Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: The week beginning 26/02/2003
Graham
Shaw
That was the week, that was ! What an eventful 7 days, and how
significant
for Zimbabwe too. The insolent tyranny of this minority,
illegitimate
regime has been exposed again for all to see. At the same time
those
progressive forces working for freedom and democracy have found a
new
confidence and new hope that perhaps the dawn may not be as far away as
once
we thought.
A few highlights then of events in which I have been
personally involved:
Sunday
Our morning service at Hillside
Methodist Church was visited by a television
camera team from the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation. Much of the
service was recorded as were
conversations with members of the congregation
afterwards. The ABC crew
proved to be well informed about the crisis,
sensitive to the dangers and
only too willing to do their part in revealing
the real Zimbabwe to the
world.
Monday
A small group from "Christians Together for Justice
and Peace" took their
protest to the Queens Ground where the ICC one day
international between
Australia and Zimbabwe was being played. The group
numbered about 20 and we
were pleased to have with us for the first half hour
or so Archbishop Pius
Ncube who has become a symbol of the resistance to ZANU
PF tyranny.
There was a huge security presence in and around the grounds,
comprising
police on horseback, the uniformed police, a private security
service, the
riot squad, and a massive CIO (intelligence service) presence -
that we know
of ! Severe restrictions had been placed on what could and
could not be
taken into the grounds and those entering were subjected to a
full search.
Once inside the ground we put on black arm bands and
attached black crosses
to the white shirts and tops we were wearing. The
black arm bands were in
solidarity with the two Zimbabwean players, Henry
Olonga and Andy Flower,
who wore the same during the first one day
international in Harare as a
token of mourning at the death of democracy in
this country. The black
crosses were to mark us as members of Christians
Together. We had also
smuggled into the ground two banners which we
unfurled, reading simply
"Justice and Peace" and "Christians Together". Our
presence in the ground
drew great interest from the international press and
they in turn assured
our safety during the match. Some of our members were
followed from the
ground and others intercepted by the CIO after the match
but no one from our
number was arrested.
Although those watching the
match on television may have been quite unaware
of our presence the assembled
press told us we were making news around the
world. A parable if you like of
the huge gulf which exists between the
respectable image of the country this
regime goes to any lengths to portray
and the bitter reality. (The official
camera crews covering the match were
under strict instructions to keep the
cameras trained on the game on the
field rather than on the more entertaining
events taking place off the field
!)
For our part we learnt after the
event that a number of arrests had been
made (the unconfirmed figure I have
is 39) of students and other brave
protesters, the CIO avoiding the cameras
by carrying out most of the arrests
while the news crews were taking their
lunch.
I was one of those who campaigned vigorously for the one day
internationals
not to be played in this country. England eventually decided
on this course.
The others have gone ahead, and I must say that at the end of
the day we
have gained at least as much by these matches being staged here as
we might
have hoped for through a total boycott. A window of opportunity has
been
opened to show the world what is really happening in this country, and
such
opportunities do not come along too often.
Wednesday
A
meeting with some of the Church leaders from Mutare with whom
Christians
Together in Bulawayo have forged a useful alliance. Among our
visitors were
the Anglican Bishop of Mutare who is also President of the
Zimbabwe Council
of Churches (Sebastian Bakare), and a Bishop of the
Pentecostal Assemblies,
also President of the Evangelical Fellowship of
Zimbabwe (Trevor Manhanga).
Much common ground exists between us on issues of
human rights, good
governance, justice and
peace.
Thursday
There was an opportunity for Christians Together
to interact with a
delegation of Church leaders, human rights activists and
journalists from
South Africa.
In the evening we all attended a
service of prayer for the victims of
torture. Worshippers who included scores
of victims nearly filled St Mary's,
the large Catholic Cathedral. During the
service we heard harrowing
accounts of brutal torture including that
inflicted on the MDC MP Job
Sikhala, and on a 21 year old woman. During a
horrendous ordeal in police
custody Job Sikhala was subjected to electric
shock treatment applied to his
toes, genitals, mouth and ears. He was also
forced to drink a concoction of
urine and poison. The young girl was
forcibly conscripted into a ZANU PF
training camp in 2001 and after being
trained in hate and violence was
subsequently raped by other youths. As a
result both she and her one year
old baby are now confirmed HIV positive. At
extreme risk to herself she gave
full details and named names of those
responsible, including the ZANU PF
commander who provided 12 year old girls
as a reward to some of his
political proteges.
Candles were lit from a
large Amnesty International candle and there was a
seemingly endless
procession carrying wooded crosses to the altar, each one
in memory of a
victim who did not survive. Altogether it was a very moving
ceremony and
quite a few of those who participated were reduced to tears.
Bishop Rubin
Phillip, the Anglican Bishop of Natal brought a message of
support and
solidarity from the Church in South Africa.
The service lasted for some
three and a half hours and when it ended special
measures had to be taken to
evade the cordon of CIO officers around the
Cathedral and spirit the
courageous victims who had given their testimonies
away to safety - which
means into hiding from the police. Special concern
was expressed for the
young woman who had given the names for those
responsible for various
atrocities. Undoubtedly she will have to go into
exile outside the country
to save her life, and with a view to one day
giving evidence to convict some
of the perpetrators of these dastardly
deeds in a free Zimbabwe. (I would
love to share with you how she was
spirited out of the Cathedral under the
very eyes of the CIO but I cannot do
so at this point without compromising
the safety of those who arranged the
escape)
Friday
After the
service on Thursday evening the CIO had been waiting to interview
Archbishop
Pius. When they learnt that he was accompanied by other clergy
they went
away, but they were back again early on Friday morning.
Fortunately a number
of the South African Church leaders were still on hand
and others of us from
Bulawayo rallied to be with him. After a short
interview the CIO left, but
there is little doubt they will be back again
before too long to continue
harassing and intimidating the Archbishop. Such
is the cost of standing
against this pernicious regime.
On the same day we learnt of the arrest
of 23 Church leaders in Harare who
were intercepted on their way to present a
petition to the Police
Commissioner protesting at police tactics including
unlawful arrests and the
violation of human rights.
Friday also saw
the one day international between Zimbabwe and Holland
played in Bulawayo. I
was not present on this occasion because I was
conducting a funeral in the
afternoon when a number of spectators from the
crowd raised a pro-democracy
banner and began an anti-Mugabe chant. The
police moved in and made a number
of arrests. Numbers are not yet available
because the police are not
providing any information but from our own
calculations we know that least 40
men and women are being held at four
different police stations around the
city. They face the prospect of at
least three nights in the filthy,
over-crowded police cells before being
produced in the Magistrates' Court -
if indeed the police decide to charge
them.
Saturday
No crisis
yet today, but who knows what might happen before the day is out.
(I hope I
am available to conduct a wedding this afternoon !) Such is a
week in the
life of a minister serving in Zimbabwe today. And if you are
asking yourself
what possible cause anyone could have for rejoicing in such
a week and
finding new hope in it, the answer is quite simply the exposure
of the evil
it has given. That and the signs that a growing number of
Zimbabweans, black
and white, have had enough and are finally saying "Enough
is enough !" From
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and others we know
that when a sufficient
number of people are willing to go to prison if
necessary to resist
institutionalised violence and gross injustice, the
citadels of power begin
to tremble. Perhaps we are approaching that critical
mass now which will make
change unstoppable. The days of the dictator are
numbered.
Graham
Shaw
Bulawayo
1st March 2003
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE VISION COMMUNIQUÉ - March 3, 2003
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
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THE
VISION COMMITTEE FOR ZIMBABWEAN AGRICULTURE.
This committee has agreed on
a vision statement to govern its deliberations
on the way forward. This
is:
To construct a way forward for agriculture in Zimbabwe under the rule
of
law with emphasis on security of tenure and including a
sustainable
agrarian reform programme to ensure economic and social recovery
for the
benefit of all
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Fox Sports
Protesting cricket fans jailed in Zimbabwe
BY ANGUS
SHAW
Associated Press
Mar. 4, 2003 3:40 a.m.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)-
Dozens of people arrested for protesting against the
government during
Zimbabwe's World Cup cricket match against the Netherlands
were expected to
spend a fourth night in jail before facing court on
Tuesday.
Police said
the demonstrators were charged with behavior likely to cause a
breach of the
peace at last Friday's match in the western city of Bulawayo.
The
demonstrators waved banners critical of President Robert Mugabe and
calling
for a return to law and order and justice in Zimbabwe.
Police spokesman
Wayne Bvudzijena on Monday said 26 demonstrators were being
held in custody
while investigations continued. Relatives of those in
custody disputed that
number, saying 41 people were being held in three
Bulawayo police
stations.
The protesters were arrested at the Queens Sports Club, where
Zimbabwe is
scheduled to play Pakistan on Tuesday. Among six whites arrested
was the
vice chairman of the sports club, who denies involvement in the
protest.
Bvudzijena said the police had 48 hours in which to bring the
protesters to
court, excluding the weekend when courts are
closed.
Family members said the protesters were being held on minor
charges carrying
small fines and would probably not be released until after
Tuesday's match,
the last World Cup cricket fixture in
Zimbabwe.
Opponents of World Cup cricket matches in Zimbabwe argue the
government has
used the tournament as propaganda to obscure its violations of
democratic
and human rights and state orchestrated political
violence.
The International Cricket Council, the sport's governing body,
ruled
Zimbabwe could safely host its World Cup matches.
Zimbabwe's top
batsman Andy Flower and bowler Henry Olonga, who wore black
arm bands during
the first match against Namibia to mourn what they called
"the death of
democracy" in Zimbabwe, have been warned by Zimbabwe cricket
officials not to
continue with any political protest.
They were threatened with being
dropped from the team and forfeiting their
match fees.
42 people were arrested on Friday in Bulawayo at
the World Cup Cricket between Zimbabwe and Holland. Some of those arrested were
merely bystanders who were hauled in with the protesters. Several of the
protesters were beaten at the hands of the police.
A young boy who was thrown into the cells in an
unconscious state is now in hospital but still in a coma and a young woman is
missing. The police told her husband that she was at the Central Hospital but
she is not there.
The police went to her home on Friday evening and
asked for a change of clothing for her saying that the clothes she had on were
covered in blood. Her husband has not heard anything since. When the lawyers
asked about her this evening, the police refused to say where she was.
Two more youths were arrested today from their
homes which makes a total of 30 still in detention in various police stations
plus the missing girl and the boy in hospital. Those detained on Friday should
have appeared in court today and have now been held for more than 72
hours.
The whole of Saturday the prisoners were not feed
at all by the police. They would not have had any food if the support for the
cricket protesters had not included them and dished
out food for them too. A policeman was asked why the prisoners were not being
feed and he replied "because of the situation
there was no food". On Saturday a load of mealie meal was delivered to Police
Central and each member of the police got his share and today tonnes of mealie
meal were delivered. Not one bag was kept for the prisoners.
BBC
'Tortured by Mugabe's guards'
Twenty-six activists
from Zimbabwe's main opposition party have been
arrested outside President
Robert Mugabe's official residence.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
says they were tortured within
State House after being stopped for wearing
MDC regalia.
The police, however, say they were "provoking" State House
guards and will
be charged with behaviour likely to cause a breach of the
peace.
'Brutal assault'
The MDC activists were campaigning ahead of two
Harare by-elections at the
end of the month.
They were kept in State House
and tortured for fours hours before being
taken to a police station, the MDC
said.
"The soldiers used logs, booted feet, the butts of their guns and
other
instruments to brutally assault the MDC activists" .
Five received
serious injuries and were taken to hospital, the party said.
But police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told AFP news agency: "They were
abusive and there
was a need for them to be arrested because they were
actually provoking a
situation."
The opposition also says that more than 50 of its activists were
detained by
the police over the weekend and told to stop
campaigning.
Under tough new security laws, meetings of more than three
people require
police clearance.
Elections will be held in Kuwudzana and
Highfield on 29-30 March.
These were two of the MDC's safest seats after June
2000 parliamentary
elections.
The MDC says that Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party
is desperate to win the two
seats because it is four short of a two-thirds
majority in parliament, which
would enable it to change the
constitution.
Kuwudzana became vacant following the death of MP Learnmore
Jongwe, while
the MDC's Highfield MP was expelled for not following party
policy.
News24
Treason trial resumes
03/03/2003 17:01 -
(SA)
Harare - The treason trial of
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader resumed on
Monday, when the key prosecution
witness was quizzed on his alleged dealings
with a Democratic Republic of
Congo official in connection with a plot to
oust President Robert
Mugabe.
Main state witness Ari Ben Menashe, an Israeli intelligence agent
turned
political consultant, was asked by the defence to give details about
a
meeting he claims he held with a DRC security minister to allegedly
enlist
the help in toppling Mugabe of Zimbabwean soldiers deployed in the
vast
central African nation.
Ben Menashe said the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), whose
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and two other
senior officials are on trial for
allegedly plotting to kill Mugabe ahead of
the 2002 presidential elections,
wanted him to persuade Zimbabwean soldiers
fighting in DRC to help kill
Mugabe.
He claimed he held two meetings
with then DRC security minister Mwenze
Kongolo along with a man he named as
Rupert Johnson, said by Ben Menashe to
be an MDC agent.
But the
defence has expressed doubt over whether Menashe ever travelled to
the DRC on
behalf of the MDC.
During cross examination, Ben Menashe said he could
neither remember the
airline he travelled on, nor the airport from which he
flew to the DRC,
except that it was in Europe.
Authenticity
His
response prompted defence lawyer George Bizos to ask the court to
order
Menashe to supply the name of his travel agent in Canada, to enable
the
authenticity of the trip to be checked.
Judge Paddington Garwe
promised to make a ruling on the request later on
Monday.
The defence
asked Ben Menashe why he had not mentioned, in all the
statements he had made
before the hearing opened, the alleged meetings with
the DRC
authorities.
He replied that he had been told by someone in the
Zimbabwean government not
to mention the trip unless he was specifically
asked about it in court. He
said he could not remember who that person
was.
Ben Menashe is one of nearly a dozen state witnesses expected to
testify in
the trial, which opened on February 3 before it was adjourned for
a week,
after Ben Menashe asked for time to return to Canada on urgent
business.
Canadian-based Ben Menashe secretly filmed a meeting he held
with Tsvangirai
in December 2001, at which the MDC leader is alleged to have
asked for
assistance to "eliminate" Mugabe.
The opposition says the
meeting was an attempt to frame it in order to
sideline Tsvangirai ahead of
presidential elections in 2002, which he lost
to Mugabe.
Treason
carries the death penalty on conviction in Zimbabwe.
News24
Witness 'cannot remember'
03/03/2003 21:34 -
(SA)
Harare - The main witness in the treason trial of opposition
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai has repeatedly refused to answer questions and
cannot remember
key facts in what he says was a conspiracy to kill President
Robert Mugabe,
defence lawyers argued on Monday.
Defence lawyer George
Bizos has been trying to cast doubt on the credibility
of Canada-based
political consultant Ari Ben Menashe in the treason trial of
his client,
Tsvangirai.
Ben Menashe has accused Tsvangirai and two other opposition
leaders of
hiring him to help them kill President Robert Mugabe. The
opposition
officials deny the charges, saying Ben Menashe was secretly on
the
government payroll and framed them.
On Monday Ben Menashe told the
Harare High Court that Tsvangirai sought help
from Zimbabwean troops fighting
on the side of the government in Congo's
civil war to carry out a
coup.
He said the request took place in his presence, but that he could
not recall
any of the details of the incident.
He said Tsvangirai also
offered bribes to Congolese officials to assist in
a
revolt.
Tsvangirai's lawyer George Bizos said Ben Menashe had not
referred to the
plan to recruit soldiers in Congo in any of his sworn
statements to
Zimbabwean investigators.
He asked the presiding judge
to order Ben Menashe to reveal the name of his
Montreal travel agent to
confirm the dates of his trip to Congo.
Bicycle accident
But Ben
Menashe said he could not recall when he travelled there, which
airline he
used, which city he departed from or which hotel he stayed in.
"The lack
of memory professed by the witness can be easily checked if we
have the name
of his travel agent. If he has a license to say, 'I don't
remember', this
cannot be a fair trial," Bizos said.
Ben Menashe also testified on Monday
that he feared for his own safety and
that of his staff.
He said his
office assistant Tara Thomas, who was scheduled to be called as
a state
witness, was attacked in Montreal under orders of the
Zimbabwean
opposition.
"Our information is that she had a bicycle
accident. The witness must not be
allowed to abuse and toy with the court,"
Bizos said.
The main evidence in the treason trial, which has been in
session for the
past month, is a secretly recorded 4 1/2 hour video of a
meeting between
Tsvangirai and Ben Menashe in Montreal on December 4,
2001.
Tsvangirai and his two co-accused could face the death penalty if
convicted.
Ben Menashe has testified he received US$200 000 from the
government two
weeks before he signed a US$1m consultancy contract with
Zimbabwe on January
10, 2002.
Tsvangirai was charged with treason two
weeks before he ran against Mugabe
in presidential elections last
year.
Mugabe won the election, which international observers said was
swayed by
rigging and political intimidation. - Sapa-AP
ABC News
S.Africa Govt. Says It Will Never Condemn
Zimbabwe
March 3
- JOHANNESBURG,
South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa said on Monday
it would never condemn
the actions of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and
insisted its quiet
diplomacy toward its northern neighbor was working.
South Africa
has been criticized for taking a soft approach to the
Mugabe government,
which has faced intense Western criticism of its human
rights record against
the backdrop of a collapsing economy and chronic food
shortages.
Mugabe, who won a controversial re-election last March, has been
accused of
using harsh security laws to target opponents.
In the latest
incident, Zimbabwean police said on Monday they had
arrested 26 supporters of
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) in the capital Harare on
Sunday and charged them with contravening
security laws.
"The
problem with you (the press), is that you are waiting for one
word --
condemnation of Zimbabwe," South African Foreign Affairs Minister
Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma told members of the National Press Club in Pretoria
on
Monday.
"You will never hear that. It is not going to happen as
long as this
government is in power," Dlamini-Zuma was quoted as saying by
the South
African Press Association.
The African National
Congress-led government has maintained its
behind-the-scenes "quiet
diplomacy" is the best approach to resolving
Zimbabwe's political and
economic crisis.
Critics say land reforms carried out by Mugabe's
government have
destroyed a once thriving commercial farming sector and left
close to half
of Zimbabwe's 14 million people facing critical food
shortages.
Dlamini-Zuma said Zimbabwe was correcting "mistakes"
made during its
sometimes violent seizure of white-owned farms for
redistribution to
landless blacks.
"The Zimbabweans themselves
have admitted that in their
implementation...there were mistakes. They are
correcting them," she said.
South African President Thabo Mbeki
said last month that Zimbabwe was
working on changing policies that have
sparked international and domestic
outcries, including a media law that
opponents say is designed to gag
criticism of the government.
A
few days after Mbeki's remarks on South African state television,
Zimbabwean
authorities barred a British journalist from entering the country
to cover a
World Cup cricket match.
On Sunday, 26 MDC activists were detained
and beaten by police as they
passed Mugabe's State House residence on the way
to a political rally in
Harare, the opposition said.
Police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said the activists had tried to
provoke violence
and denied they had been assaulted.
"Any suggestion that they were
badly treated, assaulted or tortured
are just malicious claims. Those who
were arrested were charged and paid
admission of guilty fines," he
said.
From The Sunday Times (UK), 2 March
Mugabe won poll with army of
ghost voters
RW Johnson, Cape Town
Zimbabwe's opposition
has obtained evidence that President Robert Mugabe won
re-election in March
last year with the help of as many as 1.8m "ghost"
voters who were added to
the electoral roll. Tobaiwa Mudede, the
registrar-general and a Mugabe
loyalist, has repeatedly refused requests by
the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) for a copy of the roll to be used
in a court action challenging
the result - even though the roll is a public
document. Last week, however,
it was revealed that the MDC had succeeded in
obtaining a copy. Mugabe, 79,
beat Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC candidate, by
434,000 votes in a poll that
provoked widespread accusations of
vote-rigging. Analysts say that even a
pro-government judge would find it
difficult to reject the evidence of the
electoral roll. A judgment in the
MDC's favour would mean that the election
would have to be invalidated and a
fresh one held. Mugabe, whose
international standing was boosted when
President Jacques Chirac invited him
to a summit in France last month, would
be barred from standing again. John
Robertson, a Zimbabwean economist who
has analysed the electoral figures,
said they showed "the illegality of the
election is proven beyond doubt".
"The discrepancies are so wide, the
various forms of cheating so obvious and
the interference in the process so
aggressive and blatant, no country on
earth should recognise Robert Mugabe
as president of Zimbabwe," Robertson
said.
In its court action the MDC alleges huge state violence against
opposition
voters and candidates. It says it was not allowed to campaign in
much of
Zimbabwe or to appear on state-owned media. Many opposition voters
were
deliberately prevented from voting by a cut in the number of urban
polling
stations and the unconstitutional disenfranchisement of some
white
Zimbabweans, it is claimed. The Mugabe government has, from the
outset,
taken the gravest exception to the case and repeatedly insisted it
will not
participate in talks on power-sharing with the MDC unless it is
abandoned.
The last thing Mugabe - who is named as a respondent in the case
and would
be expected to appear - wants is an open trial in which the full
extent of
the vote-rigging and the violence that accompanied the poll would
be
explored. The MDC last week refused to drop the case "until a timetable
and
process for the restoration of legitimacy in Zimbabwe has been agreed
on".
Mudede revealed in January last year that the electoral roll
contained 5.2m
names; the figure was later increased to 5.6m by additional
illegal
registrations in Zanu PF strongholds. Census data, however, shows
that in
August 2002 there were only 4.7m adults in Zimbabwe. Moreover, a
range of
surveys suggests that no more than a maximum of 80% of these have
ever
registered to vote, bringing the possible electorate down to 3.8m. The
roll
therefore appears to include at least 1.8m too many people; analysis of
the
numbers in individual constituencies could reveal further anomalies.
Mudede
had rejected calls to give civic groups a copy of the roll on grounds
of
expense, and refused to hand it over even when they offered to pay. The
MDC
has not disclosed how it obtained its copy. A successful legal challenge
to
Mugabe's victory would be a blow to Thabo Mbeki, the South
African
president, and Olusegun Obasanjo, his Nigerian counterpart, who have
put
pressure on the MDC to accept a junior role in a Zanu PF government.
Mbeki
made strenuous efforts to ensure that observers from both South Africa
and
the Organisation of African Unity declared the poll free and fair.Last
month
he used his presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement to steer its 115
members
into giving Mugabe a unanimous vote of confidence and voting through
a
motion that attempted to lay blame for the "grave humanitarian situation
in
Zimbabwe" on drought, the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank.
Tuesday's match may be Andy Flower's last REUTERS MONDAY, MARCH 03,
2003
12:55:48 PM JOHANNESBURG: He has not said it and nor has the
Zimbabwe
Cricket Union (ZCU) but everybody is thinking it.
All things
being equal, Andy Flower, one of the best batsmen of his
generation, will
play his last game for his country against Pakistan on
Tuesday. His country?
The words are apposite.
Zimbabwe has yet to call on Flower to surrender
his passport following his
World Cup protests against President Robert
Mugabe's government, but they
have already disowned him. Nathan Shamuyarira,
information secretary for the
governing ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe, put it
simply during an interview with
a Johannesburg radio station earlier in the
tournament.
"Flower is...not a Zimbabwean," he said. "He is British."
Flower, Cape
Town-born, Zimbabwe-bred and with an English wife, could end up
being just
that - British - or even Australian.
He seems set to divide
his future between England and Australia, playing
county - he was a big
success at Essex last year - and state cricket.
Rarely can a player have
made such a stressful, unhappy exit from the
international game, although
team mate Henry Olonga - a Zambian, according
to Shamuyarira - finds himself
in similar circumstances. The two set their
own agenda in protesting against
human rights abuses and "mourning the death
of democracy in our beloved
Zimbabwe". They also wore black arm and
wristbands for a couple of World Cup
matches before being pressured to
desist.
Flower, in all probability,
had accepted that his declaration would mean the
end of his Zimbabwe career.
Aged 34 and still at the top of his game, he
might have played on for several
years more, as a specialist batsman rather
than wicketkeeper after agreeing
to groom Tatenda Taibu as his successor
behind the stumps.
Flower will
be remembered as a neat gloveman and a tenacious, flinty,
formidable
left-handed batsman who delved deep into the psychology of his
art. No one
sold his wicket more dearly.
If he does not play again, he will retire
with a test average of 51.54, his
4,794 runs coming from 63 matches. But
there is still time to improve on his
first-class statistics of 54.75 runs
for each visit to the crease. Only four
men currently playing test cricket -
Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden of
Australia, India's Sachin Tendulkar and
Rahul Dravid - average more than
Flower.
Flower, an articulate man who
has played alongside brother Grant for most of
his international career -
they often call in Afrikaans when batting
together to confuse opponents -
made an immediate impression for 'his
country'.
He scored 115 on his
debut as an opener at the 1992 World Cup against Sri
Lanka in New Zealand
while his test career began almost as impressively,
with half-centuries in
each of his first two games and a century in his
fourth. His most notable
exploits include an innings of 156 against Pakistan
in Harare in 1995, when
Zimbabwe recorded their first ever test win. He also
averaged 270 in two
tests with India in 2001, making 183 and 232 not out as
part of a series of
seven consecutive test innings where he passed 50.
Later that year,
Flower made 142 and 199 in a test against South Africa in
Harare. One more
run and he would have become the sixth man in history to
make a century and
double century in the same test - prompting former South
African player Mike
Procter to say: "He's a machine." Zimbabwe, however, as
so often when Flower
hit the heights, still lost the game.
His durability is also legendary.
He made a record 174 consecutive one-day
appearances before a finger injury
ended the run. After the 1999 World Cup,
Zimbabwe lost leading lights Murray
Goodwin and Neil Johnson. To lose Flower
after the 2003 tournament is certain
to set the side back years.
Sadly but understandably, he has not been
quite at his best recently,
despite two half-centuries during the World Cup.
Defeat to Pakistan on
Tuesday, in his 210th one-dayer, will lead to
Zimbabwe's first-round
elimination, leaving Flower without a chance to make
amends.
He will still, however, be remembered as one of the greatest
players
Zimbabwe -- or Britain, depending on your point of view - has ever
produced.
Copyright 2003 Times Internet Limited