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One
of Zimbabwe's most senior journalists was arrested Saturday and
accused by
officials of defaming President Robert Mugabe.
The editor of the weekly
newspaper, Zimbabwe Independent, Iden
Wetherall, was arrested Saturday, after
his paper published a frontpage
report saying that Mr. Mugabe had diverted an
Air Zimbabwe aircraft from its
normal route this week, to fly him around
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Quoting unnamed Air Zimbabwe sources, the
newspaper said the
presidential trip had inconvenienced many passengers, and
caused the
struggling national carrier substantial financial
loss.
Mr. Wetherall was arrested shortly after Information Mnister
Jonathan
Moyo accused him of publishing a falsehood and insulting the
president.
Mr. Wetherall was taken by detectives to Harare Central
police
station. His lawyer, Linda Cook, said police said he would be charged
with
criminal defamation.
Also on Saturday, police refused to
allow staff of The Daily News to
enter the plant.
On Friday the
country's only independent daily newspaper won yet
another court decision
ordering police to allow the newspaper to resume
operations. It has been
banned since September.
The state-controlled newspaper, the Herald,
quoted officials as saying
they planned to appeal the high court order and,
in turn,Daily News
executives said they will charge the police with contempt
of court.
New Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Independent journalists arrested
By Staff
Reporter
10/01/04
POLICE arrested the editor of Zimbabwe's leading
independent weekly
newspaper on Saturday and two of his journalists after the
paper allegedly
insulted President Robert Mugabe, the editor's lawyer
said.
Iden Wetherell of the Zimbabwe Independent, a respected business
and
political weekly, was expected to be charged with criminal defamation
of
Mugabe, said their lawyer Linda Cook.
The paper reported on Friday
that Mugabe commandeered one of the heavily
indebted national airline's
wide-bodied jets for a vacation with his family
and a small party of aides in
Asia.
Cook said Wetherell, 55, was arrested at his Harare home and taken
to the
main Harare police station. She said reporters Dumisani Muleya and
Vincent
Kahiya were arrested later and police were looking for a third
Independent
reporter, Itai Dzamera.
Headed "Mugabe grabs plane for Far
East holiday", the report said many
passengers booked on the Boeing 767's
scheduled flights to London were
stranded in Harare while alternative flight
arrangements were being made.
Mugabe has taken several vacations in
Southeast Asia with his young wife and
children since he and other ruling
party leaders were barred from visiting
Europe and the United States under
visa restrictions imposed after disputed
presidential elections in
2002.
Independent election observers said the polls, narrowly won by
Mugabe, were
swayed by political violence, corruption and vote
rigging.
Mugabe was in Indonesia on Wednesday and paid a courtesy call on
President
Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Zimbabwe Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo described the Independent's
report as "blasphemous", the state
Herald reported Saturday.
Moyo, who is also acting transport minister,
denied Mugabe personally phoned
Air Zimbabwe, as implied in the report, but
did not deny the airplane was
diverted from its regular schedules for more
than five days.
Moyo said "this was not the first time the paper has
written lies that are
blasphemous and disrespectful of the
president".
Last month, the paper reported Mugabe took an airliner for
nine days for a
UN meeting in Geneva and a visit to Egypt, forcing the
national airline to
charter another jet for more than US$1m.
Mugabe
does not have his own presidential jet and has often thrown the
national
carrier's schedules into disarray by commandeering its planes.
Moyo said
Wetherell and his two reporters faced up to two years'
imprisonment for
allegedly defaming Mugabe.
Meanwhile, police in Harare on Saturday
continued to defy a High Court order
issued on Friday to allow the only
independent daily newspaper, banned in
September, to resume
publication.
Police blocked entry to the Daily News offices and printing
plant for a
second day.
Police Refuse To Leave Offices Of Banned Zimbabwe Paper
Copyright © 2004, Dow Jones Newswires
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)--Police
refused to leave the offices of
Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper,
even after it won its fourth
court ruling Friday ordering the government to
allow it to resume
publication after having been banned in
September.
High Court Judge Tendai Uchena ordered the government to
"cease
interfering with the operations of the paper and to vacate (its)
premises."
But when newspaper staff arrived at their offices in the
capital,
Harare, police refused to leave the premises, witnesses
said.
The government has ignored three similar orders since police
shut down
The Daily News and occupied its offices and printing factory on
Sept. 12.
"All depends on whether they are interested in obeying
the law or
not," said Guguletu Moyo, a lawyer representing the paper's
owners,
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe. "We have the backing of the court
- but
what will happen on the ground?"
Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo didn't immediately respond to
Friday's ruling. But he described
the last court order allowing the paper to
resume publishing on Dec. 19 as
"academic," saying the judge had no
jurisdiction over the case.
Since its launch in 1999, The Daily News has been a platform for
criticism of
President Robert Mugabe's 23-year rule. The state controls the
country's two
other dailies, and the only television and radio stations.
In
January 2001, its presses were destroyed in a bomb explosion hours
after Moyo
called the paper "a threat to national security which had to
be
silenced."
After its shutdown in September, the newspaper
launched an Internet
edition in neighboring South Africa.
(END)
Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2004 14:42 ET (19:42 GMT)
ABC Australia
Last Update: Saturday, January 10, 2004. 10:15am
(AEDT)
Zimbabwe Opposition leader remanded on treason charges
Zimbabwean
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai appeared briefly before a
Harare
magistrate on Friday, for a routine remand hearing on treason charges
arising
from mass anti-government protests he organised last year.
The Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) leader was remanded to March 19 on
accusations
that he urged Zimbabweans to oust President Robert Mugabe during
the June
protests.
Mr Tsvangirai told AFP he had been further remanded but would
not elaborate.
The state accuses Mr Tsvangirayi of inciting his
supporters to overthrow the
government and inciting public
violence.
The Opposition leader, who faces other treason charges, denied
that the
strikes and street marches were aimed at removing the long-time
leader from
power.
He said they were a demonstration of public anger
toward economic and social
strife that people were going through last
year.
Zimbabwe last year experienced acute shortages of food, fuel and
bank notes.
Mr Tsvangirai faces another treason charge arising from his
meetings with a
Canadian political consultant, Ari Ben Menashe, in which he
is accused of
plotting to kill Mr Mugabe ahead of presidential elections in
2002.
That case, which adjourned last month, resumes on January 19, when
the
Opposition chief is expected to take the witness stand for the first
time
since the high-profile trial began in February last year.
Treason
carries a death penalty in Zimbabwe.
-- AFP
From the February 2004 issue of World Press Review (VOL. 51, No.
2)
Africa
Zimbabwe: Mounting Isolation
Sarah Coleman
World Press
Review associate editor
“There are many other clubs we can join,” said
President Robert Mugabe on
Dec. 6, as he confirmed that Zimbabwe would
withdraw from the Commonwealth,
a group of nations comprising mostly former
British colonies. “If the choice
was for us to lose sovereignty, or be a
member of the Commonwealth, let the
Commonwealth go.”
Mugabe’s bravado
belied the fact that he had been lobbying hard for the
Commonwealth to revoke
its suspension of Zimbabwe, imposed as a result of
the country’s flawed 2002
general election. Prior to the Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meeting in
Abuja, Nigeria, from Dec. 5–8, Mugabe had put
pressure on the meeting’s host,
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, to let
him attend the meeting. When the
Commonwealth rebuffed both men’s efforts
and voted to uphold Zimbabwe’s
suspension, Mugabe was forced to pretend that
he no longer valued the
membership.
The government-owned press wasted no time putting a positive
spin on the
pull-out. “Quitting the Commonwealth is the best decision
Zimbabwe could
have made in pursuit of total political and economic
independence,” said
Donald Charumbira in The Herald (Dec. 11). Caesar Zvayi,
writing in the same
paper on Dec. 17, called the decision an “affirmation of
the nation’s
resolve for total emancipation from all forms of colonial
bondage.”
The few independent newspapers left in Zimbabwe told a
different story. The
Standard (Dec. 15) compared Mugabe’s actions to “the
last kicks of a dying
horse,” asking, “How else can one explain the crazy
decision on the part of
the government of Zimbabwe to pull the country out of
the Commonwealth?”
Reacting to Mugabe’s statement that some African nations
“hesitate to
express solidarity with us,” the Zimbabwe Independent wrote
(Dec. 5), “Of
course they do….Which African country wants to be associated
with the racist
demagoguery and suppression of democratic rights Zimbabwe has
earned
notoriety for?”
Other editorialists in Africa expressed similar
criticisms. “For us, the
real issue is all about the suppression of
opposition in Zimbabwe,” said an
editorial in Ghana’s Independent (Dec. 11).
“Mugabe has virtually gone
berserk in his attempts to prevent the growth of
opposition in Zimbabwe.”
Uganda’s The New Vision (Dec. 9) suggested that
“Zimbabwe is in free-fall”
and wondered, “Why then have the leaders of
Southern Africa been so
reluctant to condemn the political leadership of
Zimbabwe?” (The South
African Development Community, consisting of 14
Southern African countries,
issued a statement on Dec. 9 disagreeing with the
Commonwealth’s decision.)
In Nigeria, there were mixed feelings about the
suspension. In Vanguard
(Dec. 9), Chuks Iloegbunam complained that the
Commonwealth had double
standards, since Nigeria’s last elections were just
as flawed as Zimbabwe’s.
“Did not the European Union, the Carter Center, and
all the international
human-rights monitoring organizations pronounce
[Nigeria’s elections] deeply
flawed and riddled with irregularities,
intimidation, and rigging?” he
asked. In the Daily Trust (Dec. 9), Ujudud
Shariff saluted Mugabe “for
calling the bluff of the so-called Commonwealth
by pulling out of the
colonially rooted, imperialist-inspired and driven
organization.”
Three days after its suspension from the Commonwealth,
Zimbabwe faced
expulsion from another organization when the International
Monetary Fund
(IMF) began procedures to expel it for having arrears of US$273
million.
The decision “could only fuel negative perceptions,” predicted
The Financial
Gazette (Dec. 11), which urged Mugabe to “knuckle down to the
IMF conditions
to help reverse the country’s flagging fortunes.”
Other
commentators hoped that Zimbabwe’s growing isolation would hasten
Mugabe’s
political end. As the Zimbabwe Independent put it on Dec. 5, “The
world is
becoming a less safe place for even the most plucky tyrants.”
Archbishop:Hunger,Disease Killed 10,000 Zimbabweans In 03
Copyright © 2004, Dow Jones Newswires
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)--The
Roman Catholic archbishop in Zimbabwe's
western Matabeleland said Friday that
at least 10,000 people died of hunger
and diseases hastened by malnutrition
across the southern African country
last year.
Mike Huggins, a
spokesman for the U.N.'s World Food Program, said he
would be "highly
surprised" if Archbishop Pius Ncube's estimate was correct.
But he said that
scale of hunger was a "very real prospect for this year" in
the
drought-stricken country, also in the throws of political and
economic
turmoil.
Ncube, an outspoken critic of President Robert
Mugabe's rule, said the
figure was compiled from information collected by
church groups and
charities involved in distributing emergency food
aid.
"The situation is very bad because there are people who sit
four or
five days without any food, and there is no rain in Matabeleland
yet," Ncube
said in a telephone interview from Zimbabwe's second city,
Bulawayo. "Some
people are only plowing now, and the normal time is
November."
Malnutrition was exacerbating AIDS-related diseases,
which accounted
for a third of the 10,000 deaths, Ncube said. Up to a third
of Zimbabwe's 12
million people are infected with HIV.
"I can't
believe we wouldn't have known if that number of people had
died," Huggins
said. "And church groups should have come forward if that was
the
case."
The national government doesn't provide figures for
hunger-related
deaths, and the Health Ministry refused to comment on Ncube's
allegations
Friday.
Zimbabwe is facing its worst political and
economic crisis since
independence from Britain in 1980, with record
unemployment, rampant
inflation and acute shortages of food, gasoline and
other essentials.
The often violent seizure of thousands of white
owned farms for
redistribution to blacks, coupled with erratic rains, have
crippled the
agriculture of a nation that was once a regional bread
basket.
Foreign loans, development aid and investment have dried up
in protest
against human rights and civil liberties abuses.
The
World Food Program cut its maize meal rations for 2.6 million
hungry
Zimbabweans by half at the end of last year because of
insufficient
donations. Oil and pulses have been cut out altogether, Huggins
said.
But the number of people requiring food aid is increasing as
Zimbabwe
enters its traditional "lean season" where rural granaries become
depleted
ahead of the March harvest period.
As many as 6 million
people could need food aid in the first three
months of the year, according
to the independent Famine Early Warning
Systems.
For the first
time, hunger is also increasing sharply in urban areas.
City health
authorities in Bulawayo reported Thursday that 65 people
had died of
malnutrition-related diseases in the city in the past five
months. Most of
the victims were children between 9 months and 5 years old.
Mayor
Japhet Ndabeni Ncube said 45 hunger-related deaths occurred over
the same
period in 2002.
Distressed families were bringing children into the
city from
surrounding districts in hopes the opposition-controlled municipal
council
was distributing aid more fairly than in ruling-party areas, where
there
have been reports of food being used for political gain, the mayor
said.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2004 14:19
ET (19:19 GMT)
New Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe to defy High Court over Daily News
From The
Herald
10/01/04
ACTING Attorney- General Bharat Patel has instructed the
Civil Division of
the AG’s Office to appeal against a High Court decision
which granted an
order barring police from interfering with the operations of
Associated
Newspapers of Zimbabwe shut down for operating without a licence
in
September last year.
Patel said his office intended to appeal
against the ruling by Justice
Tendayi Uchena ordering police to stop
interfering with the paper’s
operations.
"I have instructed the civil
division to file the appeal at the Supreme
Court," Mr Patel said adding, "the
appeal should be filed as soon as
possible."
By last night it was not
clear whether the civil division filed a notice of
appeal, as the police
referred all questions to the AG’s Office.
Media and Information
Commission lawyer Mr Johannes Tomana said the order
granted yesterday did not
say the paper should resume operations.
"It’s a question of looking at
the order itself. Nothing in the order says
it should resume operations. It’s
about the police being asked to vacate ANZ
premises," said Mr
Tomana.
He said the Supreme Court would determine whether ANZ had
complied with its
judgment, which said it should not operate outside the
law.
"The question of compliance is still to be determined by the Supreme
Court.
The position of MIC could not be interfered with," he
said.
"Our position remains. As long as the appeal against the exercise
of the
jurisdiction which led to the order of which is still pending they
(ANZ)
cannot publish."
Mr Tomana said if the ANZ proceed to publish on
the basis of Justice Uchena’
s ruling they would find themselves on the wrong
side of the law.
In his ruling yesterday, Justice Uchena granted ANZ an
order stopping the
police from interfering with its operations and end their
occupation at the
newspaper group’s premises in the city centre and the
industrial site.
He said the court found that the police had no
reasonable grounds to
blockade the premises of the troubled newspaper
group.
In an urgent chamber application yesterday, ANZ wanted the police
to be
barred from its premises and interfering with the normal business
activities
of the media house and its employees.
Through their lawyer
Advocate Eric Matinenga, ANZ argued that police
occupation of its premises
was clear act of spoliation, which was unlawful.
Adv Matinenga said the
ANZ was simply denied the right to exercise its
rights in terms of the
judgment lawfully obtained in October last year to
have it resume
operations.
The police, he said, had shown an open defiance to the order
granted by the
Administrative Court.
Mrs Fatima Maxwell who
represented the police had denied that the action
taken by her clients was
unlawful.
Mrs Maxwell said police were deployed at the ANZ premises after
receiving a
complaint from the MIC, which feared the newspaper group, would
breach the
law and publish.
In her submissions, Mrs Maxwell echoed the
sentiments of the MIC Chairman Dr
Tafataona Mahoso that "it is a common law
position that an appeal suspends a
judgment appealed against."
The
police in their papers filed in court said the deployment of the police
force
at the ANZ premises was meant to ensure that the Daily News was not
printed
and not to prevent its employees from entering the building.
"Police has
a constitutional obligation to deal with, by taking the action
being
challenged," read one of the affidavits filed in the record
of
proceedings.
The ANZ, police argued, had not founded its claim on a
clear legal right.
Last month Bulawayo- based Administrative Court
president Mr Selo Nare gave
ANZ leave to execute a judgment, which allowed
them to publish.
Mr Nare allowed the ANZ to carry into effect the
judgment of the
Administrative Court sitting in Harare on October 24 last
year, pending the
appeal by the MIC at the Supreme Court.
In his
ruling, Mr Nare said, the order should remain in force and
effect
notwithstanding the filing of any notice of appeal against it by
MIC.
But the Government said the ruling by the Administrative Court to
allow the
paper to resume publishing did not mean the paper could resume
operations
because the ruling was academic and could not be
enforced.
MIC immediately, appealed at the Supreme Court against Mr
Nare’s judgment
saying he had erred in holding that its appeal over the
jurisdiction of the
Administrative Court had no prospect of success -
Herald
The Herald
Independent story on President absurd, criminally false:
State
Chief Reporter
ACTING Minister of Transport and Communi-cations
Professor Jonathan Moyo
yesterday said the British-controlled Zimbabwe
Independent should be
prepared to face the wrath of the law for writing lies
about President
Mugabe "commandeering an Air Zimbabwe plane to ferry him
around the Far
East."
Prof Moyo, who is also the Minister of State for
Information and Publicity
in the Office of the President, said the claim that
the President called and
demanded a plane to Malaysia was not only absurd but
also criminally false.
"Those behind this deliberate falsehood calculated
to bring the Office of
the President into disrepute must be held
accountable.
"Accordingly, the relevant authorities are looking at the
issue in terms of
the law and the British-controlled paper which calls itself
Zimbabwe
Independent when there is nothing Zimbabwean about it should prepare
to meet
the law and this means its editor and the two writers will be held
to
account for their lawless and fictitious claims," said Prof
Moyo.
The Minister said it was a reckless falsehood to say that the
President
called Air Zimbabwe, as there was no record of him doing that
anywhere.
He said the story was worse than fiction and that is why it
should be
treated as a criminal act.
In its latest edition, the
Zimbabwe Independent led with a story titled:
"Mugabe grabs plane for Far
East."
The authors of the article, Itai Dzamara and Dumisani Muleya wrote
that
sources at Air Zimbabwe had said that the President called the airline
while
still in Malaysia "to send the 767-200, which had to be
dispatched
immediately to take him to Jakarta."
"He called on Monday
and demanded the plane and it was sent to Malaysia
immediately. The plane
left with a number of containers in it apparently to
carry goods and was due
to be away for five days.
"A lot of passengers travelling between Harare
and London who use that plane
were left stranded," read part of the
story.
Prof Moyo said it was now obvious that there were true
criminal-minded
people at Air Zimbabwe who have no respect for business
ethics and who have
a political agenda which makes them collude with British
stooges at the
Zimbabwe Independent.
This is not the first time that
the paper has written lies that are
blasphemous and disrespectful of the
President.
They wrote a similar story when President Mugabe attended the
world summit
on the Information Society in Geneva last month.
The
Minister said there was an established pattern of criminal collusion
between
the some Air Zimbabwe officials and reporters at the paper.
"The time has
come to bring the conspiracy to an end. Whoever has been doing
this at Air
Zimbabwe has run out of time and we will not tolerate the rot
anymore," he
said.
Section 80 of the amended Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy
Act states that a journalist who abuses his or her journalistic
privilege by
publishing "(a) information which he or she intentionally or
recklessly
falsified in a manner which-
"(i) threatens the interests
of defence, public safety, public order, the
economic interests of the State,
public morality or public health; or
"(ii) is injurious to the
reputation, rights and freedoms of other
persons;..
"A. knowing the
statement to be false or without having reasonable grounds
for believing it
to be true; and (B). recklessly, or with malicious or
fraudulent intent,
representing the statement shall be guilty of an offence
and liable to a fine
not exceeding level seven or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding two
years."
Prof Moyo said normal civilised people expect better than the
rubbish
published by the paper and said those responsible at Air Zimbabwe
knew too
well that there has never been any time that any of the planes at
the Air
Zimbabwe had been commandeered.
In a statement, Air Zimbabwe
managing director Mr Rambai Chingwena said the
airline was deeply disturbed
by the article.
"The President never commandeers any aircraft. Rather,
the Office of the
President gives ample notice to the airline whenever there
is a charter and
in this instance we were given two weeks notice.
"The
airline was more than happy to oblige since this is low season when
the
airline generally has excess capacity," said Mr Chingwena.
He said
there had been no schedule disruptions as a result of the President’
s
commercial charter to the Far East.
Mr Chingwena said it was
disappointing to note that the authors of the
article did not seek official
comment from Air Zimbabwe.
Chairman of the Media and Information
Commission Dr Tafataona Mahoso said
the commission would look into the Act
and see how the law provides in terms
of dealing with such cases.
"We
will look at what the law provides and see what can be done," said
Dr
Mahoso.
He said on the face of it was clear that there was
something wrong with the
story.
"The story is suggesting that the
President is reckless. The people there
are very sensitive about protocol and
that is not the way the Government of
Zimbabwe behaves," said Dr
Mahoso.
He said even if the President was on leave, his visit to the Far
East was
crucial in that it was part of the new economic re-orientation of
focusing
on the East rather than the traditional West.
Dr Mahoso said
it was obvious that the purpose of the story was aimed at
protecting the
interest of the old orientation.
Air Zimbabwe like any other airline
charters theirs plane and when a charter
is booked it is always paid for even
when it is used for Presidential trips.
The airline also said it was
given adequate notice by the protocol office
for the commercial use of its
aircraft for the President’s visit to Geneva
last month.
It denied
that the President phoned to arrange his travel plans.
"It is
unreasonable to suggest that a national President would phone an
airline in
order to arrange his travel when he has an office of protocol to
handle such
issues.
"The fact of the matter is that the office of protocol gives
adequate notice
for a Presidential flight. The suggestion that the President
demanded an
aircraft is a complete distortion of the amicable relationship
that exists
between the airline and the office of protocol," the airline
said.
It also denied that it had lost $3 billion in revenue as a result
of the
Presidential charter.
"Infact Air Zimbabwe turns to charter out
aircraft to increase revenue
during the low season.
"For example the
airline managed to get charter business to Ghana and
Cameroon in the recent
past and earned additional revenue."
Air Zimbabwe also dismissed the
Independent’s claims that it had a depleted
fleet.
"It’s not true that
the airline’s fleet had depleted but rather the airline
has enough aircraft
to meet its volume of business. The aircraft used by the
President on his
current trip to the Far East was not scheduled to operate."
[Refer to the article published by the Herald "President has no
properties
outside Zim" - https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/jan10_2004.html
]
From ZWNEWS: The following article appeared in the print
edition of the Mail
& Guardian of 1-8 January, in the section entitled
Not the Mail & Guardian.
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 1-8
January
Luxury wine estate for Bob
Not the M&G
reporter
Sources close to Not the Mail & Guardian have revealed that
a luxury wine
estate near Stellenbosch, including it's winery and classic
Cape Dutch
homestead, has been acquired by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The
estate and it's building are being prepared and will be set aside as
a
retirement home for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. It is
understood
that certain alterations and additions, mainly to do with
increased
security, are being installed. These are believed to include the
erection of
a 6 metre high-tension electric fence and armed sentry posts. The
reported
cost of the estate Rust Ain Kalmheidt (Original High Dutch for rest
and
calmness) was in excess of R32-million. The purchase was approved by
the
Cabinet as a "gesture of goodwill to one of Africa's bravest fighters
and
most strident voices against the evils of colonialism". It is believed
the
Cabinet was unanimous in it's decision to purchase the
property.
By the time the Not the M&G went to the press there had
been no response to
questions put by fax to the Department of Foreign
Affairs. One of these
questions was whether the purchase of a retirement
residence for Mugabe was
necessary in the light of his already having
commissioned a R72 - million
rand luxury retirement palace outside Harare. A
Not the M&G reporter
telephoned the Department of Foreign Affairs. A man
identifying himself as a
junior member of the department, said he had picked
up a phone entirely by
mistake when he heard it "going on and on ringing".
Asked about the purchase
of the wine estate he said he had no clearance to
speak on behalf of the
department or the minister. "all the important foreign
affairs people are
overseas on another one of Thabo Mbeki's state visits. We
haven't see them
for months."
Pressed, he said that, speaking
entirely off the record, he understood that
the opinion in the department was
that in Zimbabwe there would always be a
threat to the personal safety of
Mugabe from "those traitorous elements in
Zimbabwe society who refuse to
acknowledge the statesmanlike and visionary
leadership of Mugabe", Who he
describes as "a titan of the African soil."
There had to be somewhere
completely safe for him, and of a style
appropriate and fitting for his
eminence among world leaders. The foreign
affairs staff member refused to
give his name. Asked to comment on the
purchase of the wine estate, Douglas
Gibson of the Democratic Alliance said
he would do so as soon as he'd got in
a new supply of Extra Strength Prozac.
Zimbabwean ruling party politician arrested
www.chinaview.cn 2004-01-11
01:48:10
HARARE, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Phillip Chiyangwa,
the flamboyant SOKWANELE Enough
is Enough We have a fundamental right to freedom of
expression! Sokwanele reporter 10 January
2004 Zodwa Sibanda A Woman of
Valour Zodwa
Sibanda died on December 24
after battling a long illness. Her death
marks the end of a life symbolized by a remarkable dedication to family,
community and country. This powerful
and committed woman carried enormous energy into every facet of her life, as
wife to Gibson Sibanda for thirty four years, mother to four children,
political activist, community worker and
entrepreneur. Her husband,
Gibson Sibanda, is vice president of the Movement for Democratic
Change(MDC). Born
Ntombizodwa Elnora Mbambo on April 3, 1946 in Donkwedonkwe village in the Kezi
District, Sibanda established her vigorous reputation in fighting for the
rights of women, promoting self-help projects and developing business
creativity at a young age. She was a
powerful political ally to Gibson, a former secondary schoolmate and sweetheart
whom she married in April 1969. The Sibanda’s cut their political teeth early in
the country’s struggle for independence against the oppressive Smith regime. She
was a fighter who believed passionately in the liberation of her motherland and
in the empowerment of society and especially women, as reflected in her work
with non-government organizations and community groups that fought poverty,
hunger and unemployment. A dynamic
source of creativity, Sibanda at her death was running her own consultancy and a
shop trading in cultural arts and crafts. She is remembered for her deep seated
respect for her cultural roots and dedication to the preservation of her
heritage. Her strong
traditional roots are evident in the upbringing of her children, her
relationships with relatives, friends and associates. “She was a strong character driven by
conviction and leadership in all spheres of her womanhood,” Gibson said of his
wife of 34 years. “She was passionate about respect and she inculcated that
virtue in everyone she was privileged to interact with. She was my right hand
both in trade unionism and in politics.” Growing up
in rural Kezi, Ntombizodwa was the last child in a family of seven girls and one
boy born to Sifunela and Janet Mbambo. Her family lineage has a sprinkling of
royal blood through her grandfather, Jozana, the chief of Emambanjeni. Jozana
served as regimental commander to King Lobhengula, the last of the Ndebele
monarchs. But the chieftaincy of Emambanjeni did not pass on to Sifunela.
Ntombizondwa lost her mother while she
was still on the breast, so her paternal aunts raised Zodwa through her early
days at Donkwedonkwe and Mbembeswana Primary Schools. She attended secondary
school at Tegwani Mission run by the Methodist Church, where she completed her
GCE Ordinary level. It was at this school that she met her future husband,
Gibson who was her senior. Gibson
proudly recalls that Zodwa was a sportswoman of note, never missing out on a
game of netball and athletics. Their fate was sealed after high school when
Gibson entered formal employment and politics. While Gibson entered the arena of
trade unionism under the Railways, Zodwa was not far behind working underground
as secretary of the Bulawayo district for the People’s Caretaker Council (PCC).
Later she was invited to be the secretary for Bulawayo province under Joshua
Nkomo who then led the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), a position that
saw her being jailed for political activism. She was detained, alongside
her husband, for a year in 1977 by the Smith government. After independence in
the mid-1980s, she was again detained, this time by the Mugabe government, for
six months on suspicion of "political subversion". Those who did
not know her would have concluded that the jail terms had killed her political
zeal, but it was merely subdued temporarily. She left the
political limelight after Zimbabwe’s independence and entered the world of
business as a leading innovator and consultant. Armed with a secretarial course
and qualifications in the management of Boards, Decentralised Cooperation
Programmes and Skills Training, Zodwa laid a solid foundation in a career in
business. She was at one time President of the Women in Business in Bulawayo and
sat on the boards of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), Matabeleland
Development Foundation and Small Enterprises Development Corporation (SEDCO).
She also played a leading role in her work as the Secretary General of Insiza
Development Association, and the Indigenous Business Development Corporation
(IBDC) for the Bulawayo region. Sibanda also served as President of the
Professional Women of Matabeleland Region, an empowerment grouping. Her
qualities as a businesswoman were recognized when she went to Nigeria to receive
an award for outstanding leadership from the National Federation of Business and
Professional Women. For more than 15 years
Zodwa Sibanda worked at Jairos Jiri Centre in charge of the Craft Shop which
promotes crafts made by the handicapped and later she played an instrumental
role in expanding the craft shop concepts to all major centres in the country.
It was her love for crafts that gave birth to the Rural Cottage and Craft, a
business that became her hallmark. Although Zodwa
Sibanda expended much energy in her business pursuits, raising a
family was a greater challenge. Sibanda raised her three girls, Sibongile,
Zanily and Thandi and a son, Mbuso. It was in
1998 with the birth of Zimbabwe’s first opposition party, the MDC, that the
political embers in Sibanda’s heart were rekindled. She was back on familiar
turf, supporting and encouraging her husband, Gibson who overwhelmingly won the
Nkulumane Parliamentary Seat. Nkulumane residents reflect on Zodwa Sibanda’s
determination to change the lives of many in her husband’s constituency by
establishing social work programmes for the vulnerable and the aged. She sourced
and donated clothing, food and blankets for those in need. It is not surprising that when spouses of MDC
parliamentarians sought a leader
they chose
her as the chairperson of the MDC’s Spouses Association. Once again Zodwa Sibanda, a woman with three grown
children, a "gogo" or grandmother in the local idiom of her Ndebele culture, was
leading women to stand up against political oppression. "Women need to stand up
and fight for themselves," she said, explaining why she joined Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA)."Most women don't know how powerful they are," said
Sibanda. The Zimbabwe police threw her in jail on
Feb. 14 2003 with 16 other women and two men for daring to protest. Their crime
was walking on city sidewalks on Valentine's Day, passing out roses with notes
calling for an end to Zimbabwe's state-sponsored violence. This was her fifth time in jail, but the
first where police showed so little respect to female arrestees that they forced
them to strip in the presence of male officers. It is not
only the Sibanda’s who have lost a celebrated wife and mother but the country’s
political, civic and business communities are robbed of the ever smiling Zodwa.
Her legacy is an inspiration to all who believe in justice and
action.
ruling Zimbabwean African National Union - Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF)
politician, was arrested Saturday on allegations of obstructing the
course
of justice.
Police Assistant Commissioner Wayne
Bvudzijena said the chairman
of the Mashonal and West Province of the ZANU-PF
was picked up at his house
in the morning.
"We picked him up
this morning on allegations of obstructing the
course of justice," said
Bvudzijena.
Bvudzijena said the date when Chiyangwa would
appear in court
would depend on progress of investigations.
He said police had been investigating allegations against the
Chinhoyi Member
of Parliament. His appearance in court as a witness in the
ENG Capital
Holdings saga was part of the process to ascertain
his
blameworthiness.
Bvudzijena said Investigations had now
been completed and police
were satisfied that he had a case to
answer.
Chiyangwa got implicated in the ENG Capital Holdings
for his role
in protecting the two directors of the asset management company
who are
facing charges of defrauding investors of more than 61 billion
Zimbabwean
dollars (about 74 million US dollars).
Some
vehicles belonging to the youthful directors were recovered
at his
house.
The ENG Capital Holdings itself collapsed after it
failed to
payback 61 billion Zimbabwean dollars owed to
investors.
Its directors, Nyasha Watyoka and Gilbert Muponda,
were
subsequently arrested and eight of their 18 luxury cars were seized by
the
police.
Chivangwa was summoned to court to explain his
involvement in the
saga.
In his evidence Chiyangwa openly
threatened to deal with the
police officer who brought the allegations that
he had interfered with
investigations.
Chiyangwa refused to
withdraw the threat when he was ordered todo
so by magistrate Mishrod
Guvamombe. Enditem
JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
justice@telco.co.zw with "For Open Letter
Forum" in the subject
line.
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Letter
1:
Yes we are indeed praying and have contacted others to pray too. We
are
praying that Kay may live and not die and show forth the Glory of God.
Be
assured that prayer chains around NZ will be praying for Kay as
they
receive the message. We intend to send a Bank Transfer to the clinic
where
Kay is.
God bless you for your stand for righteousness and
exposing works of evil.
In Jesus precious name
John and Bev
Reid
Letter 2:
Dear Sir,
*Is it correct that the CFU
leadership is trying to undermine the
democratically elected leadership of
the farmers in Matabeland - there by
causing further problems of division for
farmers, and Matabeleland farmers
in particular?
*Is this the ultimate
step in attempting to destroy a cohesive group of
farmers that have stood by
the law, and in this case have stood by their
own leadership - in keeping
with Matabeleland tradition since Humphrey
Gibbs was at the helm?
*Has
CFU leadership become a disciple of Robert Ardrey? "The possessor of
high
dominant rank wields mysterious powers just as does the
territorial
proprietor."
*If CFU leadership still believes that it
possesses high rank in
Matabeleland, how is it that they only want to have
meetings with little
groups rather than the whole troop?
*Do they only
have mysterious powers with little groups rather than the
whole
troop?
*Is this selected minority of troop members much more subservient
in little
groups, perhaps?
*Is there perhaps an advantage for the
dominant rank holder, where each
little group of subserviants does not really
know what happened in the
other little group of subservient?- there by
attempting to make the powers
seem even more mysterious?
*If CFU
leadership does have any mysterious powers - is it not time that
they
displayed them for the benefit of what used to be the whole
troop?
*Finally, is this going to be a contest between imagined
'dominant' rank
and real territorial proprietorship - a new facet not really
covered by
Ardrey, perhaps?
*Has this not been covered by The News
(locally) when it was stated that
"America must realize that when our
'sovereignty is threatened it will come
ricoshitting' back at
them?"
The troop is poised to watch a good final it
seems.
Ricoshitting
Trooper.
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All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
Zimbabwe
PROMOTING
NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY