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Fears Zimbabwe's election is being stolen by Mugabe allies through purge of
electoral roll
Allies of Robert Mugabe have been accused of orchestrating a purge of the
country's electoral roll through a secretive Israeli company, raising fears this
month's presidential election will be stolen.
Allies of Robert Mugabe have been accused of
orchestrating a purge of the country's electoral roll through a secretive
Israeli company, raising fears this month's presidential election will be
stolen.
6:38PM BST 03 Jul
2013
Morgan Tsvangirai, the
prime minister, has lodged objections to the activities of a Tel Aviv-based
technology firm after research showed drastic changes to the numbers on the roll
and anomalies in the distribution of voters.
His concerns were
echoed by the independent Zimbabwe Election Commission,
which has been unable to account for the role played by Nikuv International in
compiling and revising the electoral roll.
Nikuv operates from
offices within Harare's Ministry of Defence, run by Mugabe lieutenant, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, but refuses to answer questions over its paymasters and its
procedures.
Robert Mugabe
(EPA)
Zimbabwe is due to hold
its first presidential poll since the 2008 general election provoked nationwide
violence and forced Mr Mugabe to share government with Mr Tsvangirai in a
coalition of rivals.
Findings by Harare's
Research and Advocacy Unit show more voters than adults that were registered in
the 2012 census are on the roll in about half of Zimbabwe's 210 electoral
constituencies.
At the same time the
electoral roll has been purged of more than 300,000 "dead" voters nationwide
from a total of six million.
Efforts to ensure that
Zimbabwe turns the corner on its violent past led to a successful referendum
this year on constitutional reforms and subsequent international promises to
provide funds for a clean elections.
However Mr Mugabe
recently forced through early elections and the subsequent dispute over the
release of the funds means the Commission, chaired by Rita Makarau, has no
resources to carry out its functions.
Zimbabwe Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai (Reuters)
Mr Tsvangirai's
complaint to the Commission said there was evidence in the public arena that
Nikuv has a record of 'tampering' with Zimbabwe's voters'
roll.
"What are they doing
with the voters' roll? Why have they got it and who is paying them, because they
are not being paid with government funds," said Eddie Cross, a member of Mr
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Campaigners for
democracy in Zimbabwe have called for international pressure to ensure Mr Mugabe
does not rig the poll using sophisticated computer-based data
manipulation.
Kate Hoey, the head of
the All-Party Zimbabwe Parliamentary Group, warned that previously sympathetic
governments appeared to be changing policy in anticipation of a Mugabe
victory.
"These revelations show
the need for the UK Government and the rest of the world to turn the spotlight
back on Zimbabwe and Mugabe's corrupt and despotic regime," she said. "It is
incredible that the human rights abuses and election rigging in Zimbabwe is
going on in plain sight but no one seems to care."
The firm at the centre
of the allegations said it would not respond to numerous requests for
comment.
Calls to Zimbabwe's
Ministry of Defence for comment were also unsuccessful.
Justice Makarau said
she did not have the staff or funds to investigate the claims.
Tendai Biti, the
finance minister and an ally of Mr Tsvangirai, also claimed to be powerless to
intervene, claiming he would not be able to find out if the Israeli company has
been paid by the defence ministry until the end-of-year audit. "I only know how
much money is allocated, not what it is spent on, until later," he
said.
The allegations have
been denied by Zimbabwe's registrar-general, Tobaiwa Mudede who said the voter
registration system is open to the MDC to prove there is no manipulation of the
roll to rig the election.
Prove
poll fix claim, Mudede tells MDC-T
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
02/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
REGISTRAR General Tobaiwa Mudede has challenged
the MDC-T to inspect its
systems and prove allegations that plans are
underway to fix the next
elections.
Mudede said Tuesday that his office
and its systems were open for inspection
by all interested parties as he
revealed that the country’s registered
voters had now reached more than six
million.
“Those who are worried on what we do are free to come and see
our systems,”
he said. “It is not proper for us to discuss those issues in
newspapers,”
Mudede told a press conference in Harare.
Zimbabwe is
due to hold fresh elections to choose a substantive government
at the end of
this month.
But the MDC-T and other political parties have expressed concern
over the
state of the country’s voters’ roll as well as the way in which the
current
registration exercise was being carried out.
"Clearly the
voters roll is a shambles. The registration is often chaotic
and frustrating
in urban areas and we see this as an attempt to rig the
elections before
voting has even started," MDC-T spokesperson Douglas
Mwonzora
said.
Party leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai also urged
Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission chair Justice Rita Makarau to investigate
allegations
of the involvement of a firm said to be linked to Israeli
intelligence
services in in the on-going voter registration
exercise.
Meanwhile, Mudede said the more than 400,000 new voters had
registered to
vote increasing the number of people on the voters’ role to
six million.
He rejected criticism by political parties that the process
was too slow.
“As at June 30 2013, the total voter population recorded
stands at 6 082
302,” he said.
“(Our officers) are not slow; they are
examining a variety of things. Our
people are working hard and in some cases
they have gone as far as 10pm,” he
said.
“Reports that we are
registering 100 people at some centres are not true.
There has been a lot of
registration and the average number of people we are
recording is 400 per
day.”
Madhuku says court will uphold July 31st poll
date
By Violet Gonda
SW Radio
Africa
3 July 2013
President Robert Mugabe has accused
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of sending mixed messages on the controversial
issue of elections dates, as the political parties gear up for the much-awaited
hearing on the poll date in the Constitutional Court.
In heads of arguments filed by his
lawyers in the ConCourt this week, Mugabe is quoted as saying it is ironic that
Tsvangirai is persisting with his legal challenge against the July
31stelection date, even though he has submitted nomination papers to
contest in the presidential polls on that day.
Mugabe argues that electoral procedures are at an
advanced stage and that the rights and expectations of people who filed their
nomination papers last Friday will be violated if elections are
delayed.
The ConCourt will hear a number of
election related urgent applications, including an appeal by Tsvangirai and MDC
leader Welshman Ncube, who both want the ConCourt to extend the voting date from
July 31st, to allow the implementation of reforms.
There are already conflicting opinions
from legal experts on what is likely to be the outcome of Thursday’s hearing.
Constitutional expert Dr. Lovemore Madhuku believes the election extension case
will be thrown out by the ConCourt, saying it has no basis in law, but another
expert, Derek Matyszak, says either way there will be a constitutional crisis in
Zimbabwe after the ruling.
The MDC leaders were caught off guard
last month when Mugabe unilaterally declared the election date and used the
Presidential Powers Act to bypass parliament to pass amendments to the Electoral
law.
But in his heads of argument, filed by
his lawyers on Tuesday, Mugabe says he used the presidential decree in order to
meet the poll deadline that was set by the same court.
In a judgment delivered on May
31st by Chief Justice
Godfrey Chidyausiku, representing the nine judge panel, the ConCourt said
elections are due upon the dissolution of Parliament on June 29thand
ordered that the polls must be held not later than the 31st
July.
Mugabe’s lawyer Terrence Hussein said:
“Had the President awaited Parliament to enact the amendments, he ran the risk
that the timeline set by the court would not have been met.”
Hussein added: “The suggestion that he
is required to consult with the applicant (Tsvangirai) is misplaced as the
Presidential Powers Temporary Measures Act do not contain such a provision nor
does the Eighth Schedule to the former Constitution.”
Mugabe is responding jointly with
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa who, in papers filed earlier, told the court
that he was forced to apply for a delay by the MDC formations and a request that
came from the regional body SADC.
Mugabe also told the court that his
coalition partners appeared before a SADC extraordinary summit instead of
dealing with the issue back home. “As a high ranking public officer of this
country, one would have expected him (Tsvangirai) to defend his country’s
courts. He, however, unequivocally did the opposite,” Mugabe
said.
Madhuku told SW Radio Africa that
Thursday’s hearing will be a straightforward one and will be ‘dismissed’ by the
judges. “Any genuine lawyer will tell you that there is no basis for that kind
of hearing. If there was any basis before the nomination court there will be no
basis now after the nomination court and after the automatic dissolution of
parliament.”
He added: “I am sure the lawyers
involved must be receiving huge sums of fees to be pursuing this matter after
the dissolution of parliament.”
However Matyszak said the Presidential
Powers Temporary Measures Act cannot be used to amend the Electoral Act and that
Zimbabwe will have a constitutional crisis either way. “We are going into the
election with either an unconstitutional election date, or an unconstitutional
Electoral Act and most likely both. Not a good start,” Matyszak
said.
Madhuku disagreed, saying the ConCourt
will make a decision first on whether the regulations promulgated by the
President were validly enacted and the “court will say they were validly
enacted. And so there is no crisis.”
Interview Dr. Lovemore
Madhuku
Mugabe,
Tsvangirai Lawyers Fight Over Election Date
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Blessing
Zulu
03.07.2013
WASHINGTON DC — President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
lawyers spent the second day Wednesday filing
opposing papers ahead of a
Constitutional Court hearing Thursday to
determine the election date.
Lawyers representing Mr. Tsvangirai filed
papers in the courts to counter
arguments filed by the president’s lawyers
Tuesday.
Mr. Mugabe’s lawyers argued that it was ironic that Mr.
Tsvangirai was
persisting with his papers challenging the election date yet
he had already
successfully filed papers to run for the
presidency.
They also allege that Mr. Tsvangirai was following the
dictates of Southern
African Development Community not the court.
The
lawyers were responding to an earlier challenge by Mr. Tsvangirai in
which
he wants Mr. Mugabe’s proclamation of an election date to be struck
down and
polls to be delayed to allow for further reforms.
The prime minister also
alleges that Mr. Mugabe abused his presidential
powers.
Mr. Mugabe’s
lawyer, Terrence Hussein, said Mr. Mugabe does not want to be
part of those
calling for an extension of the election date.
But Mr. Tsvangirai’s
lawyer, Lewis Uriri, said they still want the court to
void Mr. Mugabe’s
proclamation.
Voter
registration nightmare continues for ‘aliens’
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
SW Radio Africa
3 July 2013
With six days to go before the
end of the 30-day mandatory voter
registration exercise, thousands of
potential voters countrywide are still
facing bottlenecks to get their names
on the voters roll.
This has led to calls for the government to overhaul
the system of voter
registration, by introducing biometric voter
registration for the 2018
elections. They said the technology will give the
electoral system more
transparency and accountability, as well as increase
public confidence in
the democratic process.
James Maridadi, an
aspiring MDC-T parliamentary candidate for Mabvuku-Tafara
in Harare, said
thousands of residents in the constituency are still
battling to acquire the
proper documents to register as voters.
The Mabvuku-Tafara constituency
that Maridadi is eyeing is historically
resident to thousands of Zimbabweans
whose parents were mainly from Malawi
and Mozambique.
The high
density suburb was built in the early 1960’s to accommodate
domestic workers
who worked in the then Salisbury’s leafy suburbs, such as
Highlands,
Greendale and Eastlea. Most of these workers of foreign origin
eventually
married and raised children.
But the majority of these children, most of
whom are now middle aged, were
categorized as aliens until the adoption of a
new constitution in May this
year. Under the new charter they can apply for
Zimbabwean citizenship. The
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has been
urging those previously
classified as ‘aliens’ to apply for national
identity documents reflecting
the changed status.
However, thousands
of them are still being disenfranchised by officials from
the
registrar-general’s office who are making them run around in circles to
get
the proper documentation.
Kimberley Nyatsanga, who’s been overseeing the
MDC-T’s push to register as
many people as possible in Mabvuku-Tafara, said
instead of being served at
the mobile registration centres, the ‘aliens’ are
being told to go to
Makombe building that houses the headquarters of the
Registrar-General’s
offices.
‘They are sent to room 100 at Makombe
but the bottlenecks that they still
face there is unbelievable. When the
exercise started, government announced
that renouncing an alien ID and
getting a residence permit would cost
nothing, but officials are charging
$10 per individual,’ Nyatsanga said.
He revealed that thousands of
potential voters in the constituency have
failed to sign on to the electoral
roll and are just stuck at Makombe
building.
‘I think it’s a
political plot to block the new and young voters, especially
those they come
from MDC-T strongholds in the urban areas. I can tell you
that today in
Mabvuku, we had over 350 people who started queuing at 4am to
register but
by 1pm only four residents had been served as there was just
one official
manning the office.
‘Yet in areas like Murehwa, they are scores of such
centers registering
thousands a day. Visit any ZANU PF strongholds you will
see how easy it is
to register,’ Nyatsanga added.
Speaking to the
state media, Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede said as of
June 30th at least
476,313 new voters had registered, while 142,624 voters
had transferred from
their initial voting centers. He said 595,746 people
had inspected the
voters’ roll, with 337,030 others acquiring national
identification cards.
He added that total number of names on the voters roll
now stands
at
6,082,302.
SABC
switch-off a blow to millions of Zimbabweans
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Nomalanga Moyo
SW
Radio Africa
3 July 2013
Millions of Zimbabweans have been dealt a
blow after the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) turned off free
access to its channels
Tuesday.
The loss of SABC channels, which the
majority of Zimbabweans were viewing
through free-to-air decoders, will
force many to watch the boring state-run
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation,
otherwise known as the Dead BC.
Announcing the switch-off, the SABC said
in statement that from July 1st
viewers will only be able to view its
channels through the newly-introduced
Vivid decoder, which comes with a
range of features aimed at limiting free
access.
For example, anyone
hoping to purchase the new decoder will need a smart
card/decoder number,
South African proof of residence, valid identification
and a valid TV
licence.
In addition, the decoders which are available from signal
carriers Sentech,
TelJoy and Elsat, will not work outside South
Africa.
Zimbabweans can access South African TV channels by subscribing
through
MultiChoice but, costing between $10-$95, this is too costly and
unaffordable for most people who are either unemployed or on average earn
$150 per month.
Zimbabweans shared their disappointment with local
media, saying the
switch-off had robbed them of a key source of
entertainment and current
affairs. Others lamented the loss of children’s
programmes which they said
were educational.
Those who spoke to SW
Radio Africa said it was unfortunate that they were
now going to be forced
to listen to ZANU PF propaganda that is broadcast by
the ZBC.
“When
we had the SABC, I could easily switch channels when ZBC started
broadcasting its propaganda, but now that is all gone,” Mandla Tshuma said
from Bulawayo.
Another Bulawayo resident Chris Moyo, bemoaned the
lack of variety on ZTV,
adding that with the elections around the corner,
there will be no respite
for ordinary Zimbabweans who will be subjected to
non-stop ZANU PF
propaganda.
However, Zambia-based Zimbabwean
journalist Herbert Chikosi said this was a
wake-up call for all Zimbabweans
to take up the campaign for media reforms
seriously.
Writing on his
Facebook page Tuesday, Chikosi said: “When many of us were
calling for media
reforms, Zimbabweans called us names and hinted it was a
war for the
journalists to fight alone.
“Now that SABC has switched them off, I hear
them crying foul . . . This is
what we have been saying (that) the ZTV we
have is not the public
broadcaster we want. I am very patriotic but ZTV,
eish. Media Reforms NOW,”
Chikosi added.
Patience Zirima, coordinator
at freedom of expression lobby network the
Media Alliance of Zimbabwe, said
with SABC channels gone, Zimbabweans will
realise just how much they have
been deprived of by the government’s refusal
to carry out media
reforms.
“The free SABC channels ensured a diversity of news sources,
entertainment
etc and this is a wake-up call to everyone, including ordinary
Zimbabweans,
to say is one TV channel really enough?
“Yes the
switch-off is inconvenient but this is also an opportunity for
everyone to
start calling for media reforms to ensure that more players are
licenced to
provide the much-needed diversity and plurality.
“We would also want the
ZBC to be reformed so that their programming
reflects what the public wants
instead of the current partisan, hate-filled
items,” Zirima
added.
The SABC switch off follows an order granted to Botswana TV
channel eBotwana
(a sister company to SA’s commercial station e.tv), by a SA
high court
compelling the state-owned Sentech to scramble its signal in a
bid to
prevent pirate viewing.
This effectively closes the loophole
that was giving millions people from
Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Botswana, and
other neighbouring countries, free
access to SABC’s popular soaps such as
Generations, Muvhango, Zone 14 as
well as sports programmes.
Baba
Jukwa hits harder
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
FUNGI KWARAMBA • 3 JULY 2013 8:34AM
HARARE –
Popular secrets-spilling character Baba Jukwa has reached 200 000
followers
on Facebook, escalating a push for the removal of President Robert
Mugabe’s
Zanu PF from power in the pending polls.
In the run-up to the general
elections, the faceless Facebook character is
carrying out opinion polls to
find out voter preferences for the five
presidential candidates confirmed at
the Nomination Court last Friday.
These are President Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
Welshman Ncube leader of the smaller MDC,
opposition Zapu leader Dumiso
Dabengwa and Kisinoti Mukwazhi.
Baba
Jukwa, who claims to be a disgruntled Zanu PF official who broke ranks
with
the party over grotesque corruption and brutality, is presently
mobilising
the nation to go out in numbers and register to vote
notwithstanding the
long queues and chaos that have characterised the
soon-to-end mobile voter
registration exercise.
“Zimbabwe don’t just be happy here, we need
action. Help us in building a
better country,” said Baba Jukwa on his
Facebook page. “Please go out in
numbers and register to vote. We are still
welcoming plenty of Vapanduki
(rebels from Zanu PF) and we expect more by
the end of the day.
“Don’t forget to inbox us names of those victimising
you countrywide so we
setup a good example to the evil people and its
security henchmen.”
At the time of going to press last night, Baba Jukwa,
who joined social
platform Facebook in March, had surpassed 205 224 ardent
followers.
With such a staggering following, Baba Jukwa is dominating
discussions, not
only among affected Zanu PF officials but also among many
ordinary folks who
cannot go a day without clicking his page for the
“latest” inside detail in
Zanu PF.
In a daily blizzard of posts, Baba
Jukwa has waged an infuriated information
war against Zanu PF. His
seemingly accurate predictions have rattled the
rank-and-file in the former
ruling party, insiders told the Daily News.
Baba Jukwa, who remains a
mystery, has published phone numbers of
politicians, police members,
intelligence agents and army officers he says
are committing heinous sins
against civilians and encourages Zimbabweans to
phone them.
The
growing list of Baba Jukwa followers and the details he churns out has
rattled Zanu PF officials with Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere
admitting last week that the mole was destabilising his family
life.
There is renewed fright that Baba Jukwa’s accurate prediction of
Edward
Chindori-Chininga’s death is a harbinger of sinister things to
come.
Riding on the crest of popularity, Baba Jukwa says he is going to
reveal
more dirty secrets to add to the list of top officials who he says
are in
line for assassination from a camp that is up against
reformists.
In May, Baba Jukwa claimed to have foretold the sudden death
of a top
intelligence commander who was declared a national hero.
He
claimed the top agent was poisoned by colleagues. He further claims to
have
foretold a road accident that involved a Zanu PF politburo member.
With
the nation now in election gear, Baba Jukwa is unrelenting in churning
out
what appears to be Zanu PF and government dark secrets.
He claims he
heads a grouping of persons from the revolutionary party
totalling 30 000
called Vapanduki (rebels) prepared to make sure Zanu PF
loses the next
elections.
Baba Jukwa is also warning of “shenanigans from Zanu PF to rig
elections.”
“All opposition parties must know that my evil party is
registering every
Zimbabwean with an ID especially those in the ??Diaspora,
they went through
the immigration office and took names of those outside the
country and
registered them countrywide and their so-called cell
chairpersons will vote
on behalf of everyone to give my evil party more
numbers,” Baba Jukwa wrote
in a Facebook post on Sunday.
But Zanu PF
says it is not concerned about Baba Jukwa.
“We are not worried at all
about Baba Jukwa because he wants to cause
confusion and conflict within the
party, but he won’t get it,” Zanu PF
spokesman Rugare Gumbo said.
But
despite feigning composure, sources in Zanu PF say the party has
deployed
well-oiled machinery that is working round-the-clock to sniff out
Baba
Jukwa, fearing his destabilising effect could haunt the party ahead of
elections that Mugabe wants held at the end of July.
PM's
aide steps up fight for Supreme Court referral
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
HELEN KADIRIRE • 2 JULY 2013
11:10PM
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s aide Thabani Mpofu on
Tuesday
accused Attorney General (AG) Johannes Tomana and his prosecutors of
being
corrupt and insisted that their case be referred to the Supreme Court
bench.
Mpofu, is jointly charged with Warship Dumba, Mehluli Moyo and
Felix
Matsinde of being found in possession of dockets that could have been
used
to discredit the judicial system.
Mpofu, who is still testifying
on why their matter should be referred to the
Supreme Court, said they do
not want to be prosecuted by officers of the AG’s
office.
He argued
that if their matter was successfully ?referred to the Supreme
Court, the
court would find merit in hearing their case.
“They should not prosecute
us,” Mpofu said. “We want an independent legal
practitioner to be in charge
of this case. I am confident the Supreme Court
will not find our case
frivolous and vexatious but will find the prosecutor’s
opposition to this
application frivolous and vexatious.”
Prosecutor Micheal Reza however,
argued that their rights were not infringed
as everything happened within
the confines of the law and all procedures
were observed.
“The
accused persons’ rights were not infringed other than their right to
freedom
which is expected when a person is lawfully arrested as is in this
case,”
Reza said.
Their matter will continue on July 11.
Allegations
against Mpofu and his colleagues arose on March 17 when
detectives received
information that they were in possession of dockets they
were privately
compiling to discredit the judicial system.
It is alleged the dockets
contained information that the police and the AG
had failed or refused to
investigate cases of corruption involving prominent
government officials
among them Tomana and police commissioner-general
Augustine
Chihuri.
A team of detectives went to Mpofu’s residence and found some of
the
documents, including a laptop and a pistol.
It is alleged the
suspects indicated that they were legal advisors to the PM
and researching
on corruption and criminal abuse of office and the
appointment of
Chihuri.
Investigations by the police further revealed that the accused
are being
bankrolled by Institute of Democratic Alliance of Zimbabwe, the
court heard.
200
Zanu PF Protesters Besiege Party Headquarters
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Thomas
Chiripasi
03.07.2013
HARARE — Zanu PF supporters Wednesday besieged
their party’s headquarters
demanding an audience with President Robert
Mugabe over the alleged
imposition of House of Assembly candidates in Harare
South constituency as
tensions in the former liberation party grow ahead of
this year’s elections.
More than 200 party supporters thronged the
party’s headquarters complaining
against the alleged imposition of one
Shadreck Mashayamombe as the party’s
candidate in parliamentary elections
that will be held concurrently with the
presidential poll this
year.
The angry supporters waved placards at the entrance of the party’s
headquarters. Some of them read, “President please help us, we don’t want an
imposed candidate”.
They also demanded the return of their former
legislator Hubert Nyanhongo,
who has switched base and will now be standing
for Zanu PF in Nyanga South
constituency in Manicaland province, after
winning primary elections held
last week.
With the nomination court
having sat to register candidates who will contest
in various
constituencies, it seems highly unlikely the wishes of the angry
Zanu PF
supporters will prevail.
Studio 7 was barred by police officers manning
the Zanu PF headquarters from
talking to the demonstrators before the
party’s chairperson for Harare
province, Amos Midzi, reportedly begged the
demonstrators to leave because
Mr. Mugabe was attending a politburo meeting
at the offices.
Sources said the politburo urged the party’s cadres to
work towards
re-uniting the party’s membership following the divisive
primary elections.
The politburo, sources said, also deliberated on
preparations for the launch
of the party’s 2013 election campaign at the
Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfields
set for Friday.
The so-called rebel
issue is also causing problems in the Morgan Tsvangirai
led Movement for
Democratic Change formation. On Wednesday, the prime
minister ordered all
party members who filed nomination papers to stand as
independent candidates
in this year’s election to unconditionally withdraw
them or risk
expulsion.
Mr. Tsvangirai, who says he is confident he will beat
President Mugabe in
the presidential poll, is in Masvingo to deal with the
issue of the
so-called rebels as five House of Assembly constituencies in
the province
have disgruntled members standing as independent
candidates.
Addressing party structures in the province, Mr. Tsvangirai
said those who
do not heed his call are free to join other political
parties.
He admitted the party’s primary elections were not perfect but
said in the
end no-one was a loser as the big goal is to unseat Zanu PF in
the next
elections.
Mr. Tsvangirai is expected to launch his party’s
election campaign in
Marondera on Saturday.
Studio 7 failed to get a
comment from Midzi and Zanu PF national
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, who said
he was attending a politburo meeting.
Meanwhile, President Mugabe has
urged all party candidates for the election
to meet at the party’s
headquarters Thursday ahead of the party’s 2013
campaign launch Friday.
Zanu
primaries chaotic: Mutasa
http://www.thezimbabwean.co/
03.07.13
by Edgar Gweshe
Zanu
(PF) has admitted that its just ended primary elections were marked by
chaotic clashes among supporters, which analysts have said creates room for
electoral sabotage in the coming elections.
In an interview with
The Zimbabwean, Zanu (PF) Secretary for Administration,
Didymus Mutasa,
admitted that his party’s primary elections were chaotic and
had left the
party in a weakened position ahead of polls.
He said the clashes were a
result of a lust for power among party members.
“You have to understand
that the primary elections were a competition for
political power. In any
competition, you cannot expect people to be in total
agreement with each
other,” said Mutasa. “During the primary elections,
party members were
rivals and it is common that you would expect them to
fight for political
office.”
Mutasa said that after the infighting during the primary
elections, the
party’s focus was now on restoring a sense of order and
unity.
“Of course there were clashes but it is not a major crisis and we
are
regrouping with a focus on ensuring victory in the forthcoming
elections,”
said Mutasa. He said his party was rallying its members and
supporters to
have a common cause in the next elections.
The public
media has tried to put a positive spin on the manner in which the
primary
elections were conducted.
Mliswa
clashes with provincial chairman
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
MUGOVE TAFIRENYIKA • 3 JULY 2013
8:23AM
HARARE - Temba Mliswa, the Hurungwe West aspiring Zanu PF MP has
claimed
that Mashonaland West provincial chairman John Mafa unsuccessfully
tried
to block his candidature for the parliamentary seat.
The claims
by the outspoken businessman-cum-politician come hardly a week
after he was
confirmed as the party candidate for the constituency.
Mliswa told the
Daily News that Mafa, who lost to party national commissar
Webster Shamu in
the primary elections in Chegutu East, had called him just
before the
sitting of the Nomination Court informing him that President
Robert Mugabe
was opposed to his candidature.
“There are people in the party including
the provincial chairman Mafa who
were opposed to me and other comrades’
candidature,” Mliswa said.
“After they had failed to stop us in the
primaries, they attempted to stop
us at the Nomination Court by alleging
that the president was opposed to our
candidature and had ordered our
withdrawal.
“The chairman actually phoned to inform me about that and he
indicated that
the message had also been communicated to party secretary for
administration
Didymus Mutasa.”
Mafa however, denied the
allegations.
“It is a lie, I actually signed Mliswa’s papers and if the
president had
instructed that he should not stand, I was not going to sign,”
Mafa said.
“People are just trying to be slanderous and want to have us
fight against
each other using you the Daily News, musashandiswa ne
mhandu”.
Didymus Mutasa, the Zanu PF secretary for administration, said
Mugabe did
not bar Mliswa from representing the party.
“I don’t think
that the president said that, people are lying and being
mischievous,”
Mutasa said.
The former ruling party’s primary elections held last week
were largely
shambolic with allegations of vote rigging which has seen
dozens from
various constituencies countrywide demonstrate at the party
headquarters and
some even threatening to sabotage the party in the poll.
11
journalists enter parly race
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
FUNGI KWARAMBA • 2 JULY 2013
10:54PM
HARARE – Eleven journalists have entered the 2013 poll race,
lining up to
represent Zanu PF and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC in
the
forthcoming polls.
The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ)
welcomed the entry of the scribes
into the race, saying if they win, then
media practitioners would have a
voice in Parliament.
“At its
meetings held on February 1 and 2 and on May 22, 2013, the National
Council
of the Union, the top decision- making body in between congresses
resolved
to endorse the candidatures of all participating journalists
regardless of
party affiliation,” Foster Dongozi, ZUJ secretary- general
said.
“This was on condition they do not use violence and hate speech
during their
campaigns.”
Swapping the newsroom or studio for
political life is not new in Zimbabwe
with the likes of Information minister
Webster Shamu and former legislator
Kindness Paradza, both from Zanu PF, now
seasoned politicians.
However, the list has been swelling in recent years
as the likes of Eric
Knight, Ezra Sibanda and Supa Mandiwanzira were
successfully nominated last
Friday.
Knight, who was based in the
United Kingdom for almost 10 years, is
contesting the forthcoming general
elections on an MDC ticket and will
tackle Zanu PF politburo member Tendai
Savanhu in the volatile Mbare
Constituency.
Another former disc
jockey, Sibanda, is targeting the Vungu Constituency
again on an MDC
ticket.
Journalist Makhosini Hlongwane, Zanu PF MP for Mberengwa East, is
hoping to
extend his term as legislator.
Businessman and broadcaster,
Mandiwanzira is eyeing Nyanga North seat where
he is seeking to dislodge the
MDC which has been growing in popularity in
Manicaland.
Other
journalists also eying parliamentary seats include Geoffrey Nyarota,
who
after losing the race to represent the MDC in Makoni South to Pishai
Muchauraya is now standing as an independent candidate.
Seasoned
journalist Grace Kwinjeh is also on the MDC line-up along with
James
Maridadi, who is eyeing the Mabvuku Constituency.
Former disc jockey
Malaki Nkomo and Ladislus Ndoro will be representing Zanu
PF in the
forthcoming elections in Insiza South and Murewa West
respectively.
“We...hope to work with them (journalists) if they make
it into Parliament
in areas that affect the welfare, safety and protection
of journalists among
other issues,” said Dongozi.
ZANU
PF slams SA’s ‘terrier’ Lindiwe Zulu
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
SW Radio
Africa
3 July 2013
Robert Mugabe’s party has once again used public
forums to slam a senior
member of the South African mediation team, Lindiwe
Zulu, with the ZANU PF
loyal state media publishing angry comments from the
party.
Zulu, who is South African President Jacob Zuma’s international
relations
advisor, has repeatedly been the subject of ZANU PF anger in her
role as
part of Zuma’s mediation team. Together with Zuma’s spokesperson,
Mac
Maharaj and South Africa’s special envoy, Charles Nqakula, the SADC
appointed team has been tasked with helping facilitate a democratic
political transition in Zimbabwe.
Zulu, who often speaks on behalf of
the team, has received praise from other
quarters for speaking plainly about
the failures of ZANU PF to engage
effectively with her team. This includes
ZANU PF’s numerous snubs of
meetings with the team and ongoing refusal to
fully implement the Global
Political Agreement.
Most recently, Zulu
over the weekend said that SADC ‘hoped’ that Zimbabwe’s
election date of
July 31st would be extended by a month. And it is these
comments that have
once again infuriated ZANU PF.
The party’s mouthpiece newspaper the
Herald, on Monday published an
editorial which called on Zuma to “tether his
terrier”, in reference to
Zulu.
“While Ms Zulu assuaged her oversized
ego over the years by arrogating
herself the role of facilitator, SADC
spokesperson and Godmother of our
political processes to the extent of not
only challenging SADC
pronouncements but even the Constitutional Court
ruling that harmonised
elections be held by July 31 this year, she forgot
that she had no locus
standi before the SADC,” the Herald
said.
Robert Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba then said in another
article
that: “There is a SADC resolution that states that government has to
lodge
an application to the Constitutional Court so that the court can
decide on
an election date.”
“Now we have some lady called Lindiwe
Zulu who is not the SADC appointed
facilitator of Zimbabwe but a mere back
staffer who is making an executive
pronouncement in place of President Zuma,
who is the facilitator, against
the resolution by SADC,” he
said.
“What is worse,” Charamba said “is she is addressing herself on the
affairs
of a sovereign country and trying to dictate the outcome of the
Constitutional Court.”
McDonald Lewanika, the Director of the Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition, said
this angry reaction from ZANU PF is “fairly
predictable even though it is
unwarranted.”
“ZANU PF doesn’t like
straight shooters, people who tell it like it is. And
unfortunately for them
Ambassador Lindiwe Zulu is that kind of person. She
tells it like she sees
it, she abides by the truth and she takes no
prisoners in her approach. And
her approach has exposed ZANU PF in terms of
their non compliance with the
GPA, in terms of their stalling of
negotiations and stuff like that,”
Lewanika told SW Radio Africa.
Lewanika said that the reaction clearly
shows that ZANU PF is ‘uncomfortable’
with the mediation style displayed by
Zuma and his team. Zuma’s predecessor,
Thabo Mbeki, was roundly criticised
by ZANU PF opponents and other critics
for his ‘softly softly’ policy of
‘quiet diplomacy’.
“This is just about ZANU PF wanting a mediation and
facilitation team that
they have in their pockets or who is an ally to them…
The Mbeki situation
was one they were comfortable with. So really it (the
reaction) is about the
loss of an ally for ZANU PF,” Lewanika said.
Obama
fundraiser pushing for ZANU PF re-engagement
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
SW Radio
Africa
3 July 2013
A chief fundraiser for US President Barack Obama is
leading a push for
re-engagement with the ZANU PF regime, to secure his
business interests in
Zimbabwe.
The fundraiser, Elzie Higginbottom
and his wife, reportedly contributed
US$400,000 to President Obama’s
campaign tour between 2008 and 2012. They
also donated generously to both
Obama inaugurations.
Higginbottom has openly admitted seeking to build a
business relationship in
Zimbabwe, despite the targeted restrictive
sanctions the US has in place
against the Robert Mugabe regime. These
measures, implemented in response to
human rights abuses and vote rigging by
ZANU PF, prohibit Higginbottom from
delving into business in sectors he has
shown an interest in, namely
Zimbabwe diamond mining.
According to a
report by South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper
Higginbottom, a real
estate tycoon, has confirmed that his company had “been
seeking business
opportunities in Zimbabwe for several years”. Internal ZANU
PF documents
seen by the South African newspaper suggest that the Zimbabwean
military
hoped that a delegation of Chicago businessmen, led by Higginbottom
in 2011,
would lean on key members of the Obama administration to reverse,
or ease,
the US sanctions. The security forces, according to the documents,
were also
keen to enter into negotiations with Higginbottom to form a
joint-venture
diamond mining company in 2011.
Higginbottom has distanced himself from
any connection with the
controversial diamond sector, saying: “We are no
longer pursuing any diamond
interests,” because “the Zimbabwe state diamond
entities engaged in the
diamond trade are sanctioned and thus we have
eliminated this area from our
potential ventures.” He has also insisted that
his interests in Zimbabwe
have “solely been related to business. We have no
political agenda.”
A source quoted by the Mail & Guardian said
Higginbottom still retained the
services of a geologist in Zimbabwe, who
Higginbottom said was “looking into
other possibilities.” However, according
to another source connected with
military leaders in Zimbabwe, Higginbottom
was “interested in exploring the
recently discovered diamonds in the Bikita
area, near Devure in Masvingo
Province. They made it clear that they were
not interested in politics, but
that they were remaining behind while the
Chinese and Russians were moving
forward.”
US based political analyst
Dr. Maxwell Shumba called Higginbottom’s actions
“self centered” and
“unethical”, arguing that any interested Western
investor should be pushing
for free and fair elections to take place in
Zimbabwe first.
“Those
who are interested in Zimbabwe can come then, because the holding of
free
and fair elections will help create a conducive environment for
business….when Zimbabwe holds free and fair elections all tools of
repression will be removed and anyone who cares to do business in Zimbabwe
will be welcome,” Shumba told SW Radio Africa.
He added: “I don’t
think it is okay or morally right for a person to do
business with a clique
of corrupt officials for their own benefit.”
Ironically, the report on
Higginbottom’s interests in Zimbabwe comes as ZANU
PF has expressed anger
over comments made by President Obama, who has called
for reforms to take
place in Zimbabwe to guarantee a free and fair election.
Obama was speaking
inn South Africa over the weekend, during his recent tour
of African
nations. His comments about Zimbabwe saw him being blasted in the
ZANU PF
mouthpiece Herald newspaper, which quoted party loyalists who
berated the US
leader for ‘meddling’.
Villagers
in court for invading State farm
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
02/07/2013 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
A GROUP of nine villagers have appeared in court charged
with illegally
invading a State-owned farm in Umzingwane District and
wreaking havoc on the
property as they allocated themselves farming plots
and housing stands.
The nine villagers, from Mbalabala farming area
appeared before Esigodini
magistrate Lungile Ncube on Tuesday after they
tried to take over Mziki farm
without following laid down
procedures.
They however pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody
to Wednesday.
Prosecutor Eric Murinye said the villagers invaded the farm at
the start of
last month and proceeded to allocate themselves plots, in the
process
cutting down trees and burning vegetation as they prepared to build
their
homes.
The court heard that the farm had in fact been allocated
to the 35-member
Phambililokuthula Cooperative under the government’s land
reform programme.
The case was reported to the police at the end of last
month leading the
arrest of the nine villagers.
China
still Zim’s biggest foreign investor
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
02/07/2013 00:00:00
by Business
Reporter
CHINA remained Zimbabwe's largest investor in
the first five months this
year, accounting for 74 percent of the US$134
million of the foreign direct
investments pouring into the country, it was
revealed on Tuesday.
Chinese businesses invested US$81.2 million in the
manufacturing sector, and
another US$16 million in mining between January
and May 2013, according to
the government’s investment promotion agency,
Zimbabwe Investment Authority
(ZIA).
The other top investors to
Zimbabwe were Mauritius, investing 11 million
U.S. dollars in mining and
service sectors, and South Africa, injecting 7
million U.S. dollars in
mining.
Zimbabwe is recovering from the abyss of a decade-old economic
meltdown
characterized by the hyper-inflation in 2008.
After the
authorities abolished the worthless Zimbabwe dollar and adopted a
range of
currencies including the U.S. dollar, foreign investments slowly
began to
trick in.
Last year, the Zimbabwe Investment Authority approved US$929
million of FDI,
among which 72 percent were from China.
Finance Minister
Tendai Biti said last month that uncertainty around the
general elections
had been holding back the country's economic growth so far
this year.
MDC Mudzi west candidate receives live bullets
The MDC Bulletin
:: Issue
20
:: Tuesday, 02 July 2013
MDC Mudzi West candidate receives live
bullets
Ushe Menard Paradzayi the MDC parliamentary candidate for Mudzi West
in
Mashonaland East on Monday morning found 10 live bullets strewn on his
doorstep.
Paradzayi who is the MDC district chairperson for Mudzi West
said he woke up
on the morning of Monday to find five bullets of the FN type
and five
bullets of AK47 rifles.
He immediately called the police and
told them about the incident since he
felt threatened. The matter was
investigated by a one Jana from Mhangura
Police Station who said he would
investigate the matter.
He said despite the threats, he is determined to
fight for his party.
“I will not back off, I will remain resilient, focused
and courageous until
l achieve my goal of being the MP of Mashonaland East”,
said Paradzayi.
________________________________________
ENVRONMENTAL
SCAN
Voter Registration
MDC Women’s Assembly sign petition against
voter reg delays
The MDC Women’s Assembly chairperson, Theresa Makone today
signed a petition
that will be presented to the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) by several
women organisations over the delays by the
Registrar of Voters’, Tobaiwa
Mudede in ensuring that they register as
voters in the next elections.
Thousands of women who have been
disenfranchised by the slow process in
registering to vote in the coming
elections will on Wednesday hold a march
in central Harare before presenting
their petition to the ZEC chairperson,
Justice Rita Makarau.
In their
petition, the joint women’s organisations petition, the women say
they want
to register and demand that the voter registration exercise must
be
conducted in a gender responsive manner that,
a. Creates separate queues for
women and men,
b. Give first preference to pregnant women, breastfeeding
mothers women with
children and the elderly women,
c. Give special
attention to women with disabilities,
d. Set aside specific days for
women only to register to vote.
e. That ZEC must facilitate decentralised
and more registration points in
order to minimise distances travelled by
women.
Mugabe
and the Junta will not succeed this time if Zimbabweans keep their eye on
the ball
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Wilbert Mukori
Wednesday 03 July 2013
In 1975 the
white regime in Rhodesia passed a law stating that anyone who
committed any,
otherwise unlawful act, “in the hope of suppressing
terrorism” would not be
prosecuted in a court of law. This was a carte
blanche license to kill
blacks who supported in anyway the fight to end
white colonial exploitation
and oppression.
Many black students tried to hold peaceful demonstrations
to protest the
passing of this law and they were refused permission to do
so. They were
beaten and tear gassed if they failed to disperse quickly
enough.
White students held demonstrations in support of the law and they
were
granted police escorts, met the government officials of their choosing,
plus
received newspaper, radio and TV coverage.
Fast forward to
April, May and June 2008. The whole country was on fire. The
Mugabe and Zanu
PF government deployed hundreds of security personal to
assist the Zanu PF
militia and war vets to harass, beat, rape and even kill
ordinary
Zimbabweans, to force them to vote for Mugabe in the presidential
run-off
election in June. Mugabe had been beaten in the March vote.
On Sunday 1st
July 2013 the Zimbabwe Independent reported that Joint
Operations Command
(JOC) had deployed teams of security personal drawn from
the police, army,
CIO and Prison Services; to every corner of Zimbabwe. Yes,
this has every
sign of a rerun of the 2008 elections.
Major-General Douglas
Nyikayaramba, a staunch Mugabe loyalist who has
repeatedly and publicly said
he will not accept a Tsvangirai victory, is
heading this JOC team in
Manicaland.
There is every reason for the nation to be fearful of this
JOC deployment
just as there is nothing legal about this Junta JOC
itself.
JOC is composed of Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri,
Zimbabwe National
Army Commander Constantine Chiwenga, the Heads of the
other security organs,
CIO and Prison Services, and other key state organs,
Minister of Defense
Emerson Mnangagwa and a select few other Zanu PF leaders
headed by Mugabe
himself. For the last 10 to 15 years it is this Junta that
has ruled
Zimbabwe, making all the key political and economic
decisions.
Parliament has been largely reduced into a rubber stamping
body; necessary
to give the outside appearance that Zimbabwe still has
parliamentary system
of government.
After the March 2008 vote in
which Mugabe is widely believed to have been
beaten by Tsvangirai, by a wide
enough margin to make the run-off
unnecessary, it was the Junta that delayed
the announcement of the results
for five weeks while it planned what to do.
It was then that it hatched the
plan to:
a) cook the result denying
Tsvangirai the 50% plus 1 and thus made the
run-off necessary and
b)
Deploy the security personal teams to every corner with instructions
to
harass, beat, etc. in what became known as “operation mavhotera papi”
(who
did you vote for).
The Junta had been involved in all manner of underhand
operations before,
but operation mavhotera papi took the members and their
henchmen to a
totally new level of political intrigue and criminality. Up to
then Zanu PF
had shed a lot of blood to establish and sustain the
dictatorship but it was
all done covertly. In operation mavhotera papi the
harassment, beating,
raping and murders were all done openly with the view
of forcing the people
against their will to vote for Mugabe.
In
December 2009 at the Zanu PF party Congress Mugabe tried to rationalize
and
justify Operation Mavhotera Papi by saying the country’s security sector
emerged from Zanu PF, the party of the revolution, and therefore those
serving in the police, army, etc. must support Zanu PF.
All nonsense
of course, because, the struggle for independence was about
freedom, liberty
human rights and a fair share in the nation’s wealth for
all Zimbabweans.
Mugabe and Zanu PF have betrayed the word and spirit of the
struggle to
secure for themselves absolute power for selfish gains.
The security
sectors, like all other state organs, should have been left
alone to perform
their duties and functions without fear, favour and in a
non-partisan way,
as is normal in any democracy. The calls for security
sector reforms of the
last five years were meant to cut this unnatural
umbilical cord that has
resulted in the police, army, etc. abandoning their
core duties to the
nation and being co-opted to become Zanu PF thugs.
Mugabe does not want
the reforms because without the police and army forcing
the people to vote
for him, he will not win any election as the March 2008
vote
showed.
“Every one of the commanders from the police, air force, army,
then combined
forces, prison service, they all are commanders deriving from
the struggle.
All of them, they fought the struggle. Tsvangirai ran away
from the
struggle. He actually ran away!” Mugabe made another go at
justifying why
there could be no security sector reforms.
“And they
(security services chiefs) are the protectors of the nation, you
cannot
tamper with an army.” Mugabe argued. The nation should not tamper
with them
because they are in “armed struggle mode”!
The country gained its
independence 33 years ago. What “armed struggle mode”
is Mugabe talking
about after all these years?
The only reason why these security chiefs
are still in “armed struggle mode”
is the same reason why all the Zanu PF
loyalists in all the other state
institutions, and the politicians,
including many in the MDC, are being
generous rewarded and given their share
of the spoils of absolute power. It
is no secret that most, if not all,
security chiefs have big farms plus
other very lucrative business interests.
The late General Mujuru’s amassed a
wealth is rumored to be billions of
dollars!
Well “armed struggle mode” or not – whatever that is supposed to
mean – the
reality is that all these political machinations, first resisting
democratic
reforms and now deploying security hit squads, are about keeping
Mugabe and
the Junta in power and thus keep the loot flowing, whilst keeping
the regime’s
murderous past under wraps.
The fact that Tsvangirai did
not fight in the struggle is immaterial. The
hit squad would have been
deployed and would have carried out their dirty
work with just as much zeal
against a former freedom fighter as long as
he/she threatened Mugabe and the
Junta’s strangle hold on power.
What the Junta has been ignoring, but
cannot do so any more, is that the
status quo is both politically and
economically unsustainable.
Three decades of gross mismanagement,
corruption and looting have created a
tiny minority who are filthy rich but
at the expense of millions who have
been forced into a life of abject
poverty and despair. How can any nation
justify the complete collapse of the
country’s education and health
services, the lack of water and electricity,
whilst Mugabe is amassing $5
billion from the sale of the Marange diamonds?
Or worse still, whilst an
even bigger fortune is being ferreted out of the
country by the Lebanese and
Chinese, Mugabe’s business partners in
Marange.
They are flying out plane loads of diamonds worth probably 10 to
100 times
more than whatever they are giving Mugabe. A recent parliamentary
report by
the late Chindori-Chininga showed that government is not aware
what is
really going on in Marange. This criminal waste of the nation’s
resources,
whilst the people are wallow in misery, must stopped.
On
the political front the Junta cannot continue to deny millions of
Zimbabweans their basic rights, or more specifically the right to a free and
fair election (the very things the nation fought for and many died for in
the struggle for independence) under the pretext that it is the West, not
the people, who are demanding these things.
But more significantly
the Junta must realize it will not get away with the
wanton violence of
2008. If there is violence the international community
will once again
refuse to accept Mugabe as “legitimately” elected, as
happened in 2008. This
time SADC will certainly not bail him out with
another GPA/
GNU.
Hardliners like Douglas Nyikayaramba will not see the futility of
using
violence again. The time of running with the hare and hunting with the
dogs
is over. People like Nyikayaramba will be issuing commands to beat,
rape and
even kill. The rank and file police and soldiers must however
refuse to
carryout questionable orders. Let these hardliners do their own
dirty work.
I have nothing but contempt for racists like Ian Smith, but
hold tyrants
like Mugabe in even greater contempt. Ian Smith never treated
his fellow
whites the way Mugabe has been treating his fellow blacks. It is
disgusting
that anyone should ill-treat a fellow human being but it takes a
moral
degenerate to beat, rape and murder his own kith and kin.
Ian
Smith is akin to the whites who bought and owned slaves two centuries
ago.
Robert Mugabe is akin to the blacks who hunted down and sold their
black
kinsmen and kinwomen to the white men for a piece of calico cloth and
a
handful of beads!
Self-government has proven to be so problematic in
Zimbabwe these last 33
years because of leaders like Mugabe who have no
qualms about selling their
own fellow blacks’ hopes, dreams and very lives
for whatever they can get.
After 33 years of denying the people their
very humanity and hope, instead
of apologizing to the nation the Junta has
the temerity to rub salt and
pepper into the open wound it inflicted by
threating that they are still in
“armed struggle mode” and should therefore
not be “tampered” with. Such
contemptuous arrogance and disregard for the
suffering and deaths of others
must be repaid with the same currency –
contempt.
This election is not about Mugabe vs Tsvangirai or Zanu PF vs
MDC. This
election is about Mugabe and the Junta vs the good people of
Zimbabwe.
No doubt Mugabe and the Junta will once again try to steal
these elections.
But they will not succeed this time if Zimbabweans keep
their eye on the
ball and reject those who have sold them these last 33
years for pieces of
calico cloth and handfuls of beads!
Good night!
July 3, 2013
Five years ago communities lost lives due to Politically Motivated
Violence. This week the Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT) pays homage to the lives of
the following heroes and heroines who died in 2008 as a result of politically
motivated violence.
Over the years Mugabe’s regime has deployed serving and
retired soldiers into non-military structures, to ensure Mugabe remains in
power.
These individuals lost their lives between 23 and 29 June 2008 with causes of
death varying from assault, abductions to outright murder.
The violence resulted in most families losing not only their bread winners
but also lost their sources of livelihoods since 90% of the victims were men who
were responsible for fending their families.
HZT therefore intervened by carrying out memorial services for the deceased
as a way of affording the families a chance to mourn the deceased and
ultimately, find closure. The organization also capacitated the communities
through various income generating projects meant to restore their
livelihoods.
All the cases listed below were recorded during a HZT fact finding
mission.
Area, Name of Deceased, Date of
Birth
Manicaland-Buhera
Silas Manyere 28/06/2008
Mashonaland Central-Chiweshe
Hama Madamombe 24/06/ 2008
Joel Lewis Musiiwa
28/06/2008
ManjeraWedzerayi 28/06/2008
Mashonaland Central
Guruve Tendayi Mukwenya 23/06/2008
Masvingo-Gutu
Urayayi Mandingo 25/06/2008
Manicaland -Headlands
Mafi Tafundikere Gumare 25/06/2008
Aquiline Sanzenga Gumare
25/06/2008
Robert Ziyenga Musima 25/06/2008
Jessica Musima
25/06/2008
Manomano Ndawi 27/06/2008
Taurai Kamuchira 27/06/2008
Mashonaland East
Mutoko Tom Peter Butawo 28/06/2008
Mashonaland East-Uzumba- Maramba Pfungwe
Paradzayi Katandika 27/06/2008
Elections and Violence
On 24 and 25 June 2000, the first Parliamentary election since independence,
in which ZANU-PF faced real opposition were held. The newly formed Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) challenged ZANU-PF’s control of Parliament.
According to international observers, extensive electoral fraud and
intimidation of voters occurred during this election. The election marked the
rebirth of a culture of violence and impunity in Zimbabwe. -Financial
Gazette.
On 24 June 2008, Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai formally submitted a
letter of withdrawal from elections to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC).
This came after he made an announcement on 22 June of withdrawing from the 27
June election run-off, stating that “….Conditions as of today do not permit the
holding of a credible poll. We can’t ask the people to cast their vote on June
27 when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this
violent sham of an election…..”
The MDC President cited political violence against his supporters by
suspected ZANU PF supporters as the reason for the withdrawal-.
Financial Gazette.
On 25 June 2008, The Head of the 2008 SADC Election Observer Mission, Mr.
Jose Marcos Barrica issued a statement expressing the mission’s deep concern on
widespread politically motivated violence in the country. He appealed to the
relevant authorities, particularly supporters of political parties and
candidates to refrain from all forms of political violence. The Mission also
urged the law enforcement agencies to ensure that there was law and order in the
country.Financial Gazette.
On 26 June 2008, ZCTU district chairperson for Chivhu, Tinashe Murau, was
beaten up by suspected ZANU PF militia just before the 27 June Presidential
Runoff. He sustained several injuries including a broken arm. He was beaten
after the youth militias questioned him on why he wore ZCTU t-shirts.in the
area-www.sokwanele.com.
On 28 June 2008, 46 members of the General Agriculture Plantation Workers’
Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), an affiliate of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Union, (ZCTU) sought shelter in Harare after they were harassed and beaten up by
suspected youth militias. The members included men, women and children.
-www.sokwanele.com.
On 29 June 2008, President Robert Mugabe was declared the winner of the
second round of elections. On the same day, he was sworn in for another term as
President.-The Herald.
On 26 June 2013, Zimbabweans were expecting a Supreme Court verdict on
election dates. This came after SADC recommended that the date be extended for
two weeks from the 31st of July. This was based on the fact that there is
insufficient time for meaningful reforms that guarantee a peaceful environment
conducive for free and fair polls. The verdict was however postponed to 4 July
2013.-DailyNews.
Hate Speech
On 25 June 2008, Political activists used hate speech to intimidate voters in
the run-up to the 27 June election run -off. Addressing mourners at the funeral
of Retired Lieutenant General Amoth Chimombe in Zaka East, Major General
Engelbert Rugeje said
“… this country came through the bullet not the pencil therefore it will not
go by your X of the pencil. Today, I came here by helicopter with the late
Chimombe’s body. The next time I will come to Jerera, the helicopter will be
full of bullets. You know what you did…”
Here he was referring to the March 2008 election results where MDC won three
out of four Parliamentary constituencies in the Zaka District.
During the same event, former Finance Minister, Samuel Mumbengegwi also said
that“…this is up to you, if you want peace, you should vote for us, if you vote
for MDC, we will go to war…”-Financial Gazette- 19-25 June
2008.
On 22 June 2013, Mary Mubaiwa–Chiwenga, the wife of the Zimbabwe Defence
Forces Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga was on a countrywide tour of army
barracks where she addressed army officials.
In her speech she said“…let us not take our freedom for granted, let us not
sell our country for the love of working for whites, and let us not sell our
country for the love of people who do not love us. How does one person and lots
of advisers facilitate for the demise of their country? How does a person
facilitate for our dear Zimbabwe to be left on its knees?Let us unite and fight
the enemy within. I urge all of you to register and vote correctly and by
correctly I mean RG Mugabe…” This clearly shows how partisan and unprofessional
the Zimbabwean army is.- Newsday 22 June 2013.
Transitional Justice For the UN system, Transitional Justice ( TJ) is the
full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempt to
come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure
accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation.
It consists of both judicial and non-judicial processes and mechanisms,
including prosecution initiatives, facilitating initiatives in respect of the
right to truth, delivering reparations, institutional reform and national
consultations.
Whatever combination is chosen must be in conformity with international legal
standards and obligations. TJ mechanisms have been carried out in other
countries and in most cases managed to record some significant progress in terms
of spearheading the national healing process.
HZT takes a glimpse of what transpired in Rwanda and Iran after periods of
conflict. From these examples, one can note that national healing is possible in
Zimbabwe and it only takes a genuine commitment on the part of Zimbabweans to
spearhead the process.
In June 2008, Rwandan Priest killers pleaded guilty to charges of murder
committed during the 1994 genocide. Kigali Archbishop, Vincent Nsengiyumva, was
among the 13 clerics murdered in the incident at a church in central Rwanda on 5
June 1994. Many of the priests killed were Hutus.
The soldiers who killed them were at the time members of the Tutsi-dominated
Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), now the ruling party of President Paul Kagame.
Following the massacres, in Rwanda an International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) was established in 1994 by United Nations Security Council Resolution
955.
It was established to prosecute those responsible for genocide and other
serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory
of Rwanda between January and December 1994.
From the Rwandan experience, it can be deduced that justice should first take
its course before any call for national healing and reconciliation in any given
society.When individuals are held liable for atrocities committed, healing and
reconciliation can be attained.
In June 2012, a Truth Commission was set up to hold the Islamic Republic of
Iran to account for the massacre of thousands of political prisoners throughout
the 1980s.
The commission was established against a milieu of escalating human rights
abuses in the country as reported by the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Dr
Ahmed Shaheed.
It heard the testimonies of people who escaped the prisons and those whose
family and friends were executed in the 1980s prison massacres. Their
testimonies were heard by an international panel of experts.
The exact number of prisoners executed remains unclear, however, Amnesty
International recorded the names of more than 4,480 political prisoners
reportedly killed during that time. Iranian opposition groups suggest that the
number of prisoners executed was far higher and as many as 30,000 may have been
killed.
The Truth Commission was followed by a further tribunal hearing at The Hague
in October 2012. As the country heads towards another round of national
elections, there is need to remind the Government of thousands of human right
cases awaiting for justice……
It is possible for Zimbabwe to W.A.V.E- Win Against Violent Elections.