http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Thursday, 28
July 2011 13:28
HARARE - Police yesterday arrested 13 human rights
campaigners who were on a
peaceful demonstration at the High Court, exposing
law enforcement agents’
blatant selective application of the
law.
The human rights campaigners were at the court as part of a
peaceful protest
to show solidarity with MDC activists who have been
languishing in remand
prison for over eight weeks after being accused of
killing a policeman.
Lawyers and human rights observers lashed out at
yesterday’s arrest of
peaceful campaigners from Restoration of Human Rights
(Rohr), pointing out
that dozens of Zanu PF mobsters who beat up an MP and
journalists in chaotic
scenes at Parliament on Saturday were still walking
free.
None of the Zanu PF mobsters was arrested for the unprecedented
fracas that
happened in front of police officers at Parliament, a
development observers
say confirms that police is now working more as an
extension of Zanu PF.
“We have been highlighting this for a long time
that the police are not
carrying out their obligation of upholding the rule
of law,” said Irene
Petras, executive director at Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR).
Rohr human rights campaigners arrested yesterday are
Cosmas Ndira, Kimberly
Nyatsanga, Tungamirai Muzulani, Barnabas Mwanaka, Leo
Mutema, Kudakwashe
Usavi, John Gumeni, David Mazibiye, Wycliff Chimhandama,
Wencilus
Nyamunokora, Trymore Matsitsiro, Isaac Kalongonda, and one
Mafodya.
Stendrick Zvorwadza, the Rohr spokesperson, confirmed the
arrests. He said
the police action showed gross selective application of the
law. “It is very
interesting to see that what is happening (storming of
Parliament) is taking
place in the presence of the police who are not taking
any action We have
seen how the police have moved in quickly to arrest top
politicians from the
MDC or civil society members,” said
Zvorwadza.
He said his organisation would continue to demonstrate until
the restoration
of human rights in the country.
“We are prepared to
die. That is why we are going on to confront this
regime,” Zvorwadza
said.
Petras said police had become willing appendages of President
Robert Mugabe
and his Zanu PF party. She said police action showed why the
issue of
security sector reforms should remain high on the Sadc agenda on
election.
“If police were professional and had been arresting
perpetrators of violence
instead of victims then we were not going to
witness those violent scenes at
Parliament. There is no political will to
arrest hooligans and the chaos and
lawlessness shall continue because there
is no action taken,” said Petras.
Human rights researcher Pedzisai
Ruhanya said the arrest of the activists
revealed that police
commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri had lost it and
needed to be more
professional.
“Zimbabwe needs a police commissioner. As far as
Zimbabweans are concerned
we do not have a police commissioner.
“If you
want to know how useless the police are, the arrest of these
activists is a
typical example yet the thugs who beat up parliamentarians
and journalists
are yet to be arrested,” Ruhanya said.
“We even doubt whether those thugs
had not spoken to senior police officers
beforehand. If Chihuri needs
Zimbabwe to respect him and his office, the
only thing he has to do is
resign. He has no conscience,” Ruhanya said.
Ruhanya said the “desperate”
actions by security forces who are believed to
be the real power behind Zanu
PF and Mugabe were a sign that change was
nearby.
“Whatever the
regime is doing, there has never been a government under the
sun that has
been there for all time.
“These are signs of the times when such things that
we do not expect to
happen begin to happen.
It shows that the regime
is almost collapsing when these uncouth and
unlawful things begin to happen.
It tells us we are closer to transition,”
Ruhanya said.
The activists
were arrested as they held placards denouncing police and the
selective
application of law during a demonstration which took place in
front of the
High Court where eight MDC activists were due to appear for a
bail
hearing.
The matter was postponed to today because prosecutor Edmore
Nyazamba failed
to attend court citing family reasons.
The Rohr
activists held placards with messages such as: “Stop illegal
detentions,
Justice denied is justice delayed, No arbitrary arrests and
Release Cynthia
(Manjoro) now, she is innocent.”
By Lance
Guma
28 July 2011
SW
Radio Africa continues with Part 5 of the list of Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) agents working in and outside Zimbabwe. The document dated
2001 contains a list of state security agents working at that time. Some may
have retired or passed away, but evidence has shown many are still serving.
Although the document contained their home addresses, we are not publishing
these details.
Last week SW Radio Africa reported on Eleanor Mtangi,
listed as an ‘operative’ at number 281 on the list. We also reported on how she
and her husband Collin Cephas Mtangi, ran Cottel Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd from
Harare, supplying electrical equipment and consumables to the mining and
industrial sectors. The company boasted contracts with the army, police, air
force, national oil company, ZESA, Zimglass, Shabani Mashava Mines and the
Department of Irrigation, among others.
This week the matter took a new
turn as our investigations showed Eleanor is now the Treasurer for the MDC-T
Women’s Assembly in the United States. SW Radio Africa has been told that she
divorced her husband and moved to the US but this has not been confirmed. Den
Moyo, the MDC-T USA Chairman, told SW Radio Africa that they instituted their
own investigations and a committee which included officials from the
‘Intelligence & Security Sub Committee’ called Mtangi to a
hearing.
“Mtangi confirmed that she was once employed by the CIO, not as
an operative, but as an administrator in the communications department, and that
she resigned in December 2001. She sighted one of her reasons for resigning as
the fact that she did not agree with the way the government was operating, and
she wanted to see change. She joined the MDC around that time. She stated that
she immediately left Zimbabwe, and when entering the USA, she disclosed her
prior involvement with the CIO,” Moyo told SW Radio Africa in a written
response.
“She insists that she severed all ties with the CIO, and that
she is truly involved with the MDC,” Moyo added.
Despite claims by Ms.
Mtangi that she disclosed her prior involvement with the CIO to the US
authorities, it does not seem her fellow colleagues in the MDC-T knew her
background. SW Radio Africa spoke to her by telephone on Thursday, and, despite
refusing an official interview, she claimed she had told MDC-T US Columbus
District Chairman Zvidzai Ruzvidzo about her CIO background.
Meanwhile
at number 356 on the list is the late CIO Deputy Director General Livingstone
Menard Muzariri, a man who exemplified all that is wrong with the organisation.
In 2001 he was listed as an ‘operative’ but now Muzariri’s name remains
synonymous with the Gukurahundi Massacres in the Matabeleland and Midlands
provinces. A ruthless operator within CIO circles, Muzariri played a prominent
role in the Massacres alongside the current Air force Commander Perrance
Shiri.
Although Muzariri generally remained out of the public eye and
shunned publicity his fellow colleagues in the CIO confirmed his notoriety for
being brutal during assignments. A former CIO operative now based in London told
SW Radio Africa that Muzariri committed some of the most serious atrocities
during the Gukurahundi Massacres. He led public executions, often forcing
victims to dig their own graves in front of family and villagers.
With
help from the 5th Brigade army units, Muzariri and his fellow agents would
routinely round up villagers and march them at gun point to a central place.
There they would be forced to sing Shona songs praising ZANU PF, at the same
time being beaten with sticks. These gatherings usually ended with public
executions, another source told us. At the time of his death Muzariri was into
farming and was a neighbour to Reward Marufu, brother to Grace Mugabe who died
last year.
Floyd Ndaudzwa at number 371 is listed as a ‘Deputy
Intelligence Officer’. Investigations by SW Radio Africa revealed that around
August 2005 he was based at Chaminuka Building (CIO headquarters) and was
working there as the chief personnel officer (CPO) of the organisation. Ndaudzwa
was cited in a high profile case in which a CIO agent, sacked in 2002, went to
court challenging his dismissal for allegedly training his four-year-old
daughter on how to use an AK47 rifle.
At number 383 is the recently
appointed Deputy Director General Aaron Daniel Tonde Nhepera, who replaced the
late Livingstone Menard Muzariri. Shockingly Nhepera in 1997 claimed to have
suffered 98 percent disability from injuries sustained in the liberation war. He
subsequently made five different claims and received Z$650 901 from the War
Victims Compensation Fund. He claimed to be suffering hallucinations, persistent
headaches, ear and stomach aches.
Nhepera, just like his predecessor
Muzariri, played a key role in the Gukurahundi Massacres. By his own admission
he only resigned from the notorious 5th Brigade army unit because of ill-health.
The 5th Brigade was an elite unit of soldiers specially trained by North Korean
instructors and had about 3500 ex ZANLA fighters. They rampaged through the
Matabeleland and Midlands provinces killing an estimated 20 000 perceived
opposition ZAPU supporters.
The late Corneous Nhloko a ‘Deputy
Intelligence Officer’, at number 385 on our list, died in a fire at his farm in
Wozoli, Silobela, in February this year. Known by his liberation war nickname of
Victor Mlambo he was declared a national hero by ZANU PF. He joined the CIO in
1979 and rose through the ranks to become assistant intelligence officer in 1986
before he was then appointed head of the counter-subversion unit for Harare
Province.
In 1992 Nhloko was posted to Lagos, Nigeria where he worked as
a ‘liaison officer’ before being transferred to the CIO Training Academy in
Harare in 1996.
http://www.theafricareport.com
Thursday, 28 July 2011
16:17
Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti has warned of a "long
winter of
despair" saying there is a real danger of government shutting down
completely down as early as October.
Biti made the warning on Tuesday
as he presented his midterm fiscal policy
statement that showed the
country’s budget deficit hitting US$700 million
this year, largely because
of an unbudgeted salary increment for government
workers.
The
statement delivered in parliament policy was a reality check for
Zimbabweans
who were becoming optimistic about the country’s economic
recovery and
future prospects.
"Zimbabweans must brace themselves up for a long winter
of despair,” Biti
said.
“We have made this bed and we must lie in it.
Zimbabwe is facing an
unsustainable US$7, 15 billion debts.”
Although
macroeconomic fundamentals remained stable and the 9,3 growth
projection for
this year was still on track, unbudgeted expenditures seem to
have
complicated matters for Biti.
The recent public servants’ salary
increases, which would require an
additional US$262 million, and other
unbudgeted expenditures amounting to
$500m would put a further strain on the
$2, 7 billion budget for this year.
State wages would now take up 65% of
revenue, something the International
Monetary Fund warned against in
April.
But the minister remained optimistic that the economy will
continue with its
positive growth that began in 2009 when President Robert
Mugabe formed a
unity government with his former
opponents.
"Agriculture and mining, with 19, 3% and 44% growth
respectively, are at the
epicenter of this growth," he said.
“The
real problem is not in 2011, it is in 2012 because we are going to
start off
with a budget of US$2 billion and US$1,1 billion on anything
else,” he
said.
“The real gnashing of teeth will be in 2012 and you must brace for
a long
winter of despondency,” Biti said.
“More importantly, there is
said a real danger of government running
completely down as early as October
2011.
“We are likely to run monthly cash deficits and we shall face
difficulties
in covering obligatory expenditure commitments."
But the
minister unveiled a cocktail of measures aimed at protecting local
industry
from cheap imports.
Import duty on some food stuffs ranging between 10
percent and 25 percent
was restored.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai Karimakwenda
28
July, 2011
Figures published by a daily newspaper in Zimbabwe have
revealed that Robert
Mugabe spends an extravagant amount of money on foreign
travel, gobbling up
over US$20 million so far this year. According to the
Daily News, that
amount is “way beyond” Mugabe’s US$15 million travel budget
for the year.
In comparison the paper said Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and his
deputies have so far spent just US$3, 7 million, or
almost three quarters of
their US$5 million travel budget for the
year.
Using statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the paper
calculated that travel expenses for government officials were “enough to
finance anti-retroviral treatment for almost 600 000 people for six straight
months in a public health system.”
The 87 year old Mugabe has
reportedly travelled to the Far East at least
five times this year,
allegedly seeking medical treatment. He also attended
the beatification of
Pope John Paul II ceremony in Rome in May and was
reportedly the only head
of state at a youth conference in New York this
week.
“It is
embarrassing because he has no business at a youth conference,” said
political commentator Professor John Makumbe, adding that Mugabe is always
itching to go to the West to “facilitate shopping” for his wife Grace and
replenish their supplies of luxurious goods.
Makumbe told SW Radio Africa
that Mugabe’s trips are “irresponsible” given
the dire economic straits that
the country is in.
“Civil servants are being paid slave wages and cannot
make ends meet.
Programmes are in limbo because government claims there is
no money. So it
is irresponsible,” Makumbe explained.
Most of Prime
Minister Tsvangirai’s travel allocation was reportedly spent
on a recent
regional tour to lobby regional SADC leaders on the Zimbabwe
crisis. The
MDC-T leader has been known to travel with a small delegation,
as opposed to
Mugabe’s well documented 70-men entourage.
In his Medium Term Budget
report on Wednesday Finance Minister Tendai Biti
told parliament he feared
the travel budget for government officials would
drain the national treasury
of much needed development funds. He also said
the country is facing a debt
of about US$9 billion which needs to be
serviced.
Unfortunately ZANU
PF has continued with policies that discourage investment
in Zimbabwe and
the economy is not likely to improve as long as the
political crisis is not
resolved.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The house of Marjorie Chikwasha, an
MDC activist in Ward 12 Nyanga South,
Manicaland province was burnt by known
Zanu PF mobsters on Tuesday night.
Chikwasha lost three bags of fertiliser,
two 50kg bags of maize and kitchen
utensils. She made a report at Nyanga
Police Station but no arrests have
been made.
28.07.1104:50pm
by MDC
Information & Publicity Department
This is the second attack on
MDC members in less than a week. On Sunday
night, in Chiredzi West, Tawanda
Imbayago's house, the MDC secretary for
Ward 28, was burnt down by known
Zanu PF arsonists. A report was also made
at Chiredzi Police Station but
again no arrests have been made although the
culprits have been
identified.
Meanwhile, the 13 human rights activists who were arrested
yesterday for
holding a peaceful demonstration outside the High Court are
still detained
at the Harare Central Police Station.
The
demonstrators were calling for the granting of bail to eight MDC members
who
were arrested in May on false allegations of murdering a police officer
in
Glen View. One of them, Cynthia Manjoro was granted a US$500 bail today.
The
police officer was murdered by unknown people at a night club.
Tomorrow
the 24 MDC activists who were arrested in connection with the
murder will
appear at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts for routine remand.
The MDC
Today - Issue 223
http://www.radiovop.com/
Bulawayo, July 28,
2011- Police in Bulawayo on Thursday morning arrested and
dragged to court
Newsday senior court reporter, Richard Muponde on charges
of criminal
defamation.
However Muponde was temporarily released after state
prosecutors based
Bulawayo Tredgold Magistrate Court refused to present him
before a
magistrate court saying that police should bring more evidence in
the case.
According to the police Muponde defamed a bogus Bulawayo Estate
Agent,
Christopher Mangisi who is also facing charges in court of defrauding
a 70
year-old city woman Sophie Mpofu.
Mangisi made a report to
police against Muponde saying that he defamed him,
by writing his fraud case
in the Newsday before talking to him. Police then
picked the journalist at
his Bulawayo Newsday offices on Thursday morning
before dragging him to
court.
Speaking to Radio VOP Muponde’s lawyer Josphat Tshuma of Webb Low
and Barry,
said he was surprised that the police had arrested a journalist
who was
exposing corruption.
“When a case is in court it’s longer a
private matter but it is for public
compensation and I don’t see the reasons
why police arrested a journalist
for reporting such a case. This is just
continuous harassment of media
practitioners in Zimbabwe by police,” said
Tshuma.
The arrest of Muponde comes barely two weeks after police
arrested four
other journalists from the same city, Nqobani Ndlovu of The
Standard, Pindai
Dube of Daily News and two freelancers, Osca Nkala and
Pamenos Tuso who were
detained at Ntabazinduna police training depot for
witnessing an eviction of
senior police officer who had been fired from the
force for playing Movement
of Democratic Change (MDC) songs.
http://www.voanews.com/
27 July
2011
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce President Trust Chikohora
said Biti’s
US$40 million fund for distressed industries stands to boost
companies
unable to finance locally
Gibbs Dube |
Washington
Business people and economists offered mixed reactions on
Wednesday to
Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s mid-term budget
review with some
economists calling it a non-event but industry leaders
praising Biti's plan
to expand credit to struggling firms.
Economist
Eric Bloch said the mid-year fiscal policy review statement was
somewhat
disappointing as Biti did not go into much detail on how he’ll
close the
deficit gap which he projected at some US$700 million by year's
end, other
than to promise to slash foreign travel by government officials
and scrub
state payrolls of ghost workers.
“The minister gave a lot of statistical
information ... but could not
indicate any plans whatsoever to reduce
expenditure or to minimize the
deficit,” Bloch said.
Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce President Trust Chikohora said Biti’s
US$40
million fund for distressed industries should help companies unable to
finance locally.
Under the Distressed and Marginalized Areas Fund,
the government and a local
pension fund will each make US$20 million
available, though details have yet
to be finalized.
Chikohora said
that some companies stand to benefit from the restoration of
customs duties
on commodities. “We hope our industries will be in a position
to fully
produce mealie-meal and cooking oil despite some of these
challenges,”
Chikohora said.
Economist Tony Hawkins said some of the problems that
companies are
highlighting are arising from production of poor quality
goods, rather than
a lack of credit.
Political commentator Roderick
Fayayo said that despite Biti’s optimism
about growth this year, economic
risks are on the rise. “If friction among
the governing parties continues
this will derail economic recovery,” Fayayo
cautioned.
Elsewhere,
Biti and President Robert Mugabe are set to clash over proposals
for
Zimbabwe to join the South African rand zone.
Biti said the country will
benefit from adopting the rand, but President
Mugabe and hardliners in his
ZANU-PF party say Zimbabwe should restore its
own dollar, abandoned in 2009
after it became worthless, arguing that issues
of sovereignty are at stake.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Victoria Falls, July 28, 2011 - The head of
the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries (CZI) has taken a swipe at the
country’s political leaders for
engaging in what he termed 'political
supremacy' at the expense of economic
growth as the country is set to have a
budget deficit of US$ 700 million
this year.
The CZI president,
Joseph Kanyekanye, was addressing an annual congress of
the businesses
organisation.
He said political parties in government were more interested in
political
scores than the growth of the economy.
“Our politicians are
engaged in mortal danger for political supremacy at the
expense of our
economic growth, industry viability and ultimately at great
disservice to
young generations,” Kanyekanye told business leaders on
Wednesday.
“We are a nation of elections, restructuring of parties,
congresses and
primaries between an election and outstanding issues. These
elections about
elections and election dissipate economic recovery efforts
and create
deep-seated anti-business policies and
actions.”
Kanyekanye's statements conflicts with his earlier statements
when he
attended a Zanu (PF) anti-sanctions campaign earlier this year where
he
praised President Robert Mugabe and war veterans of the liberation
struggle.
Other business leaders said the statements by Kanyekanye did not
reflect all
the industry representatives.
Although the unity
government formed two years ago was initially set to
stabilise the economy,
the talk of elections has seen investors holding on
to their monies as they
fear chaos will disrupt business activity during
elections.
Although
no dates have been set for holding of elections, President Robert
Mugabe and
his Zanu (PF) party have been insisting that the country hold
elections,
while Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC have demanded
for reforms
before holding any polls.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
28/07/2011 00:00:00
by
Gilbert Nyambabvu
THE government has not officially responded to
empowerment proposals made by
the country’s leading platinum mining firm
Zimbabwe Platinum (Zimplats), the
company's chief executive said on
Thursday.
"We submitted our plan in terms of the law. The plan takes into
account our
agreement with government as well as community involvement,"
Alex Mhembere
told Reuters, adding the company has yet to hear back from
empowerment
minister, Saviour Kasukuwere.
Zimplats is 87 percent
contrlled by South Africa-based Impala Platinum
(Implats), the world’s
second largest platinum producer. Implats also has a
50 percent interest in
Mimosa Platinum Mine located in the Midlands town of
Zvishavane.
"He
(Kasukuwere) has not officially communicated to us," Mhembere
said.
Mhembere’s comments come after Kasukuwere announced that all the
175
proposals submitted by companies had been thrown out after failing to
meet
the minimum requirements.
Foreign companies are required by low
to localise control of at least 51
percent of their shareholding as part of
measures aimed at economically
empowering the country’s historically
disadvantaged black majority.
But Kasukuwere said most of the proposals
submitted to his office fell far
short of the minimum threshold with
companies offering around 26 percent
equity and the balance in a combination
of so-called social credits that
include investing in local communities’
development.
Zimplats has particularly come under attack from the
government with
President Robert Mugabe accusing the company of looting from
the country.
“Zimplats has never given us any substantial money,” Mugabe said
early this
year.
“They are taking all the money to South Africa
that’s why I have told
(Empowerment Minister Saviour) Kasukuwere to deal
with those mines.
The company had a prior deal with the government under
which it gave up part
of its mineral resource base in return for empowerment
credits and wants the
arrangement to be considered as part of its overall
compliance plan.
The government is resisting the proposal.
A proposed
US$450 million expansion programme which will see platinum
production
boosted by 90 000 ounces to reach annualized output of 270 000
ounces will,
however, not be affected by the indigenization dispute, company
officials
insist.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Sapa | 28 July, 2011
Zimbabwe is in
talks with US financial authorities to import American coins,
after
dollarisation left the country without any change, Finance Minister
Tendai
Biti says.
"Efforts to import small dollar coins to ease the small change
problem are
continuing, with the Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe now
spearheading the
process in liaison with US financial authorities," he said
in The Herald
newspaper.
"It is envisaged that the coins will be
availed before the end of the year,"
he said.
Zimbabwe abandoned its
local currency in 2009, after years of hyperinflation
left it worthless. Now
the government allows trade in major foreign
currencies, but the US dollar
has taken over as the currency of reference.
US banknotes are now readily
available, but the country has no coins.
If shoppers make a purchase that
doesn't total an even dollar amount, they
are forced to buy candies or other
small items to make up the difference.
Otherwise they receive a handwritten
IOU on the back of their till slip,
redeemable back at the same shop.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
28 July 2011
IT specialist Cynthia Manjoro, who was arrested
and charged in connection
with the murder of a police officer in Glen View
in May this year, was
finally released on bail on Thursday.
High
Court Judge, Justice Samuel Kudya conceded there was “a change in
circumstances” in Manjoro’s case, which warranted the 26 year old and mother
of one to be released on US$500 bail. The judge however denied the other
seven bail, saying they were still a flight risk considering that at the
time of their arrests, all had fled their homes.
Initially when
Manjoro was first denied bail, Judge Tendai Uchena said she
had no child,
when in fact the information was contained in the state’s own
case
outline.
Pro-democracy activist, Hopewell Gumbo told SW Radio Africa that
one of the
other circumstances that led to Manjoro being released was that
she was due
to start a post graduate degree with the National University of
Science and
Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo.
“Her offer letter to study
for a Masters’ degree came when she was in
custody. The fact that she is a
young mother with a son to look after and
due to start a degree program
wouldn’t make her a flight risk,” Gumbo said.
Human rights groups,
friends and family have all welcomed her release. But
they have also voiced
their dismay over the conditions the remaining seven
activists are facing in
detention, and urged the authorities to free them.
Those who remain in
custody are councillor Tungamirai Madzokere of Ward 32
Glen View, brothers
Lazarus and Stanford Maengahama, Phineas Nhatarikwa,
Stanford Mangwiro,
Yvonne Musarurwa and Rebecca Mafikeni.
Manjoro’s mother, Anna used
Facebook, the social networking site to thank
people for their support. She
wrote “the burden was getting heavier
sometimes but you were all there to
make it lighter.”
“May the almighty god bless each and every one of you
for your unwavering
support. Stage one is over, we continue fighting for the
final acquittal.
Thank you all,” she said.
The defence team is
already working on plans to launch an appeal at the
Supreme Court following
indications from state prosecutors that the murder
trial of police inspector
Petros Mutedza will begin in early next year.
“This is outrageous because
it will mean these comrades will spend another
six to seven months (in
prison) before their trial begins,” Gumbo said.
These seven are part of a
group of 24 MDC activists who are facing the same
false charges. Inspector
Mutedza was murdered by unknown revellers at a
night club in Glen View. The
other 16 members were granted bail in July.
Meanwhile police have charged
13 Restoration of Human Rights of Zimbabwe
(ROHR) activists with ‘public
nuisance’ after they were arrested outside the
High court on Wednesday. The
group staged a protest against the continued
detention of the MDC activists
facing the murder charges.
Lawyer Gift Mtisi said the charges laid
against the protesters were changed
from that of ‘unlawful gathering’ to the
lesser charge of ‘public nuisance’.
“They were asked to pay a fine of
US$20 each so hopefully they should enjoy
their freedom once the money is
paid by ROHR,” Mtisi said.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Edward Jones Thursday 28 July
2011
HARARE – A planned Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission should
be fully
independent and mandated to investigate rights abuses dating back
to the
violent 2008 presidential election run-off, local rights groups have
said.
A parliamentary committee has been trying to gather views from
Zimbabweans
on a new Human Rights Bill seeking to establish the independent
rights body,
but a hearing at Parliament building last Saturday degenerated
into violence
after ZANU-PF supporters disrupted the meeting.
The
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, a local grouping of rights bodies, said
the
commission should be independent to investigate rights violations and
have
the power to force witnesses to appear before the body to produce
evidence.
“The Commission should be given a mandate that enables it
to investigate the
2008 violations,” the rights group said in its
submissions on the bill.
“The Commission should be given the broad
mandate to monitor compliance by
the government of its obligations under the
international law. As a result,
its scope of violations should cover all
issues covered by international
human rights instruments to which Zimbabwe
is a party.”
The current bill restricts the commission to investigate
abuses carried out
after February 13, 2009 when the unity government was
formed but the NGO
Forum also said in its form, the bill limited the scope
of the commission’s
operations.
Critics have often accused President
Robert Mugabe’s government of human
rights violations, one of the reasons
Western countries imposed sanctions on
the octogenarian leader and his
allies.
In 2008, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of an
election run-off
saying he was shocked by the level of political violence
aided by the
military, which his Movement for Democratic Change party says
led to the
death of more than 200 of the party’s supporters.
State
security organs have also come under fire for failing to act on abuses
and
abetting rights violations to keep the 87-year-old leader in
power.
Mugabe denies the charges and instead says he is a victim of a
hostile
Western campaign to remove him from power.
“The Commission
should be given the competence to promote, protect and
secure human rights
and this should be clearly outlined in the Act. Its
specific powers in that
regard should be clearly and expressly prescribed,”
the NGO Forum said in
the submissions.
Some rights groups also want the commission to
investigate abuses during the
turbulent early years of independence when
North Korean-trained soldiers,
under Mugabe’s command, are accused of
brutally putting down a rebellion in
Matabeleland and Midlands
Province.
More than 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed
during the army
crackdown infamously known as Gukurahundi.
The NGO
Forum said the Human Rights Commission should be divorced from any
government activities and should be empowered to file its own reports before
international human rights treaty bodies.
In the current bill, that
is still to be debated by Parliament, the
commission will help the
government to draft reports that will be presented
at international fora
that handle or deal with rights issues.
The rights groups are seeking a
clause in the Bill to provide for punitive
measures against people who
interfere with the work of the Commission to
undermine its
independence.
They also want the Commission to follow up on the
implementation of its
recommendations and decisions and to intervene in
relevant cases before the
courts. -- ZimOnline
http://www.radiovop.com
By Beven
Takunda, Harare, July 28, 2011 - A Harare street kid on Thursday
told a
media workshop here that he and other street children had experienced
sexual
abuse from members of the army and police who raided their makeshift
homes
every night.
Giving a testimony, the street child who is now a peer
educator under the
Streets Ahead, a non-governmental organisation dealing
with homeless
children, revealed that street children were under threat from
people who
were supposed to be protecting them.
“Both police and
soldiers come in the night harassing us as to why we are on
the streets and
pretend to ask us about our identity documents. Young girls
are raped within
the vicinity of our bases, while defenceless boys are often
sodomised,” said
the boy who could not be named because he is a minor.
The young boy said
the majority of the street children were seeking for
treatment at local
hospitals for sexually transmitted infections (STI’s).
“Most of us are
suffering from gonorrhoea, genital herpes and syphilis as a
result of such
abuses," said the boy, adding the situation was worsened by
the fact that
the street children lacked knowledge of safe sex practices.
An estimated
12 000 street children are believed to be staying in the street
of Zimbabwe,
5 000 of whom live in Harare.
Streets Ahead confirmed receiving street
children who are infected by STIs
including HIV/AIDS and unwanted
pregnancies. It said it registers at least
20 new children every
month.
Once living on the street, children are particularly vulnerable;
especially
the girls who often risk back street abortions. These girls later
suffer the
trauma of dealing with the terrible impact of these abortions on
their own
health. Other girls keep their children. As a result of this
Harare is
beginning to see second and third generations of children who only
know a
community on the streets.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, July 28, 2011
- Minister of State in Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Office Jameson
Timba has launched an ambitious fight for the
closure of the condemned
Matapi police cells.
Timba who was arrested and locked up at the Matapi
police cells last month
has written to Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda asking
him to close the cells
because they are not fit for human
habitation.
The Matapi police cells where condemned in 2005 by the
Supreme Court in a
ruling passed by Chief Justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku.
“Your worship, the above inadequacies in the holding cells
are a threat to
public health in the city and beyond,” said Timba in a July
22 letter to
Masunda also copied to the city of Harare Town Clerk, City
Health Director,
co-ministers of Home Affairs, Minister of Justice and Legal
Affairs,
Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and the
International
Committee of the Red Cross.
“I am, therefore,
requesting that the city invokes the relevant by-laws and
shut down this
inhuman facility in the interest of public health until the
relevant
authorities have rectified the above inadequacies to your
satisfaction.”
Timba was arrested for calling Mugabe a
“liar”.
“May l also say that any policeman who has detained anyone at
Matapi –
before council rectifies the inadequacies noted by the Supreme
Court – is in
contempt of court from the date of the ruling,” Timba
said.
The latest calls by Timba – one of Tsvangirai’s closest aides and
advisors –
come as the country has witnessed an escalation in the arrests of
non-Zanu
(PF) members and others fighting for more enhanced individual
freedoms.
In a 2005 ruling on the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union
secretary general
Wellington Chibebe, Nancy Kachingwe and the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human
Rights’ application for better detention conditions,
Chidyausiku described
the Matapi cells and those in Highlands as “degrading,
inhumane and unfit
for holding criminal suspects.”
The ruling also
ordered the Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) to improve
conditions in the
country’s jails.
Zimbabwe’s correctional services are generally
deplorable and in recent
years a commission led by another Supreme Court
judge Rita Makarau decried
overcrowding, poor diet and the high prevalence
of disease, and pestilence
in the country’s jails.
Recently, a
parliamentary committee also raised the same issues – bordering
on human
rights abuses – and urged authorities to act on the state of the
country’s
prisons.
The committee concluded that some of the country’s jails are a
death
sentence in themselves.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Hwange, July 29, 2011 - The trial of
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
deputy national chairperson and non
constituency Senator Morgan Komichi for
allegedly communicating falsehoods
commenced this week at Hwange Magistrates
Court.
Regional Magistrate
Ndlovu presided over the trial on Tuesday where one
witness only turned up
leading to the postponement of the trial to 15
August.
Prosecutors
allege that Senator Komichi, who is represented by Nosimilo
Chanayiwa of
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), communicated
falsehoods when he
addressed and told supporters at an MDC rally in Lupane,
Matabeleland North
province in February last year that the provincial
police, led by the
Officer Commanding Matabeleland North Senior Assistant
Commissioner, Edmore
Veterai, were unwilling to release three party vehicles
which were impounded
by the police.
They claim that Senator Komichi made reference to the
impounding of the
vehicles at a rally held at Negasha stadium in Lupane in
February this year
where he allegedly said Veterai had confiscated these
vehicles to further
the interests of Zanu (PF).
Lupane police
impounded Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s campaign vehicle
and two others
belonging to the party’s Matabeleland North province and the
Youth Assembly
during the run-up to the sham June 2008 presidential
elections.
The
vehicles are still being kept by the police.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Thursday, 28
July 2011 16:02
HARARE - Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono still
stands by his 2007
statement on indigenisation saying the there was need to
strike a balance
between the objectives of indigenisation and the need to
attract investment,
a development which could set him for a collision course
with Zanu PF
officials.
He said a few greedy well connected
officials were making the most noise on
indigenisation to grab so that they
grab the wealth on their own.
Gono has in the past clashed with the
Minister of Indigenisation Saviour
Kasukuwere while several Zanu PF hawks,
who are eying to grab companies
through the controversial indigenisation
law, have also been at odds with
the central bank governor over the
issue.
The central bank maintains that senior government officials and
well
connected individuals were already positioning themselves to muscle
into
certain mining, manufacturing, financial and other entities that are
performing well and contributing to foreign currency inflows of the
country.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday Gono said he still stands
by “every
word” of what he said in the statement but reiterated that since
the law had
already been approved by Parliament and ascended to by President
Robert
Mugabe, the law had to be followed.
“The law must be complied
with but my advice of 2007 still stands. Our
advice is still valid. Our
advice on the banking sector remains that those
who want banks must come to
us and we give them banking licences,” said
Gono.
This comes amid
reports that Zimbabwe is losing huge sums of money with
investors
transferring millions of dollars from the country as they are not
sure if
their investments are safe.
Gono said while the policy is “noble” as it
is aimed to empower the majority
of Zimbabweans, it is being done in the
wrong way and therefore benefitting
a small clique who wanted to amass
wealth in a “starkly greedy but
irresponsible manner.”
An advisor to
government on economic policies, Gono said: “ We should ensure
that the
empowerment drive was not derailed by a few well-connected cliques,
some who
are already making the most noise in ostensible support of this
initiative,
who would want to amass wealth to themselves in a starkly greedy
but
irresponsible manner whilst the intended majority remain with nothing as
happened in the past with respect to government empowerment schemes such as
the land reform programme.”
The monetary policy document of the
October 1, 2007 states that
indigenisation should be implemented in a manner
which would enable the
investors to plough back while at the same time
getting a return on their
investment.
“Specifically, the local
foreign-ownership thresholds must be taken and
implemented as down the
horizon targets as opposed to excitable but
impractical overnight conversion
events.”
He recommended that for organisations worth over $500 million,
the degree of
indigenisation should be 20 percent over a period of five
years and 45
percent from the sixth to the 10th year and that full
compliance of the 51
percent could only be possible after 15
years.
This approach he said, would not only promote fair valuation and
reasonable return of initial investment outlays but would go a long way in
ensuring a smooth transition from old to new shareholders.
“Where
foreign investors bring in clear long-term benefits to the country, a
reasonable degree of flexibility ought to be exercised in allowing investors
to hold at least in the initial stages, majority shareholding so as to
deliberately accord them escalated dividends that enable them to plough back
their initial investments outlays.”
“Beyond pre-agreed time
thresholds, foreign shareholding can then be diluted
on a gradual win-win
basis, in line with the otherwise noble objectives of
indigenisation and
empowerment.
Turning to the issue of foreign-owned banks Gono said: “Of
particular
concern to us as monetary authorities would be attempts to
forcibly push the
envelop of indigenisation into the delicate area of
banking and finance.
“To this end, we call upon those with interests in
the financial sector to
approach the central bank with their applications
for new banking licences.
Generally, we believe that 27 years down the road,
there should be no free
lunches,” said Gono in the 2007 statement which he
said is still valid
advice.
Government, however insists that
indigenisation should take place at 51
percent across the board but the
flip side is that at this rate only a few
will benefit from the national
programme.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Thursday, 28 July
2011 14:56
HARARE - Members of the army and police must be allowed to
freely exercise
their political choices during election time without any
supervision from
their superiors, an electoral law specialist has
said.
Alex Magaisa, a United Kingdom-based lawyer and political
analyst, said this
while speaking at an electoral lecture organised by
Zimbabwe Elections
Support Network (Zesn) yesterday.
Magaisa said the
new electoral law should ensure transparency in the special
voting process
for security forces to ensure that members of the military
and police were
allowed to vote without fear or intimidation.
According to reports
police, army and prisons commanders have in the past
closely supervised
junior members while exercising their right to vote in
police stations and
military barracks.
The Kent Law School lecturer said new electoral law
should have provisions
for the sanctioning of military personnel and other
civil servants who make
inflammatory statements that have potential to
undermine constitutional
democracy.
Several army chiefs have openly
declared they will not accept anyone without
liberation credentials to
become president, in a veiled reference to MDC
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Magaisa added that the new electoral law should give teeth to
the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission to sanction the media against using hate
speech and
derogatory messages against political parties.
“There must
be clear and specific sanctions against media companies for
breaching these
rules. This could include suspension of broadcasting
licences for a
specified period. These powers must be exercised by the
commission,” said
Magaisa.‘
Last updated at 2:06 PM on 28th July 2011
The president
splashes cash on first-class jaunts around Africa and Asia, often with an
entourage of more than 70, while his country remains desperately
poverty-stricken.
The Daily News,
one of the few independent newspapers in Zimbabwe, claimed official papers
revealed the despotic leader spent £12million on travel in the first six months
of this year.
Spendthrift: Mugabe is accused of spending over £12 million on travel so far this year
That means that
Mugabe has already considerably overspent his entire annual budget for
transport, at a time when millions of Zimbabweans face
poverty.
The publication reported: 'President Robert Mugabe is the biggest spender in government as revelations emerge that he overshot his annual foreign travel budget by a massive 133 percent in just six months.
'So legendary is
Mugabe's penchant for foreign travel that he has chewed over $20million to date,
way beyond his $15million annual presidential travel budget.'
The alleged
details of Mugabe's spending come after the president made a series of high
profile overseas trips.
The Daily News
claimed the 87-year-old leader had been to the Far East at least five times
already this year, with several trips believed to be for him to receive medical
attention at a top private hospital in Singapore.
Morgan Tsvangirai: The prime minister is also accused of spending too much on foreign travel
He has also made
numerous visits to other countries within Africa, and flew to Rome in May to
witness the beatification of the late Pope Jean Paul II.
Mugabe has been
widely criticised for his expensive tastes in Zimbabwe, where many state workers
earn just £60 a month and millions experience
unemployment.
Local media has
previously reported how the country's national airline Air Zimbabwe is often
forced to hand over one of its seven planes at the whim of the
president.
Mugabe is
believed to have chartered jets from the state-owned company several times this
year to travel overseas with his huge entourage of friends, assistants and
security guards.
The Daily News
claimed that the £12million he has spent on foreign travel could have funded
life-saving medication for six months for almost 600,000 HIV
patients.
The controversy
over Mugabe's spending follows criticism from his Zanu-PF party this week over
the amount spent on travel by opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Mr Tsvangirai,
who has served as Zimbabwe's prime minister under a unity government since
February 2009, has reportedly already spent £2.2million of his department's
annual £3million transport budget.
The country's
finance minister Tendai Biti told parliament he feared excessive spending on
travel could delay Zimbabwe's economic recovery. Presenting his budget this
week, he added that the country faced a £430million
deficit.
Controversy: Mugabe trips include his visit to Rome, pictured, for the beatification of John Paul II
Campaigners have
called for the government to slash its spending on luxuries like travel and
concentrate on improving the lives of its people.
Joy Mabenge,
head of the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development, told the Daily News the
current wastage was unacceptable.
She said: 'The
meagre revenue by government should be directed towards critical needs like
health, antiretroviral drugs and education.
'Government leaders should avoid squeezing the fiscus on issues that do not benefit the entire nation.'
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
ROHR Zimbabwe strongly
condemns the arrests of its activists on Wednesday.
The arrests are a
despicable, barefaced and appalling show of discriminatory
policing.
28.07.1106:39am
by Staff Writer Zim Office
Just
days ago hooligans got away with stone age like beatings, muggings,
theft as
well as defilement of the August house while peaceful human rights
activists
are wantonly arrested ,beaten and detained for harmlessly carrying
placards
and merely reminding that justice is a right to any persons whether
facing
allegations or note.
The Police’s behavior is both unparalleled and
unimaginable in this century.
We challenge the Police to move away this
unacceptable, despicable and
shameful policy of heavy handedness, selective
policing and human rights
abuse.
We therefore demand the immediate
unconditional release of the thirteen ROHR
Zimbabwe activists without
further delay. Justice, equality and freedoms
cannot be taken away or denied
on political grounds. Furthermore, the
sovereign police force must be there
to serve Zimbabwe without fear of
favour.
It is regrettable that this
country has had an unfortunate heritage of
pleasure arrests where the
arresting of any opposing figure massages the ego
of police commanders.
Illegal arrests, detentions, intimidation and torture
seem to stand out more
like state policy. Human rights activist, lawyers;
journalists, political
activists and political leaders have been among those
who have fallen victim
to this Iron Age Headman type of silencing dissent.
Understanding that
these wanton arrests causes serious physical and
psychological irreparable
damage, ROHR Zimbabwe notes with concern that in
cases in which the state is
accused of carrying unlawful arrests and
detentions on members of the
public, the victims have stood no chance of
restitution even when they are
vindicated by the law as always is the case.
We demand a fundamental
Policing shift from this medieval macho man style to
modern day professional
conduct.
ROHR Zimbabwe challenges the inclusive government to guarantee
the right to
freedoms of speech and after, freedoms of expression and
movement and to
ensure basic human rights are observed and religiously
upheld.
Simon Moyo
28 July 2011
Torture, oh torture why is it so much used against my brethren?
Since I was a kid in the 80s torture in my beloved Zimbabwe has been used by the state. I vaguely remember the likes of Lookout Masuku, the ZIPRA commander who was tortured to death by President Mugabe hard boys in the late 80s. More poignantly I recall heartbreaking sight of political and social activists limping into the court rooms scattered around the country, painfully wobbling on feet beaten in order to induce submission.
Victims or rather survivors of torture speak of harrowing tales in the lice infested dungeons that the authorities call cells.
In recent times the MDC has borne the full brunt of torture and I remember vividly Tendai Biti, now Finance Minister, limping to courts after he was charged with treason in 2008; Biti was beaten. Jestina Mukoko was also tortured in the same year.
In recent days the MDC-T has had its activists arrested on trumped up charges of killing a cop in Glen View, but perhaps more fresh is the arrest and subsequent torture of Minister of State in the Prime Minister officer James Timba.
If the state can torture ministers and prominent activists what about the simple people, who fight daily for survival and democracy?
I yearn for a Zimbabwe that condemns torture for as the UN chief put it; torture can never be justified.