Mugabe shifts ground on election date after South African pressure

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

Jun 3, 2011, 10:27 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has agreed that snap elections
could be postponed to 2012, after previously insisting they take place this
year, state-controlled media reported Friday.

The move is seen as a concession to South African President Jacob Zuma and
other neighbours who have demanded that the next election must be free and
fair, and held after widespread political reforms.

Mugabe said the nearly three-year-old coalition agreement between him and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should end this year and be followed
immediately by elections, according to the Herald newspaper.

'If we fail, then elections should be held during the first few months next
year,' Mugabe said.

There are widespread fears that an election run by Mugabe and the generals
who back him would lead to a violent political crackdown on opponents, as
seen during the last election in 2008.

The president, and hardliners in his Zanu-PF party, had insisted on
elections - even if the new constitution being drafted by the parties to the
power-sharing government was not complete.

Mugabe was accused of repeatedly blocking changes to Zimbabwe's deeply
partisan institutions and draconian laws, until southern African leaders
rebuked him in March, demanding an end to his delaying tactics.

Rumours circulated this week that Mugabe was preparing to withdraw from the
15-nation Southern African Development Community, which underwrote the
coalition agreement, if it continued to insist on the wide-reaching changes
he signed up to in the agreement.

Western diplomats said Zanu-PF was anxious to hold early elections out of
fears over Mugabe's health. The 87-year-old leader has made regular visits
to Singapore for medical treatment. They pointed out that Zanu-PF was likely
to lose a free and fair ballot, after 31 years in power.

Mugabe said he wanted to end the coalition government because Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change did 'not want to see the economy prospering,'
the Herald reported.

Economists say Mugabe's policy of printing vast quantities of money and
forcing companies to sell goods for below production cost - dubbed
'Mugonomics' - led to the collapse of what had been one of Africa's most
successful economies.

The national currency collapsed to a worth of 4 trillion Zimbabwean dollars
to one US dollar, and inflation reached 500 billion per cent.

Lawyer says 12 visibly wounded suspects were tortured over alleged police slaying

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

By Associated Press, Published: June 3 | Updated: Saturday, June 4, 1:31 AM

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Twelve visibly wounded suspects accused of killing a
police inspector appeared in a Zimbabwe court Friday, and their lawyer said
they were tortured repeatedly by police in jail.

The group shuffled into the courthouse Friday afternoon, limping and
handcuffed in pairs. Eight men and four women appeared with deep lacerations
and welts on their legs and arms. They lifted their clothing to show the
wounds. Several had swollen faces and bloodshot eyes. Suspect Tungamirai
Madzokere testified in a statement that he suffered internal injuries in
beatings that police recorded on video cameras.

0

Comments

    Weigh In
    Corrections?

Defense lawyer Charles Kwaramba said that the suspects, members of Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s former opposition party, were detained in a
police crackdown in a western Harare township since the killing on Sunday.

He said members of the group were beaten with rifle butts and were punched
and kicked all over their bodies. Police took turns to assault them during
nights in jail, sometimes jumping on and twisting their handcuffed wrists.

Kwaramba also said police denied them medical attention and free access to
their attorneys.

Presiding Harare magistrate Shane Kubonera ruled that the group remain in
custody and to reappear in court June 17. Kubonera also ordered they receive
immediate medical attention and that investigations into the torture
allegations be carried out by the office of Attorney General Johannes
Tomana, the top state law officer.

Amid mounting tensions ahead of calls for elections this year, Tsvangirai’s
party denied involvement in Sunday’s slaying outside a township bar. Police
vowed they would avenge their colleague’s death and hunt down “traitors” in
the former opposition.

Human rights groups have long said that police and military loyal to
President Robert Mugabe have committed human rights abuses and infringed on
civil rights of those who do not support the longtime ruler.

Police had arrested 25 suspects in the murder of Inspector Petros Mutedza,
45, outside a bar in the Glen View township on Sunday. Police released 13 of
the suspects for lack of evidence earlier Friday.

Prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba said Mutedza died from injuries received in a mob
assault in the township, a stronghold of Tsvangirai’s party, after the
officer tried to stop an unauthorized political gathering where youths were
wearing party T-shirts.

But witnesses said he also tried to confiscate the goods of street vendors
operating from unlicensed market stalls and was also attacked and hit on the
head with a chair.

A second police officer was hurt in the disturbances but was released from
hospital after treatment.

Police reinforcements and riot squads fanned out in the township since
Sunday and conducted house-to-house searches of known supporters of the
former opposition party. Residents said an unofficial curfew was imposed
there.

On Thursday, ranking Tsvangirai aide Tendai Biti, who is also the finance
minister, called for impartial, nonpartisan and professional investigations
into Sunday’s the unrest by police generally seen as loyal to Mugabe, 87.

“This is the only way that the true perpetrators of this crime can be
brought to book,” Biti said.

Police Charge 24 MDC Activists And Residents With Murder

http://www.radiovop.com

10 hours 37 minutes ago

Harare, June 03, 2011 - Police on Thursday charged 24 residents of Glen View
high density suburb with committing murder after they finally allowed
lawyers to have access to their clients.

The police only allowed the lawyers to access their clients after they were
served with a copy of an urgent court application which had been filed by
the lawyers at the High Court seeking to access their clients and have them
released.

The lawyers Charles Kwaramba and Marufu Mandevere of Mbidzo, Muchadehama and
Makoni Legal Practitioners, who are members of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR) confirmed locating 24 residents including Councillor
Tungamirai Madzokere and former Councillor Last Maengahama.

The police charged the 24 residents with contravening Section 47 of the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 for committing
murder.

The lawyers, who had since Monday been denied access to their clients
reported that some of the residents advised them that they were assaulted
while in police custody as the police sought to induce confessions. The
residents were picked up by the police on Sunday evening and Monday morning
as the police responded to the death of an officer who allegedly died after
a confrontation as the police attempted to break up a meeting at a shopping
centre in the high density suburb.

Zimbabwe Lawyers Seek Supreme Court Intervention on Police-Death Suspects

http://www.voanews.com/

Co-Minister of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi was quoted by Zimbabwean state
media as saying police deployed to political meetings will from now on be
armed so they can defend themselves from possible attacks

Jonga Kandemiiri, Tatenda Gumbo | Washington  02 June 2011

Zimbabwean lawyers on Thursday filed an urgent application in the nation's
High Court asking it to order the arraignment or release of at least 25
members of the Movement for Democratic Change held by police in connection
with the death this week of a policeman in a Harare suburb, allegedly in the
course of breaking up an MDC political meeting.

The MDC formation headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said the party
has now identified 25 of its members among those arrested following the
death of Inspector Petros Mutedza’s death following a melee at a liquor
store on Sunday in Glen View. The party said some of those held have serious
injuries but are not receiving medical care.

The police had been denying that they were holding any MDC supporters. But
attorney Marufu Mandevere, representing the detained MDC members, told VOA
Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that after the the application was filed
in the Supreme Court the police invited lawyers for the political party
members to interview their clients.

Rhetoric continued to run hot in Harare. Co-Minister of Home Affairs Kembo
Mohadi was quoted by Zimbabwean state media as saying police deployed to
political meetings will from now on be armed so they can defend themselves
from possible attacks.

Mohadi warned Zimbabweans that the national police "is going to defend
itself because some people have declared war on us. We did not declare war
on them.”

Mohadi was not available for comment. But Co-Minister of Home Affairs
Theresa Makone of the Tsvangirai MDC formation said she was not aware of the
new arms policy.

Elsewhere, a Glen View family said it had fled its home under police
pressure following Mutedza's death. A spokesman for the family, which asked
not to be identified, said that it had sought police clearance for a
birthday party on Sunday, but were surprised when police later charged that
MDC activists implicated in the death had been at the party.

The family spokesperson said a police officer was stationed at the Glen View
home.

Political tensions in the country were surging with ZANU-PF pressing for
elections this year and the MDC accusing police of cracking down on its
supporters.

For perspective ahead of a special Southern African Development Community
summit in South Africa next week, VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo turned to
ZANU-PF lawmaker Kudakwashe Bhasikiti and Senator Obert Gutu of the
Tsvangirai MDC.

Gutu said the Zimbabwe Republic Police has deteriorated into a partisan
force favoring the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe and persecuting
the former opposition MDC. Bhasikiti said MDC activists continue to harbor
an opposition mentality which regards the national police as an adversary
and seeks to undermine the institution.

In Masvingo, Youth and Development Deputy Minister Tongai Matutu said youths
must shun being used as tools of violence by politicians. Challenging
political leaders across the political divide to come clean on political
violence, Matutu implored the media to name and shame those aiding and
abetting political violence in the country.

Tsvangirai ‘laughs off’ remarks that Junta will not salute him

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
3 June 2011

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has laughed off suggestions that members of
the military junta in Zimbabwe are still not prepared to salute him.

On Friday Tsvangirai met the securocrats for the first time in two months,
in a highly charged meeting that dragged on for more than five hours,
according to sources in the Prime Minister’s office. His aides though were
not privy to what was discussed in the meeting.

But they told us top on the agenda was the need for security sector reform
and the selective application of the law by the security services. The
meeting comes a week before a SADC summit which will discuss Zimbabwe and
hopefully finalise a roadmap for free and fair elections.

Security sector reform is one of the issues that still remains unresolved
and will probably dominate the meeting in Johannesburg next week.

Following last week’s remarks by Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba that
Robert Mugabe should rule forever and that he will never salute Tsvangirai,
the Prime Minister reportedly laughed and retorted; ‘Ndiye Zimbabwe here.’
(Is he Zimbabwe?)

An aide to the Prime Minister told SW Radio Africa that the MDC leader was
not disturbed by the utterances, as he believed anything to do with Zimbabwe
must be decided by Zimbabweans and not a few individuals. Nyikayaramba’s
comments have been met with a torrent of criticism from across the political
divide and civil society organizations.
‘What he said after those remarks is, mazwiwonaka ndosaka tirikuda security
sector reform munyika muno’ (now you see why we are calling for security
sector reform in this country), the highly placed aide told us.

Speaking in Harare immediately after Nyikayaramba’s outburst, Tsvangirai
said the grim political threats by army generals that they will never salute
anyone without liberation war credentials reinforces his oft-repeated call
for security sector reforms.

Senior members of the military have on various occasions issued threats that
they will block the political transition if Mugabe loses the forthcoming
presidential poll.

Nyikayaramba, the Commander of 3 Brigade in Mutare, was the latest general
to announce that he would not accept, let alone support or salute, anyone
without liberation war credentials.

Zimbabwe’s Electoral Roll Has ‘Impossible’ Number of 100 Year-Old Voters

http://www.bloomberg.com/

By Brian Latham - Jun 3, 2011 11:23 PM GMT+1000

Zimbabwe’s electoral register is flawed and won’t allow for a credible
election in the southern African nation, the South African Institute of Race
Relations said.

The registrar general, Tobaiwa Mudede, should be replaced ahead of a
referendum, expected to take place this year, and elections, the
Johannesburg-based institute, known as SAIRR, said in a report published on
its website. SAIRR said Mudede supports President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front and that the register has “an
impossible figure” of more than 40,000 people older than 100 years.

“In practice, a referendum held when there is such controversy over phantom
voters would be bound to be challenged,” the institute said.

Mugabe has called for elections to be held this year, while Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, wants a
new constitution in place before a vote. The parties formed a coalition
government in 2009 after the MDC accused Zanu-PF of electoral-fraud and
violence during a 2008 election. The country, which has the second biggest
reserves of platinum after neighboring South Africa, has a population of
about 12 million people.

The voters register contains names of 132,540 people more than 90 years-old,
4,368 of who didn’t appear on previous rolls, SAIRR said. The report is
based on a digital copy of Zimbabwe’s October 2010 voters’ roll, which hasn’t
been publicly released.
Extremely Dangerous

Given that the average life expectancy in Zimbabwe is less than 45, the
number of people older than 90 “is completely incredible,” it said. The
register contains more than 41,199 centenarians, “an impossible figure,”
SAIRR said. A total of 16,828 names on the roll were for people born on Jan.
1, 1901, it said.

The voters register “is not only a wholly incredible document but an
extremely dangerous one, which lends itself to all manner of electoral
manipulation and ballot stuffing,” SAIRR said.

The list of potential voters used in Zimbabwe’s previous parliamentary and
presidential elections contained “at least” 2 million fictitious voters, it
said.

The register “isn’t a matter of dispute and has always been largely
accurate,” Mudede said by phone from Harare, the capital.

Constitution won't be ready end of year - Matinenga

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Helen Kadirire, Staff Writer
Friday, 03 June 2011 17:31

HARARE - A new constitution that coalition partners agree is key to fresh
polls will not be ready before the end of the year, dealing a blow to
President Robert Mugabe’s furious calls for an election this year, a cabinet
minister has said.

Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs minister Eric Matinenga told Daily
News in an interview that incessant delays dogging the constitution-making
process made it impossible to beat a self-imposed September deadline.

“It is realistic to note that we may not have it by September 30. But it is
my belief that it may happen at the end of the year,” said Matinenga, whose
ministry is in charge of the process.

Funding and political feuding have been the biggest reasons for the failure
by the Constitution Parliamentary Committee (Copac) to delay the completion
of new governance charter, a critical part of the coalition government’s
power-sharing agreement.

“For a process like the constitution writing, it is more events driven
rather than time driven. We should not put a time frame as the two are not
mutually exclusive,” said Matinenga, dismissing Mugabe’s insistence on
elections this year.

“During the outreach process there were scattered instances of violence
which were out of control and the programme had to be stopped,” he said.

Bitter rivals and now uncomfortable coalition partners have all agreed that
a fresh election can only proceed after the completion of the constitution.
But Mugabe’s camp insists the constitution should be done by September to
ensure elections immediately after.

Zanu PF spokesman, Rugare Gumbo, rubbished Matinenga’s projection saying
Mugabe still expected the September deadline to be met.

“The process shall proceed as anticipated and elections will follow suit,”
Gumbo said.

Paul Mangwana, the Zanu PF Copac co-chair echoed Gumbo’s statements.

“That is his (Matinenga’s) opinion. We are very determined and will strive
to achieve the target of September 30,” Mangwana said.

But his co-chairs from the MDC formations, Douglas Mwonzora and Edward
Mkhosi said the process could be further drawn out because of funding and
political complications.

Top lawyers say SADC turning its back on human rights

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
03 June 2011

Top lawyers in the Southern African region have told SW Radio Africa that
leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are turning
their back on human rights, by dissolving the region’s human rights
Tribunal.

Concern is still high after the shock decision by SADC leaders to close the
court, with growing warnings about what this will mean for the rule of law
across Southern Africa. The move has been described as regressive and a
serious threat to human rights, the rule of law, and the regional bloc’s
credibility, because it means there is now no independent court in the
region to protect citizens’ rights.

The court was dissolved last month by leaders in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), over Zimbabwe’s refusal to honour the court’s
ruling on the land grab campaign. The court ruled in favour of a group of
Zimbabwean farmers in 2008, in a landmark case led by Chegutu farmer Mike
Campbell and his son in law Ben Freeth. The court ruled that land reform was
unlawful and ordered the Zim government to compensate farmers for lost land
and to protect farmers against future illegal invasionsw by land grabbers.

That ruling, described at the time as one of the most significant in SADC’s
legal history, should have been binding because Zimbabwe is a signatory to
the SADC Treaty. But the then ZANU PF government snubbed the court, saying
repeatedly that it had no jurisdiction in Zimbabwe.

Last year a SADC summit decided to review the role of the court and
suspended it for six months, rather than force Zimbabwe to honour the
Tribunal’s rulings. This review has been concluded and has not only upheld
the rulings regarding Zimbabwe’s land grab, but has also upheld the court’s
jurisdiction.

But SADC leaders have again appeared to show a worrying allegiance to
Mugabe, by dissolving the court for at least another year, saying more time
is needed for another review.

Elize Angula, a top Namibian lawyer who represented Campbell and Freeth
during their landmark Tribunal case, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the
decision is “a very sad moment in legal history.”

“When the court ruling was made in the Campbell case the judge said that
they were building a house of justice. But this decision by SADC basically
destroys this whole idea of a house of justice,” Angula said.

She added that the ruling on Zimbabwe was not just significant for the
farmers, explaining how “that case opened up the door for human rights cases
to be heard.” She said that “this decision now has a very serious impact on
everyone in the region.”

“This is a sign of the lack of political will by SADC leaders to discipline
one of their members. And it is also a sign that there is very little
respect for the human rights of SADC citizens,” Angula said.

Nicole Fritz, the Director of the Southern African Litigation Centre, said
the court’s suspension could be described as “sabotage” by SADC leaders. She
warned that the rule of law, already being flouted in Zimbabwe, was under
threat across the entire region.

“What you have now is a situation where the rule of law is being put on
hold. SADC is in danger of completely turning its back on human rights over
this decision,” Fritz said.

Meanwhile, the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has said that Zimbabwean
farmers will seek justice through international courts. The CFU’s Deon
Theron is quoted as saying that the farmers will not be “deterred,” from
their legal battle.

Zimbabwe Government, Civil Service Representatives, Deadlock on Wages

http://www.voanews.com

President Mugabe promised state workers to use his executive powers to force
the government to increase salaries to US$250 for the lowest paid, but the
Finance Ministry has not found the necessary resources

Gibbs Dube | Washington  02 June 2011

Representatives of Zimbabwean civil servants and government officials failed
to agree on proposals for increased wages for state workers in keeping with
a promise earlier this year by President Robert Mugabe that wages of the
lowest-paid would rise this month.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association Chief Executive Sifiso Ndlovu said a meeting
Wednesday attended by the Apex Council, which negotiates on behalf of state
employees, and budget and civil service authorities, ended without any
tangible results.

Ndlovu said Finance Ministry officials told the meeting that government is
looking into their demands for an increase in salaries to US$500 from around
US$200 currently and that any increase will be reflected in the mid-term
fiscal review due for release soon.

Ndlovu said civil servants are disappointed at the lack of progress in
reviewing salaries.

"We hope that something will be worked out for civil servants who are
anxiously waiting for a reasonable pay increase," Ndlovu told VOA Studio 7
reporter Gibbs Dube.

President Mugabe promised state workers two months ago to use his executive
powers to force the government to increase salaries to US$250 for the lowest
paid.

Parties select nominees for new media boards

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
3 June 2011

The three parties in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) have been asked to
submit names of potential candidates to sit on three media boards that are
being reconstituted.

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa on Friday that his
party has already submitted its nominees to party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The GPA signed by all parties to the inclusive government, calls for the
country’s tough media laws to be changed and to allow private radio,
television and daily newspapers to operate under the unity government.

‘The Prime Minister will submit our nominees to the other two principals who
will also submit theirs to him to make a final decision on the composition
of the three boards,’ Mwonzora said, adding that his party had submitted an
average of three candidates to each board.

‘We hope that these boards will be constituted very soon so that they deal
with matters of the media in a more impartial manner. Action by the old BAZ
(broadcasting board) to call for new radio licences is a nullity because as
far as we are concerned a new impartial board will deal with that,’ Mwonzora
said.

He added; ‘From a purely legal point of view how can a dying board call for
new licences when they are not properly constituted. I don’t know what is
going to happen to that exercise but no one is going to recognize what they
are doing.’

The three boards being reconstituted are the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe (BAZ), Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings and the Mass Media Trust. In
October 2009 Information Minister Webster Shamu created several media boards
and packed them with former military men and allies of Robert Mugabe’s ZANU
PF party.

But the appointment of board members to BAZ is the business of the three
principals in the GPA.

BAZ is supposed to spearhead the opening up of airwaves by licencing new,
independent broadcasters. Presently the government fully controls TV and
radio. There are few analysts who believe independent TV and radio will be
allowed to happen before the next elections. Since the creation of BAZ in
2000 no independent broadcasters have been licenced.

Media and political analysts argued that the ZANU PF loyalists appointed to
the old boards announced by Shamu, seriously undermined all efforts to turn
government-owned media into truly public and private media.

There was also an outcry after Shamu recommended the appointment of the
former chairperson of the government’s defunct Media and Information
Commission (MIC), Tafataona Mahoso, as head of the BAZ.

Media groups and pro-democracy activists said then that Mahoso was the wrong
man for the BAZ job, when he became known as the ‘media hangman’ after
ordering the closure of four independent newspapers, including the Daily
News, that were critical of Mugabe and ZANU PF.

All roads lead to Highfield tomorrow for the MDC peace rally

Friday, 03 June 2011

All roads lead to the Zimbabwe Grounds, Highfield in Harare this weekend where the MDC will hold its post congress, People’s Real Change Peace Rally.

The MDC’s real change team, led by President Tsvangirai, will address the rally, following a nod from the police earlier in the day.

The peace rallies will spread throughout the country’s provinces and will give the MDC leadership led by President Tsvangirai an opportunity to report back to the people on the resolutions of the MDC’s third National Congress that was held in Bulawayo in April.

The rallies will also be an opportunity to unveil the party’s new leadership, brief the nation on the progress being made by the inclusive government and challenges faced, the issue of the election roadmap as a prerequisite to the holding of free, fair and credible elections as well as to speak on and denounce the disturbing violence that has resurged in the country. 

At the rally President Tsvangirai is going to touch on the party’s expectations at next week’s SADC summit on Zimbabwe to be held in South Africa on 11 June.

The rallies being held under the banner; “Free Zimbabwe: Say No to Violence – Yes to Peace”, seek to involve the masses in making their pledge to peace and real change.

The police blocked a similar rally that was planned for March 19 this year at the Glamis Arena and Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare as they claimed Zanu PF had booked the two venues for the entire year.

Together, united, winning – voting for real change.

Troubled RMB placed under curatorship

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

03/06/2011 00:00:00
    by Business Reporter

THE central bank has appointed an administrator to run the troubled
Renaissance Merchant Bank in a bid to prevent a sector-wide contagion
following the collapse of a proposed National Social Security Authority
(NSSA) rescue deal.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe chief, Gideon Gono said Thursday that the stricken
bank had been placed under “recuperative curatorship” for six months after
investigations uncovered gross operational irregularities.

Renaissance -- headed by Pattison Timba -- is said to be heavily
undercapitalised and saddled with underperforming insider loans. The bank is
understood to require up to US$55 million in order to meet statutory capital
requirements and contingent liabilities.

"This engagement in both cannibalistic and incestuous non-performing insider
loans under the veil of a convoluted network of both sister and sinister
companies and trusts designed to camouflage reality on the ground disguised
the personalities behind them including the purpose for which those
transactions were taking place," Gono told journalists in Harare.
He however, insisted that there was no threat of sector-wide problems.

"The financial sector as a whole is generally safe and sound and there is no
reason to feel any sense of instability. To do so would be to engage in
illogical reasoning because the fact that there could be people in hospital
does not mean that the whole country is sick,” he said.
Meanwhile, the development comes as it appeared a rescue package proposed by
Finance Minister Tendai Biti had collapsed.

Biti had directed the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) to pump
close to US$20 million into the bank but the deal met with spirited
resistance from business leaders and labour bodies who said the move was
waste of public funds.

Stung by the criticism, Biti appeared to backtrack from the proposal
insisting that he had merely asked NSSA to consider the deal.

"A myth has been created by some quarters that we have directed NSSA to give
money - we have not, but I want to say this, we could have done that. In
terms of Section 26 (A) of the Insurance Act, the Minister of Finance has
got powers of directing the deposits of insurance companies into what are
called "prescribed assets," Biti said.

"I have got powers of directing Zimre, Afre and Old Mutual, NSSA to say put
your money there, I could have acted on that matrix."

The bank’s problems came to light after it emerged directors had failed to
repay a loan shark who had advanced the institution funds to help it meet
its statutory capital requirements.

Rio Tinto ‘Hopeful’ Zimbabwe Ownership Plan Will Be Accepted by Government

http://www.bloomberg.com/

By Brian Latham - Jun 3, 2011 6:36 PM GMT+1000

Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) submitted its plans to meet a Zimbabwe ownership law on
May 9 and is “hopeful” the proposal will be accepted, said Niels Kristensen,
managing director of the company’s operations in the country.

“Discussions are currently underway with government with a view to
finalizing the plan,” Kristensen said in an e-mailed statement late
yesterday. He didn’t give details of the proposal to increase the ownership
by black people in the company’s Murowa diamond mine.

Zimbabwe gave foreign companies until yesterday to submit plans to cede 51
percent of their assets to Zimbabweans.

Tsvangirai Pays Tribute To The Disabled And People Living With HIV/AIDS

http://www.radiovop.com

5 hours 58 minutes ago

Harare, June 03, 2011 - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday paid
tribute to the late Alexander Phiri whom he described as one of Zimbabwe's
stalwarts and leading campaigners for the rights of disabled persons in the
Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Speaking during a visit and making a donation to the Mashambanzou home for
people living with AIDS situated in Waterfalls suburb of Harare and the
disabled people, Tsvangirai described Phiri who was the director general of
the regional executive of the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled, as
a forthright individual who spoke his views particularly on issues of
disabled persons.

Tsvangirai said he was happy to be back at the home and giving them a
donation as well as to the disabled persons, saying his door will always be
open for them. He said disabled people were being neglected and left out of
national planning projects.

"Despite the fact that disabled people constitute about 10 percent of the
country's population, this figure has failed to translate to resource
allocation by central government, a situation which has left those living
with disabilities scrambling a few crumbs."

"Those in authority do not realise that they could also become disabled at
any time or incur a medical condition like some among us. We must embrace a
culture of tolerance and make concerted efforts among all stake holders to
ensure that the burden of people living with disabilities, or with any
medical condition is lessened," said Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai added that such neglect had brought condemnation on the people
with the moral fibre eroded to an extent where there had been unprecedented
political violence even against disabled persons.

"We condemn violence against defenceless, innocent citizens in the strongest
terms," he said, adding that since the unity government in 2009, government
had sought to interact more with those were living under those
circumstances."

He said there was need to find out the needs and challenges of people living
with disabilities and HIV and AIDS and to formulate government policies that
address them in line with the vision of removing stigma towards such people.

He said he had accepted to be ambassador of the disability in SADC because
he believed in the cause of the disabled people.

"As patron I will push for the government to ratify the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by the United Nations general
assembly in 2006. We want the Disabled Persons Act to be implemented in
full."

Among the donated items were blankets and paint.

We Have Failed The Media - Biti

http://www.radiovop.com

10 hours 40 minutes ago

Harare, June 03, 2011 - The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party led
by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai admitted that it failed to create a
conducive media environment in the country.

After two years since the formation of the Government of National Unity
(GNU), media laws that have been used in the past to stifle the media
environment are still intact.

MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti admitted on Thursday in a brief to
journalists that his party had failed to create a self regulating media
board as it had set out to do all along.

"We have failed the media so far as a party to create a self regulating
council for journalists," said Biti in a frank discussion after repeated
questions on what his party is doing to ensure that the country's airwaves
are opened to allow for the plurality of media voices in the electronic
media sphere.

Biti said his party had five key issues on the media question that his party
wants addressed in the current round of talks.

The party wants the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA) reviewed to allow for the liberalising of the requirements or
repealing of these requirements needed for journalists to be able to work in
Zimbabwe. The party also says it is pushing for a self regulating body as
opposed to the proposed Media Council.

In addition the party also wants the liberalisation of the requirements of
registration for media organisations both electronic and print. Current
operating licenses are renewable annually.

"The current AIPPA is an inappropriately named law. The law does the
difference of what it says, it is more a tool to hide information than to
provide it," said Biti adding that his party is pushing other coalition
partners to democratise existing bodies such as the media commission of
Zimbabwe.

"We are democratising the Mass Media Trust, I am pleased to advise that the
principles have already agreed to nominees of the board on a 3:3:1 formula.
We have agreed on a 5:5:2 formulas for ZBC and we have already submitted our
nominations for the boards," said Biti without mentioning the names of his
party's nominations.

The GPA however does not say that members of the boards of these
organisations should be political appointees or professionals.

Siwela release not confirmed

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
01 June, 2011

The jailed leader of the Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) Paul Siwela, was
due to walk out of Khami Prison in Bulawayo a free man on Friday after the
success of his bail appeal case this week in Harare.

Lawyer Kucaca Phulu told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the chief justice
had dismissed the Attorney General’s appeal, and ruled there was no basis
for a case against granting bail to the MLF leader.

All that was needed were records from Harare that would facilitate Siwela’s
release on Friday, and the payment of the $2,000 bail that was stipulated by
an earlier High Court decision.
Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, we were unable to get through to
his lawyers to confirm whether the controversial activist had managed to go
free.

Siwela had been detained at Khami Prison Hospital, where he was admitted
recently after his blood pressure shot up. John Gazi and Charles Thomas, the
two other MLF leaders arrested along with Siwela back in March, were
released after paying $2000 each, but Siwela was further detained after the
AG brought up another pending case against him.

Some observers had expressed doubt that the MLF leader would be released on
Friday, pointing to ZANU PF’s history of prolonging the detention of
perceived enemies.

China exploiting Africa - Germany

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Everson Mashavave, Staff Writer
Friday, 03 June 2011 17:28

HARARE - Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, says China’s dealings with
African countries such as Zimbabwe are imbalanced and exploitative.

Albrecht Conze, the outgoing German ambassador to Zimbabwe, told journalists
in Harare yesterday his country was concerned about China’s underhand
approach to trade which left African countries poorer.

Addressing his last press conference in Harare at the end of his two-year
diplomatic mission, Conze said he was concerned that Zimbabwe’s trade
agreements with China did not seek to give Zimbabwe real value for its
resources.

“Most of the agreements signed today by China will buy out the whole world’s
raw materials and block other countries from having access to these raw
materials.” he said.

Conze spoke as Parliament approved a deal that will see Zimbabwe mortgage
Chiadzwa diamonds worth US$100 million to China in exchange for military
help in a 20-year loan deal. Zimbabwe will repay the loan using its vast
alluvial diamond resources. China is the world’s second biggest economy
after the United States.

Conze said his country offered positive engagement that would benefit
Zimbabwe.

“I think you are aware that Germany’s second biggest bank had come up with a
proposal to fund infrastructural development in Zimbabwe to the tune of $700
million over a period of 10 years as long as there was only a guarantee that
German buyers on Zimbabwe’s mineral market would not be left out,” he said.

“We have modern technology to add value to mining. Unlike what is happening
in Chiadzwa where truckloads of unprocessed diamonds are taken outside the
country, Germany would ensure that minerals are processed in Zimbabwe for
the benefit of locals,” he said.

Zimbabwe has for the past decade enjoyed warm relations with China after
falling out with the West over human rights abuses.

Unlike Western countries, China has become a preferred friend because it
turns a blind eye to rights abuses, instead choosing to strengthen ties with
political leaders including some of the worst dictators.

Chinese now controls vast business in retail, mining, agriculture and
construction in Zimbabwe. But they have constantly come under criticism from
labour unions for their inhumane treatment of workers.

Conze said he had managed to improve the perception on Zimbabwe and put the
country back on the German map after years of being a pariah state. The
biggest obstacle, he said, was the uncertainty surrounding the
implementation of the indigenisation law.

“I have advised minister (of indigenisation) Saviour Kasukuwere on several
times that my criticism of the policy was not ideological, but constructive.
I keep encouraging German investors to take a close look at the
opportunities in Zimbabwe but the current indigenisation drive and the
threatening tone used by some high profile advocates deter them from
investing,” said Conze.

“Zimbabwe has plenty of mineral resources and is a good investment
destination to any country in the world due to two major reasons. First it
has the most educated middle class and second, Zimbabwe still has
well-functioning infrastructure,” said Conze.

Conze blamed politics on Zimbabwe’s poor economic performance.

“Once the politics are not on the way of economic development, Zimbabwe will
need not more than seven years to stand alone without foreign aid. Zimbabwe
has a mixture of advantages that range from good mineral deposits to the
educated human resources and in 10 years Zimbabwe will be supporting other
African countries,” said the outspoken ambassador.

Indian diamantaires want Marange gems

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by James Mombe     Friday 03 June 2011

JOHANNESBURG – A key Indian rough diamond buyer has urged New Delhi to
accept imports of stones from Zimbabwe’s Marange mines following reports
South Africa has authorised dealers to take stones from the controversial
mines.

The Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing India Limited (SRSDIL) - a special purpose
company formed to source rough diamonds from African countries – said the
move by South Africa should spur New Dehli to act urgently, warning that
further delay could see India losing out on the Marange stones to China and
Russia.

"Instead of South Africa, the initiative of accepting import of Zimbabwe
diamond should have been taken by India as Surat is the end-user of Zim
stones,” said SRSDIL chairman Ashit Mehta.

"If India will not act in favour of Zimbabwe, the diamantaires will lose the
supply of Zim diamonds to China and Russia," Mehta said, in what should be
good news to Zimbabwe’s cash-strapped government that is keen to resume
exports of the Marange stones.

The South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR) earlier
this week said it would allow diamonds from Marange in line with the stance
of President Jacob Zuma’s government to support its northern neighbour’s
diamond trade.

The SADPMR spoke after the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) urged
the Kimberley Process (KP) that regulates the world diamond industry to
allow Zimbabwe to export the alluvial stones from Marange to avert an
imminent shortage of diamonds on the international market.

But it should be the interest shown by India that boast the world’s largest
diamond cutting industry that Zimbabwe will find more exciting as it looks
to ramp up diamond exports and earn badly needed revenue.

According to estimates, Zimbabwe that has about two other big diamond
production sites besides Marange has capacity to supply about 25 percent of
world demand.

But the country has been unable to freely export rough stones from
Marange -- its largest diamond deposits – after the KP banned the diamonds
in 2009 over allegations of human rights abuses in the extraction of the
gems and failure to meet minimum requirements for trading in the precious
stones.

KP chairman Mathieu Yamba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo last March
scrapped the ban on Marange stones.

But Several countries among them the United States and Britain as well
non-governmental organisations that are KP members have said they will not
recognise Yamba’s decision to authorise exports of the Marange gems, saying
the Congolese had acted without consulting all members as is required under
the regulators’ rules.

Top diamond trade groups such as the World Diamond Council, Jewelers of
America and the Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America
have also refused to recognise Yamba’s decision and have instructed their
members to stay away from Marange diamonds.

However should India follow the lead of South Africa and authorise its giant
industry to take the Marange stones, this would greatly weaken the position
of the countries and groups opposed to the Zimbabwean stones. -- ZimOnline

 

Anglicans released on bail as bishop laments illegal arrests

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/

By Matthew Davies, June 03, 2011

[Episcopal News Service] The 16 Anglicans who were illegally arrested in
Zimbabwe this week for resisting eviction and protecting their homes from
intruders associated with a rival church have been released on bail
following a failed attempt by local police to embellish the details and
augment the charges brought against them.

"The trumped-up charges were amended several times as they could not come up
with charges that could stick," Bishop Chad Gandiya of the Diocese of Harare
wrote in a June 3 e-mail to ENS. "First they were charged with unlawful
entry, then that was changed to theft, and finally public nuisance. It's
very sad indeed."

Gandiya, who was elected to lead the Harare diocese in May 2009, also
bemoaned the treatment of some of the Anglicans detained, two of whom are
diabetic and were refused medication. "Thank God that their sugar levels
have now stabilized," he said, adding that one priest failed to sit a
graduate exam because he was incarcerated.

Zimbabwe's Anglicans have faced repeated harassment and violence from
President Robert Mugabe's police forced since renegade bishop Nolbert
Kunonga was officially excommunicated by the Church of the Province of
Central Africa in May 2008.

A Mugabe ally, Kunonga still claims ownership of the diocese's Anglican
churches and backs the persecution of the country's loyal Anglicans who are
routinely intimidated and prevented from worshipping in their own church
buildings.

Meanwhile, Mugabe continues to cling onto his 30-year rule as the country's
infrastructure crumbles and its law and order deteriorates.

The Rev. Petero Sabune, Africa partnerships officer for the Episcopal
Church, noted that June 3 marks the commemoration of the Ugandan martyrs who
in 1886 marched to Namugongo singing songs of praise.

"They were united by their faith and they gave their lives with humility and
fierce determination," he said. "Sadly the events of those days are being
experienced by our brothers and sisters across our beloved continent of
Africa. People gathering for worship are beaten and imprisoned in Harare …
Those martyrs of Uganda of long ago, gave us the seeds for a continent of
thriving faith. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters currently living
with fear that Jesus who ascended will be with them in their hour of need."

End of the line for Air Zimbabwe?

http://www.theafricareport.com

Written by Nqobile Charles Bhebhe
Friday, 03 June 2011 15:28

Rising debt of over $108m, industrial action and an aged fleet have grounded
Zimbabwe’s only national carrier-Air Zimbabwe and left passengers stranded
for weeks. ′′Group acting chief executive Innocent Mavhunga told
Theafricareport.com Thursday that the government was reluctant to bail out
the airline.′′

“There is a compelling need for government to bail us out. Its collapse
would negatively affect national pride which is at stake,” said Mavhunga.
′′According to Mavhunga, as of Thursday 2 June, neither the treasury nor
international funders had come forward to rescue the airline, which needs at
least $80m to offset urgent debts.′′

Air Zimbabwe's long list of foreign creditors include the Agency for Air
Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), China’s National
Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), Aero Industrial
Sales, among others.

′′Founded 47 years ago, the airline has suffered several strikes this year
with pilots, engineers and other workers refusing to work, demanding
outstanding allowances. The airline's troubles have piled up due to
mismanagement and an aging fleet.

′′Its three Boeing 767 planes, which have reached a certain limit of 34,000
cycles or trips, and two MI60 from China have been grounded. The
International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also suspended Air
Zimbabwe over a $280,000 debt.

′′With at least 50 per cent of Air Zimbabwe customers booking through travel
agents, an order from IATA demanding international travel agents to refund
foreign travellers with bookings placed with Air Zimbabwe has dealt the
company another blow. ′′

Foreign airlines have been major beneficiaries of the crisis, increasing
their footprint on the routes formerly dominated by the national carrier.′′

Major beneficiaries of the change in fortunes at the national airliner were
Kenya Airways, up 7.5 per cent from 6. 1 per cent, Ethiopian Airways from 4
per cent to 6.8 per cent. There were marginal increases in market share for
Air Malawi from 0.9 per cent to 1 per cent and Air Botswana from 0.8 percent
to 1.2 per cent.

Military's place is 'in the barracks'

http://mg.co.za/

JASON MOYO: NEWS ANALYSIS Jun 03 2011 00:00

Two years ago, referring to the fact that the boardrooms of Zimbabwe's
state-owned organisations were stuffed with ex-military men, a
representative from the Movement for Democratic Change said: "The best place
for our gallant sons and daughters who serve as soldiers is in military
barracks not the boardroom of a civic national body."

But Zimbabwe's military is taking on an ever-increasing role in civilian
life to shore up President Robert Mugabe's rule.

Last week army Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba told the Independent
newspaper that Mugabe should rule for life and that the army could not be
separated from Zanu-PF.

"Why do you want to force him to go? Has anyone changed his father just
because he is old? He is the leader of our revolutionary struggle and the
struggle is still on," he said.

The remarks have raised temperatures within the coalition government,
already haggling bitterly over MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's bid to reform
a military loyal to Mugabe.

Nyikayaramba's stance indicates the strength of the ties between the
military top brass and Mugabe -- ties rooted in the liberation struggle and
sealed by patronage. At a time when those closest to Mugabe are fretting
over his health and the future of their party, his generals increasingly
appear to be his surest pillars of strength.

Zimbabwe's military has participated in regional peace missions since the
1980s and, despite the international isolation of senior figures, Zimbabwean
forces remain respected members of United Nations missions worldwide.

But a major turning point came in 2002, on the eve of the presidential
election, when generals appeared on television to declare they would never
recognise a leader who had not participated in the struggle.

This drove a wedge between the army and the opposition, a divide not helped
by the support the MDC received from white farmers and Western powers. The
top brass of the military is made up of former struggle fighters and the
presence in the MDC leadership of former members of Rhodesian security
forces only increased the generals' suspicion of Tsvangirai.

Having branded the MDC a white stooge, Mugabe sealed the loyalty of the
military upper crust by padding their nests with land and business deals.
Military officers were given top positions at state enterprises, including
the national rail company, the state beef exporter, the state grain buyer,
the parks and wildlife authority, the state media and the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission. The military even led an agricultural scheme that sought to
revive production on former white-owned farms.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the defence minister, defended the role of the military
in civilian life.

"Are they not citizens of this country? Where they get employment after they
leave the army is not our business. If other people can be heads of
parastatals, why can't they?" he asked. But it is the army's growing
involvement in politics that the MDC hopes to end.

Its proposals for security reform include:

    Training of security forces in human rights and international
humanitarian law "so that there is greater understanding and full
appreciation of their roles and duties in a multiparty democratic system";

    Punishing those who break these laws; and

    Heads of the security forces must make a public statement that they will
"unequivocally uphold the Constitution and respect the rule of law in the
lead-up to and following the elections or referendum".

The MDC also wants to retire police chief Augustine Chihuri and defence
forces commander Constantine Chiwenga, the most senior general, who once
declared he would never accept a "made in London" government.

Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC spokesperson, said: "The security forces are
interfering in the politics of this land. They do not have respect for the
choices of the people of Zimbabwe. They must be reformed."

But Mugabe maintains this is "all nonsense". To him, and many within his
party, the military is much more than a security force -- it is a political
attachment of his party. "They are a force that has a history, a political
history. We worked with them when they were still guerrillas," Mugabe told
the state media last week.

According to Nyikayaramba, the army saw itself as a military wing of
Zanu-PF. "I am in Zanu-PF and Zanu-PF is in me and you can't change that."

Tsvangirai's party has spent years trying to build alliances with
"moderates" in the military, but even senior MDC officials now admit this is
not working -- they suspect that this engagement led only to party
information being fed to the security forces.

Zimbabwean artists featured at Venice Biennale

http://www.globalpost.com

 

 

Zimbabwean paintings, videos, sculpture and photos displayed in Venice festival.

Andrew MeldrumJune 3, 2011 11:50

A sculpture by Zimbabwean artist Tapfuma Gutsa. Gutsa is displaying new work at the 54th Venice Biennale festival in Italy. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

Zimbabwe is one of the countries exhibiting at the glittering Venice Biennale art festival which has just opened in Italy.

"Zimbabwean art practice today is innovative, self-reflective and critical. It creates new positions on global perception and asks us to reconsider what is contemporary art," according to the 54th Venice Biennale.

Zimbabwe's exhibit has been sponsored by the British Council of Zimbabwe as well as artistic institutions in France and Monaco. It is the first time the sub-Saharan nation has exhibited in Venice since 1990, and a rare appearance for an African nation. It is a dramatic coup for the beleaguered country, where those exhibiting work critical of Robert Mugabe’s regime face extended prison terms.

“We are going to be part of the biennale like any other country,” said the National Gallery of Zimbabwe curator Raphael Chikukwa, who will curate the exhibition. “Previously the whole of Africa has been boxed together in a single pavilion. But why isn’t there a European pavilion? Individual European countries are represented. So we have the chance to finally showcase Zimbabwe as a sovereign nation.”

“Seeing Ourselves” is the name of the Zimbabwean pavilion which occupies part of the Church of Santa Maria Della Pieta in central Venice.

Tapfuma Gutsa, one of Zimbabwe's best known sculptors, will be exhibiting politically charged works which are concerned with notions of power and the colonial subjugation of African people. Gutsa uses unorthodox new media of tar and feathers, basket weave and video installation work to articulate his revolutionary artistic discourse.

Video artist Berry Bickle's work explores Zimbabwe's emigration and landscape. Photographer Calvin Dondo is showing a series that explores the dynamics of mixed race families and socio-cultural tribulations of citizenship, migration and the metaphorical ties that bind people together. Painter Misheck Masamvu explores political violence in his painted series entitled "Disputed Seats", which comment on post-colonial African elections.

The gala art exhibit in Venice contrasts with the repression of some artists in Zimbabwe. Artist Owen Maseko is facing 20 years in prison for exhibiting paintings critical of Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, last year. Maseko’s paintings examined government-led massacres in the Matabeleland area during the 1980s. It was closed by the government after one day. Maseko was taken to prison in leg irons and held for four days, during which time he was interrogated in 12-hour stretches.

"There are many contradictions in today's Zimbabwe and this is one of them," said Zimbabwe's Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart, in an interview with the British newspaper, The Independent. "There is certainly not clear freedom of expression in Zimbabwe but as I understand that the artists going to Venice are genuine independent artists. We have to use every means we can of interacting with the international community."

Maseko said he had no objection to the other artists going to Venice but warned that self censorship was holding back Zimbabweans who were living in fear after his arrest.

"Right now the political situation in Zimbabwe is unstable and that would be used artists' work. But self censorship is an issue. My arrest put a lot of fear into our artists, they are scared," said Maseko. Maseko's exhibition in Bulawayo is still closed and treated as a crime scene. If he should lose his court battle with authorities he said he faces up to 20 years in prison.

 

A letter from the diaspora

Friday June 3rd 2011

The arrest of Ratko Mladic this week, sixteen years after the slaughter of
8000 Serbian Moslems is a reminder that justice may be slow but in the end
it will prevail. For Zimbabweans and the Ndebele people in particular who
experienced the horror of Gukurahundi, there is some solace in knowing that
Mugabe and his followers will one day face justice – not revenge but
justice. It may be a long time coming but one day there will be justice for
the 20-30.000 people massacred by the Mugabe regime.
“Only Mugabe forever and ever” goes the latest Zanu PF slogan, echoing
Brigadier General Nyikayaramba’s claim earlier in the week that Mugabe, as
‘Father of the Nation’ could never be replaced any more than a natural
father could. Mugabe should be president for life, Nyikayaramba declared.
Not everyone in the former ruling party agrees with him; but then they all
have their eyes on the top job. Still Mugabe shows no signs of handing over
the reigns of power and each time he offers another reason why he cannot go:
Yes it’s true he is 87 years old  but he is fit and strong, he claims, and
could live to 100. The Third Chimurenga is not yet complete, ie. we have not
yet taken all the white owned farms. Zanu PF would collapse without him and
patriotism demands that he should remain in post, ie. the country needs him.
The police are of course 100% behind Mugabe and this week we have seen the
extent to which they will go to prove their loyalty.
Last Sunday a policeman, Inspector Mutedza, was killed in the Harare suburb
of Mbare. As always with a state-controlled media it is hard to get to the
bottom of what actually happened  but the police claim that the ZRP
Inspector was killed by a crowd of MDC supporters. Even before any
investigation had taken place, a police spokesperson had rushed into print
in the state-controlled newspaper to place the blame on the opposition.
Since then dozens of Youth Militia have turned Mbare into a war zone beating
up MDC supporters and displacing known MDC members from their own homes. The
musika in Mbare is a vital means of earning a livelihood in the suburb but
MDC vendors have had their stalls destroyed and their goods looted by gangs
of youths trained at Inkomo army barracks for the sole purpose of attacking
the opposition party which has a strong following in the suburb. So far, at
least 20 MDC supporters have been arrested. The Commissioner of Police,
Augustine Chihuri said in a barely concealed reference to the MDC as the
killers of the police Inspector, “those who live by the sword will die by
the sword.” Unless the comment was intended as irony – which I somehow
doubt -that’s pretty rich coming as it does from a man who is on record as
saying, “This country came through blood and the barrel of the gun and it
can never be recolonised through a simple pen which costs as little as five
cents.” Chihuri’s contempt for the democratic process is evident in the
treatment of MDC activists who have been brutalised in prison. Lawyers
representing the activists have been refused permission by the police to see
their clients. An application to the High Court has been made but whether
the police will obey a High Court ruling is by no means certain judging from
recent experience of police behaviour.
Regardless of Zimbabwe’s all too obvious lack of peace and stability, the AU
this week declared that the country will take over the Chair of the Peace
and Solidarity Council in accordance with alphabetical procedure! ‘Peace and
solidarity’ are not words that readily come to mind when one considers the
actions of Mugabe’s fanatical followers. People like ‘Bishop’ Kunonga can
get away with anything – not excluding murder – if they demonstrate their
loyalty to the Old Man. Kunonga is wreaking havoc in Bishop Chad Gandiya’s
Harare parishes but the police arrest not the perpetrators but the priests
who report that they have been kicked out of their homes and their families
are traumatised by Kunonga’s thugs.
All that decent men and women can hope is that Kunonga and others of his ilk
will one day stand trial for their misdeeds. Augustine Chihuri, the head of
the police for the past how many years has been complicit in the destruction
of the rule of law in Zimbabwe and together with so many others deserves to
stand trial for as the ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo says, “There is no
alternative to the rule of law.”
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson author of the Dube
books available on Lulu.com