145 Robert Mugabe
Way, Exploration House, Third Floor; Website: www.chra.co.zwSW Radio Africa News Stories for 06 July 2010
By Alex Bell
06 July 2010
Zimbabweans who originally fled their homes for the relative security of South Africa are now fleeing back into the country, amid rising fears of xenophobic violence.
For several weeks there have been mounting fears among South Africa’s community of immigrants, after rumours started circulating that there would be xenophobic violence targeting all foreign nationals in South Africa after the football World Cup comes to an end.
Human rights groups have attributed the alleged threats of violence to fears that the job market will dry up when the tournament comes to an end. There was a significant boost in jobs over the past few years, particularly in the construction sector, as the country prepared to host the international football tournament. But with the job market once again contracting, the same anger that fuelled xenophobic violence in 2008 is beginning to resurface.
The 2008 attacks, which swept across the country in a manner of days, saw angry locals blaming foreigners for ‘stealing’ their jobs. More than 60 people were murdered and thousands of foreigners fled their homes, living in refugee camps for several weeks. The same xenophobic tensions have continued to simmer over the past two years, with isolated attacks flaring up every so often.
The South African government was last month forced to reinstate the Inter-Ministerial Committee on xenophobia to look into the rumoured threats of more violence. Last week, the head of that committee, Police Minister Nathi Mtetwa stated that the government “will not tolerate any threat or act of violence against any individual or sector of society, no matter what reasons are given to justify such threats or actions.” He said in a statement that the government is closely monitoring these xenophobic threats by what he called “faceless criminals whose desire is to create anarchy.”
Braam Hanekom from the South African refugee rights group, PASSOP, told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the rumours have spread like wildfire, despite there being no basis for the rumours to begin. He explained that there are fears now that the rumours will become a “self fulfilling prophecy,” because tensions are so high.
“It will just take one incident in one community to provide that spark that will spread this countrywide,” Hanekom said. “These rumours have created a highly flammable situation.”
The rumoured threats of violence have continued to gather steam and public fears are running high. Zimbabwean nationals have told SW Radio Africa that letters are going around some communities in Johannesburg, telling foreigners to be gone by the time the World Cup ends. Others have said that police officials have refused to assist them when they’ve gone to police stations report threats of violence.
There are now increasing reports of foreigners beginning to leave their South African homes, fearing the violence that, if the rumours are to be believed, will begin when the football spectacle ends this weekend. On Tuesday, South African press reported how foreigner nationals were leaving Cape Town in great numbers, begging lifts at local petrol stations to escape the Mother City.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa also reported on Tuesday that many Zimbabweans are returning to their home country, fearing the rumoured violence in South Africa. He said there has been heavy congestion at the Beitbridge border post and on the main highways to Harare, with people returning to the country.
“People have told me that would rather be back home than face violence in South Africa,” Muchemwa said.
SW Radio Africa News Stories for 06 July 2010
By Lance Guma
06 June 2010
New co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone has dismissed press reports accusing her of conniving with Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa, to intimidate police officers into releasing his son, Martin Mutasa.
State media reported that Makone and Mutasa visited Mbare, Matapi and Stodart police stations in Harare last week to demand the release of Mutasa’s son Martin. The 47 year old was arrested alongside notorious ZANU PF activist Themba Mliswa and George Marere after trying to seize shareholding worth US$1 million from a company owned by white businessman Paul Westwood.
But in an exclusive in depth interview with our Behind the Headlines series Makone said Mutasa approached her seeking help to locate his son who had been arrested the day before.
“Mutasa did not come to ask for assistance to have his son removed from police detention. He came to ask for assistance to locate his son. So it was in that spirit that as co-Home Affairs Minister I actually went about locating the son of the Minister,” Makone said.
“In MDC we have had so many people go missing, some after police arrests and others after abductions and there is no way that I as Minister of Home Affairs will sit and do nothing when a member of the public, be it ZANU PF, MDC, Ndonga, Dawn Kusile, I don’t care which one. If they come and are worried about the location of their relatives who have been taken by police of which I am Minister, I will make it my business to find that person,” Makone added.
Makone said when they finally located Martin Mutasa that was the end of her mission.
“What happened after whether (Didymus) Mutasa held any conversation with them (police), I cannot be answerable to that but I will do my job for any Zimbabwean. No one in the police force can say I asked them to release Martin Mutasa,” she said.
Makone meanwhile refused to comment on the alleged involvement of police commissioner Augustine Chihuri, who is reported to have an interest in the company whose shares were allegedly fraudulently acquired by Martin and his colleagues. She said her interest in the matter ended with the location of Mutasa’s son. She also denied receiving a letter from Mliswa who said he wrote a letter to the Home Affairs Ministry complaining about the harassment from Chihuri.
“If I receive the letter, I will respond to it,” she said.
So is Makone not worried about the perception of MDC members to her involvement in helping Minister Mutasa?
“Well I really don’t blame them. I would have thought the same too. But when you have the responsibility of the nation you cease to be an MDC Minister. I can understand them wanting me to sit back and enjoy when a ZANU PF person has lost their son in the system. But if that is the way we are going to run the country, then God help us,” she responded.
Makone also denied widespread media coverage that she was a close friend of Jocelyn Chiwenga the wife of army commander General Constantine Chiwenga.
“If someone comes to my salon is that the definition of a friend? I run a very busy and professional joint which is used by all women who want to look nice,” Makone said.
NB: The full interview between Lance Guma and new co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone will be broadcast this Thursday on Behind the Headlines.
SW Radio Africa News Stories for 06 July 2010
By Irene Madongo
6 July, 2010
A battle is expected at the Harare High Court on Wednesday when lawyers for jailed human rights activist, Farai Maguwu, fight with the state for him to be granted bail.
Maguwu is facing charges of publishing and communicating ‘falsehoods’ that are allegedly prejudicial to the state and faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. The Court is set to decide on whether the diamond monitor should be released on bail or not.
There has been widespread outrage since his bail application was refused on Friday. There has also been anger about the ill-treatment of Maguwu while in police custody. On Tuesday, Amnesty International reiterated calls for the Zimbabwean government to release him, saying in a statement that he is “a prisoner of conscience.” The group has called on the government to release him “immediately and unconditionally.”
According to Maguwu’s lawyer Tinoziva Bere, it is clear the state has been pursuing a vendetta against Maguwu, given the inhumane treatment he is was subjected to, such as keeping his legs chained when he was ill with an upset stomach.
Maguwu remains under police guard at the prison hospital and still needs medical attention, despite an improvement in his health.
“Either Farai will be given bail or denied bail. If he were granted bail, we don’t expect the state to readily agree. We expect a struggle, but it is not new. We expect the Attorney General’s representatives’ to argue strongly that he must not be admitted bail,” Bere said.
Maguwu, who is the director of the Mutare based Centre for Research and Development, has been investigating human rights abuses in the Chiadzwa diamond fields. He has now spent over four weeks in custody while police claim they are carrying out investigations.
He was arrested on June 3 soon after a meeting with the Kimberly Process’ monitor Abbey Chikane. Maguwu told Chikane about ongoing human rights abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields, as well as incidents of illegal gold panning and the smuggling of uncertified diamonds. Maguwu, shortly before his arrest, told SW Radio Africa that he believed that Chikane had deliberately ‘shopped’ him to the police. Chikane was appointed by the Kimberley Process, the international diamond trade watchdog, to monitor Zimbabwe to see if it had ended rights abuses in Chiadzwa.
Maguwu’s imprisonment has also been marked with what is perceived as deliberate delays by the police. The state prosecution argues that Maguwu should remain locked up because police claim they are still making “extra-territorial” investigations.
The officer involved with Maguwu’s case, Detective Inspector Henry Dowa, wants to access information locked in Maguwu’s laptop, which is believed to be in police hands. But they have been unable to access ‘access codes’ for Maguwu’s laptop. Maguwu’s defence team insists that, according to the law, he is entitled to remain silent and as such could not be forced to open files on his laptop.
A new twist to the saga has also emerged after it was reported that Chikane is now also calling for the authorities to free Maguwu. According to the Daily News, Chikane was speaking from Johannesburg on Thursday when he said that “it is not in the best interests” of the Zimbabwean government to arrest people for having meetings with him.
Bere said if the reports about Chikane’s new stance on Maguwu are true the court should consider this development.
“I heard of this, I hope that the courts take judicial notice of that fact. I hope that he would rubbish claims that he had not given his statement to the police or that he has not given the police the documents he claims that he got from Farai, because we believe that he did that and he gave those documents to state authorities,” he said.
Efforts to get Chikane to comment on the claims about his new stance are still underway.
SW Radio Africa News Stories for 06 July 2010
By Tichaona Sibanda
6 July 2010
The MDC-T party on Tuesday strongly accused the influential President of the Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira of abusing his position to undermine the outreach program.
Senator Morgan Komichi, the MDC-T coordinator of the constitutional making process, reacted furiously to reports that Chief Charumbira was allegedly moving around some districts of Masvingo turning consultative meetings into ZANU PF rallies.
Komichi urged the management of the Consitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) to take disciplinary action against those seen as working to “poison or destroy” the program. Charumbira is a senior COPAC delegate meant to be assisting the program.
Komichi said they didn’t mind seeing Charumbira working to further ZANU PF interests in the process, as long as he was not an outreach team member using COPAC resources.
“He has abandoned his duties as a COPAC delegate and is now playing a deconstructive role in the whole process. Because of his prior knowledge of the program in the province, he is now using it to his advantage to turn COPAC meetings into ZANU PF rallies,” Komichi said.
The MDC-T deputy organising secretary explained that Chief Charumbira was visiting venues for COPAC meetings ahead of outreach teams to coerce people to toe the ZANU PF line. Chivi businessman Sanders Magwizi is allegedly also bussing around ZANU PF youth members who are causing havoc in the district together with Charumbira.
“His modus operandi is simple. He wakes up early in the morning, travels to scheduled meetings three or four hours ahead of outreach teams. Once there he reads them the riot act and orders those gathered to strictly follow the ZANU PF line of answering questions,” Komichi said.
Komichi told SW Radio Africa that Chief Charumbira’s actions were a direct attempt to destabilise and create confusion to the outreach process. He said his motive can best be described as seeking to undermine and scuttle a process that is expected to bring back sanity and democracy for Zimbabweans.
The MDC also reported that in Manicaland province, their secretary for Ward 20 in Mutare South had to be hospitalised after sustaining serious internal injuries. The MDC said the officials was assaulted by the village head, Daniel Toopera, with the aid of two ZANU PF brothers, Batsirai and Daniel Makomboti.
“Blessing Musarandega was assaulted after giving his opinion during a Constitution-making outreach public meeting held on 29 June at Munyarari primary school,” an MDC statement said.
Musarandega’s opinions are believed to have infuriated the village head and his ZANU PF colleagues, who had drafted a list of people who were meant to speak at the outreach meeting.
Despite the assault, Musarandega said he would not be deterred from his basic right to participate in the drafting of a new Constitution.
“They want to silence us but they will not succeed. This is a national constitution and not a ZANU PF baby. We are all Zimbabweans; we want our voices to be heard. I will participate again when the outreach team comes back to the area,” Musarandega said.
The MDC said the assailants were reported to the police but no arrests have yet been made.
Duane looks beyond a joint government going up in smoke to the need for true interdependence
On Diaspora Diaries Alex Bell looks at how rumoured threats of xenophobic violence in South Africa have seen scores of foreigners begin to leave their homes. South African press is reporting that foreigner nationals are leaving Cape Town in droves, begging lifts at local petrol stations to escape the Mother City. SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa reports that Zimbabweans are also returning to their home country, fearing the rumoured violence in South Africa. Braam Hanekom from PASSOP says the rumours may become “self fulfilling prophecy.”
callback
On Callback tonight, MDC-T MP for Makoni South Pishai Muchauraya tells us how ZANU PF has stepped up its terror campaign in Manicaland province to intimidate people to toe the party line in the constitutional outreach program. Onest in South Africa highlights the problems of Zimbabweans who return home to visit their relatives, only to face intimidation and threats from Zanu-PF members and supporters, as happened to his two friends.
SW Radio Africa News Stories for 05 July 2010
SW Radio Africa News Stories for 05 July 2010
By Lance Guma
05 July 2010
The personal nature of the feud pitting Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa against Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri blew out into the open this week, when Mutasa accused the police force including its chief of employing brutal Rhodesian tactics to settle personal scores.
Mutasa’s 47 year old son Martin was arrested alongside notorious ZANU PF activist Themba Mliswa and George Marere last week Monday, after trying to seize shareholding worth US$1 million from a company owned by white businessman Paul Westwood. Mutasa, in the company of new MDC-T co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone, is said to have tried to intimidate police into releasing his son.
Speaking to the Daily News online edition, Mutasa said Chihuri and his officers were abusing the state apparatus to harass his son Martin and nephew Mliswa. The Minister claimed that the dispute over the company shares was a civil matter. “It looks like we are back to Rhodesia where Ian Smith used a similar law to abuse innocent people. Look, this is a clear civil matter which has been criminalized by some top police officers to pursue personal interests.’
Mutasa also claimed Chihuri had an interest in the company that was at the centre of the dispute. Although Martin and his colleagues were granted US$400 bail each, the state invoked the notorious Section 121 of the “Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act” to keep them locked up for another seven days. This further infuriated Mutasa who said: “That section must be there for correct usage not this kind of behaviour. Even if it was not my son involved I would have complained.”
By “correct usage” Mutasa probably meant that the law must be used only on perceived opponents of the ZANU PF regime. The same section of the law has been used countless times to keep activists locked up even when bail has been granted by the courts. Mutasa needs no reminding that the filthy conditions in the holding cells where his son is being kept are the very same conditions that people opposed to his ZANU PF regime are kept.
So how did MDC-T co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone become embroiled in all this? “Minister Makone happened to be there and she was concerned that police machinery was now being used to fight business wars. She went to the police station on her own to find out exactly how this so called top person was trying to abuse the system. Actually, when I went to the police station I found her already there,” Mutasa claimed.
“She never demanded the release of anybody. I also never did that. All I did was to encourage the police to take my son and Mliswa to court and not to keep detaining them in a filthy police station over a civil matter. In this cold, they were sleeping without blankets and half naked,” charged Mutasa. Other reports say the two ministers are related.
Political commentator Sanderson Makombe expressed shock at the involvement of Makone in the whole saga. Makombe, who survived a ZANU PF assassination attempt in the 2000 parliamentary elections, said he never thought he would see the day an MDC Minister tried to help secure the release of a ZANU PF minister’s son from prison. Both Ministers erred in visiting the police station to make their complaints because they would only meet junior officers there and this in turn would be viewed as intimidation Makombe said.
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SW Radio Africa News Stories for 05 July 2010
By Irene Madongo
5/7/2010
More independent monitors of the controversial constitutional outreach programme now face official arrest, after being threatened to keep away from the process by the heads of the programme.
The two co-chairpersons of the constitution-making process Paul Munyaradzi Mangwana of ZANU PF and Douglas Mwonzora of the MDC-T, on Sunday gave permission for the police to arrest the monitors, who they say are interfering in the process and are peddling lies. It is feared that many others could disappear into the clutches of the police following this command.
According to our correspondent, Simon Muchemwa, a team of monitors were arrested Thursday in Mutare and others previously in Mashonaland West. Three of them were recently reported to have been abducted by ZANU PF supporters and taken to a farm in the Makonde district of Mashonaland West where they were beaten. In most of the cases the police have failed to act to prevent the intimidation and attacks
The presence of the independent monitors from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is seen as essential for the chaotic process which has so far been marred by reports of violence.
There have been widespread incidences of violence and intimidation since the launch of the constitutional outreach program on last month. The deputy organising secretary of the MDC-T, Morgan Komichi, recently said reports from around the country point to a ZANU PF led orgy of violence that includes assault, intimidation, threats and damage to private property. He said ZANU PF was getting jittery and it showed it was aware it had lost support.
There are around 420 monitors on the ground to shadow the process. The NGOs behind them include the Zimbabwe Peace Project, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. Another group, ZimRights has already condemned the continued harassment of human rights activists in their line of duty.
The abuse of these monitors will also not help matters for the Zimbabwean government internationally. A government delegation recently visited Brussels to meet with the European Union on Friday. It is understood they were told to stop harassing human rights activists and stop government-led waves of violence, if they are to move forward.
Analysts on Sunday also indicated that controversial developments such as the launch of the constitution-making outreach programme, were causing the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to continue to decline.
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SW Radio Africa News Stories for 05 July 2010
By Tichaona Sibanda
5 July 2010
A cheeky campaign putting the country’s elite military junta under the spotlight in neighbouring South Africa has prompted both giggles and gasps in and around Johannesburg.
The unusual campaign which has been well received by Zimbabweans in Johannesburg features a bus embellished with the pictures of the members of the Joint Operations Command (JOC).
The campaign titled ‘Red Card ZIMafia’ has a football theme—in line with the 2010 World Cup currently taking place in South Africa. The campaign, which names and shames JOC members and a ZANU PF clique who are looting the country’s national resources was launched in Johannesburg last week Thursday.
Spokesman for the campaign Munjonzi Mutandiri told SW Radio Africa on Monday that the campaign takes the form of a soccer team, named Zimbabwe’s Worst Eleven.
Mutandiri said ZIMafia was the “unofficial national team” whose club motto is “The Looting Continues,” adding that the team members, portrayed by actors, are the ones who have committed the worst crimes and have enriched themselves most at the expense of the Zimbabwean population.
Reserve bank governor Gideon Gono is designated as Number 1 in the team and is also described as the treasurer to the JOC. The team coach is Robert Mugabe and the rest of the team comprises of top ZANU PF henchmen: Patrick Chinamasa, Obert Mpofu, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Paradzai Zimondi, Perence Shiri, Constantine Chiwenga, Johannes Tomana, Happyton Bonyongwe, Augustine Chihuri and Phillip Sibanda.
The team of actors playing the parts of the ZIMafia eleven tour on the bus, dubbed the ‘bling bus’, are dressed in soccer kits. The ZIMafia team is led by ‘Coach Bob’, and performs a satirical interactive play every day at a different location in the Gauteng area. Audiences are invited to ‘red-card’ the team for cheating and foul play.
“This is a team of people who have robbed Zimbabweans of their freedom and rights. They have also bankrupted the country, leaving a legacy of debt that will take generations to repay, while amassing large personal fortunes,” Mutandiri said.
He said they were also grateful for the support from the South African authorities and citizens, whose constitution guarantees pro-democracy activists from Zimbabwe the precious freedom of speech they don’t have back home.
Mutandiri added that the ‘Red-Card the ZIMafia’ is a campaign whose main objective is to unmask the perpetrators of violence and corruption in Zimbabwe. He said it was also to alert the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) about the danger posed by this ruthless clique, to the peace and security of the region.
ZINASU spokesman Grant Tabvurei on Rules for our Rulers
This week on the programme Lance Guma speaks to Zimbabwe National Students Union spokesman Grant Tabvurei who gives the Union’s view on the ongoing constitutional outreach exercise. Tabvurei expresses concern about ongoing incidents of violence and intimidation. He also talks about unconfirmed reports that recording equipment is being deliberately switched off when views that do not follow the ZANU PF line are being expressed by people at meetings.
In today’s Letter from America, Dr. Stan Mukasa analyzes the subject of power sharing in Africa with specific reference to Zimbabwean and Kenyan experiences.
On Callback tonight, Mike says he and other villagers in Nyanga are living in fear because the Zanu-PF MP for Harare South is recruiting unemployed youths to start-up a terror base in the area. The youths are being offered cell phones and alcohol to join up. Academic Clifford Mashiri fears that the outreach program is fast turning into a circus, amid reports that ZANU PF is instructing people what to say during outreach programs throughout the country.
CHRA Alert
145 Robert Mugabe
Way, Exploration House, Third Floor; Website: www.chra.co.zw
Contacts: Mobile: 0912 864 572,
0712 756 840, 0913 042 981, 0712862012, 0733 368 107 or email info@chra.co.zw, admin@chra.co.zw, ceo@chra.co.zw
Residents irked by Town
Engineer’s decision
06 July 2010
Residents of Tynwald South are
heading for a showdown with the Harare City Council after the Local Authority’s
Town Engineer; Mr. Changunda approved the construction of a main sewer pipeline
to pass through private residential properties for the new housing project
(Fontainebleau Housing Scheme). This move will affect more than twenty house
owners in Tynwald South who have suddenly found the sizes of their yards being
reduced by almost 30%. The Housing Developer for the Fontainebleau Housing
Scheme has threatened to use force should residents decide to resist the move.
This is in spite of the fact that the house owners in this area possess Title
Deeds.
The Combined Harare Residents
Association (CHRA) has received information from some Council sources who
indicated that Mr. Changunda is aware that his approval of the project was a
mistake but cancelling the project would be suicidal and can lead to the
possible loss of his job. CHRA also conducted a meeting with the Tynwald
residents who revealed that in October 2009, some uniformed police were
unleashed to harass residents in a bid to force and intimidate them to agree to
the construction sewer pipeline. This was after the residents had resisted the
project by sending letters of complaints to the City’s Town Planning, Water and
Sanitation Departments. In a response letter dated 23 October 2009, the City of
Harare Town Planning Department highlighted that “the matter was being dealt
with and relevant departments were being notified” of the residents’ objection
to the construction of the main sewer line through their properties.
Residents are however shocked
that the Fontainebleau Housing Scheme Land Developer has vowed to disregard the
residents’ objections as changing the route of the sewer pipeline would be too
expensive for him. The residents also engaged the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR) who requested for the site plans of the area from both the
Developer and the City of Harare. The maps were not availed and the ZLHR made a
High court Chamber application in April this year.
It has also emerged that the
land that was allocated to Fontainebleau Housing Scheme had been previously
earmarked for construction of a school, churches, flats and shops. The other
stand, which was meant for the construction of a block of flats was purchased
by Mother Touch Private School a move which residents have condemned saying
that the changes of land use by the City of Harare was done nicodemously and
without consulting residents. It also defies logic to note that the City of
Harare is allocating land meant for residential purposes to private property
owners at a time when Harare is staggering with a 500 000 housing waiting list.
Residents have castigated the
City of Harare’s senior officials for being corrupt; a situation that has
seriously compromised the residents’ right to get quality services. Residents
said that the Land Developer have the guts to threaten them because they have
the support of some Council officials whom they bribed and
residents also highlighted that the whole development
project was on partisan lines.
CHRA urges the City of Harare
to be transparent in all its operations and also make sure that corrupt
elements are relieved of their duties in Council. The City of Harare is a
public institution that should be accountable to the public and as such, the
interests of the public should always come first. CHRA has always emphasized on
the importance of consultation of residents before any Council project is
implemented. The City of Harare’s continued failure to realize that residents
are key stakeholders to the success of its work is the reason why Harare is
characterized by constant clashes between residents and Council while service
delivery continues to collapse.
CHRA remains committed to
fighting for the residents cause; advocating for good, transparent and
accountable local governance as well as lobbying for quality municipal services
on a non partisan basis.