Cholera has killed more than 3,000 Zimbabweans and
infected at least 57,000, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday,
making it the deadliest outbreak in Africa in 15 years.
The disease has spread as rival political parties struggle to implement a
power-sharing agreement reached in September and seen as a chance to ease
the humanitarian crisis and save the faltering economy.
Regional leaders decided at a summit on Tuesday that a unity government
should be formed next month. Fears of the cholera spreading in Zimbabwe have
stepped up pressure on rival parties to end the political uncertainty.
WHO figures showed an increase of 57 deaths and 1,579 new infections since
Tuesday. The outbreak has hit the entire country, leading to a high overall
case fatality rate of 5.3 percent.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he agrees to form a government
with President Robert Mugabe although his Movement for Democratic Change
voiced disappointment with the deal reached at the summit, a South African
newspaper reported.
MDC officials are expected to meet on Friday to discuss how to proceed.
"It's a historic decision we will make. I hope the party will be united in
ensuring that we respond to the needs on the ground and the expectations of
Zimbabweans," Tsvangirai told reporters in Harare.
But Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper said MDC Secretary-General Tendai
Biti, considered more hardline than Tsvangirai, had made a "sudden U-turn"
against implementing the deal.
The MDC has said the outcome of the summit fell "far short of our
expectations" but in a statement it denied that there were divisions within
the party.
"There are struggles going on internally, between the pragmatists and the
hawks in terms of their contrasting positions on the power-sharing
arrangement," Zimbabwean political analyst Eldred Masunungure said.
The prospect of a split within the MDC over implementation of the September
pact added to uncertainty over whether a new Zimbabwean leadership would be
united enough to tackle an acute economic crisis.
Mugabe, who has made it clear he would set up a government without the
opposition if need be, said talks were concluded and a new cabinet could now
be formed.
South Africa's Star newspaper quoted Tsvangirai as saying that resolving
outstanding issues over a government was a "work in progress."
"Everyone agrees that -- subject to the clearing of all the issues that are
outstanding -- a coalition government can be formed," he said.
"After all, the whole idea of these negotiations is to form a coalition
government, and I therefore agreed to that principle."
The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said after the
summit in South Africa -- its fifth attempt to secure a deal on forming a
unity government -- it had agreed that Tsvangirai should be sworn in as
prime minister by February 11.
Frank Chikane, the director general in South Africa's presidency, told
diplomats in Pretoria that the establishment of a unity government in
Zimbabwe was meant to be a transitional step that would lay the foundation
for future free elections.
The signing of the pact is seen as an opportunity to prevent a total
economic collapse that would add to the strain on neighboring countries
already hosting millions of Zimbabweans who fled in search of work.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Zanu-PF loots donated South African agriculture aid
As was predicted by Zimbabwe's main opposition, MDC, the corrupt Zanu-PF
Members of Parliament have abused the South African R300 million
agricultural aid after looting fertilizers, maize seed and fuel.
The eight corrupt Zanu-PF legislators, who are close allies of president
Robert Mugabe, were working together with some farmers and members of the
public to swindle large quantities of the ammonium nitrate, Compound D and
maize seed.
The inputs were brought into the country recently but unfortunately fell in
wrong hands of Zanu-PF members in influential positions.
Late last year, South Africa handed over R300 million aid to Zimbabwe to
bail out Zimbabwe's crippled agriculture sector.
The MDC chided South Africa for disbursing the aid to the Zanu-PF government
before the finalisation of the peace deal.
The revelations are a confirmation of how unscrupulous Zanu-PF members are
abusing the South Africa's R300 million agriculture aid.
Mugabe's henchman, Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, handles the
inputs that were sourced by South Africa.
Nyikayaramba's inputs committee has denied to name-and- shame the Zanu-PF
thieves but sources in Parliament have promised to let the cat of the bag.
However the other implicated Zanu-PF supporters are Shingirai Mawere, Simon
Machiri, Simbarashe Benhura, Paddington Mutasa and two Malawians John Phiri
and Liaka Musa.
The other fraudsters are two Malawians who acquired 30 tonnes of Urea
Fertilizer and 160 litres of diesel under unclear circumstances.
The inputs committee says Mashonaland East Province tops the list of
corruption cases, with 22 while six cases happened in Mashonaland East, and
Matabeleland North has four cases. Mashonaland West and Masvingo have three
cases each, while two cases were recorded in Harare.
During the Zanu-PF conference in December, party members stole nine beasts,
mealie-meal and other foodstuffs, as thuggery in the regime reared its ugly
head.
Once Africa's breadbasket, the southern African nation has low agricultural
outputs because of poor farming preparations.
The UN says more than 5.5 million Zimbabweans require food aid this year.
Members of Parliament have abused the South African R300 million
agricultural aid after looting fertilizers, maize seed and fuel.
The eight corrupt Zanu-PF legislators, who are close allies of president
Robert Mugabe, were working together with some farmers and members of the
public to swindle large quantities of the ammonium nitrate, Compound D and
maize seed.
The inputs were brought into the country recently but unfortunately fell in
wrong hands of Zanu-PF members in influential positions.
Late last year, South Africa handed over R300 million aid to Zimbabwe to
bail out Zimbabwe's crippled agriculture sector.
The MDC chided South Africa for disbursing the aid to the Zanu-PF government
before the finalisation of the peace deal.
The revelations are a confirmation of how unscrupulous Zanu-PF members are
abusing the South Africa's R300 million agriculture aid.
Mugabe's henchman, Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, handles the
inputs that were sourced by South Africa.
Nyikayaramba's inputs committee has denied to name-and- shame the Zanu-PF
thieves but sources in Parliament have promised to let the cat of the bag.
However the other implicated Zanu-PF supporters are Shingirai Mawere, Simon
Machiri, Simbarashe Benhura, Paddington Mutasa and two Malawians John Phiri
and Liaka Musa.
The other fraudsters are two Malawians who acquired 30 tonnes of Urea
Fertilizer and 160 litres of diesel under unclear circumstances.
The inputs committee says Mashonaland East Province tops the list of
corruption cases, with 22 while six cases happened in Mashonaland East, and
Matabeleland North has four cases. Mashonaland West and Masvingo have three
cases each, while two cases were recorded in Harare.
During the Zanu-PF conference in December, party members stole nine beasts,
mealie-meal and other foodstuffs, as thuggery in the regime reared its ugly
head.
Once Africa's breadbasket, the southern African nation has low agricultural
outputs because of poor farming preparations.
The UN says more than 5.5 million Zimbabweans require food aid this year.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
7 abductees charged as state continues playing legal game
Seven activists on Wednesday appeared in the Harare Magistrates Court in
connection with a series of minor bomb blasts in the capital last year. They
became the first group of the more than 40 abductees, to be formally charged
by the state.
The seven, including the Tsvangirai MDC head of security Chris Dhlamini and
Tsvangirai's former aide Gandhi Mudzingwa, all pleaded not guilty to the
charges of terrorism, banditry and insurgency laid against them on
Wednesday. Defence lawyer Andrew Makoni explained that the case was further
deferred to Thursday and said a new application has been filed on behalf of
the seven, listing their complaints about their treatment during their
unlawful detention. Makoni argued that despite the charges, the defence is
still fighting for the group's remand to be refused, saying there is "no
evident reason or knowable suspicion for the group to be placed on remand."
In court lawyer Alec Muchadehama said the group had been 'severely tortured'
by state security agents after their abductions, and explained that not a
single member of the group had been lawfully detained. He said: "No arrest
took place. Each one of them is a victim of abduction and forced
disappearance by state agents. None of them was arrested in terms of the
law."
The group could face the death penalty if they are found guilty of being
involved in two minor blasts at Harare police stations and a blast at a
railway line in Norton last year. The questionable circumstances surrounding
the blasts, which at the time were linked to a ZANU PF attempt to implicate
the MDC, and the subsequent abductions and charging of the seven activists,
has raised questions over whether the bombs were in fact set off to create
convenient evidence in the current case.
Adding more fuel to the fire is speculation this week that a so-called
'assassination attempt,' targeting Air Force Commander Perrence Shiri last
year, was in fact an elaborate hoax by Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF as part of it's
ongoing effort to build a case against the MDC. Shiri was supposedly wounded
in the hand after being shot at while driving from his farm in Shamva in
December. In the days that followed, state-controlled media launched a
propaganda assault on the MDC, reporting that the attack was a "build up of
terror attacks targeting high profile persons, government officials,
government establishments and public transportation systems".
The deliberate manipulation of events to build a case against the MDC has
been clearly evident in the case launched against abducted human rights
activist Jestina Mukoko and her eight co-accused. The group is yet to be
formally charged after being accused of attempting to recruit fighters to
train in neighboring Botswana to overthrow Mugabe. Their case was postponed
for the second time this week on Tuesday, and the group is set to remain in
custody until their next Magistrate's Court appearance on the 14th January.
Lawyers are still pursuing applications in the High Court for the abductees
to receive proper care outside of the Chikurubi prison where they are being
held. But despite evidence of being tortured and seriously injured during
their detention, a High Court judge over the weekend refused to handle the
medical affidavits, citing a 'legal irregularity'.
Such legal irregularities have been prominent since the abductees' first
court appearances last year, as the state has continued to play a legal game
with the defence and the abductees. Mukoko and the other abductees that have
been accounted for meanwhile have been shuttled to and from solitary
confinement; all while being denied medical treatment. This includes the two
year old son of Violet Mupfuranhehwe who is held in solitary confinement
with his mother, and who is also yet to receive proper medical care after
being beaten in a very cruel effort to glean information from his mother.
And while such a high stakes game is being played in court, it would appear
that the safety and whereabouts of at least 10 other abductees remains
either a closely guarded secret or a mystery. The MDC has said that more
than 40 people were abducted last year, and despite Tsvangirai issuing
Mugabe with what has proved to be a fruitless ultimatum to produce the
abductees by the 1st January, only 30 people were eventually produced.
connection with a series of minor bomb blasts in the capital last year. They
became the first group of the more than 40 abductees, to be formally charged
by the state.
The seven, including the Tsvangirai MDC head of security Chris Dhlamini and
Tsvangirai's former aide Gandhi Mudzingwa, all pleaded not guilty to the
charges of terrorism, banditry and insurgency laid against them on
Wednesday. Defence lawyer Andrew Makoni explained that the case was further
deferred to Thursday and said a new application has been filed on behalf of
the seven, listing their complaints about their treatment during their
unlawful detention. Makoni argued that despite the charges, the defence is
still fighting for the group's remand to be refused, saying there is "no
evident reason or knowable suspicion for the group to be placed on remand."
In court lawyer Alec Muchadehama said the group had been 'severely tortured'
by state security agents after their abductions, and explained that not a
single member of the group had been lawfully detained. He said: "No arrest
took place. Each one of them is a victim of abduction and forced
disappearance by state agents. None of them was arrested in terms of the
law."
The group could face the death penalty if they are found guilty of being
involved in two minor blasts at Harare police stations and a blast at a
railway line in Norton last year. The questionable circumstances surrounding
the blasts, which at the time were linked to a ZANU PF attempt to implicate
the MDC, and the subsequent abductions and charging of the seven activists,
has raised questions over whether the bombs were in fact set off to create
convenient evidence in the current case.
Adding more fuel to the fire is speculation this week that a so-called
'assassination attempt,' targeting Air Force Commander Perrence Shiri last
year, was in fact an elaborate hoax by Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF as part of it's
ongoing effort to build a case against the MDC. Shiri was supposedly wounded
in the hand after being shot at while driving from his farm in Shamva in
December. In the days that followed, state-controlled media launched a
propaganda assault on the MDC, reporting that the attack was a "build up of
terror attacks targeting high profile persons, government officials,
government establishments and public transportation systems".
The deliberate manipulation of events to build a case against the MDC has
been clearly evident in the case launched against abducted human rights
activist Jestina Mukoko and her eight co-accused. The group is yet to be
formally charged after being accused of attempting to recruit fighters to
train in neighboring Botswana to overthrow Mugabe. Their case was postponed
for the second time this week on Tuesday, and the group is set to remain in
custody until their next Magistrate's Court appearance on the 14th January.
Lawyers are still pursuing applications in the High Court for the abductees
to receive proper care outside of the Chikurubi prison where they are being
held. But despite evidence of being tortured and seriously injured during
their detention, a High Court judge over the weekend refused to handle the
medical affidavits, citing a 'legal irregularity'.
Such legal irregularities have been prominent since the abductees' first
court appearances last year, as the state has continued to play a legal game
with the defence and the abductees. Mukoko and the other abductees that have
been accounted for meanwhile have been shuttled to and from solitary
confinement; all while being denied medical treatment. This includes the two
year old son of Violet Mupfuranhehwe who is held in solitary confinement
with his mother, and who is also yet to receive proper medical care after
being beaten in a very cruel effort to glean information from his mother.
And while such a high stakes game is being played in court, it would appear
that the safety and whereabouts of at least 10 other abductees remains
either a closely guarded secret or a mystery. The MDC has said that more
than 40 people were abducted last year, and despite Tsvangirai issuing
Mugabe with what has proved to be a fruitless ultimatum to produce the
abductees by the 1st January, only 30 people were eventually produced.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Zimbabwean activists to spend New Year's in jail
A respected human rights campaigner and 31 other
activists in Zimbabwe will remain in jail over New Year's after a High Court
judge postponed an application for their release until Friday.
Zimbabwe Peace Project leader Jestina Mukoko and the other detainees are
accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, who has been in
power since 1980.
Opposition leaders say the detentions are part of Mugabe's clampdown on
pro-democracy activists and are further evidence of his determination to
keep control of his stricken nation in defiance of a power-sharing
agreement.
"The year ahead, 2009, looks grim," Grace Mutandwa, a Zimbabwean staff
member at the British Embassy in Harare, wrote in a blog. "Many in Zimbabwe
would like to forget 2008 but this is something we might not be able to do."
Once a source of regional pride, Zimbabwe has been crippled by galloping
hyperinflation - one egg now costs 300 million Zimbabwe dollars. There is
mass unemployment and worsening malnutrition, and the country's education
and health systems are collapsing.
The southern African nation's power, water and sewage treatment systems are
in total disrepair, and a cholera epidemic has killed more than 1,600 people
since August.
The international Red Cross said Wednesday it has deployed seven emergency
response units throughout Zimbabwe to combat the worsening cholera crisis.
The units - specialized teams that are fully self-sufficient for one month -
are usually only deployed in the most critical humanitarian situations, such
as the Indian Ocean tsunami and large earthquakes.
Tammam Aloudat, a Red Cross emergency health officer, said the mobile units
would be able to reach rural communities. Currently 43 percent of cholera
victims in Zimbabwe are dying before they can reach a treatment center, even
though the disease is easily treatable, he said.
Activists say the humanitarian crisis has been accompanied by increasing
repression in recent weeks.
Defense attorney Beatrice Mtetwa said state lawyers conceded Wednesday for
the first time that state security agents abducted Mukoko from her home in
early December. For weeks police had denied they were holding the peace
activist.
High Court Judge Alphias Chitakunye on Wednesday postponed a defense
application for the immediate release of Mukoko and the other detainees
until Friday.
Mtetwa said police have defied at least two court orders to free them and
ignored a magistrate's ruling that they be allowed visits from private
doctors after they appeared in court Monday with swollen and bloodied faces.
The defense team also demanded that the police commissioner and attorney
general be summoned to the High Court for contempt. A Dec. 24 ruling said
the activists should be transferred to a hospital for investigation of
alleged torture.
The High Court applications came shortly after a magistrate ordered them to
stay in custody until Monday.
Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe also ordered five officials with the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change to remain in detention to Jan. 5 on
allegations of involvement in two minor bombings at the main Harare police
station earlier this year and a small explosion at a bridge outside Harare.
They included a close adviser to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his
party's head of security.
activists in Zimbabwe will remain in jail over New Year's after a High Court
judge postponed an application for their release until Friday.
Zimbabwe Peace Project leader Jestina Mukoko and the other detainees are
accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, who has been in
power since 1980.
Opposition leaders say the detentions are part of Mugabe's clampdown on
pro-democracy activists and are further evidence of his determination to
keep control of his stricken nation in defiance of a power-sharing
agreement.
"The year ahead, 2009, looks grim," Grace Mutandwa, a Zimbabwean staff
member at the British Embassy in Harare, wrote in a blog. "Many in Zimbabwe
would like to forget 2008 but this is something we might not be able to do."
Once a source of regional pride, Zimbabwe has been crippled by galloping
hyperinflation - one egg now costs 300 million Zimbabwe dollars. There is
mass unemployment and worsening malnutrition, and the country's education
and health systems are collapsing.
The southern African nation's power, water and sewage treatment systems are
in total disrepair, and a cholera epidemic has killed more than 1,600 people
since August.
The international Red Cross said Wednesday it has deployed seven emergency
response units throughout Zimbabwe to combat the worsening cholera crisis.
The units - specialized teams that are fully self-sufficient for one month -
are usually only deployed in the most critical humanitarian situations, such
as the Indian Ocean tsunami and large earthquakes.
Tammam Aloudat, a Red Cross emergency health officer, said the mobile units
would be able to reach rural communities. Currently 43 percent of cholera
victims in Zimbabwe are dying before they can reach a treatment center, even
though the disease is easily treatable, he said.
Activists say the humanitarian crisis has been accompanied by increasing
repression in recent weeks.
Defense attorney Beatrice Mtetwa said state lawyers conceded Wednesday for
the first time that state security agents abducted Mukoko from her home in
early December. For weeks police had denied they were holding the peace
activist.
High Court Judge Alphias Chitakunye on Wednesday postponed a defense
application for the immediate release of Mukoko and the other detainees
until Friday.
Mtetwa said police have defied at least two court orders to free them and
ignored a magistrate's ruling that they be allowed visits from private
doctors after they appeared in court Monday with swollen and bloodied faces.
The defense team also demanded that the police commissioner and attorney
general be summoned to the High Court for contempt. A Dec. 24 ruling said
the activists should be transferred to a hospital for investigation of
alleged torture.
The High Court applications came shortly after a magistrate ordered them to
stay in custody until Monday.
Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe also ordered five officials with the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change to remain in detention to Jan. 5 on
allegations of involvement in two minor bombings at the main Harare police
station earlier this year and a small explosion at a bridge outside Harare.
They included a close adviser to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his
party's head of security.
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