'Zim violence continues despite power-sharing pact'

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

by Jameson Mombe Monday 08 December 2008

JOHANNESBURG - Politically motivated human rights abuses have continued in
Zimbabwe contrary to the letter and spirit of a power-sharing agreement
between the ruling ZANU PF party and the opposition, according to the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum.

The Forum said in its latest monthly report on rights violations in Zimbabwe
that the police had in several cases committed rights abuses under the guise
of preserving law and order.

The report, reviewing cases of rights violations in the month of September,
says a total of 385 incidents of abuse were recorded in that month alone
which is nearly five times the total recorded in the previous month of
August.

Ironically President Robert Mugabe and opposition MDC leaders Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara signed on September 15 an agreement to form
a power-sharing government in which the two opposition politicians would
serve as prime minister and deputy prime minister respectively.

"Contrary to the spirit and letter of the Agreement, politically-motivated
human rights violations continue to be recorded with some violations being
perpetrated by members of the ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police) under the guise
of preserving public order," the Forum said in the report made available to
ZimOnline at the weekend.

"Furthermore most of the violations in the report occurred after the signing
of the power-sharing agreement," said the Forum, whose report was released
the same week as one of its board members Jestina Mukoko was kidnapped from
her home by people who claimed to be members of the police.

Mukoko, who is head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) that majors in
monitoring and documenting politically motivated violence in the country,
was abducted last Wednesday from her home in Norton town, 50km west of
Harare.

Mukoko has not been seen or heard from since then and the Harare High Court
will on Monday hear an urgent application by her lawyers seeking an order
compelling the police to release her or, if they are not holding her, to
probe her disappearance.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Information Minister and government
spokesman Sikhanyiso Ndlovu were both not immediately available to respond
to charges that human rights violations are increasing and that police have
committed abuses.

However the government has in the past rejected criticism of its human
rights record by the Forum, which it accuses of seeking to use false claims
of human rights abuses by state agents as part of a wider Western-led plot
to tarnish and vilify Mugabe's government.

The Forum said in its report that it had recorded 44 cases of unlawful
arrest and detention of citizens by the police in September alone.

In other incidents, police in Buhera and Masvingo districts allegedly
arrested scores of MDC supporters for celebrating the signing of the
power-sharing agreement, according to the report.

The Forum report also documents 93 cases of politically motivated assault,
including an incident where some MDC supporters were assaulted by ZANU PF
youths in the presence of police officers at Mbare police station in Harare.

The opposition supporters were allegedly assaulted after they attempted to
reclaim their homes which had been confiscated by ZANU PF supporters at the
height of the June 2008 electoral violence, the report said.

"The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum condemns such acts of violence and
calls upon the parties to the (power-sharing) agreement to honour their
obligations," the report said.

Under the power-sharing agreement, political parties undertook to shun
violence and uphold the freedoms of expression and association.

However the agreement remains in limbo because Mugabe and his main rival
Tsvangirai cannot agree on how to share key ministries and other top
government posts.

Politically motivated violence and human rights abuses - mostly blamed on
state agents -  have become routine in Zimbabwe since the emergence in 1999
of the MDC as a potent electoral threat to Mugabe and ZANU PF's stranglehold
on power.

For example, Tsvangirai says that more than 100 members of his MDC party
were killed and more than 10 000 others displaced in political violence in
the run-up to the June presidential run-off election

Tsvangirai -  who pulled out of the run-off to protest the violence and
despite having led Mugabe in the first round of voting in March -  has said
while Mugabe could let be off the hook, those in his inner circle should
stand trial for political violence and other crimes. -  ZimOnline.

Zim rights forum: political violence report

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

Monday 08 December 2008

Political violence report: September 2008

A report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum

OVERVIEW

September 15 2008 saw the landmark signing of the power-sharing Agreement
between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.

Under the Agreement, Robert Mugabe would remain the President of Zimbabwe
and chair the Cabinet, Morgan Tsvangirai would become Prime Minister and
chair the Council of Ministers as well as being the Deputy Chairperson of
Cabinet whilst Arthur Mutambara would become one of the Deputy Prime
Ministers.

Under Article 11(2) of the Agreement, the parties agreed to "work together
to create a genuine, viable, permanent, sustainable and nationally
acceptable solution to the Zimbabwe situation and in particular to implement
the (following) agreement with the aims of resolving once and for all the
current political and economic situations and charting a new political
direction for the country".

Further Article X (10) indicated that the parties had agreed there should be
"free political activity throughout Zimbabwe within the ambit of the law".

Article XVIII (18.5(a)) committed the parties "to promote values and
practices of tolerance, respect, non-violence and dialogue as means of
resolving political differences" and the Government to "apply the laws of
the country fully and impartially in bringing all perpetrators of
politically motivated violence to book" (18.5(c)).

This report marks the first test to some of the terms of the Agreement.

Contrary to the spirit and letter of the Agreement, politically-motivated
human rights violations continue to be recorded with some violations being
perpetrated by members of the ZRP under the guise of preserving public
order.

The September MPVR marks an increase in the total number of human rights
violations and incidents from 81 in August to 385 in September. Furthermore
most of the violations in the report occurred after the signing of the
power-sharing Agreement.

In situations that confirm the high levels of political intolerance
attendant on the political scene in the country, violence broke out amongst
rival supporters of ZANU PF and the MDC who were waiting outside the Rainbow
Towers in Harare to witness the signing ceremony.

In other matters relating to the power-sharing deal, the police allegedly
arrested MDC supporters in Buhera and Masvingo for celebrating the signing
of the Agreement.

The report documents 44 cases of unlawful arrests and unlawful detention for
the month of September whilst incidents of political discrimination rose
from 19 in August to 96 in September.

The report further documents 93 cases of assault. In Mbare, MDC supporters
were allegedly assaulted by ZANU PF youths at Mbare Police Station as they
attempted to reclaim their homes, which had been confiscated by ZANU PF
supporters at the height of the June 2008 electoral violence.

Apparently, the houses are owned by the Harare City Council and thus do not
belong to individuals who are now facing victimisation for being MDC
supporters.

Other people fell prey to attacks by ZANU PF supporters after they were seen
wearing MDC t-shirts.

A remarkable incident is alleged to have occurred in Harare Central where an
MDC supporter, clad in party regalia, was assaulted and told that the
violence would continue until President Mugabe acknowledged Tsvangirai's
role as Prime Minister.

The Human Rights Forum contends that whilst the numbers of violations
recorded in this report seem very marginal as compared to the violence from
March - June 2008, it is still deplorable that Zimbabweans are being
victimised for their political affiliations.

The state cannot purport to be protecting peace and stability in the country
by trampling on citizens' rights to express their views on governance issues
such as the provision of education, health and food.

In the same vein, the Human Rights Forum condemns the arrest and harsh
treatment of Bindura University students who were arrested for demonstrating
against the hikes in tuition fees.

TOTALS: 1 September to 30 September 2008

Cumulative Totals: 1 January -30 September 2008

The graphs and tables could not be reproduced.

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

NAGG - National Alliance for Good Governance ZPS - Zimbabwe Prison Service

NCA - National Constitutional Assembly ZRP - Zimbabwe Republic Police

OVT - Organised Violence and Torture ZNLWVA - Zimbabwe National Liberation
War Veterans Association

POSA - Public Order and Security Act ZIMTA - Zimbabwe Teachers Association

PTUZ - Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe ZUPCO - Zimbabwe United
Passenger Company

UMP - Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe

ZINASU - Zimbabwe National Students Union

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

Notes to the tables:

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 ?

BULAWAYO

Bulawayo West

The Zimbabwean

02 September 2008

?. A Bulawayo businesswoman Rejoice Sibanda-Ncube was evicted from her farm
in Nyamandlovu after she refused to provide food for ZANU PF supporters
camped at a base adjacent to her farm. The victim and her three children
were force-marched out of their home at midnight by a group of war veterans
from Redwood Farm and accused of refusing to provide them with food,
inviting MDC supporters to the farm and not attending ZANU PF meetings in
the area.

The war veterans told her never to set foot on the farm as it now belonged
to them. The victim returned with her gardener the following Sunday to seek
permission from the war veterans to collect some clothes for her and her

children but they refused and warned her that if she returned to the farm
they would shoot her. The victim reports that the war veterans had already
begun looting some of her farming equipment.

HARARE

Epworth

The Zimbabwean

08 September 2008

?. MDC officials reported that the wife of Epworth Member  of Parliament
Eliah Jembere was detained by police and interrogated for seven hours on
September 8. The victim was only released after Alec Muchadehama, a lawyer
for the party intervened. Eliah Jembere was arrested on charges of rape just
before he was to be sworn in on August 25.

16 September 2008

Four female victims report that they were assaulted by four police officers
and a ZANU PF youth for allegedly celebrating the signing of the power
sharing agreement. The four assailants got to the four women's homes while
they where asleep and took them to the ZANU PF base at Ruben shopping centre
in Epworth where they made them roll on the ground whilst singing MDC songs.
The police officers also forced the victims to push a vehicle from the base
to the police station where they were assaulted by the police officers who
were on duty. They only stopped the assault when their shift had ended. The
victims were later taken to Harare Central Law and Order section where they
were detained overnight.

Harare Central

15 September 2008

The female victim reports that she and other MDC supporters were assaulted
by the police. The victim was part of a group of MDC supporters who had gone
to witness the signing of the power-sharing Agreement between ZANU PF and
the two MDC formations. When she arrived at the hotel she was ordered by
members of the ZRP to wait outside. A group of ZANU PF supporters arrived
and they were allowed access into the hotel. The victim and other MDC
supporters complained about the preferential treatment that the ZANU PF
supporters had received. They were then assaulted with baton sticks.

15 September 2008

The female victim reports that she was assaulted by ZANU PF youths while
passing through Rainbow Towers Hotel during the signing of the power sharing
agreement.  She passed a group of ZANU PF youths who were arguing with each
other near the hotel and had moved a few meters from them when she saw the
group running towards her. Fearing that they woud attack her she ran towards
a group of police officers who were standing across the road but was
attacked before she could get to them.

The assailants hit her on the back with a large stick and also threw stones
at her. Following the attack she went to Harvest House (MDC Headquarters) to
seek assistance.

15 September 2008

Two female and two male victims report that they were assaulted by police
officers at Rainbow Towers Hotel during the signing of the power-sharing
Agreement. They were part of the crowd that was trying to enter into the
Conference Center where the signing was being held. As the crowd forcibly
pushed its way through the gate that was manned by the police. The police
started beating them with batton sticks. One of the victims reports that he
was beaten on the head and sustained injuries.

18 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF youths for being an
MDC supporter. The victim used to work as a Rank Marshall at 4th street bus
terminus in the city centre. He reports that sometime in March 2008, ZANU PF
youths went and took over the place and declared themselves the new Rank
Marshalls. In September he was allowed back at work but the youths insisted
on keeping his earnings. When he asked for his money, they alleged that he
was an MDC supporter and assaulted him all over his body.

The Zimbabwe Situation

21 September 2008

?. Berison Bvirivindi, a street vendor, was assaulted by suspected ZANU PF
suporters for wearing an MDC T shirt. The victim reports that ZANU PF youth
seized him at his stall in Harare's Road Port bus station. He alleged that
they assaulted him and told him that they would continue attacking MDC
supporters until Robert Mugabe told them to stop and Morgan Tsvangirai was
acknowledged as Prime Minister.

Harare East

The Zimbabwe Times

26 September 2008

?. It is reported that former soccer star Masimba Dinyero was placed in
detention for three weeks after he allegedly criticized Robert Mugabe for
continuing to cling to power while police officers starve.

Police sources revealed that Dinyero, a serving police officer, allegedly
criticized President Mugabe during a casual discussion with a fellow
policeman. He was summoned before a police disciplinary hearing which
recommended that he be detained for 21 days at Harare's Chikurubi Barracks.
This is the maximum period a police officer can be detained for any breaches
of a police disciplinary code.

Highfield

5 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was arrested and detained for four nights on
allegations that he is an MDC supporter and had caused public disorder in
the Norton area. He was arrested while at his place of work in Highfield
where he is a security guard. He was taken to Norton Police Station where he
was detained for four nights without appearing in court. He was latter
released without charge.

Mabvuku

15 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by suspected ZANU PF youths
for wearing an MDC t- shirt. He was on his way to fetch water when he was
confronted by two men who accused him of being a trouble causer because he
is an MDC supporter.  He was hit with an iron bar on the head before the
assailants forced the metal bar into his mouth. Three of his teeth fell out
as a result.

22 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF youths for being an
MDC supporter. He was wearing an MDC t-shirt while operating his phone shop
at the local shopping when he was approached by a group of ZANU PF youths
who warned him that he would be killed if he did not remove the t-shirt. He
went back home to change and a few hours later was confronted by six ZANU PF
youths who assaulted him and also took his cell phone, money and destroyed
his pay phone.

23 September 2008

The Zimbabwe Situation

?. Edmore Ngadziore, the MDC District Treasurer for Mabvuku was assaulted at
the Red Bull Shopping Centre by about 10 ZANU PF supporters for wearing an
MDC t-shirt.

Mbare

15 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF youths while
escorting his friend after work. The youths alleged that he was part of a
group of MDC supporters that had earlier marched in the streets celebrating
the power - sharing Agreement before assaulting him. They punched him with
clenched fists, kicked him with booted feet and hit him with blunt objects.

15 September 2008

The female victim reports that she was assaulted by ZANU PF youths while she
was on her way to the Rainbow Towers to witness the signing of the
power-sharing Agreement. She was clad in MDC regalia. They assaulted her
with a pick handle and kicked her on her right ankle.

16 September 2008

Three male victims, who are MDC supporters, report that they were assaulted
by ZANU PF youths from the "Chipangano" group which operates in Mbare for
putting on MDC t-shirts. The three were walking from Sunningdale to the
Rainbow Towers Hotel to witness the signing of the power-sharing Agreement
and were passing through Mbare when they were attacked. They were beaten
with large wooden sticks and one of the victims was stripped naked by the
ZANU PF youths.

18 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by suspected ZANU PF youths
for allegedly celebrating the signing of the power-sharing Agreement. He was
standing at a street corner with a friend when they were confronted by a
group of more than 10 ZANU PF youths. His friend managed to escape but the
victim failed to flee from the assailants and was beaten with large sticks
all over his body and sustained injures to his head.

25 September 2008

The Zimbabwe Situation

?. It is reported that close to 61 families were attacked by ZANU PF militia
in full view of members of the police force at Matapi Police Station. It is
reported that the police took no action as these families were attempting to
reclaim their homes from which they were expelled in June 2008 at the height
of the election-related violence. Although the victims were  accompanied by
a court officer and the Mbare Member of Parliament, they were met with
serious and violent resistance by the ZANU PF supporters.

Witnesses said two truckloads of ZANU PF militia including the notorious
"Chipangano" gang invaded the police station chanting slogans denouncing the
MDC while the police looked on. ZANU PF youths militia evicted MDC
supporters from houses owned by the city council in the Mbare, Nenyere and
Matapi flats. It is alleged that the youths were led by the losing ZANU PF
council candidate for Ward 11 in Mbare, Jim Kunaka.

Mufakose

09 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF youths. He was at
Adlina Butchery at Mhishi Shopping Centre with his friends when two twin cab
vehicles loaded with suspected ZANU PF supporters arrived. They alleged that
he was the head of the MDC youth and started assaulting him.

He was assaulted with clenched fists and booted feet before being thrown
into the back of one of the trucks and taken to a place near Mufakose High 1
School. The assailants submerged him in a dish full of water and further
assaulted him. They threatened to kill him and asked him to name all MDC
supporters in the area. He was forced to put on a ZANU PF t-shirt before
being blindfolded and taken back to the shopping centre.

Mount Pleasant

7 September 2008

The male victim, a farmer, reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF youths
who had come to forcibly take over his farm. The group led by one Mr Kaduku
produced an offer letter that was allegedly written at the Ministry of Lands
and Agriculture. The victim was ordered to pack his belongings and move out
of the farm house. He then asked to be given more time to pack his
belongings and to verify the offer letter with the Ministry of Lands but the
assailants refused and went on to assault him with large sticks.

One of the assailants hit the victim with a golf club on the leg resulting
in a fracture. They threw him into their truck and drove him to the farm
house where they began taking his property out of the house. The police
arrived at that moment and ordered them to stop taking out the furniture.
The assailants were arrested and the victim was taken to hospital for
treatment.

MANICALAND

Buhera North

The Zimbabwe Situation

23 September 2008

?. Police Officers in Buhera arrested close to 25 MDC supporters for
celebrating the signing of the

power-sharing Agreement. The charges were however changed to a more serious
one, that of stock

theft when the police realised that they could not sustain the one they had
arrested the victims for

earlier. Those arrested were held at Murambinda Police Station.

Mutasa North

22 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by ZANU PF youths for wearing
an MDC t-shirt. He was at a shopping centre when he was attacked by a group
of ZANU PF youths who dragged him behind the shops and assaulted him under
the feet with large sticks.  He was told he was being punished for being an
MDC supporter.

MASHONALAND CENTRAL

Bindura North

The Zimbabwe Situation

09 September 2008

?. Marauding ZANU PF youths from Bindura forced a law firm that has been
representing MDC activists in the town to close down. The ZANU PF youths
raided the offices of Dinha, Bonongwe and Partners, before taking away
office furniture and hundreds of files. It is alleged that the youths were
working on instructions from Mashonaland Central Governor Advocate Martin
Dinha. Dinha is one of the founder members of a local NGO the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Justice and a silent partner in the firm.

The Zimbabwe Situation

17 September 2008

?. Ten Bindura State University Students were arrested during a protest
where they were demanding chiefly among other things the reversal of school
fees increment and better living conditions on campus. The Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU) Secretary for International Relations Chiedza
Gadzirai, Laswet Savadye, Respect Ndanga, Titus Chigama, Josephine Majurira,
Tawanda Kanogoiwa, Artwell Simbaure and three others were detained in police
custody. They alleged that the police assaulted them and accused them of
trying to incite students to further the MDC agenda. The group was charged
with criminal nuisance and fined 20 Zimbabwe dollars each.

MASHONALAND EAST

Chikomba West

9 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted and abducted by ZANU PF youths
for being an MDC supporter. He was at Nharira Township when he was forced
into a white Isuzu truck by four men.

They drove him to the home of the ZANU PF candidate in the March harmonised
elections. He was assaulted with large sticks during the drive there. He was
forced to remove the MDC t-shirt he was wearing before it was burnt by the
youths. He was later released and had to walk back home a distance of more
than 10km.

MASVINGO

Masvingo Urban

The Standard

13 September 2008

?. Three MDC  officials were arrested in Masvingo and more than 100 party
supporters were arrested and detained for four hours at Masvingo Central
Police Station after they took to the streets

celebrating the power-sharing Agreement. Tachiona Chiminya, Masvingo West
MP, Jefferson Chitando, Masvingo Central legislator and provincial chairman,
Wilstaff Chitemere moved around with scores of MDC supporters in the city of
Masvingo singing party songs and celebrating. The MDC supporters, some in a
lorry and others in an open truck and the rest toyi-toying on the streets,
were blocked by police vehicles in the city centre and force-marched to the
Masvingo Central Police Station, where they were detained for about four
hours. They were later released without charge after the intervention of
party lawyer and Masvingo Urban legislator, Tongai Matutu.

MATEBELELAND SOUTH

Matobo North

6 September 2008

The male victim reports that he was assaulted by suspected ZANU PF
supporters  who alleged that he is an MDC supporter because he lives and
works in South Africa. He gave the four man a lift to Bulawayo and as they
were driving along during a conversation the victim was forced to stop his
car and his hands and feet were tied. He was thrown in the trunk of the car
and the assailants drove

around for a while. He later managed to free himself and drove to the MDC
offices in Bulawayo.

MAIN EVENTS 2008

January 22 - MDC 'Freedom March' is banned by the police.

23 - Morgan Tsvangirai is picked up by the police from his home in the early
hours of the morning and detained.

25 - MDC members are assaulted and arrested as they marched towards Glamis
Stadium for a rally. Members of Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe are
arrested and detained following a peaceful demonstration.

February 13 - Student leaders are arrested and assaulted for demonstrating
in Harare and Bulawayo

19 - The MDC (Tsvangirai faction) Mabvuku Parliamentary candidate is
arrested outside the party's headquarters allegedly for planning a
demonstration.

24 - Nine members of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe are abducted
and assaulted by suspected ZANU PF supporters before being handed over to
the police. The MDC (Tsvangirai) Parliamentary candidate for Mhondoro/Ngezi
is detained at Mubaira Police Station for 34 hours on allegations that his
campaign team had used abusive language during a campaign session.

March - WOZA demonstrates on International Women's' Day. Three members are
assaulted and 50 are injured in the assaults by anti-riot police.

8 - Seven women are assaulted in Epworth while coming from an MDC rally. Two
of them are stripped of their party regalia leaving them half naked.

29 - Voting in the Harmonised General, House of Assembly, Senate and Local
Government elections take place.

April 13 - MDC claims that that 10 of its supporters had died as a result of
political violence

18 - Zimbabwe celebrates Independence Day. The main celebrations take place
at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare.

19 - Zimbabwe Election Commission starts the recount of the harmonised
election votes in 23 constituencies.

May 2 - Official Presidential Election results  are announced.

13 - Tonderai Ndira an MDC activist is abducted from his home in Mabvuku by
suspected state agents.

22 - The body of Tonderai Ndira is discovered in a Harare morgue.

28 - MDC Offices at Jerera Growth Point in Masvingo are set on fire by armed
men killing two people.

June 4 - Social Welfare Minister orders international aid groups to suspend
operations

12 - Tendai Biti is arrested and charged with treason and communicating
falsehoods prejudicial to the state.

22 - Tsvangirai pulls out of 27 June Presidential Run Off citing violence
against his supporters.

27 - The Presidential Run Off takes place.

29 - Election results are announced and Robert Mugabe is declared winner and
sworn in for a sixth term as President.

July 17 - King Muteta a police officer in Mudzi North is allegedly severely
assaulted by ZANU PF youths and war veterans and dies on 25 July 2008 due to
injuries sustained in the attack.

21 - A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to begin interparty talks is signed
by ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.

August 11 - Zimbabwe celebrates Heroes Day followed by the Defence Forces
day the following day.

25 - Lovemore Moyo, MDC National Chairperson, is elected the 1st Speaker of
Parliament from  an opposition party since Independence in 1980

26 - The first session of the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe is opened by
President Mugabe.

 September 15 - The leaders of the three main political parties sign a
power-sharing deal agreeing on the framework for power sharing. Robert
Mugabe remains President, Morgan Tsvangirai becomes the Prime Minister and
Arthur Mutambara becomes the Deputy Prime Minister.

18 - The parties hold talks regarding the allocation of ministries but fail
to reach an agreement.

19 - The President leaves for a trip to New York for the 63rd Session of the
United Nations General Assembly before swearing in the Prime Minister,
Morgan Tsvangirai.

25 - The President delivers his statement at the 63rd Session of the UN
General Assembly. He reiterates that his party, ZANU PF, would abide by the
spirit and letter of the power-sharing Agreement.

Information

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (also known as the "Human Rights Forum")
is a coalition comprising 16 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.

Member organisations of the Human Rights Forum are:

· Amnesty International (Zimbabwe) (AI (Z))

· Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)

· Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)

· Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)

· Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

· Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ)

· Nonviolent Action and Strategies for Social Change (NOVASC)

· Transparency International (Zimbabwe) (TI (Z))

· Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

· Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of the
Offender (ZACRO)

· Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)

· Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET)

· Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)

· Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)

· Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)

· Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA) - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe's cholera victims 'ten times more likely to die'

Cholera victims in Zimbabwe may be 10 times more likely to die than those who contract the disease elsewhere, aid agencies believe.

 

By Sebastien Berger and Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg
Last Updated: 7:56PM GMT 07 Dec 2008

Children collect stagnant water for use at home in Harare Photo: AP

In a normally functioning country, around one in every 100 cholera patients dies. But in President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe, the chances of survival are far lower. Oxfam is planning for 60,000 cholera cases by the end of January –with perhaps 6,000 deaths –indicating a possible fatality rate of 10 per cent.

"The tragedy of this is that really cholera is quite easily treatable," said Caroline Hooper-Box, a spokesman for Oxfam. "The fact people are dying is an indication health services have fallen apart, there are not enough doctors and not enough medication, even simple rehydration salts that would be needed to get somebody back on their feet."

She added: "We are seeing a very high fatality rate. At this point we are seeing between an eight and 10 per cent fatality rate. We think this is due to the fact Zimbabweans are seriously weakend by hunger, HIV and Aids." Mr Mugabe's regime has appealed for international help, which is now on its way, and admitted that its central hospitals are "literally not functioning".

Ms Hooper-Box said: "Things are going to get quite a lot worse before they are going to get better."

A key factor is Zimbabwe's shattered economy, which is accelerating the spread of the water-borne disease.

The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, is among aid agencies trying to improve the situation. It has secured sufficient chemicals to treat Harare's mains water for two or three weeks, with another four months' worth of supplies on their way. Unicef is also distributing millions of water purification tablets and taking 360,000 litres of clean water to Harare's poorest suburbs every day.

But Roeland Monasch, its acting representative in the country, said that many households could not manage the simplest preventative measure - boiling their drinking water - because they cannot afford the fuel.

He estimated fatality rates at around four to five per cent, but said these were falling after the opening of 14 treatment centres around Zimbabwe. While the UN is preparing for a 60,000-case epidemic, it did not expect the outbreak to reach those levels.

Farayi Mavhunga, 34, is one survivor of cholera who is now receiving Unicef's purification tablets. "I am trying to only drink clean water with pills from Unicef, but will we be able to get pills all the time?" he asked. "I could get cholera again, I know that. But we are more careful now. We need fresh water every day."

The three-year-old son of Mr Mavhunga's neighbour in Harare died of cholera.

Mr Mavhunga' said:"I was lucky, but the little boy died because his mother didn't realise he was ill. She thought he had wet his trousers, she didn't know it was diarrhoea until it was too late. We were so shocked when the boy died, but now nothing shocks us, most of us expect to die."

Zimbabwe's neighbours fight cholera outbreak

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Zimbabwe's neighbours have all been affected by the cholera outbreak and are
taking measures to contain a spreading threat.

Last Updated: 7:50PM GMT 07 Dec 2008

SOUTH AFRICA: Eight deaths and around 500 cases have been reported, most of
them Zimbabweans crossing the border to seek treatment. The South African
town of Musina is just over the frontier from Beitbridge, the second worst
affected area in Zimbabwe. Army medics are being sent to reinforce a
treatment centre in Musina and environmental health officers are going to
towns near the frontier.

South Africa is also trying to protect itself by sending some £30,000 of
medical supplies, including chlorine tablets and body bags, to keep
Zimbabwe's shattered public hospitals open. South African experts are in
Beitbridge trying to repair its collapsing water system and supply residents
by tanker. Rivers along the border are being screened for cholera after the
Limpopo was found to be contaminated.

MOZAMBIQUE: One of Zimbabwe's worst affected districts is Mudzi, on the
country's eastern border with Mozambique. That country's health authorities
are on "maximum alert" against the spread of cholera, said Ivo Garrido, the
health minister.

Specialists have been sent to the border areas, with one newspaper reporting
169 cases of cholera in Changara district, most of them Zimbabweans. None
has died.

ZAMBIA: Zimbabwe's northern neighbour has imposed health controls at all
three of their shared border posts. One Zimbabwean has died at a cholera
centre at the Chirundu crossing. There is a ban on importing uncertified
food and anyone entering or leaving Zambia is screened for cholera symptoms.

Mwendoi Akakandelwa, the deputy health minister, said Zambia was on high
alert but he ruled out closing the border.

BOTSWANA: At least one Zimbabwean has been treated for cholera in Botswana.
Teams have been sent to the border town of Matsiloje, where illegal
immigrants live in crowded conditions, to investigate possible infections.
The government says it has sufficient medical supplies.

Sebastien Berger

Tongue-lashings won't unseat Mugabe

http://www.eastandard.net

Sunday, 7th December 2008

Zimbabwe's descent into collapse is nearing fresh lows with soldiers rioting
in the streets, robbing foreign exchange dealers and battling police and
mobs of citizens.

The chaos comes as the economically crippled nation battles food shortages,
looming famine and a cholera outbreak that has killed 575 people, stretched
limited resources and seen many flee to neighbouring nations for medical
care. The outbreak has spread to four neighbouring countries, forcing Mugabe's
government to declare a national emergency and seek international help. The
medical refugees it has spawned join the vast majority of Zimbabwe's
economically active citizens, who are in exile fleeing a country with 80 per
cent unemployment.

The nation's Reserve Bank, responsible for record hyper-inflation thanks to
a politically-motivated spree of minting as prices double every 24 hours, is
accused of profiting from illegal foreign currency deals on the black
market. It has instead pointed the finger at four banks it supervises and
sacked key executives.

The catalogue of failures is huge: From agricultural and economic crises, to
breakdowns in basic services, law and order, and political governance.
These, the Mugabe government argues, are all the result of Western economic
sanctions, not failed policies.

To end this crisis, Prime Minister Raila Odinga suggests direct
intervention - the forcible removal of Robert Mugabe, a course of action
also contemplated by Nobel laureate and South African Archbishop Desmond
Tutu.

BLOOD-STAINED

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has condemned President Mugabe's
regime, saying the embattled president's departure was long overdue.

Raila's British counterpart, Mr Gordon Brown says "the systems of government
are now broken" and urged international action to deal with the food and
health crises. Brown was quoted saying he is in talks with African leaders
on "to press for stronger action" in the "blood-stained regime".

What action that might be is unclear but the Mugabe government has taken
this to mean the British plan an invasion. This, we believe, is an unlikely
scenario.

The argument for military intervention seems persuasive. But with the list
of prime candidates for such action - states whose oppressive policies cause
untold misery to millions - including Myanmar, North Korea and others,
chances of this option finding favour with the international community are
remote.

The appetite for military adventure abroad in many nations has also
diminished with the difficulties facing US-led interventions in Afghanistan
and Iraq.

Brown "hopes" the United Nations Security Council would meet to consider the
situation. A meeting of the UN body, however, is likely to do little more
than issue a resolution seeking action from African leaders. The West is
relying on Africa, particularly Zimbabwe's neighbours in the 15-nation
Southern African Development Community, to lead the way in ending this
crisis.

Africa needs to consider what tools it has at its disposal to force an end
to the crisis. It must also be realistic as to what means it can use to
achieve such change. Mugabe and Zanu-PF's failure to establish a unity
government with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is a key
problem they can address. Such a government's policies might alleviate the
immediate threats of famine and disease. More importantly, it would attract
more foreign humanitarian and development aid and end sanctions.

POWER-SHARING

Mere tongue-lashings will do little to end the Mugabe regime's abuses of its
people. And as the prospect of foreign armies, British or African marching
on Harare is remote, the continent's leaders - particularly in South Africa
and the African Union - must pressure the despot into stepping down or
accommodating the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC in a power-sharing deal.

While the latter option is clearly an unhappy compromise, it may be the only
realistic option available that allows sufficient change to address the
growing humanitarian crisis.

Zimbabwe's people 'in a state of despair'

http://www.abc.net.au

Posted 2 hours 50 minutes ago
Updated 2 hours 33 minutes ago

As each day passes the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe worsens.

The United Nations has warned that the cholera epidemic sweeping the country
could infect 60,000 people in the coming weeks.

Australian Jim Holland is living in the capital Harare and is trying to help
people in need. Mr Holland, who is an activist for the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change, has told ABC Radio's AM that the situation in the
country is "pretty desperate".

"In Harare there are still so many problems with water supply, with food,
with money. People are in a state of despair at the moment," he said.

"Even just professional families are no longer able to survive on their
incomes locally and it is only through foreign remittances that people are
able to carry on.

"Banks are another situation with just hundreds and hundreds of people
queued outside banks everywhere you find them and they will sit there all
day just desperately hoping to get the $100 million that they are now going
to be allowed to take out per week, but that is still only worth a few
dollars American and the value of that declines by the hour."

Mr Holland says the Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic is made all the more worse
because the disease is easily preventable.

"People die remarkably quickly. A baby I know of was sick in the afternoon
and taken to a clinic a little bit later on but was dead by evening, and
then the baby's mother got sick the following evening and was dead by the
next morning," he said.

"So, cholera is a terrible disease. People die so fast and it is so easily
preventable if only the regime here would rectify the problems with the
national water supply authority."

Mr Holland says the Government has lost control of the country.

"Every area of activity the Government should be involved in, in terms of
providing security, providing a stable money supply, providing health
services, roads, water, electricity - all of the services are breaking down
and we are just seeing things falling apart literally in front of our eyes.

Mr Holland says the humanitarian crisis has even led to unrest within the
military.

"You go into town and you will see lots of soldiers lined up in the queues
at the bank. It is interesting that unlike in the past where they would
always be able to force their way to the head of the queue, now they are
queuing just like anybody else, so clearly they are very unhappy," he said.

"And the money that they get is not going to feed their families and it
would really be only the top officers that would be, that are supporting the
regime.

However, Mr Holland does not believe Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will
step down, saying he still has the backing of the military's top brass.

"I don't think that there is any way that Mugabe is going to step down
unless he is instructed to step down by the military. That is the only way
that he is going to go," he said.

"I think the military is desperate for him to stay on because he provides
them with cover. As long as he is in power then the military is protected.
So no, I think we are going to see the situation continuing for a very long
time to come.

"I think it is just a tradition of discipline. It is great fear. I mean, we
are told that up to 20 of those that were involved in rioting in town the
other day have simply been summarily executed. There is no sign of any
organised unrest."

Mugabe buys more time

http://www.thetimes.co.za

Moses Mudzwiti Published:Dec 08, 2008

Zimbabwe government pays out huge sums to pacify security forces

ZIMBABWE'S beleaguered government has moved swiftly to pacify its restless
security forces by giving them huge sums of money.

a.. "We were given Z$100-million each," said a police source.

"All we had to do was stand in line and write our names on a piece of paper.
After that senior officers handed the money over."

The money was dished out on Thursday and Friday at the police's Morris
Depot, the biggest in Harare. Earlier in the week, officials gave cash to
disgruntled soldiers.

The soldiers were given only half what the police got.

But the Zimbabwe dollar crashed spectacularly at the weekend, sending food
prices through the roof. A loaf of bread shot up from Z$2-million to
Z$35-million.

Indications were that security forces would demand more money this week.
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono has been printing money to meet soldiers'
demands. This week he will introduce a Z$200-million note.

Marauding groups of soldiers caused havoc in Harare last week after they
failed to withdraw money from banks. About 100 soldiers went on a rampage,
breaking shop windows, attacking foreign currency dealers and looting.

Military police were patrolling a tense Harare yesterday, amid mounting
international pressure for the removal of President Robert Mugabe, with
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga calling for intervention by foreign
troops.

Most of the international criticism has been directed at the Zimbabwe
government's failure to deal with the cholera outbreak, which has killed
more than 600 people so far.

Botswana's foreign minister, Phandu Skelemani, said at the weekend that
Mugabe would be out of power within two weeks if Zimbabwe's neighbours
starved his armed forces of fuel for their vehicles.

He said the cholera outbreak showed pressure should be put on members of the
Southern African Development Community to stop propping up Mugabe's
administration.

"The world, together with SADC, should be able to tell the Zimbabweans,
'Look, this is going too far. We are now saying you are on your own, you can't
rely on us to help you anymore' and [we must] really start refusing to
deliver those necessities which keep Mugabe in power. One of those is
petrol. If you deny him petrol, which is used by the armed forces, which is
used by the police, I don't think he'll last two weeks," Skelemani said.

President Kgalema Motlanthe is today sending a team led by former presidency
director-general Frank Chikane to Zimbabwe to assess how South Africa can
supply humanitarian aid to the needy.

At the weekend, government spokesman Themba Maseko emphasised that food aid
should be distributed in a "non-partisan manner".

AN EU delegation is also expected in Zimbabwe this week to assess the
humanitarian crisis.

But the Zimbabwe government was defiant yesterday, accusing Britain of using
the cholera epidemic to rally support for an invasion.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown added his voice to condemnation of
Mugabe, saying the world should tell the 84-year-old ruler "enough is
 enough". He urged coordinated international action to help Zimbabwe
overcome food shortages and the cholera epidemic.

The growing Western criticism signalled a plot to oust Mugabe's government
militarily, Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said.

"I don't know what this mad prime minister [Brown] is talking about. He is
asking for an invasion of Zimbabwe ... but he will come unstuck," Charamba
told the state-controlled Sunday Mail.

Earlier yesterday, opposition Movement for Democratic Change spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said the devastating cholera outbreak was evidence of a
"failure of governance".

He said the cholera problem was much bigger than the government was willing
to admit.

But Charamba said cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe were "not new. We have had
several cholera outbreaks in the past."

The easily treatable disease continued to claim more victims in Harare's
crowded townships of Mbare, Glenview and Budiriro.

The World Health Organisation and the Red Cross have been assisting local
health authorities, and more aid to Zimbabwe was expected to begin arriving
this morning.

Mugabe has not made a public show of sympathy for cholera victims - instead
he has told his Zanu-PF party to prepare for elections "within 18 months".
He made the remarks on Friday in response to pressure from the party to form
a government.

Zimbabwe has not had a proper government since MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
narrowly beat Mugabe in polls on March 29.

Mugabe has been under pressure to form a unity government that includes
Tsvangirai, but the process has been dogged by disagreements over
power-sharing.

* There has been a spate of abductions of suspected opponents of the Mugabe
regime over the past week. In the latest incident, a former police sergeant,
Ndaweni Nkomo, was abducted in Masvingo on Friday. - Additional reporting by
Reuters, Sapa-AFP

'Send in troops to save Mugabe's people'

http://www.theherald.co.uk

 December 8 2008

Foreign troops should prepare to intervene in Zimbabwe to end a worsening
humanitarian crisis and President Robert Mugabe should be investigated for
crimes against humanity, Kenya's premier said yesterday.

Raila Odinga, in the latest sign of growing international frustration over
Zimbabwe's slide into chaos, urged the African Union (AU) to call an
emergency meeting to authorise sending troops into Zimbabwe.

"If no troops are available, then the AU must allow the UN to send its
forces into Zimbabwe with immediate effect, to take over control of the
country and ensure urgent humanitarian assistance to the people dying of
cholera," he said.

More than 500 Zimbabweans have officially died of the disease since August,
but health officials fear the toll may be much higher. They warn that deaths
could spiral into the thousands because of the collapse of Zimbabwe's health
system, the scarcity of food and the oncoming rainy season, which may help
spread infections.
Odinga said Mugabe had reduced a once-prosperous country to a "basket case"
and warned: "Mugabe's case deserves no less than investigations by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague."

Odinga attacked other African leaders for being slow to criticise Zimbabwe,
saying they had shamed the continent by treating Mugabe with "kid gloves"
because he supported their liberation struggles.

"We refuse to accept the idea that African countries should be judged by
lesser standards than other countries in the world," Odinga said. He
declined to say whether Kenya was ready to send troops. The AU and UN are
already overstretched in Africa, unable to fulfil commitments in Darfur and
Somalia.

Former US President Jimmy Carter, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and
human rights campaigner Graca Machel released a report in Paris urging
Zimbabwe's leaders to end their power-sharing impasse and concentrate on
saving lives.

The three, members of a group called the Elders, were refused visas to enter
Zimbabwe but interviewed aid workers, politicians and others.

Machel, the wife of Elders founder Nelson Mandela, said Zimbabwe's leaders
either did not understand how deeply their people are suffering "or they
don't care".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Botswana's Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani
and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu have all called on Mugabe to step
down.

The Archbishop of York also called for Mugabe to be brought to stand trial
in The Hague.

Writing in the Observer, Dr John Sentamu said: "The time has come for Mugabe
to answer for his crimes against humanity, against his countrymen and women
and for justice to be done."

Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu urged today's African leaders to follow the example
of their predecessors, who overthrew the infamous Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Remove Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe to save African lives

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Last Updated: 10:01pm GMT 07/12/2008

As a cholera epidemic starts to engulf Zimbabwe and threatens to spread to
the whole region, the world must now seek an urgent end to Robert Mugabe's
murderous and illegitimate reign. The future bill for sorting out a southern
African epidemic will inevitably end up, in part, being paid by Britain. It
would be advantageous, both financially and morally, to finance action now
and prevent a mass outbreak, rather than wait until millions of Africans are
needlessly sent to their graves.

The Government's total failure over the past decade to deal with Mr Mugabe
has been shameful. Labour ministers - many trapped by the ideology of their
Marxist student union pasts - have preferred to turn a blind eye to the
brutal dictator's depravity. The more ethically astute have merely issued
grandstanding statements. Meanwhile, the hopelessly ineffectual Department
for International Development has been fixated on writing ever-larger
cheques. It has foolishly sent £200 million in aid to Zimbabwe since 2001,
failing to recognise that no matter how much aid is given, it is likely to
be expropriated by the regime. There is no chance of overturning poverty
while Zimbabwe is engaging in genocide. Indeed, Britain's aid has,
perversely, had the effect of helping to make the Mugabe regime more viable.

The human consequences of allowing Mr Mugabe's reign of terror to carry on
unabated have been disastrous, with starvation inflicted and the beating and
killing of political opponents. The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, was
surely right yesterday in calling for Mr Mugabe's removal, saying that: "As
a country cries out for justice, we can no longer be inactive to their
call."

We have no great confidence in the United Nations. It has a history of moral
weakness, ranging from the expulsion of capitalist Taiwan at the behest of
Maoist China through to recent cases of child abuse by its ironically named
peacekeepers. But given the lack of available British troops, and the
potential for unfounded accusations of imperialism, it would be best for the
British Government to push for a UN?sanctioned overthrow of Mr Mugabe,
with - as Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga has urged - African Union
troops taking a central role.

There is an important role here, too, for South Africa, which risks being
inundated with a massive influx of refugees. Given the damage Mr Mugabe's
continued leadership is likely to cause, now would be a good time to
encourage the most prosperous African nation to take seriously its
geopolitical responsibilities. The survival, and future prosperity, of
millions of Africans depends upon it.

It's up to us to lead the final charge on Mugabe

http://www.thetimes.co.za

The Editor, The Times
Newspaper Published:Dec 08, 2008

We are the country that pays the highest price for his continued misrule

EDITORIAL: THE world wants Robert Mugabe booted out of office as his country
sinks into a cesspit of cholera, hunger and violent anarchy.

Retired archbishop Desmond Tutu, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Archbishop of York have all
publicly called for the tyrant to be removed. But none of them suggests how
this should be done. Regime change can look good on paper, but it can be
messy and destructive in reality.

a.. Just ask George Bush, who is now doing the talk- show rounds speaking of
his regret about going into the Iraq war with faulty intelligence.

Zimbabwe is a thorny prospect for military adventurism. Its soldiers are
battle-hardened veterans of the Congo. Arms and ammunition are abundant,
thanks to the moral ambivalence of the Chinese. And the only real military
power in the region - other than Zimbabwe itself - is South Africa, which
has a questionable capacity for such an operation. Remember the unfortunate
invasion of Lesotho?

Military intervention would have to be sanctioned by the UN, and then would
have to be supported by global powers with the muscle to pull it off. In
short, it is not going to happen.

The alternative is to strangle Zimbabwe by withdrawing recognition of Mugabe's
government, accepting the ascendency of Morgan Tsvangirai, based on the
March presidential election, and shutting off Zimbabwe's power and closing
its borders. This might push Mugabe's backers into changing their tune, but
it would be a hard road .

What is needed is a strategy that strangles Mugabe but not his people.

Southern Africa must lead in withdrawing recognition of Mugabe, denying him
and his cronies international travel, and freezing their foreign bank
holdings.

And South Africa should lead the final charge on Mugabe, if only for selfish
reasons: we are the country that pays the highest price for his continued
misrule.

SA health delegation leaves for Zimbabwe today

http://www.sabcnews.com

December 08 2008,
5:55:00

A South African delegation leaves for Zimbabwe today to assess the
cholera epidemic. They'll be accompanied by a team from the Southern African
Development Corporation.

The delegation is expected to assess the situation, determine the
level of assistance required and consult various representatives, including
the World Health Organisation.

Health and water affairs ministers from the SADC troika will then hold
an emergency meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Meanwhile, health officials are struggling to contain a cholera crisis
at Madimbo in Limpopo. Victims are being taken to Musina, where eight deaths
and over 500 cases of cholera have been reported.

There's been some relief for the community, as tests for cholera in
the Nwanedi River, which flows through Madimbo, have come back negative. In
Zimbabwe, more than 560 deaths and over 12 000 cases of cholera have been
recorded so far.

Ex-archbishop Pius Ncube, opponent of Robert Mugabe, silenced by Vatican

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 8, 2008

Pius Ncube says that the ban on his political statements has helped the
Mugabe regime to silence critics but that he will still share the people's
suffering

Martin Fletcher in Bulawayo
One of the most outspoken opponents of Robert Mugabe has been silenced by
the Vatican just as the regime in Zimbabwe is at its weakest and his
leadership would be most valuable.

Pius Ncube resigned as Archbishop of Bulawayo and left Zimbabwe in September
2007 after he was filmed sleeping with a married woman who was employed by
the regime as a "honeytrap". He returned last month after spending a year in
exile in Rome and Britain, but the Roman Catholic Church has forbidden him
from making any political statements.

In the first interview he has given since his fall Mr Ncube told The Times
that he would obey the Vatican order, but added: "I am very upset about it.
I believe in speaking out for the people at a time of distress. This country
is in the worst situation - worse than when I left."

He agreed that the gagging order meant that the Mugabe regime had succeeded
in neutralising one of its most prominent critics. As archbishop, Mr Ncube
repeatedly denounced Mr Mugabe's misrule, championed nonviolent opposition
to the Government, and defied death threats.

Now Zimbabwe needs a figure of his stature badly to give voice to the
oppressed and galvanise the Opposition. The economy of the country has
imploded, millions are without food, cholera is rampant and the regime is
struggling to contain rising discontent within the security forces that keep
it in power.
Jenni Williams, the leader of the human rights organisation Women of
Zimbabwe Arise, said: "We bemoan the silencing of Pius Ncube because his
voice was very loud and we still need it. We need as many voices as possible
to speak out and hold Mugabe accountable."

Mr Ncube, 61, fell from grace in July 2007 when the state-controlled media
jubilantly published pictures of him in bed with Rosemary Sibanda, a married
woman, at his official residence in Bulawayo.

An agent of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has since confirmed
what everyone knew - that the CIO installed a camera in his room and
entrapped the archbishop.

"If you are not only outspoken but staunchly against the head of state,
surely things can go wrong," the agent told the Los Angeles Times. "You
should be on your guard. When you shoot at someone you can expect them to
shoot back." He said that CIO hardliners crowed for days about the
humiliation of Mr Ncube.

Mrs Sibanda died in May, ostensibly from Aids, although some suspect that
she was killed by the CIO to ensure her silence. She had become a pariah in
Bulawayo.

Mr Ncube left the country insisting that he would "not be silenced by the
crude machinations of a wicked regime". He spent three months in Rome and
about nine months in a Franciscan retreat in Godalming, Surrey.

"I was very much traumatised," he said. At times he suffered from depression
because he felt powerless to help his fellow Zimbabweans while their country
collapsed. Today he looks older, gaunter and greyer. His former confidence
has gone, along with his bishop's robes. He seems nervous and more hesitant,
and avoids eye contact.

He will not talk about Mrs Sibanda except to say: "I think she was used." He
said that he was planning to end his "sinful" relationship with her when he
was filmed. "Partly I blame myself for those things that were improper, but
I also blame the Government because they did it so as to cling to power," he
said.

He believes, however, that he has emerged a better, humbler and more
understanding man. He now spends two hours a day in prayer, eats only one
meal a day to show solidarity with his starving compatriots and says he is
reconciled to his fate.

"In a way God was saying to me 'position is not the most important thing.
You can serve me in other ways besides having a high position in the
Church'. Also, for me to be humiliated like that means I am able to share
thoroughly in the humiliation of the people of Zimbabwe by a Government that
doesn't care for them. It's very painful but it purifies you," he said.

Although he still has the title of Archbishop Emeritus of Bulawayo, Mr Ncube
will soon leave the diocese to become a parish priest elsewhere in Zimbabwe.

The demotion will not be hard, he said: "I was always very much a grassroots
person. So often it happens in the priesthood that we are running after
status and advantages, privileges and material advantages, but really ...
our calling is to be part of the suffering people of God."

Pius Ncube

1946 Born Pius Alick Mvundla Ncube in Gwanda, Zimbabwe

1973 Ordained as a Roman Catholic priest

1980s Worked in Matabeleland during the Gukurahundi campaign by Robert
Mugabe against alleged coup plotters. About 20,000 died in the armed
conflict

1998 Became Archbishop of Bulawayo

2005 Called for mass uprising against Mr Mugabe

July 2007 Sued for adultery in an apparent government sex sting

September 2007 Resigned as Archbishop Source: Times archives

A Duty to Intervene

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 8, 2008

Replacing the regime in Zimbabwe is a humanitarian imperative; the UK should
support African calls for military intervention and offer supporting troops
Enough. While the world stands by, the people of Zimbabwe are dying. The
mismanagement of Zimbabwe by its first and only ruler since independence,
Robert Mugabe, defies bromides about the affront to civilised standards; but
they are true none the less. The Elders group of international statesmen
declared yesterday that Mr Mugabe had "not demonstrated the ability to lead
the country out of its current crisis". Raila Odinga, Kenya's Prime
Minister, called for the African Union to authorise sending troops into
Zimbabwe.

It is a crucial moment for Zimbabwe, for Africa and for the international
order. Self-determination and sovereignty are cornerstones of the Wilsonian
system of independent nation-states. But in its state of misrule, Mr
Mugabe's regime has forfeited legitimacy. Proposals for African-led military
intervention are right and urgent. The UK Government should join those
calls.

Blessed with fertile land and mineral deposits, Zimbabwe was once among the
most prosperous of sub-Saharan African nations. It is now a place of penury,
disease and oppression. The currency is worthless and the people are
starving. The collapse of the sanitation system has sparked an epidemic of
cholera that threatens to spill over to neighbouring states. While the
social condition of Zimbabwe is now extreme, Mr Mugabe's brutality is not a
recent development. It emerged at an early stage of the country's
post-colonial history, with a murderous campaign against the ruling party's
rivals in Matabeleland in the 1980s. Mr Mugabe then cemented his hold on
power by violence, corruption, patronage, ballot-rigging and intimidation of
his political opponents. His regime has robbed Zimbabweans of their rights,
their livelihoods, their possibilities for a decent life - and, by the
scores of thousands, their lives.

There is not a direct precedent, but there is a disturbing echo, in the
Rwandan crisis 14 years ago. Western diplomats then invested too much faith
in the notion that the state they were dealing with was an essential party
to political settlement. In fact, Rwandan officials were in some cases
covertly planning acts of horrific brutality.

No Western government has illusions about the character of Mr Mugabe's
regime. But there is a presumption that even a shameless autocracy and
kleptocracy has a claim to be treated as a legitimate state actor unless it
directly threatens another state. By the depredations perpetrated against
Zimbabwe - its polity, its society, its economy and above all its people -
Mr Mugabe is now head of an outlaw regime. More than 20 years ago, Bernard
Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, identified a duty to intervene when
human rights were abrogated by a literalist stress on state sovereignty. If
his argument applies anywhere, it applies to Zimbabwe.
The UK Government will note that good men such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu
and Archbishop John Sentamu of York are calling for the forcible overthrow
of Mr Mugabe. Out of a bond of humanity, the Government should join that
call, and make clear that it supports the authorisation and use of force by
troops of the members of the African Union.

It is urgent for Zimbabwe's neighbours that the regime now be toppled, lest
this rogue state implode and become a source of instability and suffering
throughout the region. British troops should not be at the forefront of an
intervention; but they should be made available if there is a request from
the African Union. The aim of an intervention must be to excise Mr Mugabe's
regime, install an interim government, set in train the process of fresh
elections, distribute food and ameliorate the appalling state of public
health. It is the continuation of diplomacy and humanitarian assistance by
other means.

Pressure mounts over Mukoko's abduction

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=8467

December 7, 2008

By Raymond Maingire

HARARE - Pressure is mounting on President Robert Mugabe's government to
release human rights activist Jestina Mukoko amid reports her abduction
would be tabled before a European Union (EU) council of ministers meeting in
Brussels, Belgium, Monday.

Civic organizations in Zimbabwe have also approached SADC chairperson
Kgalema Motlanthe, who is South African President, as well as African Union
chairperson Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania through their embassies in Harare.

They have asked them to weigh in as regional leaders to secure Mukoko's
release.

Mukoko was seized at gunpoint on Wednesday from her home in the dormitory
town of Norton, 40km west of Harare by about 15 plainclothes men who were
driving an unmarked vehicle.

The former broadcaster was now working for the Zimbabwe Peace Project, a
human rights group operating in Zimbabwe .

She was involved in documenting rampant cases of human rights abuses by the
Zimbabwe government.

Subsequent efforts to locate her have proved fruitless as police, despite
recording her abduction in their records, have refused to co-operate.

A senior EU diplomat attached to one of the embassies in Harare said Sunday
the abduction of Mukoko would be put to the attention of the 27-nation bloc.

"We are very, very concerned with this issue. We want this lady to be found
as soon as possible," he said on condition of anonymity.

"We are going to raise the issue with the Human Rights High Commission in
Geneva. Also tomorrow there is going to be a meeting of European foreign
affairs ministers. We as an embassy are going to raise this issue."

The diplomat, however, refused to disclose what form of response they wanted
from the powerful bloc.

There were reports, however, that the EU was considering expanding its
targeted sanctions on Mugabe's lieutenants, who are also accused of abetting
human rights violations in Zimbabwe .

An additional list of 11 Zimbabwean officials, according to media reports,
would be added this week to the list of over 100 officials, including
Mugabe, who are banned from travelling to the EU.

Meanwhile, anguish is mounting among Mukoko's family and civic groups in
Zimbabwe who fear she could now have been harmed.

The Zimbabwe Peace Project said the continued secrecy of her whereabouts had
made it difficult for render assistance.

"We are more concerned about Jestina's wellbeing at the moment," ZPP
chairperson Munyaradzi Chaumba told journalists at a press conference in
Harare Sunday afternoon.

"Her location is still a mystery to all and this means she is highly
vulnerable and prone to torture. Jestina's abduction has denied her justice
and recourse before the law as abduction itself is done to circumvent the
law.

"We appeal to individuals particularly those in the law enforcement agencies
with any information on the whereabouts of Jestina to come forward."

Cosmas Mukoko, brother to Jestina said their family has been traumatized by
the incident.

"Today we are in our fifth day since her abduction," he said, "As a family
we have reached desperation levels.  It is very painful to get home everyday
to hear no word about her. Everybody is really engrossed in their thoughts.

"Is she still alive? Why are we not being told where she is? What could be
happening to her now? Those are questions that are uppermost in our minds.
The time they have spent with her is now too long.

"She left her medication which she takes everyday.

"My strongest appeal at the moment is if Jestina did anything wrong, they
should just let us know about it. We do not mind who is holding her."

Endgame in Zimbabwe

http://www.politicsweb.co.za/

Lester Venter
07 December 2008

Lester Venter writes on the possibility of Mugabe falling, and the likely
aftermath

It is bewildering for a distant observer, such as I am, to read the reports
coming from Zimbabwe. For some time, now, they have been saying that unless
something drastic is done, the country will collapse.

In a land with, effectively, no currency, where four out of five people
don't have work, where half the population is hungry, where there is no
legitimate government, where sickness stalks the land unchecked, where the
capital is frequently without water and electricity, where an average pay
packet can't buy a loaf of bread, where you can be beaten or worse for
having the wrong politics and where the right to property has become an
ephemera ... what exactly would constitute "collapse"?

As is all-too plain to see, the situation is dire in the land so many
remember as one of the best places to feel the welcoming spirit of Africa,
despite its history; and remember it as a rich garden that, despite
disparities, provided for all. And yes, it seems pointless to wonder how
much further it can fall and how it can get any worse.

Yet the story of Zimbabwe is not over. There will be much yet to tell and it
is worth asking now what the rest of the story might involve. What happens
next?

Forecasting the political future is not only difficult, it's dangerous.
That's because it's so easy to be wrong. In fact, it's so easy to be wrong
you can pretty much guarantee you will be badly mistaken somewhere along the
line, and you can go for a rather embarrassing fall.

So you'd better stand back a bit and give me some room.

Despite the risks, this is a necessary exercise. Anticipating the future is
the best way of improving the present. It is only when you stop and think,
really stop and think, about all the possible outcomes of present actions
that you become able to give these present actions their true weight, and
measure their real value.

In order to do it, then, you have to discern in the present the forces that
are really driving events forward, separate them from the passing diversions
of the day, and imagine how they would evolve. All the while, you must be
mindful of the unexpected.

The first apparent driver of Zimbabwean events is the one everyone is
looking at right now - the talks between the government and the opposition
about a new government. It's a false indicator of the future, it's a
hi-jacking of hope, and it should be discarded right away.

The talks are never going to produce anything, certainly not anything good,
and assuredly nothing that will change Zimbabwe's unhappy future to a more
hopeful one. If the talks had any potential to do that, they would have done
so already. Rather, the stalled and stalling nature of the talks - in fact,
the entire current political process - is a message that is crying to make
itself heard; and it's amazing that so few seem to hear it. The message is:
this is a dead end.

The decisive factor in the talks is Mugabe. The talking is in essence about
what Mr Mugabe will give, and will not give. He is the maker and the
breaker. At this stage, anyone who thinks that Mr Mugabe needs more time to
make his intentions clearer ... or time to see the error of his ways .. or
to bend to the counsel being offered from without ... is someone who is
simply not capable of reading the record correctly.

As an exercise, imagine that Mugabe responds to some pressure we have not
seen until now, or that hasn't worked until now, and the talks succeed in
producing a unity government. How much unity can one reasonably expect there
to be in such a government? Yes, not much. And how much unity of purpose and
action would it not need to give Zimbabwe even the smallest hope of tackling
its huge problems?

In fact, were the parties pressured into making it happen it would amount to
no more than transferring the terrain of battle from the negotiating rooms
to the corridors of power.  The opposition members would spend all their
time crab-walking along the passageways, keeping their backs to the wall.

With little doubt, this is a stratagem Mugabe has been holding in reserve,
anyway.

All this implies that Mugabe must go. And he will. Mugabe cannot hold on
forever. That Mugabe will go - and probably soon - is not the issue. The
question is quite how the final dénouement will play itself out.

The forces that will drive Mugabe out can come from either outside Zimbabwe,
or within; or a combination of both. This is a statement of the obvious, of
course, but it helps one to think about forthcoming events.

There is now a mounting clamour for Mugabe's departure. It is coming from
the West; this weekend the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, called not only
for Mugabe's removal but for his prosecution in an international court. Of
late, it is coming, too, from some in Africa, like Botswana and Kenya. At
the weekend Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of Cape Town, echoed Sentamu's
call.

The voices are manifestly louder, more numerous and more insistent than they
have been until now. But they will remain just voices. This is, therefore,
not a new thing, and Mugabe's obstinacy is not like to melt in the
realisation that he is not popular. The situation is way past that.

More meaningful forces are rising within. It must be said in haste, right
here, that the long-suffering endurance of the population, and its failure
to come out in open revolt is one of the remarkable characteristics of the
Zimbabwe affair - and one that is far less studied and discussed than it
deserves. This is especially so when one considers the phenomenon against
the uprisings that have swept Eastern Europe in the last 20 years.

Nevertheless, something is astir, and has been seen to be so in just recent
days. There are sporadic outbreaks of unrest in the streets of the two main
cities. There is a common thread that connects all these outbreaks, even
though they involve groups as different as doctors and soldiers. The link,
of course, is that they all involve people who depend on the state for their
living.

The conventional wisdom has been, up to now, that the state is able to
dispense enough patrimony to ensure the loyalty of a critical mass of its
dependents. But that ability is clearly eroding, and eroding fast. The
currency in which people are paid is all but worthless. The banks place
stringent limitations on withdrawals, and so salaries languish, slashed in
value by several decimal points every day.

It is true, as is frequently pointed out, that those around Mugqabe are
sustained by access to foreign exchange and the last resources of the state.
But even these are dwindling. When there is no more coin in the realm -
local or foreign - the game is up.

The pyramid of patrimony that is constructed from tribal loyalty at its
base, the civil service above that, and the power elite above that, in turn,
is what sustains Mugabe at its pinnacle. It will soon be too corroded to
hold him up any longer.

Mugabe's fall may now be sooner than anyone expects, and it is worth
speculating on what will transpire when he is toppled.

It is unlikely that Mugabe will withdraw to a tribal seat, there to live out
his years as the venerated father of Zimbabwe's independence. The risk of
some form of vengeance or, simply, recompense, for a nation ruined will be
too great. Even if a taste for retribution doesn't come from the opposition,
which has shown almost superhuman forbearance up to now - it may come at
last from a populace whose fear of persecution has lifted, and whose anger,
inflamed by hunger and despair, is finally unleashed.

On a formal level it is probably not likely that there will be a prosecution
through the courts - although it can't be ruled out - but it is likely that
a new government will want to know how much of the foreign-donor money
purloined from the central bank can be recovered.

Mugabe will probably retreat into sanctuary offered by one of the many
countries that have supported him - just as he has given sanctuary these
past years to Mengistu, convicted of genocide by his home courts in
Ethiopia. It is a sobering thought that there will probably be many eager
for the perceived honour of receiving Mugabe.

The departure of Mugabe will take care of the immediate problem. But to say
that Mugabe is the problem is not the same as saying that Morgan Tsvangirai
is the solution. True enough, the opposition leader has shown considerable
mettle in recent time in the way he has resisted Mugabe's attempts to
steamroller his movement. In great measure, though, Tsvangirai has gained
stature by default in the unconscious comparison made against his tormentor.
In addition, a careful examination of his record shows that steadfastness
and great depths of virtuous leadership have not always characterised
Tsvangirai.

Even if the very best in leadership were to emerge from Mr Tsvangirai, the
lesson of the states destroyed by their capricious, stupid, cruel or evil
rulers is that they take decades to rebuild. Uganda, for example, needed
almost an entire generation to restore average incomes to what they were
when Idi Amin first took power - a period in which the rest of the world had
moved on. Similarly, it will take Zimbabwe at least a generation to get back
to where it was a generation ago.

So, however the political dice roll from here on, Zimbabwe's prospects are
depressing. There is nothing, really, to be done now to change that.
Zimbabwe took the wrong turning in history some time back.

Then, not enough people to make a difference looked far enough down the road
to see where the unfortunate land would be today. The opportunity to change
course was back then. It's gone now.

How to break the Zimbabwe impasse

Military goes rogue

http://www.mg.co.za/

JASON MOYO - Dec 08 2008 06:00

With a cholera outbreak raging and basic services collapsing, the word in
Harare for weeks has been that "something is about to happen".

Many are convinced that the sight of uniformed soldiers looting shops this
week was the beginning of that "something". Many others are still in doubt.

Perhaps it is some sort of credit to the "Mr Invincible" image Robert Mugabe
has earned in his years of clinging to power that talk of an endgame has
quickly given way to speculation that it was Mugabe himself who was behind
the riots, pulling the strings in a carefully planned strategy that would
ultimately lead to the imposition of a state of emergency.

The riots began last Thursday, when a group of soldiers who were denied cash
at a bank became violent, rampaging through downtown Harare and chasing
after illegal foreign currency dealers, among the few who are always flush
with cash.

Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono reacted by lifting the maximum withdrawal
limits at the weekend, but the violence only worsened on Monday when the
soldiers again went on a rampage, smashing store facades, looting shops,
grabbing cash and cellphones and chanting songs denouncing Gono.

While Mugabe plies the senior ranks of the army with plush farms, luxury
vehicles and access to foreign currency, the rank-and-file soldiers have
grown increasingly disillusioned, left to struggle alongside other
Zimbabweans in the daily battle to survive world-record inflation and a
collapse in social services.

Because the reserve bank's printing presses cannot keep up with inflation,
access to cash is restricted and tensions in bank queues have been boiling
over for months.

The National Constitutional Assembly, a political pressure group, the
activists of which were among those arrested when gathering for fresh
protests on Wednesday, said the army riots were "clear testimony that state
security is in danger. It is a clear signal that if nothing is done in the
next few days the country might degenerate into chaos."

While Mugabe might not feel immediately threatened by the unprecedented show
of dissent by members of the army, he will now at least have seen evidence
of how deep and widespread resentment of his rule has become.

The last time the military top brass appeared together in public was ahead
of the March election, when they warned politicians to accept election
results. Earlier they declared they would not salute a leader with no
struggle credentials, a threat directed at Morgan Tsvangirai, who did not
participate in the country's liberation war.

On Tuesday the generals appeared on television again, this time to warn
"rogue elements" from within their ranks against engaging in further acts of
violence.

Their actions were "unacceptable, deplorable, reprehensible and criminal",
Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi said. He also suggested that a hidden
force was at play and that anti-government groups were attempting to "incite
some members of the uniformed forces to indulge in illegal activities".

Seemingly unperturbed by the health crisis and the public display of
discontent from within the army, Mugabe was away in Doha, lecturing the
world on fair trade and the hypocrisy of the global financial system.

Mugabe must be convinced that he has padded the nests of his top military
generals sufficiently to trust them to prevent any threat from within their
ranks. In the same news bulletin in which the army chiefs threatened their
juniors, they also appeared doling out seed and farm equipment to villagers
as part of an army-led farming programme they have used to amass wealth and
build their own political clout.

Mugabe will also interpret it as a compliment that some of his foes believe
that the military protests were an elaborate plan to stoke tensions enough
to justify the imposition of a state of emergency, under which he will
launch a crackdown on opponents and call off power-sharing talks with the
MDC.

"I hope the demonstrations by the soldiers are genuine and that it is not a
ruse to come up with an excuse to crack down against the people, or even
worse," said Dumiso Dabengwa, a former home affairs minister and a bitter
Mugabe critic.

Meanwhile, there is no sign Mugabe is letting up on his crackdown on
dissenting voices in the country. On Wednesday Jestina Mukoko, head of a
rights group that has documented Mugabe's excesses since the March election,
was seized from her home at dawn. Police are also still holding 15 MDC
activists at secret locations, despite a high court order that the prisoners
be brought to court.

Mugabe is desperate to show a firm hand as he heads into the Zanu-PF party
conference next week. Although he faces no threat to his party leadership
this year he will want to present the picture that he has regained full
control of the party after the internal divisions, which he blamed for his
party's electoral losses earlier in the year.

Zimbabwe's agony

http://www.theherald.co.uk

 December 8 2008

The long, agonising descent of Zimbabwe into disaster has reached crisis
point. With the death toll in the cholera epidemic now almost 600 (likely to
be a gross underestimate) and 14,000 further cases reported to the World
Health Organisation, President Robert Mugabe has been forced to abandon his
surreal stance that everything is under control and to admit the seriousness
of the situation by asking for international aid.

It should be the beginning of the end of his murderous regime. An
international chorus calling for action to force him out of office has grown
in volume over the weekend, from Gordon Brown saying that the world must
tell Robert Mugabe that enough is enough to the archbishops of both Cape
Town and York, Desmond Tutu and John Sentamu, calling for him to be put on
trial in the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

That would be the only satisfactory outcome, but it remains a challenge that
can be met only by concerted international action. Archbishop Tutu said
Mugabe must be removed by force; the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice, has suggested that the international community should "push Mr Mugabe
out", but the most significant voices raised against the Zimbabwean
President are those of Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, and Phandu
Skelemani, Foreign Minister of Botswana. Mr Skelemani has suggested starving
Mugabe's army of fuel, while Mr Odinga urged the African Union to call an
emergency meeting to authorise sending troops into Zimbabwe. He is the first
African leader to declare that it is time for African governments to take
action to push Mr Mugabe out of power.

It is long past time. In a land which once exported food, the people are
starving, subsisting on berries and leaves. The country is bankrupt,
hyperinflation is now in too many zillions to calculate; even the soldiers
are no longer being paid and last week a group rampaged through black market
shops in Harare to seize US dollars. This has produced a sliver of hope that
the army will finally turn on the dictator, but rebels will be unable to
access weapons and ammunition, and the President will retain a loyal
nucleus. The power-sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
agreed in September has been exposed as a sham and the European Union is
considering imposing new sanctions to break the deadlock. The time for that
is past.

That leaves the spread of cholera as the unlikely catalyst for action from
neighbouring countries. While President Mugabe's part in Africa's liberation
struggle has made neighbouring states reluctant to take action against a
one-time hero, they must now face the reality that turning a blind eye to
the desperate situation in Zimbabwe has brought about a serious public
health threat to their own people. African Union leaders, who have failed so
far to act in the interest of the people of Zimbabwe, might be forced into
action by their own self-interest: cholera does not recognise national
boundaries.

Zim spies feared to have infiltrated Botswana

http://sundaystandard.info

by GODFREY GANETSANG
07.12.2008 7:50:22 P

Botswana has denied reports that Zimbabwean spies have infiltrated the
Botswana system and at least one of them has even had audience with
President Ian Khama.

Sunday Standard investigations have, however, turned up information that one
Ezekiel Mpande, a suspected Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) spy,
rose to the top of Zimbabwean refugee leadership in Botswana where he
mingled with some Botswana government officials and even had an audience
with President Khama when the president visited Francistown.

Mpande, who was allegedly apprehended with the help of Zimbabwean refugees
at Dukwi, was allegedly caught with a sketch plan of the refugee camp, road
maps of the camp and plans of some buildings in the camp.
After his arrest, the suspected spy was detained at the Francistown Centre
for illegal immigrants and later deported to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean refugees in Dukwi complain that now Zimbabwean security agents
have started harassing their relatives who are still in Zimbabwe, while some
have allegedly disappeared mysteriously. The refugees claim that the pattern
of harassment suggests that Mpande may be using the information he gathered
from the camp and fingering their relatives to Zimbabwean security agents.

The refugees have also raised concerns about several Zimbabwean women
married to asylum seekers from other countries like Angola and Namibia who
enjoy free and frequent visits to and from Zimbabwe. They suspect that these
refugees, some of whom are married to Zimbabwean nationals, might be passing
information about the goings on at the camp to Zimbabwean authorities since
refugees from other countries can enter and depart from Zimbabwe legally.
An officer at the Ministry of Justice Defense and Security, Ross Sanoto,
denied any knowledge of complaints from the Dukwi refugee camp. He also
denied any knowledge of any individual who was arrested and later deported
on suspicions of spying.

The CIO agents operating in Botswana are believed to be behind recent
allegations that Botswana is providing military training to Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) agents.
Zimbabwe last week sent a team of investigators to Botswana to probe an
alleged plot of banditry involving Botswana authorities and opposition MDC
activists.

The investigation into claimed acts of destabilization has so far failed to
raise any evidence.

The investigation team is led by Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs permanent
secretary, Joey Bimha, including other Foreign Affairs officials and state
security officers. It is understood that a group of MDC activists were
recently arrested and allegedly coerced to admit training and recorded in
the process in a bid to create evidence for the trumped-up charges. A source
was quoted in the Zimbabwean media saying that "the whole plot is similar to
the charges against Joshua Nkomo and PF Zapu officials such as Dumiso
Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku (in the early 1980s). It is also similar to
cases involving Ndabaningi Sithole and (MDC leader) Morgan Tsvangirai."
Government has since 1980 been making similar allegations, arresting and
torturing the accused, but later failing to prove its claims.

Outgoing Zimbabwean Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, recently accused
Tsvangirai of trying to be like the late notorious Angolan rebel leader
Jonas Savimbi and his Unita movement.

Battle of the two Elliots that never was!

The death of Elliot Manyika brings mixed feelings in the political landscape
of Zimbabwe. Elliot Manyika, MP Bindura, Political Commissar (ZANU PF)
killed by road accidents followed the death of Border Gezi, MP Bindura,
Political Commissar (ZANU PF) by road accident ironically on the same
Masvingo Road is no coincidence at all. What is of coincidence is that I am
the ONLY person who contested against both evil men who died trying to
revive an evil political party, ZANU (PF), led by an evil president Robert
Mugabe. Is this the end of ZANU (PF)? Is there more infighting internally
than what meets the eye? Has God finally answered our prayers? Who is going
to be the next ZANU (PF) Political  Commissar?

Killings and murders are not new in ZANU (PF), a party founded on
revolutionary struggle concepts but failed to embrace change (after
independence) in a fast changing global political sphere. Today we can
safely conclude that ZANU (PF) the monster, is on a monstrous non recovery
to doom, as it enters a new phase in a "struggle within struggles" If you
live by evil you should be prepared to die by evil, while Elliot Manyika was
playing both Satan and god's role, he failed to understand that above all
there is GOD. He died doing the job he liked most murdering people and God
saw it fit to reclaim His glory be recalling him to answer for his misdeeds.
Imagine what would have become of Zimbabwe if Elliot Manyika successfully
rejuvenated ZANU (PF) after the December Bindura Congress? Zimbabweans have
suffered enough at the hands of ZANU (PF), unfortunately  Robert Mugabe, the
despot continue to live even beyond human expectation, at 84 he seem to defy
death. No doubt our prayers will continue to be answered.

I am the only person who had the privilege of contesting against these
brutal citizens of Zimbabwe, Border Gezi and Elliot Manyika.  Both men
condemned me to death for mere exercising my democratic right to a better
Zimbabwe, which was all I was committed to. And I still believe that, the
same dream is closer now than when both men were still alive.  This is a
rare occasion were human beings can be more useful dead than alive. Border
Gezi was the architecture of the Youth Militia and the setting up of torture
camps, Elliot Mnyika exported them to others provinces where people were
tortured, killed and women raped. Today those tactics remain the pillar of
ZANU (PF)'s orgy of violence and campaign strategy. Some of you will
remember the cold blooded murder of my brother Matthew at the hands of both
Border Gezi and Elliot Manyika, the murder of Trymore Midzi, one of my
campaign managers by Elliot Manyika. Between them Mashonaland Central saw
the highest number of unexplained disappearances, murders and maiming of
innocent civilians, I speak on behalf of an entire province traumatised. In
July 2001 Elliot Manyika, personally plotted to assassinate me and
Tsvangirai at Chiveso village in Bindura during the By-election. The
military style ambush was meant to exert maximum casualty to MDC leadership
since Manyika new that almost the top leadership of MDC was in the convoy.
Had Manyika succeeded, he could have successfully disseminated MDC and we
could be talking of different party at the moment.  Many people were
injured, although no confirmed death on the spot, many died from their
injuries in hospital as a result of that incidence.

I have included here a few citations from previous articles to show how
Manyika played both the judge and the murder;

Trymore Midzi, an MDC youth leader in Bindura, about 60km (38 miles) north
of the capital, Harare, died after being beaten and slashed through the head
with a machete.

Elliot Pfebve, the MDC spokesman, said Mr Midzi's assailants were 20
supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF. Mr Pfebve said the victim was taken to
hospital after the assault on Friday, then transferred to Harare and given
70 stitches to the head, before dying there on Monday" (The Independent
December 27, 2001)

". the remains of Moffat Soka Chiwaura, an MDC supporter abducted in Bindura
in December, were found in January. (ZHR NGO Forum February 2002)

"Elliot Manyika, an old-guard former diplomat, is contesting the seat for
Zanu-PF against the opposition's Elliot Pfebve, a young computer engineer,
in what is dubbed "The Battle of the Elliots".

Mr Manyika's supporters were out in force last weekend when they ambushed Mr
Tsvangirai as he travelled in a 15-car cavalcade to a rally on the outskirts
of Bindura.

Though Mr Tsvangirai emerged unhurt, five of his supporters were injured and
10 vehicles were damaged, including one reduced to ashes after Zanu-PF
supporters set it ablaze"(Telegraph July 29, 2001)

"Zanu PF youths operating from seven bases in the Bindura constituency are
allegedly raping young girls and women, while assaulting suspected
supporters of the MDC as the campaign for the parliamentary by-election hots
up. Zanu PF's Elliot Manyika is pitted against MDC's Elliot Pfebve. The seat
fell vacant following the death of Border Gezi in a car accident in April.
The by-election is set for 28 and 29 July" "Zimnews  July 10, 2001"

While my response to the death of Elliot Manyika (the other Elliot) might
dismay others who were benefiting from his brutality and hold to power, let
me remind them that Zimbabweans in particular will not mourn a brutal leader
who has been the composer and singer of our deep routed poverty.  Comrade
Manyika, you failed to respect human life, when you were still alive, you
tried to kill me, you murdered my brother and now you are dead, it's a price
worth paying is it not it?

After all it was the battle of the two Elliots that never was!

Elliot Pfebve, the survivor

Charamba : Tsvangirai won Presidential Vote

http://www.zimbabwemetro.com

Investigations
December 6, 2008 | By Raymond Mhaka
Three days after the harmonised election in March,Robert Mugabe 's spokeman
wrote in The Herald that the initial presidential results were wrong and had
to be corrected.

From what it appears MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai according to George
Charamba had 50% of the vote enough to avoid a runoff, but Charamba said
that result was rigged and needed to be "corrected".

Here is the quote from the article:

'Quite a clever posture, if you ask me. But never important enough to decide
who governs Zimbabwe after those 21 days. What does is whoever rouses the
sleeping vote which materially is a Zanu-PF vote. The MDC knows this, and so
does the British. Which is why there was a bit of desperation to stampede
both Government and ZEC into announcing faulty results that would have
rigged Tsvangirai into an outright win. Or triggering civil unrest to open
the way for international mediation which would have handed power over to
Tsvangirai. '

What followed the article's publication were developments reported in the
Metro that the government of Zimbabwe had taken over the functions of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission(ZEC) and it announced recounts of 23
constituencies mostly in which ZANU PF had lost narrowly to the MDC,but ZANU
PF also challenged results in some seats it had won after it emerged that
despite their win they had lost the presidential vote in those
constituencies.

New staff were appointed to complete the collation and verification of
results of the presidential vote and reported to ministers Patrick
Chinamasa,Saviour Kasukuwere and Didymus Mutasa.

All election material was removed from the election command Centre at the
Harare International Conference Centre and re located at Munhomutapa offices
of Vice president Joseph Msika.

Asked about the new developments the head of the election commission said
then the body was hampered by financial and personnel problems.

"We have scaled down because most of the people were support staff for the
house of assembly, senatorial and council results. We are also scaling down
because of costs," said ZEC chairperson George Chiweshe.

Morgan Tsvangirai's chief election agents Chris Mbanga and Morgan Komichi,
were excluded from the verification process and invited back after exclusion
from the process for a full month.

A source told Metro after the developments,"If none of the candidates did
not get the required majority and a runoff was indeed needed why do you
think the results are still being held,the situation is really bad."

"What is happening is that they are infact trying to reduce Tsvangirai's
votes to fall below 50% and necessitate a runoff"said the source.

A polling officer in Harare said Mugabe's votes were inflated to reduce
margins using postal ballots.Some polling officers who questioned the
procedure have since been arrested.

"All the votes were for Zanu-PF. There were no names for us to cross out in
the voters roll in case the voters would have voted already. Many ballot
papers could not be accounted for."

Invasion alert!

http://www.zimbabwetoday.co.uk/

Armed intervention is now on the cards - here's why

Zambia, one of Zimbabwe's neighbouring countries, stations its crack 2nd
battalion troops at the Tug Argan barracks in the Copperbelt city of Ndola.
Zambia's Commandos are at the nearby Mushili depot. Recently both units have
been training, in joint operations with the army of Botswana, another of our
neighbouring states. The prospect - nothing less than the armed invasion of
Zimbabwe.

This scenario has grown more and and more likely over the past few days, as
the tone of international condemnation of Robert Mugabe becomes strident,
and the possibility of armed intervention in Zimbabwe is at last given
serious consideration.

Those famous voices who previously called for negotiations are now calling
for action. Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila
Odinga, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, even ponderous British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown - all have declared that enough is enough.

These tough-talking leaders have clearly and jointly reached the conclusion
that Zimbabwe is collapsing and its people suffering unforgivably -
something that commentators such as your own Moses Moyo have been telling
them for months, even years.

It's the appalling cholera epidemic, first highlighted on this site, that
has brought them to this conclusion. It has taken the pitiful and highly
preventable deaths of thousands of innocent Zimbabweans to remove the scales
from their eyes.

Underlying the many tough statements this last weekend was the unmistakable
implication that if Mugabe can't be persuaded to step down - and he can't -
then the next step is armed intervention. But not by troops from America, or
Britain, or anywhere in Europe.

The unspoken rule is that such military action cannot, for all the usual
historical and political reasons, be taken by White troops, from White
countries. The soldiers who cross the border into Zimbabwe must be African.
And as South Africa, under its wishy-washy leadership, cannot be relied
upon, we expect it will be our brothers from Botswana and Zambia who will be
asked to lead the way.

My source in Zambia told me: "Our forces are fully equipped, especially with
Ak47's and Katyusha rocket launchers and tanks. The plan is for Botswana
troops and Zambian units to invade simultaneously from their own borders,
catching Mugabe's men in a pincer movement."

He told me that there would certainly be public enthusiasm in both Zambia
and Botswana for an enforced end to the Zimbabwean dictatorship. For months
economic and political refugees have crowded across the borders of both
countries. Now they still come - and they bring cholera with them.

Zambia observers also believe that the fight, if it came to one, would not
be a long one. Zimbabwe's troops, as also revealed exclusively on these
pages, are already rioting, and staging pitched battles with police in the
Harare streets. They are thought to have no stomach for a battle to save
Mugabe.

Meanwhile the international calls for action have also included a suggestion
that Mugabe be brought to trial at the international court at the Hague.
But, I must point out, that won't happen if we get our hands on him first.
We have a swifter justice to exact.

Posted on Sunday, 07 December 2008 at 20:55