Zimbabweans approve new constitution

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
19 March 2013

Zimbabwe’s new constitution received overwhelming approval from voters in a
referendum on Saturday, according to final results released by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Tuesday.

Nearly 95 percent of voters approved the constitution, compared with 5.5
percent who voted No, and the total votes cast has turned out to be the
highest in any poll since Independence in 1980, beating the previous record
set in the 2002 presidential election.

In that poll, pitting Robert Mugabe against Morgan Tsvangirai, 3,046,891
voted. Saturday’s referendum attracted 3,259, 454 votes.

A total of 3,079,966 people (representing 94.5 percent) voted Yes while 179,
489 voted No. There were 56,627 spoilt papers. The results were announced in
Harare by the ZEC chief election officer, Lovemore Sekeramayi.

Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga said every
Zimbabwean should be happy with the result of the referendum.

‘What is more important is the number of votes polled which is the highest
in the history of elections of this country. This comment that the result is
not legitimate is not serious,’ he said.

The constitution’s supporters declared that Zimbabwe had entered a new era
and the charter’s approval paves the way for elections, likely to be held by
July this year.

‘The people have spoken loudly in favour of democratic change. There can be
nothing more people driven than this,’ Minister of State in the Prime
Minister’s office Jameson Timba said on his Facebook page.

He added: ‘The total valid votes cast are 55 percent of total registered
voters hence the referendum is credible and legitimate and represents the
will of the people.’

The referendum comes five years after violence erupted following the 2008
elections, which were marred by allegations of vote rigging and fraud. More
than 500 people were killed in the state sponsored and politically motivated
attacks. Hundreds of thousands were displaced.

A new constitution was a key provision of a power-sharing deal that ended
the violence. In the run-up to Saturday’s vote, many Zimbabweans had feared
that violence would again come back to haunt the country following its
resurgence in some parts of the country.

But analysts believe it passed off peacefully because both President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were in favor of the
constitution, ensuring that most Zimbabweans would support its passage.

The constitution, which Mugabe must sign into law, limits the president’s
stay in power to two five year terms. The charter also provides for the
establishment of a National Prosecuting Authority, fixed terms for service
chiefs and heads of parastatals and other government institutions and
creates institutions that (in theory) are supposed to promote democracy,
peace, transparency and accountability.

Some individuals and organizations opposed the constitution, saying it was
nothing more than a political process, worked out between the three
political parties in the unity government and that it did not reflect the
will of the people.

Blessing Vava, spokesman for the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA),
wrote on his Facebook page saying: ‘This process was just a battle in the
war for democratic change in our lifetime. We lost the battle but the war is
on until total victory…we will never betray the generational mission to
realize all the Peoples Charter and Convention objectives…No retreat No
Surrender.”

ZANU PF’s COPAC co-chairman Paul Mangwana said the margin of the referendum’s
success is testimony that it represented the wishes of the Zimbabwean
people.

‘Yesterday we were called sellouts, but today people have shown that we are
not sellouts. We are extremely happy with the massive endorsement this
referendum has received, especially given that it has recorded the highest
number of votes since independence,’ Mangwana added.

His MDC-T counterpart, Douglas Mwonzora, expressed the hope that the peace
that prevailed during the referendum will be repeated during the harmonized
poll in a few months time.

‘There was a 26 percent increase of people who voted in the referendum than
the 2008 elections because then there was war waged against the people and
massive intimidation.

‘In this referendum, there was no intimidation, no war and no forced
disappearances. This extra 26 percent number of extra voters represents the
intimidated voters in 2008,’ Mwonzora said.

Votes by province -
http://www.swradioafrica.com/Documents/votesbyprovince.pdf

Zimbabwe Referendum Results

Zimbabwe top rights lawyer, PM's aides charged

(AFP) – 33 minutes ago

HARARE — Four aides to Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were on
Tuesday charged with breaching the official secrets code as their lawyer was
slapped with obstructing justice.

A magistrate ordered them all back into custody despite a High Court order
instructing the police to free the lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.

They will return to court on Wednesday for a ruling on their bail
application.

Mtetwa, a top human rights lawyer, is accused of shouting at the police
while she attended to calls for legal help when Tsvangirai's aides were
arrested.

Thabani Mpofu, director for research in Tsvangirai's office, two
subordinates and a senior party official were arrested on Sunday, in the
wake of a key constitutional referendum.

The four are facing charges of breaching the official secrets code,
impersonating the police and illegal possession of documents for criminal
use.

The state alleges that they were preparing criminal and corruption cases
against Zimbabwe's police chief, the attorney general and other senior
government officials, including the very prosecutors handling their case.

Two of the premier's officers are former employees of the attorney general's
office, while one of them is on suspension from the same office which is in
charge of state prosecutions.

Mpofu is facing additional separate charges of failing to renew a firearm's
licence and not keeping the weapon in a secure place.
Applying for bail, lawyer Alec Muchadehama complained that the four aides
were arrested and detained unlawfully.
"These are good citizens who deserve not to stay in custody," he said.

But prosecutor Michael Mugabe opposed bail saying the four were facing
serious charges, while prosecutors in Mtetwa's case opposed bail as well.

The arrests marred Zimbabwe's largely peaceful constitutional referendum,
which took place on Saturday.

The draft charter was approve by nearly 95 percent of votes cast. It
curtails the president's powers and sets a limit of two five-year terms.

Tsvangirai is in an uncomfortable unity government with his arch-rival and
veteran leader President Robert Mugabe, which will end with elections
planned under the new constitution.

Reacting to the arrest of his aides and their lawyer, Tsvangirai told
journalist that "this is the natural reaction of people who feel trapped,
who feel they have lost power. These are acts of desperation."

Zimbabwean police have launched a series of raids to seize two-way and
shortwave radio receivers, a policy that rights groups say is a fig-leaf for
intelligence gathering and intimidation.

Beatrice Mtetwa & four MDC officials denied bail

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
19 March 2013

Prominent defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was denied bail by a Harare
magistrate on Tuesday, following her arrest on Sunday.

Mtetwa made her first court appearance after police ignored a High Court
order early Monday ordering her release.

Defence lawyer Dzimbabwe Chimbga said: “Initially we had put before the
magistrate the issue of the unlawful detention and the order which we got
from the High Court, which said she should be released immediately, but the
magistrate said we must proceed to apply for bail because that issue of the
High Court relates to the police, not her.

“So we applied for bail and surprisingly the state said it was not ready to
respond and they applied for that matter to be rolled over to tomorrow.”

Scores of people, mainly from civil society and the legal fraternity, went
to the magistrates’ court to express their solidarity with Mtetwa, a
fearless human rights advocate.

The crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said there was no sitting or standing room
in the courtroom due to the large numbers of people who attended.

Over the years Beatrice has represented many human rights and political
activists and on Sunday she was arrested and charged with obstructing the
course of justice for attending to her client, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s chief legal adviser, Thabani Mpofu.

Police had raided Mpofu’s home around 6am on Sunday, allegedly searching for
‘subversive material’. The MDC official and three others are being accused
of ‘impersonating’ police officers.

The police accuse Mtetwa of insulting and shouting at officers during the
arrest of her clients, but Chimbga said the police insist that the
obstruction of justice emanated from the fact that she “vigorously tried to
assert the rights of her clients by demanding that a search warrant be shown
to them.”

He added: “Obviously from our view that is a constitutional right of a
lawyer, and in our view the charges are frivolous and vexatious and nothing
has changed today because the police have not put before the courts any more
evidence to sustain their charge.”

There are suggestions that the police are after Mpofu and his three
co-accused because they were compiling a dossier that would reveal massive
corruption by some senior government officials.

The lawyer said the case of Mpofu and others has also been rolled over to
Wednesday.

Chimbga said: “Again the State stated it was not ready to respond.”

Zimbabwe rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa brought to court, to spend 3rd night in jail

http://www.washingtonpost.com

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, March 20, 3:54 AM

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Prominent Zimbabwean rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was
set to spend a third night in jail Tuesday after a court adjourned a hearing
on charges she faces of allegedly obstructing justice.

Police brought her to court after ignoring a judge’s order to release her
Monday.

Her arrest, the day after a referendum on a new Zimbabwe constitution,
prompted an outcry from African and international law organizations.

“Her arrest is not just an attack on her profession but on the people of
Zimbabwe who have just voted yes to a new constitution that enshrines
fundamental human rights,” said her lawyer, Thabani Mpofu.

Mtetwa, arrested Sunday while representing four officials of the prime
minister’s party being searched by police, arrived at the Harare magistrate’s
court in an open-back police truck. She greeted colleagues and activists
with a spirited wave but was not allowed to speak to reporters.

In court, state prosecutors alleged the four officials in Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai’s office, including his chief legal advisor, were
compiling information, some of it in breach of official secrets laws, to
discredit the nation’s judicial officials for allegedly not prosecuting
corrupt politicians.

Mtetwa’s arrest was a ploy to stop her from defending officials of
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party, her attorney argued in
court Tuesday.

State prosecutors objected to bail for Mtetwa and the officials and Gofa
adjourned the court to resume Wednesday.

Mtetwa was led by prison officials to the basement cells of the courthouse
for transportation to the main Harare remand prison.

Mtetwa’s arrest was “patently senseless” at a time when she wanted to act on
behalf of suspects on Sunday, argued Mpofu, her lawyer.

“Her intimidation was of unwarranted proportion which reflects badly on our
institutions,” he said.

She was abused by the police in “the high-handed manner in which they
treated her by handcuffing her and throwing her into the back of an open
truck as if she was a threat to police and national security,” Mpofu said.

While in custody, police confiscated her mobile phone and went through it in
breach of norms of attorney-client confidentiality.

“There is no basis to act in such a manner to a lawyer of over 30 years,”
said her lawyer.

He said when locked in a cell two male police officers at around midnight
even tried to remove prison-issue blankets from her.

To the charge she shouted at police officers and attempted to prevent them
from doing their duty, Mtetwa,  in her written testimony, said she told the
police she wanted to see their search warrants but was ignored.

“What you are doing is unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic,” she
told the officers, Mpofu said.

The police response was to arrest her, he said.

Justice Charles Hungwe issued an order around 1 a.m.Monday (2300 GMT Sunday)
for arresting officers to immediately release Mtetwa.

But police refused to obey the order and Mtetwa was still held in police
cells on Monday.

The action showed that Zimbabwe “is a state that is prepared to act like an
outlaw,” Mpofu told the court.

Obstructing justice carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Mtetwa has represented Tsvangirai and several of his top aides in past cases
brought against them. She has also defended human rights defenders and
journalists. She holds an array of international awards, including those
from the American Bar Association and the main European Bar Human Rights
body.

Mugabe attends Pope’s inauguration in Rome

http://www.swradioafrica.com

 

 

Robert and Grace Mugabe meet the new pope

By Violet Gonda
19 March 2013

President Robert Mugabe was in Italy on Tuesday for the inauguration mass for Pope Francis, bypassing a travel ban imposed by the European Union, which does not apply to the Vatican City state.

Mugabe, a devout Catholic, travelled to the holy city with his wife Grace, their children and several government officials, a couple of days after the constitutional referendum. The poll was followed by the arrests of a human rights lawyer and political activists a day later.

The Zimbabwean leader is accused of human rights abuses by western governments and in 2005 Prince Charles drew controversy in Britain when he shook hands with him at the funeral of Pope John Paul 11. The Prince’s aides claimed the heir to the throne had been caught by surprise when Mugabe offered his hand during the ceremony at the Vatican.

The president also attended the beatification of the Pope in 2011.

Pope Francis became the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who retired last month at the age of 85.

At 89, Mugabe appears to be still going strong.

“I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” Pope Benedict said, becoming the first Pope to stand down since the Middle Ages.

The MDC-T SA said in a statement: “With those words the then Pope Benedict XVI set in motion a chain of events that has now seen Robert Mugabe in Rome today to attend the inauguration of a new Pope.”

“It is worth remembering that the celebrations in Rome today are as a result of an election. The Pope after all is an elected official. Whilst he is being high and mighty in Rome Mugabe must ask around whether any people died in the election. He will find that none of the Cardinals reported that one of their 12 year old cousins had been petrol bombed as he slept. He might well discover that there was white smoke to signal the happy occasion of the end of the election and not blood on the streets. The thought of an election should not bring the fear into the minds of the electorate.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabweans voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new constitution, in results issued by authorities on Tuesday, paving the way for elections.

Zuma wants Sadc team in Zim ahead of polls

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Tuesday, 19 March 2013 12:57

HARARE - South African President Jacob Zuma wants a Sadc team to be
stationed in Zimbabwe as Harare heads for make-or-break elections expected
as early as July.

In a report to the Sadc Troika on politics, defence and security cooperation
meeting attended by Zimbabwean government leaders early this month, Zuma
said Sadc needs to be more robust and to “be based in that country to make
follow-ups and deal with issues as they arise”.

“Differences over the role of observers need to be resolved and the Sadc
guidelines as well as the laws of Zimbabwe should be the baseline,” said
Zuma.

“Observers should be on site well before the elections and for some period
thereafter.”

He called for full implementation of the power-sharing pact widely known as
the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

“It is extremely urgent that all matters agreed upon in terms of the GPA are
implemented speedily so that adequate preparations are made for a level
playing field for the forthcoming elections,” Zuma’s report reads.

“Without the above steps, it will be difficult to envisage elections taking
place under conditions that are free and fair,” reads the report.

The South African leader, who has at times come under attack from Zanu PF
hawks for tough mediation, was appointed by Sadc as its point man.

At a time when military commanders’ penchant for interference in political
affairs is high, Zuma torched a raw nerve that could earn him brick-bats
from Mugabe’s Zanu PF.

“Security sector realignment cannot be postponed any longer,” Zuma said in
the report.

“In this regard, Jomic (the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee)
needs to be activated as a matter of priority. The facilitation team
supplemented by representatives of Tanzania and Zambia must be enabled to
participate actively in Jomic. Namibia as a member and incoming chair of the
Troika should now be included.

“Without the above two key points (security sector and Jomic activation) it
will be difficult to ensure there is no intimidation and that violence is
not allowed to escalate if and when it occurs,” he said.

Zuma’s report also highlighted the need to clean the voter’s roll.

With the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announcing referendum results showing
huge support for the draft constitution, Zuma said Zimbabwe should craft a
clear poll roadmap within a month of the referendum.

Kwekwe arrests ignite fears of escalating intimidation by security forces

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Nomalanga Moyo
19 March 2013

Four MDC-T supporters arrested in Kwekwe last week Friday have been
released, after the state said charges against them were unclear and refused
to prosecute.

The lawyer for the four, Reginald Chidawanyika, told SW Radio Africa that
the police indicated they will proceed by way of summons once they had
completed further investigations.

The activists, Searchmore Muringani, Alex Senge, Malvin Chivhu and Ngoni
Tinarwo, were hauled before Kwekwe Magistrates Court on Monday accused of
assaulting two ZANU-PF youths.

The youths gate-crashed an MDC-T rally addressed by party secretary-general
Tendai Biti at Mbizo 4 suburb on March 13th, leading to the alleged assault.

But the case against the four stalled after head of prosecution at the
magistrates’ court indicated the matter could not proceed as the charges
were unclear and full of contradictions, Chidawanyika told the press
Thursday.

The two ZANU-PF youths, Blessing Chikwira and Libson Jaure, were also
arrested and remain in custody on charges of disorderly conduct in a public
place. They will appear in court Wednesday.

Chikwira and Jaure have alleged links to terror group Al Shabaab, a ZANU PF
militia squad that carries out violent campaigns against the party’s
perceived foes.

Meanwhile in an increasingly common trend at election times, a group of
about 20 suspected soldiers based in Chipinge on Sunday assaulted an MDC-T
parliamentary hopeful Livingstone Vulume.

The soldiers, from Joko 2 Brigade, kicked and dragged Vulume on a gravel
road for being an opposition activist.

MDC-T spokesperson for Manicaland province, Pishai Muchauraya, confirmed the
attack to the NewsDay newspaper and said Vulume sustained bruises all over
the body as a result.

Muchauraya also said that the same soldiers attacked another activist,
Chrispen Rambo, for putting up “Vote Yes” posters ahead of last Saturday’s
referendum.

Kwekwe Member of Parliament for the MDC-T, Settlement Chikwinya, said while
his party is now used to arrests, acts of harassment and intimidation by
ZANU PF, it is the use of state security personnel that is particularly
worrying.

Chikwinya said: “In the case of the four Kwekwe activists, the police
arrested them without carrying out proper investigations. This is not just a
case of incompetence, but a calculated move to frustrate and instill fear in
our supporters.

“And when the police say they will proceed by way of summons the aim is to
ensure that the four live in constant fear of being re-arrested. This is
intimidation,” he added.

Chikwinya revealed how soldiers beat up MDC-T supporters at a rally in
Zhombe last month. He said acts of violence committed by Zimbabwe’s security
forces are set to rise as the harmonised general elections draw nearer.

His comments come in the wake of reports that military personnel and central
intelligence officers on Monday were seen around the offices of The
Zimbabwean newspaper. The paper suspects this is linked to a story it
published last week, amid revelations that the paper’s editor had received
suspicious ‘unknown’ calls.

Earlier this month, police arrested Radio Dialogue’s Zenzele Ndebele as part
of an ongoing crackdown on independent radio stations. Ndebele was told the
police will ‘proceed by way of summons’, a situation which he said is meant
to inconvenience and intimidate him.

Suspicious Calls Force Newspaper Staff to Vacate Offices

http://www.voazimbabwe.com

Jonga Kandemiri
18.03.2013

WASHINGTON DC — Staff members at the privately-owned The Zimbabwean
newspaper went into hiding Monday following suspicious phone calls to news
editor Tawanda Majoni.

Media alerts also say that suspicious-looking people were seen around their
offices resulting in them deserting their offices out of fear.

Majoni told VOA Studio 7 that a suspicious caller demanded to talk to a
reporter who wrote a story the newspaper published last week about the
Zimbabwe national defence forces commander Constantine Chiwenga allegedly
agreeing to rein-in a senior Central Intelligence Organization operative
based in Mutare.

Majoni said the caller wanted to meet the reporter either at the Jameson
Hotel in Harare or at their offices alleging he wanted to give them more
information on the story.

The caller, who identified himself as Moyo, refused to give him the details
over the phone.

Media Institute of Southern Africa-Zimbabwe chapter and the Zimbabwe Union
of Journalists, ZUJ have both released media alerts over the issue.

ZUJ secretary general Foster Dongozi said their lawyers are on stand-by just
in case.

MDC-T man held over petrol bomb attack

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

19/03/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

AN MDC-T supporter has been charged with attempted murder and malicious
injury to property over a petrol bomb attack on the home of a Zanu PF
aspiring councillor in Headlands, Manicaland.

Samson Magumura, earlier said to have been “abducted” from his home by the
MDC-T, was arrested on Saturday over the March 12 incident.

William Chapape – vying for a council seat in Ward 12 – woke up after a ball
of fire landed feet from his bedroom.
On opening the door, he noticed a 5-litre plastic container on fire, picked
it up and threw it away. But investigators say a mystery man – now
identified as Magumura – picked it up and hurled it back at Chapepa whose
clothes caught fire from the petrol spray.

He was treated for serious burns at Rusape Hospital.

On Monday, Rusape magistrate Shingi Mutiro remanded him in custody to April
5.

Chaos rocks rival Zapu launch

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

by Blondie Ndebele 10 hours 54 minutes ago

THE Friends of Zapu Trust (FoZapu) had to change the venue for a launch of
the organisation’s chapter in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday after
elements suspected to be members of Zapu disrupted the meeting, it has been
learnt.

In an interview yesterday, FoZapu secretary Mbonisi Gumbo said the launch
was supposed to take place at Yeoville Recreation Centre, but they had to
move to a local hotel after some people believed to be ex-Zipra combatants
threatened to stop it.

“There were some people who tried to stop the meeting,” he said. “A lot of
people had come to support us, but the ex-Zipra guys did not want the launch
to take place.”

Gumbo said they believed some senior Zapu officials were behind the
disruption as the party is on record distancing itself from FoZapu. Zapu
leader Dumiso Dabengwa issued a statement condemning the formation of
FoZapu, which he said was an attempt to create parallel structures to his
party.

But contacted for comment yesterday, Dabengwa said he did not know anything
about the launch of FoZapu in South Africa except what “has been written in
papers”.

Zapu alternate secretary-general Strike Mkandla distanced his party from the
disturbances.

“All we have done is to clarify that they are doing their own thing and they
are not endorsed by Zapu itself,” he said.

“I didn’t even know they were launching anything in South Africa and how
could we have stopped them when we don’t have formal links with them.”

FoZapu was formed last month by mainly suspended and expelled members of
Zapu. - NewsDay

Zimbabweans pressure British PM over deportations

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
19 March 2013

Zimbabweans in the UK have urged the British Prime Minister David Cameron to
impose a moratorium on the deportation of Zim nationals, because of
increasing levels of violence and intimidation back home.

This call has been made by the UK based Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR)
group, which has warned Cameron in a letter that violence is on the rise.
The group cited the “disturbing campaign” of police harassment of civic
groups in Zimbabwe as well as increasing violence.

“The MDC party of Morgan Tsvangirai has submitted a dossier to the Southern
African Development Community detailing 120 incidents of violence in the
past few months. We expect the situation to worsen as polling approaches
because President Mugabe’s ZANU PF thugs are given impunity by the police to
terrorise opponents,” ROHR said in its letter to Prime Minister Cameron.

ROHR spokesperson Fungayi Mabhunu told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that many
Zimbabwean exiles are living in fear in the UK, because of the threat of
being deported.

He also warned that there are growing reports of abuse at the hands of UK
Border Agency officials, with some Zimbabwean deportees being sedated during
attempts to forcibly remove them from the country.

“We are deeply disturbed by allegations that deportees to Zimbabwe are being
threatened with sedation to facilitate their forced removal from the UK. We
are also concerned by the practice of detaining asylum seekers when they
sign-in as required by law. We believe this approach discourages compliance
and instead drives the frightened asylum seeker under the radar and possibly
into crime,” Mabhunu said.

“We beg the UK government to seriously consider deferring deportations to
Zimbabwe to at least 6 months after the planned 2013 elections which we
believe will be, like those before them, violent,” Mabhunu said.

Tsvangirai Office Arrests: What Happened

http://nehandaradio.com

on March 18, 2013 at 4:42 pm

This is an update provided by Roseline Zigomo

In the early hours of Sunday, the 17th of March 2013, at around 6.00am,
three police officers descended at the home of Thabani Mpofu, a Principal
Director in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa
2. The police officers searched Thabani Mpofu’s house without producing a
search warrant or specifying what they were looking for or what crime had
been committed.

3. They searched the house for three to four hours, during which time, the
Office of the Prime Minister had instructed Beatrice Mtetwa to be Thabani
Mpofu’s legal representative during the search.

4. When Beatrice Mtetwa arrived at Thabani Mpofu’s residence, she asked the
police if they had a search warrant. The police officers told her they had
one and would only show it once they had completed their search. They then
arrested Beatrice Mtetwa on charges of obstructing justice.

5. At the end of the period of the search, they took cameras, a laptop,
other electronic equipment, and documents from Thabani Mpofu’s home.

6. During the search of Thabani Mpofu’s house, other police officers were
also searching the homes of Felix Matsinde and Anna Muzvidziwa, who are
employed in the Office of the Prime Minister; as well as the home of Warship
Dumba, an MDC-T Councillor.

7. The police had also tried to arrest Mehluli Tshuma, another officer
employed in the Office of the Prime Minister, but he was in church at the
time when they came to his house.

8. The police officers then arrested Thabani Mpofu and took him and Beatrice
Mtetwa to the Prime Minister’s office situated in Bath Road. There they were
joined by other officers, not less than eight, and the other co-accused
persons: Felix Matsinde, Anna Muzvidziwa and Warship Dumba, who were present
during the search of the Bath offices. Mehluli Tshuma who had also by this
time been arrested joined the rest of the group at the Bath offices.

9. On the arrest of Beatrice Mtetwa, the OPM had instructed Chris Mhike,
Alec Muchedahama and Jeramiah Bamu to represent the group. The lawyers went
to the Bath offices to witness the search.

10. After the search of the Bath offices, the police then took the accused
persons to Harare Central Police Station, where they were held for long
hours being questioned, without any formal charges being put to them.

11. Very late on Sunday evening, 17 March, Thabani Mpofu was then
transferred to Highlands Police Station; Felix Matsinde and Beatrice Mtetwa
were taken to Rhodesville Police Station; Warship Dumba and Mehluli Tshuma
were taken to Braeside Police Station. Anna Muzvidziwa was initially kept at
Harare Central Police Station, but she was later released in the custody of
Alec Muchedahama, one of the legal team.

12. The group were detained overnight without charges being proffered
against them. They have been in custody now for more than 36 hours.

13. The Prime Minister, late on Sunday night the 17th March, met with a team
of SADC Observers led by Dr. Salamao, the Executive Secretary of SADC.

14. The Prime Minister expressed to the observers his serious concerns over
the arrest of persons in his employ on unspecified charges, which he
regarded as a direct attack on his office at a time when the whole world had
just witnessed a successful and generally peaceful Referendum. The Prime
Minister said that this would cast a huge shadow on the Referendum.

15. The SADC Observer team took note of the arrests.

16. In the morning of Monday, 18 March 2013, the Prime Minister met with the
Acting President, Hon. Joyce Mujuru where similar concerns were raised.

17. While the matter is going through the legal processes, which should be
followed both in letter and spirit, the political implications of this
attack on an Executive office are clear for all to see.

Statement by the President of the MDC, the Right Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s statement to the press

Harare, 18 March 2013

These are trying times for my Office after five members of my staff were picked up in shocking circumstances at their homes yesterday morning.

To date, we remain unclear as to the motive and agenda of this blitz on the Prime Minister’s Office through this arrest of our staff members who worked at our Communications office in Avondale.

A former councillor, Warship Dumba and renowned lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, were also picked up yesterday in the same blitz for as yet undisclosed reasons.

Mtetwa was arrested for allegedly obstructing the course of justice even though she was arrested while executing her duty as a lawyer.

I understand that despite a High Court order being granted for her release, the police have ignored the order, in breach of the Constitution and in total disregard to the rule of law.

I notice from some press reports that our Communications Office in Avondale is now being referred to as the office of some non-governmental organization. The motive for that is certainly sinister.

As we speak, our detained staff members and their lawyers are yet to be told of the charges they are facing, even though the ZBC and the police press and public relations unit are telling the world that they are facing charges of impersonation, without elaboration.

Our officers are still to be charged and our police force should investigate to arrest and not arrest to investigate.

This morning, I met with the acting President, Amai Mujuru, to update her on this needless swoop on my Office as well as the attempt to stop the Zimbabwe Anti- Corruption Commission from executing its Constitutional mandate.

I expressed concern on both the police behaviour on my staff and what is now appearing to be a well-orchestrated move to prevent an independent Commission from doing its work.

The Acting President assured me she would meet with the Commissioner- General of Police.

The targeting of my Office is reprehensible and is meant to harass and intimidate the nation ahead of the election, now that we are done with the referendum.

Last night, I met with the SADC observer team, led by Dr Salamao and I impressed upon the region, as guarantors of our agreement, to ensure that we implement all the reforms that we agreed four years ago, particularly security sector and media reforms.

I urged the observer team to go and see our staff in detention and to make their own assessment of the current environment and to draw up their own conclusions as to whether as a country we are ready for a free and fair election.

We certainly cannot have a police force that arrests people with impunity and then fails to charge them, even though the alleged charges have been told to the media.

We cannot tolerate this unwarranted arrest of innocent staff of an executive office by the police, who then fail to charge them.

We are working hard to improve the electoral environment to make it conducive to a free and fair election, even in the wake of the recent heinous acts, ranging from the murder of Christpowers to this wanton and undignified arrest of innocent staff in my Office, including a breastfeeding mother, Anna Muzvidziwa, who was picked up at church yesterday.

What we are seeing are signs of fear.

These are signs of a police force that has become an appendage of a political party, which party is now showing signs of panic and fear in light of the imminent prospects of losing the forthcoming election.

When I spoke to the SADC observer team last night, I told them that now is the time to call for an urgent SADC summit to check on compliance and implementation of agreed issues and to set the ground rules for a peaceful and civilized electoral contest.

SADC is a curator and guarantor of the GPA and now is the time for the region to play a more active part in charting the way forward.

My thoughts are with our detained staff members.

My thoughts are with their families as well as with the people of Zimbabwe, who remain the true victors because in 2008, they defeated in an election this demon of violence and repression which is now rearing its ugly head again.

I thank you.


--
MDC Information & Publicity Department
Harvest House
44 Nelson Mandela Ave
Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: 00263 4 770 708

Interview: low turnout dents constitution

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

 

Referendum ... Voting on the new consitution started on a low note in some areas

17/03/2013 00:00:00 by Voice of Russia

Voting 'Yes' ... Mlorgan Tsvangirai in Chitungwiza   University of Zimbabwe Economics Professor of Economics, Tony Hawkins, has dismissed this weekend’s referendum on a new constitution as a non-event, arguing the exercise merely rubberstamps what is essentially an agreement between the three parties to the coalition government. Professor Hawkins spoke to The Voice of Russia ahead of Saturday’s referendum Question: What is your feeling, what are the principle questions that stay keen in the referendum? Hawkins: All the signs are that it will be something of a non-event because the three political parties who drafted the constitution have all supported it and there is no active campaign against its acceptance. There are certainly civil society organisations who have opposed it, but there is no organised campaign and it seems quite clear that it will go through with very little opposition, with probably very apathetic electorate and a very low turnout of less than 20%, if not less, of the voters. Question: So, to some extent this will be almost a rubberstamping exercise to produce what has already been agreed among the main parties? Hawkins: Very much so. It is a rubber-stamping exercise. There are critics of it who say that it still leaves too much power in the hands of an executive president. On the business side there is criticism that increasing the size of the Parliament by about a third is unnecessary and very expensive in the country which is struggling to finance its payments. And there is also a question mark over the cost of conducting the referendum; it is put at about $100 million. The government appealed to the United Nations and the United Nations has basically said “no” at this stage, we would need to send a mission and there isn’t time and things like that. So, they’ve been trying to work it on the business community and get the money from them but this had been a very opaque exercise and no one really knows how much money they’ve got and on what terms, and so on. Question: Have the Western governments been pushing for this referendum or are they just pushing for the fact that it should be seen to be managed very well? Hawkins: Well, it was always agreed in the agreement that was signed by the parties in 2008, it was always agreed that there would be a referendum once a new constitution was drawn up. And, on a number of occasions, some Western governments have tried lifting these personal targeted sanctions and linking that to a free and fair election or a free and fair referendum, or whatever. Now most of these sanctions have been lifted anyway, so it’s not really a big issue. But it does mean that if there is a low turnout, the West will find it very difficult to claim that this is popularly accepted constitution because it will just be a constitution that’s been greeted pretty much with apathy. Question: So, it’s likely to be passed but there is a strong perception that there is not a fully democratic mandate for it which to some extent weakens the perception. Hawkins: I think that fails if you see a democratic mandate as at least 20% of the population. But we all know that of course in the European Union for instance you had many elections with very low turnouts for the European Parliament that I’m sure people would just ignore the problem and press ahead with the elections. Question: You’ve mentioned the case of sanctions being lifted and that most of those sanctions have been lifted anyway. Are there European or Western companies coming into Zimbabwe already to buy up, to do business or to take advantage? Hawkins: Not really. I think there is still a residual nervousness ahead of the elections and this has to do with the Government’s so-called indigenisation policy which is demanding that the majority ownership of all companies must be held by local Zimbabweans. In other words foreign firms are not allowed majority ownership and that probably is the reason why foreign businesses, particularly Western businesses, are staying out. Chinese businesses are quite active here. There are some from Russia and Ukraine, and India, and countries like that. But the Western businesses who have pretty much been the ones targeted by the Government here have tended to be pretty cautious. Question: As it stands with the status quo this is not something that is likely to change so much because of this situation that’s built up. Hawkins: That’s right.

Zimbabwe constitution: this referendum apathy suits Mugabe

http://www.guardian.co.uk

The low turnout means Zimbabwe's constitution could end up being another
chance for Mugabe's Zanu-PF to laugh at the law

Petina Gappah
The Guardian, Monday 18 March 2013 21.00 GMT

Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, casts his vote in Harare in the
constitution referendum. Photograph: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media
'If I vote yes in the referendum," an old woman from Gutu in rural Zimbabwe
said to her son, "will that mean that I am saying yes to Robert Mugabe? And
if I vote no, am I voting no to Morgan Tsvangirai?" In Zimbabwe, the process
of voting on a new constitution cannot be separated from the personalities
that dominate Zimbabwe's politics.

A key component of the agreement that brought together Zimbabwe's feuding
political parties in a unity government in 2008 was a new constitution to be
put to the public vote. On Saturday Zimbabweans had that vote. The
state-owned Sunday Mail, which greets all government initiatives with
unbridled enthusiasm, reported that "most polling stations recorded high
voter turnouts". As of writing, the count was still going on, but it was
clear that just over 2 million people – less than a third of the 6.6 million
registered voters – had taken part. The key feature of this referendum was
voter apathy.

In terms of the outcome, this will not matter: only a simple majority is
required. But Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constitutional Assembly,
which has campaigned against the constitution, argues that a turnout of less
than 50% would amount to a rejection of the constitution. His principled and
determined campaign received little publicity, but it had strong arguments.

There are certainly some troubling compromises in the constitution. During
its first 10 years, if a president died or resigned from office, the party
of that president would choose the new president, meaning that Zimbabwe
could well end up with a president that no one had voted for. A strengthened
constitutional court is weakened by a provision that in the first 10 years
it is to be composed of the current judges of the discredited supreme court.
On the charged issue of land ownership, the constitution falls far short of
international norms of non-discrimination. Compensation for expropriated
land will depend on whether land belonged to someone "indigenous" – a not
particularly subtle code for black.

The no campaign also objected to the constitution-making process.
Politicians promised it would be "people-driven", but the constitution has
been negotiated only by the parties in parliament. The "people" have been
asked to rubber-stamp the process once only now the politicians are done
with it, and even that rubber-stamping is problematic: a reported 90,000
copies of the final draft were printed for the 6.6 million voters – who had
less than four weeks to read it.

There are, however, strong arguments in the constitution's favour. The most
significant change to the presidency would be the introduction of term
limits. Considering that most Zimbabweans – the under-30s – have only ever
known one leader, this would be a radical change.

The constitution also addresses the citizenship woes of the millions of
disenfranchised Zimbabweans born in the country to parents from Malawi,
Zambia, Mozambique and elsewhere who are currently labelled "aliens".

The constitution is particularly strong where it puts the aspirations of
ordinary Zimbabweans at the centre of government. A strengthened bill of
rights obliges the state to put the empowerment of women and girls ahead of
regressive cultural practices; makes significant inroads into the death
penalty; forbids all forms of torture; guarantees freedom of expression and
belief; and imposes obligations on the state to take steps to ensure access
to shelter, health education, food and legal aid.

A constitution, however, depends on a culture of constitutionalism – of
respect for the constitution and adherence to its terms. The yes vote will
almost certainly pass, and Zimbabwe will get its new constitution, but a low
turnout will suggest that Zimbabweans may be a long way from
constitutionalism.

Moreover, new elections are supposed to follow the referendum. A low turnout
in those elections would be bad news for the Movement for Democratic Change
and the smaller parties who rely on their supporters to go voluntarily to
the polls in large numbers. However, it would be good news for Zanu-PF,
which has always prevailed even when losing a vote.

A Zanu-PF win in the elections will be bad for constitutionalism, as the
party has not hesitated to trample on the constitution when it feels its
power slipping away. The recent arrests of civil society activists and
lawyers attest to this disregard of the rule of law. If Zanu-PF wins yet
again, the constitution that was supposed to be Zimbabwe's new supreme law
may end up being nothing more than another law to be discarded by Zanu-PF.
And the losers will be ordinary Zimbabweans like my friend's mother in
Gutu – let down once again by the politicians.

Zimbabwe: End Police Crackdown on Civil Society

Zimbabwe: the next vote will have the economy at stake

http://blogs.ft.com

Mar 19, 2013 4:16pm by Tony Hawkins

On its own, the overwhelming “Yes” vote in Zimbabwe’s referendum on a new
constitution means little.

Indeed, it is no more than the first act of a drama that will unfold over
the next few months as the country moves towards presidential and
parliamentary elections that will determine whether the economy maintains
its recovery momentum or slides back into political-driven stagnation.

Some 95 per cent of the 3.2m people who voted supported the new
constitution, but because the three political parties that make up the
coalition government campaigned for it, the result is not a meaningful
indicator of future voter intentions. On the face of it, when it comes to
the elections, there will be a straightforward call between president Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC.

The choice is stark. In the final ten years of Mugabe’s 28-year political
monopoly in Zimbabwe (1980-2008), GDP plunged 45 per cent and income per
head fell to its lowest level in half a century. The coalition between Zanu
and the MDC that took office at the start of 2009 has reversed the slide and
GDP has grown 7.5 per cent annually, though this recovery is mostly
attributable to the country’s forced dollarisation in 2009.

If Tsvangerai wins the presidency and parliamentary majority later this
year, foreign firms, especially western ones, can expect a more
investment-friendly business climate in Zimbabwe than if the 89-year-old
Mugabe is returned to office. However, the real threat to business would
come not from the President himself but his hardline supporters, led by
Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, currently
master-minding the country’s business localisation strategy.

He claims to have completed indigenisation agreements – whereby black
Zimbabweans will own 51 per cent of foreign firms – with mining companies,
Anglo American (Unki Platinum), Zimplat, a subsidiary of South Africa’s
Impala Platinum Mimosa Mining (Platinum) and in industrials, BAT. But no
shares have yet changed hands, because of the vendor finance nature of the
agreements, whereby the new owners will pay for their shares from future
dividends.

As currently structured, these deals are not viable and even if Mugabe were
to win, the next administration would have to restructure them. There is no
doubt that most foreign investors would far rather renegotiate with
Tsvangerai’s team than Mugabe’s, though this might not apply for some of the
newer emerging market investors from countries like China, who already have
close links with Zanu-PF.

However, it is just too simplistic to conclude that Tsvangerai will win at
the polls and that Zimbabwe will then enjoy an unprecedented economic boom.
The referendum turnout when 60 per cent of the votes were cast by rural
voters in Mugabe’s traditional strongholds to 40 per cent by urban voters
might just be a straw in the wind suggesting that Zanu-PF is making a
political comeback.

Secondly, the winner of the 2013 poll is unlikely to have an easy ride
economically. Zimbabwe’s post-dollarisation business model has run out of
steam. The economy cannot grow rapidly without massive infrastructure
investment which in turn is being held back by an external debt (116 per
cent of GDP), including foreign arrears of some 60 per cent of GDP.

Without increasing investment as a percentage of GDP from the current 15 to
at least 25 percent, it will not be possible to reach the government’s
ambitious 7 per cent annual growth target. Zimbabwe households are consuming
over 90 per cent of GDP. Domestic savings are negligible and the country is
almost completely reliant on foreign funds for investment, which is why it
cannot afford the economic nationalism embodied in Zanu-PF’s indigenisation
strategy.

Not only are per capita incomes little different today from their levels of
the mid-1960s, but formal sector employment of 800,000 people, excluding
agriculture, is quarter of a million less than in the late 1990s. Moreover,
growth prospects are brightest in capital-intensive mining, with limited job
creation highlighting the employment challenge that will face the next
administration.

Because without substantial foreign capital, sustained economic recovery is
improbable, the next government, Zanu-PF or MDC, will have to rethink
Zimbabwe’s relations with foreign investors. In all probability, Zanu-PF
already recognises this reality, but so long as indigenisation is one of the
few political cards it has to play in the forthcoming elections, it is not
going to discard it until after the polls are closed.

Zimbabwe: Why Is One of the World’s Least-Free Economies Growing So Fast?

Bones hold past, future of ravaged country

http://www.sfgate.com

By MIKE WERESCHAGIN, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Updated 6:41 am, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — In the darkness of Zimbabwe's abandoned mine shafts and
unmarked graves, the bones hold true to their stories.

Half a world away, in a classroom at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Shari
Eppel is learning to listen to them.

Eppel, 52, traveled to Erie from her native Zimbabwe to study forensic
anthropology, the science of exhuming remains and determining what happened
to them.

Her country faces an inflection point. Police on Sunday arrested the
country's top human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, and several political
opponents of President Robert Mugabe, a day after an estimated 2 million
people voted on a constitution that would curb Mugabe's power.

Mugabe, 89, faces re-election this summer.

As her country struggles to find its future, Eppel, a psychologist, believes
it must confront the horrors of its past, including the scars of Mugabe's
brutal crackdown in the early 1980s.

"You'll find husbands and wives who saw each other beaten who've never
discussed it with each other. Because there's no reason. Why would you
suddenly, 15 years later, say, 'Oh by the way, 15 years ago when we were
beaten, this is how I felt about it'?" Eppel said.

Zimbabwe has no forensic anthropologists to identify and record victims of
Gukurahundi, the name Mugabe gave to the crackdown. Government troops killed
20,000 people, mostly civilians in Eppel's native Matabeleland, according to
United Nations estimates.

Mass graves hide in plain sight, in shuttered mines and beneath schoolyards,
where relatives buried their dead at gunpoint, Eppel said. In some cases,
the Fifth Brigade, Mugabe's North Korean-trained troops, forced family
members to desecrate fresh graves, she said.

In the decades since, survivors tried to bury their memories.

"They're so afraid, they're so ashamed, they're so humiliated by all the
terrible things that happened to them during that time that they don't ever,
ever talk about it," Eppel said.

Exhuming remains offers a way to confront those terrifying days, she said.
The process engages whole villages — a practical necessity, she said, in a
region with 3 million people and four psychoanalysts.

Exhumations take place but many are indiscriminate, with bones haphazardly
returned to families without scientific confirmation that they belonged to a
missing relative nor documentation of how he or she ended up in a mass
grave.

"People think that once you're dead, you can't say anything. But actually
you can," Eppel said.

In a Nebraska courtroom in early February, Eppel's Mercyhurst professor,
Steven Symes, testified against John Oldson in his trial for the 1989 murder
of Catherine Beard. The woman's bones showed marks from the knife that
killed her. Based partly on Symes' testimony, the jury convicted Oldson,
whom a judge will sentence in April.

"There she is, a village girl in Nebraska, saying, 'I was stabbed in the
back,' 23 years after the event and getting somebody locked up," Eppel said.

The American Board of Forensic Anthropology lists only nine graduate
forensic anthropology programs, including Mercyhurst's. Police departments
frequently enlist the aid of its professors and graduate students when they
find long-hidden remains, including remains found Feb. 17 near UPMC
Passavant in Cranberry.

The program admits at most 10 graduate students a year, which nearly
saturates the field's tiny job market, Symes said.

The school accepted Eppel with the hope of doing more than educating her,
Symes said.

"She's also here to help our grad students understand some issues," he said.
Students who grew up in the United States rarely have firsthand knowledge of
human rights abuses, he said. Eppel's stories show her classmates how
scientific methods can offer justice along with answers.

"All we can teach them here is the science, but you have to have a passion
to go with it," Symes said.

Eppel plans to return this summer to Zimbabwe and an uncertain future.

"We're exhuming people the government murdered, and they don't particularly
want us to do that," Eppel said.

Mugabe has called the Gukurahundi "a moment of madness," but human rights
groups accuse his regime of continuing to abduct activists such as Paul
Chizuze, a colleague of Eppel's whose February 2012 disappearance made
headlines worldwide. Police on Sunday ignored a judge's order to release
Mtetwa, the human rights lawyer, according to the group Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights, where Mtetwa is a board member.

Eppel said she is learning to "see the healing power of bones, how
anthropology does literally what therapy does figuratively."

A properly conducted exhumation can help villagers to dig up the skeletons
of their past, mourn the dead, bury them properly and move on, she said.

"The dead aren't really dead in Africa," where people consider ancestors a
link to God, Eppel said. Damage that link and "your access to God is
damaged."