|
Archived News
18th January 2005
Mbeki to lead SADC delegation to Harare
Zimbabwe opposition leader Tsvangirai jets in
Cosatu set on new Zimbabwe mission
Jailed MP to stand in Chimanimani
Duo faces trial over Gezi's death
Zimbabwe rocked by internal row
Troubles loom ... this time from within
Zanu PF denies food to MDC supporters
Zimbabwe could be facing food disaster
Heavies dropped
Zanu PF factions clash
Charges dropped against Zimbabwe reporters
Zimbabwe court slashes Simon Mann's jail term
Zimbabwe campaign launched
Street children trying to survive in 'Sunshine City'
Chiyangwa sold secrets - lawyer
Zimbabwe postpones second Tsvangirai treason trial
New jailer for Bennett
Mercenary Mann could be free before long, says lawyer
Zim farmers expect lowest tobacco crop
Woza protests
Government barred from shutting down private schools
Zimbabwe's banks still face credibility battle
Moyo attacks Nkomo, Dabengwa
Zanu PF Set to spit out Jonathan Moyo
Zanu PF primaries: List out
Cosatu seeks to revisit Zim
SA not involved in spying on Zimbabwe: Intelligence
Moyo stupid, confused.has lost his balance: Nkomo
Spy ring mystery deepens
Mugabe approves election laws
African Commission to hear Zimbabwean lawyer's torture case
Chingoka declares MCA executive unconstitutional
No news on SA spy
SA silent on spy arrest rumours
Moyo is free to leave Zanu PF, says Nkomo
Zimbabwe rebellion over before it began
Yet another troika
Zimbabwe: the terror and abuse goes on
Fraud, violence in election of Zim candidates
4 ministers lose primary elections
SA spy in Zim 'no big deal'
Is Moyo getting ready to pack his bags?
ANC turns up volume of 'quiet diplomacy'
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 12 Janaury
Mbeki to lead SADC delegation to Harare
Harare - A top-level Southern African Development Community (SADC) delegation is expected in Zimbabwe next week to assess whether conditions in the country comply with regional guidelines for democratic elections, sources told Zim Online last night. Zimbabwe holds a general election in March and the country's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has threatened to boycott the crucial poll arguing that electoral laws and conditions do not conform with standards agreed by SADC leaders in Mauritius last year. The source said the SADC leaders and the two Zimbabwean political parties had agreed that Mbeki, who will lead the delegation, shall announce the visit shortly. Authoritative sources in both the ruling Zanu PF party and the MDC said a three-member delegation comprising South African President Thabo Mbeki, Botswana President Festus Mogae and Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili were expected in the country next week. According to the sources, the troika's visit follows last year's visits to South Africa by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe.
"The MDC president told Mbeki that Mugabe was not complying with the standards set in Mauritius. Mugabe later told Mbeki during his own visit that he was ready to subject himself to a peer review on compliance ahead of the parliamentary elections in March," said one source. Efforts to get comment from Mbeki's office last night were fruitless with his spokesman Bheki Khumalo said to be away on leave while Khumalo's deputy Malerato Sekha was said to be away with the South African President in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Under the SADC electoral guidelines, independent commissions must oversee polls while electoral laws and processes must be fair and transparent. All political parties must be allowed access to the public media while human rights and the rule of law must be upheld during elections. The MDC accuses the government of half-heartedly adhering to the regional standards and says a new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission proposed by the government will lack independence because its chairman will be appointed by Mugabe while its other four members will be nominated by a government-dominated parliament.
Top
From The Times of Zambia, 11 January
Zimbabwe opposition leader Tsvangirai jets in
Times Reporter
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai arrived in Lusaka yesterday to discuss the political and economic problems in that country with the Zambian Government and other stakeholders. Mr Tsvangirai said he was visiting Zambia to explore methods and solutions to the problems. "We are in Zambia to discuss the political and economic impasse that has beset Zimbabwe with President Mwanawasa and other stakeholders," he said. The opposition leader who had a closed door meeting with MMD national secretary Vernon Mwaanga, was hopeful Zambia would assist in the crisis. Yesterday he was scheduled to meet the Zambia Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) and the Church to exchange views on the political situation in Zimbabwe. He said it was important to find solutions to the crisis in Zimbabwe quickly more so that the country would have parliamentary elections in March this year. Mr Tsvangirai is today expected to meet President Mwanawasa at State House before featuring on the Post's news-markers forum programme at Chrismar Hotel this evening.
Top
From Business Day (SA), 12 January
Cosatu set on new Zimbabwe mission
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said yesterday that it was determined to push ahead with a new factfinding trip to Zimbabwe. The labour federation has been a vociferous critic of human rights abuses by President Robert Mugabe's government. Last year its fact-finding team was chased out of Zimbabwe by government authorities. Cosatu's actions also drew a rebuke from its alliance partner, the African National Congress (ANC), which accused it of political grandstanding and of not consult ing its partners. Cosatu spokesman Paul Notyawa said yesterday that Cosatu was waiting for a response from the Zimbabwean government to a letter requesting that its fact-finding team be permitted to visit the country. The letter was sent in early December. Notyawa said if permission was granted, the new delegation would be led by Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and president Willie Madisha. He said the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions supported the mission and had committed itself to pushing Mugabe's government to allow the visit.
This time Cosatu has the blessing of the ANC. "The ANC knows that we are planning another mission to Zimbabwe, but they have asked us to comply with that country's laws and not do anything that would show contempt." He said the tripartite alliance partners Cosatu, the ANC and the South African Communist Party had ironed out their differences on a range of issues, including the alliance's position on Zimbabwe. Notyawa said that Cosatu had written a number of letters concerning a visit to different stakeholders including the Zimbabwean government . "We have clarified our position on what we will be doing in Zimbabwe and the kind of questions we will be asking ," Notyawa said. He said that the union was disturbed about allegations of human rights abuses by the Mugabe regime, and specifically the harassment of trade unions and workers. "For Cosatu, workers' rights are human rights," he said . Asked what would happen if Mugabe's government refused Cosatu entrance to the country, Notyawa said. Cosatu's leadership would make its position known if and when that occurred. "We will not fold our arms and pretend nothing has happened." Cosatu held a picket outside the Zimbabwe High Commission in Arcadia, Pretoria, last month to protest against the suppression of unions in the country.
Top
From The Daily News Online Edition, 12 January
Jailed MP to stand in Chimanimani
Roy Bennett, jailed for assaulting two Cabinet Ministers in Parliament, will represent the opposition MDC in the Chimanimani constituency while still in prison. Bennett was sentenced by a parliamentary committee to 10 months' in prison with hard labour after he assaulted Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Didymus Mutasa, the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies Minister during a heated parliamentary session. Two months of the sentence were, however, suspended. Bennett is believed to be serving his sentence at a prison in Mutoko. However, Bennett will still be serving his sentence when parliamentary elections kick off in March. An MDC official said Bennett will represent the opposition party even when he is still in custody. "The people of Chimanimani will prove to the world that Pachedu is popular," said the MDC official. "They have vowed to vote for him even when he is in prison." Bennett is commonly referred to as Pachedu in Chimanimani. Although laws in Zimbabwe do not allow any person with a criminal conviction to stand in a general election, a senior official from the Attorney General's office recently revealed that Bennett was eligible to contest the March election because he was not convicted by a criminal court.
The MDC official, a member of the Manicaland provincial executive said Bennett's campaign machinery was already being mobilised in preparation for the crucial March poll. His arrest sparked condemnation both at home and abroad as it is widely seen as part of a wider campaign by the Zanu PF government to harass the MP. Already, the government has destabilised Bennett's extensive farming operations at Charleswood Estate in Chimanimani. The estate was seized by the government, in defiance of court rulings barring anybody from interfering with operations, ostensibly to resettle landless Zimbabweans. MDC supporters yesterday vowed, in separate interviews, to retain Bennett in the March election. "Pachedu has been unfairly treated. It is our duty now to prove Zanu PF wrong by retaining him," said Tendai Dhliwayo of Ngangu Village. Another supporter, Mary Sibanda from Biriri Village said: "We have already started campaigning for Bennett. Even if he is in prison or not he will win hands down." Bennett is likely to face Zanu PF's Misheck Beta or Munacho Mutezo in the fight for Chimanimani. Beta and Mutezo are the candidates with the political stamina to sail through the ruling party primaries to be held at the weekend.
Top
From The Herald, 12 January
Duo faces trial over Gezi's death
Court Reporter
Two former Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) employees charged with culpable homicide after they allegedly fitted a wrong tyre on the car which killed the Minister of Gender, Youth Development and Employment Creation, Cde Border Gezi, and his driver in 2001, will go on trial on January 24 this year at the Harare Magistrates' Courts. Lemekani Chatama (34) and Fidelis Muchenje (33) jointly face the charge. They yesterday appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa, who announced their trial date. The two, who are out of custody, were initially charged in Mvuma where an inquiry into the death of the late Cde Gezi was conducted six months after the crash. The inquiry recommended the two be charged since they exhibited gross negligence which caused the tragic accident resulting in the death of Cde Gezi and his driver, Mr Barnabas Murondatsimba, in 2001. According to the State, represented by Mr Blessing Masiyakurima, allegations against Chatama, then a workshop foreman, and Muchenje, then an artisan based at CMED Headquarters VIP section, arose from the events of February 19 2001. On that day, it is alleged, Cde Gezi's driver, Mr Murondatsimba, took the minister's official Mercedes Benz vehicle to the CMED premises for repair. The car was received by Chatama, who inspected it and completed a job card before assigning Muchenje, his subordinate, to fit a wheel on the vehicle, the State will allege. Muchenje, a class one mechanic well versed in the nature of his duties, allegedly fitted a low profile tyre on the left rear side of the car, it will be alleged. The tyre was different from three other tyres on the car, the State will allege. The minister's driver, the State will further allege, left the workshop with the car, but Chatama made no effort to check the job done by his subordinate.
The late Cde Gezi and his driver, Mr Murondatsimba, died on April 28 2001 on their way to Masvingo, where the minister was scheduled to attend a Zanu PF meeting. His official Mercedes Benz car veered off the road and rammed into a huge gum tree at the 200-kilometre peg along the Harare-Masvingo Road. The resultant fatal crash was blamed on the low profile tyre fitted on his vehicle which peeled off and burst. Immediately after Cde Gezi's death, President Mugabe announced that a full-scale investigation into the cause of the accident would be launched. Popularly known as Madzibaba Border, the late Cde Gezi was a darling of Zanu PF supporters and sparked wild applause each time he spiced up serious political business with his famous "kongonya" dance. He was unanimously declared a national hero and was buried at the National Heroes Acre on May 2, 2001. Described by many as a fearless individual and a straight-talking politician, the late Cde Gezi's achievements were larger than his short life that ended with him just 36 years old. His booming voice, a trademark bushy beard, his vast knowledge of the Bible, that intelligence and practical approach to politics is what many will remember about the man who rose from a war collaborator to a Cabinet minister. While initially it was suspected that Cde Gezi's driver could have lost control of the vehicle on taking evasive action after seeing objects lying on the road, an inquest, which began six months after the minister's burial, concluded that the wrong tyre fitted on the vehicle caused the fatal accident. The findings of the inquest resulted in Chatama and Muchenje being charged with culpable homicide.
Top
From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 12 January
Zimbabwe rocked by internal row
Harare - The Zimbabwe cricket authorities, still in turmoil, held an emergency board meeting yesterday to discuss ways of attracting rebel white cricketers back to the game. Zimbabwe Cricket, formerly the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, invited the provinces to the talks, but they decided to exclude Mashonaland, Harare-based, who provide about 80 per cent of the leading players. Clement Mandenge, elected chairman of the Mashonanaland Cricket Association at a special meeting on Dec 22, said he was refused access. Zimbabwe Cricket said their lawyers were challenging the validity of his election. Mandenge and most of Zimbabwe's top players want the national board to stand down or agree to a special general meeting to elect new board members to "reform" Zimbabwe Cricket's constitution and to replace the administrators, including Ozias Bvute, the recently appointed managing director. Bvute has been at the centre of the row with the large group of white Zimbabwe cricketers who refused to make themselves available for selection last April, claiming they were victims of racism. Mandenge said: "Cricket in Zimbabwe will not improve until the sport is run in a transparent and accountable way."
Top
From cricinfo, 11 January
Troubles loom ... this time from within
Steven Price
In 2004 Zimbabwe cricket endured a wretched year, both on and off the field. The hope was that in 2005 things could only get better. Sadly, less than a fortnight into the new year, and it looks set to be another tough 12 months. The defeat by Bangladesh at Chittagong confirmed, if anyone needed it, that Zimbabwe are now officially the worst Test side. Given that in the last two or three years they have lost more than an entire team, that's hardly surprising. But a convincing drubbing by a side which hadn't won any of their previous 34 Tests - and had lost 31 of them - raised concerns that when Zimbabwe meet one of the stronger countries, the results could be really embarrassing. The thorny subject of the integrity of Test cricket might rear its ugly head again before long. But in fairness to the young Zimbabwe side, the defeat was not unexpected. Their return to top-flight cricket was never going to be easy. What is a turn-up is the pickle in which Zimbabwe Cricket now finds itself.
When the Board was cleared of racism by the ICC in November, many hoped it drew a line under what had become known as the Heath Streak saga and that Zimbabwe cricket would move on. Sadly, it hasn't turned out that way. Two things have antagonised large numbers of the rank and file who make up the game inside the country. One is the rebranding exercise which converted the old Zimbabwe Cricket Union into ZC; the other concerns the activities of the board. The rebranding - the cost of which is much discussed and never agreed on - stirred up considerable (and surprising) antagonism. The rebellion against the board's move started in Mashonaland, where the existing committee was booted out and a new, and more hostile, one elected. The anger stemmed from the fact that the rebranding exercise came at a time when Zimbabwe cricket was almost broke. The ZC board denied that it had cost anything, insisting that it was underwritten by sponsorship, but that cut little ice with opponents. Rumours that Peter Chingoka's wife had been involved in the design of the logo surfaced, although they were vigorously denied. But then Chingoka appeared to overplay his hand when he claimed that the unrest was being fuelled by individuals trying to cover up their own corruption. Much as had happened during the Heath Streak affair, when Chingoka repeatedly referred to racist plots to overthrow the ZCU board but never produced any evidence of them, this appeared to be a case of slinging mud in the hope that some would stick.
But the Mashonaland board stuck to its guns, withdrawing from the Logan Cup - and at the weekend its club sides also boycotted the national competition. Mashonaland have always been a strong supporter of the Zimbabwean board, giving their stance added impact. Given that it is unable to play the race card this time round, this might be a battle ZC finds it much harder to win. The second contentious issue is the appointment last week of Ozias Bvute as Zimbabwe Cricket's new managing director. Bvute's track record and history are well known and don't need repeating here. But given that he was openly censured by the ICC hearing for his activities - one of the few parts of the ruling in which the board was criticised - his appointment was hardly likely to pour oil on troubled waters. Within hours of the announcement, rumours were circulating that Bvute was on a salary of £7500 a month - the average player in the Zimbabwe team is thought to earn about 10% of this. There was considerable outrage, and ZC hardly helped its own position by denying the rumours but then refusing to reveal what the actual figure was. Sources close to the board suggest that it is nearer to £4000 a month, but that travel allowances and expenses inflate this.
The rumours about Bvute's remuneration came hard on the heels of a heated AGM last August when it was revealed that Chingoka had been paid a bonus of £50,000, a massive amount in Zimbabwean terms, for his services to cricket. It was also revealed that the board had paid for all its officials' wives to travel to Australia for the VB Series the previous winter. Against a backdrop of cash-strapped clubs and schools scraping by with almost no new equipment - this weekend one newspaper reported of a club game cancelled because the two sides could only muster one bat between them - the alleged excesses of the board proved too much for some, fuelling the unrest and ultimate revolt against the way the game is being run in Zimbabwe. Last year Zimbabwe Cricket successfully fought a battle against what Chingoka claimed was a plot by unnamed shady third parties. This year, the opposition is out in the open and very much from within. The only similarity is that once again the loser will be cricket.
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 13 January
Zanu PF denies food to MDC supporters
Harare - Ruling Zanu PF party councillors and the police have taken over the vetting of hungry villagers requiring food under new distribution procedures that could see opposition supporters sidelined. Under the new procedures, which Zim Online witnessed being implemented in the Midlands province and in some parts of Manicaland, villagers must first get a letter from the Zanu PF councillor of their local ward stating that they should be allowed to buy cheaper priced maize from the government's Grain Marketing Board (GMB). But the prospective buyer must first produce a Zanu PF membership card to get the letter of recommendation from their councillor. When a buyer gets the letter he then takes it to the village head and to the local police who will verify and certify that they reside in the area and must therefore be allowed to purchase maize. "Well known Movement for Democratic Change (MDC, Zimbabwe's main opposition party) members do not get the purchase letters. A Zanu PF party card is required before the councillor can give you the letter," said Susan Chando, a villager in Lower Gweru district in the Midlands province. Chando said she was only able to get maize from the GMB after joining Zanu PF three weeks ago. Several other villagers in the area also said they had to produce Zanu PF cards to get permission to buy maize.
The MDC's shadow minister for agriculture Renson Gasela also confirmed that his party's supporters were being denied the letters allowing them to buy maize if they failed to produce Zanu PF membership cards. He said: "I visited areas around Gweru (Midlands) last weekend where the new procedure is being implemented. You have to be on the list for you to access maize from the GMB and you also must have a Zanu PF card to be registered by your local councillor." Social Welfare Minister Paul Mangwana could not be reached for comment on the matter. Mangwana has in the past said that the government will distribute and sell food to all who need it regardless of political affiliation. GMB chief executive officer Samuel Muvuti denied that Zanu PF councillors and the police had taken over vetting of people requiring food. "It is not true that there are new procedures for people to purchase maize from the GMB," Muvuti said. "People in Harare and Bulawayo (MDC strongholds) are still receiving food from the GMB," Muvuti, a former Zimbabwe army colonel, retorted when told that reporters had witnessed villagers being asked to produce Zanu PF cards before they could get a letter to buy maize. The government last year told international food relief agencies to take their aid elsewhere saying the country had harvested enough to feed itself, claims which were later proved false by Parliament. Critics say the government wanted food aid groups out of the country so it could manipulate food relief for political benefit ahead of a crucial election in March.
Top
From The Star (SA), 13 January
Zimbabwe could be facing food disaster
Maize crop predicted to be the smallest in decades
Harare - Zimbabweans are hungrier than ever this summer and the situation is deteriorating fast as basic food prices escalate and mealie meal disappears from supermarket shelves. To make it worse, early predictions for this season's maize crop are that it will be the smallest in decades. Last week, the regional forecaster, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet), issued its December report, saying the situation had now developed into an emergency. However, some of its information has already been overtaken by sudden increases in the cost of basic food and a widespread shortage of maize meal, even in leading supermarkets. Next week, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is expected to complete its national crop assessment, and early indications are that agricultural production could turn out to be a disaster in a season of almost average rainfall. "It may turn out to be as bad as 2001, which was a drought year," said a top official of a leading humanitarian non-governmental organisation, who asked not to be named. "Imports of South African maize will never be able to come in fast enough to feed the population, even if people could afford to buy mealie meal," he said.
A combination of land seizures, which led to the collapse of most commercial agriculture and drought in 2001/2 resulted in the largest programme of food distribution in Zimbabwe's history. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said this week: "We have not released figures for this season's maize crop as we are not yet finished with late planting for the second part of the season." Last year, President Robert Mugabe told donors to keep their money as he claimed Zimbabwe had grown a record maize crop of 2,4-million tons, but only a sixth of what he predicted was delivered to the Grain Marketing Board, according to statistics released in parliament. "High inflation and the Grain Marketing Board monopoly over marketing maize are exacerbating the situation," said Fewsnet, adding that inflation on food prices was at 143% in November. However, between December 22 and January 10, mealie meal, when available, increased by nearly 50% on a 10kg bag in a leading supermarket chain. The price of meat increased by more than 10% in the same period and milk, when available, now costs about R8,50 a litre. Most food crops are grown in the hot Mashonaland West province, but agricultural analysts say about 70% of a small maize crop was planted too late. "We are seeing people still planting now, which is ridiculous," said an analyst. Mugabe this week vowed to press ahead with controversial land reform policies.
Top
From The Financial Gazette, 13 January
Heavies dropped
Njabulo Ncube & Felix Njini
Most of the Zanu PF heavyweights barred from participating in the primary elections to be held this weekend remain sidelined as the party, which has sought to purge dissenters from its ranks, stuck to its guns on its adopted affirmative action policy. The Financial Gazette is reliably informed that the final list of participants in Saturday's primaries - to be announced tomorrow - still excludes most officials whose candidacy was turned down by provincial coordinating committees. Among the notable names missing from the preliminary list compiled last week were ministers Jonathan Moyo, Patrick Chinamasa and Sithembiso Nyoni. While their fate could not be ascertained by the time of going to print last night, politburo sources said Zanu PF's elections directorate would not budge over the disqualification. The fate of the suspended provincial chairmen - July Moyo, Mark Madiro, Daniel Shumba, Lloyd Siyoka, Jacob Mudenda and Themba Ncube - was however sealed, the sources said. Insiders said yesterday the Zanu PF national elections directorate had indicated it would not rescind the decision to allocate a third of the seats to women despite demonstrations against the policy, which seeks to provide up to 36 female candidates to the final complement of 120 contestants on the Zanu PF ticket for the March parliamentary elections. The move has been interpreted as intended to appease the female constituency within and without the party.
Sources said the ruling party's elections directorate, which has been accused of imposing candidates on the electorate in an internal row that has spawned internecine conflict, has also barred Lazarus Dokora (Rushinga), Elliot Chauke (Chiredzi South), Charles Majange (Chivi South), Paul Mazikana (Guruve North) and Kindness Paradza (Makonde) from contesting the primaries. "There is no going back on the quota system. The party has taken a firm decision to allocate a third of the seats to women in each and every province," said a senior Zanu PF politburo member. Also dropped from the race is President Robert Mugabe's nephew, Leo Mugabe, who was also eyeing Paradza's Makonde constituency. The sources said President Mugabe had expressed discomfiture with the main Makonde contestants - Leo and the embattled Paradza - and ordered that the constituency be set aside for female candidates. Dzikamai Mavhaire and Eddison Zvobgo Jnr, both of whom were interested in the Masvingo Central constituency, have also been left in the cold. Shylet Uyoyo has been thrust on the Masvingo Central constituency, while Priscilla Mupfumira, who had initially registered her interest in contesting for the Chinhoyi constituency, is likely to be shifted to Makonde. Two little-known female candidates will battle it out for Tsholotsho, long coveted by Jonathan Moyo. Insiders said the Zanu PF elections directorate had thwarted Moyo's impassioned appeal against the imposition of a woman candidate in the constituency.
The policy to reserve 30 percent of the candidatures for female contestants has brewed controversy in Zanu PF, with some aggrieved male politicians warning the move would divide the party and cost it crucial votes in March. "There was lack of preparation and proper identification of competent female candidates. Some were even called from the crowd to submit their CVs. Most of them had not even bothered to apply, let alone campaign," said a Zanu PF legislator who lost out due to the quota system. Jonathan Moyo, who lodged his appeal last week, accused senior officials in the party of being "unfair". Moyo is particularly piqued by the fact that he was sidelined after mobilising vast resources to wrest the seat from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Party sources said the female quota system had created fresh fissures within the faction-riddled Zanu PF, with affected men considering standing as independents. Elliot Manyika, the Zanu PF political commissar, said on Tuesday a full list of candidates would be announced tomorrow. Zanu PF's supreme decision-making organ, the politburo, also meets tomorrow to consider the names vetted by the elections directorate, to give the final word on the candidates to participate in the primaries. President Mugabe was on Monday forced to drive to the Zanu PF headquarters to pacify an angry mob protesting against the alleged imposition of candidates.
Top
From News24 (SA), 12 January
Zanu PF factions clash
Harare - Zimbabwean police have reported yet another clash between rival groups within the country's ruling Zanu PF. Police in the remote, central district of Gokwe say two groups of angry supporters - each backing different contestants in primary elections - clashed at a small rural business centre "damaging a lot of property". One group was allegedly supporting the current member of parliament for the district, Lovemore Mupukuta, while the other group supported aspiring candidate Shadrek Sayi. Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the incident. "One of the candidates reported the matter to the police after his Mazda pick up had been stoned," he said. One arrest had been made, police confirmed, adding that investigations were still under way. The clash is the third between rival groups of Zanu PF supporters in recent months. In December Zanu PF MP for the rural district of Makonde Kindness Paradza was arrested for inciting public violence. Meanwhile, ruling party supporters have staged two demonstrations against their leaders in Harare in the last week. A demonstration on Monday forced President Robert Mugabe, who was present, to back down over the controversial issue of imposing candidates for Zanu PF primary elections set for 15 January.
Top
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 12 January
Charges dropped against Zimbabwe reporters
Harare - Charges have been dropped against four journalists who reported that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe had commandeered one of the national airline's aircraft to take him on holiday, lawyers said on Wednesday. Vincent Kahiya, editor of the weekly Zimbabwe Independent, the country's leading non-state newspaper, projects editor Iden Wetherell and reporters Dumisani Muleya and Itai Dzamera were picked up at their homes almost exactly a year ago, held in police cells for a weekend and charged with criminal defamation of Mugabe and his government. A report in the newspaper, headlined "Mugabe grabs plane for Far East holiday", said that the 80-year-old leader had commandeered one of state-owned Air Zimbabwe's two long-haul aircraft to take him to Geneva, and then used it again to fly him and his family to Malaysia for a seaside holiday. Controversial information minister Jonathan Moyo denounced the report as blasphemous. However, on Monday, state prosecutors in the Harare magistrates court agreed to remove the four journalists from remand, said their lawyer Linda Cook. The magistrate said it was ridiculous that they should be on remand for a year, and had ordered the state to give the court a trial date by Monday, she said. The state did nothing and clearly wasn't in any position to go to trial.
Observers say Mugabe has a long record in his 25-year rule of cancelling Air Zimbabwe's schedules at short notice and ordering the airline to fly him to his own destinations, stranding scores of enraged passengers and forcing them to wait, sometimes for days, for the next flight. "Removing them from remand doesn't necessarily mean that charges have been dropped, but judging from past experience, I don't believe that they will proceed," said Cook. "All of these cases [against the independent press] have been incorrectly brought. The state has had no hope of succeeding." The collapse of the case against The Independent was the latest failure by the government to secure a conviction against journalists in its long-running campaign against the country's independent press. Not a single prosecution brought by the government has succeeded in five years of violent suppression of the press.
Top
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 13 January
Zimbabwe court slashes Simon Mann's jail term
Harare - The High Court in Zimbabwe has slashed by three years the jail term imposed by a lower court on the alleged mastermind behind a plot to stage a coup in oil rich Equatorial Guinea, his lawyer said on Thursday. Briton Simon Mann was on September 10 sentenced to seven years in prison by a magistrate after he was convicted of trying to illegally buy weapons that prosecutors argued were to be used to topple long-time President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in Malabo. "The jail term was reduced from seven to four years during a review in the High Court this week," said lawyer Jonathan Samkange. A former member of Britain's crack Special Air Services (SAS) force, Mann along with 67 other suspected mercenaries were arrested on March 7 last year at Harare international airport en route to Equatorial Guinea. The seven-year jail term which was in September described by the sentencing magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe as "moderate" but enough to "send a clear message to others who harbour similar intentions" was cut by High Court judge Alfas Chitakunye to four years. Mann, who founded the now defunct mercenary outfit Executive Outcomes, is also a friend and neighbour of Mark Thatcher, the son of the former British prime minister who is to plead guilty to charges of bankrolling the alleged coup plot. Thatcher was expected to plead guilty in a Cape Town court Thursday to charges of contravening South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act, which bars mercenary activity outside the country's borders. Two pilots who flew the plane that stopped over in Harare in a bid to pick up arms were sentenced to 16 months in jail, while the rest of the men were each slapped with a one-year jail term. Samkange said he has already filed papers to seek a review of the sentences of the rest of the men incarcerated at the country's maximum security prison Chikurubi. The hearing date is yet to be set.
Top
From Socialist Worker (UK), 12 January
Zimbabwe campaign launched
By Gavin Capps
The UK Zimbabwean Community Campaign to Defend Asylum Seekers took a significant step forward when it met in London last Saturday to organise a national demonstration against the deportation of asylum seekers. The campaign came out of lively protests in December following the government's decision to end its suspension of removals to Zimbabwe. At the meeting, campaign chair Arthur Molife underlined the urgency of organising a national demonstration. He added that a mass anti-deportation demonstration led by Zimbabweans would highlight the hypocrisy of New Labour's asylum policy and had the potential to receive substantial publicity. It should also include the wider refugee community, who are equally affected. The campaign is planning meetings across the country to start building for the demonstration. The Stop the Removals demonstration will be held on Saturday 29 January, 1pm to 5pm outside the Home Office, Queen Anne's Gate, London.
Top
From IRIN (UN), 12 January
Street children trying to survive in 'Sunshine City'
Harare - Africa Unity Square, near the parliament building on Nelson Mandela Avenue, is one of the main parks in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city. The main entrance is adorned with a billboard calling on residents to keep the city clean and maintain its reputation as the 'Sunshine City'. A few yards from the dilapidated billboard, six members of a street family - one of hundreds in the city - are having their lunch. They survive by begging and scavenging garbage bins for food and anything saleable. "We have been at this park for the past three years," said Merjury Mazambani. She used to live in Mhondoro, a rural village 100 km outside the capital, but in 1997 she lost her husband, father of her three children. "I had problems with my husband's family after his death and could not get food, so I decided to move," she said. A few meters from Mazambani, street children from 11 to 25 years old, who represent a significant population of Zimbabwe's urban dwellers, are directing traffic or washing cars.
Shingi Mariot, 14, came to Harare from Rusape, nearly 200 km east of the capital. "I was living with my stepmother, but she used to beat me up and deny me food." He left school at grade 6, but wants an education. In September last year, thousands of street children, including Mariot, were bundled into a government truck and dumped in Marondera, nearly 100 km outside Harare. Almost all the children have since found their way back to the city and are now more vigilant when it comes to dealing with the local municipal and national police. "We survive by taking care of cars and getting a little money from their owners," Mariot said. The community of street children in Harare is largely made up of boys, some as young as three years old, and girls up to the age of 11. As they get older, girls move from the streets to nightspots, such as restaurants, nightclubs and beer halls. Many girls have turned to prostitution as a means of survival.
"We are hired for any amounts that start from Z$20,000 (about US $3) for a short time, to Z$150,00 (US $26) if you want our services for a night", said Sharon, who refused to divulge her last name. She works at a nightclub on Nelson Mandela Avenue that opens as early as 12 pm, purportedly to cater for school children. Although the club says it does not sell alcohol to anybody aged below 18, a visit any day of the week would prove otherwise. Sharon said some of her friends in the sex trade have become "prosperous" and are now renting small rooms in the high-density suburbs surrounding the city centre. Zimbabwe's unemployment rate is 80 percent. The UN Economic Commission for Africa said in a report last year that Zimbabwe recorded a Gross Domestic Product growth rate of -5.5%, a product of the country's long-standing economic crisis.
Top
From The Herald, 14 January
Chiyangwa sold secrets - lawyer
Court Reporter
Zanu PF Member of Parliament and Mashonaland West provincial chairman Phillip Chiyangwa was paid up to US$10 000 a month by a South African agent to supply information on economic and political developments in Zimbabwe, the High Court heard yesterday. And in the Harare regional court, Regional Magistrate Mr Peter Kumbawa yesterday dismissed the application by three others facing similar charges under the Official Secrets Act to have their guilty plea altered. Zimbabwe's ambassador-designate to Mozambique Godfrey Dzvairo, Zanu-PF director for external affairs Itai Marchi and former Metropolitan Bank company secretary Tendai Matambanadzo failed in their bid after the magistrate rules there was no coercion or undue pressure exerted on them. In the High Court, Chiyangwa's advocate, Advocate Chris Andersen, gave some details of the charges in open court during a review hearing by Justice Charles Hungwe on the magistrates' court's decision to place Chiyangwa on remand and on his appeal for bail pending investigations and trial.
Advocate Andersen asserted that passing information on political and economic developments as stated in the charge could not be taken as endangering the security of the State. This, Adv Andersen said, could not by any definition be regarded as espionage. He added that there were not enough details on the charge to enable the lower court to make an informed decision on whether to place Chiyangwa on remand or not. Adv Andersen argued that the trial court erred when the case was decided in the absence of the essential elements of the charge. He also argued that it was impossible for the court to determine objectively whether the prosecution had reasonable suspicion that Chiyangwa committed the offence basing on scant information. "The failure of the State to particularise the information is futile to the charge. Therefore, accused should not have been placed on remand," said Adv Andersen. Adv Andersen said it was impossible to infer South Africa as an enemy of Zimbabwe considering the relationship between the two countries. For his services, Chiyangwa was initially allegedly paid a monthly stipend of US$4 000 and then increased to US$10 000 per month by the end of last year.
On the appeal for bail, Adv Andersen said Chiyangwa was a suitable candidate in view of his political, business and social status in the country, a fact the lower court should have considered most. He said chances that his client might abscond were non-existent since he wanted to contest the primary elections in his constituency. But according to the criteria set by the ruling Zanu PF, Chiyangwa is not eligible to contest the election because he has a pending court case. Chiyangwa was offering $10 million bail coupled with stringent conditions. The State failed to respond to Adv Andersen's submissions on the application for review of the refusal of remand, saying the application came as a surprise. The prosecutor, Mr Brian Vito, said he would need time to respond to the submissions. He, however, opposed bail, insisting that the lower court did not misdirect itself when it denied Chiyangwa bail. The magistrate properly considered all the relevant factors in such matters, he said.
Urging the court not to place undue weight on the fact that Chiyangwa was still innocent until proven guilty, Mr Vito said: "The presumption of innocence must not be over-emphasised and bail must be refused." He said Chiyangwa was facing serious charges involving matters of State security and penalties provided for such cases attract a prison term of up to 25 years. The information passed to the foreign agents, Mr Vito said, related to the Presidium, political and economic developments. "The State is in possession of the evidence from the persons responsible for paying Chiyangwa for his services and who will be called to testify. It is the State's view that if the applicant is allowed bail at this juncture, investigations will be prejudiced," he said. Mr Vito said Chiyangwa should not be trusted since an embassy official implicated in the case disappeared when he was recalled to Zimbabwe.
He said the investigations were of an extremely delicate and sensitive nature as they involved relations between Zimbabwe and a neighbouring state. Mr Vito averred that an assertion by the defence that South Africa could not be construed as an enemy of Zimbabwe was misleading. "In intelligence circles anybody is your potential enemy and, indeed in this case, it has not been established who were the ultimate recipients of that information, but the agent is based in South Africa," he said. He urged the court to dismiss Chiyangwa's application, saying the judge should not be unduly influenced by his pledges that he would not abscond if granted bail. But Justice Hungwe said the court was concerned about the inadequacy of the charge, which, he said, did not disclose the nature of the information supplied to foreign agents. "We do not know whether the details are military, political or economical as claimed by the State," the judge said. He said it could have been helpful if the charges were substantiated for the court to arrive at an informed decision. In response, Mr Vito said the details were mentioned in the record of the proceedings. Judgment was reserved.
In the other case Dzvairo, Marchi and Matambanadzo had originally pleaded guilty to contravening Section 4 of the Official Secrets Act and admitted to selling State secrets to foreign powers but made a sudden U-turn asking the court to change their pleas to not guilty. According to chief law officer Mrs Florence Ziyambi the trio through their lawyers Mr Selby Hwacha and Mr Canaan Dube, both of Dube, Manikai and Hwacha Legal Practitioners argued there was coercion and pressure exerted on them to admit to the charges. Mrs Ziyambi told The Herald soon after the hearing being held in camera for security reasons that the presiding magistrate ruled that there was no coercion or undue pressure exerted on the three. She said the magistrate stated that the sudden move to alter their pleas was an attempt to delay the court process. The court was satisfied that a plea of guilty by the trio was not brought about as a result of fraud, coercion or undue influence, she said. Mrs Ziyambi also said the trio's lawyers were challenging the magistrate's decision at the High Court. Dzvairo, Marchi and Matambanadzo who were arrested in mid December last year were further remanded in custody to January 27. The three are jointly charged with Chinhoyi Member of Parliament Phillip Chiyangwa and Zanu PF deputy director for security Kenny Karidza for allegedly selling State secrets to foreign agents.
Top
From SABC News, 13 January
Zimbabwe postpones second Tsvangirai treason trial
A Zimbabwe court today postponed a second treason trial of Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, pending a state appeal against his acquittal on an earlier charge of plotting to kill Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwe president. Last October the High Court found Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), not guilty of plotting to assassin ate Mugabe and seize power before 2002 presidential elections. The state later applied to the Supreme Court to contest the acquittal, but the matter has yet to be heard. Today a Harare magistrate's court adjourned to May 24 a case in which Tsvangirai is charged with trying to force an elected government out of power through street protests in June 2003. His lawyer Chris Mhike said after the brief court session that the defence would apply for a dismissal of the case against Tsvangirai when the matter resumed. The first treason case rested on a secretly taped video of a Montreal meeting between Tsvangirai and political consultant Ari Ben-Menashe, at which prosecutors said Mugabe's "elimination" was discussed. High Court Judge Paddington Garwe said the prosecution had not shown beyond reasonable doubt that Tsvangirai had sought Mugabe's assassination and a coup d'etat.
Top
From ZWNEWS, 14 January
New jailer for Bennett
Roy Bennett, the opposition MP jailed for shoving justice minister Patrick Chinamasa during a parliamentary debate, has a new jailer. Prison officer Gwanyiwa, who recently assumed responsibility for security and intelligence at the jail in Mutoko where Bennett is incarcerated, is making life as difficult as possible for Bennett, on top of what were already terrible conditions inside the prison. Speaking this week, Bennett's wife Heather reported on the victimisation of other prisoners who are friendly towards her husband or assist him in any way. The number of prisoners sharing Bennett's cell has also been increased, although other cells in the jail have not been similarly treated. Access to his lawyers has also been made more difficult. "On one recent visit, his lawyers were kept waiting for one and a half hours while Officer Gwanyiwa made frantic calls to Harare trying to thwart their visit. They were eventually permitted to see Roy, but Gwanyiwa refused to move out of earshot of the conversation," said Heather, paying tribute to the legal team who make the four hour round trip from Harare whenever possible. Bennett also denied recent reports that he will stand again for election in the Chimanimani constituency in this year's parliamentary election. "I saw Roy on Saturday," his wife said. "He will not make a final decision until he has consulted the people of Chimanimani and his family. He is also waiting for the party to decide whether they will participate in the election before evaluating his position. The people in his constituency and his family have already suffered because of the government's intolerance of any opposition. At the same time, he will not abandon the people if they call for him, so that it is not a decision that he will take lightly". Bennett is the first person to be sentenced to a prison term by parliament. He is serving twelve month's hard labour, with an further three months suspended.
Top
From The Star (SA), 14 January
Mercenary Mann could be free before long, says lawyer
Harare - Simon Mann, imprisoned leader of a group of alleged South African mercenaries, could be released soon, according to his Harare lawyer, Jonathan Samkange. Mann's seven-year sentence was reduced to four years on review last month. "With good behaviour he could see a third being knocked off, and his time already served will count," Samkange said. "Zimbabwe usually has amnesties shortly before or shortly after elections, and they are scheduled for March. So he and the others could be home soon." Mann, an Old Etonian and former officer in Britain's elite SAS, was arrested in March with two colleagues after a Boeing 727 with 67 South Africans aboard landed at Harare International Airport. The Zimbabwean government accused them of involvement in a coup attempt in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea but the courts could bring only firearms and immigration charges. Inside a makeshift court in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi maximum-security jail, Mann pleaded guilty to attempting to possess dangerous weapons, bought from the Zimbabwean government's defence industries, and was sentenced to seven years. Charges against the two men with him at the airport, both South Africans, were withdrawn and they returned home. Another 65 South Africans, ex-members of the old South African Defence Force, were sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment, and the air crew were sentenced to 18 months on minor immigration and firearms charges. One of the original group died in prison, and two were released on grounds of ill health. Samkange said the men could be out by May for good behaviour but he would not be surprised if they were amnestied. Most of Zimbabwe's approximately 20 000 prisoners barely survive on the pitiful rations they receive, according to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
Top
From The Mercury (SA), 14 January
Zim farmers expect lowest tobacco crop
Harare - There is disappointment that Zimbabwe's richest crop, tobacco, which appeared set for a small recovery this year, will be the smallest. Until President Robert Mugabe began seizing thousands of white-owned farms in 2000, tobacco underwrote the economy, supplying up to 40 percent of foreign currency. In the year that Mugabe's loyalists started rampaging across millions of hectares of some of Africa's most successful agricultural lands, Zimbabwe produced 238 million kilograms. This summer season it will produce less than a quarter of that, even less than last year's record low of 64 million kilograms when the crop only earned $120-million (R717-million) and prices on the auction floors were firm. The further slump is despite massive government support which has bankrolled thousands of "new" farmers on land seized from white farmers. "It's a damn disaster," said Rusty Markham, a veteran regional tobacco agronomist. "We will be lucky to see a crop above 50 million kilograms. "It is unbelievable that the government is still urging new farmers to plant in mid-January when the crop should be ready for reaping," Markham said. More than 80 percent of this year's crop and almost all of the quality leaf will still be produced by about 250 to 300 white farmers who endure daily threats of violent, illegal evictions. Those who have survived the ethnic purge have already surrendered up to two thirds of their land to the government and many provide expertise, financial help, and lend equipment to new, black farmers. Markham said in areas where the crop had been planted timeously there were curing logjams as facilities previously used by one commercial farmer were now shared by a few dozen. "These poor guys have borrowed money and they won't be able to pay back as their crop is rotting before it can be cured."
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 14 January
Woza protests
Staff Writer
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza), a militant women's pressure group, yesterday staged a peaceful demonstration in Bulawayo to protest the rising cost of school fees and uniforms despite falling standards of education. The women, numbering over 200, congregated at the main local bus terminus in the city before proceeding to Mhlahlandlela government complex where they sang and danced before presenting a petition to the Bulawayo governor, Cain Mathema. The placard-waving demonstrators sang songs denouncing Education minister Aeneas Chigwedere whom they accused of bringing down education standards in the country. Most schools raised fees for the new term by over 200%, a move that has left many parents unable to send their children to school. Chigwedere is engaged in pitched battles with private schools over school fees increases with no solution in sight. Some of the placards carried by the demonstrators read "Education for all, A broken promise of 1980", "Before We vote in 2005 Chigwedere must go" and "Our Children have the right to demand an education".
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 14 January
Government barred from shutting down private schools
Harare - A Zimbabwean court has provisionally barred the government from closing down private schools that charge fees higher than those stipulated by the state. In a provisional ruling, the High Court ordered Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere, his permanent secretary Lisias Boora, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri from interfering with schools that levy fees higher than levels set by the government. The court order issued on January 4 reads in part: "Pending the confirmation or discharge of this order, the Respondents (Chigwedere, Boora and Chihuri) or their agents are hereby restrained from closing down or ordering or threatening the closure of (private) schools." The government last year closed several schools for charging more than the stipulated fees and had this year threatened to close schools and arrest administrators who increase fees without state approval. The Association of Trust Schools, which brings together 60 privately-run schools, appealed to the court to have the government barred from interfering with the running of their schools.
Top
From Business Report (SA), 14 January
Zimbabwe's banks still face credibility battle
By Stella Mapenzauswa and MacDonald Dzirutwe
Harare - Zimbabwe's banking sector was likely to remain in a state of crisis as surviving institutions struggled to regain investor credibility, analysts said yesterday. Its economy in free-fall, Zimbabwe was plagued by liquidity problems last year. Many banks collapsed and the central bank launched a crackdown on the sector. Thousands of depositors are still reeling from the sudden closure last month of financial services group CFX, capitalised at Z$37.7 billion (R40 million), after the central bank put it under curatorship citing poor liquidity. The move, which brought to eight the number of locally owned banks to fold, left consumers stranded without cash on Christmas eve. Several bank executives have been hauled before the courts on charges of defrauding investors. "After what happened at CFX I think smaller banks will continue to face serious credibility problems," said private economic analyst James Jowa. "It will take quite some time for depositors and investors to be convinced that the smaller banks can do business as well as the traditional banks."
There are 10 banking institutions quoted on the country's stock exchange, which was capitalised at Z$8.6 trillion in November. The fallout has seen panicked depositors withdraw their money from the few survivors out of dozens of mainly black-owned institutions that mushroomed in the 1990s when President Robert Mugabe's government liberalised the sector. One of the institutions, Kingdom Financial Holdings, worth Z$20.3 billion on the Zimbabwe stock exchange, has sought to calm investors' nerves over the past week through a series of press adverts proclaiming that it was making every effort to remain viable. "We have had to bear with clients unease in light of speculation that more banks would close," Kingdom said. Critics say the government failed to put in place adequate regulations to ensure sound practice and also left the country with more financial institutions than the economy could sustain.
Leading economic consultant, John Robertson of Robertson Economic Information Services, said: "We've still got many more banks than we had 10 years ago and the economy has shrunk to half the size of what it was 10 years ago. What we needed is bigger banks, not more banks. "It is probable that we will not see any more failures but I think some of the banks that survive will not do very good business for some time because the economy is still shrinking despite the government saying that it is recovering," he said. Zimbabwe's economy has contracted by nearly 30 percent since 1999 and critics say 25 years of post-independence mismanagement by Mugabe's government had left the country struggling with three-digit inflation, unemployment of over 70 percent and chronic shortages of foreign currency and fuel.
Top
From The Herald, 14 January
Moyo attacks Nkomo, Dabengwa
Herald Reporter
The Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Professor Jonathan Moyo, yesterday lambasted the Zanu PF National Chairman, Cde John Nkomo and Politburo member Cde Dumiso Dabengwa for saying he convened a meeting at Dinyane High School that came up with the so-called Tsholotsho Declaration. In a hard-hitting statement, Prof Moyo said he had learnt with a great deal of regret that Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa had on Wednesday used a meeting with the members of the Tsholotsho District Coordinating Committee (DCC) to say he had convened the meeting whose purpose was to plot a coup against President Mugabe and the party's Presidium. "The meeting was unfortunate in that Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa used it to allege that I convened a meeting at Dinyane High School in Tsholotsho on November 18, 2004 whose purpose was to plot a coup against President Mugabe and the Party's Presidium and that this alleged coup plot is contained in the so-called Tsholotsho Declaration," Prof Moyo said in a statement.
"Furthermore, it was unfortunate that a whole National Chairman chose to sink so low to the Tsholotsho DCC to specifically bar me from participating in the party's primary elections when the very same matter was now before the party's National Election Directorate and the Politburo. Why did Cde Nkomo, as National Chairman, not go to sort out things in Makonde DCC or Mutoko North DCC or Kariba DCC or any of the many other DCCs which, like Tsholotsho, had aspiring but aggrieved candidates for primary elections who had appealed to the National Election Directorate? His going to the Tsholotsho DCC yesterday (Wednesday) ahead of deliberations of the National Election Directorate can only be seen as a personal and vengeful mission against an individual. This smacks of an abuse of office and is unfortunate for that reason. Even worse, Cde Nkomo's mission to Tsholotsho yesterday in the company of Cde Dabengwa will add more unhappy speculation that he is doing everything to weaken Zanu PF by ensuring that it fields a weak candidate so as to pave way for his MDC relative Sipepa Nkomo, who has been mentioned in the newspapers as a possible MDC candidate in Tsholotsho," said Prof Moyo.
He said he took strong exception that Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa went to Tsholotsho to make such false and defamatory allegations. Prof Moyo said he had instructed his lawyers to take necessary legal action against Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa as well as newspapers that have previously published false and defamatory allegations similar to those made on Wednesday in Tsholotsho by the two. "The blatant and defamatory political lies about the so-called Tsholotsho Declaration have been taken too far by Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa and, in the interest of justice, fairness and the rule of law, Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa must now be held legally accountable for their defamatory political lies in the courts. Regarding the unprecedented and unprocedural declaration to the Tsholotsho DCC by Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa at yesterday's meeting that they will not allow me to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming parliamentary elections to represent Tsholotsho on a Zanu PF ticket, I wish to respectfully point out that the decision on who will represent Tsholotsho in Parliament entirely depends on the people of Tsholotsho and not on the punitive whims of Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa.
"As to Cdes Nkomo's and Dabengwa's self-indulgent declaration that they will not allow me to contest in Tsholotsho on a Zanu PF ticket, I wish to respectfully remind them that Zanu PF is larger than any two or three individuals and any attempts to personalise the party are ultimately bound to fail. In any event, Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa should know that there is no one ticket to heaven; there are many such tickets and that's why there are many churches and many religions and all with tickets to heaven," said Prof Moyo. He said Cde Dabengwa made a "spectacularly false claim" to the DCC that he brought him to the Constitutional Commission in 1999 and introduced him to President Mugabe. "I find it shameful that a man of his history and stature should travel all the way from Bulawayo Province to Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North Province to make that kind of primitive lie. Many who actually know the truth about this matter will be shocked but perhaps not surprised to hear this fabrication.
"Another fabrication peddled by both Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa at the Tsholotsho meeting yesterday is that I have no history in Zanu PF. The truth of the matter is that I have been a card-carrying member of Zanu PF for a much longer period than the two comrades who are my seniors in the party. Therefore, as far as card-carrying in the party is concerned, they are mafikizolos, not me. What has shocked me most is that Cde Nkomo did not have any shame in telling the Tsholotsho DCC during yesterday's meeting that "if it (not having me as the Zanu PF candidate for Tsholotsho) means losing this constituency then let it go". "How can such manifestly pro-MDC sentiments come from the National Chairman of the ruling Party, Zanu PF? Has Cde John Nkomo forgotten that the MDC got all but two constituencies in the three Matabeleland provinces in the 2000 parliamentary election and does he now want a repeat of that in the forthcoming election? In the same vein, equally shocking are the claims by Cde Nkomo at the same meeting yesterday seeking to link me with the MDC's regime change agenda. Nothing could be more ludicrous. For starters, I do not have an MDC relative interested in representing Tony Blair's sell-out party in Tsholotsho but Cde Nkomo does," said Prof Moyo.
He said it was a "matter of public record" that Cde Nkomo was either "so afraid or so accommodating of the MDC" that he was unwilling or unable to face an MDC candidate at the polls. "His excuse is that he is national and does not want to stoop low to contest the MDC at constituency level. But Zimbabweans know that the only person who was entitled to that position was Father Zimbabwe, the late Vice President Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and no one else. That is why the late Vice President Muzenda faced the MDC in Gutu North and won. The new Vice President Cde Mujuru represents a constituency in Mt Darwin after facing the MDC in 2000 and winning big. Prof Moyo said he was the Zanu PF campaign team leader in Tsholotsho during the 2002 presidential election and does not remember seeing Cde Nkomo there. He said before that in 2000 he co-ordinated Zanu PF's national campaign against the MDC and since those elections has participated in pivotal terms in crucial by-elections against the MDC including in Insiza where Cde Nkomo "was conspicuous by his absence"."Now that he wrongly thinks the MDC has been defeated, he has the scheming political guts to go to Tsholotsho to desperately seek to link me with the MDC in vain!"
"Finally, Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa would be better advised if they appreciated that national unity is not synonymous with them as individuals and is not their personal possession which they can monopolise willy nilly. National unity is about and for the people in terms of their economic, social, cultural and democratic political development. This is what the people in Matabeleland want as it is indeed what all Zimbabweans want. Without any prejudice to them, Cdes John Nkomo and Dumiso Dabengwa have terribly failed the people of Matabeleland in this regard. Now they are coming across as opposed to development in the region unless such development is done as their personal projects as shown by the case of the Zambezi Matabeleland Water Project that Cde Dabengwa has personalised using a company when the project is inter-provincial and therefore national and requiring national effort through the Government. As if that is not bad enough, they are now at the forefront of hitting Zanu PF in Matabeleland like a tsunami when parliamentary elections that the party has dubbed "Anti-Blair" are around the corner! Where will the two thirds that the party needs to defeat Blair come from if the Matabeleland constituencies are lost as happened in 2000? That all this seems to be lost to Cde Nkomo is as unfortunate as it is unacceptable and there is need for a collective and responsible rethink beyond the personality politics of hatred and petty jealousies pursued under the reckless guise of instilling discipline in the party."
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 15 January
Zanu PF Set to spit out Jonathan Moyo
Harare - Zanu PF party chairman John Nkomo said the party will take disciplinary measures against out of favour Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, who increasingly looks on his way out of both the party and government. Nkomo who chairs Zanu PF's disciplinary committee, said the party was going to act against Moyo for attacking and ridiculing Nkomo himself and another senior party member, Dumiso Dabengwa in an article published by the state-run Herald newspaper yesterday. "We are not going to tolerate indiscipline to tear the party apart," Nkomo said. "We will put the matter into perspective and help the public out of the agony of having to think out answers prompted by what they read (in the Herald)," added the Zanu PF chairman who was accused by Moyo of being a dictator and a liar. Moyo, an arch-critic of the government before changing sides to become its most zealous defender, appears already on his way out of the government after Zanu PF yesterday banned him from contesting March's general election. He was in the government after President Robert Mugabe appointed him a non-constituency Member of Parliament under a constitutional clause allowing him to appoint 30 members to the House. But Mugabe has this time round promised not to appoint anyone to his Cabinet who is not elected in the March poll. Apparently frustrated at being banned from the general election and his dismissal earlier on by Mugabe from Zanu PF's key central and politburo committees, Moyo lashed out at Nkomo and Dabengwa who he accused of telling "primitive lies" about him to Mugabe. Moyo was fired from the party committees after he secretly attempted to block the appointment of Joyce Mujuru as Zanu PF's and Zimbabwe's second vice-president. Insiders said Mugabe was likely to view Moyo's outburst against Nkomo and Dabengwa as an attack on his authority, a development they said could see the former university political science teacher jettisoned from Zanu PF.
Top
From The Herald, 15 January
Zanu PF primaries: List out
By Tandayi Motsi and Natasha Gore
A total of 177 aspiring Zanu PF candidates go into battle today in primary elections in 59 constituencies to select those who will represent the ruling party in the March parliamentary poll. Zanu PF national political commissar and chairman of the party's National Elections Directorate Cde Elliot Manyika yesterday announced the full list of aspiring candidates as well as those who were selected unopposed in 51 constituencies. Chiredzi North constituency in Masvingo Province has the highest number of contestants with nine aspirants going into the ring. Cde Manyika told a news conference that primary elections in the seven constituencies in Bulawayo Province, Tsholotsho, Insiza and Gwanda had been put on hold as consultations regarding the candidates continued. "I will soon be going to these constituencies together with National chairman Cde Nkomo to resolve outstanding issues and the primaries might be held mid-next week. As for Tsholotsho, it has been reserved for women aspiring candidates," he said.
Cde Manyika said the directorate had received more than 1 000 curriculum vitaes from aspiring candidates which were vetted before coming up with the best candidates. Some of the CVs were channelled through the provincial co-ordinating committees while those from disgruntled aspirants, who had been disqualified for various reasons, were sent directly to the directorate. "Those who have been disqualified include people facing disciplinary cases while some have cases related to corruption and espionage. The party cannot take chances by fielding aspiring candidates who have some cases to answer either in the party or have breached the (Zimbabwe) Constitution," Cde Manyika said. He said the Politburo meeting on Thursday considered all CVs and appeals by the aspiring candidates before coming up with the final list. Appeals by some aspirants, which were thrown out included those lodged by war veterans' leader Cde Joseph Chinotimba (Glen Norah), former Member of Parliament Cde Tony Gara (Mbare) and incumbent Makonde legislator Cde Kindness Paradza. An appeal by the Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the President's Office, Professor Jonathan Moyo, was also thrown out. Prof Moyo was eyeing the Tsholotsho constituency.
In Chinhoyi, four aspiring candidates - Cde Leo Mugabe, civil servant Cde Douglas Mombeshora, former Chinhoyi mayor Cde Faber Chidarikire and Central Committee member Cde Artwell Seremani - would be locking horns. Philip Chiyangwa, who is currently in remand prison awaiting trial on charges of contravening the Official Secrets Act, is the sitting MP for Chinhoyi and has been disqualified from the race. In Chegutu, there would be a battle of the titans as the incumbent MP Cde Webster Shamu will fight it out with Politburo member and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Cde Edina Madzongwe. Speaker of Parliament Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa will be vying for the Kwekwe Central seat along with former Midlands provincial executive member Cde Fredy Mabenge. Incumbent MP for Marondera West Cde Ambrose Mutinhiri was nominated unopposed for the seat after his former wife, Tracy Mutinhiri, withdrew from the race. In Murehwa North sitting MP Cde Victor Chitongo is being challenged by Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa.
Cde Manyika said the Press was partly to blame for causing confusion in relation to the aspiring candidates as initially the media had published names of some aspirants while leaving out others. This had resulted in some aspiring candidates panicking in the belief that they had been left out thereby rushing to the party's headquarters to ascertain the actual situation. Cde Manyika blasted some aspirants who had tried to buy their way into the primaries using "huge sums of money" saying the ruling party deplored such unethical conduct. "Some aspiring candidates were paying huge sums of money to their supporters trying to commercialise Zanu PF but (they should know that) people lost their lives during the liberation struggle and we don't accept people who want to buy their way into the party. "The party wants members who are patriotic not somebody who brings money. We cannot run the party like that because what guarantee do we have that they are committed to the people? I do not know from where they got that money they have been dishing out," he said.
The ruling party, Cde Manyika said, had taken positive steps by reserving one-third of the 120 constituencies for aspiring women candidates. This was out of a realisation that it was now time the role of women as partners in national development was recognised. Cde Manyika said there was need for unity in the party and the historic 1987 Unity Accord should always prevail above selfish interests. He said disqualified candidates who were tempted to stand as independents in the March parliamentary polls would have "expelled themselves from the party". Commenting on allegations that Zanu PF supporters in Glen Norah wanted disqualified war veterans leader Cde Joseph Chinotimba to stand for the seat failing which they would not vote in the parliamentary polls, Cde Manyika said every faithful member should respect the position taken by the party. "Chinotimba is not Zanu PF although he is a member and this must be understood. He has a case to answer with the National Disciplinary Committee and the party is supreme. We have a disciplinary code of conduct that should be followed," he said.
Cde Manyika reiterated that the primary elections and the forthcoming parliamentary polls should be held in a peaceful manner. The ruling party had put all logistics in place to ensure the smooth running of the primaries. Cde Chinotimba yesterday said he had accepted the decision by the Politburo to reserve the Glen Norah seat for women. In a statement, Cde Chinotimba said he respected the Politburo's decision and wanted the ruling party to achieve a clean sweep in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. "I welcome the decision made by the supreme body of our party for me not to stand as a candidate in Glen Norah. That is the final result I was waiting for and I totally welcome and accept it as it is," he said. Cde Chinotimba said although he might be hurt because he had been campaigning in the constituency before the decision of the Politburo, he accepted that the party's supreme policy-making body had the final say. He would therefore not oppose it. "I plead with the people of Glen Norah to accept this result and choose freely the candidate they want in the primary elections. The election should not give MDC a chance to win that constituency. Let's support Zanu PF throughout. The party comes first before personal interests and I will be in Glen Norah with the winning candidate and support her to the end," Cde Chinotimba said. He also promised to update and furnish the candidate with all the information regarding the work and projects he had initiated in Glen Norah. "I am appealing to all comrades who were disqualified from standing as candidates to put all their weight behind the Zanu PF candidates in their constituencies," he said.
Top
From The Daily Mirror, 14 January
Cosatu seeks to revisit Zim
Daily Mirror Reporter
Barely three months after its delegation was kicked out of the country, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has confronted the Zimbabwean government again seeking permission to tour the southern African nation on a fact-finding mission. Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary general Wellington Chibebe, yesterday confirmed receiving communication from Cosatu spelling out its plans to tour the country. Chibebe was quick to point out that the union's mission had nothing to do with testing Zimbabwe's political temperatures. "It's not that they want to come and assess the political situation in the country, in fact it is a repeat of their earlier mission," he said. Chibebe, who was in South Africa last week, said the idea to visit Zimbabwe was reached by Cosatu's supreme decision-making body, the congress. "They are fulfilling the congress's decision," he said, adding that it was not yet known when the delegation would visit the country.
The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Paul Mangwana yesterday confirmed receiving communication from Cosatu to that effect. Mangwana said: "I received a letter from Cosatu. I am not at liberty to engage in relations with entities of a foreign country directly. Cosatu should know that if they want to engage the government of Zimbabwe they have got to pass through their Labour Ministry in South Africa and that ministry would then get in touch with my ministry either directly or through the ministry of foreign affairs. That is how countries relate and engage each other."Mangwana warned that if the Cosatu delegation bulldozed its way into the country, it was going to meet the same fate as in October last year. "I do not know what they want in my country. I am having negotiations with ZCTU, a union in my country and our relations with ZCTU have improved. I am not interested in talking to them. They are a federation in South Africa and they have no business to do in my country, except through the bilateral-relations we have with the ministry of labour - South Africa," Mangwana said.
He added: "They are unwanted people. Unwanted people are thrown away. If they come we will force them into the next Kombi." A Cosatu delegation was bundled out of the country last year following protracted meetings with government officials, including security agents and officials from the Immigration Department after their visit was perceived to be political rather than union business. Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi then said of the deportation: "Havana kudhipotwa, asi kuti vaenda kumusha kwavo. Ndiani akanga avabvumidza kupinda munyika muno? (They were not deported. They simply returned to their country. Who had allowed them into the country, anyway?") Efforts to get a comment from Cosatu were fruitless yesterday.
Top
From SABC News, 15 January
SA not involved in spying on Zimbabwe: Intelligence
The Ministry of Intelligence Services has denied that South Africa may be involved in spying on Zimbabwe. Sandy Africa, the ministry spokesperson said in a statement: "Various media reports suggested that South Africa has been implicated in developments which have seen several top Zimbabwean government officials facing charges of spying for foreign governments. "To the best of our knowledge, the information reflected in the earlier media reports has not provided any basis for concluding that South Africa was involved in illegally soliciting information about Zimbabwe." Africa added: "In any event, as a matter of course, the intelligence services do not comment on operational matters." For these reasons the ministry "declines to comment on the matter". The department was reacting to reports that an MP of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party may have spied for a South African agent and was paid R60. 000 a month to provide information. Phillip Chiyangwa appeared in the High Court in Harare yesterday. He was arrested on December 15 with four others on allegations of spying.
Top
From The Daily Mirror, 15 January
Moyo stupid, confused.has lost his balance: Nkomo
Takunda Maodza
The Zanu PF boat kept on rocking on stormy waters yesterday, with the party' s national chairman, John Nkomo, describing information minister Jonathan Moyo as "a confused and stupid professor" who had joined the "wrong church". Nkomo, who was responding to an article in yesterday's Herald, in which the junior minister lampooned him and fellow politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa over the Tsholotsho saga, had no kind words for the associate professor. Moyo has been barred from contesting in his home constituency, Tsholotsho, and his rabid attack of Nkomo and Dabengwa insinuated that there were many other ways of getting to Parliament. Said the professor: "In any event, Comrades Nkomo and Dabengwa should know that there is no one ticket to heaven; there are many churches and many religions and all with tickets to heaven." Nkomo said the Herald story attributed to Moyo made sad and disturbing reading. The article clearly showed the professor had forgotten that grievances within the party fell under his (Nkomo's) office. He denied having convened a meeting in Tsholotsho, that Moyo referred to, in a bid to bar anyone from contesting.
The meeting, he said, was a follow-up to the Dinyane caucus now deemed as the infamous Tsholotsho Declaration, which has seen six provincial chairpersons banished from Zanu PF for five years. Nkomo, who maintained that Moyo's Tsholotsho meeting had a hidden agenda, said it was sad this had affected many people in other parts of the country and he had evidence to buttress the Tsholotsho debacle. He said it was not his duty to consider which candidates should stand for Zanu PF in the March elections, but that of the national elections directorate. He reiterated that he could not have gone to Tsholotsho to impose candidates. Nkomo said: "But one understands that the good professor is confused, totally confused, and what further compounds the situation is that he is a wounded person and does not feel bound by procedures that have to be followed. One would advise the professor that he is in a wrong church. In this church we insist on discipline. The general understanding is that he has lost balance." Nkomo said because of Moyo's alleged waywardness, the people of Tsholotsho were now suffering. On allegations by Moyo that he wanted to weaken Zanu PF in Tsholotsho to pave way for his young brother, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo of the opposition MDC, Nkomo said: "He is not just silly, but stupid." He would not say what action the party would take against Moyo. "You shall know very soon of what action we are going to take."
Dabengwa said Moyo's statement was not meant to seek redress but for other purposes. "We are a disciplined party and if anyone has grievances as a member of the party, whatever their status, he should seek redress through proper channels. When you go out to the press and start addressing your grievances, I don't think you expect any response from whoever you are accusing and the party. "Imagine if all members of the party were to go to the press to address their grievances. If the professor is such an old member of the party, he should have known the proper channels," he said. Dabengwa added: "These are some of the things that happen in a big organisation like ours, and we are learning it the hard way." He said it was up to the party to take disciplinary action against Moyo. "If anyone has done things contrary to party procedures, it's up to the party's disciplinary committee to take action," Dabengwa said. Zanu PF chief whip, Jorum Gumbo, said Moyo's utterances might be a signal he would stand as an independent. "He might be saying there are many ways of going to Parliament, such as standing as an independent candidate," Gumbo said.
Zanu PF political commissar Elliot Manyika also indicated that the party would look into the issue, basing it on the merits of the concerns. "I cannot say what blanket action would be taken, we just have to deal with the matter basing it on its own merits. "We will look at how he has attacked senior party members and the motivation behind the attacks," Manyika said. He also said anyone standing as an independent in the forthcoming polls automatically expelled themselves from the party. "If you campaign against a candidate chosen by the party or stand as an independent, you would have automatically expelled yourself from the party. You cannot be Zanu PF and independent at once. It is either you are with us or against us," he added. Another top Zanu PF official said Moyo's case was just the tip of the iceberg. The bigwig claimed things were not well within the ruling party. "Zvinhu hazvina kunyatsokumira zvakanaka muparty. Vanhu varikungotukana pamusoro penyaya yeTsholotsho (Things are not well in that party, people are insulting each other over the Tsholotsho saga)," he said.
A former Zanu PF legislator, war veteran and leader of the now defunct Zimbabwe Union of Democrats (ZUD), Margaret Dongo, quickly advised Moyo not to join any already established political party but to either form his own or stand elections as an independent candidate. "I advise him not to join any church but to play solo. Every organisation or institution has its own politics and you cannot just jump into things, unopinda mudisaster (You will get into problems). The best thing is to play solo, to be an independent candidate," Dongo, who left Zanu PF to stand as an independent said. She said the squabbles currently rocking the ruling party were not new in the history of Zanu PF and people should not view them as good news for the opposition. "The Tsholotsho disaster is not a new thing as far as Zanu PF is concerned. During the struggle, there was a serious rebellion that threatened to tear the party apart but they were able to contain it. It was the worst disaster during the final stages of the liberation struggle in Mozambique," Dongo explained, without elaborating. Moyo, who was spewing vitriol in his statement to The Herald, also said he had instructed his lawyers to take action against Nkomo and Dabengwa for their alleged defamatory utterances against him. This will probably be the first time members of Zanu PF have taken each other to court for political reasons.
Top
From The Sunday Mirror, 16 January
Spy ring mystery deepens
Staff Writers
As the mystery surrounding the espionage saga that has seen five prominent personalities appearing before the courts deepens, it has emerged that the South African apartheid era intelligence network might have been involved in the trafficking of information from Zimbabwe to an as yet unknown destination. Furthermore, it was also revealed by sources that the South African-based handler who allegedly acted as the information conduit was arrested at the same time Godfrey Dzvairo, Zimbabwe's ambassador designate to Mozambique, was picked up by State security agents. The source added that the spy ring probably might have gone beyond Dzvairo, the flashy but embattled Phillip Chiyangwa, Zanu PF security director Kennedy Karidza, Metropolitan Bank's Tendai Matambanadzo and ruling party director of external affairs Itai Marchi. The source said, "People will be surprised when the whole truth finally comes out. It's not just about diplomats, ruling party officials and Zanu PF-affiliated businesspersons. It goes further than that." However, the source would not reveal the identity of the South African-based handler, saying the case was being held in camera. He came from Zambia and was supposed to meet Dzvairo at a Victoria Falls hotel for a briefing. However, the State was aware of the rendezvous and they were both arrested at the hotel," the source said.
The apartheid connection fuelled speculation that Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher may have been part of a larger jigsaw puzzle involving "regime change" and when the truth is finally reviewed might be linked to an intricate web of intrigue, conspiracy and sinister plots connected to the selling of State secrets scandal. Apartheid security and intelligence institutions have a history of trying to destabilise the region, in particular Zimbabwe, and were largely involved in the assassination of Mozambique's founding leader Samora Machel. The younger Thatcher was dragged before the South African courts for helping finance a group of mercenaries, the majority of whom were arrested at Harare International Airport in March last year, who were on their way to overthrow the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. Mark Thatcher entered a plea bargain with the South African judiciary in which he pleaded guilty to violating sections of South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act. The African National Congress Youth League, shocked by the decision, issued a statement saying: "Our efforts to build a continent free of coups and at peace with itself will never succeed if the likes of Mark Thatcher are allowed to walk free and not face the full might of the law."
An observer within government questioned why the USA was not averse to accommodating Mark Thatcher even though it was clear that he was no different from Osama bin Laden - "a rich terrorist". A government source said, "Get it right. It is the apartheid element and this has nothing to do with the South African government. It is the rich capitalists at work to destabilise Africa and this has nothing to do with propaganda." State prosecutors this past week told the High Court in Harare that Chiyangwa, who faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted, was initially given a 'retainer' of US$4 000 for his alleged treachery but this was increased to US$10 000 at the end of 2004. A number of White capitalists have been linked with Zimbabwean affairs in a negative way in the recent past including Billy Rautenbach, John Bredenkamp and Tony Buckingham who has been referred to as the new Tiny Rowland.
Top
From Reuters, 15 January
Mugabe approves election laws
Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has signed into law electoral reforms which the opposition says do not go far enough to guarantee a fair vote in March's parliamentary polls, official media say. The state-owned Herald newspaper quoted a government gazette saying Mugabe had signed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Bill and Electoral Bill, which were passed by parliament last month. The laws seek to set up an independent election commission, bring in a single day of voting instead of two, ensure counting of ballots at polling centres and the establishment of an electoral court to deal with election disputes. All these conditions have been demanded by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is expected to participate in the March polls despite threatening a boycott. But it also wants guidelines on the conduct of political parties and laws to curb and punish perpetrators of violence and intimidation it says has helped sway past elections in the ruling Zanu PF's favour. And it has called for the electoral court to prosecute cases of political violence instead of only hearing disputes. The date Mugabe signed the bills was not immediately clear, but they come into effect as soon as they are signed. The government gazette was not immediately available to Reuters on Saturday.
Mugabe has been under pressure from the opposition and Southern Africa Development Community peers to institute reforms ensuring free and fair elections in March. The MDC and critics from Western governments and African churches say Mugabe's Zanu PF party rigged the last parliamentary poll in 2000 and the presidential election in 2002 and accuse the government of widespread human rights abuses. Mugabe has already said Zimbabwe will only allow invited observers to the March elections. The MDC wants the parliamentary elections delayed to allow more time for implementation of the reforms but the government says this is unlawful. A date is yet to be set for the polls. Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, accuses Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler Britain of leading a Western campaign to oust him over his government's seizure of white owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks. The 80-year-old leader rejects charges he has manipulated previous elections and says the land seizures are not responsible for food shortages which have plagued the country since 2001.
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 15 January
African Commission to hear Zimbabwean lawyer's torture case
Pretoria - The African Commission for Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) will in April or early May this year hear a case in which a human rights lawyer is suing the Zimbabwe government for torture and other human rights abuses. Zimbabwean lawyer Gabriel Shumba appealed to the continental human rights watchdog after being severely tortured by state security agents in violation of the African charter on human and people's rights to which Harare is a signatory. In a letter to Shumba, who now lives in South Africa after fleeing Zimbabwe, the commission said it has sat down the lawyer's appeal for hearing between April 27 and 11 May. Shumba said he hoped the case will help draw attention to human rights violations in Zimbabwe and lead African and other international leaders to condemn the use of torture in the country. The lawyer, who was subjected to electric shocks and was urinated upon by state agents, said he was also hoping the commission would ask Harare to compensate victims of torture and to punish those guilty of human rights violations. Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa could not be reached for comment on the matter. Harare has in the past denied its security agents torture human rights activists and government opponents. Political violence and human rights abuse have become routine in Zimbabwe since the emergence of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party five years ago as a threat to President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party's hold on power.
Top
From cricinfo, 12 January
Chingoka declares MCA executive unconstitutional
Mashonaland at loggerheads with Zimbabwe Cricket
Steven Price
The dispute between Mashonaland Cricket Association and Zimbabwe Cricket continues to rumble on, and ZC have upped the ante by refusing to recognise the new MCA executive. Although the warring factions sat down together, Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman, insisted that his board refused to ackowledge the authority of the current MCA board and that he was speaking to Cyprian Mandenge and Elvis Sembezeya, the new MCA chairman and deputy chairman, purely as members of the association rather than as officials. An emergency meeting of the MCA in December kicked out the existing committee and elected a new board who were seen as being far more prepared to confront the board. However, ZC refused to acknowledge the election and has been refusing the new association officials access to their offices at Harare Sports Club. "We are supposed to be using the offices but we have been facing difficulties in this regard and how do they expect us to carry out the day to day running of the sport for our province?, Mandenge explained. "We are not trying to oust the ZC board but all we are saying is that the ZC should address the issue of the rebranding from ZCU and do it constitutionally." It is not known at the moment what the outcome of yesterday's meeting was. Although a number of clubs boycotted last weekend's matches, Cricinfo understands that all but three - Alexandra, Old Georgians and Takashinga - have agreed to resume playing this week largely for financial reasons. Mashonaland itself is still refusing to participate in the Logan Cup.
Top
From News24 (SA), 16 January
No news on SA spy
Waldimar Pelser and Barnabas Thondhlane
Johannesburg - The family of the South African spy who was caught in Zimbabwe are "devastated" by the wait for news about his fate and the fear that he could receive a 20-year prison sentence. A friend of the family told on Sunday how the parents of the 48-year-old spy from Pretoria had not received a word from him after he had "disappeared" early in December. "They are ill with worry. And to top it all, they aren't allowed to talk with anyone about it from fear that it will jeopardise his case." Beeld reported on Saturday that the spy was caught by the Zimbabwean intelligence agency (CIO) and held for the past five weeks. A CIO official apparently lured him out of Livingstone in Zambia to a meeting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. It was a trap. The South African Secret Service (Sass) and the government are fighting to ensure his release amid allegations that he bought Zimbabwean "state secrets" from top politicians. Although the man has not been charged and not yet appeared in court, it is feared that he could be prosecuted in terms of Zimbabwe's spy legislation. A Zimbabwean legal expert said the Zimbabwean Official Secrets Act was not applicable to foreigners, but espionage was a common law crime, and convicted spies could be sentenced to up to 20 years. For this reason South Africa will want to prevent him from being charged.
The spy's arrest apparently lead to the arrest last month of five senior members of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party. Experts believe "more senior members" of Zanu PF could soon be caught. Professor Mike Hough from the University of Pretoria's Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) warns that Zimbabwe might want to use the South African's evidence in "future cases". The witch hunt in Zanu PF is part of Mugabe's attempt to sink Emmerson Mnangagwa's presidential ambitions, a source says. Although Mnangagwa has not been directly linked to the "spy ring", his comrade Philip Chiyangwa and four others have already been charged with selling state secrets to a "foreign power". Chiyangwa claims this "power" was South Africa. The four others all supported Mnangagwa's attempt for the post of Zanu PF vice president last year, notwithstanding Mugabe's wish that Joyce Mujuru fill the position. Mujuru was eventually appointed. "First only Mnangagwa's lieutenants are caught, but the net will eventually tighten around the big fish, Mnangagwa himself," a source said. The South African spy was caught in the same operation as Godfrey Dzvairo, Zimbabwe's ambassador to Mozambique. "People will be astounded when the whole truth comes to light. It's not just about diplomats, members of the ruling party and businesspeople. "It stretches much wider," the source said. Presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said the issue was being handled by Sass and the office of the president did not want to comment.
Top
From The Daily News (SA), 17 January
SA silent on spy arrest rumours
By Graeme Hosken and Sapa
South Africa's intelligence agencies are remaining silent about the arrest of an alleged spy by Zimbabwean authorities. Reports of the arrest of a 40-year-old South African alleged to be heading a spy ring surfaced late last week. The man, arrested at Victoria Falls late last year, is believed to have controlled a banker, an ambassador and several Zanu PF ministers and members. The ministers include Zanu PF MP and Mashonaland West Provincial chairman Philip Chiyangwa, Itai Marchi, the director of Zanu PF external affairs, and Switzerland-based embassy official Erasmus Moyo. The arrested banker is Tendai Matambanadzo and the ambassador designate to Mozambique is Godfrey Dzvario. All five, who were arrested late last year, are believed to have been providing the intelligence agent with political and economic information on Zimbabwe. The men have been charged under the Official Secrets Act and if convicted, all could face up to 20 years in jail - including the South African. Yesterday, South African National Intelligence Agency spokeswoman Lorna Daniels refused to comment on the arrest. The arrest is believed to have taken place when the South African spy was lured into a trap by one of his own recruits. The recruit is believed to have arranged to meet the spy at a hotel near Victoria Falls to provide him with classified information. There the man was arrested and taken in for questioning. The Department of Foreign Affairs last night referred all queries to the Department of Intelligence. Sapa reports that Chiyangwa was paid US$ 10 000 a month to provide political and economic information to his alleged handler. This emerged when a court case against Chiyangwa was moved to the High Court on Thursday and was briefly opened to the public. Chiyangwa was arrested on December 15 with the four others on allegations of spying.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Standard, 17 January
Moyo is free to leave Zanu PF, says Nkomo
By Foster Dongozi and Savious Kwinika
Zanu PF national chairman, John Nkomo, yesterday lashed out at Professor Jonathan Moyo saying he was attempting to undermine and belittle the Unity Accord of 1987, while his home province, Matabeleland North, said it would not miss him. Nkomo also told Jonathan Moyo he was free to leave the ruling party. Nkomo's irritation follows Jonathan Moyo's assertion that Nkomo and Dumiso Dabengwa were mafikizolos in Zanu PF. "Those of us who have served the party and contributed to the liberation struggle all our lives are poignantly aware of these divisionist machinantions of counter revolutionaries. They are meant to undermine the unity of our people by denying the historical significance of the 1987 Unity Accord," he said. Nkomo and Dabengwa belonged to PF Zapu, which merged with Zanu PF in 1987, while Moyo belonged to the old Zanu, then led by the late Rev Ndabaningi Sithole. Zanu PF Matabeleland North Provincial Chairman, Headman Moyo, yesterday told The Standard that the people of Tsholotsho and the entire Matabeleland North province would not miss Professor Jonathan Moyo. Headman Moyo said: "Our blood circulation is not affected at all, and if the MDC wants Jonathan Moyo, let them take him. We are not worried at all. After all, the people of Tsholotsho never liked Jonathan Moyo before except for his money and donations, which kept coming to Tsholotsho. One thing for sure is that the ruling party will bury differences, support the woman who would have won the primaries before facing the common enemy, which is MDC."
In statements, which appeared in The Herald on Friday, Jonathan Moyo said he had a longer association with Zanu PF than Nkomo and Dabengwa. Moyo made the statements after Nkomo and Dabengwa visited Tsholotsho, where they repeated President Robert Mugabe's statements, that the professor convened a meeting to plot leadership changes in the ruling party. Nkomo said the door was open for Moyo to resign from the party, after he said there were many tickets to heaven, a statement interpreted by many to mean that Moyo was considering standing in Tsholotsho either as an independent candidate or joining other exisiting parties. "Zanu PF is a voluntary association and as such cannot stand in the way of any member who may wish to quit because he or she no longer shares its values or is no longer able or willing to abide by its constitution. It is not enough to be a card carrying party member. One also has to uphold the values of Zanu PF. In this context, the choice is yours professor, to be or not to be Zanu PF. But rest assured, we will not let you, or others, who are similarly inclined, destroy the party on our watch. The professor has to be reminded that had it not been for the consistent and unwavering contributions of cadres of the liberation movement like ourselves and many others, he would not have been able to return to independent Zimbabwe more than five years after liberation day."
He said Moyo was trying to give the impression that he wanted to strengthen Zanu PF ahead of the elections when the ultimate aim was to destroy it from within. "These counter revolutionary activities are sheathed in the false agenda of furthering intra-party democracy and yet, if unchecked, would lead to the party's self destruction. Over time, I have observed the systematic misuse and outright manipulation of public media for personal ends." Nkomo said he had been forced to make a public response after Moyo took his grievances to The Herald where he made the "unfortunate and irresponsible utterances". Nkomo said the meeting he held in Tsholotsho was part of a mandate he received at the December 2004 Zanu PF congress, to investigate the unsanctioned Tsholotsho meeting. When The Standard telephoned Jonathan Moyo, yesterday to seek his comment he retorted: "And you think that is important?" before switching off his cellphone. Staunch Zanu PF supporter and Tsholotsho resident, Thubelihle Moyo, said it was good to hear Jonathan Moyo complaining about violation of human rights by his party. "Before him there was no chaos in Matabeleland, everything the man touches will never be the same again," said Thubelihle Moyo. But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says it will accommodate the embattled Zanu PF propagandist and junior minister of information in their ranks if he condemns human rights abuses, tyranny, lawlessness and infringement of democratic values perpetrated by Zanu PF, The Standard has learnt. In an interview on Friday, MDC spokesperson, Paul Themba-Nyathi, said there was nothing wrong in accepting "sinners" in their party as long as they repented and quickly joined the nation in the fight against human rights abuses, tyranny and championed democracy.
Top
From cricinfo, 17 January
Zimbabwe rebellion over before it began
The rebellion against Zimbabwe Cricket was snuffed out before it ever really began, with the Mashonaland Cricket Association backing down in the face of allegations of financial and constitutional irregularities. Speaking to the Zimbabwe Independent, Cyprian Mandenge, the MCA chairman, said: "We've realised it's cricket that will suffer, so we are negotiating so that our concerns are addressed. All we want is a democratic constitution." Less than a week ago the MCA had seemed set on a collision course with ZC, and there was a possibility that other provincial associations might join the opposition. But stories began to emerge that that a payout from ZC intended to help seven Mashonaland clubs all went to Takashinga Sports Club, and at the end of the week the MCA's stance was further weakened when all but two of its club sides elected to honour their national league fixtures. Behind the scenes, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the former MCA chairman who was ousted in December, is thought to be consulting lawyers to try to get the decision overturned as being unconstitutional. Mukuhlani met with Peter Chingoka, ZC's chairman, last week and it is believed that Chingoka made it quite clear that he expected Mukuhlani to get a grip on the province and reassert control.
The Independent said that other provinces had backed off or condemned the rebellion, quoting Macsood Ebrahim, the Masvingo Cricket Association, as saying that he told the rebels to "go to hell and made it clear to them that we would not entertain individuals agitating for a coup." Given that Ebrahim is a close associate of Ozias Bvute, ZC's general manager and is a key figure inside ZC,that is hardly a surprising response. Ahmed Essat, the chairman of the Matabeleland Cricket Association, said that his province had not supported the coup but, nevertheless, still had serious concerns about the way that ZC had undertaken an expensive rebranding exercise without any consultation. "The Matabeleland province wants to understand who is responsible for the re-branding," said Essat. "But we can't say because of that the whole ZC board has to go. Like in any other business, all we want is for people to be accountable." Hemant Patel , chairman of the Midlands Cricket Association, explained that his province had withdrawn support for Mashonaland after "constitutional flaws and irregularities in the special general meeting held in Mashonaland" emerged. Some sources claim that ZC brought pressure to bear on other provinces, but it seems that Mashonaland failed to get its own house in order before taking on ZC.
Top
|
