The Guardian
Saturday
August 18, 2007 4:46 AM
By JOSEPH J. SCHATZ
Associated Press
Writer
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) - A summit of southern African leaders
expected to deal
with Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis closed Friday
with no quick
fix in sight for the country's problems.
The closing
communique made only a brief reference to Zimbabwe's troubles,
despite
concern in neighboring countries that the turmoil is harming their
economies
and prompting thousands of destitute people to leave the stricken
nation.
The summit declaration welcomed South African President Thabo
Mbeki's
mediation efforts between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ruling
party
and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
The summit
``encouraged the parties to expedite the process of negotiations
and
conclude the work as soon as possible so that the next elections are
held in
an atmosphere of peace,'' the declaration said, referring to
presidential
and parliamentary elections expected next year.
Mugabe, who wants to seek
another term, drew the biggest applause on the
opening day of the summit
Thursday, but was absent without explanation for
the closing
session.
Zimbabwe is in its worst economic crisis since independence in
1980, with
runaway inflation and acute shortages of basic commodities. The
economic
crisis is largely blamed on the seizures of white-owned commercial
farms
that began in 2000, disrupting the agriculture-based
economy.
Many in the West and elsewhere have held Mugabe responsible, and
critics
complain of state control of the media, widespread intimidation and
a
clampdown on the pro-democracy movement.
But the welcome Mugabe
received at the summit - and the lack of criticism in
the closing communique
- showed the reluctance of southern African leaders
to criticize one of
their own, especially one with anti-colonialist
credentials.
Zambian
President Levy Mwanawasa, whose country took over the rotating chair
of the
14-member Southern African Development Community, earlier this year
likened
Zimbabwe to a ``sinking Titanic.''
But at the summit, he was more
cautious. Mwanawasa said the ``problem of
Zimbabwe is not going to be solved
through the press.'' He also said
southern African leaders were satisfied
that Zimbabwe's election laws were
``valid.''
---
Associated
Press Writer Clare Nullis in South Africa contributed to this
report.
The Telegraph
By Sebastien
Berger
Last Updated: 2:27am BST 18/08/2007
Zimbabwe's
neighbours wound up a two-day regional summit yesterday
without discussing
the turmoil in the country under Robert Mugabe.
The Zambian
president, Levy Mwanawasa, who earlier this year described
Zimbabwe as a
"sinking Titanic", proposed a review of its political and
economic crisis
but other leaders did not respond positively.
Mr Mugabe had been
loudly cheered when the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) summit
opened on Thursday.
The failure to confront him despite his
people's suffering under
hyperinflation, poverty and malnutrition was not
unexpected, even though the
area's leaders regularly stress that the
solution to Zimbabwe's problems
must be regional.
Zimbabwe's
presidential spokesman, George Charamba. said: "There was
nothing
extraordinary to warrant a discussion on Zimbabwe. SADC nations are
mandated
to help Zimbabwe and we will not go beyond those parameters."
Mr
Mugabe retains a high standing in much of Africa for his role in
Zimbabwe's
independence struggle. The ruling Zanu-PF party has run an
effective
propaganda campaign to convince many Africans that Western
sanctions are to
blame for the country's plight. These are, however, limited
to a visa ban
and asset freezes on named individuals and have no effect on
the
economy.
Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who is mediating
between
Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change on SADC's
behalf,
told his fellow leaders that some progress had been made, but no
details
were made available.
The Portuguese deputy foreign
minister signalled that Mr Mugabe would
be invited to an EU-Africa summit in
Lisbon in December, despite the
sanctions. Portugal had "no intention of
discriminating" against Zimbabwe,
he said. "It is not up to Portugal,
current head of the EU, to invite some
people rather than
others."
Britain strongly supports the sanctions and a Foreign
Office spokesman
said: "We want a summit that delivers real results for
Africa and we don't
want anything to overshadow that agenda, including
Robert Mugabe."
.The Ministry of Defence is reviewing contingency
plans to evacuate
Britons from Zimbabwe. Existing plans would advise Britons
to drive to South
Africa, but the department was considering chartering
planes to remove them
from the region should it become more
volatile.
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: August 17,
2007
WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it supports
efforts by southern
African leaders to resolve a political and economic
crisis in Zimbabwe.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said
in a statement that such
engagement shows "the region considers the
situation an increasing threat to
stability and is committed to a democratic
and prosperous Zimbabwe.
"We regret that the Mugabe regime has not
expressed a similar commitment,"
McCormack said, referring to Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe.
The United States, the statement said, deplores
"the Mugabe regime's
continued acts of oppression against all segments of
society."
Still, the summit of southern African leaders ended Friday with
no quick fix
in sight to Zimbabwe's crisis.
The closing
communique made only a brief reference to Zimbabwe's problems,
despite
mounting worries in neighboring countries that the turmoil is
harming their
economies and prompting thousands of destitute people to leave
the stricken
nation.
Many Western nations had hoped the southern African bloc would play a
major
role in pressuring Mugabe. The United States and European Union have
frozen
assets of and restricted travel by Mugabe and his top
associates.
VOA
By Ndimyake Mwakalyelye, Patience Rusere and Blessing
Zulu
Washington
17 August 2007
Southern
African leaders meeting in summit in Lusaka, Zambia, have told
Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe they'll organize a bailout package for
his country
but that he must first institute political and economic reforms,
diplomatic
sources said Friday.
That stern message contrasted with the standing
ovation given to Mugabe, 83,
by the Southern African Development Community
summit when it opened on
Thursday, and the summit outcome was of more
substance than many observers
had expected.
The summit communiqué
said South African President Thabo Mbeki assured
leaders that talks between
the ruling Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front and the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change,
were "progressing
smoothly."
But SADC leaders urged Mbeki and the principals to speed up
the process so
that the general and presidential elections slated to be held
in March 2008
"are held in a free and fair environment that encourages for a
democratic
outcome."
The U.S. State Department soon after issued a
statement expressing support
for the "initiative to resolve the political
and economic crisis in
Zimbabwe, including President Mbeki's mediation
effort.." SADC's "engagement
illustrates that the region considers the
situation an increasing threat to
stability and is committed to a democratic
and prosperous Zimbabwe," said
State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack.
"We regret," McCormack continued, "that the Mugabe regime has
not expressed
a similar commitment. Its obstructive actions, such as a lack
of
participation in scheduled talks and statements arguing against the need
for
mediation, have undermined this important initiative." He went on to
"deplore the Mugabe regime's continued acts of oppression" against civic and
political groups and other segments of society.
The SADC communiqué
said the summit instructed SADC finance ministers to
work with Harare to
come up with an economic plan to support economic
recovery - though the
document did not spell out the conditionality cited by
summit
insiders.
The Zimbabwean economy has been contracting for the past eight
years and
over the past year inflation has accelerated to an annual rate in
the
vicinity of 5,000% - the government stopped issuing official inflation
reports several months ago. Chronic shortages of maize and other foodstuffs
have worsened into an emergency.
As generally expected, the
communiqué contained no overt criticism of Mr.
Mugabe's authoritarian
political rule or his government's incoherent
economic policies.
But
diplomatic sources said SADC leaders grilled the region's elder
statesman
behind the scenes, telling him there would be no bailout without
serious
reforms.
It not clear what such a rescue package would include, but
sources said
Harare was seeking a financial lifeline to fund critical
imports of food,
fuel and electricity.
Observers including Zimbabwean
civil society representatives in Lusaka said
SADC's decision to refuse
Harare a rescue package was a step in the right
direction.
Zimbabwe
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa's earlier comments to reporters
in Lusaka
that political reforms were not needed, did not help Harare's
case.
For perspective, reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyele of VOA's Studio 7
for Zimbabwe
turned to Professor Sulyman Nyang of Howard University,
Washington, and
Program Manager Pedzisayi Ruhanya of the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition. The
interview was conducted before the release late Friday of the
SADC
communiqué
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean non-governmental organizations
at the summit
complained that they were unable to freely lobby SADC
officials, due to
harassment and intimidation by agents of the Zambian and
Zimbabwe security
services.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Chairman
Arnold Tsunga said activists were
monitored by plainclothes agents of both
nations who sometimes posed as
civil society delegates, and that members of
civic organizations were
sometimes heckled in meetings.
Earlier this
week, about 40 Zimbabwean activists were refused entry to
Zambia at the
Chirundu border post and handed over to the Zimbabwean police.
On
Thursday, a National Constitutional Assembly member was arrested in
Lusaka -
though later released - for possessing what were called subversive
materials.
Director Joy Mambenge of the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt
and Development told
reporter Patience Rusere that the harassment his
group's members experienced
in Lusaka was very similar to the kind of
treatment they were used to at
home.
EUX.TV
Lusaka, Zambia
(dpa) - A meeting of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) in
Lusaka on Friday endorsed a report on Zimbabwe,
stressing that negotiations
should continue between President Robert
Mugabe's party, Zimbabwe African
National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF),
and the fractious Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
Although Mugabe was not present at the meeting,
his colleagues chose not to
admonish him sternly for the devastating
economic and human rights situation
in his country.
SADC leaders
commended South African President Thabo Mbeki for preparing the
report and
trying to create rapport among Zimbabweans from diverse political
backgrounds to act as patriotic citizens by embracing talks for
peace.
A SADC communique encouraged Zimbabweans to continue with
negotiations to
hold the next elections in peace.
"It is the
democratic right for Zimbabweans to elect leaders of their choice
but in an
atmosphere of peace and stability," the communique said.
It said
elections set for March must be conducted in an atmosphere devoid of
intimidation and harassment from any quarters, a tacit reference to Robert
Mugabe's regime.
Conference observers affirmed an implicit abatement
of Mugabe's repressive
tactics in grossly violating human rights by the
president and his ruling
party, ZANU-PF. Some observers were disappointed
that SADC leaders, once
again failed to exhibit strong leadership and
resolution in admonishing
their colleague.
One political commentator
who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the
failure to strongly
condemn Mugabe came despite the current chaotic and
deteriorating economic
situation in a country that had once boasted a
vibrant economy and been the
envy of the rest of Africa.
Reuters
Tue 17 Jul
2007 15:25:06 BST
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - The United States
offered on Tuesday
additional food aid to Zimbabwe to ease its famine but
harshly criticized
what it said were reckless actions by President Robert
Mugabe to try to deal
with the problem.
"The United States deplores
actions taken by the Mugabe regime that have
further eroded human and
economic liberty in Zimbabwe," White House
spokesman Tony Snow told
reporters.
Snow said the United States would provide 47,400 metric tons
of additional
food assistance, which he said would help an additional
500,000 Zimbabweans.
Once viewed as southern Africa's bread basket,
Zimbabwe is suffering a
political and economic crisis with soaring
inflation, estimated at 4,500
percent, and food and fuel
shortages.
The government has imposed a price freeze, backed by police
and price
inspectors that is forcing businesses to sell bread, milk and
other goods at
mid-June prices, effectively making them operate at a
loss.
"The regime's reckless attempts to address self-imposed
hyperinflation have
resulted the arrest of at least 2,000 business people,
widespread hoarding
and profiteering by police and government officials and
a shortage of basic
staples," Snow said.
"Its irresponsible economic
policies will only worsen inflation,
unemployment, growing food shortages
and poverty," he added.
Signaling support for the opposition movement in
Zimbabwe, Snow added, "we
stand ready to engage a new Zimbabwean government
committed to democracy,
human rights, sound economic policy, and the rule of
law."
AFP
17/08/2007
22h45
LUSAKA (AFP) - Southern African leaders failed Friday to heed calls
for
strong action against the embattled Zimbabwean government, saying the
ailing
country's problems were "exaggerated".
"We ... feel that the
problems in Zimbabwe have been exaggerated. We feel
they will solve their
economic problems," Zambian president and chairman of
the 14-nation Southern
African Development Community (SADC), Levy Mwanawasa,
told journalists at
the end of a two-day heads of state summit in Lusaka,
Zambia.
"We are
quite satisfied with the report from South African President Thabo
Mbeki on
the crisis in Zimbabwe," said the Zambian leader, who recently
likened
neighbouring Zimbabwe to a "sinking Titanic".
Zimbabwe is in the throes
of an economic crisis with inflation well past the
5,000 percent mark, four
in five people jobless and 80 percent of the
population living below the
poverty threshold.
The SADC mandated Mbeki in March to mediate between
Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).
Mbeki reported on progress to
the summit, while SADC secretariat executive
chairman Tomaz Salomao briefed
heads of state on Zimbabwe's dire economic
straits.
Mbeki told a news
conference later the rival Zimbabwean parties remained
engaged in talks on
the basis of a mutually agreed agenda, describing it as
"work in
progress".
"They ... are making progress in these discussions," said the
president,
adding any breakthrough would be reported to SADC.
"Everybody
is interested that when the presidential and parliamentary
elections take
place in March next year in Zimbabwe, they should be held in
an atmosphere
that will result in free and fair elections without
controversies and so
on."
But Mbeki said no conditions or deadlines had been set. "Nobody has
talked
about conditionalities of anything."
Mwanawasa said SADC was
satisfied that Zimbabwe's existing electoral laws
were conducive to free and
fair polls.
Mugabe has blamed his country's woes on drought and Western
sanctions, but
critics say problems started with a controversial government
land reform
programme that saw thousands of white-owned commercial farms
seized and
redistributed to landless blacks and government
cronies.
Mugabe is also under criticised for stifling democracy and
overseeing a
violent government clampdown on the opposition.
Mbeki
said Zimbabwe's economic problems would be looked into urgently, on
the
basis of Salomao's report, by a committee of finance ministers.
The
ministers would discuss the matter with the Zimbabwean government "to
pin
down in some detail what indeed the region can do with regard to
economic
recovery".
"There is urgency for us to get into this matter (of
Zimbabwe's failing
economy)," said Mbeki.
Before the summit opened,
Mugabe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said
Thursday that no political
reforms were necessary in his country.
"We have a democracy like any
other democracy in this world ... I cannot see
how a system can be any
fairer or more transparent (than it is in
Zimbabwe)," he told
journalists.
"You have a situation where issues are being portrayed,
exaggerated. People
portray Zimbabwe as a country that has become
ungovernable. Nothing is
further from the truth," the minister
said.
ZANU-PF has been the ruling political party in Zimbabwe since
independence
from Britain in 1980.
Mbeki and the SADC are accused by
critics in the West and civic bodies
around the world of treating Mugabe
with kid gloves.
Global watchdog Human Rights Watch had urged SADC to use
the summit to put
pressure on Mugabe's government to "end its broadscale
attack on human
rights."
Mugabe was absent from Friday's closing
ceremony for the summit.
He told Zambia's state ZNBC television on Friday
that sanctions, comprising
a travel ban and a freeze on the European
accounts of top Zimbabwean
officials, were to blame for his country's
economic woes, adding things were
getting better.
"It is going well,
relatively," he said. "We are trying to use our resources
to bring about a
turn-around."
The defiant 83-year-old Zimbabwean leader was given a
rousing welcome to the
summit Thursday, despite mounting global criticism of
the crisis in his
country.
Zim Online
Saturday 18 August 2007
Patricia
Mpofu
HARARE - The Zimbabwean government on Friday angrily reacted to
Australia's
decision to deport eight university students whose parents have
close links
to President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF
party.
Zimbabwe information minister and chief government spokesperson
Sikhanyiso
Ndlovu blasted the move by Australia, saying Harare would not
lose sleep
over the decision that he described as "ill-advised".
"Why
should we be worried when since 2000 we have been under sanctions?"
said
Ndlovu. "We have institutions of higher learning here which are an envy
of
many in the world," said Ndlovu.
Harare's reaction follows an
announcement by Australia's foreign affairs
minister Alexander Downer that
eight Zimbabwean students whose parents are
members of Mugabe's government
were to be deported from Australia.
Downer said the deportation of the
students was an extension of targeted
sanctions imposed on Mugabe and senior
members of ZANU PF party about five
years ago.
"I have also initiated
steps to reject the student visa applications of a
further two adult
children who are children of a senior Mugabe regime
figure.
"For
privacy reasons, the names of the individuals subject to the measures I
have
outlined will not be released," said Downer on Thursday.
The Australian
government is among the leading critics of Mugabe in the
world. Australia
accuses Mugabe of stealing elections and committing serious
human rights
violations against his political opponents.
Under the targeted sanctions
imposed in 2002, Mugabe and over 100 of his
senior party officials are
banned from setting foot in Australia.
The United States, Britain and
other Western countries have also slapped
targeted sanctions on Mugabe and
his senior officials over the same charges.
Harare has in the past
accused Australia of interfering in Zimbabwe's
internal affairs after it
announced earlier this year that it would step up
funding for pro-democracy
activists working in the country. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Saturday 18 August 2007
By Thulani
Munda
HARARE - A Harare magistrate on Friday deferred to Monday a ruling
whether
to release seven men who are facing treason charges after the
defence made
an application for refusal of further remand.
The seven
were arrested last June for allegedly plotting to stage a coup
against
President Robert Mugabe. They are denying the charge.
Defence lawyer
Charles Warara said the matter will now be heard on Monday.
"The matter
has been deferred to Monday next week. We hope everything will
be finalized
then," Warara said.
The seven, led by alleged ring-leader Albert Matapo,
have been languishing
in remand prison since June after they were denied
bail.
The state alleges that the seven wanted to topple Mugabe and
replace him
with Rural Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa who is embroiled
in a bitter
stand-off with a rival faction of ZANU PF led by former army
commander
Solomon Mujuru.
Last month, High Court judge Tedias Karwi
ruled that the court case should
be held in camera, citing the sensitive
nature of the case.
The state says if the matter is held in an open
court, it could jeopardize
police investigations into the
matter.
Political analysts have dismissed the coup story as a smokescreen
by Mugabe's
ruling ZANU PF party to divert public attention from a grinding
seven-year
economic crisis.
Some analysts have also said the matter
is closely intertwined to the bitter
factional wars within the ruling party
over Mugabe's succession. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
17 August
2007
Chronic bread shortages in Zimbabwe are set to get even
worse as the
country's sole supplier of wheat, the state monopoly Grain
Marketing Board
is said to have exhausted its supplies leaving bakers unable
to turn out
product.
The Zimbabwe Independent, a weekly
private-sector newspaper, reported Friday
that the Grain Marketing Board has
not been able to raise the US$10 million
needed to get 36,000 metric tonnes
held in Beira, Mozambique, released by
its seller.
Zimbabwe's winter
wheat crop this year is expected to be the worst in
decades due to a
shortage of inputs like fertilizer and frequent power cuts
that curtailed
irrigation. Experts expect the harvest to be far below last
year's 128,000
metric tonnes.
On the brighter side, the Famine Early Warning System
reported this week
that the government is ahead of schedule importing maize
following the
delivery of some 115,000 tonnes procured from Malawi, which
enjoyed a bumper
harvest.
FEWSNET said however that a large gap
remains to be filled, reiterating it
is worried about the limited
distribution capacity of the Grain Marketing
Board. Grain Marketing Board
management could not be reached for comment.
Harare consumer Taurai
Chidyausiku told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that his family is now baking its own bread using
maize meal - also in short
supply but still available at a price - instead
of wheat flour.
zimbabwejournalists.com
18th Aug 2007 00:32 GMT
By Trust Matsilele
LUSAKA - The Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) says the ruling Zanu PF is
greatly threatened by an
electoral defeat in next year's elections hence it
is against the drafting
of a new people-driven constitution.
The MDC says in an environment where
free and fair elections are promoted,
Zanu PF would not stand a chance to
win against the opposition party.
"The MDC has a strong constituency in
Zimbabwe which can not be equated to
that of ZANU PF," said Nqobizitha
Mlilo, the MDC's political liaison
officer, while addressing journalists in
Zambia on the sidelines of the SADC
summit.
"We know very well that
we can loose any elections if such environment
exists and the reason why
Zanu PF insists it will not accept a new
constitution is its fear of
defeat."
Zanu PF, alongside some elements in the South Africa's African
National
Congress (ANC), are saying there is not enough time to draft and
bring to a
referendum a new constitution as elections will be held early
next year.
However, leading civic societies in the region are dismissing
such a
suggestion saying its a way of ensuring that Zanu PF remains in power
as
President Mugabe enjoys the powers of handpicking those who run national
elections.
The MDC accuses Zanu PF of rigging all elections since the
formation of the
opposition party in 2000. The party says SADC should make
sure conditions of
free and fair elections are in place to ensure that there
is no contested
legitimacy.
National Constitution Assembly
Coordinator for South Africa, Tapera Kapuya
says a new democratic
people-driven constitution is the only solution to
Zimbabwe's
crisis.
"We can postpone the elections as the majority of Zimbabweans
feel it has
indeed offered Mugabe an upperhand in all elections held, hence
there needs
to be a constitution which is fair to all parties," he
said.
"If there is no enough time for a new constitution, why not
postpone
elections even to June? But we believe there is still enough time
for that,
already a constitution which Zimbabweans contributed to is
existent, why not
bring it for referendum," questioned
Kapuya.
Meanwhile CSO and the opposition MDC insist that they will not
participate
in an election that is pre-determined. Zanu PF is alleged to
have sponsored
some Zimbabweans to form a party called Zimbabwe People's
Party to avoid
running an election which would be boycotted by the
opposition.
zimbabwejournalists.com
18th Aug 2007 00:45 GMT
By a
Correspondent
LUSAKA - Leading Zambian opposition leader, Michael
Sata, has dismissed
reports that appeared in the Zimbabwe government
mouthpiece, The Herald this
week as malicious, outrageous and overzealous
journalism.
Sata was quoted as having gone out of his way to hail
President Robert
Mugabe's policies saying that was what Africa needed,
radical empowerment
policies to emancipate the suffering majority.
He
dismissed the story saying the paper's journalist "had tried hard" to
have
him say negative things about the opposition MDC party in Zimbabwe.
Sata was
quoted also as having attacked the MDC as a product of the West
being used
to try and topple the Zanu pF government after it embarked on its
unplanned
land reform programme.
"If someone comes to me and say Zimbabwe state
media practise extreme
propaganda I will not dispute because I now
understand. What kind of
journalism is that where one puts words in my
mouth," said Sata.
He said he was aware that by promoting death of
democracy in Zimbabwe, the
same situation would confront him in Zambia,
adding he would never go out of
his way to support anything that went
against the tenets of democracy.
"Promotion of political diversity is the
only way which can nurture our
young democracy; I cannot stand up and attack
Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC
as I know that their agenda is fighting for
democracy and political
tolerance," added Sata.
Responding to
Herald's Wednesday story, the MDC's Nqobizitha Mlilo said:
"The MDC
remains an African initiative, no Western sentiments or attachments
within.
Mugabe and his cronies are misrepresenting the real African image
where
democracy is tolerated. It is in Zimbabwe where political tolerance is
unacceptable hence all their allegations are out of focus."
East African
Standard (Nairobi)
OPINION
18 August 2007
Posted to the web 17
August 2007
Wene Owino
Nairobi
The timing could not have been
inappropriate. But right now 'democratic'
Kenya and Botswana have very
little bragging rights against despotic
Zimbabwe when the jury returns to
give its harsh verdict on which country
has passed draconian legislation
this month.
In Zimbabwe it was the discredited spy law. In Botswana it is
the
much-criticised Security and Intelligence law. In Kenya, it is the
ill-guided Media Bill.
In one month, the Botswana and Kenyan
parliaments have found it fit to enter
the hall of infamy with Zimbabwe by
passing unpopular Bills. If presidents
Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Robert Mugabe
of Zimbabwe and Festus Mogae of Botswana
are to appear before the jury for
judgement, the following would be the
result.
After a tough lecture
on democracy, Mogae and Kibaki would be told not to
sign such Bills into law
while the Botswana and Kenyan MPs would get a
thorough dressing down as
philistines and swines of civilisation.
The two presidents would come in
for a major onslaught for allowing such
legislation to be fathomed under
their watch. The harsh verdict: Kenya and
Botswana have undeniably flunked
the democratic test by passing these laws.
However, Mugabe and his MPs
would go scot-free with the following clincher:
"The jury has found it fit
to acquit and discharge you absolutely and
honourably on this charge because
we have come to the conclusion albeit
grudgingly that we expect nothing
better from you after several visits to
this court on similar
matters.
We look forward to your next appearance with great trepidation.
Fare thee
well mate." History will record that Africa's democratic journey
has
stumbled in Botswana and Kenya - two leading countries - in the same
month
that the eccentric Mugabe was committing a similar 'offence' in
Zimbabwe.
The good news is that Kenyan authorities seem to have had a
change of heart
and the highly unpopular Media Bill might not become law in
its current
form. In particular, chances are that the objectionable clause
that requires
journalists to disclose their sources in certain circumstances
will be
expunged.
The bad news is that the much criticised Security
and Intelligence Bill in
Botswana will become law in Africa's longest
running multiparty democracy.
Attempts by MPs to amend the Bill have been
frustrated by what they said was
a mixture of subterfuge and dictatorship by
the Cabinet minister that rammed
the legislation through Parliament, Phandu
Skelemani, a former Attorney
General.
Like the Media Bill in Kenya,
the Botswana legislation is waiting for
presidential assent. It is a
foregone conclusion that Mogae will sign what
many see as a monstrous Bill
unfit for a democracy into law.
While the most alarming clause in the
Kenyan Media Bill is the one on
disclosing journalists' sources, in Botswana
the concern has been that the
Security and Intelligence Bill gives too much
power to the State to snoop
into people's private affairs.
Some
Batswana have read dictatorial mischief in the Bill and wasted no time
in
comparing their country to Zimbabwe. They say the Bill is a sign that the
country's long cherished democracy is under threat because it will entrench
despotism and harassment of political opponents. Others suspect that the
Bill is a brainchild of Vice-President and former military chief Gen Ian
Khama who is due to succeed Mogae in March. Khama has been portrayed as a
man obsessed with Security Intelligence.
Whatever the case, it is
highly unflattering that somebody has seen it fit
to come up with scarecrows
like the Media Bill and the Security and
Intelligence Bill in era when
Africa has moved away from the dark days of
tyranny, the one party State and
military dictatorships.
In another era, such legislation would have been
small beer. Mugabe "signed
into law the controversial Interception of
Communications Bill, otherwise
called the spy law, gives his government the
authority to eavesdrop.
The law has also been called "the dictator's tool
kit". At a time like this,
African countries such as Kenya and Botswana
should be leading by examples
in deepening democracy. But like a dream gone
horrible they are trying to
rewind the democratic clock and harking back to
a bygone epoch.
Such things as the Media Bill and the Security and
Intelligence Bill belong
to the rusty dustbins of colonial or one-party
dictatorship history. In
Zimbabwe perhaps, but not in Kenya and
Botswana.
It is a serious indictment on Africa's democracy that the
thinking behind
the bills still obtain in our times.