HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday
declared that Zimbabwe was undergoing an economic "revival" as he addressed
the opening of the last session of parliament before key elections next
year.
Mugabe arrived at the parliament building in a chauffeur-driven
Rolls Royce under heavy police and army escort, and accompanied by his
smartly dressed wife Grace.
"We have money to reap a good harvest...
to ensure we meet our needs and food requirements. What enhances this... is
the evident revival of our economy," Mugabe told parliament.
His
statement stood in stark contrast to assessments by
non-governmental organisations and UN food agencies who say millions of
citizens, especially in rural areas, need urgent food aid.
The
southern African country has been hit by consecutive drought seasons but the
situation has been exacerbated by Mugabe's controversial land
reform programme that saw most white farmers forcibly evicted from their
land.
Mugabe however said the land programme would continue.
"A
number of issues related to land reform remain outstanding," he
said.
"The demand for land remains and ongoing land acquisition should be
able to meet it. Government policy remains... Whatever irregularities have
occurred in the process of land reform are now being attended to," Mugabe
said.
At a state dinner on Monday night, Mugabe called on parliament to
be "patriotic" and guard against outside interference, the state-owned
Herald newspaper reported Tuesday.
"Never shall we allow foreigners to
interfere in our domestic affairs and the charter of the United Nations
prohibits interference in the affairs of another country.
"Parliament
should be inspired by the patriotism that bids us to stand up and say we will
not accept this interference," Mugabe said.
MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE BRIEFING NOTE 20 July 2004
For
Further Information Please Contact: Nkanyiso Maqeda, MDC Director of
Information: 00263 11 765 574 James Littleton: 00 27 727 310 554 or 0027 21
447
9587 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
"There
is no greater wisdom and no clearer mark of statesmanship than knowing when
to pass the torch to a new generation. And no government should manipulate or
amend the constitution to hold office beyond prescribed term limits.Let us
pledge that the days of indefinite one-man or one-party governments are
behind us," said United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan at the opening
session of the Africa Union Summit (6 July).
"The MDC supports our
traditional institutions out of the realisation that nearly 70% of all
Zimbabweans still value their role in society. Traditional leaders maintain
stability and social harmony in their communities. They attend to the
spiritual needs of their people, regardless of their political or religious
affiliation," said MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai (13 July)
"The MDC is
deeply disappointed that leaders at the AU Summit.failed to discuss a report
on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe..the bureaucratic and procedural pretext
that has been used to justify postponing discussion of an important
document.is perplexing and contradictory given that the AU, since its
inauguration, has built up an impressive reputation as a force for good in
Africa," said Paul Themba Nyathi, MDC Secretary for Information
and Publicity (9 July)
POLITICAL VIOLENCE/INTIMIDATION
AU
Report Provides No Succour to Mugabe and Zanu PF A report compiled by the
African Union's Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which sent a
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe from June 24 to 28 2002, is strongly
critical of the Zimbabwe government's failure to uphold the rule of law, its
curtailment of people's basic freedoms and expresses deep concern about the
prevalence of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The report highlights the
arrest and torture of MDC MPs and civil society activists and calls for the
statutes that infringe upon basic freedoms (POSA and AIPPA) to be amended so
that they conform to international standards pertaining to freedoms and civil
rights.
"By its statements and political rhetoric, and by its failure at
critical moments to uphold the rule of law, the government failed to chart a
path that signalled a commitment to the rule of law", the report
said
Thugs Attack Morgan Tsvangirai At an MDC rally held in Mvurwi, a
town north of Harare, on 2 July, a group of over 200 Zanu PF thugs armed with
stones, knobkerries and axes attempted to attack MDC President Morgan
Tsvangirai and other MDC leaders who were present. Several people, including
women and children, were seriously hurt in the attacks. The police made no
arrests.
Zanu PF Extortion Rackets According to a recent article in
the Zimbabwe Standard, members of Zanu PF have been forcing local businessmen
in Mutare to provide contributions towards the hosting of a 'victory party'
for the only Zanu PF councillor in the city. In the Urban Council elections
held last August the MDC won 17 out of the 18 wards that were contested in
Mutare.
The MDC has published a document
entitled 'RESTORE' which contains the party 's list of minimum standards that
need to be met in order for genuine, democratic, elections to take place in
Zimbabwe. These minimum standards are based around the following 5
principles:
Restore The Rule of Law Restore Basic Freedoms and
Rights Establish an Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Restore Public
Confidence in the Electoral Process Restore Secrecy of the Ballot
For
the full version of 'RESTORE' please visit the MDC website (www.mdczimbabwe.org)
Ų South
African Council of Churches (SACC) At a meeting held last week the SACC
slammed human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and said it was extremely doubtful
that next year's parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe would be free and
fair.
Ų Militia Camps Being Expanded Ahead of Polls According to
an article published in the Zimbabwe Independent on 9 July, the Mugabe regime
is busy expanding and renovating its youth training camps ahead of next
year's polls. The paper alleges that the camps are expected to churn out more
than 6,000 youths. Youth from these camps have been at the vanguard of
political violence since the camps were first established in 2001. Human
rights organisations have documented hundreds of cases of human rights abuses
perpetrated by members of the youth militia. They have become a scar on
Zimbabwe's political landscape.
Ų Political Machinations Behind
Proposals to Alter Constituency Boundaries Proposed plans by the Zanu PF
government to re-draw many constituency boundaries in order to merge many
urban constituencies with rural constituencies is a flagrant attempt to
subvert the MDC's electoral strength in urban areas.
"It shows
contradictions with Zanu PF on the one hand telling the world that it is
prepared to democratise electoral laws and create an environment conducive to
free and fair elections while at the same time gerrymandering with urban
boundaries so that these are diluted by rural constituencies where violence
has enslaved the electorate to Zanu PF," said Paul
Themba Nyathi
Ų Voter Registration The process of voter
registration in Zimbabwe remains a discriminatory process and illustrates the
extent to which the ruling party is prepared to manipulate the electoral
process. At present voter registration is supervised by the Registrar
General, a man who is fiercely loyal to Robert Mugabe. The current
registration exercise that is underway is being deliberately focused on Zanu
PF strongholds with very little effort being made in urban areas which are
traditionally perceived as being bastions of MDC support. In a recent letter
to the Electoral Supervisory Commission, MDC Secretary General, Professor
Welshman Ncube wrote:
"There have been complaints, which we have
ascertained to be genuine from some areas, that the exercise is selective.The
MDC notes with regret that the mobile voter registration programme currently
underway is seriously flawed and may well impede the rights of the people of
Zimbabwe to freely participate in the democratic process".
Ų
Exiles Protest Over 400 Zimbabweans, who have been forced into exile in South
Africa, last week staged a demonstration outside the offices of the Zimbabwe
Embassy in Pretoria demanding that, as Zimbabwe citizens, Mugabe should allow
them to vote in next year's parliamentary
elections.
Ox-Drawn Ambulances The chronic neglect and consequent decline
of Zimbabwe's healthcare sector has been illustrated by the introduction of
ox-drawn ambulances to take people to health centres in rural
areas.
"Zimbabwe is being dragged back to the stone age. As long as
we have Mugabe and his gang around, we will not only end at ox-drawn
ambulances, but we will see further deterioration in all aspects of life,"
said Paul Themba Nyathi
UN Warning The UN has warned that
Zimbabwe's harvest will not meet the country's food needs this year and that
the country is facing a shortfall of 325,000 tonnes of cereals. The UN
forecast yet again casts serious doubt on the claims by the Mugabe regime
that Zimbabwe will produce a record breaking harvest this year.
Life
Expectancy Falls in Zimbabwe According to a report published by UN AIDS, the
prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe is set to reduce the life expectancy to
below 35 for people born over the next decade.
Number of Orphaned
Children Set To Double A joint report published by UNICEF, USAID and UNAIDS
entitled 'Children on the Brink' has warned that the number of children
orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe is set to increase by 53.5% from 761,000, as
of last year, to 1.4 million in
2010.
IMF The
International Monetary Fund has announced that it has given Zimbabwe
a six-month reprieve before making a decision on whether or not to expel
it due to huge arrears. Zimbabwe has been in arrears with the IMF
since February 2001 and its arrears are estimated to be currently standing
at US$295 million.
Zimbabwe NGOs Under Renewed Threat A new bill,
entitled The Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and Churches Bill, that the
Zimbabwe government is planning to table during the next parliamentary
session, contains provisions that will impose severe constraints on NGOs and
provide the government with more control over their activities. Under such
stringent regulations it will be virtually impossible for civic organisations
to operate; this latest move by the government represents yet another
dimension of their strategy to emasculate civil society and close down the
democratic space in Zimbabwe.
In the Executive Summary of its report on
human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, the AU Commission on Human and Peoples'
Rights stated that civil society 'is essential for the upholding of a
responsible society and for holding government accountable".
"The bill
is part of a total strategy to close the last crevices of democratic opinion.
This is an assault on NGOs under the guise of protecting national
sovereignty," said Brian Kagoro - Chairman, Crisis In
Zimbabwe Coalition ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
The Constitutional Court was concerned today about the few facts in
the case of 69 alleged mercenaries held in Zimbabwe and facing possible
extradition to Equatorial Guinea where they might be executed.
Chief
Justice Arthur Chaskalson told counsel for the State, Ismael Semenya, that
"lots had happened" but few material facts had been placed before
the court.
"We don't really know what the facts are. It would help us
in some ways if we knew," Chaskalson said. Judge Albie Sachs added: "It is
very disconcerting to watch television and note that the general public is
better informed than this court."
Judge Johann van der Westhuizen said
there was every chance that while the case would be of help to future
litigants it might be of no use to the men currently in Chikurubi prison in
Harare.
Semenya conceded that the facts before the judges were "less
than satisfactory" but he maintained that the government had no duty under
the Constitution to assist the men to avoid the death penalty or extradition
to Equatorial Guinea, or even to ensure that they had a fair trial in
that country.
Semenya was not moved in his argument by several remarks
from the judges that the United Nations Rapporteur for Human Rights, the
International Bar Association and Amnesty International had repeatedly found
that the judiciary in Equatorial Guinea was not sufficiently independent of
the executive to guarantee fair trials.
Reports of torture and other
behaviour in apparent contravention of international conventions were also
notorious. Yesterday lawyers for the 69 as well as others appearing as
friends of the court argued the state had a duty to assist the
men.
Semenya conceded that the state, under the Constitution, sometimes
had a duty to protect its citizens abroad. But this was only in cases where
it was actually in control of them, for example at its embassy in London.
That was clearly not the case here.
Semenya said there was no
customary international law obligation on South Africa to afford citizens
abroad diplomatic protection.
Sachs countered by asking if that meant
neighbouring states could, for example, torture South Africans at will
without Pretoria intervening, even diplomatically.
Semenya answered
that states normally acted towards each other with deference because of each
state's sovereignty. South Africa's diplomatic position in Africa was the
same as that of Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe. Claiming a superior position
would be seen as arrogance.
Sachs commented that human rights convention
now often super cedes sovereignty, as in cases of genocide.
Rights fly
out the window Semenya agreed but qualified that this was a result of
international tribunals and diplomatic treaties. He also contended, citing a
Canadian court case, that South Africans left their constitutional rights
behind when they left the country and they had to submit themselves to the
laws and punishments of the jurisdiction where they found themselves after
departure.
In addition, orders sought by the applicants would have a
destabilising effect on the constitutional balance, predicated on the
principle of separation of power, Semenya said in written
argument.
"Those orders will require this court to intervene in matters
which repose in the executive branch of government, when there is no evidence
to show that executive functionaries have failed to discharge constitutional
or statutory duties imposed on them...," he said.
There was no
evidence to show that such functionaries had engaged in any conduct which was
inconsistent with the Constitution.
In the absence of such evidence,
Semenya said the application must be rejected. The men's lawyer, Advocate
Francois Joubert, argued yesterday that if Pretoria did not step forward to
help the men they could be dead and buried by the time representations made
to spare their lives reach the Equatorial Guinea's capital, Malabo.
He
said there was no guarantee their would be sufficient time between sentence
and execution for the Department of Foreign Affairs to make its usual
representations through diplomatic channels.
There was also no guarantee
they would receive a fair trial in Malabo where they were likely to be
accused of conspiring to overthrow the government and kill President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema.
Malabo was in the process of requesting the men's
extradition, he added. There was also every possibility the men could be
deported to the west African state, a procedure that would short-circuit the
more lengthy extradition process.
Joubert and Advocate Wim Trengove
argued that Pretoria did have a duty - derived from the Constitution to help
the men.
They argued the mere prospect of a death penalty, let alone its
infliction, was already a gross violation of the men's rights to life and
dignity - which the government was duty bound to protect everywhere -
including abroad. Judgement was reserved. - Sapa
Elderly SA couple robbed twice on Zim's roads July 20
2004 at 10:21AM
By Norman Joseph and Saskia Bruinders
A Cape Town woman has warned motorists travelling to Zimbabwe to be vigilant
after her elderly parents were viciously attacked, then had their car
ransacked while they tried to recover from the first attack.
Janine
MacDonald, 41, of Edgemead told this week of how her parents Ronnie, 71, and
Patricia Fitzmaurice, 70, of Humewood, Port Elizabeth, survived the serious
violent attacks.
The couple were travelling from Port Elizabeth to
Harare to visit their son Steven Fitzmaurice, 44, who was recovering after a
serious car accident.
On Friday, July 9, shortly after 8pm they
were approaching Harare when they had a puncture.
Ronnie
Fitzmaurice noticed that they had driven through a pile of sharp spikes
placed on the road.
Fitzmaurice said from Harare on Monday that as
he was about to change their vehicle's flat wheel, two men appeared and
pistol-whipped him, flinging him to the ground.
One of the
attackers punched him in the stomach, while the other man assaulted his
wife.
She sustained a head wound "which bled
profusely".
He said: "They ordered us to lie down on the ground,
but we refused. I feared that they could shoot us both in the head while we
lay on the ground.
"The men took some of our belongings in the
vehicle, and planned to then shoot us."
But the man's firearm
jammed, although he squeezed the trigger repeatedly. The two men then fled
the scene.
As Fitzmaurice prepared to attend to his bleeding wife's
head, another car pulled up.
He was under the impression that a
motorist had arrived to lend support.
But three men emerged from
the vehicle, merely glanced at the dazed couple and proceeded to ransack
their car.
After the men had left, Fitzmaurice said: "I got up,
felt dazed but managed to change the wheel." They then drove to a
hospital in Chivu, where they were treated. He suffered severe concussion,
while his wife had bleeding on the brain.
Medical staff at the
Chivu Hospital told the couple that two businessmen travelling to Harare had
the same experience earlier that week.
Fitzmaurice said: "For 15
years we have been travelling to Harare to visit our son, and this was the
first time we've experienced such serious crime."
MacDonald told
the Cape Argus that she was "very concerned" about her parents because they
"are elderly".
.. This article was originally
published on page 13 of Cape Argus on July 20, 2004
The Southern African Development Community, (SADC) is to assist
Zimbabwe to create a climate for free and fair elections, ahead of its polls
in March next year. Aziz Pahad, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, has
disclosed this after talks with the South African Council of Churches (SACC)
on the Zimbabwean issue.
Pahad says Zimbabwe is already party to the
SADC Draft Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. He says
according to this draft, members states must adhere to principles of human
rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The deputy minister says SADC's
ministerial committee will meet at the end of this week to consider the
draft. According to the Minister Zimbabwe's amendment of its electoral law is
based on this draft.
Pahad says talks between Zimbabwe's political
parties have slowed down, especially now since parties are concentrating on
next year's elections.
The deputy minister says that talks have taken
place but that it has always taken place informally. He says recent
discussions centred around the MDC's proposals to create a climate for Free
and Fair elections.
Both the SACC and the deputy minister agree that
Zimbabwe's electoral law should create a climate to hold free and fair
elections.
Zimbabwe Plans Clampdown on Charities By ANGUS
SHAW ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -
President Robert
Mugabe castigated private charities, religious groups and other aid
organizations Tuesday for interfering in Zimbabwe's domestic politics and
said legislators would be asked to pass a law allowing authorities to close
some groups and arrest officials.
Mugabe said a new bill to tighten
controls on such organizations will soon be introduced in the 150-member
parliament dominated by his ruling party.
"Non-governmental organizations
must work for the betterment of our country. We cannot allow them to be used
as conduits and instruments of foreign interference," Mugabe said in an
address at the opening of parliament.
Mugabe has repeatedly accused
Western-funded charities, trusts and church and human rights groups of siding
with his opponents and Britain, the former colonial power.
"We remain
patently opposed to mutant strains" of colonial era domination, Mugabe told
lawmakers. "Colonizers for decades trampled on us. What have they to teach us
about human rights?"
The proposed "Non-governmental Organizations and
Churches Bill" calls for the registration of all groups and trusts involved
in charity work and educational and research programs.
Failure to
register and acquire a government license would make it illegal for a group
to operate. Staff members of groups that violated the law would face arrest.
The bill also requires disclosure of the origins and use of all funds and the
identity of foreign donors.
Opponents of the bill have likened it to
sweeping media laws passed in 2002 that gave the government the power to
close independent media, stifle criticism of its policies and arrest 31
independent journalists.
The only independent daily newspaper, which had
become a platform for dissent, was shut down last year after being refused
registration.
The National Association of Non-governmental Organizations,
voicing its concerns on the bill earlier this month, said it feared for the
autonomy and independence of its 50 members if aspects of their work were
criminalized.
It has lobbied against the bill, calling instead for the
formation of a self-regulatory body to enforce a code of
ethics.
Non-governmental groups have produced regular reports on alleged
human rights violations that have left more than 200 people dead in
political violence and driven tens of thousands from their homes since
2000.
Much of the violence has been blamed on ruling party militants,
police and troops since the government launched a program to seize thousands
of white-owned farms in 2000. Independent human rights groups say most of
the victims have been opposition supporters.
Charities have also
accused the government of using food as a political weapon in recent
parliamentary by-elections won by the ruling party.
Zimbabwe is suffering
its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980, with soaring prices and
unemployment and acute shortages of food, gasoline and essential
imports.
Washington, United States, Jul. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. State
Department Tuesday accused Zimbabwe's government of trying to curtail donor
activity in the country.
"We've been deeply concerned the Mugabe
government is using its monopoly on food distribution to manipulate food
availability for political ends, and ... there needs to be another track of
food distribution available to people," department spokesman Richard Boucher
said.
He said the U.S. Agency for International development, the World
Food Program and the international community were prepared for a rapid
and effective response.
Some 5 million Zimbabweans needed food aid
last year and Boucher said a similar number may need assistance in
2004.
"We'll continue to try to establish proper mechanisms for
distribution of food to the people who need it, despite the government's
efforts to manipulate and to hamper those efforts," he said.
The
Zimbabwe government's crop estimate of 2.4 million metric tons of corn is
significantly higher than the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization's estimate of 950 metric tons.
Private Zimbabwe Schools Face Closure Tendai
Maphosa Harare 20 Jul 2004, 13:23 UTC
Some private schools in
Zimbabwe could close if the government maintains its tough line on the
increase of school fees. The schools might not re-open for the third term in
September if the fees issue remains unresolved.
Earlier this year,
Zimbabwe's minister of education stopped more than 40 schools from starting
the current term, saying they were charging exorbitant fees in a bid to
exclude black pupils.
Schools opened after they agreed to lower fees set
by the ministry, which does allow parents to make donations to the
schools.
School officials say they were merely charging fees that would
ensure the children get quality education in difficult economic
times.
A spokesperson for the Association of Trust Schools, a body
representing 60 schools, says the crisis point is the end of this term, in
less than a month.
Speaking on condition of anonymity he said unless
meaningful discussions are held most of the schools may be forced not to
re-open for the third term. The ministry has set the fees until the end of
the year and they can only be reviewed in 2005.
The Association
official said the majority of parents are actually paying the fees asked for
by the schools, but this is not enough. He added that fees are agreed with
the parents who are involved in the drawing of the school budget.
He
dismissed the allegation that schools are trying to exclude black
pupils, saying the majority of the more than 20-thousand students are black.
He said because of the Zimbabwe education ministry's fee cap most of the
schools are heavily in debt.
One school not threatened with immediate
closure is the Catholic St. Georges High School in Harare. Headmaster Brendan
Tiernan says about 87 percent of the parents at the school have paid what the
school is asking. He says because of inflation fees cannot remain at the same
level.
"The board is trying to keep the fees static for the third term,
but that will have to be looked at," said Mr. Tiernan. "Essentially we have
two options; we either have to go to the parents and ask them if there is
the need for a fee increase, to donate more alternatively there is
the possibility of trying to seek legal redress through the courts, but that
is a long and involved situation and in the Zimbabwe of 2004 getting
an objective judgment urgently from the courts might be quite
difficult."
Mr. Tiernan said there has not been an exodus of teachers,
but the uncertainty over whether they are going to receive competitive
salaries on time could drive some out of the country where he says there is a
great demand for teachers.
An editorial in the government-controlled
daily newspaper The Herald said myths, some accepted at official level about
divisions among parents on racial lines, have now disappeared as the parents
combine to preserve what they have chosen to give their children.
But
the paper says schools should not demand the donations. This
follows allegations that some children were being victimized at some schools
because their parents had not paid the donations.
The majority of
Zimbabwe's elite, including government ministers, send their children to the
private schools.
Related Articles a..
Mugabe declares Zim 'revival'
a.. Zim targets aid
groups
Pretoria - Zimbabwe has accepted in
principle a draft Southern African Development Community (SADC) document
governing democratic elections, South Africa's deputy foreign affairs
minister Aziz Pahad said on Tuesday.
The document was due to be
considered at a two-day ministerial meeting of SADC's organ on politics,
defence and security co-operation later this week.
If accepted, Zimbabwe
would be party to the protocol, Pahad told reporters in Pretoria.
The
document deals with the principles of elections, guidelines for
election observing and monitoring, a code of conduct for observers, and
the responsibilities of member states holding elections.
It was aimed
at enhancing transparency and credibility of elections and democratic
governance, as well as ensuring the acceptance of election results by all
parties.
According to Pahad, Zimbabwe claims to have amended its
electoral law on the basis of the draft SADC protocol. Any criticism of that
country's electoral system for failing to meet democratic principles was,
therefore, premature.
Regarding ongoing informal talks between Zimbabwe's
government and political opposition, he said the pace of the discussions was
slower than one would have liked.
But with parliamentary elections due
next year, it was understandable that the focus would be on preparations for
the poll.
Need help in finding a solution
Pahad reiterated the
importance of resolving the political and economic problems of Zimbabwe in
the interests of the people of that country and of the region.
"We
must do everything possible to help them find a solution," he said.
Such
assistance would not be in the form of interference, but rather influencing
the direction the country takes.
Pahad was speaking after meeting SA
Council of Churches general secretary Rev Molefe Tsele to discuss issues of
regional, continental and world peace and security - including Zimbabwe,
Burundi, the Sudan, and the Middle-East.
Tsele said the current priority
in Zimbabwe was to create a climate conducive to free and fair
elections.
"The electoral law needs to create that climate," he said.
"There is a need for a legal framework to ensure confidence in election
results."
Tsele said Tuesday's talks was the first step in ensuring
ongoing dialogue between the SACC and the government on issues affecting the
southern African region.
Pahad is to attend the SADC politics, defence
and security organ's sixth ministerial meeting at Sun City in the North West
on Thursday and Friday - during which South Africa would assume chairmanship
of the organ.
Apart from the draft election protocol, other issues on the
agenda would include a review of the regional political situation,
the "operationalisation" of the African Union Peace and Security Council,
the African Standby Force, the SADC Standby Force, and the envisaged
regional conflict early-warning system.
This year's 'African Booker' has been won by Brian Chikwava
from Zimbabwe, it was announced today. He is the first writer from the
country to receive the award. The Caine Prize for African Writing, which
is worth $15,000 (£9,000), is awarded to a short story published in English
by an African writer whose work has reflected African
sensibilities.
Chikwava's story, Seventh Street Alchemy, was praised by
the judges' chairman, Alvaro Ribeiro, as "a triumph for the long tradition of
Zimbabwean writing in the face of Zimbabwe's uncertain future."
He
added that the story was marked out by "a very strong narrative in
which Brian Chikwava of Zimbabwe claims the English language as his
own."
The 32-year-old writer and musician was born in Bulawayo but grew
up in Harare, where he performed regularly at the Book Cafe's poetry evenings
and discussions. He studied at Bristol University and currently lives in
south London.
Chikwava said he was very pleased but also surprised at
his win. "I'm in shock," he said. "A few months ago it was not something I
had in my blood at all. My head is spinning - it's very exciting." He added
that he is planning to consolidate on his Caine success and is working on a
novella, Bubble Wrapping Artificial Shit, and a blues album, Jacaranda
Skits.
The other writers on the shortlist were Doreen Baingana (Uganda)
for Hunger, Parselelo Kantai (Kenya) for The Story of Comrade Lemma and the
Black Jerusalem Boys Band, Monica Arac de Nyeko (Uganda) for Strange Fruit
and Chika Unigwe (Nigeria) for The Secret.
The prize judges included
Nigerian playwright Biyi Bandele and Booker-winning novelist Bernice Rubens.
The four African winners of the Nobel prize for literature - Wole Soyinka,
Nadine Gordimer, Naguib Mahfouz and JM Coetzee - are patrons of the
prize. Last year's Caine prize winner was Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor from Kenya.
Her winning story was published in Kwani?, Kenya's only literary magazine,
which was set up by Binyavanga Wainaina, winner of the Caine prize in
2002.