Three more MDC activists abducted

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
17 December 2008

The unspeakable terror of being taken from your house and abducted is the
daily reality of many Zimbabweans. So far at least 23 people are known to
have been kidnapped from their homes in the last seven weeks, and the number
has increased with three more victims.

The MDC-T reported on Wednesday that three activists were abducted, in three
different parts of the country.  Graham Matehwa, the MDC youth chairperson
for Ward 26 of Gwangwadza village in Makoni South constituency Manicaland,
was picked up by four armed men Wednesday morning. The party said two of the
abductors were identified as Isaac Dangirwa and Lucky Chingara.

Another MDC youth activist, Bothwell Pasipamire of Kadoma Central in
Mashonaland West province, was kidnapped four days ago; while Peter Munyanyi
of Ward 8 in Gutu North constituency Masvingo province, was abducted this
week at Uchinda Business Centre, by armed soldiers led by a colonel.

Meanwhile a group of MDC activists abducted from the Banket area are still
missing, almost two months after they were abducted from their homes around
27 October, and the police have not complied with court orders.

One of the victims' lawyers, Alex Muchadehama, said it is now a question of
who is going to police, the police and the security agents, as they are the
perpetrators of violence.

Muchadehama said the police are ignoring court orders even in the case of
Jestina Mukoko, the Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project.  Police were
ordered to place alerts in the media, to conduct thorough searches and to
update the courts on a daily basis, but they have done none of this.

A frustrated Muchadehama said it's now total lawlessness that is being
perpetrated. No one has been arrested in the normal sense of the word, or
advised of their rights to a lawyer, or has appeared in court before an
impartial judge and tried within a reasonable time. "That due process in
terms of the constitution has not been followed.'

The lawyer is concerned that there will be an increase in abductions, as
more and more activists report that they are being tailed by 'faceless
thugs.'

Meanwhile it's reported that almost all MDC activists in Bindura are on the
run, and they have been under constant threat since the death of ZANU PF
gangster Elliot Manyika in a car accident last week.

The MDC issued a statement Tuesday saying the police have falsely imprisoned
three party officials in Bindura. 11 of the 12 MDC councillors of the
Bindura Municipality fled their homes after police arrested Ward 10
councillor Norbert Dhokotera and two other MDC activists, in pre-dawn raids
on Monday night. Those arrested are being held at Bindura Central Police
Station on undisclosed charges.

Dhokotera had been arrested and then released last week on false charges of
petrol bombing the houses of Zanu PF supporters. He was released after it
turned out that it was Zanu PF youths who had petrol bombed five houses
belonging to MDC supporters.

CA successfully stages a demonstration in Harare

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

N
Wednesday, 17 December 2008

More than 600 members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
took to the streets in Harare's Central Business District (CBD). The march
was a continuous call for the government to embrace the NCA's three-point
plan for the achievement of democracy and national recovery. The
demonstration was however disrupted by riot police and there were several
arrests and injuries.
The protest started at the corner of Cameroon Street and Jason Moyo
Avenue. The demonstrators had placards calling for a transitional
government, free and fair elections as well as a people driven constitution.
As they proceeded towards Parliament, the demonstrators chanted slogans and
distributed fliers outlining the NCA's three point plan.

As they neared parliament, the protestors were attacked by riot police
who also threw teargas, leading to their dispersement. More than 11 people
were picked up whilst 8 other experienced serious injuries.

Meanwhile, only 20 of the 51 people who were arrested in the wake of
yesterday's demonstration have been released. The 20, who were being held at
Budiriro 2 Police Station, were released without any charges preferred
against them. The other 31 are however still detained at Central Police
Station. They have been denied access to food as well as legal aid.

The NCA strongly condems the continued use of repressive state
apparatus to silence dissenting voices. No amount of violence and
intimidation however strong will deter us from our cause. We also condemn
the unlawful detention of our members and call for their immediate release.

We remain committed to our cause for the achievement of democracy and
national recovery.

Issued by NCA Information and Publicity Department

Eleven arrested, 6 injured as police crush another NCA demo

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
17 December 2008

Police in Harare moved to crush another demonstration by the National
Constitutional Assembly on Wednesday, arresting 11 activists and injuring 6
others. According to NCA spokesman Madock Chivasa, up to 1000 activists,
some of them frustrated members of the public waiting in cash queues, joined
the protests demanding a transitional authority to break the political
deadlock. NCA activists grouped together at the Copacabana Restaurant before
marching uptown towards parliament, where MP's were entering into a second
day of sittings.

Riot police however intercepted the marchers near First Street and used
teargas to disperse them. Those caught and arrested by police were clobbered
with baton sticks, resulting in the injuries. Chivasa told Newsreel one of
the activists holding the main NCA banner during the march was abducted by
unidentified men wearing plain clothes. His whereabouts are still unknown
and the NCA is also trying to ascertain his name. He has still to be located
in any one of the police stations searched so far.

On Tuesday the NCA held countrywide demonstrations in which 51 of their
members were arrested. Chivasa said only 20 of the 51 have been released
from Budiriro Police Station where they were being held. No charges were
placed on them. The remaining 31 from Tuesday's demo are being held at
Harare Central police station. With Wednesday's arrest of 11 activists, the
total number of NCA members in custody is 42.
The NCA is demanding a transitional government, free and fair elections and
a people driven constitution. They issued a statement condemning the, 'the
continued use of repressive state apparatus to silence dissenting voices. No
amount of violence and intimidation however strong will deter us from our
cause. We also condemn the unlawful detention of our members and call for
their immediate release.'

Parliament reopens to concerned debate over cholera and economy

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
17 December 2008

Parliament reopened this week, more than a month after sitting was adjourned
because of the chronic shortage of water and cash, and unsurprisingly the
effects of both such shortages were hot topics of debate.

Last month parliamentary business came to a halt just a few hours after the
legislators had resumed sitting, when the Speaker of the House of Assembly,
Lovemore Moyo, called an adjournment until December, citing shortages in
both water and financial resources. The House of Assembly had originally
been forced to adjourn on the 23rd October to 11th November because of lack
of funds from government, after reports claimed that MPs based outside
Harare were being turned away from hotels in the capital as there was no
money to pay their bills.

MPs returned to the parliament building on Tuesday, where only eight days
worth of sessions have so far sat since the new parliament structure was
elected earlier this year. Hot on the agenda was both the collapse of the
country's economy in the past month, as well as the devastating cholera
outbreak that has officially claimed almost 1000 lives.

MDC Chief Whip Innocent Gonese said that on Tuesday legislators in the lower
house of Assembly had moved the adjournment of the house "to debate what is
a very concerning and worrying issue and that is the cholera outbreak."
Gonese said MPs expressed great concern over the lack of clean, healthy
water available for distribution, and further explained that the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority (ZINWA) had been proved to be incapable of
providing safe water.

"A parliamentary portfolio committee had made recommendations to the house
that ZINWA did not have the capacity to deliver on it's promises to provide
real and safe service," Gonese said. "This has since been proven to be
correct."

On Wednesday, while the Senate was adjourned until next year, debate
continued, but moved onto the issue of the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy.
Gonese explained that there are definite concerns that all structures in the
country have collapsed, and said the motion for debate was received with
"overwhelming support from the house."

The House of Assembly is expected to adjourn until the New Year.

SADC hopeful Zim inclusive govt will be formed this week

http://www.buanews.gov.za

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
Date: 17 Dec 2008

By Luyanda Makapela

Pretoria - President Kgalema Motlanthe has announced that the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) was expecting Zimbabwe to finally form
an inclusive government by the end of this week.

"Due to the current negotiations currently taking place between the two
Zimbabwe parties, we are very optimistic that an inclusive government will
be formed before the end of the week," said President Motlanthe at the Union
Buildings on Wednesday.

Addressing reporters in Pretoria on the SADC's announcement that it will
launch a non-partisan assistance programme on the humanitarian crisis in
Zimbabwe, Mr Motlanthe said the establishment of an inclusive government in
that country was something long overdue and there was a great need to speed
up the process.

"An inclusive government in Zimbabwe should be established sooner than
yesterday as it is almost a year since the March elections, we are waiting
and hoping that the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan
Tshvangirai and Professor Arthur Mtambara will be sworn in as Cabinet
members by the end of this week," he said.

With regards to the media reports and allegations that Botswana was training
MDC cadres to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, President Motlanthe said
that SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation was tasked to
deal with the matter and verify whether this was true.

"The Organ has been to Botswana and met with its authorities and we are
awaiting a report from them (SADC Organ), but our view is that there is no
substance to that allegation," said Mr Motlanthe.

He said the reason why SADC was of the view that these allegations were
baseless was that this was not allowed, according to SADC principles.

President Motlanthe said since the allegations were made officially, it was
SADC's mandate to investigate such allegations.

On Monday, the Zimbabwean Government had gazetted the Constitutional
Amendment No. 19, which gives legal effect to Zimbabwe's proposed inclusive
government once it is approved by Parliament.

Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has already indicated that the
Bill providing for the setting up of the inclusive government would be
tabled in Parliament after which it would take about two weeks to be debate
and passed into law.

The Bill requires a two thirds majority to pass through Parliament.

Mr Chinamasa called on all parties represented to support the Bill as none
of the parties had the required majority to ensure its passage alone. -
BuaNews

Official: Mugabe to announce new Zimbabwe cabinet early next week

http://www.apanews.net

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is due to form a
unity government within the coming week in a bid to end an eight-month
hiatus that has dragged the troubled southern African country deeper into
economic crisis, his spokesman said here on Wednesday.

Responding to Monday's decision by the UN Security Council to block efforts
to send a military force to Zimbabwe, presidential spokesman George Charamba
told the official Herald newspaper that Mugabe would proceed to announce an
all-inclusive government even if opposition leader and prime
minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai remained in a self-imposed exile in
Botswana.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe's ZANU PF have
been locked up in a bitter dispute over the allocation of cabinet portfolios
in the unity government since they signed a power-sharing agreement in
September.

Mugabe published a constitutional amendment last Saturday which paves the
way for him to announce a new government.

"I happen to know that some time this week or early next week, communication
inviting both MDC formations to join government would be made," Charamba
said, according to the state-owned daily.

Tsvangirai has not returned to Zimbabwe since early November when he
attended an emergency summit of the Southern African Development Community
in South Africa.

He said he fears he would not be allowed to leave the country if he returns
home since the government has refused to issue him with a full passport
following the expiry of his previous travel document last year.

He has been travelling on a temporary document which is usually valid for a
single trip.

  JN/nm/APA 2008-12-17

SADC deals major blow to Zim allegations against Botswana

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
17 December 2008

The Zimbabwe regime's case against Botswana was dealt a major blow
Wednesday, when the SADC chairman disclosed the regional bloc does not
believe Botswana was training MDC 'militants' to try to overthrow Robert
Mugabe.
Briefing journalists in Pretoria, the SADC chair and South African President
Kgalema Motlanthe, made it clear the bloc 'never believed' the allegations
leveled against Botswana by Zimbabwe. Botswana has vehemently denied the
allegations, while the MDC described them as a 'joke'. Tendai Biti, the MDC
Secretary General, said the allegations were part of a plot to create a
pretext for declaring a state of emergency that would give Mugabe broad
security powers.
Journalists were of the view that what Motlanthe said Wednesday could be
read as criticism of Mugabe's leadership, but the South African leader
stopped short of an explicit denunciation.
Zimbabwe has been trying to build up a case against Botswana, accusing the
western neighbour of training MDC 'insurgents' to oust Mugabe and increasing
tensions between the two countries. Botswana's President Ian Khama is one of
few African leaders to publicly criticize Mugabe. He has called for new
elections, after Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai reached deadlock
over posts in a shared administration.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Monday told the Herald newspaper the
regime had evidence Botswana was giving military training to members of
Tsvangirai's MDC as part of a plot to remove Mugabe. Chinamasa added that
Botswana had 'availed its territory, material and logistical support to the
MDC-T, for the recruitment and military training of youths for the eventual
destabilisation of the country with a view of effecting illegal regime
change'.

Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi on Tuesday told the Herald newspaper that
Air Marshal Perence Shiri's 'assassination' attempt had been politically
motivated, and he said the shooting was part of 'a buildup of terror attacks
targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government
establishments and public transportation systems.'
His statement cited bombings in August of the Harare Central Police Station,
a road and railroad bridges, as well as November bombings of the criminal
investigation department's headquarters in Harare and, again, the police
station. It alleged that after investigations of the attacks, plastic
explosives were recovered from a senior MDC official.

But Motlanthe's statement in Pretoria put paid to ZANU PF's strategy of
concocting evidence based on alleged confessions by abducted MDC activists.
According to some reports the regime recently sent a dossier containing
hundreds of pages and three DVD's showing MDC 'insurgents' confessing to
training in Botswana.  The MDC said the people featured on the videos were
party activists abducted from Mashonaland West a month ago, including their
director of intelligence who was abducted from his home in Harare.

The MDC said this is a strategy the regime has used countless times against
anyone who has dared challenge Mugabe's hold on power.

The party's chief representative in the UK Hebson Makuvise said SADC must
have grown tired with the same story line Mugabe has used for over two
decades.

'Remember these are the same allegations they brought against Ndabaningi
Sithole, Edgar Tekere and lately Morgan Tsvangirai. What do these men have
in common? They all have stood up against Mugabe's misrule and it just tells
you these are cooked up stories that they manufacture each time they are
cornered,' Makuvise said.

The chief representative said Motlanthe was the best placed person to
rubbish the allegations, taking into account that Mugabe last year made the
same allegations against the South African government.

'ZANU PF made similar allegations last year against South Africa to a point
were Thabo Mbeki invited them to search the so called MDC training camps on
South African soil. After weeks of searches they found nothing and nothing
was never heard of again about these allegations. So Motlanthe being part of
the South African government and head of SADC knows better,' Makuvise added.

Meanwhile, questions are being raised about the recent sequence of events
that have seen one of Mugabe's main architects of terror dying and two being
injured in unexplained incidents.

Elliot Manyika, who terrorized the whole country when leading the Border
Gezi green bombers, died in a mysterious car crash two weeks ago. Last week
the chief commander of farm grabs Joseph Chinotimba, sustained serious
injuries in another car crash. Reports say he is now paralysed after
suffering a broken back. and questions remain as to why details of the
incident were only released in the state media on Wednesday.

Last Saturday the most infamous of Mugabe's henchmen, Air Marshall Perence
Shiri, is reported to have survived an assassination attempt, although
events around the incident raise many questions.  With ZANU PF well known
for eliminating its own opponents, many observers believe these three cases
clearly indicate in-fighting, jockeying for position and a party facing
imminent collapse, as it turns on it's own.

SA limits our ability to help

From The Cape Argus (SA), 16 December

UN waits for SA to leave security council before moving on Zim crisis

Joe Lauria

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Robert Mugabe "mad" at a UN
Security Council closed-door meeting last night, but diplomats said the
council had put off action against the Zimbabwean president until South
Africa leaves the council at the end of the month. As a two-year,
non-permanent Security Council member, Pretoria has taken the lead in
blocking UN engagement in Zimbabwe. It kept the issue off the agenda as long
as it could until South Africa helped point the way for Russia and China to
veto UN sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies earlier this year,
diplomats said. Britain has led the opposing council charge to confront
Mugabe. London called yesterday's meeting at which Rice, the prime minister
of Croatia, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon blasted Mugabe.

South Africa has consistently argued that UN involvement in Zimbabwe was
meddling in a purely internal matter that did not infringe on international
peace and security. But Britain and its US and European allies say the
cholera epidemic spilling over Zimbabwe's borders into Botswana, Mozambique
and South Africa are a reason for international intervention. They were
backed yesterday by Ban. The secretary-general took a swipe at former
President Thabo Mbeki, still the Zimbabwe mediator for the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), who has been criticised in the West for
protecting Mugabe. "Despite our continued efforts, I unfortunately have to
conclude that neither the government nor the mediator welcomes a UN
political role and there is limited space for my good offices," Ban told the
council. "This clearly limits our ability to effectively help find immediate
remedies to this crisis."

Zimbabwe has refused to allow Ban's special envoy to enter the country. The
government blocked a group of elders, led by former US president Jimmy
Carter and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. After naming human rights
abuses, diseases and economic problems that Ban blamed on the government,
the secretary-general said: "There is still denial of the gravity of the
humanitarian situation in the country and the collapse of state structures."
Ban called for the immediate formation of a unity government. Talks between
the government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have
collapsed. Though calls for outside intervention, including international
military action, are rising, Miliband told the Cape Argus that it was up to
Zimbabweans to find a political solution. through political negotiations.

Dumisani Kumalo, South Africa's ambassador, told the meeting that while
there was consensus that Zimbabwe was in trouble, there was disagreement on
a solution. Kumalo said SADC could help Zimbabwe without outside
interference. This ran directly counter to Miliband, who said: "I think that
the crisis in Zimbabwe is a crisis for the whole of Southern Africa and
that's why it belongs on the agenda of the UN Security Council." He said
Britain had called the meeting to "re-start UN engagement on this issue".
Rice made a strong presentation to the Security Council, at one point
questioning Mugabe's sanity, one diplomat said. "She didn't make proposals,
she just vented," he said. That was in keeping with the rest of the council,
which proposed no concrete measures to be taken. Diplomats said they
expected Britain to take up the matter again after the new year, when South
Africa's time on the council will have elapsed. Its seat is being taken by
Uganda, which has not played the kind of direct role in Zimbabwe that
Pretoria has.

S Africa Won't Ask Robert Mugabe To Step Down - President

http://www.nasdaq.com/

PRETORIA (AFP)--President Kgalema Motlanthe said Wednesday South Africa
wouldn't join international calls for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to
step down, saying it was "not for us" to do so.

"It's really not for us," he said when asked at a news conference how bad
conditions had to get in Zimbabwe before South Africa would say it was time
for him to step down.

"I mean I don't know if the British feel qualified to impose that on the
people of Zimbabwe but we feel that we should really support and take our
cue from what they want," he said.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  12-17-080434ET

Succession issue behind Zanu PF's internal divisions and assassination attempts - MDC

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/2944

The MDC notes with disbelief the assassination attempt of Air Marshall
Perence Shiri as reported in The Herald of 16 December 2008.

As a party, we condemn the use of violence in any form whatsoever as an
instrument of navigating any political crisis or as a means of achieving or
attaining any political goal. We therefore wish Perence Shiri a quick
recovery wherever he is.

However, in our respectful view, it is important to identify and unpack the
real reasons behind the destabilization and internal conflicts in Zanu PF
which we consider to be behind the assassination attempt on Perence Shiri.

In our view, central to the slow and decisive death of Zanu PF is the fact
that this is a nationalist party that is now fundamentally exhausted and
tired. Exhausted nationalism creates conditions for internal destabilization
and a discourse of internal civil conflict. When that happens, "The
revolution begins to eat its own children."

Any nationalist party, for it to survive, has to undergo periodic rebirth
and renewal. Unfortunately, Zanu PF has failed to renew and refresh itself
and those who have been controlling it since time immemorial have failed to
pass on the baton.

The party has thus remained arrested in a modicum of sterility, banality and
dishonesty. It is a party that believes its own propaganda and at the end of
the day, is violence to thank for its extrajudicial existence.

In short, it is the unresolved issue of succession in Zanu PF that is at the
root cause of the violence against Perence Shiri and the dislocation in Zanu
PF. We saw this dislocation in November 2004 when six province chairpersons
were expelled after the failure of the Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Chinamasa
failed debacle. That same crisis gave birth to Simba Makoni and the
Mavambo/Kusile experiment and only this weekend, we saw the revival of Zapu
and the election of Dumiso Dabengwa as national chairman.

In our view, there are so many individuals and factions vying to succeed the
aged Mugabe. However, each of those factions has a control and influence on
members of the army. Therefore, Zanu PF factionalism and unresolved
succession battles are also being played out in the military junta. The
arsenal used against Shiri could only have been owned and possessed by
members of the Zimbabwe National Army.

For the stability of this country and the good of its people, it is
important and imperative that Zanu PF resolves its succession issue. This
matter is not an internal one to the extent that conflicts in Zanu PF over
the same have a multiplier effect in the peace and stability that is
enshrined in our Constitution. Violence threatens the rule of law, the
Constitution itself and gives excuse to the declaration of a state of
emergency. This country surely cannot afford this.

We therefore hope that the Zanu PF Bindura conference will not be another
talk shop and will put a full stop on the succession issue.

MDC Information and Publicity Department

Via Press Release

This entry was written by Sokwanele on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Crackdown looms after air chief shot

http://www.nzherald.co.nz

4:00AM Thursday Dec 18, 2008
Daniel Howden

President Robert Mugabe is planning to declare a state of emergency in
Zimbabwe, the Opposition said yesterday, after what the Government claims
was an assassination attempt on the Air Force chief.

Perence Shiri, one of Mugabe's inner circle, was shot in the arm on Sunday,
media reports claim. Attacks of this kind are almost unheard of in Zimbabwe,
where the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change has insisted on using
peaceful means.

A day earlier, the Zimbabwe Government accused neighbouring Botswana, whose
President, Seretse Ian Khama, is among the few African leaders to openly
criticise Mugabe, of training rebels to launch a coup attempt. The
accusations were strenuously denied, but Opposition leaders fear they will
be used as justification for another violent crackdown on political
opponents.

A senior Opposition leader, Tendai Biti, said the ruling party was getting
ready to declare a state of emergency as a prelude to outlawing the MDC.

Air Marshal Shiri was reportedly ambushed on the way to his farm, which was
seized from a white farmer eight years ago, and is now recovering in a
Harare hospital.

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The Home Affairs Minister, Kembo Mohadi, said this had been an attempt to
destabilise the country. "The attack on Air Marshal Shiri appears to be a
build-up of terror attacks targeting high-profile persons, government
officials, government establishments and public transportation systems,"
Mohadi said.

Earlier this week, the Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said he had
"compelling evidence" that MDC members were being trained in Botswana to
fight.

The Zimbabwe people are in the grip of what Opposition Senator David Coltart
has called the "perfect humanitarian storm". A cholera outbreak has claimed
at least 1000 lives, the United Nations says, with officials from Zimbabwe's
Health Ministry privately saying the real figure could be at least five
times higher. With the collapse of the health system, Zimbabweans have been
flocking across the borders to South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.

Mugabe, 84, claims cholera is being used as a cover for foreign
intervention, and one of his ministers accused Britain and the United States
of using "chemical warfare" against the country. Despite the crises, Mugabe
and his ruling Zanu-PF party have refused to honour a power-sharing
agreement with the Opposition.

- INDEPENDENT

Soldier with a brutal past

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

4:00AM Thursday Dec 18, 2008
Daniel Howden

Perence Shiri is a name that will permanently be connected to the worst
crimes against humanity in Zimbabwe.

While much of the world was still feting Robert Mugabe and the new
independence government in 1982, Colonel Shiri, as he then was, was leading
a battalion of North Korean-trained soldiers in a massacre of political
opponents in Matabeleland.

Researchers believe as many as 20,000 were murdered and dumped in unmarked
graves. That atrocity cemented Colonel Shiri's place in the Mugabe regime
and catapulted him up the military ranks. Ever since, he has been at the
fore during each of the worst periods of oppression.

He was promoted to the rank of air marshal and rewarded with a selection of
farms seized from white owners.

Marshal Shiri is also a leading member of the Joint Operations Command, the
inner cell of Mugabe cronies who planned the terror campaign unleashed on
the population after the March election defeat for the ruling party. He is
among the handful in Zimbabwe with the most to fear from any future war
crimes investigations.

- INDEPENDENT

Mugabe party jamboree begins in shadow of cholera

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Africa News
By Jan Raath Dec 17, 2008, 12:43 GMT

Harare - President Robert Mugabe's once indomitable Zanu-PF party gathers on
Thursday for its annual national conference with little of substance on the
agenda and the threat of cholera looming over the three-day jamboree.

The 4,000 delegates are to issued with bottled water and water bowsers will
be on hand at the venue, a tiny state university in the agricultural town of
Bindura, about 80 kilometres north of Harare, said party spokesman Ephraim
Masawi. Delegates will also be barred from bringing food into the venue.

However, medical experts who asked not to be named said the conference was a
potential catalyst for a new outbreak of the epidemic that has killed close
to 1,000 people and infected over 18,000 since it began in August.

Residents in Bindura confirm that the university had been without running
water since the beginning of the year, and the toilets have been out of
operation for months. Authorities finally sent students home in October.

A nearby high school in whose classrooms most delegates are due to
accommodated, is also without water, the sources said.

'It's madness to bringing together a crowd that size,' said e medical
source. 'Many of the people attending will be from urban townships where the
epidemic is at its worst. It's almost a certainty that people with cholera
will be there, mingling, shaking hands, sharing food.'

Last week Mugabe declared that authorities had 'arrested' the epidemic, an
assertion that was met immediately with vigorous denial from the World
Health Organisation and aid agencies.

In November, authorities banned Zanu-PF's hated opponent, Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, from holding a rally in Harare,
citing 'a danger of the spread of cholera.'

Cholera is the latest crisis to hit Zimbabwe, already dogged by widespread
hunger and the collapse of state services.

The party conference takes place amid rumblings of growing discontent within
Mugabe's clique.

Several incidents of rioting and looting by soldiers in Harare recently
exposed serious levels of indiscipline and discontent.

Within Zanu-PF itself, there are open signs of rebellion. At this week's
elections for the leadership of the party's Harare province, the most
important in the country, factional violence broke out.

The state-controlled Herald reported that youths from one faction stoned
police trying to keep order. The leadership of one faction had to flee on
foot.

In the western provinces of Matabeleland, almost the entire Zanu--PF
membership is rumoured to have deserted out of discontent, leaving a
threadbare hierarchy.

The shooting in the hand of air force commander Perence Shiri at the
weekend, coming after the death in a car accident of another senior party
official, have also stoked speculation of spiralling Zanu-PF infighting.

Mugabe's regime has accused the MDC of training youths in Botswana for
'banditry' - claims rejected by Zimbabwe's neighbours in the Southern
African Development Community as to be taken 'with a pinch of salt'.

The MDC has lashed back, saying violence involving Zanu-PF members is likely
caused by the party's unresolved succession issue.

Mugabe has ruled with a vice grip for nearly 29 years. Ever since his
authority and popularity began to be questioned in the mid-1990s, discussion
about when he will retire and who will replace him have been firmly quashed.

'This is a nationalist party that is now exhausted and tired,' said Nelson
Chamisa, spokesman for the MDC, which dealt Zanu-PF its first-ever electoral
defeat in elections this year.

'Zanu-PF has failed to renew and refresh itself and those who have been
controlling it since time immemorial have failed to pass on the baton,' he
said, adding: 'When this happens, the revolution begins to eat its own
children.'

At public appearances over the last week, the smooth-faced Mugabe looked as
if he had aged rapidly. He appeared haggard, anxious - but as grimly
determined as ever.

Mental patients perish from starvation, as Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis deepens

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=844

By Moses Muchemwa
Bulawayo (ZimEye)-Over fifty mental patients at Zimbabwe's Ingutsheni
hospital in Bulawayo have died of hunger as the institution has run out of
food and depleted drugs stocks.
.
A senior official at the hospital, Naboth Chaibva said the deaths were
caused by an acute shortage of food. He noted that as a result of the
unbalanced diet, the hospital continued to record a number of deaths because
of malnutrition.

Deaths related to hunger are also recorded daily in prisons.

Under normal circumstances Ingutsheni hospital patients get three meals a
day and snacks but all that is a thing of the past. Chaibva added that the
number of inmates have been slashed to 450 from 600, citing serious shortage
of food. The 400 inmates at the institution are not getting a high protein
diet although their medication requires a lot of food.

Zimbabwe is reeling under one of the worst economic crisis worldwide, with
an inflation figure hitting 5 quintillion, according to independent
statisticians. The economic meltdown is blamed on President Robert Mugabe's
28-year rule.

To worsen the shortage of food, the hospital is operating with a skeleton
staff since doctors, nurses and other medical staff are leaving the ravaged
country to neighbouring states for greener pastures. Chaibva said
experienced staff was resigning due to pathetic salaries.

The deaths at the mental health institution come against a backdrop of
rising cholera deaths, which have reached 1 000. Close to 20 000 cases have
been recorded countrywide.

Zimbabwe's economy, healthcare and education systems have collapsed, with
critics pointing Mugabe's maladministration and rampant corruption as forces
behind the deteriorating living standards.
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
(moses Muchemwa is a journalist and partner with the ZimEye. He can be
contacted at mmuchemwa@zimEye.com)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am

Chiredzi General Hospital Closed

http://www.radiovop.com


Chiredzi- Chiredzi General Hospital, Masvingo's second largest
hospital which services clinics from as far as Crook's Corner in Chikombedzi
and Rupangwana on the border with Manicaland, was closed this week following
a critical manpower shortage as nurses and doctors' strike deepens.

Speaking to Radio VOP soon after the closure of the Hospital, Chiredzi
West Member of Parliament Moses Mare said: "The situation is very bad in
Chiredzi. As I am speaking, eightpeople have already died due to lack of
medication since the closure of the hospital. Cholera is still making a
bumper harvest in my area."
"Zinwa (Zimbabwe National Water Revenue) has completely failed and now
the hospital has been closed. We are very worried because this development
would mean more deaths in Chiredzi," explained Mare.

The institution was also facing serious food and medical shortages
among others.

"I am still shocked, I never thought the situation would end up like
this. Our lives are in danger, we can not afford to go for medication in
private institutions because we don't have the money. We are appealing to
the authorities to help us immediately," said a resident Malver Dhlakama.

Most residents cannot afford private surgeries as they charge clients
in foreign currency.

"I can not afford the money for medication at private hospitals
because they are charging a minimum of R100 as consultation fee. We don't
earn forex and we shall die if the situation is ignored," said another
resident.

The Provincial Medical director (PMD) Dr Robert Mudyiradima could not
comment as he was reported to have gone to a funeral service. His deputy Dr
Jaravaza also failed to shed light concerning the issue. Dr Jaravaza said he
was still in the process to get accurate information from Dr Ngere, the
District Medical Officer.

Most major hospitals in Zimbabwe have closed under similar conditions.

Meanwhile, Cholera is still spreading in Chiredzi town. There are
three recorded deaths in the town while 120 cases of Cholera were treated
this month. An average of 47 patients are treated for cholera at the
Chiredzi Poly Clinic.
Gwachara resettlement area recorded more incidences of Cholera as they
lack clean water for consumption.

Zimbabwe is facing a cholera outbreak since August that has seen 1 000
lives lost.

Chiredzi: Cholera updates

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Chiredzi Town (Chiredzi West constituency) We have a known 147 cases
of Cholera with 6 deaths to date.

People are angry and frustrated trying to get money out of the banks
and when they do manage this task they can buy very little food with it. I
have not seen any NGO food in Chiredzi at all.

Local Communal areas. (Chiredzi East, North and South constituency's)
There are reports of Cholera cases and deaths coming in from the communal
areas, but nothing official, definitely wide spread now with a report that
it is within 12km of Chikombedzi Township a hundred km to the south of
Chiredzi. (Chiredzi South constituency)

NGO's are in the communal areas distributing grain but reports say
that many needy people are getting nothing, it seems that if a village has
some cattle or goats they get less because they are told to sell their stock
for food.

Comment
In all these areas there is no visible effort to combat the spread of
cholera; even with a massive effort put in place, I feel that cholera and
other diseases will spread rapidly into our neighbouring countries and
eventually overseas. Zimbabwe has a dysfunctional government in fact a bunch
of criminals running it for their own gains and they have no compassion for
the people.

If nothing is done soon to end the Mugabe regimes rein of terror,
there is no telling what disease or evil will appear next.

Cholera Education Campaign For Farm Workers

http://www.radiovop.com


HARARE, December 17, 2008 - THE General Plantation Workers' Union of
Zimbabwe (Gawpuz) has embarked on campaign to education farm workers about
cholera which has killed nearly 1 000 people in the country since the
outbreak in August this year.

Gapwuz secretary-general Gertrude Hambira said the campaign was
started after releasing that farm workers were some of the people affected
by the disease because of their status in society.
She said educating farm workers about the causes, symptoms and
prevention methods would help them fight the disease.
The workers were also being taught how to help a cholera patient
before taking him or her to the nearest health centre.
"We believe that knowledge is power and once the farm workers know
what not to do, that is the beginning but our main worry is that there is no
provision of good quality water at the farms and has called on the concerned
stakeholders to assist with the provision of medication and water
purification tablets," said Hambira.
Gapwuz is the country's largest farm worker representative body with
over 30 000 members. Hambira said the wave of cholera, a contagious disease,
which has hit most urban areas in Zimbabwe, has not spared the farming and
rural areas as farm workers have also succumbed to the disease.
She said farm workers were most affected because most of them do not
have access to clean running water.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) fears that the disease that broke
out in August may affect 60 000 people in a few weeks.

Dialling for information and news

 

Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Digital Planet Alka Marwaha BBC World Service The project is using mobiles, landlines and internet phones A new information service to deliver news and public-interest information via land, mobile and internet phones is being trialled in Zimbabwe. The 'Freedom Fone' project is being run by a non-governmental organisation called Kubatana. Digital Planet, BBC World Service's technology programme, spoke to Brenda Burrell who is the organisation's technical director. "What we are trying to do with Freedom Fone is simplify the interactive use of voice response (IVR) for non-technical users", said Ms Burrell. "IVR has been around for many years now and many people have used it when they hit an automated answering service that directs them to select certain numbers from their keypad to direct their call to the relevant place. "The aim of the project is to make IVR a means to which people can extend their information campaigns," she added. Prototype Sexual violence against women is a massive problem in DR Congo Audio files are stored by Freedom Fone in a content management system, which is updated through a simple browser interface. These audio clips populate an IVR menu through which callers can navigate for information. "Essentially what you do is upload audio files, so they build these little audio menus, so that you can welcome someone to your service and offer them options that they can select," said Ms Burrell. The target market for Freedom Fone is among development organisations or social groups in communities, who know that the best way to reach their audiences is through telephony rather than through tools like the internet and email. "The most common technology device they have is a mobile phone and many more people have access to those than they do to the internet and email," said Ms Burrell. "We know that increasingly in some countries, more people have access to mobile phones than they do to television or radio," she added. It could be information on where they could get themselves tested for HIV Brenda Burrell Although texting could be another way of delivering information, it does have its limitations. "One of the limits of SMS is there are only 160 characters that you can use to leave your message," said Ms Burrell. Freedom Fone has been used as a prototype in a number of information campaigns, one of which was a sexual health campaign called "Auntie Stella". "Young people have questions that they are often embarassed to ask, so we felt that this was an interesting way to deploy Freedom Fone - targeting an audience that typically has taken to mobile telephony," said Ms Burrell. As the project is still in its early stages, every information campaign is providing new and creative ways of disseminating the information using IVR. "It could be information on where they could get themselves tested for HIV, or it could be a service that provides a very small minority with information in their own language," said Ms Burrell. The future The feedback from those that have used Freedom Fone has been positive. "We found people to be quite inspired by the prospects of what could be done with the tool," said Ms Burrell. "We have had people from the DRC contact us, they are interested in using the tool to provide support to women who have been the victims of sexual assault as a result of the unrest in that country. "We have also had people from Thailand, to help support sex workers because they are an audience that's unlikely to access radio and will need to be producing their own support materials over time. "It's just a question of re-directing information and how we package it," she added. People can use Freedom Fone to convey whatever message and whatever content they need to Brenda Burrell One of the major drawbacks of the phone information service is the cost. "Its major impediment is that people have to dial up and pay for information, or your service has to pay to dial or call back," said Ms Burrell. The project is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, where news and information are heavily censored by the government, so the safety of those using and consuming information via Freedom Fone is an issue. "People can use Freedom Fone to convey whatever message and whatever content they need to," said Ms Burrell. "However, this tool is going to make a difference to anybody reaching out in the health services or those working in disaster relief scenarios," she added.

UN to cut food rations to Zimbabwe as food shortage soars

http://en.afrik.com

The UN issued a warning, Tuesday, indicating it may cut food rations to the
crisis-stricken country of Zimbabwe. The number of Zimbabweans who receive
food rations is expected to soar from 4 to over 5 million next month amid a
growing cholera crisis which is also expected to worsen and possibly affect
the whole region during the rainy season, which has already begun.
(Wednesday 17 December - 13:11)

Zimbabwe pumps cash into economy to ease crunch

http://uk.reuters.com

Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:56pm GMT

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank on Thursday injected 80 trillion
Zimbabwe dollars (5.2 million pounds) in new bank notes into the economy in
a bid to end cash shortages that have seen hordes besieging banks amid a
deepening economic crisis.

Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world, officially above 231
million percent but believed to be significantly higher, and bank notes have
joined a long list of shortages in the country.

The crisis-hit southern African country is also battling a cholera epidemic
that has killed at least 565 people, according to the United Nations.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe RBZ.L Governor Gideon Gono told reporters the
central bank would continue to take measures to meet the high demand for
cash.

"Banking institutions were issued with a total of Z$80 trillion to prepare
their systems for the increased cash withdrawal limits beginning on the 4th
of December, through the issuance of new notes," Gono said.

The central bank introduced new higher value notes in Z$10 million, Z$50
million and Z$100 million denominations and raised cash withdrawal limits
five-fold to Z$500,000 million per week from December12, and Z$10 billion
per month with effect from December19.

Workers would be allowed to withdraw their entire salaries upon presentation
of a pay cheque, from January 12 2009, Gono said.

He said the new measures had been agreed to with the country's main labour
federation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions ZCTU.L, whose leaders Gono
met on Wednesday after they called for nationwide protests over the bank
note shortages.

Tensions rose as groups of unarmed soldiers this week clashed with police
after going on a rampage, seizing cash from foreign currency traders and
looting shops.

Critics say President Robert Mugabe's policies, such as the seizure of
white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks, have ruine the economy. He
blames Western sanctions for the crisis.

Analysts say a power-sharing pact signed by Mugabe and bitter opposition
rival Morgan Tsvangirai presents the best hope to rescue the economy, but
the agreement is threatened by a raging dispute over control of key
ministries.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Phumza Macanda and Victoria Main)

Politburo vetoes declaration of State of Emergency

http://www.zimdaily.com

By NOZIPHO MASEKO

Published: Wednesday 17 December 2008

ZIMBABWE - HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday decided against
declaring a state of Emergency in Zimbabwe, after mulling this option,
ending intense speculations that kept the country on tenterhooks.

After a string of statements from both the ruling party and opposition
politicians since late last weekend, openly speculating about President
Mugabe's plans to declare a State of Emergency, a top Politburo member
announced that Emergency was not being clamped and "all speculations and
rumours about it are unfounded".

The official, who spoke after attending the crucial Zanu-PF Politburo
meeting in Harare Tuesday, said the President wants free, fair and
transparent elections if the talks with the MDC failed. He had played safe
since weekend neither confirming nor denying moves to clamp Emergency.

"The President wants free, fair and transparent elections if the talks with
the MDC flops," the official said. "Any action that will play a negative
role is not in line with his thinking.

In the current situation, the President thinks that there is no requirement
of a State of Emergency and that is why there is no question of imposing
Emergency now," he said.

Mugabe's decision came a day ahead of the official opening of his Zanu-PF
national people's conference in Bindura tomorrow. He opens the conference
with his party embattled and deeply divided, rocked by massive factionalism
and desertions.

Significantly, the official admitted there was pressure from different
quarters for the imposition of a State of Emergency. There was pressure on
the President from different political sources that it was time to impose
Emergency, but the decision was left for President Mugabe himself to make,
he said.

Outgoing Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasda stocked the speculation fires
when he said that there was "compelling evidence" that the MDC was preparing
for war while negotiating and that condition was ripe for a state of
Emergency and the government was seriously considering it.

He said the MDC was working with Botswana, offering military training to MDC
supporters. Chinamasa had also cited "external and internal threats" and the
deteriorating law and order situation in the country.

"There is a provision in the constitution regarding imposition of emergency
but the president is of the opinion that the present time is not fit for
enforcing it," the official said.

Many political analysts believe that the accusations that the MDC could have
been linked to the shooting of Air Marshall Perence Shiri last weekend made
some government ministers to openly speculate about it.

Also, exiled former MDC President, Morgan Tsvangirai, widely reported to be
a special guest of Botswana President Ian Khama, said that imposition of
emergency would be a 'drastic' step.

President Mugabe reportedly considered the option of either going for
emergency which could be imposed without a resolution of the combined
meeting of parliament consisting of house of assembly and senate.

The immediate benefit of the emergency, which besides suspending fundamental
rights, also empowers him to dissolve the opposition-dominated Parliament
which is refusing to form government before he gives them key ministries,
diplomatic appointments and perm sec posts.

While the state of emergency was to restrict courts to enforce fundamental
rights, a lawyer with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said if it was
imposed there was sufficient scope for the Supreme Court to decide whether
the conditions were justified or not for imposition of emergency.

"There was absolutely no case to impose emergency. Even if Pressident Mugabe
had imposed it, the Supreme Court would have struck it down. We were going
to ensure that," he said.
He however admitted: "But it would have been a tough call."

Political poison sickening Zimbabwe

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Wednesday, 17 December 2008

AS the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe spreads across regional borders,
southern African governments have come together to discuss a regional
strategy to stem the outbreak. But the cholera outbreak and other emergency
conditions are symptoms of the broader political crisis in Zimbabwe. There
will be no end to the suffering unless regional leaders acknowledge this
fact.

The world has watched this collapse as it has evolved. A recent Human
Rights Watch mission to Zimbabwe documented the abusive policies, corruption
and repressive governance that have led directly to the economic collapse,
humanitarian crisis and growing public desperation. Poor governance,
state-sponsored violence , intimidation and corruption have not only
prevented Zimbabwe's citizens from exercising their civil and political
rights but have also denied them their right to satisfy their most basic
social and economic needs - for food, health and clean water.

The lack of safe drinking water, which caused the cholera outbreak, is
the direct result of the government's economic mismanagement and poor
governance. Many Zimbabweans have not had access to water that meets even
basic sanitary requirements for almost a year now because of the poor
maintenance of delivery systems.

As for access to food, the state-sanctioned post-election violence not
only destroyed many granaries, but also led to much forced displacement,
leaving much of the population dependent on food assistance. Official
interference in the operations of humanitarian agencies that distribute food
aid worsened the crisis.

Southern African leaders need to recognise that the food and health
crises in Zimbabwe cannot be separated from the political crisis. People are
not only losing their political rights, they are dying of disease and hunger
as a direct result of the situation. Sadly, the indications are that
regional leaders continue to tiptoe around the problem.

With Robert Mugabe refusing to cede any meaningful executive power to
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the power-sharing agreement signed
on September 15 is no longer viable. The world hoped that the agreement
would lead to the end of his government's abusive practices, the formation
of a credible government of national unity and a gradual recovery in the
country's economic and social conditions.

However, southern Africa - SA in particular - has continued to hide
behind the failed efforts of its mediator, Thabo Mbeki. Mugabe has been left
in the driver's seat to continue with his abusive policies and practices,
while Mbeki chose a soft target, casting MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as the
more intransigent party in the mediation process, and placed all the
pressure on him to end the political impasse.

Leaders of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries
continue to push Tsvangirai to sign an agreement that would leave Mugabe in
control of repressive institutions of the state.

SADC leaders need to move beyond the mindset of a quick backroom
political fix that leaves Mugabe running critical institutions that have
caused the very policies which have led to Zimbabwe's food and health
crisis. International assistance in bringing an end to the current
humanitarian crisis may help Zimbabweans in the short term, but there can be
no long-term solutions unless repressive political institutions are
dismantled and abusive policies and corrupt practices are halted.

SADC leaders should exert concerted political pressure, insisting on a
clear political reform agenda that includes dismantling security structures
and reforming the police and other repressive institutions. An end to
corruption and human rights abuses are absolute requirements for a
settlement of the crisis. SADC leaders must not accept any deal short of
that.

Until that happens, the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe - and its
harmful and spreading effect on the rest of the region - will continue. - By
Tiseke Kasambala

Kasambala is senior researcher on Zimbabwe for Human Rights Watch.

SADC announces new humanitarian campaign for Zimbabwe

http://story.irishsun.com

Irish Sun
Wednesday 17th December, 2008
(IANS)

Zimbabwe's neighbours in the Southern African Development Community
Wednesday announced a new mechanism for delivering urgent humanitarian aid
to the crisis-hit southern African country.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, whose country currently chairs
SADC, said financial and material aid would be channelled through a new
structure called the Zimbabwe Humanitarian and Development Assistance
Framework (ZHDAF).

The ZHDAF, which would be non-partisan, would comprise of government,
non-profit organisations, religious leaders and agricultural unions, he told
a press conference at government buildings in Pretoria.

Every member of the 15-nation grouping was expected to contribute to ZHDAF
'in accordance with (their) resources and capabilities'.

All parties to Zimbabwe's political impasse, including autocratic President
Robert Mugabe, supported the initiative, he said.

'President Mugabe accepts also that the situation is very dire and that the
people of Zimbabwe need assistance to relieve them of the deprivation
they've had to endure for some time,' Motlanthe said.

The severe cholera outbreak that has killed around 1,000 people since August
had compounded an 'already bad situation', characterised by serious food
shortages, he said.

Over three million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, a number expected to
exceed five million by early 2009.

Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis has accelerated in recent months in the
absence of a legitimate government.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF has been in negotiations with the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) about the formation of a unity government for three
months since signing a power-sharing agreement in September.

Motlanthe said he was optimistic that the new government would be in place
by the end of the week after a constitutional amendment giving effect to the
September deal was gazetted by government.

The MDC has, however, vowed to block the amendment's passage through
parliament until all of its concerns about sharing power with Mugabe are
addressed.

Concerns grows after more abductions of journalists

http://www.rsf.org
Zimbabwe 17 December 2008

Reporters Without Borders is very disturbed by the abduction of freelance
photojournalist Shadreck Manyere and attempted abduction of Obrian Rwafa, a
reporter with the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), in
separate incidents on 13 December, just 10 days after the kidnapping of
journalist and human rights activist Jestina Mukoko, who is still missing.

"Whoever was responsible, these kidnapping were clearly designed to sow
terror among Zimbabwe's journalists, whose investigative work is more
indispensible than ever in the current social, economic and public health
situation," Reporters Without Borders said. "The authorities must do
everything possible to identify the perpetrators and instigators and bring
them to justice."

Also known as "Saddam," Manyere was seen for the last time at a garage in
Norton, 40 km west of Harare, on 13 December. Sources close to Manyere said
he had received a phone call from someone asking to meet him. As he readily
agreed, it is believed he knew the caller. His family has not heard from him
since then and his mobile phone has been turned off.

His wife said that, the day after his disappearance, a group of police
officers went to the family's home and ransacked it.

Rwafa said he was outside his home on 13 December when unidentified
individuals accused him of lying about the situation in Zimbabwe, began
hitting him and forced him into a white car, which then drove off. By
wrestling with the driver, Rwafa forced the car off the road and managed to
escape. He said the attack seemed to have been politically motivated as his
assailants did not try to rob him. He is currently in hospital with head
injuries and bruising.

George Charamba, the permanent secretary for information and publicity and
President Robert Mugabe's spokesman, has meanwhile twice threatened
journalists working for foreign news media, which he accuses of waging a
propaganda war against the government.

In an interview for ZBC on 12 December, he accused the local bureau of
foreign news media of quoting President Mugabe of out context when they
reported that he said the government had "arrested" the cholera outbreak.
Charamba added that the government was not obliged to accredit foreign news
organisations under Zimbabwe's press law, called the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act.

He repeated his threats the next day in a column in the state-owned daily
The Herald, accusing the Reuters, AP and AFP news agencies and the France
24, BBC and Al Jazeera TV news stations of "rewriting" the news copy
provided by their local staff to "suit their nations' agendas." There would
be a "robust response," he added.

 

Zimbabwe's Grief, Cholera and Strange things

In January 2007, the state-run water authority, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) issued a stark warning:

Zimbabwe blog: end of term review

http://www.channel4.com

Last Modified: 17 Dec 2008

The academic year has just ended in Zimbabwe but for most families it has
come as a non event, writes guest blogger Helen.

Parents whose children attend rural government schools have reached the
point of utter despair after a year in which their children have had less
than a month in the classroom.

Lilian is 15 and this year should have finished the first half of her
O-level syllabus but at the end of 52 weeks her school writing books have
only got two or three pages of writing in them.

All year it has been one thing after another that has kept the classrooms
closed: teachers on strike; elections; schools being used as polling booths;
post election violence; more elections and then more strikes.

In the last term of the year which began in September, Lilian's parents
hoped that at last their daughter might be taught some lessons but by then,
after four months of abductions, beatings and post election violence, all
the teachers had fled.

On the first week of term all the children arrived at the school but no
teachers turned up. By the second week some children were still walking to
school every day but the teachers strike had deepened.

At the beginning of the third week Lilian came back from the school after a
couple of hours and said that the classrooms were still locked, the
Headmaster hadn't turned up and a caretaker told the children to try again
next week.

Six weeks into the semester and at the point when children should have been
having a long weekend for half term, Lilian still hadn't seen her teacher,
opened a single book or even set foot in her classroom.

In despair her parents began looking for a place for Lilian at other
schools. All the other rural government schools were in the same position:
closed, without teachers and not offering any chance for a teenage girl to
write her O levels.

Mission schools were still operating but because of the collapse of the
government schools, the church based institutions were all grossly
over-subscribed.

At one Mission school that Lilian's father went to, the Headmaster said that
he had been intimidated into enrolling eighty more students then they had
facilities to cope with.

These were the children of government cronies and army men and people with
connections to the ruling party.

The Headmaster had no choice but to agree to take them in despite the fact
that he had run out of desks, chairs and text books and the teacher to pupil
ratio was three times more than it should be.

Urban schools were not much better: more students than places; collapsing
infrastructure; decrepit equipment and a rapidly dwindling number of
teachers.

Lilian and her parents will accept any place at any school for the 2009
academic year. Even with cholera stalking the towns, raw sewage flowing in
the streets and alleys of high density areas and no food in the shops,
anything is better for Lilian than not being able to finish her schooling.

If she cannot get some O-levels, Lilian knows that she is destined for a
teenage marriage and a life of toil growing vegetables and trying to eke out
a life engaged in subsistence agriculture in a dusty, primitive village.

Zimbabwe exile visits Thornbury to speak of battle for change

http://www.bluemountainscourierherald.com/courierherald/pictorial/125105

Author: Erika Engel, Staff
Date: Dec 17, 2008

He's been beaten, jailed and exiled from his home in Zimbabwe by the Robert
Mugabe led Regime.

Roy Bennett fights for democratic change from his refuge in South Africa.

Now, he is the treasurer general of the opposition party in Zimbabwe called
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). It's a post-liberation movement
without precedent in Africa, and the people's struggle is all uphill.
Bennett was a farmer in Zimbabwe years ago when the infrastructure was
second to none and the country had a reputation as Africa's biggest exporter
of food. Now people starve, there is no clean water or sewage treatment, and
an education is a luxury unknown.

"I will stay in it until we've delivered change to people, then I will be
happy to get out of it and be a simple farmer again," said Bennett at
Ashanti Coffee Enterprises in Thornbury on December 11.

He made the stop in The Blue Mountains on a recent on a recent trip to
Canada. David and Amy Wilding-Davies, owners of Ashanti, and Karen Clegg,
marketing coordinator, invited him to the coffee shop and presented him with
a cheque for $3,100 - a result of a Zimday fundraising event at the coffee
shop on November 29.

Bennett will put the money in a Zimfund and use it to buy medical supplies
for victims of political violence. He spent a couple hours speaking to the
small crowd that gathered in the coffee shop. They were eager to ask
questions and listened to Bennett's first-hand account of political
corruption and resilient Zimbabweans.

"You've got to take your hat off to the Zimbabwe people," he said, noting
the brutality and torture done to them for defying the Mugabe regime and
voting for democratic change.

"[The people] lose everything," he said. "Their income, their homes. Their
families are raped, they are imprisoned, beaten ... We as a party are unable
to support them, but they've continued strong, wanting change."

He has photos on his computer of vicious acts of torture and violence.

Infrastructure has crumbled, and the people are devastated. Neighbouring
countries have declared their shared borders disaster areas because of the
rampage of fatal diseases. All the horror, says Bennett, began after voters
rejected Mugabe's constitution to grant him absolute rule of the country for
life.

"The problem in Zimbabwe is a political problem," said Bennett. "So until we
can bring about political change, we are not going to be able to ease the
suffering of the people."

He says it is resources that will win the war for change. Without them, the
people remain oppressed, and their stand against Mutable, though defiant and
courageous, gains no ground.

But Bennett is not in Zimbabwe anymore, he and his family are in South
Africa, they could move to Canada, be far away from the suffering. Bennett,
himself said there isn't anything good in Zimbabwe right now. Why not leave?

His answer is calculated, but shaken with emotion.

"In life you have a lot of choices," he starts.

He interrupts the thought to explain his history as a farmer in a new
community. He got involved with the people there. Taught them about income
farming. Helped them develop stability. They pushed him into politics.
Fifteen died in the fight for change.

"It's an honour to represent them," said Bennett. "They have shown
solidarity and sacrifice on my behalf ... It's not about me or my family,
it's about them. Those people - they have seen hope. They have seen truth
and honesty ...I would be walking away from these people ... surely they
haven't given their lives in vain."

It's a dark time for a nation that fell from glory. The infrastructure that
was second to none, even under Mugabe's early rule, has crumbled. AIDS and
Cholera are rampant and vicious.

Bennett says it's genocide in a country that was once a "gem." People are
dying because the government will not provide what they deserve. They want
only a roof over their heads, education for their children and two meals a
day. It's not a stretch for a country that once was the largest exporter of
food in Africa.

"You never ever know about the adversity or the suffering of people until
you get there," said Bennett. "Their only hope is in fellow people who do
good."

The owners at Ashanti committed themselves to forming a local group to
support the MDC and the people of Zimbabwe in their fight for change.

Farai Zhova, "All I wanted was for my mother to get well"

Photo: Kristy Siegfried/IRIN

"I want to urge all parents to talk to their children about HIV/AIDS"

HARARE, 17 December 2008 (PlusNews) - Farai Zhova, 15, from Kadoma, about 140km southwest of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, was just 10 years old when a school lesson about HIV/AIDS changed her and her mother's life for the better.

She talked to IRIN/PlusNews about watching her mother, Evelyn Mazula, 40, struggle with a mysterious illness for two years before becoming convinced that her mother was HIV-positive and persuading her to be tested.

"My mother fell ill in 2001. At first she could still do certain things on her own, but eventually the illness took over her body. She lost a lot of weight and spent most of the time in bed. She could not get up on her own.

"Every day I used to wake up very early in the morning and make porridge for her. I would feed her before leaving for school; then I would take a bucket of water, soap and a towel and bathe her in bed.

"At first my father used to be very supportive, but after my mother's illness continued he started not coming home. When he did come to check on us he was verbally abusive. He would tell my mother to go back to her family's home because she had become useless. This used to pain me very much.

"One day my grandparents came to our home and my father asked them to take my mother with them. My father said some hurtful things and my grandfather wanted to beat him up.

"My grandfather is a reverend in the Anglican church. He is a gentle and kind man, but on that day I saw another side of him. Our neighbours had to come and stop the fighting. The very same day we left for my grandparents' home. My father didn't want me to leave - he hid my clothes - but my grandfather wouldn't hear any of it.

"At my grandparents' place life was much better, as they took care of my mother very well. Occasionally I would help but I had more time to do my schoolwork, since the role of taking care of my mother wasn't just with me.

"All the time my mother was ill, my grandfather kept encouraging her to get an HIV test but my mother always refused. She kept insisting she had been bewitched.

"I didn't even know what my grandfather was talking about. I kept wondering to myself what the words 'HIV test' and 'AIDS' meant. One day at school I asked my teacher about these words and she gave the whole class a lecture.

"All the symptoms of HIV/AIDS that she spoke about, my mother had. Later on, after everyone had gone home, I told my teacher this and she told me to go and teach my mother everything we had learnt that day.

"At home that evening I told my mother all I had learnt. I told her to get tested so that she can get help, and that my teacher had told us that after getting tested there are herbs and drugs that HIV-positive people can take to recover.

"After I told my mother all this she cried for a very long time. My grandparents ran to her bedroom and asked what was wrong. When I told them, they too cried.

"A few days later my mother went to get tested and her result was positive. She got tested four times after that but the result came back the same. She had a hard time accepting, but eventually she did.

"In 2005, after AIDS drugs became available in government hospitals, my mother was one of the first people in Kadoma to get the drugs. Now she is strong and healthy and is able to work and take care of me.

"Everyone here in Kadoma knows her. She is a peer educator and a counsellor. She now travels around the world teaching people about HIV/AIDS. I am very proud of her.

"All I wanted was for her to get well, so that she could take care of me again and see me grow. Everything else doesn't matter. I want to urge all parents to talk to their children about HIV/AIDS, because as children we are often left out and feel confused, hurting and lonely."



[ENDS]
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

Analysis: Will Tsvangirai ever rule in Zimbabwe?

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk


Wednesday, 17th December 2008. 4:01pm

By: Obert Matahwa.

Harare: Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has already
carved a place in history for himself by challenging President Robert
Mugabe, father of the country's liberation and a freedom fighter.

But it remains an open question, however, whether or not he will ever
get a stab at governing the country and restore Zimbabwe to its "jewel of
Africa" status.

The likelihood of a breakthrough in the talks between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai is fading, and analysts wonder whether the opposition Movement
Democratic Change is experienced enough to wrestle power.

The former trade unionist is in a checkmate position from which his
arch enemy is most likely to emerge the victor by demanding that he keeps
executive power.

Over the past eight years Tsvangirai's MDC has repeatedly requested
talks with the ruling ZANU-PF party --- the only hope Zimbabwe's crumbling
economy has of ever coming back on track and of defusing a volatile
situation.

Although former SA President Thabo Mbeki insists that talks between
the government and MDC are being held behind closed doors, very little has
resulted from these.

Recently Mugabe unequivocally reiterated his refusal to negotiate with
the opposition any further as he believes they are still a front for Western
powers and he referred to the MDC leader as "prostitute" for embarking on
diplomatic tour of the Africa continent. Mugabe further took a swipe at
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown saying "his head must go for some
medical correction" He criticised Tsvangirai's trip to Senegal, adding, "He
is a devil. We don't intend sitting around a fire with the devil."

University of Zimbabwe political science professor Eldred Masunungure
points out that ZANU PF has been abusing state institutions to suppress the
people, at times by means of brute force. Abductions of opposition members
have become a common feature of Mugabe's reign of terror.

Events over the past years have shown ZANU-PF is much more experienced
than the MDC. The latter would have to gain experience through a coalition
government before being in a position to resolve complex national issues
that continue to rock the Southern African nation.

Series of arrests and trials have been brought against Tsvangirai to
weaken his political standing. In 2002, Tsvangirai was trapped for eight
months in a treason trial that nearly incapacitated the MDC.

An experienced politician would have seen through that trap,
Masunungure notes. He maintains political leaders have instincts and need
clear judgement to analyse events as they develop and to act accordingly.

Masunungure believes Tsvangirai is "blinded" by the prospect of
attaining power. Opinion polls conducted at the time indicated Tsvangirai
can win any election against Mugabe but he lost quite a number, nonetheless,
amid hefty accusations that Mugabe's side had cheated.

Some analysts believe the MDC had not done enough to secure
alternative action in case they lost the elections. They did not immediately
have capacity to push ZANU PF out of power when they won the March
elections. The party appears to have been totally at a loss after defeating
Mugabe and the election commission could not enthrone the MDC.

MDC attempts at getting talks with ZANU-PF off the ground had been
supported by leaders of the region, including Mbeki. But Mugabe still holds
regional leaders and the opposition in contempt and has shown that he is not
interested in sharing power. Observers say Mugabe has run out of ideas and
that only talks can "save" him from the present situation.

Meanwhile, an air of uncertainty is continuing. To date, suspected
state security agents have been abducting opposition and civil society
members to strike fear into the nation while positioning the ruling party
for a fresh election.