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Archived News
15th February 2005
Zimbabwe in frantic bid to import 600 000 tonnes of maize
Jail sentences handed to Zimbabwean spies
Mugabe, former army boss cross swords
Zimbabwen female athlete is a man: report
Publish, and be damned
A grave matter of blind patriots caught between rock, hard place
Two more union members deported from Zimbabwe
Nigerian labour movement fumes at Mugabe
Minister's son stops church-run feeding scheme
South Africans fear for Zimbabwe land after deal delay
Farmer 'beaten to death' in rural Zimbabwe
Chiyangwa's mansion sold
'Multiparty' observers to Zim
No surrender for bruised MDC activists in Zimbabwe's turbulent political turf
Mugabe supporters held after rampage
Ploughing a field
Chiyangwa loses farm
Gono plays spin doctor as economic management fails
Zimbabwe Jan inflation quickens to 133.6 pct yr/yr
Why poll got our X
SADC troika snubbed
ANC and allies claim deal on Zimbabwe poll
Army barracks declared 'no go' areas for opposition
Zimbabwe plans food handouts as elections near
A farmer is ruined in the land where time stands still
Mugabe changes aid stance
Fresh crackdown against Zimbabwe journalists
Mugabe snubs SADC attempt at election visit
ANC won't stop Zim blockade
Zim cops break up 'love parade'
Lindela deportation centre is 'for those who do not have money'
Row over constituency boundaries
MDC sets date for poll campaign launch
Moyo snubs Zanu PF campaign launch
Church leaders attack Zanu PF
Drunken soldiers attack MDC supporters in Nyanga
Zambia in the grip of a tourism boom
Zimbabwe police hound journalists
Zim reporters quizzed over 'spying'
Attorney General revives court cases against MDC activists
Govt won't let Cosatu blockade borders
Concern over election observers delay
Air Force officers order new farmers off property
Claims of Zimbabwe's economic recovery mask a collapse in social services
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From Zim Online (SA), 9 February
Zimbabwe in frantic bid to import 600 000 tonnes of maize
Harare - The Zimbabwe government is seeking 600 000 tonnes of maize to feed an estimated three million hungry people in the country, sources at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) told ZimOnline yesterday. The government has so far managed to buy 100 000 tonnes of maize from private suppliers mainly from South Africa, the sources who did not want to be named said. "The maize bought through a deal brokered with the help of the African Export and Import Bank (Afrexim) is being delivered into the country at a rate of about 16 000 tonnes per week," said a source. But a lack of ready hard cash to pay foreign suppliers and failure by the Harare administration to secure fresh lines of credit beyond what was availed through the Afrexim deal was hampering the maize importation programme, the sources said. Labour Minister Paul Mangwana could not be reached for comment on the matter last night. Mangwana and President Robert Mugabe have in the past said Zimbabwe produced a bumper harvest of 2.4 million tonnes of maize, which is more than enough to feed the country. Zimbabweans consume 1.8 million tonnes of maize per year. The GMB, charged with national food security, has also maintained it is holding enough stocks saying whatever maize was being brought into the country was from orders placed in 2003, when Zimbabwe faced severe food shortages. An inquiry into food stocks ordered by Parliament last year however revealed that the country did not have enough food and that urgent imports were required to avert starvation. In a report two weeks ago, the United States-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet) said 5.8 million Zimbabweans or about half the 12.5 million people will need emergency food aid between now and the next harvest around March/April. Harare has rejected the Fewsnet report.
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From The Mercury (SA), 9 February
Jail sentences handed to Zimbabwean spies
Harare - A senior Zimbabwean diplomat was sentenced to six years in jail and two officials were given five-year sentences on Tuesday for selling secrets about President Robert Mugabe's party to South Africa. The convictions were the first in the case of six members of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party accused of taking part in a spy ring that was allegedly providing the South African government with information about the party's affairs. A source at Harare magistrate's court said Magistrate Peter Kumbawa had sentenced Ambassador-Designate to Mozambique Godfrey Dzvairo to six years in jail, and Tendai Matambanadzo, a banker, and Itai Marchi, a Zanu PF director, to five years each. Kumbawa has barred journalists from reporting on the case, held behind closed doors since it began on December 24. The three men had been convicted of breaching the Official Secrets Act, a violation that carried a maximum 20-year jail sentence, said the source, who did not want to be named. State Prosecutor Morgen Nemadire told reporters outside the court: "Because of the different and various degrees of moral reprehensibility, they have received various and different sentences, details of which I cannot disclose." Their lawyer, Selby Hwacha, said: "I don't believe incarceration of any kind is justifiable." He said he would appeal against the verdicts.
The scandal erupted when an alleged South African spy was caught by Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation operatives at Victoria Falls in December. Under questioning, he revealed the names of his collaborators within Zanu PF. Zimbabwe is still holding the alleged spy, who has been described in media reports as a white male and veteran operative. Dzvairo, Marchi and Matambanadzo pleaded guilty to the charges at their first court appearance on December 24, but later sought unsuccessfully to change their pleas on the grounds that their confessions had been extracted under duress. The three men were part of a ring run allegedly by Phillip Chiyangwa, a provincial party chairman and former Zimbabwe consul-general in South Africa, who was arrested along with five others but has yet to be put on trial. Chiyangwa, who allegedly received $10 000 (R60 000) a month to pass on information to South Africa, is expected to appear in court again on Friday. The trial of top party security officer Kenny Karidza, also arrested in the Central Intelligence Organisation swoop in December, is continuing in Harare. The sixth person allegedly connected to the affair, Zimbabwean diplomat Erasmus Moyo, reportedly escaped while being moved from Geneva to Harare.
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From Zim Online (SA), 9 February
Mugabe, former army boss cross swords
Harare - President Robert Mugabe and powerful former army general, Solomon Mujuru, have clashed over the fate of state information minister and propaganda chief Jonathan Moyo, sources told Zim Online last night. Mujuru, who flexed his muscles to ensure his wife Joyce was appointed vice-president, placing her in better position for the top job, has been behind mounting calls by Zanu PF's inner politburo cabinet and central committee for the dismissal of Moyo from both the party and government. The Zanu PF leaders want Moyo fired for disrespecting senior party leaders and for using government newspapers, radio and television he controls to attack and ridicule party and government leaders he disagrees with. They also want the bitter-tongued information minister punished for organising a meeting in his Tsholotsho rural home last year to plot ways to scuttle the appointment of Joyce as party and subsequently state vice-president. Angry politburo members openly demanded during a heated meeting of the top Zanu PF committee last Wednesday that Moyo be barred from attending the committee's meetings as well as those of the state Cabinet. Although Moyo was dismissed from the politburo by Mugabe last month, he still attends the committee's meetings.
Things came to a head when Mujuru rose and openly confronted Mugabe why he was not acting against Moyo when other party leaders accused of trying to block Joyce's appointment had been severely punished. Mugabe, who sources said had until then remained mum, then stepped his foot down declaring that he was not going to be pushed to act against Moyo. "He (Mugabe) said he was not going to be pushed, that he alone will deal with the issue of Moyo," said a politburo member, who did not want to be named. Mujuru could not be reached for comment on the matter while Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba was also unreachable. But Zanu PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira told ZimOnline last night that the question of what to do with Moyo had become a "thorny one" for the party. "The issue of Jonathan Moyo has become a thorny one for both the politburo and central committees . . . members are worried that this might cost us in the election (in March)," said Shamuyarira, who is a member of both committees. Shamuyarira, who last week said politburo members wanted Moyo fired, refused to comment on the heated exchanges between Mugabe and Mujuru over the issue.
But the Zanu PF spokesman conceded the split between politburo and central committee members led by Mujuru, who want Moyo fired, and Mugabe, who appears reluctant to axe an efficient propagandist ahead of a crucial election in March. "It is not for us now (politburo and central committees). It is up to the presidium of the party to deal with Jonathan Moyo," Shamuyarira said. Zanu PF's presidium comprises Mugabe, Vice-Presidents Joseph Msika and Joyce Mujuru and national chairman, John Nkomo. According to the sources, it was highly unlikely that after last week's charged exchanges between Mugabe and Mujuru, Moyo will be discussed at today's or any other meeting of the politburo unless this was at the instigation of Mugabe himself. Moyo, an arch-critic of the government before his surprise conversion to become its chief defender five years ago, has used crude laws to smoother much of the independent media and other critical voices, while ensuring the government's voice was the only one heard. Hundreds of journalists have been arrested while three newspapers including the country's biggest daily paper, the Daily News, were shut down under laws crafted by Moyo. But he has since fallen from grace after attempting to scuttle the appointment of Joyce, whom Mugabe backed for the vice-presidency. Seven of Zanu PF's 10 provincial chairmen who worked with Moyo in the failed plot to block Joyce were suspended for four years each.
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From SABC News, 9 September
Zimbabwen female athlete is a man: report
Zimbabwean sporting authorities were this week shocked to discover that one of the country's top female athletes is actually a man. The discovery came when multiple medal winner Samukeliso Sithole was outed as a man while waiting with friends for a train at the Zimbabwean railway station, the Herald reported. Melita Mudondiro, a fellow athlete has filed charges of crimen injuria and impersonation against Sithole, saying she had frequently dressed and undressed in front of him, believing he was a woman. Sithole was subsequently arrested in the Midlands chrome-producing city of Kwekwe, where a government doctor confirmed he was male. However, the athlete claims he was born with both male and female genitals. He told a Kwekwe court that his parents had consulted a traditional healer in the eastern district of Chipinge and the healer had provided herbs which made him female. However because his parents had only paid half the fee due to the healer, his male genitalia had reappeared. In fact, he said, on the day that he appeared in court he had been due to pay the settlement amount and if he had been able to do this, his male genitalia would have gone away again. Court officials said they were not sure whether to remand the athlete in male or female cells. Sithole has won several regional gold and silver medals for triple jump, shot put and javelin. His secret was out while waiting at a railway station with friends who were travelling to an athletics meeting, another man approached the group and said that Sithole was actually a man. The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe said it was still investigating the case.
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From The Independent (UK), 9 February
Publish, and be damned
Once great friends with Robert Mugabe, journalist Wilf Mbanga was forced into exile. Genevieve Roberts meets the editor of Zimbabwe's newest opposition newspaper
From a small dining-room converted into an office in southern England, Wilf Mbanga is working with his chief sub-editor, Trish, who is also his wife. Among the ordered chaos of abandoned newspapers and journals, their two computers and a couple of telephones are serving as an international newsroom. While most people would suffer under the stress of founding a newspaper, Mbanga, aged 57, is thriving. "I'm passionate about newspapers. I love newspapers," he laughs. This is the first time he has worked on a newspaper with his wife, although they met 27 years ago, working in the same office for sister titles in Zimbabwe. The founder of the now-silenced Daily News, the sole daily independent newspaper in Zimbabwe, has set up a new title, The Zimbabwean. It will be published in London and Johannesburg, with copies from South Africa distributed in Zimbabwe. The first issue of the weekly will come out on Friday, six weeks before national elections. Its aim is to provide crucial, unbiased information in a country saturated with propaganda. Anonymous reporters in Zimbabwe are defying the media blackout imposed by Robert Mugabe, the President, and working against the regime to provide independent news from inside the country. Journalists in South Africa and Britain are also writing about life in the diaspora, aimed at the 3.5 million Zimbabweans living in exile. "The Zimbabwean media is made up of very brave people," says Mbanga. "They were brave to work for the Daily News when journalists were being locked up. Very few of the pieces written inside or outside the country will carry the names of the writers."
Mbanga used to be friends with Mugabe. He is direct about their relationship. "From the moment we shook hands, we became firm friends. We both liked rock'n'roll, Elvis Presley, jazz, and country and western music." They met in 1974 when Mbanga was a reporter. They shared a passion for music, were both Roman Catholics and Mbanga believed in Mugabe's love for Zimbabwe. Mugabe gave him exclusive interviews and admired his writing style, so much so that Mugabe asked Mbanga to become the founding editor of the government-run news agency in 1981, and Mbanga leapt at the chance. They travelled together; to India, East Africa and London. But things changed. In 1983, Mbanga heard rumours of massacres in the south-western part of the country. At first he refused to believe that Mugabe was responsible. "He was well-spoken, a natty dresser," he says. "He liked the fine things in life. Mugabe was different and he cared. He really loved his country. It was the Teflon effect; I could not accept that he was corrupt, I did not believe the rumours of these atrocities." Years later, he found out that Mugabe was responsible for the Matabeleland massacres of up to 20,000 people. But it was not until the 1995 elections, when the economy was in freefall and he could no longer discuss politics in the newspaper, that Mbanga realised Mugabe had turned into a "monster". The erosion of human rights had become unpalatable. "Power corrupts, absolutely, and I was left disillusioned by the man who I had had absolute faith in," he says.
The Zimbabwean will also be sold in Johannesburg, Gaborone in Botswana, London, Luton and Manchester, all areas with a big Zimbabwean populations. Almost 20,000 copies will be imported into Zimbabwe from Johannesburg. While many Zimbabweans have signed up for subscriptions to the new title (through a protected system so that the subscribers can't be traced), the newspaper will also be distributed commercially and will be available on Zimbabwe's streets. A legal loophole means that newspapers published outside the country can legally be imported into Zimbabwe. Mbanga says: "I want people to be able to buy it on the streets, and for them to be able to write letters to the newspaper. So far, Mugabe has not banned South African newspapers, though he does not like titles with editorial policies that challenge Zanu PF." Even before the launch, Mbanga was flooded with e-mails from Zimbabweans around the world. He now receives almost 300 messages a day from people trying to get hold of a copy of the paper. "I will be very surprised if, like the Daily News, the circulation does not increase very quickly," he says. "There has been incredible interest. Not just people thinking it is a good idea, but taking out subscriptions. It's a vote of real confidence; people paying for year-long subscriptions before even seeing the product. And not only Zimbabweans, Britons too." The venture has the backing of a Dutch donor agency, which is fund-raising on behalf of Mbanga. He has also been receiving subscriptions and donations from supportive Zimbabweans, keen to see the paper succeed.
With elections imminent, the timing of the newspaper is crucial. A column each week will be dedicated to comparing the progress of the forthcoming election with Southern African Development Community (SADC) principles and guidelines governing the conduct of democratic elections. Mbanga is not under any illusions that The Zimbabwean will affect the outcome of the elections. "Mugabe is going to make sure that he wins," he says. "He has already put in the machinery to rig the election. He is player, referee, umpire, everything." But he is optimistic that people will turn out to vote. "There are a lot of brave people in Zimbabwe. In the last election, people were attacked and raped and still thousands of people went out to vote." Mbanga is completely focused on his quest for the truth. "Nothing will make me give up," he says. "This is my passion, my life, my everything. Apart from my wife, this is my first love. I'd love to go back to Zimbabwe, but I am regarded as an enemy of the people, which makes it very difficult. I want my country to return to normality so that I can go back. The country has been stolen by Mugabe. I hope he is reading The Zimbabwean, so he can learn what is going on in his own country. I haven't received a subscription from him yet, but who knows, it might be in the post. I would frame it."
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Comment from Business Day (SA), 8 February
A grave matter of blind patriots caught between rock, hard place
Jacob Dlamini
Johannesburg - "Whose grave is this?" asks a South African journalist, pointing at a blank tombstone next to the grave of Sally Mugabe, the Zimbabwean first lady, who died in 1992. "These two," says a tour guide as he points at the graves next to that of the late Mugabe, are "technically reserved". Slow to catch on, the South African journalist asks: "Reserved for whom?" There is a nervous chuckle from the tour guide before the journalist realises his "mistake" and quickly changes the subject. The journalist is part of a group of South African journalists being given a tour of Zimbabwe's Heroes' Acre by officials of the ruling Zanu PF. The two graves next to Mugabe's are "technically reserved" for President Robert Mugabe and his second wife Grace, but the two Zanu PF men accompanying the journalists seem to find it difficult to say so outright. The men, whose party has been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, obviously know that Mugabe is mortal. But it seems they cannot quite come to terms with the fact that their president, like all mortals, will one day cease to exist. We feel this in the uncomfortable silence that follows the brief exchange between the journalist and the tour guide.
The silence goes away only once we move on to the other graves at the monument. The site, built by the North Koreans in the 1980s along with the national stadium it overlooks, is the final resting place of more than 30 of Zimbabwe's national heroes. They include, the tour guide says proudly, one white priest and one coloured man. The Zanu PF men, who have invited members of the South African media to Zimbabwe to "show" us and the world that there is no crisis in their country and that multiparty democracy is "thriving", don't seem to want to talk about Mugabe's grave. But they are more than eager to say whose body "would never" be laid to rest at Heroes' Acre - opposition party leader Morgan Tsvangirai's. "My brother, can you imagine Tsvangirai being buried alongside these heroes," says one Zanu PF official, taking us past the graves of Joshua Nkomo and war veterans leader Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi, among others. The official says: "This man (Tsvangirai) does not belong here. What has he ever done for his country? What has he sacrificed for the liberation of his people?"
It is clear from their tone that we are on sacred ground and that only Zanu PF loyalists or those close to the party qualify for burial here. "Even I could never dream of being buried here along all these people," says the other Zanu PF official, no doubt showing just how far down the pecking order "traitors" such as Tsvangirai are. According to the Zanu PF apparatchiks, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is the worst thing to have ever happened to Zimbabwe. One of them says that the MDC, and the fact that he has yet to score a farm from the land reform programme, are the only things that give him sleepless nights. He says the "danger" posed by the MDC to Zimbabwe's continued survival as a sovereign state is worse than the evils of colonialism. Tsvangirai, the Zanu PF men say, is an "imperialist stooge" who takes his orders from Britain and the US. They say they will never allow someone like him to "dishonour" Heroes' Acre.
The two apparatchiks are different in their own ways: one is a liberation war veteran, a retired army officer and a party loyalist still in search of a farm; the other a youngish economist who farms his massive repossessed plot in the south of the country by "remote control" from Johannesburg, where he is a Zanu PF spokesman. But they are united in their faith in Zanu PF and in Mugabe. For them, the party and the leader are almost one. Mugabe and Zanu PF are the best things to have happened to Zimbabwe. The two men are to politics what Osama bin Laden is to religion - fundamentalist, fervent and scary. Asked if they could ever conceive of a government of national unity that includes both Zanu PF and the MDC, they say: "Never!" "There is no unity of purpose and vision between Zanu PF and the MDC. How can you unite with people who do not share your vision or your history of struggle?" says one of them. But what about the thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans who vote MDC, we ask? The Zanu PF hacks ignore our question. To them, the idea that there are people who find parties other than theirs attractive is as much an anathema as talking about Mugabe's grave. You know it's there; you just don't talk about it.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 10 February
Two more union members deported from Zimbabwe
Johannesburg - Two South African-based trade unionists were deported from Zimbabwe on Wednesday, the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said. "The two ... were deported soon after arriving at the Harare International Airport at 12.30pm," said ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe. "After being cleared and about to leave the airport, they were followed by immigration officials who demanded that they produce 'security clearance letters' from the Ministry of Labour." Bobby Marie and Vihemina Prout did not have such letters and were therefore sent back, Chibebe said. "The immigration officials said they had specific instructions that anyone who comes to see the ZCTU should have a clearance letter from the Labour Ministry." He said the two travelled to Zimbabwe at the instruction of the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council, of which Marie and Prout are members. They were expected to hold talks with the ZCTU on the establishment of a trade union school in Zimbabwe that was supposed to start in May 2005, he said. Chibebe said the ZCTU had learnt with great shock of the deportation. "The latest deportation confirms that we are under siege. Our friends cannot have access to us," he said. The Congress of South African Trade Unions, which is a member of SATUCC, has condemned the deportation. Marie and Prout were attempting to help the Zimbabwe trade unions to organise education courses, said Cosatu's spokesperson Patrick Craven. "This is yet another example of the Zimbabwe government's disrespect for basic human rights and its intolerance of trade union activity," he said. Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu's general secretary, is SATUCC's president. He and 19 others were stopped from entering Zimbabwe last week.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 8 February
Nigerian labour movement fumes at Mugabe
Abuja - The trade union movement in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has joined in the fray by siding with attempts by its South African counterpart to send a fact-finding delegation to Zimbabwe. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has written a protest letter to President Robert Mugabe over the deportation last week of a Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) delegation which had flown to Harare to meet the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). According to the Nigerian daily This Day, the letter was signed by the labour movement's general secretary, John E. Odah. He said for the Zimbabwean government to deny a South African trade union delegation access to the ZCTU in Harare was very disturbing. "We are also disturbed by earlier threats by your government to jail the delegation's members should they make further efforts to enter the country. It is regrettable that your recent action has added to the government's already poor records of subversion of the country," reads the letter. Odah said the Nigeria Labour Congress shared the views of the trade union movement in general about the need to intervene in the worsening political situation in Zimbabwe, especially the deteriorating conditions under which the workers and popular organisations were forced to operate. "In addition to other initiatives that may arise at the instance of the international trade union movement, Nigerian trade unions have resolved to join Cosatu in the efforts to establish the facts on the ground, especially on the critical issue of whether there are conditions for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe," the NLC statement said. "The challenge for your government is to see these efforts as arising from a sincere attempt at finding an African solution to what we regard as a serious situation in which Zimbabwean workers have a serious stake."
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From Zim Online (SA), 10 February
Minister's son stops church-run feeding scheme
Gwanda - About 300 children in Gwanda town, 126 km south of Bulawayo, could starve after local Zanu PF activists, among them the son of deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Abednico Ncube, ordered a church-sponsored feeding scheme stopped. Deputy mayor Petros Mukwena told ZimOnline that the ruling party activists last month ordered the Lutheran Church to stop feeding the pre-school children accusing the church of being sympathetic to the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party. "ZANU PF activists decided to stop the Lutheran Church from running child supplementary feeding programmes because they believe the church is working with the MDC," Mukwena said. "The church has been providing nutritional meals and porridge to two pre-schools around the town. In all, at least 300 children were affected and are in desperate need of food aid right now," he added. Mukwena said the town council was unable to find an alternative donor to supply food to the children with most non-governmental organisations scaling down operations in the area and across the country.
A Lutheran Church official, who did not want to be named said Zanu PF activists, among them Ncube's son, Leslie, raided the feeding centre offices and chased the staff away. "We were surprised to hear that the son of deputy foreign affairs minister Abednico Ncube had led the team that chased our staff out of the office and locked it up," the church official said. The Ncubes could not be reached for comment yesterday but a member of Zanu PF's provincial executive, Robson Mafu, defended the stoppage of the feeding programme saying it was because the programme was being run by anti-government elements. Mafu said: "It was stopped because it was running around with anti-government plotters. Subversive organisations will not be allowed to exist here, and they surely cannot be allowed to feed our children." Gwanda is located at the heart of the drought-prone Matabeleland South province and vulnerable groups in the town such as children and people living with HIV/AIDS have for years relied on churches and international aid organisations to supply them with food.
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From SABC News, 9 February
South Africans fear for Zimbabwe land after deal delay
White South African farmers fear they could lose their land in neighbouring Zimbabwe after officials failed to sign a deal today intended to protect them from controversial land seizures. Several South African farmers have already lost land under Zimbabwe's policy of confiscating white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks and other farms have been earmarked for expropriation. Pretoria has tried to negotiate a pact with Harare to protect them, but South Africa's Star newspaper said today the signing had been delayed for a third time. Officials in South Africa and Zimbabwe were not immediately available for comment. But Lourie Bosman, president of farmers' union Agri South Africa, said Zimbabwe officials had on several occasions indicated they did not believe South Africans should be exempted. "I think the statements that we received from the Zimbabwe government is that the land reform process doesn't take citizenship into account. That is what worries us," Bosman said. Bosman also said hundreds of South African farmers owned land in Zimbabwe, drawn by its favourable soil and climate.
South Africa's Trade and Industry minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said in November the pact, first mooted three years ago amid fears that South African-owned property would be confiscated, was close to being signed. But The Star newspaper reported that the signing was put off twice last year due to the unavailability of officials from both countries. It did not say why today's signing, due to take place in Cape Town, had been called off. It added that 15 South African-owned properties in Zimbabwe had been earmarked for expropriation. South Africa is Zimbabwe's most important trading partner. Officials say the agreement would allow South African farmers to take legal action if their property was seized. They would also be allowed to refer any investment related dispute to international arbitration. Critics of Zimbabwe's land-seizure policy say it has ruined the country's agricultural sector which was once the backbone of the economy.
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From The Mercury (SA), 10 February
Farmer 'beaten to death' in rural Zimbabwe
Harare - One of the last white farmers in the Banket area - about 80km north of Harare - has been murdered. Norwegian-born Ole Sunde, 66, was apparently beaten to death at the weekend, but his family do not know exactly how he died because Zimbabwe no longer has a state pathologist. On Wednesday his daughter-in-law, who asked not to be named, said that there were signs of struggle in the house, and Sunde was found dead on his bed, covered in bruises. She said Sunde, who came to Zimbabwe about 30 years ago but carried a Kenyan passport, had hardly been able to farm because of political disturbances in the area, which used to be the top food producing district. * Journalists Karima Brown and Peter Fabricius report that South Africa's High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, Jerry Ndou, has played down concerns about the latest moves by the Zimbabwean government against farms owned by South Africans. Cases involving 15 South African-owned farms are now going before the administrative court in Harare to legalise the seizure of the farms. These cases appear to contradict an agreement with Zimbabwe that land owned by fellow-members of the Southern African Development Community would not be touched.
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From Financial Gazette, 10 February
Chiyangwa's mansion sold
Njabulo Ncube
Philip Chiyangwa, the maverick Zanu PF legislator and businessman currently languishing in remand prison on allegations of espionage, has sold his lavish Borrowdale mansion for an estimated $6.8 billion. The white two-storey palace, popularly referred to as Harare's White House, has been flogged off to an undisclosed buyer who market sources said feared being identified in light of the controversy surrounding the incarcerated businessman-turned-politician. The deposed Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairman is in remand prison awaiting a High Court judgment on his bail application. Chiyangwa, who faces up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted of breaching the Official Secrets Act, is expected to appear at the magistrate courts tomorrow on routine remand. Zimbabwe's ambassador-designate to Mozambique, Godfrey Dzvairo, banker Tendai Matambanadzo and Zanu PF external affairs director Itai Marchi, who were facing similar charges, were on Tuesday jailed for a maximum of six years each.
Speculation swirled this week the property could have been disposed to a foreign embassy or international organisation based in Harare. Investigations by The Financial Gazette revealed that the double-storey property, which boasts of 18 bedrooms - all ensuite - 18 stylishly furnished lounges, three roof helipads and a fully furnished office with state-of-the-art technological embellishments, has been on sale since December last year but the sale was concluded in the past three weeks. A "sold" sign was by yesterday morning still posted outside the huge property at the corner of 11 Prestwood Lane and Crowhill in Quinnington, Borrowdale. An official with the Harare realtor that handled the sale, Seeff Zimbabwe, confirmed the development. "We sold the property in December last year but we are not supposed to say for how much and to whom," the official said. It could not be ascertained if the house, which has Greek, Portuguese and Italian tiles, went voetstoets with plasma televisions, a theatre-type television in the main bedroom, computerised wardrobes, several satellite dishes and other accessories.
Chiyangwa's neighbours who spoke to this newspaper said they were taken by surprise when the leading Harare estate agent three weeks ago erected a sign proclaiming that the house, an oasis even in the midst of the suburb's extravagant opulence, had been sold. "The "sold" sign was posted three weeks ago but other people continue flocking here to inquire about the property," a neighbour said. "Just yesterday sales representatives from another Harare estate agent were here inquiring about the property," added the nighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity. However, it is understood that Chiyangwa's wife and other members of his family were this week still occupying the property as final transactions were being concluded.
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From News24 (SA), 10 February
'Multiparty' observers to Zim
Waldimar Pelser and Mandy Rossouw
Cape Town - South Africa will "definitely" send a multi-party team of parliamentary observers to Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections on March 31. Luphumzo Kebeni, spokesperson for parliament, said parliament will also send a representative to join the observer team of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A final date has not yet been set for the SADC team's departure, but March 16 has been mentioned, Kebeni said. This comes after complaints from the Zimbabwe opposition on Wednesday that President Robert Mugabe's government has not yet invited foreign observers to monitor the elections in seven weeks' time. SADC guidelines determine that a SADC team must be invited at least 90 days before the elections and must start their observing mission at least two weeks before election day. Mugabe signed these guidelines in August 2004. Dr Kasuka Mutukwa, secretary general of the SADC parliamentary forum (SADC-PF) who criticised the 2002 presidential elections in Zimbabwe, said from Windhoek the forum was "expecting an invitation" and would like to send a team of 35 members of parliament.
The Election Institute of Southern Africa (Eisa), which monitors all elections in the region "in principle", said the election date was announced only recently. Eisa will decide this week who will lead its team of 40. However, neither Eisa, nor the SADC-PF have been invited yet. Sa Ngidi of Eisa said an invitation was a prerequisite and if they did not receive one, they would definitely complain to Zimbabwe's election assessment committee. Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the refusal to invite observers in time shows that Mugabe has "skeletons in the closet". Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, shadow minister of foreign affairs, said in Harare that the African Union has also not been invited yet and "it is clear that the (Zimbabwean) government is not at all serious about observers". The president of the National Association for Good Governance in Harare, Douglas Chihambakwe, said opposition parties should exert pressure on Mugabe to invite observers. However, it would be "senseless" to have observers only on election day. Zimbabwean minister of justice, Patrick Chinamasa, announced in January that public servants, rather than independent observers, would monitor the elections. He said public servants could be "brought to book if they are up to no good".
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From Zim Online (SA), 10 February
No surrender for bruised MDC activists in Zimbabwe's turbulent political turf
Bulawayo - Five years after he was tortured by agents of the government's Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) during the run-up to the 2000 parliamentary election, opposition activist Dumisani Moyo is still in pain. His private organs, where he was severely beaten with truncheons during torture sessions, swell up and get painful whenever it is cloudy or raining and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activist says he now fears that he might never be able to father children because of the injuries. "My private parts were swollen for days after the beatings. Even today, when it rains or when it is cloudy or cold, I have problems down there," Moyo, who lives in Bulawayo's teaming Mpopoma suburb told Zim Online this week. "The doctors have also told me that I might not be able to have children," Moyo added, a distinct ring in his voice underscoring both his anger at what was done to him and disappointment that those who tortured him were never punished. But mention Zimbabwe's upcoming general election in March and Moyo's visibly dejected and angry face lightens up as he vows he will be back on the MDC campaign track, the inherent dangers of doing so not withstanding. He explains why: "It (arrest and torture) can happen again, but I am not scared. I want to see the men who tortured me brought to justice, I still remember their names and I can identify them anywhere, anytime."
Moyo is not alone. With the parliamentary poll barely two months away, thousands of MDC activists across the country are girding up their loins for a gruelling campaign period following their party's decision last week to contest the March election. The MDC had threatened to boycott the key poll unless President Robert Mugabe acted to end political violence and fully implemented a Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol on democratic elections. Among other key conditions, the protocol requires independent commissions to run elections and that the rule of law and human rights be upheld while the government should firmly act against political violence during elections. Mugabe says a new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission he appointed last month is fully independent and has sufficient powers to ensure a free and fair poll next month. Human rights groups and the opposition say the commission headed by a pro-Mugabe High Court Judge George Chiweshe, lacks independence because its chairman is appointed by the President. But the MDC still went back on its threat to boycott the election even though it did not get the concessions it sought from the government. The opposition party said in doing so, it was bowing to pressure from its members.
Another MDC activist, Samuel Khumalo, who like Moyo has been arrested and tortured before while campaigning for the party, gives an insight into the kind of determined pressure the party's rank and file exerted on the leadership forcing them to withdraw the boycott threat. "African politics is not for the faint-hearted. Once you get involved in politics, you must be prepared for the worst," said Khumalo. The MDC activist, who said he has resisted pressure from his wife to quit "the dangerous game of politics" says the greater cause for democracy demanded that the opposition party remained in the political ring, notwithstanding its unevenness and dangers. But Khumalo, who is also a trade union activist, admits that the "struggle for democracy" is not an easy one. He himself has been arrested and tortured on numerous occasions by ruling Zanu PF party militants for propagating MDC policies and views. During one arrest, Khumalo sustained injuries in the head when his interrogators severely assaulted him. He sustained a gush about three centimetres deep which forced him to shave off his dreadlocks. Khumalo said: "Our police operate like the Gestapo (Nazi secret police). Their fingers are itching to shoot anyone who refuses to toe the line. They want to instill fear in the people. But we shall not be intimidated, we will carry on." It remains to be seen whether the determination of Khumalo, Moyo and thousands of other MDC activists will translate into success in March.
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From The Star (SA), 11 February
Mugabe supporters held after rampage
Harare - Thirty-one youths from President Robert Mugabe's ruling party have been arrested after they beat up opposition supporters and stabbed a police officer, according to newspaper reports. Yesterday's violence in the town of Norton, west of Harare, came ahead of the March 31 parliamentary elections that the ruling Zanu PF hopes will tighten its grip on power. The 31 Zanu PF supporters commandeered cars from local residents and went about beating up opposition loyalists, the state-run Herald and independent Mirror reported. When one of them was arrested, the Zanu PF members reportedly attacked a police station and assaulted police officers. One policeman suffered serious stab wounds, according to The Herald. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and police chief Augustine Chihuri this week warned against violence in the run-up to the elections. "Any perpetrators will meet the full wrath of the law. There will be no excuses, no one to run to," Chinamasa said. Elections in 2000 and 2002 in Zimbabwe were marred by violence and widespread allegations of fraud.
In a separate incident, rival factions of Zimbabwe's main opposition party clashed in Masvingo, a southern town, on Wednesday, according to media reports and a party official. Witnesses told the Mirror and The Herald that violence broke out when Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai's bodyguards blocked supporters of a lawmaker who lost in the party's primary polls as they tried to barge into a meeting. Two local councillors were among those injured in Wednesday's clashes, according to media reports. MDC youth chairperson Nelson Chamisa confirmed the clashes, which he blamed on lawmaker Silas Mangono, whom he accused of busing in his supporters to disrupt the meeting. "Mr Tsvangirai was having a meeting with officials from the party structures to discuss the party's election campaign strategies for the province, but Mr Mangono, who was defeated in a free and fair exercise, brought his sympathisers to disrupt the meeting," Chamisa said. Police said no arrests had been made, but they were investigating. Analysts say Zanu PF is almost certain to return to power, prolonging a political and economic crisis that has ruined the once prosperous country. Mugabe has said his government will not tolerate election violence, but the MDC says he must get tough with Zanu PF's militant youth brigades to ensure this.
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From ZWNEWS, 11 February
Ploughing a field
A new weekly newspaper, The Zimbabwean, was launched yesterday in London and Johannesburg. The 24-page tabloid is edited by a leading Zimbabwe journalist, Wilf Mbanga, a prime mover behind Zimbabwe's only independent daily, The Daily News, which was silenced under Zimbabwe's draconian press laws. "Zimbabweans are deprived of news - they are being fed a diet of Zanu PF propaganda every day," Mbanga said in an interview at the launch in the Africa Centre in London's Covent Garden district. "The aim of the paper is to inform millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora about what is going on at home, and to tell Zimbabweans at home what's happening outside the country. It is a two-way traffic." Mbanga and his wife, Trish, who are now based in Britain, have sunk their life-savings into the project. Two Dutch NGOs are raising funds, and subscriptions from Zimbabweans have poured in, said Mbanga, not only from South Africa and Europe, but from exiles in the USA, Canada and Australia. There are hopes that circulation will rise to hundreds of thousands and more. Plans are for early print runs of 20,000 in South Africa and 30,000 in Britain. For sales in Zimbabwe - where thugs regularly beat up vendors of The Daily News - Mbanga believes he has found a loophole in Mugabe's catch-all press laws requiring journalists and publications to register. "It's unpredictable," he acknowledged. "But there is no law requiring us to register if the paper is published outside Zimbabwe."
The first issue is impressive: a mixture of politics, commentary, art, entertainment and sport - all Zimbabwe-related. The lead story predicts the renewal by the European Union of personal sanctions targeted at Mugabe and his ruling elite and sums up the growing abuses by the regime ahead of March 31 elections: the violence, the youth militia, intimidation of the opposition, dead voters on the rolls, and the rest of the strategy from a handbook for ballot-rigging. There are analyses by an academic of the challenges the paper faces; and a "Party Politics" page in which a message from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangarai runs alongside a self-congratulatory piece lifted from the ruling party's website. Mbanga had to lift the material as Zanu PF ignored an invitation to put its viewpoint. Other stories focus on Zimbabwean failed asylum-seekers facing deportation from Britain; demands by exiles to vote; Mbeki's dilemma over Zimbabwe; Nigeria welcoming dispossessed white Zimbabwean farmers. There is human interest. In A Letter from Home, Litany Bird graphically describes a trip to a school to check whether her name is on the voter's roll: the pot-holed road, the broken street lights, the hisses of Zanu PF thugs stationed outside the building to deter checkers, and more ominously their apparent success: the writer found herself checking alone - no queue in front, no one behind.
All this was done by voluntary contributors. "We now have 62 Zimbabwean journalists who have offered to write for us for free," said Mbanga. These include journalists inside Zimbabwe deprived of their livelihood by the ban on The Daily News. Some write under bylines, others do not. "To all those who have to remain nameless for fear of vicious repercussions . we know who they are and the time will come for due recognition to be made of their services at this significant moment in our country's history," Mbanga wrote in the first issue. Graphic design, stories, feature and cartoons are all by volunteers. It reflects, Mbanga said before the launch, the Zimbabwean custom of "kubatana" (let's help one another) usually associated with big tasks such a ploughing a field. "It is this spirit which gives me hope for the future of my country."
Subscriptions: mbanga@thezimbabwean.co.uk; advertisements: ads@thezimbabwean.co.uk; editorial material: news@thezimbabwean.co.uk; letters: letters@thezimbabwean.co.uk. Also, visit The Zimbabwean's website at www.thezimbabwean.co.uk.
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From The Daily Mirror, 11 February
Chiyangwa loses farm
Clemence Manyukwe
Businessman and politician Phillip Chiyangwa's problems continue to mount, amid revelations he is set to lose his Citrus Farm in his home province of Mashonaland West. Chiyangwa, whose chairmanship of Zanu PF in the province is also under threat after the provincial leadership passed a vote of no-confidence on him, is currently in remand prison on espionage charges. Sources in the province told The Daily Mirror by phone yesterday that Chiyangwa's farm would be "taken any time" from now and handed over to Chinhoyi City Council. The sources said plans to gazette the farm for acquisition were advanced. Yesterday, Chinhoyi mayor Risipa Kapesa confirmed his council's intention to take over the farm. The mayor said emphasis was not on Chiyangwa's property alone, as 14 others had also been earmarked for take over. "From the onset, that farm was meant for peri-urban development. We have already been given all the 14 farms, and we are awaiting their gazetting. As for Chiyangwa's, we want it for commercial purposes. All those on the 14 farms have been told to vacate. Everything should be in place after the elections as everyone is busy at the moment," Kapesa said. The mayor said they wanted the farms, including Chiyangwa's, to expand the Mashonaland West capital. Council had already made submissions to provincial Governor Nelson Samkange to extend the municipality's boundaries to include the 14 farms, the mayor added.
In an interview, the governor acknowledged council's plans to take over Chiyangwa's farm. The farm would soon be gazetted for acquisition, he added. "This action is not only directed at Chiyangwa's farm. It just happens to be one of many. What is now left is for its gazetting, so that the council takes it. It does not matter who owns that farm," he said. The Governor went on: "This is part of government's policy to take over farms surrounding cities for expansion purposes. You can ask (Ignatius) Chombo (the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing). He knows about the intention to take over these farms in the province." Samkange explained that the imminent take over of the farms was part of the town's "planning policy for the next 30 years". Chombo could not be reached yesterday, with the ministry's permanent secretary David Munyoro only saying: "It is wrong to refer those questions to me." However, Chiyangwa's young brother Jimmy, professed ignorance of the new development. "I am not aware of that because no one has informed us (the family). Actually, we have just taken fuel to that farm," he said. Mashonaland West Zanu PF interim boss, John Mafa, said there was nothing wrong with the move, if it was done for expansion purposes, and so long there was compensation in kind. "As an example, I was given a farm in Norton and if Norton want it for expansion purposes, they can take it. What is important is to be given a replacement," Mafa said.
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From The Financial Mail (SA), 4 August
Gono plays spin doctor as economic management fails
By Own Correspondent
Official economic management fails
The hopes of business that the Zimbabwe authorities would see sense and devalue the country's overweight dollar were dashed last week when Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono left the auction rate unchanged. However, because Gono in effect abolished the Z$824/US$ official exchange rate - announcing that exporters would now get the auction rate (Z$5 925/US$) for all their export earnings - exporters are marginally better off. Some exporters are even in a better position. Gold miners will get an effective gold price of US$708/oz for their exports (65% more than the world price). Tobacco exporters, however, who have also been awarded an enhanced subsidy, say they need more. They have called for an exchange rate of around Z$9 000/US$, compared with the Z$7 500, including the subsidy, offered by the Reserve Bank. All other exporters have been left to make do with the auction rate of Z$5 925, which, after adjustment for inflation, means they are getting about half as much for every US dollar of exports as they got in March 2003. Small wonder then that the parallel market exchange rate is around Z$8 500-Z$9 000 and that in last Thursday's auction the central bank managed to provide only 13% of the US$82m in foreign currency bids by the private sector.
Platinum exporters, dominated by SA's Implats, that thought they had negotiated a workable tax and foreign exchange regime will have to operate four different foreign-currency accounts subject to RBZ supervision. How Gono reconciles this official micro management of export earnings with his call for increased foreign investment is unclear. Then there is the governor's call for a system of "command agriculture", whereby new farmers who received land in President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme will be "bound through performance contracts to produce minimum targeted output of specific crops". More micromanagement from the bank. Gono remains upbeat about inflation, predicting the average rate will fall to 85% this year from 350% in 2004 and end 2005 at around 30%. In a year in which global exports are forecast to increase only 1%, the governor is predicting a 55% surge in Zimbabwe's exports, and he is confident the economy will grow at 3,5%-5% this year, despite the mounting evidence of a poor agricultural season. Indeed, even Gono had to back-pedal on earlier government claims of a 165m kg tobacco crop in 2005, saying it was likely to be 100m kg - a 50% increase on 2004.
Gono's statement is riddled with contradictions, including the estimate that money supply actually fell by 20% in December 2004 and that this coincided with both a stock market boom - share prices have doubled over the past eight weeks - and a fall in interest rates. Gono announced an ambitious plan to lend Z$10 trillion (about US$1,6bn) to parastatals and local authorities over the next 18 months. The amount is four times the domestic debt of Z$2,8 trillion and four times domestic savings. Where will it come from? Gono says he is going to borrow it, but economists and bankers have been quick to point out that to borrow such an amount, he will have to print it first, which will scupper his optimistic inflation targets. A further stark contradiction is between the governor's inflation targets and those of the ministry of finance. The ministry expects inflation of about 250% in 2005 compared with Gono's 85%. Assuming Gono is right, the budget deficit will be more than 20% of GDP - and the governor will have to borrow not Z$14,5 trillion as now envisaged, but double that amount.
Because he managed to easily beat his 2004 inflation targets, Gono is on something of a high. But last week's statement suggests he is overreaching himself, setting targets that will be much harder to meet. Cynics - and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - say Gono's January 26 razzmatazz was all about the forthcoming elections, not the economy. Once the poll is out of the way, they predict, the governor will be singing from a different hymn sheet. Gono's statement, said the MDC, had little to do with stabilising the economy. "Rather, it was a statement misleading the country into believing that the economy was on the mend," the MDC said. The irony of all this is that, unlike the MDC, many in the business community really believe Gono, who, at least to date, has won the propaganda war. But his own numbers suggest this will not last.
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From Reuters, 11 February
Zimbabwe Jan inflation quickens to 133.6 pct yr/yr
Harare - Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate accelerated slightly to 133.6 percent in the year to January from 132.7 percent in December, figures from the Central Statistical Office showed on Friday. This was the first rise in the consumer price index after 11 consecutive months of decline which saw it subside from an all-time peak of 622.8 percent in January 2004. On a month-on-month basis, inflation jumped 10.2 percentage points to 14.1 percent in January, with food prices accounting for 41.7 percent of the rise. "The increases in prices from December 2004 to January 2005 was accounted for by increases in the average prices of beverages, rent and rates, education fees, meat and communication," the CSO said. President Robert Mugabe's government has singled out inflation as the country's number one enemy as it grapples with an economic crisis widely blamed on its mismanagement. But inflation has fallen sharply over the past year in response to a combative monetary policy implemented by the central bank. The central bank has suppressed a thriving illegal market in foreign currency and tightened the supervision of banks, which were blamed for fuelling inflation through speculative activities. Zimbabwe's economy is set to expand for the first time this year after a 30 percent contraction since 1999, but analysts do not expect growth to meet official forecasts of 3-5 percent. Last month central bank governor Gideon Gono predicted inflation would subside from triple digits to between 20 and 30 percent by the end of 2005, after ending the previous year at 132.7 percent, below the target range of 150-160 percent. Mugabe, 81 this month and in power since independence from Britain in 1980, denies mismanaging the economy, and in turn charges that it has been a victim of sabotage by his domestic and foreign opponents mainly over his forcible of white-owned commercial farms for landless blacks.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 10 February
Why poll got our X
Welshman Ncube
Last week, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) took the toughest decision we've ever had to in our five-year history: the national council voted to lift the suspension on participating in elections and entered the race under protest. Making tough choices is part and parcel of politics, but it did not come without soul-searching. On August 25 last year we suspended participation in the elections pending the Zimbabwe government's full compliance with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Guidelines and Principles Governing Democratic Elections. At the time, the MDC retained a degree of optimism that President Mugabe would act in the interests of Zimbabwe and the SADC region, and that he would honour the undertakings he had given to other regional leaders to bring Zimbabwe's electoral framework and political environment in line with what is expected under the new SADC standards. Regrettably, our optimism proved unfounded.
The government remains uninterested in extending to Zimbabweans the rights and freedom enjoyed by our brothers and sisters across the SADC region. The reforms that have been introduced are cosmetic and self-serving, and fail to properly address the democratic deficits that preclude a free and fair election from taking place. This made boycotting the elections a compelling option for the MDC leadership. But since last August, the MDC leadership has traveled to every corner of Zimbabwe, engaging our structures and civil society organisations on whether to participate in the March election. Under the toughest conditions, we held district assemblies in each of Zimbabwe's 120 districts and provincial assemblies in all 12 provinces. Each district and each province was asked to submit resolutions confirming their respective positions. The resolutions that were submitted were overwhelmingly in favour of participation.
The businessmen we spoke to in Masvingo, the unemployed youth we spoke to in Chipinge, the factory workers we spoke to in Harare and the ex-farm workers we spoke to in rural parts of Manicaland all expressed their desire to exercise their right to vote, regardless of the negative democratic conditions on the ground. Among our working-class support base the determination to see the implementation of Restart, the MDC's economic policy agenda for job creation and sustainable economic recovery, appeared to strengthen their resolve to participate in the elections. The manner in which the decision to participate in the elections was made is indicative of the subordination of the MDC leadership to the internal democratic processes of the party when it comes to decision-making. It also reflects the unity of purpose that binds the MDC and which has enabled it to overcome everything which has been thrown at it by Zanu PF over the past five years. Contrary to the accusations of our critics, both inside and outside the country, this unity of purpose is not based solely on the objective of replacing the current government. The MDC evolved out of civil society, in particular the labour movement, and was formed in direct response to the failure of the government to address pressing socio-economic grievances. We are not only an opposition party; we have a set of policy proposals awaiting implementation.
The political and socio-economic context in which the MDC was born means the party is very much a "broad church", consisting of a wide range of constituencies ranging from labour, youth and women to business. There is a perception that the MDC's diversity is its "Achilles heel", paralysing efforts to formulate a common programme. Nothing could be further from the truth. The various constituencies that make up the MDC have a collective desire to build a new Zimbabwe based on the social democratic values of solidarity, social justice, freedom, democracy, equity and equality. The forthcoming elections offer a glimmer of hope for change. We will, however, remain vigilant of the ruling party's capacity for electoral malpractice. If conditions on the ground deteriorate, extinguishing all glimmer of hope, we have reserved the right to take corrective measures.
Professor Welshman Ncube is the secretary general of the MDC
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 11 February
SADC troika snubbed
Dumisani Muleya
Southern African Development Community leaders who planned to assess electoral conditions in Zimbabwe last month were unable to proceed with their mission when authorities in Harare proved reluctant hosts. Diplomatic sources said this week that a SADC troika comprising South African President Thabo Mbeki, Lesotho Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili, and outgoing Namibian President Sam Nujoma had been expected to meet President Mugabe on January 17 in Harare in connection with the election, but were unable to fulfil their mission. "The SADC troika leaders had been due to meet Mugabe on January 17," a diplomatic source said. "It seems that the meeting was arranged when Mugabe met with Mbeki during his visit to South Africa for a relative's wedding early last month. However, the trip was aborted when the leaders failed to secure a confirmation from Harare, diplomats said this week. Mbeki's spokesman Bheki Khumalo said yesterday he was not aware of the abortive meeting.
Mugabe last month went to Tanzania to attend Zanzibar's independence anniversary celebrations. He later hosted Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa in Harare. Mbeki, Mosisili and Nujoma currently comprise the troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, which deals with elections in the region. Mbeki is the chair. Under Mosisili's chairmanship, the organ is said to have engineered the SADC principles governing democratic elections, which Zimbabwe is now struggling to comply with. The principles were adopted during a SADC summit at Grand Baie in Mauritius last August. The SADC troika was tasked to visit Zimbabwe to assess whether or not it was complying with the election guidelines. The guidelines urge member states to "establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies" to run elections. They also encourage SADC nations to safeguard freedoms of association, assembly, and expression as well as access to the public media by all political parties. Member states are also required to take "all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging, or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process".
The SADC principles have put Zimbabwe in the spotlight because of its skewed political landscape and profoundly flawed electoral process. After the failure of the SADC troika leaders to secure an appointment with Mugabe, SADC then decided to send a technical team, including legal experts, to assess the situation. However, the team has also had difficulty obtaining the green light to come to Zimbabwe. Sources said the team was expected to feature a prominent South African lawyer, Kgomotso Ditsebe Moroka, who has been honoured by Mbeki's office for outstanding contributions in the "upliftment of society". South African Foreign Affairs director-general Ayanda Ntsaluba said last week the technical team was still awaiting clearance by Harare. "Zimbabwe has not given clearance for the team and we are a bit concerned. However, they have in the past given us the assurance and there is no reason to believe that they will not be consistent now," he said.
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From Business Day (SA), 11 February
ANC and allies claim deal on Zimbabwe poll
Deputy Political Editor
SA's ruling alliance partners, sharply divided over Zimbabwe's forthcoming elections, say they have found common ground in their bid to ensure a free and fair poll in SA's troubled neighbour. Central to this is a proposed deal to allow regional trade union body, the Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Council, to travel with a Southern African Development Community (SADC) delegation to observe the poll. Political analyst Dumisane Hlophe said, however, that Zimbabwe was unlikely to allow the SADC observer team to include trade unionists. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has convinced its ally, the African National Congress, to support the inclusion of regional trade unionists on the SADC team. The alliance's position is seen as an attempt to save face for Cosatu after Mugabe's government booted out its two fact-finding missions, which also strained relations within the tripartite alliance in SA. The alliance's new common position on Zimbabwe, hammered out in a marathon meeting on Wednesday, has reunited the feuding alliance partners. Cosatu spokesman Paul Notyhawa said following talks with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) the allies had agreed to put pressure on Zimbabwe to adhere to all SADC electoral principles and guidelines. The alliance said SADC had to decide whether conditions in Zimbabwe were conducive to free and fair polls, including an undertaking that police act impartially and that citizens enjoy freedom of movement, assembly, association and expression. The SADC team is to visit Zimbabwe to assess whether electoral laws proposed by President Robert Mugabe in preparation for the poll have been enacted. The team's visit has already been delayed for more than a month.
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From Zim Online (SA), 11 February
Army barracks declared 'no go' areas for opposition
Harare - The Zimbabwe government has barred opposition and independent candidates in next month's general election from canvassing for support among uniformed forces, considered by many political analysts as the bedrock of its 25-year grip on power, Zim Online established. Commanders at army, police and prison camps have in the past few weeks refused the candidates permission to hold meetings or to distribute fliers in the camps where thousands of service personnel live with their families. Ruling Zanu PF party candidates and government ministers can enter the camps freely to canvass for support among the uniformed forces who like any adult Zimbabwean are allowed to vote in the March ballot. For example, police authorities last week barred independent candidate Margaret Dongo from entering Tomlinson Depot in Harare Central constituency where she is standing. In a letter to Dongo, a police superintendent A Mpofu wrote: "Please be advised that your application dated February 5 2005 (for permission to distribute campaign material in ZRP Tomlinson Depot) has not been approved. Such activities are not allowed in our camp and may you please accept our position."
Tomlinson Depot is one of no less than five large camps and barracks in Harare Central constituency. The army's KG6 national headquarters, barracks for President Robert Mugabe's special Presidential Guard Battalion and Zimbabwe's elite One Commando brigade are also in the same constituency. Residents of the camps make up close to 50 percent of registered voters in the constituency. Dongo said: "The major training and biggest army, police and prison camps are in Harare Central constituency, but they are not permitting me to campaign in these camps. How then am I expected to reach out (to voters living there)? This is not fair at all." High Court Judge, George Chiweshe, appointed last month to head the newly created Zimbabwe Electoral Commission that is tasked with running elections in the country could not be reached for comment on the matter last night. He does not have phones and staff as yet.
Harare lawyer and main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party parliamentarian Tendai Biti, who was refused entry into Chikurubi prison complex, east of the capital, said it was illegal for the government to ban opposition candidates from canvassing for support among uniformed forces. Biti said: "It is unconstitutional and immoral to bar the opposition from campaigning in camps and barracks. "If the uniformed officers are allowed to vote, then they must be given the right of choice which supposes that some people must market their manifestos to them for them to make informed decisions. Politicians must be allowed to campaign freely if Zimbabwe is a democratic country." Just before the 2002 presidential election controversially won by Mugabe, the top commanders of Zimbabwe's army, air force, police, prison and secret service declared in a joint statement that they were not going to back the winner of the poll if that person did not fight in Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war. The statement was seen as a clear threat to stage a coup should MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who did not fight the war, won. Zvinavashe's successor Constantine Chiwenga has in the past also publicly told soldiers to support Zanu PF. Analysts agree that without firm backing of the security forces, Mugabe and his government would have long crumbled under the weight of public discontent fuelled by severe food shortages and economic hardships, Zimbabweans blame on government policies.
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From The Washington Post, 12 February
Zimbabwe plans food handouts as elections near
By Craig Timberg
Johannesburg - The Zimbabwean government, backing off forecasts of a bumper harvest, announced Friday that 1.5 million people were in immediate need of food aid, especially in the country's drought-stricken southern provinces. The state-controlled Herald newspaper in Harare, the capital, reported that the government planned to spend about $8 million to buy and distribute more than 15,000 tons of corn meal, the staple food in southern Africa, in the weeks leading up to nationwide parliamentary elections March 31. Ignatius Chombo, Zimbabwe's acting minister of public service, labor and social welfare, said needy households would each receive a 110-pound bag of corn meal, as well as about $5 in cash to help buy food, the Herald reported. The announcement drew immediate criticism from opposition leaders, human rights activists and other government critics who warned that in the previous two national elections - in 2000 and 2002 - President Robert Mugabe's ruling party used food handouts to garner votes. Mugabe has been in power since 1980. "They want to control the food and politicize it," said Pius Ncube, the Catholic archbishop of Zimbabwe's second-largest city and one of Mugabe's most vocal critics. "They'd rather kill people for the sake of power." Ncube said the announcement was part of a strategy that began last May, when Mugabe called on international food donors to leave Zimbabwe. "We are not hungry . . . Why foist this food upon us? We don't want to be choked. We have enough," Mugabe told Britain's Sky News. The U.N. World Food Program, World Vision and other donors sharply curtailed their operations soon after, leaving the government as the primary source of emergency food aid.
The government also has limited the purchase and transport of corn meal by individuals. Roadblocks have been set up on main roads, and Zimbabweans caught carrying more than two or three of the bags can face fines or imprisonment. Zimbabwe was once known as the breadbasket of southern Africa because of its copious production and export of corn, tobacco and other commodities. But agricultural output has plummeted since 2000, when Mugabe sanctioned violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms. Many once-productive fields have turned brown and are overgrown with weeds. As recently as 2002, the World Food Program fed more than half the population. Production appeared to increase early last year after months of heavy rainfall. Mugabe ejected international teams charged with measuring output but said Zimbabwe would produce more corn than in any year since the land seizures began. The Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party, charged that such food aid was already being used to buy support, especially in rural areas. "It has already begun, using food as a weapon," said Paul Themba Nyathi, a party spokesman. "Government is already saying to these communities, should you vote against government, should you vote for opposition, you won't get food."
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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 12 February
A farmer is ruined in the land where time stands still
Harare - In a colonial-era court where the clock has been stuck at 5.44 for a decade or so, an 81-year-old farmer lost his home yesterday. The fate of Lawrence Nicholson's small ranch was decided as part of President Robert Mugabe's sudden scramble to complete "legal" acquisition of all white-owned land. All but 300 out of 4,000 of Zimbabwe's farms have been seized since Mr Mugabe started his land redistribution scheme five years ago. Now the paperwork is being rushed through to give the programme a legal rubber stamp, critics say. Mr Mugabe has established new courts, new laws and appointed new judges to fast-track the process. The legal debate, such as it was, about Mr Nicholson's home, a 10,000-acre ranch 250 miles south of the capital, took place in the Administrative Court in Harare, where blinds hang askew across grimy windows. Judge Andrew Matema presided over the court, airless on a hot summer's day and empty save for a clerk running the tape recorder, a state lawyer, one for the defence and Mr Nicholson's youngest son, John, 34. His father bought the land four years after independence in 1980. By keeping cattle down to 250 head, the over-grazed pasture recovered and he earned conservation awards, but not much money. He was, unusually, largely left alone during Mr Mugabe's violent five-year campaign to evict white farmers. But inflation of 600 per cent put him out of business. Mr Nicholson's defence was to cite the constitution, which guarantees a fair trial. His lawyer, Rodney Makavsi, argued that several judges had been "beneficiaries" of Mr Mugabe's largesse. Judge Matema threw out the argument, saying it was "frivolous, vexatious and bordering on contempt". When Judge Matema closed the session, John Nicholson, who is alone among four siblings to remain in Zimbabwe, stared at the bench and said: "How can this be called frivolous?"
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From The Times (UK), 12 February
Mugabe changes aid stance
By Jan Raath
The Zimbabwean Government said it was launching a "drought relief" operation for 1.5 million people who it said were in need of food. The news came on the day that President Mugabe launched his Zanu PF party's campaign for next month's elections. The announcement flatly contradicted Mr Mugabe's claims last year that Zimbabwe had so much food it was "choking" on it. He said then that there had been a record harvest and ordered the United Nations to stop distributing food. "They (the Government) are the only ones who have food," Renson Gasela, the Shadow Agriculture Minister, said. "They will use that food to campaign. People are starving and they can only get it if they are on a Zanu PF list." In a rambling speech Mr Mugabe also had some advice for Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State, who last month included Zimbabwe in her list of "outposts of tyranny", alongside North Korea, Burma, Iran, Belarus and Cuba. "That girl, born out of slave ancestry in the United States, should know . . . that the white man is slave master to her," he said. He deliberately pronounced her name "Lice".
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From Zim Online (SA), 12 February
Fresh crackdown against Zimbabwe journalists
Harare - State secret police this week launched a manhunt for a senior journalist, Cornelius Nduna, as prosecutors revived charges against prominent newspaper columnist, Pius Wakatama, in a crackdown on the media ahead of the March election. Officers from the police's law and order department this week told Nduna's lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, that they wanted to see her client over "sensitive and security" video tapes they claimed he possessed. Mtetwa said: "I have met the people at the law and order section and I will be meeting them again so that they can clarify issues. But they have told me that they believe Cornelius (Nduna) is in possession of video tapes that are sensitive and a security concern. Of course Cornelius is not aware of these tapes or the so-called sensitivity." Operatives of the government's Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) normally claim they are from the law and order section, an ordinary division of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, to hide their identity when they go after journalists or human rights activists.
Impeccable sources at the CIO yesterday told Zim Online that the secret police organ in fact wanted to arrest Nduna in connection with a story broadcast sometime last year by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) exposing human rights abuses by youths trained under the government's controversial national youth service training programme. The CIO believes that Nduna, a former news editor of the independent Standard weekly paper and now a top freelancer for several international news agencies, might have helped in the production of the video. "We want to arrest him over the BBC story on the youths. Our information is that he helped produce that documentary," a senior CIO officer said. According to the sources, undercover agents of the CIO have for the past week attempted to arrest the journalist at his offices in Harare but found him away each time they went there. The CIO refused to speak on the matter last night saying it does not "advertise" its work in newspapers, while state Security Minister Nicholas Goche, in charge of the CIO, could not be reached for comment. It was also not possible to get a comment from Nduna as he could not be reached on his mobile phone.
As CIO agents hunted down Nduna, state prosecutors revived a case against Wakatama in which the columnist was charged with breaching Section 80 (a) (ii) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act when he repeated in one of his columns three years ago a story that was later proved to have been false. Section 80 outlaws the publication of falsehoods with offenders liable to a fine or a jail sentence of up to two years. Wakatama's trial was yesterday set for March 10. Wakatama referred in one of his columns in the banned Daily News to a newspaper story in which it was alleged that some farm workers of foreign origin at Reinham farm just outside Harare were left homeless when the property was forcibly seized by government supporters. Zimbabwe Union of Journalists secretary general Foster Dongozi condemned the fresh crackdown on Zimbabwe's embattled journalists. He said: "This is all part of a process by the government to silence all critics and journalists. We are going to see this kind of onslaught intensifying in light of the looming parliamentary elections."
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From The Sunday Times (SA), 13 February
Mugabe snubs SADC attempt at election visit
Latest silence from Harare follows Mugabe's cancellation of visit by Mbeki, Nujoma and Mosisili
Sunday Times Foreign Desk
Zimbabwe is resisting attempts by the Southern African Development Community to gauge conditions in the country ahead of the general election scheduled for March 31. Official sources said Harare was unwilling to sanction a visit by a team of lawyers from the SADC organ on politics, defence and security whose duty it is to inspect the electoral legislation and conditions on the ground. Despite several appeals - the last of which came last week - the government has failed to give the team the necessary written invitation. Sources said the Zimbabwe government had not responded to approaches. The latest foot-dragging follows Mugabe's cancellation of a visit by SADC leaders, comprising President Thabo Mbeki, outgoing Namibian President Sam Nujoma and Lesotho Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili, scheduled for January 17, on the grounds that he was preparing for the poll. Sources said crisis-ridden Zimbabwe is afraid the SADC will find conditions in the country hostile to a free and fair election. The SADC leadership and the secretariat are said to be working hard to resolve the issue. "We are going to issue a statement on Tuesday," said an SADC secretariat spokesman in Botswana on Friday. The SADC team will comprise lawyers from South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho.
Sources said the team would include prominent South African lawyer Kgomotso Ditsebe Moroka. However, Moroka said on Friday she had not been officially informed of Zimbabwe's reluctance to allow the team in. "I have heard that rumour, but I have no official invitation or brief on that," she said. The SADC organ, which is chaired by Mbeki, is understood to be growing increasingly anxious at Zimbabwe's recalcitrance. Said South African Foreign Affairs Director-General, Ayanda Ntsaluba, last week: "Zimbabwe has not given clearance for the team and we are a bit concerned. However, they have in the past given us the assurance and there is no reason to believe they will not be consistent now." But it is not clear what the SADC will do should Zimbabwe continue procrastinating. Other than declare that the elections cannot be free and fair, they have no choice. And they are running out of time - ideally the inspection needs to happen before candidates are nominated on February 18 and before campaigning gets under way. Zimbabwean Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, who oversees the electoral rules, could not be contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, Mugabe launched his "anti-Blair" election campaign on Friday, with a barrage of attacks on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, United States President George Bush and his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Mugabe branded Blair a "liar" bent on overthrowing his government by claiming there was no democracy and respect for human rights in Zimbabwe. He also attacked Bush over the Iraq invasion, while lashing out at Rice for calling Zimbabwe an "outpost of tyranny". The Zimbabwe president also blasted the opposition Movement for Democratic Change for being a "puppet" of the West.
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From The Sunday Independent (SA), 13 February
ANC won't stop Zim blockade
Christelle Terreblanche
In what appears to be a turnabout in the ANC, Cosatu this week received a tacit nod from the ruling party for its plan for mass action in solidarity with its Zimbabwean counterparts. Consequently, South African workers could soon be blockading Zimbabwean border posts as well as taking other steps. Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu's general secretary, said that the federation's options included a blockade by South African and other southern African workers of all Zimbabwe's border crossings. Asked whether a border blockade and other solidarity action were still being considered after the tripartite alliance discussions this week, Vavi was adamant: "Yes, we are doing that. We are going to our central executive committee and the Southern African Trade Union Co-ordinating Council to endorse that." Cosatu's first announcement of its intended mass action, after it was expelled from Zimbabwe for a second time on February 2, met some resistance from the ANC and the government. At the time, Membathisi Mdlalana, the minister of labour, said Cosatu's second attempted visit was without the blessing of government, but the ANC later did endorse the visit. It had condemned the first visit, which took place in October.
And while it appears that the ANC will not actively support mass action, it has agreed not to stand in the way of its alliance partners' solidarity mass action programmes. Vavi said three alliance secretariat meetings this week paved the way for Cosatu's discussions with other union federations in southern Africa about mass action in support of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). He said that the ANC had not raised any objections to mass action at this week's discussions. "If they are against it, they did not tell us," he said about what appears to be a breakthrough in the tense alliance face-offs over Zimbabwe and perceptions that any alliance action would be in conflict with the government's approach of "constructive quiet diplomacy" to resolve the crisis. "The ANC has said Cosatu has a right to have fraternal relationships with any other workers," Vavi said. "The Communist Party openly said it would support efforts by workers to pledge active solidarity with another union."
Smuts Ngonyama, the ANC's spokesperson, on Saturday did not explicitly acknowledge a go-ahead for Cosatu, but said: "It was not for the ANC to disagree [with the alliance]. The ANC agrees with the plan of action of the alliance [but] also looks at the priorities of the ANC in the context of what we would like to see and build in the region, such as free and fair elections. The ANC would never engage in any activities that would either directly or indirectly stand in the way of free and fair elections and would not say or do anything that might lead to a situation that other people outside Zimbabwe and South Africa may read as trying to create hostilities and pre-judge the elections' free and fairness," Ngonyama said. Mazibuko Jara, the SACP's spokesperson, confirmed that the alliance secretariat had given Cosatu a tacit nod. "Cosatu did not ask for approval but submitted its proposed programme. The alliance partners agreed [on the need for] an all-round call for solidarity with Zimbabwe, a South African contribution by unions, churches and civil society." He said Cosatu's programme was "narrowly" endorsed "within the understanding that all of us must make a contribution and our efforts should complement each other".
Cosatu's central executive committee meets from Monday to discuss its options for mass action, which it previously said included intensified pickets and demonstrations such as blockades of all border crossings with Zimbabwe and the setting up of a legal aid fund with which to help the ZCTU by mobilising "millions of workers" in the region. A week later, Cosatu intends meeting other regional union federations at the co-ordinating council to finalise joint action. In a report for discussion at the meetings, Cosatu said its Zimbabwean counterpart had raised concerns about the fact that a number of conditions for free and fair elections were not being met and had detailed the harassment and repression unionists in Zimbabwe were experiencing.
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From AFP, 12 February
Zim cops break up 'love parade'
Harare - Zimbabwean police arrested at least 40 women in the country's second largest city of Bulawayo on Saturday during a pre-Valentine's Day march "to spread a message of love", according to one of the organisers of the march. "About 40 women have been arrested and are being held at Bulawayo central police station," said Jenni Williams, spokesperson for Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza), a civic group that organised the march. "It's most likely there are lots of people who have just been caught up because the police were getting into buses and taxis pulling out any woman wearing a red or white dress or carrying a red rose. Human rights lawyer Arnold Tsunga said: "I have just heard about the arrests and I am on my way to the police station to confirm. As of now I don't even know what charges they are facing." Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka could not be reached on his cellphone. Williams said about 500 women staged a peaceful march through central Bulawayo calling on Zimbabweans to "choose the power of love rather than the love of power". "We felt with the elections around the corner, it's important that Zimbabweans have love in their hearts so that when they go out campaigning they will campaign peacefully and when they vote they will choose a person with a loving heart," she said. The police broke up the march when the women stopped outside the offices of a government-run newspaper group. Zimbabwe's most recent elections in 2000 and 2002 were marred by allegations of widespread violence and intimidation. President Robert Mugabe, police chief Augustine Chihuri and some ruling party officials have called for peaceful campaigns ahead of the crunch parliamentary polls on March 31.
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From IRIN (UN), 10 February
Lindela deportation centre is 'for those who do not have money'
Johannesburg - The three meter-high security fence around the sprawling complex is almost as intimidating to new arrivals as the dogs and the armed security guards, who yell orders to form a proper queue at the admissions table. This is Lindela, South Africa's deportation centre for illegal immigrants. Located in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, Lindela houses both males and females arrested in regular sweeps by the South African Police Services (SAPS). The bulk of the detainees are Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, but there are also citizens of Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia and Zambia. Lindela is, in theory, their last address before being deported from South Africa. Last week an IRIN journalist, wrongly arrested by the police in Johannesburg, was a temporary inmate of the notorious facility.
Despite its modern design, space is at a premium in Lindela, particularly in the male wing. A room no larger than a standard bedroom is meant to hold 18 men, but immigrants detained during heavy crackdowns remember occasions when there were up to 54 people per room, two to three people shared the same bed, and just one toilet. "Most of these toilets do not have functioning flushing systems, a situation which dictates that we use them sparingly. To keep out the smell, we drape one blanket over the toilet seat and pile whatever else we can find on top of it," explained Mark Magwiro, a barefoot Zimbabwean detainee clad in a dirty white shirt, which he said had not been washed in two weeks. Due to the relatively small number of women in Lindela, the female wing is less congested, with as few as six women sharing a large room. Besides better accommodation, women also enjoy generally privileged treatment from security guards and kitchen staff because they help to clean the public halls and their own quarters. The men, on the other hand, have to compete for the few jobs available on their side of the complex. The rewards can be a loaf of bread, regular access to better food - a constant problem - or, allegedly, help from security staff in arranging an escape.
The first meal of the day includes a bowl of porridge, a thin slice of bread and a cup of tea, served as early as 6 am. Tablets of unknown composition float in the tea, according to the guards, these help to suppress sexual appetite. Detainees start queuing for lunch from 11:00 am, which can take until 3.00 pm before everyone has been served. Supper times are the most irregular, with the last person being fed as late as 11:00 pm. For inmates who have something to trade, Lindela offers business opportunities and a captive market. As the guards control access to the landlines, detainees lucky enough to still have their cellphones can charge R4 for a one-minute call. "No one is allowed to use the phones, except at given times. Even then, one has to ask for permission from staff or guards and it is usually denied unless they get R10 . So we provide phoning and charging services, so that detainees can inform their relatives of their plight," said Mozambican Emmanuel Nandza. Because charging the phones is done via illegal connections to electricity supply lines around the complex, the going rate for a five-minute zap of power is R5. Those doing menial jobs to earn a loaf of bread make a killing by cutting it into small slices, which they sell to hungry fellow inmates for as much as R3 each. Enterprising businessmen can make up to R30 per loaf.
And then there are the "resident detainees" - people who have lived in Lindela for years, even though 30 days is the maximum period. They are mostly Congolese, Nigerians, Mozambicans and Zimbabweans who have no wish to return home and allegedly bribe the security guards to avoid deportation. "It is safer here than outside. I used to be a street telephone operator outside, so when they caught me I brought my two sets here, only to discover that there is more demand for telephone services than outside. Outside, one has to compete; here there is zero competition. So I thought I would better stay here to avoid harassment and arrest outside," explained one Congolese detainee. Claims of appalling treatment of asylum-seekers led to a demonstration outside Lindela in November 2004, held to coincide with the final day of a hearing into xenophobia hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and parliament's portfolio committee on foreign affairs. They heard a litany of alleged abuse at the centre, including heavy beatings by the guards, an increasing number of inmate deaths, and the denial of access to immigration officials.
Head of communications at the Department of Home Affairs, Nkosana Sibuyi, rejected the allegations. He said some Lindela inmates had died of pre-existing medical conditions rather than abuse. "We are guided by country and international conventions, which prohibit any form of ill treatment of detainees," Sibuyi told IRIN. But, according to the inmates IRIN spoke to last week, it would appear that little has changed since the publication of a report in 2000 by SAHRC, exposing conditions at the deportation centre. The report 'Lindela: At the Crossroads for Detention and Repatriation' listed poor food, overcrowding, inadequate health services and the systematic denial of basic rights as some of the problems needing urgent attention. "The three most reported complaints are lack of adequate nutrition, irregular or inadequate medical care, and systematic, forced interruptions of sleep. Similar problems, such as general living conditions, access to information, assault and the treatment of minors, have been added to the list of unsatisfactory conditions at the facility," read part of the SAHRC report. Proper access to lawyers and the right of detainees to inform relatives of their arrest were violated by curbs on the use of the telephones on arrival at Lindela, the commission found.
However, Sibuyi rejected the allegations. "Each and every room has an allocated number of people and it's not true we exceed that capacity," he told IRIN. He stressed regular check-ups by health inspectors ensured the food served was sufficient and nutritious, and any reports of abuse by the guards was investigated and could be verified by examining the records of the closed circuit TV system. The detainees IRIN spoke to said corruption was also rampant among staff and guards. An inmate's freedom could be bought, or an escape from the deportation trains arranged for between R600 and R800. "Deportation is for those who do not have money. Those who can pay police or immigration officers never get registered [at Lindela]; they just wait for relatives to bring the money. In such cases, a detainee is collected by special arrangement, on the pretext that he is going for further questioning or to court, and freed on the way," said one illegal immigrant. "If I had money I wouldn't be here." Sibuyi said he could not confirm or deny there was corruption at Lindela, but the Department of Home Affairs had adopted a "zero-tolerance policy" and any official found guilty would be named and dismissed.
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From The Sunday Mirror, 13 February
Row over constituency boundaries
Tawanda Majoni
A cabinet minister recently visited a police recreational club bragging that the Delimitation Commission twisted constituency boundaries to the benefit of the ruling Zanu PF, the Sunday Mirror has been told. The revelation has sparked a fresh row over the alleged manipulation of constituencies by the Commission that was appointed by the government and has been accused of ignoring input from the opposition. "The minister (name supplied) went to the police club where he told senior officers that Harare Central should definitely go to Zanu PF since the Delimitation Commission had done a 'splendid job' by ensuring that as many voters as possible in the police, army, prisons and other security arms fell within the area by virtue of residing in military and quasi-military camps," said the source. "He (the minister) also reminded the officers that the uniformed forces officers residing in military camps were doing so freely and of the benevolence of the government, adding that they were also receiving free uniforms in addition to other subsidised privileges, which he said could easily be withdrawn," added the source. However, the minister denied ever addressing police officers at the club in question. "I have not been to that place in the last 10 years and I have never addressed police officers. What you are hearing are lies being peddled by people who are intimidated by Zanu PF, who know they are going to lose," said the minister.
A study of the current constituency in comparison with the previous map, and with reference to the voters' roll, showed that Harare Central has grown in size with a substantial voting population from the uniformed forces being added to the area. Cranborne, Braeside and Rhodesville suburbs, which previously belonged to Harare South, are now part of Harare Central. They contain numerous military and police residential camps with thousands of voters who could make a difference to the voting patterns in the constituency if they were to vote for the ruling party. Besides the three new suburbs, New Arcadia, Hillside, St Martins, Queensdale, Eastlea South and Wilmington were also added to Harare Central. "The inclusion of all the other suburbs was done because it would have been difficult to include the military camps without incorporating these too," said the source. Harare Central now has a total of 13 army, police and prisons residential camps falling under it, namely KGVI, Thomlison Depot, Morris Depot, 2 Brigade, 1 Commando Cranborne, Harare Central Prison, 2 Provost Cranborne, Presidential Guard, HQ CO Barracks, ZRP Braeside, ZRP Milton Park, ZRP Cranborne (Police Reaction Group) and ZRP Rhodesville, in addition to several police posts. A survey done by this paper showed that these places have a total of 4 120 constituents on the voters' roll. In the A-L alphabetical volume, there are 853 voters while M and N-Z have 1925 and 1342, respectively.
In the 2003 by-election, which was marred by voter apathy, Zwizwai polled slightly more than 3 000 votes. If the apathy persists and most of those in the camps vote Zanu PF, the poll could swing in the ruling party's favour. The opposition has been barred from campaigning in the uniformed forces' camps, with authorities saying their standing orders foreclose that. However, ruling party candidates have in the past accessed the camps. In 2003, during a by-election following the death of MDC's Mike Auret, Zanu PF' s aspiring candidate, William Nhara was given the nod to campaign in the Thomlison police camp. The exclusion of opposition candidates from campaigning in the camps has caused an outcry. The candidates wonder why the soldiers, prison officers and policemen should participate in the voting process if the prospective legislators cannot sell their manifestos to them. They charge that the preclusion flies in the face of the SADC guidelines which stipulate that every voter should be given the chance to fully participate in the electoral process while candidates should be given the space to access constituents.
"The Zimbabwean government is not principled at all. They have argued that Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora cannot vote because they can't be reached yet they are saying the opposition cannot reach those at home, who are going to vote anyway. No contradiction goes beyond this one," Dongo said. "But how do they expect the opposition to be voted when it lacks the freedom to campaign? This is part of the strategy to regain Harare Central by Zanu PF by diluting us," she added. Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister, Patrick Chinamasa recently vowed that Zimbabweans living abroad would not vote because the country is under travel sanctions and as a result, its officials could not travel to hostile countries. His utterances followed the institution of legal action by a pressure group abroad seeking the enfranchisement of Zimbabweans living abroad, who unofficial statistics indicates number more than three million. Chinamasa told the Sunday Mirror that those who had been denied entry into police camps should not complain because that is what the standing orders spelt out.
On the issue of Nhara having accessed Thomlison in 2003, Chinamasa said: "Why should we be talking about 2003 when we are in 2005? here is no need to worry about that because it's past." Complaints pertaining to constituency boundaries are not limited to Harare Central. Evelyn Masaiti, the MDC Member of Parliament for Mutasa North charges that the Delimitation Commission "stole" nine wards from her and introduced unfamiliar territory to her new area. "They (the Commission) took away nine wards from and gave me nine in an area that I was not familiar with. That means I have to go back to the drawing board and start campaigning in this area which is generally sympathetic to the ruling party. "I wonder what justification they have, but the reason is obvious that they want to weaken my support base. With so little time left before the elections take place, the task of campaigning is very insurmountable," Masaiti said. The same fate has befallen Paul Themba Nyathi, the MDC MP for Gwanda South. Gwanda South and North constituencies have been merged into Gwanda, and Nyathi lost seven wards, that reportedly formed his stronghold, to Umzingwane.
The MDC expressed worries when the delimitation report was made public that Harare and Bulawayo, both MDC footholds, lost a seat each, with the latter city having already lost another in 2000. The Delimitation Constitution argued that they were delimiting the constituencies in accordance with the number of registered voters, saying Harare had lost more than 50 000 voters due to urban-to-rural migration. However, demographic patterns reflect that Harare has been cumulatively gaining in population over the decades. Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, the MDC MP for Glen Norah and shadow foreign affairs minister puts the blame on the failure by the Delimitation Commission to include other stakeholders. "Gerrymandering could have been avoided if the Commission had been all-inclusive," said Misihairambwi-Mushonga. "As it stands now, we are in a quandary because we can't go back to the Commission to complain since, understandably, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is the one that has to deal with such matters. "In any case, the ZEC is now being led by the very person who headed the Delimitation Commission and how can you ask a person to review his own work?" she added. George Chiweshe, a High Court judge, was in January announced the head of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, a body that is supposed to oversee the electoral process but will be supervised by the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) that has been mired in controversy over its conduct of the electoral process in the past.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 14 February
MDC sets date for poll campaign launch
Harare - The MDC has provisionally set February 20 and Masvingo as the venue for the official launch of their campaign for the 31 March parliamentary elections. Authoritative sources within the MDC said because of dwindling resources, the party had decided to cut short the span of its campaign, which had originally been set to commence on February 13. "We decided we could not afford a long campaign which we could not sustain until election day. We then decided to have a short, slick campaign for about four weeks before the election, which we can sustain and which we believe will make an impact," the sources said. Zanu PF launched its campaign last Friday, with President Robert Mugabe declaring that the forthcoming poll would be an anti-Blair election. Mugabe's campaign appears to focus on the issue of land, the purported economic turn-around and the usual anti-Blair and anti-West rhetoric. The MDC campaign will coincide with the introduction of the party's 120 candidates and the provision of an information kit comprising candidates' profiles and the party's manifesto, whose key issues are freedom, human rights, education and jobs. But the sources said with a proper audit of the resources, the launch could be moved back further until after 20 February. They said Masvingo was a tentative venue which could be changed, following the violent disputes in the province last week that arose over the party's primary polls. It is feared that the glamour of the MDC's launch could be spoiled by demonstrations by a faction loyal to Silas Mangono, the sitting Masvingo Central MP, who lost the right to represent the party in trying to retain his seat. The controversial primaries were conducted by the party's president, Morgan Tsvangirai.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 13 February
Moyo snubs Zanu PF campaign launch
By Foster Dongozi
After removing Professor Jonathan Moyo from its upper echelons, Zanu PF has been thrown into disarray after it failed to produce an election manifesto in time for the launch of its campaign for the 31 March general elections on Friday, The Standard can reveal. The Zanu PF election campaign was launched by President Robert Mugabe where he brandished a draft copy of the election manifesto saying the final document was "not quite ready". Moyo did not attend the launch on Friday. The ruling party's election campaign was supposed to be launched in Harare two weeks ago but was postponed after the party failed to produce a manifesto. Zanu PF sources in the Politburo told The Standard that there was panic at a Politburo meeting as the ruling party's old guard struggled to come up with the manifesto. A draft manifesto produced by some Zanu PF supporters was rejected by the Politburo which described it as "very shallow". Jonathan Moyo, who has been dumped from influential posts in the Zanu PF Central Committee and Politburo, was largely expected to draft the final document, sources said. Moyo was the architect of the Zanu PF election manifesto in 2000 and confirmed this in his CV where he wrote: "I researched and wrote the Zanu PF Election Manifesto for the 2000 Parliamentary Elections and my draft was approved and adopted officially by the Politburo. I also wrote a widely distributed campaign pamphlet for the 2000 Parliamentary elections entitled '15 Reasons for Voting Zanu PF'." In the 2000 elections, Moyo says he worked with all the ruling party's 120 candidates and provided them with campaign material including T-shirts. "In 2002, I designed and led the implementation of the media campaign strategy for the Presidential election," Moyo wrote.
On 23 January, Nathan Shamuyarira, the secretary for information and publicity for Zanu PF wrote a memo to Elliot Manyika, the political commissar appealing for information to include in the manifesto. "I need the following figures for the manifesto. How many people have now been resettled in A1 and A2 resettlement schemes and how many peop |
