Natal
Witness
MDC retains Harare despite it
all
Zimbabwean capital tense after by-elections and the expiry
of an
opposition
ultimatum
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwe's
main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
retained two
seats in crucial parliamentary by-elections over the weekend,
according to
state-operated radio.
In Harare's Kuwadzana township, the MDC polled 12
548 votes while the ruling
Zanu-PF garnered 5 002.
In Highfield, where
President Robert Mugabe cast his ballot on Saturday, the
MDC got 8 759 votes
against Zanu-PF's 4 844.
Zanu-PF's Highfield candidate was Joseph
Chinotimba, a fiery "war veteran"
who led the invasion of white-owned farms
two years ago.
The Kuwadzana vote was held after the death of former MDC
MP for the
constituency Learnmore Jongwe. The popular young MP died in prison
last
year.
The elections were preceded by high tension and political
violence.
The results make Harare an opposition stronghold, with all 19
seats held by
the MDC.
Earlier by-elections in at least seven
constituencies in the past two years
have ended in victories for Zanu-PF
after violent campaigns.
Riot police besieged the MDC headquarters
moments after the poll results
were announced, blocking supporters flocking
to the offices to celebrate.
The opposition party said the election was
neither free nor fair and that
the victory was not an easy one "in the face
of concerted violence and
electoral fraud".
It, however, said the poll
outcomes "indicate what is possible when a people
is resolved to free itself
from tyranny".
The party had given Mugabe until Monday to take steps to
resolve the
country's crises, or face action.
"In the days ahead, we
shall be working frantically with you to put in place
strategies that will
rid the country of the current crises that stem from
the illegitimacy of the
Mugabe regime," party spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi
said.
Amid the
heightened tension surrounding the elections on Monday, the MDC's
vice
president was arrested in connection with a recent anti-government
strike in
what the MDC says is part of a crackdown against its leaders.
Gibson
Sibanda was arrested after being summoned for questioning on Monday
by police
who visited his home in Bulawayo.
"Sibanda was arrested at about noon
today and will be formally charged
later," Nyathi said.
He faces
charges related to the organisation of a two-day mass
anti-government strike
early this month.
Chief police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said Sibanda
was arrested for
"attempting to subvert a constitutional
government".
The MDC organised the strike on March 18 and 19 to press
President Robert
Mugabe to take urgent steps to resolve the country's grave
economic and
political crises.
After the two-day stoppage, the MDC
issued the ultimatum.
The MDC says Sibanda's arrest was the start of a
crackdown ahead of the
expiry of the ultimatum.
"This is yet another
sign of panic by a regime that is conscious of its
unpopularity," said
Nyathi.
Police deployed large numbers of security forces around Mugabe's
residence
as the opposition expired.
Some 400 MDC members and two MPs
were arrested following the strike two
weeks ago.
Publish Date: 1 April
2003
Source: SAPA-AFP
Tension mounts between government, opposition in
Zimbabwe
By ANGUS SHAW, ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARARE,
Zimbabwe (AP) - President Robert Mugabe's residence and offices were
under
heavy police guard Monday as an opposition deadline expired for
the
government to introduce democratic reforms.
The security measures were
taken to thwart any attempts to cause anarchy,
said Home Affairs Minister
Kembo Mohadi, according to State radio.
The opposition has said it will
resume mass protests if the government does
not start sweeping democratic
reforms by Monday. The opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai vowed to make good
on the ultimatum, telling supporters to
be on alert for when protests are
called.
"This will be the final push that will restore our sovereignty,
liberty and
freedom," Tsvangirai said. "It will be a struggle that calls for
extreme
sacrifices, indeed even the supreme sacrifice" of death.
The
government has threatened to arrest Tsvangirai and other opposition
officials
if they call more anti-government protests.
Tsvangirai, however, made
clear that the protests would be peaceful, saying
"even at this late hour, we
seek no mortal combat ... we have no weapons of
war and we do not need
any."
Mugabe led Zimbabwe to independence from Britain in 1980. But he
has become
increasingly authoritarian, spearheading media controls and
takeovers of
white-owned farms. The farm-grabbing campaign has led to more
than two years
of political unrest during which scores of political opponents
have been
killed.
Zimbabwe's political crisis deepened this month
after the government cracked
down on participants of a crippling two-day
national strike against Mugabe's
government.
Independent human rights
monitors said at least 250 people were treated for
injuries from assaults and
beatings in the crackdown - which was strongly
condemned by the State
Department for what it called unprecedented violence
sponsored by the
Zimbabwe government against domestic opponents.
The crackdown continued
Monday with the arrest of Gibson Sibanda, the deputy
leader of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change.
The strike was the largest protest since
Mugabe - brought to power at
independence in 1980 - was re-elected for
another six-year term in
presidential elections contested by Tsvangirai last
year. Observers said the
elections were marred by intimidation and
vote-rigging.
Tensions were also heightened this weekend during two
parliamentary
by-elections in opposition strongholds in western
Harare.
State radio reported Monday both seats were retained by the
opposition
despite claims that ruling party militants tried to intimidate
voters.
Mugabe's ruling party had hoped to recapture urban support in
Harare.
The
Times
April 01,
2003
Mugabe's foes brace for 'the last
push'
From Jan Raath in
Harare
THE leader of the Zimbabwean Opposition called on the country
yesterday to
prepare for the "final push" in mass protests to bring about
the end of
President Mugabe's
rule.
Morgan Tsvangirai, speaking as his Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party
won two key by-elections in Harare, gave warning of "a
long hard struggle"
that would entail "extreme
sacrifice".
The Zanu (PF) party of President Mugabe enjoys a comfortable
majority in
parliament, but it holds none of the capital's 19 parliamentary
seats and had
hoped to break the MDC's stranglehold in urban
areas.
Instead, after a brutal campaign in which both sides accused the
other of
violence, thousands of MDC supporters poured on to the streets to
celebrate
the opposition's by-election successes in Kuwadzana and Highfield.
However,
they were stopped in their tracks by riot
police.
The MDC national executive is due to meet shortly to draw up its
strategy of
"people's power" against Mr Mugabe. Yesterday the deadline
passed for him to
meet the party's 15-point ultimatum to restore the rule of
law and begin
dialogue for political
change.
"Mugabe has made it quite clear that he is not accountable to
anybody but his
murderous dictatorial whims," Mr Tsvangirai said. "It is our
constitutional
right to peacefully protest against violent misrule. We shall
exercise this
right soon and at a time and manner of our
choosing.
"We seek no mortal combat against anybody. We are not an army.
We have no
battle plans. We have no weapons of war and we do not need any.
We are just
ordinary Zimbabweans whose only crime is our desire to be
free."
Yesterday police in the western city of Bulawayo arrested Gibson
Sibanda, the
MDC's vice-president, on allegations of "attempting to
overthrow the
Government by unconstitutional means". The charges relate to
Mr Sibanda's
role in the MDC's 48-hour strike on March 18 and 19 that
paralysed the
country.
The Sun
Fury over new Zim
tour
By DAVE KIDD
ENGLAND'S cricketers will refuse to tour
Zimbabwe next year if despot Robert
Mugabe is still in power.
Players
are furious ECB chief David Morgan has committed England to a
month-long
visit of the troubled African nation in the autumn of 2004.
Morgan made
the move to ensure Zimbabwe give the green light to their own UK
tour next
month.
But Lord's chiefs did not consult England's stars.
The
players made an 11th-hour decision to boycott February's World Cup match
in
Harare, insisting it was for moral reasons and not just safety
fears.
Morgan has promised England will tour as long as the squad's
protection is
assured.
But senior players insist moral and safety
issues cannot be separated in
Zimbabwe, where evil Mugabe has increased his
crackdown on opposition groups
since the World Cup and proudly compared
himself to Adolf Hitler.
Zimbabwean fast bowler Henry Olonga is in
hiding, fearing for his life,
after attacking the government before his
country's first World Cup match.
Yet Morgan still insists cricket's top
brass should not have to make moral
decisions over tours.
Players'
union chief Richard Bevan will meet with ECB bosses this week to
discuss the
players' fears.
He said: "Since the ECB decided not to consult us about
this, it's not
appropriate to comment until we've discussed it
fully.
"But what is certain is a decision will be made well in advance of
this
tour. It will not be allowed to go to the wire like it did in South
Africa."
Lord's bigwigs feared losing around £8million if Zimbabwe
cancelled their
tour as a tit-for-tat measure after England's
boycott.
Daily
News
MDC 2, Zanu PF
0
4/1/2003 2:47:20 AM (GMT
+2)
By Columbus Mavhunga and Lawrence
Paganga
THE opposition MDC yesterday
retained the constituencies of Highfield
and Kuwadzana in the weekend
by-elections, further stamping its dominance in
urban areas despite massive
intimidation by pro-ruling Zanu PF militias in
the run-up to the
polls.
In Kuwadzana, the MDC's
Nelson Chamisa garnered 12 548 votes against 5
002 polled by Zanu PF's David
Mutasa, while in Highfield the opposition
party's Pearson Mungofa polled 8
759 votes in beating Joseph Chinotimba of
Zanu PF, who trailed with 4 844
votes.
The defeat of Chinotimba did not go
down well with his supporters who
had gathered at the constituency's command
centre at Cyril Jennings Hall.
They hurled stones at the police and MDC
supporters who were already in a
celebratory
mood.
Riot police dispersed the Zanu PF
supporters, effectively smothering a
potentially explosive
situation.
Chinotimba said the poll had
not been free and fair, alleging Zanu PF
supporters had been attacked and
intimidated by suspected MDC supporters
on
Saturday.
President Mugabe and the
First Lady, Grace, cast their votes at Mhofu
Primary School in Highfield on
Saturday.
Said Chinotimba: "I am going to
challenge the results in court as a
number of Zanu PF supporters were
assaulted and denied their right to vote."
Mungofa said the electorate had defied intimidation and voted
for
change.
"The elections were held in
an atmosphere that was not free and fair
as Zanu PF engaged in vote-buying
and harassed MDC members," he said.
"However, the people endured the intimidation and remained steadfast
to elect
the party of their choice."
Mungofa said
five MDC supporters had been assaulted during the polling
days and the
vehicle used by his election manager, Eric Murayi, was damaged
by suspected
Zanu PF supporters.
Armed riot police
immediately cordoned off Harvest House, the MDC
headquarters in Harare city
centre, as they kept a hawk's eye on jubilant
supporters who broke into song
and dance upon hearing the results.
In
Kuwadzana, an elated Chamisa said: "I salute the people of
Kuwadzana. They
defied violence, intimidation and massive vote-buying which
was associated
with this by-election.
"I view my victory
as a tribute to my friend Learnmore, who died under
mysterious circumstances.
I will continue fighting for democracy and make
sure that we are liberated. I
want to promote a culture of debate and
tolerance of political diversity in
Kuwadzana."
Learnmore Jongwe, the former
MP for Kuwadzana, died in remand prison
last year while awaiting trial for
the murder of his wife, Rutendo.
Dejected
after spending thousands of dollars on maize-meal which he
dished out to
potential voters ahead of the by-election, Mutasa could only
say: "You can
write what you want. Ask me anymore questions and see what I
will do to
you."
Other minnows in the Kuwadzana
contest were Aaron Mandla of the United
Parties, who polled 12 votes
.
National Alliance for Good Governance's
(NAGG) Kimpton Chiwewete
garnered 82
votes.
As if sensing defeat after only
polling 73 votes, Munyaradzi Gwisai,
the former Highfield MP, who stood as an
independent, did not attend the
counting
process.
The seat fell vacant after Gwisai
was expelled from the MDC for
continuing to criticise the party's
policies.
Evaristo Chidhakwa of Nagg
polled 48 votes, Alphios Mapuranga of UP,
garnered 34, and Egypt
Dzinemunhenzwa, African National Party,
272.
Zimbabwe Election Support Network
(Zesn), an umbrella body of 36 civic
organisations, yesterday said it was
concerned with the "serious anomalies"
in the conduct the
elections.
"The pre-election period was
marred by violence, visible vote buying
and the failure by the
Registrar-General's office to release the voters roll
to contesting
candidates on time," said Reginald Matchaba-Hove, the
Zesn
chairperson.
"The actual polling
days were characterised by vote buying, violence,
abductions of observers and
party polling agents, intimidation, denial of
access to the polling stations
to accredited observers, and a heavy presence
of the uniformed forces and
Zanu PF youths in the vicinity of the
polling
stations."
Daily
News
MDC youth tells of
torture
4/1/2003 3:04:52 AM (GMT
+2)
From Our Correspondent in
Bulawayo
Mthulisi Mloyi, an opposition MDC
youth, who was abducted by war
veterans in Nkayi last month, says he went
through hell during the two hours
he was allegedly held captive by the
pro-Zanu PF ex-fighters.
He said
that he was forced to chew on his party's regalia which
included scarves and
pamphlets.
Mloyi, who is hiding in
Bulawayo, yesterday said he had still not
recovered from the torture he was
subjected to about three weeks ago.
Mloyi
was abducted on 7 March by a group of armed people, some known
to be former
armed dissidents of the 1980s, when he and other youths were
putting up
posters for an MDC rally which was to be held in
Nkayi.
"They first of all removed all my
clothes and then they bundled me
into a vehicle without number plates," said
Mloyi.
He said he was robbed of $50 000
cash, a necklace and his national
identity documents, by the group. He said
the group, numbering about 20,
assaulted him and forced him to chew on the
MDC's party regalia.
After the ordeal,
which lasted about two hours, he said he was first
stripped naked before he
was released.
Although the police refused
to comment, Mloyi said he made a report at
Gwelutshena Police
Station.
Meanwhile, the group of former
dissidents who allegedly abducted Mloyi
are believed to be in
Binga.
A villager, who asked not to be
named, said: "We suspect that the
group is being sponsored by Zanu PF because
they are booked in a lodge."
Daily
News
MDC trio's application for
bail relaxation fails
4/1/2003
3:04:12 AM (GMT +2)
Court
Reporter
Justice Paddington Garwe, the
Judge President, yesterday threw out an
application for the alteration of
bail conditions imposed on Morgan
Tsvangirai, the MDC president, and two of
that opposition party's top
officials facing high treason
charges.
The court also refused to
grant an application for the temporary
release of Welshman Ncube's
passport.
Defence counsel, George Bizos,
said on Thursday last week, Ncube
wanted to travel to Canada to instruct a
lawyer who will witness the testing
of the equipment used to produce a
video-tape forming the basis of the
treason
charges.
Garwe said: "The accused are
facing serious charges and the reporting
conditions cannot be said to be
unreasonable or unwarranted."
A Harare
magistrates' court last year ordered Tsvangirai,
secretary-general Ncube and
Renson Gasela, the MDC shadow minister of
agriculture, to report twice a week
to their nearest police stations as part
of their bail
conditions.
The trio was also ordered to
surrender their passports to the clerk of
court. Garwe said: "Advocate Bizos
did not give further details why they
should report once instead of twice a
week. Considering that part of the
order had been agreed to between the State
and the defence, I find no reason
to interfere with the
order."
On the application for the release
of Ncube's passport for the
duration of the High Court vacation, Garwe said,
"no real basis has been
given".
"The
reasons are somewhat unconvincing," the judge
said.
"The suggestion that all five legal
practitioners are unable to travel
to instruct the lawyer in Canada is highly
unlikely."
All the members of the defence
team of Innocent Chagonda, Romualdo
Mavedzenge and advocates Chris Andersen,
Eric Matinenga and Bizos said they
had other commitments during the High
Court vacation. The trial is expected
to resume on 12
May.
Daily
News
Leader Page
Kunonga's
dismissal of chancellor unlawful
4/1/2003 2:52:52 AM (GMT +2)
By Bob
Stumbles
The Anglican Bishop of Harare,
Nolbert Kunonga, appears to have lost
the confidence of many members of his
flock at the Cathedral and elsewhere
through flaunting Church procedures and
ignoring the rights and needs of
parishioners and
clergy.
When I pointed this out in my
capacity as the Chancellor of the
Anglican Diocese, the Bishop purported to
dismiss me. Apparently I am not
sufficiently compliant for the Bishop of
Harare and have persistently
advised that the law should be complied with in
the Diocese. It seems the
dismissal was illegal and
invalid.
I have decided to comment on
reports that I have been dismissed as
Chancellor. These reports are
incorrect. The position is that apparently
Bishop Kunonga and all the members
of the Standing Committee of the Diocese
met and attempted to terminate my
services as Chancellor. With respect, they
do not have the lawful authority
to do so and any resolution passed by them
in this regard is
invalid.
An announcement that I had been
immediately dismissed as Chancellor
was made after a Meeting of the Standing
Committee of the Diocese held on 13
February convened to discuss a 17-page
letter dated 7 February I had written
to the Bishop. The letter set
out
numerous instances where the Church laws
had not been followed or had
been deliberately flouted, depriving
parishioners and others of
their
rights.
Bishop Kunonga
disapproved of the contents of the letter and summoned
the meeting of the
Standing Committee, which resolved to terminate my
services as the
Chancellor. The first I heard of this attempt to dismiss me
was when I read
about it in a newspaper. I received no notice of the meeting
and, therefore,
had no opportunity to respond to the concerns of the Bishop
or Standing
Committee about my letter, which I am given to understand was
the main
subject of the meeting. Later a letter of dismissal arrived from
the
Bishop.
I am informed that at that same
meeting the services of Arthur
Mutsonziwa, the Diocesan Registrar, were also
terminated with immediate
effect. Bishop Kunonga has accused him of siding
with those intending to
prosecute the Bishop and the Diocese. This allegation
is both baseless and
unjust. Mutsonziwa is on the side of what is
lawful.
In a letter which I sent to Bishop
Kunonga on 20 February, I explained
that in purporting to dismiss me as
Chancellor, the Bishop and the Standing
Committee had not adhered to and had
ignored the procedure laid down in the
laws of the Diocese and of the
Province of Central Africa. Ostensibly, this
was just one more of several
instances where the Bishop has contravened the
laws of the
Church.
The Canons (laws) clearly
stipulate that a Diocesan Chancellor holds
office for life unless he tenders
his resignation to the Bishop or is
removed from office by the unanimous
resolution of the Episcopal Synod,
which consists of the Archbishop and
Bishops of the Church of the Province
of Central
Africa.
The Chancellor cannot be dismissed
in any other way. There has been no
resolution of the Episcopal Synod. Thus,
the action taken by the Bishop and
Standing Committee is clearly in breach of
the laws of the Church.
When a Chancellor
is appointed, he undertakes to do justice within the
Diocese. This is not a
promise to do justice as interpreted by a Bishop or
Standing Committee, but
justice according to all the laws of the Church and
the common law of the
country where applicable. In pursuance of this
fundamental undertaking, it
became necessary eventually to write the letter
of 7 February to reveal the
disturbing failure to comply with or do justice
through the laws of the
Diocese.
Apparently reports and letters of
complaint and distress had been sent
by parishioners and some members of
clergy, particularly about the conduct
of Bishop Kunonga and the previous
Dean of the Cathedral of St Mary and All
Saints, Godfrey Tawonezvi (who is
now Bishop of the Diocese of Masvingo),
not only to the Bishop of Harare, but
also to the Archbishop and Bishops of
the Province, over many months. This
correspondence has so far evidently
evoked no firm
response.
I believe that the Bishops of
the Province and others in authority
must by now be fully aware of the
serious transgressions of the law and
procedure within the Diocese of Harare
and will act swiftly.
It is sincerely
hoped and believed that the laws of the Church will
now be invoked. Failure
to do so will be greatly detrimental to the
reputation of the Anglican Church
and the rights of its members.
Daily
News
Leader Page
Suicidal
violence
4/1/2003 2:53:33 AM (GMT
+2)
TO make violence a vital component of
governance is suicidal for any
government - those who live by the sword
perish by the sword.
Most
dictators throughout history have discovered to their everlasting
chagrin
that - to misquote the Bible - the wages of dealing in death
is
death.
The government of President
Mugabe, which has made violence part of
its stock-in-trade, must know that
one day soon it will rue the day Mugabe
himself pronounced in public that "we
have many degrees in violence".
It would
be a travesty of history if it succeeded in cowing the people
of Zimbabwe
forever through the use of violence.
What
is bound to happen, sooner or later, is for the people to throw
caution to
the wind and confront the warriors of violence with their
own
violence.
Much blood will be shed,
perhaps as much as was shed during the
struggle for independence, during
which the people confronted the violence
of the minority regime with their
own violence.
Internecine violence has
plagued many African countries after their
independence. Most of the
bloodshed has resulted from struggles for power
between groups of people or
between leaders. The fighting has cost many
lives and dragged economic
development back to pre-colonial darkness.
This is about to happen to Zimbabwe because a 79-year-old man, who has
led
the country since independence, does not believe the country has any
future
unless he or his party are in charge.
Apart from the insult to the intelligence of the people - that they
can't
distinguish between a good and a bad leader - there is the matter of
ignoring
the real harm to the economy that Zanu PF has wreaked on
the
nation.
This damage has to be
reversed and the only way that can be done is
not through cosmetic, populist,
grandiose economic plans such as the
much-vaunted National Economic Revival
Programme, but through a return to
the
"basics".
The "basics" constitute an
immediate political transformation which
makes the acceptance of dissenting
voices a sine qua non of good governance.
The doctrine of "crushing" the opposition, as pronounced by Mugabe
belongs in
a "banana republic", recalling dictators such as Augusto
Pinochet. The world,
as one, reacted with revulsion, to Pinochet's reign and
there were no tears
shed when he was ultimately punished.
Saddam Hussein would have earned similar notoriety if he had not
benefited
from by a combination of European rivalry for power and a United
Nations
Security Council stymied by the same
struggle.
Still, Hussein's Iraq is not a
shining example of a democracy, not
even in a region where democracy is rare
as a system of government.
But for Mugabe,
a "regime change" would not necessarily involve an
invasion by United States
and British forces, although there are extremists
in Zimbabwe, who would not
flinch from supporting such an
eventuality.
What would happen is for the
people to seek an alternative to beating
Zanu PF in a free and fair election.
They would seek an alternative to not
being, beaten, arrested and jailed for
not agreeing with Zanu PF.
That
alternative might turn out to be more effective than any other
strategy they
have tried against Zanu PF - and that could be adopting Zanu
PF's own
methods, only more ruthlessly.
Yet the
window of opportunity for a more peaceful resolution of the
crisis has been
available for a long time: dialogue and a return to the
"basics" - the basics
which Mugabe decided to abandon at the height of the
2000 invasion of the
commercial farms.
A return to the rule of
law would halt this suicidal plunge by
the
government.
Daily
News
Mnangagwa robbery suspects
claim duress
4/1/2003 3:01:05 AM
(GMT +2)
Court
Reporter
THE police allegedly tortured
three men accused of robbing Emmerson
Mnangagwa, the Speaker of Parliament,
of property and cash worth $2 million
to force them to admit to the charge, a
regional magistrate heard
yesterday.
Charles Ganda Mbombo,
one of the accused persons, told Harare
magistrate, Leonard Chitunhu, that
the police had allegedly connected live
electric wires to the handcuffs
binding the trio while they were in custody
at Harare Central Police
Station.
Said Mbombo: "When I denied the
charge, Detective Jamare tortured me
to force me to admit to the
offence.
"He also refused to listen to my
statement. He said he had already
recorded a statement from Charles Janga and
that he was not interested in
hearing my side of the
story."
Janga is a State
witness.
Granger Tongogara and Dyvon
Takawira Masona, the co-accused,
corroborate Mbombo's
evidence.
During cross-examination,
Mbombo, Tongogara and Masona said they
admitted to the charges under
duress.
"I did not give my statement
concerning the matter freely because you
were torturing me and you threatened
to continue if I denied," Masona told
Jamare during
cross-examination.
Masona claimed he was
being framed by Jamare.
Prosecutor Fungai
Nyahunzvi, alleged that on 28 November last year,
the three, driving in a
yellow Lancer, trailed Mnangagwa along Herbert
Chitepo
Avenue.
They stopped at the traffic lights
along Sam Nujoma Street, quickly
got out of their car and smashed Mnangagwa's
rear window.
The three suspects allegedly
stole a Nokia 9210 cellphone, $200 000 in
cash, a wallet and an elephant skin
briefcase, among other valuable goods.
The
trial continues today.
Daily
News
Gibson Sibanda
arrested
4/1/2003 3:06:58 AM (GMT
+2)
Staff
Reporters
GIBSON Sibanda, the MDC's
vice-president, was arrested yesterday as
the government stepped up its
crackdown hard on the heels of the expiry of
the opposition party's civil
unrest ultimatum.
Sibanda's
lawyer, Josphat Tshuma, said: "The police charged Sibanda
under Section 5 of
the Public Order and Security Act for allegedly
organising the mass job
stayaway on 18 and 19 March."
Tshuma said
the police alleged the Nkulumane Member of Parliament
convened a meeting at
his party's provincial offices in Bulawayo on 1 March
to organise the
stayaway.
Party colleagues Thokozane
Khupe, the MP for Makokoba, and Abednico
Bhebhe, the MP for Nkayi, said they
had heard reports that the police were
looking for
them.
Blessing Chebundo, the MP for
Kwekwe, and six other party supporters
were arrested at the MDC's offices in
the city last Friday for allegedly
possessing dangerous
weapons.
Chebundo yesterday said they were
only released the following day
after the police failed to locate the alleged
weapons. Said Chebundo: "The
police said they had information to the fact
that I had some explosives in
my car, but when I challenged them to search
the car they refused to do so.
"Instead,
they continued interrogating us about plans by the MDC to
stage another mass
protest.
"We were then ordered to provide
all our personal details to the
police before we were released the following
day. "
Soon after the mass stayaway, the
MDC issued an ultimatum to the
government to restore the rule of law by
yesterday or face civil unrest.
On Sunday,
Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, said the government had
failed to comply
with the 15 demands that formed the basis of the
ultimatum.
He said the opposition party
was now contemplating its next move in
the wake of the expiry of the
deadline.
President Mugabe, equating
himself to the German butcher of the Nazi
era, Adolf Hitler, last month
ordered State security agents to crush any
dissenting
voices.
"This is yet another sign of panic
by a regime that is conscious of
its unpopularity," Paul Themba-Nyathi, the
MDC's spokesman, said.
"This nervousness
stems from realising that the war they have been
waging against the people is
lost. These are the last kicks of this
dying
regime."
Commenting on the MDC's
ultimatum, Professor Heneri Dzinotyiwei, a
political analyst, said: "I have a
feeling we have a situation where there
is a wait -and see- attitude on both
sides. I don't think there seems to be
a clear direction on what is happening
at the moment."
In Harare, police mounted
roadblocks on all major roads leading into
the city centre. They searched
people for weapons.
Commuters along the
Borrowdale, Chitungwiza, Domboshawa and Simon
Mazorodze roads found without
identity cards were allegedly harassed as the
police conducted body
searches.
The police reportedly forced
them to roll on the tarmac as punishment.
Asked whether it was constitutional for the police to demand the
production
of identity cards, Kembo Mohadi, the Minister of Home Affairs,
remarked:
"What's unconstitutional about a roadblock? What's the reason for
issuing you
with an identity card if you are not going to be asked to
produce it at any
one time?"
He referred further questions
to Augustine Chihuri, the Commissioner
of Police, whom he said had deployed
the police.
The MDC has, however, vowed to
go ahead with the mass action as it was
reportedly making final consultations
with its members.
Themba-Nyathi said: "The
roadblocks only confirm we live in a Police
State and the nature of the
repressive and dictatorial State we are
currently exposed
to."
On Friday, Mohadi said the police had
been deployed in Kuwadzana and
Highfield to maintain peace during the
by-elections.
Daily
News
Ndlovu faces trial for threat
to Asians
4/1/2003 3:05:20 AM
(GMT +2)
Court
Reporter
ZIMBABWE National Liberation War
Veterans' Association secretary for
projects, Andrew Ndlovu, who is serving a
three-year jail term for
corruption charges, will stand trial on 29 May for
threatening the Asian
community in Mutare last
year.
The ruling followed Ndlovu's
application for the State to withdraw
charges against him since he had been
on remand for the past 10 months.
In his
application, Ndlovu also said it was only fair for the Court to
throw away
the charges because some of the witnesses, who are mostly whites,
had left
the country while others had died.
Magistrate, Judith Tsamba, said it was not proper to throw away the
charges,
but the trial court was going to decide whether there was evidence
linking
him to the offence or not and would act on its
findings.
According to the State, sometime
in April last year, Ndlovu, 46,
allegedly wrote and printed a document
entitled: Operation Liberation,
Indians Watch
Out.
It is alleged the document was meant
to endanger, promote or expose to
hatred, contempt or ridicule a group of the
Indian community, thus
contravening the Public Order
and
Security
Act.
Ndlovu stated in his document that
the Asian and Indian communities
should surrender part of their properties in
all cities around the country
to the government. He alleged the Indians were
sabotaging the economy by
dealing in foreign
currency.
Daily
News
IMF demands stability before
resuming talks
4/1/2003 2:42:18
AM (GMT +2)
By Colleen Gwari Business
Reporter
THE government has to restore
economic and political stability before
it can entertain any hopes of
accessing balance of payments support from the
World Bank (WB) and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ohene Nyanin, the WB country manager for Zambia and Zimbabwe
yesterday
described stability and investor confidence as critical for the
resumption
of talks with the Bretton Woods
institutions.
He said Zimbabweans must
also reach a consensus on how pressing
political and economic problems
besetting the southern African country could
be resolved, before engaging the
international community.
"Certainly there
is need for continued dialogue so as to bring the
international community
back on board," Nyanin told journalists in
Harare.
Nyanin was in Harare for a two-day
visit, during which he signed a
US$55 million (Z$3 billion at the official
exchange rate) memorandum of
understanding with the African Capacity Building
Foundation (ACBF).
The money would be
provided to ACBF over five years to build human and
institutional capacity as
well as for fighting poverty throughout
sub-Saharan
Africa.
Zimbabwe was suspended from WB
support schemes in the 1990s owing to
its failure to pay accrued arrears. The
country is failing to clear its
arrears with the WB because of a critical
shortage of foreign currency.
The crisis
was caused by donor fatigue following the violent and
chaotic land reform
exercise initiated by the government after the massive
rejection of the draft
constitution in February 2000. The land reform
exercise had a negative impact
on the country's agro-based economy resulting
in poor export
performance.
First to pull the plug was
the IMF, followed by the donor community,
who had poured
in
billions of dollars in aid and
concessionary loans.
Nyanin said the
Bretton Woods institutions were not getting support
from the government,
which is currently under mounting political
pressure.
"Of high priority to the
government at the moment are the agrarian
reforms," he
said.
He said: "It is interesting to note
that Zimbabweans are now beginning
to talk to each other. Although the
economic revival programme is a positive
thing, it is just the first step.
There are other broader issues that need
to be tackled at policy
level."
The WB official said Zimbabwe has
a strong human resources base and
infrastructure that can be used to revive
its waning economic fortunes.
Nyanin said
there were encouraging developments locally, such as the
launch of the
economic recovery programme. Nyanin's sentiments, however,
indicated that
Zimbabwe could be far from winning international
support.
The government insists that
problems facing the country are a direct
result of British resistance to the
land reform exercise. The government
views the controversial land reform as
the panacea to the problems facing
the country.
Daily
News
Load-shedding hits
industry
4/1/2003 2:41:42 AM (GMT
+2)
By Hama Saburi Business
Editor
A SPATE of company closures and
retrenchments is looming on the back
of load-shedding, which has cost the
business sector hundreds of millions of
dollars in lost
revenue.
Load-shedding has had
adverse effects on critical sectors,
particularly mining, agriculture and
manufacturing, which contribute at
least 45 percent of the gross domestic
product (GDP).
GDP is basically the total
value of goods produced by a country.
"Production is being interrupted at a time when capacity utilisation
is low
and companies are grappling to secure fuel and foreign
currency.
"A number of companies
temporarily closed on Wednesday last week, only
to open on Friday because of
load-shedding," said Antony Mandiwanza,
president of the Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).
Consumers were
last week caught unawares when the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority
(Zesa) started rationing electricity.
Zesa
is slowly being cut off by regional electricity suppliers because
of its
failure to clear arrears.
As of June last
year, Zesa owed US$24 million (Z$13,2 billion at the
official exchange rate).
Zesa is struggling to raise foreign currency needed
to service the foreign
debt.
The CZI boss hinted yesterday that
industry may not continue to absorb
losses incurred from disruptions in power
supplies.
Workers could be retrenched to
reduce the wage bill, while some
companies could wind up operations.
Unemployment is currently estimated at
above 70
percent.
Industry is now concerned about
the possibility of losing export
markets should it fail to honour existing
contracts.
Load-shedding has however
brought big business to some sectors.
For
instance, manufactures of electricity generators as well as coal
and firewood
merchants, are cashing in on
load-shedding.
David Murangari, Chamber of
Mines chief executive, described the
situation in the mining sector as "very
bad".
Murangari said: "We are compiling
information on the impact of
load-shedding on our
members."
Load-shedding has also affected
agricultural activities throughout
the
country.
Farmers had started
preparing land for tobacco seedlings, while the
season for winter wheat
cropping is only two months away.
Farmers
are dependent on electricity for irrigation, repair and
maintenance and
lighting greenhouses.
Fears are that the
country, which is coming out of recent consecutive
droughts, could suffer a
drastic decline in winter and tobacco hectarage
should load-shedding
continue.
This would put more pressure on
the fiscus as the Minister of Finance
and Economic Development, Dr Herbert
Murerwa, would have to raise foreign
exchange needed to import
wheat.
Efforts to contain inflation would
also come to nought because the
resultant shortages of basic goods would
drive up prices.
"It will become difficult
to contain inflation when you have lower
production," said trade and economic
consultant, Samuel Undenge.
Undenge urged
Zesa to seek alternatives to cushion
industry.
One way of doing it would be for
Zesa to conduct a sector-by-sector
analysis, where critical industries would
be given preference over others.
Companies
can also contribute to the payment of Zesa debts by paying
part of their
electricity bills in foreign currency.
Much depends on the government, which should put in place effective
policies
to ensure the generation of adequate foreign
exchange.
Initiatives introduced so far
under the Tripartite Negotiating Forum,
came a little
late.
Bulawayo-based chartered accountant
Eric Bloch said industry could
collapse if a solution is not found
soon.
"It means a tremendous disaster to
industrial operations," he said,
adding that it was only logically for
foreign suppliers to cut off supplies
to Zesa because of the parastatal's
failure to service its debts.
Mugabe's
opposition celebrates poll wins
Andrew Meldrum in
Harare
Tuesday April 1, 2003
The Guardian
Zimbabwe's main
opposition party celebrated crucial byelection victories in
the capital
yesterday, billing them as a springboard for mass action to
topple President
Robert Mugabe.
"This is only the beginning of the struggle to recapture the
stolen
presidential poll, so that the sovereignty of the people of Zimbabwe
is
consolidated," the Movement for Democratic Change's president,
Morgan
Tsvangirai, said after his party's two victories.
"In the days
ahead we shall be working frantically to put in place
strategies that will
rid the country of the crises that stem largely from
the illegitimacy of the
Mugabe regime."
Political tensions rose across the country, as the MDC's
vice-president,
Gibson Sibanda, was arrested in Bulawayo and Harare was
surrounded by armed
roadblocks. Extra army units guarded Mr Mugabe's official
residence.
Despite unprecedented state violence, widespread intimidation
and evidence
of massive vote-rigging, the opposition retained its
parliamentary seats in
two townships of Harare, where the ruling party holds
none of the 19 seats.
"We won! They used every trick in the book but they
still could not defeat
us," an exultant MDC supporter, Derek Madharani, said.
"We are celebrating
in the streets. People are so happy. We know the army
will come and beat us
tonight, but we don't care."
Mr Mugabe's party,
with 95 seats, enjoys a comfortable majority in the
150-strong parliament and
victory in the two byelections would have taken it
a step closer towards the
two-thirds majority it needs to enact
constitutional changes.
Mr
Tsvangirai yesterday warned that his party intended to launch mass
action
against the government. The MDC had issued an ultimatum to the
government to
restore democracy and human rights by yesterday or face a
popular uprising.
"The people of Zimbabwe must now be on permanent
alert," he said. "They must
be ready to heed the call for the final demand on
the Mugabe regime to be
accountable to the people and to restore their
sovereign right to be
governed by a government of their own choice. This will
be the final push
that will restore our sovereignty, liberty and
freedom."
Gibson Sibanda, a trade unionist, was arrested in Bulawayo
early yesterday.
He was expected to be charged under the draconian security
laws for
organising a successful, largely peaceful, two-day national strike
last
month.
His arrest could be a prelude to jailing Mr Tsvangirai.
Calls by government
leaders for Mr Tsvangirai to be put behind bars were
prominently reported
throughout the weekend on state television, radio and in
the newspapers. The
home affairs minister, Kembo Mohadi, who is in charge of
the police, said
the courts should revoke the bail of the MDC leader, who is
on trial for
treason.
The two parliamentary victories were in Harare's
low-income residential
areas of Highfield and Kuwadzana. The MDC candidate in
Highfield defeated
the war veteran Joseph Chinotimba, notorious for inciting
violence on farms
and in the capital, by a vote of 8,759 to 4,844. In
Kuwadzana, a popular MDC
youth leader routed the ruling party's candidate by
12,548 votes to 5,002.
The relatively low turnout of just over 30% of
registered voters was blamed
on the high levels of intimidation. Gangs of
youths from the ruling Zanu-PF
party patrolled the voting queues in violation
of election regulations,
sometimes chasing away people coming to vote,
according to independent poll
observers.
Electoral fraud could spark violent
backlash warns Tsvangirai
Staff Reporter, Financial Gazette,
Zimbabwe
HARARE, 1 April 2003
Indications of
electoral manipulation or fraud during last weekend's
Highfield and Kuwadzana
by-elections could precipitate a violent backlash
from opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters, MDC
president Morgan Tsvangirai has
warned.
HARARE: Addressing journalists in the capital, Tsvangirai urged
his
supporters to remain calm, but warned that his party's followers might
not
be willing to wait for the MDC leadership to decide on a course of action
if
they believed the polls were rigged.
He said: "Let (Registrar
General Tobaiwa) Mudede and ZANU PF be warned that
subverting the will of the
people could be counter-productive. People will
react swiftly if their wishes
are overridden.
"They should understand that the MDC is getting stronger
by the day. Our
supporters are determined to carry out this struggle to its
logical
conclusion (and) ZANU PF should not tempt our supporters by rigging
the
elections."
The MDC has accused the ruling ZANU PF of rigging the
2000 parliamentary
elections, last year's presidential poll and several other
elections since
1999.
Mudede and ZANU PF officials have denied the
allegations.
The MDC has however challenged the results of the 2000 and
2003 polls in the
courts and last week gave President Robert Mugabe an
ultimatum to take steps
that would result in a "legitimate" government in
Zimbabwe or face mass
action.
Repression will never stop people from
acting
The ultimatum, which gave the government until the end of March to
respond
to the opposition party's demands, came at the end of a two-day job
stayaway
called by the MDC. The mass action brought most of industry to a
halt.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai accused the government of taking retaliatory
action
against MDC supporters and members of the public for the
stayaway.
He said the police had detained more than 500 MDC supporters
and officials
since the end of the mass action.
"Repression has never
restrained people from acting," the MDC leader told
journalists. "If at all,
it has put people in a more determined position to
confront this regime. No
amount of beatings or thuggery is going to
discourage people from engaging in
an agenda that will see this regime out.
"It is only six days to go and
we not retreating from these demands (issued
last week). Neither are we
retreating from the ultimatum. We urge our
supporters to remain calm because
the deadline is fast approaching. The
party will define the content and form
of the next action."
Meanwhile, the country's labour watchdog, the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trader
Unions (ZCTU) this week also slammed the security
forces for violence
against members of the public.
Members of the army
and police are reported to have assaulted several people
in the past week in
what commentators say is retaliation for last week's
stayaway.
ZCTU
secretary general Wellington Chibhebhe said his organisation had
appealed to
Defence Forces Commander Vitalis Zvinavashe and Police
Commissioner Augustine
Chihuri to rein in their subordinates.
Chibhebhe said: "ZCTU expresses
its concern on the conduct of the uniformed
forces of indiscriminately
harassing and beating up innocent citizens of
Zimbabwe. In a retribution
exercise aimed at people who are alleged to have
taken part or organised the
recent job stayaway, the police are
indiscriminately arresting, harassing and
torturing law abiding citizens in
an effort to appease the government and the
ruling ZANU PF party.
"It is only a matter of time before the people of
this country take the law
into their own hands and the leaders of the
security forces will have to
take the blame if the security situation
deteriorates."
The police and the army have denied that they are involved
in a retaliatory
exercise
The Australian
US rights report
blasts 'axis of evil'
From correspondents in Washington
April 01,
2003
THE United States today accused China's rulers
of grievously suppressing
basic freedoms and rapped "axis of evil" foes Iraq,
Iran and North Korea for
what it said were gross human rights
abuses.
The US State Department has published its annual survey on global
human
rights as the Bush administration was embroiled in war with Iraq,
military
clashes in Afghanistan and a global anti-terrorism
campaign.
An angry response is always guaranteed from targeted
governments.
But extra controversy could be generated, with the Bush
administration
accused of causing civilian deaths in Iraq and criticised for
its treatment
of detainees from its anti-terrorism war.
However, US
Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington would not shrink
from its
commitment to point out human rights abuses wherever they
occur.
"Our country was founded on the
precept that freedom is the birthright of
every human being, and America is
proud to serve as a force for freedom
across the globe," he said, unveiling
the report which covers 2002.
China is no stranger to US criticism on
human rights.
This year's report said its record was still poor but
highlighted several
areas where repression had eased slightly.
The
report noted the communist government's permission for senior envoys
of
Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit Beijing.
But it
said those positive developments were undermined by the arrests of
democracy
activists, the imposition of death sentences without due process
on two
Tibetans, and the trials of labour leaders on subversion
charges.
"Authorities were quick to suppress religious, political, and
social groups,
as well as individuals, that they perceived to be a threat to
government
power, or to national stability," the report said.
It also
contained a new broadside of criticism aimed at Iraq.
"(Iraqi President)
Saddam Hussein's regime is a classic illustration of the
fact that such
regimes, which ruthlessly violate the rights of their
citizens, tend to pose
the greatest threats to international peace and
stability," Powell
said.
Israel and the Palestinians both got a ticking off.
The
report noted "problems" with Israel's treatment of Israeli Arabs, while
it
accused the Palestinian Authority of having a poor human rights record
and
continuing "to commit numerous, serious abuses".
The report said members
of the Palestinian security forces and Yasser
Arafat's Fatah faction of the
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) took
part in anti-Israel violence and
terrorist attacks.
More criticism was heaped on Central Asian states,
including Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
All were accused
of sharpening state control over dissent, more than a
decade into the
post-Soviet era.
Burma, a frequent target of US scorn, earned new black
marks, as the report
lauded the bravery of democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
"Her tremendous strength of character stands boldly in the face of
the
military regime's disregard for human rights and democracy, a disregard
that
extends to abuses such as extrajudicial killings, rapes,
disappearances,
forced labour and forced relocations," the report
said.
With the US locked in a nuclear showdown with North Korea, the
report took
the opportunity to highlight what it said was the use by Kim
Jong-Il's
regime of torture, forced abortion and capital punishment as
instruments of
state power.
The human rights record of the third
member of President George W Bush's
"axis of evil", Iran, "remained poor and
deteriorated substantially during
the year, despite continuing efforts within
society to make the government
accountable for its human rights policies,"
the report said.
"Systematic abuses included summary executions;
disappearances; widespread
use of torture and other degrading treatment,
reportedly including rape;
severe punishments such as stoning and flogging;
harsh prison conditions;
arbitrary arrest and detention; and prolonged and
incommunicado detention,"
it said.
The report also ripped into
Zimbabwe's human rights record, accusing
President Robert Mugabe's government
of conducting an intentional,
systematic campaign of abuses.
The
report accused the government of extrajudicial killings as well as
beatings,
rapes and torture, restricting freedoms of speech and the press,
undermining
the judicial system and failing to crack down on blatant
rights
abuses.