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Mugabe threatens Swiss properties in Zimbabwe
(AFP) – 10 hours
ago
HARARE — Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has warned Switzerland he
would "reciprocate" after his wife and top officials were denied visas to
attend a UN meeting in that country, state media said Monday.
"Now
they are showing that they are vicious and we will reciprocate because they
have their properties here," Mugabe said in the state-run Herald
newspaper.
"We are not without means to reciprocate," he
said.
"It is violation of rules and regulations governing host countries
of UN meetings."
Mugabe's wife Grace, his personal bodyguard, and
four top officials were denied visas to attend to a meeting of the UN's
International Telecommunications Union in Switzerland, causing the trip to
be cancelled, according to state media.
The six are on the sanctions
list imposed by the European Union and backed by Switzerland, which is not
an EU member. Switzerland has not commented on the visas.
Swiss food
giant Nestle operates a factory in Harare, which produces cereals and
powdered milk for the local market.
Meanwhile, The Herald said Mugabe
returned to Zimbabwe on Sunday from a private visit to Asia -- trips that
have become monthly events amid reports that the 87-year-old leader is
suffering from prostate cancer.
Mugabe has angrily denied reports that
his health is worsening.
"You want to ask me about my health. As you can
see, this Mugabe is fit," Mugabe told the paper.
According to the
WikiLeaks whistleblower website, Mugabe has prostate cancer which has
metastasized, and has been advised by doctors to cut on his
activities.
The cable sent to Washington in 2008 said Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono told the then-US ambassador, Jame McGee that Mugabe was
told by doctors he had three to five years to live.
Robert Mugabe has once again denied he has any serious health
problems, after returning from his eighth trip to Asia this
year.
Mugabe reportedly snuck out of the country last week, leaving
Cabinet in a state of confusion because he was not there to chair the
Tuesday meeting. It was then reported last Wednesday that he had cancelled a
planned trip to Switzerland for a UN conference and had left for Singapore
instead.
The journey was the ageing ZANU PF leader’s eighth trip to Asia
this year alone, and it is widely speculated that he is receiving serious
treatment related to his battle with prostate cancer.
This has been
fiercely denied by ZANU PF and on his return to Zimbabwe from a reportedly
“private visit,” Mugabe told the state’s mouthpiece newspaper the Herald,
that he is “fit.”
“You want to ask me about my health? As you can see,
this Mugabe is fit,” he said.
This is the second time this month that
Mugabe is said to have traveled to Asia for medical treatment. After
returning from his last trip Mugabe had claimed he was on a private visit to
see his daughter Bona, who is studying in Hong Kong.
Leaked
diplomatic cables by the whistle blowing group WikiLeaks meanwhile have
contradicted ZANU PF’s denials about the state of Mugabe’s health.
In one
of the leaked cables, a US diplomat is said to have seen Mugabe checking in
at a cancer clinic in Singapore in May and August in 2008. Gideon Gono was
then quoted by a different leaked cable as confirming that Mugabe is being
treated for prostate cancer.
Police had to fire teargas and rubber bullets during clashes
between MDC-T and ZANU PF supporters in Hatcliffe, a constituency held by
co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone.
Police intervened after
supporters of the MDC-T defended their right to assemble as they sent ZANU
PF’s Chipangano gang members scurrying in all directions.
Emmanuel
Chiroto, MDC-T councillor for ward 24 and chairman of the Harare north
district, told SW Radio Africa on Monday that over 100 ZANU PF youths were
bussed in to interrupt a planned party rally that was to be addressed by
Makone, the MP for the area.
‘They came in Kombis and started pelting us
with rocks, sticks, bottles and bicycle chains and other weapons. We had
clearance, in black and white, from the police to hold our rally but ZANU PF
youths sponsored by Justice Zvandasara came in their hundreds to disrupt our
rally,’ Chiroto said.
Zvandasara was the ZANU PF candidate in the
harmonized elections of 2008 in Harare North Constituency but he was
trounced by Makone.
Zvandasara is also ZANU PF’s representative on the
Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee of the Global Political
Agreement. The losing ZANU PF candidate reportedly placed a gun against an
MDC member in full view of the police but no action was taken against
him.
‘Police fired teargas and rubber bullets at us and we had several
people who were injured in the melee. Most of those injured were rushed to
the Avenues Clinic,’ Chiroto said. The councilor, whose wife was murdered
by ZANU PF thugs during the 2008 elections, accused ZANU PF of deliberately
provoking their supporters who unfortunately bore the brunt of the police
action to quell to disturbances. ‘Security forces need to act more
professionally when dealing with clashes because MDC people were defending
themselves but ended up on the receiving end of police brutality,’ Chiroto
said.
In a statement, Makone she was shocked that as co-Home Affairs
Minister she was not be protected by her own staff (the police). She said it
is clear ZANU PF have targeted Harare North, Epworth, Mbare and Harare South
as areas where they want to cow the MDC-T into submission.
She added
that she had to assume that the police eventually intervened, only because
ZANU PF were clearly losing.
Subject: Disruption of Harare North Constituency Feedback
Rally This a rally applied for by the MDC Harare Provincial organising
department which was supposed to be held at Hatcliffe Shops on Sunday 30
October.
Ian and I attended mass at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic
Church, which was delayed due to a baptism session that was incorporated in
the mass. We only finished at about 13.30hours. My husband left me behind as
he was going to the office to do budget preparations, expecting me to
proceed to the rally after my Sunday meetings. I was expected only at 2:00pm
while others in the meantime, proceeded with entertainment and introductions
according to our tradition.
To my surprise, one of my staffers called
me out of my meeting,to tell me that all hell had broken loose at the
venue,as marauding ZPF youths were attacking the gathering at the shops. At
the same time, churchgoers who had left after mass came back to tell
everyone to plan the homeward route in such a manner that they avoid the
Hatcliffe Shops vicinity. I asked if the police had been informed. I was
advised that Deputy Mayor Chiroto, who is the local counsellor, and my
husband, Ian, who had been contacted by Counsellor Chiroto, had gone to
Helensvale Police Station together.
In the meantime, the MDC crowd
and other members of the constituents who had come to listen to their MP,
were forced to defend themselves while the police were,
hopefully,coming.
To their surprise ZPF youths who are accustomed to a
docile MDC crowd, were surprised by the resolute defense of the people’s
right to assemble as the attackers were sent scurrying in all
directions.
In the meantime, our people removed the P.A. System that we
had hired to safety.
Councillor Chiroto, Mr Makone and one of my
drivers who had also been injured, ferried injured people to Avenues Clinic
for urgent medical attention.
Ian came back to check to see if it was
now safe and if the police had responded to their earlier plea for
assistance. The law abiding crowd was relieved when the riot squad arrived.
They appeared to be driving the ZPF youths back successfully. At that point,
I received a call from one of the organizers to come and address the
constituency. No sooner had I left my sanctuary than I received another call
to say that I should turn back, because the ZRP were now firing tear gas and
rubber bullets into the crowd, as the ZPF youths were following close behind
throwing rocks at the same crowd. As some of our officials were walking
to safety with the riot police, two of the ZRP officers were overheard
saying ‘If we could only catch two or three MDC people, we will beat the
hell out of them’.
At that very moment, one of our people walking next to
my husband, was struck by a rubber bullet. Fortunately, he only suffered
muscular shock. I wonder who the real target was!
Obviously against
such a force, the rally had to be abandoned. Until 11:00 pm at night, I was
still stuck at Avenues Clinic checking on the progress of the gallant cadres
who stood their ground as the merciless forces of Armageddon pelted them
with rocks, sticks and bottles and attacked them with bicycle chains. I
believe one of our youths had a gun placed against his neck by Justice
Zvandasara in full view of the police, and no action was taken against him.
Justice Zvandasara is the ZANUPF candidate of the harmonized elections of
2008 in Harare North Constituency. Obviously, I trounced him in that contest
and Counsellor Chiroto was elected to Harare City Council. Our hard fought
battle was dampened by the cold blooded murder of Mrs Chiroto at the hands
of ZANUPF.
The constituency was shocked to hear that the same Justice
Zvandasara is the representative for ZANUPF at JOMIC (Joint Monitoring and
Implementation of the Global Political Agreemen). The same person was on
Sunday coordinating reinforcements for his coward forces from neighbouring
farms and townships.
If is very clear that ZANUPF have targeted Harare
North, Epworth, Mbare and Harare South as areas that they can cower into
submission come next election. Fortunately, their method of murder and
mayhem has long seized to impress the people of this largely Christian and
God fearing nation.
If we can no longer hold meetings that have Police
clearance, even when the Police are there, would it be wrong to come to the
following conclusions;
That the police only came because ZANUPF had been
routed That the police did not come to protect law abiding citizens That
the police are complicit with ZANUPF That it is the police who do not want
MDC to assemble anywhere in Zimbabwe That the police regard MDC as a rogue
party that should be disbanded?
The Minister of Home Affairs cannot be
protected by her own staff! I would have expected them to be there earlier,
to ensure that all was well on the ground from early that morning. I doubt
very much that our CID section did not know that there were other people
planning to disturb the authorized gathering. The ZRP that I know, have
their eyes and ears everywhere unless of course they have lost steam like
all other institutions in the country, or they are deliberately turning a
blind eye to these attacks, which are now everywhere, where the MDC tries to
assemble.
Together, united, winning, marching to a New, Democratic
Zimbabwe!
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is reportedly
breathing fire at the way police in Matabeleland North province blocked his
rallies, under orders from their commanding officer senior assistant
Commissioner Edmore Veterai.
A senior staffer in the Prime Minister’s
office on Monday branded Veterai an ‘idiot’ and a stooge of the former
ruling party, ‘who is brutish and insensitive, siding largely with the
powerful rather than protecting the weak.’
SW Radio Africa is
reliably informed that Veterai, a blue eyed boy of police commissioner
Augustine Chihuri, runs a thriving fish business from the Zambezi river,
supplying a chain of hotels and supermarkets.
‘He’s fighting theMDCto
hang on to his business. The man has plenty of contracts from government
institutions to supply them with fish. He is a naïve police officer who
believes he’ll lose everything when theMDCgets into power,’ the staffer from
the Prime Minister’s office said.
Matabeleland North police blocked
theMDC-T President from holding a rally in Lupane on Saturday andVictoria
Fallson Sunday, in total defiance of a High Court order allowing the rallies
to proceed uninterrupted. They also blocked Tsvangiai’s visit to the clinic
in Lupane.
In a statement theMDC-T said that the drama started when three
truckloads of police officers heavily armed with guns, teargas and batons
chased away staff and locked up the gate at St Paul’s clinic where the Prime
Minister wanted to assess the situation at the health centre, which services
more than 18,000 villagers but has no mortuary, no doctor and no maternity
ward.
TheMDC-T went on to say that armed police also went to the nearby
venue where the Prime Minister was scheduled to address a rally. They
violently dispersed the crowd that included elderly men and women. They
overturned pots of food and threatened to shoot donkeys that had ferried
some of the elderly to the rally.
When the PM arrived the police had
already violently chased everyone from the venue of the rally and ordered
nursing staff and patients out of the clinic.
In Victoria
Falls, police told MDC-T supporters they would be shot dead if they dared
gather at Chinotimba stadium.
Tsvangirai vowed he would take up the issue
with Robert Mugabe in their next meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon. A
source told us the Prime Minister criticised the police in the region for
consistently and persistently executing a carefully scripted regime of
intimidation, harassment and arbitrary arrests ofMDC supporters.
‘The
Prime Minister has condemned the physical harassment meted out on hospital
staff atSt Paul’s hospital in Lupane where they were chased away leaving
patients to fend for themselves,’ our source
said.
OurBulawayocorrespondent, Lionel Saungweme told us theMDC-T
leadership in Matabeleland North province is planning to convene a meeting
and discuss the issues surrounding the Prime Minister’s
visit.
‘TheMDCis saying the police action over the weekend was illegal,
unconstitutional, barbaric, primitive and absolutely unacceptable. They
claim that decades of partisan policing, at the behest of ZANU PF
politicians, have resulted in an unprecedented level of public distrust and
fear of police,’ Saungweme said.
By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor Monday, 31 October
2011 08:33
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was once again
barred from holding a rally in Victoria Falls yesterday after police sealed
the entrance to Chinotimba Stadium, as Zanu PF’s jittery over elections
scheduled for next year worsens.
The police who have been accused
of practicing selective application of the law in the past, prevented the
Prime Minister from holding the rally despite the fact that courts had
granted him permission to hold the meetings.
On Saturday, Tsvangirai was
also prevented from touring St Paul’s Hospital in Lupane after police
barricaded the entrance with chains.
Hospital staff was also chased away
leaving patients at the hospital vulnerable.
Tsvangirai’s
spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka told the Daily News the behaviour exhibited
by the police in the past two days proved beyond reasonable doubt that there
was lawlessness in the country.
Tamborinyoka said his party was concerned
about the unpatriotic behaviour exhibited by police as it poisoned the
environment ahead of elections.
“The behaviour of the police in the past
72 hours tells us that there is no rule of law in the country and that the
police are at the forefront of promoting lawlessness,” Tamborinyoka
said.
He said the Prime Minister would definitely take the matter up with
President Robert Mugabe who was due to return from Singapore
yesterday.
Sparks are expected to fly when the two principals meet today
in their Monday meetings which they have postponed because of Mugabe’s
absenteeism.
The confrontation will also attract Sadc which is closely
monitoring implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed
between Zanu PF and the MDC’s.
As the guarantors to the GPA, the
regional bloc is not keen on a repetition of the bloody 2008 presidential
runoff which saw more than 200 people losing their lives. The election was
described by the whole international community as a sham.
Sadc is
pushing government to make reforms so that the next election, expected at
the end of next year or in 2013, will be free and fair and produce a genuine
winner.
But Zanu PF thugs have been on a war path breeding violence in
most parts of the country.
A recent workshop held by Zimbabwe
Election Support Network (Zesn) on the Electoral Amendment Bill revealed
that thugs from the former ruling party escaped prosecution because they
were deemed to be politically correct.
Sadc has on numerous occasions
castigated Mugabe over selective application of the law by the police who
treat members of the MDC and human rights activists as second class
citizens.
Zanu PF thugs recently attacked parliamentarians and
journalists in Parliament but the culprits are yet to be
prosecuted.
Tamborinyoka said: “What is happening right now cries out for
urgent security sector reforms. Where are we going, we are slowly turning
into a police state.”
In March this year Tsvangirai said the country
was sliding into a police state. He even called on Sadc to intervene because
civilian authority was being undermined.
Deputy Prime Minister
Thokozani Khupe on Thursday accused Matabeleland North police boss, Edmore
Veterai of holding a grudge against MDC.
“There is this police officer
called Veterai, I don’t know what his problem is. He has all along been
fighting to derail our programmes in the province. Recently in Nkayi he also
fought hard in trying to stop our rallies, but let he be warned that we are
not going to take any of it,” Khupe told journalists in
Bulawayo.
Sadc on one hand have also called for security sector reforms
before any credible free and fair election can be held in the
country.
In Lupane on Saturday armed riot police officers threatened to
shoot donkeys which had ferried old men and women who had travelled far and
wide to have an encounter with Tsvangirai.
The Prime Minister is said
to have told the police — who have a constitutional mandate to protect
citizens — to respect the rule of law.
The MDC-T MP for Bulawayo South, Eddie Cross, has faced
serious threats from suspected CIO members, in the wake of revelations he
made during parliament about the corruption at the Chiadzwa diamond
fields.
Cross earlier this month tabled a motion in Parliament calling
for the controversial diamond mines to be nationalised, in an effort to
control what Cross has described as rampant theft there. He then last week
went on to detail what he had discovered about the situation at Chiadzwa,
where millions of dollars in profits have not been accounted for. Cross said
the way in which diamonds were being exploited was unacceptable, with only a
fraction of profits being seen by the State.
Cross said that the CIO,
the Zimbabwe Prison Services and the Zimbabwe Republic Police, were all
involved in extracting diamonds from Chiadzwa. Other MPs also joined in the
debate, saying key ZANU PF members like Obert Mpofu, Emmerson Mnangagwa and
the Mugabes were all involved in the exploitation.
Cross’ motion for
the mines to be nationalised was then adopted last week Thursday, but after
the Parliamentary session ended he was approached by a ZANU PF member who
said “we will investigate and come after you”. Cross said that this threat
was followed by others over the course of three days. Then on Sunday Cross
and his wife were followed by a group of people while he was driving back to
Bulawayo from Harare. One of the group confronted Cross and said he was
“from the CIO, the Presidents Office in Harare and that I was being
monitored.”
“His language became more abusive and threatening and my wife
asked him not to use such language. He ignored her and then told me that he
came from a very senior ZANU PF Minister and that he could do anything he
wanted to me including to ‘snipe’ me, at any time. I took that to be a
direct threat to shoot me from a hidden location,” Cross said about the
incident.
Cross and his wife were eventually able to get away without
further incident.
“I have no doubt that this was a direct death
threat by the CIO and that the operation was authorised and ordered at the
highest level. The information about (Chiadzwa) was and is extremely
sensitive and politically explosive. However, given the situation in
Zimbabwe I remain convinced that it is of vital national importance to get
these resources under proper control and working for the benefit of all
Zimbabweans. These threats will not deflect us from that goal,” Cross
said.
The threats against Cross come as Zimbabwe is once again set to
feature high on the agenda of discussions at a meeting of the international
diamond trade watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP). The group’s annual
plenary session got underway in Kinshasa on Monday.
That session is
being boycotted by key civil society groups, over the KP’s failure to end
diamond fuelled human rights abuses. This has been particularly evident in
Chiadzwa, where violence and rampant smuggling have continued with no
decisive action from the KP.
Zimbabwe was suspended from international
trade in 2009 over human rights concerns, but the KP has fallen short of
ensuring that these concerns are fully addressed. Instead the group, now led
by the DRC’s Mathieu Yamba, has been trying to bring Zimbabwe back into
international trade circles, despite the local industry still not meeting
international standards. Yamba has said twice this year that Zimbabwe has the
green light to resume trade, despite a lack on consensus from the rest of
the KP. These unilateral decisions have been slammed as an attempt to
whitewash the ongoing issues at Chiadzwa.
Marondera, Zimbabwe - A 400-million-dollar health fund was launched
Monday in Zimbabwe to provide free health services for pregnant women and
children under 5 years, with assistance from UNICEF, the European Union and
other Western nations.
The head of UNICEF in Zimbabwe, Peter Salama,
said hospital fees were one of the biggest barriers to access to critical
health care for poor women and children.
The country's economic
crisis has over the years severely weakened the health care system.
According to the UN, 100 children under 5 years and eight women die everyday
in Zimbabwe as they cannot afford to pay hospital fees.
Calling the
fund a 'real revolution,' Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said: 'Zimbabwe
is one of the three countries in sub-Saharan Africa that has gone back by 22
per cent in under-five mortality rates.'
HARARE - Zimbabwean civic society organisations
have urged Commonwealth countries to help Zimbabwe prepare for free and fair
elections.
Rindai Chipfunde Vava, the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network
(Zesn) director who spoke on behalf of the Zimbabwean delegation to the
Commonwealth People’s Forum which was also made up of Artists for Democracy
in Zimbabwe Trust (ADZT) and Youth for Development in Zimbabwe Trust
(Yidez), said Commonwealth countries must help build a conducive environment
in the country before elections can be held.
“The Commonwealth must
help Zimbabwe meet five minimum conditions necessary to hold elections next
year,” said Vava while addressing delegates to the Perth
meeting.
“The five minimum conditions necessary to hold elections next
year are a conducive environment, media pluralism, early invitation and
deployment of observers, voters’ roll clean up and an independent, skilled
and well resourced electoral commission. Without any of these five elements,
the elections cannot be free and fair.”
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth
Advisory Bureau, in its briefing to the 2011 Commonwealth Summit, called on
Commonwealth leaders to among other things consider scrapping “sanctions”
imposed on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle as a way of helping
the reform process in Zimbabwe.
The advisory group urged the leaders to,
“calibrate a reduction in international sanctions to match progress towards
democracy and human rights, help sort out Zimbabwe’s electoral register and
organise an investment conference, similar to the one that Chief Emeka
Anyaoku supported for Nigeria after the end of the Sani Abacha
dictatorship.”
Harare, October 31, 2011 -
Zimbabwe diamonds issue is expected to take the centre stage at the Kimberly
Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) meeting in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) beginning Monday on whether to allow or reject the country's bid
to sell its gems after concerns by human rights organisations that there are
human rights abuses in the Marange area.
Zimbabwe's bid to sell its
diamonds has in the past divided the KPCS with Western countries against the
bid while some African countries friendly to Harare have supported that the
southern African country sell its diamonds. The KPCS has allowed the country
to sell its diamonds in three monitored auction sell in the past but the
world wide diamond regulator is yet to give Zimbabwe permission to sell
alluvial diamonds discovered in Marange over the past years.
As the
debate continues at the KPCS meeting in the DRC this week Zimbabwe Members
of parliament will be debating the motion moved by MDC legislator Eddie
Cross to have all the Marange diamonds nationalised saying that the country
has not been benefitting from the gems except a few connected individuals
who have been lining their pockets at the expense of the
country.
"The Minister told us here just a few weeks ago that they
were producing in 2010, 23 000 carats a day," Cross said. "We know from the
facts on the ground that in fact production is substantially greater than
that. We know that in fact sales from Chiadzwa last year exceeded $400
million. We are the custodians of the welfare of Zimbabwe and this resource
is unique."
Apart from the alluvial diamonds in Marange,Zimbabwe has
other diamond mines such as Murowa and River Ranch which have been mining
the gems over the years without any human rights abuses that were
reported.
Human rights organisations have been calling on Zimbabwe to
affirm that it will protect human rights of people in the area after reports
that ordinary people were being tortured by security forces following a
diamond rush in the eastern part of the country in the past five
years.
The pressure groups have also been calling for the compensation of
the families and communities surrounding the diamond mining area who were
forcibly moved to allow companies to mine the diamonds.
Finance
minister Tendai Biti from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has complained
that some of the revenue from diamond sales is not reaching treasury
something that has continued to divide the coalition government led by the
premier and President Robert Mugabe.
A businessman with close links to the Mujuru faction within
ZANU PF was arrested last week Thursday on allegations of espionage and
illegally setting up satellite communication equipment to leak official
secrets to foreign countries.
Prominent banker Farai Rwodzi, a
non-executive director at telecoms company Africom Holdings, was arrested
alongside acting chief executive Simba Mangwende and Oliver Chiku from
Global Satellite Systems. Initial reports say Mangwende was arrested
Wednesday while Rwodzi was picked up on Thursday.
A report in the state
controlled Herald newspaper said the businessmen are being charged with
contravening a section of the Postal and Telecommunications Act which “makes
it an offence for one to illegally possess, control or work for a radio
station.”
Allegations are that the trio “connived to install
communication equipment” and connect it to the “Africom main network system
without the authority or knowledge of Africom management and the Post and
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.”
It was via this
network that the trio allegedly sold and sent confidential government,
military and other security information to Canada, the United States and
Afghanistan. It’s also alleged they operated the system for three months
before they were finally arrested. But Harare lawyer Innocent Chagonda, who
is representing Rwodzi, has told the Daily News he is puzzled at why his
client was arrested. “Rwodzi is a non-executive director. We also wonder
whether it is proper for the police to arrest him for something that
involves Africom as a company in its entirety,” he said.
“My client
believes that there is more than meets the eye. He is of the view that this
arrest has been touched off by a forensic report compiled by the former
chief executive of the company who claimed there were monies that had been
stolen from Africom,” Chagonda told the paper.
Other sources who spoke to
SW Radio Africa told us Rwodzi was considered a right hand man for the late
Solomon Mujuru who led a powerful faction within ZANU PF. Recently leaked US
diplomatic cables have suggested that relations between Mujuru and Mugabe
were so strained at one time that the two did not speak to each other, after
Mujuru challenged the ZANU PF leader to step down.
The cables also
exposed the fact that the Mujuru faction sponsored the presidential campaign
of former finance Minister and one time ZANU PF politburo member Simba
Makoni, in 2008. That move is said to have cost Mugabe votes in ZANU PF
strongholds. Whether Mugabe is quietly responding to his WikiLeaks ‘enemies’
is the question being asked.
HARARE - The beleaguered Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe has threatened to seize local Swiss government
assets in retaliation for that country’s decision to refuse visas to his
wife Grace Mugabe and his sidekicks who were due to attend a UN summit in
Geneva, amid reports that the Swiss authorities intercepted details of the
First Family plans to open bank Accounts in that country, according to
sources.
Mugabe was forced to cancel a trip to Geneva last week after his
wife and top aides including his spokesman, the Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) director general and top bodyguard were declined
visas.
But a furious Mugabe, speaking at the Harare International Airport
on Sunday as he returned from a "private visit" to Asia, warned that
"Zimbabwe is not without means to reciprocate".
He told reporters:
“We were surprised, if not saddened, by what they have done. Much more, the
Swiss government has always held itself as a neutral country that did not
countenance war as it was neutral in any conflict even during the First and
Second World Wars.
"Now they are showing that they are vicious and we
will reciprocate because they have their properties here. We are not without
means to reciprocate.” The Swiss embassy in Harare refused to comment,
referring questions on visas to the Foreign Ministry in Berne, but according
to sources, the First Family planned to use the visiti top open bank Account
in that country and information was intercepted by the Swiss authorities,
hence the fury and thunder from the fesity aging leader.
President
Robert Mugabe's wealth is estimated to be worth US$3 billion and he is
Africa’s eighth richest man, a newly published book by a Zimbabwean academic
and human rights activist has revealed.
In the book entitled Zimbabwe My
Home My frustration, Articles of Defiance, the writer states that the
Zimbabwean president is as rich as Mohamed Fayed owner of London Harrods
departmental stores.
The richest man in Africa is President of Equitorial
Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasongo (est US$65 Billion) followed by
Maummar al-Gaddafi (US$56 Billion), Chairman of Globalcom Dr Mike Adenuga is
at US$27 Billion.
In the list, at number five is Egyptian businessman
Onsi Sawiris at US$20 Billion, followed by Ethiopian businessman Mohamed Al
Amoudi at US$9 Billion. At number six is Nigerian Aliko Dangote at US$4
Billion followed by Zimbabwean businessman Strive Masiyiwa at US$3.5
Billion.
Sources said, Mugabe who is having health problems, wanted to
use the Switzerland trip to stash some of his wealth before he
dies.
Mugabe and about 200 members of his inner circle have been banned
since 2001 from travelling to most Western countries, including Switzerland,
under sanctions imposed following allegations of human rights
violations.
However, Mugabe has the right to enter the countries from
which he has been blacklisted if the purpose of his visit is a meeting of
the UN or one of its organs. Mugabe was due to have addressed a summit of
the International Telecommunication Union, a UN body, on Monday.
The
87-year-old leader usually travels to UN meetings with one of the largest
delegations of any nation. Critics say that the size of the delegations is a
drain on the cash-strapped country’s coffers.
Swiss officials say for the
Geneva trip, Mugabe and 62 members of his delegation had been granted visas,
but had cancelled the trip after being told of the visa obstacle for his
wife, Grace, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Transport,
Communications and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche, CIO
chief Happyton Bonyongwe, his spokesman George Charamba and top bodyguard
Senior Assistant Commissioner Martin Kwainona.
Mugabe said on Sunday:
"It is a violation of rules and regulations governing host countries of UN
meetings. They are alongside the United States of America because the main
part of the UN is hosted in New York and the other part and agencies related
to the UN are in Geneva.
"As host country, you should undertake
not to inhibit or prohibit visits on UN business."
“Salibonani,” the children speak in unison as we enter a
Grade 5 class at Umvukwesi Primary School in Mvurwi.
“Sikhona,
linjani bantwana?” we answered.
“Thina siyaphila,” they replied, before
sitting down.
One could have been forgiven for thinking that we were in
the heart of Matabeleland, but this is Mashonaland Central where Ndebele has
been introduced as part of the school curriculum. Pupils at Umvukwesi are
breaking the language barriers to unify Zimbabwe.
The idea of introducing
national languages across the board was first mooted by education officials
in Mashonaland Central before being put on the debate table by the Education
Ministry. Umvukwesi Primary School has set the ball rolling as a pilot
project.
“We found it rational to introduce it as a communicable language
first in 2001. The emphasis was placed on the national spectrum in that
communication would be made easier,” said the headmaster of Umvukwesi,
Andrew Taruvinga.
“We thought that the language might be of use, in case
the children might find themselves in Ndebele-speaking regions, thus they
will be able to apply the basics of the language,” he added. Taruvinga
said the whole school, which comprises more than 450 pupils, was now able to
read and write isiNdebele.
To test his assertion, the headmaster took us
to a Grade One class where two pupils picked at random showed their new
language skill.
“Igama lami nguRopafadzo Mukwati, ngivela emaphandleni
eShamva (My name is Ropafadzo Mukwati, I come from Shamva),” said a
seven-year-old.
“Namhla kuyatshisa, engxenye izulu lingana (Today it is
hot, maybe it will rain),” added another seven-year-old boy who wanted to
show his proficiency in the language. Taruvinga is proud of the legacy
his school is creating.
He said: “Impressed by the enthusiasm displayed
by the kids, the Ndebele community in the surrounding areas have come en
masse to help in the setting and moderation of the subject.
“The
problem was that supervisors from the district and the province are Shona
speakers who were hitting a brick wall in as far as supervision of the
subject is concerned viz-a-vis the curricula and the
syllabi.”
Taruvinga said they had now set their target on grasping the
concept before the first class can sit the Grade Seven national examinations
in the not-too-distant future.
Taruvinga said the other major
obstacle they were facing was the shortage of Ndebele teaching
resources.
“The whole school of more than 12 classes is being catered for
by only two teachers who are finding it hard to cope with the increasing
demands of the subject,” he said. Taruvinga added that the children are
showing a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about the subject.
“It’s
amazing that you find the pupils using the Ndebele language everywhere,
whether it’s on the playing fields or in the school corridors. They are now
just proud of the language,” he said.
Nancy Mudiwa, the District
Education Officer for the Mvurwi area, concurred with the headmaster on the
need to augment the available resources.
“Emphasis should be put on
widening the obtaining resource base like increasing Ndebele teaching staff
and buying more textbooks before the subject can be transformed from being
communicable to examinable,” she said.
Mudiwa said more schools in the
region were now clamouring for the subject after witnessing the successful
Umvukwesi Primary School pilot project.
“Issues pertaining to the sound
administration of the subject must first be addressed before the subject can
be offered to other schools,” she said.
Progressive Teachers’ Union of
Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said the idea was a brilliant
move which must be applauded by all.
“I would want to believe that pupils
must be able to converse in all the recognised languages in this country so
that we may become one,” he said.
“We should not become foreign in our
land and I would want to pray for a situation where Tonga is taught in
Manicaland, Kalanga in Masvingo and Venda in Mashonaland,” said
Majongwe.
Walter Vengesai, a linguistics expert formerly with the
Midlands State University, said students from Mashonaland Central should be
applauded for piloting the Ndebele project as language plays a significant
role in unifying a nation.
He said: “Language is a major vehicle for
fomenting conflicts or uniting people all over the world. A considerable
number of tribal and genocidal conflicts have been caused by differences
mainly in language, so the universality of language plays a significant role
in uniting people.
“Language difference has been used by merchants of
tribalism as a means of identifying the perceived enemy, so the future
generation has actually shamed those who harboured fuelling tribal conflicts
in future as it will be difficult to identify enemies or foes through the
use of language.”
* Says on schedule to
present revised empowerment plan
HARARE, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Impala
Platinum's Zimbabwe unit said on Monday metal production fell 13 percent
during the July-September quarter after a maintenance shutdown at its
furnace, but the company was on track to submit a revised local ownership
plan in November.
Zimplats said output of platinum group metals in
concentrate had declined to 90,822 ounces compared to 103,874 ounces during
the previous quarter.
"The furnace was down for 5 days for scheduled
maintenance. 4E metal production was thus 13 percent below previous quarter
in line with the lower mill and furnace throughput," Zimplats said in a
statement.
The platinum miner said a 60 percent rise in electricity
tariff on Sept. 1 was higher than expected and would increase production
costs in future.
Revenues during the period amounted to $133 million, 9
percent below the previous quarter, due to lower sales
volumes.
Zimplats said it was working on a revised local ownership plan
which was scheduled to be handed to the Zimbabwean government in November.
Its initial document was rejected in September.
Zimplats, which is 87
percent owned by Implats is among several foreign-owned mines in which
President Robert Mugabe's government wants to hand over at least 51 percent
shares to black Zimbabweans.
Earlier this month, Implats announced that
local communities would acquire a 10 percent stake in Zimplats as part of
local empowerment compliance measures.
This was a rally applied for by the MDC
Harare Provincial organising department which was supposed to be held at
Hatcliffe Shops on Sunday 30 October. 31.10.1102:21pm by Theresa
Makone
Ian and I attended mass at St. Augustine's Roman Catholic
Church, Hatcliffe, which was delayed due to a baptism session that was
incorporated in the mass. We only finished at about 13.30hours. My husband
left me behind as he was going to the office to do budget preparations,
expecting me to proceed to the rally after my Sunday meetings. I was
expected only at 2:00pm while others in the meantime, proceeded with
entertainment and introductions according to our tradition.
To my
surprise, one of my staffers called me out of my meeting,to tell me that all
hell had broken loose at the venue,as marauding ZPF youths were attacking
the gathering at the shops. At the same time, churchgoers who had left after
mass came back to tell everyone to plan the homeward route in such a manner
that they avoid the Hatcliffe Shops vicinity.
I asked if the police had
been informed. I was advised that Deputy Mayor Chiroto, who is the local
counsellor, and my husband, Ian, who had been contacted by Counsellor
Chiroto, had gone to Helensvale Police Station together.
In the
meantime, the MDC crowd and other members of the constituents who had come
to listen to their MP, were forced to defend themselves while the police
were, hopefully,coming.
To their surprise ZPF youths who are accustomed
to a docile MDC crowd, were surprised by the resolute defense of the
people's right to assemble as the attackers were sent scurrying in all
directions.
In the meantime, our people removed the P.A. System that we
had hired to safety.
Councillor Chiroto, Mr Makone and one of my
drivers who had also been injured, ferried injured people to Avenues Clinic
for urgent medical attention.
Ian came back to check to see if it was
now safe and if the police had responded to their earlier plea for
assistance.
The law abiding crowd was relieved when the riot squad
arrived. They appeared to be driving the ZPF youths back successfully. At
that point, I received a call from one of the organizers to come and address
the constituency. No sooner had I left my sanctuary than I received another
call to say that I should turn back, because the ZRP were now firing tear
gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, as the ZPF youths were following
close behind throwing rocks at the same crowd.
As some of our
officials were walking to safety with the riot police, two of the ZRP
officers were overheard saying 'If we could only catch two or three MDC
people, we will beat the hell out of them'.
At that very moment, one of
our people walking next to my husband, was struck by a rubber bullet.
Fortunately, he only suffered muscular shock. I wonder who the real target
was!
Obviously against such a force, the rally had to be abandoned. Until
11:00 pm at night, I was still stuck at Avenues Clinic checking on the
progress of the gallant cadres who stood their ground as the merciless
forces of Armageddon pelted them with rocks, sticks and bottles and attacked
them with bicycle chains.
I believe one of our youths had a gun
placed against his neck by Justice Zvandasara in full view of the police,
and no action was taken against him. Justice Zvandasara is the ZANUPF
candidate of the harmonized elections of 2008 in Harare North Constituency.
Obviously, I trounced him in that contest and Counsellor Chiroto was elected
to Harare City Council. Our hard fought battle was dampened by the cold
blooded murder of Mrs Chiroto at the hands of ZANUPF.
The
constituency was shocked to hear that the same Justice Zvandasara is the
representative for ZANUPF at JOMIC (Joint Monitoring and Implementation of
the Global Political Agreemen). The same person was on Sunday coordinating
reinforcements for his coward forces from neighbouring farms and
townships.
If is very clear that ZANUPF have targeted Harare North,
Epworth, Mbare and Harare South as areas that they can cower into submission
come next election. Fortunately, their method of murder and mayhem has long
seized to impress the people of this largely Christian and God fearing
nation.
If we can no longer hold meetings that have Police clearance,
even when the Police are there, would it be wrong to come to the following
conclusions; That the police only came because ZANUPF had been routed That
the police did not come to protect law abiding citizens That the police are
complicit with ZANUPF That it is the police who do not want MDC to assemble
anywhere in Zimbabwe That the police regard MDC as a rogue party that should
be disbanded?
The Minister of Home Affairs cannot be protected by her
own staff! I would have expected them to be there earlier, to ensure that
all was well on the ground from early that morning. I doubt very much that
our CID section did not know that there were other people planning to
disturb the authorized gathering.
The ZRP that I know, have their
eyes and ears everywhere unless of course they have lost steam like all
other institutions in the country, or they are deliberately turning a blind
eye to these attacks, which are now everywhere, where the MDC tries to
assemble. - Theresa Makone, co-minister of home affairs
The closing
remarks delivered by the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, P.A. Chinamasa
at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 12 October 2011
tragically demonstrate how Zimbabwean citizens can expect to have their rights
denied in perpetuum by this Government. In particular, Minister
Chinamasa, leading the Government delegation at the Universal Periodic Review
process, rejected calls to abide by the civil and political rights owed to the
population by virtue of our acceptance of various international human rights
norms and instruments, and even the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Chinamasa instead
says that economic, social and cultural rights should form the core of the human
rights agenda. Indeed, this is where we have seen the greatest advances during
the period of the Inclusive Government (IG), brought about by stabilisation of
the economy and massive donor assistance to various Ministries in the
rehabilitation of services such as health, education, water and sanitation. It
is these same donors who he calls ‘imperialists-colonizers’. There can also be
no justification (not that he tries to offer one apart from the false claim that
it is sponsored by ‘the West’) for the denial of civil and political rights to
the population in this period of political transition, which encompasses a
constitution-making process with a referendum and election to come. In this
context, his explicit rejection of the recommendations to impartially apply the
rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly; and ensure
protection against enforced disappearances, torture and political violence with
impunity; are spine-chilling.
Far from reacting
‘in a balanced way’ to the contributions made by member states, he instead
launches a tirade against so-called Western countries, refusing to acknowledge
‘all recommendations that contain innuendos that Zimbabwe is a violator of human
rights’. This rejection however includes recommendations made by two fellow SADC
states, Zambia and South Africa, on the need to comply with the Paris Principles
ensuring independence for the Human Rights Commission and investigate all
credible allegations of political violence from the 2008 Presidential elections,
especially around torture and enforced disappearances. The most sickening aspect
of his remarks is how he attempts to completely absolve Zimbabwe’s negative
human rights record, by pinning the very crimes of the Government of Zimbabwe on
some ill-defined imperialist offspring who ‘arrest, detain, mutilate our people
and plunder and pillage our resources’. Anyone with even a vague grasp of
Zimbabwe’s track record knows precisely who is responsible for those
acts.
The Minister fails
to consider the cries from Zimbabwe itself, so busy is he with a wholesale
rejection of ‘the West’ – equated to protection of sovereignty and rejection of
neo-colonialism. For example, in one sentence he decries the excessive reference
to POSA and AIPPA, saying that these laws were not the inventions of Zimbabwe –
which is true, they came almost intact from the previous Rhodesian regime which
used these specifically to oppress the majority – followed immediately by the
assertion that those Acts are here to stay. This is despite the fact that public
appeals to have POSA repealed, or at the very least amended, have been sustained
for over two years during which time certain actors in Parliament have
deliberately stalled the Amendment Bill. The latest culprit for stalling the
passage of the Bill has been Min. Chinamasa himself who spuriously tried to say
that it was a matter under consideration by the Principals in the Election
Roadmap, thus trying to divert the normal passage of long-awaited legislative
reform[1]. In addition, he suggests that these pieces do not violate any
fundamental freedoms as long as their letter and spirit is followed. This is
precisely the contention that civics have long raised, and presented full
evidence for: that the police fail to interpret the law correctly and instead
use it specifically to selectively curtail people’s rights to association and
assembly[2]. It is astoundingly petty to reject the ‘omnibus recommendations’
made by some states, even though they have merit, on the basis of who said them.
Thus, Zimbabwe shows itself to be the architect of its own pariahdom on the
world stage by its petulant and uncooperative stance.
The excuses made
for non-implementation of the Global Political Agreement are grossly
misdirected. He claims that the hindrances to implementation are: sanctions and
‘pirate radio stations’. After 32months of monitoring adherence to the GPA, it
is actually desperate to make such an assertion. Perhaps however, we can finally
take this as a confession from ZANU-PF that they are the reason behind the
non-implementation of the GPA, as these are the issues which they bleat about at
every opportunity while ignoring all other failed benchmarks, such as
state-sponsored political violence, the illegal appointment of key Government
positions including the Attorney-General, etc.
In the midst of
this we wonder, where is the MDC part of the Inclusive Government? Where were
their Government representatives at the UPR and what about the Deputy-Minister
of Justice? Will there be any response from them as a party or do they condone
the slander and lies as the official Government position? If so, then they must
accept it when our outrage at the disenfranchisement of the population, by the
Inclusive Government, includes them.
It is now more
patently obvious than ever that those who spoke did not represent or have the
legal, democratic or best interests of the population at heart. The concluding
remarks instead express, exclusively, the interests of a deranged and
dictatorial coterie. When the Government position regarding the UPR is such, it
is quite clear that we cannot expect our Government to protect our rights. This
is therefore an appeal to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights as
well as SADC to realise the implications for the people of Zimbabwe and
intervene when necessary to protect the rights that our own Government seeks to
trample.
[1] See Veritas –
on POSA Amendment Bill
[2] See ZLHR
statistics on abuse of POSA and Section 121
This entry was posted by DZ on Monday, October 31st,
2011 at 1:54 pm
Is Zim’s Attorney General A Square Peg in a Round Hole?
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 31/10/11
You don’t have to be a lawyer to know
that Zimbabwe’s Attorney General Johannes Tomana does not inspire confidence
as the country’s Chief Law Officer, raising the question if he is not a
square peg in a round hole.
For instance, the A-G has threatened a high
profile lawsuit against the European Union for a travel ban on Mugabe and
his wife using public funds.
“What I can tell you is that we are done
with the paper-work and what is left is to get the necessary travel
documents to enable us to travel to Europe,” Johannes Tomana told the
state-owned Herald last week.
Honestly, should it take Tomana 9 years to
feel confident to sue the European Union or something has prompted such a
reaction? Does the lawsuit have anything to do with the foiled plans by the
Mugabe family to allegedly open Swiss bank accounts?
In January it
became public that Mugabe had reportedly lost all the money he once held in
a Swiss Bank account estimated at millions of US dollars which he allegedly
opened in the name of his 2nd wife Sally to avoid detection. According to
Edgar Tekere, Mugabe’s first ‘wife’ was Abigail Kurangwa.
And Mugabe in
a “tutorial” at the airport Sunday from his eighth health visit to Singapore
at taxpayer’s expense said Switzerland had no right to bar delegates to UN
meetings. Is that the same Mugabe who detained and deported a United Nations
Torture envoy? Has he forgotten other countries also have the right to
protect their “sovereignty”?
However, Johannes Tomana’s arrival in Europe
could present a rare opportunity for a citizen’s arrest for allegedly
snatching a conservancy in July 2009 from its owner, Kenned Hood using an
offer letter from Zanu-pf Governor Titus Maluleke in clear disregard for
property rights which he should be upholding.
Since he is also on the
banned list, the A-G might face the humiliation of a few hours in an
air-conditioned western prison and taste the difference with Mbare’s
notorious Matapi police cells which he reserves for Mugabe’s
critics.
Last year, the A-G conceded that his law officers and
prosecutors had at times misjudged when they unnecessarily invoked section
121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) to effectively reverse
the granting of bail to accused persons.
Curiously, the infamous CPEA
is the regime’s weapon of choice against journalists, opposition and human
rights activists who remain incarcerated in filthy prisons against court
orders.
Amazingly, in another posturing manoeuvre, the Attorney General
Johannes Tomana is reportedly mulling to pull Zimbabwe out of the United
Nations over Grace’s visa row! Give us a break.
However, it is not
the first time that the AG has become embroiled in Grace Mugabe’s affairs.
In August, observers asked why the Office of the Attorney General and an
officer from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe travelled to South Africa to argue
on behalf of Mugabe’s wife in a civil dispute over haulage
trucks.
The civil case which partly reveals how some people
“invested” abroad at a time of economic implosion (2007), raised fears last
month that Mugabe’s family could lose their luxurious US$7 million mansion
in Hong-Kong as the “shadowy Chinese businessman” whom they fronted to
purchase the house for them was refusing to hand over the title
deeds.
How Mugabe could have managed to buy a US $7 million dollar house
in Hong Kong in 2007 when Zimbabwe was at the height of hyperinflation and
he was reportedly earning US$300 per month after the GNU remains a mystery.
But with Zanu-pf in power, and the A-G who is a party fanatic, anything is
possible.
