Tests show no cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Health News
Aug 27, 2009, 6:52 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe's health ministry said Thursday that samples taken from 12
suspected cholera patients had proved negative, ending fears that a new
cholera outbreak had erupted.

The state-run daily Herald newspaper quoted Health Ministry Permanent
Secretary Gerald Gwinji as saying that initial reports from the south-east
Chipinge district early this week were treated as cholera cases while
laboratory tests were being conducted.

Zimbabwe has just emerged from a severe cholera epidemic, the worst in
Africa for decades, which infected nearly 100,000 and killed 4,300.

Results on Tuesday showed all samples negative for cholera, Gwinji said.

Medical aid agencies have warned that the conditions for a rapid spread of
the cholera bacteria remain in Zimbabwe, given the country's decrepit water
and sewage disposal infrastructures in crowded urban areas.

Beer may have caused cholera scare

Photo: microbiologybytes

Cholera anxiety

JOHANNESBURG, 27 August 2009 (IRIN) - A suspected cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe's eastern province of Manicaland has proved a false alarm. About a dozen people reported suffering from cholera-like symptoms between 6 and 20 August in Chipinge district, about 300km southeast of the capital, Harare.

However, a report by the World Health Organization representative in Zimbabwe, Custodia Mandlhate, said "Samples taken from ... five cases tested negative for cholera."

A cholera outbreak that lasted nearly a year, claimed more than 4,000 lives and recorded nearly 100,000 cases of the waterborne disease was declared at an end in July 2009, but the conditions causing the epidemic - broken water and sanitation systems - have been keeping aid agencies on alert as infrastructure remains dilapidated and the disease is expected to return.

The cause of the diarrhoeal illness in Chipinge district was suspected as "severe food poisoning, as a number of the patients reported attending local beer parties prior to developing symptoms," Mandlhate noted.

"This is in agreement with a report from the District Nursing Officer and District Environmental Health Officer, who indicated that the patients seen had yellowish diarrhoea, or mucoid diarrhoea, and not whitish 'rice-water' diarrhoea consistent with cholera," the report commented.

Investigations into the cause of the illness are ongoing.

Zuma arrives in Harare aiming to settle coalition disputes

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Africa News
Aug 27, 2009, 18:43 GMT

Harare - South African President Jacob Zuma arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday
for his first visit since being inaugurated three months ago, amid hopes
that he will get President Robert Mugabe to agree to carry out undertakings
to end violent harassment of his partners in government and accept
democratic reforms.

He was met at Harare international airport by Mugabe and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, senior partners in the six-month-old coalition
government.

Officials said Zuma would hold separate meetings with them and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, leader of the breakaway faction of Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change.

Zuma is guest of honour of the power-sharing government to open the annual
Harare agricultural show on Friday, but observers say far more important are
the series of meetings with the three principles of the government.

The government is under strain as Tsvangirai accuses the 85-year- old Mugabe
of failing to honour obligations he signed up to in September last year in
the agreement between the three leaders.

MDC officials say Mugabe appears to be intent on continuing to run the
country as a repressive one-party state.

Earlier Thursday, Tsvangirai said they would meet with Zuma and see if some
form of finality can be reached on the implementation of the agreement.

Zuma's departure for Harare was preceded by remarks by Gwede Mantashe,
secretary-general of South Africa's ruling African National Congress, that
Mugabe was responsible for deviant behaviour and that he expected Zuma to
express vocal criticism of Mugabe.

Earlier, Zuma has already described the issues raised by Tsvangirai as very
weighty. Last month Tsvangirai travelled to South Africa where he complained
to to Zuma, as the chairman of the Southern African Development Community,
the regional bloc that brokered the agreement last year.

He cited Mugabe's violations of the agreement, that include the unilateral
appointment of cronies as central bank chief and attorney general, the
constant harassment of MDC legislators and resistance to democratic reforms.

More aid likely after Zuma visit, Mangoma

Zuma to hold meetings with Zimbabwe principals Thursday evening

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
26 August 2009

Jacob Zuma makes his first visit to Zimbabwe as South African President on
Thursday, to meet with the partners in inclusive government. The outgoing
SADC chair is expected to hold separate meetings with the three principals
and then attend a banquet at State House late Thursday. Zuma is also in the
country to open the Harare Agricultural Show on Friday.
The South African President's visit follows concerns raised by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai about the slow pace of reforms and delays in
implementing the Global Political Agreement by ZANU PF, especially over the
issue of the appointment of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney
General.
Government sources said the South African President is going to hold his
first meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, to see if there
is corroboration on the 'complaints' made by Tsvangirai. The Prime Minister's
spokesperson, James Maridadi, said Zuma was expected to meet Tsvangirai at
7:30pm and then hold a meeting with all the principals after the separate
meeting.
However other sources said Zuma will only decide if there is a necessity to
hold a joint meeting with the principals, after he has had a solo meeting
with Robert Mugabe.
Insiders say Mugabe was extremely annoyed that the MDC appealed to SADC to
break the political deadlock, as he insists on solving the 'toxic issues'
internally. It's believed that Mugabe is now using the fact that the MDC
have appealed to SADC as a further excuse to delay dealing with the
outstanding issues. An MDC minister, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said: "Although the principals had resolved the other outstanding issues
regarding the swearing in of governors and Deputy Minister Roy Bennett,
Mugabe is behaving like a child and is deliberately delaying the
implementation because he is now saying 'let's see what SADC will do'. It is
clear that SADC will not do anything because nobody in SADC has the guts to
tell Mugabe what to do."
However, much hope is being placed on Zuma taking a hard-line stance on
Mugabe, but critics are sceptical, especially as his term as SADC chair
expires in less than two weeks. The new chair will be President of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila. Because of this, analysts
believe nothing significant will come out of SADC because Kabila views
Mugabe as a father figure and is indebted to him for his support during
Congo's 'war'.

Mugabe's party blames sanctions for Zimbabwe's woes

http://www.businessday.co.za


Sapa-AFP  Published: 2009/08/27 12:10:48 PM

WESTERN sanctions on Zimbabwe are interfering with the work of the new unity
government, President Robert Mugabe's party said today ahead of a visit by
South African leader Jacob Zuma .

"Our position is very clear. We hope our principal, President Robert Mugabe,
tells President Zuma that the outstanding issues are that of sanctions and
external interference," said Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Mugabe's
lead negotiator in the unity talks.

Chinamasa insisted that his party had met its obligations under the unity
accord, known as the Global Political Agreement, and dismissed concerns
raised by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the erstwhile opposition
party that is now a partner in the strained unity government.

"The so-called outstanding issues, which are the issues of the (Central
Bank) governor and the attorney general, are nowhere in the Global Political
Agreement," he told AFP.

"This is meant to distract attention from the inclusive government," he
said. "There is continued external interference in our private affairs."
Mugabe joined a unity government in February with MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai as prime minister.

The former rivals remain deadlocked over the appointment of the Central Bank
chief, blamed for presiding over the collapse of the local currency, and the
attorney general who continues to prosecute MDC supporters despite
guarantees of political freedoms in the unity accord.

Zuma is due in Harare later today at the start of a 2-day trip to meet with
Zimbabwe's leaders in a bid to ease the tensions while pushing for a deal to
facilitate South African investment in the cash-strapped economy.

Political power not for sharing, Mutasa

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21793

August 27, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Zanu-PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa says
Zimbabweans should not be fooled into believing that power in the current
inclusive government was meant to be shared equally between President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mutasa, who is Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, further says that
his party will never allow former opposition leader, Tsvangirai's party, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), to use the current constitution making
process to dethrone the 85-year-old President.

"Cde Mugabe is the head of the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe,"
Mutasa told ZBC TV Wednesday.

"He is the President of this country. He is the man who chairs our cabinet.
He is the one who tells all of us, including the Prime Minister, what should
be done."

Mutasa said the MDC was responsible for the poverty and starvation that was
currently being experienced in Zimbabwe.

He said this was a result of western imposed sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe
which he claimed the MDC had invited.

Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC beat Mugabe in the March 29, 2008 presidential
elections but was forced to pull out of a contrived run off election, citing
the impossibility of holding a free and fair election at the height of
state-sponsored violence which decimated his party's structures and left 180
supporters and activists dead.

The unity agreement signed between Zanu-PF and the two MDC parties created
the post of Prime Minister which, although leaving Mugabe as head of state,
also allowed him to enjoy executive powers.

It listed the constitution-making process as one of its key priorities.

Beyond the 18 month period set aside for the drafting of the new document,
Zimbabwe is expected to call for free and fair elections.

But Mutasa says his party was aware of the MDC's ploy to use the new
constitution as a silent strategy to dethrone Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole leader
since independent in 1980.

Mutasa said the MDC had made it clear in its policy documents that the
constitution-making process was but "a phase in their quest for total regime
change in Zimbabwe".

Mutasa, a hardliner and one of President Mugabe's surviving old timers and
closest allies, made the comments after presiding over a workshop attended
by Zanu-PF parliamentarians in Harare Wednesday on the current
constitutional process .

"He told the parliamentarians never to lose sight of the original objectives
of the internal opposition and their western sponsors," said the ZBC.

"Cde Mutasa said Zanu-PF is aware of the falsehoods the opposition
formations are peddling stating that Zanu-PF will never rise to rule
Zimbabwe again and that the new constitution will mark the end of the
 party."

During the workshop, Mutasa is said to have "reminded Zanu-PF MPs on the
need to be clear on the objectives of the British and their Western allies
in the constitution-making process".

According to the ZBC, the workshop focused on things to do with the
"constitutional history from Lancaster to the Kariba Draft, the party's core
issue in the constitutional-making process as well as communication and
mobilisation strategies".

Cde Mutasa also quoted recent utterances made by the MDC-T activist Eddie
Cross who boasted that the opposition has successfully completed the initial
phases of regime change which included forcing a transitional arrangement,"
said the ZBC.

"Mutasa said Zanu-PF as a tried and tested party will never allow the new
constitution to be tailor-made by western governments who have since
proclaimed their hidden agenda of effecting a regime change in Zimbabwe."

The constitution making process has taken off to a bumpy start, following
continued resistance from Zanu-PF.

A stakeholders conference called in July this year to kick-start the process
was disrupted by hordes of Zanu-PF supporters who vowed they would never
allow it to proceed, claiming it was a process intended to seek the
overthrow of Mugabe.

Self-styled war veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba and Zvimba East legislator
Patrick Zhuwawu, nephew to Mugabe, had marched at the head of a throng of
Zanu-PF activists into Harare's Rainbow Towers, venue for the conference.

The mob chanted party slogans and threw water bottles at the top table,
which was occupied by both Zanu-PF and MDC politicians.

President Mugabe is keen on imposing the Kariba Draft Constitution, a
constitution proposal authored by representatives of the three main parties
in Zimbabwe in 2007.

The controversial document leaves Mugabe's powers intact.

Douglas Mwonzora, one of the co-chairs of the parliamentary select committee
on the constitution-making process said Mugabe had nothing to benefit from a
new constitution which is most likely to reduce his powers.

The MDC says the constitution-making process is key to the restoration of
the rule of law and basic freedoms in the country.

Tsvangirai, in spite of the apparent failure by Zanu-PF politicians to
recognise his authority, has tried to calm nerves and pretend the inclusive
government is working.

Global diamond trade monitor warns of Zim suspension

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
27 August 2009

The World Diamond Council (WDC), the group representing the diamond industry
in the mainly politicised Kimberley Process (KP), warned this week that it
would add its voice to the growing calls for Zimbabwe's suspension from the
international diamond trade.
The warnings come as the Chiadzwa diamond fields remain under the violent
control of the military, despite recent recommendations by a KP delegation
that the government demilitarise the zone. The delegation which toured
Zimbabwe in July, further recommended a six-month suspension from the KP,
according to a leaked interim report. But the recommendations have been
completely ignored, and the campaign of terror unleashed on locals and
diamond panners in Chiadzwa has intensified.
The original motive for the delegations visit came on the back of widespread
accounts of torture, abuse and killings at the hands of the military, with
the government said to be benefiting from the plunder of the gems. But the
abuse has continued, and rights groups and NGOs have renewed their calls for
the KP to suspend the country until effective controls are in place.
However, last week chair of the KP, Nigerian Mines Minister Bernhard Esau
said such calls, including those made by other governments who are party to
the KP, would not be taken seriously.
Esau, who was in Zimbabwe last week to conduct yet another review of the
country's complicity with international diamond trade standards, told
journalists that there had been recommendations made about 'voluntary
suspension', but no consensus had been reached on the matter.
"Yes there are members of the Kimberly process trying to convince other
members to suspend Zimbabwe but we will not entertain such (calls)," said
Esau.
The WDC has since said it would add its voice to the calls for Zimbabwe's
suspension, arguing that the KP itself has lost its effectiveness to stem
the trade in conflict diamonds. In the past few years, criticism of the KP
has grown and focused mainly on its inability to successfully halt trade by
renegade countries such as Venezuela, or investigate 'odd' rough diamond
trade and take appropriate action, as with Lebanon. WDC President and CEO
Eli Izhakoff echoed some of these complaints on Thursday, telling SW Radio
Africa the way the KP is managed needs to change. He explained that a major
obstacle is the unanimous vote requirement, which prevents crucial decisions
such as a member country's suspension from the body, from being made.
"Changing from consensus to a majority vote, something like a two thirds
majority would untangle some of the problems tying down KP," Izhakoff said.

The KP has a new president every year, until now always a government
official, often a person with little or no knowledge of the diamond
industry. Izhakoff said such a system needs to be changed to prevent
decisions being made possible from a political motive. He explained that the
WDC would add its considerable weight to calls for Zimbabwe to be suspended
from the KP, if the Chiadzwa diamond fields remain under full control of the
military."

"It is essential that the Zimbabwe government acts now to restore security
at the diamond fields and re-establish compliance with the Kimberley
Process," Izhakoff said. He added: "We don't want to be forced to make the
call for the suspension, but we will have no choice if it does not happen."
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the government has partnered with four people
said to be 'crooks', to extract diamonds from the already tightly controlled
diamond fields. Although there is no way to confirm the claims as of yet, it
is understood that one of the new partners, a South African, is somehow
doing business from inside prison. At the same time, a company that owns
part of the diamond fields is reportedly determined to fight hard, to ensure
that the diamonds extracted by the government partnership with the 'crooks',
will find no market.

Chinotimba has court in stitches of laughter

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21816

August 27, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Joseph Chinotimba, the self-styled leader of war veterans reduced a
magistrate's court in Harare to stitches of laughter on Wednesday as he led
evidence in the trial of government minister, Thamsanqa Mahlangu.

The trial commenced at the Harare Magistrates' Courts.

Mahlangu, who is the Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment
Deputy Minister and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) National Youth
Chairman, is jointly charged with his personal assistant Malvern Chadamoyo
as well as two Hwange women, Geraldine Phiri and Patience Nyoni.

The four are on trial for allegedly stealing a cell phone belonging to
Chinotimba.

In his evidence in chief Chinotimba, one of the State witnesses in the case
and a militant member of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who became
infamous for leading farm violent invasions back in 2002 told Harare
Magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini that he was "very pained by the loss" of his
cell phone.

People attending the court, who included prosecutors, journalists and
supporters of the MDC, occasionally broke into fits of laughter as
Chinotimba led his testimony. Even the magistrate was no exception.

"Value reZimdollar ranga rakungotsvedza-tsvedza nemaquantillion anga avako.
On Saturday (18 July 2009) ndakafonera Chamisa ndichimuudza kuti munodireiko
kuita mwoyo wakashata because foni yangu irikushandiswa nemunhu wenyu weMDC.
Ndakaudza mapurisa kuti vharai foni yangu vanoshanja nayo mapurisa akati
rega vaite mutambarakede," said Chinotimba in the vernacular Shona language.
(The value of the Zimbabwe dollar had been sliding down and we were talking
in terms of quintillions. On Saturday I put a call through to Chamisa and I
said to him, 'Why are you MDC people so hard-hearted because one of you is
using my phone.' I told the police to switch off my phone before it was put
to mischievous use. The police said let them amuse themselves.)

Apart from being a war veteran leader, the controversial Chinotimba, who
runs a security company, has served as an official advisor to the governor
of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono. Despite his lofty position in
the war veteran community, Chinotimba did not serve in the war of liberation
that brought Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. He was a low-ranking municipal
policeman with Harare City Council in 2000 when he went away without
official leave to join the late Chenjerai Hunzvi in spearheading the violent
invasion of white-owned commercial farms.

He never donned a municipal policeman's uniform again.

Speaking mainly in the vernacular Chinotimba attempted to direct the court
during cross-examination by defence lawyers Charles Kwaramba and Phillip
Nyakutombwa.

Chinotimba said the police had recovered his sim card from Phiri and Nyoni
and his mobile handset from Mahlangu, who had allegedly surrendered it to
Saviour Kasukuwere, the Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and
Empowerment.

Chinotimba said in tracking down the culprits the police led by Detective
Inspector Henry Dowa had obtained a print-out from NetOne, his mobile
service provider, which detailed all the telephone calls made from his sim
card by the two women.

The war veteran leader also implicated Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesperson
and Minister of Information, Communication and Technology in the case. He
told Jarabini that he had informed Chamisa that members of his party whom he
had shared the same table with at a conference held last month at the
Rainbow Towers Hotel had stolen his mobile phone handset, a Nokia 2310.

Chinotimba, who put the value of the mobile handset and sim card at US$40
and US$10 respectively said Chamisa had informed him that he had inquired
from and had engaged Mahlangu about the stolen cell phone. Mahlangu had
informed him that he had not taken Chinotimba's cell phone.

Chinotimba told the court that he had incurred a bill estimated at between
US$35 and US$40 after Phiri and Nyoni made calls using his sim card.

Inspector Dowa and another State witness, Cecilia Chimbiri, the information
officer in Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara's office, are scheduled to
also testify in court in the case.

Dowa who is attached to the Law and Order Section of the police has achieved
notoriety over the years for his role in the arrest of opposition
politicians and journalists, mostly on trumped-up charges.

State In Quandary Over Bennett's Trial

http://www.radiovop.com

Mutare, August 27, 2009 - Lawyers representing MDC's treasurer and
deputy Agriculture Minister Designate, Roy Bennett, facing treason charges,
said they have written to the Attorney General's office demanding to be
furnished with the necessary papers required for the trial to start in
October.

Trust Maanda, one of the lawyers, said he was struggling to get the
papers that were necessary for the defence team to adequately prepare for
the trial scheduled for October 13.

Maanda warned the AG's office the defence team would seek a court
order to compel the AG's office to avail the needed documents.

"We would like to advise that to date we have not received the
documents," Maanda said, in a letter written to Arnold Chiwara, the Area
Prosecutor. "In order for us to prepare for trial we urgently request that
you furnish us with the said documents before the end of the week."

"Failing to do so we shall approach the court for an order compelling
delivery of these documents."

"The delay in providing us with the papers will effectively prejudice
preparations by the defence," he said. "It confirms our initial view that
the State merely provided a trial date for fear that Bennett will be removed
from remand."

"The State is in a Catch-22 situation ..." Maanda said. "They give a
date for the trial when they are not ready."

The AG's office is reportedly said to be failing to come up with
witnesses to support its case against Bennett.

 Peter Michael Hitschmann, the former police constabulary, who
finished his jail sentence two months ago for possessing dangerous weapons
without authority, was likely to be lined up as a potential witness.
However, Hitschmann has since made it known he will not testify against
Bennett.

This, according to Maanda, effectively puts the State in a quandary
ahead of the start of the trial. Bennet faces a possible life in prison
sentence if convicted.

When the court announced the trial date, Bennet's lawyers, filed an
application seeking his removal from remand if the State was not ready with
the case.

Chiwara was not immediately available for comment as he was said to be
out of the office.

Bennett faces charges of attempting to assassinate President Mugabe as
he celebrated his birthday in this eastern border city four years ago.

Bennett denies the charges saying they are political motivated.

The MDC has formally complained to SADC about issues they feel are not
being handed properly to fulfill the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to
make the unity government a success.

South Africa's President  Jacob Zuma, who is the current SADC chair is
expected in Zimbabwe Friday to try and help resolve some of the outstanding
issues of the GPA which include a demand by the MDC to remove the AG,
Johanness Tomana and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono who MDC argue were
improperly appointed. However the government has insisted that Zuma is only
coming to officially open the country's annual agricultural show.

The AG is being accused of legally persecuting MDC top officials on
trumped-up charges.

Nkomo likely to face charges of sodomy

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21825

August 27, 2009

By Our Correspondent

BULAWAYO - Zanu-PF Chairman and National Healing Minister John Nkomo faces
the prospect of arrest on charges of sodomizing a 30-year old Bulawayo man
back in 2002.

Nkomo is being accused of sodomizing Mcedisi Twala whom he forced to flee
the country after allegedly threatening him with death. Sodomy is a crime in
Zimbabwe. Former President Canaan Banana spent time in jail after he was
convicted of sodomizing an aide.

Twala made a report to Bulawayo police last Friday upon his return from
neighbouring South Africa but the police immediately arrested and accused
him of trying to tarnish the image of the Zanu-PF chairman.

He spent five days in police custody and was only released without charge on
Wednesday.

The police finally accepted Twala's report yesterday (Thursday). They then
opened a docket against Nkomo at Ross Camp Police Station, his lawyer,
Mkululi Nyathi from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) told The
Zimbabwe Times.

In an interview with the Zimbabwe Times yesterday Twala said the incident
took place at Bulawayo's three-star Rainbow Hotel in 2002.

"I met Nkomo on a Sunday in 2002 at Centenary Park. He told me that he was
taking an evening stroll and asked me to accompany him to his hotel room to
discuss prospects of opening a studio for me. I did not suspect anything at
the time as I was impressed by his talk and simplicity.

Twala says after his traumatizing incident, the Minister and certain state
security agents had forced him to flee the country after threatening him
with death in an apparent attempt to bar him from reporting the matter to
the police.

" I was chased away from Zimbabwe by state agents and Nkomo to prevent me
from reporting that the Minister had sexually harassed me," said Twala.

"I was being telephoned; being followed and constantly being told that I
will be killed if I reported the case until I was forced to flee the
country. I returned to Zimbabwe in July and I was being chased away from
police stations for attempting to report the case."

Asked whether his clams were not political motivated, Twala said he was not
a member of any political party.

He said: "I was arrested for reporting the case on charges that I had lied.
The same people that harassed me in 2002 until I fled are the same guys that
are harassing me and threatening me with death last week."

His lawyer Nyathi said: "It is shocking that they arrested Twala without
investigating the case. However, a docket has now been opened."

"How can they dismiss Twala's allegations before launching investigations?"

When contacted for comment Nkomo said the accusations were merely a smear
campaign.

"I know the case that was reported against me but nothing like that ever
happened. This is a dirty game which I think is political," he said.

Nkomo is the current Zanu-PF national chairman. He is widely believed to be
related to President Mugabe. The President's views on homosexuality are well
documented. He is on record as describing homosexuals as "worse than pigs
and dogs".

Army steps up attacks on civilians: NGOs

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Andrew Moyo Thursday 27 August 2009

HARARE - Zimbabwe army soldiers stepped up attacks on civilians in the month
of June as the country's power-sharing government showed little desire to
act to stop rising political violence and human rights abuses,
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said this week.

In its latest report on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe
Human Right NGO Forum said cases of political violence and rights abuses
surged to 125 in June compared to 99 incidents recorded the previous May.

"The month of June saw the levels of organised violence being sustained with
little indication that the Government of National Unity (GNU) was committed
to ending human rights violations in the country," the Forum said.

It added: "Of note in the month of June, is the increase in incidents of
violence reportedly perpetrated by members of the army against civilians . .
. it is alarming that some members of the ZNA appear to be a law unto
themselves and continue to harass defenceless civilians."

The Forum brings together 17 local groups involved in human rights work and
assisting victims of organised violence. It regularly publishes reports on
politically motivated violence in strife-torn Zimbabwe.

The NGO coalition said youth militia from President Robert Mugabe's ZANU
(PF) party continued to target supporters of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's former opposition MDC party for harassment and abuse.

Farm invasions have also continued, with war veterans and top ZANU PF
officials ignoring calls by Tsvangirai stop evicting Zimbabwe's few
remaining white farmers.

The Forum said the police have maintained a tight grip on independent
journalists and on civic activity, violently breaking up peaceful marches
and demonstrations perceived as opposed to Mugabe and ZANU (PF).

Police also banned several civic activities during the month under review,
the NGO group said, in a report that appears to suggest that radical
elements in ZANU (PF) and the military establishment blamed for political
violence and that appeared to have taken a backseat soon after formation of
the unity government were on the ascendancy.

There was no immediate reaction from the government to the NGO report.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and another former opposition leader, Arthur Mutambara,
formed a power-sharing government last February to try to easy political
tensions in Zimbabwe and pave way for resuscitation of the country's once
brilliant economy.

But the unity government faces difficulties raising funds for its recovery
programmes with Western donor governments reluctant to help until the Harare
administration implements more political reforms and acts to uphold human
rights and the rule of law. (Return to home page for full report) -
ZimOnline

FULL TEXT: Political violence report for June

http://www.zimonline.co.za

Thursday 27 August 2009

24 August 2009

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Political Violence Report: June 2009

OVERVIEW

The month of June saw the levels of organised violence being sustained
with little indication that the Government of National Unity (GNU) was
committed to ending human rights violations in the country.

Disregard for the rule of law, corruption, intimidation, abuse of
political office and the militarisation of both public and private
institutions continue to dog Zimbabwe and stifle any meaningful economic
recovery.

Civic activity remained under threat as the police violently broke-up
peaceful protests and denied civic groups permission to take part in civic
activities. This report documents the harassment, arrest, detention and
beatings of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA)
members as they took part in marches to commemorate the United Nations
International Refugee Day in Harare and Bulawayo. Two student leaders were
also arrested at Masvingo Polytechnic following a protest at the campus as
the clampdown on the student movement continues. The police are also
reported to have denied clearance for a peaceful march of gender activists
who intended to advocate for greater women’s participation in the
constitution making process. The police continue to stifle free and peaceful
civic activity with brutal attacks on peaceful activists despite the
commitment by the parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which
incorporates article 18 “Security of Persons and Prevention of Violence.”

Journalists have not been spared the wrath of the security forces as
they continue to be harassed, arrested and prevented from doing their work.
This report documents the arrest and detention of three journalists as they
covered the march by members of WOZA in Harare. Two other journalists
employed by the The Worker, a Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
publication, were also arrested, detained and assaulted for covering a
protest by Municipal workers in Harare. Despite winning a landmark ruling
against the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) over the legality of the Media and
Information Commission (MIC), four free-lance journalists were reportedly
barred by security operatives from covering the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit for not being accredited. The continued
harassment and intimidation of media practitioners is a worrying trend in
the country that has prevented the opening up of media space and has limited
public access to reliable information.

Of note in the month of June, is the increase in incidents of violence
reportedly perpetrated by members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)
against civilians. This report documents attacks on villagers in Mazowe East
by members of the ZNA who are alleged to have assaulted them at their homes
at night. It is alarming that some members of the ZNA appear to be a law
unto themselves and continue to harass defenceless civilians. As
intimidation and fear continue to grip many parts of rural Zimbabwe, groups
of ZANU PF youths are still reported to be harassing members and suspected
members of the MDC, more than a year after the disputed presidential run-off
election. Retributive attacks on those who sought legal assistance and want
redress for crimes committed during the 2008 electoral violence have been
reported in some parts of the country. Intimidation of MDC members by state
agents has also continued. This report documents how three MDC members who
were part of the group of those abducted between October and December 2008,
were forcibly taken from their homes to the Attorney General’s Office. The
violence, intimidation and mistrust across the political divide continues
against the sentiments of commitment to national healing expressed publicly
by the leaders of the three parties to the GPA.

Farm invasions have taken place unabated despite numerous court
rulings and calls by the Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara for an end
to violence on commercial farms earlier in the year. The continued
involvement and implication of some senior government and ZANU PF officials
in the looting of farming equipment and produce, and in the harassment and
displacement of commercial farmers and farm workers is conspicuous, in what
can be seen as a clear abuse of office. This report documents the on-going
disturbances in the Chegutu farming area where a senior ZNA officer
Brigadier Mujaji has forcibly taken over Karori Farm in contempt of court
orders prohibiting him from settling on the farm. Also documented in this
report is the harassment of a Deputy Sheriff who was allegedly chased away
from Jijima Lodge as he attempted to evict the ZANU PF National Chairman and
Minister of State in the President’s Office for National Healing,
Reconciliation and Integration, John Nkomo. The corrupt web surrounding the
distribution of land in Zimbabwe has entangled some senior government
Ministers and Senators who over the years have allegedly acquired as many as
four farms each.

The month of June also saw a visit to Zimbabwe by Irene Khan the Head
of Amnesty International on a fact-finding mission to investigate reports of
human rights abuses and to meet with government officials. Following the
visit to Zimbabwe, Ms Khan described the human rights situation in Zimbabwe
as fragile with the continued intimidation of human rights defenders. She
noted the arrest of WOZA members even as she held a press conference in
Harare. The violence in the Marange diamond fields also came under the
spotlight when the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme carried out a visit
in May 2009 to investigate reports of violations by the ZNA in the Marange
gold fields. The Certification team noted alarming incidences of violence
against civilians in a report of the mission that described the violations
in Chiadzwa as “horrific” and documented some of the violations as “wounds,
scars from dog bites and batons, tears and ongoing psychological trauma”.

The total number of violations recorded for the month of June was 125
as compared to 99 in May. The highest number of violations was in the
category of political discrimination/intimidation/ and victimisation in
which 37 violations were recorded; a clear sign of the high levels of
political intimidation still prevalent in the country. Also of note in the
month of June is the high number of violations in the category of freedom of
association/assembly/ movement, in which 22 violations were recorded as
compared to 2 in May. This increase is also reflected in the number of
violations of unlawful arrest and unlawful detention, in which 20 violations
were recorded in each category respectively. Two cases of torture were
recorded in June.

Key Abbreviations

AIPPA – Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act

CIO – Central Intelligence Organisation

WOZA – Women of Zimbabwe Arise

ZANU PF – Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front

MDC – Movement for Democratic Change

ZCTU – Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions

MP – Member of Parliament

ZNA – Zimbabwe National Army

NCA – National Constitutional Assembly

ZPS – Zimbabwe Prison Service

OVT – Organised Violence and Torture

ZRP – Zimbabwe Republic Police

POSA – Public Order and Security Act

ZNLWVA – Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association

PTUZ – Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe

ZIMTA – Zimbabwe Teachers Association

ROHR – Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe

ZINASU – Zimbabwe National Students Union

UMP – Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe

ZUPCO – Zimbabwe United Passenger Company

Sources: The information contained in this report is derived from
statements made to the Public Interest Unit of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO
Forum, its members and statements taken by a network of human rights
activists and newspaper reports.

Notes:

Torture:

All cases of torture fall under the definition of torture according to
the general definition given in the United Nations Convention against
Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and
Punishment.

The four elements of torture are:

1 Severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental

2 Intentionally inflicted

3 With a purpose

4 By a state official or another individual acting with the
acquiescence of the state.

Those individuals referred to in point # 4 as state officials include
the ZRP, ZNA,

Unlawful arrest and detention:

Arrest by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) with no reasonable
suspicion that an offence has been committed. Detention thereafter for a
period exceeding 48 hours without access to redress through the courts or
subsequent release without charge.

Abduction/kidnapping:

A kidnapping by a member(s) of an organised group that is not the ZRP,
ZNLWVA, ZNA, ZPS and the ZNLWVA (as a reserve force of the ZNA).

Disappearance: Kidnapped persons whose whereabouts remained unknown at
the time of reporting.

Property related: These are incidents in which property rights have
been violated. This includes arson, property damage and destruction and
theft.

Cases of Political Violence

Note: The identities of victims whose names have not been published in
the press and are not public officials are protected. This is done in order
to protect the victim from further violence, intimidation and possible
recriminatory attacks.

The purpose of this report is to record the nature of the
politically-motivated violence and intimidation that continues to prevail in
the country. The Monthly Political Violence Reports are primarily based on
victims’ accounts, accompanied by medical evidence where possible, obtained
from member organisations of the Forum and other partner organisations. Use
is also made of press reports.

The Report cannot be considered as the exhaustive record of all
incidents of politically-motivated violence in Zimbabwe in the period under
review. Nevertheless, every incident reported to the Human Rights Forum
directly or through its members is meticulously documented and included in
the reports.

Care is also taken to record the incidents in the language in which
they were reported to the Forum.

The situation prevailing in the country is such that it has not been
possible to verify all of these accounts. The Human Rights Forum has done
what it can to verify the reports, and is satisfied that the vast majority
of them are substantially true. It is also not possible to rule out whether
a victim’s account is exaggerated or contains inaccuracies.

All reports derived from the press are denoted with the symbol Σ.

BULAWAYO

Bulawayo Central

17 June 2009: Seven members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men
of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) were arrested as they participated in four
simultaneous marches to mark World Refugee Day, commemorated annually on 20
June. One of the protests began outside Bulawayo Central Police Station and
the marchers converged outside the offices of the Chronicle newspaper where
they were attacked by armed anti-riot police officers. The fourth group of
protestors did not manage to converge at the offices of the Chronicle as
they were intercepted by the police while on their way there. The seven
arrested members were released on 19 June 2009 on US$20 bail each after
spending two nights in police custody, and remanded out of custody to 3 July
2009. They ere charged under section 37 (i) (a) of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform Act).

HARARE

Harare Central

5 June 2009: Chris Mahove, a journalist with The Worker newspaper
which is run by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), was arrested
while taking pictures of a protest by Harare City Council employees. He was
taken to Harare Central Police Station where he managed to call his Editor
Ben Madzimure, who was also arrested while enquiring about his colleague at
the police station. The two were reportedly assaulted while in custody and
had material captured during the protest destroyed by the police. Both
journalists were released without charge after being detained for several
hours.

17 June 2009: Four members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were
arrested during a march to commemorate World Refugee Day. The four women
were badly assaulted and sustained injuries while in police custody. One
woman sustained a broken finger, while two others were on crutches as they
were unable to walk unaided. The fourth woman sustained injuries to her ear.
All four women sustained severe deep tissue bruising from beatings. They
were released on 19 June on US$10 bail, remanded out of custody to 2 July
and ordered to report to the Law and Order section every Friday. They ere
charged under section 37 (i) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform Act). Their lawyer applied for and was granted an order for the
police to explain the injuries sustained by the four women.

17 June 2009: Three journalists were arrested while covering a
peaceful march by WOZA and the subsequent violent break-up of the march by
the police. The march was held to commemorate International Refugee Day.

They were however released without charge apparently after the police
had realized that one of the journalists was employed by the state-run
Herald newspaper.

17 June 2009: Members of the anti-riot police seized a female victim
and her nine-month old baby during a march by WOZA to mark World Refugee
Day. It is alleged that the woman was dragged into a room full of police
officers inside Parliament where her baby was un-strapped from her back, and
placed on the floor before the police officers took turns to assault her.
She was later taken to Harare Central Police Station where she was released
without charge after WOZA members who were in police custody confirmed that
she was not a member of their group.

thezimbabwestandard.com

20 June 2009: Σ.The police reportedly refused permission to gender
activists from all over the country who had intended to march in Harare to
demand greater women’s involvement in the constitution making process. More
than 1 500 women from all over Zimbabwe had reportedly gathered at the
Harare International Conference Centre for a consultative conference on the
constitutional review process.

The conference was organised jointly by the Women’s coalition in
Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community
Development. The march was intended to mark the end of the conference.

MANICALAND

Nyanga North

thezimbabwetimes.com

20 June 2006: Σ. A Nyanga magistrate, Clever Tsikwa was reportedly
forced to abandon a case involving 108 MDC supporters due to alleged
attempts by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to influence the
outcome of the case. The MDC supporters, all of them villagers in Nyanga
District, are alleged to have gone around the area earlier in the year to
demand property and livestock that had been forcibly taken from them by ZANU
PF supporters during the electoral violence in 2008. Tsikwa reportedly
refused to proceed with the matter citing external interference. The Nyanga
North legislator, Douglas Mwonzora, reportedly took the matter to Parliament
and demanded state protection for the magistrate. The Deputy Minister for
Justice, Jessie Majome reportedly denied knowledge of the circumstances
surrounding the matter and asked witnesses to submit details of the matter
to the Ministry of Justice for further investigation.

MASHONALAND CENTRAL

Mazowe East

6 June 2006: The male victim reports that he and his wife were
assaulted by members of the ZNA. The soldiers knocked at the victim’s door
at around 22:00hrs and his wife went to the door to enquire who it was.

The soldiers then forced themselves into the house and assaulted her
with belts. They also found the male victim in the house and assaulted him
with baton sticks and booted feet. He was then forced out of the house where
he was hit on the head with an unknown object and cut with a knife on his
right palm. The soldiers left the home after the attack.

6 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by a member
of the ZNA and 14 other people who came to his house at around 22:00hrs.
They attacked him after he had opened the door to investigate the source of
the noise. The victim was assaulted with army belts, baton sticks and booted
feet while some of the assailants held him down. The attack began after part
of the mob had identified him as one of the targets of the attacks they were
carrying out in that area. The assailants did not state the reason for the
attack. He lost consciousness during the attack and was resuscitated the
following morning.

13 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by members
of the ZNA who came to his home at night. He tried to flee from the soldiers
but he was caught and had his arm stabbed by one of the soldiers as another
held him down. The assailants did not state the reason for the attack.

13 June 2009: The female victim reports that she was assaulted by
members of the ZNA and others in plain clothes. She was six months pregnant
at the time of the attack. The assailants came to the victim’s home at night
while she was sleeping and demanded that she open the door. When she opened
the door the assailants attacked her, kicking her in the neck and chest
before dragging her across the floor. She sustained bruises to her forehead
and injuries to her left eye. The assailants did not state the reason

for the attack.

Guruve South

13 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was threatened and
assaulted by three ZANU PF youths who have been harassing him and his family
since the run up to the Presidential Run-off election. The attack on the
victim came after he had gone to the assailants’ home to confront them for
assaulting his brother on allegations that he is an MDC supporter. The
assailants had also allegedly been involved in burning the victim’s home in
the run-up to the 27 June 2008 election. In retaliation, the assailants
followed the victim back home after the confrontation and assaulted him with
large sticks. They also threatened to kill him if he instituted legal claims
against them or reported the matter to the police. He sustained injuries to
his left arm.

13 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by three
ZANU PF supporters on allegations of being an MDC supporter. The three, who
are members of the same family, followed him as he was returning home after
selling his cotton. They assaulted him with booted feet and open hands. He
sustained injuries to his neck and ears.

13 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF
youths after he had tried to intervene in an argument between them and his
brothers. He was assaulted on his left leg with a large stick.

Mount Darwin North

25 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was attacked by two ZANU
PF supporters after they had received summons from the victim’s legal
counsel for claims of violations committed during the 2008 electoral period.
The victim was coming from the local shopping centre when the two assailants
attacked him with an axe. One of the assailants tried to hit him on the head
with the axe but the victim blocked it with his hand resulting in his
sustaining a deep cut to his right hand. He managed to flee to his home
where he got assistance from his neighbour.

Mudzi South

20 June 2009: The male victim reports that he was assaulted by five
ZANU PF youths after he had passed near the venue of a meeting they were
holding in the local shopping centre. The five youths called the victim and
told him he was not allowed to pass through while they were holding their
meeting. The assailants grabbed the victim and assaulted him. He tried to
block the blows to his face resulting in his sustaining injuries to his
right hand. The victim was only released after one police officer Bariyando
intervened and ordered the assailants to let him go.

MASHONALAND WEST

Chinhoyi

www.radiovop.com

2 June 2009: Σ.Three Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists,
Terry Musona, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Fani Tembo, who were abducted in Banket by
State security agents in October last year, were reportedly forcefully taken
from their homes by three State security agents. It is alleged that the
three were taken to the Attorney-General's (AG) office in Harare and told
that they should testify against other MDC activists who were due to face
trial the following week on charges of banditry or they would face
unspecified consequences. One of the victims reports that at the Attorney
General’s office he was interrogated in the presence of Mrs Ziyambe and Mr
Mutangadura. The three were reportedly released the following day and
instructed to go back to their respective homes and to appear in court for
the trial. The three abductees were among those abducted by the state
between October and December 2008 and charged with banditry and terrorism
when they finally appeared in court following months of being held
incommunicado.

Chegutu East

25 June 2009: At Karori Farm, members of the ZNA remained on the farm
under instruction from Brigadier Mujaji. They stopped all farm operations
for five weeks including maize reaping and tobacco grading. Three lorries
were sent to the farm to try and load maize for delivery to the Jesuit
Provincial Food Programme which had contracted the crop; however all the
lorries were prevented from entering the farm and sent back. The police
allegedly refused to intervene or uphold any of the court orders and Charles
Lock was allegedly told that the police had been instructed by Police
General Headquarters not to render any assistance. Mr Lock sought another
court order for the eviction of Mujaji and the Messenger of Court was sent
to carry out the eviction but was stopped by Mujaji who also tried to have
some of the farm workers removed from the farm. The Attorney General’s
Office is seeking to prosecute Lock’s wife on allegations of staying on the
land illegally although her husband was earlier acquitted of the same
charge. Earlier in the month, Brigadier Mujaji had again broken into the
complex using his soldiers and had taken 100 irrigation pipes belonging to
Mr Lock in addition to the 63 he had taken a week earlier. He tried to force
Mr Lock’s workers to load and ferry them but they all refused.

One Sgt Mukoni then took a tractor and ferried the pipes with the
assistance of the other soldiers. The matter was reported to the police but
there was no response.

25 June 2009: At Reydon Farm the Chegutu lands officer, Clever
Kunonga, is trying to take over the farm for himself. He faces a High Court
order barring him from the property; however, he has not adhered to it and
as a result also faces contempt of court proceedings. Mr Kunonga continues
to harass the occupants of the farm and he had eviction notices served on
some of the workers, one of whom found himself and his belongings
transported off the farm and dumped on the roadside. He was also arrested
for trying to resist the eviction.

MASVINGO

Masvingo Central

23 June 2008: Two Masvingo Polytechnic student leaders Samuel Gwenzi
and Dry Chingoriro, were arrested for allegedly leading demonstrations on
campus. They were charged with obstructing the course of justice and
remanded to 17 August.

MATEBELELAND NORTH

Umguza

thezimbabwean.com.uk

Σ.Officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police reportedly refused to grant
clearance to a ZAPU meeting. Some of the party’s supporters reportedly
turned up at the venue of the meeting but were chased away by the police.

17 June 2009:

Hwange West

swradioafrica.com

8 June 2009: Σ.Four freelance journalists, who won a landmark case
against the government over the legality of the Media and Information
Commission (MIC), were barred from attending the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit for not being accredited. The
Information Ministry had earlier instructed all journalists wishing to cover
the event to register for accreditation with the Media and Information
Commission (MIC). The freelance journalists took the state to court over the
issue and High Court Judge Bharat Patel ruled that the MIC was now a defunct
body and as such no journalist in the country was legally required to
register with it. The court granted the journalists an interim order barring
the state and the MIC chairman Dr Tafataona Mahoso and others, from
interfering with the work of the four journalists. However, the journalists,
Stanley Gama, Valentine Maponga, Stanley Kwenda and Jealous Mawarire, were
turned away from the Summit venue in Victoria Falls by security details. The
security officials insisted that the journalists, despite the production of
the High Court order, could not cover the event, as they were not on the
Information Ministry's list of journalists accredited to cover the Summit.

zimonline.co.za

15 June 2009: Σ.Armed guards reportedly chased away a Messenger of
Court as he attempted to evict the Minister of State in the President’s
office responsible for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration,
John Nkomo, from Jijima Safari Lodge. In a letter to the Bulawayo High
Court, Deputy Sheriff Peter Thamo Zulu reportedly stated that when he went
to Jijima Safari Lodge to serve a court order on Nkomo to vacate the farm,
four armed men he found at the farm chased him away at gunpoint. The
Bulawayo High Court had earlier ordered the Deputy Sheriff to evict the
Minister from Jijima Lodge in the Gwayi River Conservancy to pave the way
for businessman Langton Masunda, with whom the senior politician has
wrangled for years over ownership of the property. Mr Nkomo filed an urgent
court application seeking an order to stop his eviction from the Lodge.

MAIN EVENTS 2009

January

1 – A group of soldiers in Masvingo goes on the rampage assaulting
residents and looting property.

8 – Armed Security personnel raid an outdoor adventure camp in Ruwa on
allegations that it is being used to train bandits.

10 – Rowdy soldiers assault traders and loot goods at Makoni Shopping
Centre in Chitungwiza.

13 – War veterans loot goods and cash at a shopping centre in Ngundu.

February

5 – Three commercial farmers who were part of the group of farmers
that won the SADC Tribunal ruling on land redistribution are arrested and
released the following day without charge.

10 – Eight Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members and two lawyers,
Roselyn Hanzi and Tawanda Zhuwarara, are arrested in Harare following a
march by WOZA.

11 – Morgan Tsvangirai is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
while Thokozani Khupe (MDC T) and Arthur Mutambara (MDC M) are sworn in as
Deputy Prime Ministers in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

13 – Roy Bennett, the MDC T Treasurer General is arrested at Charles
Prince Airport and charged with treason. The charges are later altered and
he now faces charges of attempting to commit banditry, terrorism and
sabotage.

28 – President Robert Mugabe celebrates his 85th Birthday in Chinhoyi
at an extravagant reception and in his celebratory speech orders commercial
farmers to leave their farms. “Again I want to say, the farmers who owned
these farms, which now have been designated and offered to new owners, must
respect that law. They must vacate those farms, they must vacate those
farms, they must vacate those farms.

March

4 – Three student leaders, Respect Ndanga, Innocent Kapoya and Kelvin
Veremu, are arrested and detained at Bindura Central Police Station on
allegations of inciting public violence following a protest against high
tuition fees being charged at state universities.

6 – Mutare Magistrate Livingstone Chipadze is arrested for ordering
the release of Roy Bennett the Deputy Minister of Agriculture-elect. He is
charged with criminal abuse of office for allegedly contravening section
174, sub-section 1A of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, Chapter
9.23.

11 – MDC and ZANU PF supporters clash at the funeral of the Prime
Minister’s late wife Susan Tsvangirai. 10 homes and livestock are burnt
during the violence.

25 – Two WOZA members, Patricia Ndlovu, aged 53, and Georgina Muzaza,
aged 84, are arrested in Bulawayo while trying to engage the Headmistress of
Mpumelelo Primary School over the running of the school and the demands made
by the school on parents.

April

6 – Students at the National University of Science and Technology
(NUST) in Bulawayo protest against the high tuition fees being charged at
state universities.

17 – An interparty task force led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara is set up to investigate disturbances on commercial farms.

20 – Four farm workers are reportedly severely assaulted by ZANU PF
youths for talking to the Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara about the
situation on Twyford farm in Chegutu.

20 – Thirteen students from Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) in
Masvingo are arrested and detained at Rujeko Police Station after
participating in a protest against the high tuition fees being charged at
state Universities.

May

5 – Jestina Mukoko, the Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP),
and 17 others accused of banditry and sabotage, are incarcerated following
their indictment. They are released on bail the following day.

11 – The Editor of the weekly Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, Vincent
Kahiya and News Editor Constantine Chimakure are arrested. They are released
on bail after being detained for 48 hours.

13 – Prominent human rights lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, is arrested and
detained by officers from the Police’s Law and Order Section on charges of
obstructing the course of justice. He is released on bail the following
morning.

29 – A former commercial farmer Ian Campbell Morrison is arrested and
fined US$800 on allegations of occupying state property illegally.

June

8 – Four freelance journalists, who won a landmark case against the
government over the legality of the Media and Information Commission (MIC),
are barred from attending the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA) Summit for not being accredited.

13 – The Head of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, arrives in Harare
for a fact finding mission on reports of human rights violations and to meet
with some government officials.

17 – Eleven members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) are arrested in
Harare and Bulawayo during a march to commemorate United Nations
International Refugee Day.

20 – The police deny permission to gender activists, from all over the
country, who had intended to peacefully march in Harare to demand greater
women’s involvement in the constitution making process.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (also known as the “Human Rights
Forum”) is a coalition comprising 19 member organisations. It has been in
existence since January 1998 when non-Governmental organisations working in
the field of human rights joined together to provide legal and psychosocial
assistance to the victims of the Food Riots of January 1998.

The Human Rights Forum has now expanded its objectives to assist
victims of organised violence, using the following definition:

“Organised violence” means the inter-human infliction of significant
avoidable pain and suffering by an organised group according to a declared
or implied strategy and/or system of ideas and attitudes. It comprises any
violent action, which is unacceptable by general human standards, and
relates to the victims’ mental and physical well-being.”

The Human Rights Forum operates a Research and Documentation Unit and
offers legal services to assist victims of organised violence and torture
claim compensation from perpetrators through its Public Interest Unit. –
ZimOnline

 

Mohadi to replace Nkomo?

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

26 August 2009

By Special Correspondent

HARARE - As Zanu (PF) heads towards a choreographed national people's
congress in December, indications are that co-Minister of Home Affairs Kembo
Mohadi could become national chairman ahead of Defence Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, while the John Nkomo is set to replace the late Joseph Msika.
(Pictured: Kembo Mohadi)

Although it is not written in the Unity Accord of December 22 1987, the post
of national chairman has always been occupied by people from Matebeleland as
part of an appeasement approach in political ethnic balancing.
Informed sources close to the battle for supremacy told The Zimbabwean this
week that Mohadi's name was raised at the last politburo meeting as a
possible candidate to takeover from Nkomo - should the latter be elevated to
the position of co-vice president.
"The issue of Mohadi was discussed, though informally, but all indications
are that he could land the post," the source said. "The president has a soft
spot for him. He has the right credentials. He is former PF-ZAPU, ZIPRA, an
ex-combatant and very supportive of the party's views and position on
sovereignty among other issues."

Journalists denied visas to cover Mugabe

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21780

August 27, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Two prominent journalists working for state media organisations are
said to have been denied United States visas to allow them to travel to New
York President Robert Mugabe next month  to cover his visit to the United
Nations General Assembly.

Visas are said to have been denied to Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) diplomatic correspondent, Judith Makwanya, and Herald deputy editor,
Caesar Zvayi.  ZBC chief executive, Happison Muchechetere, is said to have
been also been denied a visa.

Zvayi was deported from Botswana last year after students at the University
of Botswana where he had secured a teaching post in Gaborone protested at
his presence on campus.

The journalists are among seven State media journalists and managers who,
together with most leading Zanu PF politicians, are barred from travelling
to the United States and the European Union as a result of targeted
sanctions.

The journalists have been accused of whipping up emotions during a State
orchestrated terror campaign before and during the June 2008 presidential
runoff election.

They were also accused of churning out propaganda while denying the
existence of political violence in Zimbabwe which killed nearly 200 Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters last June.

A source said the three had hoped to take advantage of the exemption granted
to government officials on the sanctions list when attending UN functions.

But the US consular section in Harare found the journalists ineligible for
inclusion among the government officials.

Out of the group, only ZBC cameraman, Stephen Mashoko's application for a
visa  was successful. Makwanya has gone on this trip repeatedly over the
years.

Other media personalities who are on the US travel embargo are ZBC chief
correspondent, Reuben Barwe; current affairs producer Musorowegomo Mukosi,
Zimbabwe Newspapers chief executive Justin Mutasa, Herald editor Pikirai
Deketeke and Sunday Mail political editor, Munyaradzi Huni.

The UN trip, which is usually the longest the President Mugabe undertakes
per year, is said to be the most lucrative.

Each delegate is said to be paid a handsome allowance of US$1000 per day for
the trip which lasts anything up to 15 days.

Mugabe, one of the most widely traveled leaders in the world, has attracted
criticism among Zimbabweans for leading a delegation of up to 60 people on
visits to New York.

On such trips Mugabe usually visits other nations before he finally arrives
in New York for the General Assembly meeting. Last year he visited Cairo.
Detractors say this strategy merely serves to extend the duration of the
visit and increase the allowance paid to delegates. The arrival of the
presidential flight at Harare International Airport has over the years been
an occasion for the wholesale importation of an astounding quantity of goods
by delegates without going through customs.

The United States has blacklisted nearly 150 of President Mugabe's close
allies, mostly in government but also in the private sector.

Mugabe, who heads the sanctions list, can only attend functions at the UN
but is prohibited from proceeding beyond a radius of 40km from the venue.

The 18-acre plot on which the UN's headquarters stands is international
territory and officially does not belong to the United States.

US Embassy Public Affairs Officer, Timothy E. Gerhardson said he was not
aware of the denial of visas to the three journalists.

"I am not yet aware of the denial of visas to the three journalists," he
said.

"Public Relations is different from the US consular section which grants
visas. But I can tell you that Zimbabwean journalists have been granted
visas using the same criteria used on other Zimbabwean citizens.

"If these State media journalists were indeed denied US visas, it was
basically because they failed to demonstrate good cause why they should be
granted the visas."

Members of the public attending a public meeting over the weekend accused
journalists working for state media organisations of routinely churning out
propaganda disguised as news.

Speaking at the meeting which was held at Parliament on Saturday, Paddington
Japajapa, who spoke as a representative of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Economic
Empowerment Organisation, called for the dismissal of Deketeke and Zvayi
from the Herald because of their alleged bias.

"The state media has decided to become the mouthpiece of Zanu-PF yet it is
supposed to be a platform for the voiceless," Japajapa said.

"Pikirayi Deketeke and Caesar Zvayi are continuing to feed this nation with
propaganda and continuing to pour vitriol and scorn on the office of the
Prime Minister."

Tinoziva Bere, a Mutare-based human rights lawyer told journalists attending
a workshop in the city over the weekend that they risked facing criminal
prosecution under international law if they propagate hate language and
support the violation of human rights.

Zimbabweans Shun Toll Gates

http://www.radiovop.com


Bulawayo, August 27 2009-  Some Zimbabwean motorists are avoiding the
recently introduced toll-gates along the country's major highways by using
alternative dusty roads, some of them which have been hastily cleared by
unemployed youths who are charging 2 Rands per each vehicle.

Motorists who spoke to Radio VOP said they preferred to use the dusty
roads than pay the Zimbabwe Revenue Collection Authority (ZIMRA).
On of the most popular dusty road route is the one used by Norwood
residents which branches from the main road just after the Victoria Falls
garage. The road which avoids the Nyamandlovu Turn off Toll-gate was cleared
last week by youths from nearby Emakandeni high density suburb.
"I commute from Umguza to Bulawayo everyday and I cannot afford to
part ...with USd 2 everyday for toll-gates alone. I would rather use the
dusty road and part with 2 Rands. Apart from saving money, I am also saved
from the confusion and hassles at these toll-gates" said James Thebe, a
farmer in Umguza.
Some motorists who regularly use the Bulawayo/Plumtree highway are
also avoiding the Fig tree Toll-gate and are now using an old dusty road
which
passes through some newly resettled farms.
"The toll-gates are not justified because all our roads are in bad
state. The government should have re-surfaced the roads first before
embarking on this
project. As long as this dusty road is functioning I will continue to
avoid  the toll-gate," said a Robison Khiwane, a cross border operator.
Alternative dusty routes are reportedly said to have been also emerged
in Gweru.
Esigodini residents who rely on market gardening say they they have to
pass the tollgates twice a day.
ZIMRA officials are collecting between USd1 and USd 5 per vehicle
depending on the type of the vehicle.
Government said it intends to use the money collected from toll-gates
to repair roads, most which are in a bad state.

Zimbabwe's victimisation of SA investors in Zimbabwe

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=8474

By Tapuwa Mashayamombe

Published: August 27, 2009

Chiredzi:   Zimbabwe's government is victimising South African nationals who
have invested in Zimbabwe. This has emerged after a once thriving and
successful Chiredzi based farmer in possession of a Relief Order from the
High Court of Zimbabwe was arrested on the 14th August by police for merely
being on
his property.

In February, ZimEye revealed details of how top South African government
officials might be working with ZANU PF to unlawfully remove white farmers
off their productive farmland. The Chiredzi farmer who is a South African
national is faced with a verbal threat of arrest from Police in Zimbabwe's
south eastern town of Chiredzi. Peter Henning, who has been farming in
Chiredzi since 1965 had been in February informed that the Zimbabwe Republic
police were after him on his farm and wanted to execute a warrant of arrest,
the crime being for 'occupying his own farmland.'

Five months later however, police arrived on the farm still without an
arrest warrant and desperately took with them Henning's son, Greig. It is
reported that they only found this out that they had taken the wrong person
once they were at the police station.

The fact that police were even not sure of the 'criminal' and there was no
arrest warrant seems a clear reflection that an invisible hand was behind
their actions, a common thing in President Robert Mugabe's illegal land
grabbing exercise, signs also that Zimbabwe's government officials are using
his South African nationality as an excuse to victimise him.

The farm, Holding No 40, Hippo Valley Estates, Chiredzi is situated in the
once thriving sugarcane producing belt of Zimbabwe. It has also fallen
victim to Robert Mugabe's chaotic land grab process, begun nine years ago.

Henning is not alone in this harassment as many other farmers across the
country are under threat from Robert Mugabe's and his machination which has
its sights set on plundering and illegal possession of agricultural land.

Henning is a victim despite the fact that he is in possession of two High
Court Relief Orders, issued in March 2003 and 30th August 2004 respectively,
enabling him to "continue farming without interference from anyone". As a
direct result of Mugabe's chaotic land grab 'exercise', Zimbabwe is faced
with one the worst economic crisis in history with an estimated half
population requiring food aid amidst the worst unemployment rates the
country has ever had.

Chombo's kingdom revealed Part 1

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

26 August 2009

By Chief reporter

Property in every city, 11 cars, 17 tractors, 3 combines
Everybody knows that Zanu (PF) ministers have risen from humble beginnings
to incredible power and wealth, far beyond their legitimate earnings. But
proving it has been almost impossible - given the web of deception
surrounding their dealings. The results of painstaking research by The
Zimbabwean reveal the details of one man's journey to eye-watering riches.
This is the first in a series of revelations. Don't miss part 2.

HARARE - The Zimbabwean can exclusively reveal the rise of a complete
nonentity from material and political obscurity to a position of incredible
wealth and influence -through alliances with politicians, fixers and
bureaucrats. Our investigations have revealed that Local Government and
Rural Development minister, Ignatius Chombo, who owns dozens of houses and
luxury cars, has become hugely wealthy during his decades as one of
President Robert Mugabe's cabinet ministers.

Chombo has flaunted his lavish lifestyle by purchasing dozens of houses and
residential stands in almost every town and city in Zimbabwe. He also owns11
luxury cars, 17 tractors, three combine harvesters, and hundreds of other
farming implements and assets. This is confirmed by a notarial deed in our
possession. There is no way his official salary, even including the generous
allowances enjoyed by top officials, over the years could have bought him a
fraction of these assets.

Hidden shelf companies
The investigation also revealed that ownership of the housing stands Chombo
has accumulated have been concealed through the use of shelf companies. This
was facilitated by Attorney General Johannes Tomana, who masterminded the
transfer of the properties to some of Chombo's sons and investment vehicles.
The letter from Chombo to Tomana confirming this is available to view on our
website at www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Chombo's letter also advises Tomana to transfer 100 per cent shareholding of
Growfin Investments - his major investment vehicle - to Chombo Family Trust.
He also advises the AG to transfer new Allan Grange farm, subject of dispute
between Chombo and his first wife Marian, to the trust. The letter further
states: "Bus to be registered in the company of Enock Chombo, Nimrod Chombo
and Ignatius Chombo Jnr." The contents of other documents in our possession
bear witness to Chombo's incredible property empire: stands in Epworth,
Chirundu, Kariba, Ruwa, Chinhoyi, Mutare, Chegutu, Binga, Victoria Falls,
Zvimba, Chitungwiza, Beitbridge, Harare and Bulawayo.
Most of these stands are commercial, hidden under investment vehicles
created by the minister. More information on the particulars of the stands
owned by Chombo is available on our website.

Chombo has also made headlines for his involvement in the Joshua Mqabuko
Nkomo Expressway project, which was awarded to a Ukrainian investment
company without going to tender. The City of Harare has begun an
investigation into the project.
Investigations by The Financial Gazette established recently that a
caretaker council - the Harare Commission - unelected and hand-picked by
Chombo, approved the sordid deal. In terms of the Urban Councils Act, the
Minister of Local Government, Urban and Rural Development is the ultimate
authority who must approve council contract projects.
Michael Mahachi, an old associate of Chombo, wholly owns Classique Project
Management - a consultancy appointed by the commission, handpicked by the
same minister to manage the project.
As part of its resolutions adopted during its last full-council meeting held
on August 7, 2009, the Harare council ordered Mahachi to produce, in
chronological order, a full report of the procedures that were followed to
award the contract for the design, construction and dualisation of Joshua
Mqabuko Nkomo Expressway to Augur Investments.

Chombo's background
The son of a villager from Zvimba who was sent to the US on a scholarship in
the early 80s, Chombo returned home in 1988, with his first wife Marian to
take up a job as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
Chombo would have remained an ordinary lecturer had it not been for his
networking abilities and active participation in Zanu (PF) activities in
Mugabe's home area. He became Mashonaland West governor in 1999. He became
local government minister a year later and began to accumulate wealth and
women.
He and his first wife renewed their vows on August 25, 2004, entering a
post-nuptial agreement.  The minister married his second wife, Nannette
Silukhuni, a former TV journalist, in contemptuous violation of his vows and
the law. He then married Joey Hawadi and later Bessie Mugabe, former wife of
Paul Mugabe. Chombo has given his latest wife a house along Golden Stairs
Road in Harare..

Marital disputes
The Zimbabwean can report that Chombo's first wife, Miriam, now wants 50 per
cent of rentals, to which her post-nuptial contract entitles her.
Details of a letter written by Miriam, dated August 14, 2009 to Mr
Marimambeva of estate agency Heaven on Earth, are available on our website.
The marital dispute has been brought to the attention of Fist Lady Grace
Mugabe, but she has not acted on it. Known as Mugabe's "blue-eyed boy",
Chombo was in March 2008 nominated as Zanu (PF)'s candidate for Zvimba
North - Mugabe's rural home.
Don't miss The Zimbabwean on Sunday as we continue to unravel the convoluted
mystery surrounding Chombo's wealth.

Chombo's letter to Tomana

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

27 August 2009

By The Zimbabwean

The concealement of Chombo's properties under shelf companies and third
parties was facilitated by Attorney General Johannes Tomana, who
masterminded the transfer of the properties to some of Chombo's sons and
investment vehicles.
Chombo's letter addressed "to the attention of Mr Tomana" states: "Can the
following assets be transferred to the named persons as follow:- 1) to Enock
Masimbaashe, House No. 79 West Road, Avondale West, Harare; Benz 320. 2)
Tafadzwa Rugara, Flat No. B320, Odzi Court, Eastview Gardens, Harare. 3) To
Dylan Chombo, San Sebastian Flat, Cnr Tongogara/6th Street. 4) To Dr I
Chombo, Flat No. B319, Odzi Court, East View Gardens, Harare. 5) To Nimrod
Gilford Chombo, Volvo, Norton business stand, Chishawasha residential stand,
Chinhoyi business stand, Chelsea Flats, Block of 4 units. 6) To Ignatius
Morgen Chiminya Chombo Jnr, Norton Business Stand, Chishawasha residential
stand, Banket business stand, Chelsea Flats, 1 block of 4 units. 7) Marian
Chombo - Greendale House, Glenview 1 House, Glen View 7 House, Land Cruiser.
(Item No. 7 to be transferred into Marina Chombo's son trust.)"
Chombo's letter also advises Tomana to transfer 100 percent shareholding of
Growfin Investments - his major investment vehicle - into Chombo Family
Trust. He also advises the AG to transfer new Allan Grange farm, subject of
dispute between Chombo and his first wife Marian, to Chombo Family Trust.
The letter further states: "Bus to be registered in the company of Enock
Chombo, Nimrod Chombo and Ignatius Chombo Jnr."
The contents of other documents in our possession bear witness to Chombo's
incredible extravagance: stands in Epworth, Chirundu, Kariba, Ruwa,
Chinhoyi, Mutare, Chegutu, Binga, Victoria Falls, Zvimba, Chitungwiza,
Beitbridge, Harare and Bulawayo.
All these stands are mostly commercial, with some of them residential,
hidden under investment vehicles Dilcrest Investments, Hutmat Investments,
Growfin Investments, Teamrange Investments, Waywick Investments, Harvest-Net
Investments, Waycorn Investments, Tonewick Investments, Aixland Investments,
and Nedbourne Investments - all of these confirmed investment vehicles
created by the minister. Pride of place must go to the more than dozen
housing stands accumulated in Harare's leafy suburbs, including Stand 61 in
Helensvale which is hidden under Harvest-Net Investments. It is fully paid
for and awaiting title deeds.
The minister has also acquired residential stands 257 to 260 in Borrowdale
Estates under investment vehicle Waywick Investments, residential stands 251
to 255 again in Crouhill Borrowdale estates under Tonewick Investments,
stand 293 in Avondale under Waywick Investments, and stand 365 Beverly in
Harare under Nedbourne Investments.

Letters relating to Local Government and Rural Development minister Ignatius
Chombo expose

Appendix one:
Chombo's letter addressed "to the attention of Mr Tomana" states: "Can the
following assets be transferred to the named persons as follow:- 1) to Enock
Masimbaashe, House No. 79 West Road, Avondale West, Harare; Benz 320. 2)
Tafadzwa Rugara, Flat No. B320, Odzi Court, Eastview Gardens, Harare. 3) To
Dylan Chombo, San Sebastian Flat, Cnr Tongogara/6th Street. 4) To Dr I
Chombo, Flat No. B319, Odzi Court, East View Gardens, Harare. 5) To Nimrod
Gilford Chombo, Volvo, Norton business stand, Chishawasha residential stand,
Chinhoyi business stand, Chelsea Flats, Block of 4 units. 6) To Ignatius
Morgen Chiminya Chombo Jnr, Norton Business Stand, Chishawasha residential
stand, Banket business stand, Chelsea Flats, 1 block of 4 units. 7) Marian
Chombo - Greendale House, Glenview 1 House, Glen View 7 House, Land Cruiser.
(Item No. 7 to be transferred into Marina Chombo's son trust.)"

Appendix two:
The contents of other documents in our possession bear witness to Chombo's
incredible extravagance: stands in Epworth, Chirundu, Kariba, Ruwa,
Chinhoyi, Mutare, Chegutu, Binga, Victoria Falls, Zvimba, Chitungwiza,
Beitbridge, Harare and Bulawayo.
All these stands are mostly commercial, with some of them residential,
hidden under investment vehicles Dilcrest Investments, Hutmat Investments,
Growfin Investments, Teamrange Investments, Waywick Investments, Harvest-Net
Investments, Waycorn Investments, Tonewick Investments, Aixland Investments,
and Nedbourne Investments - all of these confirmed investment vehicles
created by the minister.
Pride of place must go to the more than dozen housing stands accumulated in
Harare's leafy suburbs, including Stand 61 in Helensvale which is hidden
under Harvest-Net Investments. It is fully paid for and awaiting title
deeds.
The minister has also acquired residential stands 257 to 260 in Borrowdale
Estates under investment vehicle Waywick Investments, residential stands 251
to 255 again in Crouhill Borrowdale estates under Tonewick Investments,
stand 293 in Avondale under Waywick Investments, and stand 365 Beverly in
Harare under Nedbourne Investments.
Appendix three:
The case has now sucked into its vortex lawyers. A letter written by
Chombo's wife, dated August 14, 2009 to one Mr Marimambeva of estate agency
Heaven on Earth states: "I was shocked to learn that you have been
instructed by my husband, Dr Ignatius Chombo, not to give me 50 percent of
the rentals on our properties."
The wife says in the letter she will collect rentals herself from September
1, setting a deadly clash between Chombo and his first wife.
"The properties which I should get 50 percent are listed below: two Glenview
houses, two block of flats - Chelsea Flats in Queensdale, two flats in
Eastview Gradens - B319 and B320, one flat at San Sebastain flat corner
Josiah Tongogara/6th Street, one house on 79 West Road in Avondale West, one
house in Mandara, one house on 36 Cleveland Road, Milton Park, one house in
Norton - 135 Poort Road, two houses in Bulawayo, one house on 18 Cuba Road,
Mt Pleasant house registered in the name of Pym Tambo and Hilda Machuma
which my husband's lawyer indicated rentals are being collected from that
property," said Marian Chombo in her papers.

Use of Foreign Money Becoming Political Football Again

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48236

 
By Ignatius Banda

TSHOLOTSHO, Zimbabwe, Aug 26 (IPS) - Dorothy Tembo wears a look that tells a
story of years of hard work. She dotes on her grandchildren and enjoys
talking about the past. A keen observer of the history happening around her,
she easily narrates Zimbabwe's trials and tribulations from the
pre-independence years to the present, of which she says she has never seen
so much death and suffering.

The 59-year-old grandmother lives in rural Tsholotsho, about 100 km north of
Bulawayo in the southern province of Matabeleland, where she looks after her
grandchildren. The financial needs of her household are taken care of by her
daughters and sons living and working in neighbouring South Africa.

Their remittances, she tells IPS, have become her lifeline. Her children
have been sending money for almost a decade now.

But there is a dark cloud on the horizon in the form of President Robert
Mugabe, leader of ZANU-PF, who is accused of pressurising his coalition
partners from the MDC for a return to the local currency, claiming that
allowing the use of foreign exchange is causing suffering in rural areas.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also the secretary general of the MDC,
insists this will not happen as long the country's economy fails to boost
local industrial production under the short-term emergency recovery
programme (STERP). Last month the tough talking Biti threatened to resign
his post if he was forced to re-introduce the local dollar.

It is noticeable that Matabeleland, which is especially benefiting from the
lifting of curbs on the use of foreign currency, is dominated by the MDC,
Mugabe's political bane for most of the past decade.

For many rural villagers in Zimbabwe's southern parts and border towns such
as Beitbridge and Plumtree, foreign exchange remittances from relatives
working across the borders has made it possible to sustain livelihoods in a
context where few opportunities exist.

Rural Matebeleland lies in the poorly developed and drought-prone parts of
the country and have over the years seen unemployed young men and women
making the great trek to South Africa and Botswana.

The money they send home to rural relatives has had a newly positive effect
since the formation of the government of national unity between the MDC and
ZANU-PF as it has allowed the free use of multiple foreign currencies in the
economy. Shop shelves in both urban and rural areas filled up with basic
commodities again. Pricing in foreign currency has become common.

Matabeleland villagers who had access to foreign currency in the past few
years but were forced to convert the money to the collapsing Zim dollar had
to live with empty pantries. "It was difficult for us who get money from
South Africa to use the local dollar," Tembo tells IPS, explaining that in
recent years the money's value dropped significantly as soon as it was
converted to the local currency.

"The local currency became useless as prices of basic commodities went up
every day," she explains. Now, using forex remittances without feeling
cheated is a major boon.

Tsholotsho villager Mavis Khumalo says it was always difficult to use
foreign currency as she was forced to change it on the illegal foreign
currency market.

"The people who changed money actually came all the way from Bulawayo
(Zimbabwe's second largest city) to buy foreign currency from us as they
knew we got money from outside the country and had no clue about the
prevailing exchange rates," according to Khumalo.

Today, however, "I use the money as it is without having to lose it to
anyone", she confirms.

"Of course we would want to use our own Zim currency but only if it does not
become useless the next day. While my sons do send groceries, they feel it
is better to send cash as we can now readily get basic commodities from our
local stores," Khumalo explains.

Rural villagers like Khumalo and Tembo can now rely on the shops for
products such as cooking oil and soap, unlike during the past few years when
they were forced to buy expensive basic commodities on the parallel market
using the local dollar.

These developments have been detrimental to someone like trader Johannes
Banda. With the unavailability of basic commodities, the collapse of the Zim
dollar and the ban on the use of foreign currency, he used to barter in
rural areas, exchanging maize-meal for livestock. His business has
floundered since the decision to legalise multiple currencies.

"Rural people who have foreign currency say they no longer have use for our
business as they can either buy from the shops themselves or engage the
services of cross-border transport operators, known as 'omalayitsha', to buy
whatever they need -- be it from Botswana or South Africa."

David Sibanda, an economist with a local bank, says the clash between
ZANU-PF and the MDC concerning the use of multiple currencies is "not at all
unexpected".

"It will be remembered that many people in Matebeleland have relatives
working in neighbouring countries, and it is only natural that they have not
been affected by the use of multiple currencies as other parts of the
country," Sibanda tells IPS.

"There obviously are differences in that when President Mugabe speaks, he
speaks to a constituency that perhaps has no access to foreign currency. But
this has to be understood in its broader context. The government must do all
it can to fix this economy that has been in free fall for over a decade," he
argues.

Addressing parliament early this year, Economic Development Minister Elton
Mangoma said the local dollar would be returned after 12 months but that
period has since been extended as Zimbabwe's coalition government battles to
attract international investors.

International money-lending institutions, including the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the country's erstwhile trading
partners remain reluctant to commit themselves to aiding the country's
economic reconstruction while Mugabe is still in power

Passage of seasonal Zimbabwean migrants eased

Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN

Zimbabwean migrants que to get into South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, 27 August 2009 (IRIN) - A new labour migration centre at the Beitbridge border crossing between Zimbabwe and South Africa will be the first step in implementing an agreement between the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa to reduce irregular migration and promote safe, legal migration options.

The new centre, run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), was opened on 27 August, when the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation and support in the fields of labour and employment.

Erin Foster, the IOM information and communication officer in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, said the pilot project would facilitate the temporary migration of seasonal workers to South Africa's northern Limpopo Province from three districts in Zimbabwe: Chiredzi, Masvingo and Beitbridge.

The goal of the project was "to reduce the dangers for migrants ... [and] limit the risks that exist for individuals". Zimbabwean job seekers – initially some 5,000 - would register with their local district labour centres, while South African farmers would register their labour requirements.

After a matching process run by the centre, workers will be issued with passports and work permits allowing them to travel for the duration of their contract.

"This development comes at a critical time when South Africa has announced a Special Dispensation Permit for Zimbabweans wanting to live and work in South Africa," An IOM statement said.