MDC youth leader arrested

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
04 October 2011

The President of the MDC Youth Assembly, Solomon Madzore, has been arrested
and detained on unknown charges, in what the youth group has slammed as
another show of partisan policing in Zimbabwe.

Madzore was arrested at his house in Waterfalls on Tuesday afternoon by six
members of the Law and Order unit. He was taken to Harare Central Police
Station where is he still being held.

Youth Assembly spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo told SW Radio Africa on
Tuesday that the group immediately dispatched a lawyer from Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) to assist their arrested President. But the lawyer
was denied access to Madzore when he went to Harare Central.

“So we still don’t even know why he has been arrested or what he is being
charged with,” Hlatywayo said.

He added: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this unwarranted
arrest and we want to make it known that we are going to take action against
it. We want to show that we are perturbed and disappointed by this partisan
execution of policing duties.”

The Youth Assembly also said in a statement on Tuesday that: “The continued
harassment of MDC leaders and members demonstrates that ZANU PF has not
relented on its resolve to subvert the will of the people by acting in
complete violation of the laws of the country.”

The Platform for Youth Development Trust also leveled blame for Madzore’s
arrest on ZANU PF, calling it a result of party politics.

The group said in a statement that it “demands justice,” and appealed for
professionalism from the police in dealing with Madzore’s case.

“We also demand to know why Madzore has been arrested and that he is
urgently brought to court within the stipulated 24 hours time according to
the law,” the youth group said.

Prosecutors go on strike

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

03/10/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

COURTS around the country are braced for strikes by prosecutors starting on
Tuesday.

A union for prosecutors said on Monday that its members would walk out to
press for the same level of pay as magistrates who were awarded a pay rise
after going on strike in April.

Dereck Charamba, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Law Officers
Association, said on Monday: “We are going on strike on Tuesday. We have
notified everyone since August 25 this year of the strike.

"We sent a paper to the Attorney General, the Ministry, the President's
Office and all other relevant offices informing them of the intentions.”

If successful, the strike could paralyse the court system. Charamba said
prosecutors were currently being paid between US$200 and US$300 monthly,
compared to magistrates who earn between US$500 and US$730.

He added: “The magistrates and prosecutors are all employed by the Judicial
Service Commission... but there is a serious salary and benefits discrepancy
despite having similar qualifications, experience and the fact that we do
the same work.”

'60 bodies' in school mass grave: minister

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

03/10/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

A MASS grave believed to contain the remains of up to 60 victims of the
1980s Gukurahundi massacres has been discovered at a Lupane school.
Pupils playing football at the grounds of St Paul Secondary School stumbled
on human bones sticking out of the ground.

National Healing Minister Moses Mzila Ndlovu visited Lupane last Friday for
talks with school authorities.

He told New Zimbabwe.com last night: “Villagers told me that St Paul and
several other local schools were used as detention points by the Fifth
Brigade.

“Dozens of people were detained, interrogated and executed before their
bodies were dumped in mass graves dug up by the detainees.
“The grave is roughly 5x5 metres and locals told me there could be anything
between 30-60 people buried there.”

He said the mass grave was uncovered after the ground caved in at two points
of the football pitch, exposing the horrific scene to pupils playing
kick-about.

School authorities have temporarily refilled the graves and the minister
says he will be asking Cabinet to agree on a programme of reburials on a
wider scale across Matabeleland and the Midlands.

Human rights groups say up to 20,000 innocent civilians are buried in mass
graves and disused mines in the two regions after President Robert Mugabe
deployed the Fifth Brigade to deal with what he said was a dissident menace
after some liberation war combatants refused to put down their arms at
independence in 1980.

The Fifth Brigade, formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1988, is accused of
indiscriminate killings and torture of supporters of Mugabe’s main political
rival at the time -- ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo.

Mzila Ndlovu, the MDC MP for Bulilima, said: “I will take up the issue with
my colleagues in the Organ on National Healing Sekai Holland [MDC-T] and
John Nkomo [Zanu PF].

“The local community must say where and how they want the reburials to
occur. But first I would wish that the Cabinet can reach an agreement on a
national programme that can be put in place to deal with the specific crimes
of the Fifth Brigade.

“We need to grow confidence in the ordinary person, who really has this pain
in themselves that you can’t be talking about reconciliation and healing
without a clear programme that shows you want to heal the nation.

“We must allow our people to tell the story as they saw and lived through
it, followed by reburials which should come as a package of national
healing.”

Mzila Ndlovu said before reburials occur, there was need for “a lot of
preparatory work” which would include "deploying counsellors and
psychologists who can move in and help communities cope with their trauma”.

He added: “Once the government accepts reburial, we should begin a programme
of forensic exhumations in a way that is different to the clumsy and
criminal way in which the Mt Darwin mass graves were handled.

“Local communities must be allowed to decide where and how people are
reburied – whether individually or whether they want to create a single
shrine where all victims would be laid to rest."

But Mzila Ndlovu admits it may be impossible to get Zanu PF ministers and
Mugabe to sign up to a programme of mass exhumations and reburials for
political reasons.

“We need to reach agreement to move forward. I want to say the attitude of
Zanu PF people is shocking. The attitudes are hostile, which shows a lack of
willingness to deal with Gukurahundi,” he said.

Many of the ills experienced by the region including company closures and
stalled development projects, he argued, had their genesis in Gukurahundi.

“You cannot solve Matabeleland issues without confronting and dealing with
Gukurahundi because that is the source of all problems. It was not just mass
murder but a broad agenda which included economic marginalisation and
cultural imperialism.”

The minister commended the "brave" villagers who had spoken to him and given
insight into the mass graves in the presence of his police and Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) minders.

UK nurse and husband seize Zimbabwe farm

http://nehandaradio.com/

October 4, 2011 1:14 pm

By Staff Reporter

A Zimbabwean nurse registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the
United Kingdom is at the centre of a political storm after she and her
husband were named in the seizure of a white owned farm in Chegutu.
Zanu PF militants like this are normally used to intimidate white farmers
off their land

Zanu PF militants like this are normally used to intimidate white farmers
off their land

Irene Zhanda who is reported to have worked for a West London hospital for
over 5 years and her husband Hudson Zhanda are behind an eviction notice to
Beatrice commercial farmer Wayne Greaves and his 84 workers. The farmer was
told to leave the property by the end of the week.

Wayne Greaves and his staff are in the process of moving their belongings
off Enondo B farm, after the eviction papers were served by a sheriff of the
court last Friday. That same court sheriff warned that he would return this
week and anyone left on the property would be arrested.

An ‘offer’ letter for the farm was first served on Greaves in February. The
offer letter was in two names, Hudson Zhanda and his wife Irene Zhanda. At
the time Greaves went to see the Governor in Marondera and explained that he
had already given up two farms 2002, leaving him with Enondo B, where he was
allowed to continue farming.

According to John Worsley-Worswick from Justice for Agriculture (JAG), this
formal agreement was then set aside to allow the offer letter holder,
Zhanda, to take over part of the land.

But this has since changed with Zhanda dragging Greaves to court in order to
take over the whole property. The case was heard and letters of support for
Greaves were all submitted, including letters from the Governor, the
Provincial Administrator, the War Veterans’ Association Chairman and the
chief lands officer.

In the hearing, the Judge also suggested that a letter of support would also
be needed from the Minister of Lands. A letter was then duly written by
Minister Herbert Murerwa agreeing with the Governor’s recommendation, which
was subsequently submitted.

But despite these letters of support, the Supreme Court has now backed
Zhanda. JAG’s Worsley-Worswick told SW Radio Africa that Supreme Court
Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku last week signed the eviction notices for
Greaves and his staff.

“We are pretty horrified. This is the first time that a Judge has signed
eviction notices individually for workers. Wayne’s concerns are all about
the welfare of his workers, because what do they do now?” Worsley-Worswick
said.

An appeal is now being voiced for support for Greaves, his 84 farm labourers
and their extended families, a total of more than 450 people, set to lose
everything. Nehanda Radio.com/ SW Radio Africa

WOZA leaders granted bail

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
04 October 2011

The leaders of pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were on Tuesday
finally granted bail, almost two weeks since their arrest in Bulawayo.

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu have been held at Mlondolozi Prison on
‘kidnapping’ and ‘theft’ charges since last month, after their arrest on
International Peace Day.

The two women have denied the charges, which date back to earlier this year
when they had gone to retrieve goods stolen from WOZA’s offices. The pair is
being accused of ‘kidnapping’ a woman and holding her against her will for
several hours. This same woman had willingly accompanied the WOZA leaders to
find the stolen property.

The state meanwhile was said to be opposing bail on the grounds that the two
have been “avoiding” arrest and hiding from the police, despite both the
women living openly in Bulawayo.

An urgent application for their bail was filed more than a week ago, but the
hearing was only held on Tuesday morning. Bulawayo High Court Justice
Maphios Cheda granted the WOZA leaders bail of US$200 each with conditions
not to interfere with any state witnesses. They have not been asked to
surrender travel documents or even to report to the police, and will appear
in court on Thursday for routine remand.

WOZA said in a statement that it is clear “that the judge did not take the
case against them very seriously, and we wonder why it took so long for a
bail hearing date to be set down.”

“Was the state attempting simply to punish the two by arresting and holding
them on flimsy charges, knowing that in fact they have committed no crime?
If so, it would not be the first time this has happened. WOZA is dismayed
that under the Government of National Unity such a perversion of justice
continues, with elements of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the justice
system allowed to operate untrammeled without the slightest concern for the
basic principles of law and human rights,” WOZA said.

Give resettled farmers title: banker

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Naume Muza     Tuesday 04 October 2011

KADOMA -- Zimbabwe’s government should give title to black villagers
resettled on former white commercial farms newly to pave way for banks to
lend to the new farmers against their properties, one of the country’s
leading bankers has said.

TN Bank founder Tawanda Nyambirai said only when farmers hold title that is
transferable to other parties would they be able to use it as collateral to
secure loans from banks they need to boost production.

The government has not given resettled farmers title to land arguing that
doing so could see banks seizing land from defaulting borrowers and later to
transferring it to the rich with capacity to pay for it.

But Nyambirai, in a speech to mark the official opening of the Kadoma
agricultural show here, failure to give title to farmers was a major
obstacle to them securing funding from banks that are reluctant to give
unsecured loans.

He said: “Our Government needs to encourage the flow of capital as the
banking sector is strained to assist farmers due to (an unclear) land tenure
system. Government must come up with a proper land tenure system that gives
certainty on the part of the resettled farmers that he is on the land today
but will not be kicked out tomorrow.

“The Government must give the same assurance to the banking sector that the
land is transferable to a second market in case there is default by farmers
who could have taken financial loans.”

The new farmers have in the past relied on free or heavily marked down seed,
fertilizer and other inputs from the government. But analysts say banks and
other private funders need to resume funding agriculture even a nascent
recovery in they sector is to be sustainable.

The agriculture sector has this year shown encouraging signs of rebounding
after a decade of decline blamed on President Robert Mugabe’s chaotic and
often violent seizure of white-owned farmland for redistribution to blacks.

Rising output of tobacco and cotton, two of Zimbabwe’s main farm exports,
was driving recovery in the agricultural sector that was the engine of the
economy before farm seizures began in 2000.

But Zimbabwe will still need food assistance from international donors
because although food production is on the rise it is still short of
requirements.

Analysts credit the recovery in agriculture  -- and the economy in
eneral  -- to the 2009 formation of a coalition government between Mugabe
and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Although the unity government has been rocky it has managed to stabilise the
economy, while its introduction of multiple foreign currencies in place of
the worthless Zimbabwe dollar helped reinvigorate farmers and encourage them
to return to their fields in anticipation of real earnings. -- ZimOnline

Birth control jab doubles HIV risk

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

04/10/2011 00:00:00
    by AFP

WOMEN in Southern and Eastern Africa who use a popular hormonal shot for
birth control are roughly twice as likely to become infected with HIV or
pass on the AIDS virus to their partner, according to a study published on
Tuesday.

The research was carried out among 3,790 heterosexual couples in Africa
where one partner had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while the other
was uninfected.
The findings, if confirmed, could have huge repercussions for policies on
contraception and HIV prevention.

The authors say it strengthens the need for safe-sex messages, in which the
condom is promoted as a shield against the AIDS pathogen.

The couples were monitored for an average of 18 months during which 167
individuals became infected, 73 of them women, according to the paper
appearing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Transcribed into a benchmark of prevalence, HIV transmissions were 6.61 per
100 person-years in couples where women used hormonal contraception,
compared to 3.78 per 100 person-years among those who did not.

Rates of infection from women to men were 2.61 per 100 person-years among
women who used hormonal contraception, but 1.51 per 100 person-years among
those who did not.

Most of the women who took hormone contraceptives used an injectable,
long-lasting form such as the Depo-Provera shot taken once every three
months. Only a small number used the Pill; in this group, there was an
increase in HIV risk but not big enough to be conclusive.

Over the last two decades, scientists have launched several investigations
into whether hormonal contraceptive use affects HIV risk, but the probes
have returned conflicting results.

This is the first large-scale study, using an ambitious design, to return
clear proof of the risk. It is also the first to highlight an apparent risk
to men.

The investigators noted that women who took injectable contraceptives had
"raised concentrations" of HIV genetic material in their cervical
secretions.
If this is a mechanism for handing on the virus to men, further work is
urgently needed to test the theory, they said.

In practical terms, doctors should advise women of the potentially increased
risk and warn them of "dual protection" with condoms, says the probe, led by
Renee Heffron of the University of Washington in Seattle.

The study was conducted between 2004 and 2010 in Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda,
South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia as part of a trial of a therapy
against the herpes simplex virus, which is common among people with HIV.
In a commentary also carried by the journal, clinical scientist Charles
Morrison spoke of a "tragic" dilemma.

Promoting hormonal birth control in Africa could be contributing to the HIV
epidemic; yet limiting this highly effective form of contraception would
also boost rates of maternal death and sickness, underweight babies and
orphans.

"The time to provide a more definitive answer to this critical public health
question is now," through a randomised trial of volunteers, he wrote.

In 2009, more than 33 million people were living with HIV and 2.6 million
people became newly infected, according to figures released last year by
UNAIDS.

Controversy Stirred Before Zimbabwe Visit by Archibishop of Canterbury

http://www.voanews.com

03 October 2011

Controversy has already been stirred by former Harare Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga, who has dismissed the visit as a planned attempt to "lobby for
homosexuality and neo-colonialism."

Sandra Nyaira | Washington

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, leader of the world's
Anglicans, is expected this week in Harare on what he has called a pastoral
visit but which many believe will be an attempt to end the rift in Zimbabwe’s
Anglican church.

But controversy already has been stirred by former Harare Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga, who has dismissed the visit as a planned attempt to "lobby for
homosexuality and neo-colonialism."

Kunonga was ex-communicated by the church but controls its properties in the
diocese. He called Williams "a British civil servant” named by Queen
Elizabeth and the British Prime Minister.

"He is coming to represent neo-colonialism," said Kunonga. "He is coming to
lobby for homosexuality and for him it is a timely move as we are making our
Constitution."

"He is on the wrong side of the scriptures and commits blasphemy."

Williams’ spokeswoman, Marie Papworth, said that there will be no respond to
Kunonga's charges. She said the Archbishop’s staff is waiting for a response
from President Mugabe on his meeting request.

Earlier this year Williams sent Mr. Mugabe an open letter urging him to stop
persecution of Anglicans.

Williams said he was "deeply distressed" to hear of bullying, harassment,
and persecution of Anglicans supporting the official Church in the Diocese
of Harare and further afield. Williams is the most senior public figure from
Britain to visit Zimbabwe in a decade.

Kunonga spokesman Bishop Alfred Munyanyi said Williams has already taken
sides, lining up with Anglican Bishop Chad Gandiya.

He told VOA Studio 7 that the Archbishop should have extended an invitation
to the Kunonga faction to attend his service in the City Sports Center on
Sunday or at least to a meeting for discussions.

Bishop Gandiya dismissed those allegations saying Kunonga should not feel
slighted as it was his decision to leave the church.

Christian Council general secretary Solomon Zwana said his organisation has
sought a meeting with Williams to advise him on how to succesfully engage
with various religious groups in Zimbabwe.

Two MDC-T officials injured in unprovoked attack

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
4 October 2011

Two MDC-T officials from Chipinge district were on Sunday evening waylaid
and assaulted by a ZANU PF mob while they were on their way home from a
party rally in Chisuma, a party official said on Tuesday.

The incident took place around 6pm opposite Garahwa secondary school in
Chipinge South. Forget Hlomani, the secretary for youth and Nyasha Madhodha,
the district secretary for Chipinge were walking back home from a rally
addressed by MDC-T MP Meke Makuyana when they were stopped by a ZANU PF mob
that had formed a human roadblock.

Army Maunde, the district treasurer, told SW Radio Africa that the two were
assaulted with logs and stones by a gang allegedly sponsored by the former
ZANU PF MP for the area, Enock Porusingazi.

Maunde said the mob, which numbered about 20, beat up the duo, took their
valuables and warned them of dire consequences if they continued ‘selling
out the country.’

‘Hlomani and Madhodhi were wearing party regalia and were easily
recognisable as MDC-T activists. So when they got near Garahwa School, they
were stopped and interrogated for a few minutes before the beatings started.

‘The two managed to run for dear life and managed to seek refuge in a
classroom block. Luckily a teacher at the school who witnessed the attack
locked the two inside to ensure the pursuing attackers would not get to
them. In a desperate bid to force them out, the group smashed all the
classroom windows, jumped in and plucked them out through the smashed
windows,’ Maunde said.

By this time, a truck allegedly belonging to Porusingazi had arrived at the
scene and bundled the two inside before driving them to a police station. At
the police station, one of the leaders of the mob then filed a complaint
against Hlomani and Madhodhi, claiming that the MDC-T officials had
assaulted some of their members.

‘We had to go to the police station to explain these were the victims in
this case and yet they ended up under arrest. At first the police officers
were very reluctant to release them, saying they didn’t want to get involved
in political issues. But sanity prevailed eventually and the two were
released on Monday,’ Maunde added.

On Tuesday, Hlomani and Madhodha were taken to a private clinic in Mutare
where they were treated and discharged. The MDC-T spokesman for Manicaland,
Pishai Muchauraya, confirmed that a doctor had examined the two, prescribed
some medicines and discharged them.

Violence erupts in Chipinge South

Political violence has resurfaced in Chipinge South with war veterans and
other Zanu PF functionaries assaulting MDC-T youth executive members
attending a party meeting at Garahwa Business centre over the weekend.

PYD has it on good record that war veterans and Zanu PF members went to
disturb a meeting organised by the Youth Committee of the MDC beating up and
harassing locals attending the meeting. This resulted in Nyasha Madhodha and
Forget Hlomani being arrested and detained at Chisumbanje Police Station.
The two who are executive members of the youth committee were thoroughly
assaulted and were rushed to St Peters Mission Hospital where they were
refused medication. The police are said to have followed up on them at the
hospital leading to their arrest and detention at Chisumbanje Police
station.

The war veterans and Zanu PF thugs led by one Micah Jerera are said to have
disturbed a peaceful meeting and this is not the first time such an instance
has happened. War veterans have since 2000 been known for taking the law
into their hands without actions of the state security.

Platform for Youth Development Trust (PYD) is disturbed by such reports and
appeals to state security agents to arrest and charge all perpetrators of
violence regardless of political affiliation. The incident has left
villagers scared as they have been reawakened to the tragic memories of June
27 2008.
It is shocking that the injured victims were the ones arrested instead of
the perpetrators. The two had to spend a night at Chisumbanje police station
before they were released. The police behaviour of arresting victims instead
of perpetrators is worrying and has been associated with police
partisanship.
We are emphasising our call for peace and call upon the merchants of
violence to desist from provoking the otherwise calm environment.

Partisan tendencies of the Chisumbanje police forces was also exposed in
Member of Parliament for Chipinge South Hon Meki Makhuyana’s arrest ahead of
the known and identified perpetrators of violence in 2008. Makhuyana had to
miss parliament sessions while locked at Mandikise remand prison.
We therefore appeal to the Chisumbanje police officers to be professional in
their conduct and ignore unethical instructions. We demand the immediate
arrest of Micah Jerera and his Zanu PF thugs for inciting political
violence. Jerera’s arrest is very critical as it will go a long way in
restoring community and national confidence in the police force.

PYD subscribes to an enactment of a law that gives stern punishment to all
those who are found guilty of political violence.

Inserted by
PYD Information and Communications Dept

Showdown looms over Zim report to UN human rights meeting

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
4 October 2011

A major showdown is looming between the inclusive government and the country’s
vocal civil society organisations, over a report to be tabled at the United
Nations in Geneva which paints a rosy picture of the human rights situation
in Zimbabwe.

The 15 page document, prepared by the Ministry of Justice and to be
presented by Patrick Chinamasa, is starkly different from what civil society
leaders will tell the UN.

One of the most glaring inaccuracies contained in the report is on paragraph
82 which reads: ‘Government opened up communication platforms in the
broadcasting sector through the licensing of commercial radio broadcasting
services and satellite-based subscription services.’

No independent commercial radio licences have ever been issued and there has
been no movement at all on issuing community radio licences. It’s now five
months since the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) finally called for
applications for two commercial radio licences. Just two days ago, BAZ
announced they would start holding public hearings on October 18th to
determine the suitability of applicants for the two licences. The authority
received an estimated 15 applications from aspiring broadcasters. On 18th
October only one of those will be looked at. If they look at one a month we
would be 15 months away from the process being completed.
The UN Human Rights Council’s 12th session of the Universal Periodic Review
began in Geneva on Monday. Zimbabwe will present it’s report next week
Monday. Over a dozen leaders from civil society in Zimbabwe have descended
on Geneva to ‘set the record straight.’

Some of the groups represented are the Zimbabwe Human rights Association,
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO forum.

Dewa Mavhinga, regional co-ordinator for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition,
told SW Radio Africa from Geneva that they will challenge the report which
he says falsely paints a picture of a country promoting and upholding human
rights.

‘That is a sham report which is full of untruths. It contains a lot of
shocking claims; we therefore seek to show that the reality is a far cry
from what is contained in the government report.

‘Through a number of advocacy events starting tomorrow (Wednesday) we will
demonstrate the true state of human rights in Zimbabwe and to show how the
country is not prepared to hold elections in 2012 as Mugabe and ZANU PF
would want,’ Mavhinga said.

Civil society organisations (CSO’s) have this year warned of worsening human
rights abuses at the hands of state security agents following an escalation
of threats, intimidation and harassment against people perceived to be
against Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party.

The CSO’s have called on Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai to fulfil
their promise to reform state institutions, in a bid to end human rights
violations that have continued in the country since the formation of the
unity government two and half years ago.

Torture, harassment and politically motivated prosecutions of human rights
defenders and perceived opponents have persisted, while villagers in many
parts of the country have suffered ceaseless intimidation by supporters of
the former ruling ZANU PF party.

NewsDay newspaper website hacked

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
04 October 2011

The website of the NewsDay newspaper has been down since Sunday with a
warning for visitors to the site being generated by search engine giant
Google.

“Warning: Something's Not Right Here! www.newsday.co.zw contains malware.
Your computer might catch a virus if you visit this

Newsday website on 4 October, 2011

site. Google has found that malicious software may be installed onto your
computer if you proceed,” says a message behind a red background was placed
by Google.

“If you've visited this site in the past or you trust this site, it's
possible that it has just recently been compromised by a hacker. You should
not proceed. Why not try again tomorrow or go somewhere else? We have
already notified www.newsday.co.zw that we found malware on the site,”
Google added.

SW Radio Africa spoke to NewsDay editor Vincent Kahiya and he said: “There
was a security breach on our website on Sunday and as a result of the breach
our website was blocked and because of the blockade, it’s not visible to the
public. We could have brought it up immediately but we have decided to
suspend it for about a week whilst we sort out the security breach on the
website,” Kahiya said.

Kahiya said they were working closely with Google to see “how best to
enhance security on the site” adding, “it’s just a question of putting more
firewalls around” the site. Asked who might have hacked their site he said:
“I have had a lot of people ask me that question whether it was the security
establishment. It can be them; it can be anyone else who can get into our
system.”

“So what is important is making sure that our system is secure and if it’s
secured then we minimize the risk of people breaching the wall that protects
our core,” Kahiya added.

Meanwhile the editor of the Daily News, Stanley Gama, told SW Radio Africa
that the paper’s website had been down for over a month and only went back
online on Tuesday this week because they are carrying out an upgrade and
modernizing the site. He said they ran adverts in the paper informing
readers of the site upgrade.
Gama said the old site is back up and the new site would be launched soon.

“We are in the process of updating the website and making further
developments and modernising in line with modern websites around the world.
So in the next few weeks our readers will be able to open up new pages on
our website, brand new, modern and state of the art. We will be able to
communicate directly with our readers and it will be a live website,” Gama
told SW Radio Africa.

SA resumes Zimbabwe deportations

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

03/10/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

THOUSANDS of Zimbabweans face deportation from South Africa by Christmas.

South Africa’s Home Affairs department has notified Zimbabwean authorities
that it is resuming the removal of illegal immigrants after lifting a
special moratorium which has been in place since May 2009.

South Africa had given Zimbabwean immigrants, estimated in the millions, a
December 31, 2010, deadline to regularise their stay but just 275,762
submitted work permit applications which were decided by July 31.

Now Zimbabwe’s southern neighbour has signalled it is resuming removals by
sending a circular to immigration authorities at Beitbridge.

Tamari Shadaya, the Beitbridge Assistant Regional Immigration Officer, said
on Monday: "We received a memo from the South African Home Affairs
Department on Thursday last week notifying us of their plans to deport
undocumented Zimbabweans.

“According to the document, the deportations will commence with immediate
effect, but we have yet to receive any repatriates from that country between
Thursday and now."

Shadaya said she believed a conversation had taken place between South
Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Zuma and her Zimbabwean
counterparts Theresa Makone and Kembo Mohadi warning them about the
impending action.

Shadaya told the Herald: “The deportations will target all undocumented
Zimbabweans staying in that country illegally and those border jumpers
intercepted on their way to that country."
Deportees will be temporarily housed at the International Organisation for
Migration reception centre in Beitbridge.

The centre offers overnight accommodation and transport to deportees. It
accommodates an average of 600 people per day both adults and children.

An estimated two million Zimbabweans have entered South Africa over the last
two decades to escape economic hardship.

SA “unaware” of reported deportation directive

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
04 October 2011

A spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs on Tuesday said
he was “unaware” of a reported directive that deportations of Zimbabwean
nationals have resumed “with immediate affect.”

According to reports in the state media South Africa's Home Affairs
Department told its Zimbabwean counterparts last Thursday that deportations
of undocumented Zimbabweans will resume. The Herald newspaper quoted
Beitbridge assistant regional Immigration Officer Tamari Shadaya as saying
that: “We received a memo from the South African Home Affairs Department on
Thursday last week notifying us of their plans to deport undocumented
Zimbabweans.”

Shadaya also reportedly said that “deportations will commence with immediate
effect, though we are yet to receive any repatriates from that country.” She
also said that A meeting between Zimbabwean Home Affairs officials and South
Africa was set to get underway on Monday.

But South Africa’s Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa told SW Radio
Africa on Tuesday that “we are not aware of such a communication.” He
declined to comment further.

South Africa is in the process of finalising the Zimbabwe Documentation
Project, launched last year to regularise the stay of some of the hundreds
of thousands of Zimbabweans living in the country. About 275 000
applications for permits were received and South Africa has insisted it will
lift a moratorium on Zim deportations when the process is complete.

More than a million Zimbabweans are said to be in the country, meaning a
majority of nationals now face deportation. Gabriel Shumba from the Zimbabwe
Exiles Forum told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that deportations are a bad
idea, saying “the political situation (in Zimbabwe) has not yet changed
enough to accommodate forced returns.”

Shumba also explained that any directive regarding deportations is meant to
come from South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, according to officials who
have dealt with the civil society stakeholders of the Documentation process.

“But we are quite skeptical. If this announcement has happened, it flies in
the face of normal procedure and protocol, and is a violation of UN human
rights standards,” Shumba said.

African army officers begin study tour

http://www.newtimes.co.rw (Rwanda)

By James Karuhanga

Senior African officers, currently enrolled at the Zambian Defence Services
Command and Staff College are in the country for a week-long study tour.

The 16 officers from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Malawi, are in the
country as part of their regional study tour to enhance their strategic
military awareness.

They will explore various facilities including military establishments,
economic infrastructure, culture and heritage as well as social and welfare
amenities.

Yesterday, they visited the Gisozi Genocide Memorial centre where they paid
tribute to the victims of 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, before meeting the
Chief of Defense Staff, Lt. Gen. Charles Kayonga.

Col. Justine Pule Myenya, the head of the delegation, told reporters that
Rwanda was selected because “there are a lot of developments to learn from,
in terms of economic development and social structures present.”

“Rwanda is quite a progressive country. As brothers and sisters of one
continent, we should be sharing ideas from time to time,” Myenya said.

At the RDF Headquarters, they listened to presentations on the RDF’s major
engagements.

Lt. Col. Russel Chisenga, a staff officer of the Zambian air force, noted
that after a presentation on the Horizon Group’s works, he realised that “in
Zambia we have similar industries but we haven’t reached the level Rwanda
has reached.”

“The RDF is so more involved in country service than the traditional
military role of protecting the country.” Chisenga said.

The team was scheduled to visit and explore pre-deployment training for
Peace Support Operation at Gako.

They will also visit other government ministries, industries such as
Inyange, Utexrwa, as well as make a tour of the methane extraction plant in
Lake Kivu.

Several Rwandan military students are studying in the famed Zambian Defense
Services Command and Staff College.

Vehicle imports: Goche statement this week

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

03/10/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

TRANSPORT Minister Nicholas Goche is expected to make a key statement this
week on the fate of an unpopular government plan to ban imports of second
hand vehicles older than five years.
Goche told the ZBC last night that “consultations are still in progress”
over the regulations which take effect on November 1.

Sources in the Transport Ministry familiar with the consultations told New
Zimbabwe.com Goche’s announcement was likely on Wednesday.
The consultations, according to the sources, have shown an overwhelming
majority of Zimbabweans oppose the policy.

Goche has told cabinet colleagues he may be forced to abandon the policy,
which is the brainchild of Francis Nhema’s Environment Ministry.

Nhema argued in advance of the policy announcement that old vehicles posed a
danger to the environment with higher carbon emissions.
But opponents of the policy say it would make cars an unaffordable luxury to
a burgeoning middle class.

Munyaradzi Kashambe, a Harare car dealer, said Zimbabwe’s economy was not
performing well enough to justify the ban.

“These are the only cars affordable to the majority of Zimbabweans and
imposing a ban on such vehicles is great injustice to low income earners,”
he said.

Zimbabweans have been involved in a mad dash to beat the deadline with an
average 450 imported vehicles being cleared daily by the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (ZIMRA).
ZIMRA officials have warned nearly £15 million generated monthly from
vehicle import duty would be lost to the economy.

9th Anniversary of the Vigil - Saturday 8th October 2011

Wikileaks: Mnangagwa would be more ruthless than Mugabe

http://www.insiderzim.com

Tuesday, 04 October 2011 15:22

Emmerson Mnangagwa, for long considered one of President Robert Mugabe’s
potential successors, was likely to be more brutal than Mugabe if he became
president, a political analyst Brian Raftopoulos, told United States embassy
officials in December 2000.

Mnangagwa, whose political star had been waning since losing his Kwekwe seat
to Blessing Chebundo of the Movement for Democratic Change, was reported to
have scored a major coup at the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic
Front extra-ordinary congress in December 2000 when he was catapulted to
number four in the party as secretary for administration.

According to a diplomatic cable entitled: New Zimbabwe politburo strengthens
Mnangagwa's bid to succeed Mugabe, the new politburo not only consolidated
Mugabe’s position in ZANU-PF, it also appeared to be putting Mnangagwa near
the apex of party power.

“If Mugabe is indeed thinking of stepping down a year or two after winning
one more term, as a number of interlocutors have told us, now would be the
time to begin preparing a successor,” the cable says.

“Mnangagwa is a long-time and close ally of Mugabe and has the full
confidence of the president. The Speaker's feared reputation as an
"enforcer" would serve Mugabe's desire to hold ZANU-PF together and defeat
the MDC using any means necessary.”

Mnangagwa had replaced Didymus Mutasa as secretary for administration.

The role of the middlemen at Beitbridge border post

http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=6937

It has now become the norm of the day that if you want a service or a
product and you don’t know exactly where to get it from, someone quickly
chips in and tell you that he/she can help you – for a fee of course. The
fee can be high especially if the service or product you are looking for is
scarce. One can earn a living in Zimbabwe by charging people just to show
them where to get a service or a product fast without enduring long queues.
I came across some of these people at Beitbridge border post recently when I
wanted to clear some stuff.  I met these well dressed young men whom you can
mistakenly think are the real Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officers
because of the way they entice you with the knowledge they have of clearing
goods at the border post.

These people have so many names. The most popular ones are “clearing agent”,
“runner” “go-between” or “middlemen”. So many names for this unofficialised
profession hey! From my own under understanding the service, which was being
sold, was to speed up the paper work involved in clearing goods. After
telling me about their jobs, and in order to convince me, I was even taken
to the help desk where to my surprise the officer commanding the desk
actually recognised the guys. After rejecting the offer for the service I
was told to be prepared for long waits, delays and high import duty charges,
which made me wonder how possible was it for me to get low import duty
charges from ordinary guys like these.  The fact that these people operate
in the vicinity of the ZIMRA officials’ makes one wonder whether the
services being offered by these unscrupulous people is now official.
Share

This entry was posted on October 4th, 2011 at 11:11 am by Lenard Kamwendo

I Have A Dream For Africa!

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=36800

By Obert Gutu

Published: October 4, 2011

As a New African, I refuse to be poor. As a New African, I refuse to be
misgoverned. As a New African, I totally refuse to be suffocated by the
petty politics of malice, hatred, disillusionment,chicanery and corruption.
I see hope in Africa. I have a dream for Africa.

I dream of an Africa that is wholly liberated and thus, free from tyranny,
corruption and greed. I dream of an Africa that is at peace with herself.I
dream of an Africa that is politically and economically developed. I dream
of an Africa that is free from hunger and disease. An Africa that will take
its rightfull place amongst other continents as a continent of hope and joy
and not a continent ravaged by poverty, war and disease. I have a dream for
Africa.

As a Pan-Africanist and Zimbabwean patriot to the bare bones,I am not about
to give up on Africa.Where others might see hopelessness, despair and
desolution,I have chosen to see hope and a bright future ahead of us. Whilst
I pay tribute to the founding fathers and mothers of African nationalism, I
am also quick to point out their shortcomings and acknowledge that just like
any other human being made of flesh and blood, the pioneers of African
nationalism were not and indeed, could not have been perfect. Under very
difficult circumstances presented by
a ruthless and racist colonial system,the pioneers of African nationalism
were brave enough to confront the mean and ruthless colonial machine and
demand self-governance and independence for the hitherto oppressed African
people. For that reason,I will forever be grateful to the founding fathers
of African nationalism; the likes of Kwame Krumah, Julius Nyerere, Jomo
Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda, Gamel Abdel Nassar and many others. I have a dream
for Africa.

I have no kind words for African nationalists who eventually mutated into
tin pot dictators and tyrants. For that was not the founding vision of
African nationalism and Pan – Africanism.Oppression is oppression whether it
is practised by a white man or a black man. No amount of sugar coating and
propaganda can justify oppression and dictatorship. Essentially,a
dictatorship thrives on fear of the people.A dictatorship is
characteristically fearful of the people that it purports to represent. A
dictatorship is morbidly inward-looking and therefore, fearfully
insecure.Once in a while a dictatorship will devour its own children.
Indeed, a dictatorship has this rather uncanny and bizarre tendency to
cannibalise its own. I have a dream for Africa.

With a population of 1,1 billion people and blessed with every natural
resource that one can think of,Africa has absolutely no reason to be poor.
More than half a century after the first pillars of colonialism were
dismantled in such African countries such as Ghana and Senegal, Africa has
no excuse to continue to blame the erstwhile colonisers for the prevailing
poverty and rampant corruption that generally defines contemporary Africa.In
1957, Ghana ‘s Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) was higher than the GDP of
Singapore and Hong Kong. But today, we all know that both Singapore and Hong
Kong, former colonies themselves, have managed to transform themselves into
economic tigers with sophisticated diversified economies and very high
living standards for their citizens. Ghana remains a typical developing
economy with a rudimentary economic infrastructure and endemic poverty
amongst the generality of its people. The same applies for Senegal, Nigeria,
Cameroon and the majority of African countries that attained independence
more than forty (40) years ago. Where did Africa get it wrong? Is Africa a
cursed continent? Is Africa destined to be poor, misgoverned and corrupt? I
have a dream for Africa.

First of all, Africa has to look at herself hard in the mirror; introspect
and try to diagonise why she has failed to keep pace with the other
continents. Why has Africa allowed the former colonisers and oppressors to
ride roughshod over her own interests? Why has Africa virtually abdicated
from its responsibility of responsible leadership and good governance? Why
has Africa allowed Somalia to be a lawless country? Why has some African
dictators and like-minded tyrants run down their countries and privatised
all their countries’s wealth? Africa has to wake up and smell the coffee.
Whether Aftica looks East or West is neither here nor there. There is
so-called market-driven capitalism in the West and indeed, there is also
State-driven capitalism in the East; particularly in China. Capitalism is
capitalism whether it has a Western flavour or an Eastern flavour. Africa
should neither look West or East. Africa should look everywhere. America is
Africa essentially to push its own hegemonistic agenda; and so is China.
There is no free lunch for Africans.I have a dream for Africa.

As Africans, we are own liberators.Noone is going to be ” friends” with
Africa just for the sake of it.This world is fast globalising and if we are
not careful, Africa will again be reduced and condemned into a hunting
ground for the world’s superpowers as they compete to grab our natural
resources and in the process,to condemn Africa into a perpetual state of
penury, poverty, ignorance and disease. We should clean our systems of
governance and ensure that the scourge of corruption, particularly in the
public sector,is eliminated. Africa has a sizeable number of the world’s
billionaires but the averaghe African leaves on less than a dollar a
day.Most African politicians take public service as essentially an exercise
in self-enrichment and personal aggrindisement. This is wrong. Do not get
into politics in order to get rich; rather, get into politics in order to
play a meaningfull role in designing and implementing systems of good
governance for the benefit of the generality of the people. I do not trust
someone who gets into politics poor as a church mouse and in no time,
becomes s rich as Warren Buffett! I have a dream for Africa.

My mission in politics is to contirbute, in my own small but meaningfull
way,to the development of my country Zimbabwe and my continent Africa.I want
nothing less and nothing more. I feel that I have a generational challenge
to do something for my motherland. I know that my time to go back to Negona
Chambers to practise law on a full-time basis shall come as my generation
gives slowly gives way to the younger generations that came after us.We
should learn, as Africans, to pass the baton from one generation to the
other. I will call this system generational transformation and regeneration.

Africa is too rich to be poor. I have a dream for Africa.

Written by: Obert Gutu

Obert Gutu is the Senator for Chisipite in Harare and also the Deputy
Minister of Justice & Legal Affairs.He is the MDC Harare provincial
spokesperson and also the Goodwill Ambassador for Justice for the
Africa Heritage Society.