The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Dear All,

please be advised that Charles Anderson will be laid to rest on Thursday 6th
June 2002 at 11:30 am at St Georges Chapel in Borrowdale Harare.


 Jenni Williams

A member of the International Association of Business Communicators.
Visit the IABC website www.iabc.co.za
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Daily News

      Thousands starve as war vets bar food aid

      6/5/02 8:44:26 AM (GMT +2)


      From Chris Gande in Bulawayo

      THOUSANDS of Binga villagers are in dire need of food after war
veterans allegedly disrupted a Roman Catholic Church feeding programme for
schoolchildren and expectant mothers.

      Ignatius Chombo, the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and
National Housing, last month ordered the Catholic Commission for Justice and
Peace (CCJP) to disband the programme because it set up structures similar
to the government's.

      After Chombo's attack on the CCJP, war veterans camped outside their
warehouse in Binga. They have warned they will destroy trucks ferrying food
for distribution under the scheme.

      In the run-up to the March presidential election, the government
banned non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from distributing food aid,
except through State channels. It alleged that the NGOs were using food to
campaign for the MDC, but the opposition party has accused Zanu PF of
punishing those who did not vote for it by supplying food only to its known
supporters.

      Binga villagers said yesterday it was unjust and cruel of the
government and war veterans to ban the food distribution over politics.

      Binga has serious food shortages with villagers surviving on hand-outs
from the Catholic Church and Save-The-Children (UK), an NGO, since last
year.

      Joseph Mwiinde, a villager from Siyachilaba, said the Catholics'
feeding scheme had reduced the number of school dropouts.

      "A good number of children have now stopped going to school again
because of hunger," he said. "They spend their time looking for maize."

      He said some villagers were going for days without food, surviving on
roots and herbs.
      Peter Ndlovu, another villager, said a hungry man at Manjolo collapsed
last week and was resuscitated with thin porridge.

      Bishop Robert Ndlovu, the Catholic diocese spokesman, said yesterday
they had stopped distributing food to hundreds of expectant mothers at
hospitals and more than 35 000 pupils in 34 primary schools and 17
pre-schools because of the war veterans' threats.

      He said: "We are puzzled by the government's attitude because we have
nothing to do with politics. We were only feeding hungry people and this was
being done transparently with the District Administrator being fully aware
of our statistics."

      Ndlovu said he was not sure whether the war veterans were acting on
Chombo's orders, because they set up camp outside the CCJP offices
immediately after the minister's order to disband the CCJP initiative.

      Chombo said at the time: "What authority are they using to set up
structures parallel to those of the government?"

      Ndlovu said he was not aware of what structures the minister was
referring to because they were only a church organisation.

      Ndlovu denied Chombo's allegations and said their funds were secured
by CAFOD, a United Kingdom church organisation, which had nothing to do with
the British government.

      Chombo's attack on the CCJP came as a surprise as he had gone to Binga
to ostensibly deal with council matters.

      The CCJP has been at loggerheads with the government since its
involvement in the drafting of a report, Breaking The Silence: Building True
Peace, on the Gukurahundi atrocities of the early 1980s.

      The report detailed atrocities committed by the Zimbabwe National Army
's 5 Brigade in Matabeleland and the Midlands, in which more than 20 000
people were massacred.
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Daily News

      Lawyers dismiss charges as fabricated

      6/5/02 8:26:50 AM (GMT +2)


      By Collin Chiwanza

      THE president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, Sternford Moyo, and the
society's secretary, Wilbert Mapombere, were still detained by late last
night. Their lawyers failed to have them released after the State alleged
there was additional police evidence required before they could be freed.



      The lawyers are Joseph Mafusire and Godfrey Mamvura of Scanlen and
Holderness, and Raymond Moyo of Gill, Godlonton and Gerrans, instructing
Advocate Adrian de Bourbon, who argued the matter before High Court Judge
President Paddington Garwe. The State is alleging that Moyo and Mapombere
organised a meeting on 4 March, 2002, at which was discussed the overthrow
of the "constitutional government of Zimbabwe". It is alleged the meeting
was organised to plan mass
      action in support of the MDC.

      "It was agreed that the MDC pulls out of the talks of reconciliation
and create an ungovernable situation. It was suggested that by mid-June
2002, the MDC would cause a peaceful demonstration," the State alleged.
Lawyers for the two last night night dismissed the charge as "trumped up"
because on 4 March, 2002, when the alleged meeting was held, the inter-party
talks between the two parties had not started and the presidential election
had not even been held. Moyo, in his statement to the police, denied
knowledge of the meeting and the letters in question. He denied having links
with the MDC. Meanwhile, the Council of the Law Society of Zimbabwe has
expressed shock and surprise at the arrest of its two officials. In a
statement, the society said it was particularly disturbed by their
incarceration in circumstances which appeared to be unjustified. "We believe
they are innocent of the charges levelled against them. It is our hope that
they will be brought to trial without any undue delay so that they can clear
their names," it said.

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Daily News

      Police impound MDC's poll challenge affidavits

      6/5/02 8:27:56 AM (GMT +2)


      From Our Correspondent in Mutare

      THE Mutare police, in an apparent bid to thwart MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai's legal challenge to President Mugabe's re-election last March,
last week reportedly confiscated MDC members' signed affidavits and
statements to be presented in the court case. The affidavits were obtained
from MDC polling and election agents and supporters, all victims of violence
by suspected Zanu PF supporters.



      The documents were taken away during raids by heavily armed police on
several MDC offices in the city last Friday. There were fears yesterday that
although the police had returned some of the affidavits, they held on to
others, and could be preparing to clamp down on the signatories. This is the
second time within a week that the police have raided MDC officials'
property in Manicaland.
      Last week, they descended on Tsvangirai's rural home in Buhera North
and severely assaulted his workers. The police said they were looking for
arms of war and people suspected to have committed arson in the Marume area.

      An officer at the Police General Headquarters' public relations
department in Harare, identifying himself only as Phiri, yesterday refused
to comment on the events in Mutare. "Before you go any further, I'm sure you
are aware that we are not allowed to give comment to your paper," he said
before hanging up the telephone. Last Friday, the police armed with AK47
rifles raided the MDC's provincial headquarters in Darlington suburb and the
offices of the MP for Mutare Central and the MDC's chief whip, Innocent
Gonese, and the MP for Mutare North, Giles Mutsekwa. At the time they said
they were searching for documents they alleged were designed to oust Mugabe
from power or force a rerun of the election, condemned as "daylight robbery"
by Tsvangirai and flawed by many international observers.

      Arnold Tsunga, a Mutare lawyer representing the MDC, said yesterday
the documents contained the names, addresses, wards, chiefs, villages,
number of dependents and children of the victims.
      "I made six attempts to retrieve the material from the police in
Mutare police station," Tsunga said. "They gave me feeble excuses such as
the papers were locked up and they did not have the keys," he said. "On
Monday, they gave me back 89 documents and said that was all they had taken.
They had ample time to do anything with those papers." Tsunga said the
confiscated documents were not mentioned on the search warrant, raising
suspicions about the motive of the raid.

      Tsunga said: "The immediate impression created is that they used the
search warrant to gain access into the offices and search for other things."
Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC's spokesman in Manicaland, said there were at
least 200 recorded statements and affidavits, most from MDC polling and
election agents arrested on the eve of the election in Mutasa District. In
his High Court challenge to Mugabe's re-election, Tsvangirai cites political
violence, intimidation and torture among other crimes perpetrated against
his supporters. The MDC, in a nationwide exercise, has gathered affidavits
and statements from victims of political violence to be used as court
evidence.
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Daily News

      Suspect in foiled Tsvangirai attack goes AWOL

      6/5/02 8:31:56 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      ARCHIBALD Chiyangwa, who attempted to grab Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC
president, last Thursday night in Harare, has not reported for duty at his
workplace. Markyard Maheya of Combined Accounting Services at Westgate
yesterday said Chiyangwa was a tax consultant with the company. He said
Chiyangwa bought a "bad cake" at a cafe at the complex and went to the
owners to complain and a dispute arose.



      Chiyangwa allegedly made racial remarks which led to his detention by
police at Westgate police post, Maheya claimed. A police officer at
Mabelreign police station refused to comment. Maheya said he was not aware
that Chiyangwa had gone to the MDC offices afterwards until the story was
published in The Daily News.

      "What we know for sure is that Chiyangwa was not in the best of minds
during the past week. Police took him after he turned violent. We do not
know what his motive was. He was supposed to report for work but he did not
come," Maheya said. Tsvangirai was saved from harm on Friday by an alert
security guard who stopped Chiyangwa from grabbing him from behind.

      Yesterday Tsvangirai said he was getting used to harassment and
threats which have become part of his life. Tsvangirai said there were many
crazy people in Zimbabwe who could be bribed cheaply to do anything. "But
what does he think he can achieve by making an attempt on my life? I am not
scared of these people," Tsvangirai said. He was reacting to the alleged
attempt on his life by Chiyangwa.

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Daily News - Leader Page

      Beyond good and evil in Zimbabwe

      6/5/02 8:51:03 AM (GMT +2)



      Friedrich Nietzsche is my favourite philosopher. One of his major
writings is the book Beyond Good And Evil.



      What he was getting at is that a philosopher should be uninvolved and
just view the human condition "as is" without making any value judgements.

      He tried, but most philosophers have only given us their
interpretation of what's what, which is based on their own instilled values
and prejudices.

      What brought me to this was mulling over the situation at home. Should
I even call it home? I was always annoyed by the British immigrants when I
was a teenager who talked about United Kingdom as home and not Kitwe where
we lived. I forgive them now.

      There is no doubt that the situation is tragic, and even worse very,
very stupid. President Mugabe and Zanu PF have an absolute genius for
exploiting all the very worst in mankind. Worst here in that it leads to
great harm to the majority.

      But their success is based on the inescapable fact that given a
choice, the vast majority in any nation will always choose the ignoble and
selfish over the noble and generous.

      I would say that that what makes a great statesman is someone who can
motivate a nation to go against its baser inclinations.

      Consider how well the tactics have worked, and how they always appeal
to the baser nature.

      Greed: This is inherent in all of us. When I was a councillor I
received a call from the District Administrator's Office asking me to draw
up a list of 50 people for "resettlement".

      I asked if I could put my own name on the list and, after a surprised
pause, the woman said: "Yes, I suppose so." I did not draw up a list, but it
's obvious the favours I could have asked for including people on this list.

      There are, I think, 56 rural district councils, each with up to 40
councillors. I guess that I was one of the few councillors who didn't take
advantage of this offer to greed.

      That is 2 240 councillors with the opportunity to solicit bribes and
favours from 112 000 people. A real stroke of genius to my mind.

      In fact, the whole "resettlement" exercise was based on greed and
nothing else. Those who couldn't see the logic and tried to argue rationally
were wasting their time because rationality and logic had nothing to do with
it.

      Both the MDC and the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) fell into the
trap set for them by saying: "We agree in principle to land reform, but not
the method."

      What could they offer to match the opportunity to take what was not
yours, what you knew very well was not yours and especially when the
falsehood was endlessly propagated that this was "to right colonial
injustices in land distribution"?

      Anyone who still believes this lie - like former Commonwealth
secretary-general Sir Sonny Ramphal appears to - is naive in the extreme.

      Could the CFU and MDC have responded to this? The MDC failed and fell
back on logic.

      The CFU just failed. Seldom in history have a group so utterly failed
to understand the strategy of their opponents. I got shot down in flames by
CFU director Jerry Grant for proposing that farmers "just stop" if invaded
and harassed.

      He said I was being confrontational. He did not reply to my question
as to whether having your property invaded wasn't just a little bit
"confrontational"?

      I also tried, and failed, to get publicity for the non-white farmers
who were being invaded.

      It was embarrassing to see the CFU negotiating with Mugabe when he was
the one directing Chenjerai Hunzvi and his thugs to harass them. And they
seemed to believe his act of innocence.

      Now we see him descending on some bemused old farmer and pretending he
didn't orchestrate the whole thing!

      When I read that John Bredenkamp was heavily involved with CFU, a
great deal became a lot clearer.

      Whether loud and strong and very public statements from the CFU (and
maybe MDC?) would have had any effect internally, I do not know. But it
would certainly have had an effect externally.

      Worms and maggots love the dark; the light of publicity causes them
great discomfort. Which is naturally why Jonathan Moyo is so keen on killing
the free Press.

      There are a great number of whites in Zimbabwe who still look down on
blacks as inferior. Beware! You are the stupid ones; Mugabe and his mates
have consistently outsmarted you on every move for 22 years! 100 percent
score for the black people, 0 percent for the whites.

      If you are a black Zimbabwean, try not to be apologetic about it.
Possibly this goes back into history, where the local people were overawed
by the technology and knowledge of the Europeans.

      But this unnecessary inferiority complex is pervasive and I believe it
is the root cause of most of the black racism, examples being Mugabe, Moyo,
Ignatius Chombo and Aeneas Chigwedere. It's no good seeing our situation as
a contest between good and evil (though it is).

      We live in modern Africa, with modern Africa's legacy of the Cold War,
liberation movements, racial discrimination and so on.

      What is needed is a rational realisation that for the greatest good of
the greatest number we require democracy and the rule of law.

      That is nationalism, putting the nation before self - weird Western
concept totally alien to Mugabe and company and, I regret to say, to many
Africans other than outstanding men like Nelson Mandela.

      Of course, another tactic was gradualism; boiling the frog so slowly
it doesn't notice it. I remember warning years ago when Zanu PF started
attacking the judges that they were plotting something diabolical. Same with
corruption.

      Whatever happened to the judicial enquiry into the looting of the War
Victims' Compensation Fund? I did think it was classic that Hunzvi certified
Joyce
      Mujuru nearly 100 percent disability - and that she suffered from loss
of appetite.

      Another huge lever is sex and violence. Deep down, pretty well all
young men love the idea of sex and violence without retribution.

      Enter Border Gezi training camps and the encouragement to these young
men to sexually harass and dominate any women they chose, to keep them in
their camps and use and humiliate them as and when desired.

      Also, to beat up and even murder without retribution. Destroy the rule
of law and the power is yours. Of course, you have to destroy the police as
well.

      That's been well done, and even Wayne Bvudzijena's protestations are
getting totally unbelievable. So once again 100 percent to Mugabe, zero
percent to civilisation.
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Daily News - Leader Page

      Looking a gift horse in the mouth

      6/5/02 8:49:04 AM (GMT +2)



      FOR the estimated six million of the 13 million Zimbabweans on the
verge of starvation, the issue of whether the food before them is
genetically modified or not is a luxury they cannot afford. Their
preoccupation is with surviving the current food crisis.



      The United States of America last week gave Zimbabwe 18 500 tonnes of
maize, in order to ease the current food shortage. However, 10 000 tonnes of
the consignment was rejected because it did not have a certificate declaring
it was not produced through genetic engineering.

      The consignment is the equivalent of two days' requirements for the
whole country at current consumption patterns and would cost the country
$300 million in foreign currency.

      If the origin of the grain was unclear, a simple request to the
Americans indicating concern about the possibility of the consignment being
genetically modified, would certainly have been responded to and the fears
by Zimbabwe either confirmed or allayed.

      It is possible the government is allowing the stand-off between
Washington and Harare over the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act,
which slaps "smart" sanctions on President Mugabe, his two Vice-Presidents,
senior government ministers, officials and the Zanu PF leadership, to get in
the way of international efforts to respond to the country's humanitarian
crisis.

      This is a desperate situation and it is doubtful whether the people
affected would elect to starve instead of consuming alleged genetically
modified food.

      Which is the lesser of the two evils - to die of hunger or as a
consequence of the suspected effects of genetically modified food? There is
need to be less hysterical and avoid politicising food aid.

      The government may have justification, arising from concern about
safeguarding the health of the people, but it is also possible that mass
production of export crops by other countries is no longer entirely free of
genetic engineering.

      But the fact is that there are other countries whose societies are
already consuming genetically modified foodstuffs. Perhaps a more realistic
approach in the face of starvation would have been to establish the effects
on people in those countries so far, before deciding what to do with the 10
000 tonnes "genetically modified" maize.

      What the government needs to appreciate is that while we have more
people facing a critical food shortage out of the six countries in the
region - Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe - the
international community is not so enthusiastic about rushing to assist the
people of this country because of the government's record over the past two
years.

      It seems every day the government finds new reasons to provoke the
very people whose assistance it should be courting, in order to stave off a
looming disaster.

      How many of our government ministers and officials, so fond of
visiting the West, ask whether or not the food they are served is
genetically modified?

      The government has set up a mechanism to consider the question of the
suitability and acceptability of genetically modified crops and their
possible health impact.

      It could have used this mechanism as well as tracing the origins of
the grain to establish the probability of it being genetically modified.

      Of primary concern is that this same mechanism was not able to deal
with this consignment and rule conclusively whether or not the grain was a
product of genetic engineering. Zimbabwe's loss has become Malawi's,
Mozambique's and Zambia's gain.

      But this incident raises a far broader question. South Africa has been
using genetic engineering in the production of some of its crops for more
than half a decade: Has the government in Harare been as scrupulous in
monitoring whether the fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs being
imported from South Africa are not the products of genetic engineering?

      If the government is so paranoid about conspiracies, then it should
apply the same approach to all the food aid coming into the country, because
it must not fool itself into thinking it still has many friends left in the
world.
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Daily News

      RBZ export finance facilities attract overwhelming response

      6/5/02 9:10:22 AM (GMT +2)


      Business Reporter

      The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says the demand for concessional
finance facilities has been overwhelming, increasing from $6 billion in
March last year, to $20,4 billion as at 3 May, this year.



      In its Weekly Economic Highlights for the period ending 3 May, the RBZ
said: "Cumulative utilisation of the export finance facility available at a
concessional interest rate of 15 percent increased from $6 billion in March
2001, to $20,4 billion as of 3 May 2002. To date, $15,1 billion has been
repaid in respect of this facility, leaving an outstanding amount of $5,3
billion." Manufacturing dominated usage of this facility, accounting for
42,8 percent of total funds disbursed.

      Mining and agriculture have utilised 40,2 percent and 17 percent,
respectively. The remainder benefited tourism. The RBZ said disbursements
under the 30 percent interest rate finance facility, for the productive
sectors, also rose from $3,8 billion to $42,4 billion over the same period.
"As of 3 May 2002, $13,6 billion had been repaid, leaving an outstanding
amount of $28,8 billion. The major beneficiaries of this facility has been
agriculture, which accounts for 47,7 percent of the total," the RBZ said.
"Manufacturing and mining have accessed 45,8 percent and 4,7 percent,
respectively, and the balance has gone towards the tourism sector. The rest
of the economy has, of course, benefited through backward and, forward
linkages, with the targeted sectors." The bank said domestic producers
should, therefore, take full advantage of these concessional facilities.

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Daily News

      Amnesty bemoans continuing rights abuses

      6/5/02 8:35:47 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      The programme co-ordinator for Amnesty International in Mombasa,
Andrew Mwangura, has expressed concern at the deteriorating human rights
situation in Zimbabwe. In a statement this week, Mwangura said according to
reports, the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated since the
March presidential election, won controversially by President Mugabe.



      "It hurts very much to note that human rights violations are
continuing on a frightening scale. "Amnesty International is receiving daily
reports of severe assaults, abduction and torture and that at least 11
people are reported to have died since the elections took place. "As a human
rights organisation, Amnesty International is not concerned with the
political outcome of the elections, but with the human rights situation in
Zimbabwe," Mwangura said in the statement. He said reports that had reached
his office indicated that many of the violations were being carried out by
groups of ruling Zanu PF party supporters or youths reportedly led by war
veterans, as reprisals against opposition MDC officials and their
supporters.
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Workers bear brunt of land grab
News24: 4 June 2002
Harare - The baby wrapped in cloth and strapped onto the back of an only
slightly older sibling is not yet two months old.

But in this community of Zimbabwean farm workers, that's old enough to have
been forced from your home twice and be living in your second camp for
people displaced by tumultuous land reforms and political violence.

Two years after President Robert Mugabe began taking white-owned farms for
resettlement by blacks, the former workers on those farms have been
literally lost in the often violent process.

The baby was born in a camp outside one of Harare's industrial
neighbourhoods, where relief agencies are providing care for farm workers
forced from their homes by militants spearheading land reforms.

Her family and neighbours said they went to the camp about seven weeks ago,
after new settlers on the farm, militant youths and soldiers, started
beating the workers and chasing them from their homes.

But after a few weeks, they said police found them at the camp and took them
back to the farm.

Soldiers turning a blind eye

"When we arrived there, we saw a soldier and the soldier told us that we
cannot stay here," said a young mother who was washing clothes on a rock in
the camp.

"We were beaten by war veterans shoulder-to-shoulder with the policemen.
They were there, together, the war veterans come and beat you," said the
former foreman on the farm. "The policemen there... they don't even act."

"Our houses are still there, but the so-called war veterans, and also youths
and other individuals, they are in our houses. And other houses they burned,
they looted everything," he said.

People at the camp asked not to be identified for fear of their safety.

They now live behind a church on the outskirts of Harare, in a camp of 15
army-green tents that house 53 of the people chased from the farm. Among
them are 15 children, two orphaned presumably by the Aids epidemic which
kills 2 000 people a week in Zimbabwe.

About 150 other workers and their families from the farm are still missing.
Two of the missing managed to find the camp last week, after connecting with
one of the relief agencies providing tents, food and other basic supplies.

Death threats

Workers' advocates estimate that tens of thousands of people are faced with
a similar plight, but no one is sure where they are.

By March, local human rights observers reported that some 17 000 opposition
supporters had been internally displaced because of death threats,
harassment and attacks.

A humanitarian report from the United Nations and the regional famine
warning system Fewsnet said last month that between 250 000 and 500 000
people have been displaced in Zimbabwe.

Aside from people forced from their homes, about 70 000 farm workers have
lost their jobs because of the land reforms, according to the General
Agricultural and Plantation Workers' Union.

Taken with their families, that means about 350 000 people have lost their
livelihoods as the nation plunges into a worsening famine.

The UN's World Food Programme says six million Zimbabweans, nearly half the
population, need emergency food aid.

'They're starving'

The land reforms have run hand-in-hand with political violence, mainly
targeting the opposition, which rights groups say have seen thousands of
people tortured or with their homes and property destroyed or stolen.

Reverend Tim Neil, from the Zimbabwe Community Development Trust which cares
for farm workers, said only 10% of displaced workers have received land
under the reforms.

As for the rest, no one can say where they are or how they're surviving
without jobs or their own crops in a nation where the potentially deadly
famine is just beginning to bite.

"There are a lot of farm workers still on the farms but the farm's closed
down. They're starving, they're starving," Neil said.

"They can get some work, working for the new occupiers, but in the majority
of cases they don't get paid money. They get paid in kind, so there's no
money for school fees, things like that." - Sapa-AFP
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Business Day

      Zimbabwean forum to plan a way forward for business

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Harare Correspondent

      THE Environmental Forum of Zimbabwe will hold a "feedback" conference
in the country immediately after the World Summit on Sustainable Development
to be held in SA.

      Executive director of the forum, Jim Harrower, said yesterday the
meeting, titled CemZim 2002 World Business Review, will be held at the
resort area of Nyanga from September 6-8.

      "CemZim will provide participants with a unique and prompt opportunity
to hear of the key elements of the world summit from leading persons in
government, nongovernmental organisations and business," he said.

      "In addition to the broad pictures and the Johannesburg action plan,
particular emphasis will be given to the sectorial and other topics of
relevance to Zimbabwe to be discussed at the Business Day forum at the
summit." SA will host the summit from August 26 to September 4.

      Harrower said the main themes of the world summit Business Day meeting
would be: sustainable use and management of natural resources; making
markets and globalisation work for all; sustainable investment and
development; and accountability and transparency.

      The forum, which is made up of 155 business organisations, is a
regional networking partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development.

      Harrower said they would develop recommendations at the conclusion of
their meeting on how Zimbabwe could position itself in relation to global
economic and business trends.
      Jun 05 2002 12:00:00:000AM Dumisani Muleya Business Day 1st Edition

       Wednesday
      05 June 2002
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Business Day

      Law society staff are still being held

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Hearings have been blighted by confusion
      Harare Correspondent

      ATTORNEYS for Law Society of Zimbabwe president Stenford Moyo and his
organisation's secretary, Wilbert Mapombere, arrested on Monday for alleged
subversion, were battling to secure the release of their clients.

      The legal representatives for the two top lawyers said they had made
an urgent application to the high court to have Moyo and Mapombere released
from "unlawful detention". The two were arrested on charges of allegedly
writing subversive letters to opposition leaders and British diplomats.

      One of the legal representatives, Joseph Mafusire, said the hearing on
the matter was in progress although it was on and off due to continuous
disruptions by endless demands for the clarification of several issues.

      "So far we have appeared before Judge President Paddington Garwe twice
and we are expecting to be back for the third time," he said.

      "There are several issues which are being clarified. The two policemen
who are here said they need to consult their superiors on the issue of
Moyo's and Mapombere's release and their appearance in court."

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said Moyo and Mapombere, who were
arrested and released on Monday before being arrested again early yesterday
morning, were supposed to have appeared in court.

      "They were supposed to have appeared in court (yesterday) afternoon
but I'm not sure whether they did," he said. "I will find out."

      Mafusire, who is being assisted by advocate Adrian de Bourbon, said
their urgent application to the court sought several things.

      "We want the court to declare their arrest and detention unlawful, we
want them to be produced before the court, we want them to be given access
to legal representation and we also want the search warrant against them
declared invalid," he said.

      Police are alleging that Moyo and Mapombere wrote letters to
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary-general Welshaman
Ncube and British diplomats inciting a rebellion against President Robert
Mugabe's "constitutional government."

      The letters are also said to have urged MDC leaders to withdraw from
reconciliation talks with the ruling Zanu (PF).

      However, Ncube dismissed the allegations last night as a "total
fabrication". "Firstly, we never received the letter that was purportedly
written to us," he said.

      "Going by what was reported in the state-controlled Herald, it is
difficult to imagine that a lawyer of Moyo's standing could be the author of
such a badly written letter. I think it was totally fake and was intended to
secure his arrest and detention."

      Bvudzijena said the accused were likely to be charged under the
repressive Public Order and Security Act.

      Ncube said the whole issue bordered on political harassment. "One is
left with no doubt that this is a political issue calculated to intimidate
the Law Society."

      The Law Society has of late been critical of partisan judges who are
always anxious to curry government's favour in their rulings. The harassment
of lawyers is widely seen as the broadening of Mugabe's crackdown on
dissent.

      Journalists have been under siege in the past two months.


      Jun 05 2002 12:00:00:000AM Dumisani Muleya Business Day 1st Edition

       Wednesday
      05 June 2002
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Business Leaders Urge Government, Commercial Farmers' Union to Work Together

The Daily News (Harare)
June 5, 2002
Posted to the web June 5, 2002
Ngoni Chanakira

The Business Leaders' Forum (BLF) says the government and the Commercial
Farmers' Union (CFU) should stop their bickering and, instead, concentrate
on nation building and economic recovery. The country's economy last year
deteriorated and is estimated to have declined by 7,3 percent compared to
4,2 percent in 2000.
The agriculture sector, once the pride of Zimbabwe, declined by 12,2 percent
during this time. The BLF comprises the country's major organisations such
as the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, the Chamber of Mines of
Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, the Hospitality
Association of Zimbabwe, and the CFU. The CFU and the Minister of Lands,
Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Dr Joseph Made, have hit headline news
during the past few weeks over the controversial fast-track land land reform
programme.
Made is accusing commercial farmers from the CFU of trying to politicise
members instead of engaging in agricultural production, which is at it
lowest ebb. The CFU has, however, already denied the charge. Made has
threatened to de-register the CFU, saying it is no longer serving the
interests of its members. The minister, already facing allegations of
underplaying the food crisis, last month said the government was mulling a
Statutory Instrument to stop white commercial farmers from removing
equipment such as tractors, irrigation equipment, and any immovables from
designated farms. Made said the new commercial and smallholder farmers
should be allowed to utilise the equipment, the commercial farmers'
property, without hindrance.
He said the farmers would be compensated for their equipment. However, last
month, in a new turn of events, the minister said the government had run out
of money to pay compensation for the equipment. Kenzias Chibota, the BLF
chairman, said he was "extremely concerned" about recent reports in the
media regarding the threat to ban the CFU on allegations of "behaviour
contrary to the current agrarian programme". Chibota said: "We urge the CFU
to encourage its board to work closely with policy makers and other
stakeholders towards the common good of the agrarian reform. "Time and again
the business sector in the BLF, including the CFU, has fully endorsed the
need for agrarian reform and recognises the critical role agriculture plays
in our economy.
"The business community has stressed and continues to advocate for strict
adherence to national laws in the implementation of the reforms and in a
manner that does not compromise long-term productivity," Chibota said.
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Dear fellow communicators,

Just wanted to drop you a line to tell you all about some news I heard
today......  The Government of Zimbabwe is mulling the passing of another
bill in 10 days time. This time it is designed to target the COMMUNICATORS
in advertising and PR fields.

Here's another quote for you.. true in 1829 when it was written and true in
2002 in Zimbabwe!!!

Written by Frances Wright - one clever lady!  "Persecution for opinion is
the master vice of Society."

I continue to communicate as long as there is someone out there to listen!

Best to you all

Jenni
Member-at-large - International Association of Business Communicators

p.s I will let you have more info as it comes to hand.

Client information - For privileged use by the addressee only..............

 Jenni Williams A member of the International Association of Business
Communicators. Visit
the IABC website www.iabc.co.za
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