VOA
By Peta Thornycroft
Southern Africa
13 March
2008
The Zimbabwe state media has been accused of bias in
favor of the ruling
ZANU-PF party by media monitors observing the run up to
national elections
on March 29. And as Peta Thornycroft reports, monitors
say the Zimbabwe
Election Commission, mandated by law to ensure balanced
media, is failing to
do its job.
The Media Monitoring Project of
Zimbabwe says in a report issued this week
that the ruling ZANU-PF party has
effectively hijacked the state television
and radio broadcaster, ZBC, as the
party's own private broadcasters.
Abel Chikomo, advocacy coordinator for
the Project says that the national
broadcaster behaves as if it is ZANU-PF's
own private radio and television
station. This he says is in "flagrant"
violation of electoral and
broadcasting laws.
"For the month of
February only, between the 5th February to the 29th
February, [Zimbabwe TV]
accorded a total of 3 hours 22 mins to the ruling
party only," said Chikomo.
"This is in addition to the 4 hours the ruling
party got [for] the launch of
their manifesto, which time was [given to
nobody else]."
"ZBC [even
suspended] all programming to ensure they ran the ZANU-PF
manifesto live,
without any interruption. We believe there is no better
indication of the
bias, and inequality and unfairness of the reporting of
elections than what
we have seen already," he added.
In addition, the project issued a stern
rebuke to the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission which it says has failed to
fulfill its mandate to ensure that
the public broadcaster is balanced and
fair, in both content and time,
toward all political parties and
candidates.
The chairman of the commission, Judge George Chiweshe, told
VOA that the
commission has set up its own monitoring body and began its
work just this
week.
"So they started working in earnest this week
really and we have not got a
report from them, because it is only four days
into the week. But what they
will be doing is ensuring that the various
requirements they are required to
do respect of what part of the election
activities and so on [that they
cover]; these are being adhered to," he
said.
There are no independent broadcasters based in Zimbabwe. And, the
state
controls all the daily print and electronic media within the country.
There
are a handful of independent weekly publications.
The Project's
Chikomo says the state media has also failed to educate the
electorate about
the practicalities of the election and of voting. In
addition he says, the
public has not been informed about changes in
electoral and media laws which
resulted from the South African-mediated
talks between the ruling party and
the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
"It's not just about
that there is no fair coverage on ZBC," said Chikomo.
"We still don't have
the daily news, or any alternative daily source of
information in this
country to date. So there is no political will or
commitment on the part of
ZANU-PF, the ruling party, or the government to
ensure that they implement
what they seem to have agreed in South Africa."
Opposition parties have
also complained that Mr. Mugabe has been using
government-funded inducements
to win support from the electorate, including
salary hikes for civil
servants and the army and agricultural equipment such
as tractors for people
in rural areas.
Judge Chiweshe told VOA he couldn't comment on whether
this is unfair or
illegal.
"We are the last people able comment on
issues like that because they are of
a political nature, in essence," said
Chiweshe. "It is difficult for us to
comment on what is inducement and what
is not inducement, unless of course
someone has filed a charge, and it has
been sustained in the proper forum. I
cannot say anything, my hands are
tied. If I say it's wrong, then it means I
am taking a position prematurely
because the facts have not been put before
me.
The Media Monitoring
Project and opposition parties say that in the current
climate it is not
possible to hold elections that are not biased in favor of
the ruling
ZANU-PF and President Robert Mugabe and that the Zimbabwe
Election
Commission needs to urgently ensure the public media such as
Zimbabwe
Television, ZTV, complies with the law.
Zim Online
by Cuthbert Nzou Friday 14 March
2008
HARARE - Zimbabwe's chief spy Happyton Bonyongwe has
been linked to former
finance minister Simba Makoni's bid to oust President
Robert Mugabe, in the
first signal that divisions in the ruling ZANU PF
party may be filtering
down to the security
establishment.
Authoritative sources told ZimOnline yesterday that the
Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) was in the grip of a power struggle
between Bonyongwe,
its director-general, and his deputy, Maynard Muzariri,
who is said to back
Mugabe continuing in power.
Makoni, who was
expelled from ZANU PF for challenging Mugabe last month, has
repeatedly said
he is closely working with several top people in the ruling
party and
government who he has not named but who he says are equally eager
to see the
March 29 elections usher in a new leadership for the country.
While top
ZANU PF officials and military commanders have in recent days
publicly
declared their backing for Mugabe, insiders say many among these
clandestinely support Makoni.
No comment could be obtained from the
CIO, which does not disclose its
affairs to the media as a matter of policy.
A hostile Intelligence Minister
Didymus Mutasa refused to take questions on
the matter also because it
involved the secret service.
"The CIO is
not run through the media. Why do you think I can talk to you
about the
country's intelligence matters," Mutasa said curtly.
Our sources said the
rivalry between Bonyongwe and Muzariri had virtually
paralysed intelligence
gathering with the two CIO bosses spending time
spying on each other than
running the organisation.
For example, they said last January CIO
officials in Harare compiled a
report and submitted it to Mutasa, linking
Bonyongwe and retired army
general Solomon Mujuru, among others, to Makoni's
presidential ambitions.
Mujuru, husband of ZANU PF and state
Vice-President Joice Mujuru, is one of
the power brokers in the ruling party
and has long been rumoured to support
Makoni.
The sources said Mutasa
did not hand over the report to Mugabe, but waited
for the return of
Bonyongwe from abroad and confronted him with the
document.
"This
angered operatives in Muzariri's camp who then approached Mnangagwa
(
Emmerson, the Minister of Rural and Social Amenities). They briefed him on
the goings on in the CIO," a senior intelligence officer
said.
Mnangagwa is Mujuru's biggest rival to control ZANU PF post-Mugabe.
He was
sidelined for the vice-president's job four years ago when Joice was
appointed, but has since mended his relationship with Mugabe who he is
backing to stay in office.
When Mnangagwa approached Mutasa over the
CIO report, he was told it had not
been handed to Mugabe because it was seen
as biased.
"Mutasa said he wanted neutrals in the CIO to compile a
comprehensive report
on alleged Bonyongwe links to Makoni back-dating to the
time when he was in
government," said a source.
A senior CIO officer
has since been tasked to compile a fresh report that
would be submitted to
Mutasa, Mnangagwa and Mugabe.
However, Mugabe, in the meanwhile summoned
Bonyongwe last month and accused
him of editing out vital information from
reports compiled by juniors on the
Makoni project.
Bonyongwe's term
ends in April. Our sources said it was highly unlikely
Mugabe would renew
the CIO boss' contract but added he was also unlikely to
promote Muzariri to
the job of director-general.
Mugabe was likely to promote CIO deputy
director general (internal) Elias
Kanengoni to head the
organisation.
Kanengoni, also said to be an Mnangagwa ally, is perceived
to be more loyal
to Mugabe after the President pardoned him from serving a
six-year jail term
for shooting former Gweru mayor Patrick Kombayi during
the 1990 general
elections.
While the army and police are credited
with keeping public discontent in
check by brutally crushing opposition-led
street protests, it is the CIO
that has played a critical role to keep
Mugabe in power by infiltrating and
destabilising opposition parties to
ensure they are unable to effectively
organise against the veteran leader. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Prince Nyathi Friday 14 March
2008
HARARE - Zimbabwe's Electoral Court on Thursday turned
down an opposition
application seeking an order compelling election
authorities to disclose
information pertaining to ballot papers printed for
month-end polls, saying
it did not have jurisdiction over the
matter.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had
wanted the
court to order the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to
disclose the
number of ballot papers printed for the joint presidential,
parliamentary
and council elections on March 29.
The opposition party
- that according to sources believes that more ballots
were printed to allow
for easier manipulation of the vote - also wanted the
court to order ZEC to
disclose the identity of the firm contracted to print
ballot papers and that
the commission allows inspection and auditing of
ballot papers.
The
MDC also wanted ZEC ordered to increase the number of polling stations
in
its stronghold urban areas. Analysts say fewer polling booths allocated
in
cities and towns could turn away voters.
"The electoral court said it had
no jurisdiction to hear the matter so we
are going to launch the case with
the High Court very soon," said a lawyer
with Coghlan Welsh and Guest a law
firm that is acting for the opposition
party.
The Electoral Court was
set up to specifically hear disputes related to and
about elections as part
of reforms that were said would help speed up
resolution of electoral
disputes and enhance transparency in the country's
election systems and
processes.
MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said the court's refusal to
deal with the
matter that clearly fell under its ambit was a "reflection of
the failure of
the whole electoral system."
"Its strange that a court
set up to solve electoral disputes is refusing to
do so," Biti said. "It's a
reflection of the failure of the whole electoral
system. We will make a
fresh court application soon."
The MDC had also sought to compel ZEC to
give the number of postal votes,
identify postal voters - where they come
from and where they will cast their
votes.
It wanted ZEC to prove
that it had put measures in place to ensure that the
elections - which are
being held together for the first time ever - will not
be bogged down by
administrative hitches.
Non-governmental organisations have expressed
fear that concern that lack of
capacity and poor preparations by ZEC could
see hundreds of thousands of
voters especially in major urban areas fail to
vote as happened in the 2002
presidential election.
Major Western
governments condemned the 2002 election that was
controversially won by
Mugabe as flawed and refused to recognize the
Zimbabwean leader's victory
against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe, who retained the presidency
by a mere 400 000 votes, insists that he
won fairly against the opposition
leader.
Mugabe, 84, who seeking a fresh five-year term, faces his biggest
electoral
test in a three-horse race pitting him against former ally Simba
Makoni and
perennial foe, Tsvangirai.
Political analysts say an
unfair electoral playing field guarantees Mugabe
victory despite clear
evidence that he has failed to tame a rampant economic
crisis that has
manifested itself in the world's highest inflation rate of
over 100 000
percent, massive unemployment and poverty. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Tafirei Shumba Friday 14 March
2008
HARARE - Suspected ruling ZANU PF party youths
are forcing public
commuter bus operators to stick portraits of President
Robert Mugabe on
their vehicles, threatening unspecified but severe
punishment to those who
refuse to comply, ZimOnline has learnt.
On Tuesday, minibuses plying routes between Harare's city centre and
the
suburban areas were suddenly seen driving around displaying colorful
campaign posters emblazoned with the portrait of a stone-faced Mugabe waving
his militant trademark fist.
Harare is a stronghold of the
opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai of
the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
Initially it had appeared the commuter buses, sporting the
presidential portraits, were merely isolated and restricted to a few eastern
middle class suburban routes.
But investigations by ZimOnline
revealed on Wednesday the A3-size
Mugabe posters were in fact appearing
plastered on minibuses on nearly all
city routes including the densely
populated southern working class areas,
where the veteran leader is loathed
the most.
Zimbabweans go to the polls on Saturday 29 March in
combined
presidential, parliamentary and council elections in which the
opposition
has already alleged cases of violence and intimidation against
its
supporters in the pre-polls campaign period.
Mugabe, 84,
and seeking a fresh five-year term, faces his biggest
electoral test in the
presidential race against his respected former finance
minister Simba Makoni
and the popular and charismatic Tsvangirai.
Bus drivers told
ZimOnline that youths, they believed were ruling
party activists and who
were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with similar Mugabe
portraits, had stormed
termini earlier this week, marshalling bus crew to
assist in sticking the
posters onto their vehicles.
"The youths caught us by complete
surprise, within seconds they were
all over the place pushing and shoving
commuters and demanding to see
drivers and conductors of selected buses whom
they ordered to stick the
President's posters on the kombis (minibuses),"
said one conductor at the
Fourth Street terminus just outside Harare central
business district.
"They took down the registration numbers of our
kombis and said they
would monitor each of the kombis to ensure we did not
pull down the
president's posters threatening to deal with those who
resisted," said the
conductor, who identified himself only as
Kingston.
The sprawling Fourth Street terminus is situated within
the same
perimeters with the Harare provincial offices of ZANU PF. Attempts
to get
comment on the matter from the party office were fruitless with the
relevant
officials said to be out campaigning.
A driver at the
Market Square rank, who would not disclose his name
saying he feared for his
personal safety, said: "What it means displaying
these posters on my bus is
that the bus owner, driver, conductor as well as
the passengers support ZANU
PF, but that is not necessarily the case."
On Tuesday evening a
group of commuters at the Fourth Street rank
refused boarding the minibuses
displaying Mugabe's posters digging in their
heels for nearly 30 minutes
before they finally boarded apparently because
they could not get
alternative means of transport home.
One of the commuters remarked:
"This is a form of intimidation on the
kombi drivers and on passengers but
that will not affect how I am going to
vote."
An officer at
Harare Central police station said the law enforcement
agency was not aware
of any commuter bus owner or crew being forced to
display posters of Mugabe
on their vehicles.
"We haven't received any such reports of kombis
and the President's
posters," said the policeman, indicating no action would
be taken until bus
owners lodged a formal complaint with the police. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Simplicious Chirinda Friday 14 March
2008
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's government has
awarded teachers hefty
salary increments of over 750 percent as it moved to
placate restless
workers ahead of a key election at the end of the
month.
The new salary increases will see the lowest paid teacher earning
Z$3.9
billion, which officially translates to US$130 000 but is a mere
US$100 on
the widely used parallel market.
The highest paid teacher
now earns $5.7 billion a month, up from the $500
million they used to get
before the government hiked the salaries.
Raymond Majongwe, the secretary
general of the Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe, confirmed the
increments but queried why the government had waited
a few weeks before a
tricky election to award the salary increments.
"Yes we have got a huge
salary increase which will see the lowest paid
teacher earning $3.9 billion
while the highest paid will get $5,7 billion.
"We certainly wonder why
the government left it until this late to give
teachers what they are worth.
The whole move smacks of an election gimmick
to buy votes," said
Majongwe.
Mugabe is facing a tricky election on 29 March against his
former finance
minister Simba Makoni and popular Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)
leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The veteran Zimbabwean leader
has since last month been dishing out farm
implements and higher salaries to
government workers such as soldiers and
nurses as he moved to placate a
restless population ahead of the elections.
Zimbabwe's teachers have been
on strike since schools opened for the new
year last January demanding
massive salary increments and an improvement in
their conditions of
service.
The two-month strike had paralysed Zimbabwe's education system
that was once
revered as one of the best in Africa.
Thousands of
highly skilled teachers have fled Zimbabwe over the past eight
years in
search of better paying jobs in neighbouring countries leaving the
country's
education system virtually on its knees. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Cuthbert Nzou Friday 14 March
2008
HARARE - A pro-government clergyman has threatened war
if President Robert
Mugabe loses elections, in remarks that echo threats by
Zimbabwe Defence
Forces chief Constantine Chiwenga that the military would
not salute any
leader except Mugabe.
Analysts have said the
statements last week by Chiwenga that Mugabe's rivals
in the presidential
race, Simba Makoni and Morgan Tsvangirai were "sell
outs" who the army
would not back were a clear threat to stage a coup if
the veteran leader
lost to either of the two.
Addressing about 150 ZANU PF supporters at the
party's headquarters in
Harare, Reverend Obadiah Msindo said opposition
leaders were being
bankrolled by "gay and satanic" groups in the United
States to effect regime
change in Zimbabwe.
"Tsvangirai and Makoni
are being sponsored by gays and satanists to effect
regime change in this
country," said Musindo, who is leader of the Destiny
for Afrika Network, a
church organisation he founded.
"True Zimbabweans will go back to the
bush if President Mugabe loses the
elections. We will have another
chimurenga (war of liberation)," said the
firebrand clergyman who has openly
expressed his support for Mugabe in the
past.
Msindo and Chiwenga are
not the only ones among Mugabe's supporters rattling
sabres as polls draw
nearer. Zimbabwe Prison Service boss Paradzai Zimondi
two weeks ago also
declared that he would not salute Tsvangirai or Makoni if
anyone of them won
the presidential election.
Zimondi, who also ordered junior officers
serving under him to vote for
Mugabe, said he would quit his job and go home
to "defend" the piece of land
he received under the government's
controversial land reforms.
Zimbabwe, which is grappling its worst ever
economic crisis, holds local
government, parliamentary and presidential
elections on 29 March. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Ruziwo Manyeruke Friday 14 March
2008
HARARE - ZANU PF party politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa
says he would not
push for the prosecution of President Robert Mugabe over
the 1980s army
atrocities in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces as doing so
would only
help open old wounds.
Speaking to journalists at the Quill
Club in Harare, Dabengwa said
prosecuting Mugabe would also show disrespect
to a 1987 unity pact signed
between ZANU PF and PF ZAPU led by the late
nationalist Joshua Nkomo and to
which he (Dabengwa) belonged.
"Those
two old men (Mugabe and Nkomo) joined hands and called for a truce
and that
should be respected.
"I will not support anyone who calls for Mugabe's
prosecution regarding
Gukurahundi (the code-name for the military campaign
that left an estimated
20 000 ethnic Ndebeles dead)," said
Dabengwa.
Several human rights groups and Zimbabwe's main opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party have in the past said those
behind the
massacres known as Gukurahundi should face justice.
The
massacres were carried out by the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade
deployed
in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces ostensibly to crush an armed
rebellion against Mugabe's rule.
A vast majority of those killed by
the Brigade were innocent civilians
targeted simply because they belonged to
the Ndebele tribe to which most of
the armed dissidents
belonged.
Mugabe is still to apologise over the massacres but has
described the
Gukurahundi operation as "an act of madness."
Dabengwa,
who three weeks publicly endorsed Simba Makoni's quest to wrestle
the
presidency from Mugabe, admitted that the general feeling in
Matabeleland
was to have the masterminds of Gukurahundi prosecuted.
Dabengwa has since
last month been the butt of a vicious propaganda campaign
in
state-controlled media which accuses him of "betraying" the revolution by
defecting to Makoni's political project.
Mugabe told a campaign rally
on Wednesday that Dabengwa had voluntarily quit
ZANU PF by backing Makoni,
in remarks that appeared to suggest the former
home affairs minister will be
expelled from the ruling party.
Dabengwa defended his move to back
Makoni.
"Makoni is our horse that we have put in a race and I don't
understand it
when people say I have joined Simba Makoni. I still remain his
senior but he
is the future of this country," said Dabengwa.
Dabengwa
told the journalists that ZANU PF had waited for far too long to
replace the
ageing Mugabe adding that he had tried to work with fellow
politburo members
to facilitate a "smooth transition" within the party.
"During my first
days in Mugabe's cabinet, everything worked according to
plan and Mugabe was
very attentive. He would add value to my (home affairs)
ministry by making
meaningful contributions.
"But as the years moved, I could see the law of
diminishing returns taking
its toll on him," explained Dabengwa, in probably
the first remarks by a
former government minister revealing what went on
behind the scenes in
Mugabe's cabinet.
Dabengwa, 69, together with
Lookout Masuku, were arrested and charged with
treason in 1982. They were
acquitted a year later but Mugabe ordered that
they be detained under state
of emergency regulations.
He was released four years later. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Nokhutula Sibanda Friday 14 March
2008
BRUSSELS - A delegation of Zimbabwean civic leaders has
urged the European
Union (EU) to take a tougher stance against President
Robert Mugabe if he
rigs elections on 29 March.
The civic society
leaders, who are in Europe on a week-long visit as part of
the EU's
programme to strengthen civic groups in Zimbabwe, expressed fears
that the
elections will not be free and fair.
John Stewart, the director of a
human rights non-governmental organization,
NOVASC, told a media briefing in
Brussels that there was a high probability
that Mugabe would resort to fraud
to win the elections.
"If the people were allowed to have their say,
Mugabe would surely lose. But
we fear that the government will ruthlessly
use fraud and intimidation to
steal the elections again, said
Stewart.
Takavafira Zhou, the president of the Progressive Teachers Union
of
Zimbabwe, said Europe must not fail the people of Zimbabwe adding that
the
bloc should push for a solution to end the country's eight-year
political
crisis.
"Europe should work together with African countries
to push for a solution
in Zimbabwe. The international efforts in the Kenyan
crisis have clearly
shown the potential of coherent international
intervention," said Zhou.
Zhou said Europe should "undertake joint and
tougher actions, based on
common principles, to guarantee a democratic
Zimbabwe."
Zimbabweans go to the polls at the month-end to elect a new
president,
parliamentarians and local council representatives.
Last
week, the EU expressed concern over the humanitarian, political and
economic
situation in Zimbabwe adding that the situation "could endanger"
the holding
of free and fair elections in the southern African country.
Mugabe, in
power since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain nearly 28 years
ago, is
facing his biggest electoral test in the presidential election
against his
former finance minister Simba Makoni and popular opposition
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Human rights groups and major Western governments say a wave
of political
violence perpetrated by Mugabe's supporters over the past 12
months had
already tainted the elections. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba and Jonga Kandemiri
Washington
13 March 2008
Zimbabwean parliamentary
candidate Rainos Tivatye of the United People's
Party, who seeks the house
seat for Zengeza East, Harare Metropolitan
Province, said he was assaulted
on Tuesday by youth militants of the ruling
ZANU-PF party.
Now
receiving medical care, Tivatye told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that police briefly detained the youths but released
them without charges.
In another incident of alleged political
violence, parliamentary candidate
Florence Machinga of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change grouping
of Morgan Tsvangirai, running for
the Uzumba, Mashonaland East, seat, said
that known ZANU-PF supporters
kidnapped and detained her for almost four
hours.
Machinga was
returning from a meeting with Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
officials at
Mutawatawa Growth Point when a truck full of ruling party
candidates pulled
over and dragged her into the truck which then sped off.
Machinga told
reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
she was
harassed and verbally abused for hours before her abductors handed
her over
to police, accusing her of tearing down ZANU-PF posters. But police
did not
charge her.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
13 March
2008
Consumers in Bindura, Zimbabwe, who spent Wednesday
evening standing in line
to buy sugar at the local TM supermarket went home
empty-handed after Labor
Minister Nicholas Goche swept in and purchased most
of the consignment,
apparently to sell to supporters of his ruling ZANU-PF
party, sources in
Bindura charged.
Goche, seeking re-election to
parliament for the Shamva North constituency,
was said to have taken away
some 200 two-kilogram packages of sugar as
customers who had stood in line
for the scarce commodity shouted
disapproval. A package goes for Z$7.5
million (US$0.25) in the store, but
fetches Z$17million on the black
market.
Candidates of the ruling have been accused of buying political
support with
food and excluding those suspected of supporting the opposition
from such
largesse.
VOA could not confirm the incident with the
supermarket or reach Goche for
comment.
But Bindura resident Saymore
Mhene told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that an
opposition candidate for parliament demanded
an explanation from a store
manager who replied that he was unable to bar
Goche's sugar grab.
SW
Radio Africa (London)
13 March 2008
Posted to the web 13 March
2008
Tererai Karimakwenda
Violence against officials and
members of the opposition has intensified,
despite the arrival of a regional
observer team in Harare on Wednesday.
At least 5 supporters of the
Tsvangirai MDC were hospitalised on Wednesday
after they were attacked by a
gang of youths known to be ZANU-PF members in
Mbare high-density suburb of
Harare. One of the victims, Simba Maringwa, is
reported to be in intensive
care battling for his life.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said a
group of about 200 ZANU-PF
supporters, affiliated with the infamous Mbare
gang called Chipangano,
ambushed 20 MDC supporters as they were campaigning
for MDC candidate Piniel
Denga in Mbare.
Tendai Savanhu, the ZANU-PF
candidate for Mbare, has been implicated in this
incident. Chamisa said he
was seen driving around Mbare communicating with
members of Chipangano on
his mobile phone.
Several MDC members were wounded seriously and were
taken to the Avenues
Clinic in Harare. Chamisa identified them as Simba
Maringwa, Trymore
Matsitsira, Wellington Chigumaze, Jeffrey Chikwavayera.
Mazhinji. Maringwa
is in the intensive care unit.
Chamisa blasted
ZANU-PF for using what he called a "private militia" to
intimidate their
members. He also accused the police of not dealing with
these attacks
seriously, and in a non-partisan manner. He said attacks on
their members
and officials are being reported countrywide. Asked whether
the MDC would
report the incident to the SADC observer team that arrived
Wednesday,
Chamisa said the team is there just to observe and they do not
have the
mandate to stop the attacks.
During the last parliamentary election in
2005 it was alleged that the
notorious Chipangano gang was being paid in
cash to attack opposition
supporters in the area. Our correspondent then
exposed how Chipangano was
working in collaboration with the local
police.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu and Chris Gande
Washington
13 March 2008
South African President
Thabo Mbeki has come under fire for saying he is
confident Zimbabwean
elections March 29 will be conducted in a free and fair
manner, in sharp
contrast to many observers who say the electoral playing
field is far from
level.
Addressing reporters last night at the end of a visit to
Mauritius, Mr.
Mbeki said he saw no obstacles to free and fair elections
though the ruling
ZANU-PF party has been receiving the lions share of
coverage by state media
and the opposition says its candidates and
supporters are targeted for
violence and intimidation.
The Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum and other Zimbabwean civic organizations
were
Brussels this week urging the European Union to raise Harare's alleged
political crackdown during the election period in the United Nations
Security Council.
Human Rights NGO Forum Deputy Coordinator Dewa
Mavhinga told reporter
Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe in an
interview from Brussels
that Mr. Mbeki's statements about the election were
misleading and
unfortunate.
Mr. Mbeki's statement also drew criticism
from his brother, publisher
Moeltsi Mbeki, who told Chris Gande that it is
not Mr. Mbeki's place to say
if Zimbabwe's election will be free and fair,
that assessment being best
left to the political parties
concerned.
Many in the Zimbabwean opposition have still not forgiven Mr.
Mbeki for
comments he made following the 2005 general election, which the
opposition
charged was marred by violence, intimidation and outright
rigging, saying it
had been free and fair.
More recently, President
Mbeki irked the opposition by saying he believed
the crisis talks he
mediated from March 200y until January had been a
success, whereas both
groupings of the Movement for Democratic Change said
the talks
failed.