Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday
said discord in the country's power-sharing government was hampering
economic recovery.
"The inclusive government cannot create jobs because
of policy conflict," Tsvangirai told thousands at a rally to celebrate the
12th anniversary of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, warning
that Zimbabwe's high rate of unemployment was a
time-bomb.
"[President Robert] Mugabe comes out and tells investors 'your
investment is safe.' The following day [Indigenisation Minister Saviour]
Kasukuwere says, 'I want to close this and that mine.'
"This kind of
policy conflict cannot create confidence. We need more confidence, not
less."
Tsvangirai was referring to Mugabe's reassurances to foreign
companies that they will not be nationalised if they comply with the
country's new equity laws.
Within days Kasukuwere threatened to
revoke mining giant Zimplats' licence for failure to submit their plan on
how they intend to sell their majority stake to local
blacks.
Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing government with Mugabe to avoid
a descent into conflict and mend the country's economy in the wake of a
bloody presidential election run-off.
Stability,
uncertainty Although the unity government has brought some stability,
uncertainty caused by the government's indigensiation drive has scared away
foreign investors.
Tsvangirai deplored recent violence in Harare by
members of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and said his party is ready to go for
elections if conditions are conducive for a free and fair
vote.
"We want an election but it must be an election with the
support of SADC [Southern African Development Community], the African Union
and the United Nations," he said.
"The constitution must be completed
as well as the referendum, there should be voter registration for those who
are eligible to vote."
Zimbabwe will go to elections to choose a
successor to the shaky power-sharing government but the date is yet to be
set.
The MDC was formed in September 1999 at a meeting of labour and
civic rights activities concerned about the deteriorating economic situation
in the country. - AFP
President Robert
Mugabe endured an extraordinarily miserable week, cutting a lonely and
isolated figure following the release by WikiLeaks of secret US diplomatic
cables.
The cables confirm beyond doubt that senior officials in Zanu-PF
want Mugabe to go now, mainly because of his age and
ill-health.
Although it has always been known most Zanu-PF officials want
Mugabe to quit, there has never been irrefutable evidence of them speaking
on record about this. However, the confidential cables showed that Zanu-PF
officials have been secretly meeting US diplomats, confiding in them that
they want Mugabe out.
The cables also showed that Mugabe was
suffering from aggressive prostate cancer which has metastasised, spreading
to other organs.
Coming just months before the party's conference in
Bulawayo in December, this is likely to intensify pressure on Mugabe to
retire.
Senior government officials, who met US diplomats behind Mugabe's
back and discussed sensitive Zimbabwean issues - including his retirement,
succession and health - include Vice-President Joyce Mujuru and serving and
former ministers, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nicholas Goche, Saviour Kasukuwere,
Jonathan Moyo, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Dumiso Dabengwa, Olivia Muchena, and
Walter Mzembi.
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and top army commanders
also met American emissaries.
Officials close to Mugabe said this
week that he was "shocked and devastated" to realise his close courtiers
were plotting his removal.
Mujuru met with US ambassador to Harare
Charles Ray on December 12, 2009, while she was acting president and three
days after the Zanu-PF congress where her faction, led by her late husband
General Solomon Mujuru, had crushed the rival group headed by
Mnangagwa.
Mugabe was in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change
Conference.
The meeting was supposed to be a closely guarded
secret.
Ray said the meeting was dramatic as it took place in a literally
dark setting on the outskirts of Harare.
"The meeting took place in
an unoccupied house owned by Mujuru on the outskirts of Harare. The affluent
and powerful are not immune from frequent Harare power cuts, and the
neighbourhood was dark.
"While the house had electricity, irregular power
had shorted most of the lights," he said in the cable.
"We were met
by a Mujuru employee who led us through darkened grounds to an unfurnished
living room (except for chairs and a plasma television) where Mujuru and
[former Zanu-PF MP and member of the Mujuru faction David] Butau were
waiting. The vice-president had managed to shed all of her (presumably
CIO-infiltrated) security. She herself poured tea. The meeting was friendly
and respectful; at the end Mujuru said she would like to meet again and
continue the conversation."
Ray said they discussed a wide range of
issues, including Mugabe's succession.
Insiders said Mugabe was
"gutted and terribly upset" by the situation but was unable to do anything
because of the high-profile nature and scale of the problem, which, if badly
handled, might become his Waterloo.
"The president is shocked and
devastated about these revelations. He would have never thought his own
party officials, who sit in the politburo and in cabinet, could betray him
like that," said a senior official who met with Mugabe this week.
"He
is in a dilemma about what to do about this situation which he has never
faced before. When you speak to him he sounds weighed down by anger,
frustration and disappointment."
Mugabe would have been enraged by
forthright remarks, especially by Kasukuwere and Mzembi, who unambiguously
declared he must go.
The two cabinet ministers, who are in their 40s,
were quoted insisting Mugabe was too old and must quit. To make matters
worse, co-Vice-President John Nkomo was also said to have confided years
ago, to the late Edison Zvobgo, once considered Mugabe's natural successor,
that the president should retire.
According to cables by former US
ambassador to Harare Joseph Sullivan in 2003, Nkomo wanted Mugabe to leave
as well. This view was shared by the late vice-president Joseph Msika. Msika
died in August 2009 and was replaced by Nkomo.
Zvobgo died in August
2004. Dabengwa and the late Mujuru, among others, also wanted Mugabe to step
down. Their views are still shared by many, as shown by Moyo's daring
stirring of the succession debate last month, further piling pressure on
Mugabe to quit.
Harare, September 11, 2011
– Zanu-PF senior member, Didymus Mutasa has called for the punishment of
Wiki leaks ‘sellouts’ that is likely to expose divisions and further weaken
the former ruling party.
Mutasa was quoted in the state controlled Sunday
Mail saying those named in the secret meetings with US diplomats are
''sellouts who must be punished". Mutasa told party supporters in Mutare last
Saturday that the issue of Wikileaks has become a major challenge for the
party.
"Those implicated should go through normal disciplinary procedures
of the party. If anyone is found guilty of having sold out he or she must be
punished accordingly”, he said.
Mutasa is the party secretary of
administration and Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in the
President's Office.
Mutasa cautioned against selective application of the
law saying ,"there should be no selective application of the law. If some
were punished in the past for selling out, the same should happen to those
implicated in the Wiki leaks saga'' he added.
The explosive cables
released last week exposed top Zanu-PF officials among them Vice President
Joyce Mujuru, Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, Ministers Saviour
Kasukuwere, Sylvester Nguni among others and expressed concern about
President Robert Mugabe's continued stay in office.
Gono is said to have
explained that Mugabe has prostrate cancer and will not live beyond 2013.
Also implicated are the late Vice President Joseph Msika and General Solomon
Mujuru who both confirmed were against President Robert Mugabe’s stay in
power.
Mugabe is still to make public statements over the Wiki leaks
saga. Last week Attorney General Johannes Tomana told Radio VOP exclusively
that "there will be no sacred cows" in arresting those exposed by Wiki
leaks.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Lawyers for a prominent
Zimbabwean human rights activist say state security officials prevented him
from leaving the southern African nation for a conference in Ireland on
rights violations.
Lawyers for Farai Maguwu said Sunday that his airline
boarding pass was seized Saturday along with his passport, laptop and
personal notebooks. Maguwu was jailed for five weeks earlier this year for
allegedly releasing information on killings and violence in eastern
Zimbabwe's controversy-mired diamond fields.
He was scheduled to
speak at the Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders Sept.
14-16.
The lawyers say Maguwu's luggage was taken off the plane and also
"tampered with."
No official explanation was given. Lawyers
immediately sought a court ruling allowing him to travel.
Sacked Libyan envoy Taher Elmagrahi has convinced the National
Transitional Council (NTC) to review all commercial deals between Zimbabwe
and Muammar Gaddafi's regime after submitting a dossier on the dodgy
deals.
Through his first counsellor, Mohammed Elbarat, the diplomat
indicated that millions of dollars' worth of agricultural, mining, petroleum
and tourism projects might be annulled, as there was suspicion that they
were personal transactions.
"The NTC will investigate whether state
funds were not abused by the Gaddafi family for amassing wealth in
Zimbabwe," he said.
He added that the interim leadership had been asked
to cancel the deals, since President Robert Mugabe's government did not
recognise the new administration.
"These deals were not done in good
faith and we want the NTC to investigate them because we do not have
documentation to follow . on who benefited and for what purpose," Elbarat
said.
The North African state's investments in Zimbabwe, include a 14%
stake in CBZ Holdings Limited, a small portion of Rainbow Tourism Group and
other unlisted assets.
While the RTG stake is registered under the
Libya Arab-Africa Investment Company, the 97 million parcel of CBZ shares is
registered under the Libyan Foreign Investment Bank, which is listed as the
second largest investor after Mugabe's administration.
However, bank
chief executive Nyasha Makuvise dismissed any potential threats or
disruption to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed financial group.
Apart
from banking assets, Gaddafi's stricken regime sought to grab further deals
and contracts in real estate, farming and tourism, with his closest son and
economic point man Saif visiting the country last year on a business
trip.
As the deals and secretive transactions are in limbo now, a
cabinet minister said Zimbabwe remained unaffected by the NTC's planned
action, as Saif's visit was just an exploratory trip.
Ever since
rebels launched an assault on Gaddafi's seat of power under a western-backed
initiative seven months ago, several global and African governments,
including South Africa, have ordered a freeze of his international
assets.
In March, President Jacob Zuma's administration froze Libyan
investments, including a major stake in Ensemble Holdings Limited, owner of
Johannesburg's plush Michelangelo hotel and apartments.
Pretoria said
the portfolio was held under The Libyan Arab African Investment Company and
other opaque structures.
The companies also represent the oil-rich
nation's $70 billion sovereign wealth fund.
On the other hand, Uganda
also froze $400 million worth of assets in its banking, energy, hospitality
and telecommunications sectors.
Two senior army generals of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), the
pillar of President Robert Mugabe's rule, are in hot water after bitterly
criticising their commander, General Constantine Chiwenga.
They
described him as a "political general" with "little practical military
experience or expertise".
High-level military and intelligence
sources told the Sunday Times ZDF brass were contemplating the court martial
of Major-General Fidelis Satuku and Brigadier-General Herbert Chingono for
sniping their boss.
Satuku is the director-general for Policy and
Personnel in the ZDF, while Chingono is inspector-general of the Zimbabwe
National Army (ZNA).
In 1999, Chingono, an artillery officer, was the
last ZNA commander to train at the US's National Defence University under
the International Military Education and Training programme, a component of
US security assistance that provides training to students of US allies on a
grant basis.
Satuku received his military training in Britain. The two
could be charged with "treason or subversion" for secretly meeting Charles
Ray, the US ambassador to Harare, in January last year to discuss Zimbabwe's
"sensitive military issues and politics in contravention of the law, their
code of conduct and ethics", according to military sources.
The
meetings came to light in the latest releases by WikiLeaks of secret
diplomatic cables dispatched to Washington by US envoys based in Harare.
WikiLeaks disclosures have created a political storm in Zimbabwe, as
elsewhere in the world.
"It is a very difficult situation. Some top
army commanders see this as a tale of traitors, betrayal and treachery and
hence they want a swift response," said a senior commander in the
military.
"In the army, once you do such things, they charge you with
treason and you will be court-martialed."
Intelligence sources,
however say Mugabe, as the ZDF commander-in-chief, might baulk at taking
action because the political consequences could be devastating. An
intelligence officer said: "It might actually serve these two commanders
because they are not alone in this, although as serving officers they
operate under different rules to politicians facing the same
problem."
Efforts to get official comment from the army failed.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Minister of Defence, was also not available for
comment.
According to a top-secret cable by Ray, Satuku and Chingono took
a serious risk by meeting with US envoys and their identity should not have
been made known. Ray said if their identities were revealed, it could lead
to "treason" charges, as only those generals aligned to Mugabe and Zanu-PF
were allowed to dabble in politics.
"Except for those who are fully
in bed with Zanu-PF, people keep their views private to avoid being accused
of treason, which can have fatal consequences," he said.
During the
meetings, the cables say, the two generals took time to explain the
situation and dynamics in the military. They also spoke about Chiwenga's
political ambitions, different views and opinions within the army,
conditions of service and politics, including sanctions.
Chingono and
Satuku told Ray the current Zimbabwe situation could end in conflict if not
carefully managed. "To think that there would be little or no conflict in
such a government is naïve. That said, both sides in the current lash-up
must work out their differences - they owe it to the people who elected
them."
This view was expressed in a different cable by former Nigerian
ambassador to Harare, Kunle Adeyanju, after meeting Ray in January last
year. "There are many 'pools' of people in Zanu-PF waiting for Mugabe to
die, and when that happens there will be a mad scramble to grab power,"
Adeyanju was quoted as saying.
Masvingo, September 11, 2011 –
Johanne Masowe Apostolic Faith members threatened to clamp down o few
remaining white commercial farms as payback for bankrolling Zimbabwe’s
ageing leader, President Robert Mugabe in the 2008 disputed
election.
Masvingo District Administrator (DA) James Mazvidza confirmed
that his office is trying hard to calm down more than 1000 families from
Johanne Masowe who want to invade Chidza farm located about 30kilometers
east of Masvingo town.
The Faith members claim that they were used by
President Robert Mugabe during the previous elections and are threatening to
go on a rampage and invade some farms owned by the white community in
Masvingo as a payback for their votes.
Last Wednesday, Mazvidza
pleaded with the church leaders who had gathered at Bollarnt Farm in Chidza
where they were about to allocate some potions of land to their
families.
“We are aware that some people are eager to give themselves
land but we are saying the process must be legal. We are fighting hard to
cool down the church members who are about to go on fresh farm
invasions”.
“I am sure they will understand us and wait until
professional provincial lands committee team is invited to assess the
situation and peg the land so that the process is not haphazard,” added
Mazvidza.
However, Mazvidza said he was not aware that the church members
were pushing for land as a way of expressing their anger against Mugabe’s
empty promises.
“I am not aware of their motivation to fight for land,”
he said.
But one of the key members in the Apostolic sect who refused to
be named insisted that they patiently waited for Mugabe to honour his
promises for a long time now.
“We have run out of patients now, the
President through his various representatives promised us to get land once
he returned his position in 2008. We voted for him and supported him all the
way but nothing good has come our way as a way of appreciating our
support. “The people feel that the President duped them and they think it is
time ready to act,” he said.
Often churches are seen as compliant
to the laws and they are usually least expected to be seen fighting in order
to be rewarded.
Harare, September 11,
2011- Zimbabwe’s state security agents on Saturday confiscated property
belonging to diamond rights researcher, Farai Maguwu and prevented him
boarding a plane to attend an international conference scheduled for
Ireland.
The unidentified State security agents prevented Maguwu, the
Director of the Centre for Research and Development from leaving Harare
International Airport to attend the Sixth Dublin Platform for Human Rights
Defenders in Ireland scheduled to run from 14 to 16 September
2011.
The conference gathers human rights defenders at-risk, from every
corner of the world are scheduled to gather to share experiences, learn from
one another, discuss relevant issues and engage with decision makers from
governmental and inter-governmental bodies.
The unidentified State
security agents, who conducted a body search on Maguwu, confiscated his HP
625 laptop, power pack, wallet, Olympus digital camera, cash, business
cards, bank cards, notebooks, laptop bag and all its contents.
The
State security agents also seized Maguwu’s boarding passes, his travel
insurance, accommodation bookings and three notepads.
Attempts to
engage the State security agents to understand the reason for this action
were not entertained as the officials chased Maguwu from their office at the
airport. They refused to identify themselves or explain anything to him.
They then ordered the diamond rights researcher to have his passport
re-stamped for entry into Zimbabwe after they foiled his trip to
Ireland.
Maguwu’s check-in luggage which was pulled off the Kenyan
Airways plane by the airline’s officials was also tampered with and Kenya
Airways officials refused to explain what had happened to his
luggage.
Lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
accompanied Maguwu to make a report to the police and were, by Saturday
evening, finalising an Urgent Chamber Application seeking to recover his
impounded property and to prevent State agents from harassing him further.
By Own Correspondent Sunday, 11
September 2011 13:45
HARARE - Nyanga North Member of Parliament
Douglas Mwonzora has complained that people in his constituency are being
turned away from registering as voters at the district registrar’s
offices.
Mwonzora said those suspected of being MDC members are being
told that the exercise had been put on hold when they turn up at the offices
to register as voters.
He said dozens of people had been turned away
in the past few weeks.
“The district registrar is turning people away
claiming the registration exercise had been stopped. I have checked and
verified this with the registrar general’s office only to find out that it
is a lie,” said Mwonzora.
The MP said he was told there was no such
directive stopping the on-going process of voter registration. Sekai Gombe,
the MDC Nyanga district spokesperson confirmed to the Daily News that he had
witnessed some of the people being turned away.
Gombe said he
witnessed Farai Kabudura and his wife, both from Ward 2 at Avilla Mission
being told to go back as voter registration had been stopped.
He said
Shupikai Amos Katerere from Arufandika village in Nyanga is among the dozens
of people suspected to be MDC members who had been denied a chance to
register as voters.
“All these people were refused registration as voters
despite being in possession of their national identity documents and a
letter from the headman proving that they were residents of the area,” said
Gombe.
He said employees at the district registrar’s offices identified
as Maxwell Mutereri and Norman Maoko are the ones who were sending back
those suspected to be members of the MDC.
“We have seen these two,
Mutereri and Maoko in Zanu PF regalia and there is no doubt they are Zanu PF
members and doing all in their power to deny our members a chance to
register,” said Gombe.
Neither Mutereri nor Maoko were available for
comment.
Manicaland provincial registrar Joyce Munamati could not be
reached for a comment.
However, an employee at the provincial
registrar’s office who spoke on condition of anonymity since he is not
authorised to speak to the media said the exercise had not been
stopped.
“At no time have we been directed to stop voter registration. It
is a lie that voter registration has been suspended until further notice,”
said the employee.
HARARE - Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) leader Dumiso
Dabengwa is pinning his hopes on the diaspora for support in next year’s
elections.
Dabengwa told a meeting of his party’s supreme
decision-making body yesterday in Bulawayo that party members must now start
mobilising support for the party singling out the diasporas as a specific
target.
He said the party’s faithful must ensure that at least a million
people among Zimbabweans residing in South Africa register to
vote.
“We hear the elections will be held in March 2011, which is not a
long time from now. We have to work hard to win the elections. Most
Zimbabweans look upon Zapu as the only alternative, and some of them look at
us as the last resort. All we need is to do the right thing as per their
perspective, and you have got their vote,” Dabengwa said addressing the
gathering which included some of the party’s members based in South
Africa.
“We must ensure that at least one million of them come and vote,
and ensure that at least 80 percent of them vote for Zapu, which will give
us a head start. Please emphasise to them the need to register as voters
when they come in December so that they are able to vote.”
Dabengwa
whose party has recently been plugged by power struggles said it is time for
Zapu to go out and mobilise more members and supporters.
“We will
concentrate on party mobilisation through workshops, meetings or rallies,
whichever is possible in each particular area. We are winning those
elections and there should be no excuses,” he declared.
He urged
party members to update their monthly subscriptions to assist the party to
raise funds for programmes.
The party’s decision making body also came up
with draft party policies on the controversial indigenisation, empowerment,
the land issue, youth and gender among other national questions.
Harare - An Air Zimbabwe pilot who flew into a hailstorm and
lost his licence was defended Sunday by the chairman of the company's board,
even as the contents of an internal audit into the pilot's actions was
published.
Captain Danai Taruvinga flew into a hailstorm in 2007 'despite
having a functional radar,' according to the internal audit, which was
extensively quoted in the state-run Sunday Mail.
The incident caused
'extensive damage' to the Boeing 737 he was flying.
But, although he was
demoted for a period, Air Zimbabwe management in 2010 'requested under
unclear circumstances that he resumes flying after his licence has lapsed,
which was granted.'
Board chairman Jonathan Kadzura said Taruvinga was a
qualified pilot and 'a Zimbabwean who must use the chance to create
opportunity for his children.'
In May this year, Taruvinga recruited his
son Nicholas as a civilian pilot - possibly without letting other recruiters
know of their relationship, noted the audit,
Squabbles over unpaid
pilots' salaries have meant almost all Air Zimbabwe flights have been
grounded since the end of July. There are also concerns about the safety of
the company's three ageing Boeings, which were deemed unfit to fly earlier
this year, but are supposedly being rehabilitated.
The report is likely
to once again raise questions about the safety of Zimbabwe's cash-strapped
national carrier.
Prime
Minister Tsvangirai urged his supporters to remain resolute, saying the MDC
was on the verge of forming the next government, which he said would bolster
investor confidence in the country
Thomas Chiripasi & Sandra Nyaira |
Harare
Responding to President Robert Mugabe's recent demand that new
national elections be held no later than March 2012, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai has responded that a new ballot can only be held once key reforms
have been put in place and the timing of the poll is endorsed by the
Southern African Development Community, among others.
Addressing a
rally in Harare on Saturday marking the 12th anniversary of the founding of
his former opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Mr. Tsvangirai said
that only when preconditions for elections have been satisfied can they be
held.
"We want an election, but it must be an election that has the
support of SADC, [the African Union] and the United Nations," Mr. Tsvangirai
told the crowd filling Gwanzura Stadium in the Harare suburb of Highfield,
scene of many political clashes.
"There are certain steps that must
be taken for you to go to an election. There is a road map to elections,"
Mr. Tsvangirai said, noting the need for a referendum to approve the new
constitution as yet not drafted, revision of the voters roll, and the
overhaul of the Zimbabwe Election Commission to ensure a nonpartisan
administrative staff.
President Mugabe told a national consultative
assembly of his ZANU-PF party September 2 that he intended to announce a
date for elections in 2012 without consulting the two formations of the MDC
with which ZANU-PF has shared power since 2009.
Mr. Mugabe said that
elections should be held no later than March 2012.
He added this week
that he would not admit election observers from the European Union or any
countries that have imposed travel and financial sanctions on himself and
other senior ZANU-PF officials over alleged human rights violations and
electoral fraud.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper said he made the
comments after accepting the credentials of the new British ambassador to
Harare, Deborah Bronnert.
Mr. Mugabe expelled European Union election
observers during the 2002 presidential election, contested by the MDC which
alleged ballot-rigging.
He told the British envoy however that the door
is open for dialogue with the United Kingdom, especially now that the
Conservatives are in power. Mr. Mugabe in the past reserved some of his most
vitriolic comments for Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In Highfield
on Saturday, Mr. Tsvangirai tacitly criticized Mr. Mugabe, deploring the
wide policy differences in the unity government that have hindered the
economic recovery.
"That kind of policy conflict and discord cannot
create confidence in our country at a time when we need to expand the cake,
when we need to expand the job opportunities in the country. The biggest
time bomb we face is when these young persons are educated and unemployed.
So we cannot afford policy conflict. So we cannot afford to undermine the
confidence in our country. We need more investment, not less."
He
urged his supporters to remain resolute, saying the MDC was on the verge of
forming the next government, which he said would bolster investor
confidence.
Despite fears that youth militants of President Mugabe's
ZANU-PF might seek to disrupt the rally following a rash of violent
incidents in Harare in the past week, witnesses said there were only minor
scuffles outside Gwanzura Stadium - though reports said two unnamed MDC
members were abducted on their way to the celebration.
Sources said
some of the violence occurred between MDC factions.
Zimbabwean Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has dismissed the declaration by President Robert
Mugabe that elections will be held in early 2012 saying only after the full
roadmap has been agreed and concluded to everyone's satisfaction will the
two leaders agree on the date for the next polls. 11.09.1101:34pm by Chief
Reporter
Mugabe has accused his rivals of stalling the process to
write a new constitution to prolong the life of the GNU, but Tsvangirai said
he was ready for a fresh poll.
"I want to make it clear today that
the MDC is ready for an election anytime and anywhere," Tsvangirai told a
12th anniversary rally of his MDC in Gwanzura Stadium in Harare Saturday
afternoon.
"Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC are ready for an election
tomorrow, as long as all the benchmarks have been met to ensure the security
of the people’s vote.
"So I am ready for elections! But we have
agreed, with the backing of SADC, that we will abide by a process,
characterized by clear benchmarks so that we do not repeat the ridiculous
charade of 2008 when one presidential candidate contested an election
against himself and proudly declared himself a winner. So I want to send a
message today that we won the last election and we are ready for you! "We
will defeat you-again!" Tsvangirai said amid rancorous applause.
The
regional Southern African Development Community has been stepping up
pressure on the 87-year-old Zanu PF leader to call off polls until after a
referendum, due to be held in January.
But Mugabe has thrown down the
gauntlet and said polls will be held before March 2012.
"We cannot go
beyond March next year," Mugabe said. "I will definitely announce that
(election) date. It does not matter what anyone would say," the official
Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as telling a meeting of his ZANU-PF
party.
"Once I announce the date, everyone will follow," said Mugabe, who
was until recently pushing for elections this year.
Elections are due
in 2013 but Mugabe says the unity government has expired and there must be a
fresh poll. His rivals say there was never a sunset clause in the global
political agreement that gave birth to the GNU.
Tsvangirai said the MDC
was heartened by the unstinting effort of colleagues in regional bloc SADC
in helping craft an election roadmap that will ensure a credible election,
an undisputed result and a legitimate government.
"A time-bound roadmap,
with clear milestones and signposts to ensure the people of Zimbabwe cast
their votes in peace, with neither fear nor coercion," Tsvangirai said. "A
roadmap that will ensure that the outcome of that election is respected and
that the people’s will is protected. I urge everyone in SADC, in Africa and
the broader international community to be global citizens; to be responsible
citizens of the world who will fight for freedom and democracy anywhere in
the world, including Zimbabwe."
Tsvangirai called on the international
community "to support the people of Zimbabwe as they navigate through this
delicate transition into a new country, with new values and a new
ethos."
Analysts say Mugabe's inner circle wants an early election,
fearing the veteran leader may not be able to cope with the demands of
campaigning in two years' time when he will be 89 years
old.
Tsvangirai initially wanted early polls but his Movement for
Democratic Change party (MDC) says it will not take part in a vote without a
new constitution and electoral and security reforms.
President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party has been
accused of running a parallel fiscus through which diamond revenues are being
fleeced for the benefit of the well connected, at the expense of national
development.
by OBEY
HAKULANDABA
Addressing a
conference convened by the South African Institute of International Affairs and
the Heinrich Boell Foundation on the subject of Zimbabwe's Diamonds, two
prominent Zimbabwean civic leaders called for legislation to regulate the proper
extraction and management of diamond revenues to benefit the Zimbabwean
people.
Dewa Mavhinga of
the Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition and Farai Maguwu of the Centre for Research and
Development said they believed in the accurateness of Finance Minister Tendai
Biti's reported estimates that at least US$1 billion in potential revenue to the
national treasury remained unaccounted for.
Biti has been
fighting a seemingly losing battle to exert more control over the diamond
revenues from the Marange diamond fields which the state seized in 2008 after a
diamond rush by illegal panners.
Mavhinga and
Maguwu said the disappearance of diamond revenues was largely a result of the
parallel fiscus that was being run by Zanu (PF) outside Biti's official finance
ministry. From that parallel fiscus, diamond revenues were directed to uses that
did not benefit the Zimbabwean people.
Maguwu presented a
detailed report which showed that illegal mining activities by members of the
state security apparatus still continued at Marange with the diamonds being
smuggled through Mozambique. Other concessions at Marange were now being mined
by consortiums of the Zimbabwean government and several Chinese
firms.
It is obvious that
Zanu (PF) officials are looting the Marange diamonds with very little going into
the national coffers. Finance Minister Tendai Biti has frequently complained
that the state receives only 'peanuts' from Marange. Does Zanu (PF) expect
anyone to believe that they are acting in good faith on behalf of the people of
Zimbabwe?
After the
catastrophic violent land-grab, Zanu (PF) is now on the path to pull Zimbabwe’s
mining sector into oblivion. The potential consequences of this scheme could be
catastrophic indeed and much more far-reaching than the failed land
grab.
Mining is
Zimbabwe's largest source of income, dominated by a 1.5
billion-dollar
platinum complex
owned by South Africa's Impala Platinum, the biggest producer in the
world.
Failure of the
mining sector in Zimbabwe could have fatal consequences for the whole country.
These Zanu (PF) looters headed by Mugabe cannot be ignored anymore. Their
actions are now so serious that they have the potential to wipe out
generations.
Zanu (PF) must not
be allowed to reverse the gains made by the coalition on the economic front by
their ruinous activities. The mining industry was the fastest growing sector of
the economy this year, recording 47 per cent growth.
Zimbabwe's parliament is to discuss two crucial bills for the
establishment of a diamond mining policy and state-owned mineral exploration
company, says President Robert Mugabe.
The veteran leader also said
that this was part of wider strategies and a concerted effort to "plug
leakages, and enhance accountability by players in the sector".
"Work
on the establishment of ... a vehicle (the Zimbabwe Mining Exploration
Company) to spearhead exploration of the country's minerals and maintain an
inventory of the country's mineral resource endowment is already in
progress," Mugabe said.
The announcement comes as the Deputy Minister
of Mines Gift Chimanikire has said that Harare was looking at partnering
private sector players and investors in building the proposed
monolith.
"Private companies do exploration on a need-to-know basis and
they don't share whatever information they get with government, (it is in
our interest) ... to know the country's exact mineral resource so that we
are able to market the deposits to potential investors," he told the Sunday
Times recently.
"It is surprising that the alluvial diamonds at
Chiadzwa were discovered by illegal gold panners, despite a lot of mining
activity taking place in and around the area for years.
"What it
means is that the companies operating from the area have been looting
diamonds for long and we don't know how much they got away with,"
Chimanikire added.
Complaining that there was little exploration
activity in the country, the mines deputy said ZMEC was a hybrid and
exemplary private-public sector initiative to boost the country's prospects
in this key economic sector.
Upon approval of the project by cabinet,
Chimanikire claimed government would also capitalise the company through the
fiscus and the quasi-mining parastatals would also play a key role "to
ensure the project materialises".
However, analysts have queried the
Zimbabwean government's ability to see the project through, given its
resource and technological challenges.
They also queried the wisdom of
central government's involvement in services like mining exploration at a
time that there are greater demands for privatisation and less government
involvement in business.
Zimbabwe's public enterprises are riddled with
corruption and inefficiencies, which have rendered their capability to
deliver meaningful economic contribution and services useless.
The
decision to launch a mineral exploration company comes as the country has
issued a $32-million tender for aeromagnetic exploration in eastern
districts also covering the controversial Marange gem fields.
By
tendering for more exploration work, the government is hoping to ascertain
the extent of wealth and richness of the diamonds fields in northern
Zimbabwe and Masvingo.
Chimanikire said they had started securing and
preparing those areas, or sites, with precious stones, and further research
and development was under way.
Already, there are two private diamond
miners and three joint venture companies: Anjin, Marange Resources, Robert
Mhlanga's Mbada Diamonds, Rio Tinto-owned Murowa Diamonds and Beitbridge's
River Ranch Limited.
Harare - A handful of diamond mining companies affected by crippling
power cuts in Zimbabwe have been forced to set up their own dedicated
36-million-dollar power line, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The five
companies with operations in Chiadzwa diamond fields, in the east of the
country, would have to raise at least 60 per cent of the total cost of
installing the line, the official Sunday Mail reported.
According to the
report, 'erratic' power supplies meant miners' efforts to realize their full
potential were 'stifled'.
The city of Mutare, about 100 kilometres from
Chiadzwa, would be the source electricity. Mutare and its surrounding areas
are badly hit by power cuts, which occur three or four days a week and often
last for up to 16 hours.
Zimbabwe's cash-strapped state power utility is
owed more than 100 million dollars by consumers. Earlier this month, it
caused an uproar by raising tariffs by an average of more than 30 per
cent.
If the mining companies pay for the power line, they will only be
charged half the going tariff, said the Sunday Mail.
Diamonds were
first discovered in Chiadzwa in 2006, sparking a gold-style rush to the area
before the military drove out illegal miners in 2008. Human rights groups
said up to 200 of them were killed in the operation.
Separate reports
Sunday said diamonds have recently been discovered in Murehwa, 79 kilometres
from the capital Harare, sparking another rush. Mines Minister Obert Mpofu
was quoted as saying he would send geologists to investigate.
The United States embassy for its part strongly
condemned the release of the cables. Sharon Hudson-Dean, US Embassy
spokesperson, says the disclosures could put lives at risk and jeopardize
national security
Violet Gonda | Washington
Zimbabwe is
the latest country to be shocked by disclosures from US diplomatic cables
released by the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks, including a memo that quoted
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono as telling a US envoy in 2008 that
President Robert Mugabe had cancer of the prostate gland and might live no
longer than 2013.
Other than that, however, the biggest scoop that
Wikileaks sprung on Zimbabwe was just how many senior Zimbabwean politicians
were confiding in then-ambassador James McGee and his staff – including a
number of ZANU-PF bigwigs.
Reports say President Robert Mugabe is
furious over the disclosure of details about his health and other sensitive
matters to US diplomats by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon
Gono.
Others in ZANU-PF are also displeased, showing this at the recent
reopening of parliament by booing colleagues mentioned in the cables, such
as Indigenization Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, chanting, “Wikileaks,
Wikileaks.”
ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo commented to the
state-run, pro-ZANU-PF Herald newspaper that those leaks were disturbing in
particular because top party officials had gone to secret meetings with what
he called “hostile forces.”
Things were nearly as bad on the other
side of the aisle. Top Movement for Democratic Change figures were also
revealed to have met with officials of the US embassy, sometimes quoted as
disparaging party leader Tsvangirai.
Other tidbits from the Wikileaks
shed light on the underside of Zimbabwean politics. For instance, a cable
said the late Solomon Mujuru engineered the presidential candidacy of Simba
Makoni after failing to build sufficient support within ZANU-PF to oblige
President Mugabe to step down.
The late Vice President Joseph Msika and
then-ZANU-PF national chairman John Nkomo, meeting separately with US
ambassadors, said the only way forward was for Mr. Mugabe to
go.
ZANU-PF and MDC sources speaking on condition of anonymity say such
revelations have created serious tensions within the parties.
ZANU-PF
spokesman Gumbo tells Voice of America’s Studio 7 that ZANU-PF is witnessing
an unfortunate tragedy and is launching an investigation in this
matter.
When asked to comment on the reports of President Mugabe’s
health, Gumbo responded by saying: “Why don’t you ask Dr Gono. The President
as we know is in good health, so I don’t know what people are talking
about."
The United States embassy for its part strongly condemned the
release of the cables. Sharon Hudson-Dean, US Embassy spokesperson, says the
disclosures could put lives at risk and jeopardize national
security.
Ozias Tungwarara, director of the Open Society Institute’s
Governance Monitoring and Advocacy project notes that confidential talks are
a part of diplomacy and individuals have a right to hold their own views.
But he said he fears the leaked cables will cause political
instability.
“This should be looked at in the whole context of what
constitutes freedom of expression and whether the Wikileaks saga has
actually taken freedom of expression, freedom of media to other levels.
These are expressions of opinion and that this should not frame a basis for
vindictive action, ” he said.
Tungwarara says that given the lack of
space for open political discussion, many stand to see their reputations
tarnished simply for sharing their views with the diplomatic
community.
Africa Confidential newsletter publisher Patrick Smith says
one effect of the Wikileaks releases in Zimbabwe will be to discourage
senior officials from sharing their thinking with diplomats even when given
assurances of confidentiality.
“But at the end of the day there are
four or five very powerful countries in the world – the US and China being
the most powerful at the moment so I think people are always going to want
to talk to diplomats from Washington and Beijing,” Smith added.
But
commentator Takura Zhangazha says that the benefit of Wikileaks is that
Zimbabweans now have intelligence that would otherwise not have come out,
such as talk by ZANU-PF ministers about their desire to see a new generation
take charge.
Zhangazha also said: “My immediate impression is that of
double standards and individuals functioning at variance with the collective
party position.”
Some have asked what was received in exchange for such
disclosures. But political analyst John Makumbe says he has attended similar
briefings where the only quid pro quo is a free meal.
He said:
“Lunch, dinner, beer, soft drinks even (laughs). There is nothing more than
that.”
London-based analyst George Shire says the leaks consist of "mere
gossip,” but concedes that they show ZANU-PF’s foreign policy mindset is one
of hostility to the west, quite different from the close engagement pursued
by the MDC.
But Ralph Black, the US representative of the Tsvangirai
MDC, says the cables must be looked at in the context of how the disclosures
were colored by the views of US diplomats.
He added: “If there is any
truth in the sentiments expressed. The question we should be asking
ourselves is why didn’t we have that internal discussion? Why did we have to
go and tell strangers? This is a culture that needs to be
changed.”
Ultimately the Wikileaks disclosures may not alter the course
of Zimbabwean history – but they have already given Zimbabweans a usefully
candid perspective on politics in Zimbabwe through the lens of US diplomacy.
HARARE - United States ambassador Charles Ray on Tuesday was
among the dignitaries who attended the opening of the Fourth Session of the
Seventh Parliament by President Robert Mugabe.
Ray did not flinch
during his mingling with both politicians from the main faction of the MDC
and Zanu PF.
Instead, he was relaxed; never showed any signs of
embarrassment for a man whose government’s future liaisons with key people
in Harare and elsewhere have come under severe scrutiny following leakages
of confidential information by whistle blower website —
WikiLeaks.
Ray displayed the maturity and conduct of a grounded
statesman, considering he was in the midst of people battling inner storms
as a result of the WikiLeaks revelations. This was admirable! But this does
not mean that the US was and is happy with the WikiLeaks.
The
WikiLeaks explosion has been a very welcome development to journalists
around the world as they can now disseminate useful information on what
happens in the corridors of power. Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks boss, is
probably the most popular man in the world among journalists for exposing
the secret meetings conducted by political leaders.
For Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the leaks will prove crucial in judging
their leadership credentials. For Mugabe in particular, the leaks provided
useful information on his politburo colleagues, who during the day defend
him like there is no tomorrow, yet in the middle of the dark, they plot ways
to unseat him and take over power. This is the kind information every
journalist craves for.
At Parliament last Tuesday, anyone seeing Ray
would not have thought his secret meetings — with key aides of both Mugabe
and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai — had been laid bare.
This is
the approach that Mugabe and Tsvangirai might probably need to take and we
have said this before. Mugabe, in particular, must concentrate more on
sorting out the problems exposed by his politburo colleagues on why they
want him to go and why they want leadership renewal.
While this, in
the public realm, is damaging, the cables provide both Mugabe and Tsvangirai
an opportunity to fine-tune their parties.
At least Tsvangirai seems to
have already diffused the situation in his party, while Mugabe, who is
obviously seething with anger, is yet to come to terms with the reality that
members of his politburo are the real merchants of the so-called regime
change more that Tsvangirai and the MDC.
Mugabe punished some party
members in 2004 after the Tsholotsho meeting and the result was even more
paralytic to the unity of his party.
Tsvangirai fired Elias Mudzuri and
saw the viciousness of his actions when irate party members challenged
outcomes of provincial elections, in the run up to MDC’s congress early this
year. This time around he quietly dealt with the WikiLeaks and life is going
on. WikiLeaks are a pain which both leaders will have to live with!
Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe attempted a number of fake coups
through his CIO and other undetectable intelligence collaborators last year,
Wikileaks cable revelations reveal.
Several people approached the US,
UK and Australian embassies begging for weapons as they claimed they could
easily remove president Robert Mugabe through a coup and the most prominent
leader of these groups has been tracked and found freely roaming the country
without problems, despite the damning cables having been released ten days
ago.
The fake coups would if succesful have helped to distract attention
from international outrage over Operation Restore Order by implicating the
West in an effort to overthrow the Government Of Zimbabwe. An Australian
official said he had declined to have the plan vetted and had also rejected
requests for financial and material assistance, noting that the Australian
Government did not support the violent overthrow of the Mugabe
regime.
A cable dated 31st December 2010 reveals that in the eight months
up to the end of last year, a great number of people approached the UK, US,
and Australian governments requesting for assistance so they could topple
Robert Mugabe. One such person is one hunting safaris businessman Learnmore
Muzvidzwa who introduced himself as the Managing Director of one company by
the name Dreiford Trading. Muzvidzwa is the only person who managed to
obtain audience of the Australians although he was rejected by the US
embassy.
“Muzvidzwa repeated his claim to represent a group that had
500 men under arms in the Chihota district. He wanted advice and support
from the Embassy,” the cable reads.
The businessman claimed that he
could coordinate a coup on Mugabe while the president was out of the
country.
Muzvidzwa was however dismissed by the US embassy after it was
believed that his plan could be part of a CIO effort to distract attention
from the government. “He said he had approached the Australian and UK
embassies with the same plan. Poloff told him the U.S. did not and would
not provide support for violent overthrow of Zimbabwe’s government and closed
the meeting,” the US envoy’s cable states.
The US findings may be
true since more than a week after the Wikileaks cable was made public,
Muzvidzwa has been roaming freely in Zimbabwe without any security problems
or attacks from ZANU PF and Mugabe loyalists.
-FULL TEXT OF
WIKILEAKS CABLE:
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE
001007
SIPDIS
NOFORN
AF FOR DAS T. WOODS AF/S FOR B.
NEULING NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE DS FOR IP/AF AND
IP/ITA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC
ZI SUBJECT: ARMED RESISTANCE GROUP SEEKS US ASSISTANCE
Classified By:
Charge d,Affaires, a.i., Eric T. Schultz under Section 1 .4
b/d
——- Summary ——-
¶1. (S/NF) The Embassy has received
several requests from various groups for meetings with the Ambassador/CDA in
the past few weeks to discuss overthrowing the Mugabe regime. We have
rejected all of these meetings, out of concern that they could have been
attempts by the GOZ to implicate the USG in such an agenda. However, the
Australian Embassy did meet with one of these groups and provided us with a
readout. The same group then obtained a meeting with an Embassy
political officer under false pretenses. The readouts of these meetings
indicate that there may be growing interest in armed resistance on the part
of some regime opponents. The MDC was not implicated in the group,s plans.
End summary.
—————— Australian Readout ——————
¶2. (S/NF) On
July 13, the Australian DCM, Mark Lynch, called on CDA to provide a readout
of a meeting he had had the previous day with Learnmore Muzvidzwa. Lynch said
Muzvidzwa had introduced himself as the Managing Director of
Dreiford Trading, a firm that specialized in hunting safaris. (N.B. At
CDA,s request, RMAS ran a background check on this individual, which came up
negative.) Lynch said Muzvidza had said Zimbabweans were at the end of their
patience with the Mugabe regime. He had said he was part of a group
with contacts in the CIO, the military, and the police that planned to
overthrow the government. The group did not include the MDC. He had claimed
to have 500 men under arms in the Chihota region southeast of Harare. The
group,s operations plan, which he had requested the Australians
vet, called for the coup to occur when Mugabe was out of
the country.
¶3. (S/NF) Lynch said he had declined to have the plan
vetted and had also rejected requests for financial and
material assistance, noting that the Australian Government did not support
the violent overthrow of the Mugabe regime. That said, Lynch said Muzvidzwa
had struck him as a credible figure. He added that Muzvidzwa had said he was
requesting meetings with the American and British Embassies as well. The
CDA responded that he had already declined the meeting, out of concern that
it could be part of a CIO effort to distract attention from international
outrage over Operation Restore Order by implicating the West in an effort
to overthrow the GOZ.
————— Embassy Meeting —————
¶4.
(S/NF) On July 20, poloff met with Muzvidzwa, ostensibly to discuss the
plight of Zimbabweans as a result of Operation Restore Order. Muzvidza
repeated his claim to represent a group that had 500 men under arms in the
Chihota district. He wanted advice and support from the Embassy. He said
he had approached the Australian and UK embassies with the same &
plan.8 Poloff told him the U.S. did not and would not provide support for
violent overthrow of Zimbabwe,s government and closed the
meeting.
——- COMMENT ——-
¶5. (S/NF) It is probably
inevitable that given the GOZ,s turn to more repressive tactics to maintain
its hold on power, the idea of armed resistance may begin to appeal
to some Zimbabweans. Certainly there are plenty of weapons in the country
and plenty of experience using them. That said, our judgment is that the
military and the police remain largely loyal to the regime and would be able
to handle a coup attempt or an armed uprising with little difficulty.
We will continue to monitor this situation but will also continue to
attempt to avoid direct meetings with groups such as Muzvidzwa,s. The GOZ is
quite capable of running such an operation at us and of using the very fact
of a meeting to distract attention from the GOZ,s current
travails. SCHULTZ
The Vigil was pleased
to hear of plans for the Archbishop of Canterbury to visit Zimbabwe as part of a
tour of the Anglican Province of Central Africa which takes in Botswana, Malawi
and Zambia as well as Zimbabwe. Apparently he is scheduled to be in Zimbabwe on
9th October and is seeking a meeting with Mugabe. This has been
criticized in the British press, with some commentators saying it will provide a
propaganda opportunity for Mugabe. We took a different view and decided to send
the Archbishop the following letter:
Open letter to the
Archbishop of Canterbury from the Zimbabwe Vigil
Dear Dr
Williams
The Zimbabwe Vigil
welcomes your planned visit to Zimbabwe next month in support of besieged
Anglicans under the rod of the unelected president Mugabe.
We have been bearing
witness outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London every Saturday for nine years
against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Most of us are Christians, many
Anglicans.
The persecution of
Anglicans in Zimbabwe has continued too long with little condemnation from the
Christian community at large. Even brother churches in Zimbabwe have scurried
from the crucifixion.
The Vigil is
disappointed that Mugabe has been consistently received with honour by the
Vatican when he has gone to Rome on his shopping trips.
We disagree with
those who question the wisdom of your visit. We are encouraged that you share
our pain, though we have no doubt that Mugabe will seek to use your visit for
propaganda purposes.
We do not believe his
regime – steeped in lawlessness, terror and greed – will make any meaningful
concessions at your request. But we pray that your visit will highlight to the
world the plight of our suffering brothers and sisters at
home.
Vigil
Co-ordinators
Other
points
·We were
glad to have with us Ephraim Tapa, President of Restoration of Human Rights in
Zimbabwe (ROHR) and the recently formed Zimbabwe We Can movement. He spoke of
the importance of Zimbabweans having a national agenda rather than identifying
themselves as Zanu PF or MDC or whatever. ‘We are too divided as a nation’, he
said. Zimbabwe We Can wants to change this mindset so that people can see the
country’s problems as a whole.
·Readers of the diary
will know that there has been an attempt to take over ROHR. A website has been
set up purporting to be the official website. They have stolen all the
information from the official website and claimed it as their own. Please note
that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/ which is
the only website that represents ROHR. One must be patient, these ticks drop off
after a while. They disintegrate in the mire of their lies and
deceit.
·Vigil
supporters attended a demonstration outside the Swaziland High Commission in
London on Tuesday in support of our Swazi friends who, like us, are confronted
with an oppressive tyranny.
·A long-term
Vigil supporter who has returned to Zimbabwe has communicated with us. He says
‘I am surviving. The situation looks okay on the surface but it’s really
disturbing to see the reign of terror that pervades the whole nation. Don’t
believe what visitors say. It takes a while to sense the unfreedom. Keep up the
good work. The diary is popular reading. Greetings to
all.’
·There was
much discussion at the Vigil of the Wikileaks revelations and the prospect that
every politician in Zimbabwe will be prosecuted for treason. Among the latest
revelations that struck us were:
-Nelson
Chamisa, MDC Organising Secretary, commenting on the allegation that he
described Tsvangirai as ‘weak and indecisive’ said “There is no cohesion in
terms of the so called cables which were just opinions by a mere mortal who was
possibly doing so without realising that it will actually come out some time. So
he is the culprit rather than somebody whom they just allege . .
.”
-According
to documents released by Wikileaks, Mugabe had a secret meeting with UN
Ambassador Charles Ray at one of his farms. Ray said the place was in darkness
and Mugabe was sitting alone on a throne in the bathroom. Between grunts he
complained that the illegal sanctions had cut off the water . .
·The
respected London-based theatre company Chickenshed is producing ‘The Rain that
Washes’ by Dave Carey with Zimbabwean Christopher Maphosa. It is described as a
one-man show based on a true story. “Following the dream of
majority rule, one man sees Ian Smith's Rhodesia become Robert Mugabe's
Zimbabwe. From refugee camps in Botswana to air strikes in Zambia via Marxism in
Bulgaria, he returns to Zimbabwe, only to witness the greatest betrayal of all .
. .” They have been in touch with the Vigil and are keen that a group should go
and have a meeting with the author. See ‘Events and Notices’ for further
details.
For latest Vigil
pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website.
FOR THE
RECORD: 59 signed the
register.
EVENTS AND
NOTICES:
·The Restoration of
Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s
partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil
to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s
mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through
membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in
Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other
website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents the
views and opinions of ROHR.
·ZBN News.
The
Vigil management team wishes to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not
responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that
they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no
control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN News.
·The Zim Vigil
band
(Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our
Vigil)’ to raise awareness through music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video
check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukqctWc3XE.
·ROHR Manchester
Vigil. Saturday
24th September from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Cathedral Gardens, Manchester City Centre
(subject to change to Piccadilly Gardens). Contact; Delina Tafadzwa
Mutyambizi 07775313637, Chamunorwa Chihota 07799446404, Panyika Karimanzira
07551062161, Artwell Pfende 07886839353. Future demonstrations: 29th
October, 26th November, 31st December. Same time and
venue.
·‘The Rain that
Washes’ – Zimbabwean theatre production. Performances:
Thursday 29th and Friday 30th September at 7.30
pm, Saturday 1st October at 6 pm, Tuesday 4th and
Wednesday 5th October at 7.30 pm, Saturday 8th October at
6 pm. Venue: Studio Theatre, Chickenshed Theatre, Chase Side, Southgate, London
N14 4PE. Tickets £8 (£6). To book,
call 020 8292 9222, email bookings@chickenshed.org.ukor book online at www.chickenshed.org.uk. Chickenshed
is between Oakwood and Cockfosters tube stations, and on bus routes 298, 299,
307 and N91. Free parking is also available.
·ROHR Manchester
Meetings. Saturday
8th October (committee meeting from 11 am – 1 pm, general meeting
from 2 – 5 pm). Venue: The Salvation
Army Citadel, 71 Grosvenor Road,Manchester M13 9UB. Contact; Delina
Tafadzwa Mutyambizi 07775313637, Chamunorwa Chihota 07799446404, Panyika
Karimanzira 07551062161, Artwell Pfende 07886839353. Future meetings:
12th November, 10th December. Same times /
venue.
·‘Through the
Darkness’, Judith Todd’s
acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe. To receive a copy by post in the UK
please email confirmation of your order and postal address to
ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and send a cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to
Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA. All
proceeds go to the Budiriro Trust which provides bursaries to needy A Level
students in Zimbabwe.
Vigil
co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe.
http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.