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High
Court hears Mtetwa bail appeal tomorrow
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Sunday, 24 March 2013 14:10
HARARE
- The High Court will tomorrow hear the bail appeal by award-winning
human
rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa seeking her release on bail from
Chikurubi
Maximum Security Female Remand Prison.
The presiding judge, Justice
Joseph Musakwa, on Friday said that the bail
application filed by the
defence team led by Advocate Thabani Mpofu was not
in order as it did not
include some records.
In their High Court application, Mtetwa’s lawyers
Advocate Mpofu, Harisson
Nkomo and Dzimbabwe Chimbga argued that provincial
magistrate Marehwanazvo
Gofa seriously misdirected herself by refusing to
admit Mtetwa to bail and
that her ruling must be set aside on
appeal.
Mtetwa’s bail appeal to the High Court will be heard tomorrow
morning, and
adds conditions that were not in the appeal turned down last
week by the
criminal court judge.
The lawyers proposed that Mtetwa
should be freed on bail on terms that binds
her to deposit $100 with the
Clerk of Court at Harare Magistrates Court and
not interfere with evidence
and if need be enter into any such additional
requirement as the High Court
may deem desirable.
The case has captured worldwide attention. Mtetwa is
not only a recipient of
an array of awards from international jurists’
groups including the American
Bar Association, but also defended journalists
and human rights activists
against prosecution.
Gofa charged Mtetwa
on Wednesday with obstruction of justice on the basis of
police claims that
she “shouted” at officers during their search of the
residences of four
members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party on
Sunday.
Mtetwa
is said to have shouted: “Stop whatever you are doing it’s
unconstitutional,
illegal and undemocratic.”
The provincial magistrate remanded Mtetwa to
prison pending trial on April 3
on the basis of prosecutors’ claims that she
was a flight risk and “might
hinder further police investigations by causing
commotion.”
The same day, High Court Justice Charles Hungwe ordered
Mtetwa’s immediate
release.
But police defied the ruling and kept
Mtetwa in custody in Rhodesville
Police Station in Harare. Mtetwa’s lawyers
then filed an appeal to the High
Court seeking her release on bail pending
trial. A hearing has been
scheduled for tomorrow.
Prosecutors have
opposed her release, asserting she is a flight risk.
The New York-based
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has written to
Justice and Legal
Affairs minister Patrick Chinamasa expressing concern
about the arrest of
the award-winning human rights lawyer and her subsequent
detention in
defiance of an order issued by a High Court judge.
“We believe this
invalidates the criminal proceedings instituted against her
on Wednesday and
constitutes an affront to the Constitution and legal system
of your
country,” CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in the letter to
Chinamasa.
Mtetwa, a former president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe,
is the only
non-journalist to be honoured with CPJ’s International Press
Freedom Award.
“In line with your mission to ‘uphold the Constitution and
legal system of
the State of Zimbabwe,’ we call on you to ensure that the
state immediately
complies with the High Court order that authorised
Mtetwa’s release,” the
CPJ letter said.
“Such action under your
leadership could restore the integrity of the legal
system in Zimbabwe. We
urge you to use the power of your office to guarantee
the State’s compliance
with the rule of law and due process and ensure the
release of
Mtetwa.”
Lawyers Rights Watch Canada and Zimbabwe Watch have also written
to
President Robert Mugabe and to the Zimbabwean embassy in Belgium and
Netherlands protesting the detention of Mtetwa and demanding her immediate
release.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe civil society leaders from the Crisis in
Zimbabwe
Coalition, the International Commission of Jurists and Human Rights
Institute of South Africa (Hurisa) will be addressing a news conference in
Johannesburg on Wednesday on the escalating crackdown on human rights
defenders in Zimbabwe.
Police on Thursday dispersed demonstrators
demanding Mtetwa’s release, with
police and protestors clashing in angry
scenes at the courthouse.
Critics say her detention is
politically-motivated. - Gift Phiri, Political
Editor
Protestors,
police clash
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 March 2013 13:36
HARARE - Dozens of protestors
thronged the Harare Magistrates’ Courts
yesterday to stage a demonstration
demanding the release of the nation’s
jailed top rights lawyer, Beatrice
Mtetwa.
Before the demo, anti-riot police swarmed the courts, while
others were
milling around at the Parliament Building.
Waving
placards inscribed “Free Beatrice now” and “what you are doing is
illegal
and unconstitutional”, the protestors staged the demo as the leading
lawyer
spent a fifth night in custody.
Baton-wielding police officers moved in
on the protestors, easily breaking
the demo.
The defiant
demonstrators retreated from the officers, who were trying to
wrestle the
placards from them.
Some were man-handled in the subsequent melee while
resisting arrest.
One of the demonstrators told the Daily News that the
march was against the
magistrates’ court which remanded Mtetwa in custody
until April 3.
The singing mob chanted songs like “tichamira tichirwira
nyika yedu
naBeatrice (we will stand firm and fight for our country with
Beatrice)”.
The defiant protestors clashed with police, resisting arrest
and declaring
that “hatisungwe namahobho” (we can’t be arrested by a guard)
while some
shouted “wakapusa unoshandiswa” (you are dumb you are being used)
to the
police officers who were trying to disperse them.
Earlier, the
High Court had postponed Mtetwa’s bail appeal.
High Court judge Justice
Joseph Musakwa told Mtetwa’s lawyer Chris Mhike to
put his court papers in
order before he could deliver a bail ruling.
He postponed the matter to
next Monday.
“The transcript of the court proceedings was not filed when
we made our bail
application because we got the transcript late in the day
from the
magistrates’ court,” Mhike said.
“However, we are going to
file all the papers by the end of day so that on
Monday we can resume the
matter.”
On Tuesday, magistrate Gofa denied Mtetwa bail arguing that she
was likely
to cause commotion if freed.
The award-winning rights
lawyer was arrested on March 17 on allegations of
obstructing the course of
justice amid police claims that she shouted at
them when they were searching
the home of her client — Thabani Mpofu — a
research director in Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office.
She was arrested together with four
staff members from Tsvangirai’s office,
Mpofu, Felix Matsinde, Mehluli
Tshuma, Anna Muzvidziwa and former Harare
City councillor Warship
Dumba.
The PM staffers are facing charges of breaching the Official
Secrets Act and
impersonating the police and possessing of documents for
criminal use.
After her arrest, Mtetwa’s lawyers filed an urgent chamber
application at
the High Court and the court ordered that Mtetwa immediately
be released
from custody.
But she was not released.
In her
High Court application, Mtetwa’s lawyers argued magistrate Gofa
seriously
misdirected herself by refusing to admit the human rights lawyer
to bail and
that her ruling must be set aside on appeal.
The lawyers proposed that
Mtetwa should be freed on bail on terms that binds
her to deposit $100 with
the Clerk of Court at Harare Magistrates’ Courts
and not interfere with
evidence and if need be enter into any such
additional recognisance as the
High Court may deem desirable.
Mhike also said lawyers for the four PM
staffers were also preparing to
launch a bail application in the High Court
where they are hoping that the
matter will be heard next week.
There
was a high turnout of lawyers at the High Court yesterday most of whom
had
come to show solidarity with Mtetwa — who is the former president of the
Law
Society of Zimbabwe.
The arrest of Mtetwa has attracted the attention of
the international
community.
Lawyers Rights Watch Canada and Zimbabwe
Watch yesterday wrote to President
Robert Mugabe and to the Zimbabwean
embassy in Belgium and Netherlands
protesting the detention of
Mtetwa.
“We are deeply concerned by the arrest of Ms. Mtetwa, the
police’s refusal
to comply with the High Court Order for her immediate
release and her
continuing illegal detention,” says the letter to
Mugabe.
“These police actions not only prevent Ms. Mtetwa from performing
her
professional duties, they may also serve to intimidate other human
rights
lawyers representing their clients.
“We urge the Zimbabwean
government to release Ms. Mtetwa immediately and
unconditionally.”
The rights groups reminded Mugabe about the
Zimbabwean government’s
obligation to recognise the valuable role played by
lawyers in a democratic
society and to promote and support the work of
lawyers in line with the
United Nations’ Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers. - Helen Kadirire
and Chengetai Zvauya
LSZ
to stage march over Mtetwa
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Sunday, 24 March 2013 14:13
HARARE - THE Law
Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) will tomorrow stage a march at
the High Court
demanding the release of jailed veteran human rights lawyer,
Beatrice
Mtetwa.
The planned march follows a resolution passed at an urgent crisis
meeting by
the Law Society on Friday afternoon in Harare.
In messages
to society members seen by the Daily News on Sunday, LSZ
executive
secretary, Edward Mapara, invited members to meet outside the High
Court
tomorrow afternoon for the planned exercise.
“We have notified the police
of our intended march to present our petition
to the authorities as resolved
today. Let’s meet outside the High Court at
1.30 pm to commence our march,”
said Mapara.
Mtetwa is receiving both domestic and international support.
Dozens of
ordinary Zimbabweans clashed with security forces when they staged
a
demonstration at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts on Friday seeking the top
lawyer’s release.
Waving placards inscribed “Free Beatrice now” and
what you are doing is
illegal and unconstitutional,” the protestors staged
the demostration on the
fifth night of the leading lawyer’s detention after
she had been denied bail
by the magistrates’ court.
The award-wining
rights lawyer stands accused of obstructing the course of
justice with
police claiming that she shouted at them while they were
searching the home
of her client- Thabani Mpofu who is a director for
research in Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office.
Mtetwa was arrested along with staff
from the premier’s office who include
Mpofu, Mehluli Tshuma, Anna Muzvidziwa
Felix Matsinde and former Harare
councillor Warship Dumba who are accuse of
breaching the Official Secrets
Act and impersonating the police. - Mugove
Tafirenyika
Letter to
Robert Mugabe - Unlawful arrest and detention of human rights lawyer Beatrice
Mtetwa
Your Excellency,
We are writing you on behalf of the
organizations that have signed this letter.
All are human rights organizations that
seek to promote the proper functioning of the rule of law. The freedom and
independence of the legal profession is an essential part of the rule of law. In
this context we respectfully draw your attention to the
following.
On 17 March 2013, highly respected human
rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was arrested while executing her professional
duties. We have been informed that she was attending to a client whose home was
searched by the police. She was placed under arrest after requesting the
production of a valid search warrant and an inventory list of items that had
already been removed. Her mobile phone, containing privileged attorney-client
communication, was confiscated. She was charged with defeating and / or
obstructing the course of justice under the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act, section 184(1)(g).
An Urgent Chamber Application was filed
by her legal team in the High Court and the court ordered that Ms. Mtetwa
immediately be released from custody. Up until now, the police has not complied
with this order.
We are deeply concerned by the arrest of
Ms. Mtetwa, the police refusal to comply with the High Court Order for her
immediate release and her continuing illegal detention. These police actions not
only prevent Ms. Mtetwa from performing her professional duties, they may also
serve to intimidate other human rights lawyers representing their
clients.
We urge the Zimbabwean government to
release Ms. Mtetwa immediately and unconditionally.
Furthermore, we remind the Zimbabwean
government of its obligation to:
- recognize the valuable role played by
lawyers in a democratic society as the Republic of
Zimbabwe;
- promote and support the work of
lawyers in line with the United Nations’ Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers.1
In particular, we would like to draw your
attention to paragraphs 16 and 17 of the Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers, that state that the government is under an obligation “to ensure that
lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without
intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference”. According to
paragraph 18 “lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their
clients’ causes as a result of discharging their
functions”.
We also draw your attention to article 9
of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), that states that "everyone has the right to liberty and security of
person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall
be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds an in accordance with such
procedures as are established by law.“ Furthermore, we refer to articles 9 and
10 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), which state that no one
shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.
We call on the government of Zimbabwe to
honour its international human rights obligations, to release Ms. Mtetwa
immediately and to ensure the personal and professional safety of her and her
colleagues to carry out their professional duties, and not to be intimidated and
hindered in doing so.
We kindly request to receive your
response on the shortest notice possible. We will continue to monitor this very
important matter closely.
Sincerely,
Zimbabwe Watch
Hugo Knoppert,
Coordinator
On behalf of the
AED
Gorka Vellé Bergado
Lawyers for Lawyers
Adrie van de Streek, Executive
director
Lawyers Rights
Watch Canada
Gail Davidson, Executive
Director
Copied
to:
His Excellencies
Mr. Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs of
Zimbabwe
Mr. Augustine
Chihuri, Commissioner-General of Zimbabwe Republic Police
Officer in
charge of the Harare Central Police station, Zimbabwe
Mr. Khembo
Mohadi, co-Minister of Home Affairs of Zimbabwe
Mr. Johannes
Tomana, Attorney-General
Embassy of
Zimbabwe in Brussel, Belgium
Netherlands Embassy in Harare,
Zimbabwe
Law Society of Zimbabwe
1Basis Principles on the Role of
Lawyers, Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990, U.M. Doc. A/CONF.
144/28/Rev.1 at 118 (1990), available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/lawyers.htm.
ACHPR finds
Zimbabwe guilty of torture
http://www.osisa.org/
BY RICHARD LEE | 24 MARCH 2013
The
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has found the
Zimbabwe Government responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of Gabriel
Shumba, a well-known human rights advocate and lawyer from Zimbabwe. This is
the first time in its 26-year history for the most important human rights
body in Africa to hold Zimbabwe responsible for torture.
Shumba, who
was representing human rights activists and members of the
opposition party
MDC before courts in Zimbabwe at the time of his arrest and
torture at the
hands of the police and intelligence personnel, emphasised
that the ruling
went beyond his case.
“This important ruling adds to Africa’s struggle
against impunity, and the
case is representative of thousands who have
suffered torture and various
indignities at the hands of a repressive regime
in Zimbabwe,” said Shumba,
who fled to South Africa for fear of his life in
2003, shortly after his
torture.
Shumba brought a complaint before
the African Commission in 2004 and in its
decision, the ACHPR considered
that Shumba had submitted “more than adequate
evidence” to support his
allegation of torture and ill-treatment, including
being subjected to
prolonged electric shocks in the mouth, genitals,
fingers, toes and other
parts of the body. It said Zimbabwe failed to open
an official investigation
and that it should do so and bring those
responsible to justice.
The
decision also alluded to the impunity with which torture is being
committed
in Zimbabwe which made it impossible for Shumba to seek justice
before
Zimbabwean courts. In particular, it acknowledges that he would have
undergone great risks had he returned to Zimbabwe to seek justice, stating
that “there was no guarantee that he would not have been arrested or
subjected to the same treatment he had been subjected to the previous
time.”
The Commission also made it clear that remedies in Zimbabwe “are
inadequate,
ineffective and unavailable” and ordered Zimbabwe to pay Shumba
adequate
compensation for the torture and trauma caused to him. Zimbabwe has
90 days
to implement the decision.
“The Government of Zimbabwe and
the African Union's commitment to ending
impunity will be measured against a
clear yardstick of implementation of the
decision of the African Commission
on Human and Peoples Rights,” added
Shumba, who is currently living in South
Africa, where he is the chairperson
of the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum and an
advocate of the High Court of South
Africa and a member of the Johannesburg
Bar.
“This decision is emblematic of the widespread use of state terror
to coerce
and cow a subject population. It is not merely a legal decision in
favour of
a single victim but rather a recognition by Africa's most
important and
prestigious institution that the practice of disappearing
people and beating
them to within an inch of their lives will no longer be
ignored by
Zimbabwe's neighbours,” said David Padilla, Shumba’s
lawyer.
“The decision once more underlines the crucial role of the
Commission in
providing justice to victims who have nowhere else to go”,
said Dadimos
Haile, Interim-Director of REDRESS, who supported Shumba’s
claim. “While we
would have hoped that the Commission’s ruling on reparation
is more
inclusive of other forms of reparation recognised under
international law,
particularly access to medical and psychological
rehabilitation, this ruling
is an important acknowledgment of the torture
committed against Mr Shumba
and the obligation of the Government of Zimbabwe
to provide him with
compensation."
Tsvangirai
takes fight to Mugabe
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 March 2013 14:20
HARARE - Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will tomorrow confront President
Robert Mugabe
over the arrest of his office staff, amid reports that the MDC
leader is
furious that security authorities have intensified a crackdown to
intimidate
people ahead of elections.
Jameson Timba, the minister of State in the
PM’s office, confirmed to the
Daily News on Sunday that Tsvangirai will
tomorrow demand answers from
Mugabe about the arrests when they meet at
their usual Monday afternoon
meeting.
Mugabe, a Catholic, returned
home on Thursday from Rome, where he attended
the inaugural mass of Pope
Francis after jetting to the Vatican City last
Sunday.
The two
Principals have not met since Mugabe’s return, and tomorrow’s
meeting is
expected to centre on the crackdown by the police which started
just as
Mugabe left for Rome.
“As you aware the prime minister met the then
acting President Joice Mujuru,
to raise his deep concerns about the attack
on his office and the
unfortunate arrest of respected and competent human
rights lawyer Beatrice
Mtetwa,” Timba told the Daily News on
Sunday.
“The PM will definitely be following up on this matter with the
president.”
Over the past week, six staff members from Tsvangirai’s
office were arrested
in what is being seen as a campaign of intimidation
ahead of elections.
The last to be picked were two caretakers last
Thursday who were arrested
and released after submitting statements,
according to the premier’s office.
Police say they never picked them
up.
The caretakers’ seizure followed the arrest of four other staff
members,
Thabani Mpofu, Felix Matsinde, Mehluli Tshuma and former Harare
City
councillor Warship Dumba. The four have been charged with possessing
articles for criminal use, impersonating the police and contravening the
Official Secrets Act.
They were arrested last Sunday together with
Mtetwa. The award-winning
rights lawyer is charged with obstructing the
course of justice and has been
remanded in judicial custody to April 3 after
a Harare magistrate denied her
bail.
She has since filed an appeal
against that ruling in the High Court, and the
matter has been set down for
a hearing tomorrow.
Timba said the issue of the arrests was exacerbated
by the fact that the
country was just coming out of a “positive historic
vote for a new
democratic constitution”.
Zimbabwe passed a new
constitution by over 90 percent vote in a largely
peaceful referendum on
March 16 hailed by both foreign and local observers.
“We believe that
recent incidents poison the electoral environment, at the
same time we also
believe such incidents strengthen and galvanise the
resolve of the people of
Zimbabwe to complete the change, whose seeds were
sown in 1997 with the
launch of the National Constitutional Assembly and
germinated in 1999 with
the birth of MDC, ripening on March 16, 2013
referendum and harvesting after
elections,” Timba told the Daily News on
Sunday.
The MDC
international relations secretary also said the new constitution was
a key
signpost demanded by the MDC during negotiations to form the inclusive
government back in 2008 and was triumph for the MDC.
“The PM has
succeeded in persuading Zanu PF and its members to vote with the
majority of
Zimbabweans for a new democratic constitution to replace the one
bequeathed
to us by the Queen of England, which Zanu PF wanted to cling to,”
Timba
said, adding: “It’s a major milestone for MDC.”
The recent crackdown on
the PM’s staff has set an ominous tone for human
rights and political
freedoms in Zimbabwe as the country hurtles towards
watershed elections that
Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba said are due by
June 29.
“The PM
is committed to double his effort in creating an environment for a
free and
fair election by engaging local political leaders and institutions
like Sadc
and AU, who are the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement,”
he
said.
“The recent developments in the country are an affront to culture
of peace
and tolerance that both the PM and president have been preaching.
We need to
dismantle the infrastructure of violence, harassment and
intimidation and
replace the same with structures of peace, tolerance and
democracy.”
In his report to the Sadc Troika on Politics, Defence and
Security
Cooperation held in Pretoria on March 9, President Jacob Zuma, the
Sadc
appointed mediator to the Zimbabwe political crisis said “security
sector
realignment” will have to be done before the election, a condition
vigorously resisted by Mugabe’s Zanu PF.
“Security sector realignment
cannot be postponed any longer,” Zuma said in
his report to the
Troika.
Tsvangirai on Wednesday reported the onslaught against his office
to the
Sadc facilitation team which was in Harare last week, according to
Luke
Tamborinyoka, the prime minister’s spokesperson.
Tsvangirai
informed Zuma’s team of “the deteriorating situation as we begin
preparations for elections,” said Tamborinyoka. - Tendai Kamhungira
Ncube
dares Tsvangirai, Mugabe
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Sunday, 24 March 2013 14:20
HARARE - The
break-away MDC formation led by Industry and Commerce minister
Welshman
Ncube says instead of being shocked by police conduct Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai should provide answers.
Early this week police arrested four
staffers from Tsvangirai’s office and
Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent human
rights lawyers — courting the ire of the
international community and the
attention of Sadc — facilitators to the
unity government.
Two more
workers at the premier’s office were picked up on Thurdsay,
bringing the
number to six.
On Monday, Tsvangirai who leads the larger MDC formation
and a former ally
of Ncube said he is pushing for Sadc to call for an urgent
summit as he
seeks an end to the crackdown that many fear can only escalate
ahead of a
watershed plebiscite.
However, Ncube’s MDC says
Tsvangirai, who shares executive powers with
Mugabe, should instead of
leaning on the meditation of Sadc provide answers.
While Tsvangirai
himself has been a victim, Ncube’s MDC sees its
ally-turned- foe as part of
the problem.
Nhlanhla Dube, MDC spokesperson, said the unravelling
crackdown on
dissenting voices is a horrible manifestation of the “cosy
relationship”
between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
“The two have met on
numerous Monday meetings under the guise of fixing the
deteriorating
political situation in the country but little or nothing at
all has
changed,” said Dube.
“After each and every one of these meetings, the
nation has been assured
through Tsvangirai, who appears to be the
spokesperson of Mugabe and his
side-kick Arthur Mutambara, of agreements
that the country will never again
see violence yet the results we see on the
ground are to the contrary,” said
Dube.
Indeed there is no love lost
between the former comrades with attempts to
forge a grand coalition to
topple Mugabe now a pipedream.
Dube’s statements expose the deep
animosity between Ncube and Tsvangirai
ahead of polls.
Ncube who does
not have the privilege to seat among government principals
says apart from
Mugabe, Tsvangirai should also come clean on the violence
scourge.
“This worsening political situation only goes to prove that
Tsvangirai and
Mugabe are either not as in charge as they wish us to believe
or are happy
with it,” said Dube.
Britain
seek to restore diplomatic relationship with Zimbabwe
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/
SUNDAY, 24 MARCH 2013
08:47
In a move that signals a major policy climb-down, the
British government has
invited Zimbabwe’s re-engagement team for talks aimed
at exploring ways of
restoring diplomatic relations between the two
countries.
The invitation marks the first time London has formally sought
to resolve
its longstanding bilateral dispute with Harare spanning 14
years.
The re-engagement team — comprising Global Political Agreement
(GPA)
negotiators Cde Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu-PF); Mr Elton Mangoma (MDC-T)
and
Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga — is scheduled to set off for the
meeting today.
Cde Chinamasa told The Sunday Mail yesterday that
the British Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Mark
Simmonds, sent an invitation letter to the
Zimbabwe Government recently.
He said the invitation was a sign that
Britain intends to lay the path for a
new chapter on
Zimbabwe.
“We have been invited by Britain through its Under
Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Mark Simmonds,”
he said. “For us, it
could be an indication that Britain realises that its
foreign policy on
Zimbabwe is collapsing and they want to embark on a new
path.
“Events will tell, but, Britain should realise that its foreign
policy on
Zimbabwe is not sustainable.”
Cde Chinamasa said his
team will use the interface to call for the
unconditional scrapping of
sanctions on Zimbabwe and also reject foreign
interference in domestic
processes.
He added that advocating the shutting down of pirate radio
stations that are
beaming into the country through international donor
funding is also on the
agenda.
The Zimbabwe-Britain meeting will
also involve representatives from other
countries that include the United
States, Canada and Australia as well as
the European Union.
In
addition, British think tank Chatham and members of the House of Commons
will take part in the deliberations. “Besides Britain, we are going to
engage representatives of countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe which
are EU member states, Australia, Canada and the US.
“Some of them
are actually calling themselves ‘Friends of Zimbabwe’, which
is a misnomer
because they have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
“We will use the
platform to call for three main issues which are: the
unconditional lifting
of sanctions; the demand for these countries not to
interfere in our
internal affairs, especially through non-governmental
organisations as well
as to inform them that we are going to implement the
closure of pirate radio
stations as required by the GPA.”
The re-engagement team was set up
by the inclusive Government to help
restore normal relations between
Zimbabwe and the West.
Since its appointment, the team has met
Western government representatives.
Relations between Britain and the
Southern African state soured after the
former colonial power reneged on its
obligation to finance the historic land
reform programme, which corrected
land distribution imbalances that
disadvantaged the majority. London
internationalised the bilateral dispute
by peddling falsehoods about
Harare’s adherance to the rule of law and human
rights and ultimately
convinced its Western allies to impose sanctions. The
Sunday Mail
Back
off from Mugabe debate, war vets told
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 March 2013 14:11
HARARE -
Matabeleland South provincial governor, Angeline Masuku, says war
veterans
should back off from the debate around President Robert Mugabe’s
continued
occupation of office despite advanced health.
Addressing mourners at the
burial of veteran journalist and former deputy
news editor of the
Bulawayo-based Chronicle newspaper, Paul Nkala in
Plumtree yesterday, Masuku
said war veterans had no locus standi to ask
Mugabe, 89, or any Zanu PF
leader to vacate office.
“War veterans be wary of some amongst you, who
do not have a history of the
liberation struggle worth mentioning by some of
us who were involved in the
war of liberation for this country. These are
the same people who talk too
much to a point that they soil the name of the
war veterans. They are busy
asking leaders to vacate offices. Where do they
get that right from?,” she
asked.
In reference to Mugabe, Masuku said
he was the current torchbearer of the
party’s policies and
future.
However, she warned there was a high risk that the party would lose
direction if there was no consultation between those in the party’s
leadership and those aspiring for office.
“I want to say we all need
to ask things that we do not know from those that
have traversed the route
that we seek to take over one day. That is why it
is very important to ask
our leaders to provide guidance.”
We believe that there is no proper home
or family where you won’t find an
elderly person from whom you would want to
tap wisdom from.
“To the war veterans, I say there is no way you can say
that your father is
now old and he should find home elsewhere. That is why
in the end, you end
up demanding to sleep with your mother because you have
chased away your
father. Let us, as war veterans, keep away from this
business of asking our
leaders to go away because there are some of our
friends who aspire for
office,” Masuku said.
The late Nkala, who died
at the age of 53, was awarded liberation hero
status. - Own Correspondent
Black
on black land war intensifies
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Sunday, 24 March 2013 13:29
HARARE - Some of
the Zanu PF shock troopers who led a violent takeover of
white-owned
commercial farms in 2000 under the guise of land reform are now
singing the
blues after government ordered their eviction.
At least five families out
of the 44 that occupied Stonehurst Farm in
Mashonaland West’s Zvimba East
constituency are scrambling after Norton
Magistrate Judith Tirivangani last
week confirmed their eviction.
Stonehurst Farm has now been allocated to
one Barbra Chimbadzo, who is in
possession of an offer letter from
government. The evicted families say the
plot has become dirty, arguing they
were used as foot soldiers to drive out
white farmers only to be kicked out
themselves.
The order comes a month after the Lands ministry issued the
families with
notices of eviction, which they ignored.
The February
14, 2013, eviction notice to Wellington Chimuti, Bernard
Chakaipa, Freddy
Sato, Steward Mawurukira and John Malaika warned of
criminal charges if the
original farm invaders failed to move.
“You are hereby instructed to
vacate the farmhouse you are occupying in
subdivision 3 of Stonehurst farm
immediately. The property you are occupying
belongs to Mrs B Chimbadzo who
is the bona fide plot holder.
Several notices for you to vacate the farm
have been given to you which you
fail to respect. This notice from this
office will be left with no option
but to seek prosecution.”
This is
despite the fact that the ministry of Lands had issued the four with
offer
letters and Chimuti, whose late father was declared a district hero,
says he
was even appointed the farm caretaker in 2005.
Chimuti, who is also Zanu
PF secretary for security in Sally Mugabe
District, told the Daily News that
like the other families, his future hung
in the balance as he has nowhere
else to go.
“We are shocked at the sudden turn of events because we have
offer letters,”
he said.
“We are the ones who invaded this farm in
2000 but since the death of my
father who was declared a hero by the State,
things have changed
dramatically. They do not care about us any more as they
are now concerned
with empowering their relatives. Where was Chimbadzo when
we participated in
the third Chimurenga (often violent invasions of
white-owned farms),”
queried Chimuti.
The eviction order has set the
ministry and war veterans on a collision
course.
Zvimba district war
veterans’ chairperson one M Changadzo on February 23,
2013 wrote to the
district lands officer expressing disappointment at the
“failure to
recognise, let alone support dependants of deceased comrades who
participated in the third Chimurenga.”
“We request your good office
to take corrective measures to stop harassing,
persecuting and threatening
families of our deceased gallant fighters,”
reads the letter, a copy which
is in our possession. - Mugove Tafirenyika
‘Govt
not serious about commissions’
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Sunday, 24 March 2013 13:28
HARARE - A
Labour Court president has questioned the relevance of
commissions in the
country if government is not willing to provide funding
for smooth
operations.
In an arbitral award to a group of Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission
(Zacc) employees, Labour Court president Rogers Matsikidze said
problems
bedevilling commissions should be external rather than
internal.
“There should be serious deliberation as to the way forward of
the relevance
of commissions if they are underfunded. Worse, the commissions
would be
demotivated as well with internal problems,” he said.
“Their
(commissions) problems should be external and not funding issues. One
of the
major drivers of corruption is poverty and if poverty is the driver,
how
effective is it to send an already poor officer to fight corruption.
Certainly it is sarcastic,” Matsikidze concluded.
Matsikidze was
delivering judgment in an acrimonious labour dispute between
26 workers and
Zacc.
The anti-graft body is under siege following a stillborn but
audacious bid
to search and seize documents from the offices of three
government
ministers — Mines and Mining Development minister Obert Mpofu,
Youth
Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister Savior
Kasukuwere and Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development
minister Nicholas Goche.
The issue led to the “recalling” of Zacc
chief executive officer Ngonidzashe
Gumbo, who reportedly has been
languishing in police custody for almost a
week while two days ago, the
corruption bodwy’s general manager in-charge of
investigations Sukai
Tongogara surrendered herself to the police as the
fallout threatened to
break Zacc apart.
Matsikidze in his judgment awarded the workers a total
of $1 530 624 and
ordered Zacc to buy five of its investigators Toyota Hilux
cars before year
end.
Zacc spokesperson Goodwill Shana earlier this
week told journalists at a
press briefing government has been dithering on
the issue of staff
contracts.
“It is true that the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission has labour related
issues. These are mainly
emanating from the absence of approved conditions
of service, absence of
signed and confirmed contracts of employment and
generally low levels of
remuneration.
“The commission has worked hard to come up with suitable
conditions of
service and it has submitted a draft for approval to the
relevant ministry
and awaits its approval any day now,” Shana
said.
The 26 investigators were represented by Harare lawyer Joel Mambara
of
Mambara and Partners while Zacc was represented by the Attorney General’s
Office.
Madzore
calls for peaceful co-existence among youths
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
24.03.13
by
Tarisai Jangara
MDC-T National Youth Assembly President, Solomon Madzore
has urged
Zimbabwean youths to stop viewing each other as enemies ahead of
elections
expected later this year.
Addressing youths on Sunday
(today) at the Harare International Airport upon
his arrival from youth
meetings that were held in Denmark and Netherlands,
Madzore said Zanu (PF)'s
big brother mentality was fueling political
violence.
Madzore, who is
facing murder charges, embarked on his first trip out of the
country since
his release from prison last year after being cleared by High
Court Judge,
Chinembiri Bhunu .
“We have been looking at each other as enemies for a
very long time but as
youths we should just see ourselves as Zimbabweans
before anything.
The big brother mentality which Zanu (PF) has should
stop immediately. There
is hope for prosperity if we work
together.
“We are happy that a new constitution is on its way and as
youths let’s be
disciplined as we head for elections,” Madzore
said.
In past elections youths who constitute about 70 percent of the
population
have been used as agents of violence and shields to protect loot
accumulated
by greedy politicians.
With unemployment at over 80
percent, Madzore said it was important for
youths to work together in
fighting poverty and rebuilding the economy.
“ We may fight as youths but
at the end of the day our problems are the
same. Many of us are unemployed
despite having relevant qualifications but
how do we built the economy when
we are always fighting?” he added.
Speaking on the sidelines of the
reception Madzore told The Zimbabwean that
he had met with youth groups from
Denmark and Netherlands on his week-long
trip discussing on how youth
formations could be organised regardless of
ideology and work together ahead
of elections.
“ As youths we have an important role to play in healing
and fighting
violence as the elections are just around the corner. From the
discussions
we had with other youth wings, I realised that we still have a
long way to
go.
“ The recent arrest of top human right lawyer,
Beatrice Mtetwa and MDC-T
officials is a cause for concern. We need a
peaceful environment before
going for elections,” he said.
Youths
defy govt, bury Gukurahundi victim remains
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Jeffrey Muvundusi, Own
Correspondent
Sunday, 24 March 2013 13:26
BULWAYO - A Lupane-based youths
civic group has reburied the protruding
remains of suspected Gukurahundi
victims who were buried at a mass grave at
Silwane Primary School in Lupane,
Matabeleland North in defiance of
government directives.
Mid last
year the minister of National Healing, Integration and
Reconciliation Moses
Mzila Ndlovu was invited by the villagers in the area
to attend to the grave
site last year.
The villagers had all along been requesting a decent
burial to the remains
which are just near the school but perhaps due to the
“fear” surrounding the
Gukurahundi issue, they kept enduring the pain from
inside as the government
ignored their persistent plea.
But a
youth-based group called Khuluma 41 Speak Out based at Lupane Central
district says they only leant of the site during one of their visits to the
area where they were holding a meeting.
Lethubuhle Mhlanga,
secretary-general of the organisation, told the Daily
News that having been
irked by the horrible sight they were compelled to
seek a quicker way of
remedying the situation.
“We sought permission from the local chief
first, then we went to the leader
in the area called Enos Ndlovu who helped
us mobilise the community,” said
Mhlanga.
“It was indeed a bad sight
as we discovered that some of the human remains
were actually protruding
from the grave due to the fact that the grave is
not fenced, so cattle and
other animals just walk past while heavy rains
also contribute to this,” he
said.
But through the assistance of the community, Mhlanga said they
successfully
managed to cover the remains decently.
“We actually used
our hands to pick the bones and dug within the grave and
we covered them
with more soil,” he said.
“As youths we were extremely moved by the
spirit of ubuntu as traditionally
it is a taboo for human remains to remain
exposed especially for the
children,” said Mhlanga.
Mzila Ndlovu
saluted the youths for what he termed a bold and brave move
that should be
emulated by other youths in the affected areas.
“I strongly support what
the youths and the community have done. This is one
of the best things for
the local people. In fact it is a bold and heroic
step for the youths to do
so,” Ndlovu said.
“I would like to urge youths and the communities to
rise up and take
responsibility of the misery and the pain that have been
afflicted upon
them.
“I personally went there and the sight was not
appeasing at all, so it is
quite a positive step if the community is
beginning to see that no one
except themselves can give their relatives a
decent burial,” Ndlovu said.
While the reburial process had already
begun, civic societies and some
concerned sections in the country have
already started making noise for the
same process to be accorded the
Gukurahundi victims whose mass graves are
reportedly scattered in
Matabeleland and Midlands Provinces.
Mugabe
should have been arrested on his way to see the pope
http://www.torontosun.com/
BY SIMON KENT
,TORONTO SUN
FIRST POSTED: SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013 03:44 PM
EDT
TORONTO - Nothing is more expensive than a missed
opportunity.
The appearance of Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe at the
Papal
inauguration proves that maxim.
The murderous 89-year-old
African dictator, who has ruled Zimbabwe like a
personal fiefdom since 1980,
was a self-invited guest of Pope Francis I in
the Vatican City on
Tuesday.
Was he arrested? Was he stopped at the border? Was he sent to
the
International Criminal Court at the Hague and charged with crimes
against
humanity?
Not likely.
Nobody enforced the existing
European Union travel ban on the devout
conservative Catholic for the simple
fact that he was in Rome for a
religious event.
This is despite
Rwandan-born warlord Bosco Ntaganda being taken into custody
Thursday and
flown to the court to stand trial on charges of overseeing
atrocities in
eastern Congo a decade ago.
One rule for one despot and one for
another.
Mugabe’s visit coincided with a national referendum to approve a
new
constitution that would, for first the first time, impose presidential
term
limits in Zimbabwe.
The new ruling will give more powers to the
parliament and limit the
president’s. It also introduces a two-term limit of
five years each for a
president.
Sounds good, but the limit is not
retroactive and ensures Mugabe could have
10 more years as head of state if
he is re-elected later this year.
Given his famous ability to rig
elections and jail opposition leaders, the
return of Mugabe is a fait
accompli. So is his wretched handling of the
economy and trashing of a once
stable and prosperous nation.
The country’s poverty is so evident, even
to its leaders, that finance
minister Tendai Biti joked this week “if
Zimbabwe was a private company it
would have closed down.”
A leader
whose own taste for lavish living makes Louis XIV of France look
positively
middle class by comparison has hardly helped.
Mugabe has taken his
country from bread basket to basket case in a
generation and despite the
countryside still being achingly beautiful it is
riddled with hunger, food
shortages, disease, crime and a failed health
system.
There is a
prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adults’ ages 15-19 of 20.1% with
women being
hardest hit. Overall Zimbabwe has a prevalence rate of 13.7%,
the fifth
highest in the world.
Yet still the world sends money to prop up it
up.
In January the UN launched a global appeal for funds to help it give
$131
million in humanitarian assistance to meet food, water and emergency
needs
in Zimbabwe.
Last year the same appeal called for $197
million.
I interviewed Ian Smith in 1987, the former prime minister of
Rhodesia who
was there for the election of Robert Mugabe in 1980 and the
birth of the new
Zimbabwe.
Smith was a fighter, something Mugabe has
long claimed to be but never been
able to prove – unless it involved beating
up his political opponents.
In the Second World War, Smith had flown
Hawker Hurricanes and Spitfires for
the RAF over Europe.
A flight
accident had smashed up his face (which required extensive plastic
surgery)
and left him with numerous serious injuries that took months to
heal. He
returned to duty, was shot down a second time over Italy, and made
his way
back through hostile territory to Allied lines.
When we talked he was
old, tired and not so full of fight as fearful for the
future.
“I
just hope I never live to see my prediction that Mugabe will be a
disaster
for Zimbabwe come true,” he told me. “The country deserves better
than a man
who will govern for himself first and everyone else second.”
Smith never
tried to excuse apartheid (at least to me), which is an
indefensible
proposition anyway. It is just plain wrong to deny the
fundamental right of
everyone to a vote, regardless of his or her colour,
creed or
religion.
Smith thought Mugabe wasn’t up to the task of governing and he
has been
proven right.
It is just a shame the world chooses to look
the other way rather than do
something to save what is left of the
breadbasket of Africa.
Hot Seat Transcript: Interview Welshman
Ncube
Violet Gonda talks to
Welshamn Ncube in the programme Hot Seat
Broadcast: 21 March
2013
Listen here
Hot Seat
SW Radio Africa’s Violet
Gonda brings you a wide-ranging interview with MDC president Welshman Ncube,
analyzing the referendum results and looking at what happens now that
Zimbabweans have voted for a new constitution. Why does Ncube say it’s not
possible to have an election earlier than the end of August? Why does he believe
this new constitution is ‘a damn good one and one of the best in the world? The
Electoral Commission has been accused of rigging elections before, so what
evidence is there that the referendum figures have not been manipulated? Why
does Ncube say this time around ZANU PF will not be able to refuse to hand over
power if President Robert Mugabe loses?
VIOLET
GONDA: My guest on the program is MDC President
Professor Welshman Ncube. Welcome on the program Professor
Ncube.
WELSHMAN
NCUBE: Thank you
GONDA: Let’s start with your take on the recent arrests of
Human Rights Lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and officials from the Prime Ministers’
office.
NCUBE: We are seeing
a deterioration of the respect basically for the freedoms and rights of people.
Clearly you have had the onslaught on NGO’s, you now have lawyers who are trying
to represent their clients being arrested. You are having a general upsurge of
violence, you are seeing a return to the days of general intolerance in the
country. It’s difficult to see why anyone would think that there is anything to
gain by creating a climate, which is not conducive to a free and fair election a
few months before elections.
GONDA: In the case of Mtetwa
for example, there is a high court order that the police should release her and
basically this has not happened, so with what you know as a leader in government
what is happening here. Where are the instructions coming
from?
NCUBE: Clearly there
is either what you might call a faction or a section of ZANU PF, which is in
charge of the security apparatus. It is obvious to anyone that the inclusive
government as a collective has never been in charge of the security apparatus of
the state, even if one of those ministries is co-ministered. It’s clear that the
security apparatus are under control of persons in ZANU PF, clearly the two MDC
formations have never had any control.
It’s also not a coincidence
that the events have coincided with the attempts by the anti-corruption
commission to exercise its authority and investigate whether or not there is
corruption in some of the transactions which you have seen around indigenisation
and related matters. And clearly you now have a systematic attack on the
anti-corruption commission, there is clearly an attempt to instil fear amongst
the staff members of that commission and also instill fear amongst the
commissioners themselves. And all of those things I think are connected and one
hopes that this is not the spilling out of some of the factional fights, which
are happening within ZANU PF.
GONDA: The PM’s officials are
being accused of impersonating police officers to gather information about
corruption and criminal activities by senior government people, and some of them
have been mentioned in the Herald as being local government Minister Ignatius
Chombo for example, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, attorney general
Johannes Tomana and others. What do you make of these names and also is it a
crime that you would have some sections, who would be gathering such
documents?
NCUBE: What we can
comment about those cases is limited by the laws of the country regulating the
matters which are being sub-judice, which are pending in court. Whatever I say,
it must be understood that I can only say so much not that much because of those
rules. What I can say is that of course it’s not an offence in itself to gather
information as long as the gathering of that information is not done by unlawful
means. We simply don’t have enough details to comment
meaningfully.
GONDA: What about some of the
names and these names appeared in the state controlled newspaper saying that
these MDC officials were investigating these senior government people? Let’s say
that these MDC officials were indeed investigating people like the attorney
general or the state prosecutor. Is it not worrying that it’s the same people
who are then presiding over this case, isn’t there a conflict of interest
there?
NCUBE: Of course
there would be a conflict of interest, but at this stage the investigation of
course would be done by police, unless the police officer doing the
investigation has a conflict of interest. Of course, if the attorney general’s
name features he would have a conflict of interest to the extent that he would
then be required to make a decision as to whether or not to
prosecute.
GONDA: Home affairs Minister
Theresa Makone believes that the violence in this coming election is going to be
worse than what happened in 2008, do you agree?
NCUBE: I do not want
to speculate about whether it would be worse or what, all I can say is that we
have moved into a phase which is exceedingly worrying. The behaviour of the
police is certainly worrying, the behaviour of ZANU PF in the last few weeks is
exceedingly worrying. Clearly the atmosphere, which is being conjured up, which
is being created is not an atmosphere which will instil any confidence in anyone
that we are about to create an environment for free and fair elections. It is
clear that if the current situation continues, that if the current situation is
worsened you will not have a free and fair election.
GONDA: So what are you doing
as the MDC formations to ensure that we don’t have a repeat of
2008?
NCUBE: What needs to be done cannot be done by the MDC
formations, or by political parties. It is the responsibility of government, it
is the responsibility of the inclusive government, the collective that is called
the cabinet. I know that the last two cabinet meetings has been devoted almost
entirely to debating this deteriorating situation and I have no doubt that in
the next meeting and the meeting after that, as long as the situation is not
being improved, we will continue to raise these matters within cabinet and we
will continue to insist that those who have control over the security apparatus
of the state allows the security people to police fairly, impartially and
without fear and favour, which is not happening at the present
moment.
Of course as a party because
the inclusive government is guaranteed or the GPA is guaranteed by SADC, we
engaged the executive secretary of SADC on this, we engaged the head of the SADC
mission to the referendum about some of these worrying issues. Clearly,
therefore, we will be insisting that SADC as the guarantor of the GPA, as the
institution which guarantees that we will have a transition which will result in
a free and fair election should be seen to be getting ceased of the matter and
take the necessary action.
GONDA: But Professor Ncube if
you are accusing ZANU PF and the police isn’t it obvious that it will have to be
up to the MDC formations in government to do something?
NCUBE: The MDC
formations as MDC parties have no power to compel the police to do anything, it
is the government as a collective, it is the institution of government, which
has the power to compel. We have been acting within the institution of
government as a collective. That is the distinction I am seeking to
draw.
GONDA: I’ll come back to this
issue but let me go to the issue of the referendum. First of all what did you
make of the referendum results?
NCUBE: It is very
good that the turnout for the referendum was what it was, over 3 million voters.
We have not had any election where people have been required to vote since a
very, very long time. It was important that so many people turned up. Basically,
this is a resounding endorsement of the constitution. Remember that in 2000 the
constitution was rejected by less than a million voters, now it’s been endorsed
by 3 times the number of those who rejected the draft in 2000. I think that is
significant, it means that the people of Zimbabwe have engaged, the people of
Zimbabwe believe that this constitution, imperfect as it might be in some cases,
contains the fundamental core values they want to see in a
constitution.
In my view, we can now say
for the first time we are about to enter a new period, a new era in the history
of this country where we can have a constitution where we can truly say this
constitution has been made by the people. The people have endorsed it in
overwhelming numbers.
GONDA: Some cynics say that
ZEC has a history of rigging and therefore what is there to show that the
figures have not been inflated?
NCUBE: We
were all observing this election, we were all at the polling stations, we have
all the figures in the polling stations, the final outcome from the people who
represented us at the polling stations. If you add them, indeed even if you
average them, it’s clear that is enough. And in any event, people cannot just
make wild allegations, it is not right, there is simply no evidence whatsoever
that the figures were manipulated by anyone.
GONDA: I guess, some of the
people were saying this because it had been widely reported before the results
were announced, that there was a very low voter turnout and that the queues were
much shorter than before. They felt that the results did not reflect what was
happening on the ground.
NCUBE: Violet, the
problem we have is that there were people who were dismissing the referendum in
the media, people in civil society dismissing the referendum because they
themselves have substituted themselves for the people. The moment you have a
media which thinks that it speaks for the people, that the opinions that it
holds are the opinions of the people you have a problem. The media, civil
society must reflect, must report that which is in society not seek to impose
their opinions on society. As we moved around … (interrupted)
GONDA: But Professor Ncube,
sorry for interrupting. I think it’s unfair to say that it was the media that
has been exaggerating this issue because some of the news clips, the videos
showed short queues and of course in some areas there were long
queues.
NCUBE: Yes, If you
get to a polling station for 10 minutes, you take a picture, you make a
conclusion, it is you that is making that conclusion. That one picture cannot
speak for what has happened from 7am to 7pm. That is the point. In any event,
let us not forget that this was not like any of the other elections, in the
previous elections queues will develop because the time it took to serve one
person would be that much longer because it would be a multiple ballot using a
voters roll. And here all you did was go in, produce your ID, get your name
written down, and get given one ballot, you vote and you get out which meant
that people could move continuously without taking a significant amount of
time.
GONDA: Figures in Harare were
very high, I think Harare had something like 515 thousand people who voted,
while Bulawayo (the second largest city in Zimbabwe) had the lowest (131 000)
and also the Matabeleland provinces considered to be your strongholds also had
low voter turnout, what could have attributed to these low figures in Bulawayo
and Matabeleland?
NCUBE: That in
itself Violet is also a fiction, first we have no stronghold anywhere in
Matabeleland, we are working throughout the country, we are working to win votes
in every corner of Zimbabwe.
Yes if you look at the number
of registered voters in Harare, there are over 600,000 and some 500,000 people
turned out to vote. So that’s a large number but let us always remember that
Harare is three times, four times bigger than Bulawayo in terms of its
population, in terms of registered voters. Look at the census for instance, if
you go by the census, there are over two million people who reside in Harare. Of
course some of those two million are below 18 years. There are 600,000 people
who reside in Bulawayo. So you will expect that if you take 600,000 and over two
million, you will say the people who are in Bulawayo are less than a third of
the people who are in Harare. So those figures reflect the population. Even if
you go to the registered voters, if you look at the registered voters in Harare
there are over 600,000, you look at the registered voters in Bulawayo, there are
just over 200,000. So, it must therefore be taken whatever the turnout, you do
not compare and say 500,000 in Harare, 120,000 or 130,000 in Bulawayo, therefore
in comparative terms is lower. It must be in comparative terms to the
population. If you look at the percentage, if you calculate by percentage. The
percentage turnout in Harare, if you use for instance the census, you will see
that the Harare turnout was about 25%, the Bulawayo turnout is about 20%. So
those are not much differences and people should be scientific rather than make
conclusions on the basis of superficial appreciation.
GONDA: You said the
Matabeleland provinces are not your strongholds but the reason I was saying that
is based on the number of seats you got in the last elections. So wouldn’t you …
(interrupted)
NCUBE: That is correct and that is 2008, Violet, that is
2008, that election is over.
GONDA: So that’s why I said
that these areas are considered to be your stronghold, and if that’s the case
what can you say about the voting patterns in these provinces and are they a
reflection of how Zimbabweans will vote?
NCUBE: This was a
referendum, where everyone who had an ID was voting. The next election will be a
general election where you vote in terms of registered voters. Clearly, the
numbers in the Matabeleland will always be lower, because the population whether
you go by the numbers of voters or by the census, is relatively lower than the
population you will find in Mashonaland.
We attach no significance to
that, because at the end of the day anyone who wants to win an election, must
win an election on the basis of a national vote, and for us whatever turnout we
have, we must be able to win sufficient numbers of votes throughout the country
for us to be able to win the election.
GONDA: The National
Constitutional Assembly Chairman Dr. Lovemore Madhuku says that the referendum
results is illegitimate because 95% of the yes votes had not seen, or read the
draft constitution. What can you say about this?
NCUBE: Look Violet,
a democratic process has votes. By nature, even an election, you are never going
to go and ask each voter as to why they voted for this party, and that’s not how
democracy works. You work on the assumption that the voter has made a choice,
whether it is a subjective choice, whether it is an irrational choice doesn’t
matter. You can go to a general election and you are convinced that people
should not vote for party A, but if the majority go and vote for party A,
however irrational it may appear to you it does not render the outcome
illegitimate.
Similarly, a person does not
have to know the entire constitution for them to make up their mind as to
whether they are voting yes or no. In any event it is impossible, even if you
took the best lawyers, they would not know even half the constitution from the
top of their heads even if they read it.
Someone will go and vote and
say whatever else is in this constitution, I am going to vote because this
constitution now for the first time says a President can serve two terms.
Someone will say it doesn’t matter whatever else is in this constitution I will
vote because this constitution has devolution. Someone will say I am a woman for
the first time in political representation we have a constitution which will
ensure that the senate of Zimbabwe will have 50% women and so forth and so
on.
Similarly, those who voted no
were entitled to say it doesn’t matter what the improvements are because there’s
still that thing I hate it so much I will reject this constitution. That is how
it works.
GONDA: How democratic is this
process though if as the NCA says that many people voted yes because they were
following orders from political leaders to do so?
NCUBE: I don’t think
there is a single political party which issued an order. What I know is that the
political parties appealed to their members and said for reason A, B, C, D, we
think that you should go and vote yes.
GONDA: You have all said that
this new constitution is better than the Lancaster House constitution, but your
critics say our problem has never been about the constitution, but about people
who abuse their power. What will this constitution do that the previous one
didn’t do?
NCUBE: I disagree
with that proposition. The problem has been at the very least been two fold. You
have had a problem with a constitution, which was so permissive in so many
respects. In the things we have mentioned, an unlimited term of office, a bill
of rights, which was wishy-washy, unequal gender representation, no devolution
of power to communities. There were a lot of things, which were wrong with that
constitution which we have now sort to correct.
In addition to that, it is
obvious that historically in this country the political leadership acted inside
and outside of the law. You actually had numerable continuities between Rhodesia
and Zimbabwe. And you were just talking about it – when you disobey a court
order saying release Beatrice Mtetwa you are acting outside the law. When you
arrest people without cause, you are acting outside the law. When you authorise
police to act violently or not to arrest criminals or in fact arrest
complainants, you are acting extra-legal. So all of those things are part of the
problem. That the law can say one thing, if those who are able to command the
coercive apparatus of the state, the army, the police are not law abiding
themselves. You will have had a problem regardless of what the constitution
says, secondly.
Thirdly, you also imply that
people must support the constitution because it is better than Lancaster House.
In my respectful view, the constitution is actually a damn good constitution.
People become apologetic about this constitution because it is a constitution
made or negotiated in some respects because it is a constitution in which ZANU
PF participated where many people would rather not see ZANU PF
there.
But if you objectively read
this constitution from beginning to end, and I taught comparative constitutions
in my other life and I can say without hesitation that this constitution is as
good as any that you can get anywhere in the world. It is actually a very good
constitution by any standards.
The Bill of Rights we have is
not any worse in fact better than the South African Bill of Rights. The
representation is better than anywhere else you will get in Africa. The
provisions of devolution, yes they do not go as far people would have wanted but
there are far better than you will find anywhere else in the world. And so forth
and so on I could go on. The citizenship, Zimbabweans who were abroad,
Zimbabweans by birth who were being denied their birth-right, that birth right
has been restored to them.
GONDA: But if we go back to
your previous point, how will this constitution stop people acting inside and
outside the law as you said?
NCUBE: There is no
constitution, there is no law which has ever stopped anyone from acting outside
the law. The constitution is never self-executing, it’s a document there. It’s a
document sitting in a drawer in an office. It does not stop anyone. The
constitution will give you an injunction, you shall not do this. Its individuals
who act contrary to the constitution. What is necessary is that we as a people,
all parties start punishing those in elections and elsewhere, those who actually
opt out of legalities. We are the ones who create constitutionalism, it is not
politicians who create constitutionalism.
GONDA: So Professor, isn’t
that the issue that you and your colleagues in government should be working on
right now, because some people may say it’s a waste of time working on a
constitution when we know that at the end of the day, that is not the problem in
Zimbabwe, but the problem is people who abuse the law especially as we go to
elections?
NCUBE: Not true
Violet, it’s not either or, it’s never either or. The constitution is absolutely
important because it sets the standard. If we have not set a proper standard,
then you can’t hold anyone to account to that standard because it doesn’t exist.
You can only serve for two five-year terms and not more and so forth and so on
whatever the rule is. So you must set the standard.
It is wrong for anyone to say
it is unimportant to set the standard. Because you then have no yardstick
against which to judge those who are doing wrong things. So let’s do things one
after the other in sequence.
GONDA: But how are you going
to hold those people accountable if they are still able to control the
system.
NCUBE: Violet, at
the end of the day, it is up to the people as a collective, it is up to the
electorate to set the standard. There is no other way of setting a standard
against politicians other than to ensure that those who transgress, those who
violate that standard, come election time, you as a people you vote them out of
power. If you don’t do that then they will continue to believe they can opt out
of the law, they can act extra-legal and there are no consequences. That is the
only way, there is no other, it is the people and their collective voice that
ensure that the constitution or the standard that they have set by voting for
this constitution in a referendum is respected by the political
leadership.
GONDA: But if one of you wins
for example in the next election what stops President Mugabe from refusing to
hand over power like he did before?
NCUBE: If anyone
ever thought that a constitution or a rule stops anyone, it never does. It is
the societal, the political consequences of doing that, that stops a person from
doing something, it is not a constitution.
GONDA: I’m not talking about
the constitution right now and I’m asking what would happen if we have elections
in the next few months and we have a repeat of what happened in the last
election?
NCUBE: If you want
my view, my opinion for what it is worth Violet. The circumstances have changed
so fundamentally, nationally, internationally, regionally that it would not be
tenable, it would not be sustainable for anyone to lose an election and say I
have lost but I stay in power. We are in the field of conjecture now, but my own
view is that the constellation of forces, the consequences that will accrue
nationally and internationally are such that if anyone attempted doing that –
theirs would be a very short lived coup.
GONDA: But what consequences
are there, because as you mentioned earlier on in this interview, you said the
situation is very worrying and you mentioned that ZANU PF and the police are
continuing to abuse their authority by intimidating and harassing members of the
civil society and opponents. So far they seem to be getting away with it, so
what makes you think the situation will change come elections?
NCUBE: Violet,
government can only survive because it has internal and external recognition.
And I am putting it as bluntly as I can, anyone who rejects the will of the
people, if that will has been expressed and formally recognized, will not have
sufficient internal and external recognition. You will not have that legitimacy
to run that government. I cannot take it further than that.
GONDA: We will wait to see
that because its reported that the Americans and those in Europe are now
adopting a non-partisan approach and that there view is that the situation has
really changed, as you said, and that they now view the MDC formations as
incredibly weak resulting in these countries now willing to reengage with ZANU
PF and improve relations with President Mugabe’s party.
NCUBE: Violet, I am
one of those who has always refused to be the spokesperson of any of the
countries. All I know is what I have said, that in regard to the situation in
Zimbabwe, the internal and external legitimacy that is required will not allow a
person that has lost an election to declare that they are not going to
relinquish power when the figures show that they have lost an election. I will
not speak for those countries, I can only comment to the extent that you
insinuate, in fact expressly say, that the MDC formations are weak. I do not
believe that that is a true assessment, as far as I know, the MDC formations are
strong, they have done a lot of work on the ground. We certainly have done that
and we are a lot stronger than we were in 2008. We are a lot more strategic, we
are a lot more informed and we are much much better, much
stronger.
GONDA: Do you agree that the
MDCs stand a stronger chance of winning the next elections if the 2 formations
reunite?
NCUBE: I refuse
completely Violet to discuss red herrings. The main thrust of the party that I
lead is to organize, mobilise and ensure that we win the next elections, and I
refuse to discuss red herrings.
GONDA: Can you briefly tell
us what happens next after the referendum because there are conflicting reports
about what the next steps are? The Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa say
that Parliament’s term of office ends in March but Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga says its June 29.
NCUBE: You know the
tragedy of this country, Violet, is that even now we can be arguing nonsensical
positions about something, which is in black and white in the constitution of
Zimbabwe, because ZANU PF has mastered the art of deceiving people in the media.
Indeed that you have the media writing the nonsense that I have seen. Robert
Mugabe was sworn in as President on the 29th of June in 2008. That’s when he was
sworn in. The constitution says that the life of Parliament starts to run from
that date when the President was sworn in. Therefore this Parliament is for 5
years, which starts from June 29, 2008 to June 29, 2013.
The constitution goes further
to say if Parliament is not dissolved sooner than 29 June, it shall
automatically stand dissolved on 29 June 2013. It goes further in black and
white to say an election must then be held no later than 90 days from the date
of dissolution of Parliament. In other words, an election must then be held no
later than 90 days from June 29, 2013. If you calculate the 90 days from June
29, it takes you up to September 27, it is therefore clear that an election must
be held no later than 27 September.
GONDA: Briefly during that 90
days who will be in charge?
NCUBE: The
constitution says those people who are the President and who are Ministers shall
remain in office until the day the new President elected, whenever that election
is, is sworn in. In other words, the cabinet will remain as is until that
date.
GONDA: You mentioned a bit
about some issues that are good in the constitution, this is a question we get
regularly – that is on the issue of land. Since you are a constitutional lawyer,
there is a section that enshrines the right of all to have title to agricultural
land. But then there appears to be a clause that takes it all away by
perpetually enshrining the right to discriminate in the acquisition of land
along racial lines. Is this the situation?
NCUBE: The right on
land is guaranteed in the constitution, however it is subject to the usual
exception, which is to say the state in the public interest can expropriate your
land in the public interests for resettlement etc. It also says in respect of
colonial land, that’s not the word used but I am simplifying, in the context of
colonial land when such land is acquired for purposes of resettlement there will
still be no obligation to pay compensation, and this is what is clearly
discriminatory and this is one of the imperfections that exists in the
constitution.
GONDA: Briefly because we are
running out of time, what is the process now after the
referendum?
NCUBE: The
Constitution must now be gazetted, wait for 30 days, once the 30 day period has
expired, Parliament must then debate it and pass it. It goes to the President to
assent. Once that is done a large chunk of the Constitution will come into
effect immediately as it is gazetted. Other parts will come in whenever a new
President is sworn in.
What is relevant to
elections, is that a minimum of 30 days after the new Constitution comes in. ZEC
is obliged to do a voter registration outreach so that those who want to
register can register. After that the President can then begin the process of
proclaiming an election. The Electoral Act requires that the period from the
proclamation to the nomination courts is 14 days. It further provides that the
period from proclamation to election is 58 days, which is why if you factor in
the 30 days for publishing the constitution, the 30 days for voter registration,
the 58 days to an election, you are looking at a minimum period of four months.
And I have not factored the things that still need to be done, the negotiating
the amendments to the Electoral Act to be consistent with the new constitution.
You are looking at a minimum period of four months before you can actually have
an election date.
Which is why some of us keep
saying, it is not possible if you are going to do it properly to do an election
earlier than the last part of August or for that matter earlier than
September.
GONDA: There were also
reports from the MDC-T saying that the Constitution can be changed afterwards.
Is this correct?
NCUBE: Of course,
every constitution is subject to amendment. There are those clauses which you
can’t change, unless you go back to a referendum. There are 2 or 3 of those
core ones which are the foundation of the Constitution, they cannot be changed
unless you call another referendum. The other clauses can be changed by a
two-thirds majority in Parliament. In fact when you hear President Mugabe
rhetorically saying we are going to restore certain powers of Chiefs after the
election, you really need to be naïve to believe that there is any political
party, which can get a two-thirds majority. Many people will tell you that it is
even difficult for any party to go beyond a simple majority of 110 in the House
of Assembly. So for someone to think that there is a political party now with
proportional representation that can muster a two-thirds majority to alone
change the Constitution without the consent of other parties I think it’s too
much of wishful thinking.
GONDA. Thank you very much
Professor Ncube for talking to us on the Programme Hot
Seat.
Listen here Hot
Seat
Police State – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 23rd March 2013
1.
Setting up in the snow
2. Outside Tanzania House
3.
Outside South Africa House
4. Posting letter under Zim Embassy
door
Spring
snow didn’t stop us as we trailed around central London visiting various
embassies to protest against the harassment of those opposing Zimbabwe’s police
state. The protest was part of the 15th round of the Free Zimbabwe
Global Campaign which has seen monthly protests by the Zimbabwean diaspora
around the world since the beginning of last year.
Shivering
in the coldest March for 50 years was no worse than the suffering of civil
rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa being deprived of blankets while being illegally
held in a Harare police cell. Blizzards in various parts of the country made
travel difficult, preventing many supporters joining us, but those who made it
displayed posters such as ‘Free Beatrice Mtetwa’, ‘Stop harassment of Zimbabwean
human rights groups’, ‘End police lawlessness’ and ‘Restore rule of law in
Zimbabwe’.
Our
first foray from the Vigil was to the Tanzanian High Commission where we
delivered the following letter to pass on to President
Kikwete.
‘We
Zimbabweans in exile, are writing to you in your capacity as Chairperson of the
SADC Security Troika to express our alarm at the illegal behaviour of the police
in Zimbabwe.
Within
hours of an overwhelming vote for a new constitution which we were told would
enhance human rights, police arrested Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s senior legal
advisor and three of his staff after searching his home. The MDC officials were
reported to be preparing a dossier on allegations of corruption involving three
Zanu PF ministers.
The
prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was then arrested when she arrived
and asked to see the police search warrant. She was kept in a police cell in
defiance of a ruling by a High Court judge that she should be released.
The
incident comes after a steady increase in high-handed behaviour by the police
including the harassment of officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission
investigating the Zanu PF ministers.
Human
Rights Watch has called on the Zimbabwean government to stop the police abuse of
power and hold those responsible to account. It said in a statement ‘Zimbabwe’s
authorities cannot expect to create a rights- respecting environment ahead of
elections in the context of oppression, harassment and intimidation of civil
society activists’.
We
support this statement and urge you to insist that the police in Zimbabwe act
within the law and respect the spirit of the Global Political
Agreement.’
Since
we wrote the letter further details of the Zanu PF corruption have emerged which
have been detailed in the South African Mail and Guardian newspaper (see: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/mar23_2013.html#Z4
– Corruption at centre of Zim arrests).
As
snow continued to fall we then set off to the the South African High Commission
where we left a copy of the letter to be passed on to President Zuma as SADC
facilitator on Zimbabwe. The Vigil welcomes signs that he is beginning to put
some muscle into his role, as reported by, among others, the Zimbabwean
Independent (see: Polls roadmap:
Sadc stays the course – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/mar23a_2013.html#Z6
& Zanu PF, Sadc on warpath – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/mar23a_2013.html#Z4).
Then it was back to
join our frozen friends at the Vigil to push a copy of the letter under the door
of the Zimbabwe Embassy ahead of the visit to London this week by Zimbabwean
ministers to beg for money (see: GPA negotiators take
begging bowl to UK – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/mar23a_2013.html#Z7).
The
Vigil questions Britain’s policy. Most remaining EU sanctions are apparently to
be lifted following the ludicrous referendum on a new constitution and now
Britain seems to be eager to give Mugabe anything else he wants. Perhaps some
carpets for his mansion in Kwa-Zulu, Natal? (see: Mugabe’s multi-million rand
sanctuary almost complete – http://www.swradioafrica.com/2013/03/20/mugabes-multi-million-rand-sanctuary-almost-complete/).
For
eleven years now the Vigil has been trying to make the point to the British
government that there is no future in dealing with Mugabe on his own terms. Lift
sanctions and it will make no difference. There will be another demand. Instead
of pouring money into propping up Zanu PF with aid, the UK’s money should be
better directed than providing cars, houses etc for Zimbabwean government
ministers (see: Unity govt splashes out on ministers – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/mar23a_2013.html#Z5).
We
wonder why our taxes should pay for Mugabe and Grace to go to lecture Rome when
Finance Minister Biti says more money is spent on ministerial travel around the
world than on the entire education budget. We, as British taxpayers, are paying
for Zimbabwe’s education and health services to allow Mugabe to posture around
the world and affront the Pope. We suggest that the £100 million or more of
official British aid to Zimbabwe every year should be redirected to support the
millions of people who have been forced to flee the country and are desperately
trying to get money to help their families at home. President Zuma will surely
support this as he faces a new influx of desperate Zimbabweans fleeing a
gangster state.
Other
points
·
Although
we work with the MDC in the global political protest we have reservations about
the leadership of the MDC in Zimbabwe. ‘What a charming and comradely
relationship MDC have enjoyed with Mugabe’ says our friend Wilbert Mukori (see:
https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/mar21_2013.html#Z22
– MDC formations
too comfortable in government).
·
Thanks
to our valiant supporters who braved the foul weather to join us today. A
special thanks to Jonathan Kariwoh and Lindiwe Bare who stayed behind to look
after the Vigil while we toured the embassies.
For
latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website.
FOR THE
RECORD: 46
signed the register.
EVENTS
AND NOTICES:
·
ROHR Coventry Branch
meeting. Saturday
30th March from 12.30 – 3.30 pm. Venue: Bethel Dunamis Christian
Centre, 90 Paynes Lane, Hillfields, Coventry CV1 5LJ. Contact: Tafadzwa
Mushakwe 07551873256, Hilda Gwesele 07939127819.
·
Zimbabwe
Action Forum (ZAF). Saturday
6th April from 6.30 – 9.30 pm. Venue: Strand Continental Hotel (first
floor lounge), 143 Strand, London WC2R 1JA. The Strand is the same road as the
Vigil. From the Vigil it’s about a 10 minute walk, in the direction away from
Trafalgar Square. The Strand Continental is situated on the south side of the
Strand between Somerset House and the turn off onto Waterloo Bridge. The
entrance is marked by a big sign high above and a sign for its famous Indian
restaurant at street level. It's next to a newsagent. Nearest underground:
Temple (District and Circle lines) and Holborn. Next ZAF: Saturday
20nd April same time and venue.
·
Launch
of ROHR Leeds Branch.
Saturday 6th April. More details to follow.
·
Round
16 of the Free Zimbabwe Global Campaign (FZGC). Saturday
20th April when we will also mark Zimbabwe’s Independence Day.
·
Zimbabwe
Vigil Highlights 2012 can be
viewed on this link: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/467-vigil-highlights-2012.
Links to previous years’ highlights are listed on 2012 Highlights
page.
·
The
Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the
Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for
the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the
Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises
through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of
ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website
claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents the views and
opinions of ROHR.
·
Vigil
Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.
·
Vigil
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil...
·
Useful
websites: www.zanupfcrime.com which reports on Zanu PF
abuses and www.ipaidabribe.org.zw where people can report
corruption in Zimbabwe.
Vigil
co-ordinators
The
Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every
Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights
in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
Dark
days are back
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Sunday, 24 March 2013
15:09
HARARE - The menacing build-up to a watershed election likely to be
held in
July seems like a replay of the violent, rigged elections that have
plagued
Zimbabwe over the past decade.
Last week Tsvangirai
helplessly watched his staffers being remanded in
prison — in what analysts
say is a repeat of the days precluding the
coalition government when houses
were burnt and police in complete disregard
of the law arrested civic
organisations leaders such as Jestina Mukoko.
Four years on, human rights
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa is experiencing the same
fate endured by the likes of
Mukoko as the State denies her bail.
Tsvangirai, a former trade unionist
who has been jailed before, is keenly
aware of the fact that Zanu PF wants
to employ the same “dirty” tactics it
used in 2008 to remain in power in a
potent poll that many believe will be a
fierce contest between the two
bitter rivals.
“The targeting of my office is reprehensible and is meant
to harass and
intimidate the nation ahead of the election, now that we are
done with the
referendum,” said Tsvangirai.
Perhaps the honeymoon for
Mugabe and Tsvangirai who have over the past four
years considerably warmed
up to each other is over — as the tension get taut
ahead of the crunch polls
where both leaders expect to win.
A referendum which was the toast of the
two leaders’ pact government passed
on with little incident — but a few days
after the draft — the government is
disintegrating.
Last week alone
six people linked directly or indirectly to Tsvangirai were
arrested — the
month of February was even worse after a schoolboy was
charred to ashes in
an inferno in Manicaland.
The police widely regarded as Mugabe’s buttress
have been knee-deep in the
unravelling drama.
Although it is given
that factionalism in Zanu PF could destroy the
liberation movement — the
police force and the army are united respectively
under Augustine Chihuri
and Constantine Chiwenga — two men who have vowed
never to allow Mugabe to
lose power.
“It is through your visionary leadership sir that we held a
peaceful
referendum. As we prepare for harmonised elections, we warn on
hooligans who
will try to cause mayhem and violence that the Zimbabwe
Republic Police will
deal with them harshly,” police recruits chanted in
praise of Chihuri as
they graduated last week.
With Tsvangirai
apparently powerless — against a security sector that is
still to be
tempered by the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreed
reforms — other
leaders like Welshman Ncube doubt the civilian authority of
the government
of national unity (GNU).
“This lawlessness is painting a picture of a
country that is fast descending
into chaos. This worsening political
situation only goes to prove that
Tsvangirai and Mugabe are either not as in
charge as they wish us to believe
or are happy with it.
“We therefore
call upon Sadc to intervene and ensure that the perpetrators
are bought to
book since Mugabe and Tsvangirai will not do it themselves,”
Ncube’s MDC
said through its spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube.
Since the emergence of the
MDC as a formidable opposition party in 2000
elections have been blighted by
violence — and events of the past few months
seem to be the epilogue to that
same ailment according to analysts.