SADC tribunal farm case winners under police threat
Usual
suspects on Mugabe’s cabinet list
We Can't Just Ignore Detained Peace and
Political Activists - Veritas
Zimbabwe's tiny window
Warrant out for Taibu
for not appearing in court
More Wrangling In Zimbabwe On Way to Formation of
Unity Government
Harare City roads in deplorable state
US$ 1 million
availed for cholera mitigation (ZBC)
Former Harare Mayor (Elias Mudzuri)
Urges Total Commitment To Ending Cholera Epidemic
Mengistu Exposes Crisis Of
Expectations IN GNU
National Healing Process Urged In Zimbabwe
Motlanthe -
Saving Zim Economy, Test for Unity Govt
Detained Zimbabwe activists in
danger
Zimbabwe children suffer as schools stay
closed
______________________________________________
Will it
Cost the South African Government R5 Billion for Aiding and Abetting the Mugabe
Regime?
[ This case is presently set down in the South African
Constitutional Court for 26th February 2009. ]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - -
Snags in SA bid to prove it did not fail farmer - (Crawford von
Abo)
Cape Argus (SA), 7 February
2009
http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=3179&fRequestedUrl=%2Findex.php%3FfArticleId%3D4829915
and
-
Secret report could come out in
court
http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=vn20090207064503976C371256
7
February 2009, 15:39
SA Government could face R5bn in claims if Concourt
rules for Von Abo over Zim land grab
Karyn Maughan
The government's legal
bid to prove the Presidency did not abandon South African farmers to Zimbabwe's
land grab has hit some serious snags.
Weeks before the Presidency is
scheduled to return to the Constitutional Court to argue it did not fail to
protect farmer Crawford von Abo from the land grab, it has dumped the advocate
representing its case because of alleged "differences of opinion".
To make
matters worse state lawyers, after failing to obey a Concourt order, are
scrambling to persuade South Africa's highest court not to release a secret
60-page report - containing correspondence between the SA and Zimbabwean
governments - to the public.
If the Concourt confirms Von Abo's landmark
victory in the high court, the South African government could face claims worth
more than R5 billion by South Africans who have lost land and property in
Zimbabwe over the past eight years.
The Presidency previously indicated it
wanted to use the report to exonerate itself of any wrongdoing towards its
citizens living in Zimbabwe but wanted the report to remain secret.
But
despite handing the report to the court, it has not yet applied for it to be
admitted as evidence or kept secret.
Newly appointed counsel for the
Presidency, Piet de Jager SC, last week argued his client's failure to obey a
Concourt instruction to apply for the report to be admitted into evidence was no
basis for the court to release the document.
"The president maintains his
stance that the documents are confidential and not subject to disclosure to the
public," he added.
Meanwhile the state attorney's office has suggested in
correspondence that the senior counsel previously representing the Presidency,
Paul Mtshaulana, withdraw from the Von Abo case because of ethical
issues.
Mtshaulana yesterday appeared to be oblivious of these claims. "I
can't say anything about this - it is a matter between myself and my client," he
told Weekend Argus.
War veterans and others occupied Von Abo's farms in
2002.
When he refused to leave his farm, Fauna, militia members arrested him
and farm manager Willem Klopper.
He was granted bail and for 30 months had to
appear in court every two weeks until his case was withdrawn.
Von Abo said he
had not been given any assistance and his letter to South African government
departments remained unanswered.
High Court Judge Bill Prinsloo slammed the
South African government in his ruling on the case in 2008 for dereliction of
duty in not providing proper diplomatic protection to the farmer.
He lost 14
farms in Zimbabwe, valued at R60 million, during Robert Mugabe's land
resettlement scheme.
This article was originally published on page 6 of The
Cape Argus on February 07, 2009.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
Related Articles –
INCLUDED BELOW in date order
Should SA
have protected farmer in Zim?
Phantom on the horizon...
Government's
'feeble excuses' slammed
SA farmer hearing gets bogged down
Landmark win
for SA farmer
Zim property violations are 'serious'
'SA did not fail Zim
farmer'
Farmer wants to be compensated for Zim land
Farms seizure:
government taken to court
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Farmer wants to
be compensated for Zim land - 7 May
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=vn20080507054342187C601462
7
May 2008, 08:21
The Pretoria high court was on Tuesday told of a Free State
farmer's six-year struggle to get the South African government to provide him
with diplomatic protection after he lost his farms in Zimbabwe.
Crawford von
Abo wrote to the office of President Thabo Mbeki and various ministers in a bid
to get the government to act against Zimbabwe's unlawful confiscation of land
belonging to South Africans.
"To date, there has been no meaningful response
from the South African government," Von Abo's advocate, Peter Hodes SC,
said.
He told Judge Bill Prinsloo that various departments only "passed the
buck".
He said Von Abo's endeavours to receive help from government were
"like the Yellow Brick Road - the road to nowhere".
"It is like the Wizard of
Oz. I just don't know which of the four respondents is the wizard. But my client
is not Dorothy. Dorothy had a great deal of hope. My client had no hope," Hodes
told the judge.
Von Abo said it was the government's obligation to provide
him with protection of his property in Zimbabwe.
He also wants the government
to become a party to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID) - a mediation facility which protects companies with business
interests in various countries.
Von Abo said if government failed to comply,
it had to pay him all damages he could prove he had suffered as result of the
violation of his rights in Zimbabwe. These would run into millions, he
said.
If he succeeds in his battle, he will pave the way for compensation for
more than 100 other South African farmers who lost their land in
Zimbabwe.
Von Abo said that in 1997 the Zimbabwean government violated his
rights by destroying his property interests in a number of farms in the country
as part of its policy to expropriate white-owned farms. He was not paid any
compensation.
He had farmed in Zimbabwe since the 1950s and exhausted all
remedies to vindicate his rights.
"No purpose will be served by seeking
further remedies in the Zimbabwean courts. Given the absolute disregard that
they show even for the orders of their own courts, particularly regarding the
taking of farms owned by white farmers, there are no remedies available to me,"
he said, adding: "There has been no meaningful response from the government
regarding my request that South Africa facilitate - whether by way of ICSID or
other means - the settlement of my disputes with Zimbabwe through international
arbitration."
Hodes on Tuesday said other countries such as France and
Germany had intervened on behalf of their citizens who had farms in
Zimbabwe.
"They enjoyed the full protection of their countries and had their
land returned to them," he said.
Hodes said if South Africa became a party to
the ICSID it could take up the case of Von Abo and others in a similar
way.
"He had patiently pursued his requests for diplomatic protection from
the government. The attempts had been unsuccessful.
"The present government
refused to provide diplomatic protection to assist the applicant not
withstanding his vulnerability in the face of the ongoing practices of the
Zimbabwean regime," Hodes said.
Proceeding
This article was originally
published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on May 07,
2008
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Zim has right to Nationalise farms
(says SA Govt) - 7 May
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=nw20080507182255650C585874
7
May 2008, 19:08
It is not wrong for a sovereign state such as Zimbabwe to
nationalise the property of its own nationals and South Africa could not
interfere, the Pretoria High Court heard on Wednesday.
Counsel for the South
African government, Patric Mtshaulane SC, argued that an application by Free
State farmer Crawford von Abo to force the government to take steps to
compensate him for the millions he lost when his Zimbabwean farms were seized
should be dismissed.
Von Abo accused the government of ignoring his repeated
requests for diplomatic protection and is seeking a court order to establish his
right to such protection.
He also wants the court to order the South African
government to become a party to the International Convention on the Settlement
of Investment Disputes (ICSID), so that he could pursue a compensation claim
against the Zimbabwean government through international arbitration.
Should
the South African government fail to comply, he wants more than R80 million as
compensation for his losses.
Mtshaulane argued that the properties
confiscated belonged to Zimbabwean entities, which had no claim for diplomatic
protection from the South African government.
He argued that the conclusion
of international agreements was the prerogative of the Executive and the court
could not force South Africa to become a party to ICSID.
He said there were
other means, such as the Bilateral Investment Treaty, through which the dispute
could be resolved.
Mtshaulane argued that even if the government was forced
to join ICSID, Von Abo would still have to obtain Zimbabwe's consent to the
arbitration, which was clearly not forthcoming.
Such a court order would
therefore be an academic exercise, he added.
Mtshaulane denied that the
government had ignored Von Abo's requests for protection, although he conceded
that the diplomatic steps that were taken "did not yield the desired
results".
"The applicant was arrested, charged and imprisoned (in Zimbabwe).
In respect of these wrongs, The Republic of South Africa acted promptly...The
applicant cannot seek diplomatic protection in order to pursue a damages claim,"
he added.
The application continues before Judge Bill Prinsloo. -
Sapa
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Zim property violations are
'serious' - 8 May
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=nw20080508180705893C391256
8
May 2008, 18:45
It was cynical to suggest property right violations in
Zimbabwe should not be taken seriously, the Pretoria High Court was told on
Thursday.
Peter Hodes SC, acting for Free State farmer Crawford von Abo,
argued this would be tantamount to suggesting "there was no crisis in
Zimbabwe".
Von Abo is seeking a court order to force the government to take
steps to compensate him for the millions of rands he lost when his 14 Zimbabwean
farms were seized without compensation.
He wants the court to order the South
African government to become a party to the International Convention on the
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), so that he could pursue a
compensation claim against the Zimbabwean government through international
arbitration.
If the government failed to comply, Von Abo wants more than R80
million as compensation for his losses. He claimed the government had ignored
his repeated requests for diplomatic protection.
Patric Mtshaulane SC, for
the government, contended it was not wrong for a sovereign state to nationalise
the property of its nationals, and that South Africa could not interfere.
He
argued that it would be an academic exercise to join ICSID as Zimbabwe was
unlikely to agree to arbitration of Von Abo's dispute.
He said Von Abo's
properties were registered in the names of Zimbabwean companies or trusts and he
was therefore not entitled to diplomatic protection.
Von Abo was in any event
given diplomatic protection after his arrest in Zimbabwe in 2002, Mtshaulane
said.
Hodes said argument that it would be futile to join ICSID had no merit
as it denigrated the institution itself.
"Why would any State subscribe to it
if it were to be a pointless institution?" he asked.
Judge Bill Prinsloo
reserved judgment. - Sapa
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
'SA did not
fail Zim farmer' (says SA Govt) - 8 May
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=vn20080508113220198C529576
8
May 2008, 17:49
By High Court Reporter
The South African government did
what it could in affording diplomatic protection to Zimbabwean farmer Crawford
von Abo and any accusation that it had failed him is without any basis.
This
was the argument of the government's advocate, Patric Mtshaulana SC, who on
Wednesday asked Pretoria High Court Judge Bill Prinsloo to dismiss Von Abo's
application to compel the government to afford him diplomatic protection.
Von
Abo, 75, turned to the court for help after 15 of his farms and other properties
in Zimbabwe were expropriated in 2002. He was not compensated. He had been
farming in Zimbabwe since the early 1950s.
He is asking the court to compel
the government to become a party to the International Centre for Settlement of
Investment Disputes (ICSID), a mediation facility that protects companies in
various countries.
Mtshaulana said even if South Africa joined, it would not
change Von Abo's situation, as Zimbabwe still had the choice whether to take
part in the arbitration process.
The case
continues.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Government's 'feeble excuses'
slammed - 29 July
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=nw20080729162714688C781972
29
July 2008, 16:34
The Pretoria High Court on Tuesday criticised the government
for failing to afford a Free State farmer diplomatic protection against the
violation of his property rights in Zimbabwe.
"Over all these years the
respondents have done absolutely nothing to assist the applicant, despite
diligent and continued requests for diplomatic protection," Judge Bill Prinsloo
said.
"No explanation whatsoever has been forthcoming for this tardy and
lacklustre behaviour."
Prinsloo granted an order declaring that the South
African government, President Thabo Mbeki and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs,
Trade and Industry and Justice had a constitutional obligation to provide
diplomatic protection to Free State farmer Crawford von Abo.
He ruled that
the South African government's failure deal with Von Abo's application for
diplomatic protection was inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid.
The
judge ordered the government to take all necessary steps to have the violation
of Von Abo's rights in Zimbabwe remedied and to report back to the court what
steps had been taken within the next 60 days.
This could include diplomatic
pressure on the Zimbabwean government to restore Von Abo's 14 farms and
property, such as cattle and farming equipment and pay him compensation for his
losses, which he suffered when that country started to expropriate white-owned
farms.
The judge said another form of diplomatic protection could be to help
Von Abo go the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes
route and get a proper hearing in front of an international arbitration
tribunal.
Another possibility might be for the government to enter into a
Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) with
retrospective effect, containing a clause providing for compensation by the
errant state to the aggrieved party.
Prinsloo said it was common cause that
the much-vaunted BIPPA, on which the government placed so much emphasis, was
never signed and that no one ever saw it.
Von Abo's R60-million damages claim
against the government was postponed indefinitely, pending the outcome of the
diplomatic steps to be taken.
The judge criticised the respondents for not
filing personal affidavits to deal with Von Abo's complaints, which he said
amounted to "a shocking dereliction of duty".
Although Von Abo had for years
literally begged various government officials to come to his aid after he lost
all of his farms in Zimbabwe, the government's response amounted to empty
promises.
He said it was not in issue that the expropriation of Von Abo's
farms was effected without compensation, a clear violation of the international
minimum standard, which gave rise to state responsibility.
"The BIPPA,
already promised to Parliament by the foreign minister in 2003, has remained
nothing but a phantom on the horizon.
The prospective contracting parties
have been looking at their calendars for a suitable date for more than five
years without success.
The judge added: "The feeble excuse offered from time
to time in the opposing papers that the South Africans are dependant on the
whims and time frames of the Zimbabweans is nonsense."
South Africa was a
powerful country, and there was no reason why it could not employ any of the
internationally recognised diplomatic measures to protect its nationals.
"I
regret to say that it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the respondents
were simply stringing the applicant along, an never had any serious intention to
afford him proper protection," Prinsloo said.
"Their feeble efforts, if any,
amounted little to little more than quiet acquiescence in the conduct of their
Zimbabwean counterparts and their 'war veteran' thugs."
The judge said the
government, in the present instance, dealt with the matter in bad faith.
"For
six years or more, and in the face of a stream of urgent requests from many
sources, they did absolutely nothing to bring about relief for the applicant and
hundreds of other white commercial farmers in the same position," Prinsloo said.
- Sapa
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Landmark win for SA farmer - 30
July
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=vn20080730055604873C298720
30
July 2008, 06:59
In what is regarded as a landmark case for South African
farmers and other citizens with business interests in Zimbabwe the Pretoria High
Court on Tuesday ruled in favour of a Bothaville farmer who lost his farms and
business in that country.
Judge Bill Prinsloo ruled that Crawford von Abo had
the right to diplomatic protection from the South African government regarding
the violation of his rights by the government of Zimbabwe.
Prinsloo ruled
that the government should, within 60 days take all necessary steps to have Von
Abo's violation of his rights remedied and to report back to court regarding the
steps it had taken.
The 75-year-old Von Abo has been struggling for more than
six years with the South African government to act against Zimbabwe's
confiscation of land belonging to South Africans.
His pleas fell on deaf ears
and his counsel earlier told the court that Von Abo's endeavours to receive help
from the government were like "the Yellow Brick Road - the road to
nowhere".
Von Abo earlier told the court that in 1997 the Zimbabwean
government violated his rights by destroying his property interests in a number
of farms in that country as part of its policy to expropriate white-owned
farms.
He was not paid any compensation.
Prinsloo said he regretted to say
that "it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the respondents (government)
were simply stringing the applicant along and never had any serious intention to
afford him proper protection".
"Their feeble efforts, if any, amounted to
little more than quiet acquiescence in the conduct of their Zimbabwean
counterparts and their 'war veteran' thugs," Prinsloo said.
He added that Von
Abo had demonstrated that his rightful property in Zimbabwe was unlawfully
expropriated under international law and that he wasn't compensated for
it.
Prinsloo said Von Abo made futile efforts to protect his interests by
litigating against the Zimbabwean government in that country.
He said given
the almost absolute disregard the government there showed for orders of its own
courts, particularly regarding the expropriation, no more remedies were
available for him.
He added that the SA government dealt with the Von Abo
matter in bad faith and irrationally.
"For six years or more, in the face of
a stream of urgent requests - they (government) did absolutely nothing to bring
about relief to the applicant and hundreds of other white commercial farmers in
the same position.
"Their 'assistance' was limited to empty
promises."
"They exhibited neither the will nor the ability to do anything
constructive to bring their northern neighbour to book."
Prinsloo continued:
"They paid no regard, of any consequence, to the plight of valuable citizens
such as the applicant with a 50-year track record in Zimbabwe and other
hard-working white commercial farmers making a substantial contribution to the
GDP in Zimbabwe and providing thousands of people with work in that
country."
Prinsloo said he had thus concluded that Von Abo qualified for
diplomatic protection.
"This may involve effective diplomatic pressure on the
Zimbabwean government to restore the properties to the applicant and his
companies and to pay compensation for losses and damages."
Prinsloo, as part
of his ruling, indefinitely postponed Von Abo's claim for damages against
government regarding the farms and business interests he had lost in
Zimbabwe.
In this regard, Von Abo during the trial indicated that the total
conservative damages pertaining to the six farms, including implements and other
assets he had lost, amounted to about R60-million.
Von Abo's lawyer Ernst
Penzhorn called his client directly following the verdict to give him the
news.
Penzhorn said Van Abo "is grateful that he could have turned to a court
in his own country to protect his rights. This is comforting if one looks at how
he was treated with no sympathy by members of the executive".
Penzhorn said
they would now have to approach the constitutional court to confirm Prinsloo's
judgment.
He said he believed yesterday's judgment would open the door for
many South Africans who had lost all their business interests in
Zimbabwe.
Regarding the damages claim he said they will first see what the
response of government is before they act further on the claim.
This article
was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on July 30,
2008
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Should SA have protected farmer in Zim -
10 November
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=nw20081110174905590C570162
10
November 2008, 18:07
Farmer wants to be compensated for Zim land
The
Constitutional Court will hear argument on whether the South African government
should have provided diplomatic protection to a South African citizen who had
land taken away by the Zimbabwean government, when it sits in Johannesburg on
Tuesday.
The Pretoria High Court ruled in July that the government had failed
to consider and deal with Crawford von Abo's application for diplomatic
protection after his farms there were expropriated without compensation and he
was arrested with a warrant for being on one of these farms.
The failure of
the government to help him in respect of the violation of his rights in Zimbabwe
was found to be inconsistent with South Africa's Constitution, the judge
found.
The respondents - the government, the president, the foreign affairs
minister, trade and industry minister and justice minister - had a
constitutional obligation to provide diplomatic protection for him and were
ordered to take steps to remedy this.
In that judgment, the respondents were
found to have shown a "shocking dereliction of duty", had failed to respond
appropriately and had dealt with the matter in bad faith.
It was also noted
that citizens of other countries in a similar position had received the support
of their respective governments when trying to protect their investments.
Von
Abo estimated that he had lost between R50-million and R60-million through the
Zimbabwe government's actions. - Sapa
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
SA
farmer hearing gets bogged down - 11 November
2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=nw20081111142252577C677512
11
November 2008, 14:31
A South African's bid to get government protection for
his investments in Zimbabwe became bogged down in technical argument in the
Constitutional Court on Tuesday.
The State asked for a postponement to file
additional papers.
Bothaville farmer Crawford Von Abo has been trying since
2002 to get the South African government to intervene when his farms in Zimbabwe
were taken away without compensation.
He was at some point arrested for being
on one of the farms.
After unsuccessful attempts to take the matter to the
Zimbabwean courts, he approached the South African government for diplomatic
assistance.
Earlier this year, the Pretoria High Court found Von Abo had a
constitutional right to protection.
It ordered that a report be produced
showing what was being done to rectify the matter.
The court criticised the
State for stringing Von Abo along as he battled to get his investments and an
estimated at about R60-million protected.
On Tuesday, lawyer for the
president Patric Mtshaulana said the State wanted to enter the report into the
court record and as it had not been done yet, asked for a postponement.
Max
Hodes, for Von Abo, argued against the postponement.
He said his client had
merely come to the Constitutional Court to confirm a Pretoria High Court order
on whether the (former) president was guilty of conduct inconsistent with the
Constitution.
Hodes said the affidavit the president wanted to enter into the
record, was about events after the Pretoria High Court judgment and had nothing
to do with Tuesday's proceedings.
After taking instructions, he said that his
client would not object to the new document going into the record.
Mtshaulana
argued that the matter had to be done procedurally and for that he would need a
postponement.
It would also give the judges and the applicant time to
properly consider it.
The court adjourned for lunch, during which time the
judges would decide how to proceed. -
Sapa
_____________________________________________
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news060209/sadc060209.htm
By Alex
Bell
06 February 2009
A group of farmers involved in a landmark farm test
case that was taken to the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek, Namibia, have now become
targets of arrest in Zimbabwe, despite the tribunal ruling in their favour last
year.
In November, Tribunal President Judge Luis Mondlane, ruled in favour of
the group of 78 farmers who filed the application challenging the seizure of
their farms during the Mugabe regime’s violent land reform exercise. Mondlane
said in his judgement that the Zimbabwe government had violated the treaty
governing the regional body by trying to seize the white owned farms, ruling
that the applicants had clear legal title to their land. The judge ruled that
the land grab was ‘in breach of the SADC treaty with regards to discrimination’
and also slammed the fact that the government had not paid fair compensation to
the farmers.
William Michael Campbell filed the test case in December 2007
and sought relief from what he called, ‘a continued onslaught of invasions and
intimidation.’ The case was soon strengthened by the 77 other applicants and in
November 2008 Campbell and his family celebrated the outcome of the legal
battle. At the time the family, who were severely beaten and tortured last June,
said they hoped the government would adhere to the SADC ruling, but it has now
emerged that their fears have been realised with the arrest of at least five
farmers involved in the case.
Campbell’s son-in-law Ben Freeth, who was also
part of the SADC test case, explained on Friday that Josphat Tsuma, current
President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, this week received warning that anyone
who had gone to try to redress wrongs at the SADC Tribunal was to be arrested by
the police. The warning was followed on Thursday by the arrest of the
vice-president of the Southern African Commercial Farmers Alliance, Chris
Jarret, who was forced off his farm in 2002 and is still awaiting the
compensation from the government, ordered by the SADC tribunal. Police also
arrested Harry Greaves and Gary Godfrey, both of whom were intervener applicants
in the Campbell case, as well as Phil Rogers from Matabeleland North and Robert
(Sticks) McKersie from Chinhoyi.
Freeth explained that both Godfrey and
Jarret were kept overnight in cells at the Bulawayo Magistrates Court before a
prosecutor ordered their release on Friday morning; this after police failed to
“think of some law under which they could be charged.” Freeth said the pair are
seeking legal advice against the arresting officer over their wrongful
detention, and added that the rest of the group of farmers “are just waiting to
see what happens next.”
“It’s obvious that the government has no respect for
the law, not in Zimbabwe and not even the law handed down by the SADC bloc,”
Freeth said, explaining that papers will be filed to hold the government in
contempt of court before the Tribunal. The ZANU PF government’s apparent
disregard for the SADC ruling leaves serious doubts over whether they will
adhere to the stipulations laid out by SADC leaders over the formation of the
unity government with the MDC. Many observers fear that ZANU PF’s proven
insincerity will prevail.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
______________________________________________
http://www.businessday.co.za/weekender/article.aspx?ID=BD4A934321
Posted
to the web on: 07 February 2009
Dumisani Muleya
Zimbabwe’s main political
leaders are finalising lists of senior party officials who will form the cabinet
of a new government that may help end the country’s long drawn-out political and
economic crisis.
The quality of ministers and the policies they will generate
will determine whether the government will be able to pluck Zimbabwe out of the
deep hole it is in.
Sources say Robert Mugabe, who will be the head of state
and government, will include a number of his Zanu (PF) old guard officials in
his list, raising doubts about the political will and operational capacity of
the new cabinet to introduce much-needed political and economic
reforms.
Zimbabwe needs a government that will ensure reform and that will
introduce fundamental policy changes to end a political culture of violence and
repression in aid of economic revival.
However, sources say Mugabe will stick
with the well-known Zanu (PF) diehards who got Zimbabwe into its crisis
.
They say Mugabe’s list of 15 ministers includes his close confidants and
party strategists Emmerson Mnangagwa, Sydney Sekeramayi, Didymus Mutasa, Patrick
Chinamasa, Nicholas Goche, Ignatius Chombo, Joseph Made, Olivia Muchena, John
Nkomo, Kembo Mohadi, Obert Mpofu, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Paul Mangwana,
Sithembiso Nyoni and Webster Shamu.
Sources say the list has deepened
divisions in Zanu (PF), as a number of former ministers have been left out of
the cabinet.
It is understood Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader
Morgan Tsvangirai is also finalising his list of ministers.
Tsvangirai will
nominate 13 ministers, while the smaller MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara
will choose three.
However, Tsvangirai’s efforts appear to have been
undermined by his party secretary-general Tendai Biti’s refusal to be included
in the cabinet.
Sources say Biti has requested to be left out because he
wants to concentrate on party work, although the real reason appears to be his
protest against the MDC’s decision to join Mugabe’s government without much
authority to influence policy .
If Biti does not go into government, this
will weaken Tsvangirai’s team in the cabinet, giving Mugabe an added advantage
.
Tsvangirai’s cabinet list is likely to be dominated by close allies as he
seeks to tighten his grip on the party and secure his position as prime
minister.
Tsvangirai will be sworn in on Wednesday, together with his two
deputies, Thokozani Khuphe and Mutambara.
South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe on Friday commended Zimbabwe’s main political parties for reaching an
agreement, saying this would bring political stability and a legitimate
government.
In his state of the nation address, Motlanthe said SA would help
to rebuild Zimbabwe .
Zimbabwe’s Parliament overwhelmingly approved the
Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment 19) Bill on Thursday, the legislation that
will pave the way for the inclusive government.
The 210-member House of
Assembly voted by 184 to zero in favour of the amendment which will create the
new position of prime minister.
The b ill was also approved by senate and now
awaits Mugabe’s signature for it to become law.
The approval of the
constitutional amendment brought relief to the parties, which salvaged the
political agreement from the brink of collapse at a recent Southern African
Development Community (SADC) extraordinary summit held in Pretoria.
Biti,
Tsvangirai’s chief negotiator, described the process as a “ miracle", saying
negotiations had triumphed over the violence that is endemic in Zimbabwe’s
politics.
“Everything has happened on the negotiating table other than
physical confrontation. It is a miracle that we are here.
“We go into this
government knowing that for this to work there has to be commitment. It is
important to establish trust from the word go," he said.
Chinamasa, Mugabe’s
chief negotiator, said it was a huge relief that the parties had successfully
amended the constitution as the negotiations had been “ a long, frustrating,
quarrelsome journey characterised by animosity and name-calling, but
notwithstanding this, what is important is we have reached this path".
SADC
leaders are hopeful that the deal will hold.
At the African Union summit in
Ethiopia, leaders endorsed the process and urged the US and European Union (EU),
which are sceptical, to lift sanctions on Mugabe and his cronies .
However,
western countries, whose aid is desperately needed to rebuild Zimbabwe, remain
cautious about the new government.
“ While we underline that this is a
positive development, it does not itself spell the end of the political,
economic and humanitarian crises Zimbabwe finds itself in," said the EU’s
ambassador to SA , Lodewijk Briet.
“ This first step towards normalising the
situation in Zimbabwe must be underpinned by clear confidence-building measures
by the new government," Briet said.
Zimbabwe is reeling from a deep economic
crisis characterised by the highest inflation in the world, which is in the
trillions; the most worthless currency; chronic shortages of basic commodities;
and mass starvation, disease and a widespread humanitarian
emergency.
_____________________________________________
http://changezimbabwe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1955&Itemid=2
Written
by Veritas
Saturday, 07 February 2009
Jestina Mukoko is still incarcerated
in solitary confinement in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. An application to
the High Court for her release on bail failed when the judge ruled on technical
grounds that she could not apply for bail. The judge refused to grant leave to
appeal to the Supreme Court against his decision.
So for the time being
Jestina seems set to continue in custody until there is a ruling from the
Supreme Court on her allegations of infringements of her constitutional rights.
Those allegations were referred to the Supreme Court by the magistrates court on
the 16th January. Although the Chief Justice accepted that this is an urgent
matter, the Supreme Court has not yet set down this case for
hearing.
Broderick Takawira is also still in solitary in Chikurubi Maximum
Security. His case has been referred to the Supreme Court on constitutional
issues, and is likely to be heard at the same time as Jestina’s.
Both Jestina
and Broderick will be appearing again at the magistrates court on Monday 9th
February.
Pascal Gono This morning a judge ordered Pascal’s release. His
actual release from Chikurubi had not been confirmed at time of
writing.
Other Abductees
Fourteen other abductees are also still in
detention at Chikurubi Maximum Security. All of them will be appearing at the
magistrates court on Monday 9th February, along with Jestina Mukoko and
Broderick Takawira. The police continue to hold three other abductees in
“protective custody” as State witnesses. The State continues to deny knowledge
of the whereabouts of the remaining eight abductees.
Release of Abductees and
Inclusive Government
The MDC National Council resolutions of 30th January
quite firmly stated that the abductees have to be released before the inclusive
government is formed. [Copy of these resolutions available on request.] It is
disappointing that the fast-tracking of their release was not insisted on before
agreeing to the fast-tracking of the Constitution Amendment Bill.
What the
MoU had to say about Political Violence
“10.1 (a) Each party shall….take all
measures necessary to ensure that the structures and institutions it controls
are not engaged in the perpetration of violence.”
This undertaking has been
broken. State institutions under the control of ZANU-PF have been responsible
for “forced disappearances’ and illegal detention, on the personal admission of
the Minister of State Security [full text of his affidavit produced in court
available on request].
“(b) The Parties are committed to ensuring that the
law is applied fairly and justly to all persons irrespective of political
affiliation.” This is certainly not pertaining at the moment.
What the
Inter-Party Agreement had to say about Political Violence
“18.5 The Parties
hereby agree:
(c) that the Government shall apply the laws of the country
fully and impartially in bringing all perpetrators of politically-motivated
violence to book;
(d) that all political parties, other organisations and
their leaders, shall commit themselves to do everything to stop and prevent all
forms of political violence …
(e) to take all measures necessary to ensure
that the structures and institutions they control are not engaged in the
perpetration of violence.”
Note: we include the ZPP workers under the heading
of political violence because Jestina and her colleagues are being treated as
political offenders although they are peace activists.
Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee Set Up
The Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee [JOMIC] was inaugurated on Friday 30th January, as directed by the
recent SADC Extraordinary Summit. JOMIC’s role is to is to see that the
Interparty Political Agreement is carried out both in letter and spirit, and to
serve as a catalyst in creating and promoting an atmosphere of mutual trust and
understanding between the parties. JOMIC could have been set up immediately
after the signing of the IPA on 15th September. If it had been, it might have
served a useful purpose in ensuring that the IPA’s stipulations on violence,
displacement, humanitarian aid, etc. were being adhered to. [Electronic version
of the IPA available on request.]
JOMIC has 4 representatives from each
party. The Committee is jointly chaired by Nicholas Goche [ZANU-PF], Elton
Mangoma [MDC-T] and Welshman Ncube [MDC-M]. The chairmen met first to set
agendas, followed by a meeting of the whole committee [the other members are
Patrick Chinamasa, Emmerson Mnangagwa [or Kembo Mohadi] and Oppah Muchinguri
[ZANU-PF], Elias Mudzuri, Tabita Khumalo and Innocent Chagonda [MDC-T] and Frank
Chamunorwa, Edward Mkhosi and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga [MDC-M]].
One
of JOMIC’s roles is to “receive reports and complaints in respect of any issue
related to the implementation, enforcement and execution” of the IPA. This
wording is such as to enable JOMIC, if it so decided, to hear relevant
complaints by members of the public, and it is hoped that JOMIC will do this and
also that it will issue frequent communiqués on what it is achieving. Ordinary
people have been kept in the dark too long.
It was hoped that JOMIC's first
business would be dealing with the issue of the abductees - whose treatment has
violated both the letter and spirit of the IPA and without whose release it is
difficult to see progress in an atmosphere of mutual trust. But so far we have
heard nothing.
How Can We as Zimbabweans Condone Torture?
Most of the
abductees have complained of being victims of “enforced disappearances”, illegal
detention and torture at the hands of State agents. Minister of State Security
Mutasa, in affidavits lodged in court, has sought to block investigation of the
methods used by State Security personnel and their identity. If the courts
support this stance, alleged torturers may continue to enjoy impunity.
Yet
torture is forbidden by our Constitution [section 15 - "No person shall be
subjected to torture …"]. It is punishable as the crime of assault. Where
torture has been used to extract a confession from a person, the confession
cannot be used as evidence if the person is brought to court on criminal
charges.
Torture is also forbidden by international instruments, among them
the African Charter of Human and People's Rights [Article 5]. The Statute of the
international Criminal Court lists torture as a crime against humanity. There is
also a special international convention on the subject - the International
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment of 1984. The underlying principle is that torture is never
acceptable, under any circumstances.
It is high time that Zimbabwe signed the
International Convention. At present Zimbabwe sticks out like a sore thumb in
the region - all the countries round us have signed and ratified or acceded to
[i.e. joined] the Convention. 12 out of 15 SADC States, and 47 out of 53 African
States, have joined. Zimbabwe, which used to be a progressive leader in Africa,
is now a country shamefully out of step with the rest of the continent
Most
countries in the world except the most brutal of dictatorships have outlawed
torture. Even when it has been used in the duress of military operations in a
war situation there are always enquiries afterwards and those involved are
punished.
The new US President Barack Obama has, in one of his first acts as
President, ordered the closing down of the notorious Guantamano Bay detention
centre, a military prison for persons taken into custody in the course of the US
“war against terrorism”. There have been many allegations that some of the
interrogation techniques used by US personnel there constituted torture. It is
also of note that Cuba, which in the past has been suspicious of so-called
western human rights instruments, in January announced an invitation to the UN
Special Raporteur on Torture to visit Cuba on behalf of the United Nations Human
Rights Council to investigate allegations of torture, disappearance and
detention without trial.
What needs to be done to accede to the Convention
against Torture
The decision has to be taken by the Government of the day,
but it must also be approved by Parliament . The initiative could either come
through Parliament or through the Ministry of Justice. It has still not been
decided who will be the next Minister of Justice but in the meantime all those
with access to Members of the House of Assembly or the Senate could start
lobbying them to support a motion in Parliament to this effect. It would get a
new government off to a very positive start and rebuild hope for the future if
this was to be one of the earliest decisions of an inclusive
government.
Abductees Court Proceedings Since 24 January 2009
Note: for
full day by day details of events please see ZLHR reports available from
kumbi@zlhr.org.zw.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need
Javascript enabled to view it
26 January: A magistrate dismissed an affidavit
filed by State Security Minister Mutasa seeking to block investigations into
allegations of torture made by members of the Dhlamini group of abductees.
Police were ordered to continue their investigations into these allegations and
report to the court on 9th February.
30 January: A magistrate postponed
proceedings against Concillia and Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, Fidelis Chiramba,
Pieta Kaseke, Violet Mupfuranhehwe and Collen Mutemagau until 9th February.
Prisons were ordered to take Violet, Fidelis and Collen to Avenues Clinic for
examination.
4 February: Bail applications by Jestina Mukoko, Concilia
Chinanzvavana and others were rejected by a High Court judge. Leave to appeal to
the Supreme Court against the rejection was refused. Defence lawyers stated
their intention to apply to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal.
60
arrested as police crush students demo
Police on Tuesday brutally crushed a
demonstration by University of Zimbabwe students. On Monday they were notified
that they had to find US $ 400 in order to take exams due in eight days and that
fees for the second semester would be US$ 1 000, to be paid before they could
begin their studies. Hundreds of students began demonstrating against the fees
early Tuesday.. Scores of armed riot police descended on the campus, released
tear gas and then arrested about 60 students, five of whom were injured and
needed medical attention. The whereabouts of three of the arrested students is
still unknown. A student leader commented that the police reaction did not
indicate any change of attitude and that there was still no willingness to allow
free expression in spite of the inclusive government having now been agreed to
by all parties.
Documents on Offer
Inter-Party Political Agreement
MDC
National Council Resolutions of 30th January 2009
Affidavit of Minister of
State Security blocking inquiry into torture and forced
disappearances
Convention against Torture and list of states parties [states
who have signed, ratified, acceded]
Veritas makes every effort to ensure
reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information
supplied.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 February 2009
)
______________________________________________
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-02-07-zimbabwes-tiny-window
Jason
Moyo
Feb 07 2009 06:00
Legislation allowing for the creation of a new
government in Zimbabwe will enable the embattled country to take its first
concrete step towards the formation of a unity government.
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai is likely be sworn in as prime
minister on February 11 to begin the task of leading a government that many
believe will be hobbled by mistrust and a party that is still battling radical
elements bitterly opposed to the agreement.
After a week of bickering, a
missed deadline, several abandoned meetings and ongoing internal wars, it will
be an inauspicious start for the new government, which needs to show unity in
the face of the urgent task of saving Zimbabwe from further meltdown.
The
first key deadline in the implementation of the agreement was missed when
government officials delayed parliamentary approval of Constitutional Amendment
19, which provides for the creation of the office of prime minister.
On the
day the amendment was due to have been passed representatives of the two main
parties were called to South Africa for what one negotiator described as a
"straightening out meeting".
An MDC statement had earlier announced that
Zanu-PF had "backtracked" on the agreement after a missed meeting. Patrick
Chinamasa, Zanu-PF's lead negotiator, attributed the missed meeting to confusion
over the venue. But the intervention and reportedly strong words from mediator
Thabo Mbeki appear to have forced the parties back on track.
Officials on
both sides supportive of the settlement had earlier expressed fears that any
further delays would hurt what little chance remained for Zimbabwe to win key
donor aid.
Confident that the government would indeed be formed, senior
opposition and Zanu-PF officials this week held meetings with diplomats and aid
agencies to gauge international support and to seek economic aid.
Those
supporting the deal want to take advantage of what appears to be a softening of
Western attitudes towards an accommodation with Robert Mugabe. "We have to take
advantage of the small window we have here," a senior Tsvangirai adviser told
the Mail & Guardian. "The world is moving on and, given the state of the
world at the moment, we are not going to have people knocking one another over
rushing to help us."
It was reported this week that the Barack Obama
administration had toned down the tough rhetoric of the Bush White House and is
no longer making engagement with Zimbabwe contingent upon Mugabe's departure
from government.
But Tsvangirai still has to win over internal opponents
fighting the agreement, who argue that Mugabe retains real power and that the
proposed government involves too many parallel structures, making it
"unworkable".
Under the agreement Mugabe will chair Cabinet, head the
national security council - consisting of heads of security agencies and
ministers - and will have the power to appoint and dismiss ministers, in
consultation with Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai will chair a "council of ministers",
separate from Cabinet but including Cabinet ministers, deputise Mugabe in
Cabinet and sit on the national security council. He will be in charge of policy
formulation and implementation and formulating legislation necessary to enable
the government to carry out its work. He will report to Mugabe and
Parliament.
MDC's cracks begin to show
The fact that Tendai Biti was the
only one of the six negotiators to have been left out of the joint monitoring
and implementation committee (Jomic) charged with overseeing the implementation
of the agreement indicates the extent of the divisions within the MDC
ranks.
Although Robert Mugabe demonstrated the importance he accords to the
committee by dispatching Zanu-PF enforcer and close ally Emmerson Mnangagwa to
head his team to Jomic, Tsvangirai left his own top lieutenant out in the
cold.
The MDC has given no official explanation this week why Biti was
excluded and there is no doubt that hawks within Tsvangirai's party, led by
Biti, remain bitterly opposed to joining Mugabe in a unity government.
The
group wants Tsvangirai to pull out of the agreement and join a broad coalition
of groups in a "campaign of civil disobedience" to pressure Mugabe to agree to
hold new, internationally supervised elections within 18
months.
_____________________________________________
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/06/sports/CRI-Zimbabwe-Taibu.php
International
Herald Tribune - France
The Associated Press
Published: February 6,
2009
HARARE, Zimbabwe:
An arrest warrant against Zimbabwe batsman Tatenda
Taibu has been issued after he failed to appear in court Friday to resume trial
on assault charges.
The former national team captain is facing trial for
allegedly assaulting Zimbabwe Cricket finance manager Esther Lupepe last October
during an altercation over outstanding payments owed to him.
Taibu's lawyer,
Jonathan Samkange, told The Associated Press his client's failure to attend
court was due to a communication breakdown between them.
Samkange said Taibu
called him last week from Kenya, where the Zimbabwe team was playing, to say he
wouldn't be back in time for the trial because he was going to Bangladesh to
honor a club contract.
The contract failed to materialize and Taibu returned
home with the rest of the Zimbabwe squad on Thursday. Samkange said Taibu didn't
tell him he was back and had assumed the trial had been postponed.
ZC is
expected to object, arguing that the charges are a personal matter between Taibu
and Lupepe.
______________________________________________
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/2009-02-06-voa43.cfm
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
06 February 2009
Following the Zimbabwean
parliament's passage this week of an amendment enabling the formation of a
long-delayed unity government, another session Tuesday is expected to pass a
bill creating a National Security Council that will oversee state security
forces.
Creation of the National Security Council was a key demand by the
Movement for Democratic Change formation led by prime minister-designate Morgan
Tsvangirai, which sought the panel to give the opposition party visibility into
the functioning of the state security apparatus which was deeply implicated in
deadly post-election violence in April-June 2008.
But political sources say
problems are cropping up again between the MDC and the ZANU-PF party of
President Robert Mugabe over the allocation of provincial governorships.
The
Tsvangirai MDC says it should name the governors of the five provinces it won in
March 2008 general elections; ZANU-PF wants five as well though it only won four
provinces.
The rival MDC formation led by Arthur Mutambara meanwhile wants
the governorship for Matabeleland South, which it dominated in the general
election.
Elsewhere, the Tsvangirai MDC formation has been rocked by
allegations that seven of its parliamentarians including Evelyne Masaiti, tipped
to join Tsvangirai’s cabinet, were involved in diverting subsidized agricultural
materials intended to be distributed to farmers.
The seven have denied the
allegations.
Tsvangirai MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told VOA that the party
will look into the allegations, promising that if they are found to be true
heads will roll.
A ZANU-PF house member and one ZANU-PF senator have been
implicated too.
Political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya, currently pursuing
studies in human rights law in the U.S. at the University of Minnesota, told
reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Tsvangirai’s MDC
formation should name the majority of governors.
In a judicial development
with political implications, a Harare magistrate on Friday threw out treason
charges pending against Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Tsvangirai
opposition formation. The charges were brought against Biti for allegedly
prematurely announcing election results last year and plotting the overthrow of
the government.
Magistrate Olivia Mariga dismissed the charges after Biti’s
lawyers produced evidence - a recording of comments by a prosecutor - that the
case was politically inspired.
Defender Lewis Uriri told reporter Chris Gande
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the conversation he taped reflected clear
political bias by the state
prosecutor.
___________________________________________
http://hararetribune.com/our-town/1-news/129-harare-city-roads-in-deplorable-state.html
Written
by CHRA
Friday, 06 February 2009 20:02
The residents of Harare are not
happy with the state of the roads which have become deplorable and a death snare
to both pedestrians and motorists.
Most roads in the city centre as well as
the city’s suburbs are littered with potholes that have grown deeper with the
rainy season. The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has been
inundated with reports from disappointed residents who have complained that the
potholes are causing road accidents which could be avoidable.
The pathetic
state of the roads reflects the deterioration of municipal service delivery as a
result of several years of maladministration of the city by illegal ZANU PF
appointed commissions. The Harare City Council has come into office faced with a
mammoth task of dealing with the damage that was done by the Commission to the
city’s infrastructure. The city’s roads are in need of urgent
renovation.
Furthermore, the sides of most roads in the city are lined with
tall grass and street lighting in most high-density suburbs is almost
non-existent. The City of Harare has not cut grass in most areas since the onset
of the rainy season and this has created a safe hiding place for robbers who
waylay unsuspecting pedestrians during the night. This problem has also been
exacerbated by the poor street lighting in the city.
CHRA is cognizant of the
fact that the economic and political environment that the country is currently
going through is not favorable for effective municipal service delivery but the
Council should make efforts to attend to critical areas like improving the state
of the roads and reviving a competent street lighting system so as to cushion
residents against road accidents and robberies. Council should also seek other
avenues to get revenue to improve service delivery rather than concentrating on
the ratepayers’ money only.
CHRA believes that Council projects can be on a
better footing if the city fathers seek the involvement and financial
contributions from corporate businesses that are interested in giving back to
the community. Corporate businesses are an important stakeholder in social
service delivery and the Council should ensure their maximum participation in
project planning and implementation.
CHRA will continue to be a watchdog of
the City of Harare’s operations and also advocate for quality municipal service
delivery and the delivery of other social
services.
____________________________________________
ZBC
http://www.newsnet.co.zw/index.php?nID=14950
Posted: Thu, 05
Feb 2009 08:52:49 +0200
The government of Zimbabwe has signed a tripartite
agreement with the African Development Bank-A.D.B and the World Health
Organization, W.H.O, which will see US$ 1 million being availed to assist in the
fight against the cholera epidemic.
ADB resident representative Mr. Frank
Kufakwandi said his organization is responding to the government of Zimbabwe’s
appeal for assistance.
Mr. Kufakwandi said it is ADB’s hope that this
relationship will play a critical role in the fight against the disease.
WHO
representative in Zimbabwe Dr Custodia Mandlhate said the organization has
observed that there is a serious human resources challenge which is hampering
government efforts in the fight against cholera.
The Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of Finance Cde Willard Manungo said although the cholera epidemic
is now under control, a lot of work which requires substantial resources still
needs to be done.
The tripartite agreement should set the tone for more
cooperation agreements which will help the country rebuild its economy and
social services
functions.
_____________________________________________
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/2009-02-06-voa41.cfm
By
Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye
Washington
06 February 2009
Attention in
Zimbabwe has turned to the critical importance of safe drinking water as the key
to mastering the cholera epidemic that has infected nearly 68,0000 people in the
past six months and claimed more than 3,000 lives - particularly following a
recent government decision to devolve control of municipal water systems back to
local authorities.
The central government handed operational control of most
municipal water systems in 2006 to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, widely
considered to have bungled the task. The Harare system in particular has been
plagued with shutoffs and dirty water.
Former Harare Mayor Elias Mudzuri,
removed from office in 2004 by the ZANU-PF government of President Robert Mugabe
along with the rest of the opposition controlled city council, now member of
parliament for Warren Park, Harare, says the cholera epidemic could be
controlled if the government would commits itself to developing a modern water
and sewage system.
A member of the Movement for Democratic Change formation
of Morgan Tsvangirai, Mudzuri is an engineer who ran the Harare city water
department earlier in his career.
Mudzuri told reporter Marvellous
Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that only a total commitment by
Harare to eradicating cholera will halt the death toll.
The World Health
Organization said Friday that the death toll from cholera in Zimbabwe rose to
3,371 deaths as of Thursday from the 67,945 cases reported since
August.
____________________________________________
http://changezimbabwe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1952&Itemid=2
Written
by CZ Editor
Saturday, 07 February 2009
The crisis of expectations with
the new government seems to have started before it has even been
inaugurated.
An Ethiopian reader of changezimbabwe in Los Angeles, G. E.
Gorfu , wrote to the editor saying how pleased he was to read the report that
Mengistu's extradition from Zimbabwe is high on the MDC's agenda and that the
MDC will not allow Zimbabwe to be "…a shelter for purveyors of
injustice."
The statement was attributed to MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa, but
before we had even published Mr Gorfu's letter, there was a swift
retraction.
Mr Gotfu had said: "That was a wonderful music to the ears so of
many Ethiopians at home and in Diaspora, who waited patiently for seventeen
years for a reversal of fortune of this tyrant.
"I appeal to you in the name
of justice and the friendship of the peoples of Ethiopia and of Zimbabwe to
extradite Mengistu so that he can join in prison his fellow tyrants that caused
the cruel death and torture of so many innocent Ethiopians.
"It is totally
unjust that he should live in relative freedom in Zimbabwe while those who
obeyed his orders and executed his commands remain imprisoned.
"May the
friendship between the peoples of Zimbabwe and the people of Ethiopia live
forever, and I am sure the extradition of this butcher, Mengistu, will go a long
way towards cementing that friendship."
The MDC has since retracted the
statement and said only that it would seriously consider extraditing Mengistu if
it were forming a government by itself.
According to ZimOnline, Chamisa said:
"But what we are going to have is a government of national unity, and decisions
there will have to be reached through some consensus and I don't know whether
that's going to be possible."
Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 following an
armed uprising against his rule and was granted political asylum by his old
friend, Mugabe.
The Zimbabwe government last year said it would not extradite
former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu who was sentenced to death by his country’s
supreme court for human rights abuses during his 17-year reign.
Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Mengistu would remain under the protection of
the government, pointing out that the former dictator gave valuable support to
nationalists fighting for Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain.
This is just
but one example of the many expectations of MDC supporters that are unlikely to
be me because of the kind of coalition government that has been formed.
With
almost equal representation in Parliament and Zanu (PF) having a majority in the
Senate, Zimbabweans will have to learn to lobby their MPs for their causes than
expect the politicians to just take up their issues as a matter of
course.
_____________________________________________
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=5243&cat=3
By
Chipo Sithole
EMMANUEL Chiroto, an opposition councillor and mayor of Harare,
is moved to tears as he recalls the abduction and brutal murder of his wife,
Abigail, by armed militia loyal to President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party
during the blood-soaked period preceding the June 27 presidential run-off
election.
"Nothing will ever bring my wife back, but the perpetrators of this
are still there roaming the streets," he told IWPR.
"Justice must be served
and if [the newly formed] inclusive government fails to deal with this issue
there will never be national healing. How do I work with people who murdered my
wife?
They must tell me who sent them to kill my wife and how they did it.
There has to be a way to secure justice. Our hearts are sore."
In terms of
the agreement signed in September by Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of
a breakaway MDC faction, which provided for a government of national unity, to
which the MDC finally agreed on January 30, also calls for a process of national
healing in Zimbabwe, but does not say what form this should take.
It also
omits to mention whether senior members of ZANU-PF and the military, who are
accused of masterminding the political violence, including the murder of more
than 200 people in the run-up to the June vote, should face
justice.
According to prime minister-designate Tsvangirai, senior members of
ZANU-PF should face trial for political violence, though he does not believe
Mugabe himself should be tried. ZANU-PF, however, and Mutambara’s faction of the
MDC believe that any action taken should be aimed at "achieving national healing
rather than punishment and retribution".
Chiroto, one of 45 MDC councillors
in Harare, is unequivocal on the issue - for him punishment of those who
murdered his wife is the only acceptable option.
"I have problems forgetting
and forgiving the people who killed my wife," he said. "Justice must one day be
meted out to whoever organised the killing. What do I tell my son when he grows
up?"
A hit squad descended on Chiroto’s Hatcliffe home on June 16 last year,
the day after he was elected mayor, firebombing the house and reducing it to
cinder. The attackers then seized 27-year-old Abigail and the couple’s
four-year-old son, Ashley, and bundled them into one of two double-cab trucks
with no number plates. Some of the kidnappers wore military uniforms, said
witnesses. Chiroto was not at home at the time.
On June 18 the dreaded phone
call came - Abigail’s body had been discovered on a farm near Borrowdale - her
head crushed, her tongue sliced off, probably to muffle her screams, and her
eyes gouged out.
Church leaders in Zimbabwe have called on parties to the
inclusive government to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, TRC,
similar to that set up in South Africa to expose apartheid-era crimes, to
investigate the violence that followed the disputed March 29 general election
which was won by the MDC but without a sufficient majority for Tsvangirai to
become president without a run-off vote.
A 20-strong church delegation
comprising representatives from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and
the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, ZCA, met Tsvangirai on February 2 and agreed to
support the new government, but requested the establishment of a TRC.
ZCA
spokesman Raymond Motsi told IWPR that there was a need to resolve the divisions
and injustices of the past. However, he said this would only be possible if
there was full disclosure by perpetrators of human rights violations and other
wrongs as well as some form of justice for victims.
"Churches are saying the
truth, justice and reconciliation process should start once a new inclusive
government is in place. That should mark the beginning of the transitional
justice system," Motsi said. "This process should not be left to the political
parties alone. It should not be elitist and should not be a political decision
between ZANU-PF and the MDC."
A spokesman for the civil society group the
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition believes that "joint peace rallies should be
convened by leaders of all parties to promote peace and reconciliation. True
peace and lasting unity will only be achieved once past human rights abuses are
fully addressed".
The former archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel peace
laureate, Desmond Tutu, who led South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation
Commission and, in the past, has called for a military invasion of Zimbabwe to
topple Mugabe, has now urged world leaders to back the inclusive government in
the interests of reconstructing the shattered lives of the Zimbabwean people. He
has also appealed for an end to the "totally unacceptable" violence.
"My
heart aches for Zimbabwe. Your countrymen and women have suffered greatly," he
said. "It is in your power to stop the violence if you act as one. You have an
opportunity now to stand up for peace."
But a defiant Mugabe, who has denied
orchestrating the election-related violence that killed and injured hundreds and
displaced thousands, has demanded security guarantees for himself and his Joint
Operations Command - a think tank of army generals who reportedly planned and
executed the violence.
Official sources say secret guarantees of immunity
against prosecution were negotiated between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, facilitated
by SADC-appointed broker, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, and
include crimes committed as far back as the 1980s, when thousands of opponents
of ZANU-PF were massacred in Matabeleland; the murders that took place during
the land grab initiated in 2000; the brutal army-led Operation Drive Out Filth
of 2005, which left more than 700 000 homeless after bulldozers moved into
townships and flattened homes; and last year's election-related
violence.
*Chipo Sithole is the pseudonym of an IWPR reporter in
Zimbabwe.
_________________________________________
The Standard
2009 01
08
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/local/19665-motlanthe-saving-zim-economy-will-be-test-for-unity-govt.html
Wednesday,
04 February 2009 10:49
Rescuing Zimbabwe's shattered economy will be the test
of the unity government due to be installed next week, South African President
Kgalema Motlanthe said in an interview Wednesday.
Motlanthe led the latest
round of talks among Southern African leaders to press Zanu-PF leader Robert
Mugabe and opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai into a unity deal.
After
marathon talks last week, they agreed to form the government to end months of
political strife following disputed elections in March.
Motlanthe led the
latest round of talks among Southern African leaders to press Zanu-PF leader
Robert Mugabe and opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai into a unity deal.
After
marathon talks last week, they agreed to form the government to end months of
political strife following disputed elections in March.
Critics have
questioned whether Mugabe and Tsvangirai would be able to work together
effectively, after years of deep mistrust and political violence that has
targeted mainly opposition supporters.
Motlanthe said that he saw the unity
government as a transitional power whose main job would be to salvage the
economy that has crumbled under the world's highest inflation rate, last
estimated at 231-million percent, but believed many times
higher.
"Essentially the inclusive government is a transitional authority,"
he said in an interview.
"Depending on how it goes, and whether by agreement
this inclusive government decides to call early elections ... that's a matter
that they would be able to resolve as Zimbabweans," he said on the sidelines of
the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital.
"The main tasks were
really to stabilise the political situation and embark on economic recovery for
the country," he added.
Zimbabwe once boasted one of Africa's most dynamic
economies, but since Mugabe began resettling black farmers on white-owned lands
in
2000, his country has fallen into a seemingly endless spiral of
decline.
Mugabe told the summit on Tuesday that Western sanctions - which
consist mainly of a travel ban and asset freeze on him and his inner circle
--had destroyed Zimbabwe's economy.
"Our condemnation, our isolation is
because my government took the necessary measures to create conditions for equal
opportunities, for decolonisation, for creating conditions in which our people
could regain their lost resources," he said.
No-one has disputed the need for
land reform in Zimbabwe, but Mugabe's programme left black farmers with little
experience and little support to maintain the vast commercial farms that were
the backbone of the economy.
Now a country that once exported food is
dependent on food aid, with nearly seven million people - more than half the
population - facing hunger.
Hyperinflation has left the local currency
worthless, forcing Zimbabweans to pay trillions of dollars for a loaf of
bread.
With little foreign currency, basic services have broken
down.
Crumbling sanitation systems have sparked the world's worst cholera
outbreak in over a decade, claiming more than 3 000 lives.
"Once the
inclusive government is in place, part of the
responsibility will be to go
and try to attract investments, particularly in the infrastructure," Motlanthe
said.
"The telling part in terms of the implementation of the economic
recovery plan would be to get investment in infrastructure," he said.
Western
countries last year promised billions of dollars in aid if Mugabe were to leave
power. So far, donors like the United States and Britain are waiting to see if
the unity government succeeds before taking out their
chequebooks.
AFP
___________________________________________
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/zimbabwe/1504.html
07 February, 2009
04:02:00
By Cris Chinaka
Dr Douglas Gwatidzo of The Zimbabwe Association
of Doctors for Human Rights HARARE
(Reuters)
Dozens of Zimbabwean
opposition activists detained on terrorism charges, and who local rights groups
say have been tortured, are in life-threatening danger because they have been
denied medical treatment for months.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said on Saturday the government
had defied several court orders since December to release the detainees and
allow them to seek medical treatment.
President Robert Mugabe's government
has charged more than 30 members of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) with bombing police stations and recruiting people for an
insurgency - charges all the accused have rejected.
The detainees have been
severely tortured and the health of several, including a 72-year-old villager
who has been held for 100 days, has deteriorated over the last few weeks, the
rights group leaders said at a press conference.
"The Zimbabwe Association of
Doctors for Human Rights unreservedly condemns the continued denial of access to
adequate medical treatment of persons detained at Chikurubi Maximum Prison
following their alleged abduction and subsequent torture," said Douglas
Gwatidzo, the group's chairman.
A day after visiting some of the detainees
Gwatidzo said the condition of a number of these people was quite
serious.
Asked whether their lives were in danger, Gwatidzo said: "These
people are in danger and need adequate attention and care in a functional
hospital."
Irene Petras, chairwoman of the lawyers rights group, said the
72-year-old man, who has a congestive cardiac condition, had been abducted from
his village by security agents in October.
"He was put into a deep freezer,
then removed, had his clothes taken off and hot water poured over his genitals,"
she said.
A Zimbabwe court last month ordered an investigation into the
torture allegations, but Petras said prison and police authorities had continued
to defy court orders to check the accused into a private hospital for
treatment.
Police officials were not immediately available for comment. They
have previously said that detainees were being treated in prison and taken to
hospital when necessary.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the opposition was
still pushing Mugabe's ZANU-PF party to release the activists.
"For us, we
are not just pressing ZANU-PF to allow them to get the medical treatment that
they require but that they should release them because they are innocent," he
told Reuters.
"It is not true that we have forgotten about them," he
said.
Zimbabwe's parliament passed a constitutional bill on Thursday to allow
the establishment of a coalition government set up under a September 15
power-sharing deal. The accord is seen as the best way to end a deep political
and economic crisis.
Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC agreed last week to join a unity
government with Mugabe's party after months of wrangling over the control of
ministerial
posts.
____________________________________________
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-02-07-zim-children-suffer-as-schools-stay-closed
Michelle
Faul
Johannesburg, South Africa
Feb 07 2009 07:01
On a recent school
morning, pupil Florence Marembo was all dressed up with nowhere to study: the
12-year-old instead played with a dozen other students on the grounds of her
school in a suburb of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.
Her teachers at Gwinyiro
Primary School said they wouldn't work until the government pays them in foreign
currency because they can't even afford the bus fare amid the country's economic
meltdown.
But Florence, who wore a faded but neatly pressed navy blue
uniform, said she'd be coming to the school each day anyway because staying at
home was boring.
"My parents have already paid my school fees for this term
and I think I am not going to learn anything," she said despondently. "We spent
the whole of last year without learning and maybe it will be the same story this
year again."
The swift decline of an education system that was once the pride
of the region has matched the general unravelling of Zimbabwe's economy and
infrastructure as Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe clings to the power he has held
for 28 years.
Aid groups warn the closures also mean that hundreds of
thousands of children will go hungry unless the schools open, because it's the
only place many children can get a proper meal.
Mugabe's government says
schools have not opened because teachers are still grading the results of
examinations written last year.
Teachers, though, say they will not mark
those papers because it is immoral to grade children in a year when most
averaged 23 days of learning in rural schools and 48 days in urban centres
instead of the usual 180 days.
"It was a blank academic year. Most children
did not learn anything but the government will not admit to the total collapse
of our education system," says Oswald Madziva, spokesperson for the independent
Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's politicians, he says,
"have sacrificed education and other social services on the political
altar".
When Mugabe became the first freely elected leader of Zimbabwe in
1980, he made education a priority. Within four years the number of primary
school pupils had ballooned from 800 000 to more than 2,5-million and high
school students from 66 000 to more than 600 000.
But British charity Save
the Children estimates only two out of 10 Zimbabwean children got to school at
all last year. And it says many poor families are forced to send children out to
find work or gather wild foods and simply cannot afford to send them to
school.
Teachers can't afford the bus fare to get to work either: the
government paid them the equivalent of just $ 4 in December - enough to buy four
loaves of bread.
Dizzying inflation
Zimbabwe's government has been unable
to control the dizzying inflation that had it paying teachers in hundreds of
trillions of worthless Zimbabwe dollars. Last week, the government abandoned all
exchange controls and said Zimbabweans can now trade in foreign
currency.
Teachers, like many others, are asking how they can buy goods sold
in United States dollars if they are not paid in the currency.
Directors of
private schools contacted by the Associated Press, including some rural mission
schools run by the Roman Catholic Church, said they are paying teachers with
food packages and fuel coupons as well as between $ 5 and $ 50.
The
directors, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government
retaliation, said some boarding schools have not managed to open because they
cannot guarantee food supplies for students. Parents of some students paid
foreign currency and fuel coupons that allowed one school to send a teacher
across the border into Botswana to buy food for boarders, one headmaster
said.
The United States-based Christian charity, World Vision International,
warns hundreds of thousands of children will go hungry if schools stay
shut.
Spokesperson Stewart Muchapera said they had planned to feed more than
half-a-million children at schools with a nutritious porridge of bulgur wheat
and sugar beans.
"For some children, it's the only proper meal they get and
we already have reports of children wasting away," Muchapera said.
The United
Nations Children's Fund says 30% of children in rural areas are suffering
malnutrition and 1,7-million are orphans - the highest per capita figure in the
world largely because of untreated Aids cases.
Nearly one in 10 children die
before their fifth birthday, spokesperson Tsitsi Singizi said.
The UN World
Food Programme has increased its estimate of the number of Zimbabweans in need
of emergency food aid from five million to seven million.
Tens of thousands
of teachers have left the country while thousands of others have left the
profession to try to scrounge a living as street vendors, according to Madziva.
His union estimates that about 70 000 teachers remain from about 150
000.
Madziva's union estimates that each of the 7 000 to 8 000 schools has
lost at least three teachers in Aids-related deaths in the past few years and
that Aids-related illness keeps one or two teachers away from school each
term.
The government has responded by posting advertisements calling for
anyone with an "Ordinary Level" school certificate - examinations written when
students are about 16 - to come forward and teach.
The ranks of teachers have
also been thinned by the political violence that surrounded elections last year.
The union says at least two teachers were beaten to death.
Human rights
activists also say some rural schools were used as torture centres by government
troops, police and ruling party militants in the aftermath of the election and
that some of those centres still operate today.
The decline of Zimbabwe's
education system is already reflected in public examination
results.
Government figures for "Ordinary Level" examinations show a drop
from a pass rate of 72% for 2005 to 11% in 2006. - Sapa-AP