parliament, taking over from Cyril Ndebele.
Observers said it was refreshing that Mnangagwa had decided to turn to God.
His political career is chequered by allegations that as Minister of State
for National Security, he was partly responsible for the atrocities
committed against citizens in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands during
the mid-1980s dissident era.
He has defended himself, however, and denied any responsibility for the
atrocities.
Mnangagwa, who was widowed several years ago, said he had received the light
and word of God upon baptism last August.
He said he saw himself as the biblical Saul, who was later renamed Paul
after his miraculous conversion en route to cause mayhem in Damascus.
As for the winner in next month's polls, he said he left everything in God's
hands..
If the Almighty wished, he said, he would be elected legislator for Kwekwe
Central.
Against a background of bloody violence in previous elections, the situation
on the ground is generally calm, with leaders across the political divide
calling for a peaceful poll.
There has been speculation in the Midlands mining city that Mnangagwa's
turning to God was a political gimmick meant to hoodwink the electorate.
However, he has vehemently refuted the assertion, arguing such thinking
could only be of people lacking guidance of the Holy Spirit.
"I feel I was called to the Christian world by God, morally it is my right
to be a Christian," said Mnangagwa.
He becomes the second high-profile politician to publicly declare his
conversion to Christianity after Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairman and
current Chinhoyi Member of Parliament, Phillip Chiyangwa.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Mangwende: committed and consistent nationalist

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Feb-28

THE Zanu PF Harare province has said it will recommend that the late Harare
Metropolitan Governor, Witness Mangwende, be declared a national hero.
Mangwende died at the Avenues Clinic on Saturday evening after he was
admitted the previous day.
Provincial chairman Amos Midzi told The Daily Mirror in a telephone
interview yesterday that the provincial leadership would recommend that he
be accorded the appropriate hero status.
"His death is a tragic loss and it came as a shock to the party and the
country as a whole, particularly when we take into account the role he
played in the struggle and after independence. We are going to recommend he
be accorded the appropriate status," Midzi said.
Earlier during the day, his deputy and Zengeza Member of Parliament,
Christopher Chigumba, had said the province would recommend that he be
accorded national hero status.
President Robert Mugabe, who visited the Mangwende family home in Harare
yesterday, described the late Mangwende as a committed and dedicated cadre
who served the country well.
Addressing mourners, President Mugabe said Zimbabwe had once again been
robbed of a hard worker who, as Governor for Harare metropolis, he had
entrusted with solving the perennial problems bedevilling the capital city.
Zanu PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, described the late
Governor as "upright, principled and hard working".
"During the period stretching from the liberation struggle up to his death,
we regarded Mangwende as one of the leaders of Harare. We have lost him so
suddenly and his death is a great loss to the party, the government as well
as his family and those he was working with. We offer our heartfelt
condolences to Mangwende's family," Mutasa said.
Mutasa said he knew the late Mangwende from the early 1970s when he was a
student leader at the then University of Rhodesia.
He said at the time Mangwende worked together with political leaders of both
the old Zanu and Zapu.
On his hero status, Mutasa said the Politburo was waiting for communication
from the ruling party's Harare province chairman, Midzi, who would make
recommendations to the party's supreme decision making body - the Politburo.
From university, Mangwende proceeded to study in Britain before he was
called back to Africa to represent Zanu at its headquarters in Maputo,
Mozambique.
Upon the nationalists' return home, the Patriotic Front, comprising Zanu PF
and PF-Zapu, won 77 seats of the 80 reserved for the black majority to form
a coalition government in the First Parliament of 1980.
Mangwende was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs by
then Prime Minister Mugabe.
He was to remain Zimbabwe's top diplomat for nearly a decade, before he was
appointed Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications.
The Editor-in-Chief of The Zimbabwe Mirror Newspapers Group, Dr Ibbo
Mandaza, said he worked extensively with the late Mangwende as student
leaders at the University of Rhodesia.
Mandaza said he was the late Governor's predecessor as president of the
university students' union.
Going down memory, the publisher said they were expelled from university
together with former finance minister Simba Makoni and the late author
Dambudzo Marechera.
Mandaza said 165 students were arrested and jailed after an uprising.
Mangwende was detained at Harare Central Police Station where he was Mandaza's
neighbour in solitary confinement for more than two weeks.
After his release, the late governor went to Southampton in Britain where he
did his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and doctorate at
the London School of Economics.
Mandaza also said he worked with the late Governor on student politics in
the UK, until Mangwende was recalled to the Zanu headquarters in Mozambique.
Mangwende also headed the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural
Resettlement, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture, and the
department responsible for war veterans in the President's Office, among
other national responsibilities.
He was dropped from Cabinet in the late 1990s but bounced back in 2002 as
Minister of Transport and Communications. He was later appointed the first
metropolitan Governor and Resident Minister of the City of Harare.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Tsvangirai ex-bodyguard released

Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Feb-28

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's former bodyguard arrested last Monday on
charges of contravening the Firearms Act for allegedly possession a pistol
without a valid certificate was Friday released on $500 000 bail by a Kwekwe
magistrate.
Mathew Zimusokerere, who was the opposition leader's bodyguard in 2002, is
also facing allegations of purchasing five rounds of ammunition without a
valid firearms certificate.
He is also being suspected of contravening Section 23 of the Censorship and
Control Act for allegedly possessing pornography magazines.
The State case, according to Zimusokerere's lawyer Andrew Makoni, is that on
a date unknown to the prosecutor, but from February 2003 to February 2005 in
Zengeza 3, the ex-bodyguard was found in possession of a CZ pistol but
without a certificate.
He was also caught red-handed with pornographic material and five rounds of
ammunition without authority.
Makoni said the State had failed to produce evidence directly pinning his
client to a charge of attempted armed robbery or alternatively vehicle
hijacking from which stemmed the allegations against his client.
Zimusokerere was arrested after two suspected armed robbers allegedly
attempted to highjack a vehicle along the Harare-Bulawayo road and
implicated him as the owner of the pistol.
The suspects reportedly hitch hiked in a vehicle from Harare to Kwekwe but
along the way, one of them pulled out a pistol and threatened the driver who
panicked causing an accident that killed three people in a head-on
collision.
Zimusokerere was remanded to March 1 this year.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

MDC candidate for Bindura arrested

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Feb-28

THE MDC candidate for Bindura in the March 31 parliamentary elections, Joel
Mugariri, and the opposition party chairman for Mashonaland Central, Tapera
Macheka, were arrested Thursday evening on allegations of contravening the
Electoral Act.
Chief  police spokesperson, Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the arrests on Friday
adding the two MDC officials were caught putting up campaign posters in the
provincial capital without permission of the Bindura Municipality.
He said: "We arrested them yesterday for defacing road signs putting
political graffiti. They are facing allegations of contravening Section 153
of the Electoral Act and will appear in court today  (Friday) ".
Mugariri and Macheka's arrests follows that of MDC candidate for Shamva,
Godfrey Chimombe, and two party youths Mika Jack Jumbe and Cleopas Muchenje
on Tuesday on similar charges.
"The two with other MDC supporters were putting up campaign posters when the
police pounced on them demanding to know whether they had permission from
the Bindura Council to put up posters. They were taken to Bindura police
station and detained," MDC spokesperson and Gwanda North legislator Paul
Themba Nyathi said Friday.
 In a related incident, Nyathi also claimed that the MDC candidate for
Manyame, Hilder Mafudze, and 11 party youths who were distributing campaign
fliers in the constituency were Thursday afternoon assaulted by suspected
Zanu PF thugs.
"Their campaign material, which included T-shirts, posters and fliers, were
burnt by the Zanu PF mob. The incident happened at Renharm Primary School
about 50km out of Harare along Lomagundi Road. The MDC youths were accused
of selling the country to the whites and that they do not wish to see the
MDC in their area," Nyathi said. He said the MDC candidate had reported the
alleged assault to Norton police who declined to arrest the suspects  and
instead directed Mafudze to Dzivarasekwa police in Harare.
"We call upon the police to do their job professionally and ensure that the
culprits are brought to book as soon as possible," Nyathi implored.It could
not be immediately ascertained whether Mugariri and Macheka were still in
police custody yesterday.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Harare City Council hikes clinic fees

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Feb-28

THE Harare City Council has hiked medical fees at its clinics by over 500
percent with effect from February 1 this year, The Daily Mirror has learnt.
A survey of municipal health centres revealed that consultation fees had
shot up to $20 000 from $2 800, while maternity fees were increased to $500
000 from $100 000.
For medication, patients now have to fork out $25 000 for anti-biotics and
$30 000 for injectibles up from prices ranging between $2 000 and $3 000.
A Kuwadzana resident, Abigael Mkochi bemoaned the astronomical increases,
which were not matched by improved standards at council clinics.
She cited an example where patients are asked to buy school notebooks for
use as cards because council health institutions were out of stock.  "The
situation has gone unabated for a long time," she said.
 Mkochi reasoned that while increase in consultation fees was justified, the
$500 000 for maternity was beyond the reach of many.
"Most people are concerned by the fees for maternity, as it is beyond the
reach of many. I am afraid that it will not stop people from having
children, it will only result in more women failing to access health care."
Yesterday, council spokesperson Leslie Gwindi defended the increases arguing
the city fathers were aware of the problems besetting the capital's health
delivery system which would be "attended to soon."
"Don't ask me about the justification of the increases because you know that
nowadays you can't do anything with the $3 000 which was being charged. We
have more information than you from the consultations that we held with the
residents.
You can ask us to write that story for you. Lets be positive, with the
increases some of the problems are going to be addressed with the passage of
time," Gwindi insisted.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Africa receives US $648 million from Canada

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Feb-28

AFRICA received at least US$648 million from Canada towards health care and
debt relief under the G-7 country's federal budget for 2005 announced last
Thursday. Canada belongs to the Group of 7 industrialised and rich nations
which include the US, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan and France.
Zimbabwe is also entitled to benefit from the allocation through various
organisations set to benefit from the funding.
At least US$160 million will be channelled towards the Global Alliance for
Vaccines and Immunisation - an organisation whose goal is to save children's
lives from 2004 to 2006.
Another US$140 million will be directed to the Global Fund to fight HIV and
Aids, tuberculosis and malaria - an organisation whose officials are
positive Zimbabwe's proposal would be approved this time round while $34
million is meant to support further the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
Trust Fund.
Canada has also put $100 million annually over five years for peace and
security initiatives, to provide security assistance to failed and failing
States and $42million put to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative - the
goal being polio elimination worldwide by year end.
Another $172 million will be used over the next five years to pay Canada's
share of debt-service costs owed by eligible countries to the International
Development Association of the World Bank and the African Development Fund.
The Canadian Minister of Finance, Ralph Goodale, said the $648 million meant
for various fields in Africa will go a long way in helping the people of the
continent overcome the overwhelming challenges of poverty and diseases that
have reached alarming rates.
Said Goodale: "Africa is a continent in crisis. More than 260 000 people die
on the continent of Aids and malaria - the equivalent of a tsunami - every
single month.
The internal events of recent weeks remind us not only that we are all
connected in this world, but that we also have responsibilities in this
world."
Canada's fund allocations are almost double its previous donations in
Africa, a welcome development for Zimbabwe's health system, which is
continuing to deteriorate owing to lack of funding.
At some government health institutions, essential equipment lie idle for
years without repair because of financial shortages, hence if Zimbabwe
accesses the allocated funds, a remarkable change will be witnessed on the
health delivery system and other sectors.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Weekly Times owner blasts Mahoso

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Feb-28

THE owner of the closed Weekly Times, Godfrey Ncube, has lashed out at the
Media and Information Commission (MIC) boss, Tafataona Mahoso, whom he
described as " a tribalist we must get rid of". In an interview with The
Daily Mirror yesterday, Ncube said Mahoso had masterminded the closure of
the weekly paper that is published by Mthwakazi Publishing House, on tribal
and political lines.
In a statement last Friday, Mahoso said the MIC had withdrawn The Weekly
Times' licence for a year on the grounds that the paper had contravened the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa).
 "The core values, convictions and overall thrust were narrowly political,
clearly partisan and even separatist, in contrast to what had been pledged
in the registration papers," read part of the statement. The statement added
that the publishers also failed to produce to the MIC bank accounts in the
company's own name after pledging to do so on January 24, the day they were
called for a hearing.
But Ncube yesterday accused Mahoso of having dealt with peripheral issues on
the day of the hearing. "Mahoso is a tribalist we should get rid of. I hope
the new minister of information will get rid of persons such as Mahoso and
impotent organisations such as the MIC. On the issue of the account, we gave
him a proper account. We are not funded by foreigners as he might think. If
you check with our printers you will see that we owe them more than $300
million," said Ncube.
He added that during the hearing, the MIC head had linked his publishing
house to an anti-government publication bearing the same name and had asked
him why he had not changed the name.  "New Ziana had a publication called
Mthwakazi, but it was made to change. Mthwakazi means 'a nation'. That is
what the Ndebele people were called," added Ncube.
Yesterday Mahoso said the decision to cancel the licence was above board and
not based on tribal lines.
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Thousands died in Africa yesterday

        The New York Times
        Monday, February 28, 2005

When a once-in-a-century natural disaster swept away the lives of more than
100,000 poor Asians last December, the developed world opened its hearts and
its checkbooks. Yet when it comes to Africa, where hundreds of thousands of
poor men, women and children die needlessly each year from preventable
diseases, or unnatural disasters like civil wars, much of the developed
world seems to have a heart of stone.
.
Not every African state is failing. Most are not. But the continent's most
troubled regions - including Somalia and Sudan in the east, Congo in the
center, Zimbabwe in the south, and Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone in
the west - challenge not only our common humanity, but global security as
well. The lethal combination of corrupt or destructive leaders, porous and
unmonitored borders and rootless or hopeless young men has made some of
these regions incubators of international terrorism and contagious diseases
like AIDS. Others are sanctuaries for swindlers and drug traffickers whose
victims can be found throughout the world.
.
In many of these places, poverty and unemployment and the desperation they
spawn leave young men vulnerable to the lure of terrorist organizations,
which, beyond offering two meals a day, also provide a target for their
anger at rich societies, which they are led to believe view them with
condescension and treat them with contempt. Training camps for Islamic
extremists are now thought to be sprouting like anthills on the savanna.
.
.
'America is committed not only to the campaign against terrorism in a
military sense, but the campaign against poverty, the campaign against
illiteracy and ignorance."
.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that.
.
Well, America launched its war on terror after Sept. 11, but did not bother
to look at some of the deeper causes of global instability. The United
States is going to spend more than $400 billion on the military this year,
and another $100 billion or so for military operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan. But that amount is never going to buy Americans peace if the
government continues to spend an anemic $16 billion - the Pentagon budget is
25 times that size - in foreign aid that addresses the plight of the poorest
of the world's poor.
.
For decades, most Americans either have preferred not to hear about these
problems, or, blanching at the scope of the human tragedy, have thrown up
their hands. But in terms of the kind of money the West thinks nothing of
spending, on such things as sports and entertainment extravaganzas, not to
speak of military budgets, meeting many of Africa's most urgent needs seems
shockingly affordable. What has been missing is the political will.
.
This year, there is a real chance of scrounging up, and then mobilizing,
this political will. Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, who has stood
resolutely by President George W. Bush at Blair's own political peril
through the war in Iraq, has staked Britain's presidency of the Group of 8
industrial nations this year on tackling poverty in Africa. Blair wants his
ally, Bush, to stand beside him at the coming G-8 summit meeting at
Gleneagles in Scotland this July. After the G-8 meeting there will be a UN
summit meeting in New York in September, where the world's leaders will
examine progress made toward reaching the Millennium Development Goals of
cutting global poverty in half by 2015. Chief among those goals was that
developed countries like America, Britain and France would work toward
giving 0.7 percent of their national incomes for development aid for poor
countries.
.
If the progress made so far is any guide, it is going to be a short meeting.
While Britain is about halfway to the goal, at 0.34 percent, and France is
at 0.41 percent, America remains near rock bottom, at 0.18 percent.
Undoubtedly, Bush will point to his Millennium Challenge Account when he
attends the summit meeting. He will be correct in saying that his
administration has given more annually in foreign aid than the Clinton
administration in sheer dollars. His Millennium Challenge Account was
supposed to increase U.S. assistance to poor countries that are committed to
policies promoting development. This is a worthy endeavor, but it has three
big problems.
.
.
First, neither the administration nor Congress has come anywhere close to
financing the program fully. Second, the program, announced back in 2002,
has yet to disburse a single dollar.
.
Most important, relying mostly on programs like the Millennium Challenge
Account, which tie foreign aid to good governance, condemns millions of
Africans who have dreadful governments (Liberia, Congo, Ivory Coast) or no
government (Somalia) to death. No donor nation is, or should be, willing to
direct money to despotic, thieving or incompetent governments likely to
misspend it or divert it to the personal bank accounts of their leaders.
Strict international criteria of political accountability, financial
transparency and development-friendly social and economic policies need to
be established and enforced, not just by outside donors but by prominent and
influential African leaders, like South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki.
.
Help for people living under governments that fail these criteria will have
to be channeled mainly through international and nongovernmental
organizations. Bypassed governments will not like this, but they cannot be
allowed to stand in the way of outside help to the victims of their misrule.
It is not the fault of Africa's millions of refugees that warring armies
have burned their villages and fields and driven them into unsafe and
disease-ridden camps, like those in the Darfur region of Sudan. And no
fair-minded person would blame the victims of callous and destructive
governments, like Zimbabwe's, for the economic and social misery they
create.
.
.
In the next few months, Bush could take a giant step toward altering the way
the world views America by joining Blair in pushing for more help in Africa.
It's past time; the continent is dying. In the Democratic Republic of Congo,
which is anything but, some 1,000 people die every day of preventable
diseases like malaria and diarrhea. That's the equivalent of a tsunami every
four months, in that one country alone. Throughout the continent of Africa,
thousands of people die needlessly every day from diseases like AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria.
.
One hundred years ago, before we had the medical know-how to eradicate these
illnesses, this might have been acceptable. But we are the first generation
able to afford to end poverty and the diseases it spawns. It's past time we
step up to the plate. We are all responsible for choosing to view the
tsunami victims in Southeast Asia as more deserving of our help than the
malaria victims in Africa.
.
Jeffrey Sachs, the economist who heads the UN Millennium Development Project
to end global poverty, rightly takes issue with the new media in his book
"The End of Poverty": "Every morning," Sachs writes, "our newspapers could
report, 'More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty."'
.
So, on this page, we'd like to take a first step.
.
Yesterday, more than 20,000 people perished of extreme poverty.
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Tech Central Station

      Solutions That Are Working

            By Richard Tren  Published   02/28/2005

      Johannesburg, South Africa -- AIDS has been in the news a great deal
lately, more than usual. The South African generic drugs company, Aspen
Pharmacare has just announced that its generic versions of its AIDS drugs
have been accepted by the US drug regulator, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). At the same time, the WHO has announced that -- 
depressingly, and some might say predictably -- it has fallen far short of
its target of treating 3 million people by 2005. Yet concurrently the
Accelerating Access Initiative (AAI), a treatment access partnership between
the research based drugs industry and various UN bodies has announced a
sharp increase in people receiving medicines via its programs. These stories
highlight some of the ongoing problems in delivering treatment and show a
way forward.

      The FDA approval of Aspen's drugs has not only boosted Aspen's share
price, but also, potentially, boosts efforts to deliver safe and effective
medicines to those in need. The FDA is a notoriously tough regulator, but
with that approval, Aspen's drugs can now be bought with President Bush's
emergency AIDS treatment funds, PEPFAR. The decision to require FDA approval
was controversial, but it seems to have paid off. The unseemly episode where
several Indian generics companies were forced to withdraw their drugs from
the WHO list of pre-approved medicines jeopardised treatment for thousands
in Africa that were using those drugs and reflected very badly on the WHO
system that had approved them in the first place.

      Aspen's drugs only have the potential to boost access to treatment
because cheap medicines are only one element in ensuring better access to
healthcare. There are numerous reasons for the fact that many Africans do
not have access to Asprin, let alone antiretroviral therapy. Chief among
these is sheer poverty and a complete lack of healthcare infrastructure.

      Some governments, such as Botswana's, have for many years taken
healthcare seriously and tried to improve this infrastructure, but many
others have not. While Zimbabwe's health personnel are fleeing the country
and its health infrastructure crumbles, the government has chosen to
increase funding to Robert Mugabe's hated secret police six fold.
Unfortunately Zimbabwe is among many other countries where the political
will to fight disease of any sort is sorely lacking.

      Some countries are actively building barriers to drug access. Kenya
and Uganda have just announced that patients in those countries will now be
forced to pay 10% more for medicines. Those countries have joined the East
African Community's Customs Union which demands a 10%tariff on any imported
medicine. Other countries, such as the ironically named Democratic Republic
of Congo, have even higher tariffs at 30%. These outrageous taxes on the
sick and dying show that much of Africa's leadership on AIDS is empty
rhetoric.

      Bizarrely at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, France's
President Jacques Chirac has called for some sort of international tax on
air travel or financial transactions to fund 'the war on AIDS'. This classic
Gallic solution will only create some monstrous and corrupt international
bureaucracy and is hardly likely to help any unfortunate AIDS patients.

      Despite the many difficulties associated with improving treatment, AAI
is attempting to find solutions. Among the principles of the AAI is that it
will work with countries where there is political commitment, work with all
sectors of society, acquire additional funding and continue investment in
research and development.

      The AAI has just announced that its partnership now secures treatment,
around the world, for 333,000 people. Most of those are in Africa, where the
number on treatment via AAI increased by more than 50% between September
2003 and September 2004 to 157,000. An example of an AAI initiative is
Merck's collaboration with the Gates Foundation and the Botswana Government.
This partnership has succeeded in building clinics, training medical staff
and treating patients, while other initiatives, notably in South Africa have
failed.

      The spirit of cooperation in Botswana contrasts sharply with the
acrimonious battles between the drugs industry, government and NGOs in South
Africa. The unfortunate reality is that while the politics continues,
thousands go without treatment and into an early grave.

      Apart from the incalculable benefit of ensuring that patients have
access to medicines right now, we have to ensure that those in the future
also receive effective drugs. That is why the focus on continued research
and development is so important. The worrying reality is that the number of
firms conducting research into AIDS drugs is down by just under a third from
1997. Part of this drop is because AIDS has increasingly become a poor
country problem, but the vilification of the research based industry by
activists around the world has certainly also played a large part. Few CEOs
are happy to have their photos daubed with blood at demonstrations.

      AIDS medicine has come a long way since the early 1980s, but
unfortunately the politics and grimy reality of medicine in Africa has not
changed much. AIDS patients don't need more taxes nor do they need more
demonstrations; they need their own governments to take their disease
seriously and implement the solutions that are already working.

      Tren is a director of the health advocacy group Africa Fighting
Malaria and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa

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New Zimbabwe
 

Moyo a hero? Are you crazy?


Last updated: 02/28/2005 16:02:57 Last updated: 02/28/2005 11:02:28
Writing for New Zimbabwe.com last week, Professor Jonathan Moyo's friend and former Chief Reporter at the state-run Chronicle newspaper Admore Tshuma painted a picture of a heroic and misunderstood man. Clearly, most of you disagree and below are some of your comments
Editor - Kindly allow me to express my utter disgust and shock at the desperate letter from Admore Tshuma on behalf of disgraced Jonathan Moyo.

I have nothing personal against Tshuma. In fact I chad the privilege of interacting with him during his days at the Chronicle in Bulawayo. But I felt it necessary to challenge him on a point of facts and principles.

It is so sad that Admore can stoop so low, so much low as to attempt to associate Moyo with democracy. The truth of the matter is that Moyo is the worst hypocrite Zim has ever had. Moyo preached for democracy before being lured by the sweet smell of zanu-PF power.

Moyo was at the forefront in denying the people of Zim their national democratic hopes and aspirations. Here are some of the obvious situations:

* He opposed true Constitutional reforms as advocated by the NCA during the 2000 referendum

+ He enacted AIPPA and closed down many newspapers including the Daily News, the country's most popular daily paper.

* He instigated the arrests of many media personalities and had numerous defamation case framed against them

* He led the unjust and brutal onslaught against the MDC and many pro-democracy NGOs

* He defended and sustained the ZBC monopoly. He even closed down Joy TV. It is a shame that Zim today has only one television channel

* He defended Zanu-PF terrible human rights record in many forums both at home and in international meetings

* He promoted cronysm and corruption at Zimpapers and ZBC by appointing inexperienced and under-qualified staff to big positions. The issue of Stephen Ndlovu at the Chronicle being one good case in point.

No person who really understands the seriousness of the crisis in Zim can even dare attempt to associate Moyo with democracy. Moyo is a failed opportunist. He is no doubt the worst political liability ever in Zim, after Mugabe.

The only logical reason for Tshuma's support for Moyo is that he is one of the beneficiaries of Moyo's politics of patronage and cronysm.

Tshuma's views about Moyo are so shameful that they are not worth even the cheap paper they might have been written on.
Daniel Molokele
Johannesburg

Editor - The article on prof Moyo is a misfit on this page I regard very highly. I am an Zimbo based in New Zealand for obvious reasons including Moyo. It is sad to imagine that they are normal Zimbabweans who even think Moyo is something to write about. As far as I am concrened Moyo is a sellout, selfish and an object for hire. I respect people of Matebeleland and I dont think Moyo is anything but a greedy person who thinks he can make it using whatever avenue is available. I pray that everybody will see this.
Mahowas

Editor - I am not a journalist, I am not a political activist, I am just a nurse but I have decided to say one or two words to our friend Admore Tshuma concerning the article he wrote and was published on your website on 26-02-2005.

Admore describes Moyo as being a hero because he brought development to Tsholotsho. My friend, what Moyo was doing is what I call nepotism and this is what has brought our country down -- lack of disciple and greediness. Ministers should develop the country not where they come from. That is corruption and is the same reason that Mashonaland is more developed that Matabeleland, because greedy people always think of themselves. They enrich their home areas using the tax payers' money. Moyo is your Hero, Admore, but to some of us he was practising nepotism, regionalism and tribalism. Because of greediness, ministers like Moyo give a blind eye to national problems. We cannot bless evil because it's now on our side. We cannot repeat the same mistakes made by our fellow comrades, we must all try to be just and distribute the tax payers' money equitably.
Waza Muhago

Editor - The man is a former reporter of a paper that upheld a regime which oppresses of Zimbabwei ncluding the folks in Matebeleland. His friend and former boss was a part the system and it was OK with him as long as he was being paid.

His friend and boss has fallen out of favour with those opressing Zimbabweans in general and he (and his ex boss and friend) comes with some flowery tribal accusations! How much will it take this man and all that think like him to realise that we have all cried foul for a long time and NOT on any tribal but on NATIONAL lines?

Mugabe and his cronnies, (the Prof included) have been opressing EVERYBODY IN ZIMBABWE Ndebeles in Tsholotsho INCLUDED. As long as we look at ourselves as tribes or other form of socially disadvantaged groups we will always suffer ladies and gentleman.

You are allowed to be friends with who you like but try and look at the Zimbabwean issue from a broad perspective. The devide and rule tactic that Moyo has lost just to get the power he needs in Matebeleland will not solve the problems of the Ndebeles and all those suffering in Zimbabwe. This is not the time to split our unity against ZANU to please a few opportunists, which is what Moyo is. Why did the ex-reporters' friend (Moyo) ever leave the pressure groups to join the evil regime? Kwaidyisa. Vamudhingura manje ave kuvhara mamwe Mandevere ake kuti arambe achidya. Mheno henyu vanhu va Matabeleland if you are so gullible..... We will give him a place at the Heroes Acre if you want. I just feel once a snake, always a snake. Kana iye Mugabe akatanga ari munhu akanaka wani? PAFUNGE mukoma Admore.
Alfred Marerwa

Editor - I dont understand this, does one have to be victimized by ZANU for him to be a hero? Before I knew it, there are praises for Jonathan Moyo because he was sacked from the ruling party.

I'm sure this is the man who made the Zimbabwe situation so unbearable and why would people want to sympathize with him? Is it because he is now the target of the harsh laws that he masterminded? That guy deserves it!
Denford
Canada

Editor - Jonathan Moyo has been part of the machinery that has brought misery to Zimbabwe. During his tenure, he introduced legislation that have completely muzzled the media. I hope he will now realise that his voice of frustration stemming from his expulsion from the Cabinet will face the muzzle of the very same legislation that he championed during his days as a Zanu PF hero. Good bye Jonathan Moyo. You should have known that it was just a matter of time. The same applies to your ex-colleagues who have bled my country to death and confined the majority of the people of Zimbabwe to generations of poverty and despair.
Weathered Marango

Editor - Your report entitled "Jonathan Moyo, my hero" is both stupid and unhelpful. Moyo should never be glorified and should be exposed for what he is: selfish and arrogant. Given a chance, he could be worse than Mugabe. Here is a man who still thinks Mugabe is the best thing that ever happened to Zimbabwe! Have we forgotten who was responsible for the enactment of the most draconian media laws in post colonial Zimbabwe? People should not be naive or blinded by what has become of him, he is still a satirist and propagandist. This could turn out to be one of his spins. Zimbabweans don't be quick to forgive and forget. As for your former Chronicle reporter, he is still singing his master's music, keep on singing.
MnhAntn

Editor - This is for Admore Tshuma : please do not mention Prof Moyo and democracy in the same sentence. Are you crazy? He is not a hero, he is responsible for lots of problems in Zimbabwe and he is a puppet for Uncle Bob. He is a thief and he must be punished for all the bad he has done. Many people died in Matabeleland but he still supped with the Zanu PF devils and wanted Mnangagwa - the 2nd biggest devil - to be Vice President. I am not going to say anymore!!!!
A.B.Moyo

Editor - I don't mean to offend Admore, but Prof Jonah Moyo has been exploited to an extent that has made more enemies than friends. He has absolutely nowhere to run except to his home area, but besides only standing for that paliamentary seat what is he going to do? In the diaspora I don't see anyone accepting him because of the comments he has been made to make. With all due respect to his academic level and quality of his work in ZANU PF, he hasn't learnt enough to realise that ZANU chiororo and this marks the beginning of the end of the professor.
Simba Bako
Australia

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