Lawyers Seek To Arrange Medical Care For Detained Zimbabwean Activists
Lawyers for detained Zimbabwe Peace Project Director Jestina Mukoko and
political activists being held by police said Tuesday they have been trying
to get their clients medical care.
Harare Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe on Monday ruled that Mukoko and
activists of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change should be allowed
to see doctors of their choice while being held on charges that they
conspired to overthrow the government.
Lawyers for the detained, who number about 40, also charged they were
severely tortured.
The court is expected to rule Wednesday on the detainees' application for
release on bail.
Authorities have defied a High Court ruling saying the detainees should be
hospitalized. The state is appealing that ruling in the Supreme Court.
Mukoko and the others are accused of recruiting government opponents for
military training in Botswana aiming to bring down the government, and of
bombing police stations.
Defense lawyer Alec Muchadehama told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he and other attorneys have asked the court to
oblige the police to disclose the names of those responsible for the wave of
abductions over the past 10 weeks.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Defence applies for stay of prosecution
Defence applies for stay of prosecution
HARARE - The High Court will today hear an urgent application seeking to
stop any further prosecution of Zimbabwe Peace Project director, Jestina
Mukoko, and her workmate, Broderick Takawira, before a full inquiry into
their kidnapping is launched.
Judge, Elphas Chitakunye is today (Wednesday) expected to hear the case of
Mukoko, a former staffer at the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation, who was abducted from her home in Norton in the early hours of
December 3. Her kidnappers were a group of armed men, who identified
themselves as being policemen.
A few days after her disappearance, Takawira and another ZPP employee, were
snatched from their offices in Harare .
The lawyers are also seeking a relief order that Mukoko and Takawira be
released forthwith as their arrest and detention were declared unlawful.
The two have since been charged on alleged attempts to seek the overthrow of
President Robert Mugabe through recruiting persons to train as bandits and
insurgents.
"We are seeking an interdict to stop their further prosecution until the
state is compelled to disclose the identity of their kidnappers," Harare
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told The Zimbabwe Times Tuesday.
The state admits the accused persons were kidnapped.
"There should be a full inquiry into those kidnappings and that police
arrest those kidnappers before we can deal with these people as accused
persons," she said.
The state admits that the accused persons were abducted.
Said Mtetwa, "We want to know whether it would be proper to try them for any
offence when they had initially been reported as kidnapped.
"The state must say where these people were being held all along. The state
must also inquire into whether or not these people were lawfully held.
"The state cannot pretend not to know where the accused persons were over
the past eight weeks."
Mtetwa also wants the court to compel Police Commissioner-General, Augustine
Chihuri to bring before the High Court persons who claim they received
Mukoko and others from state security agents on December 22.
Police claim to have taken custody of the accused persons, alongside 30
human rights defenders and MDC activists from state security agents.
Before that, they had continuously denied any knowledge of their
whereabouts.
Justice Anne-Marrie Gowora early this month ordered the police to release
Mukoko.
In the event that they were not holding her, the police were ordered to do
everything possible to search for her, including placing adverts in the
press soliciting for information about her whereabouts.
"We are seeking an order for the Attorney General to show cause why he
should not direct the police to investigate a criminal offence," Mtetwa
said.
The state is also resisting attempts to release Mukoko to a private hospital
for treatment claiming that an army doctor identified as Chigumira attended
to her when she was in custody.
Justice Yunus Omerjee last week ordered the release of Mukoko and eight
others for treatment at Harare 's Avenues Clinic pending what had been their
impending appearance for remand hearing at the magistrate's court last
Wednesday.
They claim thery were tortured while in detention.
The state has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to stop their release.
"We want the High Court to tell us if it is now legal to entertain a rogue
state that comes with a defective document seeking to perpetuate an unlawful
act.
"We hear there were rogue doctors who have already examined them while they
were under torture," said Mtetwa.
The state is saying the accuse persons did not need any treatment as they
were attended to by an army doctor during their detention.
"We want the medical doctor who is said to have examined Mukoko while she
was in her torture chambers to come and tell the court as to who called him
to the torture chambers to come and minimize the trauma that they had
suffered," she said.
"We have no confidence in the doctors. They were hiding evidence of the
torture and trauma to which they were subjected."
HARARE - The High Court will today hear an urgent application seeking to
stop any further prosecution of Zimbabwe Peace Project director, Jestina
Mukoko, and her workmate, Broderick Takawira, before a full inquiry into
their kidnapping is launched.
Judge, Elphas Chitakunye is today (Wednesday) expected to hear the case of
Mukoko, a former staffer at the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation, who was abducted from her home in Norton in the early hours of
December 3. Her kidnappers were a group of armed men, who identified
themselves as being policemen.
A few days after her disappearance, Takawira and another ZPP employee, were
snatched from their offices in Harare .
The lawyers are also seeking a relief order that Mukoko and Takawira be
released forthwith as their arrest and detention were declared unlawful.
The two have since been charged on alleged attempts to seek the overthrow of
President Robert Mugabe through recruiting persons to train as bandits and
insurgents.
"We are seeking an interdict to stop their further prosecution until the
state is compelled to disclose the identity of their kidnappers," Harare
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told The Zimbabwe Times Tuesday.
The state admits the accused persons were kidnapped.
"There should be a full inquiry into those kidnappings and that police
arrest those kidnappers before we can deal with these people as accused
persons," she said.
The state admits that the accused persons were abducted.
Said Mtetwa, "We want to know whether it would be proper to try them for any
offence when they had initially been reported as kidnapped.
"The state must say where these people were being held all along. The state
must also inquire into whether or not these people were lawfully held.
"The state cannot pretend not to know where the accused persons were over
the past eight weeks."
Mtetwa also wants the court to compel Police Commissioner-General, Augustine
Chihuri to bring before the High Court persons who claim they received
Mukoko and others from state security agents on December 22.
Police claim to have taken custody of the accused persons, alongside 30
human rights defenders and MDC activists from state security agents.
Before that, they had continuously denied any knowledge of their
whereabouts.
Justice Anne-Marrie Gowora early this month ordered the police to release
Mukoko.
In the event that they were not holding her, the police were ordered to do
everything possible to search for her, including placing adverts in the
press soliciting for information about her whereabouts.
"We are seeking an order for the Attorney General to show cause why he
should not direct the police to investigate a criminal offence," Mtetwa
said.
The state is also resisting attempts to release Mukoko to a private hospital
for treatment claiming that an army doctor identified as Chigumira attended
to her when she was in custody.
Justice Yunus Omerjee last week ordered the release of Mukoko and eight
others for treatment at Harare 's Avenues Clinic pending what had been their
impending appearance for remand hearing at the magistrate's court last
Wednesday.
They claim thery were tortured while in detention.
The state has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to stop their release.
"We want the High Court to tell us if it is now legal to entertain a rogue
state that comes with a defective document seeking to perpetuate an unlawful
act.
"We hear there were rogue doctors who have already examined them while they
were under torture," said Mtetwa.
The state is saying the accuse persons did not need any treatment as they
were attended to by an army doctor during their detention.
"We want the medical doctor who is said to have examined Mukoko while she
was in her torture chambers to come and tell the court as to who called him
to the torture chambers to come and minimize the trauma that they had
suffered," she said.
"We have no confidence in the doctors. They were hiding evidence of the
torture and trauma to which they were subjected."
Monday, December 29, 2008
Two year old is beaten and is now political detainee
A two year old baby boy has been held in prison with his mother for two
months and allegedly beaten by state security agents who also kidnapped his
parents over an alleged plot to overthrow the Mugabe regime.
Nigel Mutemagawu disappeared with his mother Violet Mupfuranhehwe and father
Collen Mutemagawo, plus at least 13 other MDC activists, who were all
abducted from their homes in Banket, Mashonaland West in October.
Despite police denials of involvement, lawyers found the abductees scattered
around Harare in different police stations last Tuesday. The activists
appeared in court the next day, accused of plotting to overthrow the Mugabe
regime.
On Tuesday one of the lawyers representing the political detainees,
including civic leader Jestina Mukoko, confirmed that his clients had been
beaten, including the two year old baby.
Lawyer Alex Muchadehama told SW Radio Africa that Mukoko and the mother of
the baby said they had been assaulted by the people who abducted them.
Although it is still not clear exactly who carried out the abductions, it is
believed it was the CIO.
In papers filed to the High Court Mukoko, who is the Director of the
Zimbabwe Peace Project, said she had been blindfolded so that she couldn't
identify the places she was taken to and spent 19 days without knowing where
she was.
The former broadcaster reportedly said: "I was asked to raise my feet on a
table and the other people in the room started to assault me ... and that
lasted at least five minutes. They took a break and then continued with the
beatings after a few hours. They were all visibly drunk and some had bottles
of liquor."
Meanwhile the lawyers successfully got a court order from Magistrate Mishrod
Guvamombe to allow medical doctors to treat the political and civic
activists who are being detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
Muchadehama said the legal paperwork was issued on Tuesday and the doctors
were expected to attend to the detainees the same day. During their
detention the victims had not been taken to a hospital or been seen by a
prison doctor to ascertain what injuries they have sustained.
Muchadehama said it is difficult to get the figures of the exact number of
political detainees, as lawyers were still being denied proper access to
them, especially the male prisoners. He said so far at least 35 individuals
are confirmed to be in custody although it is believed there could be more,
as they are scattered around police stations.
The individuals are accused of recruiting or trying to recruit people to
undergo military training to overthrow the Mugabe regime. They are still
being held despite High Court Judge Justice Yunus Omerjee, ordering their
release on Christmas Eve and declaring the detention of nine individuals,
including Mukoko, illegal. The two-year-old boy was present in court but not
charged. The matter on whether they should be remanded out of custody is
expected to be heard on Wednesday.
months and allegedly beaten by state security agents who also kidnapped his
parents over an alleged plot to overthrow the Mugabe regime.
Nigel Mutemagawu disappeared with his mother Violet Mupfuranhehwe and father
Collen Mutemagawo, plus at least 13 other MDC activists, who were all
abducted from their homes in Banket, Mashonaland West in October.
Despite police denials of involvement, lawyers found the abductees scattered
around Harare in different police stations last Tuesday. The activists
appeared in court the next day, accused of plotting to overthrow the Mugabe
regime.
On Tuesday one of the lawyers representing the political detainees,
including civic leader Jestina Mukoko, confirmed that his clients had been
beaten, including the two year old baby.
Lawyer Alex Muchadehama told SW Radio Africa that Mukoko and the mother of
the baby said they had been assaulted by the people who abducted them.
Although it is still not clear exactly who carried out the abductions, it is
believed it was the CIO.
In papers filed to the High Court Mukoko, who is the Director of the
Zimbabwe Peace Project, said she had been blindfolded so that she couldn't
identify the places she was taken to and spent 19 days without knowing where
she was.
The former broadcaster reportedly said: "I was asked to raise my feet on a
table and the other people in the room started to assault me ... and that
lasted at least five minutes. They took a break and then continued with the
beatings after a few hours. They were all visibly drunk and some had bottles
of liquor."
Meanwhile the lawyers successfully got a court order from Magistrate Mishrod
Guvamombe to allow medical doctors to treat the political and civic
activists who are being detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
Muchadehama said the legal paperwork was issued on Tuesday and the doctors
were expected to attend to the detainees the same day. During their
detention the victims had not been taken to a hospital or been seen by a
prison doctor to ascertain what injuries they have sustained.
Muchadehama said it is difficult to get the figures of the exact number of
political detainees, as lawyers were still being denied proper access to
them, especially the male prisoners. He said so far at least 35 individuals
are confirmed to be in custody although it is believed there could be more,
as they are scattered around police stations.
The individuals are accused of recruiting or trying to recruit people to
undergo military training to overthrow the Mugabe regime. They are still
being held despite High Court Judge Justice Yunus Omerjee, ordering their
release on Christmas Eve and declaring the detention of nine individuals,
including Mukoko, illegal. The two-year-old boy was present in court but not
charged. The matter on whether they should be remanded out of custody is
expected to be heard on Wednesday.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Desperate Zimbabweans pour into SAfrica for asylum
In the blazing midday sun, Fungai Lindlela watches as her baby pushes a
sticky ball of maize meal into her mouth in a makeshift refugee camp near
South Africa's border with Zimbabwe.
"I need asylum - it's too hard," Lindlela told AFP about how hunger forced
her to flee across the border with her 14-month-old daughter Tandiwa
strapped to her back.
Waiting in listless resignation, Lindlela is surrounded by a sea of people
seated on thin pieces of cardboard which have become a precious commodity in
Musina as a buffer with the dirt ground.
All here have the same goal: applying for political asylum at the mobile
refugee office set up by the South African government in July to cope with
the thousands of Zimbabweans pouring into the border town.
The unofficial camp sprung up at the doorstep of the office, with clothes
stretched over barbed wire fences and scant belongings mark where people
will bed down in the open.
By evening, long rows of smokey fires line the street where food is cooked
in blackened coffee tins by those who can afford it. But the biggest
activity is waiting.
Since July, the office has handled nearly 28,000 applications, mostly from
Zimbabweans, a South African official told AFP on condition of anonymity,
giving the figures up to December 10.
"You can no longer call this a political crisis, it's far much more. It has
become a humanitarian crisis," he said, pointing to the scores of people
waiting outside the office.
In the asylum queue was a woman who was forced to leave her seven-year-old
son behind when she left her home for the border and paid smugglers 50 rand
(5.1 dollars, 3.6 euros) to get into South Africa.
"I couldn't take him with me -- at least I could carry this one with me,"
said the 32-year-old woman who asked her name not be used, pointing to her
one-year-old daughter Mercy crawling about the floor. "It took me almost six
months to make up my mind."
The final triggers were starvation, political harassment from the Robert
Mugabe regime, and Zimbabwe's mind-boggling inflation which has made it
impossible to withdraw enough money to buy a loaf of bread.
The long asylum queues move to an empty livestock handling area which people
enter in batches, moving slowly through the narrow corrals to be handed a
polystyrene container of hot stew and thick maize meal porridge.
For many, it is the only meal of the day, donated by a local church and
international aid groups who assist with basic needs like organising
sanitary towels for the women.
After eating, the asylum seekers sleep in the dirt field or on the street.
Blessing and Garikai Ngumdu and their two-year-old daughter Shalom -- named
in the hope of peace in their country -- sleep metres (yards) from the gate
to the refugee office.
"It's surviving, not living," Blessing said about life in Zimbabwe.
A crackdown by Mugabe's security forces and supporters was cited by many
Zimbabweans in Musina as reasons for leaving the country.
Soldiers were acting as if "there was a war," beating people on the streets,
Kenneth Sibanda from Chinhoyi near Harare said.
"I don't have hope for my country," said the 23-year-old. "At first people
had hope, they thought maybe things were going to change but now the
situation is getting worse."
"In Zimbabwe, if you survive for one day, you thank God because you don't
have hope for tomorrow."
Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate, last put in July at 231
million percent, and faces chronic food shortages that have left nearly half
the population in need of aid.
A recent cholera outbreak has also claimed about 1,200 lives.
"Mr Mugabe and his thugs, the youth of ZANU-PF, they just destroy everything
everywhere," said Challenge Ncube, who left Gokwe fearing for his life,
after he was targeted as an opposition supporter.
"Today's sleeping in cardboard boxes is better than living with Mugabe in
Zimbabwe because in Zimbabwe you can't live freely," said the 20-year-old.
sticky ball of maize meal into her mouth in a makeshift refugee camp near
South Africa's border with Zimbabwe.
"I need asylum - it's too hard," Lindlela told AFP about how hunger forced
her to flee across the border with her 14-month-old daughter Tandiwa
strapped to her back.
Waiting in listless resignation, Lindlela is surrounded by a sea of people
seated on thin pieces of cardboard which have become a precious commodity in
Musina as a buffer with the dirt ground.
All here have the same goal: applying for political asylum at the mobile
refugee office set up by the South African government in July to cope with
the thousands of Zimbabweans pouring into the border town.
The unofficial camp sprung up at the doorstep of the office, with clothes
stretched over barbed wire fences and scant belongings mark where people
will bed down in the open.
By evening, long rows of smokey fires line the street where food is cooked
in blackened coffee tins by those who can afford it. But the biggest
activity is waiting.
Since July, the office has handled nearly 28,000 applications, mostly from
Zimbabweans, a South African official told AFP on condition of anonymity,
giving the figures up to December 10.
"You can no longer call this a political crisis, it's far much more. It has
become a humanitarian crisis," he said, pointing to the scores of people
waiting outside the office.
In the asylum queue was a woman who was forced to leave her seven-year-old
son behind when she left her home for the border and paid smugglers 50 rand
(5.1 dollars, 3.6 euros) to get into South Africa.
"I couldn't take him with me -- at least I could carry this one with me,"
said the 32-year-old woman who asked her name not be used, pointing to her
one-year-old daughter Mercy crawling about the floor. "It took me almost six
months to make up my mind."
The final triggers were starvation, political harassment from the Robert
Mugabe regime, and Zimbabwe's mind-boggling inflation which has made it
impossible to withdraw enough money to buy a loaf of bread.
The long asylum queues move to an empty livestock handling area which people
enter in batches, moving slowly through the narrow corrals to be handed a
polystyrene container of hot stew and thick maize meal porridge.
For many, it is the only meal of the day, donated by a local church and
international aid groups who assist with basic needs like organising
sanitary towels for the women.
After eating, the asylum seekers sleep in the dirt field or on the street.
Blessing and Garikai Ngumdu and their two-year-old daughter Shalom -- named
in the hope of peace in their country -- sleep metres (yards) from the gate
to the refugee office.
"It's surviving, not living," Blessing said about life in Zimbabwe.
A crackdown by Mugabe's security forces and supporters was cited by many
Zimbabweans in Musina as reasons for leaving the country.
Soldiers were acting as if "there was a war," beating people on the streets,
Kenneth Sibanda from Chinhoyi near Harare said.
"I don't have hope for my country," said the 23-year-old. "At first people
had hope, they thought maybe things were going to change but now the
situation is getting worse."
"In Zimbabwe, if you survive for one day, you thank God because you don't
have hope for tomorrow."
Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate, last put in July at 231
million percent, and faces chronic food shortages that have left nearly half
the population in need of aid.
A recent cholera outbreak has also claimed about 1,200 lives.
"Mr Mugabe and his thugs, the youth of ZANU-PF, they just destroy everything
everywhere," said Challenge Ncube, who left Gokwe fearing for his life,
after he was targeted as an opposition supporter.
"Today's sleeping in cardboard boxes is better than living with Mugabe in
Zimbabwe because in Zimbabwe you can't live freely," said the 20-year-old.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Relatives Say MDC Activist Was Killed
GUTU - Mystery still shrouds the death of a Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) activist who died last week amid suspicions by his relatives
that he might have had his beer poisoned by state security agents.
Felix Gwafa (30), a staunch MDC supporter died in as yet unclear
circumstances last Friday after complaining of serious stomach pains and
vomiting blood while coming from a beer drink.
Gwafa, a University of Zimbabwe (UZ) graduate in History and
Development studies, was said to have insulted President Mugabe at a funeral
wake of Mukudzei Madondo, the son of prominent Gutu Business person and
Chief Gadzingo Madondo the day before, his relatives revealed.
Mukudzei died in a car accident near Panyanda Lodge, a few kilometers
out of Masvingo, along Beitbridge highway that links the town to South
Africa.
He was aged 28.
Some Gwafa family members who spoke on condition of anonymity said
Felix had made some remarks at Mukudzei's funeral which might have ruffled
the feathers of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) members
that were also present at the ceremony.
Change (MDC) activist who died last week amid suspicions by his relatives
that he might have had his beer poisoned by state security agents.
Felix Gwafa (30), a staunch MDC supporter died in as yet unclear
circumstances last Friday after complaining of serious stomach pains and
vomiting blood while coming from a beer drink.
Gwafa, a University of Zimbabwe (UZ) graduate in History and
Development studies, was said to have insulted President Mugabe at a funeral
wake of Mukudzei Madondo, the son of prominent Gutu Business person and
Chief Gadzingo Madondo the day before, his relatives revealed.
Mukudzei died in a car accident near Panyanda Lodge, a few kilometers
out of Masvingo, along Beitbridge highway that links the town to South
Africa.
He was aged 28.
Some Gwafa family members who spoke on condition of anonymity said
Felix had made some remarks at Mukudzei's funeral which might have ruffled
the feathers of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) members
that were also present at the ceremony.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Zim Cops Told To Free Activists
A Zimbabwean High Court judge has ordered police to immediately release 32 activists including former newscaster Jestina Mukoko.
Ms Mukoko arriving at court
Ms Mukoko, head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, and nine other activists were charged with plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government.
If found guilty, they could face the death penalty, lawyers said.
Judge Yunus Omarjee ruled that police release 32 activists.
Nine of them, including Mukoko, would be taken to hospital for treatment and allowed access to lawyers and relatives.
Lawyers said there were allegations the activists had been tortured.
"Their continued detention by whosoever is holding them be and is hereby declared unlawful, and they should be released forthwith," Judge Omarjee said, referring to 11 people the police deny are in their custody.
The case could fuel more doubts about implementation of a power-sharing agreement between Mr Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, seen as a chance of rescuing the once-prosperous country from economic meltdown.
The opposition says abductions of activists have continued since a June presidential election run-off in which Mr Mugabe was re-elected unopposed after Mr Tsvangirai withdrew, complaining of attacks on his supporters.
Ms Mukoko's independent organisation monitored human rights and had compiled reports of violence at this year's elections.
The activists were brought to a tightly-secured court in the capital Harare.
They included a husband and wife and their two-year-old child.
The state-run Herald newspaper said the activists were accused of recruiting or attempting to recruit people for military training to topple the government.
Citing a police statement, it said some of the activists had recruited people for training in Botswana, including a police constable.
It said the plan was to "forcibly depose" Mr Mugabe's government and replace it with one headed by Mr Tsvangirai.
Ms Mukoko arriving at court
Ms Mukoko, head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, and nine other activists were charged with plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government.
If found guilty, they could face the death penalty, lawyers said.
Judge Yunus Omarjee ruled that police release 32 activists.
Nine of them, including Mukoko, would be taken to hospital for treatment and allowed access to lawyers and relatives.
Lawyers said there were allegations the activists had been tortured.
"Their continued detention by whosoever is holding them be and is hereby declared unlawful, and they should be released forthwith," Judge Omarjee said, referring to 11 people the police deny are in their custody.
The case could fuel more doubts about implementation of a power-sharing agreement between Mr Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, seen as a chance of rescuing the once-prosperous country from economic meltdown.
The opposition says abductions of activists have continued since a June presidential election run-off in which Mr Mugabe was re-elected unopposed after Mr Tsvangirai withdrew, complaining of attacks on his supporters.
Ms Mukoko's independent organisation monitored human rights and had compiled reports of violence at this year's elections.
The activists were brought to a tightly-secured court in the capital Harare.
They included a husband and wife and their two-year-old child.
The state-run Herald newspaper said the activists were accused of recruiting or attempting to recruit people for military training to topple the government.
Citing a police statement, it said some of the activists had recruited people for training in Botswana, including a police constable.
It said the plan was to "forcibly depose" Mr Mugabe's government and replace it with one headed by Mr Tsvangirai.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Hawks eye state of emergency
Shiri’s assassination attempt heightens tensions
PRESSURE is mounting on President Robert Mugabe to invoke a state of emergency in the wake of attempts to assassinate Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Commander, Air Marshal Perence Shiri, and the purported evidence linking Botswana to the training of insurgents to topple the Harare administration.
The AFZ Commander narrowly escaped death on Saturday after he was shot in the palm on his way to his farm in Bindura in what has sent shivers down the spines of those in the corridors of power who immediately described the assault as a build-up of terror attacks on high profile persons, government officials, government establishments and public transportation systems.
Security forces have been on high alert following demonstrations by attested members of the army early in the month. ZANU-PF insiders said the attack on the Air Marshal strengthened the argument of President Mugabe's loyalists who believe that the perceived machinations of the party's enemies could only be forestalled by the declaration of a state of emergency.
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of the state, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans.
It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties. Such declarations usually come during a time of natural disaster, periods of civil disorder or following a declaration of war, according to online dictionary Wikipedia.
ZANU-PF insiders said the possibility of President Mugabe issuing the declaration has been discussed within the rank and file of the party, including at the politburo meeting of Tuesday, although no decision had been arrived at as yet.
They said the party's higher echelons were still divided on what course of action to take as they were not sure whether the reports on banditry activities in neighbouring Botswana were true or false.
Sources said some ZANU-PF heavyweights feared the implications of such drastic action which, while provided for under the country's constitution, could confirm the dire situation prevailing in Zimbabwe.
The least the ZANU-PF leadership would want, according to the sources, is to attract international intervention under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council.
MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti, rubbished claims by the government that it has gathered compelling evidence linking Gaborone to the training of bandits saying it was a wily move by the state to declare a state of emergency.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted in the state-run daily Herald saying government had handed over to the Southern African Development Community Organ on Politics, Defence and Security a document containing three DVDs of confessions by alleged MDC-T activists, PowerPoint presentations and graphs.
Biti said: "We have no doubt that they are going to declare a state of emergency. They have a document, which runs into tens of pages, actually 27 pages, which contains the purported evidence. They are using this as an entry point to declare a state of emergency. People would be arrested, abducted in the most vicious assault against human rights."
But senior ZANU-PF officials denied any such manoeuvres when contacted for comment by The Financial Gazette yesterday.
Home Affairs Minister, Kembo Mohadi said government was not contemplating anything "along those lines. I do not know where he (Biti) is getting it from."
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described Biti's fears as "a figment of his imagination," before taking his famous line of rubbishing the United States and Britain.
"There is no such thing. No part of government is thinking of that. There will be no state of emergency. We have programmes of national security, which we do not discuss in public," Ndlovu said. "We have thwarted attempts by the US and Britain to invade Zimbabwe using the United Nations. Even at the UN, we have defeated them. They tried to send the self-appointed elders but that did not work. Even Ban Ki-Moon (UN chief) said it," he added.
Ndlovu was referring to the failed visit to assess the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe last month by a group of Elders led by former US president Jimmy Carter. President Mugabe's administration saw the visit by the Elders as a ploy by Britain and its allies to drag Zimbabwe onto the agenda of the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, the mystery over the recent shooting of Shiri is deepening.
One school of thought alleges that Shiri might have raffled the feathers of diamond dealers in Marange after the AFZ deployed helicopters there to flush out illegal panners.
Others suspect Shiri could have been caught between the vicious power games in ZANU-PF amid indications that some members of the army's top brass have become embedded in factions vying to succeed President Mugabe.
What makes the shooting more intriguing is that it came hardly a week after the death of ZANU-PF national political commissar, Elliot Manyika, who died in suspicious circumstances in a car crash while on his way to restructure the party in Matabeleland.
Yet others view the shooting as having something to do with the assistance the Zimbabwe government is giving to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo which might have upset those fighting to destabilise Joseph Kabila's administration.
Others claim the attack on Shiri was meant to weaken President Mugabe, whose continued grip on the country is partly attributed to the support of the security forces.
Statements coming from the US and Britain that Zimbabwe should be invaded over the cholera outbreak in a bid to oust President Mugabe vindicate this view, they say.
PRESSURE is mounting on President Robert Mugabe to invoke a state of emergency in the wake of attempts to assassinate Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Commander, Air Marshal Perence Shiri, and the purported evidence linking Botswana to the training of insurgents to topple the Harare administration.
The AFZ Commander narrowly escaped death on Saturday after he was shot in the palm on his way to his farm in Bindura in what has sent shivers down the spines of those in the corridors of power who immediately described the assault as a build-up of terror attacks on high profile persons, government officials, government establishments and public transportation systems.
Security forces have been on high alert following demonstrations by attested members of the army early in the month. ZANU-PF insiders said the attack on the Air Marshal strengthened the argument of President Mugabe's loyalists who believe that the perceived machinations of the party's enemies could only be forestalled by the declaration of a state of emergency.
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of the state, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans.
It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties. Such declarations usually come during a time of natural disaster, periods of civil disorder or following a declaration of war, according to online dictionary Wikipedia.
ZANU-PF insiders said the possibility of President Mugabe issuing the declaration has been discussed within the rank and file of the party, including at the politburo meeting of Tuesday, although no decision had been arrived at as yet.
They said the party's higher echelons were still divided on what course of action to take as they were not sure whether the reports on banditry activities in neighbouring Botswana were true or false.
Sources said some ZANU-PF heavyweights feared the implications of such drastic action which, while provided for under the country's constitution, could confirm the dire situation prevailing in Zimbabwe.
The least the ZANU-PF leadership would want, according to the sources, is to attract international intervention under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council.
MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti, rubbished claims by the government that it has gathered compelling evidence linking Gaborone to the training of bandits saying it was a wily move by the state to declare a state of emergency.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted in the state-run daily Herald saying government had handed over to the Southern African Development Community Organ on Politics, Defence and Security a document containing three DVDs of confessions by alleged MDC-T activists, PowerPoint presentations and graphs.
Biti said: "We have no doubt that they are going to declare a state of emergency. They have a document, which runs into tens of pages, actually 27 pages, which contains the purported evidence. They are using this as an entry point to declare a state of emergency. People would be arrested, abducted in the most vicious assault against human rights."
But senior ZANU-PF officials denied any such manoeuvres when contacted for comment by The Financial Gazette yesterday.
Home Affairs Minister, Kembo Mohadi said government was not contemplating anything "along those lines. I do not know where he (Biti) is getting it from."
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described Biti's fears as "a figment of his imagination," before taking his famous line of rubbishing the United States and Britain.
"There is no such thing. No part of government is thinking of that. There will be no state of emergency. We have programmes of national security, which we do not discuss in public," Ndlovu said. "We have thwarted attempts by the US and Britain to invade Zimbabwe using the United Nations. Even at the UN, we have defeated them. They tried to send the self-appointed elders but that did not work. Even Ban Ki-Moon (UN chief) said it," he added.
Ndlovu was referring to the failed visit to assess the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe last month by a group of Elders led by former US president Jimmy Carter. President Mugabe's administration saw the visit by the Elders as a ploy by Britain and its allies to drag Zimbabwe onto the agenda of the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, the mystery over the recent shooting of Shiri is deepening.
One school of thought alleges that Shiri might have raffled the feathers of diamond dealers in Marange after the AFZ deployed helicopters there to flush out illegal panners.
Others suspect Shiri could have been caught between the vicious power games in ZANU-PF amid indications that some members of the army's top brass have become embedded in factions vying to succeed President Mugabe.
What makes the shooting more intriguing is that it came hardly a week after the death of ZANU-PF national political commissar, Elliot Manyika, who died in suspicious circumstances in a car crash while on his way to restructure the party in Matabeleland.
Yet others view the shooting as having something to do with the assistance the Zimbabwe government is giving to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo which might have upset those fighting to destabilise Joseph Kabila's administration.
Others claim the attack on Shiri was meant to weaken President Mugabe, whose continued grip on the country is partly attributed to the support of the security forces.
Statements coming from the US and Britain that Zimbabwe should be invaded over the cholera outbreak in a bid to oust President Mugabe vindicate this view, they say.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Mugabe unleashes wave of terror with mass abductions
Fears are mounting in Zimbabwe for the lives of more than 40 opposition officials and human rights activists who have been abducted as part of a renewed crackdown by the regime in Harare. At least two more members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have disappeared in the past week, along with a freelance investigative reporter.
"The abductions are increasing and it now seems to be happening nationwide," Nelson Chamisa, an MDC spokesman,said yesterday.
The operation, codenamed Chimumumu according to sources in the army, aims to eliminate political opponents and remove human rights monitors. The kidnappings follow a pattern familiar from the past two years of political intimidation, where key middle- and lower-ranking officials are "disappeared" in an attempt to terrorise or destabilise opponents of the ruling party. Among those taken in the past month are Chris Dlamini, the head of security for the MDC, and Jestina Mukoko, the director of Zimbabwe Peace Project. The ruling party and security services have denied any part in the abductions.
Mr Dlamini was amongst the first to be abducted this month. Under normal circumstances he would have been the MDC's spokesman about such disappearances. His daughter, Victoria, has travelled from South Africa and is refusing to leave the country until her father's fate is known. She said the family have received no help from the police. "I don't know who to talk to at the moment. This is an incredibly tough time for us. By now we just want to know if he is alive or dead," she said.
Repeated appeals, including lawyers' petitions and, in the case of Ms Mukoko, a high court order, have failed to force authorities to release details of where the abductees are being held.
Kerry Kay, the MDC's welfare secretary, said that with each passing day hope they will be found alive is fading.
Monitors including Human Rights Watch and The Independent have documented hundreds of cases of politically inspired disappearances and false imprisonment, torture and murder.
Police claim they do not know the whereabouts of Mr Dlamini, or any of the other 41 missing people. However, a "confession" by Mr Dlamini is reported to have been included in a dossier of evidence of foreign conspiracies against Harare that the Zimbabwean government handed to the SADC, a development bloc of African states. Robert Mugabe's administration has accused neighbouring Botswana of setting up camps to train guerrillas to topple his government. The 84-year-old President has also said that Britain is planning to invade its former colony. The "confession" and other alleged evidence has been dismissed by the SADC. "They are so predictable it is frightening," said Ms Kay.
The Mugabe regime has used similar tactics in the past and even produced a grainy video purported to be evidence in support of treason charges brought in 2002 against the MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. The voices on the tape were largely inaudible and it turned out to have been produced by an Israeli conman. After an 18-month trial that prevented Mr Tsvangirai from campaigning during the run-up to the 2002 election, he was eventually acquitted. Meanwhile, the kidnapping of a respected journalist, nicknamed "Saddam", has sent many of his colleagues into hiding. Shadreck Manyere has not been seen for more than a week. His wife said he had received a call at their home outside Harare and had gone to meet a contact.
Plainclothes police appeared at her house in the early hours of last Sunday morning demanding to search the building and claiming her husband had been involved in an accident. They were refused entry but returned with a search warrant and ransacked the house, taking a computer, video camera and other material.
The pattern of abductions suggests a systematic effort to close down any information-gathering about government activities, either by the opposition, journalists or human rights groups.
However, dissident factions within the army are presenting a new problem for the government. Unprecedented clashes this month between soldiers and police have been followed by more skirmishes as the army is being affected by the economic crisis.
One soldier, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that off-duty colleagues had attacked and beaten up the brother of the Central Bank governor, Gideon Gono, in a case of mistaken identity. Mr Gono, who travels with a heavy security detail, is widely hated in the country for the wealth he has accumulated and his stoking of the unprecedented hyperinflation that has impoverished most of his compatriots.
There have been unconfirmed reports that some of those abducted are being held at a military base in Kariba, near the border with Zambia.
Mr Tsvangirai, who is in Botswana, has given a deadline of the end of the year for the release of the abductees, otherwise his party will "suspend" power-sharing talks with the government.
"The abductions are increasing and it now seems to be happening nationwide," Nelson Chamisa, an MDC spokesman,said yesterday.
The operation, codenamed Chimumumu according to sources in the army, aims to eliminate political opponents and remove human rights monitors. The kidnappings follow a pattern familiar from the past two years of political intimidation, where key middle- and lower-ranking officials are "disappeared" in an attempt to terrorise or destabilise opponents of the ruling party. Among those taken in the past month are Chris Dlamini, the head of security for the MDC, and Jestina Mukoko, the director of Zimbabwe Peace Project. The ruling party and security services have denied any part in the abductions.
Mr Dlamini was amongst the first to be abducted this month. Under normal circumstances he would have been the MDC's spokesman about such disappearances. His daughter, Victoria, has travelled from South Africa and is refusing to leave the country until her father's fate is known. She said the family have received no help from the police. "I don't know who to talk to at the moment. This is an incredibly tough time for us. By now we just want to know if he is alive or dead," she said.
Repeated appeals, including lawyers' petitions and, in the case of Ms Mukoko, a high court order, have failed to force authorities to release details of where the abductees are being held.
Kerry Kay, the MDC's welfare secretary, said that with each passing day hope they will be found alive is fading.
Monitors including Human Rights Watch and The Independent have documented hundreds of cases of politically inspired disappearances and false imprisonment, torture and murder.
Police claim they do not know the whereabouts of Mr Dlamini, or any of the other 41 missing people. However, a "confession" by Mr Dlamini is reported to have been included in a dossier of evidence of foreign conspiracies against Harare that the Zimbabwean government handed to the SADC, a development bloc of African states. Robert Mugabe's administration has accused neighbouring Botswana of setting up camps to train guerrillas to topple his government. The 84-year-old President has also said that Britain is planning to invade its former colony. The "confession" and other alleged evidence has been dismissed by the SADC. "They are so predictable it is frightening," said Ms Kay.
The Mugabe regime has used similar tactics in the past and even produced a grainy video purported to be evidence in support of treason charges brought in 2002 against the MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. The voices on the tape were largely inaudible and it turned out to have been produced by an Israeli conman. After an 18-month trial that prevented Mr Tsvangirai from campaigning during the run-up to the 2002 election, he was eventually acquitted. Meanwhile, the kidnapping of a respected journalist, nicknamed "Saddam", has sent many of his colleagues into hiding. Shadreck Manyere has not been seen for more than a week. His wife said he had received a call at their home outside Harare and had gone to meet a contact.
Plainclothes police appeared at her house in the early hours of last Sunday morning demanding to search the building and claiming her husband had been involved in an accident. They were refused entry but returned with a search warrant and ransacked the house, taking a computer, video camera and other material.
The pattern of abductions suggests a systematic effort to close down any information-gathering about government activities, either by the opposition, journalists or human rights groups.
However, dissident factions within the army are presenting a new problem for the government. Unprecedented clashes this month between soldiers and police have been followed by more skirmishes as the army is being affected by the economic crisis.
One soldier, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that off-duty colleagues had attacked and beaten up the brother of the Central Bank governor, Gideon Gono, in a case of mistaken identity. Mr Gono, who travels with a heavy security detail, is widely hated in the country for the wealth he has accumulated and his stoking of the unprecedented hyperinflation that has impoverished most of his compatriots.
There have been unconfirmed reports that some of those abducted are being held at a military base in Kariba, near the border with Zambia.
Mr Tsvangirai, who is in Botswana, has given a deadline of the end of the year for the release of the abductees, otherwise his party will "suspend" power-sharing talks with the government.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Soldiers, Police Mount Road Blocks
MASVINGO-Soldiers with the millitary police together with traffic
police mounted roadblocks along the country's major roads seaching for guns
in the wake of a recent shooting on Air Force Commander Prence Shiri.
Perence Shiri survived an assasination attempt early this week while
driving to his farm outside Harare, state media reported on Tuesday. He
suffered a bullet wound on the hand and was said to be recuperating at
Manyame Airbase millitary hospital.
While the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the shooting
incident is linked to ZANU PF sucession battles, president Mugabe said it
was the opposition bandits allegedly trained in Botswana that are
responsible.
But Botswana and South Africa rejected the alleged mercenary training
as baseless, saying president Mugabe wants to use the justification to
declare a state of emergency in Zimbabwe.
Sources within the army said the millitary police had been deployed
around the country's major roads to search for weapons which they believe
might be imported by the MDC to topple the Mugabe regime.
"Most of our collegues will not be going for the X-mass holidays as
they are mounting roadblocks along the country's major roads seaching for
weapons. The roadblock issue heightened following the shooting of Perence
Shiri," a soldier at Manyame airbase told Radio Vop.
Numerous roadblocks were witnessed where cars and people were
seached. Along the Harare-Masvingo highway, there were four roadblocks,
leading to traffic congestion along the way.
From Masvingo to Beitbridge, a journey that usually takes around four
hours, took longer due to the the riadblocks.
The same situation was also said to be prevailing along the
Masvingo-Bulawayo road, and Masvingo- Mutare highway.
However political analysts think the attack on Shiri was a job within
the Zanu PF party since there are factions.
police mounted roadblocks along the country's major roads seaching for guns
in the wake of a recent shooting on Air Force Commander Prence Shiri.
Perence Shiri survived an assasination attempt early this week while
driving to his farm outside Harare, state media reported on Tuesday. He
suffered a bullet wound on the hand and was said to be recuperating at
Manyame Airbase millitary hospital.
While the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the shooting
incident is linked to ZANU PF sucession battles, president Mugabe said it
was the opposition bandits allegedly trained in Botswana that are
responsible.
But Botswana and South Africa rejected the alleged mercenary training
as baseless, saying president Mugabe wants to use the justification to
declare a state of emergency in Zimbabwe.
Sources within the army said the millitary police had been deployed
around the country's major roads to search for weapons which they believe
might be imported by the MDC to topple the Mugabe regime.
"Most of our collegues will not be going for the X-mass holidays as
they are mounting roadblocks along the country's major roads seaching for
weapons. The roadblock issue heightened following the shooting of Perence
Shiri," a soldier at Manyame airbase told Radio Vop.
Numerous roadblocks were witnessed where cars and people were
seached. Along the Harare-Masvingo highway, there were four roadblocks,
leading to traffic congestion along the way.
From Masvingo to Beitbridge, a journey that usually takes around four
hours, took longer due to the the riadblocks.
The same situation was also said to be prevailing along the
Masvingo-Bulawayo road, and Masvingo- Mutare highway.
However political analysts think the attack on Shiri was a job within
the Zanu PF party since there are factions.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Politburo vetoes declaration of State of Emergency
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday decided against
declaring a state of Emergency in Zimbabwe, after mulling this option,
ending intense speculations that kept the country on tenterhooks.
After a string of statements from both the ruling party and opposition
politicians since late last weekend, openly speculating about President
Mugabe's plans to declare a State of Emergency, a top Politburo member
announced that Emergency was not being clamped and "all speculations and
rumours about it are unfounded".
The official, who spoke after attending the crucial Zanu-PF Politburo
meeting in Harare Tuesday, said the President wants free, fair and
transparent elections if the talks with the MDC failed. He had played safe
since weekend neither confirming nor denying moves to clamp Emergency.
"The President wants free, fair and transparent elections if the talks with
the MDC flops," the official said. "Any action that will play a negative
role is not in line with his thinking.
In the current situation, the President thinks that there is no requirement
of a State of Emergency and that is why there is no question of imposing
Emergency now," he said.
Mugabe's decision came a day ahead of the official opening of his Zanu-PF
national people's conference in Bindura tomorrow. He opens the conference
with his party embattled and deeply divided, rocked by massive factionalism
and desertions.
Significantly, the official admitted there was pressure from different
quarters for the imposition of a State of Emergency. There was pressure on
the President from different political sources that it was time to impose
Emergency, but the decision was left for President Mugabe himself to make,
he said.
Outgoing Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasda stocked the speculation fires
when he said that there was "compelling evidence" that the MDC was preparing
for war while negotiating and that condition was ripe for a state of
Emergency and the government was seriously considering it.
He said the MDC was working with Botswana, offering military training to MDC
supporters. Chinamasa had also cited "external and internal threats" and the
deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
"There is a provision in the constitution regarding imposition of emergency
but the president is of the opinion that the present time is not fit for
enforcing it," the official said.
Many political analysts believe that the accusations that the MDC could have
been linked to the shooting of Air Marshall Perence Shiri last weekend made
some government ministers to openly speculate about it.
Also, exiled former MDC President, Morgan Tsvangirai, widely reported to be
a special guest of Botswana President Ian Khama, said that imposition of
emergency would be a 'drastic' step.
President Mugabe reportedly considered the option of either going for
emergency which could be imposed without a resolution of the combined
meeting of parliament consisting of house of assembly and senate.
The immediate benefit of the emergency, which besides suspending fundamental
rights, also empowers him to dissolve the opposition-dominated Parliament
which is refusing to form government before he gives them key ministries,
diplomatic appointments and perm sec posts.
While the state of emergency was to restrict courts to enforce fundamental
rights, a lawyer with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said if it was
imposed there was sufficient scope for the Supreme Court to decide whether
the conditions were justified or not for imposition of emergency.
"There was absolutely no case to impose emergency. Even if Pressident Mugabe
had imposed it, the Supreme Court would have struck it down. We were going
to ensure that," he said.
He however admitted: "But it would have been a tough call."
declaring a state of Emergency in Zimbabwe, after mulling this option,
ending intense speculations that kept the country on tenterhooks.
After a string of statements from both the ruling party and opposition
politicians since late last weekend, openly speculating about President
Mugabe's plans to declare a State of Emergency, a top Politburo member
announced that Emergency was not being clamped and "all speculations and
rumours about it are unfounded".
The official, who spoke after attending the crucial Zanu-PF Politburo
meeting in Harare Tuesday, said the President wants free, fair and
transparent elections if the talks with the MDC failed. He had played safe
since weekend neither confirming nor denying moves to clamp Emergency.
"The President wants free, fair and transparent elections if the talks with
the MDC flops," the official said. "Any action that will play a negative
role is not in line with his thinking.
In the current situation, the President thinks that there is no requirement
of a State of Emergency and that is why there is no question of imposing
Emergency now," he said.
Mugabe's decision came a day ahead of the official opening of his Zanu-PF
national people's conference in Bindura tomorrow. He opens the conference
with his party embattled and deeply divided, rocked by massive factionalism
and desertions.
Significantly, the official admitted there was pressure from different
quarters for the imposition of a State of Emergency. There was pressure on
the President from different political sources that it was time to impose
Emergency, but the decision was left for President Mugabe himself to make,
he said.
Outgoing Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasda stocked the speculation fires
when he said that there was "compelling evidence" that the MDC was preparing
for war while negotiating and that condition was ripe for a state of
Emergency and the government was seriously considering it.
He said the MDC was working with Botswana, offering military training to MDC
supporters. Chinamasa had also cited "external and internal threats" and the
deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
"There is a provision in the constitution regarding imposition of emergency
but the president is of the opinion that the present time is not fit for
enforcing it," the official said.
Many political analysts believe that the accusations that the MDC could have
been linked to the shooting of Air Marshall Perence Shiri last weekend made
some government ministers to openly speculate about it.
Also, exiled former MDC President, Morgan Tsvangirai, widely reported to be
a special guest of Botswana President Ian Khama, said that imposition of
emergency would be a 'drastic' step.
President Mugabe reportedly considered the option of either going for
emergency which could be imposed without a resolution of the combined
meeting of parliament consisting of house of assembly and senate.
The immediate benefit of the emergency, which besides suspending fundamental
rights, also empowers him to dissolve the opposition-dominated Parliament
which is refusing to form government before he gives them key ministries,
diplomatic appointments and perm sec posts.
While the state of emergency was to restrict courts to enforce fundamental
rights, a lawyer with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said if it was
imposed there was sufficient scope for the Supreme Court to decide whether
the conditions were justified or not for imposition of emergency.
"There was absolutely no case to impose emergency. Even if Pressident Mugabe
had imposed it, the Supreme Court would have struck it down. We were going
to ensure that," he said.
He however admitted: "But it would have been a tough call."
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
SADC deals major blow to Zim allegations against Botswana
The Zimbabwe regime's case against Botswana was dealt a major blow
Wednesday, when the SADC chairman disclosed the regional bloc does not
believe Botswana was training MDC 'militants' to try to overthrow Robert
Mugabe.
Briefing journalists in Pretoria, the SADC chair and South African President
Kgalema Motlanthe, made it clear the bloc 'never believed' the allegations
leveled against Botswana by Zimbabwe. Botswana has vehemently denied the
allegations, while the MDC described them as a 'joke'. Tendai Biti, the MDC
Secretary General, said the allegations were part of a plot to create a
pretext for declaring a state of emergency that would give Mugabe broad
security powers.
Journalists were of the view that what Motlanthe said Wednesday could be
read as criticism of Mugabe's leadership, but the South African leader
stopped short of an explicit denunciation.
Zimbabwe has been trying to build up a case against Botswana, accusing the
western neighbour of training MDC 'insurgents' to oust Mugabe and increasing
tensions between the two countries. Botswana's President Ian Khama is one of
few African leaders to publicly criticize Mugabe. He has called for new
elections, after Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai reached deadlock
over posts in a shared administration.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Monday told the Herald newspaper the
regime had evidence Botswana was giving military training to members of
Tsvangirai's MDC as part of a plot to remove Mugabe. Chinamasa added that
Botswana had 'availed its territory, material and logistical support to the
MDC-T, for the recruitment and military training of youths for the eventual
destabilisation of the country with a view of effecting illegal regime
change'.
Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi on Tuesday told the Herald newspaper that
Air Marshal Perence Shiri's 'assassination' attempt had been politically
motivated, and he said the shooting was part of 'a buildup of terror attacks
targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government
establishments and public transportation systems.'
His statement cited bombings in August of the Harare Central Police Station,
a road and railroad bridges, as well as November bombings of the criminal
investigation department's headquarters in Harare and, again, the police
station. It alleged that after investigations of the attacks, plastic
explosives were recovered from a senior MDC official.
But Motlanthe's statement in Pretoria put paid to ZANU PF's strategy of
concocting evidence based on alleged confessions by abducted MDC activists.
According to some reports the regime recently sent a dossier containing
hundreds of pages and three DVD's showing MDC 'insurgents' confessing to
training in Botswana. The MDC said the people featured on the videos were
party activists abducted from Mashonaland West a month ago, including their
director of intelligence who was abducted from his home in Harare.
The MDC said this is a strategy the regime has used countless times against
anyone who has dared challenge Mugabe's hold on power.
The party's chief representative in the UK Hebson Makuvise said SADC must
have grown tired with the same story line Mugabe has used for over two
decades.
'Remember these are the same allegations they brought against Ndabaningi
Sithole, Edgar Tekere and lately Morgan Tsvangirai. What do these men have
in common? They all have stood up against Mugabe's misrule and it just tells
you these are cooked up stories that they manufacture each time they are
cornered,' Makuvise said.
The chief representative said Motlanthe was the best placed person to
rubbish the allegations, taking into account that Mugabe last year made the
same allegations against the South African government.
'ZANU PF made similar allegations last year against South Africa to a point
were Thabo Mbeki invited them to search the so called MDC training camps on
South African soil. After weeks of searches they found nothing and nothing
was never heard of again about these allegations. So Motlanthe being part of
the South African government and head of SADC knows better,' Makuvise added.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised about the recent sequence of events
that have seen one of Mugabe's main architects of terror dying and two being
injured in unexplained incidents.
Elliot Manyika, who terrorized the whole country when leading the Border
Gezi green bombers, died in a mysterious car crash two weeks ago. Last week
the chief commander of farm grabs Joseph Chinotimba, sustained serious
injuries in another car crash. Reports say he is now paralysed after
suffering a broken back. and questions remain as to why details of the
incident were only released in the state media on Wednesday.
Last Saturday the most infamous of Mugabe's henchmen, Air Marshall Perence
Shiri, is reported to have survived an assassination attempt, although
events around the incident raise many questions. With ZANU PF well known
for eliminating its own opponents, many observers believe these three cases
clearly indicate in-fighting, jockeying for position and a party facing
imminent collapse, as it turns on it's own.
Wednesday, when the SADC chairman disclosed the regional bloc does not
believe Botswana was training MDC 'militants' to try to overthrow Robert
Mugabe.
Briefing journalists in Pretoria, the SADC chair and South African President
Kgalema Motlanthe, made it clear the bloc 'never believed' the allegations
leveled against Botswana by Zimbabwe. Botswana has vehemently denied the
allegations, while the MDC described them as a 'joke'. Tendai Biti, the MDC
Secretary General, said the allegations were part of a plot to create a
pretext for declaring a state of emergency that would give Mugabe broad
security powers.
Journalists were of the view that what Motlanthe said Wednesday could be
read as criticism of Mugabe's leadership, but the South African leader
stopped short of an explicit denunciation.
Zimbabwe has been trying to build up a case against Botswana, accusing the
western neighbour of training MDC 'insurgents' to oust Mugabe and increasing
tensions between the two countries. Botswana's President Ian Khama is one of
few African leaders to publicly criticize Mugabe. He has called for new
elections, after Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai reached deadlock
over posts in a shared administration.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Monday told the Herald newspaper the
regime had evidence Botswana was giving military training to members of
Tsvangirai's MDC as part of a plot to remove Mugabe. Chinamasa added that
Botswana had 'availed its territory, material and logistical support to the
MDC-T, for the recruitment and military training of youths for the eventual
destabilisation of the country with a view of effecting illegal regime
change'.
Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi on Tuesday told the Herald newspaper that
Air Marshal Perence Shiri's 'assassination' attempt had been politically
motivated, and he said the shooting was part of 'a buildup of terror attacks
targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government
establishments and public transportation systems.'
His statement cited bombings in August of the Harare Central Police Station,
a road and railroad bridges, as well as November bombings of the criminal
investigation department's headquarters in Harare and, again, the police
station. It alleged that after investigations of the attacks, plastic
explosives were recovered from a senior MDC official.
But Motlanthe's statement in Pretoria put paid to ZANU PF's strategy of
concocting evidence based on alleged confessions by abducted MDC activists.
According to some reports the regime recently sent a dossier containing
hundreds of pages and three DVD's showing MDC 'insurgents' confessing to
training in Botswana. The MDC said the people featured on the videos were
party activists abducted from Mashonaland West a month ago, including their
director of intelligence who was abducted from his home in Harare.
The MDC said this is a strategy the regime has used countless times against
anyone who has dared challenge Mugabe's hold on power.
The party's chief representative in the UK Hebson Makuvise said SADC must
have grown tired with the same story line Mugabe has used for over two
decades.
'Remember these are the same allegations they brought against Ndabaningi
Sithole, Edgar Tekere and lately Morgan Tsvangirai. What do these men have
in common? They all have stood up against Mugabe's misrule and it just tells
you these are cooked up stories that they manufacture each time they are
cornered,' Makuvise said.
The chief representative said Motlanthe was the best placed person to
rubbish the allegations, taking into account that Mugabe last year made the
same allegations against the South African government.
'ZANU PF made similar allegations last year against South Africa to a point
were Thabo Mbeki invited them to search the so called MDC training camps on
South African soil. After weeks of searches they found nothing and nothing
was never heard of again about these allegations. So Motlanthe being part of
the South African government and head of SADC knows better,' Makuvise added.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised about the recent sequence of events
that have seen one of Mugabe's main architects of terror dying and two being
injured in unexplained incidents.
Elliot Manyika, who terrorized the whole country when leading the Border
Gezi green bombers, died in a mysterious car crash two weeks ago. Last week
the chief commander of farm grabs Joseph Chinotimba, sustained serious
injuries in another car crash. Reports say he is now paralysed after
suffering a broken back. and questions remain as to why details of the
incident were only released in the state media on Wednesday.
Last Saturday the most infamous of Mugabe's henchmen, Air Marshall Perence
Shiri, is reported to have survived an assassination attempt, although
events around the incident raise many questions. With ZANU PF well known
for eliminating its own opponents, many observers believe these three cases
clearly indicate in-fighting, jockeying for position and a party facing
imminent collapse, as it turns on it's own.
Mugabe eyes state of emergency as air force chief claims he was shot
A day after ZANU PF repeated it's allegation that Botswana was training MDC
bandits, the state media came up with another dramatic story. This time a
failed 'assassination' attempt on Air Force Commander Air Marshal Perence
Shiri. According to reports Shiri, who was traveling alone to his farm in
Mashonaland West, was shot in the hand after 'he stopped his vehicle at the
sound of gunfire and got out, thinking he had a puncture.' The incident
allegedly happened on Saturday evening but after much hesitation was only
published Tuesday by the state media. Website New Zimbabwe.com who covered
the story on Monday report that state television was told to hold back on
covering the incident for as yet unexplained reasons.
The immediate reaction of most Zimbabweans was to dismiss the story as
another excuse to justify a state of emergency. This would allow Mugabe to
suspend the constitution and rule by decree. Analysts say given that the MDC
controls parliament, Mugabe's authority outside a power sharing deal is
likely to be compromised. Something he would find completely unacceptable.
On Tuesday Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi predictably latched onto the
reports claiming there appeared to be 'a build-up of terror attacks
targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government
establishments and public transport systems.'
Mohadi said Shiri's attack 'showed the assailants were well trained and
there was a clear attempt to destabilise the country through acts of
terrorism.' The claim of well trained assailants seems a little unlikely, as
Shiri was alone and defenceless on an empty road, and was only injured in
the hand. A well trained assailant would surely have finished the job.
This week MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti told Newsreel they had reports
that several of their abducted activists have been tortured into making
confessions about alleged 'military training' in Botswana. He said Mugabe's
regime is forcibly extracting false and incriminating information in order
to justify declaring a state of emergency. He said they were told the
'confessions' were also filmed.
Using the state owned Herald newspaper Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
has claimed that ZANU PF has evidence the MDC was training bandits in
Botswana. A charge that has been repeated constantly in the past few months,
despite Botswana challenging Mugabe to produce the evidence.
A spate of suspicious bombings at various police stations this year has also
added to growing evidence that ZANU PF is plotting something. No one has
been killed or injured in any of the bomb blasts, which have always targeted
empty office blocks.
Similar tactics have been used by Mugabe's government against past political
opponents like the late Dr Joshua Nkomo and Ndabaningi Sithole. And recently
the state attempted to bring treason charges against Morgan Tsvangirai and
Tendai Biti.
Biti told journalists: 'This is a natural ZANU PF DNA. In 1982, ZANU PF
planted arms at the homes and farms of ZAPU members and they were arrested
on trumped up charges, including it's leader Joshua Nkomo, who had to skip
the country to Botswana dressed as a woman in order to avoid arrest. Again
in 1995, Zanu Ndonga leader Ndabaningi Sithole, was arrested on false
treason charges of trying to assassinate Robert Mugabe.'
bandits, the state media came up with another dramatic story. This time a
failed 'assassination' attempt on Air Force Commander Air Marshal Perence
Shiri. According to reports Shiri, who was traveling alone to his farm in
Mashonaland West, was shot in the hand after 'he stopped his vehicle at the
sound of gunfire and got out, thinking he had a puncture.' The incident
allegedly happened on Saturday evening but after much hesitation was only
published Tuesday by the state media. Website New Zimbabwe.com who covered
the story on Monday report that state television was told to hold back on
covering the incident for as yet unexplained reasons.
The immediate reaction of most Zimbabweans was to dismiss the story as
another excuse to justify a state of emergency. This would allow Mugabe to
suspend the constitution and rule by decree. Analysts say given that the MDC
controls parliament, Mugabe's authority outside a power sharing deal is
likely to be compromised. Something he would find completely unacceptable.
On Tuesday Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi predictably latched onto the
reports claiming there appeared to be 'a build-up of terror attacks
targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government
establishments and public transport systems.'
Mohadi said Shiri's attack 'showed the assailants were well trained and
there was a clear attempt to destabilise the country through acts of
terrorism.' The claim of well trained assailants seems a little unlikely, as
Shiri was alone and defenceless on an empty road, and was only injured in
the hand. A well trained assailant would surely have finished the job.
This week MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti told Newsreel they had reports
that several of their abducted activists have been tortured into making
confessions about alleged 'military training' in Botswana. He said Mugabe's
regime is forcibly extracting false and incriminating information in order
to justify declaring a state of emergency. He said they were told the
'confessions' were also filmed.
Using the state owned Herald newspaper Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
has claimed that ZANU PF has evidence the MDC was training bandits in
Botswana. A charge that has been repeated constantly in the past few months,
despite Botswana challenging Mugabe to produce the evidence.
A spate of suspicious bombings at various police stations this year has also
added to growing evidence that ZANU PF is plotting something. No one has
been killed or injured in any of the bomb blasts, which have always targeted
empty office blocks.
Similar tactics have been used by Mugabe's government against past political
opponents like the late Dr Joshua Nkomo and Ndabaningi Sithole. And recently
the state attempted to bring treason charges against Morgan Tsvangirai and
Tendai Biti.
Biti told journalists: 'This is a natural ZANU PF DNA. In 1982, ZANU PF
planted arms at the homes and farms of ZAPU members and they were arrested
on trumped up charges, including it's leader Joshua Nkomo, who had to skip
the country to Botswana dressed as a woman in order to avoid arrest. Again
in 1995, Zanu Ndonga leader Ndabaningi Sithole, was arrested on false
treason charges of trying to assassinate Robert Mugabe.'
The truth behind the Shiri shooting
Zimbabwe's Air Force commander Perence Shiri, the target of an attemped
assassination on Sunday morning, was shot at by his own side. My sources
reveal that Shiri was the victim of a plot hatched by the feared spy agency
the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Four hitmen armed with machine guns waylaid Shiri as he was driving back
from his farm in Shamva, a mining town in Mashonaland Central. The plan was
to fire first at the car, forcing it into a ditch, and then to finish off
the Air Marshal at point blank range.
Three bullets hit Shiri's vehicle, one of them wounding him in the shoulder.
But it is understood that he pulled out a pistol and returned fire, forcing
the hitmen to flee. He later received treatment for the wound at the
hospital at Manyame Air Force Base.
My source in the CIO told me that Shiri, who is a member of the Joint
Operations Command, the military junta that virtually rules Zimbabwe today,
was targeted because of his growing stature within the ruling Zanu-PF party.
"He has begun to rival the Zimbabwe Army Commander, Constantine Chiwenga," I
was told. "Chiwenga is determined to succeed Mugabe, so it was decided that
Shiri should be eliminated."
There was also a suspicion within Zanu-PF that Shiri had been in secret
contact with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), with a
view to achieving immunity from prosecution, in the event of the MDC taking
power in the country.
Immunity is something Shiri would surely need. His name is still cursed in
parts of Zimbabwe, because in the 1980s he personally masterminded the
infamous Gukurahundi operation, in which 20,000 Ndebeles in the Matebeleland
region were massacred.
Now of course the government will attempt to blame the assassination attempt
on some mythical opposition force allied to the MDC. Most Zimbabweans will
reject this explanation. We have long known that, if you join the turbulent
ranks of Zanu-PF, you will find you have more enemies inside the party than
out.
assassination on Sunday morning, was shot at by his own side. My sources
reveal that Shiri was the victim of a plot hatched by the feared spy agency
the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Four hitmen armed with machine guns waylaid Shiri as he was driving back
from his farm in Shamva, a mining town in Mashonaland Central. The plan was
to fire first at the car, forcing it into a ditch, and then to finish off
the Air Marshal at point blank range.
Three bullets hit Shiri's vehicle, one of them wounding him in the shoulder.
But it is understood that he pulled out a pistol and returned fire, forcing
the hitmen to flee. He later received treatment for the wound at the
hospital at Manyame Air Force Base.
My source in the CIO told me that Shiri, who is a member of the Joint
Operations Command, the military junta that virtually rules Zimbabwe today,
was targeted because of his growing stature within the ruling Zanu-PF party.
"He has begun to rival the Zimbabwe Army Commander, Constantine Chiwenga," I
was told. "Chiwenga is determined to succeed Mugabe, so it was decided that
Shiri should be eliminated."
There was also a suspicion within Zanu-PF that Shiri had been in secret
contact with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), with a
view to achieving immunity from prosecution, in the event of the MDC taking
power in the country.
Immunity is something Shiri would surely need. His name is still cursed in
parts of Zimbabwe, because in the 1980s he personally masterminded the
infamous Gukurahundi operation, in which 20,000 Ndebeles in the Matebeleland
region were massacred.
Now of course the government will attempt to blame the assassination attempt
on some mythical opposition force allied to the MDC. Most Zimbabweans will
reject this explanation. We have long known that, if you join the turbulent
ranks of Zanu-PF, you will find you have more enemies inside the party than
out.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Zimbabwe claims evidence of Botswana plot to invade
ZIMBABWE scaled up its diplomatic war with Botswana on Monday, saying there
was "compelling evidence" that it had trained bandits in preparation for a
military invasion to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government.
The sensational claims were made by Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa, who said evidence that Botswana had "rendered itself a surrogate
of Western imperial powers. and that it has decided to be a destabilising
factor in the region" had been handed over to the Southern African
Development Community (SADC)'s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
Botswana has previously denied allegations by the Zimbabwe government that
it had recruited former elements of Zimbabwe's security services and youths
from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan
Tsvangirai in preparation for a military offensive.
Relations between the two neighbours are at an all-time low. Last month,
Botswana's foreign minister invited the ire of Zimbabwean officials when he
called on regional countries to close their borders, and squeeze President
Mugabe out of power.
Chinamasa said: "You are aware that the last time the SADC Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security met in Harare, we lodged a complaint against
Botswana. Botswana has availed its territory, material and logistical
support to MDC-T for the recruitment and military training of youths for the
eventual destabilisation of the country with a view to effecting illegal
regime change.
"Compelling evidence has already been proffered and the matter is now in the
hands of the (Sadc) Troika and it is not for us to say how the matter will
proceed. The Troika is now in charge of the matter and we all await their
next move.
"What evidence is there establishes that Botswana has rendered itself a
surrogate of Western imperial powers, that it is acting contrary to its past
role as a Frontline State, and that it has decided to be a destabilising
factor in the region.
"My plea to (Ian) Khama and his government is to think carefully about the
irreversible harm they have been plotting to unleash on the region."
Speaking to the state-run Herald newspaper, Chinamasa said the Botswana
government had put itself "on a course that is bound to bring a lot of
suffering on Zimbabweans and the region, including the population of
Botswana."
Chinamasa, the Herald said, declined to say what evidence had been found.
But the paper said its sources indicated that Botswana had recruited former
Zimbabwe security personnel who had "spilled the bins after gathering
sufficient information from inside".
It said the plot was "to train groups of bandits who would instigate
instability that would give the West a pretext to get the United Nations
Security Council leeway to authorise a military invasion of Zimbabwe".
Tsvangirai currently remains in Botswana where he says he will not leave
before he is issued a passport by the Zimbabwe government. He left on a
travel document which has since expired.
Tsvangirai's MDC has threatened to block a constitutional amendment paving
the way for a unity government with Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party from
passing in parliament in a dispute over the control of the security
portfolios in the new government.
But Chinamasa said Tsvangirai's party had been negotiating in bad faith,
"talking peace while preparing for war".
"As far as we are concerned as Zanu PF," he said, "we have done all we can
to ensure peace and stability in the country which are prerequisites for
economic recovery. MDC-T, on the other hand, is bent on foisting war on the
country and the region. It has become evident that MDC-T is negotiating in
bad faith and has engaged in dialogue as a ploy to string us along. They
lack sincerity.
"We now have evidence that while they were talking peace they have been
preparing for war and insurgency, as well as soliciting the West to invade
our country on the pretext of things like cholera.
"We can look our people in the eye and say 'enough is enough'. Our backs are
now to the wall and a day may soon come when each and every one of us may be
called to defend our revolutionary gains and our sovereignty."
Chinamasa said last week that if the MDC vetoed the constitutional
amendment, that would lead to a collapse of the power sharing agreement
signed on September 15 and new elections would be ordered.
No comment was immediately available from the government of Botswana on
Zimbabwe's latest claims.
was "compelling evidence" that it had trained bandits in preparation for a
military invasion to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government.
The sensational claims were made by Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa, who said evidence that Botswana had "rendered itself a surrogate
of Western imperial powers. and that it has decided to be a destabilising
factor in the region" had been handed over to the Southern African
Development Community (SADC)'s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
Botswana has previously denied allegations by the Zimbabwe government that
it had recruited former elements of Zimbabwe's security services and youths
from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan
Tsvangirai in preparation for a military offensive.
Relations between the two neighbours are at an all-time low. Last month,
Botswana's foreign minister invited the ire of Zimbabwean officials when he
called on regional countries to close their borders, and squeeze President
Mugabe out of power.
Chinamasa said: "You are aware that the last time the SADC Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security met in Harare, we lodged a complaint against
Botswana. Botswana has availed its territory, material and logistical
support to MDC-T for the recruitment and military training of youths for the
eventual destabilisation of the country with a view to effecting illegal
regime change.
"Compelling evidence has already been proffered and the matter is now in the
hands of the (Sadc) Troika and it is not for us to say how the matter will
proceed. The Troika is now in charge of the matter and we all await their
next move.
"What evidence is there establishes that Botswana has rendered itself a
surrogate of Western imperial powers, that it is acting contrary to its past
role as a Frontline State, and that it has decided to be a destabilising
factor in the region.
"My plea to (Ian) Khama and his government is to think carefully about the
irreversible harm they have been plotting to unleash on the region."
Speaking to the state-run Herald newspaper, Chinamasa said the Botswana
government had put itself "on a course that is bound to bring a lot of
suffering on Zimbabweans and the region, including the population of
Botswana."
Chinamasa, the Herald said, declined to say what evidence had been found.
But the paper said its sources indicated that Botswana had recruited former
Zimbabwe security personnel who had "spilled the bins after gathering
sufficient information from inside".
It said the plot was "to train groups of bandits who would instigate
instability that would give the West a pretext to get the United Nations
Security Council leeway to authorise a military invasion of Zimbabwe".
Tsvangirai currently remains in Botswana where he says he will not leave
before he is issued a passport by the Zimbabwe government. He left on a
travel document which has since expired.
Tsvangirai's MDC has threatened to block a constitutional amendment paving
the way for a unity government with Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party from
passing in parliament in a dispute over the control of the security
portfolios in the new government.
But Chinamasa said Tsvangirai's party had been negotiating in bad faith,
"talking peace while preparing for war".
"As far as we are concerned as Zanu PF," he said, "we have done all we can
to ensure peace and stability in the country which are prerequisites for
economic recovery. MDC-T, on the other hand, is bent on foisting war on the
country and the region. It has become evident that MDC-T is negotiating in
bad faith and has engaged in dialogue as a ploy to string us along. They
lack sincerity.
"We now have evidence that while they were talking peace they have been
preparing for war and insurgency, as well as soliciting the West to invade
our country on the pretext of things like cholera.
"We can look our people in the eye and say 'enough is enough'. Our backs are
now to the wall and a day may soon come when each and every one of us may be
called to defend our revolutionary gains and our sovereignty."
Chinamasa said last week that if the MDC vetoed the constitutional
amendment, that would lead to a collapse of the power sharing agreement
signed on September 15 and new elections would be ordered.
No comment was immediately available from the government of Botswana on
Zimbabwe's latest claims.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Mukoko & Mudzingwa held in Kariba
Mukoko & Mudzingwa held in Kariba
Prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist, Jestina Mukoko and two senior
MDC officials are being held in a remote location in Kariba and ZANU PF
plans to use them as ransom to force the MDC to enter into an all inclusive
government, a source tellsMetro.
"They are still alive,at least for now", the source said, but refused to
reveal the exact location where the captives are kept but told us that its a
remote location in the Kariba area where the government also keeps anyone
suspected of espionage,working for the CIA or M16.
The plan according to a source is that Mugabe's regime wants Tsvangirai to
be back in Zimbabwe and be sworn in as Prime Minister as they are fears that
he is making a lot of progress outside of Zimbabwe.The regime desperately
wants the MDC to be part of government as they feel they can contain that
than the changing wave of opinion and leadership in the SADC region.
"You will notice the abductions started when Tsvangirai left the
country,that is why he will never get a passport as long as he does not
become Prime Minister, right now they will do anything to make him come back
including making it uncomfortable for any country in the SADC to keep him,
any country which keeps him will be accused of working with west to topple
the government", revealed the source.
The recent abductions of MDC officials are calculated to cut the flow of
information from Tsvangirai to MDC personnel so as to frustrate him and
force him to return. State agents are reportedly interested in abducting one
Chris Mbanga.
ZANU PF 's plan also includes limiting the dissemination of information to
SADC, as they feel this is weakening their hand.
"They are really worried about what countries in SADC are getting from the
media,they do not care about the west that much. You will notice in the next
few weeks an effort to muzzle anyone suspected to providing information and
reporting for the international media, that is why Mukoko was seized-to warn
others."
Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP),disappeared in
the past six weeks and was seized when the government learnt that leaders in
SADC were relying on her organisation's reports for information on human
rights abuses.
Within days, other abductions were carried out by groups of between six and
nine armed men in civilian clothes using unmarked vehicles without number
plates. On 7 Brodrick Takawira and Pascal Gonzo, both of the ZPP, were
abducted. Earlier Chris Dlamini the MDC Director for Security was seized
then on 10 December, Gandhi Mudzingwa, former Presidential Director for
Morgan Tsvangirai, was kidnapped just outside Harare.
Mukoko's organisation the ZPP, is funded by the Dutch and Canadian
governments, is one of the most respected groups in Zimbabwean civil
society. Its reports have been used in confidential diplomatic briefing
documents.
One of the greatest fears of Mugabe and those involved in this year's
election-related violence is that the UN Security Council will call for an
International Criminal Court investigation, as it did over Sudanese
President Omar el-Bashir's involvement in the Darfur killings.
Prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist, Jestina Mukoko and two senior
MDC officials are being held in a remote location in Kariba and ZANU PF
plans to use them as ransom to force the MDC to enter into an all inclusive
government, a source tellsMetro.
"They are still alive,at least for now", the source said, but refused to
reveal the exact location where the captives are kept but told us that its a
remote location in the Kariba area where the government also keeps anyone
suspected of espionage,working for the CIA or M16.
The plan according to a source is that Mugabe's regime wants Tsvangirai to
be back in Zimbabwe and be sworn in as Prime Minister as they are fears that
he is making a lot of progress outside of Zimbabwe.The regime desperately
wants the MDC to be part of government as they feel they can contain that
than the changing wave of opinion and leadership in the SADC region.
"You will notice the abductions started when Tsvangirai left the
country,that is why he will never get a passport as long as he does not
become Prime Minister, right now they will do anything to make him come back
including making it uncomfortable for any country in the SADC to keep him,
any country which keeps him will be accused of working with west to topple
the government", revealed the source.
The recent abductions of MDC officials are calculated to cut the flow of
information from Tsvangirai to MDC personnel so as to frustrate him and
force him to return. State agents are reportedly interested in abducting one
Chris Mbanga.
ZANU PF 's plan also includes limiting the dissemination of information to
SADC, as they feel this is weakening their hand.
"They are really worried about what countries in SADC are getting from the
media,they do not care about the west that much. You will notice in the next
few weeks an effort to muzzle anyone suspected to providing information and
reporting for the international media, that is why Mukoko was seized-to warn
others."
Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP),disappeared in
the past six weeks and was seized when the government learnt that leaders in
SADC were relying on her organisation's reports for information on human
rights abuses.
Within days, other abductions were carried out by groups of between six and
nine armed men in civilian clothes using unmarked vehicles without number
plates. On 7 Brodrick Takawira and Pascal Gonzo, both of the ZPP, were
abducted. Earlier Chris Dlamini the MDC Director for Security was seized
then on 10 December, Gandhi Mudzingwa, former Presidential Director for
Morgan Tsvangirai, was kidnapped just outside Harare.
Mukoko's organisation the ZPP, is funded by the Dutch and Canadian
governments, is one of the most respected groups in Zimbabwean civil
society. Its reports have been used in confidential diplomatic briefing
documents.
One of the greatest fears of Mugabe and those involved in this year's
election-related violence is that the UN Security Council will call for an
International Criminal Court investigation, as it did over Sudanese
President Omar el-Bashir's involvement in the Darfur killings.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Oxfam concerned over Zimbabwe disappearances
Aid organisation Oxfam says it is concerned about the increasing number of
disappearances in Zimbabwe. Oxfam says it is particularly concerned about
Jestina Mukoko, manager of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, who was abducted at
the beginning of this month. There has been no sign of her since she
disappeared. The organisation says 38 union members were arrested after a
strike, and disappearances have also been reported elsewhere in the country.
Oxfam reports that aid workers have been trying to leave the country
following threats. The organisation says the situation is worsening daily
and has called on the Netherlands to urge South Africa to increase pressure
on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
disappearances in Zimbabwe. Oxfam says it is particularly concerned about
Jestina Mukoko, manager of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, who was abducted at
the beginning of this month. There has been no sign of her since she
disappeared. The organisation says 38 union members were arrested after a
strike, and disappearances have also been reported elsewhere in the country.
Oxfam reports that aid workers have been trying to leave the country
following threats. The organisation says the situation is worsening daily
and has called on the Netherlands to urge South Africa to increase pressure
on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Missing activist was 'collecting evidence' on Mugabe crimes
Human rights workers are going into hiding across Zimbabwe as regime
launches new wave of arrests
A prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist abducted 12 days ago was
working on case files to be used as possible prosecution evidence against
members of President Robert Mugabe's regime, The Observer has learnt.
Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), is the most
prominent among 20 political and civil society activists who have
disappeared in the past six weeks.
According to fellow campaigners, Mukoko had established a network of
hundreds of monitors - mostly church people, teachers and ordinary township
dwellers - who had provided handwritten testimonies of the campaigns of
brutality carried out by Mugabe's government. The testimony could have been
used in any future investigation of human rights abuses by the Mugabe
regime. 'She had catalogued thousands of incidents of murder, assault,
torture, arson, and who the perpetrators are. The work was so meticulous it
could stand up in any court,' said one associate.
A human rights lawyer revealed that just before Mukoko's abduction the ZPP
had shifted from cataloguing violence in townships to the organised abuse of
food aid, where people were forced to support Mugabe in return for maize
deliveries. 'That upcoming report was going to be extremely embarrassing for
the ruling party,' said the lawyer.
Lawyers and opposition politicians believe the abduction of Mukoko was
carried out as part of a new campaign by elements in the ruling party to
intimidate and hinder the work of those gathering incriminating evidence of
human rights violations in the country. Most leading human rights figures
have in recent days gone into hiding. The ZPP has closed and the National
Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) has warned that 'there
are reasons to fear for the safety of every activist in the land'.
At about 5am on 3 December, 15 armed men wearing civilian clothing burst
into the home of Mukoko in Norton, 25 miles from the capital, Harare. Her
15-year-old son watched as the men, who claimed to be police officers, beat
up a gardener, then bundled her, barefoot and dressed only in her pyjamas,
into a waiting Mazda 323.
Within days, other abductions were carried out by groups of between six and
nine armed men in civilian clothes using unmarked vehicles without number
plates. On 5 December Zacharia Nkomo, 33, brother of leading human rights
lawyer Harrison Nkomo, was taken from his home in Masvingo.
Three days later Brodrick Takawira and Pascal Gonzo, both of the ZPP, were
abducted in Harare. And on 10 December, Gandhi Mudzwinga, a close associate
of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, was kidnapped near Harare.
The ZPP, which was formed in 2000 and is funded by the Dutch and Canadian
governments, is one of the most respected groups in Zimbabwean civil
society. Its reports have been made available to African and Western
embassies in Harare and used in confidential diplomatic briefing documents.
They are likely to have been among documents seen by the European Union
before it added 11 military, police and ruling party officials to its latest
travel blacklist, made official last Monday.
Lawyer Otto Saki said he and his colleagues have made desperate attempts to
establish Mukoko's whereabouts. 'We struggled to find a judge to hear our
application. Three days after her abduction, a judge we finally managed to
speak to in the High Court car park told us it would be heard on Monday, 8
December.
'A week after she was taken, we obtained an order that the police search for
Jestina in all places of detention where they have jurisdiction - in other
words, everywhere except military compounds. But we have no news and the
police say they do not have her.'
Lawyers say the last time the courts acted so evasively was in April - just
after the first round of presidential elections - when Movement for
Democratic Change activist Tonderai Ndira was abducted.Ndira was later found
murdered.
JB Nkatazo of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace said Mutoko's
abduction sent 'cold shivers' down the spines of all Zimbabwean activists.
'The new disappearances send a clear message to civil society that we will
be picked up one by one,' said Nkatazo.
'We must fear the worst for Mukoko,' said Effie Ncube, 35, of the
Masakhaneni Projects Trust for victims of violence. 'If she has been picked
up and tortured, that means she also knows who her assailants were.' Paying
tribute to her courage, he said: 'We last sat together two weeks ago. She
understood the nature of the regime and the risks she was taking. She was
documenting cases of human rights abuses to liberate Zimbabweans but also to
liberate Mugabe. She paraphrased Nelson Mandela who said the South African
transition was about liberating the racists.'
He added: 'What we do is very risky because the regime's attitude is that we
are giving information to the CIA or to MI6. Mugabe's rhetoric is calculated
to set African governments against Europeans, and so we, as civil society,
are viewed as agents of Western imperialism.'
One of the greatest fears of Mugabe and those involved in this year's
election-related violence is that the UN Security Council will call for an
International Criminal Court investigation, as it did over Sudanese
President Omar el-Bashir's involvement in the Darfur killings.
Statements in the past week by Mugabe and his aides provide clear evidence
of the regime's paranoia. Presidential spokesman George Charamba told the
state-run Herald newspaper that Western countries were planning to 'bring
Zimbabwe before the UN Security Council by claiming the cholera epidemic and
food shortages have incapacitated the government'.
On Friday, in a bizarre effort to parry criticism of the regime at
tomorrow's meeting in New York, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said:
'Gordon Brown must be taken to the United Nations Security Council for being
a threat to world peace and planting cholera and anthrax to invade
Zimbabwe.'
But Minister for Africa Lord Malloch-Brown said the meeting would focus on
the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, especially concerns that UN medical
officials have been denied access to the country to assess the cholera
outbreak.
'I don't see the prospect of an international tribunal coming up tomorrow,'
he said. 'Mugabe is in a state of exaggerated paranoia. The arrests of the
human rights activists are part of that. But it is certainly the case that
Mugabe's actions this year have exposed him as never before. The day he
falls he has huge future vulnerability.'
launches new wave of arrests
A prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist abducted 12 days ago was
working on case files to be used as possible prosecution evidence against
members of President Robert Mugabe's regime, The Observer has learnt.
Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), is the most
prominent among 20 political and civil society activists who have
disappeared in the past six weeks.
According to fellow campaigners, Mukoko had established a network of
hundreds of monitors - mostly church people, teachers and ordinary township
dwellers - who had provided handwritten testimonies of the campaigns of
brutality carried out by Mugabe's government. The testimony could have been
used in any future investigation of human rights abuses by the Mugabe
regime. 'She had catalogued thousands of incidents of murder, assault,
torture, arson, and who the perpetrators are. The work was so meticulous it
could stand up in any court,' said one associate.
A human rights lawyer revealed that just before Mukoko's abduction the ZPP
had shifted from cataloguing violence in townships to the organised abuse of
food aid, where people were forced to support Mugabe in return for maize
deliveries. 'That upcoming report was going to be extremely embarrassing for
the ruling party,' said the lawyer.
Lawyers and opposition politicians believe the abduction of Mukoko was
carried out as part of a new campaign by elements in the ruling party to
intimidate and hinder the work of those gathering incriminating evidence of
human rights violations in the country. Most leading human rights figures
have in recent days gone into hiding. The ZPP has closed and the National
Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) has warned that 'there
are reasons to fear for the safety of every activist in the land'.
At about 5am on 3 December, 15 armed men wearing civilian clothing burst
into the home of Mukoko in Norton, 25 miles from the capital, Harare. Her
15-year-old son watched as the men, who claimed to be police officers, beat
up a gardener, then bundled her, barefoot and dressed only in her pyjamas,
into a waiting Mazda 323.
Within days, other abductions were carried out by groups of between six and
nine armed men in civilian clothes using unmarked vehicles without number
plates. On 5 December Zacharia Nkomo, 33, brother of leading human rights
lawyer Harrison Nkomo, was taken from his home in Masvingo.
Three days later Brodrick Takawira and Pascal Gonzo, both of the ZPP, were
abducted in Harare. And on 10 December, Gandhi Mudzwinga, a close associate
of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, was kidnapped near Harare.
The ZPP, which was formed in 2000 and is funded by the Dutch and Canadian
governments, is one of the most respected groups in Zimbabwean civil
society. Its reports have been made available to African and Western
embassies in Harare and used in confidential diplomatic briefing documents.
They are likely to have been among documents seen by the European Union
before it added 11 military, police and ruling party officials to its latest
travel blacklist, made official last Monday.
Lawyer Otto Saki said he and his colleagues have made desperate attempts to
establish Mukoko's whereabouts. 'We struggled to find a judge to hear our
application. Three days after her abduction, a judge we finally managed to
speak to in the High Court car park told us it would be heard on Monday, 8
December.
'A week after she was taken, we obtained an order that the police search for
Jestina in all places of detention where they have jurisdiction - in other
words, everywhere except military compounds. But we have no news and the
police say they do not have her.'
Lawyers say the last time the courts acted so evasively was in April - just
after the first round of presidential elections - when Movement for
Democratic Change activist Tonderai Ndira was abducted.Ndira was later found
murdered.
JB Nkatazo of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace said Mutoko's
abduction sent 'cold shivers' down the spines of all Zimbabwean activists.
'The new disappearances send a clear message to civil society that we will
be picked up one by one,' said Nkatazo.
'We must fear the worst for Mukoko,' said Effie Ncube, 35, of the
Masakhaneni Projects Trust for victims of violence. 'If she has been picked
up and tortured, that means she also knows who her assailants were.' Paying
tribute to her courage, he said: 'We last sat together two weeks ago. She
understood the nature of the regime and the risks she was taking. She was
documenting cases of human rights abuses to liberate Zimbabweans but also to
liberate Mugabe. She paraphrased Nelson Mandela who said the South African
transition was about liberating the racists.'
He added: 'What we do is very risky because the regime's attitude is that we
are giving information to the CIA or to MI6. Mugabe's rhetoric is calculated
to set African governments against Europeans, and so we, as civil society,
are viewed as agents of Western imperialism.'
One of the greatest fears of Mugabe and those involved in this year's
election-related violence is that the UN Security Council will call for an
International Criminal Court investigation, as it did over Sudanese
President Omar el-Bashir's involvement in the Darfur killings.
Statements in the past week by Mugabe and his aides provide clear evidence
of the regime's paranoia. Presidential spokesman George Charamba told the
state-run Herald newspaper that Western countries were planning to 'bring
Zimbabwe before the UN Security Council by claiming the cholera epidemic and
food shortages have incapacitated the government'.
On Friday, in a bizarre effort to parry criticism of the regime at
tomorrow's meeting in New York, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said:
'Gordon Brown must be taken to the United Nations Security Council for being
a threat to world peace and planting cholera and anthrax to invade
Zimbabwe.'
But Minister for Africa Lord Malloch-Brown said the meeting would focus on
the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, especially concerns that UN medical
officials have been denied access to the country to assess the cholera
outbreak.
'I don't see the prospect of an international tribunal coming up tomorrow,'
he said. 'Mugabe is in a state of exaggerated paranoia. The arrests of the
human rights activists are part of that. But it is certainly the case that
Mugabe's actions this year have exposed him as never before. The day he
falls he has huge future vulnerability.'
Friday, December 12, 2008
US Still Zimbabwe's Biggest Donor - US$218 Million Just This Past Year
By JAMES D McGEE
Published : Friday, December 12, 2008
US Ambassador To Zimbabwe - James D McGee
President George W. Bush recently denounced the illegitimate Mugabe regime and once again called for a government that would end repression and express the will of the Zimbabwean people.
On March 29, the citizens of Zimbabwe voted decisively to change their leaders.
They demanded better government. Yet their demands have been largely ignored by the losers of the election, which is why the President called this regime illegitimate.
However, the Mugabe regime continues to forfeit its legitimacy on a daily basis by failing to meet the most basic obligation of a government – to care for its people.
Governments are created to protect and care for their citizens. The current regime has largely abdicated this responsibility.
Today the work of caring for the many suffering Zimbabweans has fallen to the international community.
I am proud of the leading role the United States is playing in this regard, but we should not lose sight of the fact that we are doing what the Government of Zimbabwe should do, but chooses not to do.
In the past year the U.S. has provided over US$218 million in humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe.
We are the leading food donor, providing US$211 million in food commodities to address this food emergency.
The United States provides nearly 70 percent of all international food aid distributed in Zimbabwe through NGOs and the UN World Food Program.
We spent nearly US$30 million last year on HIV/AIDS programs, in addition to paying for 33 percent of the Global Fund’s programs.
We are currently putting into place an additional US$600,000 in emergency aid to combat the cholera epidemic currently devastating Zimbabwe.
What is the Mugabe regime doing? It is buying hundreds cars so that every minister and governor can have multiple vehicles. It is buying plasma televisions for judges.
It is stifling the private sector so that mines and factories are forced to close, laying off workers, while harassing the nongovernmental organizations that try to provide support to suffering Zimbabweans.
The widespread hunger in Zimbabwe, the cholera epidemic and the collapse of education and health care systems are not the result of any targeted sanctions.
These disastrous failures result from decisions by a few Zimbabwean leaders to put personal interests ahead of the public interest.
Instead of spending scarce resources on water purification chemicals that might stop the cholera epidemic, they are manipulating currency to make a personal profit.
Instead of ensuring that hospitals and clinics remain open, staffed and supplied, they enjoy lives of luxury in gated compounds.
Instead of paying teachers a living wage so that the next generation can learn, they fly around the world on shopping sprees. In the meantime, their people suffer and die.
The United States is committed to continuing to support the people of Zimbabwe with food, medical supplies, water and sanitation improvements, and whatever else is needed to save lives and reduce suffering.
I only wish the illegitimate leaders of this country would find the same compassion and commitment for their own people.
I challenge the leaders of this country to set aside their personal greed and commit to spending even a quarter of what the U.S. and other donors will spend this year to meet the humanitarian needs of Zimbabwe’s citizens.
The amount of aid the U.S. gives Zimbabwe is openly available.
The Mugabe regime should open its books and tell the world how much it is spending on the people of Zimbabwe, and how much they are spending on luxury vehicles, the campaign of brutal violence against their own people, and the desperate struggle to stay in power at all costs.
The bottom line is that the so-called leaders of this country need to stop feeding their insatiable greed and take care of the poor and deserving Zimbabweans languishing because of this corruption.
Up to 5 million people will need food aid in the coming months.
Over 15,500 have suffered from cholera, with 746 deaths, and the epidemic is just starting.
Untold thousands have suffered or died because they cannot access medical care.
We remain ready to help. However, right now the international community isn’t just helping; we’re being forced to lead by the Mugabe regime’s criminal negligence. It’s time for the Mugabe regime to take responsibility for these problems it has created, and fix them.
Zimbabweans deserve better. They have asked for better through their votes. How long must they suffer before their Government responds?
James D. McGee is U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe # # #
Civil Society Calls For End To Arrests, Abductions
CIVIL society yesterday demanded that President Robert Mugabe and guarantors of the global political agreement (GPA) –– Sadc and the African Union (AU) –– ensure the immediate cessation of a new wave of arrests, abductions and assaults on citizens and political activists.
In a joint letter to Sadc chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe and AU head Jakaya Kikwete, 46 civic organisations said the crackdown by state security organs was a mockery of the GPA signed by Mugabe and leaders of the two MDC formations –– Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.
Motlanthe and Kikwete are the presidents of South Africa and Tanzania.
The letter was prompted by Wednesday’s alleged pre-dawn abduction of the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), Jestina Mukoko, by suspected state security agents at her home in Norton.
The same day scores of civil society activists were arrested across the country for participating in a demonstration called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) against cash withdrawal limits.
Yesterday, members of the National Constitutional Assembly staged a peaceful demonstration in central Harare pressing for the establishment of a transitional authority to deal with the country’s 10-year-old crisis.
ZPP is a human rights abuse monitoring organisation and played a leading role in documenting election-related violence, which claimed the lives of more than 100 people, most of them opposition supporters during the countdown to the June 27 presidential poll.
In their letter to Motlanthe and Kikwete, the civic groups said the two leaders should ensure the immediate release of Mukoko and other “human rights defenders” who were in police custody.
The groups said they wanted an “immediate cessation of systematic purges and human rights violations by the current establishment and its security agents on human rights defenders”.
The civil organisation asked government to observe its duty to respect and protect internationally guaranteed human rights and to ensure that no human rights abuses committed by state authorities and party militias receive any pardons in the future as the trends of violence seems to be escalating.
The civic groups said the abduction of Mukoko, a former television presenter, undermined the interparty agreement which was signed by Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.
“This kidnapping is a blunt mockery of the global political agreement signed by Zimbabwean political parties on September 15 and shows the extent of the breakdown of the rule of law and insincerity of state authorities in Zimbabwe,” read the letter.
“This confirms the concern civil society in Zimbabwe has about the ability of the security services to act in the public interest and in an impartial manner.”
Mukoko was scheduled to be the master of ceremonies at the annual United States-sponsored Auxillia Chimusoro HIV and Aids Awards that were held on Wednesday.
The American Ambassador James McGee on Wednesday informed guests that efforts to find out the whereabouts of Mukoko before the ceremony were in vain.
“We have been seeking frantically for Jestina and could not find her. What I want to say to anyone who abducted her, whether it is the army or police, release Jestina now. We need her to be released,” McGee said.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights yesterday filed an urgent High Court application seeking the immediate release of Mukoko.
Last week the ZCTU called for peaceful protests against the Reserve Bank’s cash withdrawal limits, and called on the public to march to their banks on Wednesday this week to demand their money.
However, the police broke up the march in Harare by the national trade union movement and arrested more than 70 people including ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibebe, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe and South African Broadcasting Corporation correspondent John Nyashanu.
The arrests came barely 24 hours after Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi appeared on television warning the ZCTU not to proceed with the demonstration.
Health workers, including doctors and nurses who downed their tools two months ago in protest at poor salaries and working conditions, also joined the march and were arrested after they tried to protest against the government’s failure to deal with the cholera outbreak, which has killed close to 600 people in the past four weeks.
The attacks on dissent come over a month after suspected government agents seized 15 MDC activists in Banket, Mashonaland West.
The government initially claimed the activists were involved in training “insurgents” against the government, but now denies they are in official custody.
The 15 have not been seen since they were abducted, 36 days ago, and police have ignored court orders for them to be produced in court.
The umbrella body of the civil society, National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) yesterday issued a statement in which it condemned the arrests of the civil society activists.
In the statement it said: “Nango expresses its deep concern about this new wave of arrests of civil society activists. These arrests of peaceful activists are especially alarming in a period in which the vast majority of Zimbabweans are struggling to survive every day facing serious difficulties acquiring food and essential medical services.
“Civil society activists have the right to speak out peacefully for their constituency. Their arrests prevent them from voicing the concerns of the people of Zimbabwe.”
In the same statement, Nango claimed that around 30 activists were arrested in Gweru by police while peacefully attending a ZCTU protest against cash withdrawal limits and the increasing dollarisation of the economy, which is affecting the majority of Zimbabweans.
The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC on Wednesday condemned the attacks on civic activists saying the GPA guarantees the basic freedoms and rights of people to express themselves.
“The latest acts of thuggery are a clear indication that there is no paradigm shift on the part of Zanu PF to act in accordance with the GPA,” the MDC-T said.
In a joint letter to Sadc chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe and AU head Jakaya Kikwete, 46 civic organisations said the crackdown by state security organs was a mockery of the GPA signed by Mugabe and leaders of the two MDC formations –– Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.
Motlanthe and Kikwete are the presidents of South Africa and Tanzania.
The letter was prompted by Wednesday’s alleged pre-dawn abduction of the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), Jestina Mukoko, by suspected state security agents at her home in Norton.
The same day scores of civil society activists were arrested across the country for participating in a demonstration called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) against cash withdrawal limits.
Yesterday, members of the National Constitutional Assembly staged a peaceful demonstration in central Harare pressing for the establishment of a transitional authority to deal with the country’s 10-year-old crisis.
ZPP is a human rights abuse monitoring organisation and played a leading role in documenting election-related violence, which claimed the lives of more than 100 people, most of them opposition supporters during the countdown to the June 27 presidential poll.
In their letter to Motlanthe and Kikwete, the civic groups said the two leaders should ensure the immediate release of Mukoko and other “human rights defenders” who were in police custody.
The groups said they wanted an “immediate cessation of systematic purges and human rights violations by the current establishment and its security agents on human rights defenders”.
The civil organisation asked government to observe its duty to respect and protect internationally guaranteed human rights and to ensure that no human rights abuses committed by state authorities and party militias receive any pardons in the future as the trends of violence seems to be escalating.
The civic groups said the abduction of Mukoko, a former television presenter, undermined the interparty agreement which was signed by Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.
“This kidnapping is a blunt mockery of the global political agreement signed by Zimbabwean political parties on September 15 and shows the extent of the breakdown of the rule of law and insincerity of state authorities in Zimbabwe,” read the letter.
“This confirms the concern civil society in Zimbabwe has about the ability of the security services to act in the public interest and in an impartial manner.”
Mukoko was scheduled to be the master of ceremonies at the annual United States-sponsored Auxillia Chimusoro HIV and Aids Awards that were held on Wednesday.
The American Ambassador James McGee on Wednesday informed guests that efforts to find out the whereabouts of Mukoko before the ceremony were in vain.
“We have been seeking frantically for Jestina and could not find her. What I want to say to anyone who abducted her, whether it is the army or police, release Jestina now. We need her to be released,” McGee said.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights yesterday filed an urgent High Court application seeking the immediate release of Mukoko.
Last week the ZCTU called for peaceful protests against the Reserve Bank’s cash withdrawal limits, and called on the public to march to their banks on Wednesday this week to demand their money.
However, the police broke up the march in Harare by the national trade union movement and arrested more than 70 people including ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibebe, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe and South African Broadcasting Corporation correspondent John Nyashanu.
The arrests came barely 24 hours after Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi appeared on television warning the ZCTU not to proceed with the demonstration.
Health workers, including doctors and nurses who downed their tools two months ago in protest at poor salaries and working conditions, also joined the march and were arrested after they tried to protest against the government’s failure to deal with the cholera outbreak, which has killed close to 600 people in the past four weeks.
The attacks on dissent come over a month after suspected government agents seized 15 MDC activists in Banket, Mashonaland West.
The government initially claimed the activists were involved in training “insurgents” against the government, but now denies they are in official custody.
The 15 have not been seen since they were abducted, 36 days ago, and police have ignored court orders for them to be produced in court.
The umbrella body of the civil society, National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) yesterday issued a statement in which it condemned the arrests of the civil society activists.
In the statement it said: “Nango expresses its deep concern about this new wave of arrests of civil society activists. These arrests of peaceful activists are especially alarming in a period in which the vast majority of Zimbabweans are struggling to survive every day facing serious difficulties acquiring food and essential medical services.
“Civil society activists have the right to speak out peacefully for their constituency. Their arrests prevent them from voicing the concerns of the people of Zimbabwe.”
In the same statement, Nango claimed that around 30 activists were arrested in Gweru by police while peacefully attending a ZCTU protest against cash withdrawal limits and the increasing dollarisation of the economy, which is affecting the majority of Zimbabweans.
The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC on Wednesday condemned the attacks on civic activists saying the GPA guarantees the basic freedoms and rights of people to express themselves.
“The latest acts of thuggery are a clear indication that there is no paradigm shift on the part of Zanu PF to act in accordance with the GPA,” the MDC-T said.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Government looking for land for mass burial, after killing 78 miners
Government looking for land for mass burial, after killing 78 miners
After issuing statements denying that scores of people were murdered in the
Chiadzwa diamond fields in Manicaland province, the truth finally came out
on Thursday when the District Administrator for Mutare appealed to the City
Council for land to bury 83 people.
The Deputy Mayor for Mutare, Admire Mukovera, confirmed receiving a phone
call from the DA Mr Mashava, requesting land for a mass burial. He was told
that 78 people had been killed in the volatile diamond minefield, while five
had died from cholera. The Deputy Mayor said bodies were piling up in
mortuaries at Mutare General and Sakubva District hospitals.
The DA claimed the mass burial was necessitated by the fact that the bodies
from Chiadzwa were mixed up with cholera victims, and they were trying to
stop the spread of the disease.
However, the predominantly MDC led Mutare City Council has refused, saying
it was a national issue and the government has to issue a public statement
first, which would also notify the relatives of the deceased.
The MDC spokesperson for Manicaland and Makoni South MP Pishai Muchauraya,
believes the Mugabe regime is trying to conceal its 'murderous actions' by
burying the people it slaughtered in the mining fields in a mass grave.
He said: "The council must not give them ground until the facts and figures
are made public and the circumstances surrounding the murder of those 83
people are known."
It is feared many more were killed during the campaign of terror unleashed
on illegal diamond miners by soldiers and the police, as warlords battle for
control.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has described the areas as "resembling a
war" and the miners say hundreds have died. One report said a policewoman
working in Chiadzwa saw a pile of 50 bodies after one helicopter attack.
"There were a lot of bodies. They were piled up. I don't know what happened
to them. Some of the dead are just buried secretly," she said. "Miners are
killed every day. The orders to the police are to shoot them if they find
them digging but many of the police do not want to carry out those orders.
These are ordinary people like us."
After issuing statements denying that scores of people were murdered in the
Chiadzwa diamond fields in Manicaland province, the truth finally came out
on Thursday when the District Administrator for Mutare appealed to the City
Council for land to bury 83 people.
The Deputy Mayor for Mutare, Admire Mukovera, confirmed receiving a phone
call from the DA Mr Mashava, requesting land for a mass burial. He was told
that 78 people had been killed in the volatile diamond minefield, while five
had died from cholera. The Deputy Mayor said bodies were piling up in
mortuaries at Mutare General and Sakubva District hospitals.
The DA claimed the mass burial was necessitated by the fact that the bodies
from Chiadzwa were mixed up with cholera victims, and they were trying to
stop the spread of the disease.
However, the predominantly MDC led Mutare City Council has refused, saying
it was a national issue and the government has to issue a public statement
first, which would also notify the relatives of the deceased.
The MDC spokesperson for Manicaland and Makoni South MP Pishai Muchauraya,
believes the Mugabe regime is trying to conceal its 'murderous actions' by
burying the people it slaughtered in the mining fields in a mass grave.
He said: "The council must not give them ground until the facts and figures
are made public and the circumstances surrounding the murder of those 83
people are known."
It is feared many more were killed during the campaign of terror unleashed
on illegal diamond miners by soldiers and the police, as warlords battle for
control.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has described the areas as "resembling a
war" and the miners say hundreds have died. One report said a policewoman
working in Chiadzwa saw a pile of 50 bodies after one helicopter attack.
"There were a lot of bodies. They were piled up. I don't know what happened
to them. Some of the dead are just buried secretly," she said. "Miners are
killed every day. The orders to the police are to shoot them if they find
them digging but many of the police do not want to carry out those orders.
These are ordinary people like us."
You should look to the future of Zimbabwe, Mugabe told
Thursday, December 11, 2008
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to "look for the future" of his country and honour commitments under a power-sharing deal with the opposition.
"Mugabe really should look for the future of his country and his own people, who have been suffering too much, too long from this political turmoil now coupled with very serious humanitarian tragedies," Ban told a press briefing here.
The UN chief said he met the 84-year-old Zimbabwean leader for face-to-face talks two weeks ago at a development summit in Qatar, where he urged him to leave his legacy in a positive light.
Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsviangarai in September but it has yet to be implemented because of a dispute over who controls key ministries.
Many world leaders including US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have called on Mugabe to step down as his country suffers chronic poverty, rampant hyperinflation and a cholera outbreak that has killed 792 people.
"I have urged as hard as I could to honour his commitment, as a political leader and as president of Zimbabwe, to leave his legacy in a positive way," Ban said, adding he had spoken "from the bottom of my heart."
But the meeting did not go well -- Ban said the dialogue was "very difficult," and "I couldn't get any positive response on the power sharing agreement."
Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980. For the past eight years, the country has sunk into an economic quagmire with mind-boggling hyperinflation, 80 percent unemployment and chronic shortages of food and currency.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to "look for the future" of his country and honour commitments under a power-sharing deal with the opposition.
"Mugabe really should look for the future of his country and his own people, who have been suffering too much, too long from this political turmoil now coupled with very serious humanitarian tragedies," Ban told a press briefing here.
The UN chief said he met the 84-year-old Zimbabwean leader for face-to-face talks two weeks ago at a development summit in Qatar, where he urged him to leave his legacy in a positive light.
Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsviangarai in September but it has yet to be implemented because of a dispute over who controls key ministries.
Many world leaders including US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have called on Mugabe to step down as his country suffers chronic poverty, rampant hyperinflation and a cholera outbreak that has killed 792 people.
"I have urged as hard as I could to honour his commitment, as a political leader and as president of Zimbabwe, to leave his legacy in a positive way," Ban said, adding he had spoken "from the bottom of my heart."
But the meeting did not go well -- Ban said the dialogue was "very difficult," and "I couldn't get any positive response on the power sharing agreement."
Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980. For the past eight years, the country has sunk into an economic quagmire with mind-boggling hyperinflation, 80 percent unemployment and chronic shortages of food and currency.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
More abductions and no sign of peace worker
Jestina Mukoko – the
human rights campaigner
abducted from her home.
HARARE – Two officers with the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) were kidnapped on Monday, five days after ZPP Director Jestina Mukoko was abducted from her home. Former broadcaster Mukoko is still missing.
Pascal Gonzo, who was briefly arrested in Nyanga last Thursday, and Provincial Coordinator Brodrick Takawira were snatched at their offices by six men in unmarked cars. One worker managed to escape and has gone into hiding.
The plot thickened on Monday with the police denying they had anything to do with Mukoko’s abduction.
In a letter responding to an appeal by the National Association of Non Governmental Organisations (NANGO), Chief Superintendent Nzombe wrote: “Be advised that investigations into circumstances of the taking away of Jestina Mukoko from her home have been instituted under Zimbabwe Republic Police Norton, report received book number 0438167. The matter is being treated as kidnapping.”
The Chief Superintendent added: “It must be noted that Jestina Mukoko is not in any of our police cells. We will keep you informed of the progress and outcome of the investigations.”
The ZPP is a monitoring group that documents human rights abuses across the country.
Meanwhile 15 MDC activists and a two-year-old baby are still missing, six weeks after they were abducted in the Zvimba area, this is despite the High Court ordering the police to produce them.
Another two activists who were arrested in Harare and Norton two weeks ago are also still missing, and lawyers have been unable to locate them.
In their statement, NANGO said: “Hundreds of other prisoners of conscience remain incarcerated in various centres around Zimbabwe. These prisoners are the victims of the state's implementation of a host of repressive pieces of legislation that threaten not only democracy but the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in Zimbabwe.”
Former US President Jimmy Carter has taken the issue of Jestina Mukoko’s abduction by state agents in Zimbabwe to the United Nations.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Zimbabwe opposition activists abducted
Dozens of Robert Mugabe's opponents have been abducted in Zimbabwe.
The recent disappearance of at least 28 people, most of them activists with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has come during a crackdown by President Mugabe and his supporters as they seek to cling to power.
The latest to be seized was Gande Mudzingwa, a member of the inner circle of the party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mr Mudzingwa's car was forced off the road on his way to what was described as a "logistics" meeting about six miles south of the centre of Harare late on Monday. He was taken to a waiting vehicle by nine men.
Senior opposition figures believe the string of disappearances heralds a new move against the MDC by Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, even though a power-sharing agreement was signed in September.
"It's going to get worse," said Welshman Ncube, secretary-general of the smaller Mutambara faction of the MDC. "As long as there is a political stalemate Zanu-PF will move into default mode and use the only weapon it has left which is violence and coercion.
"It is in their nature. Killings, abductions and arrests are how they conduct political struggle."
A judge in Harare demanded on Tuesday that police produce Jestina Mukoko, a violence monitor abducted from her home in Norton, about 20 miles north of Harare in a pre-dawn raid a week ago.
Mrs Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was still in her nightclothes when a group of about 15 men in plain clothes grabbed her from her house and drove her away. Three of her colleagues have since been abducted.
High Court judges had refused to hear the urgent application last week.
Nearly two weeks ago Mr Tsvangirai's director of security, Chris Dlamini, was seized from his home by a group of men, believed to be police out of uniform.
"I have now found Mr Dlamini's family and I am going to court on their behalf to demand his release," said Alec Muchadahama, an MDC lawyer. "We do not know where he, nor any of the other missing people, or if they are still alive."
Six weeks ago a group of 15 MDC activists were taken from their homes 60 miles north of Harare. They have not been heard of since.
The power-sharing government cannot be formed until a constitutional amendment is passed, and although party negotiators agreed a text two weeks ago it has yet to be approved by the political leaders, leaving the process at an impasse.
With Zimbabwe in the grip of a cholera epidemic, Western calls for Mr Mugabe to step down are mounting. "It is time for Robert Mugabe to go," said President George W. Bush. "Across the continent, African voices are bravely speaking out to say now is the time for him to step down."
But the African Union said it did not back tougher action against Mr Mugabe.
The recent disappearance of at least 28 people, most of them activists with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has come during a crackdown by President Mugabe and his supporters as they seek to cling to power.
The latest to be seized was Gande Mudzingwa, a member of the inner circle of the party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mr Mudzingwa's car was forced off the road on his way to what was described as a "logistics" meeting about six miles south of the centre of Harare late on Monday. He was taken to a waiting vehicle by nine men.
Senior opposition figures believe the string of disappearances heralds a new move against the MDC by Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, even though a power-sharing agreement was signed in September.
"It's going to get worse," said Welshman Ncube, secretary-general of the smaller Mutambara faction of the MDC. "As long as there is a political stalemate Zanu-PF will move into default mode and use the only weapon it has left which is violence and coercion.
"It is in their nature. Killings, abductions and arrests are how they conduct political struggle."
A judge in Harare demanded on Tuesday that police produce Jestina Mukoko, a violence monitor abducted from her home in Norton, about 20 miles north of Harare in a pre-dawn raid a week ago.
Mrs Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was still in her nightclothes when a group of about 15 men in plain clothes grabbed her from her house and drove her away. Three of her colleagues have since been abducted.
High Court judges had refused to hear the urgent application last week.
Nearly two weeks ago Mr Tsvangirai's director of security, Chris Dlamini, was seized from his home by a group of men, believed to be police out of uniform.
"I have now found Mr Dlamini's family and I am going to court on their behalf to demand his release," said Alec Muchadahama, an MDC lawyer. "We do not know where he, nor any of the other missing people, or if they are still alive."
Six weeks ago a group of 15 MDC activists were taken from their homes 60 miles north of Harare. They have not been heard of since.
The power-sharing government cannot be formed until a constitutional amendment is passed, and although party negotiators agreed a text two weeks ago it has yet to be approved by the political leaders, leaving the process at an impasse.
With Zimbabwe in the grip of a cholera epidemic, Western calls for Mr Mugabe to step down are mounting. "It is time for Robert Mugabe to go," said President George W. Bush. "Across the continent, African voices are bravely speaking out to say now is the time for him to step down."
But the African Union said it did not back tougher action against Mr Mugabe.
Former US President Jimmy Carter takes Mukoko case to UN
Former US President Jimmy Carter has taken the issue of Jestina Mukoko’s abduction by state agents in Zimbabwe to the United Nations. Carter made the disclosure in an interview with VOA journalist Blessing Zulu this week.
Carter who is part of the respected Elders Group condemned the abduction. Only last month a visit by Carter, Former UN Chief Kofi Annan and former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel was blocked by Zimbabwean authorities who claimed ‘the unemployed busy bodies were up to no good.’
Instead the group travelled to neighbouring South Africa where they assessed the situation from across the border speaking to various groups and exiles in the country. They later released a scathing condemnation of the situation in Zimbabwe. The latest abductions have higlighted just how desperate the regime has become.
On Monday two of Mukoko’s work mates were also kidnapped at their offices by six men in unmarked cars. One of the targeted workers managed to escape and has gone into hiding. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Zimbabwe National Students Union, and the National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations confirmed the kidnappings.
Meanwhile NANGO has released a statement on the abductions saying it now worries for her life.
‘It is also day five since the arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention of thirty three Civil Society Activists in Gweru. Hundreds of other prisoners of conscience remain incarcerated in various centers around Zimbabwe. These prisoners are the victims of the State’s implementation of a host of repressive pieces of legislation that threaten not only democracy but the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in Zimbabwe.’
Carter who is part of the respected Elders Group condemned the abduction. Only last month a visit by Carter, Former UN Chief Kofi Annan and former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel was blocked by Zimbabwean authorities who claimed ‘the unemployed busy bodies were up to no good.’
Instead the group travelled to neighbouring South Africa where they assessed the situation from across the border speaking to various groups and exiles in the country. They later released a scathing condemnation of the situation in Zimbabwe. The latest abductions have higlighted just how desperate the regime has become.
On Monday two of Mukoko’s work mates were also kidnapped at their offices by six men in unmarked cars. One of the targeted workers managed to escape and has gone into hiding. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Zimbabwe National Students Union, and the National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations confirmed the kidnappings.
Meanwhile NANGO has released a statement on the abductions saying it now worries for her life.
‘It is also day five since the arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention of thirty three Civil Society Activists in Gweru. Hundreds of other prisoners of conscience remain incarcerated in various centers around Zimbabwe. These prisoners are the victims of the State’s implementation of a host of repressive pieces of legislation that threaten not only democracy but the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in Zimbabwe.’
Sunday, December 7, 2008
MDC calls on region - SADC, AU to act on abductions
ZIMBABWE- HARARE- The MDC calls upon region continent , SADC and the African Union and the international community at large to impress upon Zanu PF to reveal the whereabouts of 16 detained MDC activists including a two-year old baby as well as that of human rights defender, Jestina Mukoko.
It is now 38 days since the predawn arrests of 15 MDC supporters in Banket, but Zanu PF, through the Zimbabwe Republic Police has been defying court orders to release the victims.
Early yesterday, Zanu PF went a step further when suspected in an unmarked vehicle abducted Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, from her Norton home. Mukoko and ZPP are well known for their brave stance of highlighting the brutality and deaths that were brought upon the MDC supporters by Zanu PF militia and state security agents in the run up to the June 27 presidential run-off.
Over 200 MDC supporters were murdered by the regime while thousands had to seek medical attention following brutal attacks by Zanu PF thugs or had their homes and property destroyed.
We call upon the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, President Kgalema Motlanthe and the African Union (AU) chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete, to urgently intervene and make sure that the MDC activists and Mukoko are released before any further harm is done to them.
We fear for the lives of these people. Zanu PF's brutal acts are a violation of the Global Political Agreement which guarantees individual freedoms and human rights. The AU and SADC, as the guarantors of the transitional arrangement, should at least speak out against these sad acts of brutality and thuggery. We respect SADC and the AU as they have always stood by the side of the people of Zimbabwe.
We are certain that they will not let us down in these dark times when Zanu PF has chosen to brutalise and illegally detain innocent people of Zimbabwe. In the case of Zimbabwe, the caretaker government led by president-elect Mr. Robert Mugabe has clearly abrogated the duty and functions to protect the citizens.
Mumbai in India, it is the terrorists that are the centre of abductions and threats of citizens but in Zimbabwe it is the Zanu PF caretaker government that is involved terrorising the citizens. Under the circumstances where the security of the people is threatened the necessary statutes and mechanisms should be triggered to safeguard the people's rights.
It is now 38 days since the predawn arrests of 15 MDC supporters in Banket, but Zanu PF, through the Zimbabwe Republic Police has been defying court orders to release the victims.
Early yesterday, Zanu PF went a step further when suspected in an unmarked vehicle abducted Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, from her Norton home. Mukoko and ZPP are well known for their brave stance of highlighting the brutality and deaths that were brought upon the MDC supporters by Zanu PF militia and state security agents in the run up to the June 27 presidential run-off.
Over 200 MDC supporters were murdered by the regime while thousands had to seek medical attention following brutal attacks by Zanu PF thugs or had their homes and property destroyed.
We call upon the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, President Kgalema Motlanthe and the African Union (AU) chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete, to urgently intervene and make sure that the MDC activists and Mukoko are released before any further harm is done to them.
We fear for the lives of these people. Zanu PF's brutal acts are a violation of the Global Political Agreement which guarantees individual freedoms and human rights. The AU and SADC, as the guarantors of the transitional arrangement, should at least speak out against these sad acts of brutality and thuggery. We respect SADC and the AU as they have always stood by the side of the people of Zimbabwe.
We are certain that they will not let us down in these dark times when Zanu PF has chosen to brutalise and illegally detain innocent people of Zimbabwe. In the case of Zimbabwe, the caretaker government led by president-elect Mr. Robert Mugabe has clearly abrogated the duty and functions to protect the citizens.
Mumbai in India, it is the terrorists that are the centre of abductions and threats of citizens but in Zimbabwe it is the Zanu PF caretaker government that is involved terrorising the citizens. Under the circumstances where the security of the people is threatened the necessary statutes and mechanisms should be triggered to safeguard the people's rights.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Notorious political gangster Elliot Manyika killed in car crash
Notorious political gangster and ZANU PF political commissar Elliot Manyika died in a horrific car accident on Saturday morning while on his way to a meeting in Gwanda.
He was due to preside over elections for a new executive in Matabeleland South province. Manyika’s official Mercedes-Benz vehicle burst a tyre on the Zvishavane-Mbalabala road, resulting in the driver losing control.
The car over-turned and uprooted some trees. He was trapped for a time in the vehicle, together with the driver, before they were both whisked to Bulawayo’s Mater Dei hospital by a doctor who happened to be passing by.
Manyika later died from his injuries, but his driver is expected to make a full recovery. The 53 year old Manyika was currently serving as a Minister without Portfolio having previously served as minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment creation.
As Youth Minister he ran the controversial Border Gezi training camps that churned out violent party militia used to kill, maim and harass opposition activists. Opposition activists will not be mourning his death given he would personally supervise abductions and beatings using his own twin cab 4x4 truck.
At the height of post election violence this year he was reported to have shot and killed a policeman in Bindura but the matter was quietly dealt with. During demonstrations by human rights group ROHR Zimbabwe last month Manyika drove to Mbare and Machipisa to personally collect thugs to beat up the protesters.
Coincidentally Manyika’s predecessor as ZANU PF national political commissar Border Gezi also died in a car accident while traveling to a party restructuring meeting in Masvingo province. Gezi had an equally atrocious human rights record. After Gezi died Manyika is said to have got the late Minister’s wife pregnant, an issue that did not go down well with party leader Mugabe.
Manyika was born on July 30 1955 at Rosa Clinic in Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central. He served as Zimbabwe’s High Commissioner to Malawi before returning home in 2000 to become Mashonaland Central Governor and Resident Minister.
He was due to preside over elections for a new executive in Matabeleland South province. Manyika’s official Mercedes-Benz vehicle burst a tyre on the Zvishavane-Mbalabala road, resulting in the driver losing control.
The car over-turned and uprooted some trees. He was trapped for a time in the vehicle, together with the driver, before they were both whisked to Bulawayo’s Mater Dei hospital by a doctor who happened to be passing by.
Manyika later died from his injuries, but his driver is expected to make a full recovery. The 53 year old Manyika was currently serving as a Minister without Portfolio having previously served as minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment creation.
As Youth Minister he ran the controversial Border Gezi training camps that churned out violent party militia used to kill, maim and harass opposition activists. Opposition activists will not be mourning his death given he would personally supervise abductions and beatings using his own twin cab 4x4 truck.
At the height of post election violence this year he was reported to have shot and killed a policeman in Bindura but the matter was quietly dealt with. During demonstrations by human rights group ROHR Zimbabwe last month Manyika drove to Mbare and Machipisa to personally collect thugs to beat up the protesters.
Coincidentally Manyika’s predecessor as ZANU PF national political commissar Border Gezi also died in a car accident while traveling to a party restructuring meeting in Masvingo province. Gezi had an equally atrocious human rights record. After Gezi died Manyika is said to have got the late Minister’s wife pregnant, an issue that did not go down well with party leader Mugabe.
Manyika was born on July 30 1955 at Rosa Clinic in Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central. He served as Zimbabwe’s High Commissioner to Malawi before returning home in 2000 to become Mashonaland Central Governor and Resident Minister.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Mass desertions in Zimbabwe army following killing of soldiers after riots
High level investigation in the Zimbabwe National Army are underway in Harare after Mondays shock rampaging by hundreds of soldiers through the streets and looting.
It was an unprecedented show of anger which has left Robert Mugabe's government shaken. However, Mugabe's loyal generals have swiftly instituted investigations and owed to take strong measures against junior soldiers.
Dressed in battle fatigues, they assaulted foreign-currency dealers and made off with their money. The unarmed soldiers also fought with heavily-armed police and several were arrested.
It was the third outbreak of such violence since last Thursday. The sight of rampaging soldiers was then unprecedented.
Army sources said an inquiry had already begun, with dozens facing court martial.
Unconfirmed reports say three of the 12 soldiers who took part in Thursday's riot have been killed. As a result hundreds of fearful junior soldiers had stopped reporting for duty. Mass desertions are likely to follow.
"Many of them will be kept away from the armouries because of suspicions of disloyalty. They simply won't have the means to stage a full-scale coup or embark on any sustainable revolt," said a middle-ranking army officer who did not want to be named.
Soldiers' salaries which are now the equivalent of five US cents per month and barely enough to cover a day's bus fare, could not be drawn from the banks because of a cash shortage.
The food rations they used to get to supplement meagre salaries have been stopped because imports have dried up because of the lack of funds. Instead, soldiers are being asked to bring food from home.
Alarmed by the rampage and looting the government has warned that stern action would be taken on soldiers while at the same time confirming that they had looted in the city.
The minister of defence, Sidney Sekeramayi, also claimed that the situation was under control.
"During the last five days, Harare experienced disturbances perpetrated by unruly elements from the Defence Forces ... As a result, properties were damaged, innocent people were injured, money and property was stolen," he told a press conference.
"These actions are unacceptable, deplorable, reprehensible and criminal. The ministry of defence expresses sincere regret that this has happened and would like to assure Harare residents and the nation that the situation is
under control."
It was an unprecedented show of anger which has left Robert Mugabe's government shaken. However, Mugabe's loyal generals have swiftly instituted investigations and owed to take strong measures against junior soldiers.
Dressed in battle fatigues, they assaulted foreign-currency dealers and made off with their money. The unarmed soldiers also fought with heavily-armed police and several were arrested.
It was the third outbreak of such violence since last Thursday. The sight of rampaging soldiers was then unprecedented.
Army sources said an inquiry had already begun, with dozens facing court martial.
Unconfirmed reports say three of the 12 soldiers who took part in Thursday's riot have been killed. As a result hundreds of fearful junior soldiers had stopped reporting for duty. Mass desertions are likely to follow.
"Many of them will be kept away from the armouries because of suspicions of disloyalty. They simply won't have the means to stage a full-scale coup or embark on any sustainable revolt," said a middle-ranking army officer who did not want to be named.
Soldiers' salaries which are now the equivalent of five US cents per month and barely enough to cover a day's bus fare, could not be drawn from the banks because of a cash shortage.
The food rations they used to get to supplement meagre salaries have been stopped because imports have dried up because of the lack of funds. Instead, soldiers are being asked to bring food from home.
Alarmed by the rampage and looting the government has warned that stern action would be taken on soldiers while at the same time confirming that they had looted in the city.
The minister of defence, Sidney Sekeramayi, also claimed that the situation was under control.
"During the last five days, Harare experienced disturbances perpetrated by unruly elements from the Defence Forces ... As a result, properties were damaged, innocent people were injured, money and property was stolen," he told a press conference.
"These actions are unacceptable, deplorable, reprehensible and criminal. The ministry of defence expresses sincere regret that this has happened and would like to assure Harare residents and the nation that the situation is
under control."
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
US & Amnesty International call for release of abducted activist
HARARE – The United States and Amnesty International on Wednesday called for the immediate release of prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist Jestina Mukoko who was abducted from her home earlier in the day by unidentified men thought to be state secret agents.
US ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee called on the in Harare administration, its police force or whoever was responsible for Mukoko’s abduction to release her “now” but did not say what action, if any, Washington would take if the human rights activist was not freed.
In a statement issued from London, Amnesty International put the blame for Mukuko’s disappearance squarely on President Robert Mugabe’s government, describing the abduction as “part of a well established pattern of harassment of human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities”.
Mukoko, a former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation staffer and now head of human rights organisation Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), was abducted in the early morning hours on Wednesday from her home in Norton town, 50km west of Harare.
“We all know that Jestina Mukoko was supposed to be the master of ceremony but was abducted at 5am this morning,” said McGee, who was speaking at the Auxillia Chimusoro award a ceremony held to honour individuals and organisations involved in combating HIV/AIDS.
Mukoko had been scheduled to officiate at the USAID-backed awards ceremony before her abduction by a group of 15 armed men who were wore plain clothes and who the human rights community in Harare suspect to be agents of the state’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation.
McGee said: “I call upon whoever has abducted Mukoko, whether it is the government, the police or anyone to release her. We want Mukoko released now.”
Amnesty said the men who abducted Mukoko had identified themselves as members of the police.
The men, who were driving in two cars one of which had no registration plates, forced Mukoko – while still barefoot and dressed in her pyjamas – into one of the cars and immediately drove off without saying where they were taking her, Amnesty said quoting eyewitness.
"The abduction or arrest of Jestina Mukoko is part of an established pattern of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities in an attempt to discourage them from documenting and publicising the violations that are taking place," said Amnesty’s Africa programme director Erwin van der Borght.
According to Amnesty, a group of about six men it said were believed to be part of the gang that kidnapped Mukoko on Wednesday had attempted to enter her house at the weekend by falsely claiming to be her workmates. They were apparently denied entry.
Mukoko had not been seen or heard from by close of business yesterday, while police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available to shed light on whether police had made any progress tracking down her kidnappers.
Van der Borght said: "We hold the Zimbabwean authorities responsible for anything that may happen to Jestina Mukoko. She should be released immediately and while in detention the authorities should guarantee her safety and ensure that she has access to a lawyer and family, as well as food, warm clothes and medication."
Mukoko’s ZPP has played a crucial role in monitoring and documenting politically motivated violence before and in the run-up to the March 2008 elections and in the run-up to the June presidential run-off election.
The ZPP, which produces periodic reports on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, has built an authoritative archive of rights violations compiled through a network of community based human rights defenders.
Political analysts and human rights groups say Mugabe’s government has increasingly resorted to repression and terror tactics to keep public discontent in check in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis, marked by the world’s highest inflation of 231 million percent, and shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel.
Mugabe’s government routinely targets supporters of the opposition MDC party for abuse but has in recent months stepped up repression against human rights defenders and other representatives of civil society in Zimbabwe to try to intimidate them from recording or publicising cases of rights violations.
And as reports of Mukoko’s abduction surfaced on Wednesday, armed police were rounding up scores of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union leaders, representatives of doctors and nurses for calling anti-government protests in Harare.
The arrested activists were still in police custody by close of business Wednesday, with the exception of ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe who was released to allow him to attend a meeting with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono tomorrow.
US ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee called on the in Harare administration, its police force or whoever was responsible for Mukoko’s abduction to release her “now” but did not say what action, if any, Washington would take if the human rights activist was not freed.
In a statement issued from London, Amnesty International put the blame for Mukuko’s disappearance squarely on President Robert Mugabe’s government, describing the abduction as “part of a well established pattern of harassment of human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities”.
Mukoko, a former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation staffer and now head of human rights organisation Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), was abducted in the early morning hours on Wednesday from her home in Norton town, 50km west of Harare.
“We all know that Jestina Mukoko was supposed to be the master of ceremony but was abducted at 5am this morning,” said McGee, who was speaking at the Auxillia Chimusoro award a ceremony held to honour individuals and organisations involved in combating HIV/AIDS.
Mukoko had been scheduled to officiate at the USAID-backed awards ceremony before her abduction by a group of 15 armed men who were wore plain clothes and who the human rights community in Harare suspect to be agents of the state’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation.
McGee said: “I call upon whoever has abducted Mukoko, whether it is the government, the police or anyone to release her. We want Mukoko released now.”
Amnesty said the men who abducted Mukoko had identified themselves as members of the police.
The men, who were driving in two cars one of which had no registration plates, forced Mukoko – while still barefoot and dressed in her pyjamas – into one of the cars and immediately drove off without saying where they were taking her, Amnesty said quoting eyewitness.
"The abduction or arrest of Jestina Mukoko is part of an established pattern of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders by Zimbabwean authorities in an attempt to discourage them from documenting and publicising the violations that are taking place," said Amnesty’s Africa programme director Erwin van der Borght.
According to Amnesty, a group of about six men it said were believed to be part of the gang that kidnapped Mukoko on Wednesday had attempted to enter her house at the weekend by falsely claiming to be her workmates. They were apparently denied entry.
Mukoko had not been seen or heard from by close of business yesterday, while police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available to shed light on whether police had made any progress tracking down her kidnappers.
Van der Borght said: "We hold the Zimbabwean authorities responsible for anything that may happen to Jestina Mukoko. She should be released immediately and while in detention the authorities should guarantee her safety and ensure that she has access to a lawyer and family, as well as food, warm clothes and medication."
Mukoko’s ZPP has played a crucial role in monitoring and documenting politically motivated violence before and in the run-up to the March 2008 elections and in the run-up to the June presidential run-off election.
The ZPP, which produces periodic reports on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, has built an authoritative archive of rights violations compiled through a network of community based human rights defenders.
Political analysts and human rights groups say Mugabe’s government has increasingly resorted to repression and terror tactics to keep public discontent in check in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis, marked by the world’s highest inflation of 231 million percent, and shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel.
Mugabe’s government routinely targets supporters of the opposition MDC party for abuse but has in recent months stepped up repression against human rights defenders and other representatives of civil society in Zimbabwe to try to intimidate them from recording or publicising cases of rights violations.
And as reports of Mukoko’s abduction surfaced on Wednesday, armed police were rounding up scores of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union leaders, representatives of doctors and nurses for calling anti-government protests in Harare.
The arrested activists were still in police custody by close of business Wednesday, with the exception of ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe who was released to allow him to attend a meeting with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono tomorrow.
Military warn ZCTU over protests
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
HARARE - Zimbabwe's security forces vowed Tuesday night to crush against
demonstrations planned for Wednesday against the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for peaceful
protests against debilitating limits on bank withdrawals.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces, which include the army, air force and the
police, gave warning that the military would not be an idle observer during
the mass action planned by the ZCTU and other key civil society
organisations.
Former Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, in a rare appearance on state
television during the main 8 pm news bulletin Tuesday, apologised to viewers
for the actions of "unruly elements in the army" who ran amok in the city
centre assaulting foreign currency dealers.
He, however, warned that security forces would bring to bear its full force
upon those perpetrators of uncalled for violence.
The ZCTU maintains the protest will be peaceful.
Fearing an imminent revolt over the withdrawal limits, central bank governor
Gideon Gono hastily raised the limit to Z$100 million a week for individuals
last weekend.
But the ZCTU has refused to call off the strike action saying the withdrawal
limit review from Z$500 000 and Z$1 million daily to Z$100 million and Z$50
million per week, respectively, was not good enough.
Gono sought to blame sanctions for the cash shortages, accusing Germany of
abruptly terminating its 50-year contract with Zimbabwe to supply currency
paper.
"The RBZ is, therefore, doing all it can under the inescapable realities on
the ground to ensure that both companies and individuals continue to get
reasonable cash supplies for their daily transactional needs," Gono said.
But ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibhebhe said last night that no
amount of threatening would derail the planned protest.
The planned demonstrations are deemed illegal under the terms of Zimbabwe's
security laws as the labour unions have not sought police permission.
Chibhebhe said one did not need police clearance to visit the bank to
withdraw cash.
By committing the army to the streets and threatening a showdown with the
ZCTU, Sekeramayi raised the stakes a day after tensions boiled over after
dozens of troops from Cranborne Barracks and in full camouflage dress,
staged mass action, seizing cash from money changers, whom they accused of
consorting with the central bank to vandalise the economy.
A soldier told The Zimbabwe Times that they seized the cash because it was
given to street foreign currency dealers by the central bank to source
foreign currency from the black market, starving banks of cash that would
have been paid out to depositors.
The rampaging troops were joined by hundreds of civilians at the corner of
Robert Mugabe and Fourth Streets, in the heart of the capital, chanting
slogans denouncing Gono and calling for his head.
"Harare experienced disturbances perpetrated by a few unruly elements from
the defence forces," Sekeramayi said on national television. "Those actions
are unacceptable, deplorable and reprehensible. The Ministry of Defence
expresses sincere regret that this has happened and would like to assure
Harare residents that this will not happen again."
Sekeramayi said those behind the incident were being investigated and those
found guilty would be brought to book.
He slammed the call for protest action by the ZCTU "and some other
anti-government civic organisations".
Several pressure groups and civil society organisations have stated that
they will join the mass protest Wednesday and called on Zimbabweans to "rise
up in your millions and take part in the nationwide peaceful protest ".
Zimbabwe's umbrella labour body reiterated calls last night on all workers
and ordinary citizens across Zimbabwe to join the anti-central bank
protests, despite threats of suppression.
ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo said countrywide consultations have revealed
a renewed preparedness among workers and ordinary citizens to confront
President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian capitalist regime.
The 250 000-member ZCTU said the review of the withdrawal limit was a plot
to cheat Zimbabweans and demanded that caps on withdrawals be removed
completely.
The protest comes hardly a week after Mugabe renewed Gono's term of office
for another five years, a move that has sparked widespread outrage given his
apparent policy failures and interventions.
Matombo said workers and ordinary citizens would go to their respective
banks on Wednesday and demand to withdraw any amount they want. The workers
and ordinary citizens would picket the banks and would not leave until the
withdrawal limits are removed.
Matombo said the labour leaders would also lead a procession to the central
bank along Samora Machel Avenue to present a petition to Gono.
A splinter labour union sponsored by Zanu-PF to undermine the ZCTU has
immediately sprung to action and urged workers to ignore the call by the
ZCTU to participate in the mass protest.
"We encourage all workers not to participate in the illegal and unnecessary
venture planned by the ZCTU," a statement from the Zimbabwe Federation of
Trade Union (ZFTU) said. The ZFTU is aligned to the Zimbabwe National War
Veterans' Association.
Matombo, however, said workers had indicated that they were ready to brave
repression to gather at all major banks across Zimbabwe demanding their
money.
The labour leader said the protest would be the largest and most peaceful
demonstration to date.
Analysts said that if the overall turnout for the protests was huge, the
demonstrations might create a turning point.
"It seems that the spirit of resistance is clearly on the rise and this
episode is going to be very important in the unfolding struggle," said
labour activist Munyaradzi Mushonga.
"A key aspect of this is going to be the area of leadership, in particular,
whether the rank and file of key unions and ordinary Zimbabweans will be
able to break through the suffocating disorganisation and passivity of the
union bureaucracies. If this occurs, then we could be in for very exciting
times."
The call for Wednesday's mass action comes amid rising political tension and
deepening hardships across the country.
Zimbabwe's economic meltdown is gathering pace, and yesterday there were
almost no banknotes in circulation while water shortages are intensifying
because of the lack of foreign currency to buy chemicals to purify water.
Major employers, including government institutions, were buying cash on the
black market to pay employees. Fuel was unavailable at garages around the
capital and only small amounts were on offer on the black market.
HARARE - Zimbabwe's security forces vowed Tuesday night to crush against
demonstrations planned for Wednesday against the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for peaceful
protests against debilitating limits on bank withdrawals.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces, which include the army, air force and the
police, gave warning that the military would not be an idle observer during
the mass action planned by the ZCTU and other key civil society
organisations.
Former Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, in a rare appearance on state
television during the main 8 pm news bulletin Tuesday, apologised to viewers
for the actions of "unruly elements in the army" who ran amok in the city
centre assaulting foreign currency dealers.
He, however, warned that security forces would bring to bear its full force
upon those perpetrators of uncalled for violence.
The ZCTU maintains the protest will be peaceful.
Fearing an imminent revolt over the withdrawal limits, central bank governor
Gideon Gono hastily raised the limit to Z$100 million a week for individuals
last weekend.
But the ZCTU has refused to call off the strike action saying the withdrawal
limit review from Z$500 000 and Z$1 million daily to Z$100 million and Z$50
million per week, respectively, was not good enough.
Gono sought to blame sanctions for the cash shortages, accusing Germany of
abruptly terminating its 50-year contract with Zimbabwe to supply currency
paper.
"The RBZ is, therefore, doing all it can under the inescapable realities on
the ground to ensure that both companies and individuals continue to get
reasonable cash supplies for their daily transactional needs," Gono said.
But ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibhebhe said last night that no
amount of threatening would derail the planned protest.
The planned demonstrations are deemed illegal under the terms of Zimbabwe's
security laws as the labour unions have not sought police permission.
Chibhebhe said one did not need police clearance to visit the bank to
withdraw cash.
By committing the army to the streets and threatening a showdown with the
ZCTU, Sekeramayi raised the stakes a day after tensions boiled over after
dozens of troops from Cranborne Barracks and in full camouflage dress,
staged mass action, seizing cash from money changers, whom they accused of
consorting with the central bank to vandalise the economy.
A soldier told The Zimbabwe Times that they seized the cash because it was
given to street foreign currency dealers by the central bank to source
foreign currency from the black market, starving banks of cash that would
have been paid out to depositors.
The rampaging troops were joined by hundreds of civilians at the corner of
Robert Mugabe and Fourth Streets, in the heart of the capital, chanting
slogans denouncing Gono and calling for his head.
"Harare experienced disturbances perpetrated by a few unruly elements from
the defence forces," Sekeramayi said on national television. "Those actions
are unacceptable, deplorable and reprehensible. The Ministry of Defence
expresses sincere regret that this has happened and would like to assure
Harare residents that this will not happen again."
Sekeramayi said those behind the incident were being investigated and those
found guilty would be brought to book.
He slammed the call for protest action by the ZCTU "and some other
anti-government civic organisations".
Several pressure groups and civil society organisations have stated that
they will join the mass protest Wednesday and called on Zimbabweans to "rise
up in your millions and take part in the nationwide peaceful protest ".
Zimbabwe's umbrella labour body reiterated calls last night on all workers
and ordinary citizens across Zimbabwe to join the anti-central bank
protests, despite threats of suppression.
ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo said countrywide consultations have revealed
a renewed preparedness among workers and ordinary citizens to confront
President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian capitalist regime.
The 250 000-member ZCTU said the review of the withdrawal limit was a plot
to cheat Zimbabweans and demanded that caps on withdrawals be removed
completely.
The protest comes hardly a week after Mugabe renewed Gono's term of office
for another five years, a move that has sparked widespread outrage given his
apparent policy failures and interventions.
Matombo said workers and ordinary citizens would go to their respective
banks on Wednesday and demand to withdraw any amount they want. The workers
and ordinary citizens would picket the banks and would not leave until the
withdrawal limits are removed.
Matombo said the labour leaders would also lead a procession to the central
bank along Samora Machel Avenue to present a petition to Gono.
A splinter labour union sponsored by Zanu-PF to undermine the ZCTU has
immediately sprung to action and urged workers to ignore the call by the
ZCTU to participate in the mass protest.
"We encourage all workers not to participate in the illegal and unnecessary
venture planned by the ZCTU," a statement from the Zimbabwe Federation of
Trade Union (ZFTU) said. The ZFTU is aligned to the Zimbabwe National War
Veterans' Association.
Matombo, however, said workers had indicated that they were ready to brave
repression to gather at all major banks across Zimbabwe demanding their
money.
The labour leader said the protest would be the largest and most peaceful
demonstration to date.
Analysts said that if the overall turnout for the protests was huge, the
demonstrations might create a turning point.
"It seems that the spirit of resistance is clearly on the rise and this
episode is going to be very important in the unfolding struggle," said
labour activist Munyaradzi Mushonga.
"A key aspect of this is going to be the area of leadership, in particular,
whether the rank and file of key unions and ordinary Zimbabweans will be
able to break through the suffocating disorganisation and passivity of the
union bureaucracies. If this occurs, then we could be in for very exciting
times."
The call for Wednesday's mass action comes amid rising political tension and
deepening hardships across the country.
Zimbabwe's economic meltdown is gathering pace, and yesterday there were
almost no banknotes in circulation while water shortages are intensifying
because of the lack of foreign currency to buy chemicals to purify water.
Major employers, including government institutions, were buying cash on the
black market to pay employees. Fuel was unavailable at garages around the
capital and only small amounts were on offer on the black market.
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