|
Archived News
22nd March 2005
SA mission flies into controversy
SA observers to stick it out in Zimbabwe
Zim govt shuts out trade unions from poll
Amnesty rules out fair Zim poll
Zimbabwe court clears jailed MP to stand in elections
Harare election blog II: Food fears
Working girls called in
Zimbabwe poll doomed by puny institutions
Jamming
MDC demands apology, AU observers still on the way
Fair poll in Zimbabwe 'impossible'
Mugabe to appeal decision allowing jailed MP to run in Zimbabwean polls
3,000 more tourists expected
Into the heart of Zimbabwe's darkness
Wisps of democracy in Zimbabwe
Zanu PF resorts to food-for-votes tactics
Campaigning Mugabe says Zimbabwe short of food
Police watch as villagers are force-marched to Mugabe rallies
Police block four MDC meetings
Mdladlana scolded over Zim poll remarks
Into the heart of Zimbabwe's darkness
Mermaids were costly, but invisible
SA Zim mission 'a farce'
DA receives 'alarming' reports out of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe bars 3 million voters
Desperate locals vote with their feet
Cosatu protest 'warming up'
Police shield Mugabe from verbal attacks
Govt stance on Zim divides ANC
Mugabe gives hungry masses food for thought
Welcome to Mugabeland, where hope wilts in the sun
Zimbabwean election 'cannot be free and fair'
MDC president to meet SA observer mission
Mugabe: Vote for me despite problems
MDC's Karoi rally cancelled
Will SA's observers be free and fair?
SA mission in Harare apologises to MDC
Zim parades 'SA-trained hitmen' for the media
New era gives birth to fresh hopes at the polls
Tsholotsho: two tales from a divided constituency
Tribal rivalry may split Zanu PF
Top
From The Cape Times (SA), 16 March
SA mission flies into controversy
Zimbabwe poll observer chaos
By Angela Quintal & Basildon Peta
South Africa's election observers have gone straight into a hornet's nest in Zimbabwe: the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has refused to meet them and observers from South Africa's opposition parties have threatened to fly home. The head of the South African government observer mission, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, provoked an angry reaction from the MDC by announcing on arrival that everything was set for a free and fair election. The MDC accused him of "trying to sanitise the illegitimate regime of Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF". And the Zimbabwean government was last night refusing to accredit the South African parliamentary observer team as a separate entity. The ANC MPs proposed that the team be absorbed into the official South African government team, but opposition MPs said this would compromise their independence and said they would go home. Last night they were meeting to try to resolve the problem.
The opposition MPs appeared to be especially eager not to be associated with the South African government team after Mdladlana's controversial remarks following a meeting with President Robert Mugabe on Monday night. These remarks prompted the MDC to cancel a meeting with Mdladlana, MDC shadow foreign minister Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said, "because we see no point". She said Mdladlana had already judged the election to be free and fair. MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube said earlier that Mdladlana's remarks had shown "an appalling lack of objectivity. It has become clear that the South African government's position and mission is to sanitise the illegitimate regime of Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. The South African government continues to go out of its way to act as the servant of Zanu PF repression against the people of Zimbabwe's struggle for democracy and freedom. The South Africans have let us down. History will judge them very harshly indeed," he added.
Meanwhile, MPs from the opposition ACDP, ID, DA, FF, UDM, UCDP, DA and IFP were deliberating whether to return to South Africa last night. This was because the Zimbabwean government said it had not invited a South African parliamentary observer team, only the ANC under James Motlatsi, the Southern Africa Development Community observer mission now headed by South African Mineral and Energy Affairs Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and a South African government delegation headed by Mdladlana. "Minority party members in the team are of the view that they can under no circumstances be regarded as forming part of a 'government' delegation," the Freedom Front's Willie Spies said in a statement. "We are here with a mandate from and at the expense of parliament. We will remain faithful to that mandate." Other MPs said absorbing the MPs into the South African government delegation would violate the principle of separation between the executive and the legislature.
Top
From The Cape Argus (SA), 16 March
SA observers to stick it out in Zimbabwe
By Angela Quintal
Harare - South African opposition members of parliament will stick it out for a few more days in Zimbabwe, after a row over their status as election observers was resolved in Harare through nimble diplomatic footwork. The 20-member parliamentary delegation flew into Harare - and a good deal of trouble - on Monday, with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change refusing to meet them. The ANC MPs on the team also clashed with a representative of the Zimbabwean Crisis Committee. At issue was the ZCC representative's criticism of President Thabo Mbeki and his views on the Zimbabwe poll. Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, who heads the official South African government delegation, provoked an angry MDC reaction by announcing on arrival that everything was set for a free and fair election. The MDC accused him of "trying to sanitise the illegitimate regime of Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF" and refused to meet the South Africans. The MP observer team, which was told on its arrival on Monday that it would not be recognised and would be absorbed in the official South African government delegation, was finally accredited as a separate team yesterday. But it involved diplomatic footwork and negotiation.
Some of the opposition MPs appeared to be especially eager not to be associated with the government team as a result of Mdladlana's remarks after meeting President Robert Mugabe on Monday night. These remarks had prompted the MDC to cancel a meeting with him, said MDC shadow foreign minister Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga. MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube said Mdladlana's remarks had shown "an appalling lack of objectivity. The SA government continues to go out of its way to act as the servant of Zanu-PF repression against the people of Zimbabwe's struggle for democracy and freedom. The South Africans have let us down; history will judge them very harshly indeed." MPs from the DA, IFP, African Christian Democratic Party, Independent Democrats, Freedom Front, United Democratic Movement and United Christian Democratic Party met Mdladlana and ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe late last night. An opposition MP said it had been made clear that Goniwe - who heads the parliamentary delegation - would report daily to the institution's presiding officers. MPs were also reassured that the R2.5 million from parliament for their mission would not be used by other SA delegations. After threatening to fly home, opposition MPs said they were prepared to stick it out for a few more days, but would reconsider if necessary. MPs joined the official government delegation for two briefing sessions yesterday.
Top
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 15 March
Zim govt shuts out trade unions from poll
President Robert Mugabe's government said on Tuesday that it will not let Zimbabwe's main trade union federation monitor crucial elections this month, charging that it is an agent of former colonial ruler Britain. Justice Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement that the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has a track record of working with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, a fierce critic of the regime in Harare. "[The] ZCTU over the years acted in league with external forces, in particular the Blair government and the British Labour Party, to cause the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe," he said. "ZCTU's secretary general, Wellington Chibebe, has been a regular feature at the British Labour Party annual conferences and has used the platform to call for ... international isolation of the country and the illegal removal of the legitimate government." Chinamasa said the ZCTU has not been invited to observe the March 31 parliamentary vote as it has "biased and preconceived ideas about the outcome of the elections".
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980, has repeatedly attacked Blair for "interfering" in his country's affairs and claimed Blair wants to "re-colonise" the Southern African country. However, Chinamasa said 29 local organisations have been invited to supervise the elections, including Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. The ZCTU, which monitored the 2002 elections won by Mugabe, further earned Harare's ire for trying to get the main labour federation from regional giant South Africa, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, to stage a pre-poll fact-finding mission in Zimbabwe. In 1999, the ZCTU joined forces with student unions and civic organisations to form the Movement for Democratic Change - the main opposition party that has posed the stiffest challenge to Mugabe's 25-year rule.
Top
From News24 (SA), 15 March
Amnesty rules out fair Zim poll
Johannesburg - President Robert Mugabe's ruling party has used threats and intimidation against opposition supporters ahead of this month's key elections which now cannot be free and fair,said Amnesty International. The London-based rights watchdog, which despatched a fact-finding team to Zimbabwe last month, said in a report that, although the level of violence was lower than in the run-ups to previous polls, the playing field was far from level. Kolawole Olaniyan, director of the Africa programme, said: "Persistent, long-term and systematic violations of human rights and the government's repeated and deliberate failure to bring to justice those suspected to be responsible means that Zimbabweans are unable to take part in the election process freely and without fear." "The use of implicit threats and non-violent tactics to intimidate opposition supporters is widespread," he said. Amnesty also said the government was misusing meagre foodstocks against the backdrop of an impending shortage as an "instrument of political pressure" by allocating it only to supporters of Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF. Zimbabwe has pledged to hold a free and fair parliamentary vote on March 31, after two elections in 2000 and 2002 which were marred by violence and allegations of vote-rigging.
The report said that between the end of January and the beginning of March, at least eight candidates of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, which is contesting the polls, were arrested or detained by police. "Opposition campaign workers have also been arrested while engaging in peaceful campaign-related activities," it said. Amnesty said there had "been significantly fewer reports of politically-motivated violence" this time around. But, it noted this could be part of a government "strategy to ensure the elections are free from overt violence while using implicit threats and non-violent tactics to intimidate voters." Amnesty urged all foreign monitors invited to observe the polls to closely watch out for wrongdoing and monitor "security of all parties, candidates and supporters before and after the elections" and see how foodstocks were being distributed in areas with a history of chronic shortages. Zimbabwe has invited select observer missions, but none from the European Union, whose monitors were also barred from supervising the 2002 presidential election won by President Robert Mugabe, who has led his country since independence in 1980. Mugabe's party is hoping to buttress its nearly 25-year-old stranglehold on power in the elections.
Top
From VOA News, 15 March
Zimbabwe court clears jailed MP to stand in elections
A Zimbabwe judge has overturned a decision that barred jailed opposition legislator Roy Bennett from running in the general election because he is a criminal. This was the first judgment delivered by Zimbabwe's new Election Court ahead of a general election on March 31. Judge Tendai Uchena ruled Tuesday that Zimbabwe's electoral authorities illegally refused Mr. Bennett's nomination as a candidate. Election officials barred Mr. Bennett from standing when his nomination papers were presented last month, claiming that he was a criminal. Judge Uchena said that Zimbabwe's constitution protects Mr. Bennett because he was punished by parliament and not a court of law. Therefore, his judgment reads, Mr. Bennett is qualified by law to stand for election. Mr. Bennett, is serving a year with hard labor in a rural prison after being found guilty of contempt of parliament by ruling Zanu PF legislators after he knocked over a cabinet minister during a heated debate in parliament.
Judge Uchena also postponed election in Mr. Bennett's voting district until April 30, a month after the general election for 120 parliamentary seats. Mr. Bennett's wife Heather reluctantly agreed to stand in his place after his candidacy was refused at nomination court last month. She welcomed Judge Uchena's ruling and said her husband would be pleased and that he would be standing for election from his prison cell. She said she would continue campaigning for him. Mr. Bennett could be released at the end of June if he is given three months remission for good behavior. Mr. Bennett was elected in 2000 as a candidate of the newly formed opposition group, Movement for Democratic Change, in a poverty stricken district in southeastern Zimbabwe. He received a 30 percent majority in the district, which had been a stronghold of the ruling ZANU-PF. Human rights monitors say he is among the most persecuted of Zimbabwe's opposition MPs and he and his associates have regularly been arrested and tortured. Lawyers representing Mr. Bennett said Tuesday as far as they can tell new electoral laws provide no opportunity for the state to appeal this judgment. The Zimbabwe government has so far not reacted to the judgment.
Top
From BBC News, 15 March
Harare election blog II: Food fears
In the run-up to Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections on 31 March, 22-year-old receptionist Lucy Gomo (not her real name) is keeping a diary about life in Harare.
Tuesday 15 March: A huge rain storm on Saturday has brought some relief to us in the Harare heat. But water has been a source of complaint, as most homes in the low-density areas of the capital were without water for three days last week. My cousin, who lives in these northern suburbs, says it's quite common for the water to be cut off there. Meanwhile, rumours about maize meal, sugar and cooking oil shortages are making people jittery, especially those with large families. The police have been checking garages to make sure petrol - which costs about $3,600 Zimbabwean dollars (70 US cents) a litre - is not being hoarded. I've not seen any evidence of fuel shortages so far: there are long queues each morning as I wait to catch my buses to work - but this has always been the case. There never seems to be enough transport. Yesterday I was shocked to see three guys walking outside my office wearing opposition white, red and black T-shirts showing an open palm - the symbol for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). They didn't seem worried about wearing them at all, but it's unusual to see people casually supporting the opposition unless they're gathered in numbers at a political meeting. On the other hand, ruling party supporters - usually young men - go about their business around town wearing white T-shirts with black Zanu-PF slogans slashed across them. I usually see them when I pop into the town centre as I did over the weekend to check my emails at an internet café where I have an account. It costs Z$250 (5 US cents) a minute to log on - and the café was packed, with most of the 50 computers being used. I've heard there are political meetings for both Zanu-PF and MDC going on and the state-run Herald newspaper says there have been plenty of Zanu-PF rallies outside Harare - some taking place in schools - where large donations are given. A friend of mine phoned to say she'd tracked down a cleaning product similar to the one I usually use - which I had been fruitlessly searching for - in a shopping centre near where she works. So instead of going to church this Sunday, I spent the day washing, ironing... and cleaning the stove.
Top
From SW Radio Africa, 16 March
Working girls called in
Zanu PF officials in Nyanga in the eastern border highlands have embarked on a 'dirty' campaign that is likely to backfire in a desperate bid to lure voters. Having realized their inability to raise enough youth militia to run their campaign machinery, the ruling party has allegedly joined hands with a network of prostitutes operating in the town to spearhead its election campaign. MDC parliamentary candidate for Nyanga Douglas Mwonzora said prostitutes from the slum Gonakudzingwa area were being paid $50 000 per day to disrupt MDC meetings or rallies. So far the MDC has had 17 rallies in Nyanga. Lately all their rallies have been disrupted by rowdy groups of prostitutes who invade them and start making noise by singing and at the same time distributing Zanu PF fliers. This has forced the MDC to abandon or call off its meetings or rallies. Mwonzora admitted this was a strategy that caught them off-guard adding that political violence has flared up in his constituency following a spate of beatings perpetrated by soldiers based at Tsanga lodge rehabilitation camp.
Top
Comment from Business Day (SA), 16 March
Zimbabwe poll doomed by puny institutions
Dumisani Muleya
Last week, several Zimbabwean journalists, including myself, attended an election seminar at the Johannesburg-based Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in preparation for Zimbabwe's general election. A senior official of the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa voiced grave concern about Zimbabwe's flawed electoral system. He said that although the media had helped to expose Zimbabwe's repression, human rights abuses and misrule, it had not done much in-depth coverage on the electoral process. He said the media should provide comprehensive coverage to make a clear and compelling case for reform in Zimbabwe and, in the process, deny regional leaders such as President Thabo Mbeki an opportunity to claim elections could be free and fair under current conditions. True to form, the journalists reacted defensively, saying they were doing their work effectively. One said Mbeki's position on Zimbabwe was not really influenced by lack of information, but by his own political designs, whatever they were. In view of this, I felt it might be useful to explore Zimbabwe's institutional arrangements and electoral process in general ahead of the March 31 poll.
Elections are not just a function of the range and quality of liberties guaranteed to voters by the constitution, but are also defined by the overall institutional framework within which they take place. Studies have shown that voters' behaviour is largely influenced by their institutional and sociological environment. The question of whether a country is democratic or not is ultimately settled by the quality of its electoral system. The primary legislation governing the conduct of elections in Zimbabwe dates back at least to the pre-independence Electoral Act of 1979. Even though the act has been amended many times, its foundation remains. Five principal bodies run elections: - the Delimitation Commission; the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC); the Election Directorate; the registrar-general of elections' office; and the newly formed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. The Delimitation Commission and the ESC are constitutional, while the other three are statutory bodies. The people who serve on these bodies are appointed by President Robert Mugabe, directly and indirectly. Some are public servants vulnerable to all sorts of political pressures. Others are simply ruling party functionaries.
The Delimitation Commission delineates the boundaries of the 120 constituencies. Its members are appointed by Mugabe and report to him. It has often been accused of gerrymandering and is facing this accusation now. This followed its recent reduction, by four, of constituencies in areas controlled by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. It increased them by the same number in regions where the ruling Zanu PF dominates. The ESC "supervises" the registration of voters and conduct of general elections. It "comments" on proposed electoral laws and reports to Mugabe "as it thinks fit". It is, in theory, an independent body because, in terms of the constitution, it "shall not, in the exercise of it functions, be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority". However, all its members are appointed by Mugabe in consultation with the progovernment Judicial Services Commission and the speaker of parliament, a member of Zanu PF. But the most serious weakness of the body is not its composition, but its lack of executive authority to fulfil its mandate. This is made worse by the fact that it is stuffed with pro-Zanu PF people. In reality, the ESC is just a rubber stamp.
The Election Directorate co-ordinates activities of government ministries and departments on the delimiting of constituencies, voter registration and other related matters. Its chairman is appointed by Mugabe "for his ability and experience in administration or his professional qualifications". The other members include the registrar-general, who is thoroughly discredited and works under the home affairs minister, and between two and 10 members chosen by the justice minister. This means it is Zanu PF-controlled. The registrar-general's office, which compiled the current controversial voters' roll, works under the home affairs ministry and is run by public servants, making it politically exposed. Mugabe blocked the Southern African Development Community technical team of lawyers from assessing Zimbabwe's legal and institutional framework because it would have shown the electoral system to be flawed and incapable of supporting free and fair elections. Coupled with well-documented violence and intimidation, Zimbabwe's weak electoral system makes it impossible to hold genuine elections.
Top
From SW Radio Africa, 16 March
Jamming
SW Radio Africa is still being jammed on it's shortwave frequencies. As we try to overcome this problem, current information on where to find us on shortwave is carried on our website www.swradioafrica.com . But don't forget we've just started broadcasting on 1197 kHz medium-wave in the mornings - and this signal is not being jammed. This signal is clearly received in the south of Zimbabwe and work is in process to enhance the signal further north.
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 17 March
MDC demands apology, AU observers still on the way
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition yesterday resolved not to co-operate with all three observer missions from South Africa unless Pretoria's chief observer, Membathisi Mdladlana, withdrew claims that the country's March 31 election will be free and fair. Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party shadow foreign affairs minister Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga told Zim Online that the MDC yesterday wrote to the South African missions advising them that save for an apology or withdrawal of Mdladlana's statements, the opposition party was not going to meet them. She said: "We have written to the South African missions. We believe they have formulated an opinion. They must come clean to us, to tell us where they stand. We are questioning their credibility. Also the statements around the exclusion of the SADC Parliamentary Forum are of great concern to us given that the SADC forum observed the South African election. Why should Zimbabwe deserve less? It boggles the mind," she added, referring to statements by the South African government last week that the regional forum had no right to observer the Zimbabwe poll. Pretoria spoke after Harare barred the forum from observing the upcoming election in what analyst said was a vindictive move to punish the regional parliamentary body for differing with other African observer missions three years ago by condemning President Robert Mugabe's 2002 re-election.
There are three South African election observer missions in Zimbabwe, one from President Thabo Mbeki's ruling African National Congress party, another from the South African Parliament and the third one sent by the South African government with Mdladlana as its head. Mdladlana, who is South Africa's Labour Minister, angered the MDC by claiming earlier this week that conditions in Zimbabwe were conducive for a free and fair poll at the month-end. South African Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will lead a Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer delegation to the Zimbabwe polls. The MDC said it will co-operate with the regional mission. It was not possible to get comment from Mdladlana and leaders of the two other South African missions yesterday on the latest move by the MDC. The mission leaders were said to be busy attending meetings. Meanwhile, the Africa Union (AU) will be sending about 10 observers to the Zimbabwe poll on March 25, just six days before balloting. A union official told the Press yesterday that the observers, to be drawn from the AU's advisory legislature and electoral commissions from various member states, were being sent at the invitation of Harare.
The AU official, who did not want to be named, said the AU observers were going to help Zimbabwe "hold transparent and fair elections" and would prepare a report for the union. The 53-member AU is among 13 international organisations and 32 countries invited by Harare to witness the election. Like the SADC Parliamentary Forum, Western countries were barred from the poll after criticising Mugabe's failure to uphold democracy in the past. Zimbabwe's poll, which is being held under intense international scrutiny amid deep concerns the poll will not be free and fair, is seen as a stern test of whether Mbeki and other SADC leaders will hold Mugabe to a regional protocol on elections agreed by the bloc last August in a bid to engender democracy in the region. The MDC says Mugabe has not complied with the protocol and that he has only implemented piecemeal electoral law reforms to hoodwink SADC leaders and the international community that the upcoming poll was in accordance with regional election guidelines. Mugabe and his government deny the charge.
Top
From The Guardian (UK), 17 March
Fair poll in Zimbabwe 'impossible'
Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria
State torture and violence in Zimbabwe makes it impossible to have free and fair elections on March 31, says a report released today. The report by the anti-torture group Redress criticises President Robert Mugabe's government for failing to arrest and try several police and army officers suspected of torture. It also says torture has been inflicted on the political opposition "with impunity" which has made the population afraid of expressing its dissatisfaction with the government. The Redress report supports the findings of Amnesty International, which yesterday issued a warning that the elections could not be credible because of the Mugabe government's "persistent, long-term and systematic violations of human rights." The last parliamentary elections in June 2000 and the presidential election in March 2002 were widely condemned because of state violence and evidence of vote-rigging.
Top
From AFP, 17 March
Mugabe to appeal decision allowing jailed MP to run in Zimbabwean polls
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has vowed to appeal a decision by a new electoral court allowing a white opposition MP jailed for shoving a minister to contest this month's parliamentary vote, a daily said. In his first reaction to a judgment by the newly-created electoral court, Mugabe said he was puzzled by the ruling to allow Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lawmaker Roy Bennett to run in the March 31 elections. Bennett is serving a year-long jail sentence imposed by parliament last October for manhandling the justice minister during a heated debate on land seizures. "I don't understand the court's decision. We will study the decision and appeal against it," the state-run Herald daily quoted Mugabe as telling supporters at an election rally in the eastern border town of Chipinge in Bennett's constituency. "We can't be held to ransom by a man who is in prison. That is absolute nonsense," Mugabe was quoted as saying by the daily Herald. "He has a case to answer," Mugabe added, urging his supporters to "proceed" with poll preparations "as if nothing happened." "This time around we are determined to sweep every seat," said Mugabe, who wants his ruling Zanu PF party to take two-thirds of the seats in the upcoming polls. The parliamentary vote will be closely watched as a test of Harare's commtiment to hold free and fair polls. The last two elections -- a presidential ballot in 2002 and parliamentary vote in 2000 - were marred by violence and allegations of vote-rigging. The tribunal on Tuesday ruled that Bennett, who last week lost a court bid to win early release ahead of the March 31 vote, could run for election while in prison. It also ordered the vote in his Chimanimani constituency to be put off for a month. Following the rejection of her husband's nomination papers, Bennett's wife Heather had earlier been accepted to represent him. The MDC is reluctantly contesting the polls even though it says conditions on the ground will not ensure a fair and transparent ballot.
Top
From New Vision (Uganda), 16 March
3,000 more tourists expected
Geresom Musamali
Kampala - Over 3,000 American tourists who had been visiting Zimbabwe annually will be diverted to Uganda due to the deteriorating political situation in the southern African country. The American Travel Bureau (ATB), which links 10 of America's leading tour operators, recently visited Uganda upon invitation of President Yoweri Museveni. They inspected major tourist sites like the Source of the Nile at Jinja, Ssezibwa Falls in Mukono, Tororo Rock and Queen Elizabeth National Park. ATB's chief executive officer, John W Smith, said despite the bad roads, they were encouraged by some good scenery. Smith said during a cocktail at Hotel Africana in Kampala that they would divert the tourists late this year.
Top
From The Independent (UK), 16 March
Into the heart of Zimbabwe's darkness
As the country prepares for a critical general election, Jeremy Gordin and Daniel Howden report from the opposition heartlands, where standing up to Robert Mugabe comes at a perilous price
When Livingstone paddled up the Zambezi river 120 years ago it was known to the people here as Musi Oa Tunya, "The Smoke That Thunders". Victoria Falls is among the largest and arguably the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. Millions of gallons of fresh water plunge into the Zambezi basin, forming a roaring white dividing line between Zambia and Zimbabwe. On the one side stands the Zambian town of Livingstone, a permanent tribute to the great explorer, that is now a thriving tourist centre with thousands of visitors packing out luxury lodges and hotels. Across the white water is Victoria Falls. Once the thriving heart of Zimbabwe's tourism industry, it is now a ghost town. The smoke still thunders, but fewer people come here to witness this hypnotising spectacle in a country that is two weeks away from general elections and teetering on the brink of its own precipice, facing a fall into isolation, poverty and violence. Under President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has slumped to last place in the Economist Global quality-of-life index. The farm seizure policy launched four years ago, giving Mugabe supporters formerly white-owned farms, has decimated agricultural output, caused famine and sent the country into economic meltdown. He rules over the fastest-shrinking economy in the world, 300 per cent inflation and 80 per cent unemployment.
Under free and fair elections, a government that has presided over this descent into chaos could expect to be resoundingly beaten at the ballot box. But there is little that is free and fair in today's Zimbabwe. That was the verdict of Amnesty International, who said in a report yesterday that human rights violations meant that free elections were now "impossible". Critics of the regime are expelled, imprisoned or terrorised. But the saddest indictment of the tourism crisis comes from Sheila, originally from the capital Harare, who now works when she can doing facials and massages in the health spas at near empty hotels. "The tourists are not coming. We don't know what to do," she says weeping. "I sit here for hours doing nothing and my husband is not working. My children are not starving yet but they are hungry. All we can buy is some bread and a little sadza [maize meal]." Chris, a guide at the falls, hopes that the election will bring change. "I just wish this election would be over. "All we can really afford is bread. The price is controlled at Z$3,500 [30p] but where I live on the outskirts, the shopkeepers always play games with the price. Maybe when the election is over, the tourists will return, and we can make some money," he says.
The highway heading south from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo is empty of traffic and the 36C sun beats relentlessly down from a cloudless sky. It seems strangely deserted for a country in the throes of a critical election campaign. Matabeleland is on its knees, the traditional stronghold of the opposition party has been starved of petrol supplies by Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party. Every few miles or so you are jolted by the spectre of skeletal arms reaching into the road from the verge of the baking Tarmac. Some of the gaunt hands proffer a single driedcorn cob, some a piece of honeycomb. The arms reach out from the scant shade of the trees. The starved bodies generally belong to women or children. The anger can be felt by listening to the many hitchhikers, who unable to afford buses, try to move more cheaply from place to place. "It's bad, bad, bad," says a young man called Lovemore. "There is no rain, we are hungry, and next year this time we are going to be really starving and dying, not just hungry." No matter what the government propaganda says, Zimbabwe is ravaged by drought, the agricultural sector has unravelled, and the rural people, especially, are hungry. There have been no proper rains since December - a subject that is on the parched lips of most of the people. Like the petrol which never gets delivered to opposition areas, the food aid that has poured into Zimbabwe from the World Food Programme in the last two years never seems to reach Mr Mugabe's opponents.
With the car's engine seemingly running on fumes, the vision of a filling station appears on the horizon. Manning the pumps are Roy and Andrew, brothers, who at first sight seem like white South African caricatures. Sporting shovel-blade beards and khakis - looking to all the world like paid-up members of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, the AWB, of fascist fame. In fact, they were both born in Zimbabwe. Their father, an Englishman, settled there, buying a small farm and cattle ranch, in about 1948. They kept the ranch with about 50 head of cattle after their father died, until about two years ago, when it was taken to be settled by veterans of the struggle against white rule. Neither are bitter over the loss. "Why should anyone pay for something that belonged to their people in the first place?" says Roy. "I don't have any argument with that stuff, I genuinely don't," he continued. "What breaks my heart is that nothing, absolutely nothing, is being done with the land. I'm telling you the grazing [grass] is standing lovely and high in this part of the country - but it's all going to waste." And so the brothers spend their days tending to their small shop and butchery, selling what they can to the rickety buses of black travellers going to and from Bulawayo and Harare, and places further afield. to be continued...
Top
From The Christian Science Monitor, 16 March
Wisps of democracy in Zimbabwe
The Mugabe-run African nation holds parliamentary elections on March 31
By Abraham McLaughlin
Marondera - With hands on hips and brow knit tight, Zimbabwean parliamentary hopeful Ian Kay stands on a large granite outcropping, hoping for a miracle - or at least some sunshine. A cold driving rain has begun drenching Mr. Kay and about 600 supporters, just as the only major rally of his entire campaign is about to kick off. It could ruin weeks of work: Holding organizational meetings in caves to avoid police, cajoling skittish friends into lending him trucks despite probable harassment by ruling-party officials, and trying to outwit partisan thugs who rip down his posters moments after they're put up. Welcome to campaigning in an "outpost of tyranny." The US calls Zimbabwe one of the world's least democratic nations. Yet the fact that Kay is holding the rally at all symbolizes a sudden openness by the government that's taking people here by surprise. Whether the thaw - just weeks before March 31 parliamentary elections - is more than superficial will be decided in key districts like Kay's.
"This is turning out to be a much more interesting election than we expected," says a Western diplomat in the capital. Still, he adds, "there's no question the electoral playing field is heavily tilted toward the ruling party." Originally, Kay's party, the Movement for Democratic Change, had been hoping just to hold onto the 57 seats it won in 2000 in the 150-member parliament. But with the new openness, they are hoping for more, and winning tougher race's like Kay's. The race pits Kay - a white man who was chased off his large commercial farm in 2002 during Zimbabwe's controversial land-reform program - against the nation's black defense minister, Sidney Sekeramayi, who is also the former head of Zimbabwe's feared Central Intelligence Organization. Kay is confident he's got more supporters than Mr. Sekeramayi. But that's hardly the only issue. This district is infamous for election violence. In 2000, the MDC candidate was run out of town and his house torched. His supporters were allegedly tortured at ruling party headquarters. It's no surprise that when the MDC tried to stage a rally here, not a single person showed up. Even still, Sekeramayi won by only 63 votes.
So MDC backers were amazed at the size of the recent rally. A black unemployed former farm manager named Edward exults: "To have this rally here - wow. This is real change." Eventually the rain stops and chanting and speeches start. "Chinja, chinja," the ebullient crowd yells, using the word for "change." But Kay knows that what really matters is the reaction of the 700 or so people standing quietly about 50 yards away. These are the town's swing voters. They're lined up on the other side of a road, willing only to watch from afar. Police 4x4s and a band of ruling-party youths roll slowly up and down the road. "This is a small town," Edward explains. "If people see you at an MDC rally you could be in trouble." Kay says the MDC's biggest challenge is the residue of fear from 2000 - and how the ruling Zanu PF party could manipulate it. "All they need is one public display of violence, and you've got 2,000 to 3,000 people hiding in corners," he says. But for Kay, the presence of the "swing voters" validates holding the rally in the open, so people could watch without having to commit. He says his advisers had been urging him to have it in the local stadium, "But I just knew people wouldn't be willing to risk walking into a public building," he says.
Such tactical challenges have been constant. Kay has held three meetings in caves to avoid being arrested for contravening the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which restricts freedom of association and which police use to prevent opposition meetings. Also, a few days before the rally, his team put up hundreds of campaign posters at midnight. By dawn they'd been ripped down, he suspects, by young Zanu PF supporters. Next time he tried putting posters up at dawn. By 7 a.m. they were gone. But with his wife and two grown sons helping out with campaign logistics, Kay perseveres. At the rally, his family jumps and waves along with the chants. He's clearly not afraid of what might happen to him. During the days when their farm was taken, Kay was once beaten up badly - but refused to leave the country. To be sure, there will be efforts to curb fraud in this election: transparent ballot boxes, more polling stations, and just one day - not two - for voting. Foreign election monitors will be present, though observers from the US and Europe have pointedly not been invited.
"This election will be freer and fairer than almost any in Zimbabwe's history - and many in Africa and the world," says Eddison Zvobgo, Jr., a Zanu PF member. And compared to the harsh violence that surrounded other recent elections, this campaign has been quite peaceful. The globally isolated government may have encouraged a more open climate, observers say, because it seeks more international legitimacy. Recent Zanu PF infighting may have also distracted it. And the turmoil that surrounded seizures by blacks of white-owned land a few years ago has subsided somewhat. But Kay and others worry the openness is really a government ploy. For instance, the number of voting stations in his district will jump to 90, from 50 in the last election. That means officials will be able to pinpoint opposition enclaves and single the areas out for possible punishment. As the rally ends, he stays long into the afternoon, making sure those supporters who'd been trucked to the event get home safely. "Otherwise," he says, "there'll be trouble tonight." Asked why he does it at all, he says of himself and his fellow Zimbabweans: "We're worth fighting for."
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 18 March
Zanu PF resorts to food-for-votes tactics
Augustine Mukaro
In their latest attempts to win the March 31 parliamentary election, Zanu PF candidates have resorted to politicising the scarcely available grain in the country to starve suspected opposition supporters into submission. Information reaching the Zimbabwe Independent shows that the politics of food have become rampant in Manicaland and Masvingo as Zanu PF candidates take over the selling of grain from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) while at the same time vetting beneficiaries. Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Manicaland spokesman, Pishai Muchauraya, said the politicisation of food has intensified with the Zanu PF card being used as a licence to buy maize from the GMB. "Vote-buying through food has become the biggest problem in Manicaland with the worst-affected areas being the three Makoni constituencies and two others in Chipinge," Muchauraya said. "Zanu PF youths have been deployed at all GMB depots to vet people coming to buy maize. A Zanu PF card has been declared the first requirement to be considered for purchasing maize." Zanu PF candidates for Manicaland include ministers Joseph Made and Didymus Mutasa as well as former CIO boss Shadreck Chipanga. Muchauraya said in Chipinge South, Enock Porusingazi was issuing badges inscribed "Election 2005" to supporters attending his rallies. The badges are then used as a ticket to buy maize. Porusingazi is selling maize on behalf of the GMB. "On March 8, at Betura village, ward 16, more that 2 000 people were denied access to buy grain for allegedly failing to produce the badges," a source said. "Only 200 people who had attended Zanu PF rallies over the weekend had the badges and were allowed to buy maize." "If the situation is not rectified, we have a potential that some people might starve by mid-April," he said. Sources in Mwenezi said Zanu PF candidate Isaiah Shumba stopped the GMB from selling grain directly to the people and only permitted its sale through Zanu PF structures so as to screen beneficiaries. Shumba is the deputy Education minister.
Top
From Reuters, 17 March
Campaigning Mugabe says Zimbabwe short of food
By Cris Chinaka
Gutu - President Robert Mugabe took his election campaign deep into Zimbabwe's rural heartland on Thursday, publicly acknowledging for the first time food shortages that analysts say could weaken his grip on power. Addressing about 7,000 supporters in Gutu, southeastern Zimbabwe, at a rally of his Zanu PF party ahead of March 31 parliamentary polls, Mugabe said the country faced serious shortages of food but promised not to let his people starve. International aid agencies say around 4 million people - a third of the population - will need food aid this year after a poor harvest due to drought and inadequate government help providing seed and fertiliser to small rural farmers. "The main problem we are facing is one of drought and the shortage of food, we are going to work out a hunger alleviation programme ... I promise you that no one will starve," Mugabe told a seated crowd that appeared little moved, many with blank faces, throughout his 40-minute speech. Leading local rights group the National Constitutional Assembly said on Thursday a February study had shown Zanu PF was using food as a political tool, with people in areas short of food having to produce party cards to get supplies. The unfolding food shortages magnify Zimbabwe's long running political and economic crisis which many say has been compounded by Mugabe's controversial policies, including seizures of white-owned farms for blacks that have disrupted the southern African country's key agriculture sector. Political analysts say Mugabe - whose Zanu PF draws most of its support from rural people who make up more than 60 percent of the population - must show it can handle the food crisis competently or risk losing support in some rural constituencies.
Mugabe denies his land seizure policy has sparked off the country's worst economic crisis, blaming sanctions on his government by some Western governments. "We had tried in the farming sector but the drought has let us down. I have made a promise to your traditional leaders that we are not going to let you down," Mugabe said. Regional food monitoring agency FEWSNET has said that the most serious shortages were in drought-prone provinces of Matabeleland, Manicaland and Masvingo, where analysts say if Mugabe's party loses any support it could swing the vote in favour of the opposition MDC. For over a year the government has claimed it has sufficient food to feed the country and any serious shortages would embarrass the 81-year-old veteran leader. Last year Mugabe stopped donors from distributing food to rural areas and told Britain's Sky TV: "We are not hungry, why foist this food on us? We don't want to be choked." But critics say his main reason for doing so was to stop donors operating in rural areas where the government has claimed over the years that aid agencies were helping the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to campaign. Mugabe also promised on Thursday to tackle transport and road problems in Zimbabwe's rural areas in one of his few speeches that did not attack British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Women dressed in T-shirts with portraits of Mugabe and colourful wrap-ups sang revolutionary songs and danced as Mugabe arrived while youths held up posters denouncing Blair and celebrating the government's land reforms.
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 18 March
Police watch as villagers are force-marched to Mugabe rallies
Manicaland province - Police stood by as violence flared up here as ruling Zanu PF party and President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai began a blitz on the province to garner votes barely two weeks before the March 31 election. Zanu PF activists and the controversial government-trained youth militias beat up suspected supporters of Tsvangirai 's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and force-marched entire villages to rallies addressed by Mugabe here. The President on Wednesday addressed rallies in Chipinge, 123km south of the provincial capital city of Mutare and at Marange, about 40 km from Mutare. Mugabe yesterday also addressed a rally at Chigodora, a rural business centre on the outskirts of Mutare. Tsvangirai descends on Manicaland tomorrow. Before Mugabe's rallies at Marange and Chigodora, a ZimOnline team tracking the President witnessed people suspected of backing the MDC being harassed and beaten up by Zanu PF activists. At Chigodora, our news crew saw, Zanu PF activists and youth militias reportedly bussed in from Mutare scouring surrounding villagers ordering everyone to attend Mugabe's rally. MDC officials in Manicaland province said people were similarly attacked and force-marched to Mugabe's rally at Chipinge. "The harassment started at the weekend when word filtered that Mugabe was coming here," a visibly frightened villager here at Chigodora said.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment last night on why the police, who since the beginning of the year have arrested both Zanu PF and MDC activists for political violence, stood by while opposition supporters and ordinary villagers were being harassed here. Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba could also not be reached for comment on the matter. MDC Manicaland provincial spokesman Pishai Muchauraya said his party was going to raise the harassment of its supporters with various election observer missions that have now arrived in the country. "What is worrying is that it has become a pattern that our supporters are harassed whenever Mugabe addresses a rally here. It then seems to us as if Mugabe himself endorses such election violence," he said. At yesterday's rally at Chigodora, Mugabe criticized the local community for deserting him and Zanu PF when they voted for the MDC and Tsvangirai in the 2000 and 2002 elections. "What has happened to you revolutionary Manicaland?" Mugabe rhetorically asked. He continued: "Why have you turned your back against me for the MDC and the whites? Have you forgotten that you contributed the most to the liberation struggle?" Manicaland along the border with Mozambique, which served as the rear base for Mugabe's ZANLA guerillas during Zimbabwe's 1970s war of independence, bore the brunt of that brutal war. But the province has appeared more sympathetic to the opposition out of the five provinces dominated by Mugabe's Shona speaking tribe. The southern Matabeleland provinces inhabited by the Ndebele tribe largely back the MDC. Another villager who spoke to ZimOnline after the rally, gave an insight into why some here might have turned their back on Mugabe. He said: "Politics of the liberation struggle is not good enough when the belly is empty."
Top
From The Financial Gazette, 17 March
Police block four MDC meetings
Njabulo Ncube
Harare - Zimbabwe police have denied the main opposition Movement Democratic Change (MDC) permission to hold four public meetings in Harare South constituency, amid revelations that not a single Zanu PF rally has been cancelled. The battle for Harare South, presently held by the MDC, pits James Mushonga of the main opposition against Hubert Magadzire Nyanhongo of the ruling party. Documents obtained by this reporter indicate that MDC public meetings scheduled for Sunningdale Peoples' Park, New Prospect Park, Zindonga Open Space and a door to-door campaign had been thwarted after police in the areas refused to sanction the exercises. Under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), it is a requirement for organisers of public meetings to first notify the police of the intention to gather. It is an offence, under the same law, for more than five people to meet without notifying the police, who have the prerogative to permit or deny permission to hold public meetings. "I regret to advise you that authority to hold your meeting at Zindoga Open Space, Waterfalls on March 20 2005 has not be granted in terms of section 26 (1) of the Public Order and Security Act, Chapter 11:17. Section 25 2 (b) does not allow people holding public meetings at public places," reads part of a letter written to the MDC by chief superintendent Sadzamari, the officer commanding police in Mbare district. "Anyone who shall be caught violating this section shall be guilty of an offence and will be arrested and prosecuted. Police will monitor the situation," added Sadzamari in the letter, dated March 4 2005. Sadzamari has also written to the MDC denying the opposition permission to hold a door-to-door campaign and letter distribution in Waterfalls and Houghton Park. Sadzamari gives the reasons for cancelling this political activity as "in a door-to-door campaign there is no specific venue or time and it is therefore difficult to cover and it interferes with other people's rights." The police, in denying the MDC permission to hold a public meeting in Sunningdale People's Park, also said POSA did not allow people holding meetings at public places.
Top
From The Star (SA), 18 March
Mdladlana scolded over Zim poll remarks
Colleagues distance themselves from controversial statements
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, head of the official SA government observer mission to the March 31 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections, has been rebuked even by his own government colleagues for apparently prejudging that the elections would be free and fair. The separate ANC observer mission and the SA parliamentary mission have both distanced themselves from controversial remarks which Mdladlana made on arrival on Monday that he saw no reason why the elections should not be free and fair. Senior members of SA's government election observer mission and the head of the SA parliamentary observers, Mbulelo Goniwe, told Mdladlana not to "jeopardise" their credibility and impartiality, a source said. His remarks provoked Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, to cut off all contact with the SA observers. But the MDC resumed contact with the ANC mission after receiving a letter from it, making it clear that it was separate from Mdladlana's mission. Priscilla Misihairambwi, MDC spokesperson on international affairs, said the MDC would now meet the ANC. "It is unfair that we lump them together with the other SA observer mission," she said, adding that the MDC appreciated that the ANC mission had not yet made any statement on the elections. A reliable source said that Goniwe and other colleagues had told Mdladlana that as a result of his statement, the MDC and some other stakeholders were now suspicious of every South African institution. Luphumzo Kebeni, spokesperson for the parliamentary observer mission, said that Goniwe met with Mdladlana to make it clear that the mission was separate from Mdladlana's.
But Mdladlana hit back at his critics last night, denying that he had prejudged the outcome of the Zimbabwean elections. The minister described the current situation in Zimbabwe as calm and much improved from elections in 2002. Mdladlana said people who accused him of saying that conditions in the country were conducive to free and fair elections were lying. "I can tolerate anything and everything, but not lies," he said. The SA cabinet also waded into the row yesterday with a statement apparently designed to extricate itself from the mess Mdladlana had created without openly rebuking him. Government communications head Joel Netshitenzhe told journalists that the cabinet believed that Zimbabwe had taken steps so far to create an environment for free political activity. There had also been a drop in political violence compared to the last election. But the government had also noted the concerns raised by the MDC about the issue of the voters' roll, and their right to hold political gatherings, Netshitenzhe said. Instead of complaining from now on, the SA government observers would deal with "concrete" incidents as they arose. Brian Kagoro, co-chair of Zimbabwe's Crisis Coalition, which represents most human rights and governance NGOs, threatened to walk out of a briefing with Mdladlana on Tuesday. The MDC has said it would not engage with the South African government observer team until the minister was replaced. It said he had prematurely declared the polls free and fair.
Top
From The Independent (UK), 16 March
Into the heart of Zimbabwe's darkness
continued from yesterday
As the country prepares for a critical general election, Jeremy Gordin and Daniel Howden report from the opposition heartlands, where standing up to Robert Mugabe comes at a perilous price
Further along the road in the drab entrance to the village of Lupane, it seems hard to credit that this was once the capital of Northern Matabeleland. It is home to Njabiliso "JJ" Mguni, who will contest the election for the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change. It is not wise to be too direct about where you are going in Lupane and a few carefully chosen words with a hitchhiker outside the town is the best way to find out whether JJ is at home. No one needs to tell the people of Lupane how dangerous it can be to stand up to Mr Mugabe. In the two years between 1982 and 1984 as many as 50,000 people died in a vicious pogrom, dubbed euphemistically by Mr Mugabe himself as the Gukuruhundi: "The rain that washes away the chaff before the spring rains." The rain fell in the form of the notorious Korean-trained 5th Brigade. People were forced to dig their own graves and shot, or bodies were tossed into disused mines. Later the victims were herded into camps to be tortured and killed. Their commander is now Perence Shiri, the chief of the Zimbabwean air force. He took his orders from Emmerson Mnangagwa, then head of state security, now speaker of parliament. Official figures put the death toll for dissidents - those that opposed Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF party at 20,000. Locals say the real figure is more than twice that. One of the worst atrocities, the massacre of 62 men, women and children, was in 1983 at the (now dry) Cewala river in Lupane.
In an attempt to stop the outside world hearing about Zimbabwe's dark descent into chaos, foreign journalists are rarely given official permission to tour the vast hinterlands. Those caught posing as tourists face up to two years in prison. Coming off the main road into town the first building that comes into view is the Zanu PF headquarters. Outside are four large men leaning against a black four-wheel drive. By the time the MDC office is reached on the other side of town the black vehicle has become a fixture in the rear view mirror, carving its own lines in the soft grey sand of Lupane's narrow thoroughfares. Mr Mguni is not home, he has gone toBulawayo further south, but he arranges to meet on the outskirts of town later that evening. Entering Bulawayo at night is an eerie experience. With no money to replace the bulbs in the street lamps, the roads take on a sinister edge in the half light. After settling in a nearby restaurant, Mr Mguni, with his optimism at a positive outcome in the elections and his despair at the state of the nation is an odd blend of cheer and darkness. "Look what a mess this place is, it has gone down the tubes. I don't know how it can be restored."
Despite this blast of realism he is convinced that by 9pm on 31 March the MDC will be celebrating a victory. But he readily concedes that there are many ways in which the Zanu PF can rig the election. Their past methods have included fiddling the voters' roll and using food and the local headmen (in rural areas, such as Lupane) as tools to ensure voter compliance. Like everyone else, he is clinging to Zanu PF's pledge to eschew violence in the forthcoming elections. After standing at a May by-election, Mr Mguni was forced to quit his job as a teacher working with disabled children. Without work he is broke and forced to depend on the support groups set up by the MDC to aid its candidates. Many of these groups include white Zimbabwean members, a fact that has been used by Mr Mugabe supporters to level the charge that they are serving "colonial masters". Mr Mguni is unapologetic about this, saying his party does not have a racism problem. "We are not racists. We are not trying to chase white people out of this country." The black and white row pales in comparison with the potential abuse of electoral law that stipulates that if a candidate for a particular constituency should, for whatever reason, be unable to stand, then the opposing candidate must run unopposed. "So I suppose," says Mr Mguni rather off-handedly, "that it could be in the interests of Zanu PF to kidnap and kill members of the opposition. That might still happen."
The spectre of violence is never far away during the election campaign as Robert Madzinga discovered last week. He was shopping with his wife, wearing an MDC T-shirt when he was set on by a mob of Zanu PF supporters. According to reports from Care International, he was beaten to the ground with sticks and bled to death from an axe wound to his neck. The same mob then sought out his home, which they burnt to the ground, destroying all of the family's belongings. Opposition supporters have now been forbidden from campaigning in Domboshawa, and Mr Madzinga's family has fled the town for fear of their lives. In this climate, Mr Mguni usually travels with a minder, who was due after dinner to take him home to Lupane. But the man was caught handing out MDC pamphlets, which are also banned under the electoral law, and only narrowly escaped arrest. He has now fled the city. The aspiring MP, two weeks from what could be the biggest day of his life, is left penniless in the dark city, wondering how he is going to get home. Back in the brilliant daylight, hundreds of miles east, on the approach to the country's most impressive archaeological site, the looming granite tower of Great Zimbabwe is astounding. This consists of a giant hill complex - where the kings of the then Nemanwa people lived. These are the kings that Mugabe claims as his forebears.
The dark tower has assumed an iconic importance as the birthplace of the nation. It has also been pilfered as the new symbol for the Zanu PF party, replacing the Zimbabwe bird that used to adorn their coat of arms. Terry, a beautiful young guide who makes her living on the tough climb to the top, is typical of the generation born after the struggle for independence that ended white-dominated rule and brought Mr Mugabe to power. Despite education, youth and beauty, she is going nowhere. "All I want to do is see the world. But I earn Z$1,500000 [£129] a month. There is no way that I am going to be able to get out of here." More than two decades after taking power, Mr Mugabe still rules from his palace 200 miles to the north, but not even the children of his revolution look to Harare with any hope for the future. "I don't care much about the election," says Terry. "I just wish there were a way that I could make my dreams come true."
Top
From The Cape Times (SA), 18 March
Mermaids were costly, but invisible
Harare - A woman has testified here that she paid a popular local musician to fly in five mermaids from London to help her recover a stolen car and cash. Businesswoman Magrate Mapfumo said she paid US $5 000 to fly the invisible mermaids here on the advice of musician Edna Chizema, who is on trial for theft, the state-owned Herald reported yesterday. Mapfumo testified that she sought Chizema's advice after her car and millions of Zimbabwean dollars were stolen. Zimbabwe's Shona people believe mermaids are fearsome enchantresses capable of wreaking vengeance on wrongdoers. She said she also paid for the mermaids to be housed at Harare's plush tourist resort, the Jameson Hotel, and supplied with cellphones and generators to cope with the capital's frequent power cuts, the paper said. "I asked about their names and I was told they were called Emma, Charmaine, Sharvine, Bella and a fifth one who was said to be an Arab mermaid," the Herald quoted Mapfumo saying. "She (Chizema) told me I could not see the mermaids as only spirit mediums could do so."
Top
From News24 (SA), 18 March
SA Zim mission 'a farce'
Donwald Pressly
Cape Town - Patricia de Lille's Independent Democrats party (ID) has withdrawn from the multi-party South African Parliamentary observer mission to monitor the March 31 election in Zimbabwe. In a statement released by Member of Parliament Vincent Gore, ID member of the team - which is headed by African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe - he said his party believed that the "entire observer mission is a farce and a waste of taxpayers' money". "It is quite clear that the upcoming Zimbabwean elections are not going to be free and fair, and that the mission is being used as a vehicle to rubberstamp the ruling party's (ANC's) various statements already made by government that the elections will be free and fair." Gore said since their arrival in Harare, the mission had been plagued by inefficiency, bad planning "and wasted time". Since Monday, the mission has met with only four organisations - the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission, the Electoral Supervisory Commission, the Zimbabwean Council of Churches and the Zimbabwean Crisis Coalition. "To date, we have not met with any political parties, nor does there appear to be any plans for us to do so. Various attempts to meet with (President Robert Mugabe's ruling) Zanu PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been delayed, and it is now clear that the MDC will not meet with any South African Government observer mission. With Members of Parliament being deployed to various provinces it will be almost impossible for the South African parliamentary mission, as a group, to meet with any political party before the elections on March 31," he said.
"The decision to withdraw from the observer mission was finally prompted by a complete lack of activity and work on Thursday March 17. The agreed-upon plan was to meet for a briefing session at the Sheraton hotel in Harare, at 09:00 by all members of the mission, before being dispatched in 10 groups to various provinces to observe the elections. We were informed by a staff member to return to our hotel rooms and wait for a phone call. All Members of Parliament spent the rest of the day waiting for such a phone call which never happened. At a proposed budget of approximately two million rand, the entire day cost for South African taxpayers is over R100 000. With the meetings held with the various governmental and civil society organisations, the Independent Democrats believes that the upcoming Zimbabwean elections will not be free and fair and therefore will not be a true reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe. Despite drops in levels of violence within the country, the pervasive levels of violence over the past number of years and the ever present threats of violence within the country, as well as repressive legislation create an atmosphere in which opposition political parties are not allowed to campaign openly and freely, and voters are not able to express their will without intimidation and violence."
Top
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 18 March
DA receives 'alarming' reports out of Zimbabwe
Cape Town - The initial impressions of the Democratic Alliance's observers to Zimbabwe's March 31 elections so far have been alarming, party leader Tony Leon said on Friday. Writing in his weekly newsletter on the DA's website, he said the observers reported widespread intimidation of opposition members and supporters. Members of NGOs are arrested when they try to conduct voter education programmes, and many Zimbabweans believe members of the Zanu PF youth militias will seek violent retribution after the elections against people in areas where the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has a strong showing. "Our observers also describe a media environment in which Zanu PF enjoys continuous coverage, while the MDC was only allowed on to state television 30 days prior to the elections and still receives very little positive coverage. State-controlled newspapers continue to rail against imagined foreign enemies," he said. The DA's observers also suggested that parliamentary constituencies have been gerrymandered to reduce the opposition vote in both urban and rural areas, and that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has no physical infrastructure to allow it to carry out its responsibilities. They also reported allegations that the government is stockpiling food aid for distribution by Zanu PF agents during the elections to reward government supporters and to punish voters who choose the opposition. These abuses are being ignored by the African National Congress, making it complicit in them, Leon said. "There are surely men and women of good conscience in the ranks of the ANC who realise, privately, that the Zimbabwean elections could not possibly be free or fair, and that South Africa's approach is hurting our international image and harming our national interests. Yet they are silent." "Their colleagues in the various observer missions in Zimbabwe appear determined to ignore all of the violations, great and small, that President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF regime are committing against the Southern African Development Community's Mauritius Protocol and the people of Zimbabwe," Leon said.
Top
From The Guardian (SA), 19 March
Zimbabwe bars 3 million voters
Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria and agencies in Harare
More than 3 million Zimbabwean expatriates have been barred from voting in the imminent parliamentary elections by a supreme court ruling that will deprive the opposition of a large chunk of its support. The court gave no clear reasons for its decision to exclude 3.4 million citizens - more than 20% of the population - from the March 31 ballot, saying only that a legal appeal for inclusion "has no merit and should be dismissed". The chief justice, Godfrey Chidyausiku, issued the ruling on Thursday in response to an application by seven Zimbabweans based in Britain challenging laws barring them from voting. Mr Chidyausiku is a former cabinet minister in President Robert Mugabe's government and is known for his partisan rulings. Zimbabweans have left the country in droves in the past five years, deeply disillusioned with the economic decline and political intimidation presided over by Mr Mugabe. Because of their dissatisfaction, the Zimbabwean diaspora is believed largely to support the main opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, which was narrowly defeated in disputed elections in June 2000 and March 2002.
Even the president admitted this week that the country was suffering from food shortages, though he blamed it on drought. The MDC said yesterday that the country urgently needed imports of 1.5m tonnes of the staple maize to avert hunger. Beatrice Mtetwa, the lawyer for the group of British-based Zimbabweans seeking the vote, said that South Africa and many other African countries permitted expatriate citizens to vote in elections and the Zimbabweans wanted the same rights. She said her clients intend to lodge an appeal with the African Union's commission for human and people's rights. "We will call on the commission to pronounce that this ruling does not comply with the basic principles for free and fair elections," said Mrs Mtetwa. Another Zimbabwean lawyer, Daniel Molokele, based in Johannesburg, said: "It is a political judgement, plain and simple. It has no legal merits." Mr Mugabe's government maintains that the law only allows Zimbabweans serving in the army or on diplomatic postings to cast postal votes. The same rule was in force in previous elections. Opposition lawyers have charged that during past elections, soldiers on missions abroad were ordered to mark multiple ballots for the ruling party.
Top
From The Zimbabwe Independent
Desperate locals vote with their feet
Gift Phiri recently in Beitbridge
Less than two weeks before Zimbabwe's legislative election, Clever Tarindwa (24), a poor farm worker from Chipinge near the Mozambican border, voted with his feet to seek a new life in South Africa. Driven into penury by five years of political turmoil that has brought Zimbabwe's once prosperous economy to its knees, he jumped onto a bus heading for the border town of Beitbridge.There, he met the gumha-gumha, a group of extortionists who take people across the swirling waters of the Limpopo at night for R100. Tarindwa, unlike some Zimbabweans who get swept away or eaten by crocodiles, made it to the other side. Within hours he was picked up by a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) patrol and handed over to the police in the nearby town of Musina for immediate deportation. "I left home because there is no work and no food," he told the Zimbabwe Independent in the border town of Beitbridge last Wednesday. "I came here in search of a job. Everyone says that life in South Africa is good. It used to be good in Zimbabwe, but that' s all gone now."
According to a SANDF officer involved in border patrol operations, the gumha-gumha use cellphones to organise transport with mini-bus drivers on the South African side of the Limpopo River. In a series of short hops, the immigrants are transported to the border town of Musina, and from there they travel south to South Africa's major cities looking for work. "Only the very poor walk," the officer said. Sibongile Moyo (22), who was picked up after leaving her village near Bulawayo, told the same story. "Work is hard to come by in Zimbabwe," she said. "There is not enough food. It is expensive and we don't have enough money to buy. The people are frightened. They get beaten." Tarindwa and Moyo are two of thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing President Robert Mugabe's misrule. Everyday a police lorry leaves Musina with 30 to 40 "undocumented migrants" for the 12-kilometre trip back to the border, where they are dumped on the other side. Most are picked up while trying to hitch a lift on the main road to Johannesburg. Others are caught while trying to make their way through local game or hunting grounds, or are turned in by people who fear the migrants might take their jobs and women.
Hundreds of South African soldiers patrol the three razor-wire fences along the border with Zimbabwe that were erected during the apartheid era to keep out African National Congress guerillas. "They wrap themselves in blankets and crawl under the fence," Godfrey Mathabatha, a private on one of the border patrols, said. "When we catch them, their clothes are torn. They are tired and thirsty and often have gone for a week without something to eat." An old army base at Artonvilla on the banks of the Limpopo has been set aside by the South African government as a holding camp for migrants, should the situation in Zimbabwe reach "meltdown". It can hold up to 1 000 people while they await deportation. Colonel Tol Synman, the officer in charge of the regional SANDF, said: "We arrest up to 2 500 a month. But we have no idea how many get through." Some estimates put the figure as high as 500 a day. "We are getting more and more undocumented migrants now because of the shortage of food in Zimbabwe," Colonel Synman said. "They cross the river even when the water is chest high. Our troops have reported some of them being swept away or eaten by crocodiles." He said unless the illegal migrants were granted refugee status, "our job will remain to hold the line".
In January, 2 600 people were arrested and handed over to the police, a figure lower than last year, the officer said. He noted that increased activity by the Zimbabwean police had impacted on the illegal crossings. The border jumpers are eventually deported to Zimbabwe. The South African military, through an agreement with Zimbabwe, has the authority to intercept would-be illegal immigrants in what is technically Zimbabwean territory, the officer said. He pointed out that a man found wading in the Limpopo River would probably be arrested before he reached the South African bank. Once inside South Africa, the concern of the authorities is the damage that illegal immigrants can cause to farms and properties. Farmers complain that snares are set and crops damaged as the border jumpers cross their fields. If political violence in the run-up to Zimbabwe's legislative election leads to a large influx of asylum seekers, "our first priority will be to look after our own people, the farmers", the officer said. "If hungry Zimbabweans strip property on farms, there is going to be conflict with the farmers." A recent report by the Solidarity Peace Trust stated that Zimbabwe's largest export was now its people.
Top
From News24 (SA), 18 March
Cosatu protest 'warming up'
Johannesburg - A second demonstration at Beit Bridge border post by the Congress of SA Trade Unions attracted about 400 people, twice as many as the first, said the organisers on Thursday. Miriam Ramadwa, Cosatu's deputy provincial secretary said: "There are many people today. We are picketing and demonstrating about 200m from the border post." Superintendent Mohale Ramatseba agreed that there were many more people at the protest than last time. He said: "It has been peaceful." The demonstration was part of a series of Cosatu protests against the Zimbabwean government's abuse of worker's rights. The Zimbabwe government's insistence that the coming elections there would be free and fair was also farcical, the union federation asserts. Demonstrations outside the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria on Wednesday only attracted a handful of protestors. The action would culminate in a march and night vigil on March 30, the day before the elections. Zimbabwe's ambassador to South Africa Simon Moyo had been brushing off all of Cosatu's protests. He said: "Zimbabwe is a sovereign state and no amount of picketing will ever revert it to be a colony again. We are free forever and the elections will be held in Zimbabwe." Cosatu originally planned larger demonstrations at Beit Bridge - and border blockades. However, permission for this sort of action was refused - the demonstrations had to take place within the municipal limits of Musina and the Road Traffic Act prohibits the wilful blocking of public roads.
Top
From Zim Online (SA), 19 March
Police shield Mugabe from verbal attacks
Mutare - Police in Manicaland province have ordered opposition election candidates in the province not to denounce President Robert Mugabe during campaigning or they will be arrested. Senior assistant police commissioner Ronald Muderedzwa, in charge of the law enforcement agency in Manicaland, told seven Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party candidates at a meeting here in Mutare, the provincial administrative centre, that they will be arrested for denouncing Mugabe. The meeting, held earlier this week at Mutare's Queens Hall as Mugabe began a blitz for votes in the province, was also attended by two ruling Zanu PF party candidates Shadreck Beta and Samuel Undenge and Daniel Tuso of the smaller Zanu Ndonga opposition party. "Let me warn political parties that it is illegal to verbally attack the person of the President at your rallies...anyone found violating this law, will be brought to book," Muderedzwa is said to have told the candidates. But MDC spokesman Paul Themba-Nyathi accused the police of behaving like the "Zanu PF youth league" for attempting to bar attacks against or criticism of Mugabe. Themba-Nyathi said it was impossible for Mugabe to escape criticism when he was leader of a political party contesting the election. The opposition spokesman also accused Mugabe of being guilty himself of making personal attacks against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. He said: "The unfortunate thing is that the police have turned into a Zanu PF youth league. That is why the police are willing to be used in that manner. Mugabe has made it a habit to attack Tsvangirai at public rallies. He has made personal remarks about Tsvangirai. Mugabe cannot escape personal criticism as a leader of a party that is violent, that has destroyed the country and does not observe the rule of law."
Muderedzwa could not be reached for comment on the matter. Zanu PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira was also unreachable last night. But Beta, who is a former chairman of Zanu PF in Manicaland and is representing the party in Mutare Central constituency said the police order barring the opposition from denouncing Mugabe was long overdue. Beta told ZimOnline: "They (the MDC) should not engage in destructive politics. They should campaign in a civilised manner and not to attack the person of the president. The police should arrest anyone who infringes the laws of the country and attacks the person of the president." Under the government's Public Order and Security Act, it is an offence for Zimbabweans to make denigrating or derogatory comments against Mugabe or even making gestures at his motorcade when it drives by. Several Zimbabweans have been heavily fined and jailed after being caught by Zanu PF activists or state secret service agents denigrating Mugabe whose polices many blame for plunging the country into an economic and political crisis. But Mugabe himself has on many occasions used intemperate and defamatory language against his opponents, calling Tsvangirai a dimwit and a witch at campaign rallies.
Top
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 18 March
Govt stance on Zim divides ANC
The African National Congress is presenting a unified front on the March 31 elections in Zimbabwe, but behind the scenes there is increasing debate in the ruling party about how to deal with the political and economic crisis north of the Limpopo. Controversy has intensified in South Africa and Zimbabwe since Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, who heads the government's observer mission, reportedly told Zimbabwean state radio and television on Monday that all was in place for a free and fair election. President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma have made similar remarks in recent weeks. But many in the ANC are increasingly uncomfortable with the approach of the government and the party. They include members of the South African Communist Party - a robust critic of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF in recent months - and others with no specific association with the left of the tripartite alliance. "We are a bit dismayed by the statements of some of those representing South Africa, particularly the minister of labour. It seems to be an exceptionally partisan and ill-informed statement, and we hope the South African government will speak to him about it," said SACP deputy secretary general Jeremy Cronin, a member of the ANC's national executive committee. "We believe it's extremely unlikely that there can be any effective compliance with SADC [Southern African Development Community] protocols in this election. "The South African and SADC observer missions need to state very accurately what happens so that we don't undermine the protocols. That there will be non-compliance is obvious. That should be noted, not simply to say whether the election is free and fair, but to say what should be done afterwards."
The government and the ANC's approach, two senior ANC officials told the Mail & Guardian, is premised on the belief that Zanu PF will win the election, that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is too unstable and inexperienced to lead Zimbabwe's reconstruction and that new leaders in Zanu PF must be identified and supported. "Even if Zimbabwe complied fully with all the SADC guidelines, Zanu PF would win - not by such a big margin, but they would win," said one MP who was party to foreign policy discussions. "In a sense the hope has been that Zanu PF would get 66%, so that in constitutional reform you have to deal with one party and push one party in the right direction," another official said. However, party insiders say there is deepening concern over the failure of attempts to drive change. "There is consensus that Zanu PF has gone seriously wrong - no one denies that. The real debate in the ANC is where the change will come from. Some feel that still, somewhere in Zanu, there is the capacity to stabilise and turn around Zimbabwe - perhaps by tapping recently marginalised figures like Emmerson Mnangagwa." Mnangagwa, the Speaker of Parliament and Mugabe's former close ally, is out of favour because he is seen as a rival for party leadership. As head of state security in the 1980s he presided over the massacre of at least 20 000 people in Matabeleland - the heartland of opposition to Mugabe - by the notorious 5th Brigade. South African intelligence agents in Zimbabwe, it is suggested, aimed to identify alternative centres of power in Zanu PF.
But the repeated failure of efforts to nudge Zimbabwe toward negotiated transition has created deep scepticism about this strategy in some quarters. "[The SACP] reading is that the government is trying to lock the major stakeholders in Zimbabwe into a transitional process involving negotiations, legislative reform and transition ultimately to a freer election. That has been scuppered by Zanu PF and its insistence on the March 31 date," said Cronin. One veteran ANC back-bencher said he felt the same way about government policy on Zimbabwe as about being forced to vote for legislation legalising abortion. "The president says unconscionable things about Zimbabwe and we can't say anything about it," he said. "Certainly there's no solution that doesn't involve Zanu PF cadres," argues another MP, "but I'd have serious doubts about the capacity of the leadership to address anything other than their own short-term interests. The real energy has to come from outside the party. They need not another flawed election, but a transition to democracy." Government spokesperson Joel Netshitenze said after Wednesday 's Cabinet meeting that no one should prejudge whether the election will be free and fair. Netshitenze said the South African government delegation would try to intervene where "concrete instances" of concern arose.
Masvingo province out of food - Sunday Independent Bone weary - Observer
Top
From The Sunday Independent (SA), 20 March
Mugabe gives hungry masses food for thought
By Christelle Terreblanche
Masvingo - The sensational land grabs that highlighted the 2000 Zimbabwe national elections have made way for something far more subtle, yet insidious. In the deep rural areas of the drought-stricken country, election 2005 is characterised by hunger and the politics of food. Not only is the hunger partly the result of the botched land redistribution programme, it appears in itself to represent another grab for control by the ruling Zanu PF of the most essential means of living. Opposition supporters claim they have to produce Zanu PF cards to get maize, and attending an opposition rally could cost them many meals. In the southeastern Masvingo province drought has persisted for three years and stocks of maize meal are running out after another failed harvest and amid rising unemployment. The crisis came to a head this week in the small rural villages surrounding Great Zimbabwe. At a rally in Bikita village, President Robert Mugabe for the first time acknowledged there was a food crisis, after months of stern denial. As he was speaking, however, the state-run radio was still pumping out the daily assurance that there was a bumper harvest and the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) had ample reserves.
Mugabe was confronted in Bikita by the undeniable fact that the province had run completely out of grain earlier this month. "We are aware that many people have nothing in their fields," he said. "The government will not let people die of hunger, especially since they live in the area of Great Zimbabwe. At the moment the GMB is saying it has enough stocks to last the nation over the next three months." Mugabe said one of the main problems in getting grain to rural towns was the lack of transport. There has been no petrol in Masvingo since Thursday, except at the government-run fuel station. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), visited nearby Nemamwa village the next day and urged supporters not to be intimidated by traditional leaders. "There is a scramble for food," the MDC leader said. "Chiefs and traditional leaders are being used selectively by the heavy Zanu PF administrative structures to use food to coerce support. That is what we have been condemning. We are doing everything to ensure that food is not becoming a weapon to intimidate, but as you can see there is a crisis on the ground."
Lucia Masekesa, the chairperson of the MDC's Masvinga Women's Assembly, said food was being channelled only to Zanu PF supporters, through traditional leaders. "All of them are Zanu PF because some got land and most got vehicles. "It is part of the campaigning which started early last year already," she said. "The chiefs have the power to go to the GMB to get maize and distribute it to Zanu PF supporters. Others go hungry." Like everyone else, she believes the government is importing maize despite its assurances of a bumper harvest. Trying to get clarity from Masvinga's main GMB depot was futile. Managers were in consultation with the Zanu PF provincial governor, who has to approve all distribution. Later the Zanu PF candidate for the area turned up in his campaign vehicle to load up supplies. When Independent Newspapers tried to photograph this, soldiers at the facility became threatening. Bags of maize being delivered by train were unmarked, so it could not be determined if the maize had been imported. International aid workers in the area who provided food during the past three dry seasons started to scale down their operations late last year after the passing of a draconian law that limits their activities.
Members of three aid organisations spoke to The Sunday Independent on condition of anonymity. "If you print my name you may as well dig my grave," one said. Another said Zanu PF was mainly deploying food "as a campaign tool" in the rural areas, where people were "definitely not self-sufficient at the moment" and "many are starving". "Nobody is harvesting," an aid worker said. "No one but the government has access to the strategic grain reserve. There is nothing like free and fair distribution." The aid workers said that until December last year the maize had been given out by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to agencies to distribute to those most in need. Then in December the government suspended all contracts with dispensing NGOs, ordering the WFP to clear its stock of food. At the same time it assured the nation there were ample reserves. Since then it has asked for no donor food, leaving the national maize reserves to run critically low.
Top
Comment from The Observer (UK), 20 March
Welcome to Mugabeland, where hope wilts in the sun
The rains have failed, the crops are dying. As Zimbabwe prepares to vote, Euan Ferguson, in this secret dispatch, explains why the prospect of change still seems agonisingly remote.
It was laughter, actually. Tired and terribly fed up laughter, pupping away inside me like lazy glue on a stove. It wasn't, honestly, the reaction I had meant to bring to famine. But last week, in a fairly filthy bar in Bulawayo, it finally got to me. Second city of Zimbabwe, where the ridiculously wide avenues lie in cloying darkness all night, holding their breath, because there's no money for light bulbs. They're running out of blood in Bulawayo and, with HIV running through 25 per cent of the nation's veins, new supplies are hard to come by. They've run out of petrol. They've run out of doctors: there are three surgeons left for a population of just over 800,000. They're running out of food. Ten starved to death in the city suburbs last month, seven of them children under five: and now the rains have stopped, and the harvest has failed, and it's going to get one whole medieval lot nastier very soon.
They're not, yet, out of Castle beer, which is why I have some in front of me as I wait. It has taken a little while to persuade Bulawayans to talk. Two weeks before the national elections, friends are wary of talking to friends, so mouths snap shut before strangers. It is an offence to hold a meeting without police permission, an offence to criticise the government, a jailable offence to criticise Robert Mugabe: effectively, talk of politics is outlawed. Even the regime's sternest critics, in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), are trying to distance themselves from anyone white, as Mugabe loses no opportunity to taunt them about links to Tony Blair and accuse them of being puppets of white neo-colonialism. So I'm not sure if young Jimmy and Joy, whom I'd met earlier in a more public (thus less safe) bar, are going to turn up, but they do, and without thinking I wave. Mistake. They're not really worried, it's fine here, but they advise me to keep the waving to a minimum elsewhere. An open hand is the symbol of the MDC. Flaunting it can get you noticed. Finally, it all gets to me, and the laughter spills out. It's taken a few days to reach this stage. Growing, along the way, tired of the roadblocks, shocked by the state of the land, stupefied by the flagrant propaganda of the state-run press, resentful of the constant eye-flicking and back-watching; staggered by the tales, wearied by the hate, and even a little fed up, frankly, at being apparently the only white man in Africa. And I learn that in the wrong parts of the wrong towns a simple wave, symbol of open friendship, can now get you locked up, and laughter seems a good answer: sour laughter, to greet the rancid curdling of a dream.
Four, five weeks ago, the skies darkened but it did not rain. Showers, splatters only, but the greedy clouds kept themselves full and moved on, and the sun came out again and started burning things. 'It wasn't as if we knew quickly, or anything,' says Joy, 'but at that time you expect rain, lots of rain, all the time. Then another day passed, the same. And another. And that was weeks ago, and now it's too late.' The rainy season should only be ending around now, ready for an April harvest. The past month should have seen constant heavy daily falls, 30cm and more, but they've seen relentless sunshine. Not even Mugabe's angriest opponents can blame him for that. But they can, and do, blame him for the vaulting inflation. Last year, for the fifth successive year since his notorious land grab, the economy declined once again, to take the cumulative loss in GDP to 40 per cent. Outside agencies have estimated inflation at between 300 and 400 per cent. Even the government press accepts that something is wrong, try heroically though they do to sell it as a success: 'Inflation falls to 127.7 per cent!' shouted the irony-free front page of last Saturday's Herald. Enough figures: what it means is that no one has any money. No money to pay people to work on the land. No money to irrigate. No aid agencies to bring in food from outside: last year a proud Mugabe ordered the UN to stop distributing supplies. Zimbabwe had so much food, he said, it was 'choking' on it.
What they are choking on down in the Gwayi valley is, of course, dust. This river in Matabeleland, between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, once fat enough to have a station and junction named after it, should have been swollen to safety, or even surfeit, by the last month of the rainy season: it is instead a shambles of stagnant pools. For 50 miles east and west, the smaller rivers are simply caked red mud and stone. The only movement, apart of course from the flies, comes from the occasional group of villagers trying to dig boreholes near the centre, where once the rivers were deepest. Drive along the empty main road, west to what the country knows as Vic Falls and the Hwange National Park, and at first sight the coming devastation is hard to imagine. Baboons scamper. Baobab trees, inside whose giant-trunked greyness the guerrillas cut hideaways from government soldiers during the war of independence, loom and fascinate every half-mile, and the roadsides are fringed richly with other woods, the silver mohonono and the dark-barked motsouri. But stop the car, far from the roadblocks, and curse the flies, and force your way through the undergrowth for a hundred yards and the vision is grim. Mile after sulking brown mile of failed maize. The staple crop for all Zimbabwe, it should by now be two metres high, fat with corn, ready next month to be harvested and milled for villagers to make their porridgey mealy-meal, the rice or potatoes of this part of the world, the main meal of the day, perhaps with a little meat or fish if it can be afforded (with inflation at a triumphant 127 per cent, it can't).
But the crop stands perhaps a metre high, the cobs tiny, ill-formed and tasting of doom. The top third has sprouted, dry brown grass rustling closer to death with every hour of sun. Fields of tobacco plants, once a good earner, are mournful parchment windmills. Every time I stopped in Matabeleland I saw the same; and the same again on the six-hour drive back from Bulawayo to Harare, to within 80 miles from the capital. The fields are a mess. The drought has something to do with it, in that there's been no water. National inflation and poverty have something to do with it, in that the minimal wages for farmworkers are worth less and less each month, and unemployment in some rural areas has hit 80 per cent. Mugabe's land grab has something to do with it, in that there are no farmers to underpay the non-existent farm workers. The last tiny handful of the 10.4 million productive acres on 4,500 white-run farms, which created jobs and grew food and exported in 2000, are in the process of being forcibly repossessed, and now even Mugabe admits it's not going swimmingly well. According to state television, he has 'expressed disappointment with the land use, saying only 44 per cent of the land distributed is being fully utilised'. Tobacco production is down 70 per cent from 2000. Government figures themselves estimate there are 5.8 million acres of maize farmland lying fallow, even if there had been rain. When Tendai Biti, economic affairs spokesman for the MDC, said that 'it has been a phenomenal and absolute failure on every level' he was pulling his punches. The latest report from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network placed Zimbabwe's looming food crisis second in the world to Ethiopia's, judging that 5.8 million were at risk. This report was made in January, before the rains failed.
The kindly Shoko, who drove me for a day, is happy to speak inside his car, if reticent to the point of autism in any public place. 'You won't get people to talk unless you're alone in a room or in a car. But it's completely obvious. We all knew white farmers, and not one of them deserved what happened. Not one. Say what you will. They knew the land, they had money and were pretty fair. They paid us, and we grew food. Now ... well, I don't need to explain. Look out of the window. What a simple mess it is.' Patience, whom I meet one morning near Bulawayo, has already walked four round miles, from hut to nearest trickle of river, for water. She will make the journey twice more, maybe three times, that day, with the jug on her head - yes, they really do that, and live in mud huts, the whole shebang - depending on how much her youngest, Lindiwe, cries. She doesn't know what is wrong with her, she can't afford a doctor, and there aren't any. What's wrong with her, surely, is that some parts of the world tend to get more than their share of the very worst bits of the biblical ills. Matabeleland, southern Zimbabwe, is a grand spot to pick up malaria, cholera and leprosy - if you've been spared Aids - so what would really gee them up now would be a spot of drought and famine, garnished with locusts and tyranny. 'We are not starving. Not yet. But if you've come this far you have seen the fields. The rain is over. The food will not come.' She is not, palpably, sad; or dramatic; or even very friendly. If I was to sum up her attitude as honestly as I could, it would be in a far less than poetic phrase, and that would be 'f..d off'.
Or resigned, but actually the phrase with the swear word, in its sense of 'having once hoped', is truer to the mark. It was the attitude, in Victoria Falls, of all the staff who have watched their tourist-funded livelihoods evaporate as fast as the gossamer spray: of Samuel, who made me an inedible pizza for which he had to charge me his weekly wage (the equivalent of £12), and doesn't get to eat the leftovers, and didn't know what he was going to eat that night. I leave what I hope is a fabulous tip, then spend three minutes struggling to stuff the remaining change of tens of thousands of joke inflationary Zim dollars into the front pocket of my jeans. It comes, I later realise, to about 10p. There were, that lunchtime, eight other tourists walking the Falls: eight. Everyone, especially whites, comes from Zambia. The Zambian side has seen tourist numbers rise from 160,000 in 2001 to 610,000 last year. By far the best view of the largest single curtain of water on Earth lies on the Zimbabwean side, but there were eight trippers. This weekend there will be more visitors to Cromer. In Victoria Falls, as the sun set, staff were going through the bins.
There is an answer, of course. On 31 March, Zimbabwe goes to the polls. There is, in many places, a palpable sense that the MDC could this time triumph. They have fought a brave campaign: simply standing, in some areas, is evidence enough of courage. And there is, in every place where people are willing to speak, a clear message: the West, and its tourist dollars and its trade, are needed back again. 'I was too young to remember much before independence,' says Jimmy, in the dark bar in Bulawayo. 'I don't think I would have had much time for the white farmers, then. Older men I know hated it, I think. It was right to change. It was our country. Mugabe must have been right. But nobody can still believe this is the answer, when we have no money, no light, and soon no food. You don't need a degree in politics to make the arguments, you just need to look around. Can you buy me a beer?' It's the same with drivers, hamburger-sellers, the boys on the roadside with a cup of peanuts to sell, the pretty girls in Harare's poshest hotel with sex to sell, the disarmingly frank policeman who admits he helped beat up MDC supporters last time round but will vote for them this month because he doesn't want to go hungry and wants to marry again. And sometimes you can begin to hope: enthusiasm infects, as does simple logic. A regime change would win instant backing from outside: would reopen trade and aid - and, of course, all the self-serving posturing that comes with each - but mostly it would keep people alive.
Sometimes, away from the small cars and dark rooms where people can speak freely, you can begin to dare to think that this might, after all, approach a democratic election. The state-run press and its trumpeting of democratic freedoms are ludicrous. 'Peace, calm reign: police' reads one headline in the Herald. Some of its choicer headlines during my week in the country - slipped in along such joys as 'Gold panner crushed to death' and 'Binga man dies after hippo attack' - included 'MDC hasn't learnt anything', 'Things fall apart for MDC', 'MDC desperate, in permanent panic' and the splendidly impartial 'Why we should vote Zanu-PF'. But I'm trying to be desperately fair here, with my white liberal guilt, and I have to say that, when the papers say there has been a marked diminution of violence since the last election, I am inclined to believe them. Government and opposition parties have both called repeatedly for a poll free of intimidation. In my six days in Zimbabwe intimidation may have been happening, but I didn't see it so I can't report on it. People around Bulawayo spoke of MDC meetings being broken up and those wearing the party's T-shirts being beaten. As I walked through Kwekwe, every MDC election poster was smothered in angry black paint. But of the youth squads who last time broke pregnant women with sticks and beheaded men with machetes, there was no sign. The MDC alleges the government is supplying (late) grain to favoured areas to secure votes: as I saw no aid at all, I can't bear witness.
This is a different election. Mugabe is, apparently, trying to play fair in the eyes of the world. Sadly, this is only a different election because he is being bad more subtly. Gone are the machetes. But, also, gone too is the hope. The vote-counting will be administered by the army. The ballot-boxes are made of transparent plastic. Counting will be done after nightfall. Rural voters make up 65 per cent of the population. Counting after nightfall in most places means counting in huts by candle or torchlight, by hungry soldiers whose guns and food are paid for by the government, counting out votes from transparent ballot-boxes. No fewer than 800,000 dead people are on the electoral register. Exiles cannot vote. Opposition candidates cannot get hold of the register: one I spoke to said he had been promised a copy in mid-April, a little while after he's been defeated. Most remote villagers, according to Shoko, who was once one himself, have been told that a 'central computer' can work out, between one and two weeks after the poll, which way each village voted. The threat, with famine looming, does not have to be further stated. The Southern Africa Development Community, to which Mugabe signed up in a flurry of apparent accountability, has just been refused access to observe, after a bout of legalistic semantics that would win applause from Jesuits.
I saw tanks moving from Kwekwe to Harare, which last week had to shut down half its dwindling water supply for three days due to leaks and faults it can't afford to mend. Meanwhile, Mugabe busied himself giving interviews to the Herald about his favourite music (Mozart, Beethoven, the choral singer Olivia Charamba) and revealing that he once wrote a poem about the plight of orphans. It's a less violent, more subtle game this time, and of course he'll win again. Last time round there was simply fear. Now there is a more insidious threat: economic death. Even if it doesn't, quite, win the global headlines, it works effectively enough if you're a poor, empty-bellied bastard in the dark, four miles away from brackish water gulped beneath dead maize. The threat of a sore belly, of continued poverty, of recriminations; of angry sponsored boys, fit, armed, in berets. The terribly real imminence of famine. The threat that other African leaders, who could truly make a difference, will fall for corrupt statistics from Zimbabwe and do nothing. And still, I am dissuaded that language and statistics have no part to play. People are bone-weary of the capricious, mendacious, pocket-stuffing old lunatic. And the honest figures do, indeed, tell their story. Robert Mugabe is 81. Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 33.
Top
From The Guardian (SA), 21 March
Zimbabwean election 'cannot be free and fair'
Human Rights Watch condemns intimidation
Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria
Highly repressive laws and an overwhelming climate of fear make it impossible for Zimbabwe's forthcoming parliamentary election to be free and fair, according to a report to be issued today by Human Rights Watch. In the 10 days before the election, the US-based organisation urges leaders from neighbouring African countries to press President Robert Mugabe to assure voters that their ballots will be secret and that all acts of political violence will be prosecuted. "Fear, tension and intimidation characterise the environment in which these elections are being held," said Tiseke Kasambala, the primary author of the report. "A vicious cycle of oppressive laws and politically motivated police and threats from the ruling party combine to make people afraid to voice opinions freely. In such an environment, it is unlikely they will have the confidence to vote freely." Ms Kasambala spoke to the Guardian after returning from Zimbabwe yesterday. She headed a team that visited the country in December, February and this month. They travelled across Zimbabwe and interviewed 135 people, including members of Mr Mugabe's ruling party, Zanu-PF, the opposition, civic organisations, journalists and citizens.
"Much has been made of the decline in the levels of violence, compared to the elections in 2000 and 2002," said Ms Kasambala. "But we found an increase in levels of intimidation. People are forced to attend ruling party rallies. They must carry Zanu PF cards on pain of assault. Those suspected of supporting the opposition are deprived of food. There are constant reminders of past state violence. It seriously inhibits the people's ability to vote in confidence." The report emphasises that intimidation is particularly strong in Zimbabwe's rural areas, where 65% of voters live. "People are almost trapped in the rural areas," Ms Kasambala said. "They cannot go out without explaining to their chief where and why they are going. They cannot come back without a lengthy explanation. People are living in constant fear of being labelled opposition supporters, for instance because an uncle from the city came to visit them." The report gives a sober assessment of laws enacted by the Mugabe government which restrict basic freedoms. The Public Order and Security Act (Posa) prohibits public meetings of more than three people without police approval. It also makes it a crime to criticise or ridicule the president, the police, or the army. Posa has been used to arrest nearly 400 journalists. A separate press control law has been used to close down four newspapers and arrest more than 100 journalists. Two electoral laws enacted last year, attempted to as |
