MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
WEEKLY BRIEFING NOTE
6 August 2002
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Nkanyiso Maqueda, Information Manager – 00263 91 248 570
BRUSSELS, Grace Kwinjeh – 0032 494 1 81 621
LONDON, James Littleton – 00 44 7771 501 401
Trial Date Set
Despite widespread condemnation, authorities in Zimbabwe have set a date for the ‘treason trial’ of MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai, Secretary General, Welshman Ncube and Shadow Agriculture Minister Renson Gasala. If convicted they could face life imprisonment, or worse, the death penalty. The trial date has been set for 11 November. The move is a blatant attempt by the illegitimate Mugabe regime to harass the MDC and discredit the image of our leaders in the eyes of the electorate.
Police harassment of Morgan Tsvangirai continued on Saturday when they raided his home searching for ‘arms of war, illegal immigrants and subversive materials’.
Senior MDC Figure Dragged From Sick-bed
MDC Treasurer and MP Fletcher Dulini, 62, was dragged from his hospital bed by police on Saturday, barely 24 hours after undergoing an operation to remove his eye. Police insisted that Dulini spend the weekend in custody so that he could appear in court on Monday for indictment on allegations of murder. "He was in a very bad condition when I saw him, the wound in his eye had not been dressed and it was bleeding a little. He was in extreme pain," said Dulini’s lawyer. Dulini has since been returned to hospital where he is currently under police guard.
Dulini was initially arrested last year, accused of murdering a war veteran named Cain Nkala. Despite the blatant lack of evidence connecting him with the murder, Dulini was kept in solitary confinement for over 1 month. An insulin dependent diabetic, Dulini was denied medicine by the prison authorities and was on the verge of an insulin-induced coma by the time the Supreme Court order that he be released on bail. The removal of his eye is a direct result of the chronic ill health prompted by his incarceration.
Dulini is expected to stand trial on 11 November, the same day as the ‘treason trial’ for Morgan Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube and Renson Gasala.
"I can confirm that a number of rallies I was supposed to address were cancelled at the last minute. What is happening is almost a pattern to deliberately use Posa (the Public Order and Security Act) against us. Zanu PF does not need to apply to hold meetings. So many meetings are taking place in the rural areas and they are not applying for permission. If we hold any meetings we are brutalised, so literally no meeting of any substance by the MDC will be allowed to take place", said MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai in response to a systematic campaign by police to bar him for holding rallies campaigning for MDC candidates in the forthcoming local elections.
"We reject the results of the Kadoma mayoral elections as a complete fraud. In the same manner that Zanu PF has repeatedly stolen the people’s victory in past elections, the full Zanu PF machinery was involved in constructing a warped victory against a genuine expression by the people of Kadoma", said MDC Secretary General Welshman Ncube following Zanu PF’s controversial victory in the Kadoma mayoral election.
Food Crisis
MDC Supporters Denied Food
MDC supporters in Kapembere ward in Muzarabani have accused Zanu PF leaders in the area of sidelining them in the food distribution programme for allegedly ‘belonging to the opposition which denigrates the government’. Takawira, the MDC’s security chief in the ward said Zanu PF had hijacked the feeding programme initiated by Christian Care.
Current Statistics (Number of People Affected By Food Crisis)
Matabeleland – 978,000
Masvingo – 972,000
Mashonaland – 1 million
Midlands – 620,000
Harare – 850,000
Manicaland - 843,000
Warning From Charity
Save The Children have warned of mass migration of starving people from Zimbabwe to South Africa within the next three months
NGOs Dismayed By Regime
Non-governmental organisations licensed to import food have expressed their dismay at the government’s restrictive importing conditions which they argue are hampering full private-sector participation to tackle the evolving famine. Private organisations who have been issued with import permits have slammed the Mugabe regime for introducing tonnage permit ceilings for a month. Such measures will undermine NGO’s potential to feed as many hunger-stricken people as they could. Oxfam, for example, has been granted a permit to import a maximum of 10,000 tonnes of food per month.
International
Sweden
Sweden has refused entry visas to four senior Zanu PF officials. Edna Madzongwe (Deputy Speaker of Parliament), Olivia Muchena (Minister of State in Vice Presisdent Joseph Msika’s office), Shuvai Mahofa (Deputy Minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation) and Flora Bhuka (Minister of State in Vice President Simon Muzenda’s Office) had applied for visas to attend a forthcoming women’s conference in Sweden. Sweden’s refusal to sanction entry visas underlines the EU’s determination to enforce the extension of travel bans announced at the recent General Affairs Council.
UK
A report published last week by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee contained strong and robust criticism of the actions of Mugabe. The report said that since 1980 Mugabe had deliberately and systematically flouted the rule of law in Zimbabwe. "He has lost the right to govern his people. By abusing their fundamental rights and freedoms he has earned their contempt. One man can exalt a nation as Nelson Mandela did South Africa; one man can destroy a nation , as Mugabe has Zimbabwe."
Political Violence/Intimidation
MDC Youth Chair Faces LOMA Charge
Nelson Chamisa, MDC Youth Chairperson, is due to appear before Harare Magistrates Court on charges under the repealed Law and Order Maintenance Act. Chamisa is charged with ‘encouraging violence’ when addressing a crowd at a rally last year.
Passports Threatened
The illegitimate Mugabe regime has threatened to confiscate the passports of senior MDC and civil society figures in a tit-for-tat response to the extension of the EU targeted sanctions.
MDC Secretary General, Welshman Ncube, said that such a more would be illegal and unconstitutional. "The possession of a passport is not a privilege but a constitutionally enshrined right," he said.
MDC Official Kidnapped
Prosper Mutseyami, the MDC’s vice –chairman in Manicaland was last Monday abducted by a group of Zanu PF youths and handed over to police. In an alarming development, it appears that Zanu PF youths are increasingly assuming the role of policemen.
Observations Of Kadoma Poll
One accredited ZESN observer in 13 polling stations
Pre-election period marked by significant incidents of violence and intimidation
Polling stations have been reduced from 22 to 13, a totally inadequate number.
A number of people not on the voters’ roll were allowed to vote
Some people were allowed to vote on presentation of registration slips rather than identification cards
Voters’ role not made available to all stakeholders. Zanu PF had a copy.
"In conclusion, the significant number of irregularities and problematic features of the election clearly compromise and cast doubt on the freeness, fairness and transparency of the electoral process in Kadoma".
General News
Banks Yet to Back Land Reform
The illegitimate Mugabe regime has failed to persuade the banks to provide the necessary funds to help finance its fast track land reforms. Currently, negotiations between banks and the regime have reached stalemate as banks are reluctant to provide the Zim$160 billion that is needed. The banks require far more assurance of repayment if they are to lend such a large sum of money.
"The banking sector must be supported by other statutory bodies like pension funds in financing the programme. Government is failing to understand that bank lending has limitations imposed by the Reserve Bank. For banks to finance such a huge programme there has to be a revision in the regulations bearing in mind the attendant risk".
Strike Action
Doctors - state-sector doctors continue to strike over deteriorating working conditions and remuneration levels that have failed to take into account dramatic hikes in inflation.
Miners – More than 1,000 miners at a mine near Gweru (Midlands Province) have gone on strike demanding a 150% pay increase.
END
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