| The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British judge has
refused to issue a warrant for
the arrest and extradition of Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe on charges
of torture.
District Judge Timothy
Workman issued the ruling rejecting an application
for a warrant that had
been filed by human rights activist Peter Tatchell
under Britain's Criminal
Justice Act of 1988.
Tatchell was told that his application at London's
Bow Street Magistrates
Court could not succeed because under UK common law
Mugabe has absolute
immunity to prosecution as a head of
state.
Tatchell was trying to exploit international laws that led to the
arrest of
former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet when he visited London for
an
operation in 1998.
The move meant Mugabe could have been sent to
Britain from more than 100
countries with which Britain has an extradition
treaty.
These include Switzerland, France, Malaysia, Thailand and South
Africa --
all nations that Mugabe has visited in the last year.
Judge
Workman told the court: "I am satisfied that Robert Mugabe is
president and
head of state of Zimbabwe and is entitled whilst he is head of
state to that
immunity.
"He is not liable to any form of arrest or detention and I am
therefore
unable to issue the warrant that has been applied
for."
Tatchell, who was beaten by bodyguards as he tried to make a
citizen's
arrest on Mugabe in Belgium in 2001, told reporters afterwards he
was
considering an appeal.
"This judgment gives President Mugabe and
all other heads of state a free
hand to torture with impunity," he said.
JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
justice@telco.co.zw with "For Open Letter
Forum" in the subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prelude
text
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Letter
1:
OVERVIEW ON AFRICAFRICA
On reading AgricAfrica's 14-point paper
I summarize their targeted
activities and aims to be:
1. Challenge
the government of Zimbabwe over non-adherence to Investor
protection
agreements for Foreign Nationals (Points 5 and 6).
2. Relocate
Zimbabwean farmers to neighbouring countries (Points 7,8 and
9).
3.
Collect 4% of future gross payments that will be paid out to farmers in
the
fullness of time. This compensation relies on the fact that we have
"good
title" and that where good title has been tampered with in the past
(Uganda,
Mozambique, Tanzania, Eastern Europe, Kenya, Croatia, etc), title
holders
have always got their land back, or compensation for it, down the
line.
(Points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 11).
NB Points 10, 12, 13 and 14 deal with "the
mandate" and the information
they require to achieve the payments.
In
essence Agricafrica are wishing to use the work done in the past
regarding
the setting up of the valuators consortium (a JAG initiative) and
the loss
Document (also a JAG initiative) and use the databases for their
own
commercial gain.
The Agricafrica shareholders are all commercial men and
have stated
categorically that their interests are commercial. On reading
and
re-reading their document it is clear that:
a) Agricafrica is NOT
planning to challenge in the courts any of the
injustices relating to the
expropriation of farms belonging to Zimbabwean
citizens (as opposed to
foreign nationals protected by International
agreements).
b)
Agricafrica is NOT planning to assist in documenting and getting
compensation
for the vast area of "other losses" not included in "land
and
improvements".
c) Agricafrica is NOT interested in restitution
claims (through "other
losses") to rebuild the commercial agricultural sector
in Zimbabwe once
good title is recognised again.
d) Agricafrica is NOT
interested in bringing accountability to the
perpetrators of injustices that
have caused the losses in the first place.
e) Agricafrica is NOT
interested in targeting the vast ZANUPF business
machine that has grown so
wealthy on the back of the losses incurred
through dispossessing the
farmers.
f) Agricafrica wants to facilitate the relocating of the
agricultural
skills base in Zimbabwe to neighbouring states (for financial
gain to
themselves).
It must be noted that points (a) to (f) above are
factors that benefit the
regime (that has caused these losses) greatly. It
must also be noted that
if the figure of 3 billion pounds sterling for land
improvements is
considered reasonable, the shareholders of Agricafrica, on
their 4% would
get 120 million pounds sterling divided between them. Even if
only 10% of
the farmers signed up they would still get 12 million pounds
sterling and
11 shareholders would each be millionaires in pounds sterling.
It makes
John Lockwood look like a mere beginner.
THE
ALTERNATIVE
There are only 2 bodies documenting losses and putting
together the
databases for farmers to get compensation.
1. The Valuator's
Consortium set up in August 2002 through JAG to value
land and improvements.
The Valuator's Consortium, is putting the database
together at minimal cost,
but intends to take 3.15% on a successful payout
on land and
improvement.
2. The JAG Loss Document which was also set up in August 2002
to combine
land and improvements with "other losses" which will be, in many
instances
as big a claim (if not bigger) than land improvements. JAG, as a
farmer
lead body, will not be taking a cut of payouts due to farmers. JAG
is
committed to the best deal for the farmer and his workers and
primarily
wishes to see justice, accountability and the rebuilding of
agriculture in
the future in Zimbabwe.
We need farmers to stand with
JAG and not give their mandate to commercial
groups who are relying on others
to do the work for them, so that they can
get rich.
JAG needs support
from farmers and farming leaders to ensuring that farmers
are put first and
are not given a raw deal. JAG is there for you. Become
a member. Fill in
your Loss Document and get others to do likewise.
BEN
FREETH
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
New Zimbabwe
Chaos as Zimbabwe school term opens
By Special
Correspondent
14/01/04
CONFUSION reigned in Zimbabwe's secondary schools
as the new term opened
after parents reacted to the steep fees increases by
pulling their children
from expensive boarding schools and registered them
with township day
secondary schools, resulting in administrative difficulties
due to the high
intake.
Scores of Form One students enrolled at
various township schools in Harare
and Bulawayo were turned away as the new
term begun Tuesday. A snap survey
conducted by this website revealed an
average class in these schools had
over 50 students.
Day schools in
the capital Harare and the second largest city of Bulawayo
were overwhelmed
with students as parents reacted to the steep rise in
boarding fees this
year, in some cases topping 2000 percent.
Most township schools had
enrolled more students than they used to do
previously, however they could
not allow them to start lessons without
approval from the Ministry of
Education and the delay has become a bitter
pill for most
parents.
Weighed down by a failing economy, most parents said they could
no longer
afford boarding fees and transferred their children to local
schools which
are usually cheap.
At Ellis Robins High School in
Harare, all students who enrolled late and
students with poor grade seven
results could not be allowed to start lesson
with others.
"We reached
at this unfortunate move because the Ministry has not yet
responded to our
request to accommodate more students this year," a school
official told
newzimbabwe.com.
Elsewhere at Kuwadzana High 1, a list of students was
made and parents were
asked to check with the school authorities next week,
with the hope that the
Ministry would have responded.
In Mufakose and
Mbare there were places at number 3 and 4 High Schools and
at St Peters,
Mbare High and George Stark as these are regarded as the worst
schools in
schools in Harare.
According to statistics, the annual pass rate at these
schools is not so
pleasing and parents are shunning these schools. In the
same locations, at
Harare High and Mufakose Number One, school authorities
indicated that they
had enrolled extra students this year because of the
great demand for form
one places.
“We have about 70 students in each
class this year which makes it a very
difficult task for the teachers. The
form one stream has 10 classes and just
imagine how many teachers we will
need for these students to create an
equilibrium. There is need for us to
maintain the teacher morale at a high
level to avoid a fall in the results
and job actions. We have written to the
ministry and we hope they are going
to give us a good response”, an official
at Mufakose Secondary School
said.
“The economic climate prevailing now has caused all these problems.
Parents
who have traditionally been sending their students to boarding
schools have
been caught flat-footed this year," said an official from
Progressive
Teachers Association of Zimbabwe.
"Some parents quickly
secured places at good schools in town because they
could afford that money
at any given time. This has created problems for the
poor parents who had to
look for school fees elsewhere, because by the time
they got the money places
had been filled by the rich. We hope that the
education for all policy, is
going to be applied forcing all schools to
enrol extra students for form
one.”
Most parents we spoke to said the high rise of boarding fees has
created a
wide gap between the rich and the poor, such that the rich are now
dictating
the activities at schools where their children are
attending.
At a private school in Norton it is alleged the board of
trustees set down
and instructed the Principal of the school not to enrol
more than 20
students per class. The school was forced to do so because
parents felt that
there was need to maintain the high standards set for the
school.
"Whilst this is important for a private school, the ministry
should also
intervene to safe interests of other students who are finding
themselves at
home at a time when education is considered the best human
asset," said a
parent.
The Star
Jackboot on the other foot for crony of Mugabe's
January 14, 2004
By Basildon Peta
President Robert
Mugabe's henchmen are now getting a taste of their
own medicine. Mugabe's
wealthy relative, Philip Chiyangwa, was set to spend
his fifth night in
prison yesterday.
Chiyangwa, Zanu-PF chairperson of Mashonaland
West province, was
arrested over the weekend while Mugabe was out of the
country - and police
have defied a High Court order that he be
released.
Chiyangwa was arrested on Saturday after being implicated
in a
Z$61-billion (officially about R1-billion) fraud scandal. The
flamboyant
Chiyangwa, a black empowerment crusader, has now gone back to
court in a bid
to force the police to respect the High Court
order.
But magistrate Sukai Tongogara ordered that he be remanded
in custody
until today while she considers the application. Previously, the
police have
defied court orders only in favour of Mugabe's
enemies.
Chiyangwa had initially been summoned to court - without
being
arrested - to answer questions that he tried to obstruct
police
investigations over the biggest fraud case ever in
Zimbabwe.
But in the typical style of Mugabe's henchmen, he reduced
the court to
a circus and threatened the policeman who had raised the
allegations. He
openly boasted that his party was running the country and
that as one of its
top officials, he could do what he wanted. He refused to
withdraw the
remarks after being ordered by the magistrate. This embarrassed
Acting
President Joseph Msika, who warned that he would not tolerate
corrupt
politicians.
Chiyangwa was arrested, and his jail
experience seems to have humbled
him. In court appearances he was a shadow of
his former self, and faces a
plethora of charges ranging from contempt of
court to his involvement in the
scandal, which has led to the closure of two
financial institutions in
Zimbabwe.
nA day after a Zimbabwean
editor and two reporters were released from
jail, they were threatened by the
government again - for alleged racism.
A letter from Tafataona
Mahoso, the head of the Zimbabwe media
commission, accused the privately
owned Zimbabwe Independent of racism after
the newspaper published a prior
letter saying Zimbabweans were "as docile as
a herd of wild
beasts".
The letter, apparently signed by a black Zimbabwean, said
Zimbabweans
were "a stupid lot" and complained about the failure to stand up
to
repression. Zimbabwe Independent editor Iden Wetherell said: "We do
not
accept his view that writers are necessarily being racist when they
say
Zimbabweans are docile in standing up to tyranny." - Independent
Foreign
Service
New Zimbabwe
Mugabe ally charged with perjury, 18 cars
recovered
By Staff Reporter
14/01/04
ZIMBABWE police investigating
the country’s biggest financial scandal ever
have recovered a staggering 18
luxury cars from properties of businessman
and legislator Phillip Chiyangwa
as it emerged that he was being charged
with perjury for lying in
court.
The flamboyant MP and advocate for black empowerment was arrested
last
Saturday and was still in police custody Wednesday morning after
being
implicated in a fraud case involving the theft of US$66 million
investor
funds from an asset management firm.
Before the court brought
the latest charge of perjury, Chiyangwa was already
charged with threatening
a police officer and attempting to pervert the
course of justice by hiding
evidence. He was initially set to be released on
Sunday following a court
order, but the police swiftly moved in and inserted
the latest
charge.
Watched by his friends and fellow MP Saviour Kasukuwere in the
public
gallery, a disfigured Chiyangwa, clad in prison garb was brought to
court
Tuesday afternoon where his defence lawyers pleaded with a magistrate
for
his release. But state prosecutors said they were strongly opposed to
any
bail. A ruling was due to be made later on Wednesday.
Chiyangwa
first made a theatrical court appearance on Wednesday last week
where he
threatened to “deal” with an investigating officer, called the
prosecutor a
“young man” and ordered him to “stop asking irrelevant
questions”. He further
claimed to be able to pay back all the missing
billions.
He had been
summoned to court to explain his dealings with the collapsed ENG
Capital
Asset Management firm, whose two directors are accused of plundering
over
US$66 of investor funds and diverting over 20 luxury cars to their
own
use.
A whistle blower who brought the scandal to light told the
court that
Chiyangwa was a 40 percent shareholder in the firm. But he
insisted that his
only interest in the matter was to help the ENG directors
in his capacity as
a “black empowerment guru”. He further stated that he only
had TWO cars from
ENG.
It is now clear the court doesn’t believe
Chiyangwa’s explanation which has
resulted in him being charged with perjury.
Prosecutor Stephen Musona shot
down suggestions by defence lawyer, Advocate
Happias Zhou that Chiyangwa was
being sacrificed by senior Zanu PF officials
trying to sideline him in the
succession dogfight to replace President
Mugabe.
”Mr Chiyangwa should have known that by lying to the court, he
would be
arrested,” said Musona. “The State has reasonable conviction that
if
released, the accused will interfere with police investigations. This
has
been shown by continuing with this offence of defeating or obstructing
the
course of justice.”
When the magistrate sought the opinion of the
prosecutor on how long he
thought Chiyangwa should be held, Musona said:
“Until the police have
finished their investigations, and that would take up
to a month.”
The Herald
Warrant of arrest issued against Sikhala
Herald
Reporter
A warrant of arrest has been issued against MDC Member of Parliament
for St
Mary’s Mr Job Sikhala, who was fined $25 000 for assaulting a
policeman but
sneaked out of court without paying the fine.
Magistrate
Ms Chipo Chikowore last week fined Sikhala $25 000 or
alternatively 15 days
in prison for assaulting the policeman who was inside
his work
station.
A court official yesterday said they were left with no option
but to issue a
warrant of arrest after discovering the legislator had gone
without paying
the fine or serving the alternative sentence.
"Every
person convicted and sentenced can only be freed after successfully
applying
for bail pending appeal.
"What Sikhala did was not procedural and we,
therefore, issued a warrant of
arrest," said the court
official.
Sikhala’s court record reflects that he was not given time to
pay and he
was, therefore, supposed to pay the fine soon after the magistrate
passed
sentence or start serving the jail term.
"We issued the warrant
of arrest after noting that Sikhala had not paid the
fine but he went home,"
the official said.
Sikhala assaulted Constable Munyaradzi Matiza in a bid
to force him release
his younger brother Harry who had been arrested for
assaulting a motorist
and causing extensive damage to his vehicle.
Ms
Chikowore reminded him that it is important for him in his capacity as
a
legislator to display exemplary behaviour to earn respect from
society.
She said: "The court reminds you that you need not be feared but
respected.
Gudo guru peta muswe kuti vadiki vakutye (A person of your stature
should
behave in an exemplary manner to gain respect).
His departure
without paying a fine also reflected badly on the Zimbabwe
Prison Service who
were expected to detain him until the fine was paid and
order of liberty
produced.
ZWNEWS
Seeking rapprochement
"It is shocking that any
right-thinking citizen can have the nerve to
destroy the
currency"
Comment
By Michael Hartnack
Even rudimentary societies had some form of agreed currency, but in
Zimbabwe
the anarchic regime of Robert Mugabe has succeeded in destroying
even that.
The value of the currency has crashed by 100,000 percent since
independence
in 1980 and now, following the collapse of commercial
agriculture, a clutch
of banks are in crisis. Mugabe and the new Reserve
Bank governor, Gideon
Gono, appears to have chosen this moment to try to
pave the way for new
negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank. Their
chances appear non-existent without a return to the
rule of law and other
drastic reforms.
A small find last week by police in Bulawayo
reflected the country’s
entire economic crisis: several thousand 500 dollar
notes lying shredded on
a rubbish tip. Until recently Z$500 was the largest
denomination. Now you
need two to buy the cheapest roll of sweets. A police
spokesman described
the note shredding as "economic sabotage", and added with
unconscious
humour: "It is shocking that any right-thinking citizen can have
the nerve
to destroy the currency." Similarly, information minister Jonathan
Moyo was
furious about the banking crisis: his anger was not directed at the
banks,
however, but at the correspondents who reported the established facts
to
British and South African newspapers. "These are the hallucinations of
a
wishful thinker who has gone crazy," declared Moyo. For more than 11
days
the six banks were excluded from the daily inter-bank clearance of
cheques.
Lack of liquid cash left them unable to pay the difference between
cheques
in favour of their customers coming from other banks, and cheques
passed by
their customers to remit money into accounts with other
banks.
Professor Tony Hawkins, a leading consultant, said this
crisis
threatened to create a gridlock of frozen funds and unpaid inter-bank
debts,
which could obstruct circulation of money within the already
troubled
domestic economy. Stores gave cashiers black lists of banks whose
cheques
were not acceptable. Economist John Robertson said it was a crisis
that had
long been brewing as inflation soared beyond 600 percent (on
conservative
official figures) while the regime kept interest rates down to a
fifth of
that, to help it pay off local debt of Z$600 billion. Mugabe has
defaulted
on external debts of US$3,5 billion, saying, "The IMF can go to
hell." But
sources in Harare believe Governor Gono, until recently himself a
prominent
banker, has Mugabe's support in policies aimed at finding a
rapprochement
with these bodies Mugabe so recently dismissed.
A
sudden blitz on cross border traders, who come to Zimbabwe to buy
relatively
cheap goods, and on black market foreign currency dealers, led to
a temporary
fall in the parallel rate to Z$4500 for US$1. Police began
stopping
travellers and seizing their foreign currency, quite illegally.
Private
sector interest rates were temporarily allowed to shoot up.
Investment houses
that had used borrowed money to buy property, consumer
goods, cars, and
foreign currency suddenly found themselves unable to
service their debts or
market these "hedge" assets. There was, as Hawkins
put it, a "flight to
quality". Overnight, one recently launched bank lost 30
percent of its
deposits. Standard Bank, not one of the banks with liquidity
problems,
reported a 70 percent increase in balances as nervous depositors
rushed to
its doors.
The IMF last year instituted moves for Zimbabwe's formal
expulsion in
view of the duration and magnitude of its default on debt
servicing.
International donors withdrew budget support in 1999 when they
discovered
Mugabe was secretly spending as-yet untold billions on a military
adventure
in the Congo. Now Mugabe’s plan - supported by South Africa’s Thabo
Mbeki -
is to get debt restructuring in place, as if the four-year nightmare
of farm
seizures, the invasion of urban businesses, the collapse of
commercial
agriculture, of tourism, mining and manufacturing were all a bad
dream.
Robertson said the first thing the IMF would want was restoration of
the
rule of law, property rights, a judiciary free of political interference
by
the ruling party, an end to terror by state-funded youth
militia.
In other words, an end to anarchy. Last week a mob of 40
militia led
by a woman, who said they were acting on the orders of security
police
moguls, attacked the homes of suspected opposition supporters in the
Shamva
area, 70 km north east of Harare. Alexander Chizeda, 49, was beaten to
death
with iron bars and his wife critically injured. Police told the family
to
bury the body as no autopsy would be held, said Henry Chimbiri,
spokesman
for the MDC. In other words, it will be impossible to press charges
of
murder.
Meanwhile the regime issued a furious denial that
agriculture minister
Joseph Made had been embroiled in attempts to seize once
more a confiscated
commercial farm at Odzi, near Mutare, whose new black
owner Made said was in
partnership with the white former owner, producing
export crops. "The
government will not be duped by Uncle Toms that make
themselves willing
tools of former Rhodies who are hopelessly trying to hold
on to the land."
Made’s office said in a statement. The farm is owned by a
company, and Made
is trying to repossess it via the parastatal Agricultural
and Rural
Development Authority. The black employees on the farm, fearful for
their
well-paid jobs, are violently resisting the ARDA
newcomers.
Police on Friday spurned the fourth consecutive court
order to stop
obstructing the publication of Zimbabwe’s only independent
daily newspaper,
The Daily News, illegally kept off the streets since
September 12. The
following day police detained Iden Wetherell, editor of the
weekly
Independent, and two of his staff, for reporting that Mugabe
had
commandeered an Air Zimbabwe wide-bodied jet to go on holiday to South
East
Asia. In this and much else, such apparatus of the state as survives
is
being used by Mugabe and his ruling elite simply as an instrument
for
suppressing any challenge.
SABC
Two more arrested over Mugabe 'plane grab' report
January 14,
2004, 04:38 PM
The publisher and a reporter of the Zimbabwe Independent
were arrested today
following the newspaper's report last week, that
President Robert Mugabe had
"commandeered" an aircraft of the national
airline to take him on holiday.
Iden Wetherell, the newspaper's editor,
said police arrested Raphael
Khumalo, the publisher, and reporter Itai
Dzamera.
Wetherell and two reporters were released yesterday on bail of
$Zim20 000
after spending the weekend in police cells on allegations that
they had
"criminally defamed" Mugabe in the story.
Wetherell said the two
were asked by the police yesterday to come for
questioning at Harare central
police station about the report. "They went
down to central police station at
about 10 am. They knew what they were in
for. I think it's a case of police
tidying up the case (following his
arrest)."
Dzamera was one of the
two authors of the report. Dumisani Muleya, the
other, was arrested with
Wetherell and released also yesterday. - Sapa
IOL
Mugabe vows tough response to corruption
January 14 2004
at 12:27PM
By Reuters
Harare - Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe has promised the government will
deal firmly with
corrupt financial institutions involved in an upsurge of
fraud, the official
Herald newspaper said on Wednesday.
"We will not allow lawbreakers and
corrupt characters to get away with their
illegal activities. We will deal
with them," the paper quoted Mugabe as
saying after donating computers to a
school in the central town of Kadoma.
Zimbabwe is mired in an economic
crisis widely blamed on mismanagement by
Mugabe's government. Analysts say he
may crack down on corruption, within
his Zanu-PF party and elsewhere, to
boost Zanu-PF's chances in a
parliamentary election next year.
A
Harare magistrate was due to rule on Wednesday on a bail application by
a
businessman and senior Zanu-PF member arrested on Saturday on charges
of
interfering with a major fraud probe. Laywers for Philip Chiyangwa,
a
Zanu-PF legislator and provincial chairperson, said his arrest had
been
engineered by political opponents amid feuding over who should
succeed
Mugabe if he stands down as party leader.
Local media have
over the past year reported splits within Zanu-PF as debate
intensifies over
a successor for Mugabe, who turns 80 in February and has
hinted he could be
ready to retire.
Police suspect Chiyangwa of withholding vehicles key to
investigations into
allegations that two directors of the asset management
firm ENG Capital
cheated investors of billions of dollars.
State
prosecutors say the directors used the money to source foreign
currency from
the black market to import personal vehicles. Chiyangwa has
denied any
wrongdoing.
Authorities have accused financial institutions of driving a
black market
where American dollars fetch up to five times the official rate
against the
local dollar. The central bank has warned of a crackdown on
speculative
trade in the sector.
"Right now there are companies which
handle people's money, but they sell
the people's money to buy US dollars,
pounds and rands which they sell at
high prices. This is what caused the
shortage of money and prices to go up.
It was the work of thieves," the
Herald quoted Mugabe as saying.
Chiyangwa, a champion of the government's
black economic empowerment drive,
says he intervened in the ENG matter merely
to ensure a political and legal
settlement that did not harm the
programme.
Mugabe denies his government has brought a thriving economy to
its knees,
arguing it has been sabotaged by local and Western opponents of
his seizure
of white-owned farms for redistribution among landless
blacks.
Zimbabwe: Protecting Aid From Politics
UN Integrated Regional
Information Networks
January 14, 2004
Posted to the web January 14,
2004
Johannesburg
Protecting the neutrality of aid deliveries in
Zimbabwe depends on fostering
better communication and working relationships
between NGOs, government and
beneficiaries, says a new report.
The
report, "Neutrality in Humanitarian Assistance: A Case Study from
Zimbabwe",
released by the Overseas Development Institute, argues that "more
needs to be
done to publicly disseminate the principles that inform
emergency
programmes".
This would avoid the kind of conflict around aid programmes
that has been
witnessed in Zimbabwe.
When drought hit Zimbabwe in
1992-93, "appeals for international assistance
raised generous amounts of
support. At the same time, the positive relations
that the government enjoyed
with the international community meant that much
of the aid was channelled
directly through line ministries such as health,
social welfare and
agriculture", the report found.
However, a decade later the appeals for
assistance for the current
humanitarian crisis are largely underfunded, and
relations between
government and the international community are
strained.
This has had a negative impact on the international agencies
and NGOs
attempting to provide relief aid in the country.
In September
2002 the government temporarily suspended Save the Children-UK
(SC-UK)
operations in Zimbabwe, including a food aid intervention that
benefited
125,000 people. This was at the height of the food crisis, and
"the process
of registering internationally respected humanitarian agencies
was beset with
difficulties and delays, for reasons which were often
unclear", the report
observed.
While SC-UK has since resumed operations, and a number of
agencies have
subsequently been registered with the government, the
experience raised
various issues around the neutrality of
aid.
"Agencies' protestations of neutrality, specifically that aid will
not be
used to further a particular political or religious standpoint, have
at
times been met with considerable suspicion. The authorities have
expressed
concern that, for some agencies, the primary motive for assisting
people in
Zimbabwe has less to do with humanitarianism, and more to do with
the
foreign policy objectives of the governments with whom Zimbabwe
has
conducted a war of words over several years," the report
commented.
"One of the reasons for this is the fact that the aid effort
in the current
emergency is much more evidently an 'external' intervention
... [as] much of
the aid has been donated by those same countries that have
been most
vociferous in criticising Zimbabwe's political situation," the
report added.
Another problem has been that much of the aid is
distributed by agency
personnel who were previously involved in development
activities at the same
locations.
"These individuals, and their
politics, are well-known within communities.
Agencies, including Save the
Children (UK), have stipulated in contracts
with national staff that
political views should never be expressed at
emergency food distributions.
Nevertheless, the very presence of such
personnel has, in the eyes of some,
undermined the claims to neutrality made
by the organisations that employ
them," the report noted.
MUCH MORE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH
GOVT
SC-UK Zimbabwe programme director Chris McIvor told IRIN that "we
enjoy a
much more positive working relationship with government now [than in
2002]".
The NGO has prioritised information sharing and transparency
regarding its
operations in Zimbabwe to foster this relationship.
"We
have made very strong attempts to keep them [the government] informed
about
what we do, and our principles. We have given a standing invitation
to
authorities to come and inspect and verify what we are doing,"
McIvor
explained.
He added that "transparency and information sharing
is extremely important
to minimise any suspicions that might arise and ... we
have tried, to the
best of all of our collective abilities, to ensure the
working relationship
remains good between NGOs and government".
"At
the end of the day, it's the beneficiaries who are the first to suffer
if
that relationship breaks down," said McIvor.
More also needed to be done
about informing beneficiary communities of the
standards and principles that
guide decisions about who qualifies for food
aid and who does
not.
"Organisations generally see accountability in terms of
accountability to
donors, government or head offices. We're much less strong
on the issue of
accountability to the people we are supposed to be helping.
In emergencies
the pressure to deliver aid is such that informing communities
often gets
sidelined, partly because there's a rush to get aid in," McIvor
said.
While communities may be informed about ration rates and the place,
time and
frequency of distributions, the principles and "standards that
agencies
should uphold in their operations are rarely
discussed".
"Unless communities themselves begin to press for these
standards to be
realised, including the prohibition on furthering a political
or religious
position through aid deliveries, too much depends on the
goodwill of
implementing agencies to enforce them. Feedback structures at
local level
are needed, so that people who believe that a standard has been
infringed
have a clear, transparent and independent mechanism of registering
their
complaints," the report recommended.
Unlawful suppression of independent media
Amnesty
International
PRESS RELEASE
January 13, 2004
Posted to the web
January 14, 2004
Amnesty International is calling on the Zimbabwean
authorities to uphold the
rule of law and restore the fundamental right of
Zimbabweans to freely
express themselves. The call comes as the Zimbabwe
police continue to ignore
a High Court order directing them to vacate the
premises of independent
newspaper, the Daily News.
"The failure of the
police to uphold court orders undermines the legitimacy
and authority of the
courts and the rule of law in Zimbabwe", Amnesty
International
said.
The Daily News has been closed since September 2003 when the
Supreme Court
ruled that the newspaper was publishing illegally because it
had not
registered with the state-controlled Media Information Commission
(MIC), a
requirement of the 2002 Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act
(AIPPA). The police took up occupation of the Daily News offices
on 19
December 2003, just hours after an Administrative Court ruled that
the
newspaper should be allowed to resume publication. On Friday 9 January
2004
the High Court ordered the police to vacate the premises.
Amnesty
International has repeatedly expressed serious concern about the use
of
national legislation to suppress freedom of expression and silence
dissent in
Zimbabwe. Many of the provisions of newly enacted legislation
such as the
AIPPA directly contravene Zimbabwe's national Constitution and
international
human rights standards. In recent months the Zimbabwe
authorities have
stepped up attacks against independent media outlets and
journalists.
Police Defy Order to Vacate Banned Newspapers Premises
Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek)
PRESS RELEASE
January 14,
2004
Posted to the web January 14, 2004
The police have defied a
High Court order, passed on January 9 2004,
ordering them to vacate premises
of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe
(ANZ), publishers of the banned The
Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday.
Despite being served with the
order, police ignored it and stayed put at the
premises, preventing
journalists from accessing the newsroom. Samuel Sipepa
Nkomo the ANZ chief
executive officer said that the police did not comply
with the
order.
"We had a lengthy meeting with them and served them with the order
but they
said they had not received instructions from their superiors," said
Nkomo.
The government argues that there is nothing in the order granting
the ANZ
the right to resume publishing. The government has appealed to the
Supreme
Court to have the paper remain closed. Gugulethu Moyo, the legal
adviser for
ANZ said they would oppose the latest appeal by government. She
told
MISA-Zimbabwe that they would sue the police for contempt of court
for
refusing to leave their premises.
BACKGROUND
On January 9
2004, High Court Judge Tendai Uchena made a ruling that that
the police
vacate the premises of the ANZ. The order further states that
police refrain
from interfering with the normal business activities of the
applicant and its
employees. The ANZ had applied for an order to be allowed
access to its
offices and printing press following the illegal closure of
the ANZ
premises.
The police however remained at the ANZ premises even after the
judgement on
January 9. The latest judgement follows another one delivered on
December
19, 2003, by Judge Selo Nare of the Administrative Court granting
that the
ANZ resume publishing. The police ignored this as well.
Schools Probed Over Increases of Fees
The Herald
(Harare)
January 14, 2004
Posted to the web January 14,
2004
Harare
GOVERNMENT yesterday deployed education officers to
schools throughout the
country to investigate the unauthorised increases of
school fees amid
reports that some parents were withdrawing their children
from elite schools
because of the exorbitant fees.
In an interview,
the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Cde Aeneas
Chigwedere said the
officers were deployed throughout the country to monitor
schools that are
forcing parents to pay the exorbitant school fees without
Government
approval.
Schools opened for the first term yesterday.
"As I speak
now, officers from my ministry are already in the field and
monitoring the
situation. If we prove that there are schools, which have
raised the fees
without our approval, they are going to be prosecuted,"
he
said.
Already, some schools have sent invoices of the new school
fees structures
to parents without Government approval.
"The elite
schools, which are the former group A schools are giving us a
problem. We
have already turned down proposals from a number of them but we
hear that
some of them have defied our order.
"We are investigating such schools
and if they have a case to answer the law
will take its course. We are going
to take them to the courts," he said.
Cde Chigwedere said they had
advised schools who were still waiting for a
decision on their proposals to
charge last term's fees.
"We have notified those schools where a decision
has not yet been reached on
their proposals to use last term's fee structure.
What it means is that when
their proposals are approved, they would then
debit the balance to the
parents," he said.
Irate parents yesterday
complained that their children had been dismissed
from school for not paying
the new fees, which they suspected, were not
approved by
Government.
Some parents of children attending an elite school in
Bulawayo said they had
been sent invoices of about $3 million to pay as
fees.
"They turned my child away even after I pleaded with the school
authorities
that I had $1 million with me and I needed time to raise the
difference.
They demanded that I pay them all the money due to them for my
child to
attend class," said one of the parents.
Officials at the
school refused to comment on the matter referring all
questions to the
ministry.
It could not be established by yesterday whether the schools,
which include
the elite and Government run schools had their proposals
approved.
Cde Chigwedere said it was too early for them to have
information on the
particular schools, which had defied the Government
decision.
"If you give us time, we will be able to give you all the
information you
are seeking. As it is, information is being collected
throughout the country
at district level on the errant schools," he
said.
In the wake of the unauthorised school fee increases, some parents
yesterday
said they had already withdrawn their children from the expensive
schools
citing inability to manage the payment of the new fees
demanded.
"I have since transferred my child to a boarding school where I
think I can
manage to pay the fees. They were now demanding that I pay about
$2 million,
while at this other boarding school I am required to pay only
about $600
000," said another parent in the city.
Some parents have
also withdrawn their children from boarding schools and
placed them at day
schools. Government day schools have increased their fees
to around $50 000 a
term.
Late last year, some schools announced shocking fees of up to $4
million for
this year. Before a school increases fees, it has to draft a
budget proposal
that has to be presented to parents for approval at a general
meeting.
After being endorsed by parents, it would then be forwarded to
the
provincial education office and the Secretary Education for
approval.
In the past, the ministry has alleged that some schools cheated
parents to
blindly agree to the proposals.
ZIMBABWE: Cholera crisis not yet over
JOHANNESBURG, 14 Jan 2004 (IRIN) - Save
the Children-UK (SC-UK) has warned
that although a cholera outbreak in
Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley appears to
have abated, the rainy season could lead
to a resurgence of the disease
nationwide.
"One of the main lessons
that we learnt from the cholera outbreak in
November and December, that
affected about 900 people and left nearly 40
dead, was that we were all
unprepared. If cholera was to appear in another
part of the country tomorrow,
I am not sure that collectively we would be
able to respond as effectively
and promptly as we should," SC-UK country
programme director, Chris McIvor,
said in a statement.
SC-UK, which runs humanitarian programmes in the
Zambezi Valley, said
assessments carried out in the area indicated that
poverty and very low
water and sanitation coverage were major contributing
factors, especially in
the worst-affected wards of Mola and
Marembera.
Research suggests there are only 11 latrines for a population
of 10,000
people, which translates roughly into 1,000 people per toilet. In
both wards
the availability of clean water and access to it was also
critical, with
many wells having collapsed years ago and the only two
boreholes providing
water unable to meet the needs of the
communities.
"We have had diarrhoea and dysentery before, but not
cholera. We knew it
could happen because there are no toilets here – people
use the bush as a
toilet," the SC-UK statement quoted Misheck Madoro of
Marembera village in
Nyaminyami as saying. "We have a serious water problem.
People get their
water from springs, hand-dug wells or rivers – there are
very few
boreholes."
As a result of the rainy season, the concern is
that more cholera cases will
emerge.
"It is clear that the overall
downward trend in delivery of public health
services, coupled with a lack of
sanitation and poor coverage of safe
potable water in some rural areas,
contributes to a risk that cholera will
occur again," said McIvor. "We are
also worried that people in these
communities are very mobile, and there is a
high risk that cholera can
spread from one ward to another."
The UK's
Department for International Development has provided SC-UK with
extra
funding for its programme supporting cholera-affected people and local
health
structures. It will enable SC-UK to maintain a stock of emergency
cholera
supplies to help deal with further cholera outbreaks, as well as
provide
training and support to local NGOs and government departments in
cholera
prevention and control.
ZSE Suspends Trust, FML And Century
The Herald
(Harare)
January 14, 2004
Posted to the web January 14,
2004
Harare
LIQUIDITY-stricken companies First Mutual Limited,
Trust Holdings Limited
and Century Holdings Limited were yesterday suspended
from the Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange.
The three companies will only resume
operations once they have issued
cautionary statements to their investors
regarding their involvement in the
ENG Capital saga that has rocked the
financial sector in recent weeks.
The companies were exposed to the
collapsed ENG which has led to the arrest
of ENG Capital directors Nyasha
Watyoka and Gilbert Muponda, who are alleged
to have embezzled over $61
billion of investors' funds.
Although the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange chief
executive Mr Emmanuel Munyukwi
could not be reached for comment yesterday,
officials confirmed the
suspension.
"The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
suspended trading of shares from the three
companies in a bid to protect
shareholders interests," said an official.
Trust Holdings Limited
confirmed that they had been suspended from trading
on the local bourse
pending the issuance by the group of a cautionary
statement clarifying recent
media reports as well as developments regarding
the liquidity situation and
its impact on the overall performance of the
group.
In a statement,
Trust spokesman Mr Sure Chimbga said the ZSE had requested
Trust Bank to
inform the public the effect on performance of the recent
liquidity crisis,
high interest paid to depositors, the disposal of non-core
assets, and also
to clarify recent changes to the management of the bank.
"The board will
shortly be issuing the cautionary statement in compliance
with the ZSE
request and is confident that the temporary suspension will
be
lifted.
"This suspension is in line with ZSE listing requirements,
particularly
given the volatility of the market on the back of speculative
behaviour on
the Trust counter," said Mr Chimbga.
FML spokesperson Ms
Ruth Ncube said the company's suspension was meant to
"avoid distortion" in
the trade of its shares.
"Trading in the FML shares has been suspended
indefinitely. This was done so
as to avoid distortions in the pricing of the
company's shares," Ms Ncube
said.
The latest development came barely a
few hours after three top FML company
executives were picked up by police for
questioning in connection with the
$5 billion they received as soft loan
after FML had invested in ENG.
Both Century Holdings chief executive Mr
Gary Shoko and public relations
manager Miss Farayi Mangwende could not be
reached for comment at the time
of going to press last night.
However,
Century Holdings has also been battling to clear its name following
the
cancellation of Century Discount House's operating licence.
The discount
house had ceased to be under the group after it had been
acquired by ENG but
had continued to operate under the name and premises of
Century so as to
retain traditional clients.
The development is historic in the sense that
it is one of the rare
occasions when three companies have been suspended from
trading on the local
bourse on a single day.
Analysts said more
suspensions were likely to follow in view of the fact
that several other
companies were also exposed to ENG.
"It is only a matter of time before
other companies are caught up in the
liquidity crisis in view of their
exposure to ENG Capital," said an analyst
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE LEGAL COMMUNIQUE - January 12, 2004
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONLINE
AUCTION OF ORIGINAL LARRY NORTON PAINTING
FUNDS IN AID OF JUSTICE FOR
AGRICULTURE
LARRY NORTON ORIGINAL
Title: "Good and Bad in a Dark
Place"
Size: 18 x 24 inches
Medium: Oils on Canvas - Unframed
Painted
by: Larry Norton
Date: 2003
See attached image "Good and Bad in a Dark
Place.jpg"
(For larger version of image plus Biography.doc, please write
to
justice@telco.co.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
- message size is 450
KB)
The title of this painting and the image
relate to the current situation in
Zimbabwe where men and woman fight an
unequal battle against extraordinary
tyranny.
This painting is offered
by an anonymous donor to raise much needed
operational funding for JAG
(Justice for Agriculture). JAG's work on behalf
of farmers and farm workers
has been incredible, it has been carried out
under extremely difficult
circumstances and against all odds.
Silent Auction
The painting
will be offered on silent auction up until the 31st of January
2004, bids may
be registered with JAG's office (justice@telco.co.zw or
(justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw).
The current highest bid will be on view
on the JAG email nightly. The
current highest bid is US$2,000.00 - two
thousand US dollars.
The
painting can be delivered worldwide. It will be unframed.
Please could
JAG membership recipients of JAG emails and all those
sympathetic to
Zimbabwe's plight forward this mail worldwide via their
mailing lists;
especially important to target collectors of African art.
About the
Artist
Larry recently completed a highly successful one man exhibition in
London
(Norton's African Safari). His painting "The Great Migration" was sold
at
this exhibition for £25,000.00 (Twenty Five thousand pounds). It is
hoped
that this silent auction will provide the purchaser with a
unique
opportunity to obtain a valuable painting by a leading
internationally
recognized artist, whilst at the same time assisting an
organization
dedicated to Zimbabwe's future.
go to www.larrynortonart.com
LARRY
NORTON - Biography
Born in Zimbabwe in 1963, Larry Norton grew up on a
game farm in north-east
Zimbabwe. He started drawing as a boy and in 1988
began a professional
career. Since then he has exhibited around the world
including several
successful exhibitions in New York and London.
Larry
Norton works in oils, water colour, charcoal and pencil and
specializes in
African subjects, including wildlife, landscape and people
of the
continent.
1963 Born in Harare, Zimbabwe; 1983 - 1986 Bachelor of Applied
Science
(Queensland, Australia); 1987 White water rafting guide, Zambezi
River;
1988 - 1989 U.K. and U.S.A. art travels. Studied under renowned
wildlife
artist Simon Combes for five months 1990; Built art studio - Dahwye
Farm,
Mvurwi, Zimbabwe.
Until recently, Larry Norton worked from his
home and studio built in the
Dahwye game park, in Zimbabwe. He is currently
based in the Cape region of
South Africa. He travels extensively on field
trips all over the world to
gather material for future
paintings.
EXHIBITIONS
1988 Game Conservation International (
San Antonio, Texas)
1989 Society of Animal Artists - won the Society's
highest award, the
Catasus medal (Boston Museum of Science,
Massachusetts)
1990 One Man Show - King Gallery, New York
1990,1994,1997
Society of Animal Artists
1998 Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum of Art (Society of
Animal Artists)
Safari Club International - won SCI inaugural art
show
1991 One Man Show - Richard Rennie Gallery, Harare
1992 Prestige
Gallery, Canada
1993 One Man Show - John Boyne House, Harare
1994 "Spring
Exhibition" Burlington Paintings, London
One Man Show - King Gallery, New
York
1995 "Natural History Paintings and Sculptures" Everard Read
Gallery
Johannesburg.
1996 Work selected for African Exhibition" Jackson
Hole Museum of
Wildlife Art.
1998 One Man Show - Burlington Paintings,
London - "African Epic"
1999 One Man Show - Burlington Paintings, London
-"Cats of Africa & Asia"
2002 Friends of The Rainforest Exhibition - Air
Gallery, London
2003 One Man Show - scheduled at Burlington Paintings London
-
"Cape to (Oct) Cairo" - featuring paintings from across the
continent.
AWARDS
1989 Catasus Medal - Society of Animal
Artists
Art Activities Press Print Award - Society of Animal
Artists
MAGAZINES
The artist has been featured in magazines
such as Wildlife Art (U.S.A.)
Getaway (South Africa)
Sporting Classics (U.S.A)
Horse and Hound
(U.K.)
BOOKS
1991 "Zambezi - River of the Gods" by Jan &
Fiona Teede, published by
Andre Deutsch, London
1992 "African Wildlife in
Art - Master Painters of the Wilderness"
Ed. D. Tomlinson, published by Clive
Holloway Books, London (one
illustration)
1993 "Hunting in Zimbabwe"
(Vol2) by T. Sanchez-Arino, published by
Safari Press, California.
1994
"Elephants" by Clive Spinage, published by T & A D Poyser Ltd,
London.
1995 "African Thunder - The Victoria Falls" by Jan & Fiona
Teede
published by Acorn Books, Johannesburg.
1996 "The Secret River" by
Laurens van der Post published by
Barefoot Books, London
1997 "Months of
the Sun" by Ian Nyschens, published by Safari
Press,
California
EXPEDITIONS
The artist is a Fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society, and has
undertaken a number of his own
expeditions in pursuit of material for his
paintings.
1989 Hwange Hike
(crossing Hwange National Park, approx 200km)
1990 Sengwa/Chirisa/Chizarira
Hike (approx 200km)
1991 Gona-Re-Zhou Hike (approx 180km)
1991,1992 Trans
Africa Flight - Led by Tom Claytor in Cessna 180, together,
pilot and artist
traversed 18 African countries over one year.
1995 Zambezi River Expedition 1
- Source to mouth. During this 3 month
long expedition, the course of the
river was followed from source to
mouth, on foot, by motorized inflatable, by
kayak and canoe, speedboat and
aeroplane.
1996 Zambezi River Expedition 11
- Following the Zambezi River through
Zimbabwe and Mozambique and on to the
unique coastal island of
Bazaruto, the team explored this region with the use
of a World War 11
Catalina Flying Boat and Russian M18
helicopter.
Rafting, canoeing, abseiling and scuba diving provided unique
perspectives.
1997 Matusadona Hike (approx 200kms)
1998 Nepal Expedition -
2 weeks walking in Western Himalayas in search
of the Snow Leopard (Shey
Phoksundo National Park)
2 weeks in Karnali National Park in search of
Tiger
2000 Mara/Amboseli (Kenya) - field trip
2001 Egypt field
trip.
2002 Mozambique field trip.
2003 Scheduled field trip to Tanzania
(Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater)
FILMS
1995 Zambezi River
Journey" National Geographic Television
Explorers Journal (20
minutes)
1996 "Okavango Series" - French Television (Ushaia TFI). The artist
was
featured in a documentary on the Zambezi River and its course
through
Zimbabwe and Mozambique (90 minutes)
TV
Norton's
work has appeared on both SKY TV and CNN
Conservation and
Charity
Throughout his career, Larry Norton's paintings have raised large
sums of
money for numerous conservation organizations and charities,
including Tusk
Trust, WWF, SAVE Australia, Zambezi Society, Dept. of National
Parks
(Zimbabwe), Wildlife Society (Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe Farm Widows
Charity,
Painted Dog Research, Emerald Hill Children's Home and many
others.
The artist and his wife, Sara, are currently embarked on a
major
fund-raising drive for the Children's Cancer Unit, Red Cross
Children's
Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Sara Norton ran the London
Marathon in
April 2001 and managed to raise approximately £7,000. A portion
of the
proceeds from the Cape to Cairo exhibition in 2003 will be directed to
the
Children's Cancer Unit.
In November 2002, the sale of a painting
raised approximately £ 9000 for
the Rainforest
Foundation.
GALLERIES
Larry Norton is represented by the
following galleries:
Burlington Paintings
10-12 Burlington Gardens,
Waterfront, London W1X 1LG, England
Tel: 00 44 2077 349984
Fax: 00 44 2074
943770
e-mail: pictures@burlington.co.uk
Website:
http://www.burlington.co.uk
Everard
Read Gallery - Cape Town
Portswood Road, Victoria and Alfred, Cape Town 8002,
South Africa
Tel: (021) 418 4527
Fax: (021) 418 4524
e-mail: ctgallery@everard.co.za
Everard
Read Gallery - Johannesburg
6 Jellicoe Avenue, Corner Keyes Avenue, Rosebank,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Private Bag 5, Parklands 2121, Johannesburg, South
Africa
Tel: (011) 788 4805
Fax: (011) 788
5914
CURRENT
LARRY NORTON is currently working towards another
major One Man Exhibition
with Burlington Paintings, in London, entitled "Cape
to Cairo" featuring
paintings sourced from field work across the length and
breadth of Africa.
The artist is also working on his own book.
Hi All
I was forwarded this e-mail. This is the horrifying ordeal that Dave & Lindsay Capsopoulos and their family had to go through last week.
On Tuesday night, I put Dan and Amy to bed, had a bath and jumped into bed. Dave stayed up watching TV. At around 9:30pm, he heard a noise in the kitchen and got up to investigate. He picked up a knife, put his head out of the window, and called for our guard only to be met by a gun being pointed at him and an order to put the knife down, which he did. The next minute 8 thugs, some armed, climbed through our kitchen window and tied Dave up. He asked them to leave his sleeping family and take what they wanted and do what they wanted to him.
I was asleep in bed when I felt hands touching me all over - I woke with such a fright and began screaming hysterically when I saw 3 males by my bed. One shouted at me to shut up and began to strangle me. I could not breathe for what seemed ages and so many thoughts flashed through my mind - I was about to die! I experienced the most terrifying feeling ever. He eventually let go and began slapping my face telling me not to scream or he'd kill me. I frantically looked around to see where Dave was but did not see him. This savage then asked me to take him to my cellphone and jewellery, which I did. At that stage I saw Dave lying on the kitchen floor. Little did, I know that they'd already given him a few blows to the back with a wooden baton. Dave shouted to me that he was alright. I was absolutely terrified - I can never explain the feeling to you. One then took his gun, and loaded a bullet into it, saying, "we are all born to live and then die". Dave and I thought they were going to shoot us. They then led us both into the Study and ordered us to lie on the floor. Dave kept winking at me and touching my leg as we lay on the floor not knowing what our fate was.
Then the beatings really started. One thug dressed in black kept asking Dave for "the money" each time taking a full swing with the baton onto Dave's back. They kicked him in the stomach and hit his knees with a long screwdriver. I had to watch in horror as my helpless, tied up husband was repeatedly beaten. I begged and begged them to stop. At some stage, Daniel awoke and came to find us in the study. I pulled him onto my lap and hugged him tight. He was also petrified. Danny and Amy's worst nightmare had come true. Tsotsi's (thieves) had come. Dave was then blindfolded and beaten again and again, this time in front of his son. Daniel screamed to them to please stop, as he loved his daddy so much.
Daniel pulled off the blindfold from his daddy and one of the thugs led terrified, crying Daniel away from us. Dave shouted to him to do what he was told to do and reassured him that everything would be alright. Amy was then woken up and our 2 precious children were told to go to sleep in our bedroom. They lay in our bed together holding hands, while 3 of these B*****ds questioned them about our business, and where they could find money. Dave and I had no idea what they were doing to our darling children. While all this was going on, our house was being looted - they went through every single cupboard in our house, helping themselves to what they wanted. We gave them the key to an empty safe, which seemed to infuriate them even more - they were after money and were not going to stop until they got what they wanted. We told them there was some money in the safe at our work, which they could have and that they could have absolutely anything else they wanted. They wanted to take me to work and leave Dave behind but he insisted we all go together. This didn't stop the beatings!
The creature in black then told Dave he had 5 lessons to learn and the beatings were Lesson Number Zero. Now was the time to rape his wife. With this we were led to the lounge and Dave was made to sit on one chair and I on the other. One thug came over to me and gave me a good hard slap on the face, while another tied my hands behind my back and took off my pants. He then proceeded to take of his jeans saying, "I want to F.... your wife". Two others tried to hold me down and open my legs. He also asked how old our daughter was and said that she would also like his penis insider her. I begged, begged and begged them not to rape me or touch Amy, while my darling husband could do nothing but watch in horror and beg in Shona for them to leave me alone. Dave then began to negotiate again in Shona about going to Kitchen Décor (our business) to get the money there. He was telling them, how he could phone the security company to switch off the alarm and kept trying to make a plan with them to go and get this money. At this stage they left me alone. One came over and covered me with a blanket and offered to put my pants back on - I cannot tell you how relieved I felt, until another came over and said, come we have to rape his wife. I pleaded again saying the others had agreed to leave me alone and go to Kitchen Décor for any thing they wanted. Then they stopped. A couple of the thugs were excited by the idea of going to Kitchen Décor, while the others thought it was not safe.
After 2 hours of terror, I think they finally realised there was no money in our house. They asked Dave which truck they could take and loaded our Mitsubishi Colt full of our things. They then said we must go into the toilet and we begged for them to give us our children which they finally agreed to do - they locked the 4 of us in, took the keys and spare keys and drove off, laughing - music blaring.
The 4 of us stood in the loo and hugged each other very tight, so relieved to all be together again - alive. Thank you God for answering Daniel's and my prayers and sparing our lives. Brave Daniel and Amy then climbed through the tiny toilet window and walked through the house to find any keys that had been left so they would be able to open the door. They were so incredibly brave for two little people who had just experienced a nightmare come true. We managed to unlock the door and were, all numb with shock.
Dave called for our guard who we thought may have been killed - he'd been handcuffed with his own handcuffs, severely beaten, tied to a tree and gagged. We drove to our neighbours and phoned my mum and dad to tell them we were on our way to them.
The next day, we packed up our beautiful home of five happy years and left with frightening memories.
This is Daniel's story:
I was sleeping when a thief came up to me and said, I am a killer. I ran to my mum, watching my dad getting beaten and I was frightened so I asked them to stop because I didn't like to see my dad getting beaten and I love my dad so much. Then they put a blindfold on my dad. I jumped up and took it off. They then told me to go and sleep in my mum and dads room with my sister. Me and Amy lay in bed and I was so scared the whole bed was shaking. They asked us some things and said if we tell lies they would kill us. At last they went and locked us in the bathroom. Amy and I went through the window and got the keys.
This is Amy's story:
I was sleeping and they pulled my mosquito net down and it fell onto me and I woke up. Then they pushed me to my mum and dads room and shouted at me to go to sleep. I said ok!!! I went to sleep then I woke up then the guy asked me where upstairs was and I said there was no upstairs I said it is just a place where the air comes in. They also shouted at me and Daniel. Then I heard my mummy call me to come and we got locked in the small toilet all together. We climbed out the window to get the keys and we heard a noise and got a fright so jumped back into the window. Then we climbed out again and found the spare keys and took them to my mum and dad and we found a key to unlock the door!!!!!
Please forward this onto all your friends.
Dave, Lindsay, Daniel and Amy - Harare, Zimbabwe
M
M
following
court order
The
M
While the
M
mobilisation of police against any and
all lawbreakers, including the perpetrators of political violence, rape and
murder and all forms of corruption, the M
If the
government of the day does not lead by example in obedience to court orders the
public would be also be equally justified in holding the courts in contempt and
refusing to submit to the law. Once that stage is reached
Whatever
allegations Chiyangwa is facing, we believe that the
police should comply with all court orders.
In this regard
we condemn the failure to obey the High Court order for Chiyangwa’s release issued on Sunday, which has hitherto
been ignored by the police. It is our firm belief that every citizen of this
country must be treated fairly. The due process of the law must be followed to
the letter.
Paul
Themba Nyathi
M
The
Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Welfare confirmed that the
number of
people in Zimbabwe afflicted with anthrax has doubled from 50
nearly a week
ago to 100, medical information service Medinfo reported
on
Wednesday.
Three people have already died from the
disease.
Spokesperson Dr Andrew Jamieson said that a cumulative total of
191 cases of
human anthrax were reported in the Masvingo province since the
outbreak of
the disease about a month ago, including the three
deaths.
Jamieson said although no further deaths in humans have been
attributed to
the disease, the number of cattle dying from anthrax continues
to rise.
Masvingo province's Bikita district has been hardest hit,
notably in the
areas of Ngorima, Chikuku and Devure.
More than 60 head
of cattle had died by the end of December 2003, prompting
a mass vaccination
exercise to contain the disease -- an initiative that may
not succeed due to
reported shortages of anthrax vaccine as a result of
foreign currency
shortages.
Health authorities have also intensified awareness campaigns
regarding the
disease among the small-scale farming communities in the area.
A general
appeal has been made to all villagers not to consume meat from
cattle
suspected to have died of anthrax.
Jamieson said: "Anthrax is
an acute infectious disease that typically
affects livestock but which may be
transmitted to humans through exposure to
infected animals or tissue from
infected animals.
"If left untreated, anthrax can be fatal in humans. It
is therefore wiser to
avoid exposure rather than run the risk of infection
and possible death from
the disease."
Travellers visiting affected
areas should strenuously avoid contact with
livestock and eating locally
slaughtered meat, he warned.
Jamieson said that the situation of food
shortage in Zimbabwe has made the
consumption of meat from animals dying of
anthrax by local inhabitants more
likely.
"Its much harder to educate
people when they're starving." -- Sapa