The Times

April 24, 2002

Zimbabwe couple lose farm after 37-day siege

From Jacqui Goddard in Bulawayo and Jan Raath in Harare



AN 89-YEAR-OLD white Zimbabwean farmer was recovering in hospital yesterday
after enduring a 37-day siege by President Mugabe’s armed “war veterans”.
Thomas Bayley, who left his home in Britain in 1936 to settle in what was
then Rhodesia, barricaded himself inside his property and refused to leave
after a mob armed with sticks, knives, steel bars and chains told him that
they were taking over the farm.

With his 79-year-old wife, Edith, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, Mr
Bayley locked the doors and windows, drew the curtains and defied their
orders to hand over the property.

The couple’s five-week-long siege ended only when Mr Bayley — who walks with
the aid of a Zimmer frame after a hip replacement two years ago — tripped
and fell in his bathroom, breaking his leg. He was evacuated and yesterday
underwent surgery at a hospital in the capital, Harare.

“He lived on that farm for 66 years, but he left it in an ambulance and he
couldn’t even look back to see it one last time,” his wife said yesterday.
“He is a wonderful, strong man, but if he hadn’t been in an ambulance, that
moment would have broken him.”

The Bayleys’ stand against Mr Mugabe’s land grab, which has been stepped up
since last month’s disputed presidential election result, served as a symbol
of determination for Zimbabwe’s farmers.

Jenni Williams, spokesman for the Commercial Farmers’ Union, said: “This was
not intransigence on the part of an elderly couple, this was a principled
last stand by a husband and wife who had worked hard on their farm for
decades and knew no other home. They are an inspiration.”

Mr Bayley came to Zimbabwe from his home in Danbury, Essex, aged 22 bringing
with him nothing more than a suitcase full of clothes. He got a job as a
farm labourer and saved up money gradually to buy small areas of land for
himself in Mazoe, Mashonaland, creating his own 865-acre farm out of virgin
bushland, employing 80 workers and naming it Danbury Farm after his home
town.

“He built it up bit by bit, and worked hard to buy every last thing
himself — he’d buy a little piece of land, then perhaps an ox-wagon or a
tractor,” his daughter, Jennifer Taylor, said. “He cleared the land of rocks
by hand, and as a young girl I remember helping him to make bricks to build
the house layer by layer.”

The drama began on March 13, the day Mr Mugabe claimed victory in the
election, when a gang of so-called “war veterans” beat up three of the
Bayleys’ workers with steel bars and chains, forcing them to hand over the
keys to the farm’s workshops and fuel stores. One worker, Simion Pilosi,
died 13 days later. He had suffered bruising to his brain.

Mr Bayley’s son, Tommy, who lives on a separate homestead at Danbury Farm
with his wife, Trish, brought police to the scene, because they said that
they had no transport to come themselves. The police officers watched war
veterans in the fields stealing seed maize, but made no arrests.

Over the coming days, squatters moved on to the farm, lighting fires on the
Bayleys’ lawn and, at one point, throwing Mr Bayley Jr into the flames,
burning his leg. But the only police action came when officers arrived at Mr
Bayley Jr’s door to tell him that they were charging him with “being in
possession of an antique set of traffic lights”, which he had bought
legitimately from Harare City Council in 1998.

Meanwhile, his parents, who married in 1944, remained barricaded in their
house, as the militia camped outside. If they so much as opened their door
to let their dogs out, the crowd would try to hit the animals as they ran
out.

“It has all been a very traumatic experience,” Mrs Bayley said yesterday, as
she rested at her daughter’s home in Harare while awaiting news of her
husband’s operation.

“Each night, we had around 30 people banging drums, shouting, dancing and
hitting our windows to intimidate us, but we sat tight. What else could we
do? We have lived here together for this long, we were not about to give up
our home to anybody who came along and demanded it.”

The siege ended when Mr Bayley was evacuated by medical staff on Saturday.
The Bayleys can now only hope to fight for the right to return to their
property, which it is believed has been overrun, through the courts.

“If it wasn’t for my husband’s fall, I have no doubt we would still be
there,” Mrs Bayley said. “We didn’t do a lot in there, but we said to each
other: ‘We’re not leaving.’ Why should we?” Another victim of Mr Mugabe’s
militias, a 53-year-old woman whose son was murdered by the President’s
supporters last year, was buried yesterday, two days after she was beheaded
for being suspected of supporting the opposition.

The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only independent daily newspaper, said that the
killing was carried out in front of two of her daughters at their home in
the remote Magunje tribal area on Sunday. The family’s home was burnt down.

Brandina Tadyanemhandu was the 23rd person to have been murdered in the wave
of bloody retribution exacted by Zanu (PF) militiamen since Mr Mugabe was
declared winner of last month’s presidential elections. Human rights
agencies say that the violence is a strategy used in previous elections by
Zanu (PF) to crush its opponents.

Mrs Tadyanemhandu’s husband, Enos, 63, told the Daily News that he reported
the murder to local police and was advised to bring in the culprits himself.
He said he was away from home on Sunday when Zanu (PF) youths came looking
for him. His wife was the third person to suffer beheading in four months.

Zimbabweans learnt yesterday of worsening economic hardship, with a 20 per
cent increase in the price of bread, to Zim$60 (70p), and a 35 per cent
increase in cooking oil, to Zim$199 for a 750ml bottle.

A loaf a day will consume 20 per cent of the pay of a factory worker on a
minimum wage.

News24

Police break up protests, arrest 38

Cris Chinaka and Stella Mapenzauswa

Related Articles
Riot cops clash with protesters
Riot cops flood into Harare

Harare - Zimbabwean riot police arrested 38 activists on Tuesday after
breaking up nationwide protests against a constitution critics say
entrenches President Robert Mugabe's 22-year rule. Police on Tuesday denied
the murder had occurred.

Zimbabwe is reeling from a political and economic crisis that has sparked
street protests since Mugabe was re-elected in controversial March 9-11
polls.

About 1 000 pro-democracy activists ran through the streets of the capital
Harare on Tuesday, singing and chanting "Down with Mugabe" as they were
chased by armed riot police on foot and in trucks.

Witnesses said one man had been beaten by police, and rally organisers said
10 people were arrested in Harare.

Some 28 people were arrested after similar protests in the southern cities
of Masvingo and Bulawayo.

Police spokesperson Tarwireyi Tirivavi confirmed there had been arrests, but
gave no details.

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a coalition of political parties
and civic groups, had vowed to press ahead with the protests despite a
police ban on political demonstrations since Mugabe's re-election.

The MDC, whose leader Morgan Tsvangirai has called Mugabe's election victory
"daylight robbery", condemned the government's heavy-handed approach to
demonstrations while allowing ZANU-PF militants to continue a reign of
terror in the countryside.

Political violence

In the latest incident, the MDC said a 53-year-old woman was killed in front
of her two young daughters at her home in Mashonaland West on Sunday by
pro-government militants who accused her husband of supporting Mugabe's
opponents.

MDC Information Secretary Learnmore Jongwe said the militants had
decapitated Brandina Tadyanemhandu when they couldn't find her husband Enos.

"They cut her head off in the presence of her 10-year-old and 17-year-old da
ughters," Jongwe said.

Jongwe said he had spoken to Enos Tadyanemhandu who confirmed that he found
his wife's decapitated body when he returned home. The family had reported
the murder, but police said they had not received such a report.

"There's nothing like that. We checked with Magunje police, Karoi police and
they don't have it," Tirivavi said.

Zimbabwe human rights groups say 54 people, most of them opposition
supporters, have been killed in political violence since the start of the
year. Most of the deaths occurred in the run-up to the March election.

Zanu-PF says the election was free and fair and it rejects demands by the
MDC for a fresh poll.

The NCA is demanding a new constitution to replace the current one which
Mugabe has amended 16 times since leading the country to independence from
Britain in 1980 in what are seen as attempts to tighten his grip on power.

Price hikes

The invasion of white-owned farms since February 2000 by the Mugabe's
supporters has disrupted agriculture, which has been further blighted by
drought, leading to a serious food shortage in a country in its fourth year
of recession. Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) chief executive
Malvern Rusike said on Tuesday the government had approved the increases in
a government gazette published on Monday.

"Many industries are struggling over the issue of ever-rising input costs
and their viability is at stake," he said.

News24

Zim: Bread becoming a luxury

Harare - Zimbabwe's government hiked the prices of bread and cooking oil on
Tuesday in a bid to halt protests from the food industry, which is
suffocating under price controls.

A governmemt gazette released on Monday raised the maximum retail price of a
standard loaf of bread to Z$60.44 (R11.92, US$1.09) from Z$44.08 (R8.69
,US$0.80). The previous price was set in October 2001. (R1=Z$5)

Cooking oil now costs Z$198.54 (US$3.60), up from Z$141.50 (US$2.57), for a
750ml bottle.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), which represents industry
chiefs, has lobbied the government of President Robert Mugabe to reassess
prices of controlled goods ever since October, when price controls were
introduced in a bid to harness the ravages of treble-digit inflation.

"We have been urging government to review prices and align them with changes
in the input costs," CZI chief executive Malvern Rusike said.

"Obviously we welcome the move, but we must underline that price controls
become effective if the whole structure is continuously monitored, from the
consumer to the producer's point of view," Rusike said.

But the federation also blasted price controls, saying "they are never the
best instrument because they hinder the capability of industry".

Inflation in Zimbabwe is currently running at around 120%.

In January 2001, a normal loaf of bread cost Z$23.90 (US$0.43). The cost
trebled to Z$60.44 (US$1.09) before price controls were introduced, making
it almost a luxury item for many Zimbabweans.

Poor families have reportedly resorted to buying stale bread, which costs
Z$25 to Z$35 (US$0.45 to US$0.63) a loaf, or about half the cost of a fresh
loaf of bread. - Sapa-AFP

News release: 21st April 2002
(On behalf of the Commercial Farmers' Union)

SEVERAL farms in Matabeleland specializing in market gardening and citrus
have come under the attention of war veterans with thousands of dollars
worth of fruit and vegetable having been looted and the farmers under
pressure to leave their farms. Some of the affected farms are, Twin River
Ranch, Thandanani, Glenala Park and Umguzaan.

Eight farmers have been evicted off their properties since the March 9 - 11
Presidential elections. The region had remained relatively quiet with minor
incidents of violence, harassments, or other altercations perpetrated by war
veterans against commercial farmers and their staff until recently.

Reports received by the Commercial Farmers Union indicate that war veterans
have intensified their activities, and of late have been issuing farmers
with eviction letters from Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans
Association (ZNLWVA) Secretary for Projects, Andrew Ndlovu, advising farmers
to leave their farms with immediate effect. This has had a knock on effect
with war veterans and settlers feeling emboldened and taking matters into
their own hands.

Ndlovu visited Gwanda and Beitbridge last weekend and issued farmers with
eviction letters. Since that time, 8 farmers report daily pressure to leave
their farms. Bands of war veterans and youths have these farmers under
siege, with 37 staff from a Game Ranch being forcefully evicted from their
homes on Wednesday. Farmers report that Police reaction in the area is luke
warm.

Reports received indicate that the Matabeleland Governor Stephen Nkomo and
Beit Bridge Member of Parliament Kembo Mohadi and the District
Administrator, Mr Eddison Nhkanyiso Mbedzi addressed Beit Bridge police
officers and it is said the trio told them not to intervene in events that
were politically motivated, including the eviction of farmers, whose "stay
is long overdue". Several reports from other areas around the country also i
ndicate that police reaction only occurs after authorization from District
administrators, local government officials who report to the provincial
Governors.

Although there are police officers willing to lend an ear to farmers under
siege their hands are tied apparently by these instructions.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made is also on public record warning officials
not to "seem to be putting brakes on the implementation of the Land Reform
Programme." He threatened to deal with officials that derail and or delay
the land reform programme.

A farmer on Twin River Ranch, a citrus and cattle undertaking spent most of
Sunday trying to resist efforts by 50 war veterans and youth to evict him.
The owner, Shannon Wheeler who is on the farm with his wife, 2 teenage
children and farm manager Sammy Mhazvo, said the group told him that they
would not harm them but wanted to take over. At 3:10 pm, he was given a
final ultimatum to leave.

The West Nicholson farm is only under a preliminary notice of acquisition.
He bought the farm from a company in 1986 and worked steadily to build up
the farm to its current 15 000 citrus trees, 4000 mango trees and runs 600
head of cattle. He also exports fruit and beef. At present he employs 30
staff and has employed up to 150 people from Siyoka communal area for
seasonal picking.

The settlers are reported to have raided the orchard and are stealing fruit.

In a further development 30 workers were ordered to request retrenchment
packages. They arrived at the farm office at 7pm on Sunday to do so. When
the owner refused, a war veteran fired a pellet gun in the air threatening
the workforce not to report for work on Monday. The crop of 700 tonnes of
oranges are already decimated by theft and if not watered will be lost.

The invasions in this district are said to be driven by the District
Administrator, Mr Mbedzi, who told a third party that Wheeler had "stayed
too long and must leave." Mbedzi was previously administrator of
Matabeleland North where a farmer Martin Olds was killed.

Matabeleland is dry and for the large part non arable. Most farms are
livestock ranches or run irrigated crops such are citrus and market
gardening.

At Nyamandlovu-based Thandanani Farm, property valued at more than Zd $150
000 belonging to farm workers was looted and damaged following an attack at
the farm village by a group of Zanu PF supporters.

The incident on the farm, one of the country's biggest producers of sweet
potatoes and various other vegetables, was an act of retribution against
farm workers who arrested 25 war veterans based at a neighbouring farm whom
they had caught stealing 29 tonnes of maize.

According to farm owner, Mr. John Sankey, a group of about 30-40 Zanu PF
supporters arrived at the farm in the afternoon and fired two shots in the
air, resulting in the workforce running away. The group then proceeded to
trash the farm village and loot household items, including radios, utensils,
clothing and other belongings. Police were called in to attend to the scene,
but no arrests were made.

In an incident on Sunday 7th April, an Esigodini farmer, Mr. Alastair
Coulson, and his 129 staff decided to stand their ground and refused to be
illegally evicted by a group of about 60 people comprising war veterans,
settlers and hired youth, led by notorious war veteran Luke Thambolenyoka.

The horticultural farm, situated 35km South of Bulawayo, had not previously
been invaded. A Prisons official and senior provincial police officer are
said to be beneficiaries of the 300-hectare Glenala Park farm. The farm
supplies vegetables to formal and informal vegetable vendors in Bulawayo,
Zvishavane and other centres and is the direct source of survival for 800
people.

Reports were made to the police who remained aloof and seemed unable to
demand respect from the war veterans who had previously assaulted seven
workers.

The Officer-In-Charge arrived late afternoon and said since he could not
guarantee the safety of the farmer he should therefore leave. Coulson and
his wife eventually left after the war veterans were removed off the farm
and safety of the workers promised by the officer in charge, who left a
police presence on the farm. Coulson is still unable to return to his home.

On GlenCurragh Farm, farm owner, Mr. Mike Wood was assaulted on the shoulder
with an iron bar and received bruises and abrasions caused by huge rocks,
after a group of people tried to force their way into his homestead.

Trouble started when 27 people attempted to gain entry through a pedestrian
gate into the security fence. They informed Mr Craig Wood, that the Woods
should leave the farm. A threat to round up the cattle and put them on the
main road was also issued but not carried out.

About two hours later, another group of approximately 15 people broke the
lock on the security gate and tried to enter the yard. Mr Wood prevented
them gaining entry by using his pepper spray. He was then assaulted in full
view of the Officer In Charge ZRP. Nyamandlovu Ins. R.F. Ncube, Sgt. Ndlovu
and Cst. M. Dube. The police later dispersed the group.

On another farm, Umguzaan 2 500 kgs of sweet potatoes were stolen on
Saturday. Three security guards were mildly assaulted when they tried to
stop the theft.

Wildlife ranches have also not been spared, those affected are Gourlays and,
Denlynian and Joco in Beit Bridge.

They too report increased activity by these bands, with looting taking place
on Joco, which is unlisted but occupied by war veterans. The perpetrators
came on donkey driven carts and took their loot away. The Police finally
reacted as they said this was not political but a normal 'housebreaking'.
They reported back to the owners, the Caywood family that war veterans would
be assisting them to locate the criminals.

However the caretaker on the property was subsequently assaulted and had the
keys taken from him so Joco is not completely occupied with no presence from
the owner.

The total workforce on Denlynian (Lot 7a and 8 of Jompempi Block) game ranch
were evicted by war veterans and dumped on the Bulawayo- Beit Bridge road.
The 37 comprise a game ranger, guards, camp cooks and scouts, as well as
fencing maintenance staff. The ranch is 17 000 hectares in extent and is
listed for compulsory acquisition.

Police support unit reacted and insisted that war veterans allow the staff
back. They moved back on Thursday morning but by the evening the veterans
returned and evicted them again, occupying their houses. They also told the
staff not to call the police a second time saying "the Police work for ZANU
PF".

The farm is not suitable for resettlement as it falls in a dry and
non-arable region. The ranch built up over 18 years has no settlers
resident. 6 000 livestock units roam the farm which earns vital foreign
currency as a tourism operation.

The illegally evicted workforce has since been relocated to a nearby citrus
farm.

On 6th April, the Inyathi Police station officer in charge, Desmond Dube
took no action when a war veteran Vote Ndlovu threatened Richard Pascall
(51), saying in a local dialect,  'Ngizakungcwaba' meaning  'I will bury you
'.  Inspector Dube shrugged the threat off as 'Political sayings'.

When the very next morning a 60 strong mob arrived at his gate armed with
traditional weapons, Pascall feared the Ndlovu would make good on his
threat. This was further born out by a group breaking through a side gate
and manhandling Pascall attempting to handcuff him.  The incident took place
on Gourlays Farm in Matabeleland, a wildlife conservancy with 30 black rhino
resident.

His abduction was stopped by two friends, Timothy Lamprecht (40) and
Jonathan Johnson (60) who quickly fired shots in the air to disperse the
crowd. When the Police arrived, the three were arrested on charges of
attempted murder. According to Inspector Dube one of the mob had "a bullet
glance off the back of his head". The war veterans were only charged with
using abusive language.

In West Nicholson on Lockard Ranch, all the workers were chased off leaving
cattle unattended.

Greenlands Farm had the farm store on the main Harare Road (Chalet Store)
closed down by the ZANU PF youth, who then demanded to be fed. They evicted
all 30 workers and mildly assaulted one who declined to be named.

Harassment of workers continues at Esigodini Komani Farm with the owner
deciding to leave the farm for safety fears.

Ends.
21st April 2002

For more information, please contact: Jenni Williams
Mobile (263) 11 213 885 or (263) 91 300 456
E-mail: jennipr@mweb.co.zw or prnews@telconet.co.zw

Passports, birth certificates and citizenship issues

 April 22, 2002

Dear All

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have issued a press statement
which covers many of the issues which have harassed Zimbabweans of late,
notably difficulties acquiring passports and birth certificates. This press
statement is included below.



I can confirm that applications for birth certificates and passports are
currently not being entertained if the person concerned has a foreign-born
parent and cannot produce proof of renunciation of entitlement to that
citizenship by the Jan 07, 2002 deadline.



Information on Passport Applications

a. To get a passport application form you must present:

2 passport sized colour photos
original long form birth certificate
original national ID
The photos are then stamped on the back by the official.

The queue for a passport form in Harare moves reasonably quickly. It forms
outside the relevant window at the main passport office building at Makombe
Building.

You do not need to arrive early in the morning to do this. Similarly, in
other centres you do not have to join application queues simply to collect a
passport form. Proceed to the passport office with the documents listed
above to get a passport application form.



b. To submit a passport application, you must complete it in BLACK pen(!)
and provide:

2 passport sized colour photos
original long form birth certificate + 1 copy
original national ID + 1 copy
original form of renunciation of foreign citizenship + 1 copy
original + 1 copy of each renunciation document from foreign country
concerned
old Zimbabwean passport


b.1. Harare

The passport office processes 200 applications/day.

Make sure you have completed your application form before you start this
process as your documents are checked before you can proceed at all.

Make sure to have gone via the Citizenship Office - Room 100 to get your
form endorsed showing that you have completed the renunciation procedure.



Step 1. Queue at the Harare St entrance to Makombe Building for a date on
which you may return to submit your application form. People start queuing
from early in the morning - approx 4-5am.

Step 2. Return on the due date and queue from early in the morning again.
This is a different queue from that referenced in 1. above. You should be
allocated a number which will be the sequence in which your application will
be processed that day.



Business commences at 7.45am I believe.



Pensioners are allowed to avoid the queues detailed in Steps 1 & 2 above and
should report to Room 8 after having collected and completed their p/p form
and having been through the Citizenship Office at Room 100 if they have a
foreign-born parent or were themselves born outside Zimbabwe. Please note
though that you can expect queues at both Room 100 & Room 8.



b.2. Marondera

The passport office processes 30 applications/day.

Make sure you have completed your application form before you start this
process as your documents are checked before you can proceed at all.



Step 1. Queue at the boom to the passport office early (by 5am). You will be
given a number by the security guard on duty. You can leave the queue and
rejoin it a 7.45am in preparation for Step 2.

Step 2. Your documents will be checked (no applications with out of district
residential addresses will be accepted) and if all is in order, you will be
given a new number and asked to proceed to the passport office. No need to
go through a citizenship office - just make sure you have all the documents
detailed above.



b.3. Mutare

Room 27 of the passport office in 4th St(?) handles passport applications -
no queues, make sure to take all documents listed above. No applications
with out of district residential addresses will be accepted.



If you have corrections or additions to the above, please email me at
nnap@kubatana.org.zw. Similarly, if you have experience of passport offices
in different centres, please let me have the info.



Internet

This info is available on the internet at:
http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/arch_index.asp?sector=CIT


Best wishes

Brenda Burrell




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Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

More information on citizenship issues

April 19, 2002

Further to the explanation we issued in early March concerning citizenship
and voting issues, we provide more information of relevance on citizenship
issues. This is general information and is not intended to be regarded as
“legal advice”.  It is important that you consult a lawyer, as each
individual’s circumstances are different.

Before and during the 2002 Presidential Elections a plethora of court cases
were brought in the High Court and Supreme Court on the issue of voting
rights. The Citizenship Amendment Act, number 12 of 2001, stated that a
Zimbabwean citizen with a foreign citizenship had to renounce their foreign
citizenship, in accordance with the law of the foreign country of which he
held citizenship, by 6 January 2002 or lose his citizenship of Zimbabwe.  It
was stated that people who did so were entitled to have permanent residence
status stamped in their passports. The law was therefore very clear.

However, the Registrar-General’s office interpreted the Act to mean that all
Zimbabwean citizens with a potential right to a foreign citizenship must
renounce the foreign “entitlement” if they wished to remain Zimbabwean
citizens. At this point it was alleged that the Registrar-General’s office
was removing affected people from the voters roll on the basis that they
were no longer citizens of Zimbabwe. An application was brought to the High
Court for a ruling on these points in the case of Tsvangirai v
Registrar-General. The case also sought an extension of the deadline for a
year because of the administrative problems faced by individuals attempting
to renounce their various citizenships. A provisional order was granted by
the High Court to the effect that the Registrar-General could only remove
people from the voters’ roll in accordance with the procedures set out in
the Electoral Act and judgment was reserved on the other issues. On 27
February 2002 the Honourable Mr Justice Adam handed down judgment. The
judgment extended the deadline for renunciation to 6 August 2002. The order
also stated that Zimbabwean citizens by birth do not have to renounce a
potential foreign citizenship unless they actually hold the said foreign
citizenship. This was in line with another High Court judgment by the
Honourable Mrs Justice Makarau’s (below). The Registrar-General immediately
appealed this judgment and Justice Adam’s order was suspended.

Meanwhile, on 25 January 2002 judgment in the matter of Tsvangirai v
Registrar-General of Elections and 1 Other, and Tsvangirai v
Registrar-General of Births and Deaths and 10 Others HH 22-2002 was handed
down by the Honourable Mrs Justice Makarau. Amongst other things, she
ordered that, “The Registrar-General shall restore to the voters’ roll of
any constituency, all voters who, on or before January 18 2002 were on that
roll or were eligible but were refused to be on that roll, who may have lost
or renounced their citizenship of Zimbabwe, but who since 1985, have been
regarded by a written law to be permanently resident in Zimbabwe.” The
Registrar-General immediately appealed this judgment. On 15 February 2002
the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe sat to consider the appeal in this case. On 28
February 2002 judgment  was handed down. The majority of the Supreme Court
(Chidyausiku CJ, Ziyambi, Malaba and Cheda JJA) overturned Makarau J’s
decision. They held that citizens and permanent residents are separate and
distinct categories. In terms of section 3(3) of Schedule 3 to the
Constitution, those who have renounced their Zimbabwean citizenship in terms
of the 2001 amendment are considered to have ceased to be Zimbabwean
citizens and summarily lost their right to vote. Therefore the Court
considered section 25 of the Electoral Act to be superfluous or
non-applicable to their situation.  In a well-reasoned dissenting judgment
the Honourable Judge of Appeal Mr Justice Sandura held that citizenship by
either birth or registration includes permanent residency and therefore
persons in either of these categories are entitled to remain on the voters’
roll and vote both as citizens and as permanent residents, and when they
renounce their citizenship, but remain permanent residents, they are
entitled to vote in the capacity of permanent residents.

Commencing late January 2002, numerous persons received notices of
objections to their remaining on the voters’ roll because they had either
renounced their Zimbabwean citizenship or lost it by operation of the law.
The Magistrates court dealt with some of these and a few of the objections
were withdrawn after it was proved to the officials that the objections had
been issued in error. The large majority of the objections were however
referred to the High Court as stated cases. In Harare the matters set down
were all dealt with as one case before the Honourable Justice Hlatshwayo. As
the Registrar-General’s Office did not oppose this, it was held that those
who only had an entitlement to foreign citizenship should not have been
affected by the exercise and were entitled to vote. However the Honourable
Judge held that he was bound by the majority decision in the Supreme Court
decision in the Tsvangirai v Registrar-General case and that the individuals
concerned automatically ceased to be entitled to vote upon their ceasing to
be citizens, either by renunciation or by operation of the law. The points
raised about the failure by the Registrar-General to conduct the exercise in
terms of the Electoral Act were dismissed on the grounds that there had been
no need to follow the procedures set out in the Electoral Act since the loss
of the right to vote was automatic. The whole of this judgment has been
appealed by two of the concerned individuals and we await the determination
of it by the Supreme Court. In Bulawayo an order was given that any person
who was still a citizen of Zimbabwe was entitled to vote. To our knowledge
this order was not complied with and numerous persons were denied their
right to vote.

During the period just before the election a number of statutory instruments
were gazetted by the government with a wide effect on the Electoral law. The
amendment that was of the most importance to the people affected by the
citizenship disputes was one that empowered the Registrar-General to compile
a list of people he considered were no longer entitled to vote: this list
was to be sent to polling stations and those people who were on it were not
to be allowed to vote unless they could prove that their matter had already
been determined in their favour by the courts. The use of this list appears
to have been erratic but certainly a number of people who were legally
entitled to vote, but for the promulgation of this list, were denied their
right.

After the election it appears that the Registrar-General continues to apply
the law to the effect that an individual with the right to a foreign
citizenship who has not renounced this right has lost his Zimbabwean
citizenship. People are being refused Zimbabwean passports and even birth
certificates for their children on the grounds that they have not renounced
their entitlement to foreign citizenship. While the decision by Justice Adam
is on appeal it is important to note that the Registrar-General subsequently
conceded that those Zimbabwean citizens who do not hold a foreign
citizenship do not lose their entitlement to vote simply because they did
not renounce an entitlement to a foreign citizenship. The reasoning behind
this concession can only have been that these people continue to be
citizens.

Interested members of the public have informed us that the Registrar-General
’s Office is refusing to issue or renew passports for those Zimbabweans who
have a claim or entitlement to a foreign citizenship. We are informed that
such persons are being advised to reapply for Zimbabwean citizenship and are
being asked to pay $25 000 and are being told that their application will
take up to 18 months to process. It is our opinion that the case law
indicates that such action is incorrect and that a logical interpretation of
the Citizenship Act as amended is that unless you actually hold a foreign
citizenship you cannot lose your Zimbabwean citizenship. While we feel that
the error could and should be corrected voluntarily by the Registrar-General
’s Office we advise that the effects of losing your only citizenship could
be catastrophic for the individuals concerned and advise them to seek legal
advice as a matter of urgency.

It is our opinion also that those Zimbabweans who are citizens by
registration but who do not hold a foreign citizenship also do not lose
their Zimbabwean citizenship by failing to renounce their potential foreign
citizenship. The logic of the judgment by the Honourable Justice Adam can be
applied equally to those Zimbabweans who were born in a foreign country but
have lost their foreign citizenship by operation of the law when they
acquired Zimbabwean citizenship. However, the order granted by the
Honourable Justice Adam does not automatically apply to people in this
category as it specifically refers to citizens by birth or descent. It is
our advice therefore to people in this category that there is especial need
that they should see a lawyer for advice as a matter of utmost urgency.



Contact details for ZLHR:

Phone/Fax/Ans: Harare (04) 251468

Email: zlhr@icon.co.zw

Postal Address: P O Box CY 1393 Causeway

Daily News

Msika, Mpofu grab CSC farm

4/24/02 7:44:51 PM (GMT +2)


From Chris Gande in Bulawayo

ZANU PF heavyweights, who include Vice-President Joseph Msika and the
Governor of Matabeleland North, Obert Mpofu, have partitioned Umguza Block,
owned by the financially-beleaguered Cold Storage Company (CSC), for
themselves.

Angry war veterans, who occupied the Nyamandlovu farm with the hope of being
allocated land there more than a year ago, said they were told to move away
from the farm and make way for the senior government officials.

Ngoni Chinogaramombe, the CSC financial director, did not respond to
questions sent to him by The Daily News about one month ago, despite
promising that he would do so.

“I don’t want to talk to you because you will misquote me. I have told you
before that I don’t want to talk to you,” said Governor Mpofu when contacted
for comment.

He then switched off his mobile phone.

The CSC had some of its property attached by the Deputy Sheriff in February
this year because of a $230 million debt which it has failed to service.

The company leased hunting rights on the farm, and the lessee built a
hunting camp for their operations which ended last year.

The CSC was now using the farm as a holding ranch for cattle bought from
areas that are prone to foot-and-mouth disease - the “red zones”.

Sources at CSC yesterday said Msika, Mpofu and an unidentified senior member
of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) have taken over sections of
Umguza Block.

Msika has seized the section with the main house, while the governor has
taken the portion with the camp.

The CIO official has taken possession of a small section at the bottom of
the farm.

Although Msika comes from Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central he grew up in
Matabeleland.

According to sources, Mpofu is out at the farm almost every weekend hunting.

The war veterans and villagers who occupied the farm were moved from
neighbouring Mimosa Park.

The settlers were relocated because Mimosa Park is covered under a
government-to-government agreement in which an Indonesian businessman and
local investors are undertaking an ostrich-breeding project.

“We were ordered to move and make way for the senior Zanu PF officials,”
said one of the villagers. “This is unfair.”

Several other villagers occupying farms in Matabeleland have been told to
move and make way for senior officials of the ruling party.

On 12 April, scores of settlers, among them war veterans, were evicted from
a Marondera commercial farm allegedly to pave way for Defence Minister
Sydney Sekeramayi’s occupation.

Daily News


Thousands elude police to stage NCA demo

4/24/02 8:23:37 PM (GMT +2)


Staff Reporters

ARMED policemen descended on thousands of National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) protesters countrywide with batons, teargas and other weapons and
arrested 50 of them in Mutare, Harare, Masvingo and Bulawayo.

The NCA members eluded a tight police cordon thrown around the major cities
to stage a peaceful mass protest demanding a new constitution.

In Harare, about 5 000 demonstrators marched on and off as they dodged the
police cordons along Angwa Street, Union Avenue and First Street.

Some of them, however, were entrapped by the police who beat them up
severely.

Three women protesters suffered serious injuries, while several others
sustained minor injuries.

An NCA official, who preferred anonymity, said: “This is just the beginning
of massive demonstrations currently in the making. We will not rest until
the people of Zimbabwe reclaim their power through a new constitution. The
government should just build more prisons and employ more police officers
because we are determined to continue fighting for our rights.”

In Masvingo, at least six people were arrested as the police fought running
battles with NCA demonstrators.

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Masvingo denouncing
President Mugabe for rejecting constitutional reform.

The placard-waving protesters handed over 30 copies of the NCA’s draft
constitution to Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
officials for onward transmission to Patrick Chinamasa, the minister, and
Mugabe.

Although the demonstration was peaceful, the police pounced on the activists
and sent them running in all directions before confiscating their placards.

Ray Muzenda, the NCA regional chairman for Masvingo, described the protest
as “a great success”.

In Gweru, five NCA activists were arrested while demonstrating. They were
charged of contravening a section of the repressive Public Order and
Security Act.

Meanwhile, Lovemore Madhuku, the NCA’s chairperson, was to spend another
night in custody after Harare magistrate Joyce Negonde yesterday said she
would give a ruling on his bail application this afternoon.

She, however, granted $8 000 bail each to Maxwell Saungweme, the civic body’
s information officer, and Ednah Zinyemba, the acting co-ordinator, Madhuku’
s co-accused.

The State had opposed granting Madhuku bail.

The three, who were arrested on Monday, are being charged with contravening
Section 360 (2) (a) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act by conspiring
to commit public violence.

The MDC yesterday condemned the arrest of Madhuku saying it was disturbing
that the government had deployed its riot police to deal with peaceful
protesters when violent and armed Zanu PF gangs are allowed to cause mayhem
with police assistance.

“Surely how can a demonstrator armed only with a petition pose a threat to
national security?” read part of the MDC’s statement.

The MDC said every single effort towards peaceful change in Zimbabwe had
been met with arrests, violence, abductions and murders by the Zanu PF
government.

“The point has to be made that the right of Zimbabweans to peacefully
express their ideas on the streets is a right that lies at the foundation of
any democratic society and is the lifeblood of a free land,” the MDC
statement noted.

“Finally, the MDC shares the cause for which NCA officials are being
persecuted. The MDC objects to government’s intentions of stopping the
process of crafting a new and democratic constitution for Zimbabwe.”

Daily News

Trial of Chinhoyi farmers opens

4/24/02 8:25:15 PM (GMT +2)


Court Reporter

THE trial of 24 commercial farmers accused of attacking war veterans and
Zanu PF militants at Listonshields Farm in Chinhoyi last year, opened in
Harare yesterday with testimony from the settlers’ leader.

Testifying before Chinhoyi magistrate Celestine Mushipe sitting in the
Harare Magistrates’ Regional Court, Onias Mukondorongwe, who claimed to be
the commander of the settlers at Listonshields and surrounding farms,
claimed he sustained a cut on the scalp and his elbow was fractured when one
of the farmers hit him with an unspecified weapon.

Mukondorongwe, however, failed to identify his assailant among the 24
farmers and contradicted statements made to the police by his colleagues.
The settlers told the police that Mukondorongwe organised about 30 of them
to gather at Anthony George Barkley’s farmhouse at Listonshields to express
their various grievances against the farmer.

Mukondorongwe accused the police of failing to properly record his version
of the events at Listonshields on 6 August last year.

There were tense moments in the courtroom when the emotional witness threw
tantrums warning the defence lawyers, Advocates Chris Andersen and Eric
Matinenga, not to “keep asking me what I have already said and forcing me to
admit what I don’t know”.

“That’s what I don’t want!” Mukondorongwe repeatedly exclaimed during
cross-examination.

The 24 farmers denied the public violence charge. In the defence outline
submitted to the court by their lawyers the farmers said they went to
Listonshields to rescue Barkley after the settlers descended on his home and
gave him an ultimatum to leave the farm that day. For at least two hours the
group, including settlers from neighbouring farms who had attended a Zanu PF
meeting led by Mukondorongwe, allegedly threatened violence and sang
liberation war songs in front of the Barkleys’ house.

Barkley said he called fellow farmers to assist him after the police ignored
his call for assistance claiming they had no transport to come to the farm.

“The settlers assaulted and refused entry to those who first arrived who
happened to be nearby and intended to act as negotiators to defuse the
situation,” read part of the defence outline.

“When support came they forced their way to the house against barricades
raised by the settlers and assaults,” the defence outline said. “The
settlers withdrew and Barkley was relieved, whereafter further sporadic
incidents of assault and attack by stones took place which were repelled.
The police finally arrived.”

The lawyers complained that after their arrest their clients were treated in
“a disgraceful and humiliating manner”.

Zanu PF supporters unlawfully took over control from the police and
politicised the issue with blatantly false reports of the incident, which
led to the wanton destruction and looting of property, the lawyers said.

The trial continues today.

Daily News

Rough time for ZBC reporter

4/24/02 8:29:01 PM (GMT +2)


Municipal Reporter

HARARE residents attending a public meeting called by the city’s Executive
Mayor, Elias Mudzuri, yesterday threatened to throw out a Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reporter, Marceline Nyangoni, accusing the
broadcaster of lying.

The reporter had just introduced herself after she stood up to ask a
question when the residents booed her and threatened to throw her out.

“You people at the ZBC are liars. Go and cover Zanu PF meetings in
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe,” one resident shouted. Attempts by the Harare City
Council town clerk, Nomutsa Chideya, to calm down the residents failed as
they continued to threaten Nyangoni and her cameraman.

“She must get out,” another resident said.

The meeting later calmed down and allowed Nyangoni to continue reporting.

The ZBC has been accused of siding with Zanu PF, which received its highest
number of votes in the Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe of Mashonaland East province
in last month’s presidential election.

Daily News

EU condemns government over continued repression of the Press, freedom of
speech

4/24/02 8:31:29 PM (GMT +2)


Sandra Nyaira Political Editor

THE 15-member European Union (EU) has condemned the government’s continued
repression of the media and freedom of speech, with the honorary
co-president of the 92-nation African Caribbean Pacific-European Union Joint
Parliamentary Assembly, John Corrie Member of European Parliament, calling
for stiffer action against the Zimbabwe government.

The European MP, speaking during a meeting of the EU Parliament development
committee last week, said more pressure must be exerted on President Mugabe’
s government for it to hold a fresh election within the next 12 months.

Mugabe’s re-election in last month’s disputed presidential poll has been
rejected by the international community while a number of African countries
have legitimised the election.

“Mugabe and his Zanu PF so-called government should face new elections
within the next twelve months,” Corrie said.

He condemned the recent arrests and charges laid against independent media
journalists, including Geoff Nyarota, the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily News,
over stories that questioned the credibility of the results of the
presidential poll.

Corrie said the EU member states, “must now demand that all charges against
independent Zimbabwean journalists like Mr Geoff Nyarota are dropped”.

He deplored the EU’s reluctance to take further action under Article 96 of
the Cotonou Agreement.

“Talks of economic partnership agreements and regional relations in Africa
must include provisions to act against individual countries that do not
respect good governance, human rights, the rule of law, freedom of speech
and the media. Democracy is the fundamental foundation for economic growth,”
said Corrie.

“If one looks at Zimbabwe under Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies, corruption,
harassment and suppression are rife as international and domestic investors
flee not only Zimbabwe but the southern African region as a whole.”

He said despite the peace efforts in Angola following the death of Jonas
Savimbi, the Unita rebel leader, Zimbabwe was “one corrupt state in a region
with great potential and can ruin all our future plans for southern Africa”.

Corrie, who is also group spokesman on EU development and co-operation
policy, highlighted the plight facing Zimbabwe’s farmers today.

“The EU must make current sanctions tougher by adding names to the black
list and freezing more assets,” he said. “In this way we may succeed in
getting Mugabe to the table to negotiate a proper legal land reform process.

“Both the United States and New Zealand are already taking further steps
against Mugabe’s regime but EU foreign ministers this Monday simply decided
to defer consideration of additional targeted measures.”

EU foreign ministers met in Brussels last Monday and decided to defer
further sanctions against Mugabe and his government but added more senior
government officials to its targeted sanctions list.

Corrie said it was sad that the EU had learnt the planting of wheat in
Zimbabwe was in jeopardy as illegal land occupations continued.

“To import 330 000 tonnes of wheat alongside 1,5 million tonnes of maize
would underline the chaos Mugabe is causing. Zimbabwe is a land which could
feed neighbouring states, but only if realistic solutions are accepted by
Zanu PF,” he said.

“We must never ignore the plight of 12,5 million Zimbabweans who live below
the poverty line, nor that of the 558 000 the World Food Programme fears
face food shortages and starvation in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.”

The EPP-ED group, the economic development and policy arm of the EU, is the
largest political group in the 626-member European Parliament and represents
Conservative and Christian Democrat parties from all 15 EU-member states.

Daily News - Leader Page


Mudzuri must avoid being caught in Zanu PF’s snare

4/24/02 9:13:21 PM (GMT +2)



IT IS likely that the new Executive Mayor of Harare, Engineer Elias Mudzuri,
called a meeting with representatives of the ratepayers in order to
short-circuit an instruction from his party to move out of the obscenely
lavish mayoral mansion.



What is the basis of such a conclusion? First, the consultation between the
mayor and the ratepayers ought rightly to have been held soon after his
election and before he hurriedly moved into the mansion. Second, he called
the meeting and the debate on whether or not he should remain in the mansion
and retain the expensive Mercedes Benz he took delivery of last week should
not be an issue, especially after his party ordered him out of the mansion.

Third, he put conditions on moving out of his new-found opulence: the
council would have to find him alternative accommodation. What, in the first
place, was wrong with his Milton Park house, or had he already rented it out
so quickly after his election last month?

He has not had the courtesy to allow the ratepayers an opportunity to assess
the alleged security report/advice, which led to his sudden move into the
mayoral mansion. As people footing the bill for his lavish taste, the
residents of Harare should at least be informed of the nature of the
security threat the new mayor faces.

Maybe there is no real threat and this purported threat is just a
smokescreen necessary to enable the mayor to take up residence at the
mansion. Judges of the Supreme Court and High Court have received threats
that were well publicised, but how many of them moved residence?

None, as far as we know. Suspicions surrounding the mayor’s questionable
decisions were raised at the weekend, when known Zanu PF members suddenly
came to his defence. It is curious, therefore, that people claiming to be
representatives of residents from the impoverished high-density areas of
Harare should be in support of such excesses, even as the council has
announced that water charges will go up twice this year.

It would be far more prudent for the council to sell the mansion to
diplomatic missions or international organisations and then use the proceeds
to keep down the proposed increases in water charges, while trying to
restore the city’s traffic lights that have seen a rapid increase in the
rate at which those that had not been stolen have disappeared, and the
perennial problem of water bursts, which are costing the council a fortune.

These, the state of the roads and the issue of refuse collection and
cleanliness of the capital would be far more pressing areas of priority for
the mayor than this obsession with the good life. It is ironic that people
could waste time deliberating on such opulence when a drive up to Hatcliffe
will reveal unacceptable levels of poverty in the squatter camp there.
Tackling the overcrowdedness that breeds this squatter problem would be a
far more acceptable priority because, while seeking to provide housing, it
will create jobs for individuals and companies involved in construction of
the houses.

It is possible Zanu PF packed the meeting with the so-called representatives
from the high-density areas in order to lend legitimacy to the mayor’s
continued stay at the mansion. But the new mayor must beware of getting
himself entangled in Zanu PF snares.

But far more worrying is how Mudzuri can possibly hope to deal with
corruption by setting such a precedent. He is going to lose the moral
authority and conviction so necessary in tackling corruption. One prominent
Zanu PF member wondered why there was a fuss about the new Mercedes Benz for
the mayor. The question can equally be posed: what is wrong with the old
one?

Daily News - Leader Page

Zanu PF, MDC must negotiate in good faith

4/24/02 9:15:26 PM (GMT +2)


By Masawuko Maruwacha

There is need to change the political structures and frameworks that cause
inequality and injustice in Zimbabwe . . . This important process should
help put the country on the path towards a sustainable





THE negotiations have finally begun between two major political
parties -that is the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the Zimbabwe
African Nation Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu PF). If the opening statements
published in The Herald are something to go by, then the facilitators have a
great deal of work to do.

The two opening statements clearly indicate that the political ground in
Zimbabwe is not a level playing field, which makes this negotiation exercise
very interesting.

While I acknowledge that this facilitated negotiation process is a technical
process, all in all the foundation of a deeper process should be guaranteed
not only in terms of physical safety, but that all parties are treated with
respect, not left defenceless in the face of verbal attacks, and finally,
the facilitators themselves are personally secure as well as being strong
enough to maintain the seriousness of negotiations.

It is my hope that a great deal of energy may not go into attacking those
who see issues from a different angle or concentrate on issues that may be
perceived to be of less importance by the other political party. The coming
together of the two political parties is a sign that Zimbabwe does have a
problem which requires real negotiation on the ABC of national politics.
Since the constitutional referendum in February 2000, the Attitude,
Behaviour and Context (ABC) of Zimbabwe politics has been far from being
patriotic and loyal.

Upon reflection, and in the light of the opening remarks by both political
parties during the first session of mediated negotiation, it appears that
the focus for a comprehensive settlement that would promote peace and
national reconciliation should not be premised on a limited vision of
reconciling political differences within and around the country.

Rather, it should be within the pretext of helping to find a common ground.
Therefore,the ABC of national politics have to be negotiable so that there
is a just realignment of political authority. If need be, there should be an
adoption of preferential policies.

Since the constitutional referendum, the dominant features have been glaring
for all to see. These glaring attitudes include prejudice, fear, hatred,
alienation and refusal to compromise. Following this attitude, Zimbabweans
have experienced and witnessed the worst phase in the history of this
budding democracy whereby social discrimination, verbal and physical
attacks, segregation, marginalisation and
displacement tactics are at play.

The above has manifested itself within a context characterised by injustice,
legal discrimination, distribution of resources, and rights, just to mention
a few. If the ABC of the national politics are non-negotiable, then the
negotiation is done in bad faith, which will only draw us away from putting
confidence-building measures in place, which our country is badly in need
of.

There is need to change the political structures and frameworks that cause
inequality and injustice in Zimbabwe, including economic redistribution.
This important process should help put the country on the path towards a
sustainable peace and functioning democracy.

As much as people perceive the National Constitutional Assembly as a
grouping under a tree, advocating for a new constitution which is
home-grown, the fact remains that it is of paramount importance to have a
new constitution for the nation.

As long as the pillars of responsibility are not clear in a given
constitution, there is bound to be bad governance and decisions by the
political leadership simply based on informal policies. In their effort to
understand better how to make peace settlements work, Crocker and Hampson
concluded that peace agreements are much more likely to collapse “in cases
of civil or intrastate conflict where effective political authority is
either non-existent, fragmented and faction-ridden, or too weak to overcome
the self-sustaining patterns of hostility and violence that characterise
struggles to assert political identities”.

I do not wish to see a bad outcome from the mediated negotiation. I am
solidly convinced that a just outcome will do the nation a lot of good. In a
divided society such as ours, the road towards a sustainable democratic
dispensation should be premised on a sense of national reconciliation from
the bottom up and from the top down.

I would wish to see the youths drilled in things military at the Border Gezi
Training Camp disarmed and food and other resources distributed in a
non-partisan process, simply because no one operates in a partisan mode.

Therefore, greater attention to the process of relationship-building and
reconciliation is required. I am sure there is a lot of work required to
reflect on the part of the facilitators. Masawuko Maruwacha is a programme
assistant with a Harare-based non-governmental organisation. peace and
functioning democracy’

Daily News

Telephone directories are no longer offered free of charge

4/24/02 8:50:27 PM (GMT +2)


Business Reporter

TELONE telephone users who have approached the phone company to collect
their free copy of the official TelOne Volume 1 telephone directory, as
advertised in the Press, have discovered that the directory is no longer
free but is now priced at $165,60 a copy.



Telephone subscribers who contacted TelOne as recently as on Monday were
being told by staff that the “out of Harare” Volume 1 directory was free to
phone users upon payment of their April 2002 phone bill and the production
of a statement to that effect.

However, other phone users have discovered that this advice, which was based
on an advertisement for TelOne’s Volume 1 telephone directory placed in the
Press on 15 April 2002, by the phone book’s printer and publisher, BoldAds,
was incorrect.

In a notice to telephone subscribers, BoldAds said: “BoldAds wishes to
announce that as from the 2nd of April 2002, the Official TelOne Volume 1
Telephone Directory is now available at your nearest Post Office, TelOne
Commercial Services and BoldAds Offices. Use April telephone statements to
collect free copies.

Extra copies will be charged at $165,60 per copy.”
On contacting TelOne on 22 April 2002, The Daily News was initially told
that the company’s Volume 1 directory was indeed free although Volume 2, the
“Harare directory”, was priced at $165,60.

A TelOne member of staff cited the BoldAds advertisement as proof. However,
upon checking with a supervisor, the same employee then reported back that
Volume 1 was definitely not for free. It was for sale only and priced at
$165,60.

The TelOne employee said: “I have been saying to people you can come and
collect Volume 1 free, but the supervisor has just told me that we have to
tell our customers that the advert put in by BoldAds was wrong.”

He added: “The two telephone directories are no longer free. They are for
sale.” This was confirmed by BoldAds. An employee said: “BoldAds put in an
advertisement saying the phone book was for free, but this was before we had
communicated with TelOne.

“We are the printers and publishers of the phone book. It is not for free.
We are selling it, at $165,60 per copy, on behalf of TelOne.”

Daily News

Urgent attention needed for Zimbabwe’s ailing health sector

4/24/02 9:11:22 PM (GMT +2)


By Simba Chabarika Deputy Features Editor

Zimbabwe’s isolation by most Western countries following the recent disputed
and flawed presidential election, which saw Robert Mugabe retain the
Presidency, could worsen life for the ordinary person.

The already ailing health sector is certainly going to be affected.

A crippling manpower shortage, together with an inadequate supply of
essential drugs in the midst of a ravaging HIV/Aids pandemic, have thrown
the country’s health delivery system into disarray.

The system was thrown a lifeline in January. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) was providing US$1 million (Z$55 million) a week to the National
Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) for the purchase of drugs to service the
public sector health institutions up to February.

Although this amount was not enough, it went a long way to help improve the
drug supply situation in the country’s major hospitals and health centres.

But now with maize imports obviously taking centre stage and the bulk of
foreign currency being channelled towards the purchase of the staple gra in
to avert starvation, the drug purchase will suffer immensely.

NatPharm, which started operating in October 2001, is the commercialised
version of the former Government Medical Stores.

The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare is its major customer.

NatPharm procures drugs in bulk through a tender system and this enables it
to obtain drugs at lower prices. Besides drugs, the company also stocks
medical sundries such as syringes, bandages and surgical instruments.

Some health personnel have thrown in the towel while the “dedicated” ones
soldier on against all odds.

Key health personnel - nurses, doctors, pharmacists, radiographers and
laboratory technicians - are abandoning the sinking health ship in large
numbers.

The general economic decline in the country has also added to the massive
exodus of these people as they seek greener pastures in foreign lands.

As a result, junior nurses and doctors and trainees have been left to run
the health institutions.

Many who have taken the gap say they took the hard decision because, they
argue, patriotism does not put food on the table.

Although nurses’ salaries have been increased, the Ministry of Health still
faces numerous problems retaining doctors and other staff.

“How can nurses work for peanuts while others live lavishly with hefty
salaries and good perks? If you continue to labour in Zimbabwe today, you
won’t acquire anything in life. You will be working for food only,” said a
nurse who is now working in the United Kingdom and had recently returned
home for a break.

“I have managed to buy a house and a car in the short two years I have
worked in London. If I had remained here, I would never have bought them,”
said the nurse who refused to be fully identified preferring only to be
called Barbara.

Low morale seems to have taken its toll in most health institutions
country-wide.

In the rural areas, it is common to find health staff basking in the sun or
doing their own private work because the health centres are not adequately
equipped and drugs are in short supply.

Essential drugs like the painkillers are not always available when they are
needed most.

“To say there is a critical shortage of drugs in the country is an
exaggeration. While it has to be admitted that the drug supply situation in
the country has not been ideal for the last four or so years, the situation
is not critical. Most essential drugs are available though not in
 abundance,” says NatPharm’s operations manager, Charles Mwaramba.

The major government hospitals in the Harare metropolis - Parirenyatwa,
Harare Central and Chitungwiza - have all benefited from the NatPharm
lifeline.

“Drug supply, like that of all items with a foreign currency content, is
affected by the foreign currency shortage. During the first two months of
the year, we have been fortunate to have a steady flow of foreign currency.

Our ability to import more drugs will depend on the availability of foreign
currency at RBZ. The situation is, however, likely to change with the
competing demand for maize imports,” Mwaramba says.

Chitungwiza Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Dickson Chifamba, says the
drug supply situation is “a little bit stable for the time being”, but staff
shortage is critical.

“A lot of nurses are resigning. Furthermore, we have a severe shortage of
Zimbabwean doctors as they continue to resign too. Patients are having to
spend a longer time queuing to see a doctor,” he says.

However, Chifamba says the staff shortage does not mean junior nurses and
trainees are running the wards. Rather, they complement because there are
always senior nurses in charge.

The situation at the country’s second biggest health referral institution,
Harare Central Hospital, is “not bad” considering several constraints the
hospital faces, according to the medical superintendent, Dr Christopher
Tapfumaneyi.

He says the main problem is the shortage of nurses, not doctors or other
ancillary staff. Despite the nursing staff shortage, all wards at the
hospital are fully operational.

“Generally, we are coping with the situation well, otherwise we could have
closed this place long back.However, it can be stressful,” he says.

The drug supply situation is tolerable, Tapfumaneyi says, adding that Harare
Hospital is the cheapest drug dispensary in the country.

“Our drugs are cheaper than anywhere in the country. Most people you find in
the queue at the hospital’s pharmacy have prescriptions from private doctors
but they prefer to come to buy their medicines here. Besides that, we charge
affordable fees for services like CT scans (X-rays for the whole body) of
between $16 000 and $18 000 compared to over $40 000 in private
institutions.”

Some drug suppliers are now charging steep prices due to the foreign
currency shortage but Harare Hospital is lucky to have a reliable and
consistent supplier in NatPharm, Tapfumaneyi says.

The hospital is benefiting from a bulk purchase of essential drugs to beef
up public stocks by NatPharm.

A network of civic groups that advocates community health promotion from
rural, urban, farm and mine communities in Zimbabwe, the Community Working
Group on Health (CWGH), says this year’s public funding for health is simply
not enough.

The Health Ministry this year received $22 billion in its budget allocation
“This means that there are difficult choices to make on what can and cannot
be done. Often in these choices, poorer communities have less voice. The
test of the 2002 budget will be whether it makes a real difference to the
many communities who face food shortages, who use health centres that do not
have adequate staff or drugs, who have not been visited by outreach staff
due to lack of fuel for field work, and who cannot get affordable and rapid
access to ambulances for emergency care.”

The CWGH says the health sector still gets less than 2,5 percent of gross
domestic product that government has set in its Millennium Economic Recovery
Plan.

But what is more worrying is that health, like education, has fallen in its
share of the budget between 2001 and 2002, while sectors like home affairs,
defence and finance have risen, indicating that health is less of a priority
to government than it was in 2001.

CWGH believes that essential drugs for the conditions that affect the
majority poor should be put in the highest priority band for access to
foreign currency.

“At present, many communities complain about lack of adequate drug supplies
at clinics, forcing people to travel to more distant hospitals for basic
treatment. This is an expensive burden for poor households,” says CWGH.

Although government officials deny that the health delivery system is in
limbo and always play down the gravity of the crisis, major surgery is
required to resuscitate this vital sector.

From ZWNEWS, 24 April

 

 

A New York court will decide on Thursday the amount of the damages to be awarded to victims of political violence in Zimbabwe. "Based on prior judgments, we believe that very substantial damages, in the tens of millions of US dollars, are warranted. Specifically, we've asked for no less than $68 million," said Hamish Hume, the American lawyer representing the victims in this case. The decision, however, sits with the magistrate who will decide on the basis of submissions by the plaintiffs. They will all be present in the US District Courthouse to give first-hand testimony. The plaintiffs testifying include family members of individuals who were attacked, beaten, tortured and killed by Zanu PF. The witnesses will also describe the organized campaign designed to intimidate all of Zanu PF's political opposition through harassment, physical attacks, and the assassination of targeted individuals.

 

The District Court for the Southern District of New York has already entered a default judgment against Zanu PF and its leaders. Neither Zanu PF, nor President Mugabe and the other senior officials against whom the civil suit was brought ,contested the allegations of gross and pervasive violations of the rights of the citizens of Zimbabwe. All that remains is for the plaintiffs to provide evidence as to the extent of the abuses and for the court to set a dollar amount on the judgment that will be entered against Zanu PF. A similar case against Radovan Karadzic, the Serbian leader, resulted in an award of $745 million in compensatory and punitive damages. "The award can be enforced against any assets located in the United States and owned or controlled by Zanu PF. Therefore if the judgment is honoured in other jurisdictions, such as South Africa or the UK, it could also be enforced against assets owned there," confirmed Hume.

 

The plaintiffs being represented at the hearing include Adella Chiminya, whose husband, as an opposition party activist, was doused with fuel and burned in the run-up to the parliamentary election in June 2000; Elliott Pfebve, who stood as an MDC candidate in the same election and whose brother, in a case of mistaken identity, was assassinated by Zanu PF supporters; and Sanderson Makombe who was a second witness to the Chiminya murder. "The victims of this well-documented violence were wholly unable to obtain any measure of justice in their home country and have turned to the laws of the United States as their last resort. The hearing on the 25th will finally provide these victims their day in court and an opportunity to speak to the world of the human rights abuses they have suffered," said Hume.

 

In trying to avoid a precedent being set where sitting heads of state could be tried in a US civil court, last year the US State Department petitioned the judge to reconsider his judgement. They argued that President Mugabe enjoyed full diplomatic immunity, and that the service of papers on him while on a visit to New York in September 2000 was therefore invalid, even if he was guilty of crimes against humanity under recognized international conventions. Judge Victor Marero disagreed. He confirmed his original judgement, ruling that although Mugabe could not be held personally liable in his capacity as head of state, he was not immune in his capacity as leader of Zanu PF, nor from accepting service of papers on behalf of Zanu PF.