07 June 2009
Issue: 0079
 The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono,
has reimbursed foreign currency looted from university accounts in a development
that has also seen him fall out with the country's Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Gono has accused Biti of being behind threats to have his children expelled from
foreign universities.
University World News reported on 3 May that the
Reserve Bank had raided foreign currency accounts
belonging to three universities as well as
those of foreign non-governmental organisations last year. The money was used to
prop up the regime of President Robert Mugabe, who was on the verge of losing
power following a political and economic crisis that had brought the country to
its knees.
In April, the central bank chief conceded he had raided
university and NGO foreign currency accounts but defended the move as necessary
to save Mugabe's cash-strapped government from collapsing.
Minister of
Higher and Tertiary Education, Stan Mudenge, told parliament last month the
central bank had repaid all funds taken from university accounts. He said he had
documentary proof of the money's repayment but did not reveal the amounts
involved.
One of the institutions whose funds were looted was Africa
University, a Methodist-related private institution. It did not respond to
questions on the funds stolen.
The looting of the funds and other
quasi-fiscal activities by Gono led to public clashes between him and Biti, who
was appointed under a power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and Movement for
Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, now Prime Minister. Biti, a lawyer,
is Secretary-General of the MDC.
The clashes prompted Gono to write a
letter to Tsvangirai seeking his intervention in the matter. Gono claimed that
verbal attacks on him by the Finance Minister had resulted in foreign
universities his children were attending had threatened to expel
them.
Gono alleged that at a campaign rally in Masvingo last year Biti
had called him names and accused him of "being at the epicentre of the Zanu-PF
terror machine...an economic saboteur, terrorist and number one Al-Qaeda who
deserves to be shot by a firing squad".
He said in the letter that after
his three children were "unceremoniously expelled" from Australia before
Tsvanvirai's visit to that country in 2006, they lost two years of university
education.
When his children enrolled in new universities, "they found
themselves being called on to explain how their father is allegedly associated
with the Al-Qaeda terrorist organisation, with the threat of further expulsion
from their new university if the allegations were not refuted".
"Who
among us parents can stomach such misfortune if directed at their own children?"
he said.
Gono's children were expelled from Australian universities after
the Australian government decided to deport all children whose parents had close
links with Mugabe. Also expelled were the children of the Commissioner General
of Police and the Defence Minister.
Mugabe and his inner circle,
including Gono, are subject to travel restrictions and an asset freeze by the
European Union, Australia and the United States because of their appalling human
rights record.
Tsvangirai's response to Gono's letter was that he would
continue to push for the central bank governor's removal from the post. His and
Biti's calls for Gono to step down have been emboldened by donor agencies and
the decision by countries such as Britain not to channel aid through the central
bank or any other government system before reforms are initiated - at a time
when the Zimbabwean government desperately needs external funding to
function.
Last week, Mugabe said Gono would not be relieved of his duties
as he had saved the country during a difficult period.
|
Witchcraft case: Woman gets suspended
sentence
From The Herald, 5 June
Herald Reporter
The case of the Murehwa woman who
claimed she "flew naked in a winnowing
basket" from Murehwa on a mission to
kill a relative in Highfield through
witchcraft ended in the Harare
Magistrates' Courts yesterday with little of
the melodrama that
characterised its beginning last week. Magistrate Mr
Mishrod Guvamombe
sentenced Regina Sveto (21) to a wholly suspended one-year
sentence, and
ordered her to seek help to recover from the spell apparently
cast on her by
her father-in-law. When the trial opened, Mr Guvamombe sought
expert advice
from the Zimbabwe National Healers' Association as well as
Chief Jonathan
Mangwende's opinion on the allegations levelled against
Sveto. After
listening to the chief's plea for leniency, Mr Guvamombe gave
Sveto a wholly
suspended one-year prison sentence.
Sveto was found naked outside her
brother-in-law's house in Highfield early
on Sunday morning last week. She
claimed she had been hired by her
father-in-law to kill her brother-in-law.
Mr Guvamombe said the court had,
in mitigation, taken note of Sveto's age
and the fact that she was a first
offender who had not wasted the court's
time and had shown remorse. Sveto
also has a young child. "Judging from the
evidence given to this court, the
accused is also a victim who was being
used by a relative," said Mr
Guvamombe. "A custodial sentence will,
therefore, result in a miscarriage of
justice. Community service will expose
the accused to ridicule from the
public, while a fine will trivialise the
crime. A wholly suspended prison
term will bring justice in this case. In
arriving at this sentence, I have
also taken into account the stigma that,
in my view, is additional
punishment for the accused. I, therefore, give you
12 months' imprisonment
wholly suspended for five years on condition that
you will not commit a
similar offence of which you will be committed to
prison without trial," he
said.
Mr Guvamombe urged Sveto's family
and relatives to help her reintegrate into
society. Chief Mangwende said
since Sveto had pleaded guilty, she would be
brought to the Chief's Court
where, as in such cases, she would be ordered
to pay the fine of a cow. "As
chief, and not a wizard, I don't know what
should be done to appease the
accused, but I recommend that she be helped.
Someone who is going to appease
her must inform me first and should do it on
the open. We are supposed to
see and understand the cleansing process," he
said. Chief Mangwende said he
could not recommend anyone to cleanse her, but
the accused had to find her
own appeaser. "It is upon the individual to seek
an appeaser of her own. But
if she is released by the court, everyone must
appreciate it and help in the
integration," he said.
Sveto's husband, Mr Collin Zemba, and his
cousin, Mr Tobias Zemba, the
apparent target of Sveto's mission, pleaded the
with court to be lenient
with her, as they intended to do everything in
their power to assist in the
appeasement of the evil spirits. The case
attracted a lot of interest from
the public who filled the courtroom to hear
the proceedings and take a
glimpse of the woman. During sentencing, Sveto
went into a trance again
while in the dock. She regained her composure after
guards rubbed salt on
her face and hands. Asked by the magistrate what she
could ask from her
chief and the court, Sveto said: "When the court has
pardoned me, are there
any measures I could take against my father-in-law
for the humiliation he
has caused me in society, considering my age?"
Prosecutor Austin Muzive had
urged the court to impose a non-custodial
sentence. Sveto claimed to have
travelled "supernaturally" in a winnowing
basket (rusero) from a Murehwa
village to kill her brother-in-law but was
caught at a Highfield house,
leading to her arrest. She said she was under
the instruction of her
father-in-law to bewitch Mr Tobias Zemba.
Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 6th June 2009
The Vigil gave a great pom pom to a
man who ran 26.2 miles for us. He is Steve Garvey who ran the London Marathon
in 3 hours 26 minutes to raise funds for the Vigil. Steve, a teacher at the
Dolphin School in South London, came to the Vigil some months ago with some of his
pupils (8 – 9 year olds). Steve invited the Vigil to send someone to speak to
his class and Vigil management team member Fungayi Mabhunu took up the
challenge. He spoke of the conditions in Zimbabwe and the struggles of school children there. The
response was a fundraising effort which is set to raise £1100.
Apart from the sponsorship of
Steve’s run, his Dolphin pupils raised money themselves by such methods as a
sponsored maths test! One boy raised £260 on his own. Steve was raised
shoulder-high by Vigil supporters when he came to deliver the major part of this
generous gift. He said he was really humbled by how he was received -- to which
Vigil Co-ordinator Rose Benton said the Vigil was really humbled by his efforts
on our behalf. It is planned that the money will go to some specific
educational project in Zimbabwe with which the children of Dolphin school can feel a
personal involvement and perhaps establish penfriends.
While on the subject of education,
our partner organisation, Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe, have held workshops in
Midlands and Bulawayo. From these workshops they have identified the need
to go into rural areas to educate people on their human rights to empower them
to contribute to national healing. As Gweru City father, Willie Muringani, said: “I’m appealing to
ROHR that meetings of this nature should be taken out in the rural areas, where
there are a lot of people there who need to be opened up”. For more information:
www.rohrzimbabwe.org.
As always there was much discussion
at the Vigil about the situation at home and people were disturbed at reports
that two Zanu-PF ministers may be included in Morgan Tsvangirai’s entourage when
he visits the UK later this month. They are Foreign Minister
Simbarashe Mumbengengwi and the Minister of Mines Obert Mpofu, both of whom are
subject to travel sanctions because they are key supporters of the Mugabe
regime. The Vigil is puzzled why Tsvangirai should think that bringing these
people would encourage the UK to further loosen its purse strings. The two Mugabe
cronies should be worried about the prospect of a citizen’s arrest if they set
foot in the UK. We would like to send them to the International
Criminal Court in the Hague.
We would like to give our grateful
thanks to the Red Cross who have stepped in to feed the starving prisoners in
Zimbabwe. Many people who pass by the Vigil stop to look at
our pictures of starving prisoners and express their horror.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/
FOR THE RECORD:
189
signed the
register.
FOR YOUR
DIARY:
·
Service of
solidarity with the torture survivors of Zimbabwe. Friday
26th June from 7 – 8 pm. Venue: Southwark Cathedral. This is the 8th year the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has marked UN International Day in Support of
Victims of Torture. For more information, visit: http://www.hrforumzim.com.
·
Zimbabwe Vigil
Forum. Saturday 27th June at
6.30 pm. Upstairs at
the Theodore Bullfrog, John Adam Street,
London WC2N 6HL.
·
ROHR
Leeds general
meeting. Saturday 27th June from
1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue: Dock Green Inn, Leeds LS9
7AB. Contact: Wonder M Mubaiwa 07958758568, Donna
Mugoni 07533259373 or B Sikosana 07940181761.
·
Zimbabwe Vigil
Forum. Saturday 25th July at
6.30 pm. Upstairs at
the Theodore Bullfrog, John Adam Street,
London WC2N 6HL.
·
Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s
Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre,
84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel: 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground:
Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe
Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to
protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October
2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are
held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
