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.
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.
22 September 2010
HRD’s Alert
POLICE ARREST WOZA LEADER
AS MAGISTRATE GRANTS BAIL TO 83 MEMBERS
Police on Wednesday 22 September, 2010 arrested Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA) National Coordinator Jenni
Williams after accusing her of unlawfully addressing several of her group’s
members moments after their release on bail.
Police arrested and detained Williams
at a post located at the Rotten Row Magistrates Court and accused her of
addressing WOZA and Men of Zimbabwe
Arise (MEZA) members, when in fact she was
trying to ascertain the medical needs of her members who had endured two
nights in the filthy cells at Harare Central Police Station.
Williams was
released without any charge preferred against her after being detained for more
than two hours.
The WOZA and MEZA
members were arrested on Monday 20 September, 2010 after they marched on
Parliament in
Meanwhile, Harare
Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi on 22
September 2010 granted free bail to 83 WOZA members, who endured two nights in
police cells at Harare Central Police Station since their arrest on Monday 20
September, 2010.
Magistrate
Mutevedzi granted the WOZA and MEZA members bail after their lawyer Charles Kwaramba applied for their
admission to free bail. State prosecutor Tapiwa Kusema had proposed that the
WOZA and MEZA members should each deposit $50 in bail money and report once
every week at Harare Central Police Station.
But Magistrate
Mutevedzi, who remanded the WOZA and MEZA members to 6 October, 2010 dismissed
the State’s application and only ordered them to reside at their given
residential addresses and not to interfere with State witnesses and
investigations.
ENDS
Kumbirai Mafunda
Senior Projects Officer
Communications&Information
6th
100 Nelson Mandela Av
Tel
Email
“We Need
Generational Change”
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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
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.
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."
Groups in Bulawayo marked International Peace Day on Tuesday (yesterday) with a peaceful march starting at the Bulawayo City Hall. The march went ahead peacefully after police clearance was granted. Zimrights, Habbakuk Trust and the Zimbabwe Victims of Organised Violence (ZIVOV) were among those that marched.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme said a group of about 50 people heard victims of the organised violence in 2002 recount their ordeals. Those who spoke included Themba Ndlovu, who was ambushed by ZANU PF thugs at his home and badly beaten, and Sidumiso Moyo, whose house was burnt by ZANU PF thugs.
Saungweme said a former Green Bomber also spoke at the event. "He said he wanted to thank God, because God had changed his heart. He said at the training he got at the national military camps (run by ZANU PF) he was taught to hate and he prided himself in violence," Saungweme said.
Saungweme added that the National Healing Organ was invited to the march but did not attend, saying they were too busy with their work elsewhere.
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
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
Morgan Tsvangirai on Zimbabwe
Sep 22nd 2010, 15:43 by The Economist online
Click Economist address to see video
http://www.irinnews.org/
Harare, 22
September 2010 (IRIN) - Juliet Mashoko, a 61-year-old
grandmother, attended
the recent Survivors Summit in the Zimbabwean capital,
Harare, organized by
Heal Zimbabwe, an NGO working to rehabilitate people
affected by political
violence during the 2008 elections.
She told her story during a group
testimonial session.
"President [Robert] Mugabe [leader of ZANU-PF] and
Prime Minister [Morgan]
Tsvangirai [leader of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)] must
apologize to me because I was beaten on the head and all
over the body by
ZANU-PF militia and sustained a broken leg. My
daughter-in-law, who was
pregnant, and my six-year-old grandson were locked
in a house which was then
set on fire.
"The Prime Minister owes me an
apology because I suffered so much trauma
because of supporting his
political party [MDC]. Right now the two of them
[Mugabe and Tsvangirai] are
in an inclusive government and their lives have
moved on, while some of us
are carrying so much hurt, injury and trauma.
"It was just before sunset
and a truck load of ZANU-PF supporters drove into
my homestead, located on
the eastern outskirts of Harare. They said they
were looking for my son,
Brian Chimova, who is an MDC councillor for the
area.
"They said
since I was not prepared to reveal his whereabouts, I would have
to take the
punishment they wanted to mete out [to him]."
They began assaulting her
with sticks, and "They also stomped on my legs and
hit me with thick logs
until one leg fractured.
"They took my six-year-old grandson, my pregnant
daughter-in-law and my
20-year-old son and locked them in one of the rooms.
They threw a petrol
bomb inside, which set it on fire.
"Up to this
day, their cries of anguish continue to haunt me. I wanted to
assist them
but I was helpless as I could not move my legs.
"I am not able to provide
for myself any more because of my injuries and the
destruction of my
property. The government should compensate all victims of
political violence
and assist them to rebuild their shattered lives."
[This report
does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM - No..zw with "For
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=================================================
1.
ANGUS BUCHAN in Harare 25 September 2010
2. Cathy Buckle - Nowhere to
hide
3. J.L. Robinson - Oligarchy
4. Sally Davies - Whistling
for Peace
5. J.L. Robinson -
Sanctions
=================================================
1.
ANGUS BUCHAN in Harare 25 September 2010
Angus Buchan is coming to Harare
and will be speaking on the playing
fields at Chisipite School on 25
September at 6pm.
Angus a fellow farmer - a farmer with a bigger
following than any
farmer in the whole of Africa - he has a message of hope
that we
all need to hear. The evening is free. The mighty mans conference
had
around half a million men on Angus' farm. This is for women
too.
Invite your friends. Get excited and let's get there in numbers
and
hear what Angus has to say.
Ben
Freeth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
Cathy Buckle - Nowhere to hide
Dear Jag
Every year it seems the
changing leaves on the Msasa trees are more
beautiful than they've ever been
before and this year is no
exception. In the last couple of weeks the Msasas
have shaken off all
their old dusty leaves and given us an African
extravaganza. From bright
shiny red to deep dark port wine, the leaves have
turned then to soft
orange and caramel, then a tinted pinky brown before
finally turning pale
green and darkening as they prepare to face the summer
sun. The display
has been so beautiful this year that it had to be seen to be
believed. On
stretches of road where there are valleys or kopjes, the trees
have
appeared as rich Persian carpets and left you feeling as if you
have
walked into a child's exotic painting.
At ground level its been
a completely different sensation with the days
filled with the noise of
falling Msasa pods. As soon as the sun hits the
trees in the morning the pods
begin exploding and the intensity increases
with the temperature. From every
direction comes the click, crack sound
of pods splitting open and spitting
out their shiny brown seeds as they
fall to the ground. Underfoot is a maze
of pods, some flat and velvety on
the underside but most curled and dark
brown with sharp tips.
As if the colours, noises and falling pods weren't
enough, this is
also the time of year when the summer birds start
reappearing.
Babblers and Thrushes running on the ground feasting on
worms in the
fallen pods; Drongoes and Bulbuls swooping down to spear
termites newly
emerged from the baked ground in their millions and hungrily
devouring
every blade of dry grass. The Flycatchers and Bee- eaters are back
and
the mocking calls of the Go Away birds all add to the spectacle
of
Zimbabwe at this time of year. A spectacle where every day ends with
a
bright red sun slipping into the horizon through the smoke, dust
and
haze.
This week it hasn't just been the beauty of nature which has
lifted
our spirits in Zimbabwe but also two pieces of news. The first is that
a
woman who took part in a number of violent farm invasions here has
been
denied asylum in the UK. She must return to live in the country which
she
helped turn into a begging bowl. She must return to be amongst people
who
saw her, know what she did and to whom. The second piece of good news
is
that Genocide Watch have announced that the Gukurahundi mass killings
in
Matabeleland in the 1980s have been classified as a genocide. With
the
official classification comes the fact that there is no Statute
of
Limitations and for the rest of their lives the perpetrators of
mass
murder can be held to account for their actions. So, at last, there
is
nowhere to hide and accountability becomes reality. Until next
week,
thanks for reading, love
Cathy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.
J.L. Robinson - Oligarchy
Dear Jag
We can now truly commend the
Zanu oligarchy for their ingenuity and
dedication.
To create such
immense wealth for the chosen few in the name of
"liberty of the people" is
one thing.
But to murder 25 000 civilians from an opposition party or
region, go on
to put up a statue to the victims' leader, attempt to build
an
airport, and then name a dirty old hangar after him - to suggest
that
the same persecuted population group should vote for them - is
true
brilliance.
The next step is to now pass laws that exonerate all
criminal activities
committed by the oligarchy for the last thirty years and
simultaneously
protect all their stolen property including
farms.
Finally - having exonerated the mass murderers of the 25
000
victims, the oligarchy will now prosecute artists who have
created
artistic images of that genocide - and threaten them with 20
years
imprisonment for disturbing the peace!
This is the work of a
genius.
J.L.
Robinson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.
Sally Davies - Whistling for Peace
Dear JAG
I have been toying
with an idea lately...inspired by a news story about
people in Chipinge who
used loud whistling as a way to come together and
resist a violent invasion,
with the result that a planned abduction by
ZANU-PF thugs failed.
Ben
Freeth, in his recent article, asks about ways that rural communities
can
resist and stay connected when faced with their wards being cut off
and
people being rounded up late at night for "Pungwes". That is the kind
of
thing I'm thinking about too.
What if peace loving Zimbabweans at home
and in the Diaspora tried to
raise funds to buy thousands of "safety
whistles" - the kind you get at
outdoor stores, could these be distributed in
vulnerable communities? Not
in a partisan way, but as a way for people to
identify themselves as
being against violence (whatever party they
support).
If there's an attack, people could blow these whistles and they
will be
heard up to a kilometre away, further if the conditions are right.
Other
whistlers can then converge on that sound; and if there's an attempt
to
convene a "Pungwe" the area can quickly be surrounded by people -
hiding
in the bush if need be - but all blowing their whistles so that
there's a
clear and present effect of resistance and protest. At the very
least,
the people being victimised will know they are not alone and
the
torturers will know they're being watched. If connected with
election
monitors or a more organised crime watch of some kind, it would be
even
better but as we all know there will be tremendous resistance
against
anything likely to provide solid protection to rural people, and one
has
to agree with Ben that people must get ready to face this again in
their
own strength and the "armour of God".
I did some preliminary
investigations online and found a wholesale
supplier of safety whistles in
Durban, they cost about R12 each. These
are not just the normal sports
whistles, they are really LOUD and if
blown right into the ear of an attacker
can even disorient them allowing
the target time to escape in some
situations. There are other types, more
sophisticated and obviously more
expensive as well, which are even louder
and if a few of those could be
distributed that too might help a lot.
Let me know what you think, and if
there's any other way that I, as an
ordinary ex-Zimbabwean living in South
Africa, can help Peace Watch
achieve its ends.
Best
regards
Sally Davies
Somerset
West
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.
J.L. Robinson - Sanctions
Dear Jag
There have been many calls for
travel bans to be lifted on President
Mugabe and others.
I believe
that we should support this call.
There needs only to be one small
condition.
Now that the Matabele massacre has been officially recognised
as
Genocide, the travel bans can be exchanged for President Mugabe
and
others being brought before the International Court in The
Hague.
They truly deserve the right to be free to travel to The
Hague.
J.L.
Robinson
=================================================
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the
submitters,
and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for
Agriculture.
================================================