Baby of Zimbabwe

Monday, March 5, 2007

Zimbabwe police gear up for opposition protests

Monday 05 March 2007

By Thabani Mlilo and Brian Ncube

HARARE - Zimbabwe Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has cancelled leave
for officers and beefed up manpower in Harare and Bulawayo in preparation
for possible opposition protests in the two cities, as political tension
mounts in the southern African country.

In a memo addressed to all police stations last Tuesday but made available
to ZimOnline at the weekend, titled, "Cancellation of Leave and Placement of
Members on Standby," reference number MJ57/2007, Chihuri cancelled all leave
and placed all officers on alert.

"All police officers who had been granted leave should return to their
respective stations with immediate effect and be deployed as commanded by
their provincial commanders.

"The dress order of the day will be full riot gear until further notice and
those members who remain at stations should be alert for urgent calls of
action," read part of the memo.

In a separate memo, also written last week, highlighting rising tensions in
Zimbabwe, Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources Barbara Mandizha, ordered
police stations around the country to compile lists of "able-bodied"
officers for immediate transfer to Harare and Bulawayo.

Sources at the police headquarters in Harare told ZimOnline at the weekend
that the transfer was a "pro-active" strategy to prepare for possible
protests in the two cities, both strongholds of the main opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) party.

"All provincial commanders are directed to submit a list of able-bodied
members for immediate transfer to Harare and Bulawayo.

"Commanders should treat this matter with urgency as this is a directive
from the Minister (of Home Affairs). No excuses should be entertained as
this is a national call," says the memo.

Political tensions have risen sharply in Zimbabwe over the past few months
as a steep economic crisis takes its toll on a population grappling with the
world's highest inflation rate of nearly 1 600 percent, surging unemployment
and poverty.

The tensions worsened after the ruling ZANU PF party proposed last December
to extend President Robert Mugabe's term which was due to end next year by
two more years to 2010.

Both factions of the MDC and civic groups have vowed to take to the streets
to force Mugabe not to extend his term arguing that the country could not
bear to have the veteran president in power for two more years.

Two weeks ago, the police fought running battles with MDC supporters in the
working class suburb of Highfield as they sought to block the opposition
party led by Morgan Tsvangirai from holding a rally to launch the party's
campaign for next year's presidential election.

The Zimbabwe government has banned protests and rallies following the
violent protests in Highfield. The MDC says the ban amounted to a
declaration of a state of emergency by the Harare authorities.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena refused to comment on the matter saying
he is not at liberty to discuss matters of strategy with the Press.

"I am sorry this is an issue of strategy that cannot be discussed with the
Press. In any case, transfers are a normal phenomenon in any organization.
So why should it raise eyebrows?" he said.

Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi could not be reached for comment on the
matter.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Bulawayo members release without appearing in Court

The 174 members arrested in Bulawayo on Tuesday were
finally released at 5 pm without appearing in court.
Police ran out of delaying tactics when lawyers made
ready a High Court application. The members were
arrested on 13 February as they conducted a peaceful
Valentines Day protest. As members were arrest in one
protest another sprung up elsewhere - police officers
confirmed arresting people at five different locations
in the city where protests had sprung up.

Late yesterday, it had been understood that only seven
would be charged under the Criminal Law (Codification
and Reform) Act and that the rest would be released,
Police made an about turn and only released mothers
with babies and minors, leaving 141 in custody for a
second night.

Today as lawyers attended prepared to go to Court, the
investigating officers indicated they had had 'orders'
to charge everyone and take them to court. This meant
preparing warned and cautioned statements from
everyone. This process of course meant the 48-hour
deadline, up at midday, was exceeded by several hours.

Finally at 5 pm today, the group was finally released
at 5pm - five hours after their 48-hour deadline had
passed. The Prosecutor advised Law and Order officers
to proceed by way of summons. Another factor is that
once again no police officer is willing to write the
necessary affidavit to allow evidence necessary to
charge the activist.

However whilst we recognize that it is positive step
for them to refuse to be used to convict innocent
people, we appeal to police officers to help ' name
and shame' the senior police officer who shouted at
Riot police not to dialogue with the activists at the
scene but gave the order for the peaceful women and
men to be beaten. We also deplore the manner in which
those arrested were beaten as they ascended the
staircase into the law and order department of
Bulawayo Central. Those who had sustained injuries due
to beatings on arrest and in custody have been taken
to receive medical treatment.

It appears that the group has been charged under
Section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) as read with Section 2(v) of the schedule to
the Criminal Code - 'employs any means whatsoever
which are likely materially to interfere with the
ordinary comfort, convenience, peace or quiet of the
public or any section of the public, or does any act
which is likely to create a nuisance or obstruction'.

This morning, the Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) located Magodonga Mahlangu at Sauerstown Police
Station. Monitors were dispatched to ensure she was
not abducted and their presence ensured she was moved
with the rest of the group to Bulawayo Central. She
has been released and is also receiving medical
treatment for the beatings that she received upon
arrest.

The petty nastiness of the Zimbabwe Republic Police
was again evident today. Having informed those on
support yesterday that the breakfast feeding time had
been changed to 5am, volunteers were mobilised to
provide food at 5am but were kept waiting until 7am,
the normal feeding time. A woman at Queens Park was
consistently denied her ARV medication. Reports have
also come in that several members were forced to eat
the paper placards that they had been carrying during
the demonstration - some of these read, 'love can
bring a brighter day' and 'From WOZA with love'.
Despite the inability of some officers to choose love
over hate, WOZA would like to salute those officers
who did treat our members with respect and
professionalism and who recognized that WOZA is
fighting for a better future for ALL Zimbabweans.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

EU to extend sanctions on Zimbabwe - diplomats

By Ingrid Melander

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to extend sanctions on
Zimbabwe for another year including an arms embargo, travel ban and asset
freeze on President Robert Mugabe and other top officials, EU diplomats said
on Friday.

The 27-member bloc, which accuses Harare of widespread human rights
violations, plans to go ahead with the move despite the risk that the travel
ban on Mugabe could again scupper longstanding plans for an EU-Africa
summit, they added.

The list of visa bans and freezing of assets includes more than a hundred
ministers and officials. The EU accuses them of human rights violations, and
violations of freedom of speech and assembly in Zimbabwe.

"They will be prolonged for another year," an EU diplomat said of existing
sanctions due to expire on February 20.

"Every year the European Commission does a report on the situation in
Zimbabwe, it has not changed so the conclusions are the same," said an
official at the EU executive.

The sanctions were initially triggered by the controversial distribution of
white-owned commercial farms to mainly landless blacks and Mugabe's disputed
re-election in 2002.

Critics say the seizures have destroyed Zimbabwe's economy, turning the
country from a regional agricultural leader to a nation barely able to feed
itself amid a deepening crisis marked by food and fuel shortages and
inflation above 1,200 percent.

Mugabe says the sanctions are responsible for Zimbabwe's economic crisis and
he says his land policy was necessary because former colonial power Britain
did not make good on promises at the time of Zimbabwe's independence in
1980.

Eldred Masunungure, chairman at University of Zimbabwe's Political Science
Department, said the EU sanctions have failed to reach their objective and
have if anything hit the population of Zimbabwe.

"I think the sanctions by their very nature are a blunt instrument and their
impact tends to spread beyond the target persons," Masunungure said.

"On the government's side they have been felt but as you can see Mugabe has
not changed his policies."

Plans for an EU-Africa Summit have been on hold since 2003 because Britain
and several other EU countries refused to attend if Mugabe was invited,
while African states refused to attend if he was not invited, diplomats
noted on Friday.

"The big issue of course is how to organise this summit," one said, adding
that the EU may try to convince Zimbabwe and other African countries that
Zimbabwe be represented at that summit by a senior official who is not on
the embargo list.

"We will need good political will and some imagination," another said,
noting that Britain and possibly other countries would oppose to a temporary
lift of the visa ban to allow Mugabe to come to an EU-Africa Summit.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Untreated sewage polluting Harare water supply

Zimbabwe's biggest sewage plant has broken down, sending
tonnes of raw effluent into a major river and polluting the water supply of
the capital Harare, city authorities said on Monday.

Harare's Firle sewage plant has been down since last week and requires at
least 20 billion Zimbabwean dollars (U.S.$80 million) to fix, a huge burden
for a country already in the grip of its worst economic crisis in decades.

Officials from the national water authority said half of the raw sewage from
Harare -- a city of some 1.5 million -- was now discharged into a river that
flows into the capital's main water reservoir, the state-owned Herald
newspaper reported.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority declined to comment further on the
issue on Monday. But the Herald said the discharge of the untreated sewage
was "posing a serious health hazard downstream."

Harare's sewage crisis is the latest symptom of an economic crisis which has
left the country close to collapse and many key infrastructure facilities
from roads to power plants badly in need of upgrade or repair.

Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate of 1,281 percent and
unemployment has surged to about 80 percent under an economic crisis many
critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's government.

The Herald said the Firle plant was completely inoperable.

"Biological nutrient removal plants, inlet works, primary settling tanks,
biofilters and effluent pumps as well as clarifiers, digesters and boilers
at the plant are all down," the newspaper said.

Mugabe, 82, and the southern African country's sole ruler since independence
from Britain in 1980, denies he has ruined one the continent's most
promising economies, saying it is a victim of sabotage by opponents of his
black nationalist policies.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Farmers' union says only few whites offered land

Tuesday 09 January 2007

HARARE - The Zimbabwe government has again promised to return land to former
white farmers but the dispossessed farmers on Monday told ZimOnline that
only a handful of them had been offered new farms out of hundreds that had
applied.

State Security and also Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa earlier on Sunday said
his department would offer farms to "former (white) farm owners who are
genuine farmers who desire to continue farming in this country" and help
resuscitate the mainstay agricultural sector that has collapsed since farm
seizures began in 2000.

The government, which had vowed never to return land it seized from whites,
first backtracked on that position last November when it gave 99-year leases
to about half a dozen whites who were part of a group of about 100 black
farmers to receive the life-long leases.

But the white-representative Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said in total
only a handful of former white farmers have been given land out of 700 that
had applied to Mutasa's department following earlier pronouncements by the
government that it would also allocate farms to whites.

CFU spokeswoman Emily Crooks said: "The situation is that a larger number of
farmers applied for land but the minister (Mutasa) has not responded. Only a
couple of farmers were recently issued with offer leases."

Mutasa was not immediately available to explain delays in allocating land to
former white farmers many with vast experience to produce food in short
supply in the country.

Zimbabwe has relied on food imports since 2001 mainly due to failure by new
black farmers to maintain production on former white farms.

Poor performance in the mainstay agricultural sector has also had far
reaching consequences as hundreds of thousands have lost jobs while the
manufacturing sector, starved of inputs from the sector, is operating below
30 percent capacity. - ZimOnline

Monday, January 1, 2007

Petrol attack on home of Zimbabwean rights activist

The raw story

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Sunday December 31, 2006

Harare- Unknown attackers poured petrol round the Harare
home of a prominent Zimbabwean rights activist and set the fuel
alight, Lovemore Madhuku claimed on Sunday.
Madhuku, the chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) said he and the other nine occupants of his home in the medium-
density suburb of Waterfalls woke shortly after midnight on Saturday
to find flames surrounding the house.

We were woken up by the sound of screaming, Madhuku told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview.

After ten minutes those inside the house broke windows, poured out
water and managed to douse the flames, he said.

"We discovered a five-litre bottle of petrol hidden next to the
wall," Madhuku said.

There was no independent confirmation of the attack.

Madhuku said he suspected state agents were behind the incident.
The NCA has mounted sustained anti-government campaigns since its
formation in 1999, and Madhuku and other members have been arrested
on several occasions.

But there have been reports of discontent within NCA this year,
mainly because of Madhuku's decision to continue as chairman. Other
NCA members were seriously opposed to prolonging his leadership.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency