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Zimbabwe unions call for five-day strike



(AFP) – 11 hours ago

HARARE — Zimbabwean unions Friday called on civil servants to stage a
five-day strike next week to demand a doubling of basic wages, one day after
a stayaway was largely ignored.

"We met as civil servants representatives and agreed to scale up our strike
and engage in a stayaway from Monday to Friday next week," Tendai Chikowore,
spokeswoman for the state employees' umbrella union told AFP.

The fresh call came after a one-day strike drew a lukewarm response, as most
workers in the capital turned up at their stations on Thursday.

Chikowore said the workers want across-the-board pay rises including a raise
from $200 to $538 (155 euros to 420 euros) a month for the lowest-paid
government workers, medical insurance and an allowance for workers based in
rural areas.

"We have had no response from the government," she said. "There is total
silence and I am not sure they really understand the magnitude of the
problem.

"We will be reviewing our strategy as we go. We urge the police not to
harass our members. If that happens we are prepared even to go into the
streets and fight running battles with the police."

Civil servants, particularly teachers, nurses and doctors, have been
striking on and off for better salaries since 2007.

The situation came to a head in 2008, when staff shortages forced state
hospitals to close some units and teacher strikes left only 50 days of
classes in the whole year.

Zimbabwe's economy has begun recovering after a decade-long downturn,
following a power-sharing agreement by long-time rivals President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the wake of failed 2008
polls.

But ghost workers are a problem throughout the civil service: about a third
of government's 230,000 employees are not thought to actually exist,
according to Finance Minister Tendai Biti.

So much of the current salary payments are being claimed fraudulently by
people using fictional aliases.

Biti, a Tsvangirai ally, has insisted the cash-strapped government cannot
afford to pay higher salaries.

Mugabe has accused the minister of deliberately sabotaging the government by
refusing the increases.


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‘Free Zimbabwe’ protests kicks off in South Africa

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
20 January 2012

The Free Zimbabwe protests which are set to get underway across the world
this weekend started with a mass demonstration in South Africa on Friday,
where scores of people gathered to demand change in Zimbabwe.

The protests have been organised by the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai and are
targeting South Africa as the mediator in the ongoing political stalemate.
Protesters from around the world will be calling on the South African
government to help solve the ongoing crisis as well as force ZANU PF and
Robert Mugabe to honour the Global Political Agreement (GPA). Petitions with
these and other demands will be handed over to embassy and consular staff
during the demonstrations.

The demonstration on Friday went ahead outside the South African foreign
ministry in Pretoria, drawing what is expected to the largest crowd of the
weekend’s other demos. The Provincial Chairman of the MDC-T in South Africa,
Kwanele Moyo, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the demonstration was a
success, with at least 300 people gathering to support the action. He said
this is “just the start,” explaining how global protests will be planned for
every month.

On Saturday, more protests will get underway in Australia, the UK and the
Netherlands, where people will be gathering at The Hague. Demonstrations are
also planned in America and in Chicago, protesters will gather at the South
African consulate (200 S Michigan Ave) at 11 am local time. In Washington
DC, protesters will gather at the South Africa embassy (3400 International
Drive NW) at 10am local time.

Details about the global protests can be found on Facebook by searching
‘Free Zimbabwe Global Protests’ or visiting the SW Radio Africa website
www.swradioafrica.com


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Court orders State to investigate torture of MDC activists in prison



Friday, 20 January 2012


The State has been ordered to urgently investigate the inhumane and degrading conditions that the eight MDC activists who are in remand prison facing false charges murdering a police officer are living under at the Harare Remand and Chikurubi Maximum prisons.

The order was made today at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts where the activists were appearing for their routine remand together with 20 other activists who are out on bail after their lawyer, Charles Kwaramba successfully petitioned the court.

Kwaramba said Councillor Tungamirai Madzokere of Ward 32, Glen View was in December last year severely assaulted by a prison guard only identified as Dune and needed urgent prison medical attention but to date nothing has been done in violation of the Prison Act.

During the assault, prison guard Dune threw Councillor Madzokere three times against the wall exacerbating injuries to his right hand which the police broke during his arrest in May last year.

The lawyer said in such circumstances of cruelty against inmates, the Prison Act spells out a conciliatory agreement over the assault which could be reached between the two concerned parties but nothing was done, forcing Councillor Madzokere to seek the help of the Officer in Charge of Harare Prison. The Officer-in-Charge also failed to assist.

“The reason why Councillor Madzokere was battered by Dune was because he was not willing to remove his prison garb and hand it to another inmate on remand for him to attend court.  The councillor suffers from a rare skin infection and cannot share his clothing with anyone,” said Kwaramba.

The councillor needs constant medical attention from this skin infection and the recent injuries but is failing to receive any since he was arrested in May last year.

Two other female activists are in remand prison; Rebecca Mafikeni and Yvonne Musarurwa are incarcerated in solitary confinement at the men’s section at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.

“Since 9 January this year, their tiny cells have raw sewage flowing through and the two are ordered to clean it using bare hands.  I don’t know why they are being held at the men’s section of the prison when there is a women’s wing but from what I have heard from the two, the prison officials are claiming that they are facing political charges but we know that their charges are not political but murder,” said Kwaramba.

He said the two were only allowed to go out of their cells for only 20 minutes a day.

“During these 20 minutes they have to do exercises, wash their clothes and bath.  They are being treated like hardcore convicted criminals yet they are not, as they are yet to stand trial,” said Kwaramba.

Another activist, Stanford Mangwiro who is at the Harare Remand Prison has had a toothache since his arrest in May but is failing to get access to medical treatment or to have the tooth removed because the prison authorities are not co-operating.

“Most of the inmates are suffering from various ailments but cannot complain to the prison officials as they see those with serious conditions not being attended to,” said Kwaramba.

After filing of the complaints by Kwaramba, the magistrate immediately ordered the State to investigate the claims.

The matter was postponed to 10 February.

Among those in remand prison are; Solomon Madzore, the MDC Youth Assembly chairperson, brothers Lazarus and Stanford Maengahama as well as Phineas Nhatarikwa.

The people’s struggle for real change: Let’s finish it!!!


--
MDC Information & Publicity Department


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MDC activists, vendors denied bail

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Court Writer
Friday, 20 January 2012 12:54

HARARE - Four MDC activists, a driver of a senior official of the party and
five vendors who were arrested during clashes between vendors and the police
recently, were yesterday denied bail by magistrate Don Ndirowei.

The nine are Taurai Nherera,18, Simbarashe Makaha, 35, Jefias Moyo, 39,
Leonard Dendera, 29, Muchineripi Muzengeza, 34, Patson Murimoga, 32, Samson
Nerwande, 40, Murambiwa Dzwenge, 38, and Kudakwashe Usai, 20.

The group is facing charges of public violence. Aleck Muchadehama is
representing the vendors, while Tarisai Mutangi is representing the MDC
activists.

Prosecutor David Magwegwe alleges that on January 11 police from Harare
Central police conducted an operation to arrest illegal vendors along Nelson
Mandela Avenue, Sam Nujoma Street and Julius Nyerere Way.

The state alleges that the joint metropolitan and state police operation was
mounted amid reports that the men in uniform where facing resistance from
vendors.

According to the state the vendors some of whom are suspected to be MDC
activists previously attacked police officers, municipal policemen,
suspected Zanu PF supporters and members of the Zimbabwe National Army
(ZNA).

The state alleges that on January 11 in the afternoon the accused persons
and others still at large allegedly teamed up and assaulted uniformed police
officers — Knowledge Madeyi, Kudakwashe Dumba, Moses Mude, Shingirai
Zinhawa, Vitalis Madziwana and another one identified as Majon F to prevent
them from executing their constitutional duties.

The group used stones and iron bars to assault plain-clothed policemen.

Those attacked include Tatenda Zhou, Aaron Mutsengi and Shadreck Matare who
were attacked along Nelson Mandela Avenue with fists and iron bars.

The nine alleged criminals further damaged a police vehicle with stones and
also broke windowpanes to the police post along First Street.

When the disturbances died down later in the afternoon police managed to
arrest Nherera and Makaha who were hiding in the Kingstones Kiosk while the
remaining six were arrested the following day.


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Zimbabwe Elections Chief Urges Subordinate Role for Registrar General

http://www.voanews.com

19 January 2012

Opposition parties, civil groups and ordinary Zimbabweans have long been
critical of Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede’s handling of electoral matters
which has often worked to the advantage of ZANU-PF

Sandra Nyaira | Washington

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chairman Simpson Mtambanengwe says Registrar
General Tobaiwa Mudede cannot run elections on his own, saying Mudede and
his office should operate under the supervision of the commission in
conducting any election.

Mtambanengwe told a media workshop in Kadoma on Wednesday that the full
control of elections by the registrar general ended long ago in 2004.

The Electoral Commission wants the Office of the Registrar General to be
reduced to a department operating under the supervision of the commission.

But analysts say this proposal is likely to be rebuffed by Mudede and
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF, which has benefited from Mudede’s
operations in the past.

Opposition parties, civil groups and ordinary Zimbabweans have long been
critical of Mudede’s handling of electoral matters. The voters roll which
the Office of the Registrar General maintains is generally acknowledged to
be seriously corrupted, including for instance many deceased Zimbabweans,
and voter registration is problematic.

Mtambanengwe told the workshop he had held discussions with Mudede who he
said was “sensitive” when it came to his role in elections. He said he will
meet the registrar again on January 27 to discuss what is to be done about
the voters roll.

Commenting, Election Resource Center Director Tawanda Chimhini said
Mtambanengwe’s position regarding the Office of the Registrar General is
welcome as the reform he proposes would be a good step toward broader
electoral reform.


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Suspected diahorrea outbreak in Kuwadzana

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

The Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) is alarmed at the rate of suspected
cholera outbreaks in residential areas, with the latest reports indicating
that there is an outbreak in Kuwadzana and surrounding areas.
20.01.1203:48pm
by Harare Residents’ Trust

Residents in the area are reported to have been drinking water from the
borehole at their local clinic. Suspicions are that the borehole water may
be contaminated, something the HRT has not yet verified with authorities.
But residents have stopped drinking water from that borehole.

This morning, Thursday 19 January 2012, almost 40 residents experienced
severe stomach aches which forced them to visit Kuwadzana Clinic which is
the only clinic servicing Kuwadzana, Crowborough, Kuwadzana Extension,
Whitecliff and surrounding areas.

A few nurses were available and the accounts clerk was reported to have gone
away for tea for almost two hours. The immediate assumption was that the
staff at the clinic was on strike.

A Medicins Sans Frontier vehicle was transporting residents to Beatrice
Diseases Infectious Hospital, near Mbare where they were being treated.
Medicins Sans Frontiers driver with whom the HRT Community Coordinator, Mrs.
Regina Bakuri spoke to reported that the outbreak started yesterday
(Wednesday 18 January 2012) and he had transported 40 residents to Beatrice
Hospital where they were attended to and today he had gone with another 35
plus people. The Health officials at the clinic were not responsive to the
issue at hand and continued with their strike while jeopardising the lives
of over one hundred Kuwadzana residents.

The HRT noted that the most affected were children under the age of six and
yet the nurses were not moved by that. Those who were taken to Beatrice
Hospital were able to receive free medical attention and many have been
admitted. The City Health Department needs to urgently look into the
situation in Kuwadzana in order for people to receive treatment at the local
clinic. The clinic in Kuwadzana Extension remains closed even after
construction was completed.

The City Health department may consider immediate use of that facility to
ease pressure on the mobile clinic. Community health workers were seen
distributing water purification tablets towards the end of the day and one
can only wonder if such tablets are readily available. Why are they only
being distributed when people are already affected instead of taking
preventative measures? City health department head Dr. Stanley Mungofa needs
to seriously intervene before lives are lost.

The city must guarantee adequate clean water supplies to avoid the 2008
cholera outbreak that left nearly 4 000 people dead and thousands others
sick. There are rising fears that this could be the beginning of another
outbreak and residents have no alternative source of clean water.


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Zimbabwe has 29 vacant seats in Parliament

http://nehandaradio.com/

January 20, 2012 1:17 am

HARARE- Some 29 parliamentary seats now stand vacant since the formation of
the coalition government although a 12-month moratorium on by-elections
expired in September 2009. Assistant Clerk of Parliament Johane Gandiwa said
the seats fell vacant after the incumbents died, were elevated or expelled
from the House of Assembly.

“We have 17 vacant seats in the House of Assembly and 12 seats in the
Senate. Eleven legislators from the House of Assembly died while political
parties expelled four parliamentarians. Two others were elevated to top
posts, creating the vacancies,” Gandiwa said.

In total, Zanu PF now has 16 vacant seats, eight of which are in the House
of Assembly. MDC-T has eight vacancies of which four are in the House of
Assembly. MDC factions headed by Professor Welshman Ncube and Professor
Arthur Mutambara have now lost three legislators in the House of Assembly.

Zanu-PF now has 91 (from 99) House of Assembly representatives.

MDC-T has 96 (from 100) and the other MDCs have a total of seven (10) and it
is not clear to which faction some of them belong.

In the Senate, Zanu-PF now has 22 (from 30) members, MDC-T 20 (from 24) and
the MDC factions remain with six.

In total, 21 legislators have died and of these 12 belonged to Zanu PF,
seven were MDC-T representatives and two were chiefs. The deaths occurred
between December 2008 and January 2012.

The Matobo North seat fell vacant after Lovemore Moyo was elected House of
Assembly Speaker.

Four more constituencies were left unrepresented after MDC-N dismissed three
legislators for Nkayi South, Lupane East and Bulilima East, Abednico Bhebhe,
Jabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu respectively.

Zanu-PF expelled Tracy Mutinhiri (Marondera East).

Mr Gandiwa said vacancies in the Senate emerged after the death of Vice
President Joseph Msika, Chief Bidi (Matabeleland South), Chief G Chimombe
(Manicaland) and four Zanu-PF and three MDC-T senators and Harare
Metropolitan Province Governor David Karimanzira.

Those elevated are former Chegutu MP Edna Madzongwe, who is the president of
the Senate, Midlands Governor Jason Machaya (former Gokwe South MP) and
Masvingo Governor Titus Maluleke (former MP Chiredzi).

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network has said in its Ballot update that it
was concerned by the fact that some constituencies are not able to
participate in national governance through parliamentary representation.

“ZESN remains concerned about the lack of representation and urges the
Government to find ways to deal with these problems.  Zimbabwe is a
representative Government and lack of representation prejudices these
constituencies as their issues and views cannot find expression on the
national agenda,” the bulletin said.

The bulletin said it was high time the Government found a solution to ensure
that all Zimbabweans are represented. In 2009, the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission said it was broke and could not afford to conduct elections. ZEC
is gearing for presidential and general elections expected this year and
they require US$200 million.


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Ruling in Chiredzi land seizure case delayed till March

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
20 January, 2012

The group of Chiredzi farmers accused of “occupying state land illegally”
will have to wait until March for a ruling in their case, after the
magistrate delayed his decision at a hearing on Tuesday.

SW Radio Africa had reported earlier this week that the magistrate failed to
turn up on Monday. That information was provided by a trusted source
involved in the case, who has since informed us that it was the defence
lawyer who failed to show up on 16 January, causing a one-day delay.

South African Peter Henning, Zimbabwean Robert Style, Swiss national Theresa
Warth and Mauritians Benoit Lagesse and Benoit Fayd’herbe refused to vacate
their houses on the farms after government seized all their land and
agricultural equipment without compensation.

The authorities claim the farm seizures were part of the so-called land
redistribution programme. But it was actually top officials within ZANU-PF
illegally grabbing prime land through violence and intimidation.

On Tuesday the court concluded the trial of Mauritian farmer, Ben Fayd’herbe,
and a ruling is expected on 27 January. The other cases were remanded to 14
March, further delaying trials that have been dragging on in the courts for
about three years.

One of the farmers said they are expecting a 90-day eviction order, which
Fayd’herbe can challenge in a higher court. The delays have become a
familiar ZANU-PF tactic, as they keep everyone tied up in legal proceedings
while prolonging their grip on power in Zimbabwe.

Foreign nationals are also supposed to be protected by bilateral property
agreements signed by Zimbabwe, but are not being honored. Zim authorities
also dismissed a ruling by the regional human rights tribunal in Namibia,
which said the land redistribution was racially discriminatory and
constitutionally illegal.


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MDC-T youth march in Masvingo for activists’ release

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
20 January 2012

Hundreds of members of the MDC-T Youth Assembly on Friday held a peaceful
march in central Masvingo Town demanding the “immediate and unconditional”
release of party activists still being held behind bars.

The march started from Main Street and ended at the Civic Centre where
National Youth Assembly leaders addressed the youths, calling for the
immediate release of Youth Assembly Chairman Solomon Madzore and seven other
party members. The youths moved around the city centre wielding placards
denouncing Johannes Tomana, the Attorney-General and ZANU PF politicians for
using the courts to persecute and not prosecute MDC members, the independent
media and civic society members.

Madzore and the other seven have remained behind bars since last year in
connection with the death of Glen View policeman Petros Mutedza. The eight
are part of a group of 28 MDC-T members who have been charged in connection
with the death, which is said to have happened during a bar fight back in
May 2011.

Madzore was arrested in October last year and efforts to have him released
on bail have failed. The other seven who are still detained were also denied
bail following their arrest in May. The seven are: Glen View Ward 32
Councillor Tungamirai Madzokere, Rebecca Mafikeni, Phenias Nhatarikwa,
Lazarus Maengahama, Stanford Maengahama, Yvonne Musarurwa and Stanford
Mangwiro.

Clifford Hlatywayo, the Youth Assembly spokesperson described the march
as a success, telling SW Radio Africa on Friday that at least 300 youth
members joined the action. He also said that their message was “loud and
clear”. He added that the demonstrations will spread throughout the country
calling for changes in the judicial and took a swipe at ZANU PF for
politicising the system.

A similar protest last weekend resulted in at least 50 MDC-T youths being
assaulted by police in Bulawayo after their arrest. They had gathered for a
planned “Free Madzore” demonstration due to take place the same day. The
group was eventually released without charge.


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17 members arrested, tortured then released

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Seventeen members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) arrested at 8:30am 19
Jan 2012 have now all been released from custody. The police are to proceed
by way of summons if they can unearth an offence once the investigation is
complete. WOZA is deeply concerned at the treatment of our young members,
five of whom are deeply traumatised.
20.01.1206:29am
by WOZA

WOZA leaders met the activists to hear their testimonies. Many of the young
women were wearing an identical and fashionable blouse - that seemed to make
them stand out for arrest.

Nicole and Patience received the brunt of the violence and told chilling
accounts. A female officer based at Donnington police station - officer
Matshaya set upon some of the members standing at the complex and beckoned
to them loudly announcing 'WOZA people today I am going to fix you'. The
disciplined non violent activists were then bundled into a van and taken to
Donnington Police station.

Matshaya and 5 other officers then proceeded to torture the women by making
them sit still on 'air chairs', a very painful position. The six officers
forced over the head of Nicole a plastic bag ordering her to kick her foot
when ready to 'talk' before she suffocates.

One officer knocked a broomstick on the heads of others all the while
threatening them to admit to planning a protest. They were not planning a
protest and even if they were participating in a peaceful protest is not
illegal in Zimbabwe. They had merely gone to the shopping centre upon
hearing that there would be a sale.

Officer Matshaya then escorted the members to Central Police station where
Officer George Levison Ngwenya of Law and Order was ready to receive them.
He set upon Patience Mahlangu beating her and drawing blood accusing her of
being a Satanist. All the 16 were threatened and harassed as their details
were being recorded. The single male member was separated and released.

Officer Ngwenya then announced to the your women - ' we are going to remove
your panties and beat your bottoms. Fortunately the lawyer arrived at that
moment and the officers then had to back down. The lawyers remained with the
activists through the recording of profile information. The police also
insisted that they will photograph the activist so that they can be
identified in any future demonstration.

As the activists left the police station at 330pm, Officer Ngwenya followed
them outside to tell them 'when you see me around town don't hate me I was
just doing my job'. WOZA question when the job of a police officer changed
to a perpetrator of violence and torturer of women?

Meanwhile WOZA leaders Jennifer Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu will appear
in Tredgold Magistrates court at 9am 20 January 2012 for Magistrate Sangweni
to read his reasons for dismissing the application for discharge at close of
state case in a continuation of the Kidnap and Theft Trial.


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An Unknown to contest presidential polls

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Little known Raymond Chamba on Thursday launched his bid for the presidency
as an independent candidate.
20.01.1211:26am
by Fungi Kwaramba

Chamba, however, does not see himself as the next president of Zimbabwe. He
says he wants to give his ideas to Zimbabweans so that they can make a
choice to move away from the current politics which he said border on
pettiness..

“The coddling of mediocrity and denigration of excellence has desecrated the
hopes of our forefathers and dreamers thereafter. Let’s stop normalizing the
abnormal, the grotesque political freak-show that is the GNU as presently
constructed. Political pimps, old ringmasters, petty egoists and narrow
ethno-centrists need to be put to pasture,” said Chamba.

Chamba who expressed his admiration of incumbent president Robert Mugabe
said that he remains Zanu PF inside his heart but decried the factionalism
in the old party which he said has led to factionalism.

The talkative presidential hopeful who is 41 said that he is ready for
elections to end the current dispensation which he said is dominated by
seasoned clowns.

“A Zimbabwe circus republic of the unwilling weak majority spellbound and
presided over by seasoned political clowns and ringmasters has run its full
course and season. It’s time to pass the baton,” said Chamba to an audience
of eight people.

Chamba despite claiming to be a Zanu PF faithful said that the look east
policy is retrogressive and said that his campaigning will seek to make
people see the imperatives of opening up to the outside world.

“Our present diplomatic tiff with the Western world is effectively
retrogressive. On the strength of misdirected diplomatic bravura we have
effectively managed to turn the overthrow of the shackles of white settler
minority discrimination into a new politically elite led deliverance into
the manacles of Chinese irresponsible, minimalist investments and
laissez –faire local labor abuse,” said Chamba.

Chamba, who is based in the united states of america said he is going to
mount a media campaign that will see him being publicly endorsed by American
hip-hop mega stars and evangelists.

Chamba joins the list politicians who add satire to the country political
mix such as Job Sikhala of the MDC 99 and Daniel, another independent
candidate.


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COPAC accused of blowing US$100 000 a week

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
20 January 2012

The parliamentary select committee (COPAC), tasked with coming up with a new
constitution, is being accused of blowing almost US$100 000 a week in
accommodation, travel and sitting allowances for its members.

A report in the weekly Zimbabwe Independent newspaper quoted a source who
said: “Committee members are receiving US$125 a day each as sitting
allowances; getting full-board accommodation in five-star hotels or lodges
that cost around US$200 a day, and receive fuel allocation for transport.”

In addition the 15-man technical team assisting the three drafters to write
the constitution is said to be receiving higher allowances. According to
Douglas Mwonzora, one of the COPAC co-chairs, the allowances being paid had
been agreed to by Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.

“COPAC does not set its own salaries and allowances. The allowances are set
by the management committee which is made up of the representatives of the
principals as well as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),” Mwonzora
said.

At the ZANU PF conference in December last year, party leader Robert Mugabe
threatened to undermine the constitution-making process if the draft did not
include ZANU PF’s position. With the process now at drafting stage, ZANU PF
has already betrayed the fact they feel the MDC-T positions have dominated.

Early this month War vets leader Jabulani Sibanda, called on Mugabe to
dissolve parliament and announce a date for fresh elections. Sibanda,
notorious for his tour of terror in the Masvingo and Manicaland provinces,
claimed COPAC had failed to deliver a draft constitution which is acceptable
to them.

Accusations that COPAC are deliberately delaying the constitution making
process to make more money for its members, have provided ammunition to ZANU
PF and its support structures including the war vets.

Meanwhile it’s been revealed that the majority of people who contributed in
the constitutional outreach want the maximum age for a presidential
candidate to be 70 years. Although it’s unlikely such a clause will be
incorporated into the draft, it would have meant Mugabe, at 88 this year,
would not be able to stand.

Such a clause would also mean Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) leader
Dumiso Dabengwa, 73 this year, would not be able to stand. A source told SW
Radio Africa that “at this stage only the three drafters know what sort of
clauses have been incorporated into the draft. All this talk of age limits
is just speculation.”


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Vic Falls bookshop owner arrested as police plant subversive material in President Tsvangirai’s book

Friday, 20 January 2012

Police in Victoria Falls today arrested a bookshop owner, Sinekiwe Matore for selling the President Tsvangirai’s book, At the Deep at End at her shop.

Matore is the owner of Rosepet Bookshop in central Victoria Falls Town. The police officers are also looking for Matore’s business partner, Mlamuli Mabhena.

On 17 January 2012, the police raided the bookshop and confiscated all the 10 books in stock, which they took to the police station before asking Matore and Mabhena to produce invoices showing how they had purchased the books.

The receipts produced showed the books had been purchased at a bookshop in Harare.

However, today, Friday, one police officer who identified himself as Officer Shiri from the Law and Order Section went to Rosepet and arrested Matore.

At the police station, the police had planted some subversive material, red cards and small MDC flags inside all the 10 books. One of the subversive materials has a list of 11 Zanu PF officials including Robert Mugabe which claims that they should be eliminated.

The Victoria Falls police are now desperate to place false charges against the two bookshop owners by the planting seditious material in order take them to court.

Last year, senior MDC officials at Harvest House, the MDC headquarters, unearthed a plot by State security agents to plant incriminating evidence at the party offices, the Prime Minister’s offices and his residence in order to arrest several senior party officials.

At the Deep End is an autobiography of President Tsvangirai and was officially launched last December.  At its launch at Harare’s Book Café, At the Deep End sold a staggering 235 copies within two hours, with the President at hand to personally autograph them.

The 663 page book chronicles President Tsvangirai’s personal and political life.

The book, according to President Tsvangirai, was titled At the Deep End on account of the challenges he has faced, some of which were “knife-edge and like being thrown at the deep end”.

“I had to swim and overcome all the obstacles,” the President says.

He said that so much had been written about him from other people’s perspectives and not from his own view-point.

The book is doing well in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the SADC region at large while it is also selling well in Europe, USA and Australia.

At the Deep End was written by President Tsvangirai in collaboration with his former spokesperson and veteran journalist, Tagwirei William Bango.  The book was published by Penguin Books of South Africa.

Those who would like to order copies can contact Edith on 263 772 248 568.

The people's struggle for real change - Lets finish it!!!


--
MDC Information & Publicity Department


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D-Day for Mohadi in farm case

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Pindai Dube
Friday, 20 January 2012 10:02

BULAWAYO - Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha will today
make a ruling on an application by three Matabeleland South villagers who
are seeking a court order instructing Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi to
vacate their farm.

Given Mbedzi, Alfheli Nare and Kumbirai Ncube are seeking a High Court order
barring Mohadi, his wife Tambudzani and his son Campbell respectively from
trying to evict them from their Plot Number 1 of Lot 9 of Jopembe Block in
Matabeleland South.

The Mohadis want to evict the villagers to pave way for their 22-year-old
son.

The ruling will be made today at Justice Kamochas’ Chambers at 10am.

Justice Kamocha took over the case after Justice Nicholas Ndou recused
himself from the matter.

According to the urgent chamber application filed on their behalf by
Zibusiso Ncube, the trio want the minister’s 22-year-old son Campbell, his
mother Tambudzani and their employees, Danisa Muleya and Samuel Sibanda to
remove all their property and the locks they installed at Mbedzi’s Plot
Number 1 of Lot 9 of Jopembe Block in an attempt to evict them.

Mbezi also alleges that the Mohadis wanted to shoot him and his colleagues
with an AK 47 at his farm but the firearm jammed twice.

He said they ran for their lives  but his 67-year-old mother Philani Ndou
and Soforia were shoved into the Mohadis’ vehicle and taken back to his plot
where his property was strewn all over the yard.

He said the Mohadis and their agents forced the pair to remove the property
at gunpoint.

Mbedzi said he feared for his life as the threats by the Mohadis’ were real.

The application comes after Mbedzi, his mother, Philani, Soforia and her son
Knowledge Muleya, Alifa Mbedzi and James Mbedzi appeared at Gwanda
Magistrates’ Courts two weeks ago facing charges of malicious damage to
property.

They will be back in court on March 6 for routine remand over the matter.


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Mthwakazi Liberation Leaders Re-arrested

http://www.radiovop.com/

Bulawayo, January 20, 2012 Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) secretary
general, Paul Siwela, the former movement’s secretary general, John Gazi and
deputy secretary for security, Charles Thomas, who are facing treason
charges have been taken into the state’s custody ahead of their trial on
February 07.

The state alleges the trio some time last year distributed flyers calling
upon members of the public and security forces to turn against the
Government and join Mthwakazi Republic, a state which they allegedly want to
establish after secession from the rest of the country.

Siwela and Thomas were out of custody on $2 000 bail while Gazi is serving a
10 months jail term for a fraud involving a building in the city.

Siwela’s wife confirmed that her husband and Thomas had been taken in by the
state.

“They had gone for remand hearing and were to be indicted. It was said, by
the state, they are now supposed to be in custody. As I speak to you right
now, they are being held at the cells in the magistrate’s courts and will be
taken to Khami Prison later,” she said on Thursday.

The trio appeared before Tawanda Muchemwa.

“You are to be indicted in the High Court of Zimbabwe sitting at Harare on
February 7, 2012,” Muchemwa ruled.

When the three were asked if they were against the indictment, they all
consented.

Court officials said, Siwela and Thomas’ locking up means the $2 000 bails
which they previously paid no longer apply and were to apply to the High
Court for bail again.

Gazi, Thomas and Siwela have not been asked to plead to the treason charge
11 months since the treason case opened at the Bulawayo magistrate courts.

Lawyer Sindiso Shepherd Mazibisa of Cheda and partners is representing the
trio.


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I heard gunshots, says Mujuru maid

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Tendai Kamhungira and Xolisani Ncube
Friday, 20 January 2012 13:30

HARARE - A maid to the late retired army general Solomon Mujuru says she
heard gunshots on the day he died in a reported fire outbreak at his farm in
Beatrice.

Giving evidence at Harare Magistrates’ Courts where an inquest into Mujuru’s
death is underway, Rosemary Short also revealed that the General had  frosty
relations with police guarding him, prompting Mujuru to warn the  maid to
take care of her own security matters since he believed the  officers were
unreliable.

Tears streamed down Short’s cheeks as she recounted her last moments with
Mujuru  to regional magistrate in the Chief Magistrate’s office, Walter
Chikwanha for the second day running.

In her evidence, Short said she had heard gunshots on the night Mujuru died.
She becomes the second person after Clemence Runhari, a private guard, to
tell the court of gunshots being heard on the fateful night.

Short talked about the gunshots after Tendai Munda- warara, a nephew to the
late general, quizzed her on the type of sounds she had heard on the night.

She tried to avoid discussing the subject of alleged gunshots, forcing
Mundawarara to re- peatedly press her on the matter until she opened up.

“I heard the sound of gun- shots,” she said.

“When the police officer (Obert Mark) arrived at my quarters, he told me
that the sounds were from asbestos sheets that were bursting and he also
told me the smell was coming from property which was burnt from the General’s
house,” she said.

Short told the court that ini- tially she did not take the sound of gunshots
seriously because police officers occasionally fired shots claiming they
were shooting snakes or alerting people of their presence at the farm. She
later said the whole incident left her confused.

Mujuru’s icy relations with police details “who had over- stayed” at the
farm also came under the spotlight.
According to Short, the late Mujuru had had a misunder- standing with
officers at the farm over an assault incident that had taken place at the
farm earlier.

"He left the court in stitches when he claimed that he sprinted 300 metres
in 30 sec- onds to alert his colleague after being terrified by the sounds
he heard from Muju- ru’s house.

She said police officers as- saulted a farm worker while they were drunk,
prompting the late national hero to quiz them over the incident.

“It was from that day that the police officers would avoid the General,”
Short said after she had been asked by Mu- juru’s brother, Joel, to explain
the nature of the relationship between the late General and police officers.

“Can you confirm that the General informed you that (at the time) you had no
security at the farm and you were guard- ing yourself?’’ asked Tirivanhu
Mudariki, a friend to the late General.

Short confirmed that Mujuru had confided in her that the po- lice officers
providing security were not doing their job well and instructed her not to
give them food.

“For the General to approach me, it was because I was the one who would
provide them with food whenever their stocks ran out.

“The General told me not to give them food because he was not happy with the
way they were carrying out their duties,” Short said.

Short also disclosed that the police officers had overstayed at the farm and
one time the late Retired General had sug- gested that he wanted them out.

While media reports had earlier suggested a seven- centimetre candle started
the fire that is suspected to have eventually killed Mujuru, Short — who has
been an employee at the Mujuru farm for the past 10 years — ruled out the
assertion.

She told the court that she did not leave a matchbox in Mujuru’s bedroom
when she left for her quarters on the day.
She further claimed that there was no way Mujuru could have carried a match
box on him since the General was not a smoker.

Giving her evidence, Short said it was unusual for Mu- juru to leave
groceries in an unlocked vehicle as well as parking the car close to a door
he would not use.

According to further infor- mation proffered by Short, keys to Mujuru’s
vehicle have not yet been found.

During the hearing yester- day, Clemence Chimbari from the Attorney General’s
Office produced a bunch of keys which Short confirmed as keys that Mujuru
used for his entry into the main house.

Short concurred with Chimbari that the keys he had produced were the ones
Mujuru had said he had forgotten in Harare.

The keys produced by Chim- bari are said to have been found in Mujuru’s
bedroom after the fire, together with two separate bunches.

By yesterday, 14 witnesses had testified and 28 more are expected to give
evidence be- fore Chikwanha.

Yesterday, three more wit- nesses testified after Short had finished giving
her evidence with one Samuel Lewis, a farm security guard denying what he
had told police during their ini- tial investigations that he heard gunshots
on the day Mujuru died.

He left the court in stitches when he claimed that he sprint- ed 300 metres
in 30 seconds to alert his colleague after being terrified by the sounds he
heard from Mujuru’s house.

Ernest Nyamanja, another security guard at the farm and Apronia Chitashu, a
niece to the late General, also testified.

The matter continues today with four more witnesses lined as the inquest
enters its fifth day.

The inquest is being conducted in terms of Section Six of the Inquest Act
which reads: “The proceedings and evidence at an inquest shall be directed
solely to ascertaining (a) who the deceased was; (b) how, when and where the
deceased came to his death.”


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Gen Mujuru feared Chihuri and his officers: Maid

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

by 19/01/2012 18:18:00

Ineffectiveness of security personnel guarding the late Retired General
Solomon Mujuru’s house at his Ruzambu Farm in Beatrice came under the
spotlight as the inquest to establish the cause of his death entered day 4
at Rotten Row Magistrate Court in Harare.

The trio would reportedly fire guns at will and assaulted a farm worker. Gen
Mujuru's maid, Ms Rosemary Short, said relations between her boss and the
policemen had deteriorated to an extent that he stopped her from giving them
food.

She said constables Obert Mark, Augustinos Chinyoka and Lazarus Handikatari
disturbed peace at the farm.
Ms Short was testifying at the ongoing inquest into the death of Gen Mujuru
in a fire on August 15 last year.
The hearing is being presided over by provi-ncial magistrate Mr Walter
Chikwanha at the Harare Magistrates' Courts.

"The police officers' relations with Gen Mu-juru were sour," said Ms Short.

"He told me that the officers were avoiding him and he wanted them changed,
but he let them stay because they had only a few days left.
"Gen Mujuru was always concerned with security at the farm and at one time
he told me that there was virtually no security at the farm and that we were
actually guarding ourselves."

Ms Short said when she asked the cops why they were always firing their
guns, they told her that they wanted to scare those who might want to attack
the farmhouse.

At times the policemen said they were firing at snakes.

Ms Short said relations between Gen Mujuru and the policemen further
deteriorated when they severely assaulted a farm worker.
The worker, Ms Short said, was thrown into a ditch full of water after the
assault and was only rescued by his wife.

He was taken to hospital where he was treated for the injuries.
The farm worker had apparently fought a workmate at the local bar.
Ms Short said the policemen were drunk when they assaulted the worker.

"Gen Mujuru asked them if they had carried out any investigations into the
matter and they said they had not."
"He wondered what type of police officers they were when they rushed to act
without carrying out investigations.
"I used to give the policemen food when theirs had run out, but Gen Mujuru
stopped me from doing so because he was not happy with the way they
conducted their duties."

Ms Short - who worked for Gen Mujuru since 2000 - said policemen who used to
guard the farmhouse in the past would spend only 42 weeks at the farm.
But the three, who were on duty on the fateful night, had stayed longer.
Ms Short said there was nothing flammable in Gen Mujuru's bedroom that could
start a fire.

But Mr Chikwanha ordered the State to determine how flammable some of the
items said to have been in the house were.
Ms Short said there were chemicals to treat livestock, kits for operating
cattle, bottles of dish washing liquid, oven cleaner, window cleaner,
scouring powder, toilet cleaner, candles, boxes of matches

and petroleum jelly.

She confirmed that a bunch of keys found in the main bedroom after the fire
was the bunch which Gen Mujuru kept, but said that Gen Mujuru had told her
that he had left the keys in Harare when he asked her that night for her key
to the kitchen door.
Ms Short did not know how the General's keys were discovered in the bedroom
when Gen Mujuru had told her that he did not have them.

A television set and malfunctioning air conditioners were the only
electrical appliances in the main bedroom, she said.
Ms Short did not accept what other witnesses said, that the fire could have
started in the geyser or the air conditioner.

Gen Mujuru, Ms Short said, did not smoke and kept neither matches nor a
cigarette lighter. Ms Short was surprised to discover

that Gen Mujuru did not lock doors to his car that night and left groceries
in the vehicle.

"He never did that since I worked for him," she said. "He never left his car
open with groceries inside."
Ms Short heard explosions during the night before Const Mark woke her to
tell her that the house was on fire.
At first she thought the sounds were of gunfire because the cops used to
fire their guns anytime, but Const Mark told her that the noise was from
exploding asbestos sheets.
Ms Short said she did not talk about the sounds to the investigating police
officers because she was overwhelmed by the events.

A security guard at the farm, Mr Samuel Lewis, said he also heard explosions
before he teamed up with another guard at the next gate to go to the main
house to investigate.
He heard from those at the main house that it was the asbestos sheets that
were exploding.
Mr Lewis said he saw Gen Mujuru around 8pm alone in the car when he left to
visit the nearby shops.

Gen Mujuru returned to the farmhouse alone.
Mr Lewis raised laughter in the courtroom when he said he ran more than 300
metres in half a minute.
The 13th witness, Ernest Nyamanja, a security guard at the late general's
shop since 2002, said he met him on the night of the inferno.

"I saw the General at around 8pm at the gate leading into the shop premises
and I spoke to him and he told me that he wanted to go to Rosy's (Ms
Short's) place," he said.
Mr Nyamanja opened the gate and the General went to the maid's house before
returning in about five minutes.
Asked by Ms Sharon Fero of the Attorney General's Office, who was leading
the evidence, on Gen Mujuru's state of sobriety, Nyamanja said he did not
look drunk and was in his normal senses.

"After sometime, police details who came from the direction of the General's
house approached me and told me that Gen Mujuru's house was on fire," he
said.
"I asked the policeman whether he (Gen Mujuru) had come out of the house,
but he told me that he had not come out."
The security guard said he suggested to the policeman that it followed that
Gen Mujuru had been burnt inside the house.

The policeman, he said, told him that he was not aware of the state of Gen
Mujuru given that the house was on fire.
Asked by the Mujuru family lawyer Mr Takor Kewada whether he heard any noise
from the farm house, Nyamanja said: "I heard sound of something bursting but
I could not tell what it was given the considerable distance (from the shop
to Mujuru residence)."

Another witness Ms Apronia Chitashu, a shopkeeper at the farm who said Gen
Mujuru was her uncle, said she went to bed at 9pm on August 15.
She said she heard a knock at her door at around 2:30am and when she came
out she saw Mr Nyamanja who told her that Gen Mujuru's house was on fire.

Ms Chitashu told the court that Gen Mujuru's body was found in the lounge.
She did not hear any sounds during the night.
Four other witnesses are expected to testify today.


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Rescuers found Mujuru’s body in flames

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

20/01/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

THE grisly manner of General Solomon Mujuru’s death was again dredged up in
court Friday when his gardener described how rescuers found his body
engulfed in flames and had to use buckets of water to douse the fire.

There was a hushed silence in the courtroom as the General’s gardner,
Tawanda Madondo related how Mujuru’s body was discovered still ablaze and
rescuers needed more than one bucket of water to put the flames out.

Madondo was one of the five witnesses who gave evidence as the inquest into
the mysterious death of the ex-army chief and independence war hero entered
its fifth day .

Mujuru’s charred remains were discovered in one of the rooms after the main
farmhouse at his Beatrice property was gutted by an, as yet, unexplained
fire last August, prompting speculation that the influential Zanu PF
power-broker may have been murdered.

Gardner, Madondo told the inquest that he had been woken up by a police
officer at around 2:26 am and told to go to the farmhouse and show them the
General’s bedroom.

He said it however, took them about an hour and a half to get to the gutted
property. Mujuru’s maid, Rosemary Short, told the inquest early in the week
that the workers compound is located some three kilometres away from the
farmhouse.

“When we got to the farmhouse the bedroom was completely gutted by fire.”
Madondo said adding that after a while one of the police officers announced
that he had located the General’s body.

Madondo said they found the remains still on fire adding one of the officers
had to use two buckets of water to put out the flames.

The Mujuru family’s lawyer, Thakor Kewada, again rapped the ZRP officers on
duty that August 15 night, wondering why they would waste time running
around looking for the gardener instead of smashing the windows of the house
and trying to rescue the General.

“I put it across that instead of the police running around looking for the
gardener, they could have broken all the windows and tried to locate the
General” Kewada said.

“It was a complete waste of time on the part of the officer to walk around
the compound for all that time that could have been used to try and find the
General.”
Kewada blasted the ZRP officers for being negligent and non-committal in
their duties.

Some of the officers admitted in their evidence that they had fallen asleep
and only woke up when the whole house was ablaze and the fire too intense
for them to try and rescue Mujuru.

Mujuru’s maid also testified that the General was so appalled by officers’
performance that he had contemplated dismissing them just days before his
horrific death.

Four more witnesses testified on Friday but Kewada said their evidence was
not very useful since their involvement in the events of that night was
marginal.
The inquest was adjourned to the 24th of January when more witnesses are
expected to give evidence.


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Mujuru inquest adjourned with anti-climax heading towards a white-wash

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com

Staff Reporter 5 hours 2 minutes ago

HARARE – The proceedings into the inquest to establish the circumstances
surrounding the mysterious death of retired General Solomon Tapfumanei
Mujuru were adjourned to next Tuesday after twenty witnesses testified.

Proceedings were subdued as none of the fife witnesses summoned to testify
were proximately linked to the events which led to the mysterious fire
incident which claimed the life of the most decorated General in
post-independent Zimbabwe, Retired General Solomon Mujuru.

Tawanda Madondo, who came in as the fifteenth witness and who was employed
as a farm gardener, narrated how he had joined others in extinguishing the
fire on the morning of the 16th of August at Ruzambo Farm main house, after
being called by one police officer.

When quizzed by the Mujuru family’s legal representative, Mr. Thakor Kewada,
on whether it was logical for the police officers to look for help from the
compound whilst the house was on fire, Tawanda said it would have been
prudent for the officers to break through the window and attempt to locate
and rescue the General.

Emannuel Musona, the farm welder and the sixteenth witness, had nothing to
offer as evidence, given that he only heard of the fire incident when he
reported for work around 6 am on the 16th of August 2011.

Similarly the seventeenth, witnesses Biara Ewire, a private security guard,
knew of the fire incident after it had passed, but Ruzambo Farm clerk since
1995, Steven Harineyi, took part in the extinguishing of the fire at the
farm house and was part of the group that discovered the charred remains of
the late General close to the veranda door.

Sarudzai Nyakudya, a State employee responsible for the welfare of house
maids, came in as the nineteenth witness and only narrated how she had
received a telephone call from Rosemary Short who indicated that she was not
feeling well on the morning of the 15th. She did not see the General on the
day in question.

The final witnesses of the days proceedings, Samuel Gamanya the Farm Manager
at Blackistone farm which is next to Ruzambo Farm, only narrated how he had
spoken to the General during the evening of the night before the fire
incident. He also brought a lighter moment when he switched from Shona to
English after having detected sarcasm from the state interpreter.

After the proceedings, Mr. Kewada said that most of the witnesses summoned
for the day had little to offer in trying to establish the missing link in
the investigations.

The late Generals elder brother, Mr. Joel Mujuru, commended the efforts made
by the parties to the inquest to establish the cause of his brothers death.

Regional Magistrate Mr. Walter Chikwanha then adjourned the inquest
proceedings to Tuesday next week after the State prosecutors and the legal
council had requested the deferment.

The inquest into the 2011 mysterious fire death of Solomon Mujuru, Zimbabwe’s
former army chief and liberation war hero, is hearing testimony from some 40
witnesses. The proceedings in Harare will go into next week - longer than
anticipated.  Some controversial and also contradictory evidence on several
key issues has marked the inquest this week.

Rosemary Short, Solomon Mujuru’s housekeeper, testified that the
relationship between him and his police security detail had soured and he
complained they were reckless - including randomly discharging their
weapons.

The retired Army chief’s home in Beatrice, south of Harare, was guarded by
both police and a private security company. Some question why Mujuru did not
escape the fire that that killed him last August with such a protection
force.

Testimony from staff, police and private security this week as was
frequently contradictory about the events immediately preceding the fire.

The guard at the outer perimeter gate said Mujuru arrived home in a light
truck, sober and accompanied by a male passenger. But the police officer at
the inner perimeter gate testified Mujuru was drunk, alone in the vehicle
with a suit draped over the passenger seat.

One police officer testified that he and two colleagues were actually
sleeping before they were alerted to the fire - prompting criticism from
widow and Vice President Joice Mujuru.

“So this person in particular was wrong in sleeping on duty," she accused.
"Taking circumstances in which these things happened, it is really shocking.
And you say to yourself, is this how a person can discharge himself when he
is supposed to do his duty.”

Vice president Mujuru - speaking outside the inquest venue - also complained
that her family and lawyers had not been given access to key court documents
until after the inquest began rather than the required 14 days ahead.

“The concerns were that we were not served with papers that we were supposed
to as from yesterday," she noted. "So it is very unfair for a lawyer or for
the family to then follow the proceedings. So for them to then continue with
whatever supposed to be done, was going to be unfair on the part of the
family.”

There has been speculation that a candle or a cigarette may have caused the
fire - that killed Solomon Mujuru, 62, on August 16.

But housekeeper Short testified Mujuru did not smoke and there were no
candles, matches or cigarette lighters in the bedroom - where the blaze is
believed to have started.

His widow and others have said the bedroom had large, low windows and doors
with access to the outside -so they cannot understand why he did not escape.

Testimony continues next week into the death of this hero of Zimbabwe’s
liberation war - who had a key role in helping President Robert Mugabe into
power. They had a falling out in 2008 - possibly because it became widely
accepted that Mujuru was pushing for his wife to replace the aging
president.

Some analysts say that despite her husband’s passing, Joice Mujuru is the
only senior member of the ZANU-PF party, including Mugabe, who could
actually beat Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, leader Morgan Tsvangirai
in a free and fair election.

The three main parties including the MDC and ZANU-PF have been in a
so-called "inclusive" government since 2009.


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South Africa sets March target for Zim permits

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

19/01/2012 00:00:00
    by Sapa

THE process of documenting more than 250 000 Zimbabweans living in South
Africa has almost been completed, a senior home affairs official said on
Thursday.

Director General, Mkuseli Apleni said 255 282 Zimbabweans had been granted
permits to make their stay legal. Another 20 480 applications had to be
finalised.

He hoped that the process would be completed by the end of March.

In April 2010, Pretoria announced a moratorium on the deportation of
Zimbabweans.

They were granted a special dispensation to get documents and make their
stay in South Africa legal.

Zimbabweans had until December 2010 to apply.

A total of 275 762 applications for permits were received, according to
South Africa's home affairs department.

Apleni rejected claims reportedly made last month by Zimbabwe's Home Affairs
Co-Minister Kembo Mohadi that a second phase to document Zimbabweans was in
the pipeline.

"We have said it is closed forever. If there are those who did not take up
that offer, they are now here illegally."

Local media quoted Mohadi as saying Zimbabwean officials would be meeting
their South African counterparts in the new year to begin "the second
phase".

"Last year, we engaged the South African government on regularising our
people, but many were initially suspicious. They thought that we wanted to
arrest them," he was quoted as saying.

"But they are now coming up in large numbers and we hope we will be able to
have them regularised."

Apleni said there were plans afoot for the regularisation of other nationals
from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, but this did
not involve Zimbabwe.

"After Zimbabwe the (Home Affairs) Minister (Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma) will
look at what the next country will be in this process," he said. It will be
a SADC country."


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Polls, indigenisation weigh on Zim miners

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Business Writer/miningmx.com
Friday, 20 January 2012 12:49

HARARE - Regulatory uncertainty, which has dashed hopes of a new dawn for
Zimbabwe’s mining industry in 2011, will continue to weigh heavily on
investor sentiment this year amid the advancement of indigenisation and
looming elections.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) recently warned that the indigenisation
law — which has forced foreign-owned mining firms to abandon majority
stakes — would put a further damper on investment in 2012.

Several economists and mining executives inside Zimbabwe agree that a
rethink is needed on the controversial empowerment drive.

“Mining companies are currently not looking at further investment and
expansion of projects because the environment is still uncertain,” said an
economist at a Zimbabwean financial institution."

“This year will certainly bring a lot of headaches for mining executives. We
have already seen the government approve an increase in royalties for gold
and platinum, and it could worsen if elections are called.”

Some firms have already felt the brunt of these changes.

Caledonia Mining Corporation, which operates the Blanket gold mine in
southern Zimbabwe, almost lost its assets after the government said the
company had been unwilling to comply with the controversial expropriation
law.

The government has also approved a hike in royalties for gold and platinum —
to seven percent, from 4,5 percent, and to 10 percent from five percent,
respectively — while platinum miners also face a new law forcing them to set
up refineries in the country.

The AfDB warned that an increase in royalties would curtail production,
while early elections could slow down growth in the whole economy.

“The increase in royalties can result in a fall in production as those firms
mining in low-grade areas will face an increase in the unit cost of
production; hence they will be forced to slash output. "

“This also implies that potential investors could be discouraged from
investing…. by the increased cost of production and the reduction in
profitability.”

Another economist, Eric Bloc, pointed out that the new mining royalties were
“higher than what other mining countries” in the region were charging, and
agrees that these would “reduce the profitability of the mining sector” and
act as a deterrent to new investors.

He was quoted saying that platinum production by JSE-listed Impala Platinum’s
Zimbabwe unit, Zimplats, could plummet in 2012.

He said this after the Zimbabwean government slapped the company, which also
jointly runs the Mimosa project together with Aquarius Platinum, with a $28
million tax claim on back-dated royalties for platinum.

Mining companies in Zimbabwe are also likely to be hit by a surging demand
for wage increases.

This has already affected Canadian gold miner New Dawn Mining, which runs
the Turk and Angelus gold mines, after employees stopped production earlier
this year.

New Dawn said the job action would significantly jeopardise plans to further
increase production at its existing properties to a run rate of 100 000
ounces of annualised gold production by December 2014.

However, some are still succeeding in raking in profits.

These include Mwana Africa, whose Freda Rebecca gold mine doubled production
to 21 893 ounces for the third quarter, significantly up from 10 915 ounces
in the same period in 2010.

Indications were that Mwana will either maintain or improve its performance.

The Mimosa joint venture between Zimplats and Aquarius was also expecting to
raise platinum output while Anglo Platinum’s recently commissioned Unki
project was expected to ramp up production in line with expected targets.

Finance minister Tendai Biti in his 2012 national budget  announced the
upward review of royalty fees for gold and platinum from 4,5 percent and
five percent to seven percent and 10 percent, respectively, in order to
maximise the contribution of mineral resources to the fiscus with effect
from January 1, 2012.

The minister said the decision had been driven by the need for the mining
sector to make a meaningful contribution to the nation’s fiscus after only
collection a paltry $44,1 million from royalties during the period under
review, compared to sales of $1,7 billion.

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