Mugabe admits losing election

Robert Mugabe has for the first time publicly admitted that he
lost the disputed March 2008 election.

The octogenarian told delegates attending the 11th people’s conference in
Mutare on Friday that he lost to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the
presidential election because Zanu PF party activists campaigned against
him.

Mugabe said he was saved by electoral laws which allow for a run-off if the
winner does not garner more than 50 percent of the ballot.

“We heard others saying vote for this one and not this one. I lost some
votes as a result of that,” he said.
He said the party activists who were behind such machinations did not
realise that if he had been dislodged from power, the entire party would
have been affected also.

To avoid a repeat of that in the next year’s election, Mugabe threatened
members of his inner circle and Zanu PF activists who dare deviate from
resolutions made in Mutare.

In apparent reference to reports that some of his lieutenants were against
holding elections next year, Mugabe said he did not want anybody to oppose
what would have been decided at the conference.

Robert Mugabe 'ready to bury the opposition'

Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has said his party is ready to bury his
Western-backed opposition "forever" as there are warnings his forces are
fanning out across the country in a bid to intimidate voters ahead of
elections.

Mr Mugabe told delegates that he and Zanu PF were still fit for power. "We
are indeed a fired up, fuelled and fast moving train," he said. "Those who
stand in the way of that train stand the risk of being crushed."

The party's chairman, Simon Moyo, told its members to prepare for elections
in 2011. "We must bury forever this combined British and American
non-governmental organisation," he said.

WikiLeaks cables: UN offered Robert Mugabe a lucrative retirement overseas

The head of the United Nations offered Robert Mugabe a lucrative retirement
package in an overseas haven if he stood down as Zimbabwe's president,
according to claims quoted in leaked diplomatic cables.

The extraordinary offer was allegedly made by Kofi Annan, who was then the
UN secretary general, at the millennium summit of world leaders in New York,
according to a memo drawn up by American officials which was obtained by the
WikiLeaks website.

The memo, written in September 2000, records a meeting between a US embassy
official in Harare and a senior source in the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), the party opposed to Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

According to the MDC source, whose name the Observer has redacted, "Kofi
Annan, in the recent meeting in New York during the millennium summit
offered Mugabe a deal to step down. Although [the MDC source] said the MDC
was not privy to the details, he surmised that Annan's supposed deal
probably included provision of safe haven and a financial package from
Libyan president [Gaddafi]. The opposition party heard that Mugabe turned
down the offer the following day after discussing it with the first lady."

The offer, which many Zimbabwean experts may simply dismiss as wishful
thinking on the part of a frustrated MDC, was not the only one rumoured to
have been made to Mugabe at that time. The cable reveals that Zanu-PF itself
had put out "feelers" to see whether the MDC would be willing to allow
Mugabe a "graceful exit" that was "in Zimbabwe's national interest".

Thanks to Mugabe, still missing

Around this time in December 2008, scores of people were forcibly taken away
from their homes, buses and business centres . Tearful colleagues and
relatives reported a total of 41 missing persons. Over the past two years
,some of these tormented citizens have been released from secret state
detention centres but five of them have virtually disappeared, looks like
the world has all but forgotten about them, does anyone know anything about
these poor souls.
1. Lovemore Machokota
2. Charles Muza
3. Ephraim Mabeka
4. Edmore Vangirayi
5. Gwenzi Kahiya

Free & Fair" Elections Impossible In Zimbabwe

Mugabe is not interested in democracy. Neither is he interested in leading the country as a duly elected President should. He is more intent on enforcing his tenure in the top office of the land, come hell or high water.

Mugabe has no care as to how many lives will be snuffed out with his mission to intimidate and oppress the public into ‘voting’ for ZANU PF.

Zanu-PF 'hooligans' stab MDC supporter

A supporter of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was stabbed and seriously injured as public outreach on a new constitution resumed after being postponed due to violence, his party said on Sunday.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said one of its supporters was beaten and stabbed by supporters of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party on Saturday at a constitution meeting in Harare.

"An MDC supporter, Jonsaya Manyere, is battling for his life... after he was assaulted and stabbed in the head by a group of Zanu-PF hooligans,"

Zanu PF will never handover power to MDC - Chairman

ZANU-PF National Chairman Simon Khaya Moyo said ZANU-PF will never
handover power to a non revolutionary party.

"We are a revolutionary party and any other party which thinks will rule
this country is day dreaming. We will not relinquish power to any other
party other than ZANU-PF", Khaya Moyo told a ZANU-PF meeting at Mary Mount
Teachers' College in Mutare at the weekend.

ZANU-PF is using soldiers to bar MDC rallies in Manicaland and the
servicemen are also directing chiefs and other traditional leaders to block
MDC rallies.

Last week villagers in Nyanga said Headmen and Chiefs were forced by
soldiers to gather at Nyamasara secondary school in Nyanga where they were
told to not to allow the legislator for the area Douglas Mwonzora to
organise any meeting any more.

When will Mugabe stop his killings?

One of Zimbabwe's most prominent white farmers was murdered in an overnight
attack on his home Monday.Kobus Joubert, 67, was shot dead and his wife Mariana, was beaten up.
Two years ago, Joubert, a former president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco
Association, was attacked by militants loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai Prepares For Election

The MDC has reportedly already started preparing for elections after Zanu PF's
President Robert Mugabe repeatedly announced that elections will be held
next year to choose a government to run the country and not the current
situation where three political parties are all in charge

Rights Group Warns of Resurgence in Political Violence

A Zimbabwean human rights watchdog organization warned Monday that political
violence is on the rise again in the country, especially in traditional
ZANU-PF strongholds such as Masvingo and Mashonaland Central.

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Executive Director Abel Chikomo said
militants of the former ruling party have launched violent campaigns in the
provinces in preparation for possible national elections next year.

Reports said Zimbabwe War Veterans Chairman Jabulani Sibanda has launched a
campaign code-named '"Budiranai Pachena," Shona for "Let's tell each other
the truth." His critics say this is a cover for intimidation of members of
the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change, in government since
the 2008 elections.

Police bar MDC from holding Harare meetings

The MDC reports that they were barred from holding a consultative meeting on
Wednesday at Cyril Jennings Hall in Harare. Senior police officers from
Southerton Station blocked the meeting, claiming they had not been notified
on time. The police have also barred a meeting that was scheduled for Glen
View on Friday.

A statement from the MDC refuted the police claim saying the MDC Harare
provincial secretary, Tsaurai Marima, had indeed notified the police, as is
required by law. But the police turned down the applications claiming that
they had not been informed in advance.

Zanu activates terror

Zanu (PF) is reactivating its terror machinery spearheaded by war
veterans, traditional chiefs and state security agents, in a chilling
reminder to Zimbabweans that the forces of darkness that stalked the run-up
to the June 2008 presidential run-off are still intact and raring to roll
out once orders are given.

The revival of the Zanu (PF) violence structure is chronicled in a
21-page report published by the MDC-T last week which listed at least
50 incidents of violence and intimidation perpetrated by war veterans,
police officers, soldiers, Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)
operatives, chiefs and youth militias during the past three months.

According to the report Zanu (PF) has reactivated militia training camps in
some parts of the country. Zanu (PF) youths are known for using such traning
camps as torture basis where perceived opponents of President Robert Mugabe
and his party are assaulted, raped, tortured or even murdered.

"Zanu PF has established youth militia training camps at five schools in
Maramba Pfungwe in Mashonaland East province, disrupting normal learning at
the schools ahead of the Constitution-making process," the report said.

Zuma faces criticism on Zimbabwe

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma found himself facing strong criticism at
the European Parliament on Wednesday, for the way he has handled the
Zimbabwe crisis in his role as the regional facilitator.

Police hound witnesses in MDC activist’s murder

Two key witnesses in the brutal murder of MDC activist Crispen Mandizvidza
are now on the run, after police indicated they wanted to arrest them for
the killing.

23 year-old Mandizvidza died from injuries sustained after a group of ZANU
PF supporters attacked him. Some of the attackers have been positively
identified and are residents of Mbare and have not been charged.

Police had also harassed mourners gathered at the late
Mandzvidza’s home over the weekend.

Victims of violence arrested

Tsvangirai's MDC-T party on Tuesday said
four of its activists who were assaulted by members of President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU PF were arrested by the police after attempting to report the
assault.

The MDC-T said the four, Godfrey Cotton, Edmore Manyofa, Shingi Gorekore and
Paul Majarifa were assaulted last Sunday in the Harare low-income suburb of
Mbare when a public hearing on the proposed new constitution degenerated
into violence.

man dies after gang attack by Mugabe's party

A security guard died of his injuries Wednesday, hospital officials
said, following a weekend attack by a gang of youths from President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU(PF) in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

Crispen Mandizvidza was walking a relative home on Sunday night in Harare's
crowded Mbare township when about 50 youths from the party descended on
them, said the officials who asked not to be named. Mandizvidza was forced
to the ground and youths bludgeoned his stomach with crowbars.

The incident came as hundreds of ZANU(PF) youths, bused in from rural areas,
were deployed all over the capital to disrupt meetings held by a
parliamentary committee to canvas the views of ordinary Zimbabweans on what
they want in a new constitution.

Eleven other people were injured, and a 26-year-old woman is still in the
private Avenues Clinic with head injuries.

Witnesses said large numbers of police were deployed, but took no action as
Mugabe's youths hurled stones at supporters of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and attacked them with
iron bars, took over the parliamentary committee's meetings and drove out
white participants.

Violence in Mbare

FIVE officials from the main faction of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) were seriously injured when marauding Zanu
PF supporters swamped Mai Musodzi Hall in Mbare, Sunday, and unleashed an
orgy violence during a constitutional outreach meeting.

Gukurahundi finally classified as genocide by leading experts

The Gukurahundi massacres that saw tens of thousands of innocent Zimbabweans
killed by soldiers loyal to the Mugabe regime in the mid eighties, were on
Thursday classified as genocide by the internationally recognized group
Genocide Watch. Based in Washington DC, the group's chairperson, Professor
Gregory Stanton, said the Mugabe regime has been trying to sweep this
atrocity under the rug for 30 years now but this classification now means
the perpetrators can be prosecuted no matter how much time has passed.

Speaking to SW Radio Africa Professor Stanton said: "It's been clear to us
from the beginning that this was genocide. The reason why it is important to
label it as genocide is because genocide is the crime of crimes. It is the
worst of all crimes against humanity"

More importantly Professor Stanton explained that there is no statute of
limitations for genocide or for crimes against humanity. This means the
people who committed these crimes may be called into court at any time.

He added: "They've been trying to act as though this is something that
should be forgotten. But it shouldn't be forgotten because in fact denial is
the final stage of genocide. So the question is how do you bring people who
have committed genocide to justice."

The Professor, who was in Harare meeting victims of the atrocities back in
2001, said that a crime as serious as genocide should be investigated by the
High Commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, by the African
institutions on human rights and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Since Zimbabwe is not party to the treaty of the ICC, the court could not
directly indict Robert Mugabe and others that were involved in the killings.
"But the United Nations Security Council can in fact refer the situation to
the ICC, just as they referred the situation in Darfur. And it is the way in
which President Bashir of Sudan has now been indicted for genocide,"
explained Professor Stanton.

Police looking for Roy Bennett again

The latest malicious attempt by the police to arrest the MDC
Treasurer-General and deputy Agriculture minister-designate, Senator Roy
Bennett is a well-orchestrated political persecution and victimisation of
the MDC. Police officers from the Law and Order Section have for the past
two weeks been hunting for Bennett on yet to be established set of
trumped-up charges. What is more worrying is that the police officers are
refusing to state their agenda on why they want to arrest Hon. Bennett.
However, what is clear is that Senator Bennett has no case to answer and the
attempt by the police to incarcerate him is only politically motivated.

Two years of so-called unity and:

It has been two years since the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was signed
to usher in much needed change in Zimbabwe, but
No rule of law
Continued human rights abuses
No democracy
Unemployment at 90%
No media freedom
Tyrant Mugabe still in power
Looting of blood diamonds
Escalating violence
24 outstanding agreed upon issues.

Farm invasions continue, 2 years since signing GPA

It has been two years since the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was signed
to usher in much needed change in Zimbabwe, but farm invasions are still
continuing.

Wednesday marked two years since the agreement was signed by the leaders in
the unity government, who all agreed to create conditions to ensure
productive agriculture. The once bountiful sector has been destroyed by ten
years of land invasions, done under the guise of 'reform', to the benefit of
Robert Mugabe's cronies. The result has been that almost no farms are
productive, hunger is widespread and the population relies on imports and
food aid to survive.

Violence forces cancellation of meetings

A total of 23 constitutional outreach meetings were cancelled in the last
week in some districts of Manicaland province, after ZANU PF supporters
resorted to using guns to disrupt the meetings.

30 day deadline passes and still no GPA implementation

Tuesday was the end of the 30 day deadline imposed by regional leaders on
Zimbabwe's unity government, to finally implement the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), but still nothing has changed.

The 30 day deadline was set at the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Summit in Namibia where the regional bloc's defence body, the Troika,
endorsed a report by the facilitator in the Zimbabwe crisis, South African
President Jacob Zuma. Zuma's report suggested that the coalition government
be given another month to implement 24 outstanding issues in the GPA. In his
report to the Troika Zuma said if the agreement on the 24 items was
implemented on schedule, it would lay the basis "for the conviction to grow
that Zimbabwe can reach her goal of holding free and fair elections."

ZANU PF kicks into election mode with ‘threats’ of more violence

The ZANU PF party has kicked into election mode after it recently launched a
campaign that many of its opponents view as a coded message to activate its
political violence machinery.

The party’s national chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo, launched a new campaign
dubbed ‘ZANU PF: The Unstoppable Machine,’ using newspaper advertisements to
fire broadsides at political parties such as the MDC formations. Part of the
messages contained in the campaign includes statements like; ‘The legacy
left by our fallen heroes should never allow any visionary Zimbabwean to
live on borrowed oxygen.’
‘Cognisant of the fact that the land reform program is now complete and also
irreversible – the thrust being now on economic emancipation of our entire
people and unity of purpose. Offshoot political parties will remain
offshoot, offside and scoring own goals,’ read some of the statements

Elections in 2011 ??

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai Saturday said he and President
Robert Mugabe had agreed to hold elections next year and whoever lost should
not challenge the outcome of the polls.

Tsvangirai told about 5 000 people gathered to celebrate MDC-T's 11th
anniversary that the two leaders had agreed to take advantage of the
prevailing peace to hold elections that would put an end to the unity
government although army generals have in the past vowed that Tsvangirai would never rule the country as long as they were alive.

Mugabe Refused Hero Status for MDC Leader

Gibson Sibanda, who died at age 66 in his home city, Bulawayo, was a life-long fighter for democracy, a former legislator, and a trade unionist who was detained for his activism by both Rhodesia and Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF administration.

Sibanda was the deputy president of the MDC when it became a political party 10 years ago, and had been on a committee promoting national healing and reconciliation within the 18-month-old unity government when he died.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who is also president of the main MDC party, said Sibanda's name "shall remain an indelible imprint in the sad narrative of our determined and brave march towards a new Zimbabwe."

Tsvangirai spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Mr. Mugabe's refusal to declare Sibanda a national hero was motivated by "cruelty, contempt and revenge."

Two state prosecutors tortured for sending war vets to jail

Two state prosecutors who were based in Matobo in Matabeleland South
province fled the country earlier this month, after they were severely
tortured for their role in sending three war vets to prison for stock theft.
In July, the state eventually convicted the war vets and sent them to serve
15 year jail terms for stealing cattle from a farm that belonged to the late
Matabeleland South Governor, Stephen Nkomo. A younger brother to the late
Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, Stephen died in 2003.

But mystery surrounds the release of the three war vets from incarceration
after barely three weeks into their long prison terms. When they were
released they reportedly teamed up with CIO's in Matobo to crackdown on Moyo
and Chaita.

The two public prosecutors were picked up and held incommunicado at a
torture house, where they were severely beaten by the state security agents.
It was alleged they had been sent by the MDC to ensure that the war vets
were convicted.

Amnesty for killers

The Movement for Democratic Change and human
rights activists on Monday expressed outrage at Robert Mugabe's
call for amnesty to perpetrators of politically motivated crimes.

Mugabe told people at the national shrine on Monday in Harare that the national
healing programme was not going to criminalise political violence perpetrators.

"We have embarked in earnest on the process of national healing,
reconciliation and integration. For the sake of our children and posterity,
I want to urge all of you to note that the process of reconciliation is
national.

War Vets leader threatens to squash Tsvangirai like a ‘fly’

Notorious war vets leader Jabulani Sibanda has threatened Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, comparing him to a ‘fly’ that could be easily killed by
swatting it against a window. Sibanda who has made a political career out of
terrorizing and killing MDC supporters was addressing villagers at Mashoko
Business Centre in Bikita West over the weekend.

According to a report by Newsday Sibanda is terrorizing villagers in Bikita
with the help of a group of war vets and ZANU PF activists. ‘Tsvangirai is
just like a fly in a kombi or a bus. The fly can sit on the driver’s seat
but that does not make it the one in charge of the bus. He can be eliminated
in the political set-up anytime and life will go on,” Sibanda ranted against
the Prime Minister.

Unity Government far from working

Tsvangirai told party supporters during a rally at Old Lwendulo Grounds in
Hwange that the coalition government was not working adding his party could
only deliver on its pledges if it had the "full authority" to govern.

"The process of transition is an irreversible process to a free and fair
election, because we can not continue to have this mule powered government
as it is not doing much," Tsvangirai said.

The MDC-T leader said only a new "free and fair" general election would
solve what he described as a "governance crisis" in the country.

"This coalition is just a temporary arrangement. We want a permanent
solution to the crisis of governance in this country," he said

Parties to the coalition government appear resigned to holding fresh
elections, possibly next year, after failing to reach agreement on a number
of so-called outstanding issues in the implementation of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA).

Mugabes thugs attack a cop

KWEKWE - A senior police officer here is nursing 10 stitches on his
forehead, after he was attacked by suspected supporters of President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party two weeks ago.

Junior police officers in this small Midlands town told The Zimbabwean that
Superintendent Richman Madiro, already in the radar of Zanu (PF) terror
gangs after continuously repelling their attacks on the MDC in the district,
was severely beaten by two men and left for dead at his Redcliff home on
July 25.

President Obama calls it like it is

President Obama focused attention on Mr. Mugabe further Tuesday in calling
Zimbabwe's plight untenable.

"I'll be honest with you," the American president said. "I am heartbroken
when I see what has happened in Zimbabwe."

In a White House meeting with a group of young Africans, Mr. Obama added:
"Mugabe is an example of a leader who came in as a liberation fighter and -
I'm just going to be very blunt - I do not see him serving his people."

Mr. Obama said Harare must signal more convincing reforms are being
implemented before Washington will consider lifting travel and financial
sanctions on Mr. Mugabe and his inner circle.

A spokesman for Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party called Mr. Obama's criticism
"hogwash." Rugare Gumbo accused the West of causing the suffering of
Zimbabweans by imposing sanctions over the past decade.

Sydney Chisi, one of the three Zimbabweans attending the White House youth
forum, said Mr. Obama's remarks were on target, adding that Harare invited
sanctions by engaging in gross human rights abuses.

Mugabe up to tricks again

Chinhoyi was this week the focus of Mugabes beatings as his thugs were sent out to beat and cause havoc in this tiny town.

With the constitution talks now on the table. Mugabe is choosing his beatings and torture as a way of intimidation.

ZANU PF youths harass UN mission-journalists

ZANU-PF activists one of them claiming to be a son of a local
chief in Bikita's Maregere village on Thursday harassed a group of
journalists who had gone on a United Nations mission-field visit to
investigate children's issues in the area.

The middle aged man, approached journalists who were interviewing local
people and demanded that they should present themselves to him first before
talking to the community.

He said no issues concerning rights of the children were supposed to be
discussed with local people who are not members of the parliament led
constitution making process.

"Where are you coming from and who gave you the permission to talk to my
people without my knowledge?; which media organizations do you work for?,"
he asked, before journalists said they were coming from the state controlled
newspaper Herald and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.

Two members of the ZANU PF militia join the slogan-chanting youths.

"Are you sure that you are all from the Herald and ZBC?, he reiterated
before a senior official from the ministry of Information and Publicity,
Regis Chikowore intervened and told him that he was a government official
accompanying the journalists.

Zanu PF after Sikhala

Job Sikhala, the leader of recently formed breakaway political party the
MDC-99, claims he was the target of a petrol bomb attack late on Friday.
Speaking to Newsreel Sikhala said he was not home when suspected state
agents petrol bombed a minibus that was outside his St Mary's home in
Chitungwiza.

The controversial former legislator for St Mary's is convinced the incident
was engineered by ZANU PF to try and get him into a political fist fight
with the MDC, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. This is because the
culprits behind the attack moved around in a blue Nissan Sunny vehicle that
had no number plates and were distributing MDC-T fliers, suggesting the
party was behind the attack.

"Why would the MDC-T bomb my residence then leave fliers implicating
themselves," he asked. He said the fliers also alleged that he had met
secretly with MDC-T senior figures like Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Elias
Mudzuri and Fidelis Mhashu, who are alleged to be disgruntled with
inter-party power struggles. Mhashu and Mudzuri were recently dropped in a
cabinet reshuffle while Biti is having to deal with accusations he is
leading a faction opposed to Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai forced to cancel church visit

Morgan Tsvangirai was forced to cancel his scheduled visit to
the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) Mbungo Shrine in Defe, Gokwe at the last
minute after state security agents reportedly threatened and intimidated the
church with unspecified action.
Tsvangirai was invited to address the ZCC's annual conference at Defe Dopota
at the weekend but the church cancelled the programme citing threats and
intimidation by unnamed state security agents.
ZCC said state security agents ordered them to remove PM Tsvangirai's name
from the list of invited guests.
The issue became desperate when the church tried to resist the move. The
church insisted that if PM Tsvangirai was stopped from addressing the
congregation then no politician would be allowed to address them.
Vice President John Nkomo and MDC-M vice president Gibson Sibanda were among
the invited guests.
The politicians were expected to address ZCC members on the on-going
national healing and reconciliation process. The ZCC is one of the biggest
churches in Zimbabwe and in the region.
PM Tsvangirai's spokesperson James Maridadi, confirmed the last minute
cancellation of the Gokwe meeting in the Midlands province after reports of
intimidation and threats.

ICC urged to probe Zim youth militia

The International Criminal Court must probe alleged crimes against humanity after Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's youth militia launched a campaign of rape during 2008 elections, a campaign group said Wednesday.

Witness statements by rape victims, vetted by a team of international lawyers, suggest the ruling Zanu-PF unleashed "sexual terror" against women who supported the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), it said.

The charges were made by Aids-Free World, an advocacy group co-founded by the UN's former special envoy for AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, after an 18-month investigation.

A legal dossier will be handed to the ICC in The Hague next month, in the hope that the court's prosecutor can launch proceedings for crimes against humanity, Lewis said.

"What we are calling for collectively is serious intervention at every level," Lewis said at a press conference at the world Aids forum in Vienna.

He urged the UN Security Council, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union to end their "criminally delinquent" silence.

"We know as we are sitting here that it's going to happen again," said Lewis.

"There's not the slightest question that Mugabe has his youth corps and his war veterans, and they are ready to do it again and the world is silent. How is it possible that he's allowed to get away with it?"

International court urged to prosecute Mugabe

A leading advocacy group has called for urgent international action to prevent the “looming carnage” in Zimbabwe, warning that the next presidential election will condemn thousands of people to violence, unless there is immediate action.
The group, AIDS-Free World, has urged the United Nations Security Council to take the lead in confronting Robert Mugabe, warning that the “writing is on the wall” for more politically motivated violence ahead of possible elections. The group expressed particular concern for the safety of the country’s women, warning they could face a “grisly repeat” of the politically motivated rape campaign orchestrated by Mugabe during the 2008 elections.
Last year AIDS-Free World released a shock report detailing the horrific rape campaign against Zimbabwe’s women, as part of ZANU PF’s violent strategy to hold on to power. The report, ‘Electing to Rape: Sexual Terror in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe’, documents 380 rapes committed by 241 perpetrators, who all identified themselves to their victims as ZANU PF members. The report also detailed that the figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as many other rape victims are too fearful to come forward. Any kind of justice for the crimes has been nonexistent, and there has been no condemnation or action from either the African Union or the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

MDC-T ward chairman arrested in Mutare

The MDC structures in Manicaland have reported that the harassment, intimidation and torture of their party officials in the province have continued. In Mutare on Thursday, agents from the Law and Order division at Mutare Central Police Station arrested the MDC-T ward 11 chairman, Lovemore Kapungu.

According to the MDC-T provincial spokesperson, Pishai Muchauraya, the charge is that Kapungu uttered statements that ‘undermined’ the ZANU-PF non-elected councilor for Mutare, Esawu Mupfumi, during a meeting.

MDC official assaulted during COPAC meeting

A senior MDC official taking part in a constitutional outreach meeting was on Monday severely assaulted in front of the police, who shockingly did nothing to arrest the culprits who are alleged to be ZANU PF officials.
The incident took place at Kaziro Business Centre, Madziva in Shamva North, Mashonaland Central province, on the day the consultative meetings resumed after a week long break.
Morgan Komichi, the MDC-T’s deputy national organising secretary, said they were deeply concerned by reports of the assault of Martha Muronzi, the MDC Women Assembly’s chairperson for the province.
‘The attack took place in full view of the police, the COPAC leadership and participants to the outreach program. The reason for the attack is that she submitted a written proposal to the COPAC team. The attackers are well known ZANU PF officials who branded our chairlady a sell-out for freely airing her sentiments during the meeting,’ Komichi said.

MDC activist stabbed by ZANU PF youths

An MDC activist in Gokwe is fighting for his life in hospital this week after he was attacked by two ZANU PF youths and stabbed.

The attack against MDC activist Tongai Ground happened on Monday at Gokwe Centre after the two youths accused him of causing their arrest in 2008. The pair, Siyaseni Chatemera and Tawanda Kukama, were arrested for assaulting Ground during the presidential election run-off in 2008.

Mugabes and his thugs try to take over some farms

Supporters of Robert Mugabe have left a German-owned property following threats that aid from Berlin would be cut off, a German embassy spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Observers said it is believed to be the first time that diplomatic pressure against Mugabe's administration had succeeded since he launched a revolutionary land reform programme in 2000, driving 4 500 white farming families off their property and setting off the collapse of the agriculture-based economy.

Three farms, owned by German citizen Heinrich von Pezold, which produce coffee, tea, fruit and timber in the Chipinge district in the south-east of the country were invaded by mobs in early June.

Although the farms are covered by a decade-old bilateral investment protection agreement, police refused to take action against the invaders

No Mugabe at the wold Cup Finals Please

Well FIFA sadly went along and had it's world cup in south Africa despite calls for it to be moved due to South Africas support of Mugabe.
Now i have asked FIFA to see to it that Mugabe is not at the final.

Mugabe needs to watch the final from a prison cell.

Zanu PF blocks MDC’s Voice of Real Change

The MDC notes with concern attempts by Zanu PF to derail the party’s efforts to provide the people of Zimbabwe with a new information platform launched last week. The audio service, dubbed the Voice of Real Change, is meant to give the people of Zimbabwe a new and exciting platform to know what is happening in the country and in their party.
However, the service has since been terminated and suspended after Zanu PF, through the regulatory authority put pressure on Econet to block some of the lines used for the service.

Within three days of operation, Zanu PF threatened cellular phone service providers, Econet Wireless, Net-One and Telecel with closure following the MDC’s use of cellular lines for the audio service. It is heartening to note that the other lines, Net-one and Telecel lines used in the audio service have not been blocked and continue to operate without any hindrances. The Telecel and Net-one numbers such as 0734142600 and 0713 102 917 have not been blocked.

It is telling to note that our service was disrupted hard on the heels of a threat to one of the cellular phone service providers by one Nathaniel Manheru, who is widely believed to be a senior but misguided civil servant in the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity.

Zimbabweans still top global asylum seeker list despite GNU

In the clearest indication yet that the formation of the unity government has done little to change the situation in Zimbabwe, a new report has shown that Zimbabweans still top the world list of asylum seekers.

The report by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was released last week and is based on findings during 2009, the first year of life under a coalition government in Zimbabwe. The report: 2009 Global Trends - Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons, shows that more than 158 000 Zimbabweans had applied for asylum last year alone. The report cites “political and economic turmoil” and “uncertainties” over the fragile coalition government as key reasons behind the numbers fleeing the country, a figure which is three times higher than the next list-topping country, Burma. Zimbabwe’s figures were also alarmingly higher than those of war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Somalia.

The worst dictators

An US organisation which prepared the failed states index has also listed 23 leaders of countries as the worst dictators.

The names and a brief description of them follows:

The worst dictator is Kim Jongil of North Korea, according to the listing prepared by the Foreign Policy/Fund for Peace Failed States Index (FSI).

1.KIM JONG IL of North Korea: A personality-cult-cultivating isolationist with a taste for fine French cognac, Kim has pauperized his people, allowed famine to run rampant, and thrown hundreds of thousands in prison camps (where as many as 200,000 languish today) -- all the while spending his country's precious few resources on a nuclear programme. Years in power: 16


2.ROBERT MUGABE of Zimbabwe: A liberation "hero" in the struggle for independence who has since transformed himself into a murderous despot, Mugabe has arrested and tortured the opposition, squeezed his economy into astounding negative growth and billion-per cent inflation, and funnelled off a juicy cut for himself using currency manipulation and offshore accounts. Years in power: 30

US slams rising violence in Zim

The United States on Wednesday condemned a recent wave of arrests of leaders of Zimbabwe's embattled civil society, as well as signs of burgeoning violence around the country.

Indications are growing that President Robert Mugabe's police and intelligence agents are cracking down on outspoken civic groups and pro-democracy parliamentarians.

The crackdown comes ahead of the start of a critical operation by the power-sharing government to seek public opinion on the drafting of a new constitution.

A statement issued by the US embassy to Zimbabwe on Wednesday referred to the US' concern over the arrest of NGO leaders, referring in particular to Farai Maguwu.

Maguwu, the director of an organisation that has helped expose widespread violence by police and soldiers in Zimbabwean diamond fields against illegal diggers, was arrested last week.

He was accused of publishing statements prejudicial to state security over the alleged killing and torture of hundreds of diggers in 2008.

Lawyers said that in the last three weeks, three MPs from the Movement for Democratic Change - which is in a coalition government with Mugabe's Zanu-PF party - had been arrested on charges of insulting 86-year-old Mugabe.

The US also raised the case of the arrest and alleged torture two weeks ago of two employees of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, the country's gay movement, after a pornographic DVD was allegedly found in the organisation's office during a police raid.

The embassy said it was also concerned by reports from human rights groups of increased political violence around the country.

Female Zanu (PF) youths a terror

Female Zanu (PF) youths were trained to terrorise suspected MDC supporters in the run up to June 27, 2008 presidential elections, and some lived to tell the tale of attacks at their hands. (Pictured: – Inspirational MDC-T supporter Betty Amidu Kachichidza.)

Marondera resident and MDC-T supporter, Betty Amidu Kachichidza (42), explained how she narrowly escaped death at the hands of a female Zanu (PF) thug.
“It was one night in 2002 when I was asleep in my house in Dombotombo. I was woken up by a loud noise from people forcing my door open. My children were asleep in the room.
“To save my children from imminent death, I went to the room to challenge and possibly fight off the thugs. A group of youths numbering more than 50 including Garikayi Nyamakombo and Juliet Kanchito of 42 Kuwe Street, grabbed and whisked me to a nearby truck.

Salt in her wounds

“They started beating me up. Juliet Kanchito hit me with a sharp metal object on the head, legs and arms. I lost consciousness and they drove me to Dombotombo dam, where they intended to dump me. They rubbed salt into my wounds, to increase pain. I had never experienced or heard about such inhumane brutality.

“Meanwhile, one of my tenants, Tendayi Nyamuzhira, had rushed to report the incident to MDC-T ward chairperson, Johannes Razunguza. Razunguza and Nyamuzhira in the company of other party activists braved the danger and came to my rescue. The thugs fled leaving me for dead.

“Nyamuzinga and other sympathizes, rushed me to Borrowdale hospital for treatment. Given my critical condition, I was transferred to Harare for specialist treatment. I was admitted to hospital for several months because part of my brain was damaged. My hands and legs were badly hit by what appeared to be a machete. I could not believe females could be so heartless and dangerous.

“During my stay in hospital, Nyamuzhira, whom I regard as my hero, took care of my children. She provided them with food and other requirements. May god bless her with long life. I also owe my life to councillor Razunguza and other party activists who selflessly saved me.

“I was discharged from hospital in a wheel chair. My body was paralyzed. I later walked with the aid of clutches. No one believed I would walk again. My right arm remains supported with some metal devices from within. Sympathy from fellow MDC-T supporters and my belief in the struggle for democracy, gave me strength and hope. I remain convinced that dictatorship is about to fall and democracy will prevail in the country.

Freedom from tyranny

“Since I have gained fitness, I am back in the trenches fighting for democracy. The struggle for freedom from tyranny is my life. Nothing will scare me off from the justified and worthy cause.

“MDC-T as a caring people’s party is doing its best to ensure my family has food on the table. Though I do not expect to be rewarded for participating in the people’s struggle, I would like to commend President Morgan Tsvangirai and his elected officials at all levels, for acknowledging our contribution and sacrifices in the fight against dictatorship.

“My assailants, Juliet, Garikai and others continue to roam about scot-free. I hope the national healing process will run its full course. Perpetrators of violence must face justice, if the national healing exercise is to bring any lasting solutions to political polarization in the country”.

Perpetrators of violence such as Garikai continue to threaten Betty with death. Just last week, Garikai reminded her at Tutani Shops that she would be attacked again if she did not shift her political allegiance to Zanu (PF). Despite the threats, she remains a permanent and outstanding figure at MDC-T gatherings around the province. Like any other MDC-T supporter, Betty is calling on people to exercise restraint and political tolerance as they prepare the constitution and eventual elections. She has confidence that MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai, Senators, Members of Parliament and councillors will romp to a resounding victory.

ZANU PF's violence

Reports have been made country-wide that Zanu (PF) has stepped up its intimidation tactics ahead of the constitution making process set to kick off next month. This week a high-level undercover delegation was sent into Epworth, a shanty town on the outskirts of Harare, by the Union for Sustainable Democracy.

The findings shocked members. “We were dismayed by repeated accounts of how Zanu (PF) thugs are threatening to mete out violence on anyone who defies their formula for the constitution-making process,” Epworth residents spoke emotionally about how people in Epworth have been ordered by Zanu (PF) thugs to report for political meetings against their will.

The message, they said, has been a very simple one: ‘Shut up and leave the task of responding to questions to those who have been selected to do so’.

Police abduct farmer's wife

Gary and Jane Sharp who had been evicted from their farm in the Shamva area won a court case last wednesday allowing them to return to their farm and collect their belongings.

No sooner had Mrs Sharp walked out of the Court, when she was bundled into a police van and taken to Shamva Police station where she was held in the Charge office overnight. Her husband was told that if he wanted his wife free he must sign his farm over

On Friday 29 May 2010, a group of between 30 – 50 Zanu-PF youth spent the day trashing and looting the homestead of Mrs Helen Newmarch who has a small farm approx 7 kms from Marondera on the Harare road. Helen was widowed many years ago and has brought up her four children by continuing to farm on her own.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Thursday Zimbabwe elections will go ahead next year, despite infighting that continues to hamper the government's power-sharing agreement.

Zimbabwe's unity pact between Mugabe and rival Tsvangirai has held back progress which has stood in the way of elections. "When we emerge from the constitutional reform program an agreed timeframe for elections will be outlined," Tsvangirai told a news conference in South Africa, during a trip to meet with supporters.

Australia have it right

The Australian government has insisted that Robert Mugabe must be out of Zimbabwe’s political picture, before international aid will be available to help rebuild the country.



In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent in Canberra, Australia this week, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, said his government wanted Mugabe to go before financial aid for reconstruction can be extended to Zimbabwe.



“Our position is that Mugabe should move off the stage to allow a new beginning,” he told the Independent on Tuesday. “The coalition government has failed to implement the global political agreement in full because of Mugabe. He should move off the stage if the country is to reengage with the international community.”

CIO do it again.

Two student leaders from the Zimbabwe National Student’s Union (ZINASU) were hospitalised on Friday after they were abducted and severely assaulted by Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives.



The pair, Godfrey Kurawone and Alec Tabe, was scheduled to address a students gathering at Masvingo Polytechnic before they were picked up by the CIO Thursday. They were later taken to Masvingo Central police station and on Friday were ordered to pay US$20 fine each for public disorderly charges. According to the MDC the two leaders have been admitted to a private hospital and are receiving treatment for the injuries sustained.

What will Mugabe stop at?

Women beaten as violence spreads

The violence of Zimbabwe's politics have now touched even this tiny, rural hamlet, leaving behind a badly injured and shattered woman - her life changed in one night. (Pictured: Attacked by Zanu youths, Abigail Bamhare was rushed to hospital after being beaten and hit with stones.)
A group of supporters of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) suddenly arrived at the dusty cluster of mud and log huts, dragged out Abigail Bamhare and almost beat her to death.
"I was preparing to go to the shops to buy vegetables when six Zanu youths led by a Zanu official said 'nhasi tazokuwana' (we have finally met)," a tearful Bamhare related. "They lifted a big stone and crushed my back and shoulder."
She said her mouth was slashed with a sharp object. The sight of so much blood sent the youths fleeing from the scene of the attack.
The group of men then went to a nearby hut and attacked another victim suspected of supporting the MDC.
Neighbours rushed Bamhare to hospital where she had to have 11 stitches and treatment for other serious injuries. She reported the case to police.
No-one came to help the woman as she was beaten; most men were away and the women and children in the hamlet were cowering in their huts, listening to the cries and thuds.

Poll sets Mugabe panicking

Mugabe's fears were highlighted in a recent speech by Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara.
Mutambara, also leader of the smaller faction of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) said: "A recent survey I saw said Tsvangirai will win by 88
percent if elections are held next year. So, do you think Mugabe will go
into elections knowing that he will lose?"
Mugabe announced in February that Zimbabwe will have elections in 2011, with
or without a new constitution.
Political observers said they believed the date was still feasible despite
numerous delays in coming up with a new supreme law, caused mainly by Zanu
(PF)'s fears of losing power.
A shadowy pro-Mugabe outfit calling itself the Zimbabwe Movement for Peace,
Reconciliation and Unity last Friday published another of its long-running
full-page advertisements, under the headline: "No to early elections".
Through a mixture of threats that Zanu (PF) will resort to violence if
defeated to wild claims that countries like China and Russia, seen as
favourable to Mugabe, would not accept a Tsvangirai victory, the group made
a tenuous case for an extension of the life of the GNU (Government of
National Unity).
Tsvangirai has refused a poll before a new constitution is put in place. He
recently told the Americans, during his visit to that country, to receive a
human rights award that he was optimistic a referendum for the new
constitution would be held next year.

SADC must set roadmap for polls

Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday called on the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) to urgently convene a summit
that should set a "clear roadmap" to fresh elections to choose a new
government to replace his uneasy coalition with President Robert Mugabe.

The SADC alongside the African Union is a guarantor of the 2008 political
agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai that paved the way for the two to
form last year a unity government that has been able to stabilise Zimbabwe's
economy but remains threatened by a dispute between the two former foes over
power-sharing and appointment of senior public officials.

"The party urges the immediate convening of a SADC summit to resolve the
matter which SADC summit should clearly discuss the road map to an election
and guarantees to the legitimacy of this election," said Tsvangirai who last
year temporarily suspended his MDC party's participation in the unity
government in protest against the arrest of his top ally, Roy Bennett.

Tsvangirai was speaking after a meeting of top MDC leaders to review
progress of the coalition government.

Bennett is accused of illegal possession of weapons of war and plotting to
assassinate Mugabe. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

But Tsvangirai says charges against Bennett are politically motivated and
false, and told journalists yesterday that the state's decision last week to
appeal against Bennett's acquittal by the High Court was part of: "ZANU PF's
(Mugabe's party) continued persecution and prosecution of Bennett

ZANU PF block food aid to HIV orphans

officials and war veterans in Mberengwa district in the
Midlands province are blocking food aid to HIV/AIDS orphans demanding that
they should join the party's youth league first.

The inclusive government has embarked on a feeding programme to benefit
children orphaned through HIV/AIDS in Mberengwa. The children receive food
hampers containing packets of beans, cooking oil, mealie-meal, rice, soap
and many other items on a weekly basis.

However some Zanu (PF) officials and war veterans in Mudavanhu area in the
district have taken over the programme and are demanding that all
beneficiaries should join the party's youth league if they want to continue
receiving food.

2 years on and the GPA has not worked

The GPA signed by Zanu (PF)'s President Robert Mugabe and the two Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) faction leaders Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and his deputy Arthur Mutambara in 2008, has stalled due to outstanding
issues regarding the swearing in of MDC's Roy Bennett as deputy Minister of
Agriculture, the reversal of appointments of Gideon Gono as Reserve Bank
Governor and Johannes Tomana as Attorney General as well as the removal of
western sanctions on Zimbabwe, among other issues.

Leaders slam unity govt

African leaders on Friday criticised the formation of coalition governments
on the continent following flawed or disputed elections.

Two African countries - Kenya and Zimbabwe - are now ruled by power-sharing
governments following contested polls which also sparked political crises.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga - named to the post in a 2008 deal with
President Mwai Kibaki whom he accused of rigging his re-election the
previous year - said their agreement should not be replicated.

"The Kenyan example is not a model to be followed. It is a compromise that
has been reached as a result of a crisis," Odinga said during the World
Economic Forum on Africa being held in Dar es Salaam.

"It is not an example for Africa to follow. Zimbabwe followed because it was
seen that the incumbent has lost and refuses to leave power (and) there is a
danger of disintegration of the state," he added.

South African President Jacob Zuma - whose predecessor negotiated the
Zimbabwe deal - defended the agreement, but said lack of implementation was
undermining it

Condolences to the Gasela family

Renson Gasela, a fine gentleman who I had met and spent some time with here in Atlanta GA was tragically killed in a road accident over the weekend.

My utmost and sincere condolences the family and friends of such an outstanding man who was filled with integrity and a willingness to see change.

I am deeply saddened and will never forget our time spent together.

This is a loss not only to MDC, but to Zimbabwe and the world.

May you rest in peace?

Iran strikes secret nuclear mining deal with Zimbabwe's Mugabe

The agreement was sealed last month during a visit to Tehran by a close aide to Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president who last weekend celebrated 30 years in power, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.

In return for supplying oil, which Zimbabwe desperately needs to keep its faltering economy moving, Iran has been promised access to potentially huge deposits of uranium ore - which can be converted into the basic fuel for nuclear power or enriched to make a nuclear bomb.

"Iran secured the exclusive uranium rights last month when minister of state for Presidential affairs, Didymus Mutasa visited Tehran," said a Zimbabwean government source. "That is when the formal signing of the deal was made, away from the glare of the media."

Mr Mutasa is the former lands minister in the Zanu-PF administration and one of Mr Mugabe's most senior aides.

The revelation came after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, visited Zimbabwe last week to show his support for Mr Mugabe. At a lavish official dinner in his honour on Thursday evening, Mr Ahmadinejad blasted what he termed "expansionist countries" for exerting "satanic pressures on the people of Zimbabwe", adding: "We believe victory is ours, and humiliation and defeat is for our enemies."

Mugabe backs Ahmadinejad on nuclear Iran

Robert Mugabe has backed Iran's "just cause" on seeking nuclear power, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues his Zimbabwe visit.

Zimbabwe's leader said both countries had been "unjustly vilified and punished by Western countries".

Mr Ahmadinejad has opened a trade fair in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.

Iran's leader also castigated Western nations, saying: "They want to seize the markets of the countries [Iran and Zimbabwe] and destroy their economies,"
The visit has exposed the deep divisions in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government.

The Movement for Democratic Change of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has condemned the visit and did not send anyone to welcome Mr Ahmadinejad at Harare's airport on Thursday.

It said inviting him to open a trade fair was like "inviting a mosquito to cure malaria".

Zanu PF and it's thugs back on the attack

15 Zanu (PF) youths on Friday stormed the Gwanda Municipal offices
and severely assaulted the Director of Housing and Community services in a
row over 400 residential stands.
According to the Gwanda Mayor, Lionel DeNecker, the 15 youths who were
coming from Bulawayo and on their way to Manama High School to attend Vice
President John Nkomo's victory celebrations assaulted Sipho Mdlongwa with
clenched fists and booted feet.
Clr DeNecker said the youths stormed the council chambers at about 1pm and
demanded to see Mrs Sipho Mdlongwa whom they were accusing of insulting
President Mugabe.
"The 15 youths arrived in a white pick up truck inscribed Zanu (PF) Bulawayo
Province and demanded that she comes outside, dragged her and proceeded to
assault her with clenched fists and booted feet while accusing her of
insulting the President," he said.
However, DeNecker said the youths were not happy with the way Mrs Mdlongwa
was distributing the 400 housing stands in the town but chose to hide behind
the accusations of insulting the President.

Arrest for not standing

Political tension is intensifying in Mashonaland Central between MDC and
ZANU PF supporters, resulting in two provincial leaders from the MDC-T being
arrested on Tuesday for allegedly disrespecting ZANU PF governor Martin
Dinha.

The MDC said their chairperson for Mashonaland Central Tongai Jeki, and
district treasurer Saymore Mhenhe, were arrested because they didn’t stand
up during independence day celebrations in Bindura, disrespecting the
governor.

WOZA Women Experienced Hell In Prison

Four members of the Women Arise of Zimbabwe (WOZA)
arrested on Thursday outside ZESA headquarters, Jenni Williams, Magodonga
Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa and Celina Madukani, have finally been released
from police custody after spending five nights in cells.

"The four women endured hellish conditions in the cells - the worst that
these veteran activists, who have been detained on numerous
occasions, have ever seen. All women require medical treatment for a rash
all over their bodies and diahorrea due to the filthy conditions
and flu symptoms from the cold conditions. Their bodies also ache from being
forced to sit and sleep on cold concrete for six days,"

The violence continues

16 families from Hoya ward 17 in Charunda village of Chief Kasekete in
Muzarabani yesterday fled their homes at night to seek refuge at St Albert
business centre to avert organized terror from a group of more than 200 ZANU
Pf youths hired from Chiwenga ward.

Earlier this weekend, in an insidious criminal act of impunity that has left
the village paralyzed, Paradzai Chabayanzara and a group of unidentified
ZANU Pf youths are reported to have burnt down the Charunda village AFM
church and Kafuramutowa's house member of the MDC. Speaking to ROHR
Zimbabwe, the district chairman for Muzarabani, Freddie Matonhodze said the
church was burnt because the ZANU Pf supporters are alleging that it's a
church for the MDC people.

Easter Mugabe Style

INSTEAD of commemorating the Biblical suffering, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ during Easter, some Christian families in Muzarabani and Shamva
had to endure their own suffering - but for political reasons. Reports from
rights organisations, Victims Action Committee (VAC), Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition and the Restoration of Human Rights (Rohr) Zimbabwe said some
churches were last week persecuted for political reasons.

VAC said 28 people, including 10 children under the age of 12 and two
teenagers, were on Wednesday forced to flee their homes after being
threatened with violence.

A Zanu PF supporter, Ishmael Jeni is alleged to have threatened the victims
at a prayer meeting held at Zhanda village of Chishapa area in Shamva.

"Jeni threatened to descend on them with a group of Zanu PF youths at night
to destroy their houses to drive them from the village for being supporters
of the MDC," VAC said.

"The families faced a similar fate during the round of violence in March
2008 and now they are squatting in the nearby bushes with no access to food,
water and shelter."

MDC supporter's house burnt down

A Movement for Democratic Change supporter's house was last week
burnt down by a Zanu (PF) gang as renewed violence against Zimbabwe's
majority party intensifies, the party reported on Tuesday.

The party newspaper, The Changing Times pictured the arson victim, Sarudzai
Taodzera in front of her gutted house.
The front-page report headlined 'Violence flares up again' was published
just hours before South African President and SADC facilitator to the
inter-party dialogue was due in Harare for make-or-break talks involving the
three signatories of a 2008 power-sharing deal involving President Robert
Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara.
The Times said Tsvangirai had been told during a countrywide tour of a
resurgence of violence across the country, including a resurgence of torture
bases set up with the assistance of rogue members of the police.
The Premier was furious that Mugabe's party could so blatantly violate the
terms of the Global Political Agreement which is now threatened by the
ageing dictator's refusal to implement its key provisions, the subject of
Zuma's visit.
Arson victim Taodzera told The Times that the attack took place last
Thursday night but police at Kadzere station had not done anything about it
despite the attackers having been identified.
Taodzera said she lost household property, although no-one was injured as
the house was unoccupied when the attack took place.
Finance Minister and GPA negotiator Tendai Biti visited the home on Sunday
and condemned the attack.

Mugabe planning massive violence on MDC after World Cup

Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) has started recruiting youths for
training in sophisticated murder and torture techniques for a massive
campaign of violence against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) soon
after the World Cup, a report said.

Investigations by The Zimbabwean have revealed that the vicious campaign of
terror is expected to roll into motion in July, soon after the soccer World
Cup ends in South Africa and the media spotlight shifts elsewhere.

High-level sources within both Zanu (PF) and MDC-T as well as the security
services said the purpose of this horrific plan, if it succeeds, was to
plunge the country into total anarchy, making it impossible to continue with
the drafting of a new constitution.

Zuma In Zimbabwe to help the unity government

Mr. Zuma,

You want to help the so called unity government? Tell BOb its time up.

Bob must step down. Its that simple.

www.helpzims.com

A U acts against Madagascar's

The African Union has put sanctions on Madagascar's leader Andry Rajoelina, after he failed to meet a deadline to set up a unity government.

Mr Rajoelina and 108 of his backers will face travel restrictions and have any foreign assets frozen, the AU said.

The organisation wants to force Mr Rajoelina, a former DJ who seized power a year ago, back into negotiations

With this said, what have they said and done about Mugabe? Nothing. Could skin color be a factor here? Typical of the AU

Zimbabwe 'needs peacekeeping force' for election

Tsvangirai and longtime rival Robert Mugabe entered into a power
sharing deal in 2008, known as the Global Political Agreement. Under the
terms of the agreement, the country must hold elections after 24 months.

"We agreed that within the next 18-24 months we go for elections, so far we
have finished one year," he said.

"We still have some months to complete the GPA, we don't want elections that
are full of violence, we want free and fair elections."

Tsvangirai expressed concern about reports of persistent violence he said he
was receiving from across the country.

"We want a peacekeeping force, so that we can have a free and fair
environment for the election to keep our people free so that they can vote.

"We can use AU and Southern African Development Community forces for
peacekeeping during the election period," he added.

Mugabe reassigns powers away from MDC

So much for unity!

Robert Mugabe,has reassigned several sensitive
ministerial roles away from ministers belonging to the party of Morgan
Tsvangirai, prime minister, to ministers loyal to his own Zanu-PF party.
An angry Tendai Biti, finance minister in the coalition government and MDC
secretary-general condemned the reassignment of cabinet responsibilities
saying this was not "the unilateral right" of the president but a joint
responsibility shared by the leaders of the two parties. "This business of
castrating other ministries cannot happen. We will not accept that," he
said.

I will not Quit - Mugabe

Robert Mugabe has said he has no plans to retire and will stand in
the next presidential election a move which will make him a president for life.

Mugabe’s decision to stay on sets the stage for another bruising fight
between him and his fierce rival, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

www.helpzims.com

Thanks to the continued support of the Democratic Alliance

The DA called on the South African government to "rethink its fundamental
approach to Zimbabwe as a matter of urgency", while challenging Zuma to
adopt a more considered stance and refocus South African national policy to
be utilised to impact on Zimbabwe's "dire political situation".

The opposition party suggested that Zuma strongly opposes any acts of
violence towards innocent civilians, and to recommit the South African government
to the targeted sanctions currently imposed on Mugabe and his cronies until
meaningful steps are taken by the Zimbabwean leadership.

Tsvangirai narrowly escapes death

Tsvangirai's Mugabe issued defective car blew a tire while in motion.

What is the possibilty that this car was tampered with? 100 %

Whats happening to the farms??

Surprise surprise!

The same thugs(top army and police officials)who grabbed land during the infamous land reform programme are reported to be leasing their farms to former white commercial farmers after failing to utilise them.

Marriage on the rocks

THE MDC-T is demanding drastic action against Zanu PF youths who last week
threatened Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai with unspecified repercussions
for not advocating for the removal of sanctions imposed by western
countries.

The demand, made after Zanu PF youths marched through the streets of Harare
on Wednesday is set to further widen the gulf between the two parties in the
unity government.

The youths gave Tsvangirai a March 24 ultimatum to call for the removal of
the sanctions.

The latest spat comes at a time when Zanu PF and MDC-T are already trading
accusations over political violence in Epworth, which left several people
injured last weekend.

The parties are also sharply divided over the recently gazetted
indigenisation law.

Rhodesia, We miss you

Jacarandas, blue tinged trees,
Laughing children, all say please.
Smiling nannies loud and chatting,
Queens Club cricket, Rhodies batting.
Braais and picnics, Maleme Dam,
Tanganda tea and Colcom Ham.
Greeting friends to talk and talk,
Hillside Dams were safe to walk.
Snakes and mossies, flying ants,
Schoolboy rugby, winning chants.
Swimming parties,sleep-in nights,
Christmas Carols by candle light.
Honest Police, able and willing,
Downing's rolls ten for a shilling.
Sunday car trips, Matopos caves,
OM 's and Busters Saturday raves.
Week-end outings to Vic Falls ,
Dancing and Ballet in Curtain Calls.
Beautiful gardens, Centenary Park ,
Window shopping just after dark.
Burger and Hot-dogs, Eskimo Ices,
Aromas from cafes of curry and spices.
Snow white tackies, Bata shoes,
Charity fetes, tombola and booze.
Clear blue skies or heavy rain,
Wish I could live it all over again.
Memories fade, so much to tell.
Oh Yes, Dear Rhodesia

We miss you.

86 and counting. Mugabes gift to Zimbabwe

As Mugabe blows the 86 candles on his lavished cake, Zimbabweans look on to:

1) Continued ZANU (PF) Occupation
2) Continued harassment and torture
3) Continued detention and murder of MDC supporters
4) 90 % Unemployment
5) An average life span of 34 years old
6) A country looted by Bob and his demons
7) A unity government that is at collapsing point
8) Outstanding agreed upon unity issues far from implementation
9) Continued farm invasions of which his wife Grace has 12 of the most productive
10) A Zimbabwe run by Satan

Is God punishing us for the sins of our ancestors or does the devil fear Mugabe making hell another Zimbabwe?

www.helpzims.com

Mandel, we salute you

Twenty years ago, I was waiting for my O level results when the best news of all came about. The freedom of Nelson Mandela.

Prayers of millions the world over were answered and a true gentleman was given his freedom. Now, it was a matter of time before he becomes the President of South Africa.

I remember how whites were talking about how screwed they were and how their country was going to the pigs. Mandela on the other hand showed compassion and commitment to the cause. Freedom and equality to all.

Mandela embraced the same white people that jailed him and treated him worse than one can imagine. He stayed his course and ran his race.

Oh how I pray that Mugabe could learn and implement the tactics of Mandela, especially the stepping down aspect.

Just like I prayed for the freedom of Mandela, I will continue to pray for the freedom of Zimbabwe and the tearing down of its corrupt UN Godly government.

Terrorists like Mugabe need to be tor down.

www.helpzims.com

March Madness

On March the 1st Mugabe and his cronies have a law in force to give blacks (ZANU PF)
51% shares and control of foreign owned businesses.

This is total madness and just another sign that Mugabe only things of himself and his thugs as opposed to the millions of suffering Zimbabweans.

Philip Chiyangwa, the so called millionaire businessman nephew of Robert Mugabe made tons of money this way. This is plain old theft.

www.hepzims.com

Mugabe Strips Tsvangirai Of Powers

A fresh confrontation is looming in Zimbabwe's shaky power sharing
government after President Robert Mugabe reportedly ordered all ministers to
stop reporting to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai but to the two Zanu PF
Vice-Presidents in a bid to demote the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
leader.

Highly placed government sources have told Radio VOP that the Mugabe issued
the directive through a memo written and signed by the country's chief
secretary to the president and cabinet Misheck Sibanda last week.

The controversial directive by Mugabe, which goes against the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) which gave power to Tsvangirai, is likely to
escalate tensions in the transitional government following last week's
collapse of talks between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.

Election whistleblower living in fear after death threats

Shepherd Yuda, the 38 year-old former prison officer, famed for exposing how
Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party rigged the ballot in the 2008 Presidential
run-off, revealed on Wednesday he still receives threatening letters and
phone calls.

The clandestine footage Yuda shot inside jail gave incontrovertible proof of
how the military hierachy stole the elections for Mugabe by forcing rank and
file members of the armed forces to vote for him in front of their
superiors.

After the expose, Yuda fled to the UK where he's now in his second year at
university studying applied science and forensic investigations. Speaking on
the programme, The Hidden Story, he admits paying a price for his actions.
He has been receiving torrents of abusive and threatening e-mails since
2008, and his family and close friends have not been spared either.

"I am very concerned about the harassment of relatives and friends in
Zimbabwe," Yuda said, adding that "there were threats sent to my e-mail and
made to my mobile phone - death threats. I'm still getting hate mail and
some phone calls."

He added; "They are truly stomach-turning and show what sort of venomous
monsters we are up against as pro-democracy activists. At times the messages
and hate mail left me shaken up and terrified, but I worry much when the
same people turn against my family and friends who had nothing to do with
what I did," Yuda said.

Some of the texts were 'graphic' and made him fear for his life and were
considered so severe that security has been stepped up around him and his
family. Though the police keep a discreet distance, Yuda is safe in the
knowledge that all his movements are shadowed, and home closely monitored.

"I have changed homes twice now in the last year, and changed my mobile
number a couple of times, but you still get a sense that there is a baying
mob hunting you down out there - like a pack of wolves. Personally, I can
fend for myself but I am worried about those near me," Yuda said.

The original plan for the secret filming was to show what life was like
inside Zimbabwe's prison system but, by chance, Yuda was present with his
hidden camera when a senior prisons officer organised vote-rigging by
getting fellow prison officers to fill in their postal ballots in his
presence.

He also obtained footage of ZANU PF rallies where voters were told to
pretend to be illiterate so that an official could fill in their ballot
paper for them in favour of Mugabe. Since then state security agents and
ZANU PF supporters have hunted him down obviously without success.

Last week at a funeral wake for his young sister who passed away in
Chikangwe, Karoi, his home town, CIO agents visited his family thinking he
would fly from the UK to attend the burial.

"I was warned in advance that I would put myself in grave danger if I went
to the funeral in Karoi. My family is still under surveillance and the
minute my sister died, state security agents knew about it and went looking
for me. I would have loved to have gone but because I have refugee status in
the UK, laws don't allow me to travel to Zimbabwe," Yuda said.

"I don't regret doing what I did. I wanted the world to know that Mugabe
rigs elections and I'm happy they saw it. I have an uncle who lost a leg
during the electioneering period, and I know of many people who died because
Mugabe used the military to kill unarmed civilians," Yuda added.

Tsvangirai Says Early Elections Could Solve Zimbabwe's Political Problems

"There is going to be a deadlock, and I have said to our party
representative that let's finalize this, let's not procrastinate by saying
we are going to have another meeting let's see what we have agreed and what
we have not agreed," said Morgan Tsvangirai. "Therefore we are able to say
to president Zuma and SADC that ZANU-PF is refusing to implement and
therefore as far as we are concerned the only solution is that let's agree
on a road map to an election."

Only last month the prime minister rejected a call by South Africa's
President Jacob Zuma for elections next year. Mr. Zuma is mandated by the
Southern African Development Community - or SADC - with facilitating talks
on the implementation of the so-called Global Political Agreement (GPA)
which brought about Zimbabwe's power-sharing government. SADC is a guarantor
of the deal along with the African Union and South Africa. South Africa is a
member of SADC.

Mugabe and the white farmer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxz03dyZj40

What unity government??

The announcement by Zanu PF's Robert Mugabe that Zanu PF had sourced more
than US$10 million from donors, which it would use to purchase agricultural
inputs for distribution to various parts of the country, is a clear
indication that Zanu PF continues to run an illegal parallel government.

Mugabe's disclosure at the just ended Zanu PF congress gives further weight
that Zanu PF is working against the success of the inclusive government by
its attempts to create parallel structures, which is clearly against the
Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Despite the Zanu PF propaganda that the Prime Minister's office is running a
parallel government, Zanu PF continues to confirm every week that it has a
parallel agenda outside the government framework. Only last week another
senior Zanu PF official, Saviour Kasukuwere admitted before a parliamentary
portfolio committee that Zanu PF had wrongly recruited over 13 000 Zanu PF
youths into government structures.

Senior cop admits 2008 rigging, violence

The nation-wide bloody reign of terror unleashed against MDC
supporters after that party's March 2008 electoral victory was conducted by
senior police officers because junior officers could no longer be trusted to
support the defeated Zanu (PF) leader Robert Mugabe, according to leaked
police documents.

The mainstream MDC and its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, had overturned Zanu
(PF)'s 28-year-old parliamentary stranglehold at the polls and given Mugabe
his first ever personal electoral defeat.
Documents in our possession, backed by statements from reliable sources
within the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), indicate that Police
Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, chose senior police officers, ranking
superintendent and above, to lead the gory retribution operation because so
many officers in the lower ranks had begun to support the MDC.
Although it could not be ascertained how much they were given for taking
part in the bloody campaign, the senior officers are said to have earned a
lot of money and been rewarded with subsequent promotion.
During the reign of terror, between 200 and 500 MDC supporters were murdered
in cold blood, while some were left with horrific injuries and thousands of
others were displaced during the bloody "Operation Mavhotera Papi? (Who did
you vote for?)" which also involved war veterans, soldiers and Mugabe's
youth militia.

New Mazdas
Junior officers also revealed that superintendents and trusted inspectors,
especially war veterans, were given brand new Mazda B1800 and Mitsubishi
pick-up vehicles without registration numbers, which they used on their
terror campaigns.
"They went about threatening people with war if they continued to vote
Tsvangirai, saying that they would not stand and watch while this country
was given back to the whites," said another police officer. "Some even went
to the extent of abducting people and torturing people who were deemed to be
MDC supporters."
The junior officers said that the superintendents were taken to provinces
where they were not known, so that they would not be easily identified by
members of the public, while PISI details were always at hand to record all
the campaigns and note them down, after which they would transmit their
records to Chihuri.

Shifting loyalties
Chihuri is said to have accused junior officers of having connived with
members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to engineer Mugabe's
defeat, as they had allegedly shifted their allegiance from Zanu (PF) to the
MDC.
"We were accused of being sell-outs who were determined to see Mugabe being
toppled by Tsvangirai, whom the superiors said was an agent of the West,"
said a Bulawayo-based Assistant Inspector, who cannot be named.
"They even supervised our postal ballots because they knew that most of the
junior officers would vote Tsvangirai, as had happened in the earlier round
of voting. Several junior officers were either dismissed or frustrated into
leaving their jobs, after they were followed by members of the PISI (Police
Internal Security Intelligence) everywhere they went and everyone they spoke
to was scrutinised."
The junior officers said that Chihuri wrote several signals to all police
officers in Zimbabwe, in which he accused junior officers of having
"watched" while elections were being "rigged" in favour of the MDC and
Tsvangirai. One of the signals in our possession was written by Faustino
Mazango, the then Chief Staff Officer (Operations).

Irregularities
Written on May 2, 2008, when he was still a Senior Assistant Commissioner,
Mazango (now Commissioner responsible for Human Resources), claimed that the
widely-recognised March 29, 2008 elections were "fraught with irregularities
and discrepancies that occurred right in the presence of our police officers
who were deployed at all polling stations throughout the country."
In the signal, titled, "Security of voting process" and whose reference
number is 326/1/1, Mazango gives an indication that the ZRP was under fire
from Zanu (PF) authorities, who blamed its officers for the party's and
Mugabe's electoral embarrassment.
Mazango, who signed the signal in his capacity as the ZRP's Commander for
Harmonised Elections, addressed the signal to Chihuri and copied it to all
police provincial, district and station commanders.
This was after Chihuri and other members of the Joint Operations Command
(JOC) - comprising commanders of the army, police, air force and the
much-despised Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) - had demanded an
explanation of what had gone wrong during the elections and a strategy that
would resuscitate Mugabe's then failing political life.

Police blamed
"This poor record in the history of Zimbabwean elections has been blamed on
the police who were docile and unpalatably passive throughout the whole
voting process," said Mazango in the 10-page signal, also identified as
Circular number 17/2008.
"It is hereby directed that for the forthcoming run-off elections, ZRP shall
have a tacit responsibility to monitor as well as take charge of the whole
voting process at every stage."
Mazango said that in the run-off, the police would, among other things, take
over the responsibility of checking prospective voters' names against the
voter's role and assisting those who could not vote on their own.
"The discrepancies and irregularities that consist of serious electoral
fraud as well as silly errors could have been avoided had deployed police
officers taken a keen interest in their job and properly followed the
proceedings at their respective polling stations," said the senior police
officer, who is also one of Chihuri's close confidants.

ZEC rigging
Mazango also blamed Mugabe's defeat and what he termed police's "flaccid and
resigned approach to the voting process" on lack of training for police
officers and their willingness to allow ZEC officials to rig elections.
He also went on to give some statistics of alleged vote rigging, deflation
and inflation of results in a bid to rob Mugabe of victory. He claimed that
at some polling stations, unregistered people were allowed to vote, while
some of those registered, including police officers, were turned away.
"It was also exposed during the recounting exercise that some unregistered
persons were allowed to vote in the harmonized elections," said Mazango. "In
one such alarming case of electoral fraud, a police officer at a polling
station in Bikita South Constituency connived with the presiding officer and
allowed nine (9) unregistered persons to vote. The two officers were
subsequently arrested and charged with electoral fraud."

Living hell
Last month we published a story detailing how junior ZRP members were
subjected to a "living hell" by their commanders in the run-up to the sham
June 27, 2008 presidential election run-off.
Their freedom of movement was curtailed, leave and time-off cancelled, their
visitors barred from camps, while they were threatened with either dismissal
from their jobs or firing squads if Mugabe lost to Tsvangirai again in what
would have been the decisive presidential poll.
They also revealed that they were hauled to Zanu (PF) campaign meetings,
presented as "Police Projects" and harangued by their superiors, who would
denounce the MDC and order the officers and their dependents to vote Mugabe
back into power.

MUGABE HAS TO GO