The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
12 March 2010

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has stated for the first time what many
Zimbabweans quietly acknowledge - how do you confront a dictator using
democratic means? Speaking at the launch of a damning report on the use of
torture by Mugabe's regime Tsvangirai said; 'It is very difficult to come to
an occasion of this nature and not feel the cries of the victims. On
hindsight how do you confront a regime that does not see any benefits of
negotiation? How do you confront a dictator using democratic means?'

On Thursday the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition launched,'Cries from
Goromonzi - Inside Zimbabwe's Torture Chambers', a report which contains 23
harrowing testimonies from individuals tortured between 2000 and 2009.
Tsvangirai was there to commission the report and showed visible anguish as
the wife of Glen View North MP Fani Munengami narrated how 10 armed soldiers
broke into her home and raped her in front of her 9 month old son. She
revealed that one of her abductors was the late ZANU PF Minister Elliot
Manyika, who died in a car accident 2 years ago.

The Prime Minister told all those gathered that it was difficult to balance
the cries of victims and the fear of persecution. 'There cannot be real
forgiveness without justice. National healing has not begun meeting the
needs of the people.' Although the coalition government formed a national
healing organ, this has been criticized for doing nothing. Tsvangirai said
the country needed some form of transitional justice before elections, which
are being touted for next year. He added that the progress in the government
that has been made in the last 12 months is being threatened by the
unilateral decisions being made by Mugabe and ZANU PF ministers and the
government was taking 'two steps forward and three steps back.'

'Cries from Goromonzi' examines the 'pervasive use of torture and
imprisonment of citizens in secret detention camps in Zimbabwe to extract
information, stifle public dissent and determine political processes and
electoral outcomes,' a statement from the Crisis Coalition said. The report
has recommended that government should criminalize acts of torture and
should educate 'law enforcement personnel, civil or military, medical
personnel, public officials, and other persons who may be involved in the
custody, interrogation or treatment of any individuals subjected to any form
of arrest, detention or imprisonment about the prohibition of torture'.

Politically motivated violence erupts in Mudzi

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
12 March 2010

The MDC has accused ZANU PF of unleashing violence against its supporters in
the Mudzi area in Mashonaland East, despite the fact that there is now an
inclusive government which should have seen an end to hostilities between
the former rivals.

A statement from the MDC's welfare department said: "Phone call received at
5 am today from a very distraught MDC district official from Mudzi North,
Chimkoko village, to report that Zanu PF thugs were raiding the homes of MDC
supporters and taking their livestock - goats, cattle and chickens and
threatening to come back and 'fight you, because you want to support the new
Constitution'."

"If the MDC people attempt to protect themselves or their property by
fighting back, then conveniently the forces will be sent in to arrest the
"perpetrators", who will without doubt be the MDC. This has been the states
modus operandi since the first land invasions on commercial farms in 2000.
Every report made to Police either resulted in the complainant becoming the
accused, or the response was 'we cannot get involved, it is political'."

On Friday SW Radio Africa spoke to some villagers in Chimkoko Ward 3 who
confirmed that ZANU PF sponsored youths were looting property and livestock
belonging to MDC supporters.

One of the villagers, Bob Lore, who is also the MDC district chairman for
Ward 3, said at least 30 families had been affected. He accused the local
ZANU PF councillor of spearheading the violence and named some of the
perpetrators in the area. He said; "They are very much afraid of this
constitution and they are trying to put fear into people."

Asked what his party was doing about this, especially since it is now in
government, the district chairman said nothing had been done yet, although
representatives from the party in Harare had been deployed to the area to
gather information. Lore said villagers in Mudzi had not accepted the
inclusive government because there was nothing to show that there was now
power sharing, as politically motivated violence was continuing in the area.

The MDC's welfare department said Mudzi had been a particularly bad area for
Zanu PF state sponsored and perpetrated violence in 2008-09, where '60 men
and 11 women were brutally murdered' for being MDC supporters or officials.
The MDC alleges that two Zanu PF MPs from this province are well known to
have been involved in at least three of the most brutal murders.

Zimbabwe Magistrate Living In Fear After Death Threats

http://news.radiovop.com/

12/03/2010 14:26:00

Bindura, March 12, 2010 - A Bindura Magistrate has been living in fear after
receiving death threats from senior Zanu PF officials who are accusing him
of being anti-Zanu PF when handling political violence matters.

A close colleague for Magistrate Story Rushambwa said the magistrate had
received threats on his mobile phone and to force him to release five youths
on bail. They, through their lawyer Grasien Manyurureni, have also made an
application for bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence.

The magistrate sentenced the youths convicted of engaging in political
violence in 2008, to 44 months imprisonment.

One of the messages accused Rushambwa of having imprisoned the party's
leading campaign team, saying they should be released.

"Waisa musangano wese mujeri (you have imprisoned the whole party) and who
do you think you are working for?" reads part of the message that was sent
to Rushamba by a senior Zanu PF official.

Provincial Resident Minister Martin Dinha is one of the top leaders who are
accused of issuing out the threats.

Dinha refused to comment Friday saying he was attending a meeting.

The youths were accused of destroying a house belonging MDC councilor for
ward 9 Aniko Chikuvanyanga and another belonging to the party's chairperson
for Bindura District Tongai Jack in Chipadze on December 7, 2008.

The youth were allegedly led by Wellington Chakanyuka aka Cde John who also
stands accused of murdering MDC activist,Irene Runzwirai by throwing her
into fire during the period leading to the runoff election in June 2008. The
matter is yet to be brought before the courts.

In December the same year Chakanyuka led a group of Zanu PF thugs who
destroyed Jack and Chikuvanyanga's houses in Chipadze, Bindura. Both cases
were reported to Bindura central police station under case number
CR169/02/09.

On March 5 this year, Magistrate Rushambwa found the five Zanu PF hooligans
guilty which has angered the party's top leadership in the Mashonaland
Central Province. The province is also the party stronghold.

A number of magistrates have been transferred from Bindura after pressure
Zanu PF officials arguing that they were not being given favourable rulings
at the expense of the MDC.

Munamato Mutevedzi, who used to work in Bindura, was last year transferred
to the Harare Magistrate Courts.

Zanu PF Youth Militia Forces Villagers To Join Party

http://news.radiovop.com/

12/03/2010 14:24:00

Masvingo, March 12, 2010 - The Zanu PF party has unleashed members of its
discredited and dreaded youth militia to force villagers to buy the party's
membership cards to salvage the liberation movement from total bankruptcy
just in case fresh elections are held soon.

It has since emerged that the party's provincial leadership ordered the
youth militia to force villagers to buy the party cards this week, after
being chided by the national Zanu PF leadership, for failing to raise funds
for the broke party.

The militias have since been causing terror, in hunger-stricken districts of
Zaka, Bikita and Gutu where they are forcing villagers to buy the party
cards for US$2 each or risk not being registered to recieve food assistance
from government.

Some of the villagers said the youths were even demanding chikens and goats
for those who fail to raise money for the party membership cards.

The Zanu PF fund-raising campaign is being masterminded by village heads and
chiefs who are also said to be forcing villagers to comply with the youths's
demands or risk losing food aid.

''They have been in our area for the past week and are forcing everyone
homestead to buy a party card failure which that family will not receive
food aid. To those who fail to pay the US$2 for the Zanu PF membership card
the youths demand goats or chikens and this has caused a lot of anxiety
because people are afraid that they might not get food aid, when it
eventually comes,''said villager from Masarira village in Bikita who refused
to be named.

Another villager, from Mashoko in Bikita, said the local chief Senator
Mabika was actually accompanying some of the Zanu PF youths to the villages
to make sure that everyone paid.

''Chief Mabika openly tells us that if we do not suppport Zanu PF we will
not get food assistance and the only way to show that we support the party
is by buying te membership cards so we end up buying because we cannot
afford not to get food assistance from governmnet," said another villager.

Zanu PF politburo member Dzikamai Mavhaire denied that the party was forcing
villagers to buy party cards saying the move was optional.

''If there are youths that are forcing villagers to buy our party ards then
those youths are not Zanu PF we are not forcing anyone to buy our cards its
just according to one's choice,''said Mavhaire.

In Masvingo Zanu PF managed to sell only a paltry 130 party membership
cards last year, an indication that most people no longer supported the
former ruling party led by President Mugabe in power since 1980.

SA police use rubber bullets on Zimbabweans in Johannesburg

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
12 March 2010

Scores of Zimbabweans were injured on Thursday, some seriously, when South
African police indiscriminately opened fire with rubber bullets on travelers
boarding buses to return to Zimbabwe at Johannesburg Park Station.

The police brutality, that included baton-charging the passengers, has
provoked widespread outrage and anger among Zimbabweans who described the
unprovoked attack as 'barbaric.'

Sibanengi Dube, spokesman for the MDC in South Africa, told us a large
contingent of the police descended on the bus station, the main transit hub
in Johannesburg, in the morning. He said many Zimbabweans were preparing to
board buses for home when the police started beating them up, searching and
looting goods.

'There was no provocation of any nature to justify such heavy handedness.
They (police) clearly indulged in gratuitous violence and abuse against
Zimbabweans, not sparing even innocent bystanders,' Dube said.

To make matters worse, those that were injured were refused treatment in
hospitals because they were 'foreigners.' We don't know the reason behind
the attack but there is suspicion the police had an issue with the bus
operators. It is likely the passengers were caught up in a war between the
police and the transport operators but that does not give them the licence
to shoot at innocent travelers,' Dube added.

Female passengers were reportedly subjected to body searches by male police
officers who openly fondled their breasts and private parts.

A furious Dube said such behaviour is 'unacceptable, barbaric, inhuman,
idiotic and moronic for people in state uniforms to commit such offences,'
adding that they were shocked by reports that some police officers demanded
kisses from female passengers in exchange for freedom.

'The problem with South African society is that xenophobia does not only
reside within common people on the streets or those in shanty areas.
Xenophobia has always been manifesting within government departments, within
government structures and government apparatus,' he said.

Dube added; 'Some of these government officers are prone to making serious
inflammatory statements, which can be taken in the wrong context to suggest
it is OK to beat a foreigner, it is OK to kill a foreigner, it is OK to
arrest a foreigner and demand bribery in exchange for freedom.'

On Friday the Global Zimbabwe Forum sent an urgent request to South Africa's
International Relations Ministry, seeking a meeting about the attacks. Luke
Zunga, an official of the GZF, said they were also worried about reports of
imminent xenophobic attacks against Zimbabweans.

'There is widespread warnings, some known by foreign embassies, in the
streets of South Africa, in townships, known by some police, by locals, that
after the World Cup there will be large scale xenophobic attacks to force
Zimbabweans out or mass deportations,' Zunga said.

'We want to ask the government if they are aware of this. What are they
doing about it? If not what plans are there to avoid the bloodshed? We need
to know now so that we can advise these 3 million migrants how to handle a
xenophobic situation, if it arises. If you drive people between hard two
rocks and they have nowhere to seek refuge, they will end up defending
themselves. That will be disaster for South Africa and the region,' Zunga
added.

Looting marks Zanu-PF 'Referendum' campaign

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Martin
Friday, 12 March 2010 14:05
MDC party officials received calls in the early hours of this morning from
their representatives in Mudzi North to report violence and state-sponsored
livestock rustling in Chimkoko village.
A distraught MDC official reported that Zanu PF thugs were raiding the homes
of MDC supporters and taking their livestock - goats, cattle and chickens -
while threatening to come back and "fight you, because you want to support
the new Constitution". On behalf of the villagers, he begged for protection
from the government.
Villagers are struggling to survive in this area, where scant rainfall has
caused crops to fail. Without their livestock these families now face the
terrible prospect of starvation for the rest of the year. In the past,
whenever the MDC-supporting householders attempted to protect themselves or
their property by fighting back, armed forces were sent in to arrest the
"perpetrators of unrest", who always turn out to be the MDC plaintiffs. This
has been the Zanu-PF regime's modus operandi since the first violent land
invasions on commercial farms in 2000. Every report made to police either
resulted in the complainant becoming the accused, or complete inaction - the
police response being "we cannot get involved, because it is political".
Police officers who 'interfere' in these cases lose their jobs and pensions.
Mudzi, in Mashonaland East province, suffered greatly from intensive Zanu-PF
perpetrated violence in 2008-09. In Mashonaland East from Jan 2008 to Dec
2009, 60 men and 11 women were brutally murdered for being MDC supporters or
officials. Two Zanu-PF Members of Parliament from this province, who can be
identified by hundreds of witnesses, are known to have been involved in at
least three of the most brutal and sadistic of these murders.
Escalating political terrorism is the very reason that SADC and or AU
Peacekeepers should be deployed immediately in Zimbabwe, to pre-empt and
possibly prevent the nationwide spread violence that is imminent. Both
Genocide Watch and Amnesty International have raised the level of their
'genocide warning' index for Zimbabwe in the past few months.
This does not bode well for for South Africa, which is hoping to stage a
successful and peaceful Soccer World Cup in just three months' time.

Biti says donors unlikely to help Zimbabwe

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
12 March 2010

Finance Minister Tendai Biti provided a dose of reality on Thursday when he
admitted that it is unlikely foreign donors will chip in to help the country
finance a projected US$810 million budget deficit. Key western donors are
reluctant to pour money into the shaky coalition government, and the
continued rights abuses and the controversial indigenization law have not
helped matters.

This week Biti disbursed US$100 million to different government ministries,
from the US$510 million provided by the International Monetary Fund last
year. The money was shared between ministries that are responsible for
water, sanitation, road construction and power generation. Last year US$50
million of the same IMF money was spent on seed and fertilizer.

'Given that this money has to be repaid at a later stage, it is critical
that utilization be targeted at projects that will generate economic
activity and give returns to the country,' Biti said.

It's the impact of ZANU PF's reluctance to genuinely share power however
that is being felt the most, as foreign donors hold back on funding. Biti
said Zimbabwe would have to use its own resources to try and revive its
economy. 'It's very unlikely that donors will fill that $810 million gap -
we're on our own.'

Human Rights Defender Fears More Violence In Zimbabwe

http://news.radiovop.com/

12/03/2010 13:09:00

Washington, March 12, 2010 Zimbabwe's human rights defender and journalist
Jestina Mukoko says she is still concerned about the human rights abuses
that her organisation is still recording in the country and fears there
could be more violence, particularly as the country is preparing a new
constitution.

Mukoko, who was one of the two recipients of the Women's Courageous Awards,
given by the US government, is a victim of abduction by Zimbabwe's state
agents last year. She was detained and tortured by Zimbabwe's secret agents
for her work at the Zimbabwe Peace Project where she is director. Her
organisation monitors and documents vilations of human rights that are
politically motivated.

Mukoko said this in a speech, made available by the US State Department,
which she made at the presentation of the Awards. US Secretary for State,
Hillary Clinton presented the awards to mark International Women's Day.

Mukoko said she feared an upsurge in violence in the country, especially if
there is going to be a constitutional referendum and an election immediately
afterwards.

Zimbabwe is currently preparing for a constitutional reform process in the
country in order to get public views and comments for a new constitution
that will set the stage for new elections in the country to replace the
transistional government put up with the help of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) in February 2008.

"We are concerned that probably the citizens might not be able to express
their views freely, because we are getting reports from, in particular, the
rural areas where people are being threatened with unspecified action if
they do not support a particular draft which is the Kariba draft. And that
is a bit of a concern to us because then it means that people are not going
to be able to say out their views freely, because we would want to come up
with a constitution that is going to sort of protect and enshrine the rights
of all, including the rights of women," she said.

The Kariba draft was arrived at by the three political parties in the
inclusive government, namely Zanu PF and the two Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) factions. Zanu PF is campaigning for its supporters to adopt
the draft as it is during the constitutional reform process while the two
MDC insist that the people must be allowed to contribute to the draft before
it is adopted as the country's constitution.

"A lot of the human rights defenders have been threatened by unknown people,
and we do not take those threats lightly. In particular, for myself, because
I am a survivor of state-sponsored violence, I know what can happen if they
do get to you. And we are worried that this is a tactic that is meant to
intimidate and harass human rights defenders so that they are unable to do
their work, in particular, around conscientizing communities to speak out in
terms of what they would want to see in the constitution."

Mukoko said her organisation set up in 2000, at the height of political
violence, was particularly concerned by the plight of women, who were
normally the chief victims of violence.

She also said she believed Zimbabweans must be given the right to contribute
to the national healing process.

Turning to her detention by the Zimbabwe state, she said: " I know that when
I started going through the courts, it was a battle, because orders were
flouted left, right and center. But when we eventually challenged and the
case was referred to the constitutional court, they ruled in my favor, and
they confirmed that my rights had been violated.

"And as a human rights defender, I am hoping that the Zimbabwean Government
will learn from that mistake, that it is not proper for a citizen to be
abducted, tortured, and kept incommunicado for weeks on end without being
tried."

Ambassador Melanne Verveer said the award was given out to courageous women
leaders working to advance human rights around the globe.

"Some 15 years ago this year, First Lady of the United States, Secretary
Clinton delivered one of the historic speeches at the Fourth UN World
Conference on Women that took place in Beijing. And at that conference, she
struck a chord around the world with her statement that women's rights are
human rights, and human rights are women's rights, not something separate
from human rights, not a category that is somehow not completely inclusive,
but inclusive in human rights. And as you will hear later this morning,
issues that touch on - in a significant way - on rights specifically
undermined, abridged, constricted in some way to women, will be and are a
significant part of the Human Rights Report and I'm sure will be discussed
in that context," said Verveer.

"When she issued that memorable statement, she walked through a litany of
abuses that women endure around the world, from child marriage to girl
feticide and infanticide just because they're girls - and there's a cover
story in The Economist this week about that - honor crimes, domestic
violence, rape as a tool of war, so horribly illustrated today in what's
going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

The other recipient of the award was Ann Njogu from Kenya. Verveer said
Njogu had suffered greatly for the position she had taken in fighting
corruption, in dealing with a range of challenges in that country, and the
upsurge also in sexual and gender-based violence that is taking place there.

"She's been very active in the effort on constitutional reform, and as is so
typical of so many of Women of Courage and activists around the world, many
of the issues they deal with has to do with the status of women and the
challenges to women, but they are also women who are engaged on the range of
issues that their countries and their societies are confronting.

Verveer said Mukoko had endured a great deal. She was horribly abused and
took her case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in her favor.

The two women also met with US First Lady, Michelle Obama.

2-term limit for President

http://www.herald.co.zw

Saturday, March 13, 2010

By Farirai Machivenyika

Zanu-PF wants the new constitution to limit Presidential terms to a maximum
of two five-year tenures but with full executive powers retained.

This is revealed in a position paper Zanu-PF intends to distribute to party
supporters across the country ahead of the constitutional outreach
programme.

Zanu-PF provincial chairman for Harare Cde Amos Midzi on Thursday also told
party supporters at an inter-district meeting that the position paper would
deal with various critical issues.

"The district chairpersons will collect the document and distribute it among
members. The position paper contains our thoughts as a party on various
issues that we need to be in the new constitution," he said.

Zanu-PF's position paper says the President's term of office should run
concurrently with that of Members of Parliament and executive authority
should rest with the President and Cabinet.

"Executive authority must rest with the President and Cabinet. The President
is the Head of State and Government and Commander of the Defence Forces.

"The President appoints one and not more than two Vice Presidents from among
MPs to assist in the discharge of duties. There should be no Prime
Minister," the paper says.

The defence forces, the party says, should defend the country's sovereignty
and be answerable to the President.

Zanu-PF also proposes that the President appoint ministers from among MPs
and assigns functions to them as is the case with the present constitution.

On the land issue, Zanu-PF wants any new constitution to guarantee the
irreversibility of the revolutionary agrarian reforms.

Zanu-PF also wants the new constitution to make it clear that former
colonial master Britain is responsible for payment of any compensation
attendant to land reforms.

"The liberation war was fought to regain land. Therefore, the State has the
obligation to compulsorily acquire land for resettlement purposes,
compensation for the land acquired should be borne by the former colonial
masters," the party says.

Zanu-PF says the legal and political authority is derived from Zimbabweans
and must be exercised to serve and protect the people's interest.

On the role of traditional leaders, Zanu-PF proposes that chiefs be
represented in Government structures through the Chiefs' Council.

The party also wants the new constitution to guarantee individuals' rights
and freedoms.

"Rights to life, liberty, security, freedom of speech, education, political
rights, agricultural land, protection of law right to property and right to
information."

Zanu-PF wants equal gender representation in all spheres of society and a
ban on homosexuality.

The outreach programme is expected to start on April 10 and political
parties have been urging their supporters to take part in the process to air
their views.

Views collated in the outreach will be condensed into a draft document that
will be brought back to the electorate in a referendum.

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution-Making projects that if
things go according to schedule from now, the plebiscite will be held as
soon as November this year.

In the Global Political Agreement signed between Zanu-PF and the two MDC
formations, the formulation of a new people-driven constitution ahead of
polls to elect the country's political leadership is called for.

Financial constraints have, however, stymied the process.

Government recently signed an agreement with UNDP in which the UN agency
will source US$21 million from donors for constitution-making.

The Select Committee estimates that the whole programme needs about US$36
million.

Anger over Bulawayo mayor's 'obscene' car

Mayor's wheels ... The new car bought for US$65,000 for the Bulawayo mayor

12/03/2010 00:00:00
	by Lunga Sibanda

BULAWAYO mayor Thaba Moyo angrily rejected accusations of corruption on Friday after the local authority's decision to buy him a US$65,000 motor was described as "obscene" by residents.

New questions were also raised on Friday over the tender process, with suggestions that the council may have paid between $20,000 and $30,000 more than the normal price for the Chrysler 2.0l CRO Dodge Journey.

The mayor told a New Zimbabwe.com correspondent to "stop bothering me" on Friday when challenged over his new wheels in the midst of decaying infrastructure and a creaking service delivery system.

"As council, we have a number of problems but the car has been in our budget plans for a long-time," said Moyo, a councillor for the MDC party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

He added: "There is nothing wrong with buying a car because anyway it is not mine. For ceremonial purposes the car is needed. Stop bothering me with questions."

The mayor took delivery of his new wheels on March 4, just months after the council bought him a Mazda BT50. The Mazda BT50 has now been thrown into the mayor's pool which already boasts a ceremonial vintage black Rolls Royce, a Toyota Venture, a Nissan Pathfinder, a Prado and a Peugeot 504 sedan.

Winos Dube, the chairman of the Bulawayo United Residents Association, blasted: "This is the kind of corruption that is hindering progress in the city. It's obscene extravagance in a sea of poverty.

"Clinics need funding, so do schools and even our sewer system is on the verge of collapse. Why not channel that money towards developing the city?

"The car is not a need or necessity. As a leader of the people, the mayor should have taken the plight of the people into account."

Israel Mabaleka, the Old Luveve councillor from the MDC led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara called for an investigation.

"We will call for a meeting with the relevant stakeholders and have the Mayor and his top brass explain to us why they chose to buy the car at a time like this, and for that amount," said Mabaleka, just one of six MDC-M councillors in the MDC-T run council. MDC-T has 23 councillors.

Experts in the car sales industry have told New Zimbabwe.com the Dodge Journey's value is around US$20,000 if bought outside the country, and after duty and other taxes it must have cost close to US$40,000.

A council source said that the mayor personally chose the car and travelled to Harare with Town Clerk Middleton Nyoni to authorise its delivery by Oasis Motors. Nyoni is also set to get a top-of-the-range vehicle soon, along with other senior council staff.

One councillor, who declined to be named, told a Bulawayo newspaper that the city's pride and joy, the Large City Hall, has been leaking for YEARS because the council can't pay US$15,148 to local firm, Trinidad Plastic Asphalt, for repairs.

Water and sewer pipe bursts are the order of the day in Bulawayo which is struggling to maintain is street lights - even replacing bulbs for traffic lights.

The councillor added: "How can council decide to abuse ratepayers' money when they are even disconnecting water from poor families who can't pay bills? So is the council forcing residents to pay so that it can buy an expensive car for Clr Moyo who has never owned a car in his life? It's unfair."

Bakare asks for Christian solidarity

by Pat Ashworth

Lament: Dr Bakare DIOCESE OF LICHFIELD

THE former Bishop of Harare, Dr Sebastian Bakare, has renewed his plea for Christian solidarity over the continuing persecution of Anglicans in the diocese.

His appeal came as the excommunicated former Bishop Nolbert Kunonga was said to have looted churches as well as locked out their congregations. Mr Kunonga and his "priests" are reported to have beaten up the caretaker of St Luke's, Greendale, before stripping the church of Bibles, hymn books, kneelers, and altar cloths. The culprits were not arrested, despite the caretaker's going to the police.

Government officials had given numerous assurances that the persecution would be brought to an end, Dr Bakare said. He believes that the Kunonga situation is regarded as "a welcome opportunity to vent political anger on the so-called colonial Church. . . It needs to be made very clear that the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe today is a member of the Church of the Province of Central Africa [CPCA], which is autonomous."

Dr Bakare laments that the other denominations in Zimbabwe "have been silent on such a glaring example of injustice perpetrated against ordinary members of one church whose only 'crime' is to worship in their churches". He appeals to the Churches to take their solidarity seriously, and to the political leadership to reinforce freedom of worship as guaranteed by the country's constitution.

The Bishop of Harare, the Rt Revd Chad Gandiya, has declared today a diocesan day of prayer and fasting in preparation for the important court case that lies ahead. The High Court last week dismissed with costs Mr Kunonga's application to enforce a provisional court order declaring his "church" to be the legitimate one, with control over the diocesan property.

The Dean and Acting Archbishop of the Province of Central Africa, the Rt Revd Albert Chama, has issued a document charting the history of Mr Kunonga's activities and explaining the current situation. "For senior police officers to give directives to prevent lawful churchgoers from worshipping in their own churches, and to assault and remove those who are legitimately inside a church, is morally and legally unjust. Yet it is happening," the report says.

"Either the police have been totally duped and hoodwinked by Kunonga, or they are deliberately bent on helping him to occupy, retain, and use what is not his to the prejudice of the rightful owners and users. This is tantamount to undue and wanton interference in the rights and affairs of the Church by the police, which makes them accessories to the increasing victimisation and persecution by just a few self-idolising impostors over the massive following of CPCA churchgoers.

"This is an ideal opportunity for the three political parties to the 2008 Agreement to display actively the need for respect for the constitution and law of Zimbabwe, and for the police to carry out their duties impartially and be accountable for any abuse of office, and for the judiciary to prove its independence, impartiality, and effectiveness in carrying out the law without fear, favour, or bias."

Nimble Zimbabwe judge does delicate egg dance, to the government's tune

Comment from The Cape Times (SA), 11 March

Carmel Rickard

How do Zimbabwe's judges stay agile enough for the incredible footwork of
their decisions? Whenever I read their judgments I imagine a judicial dance
college offering calf-raises and compulsory choreography classes. This week
I browsed a decision of the Harare High Court and the mental leaps and
pirouettes of the judge left me exhausted. He had been asked to "register"
certain rulings of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Tribunal and thus bring them into operation in Zimbabwe. They concerned a
number of farmers, including Mike Campbell, who had approached the tribunal
because the Harare government was helping itself to their land. The tribunal
found Zimbabwe's actions were contrary to the principles of the protocol.
The government was told to ensure that no action was taken to evict the
applicants from their farms and that fair compensation was paid where land
was taken by the government under compulsion.

At this point, enter - on tiptoe, to perform a symbolic egg dance - a judge
of the Harare High Court. Drawing heavily on SA case law and textbooks for
his view on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, he
executed a flying leap on to a finding by former South African Chief Justice
Mick Corbett. Discussing the conditions under which "foreign" judgments
might be enforceable in South African courts, Corbett had said that a number
of conditions had to be met first, among them that recognition of the
judgment "would not be contrary to public policy". Quite right, too, said
the Zimbabwean judge, that's exactly what we believe. But, he said,
retracing his steps, he would have to examine whether the tribunal had been
entitled to consider the Campbell matter in the first place. Once Zimbabwe
signed an amendment to the treaty in 2002, said the judge, the country
"became subject to the jurisdiction of the tribunal, and the jurisdictional
competence of the tribunal in the Campbell case ... cannot now be disputed".
It was "essentially erroneous and misconceived" for the Zimbabwean
government to repudiate the power of the tribunal. In addition, Zimbabwe had
fully participated in the bodies established under the treaty. It would thus
be "legally unsustainable" for the government to accept some aspects of the
treaty regime but reject others as "politically inexpedient and
unpalatable".

At this point in his decision, the judge has made it clear Harare is subject
to the discipline of the treaty and the tribunal, and cannot sometimes opt
out on the grounds that it doesn't like what the tribunal says. You might
think you know what will happen next - but not so fast. He now moves to
those remarks that foreign judgments will not be recognised if they conflict
with public policy. For a few paragraphs it seems he might jump either way.
Because Zimbabwe adhered to the SADC treaty and thus submitted to the
jurisdiction of the tribunal, the government had created "an enforceable
legitimate expectation" both in Zimbabwe and elsewhere that it would abide
by the tribunal's decisions. "In other words, as a rule, public policy
dictates that the tribunal's decisions, made within the bounds of its
international jurisdictional competence, be recognised and enforced in
Zimbabwe." But it's often the littlest words that make the biggest bang. In
this case "as a rule" was enough to rescue the judge.

The tribunal's decision effectively challenged the legality of the programme
of land reform sanctioned by Zimbabwe's highest court, said the judge. If
the tribunal's decision was to be accepted by Zimbabwe it would thus
"undermine the authority" of the Zimbabwean court. And that "could surely
not be contemplated as conforming to public policy in Zimbabwe". Everything
that the tribunal said Harare should do would "contravene and disregard"
what parliament had decided, he added. "This cannot be countenanced as a
matter of law, let alone as public policy." If the government obeyed the
tribunal's finding it would have to reverse all land acquisitions since
2000: as these were "quintessentially a matter of public policy in
Zimbabwe", the tribunal's ruling was out of line. True, many were
"absolutely correct" in expecting the government to comply with its treaty
obligations, "However, an incomparably greater number of Zimbabweans share
the legitimate expectation that the government will implement the land
reform programme." Since there were more of the latter, their view should
prevail. By the end of the court's performance, two contradictory principles
had been established: Zimbabwe owes allegiance to the SADC treaty and is
subject to international legal norms. But where these rulings conflict with
the policy of the government, there's no need to obey. Sound familiar?
Indeed. Just the kind of thing we might have heard from Pretoria's legal
advisers in apartheid days.

Pot luck on Zim's roads

http://www.mg.co.za

BUSANI BAFANA - Mar 12 2010 11:35

A Bulawayo child once swallowed a marula fruit and the kernel stuck in her
throat.

As the desperate parents were ferrying her to hospital, their car hit a huge
pothole, making the child hit the roof of the car and spit out the kernel.
So the child was saved by Bulawayo's potholes.

At least, that's what my city's mayor, Thaba Moyo, concluded when he related
the story during an official initiative to spruce up the place. We all
laughed.

But it made me reflect that in Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe and generally in Africa
the state of the roads provides the best barometer of state affairs.

Forget the predictions of economists and the rhetoric of politicians: if you
want to know about a country's rate of inflation, level of corruption or
economic growth, just look at the roads.

Bulawayo's roads were made in style and paved with passion. They were famed
for being some of the widest on the continent to facilitate the turning of
teams of oxen. And on a busy day in modern times, you'd never jaywalk unless
you had a death wish.

The street names have a colonial elegance and ambience. Take the former
Selbourne Avenue, a massive runway of a road stretching straight for some
5km.

It passes through some of the best sights in the city (or what used to be
the best) -- the centenary park, the natural history museum (that once had
one of the world's largest mounted elephants), the Bulawayo theatre and, of
course, our architectural beauties, the city hall and the national gallery.
This same road leads you to Gwanda, Beitbridge and into South Africa.

Then you change gear -- from the precarious 40km/h you risked until then to
well over 120km -- if you have the kind of car and the fuel to burn to reach
those speeds on South Africa's freeways.

During my travels to Egoli, I heard of the "freeway" (or N1) and the six
anaconda-like roads slithering out of the belly of gold-rich Gauteng. And I
have watched with awe signs of what makes South Africa tick. For sho.

I have seen more than David Livingstone did when he first saw the mighty
Mosi-O-Tunya (Victoria Falls). I see a lot of creative marketing on the
roads of South Africa, especially at traffic lights -- young men with faces
and upper bodies painted in white, desperately failing to clown.

Then you have the marketers who will get impulsive buyers to part with their
rands for trinkets, caps, motor stickers, posters, soft cuddly monkey toys,
fake sunglasses -- the list is as long in the peak-hour jam. Such highways
to heaven are alive and kicking.

Take, for instance, the Francistown-to-Gaborone road in Botswana. There's
nothing particularly fancy about it, but its expansiveness, especially the
double lane closer to Gabs, is a marvel and the biggest advert for Botswana's
diamond wealth.

In Malawi, by contrast, I was warned that I should never travel late at
night: some of the major roads are killing fields because of the single-or
zero-headlighted trucks using the cover of night to travel and make money.

And in Kenya, watch out for the matatu (minibus) drivers -- they stop
anywhere, anytime and anyhow, just like their blood brothers who drive the
kombi "emergency taxis" in downtown Bulawayo.

With the start of the rainy season, many will drive into potholes; and if
you dare complain, they will tell you to walk next time.

Drive from Lusaka to Zimbabwe and the hues of difference tell their own
tale. Downtown Lusaka is clean and welcoming -- its roads, such as the Great
East, are maintained and repaired. Is it the copper boom?

But your confidence wanes as Lusaka recedes in your rearview mirror and the
Chirundu road stretches on the Zimbabwean side while snaking past hills and
breathtaking mountain views. It's littered with potholes and invitations to
less sober drivers to park their cars down a ravine.

A crass old joke was that if you were driving in Zambia at night you had to
be extra cautious when you saw two bright eyes in the middle of the road
because they belonged to a giraffe in a pothole.

Well, that joke has driven a few kilometres across the Zambia border to Zim.
Why waste your money going to Tanzania to see the Ngorongoro crater when you
can see a better crater in downtown Bulawayo for free any day?

Busani Bafana is a journalist who lives in Bulawayo

The gift that Gwaai River Hotel gave to me

Gwaai River Hotel as it was in its glory days

Gwaai River Hotel today, after ten years of chaotic 'land reform'

A friend today gave me images of the Gwaai River Hotel taken in recent years, and it hurled me back to my childhood. The hotel is a fixture of my very early youth, inextricably locked into my earliest memories of Zimbabwe. A year or so ago I was with my father when we drove past the turning off to the hotel, and I asked him to take me back so I could see it again: "There's nothing there anymore; I don't think you should see it". My father, who once introduced me to a friend of his as his 'bush baby', knows how much I loved the place.

I understood from the pictures I saw today why he didn't want me to see it. It is gone. Totally destroyed, and all this senseless destruction has taken place in the last ten years in the wake of Zanu PF's chaotic land reform programme. My memories, however, are not destroyed.

Then...

... and now.

The hotel was a hub of the local community, attracting miners, safari operators, hunters, conservationists, farmers and passing tourists. My memories are those of a child: of the gloriously blue swimming pool, with a paddling pool as warm as wee at one end. A trampoline that was less boing-boing-boing and more ker-booyooing - ker-boyooing - ker-boyooing (if most trampolines aspired to be being a tightly-pulled drum, this one longed for retirement days as a deep feather-bed). It was wonderful though - especially when an adult hopped on: I remember my father bouncing me while I sat at his feet, so high that he literally sent me flying off the trampoline, fortunately caught by someone standing near-by.

I remember the putt-putt course, crafted out of concrete in impossible humps and tunnels. And the tennis-course near the trampoline, children shrieking and bouncing while adults - all wearing crisp whites - played tennis. I remember taking a turn at pulling the dining room's punkah wallah - I was hopelessly bad at it. And in later years when I was bit older, the horses: two in particular, a smallish brown horse and a larger grey that had an attitude and was my nemisis, both very efficient at flicking their ears at Gwaai flies.

People who were 'grown-ups' at the time will now fondly talk about the money collection - currencies from everywhere in the world - framed in the bar. And the huge parties, especially at New Year. My memories of those evenings are of hurtling around the gardens at night, in my pyjamas when I should have been in bed, with a whole group of other kids while our parents partied.

In many respects these memories are predictable, but there are always three thoughts that I have which precede these.

The first is of the short drive towards the hotel, the car hot and stuffy from a long journey turning onto a road that dipped down to a narrow concrete bridge with a stomach-pulling lurch as the car rose on the other side and then cocked to the right - the hotel facing us just before we turned.

My second memory (which surprises me given I was so young) is of the birdlife: walking through the narrow gate in the wall into a sanctuary of shady trees around the front of the hotel, and into a prism of dappled light and bird-song.

My third memory is of the proprietors, Harold and Sylvia Broomberg, who ran the hotel for decades, including the horror times of the war and the Gukuruhundi. It is only after my adult mind has arrived and been welcomed by them that I turn to the 'sweetie' memories of childish fun listed above.

As I've grown up I've developed a deep reluctance to look back to those times. For a start, much of the content on the web where people celebrate 'looking back' is dominated by ex-Rhodesian die-hards, their memories offered to the world in the context of '.see. things were better then than they are now'. This mind-set denies the reality of the experiences of the majority at the time, and in sharing my memories, I in no way want anyone to think I endorse the historical and social context they exist within. However, nor do I want to qualify the sheer joy and innocence of childhood memories with political caveats.

I know full well that had I experienced those days from the perspective of the person I have grown up to become today, I would look at pre-Independence experiences with a very different set of eyes. As a child though, I was unaware of the context I grew up in: I didn't know until I was much older, for example, that behind his back some people referred to my father as a 'communist', because his views of the current context angered many around him (the word used less to accurately describe his political views, and hurled more as an expletive at a man who believed the Smith government trying to maintain the status-quo was profoundly wrong).

I think one of the most overwhelming reasons to not want to look back though is the nostalgic pain it invokes. I looked at the photos my friend gave me with deep sadness, and then found myself gripped by a desire to see pictures of what it looked like when I was child. In my search to do so I found this Facebook group, and it was when I saw pictures of Harold and Sylvia that I started crying as I recognised the deeply familiar faces of two people that I have such fond memories of.

Harold and Sylvia Broomberg

Only then did it dawn on me that the beauty and warmth of the place and my most treasured memories had everything to do with these two people.

I remember both of them exuding an incredible gentleness, softly spoken and extremely kind. They knew me by name even though I must have been one of hundreds of children passing through their hotel, whining before we reached the front door that I didn't want to use the loo first, I wanted to go straight to the trampoline! I know that my parents were probably aware that they were arriving at an establishment owned and run as a formal business by a couple, but as a child I had no appreciation of formalities: for me, visiting the Gwaai River Hotel was like arriving at a relative's home and settling in as quickly as possible, and moaning like hell when I had to leave. Harold and Sylvia made it feel that way.

In the discussion section of the Facebook group, Harold and Sylvia's daughter writes in 2008:

Harold has a prayer that has been in his heart almost all his life. It goes like this:

All through this day
let me touch as many
lives as possible,
and every life I touch
do You, dear Lord, quicken,
whether through the words I say,
the things I do
or the life I live.
So be it.

Harold carried this prayer in his heart, but he showed it in his actions and speech too.

When I first saw the photos my friend gave me today, I felt deeply depressed and I said "I'm never going to go back there. My dad was right, I'll bawl".

Her response was one word: "Rebuild".

There is something very forward-thinking and positive about that: just because it's over doesn't mean it's OVER. And as I realised towards the end of my self-indulgent trip down memory-lane, the real gift wasn't the stuff - the fan, the trampoline, the putt-putt course etc. What made it so special to so many - even if they don't properly realise it yet - was that it was run with love and deep affection for the people who visited the place. Harold's prayer says it all: if only his prayer was the philosophy in the hearts of everyone and all the political parties involved our country, we would be rich and happy beyond our wildest dreams.

Harold died last year, peacefully in his sleep. I can only imagine how Sylvia and their family may feel when they see these images: but I hope they take away from this a perception that the most important part of Gwaai River Hotel, the heart and soul of the place, can never be destroyed by the hate and ugly destructiveness of Mugabe and his thugs. And that's the postive attitude and warm spirit embodied by Harold and his wife: a special thing to keep in mind and hand down to generations to come as we all move forwards to rebuild, repair and nurture our beloved country.

If we treasure this spirit instead, and stop weeping about what once was, then what a gift they've given us.

This entry was posted by Hope on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 4:51 pm

A letter from the diaspora

http://www.cathybuckle.com

12th March 2010

Dear Friends.
"How do you confront a dictator using democratic means?" That was just one
of the questions that Prime Minister Tsvangirai asked at the launch of a new
book detailing the horrific experiences of the victims of political torture,
'Cries from Goromonzi' at the Book Café in Harare this week. One of the
victims, the wife of an MDC MP, had courageously given her evidence in
person, describing how a gang of ten men burst into her house and raped her
in front of her nine month-old son. Seven years have passed but the memories
of that experience have left the victim physically and psychologically
scarred. It is the same for all the victims of the political violence; the
passing years cannot erase the memories or the pain. Three years ago it was
Morgan Tsvangirai, Sekai Holland, Lovemore Madhuku and other brave human
rights advocates who were also the victims of politically motivated
violence. "It is very difficult to come to an occasion like this and not
feel the cries of the victims." Tsangirai commented after he had listened to
the brave woman's evidence. "There cannot be real forgiveness without
justice."

But the fact is that there has been no justice for any of the victims of the
Zanu PF onslaught on MDC supporters and activists, an onslaught which
continues to the present, on a lesser scale perhaps, but violence is still
Zanu's preferred method of dealing with their opponents. If anyone thought
that all of that would change with the setting up of an Inclusive
Government, the events of this week merely illustrate that the violence has
taken a different form. Without consulting his so-called partners in the
Unity Government and in direct contravention of the GPA, Robert Mugabe has
unilaterally stripped MDC Ministers of their powers. He has in effect stolen
from them what was theirs by legal right, leaving them 'naked' as Nelson
Chamisa put it. His own Telecommunications Ministry has now been handed over
to Nicholas Goche, the head of the CIA. The Ministry dealing with human
rights is now in the dubious hands of Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of
Justice. No blood has been shed, there are no bruised and bloody victims but
the result is the same; Mugabe has used his presidential powers to take back
authority which is not in his gift. No wonder he and his supporters are
delaying the constitutional process. They know that once Mugabe loses his
presidential powers as enshrined in the present constitution, he will no
longer be in control of ministerial appointments. Meanwhile, the so-called
Kariba Draft is being violently endorsed in the rural areas and poor urban
townships. Threats and intimidation are being used to force the people to
support a constitution that leaves the president with absolute power. It is
all part of the same picture of violence aimed at thwarting the genuine will
of the people.

Morgan Tsvangirai's question, "How do you confront a dictator using
democratic means?" is tragically relevant in Zimbabwe 2010. If Jacob Zuma
does indeed return to Harare next week, it will be interesting to see how he
deals with this new situation. Robert Mugabe is in blatant transgression of
the GPA, everyone can see that, but he remains utterly defiant in the face
of world opinion. Rather like the Israelis who choose to announce the
building of new homes for Israeli settlers on the eve of the US Vice
President's visit to mediate in the long-running Arab/Israeli dispute,
Mugabe will be similarly impervious to any criticism of his actions; that is
always supposing that Zuma dares to criticise the great Liberation Hero at
all! Secure in the support of his generals, a partisan police force and
judiciary and upheld by his parasitic praise-singers in his conviction of
his own immortality, Robert Mugabe continues to do and say exactly what he
wants. Despite his own repeated claims that no one must interfere with 'his'
country's 'sovereignity' Mugabe this week decided to have his say on British
politics when he lent his support to the conservative party in the UK's
upcoming elections. He could 'deal with these fools' he is reported to have
said of David Cameron's party, believing no doubt that a conservative party
victory would mean the UK would radically change its stance on the 'Zimbabwe
question' and the sanctions issue. The man's arrogance knows no bounds and
under the guise of Affirmative Action, his cronies like Saviour Kasukuwere
reflect their master's arrogant self-belief and, coincidentally, make a
great deal of money out of taking what does not belong to them on the basis
that it is their god-given right to own everything in Zimbabwe. "You
British!" Kasukuwere spat at the BBC reporter who interviewed him recently
and dared to question him on the Indigenisation Act currently being
implemented. Reverse racism is the order of the day and from all the
comments I read, no one in Zimbabwe even questions the morality and twisted
logic of Zanu PF's definition of the term 'indigenous'. Instead, all the
talk is about the financial benefts that will accrue to a few Zanu PF 'fat
cats' while a Red Cross report today tells us that one third of the
population faces starvation.

The question remains: How do you solve a problem like Mugabe when you have
only democratic means at your disposal and the dictator ensures that the
democratic process itself is whittled away? No one, not the UN, not the AU
and certainly not SADC - or President Zuma - seem to have an answer to that
question.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

Tsvangirai asks how you confront a dictator using democratic means