11 July 2000
In today's issue:
From The Star (SA), 11 July
Mugabe blames MDC for stadium stampede
Harare - The death toll in the Harare World Cup match disaster rose to 13 on Monday, as President Robert Mugabe blamed the opposition MDC for causing the stampede by tear-gassed spectators on Sunday at the national sports stadium. In a condolence message to the families of the dead, Mugabe said it was "disturbing" that those who had set off the violence were "members of a planted group" that had shouted political slogans and eventually hurled bottles and other missiles on to the pitch. Mugabe was referring to hundreds of people among the 50 000-strong crowd at the 2002 World Cup match between South Africa and Zimbabwe who chanted MDC slogans and waved small red plastic squares, the MDC's symbolic footballing gesture to "give Mugabe the red card" and tell him to resign.
Welshman Ncube, the party's secretary-general, retorted: "It is ridiculous that a national leader such as Mugabe should try to justify the actions of the police" by blaming the MDC. The worst disaster in Zimbabwe's sporting history occurred in the dying minutes of the match when hooligans hurled bottles and other missiles at members of the South African team after they had scored the second goal, effectively sinking Zimbabwe's hopes of advancing any further in the World Cup. Eyewitnesses, backed by extensive television coverage, said police fired a teargas grenade into the stands almost immediately after the first handful of missiles was thrown. Spectators responded with more missiles and police opened up at terraces all over the stadium, quickly blanketing the structure with teargas.
People fleeing the searing gas jammed the exits from the terraces. Hospital staff said the fatalities were caused either by suffocation or severe internal injuries when people were crushed underfoot. Police said four of the dead were children, one of whom died Monday. Two more people were in a critical condition in Harare's main Parirenyatwa hospital. Mugabe also apologised to South Africans and their "gallant and victorious team" for "our shocking and unseemly behaviour", promising that measures would be taken to ensure the incident could not happen again.
Observers pointed out that since the parliamentary elections on June 24-25 when the MDC inflicted unprecedented losses on Mugabe's ruling Zanu(PF) party, MDC sloganeering has become almost standard practice at public gatherings. The MDC's open-handed salute that was given all over the stadium during the singing of the Zimbabwe national anthem on Sunday was also raised by hundreds of people the week before, just ahead of the start of a rugby match between Zimbabwe and Namibia. Also on Sunday, spectators chanted "remove Mugabe, remove Leo Mugabe," the president of the Zimbabwe Football Association, who is also the president's nephew. The match was abandoned eight minutes before the end.
A police statement said a board of inquiry of four senior officers had been set up to examine the events. The inquiry would be assisted by former England striker John Fashanu, a United Nations goodwill ambassador who said on Sunday that police crowd control was "very poor" and that officers "over-reacted, stupidly".
From The Star (SA), 10 July
Inside the stadium of death
Harare - It started off like any other football afternoon, with a palpable big-match buzz in the air. It ended in tragedy. Twelve people killed and scores injured. Inside Zimbabwe's National Sports Stadium, it resembled a war zone. People were vomiting, coughing, groaning, bleeding, crying, shouting, fainting, hurting, dying.
The incident was sparked by Bafana Bafana's second goal, condemning Zimbabwe to certain defeat in this important World Cup qualifier, and local fans vented their frustration by hurling bottles and other missiles on to the pitch. The response of the police, in my long experience of football as player and writer, was unprecedented. There was no real threat. A few bottles flung, nothing unusual about that. I've seen it happen in South Africa, Angola and Ghana. Eventually the crowd settles down and the match continues.
The tolerance level of the Zimbabwe police, however, was predictably low. Teargas canisters were immediately fired into all areas around the field, even where there were no disturbances. It ignited panic in the 50 000 strong crowd and people were trampled underfoot. The players were badly affected, writhing and vomiting on the field from the effects of the huge clouds of teargas. Up on the terraces, there was pandemonium. Vomiting, people sobbing in pain, crying out for help, others unconscious, some presumably dead.
Before the game, South African print journalists were shown to a spot right in the middle of an area where chaos was at its worst. We decided against sitting there because there was no power for our laptop computers and gate-crashed the SABC radio area. As we surveyed the ruins of our pressbox in the aftermath of the stampede, we realised just how fortunate we were to escape with only runny noses and tear-filled eyes. Others were not so lucky.
From The Star (SA), 10 July
Zim police under fire after soccer tragedy
Harare - Zimbabwe police came under attack on Monday for their heavy-handed action to control a rowdy crowd at a weekend World Cup qualifier match here between Zimbabwe and South Africa when 12 people died and several were seriously wounded. The independent Daily News called the tragedy "the worst in the history of sport in Zimbabwe". The trouble began after South African striker Delron Buckley scored his country's second goal in the 83rd minute of the World Cup qualifying match.
One eyewitness blamed the police for aggravating the situation, the state-owned Herald reported. "There were individual hooligans who could have been handled by individual policemen. But ... the police simply fired the teargas and that worsened the situation as people tried to leave yet the exit points were blocked by other policemen waiting to fire more teargas," the paper quoted Isaac Chimwi as saying. Local and foreign soccer officials said the heavy-handed police reaction was uncalled for. "I do not think the teargas was necessary. We have to demonstrate to the world that we can control ourselves. We are going to pay for this heavily," said Zifa vice chairman Vincent Pamire. International sports marketing expert and TV Africa executive Ambrose Mendy, who was at the match, also criticised the police action. "The crowd did not riot, they did not invade the pitch but I think the police needlessly overreacted, and I don't think that is in line with doctrines of crowd control," Mendy said.
Police spokesman Superintendent Wayne Bvudzijena however rejected accusations of heavy-handedness. "It's a wrong assumption that people are making, particularly from Zifa, especially when they knew there wasn't enough police officers in the stadium," Bvudzijena said. He said he was still waiting for full details of what had happened. He also accused Zifa of allowing the sale of beer in glass bottles in the stadium.
Mendy called for a police apology. "We have seen worse things in Europe where there is real hooliganism, but that was just a natural reaction by the fans and those plastic bottles were going to die within two minutes," Mendy said. Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture Stephen Chipfunyise said that although it appeared police were trying to protect the South African visitors by firing teargas, Zimbabwe had dug its own grave. "What happened here ... will certainly do more harm than good," Chipfunyise was quoted by the Daily News as saying.
Former English Premiership star John Fashanu also criticised the police for their reaction. "When the bottles were thrown, we needed good crowd control, not panic. The police were under no threat, so why did they make such a stupid decision?" the former Wimbledon striker asked. Fashanu said enemies of African football would pounce on the incident and use it as justification for preferring Germany over South Africa as a venue for the 2006 World Cup final.
From The Daily News, 10 July
War vets demand Cabinet positions
WAR veterans, used to having their way with President Mugabe, are now demanding key ministerial posts and governorships to seal off rural Zimbabwe from opposition political influence, ahead of the presidential election in 2002. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, yesterday said the ex-freedom fighters had tabled the demands during a meeting with Mugabe. This is part of the strategy for the 2002 presidential election, which the war veterans want Mugabe to win at all costs, said Tsvangirai in an interview with The Daily News.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba confirmed that Mugabe last Tuesday held a meeting with the national leadership of the war veterans but denied knowledge of the demands made to the President by the ex-combatants. He said: "There was a meeting between the President and the national leadership of the war veterans' association. That happened on Tuesday and this was in the context of a post-mortem on the election. The one thing that never ever came up for discussion was how the President was going to structure his government, specifically to make Cabinet appointments."
Chenjerai Hunzvi, the leader of the war veterans, said he was not prepared to comment on the meeting. But he said Tsvangirai had no business talking about the affairs of war veterans. Hunzvi is, however, on record as having said he was confident of a ministerial position when Mugabe announces the new Cabinet, probably this week.
However, Tsvangirai said the MDC had reliable information that Mugabe had private consultations with the war veterans where they made demands which were "very alarming" for the nation. He said the leaders of the war veterans demanded that Mugabe appoints war veterans as provincial governors in the four provinces of Matabeleland South, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Manicaland. The idea, said Tsvangirai, was to consolidate these provinces as "no-go areas" for the opposition. He said: "The war veterans also demanded that Augustine Chihuri, the Police Commissioner, be appointed Minister of Home Affairs because he has been working very well with the war veterans that have invaded farms. It is no wonder he has not been effective in enforcing law and order in these areas."
However, Charamba dismissed this saying it was known among all Zanu PF cadres that all government appointments were the "absolute prerogative" of the President. He said: "At best, he consults his two vices. There is no one who would ever dare make a suggestion of how the President is going to constitute his Cabinet. So, I take such rumours to simply indicate an impatience in the country over who is going to be in the new Cabinet."
Tsvangirai said other demands from the war veteran leaders were that farm invasions be intensified but with the target now being white commercial farmers purported to be supporters of the MDC. The intention, he said, was to chase the farmers off their properties completely. He said the whole strategy was part of the 2002 presidential election campaign. "They want Mugabe to seek re-election. If this strategy is allowed to function it means that Mugabe and the war veterans have no other strategy to restore the economic well-being of the country because to them the main preoccupation is political survival through anarchy."
Tsvangirai said since Zanu PF's victory in the election came about "as a result of violence and anarchy" that party would use the same strategy again. He said the Zanu PF leadership was aware of the electoral fraud in the constituencies that the MDC were disputing the poll results and they planned to engage in violence in these areas should there be a rerun of the elections. Tsvangirai said Mugabe had drafted ex-Zipra and ex-Rhodesian army soldiers in the Zimbabwe National Army and the Police Support Unit and deployed them in areas where Zanu PF suffered heavy defeat in the parliamentary election. He said: "They are using unmarked vehicles with no registration plates and are beating up people in so-called trouble spots. But the strategy will not work because the people of Zimbabwe are a united people. Poverty, unemployment and degradation favour no tribe." Police have confirmed the presence of Special Forces in areas such as Dzivaresekwa and Mabvuku in Harare and in Kwekwe, ostensibly to curb post-election violence.
From The Star (SA), 11 July
Mugabe misses OAU for first time in 20 years
Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will not go to this year's OAU summit because he needs time to work on forming a new cabinet, a presidential spokesperson said on Monday. "I can confirm that the president is not attending this year's OAU summit, instead he is represented by the foreign minister (Stan Mudenge), who is in Togo as I am speaking," spokesperson George Charamba said. "The president needs time to work on his cabinet," Charamba said.
This is believed to be the first time Mugabe has missed an OAU summit meeting in his 20 years in power since independence. Also not attending the summit are Zimbabwe allies Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), whose governments support accusations that Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema has fuelled the Angolan rebel movement Unita.
From Business Day (SA), 11 July
Zimbabwe has power debt
MAPUTO - Zimbabwe's government has confirmed that it owes "huge" amounts variously estimated at between $22m and 35m to Mozambique's Cahora Bassa Hydro-Electric Company and EDM, the country's electricity utility. Interviewed at the weekend, Mark Marongwe, Zimbabwe's high commissioner to Mozambique, said the "accumulation of the debt is due to the shortage of foreign currency that Zimbabwe is experiencing". However, he said that the debt was being serviced every month. "We always pay something towards reducing the debt," he said. He admitted that the debt was huge and said: "You don't pay it at once, but bit by bit."
Cahora Bassa supplies 500MW of power to Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) has not paid its bills for months. The MDC, Zimbabwe's opposition, estimates the bills to be $35m. However, Mediafax, Mozambique's newsletter, has quoted EDM administrator Juliao Pondeca as confirming that Zimbabwe owes Mozambique about 22m, the biggest part of which is owed to Cahora Bassa. EDM, which is due for privatisation, transmits the power from Cahora Bassa to Zimbabwe. The three parties Zesa, Cahora Bassa and EDM have been renegotiating terms of payment, taking into account that Zimbabwe is EDM's client. Pondeca, too, has acknowledged the foreign currency shortage as being the reason for Zesa's failure to meet its obligations.
Marongwe has questioned the "sudden" interest of the press in the debt. "Why has Zimbabwe's debt to (Cahora Bassa) suddenly become of interest to some sections of the media when Zimbabwe has always owed something to (it)?" He believes "there are some people who wish Mozambique should participate in the campaign led by Britain to bring economic pressure to bear in the government of President Robert Mugabe in order to force it to stop the current efforts at redistributing land in Zimbabwe". Such people, he said, were working hand in glove with forces in Harare who were unhappy with the arrangement between Zimbabwe and Mozambique over the hourly tariffs being paid for a kilowatt of power.
Under the arrangement, he explained, Zimbabwe pays 4c in a rand for each kilowatt an hour imported from Mozambique, against 2c paid by SA's Eskom. The Zimbabwean diplomat failed, though, to quantify how much was owed to Cahora Bassa or how much Zimbabwe could afford to pay each month. However, he promised his country "will always pay something as and when its foreign currency (situation) allows". Cahora Bassa is worried about the situation and would like to see Zimbabwe honouring its payment commitments. As of mid-March, Zesa's outstanding debt to Eskom for the first half of last year was R111m.
From The Daily News, 10 July
Bridges will be crossed in time, says Susan Tsvangirai
If Morgan Tsvangirai is eyeing State House then his wife, Susan, could be the next First Lady. Whether they make it in 2002 is another story. Until then, there is nothing to stop us examining whether it's true that behind every successful man is a woman. The MDC, led by Tsvangirai, recently loosened Zanu PF's 20-year grip on power, a shock that many people have yet to recover from. It was reasonable to accept Susan's excuses that she was too busy for an interview just before and after the election. But when she finally agrees to an appointment and doesn't keep it, several questions run through the mind.
Anyway, she apologised profusely for the bad start. As we chat in their Ashdown Park home, a story comes on the SABC television channel about Tsvangirai. That itself is proof enough that life has not been the same for the family since the Tsvangirai's entered the political realm. It's an opportunity to talk of the "lies" from the local television station, ZBC, which the family would rather not watch were it not beneficial to hear what the other side is saying.
She plays down the impact on the family of their new-found status. If anything has changed, Morgan now has many enemies. These enemies would probably have no problems attacking their home as their security was nothing to write home about. Apart from that, it was business as usual for her as a housewife. Admittedly, she has yet to adjust to the new situation. "I will have to get used to it," she says of public life. "How will I avoid it? There will be no place to hide." Edwin, the eldest, is the only child at home this morning, on holiday from Witswatersrand University in South Africa. Two domestic workers mill around the house and two other men are on guard duty, one in a dust coat and the other in civilian clothes - which does not give the impression of top-notch security.
The lounge is cold and Susan says something about there being a heater somewhere in the house, but does nothing about it. The modest use of domestic appliances extends to her attire which is unpretentious. Her bright red jersey could be from any of the flea markets. Designer clothing doesn't seem to be her thing although there's nothing wrong with glamour apart from overdoing it. You can't get more middle class than this family. From daughters, Vimbai and Rumbidzai going to Mabelreign Girls High to the type of furniture and the decor, it is classic middle class. The children were not averse to using public transport either, until recently when fears for their safety from politically motivated thuggery meant they had to be chauffeured.
"We are not complicated people," says Susan. Her car was stolen while she was in church last year. It was just another car theft in the big city, except that the incident left her shaken to this day. Ironically, while she is now afraid to be alone in a car, she's unfazed by the lurking danger of politically motivated attacks. If she needs to get around, there's always a driver available and going by commuter minibus is fine with her, if it boils down to that. "After all, not many people know me."
The people will decide whether they want Tsvangirai as president, says Susan. She has no idea what being First Lady entails but expects to learn eventually. Anyway, she will cross that bridge when she comes to it, which does not detract from the fact that she has always played a supportive role to Morgan at home, in politics and in whatever role he'll come up with. Nevertheless, she has warned him of the dangers of power. Two terms of office is enough, she says. Anything more than that is destructive to the leader, if not the country.
They met in 1977 in Bindura when Tsvangirai was working for Trojan Nickel Mine, attracted by the realisation that they both came Buhera district. Their other children are Garikai, who is doing "A" levels, and six-year-old twins Millicent and Vincent. As much as the family is prominent today, tomorrow may tell a different tale, says Susan. "If you start changing your behaviour and you fall from that position, how will you communicate with those you left behind? This is a thing that will come and go," she says level-headedly.