|
Archived News
30th April 2002
Mother beheaded in front of daughters by Mugabe militants
23 held as Zim cops quash anti-Mugabe demos
Zimbabwe denies democratic leader bail
US court to decide damages
Zim may soon have a second Independence Day
Mugabe's militia turns sights on Asian businesses
Zimbabwe activist freed
Secret voters exposed
Msika, Mpofu grab CSC farm
Change policies, EU tells Mugabe
UN says Zimbabwe and neighbours face famine
Mudede releases altered figures for mayoral poll
Elusive Ben-Menashe flip-flops over trial
Zimbabwe police search offices of pro-democracy group
Mutare police forbid Tsvangirai to use loudspeakers at rally
Mugabe frees 5 000 from overcrowded Zim jails
EU rights activist probes Zimbabwe
56th violence victim dies
Mugabe's right-hand man grabs white farm
Hands off invaded farms, chefs tell police
Zanu PF militia strips Bulawayo journalist, pregnant wife naked
Zanu PF militias loot MDC members' Bindura homes
Violence increases ahead of Kadoma mayoral poll
Libya denies land-for-oil deal
New rebel alliance in DR Congo
MDC youths want end to talks
Farm family defies Zimbabwe siege
Mugabe cronies take pick of stolen farms
Shiri accused of harassing MPs
MDC members sacked from Shamva mine
Winter maize scheme threatens sugar production
Doubts cast on decapitation of Zimbabwean woman
Workers forced to join ZFTU
Tuku Sends London Fans Wild
A rhythmic call for dignity
Congo rebels tell UN envoys to sink partial pact
Rwanda, Congo call for more talks
Zimbabwe human rights groups say violence worsens
Farm workers thrown out into the open
Tsvangirai due in court tomorrow for 'treason'
Growing donor concern over Dar-Harare links
One-sided deal is all you get, declares DRC
Top
From The Independent (UK), 24 April
Mother beheaded in front of daughters by Mugabe militants
A 53-year-old woman was beheaded in front of two of her daughters, aged 10 and 17, by supporters of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's President, because of her suspected backing for the opposition. Brandina Tadyenemhandu, who had eight children, was decapitated by 20 ruling party militants inside her hut in Magunje, South-west Zimbabwe, on Sunday in the most brutal political killing in almost two years of poll-related violence. She was killed because she was the mother of a Movement for Democratic Change youth activist, Tichaona Tadyenemhandu. He was killed by Zanu-PF militants days before the June 2000 parliamentary election in Zimbabwe. The family discovered his body in a mortuary six months later. President Robert Mugabe won the election last month but the international community has dismissed his victory as fraudulent. The MDC spokesman Learnmore Jongwe said yesterday: "As a party, we are now at a complete loss about what Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF wants the poor souls of this nation to do. He [Mugabe] is enjoying his stolen term yet he continues spilling the blood of defenceless opposition supporters."
Mrs Tadyenemhandu's husband, Enos, told the Daily News yesterday: "They killed my only son in a family of eight children and now they have killed my wife. Why are they fighting us after they won the election?" Mr Tadyenemhandu, 63, said all appeared well as he drove his cattle to a dip tank early in the morning on Sunday. On his way back, he was surprised when his 17-year-old daughter, Chipo, approached him, weeping profusely. "My first thought was that she had been assaulted by a friend. She struggled to tell me that her mother's head had been cut off by Zanu PF supporters," said Mr Tadyenemhandu. Chipo said the militants became enraged after her mother asked them why they were still harassing people so long after Mr Mugabe's election victory. They then proceeded to chop off her head in front of the young children. "When I saw my wife's remains, the head and the body were cleanly separated," said Mr Tadyenemhandu. Chipo also told her father that the rampaging Zanu PF militias had indicated, before killing her mother, that they would get rid of all MDC supporters in the area. The police in the area refused to co-operate, and instead asked Mr Tadyenemhandu and his children to go and look for the suspects on their own and bring them to the police station.
Political violence has continued to ravage Zimbabwe even after President Mugabe's re-election in the March polls. Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, has refused to recognise the outcome of the election and is now challenging it in the courts, while the European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. Mr Tsvangirai says his party's supporters have been killed, tortured, raped and brutally assaulted in post-election reprisal attacks in Zimbabwe. Zanu PF militants responsible for the violence say they want to rid the country of "opposition supporters". Peaceful protests to voice anger at Mr Mugabe's human rights abuses and his open rigging of the presidential election have been suppressed. Heavily armed policemen in trucks and on foot dispersed crowds of pro-democracy activists holding peaceful protests yesterday to demand a new constitution followed by a fresh presidential election. It was the second time in two weeks the police had brutally suppressed nationwide protests convened by the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of churches, professional organisations and trade unions. Lovemore Madhuku, the coalition chairman, and two other officials were arrested on the eve of the demonstrations. More than 60 NCA activists were arrested in the first important demonstrations against Mr Mugabe. Douglas Mwonzora, an NCA spokesman, said yesterday that protests were also taking place in the southern city of Masvingo, but there was no independent confirmation. Zimbabwe introduced tough new security laws this year banning public protests and gatherings without police approval. Penalties range from fines to a year in prison.
Top
From The Star (SA), 23 April
23 held as Zim cops quash anti-Mugabe demos
Harare - Riot police on Tuesday broke up pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital and three other urban areas, arresting at least 23 people, organisers said. In Harare, about 500 supporters of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a coalition of church, labour and civic rights groups, managed to stage sporadic protests as they ran through the streets, waving banners and chanting slogans denouncing President Robert Mugabe's government. They were dispersed each time, only to regroup elsewhere before the attempt was finally abandoned. NCA spokesperson Douglas Mzonzora said about five were arrested in Harare, but full details were not yet available. Witnesses said they saw police round up "many" people and force them into police vehicles. In the southern town of Masvingo, demonstrators were on the streets for about two hours before being baton-charged and tear-gassed by police, he said. Sixteen were arrested there. Police also broke up demonstrations in Bulawayo, where two were reported to be arrested, and in the central city of Gweru. "It went very well," said Mwonzora. The demonstrations were banned by police under the Public Order and Security Act, legislation that allows authorities to clamp down on public shows of discontent against Mugabe's rule.
The demonstration was called to demand a new democratic constitution to strip Mugabe of his sweeping powers that critics say he abuses to crush dissent and stay in power. It was the second attempt by the NCA to stage nationwide demonstrations since Mugabe was declared the winner of March's presidential election. The election was condemned by most of the world as illegitimate because of violent intimidation, suppression of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change's attempts to campaign and outright rigging. NCA leader Lovemore Madhuku and two others were arrested at the organisation's headquarters in Harare on Monday, but police were denying that they were holding them, said lawyer Alec Muchadehama. He said he spoke to Madhuku on his cellphone while he was in Harare central police station on Monday, and when he confronted police two minutes later, they said they did not know where the three were, said Muchadehama. An application was due to be heard later on Tuesday in the Harare high court for an order to police to produce the three. Madhuku has been arrested under the Act three times this year for organising demonstrations.
Top
From SABC News, 24 April
Zimbabwe denies democratic leader bail
A Zimbabwean court denied bailed yesterday to Lovemore Madhuku, a jailed pro-democracy leader who was arrested one day earlier for organising anti-government protests, state television reported. Five other activists, who were not named, from the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) were granted bail of $145. All six are due to appear again in court today. The six face charges under Zimbabwe three-month-old Public Order and Security Act, which bans all political demonstrations. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's President, pushed the law through parliament ahead of the March 9-11 presidential elections. Independent observers said the law was used to break up campaign rallies by the opposition. At least 38 people were arrested around Zimbabwe yesterday, as the NCA staged protests in four main towns and cities calling for a new constitution that would create a more democratic election process. Police brutally broke up most of the protests, beating people with batons to chase them away.
Top
From ZWNEWS, 24 April
US court to decide damages
A New York court will decide on Thursday the amount of the damages to be awarded to victims of political violence in Zimbabwe. "Based on prior judgments, we believe that very substantial damages, in the tens of millions of US dollars, are warranted. Specifically, we've asked for no less than $68 million," said Hamish Hume, the American lawyer representing the victims in this case. The decision, however, sits with the magistrate who will decide on the basis of submissions by the plaintiffs. They will all be present in the US District Courthouse to give first-hand testimony. The plaintiffs testifying include family members of individuals who were attacked, beaten, tortured and killed by Zanu PF. The witnesses will also describe the organized campaign designed to intimidate all of Zanu PF's political opposition through harassment, physical attacks, and the assassination of targeted individuals.
The District Court for the Southern District of New York has already entered a default judgment against Zanu PF and its leaders. Neither Zanu PF, nor President Mugabe and the other senior officials against whom the civil suit was brought ,contested the allegations of gross and pervasive violations of the rights of the citizens of Zimbabwe. All that remains is for the plaintiffs to provide evidence as to the extent of the abuses and for the court to set a dollar amount on the judgment that will be entered against Zanu PF. A similar case against Radovan Karadzic, the Serbian leader, resulted in an award of $745 million in compensatory and punitive damages. "The award can be enforced against any assets located in the United States and owned or controlled by Zanu PF. Therefore if the judgment is honoured in other jurisdictions, such as South Africa or the UK, it could also be enforced against assets owned there," confirmed Hume.
The plaintiffs being represented at the hearing include Adella Chiminya, whose husband, as an opposition party activist, was doused with fuel and burned in the run-up to the parliamentary election in June 2000; Elliott Pfebve, who stood as an MDC candidate in the same election and whose brother, in a case of mistaken identity, was assassinated by Zanu PF supporters; and Sanderson Makombe who was a second witness to the Chiminya murder. "The victims of this well-documented violence were wholly unable to obtain any measure of justice in their home country and have turned to the laws of the United States as their last resort. The hearing on the 25th will finally provide these victims their day in court and an opportunity to speak to the world of the human rights abuses they have suffered," said Hume.
In trying to avoid a precedent being set where sitting heads of state could be tried in a US civil court, last year the US State Department petitioned the judge to reconsider his judgement. They argued that President Mugabe enjoyed full diplomatic immunity, and that the service of papers on him while on a visit to New York in September 2000 was therefore invalid, even if he was guilty of crimes against humanity under recognized international conventions. Judge Victor Marero disagreed. He confirmed his original judgement, ruling that although Mugabe could not be held personally liable in his capacity as head of state, he was not immune in his capacity as leader of Zanu PF, nor from accepting service of papers on behalf of Zanu PF.
Top
Comment from The Daily News, 23 April
Zim may soon have a second Independence Day
For the past 22 years, Zimbabweans made significant changes to their personal lives. They moved homes in urban areas, changed or lost jobs, developed new careers and some either died or simply retired. Lodgers became house owners; people moved from the high-density areas into the low density areas; former students are now chief executives; reporters became editors and small-time vendors acquired huge businesses. Those who took part in the first independence celebrations and joined the rapid internal movements that followed immediately afterwards would be first to testify that their world has equally changed with them. If they rose to new heights, they are likely to talk about the difficulties and problems of life, far from what they originally thought were the "noisy" townships or the dry rural areas. Some became instant employers, just by moving around. Their language changed too. They shared little talk about their gardeners and nannies, about fishing, golf, cars, even cats and dogs. At no point was there any discussion about food and fuel queues, subjects that dominate meetings today. Government officials ran their voices hoarse, defending Zimbabwe. Those still in exile left influential jobs, some abandoned their studies to be part of the home crowd. That is as it should be. A nation can only prosper when its citizens move within its geographical area and beyond. Progress comes with movement. Without some form of positive displacement and growth, there can never be any movement.
While everybody was moving, or seemed to, one man remained stuck at the same place. President Robert Mugabe, in power for that length of time, has remained at State House and his Munhumutapa office, doing the same job. The disadvantages of his continued stay in one home and office, probably with the same furniture, same bookshelves, same books and the same saucer and teacup, far outweigh any spin-offs from such a caged environment. Sitting in the same building, Mugabe has watched his colonial heritage crumble before him. Corruption immediately sank in. Despite piecemeal controls and muffled condemnations, his team ignored him. In 1984, at his party's first congress in a free Zimbabwe, Mugabe introduced a leadership code, primarily to deal with abuse of office and avarice. That, too, failed. In 1989, when the economy began to show real signs of stress because of an unchecked and growing budget deficit, nearly three-quarters of his top team had become second-hand car dealers. That led to the Sandura Commission of Inquiry into the Willowvale car scandal which claimed the life and careers of his most trusted lieutenants: Maurice Nyagumbo, Enos Nkala, Dzingai Mutumbuka, Frederick Shava, Callistus Ndlovu, among others. Mugabe, however, remained firm.
Today, as we tumble in freezing waters, battered and without any breath, Mugabe says let's push on. He has suddenly discovered a new formula for changing our fortunes: Everybody must be empowered overnight. You can be a millionaire by the year 2008 from our land. A million jobs are up for grabs! You will live in utter comfort, so we are told. Mugabe's ardent supporters believe he is breaking new ground in African politics. That is untrue. Politicising poverty is a worn-out game on the continent. Its results, though varied, only delayed the emancipation of the poor as the intended beneficiaries. Africans recall, with shattered fondness, the Arusha Declaration of 1967 when the late Julius Nyerere introduced an empowerment drive dubbed ujamaa in Tanzania. The idea was to bring wealth to the people, through co-operatives and indigenisation with the help from the East. The West was regarded as a natural enemy because of its links to colonialism and international capital. Today, ujamaa needs no further debate. Tanzania has moved to the other end of the political pendulum. Ujamaa vanished long before Nyerere retired and died.
In 1975, the late Samora Machel nationalised literally every activity and enterprise in Mozambique. The Portuguese were hounded out like "cats and dogs". Like Nyerere, he relied on the East. The West ganged up against Machel in the full glare of the same East, created a rebel movement and forced him to enter into the unsavoury Nkomati Accord with the apartheid South African white rulers. Two years later, it can be argued, the Boers killed him. Mozambique has since abandoned Machel's economic policies and, to a large extent, his nationalistic zeal. President Joaquim Chissano listens to all, including Zimbabwe's beleaguered white farmers. He even welcomed his former gadfly, the Afrikaner hard-liners, to introduce organised agriculture to Mozambique. Former President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia invented a political credo which he termed "humanism". This was an attempt at wholesale empowerment of the blacks. There is no need for any debate on this theory any further. Kaunda was thrown out office in an election, the first real contest in Zambia. Up north, Idi Amin identified what he thought was the prime source of the countrymen's problem: citizens of Indian ancestry. He pushed them out, often with nothing. Their property and assets were seized as part of a grand strategy to remove the enemy "in our midst" and empower poor Ugandans. The rest, as they say, is now history.
Mugabe's government will never move an inch towards meaningful progress with the so-called exclusive goodwill from the East. Agriculture is a demanding industry that needs support from all over the world; it requires a combination of expertise and money. Zimbabwe does not have either. Our agriculture extension service has been on its knees for the past five years. Workers are without transport and support. Further, droughts and other natural disasters must be hedged by industry and commerce. Our senior black captains in the manufacturing sector are known for acquiring businesses and running them down, not creating wealth. War veterans may be good foot-soldiers necessary in political and nationalistic campaigns, but not as telescopic thinkers and economic strategists. Tourism is supposed to complement agriculture in Mugabe's new revolution. Maybe. Should our hotels brace for new arrivals from Libya, mainland China and the Democratic Republic of Congo? Our world-class holiday resorts are certainly unprepared for an influx of visitors from Mupandawana, Dotito, Sanyati or even Harare and Bulawayo. Any potential domestic tourist spends half the time bunking work to queue for basic items, under the watchful eye of the police riot squad. The experiments tackled by Nyerere and others failed because, without faith and goodwill, mass empowerment becomes too complicated a political concept for one generation to suck. We eagerly await the outcome of Mugabe's version. Otherwise, Zimbabwe will eventually have a second Independence Day, different from 18 April.
Top
From The Times (UK), 25 April
Mugabe's militia turns sights on Asian businesses
Harare - President Mugabe’s militia of so-called war veterans threatened yesterday to switch their campaign of property seizure away from white-owned farms to Zimbabwe’s Asian-owned businesses. The veterans accused the country ’s 12,000 people of Asian descent of being economic looters and told them to hand over property or risk having it seized. The threat evoked memories of Idi Amin’s persecution of Asians in Uganda during the 1970s. Andrew Ndlovu, second-in-command of the National Liberation War Veterans’ Association, told The Herald, a state-controlled daily newspaper, that the movement had started what he called "Operation Liberation" to seize Asian business properties. "We want these Indians to surrender a certain percentage of that land to the Government," he said. "Indians are not here to develop our country or to work with the Government. They are economic looters,"
Much of Zimbabwe’s Asian population is descended from families who arrived with white settlers late in the 19th century. Mostly affluent traders and professionals, they have remained largely apolitical, apart from a few who took public office in the ruling Zanu PF party. Despite the Asian minority’s low political profile, it has begun to be seen as a target of Zanu PF. The threat from Mr Ndlovu, a former renegade guerrilla who is facing charges of incest and embezzling his movement of Zim$800,000 ("10,000), was the most overt attack yet. "If they do not stop looting, they will leave us with no choice but to go door-to-door making sure all Indians are complying with instructions from the war veterans," Mr Ndlovu said. "Nothing will stop us from reclaiming commercial land from Indians." He accused Asians yesterday of creating a black market in critically short foreign currencies, refusing to attend Independence Day celebrations and of owning vacant property "which they did not want to share with blacks". The Herald said that Mr Ndlovu had also given Zimbabwe’s Asians an ultimatum to reduce rents, to bank their money locally and to increase wages.
For the past two years Mr Ndlovu’s militia have been carrying out state-backed attacks on white-owned farms that are strangling the agricultural base of the economy. Theft, extortion, blackmail, fraud and vandalism on a huge scale carried out by the militia appear finally to be driving farmers off their land. Now the war veterans are turning their sights on the Asians. No Asian would comment publicly, but one man who asked not to be named said that the threats had caused serious alarm. "A lot of us have been expecting this," he said. "It looks as if we will be pretty much in the same situation as the farmers are in. But what can you do?"
Demonstrations by ruling party supporters over economic hardship in the western city of Bulawayo this year took an overtly racist tone when demonstrators demanded action against alleged profiteering by Asian businessmen and carried banners that read "Amin was right". About 50,000 Asians were expelled and their businesses and property were seized by President Amin during the 1970s. Most of them settled in Britain. However, President Museveni of Uganda has invited them back to reclaim what is left of their property, offered compensation and asked them to help to rebuild the country’s economy. In Kenya and Malawi, Asians suffered racist discrimination from post-independence governments that forced them to take local black partners and, in Malawi, banned them from trading in rural areas.
Idi Amin summarily expelled 60,000 Asians living in Uganda in August 1972. They included 30,000 British passport-holders, who turned to Britain for asylum. President Amin’s move was a populist pandering to local resentment of the Asians’ wealth and control of 90 per cent of the shopkeeping and commerical sector of Uganda’s economy. He turned on them after his disastrous mismanagement of the Ugandan economy. Most of the Asians were of Gujurati origin, brought to Uganda by the British as indentured skilled labour when the former colony’s railway infrastructure was being developed at the turn of the last century. Their evacuation was a hurried affair. The Conservative Government of Edward Heath, despite its new regulations restricting immigration, said that Britain had a clear moral obligation to its passport-holders. With little debate, the Government mounted a rescue operation. The expulsion was a disaster for Uganda. The retail economy collapsed, prices soared, shortages grew and the Government cracked down on discontent with repression and arrests.
Top
From BBC News, 24 April
Zimbabwe activist freed
Lovemore Madhuku, a pro-democracy campaigner arrested on Monday, has been freed following a court ruling throwing out all charges against him. He had been accused of conspiracy to commit public violence, under a controversial security law passed before last month's disputed presidential election. Mr Madhuku, who heads the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), was arrested along with two other top NCA officials. His release follows anti-government protests staged by the NCA in Zimbabwean cities on Tuesday, in defiance of a police ban. In the ruling releasing Mr Madhuku, the court said the state had failed to back up its case. "There was no basis for the police to arrest him," Mr Madhuku's lawyer, Andrew Makoni told AFP news agency. Mr Makoni said many people arrested during Tuesday's protests faced similar charges to those brought against his client.
The NCA is a coalition of church groups, students and trade unions campaigning for a reduction in the powers of President Robert Mugabe. The current constitution, negotiated with Britain at independence in 1980, gives Mr Mugabe broad executive powers, which he used to change electoral rules up to a day before voting began in March. Earlier this month, the NCA said that around 400 activists were arrested ahead of similar planned demonstrations. Mr Mugabe's re-election was marred by accusations of vote-rigging and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has asked the courts to annul the results. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has called for fresh elections. But President Mugabe denies the allegations of fraud and has said no new presidential poll will be held until his term expires in six years' time. The Commonwealth has said the poll was held in a "climate of fear" and suspended Zimbabwe for a year. The security law gives the police sweeping new powers to break up public gatherings.
Top
From The Financial Gazette, 25 April
Secret voters exposed
Secret mobile voter registration was in progress in almost all rural areas of Zimbabwe until five days before the presidential election last month, boosting opposition charges that the poll could have been rigged, it was established this week. Official documents and communication between the provincial registry offices and the government-appointed Election Directorate show that the mobile voter registration programme was being conducted in rural areas in Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces from January 27, the official cut-off date, to March 4. Zimbabwe’s hotly contested presidential election, controversially won by President Robert Mugabe, was held from March 9 to 11. Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe’s bitter opponent during the poll and leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has rejected the outcome of the poll charging that it was rigged. The international community has also blasted the way Zimbabwean authorities conducted the election and accused Mugabe of having stolen the ballot to secure a disputed new six-year term.
The official voters’ registration exercise, which had been extended several times from its initial December 9 2001 deadline to the final January 27 deadline, was further and secretly extended for another 35 days, according to official documents. The Registrar-General’s Office and the government did not however advertise the new March 4 extension nor enact enabling legalisation to legalise the exercise. Instead Mugabe belatedly used his sweeping powers only to decree Statutory Instrument 41 D on March 5 to cover voters’ registration from January 27 up to March 3 but the exercise continued for another day. It could not be established this week how many voters were registered through mobile stations during the extended but secret deadline. But the supplementary voters’ roll prepared days before the election had more than 400 000 voters, more or less the number of voters Mugabe is supposed to have pipped Tsvangirai with to secure his new term.
Most Zimbabweans, especially in the opposition urban and peri-urban strongholds, did not know that the registration was open and had been extended to March 4. According to the official documents, the provincial committees which supervised the mobile registration were split into three, made of teams involving the provincial administrator, the provincial intelligence officer and the provincial registrar. The task of the teams, besides solving logistical issues involved in the exercise, was to pay "random visits at polling stations to assess take-off, impact of the voter registration exercise and encourage local leadership to advise people to register". The documents show the itinerary of the mobile voter registration and that registration teams were pencilled in to take place at Jimila Primary School in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North, on March 4, for example.
At Jowa Primary School in Tsholotsho, the voter registration is said to have taken place on March 3 and 4 while in the Midlands province mobile voter registration was to take place at Exchange Business Centre in Kwekwe on March 4 and at Gawa Primary School in Gokwe South on the same date. In Manicaland province’s Watsomba Business Centre, mobile voter registration was earmarked from March 1 to 3 while in Mutare West at Murehwa Primary School it was taking place on March 3. In Nyanga’s Sabvure Clinic, registration was conducted from March 1 to 3 while similar exercises took place in Mashonaland provinces. In Mashonaland East, mobile registration was done at Numwa Secondary School in Hwedza on March 1 and at the same day at Nyamuzizi in Mutoko South constituency. The documents show the exercise taking place in various other places such as schools and farms in Mashonaland West and Central and Masvingo provinces. There was no comment this week from Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede or the Election Directorate on the extended registration, its impact on the March poll or on the exercise’s legality.
Top
From The Daily News, 24 April
Msika, Mpofu grab CSC farm
Bulawayo - Zanu PF heavyweights, who include Vice-President Joseph Msika and the Governor of Matabeleland North, Obert Mpofu, have partitioned Umguza Block, owned by the financially-beleaguered Cold Storage Company (CSC), for themselves. Angry war veterans, who occupied the Nyamandlovu farm with the hope of being allocated land there more than a year ago, said they were told to move away from the farm and make way for the senior government officials. Ngoni Chinogaramombe, the CSC financial director, did not respond to questions sent to him by The Daily News about one month ago, despite promising that he would do so. "I don’t want to talk to you because you will misquote me. I have told you before that I don’t want to talk to you," said Governor Mpofu when contacted for comment. He then switched off his mobile phone.
The CSC had some of its property attached by the Deputy Sheriff in February this year because of a $230 million debt which it has failed to service. The company leased hunting rights on the farm, and the lessee built a hunting camp for their operations which ended last year. The CSC was now using the farm as a holding ranch for cattle bought from areas that are prone to foot-and-mouth disease - the "red zones". Sources at CSC yesterday said Msika, Mpofu and an unidentified senior member of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) have taken over sections of Umguza Block. Msika has seized the section with the main house, while the governor has taken the portion with the camp. The CIO official has taken possession of a small section at the bottom of the farm.
Although Msika comes from Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central he grew up in Matabeleland. According to sources, Mpofu is out at the farm almost every weekend hunting. The war veterans and villagers who occupied the farm were moved from neighbouring Mimosa Park. The settlers were relocated because Mimosa Park is covered under a government-to-government agreement in which an Indonesian businessman and local investors are undertaking an ostrich-breeding project. "We were ordered to move and make way for the senior Zanu PF officials," said one of the villagers. "This is unfair." Several other villagers occupying farms in Matabeleland have been told to move and make way for senior officials of the ruling party. On 12 April, scores of settlers, among them war veterans, were evicted from a Marondera commercial farm allegedly to pave way for Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi ’s occupation.
Top
From The Financial Gazette, 25 April
Change policies, EU tells Mugabe
Efforts by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to mobilise food aid from the European Union (EU) have hit a snag, with representatives of the 15-nation bloc in Harare again urging President Robert Mugabe to abandon policies that have estranged donors and derailed the economy before any significant aid could be given. Diplomatic sources said the European representatives spelt out their position to the UNDP after yet another attempt by the body last week to ask donors to respond more favourably to an appeal for humanitarian assistance for Zimbabwe first made last year. "We told the UNDP to first convey our concerns to the Zimbabwe authorities. Food aid can come but there have to be associate measures that must be taken that would ensure that there will no be a repeat of this same situation we are dealing with now," one senior European diplomat told the Financial Gazette.
Victor Angelo, UNDP’s resident representative and coordinator of the United Nations in Zimbabwe, oversees efforts by the World Food Programme (WFP) to raise more than 500 000 tonnes of food to feed about 2.5 million Zimbabweans facing starvation. Angelo refused to discuss the EU conditions for aid yesterday. "What I can only say is that we are still negotiating with the EU." Angelo leaves Harare today for the UN’s New York headquarters for consultations on Zimbabwe which, according to sources, will focus on problems the UNDP and WFP are facing in trying to get food aid for the troubled southern African country. EU president Spain’s ambassador in Harare Javier Sandomingo said: "We have been discussing with the UNDP for them to convey to the government some of our concerns. We obviously have a different interpretation to the government on what caused the present situation."
An official of the European Commission (EC) yesterday said more than $300 million worth of humanitarian aid was earmarked for Zimbabwe but emphasized that the EC had not committed any funds because discussions and negotiations were still going on. Another aid facility called Euronaid could also be made available to Zimbabwe under which non-governmental agencies could apply for various commodities to be distributed as aid but this also depended on the outcome of the negotiations. The United States, New Zealand, Switzerland and the EU have slapped sanctions on Mugabe and his officials and cut aid to Zimbabwe because Harare is blamed for rigging last month’s presidential election. International donors have also pulled out of the country because of lawlessness and what they say is Mugabe’s appalling human rights and democracy record. Of the 117 000 tonnes that the WFP initially asked from donors, it has received only 37 000 tonnes, about a third of the requested aid.
Top
From The Financial Times (UK), 25 April
UN says Zimbabwe and neighbours face famine
Johannesburg - The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday that the numbers of Zimbabweans needing food aid would rise dramatically before the end of the year as the effects of a severe drought in the region worsened. "Zimbabwe is facing an unprecedented food catastrophe, which will ripple throughout the region," it said, warning of the effects of Robert Mugabe's land reform policy. In February, the WFP launched an emergency food relief operation to feed about 560,000 rural Zimbabweans. But it has warned that hunger and malnutrition in the region are worsening, particularly in neighbouring Malawi and Zambia, as crops fail and prices of staple foods soar. The UN agency feeds about 2.6m people in southern Africa. Emergency food operations supply about 300,000 people in Malawi and 1.3m in Zambia. But it expects the number of people in the region requiring food relief to double over the coming months.
The demand for imports of maize by the countries in the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries has risen sharply this year as a result of bad weather. The regional grouping imported 1.4m tonnes last year but it requires 3.2m tonnes this year to make up the falls in domestic production. The WFP is attempting to attract donor attention to what it expects will develop into a spreading humanitarian crisis in the region. But neither South Africa nor Botswana have recorded large movements of hungry people across the borders with their neighbours. Nor have acute shortages of staple foods and their escalating prices translated into widespread popular protest and political upheaval. As yet, urban populations are weathering the shortages. Rural communities are considered more vulnerable but they have also shown an ability to adapt their subsistence diet.
The WFP blamed Zimbabwe's food shortages on poor rainfall and a reduction in planting by commercial farming enterprises resulting from President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform programme. "Land acquisitions in Zimbabwe have had a dramatic effect on the amount [of food] that should have been produced in the country. In many cases, there are no staple foods available at all. Sugar and vegetable oil are beginning to disappear," said Judith Lewis, WFP's regional director for east and southern Africa. Overall food production has fallen by 40 per cent in Zimbabwe this year, according to crop estimates by SADC. Production by the commercial farming sector is down 25 per cent. One of the worst hit crops is maize. Maize production is expected to fall 70 per cent this year, requiring the import of about 2m tonnes of maize.
The wheat crop is similarly badly affected. The Commercial Farmers Union has warned that 500,000 tonnes of wheat will need to be imported in 2003 if a full crop is not planted in May. Lack of foreign currency and the implementation of price controls to make affordable food available have also aggravated Zimbabwe's food shortages. "The government does not have enough money to import food and has a monopoly on open markets by controlling prices. It's increasingly difficult for private traders to do business in Zimbabwe," Ms Lewis said. The WFP's efforts to bring food relief to Zimbabwe have been hampered by government interference and the tense political climate surrounding Mr Mugabe's bid to extend his 22-year rule in elections last month. The Mugabe regime initially resisted the WFP's choice of non-governmental organisations - which include Care Canada, World Vision and Christian Care - to distribute food aid.
Top
From The Daily News, 25 April
Mudede releases altered figures for mayoral poll
The Registrar-General (RG)’s Office sprung another surprise last Friday when it released altered figures for the Harare mayoral poll in which the total votes cast have gone down to 285 767 from the 324 445 announced in March. The difference between the figures announced in March and those released last week is 38 688. The new mayoral and council poll results were released to the MDC on Friday, a month after the RG’s Office announced a different set of figures for the mayoral poll at Town House on 14 March. According to the latest results released to the contesting political parties by Simon Muchemenyi of the RG’s Office, the votes polled by Elias Mudzuri, the executive mayor for Harare, have now decreased by 40 761 from 262 275 to 221 414. Efforts to contact the Registrar-General, Tobaiwa Mudede, or Muchemenyi to comment on the latest discrepancies failed yesterday. The total votes polled by the Zanu PF candidate, Amos Midzi, have now gone up from 56 796 to 58 809, an increase of 2 013 votes. The votes won by Billet Magara, who has since quit the National Alliance for Good Governance, remain unchanged at 3 467. The number of spoilt papers is now 1 867, down from the 1 907 announced in March, while 110 votes were not be accounted for. Mudede also released the full results of the council elections, ward by ward, in an poll in which 285 374 people voted. The MDC won 44 of the 45 wards, but the results in two wards were nullified after Mudede’s office alleged the two MDC candidates were not Zimbabwean citizens.
Welshman Ncube, the MDC secretary-general, yesterday said the discrepancies in the mayoral polls showed that the March election was run and won in Mudede’s office. "This shows it is not easy to cook up figures and when you are cheating, the arithmetic will sell you out," he said. "Mudzuri’s votes have gone down by 40 000 and this is almost the number of registered people in a single constituency. How can 40 000 votes that were announced in March disappear from the face of earth altogether?" Ncube said even though they had filed their application in court against President Mugabe’s disputed win in last month's election, the latest discrepancies would also form part of their evidence in court. The circus at Mudede’s office began last month when he announced new presidential election results in which Mugabe’s total number of votes was reduced by 4 000. In the results, Mugabe’s votes stood at 1 681 212, down from 1 685 212 announced in March while Tsvangirai’s votes rose, from 1 258 401 to 1 262 403 votes. The MDC has described Mugabe’ s victory, which has been condemned internationally, as "the biggest electoral fraud in history". Mudede only announced the new results in what he called the final report of the presidential election following publication of a story by The Daily News that the total number of votes he announced in a live broadcast on ZBC television on 13 March was 700 000 less than the sum total. Mudede said the total number of people who had voted in the presidential poll was 2 298 758 when the total of the breakdown was 2 998 758. The ZBC has not taken up the challenge by The Daily News to replay the tape of Mudede as he announced the results.
In Harare, the Electoral Supervisory Commission announced that 439 656 people voted in the presidential election, against the 412 935 announced by Mudede. The figure represents about half the registered voters in Harare, where thousands were disenfranchised when more impediments were placed even after the High Court had allowed an extension of voting by two days. The government, in disregard of the High Court ruling, extended polling by a day only. Furthermore, polling stations were reopened late into the day and closed well before the scheduled time with the police charging into prospective voters in the queues.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 26 April
Elusive Ben-Menashe flip-flops over trial
Canadian businessman and lobbyist for the government of Zimbabwe, Ari Ben-Menashe, has continued to send mixed signals this week over his role in the pending treason trial of Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Ben-Menashe, a master schemer, said in an interview with the Independent last week that he no longer had anything to do with the case. "We no longer have anything to do with the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai's case," he said last Thursday. "We have nothing to do with that anymore." In a subsequent interview with Georgina Godwin of SW Africa Radio on Friday - monitored by the Media Monitoring Project - he confirmed that he was no longer involved in the treason case. Excerpts from the transcript of the interview read as follows:
Godwin: "Mr Ben-Menashe I understand that you are saying that you are no longer involved in the Morgan Tsvangirai treason case?
Ben-Menashe: "That's right."
Godwin: "But I understand that you were to appear as Zanu PF's star witness?"
Ben-Menashe: "I'm not...I don't work for Zanu PF."
Godwin: "But I understand you were to appear as a witness at the trial so what has changed?"
Ben-Menashe: "You see, I really don't want to discuss any of this...it's all, you know...you know it's before the courts and let them decide whatever they want."
Godwin: "But will you be appearing for the prosecution?"
Ben-Menashe: "I really don't want to discuss our position because, I mean we really did not have any contact with the Zimbabwe government about this matter."
However, Ben-Menashe subsequently told Canadian newspapers he was not pulling out. "I was astonished to read the article concerning myself, and the comments I am alleged to have made regarding the treason charges against Morgan Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe," he told the Toronto Globe & Mail in a statement. "Because Mr Tsvangirai has been formally indicted for high treason, and because members of this firm might be required as witnesses with respect to certain evidence against him, we believe it would be inappropriate, so long as the matter is sub judice, for myself or any member of our firm to comment on the case. The comments attributed to me in the attached article do not reflect my views," he said. He also told the Ottawa Citizen: "I did not pull out." Ben-Menashe told the Independent last Thursday he had signed a contract with the government to do some lobbying work. Asked by SW Africa Radio what this entailed, he said: "Doing lobbying work abroad."
Godwin: "Do you think that either yourselves or Zanu PF have any credibility left either in Zimbabwe or abroad?"
Ben-Menashe: "Why are you being so nasty about us?"
Godwin: "Well I'm not nasty at all. I'm just asking you the question. Do you think that is the case?"
Ben-Menashe: "I don't question... answer, the question, you know, I ...In Africa, at least African people think that certain things were done right."
Godwin: "And what things would those be?"
Ben-Menashe: (Silence).
Yesterday, Ben-Menashe declined to say anything further to the Independent, pointing to his formal statement to the Canadian press. "We have released a statement on the issue. That's the furthest we can comment." Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who are investigating whether any crime has been committed in Canada in connection with the alleged treason plot, said yesterday they were still verifying the authenticity of the allegations. "At this point the issue remains as allegations," RCMP media relations spokesman, Richard Huard, said. "We are still verifying whether those allegations are true or not before committing ourselves to an investigation." Huard said the RCMP would consider the context of Zimbabwean politics and the people involved.
Top
From AFP, 25 April
Zimbabwe police search offices of pro-democracy group
Harare - Zimbabwean police on Thursday searched the offices of a pro-democracy group, the National Constitutional Assembly, poring over documents and computer files, NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku said. "They are saying they have information that we are paying youths to cause public violence," Madhuku said. "They are looking for papers where we pay people money." The search lasted more than three hours. Police did present a warrant for the search, Madhuku said. A magistrate's court on Wednesday tossed out charges against Madhuku of conspiracy to commit public violence, saying prosecutors had failed to back up their case. The NCA on Tuesday staged anti-government protests in four cities around Zimbabwe, calling for a new constitution that could pave the way for more democratic elections. Madhuku said the NCA does provide its supporters with bus fare if they want to attend the protests, but said the group does not make other payments. The NCA is a coalition of churches, civic groups, rights activists and political parties. The group has announced plans for a series of demonstrations aimed at forcing the government to accept a more democratic constitution, which the group says would prevent the abuses that aided President Robert Mugabe's re-election in the March 9-11 presidential poll.
Top
From The Daily News, 25 April
Mutare police forbid Tsvangirai to use loudspeakers at rally
The police in Mutare have barred Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, from using loudspeakers as one of the conditions for the opposition party to hold its rally in Dangamvura suburb on Saturday. The high-density suburb is in Mutare Central constituency, an MDC stronghold. Other conditions are that the MDC supporters should not sing or wear their party's regalia, or toyi-toyi to interfere with Zanu PF activities on that day and not to say anything that may demean or be seen as insulting the office of the President. Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC's spokesman in Manicaland, dismissed the conditions as unjustified and discriminatory. He said the MDC would disregard the rule. Said Pishai: "We are not going to comply with their order. Why should they deny us our constitutional rights to the freedom of expression, association and movement? That is utter rubbish, nonsensical and ridiculous. Why are they applying the law selectively? If those are going to be the conditions for holding rallies, then it should be a blanket law, not for the MDC only." A senior officer at Mutare Central police station only identified as Chituku, who set the crippling conditions, said yesterday: "What I told them is final. They made their request and I complied." Earlier, the MDC notified the police who allegedly dragged their feet prompting MDC officials to engage the services of a lawyer in Mutare. Tsvangirai is expected to address the rally to thank the people of Mutare Central for backing him in the presidential election controversially won by President Mugabe last month.
Top
From The Star (SA), 25 Aril
Mugabe frees 5 000 from overcrowded Zim jails
Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has granted amnesty to 4 998 prisoners in a bid to ease overcrowding in jails, the state-run Herald newspaper reported on Thursday. Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa told the paper the prisons are over-populated by 50 percent, stretching the limits of facilities, supplies and staff. Zimbabwe's prisons have space for 16 000 inmates, but they now hold more than 22 500 convicts. This made it difficult to provide and maintain acceptable standards in the prisons, especially for health and hygiene, the minister said. A first group of 886 prisoners are to be released within two days, while the rest will be released in phases during the coming weeks, the paper said. The amnesty covers people older than 60, people who received a life sentence before April 18, 1982, and women convicted of infanticide, abortion, baby dumping and concealment of birth before April 18, 2002. Women who are breastfeeding and serving limited sentences and prisoners sentenced to less than 24 months are also covered. Prisoners excluded in the clemency are repeat offenders serving extended sentences and people on the lam after escaping jail before April 18, 2002. Last year, Mugabe issued a general amnesty which released about 3 000 prisoners. He also pardoned most politically motivated crimes committed from January 2000 up to the June 2000 parliamentary election. Under the Zimbabwean constitution, the president has the power to grant a pardon to any person concerned or convicted of a criminal offence. Mugabe traditionally grants amnesty after elections.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 26 April
EU rights activist probes Zimbabwe
A week after African countries blocked the European Union (EU)'s bid to put Zimbabwe in the dock for abuses at a session of the United Nations Forum on Human Rights, an EU human rights investigator is in the country to assess the situation. European Commission officials in Harare yesterday confirmed that a veteran human rights activist and good governance expert, Alessandro Palmero, is in Zimbabwe on an appraisal mission. It is understood he was meeting various stakeholders with a view to compiling a report for the EU headquarters in Brussels. Palmero's mission comes hard on the heels of a rejection by regimes friendly to Harare of an EU motion last Friday at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights session in Geneva to investigate President Robert Mugabe's government for abuses. Reports said African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries - some with gross human rights violation records - rejected EU attempts to probe Zimbabwe for its abuses. At the end of the meeting, human rights activists attacked the UN body for allowing violators to get away with grisly abuses. "This should be about scrutinising human rights around the world and instead it has become a place where abusers pat each other on the back," said Reed Brody of the United States-based Human Rights Watch.
Top
From News24 (SA), 26 April
56th violence victim dies
Harare A provincial official in Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) died early on Friday from injuries he suffered during an attack before last month's presidential poll, the party said in a statement. Davies Mtetwa, provincial secretary for Harare's satellite city Chitungwiza, was tortured by intelligence agency officers ahead of the March 9-11 poll, MDC spokesperson Learnmore Jongwe said. His death brings to 56 the number killed this year in political violence, which rights groups said has mainly targeted MDC supporters. Jongwe also said the party was "dismayed" that Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa had endorsed the election results, in a speech reported on Friday by the state-run Herald newspaper. MDC has rejected President Robert Mugabe's re-election, saying the poll was marred by widespread political violence and vote fraud. Independent Zimbabwean observers, as well as most western nations and the Commonwealth, have taken a similar stance.
Top
From The Star (SA), 26 April
Mugabe's right-hand man grabs white farm
Harare - Zimbabwe's 79-year-old vice-president Simon Muzenda has become the latest beneficiary of the redistribution of white-owned land and equipment, according to farm union officials. The Commercial Farmers' Union claimed in its latest bulletin issued on Friday that Muzenda had led a delegation of officials to Chris Nel's Chindito farm in the Gutu district about 200km south of Harare and gave him and his family a week in which to leave. Muzenda told Nel he could "take his household goods and furniture but nothing else," the bulletin said. Nel was told "he was not allowed to move any implements or irrigation equipment as he (Muzenda) would make use of them next week when he began preparations for wheat". Neither Nel nor Muzenda could be contacted for comment. The bulletin said Muzenda told Nel he would be paid for his equipment. Earlier this week the Daily News reported that Joseph Msika, the other of the country's two vice-presidents, had seized the major part of a state-owned beef and game ranch in western province of Matabeleland North, sharing the farm with the local governor, Obert Mpofu.
Constitutional changes by Mugabe two years ago have deprived white farmers of compensation for their land. A wave of illegal evictions by ruling-party chiefs and their militias have recently seen at least 150 farmers forced off their farms and forcibly prevented from taking their equipment since the mid-March presidential election in which Mugabe was declared the winner. Farmers, at least 10 of whom have been killed, have been forced to leave behind millions of dollars in equipment, from combine harvesters and fleets of tractors to large herds of cattle and tons of already harvested tobacco, according to farm union officials. Police have set up roadblocks in many districts to prevent farmers from moving their equipment to safety off their farms. Rampant looting by militias has followed the flight of the owners, but police action is rare, union officials say.
In the face of worsening food shortages, agriculture minister Joseph Made had declared that a new crop of wheat to make the country self-sufficient in the cereal will be planted by indigenous farmers taking over the land. Nearly all the country's 4 000 white farmers, who traditionally grow up to 400 000 tons of wheat annually, have been banned from planting any crops since the beginning of the summer cropping season in October last year. Made ignored warnings early last year that insufficient maize had been grown because of drought and major interruptions of white farmers' operations by state-backed squatters. Two weeks ago Made announced that the regime would grow a winter maize crop to try and beat the shortages.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 26 April
Hands off invaded farms, chefs tell police
Senior Zanu PF officials have instructed police not to get involved in cases where farmers are being stripped of their land and property, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt. The Commercial Farmers Union claims that Matabeleland South Governor Stephen Nkomo, Beitbridge MP Kembo Mohadi, and the District Administrator for Beitbridge Eddison Mbedzi addressed police officers at the Beitbridge police station and other provincial stations and warned them not to intervene in events that were politically driven. "The trio addressed Beitbridge police officers and it is said they told the police not to intervene in events that were politically motivated, including the eviction of farmers," the CFU said this week. "Several reports from other areas around the country also indicate that police reaction only occurs after authorisation from district administrators, local government officials who report to the provincial governors."
In Mashonaland West province, farmers had resolved to move their equipment to secure places but this could not be done. "Our equipment was being looted and we decided to move it to a secure place in Chinhoyi, but the officials forcibly seized it," said Francois de Chalain, a farmer in the province. The move to seize the property involved senior government officials in the province. "Those who came to collect our equipment included the provincial administrator, the district administrator and two members from the Zimbabwe Republic Police," de Chalain said. Government vehicles were being used in the latest exercise. "These officials loaded about 400 irrigation pipes into government vehicles. They also seized a Vicon fertiliser and wheat spreader. The lorries used to ferry the pipes were government vehicles with registration numbers GLM 2357 and GLM 2796. The tractor, which carried the Vicon spreader, was from the District Development Fund and the registration number is 739-586x. We do not know where the equipment was taken to," said de Chalain.
CFU spokesperson Jenni Williams said there was confusion on the farms. "As at April 17, the net listed farms were 5 069 representing 10 198 174 hectares," said Williams. "Throughout the country 449 farms, which translates to about 854 505 hectares, were delisted and 342 farms which is 770 487 hectares were relisted. The amount of farms relisted has dramatically increased by 291 from 51 farms reflected at the beginning of March to 342 farms in this update," she said. Several top Zanu PF officials have already been reportedly involved in illegal farm seizures. Marondera West MP, Retired Brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri, forcibly seized equipment valued at $400 million from Waltondale Farm, according to reports. Retired army general Solomon Mujuru allegedly auctioned farm equipment worth $40 million at Alamein Farm under the guise of providing gratuity packages to farm workers. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena, however, said police have always intervened in political cases but it was the CFU that was creating alarm and despondency. "Police have investigated political cases and a good example is the Cain Nkala case that we are still pursuing but the CFU has certain interests that they are trying to protect by portraying the police in the eyes of the public as ineffective," he said.
Top
From The Daily News, 26 April
Zanu PF militia strips Bulawayo journalist, pregnant wife naked
Bulawayo - Zanu PF militia based at Bulawayo’s Nketa 8 Secondary School recently stripped a freelance journalist, Rodrick Mukumbira, and his pregnant wife naked. Mukumbira was accompanying his wife to a local ante-natal clinic for a routine check-up. Mukumbira worked for the weekly Zimbabwe Mirror before becoming a freelance writer. He now works for a number of local and international publications. He has since instituted charges of indecent assault and robbery against the militia. A docket number, CR 6732/02, has been opened at Bulawayo’s Central Police Station. Mukumbira, who stays in Emganwini, next to Nketa, met his fate when the militia, numbering over 100, were patrolling the streets. "We bumped into them at a street corner. We could have avoided them but they blocked our path," he said. Mukumbira and his wife alleged that the youths forced them to remove their T-shirts. "We complied because the marauding youths appeared to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, maybe both," he said. The journalist said the youths were armed with knobkerries, catapults, spears, sticks, stones and knives, some of which weapons are banned under the Public Order and Security Act. "It looked like they were on a hunting expedition," he said. "We could not run away because of my wife’s condition." After confiscating the pair’s T-shirts, they force-marched them for about 50 metres, while shouting abuse at them. Mukumbira claimed that he flagged down a police vehicle, registration number ZRP 1260 D, but the driver did not stop or offer any assistance. After the couple was eventually set free, a passer-by who had witnessed their ordeal from a distance, offered them clothes.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 26 April
Zanu PF militias loot MDC members' Bindura homes
The Zanu PF militia which had invaded homes belonging to members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Bindura and turned some into torture camps, have finally moved out after the intervention of the courts. But they left a trail of destruction in their wake, the Zimbabwe Independent has established. The saga still continues, though, as the owners are now afraid to go back since the militia is still on the prowl openly threatening to kill them. The militia has now moved to Tendai Hall, just a kilometre away from some of the homes. The Independent this week visited Bindura with members of the six affected families and found their homes cleaned-out of all belongings. Some of the ringleaders were milling around, sporting Zanu PF campaign T-shirts. The militiamen openly boasted that there was nothing the police could do to them. "Those who vote for the MDC must relocate to Harare from Mashonaland Central," said one youth standing outside Abedinico Chikuvanyanga's house. Chikuvanyanga is one of the victims. "We are going to deal with you decisively. Come and surrender your party cards at our camp and you may stay here," the youth said.
The militia first occupied homes in Bindura at the time of the 2000 parliamentary election. Property worth millions of dollars was looted. Sofas, tables, beds, wardrobes and any wooden furniture were either looted or turned into firewood by the militia. The roofs to all the six houses were destroyed, windows shattered and wooden doors turned into firewood. The houses now resemble those of a ghost town, with the outside grass growing wild. The MDC members broke into tears as this sad sight greeted them. All their clothes were stolen. Household property including radios, televisions, refrigerators, stoves and other electrical items were missing from their homes. "We are trying to assess the damage and I have thus instructed the families to compile a list of what they lost," said Shepherd Mushonga, the lawyer representing the six. "We will then go to the police and press theft and malicious injury to property charges. We may even go to the civil court as well. We hope to recover a few items," said Mushonga.
Four of the affected families, all from Chiwaridzo Township, have so far managed to get quotations for the damages to their homes. Godfrey Mumbamarwo's house will cost $960 000 to repair while that of Chikuvanyanga is estimated to cost $105 450. Joyce Dokotera's bill runs to $972 241 and that of Andreat Mhunza is $176 588. The other two, Transwell Koti and Clemence Masawi, are still compiling the figures. Chikuvanyanga and Masawi got "their" electricity bill from Zesa. Chikuvanyanga's is $6 465 for the four months the house was occupied. Masawi's bill is $7 729 for the same period and he is the only one managed to get a rental bill ($9 528) from Bindura Town Council. Other bills were just left lying on the floor. Children of all the affected families have not been able to attend school since the homes were occupied. The MDC had to seek the intervention of the courts after the ZRP refused to assist their members. Police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Tarwirei Tirivavi told the Independent earlier this year that they could not act because it was an "ownership wrangle". Bindura magistrate Lawrence Malimbiza last week ordered the militia to move out of the houses. He ordered members of the Criminal Investigation Department in Bindura to accompany the Messenger of Court to carry out the evictions and ensure the safe return of the owners. They were given 48 hours to vacate the homes.
Top
From The Daily News, 26 April
Violence increases ahead of Kadoma mayoral poll
Zanu PF supporters have launched a terror campaign against suspected MDC supporters in Kadoma ahead of a mayoral by-election. Ernest Shamuyarira, the former executive mayor died early this year. Solomon Muzvidzwa, the MDC youth chairman for Kadoma Central district, alleged that on Tuesday night he was assaulted by Zanu PF supporters for wearing an MDC T-shirt. They tore the T-shirt and took it away. Muzvidzwa said he was attacked by the youths in Rimuka suburb while coming from a campaign rally in the area. He said: "They demanded that I surrender my T-shirt but I refused. The group then assaulted me and took away my T-shirt. They said I should stop supporting the MDC." Muzvidzwa said he reported the matter to the police and Phiri was temporarily detained. He said the Zanu PF youths also assaulted Isiah Nyikadzino, an MDC activist, for organising MDC rallies in the area. "Each time we hold a campaign rally, our supporters are followed and attacked. They are told to stop supporting the MDC but we will defy these orders," Muzvidzwa said. Memory Rambanapasi, a Harare resident who visited a relative in Kadoma over the weekend alleged that he was assaulted by alleged Zanu PF supporters who accused him of supporting the opposition party. Austin Mupandawana, the MDC Member of Parliament for Kadoma Central on Wednesday confirmed the incidents of violence against his followers. "There are violent attacks against MDC members here but we will not stop campaigning for our party," he said. Mupandawana said because of the attacks against MDC activists, the party will delay publicly announcing its candidate.
Two weeks ago war veterans "fired" four senior officials from the Kadoma Town Council, accusing them of sympathising with the MDC as political tension rises ahead of the mayoral poll. The officials were "dismissed" the same week the Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede, published a notice announcing that the voters’ roll for the by-election was now open for inspection. The war veterans allegedly came to the council’s offices and demanded office and car keys from three of the four council officials and ordered them to leave and never return. Mupandawana has accused the war veterans, who are allegedly led by one Comrade Shumba and another, Malaba, of bussing in people from outside the Kadoma municipal area ahead of the mayoral election. He said some people from as far away as Sanyati, Mhondoro and the surrounding farms were coming in for registration ahead of the poll, whose date is yet to be announced. There have been some unconfirmed allegations that some of the war veterans were manning the inspection centres in the town’s 16 wards after they allegedly ordered out 15 officials from the Registrar General’s office in Harare, accusing them of being sympathetic to the MDC.
Top
From News24 (SA), 26 April
Libya denies land-for-oil deal
Harare - Libya's ambassador to Zimbabwe has denied his country is supplying oil to the southern African nation in exchange for thousands of hectares of farm land owned by whites, the state-run Herald reported on Friday. "No Libyan owns a single grain of land in Zimbabwe and I am surprised where these reports are coming from," Ambassador Mahmoud Azzabi told the Herald. "It surprises us that our economic relations with other African countries do not attract the same attention as Zimbabwe. We can only reach the conclusion that there are some people who do not want us to forge bilateral relations because we both (Libya and Zimbabwe) benefit from the links," he said. The independent weekly Standard newspaper reported last weekend that Zimbabwe had offered 10 000ha of farm land and several Harare flats to Libya in exchange for desperately needed fuel supplies. Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi visited several white-owned farms during a trip to Zimbabwe in July 2001. But Azzabi said the visits had been made only to assess President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme, which aims to hand over white-owned farms to blacks. "It is not true that he toured the farms to identify land which he would be offered in exchange for fuel supplies," said Azzabi. Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said earlier this month that Mugabe had "sold" the country to Libya. The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle, prompting the longtime leader to seek better relations with Libya, which now provides 70 percent of the nation's fuel.
Top
From BBC News, 26 April
New rebel alliance in DR Congo
The rebel group left out of last week's peace deal with the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo has formed a new alliance with civilian opposition groups. The Rally for Congolese Democracy, RCD, backed by Rwanda, has joined the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, led by veteran opposition politician Etienne Tshisekedi and four other parties. This is in response to a deal forged in South Africa between the government of Joseph Kabila and the Ugandan-backed former rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo. DR Congo has been engulfed in a civil war for almost four years and Mr Kabila is being kept in power by troops from Zimbabwe and Angola. A ceasefire was signed in Lusaka in 1999 but sporadic fighting has continued and correspondents say there are now fears that the conflict may reignite.
The RCD's leader, Adolphe Onusumba, told the BBC's Network Africa that the new group was formed to bring the government and the MLC back to the negotiating table. He described the deal, under which Mr Kabila remains president and the MLC's Jean-Pierre Bemba becomes prime minister, as a "coup d'etat". "We are on the legal side. They are the ones who spoiled what the Congolese were expecting," he said. The RCD is the largest rebel group in the DR Congo and controls around a third of the country, which is the size of western Europe. Under the Lusaka accord, all Congolese rebel groups and political parties were supposed to thrash out a new political dispensation with the government, leading to the country's first ever elections. This "Inter-Congolese Dialogue" has been taking place in the South African resort town of Sun City over the past eight weeks. The deal between Mr Kabila and the MLC was announced just before the talks were set to close last week.
The new grouping, called the Alliance for the Protection of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, ASD, warned against a potential "partition of the DRC and resumption of conflict". Mr Tshisekedi enjoys some support in the capital, Kinshasa, after spearheading opposition to the former dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko for many years. Other parties involved in the ASD are: Rafael Katebe Katoto's Dynamic for a Neutral Transition; the United States-based Rally for a New Society; the Congolese National Movement-Lumumba; and, the Lumumbist Progressive Movement.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Standard, 28 April
MDC youths want end to talks
The inter-party talks between the ruling Zanu PF party and the main opposition party, the MDC, hang in the balance following calls by the MDC youths for the adoption of more practical ways to fight President Mugabe's controversial win. Nelson Chamisa, the MDC's national youth chairman, said the youths were placing increasing pressure on the party to drop its softly, softly stance. Said Chamisa: "We are under growing pressure to abandon talks which the youths say are yielding nothing." However, Chamisa emphatically declared that the fight being talked about would be a democratic one and he dismissed suggestions that the youths should mobilise outside the country for a showdown with Zanu PF. "I think we should fight from within, not from outside because that is being cowardly. Methods for the battle are going to be decided on the ground as the masses fight for their freedom." Chamisa stressed the need for the MDC to guard against playing into the hands of Zanu PF by resorting to violent behaviour.
Students too, have trivialised the talks between the two parties. The secretary of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu), Tinashe Chimedza, said the talks would not solve the socio-economic woes bedevilling the country. "We are in favour of more practical ways of dealing with the current crisis," said Chimedza. The talks between the two parties are the initiative of Presidents Olusegun Obasango of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and are aimed at averting a crisis in the country following Mugabe's controversial win in last month's election. Mugabe's win has been dismissed by the western world and local civic groups as unfree and unfair. A Commonwealth observer mission headed by former Nigeria head of state, Abudusalamu Abbubakar, also condemned the election procedure, resulting in Zimbabwe's suspension from Commonwealth council meetings. With opposition youths in increasingly combative mood, a more volatile political situation looms with the resumption of the talks in early May.
Top
From The Sunday Times (UK), 28 April
Farm family defies Zimbabwe siege
West Nicholson - In the flickering light of a candle, the Wheeler family sit among wooden packing crates, listening to drums beating incessantly in the citrus and mango orchards around their home. Shannon and Rachel Wheeler, daughter Vilanda, 16, son Eric, 13, and their farm manager, Sammy Mahzvo, have been besieged in the lonely Twin River Ranch in West Nicholson, Zimbabwe, for 10 days. Their water supply is running as low as their spirits, and "war veterans" have blocked the track to the farm. The veterans have sabotaged the generator, killed 11 cattle, fired the 30 workers, armed themselves with cane-cutting knives and ordered the Wheelers to leave the land they bought with the government’s permission in 1986. Some 700 tons of fruit worth £50,000 are at risk, along with 600 cattle. "They have taken our life, everything we worked for," says Rachel, peeling potatoes in the gloom. "Why should we leave, where would we go, what would we do?"
Before the March 9 elections that confirmed President Robert Mugabe in power for another six years, evictions were running at a handful a week. Since polling day 200 farmers have been thrown off their land, with 20,000 black workers and their families, says the Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) and opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The crisis seems to have been exacerbated by a letter warning all white farmers to leave "with immediate effect" issued last month by Andrew Ndlovu of the Zimbabwean National Liberation War Veterans Association. "Ndlovu’s letter has emboldened local war vets to take matters into their own hands," said Jenni Williams, a CFU official. The agriculture minister, Joseph Made, has sanctioned the seizure of privately owned farming equipment and barred those who may want to move elsewhere (Mozambique has welcomed fleeing Zimbabwean farmers) from taking it out of the country.
Reaching the Wheelers’ homestead means driving fast along a 15-mile dirt track, hopping from the car to push down the veterans’ log barriers and ignoring their whistles to stop. Shannon’s father, Eric, who lives half a mile away, drove in through a back route on Wednesday to bring supplies and six security guards who now man the gates, armed with batons and pepper spray. The stress of the siege is tormenting the family’s bulldogs. Distressed by the drumming, Saffala, who gave birth to eight pups a week ago, has accidentally killed six of them. The Wheelers’ misery began on April 16, when a 50-strong mob warned Shannon, whose Irish ancestors arrived in Zimbabwe in the 19th century, that he must leave. Two days later the workers were told the local Zanu PF MP, Kembo Mohadi, had instructed that all moveable assets and cattle now belonged to them.
A small generator provides power for one light bulb and the two freezers, though only one can be plugged in at a time. But fuel supplies are running low and ultimately a lack of water could be the deciding factor. Rachel has been packing crates but the family gathered around a bonfire to get rid of items such as the children’s old toys that would have to be left behind. "We all had a lump in our throats," said Vilanda, who saved three teddy bears. If the Wheelers are driven out, they will go knowing they did their best. "If we leave the farm, we may never get back," said Shannon. "There is just going to be hatred all the way. But we had to take a stand."
Top
From The Independent on Sunday (UK), 28 April
Mugabe cronies take pick of stolen farms
President Robert Mugabe's cronies are moving in the wake of marauding "war veterans" to grab prime commercial farms for themselves, giving the lie to Mugabe's claim that he is dispossessing white farmers for "peasant resettlement". Although Mugabe has repeatedly justified his land seizure programme as rectifying colonial injustices, several of his henchmen are now cherry-picking the best farms for themselves, often forcing out indignant war veterans. The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said they were seizing not only prime land, but more recently farm equipment and other property, offering no payment or compensation. Even under Zimbabwe's questionable land resettlement laws - frequently dismissed by courts as unconstitutional - the government is supposed to reimburse farmers for moveable property that is seized.
The CFU sees this week's instruction by top officials of Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF for the police not to get involved in cases were white farmers are being stripped of their land and property as part of the campaign by the "chefs" (elites) to become landowners. The CFU said top Zanu PF officials Stephen Nkomo and Kembo Mohadi had warned police not to intervene in events that were politically driven. Nkomo and Mohadi's mission was preceded by the seizure of a prime farm by one of Mugabe's deputies, Vice-President Joseph Msika and the influential Governor and Resident Minister of Matabeleland South Province, Obert Mpofu. Msika and Mpofu partitioned a prime farm called Umguza Block for themselves. War veterans and squatters, who had earlier occupied the farm in the hope of being allocated land on the property were relocated. President Mugabe's sister, Sabina, visited a farm and expressed an interest in taking it some time before its owner, Terry Ford, was murdered by war veterans last month.
White farmers say they have discerned a strategy pursued by the "chefs". Once they have inspected huge farms, militant war veterans evict farmers, clearing the way for the chefs to take over. The CFU said in some provinces farmers were unable to move their equipment and property to secure locations because senior government officials were seizing it. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made has announced a new policy reducing all farms to a maximum 2,000 hectares. But he specifically exempted the new black landowners, a move that CFU chairman Colin Cloete called racist. "This is unfortunate and impractical and will serve only further to undermine investor and donor confidence," said Cloete. President Mugabe has actively supported the land seizures. While his cronies share the spoils, economists say the country, which is already facing massive food shortages attributed to the farm seizures, will lose $1.12 billion in GDP this year because of the decline in agricultural output.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Standard, 28 April
Shiri accused of harassing MPs
Two MDC MPs accused of having held a controversial meeting with Airforce of Zimbabwe commander, Perence Shiri, as part of the alleged MDC plot to eliminate President Mugabe, are alleging that the air marshal's subordinates are planning to assassinate them. Shortly before the presidential election in March, Job Sikhala and Tafadzwa Musekiwa were alleged to have visited Shiri at his Borrowdale home to court his support in the event of the MDC assuming power through unorthodox means. In a programme broadcast on national television, Shiri claimed to have been offered $10 million by the two MPs to pacify the army once the MDC had eliminated the president. In their counter claim, Sikhala and Musekiwa said it was in fact Shiri who had approached them to enquire about whether army officers accused of crimes against humanity would be granted amnesty by an MDC government.
In the latest twist in the saga, Sikhala, who is the MDC secretary for security, told The Standard on Friday that the two had received intelligence reports indicating that they were being targeted for elimination. "The intelligence information we have is that other people do not trust what we discussed with Shiri. They think we discussed more serious matters which we have concealed from public consumption, so some are trying to play a hero's role by attacking us to stop us revealing more than has already been made public," said Sikhala. "What we know is that these people are from the Airforce Security Intelligence Unit and they are claiming that they are being sent by Shiri. Whether they are doing this in order to tarnish his image is another matter," added Sikhala.
Last month, Musekiwa was attacked by unknown armed assailants in the dead of the night. The MP, however, spotted the men before they had entered his house, and escaped naked through a window. Following this incident, Sikhala said he had advised Musekiwa to relocate from his constituency to a safer haven. "Musekiwa is being harassed and threatened everyday and we have advised him to relocate because he is no longer safe at his home. We have information from the grapevine that they want to eliminate us. They think we might have information on how the elections were rigged by the army, because Zanu PF used Manyame Airbase as its command post and senior military officers helped with ballot stuffing. I have tried to speak to Shiri about what is happening, but I was told he was in the Democratic Republic of Congo," added Sikhala.
Musekiwa refused to talk about the alleged elimination plot when approached for comment. "Speak to Sikhala he is the one dealing with the issue. I don't want to discuss that issue because munondi-uraisa (you will get me killed)," said a visibly shaken Musekiwa. Shiri, on the other hand, was not prepared to speak to The Standard when contacted for comment on Friday. "I do not want to speak to you. Goodbye," he said, before switching off his cellphone. Shiri is the former commander of the notorious Fifth Brigade largely held responsible for the Gukurahundi genocide in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces during the internal turmoil of the 1982 to 1986 period. As many as over 20 000 people are estimated to have perished at the hands of Shiri's North Korean-trained brigade which has since been disbanded. Meanwhile, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's treason trial for allegedly plotting Mugabe's demise, begins on Tuesday. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Top
From The Daily News, 27 April
MDC members sacked from Shamva mine
Eight workers at Shamva Gold Mine were on Tuesday forced to resign from their jobs because of their support for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The affected workers, Kaifu Tito, 29, a mill attendant, Rogers Chakanda, 32, Morgan Makunda, 27, Douglas Hamamauswa, Prince Chikono, Tedius Maiswa and Shake Kanengosha were MDC polling agents during the June 2000 parliamentary and the 9-11 March presidential election, controversially won by President Mugabe. The workers said some members in the mine’s administration were active Zanu PF members and victimised workers suspected to be MDC supporters. The workers identified them as Titus Mutsvairo, a senior security officer, Caleb Mutsvairo, the chairman of Zanu PF at the mine, Chris Tembo, the Zanu PF secretary for the Shamva district, Brian Mupambi, Asher and Zacharia Chiyanike, Haji Mugwe and Elliot Masanzu, a supervisor in the production department.
One of the workers, Brian Mudzanga has fled to Kwekwe, after receiving death threats from Zanu PF youths brought to the mine by Mutsvairo and his colleagues. John Chinamasa, the Shamva Mine human resources manager, said: "Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the goings-on at the mine. Phone our Harare office or speak to the manager." Cornell Parshotam, the manager, was said to be in a meeting when The Daily News sought his comment. The workers said their union assigned a Mr Sithole to deal with the matter but he was barred from entering the mine premises. Lawyer Ray Gumbo is representing the workers in the wrangle with Shamva Gold Mine. Gumbo said the workers were dismissed a fortnight ago, but denied this was because of their MDC membership. "It is just speculative. That is not tangible." Gumbo said. "From a legal point of view, the eight workers were absent from duty for a continuous period of five days without a lawful excuse, in terms of the Labour Relations Act."
"From a political point of view, my clients were evicted from their respective residences at the mine on grounds that they were members of the MDC. They have been forced out of Shamva and their goods were thrown out of their homes and dumped in the open. For that reason the workers could not risk reporting for duty, let alone staying in Shamva," said Gumbo. "Their goods, up to now, remain dumped at Shamva, while one of his client’s goods were burnt. Gumbo said the workers were discharged and recourse from the mine management was not forthcoming because of political pressure on the management. He said his clients first appeared before a junior official at the mine and later before a mine captain, who was threatened with death if he entertained the dismissed workers’ complaints. The workers are scheduled to appear before Parshotam on Monday next week, in terms of the Labour Relations Act. Gumbo said he would seek redress in either the High Court or the labour tribunal if Parshotam officially dismissed them.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Standard, 28 April
Winter maize scheme threatens sugar production
Bulawayo - A cropping exercise started by the government at Hippo Valley estates and designed to alleviate maize and wheat shortages has the potential to paralyse the entire sugar production in the Lowveld, agricultural expects have warned. In separate interviews with The Standard, the experts who were at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), said the decision to grow maize and wheat at Hippo Valley was a monumental mistake which would have disastrous consequences for the nation, already reeling under severe sugar shortages. "They think they have done a good job by growing maize and wheat in fields meant for sugar, but sooner rather than later, they will realise they did the wrong thing," said a crop research specialist who preferred not to be named. He added: "Sugar, maize and wheat share common pests and by growing these crops at the same estate means that there will be multiplication of the nagging pests. They might fool themselves saying they will destroy the pests with chemicals, but any sane person with basic agriculture knowledge is aware that pests can be contained up to a certain threshold but beyond that, nothing can be done." The government, desperate to be seen doing something about the current self-inflicted food crisis, requested the giant estate to use its fallow land to grow winter crops under irrigation two months ago. After every six years sugar fields are left fallow for at least two years so as to rid them of pests. "They have taken advantage of this fallow land to grow maize, but sadly they have defeated the whole process of fallowing, meaning the circle for breeding pests won't be broken," said an agriculture expert. He warned that this could result in the emergence of streak virus, which is very difficult to eradicate.
Top
From SABC News, 27 April
Doubts cast on decapitation of Zimbabwean woman
Controversy has erupted in Zimbabwe surrounding claims by the opposition that a woman was decapitated last weekend in front of her two daughters. Police and local officials in the woman's village have denied, in the state-run Herald newspaper, that the incident took place. Police in the past have been unable to confirm all incidents of political violence. Geoff Nyarota, the editor of the privately-owned Daily News, said in his paper's Saturday edition that his reporters have been unable to find the grave of Brandina Tadyanemhandu. Enos Tadyanemhandu, the woman's husband, stuck by his story recounting her murder by people he said belonged to militia backing President Robert Mugabe. His story was published in the paper on Monday. He did not accompany reporters to find his wife's grave, saying he was still arranging funeral rituals.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Standard, 28 April
Workers forced to join ZFTU
The vice-president of the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), Joseph Brown Chinotimba, has intensified raids on firms suspected of having links with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, The Standard has learnt. Sources within ZFTU told The Standard last week that the trade union, believed to be an affiliate of Zanu PF, was forcing workers to obtain stop order forms so they could pay subscriptions to the union ahead of the May Day celebrations. Said the sources: "The ZFTU is targeting companies affiliated to the Zimbabwe Chemicals and Plastics and Allied Workers Union. The ZFTU has so far stormed more than five companies, which include Barco Chemicals in Mutare, Plastic Industries, Marine Center, Surgimed Trading and Omni Fertilizers. They harassed anyone not complying with their demand to sign stop order forms for affiliation with the ZFTU," said one worker from Marine Centre who refused to be named. Workers from other affected companies also confirmed that they had been harassed by officials of the ZFTU.
Contacted for comment on Friday, Chinotimba confirmed that his union was forcing the signing of stop orders by those workers who were "failing to understand that the ZFTU is now the only trade union capable of representing them". Added Chinotimba: "We were given the mandate to do so by government. I want to tell you, we are the current government. We have to talk to the workers but if they stand in our way we will be forced to make them dance to our tune. If they want to remain with the ZCTU then they should go to other countries and not stay in Zimbabwe. They should wake up and realise that we are the only recognised trade union in this country." The MDC was borne out of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, whose secretary-general was MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai. Sources close to the union told The Standard last week that the ZFTU, widely believed to be an off-shoot of Zanu PF, had been attacking mostly privately-owned companies. An executive with the Zimbabwe Chemicals and Papers Allied Workers Union also confirmed recent visits by ZFTU. "I can confirm that we have been receiving complaints from our workers. They are going around with stop order forms and threatening to beat anyone not wanting to sign," said the official who declined to be named for fear of victimisation.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Standard, 28 April
Tuku Sends London Fans Wild
It can be described as the London - Great Zimbabwe get together. They converged at Stratford, London, last Saturday from almost every city - Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham - just to watch Oliver Mtukudzi perform. They started gathering as early as ten in the morning and by 2pm, there were hundreds of revellers eager to see the superstar who was on his way to the United States, where he was to perform at the Let Freedom Sing! benefit concert whose objective, among others, is to help set up a fund for the families of Zimbabwean musicians who died of Aids. By six, the numbers had swelled such that the venue could not accommodate any more people. Those who, including me, could not get inside were not very disappointed because we could hear the music, and we danced the night away.
Oliver came on stage around nine. And for four hours, he churned out his golden oldies which are still liked by most people here. His Wasakara is still a gem which is capable of sending people wild. However, his new album,Vhunze/Moto, did not quite impress the people who were hearing it for the first time. Mtukudzi's shows in London are always well attended with people coming from all over the United Kingdom. Most of the time he stages one show, something which Zimbabweans here say is not enough, and that more shows should be staged in other cities. A sister from Manchester said that she had travelled all the way only to hear him from a distance. "I wanted to be in there, man," she said, adding that Tuku's organisers should make every effort to cater for every Zimbabwean in the United Kingdom. Another Zimbabwean from Leeds, who said that he had not seen Oliver performing before, was impressed by the way Oliver danced and sang. "He is a real entertainer," he said. Mtukudzi is scheduled to stage 23 shows in New York and various other cities from April 24 to 27 May.
To millions of Zimbabweans, Mtukudzi's lyrics are nothing less than the teachings of a Shona prophet, and the inferences they draw are clear: Zimbabwe is burning and Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF party will soon have to suffer the backlash. For Mtukudzi, though, there are no such simple interpretations. "I'm not a politician, I don't understand politics," he says. "My songs are about what I see around me, the happiness and sadness in my country. I don't believe in singing for a particular time. My songs should mean something yesterday, today and tomorrow." Mtukudzi never openly refers to politics in his work, nor does he openly criticise Zimbabwe's leadership. Instead, he uses Shona imagery and African parables to tell stories that his listeners can interpret for themselves.
On Yave Mbodza (What Kind of Rearing is That?) Mtukudzi asks why the ancient Shona practice of a parent chewing traditional root medicine and passing it on to a baby is no longer followed. On the surface, it is a simple morality tale. Look deeper, say his fans, and Tuku, as they like to call him, is singing about the corruption of the ageing generation of Zanu PF rulers who are keeping all the goodness of the country for themselves. "Oliver is an iron fist in a velvet glove," says John Matinde, a DJ on SW Radio Africa, a station set up in London last year to broadcast to Zimbabwe the music and independent news that state-owned radio no longer airs. "It is an open secret that he is referring to the political situation in Zimbabwe, but Oliver speaks in tongues. People can interpret him any way they wish."
The minstrel observing from the sidelines - it is a tactic that has served him well. Unlike his friend Thomas Mapfumo - Zimbabwe's only other bona fide international superstar - Mtukudzi has never allied himself with a political party, even in Zanu PF's heyday soon after independence. He is also the ultimate performer. He sings, plays guitar and dances throughout his shows often for four hours straight - although, at 49, he has stopped playing Pungwes, (traditional 12-hour concerts that would end at 6am). His nine-piece Black Spirits band (with three rousing backing singers) have been with him since the Eighties, and they contribute to his big-voice, gospel-blues sound, which merges Zimbabwean jiti and South African mbaqanga, while retaining a style of its own. In Zimbabwe, they even call the genre "Tuku music". What, though, of his fans in London? So many Zimbabweans now live in exile in the UK, that on the streets back home they refer to London as Harare North.
Top
From The New York Times, 29 April
A rhythmic call for dignity
Oliver Mtukudzi, one of Zimbabwe's leading songwriters, was a fatherly figure when he performed last Monday and Tuesday nights at Joe's Pub. Tall and relaxed, with a low husky voice, he called for dignity, responsibility and respect among tribes and cultures. His songs judiciously blended styles from across southern Africa and beyond without submerging local traits. Playing an acoustic set on Monday night or leading his nine-member band, the Black Spirits, on Tuesday, Mr. Mtukudzi made the messages dance. His songs use the syncopated, hop-scotching modal patterns of traditional Zimbabwean music - originally plucked on mbira (thumb piano), now transferred to guitar and keyboard - along with soul-flavored urban South African styles like mbaqanga.
His voice took on a traditionalist quaver or a preacherly fullness, setting up a gospel-like call-and-response with three backup singers while he led them in strutting dance steps. Richard Matimba's keyboards could give the music an international pop gloss or mimic the mbira or the pennywhistle of South African kwela music. From the three-chord solidity of mbaqanga songs like "Hear Me Lord" (which Bonnie Raitt sings on her new album) to the dizzying nine-beat Zimbabwean rhythm in "Tsika Dedzu," the band made slower songs lilt and faster ones fly. Mr. Mtukudzi's own guitar parts support the songs the way a tightrope carries an aerialist. With the Black Spirits, his acoustic guitar was tucked into the polyphony of lead guitar and keyboards, yet on Monday night he didn't try to fill in for missing band members. He often plucked just sparse arpeggios, yet they were enough. As he meshed syncopations with Kenny Neshamba on congas and traded vocal lines with two female singers, Mary Bell and Mwendi Chibindi, he generated rhythmic bliss out of thin air.
Top
From SABC News, 29 April
Congo rebels tell UN envoys to sink partial pact
Rebels fighting Africa's biggest war have appealed to a UN Security Council mission to torpedo a partial Congo peace deal excluding them, alleging the deal will deepen rifts among Congolese. In reply, the team of 15 senior diplomats from the world's top security body urged all combatants yesterday to show flexibility and goodwill as they tried to make peace, or face world condemnation if their brinkmanship stirred fresh conflict. "My message to them and it will be the same to Kabila, is 'please try to put the demands aside and show flexibility and goodwill on both the substance and the modalities'," Jean-David Levitte, the mission leader said. He was speaking after a closed-door meeting with Congolese groups opposed to President Joseph Kabila on the first day of a mission by Security Council ambassadors aimed at reviving faltering peace efforts. "The Security Council will condemn in the strongest terms the party which violates the cease-fire. We will be tough if there is any violation of the cease-fire and the disengagement lines," Levitte, France's UN ambassador, told reporters. The 15 council ambassadors arrived in South Africa yesterday on an eight-nation tour to refocus world attention on a nearly four-year-old conflict that has cost an estimated two million lives and deterred investment in much of Africa.
Analysts warn against sidelining the Congolese Rally for Democracy. Analysts have warned that by sidelining the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), whose backing by Rwanda makes it the most powerful rebel group militarily the pact could return the mineral-rich former Zaire to all-out war. "We will not sit back and watch them form a government. There will be huge consequences if they do that," Thomas Nziratimana, an RCD official said. Alliance officials at the talks in Pretoria included Adolphe Onusumba, the RCD leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, a veteran opposition leader and Katebe Katoto, an opposition businessman, who is influential in the mineral-rich Katanga province. Some analysts suspect the alliance may try to ignite an anti-government rebellion in strategic Katanga and Kasai provinces if Bemba and Kabila go on to set up a government. Katoto said he had no such intention, saying as far as he was concerned diplomatic and political pressure was the extent of the alliance's mandate. Tshisekedi said he was committed to peaceful politics whatever happened. However RCD officials, whose movement controls 40% of the country, gave no assurances that their reaction would be limited to political methods. Referring to Bemba and Kabila, Nziratimana said of the plan: "It's designed only to please the ambitions of two men." The envoys are expect to visit Zimbabwe today to meet President Robert Mugabe and go on the same day to Kinshasa. They will also visit Angola, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda.
Top
From Business Day (SA), 29 April
Rwanda, Congo call for more talks
Kigali - Rwanda and Uganda have made a joint formal appeal to all parties involved in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo to return to the negotiating table to find a power-sharing agreement satisfactory to all concerned. "The two countries call upon all the Congolese parties to continue to participate in the finalisation of the power-sharing agreement," a statement issued in Kigali late on Saturday said. The statement, signed by Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister James Wapakhabulo and his Rwandan counterpart Andre Bumaya, follows a powersharing agreement signed by some of the warring factions in Congo. Rwanda criticised the deal, which would see Congolese President Joseph Kabila keep his post and Jean Pierre Bemba, the leader of the Uganda-backed Congolese Liberation Movement, serve as prime minister. The partial settlement, reached on the sidelines of peace talks in SA, was rejected by the Rwanda-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy, a rebel group which controls swathes of eastern Congo. Uganda initially welcomed the agreement, but now appears to be having doubts. Rwandan President Paul Kagame's spokesman, Emmanuel Ndahiro, said Rwanda and Uganda had decided to make the appeal for more negotiations after lengthy talks in Kigali on Friday. Congo's war began in 1998.
Top
From Reuters, 29 April
Zimbabwe human rights groups say violence worsens
Harare - Political violence in Zimbabwe has worsened since President Robert Mugabe's election victory last month, compounding the plight of people grappling with food shortages, a rights group said on Monday. "It is almost two months since the elections took place in Zimbabwe and there is a worsening situation of intimidation, forced displacement, violence and systematic torture," the Amani Trust said in a statement. "The political rivalry and the resulting recriminations have become a way of life for many people, who also are trying to deal with the problems of food shortages, a serious drought and an approaching winter," the rights group said. Aid agencies say thousands of Zimbabweans face starvation after crops were slashed last season by drought and the state's seizure of white-owned farms, which disrupted farm operations. They say opposition supporters are also being denied access to staple maize at state Grain Marketing Board depots in the aftermath of the disputed March 9-11 presidential election. Zimbabwe police accused white farmers on Monday of worsening the food shortages by illegally moving farm equipment out of the country - a charge denied by the main white farmers' group.
The Amani Trust, which gives aid to victims of political violence, said the number of internally displaced Zimbabweans as a result of political strife was rising daily and was "at crisis level," but gave no figures. Rights groups have said up to 50,000 people have been displaced in political violence before and after the election, and have appealed for international aid. "The safety and security of these refugees is of the utmost concern, and urgent assistance is required to tend to their need for accommodation, food and water, medical treatment, psychological counseling and legal aid," the Amani Trust said. Earlier this month a coalition of rights groups - including the Amani Trust - said 54 people had been killed in political violence since the beginning of the year. Most of the deaths occurred in the runup to the presidential election. Police accused the rights groups of lying, saying political violence had eased since the election, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai who challenged Mugabe - condemned as "daylight robbery." The MDC says more than 100 of its supporters have been killed since the runup to June 2000 parliamentary elections in which it came close to defeating Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party.
Ten white farmers have died since February 2000 when militants invaded hundreds of farms in support of a state drive to forcibly acquire land for redistribution to landless blacks. Zimbabwe police said on Monday they had impounded a large amount of farm equipment which they said was being illegally shipped out of the country. But the farmers said the equipment - which includes tractors, trailers, harvesters, water pumps and irrigation pipes was lawfully removed from properties occupied by militants. "The Land Acquisition Act which the government is using for taking over the farms does not bar farmers who lose their land from moving their property," Jenni Williams, a spokeswoman for the Commercial Farmers Union said. After his re-election, Mugabe vowed to press ahead with the government's seizure of at least 20.5 million acres of the 29.6 million acres of white-owned farmland for blacks.
Top
From The Daily News, 29 April
Farm workers thrown out into the open
About 1 300 farm workers and their families have been sleeping in the open for the past two nights at Rainham Farm in Dzivaresekwa Extension, Harare, after they were summarily ordered to leave the farm by so-called war veterans. The eviction has resulted in clashes between two factions of Zanu PF supporters in the Dzivaresekwa Extension area. Another 147 workers evicted from two farms in Marondera are also sleeping in the open, 127 of them at Coronation Park and the remainder at Cleveland Dam, both in Msasa, Harare. At Rainham Farm, one group of Zanu PF youths, which has taken over the farm, is led by a woman whose name was only given as Mai Zvikaramba. Zvikaramba, who is reportedly acting on behalf of two prominent politicians, evicted the farm workers and their families from their homes on Frid |
