Zimbabwe constitutional reform process not credible: Tsvangirai

http://af.reuters.com

Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:38pm GMT

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday
said violence and intimidation by the military were hindering attempts to
write a new constitution and that he intends to discuss the problem with the
president.

A fragile unity government set up by Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe
last year after disputed 2008 elections is drafting a new charter to replace
the independence document drawn up in 1979, a process expected to lead to a
fresh vote.

Public consultations on the constitution have highlighted continued tensions
between Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai's MDC party. At the weekend clashes
became so violent in Harare that officials suspended the process.

"Having carefully considered our position, I am going to meet with other
principals (in the unity govt) to map the way forward,"Tsvangirai said
referring to Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, the head of a splinter MDC faction
also in the government.

"This process fails to pass the test of legitimacy, credibility and
people-drivenness," Tsvangirai told reporters.

"We have noted with concern the militarisation of the process, interfering
with a purely civilian process. Reports from all over the country show the
heavy involvement of the military in the process," said Tsvangirai.

The drive to write a new constitution is being led by an inter-party
parliamentary committee and civic society groups.

Tsvangirai, who beat Mugabe in a first round presidential poll in March
2008, boycotted a run-off vote citing a violent crackdown against his
supporters, which the MDC says killed at least 200.

The MDC has actively sought a new constitution to guarantee free elections
and entrench political and media freedoms, while strengthening parliament's
role.

The new charter is also expected to introduce two 5-year presidential term
limits but there is debate between ZANU-PF and MDC on whether to keep the
position of prime minister.

Zimbabwe's current constitution has no presidential term limits, a situation
which has allowed Mugabe to hold onto power since independence from Britain
in 1980.

Voters rejected a draft charter in 2000 in a national referendum that
heralded Tsvangirai and the MDC as the most serious challenge to Mugabe's
grip on power.

A referendum on the proposed new constitution is expected by July next year,
officials say.

Zanu (PF)’s rent-a-crowd

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Zwanai Sithole
Tuesday, 21 September 2010 16:47

BULAWAYO - Zanu (PF) last week bussed scores of its supporters from newly
resettled farms around Bulawayo to air the party's views at the
constitution-making outreach meetings in various wards in the city.
The Zanu (PF) supporters, including war veterans and Zanu (PF) youths, were
bussed into the city in ZUPCO buses and party vehicles last Saturday morning
and strategically deployed in various wards believed to be strong holds of
the MDC-T. There was commotion at the small city hall when MDC youths
identified some of the Zanu (PF) youths and war veterans from Shangani and
Umguza and asked them to leave the meeting.
The Zanu (PF) supporters, who were led by a war veteran only identified as
Moyo, refused to leave. The hired crowd, which was apparently on a party
mission to outclass the views of the MDC supporters at the outreach meeting,
was eventually
outnumbered by the MDC supporters. During the meeting, the Zanu (PF)
supporters were advocating the maintenance of the status quo on issues such
as executive powers, system of governments, the judiciary and the land.
"We want to have one President and two vice presidents in the new
constitution. We demand that some seats in parliament should be reserved to
the war veterans because they fought for this country," said one of the
participants. One of the suspected Zanu (PF) activist at the meeting
demanded that President Mugabe should rule Zimbabwe until for the rest of
his life.
"This country was born out of blood. I demand that the new constitution
should make it clear that people like President Mugabe who liberated us from
white colonial bondage should rule this country forever," he said amid
heckling from the crowd. All the proposals advocated by Zanu (PF) activists
at the meeting were rejected by a show of raising hands by the crowd. The
constitution–making outreach programme in the city got off to a chaotic
start in the city after it was stalled briefly by striking drivers and
technicians over outstanding allowances.

Police Arrest WOZA Leader As Magistrate Grants Bail to 83 Members

Zimbabwe drops charges against US health workers

Associated Press

AP

- Wed Sep 22, 10:13 am ET

HARARE, Zimbabwe - An attorney for four American volunteer health workers
says Zimbabwe has dropped charges against them alleging they worked at an
HIV/AIDS clinic and orphanage without proper medical licenses.

Lawyer Jonathan Samukange said the four were given their passports back and
plan to fly back to the U.S. later Wednesday. He said prosecutors conceded
the health workers were "doing good work" for the Allen Temple Baptist
Church of Oakland, Calif. which operates the Mother of Peace Orphanage
outside Harare.

Six health workers, including a New Zealand national and a Zimbabwean
doctor, were arrested Sept. 10 and spent three nights in police cells.

Samukange said the four Americans, one a medical doctor, were now free to
reapply to return to work in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean man dies after gang attack by Mugabe's party

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Sep 22, 2010, 18:46 GMT

Harare - A security guard died of his injuries Wednesday, hospital officials
said, following a weekend attack by a gang of youths from President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU(PF) in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

Crispen Mandizvidza was walking a relative home on Sunday night in Harare's
crowded Mbare township when about 50 youths from the party descended on
them, said the officials who asked not to be named. Mandizvidza was forced
to the ground and youths bludgeoned his stomach with crowbars.

The incident came as hundreds of ZANU(PF) youths, bused in from rural areas,
were deployed all over the capital to disrupt meetings held by a
parliamentary committee to canvas the views of ordinary Zimbabweans on what
they want in a new constitution.

Eleven other people were injured, and a 26-year-old woman is still in the
private Avenues Clinic with head injuries.

Witnesses said large numbers of police were deployed, but took no action as
Mugabe's youths hurled stones at supporters of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and attacked them with
iron bars, took over the parliamentary committee's meetings and drove out
white participants.

Observers said the violence was the most serious since Mugabe and Tsvangirai
established a coalition government in February last year.

Tsvangirai told a press conference later that the 'needless violence and
loss of life was a stark reminder of our dark past' - a reference to the
murder, torture and intimidation meted out to his MDC supporters in the 2008
presidential elections.

The meetings in Harare of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee were
meant to have been the last in a three-month nationwide process, but were
preceded by severe intimidation by youths and soldiers with automatic rifles
threatening those who attended.

Tsvangirai said the consultation process fails to pass the test of
legitimacy and credibility - but stopped short of rejecting the process.

He also said he and Mugabe would be meeting soon to map a way ahead on the
constitution-consultation process, ahead of elections agreed for 2011.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai to meet over violence

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Staff Reporter
Wednesday, 22 September 2010 18:38

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe are
due to meet soon to probe the violence that rocked the Parliamentary
Constitutional Committee (Copac) in a bid to have the suspended outreach
programmes in Harare resumed.

Tsvangirai revealed this at a press conference in Harare Wednesday, as news
filtered through that one of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
activists, Chrispen Mandizvidza who was assaulted at the weekend had died.

As a result of the violence, Copac was forced to suspend outreach programmes
in Harare until a political solution to the crisis was found.

Tsvangirai yesterday moved to attack perpetrators of violence and said he
would try and resolve the issue together with Mugabe when he returns from
the United Nations at the end of next week.

"After considering all the evidence from our COPAC teams and from
independent monitors and observers drawn from civil society, the leadership
noted with concern the reported loss of life; the disruptions; and the
violence which marred the process.

"This process fails to pass the test of legitimacy, credibility and people-
drivenness.

"We have noted with concern the militarisation of the process, interfering
with a purely civilian process. Reports from all over the country show the
heavy involvement of the military in the process.

"In the rural areas, ordinary people were under siege from similar cases of
military meddling.

"The military and state agents' involvement must be investigated and the
principals must meet immediately to map the way forward," said Tsvangirai.

He said the resurgence of violence was derailing the path to new elections
which he said were the only solution to the crisis the country is facing.

Zimbabwe is due to hold presidential and parliamentary elections next year
after the completion of the constitutional process but Zanu PF youths have
been disrupting meetings throughout the country saying they wanted to impose
the Kariba Draft onto the people.

Said Tsvangirai: "For two years, we have confounded critics and doubters
about our ability to restore our national esteem and national dignity, we
have created platforms for dialogue and set the stage for unity of purpose,
in the firm belief that our adversaries would see reason and patriotism as
baseline principles for Zimbabwe's return to a normal society.

"Having carefully considered our position, and as directed by SADC, I am
going to meet with other principals to map the way forward."

Victims of violence arrested: MDC

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Lizwe Sebatha and Tobias Manyuchi Wednesday 22 September 2010

HARARE -- Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T party on Tuesday said
four of its activists who were assaulted by members of President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU PF were arrested by the police after attempting to report the
assault.

The MDC-T said the four, Godfrey Cotton, Edmore Manyofa, Shingi Gorekore and
Paul Majarifa were assaulted last Sunday in the Harare low-income suburb of
Mbare when a public hearing on the proposed new constitution degenerated
into violence.

The party said: "Four MDC cadres in Mbare, Harare were arrested after they
had gone to Mbare Police Station to report that they had been assaulted by
ZANU PF supporters during a Copac outreach meeting at Mai Musodzi Hall on
Sunday."

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available for comment
on the matter.

The four are being held at Harare Central police station's law and order
maintenance section where Mugabe's opponents have been brutally assaulted
tortured in the past. The MDC said the activists have been denied medical
attention even though some of them have injuries needing urgent treatment.

The MDC activists are the only ones known to have been arrested in
connection with the violent clashes at the weekend that have forced the
Constitutional Parliamentary Committee to temporarily halt public hearings
in the capital.

Tsvangirai's party and human rights groups have in the past accused the
police of routinely arresting victims of political violence while letting
the perpetrators who are members of ZANU PF and pro-Mugabe war veterans
going scot-free.

Meanwhile about 500 activists from a woman's pressure group held protests
today marched through the streets of central Bulawayo city demanding an
urgent independent investigation of the police that they accused of
committing crimes against civilians.

The members of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) marched from Bulawayo
magistrate court to the police headquarters in Zimbabwe's second largest
city.

WOZA spokeswoman Jenni Williams said, "we are demanding the setting up of an
independent commission to investigate the crimes that have and are being
committed by the police everyday."

The police, who are usually quick to break such protests, did not arrest the
WOZA activists.

"We want the urgent reform of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). We want a
police service and not a police force. We want the police to adhere to the
correct procedures of arrest and treatment of suspects in detention."

The political agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai that gave birth to
their coalition government commits the former rivals to reform and
restructure the country's security forces including the police.

But Mugabe has steadfastly blocked any calls or attempt to reform or
restructure the security forces that have backed his three-decade rule. -
ZimOnline.

Arrested SA poaching gang linked to Minister Kembo Mohadi

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
22nd September 2010

Dawie Groenewald, owner of the notorious Out of Africa Adventure Safaris
company and his wife, Sariette, were arrested on Monday in South Africa, for
allegedly being the masterminds behind an illegal rhino poaching gang. Nine
other people, including veterinarians and hunters, were also arrested for
poaching.

The gang appeared before a magistrate in South Africa on Wednesday, which is
ironically also the day declared International Rhino Day by the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF). The case was postponed until April 11th, 2011, after
Groenewald reportedly posted bail of about one million rand, with the others
paying less.

Out of Africa has been linked to top officials in Mugabe's party,
particularly the Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi. The company became
notorious during the height of the farm invasions when they arranged hunting
safaris on farms stolen by ZANU PF officials. Out of Africa was subsequently
banned from entering the country in September 2004 by the Zimbabwe Parks and
Wildlife Management Authority.

Sources told us that Minister Mohadi was responsible for facilitating the
release of South African poachers when they were arrested in Zimbabwe.

But this time Groenewald and his partners have been arrested by South
African authorities. Their ability to pay so much money in bail and the
postponement till next year only raises further questions as to the extent
of their connections to government officials in both countries.

Our sources, who chose to remain anonymous, told us that Mohadi interfered
in a case last year that involved a well known South African poacher named
Johan Roos. They said Roos, who lives in Musina, was captured inside
Zimbabwe after a shoot out in the Bubye River Conservancy, where one guard
was killed and another seriously injured. Roos was detained in the police
cells in Beitbridge for two nights, but was suddenly released under unclear
circumstances.

Raoul du Toit, director of the Lowveld Rhino Trust a partnership of key
stakeholders, confirmed that Roos had indeed been arrested in August 2009.
He explained that Roos was named in numerous other poaching cases as the guy
who supplied weaponry, firearms and ammunition, and that it was through him
that poachers had traded their rhino horns.

As to why Roos was released du Toit responded: "He was caught and released
on grounds that can only be called dubious. But it's like so many of these
other cases. That syndicate has clearly infiltrated the officials
responsible for holding him. It should come as no surprise that this was at
Beitbridge, which to be absolutely honest is as a cesspool of corruption."

Beitbridge falls under Minister Mohadi's jurisdiction as a member of
parliament.

 

Corruption & confusion as Zim documentation process gets underway

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
22 September 2010

Reports of corruption and confusion have already started surfacing in South
Africa, as the process to legalise undocumented Zimbabweans in the country
gets underway.

The exercise began on Monday, a few weeks after South Africa announced it
was ending its moratorium on Zimbabwean deportations at the end of the year.
But by Wednesday there were already indications that the December 31st
deadline for Zimbabweans to regularise their stay in South Africa will be
hard to meet.

South Africa's Home Affairs department has agreed to issue work and study
permits to the millions of Zimbabweans believed to be living without proper
papers in South Africa. Zimbabweans already working, engaged in business or
studying in South Africa will be issued with relevant permits, on condition
they produce valid documents to show they are citizens of Zimbabwe. All
Zimbabwean nationals holding fake documents have also been urged to hand
over the fraudulent papers and have been promised that they won't be
prosecuted.

The process is almost entirely hinged on getting proper passports from the
Zimbabwean consulate, and there are concerns that this process alone will
take until December. Zimbabwe's co-ministers of Home Affairs earlier this
month announced that passport fees had been slashed to US$50, down from
US$140. The price cut is meant to encourage Zimbabweans to get their papers
in order and avoid deportation from South Africa. Thousands of people have
since been queuing at embassies across South Africa trying to get the
documents.

SW Radio Africa has been told that corruption at the embassies is already
slowing down the process. It is understood that illegal Nigerians in South
Africa have been issued Zimbabwean passports, for a fee paid to corrupt
embassy officials. Further slowing down the process are reports that some
embassies have not even started issuing passports. Other embassies have also
told many Zimbabweans, desperate to avoid deportation, that the passports
will only be available after several weeks and not the promised ten days.
According to the MDC in South Africa "this actually makes the South Africa
Home affairs' 31 December 2010 deadline impossible to meet." The MDC South
Africa said in a statement on Tuesday that "it is now clear that the
deadlines will not the met and we appeal to Home Affairs to come up with
another realistic deadline."

"Insisting on a deadline which will be missed by close to a million
Zimbabweans is not in the best interest of anyone," the MDC statement read.

Everisto Kamera from the refugee rights group PASSOP told SW Radio Africa on
Wednesday that they are also concerned that the deadline is not realistic,
explaining that the sheer volume of people trying to regularise their stay
is increasing daily. Kamera explained that although they are optimistic that
the process has started well, there are still "grey areas that need to be
clarified."

"There has been no clarification on what happens when these four year
permits expire and there's also confusion about what permits people can
apply for, if their spouses are the primary breadwinners, for example,"
Kamera said.

There has also been confusion about what kind of papers need to be presented
to South Africa's Home Affairs for Zimbabweans to be entitled to the
permits. Many Zimbabweans in South Africa are either informally self
employed or work for cash where possible. This means they can't produce the
required affidavits from employers or tax documents in order to apply for
work permits.

Home Affairs has now set up a call centre to help Zimbabwean nationals with
queries related to regulating their stay in South Africa. Home Affairs
Director General Mkuseli Apleni on Wednesday announced two charge-free
numbers to call, to clarify any confusion.

The numbers are: 0800 864 488 or 0800 601 190

Police maintain "curfew" in Bulawayo

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Pindai Dube
Wednesday, 22 September 2010 18:18

BULAWAYO - Police have imposed an informal curfew following last weekend's
last week-end's shooting of a police chief in the city.

Chief Superintendent, Lawrence Chatikobo, the Officer Commanding Serious
Fraud in Bulawayo, was shot dead by armed robbers who raided Cape to Cairo
nightclub along Robert Mugabe Way on Friday night. The armed robbers made
away with more than US$700.

However since Sunday evening, police have been descending on most
businesses, forcing them to close early. Residents have been exposed to
random searches for weapons after 8pm with those found without
identification particulars being thoroughly beaten and arrested.

Police spokesperson, Oliver Mandipaka defended the operation saying it was
aimed at weeding out criminals who have caused terror in the city.

"There is nothing wrong with people being searched and questioned by
 police," said Mandipaka.

Supermarkets, fast-food outlets and nightclubs  that normally open until mid
night are now being forced to close early by police.

Rodrick Fayayo, the chairperson for Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association (BPRA) condemned the police curfew as misdirected.

"Police should direct their energies on fighting criminals and not harassing
innocent residents. The approach is wrong and should stop. The action is
misdirected, and we condemn police for wantonly clobbering residents because
one of their bosses has been shot by armed robbers.

"The impression the police is giving out there is that this is a form of
revenge for the shooting of the police chief," Fayayo said.

On Saturday, Trymore Khoza, an  aide  to co-Home Affairs  Minister, Kembo
Mohadi was shot dead by a police detective after he  was  suspected to be
one of the armed robbers who raided Cape to Cairo night club.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) activists yesterday held protest marches
against the police crackdown.

WOZA said "police should stop the indiscriminate arrests" which the pressure
group said was an assault on basic human rights.

Zanu (PF) Takes Over Parcelling Of Foreign-Owned Shops

http://news.radiovop.com

22/09/2010 12:22:00

Harare, September 22, 2010 - President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party has
hijacked a programme spearheaded by the Affirmative Action Group (AAG) to
identify retail shops run by foreigners in the central business area and
parcel them to Zimbabwean blacks.

The AAG compiled list of the retail businesses owned by foreigners in Harare
has been taken to Zanu (PF) offices.

Fears are that the foreign owned shops will now be parcelled out to Zanu
(PF) supporters in Harare ahead of ordinary black Zimbabweans.

Sources said the list was taken to Zanu (PF) by Tongai Kasukuwere, a younger
brother of youth development minister, Savior Kasukuwere, who is behind the
AAG's bid to dispossess the foreigners of their enterprises.

Tongai Kasukuwere is a member of the Zanu (PF) Harare province. He is also
an executive member of the AAG in Harare.

"As many as 200 shops have been identified and attempts were now being made
to hand them over to black Zimbabweans. But with the process being done at
Zanu (PF) offices they are fears only Zanu (PF) supporters will benefit from
this ungodly programme.

The most affected foreigners are Nigerians, Somalis and Indians who run
retail shops in Harare. There were reports indicating Chinese nationals
running similar business ventures were being spared, at least for now.

Chinese national are largely seen as untouchables because of the close
military and political ties between their country and Zimbabwe.

It was not clear how the AAG national executive council led by
journalist-cum businessman Supa Mandiwanzira, was reacting to the Zanu (PF)
take-over of the parcelling out of the shops which they have identified.

The move, to wrestle shops owned by foreigners was initiated by the AAG
which said foreign nationals running small to medium retail enterprises
should be pushed out and pave the way for black Zimbabweans.

In a recent letter addressed to the city council, Mandiwanzira said the
Harare City Council should not renew shop licenses submitted by foreign
nationals.

"We welcome foreigners to invest in Zimbabwe, but can they stay in those
areas of business not reserved for indigenous people instead of coming all
the way to sell cooking oil, cell phone batteries, sugar, salt etc,"
Mandiwanzira said.

"These applications are not sustainable at law and are actually an affront
to the whole programme of indigenization and economic empowerment."
 

Bulawayo groups peacefully march in solidarity with victims of violence

Mugabe Wants Air Zim Pilots Strike Ended

http://news.radiovop.com/

22/09/2010 15:58:00

Harare, September 22, 2010 - President Robert Mugabe is said to have
directed the Air Zimbabwe management and board to act on the strike by
pilots as a matter of urgency, sources told Radio VOP.

The sources who are based at the Air Zimbabwe head office told Radio VOP on
Wednesday that Mugabe summarily issued the order as he was leaving for the
United Nations General Assembly meeting currently underway in New York.

"Mugabe told the management and board that he wants to see the planes back
into the skies when he returns from New York and meetings have been taking
place all day," said the sources.

"The arrogance of people like the board chairman has disappeared."

The sources said representatives of the pilots, the board and Minister of
Transport and Communication Nicholas Goche met on Tuesday at the Rainbow
Towers to try and agree on a workable deal before Mugabe returns.

Mugabe who charters Air Zimbabwe planes whenever he travels abroad nearly
failed to travel to the annual United Nations sojourn due to the ongoing
strike by pilots until the airline managed to sweet talk a crew to take him
to New York.

Some of the pilots are spending time playing golf while waiting for the
standoff to be resolved.

The pilots are said to have been angered by summary ultimatum issued by the
Air Zimbabwe board chairman, Jonathan Kadzura ordering pilots back at work
while threatening them with dismissal. The pilots however defied the
ultimatum.

Contacted for a comment yesterday the Air Zimbabwe Chief Executive officer
Peter Chikumba said negotiations are continuing.

"We are still negotiating and I am in a meeting right now," said Chikumba.

Pilots at the national carrier embarked on an industrial action some two
weeks ago demanding payment of allowances that were scrapped in February.

Meanwhile the airline is said to be spending US$ 2300 leasing an aircraft
from a South African aviation company. The aircraft is servicing the
lucrative Johannesburg- Harare route and some selected local routes while
all its international flights are suspended
 

Pressure Group Campaigns For No Vote

http://news.radiovop.com

22/09/2010 12:20:00

Harare, September 22, 2010 - Constitutional pressure group, the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) said it will soon start campaigning for a No
Vote for the constitutional process in Zimbabwe that has been marred by
violence.

NCA Chairperson, Lovemore Madhuku, told Radio VOP on Wednesday: "We will
definitely campaign against any draft produced by this process which, is not
people driven."

He said the the recent outbreak of violence at meetings to gather people
views for a new constitution will continue for as long as the process is led
by politicians.

He said the resurgence of violence towards the end of the programme at
meetings in Harare was not a surprising given that it is led by politicians
with vested interests.

"We are quite not surprised by the violence. COPAC, a (Constitutional
Parliamentary led programme) was never a serious process and what is
happening will always happen to a process that is driven by politicians,"
said Madhuku.

"We will get more of these; there was a warning during the first
Constitution All Stakeholders conference."

During the first all stakeholders meeting, Zanu (PF) politicians and
supporters disrupted the meeting and send members of the COPAC management
committee including the Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo and his Senate
counterpart Edna Madzongwe scurrying for cover.

Madhuku said to save the process the politicians must swallow their pride
and hand over the process to an independent commission which he said must be
established as a matter of urgency.

"This process should always have been led by an independent commission. Now
COPAC should hand over whatever they have collected from the people and hand
it over to an independent commission which should be established as a matter
of urgency," said Madhuku.

COPAC consultative meetings were at the weekend suspended in Harare after
cases of violence which made it impossible for any gathering of views.

A new constitution is expected to usher in a new democratic situation in the
country. It will replace the outdated Lancaster House constitution, which
President Robert Mugabe has used conveniently over the past 30 years to
entrench his iron-fist rule and suppress opposition.
 

Bindura University blame ‘armed robbers’ for student deaths

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
22 September 2010

The Bindura University of Science Education has claimed that two students
beaten to death last Friday at its graduation ceremony were attacked by
armed robbers and not its security guards. Speaking to SW Radio Africa on
Wednesday Tafadzwa Mugwadi, who leads a faction of the Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU), said this was the explanation given to them by
university authorities.

Mugwadi however dismissed this claim insisting that Brian Chirume and
another as yet unnamed student died after being brutally assaulted by
college security guards determined to stop those who had not paid their
tuition fees from attending the graduation ceremony. The tragic incident
happened two weeks after Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge said no
student should be barred from sitting exams, harassed or victimized, for
failing to pay fees.

Chirume was found dead inside the tennis courts at the university on the
Saturday morning. He was said to have been buried in Chivhu on Monday. The
other unnamed student died at Parirenyatwa Hospital, but Mugwadi said they
were struggling to make contact with his family to get more information.
Another source told us he was set to be buried Wednesday. His parents are
said to be reluctant to talk about the matter, fearing retribution from the
state.

Mugwadi challenged the explanation from the university, querying why any
armed robbers would target penniless students already struggling with
exorbitant tuition fees. On Tuesday Kudakwashe Chakabva, the spokesperson
for the ZINASU faction led by Mugwadi, told us 16 other students were
seriously injured when the college security guards went on a rampage trying
to bar a significant number of students from graduating, because they had
not fully paid up their tuition.

Zimbabwe Finance Minister Biti Seen Refereeing Feud Within Central Bank Board

http://www.voanews.com

Sources said Gono has appealed to Biti to block Kuwaza who has accused him
of corruption and says he should be prosecuted for his operation of the
central bank between 2003 and 2008

Gibbs Dube | Washington 21 September 2010

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti was expected to intervene this week
in a boardroom fight between Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono
and Central Bank Deputy Chairman Charles Kuwaza.

The dispute was said to be threatening to derail the overhaul of the central
bank.

Sources said Gono has appealed to Biti to block Kuwaza, who has accused him
of corruption and says he should be prosecuted for his operation of the
central bank between 2003 and 2008.

Kuwaza, a former Finance Ministry permanent secretary and currently a member
of the State Procurement Board, is said to have accused Gono of giving
undocumented loans to friends and ZANU-PF higher-ups.

Sources said the feud is related to the long-running power struggle inside
ZANU-PF, Kuwaza being aligned with the faction led by retired army commander
Solomon Mujuru and Gono tied to Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. Reached
by VOA, Kuwaza declined to comment. Gono was said to be on a business trip
to Asia.

Economist Eric Bloch told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that the
boardroom battle should be addressed before it scuttles efforts by the
central bank's new board to overhaul the long-troubled institution.

Police chief says country at 'war' with armed gangs

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

22/09/2010 00:00:00
by Lebo Nkatazo

POLICE chief Augustine Chihuri has warned dangerous criminals that the
Zimbabwe Republic Police will "shoot to kill" as the country battles un
upsurge in armed robberies.

Speaking for the first time after a police officer was gunned down in a
Bulawayo nightclub robbery last Saturday, Chihuri said: "The ZRP will not
stand akimbo and watch innocent citizens of this country, let alone police
officers, being decimated by uncouth criminals ...

"To this end, all unscrupulous elements, be they armed robbers, carjackers
and others of ilk, should be warned that the ZRP shall not hesitate to shoot
to kill any such persons. Those who live by the sword will die by the
 sword."

Chief Superintendent Lawrence Chatikobo, 49, the officer commanding the
Serious Fraud Squad in the city, died after five gunmen held dozens of
people hostage in a crowded bar in the early hours of last Saturday, before
getting away with US$1,600 and R800 seized from the tills.

Chatikobo and a fellow detective Pedzisai Shoko had been having a drink at
the Cape to Cairo bar which is popular with police officers and business
executives when the robbers struck.

Detective Constable Shoko was shot in the right hand and abdomen but
survived. An employee Nonhlanhla Moyo was shot in her left breast and is
receiving treatment at a Bulawayo hospital while Collina Manhire, a patron,
was shot in the right leg and another bullet grazed his head.
The brave Chatikobo had tried to draw his gun and take on the criminals when
he was shot in the head.

Police set up roadblocks and were conducting random searches throughout
Bulawayo this week in search of the killers.

Chatikobo was the second police officer killed by armed robbers in the last
six months. Detective Sergeant Joseph Maximus died in a shoot-out with armed
robbers in Harare.

Chihuri said: "The challenge is upon us to take the bull by its horns and
let not his death be in vain. I believe time has come for the Zimbabwe
Republic Police to declare war against unruly elements."

Harare, Zimbabwe, Residents Seek Answers After Constitutional Meetings Suspended

http://www.voanews.com

Residents Trust Coordinator Precious Shumba said residents want some answers
from the officials in charge of the constitutional outreach process,
troubled since it was launched in June

Patience Rusere, Thomas Chiripasi & Loirdham Moyo | Washington 21 September
2010

Following the suspension of Zimbabwe's constitutional revision outreach
process in Harare on Monday after chaos and violence disrupted public
comment meetings in the capital over the weekend, civil society activists
Tuesday were demanding answers from parliamentary officials as to where the
troubled exercise is headed.

The Harare Residents Trust called a meeting Wednesday to discuss the
indefinite suspension of the outreach process in Harare. Public meetings
were disrupted by persons widely identified as militants of President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, which has been accused of intimidating members of
the public elsewhere.

Residents Trust Coordinator Precious Shumba said that in light of the
weekend turmoil and the lack of clarity by Parliament's select committee on
constitutional revision as to when meetings will be rescheduled, residents
want some answers from the officials in charge of the process, troubled
since it was launched in June.

Shumba told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that residents of Harare,
which is a stronghold of the former opposition Movement for Democratic
Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, fear their voices on
the shape of the new constitution could be silenced due to the suspension of
the outreach process.

Ordinary Zimbabweans interviewed on Harare's streets said the select
committee should apologize to the nation for the violence that rocked the
consultation process in Harare, as Irwin Chifera reported from the capital.

The constitutional outreach process also ran into serious trouble in eastern
Manicaland province.

Following an assault on outreach team members Monday, allegedly by ZANU-PF
activists, soldiers and state security agents, new violence was reported
Tuesday with four more meetings called off in Makoni South.

Correspondent Loirdham Moyo reported on the wave of disruption that started
Monday.

Local MDC lawmaker Pichai Muchauraya told VOA that the prominent war
veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba sent him death threats and pulled a gun on
him Tuesday morning in Mutare. He said outreach meetings in the area had
been abandoned for the time being with only nine out of 30 completed in his
Makoni South district.

Elsewhere, 83 members of the pressure group Women Of Zimbabwe Arise remained
in custody in Harare Central Police Station following their arrest on Monday
during a protest marking International Peace Day.

A WOZA statement said the activists were charged with obstructing traffic.
It said the detainees had refused to pay admission-of-guilt fines and
insisted on going to court. Their arraignment could take place on Wednesday.

The group said a member of the male counterpart organization Men of Zimbabwe
Arise, Lazarus Mandondo, was severely beaten while in police custody. It
said conditions in the Harare lockup were deplorable.

Mugabe says poverty remains high because of targeted sanctions

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
22 September 2010

Poverty in Zimbabwe has remained high because of the debilitating effects
caused by targeted sanctions, Robert Mugabe said on Tuesday.

Addressing delegates at the United Nations plenary meeting on Millennium
Development Goals in New York, Mugabe blamed what he called 'illegal and
debilitating sanctions' for Zimbabwe's failure to cut poverty and hunger.

The country's economy went into freefall at the beginning of this decade
with the world's highest recorded inflation after the ZANU PF led government
embarked on its chaotic and violent land redistribution exercise that caused
severe food shortages in the country.

Targeted sanctions were imposed later over accusations that Mugabe and ZANU
PF rigged the 2002 presidential election. The country's statistical
indicators for health and education were once among the best in Africa. But
the political and economic crisis brought rising poverty and social decline
in its wake.

A 2009 report released by Save the Children found that 10 out of the 13
million people still in Zimbabwe live in abject poverty, struggling to
access food and other essentials. Another report by women in Student
Christian Movement showed that poverty was so bad in the country students
sometimes resorted to prostitution to survive.

Anglican Reverend Lameck Mutete told us there are many factors that
contribute to poverty, but impoverishment in Zimbabwe has been caused mainly
by political instability.

'I think it's not true for Mugabe to say poverty and hunger have been made
worse by sanctions in Zimbabwe. What has Zimbabwe done with the farms seized
during the chaotic land redistribution execise? Have we done anything
productive on the farms to warrant enough food for our people? This is what
politicians should be asking themselves and not blame other countries for
their failures,' Rev Mutete said.

The Reverend also questioned Mugabe's decision to travel to the UN with a
delegation of 80 at the expense of taxpayers. Sources in government said the
trip gobbled up $2 million of treasury funds at a time when government was
struggling to pay civil servants.

After the UN meeting, Mugabe and his delegation is expected to travel to
Quito, where Mugabe is to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Civil law from
an Anglican Church-run University in Ecuador.
The proposed trip has already triggered protests. Genocide Watch on
Wednesday sent a letter to the President of the University, Reverend Dr.
Walter Roberto Crespo, questioning their decision to honour the ZANU PF
leader, a man accused of genocide.

'It seems incredible to us that a Christian university with a high
reputation like yours is planning to honor a world-class criminal like
Robert Mugabe. Honorary degrees by a British university and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology were withdrawn after they examined his
crimes. We do not want you to be put in a similar situation,' a statement
from Genocide Watch said.

Union Calls For Strike As Headmaster Commits Suicide

http://news.radiovop.com

22/09/2010 12:18:00

Chirimhanzi, September 22, 2010 - The head of Mukomberanwa Secondary School
near Chaka Business Centre here allegedly committed suicide after an intense
conflict with parents over suspected abuse of money meant for teacher
incentives.

The Programmes and Communications Officer of the Progressive Teachers Union
of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Oswald Makomborero Madziva said: "While the union does
not condone abuse of public funds, the eclipse of misery and deprivation in
the teachers is driving them into the devil's workshop."

"This is just but one of the cases of the vertical and horizontal conflicts
which teachers are experiencing in the schools. Schools have become a war
zone between parents and teachers with corrupt school development committees
and school heads lining their pockets.

"The PTUZ firmly believes in one war to end all wars - a decisive and issue
laden strike action."

The death of the headmaster identified only as a Mr Mashamba was closely
linked to a meeting which was convened by the School Development Committee
and attended by parents, the local councillor and some police details. At
the meeting parents were reported to have demanded a financial report on how
the school used the money which parents paid for incentives for teachers.

It is alleged that teachers at the school were never paid incentives despite
the US10 termly contribution per child which parents paid towards school
levies. Allegations were that Mashamba failed to give a satisfactory
explanation and the bitter parents threatened to report the matter to the
police.

A day after the meeting,  Mashamba travelled to his rural home in Gutu where
he allegedly took poison and died.

The PTUZ said it was saddened by this development which epitomises the union's
year old argument that incentives will work against teachers.

Teachers in Zimbabwe, like most civil servants, are earning about US$160.
They want this increased to US$ 600 a month.
 

Zimbabwe's prime minister on putting aside party politics, sharing power with Mugabe and relations with Britain and the world