I wonder what Mugabe would say if my Uncle Guy was still
alive
Angela Neustatter
Watching each new, hate-filled
excess of Robert Mugabe's directed against the whites who he now condemns as
the source of Zimbabwe's problems, I wonder how he would have dealt with my
Uncle Guy if he had still been living there today. For just six years ago,
when Guy Clutton Brock died, Mugabe came to his memorial service in Britain
to collect his ashes and take them to be scattered in Zimbabwe at Hero's Acre
- the first time a white man had been buried there.
My uncle was
an improbable hero for the black liberation government in a country which,
during his time there - he arrived in 1949 and was removed by the white
regime in 1971 - knew only oppression by Southern Rhodesia's white leaders.
He was a quintessential blue-blooded Englishman with his blond, rangy good
looks, a double-barrelled name and a Magdalene College education. He had no
idea what to expect when he decided to take his agricultural skills to
Africa. He simply felt it was "the right place to be".
He and his
wife Molly went to St Faith's Mission in Rusape, although he had no religious
intentions for his work. But he was shocked by the poverty and sickness he
found among the community of 700 blacks attempting to farm smallholdings
eroded by years of over-use. It was clear to him that they needed help to
achieve rights and equality with the whites. He started by refusing to be the
boss man. Instead, in what sounds a quaint and quixotic gesture these days,
he formed the African-European cooperative, with an African manager, herdsman
and tractor driver, while the bursar and stockmen were Europeans. The crops
flourished as farming methods improved, word spread that "CB" could be
trusted, and it was here that Guy helped write the constitution for the
Southern Rhodesia African National Congress - he was asked to be president,
but refused. Mugabe became a close friend; Guy and Molly said they felt he
would be "good for the country".
Needless to say, Guy, who had been
granted citizenship in 1951, was not so popular with the white regime - he
was living, eating and working alongside blacks, demonstrating they could
live together equally. In 1959 he was detained without trial, but promised
freedom if he would relinquish his citizenship and go. He refused: "African
nationalism had not been achieved," he explained simply, and he and Molly -
who had set up the Mukuwapasi Clinic, where she worked as a physiotherapist
with children - took themselves across the border to Botswana for a while,
then returned and bought a large piece of land with like-minded whites - it
would not have been possible for blacks to purchase it.
The Cold
Comfort Farm cooperative outside Salisbury drew unemployed young men and
women, including people like Didimus Mutasa and Moven Mahachi, who went on to
become political leaders after independence. Agricultural skills were learned
and political ideas discussed endlessly. The white police regularly searched
the farm for "terrorist weapons", but it was Ian Smith who, in 1971, passed
the Citizenship Act and kicked Guy out. There are pictures of a large crowd
of Africans weeping at the airport as he went, shouting: "I am glad to share
in the fellowship of the dispossessed... I regard the present regime as only
temporary."
Guy died happy, having seen independence achieved, and it
seemed that when Mugabe came to power the memory of that group of committed
and determined whites held a meaning. It seemed the new president had a real
will to make reconciliation work, and for more than 15 years blacks and
whites appeared to live pretty much peaceably alongside each other. And
although the much-needed land reform which would give Africans some of the
quality land mostly still owned and farmed by whites clearly needed to be
done, the hope had been that Mugabe would bring it about in a measured
way.
That all appears a sad, sick dream now. But there is another
question worth asking: should blacks, once they gain independence, be obliged
to go on paying obeisance to even the most supportive of whites? It is not a
question for me to answer, but a young African who became a friend of my
son's while he was teaching in Zimbabwe a few years ago and remains in touch,
believes his generation gains from hanging on to those memories and
understanding that there are whites who believe in justice for Africans. He
has as good a reason as any to hate whites - his father was killed by a
Rhodesian policeman - but he says he has been happy growing up in a country
where it has been possible to be friends with whites and see reconciliation,
for all its imperfections, working.
Clearly Mugabe does not listen
to this new generation, and I suspect if Guy were in Zimbabwe now the colour
of his skin would be the point, not the "immense contribution" which Mugabe
spoke of him having made just six years ago.
Council is attempting to extort hugely increased
water deposits from consumers.
As far as we can tell this is
completely illegal and is a scam to increase their cash flow. Refuse to pay
- you paid a deposit when Council connected you and this constitutes a
contract which cannot be arbitrarily and unilaterally changed.
DETAILS of the proposed
urgent meeting between South African President Thabo Mbeki and President Robert
Mugabe remained sketchy this week but regional diplomats and analysts said this
would be the first frank meeting between the
two.
Mbeki’s spokesman Bheki Khumalo,
contacted by telephone in Pretoria, refused to shed any light on the purpose,
agenda or venue of the meeting, saying that doing so would be like "putting the
cart before the horse".
He said all such issues were still being
discussed between Harare and Pretoria.
Khumalo told the Financial
Gazette that both Mugabe and Mbeki had agreed that it was time they met again
but Betty Dimbi, an official in Mugabe’s office, said she was not aware of the
Mbeki communication.
At the weekend Mbeki issued a veiled attack on the
actions of the Zimbabwean government such as the expulsion of two foreign
journalists a week ago and the continuing persecution of the judiciary and the
local media.
The South African leader publicly admitted for the first
time that events in Harare had become "matters of great concern" to South
Africa.
The government last week expelled two foreign journalists —
Joseph Winter of the British Broadcasting Corporation and Mercedes Sayagues of
the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper — in a move widely condemned
internationally.
Mugabe’s administration this week moved to forcibly
evict Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay from office after the judge delayed taking
leave pending retirement, itself forced on the judge by the government which is
critical of the independence of the bench.
Mbeki’s admission, made after
meeting an international team of economic advisers, was immediately followed by
groundbreaking talks between his African National Congress (ANC) and Zimbabwe’s
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Regional analysts
said the two events marked the first signs that South Africa could be abandoning
its softly approach to Mugabe.
The experts said rapidly deteriorating
events in Zimbabwe may have finally forced Mbeki to revise his approach to
Mugabe and the forthcoming meeting between the two could be the most frank.
Siphamandla Zondi, a researcher at the Pretoria-based Africa Institute
of South Africa, said there was a growing section of militants within the ANC
that felt Mbeki’s softly approach to Zimbabwe should be abandoned because it is
not working.
"Mbeki has been cautious from the word go not to be seen to
be disparaging about the role of the leadership in Zimbabwe. He has been very
careful not to aggravate the situation," Zondi told the Financial Gazette by
telephone.
Zondi said Mbeki did not want to isolate Mugabe, believing it
was always better to keep lines of communication open for possible negotiations.
"Mbeki is too young to go all out and lambast Mugabe because that would
be seen as disrespect," Zondi said.
But pressure from the militants
within the ANC is mounting on Mbeki to change tack when dealing with Mugabe and
ZANU PF, both accused of fanning violence in Zimbabwe.
Mbeki could use
the forthcoming meeting to check whether Mugabe has fulfilled earlier promises
to negotiate with key stakeholders on the land reform programme such as the
commercial farmers and the British government, Zondi noted.
He said
Mugabe had also assured leaders of the Southern Africa Development Community at
previous meetings that his actions would not aggravate the already tense
situation in Zimbabwe and Mbeki could take him up on that after recent events in
Harare.
This week’s meeting between the MDC and the ANC was also an
opportunity for the South African ruling party to investigate whether the MDC
genuinely represented Zimbabweans or was just an agent of Western interests as
claimed by ZANU PF.
"The ANC would want to know what the MDC is capable
of doing and what they would want to do," said Zondi, a specialist on southern
African liberation movements.
"At the same time, the ANC is cautious of
the historic influence of the West in conflicts in southern Africa," he noted.
US censures Zim on rights record
Staff
Reporter 2/28/01 7:18:00 PM (GMT
+2)
THE United States
government this week condemned the "worsening human rights record" of President
Robert Mugabe’s administration, holding it responsible for the violence which
killed 31 people before Zimbabwe’s landmark general election last June.
The report, issued by the State
Department, is part of a wider international survey commissioned by the
department each year on nations which receive US aid.
It said the
pre-election violence, the worst in Zimbabwe’s 21 years of independence and
which also injured hundreds of opposition followers across the African country,
had been sanctioned by the government.
Mugabe denies this, blaming the
opposition instead.
The report attacked the government over its current
attempts to muzzle the judiciary and the media and also deplored increasing
corruption in the government and other state-run institutions.
"The
government’s poor human rights record worsened significantly during the year and
it committed serious abuses," it said.
"The government provided
logistical and material support to (ruling) ZANU PF members, who orchestrated a
campaign of political violence and intimidation that claimed the lives of more
than 31 people."
The report said the government provided material
support to self-styled mobs of war veterans who occupied commercial farms, in
some cases beating, killing, torturing and abusing farm workers and others
believed to be sympathetic to the opposition.
It deplored prison
conditions in Zimbabwe which it said were unfit for human habitation and had
caused hundreds of deaths.
State security organs, particularly the
police, were accused of torturing and abusing people despite constitutional
guarantees against these illegal practices.
It said the police force was
poorly trained as exemplified by its use of excessive force in apprehending and
detaining criminal suspects.
The government had not actively pursued and
arrested police officers and agents of the spy Central Intelligence Organisation
who had been implicated in human rights abuses, it noted. In fact, it said the
government had afforded the culprits protection.
The police had
repeatedly turned a blind eye on crimes that were being committed by ZANU PF
supporters against members of the opposition, it said, noting that the
government had also restricted academic freedom by interfering with
universities.
The 26-page report chronicled a list of human rights
abuses, which US officials say will have a bearing on Zimbabwe’s suitability to
continue receiving US aid.
The report was published as US lawmakers
wrapped up plans to re-introduce a Bill, delayed last year, in the American
legislature to ban all bilateral aid to the government because of its disregard
for the rule of law and onslaught against the judiciary and media.
EU
seeks talks over crisis
THE European Union (EU) said this week it will
seek dialogue with the Zimbabwe government over the country’s deteriorating
political climate as international pressure mounted on the state’s crackdown on
the judiciary and media.
The decision was reached at a meeting held by
the EU’s general affairs council in Brussels this week and follows the
government’s expulsion of two foreign journalists and its attempts to force
senior members of the judiciary to leave the bench.
According to a
provisional record of the council’s meeting, members agreed to initiate dialogue
with Zimbabwe under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement, which governs ties
between the EU and its trade allies grouped under the banner of African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.
"The council had a brief exchange of
views on Zimbabwe following an update by United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Robin
Cook on the deterioration of the situation in this country in recent weeks,"
according to the provisional record.
"The council agreed to propose to
the government of Zimbabwe a comprehensive and balanced dialogue under Article 8
of the ACP-EC (European Commission) Cotonou Agreement and to come back to this
issue in due course."
The acting head of the European Commission
Delegation in Harare, Alex Kremer, said yesterday the Zimbabwe government had
not yet been approached.
"That’s something that hasn’t yet taken place
because the decision has just only been taken," he told the Financial Gazette.
Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement, under which ACP countries have
preferential access to EU markets, states that the parties shall engage in
"balanced and deep political dialogue" focusing on issues such as the respect
for human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance.
International analysts believe Article 8 of the agreement is a weak
instrument to use to show the EU’s displeasure with Zimbabwe, but that pressure
for economic sanctions could grow in the coming months.
They said if
Zimbabwe’s crisis did not improve, the 15-nation EU could be forced to use the
more stringent Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement under which an ACP nation is
given 60 days to engage the EU in consultations over unbecoming behaviour.
"If the consultations do not yield a positive result or if consultation
is refused, appropriate measures would be taken," one EU analyst said.
Article 96 says that the "suspension (of aid) would be a measure of last
resort".
But Kremer yesterday said he could not comment on a possible
suspension of aid to Zimbabwe under the Cotonou Agreement, estimated at $132,7
million euros or 83,6 million pounds ($6,6 billion).
"If you read
Article 8, of the Cotonou Agreement, there is no reference to suspension of
aid," he said.
However international commentators believe that the EU
could find itself in a Catch-22, where failure to apply sanctions could be seen
as approval of the government’s actions while suspension of aid could have an
adverse impact on the poorest in Zimbabwe.
US debates Zim sanctions
From Sydney
Masamvu, Political
Editor 2/28/01 7:10:01 PM (GMT
+2)
WASHINGTON — United
States lawmakers are due next week to introduce in the Senate a revised version
of the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill which, if passed, will ban US aid to the
Zimbabwean government until it embraces democracy and the rule of
law.
The Bill is being co-sponsored by
Senator Bill Frist, a Republican and head of the Senate Foreign Relations
sub-committee in charge of Africa, and Russell Feingold, a Democrat.
Margaret Camp, communications director in Frist’s office, told the
Financial Gazette this week that the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill "will be coming
before the Senate in the first week of March", adding that it is being redrafted
to give it more clarity.
"Senator Frist is pushing the Bill and is being
helped by a growing consensus," she noted.
Official sources privy to the
Bill say a majority of Republican and Democrat senators on Capitol Hill are
supporting it because of the rapidly deteriorating political climate in Zimbabwe
and the government’s human rights abuses.
They said the Bill is
receiving overwhelming support from members of Congress, who have been triggered
to act by the government’s persistent refusal to obey court orders, its purge of
the judiciary, clampdown on the media and renewed and widespread violence
against perceived political foes.
The Bill, first mooted last September,
did not make it through the US legislature at the time because of the then
impending American elections.
Both Feingold and Frist are understood to
have already raised the issue of Zimbabwe in a meeting with America’s new
Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former army chief.
Authoritative
sources said the passage of the Bill in both houses is now a mere formality.
The key element of the Bill is the suspension of bilateral assistance to
the Zimbabwean government and debt reduction measures until the rule of law and
democratic institutions are restored.
Exceptions will be made for
humanitarian aid, health and HIV/AIDS, demining and other programmes which will
not benefit the government.
The government of new US President George W
Bush has already voiced concern about the human rights abuses by the Zimbabwe
government and only last week announced it had invited Chief Justice Anthony
Gubbay to visit the US for high-level talks on the African country’s crisis.
Justice Gubbay, an internationally respected judge, is being forced to
retire prematurely from the bench by the government which is critical of his
rulings.
The judge indicated through his lawyer this week that he is
reconsidering his decision to go on retirement, effectively saying he will
remain chief justice, sparking a new constitutional crisis.
A State
Department human rights report on Zimbabwe for the year 2000, released on
Monday, noted that Zimbabwe’s already poor human rights record had been blighted
further in the past year.
The report cited the forced resignations of
judges by the government, limitations imposed on the operations of the local and
foreign media, infringements of freedom of assembly and harassment of opposition
politicians among a range of many other abuses.
The Bill, if passed,
will also instruct US directors sitting on multilateral lending institutions to
vote against any credit and benefit to Zimbabwe, except on humanitarian grounds
or for democracy programmes.
The Bill seeks to authorise the use of US
funds for legal aid to individuals and institutions suffering from the breakdown
of law. This will include paying the legal expenses of torture victims, the
independent media’s support for free speech and other democratic institutions or
individuals challenging undemocratic laws.
The Bill seeks to double
funding for democracy programmes in Zimbabwe and proposes that the US should
support election observers during critical pre-electoral periods.
The
Bill offers incentives for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law by
providing funding for land resettlement, debt review and investment by private
US companies.
Subject to certification by the US president and Congress
that the rule of law has been restored and freedom of speech and association are
respected, the suspended aid will be restored and economic recovery programmes
re-launched.
The Bill suggests the allocation of an initial US$16
million for alternative land reform programmes under the inception phase,
including acquisition and settlement costs.
The Treasury Secretary will
review Zimbabwe’s bilateral aid for the purposes of eliminating it to the
greatest possible extent.
There was no immediate comment on the latest
steps by US legislators from the Harare government, under mounting domestic and
international pressure for its actions and policies in recent weeks.
The
United Nations has condemned the government’s heightening crackdown on the
judiciary, the media and members of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, while the Commonwealth has decided to send a fact-finding mission to
Harare later this month.
A worldwide campaign has already been launched
on the Internet for Bush to intervene in Zimbabwe.
Chief justice vows to stay put
Staff Reporter 2/28/01
7:12:43 PM (GMT +2)
CHIEF Justice Anthony Gub-bay said yesterday he is no longer retiring as
Zimba-bwe’s top judge until he reaches his official retirement age of 70.
Justice Gubbay’s lawyers — Gill,
Godlonton and Gerrans — said in a letter to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
yesterday that as a result of the minister’s breach of an agreement he reached
with the chief justice on February 2 this year, Justice Gubbay no longer
considered himself bound by his undertaking to take early retirement.
"Accordingly, our client will not take early retirement or go on leave
and at this stage has no intention to resign or retire prior to his 70th
birthday," the letter said.
"We wish to reiterate what we set out in the
Press statement that we made on behalf of our client on 27 February 2001 that
our client will not vacate his chambers nor vacate his official residence until
his term of office as chief justice has lawfully come to an end. Any attempt to
force our client to vacate his chambers or house will be challenged."
Justice Gubbay’s latest stance came barely a day after Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo virtually threatened the chief justice with stern action
if he did not cease to hold the position by midnight yesterday.
Moyo
told a news conference on Tuesday night that as far as the government was
concerned, Justice Gubbay would cease to be chief justice with effect from
midnight yesterday.
He said there were many options open to the
government, including suspending the chief justice, if he did not leave office.
But Justice Gubbay’s lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu, said yesterday the
government was now shifting goal posts to frustrate the head of Zimbabwe’s
judiciary and the chief justice was thus no longer bound by the terms of his
earlier agreement with Chinamasa.
"If everyone had struck to the
agreement, then everything would have gone according to plan," Mahlangu told the
Financial Gazette.
In his letter to Chinamasa yesterday, Mahlangu
reminded the minister that at the meeting of February 2, Justice Gubbay had
agreed to retire from his position on June 30 2001 and would go on leave pending
retirement from March 1 to June 30.
Justice Gubbay would, however,
retain the position of chief justice and all the benefits of that office during
this period.
"Our client made it clear to you that during that period he
would not sit as judge in the Supreme Court and at no time has he thereafter
indicated to you otherwise…Our client therefore disputes that he has at any time
reneged on that understanding," the letter said.
"Our client also
disputes that at any stage he discussed with, let alone agreed with you, the
appointment of an acting chief justice," it stated.
Mahlangu said
Justice Gubbay had, in his capacity as chairman of the Judicial Services
Commission, further explained to Chinamasa in a letter dated February 26 why it
would be premature to appoint an acting chief justice and drew attention to the
circumstances in which acting appointments were made.
"Our client
considers, as we do, that your letter of 28 February 2001, taken with the fact
that you made that letter available to the Press, constitutes an attempt to
dismiss our client as chief justice of Zimbabwe," the letter said.
"We
have no hesitation in pointing out to you that such action is unlawful and
contrary to the Constitution of Zimbabwe. In terms of that Constitution, the
chief justice remains in office until he attains the age of 70 years or until
such time as he resigns in writing to the President.
"We place on record
that at no time has Mr Justice Gubbay indicated in writing to the President
either that he would resign or indeed that he would take early retirement."
Mahlangu said he had advised Justice Gubbay that Chinamasa’s attempt to
dismiss him by way of his letter of February 26 was clearly a breach of the
agreement reached on February 2 in terms of which Justice Gubbay was to remain
chief justice until June 30.
As a result of that breach and for other
reasons, the chief justice no longer considered himself bound by his undertaking
to take early retirement. He would thus remain in office, Mahlangu said.
Chinamasa vowed earlier this week that Justice Gubbay would leave office
by yesterday, paving the way for the appointment of a substantive chief justice,
widely believed to be Judge President Godfrey Chidyausiku, a former government
deputy minister.
Chinamasa charged that Justice Gubbay had reneged on
their February 2 agreement and that the government had now resolved to pay him
four months’ leave from March 1 and terminate his contract, an action Justice
Gubbay’s lawyers have dismissed as illegal.
Mugabe, Gubbay headed for clash
By
Cris Chinaka 2/28/01 7:13:50 PM (GMT
+2)
ZIMBABWE seemed set for a
new political crisis yesterday as President Robert Mugabe’s government prepared
to drive the country’s defiant chief justice out of office, legal experts and
analysts said.
The confrontation between Chief
Justice Anthony Gubbay and Mugabe’s government was expected to come to a head at
midnight yesterday when the government had said it would cease to recognise
Gubbay as the head of the judiciary.
"If the government carries out its
threat, then obviously we will end up in a serious constitutional crisis," said
Lovemore Madhuku, a law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
"It’s
bad enough that we are in this stand-off. But things will get really worse when
we have two judges, each claiming he is the chief justice," he said yesterday.
There is speculation that Mugabe will replace Gubbay with Judge
President Godfrey Chidyausiku, a political ally who once served as a deputy
minister.
Gubbay’s lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu, said on Tuesday his client
would not leave his post yesterday and Gubbay was reconsidering his decision to
retire on June 30.
Mahlangu said yesterday he had written a letter to
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, but he gave no details.
"We have not
filed any papers yet, but it might get to that," he added.
Yesterday the
government vowed to force Gubbay out.
"As far as a I know, there is no
change in the government’s position. Preparations are going on to replace him,"
a senior government official said.
Emmanuel Magade, a law lecturer at
the University of Zimbabwe, said the effort to remove Gubbay has compromised the
independence of the judiciary.
"The government has no authority except
in very special circumstances to force a judge out, and so this clearly looks
like a coup against the judiciary," he told Reuters.
"This may serve its
purpose in the short-term, but it undermines the integrity of the bench and the
entire political system," said Magade.
The government earlier this month
said Gubbay, 69, had agreed to retire a year ahead of schedule, but would take
four months leave from March before going into retirement in June.
Gubbay did not comment on the matter, but analysts believed he had been
forced out because of several court rulings against government policies.
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo last week accused Gubbay and other
top judges of favouring the opposition and the country’s small white community.
The Supreme Court has made several rulings against Mugabe’s plan to
seize white-owned farms for landless blacks, and also nullified a decree
forbidding the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from challenging
results from last June’s parliamentary elections.
The judges say their
decisions are based on the law.
Mugabe, as part of a sweeping crackdown
on his critics ahead of a presidential vote next year, has tried to sack other
judges and threatened to move against past appointments to the judiciary he felt
were inappropriate.
His ZANU PF government, which narrowly defeated a
fierce opposition challenge in parliamentary elections last year, has also
attacked the media.
South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday
the attacks on Zimbabwe’s judiciary and press were "matters of very serious
concern" and he planned to meet Mugabe soon.
Constitutionally, the
president appoints the chief justice who must retire at 70. He can be sacked
only by the judicial services committee - a group of judges - for
misconduct.—Reuter
Fresh farm invasions sweep Mat North
By
Njabulo Ncube, Bureau Chief 2/28/01 7:14:45 PM (GMT
+2)
BULAWAYO — A fresh wave
of farm invasions and lawlessness by war veterans and ZANU PF supporters is
sweeping rural Matabeleland North, with stepped-up harassment of commercial
farmers, farm workers, civil servants and villagers.
It also emerged this week that the
new farm occupations, which are accompanied by the sub-division of farms and
systematic beatings of villagers in Nkayi, Turk Mine and Nyathi districts,
resurfaced after a recent visit to these areas by Border Gezi, the ruling ZANU
PF party’s chief commissar.
Gezi has been criss-crossing Zimbabwe in the
past few weeks to dole out public funds to party followers.
He told
supporters at a rally last week that "people who voted for the MDC (Movement for
Democratic Change) made a big mistake because they had voted for
re-colonisation".
Commercial farmers in and around Inyathi, Turk Mine
and Nkayi districts are now moving in groups for fear of being attacked by the
militant veterans who are armed, the farmers reported.
A number of
government vehicles belonging to the District Development Fund are being used to
ferry the ex-fighters on their terror campaigns on the farms, it was
established.
In separate interviews, the farmers said they feared ZANU
PF, which lost all but two of the 23 seats contested in Matabeleland in the June
general election, had launched a new campaign to get even with MDC followers in
rural Matabeleland.
Just last Friday, the veterans, brandishing FN
rifles, pounced on the wildlife-rich Gourlays game conservancy in Inyathi, 30
kms from Nkayi centre, and abducted workers whom they later assaulted with rifle
butts.
Commercial farmers and farm workers this week narrated to this
newspaper how the veterans and ZANU PF supporters, some of whom they know by
names, went about threatening anyone they accused of supporting the opposition
MDC.
"The situation is now very tense on our farms," admitted farmer
Richard Pascal, who had a brush with Chenjerai Hunzvi, leader of a faction of
veterans, in the run-up to last June’s ballot.
"The same violence that
we witnessed during the run-up to the parliamentary elections last year is
threatening to engulf us again," he said.
"I have given up 4 000 hectares of my 21 000-hectare farm to
the government for resettlement, allowed the war veterans to sleep in a huge
church built for the community on my farm but they now say they want the whole
farm," Pascal said.
Dean Roberts, leader of the Inyathi commercial
farmers, said it was just a matter of time before the veterans in the area
killed farmers.
Last year, the mobs gunned down a commercial farmer,
Martin Olds, at his prime farm in Nyamandlovu, north of here.
"We want
to avoid killings," said Roberts. "The farmers here never provoked anyone. The
war veterans are just being militant but we cannot just sit like ducks.
"They have abducted our workers, car-jacked a Landrover and beaten up
policemen and the assistant district administrator for Inyathi," he said.
The veterans were also accused of poaching wildlife on farms as well as
from the conservancy.
Two farmhands from Inyathi, Isaac Kamoyo and
Gideon Moyo, recounted how they were clubbed and clobbered by the veterans at a
base near Nkayi shopping centre last Thursday.
They showed this reporter
scars they said were sustained as a result of the assaults.
"The war
veterans took us at around 10 in the morning. They handcuffed us and
force-marched us to their base in a nearby farm," said a visibly shaken Kamoyo,
a supervisor of farm workers at Good-wood.
"I was beaten by one guy
known as Dlodlo. He is not from this area but from Nkosikazi in Nkayi. They only
released me at around 5 pm after instructing me to tell my white bosses to leave
this country, saying the MDC will never rule this country as long as the war
veterans were there," he said.
Kamoyo said the farm workers were living
in constant fear of being killed together with the white commercial farmers in
the area.
A policeman reported to have been assaulted by the veterans at
Inyathi was this week hospitalised at Mpilo Hospital in critical condition.
Hospital staff and police refused to discuss the assault on the
policeman only identified to this reporter as Constable Duri.
In the
past month, the veterans have forcibly closed all rural district councils in
Matabeleland North, the latest being those of the Tsholotsho Rural District
Council at the weekend.
Ben Zeitsman, the executive officer of the
Commercial Farmers’ Union for Matabeleland, said the farming community was
watching the latest developments with great concern.
"It keeps boiling
up but it seems to depend on the mood of the occupiers," he said. "The number
(of occupiers) has increased on some farms but there have also been declines on
others."
Zeitsman said the situation at Gourlays conservancy had cooled
down but the occupiers were still defiant.
"We have also noticed that
the people causing havoc in Matabeleland North are the same people who are being
shifted around farms," he said.
Jacob Thabani, the MDC legislator for
Bubi-Umguza in which some of the troubled farms are located, said the terror was
a desperate act by ZANU PF to intimidate Matabeleland North villagers to back it
in the coming presidential poll.
"I have spoken to the war veterans
concerned but we think they are being influenced by other forces," he said after
visiting some of the affected properties.
"The farmers here have been
living in harmony with invaders; the latest goings-on are disturbing and seem to
be coming from the top," he said.
Pascal added: "We understand that land
imbalances should be corrected, but what we are saying is that this should be
done in an orderly manner."
Govt purges suspected pro-MDC workers
Staff
Reporter 2/28/01 7:16:35 PM (GMT
+2)
BULAWAYO — The government
is transferring several senior civil servants away from Matabeleland in a purge
of state employees suspected to be sympathetic to the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), it was confirmed
yesterday.
Government sources here said the
transfers were at the instigation of pro-government war veterans who in the past
few weeks have forcibly shut most rural district councils in Matabeleland and
barred civil servants from working there.
Government officials insisted
yesterday that the transfers were a routine exercise.
The Financial
Gazette has it on good authority that the acting provincial administrator for
Matabeleland South, John Brown Ncube, is being moved to Zaka in Masvingo while
the district administrator for Gwanda, Phanankosi Moyo, will be sent to Shurugwi
in the Midlands province.
Replacements are expected to come from outside
Matabeleland, the sources said.
They said several other officials in
Matabeleland North were set to be moved out of the province and a senior
official at the Filabusi rural district council has been forcibly retired at the
insistence of war veterans who raided his office last month.
According
to Angelous Dube, the public relations head of the Ministry of Local Government,
the transfers are a routine exercise that is carried out every five years.
Dube, the ex-provincial administrator for Mata-beleland South, was
herself expelled from the area by the veterans who accused her of supporting the
MDC.
She denies the charge.
Finny Munyira, the permanent
secretary in the local government ministry, said yesterday: "As civil servants,
district administrators can be transferred to any place, anytime if the employer
finds it necessary."
But the sources were adamant that the transfers
were politically motivated.
"The transfers are suspicious, coming at a
time when the government has vowed to deal with senior civil servants it
suspects to be MDC," one government official said.
"In Matabeleland
South, the transfer of John Brown Ncube, for instance, has raised eyebrows,
especially considering that he is a war veteran."
Meanwhile, a group of
war veterans yesterday kept the offices of the Tsholotsho district council in
Matabeleland North closed in protest against an increase in rates and
supplementary charges made recently.
They vowed to keep the offices shut
until the rates were brought down.
A contingent of British soldiers training peace-keepers in Zimbabwe are to be
withdrawn because of the "deteriorating situation" in the
country.
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said that nine members of the
British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) are to be relocated from Harare
to the UK at the end of March.
The move comes amid growing tension in
Zimbabwe.
Last month BBC journalist Joseph Winter was expelled after
complaints of harassment by security officials.
President Robert Mugabe
is heading for a showdown with the Chief Justice who is defying an order to take
early retirement after the courts ordered illegal occupiers to leave white-owned
farms.
Mr Cook said: "The BMATT team has played an important role in
enhancing the capacity of the countries of the Southern Africa Development
Community to contribute to international peace support operations.
"We
will continue to look for alternative locations from which the team can carry on
its work with countries in the region."
Mr Mugabe's government has
ignored six court rulings to clear illegal occupiers from more than 1,700
white-owned farms.
The Supreme Court also twice ruled that a "fast track"
programme of confiscations of 3,000 farms did not conform to the government's
own land redistribution laws.
Harare - Zimbabwe's Chief Justice will
learn the cost of defying Robert Mugabe today when he turns up at his chambers
in the Supreme Court building, despite being warned to stay away. There are
fears of a violent confrontation after Anthony Gubbay, 68, refused an ultimatum
to step down and astonished ministers yesterday by daring them to evict him by
force as he sits behind his desk as usual.
Chief Justice Gubbay was described by a
close friend yesterday as a "very honourable man, but also a very frightened
one". He faces a public showdown with the armed police that ministers say will
be used to prevent him from using his official rooms. The country faces the
bizarre prospect of having two Chief Justices holding the seals of office as
ministers made clear that President Mugabe will go ahead with naming Chief
Justice Gubbay's successor today. Conflict is inevitable, but nervous lawyers
and judges do not know whether this contest will be fought out in the courts, as
they suggest, or in more direct ways. The rumour that war veterans have sworn to
murder a judge by the end of March has only added to their
discomfort.
Chief Justice Gubbay's retaliation
yesterday was a legal challenge to Zimbabwe's rulers that he has changed his
mind about retiring and now intends to stay on until his 70th birthday in April
next year. His plans to go on leave from this morning for four months until his
suggested retirement date in June have been scrapped. Senior lawyers are
considering whether they should be at the white-painted Supreme Court building
in the centre of Harare to show their support for the Chief Justice when he
arrives. One said: "We don't want it to look like a farewell party or an act of
provocation, but we confidently expect that war veterans or other demonstrators
will be there."
As Chief Justice Gubbay worked in his
first-floor office yesterday, his four fellow justices met to decide how they
will respond to this onslaught on the Supreme Court. The four shuttled between
each other's offices in shirt-sleeves on the open veranda of the cramped
courthouse, while Chief Justice Gubbay showed no signs of moving his belongings.
In the parliament building next door, MPs from the ruling Zanu PF party were
called to a hurried meeting by ministers to decide their tactics to oust Chief
Justice Gubbay today.
The strain of the confrontation is taking
its toll on the British-born judge, who is also concerned about the effect on
the health of his wife, Mavis, who has Alzheimer's disease. He is considering
sending her to London, where their two sons live, before he faces another
deadline next week to have moved out of his official residence. The judge has
told ministers that he will leave neither his job nor his home. Friends say that
the Chief Justice, who left Manchester to emigrate to Rhodesia in the early
1950s, is a most unlikely figure to be at the centre of Zimbabwe's most
celebrated public confrontation since its independence. They describe him as a
shy, private man who loathes giving interviews and is uncomfortable at being the
focus of such attention. Adrian de Bourbon, the chairman of Zimbabwe's Bar
Council, said: "The treatment of this man is abominable. It proves to the world
that this Government will do what it wants irrespective of what the Constitution
says."
It is feared that if President Mugabe
succeeds in appointing his own Chief Justice, then the four remaining members of
the bench will have to go. After that lawyers expect an onslaught on white
judges in the High Court as Zanu PF tries to purge the judiciary before an
expected presidential election in the summer. President Mugabe has made it a
personal crusade to purge the judiciary of its remaining white judges. He used
his recent birthday celebrations to insult them, saying: "I feel very sorry for
white judges. Chief Justice Gubbay is a very nice man. But they drink tea with
whites, they associate with whites, not blacks, and they can't be seen to pass
judgments against white farmers." He intends to install one of his supporters,
Judge Godfrey Chidyausiku, as Chief Justice and is inclined to promote one of
his nephews to be head of the High Court.
The next stage of the affair will be played
on Third Street this morning when Chief Justice Gubbay arrives for work. The
only security at the narrow entrance of the Supreme Court is provided by four
policeman. When asked what they will do if ordered to clear out Chief Justice
Gubbay's office or lock him out of the building, they refused to
say.
From The Financial Gazette, 1
March
US debates Zim
sanctions
Washington - United States lawmakers are due next week to
introduce in the Senate a revised version of the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill which,
if passed, will ban US aid to the Zimbabwean government until it embraces
democracy and the rule of law. The Bill is being co-sponsored by Senator Bill
Frist, a Republican and head of the Senate Foreign Relations sub-committee in
charge of Africa, and Russell Feingold, a Democrat.
Margaret Camp, communications director in Frist's office, told
the Financial Gazette this week that the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill "will be coming
before the Senate in the first week of March", adding that it is being redrafted
to give it more clarity. "Senator Frist is pushing the Bill and is being helped
by a growing consensus," she noted. Official sources privy to the Bill say a
majority of Republican and Democrat senators on Capitol Hill are supporting it
because of the rapidly deteriorating political climate in Zimbabwe and the
government's human rights abuses. They said the Bill is receiving overwhelming
support from members of Congress, who have been triggered to act by the
government's persistent refusal to obey court orders, its purge of the
judiciary, clampdown on the media and renewed and widespread violence against
perceived political foes. The Bill, first mooted last September, did not make it
through the US legislature at the time because of the then impending American
elections.
Both Feingold and Frist are understood to have already raised
the issue of Zimbabwe in a meeting with America's new Secretary of State Colin
Powell, a former army chief. Authoritative sources said the passage of the Bill
in both houses is now a mere formality. The key element of the Bill is the
suspension of bilateral assistance to the Zimbabwean government and debt
reduction measures until the rule of law and democratic institutions are
restored. Exceptions will be made for humanitarian aid, health and HIV/AIDS,
demining and other programmes which will not benefit the government.
The government of new US President George W Bush has already
voiced concern about the human rights abuses by the Zimbabwe government and only
last week announced it had invited Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay to visit the US
for high-level talks on the African country's crisis. Justice Gubbay, an
internationally respected judge, is being forced to retire prematurely from the
bench by the government which is critical of his rulings. The judge indicated
through his lawyer this week that he is reconsidering his decision to go on
retirement, effectively saying he will remain chief justice, sparking a new
constitutional crisis.
A State Department human rights report on Zimbabwe for the year
2000, released on Monday, noted that Zimbabwe's already poor human rights record
had been blighted further in the past year. The report cited the forced
resignations of judges by the government, limitations imposed on the operations
of the local and foreign media, infringements of freedom of assembly and
harassment of opposition politicians among a range of many other abuses. The
Bill, if passed, will also instruct US directors sitting on multilateral lending
institutions to vote against any credit and benefit to Zimbabwe, except on
humanitarian grounds or for democracy programmes.
The Bill seeks to authorise the use of US funds for legal aid
to individuals and institutions suffering from the breakdown of law. This will
include paying the legal expenses of torture victims, the independent media's
support for free speech and other democratic institutions or individuals
challenging undemocratic laws. The Bill seeks to double funding for democracy
programmes in Zimbabwe and proposes that the US should support election
observers during critical pre-electoral periods. The Bill offers incentives for
the restoration of democracy and the rule of law by providing funding for land
resettlement, debt review and investment by private US companies.
Subject to certification by the US president and Congress that
the rule of law has been restored and freedom of speech and association are
respected, the suspended aid will be restored and economic recovery programmes
re-launched. The Bill suggests the allocation of an initial US$16 million for
alternative land reform programmes under the inception phase, including
acquisition and settlement costs. The Treasury Secretary will review Zimbabwe's
bilateral aid for the purposes of eliminating it to the greatest possible
extent.
There was no immediate comment on the latest steps by US
legislators from the Harare government, under mounting domestic and
international pressure for its actions and policies in recent weeks. The UN has
condemned the government's heightening crackdown on the judiciary, the media and
members of the opposition MDC, while the Commonwealth has decided to send a
fact-finding mission to Harare later this month. A worldwide campaign has
already been launched on the Internet for Bush to intervene in Zimbabwe.
From The Star (SA), 1
March
British pullout is new low in Zim
relations
London - Britain is expected to withdraw its military training
team from Zimbabwe, cutting off one of the last remaining important links with
the former colony, as relations between the two countries reach their worst
point. The announcement of the removal of the team will follow if, as expected,
President Robert Mugabe carries through his threat to expel all foreign
correspondents by the end of the week. Senior Foreign Office sources also claim
the Mugabe regime is going to lose the vital support it had received hitherto
from the South African government. Pretoria is said to be exasperated by his
actions and anxious about the prospect of hundreds of thousands fleeing to South
Africa to escape an economic meltdown in Zimbabwe.
The tacit backing by President Thabo Mbeki, leader of the most
powerful nation in Africa, had been a major source of strength for Mugabe. But
the latest feedback the Britain's foreign office says it is getting indicates a
major shift in policy. Taking away the British military advisory team would be
highly controversial as well as symbolic. Following the recent expulsion of two
foreign journalists from the country, Mugabe is due to introduce new
accreditation rules which, journalists say, will make it impossible to operate
objectively, and almost all were expected to leave soon. The move against
journalists follows other draconian measures against opposition politicians, the
judiciary and the country's white farmers. A senior Foreign Office source said:
"It would simply be impossible to keep the BMatt (British military training
team) there if Mugabe carries out his intentions towards foreign journalists. We
have no alternative. But the most encouraging thing is the changing attitude of
the South Africans. They are the real power and we are convinced that President
Mbeki has had enough. Mugabe is now a liability for him."
From News24 (SA), 28
February
Leon faces down
Hitler
Johannesburg - Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leader came
face to face with Zimbabwe's war veteran leader Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi during
a one-day visit to that country on Monday. Leon, who briefed journalists at
Johannesburg International airport upon his return on Tuesday, said he was
meeting a group of farmers in a private lounge of the hotel where he was staying
when Hunzvi entered. He said a member of the group had suggested they meet
somewhere more private as the secret police were watching them. The group moved
to a small private lounge where they continued their talks. "Next moment this
someone presents themselves. He plonks himself down and proceeds to stare us
out," Leon said. "I recognised the world-famous face but did not react. We just
carried on with our discussion." A short while later Hunzvi
left.
"At no stage did we feel threatened. He was just making his
presence felt and it was felt," said an amused Leon. Although the DA delegation
had not been harassed or threatened, they and people who met with them were
followed. "They [the secret police] did not hide the fact that they were
around." Leon told journalists that the situation had deteriorated since his
last visit just before Zimbabwe's general elections last year.
From The Independent (UK), 1
March
Aides of murdered Congolese leader
held over plot
Two close aides of Laurent Kabila have been arrested on
suspicion of involvement in the assassination of the president of the DRC,
reports said yesterday. Colonel Eddy Kapend, who played a key role in ensuring a
smooth transition, which handed the presidency to Mr Kabila's son, Joseph, is
being held in a secret location, according to Congolese sources quoted by Le
Monde. It was also reported yesterday that General Nawej Yav, commander of the
Kinshasa military region and a close associate of Col Kapend, was being held on
suspicion of complicity in the murder. Both Col Kapend, who was Mr Kabila's
chief of staff, and General Yav belong to the Lunda ethnic group, which has
close links to neighbouring Angola, one of Kinshasa's allies in the war.
Rwanda and Uganda, which supported the eastern rebels
attempting to drive Mr Kabila from power, began withdrawing from the DRC
yesterday, in line with a new understanding reached with the youthful new
Congolese President. Joseph Kabila has made clear since taking power 10 days
after his father's assassination on 16 January that he will stand by 1999 peace
accords that call for a ceasefire, the disarming of the rebels, withdrawal of
foreign troops and the deployment of UN observers. Speculation has been rife
about who may have been behind the murder. The government said that he was shot
by one of his bodyguards, who was in turn shot. The latest arrests could be
linked to an investigation by a commission of inquiry set up by Joseph Kabila in
early February, at the initiative of the government's military allies - Angola,
Namibia and Zimbabwe. According to Le Monde, 12 government ministers have been
ordered to stay in the country for possible questioning.
From BBC News, 1
March
Troops withdraw from DR
Congo
The first Ugandan troops flew home, just hours after Rwanda,
also fighting the government, began pulling its troops back from the Congolese
town of Pweto near the Zambian border. They are the first withdrawals since the
Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, succeeded his assassinated father, Laurent
Kabila in January. Last week, the UN Security Council approved a plan for the
disengagement of the warring sides in Congo that would allow the eventual
deployment of UN supported peacekeepers.
The Ugandan troops are coming from the town of Buta in the
north-east. The BBC correspondent in Uganda says that the withdrawal may have as
much to do with the presidential election campaign as ensuring peace in the DR
Congo. Rwanda and Uganda back different rebel groups in the war which has split
the mineral-rich country in two. Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia have been backing
the Congolese Government in the two-and-a-half-year war. Since Mr Kabila assumed
power, hopes have risen that the previously stalled Lusaka peace process could
be reactivated.
Both Rwanda and Uganda say they are withdrawing their troops to show that
they are serious about peace. Ugandan army commander, Major-General Jeje Odongo,
told the BBC that the troops were being brought back home because of what he
described as the positive attitude of Joseph Kabila. But Rwanda has vowed to
return if their rebel allies, the Congolese Rally for Democracy, come under
government attack. Their forces will pull back some 200 km towards the Rwandan
border. Talks among the protagonists at the UN Security Council last week agreed
that all forces would start an initial 15km (10 mile) pull-back by 15 March and
should then plan for a complete withdrawal by 15 May. The UN has plans to deploy
3,000 troops to monitor the withdrawals. There are an estimated 50,000 foreign
troops in DR Congo.
May we ask you to send this out to your contacts, for
information, as well as in the hope that they too will send it on and there will
be those who feel inclined and are in a position to make a contribution. With
best wishes and thanks from the chairman and trustees of the Farm Families
Trust.
FARM FAMILIES
TRUST FARMERS IN ZIMBABWE AFFECTED BY VIOLENCE
Farm
Families Trust, set up last year to help farmers and their families affected
by political violence in Zimbabwe since February 2000, has already made an
impact. One of the five men abducted when David Stevens was murdered in
Macheke wrote to the trustees: ³I cannot begin to express my gratitude. The
amount and unexpectedness was a complete and welcome surprise. We have had a
terrible year on the farm.²
Since February 2000 many farmers and their
employees have been subjected to unprovoked violence with incidents ranging from
a young farmer being shot at point blank range with an AK rifle to another
having his face slashed open with a machete. There have been innumerable
beatings and humiliations.
The main aim of Farm Families Trust is
to alleviate without delay the hardships experienced by all who are victims of
violence, dispossessed of their homes, farms and livelihoods.
The past
year has shown that the most immediate concern of the affected families is
invariably financial with medical bills being the most pressing need, followed
by every day living and relocation expenses for those who have had to leave
their farms.
The Trust is constituted under the chairmanship of Anthony
Swire-Thompson, who farms in Nyanga, supported by four other trustees: Richard
Winkfield (vice chairman), Caroline Thornycroft, Lynda Howard and Guy
Watson-Smith (a Harare South farmer). An accountant and administrator assist.
(Please see contact addresses
below). DONATIONS Farm
Families Trust would greatly appreciate any financial donation and perhaps
you would be kind enough to forward this message to any organisation or
individual you think would like to help. The Trustees would also like to express
their most grateful thanks for all the donations already received.
Local
donations: Cheques made out to Farm Families Trust and sent to
Farm Families Trust, Box WGT 390, PO Westgate, Harare, Zimbabwe. Bank
transfers: Farm Families Trust account number: 0101 727409500, sort code 5510 at Standard Chartered Bank, Westgate Branch Box 3198 PO Westgate,
Harare. External donations: Cheques made out to: The Zimbabwe Farmers
Trust Fund/Families account and sent to The Zimbabwe Farmers Trust Fund
chairman Mr DD Wolseley Brinton,Castle Kennedy, Stranraer,
Wigtownshire, Scotland, DG9 8SL. Bank transfers to: Zimbabwe Farmers
Trust Fund/Families account number 001335523, sort code 801893 and sent to
Bank of Scotland, Stranraer Branch, Wigtownshire, Scotland, DG9
8SL. (Please note: Do not forget to include Families account
when making out the cheque. We would also like to acknowledge all donations
whether made externally or locally so please send details to the administrator
(address below) giving details of name, address, amount given etc. The wish to
remain anonymous will obviously also be
respected).
CONTACTS For
any further information on Farm Families Trust please contact: Anthony
Swire-Thompson in Harare at: 7 Brentford Road, PO Chisipite, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Email: swires@pci.co.zw; phone 883173
or at Inyanga Downs Orchards, PO Box 7, Troutbeck, Nyanga; email: orchards@mweb.co.zw; fax: 411 412; phone:
0298.846. Richard Winkfield, No. 9, Taormina Avenue, PO Marlborough, Harare,
Zimbabwe. Email venetia@africaonline.co.zw;
phone/fax: 300632, cell: 091 236 318. Administrator: Farm Families Trust, 4,
Lawson Avenue, Milton Park, Harare. Email: felwoo@pc2000.co.zw; phone
250488.
MEDIA MONITORING PROJECT
ZIMBABWE Media Update # 2001/8 Monday 19th to Sunday 25th February
2001
SUMMARY As government tried to justify the deportation of two
foreign correspondents, Zimpapers and ZBC remained silent on the broader
implications of the deportations on press freedom. They (the state media)
accepted uncritically the reasons given by the ruling party Zanu PF for
declaring the journalists persona non grata. Also in the week, President
Mugabe celebrated his 77th birthday. The State media used the opportunity to
subject the audience to party propaganda. The Herald carried a special
edition on the issue while ZBCTV celebrated the event with live coverage of
the celebrations. Deserving special mention was an hour-long interview
conducted by three editors of the state-controlled media who conducted
the interview with servility unbefitting of their stature and profession.
1. FOLLOW UP ON JOURNALISTS DEPORTATION The deportation of two
foreign correspondents remained in the spotlight in the week with the
government revealing that not only had it deported the duo but it had
declared them prohibited immigrants.(Zimpapers dailies and ZBC (20/2)).
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Patrick Chinamasa told
Parliament that Sayagues was expelled from Zimbabwe because she is an
"immense" supporter of the Angolan rebel group, UNITA. The Minister said
that this was in conflict with the Government's policy, which does not
support the rebel movement. Chinamasa also added that Sayagues and Winter
"were not expelled because of their countries of origin, but because of
misconduct and distortion of events that were happening in Zimbabwe and
propagating falsehoods to the international community". (Zimpapers dailies
and ZBC -22/2). None of the media pressured Chinamasa to substantiate
his claim and to explain exactly what he meant by "immense supporter". Only
the Zimbabwe Independent (23/02) quoted Sayagues who denied Chinamasa's
allegations. Sayagues added that UNITA in fact viewed her as a supporter of
the Angolan government. Furthermore Zimpapers quoted President Mugabe's
statement that:"...Journalists haven't got the freedom to offend against
others or to violate the laws and you must know that" but failed to
point out that the offence was a flimsy basis for deportation. (ZIMPAPERS
dailies 23/02).
Unlike the private media, Zimpapers supported
government's actions. The Herald (20/02) carried a comment criticizing the
legal system for being partial when dealing with British nationals.
The private press treated the deportations as an attempt to quell the
truth and sourced comments which countered allegations made in the
state-controlled media. The Standard carried an article by Winter's lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa who disputed the facts reported in The Herald (19/02)
article which alleged that: The deportation saga swirling around British
Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Joseph Winter deepened
yesterday when a British High Commission official intervened and
frustrated attempts to serve an order on him. The article quoted
"authoritative sources" saying that First Secretary at the BHC Roger
Hazelwood helped Winter avoid deportation in contravention of Zimbabwean
laws. In her article Mtetwa said that: The Department of Information
and Publicity in the President's Office said Winter's application for an
extension of his work permit had irregular authority from an
official of the now defunct Ministry of Information, Posts, and
Telecommunications. Furthermore, the private press highlighted an alleged
fall-out between the AG's office and Minister Moyo. According to the
Zimbabwe Independent (23/02) Ms Loice Matanda-Moyo of the Attorney
General's office " . used her discretion to give Winter five more days
without consulting the two respondents, immigration officials and the
Department of Information and Publicity in the President's Office". It
reported that a row erupted between the Attorney-General's Office and the
Information and Publicity Minister. The article stated that Minister Moyo
had allegedly interfered with the operations of the AG Office. The
Zimbabwe Independent (23/02) Comment "What has government to hide was
heavily critical of the deportation of journalists citing it as part of a
"wider attempt to suppress criticism and market news that has been spun to
sanitise Harare's bloodstained rulers". Another opinion piece, Freedom
will triumph, stated that Winter had not broken any law but was a victim ".
of an arbitrary policy change orchestrated by Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo to prevent the truth about Zimbabwe becoming known - and, it seems,
to settle a few personal scores".
2. THE PRESIDENT'S
BIRTHDAY
Unlike in ZIMPAPERS and ZBCTV, the President's birthday did not
make any news in the private press and made for little news on ZBC
Radio. Where it was reported, as in, ZIMPAPERS dailies (22/02), reports were
little more than political rhetoric used by President Mugabe to defend the
ruling party's land redistribution programme, to attack the opposition and
the judiciary. ZIMPAPERS dailies (21/02) carried a special edition on the
President's birthday. The anniversary celebrations of the 21st February
Movement received front-page prominence in the Sunday Mail. ZBC's
coverage of the President's birthday was also used as an opportunity to
peddle ruling party propaganda. Between Thursday and Sunday, in addition to
news reports television aired, an hour long interview with President Mugabe,
a BBC programme about President Mugabe and the Chimurenga war called
"Portrait of a Terrorist". There was also a live broadcast on Saturday of
the celebrations in Victoria Falls as well as a repeat of this on Sunday
night (25/02) after the 8pm news. Deserving special mention however, was the
disgraceful manner in which three senior journalists conducted an interview
with the President on the day of his birthday. The three, who are editors in
the state-controlled media failed to interrogate the President deciding
rather to ask inane questions many of which had no news value. For instance,
one editor asked the President whether his government had run down the
economy!
SPECIAL MENTION The Daily News (21/02) headline story
"Mugabe out by July" was a dangerously misleading piece that attempted to
pass off opinion as fact and would have been placed in the opinion column
rather than on the front page. Further reading showed that the article was
in fact just a speculative piece in which opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai who was the sole source of the information alleged that ZANU
PF was preparing for an early poll. The Financial Gazette (22/02) followed
up the issue, quoting political analysts who speculated that President
Robert Mugabe's escalating assault on critics, the media and the courts
while reorganising his ruling party signal that the presidential elections
may be earlier than 2002. Ends
The MEDIA UPDATE is produced and
distributed by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, 221 Fife Avenue,
Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 734207, 733486, E-mail: monitors@mweb.co.zw, Web: http://www.icon.co.zw/mmpz
About 200 Zimbabwean
commercial farmers have approached the Mozambican government for resettlement in
Manica, Macossa, Barue, Gorongosa and Sussundenga in central Mozambique.
The Mozambican governor for
Manica province, Scores Nhaca, said he was negotiating with hundreds of white
farmers keen to relocate for political or economic reasons. A meeting of
community, religious and traditional leaders held in Chimoio recently welcomed
the plan to give out fertile pieces of land to Zimbabwean farmers, saying that
this would enhance the socio-economic development of Manica province. Nhaca
said his government has set aside about 400 000 hectares in 00 the Barue and
Macossa districts for the Zimbabweans. However, the opposition Renamo party,
said the government must be careful when dealing with the question of land
because it fears this could spark land conflicts if the Zimbabweans were given
the best plots to the detriment of Mozambicans. Apart from increasing the
grain harvests, said Nhaca, the plan would lead to the creation of an estimated
1 300 jobs. The move by farmers follows plans by the government in Harare to
seize their land for distribution to the landless black majority. In
Mozambique each farmer will be granted about 450 hectares for a period of 50
years. Some of them are already operating in the districts of Sussundenga
and Manica. A similar project developed with South African farmers in the
northern province of Niassa is in crisis due to lack of funds. More than 2
700 Zimbabwean farms have so far been designated for compulsory acquisition by
the government. “We have the land,” said Nhaca, “but all that remains is to
work out the mechanisms of parceling out the land”. Nhaca said his
government would “not steal” any land from its people. A public awareness
campaign was already underway to inform local communities that “some Zimbabwean
farmers want to acquire land in our country”. Commercial Farmers Union (CFU)
officials said they were not aware that their members planned to move to
Mozambique en masse. “The figure, that is, 150, is feasible, but not that
many members have resigned their CFU membership,” Malcolm Cowies, the CFU’s
deputy director for administration and projects said. “However, I know
personally that a number have been to Mozambique to assess the opportunities
there.” Cowies said the increasingly apprehensive farmers wanted to spread
their investment risks, but maintain their core business in Zimbabwe. He
said the hundreds of white Zimbabweans who had visited Mozambique were either
farm managers or the farmers’ sons.
Few people in Zimbabwe, apart from President Robert Mugabe, evoke such strong
emotions as Professor Jonathan Moyo.
He is a former critic of the government who, in the space of 18 months, has
been elevated to the position of information minister and the president's
closest adviser.
Professor Moyo's rise to one of the most influential
positions in Zimbabwe has been breathtaking
In that time
he has succeeded in offending all sides.
The letters pages of privately owned newspapers frequently include
denunciations of Professor Moyo.
One recently described him as "the most hated man in Zimbabwe".
Conversion
Professor Moyo's rise to one of the most influential positions in Zimbabwe
has been breathtaking. As recently as May 1999 he was still writing newspaper
articles that condemned President Mugabe in the strongest terms.
Moyo is now a close adviser to President
Mugabe
"His uncanny propensity to shoot himself in the foot has
become a national problem which needs urgent containment," wrote Professor Moyo
in the Zimbabwe Mirror.
"Does the president not realise that when he belittles universal issues such
as basic human rights he loses the moral high ground to his critics?"
Within months of that writing that article, Jonathan Moyo, had become the
spokesman for the government-appointed Constitutional Commission.
His public relations style was characterised by an almost obsessive energy
combined with vitriolic attacks on those who did not share his views.
The state-controlled media was saturated with news reports and advertisements
supporting acceptance of a proposed new constitution.
But it was not enough as Professor Moyo and the government lost.
The draft document was rejected in a national referendum in February 2000.
Party promotion
In spite of this setback, Jonathan Moyo was appointed as the ruling Zanu-PF
party's campaign manager for the June 2000 general election.
The approach that proved unsuccessful in the run-up to the constitutional
referendum was repeated.
Moyo's election campaign failed to persuade nearly
half the population
The government's manifesto, which Professor Moyo clearly played an
important part in drawing up, described the opposition as "plagiarists,
sell-outs, shameless opportunists and merchants of confusion".
Support among whites for the opposition was summarised as "embittered racists
using black mouthpieces to preach mean-spirited democracy".
After a campaign marked by widespread violence and intimidation, the ruling
party won a narrow majority in parliament.
Political adviser
Professor Moyo was rewarded with a seat in the cabinet and the ruling party's
policy-making body, the politburo.
How can he be effective when he's so unpopular?
Former Zanu-PF insider
Although he did not contest the election, President
Mugabe appointed him as a non-constituency member of parliament.
His immediate superior in the politburo, Nathan Shamuyarira, describes him as
"a very sharp, very bright intellectual.
"He's good at rebutting the arguments of the opposition and at articulating
the [ruling] party's policies. He's a definite asset."
A former Zanu-PF insider disagrees: "It's only Mugabe who thinks he's an
effective campaigner. How can he be effective when he's so unpopular?
"Mugabe is surrounding himself with people like Moyo - people who were
appointed by him and owe their political fortunes to him."
Unexplained change
A former friend, who worked with Jonathan Moyo at the University of Zimbabwe
before he launched his political career, said he was shocked to see Professor
Moyo as part of President Mugabe's government.
"He was so anti-government in those days. He was the loudest critic. And now
here he is as Mugabe's main cheerleader. I just don't understand it."
During a recent chance encounter at a local luxury hotel, the former friend
asked, "Are you the same Professor Moyo I used to know."
The reasons behind his apparently sudden and complete change of heart remain
unclear.
The opposition's information spokesman, Learnmore Jongwe, is scathing about
his opposite number: "He's done a wonderful job for us."
"He tends to say things which the public couldn't possibly believe, and that
just makes them angry. We hope that eventually he'll come clean and admit that
he's on a one-man mission to destroy the Zanu-PF government."
A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa. He took
his faithful
pet dog along for company. One day the dog starts chasing
butterflies
and before long he discovers that he is lost. So, wandering
about he
notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the
obvious
intention of having lunch.
The dog thinks, "Boyo, I'm in deep doo doo now." (He was an
Irish
setter).... Then he noticed some bones on the ground close
by, and
immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back
to the
approaching cat.
Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims
loudly, "Man,
that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any
more around here?"
Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in mid stride, as
a look of
terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees.
"Whew", says the
leopard. "That was close. That dog nearly had me."
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene
from a nearby
tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and
trade it for
protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the dog
saw him
heading after the leopard with great speed, and figured that
something
must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard,
spills the
beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The
cat is furious
at being made a fool of and says, "Here monkey, hop on my
back and
see what's going to happen to that conniving canine."
Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his
back, and
thinks, " What am I going to do now?" But instead of running,
the dog
sits down with his back to his attackers pretending he
hasn't seen them yet.
And just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says,
"Where's
that monkey. I just can never trust him. I sent him off half
an hour ago to
bring me another leopard, and he's still not back".
