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<h2>Zimbabwe judge keeps

activists in custody </h2>

Associated Press Jan 2, 10:36 AM EST By ANGUS SHAW Associated Press

Writer HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- A judge ruled

Friday that a respected human rights campaigner and 31 other activists

accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe should remain in

custody over the weekend. Opposition leaders say the detention of

Zimbabwe Peace Project leader Jestina Mukoko is part of Mugabe's clampdown

on the country's pro-democracy movement. High Court Judge Alphias

Chitakunye rejected an application for the activists' immediate release and

said they should stay in custody until they appear in the magistrates' court

Monday. "If the court doesn't realize people's rights to be protected,

there is a breakdown of law and order," said defense attorney Beatrice

Mtetwa. The defense argued that police have defied at least two court

orders to free the activists and have ignored a magistrate's ruling that

they be allowed visits from private doctors after appearing in court Monday

with swollen and bloodied faces. Mukoko was abducted from her home in

early December. For weeks police denied any knowledge of her whereabouts but

state attorneys this week conceded that security officials were

responsible. Mugabe, who has been in power since the country's 1980

independence, reached a power-sharing agreement with the opposition in

September following a disputed presidential election. But the deal

has been deadlocked over how to divide Cabinet posts, and opposition leader

Morgan Tsvangirai has warned he will pull out of the government if Mukoko

and the other detainees are not released. The opposition wants to control

the Home Affairs Ministry, and thus be in charge of the police, saying this

is the only way of curbing the violence and intimidation against its

supporters. Mugabe says he will share control of the ministry with the

opposition, but not give it up entirely. In addition to the political

paralysis, Zimbabwe is gripped by an economic crisis, with galloping

hyperinflation, mass unemployment and hunger. An epidemic of cholera blamed

on the collapse in sanitation has killed nearly 1,600 people since August,

according to the World Health Organization.

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denies rights activist hospital treatment request </h2>

<A href="http://news.yahoo.com">http://news.yahoo.com</A> HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's

high court on Friday refused a request by a top rights activist detained on

accusations of plotting to overthrow the government to be taken to hospital

for treatment after alleged torture -- contradicting an earlier order by

the same court. "The judge (Alphius Chitakunye) made the incredible order

that if she should be taken to hospital it would be for purposes of

examination otherwise she would be treated in prison," Beatrice Mtetwa, the

lawyer for rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko, told

reporters. Chitakunye's order was contrary to an earlier order by a

fellow high court judge on December 24 that Mukoko and eight rights and

opposition activists be released to hospital. "The law has completely

broken down in Zimbabwe," Mtetwa said after the ruling on Friday. "(Even) if

we go to another court we may well get a similar ruling." The court

also dismissed contempt of court charges against the police for defying the

high court order to release Mukoko and the others to hospital, she

said. Mtetwa added that private doctors examined Mukoko last week and

said she should be "immediately" admitted to an adequately-equipped hospital

after it was concluded that she was tortured while in the custody of

security forces. A representative of the attorney-general, Virginia

Mabhiza, said: "The proceedings are going ahead on Monday. "The judge

said she (Mukoko) remains in custody and can only go to hospital as and when

it's necessary for purposes of examinations." Mukoko, a former state

newscaster now director of Zimbabwe Peace Project, a rights group which has

been documenting cases of political violence, was taken from her home on

December 3 by a group of armed men and a woman who identified themselves as

police. Her whereabouts remained unknown despite court orders compelling

the police to search for her and she only appeared in court on December 24

together with eight others, most of them opposition activists including a

couple with a two-year old child. They were charged with recruiting

or goading other people to undergo military training in neighbouring

Botswana aimed at toppling Mugabe's government. On Monday, nine more

people appeared in court including five who were accused of sabotage and

banditry. Two of them facing lesser charges were later freed. Some of

the activists are opposition supporters who disappeared in late October,

with authorities repeatedly denying that they were in custody until they

began appearing in court last week. The case has highlighted Zimbabwe's

deepening political crisis more than three months after Mugabe signed a

power-sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mukoko's

detention raised particular alarm among international rights groups and

western nations which have accused Mugabe's government of intimidation and

harassment. Their lawyers claim the activists were beaten after their

arrest, and a magistrate on Monday ordered authorities to allow doctors to

visit them in prison.

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<h2>Zimbabwe court dismisses contempt charges in Mukoko

<A href="http://www.irishtimes.com">http://www.irishtimes.com</A> Friday,

January 2, 2009, 16:22 Zimbabwe's High Court today dismissed contempt charges against police

for refusing to release a leading rights campaigner charged with plotting to

oust president Robert Mugabe's government. Lawyers for Jestina

Mukoko, who heads the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which documents political

violence, had filed contempt of court charges after police refused to

release her from detention, as ordered by a High Court Judge last

month. Ms Mukoko - one of Mr Mugabe's most influential critics - and 15

other mainly opposition activists have been charged with recruiting or

attempting to recruit people to overthrow the government, banditry and

bombing police stations. Two others face lesser charges. The

arrest of the activists, condemned by the opposition, has increased doubts

over implementation of a power-sharing agreement by Mr Mugabe and Mr

Tsvangirai. Police initially denied holding Ms Mukoko, who was seized

by gunmen from her home on December 3rd, and had treated her case as a

kidnapping. It later emerged Ms Mukoko was being held by state security

agents and police. High Court Judge Alphius Chitakunye ruled that Ms

Mukoko should remain in custody and refused to uphold an earlier ruling

ordering police to investigate and disclose the identities of her

kidnappers, and where she had been held. "The law has completely

broken down in Zimbabwe, if a High Court refuses to investigate an admitted

kidnapping ... what else can we do except maybe to go to another court but

the result may only be the same," lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told reporters

after the ruling. State prosecutors, who had appealed the earlier High

Court ruling ordering Mukoko be released, said they were happy with the

ruling. Reuters

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activists' lawyers: Rule of law "absolutely broken down" </h2>

href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com">http://www.monstersandcritics.com</A> Africa News Jan

2, 2009, 14:13 GMT Harare/Johannesburg - Lawyers defending a top

Zimbabwe human rights activist in the High Court in Harare on Friday said

the rule of law has 'absolutely broken down' in the country. Their

comments followed the court ruling that the government should not be forced

to disclose the identities of the state security agents who allegedly

kidnapped and tortured Jestina Mukoko, the head of the Zimbabwe Peace

Project (ZPP) last month. Mukoko, facing charges of plotting against

President Robert Mugabe's government, had brought a High Court application

to squash the criminal proceedings against her until her alleged kidnappers

are brought to court. Mukoko was abducted from her home in Norton outside

Harare at dawn on December 3. Her whereabouts remained unknown until

December 24, when she appeared in court. Police had initially denied the

state had anything to do with her disappearance and said they were treating

the matter as a kidnapping. Mukoko's lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, on

Friday said she was disappointed with Judge Alpheus Chitakunya's ruling.

'The law has absolutely broken down in Zimbabwe, if a High Court can refuse

to investigate an admitted kidnapping, refuses a patient a right to medical

treatment to a place she can get treatment, what else can we say,' Mtetwa

told journalists. Mukoko was charged in court on December 24 with

recruiting people for banditry a crime that carries the death penalty in

Zimbabwe. She then sought the High Court order for an investigation into her

kidnapping. But on Friday, according to Mtetwa, 'The judge says the

minister of state security is entitled to refuse to disclose the identity of

the kidnappers if he deems that will jeopardize state security. So in

effect the High Court of Zimbabwe has said that if you are unlawfully

kidnapped by state security agents, the court cannot look into the legality

of that if some government minister invokes state security as a reason for

not disclosing the abductions, where they took place and who did them.

' Mukoko's lawyers had also requested that the court release her to a

clinic for medical treatment after she was allegedly torture in detention.

Mukoko was also allegedly denied access to medication for her

allergies. Mukoko is among 32 activists, mainly from the opposition

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), that were kidnapped between October

and December and still being held in police custody despite a court order

clearing their release for medical treatment. MDC leader Morgan

Tsvangirai has threatened to pull of negotiations for a power-sharing deal

he signed with Mugabe in September if the harassment of his supporters

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worsen Zim cholera epidemic </h2>

<A href="http://www.iol.co.za">http://www.iol.co.za</A> January 02 2009 at

04:29PM By Michael Georgy Seasonal rains could worsen a

cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe that has already killed more than 1 600 people,

a senior international Red Cross official said on Friday. The

outbreak has heightened the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, where President

Robert Mugabe and the opposition are deadlocked over a power-sharing deal

and the veteran leader is resisting Western calls to step down. The

World Health Organisation said this week that cholera had killed 1 608

people of 30 365 reported cases and the infection rate showed no signs of

slowing. The disease has spread because of the collapse of health and

sanitation systems. Francoise Le Goff, head of southern African

operations of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent

Societies (ICRC), said the cholera risk was growing now Zimbabwe was

entering the rainy season. "We are just preparing for the worst," said Le

Goff, who had just returned from a trip to Zimbabwe, adding that if the

rains continue, the epidemic could last until March or April. "The

worst could be heavy rains causing not only this cholera to spread, but

floods," said Le Goff. "It means that the water level will cover the

fields, that the crops are destroyed, that people cannot travel or we cannot

have access to the area." The cholera crisis could multiply to 60 000

cases and over 3 000 dead in the next three months, said Le Goff, citing WHO

estimates. The ICRC is the world's largest disaster relief

network. Zimbabweans are already suffering from hyper-inflation and

severe food, fuel and foreign currency shortages. There is not enough

money to pay doctors and nurses or buy medicine in a country once seen as

among Africa's most promising. Cholera, which causes severe diarrhoea and

dehydration, has spread to all of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces. Le Goff

said the Red Cross was concentrating on moving treatment centres closer to

areas hit by cholera, educating people on the disease and providing clean

water and sanitation. The economic crisis has deprived local authorities

of badly needed resources needed to fight the disease. Chronic fuel

shortages have left Zimbabweans without transport. Many have to travel

long distances for treatment. Some never make it in time. "If you

need to walk 50km (30 miles) to access a centre you will definitely have

time to lose your fluids before you arrive," said Le Goff. "What we have

to make sure of is they have time to arrive and get the proper treatment." -

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<h2>Political deal will not stem cholera

style="BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(187,187,187) 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; MARGIN: 2px 5px 8px 0px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; WIDTH: 120px; PADDING-TOP: 5px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(187,187,187) 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(238,238,238)"

cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0>

<TD style="PADDING-TOP: 3px" align=right><IMG

style="MARGIN-TOP: 3px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px"

src="http://www.irinnews.org/images/2008/200812193.jpg"> <SPAN

class=ImgCreditCaption

style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px; MARGIN-TOP: 10px; FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; COLOR: rgb(153,153,153); FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Photo:

<A style="COLOR: rgb(153,153,153)" href="http://www.who.int/"

target=_blank>WHO/Paul Garwood</A> <A

href="http://www.irinnews.org/PhotoDetail.aspx?ImageId=200812193"

style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"

src="http://www.irinnews.org/images//design/magnify.gif"

align=absMiddle></A></TD></TR>

<TD class=ImgCreditCaption style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Cholera

is still not under control, according to

WHO</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>JOHANNESBURG, 2 January 2009 (IRIN) - Nelson

Chamisa, national spokesman of the main opposition Movement for Democratic

Change (MDC), has played down the ability of his party to quickly stem the

number of cholera deaths, if it were to join the government immediately.

Chamisa said if the party signed the power-sharing deal on the table it

would still not "have any real power" to help address the humanitarian crisis.

As the cholera death toll crept near the 1,600 mark, clocking more than

40 deaths in two days, according to the World Health Organisation, aid agencies

underlined the need to end the months-long political uncertainty which has made

raising funds to help the country back on its feet difficult. At least

5.5 million people - over half the population - will need food aid in the first

quarter of 2009, according to the World Food Programme. The food

security situation, cholera and political problems are exacerbated by

hyperinflation and widespread infrastructural collapse.

style="BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(51,102,153) 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(51,102,153) 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; MARGIN: 2px 8px 8px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(51,102,153) 1px solid; WIDTH: 165px; PADDING-TOP: 5px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(51,102,153) 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(170,187,220)"

cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right>

<TD style="COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-FAMILY: tahoma; size: 12px" align=left

bgColor=#aabbdc><IMG height=18 alt="''"

src="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/quotopen.jpg" align=left border=0><B

style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; COLOR: rgb(255,255,255)">If we become part of the

government now we will have no muscle. We are not yet empowered<IMG

height=18 alt="''" src="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/quotclose.jpg"

align=absMiddle border=0> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A power-sharing deal

brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) between the ruling

ZANU-PF and the MDC in September 2008 is deadlocked. “The humanitarian

situation is seriously affected by the political situation,” said Georges

Tadonki, head of the UN Office for the Coordination Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

in Zimbabwe. “The UN is working hard at all levels to reach a political

settlement, which has now become very urgent because of the cholera outbreak.”

Power-sharing deal SADC said the MDC must sign

the power-sharing pact. “Then the MDC will be in a position to get the ball

rolling to help the country out of the humanitarian crisis which now needs

urgent attention,” said Thabo Masebe, spokesman for South African President

Kgalema Motlanthe, who is also the SADC chairman. Chamisa explained that

an amendment to the constitution which will bring into law the power-sharing

deal signed between President Robert Mugabe, leader of the ZANU-PF party; Morgan

Tsvangirai, the MDC leader; and Arthur Mutambara, an MDC breakaway party, in

September 2008 will only become effective after it has been endorsed by

parliament, which does not sit until 20 January. “If we become part of

the government now we will have no muscle. We are not yet empowered,” said

Chamisa. “We do not want to become an accessory to a government which has not

shown any genuine willingness to share power.” Abductions

The recent abduction of MDC activists apparently by the state

security apparatus has also fuelled tensions. “Tsvangirai has said that

he would ask his national council to vote to walk away from the deal if the

abductions of our party members and activists do not cease and if all those

seized by state agents have not been released by 1 January,” said Chamisa.

Jestina Mukoko, head of local rights group Zimbabwe Peace Project, who

had been reported missing since the beginning of December, and eight other

activists, were charged last week with recruiting Zimbabweans to undergo

military training to overthrow the Mugabe government. Despite a High Court

ruling to release the activists, they remained in custody. Reacting to

the failure to follow the ruling, Motlanthe’s spokesman Masebe said: “We are

saying the MDC must become part of the inclusive government.” But at the

heart of the MDC’s reluctance to sign the deal is also the allocation of

governors' posts and key ministries. “All these issues can be resolved

within minutes if there is political willingness,” said Chamisa. “We want to be

able to provide a real change in governance and not become part of a symbolic

act.” <SPAN class=reportbody

style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> [ENDS] </TD></TR><TR><TD> <SPAN

style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; COLOR: rgb(153,153,153); FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT

color=#000000>[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United

Nations] </TD></TR>

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goes shopping in SA </h2>

<A href="http://business.iafrica.com">http://business.iafrica.com</A> Posted Wed, 31 Dec 2008 Zimbabweans have been

advised to form groups and send members to South Africa to buy basic

commodities there, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported on

Wednesday. This should be done to counter exorbitant pricing by

retailers in Zimbabwe, the country's Consumer Council (CCZ) told the

newspaper. CCZ executive director Rosemary Siyachitema said people could

buy more and save by going to South Africa, where the products were cheaper.

She said that by forming groups and sending one member, people would reduce

travelling costs. Most retail shops were selling goods in foreign

currency and refused to accept the Zimbabwe dollar, the Herald

reported. "Although the government issued licences to selected shops to

sell in foreign currency, the rest are doing it without the

licences. "Small traders, including vegetable vendors, have also joined

the bandwagon, making life difficult for the ordinary person who does not

have access to foreign currency."

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<h2>They Are Not White Farmers </h2>

<A href="http://hararetribune.com"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>http://hararetribune.com</A>

<SPAN

class=createdate>Thursday, 01 January 2009 13:40 <A

href="http://hararetribune.com/component/comprofiler/?task=userProfile&user=110">T.

T. Tsanga</A>

<SPAN

style="FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: georgia,palatino"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>Two years ago, I ran into a <A

href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/299532802_3e5d245615.jpg?v=0"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>new black farmer</A> who had

acquired a farm famous for producing huge groundnuts, mazambani. I wanted to

know if this new farmer was still growing the famous groundnuts. "No,"

he said. "I don't. We now grow flowers that <A

href="http://www.zimdaily.com/news/gono27.6310.html">we

export to Europe</A>. Eeh, how did you know that

farm?" “I did not know you are now growing flowers on that farm,” I said

without bothering to answer his question. It was startling. “Why flowers?”

“My friend, they can’t eat flowers. The labourers are thieves. If I grow

groundnuts and other edible crops like maize, the labourers will steal the crops

to feed their families. Listen,” he said as he realized that I had been stunned

speechless, “I am running a business not a charity.” I knew the farm.

The black farmer bought the farm from the commercial farmer with assistance from

a government minister. One of my great grandmothers, an immigrant from Malawi,

and my great grandfather, a Shona from Murehwa, met while working on a farm

adjacent to the farm Mugabe’s black farmer now owned. Inevitably we had a lot of

relatives who worked as farm labourers and my grandmother used to take me along

whenever she visited our relatives. The visits were memorable. We had beans,

salted and dried <A

href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-bacalhau.htm"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>bakayawo fish</A>, cultured milk, sugar,

you name it. The “white” farmer was not an angel but he was kind enough to give

his labourers food. Contrast that with his “black” successor who now

grows flowers while his labourers starve. Since the labourers’ children cannot

eat flowers, the poor kids have to <A

href="http://www.newzimbabwe.com/blog/?p=294">hunt for

crickets</A> and wild fruits to survive. That is

Mugabe’s land policy right there. It is a failure and people, the inordinate

majority of them black, are going to starve. Just like the heartless flower

grower put it, <A

href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-hunger24-pg,0,6321698.photogallery"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>they can’t eat flowers</A>.

href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-hunger24-pg,0,6321698.photogallery?index=4"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>digging up crickets</A> and

href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-hunger24-pg,0,6321698.photogallery?index=2"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>gathering wild fruits</A> is

what passes for black empowerment in ZANU-PF. It is this revolution that has to

be guarded, says Robert Mugabe. Inevitably, I wanted to know if most of

the farm workers were still under the employment of the new farmer.

“Manyasarande aye takaatandanisa! – We got rid of all the Nyasalanders!”

he chortled as he congratulated himself for dismissing the labourers he had

inherited from the white farmer. Mugabe’s black farmer had deeply seated

contempt for the black workers. To him, they were Malawian interlopers hence the

use of the profoundly derogatory Manyasarande<SPAN

style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia,palatino"> colonial-era

epithet. <SPAN

style="FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: georgia,palatino"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>Munyasarande is a loaded noun. It captures a terrible stereotype of

someone who is a permanent alien, a person incapable of assimilation into a new

cultural environment and, therefore, irredeemably and hopelessly uncultured. The

original immigrants are all dead and all their descendants are Zimbabwean, any

which way you look at it. However, to this ignoramus Mugabe farmer, the

"Nyasarande" traits are heritable like Adam’s sin. I was furious. I have

relatives of Malawian extraction who are some of the most patriotic, honest,

God-loving and ethically enterprising Zimbabweans. They have never been to

Malawi and yet Mugabe’s goofball was dismissing them as gypsies. For all of

Mugabe’s endless incantations about <A

href="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01Hb3Xgf5rdHf/610x.jpg"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>African Solutions for African Problems</A><FONT

face=Arial size=2>, the attitude of this beneficiary of the ZANU-PF’s

catastrophic land program had no iota of sympathy for a fellow black African.

Some will say I should have known that Mugabe’s cronies are <A

href="http://www.geocities.com/tsangatutankhamenshanga/forked-tongue.html"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>as insincere as the man</A>

himself. You will have to excuse my French, folks, I was pissed off big time!

The black farmer’s supremacist attitude encapsulates the mentality of

the circle of lunatics that surrounds Mugabe. They are shameless bearers of

false witness and will blatantly lie if it gives them political and material

mileage. The ZANU-PF farmer's xenophobic characterization of the farm labourers

fits the ZANU-PF modus operandi. Like <A

href="https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/may15_2004.html#link13"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>Munyaradzi Wasosa put it</A>, when a

leopard wants to eat its children it starts by accusing them of smelling like

goats. If anyone stands in the way of the Mugabe <A

href="http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=4059"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>crime syndicate</A>, nothing will keep the

supposed offender from a torrent of invective and, increasingly, abductions,

torture and gruesome death. That is how the Stalinist-Maoists in ZANU-PF

operate. It comes straight from the playbook of Joe Stalin whereby you

dehumanize and demonize your victims first and then rob them of their property

and lives thereafter. When ZANU-PF wants to give commercial farms as

gifts or bribes to placate disgruntled party followers, Zimbabwean commercial

farmers are <A

href="http://www.hararetribune.com/harare-city-zimbabwe/harare-news/1157-more-than-140-white-farmers-up-for-prosecution-in-zimbabwe.html"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>attacked as white farmers</A>,

a charge which is equivalent to calling the farmers unrepentant racists. How can

all the farmers who used to produce enough food to feed the entire region be

racists? Incredibly, the same land is now owned by Mugabe’s cronies, most of

whom had never even cultivated a backyard garden of vegetables before receiving

the farms as payment for loyalty to Mugabe’s revolution. It is widely believed

that some of these new farmers keep the farms so they can get <A

href="http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=1825"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>subsidized fuel</A>, seeds and fertilizer

that are then sold on the black market. Farming requires constant and

monomaniacal attention. I have to wonder where someone like <A

href="http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=8847">Samuel

Mumbengegwi</A> gets the time to be both a viable

commercial farmer and a minister, even in a completely dysfunctional government.

The truth of the matter is that it is not just the commercial farmers

that have been demonized by the ZANU-PF Mafia. </DIV></DIV>

<LI><FONT

face=Arial size=2>“<A

href="http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/bhekinkosimoyo/2008/03/02/of-‘prostitutes’-frogs-‘puppets’-and-‘old-men’/"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>Puppets and prostitutes</A>!”

shouts Mugabe when blacks object to his disasterous policies;

<LI><FONT

face=Arial size=2>When Justin Mukoko decided to go and catalogue acts of

terrorism and theft of food aid perpetrated by ZANU-PF, she <A

href="http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=9350">got

charged with terrorism</A> with the possibility

of get hanged if convicted in Mugabe’s <A

href="http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=9350">kangaroo

court</A>. What the colonialists <A

href="http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/shoulders-our-freedom-fighters/19110-nehanda-ancient-revolutionary-spirit.html"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>did</A> to <A

href="http://www.geocities.com/tsangatutankhamenshanga/charwe.jpg"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>Nehanda Nyakasikana</A>, the

ZANU-PF nationalists want to do to <A

href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7805733.stm"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>Justina Mukoko</A>.

<LI><FONT

face=Arial size=2>People born and bred in Zimbabwe are quickly labelled

foreigners / <A

href="http://www.hararetribune.com/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/1360421/Black-farm-workers-are-new-victims-of-Mugabe.html"><FONT

face=Arial size=2>Manyasarande</A> they <A

href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n13/john01_.html">pointed

out</A> refuse to vote for the continuance of

Mugabe’s ineptitude running of the country. The irony of it all is that there

href="http://www.zimdaily.com/news/chirikure27.6192.html"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>rumours, which are silly</A> in my

opinion, to the effect that Mugabe himself has <A

href="http://www.freemuse.org/sw25409.asp">Malawian /

Nyasarande blood</A> flowing in his veins. What

we know is that one of his nephews, <A

href="http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/electoral117.12534.html"><FONT face=Arial

size=2>Patrick Zhuwao</A>, definitely has a

Chikunda name. Zhuwao is an indigenized Portuguese name

Joao.</LI></UL>

<SPAN

style="FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: georgia,palatino"> <FONT face=Arial

size=2>Comrade Mugabe may profess to hate the British but he seems to like aping

them at every opportunity. He tries to speak English like a Britisher. When it

comes to dividing and conquering, the man learnt a lot from his colonial

masters. Criminals in ZANU-PF may have arrogated to themselves the right

to determine who is and who is not Zimbabwean but we do not have to ape them. We

need to renounce ZANU-PF’s xenophobic lexicon once and for all. There are no

white farmers, there are no Manyasarande, there are no Mandevere and there are

no Maindiya. Their forebears might have come to present-day Zimbabwe from

different parts of the world and at different times but that must not be the

defining character to their citizenship. These are Zimbabweans, pure and simple.

Anyone who insists otherwise must be considered a criminal.

</DIV>

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New Year's message to the students </h2>

href="http://hararetribune.com">http://hararetribune.com</A> Friday, 02 January 2009 17:51 We

have travelled a long journey together since our last Congress in January

2008. We came out of our congress with crucial resolutions intended to

assist in the resolution of the Zimbabwe's political crisis and hopefully

the envisaged new dispensation would address the challenges we are facing as

students in our various colleges. In 2008, we have endured by far the

most difficult year for our people. We have endured the worst humanitarian

crisis in post-independent Zimbabwe characterized by cholera, hunger and

starvation. Post March 29 election political violence, authored, sponsored

and perpetrated by Zanu PF, completely destroyed social cohesion and human

dignity. Cash shortages only but worsened the already desperate situation in

the country. Virtually no learning took place in our schools, colleges

and universities. A generation has been wasted. The questions we continue to

ask ourselves is that what will happen to the school kids, college and

university students who have lost valuable learning time? What will be the

consequences of the current developments on our economy and country in

future? Two events of great significance occurred in the past year. The

election victory of March 29 and the September 15 Global Political Agreement

are both historic and significant in the Renaissance of our country. The

mistake we made by failing to claim our victory of the March election must

never be repeated. Further, we must never make the mistake of allowing the

Global Political Agreement to fall by the wayside. The Agreement, as flawed

as it is, provides the only opportunity to take Zimbabwe back to her glory

days. The economy is bleeding, there is a desperate humanitarian crisis, the

nation is deeply divided, and there is lack of confidence in the populace.

Only through the implementation of this agreement can rescue the country. We

are however aware of Zanu Pf' intransigence, which can be a hindrance to the

successful implementation of the GPA. We must not allow Zanu Pf to detract

us from achieving a better life for ourselves and our people. The

strong message we wish to convey to our political leaders at this juncture,

is that put the interest of the people and the country first. The people

have been patient enough. If you intend to form the inclusive government,

let that be now. If you have other ideas then let us know now. Having

said that, we urge President Tsvangirai to come back and lead the country

out of the current mess. Your absence is being felt. To my fellow

students, parents and Zimbabweans in general, let us remain committed to the

struggle for a better Zimbabwe. let us all unite and work towards the

renaissance of our country. Wish Zimbabwe a better 2009, On behalf

of the Students' Union Clever Bere President

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from the diaspora </h2>

<A href="http://www.cathybuckle.com">http://www.cathybuckle.com</A> 2nd January 2009 Dear Friends. I know that I am

not alone in my anger and indignation at the continued imprisonment of

Jestina Mukoko and the other abducted MDC activists on trumped up charges of

plotting to overthrow the regime in Harare via a military operation based,

the State alleges, in Botswana. We had a few brief moments of relief at the

end of 2008 that perhaps there was still justice in Zimbabwe after all. The

High Court had ordered the abductees' release to a hospital of their choice

and further ordered that they be accorded full access to their lawyers and

visits from relatives. Our relief at the good news was short-lived. Having

denied that they had any knowledge of Jestina's whereabouts, the police

finally produced her and thirty two other activists who the appeared before

Magistrate Misrod Guvamombe. What happened next could only happen in

Zimbabwe as the activists' lawyer, the courageous Beatrice Mtetwa commented,

" It's only in Zimbabwe that an inferior court can really implement a High

Court order differently. The High Court made an order that was deliberately

subverted by the state." The reason for Magistrate Guvamombe's decision to

disobey Justice Omerjee's ruling was that the State had already filed an

appeal against Omerjee's ruling. Wearing prison garb with shackles and leg

irons, the accused were paraded in court and then dispatched to Chikurubi

Maximum Security Prison to await trial. Thus 2009 began in Zimbabwe with

yet another gross abuse of human rights, another travesty of justice that

makes the Mugabe regime even more of a pariah state in the eyes of the

world. Shamefully South Africa and SADC continue to protect Mugabe, claiming

that even the arrest of activists need not be a bar to the implementation of

a Government of National Unity. Today we read that Police Chief Chihuri has

declared a ban on all political meetings, citing the security situation in

the country which he describes as 'volatile'. The courts and the police have

become totally complicit in the regime's increasingly desperate hold on

power. Any hope that Zimbabweans had that justice might ultimately prevail

has once again been cruelly dashed. With magistrates, judges and police

supporting the regime's every move, there seems little hope that 2009 will

be any better than the previous year for long-suffering Zimbabweans. The

rains are falling but there is no sign of planting and without the NGO's to

feed the people, starvation looms while the cholera toll continues to mount.

And Mugabe just sits back and allows it to happen, knowing that the world

will not allow the people to starve. He has virtually abdicated all

responsibility for the people's welfare; his only focus now is on his own

survival and he will use every means to ensure it, assisted by the greed and

avarice of his cronies whose own survival depends entirely on his staying in

power - as his does on their continued sycophantic support. I am reading

Heidi Hollands' book Dinner with Mugabe at the moment and it makes an

engrossing read. Holland's central purpose is to attempt to understand

Mugabe's psyche and disabuse the popular notion that he is a madman, another

Idi Amin. She interviews all sorts of people, friends and enemies of

Mugabe's, who throw light on his very complex personality and in the course

of her analysis she asks the question, 'Does it actually help to understand

the sort of man he is?' Understanding why Hitler was the way he was does not

after all make the murder of six million Jews any less shocking. Similarly,

Gukukahundi and the massacre of 20-30 thousand Ndebele people or the

terrible violence now meted out on innocent Zimbabweans for no reason other

than their opposition to his rule is hardly excusable on the grounds that

his father left home when Mugabe was ten years old. More understandable

perhaps is his supposed hatred of whites. What is not excusable is that the

confiscation of white-owned farms has caused such dreadful suffering to the

very people Mugabe claims to have liberated. Early childhood trauma hardly

explains such an act of massive injustice. Perhaps the explanation is more

to do with the fact that Mugabe simply cannot tolerate opposition or

criticism whether it comes from inside his own party or from the MDC or the

populace at large. Does it help to understand why Mugabe is like this? 'By

your deeds shall you know them' says the Christian doctrine which Mugabe

claims to espouse. On that basis, history will not, I believe, judge him

kindly and neither will the thousands of victims of his arrogance and

cruelty. May 2009 be the year when the hope for change becomes reality for

Zimbabwe. Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH

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Most Horrible Things of 2008: Why 2009 is Zimbabwe’s year of Change or

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">231

Million Percent Inflation<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">With

an official rate of 231 million percent as of October 2008, the sky is the limit

for Zimbabwe’s astronomical inflation. In Zimbabwe anything called official is a

lie! It is the highest inflation rate ever recorded since recording began. As

that figure became official coming from the government’s Central Statistical

Office (CSO), many economic experts disputed it arguing that inflation was well

over 5 quintillion percent. Regrettably there seems to be no end in sight to

solve the nation’s economic crisis given the paralysis that characterizes

contemporary Zimbabwean politics. It is an economy whose wheels have all come

off.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri> ‘Zimbabwe is Mine’(to

wreck!)<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT

faceibri>In addition to

being a catalyst for the ongoing conundrum, Robert Mugabe is the CEO and author

of Zimbabwe’s tragedies. He brazenly claims that “Zimbabwe is mine”; therefore

he can do whatever he wants (as he has done over the past 28 years) regardless

of what the people of Zimbabwe want or vote for. Behaving weirdly did not start

today; the nation is paying the price of an unchecked mental case. There is a

pattern; Mugabe has always been a <SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">malicious

schemer whose machinations do not serve the nation any good other than

perpetuating self-serving interests. The UN experts who described Mugabe as a

“mad dictator” are correct just as US Department spokesperson Sean McCormack

succinctly rebutted: <SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">"Well, last time the world

checked, Zimbabwe belonged to the people of Zimbabwe." I could not agree

more!<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Cholera<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">As

of December 31 2008, official reports from the World Health Organization put

Zimbabwe’s Cholera’s death toll at 1 551 while new <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> infections have shot past 30 000. It is very

difficult to determine the exact number of deaths and infections given the

calamitous state of Zimbabwe’s health delivery system. <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> The bulk of the population also resides in

rural communities where most cases go

unreported. Sadly, it is apparent that the cholera crisis has just

started.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Chiadzwa Massacres<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>While barely reported, Chiadzwa massacres in late 2008 represented some

of the most horrific scenes of the year. On a daily basis, Chiadzwa attracted

thousands of impoverished yet enterprising Zimbabweans trying to eke out a

living by panning diamonds. Their only crime was tampering with the wealth that

‘belongs’ to Mugabe and his kleptocrats. The military sprayed them with bullets

from helicopters. Victims were dumped in mass graves. At one point the Deputy

Mayor of Mutare, Admire Mukovera asked for “space for a mass grave for 78 people

killed” in Chiadzwa. While the actual number of the Chiadzwa massacres is an

official secret as the area was completely sealed by government troops to avoid

public access, journalists estimate them to be as high as 500.

<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Victims of Political Violence<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">More

than 600 died in cold-blooded murder yet their killers are out there, alive and

well. Here are a few reminders of Mugabe’s victims: Tonderai Ndira (the hero of

heroes) who was abducted by ten armed ‘Mugabe men’ and later bludgeoned to death

(May 2008): Joshua Bakacheza, the MDC driver whose decomposed body was found

abandoned near a Beatrice farm (July 2008). Tabitha Marume who was shot and

killed by soldiers at Chiwetu Rest Camp (April 2008); Percy Muchiwa, a teacher

in Guruve who was beaten to death (April 2008); Bigboy Zhuwawo and Tenos Manyimo

died in Mashonaland Central after being

attacked by Zanu PF militants (April 2008); Clemence Dube, an MDC polling agent

who was attacked in Poshai Village of Shurugwi; Sadly, the list is endless! In

addition the 29 March nation-wide post election violence exacerbated <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> the situation as more women were raped while

opposition members were tortured and

killed.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Stolen Election<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">They

were described as a ‘sham election’ by the US and the UK.<SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Having taken more than a month to announce

own defeat, Mugabe and his men refused to concede defeat after the violent

29-March 2008 elections. Instead they called for another round of elections,

presided over by the military junta’s Joint Operations Command. It was another

bloody campaign that culminated in MDC pulling out resulting in a solo contest

by Zanu (PF). To this day Mugabe is an illegitimate President who said that he

was not going to give up “because of a mere

X”.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Surge in State-Sponsored

Abductions<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>While Justina Mukoko has come to personify the misery suffered by those

who get clamped in the jaws of Mugabe’s terror, the story of many is still

untold. Now we know that a total of 560 abductions took place in Zimbabwe since

January 2008. Of that number only 220 cases were closed because the remains of

the murdered Zimbabweans were identified. The rest have not been accounted for

as their whereabouts are still unknown. Zimbabwe still resembles a typical war

zone.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Ghost Hospitals<SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">

<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The

closure of all state-run hospitals was the epitome of the death of Zimbabwe’s

health delivery system. According to the World Health organization, medical

staff stopped going to work because they were literally working for nothing as

inflation rendered their meager salaries worthless. Just like supermarkets and

shops with empty shelves in Zimbabwe, government bankruptcy did not spare

hospitals which were left without any supplies, stuff, staff or materials.

Recently, UN experts reported that "Zimbabwe's health system has completely

collapsed - it cannot control the cholera outbreak which is spreading throughout

the country, with a daily increase in the death

toll,".<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Ghost Schools<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT

faceibri>First it was

political violence that led to nationwide school closures as Mugabe’s violent

presidential campaign of 2008 wantonly

targeted teachers and aid workers <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> accused of supporting the opposition

style="COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">

Now that Zimbabwe

is a basket case (as opposed to bread-basket country that it used to be), a

severe shortage of maize has led to the closure of most schools in Zimbabwe as

far back as September. It is all part and parcel of a nationwide food crisis

that is also threatening to decimate half the population of

Zimbabwe.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Banning of NGO’s<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">In

June 2008, President Mugabe banned all aid agencies that were carrying out field

operations in Zimbabwe at a time when the country was in dire need of

humanitarian assistance. The aid agencies were accused of working in connivance

with the opposition party to effect a ‘regime change.’ Operations of hundreds of

non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were paralyzed yet they played such a

pivotal role in providing water, food, shelter, health care and education for

millions of people in the midst of the country's economic malaise. Over the

years, aid agencies have done a remarkable job in place of a diminished

government. They helped to rebuild and sustain the country's health and

education system. To this very day (after their reinstatement as the epidemic

got out of control) the NGO’s are largely accredited for averting a large-scale

humanitarian disaster in Zimbabwe, far greater than what has happened.<I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Revoked Knighthood and Honorary

Degrees<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT

size=3>On June 25 2008, Queen Elizabeth II wasted no time

cancelling and revoking the 1994 Knighthood bestowed on Mugabe (never mind the

reasons surrounding the decision to bestow that honour in the first place).<SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Likewise, University of Massachusetts at

Amherst stripped him of a chain of honorary degrees, a similar move made by the

University of Edinburgh the previous year.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT

size=3>Lies, lies, lies<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT

faceibri>It is no secret

that lack of sanitation and hygiene caused Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic contrary

to the lies peddled by Mugabe’s regime that “Cholera is a calculated racist

attack on Zimbabwe by the former colonial power so that they can invade the

country,” Mugabe’s Information Minister

also went on state television saying:

“T<SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">he

cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is a serious biological, chemical war force, a

genocidal onslaught, on the people of Zimbabwe by the British.” <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> As

far back as January 2007, the Associated Press reported about Zimbabwe’s

National Water Authority (ZINWA) issuing a deadly water contamination warning

that “a breakdown at a major sewage treatment plant had left it spewing 72

mega-liters of raw sewage per day into a river that feeds into Lake Chivero,

Harare’s main source of drinking water.”<SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">On December 11 2008, Mugabe also

shocked the world when he stated that “Cholera no longer exists”. <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> The death toll doubled three weeks

style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">5.5

million urgently need food<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>According to UN, Zimbabwe is sitting on time bomb liable to explode

anytime if nothing radical is done by the international community to immediately

send food supplies into the country. In addition to erratic weather that causes

droughts, gross mismanagement of the nation’s food supply by Zimbabwe’s Grain

Marketing Board (GMB) caused the crisis. On one hand Mugabe and his men continue

to deride the International community whose leaders are the US and the UK while

on the other hand they desperately need their

help.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Shortage and Queues <o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">In

2007, they were used to shortages and queues of basic commodities such as milk,

sugar, bread and meat as empty shelves became the order of the day. For the

people of Zimbabwe 2008 was the peaking of a major economic crisis as they could

not even access their worthless currency ‘sitting’ in the bank while losing

value by the minute. Queuing and experiencing shortages is now a way of life

while the unavailability of bank notes ushered in great misery. As the year drew

to a close (November 2008), uniformed soldiers went on a rampage rioting over

cash shortages.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Treacherous Border Jumping by Women and

Children<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Images of Zimbabwean women with infants on their backs jumping

razor-wire fences were a sorry sight that disturbed anyone with a conscience,

let alone those of pregnant women and school kids navigating crocodile-infested

waters of the Limpopo to cross into South Africa. It is not about the survival

of the fittest but about the survival of the needy, forced out of their beloved

homeland by political violence, poverty and hunger. The problems only start

after crossing the border!<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Xenophobic Attacks<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT

faceibri>In March 2008,

South Africa resembled a war zone as some of its citizens murdered over 60

immigrants after unleashing violent attacks on foreigners, predominantly

Zimbabweans. <SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">It is

estimated that over 2 million Zimbabweans have found refuge in South Africa

having fled political violence. Others simply escaped the economic misery

brought about by Mugabe and his men. While other foreign nationals had the

luxury of voluntarily returning to their countries, Zimbabweans have no choice

as long as Mugabe and his men continue to populate the corridors of usurped

power in that country. Zimbabwe is not their usual home anymore; it is a place

that smacks of death.<SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Concocted Treason charges<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Sounds familiar? True. It is a tried and tested strategy to distract

the people of Zimbabwe from real issues of solving the people’s problems. In

2008, the hapless Tendai Biti of the opposition MDC appeared in public for the

first time extremely shackled (complete with leg irons) after a protracted

incarceration facing treason charges. He still faces the concocted charges. In

August 2005 Morgan Tsvangirai was finally acquitted of fabricated treason

charges that dragged on forever. Representing the State, prosecutor Florence

Ziyambi declared: “The state is

withdrawing charges before plea”<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Two-year old boy in jail<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT

faceibri>As the illegal

detentions and abductions were brought to light the last week of December 2008,

another disturbing moment took center stage – an unfamiliar political detainee.

It is a two year old boy who is among

the 23 ‘perceived enemies of state.’ <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Zimbabwean police shamelessly violated a

ruling by High <SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Court

Judge Yunus Omarjee of December 27 which <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “ordered an unconditional release of 23

opposition members -- including a 2-year-old boy.”according to CNN. Several news

organizations have reported that the baby was also beaten up. <SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">How low can Mugabe’s government

sink?<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><B

style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">4

Positive things<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Mugabe is cornered<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">When

his government finally delivered Morgan Tsvangirai’s passport and a letter of

appointment as Prime Minister, it surely showed Mugabe’s desperation. Two weeks

earlier, it was the same Mugabe who called Morgan Tsvangirai a “political

prostitute”. <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Tightening of Screws by SADC<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Neighboring countries such as South Africa and Botswana that are

importing instability and cholera are increasingly becoming restless. They also

want a GNU deal struck as soon as possible. <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Pressure is up and a political deal is in the

offing. The GNU deal is alive and

well!<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Break away of Zapu<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The

splitting of Zapu and Zanu is healthy for Zimbabwe’s democracy.<SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> While it adds to political pluralism, it is

imperative for Zapu to move beyond regrouping to merely grieve over

Matebeleland Holocaust of more than

twenty years ago or to rekindle tribal diatribes. Zimbabwe has changed. You

cannot have a party for a specific region or tribe and expect to lead a nation.

Get me right, while the massacres of Matebeleland should not go unpunished,

Zapu must integrate itself into

mainstream Zimbabwean politics and become nationally competitive. I do not want

to think that the goal is to position itself for political opportunism. <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Zimbabwean politics is replete with episodes

of opportunism, just ask Arthur Mutambara or Jonathan Moyo <I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">. ( I wrote a piece on that on my blog <A

href="http://www.nationalvision.wordpress.com/"><FONT

color=#0000ff>www.nationalvision.wordpress.com</A>

archives)<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><I

style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">You

and Me<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">We

care deeply about the plight of the suffering people of Zimbabwe and we will

make a difference as we continue to press for

change.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>Mugabe must be focusing his energies on redoing the government of

national unity agreement which he deceptively authored so that Zimbabwe can move

forward. With continued abductions, Zanu PF’s unflinching insistence on

retaining control of Home Affairs (that ‘own’ the police) is worrisome. Most of

those abductions are masterminded and spearheaded by the police. What will stop

them when Morgan Tsvangirai is a titular Prime Minister? Already Zanu PF has

Defence Ministry and the deadly partisan spies fall under its ministerial

portfolios. People have to understand where Morgan Tsvangirai is coming

from. As for me, I will not set foot in

Zimbabwe until my President is President (sic)! Vangandiita kanyama kanyama

(‘BBQ me’).<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The

need to extend Zimbabwe’s begging bowls internationally is increasing given the

gargantuan problems facing the country in 2009. The poverty in Zimbabwe is

dehumanizing! Mr President please do not continue to fart in public as that

scares away would-be helpers. Your flatulence problem is not terminal. Eating

less of that meal of pork and beans can solve it. <SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> In 2009, please spare us that perennial

vitriol.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT

faceibri>Zimbabwe’s

mounting problems will never be solved by you and your Zanu (PF).<SPAN

lang=EN style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">

Your diatribes

serve Zimbabwe no good, but only aggravate the situation.<SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"> <SPAN

lang=EN>Be reminded that at this stage, Zimbabwe requires more than just a mere

political settlement. A comprehensive development strategy is required in order

to solve problems bedeviling an imploded

economy.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><A name=1><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The

way 2008 ended is quite ominous. Although 2009 is agog with expectations of a

better life, new problems will dwarf existing ones if the government of national

unity fails to succeed because of Mugabe. Simultaneously, Mugabe’s political

fate is being sealed as the odds against him continue to mount while the social

time bomb ticks even faster. Be reminded that continued political paralysis is a

zero-sum game.<o:p></o:p></A></DIV><SPAN

style="mso-bookmark: 1">

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">It

is in the best interests of all citizens of Zimbabwe to demand change in 2009,

if not, Mugabe will continue to sleepwalk the nation to its grave. It is the

people of Zimbabwean who are bearing the agony and brunt of a failed leadership,

‘a tragic failure of leadership’ as stated by Nelson Mandela (who happens to be

Africa’s best politician ever!)<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT

faceibri>However it is comforting to note that for now Morgan Tsvangirai is

Zimbabwe’s last and best hope to get Zimbabwe back on the path of sanity. He has

already treaded the treacherous politics of Zimbabwe with great honor,

selflessness, grace and humility defying all appeasement attempts by

Mugabe.<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT

size=3>Dear God, for 2009 I have one request on behalf of the

people of Zimbabwe: Please increase

Robert Gabriel Mugabe’s sensitivity to the plight of the suffering poor people

of Zimbabwe. If possible, sneak in psychedelics into that State House in order

to reduce the amount of cruelty and violence within him. Transform his

declaration that “we have degrees in violence” into “we have degrees in peace,”

for we know fully-well that Mugabe and his men do not want peace or political

progress, “kubvongodza muto kuseva kweakaguta.” The status quo benefits them.

<o:p></o:p></DIV>

<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN lang=EN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT

size=3 faceibri>The people of Zimbabwe cannot afford another year of the same

with Mugabe at the helm of Zimbabwean politics.

For 2009 the choices for the people of Zimbabwe are very simple:<SPAN

style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Change, Riot or Rot! <SPAN

style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> Paul Mutuzu +1 972

201 5554 President and founder of the National Vision Institute

(<A href="http://www.nationalvision.wordpress.com/"

target=_blank>www.nationalvision.wordpress.com</A>), an independent

non-profit economic and political strategy think-tank focusing on Zimbabwe and

Southern Africa region. It offers policy initiatives and strategic insights in

finding solutions to the challenges facing Southern

Africa.</o:p></DIV>

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of Zimbabwe: 2009 </h2>

href="http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/2983#more-2983">http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/2983#more-2983</A> A friend of mine attacked the start of the new year

with gusto. He went to a New Year's party where he did his level best to get

as drunk as he possibly could. When I saw him the next day, he had a

hangover of note. "I believe", he declared, "that all Zimbabweans should get

the worst hangover they possibly can on New Year's eve; that way they start

the year feeling sicker than the sickest of dogs and then they can try and

tell themselves that things can only get better in 2009." His Zimbo

humour did make me laugh, but apart from that moment of mirth there is very

little else that I find amusing about the start of the New Year in

Zimbabwe. My 'Face of 2009' is already burned in my mind and the year has

barely begun. It comes to me via an experience of a relative of mine, which

he had while driving on an isolated stretch of road between two

towns. He said he saw a child standing in the middle of nowhere crying

its heart out by the side of the road, trying to wave down cars. An adult

sat crumpled in the dirt next to her. When he stopped, he learned

that the child was with her grandmother, and that the grandmother was very

very sick. The small girl had been trying to help her Gogo to find a way to

get to a clinic or hospital and they had walked through the bush for miles.

When they reached the road, Gogo's legs gave out, and she could not find the

strength to stand up again and the child was too small to help her stand and

keep going. All she could do was sob, and try and wave down someone who

would stop and help her. My relative helped Gogo into the car and drove

her and her grandchild to the nearest hospital. He said they had a long way

to go and Gogo was silent all the way, very ill and every last bit of

strength drained from her just trying to reach the road. The little girl, he

said, sobbed the whole way there. He said she was crying in grief and fear,

but that she also kept thanking him, her gratitude that he had stopped at

all was heartbreaking. He left them at the nearest clinic in the care of

doctors and nurses who probably don't have the medicines they need to help

Gogo, and I fear she will probably die. 'Happy New Year' to that tiny little

girl? I think not. There is no amount of alcohol on the world that can

give me a hangover headache that is strong enough to match the twisting pain

I get in my heart and stomach when I think about that little girl. Unlike a

hangover, this pain will not pass and I can't tell myself that when it has

gone that 2009 can only get better. I know that there will be more of the

same. I state the obvious when I say that in this millenium, in 2009, a

small child of primary school age should not be staggering through the bush

in the middle of nowhere, entirely responsible for taking her dying Gogo to

hospital. She should not be crying by the side of the road begging cars to

stop and help her. Of course she should not. All reasonable people would

agree with that but no one can reasonably find a way forward. The bottom

line is that the problem this child had - her Gogo dying and needing care -

was her problem alone. Another friend of mine recently travelled

through the rural areas, visiting quite a few remote places. She said that

she only saw the very elderly and the very young, that all the ages in

between were missing. We speculated that those of working ages - the mothers

and fathers, the strongest - had either left for South Africa to try and

support their families, or that they had died from AIDS related

illnesses. All reasonable people reasonably argue that the solution to

Zimbabwe's problems rests with Zimbabweans - it is us who must 'do

something'. I wish those reasonable people would report that to that small

child and her grandmother, who represent thousands more small children and

their grandmothers in the rural areas, because that is one tidbit of

information that I don't have the heart to convey. When you face a nation

that is starving, desperately scrounging for survival, old and frail or very

young, sick with cholera and HIV/AIDS, I can't help wondering if that thesis

is as reasonable as it seems at face value, or whether its just the world

passing the buck. For me, my New Year blog begins with a public

confession and a promise. My public confession is that I am sick to the

back teeth of this struggle. I am so tired of it, and I want to give up and

let my life move on. I want my head to be filled with different thoughts

other than 'what can I do, what can I do..' My promise is to a child

I have never met: I promise before God that I will not give up, I promise to

keep going. I wish this promise meant something to this child, but the truth

is it doesn't even scratch the surface of a grief she has that runs so deep

it will forever define her life as an adult. This entry was

written by Hope on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 11:34 am

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Hopes for a better 2009 </h2>

<A href="http://www.oxfam.org.uk">http://www.oxfam.org.uk</A> by Caroline Gluck in Harare. As the midnight

countdown ended, cheers rang out and the crowd hugged and kissed friends and

strangers in the small jazz club bar in downtown Harare. 2008 was an

especially grim year in Zimbabwe - and prospects for the coming year seem

little better. The fact that Zimbabweans were celebrating the new year at

all might seem surprising. But many people, or at least those with some

money living in the cities, were in the mood to party, if only for a night

and to forget their worries. Zimbabwe is gripped by economic collapse.

Hyperinflation, the worst in the world, has seen prices skyrocketing, making

it hard for many to access food and fuel. Last month, the country's central

bank introduced a 10 billion Zimbabwean dollar banknote, but its actual

worth, about $10 US dollars on the black market, is rapidly decreasing day

by day. Most shops now only accept foreign currency not Zimbabwean

notes. On top of the economic meltdown - which has seen doctors,

teachers, and most government staff staying away from work because their pay

in local Zimbabwean dollars won't even cover their crippling transport costs

- is a serious and worsening humanitarian crisis. A cholera outbreak

in August has now affected more than 30,000 people, and claimed the lives of

more than 1,600 people, with cases now being reported across every province

in the country. Cholera is an easily preventable and treatable

water-borne disease. But its spread in Zimbabwe is being fuelled by the

collapse of health, sanitation and water services. There are limited medical

supplies and many don't have access to clean drinking water or proper

sanitation. The onset of heavy rains this month is worsening an already

alarming situation. A second humanitarian crisis, still under-reported,

is worsening malnutrition and food shortages. There have been several years

of failed harvests; a serious shortage of seeds and fertilisers; and driving

hunger is forcing many to eat seeds instead of planting them for next year's

crops. The UN has warned that around five million people, more than half

of the population, will soon rely on food aid. The country is also

facing political deadlock. Efforts to form a power-sharing government

between the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power

since 1980, and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, has

stalled. I got a sombre insight into many of the problems the country was

facing as I visited Kadoma city in central Zimbabwe, about 180 kilometres

west of the capital, Harare. Oxfam has been working in the area,

drilling boreholes so that communities can access safe drinking water;

distributing hygiene kits and undertaking health promotion work. The

health authorities have reported nearly a thousand cholera cases since mid

November, with 29 deaths. Unofficial statistics put the figure even

higher. The cholera treatment centre - mainly consisting of makeshift

canvas tents - was packed with 120 patients. And staff were working

flat-out. Two people had died that day; and I was shown a tent containing the

wrapped corpses of seven bodies, several of which had lain there for several

days and were swelling. Fuel shortages and rocketing prices meant that there

were no vehicles available to take the bodies to the local

cemetery. "Things aren't stabilising," said one nurse, "they're getting

worse. We're seeing more patients every day." With early access to

treatment - intravenous fluids and oral rehydration - patients can recover

quickly and be discharged within days. But a visit to a nearby housing

estate - described as a cholera 'timebomb' by a senior health official -

made clear why the epidemic is sweeping across the country. The

sewage system had broken down; and residents were disposing human and other

waste in the narrow lanes around their homes. Open sewers in Kadoma

CityChildren played alongside open sewers. There was no running water and

the community of around 1200 depended on water from a borehole Oxfam had

provided. Those images haunted me as I sat in the jazz bar that night.

Zimbabweans might have little to celebrate, other than surviving another

difficult year; but they are still pinning their hopes that the coming year

might bring some change for the better. This entry was posted

on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm

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