Dear
FriendsJAG John Faber Update Communique 19th October 2004
Farmers supplied with wrong maize seed
Zimbabwe crisis still to degenerate into 'serious unrest', says UN
Tsvangirai calls for fresh start
Exiles' forum raps government's handling of road crash
'ICC decision on Zimbabwe racism dispute a joke'
ECB safety probe in Zimbabwe to enter second phase
Iran to construct gas power plant in Zimbabwe
Cabinet taskforce tours fertiliser firms
Parliamentary committee, millers meeting postponed
Zimpapers manager arrested, faces $172m fraud charges
Refrain from violence, youths urged
26 foreign tourists fined for Zimbabwe Park offences
New laws that make it a crime to disrupt Mugabe's motorcade
Mnangagwa implicated in Bindura nickel boss' murder
'I was offered a farm to silence me' - Bishop Pius Ncube
ZANU PF threaten to deal with Tsvangirai
ZBC boss fired
The family of John Faber wish to thank you all for your prayers
and support following the shooting incident last Thursday which left John
critically wounded and Rosemary traumatised.
The offers and generous
donations of blood was quite overwhelming, and the phone calls, emails and
SMS's from around the world with love and support totally phenomenal. A
simple "thank you" seems totally inadequate and we can't find a more
appropriate way to say it other than to say what a privilege it is to be part
of such a generous and caring community despite the global distances that may
now separate us. What a comfort for all of us to know that despite the
trials, pain and separations that we have all had to face in the last few
years we are all still there for each other when it matters most.
John
is now in a stable condition and recovering well following what we
now realize was a sequence of miracles that saved his life, including
and especially the excellent medical attention he received from Marvac and
the staff of Borradaile Hospital and Dr Martin, Dr Maguti and the staff
of Avenues Clinic,especially the theatre and ICU doctors and nurses - all
of whom played their part in the miracles determining John's
recovery.
Our grateful and heartfelt thanks to you all, including the
Marondera Police and CID for their swift response.
May God bless you
all.
Juana, Andrew, Murray and Louise Faber Henry and Rosemary Faber
(John's parents)
Farmers supplied with wrong maize seed Wed 20 October
2004
MUTARE - Several thousands of farmers were supplied with the
wrong type of maize seed in a development that could see a drastic fall in
maize production this season even if Zimbabwe receives good
rains.
The Chairman of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Lands
and Agriculture, Daniel McKenzie Ncube, told a meeting of parliamentarians
here that poor planning and haphazard distribution by both private seed
suppliers and the government's Grain Marketing Board had resulted in farmers
being supplied seed that did not grow well in their regions.
Zimbabwe is divided into six ecological regions each with specific soil and
climatic conditions requiring particular crop seeds.
For example,
the planting of long-maturing and less drought tolerant maize in region four
where conditions are drier could see yields being reduced by more than 50
percent.
Ncube said: "Input supply can be best described as erratic
and inappropriate. For example, seed distribution did not take into account
the ecological disparities of the provinces and hence in some cases seed
varieties were distributed to areas where they were not suitable."
Production of maize, which is Zimbabwe's staple food, was already under
serious threat because of a severe shortage of seed maize with local seed
companies saying they were at most able to supply 43 000 tonnes of maize
against a national requirement of about 100 000 tonnes.
Foreign suppliers are reluctant to sell seed maize to the country unless the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe guaranteed they will be paid in hard
cash.
The government had also seized some seed producing farms
under its chaotic and often violent land reform programme which had also
contributed to a drop in production of seed maize, Ncube said.
Ncube, who is the ruling ZANU PF Member of Parliament for Zhombe
constituency, said: "The government should undertake a review of the land
reform programme in order to spare all seed companies their farms where seed
factories are located and parent seed is grown."
According
to Ncube, fertilizer companies were also unable to produce enough to meet
requirements because they were allocated only US$6 million to import raw
materials, far below the US$20 million they required.
Once the
regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe has for the last three years depended on food
handouts from international relief agencies after chaotic government land
reforms caused a 60 percent drop in farm production.
Agricultural
experts say the country could still require aid next year because of
shortages of maize, fertilizer and other inputs. - ZimOnline
Zimbabwe crisis still to degenerate into 'serious unrest',
says UN Wed 20 October 2004
CAPE TOWN - The United Nations says
Zimbabwe's political instability has not reached a stage where it can be
described as "serious unrest".
But Zimbabweans feature prominently
among 90 000 people whose applications for refugee status are still pending
at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Office in
Pretoria.
The UN has previously faced criticism over its inaction
on Zimbabwe despite calls by civic groups that it should consider a
resolution censoring the Mugabe government over human rights
abuses.
Bemma Donkoh, an envoy for the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees, told the home affairs portfolio committee of the South African
parliament yesterday that President Mbeki's government should constantly
monitor the situation in Zimbabwe to see whether the situation could
escalate to such a point "which makes the pursuit of life
risky".
However, at the moment, the UNHCR did not classify the
crisis in Zimbabwe as an area of "serious unrest" despite the increasing
number of asylum seekers, Donko said.
Donkoh was responding to
a question from Patrick Chauke, the committee's chairman, and other
committee members about the United Nations' understanding about the current
influx of Zimbabweans into South Africa.
South African authorities
estimate that more than three million Zimbabweans, a majority of them
illegal immigrants, are living in South Africa.
Most don't
bother to seek refugee status upon arrival. While many Zimbabweans have fled
political unrest in the country, it is also believed that the majority of
them are in fact economic refugees.
The UNHCR does not grant
refugee status to economic migrants.
Donkoh said the "issue of
Zimbabwe is a very complex one". She confirmed that not every Zimbabwean who
came to South Africa sought asylum or refugee status, others were economic
migrants which the UNHCR would not help at all.
"But then there
are some who feel their lives could be at risk if they remained in that
country (Zimbabwe)," she said.
"Those are people who should be
given the opportunity to explain their reasons and, if in fact if those
claims are credible, they should be recognised as refugees."
She said there should be no blanket belief, or perception, that all
Zimbabweans were economic migrants. "There are economic migrants... but on
the other hand there are genuine asylum seekers among them ... depending on
what the person is describing as the reasons for the decision to
leave."
She said some people left Zimbabwe after being attacked or
arrested for being members of a political or social group.
"I
would not go as far as to say that there is a situation in which broadly
everybody leaving Zimbabwe and going into another country is necessarily an
asylum seeker or eventually to be considered a refugee.
"From what
we understand, not all of them are even interested in making that claim,"
she said.
She said she had not come across a white Zimbabwean who
sought asylum in South Africa as many of them had dual nationality - mostly
South African or British. - ZimOnline
Tsvangirai calls for fresh start Wed 20 October
2004
HARARE - Addressing Zimbabweans since his acquittal last week,
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party was ready to play its part to end Zimbabwe's
crisis.
Tsvangirai, who could have faced the death penalty last
week if had been found guilty of plotting to assassinate Mugabe, said his
acquittal by Judge President Paddington Garwe was not enough to repair
Zimbabwe's battered image on the international scene.
Sounding
more conciliatory, the opposition leader said the country required a new
beginning but said such a fresh start was only possible if President Robert
Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party were committed.
He said: "We
must drop all the political experiments of the past five years and get real.
Zimbabwe needs a new start. Zimbabwe needs a new beginning. We are ready to
play our part depending on the seriousness of those who pushed the nation to
a cliff-edge and abandoned the people.
"We are determined to
rebuild, to start afresh. I am confident that together we can recover as a
nation from bankruptcy and lawlessness. Through elections, and by democratic
means, we can easily retire the dictatorship and move on."
Dialogue between the MDC and ZANU PF to find a solution to Zimbabwe's
economic and political crisis broke down two years ago.
Efforts
mainly by South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki to bring the two protagonists
back to the negotiating table have so far failed. - ZimOnline
Exiles' forum raps government's handling of road crash Wed
20 October 2004
JOHANNESBURG - The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum yesterday
criticised the government for failing to timeously inform relatives of 13
Zimbabweans who were killed in a road accident near Musina on
Sunday.
The 13 people, believed to have been informal traders
coming here to sell their wares, died when the mini-bus they were travelling
in crashed into a truck near South Africa's northern border town of
Musina.
Officials at Zimbabwe's embassy in Pretoria reportedly
"took their time" to visit the scene of the accident and had by yesterday
reportedly not contacted relatives of the deceased to make arrangements to
collect the bodies for burial.
Forum co-ordinator Gabriel
Shumba said: "Our government wants to spend money on the police and army
fighting against the people but they don't want to assist its citizens who
are fleeing the country as a result of its own skewed policies and
practices."
Zimbabwe's Consular-General in Johannesburg, Godfrey
Dzvairo, could not be reached for comment on the matter. His office said he
was out in Musina trying to assess how the government could
assist.
A senior South African police officer at Musina, who spoke
anonymously for professional reasons, told ZimOnline that they had passed on
a list of names of the deceased to Harare but there had been no response
yet.
He said: "We got the list of the accident victims from the
Taxi Association and passed it on to authorities in Harare. They have not
responded yet. In the past we have ended up giving such people pauper
burials because we do not get assistance either from their relatives or
government." - ZimOnline
LONDON: Former Zimbabwe cricketer Stuart Carlisle has
described the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to clear the
Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) of racism accusations as 'a joke'.
The ICC probed ZCU after 15 white players were axed for backing Heath
Streak, who was stripped of captaincy.
"ICC found absolutely no
evidence of racism," the ICC statement read. But Carlisle said: "The fact
you can categorically state there is no racism in Zimbabwe cricket is a
joke."
Carlisle and his fellow rebels are planning to meet Richard
Bevan, chief executive of Professional Cricketers' Association, in Zimbabwe
to consider their next move. "I don't really know where we go from here. We
probably could still go to arbitration but there's almost no point in that.
I think we should have chat with Bevan in day or two and see if there is way
forward for us," Carlisle added.
ICC began its inquiry after
Streak and rebel players had questioned ZCU's selection policy. But in the
73-page report by South African judge Steven Majiedt and India's solicitor
general Goolam Vahanvati, allegations were rejected.
He said
most of the rebels were now getting on with their lives and original 15 now
numbered just him, Streak and Trevor Gripper. They would like to resume
their careers if dispute can still be resolved but feel they will not be
able to, he said.
But Carlisle insisted they were all disappointed
but not surprised at the ICC decision. "ICC has sat on the fence in the past
few months and in past few years on other issues," he said and added,
"They've swept problem under the carpet. They think it's going to go away
but it won't." "ZCU might have won the battle but they've lost war for
cricket. Zimbabwe cricket is loser," Carlisle expressed.
ECB safety probe in Zimbabwe to enter second
phase
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) probe
into safety and security ahead of England's two-week tour of Zimbabwe enters
phase two on Wednesday (today) when the group travels to the capital
Harare.
So far investigations have been centred for two days in the
country's second city, the most likely location for demonstrations. It was
here that church leaders demonstrated against President Robert Mugabe inside
the Queens Sports Club grounds during last year's World Cup and dozens of
arrests were made outside after whites and blacks waved anti-Mugabe
placards.
ECB Director John Carr, players' chief Richard Bevan, and
English security experts have held a sequence of meetings with provincial
officials, ground staff, hotel management where the England group will be
staying, local government officials, opposition party leaders and police
chiefs. They will now move to the capital to hold talks with the Zimbabwe
Cricket Union (ZCU), police, and government ministers.
"We have also
been talking to private individuals, which is important," Bevan told
AFP.
England will play two One-day Internationals in Harare and then
three in Bulawayo before moving to South Africa for a series of five Test
matches.
TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Energy Minister Habibollah Bitaraf has said
Iran is to construct a gas power plant in Zimbabwe.
According to
IRNA, Bitaraf's remarks were made during a meeting with Zimbabwean
Ambassador to Tehran S.C. Chiketa.
Bitaraf, during the meeting, expressed
Iran's readiness to bolster economic ties with African countries, saying
Iran-Zimbabwe cooperation should focus on projects that can be implemented
easily.
He spoke of the existing economic ties between the energy
ministries of the two countries in the renovation of power plants,
installation of transformers and training of Zimbabwean
personnel.
"The outlines of a cooperation agreement between an Iranian
company and a Zimbabwean energy company have been delivered to Zimbabwean
officials," he said, adding that these officials are expected to give their
comments on the document.
He said that an Iranian company has made a
survey of the possibilities for constructing a hydro-electric power plant in
this African country.
He said that as of now the parties are still
awaiting funding for the project, adding that the once the financial problem
is solved, the Iranian company will forthwith implement it.
Herald
Reporter THE Cabinet Taskforce on Inputs yesterday toured the Zimbabwe
Fertiliser Company (ZFC) and Windmill factories in Aspindale and Workington
to assess the stocks of fertiliser in the country ahead of the rainy
season.
The taskforce - comprising chairman Local Government and National
Housing Minister Cde Ignatius Chombo, Agriculture and Rural Development
Minister Cde Joseph Made, Industry and International Trade Minister Cde
Samuel Mumbengengwi, and Minister of State for Policy Implementation Cde
Webster Shamu - toured the companies' premises after concerns were raised
about delays in the disbursement of fertilisers to Government.
The
taskforce, which was shown huge moulds of compound D fertiliser being
prepared for packing at both factories, took management of both companies to
task over delays in the movement of the fertiliser under Government
order.
The taskforce also queried why the product was not being packed
when it was readily available.
Management at Windmill indicated to
the taskforce that they were under instructions that the Government's order
could only be met if money was received upfront.
They further
indicated that there had also been delays by the Ministry of Industry and
International Trade in releasing the list of prices at which Government was
going to procure their product.
Management at ZFC blamed the delays in
the disbursement of the Government order on the lack of proper logistics to
move the commodity to the designated Grain Marketing Board depots.
On
the packaging of the product, management at both companies argued that it
was not possible to package the product without proper logistics in place
since this would create problems in loading the product.
Officials at
Windmill said they were ready to roll out 14 000 tonnes of compound D, while
ZFC management indicated that they were ready to pack 20 000 tonnes of the
same commodity under the Government order.
Windmill was expected to
provide Government with about 40 000 tonnes of fertiliser, while ZFC was
expected to provide a slightly higher figure.
The taskforce and
management at both companies immediately went into a closed-door meeting
after the tour.
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Dr Made said
ZFC had indicated that it was ready to roll out part of the Government's
order starting from today.
"What is important is that what is there
at the moment should be moved out because the seed houses have done their
part," he said.
Dr Made said Government was, however, contemplating
taking action against Windmill because of the stance that the company had
allegedly taken of demanding cash upfront. He did not specify what form the
action would take.
"They have clearly shown that they do not want to be
part and parcel of this economy.
"The seed houses have managed to
move seed worth billions of dollars and they have been paid their money by
the Reserve Bank upon delivery.
"What is so unique about the fertiliser
companies? What game are they playing?" said Dr Made.
The accusations
levelled against the fertiliser company come barely a few weeks after
Government released $600 billion for on-lending for various farming
activities in the coming month.
About $130 billion from the amount was
allocated to fertiliser companies, while $110 billion was set aside to cover
the importation of seed and fertilisers.
The money was part of the
$3,2 trillion earmarked by Government for disbursement to farmers during the
2004/2005 farming season.
Fertiliser companies have been failing to meet
demand for their commodity, especially ammonium nitrate, due to production
problems faced by the sole producer of the commodity, Sable
Chemicals.
The company was currently operating at two-thirds of its
capacity after it shut down its plant for maintenance in August.
Herald Reporter A PARLIAMENTARY committee yesterday
postponed to Tuesday next week a meeting at which millers were scheduled to
give oral evidence on the availability of maize in the country.
An
official with the portfolio committee on Lands, Agriculture, Rural
Resources, Water Development and Resettlement said the meeting had been
postponed at the request of the millers who needed more time to prepare for
the deliberations.
"Some of the millers were outside the country and
they have just returned so they asked for more time," said the
official.
The committee, chaired by Zhombe Member of Parliament Cde
Daniel Ncube (Zanu-PF), has so far heard evidence from the Grain Marketing
Board (GMB) on the state of maize stocks countrywide, and major seed and
fertiliser manufacturers on the availability of farming implements for the
2005 season.
Projections were that the GMB, which has the sole mandate to
purchase grain from farmers, might receive between 500 000 and 750 000
tonnes before the expiry of the staple grain's marketing season at the end
of March.
Zimbabwe this year produced a bumper harvest of 2,4 million
tonnes of maize, of which 1,2 million tonnes were expected to be sold to the
GMB by farmers.
Other members of the committee are Chief Ndiweni Bidi
(Matabeleland South), Chief Robert Chirau (Mashonaland West), Buhera South
MP Cde Kumbirai Kangai (Zanu-PF), Makonde MP Cde Kindness Paradza (Zanu-PF),
Gweru Rural MP Mr Renson Gasela (MDC), Chipinge North MP Mr Mathias Matewu
(MDC), Tsholotsho MP Mr Mtoliki Sibanda (MDC) and Bulilimamangwe MP Mr
Edward Mkhosi (MDC).
Herald Reporter POLICE in Harare have arrested the transport
manager at Zimbabwe Newspapers' Harare branch, Jeremia Mukandi, on
allegations of defrauding the company of more than $172
million.
Mukandi was picked up on Monday at Herald
House.
Zimpapers chief executive Mr Justin Mutasa yesterday confirmed the
arrest of Mukandi, saying police investigations are in
progress.
Harare City Council, as the local authority, instructed that
the outside of the Herald garage in Mbuya Nehanda Street be painted. It is
alleged that Mukandi turned this small order into a renovation project
costing more than $340 million and then raised a cheque requisition for half
the cost to be paid in advance.
He then allegedly hired a second
contractor to paint the outside of the building, not taking the lowest
quote, and raised a second cheque as an advance payment of $5 million. The
painting would be covered as well in the main project.
Mr Mutasa
warned that anyone suspected of corruption within the group would face
criminal charges.
Mukandi is expected to appear in court as soon as
police investigations are completed.
Herald
Reporter BIKITA WEST MP Cde Claudious Makova has called on youths in the
constituency to refrain from violence and urged them to campaign peacefully
for the ruling Zanu-PF party in next year's general
elections.
Addressing ruling party youths from Bikita West, attending a
two-day workshop at Nyika Growth Point at the weekend, Cde Makova appealed
for peace and calm during campaigns for next year's elections.
"We
want you to preach non-violence during campaigns.
"It is incumbent upon
you as youths to move around all the wards in the constituency that we want
peace during elections.
"We do not want you to be violent during
campaigns, but to explain the objectives of Zanu-PF and court their
support," said Cde Makova.
Cde Makova said youths were the future pillars
of the country and were supposed to be patriotic and stand ready to defend
the country's right to self-determination.
Addressing the youths,
Zanu-PF provincial youth chairman Cde Zebron Masunda said the two-day
workshop was aimed at imparting knowledge to youths on key issues such as
the history of the country's liberation struggle, the economy and many other
topics.
Cde Masunda said the workshop was also aimed at enlightening the
youths so that they would not be exploited by politicians, but be principled
individuals, which the nation could depend on.
The youths who
attended the two-day workshop organised by Cde Makova, were drawn from all
wards in the constituency.
Among other issues that the youths were taught
were patriotism, international relations, the land issue in Zimbabwe since
1980, the Zanu-PF constitution and the impact of HIV and Aids on the
youths.
Bikita West experienced some political violence in 2000 during a
parliamentary by-election in the constituency.
26 foreign tourists fined for Zimbabwe Park
offences
By Staff Reporter Last updated: 10/20/2004 04:19:48 THE
department of foreign affairs confirmed on Tuesday that 14 South African
fishermen had been arrested overnight in Zimbabwe and then
released.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said: "According to
ambassador Jerry Ndou, South Africa's representative in Harare, 14 South
Africans were arrested last night at a game reserve near the border with
Zambia.
"They were released today (Tuesday) after paying an admission of
guilt fine."
Reports from Zimbabwe said 26 campers, including the
South Africans and an Australian, were arrested at a government-run camp
site after failing to pay camping fees in foreign currency.
In
Zimbabwe, it is mandatory for foreign tourists to pay in United States
dollars when entering national parks and using camp sites in game
reserves.
The reports added that the group was released after paying a
fine of Z$25 000 (about R30) each - Sapa
NEW LAWS THAT MAKE IT A CRIME TO DISRUPT MUGABE'S
MOTORCADE
HARARE -A HARARE motorist yesterday fell foul of
President Robert Mugabe's new laws that make it a crime to disrupt, gesture
rudely or swear at his high-speed heavily armed motorcade.
The
motorist, who was driving a light blue Nissan Langley registration number
713-516W along Rotten Row Road, failed to take heed of the speeding
motorcade that was heading towards the Zanu PF headquarters for an
extra-ordinary parliamentary caucus. The motorist tried to cut in front of
the motorcade in his vintage vehicle at the intersection of Samora Machel
Avenue and Rotten Row Road but failed to do so in time. The vehicle
disrupted the smooth flow of the motorcade, which had to change its course.
As soon as the motorcade passed, one of the officers on the motorcycle
escort followed the motorist and directed him to park along Samora Machel
Avenue.
In a fit of rage, the officer confiscated documents in the
motorist's vehicle including his driver's licence and escorted him to the
Zanu PF headquarters. On arrival members of the Presidential guard quizzed
him. The menacing looking soldiers harangued the shocked driver who was only
saved by his wife who pleaded with the officers to forgive her husband.
After launching a tirade on the driver, the officers let the dazed motorist
drive off.
According to the new laws, when Mugabe's convoy sweeps
down the road, all other vehicles are forced to pull to the side of the road
and stop. The regulations state that "the driver of every vehicle on the
road on which a state motorcade is travelling ... shall halt his
vehicle."
Meanwhile, Mugabe has increased the number of vehicles in his
prestigious motorcade.
Three shiny 4x4 Nissan Hardbody vehicles, all
blue in colour are the latest additions to Mugabe's motorcade. The convoy -
colloquially known as 'Bob and the Wailers' because of the sirens of the
accompanying motorcycle escorts - includes 4X4 vehicles packed with
heavily-armed soldiers, sedans carrying plainclothes secret police and an
ambulance, at the back. Mugabe's luxurious bulletproof Mercedes Benz,
commonly referred to as Zim-1, with dark-tinted windows usually drives at
the centre of the convoy. The convoy is getting bigger and now stretches
almost 400 metres, virtually taking up both lanes in Harare's busy
roads.
However Mugabe has recently taken to travelling in his trademark
Eurocopter AS-532 Cougar helicopter. Two military Augusta AB-412 Griffons
escort helicopters usually accompany the chopper.
MNANGAGWA IMPLICATED IN BINDURA NICKEL BOSS'
MURDER
HARARE - SPEAKER of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa's mining
dealership has thrown him in yet another firestorm controversy that could
scupper his chances of becoming President Robert Mugabe's
successor.
Mnangagwa is being implicated in a sting operation that
plotted the murder of Bindura Nickel Corporation chief executive officer
Leonard Chimimba who was about to disclose to the Reserve Bank governor
Gideon Gono how his company lost a consignment of nickel worth US$600
000.
Chimimba was shot dead four months ago at the entrance of his Harare
home, hours before he could meet the RBZ chief to spill the beans on how the
contraband disappeared enroute to South Africa.
A brother to the late
mining boss insisted that senior government officials should shed light on
what happened. "They knew that Leonard was key to investigations into the
disappearance of nickel in South Africa and he was working well with the
police and thought killing him would stop him from revealing any dealings
they had entered," he told ZIMDAILY this week.
Several attempts to obtain
comment from Mnangagwa were fruitless as he was said to be in parliament
chambers. Calls to his mobile number were going unanswered. ZIMDAILY
understands that Anglo-American Corporation sold Bindura Nickel Corporation
to Mwana Africa Holdings Limited last year.
Mwana Africa, fronted by
Mnangagwa's long-time Congolese friend, Kalaa Mpinga, bought Anglo's 52.94
percent stake in the consortium in July 2003 in a deal worth US$8 million.
The rest of the shareholders are businessmen from Zimbabwe, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. Local business
barons Oliver Chidawu and Ngoni Kudenga, who are also shareholders are said
to be fronting for Mnangagwa while Retired Air Chief, Marshall Josiah
Tungamirai is an alternate director.
Mpinga, the board chair of Mwana
Africa, and Mnangagwa have previously been implicated by a United Nations
report in blood diamond dealings in the Democratic Republic of Congo that
almost threw Mnangagwa out of the succession race. The family spokesman
said Chimimba met a team of investigators from the ministry of
Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies in March about the loss of
nickel.
Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka has said the police would
pursue all possible leads to Chimimba's death and deploy a special unit to
bring the suspects to book. "We will not carry out investigations on the
basis of what the family is saying. They are in a state of shock and would
say anything," Mandipaka said. Chimimba died of gun shot wounds he sustained
after being shot twice in the head. He died in a Harare hospital on 10
May.
Shareholders have remained mum about the fatal shooting raising
eyebrows that the way Chimimba handled the investigations into the loss of
nickel could have exposed Tungamirai and Mnangagwa. The disappearance of
nickel in South is believed to be an inside job and police have not shown
zeal in pursuing the matter. //
'I WAS OFFERED A FARM TO SILENCE ME': BISHOP PIUS
NCUBE
HARARE -The outspoken Bulawayo Archbishop, Pius Ncube, has
just returned from Ireland for the extraordinary days of the papal visit
where he met his dispersed flock and repeated his criticism of the human
rights abuses in Zimbabwe, the muzzling of free speech and the denial of
food aid to opposition supporters
About a quarter of the Zimbabwean
population has fled the country in recent years and hundreds of thousands
are in Europe.
In an televised address to the crowd while celebrating
Mass at the Holy Spirit Church, Dennehy's Cross in Cork city, the
indefatigable Ncube appealed for the Zimbabwean community from all tribal
backgrounds to remain united in their peaceful opposition to the current
regime. He urged his flock to lead prayers for a free and fair election in
Zimbabwe.
The Bulawayo Roman Catholic prelate was in Ireland to celebrate
commemorative masses emphasising that, over the last 25 years, the Pope has
been the missionary par excellence.
Ncube, who is emerging as the
most important and convincing opponent of President Robert Mugabe's
government, criticised corruption by the government and its failure to
provide food aid to hungry Zimbabweans especially to those areas that
voted for the opposition in his archdiocese.
"I refuse to be silent,"
Archbishop Ncube, 58, told seminarians, priests, vocations directors,
leaders of sisters and brothers. " My heart bleeds. I suffer a lot when I
see the lot of the common man in Zimbabwe. I'm annoyed and upset when
someone uses their power to trample on the disadvantaged, on the poor,"
Archbishop Ncube said. Mugabe has portrayed the archbishop as mad and as a
prelate who did not have the support of his fellow clerics. Since May, Ncube
has been globetrotting complaining about problems in Zimbabwe including an
unemployment rate of 70 percent, an inflation rate of 300 percent and the
AIDS epidemic. The archbishop's current international campaign to muster
opposition to the Mugabe regime has included briefings with U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell and Britain's Prince Charles. Mugabe has accused
the archbishop of "satanic" betrayal of his own country and charges that he
is an "unholy man." Ncube criticized Zimbabwean Catholic bishops and other
church leaders who support the Mugabe regime amid "mounting evidence of
human rights abuses." The archbishop said some Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe
have received gifts from the government, such as Mercedes-Benz cars, and
that he was offered a farm. The gifts are expected to bring silence from the
clerics, he said. "When you're being fed, you're not expected to talk," the
archbishop said.
The prelate last Wednesday continued stirring
controversy when he quizzed Mugabe about the eviction of settlers during the
ongoing inter-regional meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa in
Chishawasha.
HARARE
- The Zanu PF government, its supporters and the public media and has vowed
to take the law into their own hands to seek revenge over the verdict passed
on Friday. They have used every word in the dictionary to diabolically dress
down the Judge President for his judgement as the race continues to see if
the verdict will survive the legal scrutiny and criticism.
On Friday,
the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was acquitted of High treason charges. The
Judge President said the state had failed to prove its case beyond
reasonable doubt and its key witness fraudster and fortune -hunter Ari-Ben
Menashe was a suspect witness whose evidence should be treated with
caution.
According to Zanu PF, Justice Garwe acted in a biased manner
to spruce up his own image. Justice Garwe is a beneficiary of controversial
land reform programme and regardless of that he acquitted the
accused.
The Zanu PF supporters have been quoted in the local press
saying that when the dust has settled down and emotions have died down, they
will do what it takes within their limited knowledge, to see that Tsvangirai
is convicted on other charges of inciting his supporters to march to State
House to overthrow Robert Mugabe during last year 's "final
push".
Even the ruling party officials could stoop so low to be quoted in
the press,"If it were Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, the outcome could have
been different", said one senior official of Zanu PF. Zanu PF has promised
Tsvangirai that "tsuro haipoone murutsva kaviri" literary meaning that one
cannot escape fate.
HARARE - ZIMBABWE Broadcasting Holdings
(ZBH) has fired SFM chief executive officer, Joseph Nhara - popularly known
as Man Soul Jah - after an internal audit revealed that he had embezzled $40
million.
ZBH public relations executive Loveness Chikozho confirmed that
Nhara had left the broadcaster.
"We would like to confirm that Mr
Joseph Nhara is no longer with us," Chikozho said. "We are however obliged
by law not to reveal details concerning his departure from
us."
Sources at ZBH said Nhara allegedly ordered an accountant at the
station to give him $40 million in salary arrears backdated to January,
without the approval of his bosses in Harare. He is also said to have
demanded $9 million to repair his car radio. ZBH has since repossessed
Nhara's vehicle.
Meanwhile Walter Mfanotshiya is now the acting CEO at
SFM. Information minister Jonathan Moyo is also reportedly wielding the axe
and has threatened to fire redundant staff at the proposed television
station National TV. Moyo is said to have quizzed one of the staff members,
O'Brien Rwafa, why he was head of production at NTV when there was no one in
his department. "I am giving you two options, to go home or stay, if you are
staying you are staying as what?" Moyo reportedly asked Rwafa in the
presence of NTV staff who attended the meeting. It was not possible to
obtain comment from the minister.