http://www.voanews.com
Edwin
Mushoriwa, a negotiator for the Welshman Ncube-led MDC formation,
added that
it will suicidal for Mr. Mugabe to call snap elections, as he did
in 2008
and as some still fear he may do at some point this year
Blessing Zulu,
Thabang Mathebula & Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington & Bulawayo
22
April 2011
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, a negotiator for the
Movement for Democratic
Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, said that he and all
of his fellow unity government party
negotiators agree that elections are
not possible this
year
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party are
preparing to
roll back on their demand that new elections be organized this
year amid
growing pressure from within and outside the country, sources
close to
intra-government talks said Friday.
The Southern African
Development Community and its mediator in Harare, South
African President
Jacob Zuma, have signaled that they won’t bless a snap
election unless all
signatories to the 2008 Global Political Agreement agree
on the proposed
date.
Negotiators for the three unity government parties - including
ZANU-PF -
delivered the final blow to hopes among ZANU-PF hardliners
pressing for
elections this year. The negotiators concluded that elections
can only be
held next year at the earliest.
The Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission has said it lacks the means to run 2001
elections, noting that
its funding is insufficient and its staff needs
additional training. The
Electoral Commission was reconstituted in 2010,
replacing its discredited
predecessor whose handling of 2008 election
results drew international
condemnation.
Asked about the possible election date, Lindiwe Zulu, an
adviser to Mr.
Zuma, said this will largely be determined by the road map
negotiators have
sent to their principals.
ZANU-PF Chairman Simon
Khaya Moyo referred all questions to the party’s
negotiators but hinted that
the party is backpedaling from its earlier call
for 2011
elections.
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, a negotiator for the Movement
for Democratic
Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, said
that he and all
of his fellow unity government party negotiators agree that
elections are
not possible this year.
Edwin Mushoriwa, a negotiator
for the Welshman Ncube-led MDC formation,
added that it will suicidal for
Mr. Mugabe to call snap elections, as some
fear he still
may.
Elsewhere, street battles and rock-throwing brought the Bulawayo
provincial
elections for the Tsvangirai MDC formation to a premature end on
Friday.
Dozens of youths backing the rival candidacies of Senator Matson
Hlalo and
State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo, formerly a senior aide to
Prime
Minister Tsvangirai, escalated their differences into a street fight
in the
Matabeleland capital pelting each other with stones, smashing cars
and
fighting each other in the city center, correspondent Thabang Mathebula
reported from Bulawayo.
Commenting, political analyst Effie Dlela
Ncube said it is time for Mr.
Tsvangirai to show leadership and stop the
violence and bitter wrangling
within his party which has seen a number of
such incidents on its way to a
May congress to ready for elections.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/04/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
INDIA’S Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has announced
the arrest of two
people for allegedly smuggling a consignment of diamonds
from Zimbabwe
valued at over US$2 million.
"Zohra Desai, 53, and
Prema Desai, 49, were caught in Surat with a 48,663
carat (9.72 kg)
consignment of roughs diamonds valued at Rs 10.17 crore
(about US$2
million), sourced from Zimbabwe. They were trying to sell them
in Surat," a
DRI official told Indian media on Saturday.
"The duo recently arrived in
Mumbai from Nairobi, Kenya and had come to
Surat by road from Navsari. They
failed to produce the mandatory Kimberley
Process certificate for the
roughs," he said.
This is the second major haul of diamonds smuggled from
Zimbabwe in Surat by
DRI over the last three years.
Two foreigners -
Robai Hussain of Guyana and Yusuf Ossely of Lebanon were
arrested by DRI in
September 2008.
Diamonds worth about US$1 million were recovered from the
duo. They were
sentenced to four years in prison.
Surat, the state
capital of Gujarat and one of the world’s leading diamond
trading centers
concluded a US$1.2 billion rough diamond supply deal with a
Zimbabwean
consortium.
However, Marange diamonds are at the centre of controversy
with Western
countries and human rights organisations keen to see a Kimberly
Process
export ban maintained over allegations of rights abuses and claims
the
country has failed to meet the minimum conditions for trading in
precious
stones.
The Zimbabwe government dismisses the rights abuse
allegations and insists
that all compliance issues have been
addressed.
New KP chairman Mathieu Lapfa Lambang Yamba of the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo last month gave Zimbabwe permission to export diamonds
from
Marange but the move is being resisted by the United States, Britain
and
Western human rights organisations. The KP takes decisions by
consensus.
Meanwhile, leading diamond trade groups such as the World
Diamond Council,
Jewelers of America and the Diamond Manufacturers &
Importers Association of
America have also instructed their members to stay
away from Marange
diamonds.
The US and EU also warned diamond
companies against buying Marange gems with
the Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC), which administers all US
sanctions procedures, saying it
would scrutinise any transactions.
http://www.radiovop.com/
23/04/2011
17:23:00
BULAWAYO ,April 23,2011- A youth member of the faction
ridden MDC-T,
Challenge Dube is fighting for his life at Galen House
Emergency Medical
Clinic after he was stabbed once on the back and twice on
the shoulder
during the party,s chaotic provincial elections on
Friday.
Police were forced to call off the provincial elections after
clashes broke
out between two rival factions, one led by State Enterprises
Minister Gorden
Moyo and the other by businessman and Mzilikazi Senator
Matson Hlalo. Dube
is alleged to have been stabbed by MDC –T Vice president
Thokozani Khupe‘s
personal driver Witness Dube who was in court last week on
public violence
charges.When the Radio Vop visited Galen House Emergency
clinic one Saturday
morning, Dube was on intravenous drip.
Former
MDC-T provincial chairperson Bhekithemba Nyathi confirmed that Dube
was
stabbed by Witness and they have already made a report to the police.
“
We have already made a report to Bulawayo Central Police Station and
police
are hunting for Witness and Thamsanqa Ncube over the stabbing of
Challenge
Dube,” said Nyathi. Speaking to Radio Vop on Friday MDC-T
elections Officer
Fidelis Mhashu said he was now confused about the clashes
between Hlalo and
Moyo factions.
“As you can see there is nothing I can do now, there is
confusion all over,
I am also confused and tired about this, ” said
Mhashu.The elections were
being held for the third time after they were
aborted in the past two weeks
due to clashes between the feuding
factions.MDC-T deputy spokesperson
Thabitha Khumalo who was present at the
MDC-T offices on Friday during the
chaotic elections also blamed Moyo for
the violence saying “ he wasn’t
supposed to be presiding over the elections
as he was an interested
party. ”
Moyo denied that his supporters had
disrupted the provincial
elections.Meanwhile 11 of the 13 MDC-T youths
who belong to the Hlalo
faction who were arrested on Friday were released on
Saturday afternoon
without charges being laid against them.The remaining
two are expected to
appear in court on Tuesday.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Thursday, 21 April 2011 12:20
Staff
Reporter
MINISTERS have continued to defy President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai over their expenditures resulting in government
incurring
a deficit in the first two months of the year, with local travel
expenses
overshooting budget by 100 percent in February. Figures published
by the
Accountant-General’s department in the Government Gazette early this
month
on the consolidated financial performance from the beginning of the
year to
February 28 indicate a bad start for the inclusive government as it
failed
to live within its means.
In February, employment costs for
diplomatic missions were the major
culprits in overspending, overshooting
their allocation by 100 percent, from
the budgeted US$2,5 million for the
period under review to over US$5
million.
The budget for civil service
wages was pegged at US$70,8 million for the
first two months of the year,
but US$78,1 million ended up being used on
that budgetary vote.
All in
all, employment costs stood at US$89,5 million against the budgeted
US$78,3
million.
There was also a budget deficit on goods and services, with domestic
travel
going beyond budget by 100 percent from US$500 000 to over US$1
million.
Although the percentage of overspending was low on foreign travel
expenses,
it nevertheless shot above the budgetary limit of US$3,5 million
and ended
up at slightly above US$4 million.
The overall budget for goods
and services was US$19,2 million, but what was
actually used was US$23,1
million, a figure that could have been higher had
the US$4,8 million that
was budgeted for programmes and institutions been
spent.
In January, the
total budget for employment costs was US$69,33 million, but
this expenditure
head gobbled US$72,4 million, while current transfers stood
at US$48,2
million instead of the prescribed US$47,5 million. Only goods and
services
missed the target by about US$4 million.
Last year, Finance Minister, Tendai
Biti, told The Financial Gazette that
President Mugabe and Prime Minister
Tsvangirai would rein in ministers who
overspent. He also threatened to name
and shame culprits.
Section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act passed by
Parliament last
year requires Treasury to publish consolidated financial
reports in the
Government Gazette within 30 days after the end of each
month.
“The Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS) are prepared on the going
concern basis. The CFS have been based upon accounting policies, which have
been consistently applied and which are supported by the reasonable and
prudent judgments of estimates,” read a note accompanying the published
statements.
“The CFS have been approved by the secretary and
paymaster-general and
Accou-ntant-General on 18 March 2011.”
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/04/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
AIR Zimbabwe will take delivery of two new Airbus 340-500
long-range
jetliners in June this year as the struggling airline moves to
modernise its
ageing fleet.
The privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent
reported that the government used
proceeds from diamond sales to acquire the
planes which cost around US$260
million a pop.
Airbus says its 340
family, which first went into service in 1993, can sit
up to 359
passengers.
The deal is said to have been completed with the help of a
Chinese energy
company to bypass United States and European Union sanctions
against
Zimbabwe.
Plans to acquire the planes were confirmed by
airline officials last year
but appeared to have been put-off after the
government was said to have
failed to raise sufficient
funds.
However, Secretary for Transport, Patson Mbiriri, told senior
management at
Air Zimbabwe during a recent crisis meeting that the deal was
back on adding
the planes, currently in Toulose, France, would be delivered
in June.
“Mbiriri indicated that the two Airbuses are in France. China’s
Sonangol
will sponsor the deal because of trading sanctions which are in
place,” an
aviation expert told the Independent.
The planes will
boost Air Zimbabwe’s current long haul fleet of two Boeing
767s.
The
airline’s pilots, who have just returned to work after a month-long
strike,
recently warned that the company needed to replace its ageing
aircraft,
particularly the 737-200 ADV planes which must be retired by June
this
year.
Air Zimbabwe also recently concluded a long term lease arrangement
with Air
Zambezi for a Boeing 737-500 which would service its regional
routes.
Officials said the deal was part of a wider programme to
modernise its
fleet.
http://www.radiovop.com/
23/04/2011
17:22:00
HARARE, April 23, 2011- MDC-T leader and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai is
travelling to Bulawayo this weekend to deal with intra
party violence that
has prevented the election of the provincial executive
twice in two weeks.
“The leadership is descending on people who are
involved in this matter. I
can confirm to you that President Tsvangirai and
the party leadership is
travelling to Bulawayo to stamp our authority and
put a full stop to the
long play of nonsense in Bulawayo, ” Nelson Chamisa,
MDC-T national
spokesperson told a media briefing in Harare on
Saturday.
He said what is happening in Bulawayo is against the party
principles and
those who were involved in the violence during the provincial
elections
would be punished no matter how senior they were in the
party.MDC-T Bulawayo
elections were once again marred by violence on Friday
with members of the
Gorden Moyo faction clashing with those belonging to the
Matson Hlalo
faction leading to the postponement of the election
process.
The elections followed similar incidents earlier this month
where rival
MDC-T factions clashed leading to the postponement of the first
elections.Earlier this month the provincial elections of the MDC-T in
Matabeleland were marred by intra-party violence with beer bottles, stones,
baseball bats, iron bars and fists used by that party's supporters to pound
each other.
Losing candidate, Hlalo refused to accept defeat in the
intra-party poll,
citing violence and rigging. The MDC-T national executive
refused to
recognise Hlalo's plea by nullifying the results. Moyo remains
the elected
representative.The position of the Party President was not
challenged
meaning that Tsvangirai is going to be voted the party’s
President for the
third term.
http://www.radiovop.com
23/04/2011
17:18:00
BULAWAYO, April 23, 2011 -A senior leader of the extremist
Mthwakazi
Liberation Front (MLF) has strongly condemned the organisation,s
youths who
burnt to ashes a Zimbabwean flag on the streets of Johannesburg
on Tuesday.
Max Mkandla who is MLF,s organisation Secretary and war
veteran was so angry
with the flag burners describing them as
criminals.
“ You cant fight the system by burning a flag.Negotiating with
authorities
is the best way forward.The behaviour of our members in
Johannesburg is
unacceptable and some of us we condemn their actions, ”
Mkandla told Radio
Vop from Bulawayo.
More than 500 members of the
movement on Tuesday staged what they called “
Freedom March ” on the streets
of Johannesburg which attracted the attention
of passersby.Business was
brought to a standstill when the protesters burnt
the Zimbabwean flag
describing it as a symbol of oppression for the people
of
Matabeleland.
“ What those boys did in Johannesburg will create problems
for the MLF
internal leadership.Paul Siwela is still in prison and
authorities could
harden their stance after the burning of the country,s
flag by those
misguided youths, ” Mkandla fumed when he spoke to Radio Vop
on Saturday.
Three senior MLF leaders, John Gazi, Charles Thomas and Paul
Siwela were
arrested last month for distributing what the police termed “
subversive
material ” calling on Zimbabweans to rise against President
Robert Mugabe,s
government.Two of them Gazi and Thomas were later granted
bail but Siwela is
still languishing in prison.His fate will be decided by
the supreme court.
Mkandla said the South Africa leadership of MLF needed
to be reshuffled in
the wake of Tuesday,s controversial protest march and
flag burning.Flag
desecration is a serious offence in many countries.But its
difficult for the
police to bring those who committed the offence to justice
since the burning
took place in a foreign land.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
23/04/2011 15:07:00
By
Raffingora, - A sombre mood gripped Zanu (PF) supporters in
Mashonaland West
following the death of acting chairperson Robert Sikanyika
on the eve of
Independence holiday on April 18 in a car accident.
He
was declared liberation hero by the party and was buried at Nyarugwe farm
in
Raffingora on Thursday.
Though his death could have been a shock to his
Zanu (PF) party, it was a
sigh of relief from the members of his community
whom he had terrorised and
brutalised since the early 2000 soon after the
launch of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
Sikanyika, rose
through the party ranks since 1987 in Raffingora but was
virtually unknown
till 2000. He teamed up with five others and together they
were popularly
known as the Top Six. The terror gang was believed to be
bankrolled by an
influential businessman who is also a close relative of
Mugabe.
Other
members of the notorious gang included Josphat Saidi, Dominic and
Josphat
Chiweshe, Joseph James and the late Tichaona Sande. The gang is
believed to
have been involved in many atrocities inlcuding extortion of
money from
suspected MDC supporters, businessmen, farmers and raping of
women. The
group was known to giving orders even to senior police officers.
The
group operated in mainly in Chegutu, Kadoma, Karoi, Kariba and
Hurungwe.
Sikanyika was elected into the party central committee in 2004,
but failed
to play the needed‘’balancing act’’ in feuding party camps where
Defence
minister Emerson Munangagwa is believed to be leading a faction with
Local
Government minister Ignatius Chombo. Party sources said Sikanyika was
aligned to Hurungwe East MP Sarah Mahoka widely believed to also be in
Munangagwa faction.
’He was enjoying both worlds of these factions
and failed the balancing act
during his tenure as acting chairperson when he
took over from John Mafa two
years ago‘’ said one party insider.
Last
June, Sikanyika led Zanu (PF) youths to disrupt the Constitution
outreach in
Mhangura and Chinhoyi where former governor Nelson Samkange,
Members of
Parliament and others were sent packing.
He also forced school children
to sign the anti sanction petition launched
by President Robert Mugabe
recently.
http://news.in.msn.com/
23/04/2011
Bangalore: An Indian has made a
telling and insightful 54-minute documentary
titled `Mugabe's Zimbabwe' that
has caught the attention of critics and also
filmed at Cannes (France) this
April. It has been selected as one of the Hot
Picks of 2011 in the factual
entertainment section.
The documentary film by Shrenik Rao is an
inquiry into Zimbabwean dictator
Robert Mugabe's rule.
Commenting on
the film, Barry Baerak, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist,
said the film
is "a primer to the situation, something of value especially
to those not
yet familiar with Zimbabwe and its recent history".
Speaking on the
documentary, Rao said: "Once upon a time Robert Mugabe
fought for Zimbabwe's
Independence from an oppressive white minority rule
and garnered a black
majority rule. Mugabe became the President of Zimbabwe,
a beacon of hope for
democracy and peace in the country.
But, 30 years after independence,
Mugabe, who was once the darling of the
world, is now considered a despot. A
man who was once called a 'Liberator'
is now called a 'Dictator'. A man who
is the 'President' of a country is
called a 'Tyrant'. And Zimbabwe today is
a mismanaged nation that is
bankrupt, isolated and marked by abject poverty
and spiralling
unemployment".
Mugabe's Zimbabwe is an inquiry into
how Zimbabwe, from its successful
independence 30 years ago has collapsed
dramatically. The film presents a
terrifying story, plotting Robert Mugabe's
three decades of bloodshed,
terror and corruption and narrates how he turned
hope into desolation.
Speaking of his experience while making the film,
Rao said: "I must say that
it was a life changing experience. I have been in
some very interesting
situations when dealing with people. I spoke to a
cross section of people -
from heads of states to people on the streets.
There was a range of diverse
perspectives - usually
disjunctive.
"What was interesting for me was the way power manifests
itself. When I was
a kid, I remember reading about Robert Mugabe. He was
considered to be a
liberator. But years after that, he was accused of grave
abuse of human
rights. I wondered if this was how power manifests itself.
When I spoke to
people in Zimbabwe, I felt it was important to visually
document their
stories and instinctively, I knew that I was making this
film".
The film is made in English and will be translated into several
other
languages - French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Arabic, Mandarin, etc
and will
be distributed world wide across multiple media
platforms.
It has been taken up for worldwide distribution by TVF
International.
Source: India Syndicate
http://www.voanews.com
While state-sponsored abuses of human rights
were at a much lower level than
during the electoral crisis of 2008,
significant problems remained.
04-22-2011
For 34 years,
the United States has reviewed the state of human rights
around the world,
to provide the U.S. Congress with a record to help it make
decisions on our
relations with other nations. Human rights begin with a
fundamental
commitment to the dignity that is the birthright of all people,
and the
report is one measure of assessing how a country measures up to that
ideal,
in the interests of its citizens and the greater international
community.
The recently released Human Rights report for Zimbabwe in
2010 shows that
while state-sponsored abuses of human rights were at a much
lower level than
during the electoral crisis of 2008, significant problems
remained. Security
forces and elements of the government dominated by the
ZANU-PF party
continued to commit serious human rights abuses. While there
were no
documented politically motivated killings by government agents last
year –
unlike 2009 – security forces continued to torture, beat and abuse
non-ZANU-PF political activists and party members, student leaders and civil
society activists with impunity.
Regarding labor rights, some
positive developments were seen in 2010, but
violations remained. The
government cooperated in allowing an International
Labor Organization
mission to visit the disputed Marange diamond fields to
investigate
allegations of forced labor there. Government restrictions of
workers'
rights of association continue to curtail the formation of
independent trade
unions. Child labor continued to occur pervasively across
a wide range of
economic sectors, particularly in agriculture and artisanal
mining, where
children routinely face health and safety hazards.
While no country is
perfect, a government that endeavors to protect the
rights of its citizens
is one that prospers. A government that ignores the
voice of its citizens
and maintains control through intimidation, coercion,
and the manipulation
of democratic institutions will never be able to
compete with a modern
democratic state that respects and truly empowers its
people.
Dear Family and
Friends,
A day before the start of the long Easter weekend, I gave a
friend a lift to
his rural village. It was very slow going through the
nearby town as huge
queues of people were again trying to withdraw their
April salaries from
building societies and savings banks. It had been
government pay day the day
before but that had coincided with an extensive
power cut. Every time the
electricity goes off, the computers go blank and
salary withdrawals come to
a standstill – a bitter pill for people barely
earning enough to survive on,
made worse because it was the start of the
Easter weekend. One startling
image, hard to miss in the crowds and queues,
was the large number of khaki
police hats that could be seen right at the
front of the masses – not to
keep order but to withdraw their own
pay.
At every intersection on the way out of town the roads were
thronged with
people trying to get lifts. The commuter minibuses were
overflowing with
passengers, packed in, sitting sideways, like sardines in
tomato sauce, the
roof racks loaded high with bags, furniture, bicycles and
suitcases.
Before long, under a startling blue, cloudless sky, we
were heading into the
country. All along the road, for mile after mile, the
grass stands higher
than a man and it took a little while to understand why.
There is nothing
here to eat the grass anymore. The herds of beef cattle,
dairy cows, sheep
and goats that used to graze these commercial farms and
crop the grass to
ground level have long since gone to the abattoirs and not
been replaced.
Every now and again, in the dips and rises of the
road you catch a glimpse
of a mud walled hut with a thatched roof. Nearby
these primitive homes are
little patches of stunted brown maize plants
surrounded by an ocean of
towering grassland. My friend and I talked about
the yields from these
little maize fields on the seized commercial farms; he
says they will be
lucky to have grown enough to support their families
through the seven,
long, dry months ahead. Not a chance there is surplus to
help feed the
country’s population. He tells me that in his village less
than 10 of the
120 families resident there have been able to grow enough
maize for their
own needs this year. Many planted too late and their crops
couldn’t stand up
to the heavy rains. Most simply didn’t have the money to
get enough
fertilizer to boost their crops.
We pass mile
after mile of dense grassland where all the fences have been
stolen. We
don’t see animals or people; we don’t see tractors or combine
harvesters; we
don’t see gangs of farm workers harvesting summer crops onto
trailers or
even walking in the lands. All the seized farms here are
overgrown, barely
utilized and all but deserted. A single monkey jumped out
of a tree and ran
across the road in front of my car and for a moment I felt
like we were in a
time warp, in a country that has gone back in time by a
hundred years or
more.
Arriving at my friend’s village the contrast was dramatic.
The grass is
shorter, chickens scratch around immaculately swept yards,
goats and cows
are out in the fields. There are warm handshakes all round,
smiles and jokes
and everyone willing to lend a hand with unloading and
carrying. Everywhere
you look you see people busy: harvesting their maize;
fetching water,
pushing wheelbarrows, tending vegetable gardens. On two
sides the village is
bounded by seized commercial farms but the villagers
tell me they are not
welcome on those farms. They cannot graze their cattle
there, fetch water
when their wells run dry, cut grass for thatching their
houses or even
gather firewood. “They share nothing with us” the villagers
say as they look
with contempt at the long grass and inactivity on the
seized farms on their
boundaries. “They have done nothing, those people,
only wasted all these
years.”
I end this week with a message
of condolence for the family and friends of
Rwisai Nyakauru, the 82 year old
headman for Nyamaropa in Nyanga who died
after being kicked and beaten by
war veterans and Zanu PF youth and then
spent 25 days in leg irons in police
custody. May his soul rest in peace.
Until next time, thanks for reading,
love cathy. 23rd April 2011. Copyright
© Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com
How do they sleep at night?
April 22,
2011, 5:56 am
How do they sleep at night? It’s not the first time I’ve
asked myself that
question over the years but in recent weeks as incidents
of Zanu PF’s
mindless violence have increased all over the country, I wonder
again how
these men - and women - live with the memories of what they have
done to
fellow human beings, their own compatriots. There seem no limits to
their
depravity, these brain-washed thugs whose only weapon is brute
force.
Zimbabwe has always been, like most of Africa, a deeply religious
country
and now it is churches as well as anyone suspected of supporting the
opposition feeling the wrath of Zanu’s thugs. In the past couple of weeks we
have seen attacks on church congregations who are beaten and terrorised in a
place of worship; an innocent cleric thrown into gaol, refused food and
denied access to legal representation; villagers kicked out of their own
homes because they would not sign the anti-sanctions petition; people
frog-marched to attend the funeral of a hated CIO boss and Christians
refused police permission to conduct their Palm Sunday processions, even
though the Act clearly exempts churches from requiring police permission to
hold services. The list of horrors is endless and far reaching; from Epworth
to Hwedza, from Lupane to Masvingo, the violence is country-wide. Reverend
Levee Kadenge, a Methodist Pastor, said this week that it’s a sign of how
utterly desperate the former ruling party is. Reverend Kadenge thinks it
proves that Zanu PF now know that they are unelectable and the attacks on
Christian churches and their followers represent a desperate last stand by
Mugabe’s storm troops. Reverend Kadenge may well be right but it’s not much
comfort if you are the victim of the wave of violence that is sweeping the
country. Soldiers are now a permanent fixture in Chitungwiza, for example,
where they are camped out at police stations striking fear into the hearts
of local residents. Robert Mugabe’s anti-violence speech on Independence Day
carried little weight in the light of the ongoing violence being carried out
by war vets, soldiers and police. Either they no longer listen to the Old
Man or they know very well that these are just crocodile tears and weasel
words designed to pacify the South Africans.
More than any other
incident this last week, it was the death of 82
year-old Headman Rwisai
Nyakauru from Nyanga that once again provoked my
‘How do they sleep at
night’ reaction. Inspired by the wisdom and humanity
of his wonderful
smiling face, I wrote about the Headman a few weeks back
and to hear now
that he has died as a result of the beating he received in
prison is deeply
shocking. How can one human being do that to another, an
old man who had
done nothing illegal except to belong to a different
political party? The
sickening brutality and cowardice of beating an old man
in such a way as to
bring about his death must shock anyone with even a
shred of compassion left
in their hearts. But, it seems that in their blind
loyalty to Robert Mugabe
and Zanu PF any action by his followers is
justified if it damages the
opposition and furthers the end of a Zanu PF
victory at the next election –
whenever that is. The thinking, I suppose, is
that by inspiring terror in
the population, abject fear will make people
vote for Zanu PF and thus
ensure victory for the ‘party that won our
liberation’. After all, it has
worked (sort of) for 31 years! But it seems
to have escaped Mugabe’s notice
that his old comrades in the eastern bloc
have long since discarded such
thinking; even the Chinese have opted for a
seemingly more benign form of
capitalist/communism. In Cuba, Mugabe’s old
friend Fidel Castro has stood
aside in favour of his brother Raoul who
declared at the Meeting of the
Cuban Communist Party a couple of weeks ago
that from now on top leadership
posts – including his own – will in future
be limited to two five-year
terms. All around him times are changing, but
Mugabe clings to his old ways.
I wonder how he sleeps at night knowing as he
surely must that his own time
is running out. And when he does finally
depart this life he will leave
behind a nation deeply traumatised by decades
of violence and fear, all of
which is directly attributable to one man and
his desperate desire to remain
in power whatever the cost to his fellow
Zimbabweans. Not a legacy to
inspire peaceful rest.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.