The ZIMBABWE Situation
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'Mix up delays inflation figures'
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Nokuthula Sibanda Monday
25 May 2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's government Central
Statistical Office (CSO) has delayed
issuing inflation figures for April as
a result of a mix up in data
collection, a senior CSO official has
said.
The figures which were scheduled to be released on April 10, will
now be
released at a later date.
"There was a mix up in the data
collection so we could not issue the monthly
inflation figures for April,"
the CSO official, who did not want his name to
be published because he is
not authorised to speak to the media, told
ZimOnline at the
weekend.
CSO director Moffat Nyoni, could not be reached for
comment.
Zimbabwe's month-on-month inflation for March shed 0.1
percentage point from
the February rate to minus three percent, as the cost
of food and non-food
commodities dropped again.
Statistics revealed
that month-on-month food inflation stood at minus 1.81
percent, shedding
0.99 percentage points on the February rate of 2.80
percent.
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who joined his long-time rival President
Robert
Mugabe in a power-sharing government, has prioritised the rebuilding
the
shattered economy, since taking office in February.
The southern African
country has stopped measuring inflation in local
Zimbabwe dollar terms since
the government legalised the use of the American
dollar alongside a basket
of foreign currencies for all trade.
The last official assessment of
Zimbabwe's inflation when the local dollar
was in use came in July last year
when it was put at 231 million percent, a
figure that independent economists
saw as a gross understatement.
Inflation, once described by Mugabe as
Zimbabwe's number one enemy, had come
to symbolise a dramatic economic and
humanitarian crisis also seen in acute
shortages of food and basic
commodities, amid a cholera epidemic that
infected more than 90 000 people
and killed more than 4 000 others.
Analysts see a unity government as
providing the best opportunity to revive
Zimbabwe's economy once held as a
model for other African countries.
The inclusive government says it needs
more than US$8.5 billion over the
next three years to rebuild the crumbling
infrastructure and haul the
country's economy from ruin.
But the new
Harare administration faces an uphill task raising resources for
its
recovery programmes with Western governments that have capacity to
bankroll
Zimbabwe's reconstruction insisting they will not provide support
until they
see evidence Mugabe is committed to genuinely sharing power with
Tsvangirai.
- ZimOnline
Zanu-PF
defies Tsvangirai
http://news.iafrica.com
Sun, 24 May 2009 08:35
The information ministry in
Zimbabwe has insisted that journalists must have
a licence to work despite a
directive by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The Ministry of Media,
Information and Publicity is in Zanu-PF hands and it
has chosen to directly
defy an order by Tsvangirai.
The prime minister raised the hopes of
reporters this week when he said
foreign and local journalists did not need
to have press cards.
He said the notorious Media and Information
Commission, headed by Zanu-PF's
Tafataona Mahoso, no longer had a
mandate.
On Saturday the information ministry told all reporters they
would be
required to apply for press cards from the commission and if
journalists
intend to cover the Comesa Summit next week foreigners will have
to pay up
to R2000.
The battle for a free press in Zimbabwe is not
over yet and it is being
fought at the highest levels.
Eyewitness
News
South African Official Opposition demands release of Zimbabwe
report
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
24
May 2009
By Ellis Ncube
Johannesburg-South Africa's official
opposition party, the Democratic
Alliance (DA) has called for the South
African Presidency to release the
report compiled by a group of retired army
generals to assess the role of
the Zimbabwean security forces in exerting
violence during last year's
elections.
The army generals were
appointed by former President Thabo Mbeki as part of
South Africa's extended
mediation team to resolve the political crisis in
Zimbabwe. They compiled a
report which was submitted to the Presidency, but
the report was never
released to the public despite numerous requests from
civil society
groups.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki failed to provide reasons
for the
government's refusal to release the report.
"This report could go
a long way in shedding the much-needed light on the
many human rights
violations that characterised Zimbabwe's elections last
year. The victims of
the political violence in Zimbabwe will never have
closure until those who
were complicit in those atrocities are exposed" said
Athol Trollip,
parliamentary leader of the DA.
"News reports continue to emerge to this day
from Zimbabwe of political
intimidation and human rights abuses and the
contents of this report would
help us understand the dynamics that lie at
the heart of it, and the actions
that need to be taken to end any form of
political intimidation or violence
in Zimbabwe" he added..
The previous
administration's secrecy in dealing with the political
situation in Zimbabwe
has created the perception that South Africa is
protecting Robert Mugabe's
regime. If the Zuma administration does not
release the report, it will
reaffirm this perception.
The DA said they will continue to pressurise the
Presidency to ensure that
this report is made public.
Zuma facing
first Zim test
http://news.iafrica.com
Article By: Jean-Jacques Cornish
Fri, 22 May 2009
12:07
President Jacob Zuma faces his first foreign policy test on
Zimbabwe.
The troubled Southern African country has been given a seal of
approval by
its regional neighbours as its unity government reaches the
100-day
landmark.
Regional group SADC has been asked to break
Zimbabwe's deadlock over the
appointment of the central bank chief and the
attorney-general.
With South Africa currently leading the 15-nation
grouping, this puts the
load squarely on Zuma's shoulders.
SADC,
headed by Zuma's predecessor Thabo Mbeki, brokered Zimbabwe's
power-sharing
deal.
The development community's Tomaz Salamao says the region has not
been
officially informed of any deadlock in Harare.
He insists SADC
is very satisfied with the progress made by the inclusive
government.
Eyewitness News
Zimbabwe in
Transition: A 100-Day Report Card
http://www.time.com/
By A TIME Correspondent in Harare Saturday,
May. 23, 2009
It's been 100 days since Zimbabwe passed from crisis into
the hands of the
strange and strained partnership of the President Robert
Mugabe, who has
ruled autocratically since 1987, and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, who
defeated Mugabe in a controversial election last year but,
despite intense
international pressure, was not able to oust him from
power.
Not everything is bad. Tsvangirai has made some progress in
resurrecting
Zimbabwe's all-but-dead economy. Schools that closed in
September last year
after teachers went on strike have re-opened.
Zimbabweans can now buy basic
goods in shops that were not available for 10
years such as maize meal,
sugar, cooking oil and salt (these had to be
purchased in neighboring
Botswana and South Africa and brought into the
country). "I think they have
done a lot," says economist John Robertson,
"but prices must go down and
that will only happen only when production
improves." He adds, "Our [labor
costs] are still high compared to other
countries in the region."
Infrastructure and sanitation remain huge
problems. Major roads are still in
need of repair; large towns still do not
have safe tap water. Meanwhile,
schools cannot provide students with
textbooks; and civil servants grumble
over the $100 monthly salary they
receive. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe owes
international financial organizations more
than $1 billion. While the World
Bank has agreed to resume aid to Zimbabwe
for the first time since 2000 with
a tentative $22m grant, bigger loans will
only resume after Harare retires
its debt.
Western aid could help
alleviate some aspects of Zimbabwe's perpetual
crisis. Zimbabwe is looking
for about $8.5bn to revive its battered economy
but Western donors have
refused to release meaningful amounts of development
aid until the new
government shows evidence of true reform. Robertson
asks,"Is Mugabe willing
to meet the conditions [set by the West] of rule of
law etc.... He has shown
he is not ready to do so." He adds, "Unless the
west comes in, things like
cholera outbreaks will remain as we cannot afford
to replenish our water and
sewage system."
The sticking point is democratic freedoms, particularly
the right of
journalists to report the news. Prime Minister Tsvangirai had
declared that
all the banned foreign media organizations - such as CNN and
BBC - were now
free to operate from Zimbabwe. But Mugabe's faction has not
made operating
easy, especially for the local reporters that the foreign
media often hire
to help gather information.
The plight of Zimbabwean
journalists remains dire. Earlier this month, two
Zimbabwe Independent
editors, Vincent Kahiya and Constantine Chimakure were
arrested for
publishing a story the government said was "materially false
and meant to
make the public develop hatred towards the police." The paper
had written a
story revealing names of police officers who had allegedly
tortured human
rights activists in jail. "It seems there is still a long way
to go in so
far as human rights issues are concerned," says Leonard Makombe,
a political
commentator."That might strangle the government as it depends on
Western aid
for survival. That aid can only come if human rights violations
and media
freedom is seen to be done and not talked about."
The government has not
repealed draconian media laws nor introduced a new
media governing board as
promised. Says Makombe, "The much talked about 100
days have gone by and it
is still no show. All [politicians] talk about is
the economy and why so and
so has not released funds yet they have other
major issues to
address."
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai accuses Mugabe of making unilateral
decisions in
appointing senior government officials such as the attorney
general, the
central bank head and diplomats. The Prime Minister's political
party, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has since called on the
Southern
African Development Community (SADC) - which brokered the
power-sharing
deal - to mediate between it and Mugabe's party, the Zimbabwe
African
National Union (ZANU). The MDC accuses Mugabe and Zanu of
stonewalling on
issues such as the continued arrests of pro-democracy
activists, lawyers and
journalists and the ongoing invasions of white-owned
farms.
The government's response to charges of journalistic harrasment
has been ask
for patience. "Journalists need to put everything into
perspective," says
Webster Shamu, Zimbabwe information minister and a Mugabe
appointee. "When
[the coalition] started we first needed to study and learn
to trust each
other. We have achieved that and we are now looking at the
problems our
people are facing. It would be wrong to say the first 100 days
were wasted.
They were 100 days of serious hard work."
Unity govt making good progress:
Tsvangirai
|
by Own
Correspondent |
Monday 25 May
2009 | |
|
| |
|
Zimbabwe’s new
unity government reached its 100th day milestone on 22 May 2009.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the firebrand
former opposition leader, who won the first round of balloting in March 2008 but
who subsequently negotiated a government of national unity (GNU) with
Robert Mugabe after the latter’s bloody campaign to cling to power, has
claimed good progress in the work of the new regime in Harare since its
inauguration on 11 February. Basildon
Peta caught up with Tsvangirai for a more detailed review
of the GNU’s first 100 days in office. An edited version of this interview was
first published in the Star newspaper of Johannesburg on
Friday.
Peta: You have been congratulating
yourself for the performance of the GNU yet it seems
Zimbabweans are thanking you with their feet. The numbers of those
streaming into South Africa since visa rules were relaxed have trebled. That
surely is a vote of no confidence in this new
government?
Tsvangirai: Please understand that these people are economic
refugees and I can understand why they are flooding South
Africa. They are coming here for job opportunities. This
government has only been in place for three months. You cannot create jobs in
three months especially with the level of economic decay we have
experienced…..(interjection)
Peta: But
surely they wouldn’t be leaving in droves if the unity government had ushered
the change they can believe in?
Tsvangirai: What is needed is for us to create a reversal of
economic misfortunes and then people can stop the exodus. But that takes time.
The exodus is a natural tendency because of the economic difficulties we are
facing……
Peta: You
are realistically not going to have any reversal of these
economic misfortunes without massive injection of aid from
Western countries who are reticent to fund you because Mugabe is resisting major reforms to fully restore
the rule of law?
Tsvangirai: There has been some positive
engagement with them. They have moved from total disregard of
what has happened to skepticism and now they are saying there is progress though
not sufficient. So they all accept that there is change taking place and that
change must be consolidated.
Peta: When do you therefore expect them to
open their purses?
Tsvangirai: They will eventually open them but I can’t give a timeframe because they have their
own benchmarks and assessments . But any delays in
giving Zimbabwe lines of credit and balance of payments support delays the
recovery process and worsens the people of Zimbabwe’s plight.
Peta: Is
it safe to assume that they won’t open them any time
soon with violence continuing on
the farms, journalists being
harassed and your supporters being jailed?
Tsvangirai:
There are incidents in which it is reported that there are
invasions on one or
two farms but it’s all
blown out of proportion… We have investigated examples of
those so called farm invasions. .. We have asked the minister of lands (ZANU
PF) to give us a detailed
report of what has been happening over all these so called farm invasions and
the outcry over that….We must also proceed with the land audit and setting up
the land commission to resolve these disputes once and for
all.
Peta: How
would you generally rate the performance of the GNU in
the first 100 days
?
Tsvangirai: You
need to look at both the performance of the government and the implementation of
the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that gave rise to the unity government. The
two go hand in hand. Government has consolidated itself as a coalition
government. But of course there are problems with the political
agreement which I think are not insurmountable. The major concern has been the
slow pace in implementing some of the outstanding issues in the GPA but we have
hammered out almost 90 percent of them. There are a few conflicting areas but a large number
have been resolved and we will be reporting to cabinet this week.
Peta: Why
has it taken so long to clear the outstanding
issues?
Tsvangirai: It’s a number of factors. I
was away for almost a month (after the death of wife Susan) and also the fact that you
cannot resolve some of these issues automatically as they need careful
negotiations .
Peta: So
can we safely predict seeing the backs of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor
Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana soon since their departure has
been one of your key demands?
Tsvangirai: I
don’t want to talk about individuals but the issue is being looked into by the
inclusive government as a collective and as a procedural matter……We can’t all be
pre-occupied with Gono and Tomana at the expense of all the issues
that the country is facing . Mugabe has his own views on
that. We have our own. At the end of the day, we all have to resolve and agree
on a way forward.
Peta: And
what about the governors unilaterally appointed by Mugabe whom you also want
fired?
Tsvangirai: There has been an agreement on that, not only on the
formula but also on the issue of termination (of their contracts) which had been
a sticking point.
Peta: What are those few issues that haven’t been
resolved. The 10 percent you referred to?
Tsvangirai: I
am not at liberty to discuss that. All I can say is that we have covered a lot
of the issues and there has been a meeting of minds on most of
them.
Peta: Your critics are worried by your insistence that
there is no going back on the unity government. They say you have put yourself at the mercy of
Mugabe because he can remain intransigent and trample all over you
knowing full
well that you will not deploy
your leverage to pull out of the GNU since you sound desperate to remain in it at
whatever cost?
Tsvangirai: I
am very much conscious of the leverage we have over the unity government. But
our confidence in the interim government is not cast in stone. I am saying so
far the government has consolidated. ….
Peta: And
there also seems to be some concern about the way you have been praising Robert
Mugabe? You seem to have transmogrified from being his staunchest enemy to his
number one praise singer?
Tsvangirai:
Whether you like
Robert Mugabe or not is
not the issue. I am saying so far the unity government is working and it’s
working to the best interests of Zimbabweans and that as far as Zimbabweans are
concerned, any other option is not acceptable because it disrupts their hope of a
defined destiny they were looking forward to. When I say that for the moment it’s an irreversible process, I mean it but I cannot
predict what will happen in future before the expiry of the transitional
government.
Peta: Can we safely assume that if 90 percent of the
outstanding problems have been resolved then there will be longevity to this
unity government?
Tsvangirai: Absolutely. I
don’t foresee anything that will cause its rupture
or break its
elasticity, particularly after we resolve all
outstanding issues and you create hope for the
people…..(interjection)
Peta: Even if your supporters continue being
incarcerated,
harassment of journalists and
farm invasions continue?
Tsvangirai: We want the full
restoration of the rule of law. Yes the farm invasions and other issues have
occurred but these have largely been isolated cases and they are all being
attended to….
Peta: Some say your confidence in the GNU despite Mugabe’s
erratic behavior
is because you are now part of
the gravy train and many of your ministers will want this government to survive at all costs so they
won’t forfeit their
newly found privileges like the much maligned Merces Benz
regarded by Zimbabweans as the main symbol of the excesses of the Mugabe regime.
Only David Coltart was decent enough to refuse to jump onto the Mercedes
Benz bandwagon?
Tsvangirai: For
goodness sake, we are all earning only $100 a month. Is that a gravy
train?
Peta: Another sign of the gravy train syndrome is the
snubbing of your order to your MPs to return cars unprocedurally dished out to
them by central bank governor Gono. The open squabbling over cars and your MPs refusal to hand them back to
the central bank is seen as ample evidence that your party is now caught up in
the gravy train syndrome?
Tsvangirai: No,
no. These are petty issues to focus on. Cars allocated
to the ministers don’t belong to them but to the state. They are government
property. So we are not going to spend time over which car a minister is
driving, when a minister is earning only $100. As
for MPs, we have said there is a government scheme for them to access vehicles.
The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Finance. Our policy is not to continue with Gono’s quasi-
fiscal activities. Gono had acquired these cars and they were all second hand.
And we are saying to the MPs how do you get attracted by these second hand cars
most of which are 150 000km on the clock, instead of accessing new ones through
a legitimate government scheme. All we are insisting on is a proper channel of
getting vehicles.
Majority of the
(MDC) MPs have returned these cars except maybe one or
two. So there is no question of indiscipline in our caucus.
Peta: What about the insubordination of the army generals
who still refuse to salute you which you spoke about at the Wits Business
School?
Tsvangirai: I did not say there is insubordination. I said there
is an attitude which is prevailing which creates an impression in the public domain
that there is reluctance to accept the inclusive government. I
have not seen anything that demonstrates that they are
insubordinate.
It’s all about personal attitudes.
Peta: But clearly they keep on refusing to salute you
?
Tsvangirai: Its
immaterial as far as I am concerned. There has never been an occasion where I have said,
salute me or don’t salute me….
I cannot worry whether somebody
has saluted me or not when they are more pressing issues needing my
attention.
Peta: There is a view that the sooner a new constitution is put in place
and free and fair elections held the better the chances for a new legitimate government emerging out of those elections to raise aid for
Zimbabwe’s recovery?
Tsvangirai: A
constitution making process is now in place. You can’t achieve a constitution in
one day. But while we wait for a new constitution and fresh elections, we can’t
recline on our laurels and fail to do something about the immediate social
problems the people are facing. You can’t say lets concentrate on a new
constitution and forget about opening of schools, hospitals and clinics…You
can’t do that. The transitional government has a democratization and economic
stabilization agenda and it has to focus on those in the meantime.
Peta: When can we expect elections in terms of the
GPA?
Tsvangirai: The GPA is very clear. We will consider the issue of
elections after 18 months. Electoral dates were not defined in
the GPA because we did not want to start in an election mode from day one in
view of all that had happened.
Peta: The constitution making process itself seems fraught
with problems with your ally Lovemore Madhuku (chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly )
accusing you of being an opportunist for abandoning the people driven route now
that you are Prime Minister?
Tsvangirai: Who
says that the current process is not people driven?
Peta: That is precisely what Madhuku is
saying ?
Tsvangirai: Yes
he says that but that’s not the truth. The truth is that we are
instituting a process which is people driven. No one can argue
that when we go through Parliament , it’s not people driven. Parliament is a
coordinating body which will
solicit the views of
Zimbabweans. The constitution is going to be written by Zimbabweans and owned by
Zimbabweans. Yes,
Madhuku has his own views but to call others opportunists
because you disagree with them is uncalled for. This constitution is not about Madhuku or about
Tsvangirai. It’s about the people. I
can as well claim that in terms of the vision for constitutional reform, I was
at the forefront of that campaign. That’s why we formed the NCA. So I cannot be
an opportunist now, when all my life, I have committed myself to a democratic
process.
Peta: His argument is that the process must be done by a
wider representative body, a sort of elected constituent body
representative
the masses and not Parliament
which is dominated by political parties?
Tsvangirai: For
goodness sake, Parliament is an elected constituent assembly. You don’t go to
Parliament by appointment. You go by election. So you cannot say that Parliament
is not representative. It ‘s
actually the most representative
body….Parliament is the reflection of the people’s vote. And we can stand up as
Parliament and say, we are the legitimate representatives of the
people….
Peta: He
(Madhuku) has said his NCA
would mobilize for the rejection of the new constitution
if achieved through a parliament led
process?
Tsvangirai: Well that is political posturing. It’s unfortunate. We have a process
that is not closed to anyone…You cannot say that if you
don’t go the way I want things to go, then everything is all wrong. You don’t do
that. If in the end people choose to reject a constitution
that they have participated in formulating, it’s their choice. We are not the
ones who will determine the outcome of that constitutional process. It’s the
people of Zimbabwe.
I am sure the majority of civic
society will find the process much more involving and broad. We have thematic
committees that will go out and solicit the views of the people.
Peta: You
recently said government was
broke. With hindsight do you regret having promised foreign
currency wages in the first place?
Tsvangirai: No,
no, no. We said we would pay civil servants allowances in foreign currency,
which we have done. We will continue to pay that. ……But I have said that at the
moment the government cannot move to define salaries in foreign currency outside
the US$100 allowance. I have called for more time. We will make an assessment at
the end of May and as the revenues of the government increase ----remember that
no one is paying taxes ---- then we can look at the question of salaries. What
people were talking about was that they wanted US$1,500 salaries a month and I
said lets be realistic. That kind of money is just not there.
Peta: Where have you been getting the money to pay the
allowances?
Tsvangirai: The government has got its own revenue. There has
been revenue build up in the coffers of the government and that has largely been
the source of paying the allowances. And I want to tell you that Zimbabweans are
grateful for the allowances we have instituted because they can now go and buy
something. The goods are back
in the shops. With one thousand
rands, people can use five hundred to buy groceries and live with their
families….
Peta:
One of the issues
that had stalled the introduction of the GNU was your demand for control of Home
Affairs and the police until you reluctantly agreed to co-minister with ZANU PF.
How has that worked?
Tsvangirai: It
has worked fantastically. The two ministers have worked well. I have not had any
tension. They work very cooperatively together …..The only problem is the issue
of resources to institute those measures that are necessary to achieve cohesion
in the ministry.
Peta: Arrests of your supporters have continued despite
your presence in Home Affairs and yet you say co-ministering has worked well. It
could be said you minister is powerless to control the
police and halt these arrests?
Tsvangirai:
The recent
arrests were not political arrests. They were procedural matters. If you are given bail in a lower
court and then indicted to a higher court for trial, you have to negotiate a new bail
condition. This is the mishap that occurred especially with the
case of Jestina Mukoko and others. These were not re-arrests but just a mishap
to deal with their being indicted to a higher court. Either existing or new bail
conditions had to be instituted.
Peta:
Surely there is no
way Mukoko and all those arrested can be legitimately accused of plotting to
overthrow Mugabe: One would have hoped you would have used your muscle to stop
all this harassment?
Tsvangirai:
Once the state has
charged people and you try to interfere, there will then be accusations that you
are trying to interfere with the due process of the law. And we don’t want to be
doing that. We say, well let the law take its course but it must take its course
not selectively but in all cases. I don’t believe the charges (against Mukoko
and others) are valid. But they have to go through the due
process. If it’s harassment , it will be proven in a court of law. I went
through the same process..being accused of treason…but in the end I was
acquitted. But the issue is that if the state believes it
has a case, then it should bring people to trial
speedily.
Peta:
Mugabe has been
refusing to swear in Roy Bennett as deputy minister of
Agriculture. Will he ever take up his
post?
Tsvangirai:
Yes,
Mugabe has been resisting.
He is saying Bennett is
facing serious charges. But we have been saying that yes he is facing charges
but you don’t find him guilty before he has been tried by a court of law. Those are some of the
things that have been irritating but eventually, we are not going to budge on
the question of Bennett being
deputy minister of Agriculture.
We have other ministers who have been charged. Biti and Matinenga are facing
charges (but he swore them into office). It’s therefore a question of personalities. My
appointments in terms of the GPA are my sole prerogative and Mugabe cannot veto
them. I hope we don’t continue to create arguments
over straight forward issues.
Peta:
Your deputy Arthur
Mutambara once said he did not have a job description. Are your
job descriptions now clearly spelt out?
Tsvangirai: The job descriptions of the offices of president and
Prime Minister are well defined in the GPA……The powers of the deputies, be it
the deputy prime ministers or deputy presidents are not defined because they
assist their principals. I have my two deputies to assist me in the office of
the Prime Minister. Mugabe has his deputies to assist him in the execution of
his office.
Peta: The issue of the job descriptions also arose
because Mugabe appears to be doing whatever he wants. He appointed permanent
secretaries in complete disregard of you……?
Tsvangirai: Those are among the outstanding issues which
are now being resolved. We are dealing with that. In
terms of the GPA, we are supposed to appoint these people together in a
consultative process. Yes people might not have definitive job descriptions but
the powers of the offices of president and PM are clearly defined and it is in
that context that people fit in their roles.
Peta:
Lastly. How does it
feel working with a man (Mugabe) whom you defeated in elections and
who continues sitting in a chair that is rightfully
yours?
Tsvangirai: Yes, lets accept that we
were bitter rivals. There was
acrimony and vilification across the political divide, between us as two
personalities.
But we have agreed. We have
negotiated in a protracted way and we have agreed. Once you have agreed, you
have to work together. We are certainly working together in the spirit of
advancing the GPA. My only personal views don’t matter but I put the national
interests first.
The GPA defines the destiny of
Zimbabwe.
Peta: How is your personal relationship with
Mugabe?
Tsvangirai: It’s a workable relationship and respectful. Yes we
disagree but we don’t disagree to the point of shouting at each
other. We disagree by dialogue and searching solutions to
the problems at hand.
Peta: And your working relationship with
Mutambara?
Tsvangirai: I think we have a healthy working relationship.
Although we belong to different political parties, I think the objectives are
still the same.
Peta: Is he therefore considering dissolving his faction
to join you so that you now fight as one.
Tsvangirai: You better ask him
that. |
'Chekera's conclusion on Mukoko is wrong'
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Harrison Nkomo
Monday 25 May 2009
OPINION: Since the abduction, torture and
subsequent appearance of Jestina
Mukoko in court, a number of Zimbabweans,
scattered all over the world,
possibly because of the unbearable economic
turf in their mother country,
have penned articles expressing their
opinions.
I come from a background where expression of one's opinion has
to be
respected regardless of how nerve touching that opinion is.
I
must emphasise that, all who have passed through a school of journalism
know
that it is a cardinal rule that, the facts are sacred and should not be
tampered with. The comment is the opinion of the writer and s/he has all the
space in the world to express it.
Of all the articles that I have
read both in print and electronic media, the
article by Silas Chekera cannot
go unchallenged because it makes a wrong
conclusion of what happened or what
is happening in cases that involve
Jestina and others.
For this,
Chekera can be forgiven in the sense that he makes an admission in
his
article that he has been observing the legal proceedings from a
distance.
However, as a lawyer who is defending Charles Taylor in the
highest court of
the universe he cannot be forgiven for his wrong conclusion
of the law,
which I shall deal with substantively here below.
To
enlighten readers, I shall try to give a factual background of how
Jestina
Mukoko specifically, Gandhi Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Dhlamini, Zacharia
Ndabaningi Nkomo (not Ezekiel), Andrison Manyere, Mukwezaramba Chinoto Zulu,
Broderick Takawira and many others (who have become known as abductees)
found themselves in police custody.
On December 3, 2008 at around
0500hrs, Jestina was asleep at her place of
residence when members of the
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) forced
her into the back of a Mazda
323 Familia.
The issue of Jestina's abductors, being members of the CIO
was brought to
the defence's attention in proceedings in the High Court
under Case No.
7169/08 by the state itself led by chief superintendent
Magwenzi, who
apparently is the investigating officer in this
case.
Brothers, sisters, friends and workmates, having carried a diligent
search
on the whereabouts of Jestina for 19 days and 19 nights, Peter
Magwenzi
received Jestina Mukoko whilst in her blindfold from members of the
CIO, a
fact he admits in his affidavit. This portion shall be revisited
later.
At the time of her abduction, Jestina was in her nightdress,
without
undergarments also without her spectacles. She had no shoes on. She
requested to change, but her captors would not allow her.
Having been
incommunicado for 19 days where various acts of torture in the
form of
assaults under the feet, being held in a room where she would need
to ask
her captors for a toilet every-time she needed to relieve herself,
she was
handed over to the police on December 24, 2008 on a charge of
recruiting one
person for the purposes of committing acts of insurgency,
banditry, sabotage
and terrorism.
It will be helpful to the readership to know that, whilst
she was still
incommunicado, a brave brother of hers, instructed lawyers to
approach the
High Court on an urgent basis seeking among other things that,
if the state
had her in their custody, and charging her with an offence, she
should
immediately be taken before a magistrate.
These are basics in
law, needless for me to emphasise that the law as it
entails in Zimbabwe
required Jestina, if at all she had committed an offence
be arrested by the
police (not abducted) and taken to court as soon as is
reasonably possible,
not after 19 days without access to relatives or
lawyers.
The order
was granted. Apart from that, a criminal act having been
perpetrated upon
Jestina, a report of kidnapping was lodged with the Norton
Police
Station.
The legal advisor to the Commissioner of Police, Chief Supt
Nzombe on
December 8, 2008 wrote to the defence advising that investigations
into the
abduction of Jestina had commenced under Report Received Book
0438167
(commonly known as RRB) and Crime Register 54/12/08.
The
police, it was the advice, did not have Jestina in their custody and
were
treating this matter as kidnapping. This can now be loosely tied to the
handing over of Jestina by her captors to Peter Magwenzi December 24,
2008.
If a docket had been opened in good faith, what a reasonable and
impartial
police officer would have done was to immediately arrest the
people who
brought the person whom by their own records admit that he had
been
kidnapped. A very strange decision by the police.
The
complainant, instead of being asked to explain her stay in captivity and
nail down those who had violated her rights, was locked up in Matapi Police
Station. Readers might also want to be reminded that Matapi Police Station
was condemned as unfit for human habitation by our Constitutional
Court.
Various other applications followed but I shall confine myself to
only
relevant ones for the purposes of this article.
As a result of
the denial of her medication, torture and unlawful detention,
Jestina and
all those in her umbrella fell ill whilst locked up in Chikurubi
Maximum
Security Prison.
Various court orders for their release into hospital for
examination and
treatment fell on deaf ears.
For Jestina
specifically, upon her abduction, medical reports show that she
was weighing
70kgs. Whilst in Chikurubi, her weight deteriorated to 52kgs,
and she had to
continue languishing in remand prison, with the Attorney
General making
public comments that Jestina was the most dangerous criminal
under this
sun.
A constitutional application was filed and before the main argument
on the
merits could be heard, the Chief Justice ruled she had no automatic
right of
audience in the Constitutional Court as she was pending before
another
court, the Magistrates Court.
Although I personally disagree
with the learned Chief Justice's restrictive
and technical interpretation of
Section 24 of the Constitution, and such
interpretation is not in line with
precedents that is now the law of the
land.
An application was
mounted in the Magistrates Court for the referral of the
case to the
Constitutional Court and the magistrate duly granted that order.
Before
both admission to bail and indictment, the Constitutional Court was
seized
with Jestina's matter and on June 25, 2009, the court shall among
other
things decide, whether, the circumstances surrounding her arrest
constitutes
an inhuman and degrading punishment and to that end should she
be tried when
in fact she is a complainant in a case of admitted abduction.
This now
brings us to the issue that invited Mr Chekera to comment, a
comment that
was published by the Independent Newspaper on page 6 of its
publication of
15-21 May 2009.
When the state sought to indict the abductees, an
argument was raised as to
whether it was proper for the state to indict for
trial at the High Court, a
person whose matter is pending in the
Constitutional Court.
In his wisdom, the Chief Justice in his earlier
ruling on the Constitutional
matter found that a person cannot be appearing
before two courts
simultaneously.
This in my view applies with equal
force to the current scenario. If the
Constitutional Court will order a
permanent stay of proceedings on a day
where the High Court is convicting,
what would happen to the justice
delivery system?
It goes without
question that it will cause confusion, which might lead to
society
revolting.
The second argument before the court was that the Attorney
General must
extend the accused person's bail as the ultimate authority
tasked with
prosecutorial powers.
These were the two strong arguments
of the defence. It is a burning issue,
and so stands that upon their
admission to bail, an officer from the
Attorney General's office called the
defence and advised that he was
consenting to bail because JOMIC and the
political actors had agreed that
the accused must be admitted to
bail.
It is common cause that the arrest of the abductees is political.
The papers
show that the abductees are being prosecuted because of their
alleged
intention to cause instability so as to propel the MCD-T party and
undermine
the then ZANU PF government.
After the formation of the
GNU, it remains a fact that Morgan Tsvangirai, as
Prime Minister is part of
that government. How then can Morgan be clean?
How can he shake hands,
sit on the same table for the purposes of wining and
dining with President
Mugabe when he wanted to remove him by
unconstitutional means.
How
can Morgan be clean when those who support his cause to the extent of
trying
to remove President Mugabe and install him as a leader are being
prosecuted?
Does it not stand to reason that, if it is accepted that
Morgan had soldiers
on the ground to commit insurgency, banditry and
terrorism, he is a
co-accused who ought to be in the dock. Food for
thought.
Like it or not, the arrest of the abductees is political and
there is
nothing wrong in the process of argument to raise it. Raising it
shows
weakness on the part of the state case. It shows inequality before the
law
and a serious traverse of justice.
It has always been, and so is
the case, that each case must be treated on
its merits. An arrest that is
politically motivated cannot escape political
comment right from arrest to
conviction or acquittal.
Chekera speaks with certainty that there will be
no immediate end to Jestina
Mukoko's woes. I should warn my brother that
such statement is very
dangerous, especially coming from one who has been
observing from a distance
and who also worked in the AG's
office.
Does he know something we do not know? Such a statement can
either come from
the Attorney General who claims to have a case against
Jestina or the
defence under instruction to litigate on her
behalf.
How someone sitting in The Hague, comes up with such conclusion,
not only
conclusion but also conclusion with certainty, the mind
boggles.
Mistake number 1. Chekera goes on to say that "Mukoko had been
on bail after
months without charge".
Mistake number 2. It is a wrong
conclusion of the law that a person can be
remanded in custody without a
charge. I have no doubt in my mind that
Chekera is fully aware of
it.
What I learnt from law school, in the moot room (which I have no
doubt
Chekera passed through) is that, a charge "is the official
notification
given to the individual by the competent authority of an
allegation that he
has committed an offence".
Even a police constable
coming out of Morris Depot, upon approaching a
person partaking of alcohol
in a public place will say in Shona
"ndokucharger" or in Ndebele
"ngiyakucharger". It means that a person is
charged at the time of his
arrest.
Any suggestion that Jestina after being warned and cautioned and
subsequently remanded in custody remained not charged is wrong especially
coming from someone who is a lawyer and litigating at such high fora. For
missing the fact, he can be forgiven, but on this wrong conclusion, Chekera
cannot be forgiven.
For those of us who are in this unfavourable turf
for practising law, we
expect those who had exposure, and firing their
bullets from a distance to
assist in improving issues like the rule of law,
good governance and
democracy.
Chekera conveniently left out how
Jestina found herself in court for
indictment. A legal process in criminal
cases does not start with
indictment.
The story of Jestina and others
that I have given above shows that quite a
number of human rights issues
call for consideration.
In Chekera's wisdom, it is a legal and not
political process for a person to
be abducted, kept incommunicado for 19
days and only to be handed over and
be jailed at the end of the
day.
If he does not agree with it, assuming he is a human rights lawyer
of
international repute, why did he not respond and put pen to
paper.
In the same article he also makes a fatal admission that shoots
down his
entire argument. He says that "whether or not the charges against
Mukoko
have any basis and going by history, I suspect there is
none".
It is abundantly clear that Chekera admits that the charges
against Jestina
are not derived from a legal conviction. If not a legal
conviction, what
other basis is there?
The inescapable conclusion is
that her charges are politically motivated,
making it difficult for anyone
dealing with such cases to confine himself to
that road alone.
They
say experience is the best teacher. It is easy to comment from afar
than
really execute the mandate on the ground.
The Coltarts of this world will
bear testimony of how difficult it was to
handle such cases during the
Matebeleland atrocities.
I challenge him to lead by example on how to
handle such cases by referring
to a Zimbabwean case of the same magnitude
that he has handled.
No offence intended, but am hoping to learn from the
big brother who
obviously has done so well to the extent of being appointed
Charles Taylor's
lawyer.
Finally, Chekera's conclusion of the law for
once, as regards indictment is
correct. He tenders his advice duty free,
that instead of making political
statements, the defence should have applied
for bail which was not opposed
as it turned out.
This casts
aspersions of doubt on his ability. How on earth then was the
defence
supposed to apply for bail that was not opposed.
For the record, bail was
opposed and knowing that only the High Court had
jurisdiction to entertain
bail, exactly 30 minutes after their committal to
prison, the High Court had
received 18 separate bail applications for the
people who had been
indicted.
There is no way the defence would have made a bail application
before the
magistrate because Section 66 of the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act,
clear as it is, provides that the application is to be made to
the trial
court, in this case the High Court.
How could the defence
have simply made a bail application before a
magistrate, who according to
the law had no jurisdiction to entertain it, if
the AG is opposed to
it?
Incarceration of Jestina could have been avoided by the state
advising the
court upon indictment that it was extending bail to the accused
until
conviction or acquittal.
It is factually wrong for Chekera to
conclude that bail was not opposed.
The AG's office advised of its change
of attitude after it had had sight of
the bail applications when the matter
had already been set down the
following day before Justice
Mtshiya.
**Harrison Nkomo is one of Mukoko's lawyers and Partner in the
firm of
Mtetwa & Nyambirai -- ZimOnline
Generous
packages for axed governors
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16888
May 24, 2009
By Gift
Phiri
HARARE - Zimbabwe's bankrupt administration is to fork out a huge
severance
package to each of six Zanu-PF aligned provincial governors who
were axed
from government last week.
The golden handshake will
include a cash payoff of US$1 200 to each of the
six officials. The package
has been boosted by the offer of two motor
vehicles each, as well as
allowances for housing, cell phones, electricity
and rates, The Zimbabwe
Times has learnt.
The governors will leave with a tax-free payout of US$1
200, or 12 months
pay at the current allowance of US$100 per month which
government is paying
to all civil servants.
The government initially
offered the six retired Zanu-PF governors six
months pay and other benefits
but official sources say the final payout
figure was agreed after President
Mugabe and the governors settled on a 12
month package. The governors
undertook not to pursue any further claims
against the
government.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai on Thursday announced a cocktail of
surprise
concessions made by President Mugabe including agreeing to several
key
appointments that had for long been demanded by his Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) and resisted by Mugabe.
Mugabe reversed his
unilateral appointment of 10 provincial governors all
selected from his
Zanu-PF party. The MDC will now fill five of the posts
with Arthur
Mutambara's MDC appointing one.
Tsvangirai announced the line up of new
governors appointed by the MDC.
James Makore was appointed to replace Harare
Metropolitan governor David
Karimanzira of Zanu-PF, while Seiso Moyo will
replace Bulawayo metropolitan
governor Cain Mathema also of Zanu-PF. The MDC
national council member and
former Women's Assembly chairperson, Lucia
Matibenga, is now the governor of
Masvingo Province, taking over from Titus
Maluleke.
Hwange East legislator Tose Sansole will replace Zanu-PF's
Thokozile
Mathuthu as Matabeleland North governor while Julius Magaramombe,
the MDC's
losing candidate for Buhera North Constituency in the March 2008
elections,
will replace Christopher Mushowe in Manicaland.
Zanu-PF
retains governors in the three Mashonaland provinces as well as in
the
Midlands, while the MDC led by Mutambara is still to name a governor for
Matabeleland South.
Official sources say the appointment of governors
and other concessions were
designed to pre-empt the appeal by the MDC to the
SADC and the African
Union, guarantors of the power-sharing deal that gave
birth to the inclusive
government, to forestall outside intervention in the
resolution of other
outstanding issues.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai
told a news conference at Munhumutapa Building
Thursday: "In accordance with
the formula agreed between the negotiators for
the respective parties,
namely, five (governors) for MDC-T, four for Zanu-PF
and one for MDC-M, the
provincial governors will be sworn in at the soonest
opportunity. In
addition, the principals decided that the six governors
whose tenure is to
be terminated as a result of this agreement will be paid
an agreed
compensation."
Official sources privy to the severance package told The
Zimbabwe Times that
the entire cash pay-off for the governors will be
tax-free.
"This has been a slow and frustrating process," Tsvangirai told
the news
briefing Thursday.
Joint
PACENET –ZESN interim statement on 2009 Parliamentary and Presidential elections
24 May 2009
1.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Pan African Civic Educators Network
(PACENET) and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) jointly deployed
twelve observers in the southern region to observe the polls on 19th May 2009.
The team comprised three ZESN officials and nine PACENET officials. The
observers were deployed into three groups as follows:-
• Group One: covered Chikwawa and Nsanje
districts;
• Group Two: covered Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Phalombe
and Thyolo;
• Group Three: covered Balaka, Machinga, Mangochi and
Zomba.
The PACENET was accredited under MESN to observe the electoral process
for the May, 2009 elections while ZESN officials were accredited by MEC upon
arrival in the country as per the Malawi Electoral laws. PACENET under the 50-50
National Campaign for more women in parliament and through women candidates
trained and deployed over 1,200 local monitors in over thirty constituencies in
the southern region .The following therefore, is a statement made by the two
organizations on the proceedings and outcome of Election Day process culminating
into the closing of polling stations on 19th May 2009. The Observations
presented below are based on the election-day observation process.
The
Observation team has not done an analysis of voting results and will therefore
not be able to comment on the official election results even when the official
results are announced by the Electoral Commission.
2. SUMMARY OF
OBSERVATION
ELECTION DAY
Across the southern region the observers team
noted that there were monitors and that the majority of polling streams opened
on time at 6 a.m.There were few cases of irregularities which affected the
rights of citizens to vote. However, the following were notable
anomalies:
• Some party candidates used party colours and this caused some
debate resulting in delaying the opening of the polling station
• Some
voters did not process their transfers which led to some voters being denied the
right to vote even though they could have a voter’s registration certificate.
The EC later issued a statement to correct the situation.
• Some stations
did not have adequate voting materials including fuel and a voter’s
roll.
• The presence of armed Defense Force was very threatening: in some
areas the police officers were controlling the queues and even counting of
votes.
• Some EC officials did not seem to be in control of the situation
on polling streams resulting in long queues which compromised the secrecy of the
vote cast.
• There was no standard method of assisting those who could not
make choices on the ballot paper due to illiteracy and old age. It appears the
EC did not adequately prepare its polling staff in advance.
CLOSING OF
THE POLLING STREAMS AND THE COUNTING PROCESS
The closing of polling
stations and commencement of the counting process took place without major
incidents. Apart from problems of lighting during the counting caused by faulty
generators or lack of fuel the counting process commenced at 6 pm and continued
though out the night.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The team would like to make
the following recommendations in order to improve on the challenges faced so
far:
• Need for the EC to train its polling day staff well in advance
• EC to provide lamps and torches besides generators
• Monitors to
be properly trained and motivated
• EC with technical assistance from
other civil society organisations to develop a comprehensive training tool for
polling staff as well as monitors
• Civic and voter education to be
intensified and not to wait until Election Day.
CONCLUSION
The voting
process generally took place without major incidents. In our view the polling
day events were done in a peaceful, free and fair manner. We encourage all
Malawians to exercise patience as they wait for the official announcement of
results by the EC. We call upon all contestants to follow the normal process of
channeling electoral complaints and avoid any violence. Those who will be
celebrating victory should do so without provoking the losers.
Mrs. Veronica
Sembereka Okay
Machisa
PACENET Board
Member ZESN Board
Member
Mugabe: Who will cast the first stone?
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
24th
May 2009 17:15 GMT
By Chenjerai
Chitsaru
AS he witnessed the inauguration of Malawi 's Bingu
waMutharika last week,
President Mugabe must have wondered if he would see
another inauguration of
his own presidency - for the umpteenth
time.
Mutharika is serving his second term in a country which has had
only three
presidents since independence in 1964.- 45 years ago. But that
was only
because, like Mugabe, the first president, Kamuzu Banda, would not
give up
power until he had no choice.
Mugabe has been in power since
independence in 1980, and for more or less
for the same reason: he would
not give up until he was left with no choice
but to do so.
Banda,
Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Mugabe, were in the same one-party,
one-leader
political mould, pioneered by Kwame Nkrumah. It might also have
had
something to do with the ill-fated federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
,
the struggle against which all three cut their political teeth.
On the
other hand, it might have been something entirely individual: all
three men
were latent control freaks but probably didn't recognise this
obnoxious
trait until it was too late.
WaMutharika was not always known by that
name: he had a perfectly ordinary
Christian first name, but changed
everything to disguise his identity
because he did not want one person to
trace him: that man was Kamuzu Banda,
whose 30-something-year reign of
Malawi was marked by much bloodshed of
Malawians, including unarmed,
innocent citizens.
In Zambia, Kaunda cannot be said to have presided
over the bloodshed of
many of his fellow citizens. To be sure, there was an
attitude towards
political opponents which was extremely hostile, to say the
least.
Kaunda's one-party obsession ended only when the economy sabotaged
it:
people didn't believe he had given their independence the kind of
meaning
they had hoped for: enough food on the table, enough schools, enough
hospitals, enough jobs, enough shelter, and even enough freedom of
expression, of association of everything.
Incidentally, exactly the
same gripe has undermined Mugabe's dream of an
eternal one-party political
system in Zimbabwe.
His own party seems to be rising against him, if
reports of loud,
acrimonious bickering in the highest organs of the party
are to be believed.
There is no way these reports could be the figment of an
editor's
imagination, or the work of "the country's enemies", the
ubiquitous,
invisible, but apparently powerful saboteurs who have caused so
much damage
since independence.
In nearly 30 years in power, Mugabe
cannot honestly claim any remarkable
achievements, apart from keeping his
party in power. Neither economically
nor politically can he claim to have
improved the country - until he acceded
to the inclusive government last
year.
If he complains of backstabbing, cynics are bound to wonder why he
would
expect integrity in this game, in which he has been involved for so
long and
in which he himself has not performed with any remarkable
"cleanliness"
either.
If there are any heavyweights working towards
an accommodation by the
resurgent MDC-T, this should not shock anyone, at
least not any one Zanu PF.
That party itself has been involved in worse
political hanky-panky than
this.
What should worry ordinary people is
the savagery of the infighting and the
consequences to the political and
economic atmosphere in general. Zanu PF
teems with corrupt elements, apart
from people who are used to ruthless
guardianship of their
positions..
There is so much at stake, for the old guard and the
so-called new blood in
the party, neither side may put the welfare of the
country anywhere near
what they consider their list of priorities of their
political survival.
The responsibility night rest with the MDC-T to
ensure that it is not
contaminated by the fast-spreading disease in Zanu PF.
Incidentally, it
ought to be acknowledged in the high echelons of the
opposition that they
are as vulnerable to temptation as any of the Zanu PF
members.
The evidence of this was the fiasco over the second-hand cars
offered by the
RBZ to MPs. The emotion with which some opposition MPs
reacted was
dangerously "Zanu PF".
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara were counseled to be firmer with
their members. Any lowering of
discipline and integrity to the levels the
people have become accustomed to
seeing
in Zanu PF would be disastrous for both formations come election
time.
What makes the potential for an explosion in Zanu PF a real
possibility is
the party's long-established propensity for violence. The
late Simon Muzenda
once warned that if there was an open challenge
to
Mugabe's leadership there would be bloodshed. He was probably right,
but
only because violence has always pervaded most Zanu PF
conflicts.
Yet the party could learn valuable lessons from the South
African example:
Thabo Mbeki's ouster by Jacob Zuma did cause a rupture,
but not enough to
plunge the party into a bloody crisis.
In the
subsequent elections, the ANC did lose ground, but not enough to lose
power
entirely. It's now up to Zuma how to ensure that the population in
general
does not turn against the ANC, because of the usual failures of
African
political parties: not enough food on the table not enough schools
jobs . so
on and so forth.
The Malawi elections had their bizarre elements. The
sudden closure of the
borders was almost vintage Kamuzu Banda. Any sign,
however insignificant, of
opposition gains, had to be nipped in the
bud.
To many observers, the chances of waMutharika being beaten by a
coalition
featuring Bakhili Muluzi and John Tembo seemed distinctly remote.
Tembo took
over the Malawi Congress Party from Kamuzu Banda and that party's
reputation
remains one of corruption and violence.
Muluzi burnt his
bridges when he tried for a third term after serving the
two terms allowed
him under the Constitution. He also seemed to have had
personal problems
during his presidency.
To many Malawian voters, a combination of the two
seemed highly undesirable.
The bigger picture must be that the party
which brought independence to
Malawi , the MCP, may never regain power
again, just as Kaunda's UNIP in
Zambia , may never win another election
ever.
There must be Zanu PF members acutely aware of the same fate
befalling their
party. Under Mugabe, they could never win another election.
Even under any
other leader, their chances of winning must be judged to be
problematical.
Zanu PF is now bound to go the way of the MCP and
UNIP.
What lies behind the failure of the three parties constitutes what
might be
described as a universal dilemma for African political parties all
over: the
failure to translate independence into enough food on the table,
enough
health care, enough schools.etc etc etc.
Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 23rd May 2009
The Vigil has been protesting
outside the Zimbabwe Embassy every Saturday for going on 7 years – come rain or
shine. Today it was shine but, despite the formation of the government of
national unity 3 months ago, the Vigil is agreed that we must continue our
weekly demonstrations.
Many passers-by stopped to look at
our display of photographs. As always, people were horrified. They saw a pageant
portraying a society degenerating into savagery: torture and starvation victims,
the grotesque torched bodies of victims of election violence, the bloody faces
of victims of farm invasions, the emaciated victims in the holocaust jails –
victims of a regime that still shows no sign of respecting the rule of
law.
The Zanu / MDC government says it
would like to normalise relations with the donor countries – meaning the West.
Who else is there? Thanks China for US $5 million. But can the coalition government
deny the reality of what our photo gallery is telling the world every
week?
A large group gathered after the
Vigil for the first of our planned monthly forums to discuss the way forward.
The overwhelming message was: we will continue until there is real change.
Sadly, the general view was pessimistic. Many people thought the MDC should pull
out of this government.
The forum discussed the asylum
question. Many were concerned that some people were using the Vigil to get help
with asylum claims and once they were successful they disappeared. Supporters
at the meeting reaffirmed that we were about human rights in Zimbabwe.
Supporters were given explanations
from Vigil Co-ordinator Rose Benton about the message of the Vigil and from
Luka
Phiri of the
Vigil management team about the role of our partners, the Zimbabwe Association.
Ephraim
Tapa, President
of Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe, arrived in time from a meeting in
Milton
Keynes to
explain the position of ROHR.
It was an auspicious start for our
monthly meetings. Thanks to the following who signed the register: Batson
Chapata, Chipo Chaya, Fungayi Mabhunu, Moses Kandiyawo, Francesca Toft, Patson
Muzuwa, Dumi and Gugu Tutani, Arnold Kuwewa, Luka Musaka, Luka Phiri, Kimpton Samkange, Reginald
Gwasira, Addley Nyamutaka, Dennis and Rose Benton, Ephraim Tapa, Judith Makonza, Edward Mhangwa,
Perkins Matereke, Charles Gasa, Hazvinei Kanyowa, Edwick Office, Stewart
Chikwature, Annah Zinhuka, Luke Chinopfukutwa, Ritha Chitapi, Audrey Ntoto,
David Kadzutu, Jennifer Hukura, Orpay Mkandhla, Thelma Madzimbamuto, Sarak
Makedenge, Ian Pocock, Maxwell Muganhiri, Corsini Togaraseyi, Rugare Chifungo,
Chido Brighton Mbwizhu, Tapiwa Chakare, Lynnet Bororwe, Aggrey Gazi, Succeed
Mutandwa, Josefina Deka, Molly Mujati, Edna Mdoka, Opah Gwashavanhu, Peter
Sidindi – and to others who had to leave for far-flung places before the
register was passed round.
We are planning Vigil forums on a
monthly basis. Upstairs at the Theodore Bullfrog is booked for Saturday
27th June and Saturday 25th July.
Finally three members of the Vigil
management team are celebrating their birthdays this week – happy birthday to
Chipo Chaya, Luka Phiri and Addley Nyamutaka.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/
FOR THE RECORD:
223 signed the register.
FOR YOUR
DIARY:
·
Central
London
Zimbabwe
Forum. Monday 25th May. No
forum because it is a public holiday.
·
ROHR
Northampton and
Kettering general
meeting.
Saturday, 30th May from
1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue:
St Mary's Church, Abbey Road,
Northampton,
NN4 8EZ. Rohr President and
Executive plus a well known lawyer present. Substantive committee to be
elected. Contact: Norian Chindowa 07954379426, A Chimimba 07799855806, Willard
Mudonzvo 07591686724, Marshall Rusike 07884246888,
Hazvineyi Masuka 07795164664, P Mapfumo
07915926323/07932216070.
·
ROHR
Brighton general
meeting. Saturday 30th May from 1.30 – 5.30
pm. Venue: The Community Base, Queens Road,
Brighton. Some committee gap
fillings to be done. Contact: Sinikiwe Dube 07824668763, Phyllis Chibanguza
07908406069/07535936460, Seph Mpofu 07786164808 or P Mapfumo
07915926323/07932216070.
·
ROHR
West
Bromwich launch
meeting. Saturday 6th June from 1.30 – 5.30
pm. Venue: West Bromwich Town
Hall, High Street, B70 8DT. Contact: Pamela
Dunduru 07958386718, Rejoice Moyo 07884126754 or P Mapfumo
07915926323/07932216070
·
ROHR
Bournemouth general
meeting. Saturday 6th June from 1.30 – 5.30
pm. Venue: East Cliff Reformed Church, Holdenhurst Road,
BH8 8AW. Come in numbers
lets make it our Zimbabwean Day soon after Africa Day. Zimbabweans lets Roooooh
together in this Struggle for ROHR. Contact: Mike Mhene 07774521837, Abigail
Nzimba 07917458873 or Gift Pfupa 07909831158
ROHR
Liverpool general
meeting. Saturday 6th June
from 1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue: Prescot Lodge, 52-56 Prescot
Road,
Liverpool L7
0JA. Contact: Desire
Chimuka 07917733711, Anywhere Mungoyo 07939913688 0r Patrick Kushonga
07900857605
·
Service of
solidarity with the torture survivors of Zimbabwe.
Friday 26th June from 7 –
8 pm. Venue: Southwark Cathedral. This is the 8th year the Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum has marked UN International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture. For more information, visit: http://www.hrforumzim.com.
·
Zimbabwe Vigil
Forum. Saturday 27th June at
6.30 pm. Upstairs at
the Theodore Bullfrog, John Adam Street,
London WC2N 6HL.
·
Zimbabwe Vigil
Forum. Saturday 25th July at
6.30 pm. Upstairs at
the Theodore Bullfrog, John Adam Street,
London WC2N 6HL.
·
Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s
Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre,
84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel: 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground:
Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe
Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every
Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights
in Zimbabwe. The Vigil
which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored,
free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
Muzhingi
jubilant at winning comrades
http://www.iol.co.za/
May 24 2009 at
09:00PM
Stephen Muzhingi rejoiced after winning the 2009
Comrades Marathon,
from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, in 5:23:26, the second
fastest time in
history.
The 33 year-old Zimbabwean said he
realised after Cowies Hill that he
was in with a chance and when he passed
defending champion and record
holder, Leonid Shvetsov, he could tell he was
in stronger shape and knew
then that he could win.
"Coming into
the race, my only aim was to run sub 5:30. When I was
about 100 metres
behind Leonid, I started to relax but when I caught him, I
knew I had the
race."
He hadn't thought about the record, 5:20:41, set by Shvetsov
in 2007,
but about three kilometres from the finish, spectators told him he
had a
chance to go for it, so he ran faster. However, by then it was too
late.
Muzhingi, who was third last year, said he always knew he had
the
potential to be a successful long distance runner, but having a coach
has
given his running a structure which he didn't have before and having a
sponsor means there is now food on the table.
"I'm still
confused and don't know what's happening," said the
jubilant Muzhingi said
after the race. "I will be investing the money in
various businesses in
Zimbabwe," he joked.
He hopes to run a few races in Europe
next.
"Maybe the Zimbabwe government will give me a cash incentive
like they
gave the Olympic swimmer (Kirsty Coventry)," he said
hopefully.
Shvetsov, who was having difficulty walking afterwards,
said he wanted
to pay tribute to Collen Makaza, the Zimbabwean who set the
pace for the
first half of the race.
The Russian always
believed in running his own race, but when he
realised that Makaza was ten
minutes ahead of him at the halfway mark, he
had to push himself more than
he would normally have done to narrow the gap.
"I've always said
you have to pace yourself and run your own race but
I didn't do it. It's
proof that I am human and not invincible."
Shvetsov said he had
sinus problems before the race and also
experienced a few niggles along the
way, which he tried to ignore but he
struggled towards the end.
"The last 10km were the hardest 10km of my life. Every little hill
felt like
Polly Shortts. I even walked twice during the race to try and
preserve some
energy.
"It was so difficult, I thought I would die," he laughed.
He admitted
to cramping badly after the race as well but, thankfully, not
during the
race.
Charles Tjiane, the first South African home,
had lead the race after
Makaza slowed down but he also faded just before
Pinetown and did well to
come back and finish third in 5:34:20.
The women's race saw the Nurgalieva twins running neck and neck most
of the
way but seven kilometres from the end, Olesya broke away from her
sister,
Elena, to win the race in 6:12:11.
"We ran the Two Oceans six weeks
ago so our energy was down. Seven
kilometres from the end, we were told that
the next person was only three
minutes behind us so we went faster," said
Elena, who finished in 6:13:13,
"but Olesya was stronger than
me."
The 33 year-old twins said they would be back again in 2010 as
they
enjoyed being in South Africa.
"We are not so well-known
in Russia and we are happy to live a
low-profile, quiet life there,"
admitted Elena, "but we will continue to
race in South Africa and possibly
enter the City to City marathon later in
the year."
Tatyana
Zhirkova finished in third place (6:15:02) and the first South
African home
was Farwa Mentoor, in fifth place, in 6:45:32.
The cut off time for
the "down" run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban,
is 12 hours. - Sapa