The Zimbabwe Situation

Reuters

Wed 14 May 2008, 16:01 GMT

(adds comments, analyst, background, Tsvangirai to campaign)

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE, May 14 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's run-off presidential election due this
month was put off on Wednesday until as late as July, prompting the
opposition to say President Robert Mugabe was trying to buy time for a
crackdown.

Zimbabweans voted on March 29, but results of the disputed vote were only
released on May 2.

They showed opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat Mugabe, but not with
enough votes to avoid a run-off that should have been held within 21 days of
the results.

In a special government gazette published on Wednesday, Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa said on behalf of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, or
ZEC:

"The period within which a second election for the office of the president
is hereby extended from 21 days to 90 days from the date of announcement of
results of the first poll."

That means the second round of voting for president may only take place in
July -- four months after Zimbabweans first cast parliamentary and
presidential ballots -- which could heighten tensions and spark further
violence.

In the parliamentary vote, the ruling ZANU-PF party lost its majority to the
opposition for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980. The
new parliament has not yet sat.

An opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman said of the
delay: "This is illegal and unfair. It is part of a programme to give Mugabe
and ZANU-PF time to torment and continue a campaign of violence on the MDC."

Lovemore Madhuku, constitutional lawyer and head of the National
Constitutional Assembly pressure group fighting for a new constitution, said
the delay was unlawful.

"It's unlawful under the Electoral Act. ... The Act automatically sets the
run-off date, from the date of the first round. What they have done is
ridiculous and fundamentally flawed. It's political mischief and it's very
sad that ZEC is allowing itself to be used to ambush the opposition," he
said.

Independent election observer group Zimbabwe Election Support Network also
said any run-off held after the stipulated 21 days would be in breach of the
law. It noted conditions were not conducive to a free and fair poll.

POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE

The MDC accuses ZANU-PF of waging a campaign of violence and intimidation
against its supporters as part of efforts to rig the vote. It says 32 of its
supporters have been killed in the aftermath of the elections.

The government denies the accusations.

The southern African SADC grouping which will monitor the polls said earlier
on Wednesday that the political environment was not yet suited for a secure
and fair run-off.

"We can't say the playing ground is safe or will be fair, but we are there
to create a conducive environment for everybody to be confident," SADC
Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomao told Reuters in neighbouring Mozambique.

SADC observed the first round of the vote in March and Salomao said it
planned to send a bigger team to the run-off. Regional states are concerned
turmoil and instability in Zimbabwe could spill over and take their toll on
them too.

An economic meltdown in Zimbabwe has triggered inflation of 165,000 percent,
80 percent unemployment, chronic food and fuel shortages and a flood of
refugees to neighbouring states.

Tsvangirai had initially said he would only contest the run-off if
international observers had full access, but told Reuters on Tuesday he
would be satisfied if just SADC monitors attended.

The MDC said on Wednesday he would return home for the first time in a month
to start campaigning for the run-off on Sunday.

SADC had sent 120 observers to the first round, and Salomao said it planned
to send at least 200 observers to the run-off and possibly more than 300.
But he ruled out sending peacekeepers as requested by Tsvangirai.
(Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Cris Chinaka, and Charles
Mangwiro in Maputo; Writing by Marius Bosch; Editing by Richard Meares) (For
full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit:
http://africa.reuters.com/)

No election until August

Zimbabwe Today

Zanu-PF delay the run-off election to give their campaign of terror time to
work

Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday May 14, 5 pm

Ahead of announcements expected in Zimbabwe's state-run media tomorrow, I
can reveal that the date of the much-anticipated Presidential election
run-off will be 90 days after May 2, the date of the official announcement
of the disputed results.

This means the poll will be in August, and not as expected on May 24. The
news comes as a shock to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), which had anticipated that, as stated in the Electoral Act, the
run-off would take place just 21 days after the official announcement.

My government source tells me that the decision has been taken by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission after its arm was twisted by Mugabe's Joint
Operation Command. The Central Intelligence Organsiation has reported that
the terror campaign in the countryside, fully reported on this page, has
been effective, but more time is needed to ensure a satisfactory run-off
result.

The source said: "In 90 days Zanu-PF will make sure the MDC is dead and
buried. The militia will beat everyone into voting for Mugabe."

Posted on Wednesday, 14 May 2008 at 17:48

SADC: Zim not yet ready for fair vote

Mail and Guardian

Nelson Banya | Harare, Zimbabwe

14 May 2008 04:21

      Conditions are neither safe nor fair yet for a run-off election
in Zimbabwe in which the opposition hopes to unseat President Robert Mugabe,
the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which will monitor the
poll, said on Wednesday.

      Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai is
to face Mugabe in the second round after failing to secure an absolute
majority in a disputed March 29 poll. A date for the run-off has not been
set.

       "At the moment we can't say the playing ground is safe or will
be fair, but we are there to create a conducive environment for everybody to
be confident," SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao told Reuters in an
interview in neighbouring Mozambique.

      The MDC accuses the ruling Zanu-PF of waging a campaign of
violence and intimidation against its supporters as part of efforts to rig
the vote. It says 32 of its supporters have been killed in the aftermath of
the elections.

      The government denies the charges. The state-run Herald
newspaper accused Western ambassadors on Wednesday of demonising Zimbabwe's
government and "cooking up" evidence of political violence to help the MDC
remove Mugabe after 28 years in power.

      SADC observed the first round of the vote in March and Salomao
said it planned to send a bigger team to the run-off. Regional states are
concerned turmoil and instability in Zimbabwe could spill over and take
their toll on them too.

      An economic meltdown in Zimbabwe has triggered inflation of 165
000%, 80% unemployment, chronic food and fuel shortages and a flood of
refugees to neighbouring states.

      Tsvangirai had initially said he would only contest the run-off
if international observers had full access, but said on Tuesday he would be
satisfied if just SADC monitors attended.

      Observers, not peacekeepers
      Official results of the March election show Tsvangirai beat
Mugabe in the presidential poll, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off.
In a parliamentary election held on the same day, Zanu-PF lost its majority
to the opposition for the first time since independence from Britain in
1980.

      SADC had sent 120 observers to the first round, and Salomao said
it planned to send at least 200 observers to the run-off and possibly more
than 300. But he ruled out sending peacekeepers as requested by Tsvangirai,
and called on Zanu-PF and the MDC to help ensure the vote can proceed
smoothly.

      "Don't provoke each other, stay in your corner, mobilise your
fellows, present your programmes ... That's how they should behave," he
said.

      The Herald accused foreign diplomats in Zimbabwe of stoking
tensions.

      United States ambassador James McGee and top diplomats from
other countries were questioned for about 45 minutes at a police checkpoint
outside the capital, Harare, on Tuesday.

      They were also held up at a rural hospital where they visited
victims of post-election violence and were questioned by officials about
their reasons for being there. The US, which is a major donor of aid to
Zimbabwe, condemned what it called "harassment" of the diplomats.

      The Herald accused the envoys of "circumventing diplomatic
protocol" and going on a "spirited campaign to demonise the government ahead
of the presidential election run-off".

      The newspaper, which tends to reflect official thinking, said
the diplomats had breached a rule that prohibited them from travelling more
than 40km outside Harare without prior clearance from the Foreign Ministry.

      "In Zimbabwe, even mighty America is not above the law of the
land. We have rules and regulations," Mugabe spokesperson George Charamba
said. -- Reuters
      Related articles

Harassment of Diplomats ordered from President’s Office

http://zimbabwemetro.com

By Roy Chinamano ⋅ May 14, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment
Yesterday’s detention and questioning of the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe and
diplomats from five other missions in Harare by the police was ordered from
the President’s office. Metro has learnt.

Metro managed to speak to one of the police officers involved in altercation
with the diplomatic staff.

“Iwe isvu hatiyite zvinobva mumisoro yedu,tiripabasa sewe uripasa rako
rekunyora nhema.”(You,we just do not do things from our own heads,we are
doing our work as much as you are doing yours reporting lies), The combative
officer said in local shona.
“Tongoita zvatino wudzwa nema chefu”(We just do what we are told by the
chiefs).

Pressed to clarify which ‘chiefs’ he was referring to since it could be
Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri,’Vachefu varipamusoro pachefu ivavo’
(The chief on top of that chief) he said as he walked away.

United States Ambassador James McGee and the chiefs of mission from the
United Kingdom, the European Union and Japan, plus officials from the
Netherlands and Tanzania, were detained and questioned for 45 minutes by
security forces at a roadblock near the capital, Harare, and again outside a
hospital they were visiting in Mvurwi.

Kevin Stirr, the US Embassy’s democracy and governance officer, was asked by
a security agent what the group had been doing. ‘Looking at people who have
been beaten,’ he said. The Central Intelligence Organisation agent replied:
‘We are going to beat you thoroughly, too’, before turning away and
returning to his car. Mr Stirr pulled open the door and shouted at him.

The two agents in the vehicle tried to flee, but James McGee, the US
Ambassador, stood in their path. When they tried to push him away with the
car, he sat heavily on the bonnet. He went on to take photographs of the
agents, who were trying to hide their faces.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the incidents are
“indicative of the kind of atmosphere that exists in Zimbabwe right now,”
and that if foreign diplomats in Zimbabwe are being treated this way, “you
can only imagine for Zimbabwean citizens what life is like if they make an
effort to speak up, to voice their opinions.”

The diplomats had gone to meet with victims who had been hospitalized after
being attacked by ZANU PF militias.

Violence has been escalating in the country since the March 29 election in
which ZANU-PF lost its majority in parliament and Mugabe himself was beaten
by Morgan Tsvangirai in the presidential vote.

McGee said the United States has confirmed reports of at least 20 deaths and
more than 700 incidents of violence since March 29. In a letter published
May 12, McGee accused President Mugabe’s party of orchestrating violence to
intimidate opposition supporters before a proposed presidential runoff
election.

Mr McGee said that the threats would not deter the mission. ‘We are eager to
continue this type of thing, to show the world what is happening here in
Zimbabwe. It is absolutely urgent that the entire world sees what is going
on. The violence has to stop.’

The convoy of diplomats visited an alleged ZANU-PF interrogation camp and
two hospitals in order to document government-orchestrated violence against
the opposition.

Contact the writer of this story at: harare@zimbabwemetro.com

Zimbabwe accuses U.S. envoy of trying to demonize country

International Herald Tribune

The Associated PressPublished: May 14, 2008

HARARE, Zimbabwe: The U.S. ambassador is trying to "demonize" Zimbabwe, a
state-owned newspaper charged Wednesday, a day after the envoy and other
diplomats were detained for an hour at a police roadblock.

U.S. Ambassador James McGee and other diplomats had been investigating
allegations of state-sponsored political violence.

The Herald, a government mouthpiece, accused McGee of breaching protocol by
leading a fact-finding mission outside Harare. U.S. Embassy officials,
though, said the Foreign Ministry had been informed, as required.

McGee "has been on a spirited campaign to demonize the government ahead of
the presidential election runoff," the Herald said.

The government has denied reports from opposition officials and human rights
groups of government-orchestrated violence meant to undermine support for
the opposition before a runoff.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims he won the presidential race
outright. But official results released weeks after the poll showed he did
not win enough votes to avoid a second round against longtime President
Robert Mugabe. No date for a runoff has been set.
Business Day, a respected newspaper in neighboring South Africa, reported
Wednesday that another fact-finding team, a panel of retired South African
army generals, had found evidence of high levels of state-sponsored violence
in Zimbabwe.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is trying to mediate between the
government and the opposition to end Zimbabwe's political crisis, was
briefed on the generals' report during a visit to Zimbabwe last week,
Business Day reported.

Mbeki was awaiting the generals' full report before considering how to move
"to end any violence that is being perpetrated," South African Deputy
Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad was quoted as saying by the South
African Press Association on Wednesday.

While Mbeki has maintained a policy of quiet diplomacy, saying confronting
Mugabe could backfire, the United States has been among Mugabe's sharpest
critics. McGee has been outspoken, as was his predecessor, Christopher Dell.
In 2005, Dell was briefly detained by soldiers while walking in the National
Botanical Gardens in Harare, accused of trying to provoke a diplomatic
incident by entering a viewing area near Mugabe's official residence.

In Washington on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
said McGee and the other diplomats with him — from Japan, the EU, the
Netherlands and Tanzania — were harassed Tuesday, and that such treatment
was indicative of an atmosphere that makes life difficult for citizens who
speak out.

At one point at the roadblock, a police officer threatened to beat one of
McGee's senior aides. The officer got into his car and lurched toward McGee
after he had demanded the officer's name. The car hit McGee's shins, but he
was not injured.

McGee climbed onto the hood of the car while his aide snatched the keys from
the ignition, then the diplomats used their mobile phone cameras to take
photographs of the officer.

McGee insisted the convoy be allowed through and the 11 vehicles carrying
diplomats and journalists passed through after about an hour.

Earlier, a priest in northeastern Zimbabwe had led the diplomats to a lumber
camp occupied by people described to reporters as ruling party militants.
McGee said that, when he confronted them, they hid four notebooks with
interrogation schedules.

Lumber yard manager Jim Bennett said at the end of last month at least 100
Mugabe party militants set up a command center on the timber estate about
100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Harare. Bennett said his workers saw
police commanders visiting the militant leaders, but no attempts were made
to disperse the militants.

"Everybody's scared around here," Bennett said, saying that seven of his
workers had been assaulted and many others had been driven into hiding.
Others left after timber supplies were stolen by militants, he said.

But Bennett said the violence had only created greater antagonism among his
workers toward Mugabe's party.

In the nearby Mvurwi hospital, Kapenda Mwansa, 41, a father of one, said he
was attacked by three assailants May 2 who flailed the skin from his back
and buttocks with sticks. He was accused of being a "sellout."

A few kilometers (miles) across the bush, staff at the Howard Hospital run
by the Salvation Army in the Chiweshe district said they had treated 22
people since May 5 for injuries from beatings to the feet, back, buttocks
and legs. At least one was an opposition polling agent, and others were
teachers accused of pro-opposition bias when helping run polling stations in
the March 29 elections.

Deep cuts showed on Hitler Maguze's wrists from struggling against handcuffs
and sores soiled his hospital smock. Maguze said he and his wife were
handcuffed, forced to the ground face down and beaten with sticks and
chains.

"This is what they do, but it won't make me vote for Mugabe," he said.

One victim died in the hospital from internal hemorrhaging, said nurse
Maxwell Manyika. Villagers reported another three people died in the nearby
Chaona village after nighttime attacks there.

US Ambassador Says Zimbabwe Government Doing Nothing to Stop Post-Election Violence

VOA

By Joe De Capua / Blessing Zulu
Washington
14 May 2008

The US ambassador to Zimbabwe is speaking out (Wednesday) about criticism
from state-run media and about Tuesday’s diplomatic row in which police
delayed him and tried to detain him for questioning. Ambassador James McGee
and other envoys visited hospitals in Mashonaland central, where victims of
political violence are being treated.

The state-run Herald newspaper accused Ambassador McGee of trying to
demonize the government ahead of the presidential runoff election and of
breaching diplomatic protocol in traveling more than 40 kilometers from
Harare.

VOA reporter Blessing Zulu spoke with Ambassador McGee, who rebutted the
Herald’s accusations.

“The Herald needs to check its facts before it comes out with stories that
are less than factual. President Mugabe himself, when I presented my
credentials, encouraged me to go out into the countryside and visit with the
people of Zimbabwe and see for myself what’s happening in his country. I was
taking the president up on that offer yesterday when I visited what is, now
we know, a torture camp and two hospitals. We saw evidence at the torture
camp that violence is being perpetrated against innocent people who’d done
nothing more than vote their conscience in the last election. And we saw
exactly the same thing at the two hospitals that we visited. We saw images,
horrible images, of people who had been beaten senseless, again for nothing
more than voting their conscience in the last election. So, I don’t think
you can call that demonizing anyone when we’re reporting nothing but factual
evidence,” he says.

Asked his opinion of the scope and nature of the post-election violence in
Zimbabwe, Ambassador McGee says, “I think that the scope is massive. We’re
talking about large numbers of people who are being intimidated by violence.
We’re talking about large numbers of people -- and this may be an even more
serious issue -- who are being displaced from their possessions, from their
homes. These are people who will not be able to vote in any runoff election,
if that does happen, because they won’t be living in the wards where they’re
registered. So, that’s a serious issue right there.”

He adds, “The degree of the violence is brutality like I’ve never seen
before. I’ve even been in war zones. I served in Vietnam for four years…
What I’m seeing here I did not even see that type of brutality in a war
zone.”

Asked whether he believes the violence is being organized and supported by
the ruling ZANU-PF Party as many have claimed, Ambassador McGee says, “I’ve
personally spoken to literally a hundred, maybe a hundred and twenty people.
I’ve had one person who tells me that he’s a ZANU supporter and was a victim
of violence. To a person, everyone else tells me that they were an MDC
supporter and that the people who had brought the violence down upon them
were ZANU or ZANU supporters. This leads me to believe, from my small
sampling of what’s happening here in Zimbabwe, that the vast, vast majority
is being perpetrated on MDC personnel by ZANU people.” However, he adds,
“What I have to say to everyone is I really don’t care if you’re ZANU or if
you’re MDC -- the violence has to stop in Zimbabwe.”

Commenting on whether he thinks the Mugabe government is taking steps to end
the violence, he says, “I’ve seen no evidence that the government is
determined to stop this violence. No evidence whatsoever.”

As for Tuesday’s incident, in which Ambassador McGee opened up hospital
gates despite police attempts to detain him and others, he says, “My
decision was a very simple one. It was time for us to depart the hospital.
There were four policemen, armed policemen, who were standing at the gate. I
said it was time for us to depart and I went and opened the gate and asked
my people to leave. As an accredited diplomat here I should not be detained.
Article 26 of the Vienna Convention…says that diplomats should be afforded
free and unimpeded passage throughout the length and breadth of the country
that they’re accredited to.”

Asked where Zimbabwe goes from here, with a runoff presidential election
pending, the US ambassador says, “I think there are several ways forward.
Number one, I think that the people of Zimbabwe need to stand up and say
enough is enough. We have made a decision. Let’s move forward and give us
the opportunity to again express our will.”

Ambassador McGee says the government needs to announce a date for the
election. “The government of Zimbabwe, as well as the people of Zimbabwe,
needs to assure that this will be a safe, free, fair election. The second
thing I think needs to happen is that the…regional communities, such as
SADC, need to step in and ensure that their rules regarding the conduct of
an election in their member nations are being met here in Zimbabwe. SADC has
some very, very definitive rules about the type of violence that we see
happening here in Zimbabwe. And I think it’s incumbent upon SADC to ensure
that Zimbabwe as a member state lives up to those rules,” he says.

Zimbabwe violence ‘shocks’ SA generals

Business Day

14 May 2008

Dumisani Muleya

Harare Correspondent

RETIRED South African army generals investigating post- election violence in
Zimbabwe have uncovered “shocking levels” of state-sponsored terror, sources
close to them say.

The continued violence makes any chance of a peaceful runoff election
“almost impossible”, they say.

When President Thabo Mbeki visited Harare last week, the team’s leader,
Lt-Gen Gilbert Lebeko Romano, briefed him on their findings.

The violence intensified after it was confirmed that President Robert Mugabe
and his ruling Zanu (PF) had lost to the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the March 29
poll.

Senior members of the investigating team said their findings were “alarming”
and that most of the violence was state sponsored, although the opposition
had also retaliated.

“What we have heard and seen is shocking. We have heard horrific stories of
extreme brutality and seen the victims,” said one of the generals.

“We have seen people with scars, cuts, gashes, bruises, lacerations and
broken limbs, and bodies of those killed. It’s a horrifying picture.”

The generals’ report will soon be given to Mbeki, who will decide whether to
publish it.

Since it lost the elections, Mugabe’s regime has launched a crackdown in a
bid to win the expected presidential election runoff. Opposition and human
rights activists, trade union leaders, lawyers and journalists have been
arrested during the past three weeks.

Yesterday police briefly detained US, British, Dutch, Japanese and Tanzanian
diplomats and journalists in Glendale outside Harare while they were
visiting scenes of political violence.

Human Rights Watch last week accused the army, deployed nationwide, of
creating a climate of fear and of committing human rights abuses. The
military has denied this.

The incident which has shocked the investigators most happened at Chaona
village in the Chiweshe area last Monday. A Zanu (PF) MP is believed to have
led an armed gang of 45 in an attack on MDC activists, leaving four dead.
Three other victims died later and a t least 50 people were seriously
injured.

“It was a ferocious onslaught on the village. We have never seen anything
like that before. The village is still in a state of shock and we now live
in fear,” said an eye - witness at the Avenues Clinic in Harare, where some
of the victims have been admitted.

The team of generals has me t government, Zanu (PF) and opposition
officials, civil society leaders and other interest groups.

Mbeki is understood to have been “shaken” by what he was told, and it is
hoped he will press Mugabe to curb the violence and to ensure that the
runoff is held in a secure environment.

While Mugabe agreed that violence should end, he complained that the MDC was
behind some incidents.

Sources say Mbeki is convinced that a runoff cannot take place in the tense
climate. His envoy on Zimbabwe, Kingsley Mamabolo, highlighted these
concerns even before he travelled to Harare last week.

The MDC claims 32 of its activists have so far been killed. MDC spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said yesterday that political violence has reached alarming
levels.

Generals' report may sway Mbeki on Zim

Mail and Guardian

Pretoria, South Africa

14 May 2008 05:20

      A report by six former South African National Defence Force
generals might lead to action being taken to address the violence in
Zimbabwe, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday.

      He said President Thabo Mbeki was waiting for a report from the
generals on the violence before considering appropriate action.

      "If there is any substantiation of the violence coming from the
generals' report and other reports, then it is up to the facilitator to see
how he deals with this and get the agreement of all parties [on how] we will
take steps to end any violence that is being perpetrated," Pahad said.

      He was briefing reporters at Parliament on the work of the
government's international relations, peace and security cluster, saying the
former generals were expected to report back to Mbeki this week.

      They were sent by Mbeki to investigate claims of increasing
violence in Zimbabwe following the March 29 general election in that
country.

      President Robert Mugabe is pitched against Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a run-off election, at a
date yet to be announced, after Tsvangirai won the first round -- but not
with the required 50% majority.

      Both parties have claimed that the other's supporters are
involved in post-election violence, creating an atmosphere of fear and
intimidation in which the run-off cannot take place.

      The MDC accuses the ruling Zanu-PF of waging a campaign of
violence and intimidation against its supporters as part of efforts to rig
the vote. It says 32 of its supporters have been killed in the aftermath of
the elections.

      The government denies the charges. The state-run Herald
newspaper accused Western ambassadors on Wednesday of demonising Zimbabwe's
government and "cooking up" evidence of political violence to help the MDC
remove Mugabe after 28 years in power.

      In the meantime, Pahad said it is important that election
observers be deployed in Zimbabwe in "large numbers" to help ensure a smooth
run-off election.

      He said that the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and other observer teams should have an "effective presence" on the ground
that would help ensure a peaceful run-off election.

      "If they can be sufficient, that will help us to be confident
that in the end everybody will accept [the outcome]," he said.

      SADC said on Wednesday that conditions are neither safe nor fair
yet for a run-off election in Zimbabwe.

      "At the moment we can't say the playing ground is safe or will
be fair, but we are there to create a conducive environment for everybody to
be confident," SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao told Reuters in an
interview in neighbouring Mozambique. -- Sapa, Reuters

Zanu-PF Militia Blocking Access to Dead MDC Activists in Centenary

SW Radio Africa (London)

ANALYSIS
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008

Tererai Karimakwenda

The number of opposition officials and supporters murdered in the ongoing
state-sponsored violence is believed to be much higher because many deaths
are going unreported.

More proof of this came from the Centenary area of Mashonaland Central on
Wednesday, when it was reported that armed ZANU-PF militia are blocking
access to the bodies of 2 MDC activists.

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa has been monitoring developments in the
province, and he reported that armed militia attacked a home in Centenary
known as Dolphin House. Many MDC polling agents and activists who were
living there escaped into the hills. But some were caught and were severely
assaulted. Those who made it out reported that 2 women died during the
attack and their bodies are still there. Muchemwa said there is no way to
get to them or to the victims who are up in the hills.

Muchemwa said the delegation of foreign Ambassadors, including the
Ambassadors to the United States and the UK, who were stopped at a roadblock
on Tuesday were trying to go to Centenary to evaluate the situation on the
ground. As we reported the Ambassadors on this fact finding mission were
accompanied by a team of journalists who witnessed the drama at the
roadblock. Muchemwa said they were blocked from reaching Centenary because
the government does not want anyone to see what happened there.

Meanwhile, there was more drama after the burial of headman Elias
Madzivanzira in Shamva on Tuesday. The traditional leader was killed by a
gang of armed militia on Saturday when they attacked him and his wife with
axes. His wife suffered severe injuries and was not able to attend the
funeral.

Our correspondent Muchemwa said the violent youths showed up Tuesday night
after the funeral, looking for the headman's son Kenneth Kahari
Madzivanzira. Fortunately he was hiding in another house. Muchemwa said they
returned Wednesday afternoon with about 300 youths and Kahari fled to
Madziva police station. The militia did not follow him.

Family of Exiled MDC Official Elliot Pfebve Abducted

SW Radio Africa (London)

14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008

Lance Guma

Elliot Pfebve, an MDC official who fled to the UK after the violent 2000
elections, is having to deal with the abduction of his parents by Zanu PF
militia in Mt Darwin on Tuesday.

Pfebve said he received a message from his brother Fireson Pfebve, who
narrated how the Zanu PF mob stormed their Nyakatondo village around 8pm and
tied up their 79-year old father and 76-year old mother using wire. Several
other family members were frog-marched to a torture camp at Nyakatondo
Primary School. His brother Ephraim ran away and his whereabouts are not
known.

Pfebve is battling to get information on the condition of his elderly
parents but says all he has heard is that 2 people at the camp were
murdered. He says he does not believe they were his parents but says because
the village has been deserted it's difficult to get updates on the
situation. Fireson Pfebve who escaped to Harare overnight has been relaying
most of the information. Pfebve is not new to Zanu PF violence. In the
run-up to the 2000 parliamentary election ruling party militants killed his
brother Matthew, a retired policeman, after they mistook him for Elliot.
Pfebve says his family is very active in the MDC structures and this
explained the attack on their homestead.

African Union double observers for Run-off

http://zimbabwemetro.com

By Gerald Harper ⋅ May 14, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment
The African Union plans to increase the number of election observers it will
deploy to Zimbabwe to monitor the yet-to-be announced presidential run-off,
its executive chief said on Tuesday.

“In the first round of elections, we had 18 observers. We will increase them
minimally by more than 50 and maybe go towards 100,” said Jean Ping, the
chairperson of the AU Commission.

“We are also talking to various stakeholders there (Zimbabwe) and mainly
with SADC (Southern Africa Development Community), to do their best, to be
helpful that the run-off should be (carried out) in a transparent, fair and
calm atmosphere,” he told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Harare has vowed to bar Western countries and the United Nations from
observing a run-off unless sanctions against the country are removed.

Majority party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who beat incumbent Robert Mugabe in
the first round of voting on March 29, has set conditions for his
participation in the run-off.

These include the presence of peacekeepers, election monitors, free media
and an end to violence.

The electoral panel delayed results from the first-round presidential
election for five weeks and no date has been set for the run-off, although
by law it should take place within 21 days of the first-round results being
announced.

Violence has been reported in the country with the MDC claiming 32 of its
supporters have been killed since voting. A UN official here confirmed that
the opposition has suffered most attacks, but said it was not entirely
blameless.

South African Reserve Bank warns
The South African Reserve Bank said on Tuesday the regional economic outlook
remained positive, but that tensions over Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential
election posed a downside risk.

“Africa’s economic outlook remains positive given the continued favourable
commodity price outlook, regional macroeconomic stability, rising oil
production and continued capital inflows,” the South African Reserve Bank
said in a bi-annual monetary policy review.

“The most important downside risks for growth in the region would comprise
heightened risk aversion by investors as a result of the tensions flowing
from the Zimbabwe elections,” it said.

Contact the writer of this story, Gerald Harper at :
southafrica@zimbabwemetro.com

Harare diary: Living in limbo

War veterans, A plague to the nation

http://zimbabwemetro.com

By Tambu Kahari ⋅ May 14, 2008
The war veterans’ single handedly destroyed our country and ruined any
chances of a quick economic and political recovery in one fell swoop. They
did it because they were greedy. They did it because they had power over a
President who was supposed to serve the people. Instead, he served them.

The Zimbabwe War Veterans Association’s members are the only citizens of the
Republic of Zimbabwe. They always get what they want from their government
and their leader, Robert Mugabe. He serves no one but them. They are
therefore a law unto themselves.

It was quite by coincidence that the war veterans realized the power they
had over the ZANU PF government.

In the year 2000 they began a series of demonstrations which had the support
of the people. They had seen too many of their “chefs” living it up while
they lived in poverty. Their leader, Robert Mugabe had lied to them in the
bush, promising them what he could not deliver and they wanted to be paid.
They demanded $50 000 each from the treasury coffers.

A high ranking military official and war veteran revealed in an interview
that at the time the country had no money. Robert Mugabe was not willing to
take extra measures to appease them. And so he decided to ignore them.

“The war veterans would not be ignored,” he said. “They started physically
threatening the chef, telling him that they gave him the power to be
President of Zimbabwe and they could take it away.”

He said to prove their point, they began to arm themselves with weapons left
over from the war that they had hidden. They re opened their communication
channels and organized themselves into an internal military force which had
hands in every military and central intelligence branch of the country.

“The chef was not safe from them. The war vets had connections everywhere.
It was hard on everyone because we couldn’t go against our own. We may have
been in the military, but we could not fight our other army,” he said.

What finally broke Mugabe’s resolve was an incident that occurred while he
was holding a secret meeting with his highest ranking military officials.
Within 30 minutes of the meeting starting, Mugabe received a call from a war
vet.

“We had a meeting in a secret location to discuss them and what we should do
in terms of internal security. We took many precautions to make sure we
would have no problems or leaks. We were only in that meeting for about 30
minutes when the phone rang. The voice on the end said it didn’t appreciate
the comments the chef had made about the war vets. The comments had only
been made a few minutes earlier,” he said.

Robert caved in. He printed more money and paid them off. And so the slide
into poverty began for all Zimbabweans. The usefulness of the Zimbabwe
dollar effectively came to an end that day. The people paid with their
future to keep Robert in power.

In that year, a happy war veteran who received his $50 000 in brand new
printed notes decided to celebrate. He took a taxi from Harare to
Johannesburg!

With their new found power, the war veterans’ demands continued, getting
higher and higher, despite the damage it was doing to our country.

They demanded stands in Harare and when that didn’t materialize fast enough,
they invaded farms.

The war veterans were at the forefront of the farm invasions. The war
veterans’ association members single handedly occupied 1700 farms. During
the invasions, a series of kidnappings, beatings and child sexual abuse took
place.

But that was not the only damage the war veterans wreaked upon the country.
They completely destroyed livestock, farming implements and tools, which
destroyed Zimbabwe’s chance of rising from the farm invasion commotion
sooner.
The war veterans justified their actions by saying that land was the reason
they had gone to war and they wanted it. Statistics today will prove that
not even one percent of them are farmers today. For their trouble however,
they were given prime land in Harare by the Harare commission which was run
by Elijah Chanakira at the time.

It is no surprise therefore that the recent elections have angered the war
veterans who believe they are above the law because they are the only
citizens of the country Zimbabwe.

It is no surprise that the war veterans have marched in support of their
President and their way of life. The reality is that the war veterans didn’t
liberate us. They exchanged places with the Rhodesian oppressors.

During the war, they called us the “povo” which we jokingly state was an
abbreviation that stood for “people of valueless opinions.” Perhaps we
should stop laughing. When one listens to Jabulani Sibanda, one realizes
that indeed the war veterans see us as a people who should never have a
political say in our lives. They truly believe they can force us into
bending to their will.

There have been news reports that the war veterans have once again rushed
onto the farms of Zimbabwe and once again caused the deaths of 11 people in
politically motivated violence.

Their national chairperson, Jabulani Sibanda has strenuously insisted that
all the actions being taken by his organization are in the interests of the
Zimbabwean people. Have the war veterans taken a poll? How do they know the
wishes of the people when they stopped representing them in 1979?

As far as the war veterans association is concerned, they are the final line
in preserving our freedom. Whatever happened to the Zimbabwe National Army?
Aren’t they the ones who are supposed to “protect” the citizens and
taxpayers?

Who gave the Association the authority to audaciously claim that what they
do is in the interests of the people of Zimbabwe?

According to AFP Jabulani Sibanda didn’t deny that his fellow war veterans
were running amuck again. He said they were investigating “claims that
whites were preparing to take back the land.”

“Some went to farms to investigate the groupings of white people. War
veterans are disciplined,” he said.

After warning any white people who had ideas of getting their land back, he
said, “The people of this country, they are prepared and ready to protect
their country if there is an invasion, an invasion of any kind,” he said.

Mr Sibanda was not talking about the millions of Zimbabweans association
destroyed. He was talking about the more than 50 000 members of the
association who make up the country, “Zimbabwe.”

As far as the war veterans are concerned, Zimbabweans are children, who need
to be told what to think and how to feel. They believe that only they know
the true path the country should take and the rest of us should work for
them and keep our mouths, hopes, dreams and aspirations to ourselves.

And so they have committed crimes against the people. When the end comes,
and it will come, all living war veterans should be tried for crimes against
humanity.

The war veterans want to keep us enslaved, and so they force their President
and their ideologies on us.

Tambu Kahari is Metro’s Lifestyle Columnist, and she can be contacted on
tapilicious@zimbabwemetro.com

Zanu-PF youths masquerading as war vets

The Zimbabwe Times

IT IS sickening that all that is going on in Zimbabwe is being attributed to
the war veterans.

The truth is that the people who are causing problems are not real war
veterans but some misguided elements within Zanu-PF, who are being used by
the losing party in the name of war veterans. I am a war veteran who was
displaced by Zanu-PF and I am currently living in the United Kingdom.

True war veterans are mature people and would never be seen beating up
children.

Tichakura Riini
United Kingdom

Food for thought for Diaspora people

The Zimbabwe Times

THIRTY-six-old Yeukai works 21 hours daily and nightly in London. He goes to
a nearly money transfer agency and sends £30 in hard cash, just so that her
elderly mother in Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe (UMP) can buy a few bags of maize.
How thoughtful.

Somewhere in Harare, in a dimly lit room, a black market trader takes the
£30 and gives her 18 billion Zimbabwe dollars. By the time she leaves the
room, the bus fare back to UMP has risen to 400 Zimbabwe dollars. Meanwhile,
as the bus careens towards UMP, the Reserve Bank’s forex agents mop up the
forex from black market dealers.

Yeukai’s £30 gets into the state’s coffers. One week goes by. Then,
somewhere in a high-rise building in Harare, a government minister picks up
his phone and makes a long distance call. At the far end of the line in
Beijing, an ear-to-ear smile torches the face of an arms dealer as he puts
the phone down. The government of Zimbabwe has just wired the outstanding
balance of one million United States dollars, and a ship loaded with three
million rounds of ammunition for AK-47s, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades,
and several thousand mortar rounds is on its way to Southern Africa.

With these lethal weapons, bought with the forex Yeukai earns through
working excruciating shifts, Mugabe has the ammunition to deploy soldiers,
militias, and bogus war veterans to kill her mother in UMP. Today, Yeukai
woke up to the news that an 80-year old woman was bludgeoned to death by
Zanu-PF militia in UMP for not “voting properly”.

Which is the merciful way for people in the Diaspora to kill their dear
beloved ones back at home - not sending them money and starving them to
death or sending foreign currency so that the Zanu-PF government can buy
arms to kill them?

Anonymous

ZANU-PF Sees Police as Captive Vote

An inside source in the police told IWPR that the almost 30,000-strong force had come under pressure to back Mugabe. The source, an assistant inspector in Bulawayo who spoke on condition of anonymity, said personnel had been instructed to use their postal vote without fail.

“We were told that Mugabe already has [secured] about 28,000 votes from police officers, and whoever decided not to ask for their postal ballot would be dealt with,” said the officer.

He said police officers had been informed that failure to cast their ballot by post would leave them vulnerable to what he described as “torture we already know”.

“We cannot even think of how to escape this. Resigning from the force is not one of the wisest things to do right now,” he said.

In the March 29 election, postal voting proved contentious, with critics arguing that the process was open to manipulation. The parliamentary ballot handed a majority to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, but the presidential election conducted simultaneously produced what electoral officials – after a long delay – said was an inconclusive result that necessitated a second round.

In the first round, some members of the security forces chose not to cast their votes, as a way of registering their discontent.

Although top commanders of the various services are among Mugabe’s most hawkish supporters, many rank-and-file members are increasingly disgruntled with their pay and conditions in Zimbabwe’s hyperinflationary economy. Desertions from the uniformed services have increased in recent years, and many have joined the exodus of public-sector employees to neighbouring countries. (For a report on unhappiness in the army, see Keeping the Military on Side, AR No. 166, 11-Apr-08.)

The assistant inspector added that he understood the directive had been extended to the army, air force and prison services, all of which come under the powerful Joint Operations Command, JOC. If this happens, it could provide a captive vote numbering about 100,000, possibly enough to secure the presidency for Mugabe.

However, a senior journalist, who did not want to be named, argued that postal votes are not easy to manipulate. Like conventional ballot papers, they are secret, he said, “so it is difficult to see how the police can be forced to vote for Mugabe unless there is outright interference and the ballots cast are simply replaced with those in favour of Mugabe on their way to whatever command centre they are destined for.”

The JOC has taken charge of the day-to-day running of the country and is set on ensuring that Mugabe retains power whatever the cost.

The first round was conducted in an atmosphere unusually free of violence, but since then, the regime’s disappointment with the results has sparked a wave of violence in which the police and army have been deployed alongside ZANU-PF activists and paramilitary groups.

Human rights organisations say more than 30 people have been killed so far, with thousands of others displaced.

Many of the attacks have been in areas once regarded as ZANU-PF strongholds but where the opposition won surprise victories. The violence has principally targeted the MDC’s activists and supporters on the ground, and the aim is clearly to remove its ability to mobilise in these areas and coerce voters into switching back to Mugabe in the second round. (For a report on this, see Attacks to Create No-Go Areas for MDC, ZCR No. 145, 06-May-08.)

As well as the police and military, prison services chief, Paradzai Zimondi, is said to be actively involved in the campaign. Last week, the Zimbabwe Peace Project group alleged that ZANU-PF militias were operating out of Zimondi’s home in Mashonaland East province.

ZANU-PF’s election strategy is reportedly being run by party hardliners like Emmerson Mnangagwa, with JOC commanders providing men on the ground as well as involving themselves in the day-to day running of the country.

Dumiso Dabengwa, a former Zimbabwean interior minister who is now a ZANU-PF dissident, recently told journalists in Bulawayo the country was being ruled by a de facto military junta. The suggestion that the JOC, not Mugabe, is now in charge following the first-round fiasco, has also been made by the MDC and other critics. (For a report on unhappiness in the army, see Military "Running" the Country, ZCR No. 143, 24-Apr-08.)

Tsvangirai returns to Zimbabwe this week after a six-week diplomatic tour, and this is likely to mark the beginning of another bruising bout of election campaigning.

Free & Fair elections first before removal of sanctions-Zambia

http://zimbabwemetro.com

By Raymond Mhaka ⋅ May 14, 2008
The Zambian government has hit back at ZANU PF for implying that Zambian
President Mwanawasa is not doing enough on Zimbabwe.

Zambia’s Chief Government spokesperson, Mike Mulongoti told the local press
in Zambia that Zimbabwe should quickly resolve its problems by holding free
and fair elections before talking about the sanctions that have been imposed
on that country.

Mulongoti was reacting to allegations by Zimbabwean Justice Minister,
Patrick Chinamasa that president Mwanawasa as the SADC chair was doing
nothing to ensure sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were lifted.

He said it was surprising that the Zimbabwean government had allowed its
newspaper, The Herald to heap abuses on President Mwanawasa and at the same
time ask him to assist the country.

“The Zimbabweans need to exercise humility and show decency because they
cannot insult President Mwanawasa and at the same time ask him to help them
because as SADC chair he has done what he can,” he said.

The minister of information and broadcasting said in an interview that
Zimbabweans should hold the elections and whoever would emerge winner would
then talk much about sanctions because to talk about sanctions now may be
premature.

He said the issue of sanctions was for Zimbabweans which they understood
better.He said President Mwanawasa from the on-set had done everything
possible to help resolve the problems in Zimbabwe and the entire world was
watching the situation.

“It is surprising that Mr Chinamasa, the man who lost an election is very
vocal and bitter,” he said.

Chinamasa was yesterday reported on South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC) saying that President Mwanawasa as SADC chair had failed to criticise
Western-imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa the former Attorney General who has
never been elected lost Makoni Central parliamentary seat by a huge margin
to the MDC.

Zimbabwe Seeks Joint-Party Teams To Probe Political Violence

nasdaq

HARARE (AFP)--Zimbabwe's government will invite the opposition to form
cross- party teams to probe acts of political violence in the aftermath of
the country's March elections, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told state
television Wednesday.

"Whenever there is a claim of an act of politically motivated violence
committed, it should be very good that we form joint teams made up of the
( ruling party) ZANU-PF and (opposition) MDC so that we can establish the
veracity of these claims," Chinamasa said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-14-081529ET

Pro-Mugabe lobby urges state of emergency

Yahoo News

Wed May 14, 7:24 AM ET

HARARE (AFP) - A pro-government rights outfit has urged Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe to consider declaring a state of emergency to stem a tide of
post-election political violence, state media said on Wednesday.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Justice (ZLJ) said a state of emergency would help
protect lives and property from violence which it blamed on opposition
activists.

"In view of the current situation, ZLJ appeals to government and President
Mugabe to consider the possibility of declaring a state of emergency to
quell the disturbances," said the organisation's chief advocate Martin Dinha
in a report carried by The Herald.

A state of emergency can be declared where a president feels that a
country's stability is threatened. Initially it is for two weeks and can be
extended for up to six months with the approval of parliament.

The measure enables the authorities to arrest and detain suspects
indefinitely as well as impose curfews.

On Tuesday the UN warned that post-election violence in Zimbabwe was rising
to near crisis levels ahead of a planned presidential run-off, with
opposition supporters bearing the brunt of attacks.

Scores of people have been arrested in recent weeks over the violence which
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claims has left 32 of
its supporters dead, dozens injured and thousands displaced.

Accusing the state of orchestrating the violence against opposition
activists, MDC secretary for legal affairs Innocent Gonese said the
declaration of a state of emergency cannot be ruled out.

"Politically we have always had the impression that this is what they want
to do."

"I don't think there are circumstances that would warrant a state of
emergency, but if that happens it would simply mean that ZANU-PF wants to
perpetuate its rule," said Gonese.

Dzikamai Machingura, director of a non-governmental rights body, Zimbabwe
Human Rights Association said the ongoing violence could be easily contained
if the police "handled it in an unbiased manner".

"A state of emergency would be a very drastic remedy ...which is not
warranted by the circumstances right now," he said.

No government official could immediately be reached for comment.

Zimbabwe is due to hold a presidential run-off at a date yet to be announced
after the first round of polling on March 29 failed to produce an outright
winner.

Mbeki ‘threw toys out of cot’ over Khampepe report

From Business Day (SA), 14 May

Michael Bleby

News of a second Khampepe report, the analysis Judge Sisi Khampepe wrote
with Judge Dikgang Moseneke for President Thabo Mbeki of the skewed 2002
Zimbabwean presidential election and which he has sat on since then, has got
a number of people hot under the collar. The opposition Democratic Alliance
(DA) is baying for Mbeki’s blood. And murmurs are growing among the African
National Congress’ tripartite alliance partners for a more robust approach
to dealing with Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe. They may be reassured,
however, to know that the same report has also been a source of great
frustration to Mbeki. In 2004, Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) dropped a bid to force Mbeki to release the report under access
to information legislation. While the party did not say at the time why it
was giving up the chase, senior party member David Coltart now says it was
under pressure from Mbeki. "Mbeki threw his toys out of the cot," Coltart
says. "He got hold of Morgan Tsvangirai through Welshman Ncube and quashed
the whole thing. He quashed our attempts to use South African legislation to
compel the production of the report. He was very angry about it. It was a
warning that it would endanger their relationship."

The report by Khampepe and Moseneke, now deputy chief justice, cited a range
of problems with the 2002 poll that the MDC said allowed Mugabe to steal the
election. These included a failure to properly constitute the Electoral
Supervisory Commission; a change in the Electoral Act to give Mugabe, rather
than parliament, authority to amend electoral law; and the change of wording
in the Electoral Act to stymie challenges to election findings. Mbeki has
not publicly released the report. Back in 2002, his government endorsed the
view of SA’s official observer mission led by businessman and former
ambassador Sam Motsuenyane that the poll "should be considered legitimate".
According to Advocate Jeremy Gauntlett - who represented the MDC in its
challenges to the election report and who wrote about the report earlier
this week - it confirms details of abuses that were widely reported at the
time. However, analysts say it was very unlikely Mbeki would have ever
released such a report. To publicly criticise Mugabe with it would only have
alienated him and reduced any negotiating hold Mbeki had with him, both as
neighbour and, from last year, as the nominated negotiator for the Southern
African Development Community (SADC).

"One of the more striking things about Zimbabwe has been the polarisation of
the two sides and the lack of a middle ground. Mbeki’s tried to occupy that
middle ground," says Chris Maroleng, a senior researcher at the
Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies. "This limits his ability to
make what you could describe as telling public condemnations of the clearly
skewed political environment." Mbeki’s spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga agrees.
"Our efforts are concentrated solely, wholly on ensuring that the mediation,
the current mediation process succeeds. We are not going to be diverted to
discuss things which for all intents and purposes militate against the
success of that process. We can’t. It would not be responsible," Ratshitanga
says. Mugabe, who reacts with "intransigence" when faced with public
criticism, would have labelled Mbeki a lackey of western powers and refused
to deal with him, had he released the Khampepe-Moseneke report, Maroleng
says. "President Mbeki has tried to manoeuvre this minefield and steer away
from this trap. In many cases it’s resulted in a decline in confidence in
him by the MDC because they don’t see the efficacy of the approach". Where
Mbeki’s approach has succeeded, says Maroleng, was in the successful
agreement late last year to amend Zimbabwe’s constitution to make changes
ahead of this year’s election that saw individual polling stations release
their own results locally, as well as curbing Mugabe’s ability to nominate
members of parliament of his choosing.

While this policy of working at the level of structural reform did bear some
fruit, it did not "tinker with the small aspects" such as election violence
and left Mbeki open to charges that he was a willing accomplice of Mugabe,
Maroleng says. Siphamandla Zondi, an Africa analyst at the Midrand-based
Institute for Global Dialogue, says it is likely Mbeki used the report at
the 2002 SADC leaders’ summit in Dar es Salaam. At that summit, the SADC’s
organ on politics, defence and security co-operation paid a level of
attention to the Zimbabwean problems that put Mugabe on the defensive.
"Where did the organ get all this information?" Zondi says. "It must have
been this report fed into the organ. It was unusual for the SADC to pay so
much attention to this topic. There was coverage. Mugabe was uncomfortable
with the attention paid to his country. He was uncomfortable with the SADC
saying it was in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. That was different
from saying they were in solidarity with the government of Zimbabwe."

Not everyone agrees with the idea that Mbeki used the report. "As far as I’m
aware the report was buried," says Coltart. "We don’t have any information
it was ever used anywhere." The DA, which also tried for the release of the
report, says the same thing. "I don’t think he would have acted on it at
all," said Joe Seremane, DA federal chairman and a member of Parliament’s
committee on foreign affairs. "I don’t see why it should be under wraps. I
wouldn’t want to keep under wraps something that shows where the problem
lies," he said. Despite the recent noise by African National Congress
president Jacob Zuma and ANC allies about a harder line on Zimbabwe,
Maroleng says a Zuma presidency would not differ much in its foreign policy.
"Jacob Zuma was the deputy president during the exact period we’re looking
at and I don’t recall him during that period making statements that were
significantly in variance to what he approach was. "It has more to do with
our domestic politics than really a foreign policy imperative."

Botswana and Zimbabwe: A Tale of Two Countries

By Marian L. Tupy Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Filed under: World Watch

Since gaining independence, one has become a success while the other has become a dismal failure. What explains that?

“We used to look at Botswana as our poor cousin, but now we do all of our shopping there,” said David Coltart, an opposition member of the Zimbabwean parliament, when I met him a few months ago. The Coltarts are doing relatively well. David’s successful legal practice and parliamentary salary enable them to shop in Botswana—if only to buy basic necessities. Most of their countrymen do not have that option.

Zimbabwe suffers from an 80 percent unemployment rate and, according to the International Monetary Fund, an inflation rate exceeding 150,000 percent. Since 1994, the average life expectancy for women in Zimbabwe has fallen from 57 years to 34 years; among men it has dropped from 54 years to 37 years. Some 3,500 Zimbabweans die every week from the combined effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty, and malnutrition. Half a million Zimbabweans may have died since 2000, while some 3 million fled to South Africa alone.

A country that used to be called the “jewel” and the “breadbasket” of Africa is now an Orwellian nightmare. With the economy in ruins and political freedom eviscerated, Zimbabwe’s state-run media rail against a phantom international conspiracy consisting of Western powers and led by “liar” George Bush, “gay” Tony Blair, “uncle Tom” Colin Powell, and “a slave to white masters” Condoleezza Rice.

I visited Zimbabwe twice during the 1990s. Back then, the country was in the midst of an earlier economic crisis caused by sluggish growth and excessive government spending. The IMF stepped in with an “economic structural adjustment program” worth hundreds of millions of dollars that, alas, bore little fruit. Still, I was shocked to see the extent of Zimbabwe’s economic decline when I returned there last November.

I crossed the border between Zimbabwe and Botswana at the Kazangula junction, just a few miles from the spectacular Victoria Falls. While the other tourists drove up to the beautiful, though now almost completely empty, Elephant Hills Hotel that overlooks the falls, I remained in the town below to see for myself the outcome of Robert Mugabe’s 27-year rule.

The once charming town of Victoria Falls that used to teem with tourists from around the world looked run-down and empty. About half of the shops were either empty or closed altogether. The main shopping center looked more like a warehouse. It offered few products thinly spread out on half-empty shelves—an obvious attempt to mask the widespread shortages of consumer goods. A handful of tourists, mostly young backpackers from Canada and Australia, wandered around the town center in futile search of edible food. Like them, I could not find meat or bread anywhere.

Few ordinary Zimbabweans would agree to talk to me about their problems. Those who did, looked over their shoulders, worried that someone from Mugabe’s omnipresent Central Intelligence Organization might be listening. They are right to be afraid, for Zimbabwe today is a police state where armed gangs of government supporters harass, beat and kill members of the opposition with utter impunity.

How different, I thought, was Zimbabwe from Botswana, the latter of which is safe and increasingly prosperous. But what accounts for such striking differences between the two neighbors? It turns out that much of the difference stems from the degree of freedom that each populace enjoys.

It’s the Economies, Stupid

Botswana, previously the Protectorate of Bechuanaland, gained independence from Great Britain in 1966. Her new president, Seretse Khama, a descendant of the local Bamangwato chiefs, received his education at South Africa’s Fort Hare University and Oxford’s Balliol College. In 1948, he married a white woman, Ruth Williams, who clerked at Lloyds in London. Their marriage was political dynamite that was, at first, opposed by both the traditional chiefs in the Bechuanaland and by the government in South Africa, Botswana’s immensely more powerful southern neighbor whose white population had just elected a regime that wanted to increase racial segregation between whites and blacks. Fearing South Africa’s negative reaction, the British government banned the Khamas from the Protectorate for almost a decade.

While most regimes in post-independence Africa sent their white populations packing, Botswana strove for racial harmony.

The racial prejudice that the pair encountered from both sides of the racial spectrum proved to be formative. While most regimes in post-independence Africa sent their white populations packing, Khama and his successors strove for racial harmony. As a result, Botswana benefited greatly from the human and financial capital of her large white community, which totals 7 percent of the overall population. It is surely a sign of Botswana’s relative comfort with racial diversity that on April 1, 2008, Ian Khama, the first-born son of the country’s founder, took over the reigns of power in Botswana, thus becoming the first half-white leader of an African democracy.

The elder Khama’s other big contribution to the long-term stability and prosperity of Botswana was to maintain the tradition of public meetings (or kgotlas). This was the way in which the Africans made local decisions; it served to keep their chiefs honest and accountable. The exceptional humility of Botswana’s politicians is just one positive consequence of such “grassroots democracy.”

As Robert Guest of The Economist noted in his 2004 book, The Shackled Continent, “In the last 35 years, Botswana’s economy has grown faster than any other in the world. Yet, cabinet ministers have not awarded themselves mansions and helicopters—and even the president has been seen doing his own shopping.” Similarly, a game warden I spoke to in the Chobe National Park reminisced about standing behind the minister of education in the line for groceries. A shop manager recognized the minister and motioned her to the front of the line. She flatly refused.

In most African countries, even those that are nominally democratic, the leaders are so far removed from day-to-day public scrutiny that they behave with impunity and in an embarrassingly rapacious manner. Of course, Botswana’s free media plays a vital role in keeping her politicians honest. My visit to Botswana, to give one example, coincided with President Festus Mogae’s last “state of the nation” address. One of the country’s weekly newspapers, Mbegi, carried a page-long response to the president written by the leader of the opposition, who railed against the government’s “laissez-faire” policies. Though I disagreed with the substance of his arguments, I was happy to see his freedom of expression honored, especially considering that Botswana has been ruled by the same political party, the Botswana Democratic Party, since 1965.

That brings me to probably the most important legacy of Khama’s presidency: a limited government and one of the freest economies in Africa. (In its 2007 Economic Freedom of the World report, Canada’s Fraser Institute ranked Botswana’s economic freedom on par with that of Belgium and Portugal.) According to Scott Beaulier, an economist at Beloit College, “Khama adopted pro-market policies on a wide front. His new government promised low and stable taxes to mining companies, liberalized trade, increased personal freedoms, and kept marginal income tax rates low to deter tax evasion and corruption.”

Between 1966 and 2006, Botswana's average annual compound GDP growth per capita was 7.22 percent—higher than China's 6.99 percent.

But why did Khama chose to embrace the free market and limited government at a time when Marxism seemed to be on an unstoppable march in other African countries? I can only hypothesize that a prescient leader like Khama would have been aware of the failure of African socialism as early as 1966, the year of Botswana’s independence. After all, in February 1966, Kwame Nkrumah, the Marxist prime minister and later president of Ghana, was ousted in a coup amid economic decline and political repression. Moreover, Khama, who came to power peacefully, was not beholden to the Soviet Union or Maoist China for military, financial, and intellectual support, while many African liberation movements were. In fact, Khama seems to have had a healthy regard for the British parliamentary system and common law.

Economic openness served Botswana well. Between 1966 and 2006, its average annual compound growth rate of GDP per capita was 7.22 percent—higher than China’s 6.99 percent. Its GDP per capita (adjusted for inflation and purchasing power parity) rose from $671 in 1966 to $10,813 in 2005. Unfortunately, the high GDP growth rate has not resulted in increased life expectancy, which, in a country ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, declined from 62 years in 1980 to 35 years in 2005.

GDP per capita Zimbabwe vs. Botswana The Tragedy of Robert Mugabe

It was with some apprehension that Ian Smith—the last white prime minister of Rhodesia, who once promised to maintain the white rule in that country for 1,000 years—answered the summons to meet with Robert Mugabe, the newly-elected prime minister of Zimbabwe. After all, the Marxist former guerilla leader had declared that he would have Smith publicly hanged in the capital’s main square. Instead, Smith was greeted with “a warm handshake and a broad smile.” In his own words, Smith was “completely disarmed.” He rushed home to admit to his wife that maybe he had been wrong about Mugabe. “Here’s this chap, and he was speaking like a sophisticated, balanced, sensible man. I thought: if he practices what he preaches, then it will be fine.”

It was 1980, and Zimbabwe had just gained independence from Britain. White minority rule had ended and so had a conflict between blacks and whites that cost some 30,000 lives. The election gave Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) a parliamentary majority, but Zimbabwe had an independent judicial system and a constitution that protected minority rights. It also had one of the continent’s largest economies. Zimbabwe seemed destined to become an African success story.

Things turned out very differently. As early as 1982, Mugabe turned on his onetime ally Joshua Nkomo of the Zimbabwe Africa Peoples Union (ZAPU). Mugabe unleashed his special forces—trained by the North Koreans—on Nkomo’s supporters in the Matabeleland, killing some 20,000 in the process. Nkomo was forced to agree to a merger of ZAPU with Mugabe’s ZANU. In return, Nkomo received the largely ceremonial title of Zimbabwe’s vice president.

Shamefully, the Western world not only ignored the massacre of the Matabeles but proceeded to send Mugabe hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid. Similarly, the Western media ignored Mugabe’s attack on Zimbabwe’s democratic institutions. Apparently Mugabe’s relentless monopolization of power was incompatible with the simplistic portrayal of the Zimbabwean leader as an African freedom fighter.

Mugabe’s megalomania grew as time went by. Omnipresent at international conferences, where foreign dignitaries continued to treat him like a celebrity, he came to see himself as a leader of global importance. When Nelson Mandela, the moral voice of the African continent, won election as South Africa’s president in 1994, it irked Mugabe greatly. He saw Mandela as an upstart and flatly refused to treat him with deference.

To show his independence and strength, Mugabe ordered the Zimbabwean military to intervene in the Congolese civil war. Following Mobutu Sese Seko’s flight from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997, the country descended into chaos. Congo’s new strongman, Laurent Kabila, was faced with an internal rebellion that drew military responses from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Chad on Kabila’s side; and from Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi on rebels’ side. (It also attracted an assortment of mercenary forces from around the world.) The conflict, which turned out to be Africa’s largest ever, cost Zimbabwe $15 million per month and tied up one third of Mugabe’s armed forces.

In return for Mugabe’s help, Kabila rewarded the Zimbabwean president and his generals with mining concessions in the southern part of the Congo (chiefly the Katanga and Kasai provinces). The top brass of the Zimbabwean military, including General Vitalis Zvinavashe, commander of the armed forces, made small fortunes and developed a taste for riches that Mugabe would later find so difficult to satisfy.

Mugabe's 'indigenization' program will confiscate majority stakes in all private enterprises owned by non-black Zimbabweans.

Back home, however, the war was very unpopular, and the Zimbabwean population, which paid the military’s bills, threw its support behind the newly-founded Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by a former trade union boss named Morgan Tsvangirai. It was Tsvangirai’s MDC that, in a 1999 referendum, defeated Mugabe’s plans to change the constitution and extend his rule. Furious at his defeat, Mugabe turned on Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers, whom he suspected of giving financial backing to the MDC.

Over the next few years, almost all of the country’s 4,000 white-owned farms were invaded by state-organized gangs. Some of the farmers who resisted the land seizures were murdered, while others fled abroad. Mugabe claimed that the land would be given to the landless masses. In fact, much of the best land was given to his cronies, who proceeded to enrich themselves with such gusto that Mugabe had to plead with them “to choose one [farm] and give up the rest to the government.”

The new owners showed little aptitude for farming, however. The agricultural sector soon collapsed, and with it most of Zimbabwe’s tax revenue and foreign currency reserves. Those parts of the economy that processed the agricultural produce soon followed, as did the banking sector, which relied on farms as collateral for future lending. To meet its obligations to domestic and foreign creditors, the government ordered the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to print more money, sparking the first hyperinflation of the 21st century.

During my visit to Zimbabwe in November 2007, the black market exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Zimbabwean dollar was one to 1.3 million. By April 2008, that rate rose to one U.S. dollar to 200 million Zimbabwean dollars. In November 2007,the largest banknote was worth 200,000 Zimbabwean dollars. In April 2008, the RBZ started printing notes worth 250 million Zimbabwean dollars. However, until this month, the official exchange rate remained one U.S. dollar to 30,000 Zimbabwean dollars. Many well-connected members of the ruling elite have made fortunes by buying foreign currencies from the RBZ at official exchange rates and then selling them on the black market and pocketing the difference.

The ripple effect that farm seizures created turned into a tsunami that, in a few years, washed away some 60 years of gradual economic improvements. Mugabe’s answer to the falling economy was to increase state patronage and the intensity of the looting. Mugabe, the Savile-Row-suit-wearing dictator, and Grace, his shop-till-you-drop wife, paid a Serbian construction company $12 million for a 25-bedroom house in a posh suburb of Harare that comes with two artificial lakes and a small army of bodyguards. His government now consists of 45 ministers and deputy ministers—including the “minister of information and publicity”—each of whom is entitled to a variety of perks, such as SUVs and (formerly white-owned) farms.

The government went on a shopping spree in 2006 and again earlier in 2007, providing influential police officers, ranking assistant commissioners, and army lieutenants with hundreds of imported vehicles. (Guaranteeing the loyalty of army and police officers does not come cheaply.) With the economy in shambles and the currency debased, Mugabe announced an “indigenization” program: the government will confiscate majority stakes in all private enterprises owned by non-black Zimbabweans. Ostensibly, those enterprises will be given to black Zimbabweans. In reality, they are certain to be distributed among government officials, and also among army and police personnel, without whose support Mugabe’s regime cannot survive.

According to the Fraser Institute's 2007 Economic Freedom of the World report, Zimbabwe is the least free economy out of the 137 surveyed.

In November 2007, a mere two months after the indigenization measure was adopted by the Zimbabwean parliament, Mugabe declared his intention to confiscate 25 percent of shares in all non-state mining companies. Not surprisingly, the freedom ranking of the Zimbabwean economy plummeted. The Fraser Institute’s 2007 Economic Freedom of the World report, for example, found Zimbabwe to be the least free economy out of the 137 economies surveyed.

On March 29, 2008, Zimbabwe held parliamentary and presidential elections. As most people expected, the elections were rigged in Mugabe’s favor. The country has no free media and no freedom of expression or assembly. Prior to the elections, members of the opposition were persecuted, beaten, and, in some cases, tortured. Remarkably, in spite of all the intimidation; in spite of the extra ballots that the government printed before the elections; and in spite of the tens of thousands of dead people who “voted” for Mugabe and his ZANU-PF—the opposition party won.

However, Mugabe refuses to go. Ignoring the groundswell of public disgust with his economic policies and the corruption of his top officials, Mugabe has unleashed his repressive state apparatus against the opposition, driving many of their leaders into exile. As I write, the economic and political situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating still further and could yet break out into widespread violence.

After Mugabe

As I returned to Botswana last November, the tourists whom I accompanied on the trip to Victoria Falls seemed content. The shops in Zimbabwe may have been empty, but the country remains filled with amazing natural beauty. In contrast to the other travelers, I felt relieved to leave behind a police state that makes it impossible for people to talk freely with one another: a state where taking photos of an empty grocery store can land you in prison. I was saddened by the sight of yet another African country that has failed to live up to its promise and collapsed into poverty, but I was also hopeful, for before us was Botswana: an increasingly prosperous market democracy whose citizens enjoy safety and political stability.

In his 2004 book, South Africa: The First Man, The Last Nation, R.W. Johnson, an erstwhile Oxford University professor, points out that national liberation movements in Africa generally do not give up power willingly. Men who win power through the barrel of a gun tend to develop ownership mentalities and treat their countries as private fiefdoms. Mugabe represents a generation of African leaders who came to power through the barrel of a gun. More often than not, men like that die in office or are forced out by a coup.

At 84, Mugabe is an old and, some believe, increasingly senile man. He may die in office or be forced out. The Zimbabwean diaspora is abuzz with rumors of flight plans and comfortable exile in Malaysia or Namibia. There is talk of Far Eastern bank accounts stuffed with treasure. Either way, Mugabe will be gone one day. When that happens, the new leader of Zimbabwe should look across the western border to Botswana. He will see that freedom and rising prosperity are possible—even in Africa.

Marian L. Tupy is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity.

My tears for Zimbabwe

Irish Independent

By By Afric N Loingsigh

Saturday May 03 2008

If you have seen the harrowing post-election television pictures of Zimbabwe
this week, you must wonder why anyone who has the means to leave would
possibly want to stay there. For the answer you would need to step out of an
aircraft onto Zimbabwean soil, breathe in that warm, dusty smell of Africa
and have memories that go back most of a lifetime.

Even though my family and I felt driven by the political and economic
turmoil to move back to Ireland, I can understand why the rest of our family
won't leave. I spent the happiest years of my life in Zimbabwe, and while we
worry daily about our loved ones still there, we're glad we can go back to
visit them.

My brother and sister-in-law still own a game park in Zimbabwe, and every
year or two, we make it back there. Each time I walk on to the airport
tarmac, I choke back a sob at the sight of people laughing and smiling as
they run to their loved ones who have fled the country and are now returning
for a visit.

We pile into the back of my brother-in-law's pickup, fling in the suitcases
and the few groceries we have managed to smuggle through. We drive past
burned villages, people running out to sell a packet of cigarettes and then
running back into the bushes before they are caught. It's illegal now to be
a vendor.

As we arrive on the farm, everyone rushes out to meet us: my parents-in-law
who live nearby, my nephew and his friend who work as guides on the farm,
and Whiskey, the cook, who has been with the family since he was 14 and is
now in his sixties.

As soon as we arrive, we strip off to the barest minimum and go barefoot. We
go to Lookout Point at sunset to watch the wildlife, fish in the dams, or
camp in the kopjies. We look out for lilac breasted rollers and hammerkop
nests. Our senses are filled with the wildness, heat and beauty of this
beloved land my children call home. And, of course, we horse-ride
everywhere, as there is almost no fuel in the country. Everyone cycles or
walks in the rural areas, unless they're transporting goods.

The catastrophic economic and political situation has brought everyone so
much closer, black and white. They're all in the same boat, struggling to
survive, sharing the same fear of being terrorized by the roaming youth
gangs employed by the government to repress opposition.

The game park offers a student volunteer programme. My children get
involved, taking the students for rides and showing them the black rhino, an
endangered species that the family has reared since birth, magnificent
creatures that roam the veld by day, and are penned at night, watched by
guards who protect them against poachers. Elephant also wander freely, and
have been trained so you can ride them. Elsewhere on the game park, there
are giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, impala, and in the enclosures, lion
and hyena.

When my daughter finishes school this year, she plans to return. 'Only if
Morgan gets in' I warn her.

Some months ago, a government minister decided he wanted the farm. But as it
was a protected rhino sanctuary, he couldn't seize it. So militia were sent
in to massacre the rhino. The family was devastated. When my sister-in-law
saw the corpses of the rhino she had bottle-fed since birth, she collapsed.

DJ, one of the rhino, had just had a baby, and the little one hadn't been
spotted by the murdering intruders. He lay next to his dead mother, and when
they tried to lift him up, he fell over. My sister-in-law, lay next to him,
and wrapped her arms around him. She stayed with him all night. As the
little one survived, the farm wasn't taken.

But they feel increasingly vulnerable. Since the elections, there's been a
fresh wave of farm invasions, and they are waiting for the war vets to turn
up at their gate. The few farmers left are being intimidated, and one friend
described in an email their harrowing experience.

"On Monday at 9am, we heard this mob of youths, numbering 70+, howling and
ululating outside the gate. The usual threats started -- you have eight
hours to leave -- get out or we'll kill you. A short while later, they broke
the chain and padlock on our security gate and started advancing across our
yard onto the front lawn.

"We had locked all the doors, shut the curtains. Meanwhile, they had herded
all our employees into the yard, forcing them to chant party slogans and
generally intimidating them.

By now they had come onto our verandah and were surrounding [her husband and
son] -- pushing and shoving them -- thank God they kept their cool, even as
they were raiding our verandah fridge of beers and cokes, stealing the
verandah table cloths, tying them around their neck and charging around,
jumping in the pool lighting fires on the lawn.

"To add to all this, we had a power cut. We were rushing around throwing
stuff into suitcases -- clothes, computers -- it's very hard to think what
to take when there is a vicious mob outside.

"In the morning, we found their flag on a big pole and posters of
you-know-who plastered all over our gate. Even if we had attempted to leave
the previous night, we would never have made it out of the gates, as there
were fires lit out there too, with +100 people there. We have since
discovered that whilst we were throwing belongings into the back of our open
pick up truck, every time we ran inside to get more things, the thugs were
stealing from the truck. We have very few clothes left. But I really don't
care. It's all material stuff and at least we're alive.

"Later, we had a visit from two people (somewhere in their chain of command)
who said we'd been accused of harbouring ex farmers prior to election
results coming out, who plan then to go and reclaim their farms that were
stolen.

"The last two days have been horrendous. They've moved onto many of the
other remaining farms and done their intimidation bit. Some farmers have
moved out en masse. In today's news, the head of the war vets and youth said
there have been absolutely NO invasions at all.

"Today, we paid our labour, and started grading the tobacco -- we had every
single person pitch for work, perhaps something to do with the food that we
are still able to provide!"

Their attitude is typical of Zimbabweans, who have responded so resiliently
to the horrible situation they find themselves in. Farmers support each
other by radio, as they can't visit each other any more because of lack of
fuel.

My father lives in Harare, alone now, since my mother died two years ago. My
brother, who lives in Sweden, has built an 18-foot wall around the property,
more for our peace of mind than for my father's security.

"If they want to get in, they'll get in," says my father.

Life on a day-to-day basis has been reduced to "hunting and gathering" as he
laughingly describes it. Electricity is rationed, and often there is none
for days at a time, so people have to rely on generators, which require
diesel. Fuel is also scarce, so there's a daily hunt for a petrol station
with a new supply in.

Word gets passed along, and everyone rushes to queue. My father is lucky,
because he has access to foreign currency, "but how anyone else survives is
a miracle," he says. "Now that we have $50 million notes, this is a country
of starving billionaires."

He fell in love with Africa when he was sent as an Irish officer to the
Congo. Later we emigrated Zambia. He also worked for the UN in Mozambique
and Somalia, and had several businesses in Zimbabwe. Now retired, he has no
intention of leaving the country that has been his home for 34 years.

"I can't leave," he says, when we plead with him. "Your mother is buried
here. I would die of pneumonia there! And what would I do in Ireland, but go
to the local, and read the daily paper? Here, I have a chance to contribute
to the rebuilding of this country, when Mugabe is gone."

He's not alone in his thinking. Everyone I know who has chosen not to leave,
is committed to the country. My father told me yesterday that a friend of
his went to the Avenues Clinic in Harare to photograph four victims who had
been taken in. Their hands had been chopped off, because they had marked
their X beside the 'wrong' name in the election.

But in spite of daily terror of violence and reprisals, Zimbabweans, black
and white, feel a cautious optimism that this time, Mugabe won't be able to
get away with rigging the results, and Morgan Tsvangirai will eventually be
declared the president.

"And if Morgan gets in," my father says, "prospects for investment will be
mind-boggling."

We, who are safe here in Ireland and elsewhere, can only watch, and hope
that Zimbabwe will return to the paradise it once was.

Schools remain closed due to political turmoil

Republic of Botswana

13 May, 2008
FRANCISTOWN - After independence, Zimbabwes post-colonial government worked
hard to expand access to education to the majority black population who had
been shut out by the minority white regime.
In the early 1990s, Zimbabwe had the best literacy rates in Africa -- at 89
per cent of the adult population. However, the past 13 years have seen a
reversal of the post-independence gains as the education system crumbled
because of a combination of politico-economic government interventions such
as the hiking of school fees and the closure of private schools.

As Zimbabwes economy continues to crumble with an inflation rate of 165 000
per cent, the highest in the world, education in that country has been
compromised with rising fees and lack of teachers.

The post-election crisis that has been engulfing Zimbabwe since the
protracted March 29 elections which did not produce a clear winner means
that schools remained closed.

The schools were supposed to open on the 29th of April but teachers are
scared of returning to school compounds for fear of being attacked by ZANU
PF militia who have taken control of every facet of life in Zimbabwe,
explained Diana Sinoti who is in her late fifties.

She said that she was forced to flee her country of birth after witnessing
the Green Bombers brutalising teachers in one of the schools in her area.

Ms Sinoti has three nephews, Sicelenkosi, Hlawulani and Nkululeko who are
doing form three and grade five respectively.

She has crossed into Botswana with them to add to numbers of Zimbabweans
seeking asylum in Botswana.

The future of our children looks set to be bleak because without education
no one can survive nowadays, she quipped.

In addition, Ms Sinoti said her wish was for her asylum application to be
approved so that all her nephews could get back to school as early as
possible.

She explained that she left two of her four elderly children in Zimbabwe;
the third one was in Botswana; and the fourth was staying with her husband
in Australia.

She said luckily, her child who stays in this country has informed others
about her whereabouts. Sixteen year old Petronella Ndlovu, a form four
student from Swazi High School said that there has been no learning at her
school since third term last year.

Most of the teachers who were elections agents have been beaten and
brutalised by the war veterans in areas where the MDC won, she said.

On other issues, she noted that at times they were only taught one subject
in a day and had to share one text book in a class of fifty students.

She argued that at one primary school in Khezi, they were only two teachers
from grade one to seven because others left last year.

Furthermore, she highlighted that sometime last year, a lot of her teachers
left Zimbabwe for South Africa and Britain.

During the first term this year, there was no learning as most teachers went
on strike demanding better wages, she quipped.

Growing up, Petronella said she dreamt of one day finishing school and
training as either a nurse or policewoman, but that dream seems to be a
mirage given the post election happenings.

For fifteen year old form one student at Kafusi High School, Vigilant
Ndlovu, the violence that she saw meted out to her teachers back in Zimbabwe
brings back bad memories of the war veterans and the ruling ZANU PF.

I am appealing to all those who care, to help us get back to school because
our future is in danger as we speak, she said.

Her dream is to become a nurse so as to help her suffering countrymen and
would be willing to go back and re-unite with friends if Tsvangirai wins the
elections.

I am very concerned because my friends do not know where I am right now, she
asserted. Vigilant maintained that education standards dropped drastically
because teachers salaries were too low to keep them in Zimbabwe.

After the elections most of the teachers who went back to school just wanted
to collect their belongings and head for greener pastures, she said.

With the prospects of a re-run high on Zimbabwes political calendar, she
opined that schools in that country would remain closed for an indefinite
period.

In the event of a re-run, she argued that the same schools would used as
polling centres and some teachers will be used as polling agents.

During this period students will have lost out a lot on their studies and
chances of making up for lost time are very remote, she highlighted.

Efforts to get a comment from Zimbabwean embassy in Botswana drew a blank as
the ambassador was said to be in a meeting. BOPA

Zimbabwe opposition leader rekindles doubts

Reuters

Wed 14 May 2008, 12:02 GMT

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE, May 14 (Reuters) - Even if Morgan Tsvangirai succeeds in unseating
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, the opposition leader's approach to a
post-election crisis has rekindled doubts over how he would handle the top
job.

The stocky former union boss has vowed to end President Robert Mugabe's rule
of nearly three decades with a "final knock-out" in an election run-off, to
take over a once prosperous country whose economy now lies in ruins.

But questions have been raised over how well Tsvangirai could handle the
task of reviving Zimbabwe.

The weeks of stalemate since March 29 presidential and parliamentary
elections have exposed apparent uncertainty and opaqueness in strategy and
policy.

Fearing assassination, Tsvangirai has been away from Zimbabwe for over a
month on a mission to secure regional diplomatic support while his
supporters at home face what human rights groups say is a campaign of
violence and intimidation.

"Obviously there is a case for questioning his sense of judgment on this,
that he needed to find a balance between his diplomatic offensive and
staying at home to give leadership to his followers," said Professor Eldred
Masunungure, a political commentator at the University Zimbabwe.

Tsvangirai, 56, says he won the first vote outright, but the electoral
authority said he failed to win the majority needed to avoid a run-off. A
date has not been fixed for a second round.

While Tsvangirai's star has risen following his historic first round defeat
of Mugabe, and he has a better chance than anyone has had of toppling the
84-year-old former guerrilla, critics say Tsvangirai has proven indecisive
at key moments.

First, his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said it had no plans to
contest a run-off. Then it said Tsvangirai would stand, to avoid handing an
automatic victory to Mugabe.

RETURN DATE

Now uncertainty has emerged over when Tsvangirai will return to Zimbabwe. On
Saturday, he had said he would go back within two days, but he is still
hasn't. His earlier call for a run-off by May 24, as specified by law, was
quietly dropped.

Questions were also raised over the opposition's handling of post-election
court cases, which were aimed at forcing the release of results but if
anything helped prolong a delay.

The MDC says its leader's decisions will prove to have been the best in the
long run.

"Everything that our president has had to do has been carefully considered
and is eventually for the good of Zimbabwe," said party spokesman Nelson
Chamisa.

In his favour, Tsvangirai will get plenty of political mileage simply by
being the only alternative to Mugabe.

Tsvangirai won around 48 percent in the first round to 43 for Mugabe and he
would be clear favourite to win the run-off if it is fair -- something the
opposition strongly doubts.

If Tsvangirai wins, the United States and Britain stand ready to pump
billions of dollars into Zimbabwe. Foreign investors also see huge
opportunities once Mugabe goes.

"There is a plenty of international goodwill for him and Zimbabwe so he
should have no problems in mobilising financial assistance, but obviously
Mr. Tsvangirai will have to demonstrate that he has the ability and
consistency to enjoy this confidence," said one senior Western diplomat.

Tsvangirai, the self-taught son of a bricklayer, has won international
respect for standing up to Mugabe. But healing the country may prove far
more difficult.

SECURITY CHIEFS

Any crackdown on the veteran leader's powerful security chiefs, who have
threatened to keep Tsvangirai from power, could pose risks. He may need
their help to rebuild the country and ease political divisions.

Tsvangirai has sent mixed signals on how he would deal with a defeated
Mugabe. He has called for a government of national "healing" while stressing
Mugabe would have no place in it.

"The MDC has been saying different things to different people, but they have
to take a firm position and address the subject more firmly," said one
political observer in Harare.

Land could be another critical issue. Mugabe's critics say evictions of
white farmers in favour of landless blacks helped wreck the economy.
Tsvangirai could not just turn the tables, but would need to come up with a
clear policy on restoring farm exports that bring in vital foreign currency.

Formed in 1999, the MDC braved violence by ruling ZANU-PF supporters in
contesting parliamentary elections in 2000 and 2005 and a presidential poll
in 2002, which it said were rigged.

But Tsvangirai's position as the main opposition leader was shaken in 2005
by fierce in-fighting in the MDC which split over strategy and accusations
that he was behaving like a dictator.

Supporters say Tsvangirai has emerged stronger and that he ran a powerful
election campaign for the March polls despite infiltration by ZANU-PF
agents, harassment and a raft of strict laws which have previously combined
to undermine the MDC.

John Makumbe, a veteran political commentator and Mugabe critic, said
Tsvangirai had made some tactical errors but could be given a boost if he
wins by the return of millions of Zimbabweans who have fled the economic
meltdown.

"If there are people suggesting that he will not be up to the job of
managing the economy or the country's politics, then those people are
underestimating the amount of goodwill out there," said Makumbe.

"Tsvangirai will be spoilt for choice in all fields with skilled people who
have run away from Mugabe." (Editing by Michael Georgy and Matthew Tostevin)

Gono caught with his pants down again

The Zimbabwe Times

By Levi Mhaka
May 14, 2008

SOMEONE at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the governor himself, Gideon Gono,
it appears, is either lying or trying to mislead the nation as the following
documents will prove beyond doubt.

The Herald reported on Monday, May 12 that, despite the numerous economic
challenges facing Zimbabwe, the central bank had made two payments of US$500
000 and US$150 000 to the African Development Bank and the African
Development Fund respectively.

The article was based on a statement issued by the African Development Bank.
Gono immediately issued a statement denying the content of the Herald
article while ridiculing the newspaper for publishing it.

The following sequence of statements and article should help to clear the
air. It should also prompt the governor of the Reserve Bank to seriously
consider resignation. The comments in red are my own.

1.   Zimbabwe Meets Financial Commitment with AfDB
African Development Bank Press Release
May 12, 2008
IN A bid to actively reconnect with international donors, the Zimbabwean
government last month paid part of its arrears to the African Development
Bank (AfDB) Group. On April 14, 2008, the country paid US$ 500,000 to the
African Development Bank and US$150,000 to the African Development Fund.
Zimbabwe has, in all, paid US$ 650,000 to the Bank Group despite numerous
economic challenges currently facing the country, both globally and locally.
According to Mr. Abdirrahmene Beileh, AfDB acting Director in charge of
Southern African countries, "Zimbabwe is still owing the bank large amounts
of money in arrears".

The country has been in arrears with the Bank Group and a recent effort to
pay part of these arrears is testimony of the government’s determination to
live up to its international financial obligations vis-à-vis donor agencies
and development partners. These challenges have contributed to the
under-performance of the agricultural, manufacturing, mining and tourism
sectors. Like many other developing countries, Zimbabwe has not been spared
by the global food crisis and the corresponding surge in food prices, as
well escalating oil prices. The country’s domestic economic development has
been characterized by high inflation, output contraction and rising interest
rates. The absence of balance of payments support, declining capital
inflows, recurrent droughts and rising oil prices have severely undermined
the economy’s productive capacity, resulting in most industries operating
below 30% capacity.
Source:
www.afdb.org/portal/page?_pageid=293,174339&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&press_item=30726767&press_lang=us

2.    Zim defies odds, pays US$700m AfDB debt

May 13, 2008
Herald Reporter

ZIMBABWE last month cleared US$700 million of its US$726,9 million debt to
the African Development Bank (AfDB) despite the current economic challenges,
the bank has said, while hailing the Government’s commitment to honouring
its international financial obligations.

The AfDB also acknowledged that Zimbabwe was under debilitating sanctions,
contrary to Western claims that the United States, the European Union and
their allies had only placed restrictions on a few individuals and not an
economic blockade on the whole country.

A statement on the AfDB’s website said: "On April 14, 2008, the country paid
US$500 million to the African Development Bank and US$150 million to the
African Development Fund. Zimbabwe has, in all, paid US$700 million to the
Bank Group despite numerous economic challenges currently facing the
country, both globally and locally."

The bank did not state when the other US$50 million was repaid.

Though the statement did not say how much Zimbabwe owed the bank in total,
reliable Ministry of Finance sources in Harare said the total arrears to
December 2007 stood at US$726,9 million.

The bank said the country’s economic downturn could be attributed to the
imposition of Western sanctions, among other factors, but hailed Government’s
resilience and determination to honour its international financial
obligations.

"The absence of balance of payments support, declining capital inflows,
recurrent droughts and rising oil prices have severely undermined the
economy’s productive capacity, resulting in most industries operating below
30 percent capacity.

"Though the country is currently experiencing balance of payments
constraints resulting in delays and, sometimes, failure in meeting its
financial obligations vis-à-vis donors, the Government, however, fully
acknowledges its external financial obligations.

"The Government remains committed to honouring its debt obligations. In line
with its commitment to fruitfully engage its partners, goodwill payments are
being made with a view to normalising relations and paving the way for new
disbursements.

"The Government also remains committed to instituting macro-economic reforms
aimed at addressing its economic challenges. It is focused on enhancing food
security, foreign exchange generation and increasing the supply of basic
commodities," the statement said.

The AfDB commended Government initiatives aimed at ensuring the viability of
the productive and service sectors that would lead to the revitalisation of
infrastructure, agricultural productivity and increased industrial capacity
utilisation.

In this regard, the institution gave the thumbs-up to the agricultural
mechanisation programme being steered by the Ministry of Agricultural
Engineering, Mechanisation and Irrigation and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

"The Government, therefore, continues to monitor and develop the sector
through the provision of agricultural equipment and implements. To date, the
Government has launched three phases of the mechanisation programme with the
fourth set to be unveiled in July 2008.

"It is also rehabilitating the country’s irrigation infrastructure with a
view to optimising the usage of inland water bodies. It is also
contemplating the building of more irrigation schemes in areas that have
inland water bodies and reservoirs.

"The Government is also providing concessionary finance schemes geared
towards enhancing the production of strategic food crops to guarantee food
security.

"In this regard, in collaboration with development partners such as the AfDB
that are financing agriculture in the country, the Zimbabwean Government
will continue to ensure that the sector regains its status and plays a
pivotal role in the country’s economic development," the statement said.

The 43rd annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the AfDB and the 34th
meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund will be
held in Maputo, Mozambique, from tomorrow until Thursday under the theme:
"Urbanisation, Growth and Poverty in Africa".
3.   RBZ denies US$700m payment to AfDB
Statement by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Last updated: 05/13/2008 18:10:43
MATTER OF FACT: THE HERALD STORY OF 13 MAY, 2008 TITLED “ZIMBABWE DEFIES
ODDS, PAYS US$700 M TO AfDB DEBT” REFERS

1. As Monetary Authorities, our professional integrity and ethics have
impelled that we comment on the recent article of The Herald which suggested
that Zimbabwe paid US$700 million to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
(Is the good Governor aware that the Herald obtained the information for
this story from the AfDB website under press releases?)

2. Whilst the article made nostalgic good reading, as the country’s Central
Bank and custodian of Government’s foreign exchange receipts and payments,
we wish to categorically state that to our knowledge, there has not been any
such payment.

3. Indeed, back in 2004/2005 Zimbabwe made a surprise payment to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), which experience risks making the public
believe the recent unfounded newspaper article alleging Zimbabwe’s payments
to the AfDB this time around. (What is Gono trying to communicate?)

4. If the country had such resources (US$700 million), the Reserve Bank
would have prioritized the importation of grain (maize and wheat); the
importation of fuel, electricity, medical drugs, industrial chemicals,
fertilizers, seeds, water treatment chemicals, agricultural equipment, and
other infrastructural development essentials, and of course leaving some for
debt service. (This is what he should have paid for! AfDB cannot be lying to
the extent of releasing an official press release)

5. Although as a Central Bank we are closely working with the Ministry of
Finance with several rods in the fire to raise foreign exchange resources to
support the economy, such efforts have not as yet resulted in multilateral
or bilateral creditors and/or donors disbursing funds or taking over our
debts.
6. To this end, therefore, we are making efforts to trace and verify the
source and authenticity of the Herald story, in the interest of setting the
record straight. (The Herald story clearly indicates the source in the first
paragraph of its story. It is therefore futile and a sign that our good
Governor did not read the story and wants to trace and verify the source and
authenticity of a newspaper story to set the record straight? This is a
matter officially communicated by AfDB)

7. Until facts are established on where this article came from, we would
like to advise the nation, and our cooperating regional and international
partners to treat this story with caution. (It looks like the good Governor
has been ‘roasted’ by the military junta fronted by Emmerson Mnangagwa,
Patrick Chinamasa and George Charamba for paying international debts instead
of raising money to fund the election campaign of the Caretaker President
Robert Mugabe to win the run-off whose date the ZEC is failing to release)
Thank you.
________________________
DR. G. GONO
GOVERNOR
13 MAY 2008

JAG open letter forum - No. 534 - Dated 14 May 2008

Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.
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1. Ben Freeth

Dear JAG,

This is an update on the situation on the ground from our little
perspective and an appeal for prayer for the farmers and their workers still
out there.

On Mount Carmel and the surrounding farms everyone over the age of 13 are
now having to go to organised pungwes every night all night where they chant
slogans and get re-educated. If they don't go the Party militia come to
their houses and pull them out. Army are also present. Atrocities are
beginning to happen. I heard of hands being hacked with pangas and then the
bones broken on Lowood farm 2 farms away [resettlement] for using those
hands to vote against Mugabe.

Last night we heard the drums and the chanting all night as they denounced
the British and the whites etc. on the neighboring farm. So we prayed for
the protection of our workers through the power of Jesus. None of them were
beaten last night but tonight they all have to get re-educated on Mount
Carmel.

We have had a number of farmers in this area forcibly removed from their
houses by a "war vet" called Gilbert Moyo. He has been instrumental in
the removal of many farmers over the years. Weapons, diesel, a motor car
and other things were taken from some of the farmers affected. The last
jambanja was of Nettie and Bruce Rogers.

By then the operation was gathering steam. Moyo was clearly aware that the
police were under strict instructions not to react. The attack was brutal.
Nettie had a fractured cheek bone and broken ribs and a burst ear drum as
well as severe bruising and Bruce had 2 vertebras in his back cracked and
also lots of other injuries. Eventually, for the first time, black boots
responded from Kadoma. Bruce said that another 10 minutes and he would have
been dead.

Despite black boots Moyo's crowd still occupied the place and looted the
house and took their car.... Shots were also fired by the invaders [using
guns stolen from other farmers] but fortunately Nettie and Bruce took no
bullets themselves.

Since then the farmers [except Nettie and Bruce who are still recovering]
have been allowed back to their farms for the time being...

Mike patched up a group of guys the other night who were covered in blood
and their clothes soaked in it. They had been abducted from a police
station where they had tried to take refuge and then were stoned. One had a
hole in his head that Mike said seemed to go right in to where the brain
was. Another had most of his ear hanging off and another had severe
injuries to his nose. The guy with the wounds around his nose stood against
the ZANU PF candidate in the last elections and is a strong Christian and a
courageous man. I have preached at his church before.

4 guys were evacuated who were badly beaten on a farm three farms away
[Chikanga]. The one chap evidently had had a heavy rock dropped on his leg
till it smashed in front of about 300 people who were all too terrified to
do anything. I am not sure if all of the 4 survived or not.

A couple of nights ago at about 3 A.M. a large thunder flash was placed in
Mike's garden that was heard kilometers away. It was placed by guys in a
green land cruiser - army?

A colonel is in charge of the district now and I understand it is the same
in other districts. It looks like an undeclared military operation to beat
and intimidate the populace into submission. The colonel told the farmers
at a meeting last Wednesday at the police camp that "you can not vote a
revolutionary government out of power". As I write I can hear the pungwe
going on a couple of kilometer away with the continuous slogan chanting.
They have been told it will be every night for the next 3 weeks ...

I also heard today that one of more of the houses on a Chakari farm was
burnt down in the last few days and that the x workers on another Chakari
farm have all been kicked out of their houses. Another farmer today was also
barricaded in and eventually managed to get away on foot. And so it goes on
- and this is just part of one little district...

So please pray for the fear of the living God and His intervention in this
chaos.

With love in the name of Jesus Christ who we serve here on Mount Carmel and
in whose ultimate victory we walk.

Ben Freeth.
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2. Keith Battye

Dear JAG,

We all know that major sporting events can have a big impact on politicians
as the recent Olympic torch relay has demonstrated only too well. Rumour has
it that FIFA are contemplating moving the World Cup to Australia if the
Zimbabwe situation is not resolved soon. Let's use this as leverage to
expedite the results of the elections and show Mbeki what a real crisis
is....send this to everyone you know, and ask them to simply go on to the
web page and email FIFA asking them to make plans to move the 2010 world cup
from South Africa to somewhere else due to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

If enough people email them, they will have to take action. This will effect
the whole region financially and Mbeki would have scored a major own goal!!

http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html
<http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html>

Please send this to everyone you know and be the voice for millions of
innocent, starving, tortured, oppressed Zimbabweans who are being
brutalised by an illegitimate government

Keith Battye
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3. Mark Homan

Dear JAG,

We all know that major sporting events can have a big impact on politicians
as the recent Olympic torch relay has demonstrated only too well. Rumour has
it that FIFA are contemplating moving the World Cup to Australia if the
Zimbabwe situation is not resolved soon. Let's use this as leverage to
expedite the results of the elections and show Mbeki what a real crisis
is....send this to everyone you know, and ask them to simply go on to the
web page and email FIFA asking them to make plans to move the 2010 world cup
from South Africa to somewhere else due to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

If enough people email them, they will have to take action. This will effect
the whole region financially and Mbeki would have scored a major own goal!!

http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html

Please send this to everyone you know and be the voice for millions of
innocent, starving, tortured, oppressed Zimbabweans who are being brutalised
by an illegitimate government

Mark Homan
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4. Bill Carter

Dear Jag,

It is a privilege that is seldom given to anybody in their lifetime that by
uttering a few well chosen words they are able to change the destiny of a
country and it's people. Mbeki had this golden moment, and spurned it. He
has much to answer for.

Bill Carter
Howick
RSA
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All letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of
the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for
Agriculture.

S.Africa police seek calm after attack on foreigners

Reuters

Wed 14 May 2008, 5:38 GMT

By Phakamisa Ndzamela

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police beefed up patrols in a
township near Johannesburg on Tuesday after a deadly attack that left
Zimbabweans and other foreigners fearful for their lives.

A mob armed with stones, whips and guns attacked foreign-born residents in
Alexandra township on Sunday, killing two people and sending some 40 others
to hospital. Several women were raped.

"They took my sister's daughter and raped her," Angela Nyembe, a Mozambican
street seller, said as she huddled with an estimated 100 other foreign-born
residents who sought shelter at the Alexandra police station.

She said her family and others had been targeted by South Africans who were
jealous of foreigners who worked.

Police said 50 people had been arrested in connection with the violence.
They are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday on charges of murder,
attempted murder, robbery and rape.

Authorities tried to reassure the community they had the situation under
control.

"We will be intensifying patrols and will be beefing up more man-power, and
police will be going throughout Alexandra and ensuring that the situation is
stable," Neria Malefetse, a spokeswoman for the Johannesburg police, said.

She residents said they believed the attacks had been triggered by a
perception that illegal immigrants were responsible for a spate of robberies
in the area.

The incident, the latest in a string of attacks on foreigners, renewed fears
that xenophobia was rising in a country long known as one of the most
welcoming to immigrants and asylum seekers, especially from Africa.

It prompted a quick response from the ruling African National Congress. "We
call on all South Africans to take a firm stand against such violent acts
and treat them as hate crimes," it said.

Africans have been flocking to South Africa, the continent's economic
powerhouse, for decades, lured by abundant work in its mines, farms and
homes and by one of the world's most liberal immigration and refugee
policies.

But a perception it is now open season on this group threatens to fray South
Africa's relations within Africa and handicap its buoyant economy, which is
straining under rising inflation, a skills shortage and a devastating power
crisis.

An estimated 3 million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa as a result of
the deep economic crisis back home.

Alex cops guard 1 000 refugees

IOL

May 14 2008 at 07:21AM

By Shaun Smillie, Lebogang Seale and Alex Eliseev

As night descended on Alexandra, foreigners flocked to the only safe
sanctuary they had - the police station.

Refugees carried the few belongings they had salvaged - bags, blankets
and a few bicycles.

Crying babies were comforted on their mothers' backs.

They flooded into a walled courtyard in the station for yet another
night.

Earlier in the day, some of the foreigners, targeted during three-days
of xenophobic violence collected their possessions. As they drove away from
their homes in the township, residents clapped and shouted "hambani" (go
away).

Moving in the opposite direction came officialdom - the police top
brass, the MEC for safety and security, church leaders and non-governmental
organisations - to quell the violence.

But the refugees feared another night of terror. Another night where
mobs tore apart small shops and looted everything they could carry. Another
night where heavily armoured police vans criss-crossed the turbulent
township dispersing rioters, arresting troublemakers and assisting the
foreigners, many of whom are in the country illegally.

So they returned to the police station.

One of those there was Thandi Andries and her son Salmou.

"I just want to go home," she said. Home is Maputo, Mozambique.

For three nights she has stayed at the police station. She and her son
have been fed soup and bread.

Before the violence she had made a living selling vetkoek on London
Road.

Another foreigner, a Zimbabwean who would only give his first name -
Innocence - also wants to leave Alex, his home for 15 years.

"I have decided to go home because this war will continue."

Like many in the walled courtyard, he lists his lost belongings: a DVD
player, a TV and a fridge.

Standing close by, surrounded by some of her South African friends,
Gloria, a waitress, who works at Emperors Palace, has lost even more.

Alex thugs had stolen the home she had bought for R3 000.

On Monday, she returned home and was chased away. "Somebody was in
there. They said: 'You must be mistaken. This is now mine'."

The official toll is stark: 61 people arrested in connection with the
mob violence. Four rape cases. Three dead. 1 000 expected to spend the night
at the police station.

Police station spokesperson Constable Neria Malefetse said on Tuesday
had been quiet, with just a few sporadic attacks. A strong police presence
would continue.

She said a South African family was also raided by angry gangs and
told to leave the township.

Dr Muvili Simba said 39 patients were treated at the Alex Clinic on
Monday night. This included seven gunshot victims. On Sunday night, when the
attacks began, the clinic treated 58 patients, two with gunshot wounds.

Simba said most of the cases were related to mob violence.

Matthews Ntamote of the SA Red Cross Society said staff had registered
210 refugees at the police station and spent the day assessing their needs
and feeding them.

Many of the refugees spent Monday night at the station but left as
soon as the sun rose, fearing deportation if they were registered.

Over at Bramley police station, 20 refugees were registered and were
receiving help.

Ntamote said the Rhema Church had also come forward to help feed the
foreigners.

He said South African citizens were also among the refugees. They were
from Limpopo and unfamiliar with the local language.

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela on Tuesday warned against "destructive
divisiveness" in the country.

"Remember the horror from which we came. Never forget the greatness of
a nation that has overcome its division. Let us never descend into
destructive divisiveness."

He was speaking shortly after receiving the freedom of the city from
Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa.

The South African Human Rights Commission stated that the attacks on
foreigners were partly due to the inability of the government to deal with
these matters effectively.

Police also condemned the violence, warning that vigilantism and mob
justice would not be tolerated.

All of this was little comfort to Vusi Mncube, who sat with his
belongings around him, wondering where he would spend the night.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on May 14,
2008

Zimbabwe presidential run-off delayed