The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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SOKWANELE

Enough is Enough

Zimbabwe 

PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!

 

Sokwanele reporter

 

Police swooped on an NCA Meeting in Bulawayo on Sunday (7th March) and arrested three prominent human rights’ activists.  The three, Jenni Williams, Patricia Khanye and Magadonga Mahlangu, are all believed to be members of WOZA, the Women of Zimbabwe Arise movement which is planning a number of protest marches across the nation on Monday 8th March.  The three women arrested are being held in police custody and unconfirmed reports indicate that they have been charged under Section 15 of the notorious Public Order and Security Act.

 

Ironically one of the evils against which the protest marches were directed is this very Act – which, WOZA had labeled one of the “abnormal children” produced by the present flawed “mother” Constitution.   The protest marches and prayers organised to coincide with International Women’s Day are scheduled to begin at 9.00 a.m. on Monday from the Central Baptist Church in Harare and St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Bulawayo.  In calling for support for these events WOZA said “Women in Zimbabwe are not celebrating, they are crying because they are being stripped of their rights”.     The heavy-handed police intervention at the NCA meeting and arrest of the three women campaigners surely provide dramatic proof of this claim.

Ends

Visit – www.sokwanele.com

 

 

 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

 

Women of Zimbabwe stand up and be heard.

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From: chipangali@netconnect.co.zw
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 12:04 PM
Subject: A Dark Cloud is slowly passing over Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage in Africa

Dear Animal Lover
 
A Plea for Help from the Orphaned Animals
of Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage in Zimbabwe, Africa
 
Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage is a Sanctuary for sick, injured & orphaned animals of Zimbabwe, Southern Africa.  Based on the outskirts of Bulawayo, we have just celebrated our 30th Birthday.  "Chipangali", meaning Open Friendly Country, was set up in 1973 by Vivian & Paddy Wilson & continues to be run by this wonderful couple to this day, together with their son Kevin, his wife Nicky & a staff of around 40 Zimbabweans.  An entirely barren 20 hectare piece of land saw the start of this great venture & since then a lot of hard work, dedication & determination have gone into building this wildlife haven.  Chipangali has overcome all the many obstacles laid in its path over some extremely harsh years & is currently home to over 250 animals, birds & reptiles, including leopard, lion, cheetah, hyaena, birds of prey, antelope, crocodile, the endangered black rhino & wild dog, & many more besides.
 
But day to day living in Zimbabwe is now becoming an increasing strain on one & all.  It has been a struggle for a long time of course, but Chipangali has always managed to work through each situation with strength & determination.  But we have reached the point where we need to ask for financial assistance from our good friends, the animal loving public.
 
Tourism is pretty non-existent, so we are having to rely heavily on our local impoverished population for financial support, which is simply not enough.  Our own Government quite unbelievably offers us no support.  Electricity charges have just risen by a staggering 400%, just in the last month alone, which has come as rather a horrific surprise to the Wilson family, as well as to the nation as a whole.  Telephone charges have just doubled, again this past month alone.  These increases are not new; they have been occurring on a regular basis for many months now & always without warning.  Just as people think they are doing OK, they receive a single bill demanding more than their monthly earnings.  Foodstuffs double, triple or even quadruple at the supplier's discretion at any time.  People's salaries may have doubled in the past year, if they are lucky, but none have tripled or quadrupled.  Our rate of inflation currently stands at over 1,000%, with the cost of borrowing at over 600%.  As you might imagine, this is utterly unlivable & unworkable for everyone striving to survive in this beautiful country.
 
Chipangali's Bush Camp is quiet & does not bring in the financial support it once did; our Curio Shop is rarely visited, those few visits rarely ending in a purchase being made; our popular Tea Room remains unstocked since before Christmas, thus no revenue can come from this valuable source; our number of Workers remains the same, as a necessity, but morale is incredibly low due to the low wages available to give them & the high cost of living, thus resulting in very low performance in work in all areas of the Orphanage.  Theft is an ever increasing problem we suffer.  Our animals are very hungry.  We need help in order to survive this difficult period.
 
The founder, Viv Wilson...
Viv Wilson is Zimbabwe's answer perhaps to David Attenborough.  A great conservationist since a young boy, Viv has taken on many remarkable challenges throughout his life & now in his early 70s, continues to do so.  Aside from his great achievements working with animals, his work in the field of research throughout much of Africa is also widely known throughout the world.  Many papers have been compiled, many books written, many surveys conducted.  An entire lifetime's dedication to the wildlife of Africa.  Perhaps you used to watch Orphans of the Wild on television, starring Viv in the main role, together with Marshall Thompson of Daktari fame.  I believe the world owes it to Viv Wilson to ensure his lifetime's work continues well into the future & that it does not go down with the rest of the country.  Unfortunately, right now, it is doing just that.
 
Living in Zimbabwe, the Orphaned Animals of Chipangali are really taking the strain from politics, in which they play no part.  Much of what we have here today is as a result of the continued & valued support of our Visitors, Adoption Sponsors & Donors.
 
This is a plea for further help in those areas
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Ways in which YOU might Help...
  • Friends or family might like to Adopt one of our adorable Orphans for themselves or for a loved one.
  • Perhaps a car boot sale or auction being held could donate its proceeds to the Orphaned Animals of Chipangali.
  • Your local Sports Club or School might like to adopt an Orphaned Animal as their Club Mascot!
  • Perhaps you know someone who is writing a book & who might be prepared to offer a small percentage of the proceeds as a contribution.
  • Maybe the local children in your area might be keen to organise fundraising events in their Schools, the proceeds of which could go to our Orphaned Animals.
  • A local community group such as The Lions, The Rotary Club, a gardening group, sporting groups, or other such groups of people, might wish to fund a single project, perhaps to refurbish an old, or build a new, Animal Enclosure, whereupon we would place a plaque on it stating that your Club paid for that particular venture.
  • You might be prepared to fund maintenance of & repairs to our research Vehicles (mostly Land Rovers), or the fuel used for our many valuable research expeditions into the National Parks of Zimbabwe.
  • Perhaps you know people (young or old) who might like to join our Overseas Volunteer Programme, be it for a week or some months, & experience hands-on contact with African Wildlife, whilst at the same time financially supporting Chipangali.
  • Or your Club might simply wish to make a Donation.
We very much look forward to hearing from you &
Hope that you are in a position to help us at this time.
 
With warm Regards from the Orphaned Animals of Chipangali
 
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----- Original Message -----
From: chipangali@netconnect.co.zw
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 2:52 PM
Subject: Adoption Form

 

Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage
Adoption Form
 

 

ANIMAL ADOPTION SCHEME

 

"Chipangali", meaning Open Friendly Country, has this year been celebrating its 30th Birthday! So much has evolved here at the Orphanage in those 30 years! Since its creation in 1973 when Vivian & Paddy Wilson bought an entirely barren 20 hectare piece of land, a lot of hard work, dedication & determination have gone into building this wildlife haven. Much of what we have here today is as a result of the continued & valued support of our visitors & adoption sponsors. We are now striving to find ways to involve the public with Chipangali’s activities & to welcome you into this great family of caring workers & much loved animals.

 

By choosing to adopt an animal from Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage, not only will you be helping to pay for its upkeep, you will also be offering it a far better chance of survival, a comfortable life here at the Orphanage & a more rewarding future. Many of our orphans become parents themselves &, although difficult, we strive to release many of these animals back into the wild. With this in mind, we will endeavour to keep you informed as to how the animal you have adopted is doing & if in fact it has been returned to the wild.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

The animals are divided into the six categories shown below, giving the approximate feeding & maintenance costs in Zimbabwe Dollars for each animal per month.  This is designed to give you the option to choose which animal you wish to support.

 

Category 1 - Z$3,000-5,000 per month

bushbabies, game birds, hedgehogs, lizards, love birds, parrots, small birds, small crocodiles, snakes, squirrels, terrapins, tortoises, waterfowl

 

Category 2 - Z$6,000-10,000 per month

baboons, bushbucks, duikers, genets, grysbok, klipspringers, large crocodiles, mongooses, monkeys, porcupines, steenbok

 

Category 3 - Z$11,000-15,000 per month

birds of prey, bushpigs, caracals, civets, cranes, flamingos, herons, honey badgers, impala, jackals, otters, reedbuck, servals, storks, warthogs, wild cats

 

Category 4 - Z$16,000-20,000 per month

eland, giraffe, kudu, tsessebe, waterbuck, wildebeest, zebra

 

Category 5 - Z$21,000-30,000 per month

cheetah, hyaena, leopards, wild dogs

 

Category 6 - Z$30,000-50,000 per month

lions, rhinos

 

Our collection of animals is continually changing and expanding. If the species you wish to adopt is not on the list or if there is anything more you would like to know about the Animal Adoption Scheme, please contact our Adoptions lady, Zoë.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

WHAT YOU RECEIVE IN RETURN FOR YOUR SUPPORT

 

Initially, as confirmation of your adoption, we will EMAIL you:

a Certificate & Photograph for you to print & put on display, showing which animal you have adopted, together with its name

 

a Data Sheet briefly outlining your adopted animal’s personal history & giving some interesting facts about its species, together with another photograph of your animal

 

an Entry Card entitling you to visit our Orphanage free of charge as often as you like

a Receipt of Payment to confirm we have received your payment safely

Subsequently, to keep you informed, we will EMAIL you:

a Newsletter every few months to fill you in on all the various comings & goings at the Orphanage, together with news of any research currently underway

Breaking News stories & photos allowing you to share in everything here at the Orphanage ~ re-releases, the arrival of new orphans, sad losses & on-site births

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 
YOUR DETAILS PLEASE
 
Full name :

 

Alternative email address :

 

Postal address :

 

Home/work/cell/fax numbers:

 

Animal you wish to adopt :

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

PAYMENT
 
I would like to pay : Z$
in what instalments : *annually/six monthly/quarterly/monthly
by which method : *paypal/cash/cheque/bank stop order
(*please delete as appropriate)
 
Our Bank Details:
Account Name : Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage
Bank Name & Address : Stanbic, Main Street, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Account Number : 0140082287601
 
Cheques: please make payable to Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage
 
Paypal: please visit our website www.chipangali.com, click on the Paypal icon & follow the simple instructions
 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

About us

Chipangali Wildlife Adoption Scheme

PO Box 1057, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

 phone: 00263-9-287739/287740 / fax: 00263-9-287741

(Town Office phone: 00263-9-286460/286603 / fax: 00263-9-286460)

Zoë Lapthorn chipangali@netconnect.co.zw (Adoptions) / chipanga@ecoweb.co.zw (Orphanage)

(Website) www.chipangali.com / www.chipangali.org / www.chipangali.co.zw

 

~~ The animals & staff at Chipangali thank you for your valued support ~~

 
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The Sun (UK)

Brit 'building Mugabe lair'
From CHRIS LOGAN
in Cape Town


A BRITISH businessman is building a £3million mansion believed to be a
bolt-hole for tyrant Robert Mugabe.

The corrupt Zimbabwean despot is thought to be paying for an eight-bedroom
house in South Africa, on Cape Town's Atlantic coast.

His finance minister Christopher Kuruneri has made several low-profile trips
there, taking large sums of US dollars.

The project in the trendy resort of Llandudno is run by 41-year-old Chris
Hayman, a divorced father of two who has lived in South Africa for years.

He refused to discuss the house, insisting: "I can't talk about any of our
clients."

The mansion has spectacular sea views and is set against a backdrop of
mountains.

It will have marble floors, balconies, a pool and a range of
computer-controlled gadgets.

Duran Duran star Simon Le Bon already has a house in the area, and David
Beckham and Elton John are rumoured to be looking.

Mugabe, 80 - dubbed the Hitler of Africa - fears being toppled after leaving
millions starving.
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The Herald (Glasgow)

'I just feel I am living in a prison cell'

VICKY COLLINS
March 08 2004

WHEN Able Miller arrived in Britain, he was just relieved to be safe. A
supporter of the opposition party in his homeland of Zimbabwe, he had been
shot and tortured by supporters of Robert Mugabe, the president, and said he
barely escaped with his life.
He was granted asylum, but two years on life in Britain has failed to
provide him with the security he craved.
"I was very grateful to be accommodated here. I wanted to restart my life
but now I just feel I am living in a prison cell," he said.
Mr Miller lives in the Red Road flats in the north of Glasgow where he said
he suffers constant racial abuse, mostly from gangs of children and
teenagers aged from 18 down to just 10.
"When I get into my car, they will throw things from the 30th floor of the
building. I have had golf balls thrown at me and bottles full of water," he
said.
"Sometimes, I get into the lift and they will be in there and say 'get out
you smelly black bastard'. Usually, you just have to walk away even though
they are just children.
"Recently, I was parking my car and all these children jumped on my car and
smashed the headlights, ripped the windscreen wipers off, banged on the car
all over.
"To see children doing that - I was totally shocked. I just had to leave
them with the car, I couldn't stop them."
Mr Miller has told the police of the more serious attacks, but said many
asylum seekers and refugees were too frightened to report such incidents.
It is not just young Scots who cause problems for asylum seekers in the
area.
"If I walk into a bar near my house, it just goes quiet. The last time I
went in, one guy asked me why I was dressed so smartly and I said because I
was at college and he said 'that is the worst mistake the British ever made,
teaching blacks'. I was told to leave the bar, but I hadn't done anything
wrong."
The Bilan family, Christians from the Lebanon, also live in the Red Road
flats. They are not black, and so are not such obvious targets, but still
they describe the local area as "threatening".
Joseph, his wife Slyvana, and their four children aged between five and 17,
never leave their flat after 6pm. Even when they go out during the day, they
go to great lengths to avoid the local gangs of youths.
Their vigilance may have helped them avoid serious confrontations, but it
makes for a lonely life.
Mrs Bilan, 35, said: "We are facing two racisms: one from the Scottish
teenagers who don't like asylum seekers, the other from the Muslim asylum
seekers who don't like Christians.
"From 6pm, I stay home. During the day, if I know people round here are
going to Asda, then I will go to Safeway."
The Bilans insist that the majority of people they meet are warm and
friendly and claim it is just the local teenagers who cause problems.
"Every time you go out they shout bad words at you," Mr Bilan said. "They
follow you and say terrible things.
"Sometimes I come back to the flat and they throw some mud or rubbish at me.
We are living in bad streets."
The city centre can also present problems.
Okwiri Rabwoni, from Uganda, had to have four stitches in his head after
being attacked with a bottle. The scar is still visible, three weeks after
the incident.
He said Knightswood, where he lives in a flat on the 17th floor of a
tenement, was relatively calm but said he frequently suffers abuse when
visiting friends or shopping elsewhere in Glasgow.
"I was attacked at the beginning of February. I was with a friend from
Burundi and we met a big gang of youths and were getting the usual abuse:
'nigger go home', things like that.
"My friend wanted to ask them why they were being so rude, but I said just
ignore it and we carried on. Then they threw a bottle at us. I didn't hear
it, I just felt it exploding on my head. It was 4pm, broad daylight."
It is not the first such attack, although the resulting wound was more
serious than others Mr Rabwoni has received.
"I was also attacked outside a supermarket last year," he said. "Again, it
was by a gang of 16 and 17-year-olds and they grabbed my groceries and when
I ran after them they threw the groceries all over the road.
"Then they started throwing stones at me. Luckily my taxi turned up then and
the driver was very brave and stopped for me. The gang was throwing stones
at the taxi as well."

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New Zimbabwe

Zim gang leaders smoked out by SA police



By Dominic Mahlangu
07/03/04
SOUTH AFRICAN police have launched a series of highly successful raids in
Hillbrow, Yeoville and Berea where gangs of armed bank robbers from Zimbabwe
have been holed up.

Last week we revealed that 80 percent of all armed robberies in South Africa
were carried out by highly-trained and armed gangs from Zimbabwe who planned
their operations across the border.

South Africa's City Press also reported that police were looking for more
than 100 Zimbabwean nationals, suspected of being behind these crimes.

This week's police raid in Hillbrow was a joint operation that involved
members of the crime intelligence unit and the violent crime unit from
Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga.

George Ndlovu, a Zimbabwean national, who was being sought in connection
with a number of serious crimes, was one of those arrested during the raid.
He was captured while partying at the Base nightclub in Hillbrow.

Police said they would conduct a thorough investigation into all allegations
against Ndlovu.

He was identified with the help of a portable finger-printing device, known
as the morpho-touch machine.

The system is the latest technology used by police to trace wanted
criminals.

Ndlovu was picked up together with another suspect whose name police could
not verify at the time. They believe that he has on numerous occasions
pretended to be a police officer.

Police spokesperson inspector Dennis Adriao said Friday's crackdown was only
the start of what is to become and extended anti-crime campaign.

He said "it will be carried out at other provinces and areas".

Police arrested a total of 138 people. Of these 30 were on the wanted list
for various crimes ranging from murder to rape and armed robbery. All 138
were illegal immigrants.

All those arrested are still in police custody and are expected to appear in
court this week.

According to Adriao, Friday's raid enabled police to gather substantial
information on a number of criminals' activities.

The operation also saw police seize two illegal firearms and ammunition,
cocaine and other drugs.

Gauteng provincial deputy police commissioner Afrika Khumalo recently said
there was clear evidence linking some of the highly-trained gangs from
Zimbabwe to about 80 percent of the bank robberies carried out in South
Africa.

Khumalo, who revealed how police were cracking down on cash-in-transit
heists, said last week that a number of meetings have taken place between
South African police and Zimbabwean authorities in order to stamp out the
tide of bank robberies carried out by Zimbabweans.

"We believe they have military training . . . Through our intelligence and
contacts with the Zimbabwean police we have been able to get information,"
Khumalo said.

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Business Day

Harare bids to woo back tobacco farmers

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Business Day Africa

A LANDMARK barter deal has been struck between Zimbabwe's defence ministry
and two Zimbabwean businesses that could see many of the country's displaced
former commercial tobacco farmers resume farming under military protection.

While the scheme does not address the issue of land ownership, it could
result in the return of some farmers to the farms to which they own title
deeds. But under the new plan, the farmers will lease the land from the
military, which has been ceded farms by the government.

The deal a revamp of a similar deal that failed in 2002 has been brokered by
Zimbabwean businessman Jonathan Fernandes, of Zimbabwe Aeronautical
Industries (ZAI), which is instrumental in marketing Russian technology and
related products in sub-Saharan Africa, and Sean Nicholson of Tobacco Sales.

The deal was initially brokered in July 2002 to meet Zimbabwe's farm
mechanisation programme, which at the time required a 250m line of credit.

The new programme which according to Fernandes has been approved by
President Robert Mugabe and is due to be signed off by air force chief
Perence Shiri will ultimately still fund this mechanisation programme, whose
intended beneficiaries are communal, old and newly settled, small-scale and
indigenous largescale commercial farmers.

It will also fund the purchase of military equipment for the armed forces.
The military and farming equipment is to be bought from Russia.

ZAI is to identify A2 farms (former white farms now occupied by unskilled
emergent black farmers) along with supporting infrastructure, on which
enough tobacco can be grown to raise the line of credit for the purchases.
Former commercial farmers will then be leased the farms to produce the
tobacco crop. In terms of  [internet version ends here...]
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