China MP calls for Bona Mugabe's deportation

China MP calls for Bona Mugabe's deportation
http://www.zimbabwemetro.com

Local News
January 26, 2009 | By Metro Staff Writer
Emily Lau, a Chinese Member of Parliament , on Sunday called for the
deportaion of Robert Mugabe's daughter Bona Mugabe at the University of Hong
Kong, and said her father's regime is "obnoxious".

Bona Mugabe, 20, enrolled under an alias at the University of Hong Kong in
the autumn.

Australia last year deported eight students whose parents were senior
members of the Mugabe regime, saying it wanted to prevent those involved in
human rights abuses giving their children education denied to ordinary
Zimbabweans. The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions
on Mugabe's ruling clique, including asset freezes and travel bans.

Asked about Miss Mugabe's admission, a University of Hong Kong spokesman
said: "We believe that education should be above politics and young people
should not be denied the right to education because of their family
background or what their parents have done."

A university official, who asked not to be named, said most students were
unaware of the presence of Miss Mugabe, who has gone to Zimbabwe for the
Chinese New Year holiday.

When she returns to Hong Kong, the university would "keep a watchful eye
more from a student life perspective", the official said. However, the
source added: "We are aware of the impact and significance of this. After
all, he is a dictator, no one will deny this - but education, frankly, is
above politics."

Law Yuk Kai, director of Human Rights Monitor in Hong Kong, said: "A child
who has not done anything wrong should not be asked to take the burden of
the wrongs of their parents - and in accordance with international human
rights, the interests of the child should be our first principle."

But he added: "If the money she is spending was siphoned off the ordinary
people, there is a problem. Just like other members of the international
community, Hong Kong should do its part in imposing sanctions."

AU Challenged Over Zim Rights Abuses

AU Challenged Over Zim Rights Abuses

HUMAN rights campaigners have challenged the African Union to denounce
the persecution of government critics in Zimbabwe when leaders converge for
the annual summit in Addis Ababa next week.

They said the AU's silence and lack of vision on the crisis in
Zimbabwe, particularly the current crackdown on dissenting voices, was
"baffling".

African leaders meet in the Ethiopian capital from January 26 to
February 3 for the organisation's 12th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of
Heads of State and Government, 17th Ordinary Session of the Permanent
Representatives Committee (PRC), and the 14th Ordinary Session of the
Executive Council (EC).

But there's growing scepticism that not much could come out of the
meeting regarding the crisis in Zimbabwe, as the AU has in the past
"squandered numerous opportunities" to resolve it.

Amnesty International said the AU should publicly denounce the
persecution of government critics by state security agents, and deploy human
rights monitors to investigate all allegations of human rights abuses.

The group's deputy Africa programme director, Veronique Aubert, said:
"The AU needs to make a strong statement that this is unacceptable to
African leadership".

"African leaders have squandered numerous opportunities to end the
persecution of government critics in Zimbabwe," said Aubert.

"They (African leaders) continue to be deaf to cries for help and
have chosen to be unmoved by ongoing evidence of human suffering in the
country.

"The silence of African leaders and their failure to condemn the
government's blatant disregard for human rights has significantly
contributed to the prolonging of the Zimbabwean human rights crisis."

Among other things, Aubert said, the AU - which alongside the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) guaranteed a power-sharing
agreement between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations on September 15 2008 -
should deploy human rights monitors to Zimbabwe.

Aubert said Zimbabwean authorities were "clearly committing grave
human rights violations in an attempt to silence critics and political
opponents".

"The AU should immediately call for an end to human rights violations
by the security forces and decide to deploy human rights monitors," Aubert
said.

Human rights researcher Simeon Mawanza said the Summit "presents a
crucial opportunity for African leaders to speak out and show solidarity
with the people of Zimbabwe, rather than just with the leaders".

Activists are expected to converge in Addis Ababa, where they will
picket in an attempt to pressure Africa to express outrage at the torture of
human rights defenders.

BY VUSUMUZI SIFILE

Activist tells court of beatings in custody

Detained Zimbabwean rights activist Jestina Mukoko testified
in court on Thursday for the first time since authorities seized her six
weeks ago, sobbing as she detailed the abuses she suffered in custody.

Mukoko was taken from her home on December 3 by a dozen armed men who
claimed to be police, according to fellow activists.

She was not seen again for three weeks, when she first appeared in
court on charges of recruiting people for military training to topple
President Robert Mugabe's government.

She testified in a magistrate court to ask a judge to allow her to
appeal to the Constitutional Court, where her lawyers will seek to have the
charges dropped.

In her emotional testimony, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project
(ZPP) denied any knowledge of a plot against Mugabe and said she was not
involved with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

"I work for a non-profit organisation, and I am not involved in any
political activity.

"I repeatedly told the interrogators that I'm not a member of the MDC.
I'm a human rights activist, currently employed by ZPP. The objectives of
ZPP do not talk about toppling the government.

"On the day I was taken from my home, everyone was there - my
mother-in-law, my brother, other family members. I felt they must have
thought I was dead," she said, breaking into tears.

While under interrogation, she said security agents had beaten her on
the soles of her feet because she could not remember the name of a police
officer who once visited her office.

"I was assaulted under my feet because I had forgotten his name," she
said.

"The experience was frightening. I would not wish it upon anyone."

Prosecutors argued that the abuse was not committed by police, but by
state security agents who took her from her home.

They said she was only taken into police custody on December 22, and
that she could not base her appeal on abuses committed in the secret
detention facility where the agents kept her for nearly three weeks.

She is among 32 activists abducted under similar circumstances in
separate incidents since October, according to Human Rights Watch.

The MDC says 11 more of its members are missing, while two top party
officials appeared in court Wednesday on charges of trying to assassinate
the head of the air force.

Brutality at its crest

Two year old Nigel Mutemagau (previously identified as Nigel Mupfuranhehwe, but that is his mother's maiden name) is being kept in solitary confinement in Zimbabwe’s most notorious prison, the Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Nigel was abducted together with his mother and father nearly three months ago by the CIO.

In her affidavit Nigel's mother, revealed that the abductors did not have mercy for babies.

“I was given some rules with regard to the child. I was told that the child was only going to be allowed to go to the toilet. He was not allowed to cry for food as his father was not buying the food. At times when my child cried from hunger, one of the officers would beat him up using a fan belt.”

"They roped a brick to my testicles"

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — An opposition activist abducted by Zimbabwean security forces last month recalled Tuesday spending long nights listening to the screams of other detainees being tortured.

"During the night, I heard some people being tortured," Bothwell Pasipamire told AFP in an interview. "They were crying in pain."

The 30-year-old private security guard said he managed to escape President Robert Mugabe's forces and flee to South Africa, but only after he was forced to make a false confession that he had undergone military training in Botswana in a bid to topple the government.

In March 2008, the father of two was elected a local councillor in the town of Kadoma, 140 kilometres (85 miles) southwest of Harare, on the ticket of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

In those polls, his party wrested control of parliament away from Mugabe for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980, inspiring confidence in Pasipamire. "I was getting to the council with confidence," he said. "I wanted to make sure everything in the council was in order."

As a member of MDC since its creation in 1999, Pasipamire said he was used to insults and threats from Mugabe's supporters. But things turned for the worse after Mugabe's defeat. In June, before a presidential runoff boycotted by MDC amid spiralling political violence, he was arrested and charged with public violence.

"In police custody, I was beaten by the police. I was assaulted. But in June it was better than in December," he said. On the night of December 13, he was awoken by a loud noise at his door. "Two men confronted me, one put a gun to my neck," he said.

They forced him into a pick-up and took him to an old farm where he was soon subjected to a violent interrogation by soldiers. "They accused me of being trained in Botswana in guerrilla tactics in order to topple Mugabe's government," he said. "They ordered me to say 'Yes I do this, yes I did that'."

"Since I was under torture, there was nothing I could do. As soon as I said No, they assaulted me. "In the room, there was a small brick. They roped the brick to my testicles and ordered me to lift it," he said. During the night, his guards woke him with water hoses. Later he said he heard the screams of people being tortured and beaten.

"I cannot properly tell you how terrible it is to be cold, wet, unable to sleep and surrounded by the sounds of men crying in pain. This was the worst torture of all, and it will be with me all my life," he said. Pasipamire thought he had been abducted because he was active on the local council, but the next morning he learned the truth.

Set before a camera, about 30 men were forced to pretend to beat a soldier. Then he had to stage a fake interview admitting to undergoing training in a Western-financed camp. After three days, he was told that he was going to be transferred.

"I was convinced that these people would kill me, before they put my interview on TV, otherwise I was sure to tell someone that it was a lie," he said. Once on the road, his convoy stopped in Harare, where government information agents told him to run.

"Some told me, 'it is a chance for you to escape. If you fail to escape, they will kill you'," he said, declining to give details for fear of compromising his saviours. "I am confident that change is going to prevail in Zimbabwe," he told AFP. "Now, people are facing economic hardships so the situation is going to force Mugabe to step down."

But he said he would not return home yet, for fear Mugabe would have him killed to keep him quiet. Police in Zimbabwe told AFP that they had no knowledge of Pasipamire's case.

The MDC says that about 40 of its supporters, including Bothwell Pasipamire, have been abducted since late October. The government finally admitted in December to holding 30 of them, but 11 are still missing, the party says.

Abducted MDC supporters still missing

By Moses Muchemwa

The 11 MDC supporters who were abducted by state security agents are still missing despite frantic efforts to locate them.

The party said efforts by relatives and lawyers could not yield positive results as the whereabouts of the abducted activists remain unknown.

The missing opposition members were abducted in December last year by gunmen.

According to the MDC’s information and publicity office, the 11 were part of over 40 MDC activists including a two year old child who were abducted by armed gunmen across the country since 29 October 2008.

”The other activists have since been brought to court on trumped up charges of training in banditry and bombing state buildings. Those brought to court have since told the courts that they were severely tortured while in illegal custody in order for them to confess to these false allegations. Other three employees of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) including its director, Jestina Mukoko and a freelance journalist are facing similar charges and are in remand prison, said the MDC.

The MDC named the missing members: Llyod Tarumbwa, Terry Musona, Fanwell Tembo, Larry Gaka and Gwenzi Kahiya.

The others are; Charles Muza, Ephraim Mabeka and Edmore Vangirayi who were abducted on 10 December 2008 in Gokwe, Midlands province, while Graham Matehwa was abducted on 17 December 2008 in Makoni South, Manicaland province and Peter Munyanyi in Gutu South in Masvingo province on 13 December 2008.

The MDC expressed deep concern over abductions of its members. The party has since sought the support of the SADC, AU and the United Nations to have the incarcerated members released.

The country’s main opposition warned that the abductions of its members and civic society activists, threatened the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the three major political parties on 15 September 2008.

Security forces on high alert amid fears of an MDC coup

Zimbabwe placed its security forces on high alert, increasing the number of roadblocks and patrols in cities across the country, to prevent the opposition Movement for Democratic Change from staging a coup, the government said.

The military and police are searching for weapons and “suspicious” people who may be preparing for war, deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said today in a telephone interview from Harare, the capital.

“The opposition is recruiting youths to use as bandits to destabilize our country and topple the government,” he said.

Zimbabwe has been in political deadlock since September, when President Robert Mugabe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, head of an MDC splinter group, agreed to share power. The enactment of the accord stalled amid disagreement over who would control key ministries. The MDC won control of Zimbabwe’s parliament in March elections, while Mugabe extended his 28-year rule of the country in a June vote when Tsvangirai withdrew, citing intimidation of his supporters.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa dismissed the government’s allegation that his party is trying to destabilize the country.

“The fact that they’ve suddenly increased their presence in a show of might means they believe their own absurd propaganda about bandits,” he said by phone from Harare. “There are no bandits. Why would the MDC, which contols parliament and thus government, want to destabilize itself?

Harare was today “inundated” with armed riot police, residents said.

Unity Square

“There are hundreds of police gathered around Africa Unity Square and patrolling the streets today,” Ephraim Jakaya, a street vendor, said by phone from the city. Africa Unity Square, in the center of Harare, has been used as a starting point for protests in the capital.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the deployment of additional police officers and riot police.

“All our departments are on high alert as there are elements within the Movement for Democratic Change who are bent on destabilizing the country,” Bvudzijena said. “We will come down very heavily on anyone found carrying weapons.”

At least 17 MDC officials and human rights activists have been charged with offenses ranging from terrorism to recruiting insurgents for military training since Dec. 24. They form a group of as many as 42 people the MDC says have been kidnapped by state agents as Mugabe cracks down on dissent in Zimbabwe.

Abducted MDC councillor sexually abused by army officer

By Violet Gonda

Bothwell Pasipamire, the elected MDC councillor from Kadoma who was abducted from his home at gunpoint on December 13th, has revealed shocking details of the torture he was put through at the hands of state agents before managing to escape. He was abducted a week after civic leader Jestina Mukoko was kidnapped from her home in Norton. Several other civic and political activists, plus a two year old baby, were abducted in the last few months of 2008.

Pasipamire becomes the first victim of the current abductions to escape and openly expose the nature of the brutal crackdown.

The councillor was smuggled to South Africa and held a press conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday where he gave a detailed statement about his ordeal, which included sexual abuse by an army warrant officer who introduced himself as Mabhunu.

The MDC councillor was taken to a torture base at a farm near Goromonzi in Mashonaland East province, where some of the other activists who were missing were facing the same ordeal.

Bothwell Pasipamire

Over 40 political detainees are facing charges of recruiting “bandits” to overthrow the government. However all the victims deny the allegations. They say they were all tortured into making guilty statements.

At least 11 are still missing.

Bothwell Pasipamire said he miraculously escaped with the help of ‘insiders’. Narrating his ordeal he said members of the Central Intelligence Organisation had compiled a dossier of information, including photographs of him taken at the Council Chambers in Kadoma. He was accused of being too vocal in Chambers and was “a problem to ZANU-PF in the district”.

Pasipamire gave a harrowing account of the nature of the torture, including sexual abuse by army officer Mabhunu

In a written testimony Pasipamire said: “There was a steel table in the room with a hole in the middle. I was told to take off my shoes and slip headfirst into the hole. My hands were cuffed behind me and Mabhunu started beating the soles of my feet.”

He was bombarded with questions about alleged attacks on trains and the interrogators wanted to know the ‘MDC’ people responsible. When he couldn’t respond he was told to strip and remove all his clothes, including his underpants.

“I was then told to lie on the table and he (Mabhunu) began playing with my private parts. It seemed he was trying to embarrass me in front of the other two who were still in the room. He would fondle me like a lover, and then suddenly squeeze my testicles so that I cried out in pain. There followed some humiliating abuse, which I do not wish to talk about except to a doctor.”

The Kadoma councillor told SW Radio Africa other abducted activists were forced to ‘play-act’ the beating of soldiers in front of a film crew, suspected to be from the ZBC, to corroborate the fact that they were killing soldiers.

It is believed the soldiers were those arrested after taking part in cash riots in Harare in December. “A young soldier in camouflage uniform was brought to stand in front of us. I remember thinking that he looked more scared that I was and I think he had been abused or threatened, though there were no marks on his face. We were made to pretend we were beating and kicking him and he rolled on the ground crying. The film crew covered it all.”

Pasipamire was given a scripted question & answer interview in which he had to admit that he was trained in Botswana and had re-entered Zimbabwe with other guerrillas to kill soldiers. This ‘interview’ was recorded.

He alleges that the abducted activists were also made to say they were funded by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who got the money from Andrew Pocock the UK Ambassador and James McGee the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe. He said he was told to say on camera that the money was paid by the US and the UK through President Ian Khama of Botswana.

The MDC official said he was locked up in a room where he heard “other men being tortured nearby. It was terrible to hear people screaming and crying. There was only one blanket in the room and I held it around my head to keep out the sound. Late that night, some officials opened my door, and when I came out, I saw other men like myself standing in front of other doors and rooms where they had been kept. A hose was turned on and we were all sprayed and then our rooms were sprayed, including my blanket.”

“Late into the night, there were still the screams of people being tortured and beaten. I cannot properly tell you how terrible it is to be cold, wet, unable to sleep and surrounded by the sounds of men crying in pain. This was the worst torture of all and it will be with me all my life.”

Such was the level of abuse that the councillor said by the following day he was ready to ‘to cooperate’ in order to survive.

It is believed the female victims who had also been abducted were being kept at the same place near Goromonzi, as he heard the CIO’s referring to them, but he never saw them himself.

Pasipamire said he was held for three days and was repeatedly sprayed with cold water. By the third night he was so cold and depressed that he thought of hanging himself with the wet blanket. He said he was injected twice on the fourth day, although he was not told what was being injected.

“I was not given food that day and in the evening I was driven to Harare. No one gave me any information on where I was going or why, but I had a feeling that they were planning to kill me. At this time, I cannot reveal any details of my escape because it will be a danger to the people who helped me. There are some inside ZANU-PF and CIO who do not believe in what they are doing.”

MDC Media Release: New media registration fees an assault on press freedom

The gazetting this week of new exorbitant media application and registration fees by the Zanu PF caretaker government represents a determined assault on press freedom and the constitutional right of Zimbabweans to receive and impart information.

On Tuesday, the Media and Information Commission (MIC) announced increases of up to $US 4 000 for foreign media journalists to operate in the country and up to $US 32 000 to establish offices in the country. The increases are four times more than those of last year.

The MDC is strongly against these punitive regulations, which are an attempt by a dying regime to silence the remaining small but vibrant media in the country. Since the enactment of the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) in 2002, the Zanu PF regime has made every effort to make it difficult for journalists to operate in country. They have bombed printing presses and closed five newspapers in the last five years.

As a result hundreds of journalists have been forced to flee the country while several independent media houses and broadcasting stations have been closed.

The MDC notes with concern that the Media and Information Commission, which has gazetted the exorbitant accreditation and registration fees, is now an illegal body following amendments to AIPPA which paved way for the creation of a Zimbabwe Media Commission which is yet to be constituted. According to the new law, the President has to appoint the nine-member Zimbabwe Media Commission from a list of no fewer than
12 members submitted by Parliament.

The punitive registration and accreditation and registration fees represent the lack of sincerity on the part of Zanu PF to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the three major political parties on 15 September 2008. All parties agreed, under Article 19 of the GPA, that freedom of expression has to be guaranteed in the country. The exorbitant fees being touted means that press freedom has been dollarised, much to the detriment of ordinary Zimbabweans who are starving for information.

Access to information under the Constitution of Zimbabwe and international law is a basic human right but in Zimbabwe, the caretaker government is making it difficult for the citizens access this of this basic human right.

Besides the punitive measures that have been introduced by the MIC, local and international journalists are being harassed, killed, intimidated and arrested for carrying out their duties.

The MDC believes that press freedom is a basic canon for any democracy. Only rogue regimes have the reprehensible penchant to stifle media freedom in order to prevent journalists from peeping into crevices that would expose misgovernance, and graft. The MDC believes in a Voluntary Media Council where journalists conduct their own affairs without government interference.

Press freedom is the people's freedom. Zimbabweans deserve heir place in a true democracy.

MDC Information and Publicity Department

Zimbabwean opposition solicits UN, AU to help locate missing activists

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change said Sunday
it had solicited the help of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC), African Union (AU) and United Nations to locate 11 of its supporters
abducted by state security agents last year.

The 11 were part of over 40 MDC activists, including a two-year-old child,
who were abducted by armed gunmen across the country since October 29 2008.

The party said the 11 have been unaccounted for, nearly two months after
their abduction by armed men believed to be from the police and intelligence
service.

Other activists abducted at the same time with the 11 have since been
brought to court on charges of training in banditry and bombing state
buildings.

The MDC said efforts by relatives and the party's lawyers to locate the
missing activists have been fruitless as the police are claiming that they
are not in police custody.

The MDC is deeply concerned by the abductions of its members and civic
society activists, which flies in the face of the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) signed by the three major political parties on 15 September 2008.

"The MDC has since put in place a team of experienced legal attorneys and at
a political level the party has sought the support and guidance of the SADC,
AU and United Nations, so that the rights and freedoms of the abducted
people are protected," said an MDC spokesperson.

Several MDC and human rights activists are facing charges of plotting to
overthrow President Robert Mugabe and bombing police stations in the capital
Harare.

They deny the charges and have told the courts that they were severely
tortured while in police custody in order to force them to confess to these
false allegations.

Abducted activists and MDC officials now face death penalty

Zimbabwean opposition politicians and human rights activists abducted by
state security agents on terrorism charges now face the death penalty. They
claim they were tortured into making confessions. As they continue to be
detained, a film is being distributed to the presidents of South Africa, the
SADC, the AU and the ANC calling for urgent action on Zimbabwe. The film,
Time 2 Act, made by Civicus, an alliance of international civil society
organisations, contains interviews with a wide range of ordinary Zimbabwean
people, including church leaders, trade unionists and children. The film's
key message is that the situation in Zimbabwe is far worse than is believed
inside and outside Africa. The desperation it describes is attributed to the
escalating health crisis, to the crackdown on basic freedoms and the
breakdown of governance. This is exemplified in the abductions and
intimidation of activists such as Jestina Mukoko and her colleagues from the
Zimbabwe Peace Project.

Mukoko, who was abducted from her home in Norton on December 3, has become
the focus of the campaign against the widespread abductions that have taken
place since last year's elections. She has been accused of recruiting
Zimbabweans for training in Botswana to become insurgents against the Mugabe
regime. So far, she has withstood the torture and has not made any false
confessions. Now Amnesty International - which considers Mukoko and her
colleague Broderick Takawira prisoners of conscience - is calling for their
immediate and unconditional release as well as for the 30 or so other
activists abducted between October and December last year to be either
charged or immediately and unconditionally released. A Zimbabwe police
charge sheet in the possession of the Weekend Argus reveals that MDC
officials Gandhi Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Emmanuel Dhlamini, Care international
employee, Zacharia Nkomo, freelance journalist Andrison Manyere, and MDC
supporter Chinoto Zulu are jointly charged.

According to the state, the five were involved in a series of bombings of
strategic places. The charge sheet reveals that Dhlamini, who is the MDC's
head of security, was the first to be arrested and that he implicated the
others. However, in Dhlamini's affidavit, he claims he was severely tortured
and he ended up calling out names to stop the beatings. The state claims
searches led to the recovery of cordtex, safety fuses, tear smoke grenades
and 48 rounds of ammunition. In their affidavits, all of them, except the
journalist, say they were tortured to confess what they did not do. Some of
them said they only met for the first time while in custody. Manyere said he
was not tortured but denied ever working with the others to bomb the police
station. Political commentator and former Zanu PF official Ibbo Mandaza said
the party was so desperate to destroy the MDC it had resorted to dirty
tactics of kidnapping people and forcing them into confessions. "The aim is
clearly to break down the MDC. They just want to cause terror and I'm sorry
to say they are succeeding in a way because even their president Morgan
Tsvangirai is scared of coming back home."

Tutu to join churchmen in fasting for Zimbabwe

http://www.businessday.co.za
09 January 2009
Wilson Johwa

Political Correspondent

CIVIL society organisations in SA are to press the government and the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) to hasten resolution of the
crisis in Zimbabwe.

Helping to co-ordinate the campaign, expected to start in the next 10 days,
is Kumi Naidoo, honorary president of the global alliance for citizen
participation, Civicus.

Naidoo said Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu had committed himself to a
weekly fast, together with Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist
Church. Tutu is a member of the Elders, whose delegation was denied entry
into Zimbabwe late last year.

"We need to up the ante a bit in terms of the types of activities that put
pressure on the government," said Naidoo, who is also co-chair of the Global
Call to Action Against Poverty.

Together with Pastor Raymond Motsi of the Bulawayo Baptist Church, Naidoo
has committed himself to a hunger strike.

The planned campaign is expected to impress upon the continent, as well as
South African society, including members of the African National Congress ,
the wider implications of the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Naidoo was part of a delegation that spent Christmas in Zimbabwe where he
met scores of Zimbabweans and compiled some of the testimonies into a film,
Time 2 Act . Copies of the film will be given to President Kgalema
Motlanthe, to other SADC heads of state and to the African Union .

In the film are descriptions of the humanitarian crisis. For instance, a
woman speaks of overcrowding in the mortuaries, which has pushed the cost to
$300 a body. Someone appeals for bolder regional action, saying: "Please
SADC take our problems seriously, don't neglect us."

Naidoo said many of those interviewed could not understand SA's position on
Zimbabwe, especially its stance at the United Nations Security Council,
where it voted against tougher action on the authorities in Zimbabwe.

"Overall we were struck by how much worse it (the Zimbabwe situation)
actually was in terms of the humanitarian crisis and on the political
repression again significantly worse."

The team found a breakdown in the school system. Garbage collection had also
come to a standstill in the major centres, further contributing to the
cholera outbreak.

Even respect for the dead had gone. "One of the mortuaries was closed while
we were there and what it means is that families have to put some sand
inside the house, put some water in that sand and put the (deceased) family
member there," Naidoo said.

Zimbabwe journalist tells court he was tortured in custody, framed

Harare/Johannesburg - A Zimbabwean freelance journalist facing charges of
banditry and the bombing of police stations said Thursday he was tortured
and had his equipment seized by unknown men when he was taken into custody.

Andrison Manyere was one of eight detainees - mostly political and rights
activists - who appeared in the Harare magistrate court.

'I do not know where I was taken to for nine days,' Manyere told the court.

The state alleges that 48 rounds of ammunition had been found at the
journalist's home.

'If they indeed found them, it is them - the abductors - that placed them in
my home since after assaulting me they said they were going to my home,'
Manyere said.

'The ammunition I know is my camera, a laptop and some tapes which they took
during my absence,' he added.

The eight are among 32 rights activists known to be in police detention
after allegedly being abducted between October and December. Prominent
rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko was also being held.

Charges of banditry or recruiting for banditry and bombings have been
brought against them.

Lawyers for the group have been pushing for their release, arguing that they
were kidnapped by state agents. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the
legality of their arrest and detention. No date has been set for the
hearing.

The accused say they have been tortured and are in need of medical
attention. The High Court last month ordered their release to a private
clinic, but the state insists they be treated at a prison clinic.

Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was taken from her home
at dawn on December 3 by men she alleges were state agents. Her whereabouts
remained unknown until she was brought before a Harare magistrate on
December 24 to face charges.

Walkout By Lawyers for Detained Zimbabwe Activists; Case Deferred to January 14

Lawyers defending Zimbabwe Peace Project Director Jestina Mukoko and eight
Movement for Democratic Change activists walked out of court Tuesday after
state prosecutors said they wanted to bring forward a case involving other
MDC activists slated for Wednesday.

Mukoko and the MDC activists are accused of plotting to overthrow the
government.

The defense team objected strenuously to the proposal to bring the other
case forward on grounds that it was "functus officio," a Latin legal term
meaning that the matter has been overtaken by the course of legal events or
superseded by a prior court action.

Defense lawyers filed a motion asking the magistrate to postpone further
action in the case until the supreme court has ruled on whether the accused
should stand trial and whether their original abductions leading eventually
to their being charged were lawful.

A magistrate Monday deferred the cases of Mukoko and the eight MDC activists
to Tuesday and put off the case of Ghandi Mudzingwa, former personal
assistant to Morgan Tsvangirai, among other activists, to Wednesday, in
response to a request from their lawyers that they should receive medical
attention before further proceedings in the case.

Correspondent Thomas Chiripasi told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Mukoko and the MDC activists whose cases are
linked to hers will remain in remand prison until January 14, when they are
scheduled to appear again in court.

Hungry villagers overturn Chief's car

CHIVHU, January 6 2009 - Chief Musarurwa of Chivhu communal lands had his
vehicle overturned by angry villagers on new year's eve at Magamba shopping
centre, eighteen kilometres after Chivhu along the Buhera road, after he had
attempted to prevent World Food Programe officials from distributing food
aid.

The drama started after the arrival of WFP officers at the shopping centre,
where villagers had gathered to receive food aid, when some suspected Zanu
PF youths, clad in the party's regalia and led by the Zanu PF losing
councillor for the area, a Ms Mupfumi, sister to Manicaland businessman Isso
Mupfumi, arrived and disturbed the gathering.

The youths ordered WFP officers to stop distributing food aid, accusing them
of having bypassed protocol. They claimed that food aid was supposed to be
distributed by chief Musarurwa, whom they said was on his way to the
shopping centre.

In no time chief Musarurwa arrived in his pick up truck and orderd the WFP
officials to stop distributing food aid. Upon hearing that food aid
distribution had been stopped, villagers got angry and started shouting at
the chief and his team.

The villagers accused the chief of being corrupt and diverting donor aid and
distributing it along party lines. They indicated that before the WFP
intervened, the chief and his ZANU PF supporters used to source maize from
the nearby Grain Markerting Board and then sell it to the poor villagers.

Realising that the villagers were becoming more angry, Chief Musarurwa
rushed into his car and tried to drive away, but the vehicle was overturned
by the mob, forcing WFP officers to intervene.

The World Food Programme officials later explained to villagers that they
were only interested in giving out food aid and not in politics, before
postponing the distribution process to January 2.

On 2 January the food aid distribution went on smoothly, with villagers
receiving a 50Kg of maize, 5 litre of cooking oil and 5 kilogrammes of cow
peas per house hold.

Hope fading for freedom in Zimbabwe, say activists

"ALL we are fighting for is the freedom to be human beings." This seems to
be a simple request, but for many people living in Zimbabwe hope is slowly
fading away.

Human rights defender and Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) founder Jenni
Williams says she cannot even describe the situation in her country, saying
it is beyond collapsed and the situation is getting worse and worse.

People were dying every day and the cholera epidemic was just the tip of the
iceberg, she said in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

"People are dying because of starvation and Aids. You cannot even get a
painkiller in hospital and many people don't even bother going for medical
help - they suffer in silence."

Williams was visiting with fellow human rights activist Magodonga Mahlangu.
They arrived in Port Elizabeth on Saturday with other delegates to speak to
anti-apartheid activists like Mkhuseli Jack and Janet Cherry.

She said her organisation wanted to interview activists who had managed to
make change in South Africa through non-violent resistance.

"We have learnt a lot from them, specifically on mass mobilisation. We hope
to come back and organise a conference with a bigger delegation," Williams
said.

Despite being arrested 33 times, sometimes for no reason, Williams said in
the end her suffering along with that of millions of Zimbabweans would be
worth it.

The last time she was arrested was in October when she wanted to give an
open letter to SADC leaders. Before that she was arrested in June while
protesting about starvation in the country. She spent six weeks in jail.

"The truth will always come out - you can arrest the person but you can
never arrest the truth," Williams said.

Mahlangu, who has also been arrested, said she could not even describe the
conditions she suffered under while she was detained.

"It is by the grace of God that we are still alive and survived for this
long. There is a reason why we are here. In prison there is no proper food
and the conditions are harsh."

Mahlangu said at first she had been detained in police cells and then made
bail, but in 2004 things had changed when she was sent straight to prison.

"Sometimes we have been protected by the officials themselves because they
know what we stand for. Even the most hardened criminals will give us
support and motivate us," she said.

Williams said she had formed Woza in 2002 after discussions with various
women on issues affecting their day-to-day lives.

"At the end of the day it is the woman who has to feed the children, who
gets beaten up by the husband because he is frustrated and harassed by the
police. We are the ones carrying the burden of the crisis. So we as women
decided to take the lead."

She said Woza had about 70000 members who attended workshops and training.
"We train women on peaceful resistance, their human rights and other issues
that affect them."

The organisation has managed to survive this long because it operates
underground. "Once a woman decides to do something she does it. You know how
women are - they make a plan," Williams said.

Woza did not give preference to the MDC over Zanu-PF, she said.

"If you are make promises to the people you must deliver. This applies to
anyone who wants to govern the country.

"We are also tired of having no government because everything is standing
still. The municipalities are not working. Nothing is functioning."

Both human rights activists will be on trial on January 22, when their fate
will be decided.

"I am doing this for my children. How will they judge me if I sit by and do
nothing? I am a mother and I would do anything to protect my children and my
country, as long as I speak the truth," Williams said.

Chihuri bans political meetings

MASVINGO - Police have banned all political gatherings in the country
claiming that the current political situation is volatile and has
potential to disturb the peace.

In a circular to all officers commanding provinces Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri said that all political gatherings had been banned
indefinitely because of the volatile political situation in the country.

The circular dated 29 December 2008 also advised the police to be on high
alert and to monitor all activities which might be carried out by some
people under the guise of celebrating Christmas and new year.

Part of the circular read, "Please be advised that with immediate effect all
political gatherings have been banned because of the political situation in
the country. The ban will be lifted once the situation on the ground has
normalised.

"Other gatherings which are not political need to be monitored very closely
since some rogue elements might take advantage of the festive season to
undertake criminal activities which might disturb peace in the country.

"In areas where the cholera outbreak has claimed several lives it is in the
interest of the police to ban all gatherings be (they) social or political."

The police have also advised the public to report any suspicious activities
which might be taking place in their communities.

Although Chihuri could not be reached for comment yesterday an officer
commanding a province who requested anonymity yesterday confirmed the
development adding that police officers have since been barred from taking
off or leave days.

"We have also been advised to ensure that no one goes on leave since the
situation is volatile".

The blanket ban on political meetings has widened the rift between Zanu-PF
and the MDC putting prospects of establishing an all inclusive government
into jeopardy

Sources within the police said the directive to ban all political activities
comes against the backdrop of the claimed assassination attempt on Air Force
commander Perrence Shiri early this month.

Shiri, a former freedom fighter who commanded the infamous Gukurahundi
campaign in Matabeleland, was allegedly shot in the arm by unknown gunmen
while driving to his farm in Shamva. While officials were uncharastically
quick in announcing the alleged shooting no further details of the mystery
shooting have been made public.

The government has attempted to associate the MDC with the alleged
shooting.

President Robert Mugabe's government, now desperate to remain in power, has
also accused the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai of training militants in
neighbouring Botswana in preparation for the overthrow of government.

The MDC and the Botswana government have vehemently denied the allegation
from Harare. The Botswana government has pledged to assist SADC undertake a
fact finding mission to investigate the allegations.

More that 50 civic and opposition activists are currently in prison after
being abducted by state security agents on charges of engaging in military
training in Botswana to overtrow president Mugabe's government.