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SOKWANELE
Enough is Enough
Zimbabwe
We have a fundamental right to freedom of
expression!
Sokwanele comment
19 September 2004
The
Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) which on April 9th, in
collaboration with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and Zimbabwe Defence Industries,
invaded the Charleswood Estate of MDC legislator Roy Bennett, is now illegally
removing coffee from the estate. The
theft of the coffee came to light when bags bearing the name of Bennett’s farm
were spotted being moved by Clan Transport. The MP managed to obtain a court
order to reclaim that particular consignment, but since then ARDA have been
transporting the coffee to their own Rusitu Farm and mixing it with their own
product. To date 150 tons of Bennett’s coffee worth approximately USD
200,000 has been stolen in this fashion
by ARDA. The Manicaland Governor, Major General Mike Nyambuya, has a personal
interest in Mr Bennett’s farm and has said openly on a number of occasions that
he is taking it over. This is despite
the fact that Bennett has a number of court orders confirming his ownership of
Charleswood Estate and ordering ARDA to vacate the farm and not to interfere
with his farming operations. ARDA’s
continual occupation of the land and the Governor’s actions are in clear breach
of the High Court Orders.
On top of
the continued illegal occupation of his land and the theft of his coffee,
Bennett has also suffered the theft of his cattle. In July ARDA stole 152 cattle
from Charleswood Estate and relocated them to Charter Estate in Chikomba, where
they are believed to have re-branded them with their own name. Each of the Beef
Master beasts is conservatively valued at $ 2 million. At the time Bennett’s lawyer, Arnold Tsunga,
pointed out that ARDA’s actions amounted to stock theft – a very serious offence
which carries a mandatory prison sentence.
Once again however Zimbabweans are seeing just how unequal is the
application of the law in their country.
ZANU PF thieves, certainly those with good
connections to the party hierarchy, are not called to book. The police and those charged with enforcing
the law conveniently look the other way when the ruling party gives the wink or
the nod.
The part
played by Clan Transport in this case of daylight robbery is also worth
considering. In agreeing to transport for ARDA property which clearly was not
their own, and from a farm which ARDA were occupying in breach of a High Court
order, they were certainly aiding and abetting the commission of a serious
crime. When questioned about this a
representative of Clan Transport said they had been paid in cash for the removal
of the coffee. Which surely should have made them more suspicious and only adds
to the company’s culpability..
Roy Bennett
and his workers have suffered all manner of abuse at the hands of the ZANU PF
invaders and illegal occupiers of his property – including assault, rape, arson,
theft, torture and murder. The violent
assaults have all the markings of a well-orchestrated campaign, directed from
the highest levels of the ruling party and aimed at forcing one of the most
popular politicians in the country to leave the property he has developed over
many years at huge personal cost – and to the very considerable benefit of
thousands in the local community. The
supreme irony of the situation is that for a minor scuffle that broke out in
Parliament when Bennett was insulted and goaded almost beyond human endurance,
the Parliamentary Committee wants to see him imprisoned for a year. Reports from Chimanimani, Bennett’s
constituency, indicate that the stature and popularity of the MP have, if
anything, increased since his altercation with Messrs Chinamasa and
Mutasa.
Now if real
justice were to be done, think who would be on their way to prison …. And who
will be, once the rule of law is established in this country.
Visit: www.sokwanele.com
SOKWANELE
Enough is Enough
Zimbabwe
We have a fundamental right to freedom of
expression!
Sokwanele comment
19
September 2004
MUGABE AND HIS CRONIES LIVING LARGE AT THE
EXPENSE OF THE MASSES
A visit to Phillip Chiyangwa’s luxurious villa
or Robert Mugabe’s mansion on the outskirts of Borrowdale (Harare) might suggest
that life in Zimbabwe is very pleasant, and so it is for the few super rich of
the ruling party. For ordinary Zimbabwean however it is an altogether different
reality, as a visit to one of the high-density areas around Harare will
confirm. The high-density suburb of
Mbare, to the south of the central business district of Harare, is a case in
point.
Life in Mbare especially at Nenyere, Matapi, Matererini Flats and
Mbare hostels is unbearable because of the dilapidated state of the housing
units. The residential flats are no longer suitable for human habitation, and
more so the Mashonaland Turf Club units. These flats, which were originally
built for bachelors during the colonial era, are now grossly over-crowded,
stretching the sewerage facilities to the extreme. It is rare to find a unit
with complete windows. Most residents have replaced the broken windows with iron
sheets, plywood, plastics or cardboard boxes.
To date it is estimated
that about 40 000 families stay in these flats, where public toilets are still
in use. Human waste and bath water can be seen flowing outside the blocks at any
time. The drainage system is non-existent and the public toilets are always
dirty, due to over-use and shortage of cleaning chemicals at the City
Council.
At Mbare hostels families are forced to share open halls, which
have been sub-divided into tiny rooms. Wire and plastic are used to partition
these halls, and as a result prostitution is now rife in the area.
During
the early ‘90s the then city fathers promised that they would refurbish the old
flats, which had already exceeded their normal life span. At one time the
government came up with some interesting proposals which would have seen new
houses being built for those displaced and a new bus terminus replacing the
small and dilapidated one at
Mbare-Musika. However these plans
have proved to be as illusory as any of this government’s election
promises.
A frail, elderly man who lives in one of the Matapi Flats told
our reporter that ZANU PF gave him false
hope when it said it was going to refurbish the flats. He relied upon that
undertaking and waited. Today the dream has faded completely. Having no means of
his own, he has given up all hope of ever owning a nice home.
At the
other end of the spectrum, and far removed from the misery of the inhabitants of
the Matapi Flats, are the likes of Robert Mugabe and Phillip Chiyangwa. These
super rich have accumulated their wealth at the expense of the suffering masses.
This is evident by the type of houses they build – which are supposed to match
their status. For the past five years, Mugabe and young Grace have been building
one of the biggest and most luxurious houses in Zimbabwe, mostly with imported
materials. The house is so big it could easily accommodate a quarter of the
homeless from Mbare. It is estimated
that one half of the cost of the Mugabe mansion would be sufficient to refurbish
all the dilapidated flats in Mbare.
Recently during a Sky News interview,
Mugabe admitted that he was building a house using imported Malaysian timber
which he received as a gift from the former Malaysian president. This was a
strange admission to make since it is an indication of corruption at the highest
level. In any democratic system there is
a convention that the head of state does not accept any gifts which might
compromise his impartiality or integrity, but that obviously does not apply in
Zimbabwe under ZANU PF rule.
Two months ago Mugabe bought all his service
chiefs in the army the latest Prados for their personal use. The cost of these luxury items alone could
have saved many lives in Mbare.
Mugabe and his underlings claim they don’t have
enough foreign currency to buy the materials required to build new housing units
in Mbare, Yet Grace Mugabe manages to find sufficient forex to maintain her
record as the nation’s number one shopper – and surely Zimbabwe’s most
extravagant woman. Over the past two years it is estimated that she has spent
nearly 2.1 million pounds sterling during her frequent shopping sprees in South
Africa, Paris, London and Malaysia - that is the equivalent of Z$ 21,000,000,000
at the official auction rate..
In March 2004, Mugabe ordered the arrest
of one of his own, Chris Kuruneri, for externalization billions of Zimbabwe
dollars in forex. Kuruneri was Deputy Minister of Finance when these
transanctions took place, and ironically it was the over zealous Dr Gideon Gono,
at that time the boss of Jewel Bank, who not only approved the transactions but
assisted Kuruneri in his endeavours.
Kuruneri was overseeing the building
of a personal mansion in one of Cape Town’s most exclusive suburbs when he was
arrested. It was to have been the sort of home that most South Africans can only
dream of ever owning. Such is the wealth
which the elite of the ruling party have seized for themselves at the expense of
the nation. For the conspicuous wealth of the likes of Chris Kuruneri, Phillip
Chiyangwa and Robert Mugabe, only comes at a huge cost. That cost is the suffering of the millions of
Zimbabweans who now eke out a pathetic existence, below the poverty datum line,
in a land that has been raped and pillaged by its rulers. Never has the old saying been demonstrated to
such tragic effect: “one man’s greed is another man’s need”.
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