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

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A farmer has just been shot and is in critical condition requiring an urgent
blood transfusion of Rh A negative blood.  Any possible donors in Zimbabwe
are requested to contact me ASAP on 091-261862 or 04-490723 or 04-799410.

John Worsley-Worswick
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New Zimbabwe

Mugabe's pal Van Hoogstraten to splash on Zim charities

By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 10/08/2004 02:30:01
PROPERTY tycoon and President Robert Mugabe's main foreign financial backer
Nicholas van Hoogstraten is set to splash thousands of pounds on Zimbnabwean
charities after a court awarded him £500,000 from the family of a Sutton
businessman he was once convicted of killing.

Van Hoogstraten owns vast land interests in Zimbabwe and recently set-up an
office in Harare. The Sunday Times newspaper reported recently that he was
planning on moving to Harare permanently.

"I don't need it but it's my money and if I choose to give it away I'll
choose one of the charities I support in Zimbabwe, not that family,"
Hoogstraten said Thursday from his Sussex home.

The family of Mohammed Raja, who was murdered at his Mulgrave Road home in
1999, must pay him an initial £90,000 within two months, a judge ruled last
week.

It is to cover the legal expenses of van Hoogstraten's successful appeal
against a £5million lawsuit filed by the Rajas.

Raja's son Amjad said the family was disappointed by the court's decision
but vowed to continue court action against van Hoogstraten.

"It's true the legal expenses are taking a toll on us," he said. "But if we
give up now our father would have died in vain."

Raja had been suing van Hoogstraten, a former business partner, when he was
shot dead by two men who, it was claimed at an Old Bailey criminal trial,
were acting as agents for van Hoogstraten.

Despite being sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2002 for manslaughter, van
Hoogstraten's conviction was set aside by the Court of Appeal earlier this
year.

Gunmen David Croke and Robert Knapp are currently serving life sentences for
Raja's murder.

The Raja family continued with the £5million claim and a High Court judge
imposed severe penalties on van Hoogstraten after he failed to comply with
court orders to disclose his assets.

The orders, which saw his assets frozen worldwide, were overturned by appeal
court judges in July.

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VOA

Families of Former Zimbabwe Farm Workers Face Difficulties
Tendai Maphosa
Harare
07 Oct 2004, 14:45 UTC

Most of Zimbabwe's farm workers who lost their livelihood more than four
years after the country's controversial land reform program was implemented,
are still struggling to make a living.
It is estimated that 350,000 of the people who worked on white commercial
farms lost their jobs when their employers were forcibly removed from their
land.

While some are now working for the new farmers, there are some who were left
without a source of income. A farm worker who spoke to VOA on condition of
anonymity said most of the about 30 former workers on his farm and their
families are facing an uncertain future because of lack of employment.

He says that since the departure of his former employer in 2001, he and some
of his colleagues have worked on surrounding farms until those commercial
farmers were kicked off their land.

The man says he now provides for his family of five by taking on occasional
part-time jobs. He says he is one of the lucky ones because he got a piece
of land, but he lacks the necessary tools to till the land and money to buy
seed and fertilizer.

It is getting increasingly difficult for workers to provide food for their
families. As a result, aid agencies have stepped up their efforts by
providing food programs at some of the farm schools.

At one school, the headmaster, who also requested anonymity, said for some
of the nearly 600 students, the cornmeal/soya blend porridge they receive
once a day is often the only meal they have.

A 12-year-old pupil at the school agreed, saying food at home was so scarce
that sometimes his six siblings and their parents do not have anything to
eat.

According to the newsletter of the Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe, an
organization that looks after the interests of vulnerable groups in farming
areas, more than 120,000 children in four of the country's 10 provinces
where the Trust operates are benefiting from the program.

A spokesperson for another non-governmental organization said it is
difficult for such groups to give accurate numbers and the degree of need
because they are denied access to the areas by pro-government groups. "They
say we are anti-land reform," says the spokesperson who asked not to be
named.

The government of Zimbabwe has stopped aid agencies from giving the needy
handouts, claiming that the country harvested enough grain to feed everybody
this year. About half of Zimbabwe's population of 12 million have depended
on food aid since 2000. Successive droughts have led to a drop in food
production. But, aid agencies also blame President Robert Mugabe's sometimes
violent land reform program, in which white commercial farmers' land was
taken away and redistributed.

Critics of Mr. Mugabe say the land reform program did not benefit poor,
landless blacks. Instead, they say, it gave special treatment to those
aligned to the ruling ZANU-PF party. The president has acknowledged that the
program was flawed and has said that those who have grabbed more than one
farm will be forced to give up the extra ones.

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From The Daily Mirror, 7 October

High Court judge reverses evictions

Patson Matsikidze, Assistant News Editor

High Court judge, Justice Rita Makarau, has ordered that the families
evicted from Little England Farm in Mashonaland West last month should
return to the property with immediate effect, as the ongoing land eviction
saga takes a new twist. The order was handed down in chambers on Monday, in
a case in which Percy Masendu and 429 others sought the court's protection
from eviction. The applicants had cited Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi
and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, as first and second respondents
respectively. The officer-in-charge of Nyabira Police Station and Stanford
Katonha, the Zvimba district government lands officer, were also cited as
respondents. The settlers had filed an urgent chamber application in the
High Court to have the eviction order nullified. The respondents were
ordered to pay the costs of the suit. Makarau ordered: "The applicants and
all those claiming through them be allowed to continue staying at Little
England Farm until such time as they are properly resettled or evicted by an
order of a competent court. "The respondents or any person acting through
them or on their behalf be interdicted from interfering with applicants'
occupation of Little England Farm by unlawfully evicting them or destroying
their dwellings. The respondents jointly, severally and in solidium pay the
costs of the suit."

Heavily armed police descended on the Nyabira farm on September 17, 2004,
and burnt down homes, destroying property worth millions of dollars. The
applicants had been settled at the height of farm occupations in 2000 under
the controversial land reform exercise. In their founding affidavit, the
applicants argued that their eviction was illegal, citing the Rural Land
Occupiers (Protection from Eviction) Act (Chapter 20:26), which protects
legal settlers. The applicants said police Deputy Commissioner (Operations),
Godwin Matanga, had ignored their pleas to be left alone, against the advice
of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, Simon Pazvakavambwa. They also mourned the destruction of
their property and the traumatic experiences which their children, who are
expected to write their final Grade 7 and "O" Level examinations this month,
underwent.
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Daily News online edition

      Mugabe courts pensioners

      Date:8-Oct, 2004

      HARARE - A financial windfall is on the way for thousands of Zimbabwe
government pensioners as President Robert Mugabe steps up his party's
campaign for office in next year's general elections.

      Mugabe, known for his violent campaigns in any election, seems to have
changed his tactic, opting for financial rewards to the long forgotten
pensioners living around the country, as Zanu PF tries to meet the Southern
Africa Development Community, (SADC) protocol on guidelines for free and
fair elections which he signed in Mauritius recently.

      Although the move is set to draw heavily on the fiscus as the
government will pay out millions of dollars to each pensioner, the Zanu PF
government will be happy to retain power in the elections at all costs.

      Most of the government pensioners are drawn from teachers, office
orderlies and messengers who worked for the colonial government in the
sixties and seventies before independence.

      Some of them were now getting a monthly pension allowance of $8 000
but will, after the exercise, get more than $600 000 per month as pension
allowances.

      Indications on the ground seem to be reflecting that there would be
less political violence in the coming general elections as Mugabe would want
the election process to be legitimised by the regional body, which has of
late been talking tough on issues of good governance and democracy within
the region.

      At present, a senior party official, Didymus Mutasa, is being
investigated by the police on charges of political violence.

      Vice president Joseph Msika has also ordered that senior intelligence
chiefs and police officials in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city be
investigated after four Zanu PF youths were allegedly assaulted in
politically motivated violence.

      According to new regulations, each government pensioner is supposed to
get a monthly allowance which is three quarters of what the current civil
servant in that position is getting.

      Over the past few months, civil servants have received salary
increments of between 1 500 to 2 000 percent, making then some of the
highest paid workers in the country.

      When The Daily News Online visited the government pensions office at
Mukwati Building yesterday, long queues of retired civil servants could be
seen.

      Most of the people in the queue said they had travelled from remote
parts of the country after being informed by their political leaders of the
new government initiative.

      They said some of them have already received their windfall for last
month. Those who had not received anything were supposed to fill in
'indexation forms' so that their dues could be paid at the end of this
month.

      The windfall to pensioners comes a few days after the government
announced that it would pay out hefty allowances to war collaborators and
ex-political detainees before the end of the year.

      The move, which has been described as a political gimmick, is set to
severely strain government coffers, to which more than $600 billion would be
doled out to ex-political prisoners, war collaborators, detainees and
restrictees who participated in the 1970s liberation war. The award comes
seven years after a similar one to former combatants wreaked havoc on the
fiscus.

      A Bill paving the way for the compensation of ex-political prisoners,
restrictees and detainees of Zimbabwe's war of liberation has already been
gazetted and is set to be tabled before Zimbabwe's Parliament

      which went into its last session this week, before general elections
early next year.

      The registration of political detainees would be done using data from
the Zimbabwe Prison Service, while war collaborators would be drawn from
those who were youths during Zimbabwe's armed struggle.

      Meanwhile, the registration of war collaborators has hit a snag after
revelations that bogus organizations purporting to be representing the
youths, had already started selling registration cards to unsuspecting
members.

      Reports in the local media have indicated that the organisations were
currently operating in parts of Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.

      The government is also paying all the traditional leaders, the aged
and orphans in rural areas, where Mugabe enjoys much support, a monthly
allowance.

      The same is not being done in urban areas, where the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, (MDC) commands a huge following.

      Those who are also participating in the food for work programmes in
rural areas, have had their monthly allowances revised upwards to more than
$60 000 per month depending on the number of days one would have worked.

      Institutions like the District Development Fund (DDF), have been
instructed to employ youths from the ruling party.

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Daily News online edition

      Windfall for pensioners an election bait

      Date:8-Oct, 2004

      The decision by the government to increase the allowance for
pensioners is a last ditch attempt by the ruling Zanu PF to win votes in
next March's parliamentary elections.

      A drowning man, they say, will catch at a straw.

      With its atrocious track record of human rights abuse, violence
against members of the opposition and civil society, repression of the
private media and a stranglehold of the state run media, the Zanu PF-led
government wants to woo the thousands of pensioners, some of them from the
Ian Smith era, by awarding them hefty sums of allowances.

      It might be too little too late because the majority of people,
pensioners and those still in gainful employment have suffered a lot during
the last few years from the gross economic mismanagement by the government.

      Very few of them will forget what they have gone through. Workers have
been hardest hit due to diminished disposable incomes. Companies have been
shut down, throwing thousands onto the streets. Zimbabweans have been forced
to bear the brunt of the economic crisis with basic commodities like bread,
sugar, soap, cooking oil and fuel in short supply.

      The average pensioner takes home $10 000 or less per month and will
now get as much as $600 000 per month. This will be a bounty but for how
long will it last?

      A family of five, living in a four-roomed house in the high density
suburb of Mbare, Mufakose, Mkoba or Mzilikazi needs a minimum of $1 million
for it to lead a normal life.

      This money is not enough for the family to save for a rainy day or for
school fees for two children.

      The cost of living in Zimbabwe is ever rising, eroding the buying
power by the local currency so much that some viable companies are
increasing their wage bill every three months to cushion their workers from
imminent hunger and starvation.

      The next big question is: where will the government get all the money
to pay the thousands of pensioners?

      Is it not a question of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul because in
the end, the taxpayer will pick the bill one way or the other? - Editorial
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Daily News online edition

      Museveni cannot lecture us on democracy

      Date:7-Oct, 2004

      PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni of Uganda fought for the liberation of his
country from imperialists. He thus contributed a lot to freedom.

      He has scored many marks in the field of HIV/Aids prevention. He
however still has much to do in the field of promoting democracy.

      His hands are dirty from the Hutu/Tutsi holocaust and he has supported
the role of the imperialist powers like the United States in destabilising
developing nations like Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and others
where Washington has always supported rebels and supplied them with arms of
war.

      In the case of Zimbabwe, it is no secret that the Americans are after
our rich mineral resources, uranium, chrome and gold.

      I am surprised that Museveni says regime change does not work. What he
implies is that he should remain in power until Amen.

      This is typical of all dictators and Museveni is as much a dictator as
his Marxist colleague, Robert Mugabe.

      Both men came to power preaching socialism. Well, it was mere lip
service. They abandoned it as soon as they tasted power and became die-hard
capitalists.

      Museveni is very wrong to say that men and women who led liberation
movements like Robert Mugabe, Nelson Mandela, the late Joshua Nkomo, Kwame
Nkrumah should not be demonised.

      In a true democracy, people should be free to criticise their leaders
if they notice that they have gone astray. This is true of our very own
Mugabe.

      Uganda, I am told, is not among the rich countries of Africa. In fact,
it is one country where people are living far below the poverty datum line.
The country virtually survives on handouts from Washington and other rich
nations whose interest is only in the natural resources of the country.

      Africa has had enough dictators who cling to power and only move out
through a revolt or death.

      Like Mugabe, they do not want free and fair elections because they
know they stand to lose if elections were held fairly and freely. - TALKING
POINT

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IOL

Zimbabwe tables new laws despite opposition
          October 07 2004 at 06:25PM

      Harare - Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF tabled two controversial bills
before parliament on Thursday, despite strong criticism from home and
abroad.

      Changes to the already-strict press laws could see journalists fined
and imprisoned for two years, while a new NGO Bill has been slated by local
aid agencies as hitting vulnerable people when they most need help.

      On Tuesday 47 women from Zimbabwe's Women of Zimbabwe Arise pressure
group were arrested for taking part in a peaceful demonstration against the
NGO Bill. Three Zimbabwean photographers also spent the night in police
cells before being warned not to cover illegal demonstrations.

      About 10 000 people could lose their jobs if the bill is passed by
parliament, say NGO workers, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Bill
also outlaws foreign funding of many local aid agencies.

      The NGO Bill seeks a ban on all organisations working for improved
governance and human rights in the southern African country.

      Meanwhile changes to Zimbabwe's Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act seek to make it illegal for Zimbabwean journalists to work
for any organisation other than the one to which they are accredited. The
changes, put forward by information minister Jonathan Moyo, are expected to
be passed by parliament where Zanu PF holds 68 seats, many of them
appointed, against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change's 51.

      Four foreign correspondents have been deported and over 30 Zimbabwean
journalists arrested during the last four years of political turmoil in the
country, more than during the previous 20 years of independence from Britain
in 1980. - Sapa

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Higher staple prices indicate greater need, FEWS NET

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 7 Oct 2004 (IRIN) - Significant increases in the price of
maize, a staple food in Zimbabwe, indicate that needs are likely to be
higher than originally projected, according to the Famine Early Warning
Systems Network (FEWS NET).

In its latest monthly report on the food security situation in Zimbabwe,
FEWS NET noted that the selling price set by the state's grain monopoly, the
Grain Marketing Board (GMB), "is over 34 percent higher than the maize price
that the Zimbabwe VAC [Vulnerability Assessment Committee] assumed for this
time of year when it made its projections that about 2.3 million rural
people would require ... 178,000 mt of food assistance".

This meant that food aid needs could be higher than initially thought.
"According to various official reports issued in September (by the GMB Chief
Executive, and the Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture,
Rural Resources, Water Development and Resettlement), farmers had sold
between 294,000 mt and 325,000 mt of maize grain to the GMB. The maize
collections reported by the GMB are less than 30 percent of the total amount
of maize the government had estimated it would buy from farmers this
marketing year," FEWS NET observed.

The government of Zimbabwe predicted a bumper harvest this year but
independent assessments have warned that this was unlikely. Zimbabwe's
parliament has ordered a committee to investigate the matter, as the GMB has
yet to receive the predicted grain harvest of 2.4 million mt.

FEWS NET said that in rural areas where most households depend on local
maize production, markets have become the main source of the staple.
However, "given that the average maize grain prices were between Zim
$5,000 - Zim $8,000 per bucket [equivalent to 18kg] in April, just after the
maize harvest, it is clear that already this year there have been
significant increases in staple prices," the report warned.

Prices ranged between Zim $10,000 and Zim $12,000 a bucket in mid-September.

In the traditional grain surplus rural areas, "most households are still
relying on their own production from last season's harvest".

But poorer households in grain deficit areas "are unable to buy food due to
the limited income options they have; hence, a significant number of these
households are already reducing the number and size of meals they eat, as
well as attempting to make small amounts of cash in risky and
non-traditional ways, such as gold panning," noted.

Those with livestock have been selling them to purchase food and, in
general, "people have more options in the areas where a good grain and cash
crop harvest occurred last year because casual labour opportunities are more
readily available".

The same was not true for areas where a large community of ex-commercial
farm workers was present and no irrigated cropping was taking place, said
FEWS NET. "In such areas most ex-commercial farm workers are not gainfully
employed and have no reliable means to earn money for food. The food
security situation for a significant proportion of the people in these areas
is desperate."

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Zimbabwe food insecurity deeper than expected
afrol News, 7 October - Maize prices are already 34 percent higher than
foreseen for this time of the year by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment
Committee (VAC). With prices running this high, a new report assesses that
food needs in Zimbabwe "are higher than originally projected," thus
documenting the ongoing food crisis denied by Harare authorities.

The Zimbabwean Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is currently selling maize - the
country's main staple food - at a 34 percent higher price than what the VAC
had assumed for this time of year when it made its projections that about
2.3 million rural people would require a total of 178,000 tonnes of food
assistance. "Therefore, it is likely that needs are higher than originally
projected," food security analyst hold.

The GMB is a quasi-governmental institution with the sole rights in the
country to buy, sell, import and export maize. Prices set by the GMB thus
reflect the maize availability in Zimbabwe and are decisive for the
country's many food insecure households.

Harare authorities earlier this year ceased their cooperation with
international food security monitoring agencies, such as the UN's World Food
Programme (WFP), claiming that Zimbabwe this year would be able to feed its
own population. Zimbabwe VAC earlier this year however assumed that 2.3
million Zimbabweans would need food aid.

Even this number now seems too low, according to the latest monthly report
on food security in Zimbabwe by the US agency Famine Early Warning Systems
(FEWS). The report, released today, holds that food requirements for the
poor, earlier set at 178,000 tonnes, now "must have gone up." Rapidly rising
maize prices further indicated that the GMB had insufficient supplies to
cover for the growing food insecurity.

According to the FEWS report, it is in particular the poor urban households
that are now struck by the hiking staple food prices. "In urban areas
household purchasing power has been continuously eroded by hyper inflation,
estimated at 314.4 percent," the report says. Although annual inflation has
now dropped significantly, "it still remains too high," FEWS observes.

The cost of the monthly expenditure basket for a low income urban household
of six, according to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ), went up by
about 65 percent between January and August 2004. The minimum industrial
monthly wage, despite increasing, could only cover about 31 percent of the
August 2004 CCZ expenditure basket, down from 33 percent in July 2004.

High unemployment, estimated officially at over 60 percent, and the
continuing decline in national economic output, were further worsening the
situation of urban households. According to Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe is even facing an
"85 percent unemployment rate." Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis had
made food availability drop 60 percent since 1999, according to Mr
Tsvangirai.

In contemporary Zimbabwe, this has led to peculiar demographic trends. An
estimated 4 million citizens have left the country. Unlike almost every
other part of Africa, the migration from rural to urban areas has begun to
switch directions in Zimbabwe, and significant urban to rural migration is
occurring as urban households are failing to cope with food security.

According to the FEWS report, "food is still readily available in most rural
areas of the country." In the traditionally grain surplus areas of
Mashonaland, Midlands and Manicaland Provinces most households are still
relying on their own production from last season's harvest, the US agency
says.

But also here, food supplies could soon come to an end. "A significant
proportion of the 2004 winter wheat crop is at risk of being spoiled by the
on-coming rains due to the shortage of harvesting equipment and the
prohibitive cost of hiring the available limited combine harvesters," the
report warns. A large proportion of this year's wheat crop had been planted
too late.

By staff writers

© afrol News
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JAG JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Updated 7th October 2004

Please send any classified adverts for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG Job Opportunities jag@mango.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.  Advert Received 30th September 2004

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Growing business requires help 2 - 3 mornings a week (Flexitime ) with
bookkeeping, computer records, wages, marketing and Public Relations.
Please phone 011 208568 or 335458
_____________________________________________

2.  Advert Received 1st October 2004

WANTED - DOMESTIC WITH COOKING SKILLS. Must be capable of working
unsupervised and have good understanding of english. Ballantyne Park. Phone
Sue 091 264 175 or e-mail drmoore@ecoweb.co.zw .
_____________________________________________

3.  Advert Received 1st October 2004

Desperately seeking a domestic cook. Preferably male and able to work
without supervision. To take charge of all family meals plus some extra
baking. Traceable references essential. Please call 011-212-697 or leave a
message on 744959.
 _____________________________________________

4.  Advert Received 3rd October 2004

A fast growing Lawn Tretament Franchise belonging to an ex Zimbabwean
farmer, based in the Cotsworld, Gloucestershire, currently seeking the
services of a right hand man in the New Year.  The applicant should be fit,
energetic and willing to work outdoors.

The position offers a competitive salary, company vehicle and required
training.  Good prospects for a long term future.

Please contact Harare 861864 or 091239197 for further details
 _____________________________________________

5.  Advert Received 4th October 2004

VACANCY:

Position available for maintenance/mechanic with fitting and turning
experience for large farming concern in the Karoi area. Please forward CV
to email : cocky@zol.co.zw or telephone : 494720.
_______________________________________________

6.  Advert Received 5th October 2004

We are looking to employ a reliable houseman/cook, for my inlaws who live
in Greendale in Harare.  Their cook/houseman of many years is retiring at
the end of this month.

A competitive wage, accommodation etc. will all be provided.  They need
someone trustworthy and personable who is used to domestic service - If you
have any recommendations please contact:

Mr. E Galante
on
Tel: + 263 4 702 412
Fax: +263 4 790 584
email: ted@houses.africaonline.co. zw
______________________________________________

7.  Advert Received 6th Ocxtober 2004

A man aged 30 , Diploma in Business Management / Administration , computer
literate , Driver's Licence , currently working as Administrator / Public
Relations Officer for NGO , accounting know-how , excellent Coordinator -
Joel 751202 , 781770/1 or email artslive@mweb.co.zw
_____________________________________________

8.  Advert Received 6th October 2004

DOMESTIC STAFF WANTED

Cook required urgently in Harare Northern Suburbs. Must be able to work
with little supervision and speak good english. Phone Sue on 091 264 175 or
04 87047
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
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New Zimbabwe

The moment Mugabe told Museveni: 'Your intelligence is exaggerated'

By Andrew M. Mwenda
Last updated: 10/08/2004 02:12:21
EVENT: it is a cold November winter of 1998 in Paris and President Jacques
Chirac of France is host of a large conference of African statesmen. The
presidents are assembled to discuss continuing armed conflict on the
continent and the ever-increasing economic crisis of the countries in the
region.

In attendance at the French president's residence, the Eiles (sic) Palace
are presidents Chirac, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda,
Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pasteur Bizimungu of
Rwanda and Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania. There is also Yama Jame to Gambia,
Abdu Diof of Senegal, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, Joachim Chisano of
Mozambique, Sam Nujoma of Namibia and Frederick Chiluba of Zambia to mention
only a few.

The conversation finally settles down of the DRC. Uganda and Rwanda which
had helped Kabila have turned against their proxy and organised armed
resistance against him after a failed coup. However, Kabila has called in
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia to help bolster his fledging government and it
has worked. Kabila accuses Museveni and Kagame of Rwanda of a hidden plot to
build a Hima-Tutsi empire.

"That Bizumungu you see over there," Kabila spits the words with disdain "he
is a Hutu and just a figure head. Real power lies with Paul Kagame, his vice
president. So there is no reason for Bizimungu to even sit in this meeting
with other heads of state when he is only a personal assistant to Kagame."

Museveni interjects saying the meeting should discuss more serious issues.
But nobody is real listening; and as matter of fact he has too many contrary
minds all over the place, does Museveni.

Mugabe is pissed at this talk of 'more serious issues' and says the threat
of a Hima-Tutsi empire is a real and serious issue; in tones that suggest he
is convinced it is even the only issue that should be discussed here today.
"I have always heard that you are a very intelligent and popular man,"
Mugabe tells Museveni right into his face, "I now think your intelligence is
quite exaggerated."

And with that, the old man walks out of the meeting in protest, wagging his
finger at Museveni and vowing to "fight to the death" against the "creation
of a Hima-Tutsi empire." Jameh of Gambia also interjects, telling Museveni
that he thought the Ugandan president was a new hope for Africa, "not an
ethnic chauvinist bent on re-creating obsolete pre-historic empires". In the
cacophony of voices, one voice is quiet. Chirac is completely taken apart by
surprise at this remarkable outplay by Africa's leading statesmen.
Monitor

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