POLARISATION AND MORALS IN THE
ZIMBABWEAN COMMUNITY
"Be the change that you want to see
in the world." - Mohandas Gandi
The other evening at about eight o' clock I decided
to take my coloured friend, who is also a mechanic, from my home where he had
been working on my car, into Harare, to save him some money which would
otherwise have been gobbled up on commuter fares. Now, I haven't been into the
city at night for a very long time, as I am not (and never was) the "night -
clubbing" type.
Still, I expected to see the usual lowered traffic,
the relatively empty sidewalks, and general air of relaxation that used to
pervade the city well after the business closing hour.
What I did see at once amazed, horrified and yes,
frightened me. My friend's only comment, delivered in a low sepulchral tones
was "The Transport Blues". People piled in four-deep lines on the pavements,
just standing, waiting, waiting, waiting for transport. Not a smile on any face,
just a sort of sullen despair. Many, bored with waiting, drinking and becoming
more sullen. As we progressed down Chinhoyi Street, from Samora Machel Avenue,
the crowds became thicker, and I realised that this was not merely hundreds, but
several thousand individuals that wavered in the exhaust smoke of dozens of
commuter omni-buses. There could not have been nearly a tenth of the required
vehicles to move this vast mass of humanity to their homes. It was brought home
to me very clearly that Harare, and Zimbabwe were a city and a country under
siege, not from any external force, but from its own government.
Another thing that I have been contemplating for a
very long time, but feel must now be expressed, is the strong awareness that
over the last year in particular, the polarisation of Zimbabwean society has
become more and more evident and strong. Just a few blocks away from the
unhappy transport queues, many of the affluent sector of the community, of all
ethnic backgrounds, are sitting down to enjoy ten thousand dollar plates of food
at the several plush hotels in the area. Many are not even aware of the misery
unfolding just a few streets away. Unfortunately many are, but choose to ignore
it, hoping it will just go away. Even more unfortunately, some are very aware,
and are even gaining from it.
So what has been done and what can be
done?
First, let us look at what has and hasn't worked.
Quiet diplomacy. This has been the method of the British Government ever since
independence. I recently read the full text of a debate on Zimbabwe in the
House of Lords, and was amazed to see the intimate knowledge of every little
detail of every occurrence here. But it was a debate and nothing more. It
offered up all sorts of things like more food aid, pleas to the current regime
to stop the torture, mentioned Flower and Olonga's stand several times, etc.
etc., but it offered no lasting or final solution to the crisis. Quiet
diplomacy. This is the method used by the U.N. and the E.U. Again no final
solution, because they keep coming up against the term "sovereignty". How can
you use this term when referring to an ILLEGALLY elected government that is
systematically destroying its own people, its natural reserves, its economy, and
its food base? A sovereign nation is a nation that looks after its people and
can be proud of its standing in the international community. Negotiation.
Internally this has been tried by the C.F.U., and it has got them precisely
nowhere. In fact it has led to them being no longer trusted by the very people
whose interests they were supposed to be looking after - the commercial
farmers. The attitude towards them is that they are just trying to feather
their own nests. That attitude is very likely correct. The MDC have refused
this route as well because they know it will not get them anywhere. Mbeki's
quiet diplomacy is starting to backfire upon him seriously. The attitude is
that if he is not going to DO something positive, he must stop talking and
keep his nose out of the situation altogether.
Megaphone diplomacy. This only works if backed up
with an action and is timed impeccably. George Bush's sanctions and other
restrictions imposed the other day have had an enthusiastic response from the
thinking public precisely because they came when we are at our most desperate.
All the other shouting across the waters similarly either has no effect, or
gives Mugabe the excuse to begin one of his vitriolic tirades and thereby gain
internal and external support.
Protests. At the World Cup Cricket and other
occasions recently. Sorry, it doesn't work if conducted in a small group. The
police are just too ready to deal out swift retribution and cause injury and
humiliation. Brave individual acts of defiance such as Olonga and Flower.
Better, and not only that but impeccably timed, these have really set the cat
amongst the pidgeons. But not healthy for the individuals, whose careers are
now ended, and they will not be returning to their homeland, at least until
things change. Another benefit has been the exposure of the Z.C.U. for what
they really are; money grabbing hypocrites of the lowest order.
Suppression of individual expression and the
media. Here is the irony. This has possibly been the single biggest mistake
that the regime has made. Take away these rights from people, and they
become more determined to get the word out. For example, without these
disgusting regulations, SW Radio Africa would not have been neccessary. Now its
station manager and presenters are, amongst the thinking people of Zimbabwe,
national heroes even while being exiled from their own beloved
land.
False Normalcy. Just trying to ignore the
situation and "get on with their lives" while continuing, of course, to make as
much money as possible. Reading the Twin Arts newsletter, one would never think
that there was anything wrong in Harare. Scottish dancing, drama, chamber music
recitals...its all there. The National Institute of Allied Arts has just begun
its Music Festival with the...wait for it...John Bredenkamp Computer and Music
Centre as its venue. There has been no indication that any of this will be at
least postponed in the face of what may be a turning point in our history, not
to mention the fact that it may be dangerous for the participants as they make
their way through an as yet ungauged climate in Harare tomorrow and Wednesday.
The Harare International Festival of the Arts will soon begin and the organisers
do not want it "politicised". Wake up! Politics affect every human
endeavour, even in a politically stable country. Ours is not. Haven't you
people learnt anything from the cricket (and I am not talking about the
definition of a maiden over!)?
Zimbabwe Action sent out an E-Mail the other day
asking businesses to give their workers space and not to dock their wages if
their were going to express their views through mass action. One factory
owner's response in part was "This is all well
and good, but try running a factory without people. It is ridiculous to
contemplate rewarding absenteeism with full pay. Eventually there will be no
business for the workers to NOT turn up to because the
business would have
closed thanks to paying wages to absent employees. You have got to be mature
and realistic..." Well, my friend, if the situation is allowed to on like this,
you will lose your factory anyway as the whole economy collapses. Look at the
big picture won't you? Lose a couple of days' money and you might gain it back
tenfold if success is achieved. Fortunately, their are strong indications that
this man's small-mindedness is very much in the minority as I
write.
All of the above have not worked individually but
together they have resulted in getting the word out that Zimbabweans are not
happy. The principle of Cause and Effect has moved us to a certain point. To
something that would not have come about without all of the above. And it is
the only viable solution,the only thing that will work.
Mass Action, carefully calculated and timed. To
all those of you with a genuine love for this country, and who are going to do
something to set it back on the right path in the next days, I salute you!
M.B.
The Herald
Witness asked to identify plot meeting
chairperson
Court Reporters
THE treason trial of the MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai and two other senior
party officials continued yesterday with the
defence asking a witness to
identify a photograph of the man who chaired the
plot meeting to assassinate
President Mugabe.
State witness Miss Tara
Thomas yesterday examined the photograph alleged to
be of Mr Edward
Simms.
It was alleged during the cross-examination of key State witness
Mr Ari
Ben-Menashe that Mr Simms was a US intelligence agent.
The
exhibit is part of the still pictures taken from the videotape of the
meeting
discussing the assassination of President Mugabe in Canada.
Tsvangirai
together with MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube and Gweru
rural MP Renson
Gasela are facing treason charges arising from the plot to
kill President
Mugabe ahead of last year's presidential election.
The three deny the
charges, which carry a possible death penalty if
convicted.
They claim
that Government set them up to undermine their political
activities in the
country as opposition to the ruling party.
"The photograph almost
resembles Mr Simms," said Miss Thomas, as she made a
comparison of the
exhibit given to her and the still picture shown in the
videotape.
Ms
Thomas positively identified the colour of the hair as that of Mr
Simms.
She, however, said the cheeks of Mr Simms in the photograph
appeared to be
more pronounced than in the videotape.
In his testimony
in court, Mr Ari Ben Menashe was reluctant to disclose the
name of Mr Simms
until he was directed to do so by the court.
The evidence of Ms Thomas,
an aid to Mr Ben Menashe, was inconsistent with
that of her boss.
She
told the court that during the London meeting she left the meeting 15
minutes
after it started to check if her dictaphone was recording.
She
contradicted Mr Ben-Menashe's testimony that she came in the meeting
late as
she took a rest before attending the meeting.
"I had gone out to check
the batteries of my dictaphone," said Ms Thomas
responding to Advocate Chris
Anderson asking why she missed to record the
crucial point of the meeting
where the words "elimination and assassination"
are alleged to have been
used.
Ms Thomas said Mr Ben-Menashe had listened to the audiotape and
read the
transcript before they were sent to the Government of
Zimbabwe.
But in his evidence Mr Menashe categorically denied ever
listening to the
tape and read the transcript.
He testified that the
tape was inaudible and the transcript was
unintelligible, as it was riddled
with inaccuracies and omissions.
Adv Andersen said the two, after
realising that the words "elimination and
assassination" had not been
captured during the first part of the meeting
fabricated the
reasons.
"The two of you have to dream up why the two words were not
captured for
your convenience," said Adv Andersen.
At the meeting, Adv
Andersen said Tsvangirai was expecting to meet senior
people from America who
failed to attend the meeting because of the
Afghanistan crisis.
Ms
Thomas was asked why she failed to report Tsvangirai's conspiracy to
murder
President Mugabe to the British police or Zimbabwe High Commission
in
London.
She said she could not have done that on her personal
capacity, as she was
merely acting on instructions from her boss.
The
defence gave the witness an audio tape of the London
meeting
proceedings.
After listening to it, Ms Thomas conceded that
she could not make out
anything about the conversation.
Earlier on
when asked to tell the court the purpose of the meeting, Ms
Thomas said she
was required to tape the proceedings.
"I was briefed on the contents of
the first meeting when he (Mr Ben-Menashe)
said he was asked by Tsvangirai
and others to arrange for the assassination
of President Mugabe," she
said.
Further asked why she did not mention that in her statement to the
police
when she came to Zimbabwe, she said she was jet lagged.
Adv
Andersen said the evidence of Ms Thomas and Mr Ben-Menashe was
irreconcilable
because they were not telling the truth.
The trial continues before Judge
President Paddington Garwe and assessors
Major Misheck Nyandoro and Mr
Dangarembizi.
Mugabe's youth militias 'raping women held captive in camps '
Victims
across Zimbabwe accuse ruling party of sex crime and torture
by
Zanu-PF
Andrew Meldrum in Harare
Tuesday March 18, 2003
The
Guardian
Rape is being used as a political weapon by the youth militia
and other
groups allied to Zimbabwe's ruling party, according to human rights
workers
and church groups. Investigations by the Guardian reveal allegations
of
politically motivated rape against opposition supporters.
According to
victims' testimony, President Robert Mugabe's militia are also
forcing young
women to be their concubines with impunity.
Zimbabwe's human rights forum
reports seven cases of politically motivated
rape in 2002, alongside 58
murders and 1,061 cases of torture. But the
reported rapes, verified by
medical examinations and interviews, are just
the tip of the iceberg, human
rights workers say.
"There is a serious problem of political rape in
Zimbabwe. The documented
cases are low, but there is considerable stigma and
fear about reporting
rape," said Tony Reeler, human rights defender for the
Institute for
Democratic Alternatives for Southern Africa. "From enormous
anecdotal
evidence we know the number is much higher.
"The victims are
mostly young females, relatively uneducated, poor, rural,
the most vulnerable
members of society. Many urgently require
anti-retrovirals for HIV
infection."
Abducted
The trauma of rape is evident in the dull
gaze of Sithulisiwe, 21. For eight
months she was held captive at a "youth
camp" for President Mugabe's ruling
Zanu-PF party, where, she says, she was
repeatedly gang raped and tortured.
She said she was abducted in December
2001 and marched to a camp in a
Bulawayo suburb.
"It was surrounded by
security guards so we could not get out," she said.
"There were hundreds of
us. We were fed horse meat and rotten food. They
woke us up at 3am and we had
to run 20 kilometres. Then we had to do 200
press ups and other exercises. If
anyone failed to do so, they were beaten.
We had to chant slogans and sing
Zanu-PF songs.
"They taught us the history of our country, starting from
colonial slavery,
and they told us we should hate whites. We slept in large
rooms, the men and
women together. We were raped by the boys. I can't even
count how many times
by how many different men. If we complained to the camp
commander, we were
beaten and they would call us sell-outs to the MDC [the
opposition Movement
for Democratic Change]."
Sithulisiwe says she felt
sorry for the young girls, of just 12 and 13,
picked out, by the camp
commander and taken to a nearby hotel to be raped.
Her voice is flat and only
when she talks to her five-month-old child does
her face light up. "I have
named her Nokthula, which means peace. I want her
to find peace - imagine, I
do not even know who her father is."
Sithulisiwe and others were caught
trying to escape. She says they were
buried up to their necks. "We were
beaten and thought we'd be killed, but
the camp commander rescued us. They
made us roll in mud, then would not let
us take a bath."
The camp
closed in July 2002. Many of the youths went to government training
camps,
and Sithulisiwe was sent away. Aided by a church group, she and other
women
then reported the rapes at Hillside police station near Bulawayo.
"Then
the doctor gave me a blood test. He told me I was HIV
positive."
Testimony
Sithulisiwe's story has been
independently verified. This month she
testified at a service led by
Archbishop Pius Ncube at the Bulawayo Catholic
cathedral. People across
Zimbabwe told of rape and torture at the hands of
Zanu-PF.
"We have
several reports of gang rapes and beatings at the youth militia
camps," said
a human rights worker. "The camps have become centres of
torture and sexual
abuse. Reports are made to police but they take virtually
no
action."
Zimbabwe's police deny this. "Irrespective of whether they are
political
cases or not, if they are true rape cases then we will investigate
them,"
said Wayne Bvudzijena, an assistant commissioner. "If it proves to be
a
serious charge, then the culprits will go to court." He was not aware
of
reports of rape at the Bulawayo militia camps.
But investigations
have revealed other accounts of politically motivated
sexual violence.
Rebecca, 36, says she was dragged from her home in eastern
Zimbabwe by youth
militia. "They beat me, saying I wanted to give the
country back to whites.
Six guys raped me. These people threatened to kill
me and my family. I am
afraid I may be infected with HIV, but this has made
me stronger. I feel we
are in a war and I must be prepared to die."
Sarah, 22, from central
Zimbabwe, tells how Zanu-PF youth attacked the
homestead where she farmed.
"They burned our house and destroyed everything
we owned. They beat me, even
though I had our baby on my back. They took my
baby away. They called me
Tsvangirai's whore [a reference to opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai], and
they beat the soles of my feet. Then, they
raped me."
It is over to everyone now.
.
Subject: Call to Mass Action
Update
My fellow Zimbabweans
Further to the message that was sent
out last week, the call to mass
action has now been received.
Tuesday
and Wednesday, the 18th and 19th March 2003, have been set
aside as the days
on which this is to take place. The call is to close
businesses for these
days, stay away from employment places and to release
all
employees to
participate in demonstrations and marches which have been
organized
in the
High Density suburbs.
I was reminded the other day of my geography
lessons about Zimbabwe. I
was told that the easiest way to recognize Zimbabwe
is that it is shaped
very much like a tea-pot or kettle. This is appropriate
because a few weeks
ago, I was boiling water in a large kettle on my stove
and I forgot to keep
an eye on it and got on with other things. Over a period
of time, the water
in the kettle got hot and began to boil and steam. It was
a large kettle,
but over the hours of my neglect, eventually all the water
boiled away and
the kettle began to take all the heat. When the strange smell
in the house
brought to remembrance my carelessness, I rushed to the kitchen
to see
what I could do to retrieve the situation. The kettle was so hot in
places,
that it was starting to melt, the lid and the base no longer aligned
and the
shape of the kettle had become distorted. The plastic handle
had
disappeared and it was the smell of it melting onto the red hot plate
that
alerted
me to the damage I had done.
The kettle is of no use to
me now. I have had to throw it away. The hot
plate of the stove has also
never been the same.
The purpose of the story is this: Zimbabwe has been
treated with
neglect. The people of this nation have been ignored and
neglected by a
leadership concerned with its own interests and not those of
the people it
was
meant to serve. Zimbabwe has gone beyond boiling point.
The water is almost
spent. The capacity that exists in this nation to "keep
things going" is at
an
end. Unless action is taken to change the present
circumstances, damage will
be done to the structure of this country that will
not allow it to recover
or be of use. If that point is reached, the effects
to this nation, and ALL
those in it, will be catastrophic. The call has gone
out now to act as you
see fit, peacefully and
properly, to express your
discontent and call for a change that will lead to
meaningful progress. It is
up to you now. Silence is complicity. Either you
are for
the process of
change and rebuilding, or you are silent and continue as if
"everything is
all right", which means at you support the status quo and
are a supporter of
all that is wrong in Zimbabwe today.
My thanks to all those who have
offered support, moral and otherwise,
since the last message went out. It has
been overwhelming and I do not have
the capacity to answer you
all.
Jerome O'Brien
COUNCILLOR: CITY OF HARARE
Daily News
Troika stings Mugabe
3/18/2003 8:50:11 AM
(GMT +2)
By Brian Mangwende Chief Reporter
IN
ANOTHER surprise U-turn, the Commonwealth Troika, whose two African
members
vigorously advocated for the readmission of Zimbabwe to the
54-member
organisation, on Sunday stung their long-standing ally, President
Mugabe,
when they extended Zimbabwe's suspension for a further nine
months.
In a statement, Don McKinnon, the Secretary-General
of the
Commonwealth, said the decision was arrived at in consultation with
other
members of the organisation. "The members of the Troika have now
concluded
that the most appropriate approach in the circumstances is for
Zimbabwe's
suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth to remain in
place until
the Commonwealth Heads of Government decide upon a way forward at
the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in December 2003,'' McKinnon
said.
"Some member governments take the view that it is time to lift
Zimbabwe's
suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth when the one-year
period
expires on 19 March 2003. Others feel that there is no justification
for
such a step. There is reason, in fact, to impose stronger
measures."
Earlier, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo had
advocated for the
readmission of Zimbabwe to the Commonwealth, but sprung a
surprise when -
last week- he reportedly told a London-based newspaper, The
Sunday Times,
that Mugabe must go and pave way for a successor. Obasanjo was
quoted as
saying: "It's entirely up to him, but obviously he knows he has to
work a
succession. I don't need to tell him, but if I say I am thinking about
my
succession, that's an indication that he should think of his. In my part
of
the world, there are so many ways you can tell a man to go to hell."
The
Commonwealth agreed Zimbabwe should remain suspended from the group
until
the end of the year when the Commonwealth Heads of Government are
expected
to meet.
The move is aimed at giving Mugabe and his
government time to repent
and adequately address the worsening economic and
political crisis in the
country. The latest development has thrown into
disarray frantic and
relentless efforts by Obasanjo and South African
President Thabo Mbeki, the
majority in the Troika, to readmit Zimbabwe into
the bloc, who had argued
Mugabe had made progress in addressing gross human
rights abuses and the
muzzling of the Press - against the sole dissenting
voice of Australian
Prime Minister John Howard, who completes the Troika.
During his state visit
to Botswana last week, Mbeki criticised Mugabe over
the chaotic land reform
programme.
Reuters quoted Mbeki as
saying: "We have seen for some time now that
the matter is not being handled
correctly. President Festus Mogae (of
Botswana) and myself have said directly
to the government of Zimbabwe that
it needs to be handled in a way that
addresses the land needs of both black
and white Zimbabweans."
Paul
Themba Nyathi, the opposition MDC's spokesman, commented:
"Zimbabwe had it
coming. There is no way Mugabe and Zanu PF can Please, turn
to Page
2
continue to punish a nation and expect the international community
not
to react, especially where human lives are concerned." Both the
South
African and Nigerian High Commissioners could not be reached for
comment
yesterday.
Zanu PF spokesman, Jonathan Moyo, was said to
be out of office. Last
year, the troika - Australia, Nigeria and South Africa
- mandated to deal
with the Zimbabwean crisis, suspended the country from the
councils of the
54-member Commonwealth. But in a surprise U-turn, Obasanjo
and Mbeki called
for the readmission of Zimbabwe despite continued arrests of
opposition
legislators, innocent civilians, journalists, members of the
diplomatic
missions in Harare and the recent arrest of High Court Judge
Benjamin
Paradza, who was dragged out of his chambers by the police as he was
about
to attend to court matters. Australian Prime Minister and head of
the
Troika, John Howard, was opposed to the view of lifting
Zimbabwe's
suspension saying Mugabe and his government had done little or
nothing to
warrant its readmission. Zimbabwe's suspension came after
Commonwealth and
international observers reported massive human rights
violations during the
March 2002 presidential election fiercely contested by
Morgan Tsvangirai and
controversially won by Mugabe.
Invitation to Comment on Broadcasting
Services in Zimbabwe
As part of the steps the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe has to take before inviting broadcasting licence applications, the
Authority is inviting the public to forward their views on:
- whether there is a need for the provision of
additional broadcasting services in their areas and if so, the type of
services required.
- the priorities, as between particular areas in
Zimbabwe and as between the different parts of the broadcasting services
bands.
Submissions required before March 30, 2003
- Written submissions may be sent to:
The
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe
P.O. Box CY496, Causeway
Harare
- Email: baz@comone.co.zw
- Tel: +263-4-797380/1/2/5
- Fax: +263-4-797375
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe will be
visiting all the provincial centres throughout the country to consult the public
on the above issues. The detailed programme will be published in due
course.
We recommend that you send a copy of your
correspondence to:
MISA-Zimbabwe
P.O. Box HR8113, Harare, Zimbabwe
Email: misa@mweb.co.zw
Daily
News
Official a fraud
suspect
3/18/2003 9:11:31 AM (GMT
+2)
From Our Correspondent in
Mutare
JACOB Matereke, an official with
the Ministry of Youth Development,
Gender and Employment Creation in Mutare,
facing a charge of theft by
conversion involving $120 000, has been granted
$15 000 bail by Mutare
provincial magistrate, Hosiah
Mujaya.
The State, led by
Zachariah Goneso, alleged that Matereke, 31,
converted $170 000, which he was
given by his employer to pay youths from
the national youth training centre
for the public work they had done. Goneso
said the offence came to light
after the Ministry's accounts were audited
and Matereke was arrested on 10
March. Goneso alleged Matereke used $50 000
to pay the youths and converted
$120 000 to his own use. Matereke was not
asked to plead. He was remanded to
25 March. Goneso said Matereke has since
paid $28 700 as restitution.
Matereke was ordered to report to Marange
police post once a week and not to
interfere with witnesses. Last Friday
Elimon Tsoriyo, a Zanu PF activist, who
allegedly converted over $400 000
meant to finance President Mugabe's 2002
re-election campaign to his own
use, was granted $5 000 bail by Mutare
magistrate, Walter Chikwanha.
Chikwanha
remanded Tsoriyo to 28 April. Tsoriyo was ordered to report
to Rusape Police
Station once a week. He was ordered to pay $450 000 as
restitution to the
Ministry of Youth Development, Gender and Employment
Creation. The money was
meant to pay Zanu PF youths involved in the
presidential campaign. Tsoriyo
did not pay the youths but converted $404 300
to his own
use.
Daily
News
Judge orders Nkala defence to
supply key information
3/18/2003
9:11:57 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
Harare High Court judge Justice
Sandra Mungwira yesterday ordered the
defence to supply all the information
requested by the prosecution
pertaining to the allegations of torture against
four of the six men accused
of murdering Bulawayo war veteran leader Cain
Nkala.
Mungwira made the order
after hearing both sides' arguments in an
application for a trial within a
trial by prosecutor Charles Kandemiri at
the resumption of the trial after a
five-week adjournment. Kandemiri said
the State needed the names of those who
allegedly tortured the suspects,
where they were tortured and the
circumstances under which they were
tortured. The defence, led by Advocate
Eric Morris, however objected to the
State's request, saying there was
nothing in the statutes that allowed the
State to request further particulars
from the defence in order to prepare
its case. Morris said: "There have been
most remarkable omissions by the
State, with witnesses not being recalled,
statements we know were recorded
not being produced." He said the defence was
"frightened" that the State
could tailor the evidence if the defence revealed
more of its evidence.
After issuing the order, Mungwira granted the defence's
request for a
postponement of the trial
until
tomorrow to consider her
ruling.
Nkala was allegedly abducted from
his Magwegwe, Bulawayo, home on 5
November 2001 and his body was exhumed near
Solusi University on 13 November
2001. Fletcher Dulini-Ncube, the Member of
Parliament for
Lobengula-Magwegwe, Sonny Masera, the MDC director of
security, Army Zulu,
Kethani Sibanda, Remember Moyo, and Sazini Mpofu, are on
trial for his
murder. In his testimony last month, Dr Salvator Alex Mapunda,
the
government pathologist who conducted the post-mortem, said he was
strangled
to death with shoe laces.
Daily
News
Police arrest Daily News
vendor over headline in paper
3/18/2003 9:13:13 AM (GMT +2)
From
Kelvin Jakachira in Mutare
POLICE in
Chipinge last week arrested a Daily News vendor because the
newspaper carried
a story with an "offending" headline. Stanley Mabuyaye,
19, was arrested by
the police for selling copies of The Daily News which
led with a story
headlined "Mugabe must be tried." He was detained for about
six hours and
released without any charge after the intervention of Langton
Mhungu, a
Chipinge-based lawyer.
The police
confiscated 150 copies of the newspaper. Mhungu was not
immediately available
for comment yesterday. Edmund Maingire, the police
spokesman in Manicaland
yesterday said: "I do not have any record of
Mabuyaye's arrest." But Martin
Zimudyi, The Daily News circulation manager
in Mutare said: "The police
confiscated 150 copies of The Daily News over a
headline 'Mugabe must be
tried'. They detained him and later released him
with all his papers after
the intervention of lawyers." Interviewed
yesterday, Mabuyaye said he was
approached by a police officer identified
only as inspector Muchikwa and two
armed soldiers who took him to the police
station. "They told me that the
paper was not wanted because of the
headline," Mabuyaye said. The story
quoted the International Bar Association
urging the International Criminal
Court to prosecute President Mugabe for
serious human rights
violations.
Daily
News
Manager in
court
3/18/2003 9:17:48 AM (GMT
+2)
From Sydney Saize in
Mutare
MARTIN Mubhawu, the acting
administration manager at National Foods'
Mutare branch, last Friday appeared
before a Mutare magistrate for allegedly
receiving $62 500 as a kickback from
a baker to whom he had supplied flour.
Mubhawu, 39, is facing a charge of
contravening a section of the Prevention
of Corruption
Act.
Regional magistrate, Herbert
Mandeya, remanded him out of custody to
28 March on $5 000 bail. He was not
asked to plead. The State, led by
Zachariah Goneso, alleged that Mubhawu, of
Chikanga, Mutare, on 13 March
asked Kennedy Kuhudzewe, to grease his palm for
favouring him with 15 50kg
bags of flour. Goneso alleged Mubhawu asked the
baker to pay him $37 500 as
a reward for allocating him the scarce commodity.
He also allegedly demanded
to be paid $25 000 for a previous consignment of
flour he had allocated the
baker, which he had not
paid.
Kuhudzewe then alerted the police
before paying the money, leading to
Mubhawu's arrest. Goneso alleged the
money was recovered from Mubhawu. He
was ordered not to interfere with
witnesses and to remain at his known
address as his bail
conditions.
Daily
News
Lawyer queries Thomas'
evidence
3/18/2003 9:19:31 AM
(GMT +2)
Court
Reporter
A PROSECUTION witness in the
treason trial of three top MDC officials
battled yesterday to account for
"inconsistencies" between her evidence and
that of key witness Ari
Ben-Menashe of events at a meeting in London with
Morgan Tsvangirai, one of
the accused persons. Defence lawyer, Chris
Andersen, yesterday said
Ben-Menashe's personal assistant, Tara Thomas, and
her boss gave different
versions of events at the Royal Automobile Club in
London. This is where
Tsvangirai held a meeting with Ben-Menashe, the
president of the
Canadian-based political consultancy, Dickens and Madson,
his deputy
Alexander Legault, Rupert Johnson and Thomas in November
2001.
Andersen cited the example
of Ben-Menashe's claim in court that he had
not listened to the audio-tape of
the meeting which was secretly recorded by
Thomas. This clashed with Thomas'
evidence yesterday that she gave the tape
and recorder to Ben-Menashe who
listened to the tape overnight and returned
it to her the following morning.
"They told me it was not audible so I didn'
t listen to it," Ben-Menashe told
the High Court three weeks ago. He was
referring to Thomas and Elizabeth
Boutin, a receptionist at Dickens and
Madson who attempted to compile a
transcript of the tape. Ben-Menashe also
alleged Tara Thomas turned up late
for the meeting because she was resting
in her hotel room as she was not
feeling well.
Thomas, however, said under
cross-examination by Andersen, she was
late for the meeting because she had
gone out to buy a battery for the tape
recorder. Challenged by Andersen to
account for the inconsistencies, Thomas
said: "I don't know, sir. I can't
speak for Mr Ben-Menashe. I was not there
when he gave his evidence." Thomas
said she was instructed by Ben-Menashe to
tape the meeting at which
Ben-Menashe allegedly said Tsvangirai would
outline a plot to assassinate
President Mugabe and topple his Zanu PF
government. "He also briefed me about
the contents of the first meeting
wherein he said he was asked by Mr
Tsvangirai and others to arrange for the
assassination of President Mugabe,"
Thomas said.
"He also said I was not to
look surprised at what was to be
discussed." Tsvangirai, Welshman
Ncube, the party's secretary-general and
Renson Gasela, the shadow minister
of agriculture, have pleaded not guilty.
The trial continues
today.
Daily
News
Mudede opposes
request
3/18/2003 9:19:56 AM (GMT
+2)
Staff
Reporter
TOBAIWA Mudede, the Registrar
General (RG), has filed papers in the
High Court, opposing the request by
Nelson Chamisa, the opposition MDC
candidate for Kuwadzana, for a copy of the
updated voters' roll ahead of the
29-30 March
by-election.
The RG has refused to
release a copy of the voters' roll but there are
reports that David Mutasa,
the ruling Zanu PF candidate for Kuwadzana, was
given a copy which he is
using in his door-to-door campaign. In court papers
filed last Friday,
Mudede, the first respondent, said the MDC, the second
applicant, could not
be envisaged as a person in terms of Section 18 (2) of
the Electoral Act.
Mudede said: "The MDC may be a legal persona, but is not
capable of
inspecting a voters' roll as the Electoral Act is specific. It
alludes to a
voter and, as such, it should be withdrawn from the
court
application."
Mudede said Chamisa
was relying on hearsay by stating that members of
the public were not
permitted to inspect the voters' roll. He said the MDC
candidate could not
bring an action on behalf of those prospective voters
who were allegedly not
allowed to inspect the voters' rolls. "Chamisa has
had the opportunity to
inspect the voters' roll in his constituency and his
name is still on the
roll," Mudede said.
Daily
News
Nzira supporters run
amok
3/18/2003 9:20:59 AM (GMT
+2)
By Angela Makamure and Brian
Mangwende
ANGERED by the conviction of
their leader, Godfrey Nzira, for rape,
about 2 000 members of the Johanne
Masowe Apostolic Sect went haywire
yesterday, beating up court officials,
policemen on duty and smashing the
entry doors at the Harare Magistrates'
Court. Betty Chidziva, the trial
magistrate, reportedly escaped death by a
whisker when some of the members
pounced on her soon after she delivered
judgment.
A court official, who
refused to be named, said Chidziva and other
court officials had to flee for
their lives as the church members, with
women in the majority, ran amok
inside the courtroom. Zimbabwe Prison
Services warders had to fire several
shots into the air to disperse the
incensed and rowdy church members. Some of
the women members exposed their
bodies by lifting their white garb in protest
soon after judgment was
passed. For hours, Chidziva and her colleagues locked
themselves in the
safety of the court building from the menacing group, whose
tempers were
only cooled after they were addressed by Joseph Chinotimba, a
war veteran
leader and ruling Zanu PF
zealot.
It was not clear in what capacity
Chinotimba addressed the church
members. Nzira was whisked from the court
building in a truck by Harare
Remand Prison officers. "The situation was
chaotic," a court official said.
"All hell broke loose here today when the
magistrate convicted Nzira. People
ran for safety after the members descended
on them. One magistrate lost her
shoes as she ran for dear life." A court
interpreter said Chidziva, who is
expected to pass sentence today, was
unlikely to do so until her security
was guaranteed. Nzira, the
Chitungwiza-based faith healer, was convicted on
seven counts of rape and one
charge of indecent assault.
He was facing
nine counts of rape after he allegedly raped two women
who went to his shrine
in Chitungwiza in 2002 for spiritual healing. Nzira,
who was out on bail, was
remanded in custody pending sentence today.
Delivering her judgment, Chidziva
said the State witnesses had given their
evidence clearly and profoundly and
were not shaken during
cross -examination. Chidziva said the defence
witnesses had tried to protect
him by fabricating evidence. She noted that
the two complainants had
received spiritual healing from Nzira and there was
no way they could have
turned against him claiming they had been raped. She
said the two were also
married, and could not have risked being divorced by
their husbands by
falsely testifying against
Nzira.
The magistrate said on all the
occasions the complainants testified in
court, they broke down. This showed
that they were being traumatised by what
they had experienced. Said Chidziva:
"Honestly, they could not have done
that when nothing happened. They delayed
to tell their husbands because they
said they were not sure of their
husbands' reactions considering that Nzira
was a much respected man,"
Chidziva said. One of the victims suffered a
stroke after she was allegedly
raped five times by Nzira. She only recovered
from the stroke after being
treated at Chitungwiza General Hospital. Wisdom
Gandanzara
prosecuted
Daily
News
Zanu PF politburo suspends
Sibanda
3/18/2003 9:17:17 AM (GMT
+2)
By Foster
Dongozi
Jabulani Sibanda, the
controversial Zanu PF provincial chairman for
Bulawayo, was suspended by the
party's politburo last week. Sibanda
allegedly led demonstrations against
senior party leaders implicated in the
unfair distribution of maize grain in
the city.
Relations between
Sibanda and senior politicians from Matabeleland
soured last year after they
accused him of belonging to what they said was
an "Emmerson Mnangagwa camp"
in the race to succeed President Mugabe. The
Matabeleland old guard is
reportedly aligned to another camp gunning for the
presidency,
which
includes Retired General Solomon Mujuru,
John Nkomo, Sydney
Sekeramayi, Dumiso Dabengwa and Simba Makoni. Contacted
for comment, a
senior official in the Bulawayo Zanu PF province said: "As far
as we are
concerned, Jabulani Sibanda is now part of our
history.
"Silas Dlomo, who was his deputy,
is now acting chairman. We have
municipal elections in August and we want to
start our campaign as soon as
possible." Sibanda's suspension was decided at
a politburo meeting in Harare
on Wednesday last week. Sibanda who could not
be reached for comment
yesterday, had in an earlier interview said: "I don't
belong to any camp.
The only camp that I belonged to was the liberation
struggle." John Nkomo,
the Zanu PF national chairman, who chairs the
disciplinary body, would
neither confirm nor deny that Sibanda had been
suspended. "Look, I am not in
the office. I am in the bush and I cannot say
anything," said Nkomo.
Sources close to
the politburo said after the suspension, a
four-member team was set up to
investigate allegations against Sibanda and
his executive. The team consists
of Angeline Masuku, Nicholas Goche, Patrick
Chinamasa and Elliot Manyika. The
Zanu PF secretary for publicity and
information, Nathan Shamuyarira, said the
politburo had decided that some
members of the Bulawayo provincial executive,
accused of indiscipline,
should be punished. "The national chairman, John
Nkomo, was tasked with
leading a committee comprising Goche, Masuku,
Chinamasa, Manyika and Muchena
to go and investigate and find out who the
culprits are before they can be
punished," said
Shamuyarira.
Daily
News
Leader Page
Extension
of suspension is a victory for
sanity
3/18/2003 8:52:34 AM (GMT
+2)
The entire civilised world
must have heaved a collective sigh of
relief at the news that Zimbabwe's
suspension from the Commonwealth councils
will now remain in place until the
next Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting in Nigeria in
December.
Not only has the
decision pulled back the Commonwealth from the brink
of a debilitating
polarisation, or even disintegration, which the adoption
of Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo's recommendation was almost
certainly going to
cause. But it is also a victory of sanity over the
tragically misguided
African solidarity which had influenced the
recommendation in the first
place. There was much alarm and despondency, not
just in this country but in
every other country where democracy, the rule of
law and respect for human
rights are cherished, after Obasanjo's submission
to Australian Prime
Minister John Howard that it was both his view and that
of South African
President Thabo Mbeki, that the suspension be lifted when
it expires
tomorrow.
In a letter to Howard, the
chairman of the Commonwealth troika on
Zimbabwe, Obasanjo had baffled
everyone - except, perhaps, Mbeki, his
co-conspirator - and turned himself
into Zimbabweans' worst enemy when he
argued that the situation in Zimbabwe
had improved enough to justify the
lifting of the suspension. He was at pains
to sell - most unsuccessfully as
it has turned out - to Howard the naked lie
that President Mugabe was
actively working on the Commonwealth's two major
concerns - the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA)
and his clamp-down on the
opposition. According to Obasanjo, steps were being
taken to amend AIPPA and
the government was trying to ensure the opposition
could operate without
undue restrictions. Everybody aware of the true
situation must have wondered
whether Obasanjo was talking about the Zimbabwe
we all know or some other
Zimbabwe in outer space. We all know there are no
plans to amend AIPPA to
be
media-friendly.
As for putting in
place mechanisms to allow the opposition to operate
without restrictions,
nothing could be farther from the truth. As recent
events have shown,
if
anything, the authorities are creating
conditions in which the
opposition is finding it even more difficult to
operate. Not only are
ordinary supporters of the main opposition, the MDC,
being constantly
harassed, beaten up, tortured and maimed, but even the
party's MPs, who in
every normal country ought to be treated with the utmost
respect, are
finding themselves at the receiving end of police brutality
and
State-sponsored terrorism. It was only days after Obasanjo had made
his
submissions to Howard, for example, that Job Sikhala (St Mary's MP)
was
taken into police custody where he was tortured and
humiliated.
Sikhala's arrest and torture,
which made international headlines, no
doubt left Obasanjo with a lot of egg
on his face and the troika's
credibility in tatters. This
would
probably explain why he was making all
those strangely sensible noises
in his interview with The Sunday Times in
London last week, which
contradicted the solid support that he had previously
given Mugabe. Instead
of recommending the lifting of the suspension, Obasanjo
and Mbeki ought to
have, in the most diplomatic way possible, hinted at the
need to impose
tougher sanctions against Mugabe and senior members of his
government and
party. They ought to have stated the obvious fact that the
situation in
Zimbabwe had seriously deteriorated since last year. Obasanjo
and Mbeki owed
it to the long-suffering people of this country to report back
truthfully to
the Commonwealth that while the people of Zimbabwe still had
some semblance
of freedom left at the time of the country's suspension last
year, now they
have no freedom whatsoever to talk about, courtesy of the
draconian Public
Order and Security Act.
Daily
News
Leader Page
Pledge of
"one-farmer, one-farm" is a lie
3/18/2003 8:53:20 AM (GMT +2)
By Cathy
Buckle
"One-Farmer, one-farm" has been the
repeated declaration by the
government at every turn for the last three
years. These four little words
have been quoted ad nauseum by everyone from
the country's President down to
the 20-year-old men who called themselves war
veterans. These men used
violence and extreme physical harassment to evict
hundreds of single-farm
owners from highly productive multi-million-dollar
concerns. There is
documentary evidence to substantiate this
fact.
Speaking at the Summit on
Sustainable Development in South Africa in
2002, President Mugabe banged his
fist on the podium as he shouted to the
world that in Zimbabwe: "One-farmer,
one-farm" was to be the only policy for
the country, which he described as
"his" Zimbabwe. At this same summit
Mugabe slammed white farmers who he said
owned "2, 3, 4 even 35 farms".
All
Zimbabweans knew that the pledge of "one-farmer, one-farm" was
nothing more
than propaganda. When news was leaked last week of the results
of the
so-called land audit, it showed that several high-ranking
government
officials were now multiple-farm owners. While speaking to
students at the
Zimbabwe Staff College last week, Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo,
according to Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation radio and
television news,
referred to the recent land audit
report.
He dismissed the revelations of
multiple-farm ownership by "chefs" as
being "irrelevant". The minister said
that this was "a waste of our time"
and that the "real audit" needs to show
that "every inch of the 11 million
hectares is ours." Zimbabweans must be
asking themselves just exactly who
Minister Moyo is referring
to.
If it is "irrelevant" who owns
Zimbabwe's farms now, then why was it
necessary to evict 4 500 white
Zimbabwean farmers and bring the country to a
state of famine? Was it simply
because they were white Zimbabweans or was it
because they were seen to be
opposition supporters? Moyo also said that now
that the land acquisition was
concluded it was important to work on the
"legal, equitable and
constitutional" aspects. Frankly, I am very
confused!
The government changed the
Constitution in order to seize the farm
land. They amended the Land
Acquisition Act to enable them to seize
everything without paying for it.
They repeatedly screamed to the world that
all the mayhem that followed on
the confiscated farms was all being done
according to the laws of
Zimbabwe.
Exactly what "legal aspects" is
Moyo now referring to? Could it
possibly have anything to do with those
little pieces of paper called title
deeds? Is the next "legality" going to be
the cancellation of all existing
title deeds? If this crazy notion of mine is
indeed possible then every
Zimbabwean should be quaking in their boots,
because if they could do it to
farmers - and they have - will it be
businesses and even private residences
next? In the same address to students
at the Staff College, The Herald said
that Moyo dismissed reports of torture
in the country by the International
Bar Association as
"nonsensical".
Moyo claimed that reports
of torture in Zimbabwe were "anecdotal".
Anecdotal means that allegations of
torture cannot be proved. Many thousands
of Zimbabweans have already
testified under oath that they have been
tortured, often in front of numerous
witnesses. The minister also said that
any torture that had taken place was
"certainly not systematic and on a
large
scale".
Torture, according to the
dictionary is defined as "the infliction of
mental and physical suffering as
a means of persuasion". What we have seen
on almost every single one of
Zimbabwe's commercial farms is both systematic
and large-scale torture of
both farmers and their workers.
One-farmer
one-farm was, and still is a lie; equitable land
redistribution was, and
still is, a lie. Moyo's propaganda cannot change the
truth that the land
policy has been a total disaster. He may have finally
taken Chave Chimurenga
off the airwaves but it does not change the fact that
there is still no food
in our stomachs or growing in our soil. This is the
only fact that is now
relevant in Zimbabwe.
Daily
News
Feature
Nelson Chamisa
- young and outspoken
3/18/2003
8:48:35 AM (GMT +2)
By Foster Dongozi
Features Writer
"Robert Mugabe is 79 years
old but is he running the country any
better?" That was the response given by
Nelson Chamisa, 25, the MDC national
youth chairman and the candidate for the
29-30 March Kuwadzana by-election.
He was responding to theories peddled by the State media and aging
Zanu PF
politicians that politics is the preserve of grey-haired and
doddering
politicians. "Modern political trends are that an individual
should be
elected into office, not because of their age but because of their
character
and capacity to serve the people. We want to usher in a new era
where the
young generation and women have to be regarded as stakeholders in
matters of
governance and the administration of the
country.
"What is not important is how
young they are but the age of their
ideas," said the young politician. While
most of his peers have wall posters
of sportspersons and musicians adorning
their homes and their offices, the
decorations on Chamisa's walls show that
he has matured as a politician. On
one wall is a poster of Mahatma Gandhi.
One of Gandhi's messages reads: "A
customer is the most important visitor on
our premises. He is not dependent
on us. We are dependent on him." According
to Chamisa, Gandhi's message also
applies to politics. "A politician who
chooses to make himself available for
public duty and to serve the community,
should be aware that his continued
presence on the political stage depends on
the electorate, who in this case
are like customers." He said while it was a
difficult feat to achieve,
politicians should always have an ear for problems
affecting their
constituents, especially disadvantaged groups like the
elderly, the
disabled, orphans, the youth and
widows.
Another poster that adorns
Chamisa's walls at his Harvest House
offices is that of Martin Luther King
Jnr, the US civil rights hero. "This
will be the day when all of God's
children will be able to sing with new
meaning, 'tis of the sweet land of
liberty . . . land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride. From
every mountainside, let freedom ring."
Chamisa describes King's speech as
very inspiring. "The speech is
inspirational and
moving
because it was given by the leader
of a people who were oppressed.
When I read King's speech, it seems to apply
to Zimbabweans suffering under
the yoke
of
political bondage implemented by the Zanu PF government." Another
poster is
about the role God plays when people are facing problems. "I
cherish the work
of the Lord in my life and I believe He will guide and
protect me in all the
hardships that I will encounter." But how did he find
himself participating
in politics, a calling that has seen him a treason
charge hanging over his
head? "I was born in Masvingo town and at the time I
was attended high school
at Alheit Mission and Victoria High, I was actively
involved in debating and
quiz clubs. This was the lowest manifestation of
activism. "At Alheit
Mission, I led protests against the poor food and as a
result of the protest,
the school authorities improved the diet."
Responsibilities such as those of school prefect were soon to follow.
"Being
made a school prefect was my grounding in politics. When you are a
prefect,
you serve many constituencies. You have to be the eye and ear of
school
authorities, but at the same time you have to ensure that the
interests of
your fellow students are represented. On another level, you
have to serve
your interests of wanting to pass the examinations. That
helped a lot in my
growth as a leader." In 1997, the young Chamisa taught
briefly while he
looked for a place at a tertiary institution. "The
following year, I was at
the Harare Polytechnic where I was a marketing
student in the Department of
Business Studies and that is where my career in
student activism and politics
blossomed." In September of that year, he was
overwhelmingly voted the
polytechnic Students' Representative
Council
president.
He had replaced
Charlton Hwende, now his election campaign manager.
The following month,
Chamisa threw his hat in the ring for the post of
secretary-general of the
Zimbabwe National Students' Union (Zinasu), a
coalition of all higher
learning institutions. He won overwhelmingly. It was
during his days in
student politics that he rubbed shoulders with other
student leaders, later
to be the first generation of post-independence
politicians to storm into
Parliament. Among them were Job Sikhala, Tafadzwa
Musekiwa and the late
Learnmore Jongwe. Jongwe, who was the Kuwadzana MP,
died in remand prison
last year in mysterious circumstances and it is his
seat that Chamisa is
expecting to fill.
By 1999, when the
Ministry of Higher Education was privatising
services at colleges, which
would make education unaffordable to many,
Chamisa was prepared to challenge
the authorities. "When the then minister,
Ignatius Chombo, came to address us
during a graduation ceremony, I told him
that it was not proper for him to
talk to us.
"I told him that students were
supposed to be the ones talking to him
and not the other way round." As
Chombo was about to address the gathering,
a fiery Chamisa grabbed and flung
the microphone away and left the
apoplectic minister talking to himself. He
was suspended because by then, he
had begun to be actively involved in the
formation of the MDC. "I took the
opportunity to resign from my posts as a
student leader because my
effectiveness was being compromised by my
involvement in national politics."
At the launch of the MDC in September
1999, he was elected interim
secretary-general of the youth while Jongwe
landed the post of interim
chairman. At their party's congress in February
2000 Chamisa was elected
youth chairman while Jongwe was elevated to the post
of party spokesman.
"In the MDC, we are proud
of the fact that we have a genuine youth
policy in which the young are
actively involved in the operations of the
party. I pity the youth in Zanu
PF, whose interests are represented by
grey-haired men and women who do not
appreciate the problems of
young
people."
Other than having
participated in student politics together, Chamisa
and Jongwe's fate seemed
tied together. Why? "To me, Jongwe was like a
brother; when I was expelled
from college, he looked after me and because we
were together in student and
national politics we became very close." But
what is in it for the people of
Kuwadzana if they elect him into power? "I
have a 15-point development plan
for Kuwadzana constituency. Although I
intend to bring development to the
constituency through various programmes,
I believe Zimbabweans need to heal.
Intolerance, murder, rape and torture by
ruling party thugs have left many
people devastated. There is need to embark
on a political orientation
programme to cultivate a culture of tolerance."
Reuters
Zimbabwe arrests 63 after
protest
By Cris Chinaka and
Stella Mapenzauswa
HARARE (Reuters) -
Zimbabwean police, backed by army helicopters and
armoured cars, have
arrested 63 protesters after the biggest opposition
protest in three years
against President Robert Mugabe turned
violent.
Mobs burned a bus and stoned
motorists overnight at the start of a
national strike called by the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), which blames Mugabe's
23-year rule for the country's deepest crisis
since
independence.
The strike shut down
factories and shops in Harare, raising the
pressure on Mugabe's embattled
administration two days after the 54-nation
Commonwealth extended its
suspension of Zimbabwe over alleged vote rigging
and human rights
abuses.
The government says the strike is
illegal and police had warned they
would deal ruthlessly with any
violence.
Police said they arrested 63
protesters countrywide in connection with
the violence, including 12 people
suspected of torching the state-owned bus
in
Harare.
"The illegal MDC mass action,
which has been marked by thuggish and
criminal behaviour..., has been a total
failure as most of the shops,
factories and other public institutions were
operating normally," said
police spokesman Wayne
Bvudzijena.
Some government offices and
banks were still open in downtown Harare,
but witnesses in the southern city
of Bulawayo, an opposition stronghold,
reported most businesses were
closed.
State radio called the strike a
flop, saying it affected only
companies owned by the white
minority.
The two-day strike is the first
major challenge to Mugabe since he won
re-election a year ago in polls that
his opponents and the West said were
rigged. It is also the biggest mass
action since parliamentary polls
in
mid-2000.
MDC officials said the
protest would help to turn international
attention to Mugabe's "repressive
rule" at a time when the world was
preoccupied with
Iraq.
"People are sick and tired of this
regime and this is their message,"
said MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi, who
estimated 80 percent of
businesses were affected by the
strike.
Police said one policeman was
injured after mobs took to the streets
of Harare after midnight, blocking
roads into the city centre and hurling
stones at passing
motorists.
Police beat up and detained a
photographer from the privately owned
Daily News, colleagues said. Local
police were not immediately available to
confirm the
incident.
ZIMBABWE SPLITS
COMMOMWEALTH
Zimbabwe is grappling with
its worst political and economic crisis
since independence from Britain in
1980. The economy is in its fourth year
of recession with record unemployment
and inflation, and acute shortages of
fuel and foreign
currency.
Nearly half the drought-hit
country's 14 million people face food
shortages. Mugabe's critics blame the
shortages partly on the government's
seizure of white-owned land for
redistribution among the landless
black
majority.
Mugabe accuses his
enemies abroad of sabotaging the economy and says
the land reforms only aim
to redress an injustice of colonial rule that left
most of the country's best
agricultural land in the hands of whites.
Mugabe has been at the centre of a political storm since February 2000
when
militants from his ruling ZANU-PF party invaded white-owned
farms.
The crisis deepened when ZANU-PF
won parliamentary elections in June
2000 after a violent campaign, and again
when Mugabe was re-elected last
March. The West has imposed travel and other
sanctions on the government,
which dismisses them as
"racist".
The Commonwealth was split along
racial lines over Mugabe. A one-year
suspension over alleged vote fraud and
the land seizures was due to expire
on Wednesday, but was extended on Sunday
until a heads of government meeting
in
December.
Nigeria and South Africa,
members of a troika created to discuss
Zimbabwe, favoured lifting the
suspension, but the third member, Australia,
wanted it
extended.
Commonwealth Secretary-General
Don McKinnon said he secured reluctant
agreement from South Africa and
Nigeria to extend the suspension from the
group of mainly former British
colonies.
MDC Claims Success Over Stay - Away
UN
Integrated Regional Information Networks
March 18, 2003
Posted to the
web March 18, 2003
Johannesburg
The Zimbabwe government has
condemned a stay-away protest called by the
opposition on Tuesday. It said
mass action undermined recent efforts to
revive the economy.
But the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) argued that it was
the
government's own policies that were responsible for the parlous state of
the
Zimbabwean economy, and a two-day stay-away would not hamper recovery.
On
Tuesday the MDC said the first day of the stay-away action was
"deeply
encouraging".
"The MDC is very proud and impressed by the
bravery and resilience shown by
hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans in the
face of state oppression.
Reports so far indicate that our call to workers
not to go to work has
resulted in an 80 percent shutdown of business across
Zimbabwe," the MDC
said in a statement.
However, Steyn Berejena, a
senior press secretary in the Department of
Information told IRIN the strike
was a flop. "People have reported to work,
commuter operators are providing
transport, shops are open. People are going
about their normal activity," he
said.
MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said the response to the stay-away
call was
demonstrative of the desire for change among Zimbabweans. "We hope
that the
positive response [on Tuesday] encourages other workers to pursue a
similar
course of action [on Wednesday]."
Berejena conceded that
"maybe the MDC and its supporters have stayed away
from work" but insisted
that the majority of Zimbabweans were at work,
"right now, I'm at work", he
pointed out.
A Harare-based journalist told IRIN that while the stay-away
action was not
a flop, it was not a resounding success either.
"In the
morning transport was a problem as kombi's [mini-bus taxis], which
are the
main mode of transport, were few. It was not business as usual. Most
of the
people had to walk to their workplaces and some found that the
factories and
banks they worked at were closed. So they had to go back
home," he
said.
"To a large extent, and from one point of view, the stay-away has
succeeded
largely because the workplaces were closed," the journalist
added.
There were also reports of protestors clashing with police in
suburbs
outside Harare.
Berejena criticised the timing of the protest,
saying Zimbabwe's failing
economy did not need the added knock.
"This
year we had a very good start, the tripartite negotiating forum
composed of
labour, business and government, came up with a cocktail of
measures to
revive the economy. The call by the MDC to stay away from work
is uncalled
for. It shows that the MDC is not keeping abreast with
developments, while
serious stakeholders are saying lets move together to
revive the economy,
they have called this stay-away which is against the
interests of Zimbabwe.
The MDC would want to see a situation where there are
[food and fuel]
shortages prevailing," he said.
Berejena added that "serious stakeholders
in Zimbabwe" did not support the
protest action. "Labour is supporting the
economic [revival] measures, so we
are surprised to see the MDC going in a
different direction instead of
working together with other people to revive
the economy," he told IRIN.
The MDC's Nyathi responded that "no amount of
patchwork will revive the
economy if you have a lawless society or
environment, who is going to come
in and invest in that environment?" he
asked, in reference to the tripartite
negotiating forum's National Economic
Revival Programme.
"It's our right as a people to take action if we feel
aggrieved ... the
economy will not be any worse off as a result of our
[stay-away] action, the
economy is hurting mostly from governments failure to
discharge its own
responsibility as a government. The responsibility for the
state of the
economy lies with government, not the opposition," he told
IRIN.
The MDC's ultimate aim was to use mass action to bring "so much
pressure to
bare until there's a realisation that this regime is not
sustainable", he
added.
According to a statement by the International
Monetary Fund this week,
Zimbabwe's economy had experienced a progressive and
sharp deterioration
over the past four years.
"Real GDP [gross
domestic product] has declined by about 30 percent, and is
still contracting.
Inflation has doubled in each of the last two years to
reach 200 percent at
the end of 2002 and could well rise further. There are
widespread shortages,
poverty and unemployment have risen, and the HIV/AIDS
pandemic is worsening,"
the IMF said.
MSNBC
Zimbabwe
says UK should pay ''racism'' cash
GENEVA, March 18 -
Zimbabwe on Tuesday lashed out at former colonial power
Britain, saying it
should pay the country money to redress what it termed
past racism and
inequities in land ownership.
Patrick
Chinamasa, minister of justice, legal and parliamentary
affairs, also accused
Western media, especially in Britain, of supporting
Zimbabwe's opposition in
an attempt to destabilise the government of
President Robert
Mugabe.
His speech to the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights, which is holding
its annual six-week session,
coincided with the first day of a national
strike in Zimbabwe called by the
opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
Mobs burned a bus, blocked roads
and stoned motorists in the
capital
Harare.
Zimbabwe is grappling
with its worst political and economic crisis
since independence from Britain
in 1980. Nearly half of its 14 million
people face food shortages blamed on
drought and the impact of Mugabe's
drive to seize white-owned farms for
redistribution to landless blacks.
Chinamasa said that land redistribution aimed at redressing
''colonialist,
racially-induced gross inequalities in land ownership'' had
been completed,
with more than 350,000 families
resettled.
''The least we expect is that
those responsible for colonialism in
Zimbabwe will financially support land
reform as the best means of
delivering justice to poor Zimbabweans and
offering some recompense for
their past role as racist and oppressive
colonisers,'' he told the 53-member
state
forum.
''You would never know from the
way Zimbabwean politics is usually
reported, caricatured and falsified in
Britain, that the Zimbabwe government
supports a broad, social, democratic
programme, focused on the empowerment
of the landless and the poor,''
Chinamasa added.
The Commonwealth group
of mainly former British colonies decided on
Sunday to extend a one-year
suspension of Zimbabwe at least until December
over disputed polls and the
land policy.