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Archived News
20th January 2004
MDC Weekly Briefing Note for the 12th January 2004
MDC Gutu North candidate survives ambush
MDC Weekly Briefing Note for the 19th January 2004
Chiyangwa spends fourth night in custody
Three FML executives arrested
Zimbabwe 'apologist' cracks the whip
Judge to deliver Mugabe arrest verdict
Zimbabwean minister's SA getaway up for sale
Anthrax outbreak continues
Of soil, but robbed of birthright
More media arrests in Zimbabwe
ENG saga: Legislator Chiyangwa denied bail
Mugabe arrest bid fails
New call to strip Mugabe of knighthood
Resettled Zim farmers create 4000 jobs
Cholera crisis not yet over
ENG cars suspicious
Zanu PF heads for split over Chiyangwa
Zim paper manager walks free
Another crack-down against illegal immigrants
Mouthpiece of Mugabe loses des res
A weekend as Mugabe's guests
Top official granted bail in corruption case
Chiyangwa caught in Zanu PF power play
Vote Zanu PF, or lose your house
Political violence on the rise
Mugabe had pledged not to arrest journos
UN joins forces with US to prevent water-borne disease in Zimbabwe's capital
Moyo's Jo'burg mansion to be auctioned
Zim lawmaker appeals to supreme court
Mpofu/Mandaza in war of words over land
European parliament criticises sanctions failure
Opposition sees terror ahead of Gutu North poll
Ncube urges Mugabe to retire
Hell in the cells of Harare Central
Chiyangwa splits Zanu PF, Mash West to stage protests
Zanu PF split as Mugabe cracks down
Zivhu threatens to spill the beans
Zanu PF thugs mount terror campaign in Gutu North
Zimbabwe treason trial to resume
Moyo owes Adjovi $60 million for Miss Malaika 2002
Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai takes stand in treason trial
Tsvangirai takes the stand in treason trial
Key file goes missing from Deeds Office
Zimbabwe's Cottco in graft probe
Lambs to the slaughter
Government committed to supporting sport - president
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From The Herald, 14 January
Chiyangwa spends fourth night in custody
Court Reporters
Chinhoyi Member of Parliament and Harare businessman Philip Chiyangwa yesterday spent yet another night in remand prison after Harare magistrate Ms Sukai Tongogara said she would only be in a position to make her ruling on his bail application today. Chiyangwa faces three criminal charges, including that of obstructing the course of justice, contempt of court and perjury. Ms Tongogara said she needed time to scrutinise the defence and State submissions before making a ruling. Earlier on Ms Tongogara dismissed an application made by the defence on Monday night not to hear the State case which alleged the State had approached the court with "dirty or filthy" hands. Advocate Happias Zhou instructed by Mr Lloyd Mhishi and Abraham Maguchu of Dube, Manikai and Hwacha Legal Practitioners, for Chiyangwa, in that application said the State had disobeyed a superior court that granted an order for their client’s release. "It is a misdirection on the part of the defence to say the State came to court with dirty hands, accused can be placed on remand to make a fresh bail application," said Ms Tongogara. Adv Zhou said the court could grant his client bail as there was no need to fear that he might abscond because he appeared on the list of Government officials on a European travel ban list. He argued that the case was politically driven and the kind of politics in the matter was intra-party politics as opposed to inter-party politics. "It is an issue related to succession, there may be some senior people who wish to eliminate others for their political advantage," said Advocate Zhou.
The court that was supposed to sit earlier in the morning was delayed, as Chiyangwa had to be given food and take some medication. The courtroom was fully packed by journalists, the MP’s friends, relatives and other sympathisers. Riot police had to ask some people to leave the courtroom. Chiyangwa, clad in prison garb, had resigned to his fate and looked tired and wasted. Occasionally he held his clean-shaven head with both hands and looked up to the courtroom’s high ceiling and at times made fixed gazes to the people in the gallery. Advocate Zhou also said there was no way Chiyangwa could abscond because he was a prominent businessman with assets in the country, a family man and a legislator who had a constituency to take care of. He said Chiyangwa suffered from hypertension and an affidavit by his doctor, a Mr E. Mugabe, confirming Chiyangwa depended on medication daily to keep his condition under check was produced. "I will urge the court to heavily lean in favour of liberty of the accused by granting him bail and if granted, I will suggest $1 million and whatever reporting conditions the court might see fit," said Advocate Zhou.
The State represented by chief law officer Mr Stephen Musona strongly opposed bail saying it was likely that the accused might interfere with evidence. "This has been shown by continuing with this offence of defeating or obstructing the course of justice. "This is clearly shown by that apart from his own case, accused is here for interfering with the ENG matter," said Mr Musona. He said Chiyangwa tried to hide vehicles belonging to ENG Capital Asset Management Company and misinformed police about the collapsed company’s assets. "This clearly shows that the accused doesn’t want to see justice being done in the ENG case. He has no respect for law enforcing agents." Mr Musona said there was nothing political about Chiyangwa’s arrest but simply that he had committed crimes. Chiyangwa, said Mr Musona, should have known that by lying to the court, he would be arrested. Asked by Ms Tongogara how long Chiyangwa should be in custody, Mr Musona said the police were still investigating the ENG saga and that would take up to a month. That attracted an echo of disgruntlement from the gallery where Mt Darwin MP and Chiyangwa’s friend Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, Zupco boss Mr Bright Matonga and scores of Chiyangwa’s relatives sat. Ms Tongogara is expected to make her ruling today.
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From The Herald, 14 January
Three FML executives arrested
Herald Reporter
Three First Mutual Limited asset management executives have been arrested as investigations into the company’s link with ENG Capital Asset Management firm widen. Police chief spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena yesterday said police had arrested FML asset management company’s managing director, Godfery Jowa, treasury executive Oliver Kamudimu and finance executive Simba Dodzo. Police have established that the three executives who would be charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act were allegedly instrumental in fraudulently facilitating a $42 billion investment injected into ENG last month. Last week FML chief executive Mr Norman Sachikonye had said his company had been duped into investing $27 billion into ENG. He also denied there were executives who had borrowed $5 billion each saying it was a vehicle they had used to buy shares. Police however later discovered some directors got $10 billion in kickbacks. Serious crime investigating officers yesterday said the three FML directors allegedly connived with ENG directors Nyasha Watyoka and Gilbert Muponda after their proposal to invest in the asset management company was turned down. They allegedly planned to have the transactions made to look as if it was a deal with Century Discount House.
ENG bought Century Discount House from Century Holdings but was still to change the name of the finance house. "It is not yet clear whether some top officials were not aware they were dealing with a company they had turned down," a senior police officer said. "We are still to establish how much they benefited but the amount is over $10 billion," the officer said. FML group corporate affairs executive Ms Ruth Ncube confirmed the transactions with ENG had not been authorised. "We have engaged our lawyers to recover the money due to us. The prospects of recovery are good and assets have been identified from which recoveries would be made," she said. Last week three other FML employees that included the company’s accountant, supervisor and a purchase dealer were picked up for questioning. They were quizzed over dealings between FML and ENG. ENG directors Watyoka and Muponda were last week remanded in custody on fraud allegations after the firm failed to pay investors $61 billion they had invested in the asset management company.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 13 January
Zimbabwe 'apologist' cracks the whip
Harare - A day after a Zimbabwean editor and two reporters were released from jail, they found themselves threatened by the government again, this time for alleged racism. A letter from Tafataona Mahoso, the head of the Media Commission which is the government's press control body, accused the privately owned Zimbabwe Independent weekly of racism after the newspaper published a letter saying Zimbabweans were as docile as "a herd of wild beasts". He said the letter was "typical of the worst expressions of racism from the former slave territories of the United States, from apartheid South Africa, and from the days of (white minority) Rhodesia". Mahoso, whose organisation controls the licences for journalists to practise, said: "All publishers and editors in Zimbabwe should consider this statement as a warning to them as well, and not just to the Zimbabwe Independent."
Independent editor Iden Wetherell said that Mahoso's threat was linked to the commission's ability to "manipulate the issue of licences to journalists". On Monday Wetherell and reporters Dumisani Muleya and Vincent Kahiya were released on bail after being accused of "criminal defamation" for a report last week that said President Robert Mugabe had "commandeered" one of the national airline's planes to take him on holiday to the Far East. Wetherell said he rejected the charges and would mount a "very robust defence" to the case against them. The letter denounced by Mahoso, signed apparently by a black Zimbabwean, said Zimbabweans were "a stupid lot" and compared them to "a herd of wild beasts" who stand and watch while one of their number is caught and killed by pride of lions. The letter was complaining about Zimbabweans' failure to defend themselves against the repression of Mugabe's regime. Mahoso said the alleged racism in the letter was "absolute and sweeping."
Wetherell said: "We do not accept his view that writers are necessarily being racist when they say Zimbabweans are docile in standing up to tyranny. That is a view in the national discourse, whether we as a society are doing enough to fight the depredations of the Zimbabwe regime. "Mahoso is an apologist to the regime and he won't allow criticism of the regime. He is dressing it up as racism." He referred to a recent report by the Media Monitoring Project in Zimbabwe last month that accused the government media of "hate mongering" and "inciting violence," and said they were was copying of the propaganda strategy of Radio Machete, the "hate" radio station in the Rwanda genocide in 1994. "It is shocking that Mahoso has never acted on these issues, or on the unprofessionalism of the state media," he said.
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From Reuters, 14 January
Judge to deliver Mugabe arrest verdict
London - A judge is expected to give his verdict today on an application by a rights activist for the arrest of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe whom he compares to international pariahs like Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and Augusto Pinochet. Veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell asked the court last week to issue an arrest warrant and extradition order for Mugabe on the grounds of torture. "Mugabe must be nervous about the outcome. He sent his representatives to the court last Wednesday to monitor the case," said Tatchell, who in 2001 was beaten by bodyguards as he tried to make a citizen's arrest on Mugabe in Belgium. Tatchell told Bow Street Magistrates' Court last week that serving leaders should not be immune from prosecution - as stated in current international law - and cited the indictment of Milosevic, ex-leader of the former Yugoslavia, and the two "assassination" attempts by coalition forces on Saddam during the Iraq war. He also quoted the 1998 case of former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet, who was held in London, but eventually released, on charges from a Spanish judge of torture and murder. The case against Mugabe, which Tatchell backed with signed affidavits from two men who said they were tortured by Mugabe's regime, has no chance in Zimbabwe because of "the current climate of state-sponsored terror," he said. Godfrey Magwenzi, deputy head of the Zimbabwe High Commission in London, has dismissed Tatchell as an "attention seeker". "We will not dignify this case with a comment," he told Reuters after last week's court hearing. Lambasted by the West over human rights and democracy, the 79-year-old Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its 1980 independence from Britain, claims London is spearheading an international "racist" witch-hunt against him.
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From SABC News, 13 January
Zimbabwean minister's SA getaway up for sale
A house in South Africa belonging to Jonathan Moyo, the Zimbabwean Information Minister, will be auctioned off at the end of this month. This follows a Johannesburg High Court order. The house is situated in Saxonwold, Johannesburg. The minister is in arrears with his bond repayments to Nedbank. The bank is mum over the exact amount. The house has four bedrooms, and is valued at a couple of million. Moyo also owes money to a South African television production company.
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From IRIN (UN), 13 January
Anthrax outbreak continues
Harare - Three people have died and close to 200 have been infected by an outbreak of anthrax as Zimbabwe struggles to contain the disease, which affects both humans and cattle. The outbreak, at present confined to the southeastern province of Masvingo, has so far affected 191 people and caused the deaths of more than 60 head of cattle since it emerged last month. Masvingo provincial medical director, Tapiwa Magure, said the largest number of people affected was recorded last week with 50 new infections. "The number of cases of anthrax affecting people continues to rise at alarming levels. We are also concerned about the effect it is having on livestock," he was quoted as saying. The causative agent of anthrax is the bacterium, bacillus anthracis, the spores of which can survive in the environment for years. Humans generally acquire the disease directly or indirectly from infected animals. Control in livestock is therefore the key to reduced incidence, according to the World Health Organisation.
The veterinary services department had launched a vaccination exercise in the province to try and contain the disease, while awareness campaigns had been launched. "We have dispatched more officials to Bikita, the hardest hit district in the province, to try and contain the disease," Magure said. Zimbabwe's lack of foreign exchange to buy the vaccines had hampered the government's efforts to control anthrax, as well as an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that was threatening the country's beef industry. Lucrative beef exports to the European Union were suspended in 2001 after the first signs of a serious FMD outbreak. Agriculture minister Joseph Made and the director of veterinary services have reportedly travelled to Iran to source anthrax and FMD vaccines. The outbreaks have been linked to the uncontrolled movement of cattle by new settlers benefiting from the government's land redistribution programme. "There is no way cattle diseases can fail to thrive when cattle are being moved without permits from one part of the country to another," said a senior official in the veterinary department, who preferred anonymity.
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From The Star (SA), 13 January
Of soil, but robbed of birthright
By Allister Sparks.
Meet Judy Todd, an icon of our sub-continent who has just been robbed of her birthright. Judy was born in Zimbabwe in 1943 and spent most of her adult life engaged in the titanic struggle for her country's independence. She was among those who joyously celebrated when President Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980. Now, in one of its more egregious acts, the Mugabe government has stripped Todd of her citizenship. Just as the old apartheid regime did to so many black South Africans, it has turned her into a statutory foreigner in the land of her birth. The reason? She has become critical of the government's human rights abuses. It is President Thabo Mbeki's belief that the only reason there is such a global outcry over Zimbabwe is because a few whites have been hurt. He believes the Western world has been relatively indifferent to the suffering of millions of black people in other African countries, but injustices inflicted on a handful of whites in Zimbabwe has thrown the West into a frenzy, with demands that he should do something about it. He sees this as racist and it angers him. I expect therefore that he will see my outrage at what has been done to Todd in the same light. No doubt there is a grain of truth in Mbeki's complaint, certainly as far as the British media is concerned. But the trouble with his perception is that it blinds him to the fact that what is happening in Zimbabwe goes far beyond injuring a few whites. It is the unfolding of a major African tragedy in which a once prosperous country - an African success story - is being wilfully vandalised.
The same with Todd. Yes, she is white (though that in itself should not be of concern to a party founded on the principle of non-racialism), but what has been done to her is also being done to many others who are not white. It is part of a major act of political "cleansing". At least 2-million Zimbabweans are first-generation citizens whose parents came from Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi to work on Zimbabwe's prosperous commercial farms and in its mines. With Mugabe's destruction of the economy, these people have lost their jobs - and not surprisingly many have become supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. In a move clearly aimed at disenfranchising them, the Mugabe government passed a Citizenship Act three years ago to force anyone entitled to a second citizenship, by birth or ancestry, to renounce it or be stripped of their Zimbabwe citizenship. Todd's father, Sir Garfield Todd, was one of the first victims. Sir Garfield was himself a towering figure in the Zimbabwe struggle, an implacable enemy of Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government. He was born in New Zealand and came to what was then Southern Rhodesia as a 23-year-old missionary in 1934. With his wife Grace they threw themselves into hands-on missionary work, building schools, teaching and helping to improve agricultural methods among the peasantry. They came to know many of the bright young people who later formed the core of the independence movement - among them Ndabaningi Sithole, first leader of the Zanu party, and Mugabe himself, who got his first job as a teacher in one of Todd's schools. Todd entered politics in 1948 as the most liberal member of the ruling United Rhodesia Party (URP). When the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was formed four years later, most senior members of the URP moved into federal government, leaving Todd to take over as prime minister of Southern Rhodesia.
But he was far too liberal for the conservative white Rhodesians and was ousted by Edgar Whitehead. Then in 1960 Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front swept the URP into oblivion. The long, hard years of the war of independence followed, during which Todd identified with and gave covert assistance to many of the black nationalists. Smith detained and house-arrested him. When Mugabe came to power in 1980, he promptly recognised Todd's long commitment to the struggle by making him a senator, saying he wanted "those who had dishonoured him see him being honoured". Six years later Mugabe supported a further honour when the Queen knighted Todd. But when Sir Garfield became critical of Mugabe's policies in recent years, the president invoked his new law to strip him of his citizenship and his vote on the eve of the 2002 presidential election. He died that year. Judy Todd is very much her father's daughter. Soft-spoken and seemingly reserved, she is in fact tough and indomitable. When Smith detained her father, she abandoned her journalism studies at New York's Columbia University and returned to Rhodesia at the age of 22 to become an activist in her jailed father's place. She too was imprisoned, thrown into the maximum security section of a male prison. She promptly went on a hunger strike. When efforts to force feed her caused her to lose consciousness and come close to death it made world headlines. Judy Todd not only lent support to the liberation movements of her own country but had strong links with members of the ANC. When our own time for change came, she was a member of the Commonwealth observer team at our historic 1994 election. But, as with her father, the Mugabe regime found her criticisms of its abuses unacceptable. In 2001 the Registrar-General of Citizenship, Tobaiwa Mudede, refused to renew her passport on the grounds that her father's birth in New Zealand gave her a right to that country's citizenship.
Todd challenged the ruling and in May 2002 the High Court ordered Mudede to renew her passport. Instead Mudede appealed to the Supreme Court, which by that time had been "cleansed" with the appointment of new politically compliant judges. In February 2002 the Supreme Court handed down a judgment saying Todd was a citizen of both Zimbabwe and New Zealand. "For the avoidance of doubt," the convoluted judgment added, "the respondent has two days within which to renounce her New Zealand citizenship. In the event of her failure to do so, she will lose her Zimbabwean citizenship." Todd did what she was ordered, but the New Zealand authorities responded that since she had never claimed New Zealand citizenship they could not help her renounce what she did not have.As her temporary passport expired, Todd found herself stranded in Bulawayo with no citizenship and no travel documents. Her lawyers took up the matter with the minister, deputy minister and permanent secretary of home affairs, but to no avail. Eventually, exhausted and exasperated, Todd did what she had long vowed she would not do. She applied for a New Zealand passport last month. So she is now a foreigner in her own country. Robbed of her birthright, as thousands more will be of theirs.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 14 January
More media arrests in Zimbabwe
Riaan Wolmorans and agencies
Johannesburg - Another journalist and a senior media executive have been arrested in Zimbabwe. Raphael Khumalo, general manager of the privately owned Zimbabwe Independent, and reporter Itai Dzamara were arrested on Wednesday after police requested their presence for questioning and to make statements, said Linda Cook, Khumalo's lawyer, during a brief telephonic interview with the Mail & Guardian Online.The men were arrested over the newspaper's report last week that President Robert Mugabe had "commandeered" an aircraft of the national airline to take him on holiday. Dzamara was one of the two authors of the report. The other, Dumisani Muleya, was arrested last week with Zimbabwe Independent editor Iden Wetherell and news editor Vincent Kahiya, and released on bail on Monday after being held for a weekend in police cells. Cook said that Khumalo was arrested as a company representative and not in his personal capacity. She said the two men might not be held in jail, though.
Wetherell said: "They went down to central police station at about 10am. They knew what they were in for. I think it's a case of police tidying up the case [following his own arrest]." Trevor Ncube, owner of the Zimbabwe Independent and the Zimbabwe Standard, told the M&G Online: "It has become clear to all of us that the media in Zimbabwe is under siege. The current unwarranted action on the Zimbabwe Independent must be of grave concern to all those who value press freedom. "I am concerned that with the Daily News out of the way, the government's focus is now on my two newspapers, the Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard. We are determined to resist these acts of harassment and intimidation." Ncube is also the majority owner of M&G Media, the holding company that publishes the M&G Online.
Wetherell, Kahiya and Muleya were granted bail of Z$20 000 by Harare magistrate Kudzai Tongogara. They appeared on charges of "criminal defamation" against Mugabe. The three men were not asked to plead and were ordered to appear in court again on January 29. A high court judge on January 9 ordered the government and police to lift an illegal four-month ban on the Daily News, the country's critical daily voice, but the paper has not resumed publishing. Earlier, a Zimbabwe court in the southwestern city of Bulawayo ruled the Daily News could resume publishing but Jonathan Moyo, Zimbabwe's Information Minister, opposed the judgement, saying it had "no practical force". The Daily News was shut down by armed police in September after the Supreme Court ruled it was operating illegally by not being registered with the state-appointed media commission.
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From The Herald, 15 January
ENG saga: Legislator Chiyangwa denied bail
Herald Reporter
Businessman Philip Chiyangwa was yesterday denied bail and remanded in custody to January 28. In her ruling, Harare magistrate Miss Sukai Tongogara said the State’s submissions that Chiyangwa could interfere with witnesses if granted bail were valid. "There is a real likelihood the accused might interfere with State witnesses. He has earlier on threatened a police officer and therefore the State’s worries are real," said Ms Tongogara. She said police investigations in the ENG saga were still going on and some of the collapsed company’s assets were yet to be recovered although some vehicles had been found at Chiyangwa’s home. The businessman, an outspoken champion of black economic empowerment, faces three criminal charges - obstructing the course of justice, contempt of court and perjury. The charges arose after ENG Asset Management Company - owned or partly owned by directors Gilbert Muponda and Nyasha Watyoka - collapsed after failing to account for $61 billion in investor funds.
Chiyangwa admitted in court to having tried to assist the two youthful directors but the State said he had been untruthful in his evidence. Some luxury vehicles were recovered by police from his house and other properties owned by the businessman, who is also MP for Chinhoyi and Zanu PF chairman for Mashonaland West. He was named in court last week as having interests in ENG. His lawyer, Advocate Happias Zhou, had urged the court to grant Chiyangwa bail saying he had numerous assets in the country, was a family man and was among Government and Zanu PF officials barred from travelling to the European Union. The courtroom was packed with journalists, Chiyangwa’s relatives and sympathisers. Ms Tongogara asked prison guards why Chiyangwa, who was dressed in a dark suit and a checked shirt with a snow-white collar, had been brought to court in his own clothes. She however, did not wait for their response and continued to deliver her judgment. There was dead silence in the courtroom after Ms Tongogara denied the legislator bail and some relatives wept openly outside the courtroom. Adv Zhou said he would appeal against the magistrate’s ruling in the High Court and would file his papers today.
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From The Guardian (UK), 15 January
Mugabe arrest bid fails
Tania Branigan
An application for a warrant to arrest and extradite the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, on torture charges was rejected by a British court yesterday. The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said he had hoped to bring President Mugabe to justice through the British courts under international human rights laws because his repressive regime protected him from prosecution at home. Mr Tatchell had cited the example of the former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, who was arrested when he visited Britain for an operation in 1998. But District Judge Timothy Workman, sitting at Bow Street magistrates court in London, said he could not issue a warrant because the president had absolute immunity to prosecution as a head of state. "Whilst international law evolves over a period of time, international customary law, which is embodied in our Common Law, provides absolute immunity to any head of state," he said. "I am satisfied that Robert Mugabe is president and head of state of Zimbabwe and is entitled whilst he is head of state to that immunity." Had the warrant been granted, the Zimbabwean leader could have been extradited to Britain from more than 100 countries. Mr Tatchell, who has tried to carry out a citizen's arrest on the president, said the judgment denied justice to thousands of Zimbabweans and allowed heads of state to torture with impunity. "What is the point of having laws against torture if the main abusers, heads of state, are exempt from prosecution?" he asked.
Robert Mugabe
Mr Tatchell has most thoroughly and carefully prepared this application for a warrant for the arrest of Robert Mugabe on allegations of torture in Zimbabwe. He has provided me with a wealth of information both factually and on issues of international law. I have read Mr Tatchell’s submission and the supporting documentation. I have also considered the case of Pinochet and the International Court of Justice ruling in The Democratic Republic of Congo versus Belgium including the separate and dissenting opinions in that case.
The issue to which I have directed my mind is whether President Mugabe has immunity from prosecution as a Head of State. It is accepted that he is presently the Head of State of Zimbabwe. Me Tatchell has argues persuasively that the doctrine of State immunity is not one which sites comfortably with the State’s obligation under International law to prosecute grave crimes of universal jurisdiction. Mr Tatchell has sought to persuade me that the principal of universal jurisdiction should be extended to override the immunity afforded to a Head of State.
Whilst International law evolves over a period of time international customary law which is embodied in our Common Law currently provides absolute immunity to any Head of State. In addition to the Common Law our State Immunity Act of 1978 which extends the Diplomatic Privileges Act of 1964 provides for immunity from the criminal jurisdiction for any Head of State. I am satisfied that Robert Mugabe is President and Head of State of Zimbabwe and is entitled whilst he is Head of State to that immunity. He is not liable to any form of arrest or detention and I am therefore unable to issue the warrant that has been applied for.
Tim Workman, Senior District Judge, 14th January 2004
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From The Scotsman (UK), 14 January
New call to strip Mugabe of knighthood
By Anthony Looch, Lords Staff, PA News
A Foreign Office Minister today sympathised with a demand that Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe should be stripped of his knighthood. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean said she found it difficult that he continued to hold his knighthood. She was replying to a call from Tory ex-Foreign Office Minister Lord Blaker at Lords’ question time. Baroness Symons said: "I have a great deal of sympathy with your point, but we have done our best to avoid making the argument with Mr Mugabe a personal one between him and the UK. "He never misses a single opportunity to point to the UK’s actions as being the actions of a colonial power directed against him. We want to avoid that but I find it very difficult that he continues to hold a knighthood." She added: "It has not been easy to persuade some of the nations belonging to the UN over the appropriate measures against Zimbabwe, in the form of condemnatory resolutions. "Anything that can be done should be done, to internationalise action so that we are not put into the position, which Mr Mugabe desperately wants us to be in, of being the lead nation, making this a black versus white argument, which it emphatically is not." Prime Minister Tony Blair said last month he would look at withdrawing the honorary title.
Tory frontbench spokesman Lord Howell of Guildford expressed concern over the financial crises in Zimbabwe. He said inflation there was running at between 600 and 1,000%, interest rates were at 450% and a number of banks were unable to honour cheques issued. "What are the next steps we are going to take, to rescue the people of Zimbabwe?" he asked. Lady Symons replied: "The economic situation is desperate. The most recent inflation figure is 620%, and unemployment stands at between 70 and 80% - this in a country which used to be the bread-basket of southern Africa. "These are truly appalling conditions which Mr Mugabe has inflicted on his country. "We are providing more money for emergency food programmes, and have given about £62 million over the past three years. But we do look to the international community and for pressure to be brought through the countries of the Commonwealth, who possibly have more influence than we do."
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From Business Day (SA), 14 January
Resettled Zim farmers create 4000 jobs
Maputo - White Zimbabwean commercial farmers have created more than 4,000 jobs in neighbouring Mozambique, where they settled after being ousted from their land back home, a regional governor said. "The Zimbabwean farmers with about 1,000 hectares (2,400 acres) of land each have so far generated a total of 4,118 new jobs," Soares Nhaca, governor of the central Mozambican province of Manica, where the farmers settled, said. Nhaca said there about 100 Zimbabwean farmers in the fertile districts of Manica province, growing traditional cash crops such as tobacco, cotton and maize. Most of the new jobs are in tobacco farms, the governor said, adding that some farmers also grew mangoes and millet for export to South Africa. The majority of the Zimbabwean commercial farmers have been allotted land in the two districts of Barue and Sussundenga, near the border with Zimbabwe. Mozambique has taken a cautious approach to requests from white farmers for land, hoping to avoid replicating Zimbabwe's inequitable pattern of land ownership, in which the tiny white minority owned more than one-quarter of the nation's land. In 2000, the Zimbabwean government accelerated a land reform programme, under which land was seized from white farmers and redistributed to landless blacks. Since then, more than three-quarters of Zimbabwe's 4,500 white commercial farmers have been expropriated of some 11 million hectares (26 million acres). All land in Mozambique belongs to the state and cannot be sold. The constitution only allows land to be leased. Manica province, which borders Zimbabwe, is the most sought after by foreign farmers. Governor Nhaca said his government has also received land requests from South African farmers. The whole of central and northern Mozambique possesses land with almost the same characteristics as those in Manica, good soil and climate.
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From IRIN (UN), 14 January
Cholera crisis not yet over
Johannesburg - Save the Children-UK (SC-UK) has warned that although a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley appears to have abated, the rainy season could lead to a resurgence of the disease nationwide. "One of the main lessons that we learnt from the cholera outbreak in November and December, that affected about 900 people and left nearly 40 dead, was that we were all unprepared. If cholera was to appear in another part of the country tomorrow, I am not sure that collectively we would be able to respond as effectively and promptly as we should," SC-UK country programme director, Chris McIvor, said in a statement. SC-UK, which runs humanitarian programmes in the Zambezi Valley, said assessments carried out in the area indicated that poverty and very low water and sanitation coverage were major contributing factors, especially in the worst-affected wards of Mola and Marembera. Research suggests there are only 11 latrines for a population of 10,000 people, which translates roughly into 1,000 people per toilet. In both wards the availability of clean water and access to it was also critical, with many wells having collapsed years ago and the only two boreholes providing water unable to meet the needs of the communities.
"We have had diarrhoea and dysentery before, but not cholera. We knew it could happen because there are no toilets here people use the bush as a toilet," the SC-UK statement quoted Misheck Madoro of Marembera village in Nyaminyami as saying. "We have a serious water problem. People get their water from springs, hand-dug wells or rivers there are very few boreholes." As a result of the rainy season, the concern is that more cholera cases will emerge. "It is clear that the overall downward trend in delivery of public health services, coupled with a lack of sanitation and poor coverage of safe potable water in some rural areas, contributes to a risk that cholera will occur again," said McIvor. "We are also worried that people in these communities are very mobile, and there is a high risk that cholera can spread from one ward to another." The UK's Department for International Development has provided SC-UK with extra funding for its programme supporting cholera-affected people and local health structures. It will enable SC-UK to maintain a stock of emergency cholera supplies to help deal with further cholera outbreaks, as well as provide training and support to local NGOs and government departments in cholera prevention and control.
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From The Herald, 16 January
ENG cars suspicious
By Tsitsi Matope
Police suspect most of the 30 vehicles impounded following the arrest of businessman Philip Chiyangwa and two directors of ENG Capital Asset Management may have been stolen or were smuggled into Zimbabwe. As three more posh vehicles were recovered yesterday, bringing the total seized in the case to 30, special investigation officers from the Southerton Police Vehicle Theft Squad and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officials found strong evidence that some chassis numbers had been tampered with. Some chassis numbers had been rubbed off while other identification numbers engraved on windows were tampered with. A BMW Z4 and a BMWX5 both shared the same registration number, 836-626A. An official from Zimra said there had been cases of people importing the latest model vehicles evading duty by using old registration numbers. Zimra officials were expected to ensure that all vehicles imported into the country were brought in lawfully, and the investigation is likely to now widen to include those who let the cars through.
Specialists from the Southerton Vehicle Theft Squad said some chassis tags that should have been stencilled or done through computerised punching were suspiciously marked while some figures were not clear, that was unlikely with new cars. In some cases two differently numbered tags were detected on a single vehicle. "Usually numbers on Toyota Prados are so visible that one does not have to get a light to see them. I wonder why these ones are not clear," a police officer said indicating some numbers. Most of the vehicles were recovered from the homes of Watyoka, Muponda and Chiyangwa or from the houses of their friends and relatives or from garages of acquaintances. One of the cars, a unique Cayenne S from Germany, which is believed to be one of the only three in Africa, had two different chassis numbers. "There definitely is an anomaly with this unique car," said an officer from the Vehicle Theft Squad (VTS). The vehicle is one of those the officers want a specialised mechanic to examine. He would be able to unseal the engine and detect other functions in the absence of a manual.
Police also had problems trying to examine a metallic BMW 530d with seats that can be adjusted into different shapes. "We understand there are only 50 cars of this type in the whole world and most of them are found in some oil-rich Arab countries. We are not able to probe this one further as it is complicated. Even with the keys some drivers won’t drive it." A senior police officer said some of the vehicles’ systems were down since they had no fuel. They had failed to drive one of the cars into the workshop owing to its complicated alarm system. VTS officers said they were checking across the world to ensure that the cars were not listed as stolen. The vehicles are suspected to have been bought with large sums of foreign currency acquired and exported outside the laid-down systems.
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From The Financial Gazette, 15 January
Zanu PF heads for split over Chiyangwa
Cyril Zenda
The humiliating arrest of Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman Phillip Chiyangwa at the weekend could further split the ruling party right through the middle at a crucial moment when it is trying to ward off a threat posed by the opposition. Chiyangwa’s defence lawyers have already inferred that the arrest of the larger than life character and self-proclaimed black indigenisation guru could be the work of their client’ s political foes, coming as it did after Acting President Joseph Msika had hit out at the legislator’s behaviour in court. The boisterous Chiyangwa, with egg on his face, may want to settle his scores and regain the political ground that could have been lost, which could cause a major rift within Zanu PF ahead of the crucial 2005 parliamentary elections. As a Zanu PF provincial chairman, Chiyangwa is seen as an influential party cadre in the dicey debate to choose President Robert Mugabe’s successor ahead of the expiry of the Zimbabwean leader’s term of office in 2008. Chiyangwa’s economic muscle and his fearless character could be another added advantage amid rumours that the legislator had already aligned himself with Emmerson Mnangagwa’s camp. Mnangagwa, who is already being touted among President Mugabe’s possible successors, is Zanu PF’s secretary for administration and Speaker of Parliament. Mnangagwa’s faction is pitted against other equally powerful factions from the Manicaland, Mashonaland Central and Masvingo provinces.
In an unprecedented move, police arrested Chiyangwa, who is also the Member of Parliament for Chinhoyi, on charges of trying to defeat the course of justice resulting from his involvement in the ENG Capital Asset Management debacle. Chiyangwa allegedly tried to protect the youthful ENG directors - Nyasha Watyoka and Gilbert Muponda - who are facing several counts of defrauding investors of about $61 billion. Police, who, previously hardly take action against any ruling Zanu PF officials, moved in quickly to arrest the legislator shortly after Msika hinted that the government would deal with wayward politicians abusing their influence and powers. Analysts said the latest developments could also be a result of growing factionalism within the party, worsened by the contentious succession issue. Most of the factions in Zanu PF are set up along ethnic, tribal and regional lines. "There could be some witch-hunting of some sort that could be taking place among some influential people from different factions within the party," said political analyst Ernest Mudzengi. Chiyangwa comes from Zvimba in Mashonaland West, President Mugabe’s home area. Political analysts this week said it was too early to deduce what President Mugabe’s government and party may be driving at, but warned that any purge within both the party and the government could violently split the party along geo-ethnic lines. The analysts said although Zanu PF could gain some political mileage from being seen as applying the law evenly across the political divide, the arrest and arraignment before the courts of influential ruling party officials could open a Pandora’s Box that could have consequences on the 40-year-old party.
"One cannot really say what is happening in Zanu PF," said Mudzengi. "We don ’t know whether this is the beginning of the events of the likes of Willowgate or it is just a window-dressing act? One can just see it as a comic theatre taking place." Willowgate refers to the 1989 motor vehicle scandal at the Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries which ended the political careers of several Cabinet ministers who were found to have been abusing a ministerial car-buying facility. University of Zimbabwe lecturer and chairman of the Zimbabwe Integrated Programme, Heneri Dzinotyiwei, said it was difficult to say whether the latest events could be the beginning of a clean up against government and ruling party officials contributing to the economic mess in Zimbabwe. "I don’t think we can as yet call this a clean-up until maybe if it continues on a wider scale," he said. "We don’t know if there is any motive behind this but one would naturally assume that the government is just exercising its duties." He, however, said if there are other motives behind it, those doing this should be careful because they could trigger a major shake-up within the ruling party.
Mudzengi said there could be a number of reasons to possibly explain the sudden decision by the government to be tough with people from within the ruling party’s ranks. "One of them is that since Zanu PF is under a lot of pressure, it could be doing this in order to get some breathing space and this can be done by sacrificing some people," Mudzengi said. Alois Masepe, another political analyst, said knowing the tricks of the Zanu PF government, it is possible that everything being done - from the much-publicised land audit to the latest arrests - could be a mere "political public relations show" specifically aimed at next year’s general elections. "I think they are play-acting," Masepe said. "These are mere make-believe schemes being done for the purpose of next year’s elections … this is what we saw during the Willowgate scandal when a number of politicians were sacrificed ahead of an election." Some of the politicians, notably Frederick Shava, have since been integrated into the top echelons of the party. The Willowgate scandal coincided with preparations for the 1990 general elections in which the then newly formed opposition party, the Zimbabwe Unity Movement threatened to end Zanu PF’s rule through its anti-corruption manifesto. Masepe said Zanu PF could not afford to sit back and watch official corruption flourish ahead of an election so it needed to be seen to be doing something even when there was a risk of splitting the party further.
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From News24 (SA), 15 January
Zim paper manager walks free
Harare - Charges of criminal defamation were dropped on Thursday against the general manager of an independent weekly which printed a story allegedly insulting President Robert Mugabe. However, the charges have been maintained against one of the paper's journalists. The state withdrew the charges against Raphael Khumalo in Harare magistrate's court before he had entered a plea, but not against journalist Itai Dzamara, arrested with Khumalo on Wednesday. The charges against the newsmen arose from a story run in the Independent newspaper last week alleging that Mugabe had commandeered a Boeing 767 aircraft from the national carrier Air Zimbabwe for a vacation in Asia. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said they feared the move "might be preparatory steps, on the part of certain elements within the state that are fighting to muzzle the press, to forcibly shut down the paper. ZLHR is concerned that if such a tragic trend is to continue, it will be impossible for journalists to continue carrying out their mandate to keep the public informed," the group said in a statement.
Dzamara was the co-author of the story in the Independent newspaper with Dumisani Muleya, who was arrested on Saturday and released on bail two days later with editor Iden Wetherell and news editor Vincent Kahiya. Dzamara was freed on bail of Z$20 000 Zimbabwe (about R36) and the case was postponed to January 29. The country's most popular daily, the Daily News, was shut down in September last year and attempts to re-open it through court orders, have repeatedly been thwarted by the state. The lawyers said the fresh arrests were a "deliberate and calculated attempt to muzzle the press" and would "compromise the independence and entrenched freedom of the press". "ZLHR criticises in the strongest of terms such blatant disregard of the independent press and demands that the press be left to freely perform its core function," said the lawyers.
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From Mmegi (Botswana), 15 January
Another crack-down against illegal immigrants
Ryder Gabathuse, Staff Writer
Francistown - The crack down on illegal immigrants has been extended to villages surrounding the city. The "Operation Clean Up" campaign which, started last Sunday and ended on Wednesday, targeted illegal immigrants mainly from Zimbabwe. Spokesperson for the operation, Senior Superintendent Boikhutso Dintwa of Botswana police told Mmegi yesterday that they have nabbed about 552 illegal immigrants mainly in and around Borolong village, west of Francistown. The joint operation between the police, the army, immigration, prisons and other government departments, was conducted from house-to-house. "We nabbed some of our targets from their work places where they were employed illegally. Some were travelling in the bush whilst others were from the roadblocks that we mounted," explained Dintwa. About 100 of the immigrants were tried at the customary court and given three strokes of the cane each. Some paid admission of guilty fines for various offences such as overstaying in the country and selling wares without permits. The arrested immigrants were taken to the Centre for Illegal Immigrants where they were kept for a short period before some of them were deported.
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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 16 January
Mouthpiece of Mugabe loses des res
By Tim Butcher in Johannesburg
Decrepit and overgrown, the Johannesburg home of Robert Mugabe's vitriolic information minister, Jonathan Moyo, appeared a perfect metaphor for the state of Zimbabwe yesterday. Dusty "For Sale" signs were stacked in the double garage as the housekeeper offered to show prospective buyers around what was once a smart seven-bedroom house in the up-market northern suburb of Saxonwold. Mr Moyo is well known to Africans. Although once respected as a political scientist who wrote a book in the 1990s calling for multi-party democracy in Zimbabwe, he has reversed his position and since 2000 has been one of Mr Mugabe's fiercest supporters. He is believed to have been deeply involved in the vicious state-sponsored clampdown on The Daily News, Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper. He publicly criticised the paper just 24 hours before its printing presses were blown up by unknown attackers.
His involvement in domestic politics and his growing financial problems have clearly left little time to preserve the house's potential charms. The lawn was uncut and the borders overgrown with weeds. The pool was half-full with a green slime. The house, empty of furniture, has been at the centre of a lengthy legal battle between the financially inept Mr Moyo and some of the many people who claim he owes them money. Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University, where Mr Moyo once worked as a researcher, claims he absconded with thousands in research money and a South African television company says he owes £10,000. A legal writ has been issued in the Kenyan High Court against Mr Moyo by the Ford Foundation, an American educational trust that claims he stole £70,000 of its money in the late 1990s. The house, which Mr Moyo is believed never to have lived in, was bought four years ago by the Talunoza Trust, which has Mr Moyo as the main trustee. He got into arrears about three years ago but was then able to find the necessary funds. Last year the debts began to mount and his mortgage lender, a South African bank, Nedcor, foreclosed to get back the 1.1 million rand (around £100,000) it says is outstanding.
An estate agent acting for Mr Moyo said the property had already been sold for 1.5 million rand. But the bank's lawyers have received no confirmation and the auction is going ahead. Mr Moyo is known to have received a number of commercial farms seized under Mr Mugabe's illegal land-grab policy. A New Year trip widely reported in the South African press saw him spending extravagantly on food and goods now unavailable in a Zimbabwe made bankrupt by Mr Mugabe's mismanagement. But ever loyal to his master, Mr Moyo launched a fierce attack on the South African media and South Africa in general, threatening a diplomatic incident with Zimbabwe's large neighbour. Mr Moyo is widely seen as one of the most hated people in Zimbabwe. With a penchant for flowery rhetoric, he routinely describes anyone, black or white, who dares criticise Mr Mugabe as a colonialist spy in the pay of MI6.
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Comment from The Mail & Guardian (SA), 15 January
A weekend as Mugabe's guests
Iden Wetherell
I wouldn’t recommend a weekend at the Harare Central Hotel if you are proposing to visit Zimbabwe. Some of the staff can be over-attentive and the room service leaves a lot to be desired. Mosquitoes nibbled at our bare feet all night while cockroaches the size of rats scuttled about. The toilets? Don’t even mention the toilets. In case you haven’t gathered, Harare Central is the main police station in Zimbabwe’s capital, replete with holding cells for the detention of the increasing numbers of accused persons passing through the country’s creaking criminal justice system. Political offenders such as myself and two Zimbabwe Independent staff members, news editor Vincent Kahiya and chief reporter Dumisani Muleya, were guests there last weekend for two days and two long nights in the company of carjackers, fraudsters and a prominent Zanu PF member of Parliament who is accused of obstructing the course of justice. We were charged with criminal defamation for reporting that President Robert Mugabe commandeered an Air Zimbabwe plane for his recent holiday in the Far East.
It is not disputed that Mugabe used the plane to ferry him between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. But the state, or more to the point Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, took great exception to the word "commandeer". "This is not the first time the paper had written lies that are blasphemous and disrespectful to the president," he fulminated. Within hours of Moyo’s threat that the editor and the two writers of the report would be made to account for what he called their "fictional story", detectives arrived at my home saying they wanted to interview me. At the same time they picked up my two colleagues. We were not interviewed but quickly consigned to the holding cells. For those detained at Harare Central, the removal of shoes and watches may be the worst part of their ordeal - exposed to unhygienic floors and never knowing what time it is. Others may cite the absence of privacy in crowded cells - some with up to 30 people crammed in a confined space. But for me the chief terror was the long nights.
Lying sleepless on those cold concrete floors, I recalled previous visits to what used to be Salisbury Central. My first was in 1970 when I was arrested for leading a student demonstration against the Smith regime. We were made to sit on the lawns that form a quadrangle between the maze of colonial-era offices. The lawns and flowerbeds are still well-tended. But many of the offices, like those of the Law and Order section, which is the main instrument of Mugabe’s crackdown on civil society, lie underground, are poorly lit and could do with a lick of paint. Seventies vintage typewriters are still very much in use. We were asked by the magistrate at our Monday hearing if we had any complaints against the police. We had none. It was not their decision to detain us over a weekend. But we were as mad as hell with Moyo for putting us through this ordeal, separated from our families and loved ones who didn’t know when they would see us again. At the same time we understood perfectly well this is the price journalists pay to practise their profession in Zimbabwe today.
It appeared the main purpose of our interrogation was to ascertain the identities of our sources at Air Zimbabwe. Moyo had spoken of "criminal collusion" between airline officials and reporters at our paper. But we explained that just as the police do not disclose the names of sources in their investigations, we do not reveal ours. Would Air Zimbabwe lie about the arrangements for Mugabe’s flight, we were asked? Quite possibly, we replied. It lied when it said the reduction of its fleet from 18 planes at independence in 1980 to five today - with only three operational - did not represent a depletion of any sort and that it had enough aircraft to service routes!
Criminal defamation is a relic of empire, part of English common law that acquired a Roman-Dutch personality en route from South Africa. It was wielded by colonial governments to deal with nationalist leaders and critics in the press. In recent years it has been struck down by courts in other jurisdictions as incompatible with democratic practice. Ghana and Sri Lanka are the most recent countries to have revoked it. But we are not surprised to see it still lurking in the armoury of Zimbabwe’s vindictive executive. In all our statements after our release we have made it clear that this case is not about Mugabe’s reputation. It is about public accountability. Mugabe is the country’s most senior public official. Air Zimbabwe is a publicly owned airline. Both are accountable to Zimbabweans for the management of public funds. It is the right and duty of newspapers to submit political leaders to scrutiny. That we shall go on doing. Judging by the warmth of the reception we received after our release, and given growing anger with Mugabe ’s incorrigible misrule, Zimbabweans clearly expect no less from us.
Iden Wetherell, Vincent Kahiya and Dumisani Muleya are out on bail. Two more Zimbabwe Independent employees were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the article
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From Reuters, 16 January
Top official granted bail in corruption case
By Cris Chinaka
Harare - A top official in Zimbabwe's ruling party was granted bail on Friday, a week after being arrested on charges of interfering with a fraud case that has rocked the country's banking sector. The state said it would appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision, and the official remains in custody. President Robert Mugabe has vowed to act firmly against rising corruption, which political analysts say has fuelled anger against his rule in the face of a deep economic crisis many critics blame on government mismanagement. High Court Judge Tedius Karwi granted bail on Friday to prominent businessman and senior Zanu PF executive member Philip Chiyangwa. He was denied bail earlier this week by a lower court and has been in prison since last Saturday on charges of intimidating police and meddling with investigations into a major fraud case. The judge asked Chiyangwa to deposit Z$5-million in bail, to surrender his passport, to reside at his Harare residence and to report regularly to the police. The flamboyant businessman is likely to remain in prison until the Supreme Court hears the state's appeal, for which no date has yet been set.
Political analysts say Mugabe may have decided to crack down on corruption, within his party and elsewhere, to boost Zanu PF's chances in a parliamentary election next year. Chiyangwa's lawyers have argued during court appearances that his arrest was engineered by political opponents amid feuding over who should succeed Mugabe if he stands down as party leader. Local media have over the past year reported splits within Zanu PF as debate intensifies over a successor for Mugabe, who turns 80 in February and has hinted he may be ready to retire. Police suspect Chiyangwa of withholding vehicles key to investigations into allegations that two directors of the asset management firm ENG Capital cheated investors of billions of dollars. Prosecutors say the ENG directors used the money to buy hard currency on the black market to import personal vehicles. Authorities have accused financial institutions of driving a black market where US dollars fetch up to five times the official rate against the Zimbabwean dollar. The central bank has warned of a crackdown on speculative trade in the sector. Chiyangwa, a champion of the government's black economic empowerment drive, denies any wrongdoing and says he intervened in the ENG matter merely to ensure a political and legal settlement that did not harm the programme.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 16 January
Chiyangwa caught in Zanu PF power play
Dumisani Muleya
The ruling Zanu PF is deeply divided over the arrest and detention of its MP and Mashonaland West chairman Philip Chiyangwa on allegations of trying to obstruct the course of justice. Mashonaland West senior politicians are said to be livid over Chiyangwa's incarceration which will see him stay in custody for 18 days. Chiyangwa, who was arrested last Saturday, was on Wednesday remanded until January 28. Zanu PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira and politicians from Mashonaland West such as Ignatius Chombo, Sabina Mugabe, Edna Madzongwe, Leo Mugabe, Webster Shamu, and Bright Matonga were said to be infuriated by Chiyangwa's continued detention. This group from President Mugabe's home province on Sunday descended on Harare Central police station, where Chiyangwa was detained, to demand his release from holding cells after the MP won a court order to be freed. His supporters invaded the police station expressing anger at what they saw as defiance of a court order in favour of Chiyangwa by the law enforcement agents.
Leo Mugabe confirmed that he visited Harare Central police station on Sunday with other party members to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Chiyangwa's continued detention. "Political leaders from Mashonaland West visited the police station to find out what was going on," Leo Mugabe said. "We were supposed to have a provincial executive meeting on Sunday but our chairman was not there. We therefore wrote to Shamuyarira expressing our concern. We didn't think that it was fair to have him in prison but that was before these other allegations against him arose." Chiyangwa is currently facing allegations of trying to defeat the course of justice, contempt of court and perjury.
Acting President Joseph Msika and most of the Zanu PF old guard clinging to President Mugabe's coat-tails were seen as being behind Chiyangwa's arrest. They were said to have been angered by his political manoeuvres in the party in connection with the president's succession battle. During last month's Zanu PF conference in Masvingo, Chiyangwa was linked to a document that was circulated among delegates accusing Msika of corruption and hobnobbing with white farmers. The document also called for Msika's removal. But Msika reacted angrily and warned "new comers" to be careful in their bid for power. Chiyangwa's arrest followed a stern warning by Msika last Friday. President Mugabe this week also made threatening remarks against "lawbreakers and corrupt characters", amid speculation he could have agreed to the action against Chiyangwa.
Apart from Chiyangwa's attempt to thrust himself into the centre of the heated succession debate and become a political mover and shaker, some Zanu PF bigwigs were understood to be irritated by his swashbuckling character and claimed he showed disrespect for the party leadership. Political activists, backed by party heavyweights from Mashonaland West, on Sunday hoped their political muscle would get Chiyangwa released, in a move which revealed widening cracks in the ruling party. However, police at the cells refused to accept their demands, saying their superiors had not given them any instructions to release the MP. Chiyangwa, who has tried to bring state security minister Nicholas Goche into the ENG Capital Asset Management saga after it was said state intelligence officers were being used as debt collectors, had secured a court order after Benjamin Muponda, younger brother of detained ENG director, signed an affidavit saying the car that the MP was alleged to be clinging to was with him. It is feared the current turmoil is Zanu PF could claim a number of political casualties as the struggle for succession intensifies.
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From ZWNEWS, 17 January
Vote Zanu PF, or lose your house
From our own correspondent
Zanu PF is now threatening to seize houses owned by suspected opposition supporters. Residents of the New Magada area of Epworth near Harare were threatened with homelessness at a meeting last weekend. A delegation from Zanu PF's Harare province, lead by a Comrade Kudhinga, warned that houses would be seized, and given to Zanu PF supporters. "We will simply instruct the Epworth Local Board to remove you from their housing register, and that will be it," Kudhinga threatened residents who were forced to attend the meeting. "We can do anything we want here in Epworth. We can kill, and the police will not arrest us," he added. Youths in the area were also rounded up for a separate meeting, where their names were taken. The youths were told that minister Elliot Manyika would soon visit to address them. Manyika heads the ministry of gender and youth development, which controls the Border Gezi training centre, at which the notorious "Green Bomber" youth militia are trained, raising fears that the youth would be dragooned into the bands of Zanu PF thugs.
Those at the meeting were also subjected to a vitriolic attack on the Catholic Church. "We know that the Roman Catholics are aligned to the MDC and are sponsored by the British, we also know why they are giving you food. You may continue to go there if you want but we will deal with them," a local woman Zanu PF activist told the meeting. The church was accused, on no evidence, of politicising food aid distribution in the area. Epworth is an impoverished area on the eastern outskirts of Harare, where many people have built small brick houses and dagga huts. Epworth has little or no sanitary, water or electrical facilities. A number of opposition supporters were assaulted and some murdered in the constituency prior to the 2000 parliamentary elections, which was won by Tapiwa Mashakada of the MDC by a large majority. This latest threat of violence is thought to be the start of Zanu PF campaigning for the next round of parliamentary elections, expected in 2005 or sooner. The residents have been ordered to attend another meeting on the 24th January.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 16 January
Political violence on the rise
Opposition party officials and representatives of human rights groups this week said Zimbabwe was experiencing an upsurge in political intimidation and violence as the country heads for next year's elections. The officials said there had been reports of increased political violence and intimidation since President Robert Mugabe urged supporters of his ruling Zanu PF to begin preparing for next year's polls. An official with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe's main opposition party, said: "Already, one person was killed in Shamva, Mashonaland Central, a teacher was kidnapped in Rusape while another of our members was kidnapped in the Midlands capital of Gweru." The opposition party official added: "The Zanu PF supporters took Mugabe's statements as a signal that opposition members and perceived MDC members should be intimidated. They have gone on a rampage around the country. They want to keep people in a permanent state of fear so that they know no other party except Zanu PF." It was not possible to secure comment on the allegations from Zanu PF or the police.
However, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights director Anorld Tsunga confirmed that there had been an upsage in political violence in Zimbabwe in the past few weeks. He said: "The escalation of political violence is obviously related to next year's parliamentary elections. We have received a lot of complaints about political victimisation from different parts of the country, including Macheke, and Chimanimani." Sources said there had been reports of opposition supporters' houses being burnt down, while in the towns of Kadoma and Chegutu, suspected ruling party youths had reportedly assaulted clients at up-market bars. A proprietor of a pub in Chegutu said: "Drunken ruling party youths invade upmarket pubs where they start singing revolutionary songs. They don't buy beer in pubs, but move around with containers of opaque traditional beer which they consume at the pubs." Elections held in Zimbabwe in the past three years have been marred by political violence and voter intimidation, mostly blamed on ruling party supporters. As a result, the MDC challenged in the courts the results of the 2002 presidential election, as well as the 2000 general election results of several constituencies.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 16 January
Mugabe had pledged not to arrest journos
Itai Dzamara
The arrest of Zimbabwe Independent editor Iden Wetherell and three of his journalists over the Air Zimbabwe story flies in the face of assurances President Mugabe is reported to have given to South African President Thabo Mbeki to reform repressive laws. Mugabe is understood to have made an undertaking to Mbeki during his visit to Harare last month to have the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa) and the Public Order and Security Act (Posa) amended. Mugabe further agreed that no further arrests would be made and charges already brought under the repressive laws would be withdrawn. Bheki Khumalo, Mbeki's spokesman, yesterday confirmed Mugabe made the undertaking to Mbeki. "I know that there was an undertaking when President Mbeki met President Mugabe in Harare that there would be amendments to the two pieces of legislation as well as that there wouldn't be any arrests in the meantime." He however declined to comment on the views of the South African president regarding the latest arrests of journalists in Harare. "I can't comment on issues of arrest. This one you will have to cross check with the Foreign Affairs ministry. The President's office doesn't comment on issues across our borders," he said.
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From UN, 15 January
UN joins forces with US to prevent water-borne disease in Zimbabwe's capital
In a bid to avert the spread of water-borne diseases in Zimbabwe, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has teamed with the United States to provide a steady supply of clean water to the capital, Harare, and outlying areas. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Zimbabwe's economic crisis had made it impossible to purchase adequate water purification chemicals and as a result, the city could not provide a regular supply of clean water. A $200,000 grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), channelled through UNDP, has allowed the purchase of chemicals needed for water purification and made it possible for Harare to increase its clean water stocks to as many as four days' worth. The city had problems in maintaining a constant water supply to all its residents due to inadequate chemicals because of foreign currency shortages. In the long-term, however, the supply of clean water to Harare remains a concern, OCHA said. The city's two main reservoirs, which are downstream from the area's industry, are susceptible to pollution. Zimbabwe's dire economic situation, meanwhile, makes it nearly impossible to fund repairs and maintenance of the capital's infrastructure, leading to the rupture of pipes carrying treated water. Aggravating the situation, the water system requires an upgrade to serve the city's growing population.
What began in 2002 as a food crisis in Zimbabwe has grown into a major humanitarian emergency, with people suffering the effects of a deteriorating economy, HIV/AIDS, depleted social services and policy constraints, according to OCHA. As the country enters its fifth successive year of economic decline, Zimbabwe faces critical shortages of foreign exchange to maintain essential infrastructure and inflation has soared. In addition, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is ravaging the country. Recent estimates indicate that around 34 per cent of Zimbabweans age 15 to 40 is infected, and more than 2,500 people die every week of AIDS-related causes. Delivery of health, education, social and public services has been undermined by a lack of finance and the loss of human resources to emigration and AIDS. One result is that malaria, tuberculosis and cholera cases are on the rise. Another is that Zimbabweans face a severe food security crisis in 2004. An estimated 5.5 million people will require food aid there during the coming year.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 16 January
Moyo's Jo'burg mansion to be auctioned
Staff Writer/ThisDay
Information minister Jonathan Moyo's controversial R1 million luxury mansion in Johannesburg is up for grabs after he reportedly fell into arrears in his mortgage bond payments. Reports from South Africa indicate that Moyo's four-bedroom home with Oregon pine floors and a granite kitchen located at 15 Englewold Drive in the upmarket Saxonwold suburb went on sale on Monday. A notice of the sale-in-execution of the property was run in ThisDay's classified section, saying the matter involving the house was between Nedcor Bank and Talunoza Trust and Jonathan Nathaniel Moyo. Talunoza is named after Moyo's children. The house is due to be auctioned by the sheriff of Lenasia North on January 29. ThisDay said Moyo had previously said the house could not be described as his property because the trust owns the house although he has admitted to having stayed there. The newspaper said Moyo and his wife Betsy reportedly put the house on the market briefly in 2001, but withdrew it when they failed to get the asking price. The house was described in the advertisement as being on a 1 976 m (2) plot with a double garage, a lounge, a dining room, a family room and two bathrooms. Findlay & Niemeyer, the attorneys for Nedcor Bank, the holding company for Nedbank, this week confirmed that the auction for Moyo's house would be held later this month. They said by auction day Moyo would have received a summons, a judgement would have been made against him and that the sheriff would attach the property. Moyo had been entangled in a number of financial disputes in South Africa. In 2002, he was accused of owing R100 000 to the South African TV production company Endemol, owned by Moeletsi Mbeki, President Thabo Mbeki's brother, and of owing Wits University, where he once worked, a large sum from a grant for research he never completed. Efforts to get comment from Moyo yesterday failed. "He is not in at the moment and in any case he does not talk to your newspaper," Moyo's secretary said. "This is the instruction he has given us."
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From AFP, 17 January
Zim lawmaker appeals to supreme court
Lawyers for a senior ruling party lawmaker in Zimbabwe said they had filed court papers with the Supreme Court in an attempt to secure the release of their client accused of fraud. A Harare high court granted five million dollars bail to outspoken legislator and flamboyant businessman Phillip Chiyangwa Friday, but the state immediately said it would appeal against the decision. As a result, Chiyangwa remained behind bars Saturday morning, his lawyer Wellington Chimwaradze told AFP, adding that papers challenging the state's appeal have been filed with the supreme court. "We filed the papers last night (Friday) and if the chief justice is available it is possible that the court might hear the case this weekend," Chimwaradze said. Chiyangwa is accused of covering up a 61-billion-dollar fraud by concealing some of the assets belonging to the collapsed ENG asset management bank. Police are against the release of the powerful politician - who was arrested last weekend - fearing he could interfere with their investigations. Two ENG directors have already been arrested as well as several insurance firm managers alleged to have been involved in the scam. Chiyangwa is close to President Robert Mugabe, coming from the same home district, and is a provincial chairman of ruling Zanu PF. But this week, Mugabe said he would not protect anyone involved in fraud, and promised to intensify a crackdown on corruption.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 16 January
Mpofu/Mandaza in war of words over land
Loughty Dube
A war of words has erupted between Matabeleland North governor Obert Mpofu and publisher Ibbo Mandaza over large tracts of commercial farmland Mandaza purchased last year. In the latest exchange of words Mandaza has threatened to sue Mpofu if he does not elaborate on the allegations he raised in the media this week. "He should elaborate on everything that he said against me, otherwise we are going to sue for damages," said an irate Mandaza. The land in question comprises five farms in Bubi district that Mandaza allegedly purchased from Charles Hammer-Nel. However, Hammer-Nel has allegedly cancelled the agreement of sale and has instead opted to give up the farms for resettlement. War veterans and over 40 families allocated land under the land reform programme have also claimed ownership of the farms.
Mandaza locked horns with Mpofu last year after he accused him of sending war veterans to invade his property and further alleges that the governor wants him off the land on tribal grounds. However, Mpofu this week lashed out at Mandaza and accused him of using his newspapers, the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror, to scandalise him. Mpofu's outbursts follow two lead stories published by Mandaza's papers last week where it was alleged that Mpofu was being investigated by the President's Office over the improper allocation of land in the Matabeleland North safari area. Mpofu said the land probe existed only in Mandaza's mind. "He (Mandaza) has been trying to compromise the system all along and we resisted," said Mpofu. "I warned all my officers against his suspicious activities and the story (in the Sunday Mirror) shows the kind of lunacy on an issue he knows very well is unprocedural. All this shows what kind of a man he is. We will not succumb to cheap greed which is affecting development in the province," said Mpofu.
Mandaza says he is investing about $2,5 billion in an ambitious agricultural project on the five farms in Bubi district to be known as the Induba Agricultural Development Project. In an interview this week, Mandaza said the governor was trying to cover up the allegations raised against him in his two papers. "He is trying to cover up by raising non-pertinent issues but we are clear in that the land is ours. We have been disturbed by people sent onto our properties for political purposes," said Mandaza. He said he would not be deterred by regional-minded people and said he was free to invest in any region be it in Bulawayo or Matabeleland North. "Instead of skirting issues he (Mpofu) should respond to issues raised in that news report otherwise what he is saying now is malicious," charged Mandaza.
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From IRIN (UN), 16 January
European parliament criticises sanctions failure
Johannesburg - European parliamentarians meeting in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday lashed out at some European Union (EU) member states for their failure to implement sanctions imposed on the Zimbabwean government. Michael Gahler, a German member of the European Parliament told IRIN that besides calling for tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe, parliamentarians expressed "disappointment that sanctions, in practice, have not worked." The reference was to France in particular, who had asked for a suspension of the travel ban on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to EU countries to enable him to attend a Franco-African summit last year. The move had caused some acrimony between the French and British governments.Without naming the parliamentarians, Gahler said some had argued that they had to "respect the international Vienna protocol on diplomatic relations, but I argued that we have the right to diplomatic reprisal - which is a means to indicate our discontent towards someone who has broken several international conventions."
A resolution calling on EU governments to toughen and renew the sanctions, which expire on February 20, was on the table. It was adopted by a majority of 66 votes in favour with four against and two abstentions. The EU parliament's resolutions do not have to be implemented by member states. Moving the resolution was Geoffrey Van Orden, the British Conservative party spokesperson on human rights in the European parliament, who also had a strong word for the dissenting EU members. Addressing the parliament he said: "This House has previously called for more effective action by the council on six separate occasions. To date, the council has failed to heed these calls."The targeted sanctions, implemented two years ago, imposed a travel ban on Mugabe and other Zimbabwean officials and their spouses, and also froze their assets in Europe. While commending the Commonwealth's decision in December to continue Zimbabwe's suspension, the resolution on Thursday regretted the EU's failure to make any "effective impact on the policies of Zimbabwe's neighbours." The resolution also strongly criticised the failure of "some southern African governments to exert any pressure on the Zanu PF regime."
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 16 January
Opposition sees terror ahead of Gutu North poll
Augustine Mukaro
Zanu PF has launched a terror campaign in Gutu North constituency where a by-election is due on February 2/3, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has charged. The seat fell vacant in September last year after the death of Vice President Simon Muzenda. Retired Air Marshal Josiah Tungamirai, representing Zanu PF, will battle it out with the MDC's Casper Musoni. In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent this week, Musoni said Zanu PF had resorted to its dirty political games of victimising and torturing opposition party sympathisers. "Zanu PF has started attacking our supporters and anyone suspected to have links with the opposition," Musoni said. "We are not able to hold campaign rallies because all those who attend are tracked down and picked up for torture. Zanu PF has established a command centre at Gutu Rural Council which they have converted into a torture camp," he said. "Our campaign has been restricted to home visits and distribution of flyers but still the people we are visiting are victimised for merely having spoken to an MDC candidate," Musoni explained.
Musoni said there was a lot of fear among the electorate. "The electorate is shying away from us for fear of victimisation," he said. One of the torture victims kidnapped from Serima area last Saturday and later dumped at Gutu-Mpandawana growth point - 35 km away from his home - said he was lucky to be alive. Ngoni Mudzamiri, who was on Monday admitted at Gutu Mission Hospital, said he was kidnapped at Matizha Shopping Centre by a gang of Zanu PF supporters driving a white Nissan Hardbody truck. "It was around 9 pm when a vehicle full of people approached me. They easily identified me because I was putting on an MDC T-shirt," Mudzamiri said. "They hauled me onto the truck and quickly drove away. I was being beaten all over my body along the way. I was driven around the constituency before being taken to Mpandawana where I was tortured until I fell unconscious. I was later dumped along the Harare/Chiredzi road," Mudzamiri said. Mudzamiri reported his ordeal to Musoni who took him to hospital. Zanu PF has since 2000 resorted to violence, torture and victimisation of the electorate to cower the opposition.
From ZWNEWS: Opposition candidate Musoni was this week ambushed by Zanu PF supporters in the Gutu North constituency, the MDC said on Friday. Musoni, who runs a business at Mupandawana growth point, was driving home from there on Thursday evening when three trucks, all marked "Matabeleland South Province, Bulilimamangwe", blocked the road, and demanded that all the occupants of his car should get out. Musoni managed to drive back to his shop, from where he alerted the police, who escorted him to his home. Once the police had left, a group of ten people arrived and threatened Musoni and his family. They only left after Musoni threatened to shoot anyone who entered his home.
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From The Tablet (UK), 17 January
Ncube urges Mugabe to retire
Ellen Teague
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe "should be stepping down now", according to his most prominent church critic. Speaking to The Tablet on 13 January from Harare, Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo described the current situation in Zimbabwe for ordinary people as "heartbreaking", with inflation running at 1,200 per cent and the deaths of at least 10,000 people from malnutrition over the past year. Archbishop Ncube said he deplored the news that Mugabe commandeered an Air Zimbabwe plane for business and an extended January holiday in the Far East. The dictator later ordered journalists who reported that passengers had been stranded to be arrested. Three staff of the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper were released on bail last Monday. The affair "shows that Mugabe is heartless and not at all ashamed of the situation his people are in", the archbishop commented. Many more people would have died of hunger and related illnesses in 2003 were it not for the emergency food provided by the UN’s World Food Programme and aid agencies, Archbishop Ncube said. He spoke of country-wide deprivation and desperation, social breakdown and crime becoming widespread, with many church compounds reporting thefts of food, clothing from washing lines, public address systems and even lavatory seats. "People can’t travel because of fuel prices and many children are being taken out of school this year including Catholic schools because families cannot afford the fees," he said. Drought had exacerbated the situation. "The lack of rain has been disastrous in recent months," he added. "Crops that should have been planted two months ago are only going in now."
At the end of December, the Solidarity Peace Trust, of which Archbishop Ncube is chairman, added its voice to other groups which criticised Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders for failing to condemn Mugabe’s violation of human rights and democratic principles. In the foreword of a 31-page report, Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, a trustee, described it as "shameful" that SADC politicians had turned a blind eye to state violence and the suffering of millions of ordinary Zimbabwean citizens. "President Mugabe and his supporters have systematically engaged in human rights abuses of the very worst kind in order to retain political power," said Bishop Dowling. "What is truly iniquitous is the way the ‘land issue’ and ideological red herrings such as ‘standing up against Western imperialism’ have been used by African leaders to mask the real question," he added. The ecumenical trust, formed last April, comprises four bishops from Zimbabwe and two from South Africa. Over the past nine months it had exposed the widespread use of torture in Zimbabwe by the ruling Zanu-PF Party and the growth of youth militia camps where young people were trained to use weapons and torture against Mugabe opponents.
A Jesuit priest based in Bulawayo who was arrested and forced to spend the night of 2 January in one of the city’s jails has described what happened. Fr Nigel Johnson had been filming a local youth music group performing at a shopping centre earlier in the day when "a junior policeman attempted with drunken accomplices to steal my car and camera, and then, when they failed, arrested me," he told The Tablet. After lengthy interrogation, he was locked up overnight, "where I was written down in the book for miscellaneous offences and homicide". Senior officers ordered him to be released the following morning without charge, "and apologised very nicely". Fr Johnson is still deciding whether or not to pursue the matter. "I’m not sure it’s worth it in the present situation," he said, adding that the arrest was indicative of the "general lawlessness and corruption" in the country.
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From The Sunday Times (SA), 18 January
Hell in the cells of Harare Central
Along with two of his colleagues, journalist Dumisani Muleya was arrested and jailed in Zimbabwe for the 'blasphemous' act of criticising Mugabe.
I was still sleeping off the previous evening's excesses when the telephone call came. A friend was on the line - a local lawyer - and she asked me if I'd read that morning's Herald, Zimbabwe's state-run daily. I hadn't yet, but said that I'd probably be reading it during the course of the day - Saturday, January 10. My friend told me that there was a story about myself and two of my colleagues at the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper - editor Iden Wetherell and news editor Vincent Kahiya. The story concerned a report I'd co-written with Itai Dzamara, which stated that President Robert Mugabe had commandeered an Air Zimbabwe aircraft last month and that he - together with his family and friends - had used it again for a holiday to the Far East, from which he had returned previous Sunday. The Herald story contained menacing threats by the Information Minister Jonathan Moyo and an ominous warning that we would be held to account by law enforcement agents.
I wasn't unduly worried by this, because I had seen Moyo the night before discharging a wail of protest on national television against us. I told myself it was just one of his usual groans. I rose and went into town to conduct some banking business. At Barclays, a bank teller who saw my name on his computer screen asked me why I was still roaming the streets after Moyo's threats in the state media. I replied that I was rather confident that I would remain free. Moyo was bluffing, I said. In the meantime, though, I read The Herald report and, true, Moyo's comments were quite threatening - still I didn't give a damn. Moyo was in top form, nevertheless. "Those behind this deliberate falsehood calculated to bring the Office of the President into disrepute must be held accountable," Moyo ranted. "This means the editor and the two writers will be held to account for their lawless and fictitious claims." Clearly choking with emotional intensity, he added that the story was a reckless falsehood far worse than fiction and should be treated as a criminal act. He even had the foolhardiness to claim that our report contained "lies that are blasphemous and disrespectful of the president" - as if Mugabe was now God.
But amid all this hot air and political steam, Moyo failed to deny the essence of the story, which was that Mugabe had taken an Air Zimbabwe aircraft to the Far East. And in any case, I felt no need to worry about the malicious remarks of a garrulous minister waxing lyrical as if political rhetoric was going out of fashion. After all, it would be a cold day in hell before Moyo didn't comment on such stories. He is, after all, Mugabe's shrill spin doctor and a leading henchman. So I brushed aside his comments and proceeded with my business - which was organising a get-together at my place over some beer and food. After meeting at home, we gathered around the idiot box to watch some football. First we saw Bafana Bafana bungling against Mauritius before going down 2-0. Later we watched Orlando Pirates struggling against Moroka Swallows. However, by the time the Pirates/Swallows game ended I was in police custody - which rather ruined our plans to take in the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga games later on in the day.
Before the party gathered momentum, I had sneaked off to the shops to buy more drinks. At the time, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were coming the other way. They had my news editor, Kahiya, with them. Wetherell had already been arrested. It was clear that I was next. After some hesitation, I approached one of the policemen, a certain Detective-Sergeant Chirindo. He had arrested me before because of my reporting so I knew him. I told him that I knew what they wanted. We chatted briefly, then I went back indoors to tell my shocked friends that I was to be arrested. At about 3pm we left for Harare Central Police Station. After waiting sometime for our lawyer, Linda Cook, we were told in her presence that we were to be detained. She was alarmed because she had been promised that we would be charged and released. We were taken from the CID offices to the holding cells. The rather hostile police officer at the front desk instructed us to remove our shoes and part with our other possessions in preparation for entering the station's filthy holding cells, and Kahiya and I were warned that life would be tough for us if we became arrogant.
Admittedly, I was now beginning to feel quite anxious about our predicament. When one policeman learnt that we were journalists, he shouted after us: "Our president is untouchable." We were subsequently thrown into a foul-smelling waiting room in which we discovered Wetherell - barefoot but looking unperturbed. Joining him, we sat down to await our fate. In the reception area, the police - who appeared to be on the warpath - shouted threats constantly and beat up other prisoners. I tried to remain calm through all of this - although apprehension gripped me constantly. After having our supper, which was brought by friends and relatives, we were then moved to the detention cells upstairs. An unbearable smell enveloped the whole corridor down which we were led by police as they searched for what one called a "suitable" cell. I was choking. Eventually, we were shoved into a terribly overcrowded cell that contained about 20 inmates. "Get in there," the police officer shouted. Those inside protested that the cell was already full, to which the officer replied: "Who told you that a prison cell get can get full?" Eventually we were 32 in a cell meant to accommodate only six people.
We stayed in there for about four hours, gagging on the foul smell coming from the blocked toilet and from the dirty inmates. There were also mosquitoes and massive cockroaches. I feared I would not survive the night. But then we were shifted to another cell, where we met Philip Chiyangwa, the Zanu PF MP and prominent businessman who had been detained for allegedly trying to obstruct the course of justice in a fraud case that was said to involve Z$60-billion, and for threatening a policeman. Chiyangwa was very happy to see us and welcomed us into the cell. We were to spend two days together discussing all sorts of things, ranging from the country's political situation and the economic environment to social issues. Each time we ate our food, the other starving inmates mobbed us, trying to grab our meals. Hunger abounds in the Harare Central cells. Prisoners are served a single meal a day, in the afternoon. The meal normally comprises a small portion of maize meal with six beans floating in a pool of saline water. Then came our interrogation. In a bid to build a case, the police claimed that the word "commandeer" - used in our story - meant "to hijack". This was laughable and ridiculous. But my fears were confirmed: we were arrested for semantics - the meaning and interpretation of the slight nuances of a single word. During our detention we were shifted from one cell to the next - some better, others worse than the previous ones. Some of the police officers were decent, while others were the epitome of repression - which is precisely what our arrest was all about.
On Monday, Muleya, Wetherell and Kahiya were granted bail of Z$20 000 after appearing in the Harare Magistrates' Court on charges of "criminal defamation" against President Mugabe. They were not asked to plead, and were ordered to appear in court again on January 29. On Wednesday, the Zimbabwe Independent's general manager, Raphael Khumalo, and the journalist Itai Dzamara were also arrested in connection with the matter. Charges against Khumalo were withdrawn, but Dzamara was released on Z$20 000 bail until January 29.
Muleya is a regular contributor to the Sunday Times
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From The Sunday Mirror, 18 January
Chiyangwa splits Zanu PF, Mash West to stage protests
Tawanda Majoni
Zanu PF could be left in political plaster amid revelations that the Mashonaland West province is planning to stage protests over the manner in which the criminal case involving Philip Chiyangwa has been handled. Chiyangwa, a prominent businessman and legislator, is the ruling party’s chairman in the province. He is wallowing in remand prison over allegations of threatening a police officer in court, perjury and defeating the course of justice. He was sucked into the multi-billion dollar fraud - now christened ENGate - involving directors of ENG, an asset management company, who allegedly failed to pay back $61 billion to investors. Chiyangwa reportedly kept a number of cars the police wanted to recover at his home. When he was called to testify as a defence witness, he threatened a police officer and allegedly misrepresented facts to the court, hence the perjury charge. The police officer had indicated that Chiyangwa attempted to frustrate investigations by refusing to hand over cars that were wanted as evidence in the ENGate case.
A senior member of the party, who is also in the Zanu PF Central Committee, said the protests were meant to express concern over what he called the politicisation of the Chiyangwa case. "The Mashonaland West provincial leadership is bleeding with bitterness. We have mobilised people from the six districts to register our anger with the way some high-ranking government and party officials are using their political muscle to settle scores with Chiyangwa. It is granted that our chairman should face the law, and be tried. That is what the rule of law is all about. We are however concerned with the kind of treatment he has received through the machinations of those who feel he has stepped on their toes in the past," said the source, on condition of anonymity. He said the demonstrations were initially meant for Saturday (yesterday) but were postponed to early this week because the national leadership had not yet responded to their application to go ahead. "But even if we have not been given the official greenlight, some of our bosses in the top hierarchy have given us their blessings. Only that they do not want to go public about it because this is a hot and contentious issue," he said.
The source supplied names of top government officials whom he said were bent on doing as much damage to Chiyangwa and the Mashonaland West provincial leadership before President Robert Mugabe returned from his annual leave. Mugabe, however, has vowed to continue the crackdown on corrupt businessmen, and this has been interpreted to also refer to Chiyangwa. Mugabe and Chiyangwa come from Mashonaland Central and are related. Demonstrators are expected to gather at points in the province’s six districts. "They will be waving placards denouncing the police and the justice ministry over the pathetic way they have so far handled Chiyangwa. "We would have liked to demonstrate in Harare too but we have agreed that there could be problems with the police in the capital (city), since they have already shown how vindictive they are," added the high ranking official.
The High Court last Sunday ordered the police to release Chiyangwa but he remained in custody, with the Harare police province arguing that it was only police commissioner Augustine Chihuri who could sign the order and facilitate the incarcerated businessman. Chiyangwa’s lawyers accused the police of acting in contempt of court and when he appeared before magistrate Sukai Tongogara the following day, the state maintained that there was no evidence that the police had been served with the order. He was refused bail and sent to remand prison but the High Court again last week directed that he be placed out of custody, with the state immediately applying to the Supreme Court to have him remain in custody. "One wonders why the state is so much resolute on having Chiyangwa in custody. (Movement for Democratic Change president) Morgan Tsvangirai, who is being accused of high treason, a capital offence, was never thrown into jail when he was charged," said another top Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial leader. Tsvangirai was called for an interview at the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters in Harare in early 2002 when the police got information that he had allegedly plotted to kill Mugabe with the help of a shady international consultancy, Madsen and Dickens. He was released after a brief interview and has since been appearing in court in connection with the on-going case.
"A member of parliament, Job Sikhala beat up a police officer, never mind threatening him. He was not put in police cells. Those who are accused of killing Cain Nkala are out on bail, and we are talking murder here. What makes the Chiyangwa case so special?" queried another top Zanu PF provincial. Cain Nkala was a high-ranking member of the ruling party in Bulawayo and was allegedly strangled in an apparently politically motivated incident. His case is yet to be finalised. Chiyangwa’s deputy in the province, John Mafa, would not commit himself, saying he had only heard rumours to the effect that supporters of Zanu PF intended to demonstrate. "You see, when you are a leader, like I am, a lot of things are said, but you need to be careful," said Mafa. Comments could not be obtained from Nathan Shamuyarira, Zanu PF’s information secretary, national chairman John Nkomo or national administration secretary, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Shamuyarira, who also comes from Mashonaland West, was among high-level personalities who besieged Harare Central police station last Sunday, trying to obtain Chiyangwa’s release after the first High Court order was issued. Also present were Edna Madzongwe, the deputy speaker of parliament, the minister of local government, public works and national housing, Ignatius Chombo and Mugabe’s nephew and former Zimbabwe Football Association boss, Leo Mugabe. These people have however been conspicuous by their absence when Chiyangwa appeared at the magistrates’ court last week, with observers saying they feared a possible backlash for openly showing solidarity with the disgraced businessman. His arrest came after the acting president, Joseph Msika made a thinly veiled warning against Chiyangwa for using political muscle against the police. The wealthy politician was reportedly part of team that tried to lobby for the ouster of Msika from the party for allegedly supping with white farmers at last December’s Zanu PF annual people’s conference in Masvingo.
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From The Sunday Independent (SA), 18 January
Zanu PF split as Mugabe cracks down
By Basildon Peta
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has thrown his party into turmoil after announcing an anti-corruption crackdown that began this week with the arrest of his relative and top crony Philip Chiyangwa. The crackdown has split his party between the old guard, led by Mugabe, and the so-called Young Turks, who believe Mugabe is trying to victimise them because he suspects they are plotting against him. Chiyangwa, in his early forties, belongs to the camp of the Young Turks, many of whom packed the courtroom during his bail hearing this week. The Young Turks are suspicious of Mugabe's intentions because most of them have accumulated enormous wealth, apparently as they looted white farms and intimidated factory owners into giving them equity for a song. They suspect that as Mugabe's reign reaches its twilight zone, the 80-year-old leader wants to improve his credibility at their expense.
The Young Turks interviewed this week insisted that if Mugabe was serious about cracking down on corruption, he would also have to target members of his old guard who have been equally corrupt. They say he has to start by firing Emmerson Mnangagwa, the speaker of parliament, and others accused of looting the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a United Nations report. Young officials of the ruling Zanu PF party said Mugabe now accepted the inevitability of his departure from power and he was probably suspicious that they might disrupt his succession plans. Mugabe this week said he had helped young men establish banks and accumulate different forms of wealth, but he accused them of having become corrupt and resorting to sabotaging his government and the economy in pursuit of wealth. He said he would no longer tolerate any corruption. His remarks this week were a marked departure from what had become his normal rhetoric of blaming everything wrong in his country on Britain and other "white enemies". The remarks were also preceded by the arrests of Chiyangwa and a number of young business executives, most with close links to his party.
Chiyangwa, who is also the chairperson of the Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial executive committee, has been named in connection with a Z$61-billion scam, the country's largest bank scandal since independence from Britain in 1980. In addition, Chiyangwa allegedly looted white-owned farms, stealing farming equipment from beleaguered white farmers. Other cronies had reportedly been involved in asset stripping, taking over state assets for a song and reselling them at huge profits. Chiyangwa's woes mounted this week when police found several luxury vehicles at his homes in Harare. He had previously told the court he had no knowledge of the cars. Many analysts doubt that Mugabe will sustain the crackdown. "If he does, he will have to fire just about everybody in his cabinet because they are all corrupt," said Lovemore Madhuku, a political analyst.
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From The Sunday Mirror, 18 January
Zivhu threatens to spill the beans
Takunda Maodza
The president of the Cross-Border Association of Zimbabwe, Killer Zivhu has once more threatened to spill the beans over alleged shady deals by high-ranking officials. The threats by Zivhu follow government’s recent launch of a clean up exercise that is aimed at prosecuting all individuals who engage in illegal business transactions. Zivhu spent Wednesday night in custody following his arrest for allegedly converting to his own use $6m given to him to source foreign currency by a member of his association. He was remanded in custody after a police officer investigating the alleged offence had failed to appear in court to testify why he was saying Zivhu was not a good candidate for bail. In an interview with the Daily Mirror on Friday, Zivhu claimed that he was being victimised by people who were aware that he could easily expose them. "Since I made statements on ZTV that implicated some top government officials in shady deals on the country’s borders, I am receiving threatening phone calls time and again," said Zivhu. He said he was not going to be silenced, adding that the threats he was receiving would only help strengthen his resolve to name corrupt officials. "I know individuals who engage in corruption and criminal business activities in this country-there are syndicates of such people - those at the top and their juniors and I am going to name them very soon," he added.
He said in order to name the offenders, he needed to be supplied with security for himself and his family. "If the government says we have offered you security, and if I am sure that it’s genuine security I will have no objection but to reveal the names of the people who engage in these shady deals," explained Zivhu. "When I see corruption," Zivhu said, "I won’t keep quiet. I will say it out so as long it won’t destroy my family." Zivhu said some people were ‘snaring his path’ in a bid to smear his image. Despite the allegations he is facing, Zivhu said he was going to remain the president of the Cross-Border Association and a committed member of the ruling Zanu PF. Zivhu is a councillor for ward 24 in Chivi district in Masvingo province. "Some senior officials said my name was not supposed to included in the race to represent the youth in Chivi district because I talk too much and as a result my name was removed at the last minute," he said. Zivhu was recently appointed to sit on the board of the RBZ that is responsible for running foreign currency auctions. Meanwhile police inspector Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka has welcomed the stance Zivhu is contemplating and urged him to work hand in glove with the police in arresting criminals.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 18 January
Zanu PF thugs mount terror campaign in Gutu North
By Savious Kwinika
Bulawayo - Barely a fortnight before the Gutu north by-election takes place, marauding Zanu PF youths and war veterans have laid siege to the constituency, effectively making it impossible for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to campaign. Torture, beatings and harassment of opposition supporters have become the order of the day in the constituency where thousands of Zanu PF militias, bussed from Mashonaland provinces, have been deployed. The youths have virtually turned the rural part of the constituency into a no go area for anyone who is not a known Zanu PF supporter.
Gutu businessman Kassim Jonas who went to Zvavahera Business Centre on a business errant recently was tortured in broad day light. Said the businessman: "Two well-known Zanu PF thugs, Nhema and Mtirikwi, in the company of a group of other Zanu PF youths, last Tuesday approached me while I was going about my normal business at Zvavahera and accused me of supporting the opposition." He added: "They began assaulting me with clenched fists and booted feet before handcuffing me and my friend John Muridzo. "They then led us to the Central Intelligence camp at Gutu Mupandawana where they had also arrested another man who works for a donor organisation on similar allegations. There they ordered us to stand on our heads: ‘Takurai nyika yenyu’ they told us." The businessman, who was later released the same day, sustained internal injuries and a swollen face.
So intense is the terror campaign that opposition MDC candidate Casper Musoni, hardly a fortnight before the by-election is held, has not even be able to hold a single rally in the constituency. What Musoni can only do is to talk to people on an individual basis in the growth point which constitutes only a small fraction of the electorate. Musoni himself has also not been spared the harassment and threats from militias moving in open trucks at Mpandawana. Three days ago, Musoni, who had closed his fast food outlet at the centre around 9:00 PM, was followed by two pick-up trucks loaded with youths which blocked his vehicle near Gutu rural district council offices in the dark. During the run up to 2000 parliamentary election, Musoni, then pitted against the late Vice President Simon Muzenda, had to go underground for a long time after several attempts were made on his life.
MDC Masvingo provincial vice chairman, Shacky Matake told The Standard yesterday that the party had not been able to campaign openly as they were faced with two obstacles: getting police clearance for rallies and facing the wrath of marauding Zanu PF militias. "As I speak right now, one of our campaign agents was severely assaulted at Zvavahera Business Centre by suspected Zanu PF supporters and war veterans," said Matake. Police have not yet given the MDC a clearance to campaign openly in Gutu North. "We have written a letter to the police and hand delivered it so that we are allowed to campaign publicly just as Zanu PF is doing, and again there is no response from the police," said Matake. While MDC supporters are running away from the militias, Zanu PF officials have already covered the whole of Gutu North constituency with war veterans and youths establishing campaign bases. It is estimated that the governing party has so far blown $150 million to campaign for the rural constituency.
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From Reuters, 18 January
Zimbabwe treason trial to resume
By Cris Chinaka
Harare - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returns to court on Monday for the resumption of his trial on charges of plotting to assassinate President Robert Mugabe, which he says were invented in a bid to end his political challenge. High Court Judge President Paddington Garwe is expected to continue with the case after first ruling on an application by the state to amend the allegations against Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Tsvangirai, 51, is accused of planning Mugabe's assassination before 2002 polls that saw the veteran president re-elected in a vote the opposition and some international observers say was rigged. If convicted, Tsvangirai could face the death penalty. Tsvangirai's trial began last February, the state accusing him of taking part in meetings abroad related to the alleged plot, including one in Canada where he is said to have asked a Montreal-based political consultancy firm to arrange Mugabe's assassination and carry out a military coup. The High Court later dismissed charges against two senior MDC officials who were jointly charged with Tsvangirai, saying there was not enough evidence to link them to the plot.
Tsvangirai's spokesman William Bango told Reuters on Sunday the trial was set to resume on Monday, when the High Court is expected to rule on an application submitted by state prosecutors to amend the original allegations against him. "So far, the indications are that the case will resume as scheduled tomorrow, but we are not saying anything outside the court," he said. The state's original case rests mainly on a grainy, partly inaudible videotape of a meeting in Montreal between Tsvangirai and Canadian-based political consultant Ari Ben-Menashe in which the prosecution said Mugabe's "elimination" was discussed. But last month state prosecutor Joseph Musakwa said his team wished to amend the alleged content of the December 2001 meeting, saying it focused on "transitional arrangements after the assassination as well as seeking military support after the elimination." Chief defence lawyer George Bizos opposed the application, arguing that it amounted to a "new covert act charge" against Tsvangirai and that the state had no evidence to support its case.
Ben-Menashe has admitted he taped his meeting with Tsvangirai using surveillance cameras solely to get evidence for the Zimbabwean government, with which he subsequently signed a political lobbying contract, but he denies entrapping him. The defence argues the video was doctored to discredit the MDC and Tsvangirai - who had emerged as the biggest threat to Mugabe, Zimbabwe's ruler since independence from Britain in 1980. Tsvangirai has launched a legal challenge against Mugabe's re-election in 2002. He is also awaiting trial on a second treason charge - that he tried to instigate Mugabe's overthrow through mass protests which the MDC tried to stage last June. The MDC leader says the treason cases against him are part of government efforts to destroy the opposition. Zimbabwe is mired in its worst economic crisis since independence, which government critics blame on state mismanagement and Mugabe's controversial policies, including the seizures of white-owned farms for black resettlement.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 18 January
Moyo owes Adjovi $60 million for Miss Malaika 2002
By Bertha Shoko
Junior Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, is yet to pay $60 million owed to the executive producer of Miss Malaika Africa, Ernest Coovi Adjovi, for a licence government obtained to host the 2002 Miss Malaika finals held in Harare, StandardPlus has established. Moyo’s department had planned to use the beauty pageant to gloss over Zimbabwe’s tattered international image, heavily battered by the ruling Zanu PF’s violent campaign during the run up to the 2000 parliamentary election and the presidential elections in March 2002. Government officials had claimed the internationally televised event would bring in thousands of tourists to revive Zimbabwe’s ailing tourism sector. Initially, the event was scheduled for the resort town of Victoria Falls as the organisers felt the venue would draw the much sought after tourists to Zimbabwe’s prime holiday destination. However it was later postponed and moved to the Harare International Conference Centre because of logistical reasons which included renovations that were going on at the Elephant Hills Hotel where the event was to be held, and problems in the resort town concerning inadequate telecommunications facilities for live broadcasting. Adjovi last week confirmed to StandardPlus that he had not yet received payment from the controversial minister’s department. "Yes, the Government of Zimbabwe owes me money for the Miss Malaika licence I gave them but I will not run after them and press them to give it to me. They will give it to me in their own time. "I understand the country is going through serious economic problems and I will just give them time to solve the mess," said Adjovi, talking to this paper from Namibia. Adjovi however refused to comment further on the matter accusing journalists of being "manipulative" and "blowing things out of proportion". The Harare finals were further plunged into controversy when black American student, Morgan Chitty, was crowned Miss Malaika, causing an outcry among the African contestants and fans.
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From Reuters, 19 January
Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai takes stand in treason trial
By Cris Chinaka
Harare - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has taken the stand for the first time in his treason trial and has denied he ever plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe - a man he said was once his hero. Tsvangirai, whose trial has fuelled political tension in Zimbabwe, told Harare High Court on Monday he had long seen Mugabe as a hero of the southern African country's fight against white domination. "I regarded Mr Mugabe as my hero and the hero of the liberation struggle," Tsvangirai said in response to a question by his lead defence counsel, renowned South African human rights lawyer George Bizos. Asked if he ever plotted to kill Mugabe or overthrow his government, the 51-year-old former trade unionist replied: "No, my Lord." Tsvangirai - who said he was a district political commissar in the ruling Zanu PF party in the 1980s - told how he fell out with Mugabe over policies restricting trade union activities and the government's handling of the economy.
Tsvangirai said his opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was formed in 1999 by civic groups, led by the labour movement, after Mugabe had refused to respond to demands for constitutional and economic reforms. But he denied that the party, the most potent challenge to Mugabe since independence from Britain in 1980, was sponsored by Western powers or Zimbabwe's white minority as Mugabe has said. Tsvangirai's trial has thrown a spotlight on MDC charges of political repression in Zimbabwe, which is grappling with a severe economic crisis that many critics blame on mismanagement under Mugabe's nearly 24-year rule. Tsvangirai has said the charges against him were invented in a bid to crush his political challenge to Mugabe. The resumption of proceedings against him cast doubts on hopes for real dialogue between the MDC and Mugabe's Zanu PF, which analysts say is necessary if Zimbabwe is to resolve its serious political and economic problems. It also flies in the face of optimistic declarations by South African President Thabo Mbeki after he met separately last month with Mugabe and Tsvangirai in a bid to resolve the crisis.
Tsvangirai appeared in court wearing a dark business suit, accompanied by his wife Susan and dozens of MDC officials. Unlike earlier court hearings, where police turned out in force to prevent possible protests, security was low-key with no additional security apparent. State prosecutors say Tsvangirai plotted Mugabe's murder before 2002 polls that saw the veteran leader re-elected amid charges of vote-rigging from both the MDC and some foreign observers. If convicted, Tsvangirai may face the death penalty. Tsvangirai's trial began last February with prosecutors accusing him of asking a Montreal-based political consultancy firm to arrange Mugabe's assassination and a military coup. The High Court later dismissed charges against two senior MDC officials charged along with Tsvangirai, saying there was not enough evidence to link them to the alleged plot. Tsvangirai has infuriated Mugabe by launching a legal challenge to his 2002 re-election, and is also awaiting a second treason trial on charges he tried to spark Mugabe's overthrow through mass protests last June. In the current trial, the state's case rests mainly on a grainy videotape of a meeting in Montreal between Tsvangirai and Canadian-based political consultant Ari Ben-Menashe in which the prosecution said Mugabe's "elimination" was discussed. The defence says the video was doctored to discredit the MDC and Tsvangirai, who the government calls a stooge for Western powers opposed to Mugabe's policy of seizing white-owned farms for distribution to landless blacks.
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From IRIN (UN), 19 January
Tsvangirai takes the stand in treason trial
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday took the witness stand for the first time in his 11-month treason trial and denied charges that he had plotted to assassinate President Robert Mugabe. Court proceedings got underway on Monday after presiding Judge Paddington Garwe granted a prosecution motion to partially amend the charges against Tsvangirai. The charges now include allegations that Tsvangirai had begun planning transitional arrangements and discussed military support after Mugabe's intended assassination. "We were astounded that Judge Garwe had granted the motion, but maintain that these new charges are just as spurious as the initial charge. At no point was Mr Tsvangirai involved in a plot to eliminate President Mugabe or engage in any discussion regarding military support," David Coltart, legal advisor to the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told IRIN. The state's case hinges on a videotape of a meeting in Canada between Tsvangirai and political consultant Ari Ben-Menashe, which, it says, captured Tsvangirai discussing Mugabe's "elimination". The opposition leader has denied the claims, arguing that the video was doctored to discredit the MDC and "entrap" him. Tsvangirai faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the plot. The trial resumes on Tuesday.
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From The Herald, 19 January
Key file goes missing from Deeds Office
Harare - Dozens of people, most likely investors, are on a daily basis thronging the Deeds Office to inspect the ENG Asset Management file amid reports that another key file for another firm under probe was missing from the Deeds Office. Sources at Electra House told The Herald last Friday that police were said to have questioned some officers at the company registry offices over the disappearance of the file. Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena could neither confirm nor deny the report. A legal expert said the missing file means that the State cannot immediately proceed with bankruptcy charges against the firm in the courts. Sources said a number of asset management firms facing imminent collapse were making desperate attempts to steal documents from the Deeds Office to destroy evidence about their directors, operations and assets. "Many of them are coming here everyday and are even offering us bribes to steal documents," said a source. "We know its dangerous and our security guards are keeping watch of every file that goes out."
A visit by The Herald to Electra House showed that a number of people who had invested with ENG were flocking to the office to get details of directors, assets and operations as they make desperate attempts to recover their money. The ENG file was now being kept in one manned office where creditors queue to get details from the file. "We had to do this, otherwise the file would disappear," said the source. "Several files have disappeared in the past and I believe there is need to tighten security around the offices." The documents went missing after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe crack down on the financial sector which saw the police arresting bank executives and recovering 30 luxury vehicles worth millions of dollars. The RBZ shut the doors of ENG Capital Asset Management and the Century Discount House also owned by ENG after the unearthing of fraud involving more than $60 billion. Three directors of First Mutual Asset Management were also arrested on allegations of fraud. The case also netted flamboyant Harare businessman and legislator Philip Chiyangwa who is in custody on three charges of obstructing the course of justice, contempt of court and perjury.
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From Business Day (SA), 20 January
Zimbabwe's Cottco in graft probe
Bulawayo - The multi-billion dollar corruption scams affecting several banks and financial services providers in Zimbabwe deepened yesterday, as the home affairs ministry announced a probe into the dealings of the country's largest buyer of cotton, the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco). Since the new year, several high-level corruption scandals involving more than Z$300bn have been unearthed by police, prompting the arrest of Zanu PF MP and businessman Philip Chiyangwa. Thus far, companies that have been caught up in the crackdown on corruption include ENG Management Asset Company, Trust Bank and First Mutual Life Assurance. The crackdown was prompted by President Robert Mugabe's recent speech in which he vowed to root out high-level corruption in the public and private sectors. Yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said the government was probing allegations of fraud and impropriety involving senior officials of Cottco. Although Mohadi would not elaborate, insiders said the cotton company's management was suspected of irregular dealings involving contract cotton farmers and the export of the commodity. "Cottco is heavily involved in the contracting out of farmers and the company is virtually controlling the purchase price of cotton and its export," he said.
An insider said: "The allegations of corruption centre on this. Since Cottco is a listed company, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is watching developments in the case." Police said at the weekend that they were investigating one of the country's largest grain millers, Blue Ribbon , on allegations of side-marketing wheat. Maize and wheat were declared specified commodities in 2000, and only the state-controlled Grain Marketing Board has authority to buy the commodities from farmers. Blue Ribbon is alleged to have entered into contract deals with farmers in Mashonaland West to buy wheat at Z$1,2m a ton, compared with the board's purchase price of Z$750 000. The scandals come a month after central bank governor Gideon Gono announced a new five-year monetary policy that aims at tightening loopholes in financial transactions and restore business confidence in Zimbabwe's economy. However, critics feel that the current crackdown is likely to be hampered by the influence of powerful individuals in the ruling party, who have declared interests in some of the companies under investigation.
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Comment from ZWNEWS, 20 January
Lambs to the slaughter
By Michael Hartnack
It’s just not true there is no law and order in Zimbabwe. There is law, there is punishment for crime. But both are part of an intricate system of political patronage brilliantly run since Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980. The system is reminiscent of the sheep and goats in St. Matthew’s Gospel being directed to separate folds. One lot - the chosen lambs - go through a door marked "Help Yourselves, Comrades". The others, the stinking goats, are channelled toward a door surrounded with pious admonitions on the evils of capitalism. This door is marked, "Beware of the wrath to come, capitalist exploiters and economic saboteurs". Under the system, Mugabe’s cronies and other favour-seekers have to keep coming round, day after day, so even after 23 years a sheep may suddenly find itself corralled with the goats. Then indeed beware. An army of police fraud squad detectives and tax and licence inspectors may fall upon you, banks will suddenly recall long-overlooked concessionary loans, your leases and title to a wide variety of property may be withdrawn. And all this amid sanctimonious oratory about suppressing corruption, nepotism and exploitation of the poor.
Witness Phillip Chiyangwa, self-proclaimed billionaire businessman, ruling party mogul and Zanu PF member of Parliament. He thought he was untouchable when he told a magistrate on January 8 that three investment trust operators, his business partners, ought not to be prosecuted on charges of converting Z$61 billion of clients' money into expensive cars, real estate and foreign exchange. "I am wealthy enough, if I wanted I could have paid all (their) creditors. The excited policeman who brought these allegations, I will deal with him at some stage," boasted the former Rhodesian policeman who entered the business world as a penniless boxing promoter in 1980. Chiyangwa aroused the wrath of Joseph Msika, acting president while Mugabe is on holiday. "What political muscle? Who are you? I will show that I have more political muscle than you," 80-year-old Msika exploded in the midst of a speech opening a rural supermarket. Rambo-like, Msika then showed off his biceps. Chiyangwa was reportedly associated with moves in December to replace Msika as a vice-president. Despite being even older than Mugabe, Msika proclaims he is willing to take over if the Zimbabwe leader, who turns 80 next month, retires.
Suddenly, police are finding great wads of share certificates and enough posh cars to start a showroom, all somehow linked to shady dealings by Chiyangwa. He was belatedly arrested for obstructing the course of justice, perjury, and contempt of court. Police have refused to release him although his lawyer, Happias Zhou, twice obtained High Court warrants. Zhou said Chiyangwa's detention was "political", linked to "the succession issue" (i.e. who takes over from Mugabe). Or put it another way, Chiyangwa and Msika belong to different factions within the ruling party, delicately kept in balance by Mugabe through his sheep-and-goats feed-lot system. The past 23 years has been littered with financial scandals involving the sheep: Mugabe's elite paying "ghost" ex-guerrillas in assembly points in 1980; Samson Paweni's scam with foreign-sourced famine relief during the 1982-84 drought; the "Willowgate" racket in cars from the state assembly plant were bought by ministers at cut-rates and resold on the black market; diversion of land, bought by Britain for peasant resettlement, to the elite; the Industrial Development Corporation fraud implicating commerce minister Christopher Ushewokunze; the millions in unrecovered loans given by Zimbank when it was state-owned. Roger Boka's "Universal Merchant Bank" which dished out similar millions, never recovered; payments for bogus "war disabilities".
After each initial outcry, police dockets quietly gathered dust. Few offenders were prosecuted. In the rare cases where convictions were obtained, the public was offered the example of speedy pardon and rehabilitation, rather than exposure and lasting disgrace. The system of patronage - of permission to flout the laws applied to lesser mortals - dovetails with the grassroots organisation of the Zanu PF. Party moguls are expected to keep specific communities loyal and submissive. They are encouraged to create business empires and systems of economic dependency, involving their relatives and friends, in those specific areas. Or, as the state media puts it, to "show leadership in smart partnership for development". They stage rallies in that area, and their vassals (including the subservient local police, licence inspectors, loan organisations, etc) ensure a good turnout. One sure way to get reclassified as a goat is to stray outside your area of designated pasture. Not only will people fail to attend your rallies there, but your business activities will receive notice from new jacks- in-office. Only the shepherd himself has the free run of the whole of Zimbabwe. Chiyangwa's friends from the Chinhoyi area are mightily alarmed by his plight. Their best hope lies in the fact that goats are constantly tantalised with hints they might be re-admitted with the sheep. Every now and then, sheep caught misbehaving and reclassified as goats are miraculously transformed back into sheep if they exhibit suitably humble behaviour. That, too, is key to the shepherd's flock-management trick.
Big question now is, who else gets the goat treatment? If things get out of hand, Zanu PF will be thrown into disarray. Having shoved the wife and kids in the back of the family Boeing 767-200, Mugabe is home from his Asian trip but is still enjoying his hols. The drama may be allowed to run on a little longer while Msika is, theoretically, head of state. It would be like old times if, once Mugabe is formally back in control, unctuous clemency replaces the rigour of the law, and the lambs may be led gently back to the right path. But how long can this system go on? The sheep have eaten virtually all the pasture. And no one, certainly not Msika, has the skill to run this system once its designer goes.
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From ZBC, 20 January
Government committed to supporting sport - president
The President Cde Robert Mugabe said the Zimbabwe government is committed to supporting sport and will continue to fund the popular sport of football as it is a unifying force for the people. He said this while speaking at a farewell party hosted for the Zimbabwe national team at State House in Harare. The warriors will be taking part in the Africa Cup of nations that begins in Tunisia on January 24. "We have started efforts of supporting soccer. We will be supporting other sports as well," said president Mugabe. The president said the government was giving preference to supporting soccer because it was the favourate sport of the people. "Soccer is a unifying sport that brings people of different political, religious and cultural persuasions together," he said. He called on the warriors to try as much as possible to play according to the rules of the game in Tunisia and avoid being penalised for indiscipline. In apparent reference to the scandals that have rocked the financial sector recently president Mugabe said cheating was allowed in football as long as it was done using the feet. "Cheating with the feet is allowed in football but not in finance and other areas. So there you are go and dribble as much as you can," he said. President Mugabe urged the team to play to the best of their ability and achieve a favourable result for the country. The nation would accept any result that the team achieved as long as it was evident that it was the best that could be produced," he said. He took a swipe at people who were causing chaos in the administration of football. Those who wanted to use the game to enrich themselves were also not spared. On the situation at the Zimbabwe Football Association-ZIFA, president Mugabe expressed satisfaction that sanity was now prevailing at the association. It was incumbent on all stakeholders to support the new executive led by Rafiq Khan. Dignitaries at the function included education sport and culture minister Mr Aenias Chigwedere, ministry permanent secretary Dr Thomson Tsodzo, sports and recreation commission chairperson, Mr Anthony Mandiwanza and warriors trust fund chairperson Mr Enock Kamushinda. A representative of the warriors trust fund disclosed that the team would receive US10 000 for each qualifying round, US 25 000 for reaching the quarter-final stage and US 50 000 for playing in the semi-final.
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