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Archived News
12th October 2004
Zanu PF officials divert seed maize to lucrative export market
Union members arrested
Army takes over operations at post offices
Global Fund rejects appeal, denies political bias
"Zhing-Zhong" gets the thumbs up
How Africa's leaders keep the people poor
Mabika: a comment too far
Harare on edge ahead of Tsvangirai judgment
Zimbabwe oppn leader in court ahead of crunch treason ruling
Hundreds left homeless after 'evictions'
Government to import another 300 000 tonnes of maize
UN report ambushed us - Moyo
UNECA report: SAPES sets the record straight
Death of suspected mercenary in Zim jail raises questions
ECB delegation to meet Zimbabwe opposition
Mugabe rival acquitted of treason
Tsvangirai acquitted in Zimbabwe treason trial
Zim: Chaos outside court
Does Morgan Tsvangirai stand a chance?
Activists set their sights on Mugabe
On the spot: Tsvangirai's acquittal
Cheering Tsvangirai fans teargassed
Journos arrested after Tsvangirai verdict
Court finds Tsvangirai not guilty - as Mugabe always hoped it would
No respite for Morgan Tsvangirai
Mugabe may seek to overturn rival's treason acquittal
Hussain in warning to Vaughan over tour of Zimbabwe
Judge lashes at State's 'suspect witnesses'
Mugabe rival may call off poll boycott
No victory for justice
GMB's seizure of maize leaves families in distress
No vote for Zimbabweans in Diaspora
Harare elite driven into prostitution
Menashe paid a whopping US$2 million to trap Tsvangirai
Police raze war veterans' farms as fresh land evictions rock Zimbabwe
Morgan Tsvangirai: 'You can't expect me to be on cloud nine over an acquittal on a fabricated case'
Racism inquiry denies England an escape clause
Student leader battles for life after savage attack
Church leaders canvas for Zim intervention
Zim's best chance won't last long
Church-run farm seized
Pius Wakatama
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From Zim Online (SA), 13 October
Zanu PF officials divert seed maize to lucrative export market
Harare - Zimbabwe's largest seed producer, SeedCo, yesterday accused senior ruling Zanu PF party and government officials of diverting seed maize, in short supply in the country, to the more lucrative export market. Chairman of the seed-making firm, Ray Kaukonde, who himself is a senior member of Zanu PF, handed over to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture a list of names of senior politicians he said were either holding onto seed maize at their farms or had exported the vital commodity. The parliamentary committee is probing the shortage of seed maize in the country which is threatening to cause a drop in food production even if this year's rain season is good. The committee did not release the list to the Press. Kaukonde said: "This level of irresponsibility should not start with us the big chefs (senior politicians). Some respectable officials are not bringing the seed they had promised when we were providing extension services to them during the agricultural season. We will be tempted to expose these big chefs if the deadline for seed delivery lapses but at the moment we are calling on the committee to investigate where exactly the maize seed was taken to." Besides chairing SeedCo, Kaukonde, is also chairman of Zanu PF in Mashonaland East province. He is also a Member of Parliament for the ruling party in Mudzi constituency.
SeedCo and two other seed producing firms in the country assisted senior politicians, who seized formerly white-owned seed-growing farms, to produce seed maize. The politicians were in turn supposed to sell the seed to the companies for distribution to farmers across the country. An acute shortage of seed maize has affected the country with retailers now limiting quantities farmers can buy at a time. The seed shortage plus a shortage of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, critical in maize production, could see a drop in the production of the country's staple grain, food experts have warned. Zimbabwe requires 100 000 tonnes of maize seed to ensure sufficient harvests next year according to the government's figures. But the country, which used to export seed, will produce only about 43 000 tonnes of seed maize, because most of the new farmers resettled on formerly white-owned seed farms by the government do not have the knowledge or resources to grow seed. Foreign seed producers were willing to provide US$30 million worth of seed to Zimbabwe to augment existing stocks but will not do so until the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe guaranteed that they would be paid within 60 days and in hard cash, Kaukonde said. Zimbabwe is in the throes of a severe foreign currency crisis that has manifested itself in shortages of medical drugs, fuel, food and electricity.
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From News24 (SA), 12 October
Union members arrested
Harare - A strike by Zimbabwean postal and telecommunications workers entered a second week on Tuesday as police arrested three trade unionists for allegedly trying to rope in more protesters, an official said. Mlamleli Sibanda, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said the three men were arrested in Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo on Monday. He said the police gave no reason for the arrests and have not pressed charges. Police were not immediately available to confirm the arrests. "They're still being held at the police station," Sibanda said. Sibanda said he believed the three were arrested for urging others to join the strike by workers at the state-run telephone and postal companies which began on Thursday in protest over unpaid pay increases agreed to in June. "The workers were awarded an increment in June this year. Since that time management has not affected that increment, saying they can't pay," said the union official. Sibanda claimed the strike had been widely followed with management having to fill in for absent workers throughout the southern African country.
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From Zim Online (SA), 13 October
Army takes over operations at post offices
Harare - Zimbabwe's army has taken charge of telephone and postal services in the country as workers at two state firms that provide the services downed tools for more pay. Ministry of Transport and Communications permanent secretary Karikoga Kaseke yesterday confirmed that soldiers had taken over operations at Harare Main Post Office and at other post offices across the country. But the government official told Zim Online the arrangement was only temporary until the salaries dispute was resolved. He said: "It is a temporary measure meant to ensure that work progresses whilst efforts are being made to have the striking workers come back to work." The state-owned ZimPost is the sole postal services company in the country. There are several other courier companies that provide similar services but mostly for companies and the elite who can afford their exorbitant charges. Another government-owned company, TelOne, operates Zimbabwe's only fixed telephone network. There are three other mobile phone networks but they do not cover the entire country. Labour Court judge Washington Sansole ordered the two companies to award workers an 80 percent salary increment in addition to transport, housing, lunch and telephone allowances. Management failed to pay the salary increase forcing workers to down tools last week. The army was then brought in on Monday to try and keep the vital postal and telephone services running. But there was disruption in the delivery of mail with several parcels and letters being misrouted by the inexperienced soldiers, sources at ZimPost said. The telephone billing and accounts department which is being manned by officers from the army's salaries and payments office was also said to be experiencing difficulties.
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From IRIN (UN), 12 October
Global Fund rejects appeal, denies political bias
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's request for funding from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria has again been rejected. Last week Zimbabwe appealed the Fund's earlier rejection of its HIV/AIDS and TB grant proposals. Fund spokesman Tim Clark told IRIN on Tuesday that "sadly, neither of the Zimbabwe appeals was successful". In July the Fund turned down proposals from Zimbabwe for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, "for technical reasons". David Parirenyatwa, Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Welfare, accused the Fund of political bias, something the Global Fund has strongly denied. Had its proposals been approved, Zimbabwe would have benefited from a US $218 million five-year commitment by the Fund. Clark pointed out that Zimbabwe was not the only country to have proposals rejected in July: 36 proposals had been unsuccessful. There were 13 appeals to the Fund to reconsider country proposals, and "of these Zimbabwe launched two appeals - it only appealed for two of the disease components (HIV/AIDS and TB), and neither of those were successful at appeal," Clark noted. As was the case in July, "technical reasons were given for the failure of the appeals, which were judged by an independent panel, and those reasons will be communicated back to Zimbabwe. So, if they intend to re-lodge the applications in the next round [of proposals], they will have a good idea of what work needs to be done to knock them into shape," Clark said.
However, Mary Sandasi, the director of a local HIV/AIDS group, Women and AIDS Support Network, told IRIN she believed the Global Fund was "mixing issues" and had "a hidden agenda". "The Global Fund is supposed to be looking at HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, but they are taking up other issues; issues that are to do with the people of Zimbabwe, and that can only be dealt with by Zimbabweans without outside interference," Sandasi said. "I think this is the fourth round [of proposals], and we have not received any funding from them. We feel there is a hidden agenda," she added. Clark denied any political bias in the Fund's decision. "Anybody looking at our portfolio of grants throughout the world will see we have given grants to North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar ... to a number of difficult environments throughout the world. I don't think that, logically, anybody could accuse us of political motivations in our funding decisions," he said. He explained that the funding applications "are all screened by an independent panel; the board of the Global Fund then approves funding on the basis of the recommendations of the independent technical review panel, which is an international review panel that reviews [proposals] for technical efficacy". He noted that "there are two grants that have already been approved to Zimbabwe during the first round in April 2002 - some US $14 million for HIV/AIDS programmes and a malaria grant for nearly US $9 million - and it's unfortunate the subsequent applications have not been successful". The appeal process concluded on 7 October. Three proposals succeeded, one each from Niger, Russia and Uzbekistan.
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From IPS, 12 October
"Zhing-Zhong" gets the thumbs up
Wilson Johwa
Bulawayo - Zimbabwe's clothing manufacturers understand too well why Asian economies are often referred to as "tigers". With feline swiftness, low-priced imports from the East have cut a swathe through the local clothing, textile and footwear market. The influx of Asian goods now ranks high on Zimbabwean manufacturers' list of worries - which also include triple-digit inflation, high interest rates, shrinking consumer demand and political instability. "These goods are being dumped even in the rural areas. They come cheap, are of cheap quality and our wares cannot compete - especially with the Chinese types," says Justice Mashinti, who heads the National Employment Council for the clothing industry. The body provides a forum for unions and employers to negotiate wages, safety regulations and other matters. In a dig at the perceived frailty of Asian imports, consumers have nick-named them "zhing-zhong". However, suspicions about the quality of these goods have not prevented Zimbabweans from buying them. In a county grappling with 70 percent unemployment, affordable goods are invariably sought after. Batteries, playing cards, toys, tooth brushes, nail varnish, electric irons and radios are among the bright assortment of Asian products available at stalls in flea markets across the country. At Sekusile, a busy and crowded market in the southern city of Bulawayo, a trader called McDonald is hardly visible behind the rows of colourful ladies' underwear and the racks of men's shirts that are for sale. His own stall is bedecked with sports shoes and slippers that sell for a third to half the price of their local equivalents. "I make up to 300,000 (Zimbabwean) dollars (about 40 United States dollars) a day," says the 25-year-old, who travels to neighbouring Botswana once a month to replenish his stock. Botswana, he adds, has many Asian shops offering a variety of products at low prices.
While Asian imports have traditionally been the preserve of flea markets, they are also making an appearance in the formal retail market. "We see shoes that we think are Chinese," says Mike Vernon, a local manufacturer of footwear. Adds Allen Feigenbaum, who also makes shoes - mainly for export, "Because of economies of scale and availability of the most modern equipment, they can produce footwear at prices that are impossible to beat." Minimal import duties do little to stem the influx of Asian goods. "For many of these products duty is a ludicrous 100 (Zimbabwean) dollars (less than one U.S. dollar) per kilogramme (of clothing)," says economist Eric Bloch. To save local jobs, the clothing industry union is spearheading a campaign to encourage Zimbabweans to buy domestically manufactured products. "We're saying to the Asian people, don't supply us with what we can produce here, supply us with that which we can't produce," says Fred Mpofu, general-secretary of the union. "It's like we're exporting our jobs to Asia." The union plans a competition at the end of this month to showcase local fabrics and designs.
The Parliamentary Committee on Industry and International Trade also plans to investigate the sale of Asian goods, as acting chairman of the body Moses Mzila-Ndlovu says government policy on cheap imports is unclear. "We are facing a crisis in our consumption of imported inferior goods without the government showing much comprehension," he notes. IPS could not obtain comment from the Ministry of Industry and International Trade on the extent of Zimbabwe's dealings with Asian countries. However, a commercial officer at the Chinese embassy in Harare who declined to be named said the trade balance between China and Zimbabwe was tipped in Zimbabwe's favour. This was due to the fact that tobacco exports from Zimbabwe accounted for 75 percent of the 200 million United States dollars in annual trade between the two countries. The officer maintained that most Chinese-made products were of a high quality, "but where people are poor, they will source poor quality goods at a cheap price." Any effort to address the matter of Asian imports is likely to be complicated by the fact that Harare is pursuing stronger ties with the Asian bloc, this as relations with Western countries sour because of political differences. Since the start of 2000, a controversial land redistribution programme, disputed parliamentary and presidential elections and widespread human rights abuses have put Zimbabwe at odds with former colonial power Britain, the United States and others. Government's rapprochment with Asian states does appear to have yielded some benefit for the tourism sector, however, which has been hard hit by perceptions of political uncertainty in Zimbabwe. Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema says the number of Asian tourists is likely to rise by about 50 percent this year from 41,000 to 80,000, a figure that includes some 25,000 Chinese.
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Comment from The East African (Kenya), 11 October
How Africa's leaders keep the people poor
Charles Onyango-Obbo
There's a Mbeki who's been making headlines in South Africa in recent weeks. And it's not President Thabo Mbeki, but his brother Moeletsi. The younger Mbeki, deputy president of South Africa's Institute of International Affairs, made world headlines when he said Africans were better off under colonialism. "The average African is poorer [today] than during the age of colonialism," he said, accusing Africa's post-colonial rulers of wasting their nations' resources. Moeletsi criticises his brother for canoodling with Zimbabwe's cruel ruler Robert Mugabe, and is unimpressed with his black economic empowerment programme, which he says is creating a destructive "culture of entitlement" among blacks. Asked to explain his criticism of big brother, Moeletsi says he's actually proud of Thabo's achievements, but adds: "I don't get my opinions from him and he doesn't get his from me. And the South Africa government is not a family business." Moeletsi isn't the only person to have made these comments, but he's certainly the first close relative of an African president to do so in recent times. That made the comments more newsworthy, because the tradition in Africa is that the brothers, sisters, wives and other relatives of the Big Man don't disagree with him. They usually sit at the head of the gravy train, and in the first row of the choir singing his praises.
Of all the things Moeletsi said, however, the most disturbing were his remarks about Nigeria. Moeletsi pointed out that, in the past 20 years, China has pulled 400 million of its citizens out of poverty. Over the same period, Nigeria has pushed nine million into poverty! Depressing, considering that Nigeria is the world's seventh largest exporter of oil. Moreover, because of the high premium on its sweet crude in world markets, by the end of the year Nigeria's oil revenues will be the third highest in the world, at $27 billion, behind Saudi Arabia at $91.7 billion and Iran at $27.5 billion. Nigeria, like many other mineral-rich African countries, particularly DR Congo, has suffered a very acute case of the "Dutch disease." The phenomenon was first observed in the Netherlands in the 1960s, when large reserves of natural gas were first exploited, and the country seemed to deindustrialise. Usually, a country's currency rises (making its other export goods less competitive), imports increase, and productivity falls. Other economists use the term to refer to when a country that makes a rich mineral find soon ceases to be creative, stops working, and waits to feed on the easy pickings. Moeletsi seems to be vindicated by the fact that Nigeria's most influential export to the rest of Africa today is not oil, but something the government doesn't have anything to do with and that doesn't occur naturally in the country's soil - cinema.
Nigeria's soaps are the new rage on most African TVs. Nollywood, as it's called, has become the third largest in the world, after India's Bollywood and the USA's Hollywood, with a turnover of over 2,000 low-budget films per year. According to an insightful account on the BBC, the Nollywood "stories tend to be quite simple but very dramatic and heavy on the emotions: the women wail and are avaricious money lovers; the men are just as emotional and very vengeful. Throw in a gibbering bone-rattling juju man and Bible-waving preacher and what you have is a brew of conflict, revenge, trials and tribulations - the likes of which are keeping most Zambians, especially in the capital city, Lusaka, glued to TV screens for hours on end." The movies are mainly financed by merchants and traders. But it will be a long time before Nollywood becomes a multibillion dollar industry. Just like the corruption that has ruined African economies, Nollywood's fortunes are being siphoned off by video pirates. In other words, this vast industry is being robbed because of the state's failure to enforce copyright laws. Wipe out Nigeria, and write in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and the story is the same. Makes you wish every African president had a Moeletsi for a younger brother.
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From BBC News, 12 October
Mabika: a comment too far
The recent decision of Zimbabwe Television to sack commentator Charles Mabika was a shock to viewers that loved his unique perspective on matches. Known to his fans as "The Voice of Football" and "CNN", Mabika is loved for his fast, high-pitched commentaries interspersed with jokes and humorous tales. Mabika began radio commentary in the mid 1980s and covered the 2004 Nations Cup finals, Zimbabwe's first appearance, for ZTV. But his career came to a bizarre end after Zimbabwe's 3-0 home defeat to Nigeria's Super Eagles in September's World Cup qualifier. Labelled as being "biased and unpatriotic" by ZTV executives for his praise of Nigeria's performance, his sacking was announced on the evening news two days after the 5 September match. He was accused of paying too much attention to the skills of the Super Eagles and, in particular, the skills of midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha. His excited description of the trademark somersaults of Julius Aghahowa, who scored Nigeria's opening goal, also came under criticism. But the phone-in programme "This Is Football", formerly presented by Mabika, has had many callers asking for the return of their favourite commentator. However, ZTV's head of sport, Josephine Zulu, has emphasised that he will not be allowed back. "We have positioned ourselves as the leader in Zimbabwean sport and this essentially demands unswerving loyalty to the national team, whether it is winning or losing," she said. "Like any employer, ZTV reserves the right to hire and fire employees, guided by both professional and legal considerations." Mabika himself has said little in public but in a statement emphasised that he is far from unpatriotic. "My life starts and ends with football, I love my country very much, and I will always remain the Warriors' number one supporter," he said. "Football and I are inseparable, because that is the only thing I talk, eat and sleep about."
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From Zim Online (SA), 14 October
Harare on edge ahead of Tsvangirai judgment
Harare - Heavily armed police yesterday kept the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party's Harare headquarters under tight surveillance as tension heightened in the capital ahead of judgment tomorrow in MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's treason case. The police, some unarmed and some in civilian clothes, also stepped up patrols on the streets of Harare and put up roadblocks on all roads leading into the city centre. The army and government-trained youth militias were expected to join in today in what sources yesterday told ZimOnline was a "well-oiled plan" to crush any possible disturbances should Tsvangirai be found guilty and possibly sentenced to death. Police at roadblocks were searching vehicles and pedestrians coming into town for possible weapons that could be used if riots broke out. Judge President Paddington Garwe will deliver his ruling tomorrow, eight months after Tsvangirai's trial for allegedly plotting to assassinate President Robert Mugabe in 2001 was concluded. Tsvangirai denies plotting to kill Mugabe and says he was set-up by Canadian-based political consultant, Ari Ben-Menashe, on whose evidence the state's case rested.
If found guilty tomorrow the opposition leader faces at the very least a lengthy jail term or at worst the death penalty. Although Tsvangirai can appeal against Garwe's ruling at the Supreme Court, a verdict tomorrow condemning the opposition leader to death or a long jail term could spark off political riots in Harare, which is a stronghold of the MDC. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment last night. Chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly Lovemore Madhuku said the deployment of the police on Harare's streets indicated the law enforcement agency already knew the contents of Garwe's judgment and feared MDC's supporters might react strongly to the ruling. Madhuku, whose assembly campaigns for a new and democratic constitution for Zimbabwe, said: "This shows that the judiciary system is embedded with the ruling elite to an extent that judicial decisions are discussed before they are delivered in court. We strongly condemn the use of the uniformed forces in suppressing voices of dissent. This is clearly another act of closing the limited democratic space. The police act is not acceptable at all. Freedom of expression and movement is being eroded at a very fast rate in Zimbabwe."
In a statement released yesterday, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, which brings together civic and human rights groups in the country, said Tsvangirai's trial was a trial of the MDC itself and all other alternative voices in the country. The group said: "It is rather the trial of an opposition party which according to junior Minister (of Information) Jonathan Moyo is disloyal to the ruling party. The idea that there is only one correct view is false - In essence freedom has been on trial in the Tsvangirai case." Meanwhile, the MDC yesterday said it was standing by Tsvangirai. Party spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said in a Press statement: "It is clear that the president of the MDC is being persecuted for leading the fight of the people who need jobs and food. We will stand in solidarity with the president on judgment day. We have called on all democratic forces and civil society to come to the High Court to hear the verdict for themselves." The party, which has used mass action to crippling effect in the past, did not say whether it would resort to this method of protest if its leader was convicted tomorrow.
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From AFP, 13 October
Zimbabwe oppn leader in court ahead of crunch treason ruling
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai appeared before a magistrate's court on Wednesday for a remand hearing on a second set of treason charges, two days before a ruling on a charge of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader was ordered to return to court on November 3, Tsvangirai's spokesman William Bango said. On Friday, a High Court is due to hand down a ruling on another treason charge arising from Tsvangirai's meetings with a Canadian political consultant in which he allegedly spoke of "eliminating" Mugabe ahead of presidential polls in 2002. If convicted, Tsvangirai - who has been a constant thorn in the side of Mugabe - risks the death penalty. The new treason charges arose from mass anti-government protests Tsvangirai organised last year in which he is accused of urging Zimbabweans to oust Mugabe. The state accuses Tsvangirai of inciting supporters to overthrow the government and engage in acts of public violence but he denied that the strikes and street marches were aimed at removing the long-serving leader from power. He said they were a spontaneous demonstration of public anger at the economic and social hardships that the common person was facing. Zimbabwe last year experienced acute shortages of food, fuel and bank notes, with inflation shooting over the 600 per cent mark. Tsvangirai has denied plotting to kill Mugabe and claims he was framed by the political consultant.
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From SAPA, 1 October
Hundreds left homeless after 'evictions'
Harare - Hundreds of families made homeless by a police raid in which their huts were burnt down on a farm in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland West Province have accused President Robert Mugabe's sister Sabina of exploitation. In recent weeks police have begun evicting "new peasant farmers" from farms in a move the settlers say is designed to clear land for senior members of the ruling Zanu PF party. The evicted farmers say the ruling party ordered them onto the farms in early 2000. "The Zimbabwe Landless Farmers Association (ZLFA) is urging the minister of state for land reform, John Nkomo, to stop the processing of 99-year leases with immediate effect because the leases were being given to undeserving people who came through the back door," read a statement from the newly-formed ZLFA's chairperson Moses Mazhande. "Our organisation is calling for the immediate disbanding of the eviction board headed by deputy police commissioner Godwin Matanga which has embarked on a violent and disorderly eviction of the poor and landless people of Zimbabwe to accommodate the rich and politically powerful," Mazhande added, saying the ZLFA would "lead a fresh wave of farm invasions if the corruption and disorderly distribution of land is not stopped". The landless farmers say that farm invasions to evict white farmers were ordered by President Robert Mugabe and then cabinet secretary Charles Utete in February 2000. Soon after the eviction of white farmers began, Zimbabwe's state-controlled press published the names of thousands of peasant farmers who had been allocated land under the country's "land reform programme". "In our view the ministry of land and agriculture used our names to mislead the people into believing the programme was transparent," said Mazhande. Meanwhile former residents of a farm acquired by senior Zanu-PF officials are living in makeshift shelters on the side of the road. Many say their food stores were destroyed during their evictions.
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From Zim Online (SA), 13 October
Government to import another 300 000 tonnes of maize
Harare - The government will import another 300 000 tonnes of maize from Zambia and Malawi between now and next month, sources told Zim Online. A senior official at a Harare transport company, who spoke anonymously for fear of victimisation, said his firm and two other Harare transporters had in the last two months ferried close to 200 000 tonnes of maize from Zambia and Malawi into the country. The three companies had been asked to transport another 300 000 tonnes from the Zambian capital Lusaka to Harare, the official said. He said: "We transported some maize, I think about 200 000 tonnes in the last two months. This new contract is to immediately ferry about 300 000 tonnes from Lusaka, together with two other transporters." Retired army colonel Samuel Muvuti, who heads the state's Grain Marketing Board that is facilitating the imports, yesterday confirmed that he was expecting maize deliveries from Lusaka. But he insisted the maize was from orders placed with the foreign suppliers last year when the country faced severe shortages of maize. He said: "As we have repeatedly said, the only imports that we are receiving were ordered last year. That is all I can say." Muvuti also claimed last month that Harare was only receiving maize ordered the previous year after Zim Online had exposed how the government was secretly buying maize from abroad while at the same time claiming the country had produced enough and did not need international help.
Both Zambia and Malawi faced serious shortages of food last year because of poor production and were not exporting maize as claimed by Harare. The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party and food aid experts have accused President Robert Mugabe and his government of refusing international food assistance so that the government could monopolise food relief for political gain ahead of next year's general election. The government denies the charge. Earlier this week, Mugabe speaking during a visit to Mozambique repeated claims that the country had produced enough maize, even as the stepped-up maize importation programme by the government strongly suggests otherwise. Food aid experts say Zimbabwe will need to import about 700 000 tonnes of maize - or just 200 000 tonnes more than the quantity secured by the government from foreign suppliers so far - to feed about two million people without adequate food. In a startling twist to the government's claims of food sufficiency, Muvuti last month told a parliamentary committee that was investigating Zimbabwe's food situation that his grain board had collected a paltry 298 000 tonnes of maize from farmers since harvesting began about four months ago. In a good season the board, which is the only one permitted to buy maize from farmers, should by that time have collected more than three times that amount. Zimbabwe requires about 1.8 million tonnes of maize for consumption and for its strategic reserves per year.
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From Business Day (SA), 14 October
UN report ambushed us - Moyo
Harare - The Zimbabwean government has accused the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa of "ambushing" it by releasing a report citing bad governance in the country. The commission's report was released at the Fourth African Development Forum of the Africa Union conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Zimbabwean Information Minister Jonathan Moyo criticised the UN for releasing the report before his delegation had read it. " Our delegation reiterates that it was unprocedural, unfair and unacceptable for the commission to circulate this report as it was being presented. Because this was not done, the report ended up assuming the character of an ambush," Moyo said.
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From The Daily Mirror, 14 October
UNECA report: SAPES sets the record straight
Daily Mirror Reporter
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) report bemoaning the dearth of good governance in Zimbabwe, among other African countries, was tabled at the on-going Fourth African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the knowledge of the southern African country's government. According to Southern African Political Economy Series Trust (SAPES,) who complied the report, the document was presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ahead of the UNECA meeting currently underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Surprisingly, The Herald yesterday carried a story on its front page headlined "Anti Zim report blasted" in which the State-controlled media house alleged that the government had been "ambushed" as the delegation led by Information Minister Jonathan Moyo only became aware of the document when it was presented on Tuesday. The Herald also purported that the there was no contribution from the government, yet several ministries participated in its compilation. It also said the report - presented without the knowledge of SAPES as the Trust was not represented at the Ethiopia meeting - was incomplete and biased.
In a statement SAPES Trust yesterday said: "We wish to point out that the final report had been submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to the Addis Ababa meeting. Government ministries consulted during the compilation of the report included Public Service, Lands and Agriculture, Local Government, Finance and Economic Development, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Home Affairs, Education, Sport and Culture, National Affairs and Employment Creation, and Health and Child Welfare." SAPES further stated: "It must be noted that SAPES Trust is not aware of who presented the report at the meeting in Addis Ababa. Dr Ibbo Mandaza was unable to attend personally due to his commitments at the Zimbabwe Mirror. Jennifer Chiriga, co-coordinator of the research project, had been nominated to attend. However, she arrived at the airport to find that her ticket had not been paid for by the ECA. If SAPES had been represented at the meeting, the misunderstandings presented in the Herald report would have been resolved therein. The Zimbabwe report is objective and balanced." The Zimbabwe report in its conclusion read: "Africans should develop their own paradigm on the basis of which to contextualise and lend meaning to such apparently universal idioms as democracy, good governance or even human rights. the debate cannot lead anywhere unless we seek also to escape the Euro-Centric and Rustovian conception of society. The discussion has to be centred on a clear acknowledgement of the historical and socio-economic factors around which contemporary Africa is defined, and therefore the means through which the Motherland can liberate and find herself."
Among the countries surveyed and found to be the poorest performers of democracy were Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya and Swaziland. The Zimbabwe report was one of 28 country studies commissioned by UNECA, meant to measure and monitor "Progress towards Good Governance in Africa", before SAPES Trust chairman, Dr Mandaza, finally edited it. The Trust said the methodology and guidelines provided by UNECA called for participation in the research process of both government and civil society, and as such it adhered strictly to that method in compiling the report. It said throughout the research process, regular sub-regional meetings and workshops were held in order to monitor progress and ensure that the guidelines were followed, since the reports would eventually be incorporated into a continental report. "One such sub-regional meeting was held in Lusaka from November 24 to 26 2003, at which Mandaza presented the major findings of the study. The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare (then July Moyo) was present at the meeting," added SAPES Trust. The Zimbabwe study was launched on October 9 2002 at a public workshop at a Harare Hotel, with the opening speech written by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa, and presented on his half by the ministry's permanent secretary, David Mangota. Various other representatives from both local and central government also attended the launch.
"With regard to the allegations regarding the completeness of the report, SAPES wishes to make the point that the data and findings in the report are all complete," the Trust said. "SAPES and UNECA would not put their reputations on the line by submitting inaccurate data to an important meeting such as the one taking place in Addis Ababa. The final report was submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to the Addis Ababa meeting." SAPES Trust is an intellectual forum and centre of academic excellence for policy analysis and enhancing decision-making capacity in the southern African region, both at national and regional level. The Trust, which has been in existence since 1987, promotes the development of an autonomous indigenous capacity for intellectual and scholarly discourse. It has been involved in producing high quality reports and consultancies, including the Regional Human Development Report and has had a vigorous publications programme. Many of its books are used in university in the continent and the world at large.
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From The Pretoria News, 13 October
Death of suspected mercenary in Zim jail raises questions
A Namibian deputy minister is set to ask her country's department of foreign affairs to intervene in a growing scandal around the death of a Namibian-born suspected mercenary in Zimbabwe's notorious Chikuribi jail. Meanwhile, his lawyer said inmates were dying due to bad conditions and he intended to approach the South African government to have the remaining suspects, who are serving jail sentences on lesser crimes, transferred to a South African jail. Ngave Jaruke-mo Muharukua (35) was convicted with 67 others in Zimbabwe last month on charges of violating Zimbabwe's immigration and aviation laws. The group, which included 28 Namibians, were arrested in March over a plot to overthrow the Equatorial Guinea government. Muharukua was admitted to a Harare hospital two weeks ago and died the next day. So far, says his family in Namibia, they have not been informed of any arrangements to have his body transported back to Namibia. Muharukua was a cousin of Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs and Child Welfare, Angelika Muharukua, a favourite of President Sam Nujoma. The family wanted to bury their cousin according to Himba rites in his rural village near Opuwo, but Deputy Minister Muharukua told the Afrikaans daily Die Republikein in Windhoek there had been no word from the Zimbabwean authorities.
By Monday South Africa's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had not replied to questions and the South African High Commission in Harare was unavailable for comment. Alwyn Griebenouw, lawyer for the group of suspected mercenaries, said at the weekend he was going to approach the DFA on the matter. "Communication from Zimbabwe is very poor," he said. The only way he could obtain information was by travelling to Harare himself. A number of inmates died every month in the jail, he told Die Republikein. During one visit, he had seen eight corpses being carried out. He was therefore going to try to have the detainees transferred to a South African jail should their conditions not improve. Many of the suspected mercenaries had admitted that they were HIV-positive. He planned to visit the jail on October 21 to find out what the authorities were going to do to have anti-retrovirals supplied to them. Their condition would also worsen because of the bad food they were being given, which had little nutritional value. Muharukua is the second alleged mercenary to have died in custody. German national, Eugene Nershz, who was arrested in Equatorial Guinea along with alleged coup leader, Nick du Toit, allegedly died from cerebral malaria.
Die Republikein wrote last week that Muharukua's family was deeply shocked by the news. Miriam Muharukua, a teacher from Opuwo and also a cousin, only learnt about his death when a reporter phoned her. She said she had last seen him in December in Johannesburg. She told the newspaper he had been working for some time for a security firm. During their trial most of the mercenary suspects denied they were involved in the plot and claimed they had been recruited to guard mines in Congo. "It was all a great shock. Just like the news that he is no longer alive. His parents are traditional Himbas and live about 100km from Opuwo at the village of Ingongo. I'll have to arrange for somebody to go and tell them," she said. Muharukua, who was serving a one-year sentence, was admitted to the intensive care unit at a Harare hospital after he had first complained of nose bleeding and dizziness on September 9. He was examined by a prison medical officer before being taken to a hospital ward, said a statement by Zimbabwe's information department. "His condition worsened and he was referred to Harare Central Hospital," said the statement. "He was admitted at Harare Central Hospital Intensive Care Unit suffering from clinical meningitis." Meningitis is an infectious disease that causes inflammation around the brain and spinal cord. A post mortem is to be carried out to establish the exact cause of death, the statement added.
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From The Guardian (UK), 14 October
ECB delegation to meet Zimbabwe opposition
Paul Kelso
An England and Wales Cricket Board delegation will meet members of Zimbabwe's main opposition groups after arriving in Harare on Sunday to conduct a safety and security inspection in preparation for next month's tour. John Carr, the ECB's director of cricket operations, Richard Bevan of the Professional Cricketers' Association, and representatives of a security consultant retained by the ECB will spend four days in the troubled African country canvassing opinion from all sectors of Zimbabwean society, as well as inspecting the facilities and hotels that England are scheduled to use. Bevan attended a meeting at the Foreign Office yesterday to seek guidance on the visit and will also liaise with two other "independent" but unnamed overseas missions in Zimbabwe during the reconnaissance. Safety and security is one of the grounds on which the International Cricket Council would allow the England team to withdraw from the tour. David Morgan, chairman of the ECB, said that there was little prospect of the tour being cancelled when the ICC executive board meets this weekend in Lahore. "Nothing I have seen in the papers I have been presented gives me any reason to think the tour will not go ahead. However, there are matters yet to be disclosed, including the findings of the racism inquiry that was held in Zimbabwe recently." Morgan also confirmed that he expected the England team to sport the logo of their main sponsor, Vodafone, during the matches in Zimbabwe. Lord MacLaurin, his predecessor at Lord's and chair of the telecom company, has said he would not be in favour. "Unless they say otherwise, the logos will be worn," Morgan said.
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From BBC News, 15 October
Mugabe rival acquitted of treason
A court in Zimbabwe has found opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai not guilty of treason. He was accused of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe ahead of elections controversially won by the Zimbabwean leader in 2002. Mr Tsvangirai always maintained that he was framed by state security agents and the judge said the evidence was not sufficient to convict him. However, he is due to return to court next month for a second treason trial. Before the verdict was delivered, baton-wielding riot police dispersed some 200 supporters of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Mr Tsvangirai's spokesman said that militants from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had been allowed to fill up the court after going in through a side entrance. "Even the MDC's top leadership are not being allowed into court," William Bango told the BBC's Network Africa programme. On the eve of the verdict, the authorities said the security forces had been put on high alert to prevent any disturbances after the judgement. Armed police have surrounded the court and are also patrolling across the capital, Harare. Sanctions, including a travel ban, were imposed on Mr Mugabe and other Zimbabwe leaders, by the United States and the European Union, which accused him of stealing the 2002 election. Zimbabwe is in the grip of an economic crisis, with food shortages, annual inflation running at more than 300%, and more than half the adult population unemployed.
Mr Tsvangirai's trial began 20 months ago and the verdict has already been delayed for two months. The case revolved around the testimony of Ari Ben-Menashe, a Canada-based consultant. He testified that in a secretly-filmed meeting in December 2001, Mr Tsvangirai asked him to arrange the assassination of President Mugabe. The defence team says the grainy tape was doctored as part of a plot to entrap Mr Tsvangirai. Mr Tsvangirai's lawyer said Mr Menashe was a "notorious and demonstrable liar" who was on the payroll of the government and aimed to discredit the opposition leader ahead of the presidential election in March 2002. Mr Tsvangirai lost the election, which he regards as stolen by Mr Mugabe. Ahead of the verdict, the MDC leader had dismissed the proceedings as "a political trial". "I'm a bit anxious, but I'm not going to allow fear to dominate the whole thing. An acquittal, a conviction - to me it's the same thing - it's political persecution," Mr Tsvangirai said. "The outcome will be dependent on the political mood of Robert Mugabe and his clique." In 1997, another Zimbabwe opposition leader, Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole was convicted of treason and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. He also claimed that he had been set up the state security service. Because of the bail conditions stemming from the two sets of treason charges, Mr Tsvangirai has had to surrender his passport, which has prevented him from travelling abroad to lobby against Mr Mugabe's government. Political tension is rising in Zimbabwe ahead of elections next year, which the MDC has threatened to pull out of.
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From The Financial Times (UK), 15 October
Tsvangirai acquitted in Zimbabwe treason trial
By John Reed in Johannesburg
A Harare judge on Friday acquitted Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader, on charges of treason. "The state has not been able to prove high treason beyond reasonable doubt", said Judge Paddington Garwe. Mr Tsvangirai, president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had been charged in 2002 with plotting to murder President Robert Mugabe and install himself in power in a coup d'etat. If found guilty, he could have faced a maximum penalty of death. Mr Tsvangirai maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and many of the prosecution's assertions crumbled under cross-examination. MDC leaders said before the decision they were prepared for the possibility of a guilty verdict, given the strong political pressure President Mugabe's government has brought on the judiciary. "If there's an acquittal, it will vindicate our position that this has been a political trial since day one," David Coltart, the MDC's justice spokesman, told the FT. "If there's a conviction, this will just be a confirmation in the minds of sensible people that the justice system has been subverted."
The state's case centred on three meetings Mr Tsvangirai held in late 2001 with representatives of Dickens Madson, a Canadian political consultancy and lobbying firm, in London and Montreal. Ari Ben Menashe, the firm's principal and the state's key witness, testified that Mr Tsvangirai asked for his help in assassinating Mr Mugabe and installing himself as Zimbabwe's president. Mr Tsvangirai admitted he met Mr Menashe, but denied any of the meetings had to do with a plot of any kind. He maintained Mr Menashe approached the MDC, not the other way around. A clandestine video recording of the men's third meeting showed the lobbyist, not Mr Tsvangirai, speaking about the "elimination" of Mr Mugabe. Under cross-examination Mr Menashe, who had denied receiving any money from Zimbabwe's government, admitted he had received payment of $615,000. George Bizos, the veteran South African lawyer who once defended Nelson Mandela, served as Mr Tsvangirai's lead counsel. In his closing argument he claimed there was no evidence of an assassination or coup plot, adding that "Menashe lied from start to finish".
The Zimbabwe Defence and Aid Fund UK, whose patrons include Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, earlier this week called the trial a "legal circus". The group questioned the objectivity of Paddington Garwe, presiding judge, laiming that he had been given a substantial farm under President Mugabe's controversial land redistribution programme. Independent-minded members of the judiciary have faced intimidation and attacks by Mr Mugabe's government since Zimbabwe's current political crisis flared up four years ago. Several judges were forced to resign under pressure. If Mr Tsvangirai is found guilty, his lawyers are expected to ask for an adjournment until next week to argue for mitigation of his sentence and granting of bail. Mr Coltart of the MDC said the legal team would appeal against a possible guilty verdict by Harare's High Court to the country's Supreme Court. Under the MDC's constitution Gibson Sibanda, the party's vice-president, would take over Mr Tsvangirai's job on an acting basis. However, Mr Tsvangirai would continue to "lead the party from prison", Mr Coltart said, as Mr Mandela did when he was jailed.
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From News24 (SA), 15 October
Zim: Chaos outside court
Harare - Police with riot sticks drove several hundred opposition party supporters away from the courthouse on Friday where they were clamouring to get in to hear the verdict in the treason trial of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Opposition supporters lay down on the ground outside the courthouse in a futile bid to keep riot police from driving them back and sealing off the street outside the court. Court officials allowed a group of ruling party militants to enter the courthouse before it opened, but denied access to senior Western diplomats, including Australian Ambassador John Seppard, and some journalists and opposition party officials, saying the courtroom was filled. Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi had said on Thursday that restrictions would be enforced outside the Harare High Court to limit access to the court precincts by crowds. Judge Paddington Garwe was scheduled to begin delivering his long awaited judgment at around 10:00 at the downtown colonial-style courthouse. Mohadi told reporters on Thursday that authorities will not allow "political demonstrations" around the court. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, meanwhile, described the yearlong treason trial that ended February 26 as political persecution of Tsvangirai, the party's president. "It is democracy on trial, not the president as an individual," said opposition spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi. The party called on supporters to converge on the High Court on Friday and pledged its senior officials would "to stand in solidarity with the president on judgment day."
Tsvangirai was charged with treason two weeks before he contested presidential polls narrowly won by President Robert Mugabe in March 2002. The highly charged case centred on a secretly recorded videotape of a meeting between Tsvangirai and Canada-based political consultant Ari Ben Menashe on December 4 2001 in which the opposition leader allegedly sought help to kill Mugabe. Tsvangirai denied the charges, insisting they were a government ploy to frame him and discredit the opposition ahead of the presidential poll. George Bizos, a South African anti-apartheid attorney who first defended Nelson Mandela more than 40 years ago, defended Tsvangirai in the trial. During the trial, state prosecutors withdrew allegations Tsvangirai asked Ben Menashe's help to "murder" or "assassinate" Mugabe. Tsvangirai said he mentioned Mugabe's "elimination" on the grainy and barely audible four-and-a-half hour tape referring only to Mugabe's possible defeat in the upcoming presidential polls and any subsequent change of government. He said he sought Ben Menashe help in good faith to raise support and funds for the opposition in the United States and Canada ahead of the polls.
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From The Cape Argus (SA), 14 October
Does Morgan Tsvangirai stand a chance?
With missing state witnesses and a presiding judge who was given a prize farm by Robert Mugabe as the treason trial began in February last year, is the MDC leader's fate sealed? Shortly before opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai went on trial for treason, Zimbabwe's weekly newspaper The Independent published a reader's letter which read: "Why would Morgan Tsvangirai hire a foreigner to do a job that millions of Zimbabweans would do for free?" The foreigner was Iraqi-born Ari Ben Menashe, who falsely claimed to be a former Mossad agent who had emigrated to Canada. The job the letter writer referred to was plotting to assassinate President Robert Mugabe. The trial had a main plot and a maze of minor ones. There were missing state witnesses and a presiding judge who was given a prize farm by Mugabe as the trial began in February last year.
Tsvangirai was first charged with treason 13 days after Australian broadcaster SBS ran a documentary in February 2002 which claimed the MDC leader hired Ben Menashe to assassinate Mugabe. This was a month before the presidential election. Extracts from the documentary were immediately and repeatedly aired by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and state newspapers. Australian journalist Mark Davis made his case, as did state prosecutors in the trial, on claims of an assassination "plot" by Ben Menashe backed up by a secretly recorded video tape of a meeting Tsvangirai had in Montreal 10 weeks earlier. Tsvangirai told the court he hired Ben Menashe's shelf company, Dickens and Madson, to raise money and lobby for the MDC in north America. Ben Menashe claimed that the video tape proved that Tsvangirai hired his company (in front of two strangers and a woman taking notes) to kill Mugabe.
Tsvangirai was in Johannesburg when he got the news that SBS would air the documentary. It was the last time he could travel as his passport was surrendered in terms of his bail conditions. Also charged were MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube and MDC member of parliament Renson Gasela. Political commentator Brian Kagoro said the trial had, in some ways, "crippled" the MDC which won nearly half the parliamentary seats in the 1999 parliamentary elections when it was only nine months old. "It slowed down the MDC's diplomatic offensive, crippled its foreign relations because Morgan Tsvangirai, whether one likes it or not, was becoming an international figure. He was absent from the regional and foreign arena to answer questions, allegations, doubts and fears that people had about the MDC," Kagoro said. "Welshman Ncube was also out of the international arena so neither of the party's two top leaders were able to rebut the political onslaught from Zanu PF, particularly in Africa. Internally, because of the limitations imposed on them by treason charges, the MDC leadership became a lot more cautious for fear of aggravating their circumstances. Many demonstrations and political activities were scaled down. The trial also crippled the MDC financially.
"Treason" was used by both pre- and post-independence governments to quell political personalities. Zanu PF's founder Ndabaningi Sithole was convicted of treason and jailed in the Rhodesian era, and again by Mugabe, but died in 2000 before his appeal was heard. Dumiso Dabengwa, a leader of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, Zapu, and eight others were acquitted of treason two years after independence. George Bizos was appointed by the MDC to lead the defence team, not only for his skill, according to legal secretary David Coltart, but also for his moral reputation earned over decades in the anti-apartheid struggle. He regularly had the court in stitches as he doggedly, and often wittily, pursued Ben Menashe in cross examination. "I don't know," was Ben Menashe's stock answer, swaying and writhing and wringing his hands or staring at the ceiling of the wood-panelled courtroom. On one occasion, head flung back and gripping the front of the witness box, he shouted at Bizos: "Your reputation is very well known in the United States as a racist and an anti-feminist." Bizos told the court that he had proved that Ben Menashe was an "unmitigated liar" and an "international crook".
Lawyers in Harare are speculating on tomorrow's verdict and their predictions go something like this:
Guilty and immediate imprisonment ahead of sentence with Tsvangirai's appeal delayed until after the March general election. Speculation is that sentence will either be death or imprisonment for 10 to 15 years.
Not guilty, but with a long and arduous judgment replete with condemnations which the state will immediately appeal, but which will see Tsvangirai at least temporarily removed from bail and reunited with his passport.
Lawyers have quipped that Tsvangirai and Ncube, in particular, did commit a "crime". They were naive and failed to look Ben Menashe up on Google, which contains references to his brushes with the law pre-dating his engagement in Zimbabwe's political turmoil. This saga began with friendship between Gasela and Briton Rupert Johnson, who should have been a key state witness but never turned up. The court heard that Johnson and Gasela met during Zimbabwe's last serious drought in 1991-1992. Gasela was then chief executive of Zimbabwe's Grain Marketing Board and Johnson a wealthy commodity broker in Cape Town. Between the two of them grain was imported, distributed and no one starved. Gasela visited Johnson in Cape Town and then they lost contact. In 2001 Johnson, now living in Britain in reduced circumstances, contacted Gasela out of the blue and arranged for Tsvangirai to meet Ben Menashe, billed as a top lobbyist with White House connections, in London. A second London meeting followed. The defence argued the state had to prove all three meetings were involved in the assassination plot. Nowhere in the video tape of the third meeting in Montreal, the defence argued, is there any direct discussion of a plot to kill Mugabe. In other words, the defence said, the Montreal meeting does not stand alone evidentially and a conviction for treason depends on the state being able to prove that both the first two meetings in London had sinister purpose.
But that unravelled when Tsvangirai's co-accused, Ncube and Gasela, who were only at the two London meetings, were acquitted for lack of evidence. As the case wound up, the defence produced what it said was a final, fatal blow. The MDC had taken Ben Menashe to court in Canada to recover US$100 000 it paid him for lobbying. In answering affidavit, Ben Menashe said he was paid for an "innocent" assignment and the money landed in his account after the first London meeting. Ben Menashe earned US$615 000 from the Zimbabwean government for refund of expenses to set up the secret video recording and subsequent public relations on behalf of Mugabe. Justice Garwe refused the defence access to his employment contract, saying disclosure would be "prejudicial to national security".
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From The Cape Argus (SA), 14 October
Activists set their sights on Mugabe
By Bheko Madlala
A group of former anti-apartheid activists from across the globe, who gathered in Durban this week, has made an impassioned plea to the South African government to take decisive action against President Robert Mugabe's regime to ensure that the next year's elections in Zimbabwe will be free and fair. The plea was made yesterday at the end of the International Anti-Apartheid Movement Conference which reflected on the role played by the global community to drum up support for the country's struggle against apartheid. The conference, the first since 1994, was attended by delegates from countries such as the UK, US and Sweden. The delegates urged the South African government to put pressure on Mugabe's regime to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe are able to vote for the party of their choice during the parliamentary elections. Said Mai Palmberg, who was one of the delegates from Sweden: "I have a feeling that the South African government is afraid to deal with Mugabe because he is seen as a symbol of defiance against White interests." One of the proposals which were made at the conference by the delegates, is to hold an international conference which will specifically deal with the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
The conference was addressed by Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad who came down hard on the critics of the government's quiet diplomacy approach to the political meltdown in Zimbabwe. Answering a question on what is the South African policy on Zimbabwe at the end of the conference, Pahad said South Africa was intensifying its efforts to ensure that the elections in Zimbabwe would be free and fair. "I believe that there are problem in Zimbabwe ... there is an assumption that we accept everything that the other side says, there is also an assumption that being diplomatic is not being critical. "The word quiet diplomacy is a fake, you either take the process of diplomacy or go to war. What ever we do we must help the Zimbabweans to find a solution to their crisis and the process must be led by the Zimbabweans as it happened in South Africa," he said, adding that Zimbabwe was not "an academic exercise for South Africa".
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From The Times (UK), 16 October
On the spot: Tsvangirai's acquittal
Jan Raath, The Times Correspondent in Zimbabwe, describes the scenes as opposition political leader Morgan Tsvangirai was acquitted of treason this morning.
Only a small group of supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change had been able to get into the courthouse this morning to hear the verdict on their leader. When he was declared not guilty, they got to their feet and cheered. It was an emotional moment. George Bizos, Mr Tsvangirai's chief defence lawyer and a man who defended Nelson Mandela in his treason trial in South Africa 40 years ago, had tears running down his cheeks. There were very few people outside the courthouse when the verdict came through, because they had all been driven away earlier by riot police with dogs and batons. Three journalists were arrested by the police: two local photographers and Angus Shaw, the very experienced Associated Press correspondent, who was dictating a story over his mobile phone when a plain clothes police officer came up and demanded to know what he was saying about Zimbabwe. He was bundled into a white Land Rover and driven off. Police are denying any knowledge of him. This kind of harrassment happens all the time. He probably will be held in a filthy cell all weekend and released on Monday, because they have nothing to charge him with.
When Mr Tsvangirai left court, he was stony-faced. All he would say was: 'Not guilty.' Then he got into his car and was driven away. It was only once he got home that he was able to show the elation he was feeling, after all the pressure he has been under. People were dancing in the street outside his home in the suburbs, and Mr Tsvangirai was out on the lawn with his wife, beaming and smiling as he greeted people. He was altogether in a happy, expansive mood, such as I have not seen him in for a long time. His first words at his press conference were: 'What a relief.' This is an important moment for the MDC and will certainly restore life to the party. The tactics of Mr Mugabe's Government have so far been all about eliminating hope for any change, and keeping up constant, heavy and unrelenting pressure on the opposition. That is why they have banned all newspapers critical of the Government. I was surprised that he was acquitted because it has not been in this Government's nature to let people off or to show magnanimity.
Yet all the MDC people I have spoken to, apart from Mr Tsvangirai, say that they believe the Government made it clear to the judge that he should arrive at a fair verdict. If this is the case, it may reflect the indirect pressure that is increasing on Mr Mugabe from other African states. An African Union report a couple of months ago was very critical of him. He recently had to sign a regional treaty committing Zimbabwe to hold free and fair parliamentary elections next March. Mr Mugabe is becoming more and more isolated and he is aware of it. I think he is becoming an embarrassment to other African states. I am sure that he intends to use this verdict to defend himself when people accuse him of ignoring the rule of law. Meanwhile it was interesting to hear Mr Tsvangirai talk about how this moment could mark a change in stance by the Government, and if so, it could form the basis of new, national reconciliation.
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From AFP, 15 October
Cheering Tsvangirai fans teargassed
Zimbabwe police on Friday fired teargas and used batons to disperse some 200 opposition supporters celebrating the acquittal of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a treason case. The jubilant group was celebrating outside their offices minutes after Judge Paddington Garwe pronounced Tsvangirai not guilty of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe. Police moved in within minutes to disperse them, sending supporters and passers-by scurrying for cover in nearby shops and food courts. One teargas cannister landed on the roof of a bank opposite a food court. Opposition supporters had tried to stage a sit-in outside the High Court in Harare city centre before the session started but were chased away by police. There was tight security across Harare earlier Friday as police and paramilitary forces patrolled areas around the High Court - which is opposite key government buildings - and mounted roadblocks on streets leading to the court complex. Tension had mounted ahead of the ruling with both the MDC and government accusing each other of trying to unleash violence.
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From AFP, 15 October
Journos arrested after Tsvangirai verdict
Three journalists were arrested shortly after a High Court cleared Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason charges on Friday, witnesses said. Police could not immediately confirm the arrests of a correspondent for the US Associated Press (AP) news agency and two photographers, one of whom works for the country's only independent daily, the Daily Mirror. The other photographer was not identified. Angus Shaw of AP "was arrested by an unidentified person and taken away in an unmarked Land Rover", said a witness who asked to remain nameless. Desmond Kwande, the Daily Mirror photographer, was followed by a heavily armed policeman as he walked to his office situated on the same road as the High Court, where a judge acquitted Tsvangirai on high treason charges, a colleague said. Meanwhile, police issued a fresh warning against lawlessness in the aftermath of the acquittal, which saw opposition supporters break into song and dance on the streets of the capital. Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said the police "expect everyone to live within the limits of the law and no behaviour or activity which threatens peace will be tolerated". "Police will monitor the situation and ensure that there are no unruly hooligans who go about harassing law-abiding citizens," he said in a statement."
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From The Guardian (UK), 16 October
Court finds Tsvangirai not guilty - as Mugabe always hoped it would
President used lengthy legal process to hobble rival
Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria
The scratchy black and white video that formed the crux of the Zimbabwe government's case against the leader of its main opposition was of such poor quality that it was difficult to be sure of the identities of the four men sitting around a table in a Canadian office. The sound was so muffled that the tape was replayed in court six times before anyone could agree on what was actually said. One man, identified as Canadian-Israeli Ari Ben Menashe, could be deciphered repeatedly talking about "eliminating" the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe. The black man in the frame, identified as Morgan Tsvangirai, eventually responded: "OK, now Mugabe is eliminated. We proceed with constitutional elections." It was with those words that Mr Tsvangirai consigned himself to a two and a half year legal battle which culminated in a treason trial for his life. With yesterday's not guilty verdict, Mr Tsvangirai was off the hook, for now.
But while the charges hung over the head of the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, the crisis in Zimbabwe worsened. Basic rights such as freedom of speech and assembly have been curtailed. Three newspapers have been closed. Torture by police and other state agents has continued. The economy has plummetted and more people are starving. According to those who have followed Mr Tsvangirai's predicament, the tortuous legal process has played into 80-year-old Mr Mugabe's hands. The trial sapped the opposition leader and his party of funds and energy. Mr Tsvangirai was in effect hobbled. A guilty verdict was of secondary importance to Mr Mugabe, according to legal specialists. In fact, said John Makumbe, political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, the Mugabe government had calculated that a guilty verdict for Mr Tsvangirai would bring more international criticism and pressure than it was worth. "The case was essentially political harassment and the government achieved its aim of hamstringing Tsvangirai and his party. The case substantially reduced the capacity of the MDC," he said.
Supporters of Mr Tsvangirai point to the background of the key prosecuting witness, Mr Ben Menashe, 52 , a former Israeli intelligence agent. Evidence in the trial showed he had received $650,000 from the Zimbabwean intelligence service and was accused of frequently lying under oath in an effort to cover up those links. Mr Makumbe said that with the acquittal "the Mugabe regime is just trying to cleanse its image. It needed to project itself as a legitimate regime. I would say we may be seeing the effect of pressure from the international community, particularly from other African states. "All the reports to the African Union and the European Union about human rights abuses and the breakdown of the rule of law are paying off. The government is responding to this pressure." Mr Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, refused to comment. Other supporters of the president's Zanu PF party said Mr Tsvangirai's acquittal proved that an independent judicial system was still alive in Zimbabwe. But legal experts, both inside and outside the country, dispute this.
"This has been a politically tainted trial from the beginning," exiled Zimbabwean judge Michael Majuru said. "The acquittal does not hide the fact that this case never should have come to trial. The judge should have thrown out the charges from the beginning. There was no case to answer." Mr Majuru, who fled Zimbabwe earlier this year after being threatened by the minister of justice, said: "The bottom line is that no one could ever say that there was enough evidence to convict. Much more than this verdict is needed to repair the integrity of Zimbabwe's judicial system. The entire system is sullied and operates as an appendage of the ruling party." Though Mr Tsvangirai still faces a second treason trial, he must also work towards running an effective campaign in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. The MDC earlier suspended its participation in the elections, set for next March, but the party appears to be rethinking its boycott. Mr Makumbe warned that Mr Tsvangirai's acquittal was a tactical retreat before the Mugabe government launches a new offensive. "They are sharpening their claws for the next kill. Tsvangirai must face another treason trial under the Public Order and Security Act. Even though the charge is very flimsy, another court case will continue to weaken his ability to function as a forceful opposition leader." The Mugabe government this month introduced legislation to outlaw human rights work by non-governmental organisations and to restrict the press further. "The government is tightening its grip because it wants to get a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections in March," said Mr Makumbe.
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From BBC News, 15 October
No respite for Morgan Tsvangirai
By Joseph Winter
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is delighted to have been found not guilty of treason. After all, he could have faced the death penalty if convicted. He smiled broadly as the verdict was handed down and his supporters clapped and cheered in the courtroom. Outside, they danced and sang, watched by glum-looking ruling party militants. But he cannot afford to relax too much, as he returns to court next month to face a second set of treason charges, relating to his call last year for mass street protests to oust President Robert Mugabe. And so he is still unable to concentrate his full energy on the political struggle with that nagging fear at the back of his mind. Even more importantly, he is still not able to retrieve his passport from the courts, where it has been ever since he was initially charged with treason, in March 2002, as part of his bail conditions. This means he still cannot travel abroad to lobby against President Robert Mugabe's government. The Movement for Democratic Change leader said from the outset that he had been framed by the state security services and dismissed the proceedings as "a political trial". Despite his acquittal, Mr Tsvangirai maintained that Zimbabwe's judiciary remains suspect. Several judges have been forced to resign, to be replaced by people seen as close to the ruling party. "I am a bit surprised, as I suspected the worst," he said.
So why was he found not guilty? Maybe Justice Paddington Garwe bravely stood up for the independence of Zimbabwe's judiciary. Or maybe the verdict actually suited the government. Political analyst John Makumbe said that sending Mr Tsvangirai to prison for treason may actually elevate him to a "Mandela-like" status. "If he is found guilty, he will become a hero, he will become a martyr." After years spearheading a guerrilla struggle and 24 years as Zimbabwe's leader, Mr Mugabe is nothing if not a shrewd and effective politician. He and his advisers may have decided that the possibility of breathing new life into the opposition, which had become somewhat demoralised, was not worth the risk - especially as the authorities are still able to restrict his movement. But the MDC is certainly celebrating the verdict. "It is a ruling that will galvanise the democratic struggle in Zimbabwe," said Mr Tsvangirai's deputy, Gibson Sibanda. Some analysts predicted that the MDC would fall apart into squabbling factions if Mr Tsvangirai were removed from the scene. The party is made up of a disparate group of the unemployed, poor black urban workers, rich white farmers and industrialists and ethnic Ndebeles from south-western Zimbabwe, who were persecuted by Mr Mugabe in the 1980s. Friday's verdict means that the MDC's charismatic leader will be able to campaign ahead of parliamentary elections due early next year - if the opposition decides that it is worth taking part.
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From The Times (UK), 16 October
Mugabe may seek to overturn rival's treason acquittal
By Jenny Booth, Times Online and agencies
The Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said today that his acquittal on charges of treason would galvanise his supporters in their campaign against the 24-year rule of President Robert Mugabe. Judge President Paddington Garwe ruled in Zimbabwe's High Court this morning that the state had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Tsvangirai had plotted to assassinate Mr Mugabe and to mount a coup against his 24 year rule before the 2002 election. But tonight Mr Mugabe's government indicated that it was not happy with the verdict and may challenge it. "After perusing the judgment, the government of Zimabawe is of the strong view that the accused, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been wrongly acquitted," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement. The minister said that the government "accepts and respects the verdict but reserves the right to exercise other options available to it in terms of the law". Mr Tsvangirai, who leads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in opposition to Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF party, could have faced the death penalty if he had been found guilty. The acquittal came as a surprise. Many people had predicted that Mr Mugabe would impose his will on a court system that has been criticised as political and corrupt. After the verdict, the 52-year-old politician told the BBC: "I feel really relieved. I feel vindicated. For me, personally, I had to overcome this dominating fear of the possibility of a negative judgment. The verdict will have a seriously galvanising effect on MDC supporters. It will really boost their morale and reinforce that MDC is an effective organisation. People who were sceptical about MDC will find their scepticism driven away."
The prosecution case rested on a grainy, four-and-a-half-hour video, recorded secretly, of Mr Tsvangirai's meeting in Montreal with Ari Ben-Menashe, a Canada-based political consultant, during which prosecutors said that Mr Mugabe's "elimination" was discussed. George Bizos, the main defence lawyer who also defended Nelson Mandela in a 1960s treason case in South Africa, attacked the credibility of Mr Ben-Menashe, who gave evidence for the state. Defence lawyers said that Mr Tsvangirai discussed whether Mr Mugabe might accept a plan to retire before the 2002 election. Mr Mugabe won the poll amid allegations of systematic intimidation and vote-rigging. Mr Tsvangirai has challenged the result. Today Judge Garwe said: "The evidence led has not shown beyond reasonable doubt that there was such a request (for an assassination and a coup d'etat)." Mr Tsvangirai still faces separate treason charges linked to anti-Mugabe protests that the MDC tried to organise in 2003. The case is due to start in a few weeks. "That is a vindictive application of a wrong law, but I don't want to get into that yet," he said today. "Today's verdict was a really crucial test. Mugabe will naturally say: 'See! People have accused me of overturning the rule of law, but see how judges are allowed to arrive at their own conclusions.' That is a sad fact. But the political reality on the ground demonstrates that there is a breakdown in the rule of law, and the verdicts of the courts are being ignored."
Now the MDC was turning to its preparations for the next elections, he went on. Asked if he thought the next election would be free and fair, he said: "Should Mugabe stop violence, remove repressive legislation, allow the MDC access to the media and create an independent electoral commission, I am sure that that election will be much fairer than the last one, and will at least produce a legitimate outcome. "We need to fight for a levelling of the playing field in the electoral process, and of course we need to go back to the people and re-galvanise them on the forthcoming obstacles we have to face." The verdict was announced amid high tension in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. Riot police with dogs and batons dispersed a group of 200 opposition supporters who were unable to get into the packed courtroom. Mr Mugabe, 80, has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. The former guerrilla leader says Mr Tsvangirai is a puppet of Western powers seeking to overthrow him for seizing farms from whites for redistribution to landless blacks.
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From The Times (UK), 16 October
Hussain in warning to Vaughan over tour of Zimbabwe
By Pat Gibson
Michael Vaughan, the England captain, was last night told by Nasser Hussain that his name and that of English cricket could be tarnished for a long time if the forthcoming tour to Zimbabwe provokes violent unrest. In a direct plea to his successor, Hussain, who was captain when England refused to travel to Zimbabwe for a World Cup match last year, said: "If something happens, Michael, and you lead a side out there and someone gets killed, it will tarnish English cricket and your name for a long while. "Like Michael Atherton advised me, get as much information on the place and find out if there are going to be protests, if things are going to happen out there." Hussain suspects that Vaughan might be feeling compelled to go against his better judgment through a sense of responsibility towards his players and pressure from the ECB. "Michael was part of the group which decided last time he didn't think it was right to go and I don't see what has changed," he said on BBC radio. "As Steve Harmison said when he pulled out: 'I had a difficult week in Cape Town deciding I didn't want to go and nothing has changed. If anything it has got worse.' I would guess Michael doesn't want to go and he has been told by his board that he has to go. Basically, the ECB are his bosses and if you rang up Michael now and said 'you don't have to go to Zimbabwe', I think he will have a huge sigh of relief." Hussain described how he was told by the ECB that he was effectively holding the future of English cricket in his hands in not wanting to play the World Cup game in Zimbabwe. John Carr, the ECB's director of cricket operations, and Richard Bevan, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, are flying to Zimbabwe this weekend to inspect the safety and security measures. Ray Jennings, the former South Africa wicketkeeper, was installed as national coach last night, replacing the sacked Eric Simons. His appointment comes less than a month before the squad travel to India to play two Tests, and two months before they begin a five-Test series against England.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 17 October
Judge lashes at State's 'suspect witnesses'
By our own staff
Judge President Paddington Garwe on Friday reduced to shreds, the evidence led by star prosecution witness Ari Ben-Menashe and his personal assistant Tara Thomas and declared the two be treated as "suspect witnesses." He said the videotape that formed the basis of the case was of inferior quality and could not be relied on, while the audiotape of the London meeting in November 2001 did not help the State's case either because it was of even poorer quality. "What is clear is that Mr Menashe had a financial interest," the judge said, referring to a contract between Ben-Menashe's firm, Dickens and Madson and the Zimbabwe government that was about to be renewed when the treason trial opened in February last year. "Neither he nor Tara Thomas can be said to be impartial. They should be treated as suspect witnesses. It's not in dispute that neither in the audio nor the video tape is there a specific request by the accused to Mr Menashe for the assassination of President Mugabe and the staging of a military coup. The court is not satisfied that there was such a request. According to the transcript (of the video-tape) remarks made by the accused were largely in response to questions put to him." He said in the majority of the cases, Tsvangirai was asked questions and showed that he did not know what was happening. He said the prosecution had not established high treason beyond reasonable doubt.
The prosecution team of Acting Attorney-General Bharat Patel, Director of Public Prosecutions Joseph Musakwa and Senior Law Officer Morgen Nemadire, did not immediately respond to the judgment. MDC officials and supporters who had thronged the public gallery waiting anxiously as Garwe read the judgement, erupted into a rapturous applause when the judge pronounced the "not guilty" verdict. "God is great!" Glen-Norah MP Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said with a heavy sigh after the more than hour-long judgment. Jubilant party officials mobbed and hugged Tsvangirai, his wife Susan, smartly dressed in an olive-green dress, and members of Tsvangirai's defence team. Tsvangirai, in a grey suit and greyish-blue shirt, wore a broad smile and joined his supporters in clapping hands when the judge pronounced the verdict. The judgment day attracted foreign diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe, representatives of human rights organisations and members of the public keen to hear the outcome of the widely publicised case. Senior MDC officials including national chairman Isaac Matongo, deputy secretary-general Gift Chimanikire and Fletcher Dulini-Ncube and former Harare executive mayor Elias Mudzuri, were in the public gallery.
"We are going back to business," secretary-general Welshman Ncube told reporters outside the court before riot police drove everyone away. "This has been a cloud hanging over our heads and now it has been cleared. It was a political trial but the judiciary has acquitted itself very well." MDC vice-president Gibson Sibanda said: "It's not total that justice has prevailed in Zimbabwe. In the first instance there was never any evidence." Euphoria gripped the city centre as the news of Tsvangirai's acquittal spread among MDC supporters who had earlier been driven away. The jubilation was, however, short lived because scores of baton-wielding police went about indiscriminately beating up pedestrians found in groups. Unlucky shoppers were caught up in the melee. Truckloads of anti-riot police patrolled the streets in Harare's central business district while others stood at street corners in small groups. Fighter jets zoomed repeatedly over the Harare skies in a manner that can only be discribed as intimidatory. Armed anti-riot police physically prevented the Acting German Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Counsellor Jan Hendrik van Thiel from entering the High Court. Six police officers armed with guns and baton sticks accosted Van Thiel and ordered him in Shona to leave the High Court premises at once. The group of police officers surrounded Van Thiel before prodding him with baton sticks, while some manhandled him across Sam Nujoma Street. In an interview with The Standard on Friday, Van Thiel said:"What the ZRP did is not acceptable, and its a clear violation of the Vienna Convention." He has since lodged a complaint with the government The police also arrested three women at the main entrance to the High Court. One of the women asked why she was being taken by the police, and was told specific charges would be decided at the charge office.
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From The Sunday Times (UK), 17 October
Mugabe rival may call off poll boycott
Karen MacGregor, Durban
Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has hinted that his party may drop a threatened boycott of general elections in March after his unexpected acquittal on treason charges last week. Tsvangirai said that the "not guilty" verdict, denounced as a travesty of justice by President Robert Mugabe, could "free up political space" for his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), to take part in the poll. "It may provide the basis for rapprochement and dialogue in seeking a resolution to a national crisis that has been dragging on for far too long," Tsvangirai said. The "major preoccupation" of the MDC, which won nearly half of the vote in the 2000 general election, would now be working towards an election that would deliver a legitimate government, he added. The former trade unionist said he would take action to secure the return of his passport, which was confiscated during the legal proceedings. This would allow him to embark on a foreign tour to rally support among African leaders. "Some need persuading that their solidarity should lie not with Mugabe but with Zimbabwe's people," he said.
The MDC announced its boycott of the election last August, saying it was no longer prepared to put supporters' lives at risk in a violent and corrupt electoral environment. The party nevertheless continued preparatory work for the election and Tsvangirai now appears to believe the time may be right to take part. "We certainly want to go in," he said. Tsvangirai's political activities have been severely curtailed since before the 2002 elections, when he was charged with hiring Canadian consultants with the aim of assassinating the president. He claimed he had been framed but his passport was taken away and he had to report to the police, who regularly raided his home. Tsvangirai's court battles are still not over, however. He faces a second treason charge for calling a strike in June last year to protest against government policies. Tsvangirai is not worried about the eventual result, but supporters fear this second case, which has been remanded until November 3, might be used to bar him from contesting the election.
His acquittal surprised many observers in Harare where it was widely believed he would be found guilty. Mugabe is known to have stacked the judicial system with his supporters. Paddington Garwe, the High Court judge in Tsvangirai's case, is thought to be a staunch supporter of the government. Despite Mugabe's denunciation of the verdict - and hints the state may appeal - some believe the wily president may have ordered a "not guilty" verdict in an attempt to convince the world of the independence of Zimbabwe's judiciary. "A guilty verdict, which carried a possible death sentence, would have placed huge pressure on Mugabe at a time when he is trying to bolster African and international support," said Brian Kagoro, chairman of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a body of pro-democracy groups. Reconciliation between Mugabe and his opponents will be difficult to achieve, however, in a country that has been in turmoil since 2000, when the MDC came from nowhere to beat the president in a referendum on constitutional reform. It was the first threat to Mugabe's iron grip on power since independence in 1980.
Nor will the verdict have any immediate effect on the economic collapse caused by Mugabe's policies, including his encouragement of the seizure of white-owned farms. A report released on Friday by Amnesty International, the human rights group, warned that millions of Zimbabweans were at risk of starvation after the government's refusal to accept food aid. Other problems also abound: the International Monetary Fund is about to pull out after 11 years, in despair over an economy that has shrunk by more than a third in four years. Unemployment has passed 70% and Zimbabwe is in the throes of a banking crisis that has seen six financial institutions closed in the past year. Meanwhile, oppression and corruption continue unabated. In what for many is the biggest irony of all, Mugabe's government has in recent weeks evicted the land-hungry poor from the former white-owned farms. These are the very people whom the Zimbabwean leader encouraged to invade the farms in the first place. In some cases they have been ousted to make way for senior officials.
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Comment From ZWNEWS, 16 October
No victory for justice
"The government of Zimbabwe is of the strong view that the accused, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been wrongly acquitted," justice minister Chinamasa said on Friday, as if Tsvangirai's acquittal had come as a shock to him. A headline in today's Sunday Mail reads "We congratulate Justice Garwe for his verdict, but." Elsewhere, Tsvangirai's acquittal has been trumpeted as a victory for justice, and proof positive that the Zimbabwe's courts and judges are still impartial. The court gave the correct verdict. Tsvangirai was never guilty of treason. But a victory for justice? Let's take a short walk through the chronology.
The judgement in this trial was originally due to be handed down on 29 July. Two weeks before, information emerged that the court intended to convict. A week later, the judgement date was suddenly and indefinitely deferred. Something changed profoundly in that week before the decision was taken to postpone the judgement day. What could have brought about such an abrupt change of course?
One possibility is that other African countries may have been briefed in advance as to the content of the forthcoming verdict. One or more of those countries - South Africa and Nigeria seem likely candidates - may have reacted with alarm, and warned the Zimbabwe government of the consequences of a guilty verdict. Another possibility is that the two lay assessors - who are somewhat analogous to the jury in other countries - played a pivotal role in this case. They and the judge each have an equal vote when deciding matters of fact. When the original judgement date was postponed, there were many media reports that the judge had not properly consulted the assessors before arriving at his verdict. The government vehemently denied this, although it did admit that the assessors had asked to revisit the court trial record.
Whatever happened, it is pretty clear that the judge did not undergo a Damascene conversion while making his decision. Justice Paddington Garwe was bought long ago. When the justice minister and the information minister speak of "respecting" and "congratulating" Justice Garwe for his verdict, those are weasel words. If he had been told to, Garwe would have ruled that the moon is made of green cheese. There are brave magistrates and judges in Zimbabwe, who defy intimidation to adjudicate as they know is right. In the Cain Nkala murder case, for example, Justice Sandra Mungwira, with immense courage, spoke the truth about the corruption of the police and prosecuting authorities. But The State vs Morgan Tsvangirai was not the Cain Nkala trial. And Justice Garwe is not Justice Mungwira.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 17 October
GMB's seizure of maize leaves families in distress
By Rutendo Mawere
Several desperate families who are resorting to rural areas for grain end up the losers as the State run Grain Marketing Board (GMB) intensifies its crackdown on "illegal" grain dealers. Investigations by The Standard reveal that overzealous GMB officials, in many cases, are impounding all the maize they find in the possession of people returning from rural areas. Officially, a person is only allowed to carry 150kg of maize and any extra grain can be impounded by the GMB because of poor deliveries to its depots. So far, the GMB has only received about 300 000 tonnes of the grain. Officials say they are optimistic they will meet the estimated 2,4 million tonne harvest this year. Tafara Gweru, a new farmer from Shurugwi had his maize impounded along the Masvingo- Beitbridge highway on Monday last week . "I had seven 50kg bags of maize which were meant for three families. We had contributed money for fuel with my young brothers to go and collect maize from our farm in Mvuma. I tried in vain to explain why I had more than the stipulated amount. I then asked the officials to leave me with 150 kgs and take away the rest but they ignored my pleas and took all the maize," said Gweru who says he is struggling to feed his family. Gweru has kept the receipts as evidence that the GMB impounded his maize.
Other affected people who spoke to The Standard complained that even the 150 kg limit was too little considering that maize had become too expensive for low income people living in urban areas. With the rising cost of fuel and at times its unavailability, they said, it was necessary for them to carry as much as they could each time they visited their rural areas. "150 kg is a non-starter. I have got eight children and an extended family. The stipulated kgs can only last for about two and a half months. I cannot afford to go to my rural home each time we have exhausted the maize supplies," said another Harare resident who identified himself only as A Chipaumire. Fares for rural buses rose sharply last week, with travellers to areas such as Muzarabani and Dotito in Mashonaland Central now paying between $38 000 and $40 000 a single trip. Operators cite the high cost of procuring replacement parts, most of which require foreign currency and increases in the price of fuel.
The Standard heard that some corrupt GMB officials were also worsening the situation by allegedly demanding bribes before they allow travellers to pass through the checkpoints with their maize. "We are left with no option but to share with the officials so that we can proceed with the maize," said one Harare man. Retired Colonel Samuel Muvhuti, the chief executive officer of the GMB, was not immediately available for comment. However, a loss control official who spoke to The Standard said: "It is only the surplus that is supposed to be impounded." Government has designated maize a specified crop that should be delivered only to GMB depots immediately after harvest. The GMB is the sole buyer of maize in the whole country as stipulated by the GMB Act, which compels farmers to register with the organisation and to deliver their produce within 14 days of harvesting. The Act prohibits farmers from exporting grain without the permission of the board.
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From The Sunday Mirror, 17 October
No vote for Zimbabweans in Diaspora
Zimbabweans outside the country will not be able to vote in next years parliamentary elections according to Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa. Chinamasa told parliamentarians last week that government would only permit Zimbabweans resident in the country and appearing on the voters' roll to vote in the forthcoming elections. "The law in our situation is explicit; citizens of Zimbabwe who are residents will be allowed to vote," said Chinamasa. He was responding to a question from Bulawayo South MP David Coltart, on the eligibility of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora in electoral matters. Coltart quizzed Chinamasa as to why the government was not taking the example of other Sadc nations who were allowing their citizens' abroad the right to vote. Zimbabwe has remained steadfast in denying citizens in the Diaspora the right to vote in elections, a trend that was much evident in the 2002 presidential elections when postal votes were disallowed. This is in stark contrast to neighbouring Mozambique and Botswana that called on all its citizens, resident or non-resident, to register for the country's impending general elections.
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From The Observer (UK), 17 October
Harare elite driven into prostitution
Rory Carroll in Harare
Night falls across Harare and Tracy Ncube sashays up Fife Avenue in a tight skirt and borrowed shirt to sell the only thing she can. Half a dozen other young women are already stationed outside Tipperary's bar and Ncube picks her spot, a tree opposite the car park illuminated by headlights. She has been a prostitute for two weeks and has bagged three customers, earning US$45 (£25). Zimbabwe's youth were once considered Africa's brightest, graduates of one of the continent's best education systems which bred sophistication, confidence and ambition. But the economy has crumbled and, with it, opportunity. There are virtually no jobs. Some 90 per cent of the country's 11.8 million people live on less than $1 a day. Hyperinflation and food shortages are making the middle class destitute. So, a fortnight ago, Ncube, 23, turned to prostitution. 'These days life is very hard. My family doesn't know that I do this, but how else am I to survive?' She was visibly nervous. Her voice trembled, but she was determined to bag a fourth customer to earn between US$7 and US$20.
Aid jargon calls prostitution, or transactional sex, a 'negative coping mechanism', a desperate but effective way to get by. Others emigrate, flying to Britain to work as nurses or jumping a fence to scrounge jobs in Botswana or South Africa. Their pay keeps many families afloat. For President Robert Mugabe, all this is excellent news. Inflation is close to 400 per cent, unemployment is at 70 per cent and hunger and homelessness are spreading, but there is no sign of revolution. Yesterday the country was digesting the surprise acquittal of the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been charged with attempting to assassinate the president. On Friday a high court in Harare dismissed the case which for two years had crippled his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). It was a significant boost for the party but there was little public jubilation. Partly this was because police in riot gear patrolled the capital with guns and batons. A military jet roared low overhead to reinforce the authority of a regime in power since independence from Britain in 1980. But another reason was resignation. Analysts say that the ruling Zanu PF party will sweep parliamentary elections due next March because opposition has been crushed.
Starved of an independent media and the right to campaign freely, the MDC has withered, according to a senior MP who asked not to be named. Its narrow defeats in rigged elections in 2000 and 2002 were high-water marks, he said. Both cause and symptom of its malaise are to be found on Fife Avenue. At night, the smart, leafy suburb close to the city centre is a red-light district. None of the prostitutes had a good word to say about Mugabe, whom they accused of despotism, but none responded to the MDC's plea to rally at the high court for Tsvangirai's verdict. 'Look, I'm a working girl. I need to sleep and do things around the house during the day,' said Talent Mushonga, 23. Samantha Hazvinei, 24, said girls as young as 15 and middle-aged married women were turning up. 'We are too many ladies looking for too few men. I need to come earlier and earlier and stay longer to get business.' A UN report last year said poverty and hunger were fuelling child labour and prostitution. An aid worker, who did not want to be named because of a crackdown on non-governmental organisations, said she knew middle-aged women, including nurses, teachers and police officers, who had turned to prostitution.
Maxine, 27, a three-year veteran of Fife Avenue, said the new arrivals were reckless. 'They are hot hot, chilli chilli, all in a rush. But they don't last, they die fast.' Official figures show that 24.6 per cent of the adult population is infected with HIV, one of the highest rates in the world. Ncube said she preferred to use a condom but admitted the competition for customers - and frequent demand for unprotected sex - could weaken her resolve. 'What else can I do? Go out and demonstrate against the government? Demand change?' The notion made her laugh.
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From Zim Online (SA), 18 October
Menashe paid a whopping US$2 million to trap Tsvangirai
Harare - The Zimbabwe government paid Canada-based political consultant Ari Ben Menashe nearly US$2 million to frame up opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai for treason, ZimOnline has established. The bid to incriminate Tsvangirai collapsed last Friday when Judge President Paddington Garwe ruled that the state had failed to prove that the opposition leader plotted to assassinate President Robert Mugabe ahead of the 2002 presidential election. According to figures shown to ZimOnline, the government in early 2000 paid Menashe's Montreal-based political consultancy firm, Dickens and Madson, US$1 615 000, which is enough to build five primary schools in Zimbabwe. The money was paid through the government's secret service, the Central Intelligence Organisation, and was ostensibly for public relations work which Dickens and Madson was to do for the government in Canada and the United States. But intelligence sources yesterday said the money was for Menashe and his company to entrap Tsvangirai. "The payment was for Menashe to work out and implement a solid trap that would ensure Tsvangirai could be successfully tried and convicted of high treason," said one intelligence official, who did not want to be named. The state paid out another US$200 000 in early 2002 to Menashe for his role as the prosecution's star witness in the trial of Tsvangirai.
The government also paid several hundreds of thousands of dollars more on the upkeep of Menashe while in Harare and for his travels to and from Canada during the year-long trial. Menashe, who is accused of conning the Zambian government of millions of dollars and was described in one US Congress report as a "talented liar," was treated like a head of state during his stay in Harare. He was provided with five bodyguards who watched over him round the clock. The government also hired the Harare Sheraton hotel's presidential suite for Menashe. The suite located on the hotel's 17th floor costs about US$900 a night and boasts of two spacious lounges, separate dining areas and a kitchenette. The suite has individually-controlled air conditioning, sound proof windows, an international direct dial phone with voice mail as well as the customary satellite television. It also offers free internet surfing, private check in and check check out, free massaging, free tea and coffee throughout the day among other services. The government coughed up US$39 600 to cover Menashe's stay and other costs at the Sheraton. Menashe, whom Tsvangirai had also attempted to hire as a political consultant for his Movement for Democratic Change party, video-taped a meeting he held with the opposition leader where he allegedly sought help to murder Mugabe. Garwe, who described Menashe as "rude and unreliable," said the tape did not show any evidence that Tsvangirai had sought help to assassinate Mugabe.
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From The Guardian (UK), 18 October
Police raze war veterans' farms as fresh land evictions rock Zimbabwe
President Mugabe's Zanu PF party accused of cronyism after invasion of settlements
Rory Carroll in Trelawney
They were feted by Robert Mugabe as patriots and pioneers in a radical redistribution of land to redress colonial injustice. But the war veterans who ousted white farmers have now themselves been invaded. Last month, police units fanned across Trelawney, a rural district outside the capital, Harare, and erased settlements with matches and mallets. The devastation starts just north of Harare and stretches for mile after mile with hundreds of homes wrecked, fields scorched and families gone, leaving the landscape silent and empty. "Now we are in the position the white farmer was. The authorities used us," Richard Mapuringa, 33, said last week, sifting through the ruins of his house. Across Trelawney and other districts there were thousands like him, angry and confused over livelihoods reduced to ashes and a promise betrayed. No official explanation was given for the evictions, but the suspicion was that senior figures in the ruling Zanu PF party wanted to claim the farms, which had names such as Little England, for themselves. "You can't accept a government that does this," said Mr Mapuringa.
But it seems Zimbabweans do accept a government that does this and worse. Inflation exceeds 300%, unemployment tops 70%, decent food is unaffordable for many, freedom of speech and assembly have been crushed and a repressive law muzzling civil society is on the way. Parliamentary elections are due next March but instead of fighting for survival, the party that has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980 is expected to coast to victory. Last year's general strike has not been repeated and protest rallies have not materialised. "Mugabe is more secure in power now than before," said one western diplomat, referring to the country's president. A sullen, resigned mood reigns in Zimbabwe. Since narrowly losing elections in 2000 and 2002, which international observers deemed rigged, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has floundered. Broke, exhausted and traduced by the media, the party has no way of combating the government's ability to pay the forgers and bully opponents. "We are cracking under the strain," said one MP. Non-g |
