Reuters
26 Oct 2002 16:34
Zimbabwe opposition protests as
voting
starts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Recasts with fresh MDC comments)
HARARE, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Voting
began in a key Zimbabwe by-election
on Saturday with the opposition saying
some of its members had been
"tortured" by government supporters and its
polling agents denied access to
some stations.
In a statement,
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
said state security agents
picked up eight youths from their homes late
Friday in the southwestern
constituency of Insiza and handed them over to a
group of war veterans from
the country's 1970's independence war.
"The eight were severely
tortured and sustained serious injuries," the
statement said.
The veterans, who have been at the forefront of the ruling ZANU-PF
party's
elections campaigns over the last two years, released five youths
but three
were still missing, the MDC statement said.
"In a desperate effort
to frustrate MDC supporters from casting their
vote in today's election,
ZANU-PF has intensified their brutal onslaught on
the innocent civilians,"
the statement said.
ZANU-PF officials and police could not be
immediately reached for
comment.
Earlier on Saturday, MDC
Elections Director Remus Makuvaza said the
voting itself appeared to be going
smoothly.
Polling will end late on Sunday, with results expected on
Monday.
The voting, a by-election in just one parliamentary
constituency, is
being watched as an indication of whether President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party can capture opposition stronghold
districts.
Mugabe's party says it is confident of reclaiming the
southwestern
district of Insiza because ZANU-PF says the electorate has lost
confidence
in the MDC, which it accuses of serving the interests of minority
whites.
The MDC opposition accuses the government of moving
soldiers to Insiza
in an intimidating reminder of a 1980s army clampdown on
rebels, in which
rights groups say at least 20,000 civilians died in
Matabeleland and
Midlands provinces.
"As the by-election starts
most of known supporters are being
relentlessly subjected to trauma and
harassment by ZANU-PF with a view to
ensuring that they do not vote," the MDC
statement said.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is challenging
Mugabe's re-election to a
fifth term in office in March.
Last
month, Mugabe's party won the most seats in rural council
elections, sealing
its grip on its traditional rural power base.
Mugabe has called the
MDC a puppet of Western nations led by former
colonial ruler Britain, which
wants to see him ousted in retaliation for his
seizure of white-owned farms
for redistribution to landless blacks.
The Times
October 26, 2002
The tribal
catastrophe that awaits Zimbabwe
matthew
parris
The worst may not be over in Zimbabwe. If
every white farmer
were hacked to death and his farm consigned to ruin, the
worst might not be
over. The worst is what faces not a few thousand whites
but a few million
blacks: the Matabele people.
My evidence is
anecdotal, sketchy and based on unsourced
information, but a boyhood spent
there lends me confidence to back my hunch.
My fears are sharpened by those
in Zimbabwe to whom I have been speaking
this week.
The
majority Mashona tribe who occupy the richer, northern part
of the country
centred on Harare, may soon be urged by their leader, Robert
Mugabe, and his
Zanu (Patriotic Front) governing party into a genocidal bid
to take from the
southern Matabele ("take back", he would say) the lands
which the Mashona
believe were stolen from them more than a hundred years
ago. The situation
has parallels with Kosovo. The plan would be to drive the
Matabele, by terror
and by massacre, over the southern borders of Zimbabwe
whence (in some
Mashona minds) they came.
A little history is useful here.
Much is disputed and what
follows is the white settlers' version, and reality
may have been cloudier:
but this story of black-on-black aggression suits the
modern, militant
Mashona viewpoint among whom it has taken hold. It gives
their tribal
nationalism a narrative.
In the 19th century
much of what is now Zimbabwe was inhabited
by the Mashona people and smaller
associated tribes. There was no central
command structure, just a shared
cluster of dialects around a recognisable
language. They were pastoral
people: subsistence agriculturalists.
To their south, in what
is now South Africa, the Zulu people had
coalesced into something like the
Romans of southern Africa. So ferocious
was Zulu imperial policy - the choice
was between subordination and
extermination - that splinter groupings fled in
revolt from the hub. Thus
were the Swazi people established in what is now
Swaziland. And thus, under
Chief Mzilikazi and others, around the middle of
the 19th century, were the
Ndebele (or Matabele) people established in and
around what is now the south
of Zimbabwe, centred upon Bulawayo,
dispossessing the Mashona. All spoke,
and speak, a Zulu-like
language.
By massacre and pillage the Matabele pushed the
less warlike
Mashona north. But at the end of the 19th century, Rhodes,
Empire and the
British South Africa Police froze the tribal map along lines
close to the
present division between Mashonaland and
Matabeleland.
Each of the two peoples in succession later
rose in rebellion
against the whites. The Matabele rebellion was brave,
focused and short: a
military campaign ending in total military defeat.
Valiant Chief Lobengula
(who had visited Queen Victoria with a tribal
delegation to beg for his
people's rights) was killed. The Mashona rebellion
was more insidious,
slow-burning, sporadic and difficult to quell, but it was
quelled. Mashona
ideologues call this uprising against the white settlers
"the first
Chimurenga". They call the uprising of combined Mashona and
Matabele
freedom-fighters against Ian Smith's Government during the 1960s and
1970s
"the second Chimurenga", which they believe will not be complete until
white
farmers are removed from their land and it is given back to the Mashona
and
their friends.
Thus, tribal historians may think,
comes the end of tribal
history.
They may be wrong. A
document I have seen gives chilling voice
to what I know goes already with
the grain of a Mashona version of the past.
The document
speaks of "the third Chimurenga". What this would
be is all too clear: a
Mashona crusade spearheaded by Zanu (PF) to drive the
southern Matabele, of
whom there are millions, off their land. The massacre
(by North
Korean-trained Zimbabwean Government forces) of at least 3,000 and
up to
7,000 Matabele in the 1980s, well-documented yet somehow never
properly
noticed, could be a terrible augury.
The full document (see
link on right) has been doing the rounds
only recently among concerned people
in Zimbabwe, but appears to date from
the earlier years of Mugabe's
presidency. Its authorship is unknown and I
cannot certify its authenticity -
that it might be a Matabele scare story
remains a possibility - but to me it
has every appearance of having been
written by a literate, well-educated
tribal zealot of a racialist-fascistic
turn of mind, with a vituperative if
stilted command of English, Marxist
jargon and a biblical style. I would
guess the author is a mission-educated
Mashona man: a "blue-skies" thinker
and propagandist in Zanu (PF), not an
active politician. The document seems
intended for an inner-core and calls
itself a "progress review on the 1979
Grand Plan".
Mugabe is extolled as a Mashona Jesus, a
"precious present" from
history and "perfect embodiment of all our cultural
norms and values" who
has "an incredible consciousness of who we are as a
people". After a few
pages of this and some routine attacks on Western
imperialists, Tony Blair
et al, the paper moves to its thrust: "For many
years both the Ndebeles and
Europeans were living under a shameful illusion
that the crimes of their
forefathers had been forgiven and forgotten ... Is
it possible that such
heinous crimes as those committed by these people
against the Shona can just
be swept under the carpet because it is
politically expedient to do so?
"Now, comrades, come to think
of it - a settler is a settler -
period! What peaceful coexistence can there
be to talk about between the
majority indigenous Shona and the occupying
force of those of Ndebele
extraction? A black settler is as unwelcome as a
white settler in our
country."
Then comes the most
chilling section. Land: "..a bone of
contention since the Ndebele occupation
of Zimbabwe. The deployment of
Shonas in Rural Matabeleland will be the last
blow to break the spine of the
enemy. Land that is still in white hands must
all find its way into Shona
hands."
This first is now
happening. What must happen next, suggests
this document, is horribly
clear.
On leaving the Rhodesia Department of the Foreign
and
Commonwealth Office in 1976 I wrote a memo to my head of department
saying
that in the years ahead, as Rhodesia moved towards and then
beyond
independence, the key to the most intractable difficulties would be
land. I
despaired.
Of finding a permanent solution I still
despair but a more
urgent task may face us. We may have to forestall an
immediate massacre.
Make no mistake, as Zimbabwe's economy stumbles and
famine grows, a fight
with the Matabele would enhance Mugabe's troubled
position among his own
people.
What can Britain do? Here,
unlike Iraq, our historical
connection is plain. Here, unlike Iraq, the
problem is manageable, the cost
affordable, and there is less danger of
interference destabilising the
region. It would be the flight of Matabele
refugees into Botswana which
would destabilise the region and the Botswana
Government would share our
anxiety.
The South Africans are
less reliable allies: Thabo Mbeki's
position is ambiguous and the ANC feels
no strong bond with the
Zulu-speaking peoples.
The looming
crisis in Zimbabwe tests to the limit my belief that
Britain should avoid
military adventures, but with our European and American
allies we should
consider every measure short of invasion or assassination
to remove
Mugabe.
As the crisis there deepens it will be desperately
important for
its victims and potential victims in Zimbabwe, black and white,
to avoid a
trap of which I think some of the more naive among them are not
properly
aware. I would advise them to steer clear of the reactionary Right
in
Britain. Steer clear of covert white supremacists who have a drum of
their
own to bang. Steer clear of those who care only about whites and those
whose
only real concern is with the property interests of British kith and
kin.
Remember that the Tories were in power when Mugabe's
men
massacred thousands of southern Matabele, and a Tory Government
showed
little interest in those blacks' plight. Call to mind the young
Baroness
Amos, who is black, at the Lords dispatch box when elderly peers
whose white
friends and relatives have interests in Central Africa intercede
on behalf
of white settlers.
I cannot read the mind of
Lady Amos but I know what I would feel
in her shoes. It is to a Labour
Government that any useful appeal must be
made, and it must be made for the
lives and property of all Mugabe's victims
and potential victims, the
overwhelming majority of whom are Africans.
Something
terrible is afoot in Zimbabwe. Rwanda was a Belgian
colony but Zimbabwe was
ours. Britain should be preparing for a looming
humanitarian catastrophe
there. There may be no better warning than what we
know already. It is
enough.
Respond to any Opinion article via
debate@thetimes.co.uk
The Times
October 26, 2002
Zimbabwe: blueprint for a
massacre?
A document, according to Matthew Parris in his article "The
bloody
catastrophe that awaits Zimbabwe", that supports the theory that
Zimbabwe's
Mashona tribe may soon be urged by President Robert Mugabe into a
genocidal
bid to take lands from the southern Matabele
FOR
RESTRICTED CIRCULATION
FOR THE EYES OF THE SHONA ELITE ONLY!
PLEASE PASS
TO MOST TRUSTED PERSON!
PROGRESS REVIEW ON THE 1979 GRAND
PLAN
Gift
Never before has history given us the majority Shona people,
such a precious
present than it has done with Robert Gabriel Mugabe. R.G. is
simply a
perfect embodiment of all our cultural norms and values, our
aspirations and
expectations, our wants, desires and interests. In his whole
life, R.G. has
not failed to demonstrate that incredible consciousness of who
we are as a
people.
The most vivid imagination of what an ideal Shona
person should look like in
appearance as well as how he should behave or
present himself to the public,
finds an exact match in R.G. His presence
among us as a leader with an
abundant and compelling inspiration towards the
establishment of Shona
Nationhood deserves to be honoured and celebrated as a
memorable great
occasion in the life-histories of all the generations of our
people.
Acknowledgement
We do not, as a matter of obligation, fail to
appreciate and acknowledge the
wonderful achievements, the great valour and
the spirit of stubborn
resistance against formidable adversaries of all those
other great Shona men
and women who led our people before. However, without
prejudicing fair
comparison, it is inarguable though that R.G. stands out
distinctly as a cut
above the rest among both the dead and the living Shona
leaders.
Consistency
Countless incidents in R.G.'s decorated and exuberant
political career
testify to the conviction most of us have that the man is a
visionary of
rare gifts. He is an astoundingly brilliant intellectual as well
as being an
accomplished academic. Having distinguished himself as the most
consistent
revolutionary in the fight against colonialism he has gone further
to
achieve the emancipation of the majority Shona people and consolidated
their
supremacy. And signs are that he has not reached the pinnacle of
his
political life yet.
Few would argue that R.G. is endowed with a
mesmerising eloquence in speech
which together with his subtle charisma
captivates and electrifies audiences
whenever he stands to speak. Little
wonder that he outclassed and turned his
political peers into pitiable
political dwarfs many of whom have fallen
victim to consumptive jealousy and
betrayal. Several of them rubbished
themselves to the political dust bin, and
personalities like Edgar Tekere
and Edson Zvobgo are not
exceptions.
Envy
R.G. is an unquestionable source of envy to many, not
only amongst ourselves
but his foes too, who grudgingly admire him as they
learn painfully to
accept defeat at his hands. Tony Blair is a classic case
in point. Blair's
clumsy arm twisting political tactics geared to tame this
solid and
firebrand revolutionary giant, left his fingers thoroughly scalded.
Mr.
Blair must be ruefully licking his wounds at No. 10 Downing Street,
having
learnt his lesson well, that plagiarising Bush's approach to Saddam
would
attract serious and perilous consequences to
him.
Imperialists
Western leaders are so shamelessly spoilt and conceited
to the extent that
they throw all caution to the wind when it comes to
dealing with Third World
political issues. Their naivety often manifests
itself whenever there is a
lack of agreement on key issues especially those
that adversely affect the
poor nations such as the land issue in Zimbabwe.
They refuse to realise that
there is a new breed of leadership who will not
ask how high when ordered to
jump but will certainly ask WHY. African leaders
in particular are regarded
by the West as filthy hypocrites who are radicals
by day but beggars by
night, as well as lacking personal opinion and relevant
political
sophistication. The tendency is to destroy those who defy
imperialist
dictatorship. R.G. has resolutely said no to imperialism and this
way he
must be treated like Saddam Hussein, according to Western
opinion.
Black Jesus
Some people have a small problem in understanding why
Mugabe is to the Shona
people, what Jesus is to the Christians or what Kim il
Sung and his Juche
idea is to the North Koreans. This status was awarded to
R.G. by his people
in recognition of political astuteness acquired over many
years of
experience in the fight against colonialism.
It is an uncommon
achievement to earn the love and respect of one's enemies.
R.G. did just that
with the descendants of Mzilikazi/Lobengula - a people
with a contemptible
history of violence. This did not just happen - it took
many years of careful
political manoeuvring and scheming. An application of
similar tactics to the
descendants of Cecil John Rhodes is beginning to
yield similar
dividends.
Illusions
For many years both the Ndebeles and Europeans were
living under a shameful
illusion that the crimes of their forefathers had
been forgiven and
forgotten. This was not to be as R.G., the illustrious son
of the Shona
people ensured that the two groups pay dearly for the evil deeds
of the
ancestors. Is it possible that such heinous crimes as those committed
by
these people against the Shona can just be swept under the carpet because
it
is politically expedient to do so?
Legacy
It costs a daring mind to
carve a rich legacy for the good of the general
public, especially one that
restores the dignity of the people at the same
time assuring them of eternal
dominance over settlers. R.G.'s legacy brewed
in an African pot is
unparalleled by any on the continent. Nelson Mandela
covertly tried to
outshine R.G. by elbowing him off the world political
limelight. No sooner
had Mandela started this, did he realise the folly of
such an attempt. It
dawned on him that he was making an error and that he
was too new on the
regional political plane.
The twenty seven years Mandela spent crushing
stones in jail did not
automatically confer upon him the sort of leadership
skills acquired by R.G.
in a protracted and arduous struggle for Zimbabwean
independence. In fact,
jail stunted the growth of Mandela's legal mind - a
sad happening indeed.
However, his attempt to compensate for the deprivations
of that ugly
experience by posturing a false image of "towering African
statesman"
created by his imperialist jailers, collapsed no sooner than it
had started.
Betrayal
Mandela betrayed and deserted the Black majority in
South Africa at the most
crucial hour. Speculation is rife that he is
severely petrified of whites so
much that making land demands, for instance,
would, in his view, muddy the
waters and blemish his political career. As if
his political career is more
important than the black people in South Africa.
At the present moment, the
African continent needs genuinely high calibre
leadership that is
self-assertive and principled, a leadership that is
selfless, a leadership
that will serve the people's interest. Mandela simply
chickened out and
retreated in haste unremorsefully. Praises continue to be
piled on him
because he did not touch the foundation of white
wealth.
Privileges
Future Shona generations will forever enjoy the
opportunities and privileges
that will at all times flow from the heroic
deeds of R.G. We feel strongly
encouraged to stand resolutely behind him and
will not cease to see an angel
where our detractors/enslavers see a devil and
we will continue to see a
liberator where they see a
murderer.
Differences
Such are our differences that must be resolved not
in a superficial manner
but in practical terms within such a real concrete
political context as
ours. The redefinition of our relationship with the
settlers, black or
white, is long overdue! We therefore salute the launch of
the third phase of
our struggle (THIRD CHIMURENGA) and invite the reader of
this article to jon
us in celebrating the manner in which this fight is being
conducted and its
guaranteed success in smashing the white economic
infrastructure such as
farms which facilitated the exploitation of our
people.
Dominance
All the struggles that took place in this country since
the 1830's were
about dominance. Lessons from these struggles confirm the
view that a human
social group is either dominant or subordinate when it
comes to issues of
political power, especially in
Africa.
Mzilikazi
Mzilikazi fled from Zululand because there was no
political space for him to
be dominant. He therefore needed to look elsewhere
for land where he could
exercise power authority and dominance. But because
there was no land not
belonging to anyone, he targeted militarily weaker
societies and found one
in the Shona people whom he viciously subdued and
forcibly settled in their
land, imposing his authority on them.
Now,
comrades, come to think of it - a settler is a settler - PERIOD!
What
peaceful coexistence can there be to talk about between the
majority
indigenous Shona and the occupying force of those of Ndebele
exraction. A
black settler is as unwelcome as a white settler in our
country.
Ndebele crimes
Mzilikazi's men, in particular under the command
of his terrorist successor
Lobengula, wreaked havoc in our country. They
raped and kidnapped Shona
women, looted grain and stole our cattle. Anyone
who disputes that this was
conquest needs medical examination. For some sixty
long years, the Shona
people were brutalised, insulted and abused by the
Ndebeles. Their wealth
was ravenously plundered and economic life left to
bleed to death in the
most cruel manner. The Ndebele subjected the Shona
people to the worst forms
of barbarism and tyranny. They imported violence to
Zimbabwe and it is a
well known fact that violence was a virtue in Zululand
and perhaps continues
to be to this day. No one doubts the assertion that
violence flows in
Ndebele blood.
Lazy
Periodic and incessant waves of
cruel raids by Ndebele warriors harvested
cattle, women and grain from the
Shona to enrich the bogus Ndebele King. The
inherently lazy and unintelligent
Ndebele anarchist savages preferred to
loot and plunder than to learn the
skills of the more culturally advanced
Shona people who excelled in building
as epitomised by the Great Zimbabwe as
well as in crop farming and the arts
such as stone carving and mbira music.
Complexes
Subjecting the Shona
people to a reign of terror created both an inferiority
and persecution
complex in them. For instance, the Shona people began to
shun the use of
their clan names in preference for the totem system such as
Dube, Sibanda,
Nyoni etc. This was a straightforward case of political
subjugation of the
Shona people.
White Settlers
The carnage viciously unleashed on our people
by the Ndebeles was
interrupted by the coming of white settlers who were
motivated by the same
desire - to dominate. Cecil John Rhodes' men were more
advanced in systems
of plunder and exploitation than the Ndebeles. The whites
dubbed both the
Shona and the Ndebeles as African savages of the bush needing
to be rescued
from the darkness of ignorance.
The white settlers swiftly
annexed our country as a colony of Britain. The
Shona and Ndebele were, in
the view of settlers, identical natives belonging
to the same race, totally
disregarding the oppressor/oppressed relationship
between the Shona and the
Ndebele that existed before colonialism. However,
this did not alter or erase
the crimes committed against our people before
by the
Ndebeles.
Land
The whites too were in search of land. Back home (UK) they
were little known
minnows, mostly sons of serfs who were used to expand the
horizons of the
British empire by carving colonies in all corners of the
world. Some of them
were convicts let off on a new lease of life to prove
their usefulness to
the Crown. Insofar as we are concerned the whites removed
us from the
clutches of Ndebele colonialism onto the rapacious claws of
European
Imperialism - a case of jumping from the pan onto the fire.
Our
gallant forefathers put up countless spirited fights against the new
settlers
but were subdued by the militarily superior invading barbaric force
which
iced its successes/conquest with the hanging of our great spirit
medium,
Mbuya Nehanda and others.
Crimes of the White Man
The conquest of our
people by the white men was in itself a criminal act.
Having conquered our
people they immediately went into an unbridled frenzy
of raping Shona women
producing a mixed breed that has been behaviourally as
confused as the act of
rape itself since that time. The breed chronically
suffers from an incurable
and severely traumatic identity crisis.
The white invader too started to
steal Shona cattle and wildlife - sending
trophies to the King, enslaving
Shona men on the stolen land (horse pegged
farms) and on mines. The savagery
was soothed by a crude dosage of religious
opium administered by their
forerunner imperialist chief-scout, Robert
Moffat - a man of the
cloth.
The rest of the details of this carnage may be obtained from history
texts
as well as from the sad oral tales of our people.
Freedom
An
attempt to throw off the colonial yoke in the first half of the
twentieth
century did not succeed until the entry onto the Zimbabwean
political scene
in 1963 of a Shona led political party. In this year, Zanu
was born and
excitedly welcomed by those ethnically conscious Shona people
who threw
their weight unreservedly behind its leadership. This birth
signified the
beginning of serious business to wrestle our heritage from the
white man.
Zanu's motto was "a fight for Shona Majority Rule", making an
instant impact
politically by going into an armed struggle, a move later
mimicked by the
Ndebele led Zapu which comprised of mainly semiliterate
hero-worshippers of
Joshua Nkomo. Nkomo's lieutenants followed him blindly
until he committed
political suicide on December 22, 1987.
The only few
educated people in Zapu were Shonas like Ariston Chambati and
Daniel
Madzimbamuto whose true ethnic allegiance ceased to be questionable
in
1980.
Partnership
The Majority Shona people had realised that our
partnership with deposed
Ndebele savages, to oust the white settler regime
from dominance was an
extremely complicated affair. This was particularly
true in this instance
because prior to the birth of Zanu the struggle had
been led by Joshua
Nkomo, a Ndebele assimilant of very vague, dubious and
untraceable
ethnic/tribal origins.
Nkomo parroted a motto similar to
Zanu's, that of Majority Rule but would
not commit himself to "Shona Majority
Rule", preferring to distort it into
"Black Majority Rule". Such a distortion
flew into the face of the real
aggrieved person because Nkomo arrogantly and
deliberately missed the point.
Black majority could only be Black Shona
Majority Rule. Anyone who
stubbornly refuted this rendered themselves an
enemy of the Shona people and
Nkomo became one. Nevertheless, in the interest
of the struggle we in Zanu
appreciated the fact that Nkomo had no option but
to offer himself for use
to achieve Majority Shona Rule. Hence every positive
effort he made was on
behalf of us the majority Shona. Now and then he needed
to be whipped into
line because of his conformist tendencies as in the cases
of numerous
agreements he struck with Ian Smith under the cover of darkness
thereby
putting the liberation process in severe stress and
jeopardy.
Objective
Zanu sought to regain lost Shona dignity, looted
cattle, stolen land and
everything else that accrued to the colonialists as a
result of their
thuggery by the successive Ndebele and European dominant
generations. It
makes economic sense to charge interest on money borrowed to
someone.
Therefore, the development/civilisation which the whites brag about
that
they brought to Zimbabwe is part of the profit which is due to us and
we
inherit all that violently or not, without a guilty conscience.
White
wealth
The riches of the white men in Zimbabwe were and still are
accumulated
through monopoly, exploitation, theft, plunder, murder, rape,
corruption,
treachery, hypocrisy and lies. Is it possible to correct or
reverse such
inhuman acts without resorting to similar tactics? Truly
violence begets
violence, and for every action there is a
reaction.
Scavengers
It is a known fact, though, that ever since its
conception, Zanu had a
double-pronged struggle to wage, that is on the one
hand against the
Ndebeles and on the other against the whites. When the
Ndebeles and whites
fought one another in the 1890's and then in the 1970's,
they were like
vultures fighting over a carcass of dead prey. One vulture
cannot claim
ownership of the dead animal on the grounds that it landed there
first. It
remains a vulture by name and a scavenger by
habit.
Sithole
The Ndebele's had no legal claim whatsoever upon Zimbabwean
sovereignty just
like their earlier cousins (followers of Shoshangane) later
led by
Ndabaningi Sithole, that hob goblin who tried to hijack the
struggle.
Sithole was foiled and summarily ejected from the party - an act
he
regretted till his grave. The simple question is why would these two
black
groupings fight for what did not legitimately belong to them.
Participating
in the struggle only meant that they were offering themselves
for use by the
Majority Shonas.
Correction
Zanu's correction of
Sithole's errors left the Shangaans a thoroughly
confused group despite the
modification of their identity to drift closer to
Shona under the guise of a
language called Ndau, generally accepted among
the ignorant as a dialect of
Shona. The truth remains - they are foreigners,
unwilling to advance our
cause as they huddle around and cling childishly to
the
"Ndonga".
Sustenance of illegal regime
For seventeen years of bitter Zanu
struggle (2nd Chimurenga) to repossess
lost Shona pride and stolen land, the
whites put up a very stiff but doomed
resistance. They were aided and abetted
by their British and American kith
and kin who today will never forgive R.G.
for taking on our behalf what
belongs to us. During the struggle, Ian Smith
received modern war equipment
from the G8 such as Gazelle helicopters, UZI's
etc., but
Zanu received expired medicines through the U.N. There was no doubt
in our
minds that the point made by such assistance to Smith in violation of
UN
sanctions was that blood is thicker than water.
Strategy
Now, in a
struggle comrades, you must have strategies and develop your own
tactics
suitable for the environment in which that struggle is being
executed.
Chairman Mao Ze Dong wrote quite extensively on strategy and
tactics. The
material is easily accessible to those willing to read and
learn. Designing
good strategies is not a simple matter - it requires
acutely intelligent
minds spiced with an unwavering commitment to success.
Zanu was not found
wanting in this regard. Men and women made of the correct
political material
and with characters made of sterner stuff tempered with
resilience, honesty,
dignity and awesomely high levels of political acumen,
began to distinguish
themselves on the ground. We remember Chitepo and
Takawira,at this level,
with great fondness.
Reigns
When R.G. took over the reigns of power in
Zanu tremors of fears in the
hearts of whites were heard throughout the
country. R.G. immediately proved
to be good quality leadership material
through the manner in which he
meticulously and incisively executed the
revolutionary fight for the
restoration of our hallowed independence and
Shona democracy. Revolution
means a violent overthrow of the status quo. R.G.
did precisely that. As we
all know the fight is far from being over.
Flag
independence
As long as the white community remained economically dominant
beyond
independence day of April 18, 1980, then the battle is certainly not
over
yet. Flag independence remains meaningless until the transfer of wealth
into
the hands of its rightful owners. No one understands this position in
Zanu
better than the amazingly resilient and conscientious strategist
R.G.
Impediment
Because of the Lancaster House Constitutional trappings,
R.G. put the issue
of white economic dominance in a political freezer which
he safely locked
with the word "Reconciliation". This earned him boundless
praises such as
"The most brilliant politician" by his former tormentors who
could not
believe their ears when the policy of reconciliation was announced.
R.G.
knew how to leave sleeping dogs lie. He opted to decisively deal
firstly
with the Ndebeles once and for all.
Zapu and Zipra
At
independence Zapu posed the most difficult challenge to Zanu over
the
leadership of the country. The threat was not so much in terms of
grassroots
support as it was in terms of military firepower which Zapu built
over many
years with Russian and Cuban support while Zanla sweated it out on
the war
front fighting Rhodesian forces. Zipra was strong but inexperienced
since
they knew no battles of note. Nevertheless, Zipra remained an
impediment in
our desire to conclusively deal with the issue of Ndebeles and
their ugly
past and the need to pacify Zapu was never greater than in
1980.
5th Brigade
R.G. instantly realised that it would be futile to draw
open battle -lines
with "va-Dumbugura" preferring quietly to do his homework.
He brought into
the country super military training experts from North Korea.
Within eight
months, a revered, feared and uncompromising crack force, known
as
Gukurahundi, had been trained. This is the force (5th Brigade) which was
to
strike terror in the hearts of Ndebeles. On one hand, R.G.
consistently
dangled the juicy carrot of Government of National Unity and the
integration
of forces into the National Army. Mugabe always knew that Nkomo
was
desperate for power and so he let him have a little of it. The
integration
of the three armies would help to scatter Zipra far and
wide.
Dissidents
On the other hand, R.G. created a small rebel force
comprising mainly of
recruits from Zipra and called them dissidents who were
complimented by
selected highly trained Zanla forces who would direct
operations. The group
was put on pay role and then deployed in the Midlands
and Matabeleland.
Soon the self-styled dissidents were joined by other
genuinely aggrieved
Zipras who could not stand the heat generated exclusively
for them in the
National Army. However, the army deserters and a few
notorious Zipras who ha
ted R.G. with a passion, never had a clue that the
dissident element was not
a Zapu initiative. While Zapu denied sponsoring
dissidents, leading to a
loss of faith and confidence in their leadership by
Zipras, the genuine
dissident remained confused and uncoordinated, finally
resorting to aimless
nomadic movement within the region. It is during this
wondering that they
got ambushed, killed and displayed at Police Camps until
they began to
decompose.
The Government sponsored dissidents straight away
went into an orgy of
bandit activity such as destroying development project
equipment, raping
women, demanding food, killing a few "Ndebele sell-outs"
especially those in
the Zapu party structures. They cleverly avoided direct
contact with the
National Army units except a few small skirmishes meant to
deflect
suspicion.
Pretext
A perfect pretext had been created. The 5th
Brigade was then swiftly
deployed in the three provinces to "deal with
dissidents" under the command
of that agile and indestructible Perence Shiri.
The real targets were
Ndebele civilians and Zipra men whose fathers had
committed crimes against
the Shona people. The strategy worked well, in no
time Zapu's political
structures were smashed.
Liquidation
Within five
years, 25 000 Ndebeles had been exterminated in ways that
instilled fear in
the survivors, family life was dislocated as members
scattered in different
directions. The rate of kill was just unbelievable
and in spite of rumblings
by the minority Zapu in parliament the exercise
carried on undisturbed
culminating in the "Head of the Snake" villain
fleeing the country to take
refuge in a European country where his stay was
bankrolled by the same
multinationals he had earlier proclaimed to
be
fighting.
Achievements
The real achievements of such a strategy was
much greater than what the
numbers of those slaughtered reflect. There is
probably roughly 2 million
Ndebeles still alive today and therefore the first
achievement of the 5th
Brigade was redefining Ndebele and Shona relationships
in so far as to who
matters in this country. The Ndebeles now fully know who
wields what
political clout in this country and this sets the stage for the
discussion
of other achievements of the 5th Brigade. The achievements
include:
Heritage
The military offensive in Matabeleland opened new
windows of opportunity for
the Shonas to reassert themselves in the country
as the dominant and
numerically superior group in order to repossess our lost
glory and
heritage, expressed in material, cultural, social and spiritual
terms.
b) Language
The Shona language has regained its dominant position
in our society. It has
become the lingua franca of Zimbabwe in the public
sector particularly in
government departments such as the army, police,
hospitals, schools,
immigration, customs, throughout the country. One can now
authoritatively
demand service in the Shona language, even conduct telephonic
conversation
anywhere in Matabeleland without any need to apologise for the
use of Shona
or without the burden of having to speak Ndebele. National ZTV
is completely
Shona and does very well to promote and develop our language.
This is as it
should be since Zimbabwe is a Shona Nation. We should not give
room to the
languages of the invading groups because our intention is to
culturally
fracture and dislocate them.
Let us be reminded that language
dominance automatically creates many
opportunities such as employment which
occurs according to the language
spread. Shona speakers are now everywhere,
in every corner of the country
not as vegetable vendors but holders of
influential positions. This
occurrence is not accidental and the doubting
Thomases better get this point
straight because it cost careful planning.
Ndebele children now realise that
ignorance of Shona is a serious handicap
and have, therefore, slowly but
surely grown to accept the inevitable
relegation of their own language to an
insignificant and parasitical second
class means of communication restricted
to their homes or play in the
streets. Ndebele can only play a translational
role in Zimbabwe and nothing
else beyond this - check the Zimbabwe passport,
newspapers etc.
As Shonas,
we can now freely traverse the length and breadth of the country
armed only
with our language for communication. The same cannot be said of
Ndebele. We
must take note that even when a Shona person makes an effort to
utter just a
single "ngca" or "ka" for "qa" the Ndebele stupidly get amused
or fascinated
like we used to when a white man attempted to speak Shona for
instance, if
the white man in church spoke broken Shona, like "imwari yedu"
you could not
miss the excitement and aoppreciation on the faces of the
black congregation
who believed in the superiority of the English language.
The sell-out tea
boy, Morgan Tsvangirai, rides on this crest of success of
our policy to
elevate Shona to undisputed one National official language. We
gather that
when he roves around denouncing the President in his party's
stronghold of
Matabeleland he addresses his rallies in Shona. He better be
advised that
this is filthy opportunism as he exploits R.G.'s deeds at the
same time
trying to destroy him politically. In any case he is politically a
product of
Zanu turned prodigal son. The ZCTU which shot him to prominence
was
established by Zanu in the interest of the oppressed workers and
Tea-boy
better put his act together. Ziva kwawakabva! Or else hemlock is
ready for
you Mr. Chameleon.
Jobs
Roughly 95% of Government jobs in
Matabeleland and almost 100% in the rest
of the country are held by Shonas.
We cited the relevant departments earlier
and added to them are parastatals
such Dairibord (DZ Ltd), Railways, CSC,
GMB, where all positions that matter
as well as low grade jobs are
invariably in Shona hands. Exceedingly
heartening is the fact that the
private sector went ahead without waiting for
directives to implement the
policy successfully. This includes factories,
banks, construction companies
etc.
Training in tertiary institutions too
has played a very significant role, as
it is critical that in manpower
development due attention is paid to giving
skills to the Majority indigenous
Shona who will be able to take up
employment opportunities always. Teachers'
Colleges, Polytechs,
Universities, all reflect in their enrolment, Shona
dominance regardless of
where the institution is located in the country. The
most educated people
are Shonas consequently.
With time cities such as
Bulawayo will be Shona dominated as predicted
accurately by the late hero
Herbert Ushewokunze who at some point ill-timed
the naming of Mtshabezi dam
of Mwanakuridza. It is a well known fact that
the job distribution in the
city council of Bulawayo is skewed in favour of
Ndebeles. However,it is
pleasing that this is the only employer in
Matabeleland with a majority of
Ndebeles. Efforts must be made to put them
in line with the present
trend.
The resistance to the teaching of Shona in all schools in Matabeleland
will
soon fizzle out. More and more teaching posts are being taken up by
Shona
college graduates and appointments of Shona school heads has already
been
won. Students/pupils in all schools in that part of the country will, in
the
not too distant future be mostly Shona. We must not forget what
Nathan
Shamuyarira once observed in the 1979 Grand Plan "the only way to
weaken the
Ndebele is to deprive him of an education." Shona is taught in all
teachers'
colleges countrywide but Ndebele is confined to Matabeleland
colleges and
pressure must continue to be applied to limit the teaching of
Ndebele to
those few who happen to be enrolled.
Some churches too are
beginning to realise the trend of the times. They have
introduced strictly
Shona services -a very pertinent move towards achieving
our goal. All
churches nation-wide must conduct services in Shona to achieve
that national
cohesion and singular Zimbabwe national identity. However,
there are some
Bishops of a known church organisation pretending to be
self-anointed
champions of a Ndebele lost cause. Their days are certainly
numbered as the
4th Chimurenga will leave no stone unturned, even religious
stones will
roll.
Culture
In fact, there is no such portion of this country called
Matabeleland. This
was colonial mischief at its worst, in order to apply the
divide and rule
barbaric policy. How could invaders have a place named after
their tribe as
if they were legitimate inhabitants?
Our culture, robust
and durable as ever, is spreading swiftly throughout the
country and the
agents are known to us all. Shona cultural trends are
emerging in areas of
"rowora" traditionally bastardised as "lobola" where
astronomical bride
prices are now being sought by every Zimbabwean parent.
Burial rites like
mock drama in imitation of the deceased's fond habits are
now done even where
no Shona person is present.
Once a trend is self-perpetuating, it ceases to
need monitoring as it gets
weaned off from its architect. The drum and dance
at funeral wakes and our
trust and faith in black magic have all permeated
the social value
structures of our former masters.
National public
addresses at official functions are done in Shona. Being a
Shona is now a
source of pride particularly in Shona assimilates who in
place of that
cultural void, have received a reward to fill in the gap as a
result of
seeking redemption from Shonas.
Marriage partner preferences bear further
testimony to the superiority of
Shonas. Ndebele girls will without exception
opt to marry a Shona man given
a choice between men from the two groups. This
is not without reason.
Ndebele men are often savage and brutal prospective
husbands. They are
ungiving, unprotective and stingy. Since time immemorial,
Shona men have
enjoyed the luxury of making Ndebele girls pregnant and then
deserting them.
There are several benefits from this. The young ladies lose
out on
education, hence on reliable sources of income, eventually resorting
to
prostitution. In fact, our Shona drama script writers have captured
this
when invariably all loose female characters playing the role of
prostitute
or infidelity are given Ndebele names such as MaNcube, MaKhumalo.
Secondly,
we have managed to dilute the Ndebeles since children fathered and
left by
our brothers (illiegimates) are Ndebele by name but Shonas by blood.
This is
a legitimate form of struggle. The end justifies the means. The true
Ndebele
population is shrinking and we can all be catalysts in
this.
Business opportunities
The emergence of Shona indigenous black
business entrepreneurs is another
great achievement towards our goal. Most
black owned retail shops in
Bulawayo belong to Shona people, the Chigumiras,
Munyoros etc. Most black
owned firms in manufacturing, communication,
engineering, clothing,
transport, belong to Shonas, in the so called
Matabeleland. Names such as
Phillip Chiyangwa, that whiz-kid who turns
anything he touches into gold,
are now household names especially amongst
fighters for black empowerment.
Chiyangwa and others are leading the crusade
to funnel every industrial and
commercial asset in Bulawayo and elsewhere
into Shona hands.
Consumable products such as milk, beef, soups carry Shona
labels. The
purpose here is to force the die-hard Ndebele families to start
using Shona
words in their home. Language describes one's surroundings and it
is
becoming abundantly clear to the Ndebele that this situation is
inescapable
and R.G. must take credit for it all.
Combined effort
The
military, cultural, economic and political assaults complimented one
another
very well to bring about the sterling achievements cited above. The
success
of the business enterprises mentioned elsewhere was well calculated.
The
appointment of a Shona to head the Central Bank (Reserve Bank) ensured
that
no one else gets a banking licence except Shonas, paving the way for
the
establishment of indigenous banks with branches all over the country
by
Shonas only.
We now have a Shona dominated banking sector which used to
be a preserve of
foreigners and there is no doubt that this development is
pivotal to the
indigenisation process. Despite serving everyone, regardless
of race,
colour,creed, tribe, these banks have fulfilled their role in our
struggle
for Shona dominance and therefore would like to congratulate Julius
Makoni
of National Merchant Bank (NMB), Leonard Nyemba of Trust Bank
(Trustfin),
Gideon Gono of the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), Francis
Nhema of
Zimbabwe Building Society (ZBS), Thata Mutunhu of Agribank, Nigel
Chanakira
of Kingdom Bank - the list is endless. Recently one of these banks
helped to
establish a Shona person in the heart of Matabeleland North farming
area of
Nyamandlovu, on the acquifer - the most valuable land in this area.
The
Shona man from Gweru was facilitated with a $60 million loan to takeover
a
highy priced productive dairy enterprise from a Swindells, who could
only
take from the Kershelmar Dairies, his personal belongings before he left
for
Australia. The Tagariras, also Shonas from Bulawayo, have taken over
large
properties in the same area, thanks to these banks and A2 resettlement.
More
and more large properties (farms) in Matabeleland,
especially
Nyamandlovu,have fallen into Shona hands under the A2 Fast
Track
Resettlement. Shona workers are employed on these farms. One must be a
fool
to fail to realise such political astuteness on the part of our
leader.
Most of those who are ungrateful to Zanu for these achievements are
ignorant
of the fact that the 1979 Grand Plan intended to facilitate funding
for
budding Shona business enterprises in farming, the hotel industry,
the
purchase of large industrial complexes being sold by migrating
former
Rhodesians such as G & D in Bulawayo. We must appreciate that
wherever these
banks occur in the country, 100% of the staff is
Shona.
R.G. sourced funds from the IMF and World Bank and then channelled
them into
loan disbursement programmes through these banks. No foreign
owned
commercial bank could be trusted with such funds lest they fail to
apply the
relevant discrimination against the Ndebeles. Indigenous banks
funnelled the
funds into Shona hands. And therefore our obligation is to
ensure that the
noises made by IMF and company about non-payment does not
hurt us
politically because the money was put to good use. Those young
Shonas
tempted to shun the party should seek more information on the 1979
Grand
Plan of Zanu.
Land
This brings us to the very sensitive issue of
land which has been a bone of
contention since the Ndebele occupation of
Zimbabwe. Because the majority of
people in Bulawayo are Shonas, the rural
areas must now be the target. This
can only be done through the resettlement
programme. The deployment of
Shonas in Rural Matabeleland will be the last
blow to break the spine of the
enemy. Because of this vision on our part,
political power cannot be allowed
to slip into the hands of tyrants. In the
words of the now maverick and
controversial Zvobgo being advice to Zapu
"There is no less painful way for
you than to join Zanu". Nkomo capitulated
in 1987 and we all know that the
Unity Accord was a farce or smokescreen face
server for Zanu's one time
greatest foe and headache turned tool.
Shona
supremacy is not a dream but a reality. Should you stand idle and fail
to
throw your weight behind the leadership? Ask yourself whether you could
be
where you are were it not for Mugabe and Zanu - educationally,
politically,
economically, etc. Land that is still in white hands must all
find its way
into Shona hands. The courts can shout until the cows come
home. Many of us
were sent to the gallows for demanding our independence.
The question of
compensation is a non-starter, white farmers must go to
Australia via the UK
to collect their compensation. Zanu is simply returning
to the rightful
owners what is rightfully theirs. Food shortages will soon
be a thing of the
past - we must persevere. Those whites who bought farms
are as guilty as
their fathers who horse-pegged Zimbabwean land, parcelling
it out to world
war fighters, because they received stolen property. The
ongoing agrarian
revolution must be won or else our independence shall
remain hollow. The
party will continue to use Nkomo's fighters to further
the cause but we must
know when and how to dump them so that their presence
within our ranks does
not unmake our victories in the area of marginalising
them. Fortunately, most
of them are not intellectually gifted enough to
suspect that we are still
guided by the 1979 Grand Plan. Zanu will not
change - Zipra should change to
accept that they are foreigners and
therefore not entitled to enjoy the
benefits of being Zimbabweans. So far
they have done well in striking terror
in the hearts of their MDC
colleagues. The struggle is a process - from
Mgagau/Morogoro to the
establishment of Shona Nationhood, onward
ever!
BACKWARD NEVER!
The deeds of the Great Man must be told while they
leave. We need to refocus
in view of the presence of the enemy within our
ranks.
FROM THE CORE
Tycoon jailed for 10 years over business rival's death
By David
Millward
(Filed: 26/10/2002)
Nicholas van Hoogstraten, the tycoon
responsible for a campaign of
intimidation against a business rival, was
jailed for 10 years for
manslaughter yesterday.
The property developer
smirked in the dock of the Old Bailey as Mr Justice
Newman, who had
previously warned him that he was considering a life term,
handed down the
sentence for his part in the killing of Mohammed Raja.
Amjad Raja:
'He should have got life'
Hoogstraten, who the court was told displayed
"narcissistic" and "paranoid"
personality traits, only showed emotion on
being told that he would have to
pay more than £120,000 in court
costs.
"By that are you suggesting that I am not a victim here," he
snapped at the
judge, before being led to the cells.
The millionaire,
who had sacked his legal team, confidently predicted he
would soon be freed
in a letter written to a Telegraph journalist.
Judge Newman's decision to
impose a 10-year term was described as
"disappointing" by the victim's son,
Amjad Raja, 42. "The family firmly
believes he is responsible for our
father's death," Mr Raja said. "The
people he sent round to murder our
father, we feel he should have got life
as well."
The jailing of
Hoogstraten, one of the country's wealthiest men, came almost
three months
after he was convicted for his part in the death of Mr Raja.
Two other
men - David Croke and Robert Knapp - were given life sentences for
murder,
Hoogstraten was found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter
after the
jury accepted that the tycoon had sent his two henchmen to
intimidate his
victim.
Mr Raja, who was involved in a lengthy legal dispute with
Hoogstraten, was
stabbed and shot on the doorstep of his home in Sutton,
south London, on
July 2, 1999.
The civil case has still not been
settled and Mr Raja's family is seeking £5
million damages for alleged fraud.
They also plan a further legal action for
the personal injury and distress
suffered by Mr Raja's grandsons - Waheed
and Rizvan - who were in the house
at the time of the murder.
In an unsuccessful plea for the right to
appeal Peter Kelson, QC,
Hoogstraten's new counsel, said there were
"particular and cogent" grounds
for challenging the original
conviction.
The jury, he said, have found the tycoon responsible for
sending two men to
intimidate Mr Raja, but not to inflict any harm on the
Pakistan-born
businessman.
This was rejected by the judge who told Mr
Kelson it would be "fanciful" to
suggest that Hoogstraten had instructed the
two men to go no further than
inflicting "a punch on the nose".
He
told Hoogstraten: "I sentence you on the basis that you were the
instigator
of a terrifying piece of intimidation which was designed to
convey a threat
to Mr Raja that he would be caused really serious bodily
harm or be
killed.
"It should not be forgotten this action you took against Mr Raja
was the
last in what on the evidence had been a case of aggravation of which
Mr Raja
had been in fear for a number of years."
Sentencing had been
delayed to allow the court to receive psychiatric
assessments on
Hoogstraten.
Ian Cumming, who compiled a report for the court, concluded
that the tycoon
had "narcissistic and paranoid" personality traits, although
he did not
suffer from any mental illness or disorder.
The judge, who
had observed Hoogstraten during the trial, concluded: "He
never takes any
responsibility for the things he has done. The reports show
he always thinks
he is in the right."
Judge Newman recalled the tycoon's occasionally
bizarre behaviour during the
trial - which at one point included a threat to
walk out of the witness box.
Speaking outside the court Giovanni di
Stefano, who has been engaged by
Hoogstraten as a legal adviser, said the
tycoon would still be appealing
against conviction.
25 October 2002:
Tycoon refuses to leave his cell
12 October 2002: Hoogstraten faces fine for
contempt
23 July 2002: Hoogstraten faces life for killing rival
20 July
2002: Tycoon trial pair guilty of murder
18 April 2002: Tycoon in murder case
'called Asian victim a maggot'
17 July 2001: Van Hoogstraten held over
killing
Previous story: Richard Harris dies at 72
Next story: Five
years for 15-year-old knife killer
Related reports
Mugabe to
seize tycoon's
lands
© Copyright of
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information. Privacy Policy.
Daily Telegraph 26 October 2002
Mugabe plans to seize rest of
tycoon's lands
By Peta Thorneycroft in Harare
(Filed:
26/10/2002)
The jailed tycoon was facing ruin in Zimbabwe last night as
the Mugabe
regime announced plans to seize the rest of his
land.
Hoogstraten learned that his remaining estates will be confiscated by
the
authorities along with 97 per cent of white-owned land.
At his peak,
he owned nine farms in Zimbabwe totalling 400,000 acres and
28,000 cattle. He
also enjoyed a lucrative government contract to provide
beef to Mugabe's
troops fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He managed to stave
off wholesale confiscation two years ago, surrendering
4,800 acres of land -
far less than other white owners were expected to
surrender.
As a result
of the latest announcement, those administering his property in
Zimbabwe are
left with less than 20,000 cattle to be sold on the open
market.
However,
Hoogstraten will be allowed to retain his luxury home in Harare.
The
confiscation comes despite Hoogstraten's years of highly vocal support
for
"Comrade Mugabe". The extent of his contributions to the ruling Zanu-PF
party
remains a mystery.
Some believe his association with Mugabe was less close
than the tycoon
maintained although the regime regarded him as "useful" in
its propaganda
war at the start of the white land seizures.
Many of his
interests are faring badly. On Central Estates in Mvuma, 120
miles south of
Harare, wildlife operations have closed down and cheques
have
bounced.
Eastdale Ranch, about 30 miles further south, has been
abandoned and is now
occupied by Mugabe supporters. Essexvale Ranch, near
Bulawayo, has been
overrun.
Dear readers
We have had several emails requesting more reports on what is happening to wildlife in Zimbabwe and some asking how they can help. I have written to a few people asking for information - see below - and will continue to look for more.
Karen
27/10/2002
"Herewith a letter written back in July, from Sharon, to
our Wild Life Committee chairman, Pam Birch. Several things have
changed since then.....numerous elies HAVE been snared, & it would
appear by the size AND the heavy duty of the wire being used, that the elies ARE
being deliberately targetted.!! Horrible...since these elies are almost "tame"
they are so habituated to man."
Saturday, October 26, 2002 7:45 PM
"Thanks for your note. Here is a photo of the baby ele. Sharon's email
address is below. she also has things on a web site which you can look
at.
She said I could pass this on. Here's what she says.
"The address is hanimex.com.au - and you select News, then Sponsorships,
then Nature. I usually write at least one story every month, sometimes more.
There's stories there from March last year, with the most current ones appearing
at the end of the list."
We can put your friend on the Matebeleland NEWSLETTER mailing list, if you
like.
Hope this is of interest to you. In view of your interest,I think that we
will put these addresses in the next newsletter.
Thanks and keep in touch.
.... the day after the snare removal
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2002 10:37 AM
Subject: Snared Elephants on the Hwange Estate
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is
Sharon Pincott. (Pam - we have met once before when I was in Bulawayo with
Julia Salnicki.) I have been in Zimbabwe undertaking a "social structure and
population dynamics" study of the 'Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe' since
March of 2001. I have permits until April 2004, however I hope to continue
this research and conservation project for many more years after that. Apart
from a fujifilm sponsorship (for elephant identification photography), I am
currently self-funded.
Being out all day, every day, with the elephants I
see some amazing sights - and some horrific ones. There are many highs.
Snared elephants are the lows.
Please let me give you a little background
:
In 1990 President Mugabe issued a special
protection decree, as a symbol of Zimbabwe's commitment to responsible wildlife
management, for the perpetual safety of a group of elephants since known as 'The
Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe'. These wild elephants, when their numbers
were significantly less, came to accept the close presence of vehicles and their
occupants. Today the herd of over 500 is arguably the most habituated in
Africa. They roam freely on the 140 square kilometre, unfenced, Hwange Estate
on the edge of the great Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
At a time when Zimbabwe is facing turbulent times,
these gentle giants are under constant threat from increased poaching. The
poachers are not intending to snare the elephants. Elephants, unlike smaller
animals like antelope, usually break free from the snares. They then, however,
wander around hideously maimed, mutilated and in pain. If a snare is not
removed, the elephant's chances of survival are of course slim.
This is a man-inflicted injury. It is not nature's
doing. Darting is necessary to remove the snare, with massive amounts of
antibiotics subsequently needing to be injected.
Funding for darts, needles, immobilising drugs and
antibiotics is required to allow us to help these magnificent beasts.
Anti-poaching teams also need to be increased, to help ensure that the majority
of snares are located and destroyed before they do untold damage.
Darting would be carried out by Greg Rasmussen, the
head of the local Painted Dog Research Project. Greg is the only person in this
area with experience in darting elephant. We have recently had extensive
correspondence with elephant experts in various African countries (kindly
arranged with assistance from Iain Douglas-Hamilton in Kenya, and Joyce Poole of
the Amboseli Elephant Research Project), and now feel confident that we can
proceed successfully, funding permitting.
Itemised costs, per snare removal, are currently
being determined.
The purpose of this e-mail is to gauge your
interest in helping financially with such an endeavour. We can, of course, not
be certain that I will encounter further snared elephants (and I hope of course
that I don't), however, I recently saw 4 newly snared elephants in just 4 weeks,
and there's no reason to believe that the situation here in Zimbabwe is going to
improve. We need to be prepared.
I am attaching in a separate e-mail four
photographs to show you the types of injury that I am seeing of late. I have
many other snared elephant photographs available should you wish to view
them.
I hope soon to also expand my research project to
include "home range" data. The home range of the presidential elephants is
currently unknown. They spend much of their time on the Hwange Estate, but
clearly venture elsewhere. Collaring a few key known individuals would, amongst
other things, help to determine which areas the elephants are moving between,
and hence, which areas we must concentrate on for snare removal. Funding for
collars and microlight tracking time would be necessary to achieve this. These
costings are also currently being determined.
I thank you sincerely for your time to review this
initial proposal. I will of course supply any further information that you
might need.
Please do let me know if you think that you may be
able to help, or if you know of an organisation that perhaps could.
With kind regards,
Sharon Pincott
(Presidential Elephant Research and Conservation
Project)
PO Box 121
Dete
Zimbabwe
Africa
The
Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe
June 2002
Some
of the original “Presidential” elephants :
The four
female elephants that Alan Elliott refers to in his ‘Presidential Elephants of
Zimbabwe’ coffee-table book are still sighted regularly on the Hwange Estate.
“Skew Tusk”
(the matriarch of the “S” family group) is estimated now to be approximately 46
years old. Her latest calf was born
last July. Having recently broken both
of her tusks, she is less distinctive looking these days with her skewed tusk
currently quite short. She is, however,
still doing well and is now totally at ease with vehicles, often wandering
close to the research 4WD with her calf in tow. Tuskless “Inkosikazi” (the matriarch of the “A” family group, who
has been renamed “Annie” for study purposes), is now estimated to be
approximately 50 years old. Her latest
calf is approximately 2 years old.
“Ridge” (the matriarch of the “W” family group, who, with a big “W”
injury in her right ear, has been renamed “Wendy” for study purposes) also has
a calf approximately 2 years old.
“Disc” (the matriarch of the “D” family group), still with her big
floppy ear, seems to be spending increasing amounts of time on the Estate with
her family group.
At least two
of these elephants - “Skew Tusk” and “Inkosikazi” -
based on the text of the ‘Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe’
coffee-table book - have been known to be utilising the Hwange
Estate as part of their home range for over 28 years, and still continue to do
so.
Elephant Movements :
The elephant
groups are most regularly sighted around Konondo, Mpofu and Mtaka pans. All three of these pans are pumped by ‘Touch
the Wild’. As long as water remains
available, the elephants will no doubt continue to find refuge on the Hwange
Estate.
The home
range of the ‘Presidential Elephants’ is currently unknown, although it is
believed that they spend time inside the National Park. It is hoped, as part of the current ‘social
structure and population dynamics’ study, that a number of elephants can
eventually be collared (with microlites used for tracking purposes) in order to
determine where the elephant groups go when they temporarily move off the
Estate.
Elephant
Numbers :
There is no
doubt that the number of elephants on the Hwange Estate is increasing. There is a predominance of young, with the
current population seemingly dominated with calves under 10 years old. There appears currently to also be an influx
of calves under 12 months old. Having
witnessed, on a number of occasions over the past year, a clan of elephants at
Konondo pan numbering in excess of 300, there is little doubt that their total
number could currently lie somewhere in the vicinity of 400-500.
As soon as
the in-progress photo identification library is more complete, an accurate
population count will be determined.
Poaching Problem :
Snared
elephants are becoming an increasingly unwelcome sight. Often effecting small calves, snares have
been sighted around heads, around necks, around legs and around trunks. Clearly, the poachers aren’t intending to
catch an elephant, however it seems that the elephants are often the
unfortunate victims. Surprisingly,
other animal species on the Hwange Estate are currently being sighted less
frequently with snares. Perhaps this is
because the poachers are getting ‘better’ at setting their snares, and only the
elephants are managing to break free from them.
Hopefully
with funding from various local and international wildlife conservation
agencies, and the advice of experts in the elephant field Africa-wide, we will
be able to deal successfully with snare removal effecting the ‘Presidential
Elephants’. Plans are also in place to
increase anti-poaching/anti-snare patrols on and around the Hwange Estate.
Elephant
Impact on Vegetation :
A study,
separate to the long-term ‘social structure and population dynamics’ study, is
currently underway to determine the impact of elephant on the vegetation of the
Hwange Estate. This PhD thesis is due
to be written up by late-2003.
Elephants at ease with
humans :
Mothers still routinely bring their new born babies for
introductions. Just last week one of
the members of the “A” family group used her trunk to encourage her new-born
(still pink behind the ears, with ears still flat against the head) to come
just inches from the door of the research vehicle. There was no doubt that the mother was encouraging her baby to
have no fear.
We are
continuing to foster an environment where there is, in fact, no fear for the
“Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe”.
Dear Family and Friends,
I have watched international news coverage recently
of horrors going on in other parts of the world to try and put the crisis in
Zimbabwe into perspective. Maybe it's because I'm a woman or maybe it's because
I'm getting older, but lots of things reduce me to tears these days. The night
club bombing in Bali, the sniper in Washington and the rebels holding 700 people
captive in a Russian theatre have all caused much despair in my heart. When you
see ordinary people losing everything that they treasure and just sobbing in the
street you begin to wonder if the whole world has gone mad. Amidst all these
tragedies there are two common factors and that is that when something goes
horribly wrong, the worlds cameras are there and the citizens of a country turn
to their police and army for help. These two binding factors are the very things
that Zimbabwe so desperately needs.
We have no one to turn to for help and the feeling
of aloneness is utterly soul destroying. A few weeks ago I wrote about the wife
of the commander of Zimbabwe's army seizing one of our last farms and telling
the owners they had better leave in a hurry because she hadn't tasted white
blood for 22 years. This week the news broke that this very woman not only
seized someone's farm and destroyed their lives, she went on to sell all the
farmers produce and pocket the money. Jocelyn Chiwenga sold the stolen produce
to the Sainsbury supermarket chain in England and realised half a million pounds
in the process. Contacted by newspapers, Sainsbury's supermarkets said they
thought the farm had been legally taken over and the owners
compensated.
This is one example of thousands which demonstrate
how alone we have become and how so few people really know what is happening
here. Farmers have not been paid, compensation has not been given and not one
single part of the entire land re-distribution here has been legal. There are no
foreign journalists left in Zimbabwe to tell our story and no one for us to turn
to for help inside the country because the very people who should be protecting
us, are at the head of the pillage and destruction of Zimbabwe.
If the world's cameras were here then I wouldn't
have to tell you that Zimbabwe is slowly and painfully starving to death. I
won't bore you with the increasingly long list of staple food items that are no
longer available in our shops but the tragedy for us all is just beginning. This
week I travelled from Marondera to Harare and the view from the window can only
be described as utterly desolate. On the 67 kilometre journey through what was
always prime and very productive farm land there is literally only one crop to
be seen on the side of the road. This is a small 5 hectare square of tobacco.
The dairy cows are gone. The beef herds no longer exist, there are no sheep or
goats to see. The timber plantations have been felled and cut up into piles of
wood which are being sold on the roadsides by thin, hungry men. Youngsters stand
with jars of wild honey and women with small enamel bowls of wild Mahobohobo
fruits. The vegetable stalls are all gone. You can no longer buy fresh farm
produce as there are no plums or mushrooms, no potatoes or oranges. There is
absolutely nothing here anymore. Most of the fencing has gone and leaves a
deserted and desolate look to the countryside. The biggest tragedy of it all is
that there is no sign whatsoever of any production on all these farms that have
been seized by our government and security forces. There is no sign of land
preparation, the fields have not been ploughed and the soil has not been turned.
Sweeping fields which once held wheat, maize and vegetables or were filled with
sheep and cattle are lying barren. The only thing to see is little dusty
footpaths zig-zagging into the horizon. There is
a hand painted sign on the main highway which says "Wooden flowers for sale" and
further on two men sit with their wares which are varnished tree roots and drift
wood.
This morning I wept as I held an emigrating friends
dog in my arms as it was euthenased and then I carried it home to be buried in
my garden. The vet is no longer able to bury dogs as his property too has been
taken over in this insanity which our government says is correcting historical
imbalances and giving land to the landless. An entire country has been
destroyed by a political party determined to stay in power but not interested in
the suffering of the people. When will the world
hear our cry for help? Until next week, with love, cathy. http://africantears.netfirms.com
Copyright Cathy Buckle 25th Oct 2002