SPEECH BY ZAPU PRESIDENT, DR DUMISO DABENGWA DELIVERED AT THE SAPES TRUST POLICY DIALOGUE FORUM

Ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by thanking SAPES Trust for inviting me to address you today, and thank you also for coming to listen and dialogue on this very important matter of the national question.
If we are to try and answer the question of our discussion, we must first define what the national question is, and whether there is a problem in that regard. The very fact that we are gathered here today to discuss this issue should be indicative to everyone that we do have a nationality issue to be resolved, sadly so many years after our independence. It is no consolation that Zimbabwe is not unique in Africa in this regard; nor is Africa unique with these problems. You only have to mention Rwanda and Bosnia to understand the critical nature of the national question to any nation’s wellbeing.
In my view, the national question that has bothered each one of us is how do we transform Zimbabwe from a pseudo democracy to a real democratic nation state. Yes we achieved independence in 1980, and have held elections whenever they were due since then, though in recent times our elections have dismally failed to satisfy the most generous definition of a free and fair election. In any case, democracy is more than just fulfilling an election calendar once every three years for local government elections, and every five years for national elections. Democracy means individual freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of association, press freedom, religious freedom, cultural freedom, freedom from hunger, freedom from poverty, freedom from joblessness, among other key matters. Are we free from these problems that I have just catalogued? I am sure the answer is a definite NO!
How then do we resolve the national question? Some among us naively imagine that replacing current president Robert Mugabe with a younger person will cause all our problems to vanish. I beg to differ. This reminds me of the illusions we had during the war that the moment we overpowered Ian Smith’s regime and put in power a black majority government, our problems would be over. As we know, our problems became worse, depending on which political side you were. Some of us found ourselves locked up in jail even when we had been acquitted by the courts. It is unbelievable that a good 20 000 people were killed for holding different opinions from those in power. Others found themselves running out of the country to be refugees once more, this time running away from a government they risked their lives to put into power.
I am under no illusion this time around that simply changing the colour of the oppressor like we did when we removed Smith and put a black Mugabe in power, or simply replacing an 87-year-old president with a much younger one will do the magic. We need to change the system first and foremost, more than we just need to change the person.
Theoretically, Zimbabwe is on the brink of resolving the national question. Mugabe is on his way out, through electoral defeat or natural causes, whichever comes first. Also, the country is working on the drafting of a new constitution, both of which should give us yet another chance to restart our life as a nation. The dawn of a post-Mugabe era and a new constitution surely are two very important political developments that we must fully utilize to resolve the national question. As for the old man, I presume it is safe to leave him to God who created all of us, and to the voters. He is as good as gone, as far as I can see; unless of course if we the winners of the next election decide to be magnanimous and accommodate him whichever way we deem necessary.
What is of immediate importance to the nation in my view is to impress on the drafters of the new constitution to be as sincere as they can and come up with a 21st century document consistent with other progressive democracies. While there is generally consensus on some issues such as the separation of powers and press freedom for instance, ZAPU is worried that there is indifference and hesitation in some quarters on the critical matter of systems of governance. There is no denying that Zimbabwe is made up of five distinct ethno-ecological regions, namely, Mashonaland, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland and Manicaland, and that these regions are defined by commonalities of language and tribe. For 31 years, the rest of the regions have been prejudiced by being fooled to believe that we are one, when we are many. What is one is the country Zimbabwe, while the citizens belong to many major ethnic groups that have specific and separate anxieties and demands from the national cake. We cannot bury our head in the sand and pretend that all is well when we see and feel that it is not.
ZAPU’s vision is for Zimbabwe to be a democratic nation state, a state that respects, promotes and protects all human rights; that is, economic, social, cultural, religious and political rights, without discrimination of any kind, such as race, ethnicity, language, gender, religion, political affiliation, or any other kind of discrimination. Zimbabwe must be a state that promotes justice and equality between all races and all ethnic groups, a state whose citizens are equal before the law and in terms of opportunities and responsibilities. The citizens must be owners of the state and its supreme authority. I am saddened that currently in Zimbabwe the state owns the citizens and it is the supreme authority of the citizens, yet we say we are a democracy.
Zimbabwe used to be a rainbow nation, but we have since year 2000 been working hard to obliterate the other colours of the rainbow by approaching the land reform as a race issue rather than a national issue. As a result, we have almost uprooted the entire white community in the country. Before that, our state embarked on an exercise during the 1980s that specifically targeted people of a certain ethnic group. ZAPU recognizes that Zimbabwe is a multi-ethnic state. We are not just black and white, Shona and Ndebele. Our society consists of many ethnic groups such as the Karanga, Zezuru, Manyika, Kalanga, Tonga, Nambya, Sotho, Venda, Shangani, Ndau, Xhosa, Korekore, among others. There is no way we can seek to resolve the national question and set up a democratic state without identifying and including all these ethnic groups and according them the same political, cultural, economic and religious rights.
How then do you balance all these interests? ZAPU has got the answer. It lies in our anchor policy of devolution of power from Harare to the regions or provinces. This demand must be implemented under the proposed new constitution. Devolution of power empowers citizens, even those in the periphery to be interested in the issues of government and governance. Currently, it is as if one has to come all the way to Harare to talk to the government because there is no government in the provinces. Government offices manned by “outsider” civil servants and an unelected, and usually unpopular provincial governor are not the government.
Devolution of Power to Provinces guarantees that:

1. Responsibility is divided between various centres to prevent abuse of power by central government;
2. Local needs are more effectively identified and addressed

Our government is too centralized and too controlling, yet very remote from the people to the extent that there is no relationship between the government and the governed. This is wrong and must change.
ZAPU envisages the creation of five regions or provinces, namely, Mashonaland, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland and Manicaland, to be run by elected provincial governments presided over by an elected premier or governor. There must also be regional houses of assembly or parliaments to formulate relevant provincial legislation and supervise government. The provincial governments must be elected through a first-past-the-post system to ensure that the popular party in the region or province presides over its affairs. The national house of assembly and government must be elected using the proportional representation sysyem to ensure that all political or regional interests are catered for and every vote counts towards the composition of the National house of Assembly – ensuring that all opinion in the country will find expression within that national constituent body.
Our vision is that provincial governments must have control over development issues in their areas, and must own and control the natural resources in their areas on behalf of their people. Obviously there must be a formula of how to share the resources between regional and the national government. Provincial governments must also be responsible for the provision of social services such as water, health, and education, leaving central government to run defense, security, international relations, among other matters.
Devolution equals democracy. It provides a more democratic and inclusive governance system and makes citizens active and inclusive participants in the development of their nation. It provides for a framework to fair and equitable distribution of power and resources. The 30 years of centralized governance that we have endured surely should have left us all aware of the bottlenecks it creates by having all affairs solved in Harare, even something that could be resolved by a chief and his council under his traditional indaba tree, or at worst at the regional government offices.
In conclusion, let me emphasize that we would be very far from resolving the national question if we limit our scope to the removal of someone from power and replacing them with someone else, and leave the same system still intact.
Human beings are selfish by nature and will always be tempted to abuse all the power if it was all given to them. Mugabe has ended up like Smith. Surely, the next president will end up like Mugabe if he finds the same system that Mugabe and Smith used still in place. We therefore need to change the system faster than we want to change the person. Trying to continue with the current centralized system of governance is unsustainable and will lead to very serious problems in the near future. This is a matter that requires sincere, open and frank discussion by those who wish to be leaders of this country going forward. In as much as we need to balance inter-party interests, we also need to balance regional interests if we want our nation to remain united and peaceful.
And we have this chance in our hands!!
I thank you.

Leeds(ZimEye)History was made just outside the northern town of Huddersfield on Friday night as the UK Conservative party launched an off-shoot to comprise purely of Zimbabweans at a dinner dance.
This is the first time Zimbabweans who have in the past been associated with former Prime minister Tony Blair’s labour party, will play an active role within the Conservative party structures.
The development is also likely to usher in a fresh dimension to the Zimbabwean situation since the Conservative party are central to the Zimbabwean political scenario as it was only through their intervention that Zimbabwe became a nation after former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher facilitated a transition from colonial Rhodesia to the new nation Zimbabwe in December 1979 culminating to independence in April 1980.
The Conservative party is however open to all foreign nationalities regardless of their ethnicity.

The Zimbabwean Tories will be led by former MDC Ambassador, Emily Madamombe who is widely respected among many Zimbabweans and was once Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s highly trusted emissary to Europe.
The formation of the Zim-Conservatives comes as the Zimbabwean opposition MDC leader Tsvangirai was exposed of open hypocrisy recently, a factor which has drastically reduced public trust in the MDC faction both at home and internationally following Tsvangirai’s highly contradicting statements to the British media.
The responsibility of the Zim-Conservatives is to act as a bridge between the Zimbabwean community and the UK government and also help aid Zimbabwe’s government in various ways. Chief of the Zim-Conservative’s  aims is the intention to act as a reliable informant to UK and European government policy makers.
The wing is to comprise Zimbabweans from all walks of life.
Announcing the new formation was the speaker for the event Craig Whittaker, MP for Calder Valley.
Zimbos wishing to join can call freephone 08081789489
More to follow…

Harare(ZimEye)ZIMBABWE’s 2012 budget presentation which was scheduled Wednesday 16 November has been postponed to an unannounced date because of President Robert’s trip to Asia.
“We are sorry that the budget presentation which was supposed to be held tomorrow has been affected by the President’s visit which we did not anticipate. We are not yet informed of the new dates but it is going to next week,” a Ministry of Finance official who declined to be named told ZimEye.
President Robert Mugabe who on Friday last week unceremoniously left the country for Asia is believed to have passed through Singapore, one of his frequent destinations in Asia, where he has been receiving medication in recent months on his way to China.
According to the state controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Mugabe during his ‘official’ visit met with Chinese potential investors from the mining, real estate and air transport sectors in Hong Kong.
ZBC said the first family today joined hundreds of parents in Hong Kong to celebrate a lifetime achievement by their daughter, Bona, who graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration Honours in Accountancy Degree at City University in Hong Kong.
Informed government sources disclosed that the octogenarian leader flew out of the country to Singapore on Friday evening accompanied by his wife Grace although the motive of Mugabe’s visit to Singapore was not yet clear.
Mugabe is scheduled to return back home on Sunday. The trip to the Asian country is his ninth this year.
Last month Mugabe travelled to Singapore but upon his return he could not confirm whether he had sought medical treatment.

Speculation is growing around the 87-year-old leader’s health. Early this year, Mugabe’s spokesperson disclosed that he had visited Singapore for a cataract operation.
But the Zanu-PF leader frequently denies rumours about his ill-health. Last month upon his return from Singapore, Mugabe told a journalist from the state-run media at the Harare International Airport that he was “fit” when asked his heath status.

Harare(ZimEye)A fresh bail application by the MDC Youth Assembly chairperson, Solomon Madzore will be heard at the High Court today, the MDC party announced in a statement.
Madzore is currently detained at the Chikurubi Maximum Prison on charges of murdering a police officer in Glen View, Harare in May.  Th MDC party says the charges are false.
He was arrested last month and denied bail after High Court judge, Justice Hlekani Mwayera said Madzore was a flight risk.

The Youth Assembly chairperson is part of 28 MDC activists who have been arrested in connection with the murder of the police officer at a night club at Glen View 3 Shopping Centre.  Others have been granted bail while Madzore and seven others are still in remand prison. 
The bail appeal by the other seven was last week referred back to the High Court from the Supreme Court after the judge ruled that there was need to first notify the High Court of their intention to make an appeal at the Supreme Court.

(Harare)Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe has handed 3 elephants to China. This was in appreciation for the fact that China helped President Mugabe’s wife build an orphanage for 1000 children.
“On the 19th May this year, President Mugabe reaffirmed the Presidential Decree, protecting the Presidential Herd of elephants. We do not know where the 3 donated elephants came from but on the one hand, the president is promising to protect the elephants, and on the other, he is giving them away – subjecting them to a long traumatic journey which they may not even survive,” a statement by the Zimbabwe conservation Task Force reads.

Meanwhile, the ZCTF has raised concerns about a Chinese-owned milling company in Shamva, next door to the GMB. It is alleged that gold miners in Umfurudzi, Shamva and Bindura take their ore to the milling company to have the gold extracted.
The milling company sells 3,5 kilograms of mercury to each miner and this mercury is then used in separating the gold from the ore.
“After separation, the balance of the ore is dumped in a huge pile which is now approximately 15 feet high, 30 feet wide and 60 feet long and the complainants are concerned that there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that the mercury is removed from the waste ore prior to dumping.
The mill runs 24 hours per day and mills four tons of ore per hour This means that approximately 96 tons are milled and dumped per day. One miner claims that he used 700 grams of mercury to process 28 tons of ore,” reports the ZCTF. The biggest concern is that when the rains come, the mercury contaminated waste ore will be washed into the Mazoe River system, poisoning the water for aquatic life and humans. Mercury can cause various diseases including cancer. The ZCTF has appealed to the Environmental Management Authority to investigate urgently (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Oxford(ZimEye) A dubious OXFORD based ZIMBABWEAN Car dealer has gone into hiding after a ZimEye article was published which linked him to a fake Western Union transfer in which a lumpsome of £3 500 was stolen.
Kudzai Mukono’s two mobile phone numbers have remained switched off in recent days, with voicemail messages not being responded to since early last week.
Recently ZimEye also requested Mukono’s current contacts via email but  to date neither reply has been obtained nor information supplied since Friday.
Mukono together with two suspected accomplices Trevor Kanhongo and a certain Malvin Murombedzi, are alleged to have misrepresented themselves as genuine car dealers in order to obtain payment from a Namibian buyer and then making a fake transfer using a counterfeit Western Union document. The £3500 was meant to be paid to a British seller but instead is said to have been later transferred to a Zimbabwean, Malvin Murombedzi, instead of the former. The figure forged onto the Western Union document(pic) was meant to be the amount intended to pay for the vehicle and Mukono now claims he too rather is a victim of the scam carried out by his alleged accomplice.

The Western Union document Mukono supplied is seen bearing a small fee of £19,08 which charge is impossible since Western Union transfer fees are far greater.
Kudzai Marcus Mukono resides in Oxford and his last known cell phone numbers are +447412725188 and +447587491006. See the attached picture of Kudzai Mukono and a copy of the forged western union transfer which Western Union has confirmed as a fake. (ZimEye)

(Birmingham, UK) A ZIMBABWEAN PASTOR reported missing by his wife and later found dead in the loft of their home in Birmingham, England, had a strong passion that Africa will arise one day, it has emerged.
Pastor Ruvimbo Muchemwa’s passion for Africa’s ascension to prominence is seen in one of his poems titled “Africa Arise”, the first on list of all his poems. The first two paragraphs of the poem speak of Africa’s horrific past and cast faith that the time for Africa’s moment has come. They read:

They christened you dark
Seeing your paganism
And your demonic heritage
But the light has dawned
On you from heaven above
So as to prove
That God loves you
Just as you are
They said you were LAST
But God has made you FIRST
Even as He promised
Making you a people
Who were a non-people
Becoming His very own
The beloved of God
Wearing the robes of righteousness,
and salvation
Before the nations of the world [FULL POEM – CLICK HERE]
Ruvimbo Muchemwa’s wife raised the alarm on Tuesday evening after returning home to find his car was not in the garage, and he was also not there.
When he did not return that night, she called the police who found his vehicle two blocks away from their property in Bartleygreen, Birmingham, the next morning.
After police discovered his car keys in the clothes that he had discarded in the house, a full search was conducted and his body was recovered from the loft.
West Midlands say they are not looking for anyone else over the 37-year-old’s death. An inquest will be conducted.
Friends of the pastor, who led services at the Christian Faith Church, which he founded, said he suffered depression after a serious back injury forced him to give up work as a teacher.
“His life became a struggle after the injury and he was always heavily medicated just to get by. Some of us were concerned by the amount of pain-killing medication he was taking, and feared something like this would eventually happen,” a friend was quoted by New Zimbabwe.com
Muchemwa, who was married with two children, worked as a teacher in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central, before moving to England more than 10 years ago.
He got a job in Birmingham teaching school drop-outs who had been rejected by local schools.
A friend said: “There was a fight between some students and he moved in to try and stop it but he ended up breaking his back.
“Since then, he has been struggling through pain and had to take pain killing medication just to do the most mundane chores. Sometimes he would go to sleep, then struggle to get up in the morning because of intense pain.
“The medication had a strange effect on him. Sometimes he would just start laughing like someone high on cannabis. But mostly, he complained of depression and being unable to go to work, as well as being unable to grow his church.”
On Tuesday, Muchemwa is said to have called his wife to say he would not be able to pick up their children from school. That was the last time she spoke to him.
Friends, including gospel singer, Obert Mazivisa, have been paying tributes on his Facebook page.
Mazivisa, a friend of the pastor, wrote: “Revelation 14:13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!’ REST IN PEACE Pastor Ruvimbo Muchemwa.”
(ZimEye| Additional Reporting Newzimbabwe.com)

Harare(ZimEye)Zimbabwe’s Youth And Indigenisation Minister Savior Kasukuwere has threatened to sue Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his party over allegations by the latter’s party that Kasukuwere mobilised youths to disrupt an MDC-T rally in Chitungwiza last week.
Kasukuwere said he may be soon claiming criminal defamation damages from Tsvangirai’s party who have remained adamant that they have undeniable proof that the minister was a ring leader in the violent disturbances.
“He (Tsvangirai) has to tell the nation what happened and who told him that I was in Chitungwiza and doing what. I am not taking this as a joke and the PM should open up. It’s serious criminal defamation…I have since approached him and has assured me that he will check with his sources and take the necessary action to put the the record straight…

“A recent press statement by the MDC President M Tsvangirai alleging that l participated or organized the violence that took place in Chitungwiza on Sunday, is completely false and an unfair attack on me,” said Kasukuwere at the beginning of his public statement.
Yesterday MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said the party had credible evidence Kasukuwere personally mobilised the youths and was in Chitungwiza on the day the clashes occurred.
“We have credible evidence, but we will not divulge the sort of evidence that we have,” said Mwonzora who is also a lawyer by profession.

 
Tsvangirai has “apologised”
Kasukuwere said Morgan Tsvangirai has apologised to him.
“I spoke to him and he apologised. He said he was sorry, but I want to find out where he got that information. What will be the point for me to disrupt his rally?
“On my part,I travelled to Mutare with Hwata and the entire day l was attending to my business in Mutare.It is unfortunate that malice will drive people to accuse others or make baseless and unfounded allegations. I will defend myself on this allegation and l will get my name cleared. Its been a very painful moment to have such allegations labelled on me by the MDC President.
I hope we will all be matured enough to handle this matter in a manner that is honest and fair. I am sure the PM will have the integrity of stating publicly his findings.
My stance is clear, violence is unnecessary and must be condemned. Young people must not be allowed themselves to be instruments of destruction and aggression. Differences must not be resolved in violent confrontation and the events of last weekend are unnecessary.
I wish a speedy recovery to all the young people who were affected and call upon the law enforcement authorities to bring the culprits to book.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Leeds(ZimEye)A three year old Zimbabwean girl has performed wonders and now goes down in history as a Yorkshire Young Writer.
She is the only black Zimbabwean winning this award for the year 2011.
Tatyana Mutanda’s name is now listed in a thick 258 page book edited by Mark Richardson for the Young Writers Award.
The book is a collection of outstanding poems titled ‘Yorkshire Poets.
Young Writers is an organisation created to encourage young people to engage in creative writing and has worked with schools, parents and young writers for over 20 years
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

(Harare)The U.S. Ambassador Charles Ray will on Tuesday lead a Food for Thought discussion on transitioning from the military to being a civilian, in advance of the Veterans Day holiday, being celebrated in the U.S. later this week. The discussion starts promptly at 3 pm and will run for an hour and a half at the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section Eastgate auditorium and is on the record.
The discussion comes as the U.S. prepares to mark Veterans Day on Friday, November 11. Veterans Day is celebrated to honor those who served in the military.
Prior to working as a diplomat, Ambassador Ray served in the United States Army for twenty years. He retired with the rank of Major in 1982 and joined the Department of State the same year after which he worked in various assignments
. He was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He also served in the Department of State Political Military Affairs Bureau, and worked in the U.S. Consulate General Offices in Guangzhou and Shenyang, China. In 1998 he became the first U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
During his career in the military, he received two Bronze Star medals from the Army and the Armed Forces Humanitarian Service Award.
He began his tour of duty in Harare on December 9, 2009. Prior to his deployment in Harare, Ambassador Ray worked as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs in September 2006. Ambassador Ray was responsible to the Secretary of Defense for policy, control and oversight of all matters pertaining to missing personnel, and for establishing uniform policies and procedures leading to the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing in action from all conflicts. This mission included the rescue of individuals who fall in harm’s way as a result of combat.

Harare(ZimEye) THE BOSS for the Harare Central prison has been bedding female workers at work and was recently confronted by one of his victims’ husband and admitted he had shamefully abused his wife, ZimEye can exclusively reveal.
Christmas Tarwira, Officer in Charge at the Harare Central prison was caught ‘body on top’ with a fellow work-colleague’s wife early this year.
The victim was Tarwira’s secretary and sources who confirmed our findings said it ‘was purely an office love affair which only happened at work. Murwira, who was then fined two bulls by his victims’ husband, is partners in notoriety with his immediate junior deputy Sup’ George Mutimbanyoka who both have continued to use their positions to abuse female prison guards.
One of the victims, a female worker by name Priscilla Nyamangodo is now dead after she was found with the deadly HIV-AIDS virus.
 
Private Court Hearing
Sup’ Christmas Tarwira was caught having intercourse with female employee for her protection in this article will be been renamed – Shandi Dube. Shandi, is wife to a fellow male prison guard who upon discovering the sickening abuse of his wife, then confronted his father in law who coincidentally also works for the prison service at Chikurubi maximum prison. The father in law is the one who then called for and facilitated a private informal court hearing.
Soon afterwards an informal kangaroo court was convened in May this year during which Christmas Tarwira was fined two bulls as payment for his shameful notoriety, documented evidence in possession of ZimEye reveal. Shandi’s husband has now moved back with his wife following the traditional court payment.
 
No disciplinary action taken
No disciplinary action has since been taken against Tarwira and he continues to work for the prison service as boss at Harare’s Central Prison. “According to work ethics, both Tarwira and Mutimbanyoka should be out of work right now”, a source told ZimEye.
This is not the first time Tarwira has been caught in the act of intimacy at work. he was recently also caught pleasuring himself on another female employee while he was working at Chikurubi maximum prison.
 
Victim died of HIV AIDS
Another case of open sex abuses at the Central Prison is that of Tarwira’s junior Sup’ George Mutimbanyoka. Mutimbanyoka was caught by prison guards several times pleasuring himself on an office chair with the late Priscilla Nyamangodo. No disciplinary action was taken against him and his victim died of the deadly HIV AIDS virus in 2008. Mutimbanyoka is also in love affairs with two other female employees, single mothers, who he has housed at two different staff houses, ZimEye is reliably informed.

It is not clear if the prison bosses utilise condoms when they sleep with female employees.
90% of all personnel joining the prison service into senior posts and transferred from the army are reported to be all HIV positive. ZimEye advocates that the ministry of Justice has to address the concerns of the female employees who are vulnerable and all victims of abuse should be compensated fully.
Zimbabwe and South Africa have experienced a number of reports on prison officers being caught in intimacy at work and both countries have also seen prisoners escape in circumstances believed to be due to mere negligence. Barely two months ago two prison guards were caught on camera right in the act of sex while guarding a prisoner at a local hospital. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

There was fireworks in Harare after South African Jacob Zuma ordered his facilitation team assigned to Zimbabwe to penetrate government and organisations in their fact finding mission for the troubled government of national unity.
This is the first time a South African delegation will freely probe Zimbabwean gvt structures in an effort to address a political impasse between President Robert Mugabe and the MDC parties led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube respectively.
A South African government official said they have received orders to make sure that they are not controlled by anyone:
“Their work is clear and they know they have a SADC mandate and will not be controlled by any individual party in this equation. ”

Meanwhile in Harare a ZANU PF official voiced concern that Zuma’s team had already begun probing GNU issues liaising with people without consultation of either Robert Mugabe or senior members of his ZANU PF party as former President Thabo Mbeki used to do:
“They are meeting officials from executive bodies without government representatives and that constitutes some degree of interference in a sovereign State,” the official quoted by the state run Herald paper mourned.
Zanu-PF and MDC formations signed the GPA in September 2008 leading to the formation of the inclusive Government in February of the following year.
The MDC party recently urged SADC to look into and put in place measures to curb politically motivated violence perpetrated by Zanu (PF) on MDC members and supporters as well as civic society organizations and their members.
The MDC called for the removal of military personnel and Zanu (PF) youth militia from all bases set across the country as part of the revolution-claiming party’s strategy to intimidate the electorate and force them to vote for them.
“It is further the MDC’s position that the Windhoek summit must put in place measures to curb politically motivated violence that is being perpetrated against MDC and civil society members by Zanu PF thugs across the country.
“We demand an end to the selective application of the law by the police and other law enforcement agents. This also includes the immediate removal of soldiers and militia in the countryside and arrest of all known political violence perpetrators,” said the MDC.
After more than two years of maintaining a quiet diplomacy policy, South Africa as the mediator to the Zimbabwean crisis recently abandoned its policy after several frustrations by President Mugabe and his Zanu (PF), with several violations having been reported. South African President Jacob Zuma seem to have had been frustrated by the continued violation of the GPA by his revolutionary counterpart hence his de4parture from the quiet diplomacy.

London(ZimEye)A Belgian community organisation, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has praised the recent Marange agreement reached by the Kimberley Process (KP) to release Zimbabwe’s Marange diamonds for international sale.
AWDC congratulates the KP with the important Marange agreement on the enabling of the immediate export of rough diamonds from two KP-compliant operations in the Marange region, as well as exports from other mining operations in the area following the KP monitoring team’s verification of compliance, a press statement read.
The AWDC as the official representative of the Antwerp diamond sector, is recognized internationally as the host, spokesperson and intermediary for the Belgian diamond community.
”The agreement is a very important milestone in the history of KP. After two years this agreement on the Marange region was reached through patience, perseverance, hope and trust from all the KP members. The extreme important contributions of the KP chair, Mathieu Yamba and of the European Union to reach this agreement were very significant. I would like to extend my gratitude to all KP participants and WDC to facilitate this important decision,” said Ari Epstein, the chief executive of AWDC.

”The agreement doesn’t only mean stability,” said Epstein, ”it also proves once again that the Kimberley Process is the only framework that really works. It protects both the integrity of the rough diamond chain and the benefit of the producing countries. AWDC always protected the KP very thoroughly through its diamond office, and will continue to do so in the future.”
Eighty percent of all rough diamonds worldwide pass through Antwerp.
The diamond office, part of AWDC, is the single entry and exit point for all imports and exports of diamond shipments. The Federal Public Service Economy (Licence Service) and customs supervise diamond shipments. A physical inspection is carried out on incoming and outgoing shipments for all categories of diamonds. In addition, diamond office plays a crucial role in the campaigns to combat smuggling, money laundering and the trade in conflict diamonds.
Diamond office is perceived to be an ethical center, upholding the highest standards globally for the Kimberley Process for diamonds through its diamond office.

(Harare)SEVEN HUNDRED days after being expelled from the party, flamboyant businessman Phillip Chiyangwa has been granted mercy and grafted back into ZANU PF as an inner circle member.
The former Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman has been miraculously re-admitted into the party after exactly 694 days after being given the boot in December 2009.
Chiyangwa, now a professed devout Christian following his incarceration in December 2004 under spying allegations, had a few months before his 2009 expulsion resigned from active politics and had pledged to remain a member rather meeting a ruthless expulsion at the end of the year.

Chiyangwa however remains not cleared and is banned from taking any influential position.
Party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said Cde Chiyangwa bounces back into the party but only as an ordinary member.
“On the Chiyangwa issue we have agreed that he comes back as an ordinary member until such a time he is cleared . . . the Politburo has made a decision (that he would not contest any party position),” he said.
Chiyangwa is joined by former provincial chairman John Mafa who unlike him is however cleared to stand for any position in the provincial structures.
Other members suspended and expelled remain outcasts on charges of not only spying but also supporting rebel politician Simba Makoni’s Mavambo-Kusile-Dawn project.
Phillip Chiyangwa has in the past few years campaigned for his ZANU PF party and at one time publicly stated that he would donate all his wealth to the party for the upcoming national elections. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

(Harare)Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has stood to put to finality controversies flashed against him concerning the matter of gay rights following a BBC video interview in which he says he was misinterpreted.
In a conclusion to his press address Wednesday, Tsvangirai argued that while he differs with gay people, he will never mistreat them and quoted two Bible verses in his defense.
Below is the PM’s conclusion:
Finally, I want to put finality and closure to an issue that has been misinterpreted; the issue of the so-called gay rights. My beliefs on this issue are a matter of public record. My beliefs manifest themselves in my practice.
I am a Christian associated with the Methodist church. I am a father. I am a grandfather. I am a family man.
I am a Zimbabwean and I know the strong feelings of Zimbabweans about this issue. I have those strong feelings too but in the end, Zimbabweans are making their own Constitution and it is that Constitution which will bind every Zimbabwean.
What I refuse to do as a loyal son of God and as a social democrat is to persecute, to judge, to condemn and to vilify people for their own opinions because judgment is a preserve of God the Almighty.
The Book of Luke Chapter 6 verse 37: “Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned.”
The Book of John Chapter 8 verse 7:  “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to thrown a stone…”
So while I may differ with them, as a Christian and as a social democrat, I refuse to throw a stone at them.
God bless you.
And God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank You
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Below is the latest photo taken of a South African teenager Kirsty Theologo who was burnt alive in a suspected Satanic Ritual at the weekend.
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(ZimEye)

(Tripoli) A Kenyan businessman who enjoyed wealth and the spotlight after organising dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s King of Africa-crowning in January is missing in action.
Paul Kamlesh Pattni who coordinated Kenyan chiefs and flew them to Libya in January at Gaddafi’s expense has neither answered nor returned phone calls since the Libyan uprising began.
Pattni who flew in and out of Tripoli on many occasions brought the poverty-stricken local chiefs from Nairobi who enjoyed the luxury of flying for the first time at Gaddafi’s expense, and upon their arrival declared Gaddafi “the King of Africa”.The chiefs were put up in five star hotels, taken around as VIP delegates and then soon afterwards were driven to Gaddafi’s farm.
During a lavish African-ceremony, an Imbongi who ran with a water-smeared feather-brush would shake the traditional object on Gaddafi several times declaring him ‘The King of Africa’.

Several messages were left for Pattni by a ZimEye correspondent between March and October this year but have been ignored.
In the photo (right), Pattni is seen flanked by the elders as he places a crown of what appears to be solid gold onto Gaddafi’s head. It is believed the crown was also paid for, using Gaddafi’s money. The businessman who is of Indian origin is also a highly controversial figure in Kenya where his name is mentioned in a number of national financial scandals.
Gaddafi’s family flees
Meanwhile, following Muammar Gaddafi’s capturing and death on Thursday, reports from Tripoli say that Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam attempted to cross the Libyan border with a fake passport.
“He’s on the triangle of Niger and Algeria. He’s south of Ghat. He was given a false Libyan passport in the Murzuq area,” an official told Reuters.
In the report the official said Muammar Gaddafi’s former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi was involved in the escape plot.
“In the south, they intercepted Thuraya (satellite telephone) communications. Abdullah Senussi has been on the border in that area to organise his exit and also a neighbouring intelligence source tipped us off about that,” the official said.
Saif al-Islam, a fluent English speaker who studied at the London School of Economics, is the only one of Gaddafi’s sons still unaccounted for.
Two fled to Algeria, one is in Niger, two were killed earlier in the Libyan conflict and Mutassim, who was killed after being captured with his father last week near the city of Sirte.
(ZimEye-Libya/Reuters)

Leeds(ZimEye)Sanctions, enticement and pressure have not worked to remove Robert Mugabe, former UK Foreign Secretary of State David Miliband said Thursday just as it was also announced Mugabe’s ally former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, had been caught and killed.
David Miliband said a number of measures carried out to remove Robert Mugabe which include pressure and enticement in the past 20 years have not worked.
As Zimbabwe draws close to elections, greater international attention should to be turned on Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe, Miliband said.

“Every British government in the last 20 years has scratched its head on what to do about Mugabe…Sanctions don’t work. Pressure doesn’t work. Enticement doesn’t work,” he said as he added that greater attention should now be directed towards Mugabe as the former British colony draws closer to elections.
Miliband was responding to questions by ZAPU member Fanyana Moyo who had asked his opinion on the possibility of an Arab spring style uprising taking place in Zimbabwe “bearing in mind Robert Mugabe has instilled fear in the masses”.
Just before Miliband began his speech, it was announced on the media across the world that Mugabe’s longtime Libya ruler ally Muammar Gaddafi had been killed by National Transitional Council forces and footage of Gaddafi being dragged alive before his death were splattered across the internet.
The meeting took place during a labour party campaign engagement at the Leeds Metropolitan University. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

(Washington) A self proclaimed American prophet who was embarrassed earlier this year after his ‘end of the world’ prophecy failed to unfold has declared that the world will come to an end on Friday 21st October 2011.
Harold Camping,who has made 2 failed predictions will make this recent prophecy a third time, which he says the whole world will see. His first prophecy in 1994 did not happen and his recent prophetic oracle on May 21st this year raked in more than 80 million dollars from families who sold their life savings to donate to his project.
The US prophet pays his staff members exorbitant salaries. This year alone, Camping’s organisation was reported be paying its employees $23000 USD per month.
In May, many Christians who believed waited anxiously for the rapture, an undated Biblical prophecy, on the taking away of Christians from the earth before what is viewed by many as the destruction of the world should begin. One woman was reported to have donated her life savings of more than 80 thousand dollars as she waited for the ‘Saturday doomsday’.

“Days before the 21st Oct, Camping’s followers seem to be in a state of nervous anticipation,” writes Barbara Hagerty.
“Nobody has admitted defeat,” says Brandon Tauszik, a documentarian who has been following the movement. He visited Camping’s church in California on Sunday, and it was full.
“The congregation was still very much excited about the approaching date,” he says, “and the sermon was entirely about Oct. 21, which really surprised me.”
Camping has been blasted by Zimbabwean pastors for his prophecy claim.
“I think his interpretations are not right,” Leeds based Rev Anthony Tembo of the Voice Of Revival Church said as he compared Camping’s theory to 500BC prophecies on the birth of Jesus Christ.
“The coming of Jesus had no link to time, it was linked to a season rather than time.”
Camping’s Family Radio church membership is still full despite even using the word “maybe” to describe his prophecy:
“The end is going to come very quietly, probably within the next month,”Camping is quoted as saying.
Tembo said Camping may be erroneously relying on the Roman calendar system currently in use in the world.
“If you try to take the Roman Calendar(which we use) to try to determine an event, you will miss it because our calendar and the Jewish calendar are two completely different things,” he added.
According to the Bible, what Camping refers to ‘the rapture’, is a day when Christians will be ‘taken out of the world’ to heaven before the punishment of evil people should begin. But the Bible does not provide a date and many scriptures say that no man knows the day nor the hour when the Son of Man returns (Matthew 24:36).
Prophecies on the rapture include: 1 Corinthians 15:51 and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.
¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (New International Version) (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

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(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

(Harare)ZIMBABWEAN song bird, Tongai Moyo has died.
The Famous Sungura super-lost his battle with cancer on Saturday, sources close to the musician confirmed.
Moyo is also known internationally and has been one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated musicians
Details were still sketchy at the time of writing.

More detail to follow …

Harare(ZimEye)The High Court bail application by Solomon Madzore, the MDC Youth Assembly chairperson was on Friday postponed again to Monday after the State prosecutor said he was not ready with the submissions.
The matter had earlier on Wednesday been postponed to Friday after the State prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba said he was still ‘busy working on the submissions’. The claim was that the investigating officer had not yet completed his investigations and requested that the case be postponed to Monday.
Madzore is facing charges of murdering a police officer in Glen View, Harare in May. He denies the charges.
He was arrested at his Waterfalls home two weeks ago and is detained at the infamous Chikurubi Maximum Prison.

The MDc cadre is part of 28 MDC members who have been arrested in connection with the murder of the police officer. Eight of them including Madzore were at the time of writing in remand prison while the others were granted bail at the High Court.
It is still not clear who murdered the police officer and the Police have claimed that they were MDC members.
The policeman is believed to have been murdered by revellers at a night club earlier this year. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye) Zambia’s Vice president and the country’s first white Vice President Guy Scott, went to the Marondera based Peterhouse High School, ZimEye has been told.
“He is a Peterhouse boy”, responded MDC Senator Eddie Cross following the publishing of our article on Guy Scott’s presidential appointment.
Born in 1944 in Zambia, Scott performed his education at Marondera’s Peterhouse school.

Peterhouse like many other schools, is run by the Anglican church and was one of the first schools during the 1960s to accept black African students a practice which was not common in many group A schools.
This month Scott whose family has a long half a century history of black African political advocacy, was assigned the second most powerful governmental post and went down in history as Zambia’s first indigenous white Vice President.

HARARE(ZimEye)The spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican church, Rowan Williams has told Zimbabwe’s president of his church’s theological-position regarding homosexuality.
Speaking during a 93 minute meeting with president Robert Mugabe, Williams poured cold water on conceptions premeditated against his organisation as he said that his church does not allow homosexuality:
“The Anglican Church doesn’t allow homosexuality…” he said.
Continuing in his defence, he however hinted the existence of varied liberal views in the church’s north American branches:
“…but places like the U.S. and Canada have a more relaxed atmosphere. But we regard homosexuals as human beings deserving of love,” Williams said.
Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba at the weekend had hinted Mugabe would quiz Williams in particular on the issue of sanctions and also the matter of homosexuality.
“The second issue that the President wants this man of God to clarify is why his Anglican Church thinks homosexuality is good for us and why it should be prescribed for us.

“He (President Mugabe) thinks the Archbishop will be polite enough to point to him what portion of the Great Book sanctions homosexuality and sanctions sanctions.” President Mugabe has in the past described homosexuals as “worse than pigs and dogs”.
The ZANU PF aligned bishop Norlbet Kunonga led demonstrations against Williams’ visit on Sunday, saying the trip to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe was a “crusade for gays”.
“Rowan Williams erred by accepting homosexuality and that has broken up the Church all over,” Kunonga said on Monday, a day after his supporters held demonstrations denouncing the Englishman.
“It’s sad, they should repent, it needs Williams himself to repent. He is the one who has divided the Church,” he attacked Williams before his arrival.
Denying the allegations on Monday however, Williams said Kunonga’s accusations were “fictitious” and a mere “distracting tactic to take people’s attention from the real problem.”
Archbishop Williams has in the past been quoted stating that the Anglican Church condemns any persecution or violence against homosexuals.
 
Kunonga dribbled
Meanwhile the Anglican church in Zimbabwe reported that Norlbert Kunonga was dribbled when his supporters waited to protest Williams at his arrival under the impression he would arrive by air.
It was reported that he rather arrived by road under a police escort.
A statement was released on Sunday:
“Kunonga’s disciples were left fuming after the Archbishop of Canterbury came into Zimbabwe by road and was escorted by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to Harare. From the Diocesan Office, the Archbishop and the rest of the Bishops were again escorted by the police to and from the City Sports Centre. Kunonga and his friends wanted to demonstrate against the visiting Archbishop but as it turned out, they were snubbed so ended up demonstrating by themselves at the Cathedral for cheap publicity. Anglicans in the CPCA are the victors. The Archbishop’s visit has been a resounding success. We feel encouraged and motivated…”, the statement read in part.
Stop the illegal behaviour
Speaking of his meeiting with Mugabe, Williams said he has requested the President to stop the illegal behaviour of the breakwaway bishop Norbert Kunonga who has siezed hundreds of properties, schools and hospitals.
“We have asked in the clearest possible terms that the president use his powers as head of state to put an end to all unacceptable and illegal behaviour,” Rowan Williams said soon afterwards.
“It was a very candid meeting,” he said.
“Disagreements were expressed clearly, but I think in a peaceful manner.

(HARARE)President Robert Mugabe may refuse to meet Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams as it emerged after more thanthree weeks waiting, Mugabe is still to respond to the former’s request for audience, amid fierce fighting between ousted Bishop Kunonga and the current head of the Anglican church in Zimbabwe, Chad Gandiya.
Without providing more details, a source in the President’s office on Friday indicated that it was still not clear President Robert would accept Williams’ meeting request.
His statement was weighed in by presidential spokesman George Charamba who said that “if ever the two are going to meet”, Mugabe and the State in Zimbabwe “have nothing to do with the goings-on in the local chapter of the Anglican Church.”
Williams, whose successor-hopeful John Santamu(pictured-right) vowed never to wear a dog colar until Mugabe leaves office, is expected to land at Harare today, Sunday.
The latest issues of contention between Mugabe and the Anglican church are on the matter of ousted bishop Nolbert Kunonga who Dr Williams expelled and is a staunch supporter of Mr Mugabe; but the courts recently ruled the ousted bishop should retain control of church buildings and other assets. Tear gas has been used to disturb churchgoers loyal to Dr Williams and some have been beaten as they have taken part in services.
Charamba however said that in the event of a meeting, Mugabe would ask :
“regarding his church’s silence on the illegal sanctions and the position on homosexuality.”
Meanwhile, the legitimate Anglican Church bishop Chad Gandiya described the ransacking ex-communicated Nolbert Kunonga who is aligned to president Mugabe, as a man of confusion ahead of the visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on during the late hours of Friday, Bishop Gandiya said the visit by Dr Rowan Williams was a pastoral visit meant to demonstrate his solidarity with the Anglican Communion in Zimbabwe.
“The visit by the Archibishop of Canterbury to Zimbabwe Dr Rowan Williams on 9 October 2011 is a pastoral visit designed to demonstrate solidarity with the Anglican communion in the country, in face of ongoing persecution at the hands of an excommunicated man who has nothing else to do than focus his attention on destroying what generations of Anglicans built using their own resources,” said Gandiya in his speech.

He said non-Anglicans including the excommunicated Kunonga had no business in the affairs of the church.
“Non-Anglicans, especially the excommunicated man of confusion should not concern themselves with how we conduct our business,” said Gandiya.
Gandiya and Kunonga factions of the Anglican have been at loggerheads for quite some time with the later having been excommunicated for his thuggery behavior which has seen the police and other law enforcement agents dancing to the tune of Zanu (PF) to persecute Gandiya faction members.
Kunonga has used the courts and police to grab the assets of the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) under Bishop Chad Gandiya and Dr Williams’ visit has been seen as an attempt to keep the CPCA stronger despite their continued harassment by Kunonga and his supporters. There was however no talk of meeting President Mugabe.
Kunonga broke away from the mainstream Anglican church saying homosexual elements had taken over the church, a stance that has been maintained by his master President Robert Mugabe. However Gandiya refuted at claims by Kunonga saying though the church was tolerant to a diverse of views and accepted the different backgrounds of its members but would not tolerate homosexuality in the church.
“In Zimbabwe we are clear that WE DO NOT TOLERATE HOMOSEXUALITY in church,” he said.
Homosexuality is a morally unacceptable practice in Zimbabwe though the existence of homosexuals is a fact. President Mugabe has used each and every platform to denounce the practice.
A Warning to Dr Williams
In another twist to the Williams- Mugabe matter, it was reported that Williams was warned that meeting Mugabe would boost Mugabe’s political advantage
The British Telegraph reported that Senior church leaders had warned that the 87-year-old leader could use photographs of himself admonishing Dr Rowan Williams to his political  advantage.

(Surrey)A UK based Zimbabwean nurse will next week Monday stand before a tribunal to give answers on allegations that she committed several offences on the administration of medication and wound treatment.
If proven true, the investigation may lead to her being either suspended or her nursing registration rescinded.
The alleged incidences filed on Francisca CHIGODORA date back to 2006 and include among others, failure to pass a medication assessment and also allegedly refusing to dress a wound even after the patient had requested.
The full list of allegations are detailed in a 20 pile list drawn below:
Allegations are:
“that you, whilst employed by Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust and working as a Band 5 Nurse on the surgical unit of Ashford and St Peter’s hospital, between January 2005 and 31st May 2007, did not demonstrate the standards of knowledge, skill and judgement required to practise without supervision as a Band 5 nurse.  In particular, you did not demonstrate the required standards in the following areas:

1. Pharmaceutical knowledge and administration of drugs, in particular, though not exclusively, you:
a. On 23rd November 2005, did not pass a single nurse drug administration assessment;
b. On 17th October 2006 did not realise that a patient in your care, who was allergic to Septrim, had been prescribed one of its components, Trimethoprim;
c. On 23rd November 2006 did not pass two single nurse drug administration assessments;
d. Were unable to consistently complete drugs rounds in a safe and timely manner:
i. On 12th July 2006, in that you administered a dose of Oramorph to a patient without checking the patient’s previous dose;
ii. On 28th September 2006, in that you did not administer antibiotics to a patient despite the doctor agreeing that it should be administered;
iii. On 9th November 2006, in that you left Oramorph unattended on top of a drugs trolley in the corridor;
iv. On 9th December 2006, in that you prepared Enoxaparin to be administered pre-operation despite the prescription chart stating that it should not be given until post-operation.
2. Basic nursing skills, in particular, though not exclusively:
a. Observation and assessment of patients, in particular that you:
i. On 16th March 2006, did not complete the required observations on an epidural chart for a patient in your care;
ii. On 24th March 2006, made a diagnosis of total salpingo oopherectomy rather than a left salpingo oopherectomy;
b. Universal precautions (infection control), in particular that you, on 10th April 2006:
i. moved from a dirty wound to a clean dry wound without changing gloves;
ii. left sodden towels on a patient’s lap;
iii. dressed a dry wound that did not require dressing;
iv. did not dress a patient’s wound despite the patient requesting three times that it be dressed.
c. Documentation, in particular that you, on 16th November 2006, did not document in a patient’s pre-operation checklist that the patient suffered from Downs Syndrome;
d. Prioritisation of your patients’ care, in particular that you, on 7th November 2006, did not adequately prioritise care and were unable to keep up to date with basic requirements such as the updating of fluid charts and emptying patients’ catheters.
3. Communication skills in particularly though not exclusively:
a) On 11th August 2006, you:
i. Handed over the wrong patient and the wrong diagnosis;
ii. Missed out vital information regarding a patient’s blood pressure;
b) On 31st July 2006, you could not give Colleague X information about any patients’ diagnosis, progress or care needs without referring to notes;
c) On 9th November 2006, you handed over that a patient requiring analgesia was one month post-operation when the patient was only 8 days post-operation;
d) On 16th November 2006, you forgot to mention a patient’s pancreatitis.
AND, in light of the above, your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of your lack of competence.”

Newcastle(ZimEye)A Zimbabwean student was hit by a train and killed just hours before being dropped by his parents to start university at Newcastle.
Petrocelli Donhorere Chitanda, aged 20, was killed by a charging train in the early hours of the 17th September last month.
The full circumstances of his death remain unexplained and British Transport Police (BTP) have launched an appeal for information from any witnesses to the accident.
His family were yesterday attending his funeral on the same day which would have been his 21st birthday.
Petrocelli Chitanda, was found dead on the railway line at 03:47 hours on the 17th September.
The driver of a passing freight train reported striking a body on the railway line in the area.
BTP officers are currently treating the incident as unexplained, although they do not believe that there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances leading up to Mr Chitanda’s death and officers have today released a photograph and CCTV images in the hope of gaining information which will help piece together the events leading up to his death.
Officers are carrying out anniversary visits to the area this weekend, and will be handing out leaflets to local residents asking for anyone with information to come forward and help officers in their investigation.
Detective Inspector Stuart Mellish said: “By releasing these images, I’m hoping to jog peoples’ memories so that we can establish where Mr Chitanda went.
“We know that he was dropped off in a taxi at Knoll Court, on Melbourne Street at 12.58am and he was last seen walking up Argyle Street in the direction of Manors Railway Station. We have had no further sighting of him until sadly he was struck by the train at 03:47 hours.
“What remains unclear at this stage is where he was between these times.
“I’m appealing for any information on his whereabouts, did you see Mr Chitanda in the Manors area of Newcastle in the early hours of Saturday, 17 September? This is a busy student area and we are hoping someone may have seen him so we can piece together his final movements.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 , quoting incident number 80 of 17/09/2011.

I call them “Pleasure Managers” not Prostitutes – Khumalo
(Liverpool)She has been heavily scorned for her proposals to legalise prostitution but after three months of intense criticism, the Bulawayo East Member of Parliament Thabitha Khumalo this week accelerated her calls for the decriminalisation of prostitution saying ‘prostitutes’ must rather be called ‘pleasure managers’ instead of the former, this time tabling the justification for her proposals in greater detail.
Speaking exclusively to ZimEye, Khumalo who belongs to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party took to a new stand to defend her proposals:
“I don’t call them prostitutes excuse me, to me they are pleasure engineers…” she hinted.

Khumalo argued stating that the primary reason why in her view prostitution should be legalised was that the law would help track and curb infections of sexually transmitted diseases. She said:
“Since they are pleasure enginneers, when they get infected with STI’s or STDs and they go to a government hospital, and they are asked to bring their partner, now how do they bring their partner when that partner is somebody else’s husband? I want somebody to tell me world over that there is a pleasure engineer that has come out in the open and given names of her client, because as I far as I am concerned in the history of this game, they have kept that confidentiality. Surely if they can keep that confidentiality, what will stop them from exposing their HIV status to their clients in order to protect them? So let’s give them the benefit of the doubt,” she proposed.
Khumalo also touched on the thorny issue of rape which has affected many minors in the country:
“The other issue we are facing again is the issue of rape of the girl-child which is a huge task for Zimbabwe. After having campaigned for almost twenty years for the girl-child to go to school the same girl-child is now being penalised again for a reason best known to the perpetrators…” she said.
“Let’s de-criminalise them and monitor them so that we are able to know the numbers and how best we can help them and monitor the treatment and education as well.”
Khumalo said she shocked other members of parliament when she first struck her first presentation before the august house.
The whole house dropped into sudden silence when she began talking, she claims:
“No I was never drowned. The house was as silent (that) I could hear a pin dropping…”, she said
Khumalo was heavily criticised in the ZANU PF controlled Herald newspaper in June which also carried a scathing attack on Tsvangirai’s party in an opinion article titled: “Hail The Party Of Sexellence!”
She was  speaking to ZimEye on the sidelines of the just ended UK Labour party conference at Liverpool. She is now headed towards the town of Oxford where she is to meet MDC branch members in the area on Saturday the 1st October.
Similar proposals are also under consideration before United Kingdom legislators after they were sounded earlier by the new UK prime minister David Cameron last year.

One of President Robert Mugabe’s chief journalists Robert Mukondiwa who was reportedly caught in the act of gay intimacy while on a trip with the president has been spared disciplinary action by the president.
Mukondiwa has continued to write and edit for state media newspapers The Herald and the H Metro despite crossing Mugabe’s code of ethical of conduct in August when he was caught in the act of gay intimacy with a Namibian man while on a trip with Mugabe in the Southern African country.
Robert Mugabe who in recent years has said gay people are worse than dogs was expected to have disciplined Mukondiwa.
When asked by a friend if he was going anywhere after the incident, Mukondiwa said he was not going anywhere: ”Hapana kwandiri kuenda ini. Handiende zvachose. I live forever shamwari,” he said.
The journalist at one point was suspended for similar acts only to be reinstated and then subsequently promoted.
This is not the first time the journalist has been caught red handed: sometime in March last year he was caught with a fellow journalist engaging in homosexual act in the newsroom at the Herald house.
The two were caught having sex by security guards who had come to investigate strange noises coming from the newsroom at a time journalists had knocked off duty.
Sources said few male and female journalists at Zimpapers Harare branch are openly gay and some of them have also participated in gay and lesbian parades in South Africa and Europe.
The Zimpapers journalist this time had accompanied President Robert Mugabe during a visit to Namibia to attend a meeting of former liberation movements in Southern Africa.
The case had not been heard so far at the time of writing as it had been overshadowed by the death of retired General Solomon Mujuru who died in a fire blaze.
It was reported that Mugabe who wields a zero intolerance to homosexually was humiliated by the incident.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
 
 

Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe attempted a number of fake coups through his CIO and other undetectable intelligence collaborators last year, Wikileaks cable revelations reveal.
Several people approached the US, UK and Australian embassies begging for weapons as they claimed they could easily remove president Robert Mugabe through a coup and the most prominent leader of these groups ZimEye has tracked and found him freely roaming the country without problems, despite the damning cables having been released ten days ago.
The fake coups would if succesful have helped to distract attention from international outrage over Operation Restore Order by implicating the West in an effort to overthrow the Government Of Zimbabwe. An Australian official said he had declined to have the plan vetted and had also rejected requests for financial and material assistance, noting that the Australian Government did not support the violent overthrow of the Mugabe regime.
A cable dated 31st December 2010  reveals that in the eight months up to the end of last year, a great number of people approached the UK, US, and Australian governments requesting for assistance so they could topple Robert Mugabe. One such person is one hunting safaris businessman Learnmore Muzvidzwa who introduced himself as the Managing Director of one company by the name Dreiford Trading. Muzvidzwa is the only person who managed to obtain audience of the Australians although he was rejected by the US embassy.
“Muzvidzwa repeated his claim to represent a group that had 500 men under arms in the Chihota district. He wanted advice and support from the Embassy,” the cable reads.
The businessman claimed that he could coordinate a coup on Mugabe while the president was out of the country.
Muzvidzwa was however dismissed by the US embassy after it was believed that his plan could be part of a CIO effort to distract attention from the government. “He said he had approached the Australian and UK embassies with the same plan. Poloff told him the U.S. did not and would not
provide support for violent overthrow of Zimbabwe’s government and closed the meeting,” the US envoy’s cable states.
The US findings may be true since more than a week after the Wikileaks cable was made public, Muzvidzwa has been roaming freely in Zimbabwe without any security problems or attacks from ZANU PF and Mugabe loyalists.
 
-FULL TEXT OF WIKILEAKS CABLE:
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001007
SIPDIS
NOFORN
AF FOR DAS T. WOODS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
DS FOR IP/AF AND IP/ITA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC ZI
SUBJECT: ARMED RESISTANCE GROUP SEEKS US ASSISTANCE
Classified By: Charge d,Affaires, a.i., Eric T. Schultz under Section 1
.4 b/d
——-
Summary
——-
¶1. (S/NF) The Embassy has received several requests from
various groups for meetings with the Ambassador/CDA in the
past few weeks to discuss overthrowing the Mugabe regime. We
have rejected all of these meetings, out of concern that they
could have been attempts by the GOZ to implicate the USG in
such an agenda. However, the Australian Embassy did meet
with one of these groups and provided us with a readout. The
same group then obtained a meeting with an Embassy political
officer under false pretenses. The readouts of these
meetings indicate that there may be growing interest in armed
resistance on the part of some regime opponents. The MDC was
not implicated in the group,s plans. End summary.
——————
Australian Readout
——————
¶2. (S/NF) On July 13, the Australian DCM, Mark Lynch, called
on CDA to provide a readout of a meeting he had had the
previous day with Learnmore Muzvidzwa. Lynch said Muzvidzwa
had introduced himself as the Managing Director of Dreiford
Trading, a firm that specialized in hunting safaris. (N.B.
At CDA,s request, RMAS ran a background check on this
individual, which came up negative.) Lynch said Muzvidza had
said Zimbabweans were at the end of their patience with the
Mugabe regime. He had said he was part of a group with
contacts in the CIO, the military, and the police that
planned to overthrow the government. The group did not
include the MDC. He had claimed to have 500 men under arms
in the Chihota region southeast of Harare. The group,s
operations plan, which he had requested the Australians vet,
called for the coup to occur when Mugabe was out of the
country.
¶3. (S/NF) Lynch said he had declined to have the plan vetted
and had also rejected requests for financial and material
assistance, noting that the Australian Government did not
support the violent overthrow of the Mugabe regime. That
said, Lynch said Muzvidzwa had struck him as a credible
figure. He added that Muzvidzwa had said he was requesting
meetings with the American and British Embassies as well.
The CDA responded that he had already declined the meeting,
out of concern that it could be part of a CIO effort to
distract attention from international outrage over Operation
Restore Order by implicating the West in an effort to
overthrow the GOZ.
—————
Embassy Meeting
—————
¶4. (S/NF) On July 20, poloff met with Muzvidzwa, ostensibly
to discuss the plight of Zimbabweans as a result of Operation
Restore Order. Muzvidza repeated his claim to represent a
group that had 500 men under arms in the Chihota district.
He wanted advice and support from the Embassy. He said he
had approached the Australian and UK embassies with the same
&plan.8 Poloff told him the U.S. did not and would not
provide support for violent overthrow of Zimbabwe,s
government and closed the meeting.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶5. (S/NF) It is probably inevitable that given the GOZ,s
turn to more repressive tactics to maintain its hold on
power, the idea of armed resistance may begin to appeal to
some Zimbabweans. Certainly there are plenty of weapons in
the country and plenty of experience using them. That said,
our judgment is that the military and the police remain
largely loyal to the regime and would be able to handle a
coup attempt or an armed uprising with little difficulty. We
will continue to monitor this situation but will also
continue to attempt to avoid direct meetings with groups such
as Muzvidzwa,s. The GOZ is quite capable of running such an
operation at us and of using the very fact of a meeting to
distract attention from the GOZ,s current travails.
SCHULTZ

Harare(ZimEye)–ZANU(PF)’s prodigal son Professor Jonathan Moyo Tuesday turned away journalists from the country’s sole state controlled Broadcasting station the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation who had wanted to seek his comment on Confidential documents released by whistle-blowing group WikiLeaks have exposed him.
Early this week the Wikileaks revealed details of Moyo having had a meeting with United States diplomats who he gave them advice on how best President Robert Mugabe could be removed Robert Mugabe from power.
Sources within at ZBC news department told ZimEye that the news crew was denied interview with Professor Jonathan Moyo who refused to talk.
“It is surprising that the learned Professor used to give us (ZBC) comments at any time and on any political issue. He did not give any reason for his refusal to comment on the Wikileaks other than ordering the news crew to leave him alone”, said the sources.
This reporter also learnt from the same sources that they were given a directive to publish all Wikileaks revelations without fear or favour, and this has seen among others the publishing of reported US secret conversations with top ZANU PF official Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.

“This is a welcome development because we can now practice real journalism. In fact we have been battling with Tarzan Mandizvidza(News and Current Affairs General Manager) who has been blocking us on reporting Wikileaks revelation on ZANU(PF) officials for a long time; (this) time we have been authorised to take the Wikileaks as they appear and seek comments from the victims, “added the sources.
Wikileaks reported that Moyo had a meeting with former US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell 2007. The cable said that Moyo was discussing secret ZANU PF information with the Americans, including ZANU PF’s anger that Mugabe was hanging onto power, despite his failing health and loss of public support.
The cable also detailed that Moyo gave the former US Ambassador some advice on how the Americans could oust Mugabe from power, saying that “a ZANU (PF) party led by Mugabe was likely to lose any election.”
According to the cable, Moyo also advised the Americans that an exit package, which included immunity from prosecution and other international guarantees for his safety, “could help persuade Mugabe to go.”
The cable has not only exposed Professor Jonathan Moyo but a number of big wings in the ZANU (PF) party, including the two country Vice Presidents: John Landa Nkomo and Joice Mujuru, Youth minister Saviour Kasukuwere and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

EXACTLY TWENTY MONTHS before the death of her husband, Vice President Joice Mujuru met the United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe in a secret location unknown to her Central Intelligence bodyguards, a Wikileaks cable states.
Joice Mujuru met US ambassador Charles Ray in an exclusive meeting on the outskirts of Harare on the 16th December 2009, a date which falls exactly twenty months before her husband’s untimely death which was on the 16th August 2011.
The meeting was held 3 days after ZANU PF’s heated national congress and was to be kept private. No CIOs were present and Joice Mujuru also doubled also as a hospitality matron:
“The Vice President had managed to shed all of her (presumably CIO-infiltrated) security. She herself poured tea. The meeting was friendly and respectful; at the end Mujuru said she would like to meet again and continue the conversation…” the leaked cable reveals.

“Mujuru…wanted to ensure that the meeting with the U.S. ambassador was private and undisclosed,” a statement reads. Mujuru agreed to the meeting, overriding government regulated foreign affairs protocols and Ambassador Ray is quoted stating:
“ZANU-PF government officials normally will not meet with us unless a request has been made to the MFA. The MFA then schedules the meeting and sends a note taker. Through a Mujuru advisor, David Butau, we requested an informal meeting to better establish a relationship and facilitate an exchange of views”
Mujuru’s middleman David Butau is a marked man in ZANU PF having been targetted for externalisation of fund crimes afterwhich he was only saved by his association with Mujuru. He is reported to be an enemy of Emmerson Mnangagwa and has shares with Joice Mujuru in a joint venture that runs by the name Dande Holdings.
FULL TEXT of the Charles Ray meeting
In an informal and introductory meeting which circumvented Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) protocol, the Ambassador and Vice President Joice Mujuru discussed sanctions, the Global Political Agreement (GPA), and ZANU-PF.
Mujuru hewed to the party line on sanctions, claiming that sanctions on institutions were hurting ordinary Zimbabweans. The Ambassador responded that the U.S. was looking for progress on the GPA as a predicate to lifting these sanctions. On the GPA, Mujuru maintained that ZANU-PF had made significant concessions; the most critical outstanding issue was sanctions. Without separating herself from President Robert Mugabe, Mujuru said that new and younger leadership was entering ZANU-PF and the party would gradually evolve. The meeting was friendly and, at a minimum, opened up a channel of communication. END SUMMARY.
2. ZANU-PF government officials normally will not meet with us unless a request has been made to the MFA. The MFA then schedules the meeting and sends a note taker. Through a Mujuru advisor, David Butau, we requested an informal meeting to better establish a relationship and facilitate an exchange of views. Three days after the conclusion of the ZANU-PF Congress, Mujuru agreed to a meeting, but it was only at the last minute that logistics were arranged. Mujuru, who is acting president while Mugabe is in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, wanted to ensure that the meeting with the U.S. ambassador was private and undisclosed.
3. The meeting took place in an unoccupied house owned by Mujuru on the outskirts of Harare. The affluent and powerful are not immune from frequent Harare power cuts, and the neighborhood was dark. While the house had electricity, irregular power had shorted most of the lights. We were met by a Mujuru employee who led us through darkened grounds to an unfurnished living room (except for chairs and a plasma television) where Mujuru and Butau were waiting. The Vice President had managed to shed all of her (presumably CIO-infiltrated) security. She herself poured tea. The meeting was friendly and respectful; at the end Mujuru said she would like to meet again and continue the conversation.
4. Not surprisingly, Mujuru began the discussion with sanctions. She argued that while she and others were targets, they were not hurt. Rather, ordinary Zimbabweans were suffering as a result of sanctions on institutions such as ZB Bank and Agribank, which had historically provided loans to small businessmen and farmers. Now, because of sanctions, they were illiquid and could not lend. The Ambassador acknowledged that sanctions were an emotional and pervasive issue. There might be a willingness in Washington to look at non-personal sanctions, but this was not a one-sided process. With progress on GPA issues, the U.S. would consider responding. How did she see progress, the Ambassador asked?
5. Mujuru stated that the most critical GPA issue was Q5. Mujuru stated that the most critical GPA issue was sanctions. ZANU-PF thought that by signing the GPA and agreeing to a government with the MDC it had given more than the MDC. The MDC had made a number of unhelpful “pronouncements.” At various times, according to Mujuru, it had urged Zimbabwe’s neighbors to withhold electricity and fuel. It had asked western countries to maintain personal sanctions. ZANU-PF officials, according to Mujuru, were becoming “unsettled” and wanted to see MDC movement on sanctions. (COMMENT: The Ambassador noted that the MDC could not remove sanctions — this was up to western governments — and Mujuru did not dispute this. But she wanted the MDC to cease its “pronouncements.” We expect an announcement on December 21 by the GPA principals on GPA issues that have been resolved, probably commissions and the appointment of governors, and it would not be surprising for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at that time to suggest that at least some non-personal sanctions be removed.
6. Mujuru continued that there was a distinction between politics and government. While efforts were on going to resolve political differences, the government was making progress. A bill to limit the powers of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s governor was close to passage, and Zimbabwe had just signed a bilateral investment treaty with South Africa. She pleaded for U.S. help to restore Zimbabwe’s economy.
7. After commenting that the U.S. was providing substantial assistance (food and medical) to the people of Zimbabwe, the Ambassador replied that, sanctions or no sanctions, Zimbabwe could begin to regrow its economy. This would require restoring external and internal confidence — investors needed to know there was security of contracts and no excessive government interference in the economy. In other words, businesses would accept economic risk, but it was necessary to remove political risk.
8. Turning to politics, Mujuru said the ZANU-PF old guard was giving way to “young blood.” She noted that she (55 years old) and new Party Chair Simon Khaya Moyo (64 years old) are on the younger side and form one half of the ZANU-PF presidium (along with Mugabe and new vice president John Nkomo). The presidium would be together for five years. Mujuru concluded, “Let’s work together.”
9. While Mujuru is inculcated with ZANU-PF ideology, evidenced by her views on sanctions, she and her husband, General Solomon Mujuru, are business people who understand that a friendlier and more stable business environment requires political change. She also would like better relations with the U.S. which she views as essential for Zimbabwe’s economic growth. This no doubt motivated her desire for a non-official meeting with the Ambassador immediately after the ZANU-PF Congress. The fact that she was impelled to have a clandestine meeting is reflective of the power of Mugabe and hard-liners and the fear they engender. It also shows the weakness of the party, in that it will not tolerate its second highest ranking official having a private meeting with the U.S. ambassador. (Tsvangirai had no qualms about informally and openly meeting the Ambassador. Ref A.)
10. Because of her gender, Mujuru is an unlikely successor to Mugabe (Ref B). But she occupies a prominent position in ZANU-PF and will likely be part of the power structure after Mugabe. We know from other sources that she and her husband would like to see Mugabe move on. She was cautious in her first meeting with the Ambassador, but we will pursue the relationship both to gain insights into ZANU-PF and to encourage reform efforts. ENDS
The Wikileaks revelation of Mujuru’s meeting with the US envoy, a perceived ZANU PF enemy may shake her position in the government and in her ZANU party.
Joice Mujuru lost her husband on the 16th August last month and a suspicious house fire was blamed for the death. Despite the government’s claim that the death was an accident, Mujuru has queried a number of facts:
“The farm workers were still trying to put out the fire. The Fire Brigade had been called when I got there. The workers said they called the Fire Brigade an hour plus earlier and they hadn’t been at the farm,” she said.
The Fire Brigade later arrived without water.
Mujuru’s remains – a heap of bones and ashes – were recovered near a door several hours later when the flames were extinguished.
But Mujuru has questioned why General Mujuru, who had been drinking with friends at the nearby Beatrice Motel the night before, opted to run for the door of the 14-roomed property when he could have used the bedroom window.
“The [bedroom] set-up had two western big windows, so if you want to come out you just jump. Our little kids used to jump and we used to laugh about it. It was closer to come out through the window than the door,” she said.
“I suppose if they were to give us something satisfying it would make my heart rest,” Mujuru said, adding:
 “We are anxiously waiting for the police to finish their investigations. They have invited all the experts they could find to look at what could have happened.”
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

A commercial farmer was Thursday night brutally murdered in Mashonaland Central’s Centenary area.
Centenary farmer, Colin Zietsman was brutally murdered on his farm last night.
At the time of writing it was not clear whether the murder was politically motivated was rather a botched robbery.
His wife, Tinks has been admitted in hospital in Harare suffering from serious injuries suffered in the same attack.
More to follow…

Johannesburg(ZimEye) The leader of the ANC party’s youth league Julius Malema could be expelled in the next 24 hours after bringing the ANC party into ‘disrepute’.
The ANC Youth League leader was summoned to a high profile disciplinary hearing held today (Monday) and will be conducted on Tuesday.
The disciplinary hearing came after the ANC party issued a statement that Malema had brought the party into disrepute, having attacked Botswana’s President, Ian Khama and issued a number of other anti-Robert Mugabe statements that tainted the sincerity of leader Jacob Zuma’s mediation role for Zimbabwe.

Speculation was rife on South African radio stations Monday that Malema would be expelled during the hearings which may conclude Tuesday. The ANC leaders said their youth wing had ‘brought the party into disrepute.’
Malema who threatened to remove Botswana’s Ian Khama from presidency this month, on Monday claimed it was his organisation rather than him under the spotlight.
A statement released Monday without mentioning his name or pointing to his leadership stated:
“The ANC Youth League leadership will be appearing before the ANC Disciplinary Hearing from Tuesday, 30th August 2011 to answer to the case that has been brought by the ANC. The ANC YL leadership respects the internal process of the ANC and will at all times be guided by the directives and guidelines of the ANC leadership collective, its policies and Constitution. The ANC Youth League appreciates the massive support we have received from so many South Africans, members of the international community and fraternal organisations.
It has come to our attention through media reports that many people from across the country, the ANC Youth and ANC will descend to Johannesburg to give support to the ANC YL leadership appearing before the ANC Disciplinary Committee from the 30th August 2011. Those who come to pledge support should do so with restraint and show maximum levels of discipline. Any person who will come to Luthuli House to display support should be disciplined, and this applies to the Security Officers of the State at all levels.
The ANC Youth League will never be associated with unruly, disruptive elements and agent provocateurs who want to portray genuine support and solidarity gathering in bad light.”
Analysts believe the public disciplinary measures being undertaken could reflect a desire by Zuma and other party leaders to oust the youth league president, whose provocative outbursts on topics such as race relations and nationalisation of the mining industry are a ‘thorn in their side’.
Meanhwile it was reported that scores of people had sworn to rally behind Malema and would hold a vigil watch Monday night.
(ZimEye- South Africa)

London(ZimEye)A group of Zimbabweans based in the UK have been fasting and praying for their nation continuously for the past 5 years.
The group known as ‘The Zimbabwe Watchmen’ have committed every day of their lives to pray for change in their motherland.
They have been reportedly continuously fasting and praying for the past 2,278 days.
The prayer and fasting program began on the 1st March 2005 when the founder John Yohane says he together with his wife inspired others into the program after a twenty one days initial endeavour.
According to their program, a person fasts from 5am for the next 12 hours without water or food, and after the period they then pass the button over to the next person.
“My fasting day is every 16th of every month and my wife prays on the 22nd, with others taking the other days,” said Yohane.
When I receive a revelation message (during my prayer session), I then pass on the message to the next person.
Speaking to ZimEye, Yohane outlined the chief motivation for his prayer program:
“We belong to a sovereign God. but when it comes to Zimbabwe obviously things have gone wrong” he said pointing at economic and political problems facing the nation.
 
Yohane said that many prayers had been answered so far which include among others the provision of aid and also the change to a provisional national currency to the US dollar at a time when Zimbabwe’s currency became virtually useless in the years up to 2007.
“And I will give you an example you go on our website you will see that we have prayed for the money that people are celebrating today, the US dollar that people have today, we prayed before it happened. We have got enough evidence that we prayed…” he said.
However, Yohane said in recent months there are now gaps in the chain of prayer-fasting as others have dropped off the program.
“We have got some gaps now because some members have got some work committments,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Watchmen’s website is: http://www.zimbabwewatchmen.biz.ly
(ZimEye, UK, Zimbabwe)

(London)The UK based Diaspora pressure group coordinator Martin Chinyanga is calling for members of the Zimbabwean community to join others living outside the country of their birth to conduct occasional visits to embassy entrances and lay flowers in honour of Zimbabwe’s victims of violence, whenever a murder incident is reported from within Zimbabwe.
Speaking to ZimEye, Chinyanga who leads the Mega Zimbabwe convention said that those who feel compelled should join the effort.
We below publish photo footage from the first embassy visits conducted at the Zimbabwe embassy in London. Chinyanga has titled this endeavour: ‘The Diaspora Feels It – a tribute homage’.
[flagallery gid=2 name=”Gallery”]
 

(Tripoli)Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who assumed power in a bloodless coup in 41 years ago has fallen.
Rebels entered the capital Tripol yesterday and it was confirmed Gaddafi’s sons Seif al-Islam and Al-Saadi surrendered to the rebels with other unconfirmed reports saying Gaddaffi too had been arrested.
The International Criminal Court who have been preparing Gaddafi’s trial confirmed the arrest of Gaddafi’s sons.
He is certain to face trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity as a warrant of arrest was issued in June.
Rebels were seen on live TV marching into Tripoli with many bowing their heads to kiss the hot ground in triumph, as others continously fired live rounds into the sky and waved in jubilation following a miraculous advance, the first ever over the nation’s longest serving and most hated dictator.
Meanwhile the British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was quoted promising that Britain ‘will avoid the mistakes made in Iraq after the removal of Saddam Hussein’. (ZimEye)

Harare(ZimEye) – The senior Zimbabwe Newspapers group male journalist (Robert Mukondiwa)who was reportedly caught red handed engaging in homosexual sex with a Namibian man during President Robert Mugabe’s visit to Windhoek last Thursday has admitted indirectly that he is “not perfect”.
Posting on his Facebook page the journalist wrote, “Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead…. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED! Re-post this if you know you are NOT perfect!!!”
The journalist after posting this he got seven “likes” from some of his male friends and declared that he won’t leave the stable that is controlled by Zanu PF which has a rapid distaste for gays.
When asked on the same page by a friend if he was going anywhere he said he was not going anywhere: “Hapana kwandiri kuenda ini. Handiende zvachose. I live forever shamwari,” he said.
The journalist at one point was suspended for similar acts only to be reinstated and then subsequently promoted.
This is not the first time the journalist has been caught red handed: sometime in March last year he was caught with a fellow journalist engaging in homosexual act in the newsroom at the Herald house.
The two were caught having sex by security guards who had come to investigate strange noises coming from the newsroom at a time journalists had knocked off duty.
Sources said few male and female journalists at Zimpapers Harare branch are openly gay and some of them have also participated in gay and lesbian parades in South Africa and Europe.
The Zimpapers journalist this time had accompanied President Robert Mugabe during a visit to Namibia to attend a meeting of former liberation movements in Southern Africa.
The case had not been heard so far at the time of writing as it had been overshadowed by the death of retired General Solomon Mujuru who died in a fire blaze.
It was reported that Mugabe who wields a zero intolerance to homosexually was humiliated by the incident.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-The Mail Newspaper which started publishing five months ago has shut down owing to logistical challenges.
Highly placed sources at the troubled publication told ZimEye that the paper failed to secure new printers after terminating a contract with Alpha Media Holding owned Strand printers which has been printing the paper since its launch early this year.
The country’s fourth daily paper stopped printing two weeks ago on Tuesday, ordered its employees to go home and come back in September after it had sorted out its logistical problems.
The management told the workers that it had signed a new deal with Zimbabwe Newspapers Group which would have seen the Herald printing its copies.
One of the journalist with the paper said Executive Editor, Barnabas Thondhlana told them that Herald was demanding US$180 000 upfront before the paper is printed.
“We have been directed to go for a two week paid leave and report for work 01 September 1 when it is hoped that the paper would have secured the required funds,” said the journalist.
The suspected John Brednkamp, Billy Rautenbach, Nicolas Van Hoogstraten, Obert Mpofu and  indigenization and economic empowerment counterpart, Saviour Kasukuwere owned publication is also believed to be in the direct control of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Reporters at the publication have been complaining about interference by senior ZANU (PF) officials who dictate how some political stories could be written and treated.
They (journalists) also accused the paper’s managing director, Hensley Chamboko  of mismanagement and interfering with ZANU(PF) related stories.
“We do not trust this Chamboko guy, as he is being used as a CIO front. We are afraid that this might be the end of our employment because we suspect the paper is  closing down for good like what happened to the now defunct Mirror newspaper which faced viability problems after being taken over by the Central Intelligence Organisation,” said another worker.
Efforts to get a comment from Chamboko were fruitless as his mobile phone was off.

Harare(ZimEye)President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace has a secret grandchild, ZimEye can exclusively reveal.
ZimEye can reveal that Russel, Grace’s first child from her first marriage, impregnated a young woman in 2008 and a whooping baby boy was born during the first week of March 2009.
Grace Mugabe who has known the woman identified as NB since 1999,has however disowned the child and the innocent soul has been denied a birth certificate.

Because of Grace’s displeasure with the matter, the baby whose name is Kuzivakwashe (English – Only God Knows)does not have a birth certificate since his birth in 2009.
Soon after the birth of the boy, Russel fled to South Africa for more than nine months.
He later married someone else and both President Mugabe and his wife Grace comfortably attended.
After he had disappeared (to South Africa), he soon returned to the country and instead of
sorting his son’s birth certificate, only gave him the name ‘Bhubhu’, according to relatives.
The girl is reportedly struggling to take care of the child since she gave birth in the current economic climate.
“You would expect Grace and her husband (Robert) to take care of the child. At least they have to accept the child. I don’t know what they are scared about,” said a Mugabe relative who declined to be named. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Bradford(ZimEye)An MDC-T leader based in the United Kingdom’s Bradford city has died.
The man popularly known as Yasim Matola and known for his long hair was due to marry in just a few days before his death, party colleagues said.
Details are still sketchy, but meanwhile a party colleague who spoke to ZimEye announced Matola’s death last week who she said had brought his teenage son from Zimbabwe weeks before his death.
Reports claimed he died following a short illness.
Matola(pictured) was prominent at the Sipepa Nkomo meeting last year where he together with other national leaders reasoned with the former on an investigation which led to the expulsion of the Jonathan Chaora led national executive. (ZimEye, UK)
 

Harare(ZimEye)Finance Minister and MDC Secretary General, Tendai Biti was missing at the burial of Morgan Tsvangirai top aide Eliphas Mukonoweshuro yesterday.
 
Biti was conspicuous by his absence at the burial which was attended by almost all the MDC-T party’s top hierarchy.
While it was difficult to obtain a comment from the MDC party at the time of writing, belief was rife that Biti’s absence is indicative of bitter power struggles in the party between him and Tsvangirai.
Recently violence has erupted between Tsvangirai and Biti supporters and at the recent national congress, heated emails were exchanged among members as they accused each other of backing either candidate: Eliphas Mukonoweshuro who was Tsvangirai’s top aide and mouthpiece was contesting Biti for the Secretary General post.
In 2007, Mukonoweshuro fought the MDCT’s UK leaders resulting in the whole administration led by Ephraim Tapa being fired. Subsequently the new executive led by Jonathan Chaora who were Tsvangirai-sympathetic would also soon be expelled by Biti.
Some senior executives have questioned Tsvangirai’s leadership style with others accusing him of gross corruption and nepotism citing among other examples the appointments of Tsvangirai relative Hebson Makuvise and a woman, Jacqueline Zwambila all assigned to first world countries (Germany and Australia respectively) as national ambassadors. At the recent national congress Tsvangirai’s was the only top position which was never contested (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has warned party members challenging his position as party president, and instructed them to stand away from eyeing his position.
Speaking to mourners at the burial of the late Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro at Warren Hills Cemetery, Tsvangirai re-affirmed his grip on the MDC-T party as he declared war against any dissenting voices within his party:
“As a leader, I sometimes tell members to keep quiet and also tell them what to do. Unwavering supoort is what we want.

“But others also want to become leaders, wait your time will come,” said Tsvangirai.
“Those who wish me gone today should realise that we have a mission to complete, and why should I go before that mission is complete?” asked Tsvangirai.
Reports of factions have been rampant in the MDC-T party.
It is widely reported that a large number of members are currently backing Secretary General Tendai Biti as the better replacement for Tsvangirai.
The power struggle was first noticed in 2009 when the party’s Jonathan Chawora-led UK executive, thought to be loyal to Tsvangirai, was forced out by Biti loyalists.
Biti first suspended the Chawora executive citing “extensive bickering and negative application of energy” as well as “shocking financial irregularities”, amid claims it was channelling money directly to Tsvangirai instead of the party’s treasurer.
At one tension-filled meeting, Biti’s young brother, Stanford, was reported to have thrown eggs at Jonathan Chawora and some of his executive members.

Harare(ZimEye)The Minister of Public Service who was also a senior MDC-T member and Morgan Tsvangirai aide, Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, has died.
He died early this morning at a hospital in South Africa after a short illness, PM Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party said in a statement.
Prof Mukonoweshuro was appointed the Minister of Public Service by PM Tsvangirai in 2009. He is the former secretary for international relations for the MDC.
A renowned academic, Prof Mukonoweshuro was elected Gutu South MP in
2008 and is a former Dean in the Faculty of Social Studies at the University of Zimbabwe. He was a key advocate of transparency in government since his appointment and is well known for his calling of investigations into a ghost voter database created by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party before the just ended 2008 elections.
He joined the MDC in 1999 and was appointed a special advisor to President Tsvangirai on political and diplomatic affairs.
Prof Mukonoweshuro is a holder of a BA, MA and PhD from Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
He is survived by his wife and one son. Mourners are gathered at No 11 Woodgate, Pendenis, Mt Pleasant in Harare. Burial arrangements will be announced in due course.
Since his appointment, Mukonoweshuro encountered the daunting task of dealing with disgruntled civil servants in the face of an economic upheaval and government difficulties to increase their remuneration. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEyeThe MDC faction led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has indicated that it will not bow down to the Zanu (PF) pressure to go for
elections without the full implementation of the GPA saying it is
self serving.
As the party’s National Exercutive met on Sunday in the Midlands Town
of Kwekwe, it was agreed that all the outstanding issues, inclusive of the conduct of service chiefs, the staffing of ZEC and military deployments in rural areas be resolved first before an election can be called for.

“The MDC realises that the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) is being frustrated by Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe and that pressure must be brought on Mugabe to implement the GPA in full. The country’s service chiefs should issue a public statement that they will unequivocally uphold the Constitution of Zimbabwe; uphold the rule of law and respect the winners of all elections in Zimbabwe. The National Executive Committee dismissed Zanu PF’s position that the security sector should not be realigned as a misguided position that cannot be sold anywhere. It was noted that Zanu PF is abusing the security forces in order to protect certain individuals within its ranks,” said MDC in a statement after the meeting.

The party also called fir the prioritization of the protection of the citizenry by the country’s security forces rather than work as an extension of the militant Zanu (PF) that is characterized by violence adding that MDC would not take part in an election which resembles a war situation as was the case with the previous violent election which left hundreds of civilians dead after Zanu (PF) unleashed a spate of violence against the electorate before a lone polls race at the withdrawal of MDC.
“The security sector in any country should prioritise the protection of its country’s citizens. In Zimbabwe, however, we have elements in the security sector who act as though they are an extension of Zanu PF’s security department; those who work and lobby for Zanu PF as though they are on that party’s payroll,” added the MDC.
“The National Executive Committee resolved that the party would not compromise on these issues,” concluded the MDC NEC. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Gokwe(ZimEye) A German NGO worker driving the organisation’s vehicle killed a Harare man who had visited the Gokwe area.
Mr Wiltone Ncube, said to be in his 60s, was killed on the spot when a worker from the German Agro Action at present named only as ‘Taurai’ was driving the organisation’s Land Cruiser with registration numbers, ABK 211 6, which veered off the road and reportedly slammed into Mr Ncube who was stationed at the side of the road where his vehicle was parked.
Police have confirmed the incident which occurred 36 km outside Gokwe Town Centre on 16th July, evening time.
Reports state the driver was drunk and that  he was not authorised to drive the company vehicle.
According to a police representative who declined to be named, Taurai admitted the killing of Mr Ncube but said investigations are still underway to check the driver’s past records.
Attempts to obtain a comment from the German Agro Action were fruitless as their phones both in Harare and Germany rang without being answered.
13 days after the incident, the Ncube family said they have not received any communication whatsoever from the German NGO.
Meanwhile both Mr Ncube’s son, Goodmore and the police officer have complained stating that the organisation should have been at least verbally sympathetic for the family’s loss.
On its website, the German Agro Action states that it stands to combat world hunger for over 40 years, working in over 70 countries. “Receiving funding from public and private sources it conducts projects with local partners focussing on the areas of agriculture and the environment, water supplies, and strengthening local humanitarian organisations,” a statement reads.
MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)Only one MDC activist was released on bail during today’s bail application hearing for the MDC(Movement For Democratic Change) party members who are under accusations of killing a police officer in Glen View, Harare.
Cynthia Manjoro, one of the eight MDC activists, was granted bail at the High Court this afternoon after Justice Samuel Kudya denied bail to the other seven saying they are still a flight risk, as there are no changed circumstances from their initial bail application last month.
However, Justice Kudya conceded that there are changed circumstances in Manjoro’s fresh bail application and she was granted a US$500 bail with stringent reporting conditions.
Those who remain in custody are; Councillor Tungamirai Madzokere of Ward 32 Glen View, brothers Lazarus and Stanford Maengahama, Phineas Nhatarikwa, Stanford Mangwiro, Yvonne Musarurwa and Rebecca Mafikeni.
The group is a part of 24 MDC activists who are collectively facing the same charges. The police officer was murdered by unknown revellers at a night club in Glen View in May this year. The other 16 members were granted bail in July.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

London(ZimEye)A London based female Zimbabwean activist was saved at the last minute just before being hauled into a Kenyan Airways plane, for deportation to Zimbabwe.
This followed a fierce campaign involving UK lawmakers launched by London activist Martin Chinyanga together with the Zim Vigil charity organisation.
It is not yet clear the full reason for the miraculous reversal of deportation but Josephine Chari will not be deported and it was claimed her lawyer late Thursday had begun proceedings to challenge any other future deportation by the United Kingdom Border Agency.

“She is no longer going now, and she is happy. Her ticket has been cancelled,” announced Chinyanga.
Earlier on Zimbabweans had held their breaths Thursday all afternoon, as they bombarded Kenyan airways’ telephone lines campaigning for the airline to cancel her ticket. An email sent out at 3Pm Thursday titled – Josephine Chari  to face  automatic death penalty in Zimbabwe, read:
“We have just heard that Josephine Chari is at  Heathrow to catch Kenyan Airways Flight KQ101 to Nairobi leaving Heathrow at 20.00 tonight. UKBA has refused her lawyer’s representation. The lawyer is now working on a judicial review. She says there is not time to lodge the review in person and the court won’t accept it by fax so she is calling the judge at 5pm to ask for an emergency injunction to stop the removal but she is not hopeful,”
However Chari’s fate was miraculously reversed as it was announced she would not be travelling anymore. She was said to be preparing her papers before leaving the airport at the time of writing. MORE TO FOLLOW(ZimEye, UK)

Harare(ZimEye) Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and leader of the MDC-T party(pictured) has come under intense pressure over his controversial appointment of Jacqueline Zwambila who he made Ambassador to Australia.
Questions were this week raised both within and outside the MDC-T party over his appointment of Zwambila who is under investigation for soiling the government’s reputation in Australia.
A senior party official and top Tsvangirai personal aide who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed the general distaste against Tsvangirai in his own party:
‘There is corruption-huwori in the Prime Minister’s office… I don’t want to be quoted but you don’t need to look further than the Prime Minister’s office,’ he said.
Another female Tsvangirai-aide went on to claim that the prime minister strangely favoured Zwambila above more qualifying professionals in the party and  party members were shocked ‘when she came from nowhere’ and was rocketed into the powerful ambassadorial post.
Reports claim that Zwambila stripped naked in front of embassy staff in November last year. Zwambila denied the charges and soon won a lawsuit against an Australian newspaper stating that she had not been consulted on the reports.
However, when ZimEye contacted Zwambila over new charges of indecent behaviour in May 2011 and abuse of a male employee, the envoy did not respond, and only issued a threat to sue after five days of rigorous consultations.

In December, her son Takunda was caught driving the Zimbabwean government’s diplomatic (ambassadorial) car, a BMW 745 series, Reg No D.C. 9***. He was also found to have an excess amount of alcohol intake and ‘was visibly drunk’ and was soon deported from the country and Zwambila did not reveal the matter to her employers, according to reports.
The ZANU PF party has called for Zwambila to be recalled.
“The authorities should just do the obvious and honourable thing in this particular case by recalling this woman and send her back to her asylum home, MDC-T”, said Professor Jonathan Moyo, ZANU PF’s information spin doctor.
“If they fail to do that, attention will shift from this woman to them for their inaction. Not only Australians, but even ordinary Zimbabweans, now wonder how such a person managed to go that far,” he said.
He added that Zwambila’s behaviour was a “serious indictment on the calibre of MDC-T” officials.
Meanwhile the permanent secretary in the Foreign Office revealed that Zwambila’s matter has now been escalated to the principals in Zimbabwe’s Government of national unity.
“That issue is now being handled by the principals. We have been waiting for Ambassador Zwambila’s report. We have since received it. As a ministry, we have also submitted our report to the principals and it is now up to them to decide the next course of action,” he said. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)Prominent Human  Rights lawyer Dzimbabwe Chimbga will today ignite a talk session on democracy at the US embassy in Harare.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to which Chimbga belongs is known for its fearless confrontation on the dictatorial government of Zimbabwe.
Chimbga will discuss the struggle for democracy and human rights at a Food for Thought session to be held at the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section auditorium in Eastgate (7^th Floor, Gold Bridge).
The discussion starts promptly at 3 pm today (Tuesday) and ends at 4.30 pm.
Chimbga’s Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), a non-governmental organization professes to uphold respect for the rule of law and the unimpeded administration of justice, free and fair elections, the free flow of information and the protection of constitutional rights and freedoms in Zimbabwe.
The free Food for Thought weekly discussion series at the U.S. Embassy’s Eastgate offices allow members of the public to discuss topical issues with specialist presenters, a statement by the embassy read Tuesday.
The ZLHR is vehemently opposed to the holding of an election and says elections should only  be held when all reforms have been completed. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)The MDC-T’s secretary for Mudzi East, Abel Samakande, the MDC and Steven Zenda, a party activist were today abducted by Zanu PF thugs at Mbare Musika.
“The two were boarding a bus to Mutoko. They were taken to a building opposite Bata in Mbare. Their whereabouts are unknown and the MDC, Samakande and Zenda families fear for their lives,” the MDC-T party said in a statement.

Mbare youths known as Chipangano who operate at the market are known for closing down markets belonging to MDC supporters in the area and threatening them with unspecified action.
Many MDC supporters have also been evicted from their flats with the Zanu (PF) supporters claiming the flats belong to their party. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)MDC-T top-cadre Jameson Timba was arrested Friday afternoon on allegations of undermining the authority of the president by calling him a liar.
The MDC Secretary for International affairs and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office, Timba was arrested Friday and at the time of writing was being detained at the Harare Central Law and order Section. He had just returned from a trip to Spain where he had accompanied Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
In a dramatic twist to the matter, the police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena professed ignorance saying that he was not aware of the arrest.

“The minister has been arrested. The charges are unclear but we suspect it has something to do with threats issued by ZANU-PF officials,” Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka was quoted saying.
It is believed Timba is being persecuted for his outspoken exposure of President Robert Mugabe and senior Zanu-PF ministers which portrayed them as “liars” over the outcome of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) summit held in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The arrest of Timba comes two days after ZANU PF propaganda commissar Jonathan Moyo made a pubic call for both Tsvangirai and Timba’s arrest. Moyo said Timba and Tsvangirai had allegedly violated Section 33 of the Criminal Code Section 33, which prohibits the undermining of the authority of the President or insulting the Head of State and Government.
Jonathan Moyo was quoted saying: “I strongly believe that it is high time that the law should take its course. It is totally unacceptable for Tsvangirai and Jameson Timba to call Cde Mugabe a liar,
“Who is Tsvangirai? He is just a senior minister and Timba a junior minister who is known for spearheading and mobilising funds for independent media under the three million pounds project sponsored by the West.” (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

London(ZimEye)The late war hero Edgar Tekere was not a credible presidential challenger to dictator Robert Mugabe a report made by renowned Zimbabwean historian and author of the country’s famous Who’s Who of African Nationalist leaders in Zimbabwe, Diana Mitchel attempts to reveal.
The late Cde Edgar Tekere even refused to be a minister and wanted to be a mere member of parliament, Zimbabwe’s most prominent liberation war historian said.
Tekere reportedly told Robert Mugabe just after independence (1980) that he did not want to be a government minister but wanted to serve as a mere member of parliament and this was so that he could sustain himself, Diana Mitchel who was a personal friend of Tekere said.
Speaking excusively to ZimEye, Mitchel said Tekere experienced a lot of stress during the war which he could not handle years afterwards:

‘He couldn’t handle the stress when he came back(from the war). And when I interviewed him in the early 80s… I saw how stressed he was. He was still taking drugs just to handle himself and …apparently he was an alcoholic;
“…and because of that I would have voted for him in that presidential election, but I knew that he was too sick, too sick to handle it at that point. And all that was brought on of course by the stress of the war and looking after all those young people. He was like a kind of father to so many of the young fighters. He looked after them when they went over the border and left their parents. He was the one who kind of made them feel safe with him; He really was wonderful chap; and they all loved him dearly.
“But I always sympathised with what had happened to him because he was a victim. First he fought for the country and then he was victimised by that man who was supposed to be his friend. …I knew him as a friend, so he told me when I was interviewing him; and he told me that he had begged Mugabe. He said ‘I begged Mugabe to give me just a parliamentary seat cause I needed money’, because if you didn’t have a job you didn’t have any money. So he said ‘I begged him to give me just an MP seat, but he has made me a minister,’ Mitchel reports of Tekere.
She continued:
“… And he said: ‘And how was I going to change the country from a war footing … And suddenly you’ve got to start being on local government in a peak time situation sorting out local government and education, God knows what. The burden was too great.’
“And that’s when he went out and shot this white farmer. And I reckon he was hallucinating there’s no doubt about it, that’s why he got off the hanging thing…”, Mitchel concluded.
Diana Mitchel’s two thick Who’s Who books are on high demand and were out of stock in many book shops at the time of writing. In 1977, she was the first white Zimbabwean to canonise and make popular the leaders of the liberation struggle calling them African Nationalists at a time when they were regarded as terrorists in the country. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
1997 – African Nationalist Leaders in Rhodesia Who’s Who
Who’s Who, 1981-82 by Diana Mitchell (1982, Paperback, Illustrated): Nationalist Leaders in Zimbabwe
(Paperback, 1982)

Harare(ZimEye)Presidential aspirant, and leader of the Zimbabwe Political Conference, Ephraim Tapa set up a counterfeit MDC website in order to outdo Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister and president of the MDC-T party, Morgan Tsvangirai, the ZimEye revealed in September 2009.
Documents in possession of the ZimEye reveal that Tapa, former MDC-UK chairperson, who has now been denounced by both ZAPU and MDC-T, through a Yorkshire based subordinate attempted to hire a web-designer shortly after his ouster from the MDC. On the 24th December 2007, Ephraim Tapa then authorised the payment of £150 for the registration of the fake MDC website which would if possible, outdo the current MDC-T website. 
However, Tapa who three years later would launch his own party disguised as a philanthropic movement failed to woo supporters through his website which was ‘mdcukandireland.com’. The website has now returned to the rightful owners of the patent. 
In Ephraim Tapa’s pursuit, the content of the legitimate MDC website would be copied and all other information improved in order to fight Morgan Tsvangirai while firmly controlling the MDC’s supporter base in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The site remained online until it was taken down in 2007 and later having become a parked domain it was later acquired by the MDC-T party. 
The disgraced former MDC leader who is also head of Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR), has called Morgan Tsvangirai an ill-witted politician who has no confidence in himself. In August 2007, he was also fired from MDC leadership having been found to be reportedly ‘incompetent’. Tapa claimed that when he was fired, people in the MDC were crying for him to lead them, saying:
“Why do you look for leaders when they are there in England” 
Zimbabwe’s Future President 
A close friend of Ephraim Tapa has said that in his presidential aspirations, Tapa is being influenced by an alleged prophecy uttered by a Harare based N’anga who said the future President of Zimbabwe would be from the Zebra Tribe known in Shona as Mbizi or in Ndebele Dube. It was not possible to appropriate full details of the said prophecy, or to obtain a comment from Tapa at the time of writing, but evidence collated over a period of three years suggested that Tapa has been eyeing a presidential seat in Zimbabwe in recent years. (ZimEye, UK; ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

LEEDS(ZimEye) ZAPU Europe Information and Publicity Secretary Mr Artwel Ndlovu has disqualified claims by the newly formed and Ephraim Tapa led political grouping ZPC that ZAPU is backing them.
Ndlovu disqualified the claims as false and misleading and said that his party would not be drawn into cheap politics as ZAPU has bigger national issues to deal with.
Ndlovu said:
In relation to the article published on the 17th Jun 2011 by Zimeye online news, titled “Entire ZAPU party is backing us”, in reference to Ephram Tapa’s organisation, ZAPU Europe would like to set the record straight.  We are not backing any political party or organisation, we are not aware of a new Zimbabwean political party in UK, more so, there’s no reason for ZAPU to be concerned. The claim by the said organisation in Zimeye that “The entire ZAPU (UK) is behind us” is false and misleading.  ZAPU Europe would like to make the public aware that we are not associated with any group or party that claims that ZAPU is behind its information.
The current situation is as stated by the Acting chair Panyika Karimanzira in his press release statement on the state of ZAPU Europe Province. He said “The branch formation effort is carrying on. Brighton continues to shine in terms of activities and visibility. Meetings have since been held and there are steering committees now in place in North East, East Midlands as well as Yorkshire & Humberside. London, East of England, South West and North West are all mulling over similar activities”.

Lately, Mr Elton Ncube, the Secretary for Mobilisation and Organisation together with some members of National People’s Council in Yorkshire, Mr Dan Mashengele, Mr Actwell Sibanda, Mrs Sakhile Sibanda along with Yorkshire and Humberside district executive members elected a steering committee for South Yorkshire branch (Sheffield).
In Colchester, the political veteran Mr Johnson Mnkadla, the leader of National Council of Elders and the London District executive committee spearheaded the formation of Colchester branch. After the South East Coast District after successfully formed a substantive branch in Brighton, they are now working with Hastings steering committee towards forming a substantive Hastings branch.
In addition, ZAPU invites all its members in good standing to offer their services in all districts and provinces of the country in feeling positions in the local government, Legislature (Parliament) and Senate. Applications must be forwarded to the provincial ZAPU offices which will issue forms. Closing date is 30 June 2011.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

York(ZimEye)Zimbabwe is still unsafe for returning asylum seekers, Home Affairs Minister, Theresa Makone says.
Speaking during her recent April visit to the United Kingdom, Theresa Makone (pictured) said the country’s security crisis was still volatile and she had already engaged the British Government’s envoy Mark Canning pleading for his country to ease its rules for Zimbabwean asylum seekers who she fears for their safety herself being a latest victim of government sponsored persecution.
“I’ve engaged privately with the ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Canning with regard to your situation. I know that a ruling has been made in the court that Zimbabweans must be removed as soon as possible…
“…I cannot go into the details of the discussion but I don’t want you to stay in fear that you might be removed possibly soon”, she said
Makone said that she had also cautioned her own daughter and sister about returning home. She said:
“Ive got a daughter; Ive got a sister. They have inquired about coming home and I have told them-Not Yet.”
“I think you all know that last week when we were supposed to have an election for the speaker, I myself was in hiding. So if I am threatened what about all of you? What chance have you got?
“The police report to me. I am their ultimate boss but there was every chance that I would be arrested so as to reduce the number of votes in parliament for the speaker. And you would think that they would target any other MP, but not their own minister. But now when you ask them, because they have been beaten, they will say we never intended to arrest you…”
Makone was addressing MDC supporters at Leeds.
Click below to listen to the speech:

(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

LEEDS(ZimEye)-ZAPU-EUROPE Secretary for Information, Mr Artwell Ndlovu says reports by Newsday that ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa is visiting UK are incorrect and might be based on an old interview held in January but would wish to inform the public that should the President visit the Province members will be advised through official channels in the usual manner.
Mr Ndlovu said:
Members in Europe Province and the public in general have been calling the Provincial Executive Committee seeking confirmation of a story published in the “NewsDay” of 3rd June, 2011 entitled
“Dabengwa reaches out to Diaspora”. The article alleges that the President, Dr Dumiso Dabengwa is in the UK “..where he is engaging stakeholders in Europe to mobilise resources for his party.”

The articles goes on to say that Dr Dabengwa “… is expected to address ZAPU supporters there in an effort to stem factionalism that has riddled the European branch of ZAPU” and goes on to cite the Mr Artwell Ndlovu, the Secretary for Information, Publicity & Marketing as the source of that information.
The Provincial Executive Committee for Europe Province would like to advise members of ZAPU and the public that this story is completely false and that Mr Artwell Ndlovu did not provide the information as claimed in that article. Should the President visit the Province, members will be advised through official channels in the usual manner. We are contacting the  “NewsDay” to ask them to retract their false story.

(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Zimbabwe’s police has finally granted the MDC permission to hold its rally on one of the country’s traditional political rally grounds, Zimbabwean Grounds, after several unsuccessful efforts to do so by the party.
The MDC will hold a peace rally at the High-Fields venue to report back the on the electorate the goings on in the party as well as unveil the party’s new leadership, the party has said.
“The peace rallies will spread throughout the country’s provinces and will give the MDC leadership led by President Tsvangirai an opportunity to report back to the people on the resolutions of the MDC’s third National Congress that was held in Bulawayo in April.
The rallies will also be an opportunity to unveil the party’s new leadership, brief the nation on the progress being made by the inclusive government and challenges faced, the issue of the election road map as a prerequisite to the holding of free, fair and credible elections as well as to speak on and denounce the disturbing violence that has resurged in the country,” said the party in a statement.
The party also said it would report about the party’s expectations at the much anticipated SADC summit on Zimbabwe to be held in SouthAfrica on 11 June.
In March, the MDC applied for the holding of its rallies to the police when they were told by the aggressive police that Zanu (PF) had booked both the Glamis Arena and Zimbabwe grounds for the whole year developments which were strongly denied by the Harare Mayor Muchadei Masunda who testified to that effect in the court of law.
The MDC has continued to preach peace to the public despite it being maliciously accused of violence by the the desperate Zanu (PF) party through a smear campaign that has seen the party sponsor a bogus organization calling itself Zimbabwe Today to publish a magazine portraying the labor affiliated party as being violent when evidence of political violence clearly proves otherwise.
MDC said the peace rally will be held under the theme “Free Zimbabwe:Say No to Violence – Yes to Peace” in a bid to advocate against politically motivated violence among the electorate. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

ZimEye Media is pleased to host acclaimed author and a former UK diplomat to Zimbabwe Philip Barclay at Leeds Thursday who will be speaking at the Bangladeshi Community Centre in the city before heading to York for another major conference.
Philip Barclay is the author of ‘Zimbabwe: Years of Hope and Despair’, the acclaimed, first hand account of Zimbabwe’s violent 2008 elections.
 
Irish writer and broadcaster Fergal Keane says of the book:
 
‘Very, very good. Barclay’s book is chilling and heartbreaking. He is as far from the diplomat of the ‘old school’ as can be imagined. As a man, and a writer, he is engaged and brave’

 

‘beautifully written, so informative and moving and at times heart-breaking’
Venue: Bangladeshi Community Centre, Leeds, LS8 5AN
TIME: 1230Hrs – 1400Hrs
DATE: 02 June 2011
ALL WELCOME!
(ZimEye, UK, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)The MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has accused Zanu (PF) elements within the police force of using the unfortunate incident of the death of police inspector Petros Mutedza (42) who was allegedly murdered at a liquor centre in Glen-View, to soil their party.
During a press conference by the party’s Secretary General Tendai Biti at the party headquarters on Wednesday, the MDC said the police through its spokesperson Andrew Phiri had rushed to the national press with the news that MDC supporters had attacked and killed a policeman even before investigations had been done to ascertain whether or not they were MDC supporters.

Biti said in a bid to justify their earlier accusations that MDC was a violent party, the police rounded up all known party activists and supporters in Glen-View who were brutally assaulted.
“It is clear that some Zanu PF elements in the police are using this unfortunate incident to try to convince SADC that MDC is a violent Party. Our own investigations have revealed that the police officers in question had a fight with patrons at a beer hall following which the late officer was injured. We call upon the police to look at such things as the relationship between the deceased officer and the members of the public in that area,” said Biti addressing journalists at Harvest house.
Biti also called on the police to decisively deal with the issue of the murder of other MDC members and activists with the same vigour that they have employed in the case of the now deceased policeman.
“We reiterate that police must deal decisively in terms of the law with all perpetrators of violence including those who murdered the likes of Tonderai Ndira, Better Chokururama, Godfrey Kauzani and other victims of state sponsored violence. Some Zanu PF elements in the police want to use this unfortunate incident to divert the impending SADC Summit from the real issues,” he said.
He however urged the SADC to endorse the resolution of the Bloc’s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation which was held in Zambia on 31 March. Biti said his party was ready for a free and fair election underwritten by SADC and the AU.
“As we have always said before, we are ready for free and fair elections based on a clear roadmap that is underwritten by SADC and the AU. The roadmap must have specific timelines and benchmarks,” he added.
Zanu (PF) has in the recent past launched a propaganda offensive against the MDC to portray the party as a violent party despite it being the traditionally known violent party in the country. Last week another Zanu (PF) supporter Goodson Nguni launched a magazine (Zimbabwe Today) with pictures of brutalized MDC supporters and activists in which it is attributing the brutalities to the MDC while the state media has been a rich ground for hate language against MDC and its leaders despite the party being part of the current government.
Some analysts have warned against Zanu (PF)’s use of incidents like the Glen-View one to legitimize their brutality and violence on the political opponents like MDC supporters during any future election. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)The Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) is currently in panic mode after it emerged that a bogus prison officer stole some duplicate keys for three of the country’s biggest prisons before disappearing. It is currently not known what the ‘officer’ intended to use the keys for but it is strongly believed that the bogus officer could free suspects and other criminals from prison.

Internal sources have revealed that the man, only identified as Zvoma, approached the ZPS traditional lock and key supplier on the pretext that the service required fresh stocks.
Zvoma is reported to have posed as the head of the procurement department, for the uniformed organization who convinced the supplier.
ZPS authorities have since paraded male officers from headquarters and the regional office in the hope that the company officials would identify the culprit.
“Well, we are on high alert at both our offices and jails in Mashonaland since we do not know what he will do with the keys,” he said.
“Maybe he has plans to become a supplier of keys or he has other cruel intentions like selling them to other people who can free their colleagues.
“We are working with the police force on the matter,” said Solomon Mutamba, the ZPS Mashonaland region spokesperson. The Zimbabwe Prison Service is home to several dangerous hard-core criminals who may become a menace to the population of the country and beyond borders if freed.
At the time of writing, it was not clear exactly which prisons were on high security alert and on danger of an intrusion. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE- Aussie Ambassador Jacqueline Zwambila who Australian government officials are probing for alleged gross violations of employment laws and abuse of a male employee who made a number of complaints about Zimbabwe’s representative.
Last year she was also accused of stripping in front of embassy staff another allegation she also strongly denied. But employee Felix Machiridza said this week he could personally ‘confirm’ that on a day in November 2010 Ms Zwambila upon arriving at the official residency had informed him and another employee that she had ‘taught the embassy male staff members a lesson’.
A ZimEye reader Friday commented on the first article titled: 

Fresh Allegations of stripping …

“Makwembere and others need to leave politics out of this and examine the real issues. No one is a saint, but when one accepts public office they need to be above reproach. There isn’t only one ambasador from the MDC-T. Why is that there are no issues like this emanating from Sudan, Germany and Nigeria oreven from Senegal? The MDC is a huge party terefore you can’t claim to know everyone.
If ambassador Zwambila committed these offences let her face the consequences. A human rights defender who turns into an abuser must be demoted forthwith. We don’t want leades who are going to bhave like the same old ZANU PF where leaders can violate people’s rights with impunity.
Just because the poor fellow has decided to come out into the open with his ordeal does not make him a pariah. I am sure he is a reasonable guy who had exhausted all means available to him and ended up going t the press as a last resort.
Whether you dismiss him as fake or lambast him does not help his cause. Look at the bigger picture.
No one, even the PM should jst go scot free if they violate human rights, No!!!
Boot licking is a worm that should be nipped in the bud. That is why we end up with leaders that are law unto themselves, and making themselves immune from reproach. Do not create monsters which will make you cry foul tomorrow. Now is the time to examine and approve or disapprove of people that we want or do not want to lead us.
Be sober and examine issues surrounding mai ava without blindly blaming politics. Mudslding inoitika but zvamai ava zvanyanya. Time to take stock of our leadership. Makwembere, all people who matter are found on google. Benzi *******.” (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-The MDC-T party has officially announced new changes to their external structures as it emerged that there will no longer be provincial authorities as before and these have been renamed and their authority clipped to that of mere coordinating committees under the sole control of the new organising secretary Nelson Chamisa, as it was also confirmed that national chairman Lovemore Moyo has been relieved of his duties.
Our reporter Jack Jiri carried an exclusive interview with Douglas Mwonzora who however denied UK reports that Lovemore Moyo had been demoted.
The development has been welcomed as it became official that the 33 year old Chamisa will now be Boss over the party’s external structures in foreign countries, after numerous reports of corruption, vote rigging, money laundering and scandalous appointments in the past 4 years under former boss Lovemore Moyo’s leadership.
Below is the full report:
The MorganTsvangirai led MDC party has given its National Organising Secretary Nelson Chamisa the task of dealing with their external assemblies dismissing rumours circulating in the United Kingdom that the party has dissolved its international structure.
“The UK structures were not dissolved, what happened was that there was (a) renaming of the structures. Instead of a province in the UK you now have a co-ordinating committee and the branches remaining intact. We also restructured the reporting system of all external structures, instead of them to report to the National Chairman as they used to do before they are now reporting to the National Organising Secretary. Nelson Chamisa the party’s National Organising Secretary will advise this when he is through with his external structures reporting system blue print in a few weeks time.
“Firstly there was no power that was stripped off any top leader. Previous provinces which are now coordinating committees may be run by the same people. The restructuring process was done in order to strengthen them. What must come clear and need to be understood is that these external structures are not permanent and they cannot be there forever and we hope that one day Zimbabwe is going to be free and we will not be having those external structures,” MDC-T national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora told ZimEye in an exclusive interview.
Mwonzora said it was not true that National Chairman Lovemore Moyo was stripped of his powers but was given other responsibilities which go with his senior position.
“Regarding National Chairman Lovemore Moyo, its true that he is no longer dealing with external structures. The Standing committee felt that he was now a very senior member of the party, third in the top hierarchy and cannot be drawn into squabbles that were characterising these external structures. He now has other responsibilities of being the highest disciplinary board member in the standing committee,” he said.
In the United Kingdom some members welcomed the development while those in previous influential positions withdrew from interviews. Many former provincial leaders avoided calls while some expressed their disappointment over the changes. Speaking to ZimEye however one Regis Manyanya, Nottingham Zimbabwe community leader said the changes were necessary:
“MDC UK and Ireland needed a thorough cleaning and streamlining. It is a requirement as there was too much bureaucracy…In UK vulnerable people have been used and dumped; Accountability starts with a staff that is manageable, not the current system that is open to abuse,’ he said commenting that there existed gross duplication of duties.
 
Why did Samanyanga not nominate Tendai Biti?
Former UK-Midlands North Chairman Munetsi Jangwa also expressed disappointment on why the UK province did not nominate Finance minister Tendai Biti for re-election as Secretary General at the recent national congress:
“We were very disappointed with the nominations that they made; I think the major was on the nominations for the secretary general. Getting rid of Tendai Biti is a suicidal issue. We all know that he is the best performing minister, and so it does not make sense at all. Those nominations do not represent what the membership want. As an external structure it has damaged us greatly.”
Meanwhile Samanyanga dismissed the comments as Jangwa’s personal opinion and not that of the party as a whole.
However Regis Manyanya on the other hand blasted the default chairman Samanyanga who assumed office after a controversial election under Lovemore Moyo:
“(Tonderai) Samanyanya used excessive funds and travelled to Harare through the blessings of the district chairmen who did not consult the branch chairs”, he said.
Nelson Chamisa used to be the MDC-T party’s spokesperson. Born born February 28, 1978, Chamisa is the youngest technocrat in the MDC top heirarchy(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-A senior Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) officer lost top state secrets after his laptop was allegedly stolen during a workshop at St Lucia Park conference centre in Harare’s Marlborough suburb.
 
Sources at St Lucia Park told ZimEye that the laptop belonging to an unnamed CIO official believed to be at director level, disappeared from a conference room on Friday morning during tea break.
 
“There was panic when the CIO’s discovered that their boss’s laptop had disappeared,” said an official at the conference facility. “We were ordered to block all exit facilities and all vehicles leaving the park were thoroughly searched, but unfortunately nothing was recovered.”
 
The official who requested anonymity fearing reprisal from the dreaded spy agency, said hotel officials were tossed around by the CIO’s who wanted to know details about all the guests and visitors in the premises during the time of the disappearance.
 
“They shouted to us that the laptop has to be recovered because it contained sensitive information which could compromise state security,” he said.
 
The CIO’s were attending a workshop which drew participants from other intelligence and security organizations in Southern Africa and elsewhere.
 
Sources at St Lucia Park said it is suspected that one of the participants, probably from a foreign intelligence organization, was responsible for the disappearance.
 
“If it is not one of the foreign agents responsible for the theft,” said the source. “then we suspect that one of the CIO’s caused the disappearance to undermine his boss as part of the power struggles to succeed the late Menard Muzariri who was the deputy director-general.”
 
St Lucia Park is also now the home to the SADC Regional Peace Keeping Training Centre which used to be housed at the KG V1 army barracks near the city.
 
The peacekeeping training centre houses many foreign security officers, including some from western countries. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)Donor fed inmates of Harare Remand prison are facing another possibility of a food crisis after it has emerged that the prison’s Officer-in-Charge Chief Superintendent Billiard Chibaya is converting the donated foodstuffs to his personal use.
Officers who spoke to ZimEye revealed that Chibaya who is a war veteran is looting stocks of the Red Cross donated foodstuffs and taking them to his camp house which he in turn is transporting to Mbare musika for resale through some vendors. A daily audit conducted regularly showed gaps created by large amounts of stock which are untraceable.
“He (Chibaya) is our boss and we have nowhere to report this because if anyone does, they will be targeted (for victimization) but this has been going on since he was transferred to this station some two years ago”, said an officer who requested anonymity.
The looted foods include mealie meal and cooking oil. “…but the quantities (loot) are increasing every time. The foodstuffs include among others cooking oil, beans, sugar and mealie-meal;” he said.

The officers who at the time of writing could not prove the existence of the Mbare stall-market confessed:
“we hear he is operating a market-stall in Mbare which sells the commodities,” said one of the officers.
Hundreds of prison-inmates died during the 2008-2009 period as a result of a combination of starvation and a cholera outbreak with the then Zanu (PF) government blocking some donor agencies from addressing the situation. The problem later then changed for the better with the intervention of UNICEF in combating Cholera and Red Cross assisting with food.
Meanwhile Supt Chibaya reportedly launched a crackdown on officers suspected of leaking the information to the media with two officers with journalism backgrounds having been so far victimized by the ageing Officer-in-Charge. His crackdown team includes one self styled war veteran Chief Prison Officer (CPO) Mark Katsatse, the man who removed drip from the unconscious Glenview MP Paul Madzore when he was admitted at the avenues clinic in 2007 and also told Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai t0hat he would never rule Zimbabwe on his visit to prison to see the then incarcerated Morgan Komichi, Intelligence officer CPO Walter Mbanje, one Senior Prison Officer Muringani and Robert Chukucha a junior officer who was part of the 2008 terror squad in Bindura and Shamva who openly boasts of having shot and killed a woman in cold blood.
“Chibaya suspects that some two junior officers are the ones who are writing articles or simply leaking the information to the media about him and his abuse of office because the two did journalism. They have however been transferred to Chinhoyi and Karoi prisons respectively as part of his strategy to get rid of them,” the office added.
According to the source Chibaya believes that one of the two authored a story which alleged that he had displaced some juvenile inmates from their cells to pave way for his chicken rearing project thereby exposing them to hard core criminals and their abuses such as sodomy, a project he stopped soon after reading the story on the ZimEye website. It has also been reported that Chibaya who has been giving orders to the organisation’s regional offices through the phone to transfer the two has never made some formal investigations into the matter, referring to rely on speculation.
Since then, the suspected officers have been victimized in different ways with the crackdown team set up by Chibaya playing a central role. Some officers who have previously been victimized by Chibaya include Tinashe Maradzika and Although Damu who were also transferred to Chinhoyi and Karoi Prisons respectively. Efforts to get a comment from the two officers at the time of publishing were fruitless as both their phones were not reachable. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe) PIC: An entrance to the Harare Remand Prison.

Huddersfield(ZimEye)CONTRARY TO UK-media reports, Huddersfied businessman Alan Fish is not returning to Zimbabwe to support the opposition MDC for its annual congress.
A UK publication erroneously reported Friday that Alan Fish, who lives at High Flatts near Birdsedge, was preparing to travel to the southern African country to support Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
In a tele-message to ZimEye on Sunday Alan Fish said that the publishing of his interview with the Huddersfied Examiner was delayed and had been carried out a great while before the MDC-UK elections whose questionable outcome influenced him to stop supporting Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party as he used to.
He said that before the elections he had planned to do
“a bit of networking (for the MDC)  in the United Kingdom but the elections overtook everything…”, he said though without disclosing the exact time and date the Examiner-interview had been carried out.

Harare(ZimEye)-Zimbabwe’s ailing President Robert Mugabe has threatened to take stern measures against the country’s homosexuals saying the practice is against the Zimbabwean culture.
Addressing mourners mostly comprised of mainly members of the Central Intelligent Organisation and the Uniformed Forces at the burial of the Deputy Director General of the state’s spy organization Menard Muzariri, Mugabe (87)  accused the west of trying to “contaminate” the country’s culture with the Western practice of homosexuality which he said could only be done by people of with mental instability.
“We should be left as Zimbabweans to debate about our issues. We do not worry about the goings on in Europe, we do not worry about the unnatural things they are doing there that people are going against nature…we do not want to be contaminated (by their practices) anyone who does that is mad and if not mad then we will punish them,” said Mugabe.
Mugabe has strongly been against the practice of homosexualism describing the Gays and Lesbians as worse than dogs.
“We will not have that here as it is not part of our culture. Where shall we end if man takes man, we will have a situation when man sleep with dogs,” he said.
Mugabe also accused the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai for  being a front for the former colonial masters bent on re-colonising the country adding that he (Tsvangirai) had during the liberation war run away from the struggle and so should not be allowed to rule the country.
“What pains the most is that those who ran away from the struggle are now coming back saying they also want to rule, they have called for sanctions and are inviting those whom we fought to come back here and lead us again and that’s what we are saying no to,” said Mugabe.
However Mugabe was not in high spirits as he struggled to walk upright, limping and talked with a low toned voice which lacked  his-usual energetic tone as he mumbled in some instances showing signs of old age. His wife Grace Mugabe was nowhere to be seen at the burial as the rumour is rife that she is battling with serious hip problems in Singapore.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

-How Lovemore Moyo facilitated the rigging of UK elections-
Leeds(ZimEye) The MDC party led by Morgan Tsvangirai in the UK risks a major split after shocking evidence of shameful vote rigging emerged at the MDC-T national elections Saturday at Leeds where chair-position contestant Emily Madamombe lost to outgoing interim chairman Tonderai Samanyanga.
Madamombe lost to Samanyanga by two votes, figures evidently adjusted two hours after an initial result-disclosure made only to the contestants after the voting process in which women with their children were forced to endure long hours stretching into the following day Sunday.
Madamombe has launched a challenge demanding a nullification of the election.

Party members accuse Moyo of deliberately engineering the election outcome to easily secure a provincial vote for the upcoming MDC national congress to be held in Harare penned for this month. According to the alleged strategy, the losing candidate Samanyanga who was seen almost in tears just after the initial announcement would then organise his province to vote for Lovemore Moyo who is reportedly set for a fierce combat with either Sam Sipepa Nkomo, or Lucia Matibenga during the upcoming party congress.
Vote Recount Denied
When challenged to do a recount of votes, Lovemore Moyo vehemently refused. Several senior party members interviewed by ZimEye have given testimony and queried why Moyo did not perform the recount which they said could have lasted less than 20 minutes to complete.
“Lovemore Moyo refused to do a vote recount as (also) demanded by Theresa Makone upon Emily Madamombe’s request. Why did he do that?”, charged the executive members who requested anonymity, Monday.
At the beginning of the voting process Moyo had declared that every individual in the meeting hall would vote, despite a strict MDC-T party statute which states that in that type of election only district executive members are eligible. “Everyone in this place is going to vote today”, Moyo had announced early afternoon Saturday before the voting process commenced. 
 
Deliberate Time Stretch
The election which would have lasted less than ninety minutes and involving less than 500 voters was stretched into midnight when both independent observers and many journalists now tired had vacated the building. The meeting lasted more than 13 hours and continued past midnight in what ended up appearing like a national election involving millions of voters when only about just 430 people were voting. At 0010Hrs women with families living more than 200 miles away were only beginning to vote. The delay has been sharply criticized by the ZAPU party.
“In ZAPU the previous elections have been less than two hours. They have been so efficient and quick and to hear that an election can go up to the next day is so pathetic considering that there were women and kids. Maybe the MDC should learn from smaller parties than learning from ZANU”, said a Leeds based ZAPU cadre.
The MDC party led by Welshman Ncube also criticised the delay. The party’s deputy chairman for UK said that the process should not last more than 3 hours, referring also to that party’s upcoming UK elections due in June 2011.
“A provincial election should not last more than 3 hours” said Langelihle Khoza.

If it is true that the election lasted more than 12 hours, that is just too long, because even in a normal working environment people work up to eight hours,” hinted Khoza adding that some people in the MDC-T party are what he termed ‘pseudo-democrats’ who claim to be advocates of democracy when in actual fact they are not.
 
Trail of Events
1100Hours-  Meeting Commences, people begin swamming the meeting hall. Election Observers prepare ballot papers.
1300Hours to 1500Hours – Speeches Begin, Thamsanga Mahlangu, Theresa Makone and Lovemore Moyo speak.
Lovemore Moyo announces that everyone would vote.
1338Hours – Interim Outgoing chairman, Tonderai Samanyanga informs ZimEye the contrary that only district executives were allowed to vote(audio recording archived).
1500 – Voting begins
Party members vote, with ordinary party members taking part as well.
1600Hrs – 1700Hrs Leeds Party Member ‘Fidza’ votes three times in full view of security. Returns 30 minutes later and challenges the organisers on the voting process’ authenticity.
1800Hrs – Theresa Makone ejects Fidza from the meeting hall.
1830Hrs – A female party ordinary member from Glasgow votes in full view of security.
2215Hrs – Chairmanship votes secretly announced. Madamombe heads for hotel to prepare for inauguration.
2245Hrs – Madamombe returns to meeting hall.
0010Hrs – Women begin lining up for voting.
0030Hrs (Sunday)- Announcement is made that Madamombe has lost. Madamombe requests a recount of votes. Lovemore Moyo refuses to recount the votes.
 
Secret Results
Results from the election were first announced to the contestants of the chair-post who were strictly ordered not to inform anyone until official announcement was made. Upon returning to the hall, Madamombe was shocked to find out the figures had been altered against her and that she was now two votes behind Samanyanga.
Madamombe (pictured) was seen in new official attire as she returned to the hall prepared to make her first speech as the new chairperson. It was at this time she was told that she had lost.
British Businessman and a key supporter of the MDC party Alan Fish who has worked tirelessly to help asylum seekers, announced Monday he would never again support the MDC party saying that it had proved to be a party that cheats on its own people. 
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Leeds(ZimEye)A UK businessman who has selflessly supported the MDC party for years while also assisting asylum seekers in Yorkshire has dumped the Morgan Tsvangirai led MDC party calling it a party of ‘cheats’ following a vote rigging witnessed at the party’s national election held at Leeds.
Alan Fish typed in comments on ZimEye on Tuesday following his initial verbal announcement to ZimEye on Sunday that he will never support the MDC-T party again. His words follow another announcement in which losing contestant Emily Madamombe said she was challenging the legitimacy of the election. Click Here for Madamombe’s announcement.
Fish, a local businessman based in Huddersfield who has through his church served to assist asylum seekers while also supporting the MDC party condemend the sham election of Tonderai Samanyanga:
We here reproduce the comment-discussion in which a ZANU PF supporter named ‘Bla Miki’ seemed to welcome Fish to his party re-naming him “Cde Alan Fish”:

—ENDS—
PRECEDING STORIES 

Shocking Evidence of MDC-T Vote Rigging

‘Vote Rigging’ at MDC Internal-Election

(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-The European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe has clashed with the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare on the effects of restrictive measures imposed on the Zanu (PF) leadership by the European bloc in 2003.
The EU ambassador Aldo Dell’ Ariccia was handing over ten vehicles which his organization donated to the Ministry of Health when he indicated that the sanctions imposed on the Zanu (PF) leadership had no effect on the lives of the ordinary people in Zimbabwe.
“I would like to encourage the Ambassador to consider the restrictive measures, sanctions or whatever you call them, removed because it is impacting on the country’s health delivery system,” said Dr Douglas Mombeshora the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare in his speech.
Responding to the sanctions fiasco Dell’ Ariccia in turn responded that the sanctions where put in place to discourage the Zanu (PF)
government from engaging in violent behavior that resulted in human rights violations and added that the situation in Zimbabwe had actually changed for the worse.

“Can I tell you what; the situation here in Zimbabwe has changed for the worse. We have a Minister in jail and a number of people in jail as well without clear charges,” said Dell’ Ariccia.
He reiterated that his organization would only remove the sanctions after the government had improved to human rights index of the country which he said would be possible only after enough reforms have been done.
“We hope to receive enough signal in respect of reforms for us to consider lifting the sanctions otherwise the situation remains the
same,” he said.
The EU donated 10 one tone trucks to assist in the implementation of the Environmental Health duties to avoid a repeat of the 2008 cholera outbreak which left more than 4000 dead and more children orphaned.
The vehicles will be distributed to the country’s ten provinces with each province receiving one vehicle which will be used by the
Environmental Health Technicians to train some Environmental Health Assistants in their different communities.
The Environmental Health Assistant Training according to Mombeshora includes the prevention and control of cholera, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and tuberculosis.
The EHA aims at improving practical training of Trainee Environmental Health Technicians.
Mombeshora however appealed to the EU to to consider funding the program in light of the fact that the projected budget for the EHA will dry up in December this year.
“In light of the successful implantation of the project so far, I would like to request our sponsors and EU to seriously consider
extending funding for the programme,” appealed Mombeshora.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

“A facilitator is a facilitator and should facilitate dialogue between Zimbabweans by way of persuasion.
“That is the best he can do. He cannot prescribe that we do A, B, C, D. We prescribe to ourselves to do A, B, C, D in accordance with our own laws,” said Mugabe.
“MDC-T thinks that Sadc or AU can tell us how we can do our business or how to implement what we have agreed.
“We are a sovereign State and as a sovereign State we don’t accept any interference and even our neighbours should not tell us what to do.”
This comes after the octogenarian leader was warned by the troika chairperson Rupia Banda of the possible North Africa style uprising if he continued to take the people for granted.
“If there is anything that we must learn from the upheavals going on in the northern part of our continent, it is that the legitimate expectations of the citizens of our countries cannot be taken for granted,” President Banda declared.
“We must therefore continue at the SADC level to consolidate democracy through the establishment of institutions that uphold the tenets of good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law,” he said.
“The issues that we will be addressing require decisive resolutions in charting the future of our regional body.”
Mugabe said the country could go for elections without a new constitution if the people where to reject the one under formulation.
However many stakeholders have warned against going for elections under the current constitution saying this would result in blood shed as is the Zanu (PF) tactic of winning elections.
“We have a new constitution being formulated. The process is slow, but we would want to see at the end of the day whether the draft constitution is going to be accepted by the people.
“If accepted, well, then we proceed to elections and if people reject it, we then go to elections on the basis of the old constitution. We should be ready for the outcome, but being ready for the outcome is another story and preparing for it is another story,” said Mugabe.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)One of Zimbabwe’s much awaited daily newspaper which was licensed last year has hit the streets with a demo paper being distributed for free around the capital on Thursday.
The paper, The daily Mail which will be a daily paper as the name suggests is at a cost of US$1 on the streets a price most of the papers are selling their newspapers.

Though today’s version was supposed to be a free one, the vendors ended up selling at the designated price due to the demand of the paper by readers. Insiders from the stable said the paper which also have a weekend edition was scheduled to hit the streets permanently sometime in
April.
“It is not yet confirmed but we are being told that the paper would be out by the end of this April as they are still sorting out some logistical issues,” said the source. Efforts to get a comment from the paper’s editor Barnabas Tondhlana were fruitless as there was poor mobile phone connectivity between ZimEye and him.
Zimbabwe bowed to the pressure to license some more media players from some civic organisations and the international community after the banning of the Daily News by the then Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo in 2003 which has also resurfaced after being re-licensed by the inclusive government.
However concerns over the freeing of the airwaves remains as no radio or television players have been granted licenses since then. The state controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) continues to operate in a partisan way outside the simple principles of public broadcasting that is, propping up politically motivated violence, whipping up emotions of hate and name calling in most of its programs and other anti-Zanu (PF) voices have been virtually suppressed.
The coming of The Mail means Zimbabwe will now have five daily newspapers namely The Herald, The Chronicle, The Daily News, Newsday and The Mail but they might come up to six if the Boka owned The Nation which was also given a license was to open operations. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)The Movement for Democratic Change has reclaimed the Speaker of Parliament seat which was wrestled away form its candidate Lovemore Moyo by the Zanu (PF) king pin Professor Jonathan Moyo through the supreme court.

Harare(ZimEye)The MDC-T party said today it unearthed a $25000 bribery scam engineered by ZANU(PF) to lure its legislators to vote for its speaker of parliament candidate.
“Five of our MPS received $5000 each from a coordinator of the syndicate a senator Believe Gaule which they quickly handed over to us the chief whips of the party as evidence of the scam. We are in possession of the of $25 000 which our MPS have surrendered this morning,”MDC-T chief whip Innocent Gonese told reporters at a press briefing in Harare Tuesday morning while her deputy Dorcas Sibanda was showing the bribe.
ZANU(PF) has nominated Simon Khaya Moyo for the position of the speaker of house of Assembly, while MDC-T has returned the ousted Lovemore Moyo for the same post whose elections are due this afternoon.
Gonese who refused to divulge the names of his party MPs who were given the bribe by ZANU(PF) said they are investigating 10 more MDC-T MPs who were promised farms and cash if the assist ZANU(PF) to win the speakership post.
“From the evidence we got from our sources from both ZANU(PF) and the MDC the people coordinating are Jonathan Moyo,senator Believe Gaule and Kudakwashe Basikiti,”Gonese added.
Efforts by this reporter to get a comment from ZANU(PF) spokesperson Rugare Gumbo were fruitless as his mobile phone was not reachable. The position of speaker is up for grabs after the Supreme Court nullified the election of incumbent Lovemore Moyo following a challenge by former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

By Zvamaida Murwira |Herald| DETHRONED House of Assembly Speaker Mr Lovemore Moyo will be barred from attending proceedings when the House resumes sitting to elect the new presiding officer, Clerk of Parliament, Mr Austin Zvoma has said.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Zvoma said adequate security measures would be put in place to restrict the voting process to only eligible members.
“Mr Moyo will not be among the members who will participate in voting but he is eligible to stand as Speaker, but during the election, he will be barred from entering the Chamber as he is a former Member of Parliament.
“The Clerk will put adequate measures for this,” Mr Zvoma said.
Mr Moyo was elected House of Assembly Speaker on August 25 2008.
He was, however, dethroned on March 10, after the Supreme Court ruled that his election was marred with irregularities.
This followed an appeal by Tsholotsho North legislator Professor Jonathan Moyo to quash Mr Lovemore Moyo’s election.
Mr Zvoma said following extensive consultations to understand the legal implications of the Supreme Court ruling nullifying Mr Moyo’s election, he concluded that Mr Moyo ceased to be a legislator.
Mr Moyo, he said, could not expect to have his constituency seat reserved for more than 30 months while waiting to have an outcome of a court challenge by Prof Moyo.
“That would suggest Lovemore Moyo was holding both the position of Speaker and MP, since the 25th of August 2008,” he said.
Mr Zvoma said until it was proven otherwise in a court of law, he will continue holding the view that Mr Moyo ceased to be MP for Matobo North when he became Speaker, considering the long period he executed duties as the presiding officer of the Lower House.
He said he had since written to President Mugabe updating him on what transpired and what his office was doing to comply with the Supreme Court judgment.
“The Clerk has written to His Excellency, the President for purposes of consultation as the President is part of the legislature telling him what has happened and why it is happening like that and to reassure him that things will be done properly.
“So I have consulted the President and have also included legal advice and will announce the dates for the election of Speaker in due course,” Mr Zvoma said.
He slammed MDC-T secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti for failing to have an appreciation of the law by claiming that the Clerk of Parliament had no authority to move the date of sitting by the House forward.
“I am disappointed that a person like Minister Biti, a lawyer chooses to react emotionally and not rationally by seeking to denigrate the person of the Clerk on a flawed basis and interpretation of the implication of the Supreme Court ruling by misleading the public that the Clerk is flouting the law by varying the dates to which the House had adjourned,” he said.
Mr Zvoma said it was critical to note that the Supreme Court judgment superseded the sitting of the House on March 22 2011.
As the Clerk, in the absence of a legitimately elected Speaker, he said, he had lawful authority to defer the sitting of the Lower House.

Harare(ZimEye)-Education, Art, Sport and Culture Minister David Coltart said the government is going to reintroduce night school learning throughout the country in order to assist children who dropped out of school in the past decade of economic decline adding that he had raised the funds to be paid to the teachers who shall do the work.
Thousands of school going people dropped out of school before the inception of the Government of National Unity (GNU) because of most parents’ failure to raise school fees school.
Some of the affected crossed the border for the Diaspora without completing their education.
“I have just finalised the funding deal with donors which will see teachers being paid for extra lessons countrywide. We have realised that it is essential to establish night schools so that people who dropped out of school can go back and at least get basic education that will enable them to fend for themselves,” Coltart said at an electricity commissioning programme at Westlea Primary School.
Coltart said the funding will also reduce the burden which parents were carrying of giving incentives to teachers.
As a result of  the depressed economy teachers were demanding incentives from parents
The Incentives parents were paying were meant to improve teachers’ salaries.
This then resulted in an inequitable treatment of students from impoverished family backgrounds (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

South Africa ANC Youth league president wants the South African government to take over 60% of Anglo American Corporation’s shareholding, city press reports.
Julius Malema who turned 30 on the 3rd of March said Friday:
“If we don’t do it (nationalisation), we’ll always stay poor. The Oppenheimers don’t need to worry because we only want 60 percent of Anglo American’s money…”

The ANC has been to be backing Malema in many of his controversial announcements. Following his birthday last week, the party said in a statement that they wish he ‘grows more radical and militant’.
Malema said that Anglo had agreed to give 51 percent of its mining interests to black people in Botswana and seemed to ask why the company did not want to do the same in South Africa accusing the mining giant of thinking black people were what he termed ‘idiots’ and of abusing the black population in South Africa.
In an emotional speech seemingly sympathetic with the dissatisfied working class masses, Malema said that political freedom was useless without economic freedom.
“We’re now economic freedom fighters. The revolution started to get food. We don’t have to apologise, or be shy about this struggle.”
With an unpopular surge in inflation, South Africa is also faced with an unemployment crisis that has also seen the ANC fearing a rising working  class turning against it in coming polls. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)A Harare Magistrate’s-Court public prosecutor was Saturday severely assaulted by her husband after she was found in an adulterous act with a boyfriend in their matrimonial home.
The prosecutor, Patience Chimusaru, who stays at Harare central prison camp was struck in the head by her husband at their camp house after the man had found the two making love.
The matter was later reported to the police but in denial that she had been attacked for adultery, Chimusaru who has not sought legal action against her husband, was swift to withdraw before journalists had picked up the story.
A source at Harare magistrate’s court’s prosecution department confirmed the incident though no finer details were provided. The prosecutor was however seen by ZimEye bandaged in the head where the assault is alleged to have been directed.
“This is really true but I have no authority to comment on such issues as they are personal issues,” said the source. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace has been implicated in illegal foreign currency dealings in 2007, and a truck fraud case with a South African Haulage Company by the name of Fast Truck Haulage, a case which led to the arrest of four South African nationals at the weekend.

Grace Mugabe’s name cropped up when three of the disputed trucks were on the 19th February dumped at her Mazoe Orphanage home. According to the state outline in 2007 Olga Bugu who in her affidavit said was at that time not employed, transferred from RBZ US$1million to South African based business man Ping Sung HSIEH’s Chantria Trading Account at Standard charted bank south Africa after the two greed that six IVECO haulage trucks were to be delivered at number 67 Chancellor Road under the facilitation a Zimbabwe based Mr. Stanley Nhare who is a co-Director of the company with Ping Sung of South Africa.
The six vehicles were supposed to be delivered to number 67 Chancellor Road Harare. There are only two premises situated at in Chancellor Road, and they are all part of the state house. Chancellor road begins at corner Josiah Tongogara and Seventh Street and ends at number 1 Borrowdale road. The only building between the two roads is the state house.

The state alleges that the fraud case against Ping arose after he failed to deliver the consignment in 2008 and dumped three of the six trucks at Grace Mugabe’s Orphanage home on 19th February.

“The four Cassim Jee Bilal (28), Henry Radebe(57), Samuel Risimati Baloyi and Sydney Masitho Sekgobela(40) drove from South Africa three Iveco trucks with trailers, registered in South Africa under the Fast Track Haulage Company with a temporary import expiry date of 4 March and left them at Grace Mugabe’s orphanage home in Mazoe on 19 February to security guard Givemore Matambwa making him also to sign a document acknowledging the receipt of the trucks on behalf of Stanley Nare,” read the court case outline.
It is the state’s case that the four drivers were arrested the very day after the guard alerted Nhare who refused the trucks because they were not enough.
Representing the four, prominent Lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa argued that they were not linked to the fraud saying they were mere hired drivers. She also challenged the state to provide evidence of the origins of the $1million which was transferred from RBZ for the purchase of the six haulage trucks.
“We want the state to give us the evidence where the money transferred from the RBZ in 2007 came from given that this was the time when the illegal money burning was rife in the country. We know that at this time people were prosecuted for burning money, “she challenged.
The state represented by a senior law officer in the Attorney General’s Office,
Chris Mtangadura said by delivering the vehicles the four connived with Mr. Ping to defraud Omega Bungu and should be denied bail and convicted together the with Mr. Ping who has since been indicted by the South African government with his hearing being scheduled for the 4th of March.

“The four should be denied bail and answer road charges because they acted in common purpose with Mr. Ping. They were aware that the trucks they drove from South Africa had temporary import permits which expire 4 March and deceived the complainant. To further
incriminate themselves they are the ones who processed these temporary import permits yet they knew they were going to dump the trucks in Zimbabwe, “said Mtangadura.

Harare Provincial magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe who was presiding over the case remanded the four in custody to 2 March pending trial of the case on the 14th March.
“Given the fact that the four processed the temporary import permits, it convinced me that they acted in common purpose with the principal accused who is Mr. Ping. Other factors to consider are that the four are foreign nationals. If granted bail chance of them skipping to their South African boarder are high, “ruled Guvamombe. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)The number of activists charged with treason is not 46 as reported by other media houses, ZimEye can reveal.
Many journalists erroneously reported that there were (46) arrested activists in court when in actual fact they were only (45) present.
At the beginning of procedings the charged were in total 46 but one Rinos Chari (42) was dropped from the list before procedings bringing the final list that appeared in court to 45.
We publish below the FULL list of ISO activists arrested for plotting the said ‘Egypt’ style protest.
They are:

1 Munyaradzi Gwisai (46)
Zimbabwe Labour Center

2 Antonater Choto
Zimbabwe Labour Center
3 Tatenda Mombeyarara
Zimbabwe Labour Center
4 Michael Sozinyu
Medical Professionals and Allied Workers Union
5 Edson Chakuma
United food and Allied Workers Union
6 Hopewell Gumbo
Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development
7 Welcome Zimuto
3rd Year student, Chinhoyi University
8 Philip Magaya
Unemployed
9 Prolific Simbarashe Mataruse
Unemployed
10 Godknows Biya
Zimphos
11 David Mupatse
Unemployed
12 Douglas Muzanenhamo
Unemployed
13 Reki Jimu (40)
Chitungwiza Central Hospital
14 Ganizani Nunu (41)
Unemployed
15 Josphat Chinembiri Terenyika (44)
Unemployed
16 Strutton Nyaya Muhambi (42)
Unemployed
17 Trevor Chamba (21)
Unemployed
18 Clarence Mugari (39)
Zimbabwe Graphical Workers Union
19 Munyaradzi Maregedze (35)
MARS
20 Willie Tinashe Hlatswayo (25)
4th year Student, UZ
21 Ian Muteto (23)
2nd years Student, Bindura University
22 Tinashe Mutazu (24)
Unemployed
23 Pride Evidence Mukono (age not given)
2nd year Student, UZ
24 Lenard Kamwendo (30)
Kubatana Trust
25 Tinashe Chisaira (24)
Zimbabwe Labour Center
26 Trust Munyama (25)
4th year Student, Harare Poly
27 Peter Garanewako (22)
Unemployed
28 Elizaberth Chipo Makume (53)
Unemployed
29 Megline Malunga (47)
Unemployed
30 Daison Bango (29)
Unemployed
31 Malvern Hobwana (24)
Unemployed
32 Tashinga Mudzengi (24)
Org not given
33 Ednar Chabalika (24)
Unemployed
34 Thokozile Mathe (34)
Unemployed
35 Francesca Thomson (41)
Unemployed
36 Masline Zvomuya (23)
Crossroads House
37 Nhamo Kute (36)
Unemployed
38 Annie Chipeta (42)
Unemployed
39 Tabeth Chideya (63)
Unemployed
40 Charles Mbwandarikwa (42)
Mutasa Pri School, Highfields
41 Thomas Chibaya (31)
CPL PVT (LTD)
42 Fatima Manhando (50)
Unemployed
43 Blessing Muguzaya (33)
Unemployed
44 Robert Muhlaba (54)
Seke Teacher’s College
45 Tinashe Muzambi (22)
Unemployed
The presiding magistrate Mutevedzi rolled the matter over to Thursday(today).
The activists complained of failing to access their lawyer Mr Aleck Muchadehama who was representing them when they
where detained at the notorious Law and Order section of the Harare Central police.
Muchadehama however applied to the court to have time to take instructions from his clients after the court leant that he had not
been allowed to see his clients when they were in police custody. 
ZimEye will keep our valued readers and the rest of the Zimbabwean population informed on the procedings. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

London(ZimEye)27 year old writer, Tendai Tagarira has claimed to predict Robert Mugabe’s death.
The Denmark based writer said that Mugabe will not pass the year 2011 before something happens to him.
Said Tagarira:
“…Mugabe continues to ever push them to the brink but I can tell you that his time is running out. I predict that Mugabe will not be with us by the end of the year!…”
The young prolific writer hinted claiming that the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Lybia are a clue of what is to come in Zimbabwe.
Calling on all opposition parties to head to the streets, he said:
“Look at our brothers in Tunisia,Egypt and now Lybia. They have stood up to the wicked autocratic regimes and demanded their freedom. No amount of guns or intimidation can stop the people’s voice. The Zimbabwean security forces should learn from Lybians who have flown their jets to Malta after refusing to shoot the people. In Zimbabwe, the military and security forces is staffed by hard liners, some who are responsible for the Gukurahundi massacres. These men will not be afraid to open fire on the people but the day they fire their first bullet against the masses, they will be finished! The time is coming for the Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe to arise and stand up to Mugabe! The opposition parties in Zimbabwe need to stop playing ball with Mugabe and instead lead protest marches. The people of Zimbabwe are fed up and on the brink of doing a “Libya”.
Tagarira resides in Denmark where he has formed a political party whose membership is still unknown and its manifesto also remains undisclosed. The young writer who recently declared a rastafarian-protest against Mugabe, also plans to challenge the ageing dictator for the presidency in the upcoming general elections. (ZimEye, UK, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says President Mugabe is to blame on the current wave of violence being perpetrated by members of the uniformed forces because he is the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Forces.
He told a public meeting in Harare that Mugabe was just looking for ways to defend his party by claiming that there is no violence in the country, yet on the other hand he is aware of what the uniformed forces are doing, because he is the one who give them orders.
“We have a structure where we have a Commander-in-Chief who purports not to know what is happening, but indirectly orders the army to act. The buck stops with (President) Mugabe. If they (uniformed forces) defy his orders against violence, then we can say we have a coup in the country of which I don’t believe there is one,” he said.
PM Tsvangirai said he would confront Mugabe over the issue as soon as he comes back from Singapore where he is reportedly receiving treatment.
He also bemoaned the uniformed forces’ failure to transform themselves into a professional force, preferring to be pro-Zanu (PF) in the discharge of their duties.
“Over two years they (the uniformed forces) have failed to adjust and refused to let go of their partisan actions,” Tsvangirai added.
Uniformed forces continue to treat MDC supporters as enemies despite the formation of the Government of National Unity two years ago.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)-Grade one pupils are being punished for failing to draw President Robert Mugabe’s portrait and congratulatory massages below it.
ZimEye witnessed some grade one pupils at Admiral Tait Primary school in Harare being ordered by their teachers to draw the aging President’s portrait and inscribe: ‘21st Movement, happy birthday to you’ below the portrait.
Infants who fail to do the assignment are being delayed from their early breaking time. The teachers said the directive was coming from the Ministry Education that every grade one child should do the assignment which would be sent back to the ministry before Friday this week as Robert Mugabe’s 21st February birthday celebrations draw near.
“We were just told that we should make them draw the portrait and submit the drawings to the ministry this week. They said it’s a running competition,” answered one teacher who pleaded not to be named after ZimEye had asked the reason why the minors were being delayed.
In an interview on Thursday Education Arts Sports and Culture
Minister David Coltart said politicians should leave the education sector.
“I have said consistently that schools should not be political battle grounds in any form or fashion, that is why I put bans on any political party using schools for political rallies; its illegal and unwarranted for politicians to coerce teachers, headmasters and worse still school children to provide money for any political party activities.
“I have always said this contradicts our fundamental educational policy,” he said.
ZANU (PF) youths teachers in Harare are also reportedly forcing teachers through their headmasters that they should leave at least two days a week for lessons about the liberation struggle.
The teachers said most headmasters who ignored the order were being victimised by the youths who went from school to school asking whether the children were, in fact, being taught about their party instead of being educated on Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.
The teachers were also being forced to donate cash and in kind for President Robert Mugabe’s 87th birthday bash under the banner of the “21st February Movement”.
The movement was formed by the current Minister of Information and Publicity, Webster Shamu, and is meant to honour and praise the ailing President Mugabe annually. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)After a heated national council convened Thursday, the MDC party expelled and subsequently ‘donated’ Arthur Mutambara to Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party.
Arthur Mutambara who was the party leader and lost the position last month no longer has a party and is now branded a ZANU PF member.
A resolution was taken following a report by the party president Welshman Ncube after conversations with President Mugabe which revealed that the ZANU PF leader was adamant to swear-in Welshman Ncube to the influential position of Deputy Prime Minister. The MDC said it took the position after Robert Mugabe told the party’s newly-elected leader Welshman Ncube “in no uncertain terms” on Tuesday that he would not swear him in.
It is believed that the denial by Mugabe is because the ZANU PF leader ‘fears’ Welshman Ncube’s political acumen and community-influence in Zimbabwe. One party member who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the problem is because Mugabe “fears Ncube’s relations with South African president Jacob Zuma” who is also the chief principal facilitator to Zimbabwe’s government of national unity.
Speaking to ZimEye, the party’s spokesman Nhlanhla Dube bluntly criticised Mutambara’s siding with Robert Mugabe:
“He can continue to enjoy that protection (from Mugabe) but certainly he cannot continue to pretend to be a member of our party,” he said adding that the party had chosen to fire Mutambara and to therewith ‘donate’ him to ZANU PF.
“We’ll apply for an amendment of the GPA where we are saying we are happy with ZANU PF having the position of the deputy prime minister. We are happy donating that position” Dube said adding that Arthur Mutambara (pictured) no longer wields the mandate of the party which ushered him into that position.
The party’s secretary general Priscilla Misihairabwi weighed in on the comments adding:
“We are now saying given Mugabe’s stance, they [Zanu PF] can have that position that was allocated to us, so that Mutambara becomes their Deputy Prime Minister,” Misihairabwi said.
Misihairabwi said they would not be seeking to occupy the deputy premiership and would now focus on rebuilding their party and preparing for elections.
“We want to give Arthur the position that he so desperately wants and hopefully we will have less public fights than we are having because we know its driven by him wanting to be Deputy Prime Minister. He said it to me personally.”
Mutambara claimed that as a principal signatory of the GPA, his position as Deputy Prime Minister was secured.
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

(Harare)After weeks of speculation and media smearing, Arthur Mutambara was finally expelled from MDC leadership Thursday after an extraordinary national council meeting today(Thursday).
Mutambara who has been in government through the MDC party no longer has a party he represents.
Speaking to ZimEye, the party’s spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube criticised Mutambara’s siding with Robert Mugabe:
“He can continue to enjoy that protection (from Mugabe) but certainly he cannot continue to pretend to be a member of our party,” he said
The party is now expected to make a formal report to President Robert Mugabe and the Speaker of Parliament informing them of the decision, with the expectation that Mutambara will give up his post as Deputy Prime Minister. In statement this week Mutambara shocked the world when he said that he would not recognise Welshman Ncube as president of the MDC despite his having voted for his leadership last month.  MORE TO FOLLOW…
(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

London(ZimEye)Growing anarchy as a result of a revolt by party members against MDC-N leader Welshman Ncube is to be rooted out soon likely resulting in former party leader Arthur Mutambara being expelled for rebellion, ZimEye has been told.
Mutambara the former party leader who became the subject of major discussions on the media at the end of January may soon be ex-communicated from the party for failing to heed to a congress decision to step down from his Vice Premiership and siding with Robert Mugabe.
Speaking to ZimEye Monday, the MDC’s UK chairman, Abraham Mdlongwa responded saying:
“The attitude of the UK party structures of the MDC is that the MDC has issued a lawful instruction regarding the re-deployment of its personnel in government. Party members are required to obey this lawful instruction and any party members who act to the contrary will face disciplinary action in terms of our party code of conduct”

Mdlongwa added saying that the support Mutambara has received from Mugabe is a sign that Mutambara has always been a Mugabe-fanatic. Mugabe told a luncheon hosted for him by the country’s ambassador to Ethiopia: “It creates legal matters, it complicates issues. They were able to remove him politically, but legally he was sworn in as a Member of Parliament. I swore him in as Deputy Prime Minister.
“It’s up to him if he wants to resign, but if he refuses, well, we are stuck, but the Global Political Agreement will go ahead.”
The party wrote to President Robert Mugabe informing him of the demotion of Mutambara who has been ear-marked for the post of minister of Regional Integration and International Co-operation which was held by the skillful party cadre and Ncube loyalist Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, who is to take over the ministry of Industry and International Trade.
Ncube ousted former party leader Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara after a common consensus was reached to remove him. But rebels led by one Joubert Mudzumwe have maintained that Mutambara is still the leader of the party which is now known as the MDC-N following Ncube’s election. Quoted by Radiovop, Kuraone Chihwayi, the deputy spokesperson of the MDC-N said on Friday his party’s national standing committee met and decided to refer the issue of its “ambitious prodigal sons ” to the party’s disciplinary committee headed by Jacob Moyo. (ZimEye, UK, Zimbabwe)

London(ZimEye) A Zimbabwean UK based shipping businessman who has had thousands of pounds worth of goods disappear in his care reportedly told a customer that he would ‘send her goods from London to Harare by road’, ZimEye has been told.
Our reporter was contacted by a customer who to her misfortune had not read the 2009 story exposing the businessman’s crude dealings, and due to ignorance she agreed to make a shipment transaction for a fee of at least £6400 after she had been ‘told’ that her goods would be shipped from London to Harare ‘by road’. The lady who sent two vehicles and a host other valuable goods to Harare does not know the whereabouts of her shipment since September last year although having been ‘promised’ they would be in Harare by Christmas 2010.
The businessman who ZimEye exposed in 2009, is also now operating under three different company brands, it has emerged. A secretary who answered the company phone Friday said her company’s name is Croswell and not the ZimCargo that it used to be.
An undercover ZimEye reporter discovered that Nembaware is still trading at large in London despite being exposed two years ago by this publication. The businessman (pictured) has also failed to provide documentation such as bills of loading for the goods as requested by the woman who now joins many others who have lost their shipments within the last few years. It is reported that he owes a certain company in Africa more than £30,000 and hence he is not able to deliver his customers’ goods into Zimbabwe and the goods are being held up.
Meanwhile another company Nembaware cloned its name (Zim Cargo) ended up having to change its brand altogether. “Since Mr Nembaware  has been using our name Zimcargo we had no choice but to stop using our registered name and have been trading as TBS Cargo www.zwtbs.com, if anyone needs any clarification please do not hesitate to call us on…,”  a statement was released by the company in 2009.
Bonnie Nembaware denies promising to send his customer’s goods via road. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Harare(ZimEye)A white businessman was on Friday forced to move from his Harare Lake Chivero Kuimbashiri lodge by an unruly mob of more than 200 war veterans and ZANU (PF) militia, as the party began a violent attack on white owned businesses.
According to the businessman Gary Stafford, the violent war veterans said they were doing it in the name of ‘indigenisation’.
“They are saying they want ‘to empower their people’. Yes they are saying they are war veterans and there are more than 200 of them. Please you can come and hear yourself what they want to take the lodge for. I am afraid they are here right now,“ he said.
ZANU (PF) through the Indigenization minister Savior Kasukuwere is directing its youths to grab foreign owned companies. Reports say invasions have started in the Lowveld where war veterans have warned sugar cane plantation owners to vacate the properties. ZANU(PF) is synonymous  with  property  rights  abuse  especially when the country is preparing for elections.
There are also reports coming from Nyanga that a group of thugs led by a female war veteran by the name Natsai Bukuta, recently embarked on a looting spree of several white-owned properties.
Nyanga South Member of Parliament, Willard Chimbetete, this week confirmed that white-owned tourist lodges and cottages were invaded by the so-called war veterans who looted property valued at millions of United States dollars. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

A Critical examination done by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network has revealed a grave presence of ghost voters in the current voter’s roll and a high level of voter education -ignorance among Zimbabweans.
ZESN defines ghost voters as not only of deceased persons in the voter’s roll but also of young people and names and addresses of completely non existant voters.
According to the research document the organisation officially launched in Harare on Thursday, 27% of the voters registered in the voter’s roll were deceased.
 
“The computer test revealed 2344 people born between 1901 and 1909 aged between 101 and 110 years old, and also revealed 9 people born between 1890 and 1900 aged between 111 and 120 years old,” said the report. The registrar’s office reportedly also denied ZESN access to the electronic voters’ roll.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the function on Thursday in Harare , ZESN Chairperson Tinoziva Bere said the government should not privately clean up the shambled voter’s roll but rather engage all stakeholders in the pursuit of transparency and accountability.
ZESN recommended that there is an urgent need for voter education in the country, encouraging new voters to register.
The organisation said given that the current voter’s roll is in
shambles, there is need for the drawing up of a new voter’s roll which will improve the currency, accuracy and completeness of the voter’s roll.
The process, ZESN said should be transparent and inclusive to ensure that all eligible persons are registered.
The current voter registration requires that for one to be a registered voter he or she has to produce a proof of residence.
In this regard ZESN recommended that such requirements should be revised to enable urban dwellers and youths who do not own houses to register for voting.
The election monitoring watchdog said the government should fully capacitate the Zimbabwe Election Commission if it is serious about the holding of a credible election.  The Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede(pictured) could not be reached for comment at the time of writing (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Lybia’s ruler Muammar Gaddafi reached a total 41 years in power today(Sunday).
The Lybian dictator (pictured) who dreams of uniting the African continent under his leadership has been at the helm of the Lybian presidency since  the 16th January 1970 when he became premier of Libya. He has ruled the country ever since and now holds the title ‘Colonel’.
Gaddafi is now left with less than 24 months to become Africa’s longest serving ruler. At the moment the record is held by Gabon’s former President Omar Bongo, currently recorded as Africa’s longest dictator and who died at age 73 in 2009. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe who is yet the world’s oldest ruler follows behind Gadaffi by ten years. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

Gbabgo, who has ruled the world’s biggest cocoa producer, was defeated in the November elections by Alassane Ouattara, who has set up his own parallel government while claiming he won the hotly disputed poll.

Like the ageing Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, Gbabgo has the full backing of his country’s military and has adamantly refused to hand over power to Quattara braving fierce world pressure that has threatened to use force to remove him.

Gbagbo also claims he is under siege from western governments out to see him out of power.

He has likened his case to that of Mugabe, who also claims western governments want him out of power at all costs.

Gbagbo said the move to remove him militarily by Ecowas was the result of a Western plot directed by France and the United States, whose ambassadors he accuses of undermining Ivorian electoral procedures in order to propel Ouattara into power.(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

 

Harare(ZimEye)-Both MDC formations, including ZAPU heavy -weights boycotted the burial of the late National hero Nevison Nyashanu on Sunday.
The late former ZAPU deputy secretary General and Buhera North legislator Nyashanu died on the eve of the Boxing Day holiday at the age of 84 in Harare.
Only present at the event were members of the apostolic sect set who were holding pro-ZANU-PF banners and the party’s violent youths who sang and cheered.
The smaller MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara who used to attend state functions which MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai would have boycotted was also not present.
Observers believe that Mutambara might have avoided the hero’s burial because of his internal party politics.

Mutambara is under fire from his party for hero worship ZANU-PF leader Robert Mugabe and as a result of that he is facing a chop in the party congress to be held next week.
The party wants to replace him with Welshman Ncube, who is the current Secretary General.
President Mugabe who is on leave was also reluctant to attend the burial of the former ZAPU secretary general Nevison Nyashanu. John Nkomo who is the acting President graced the occasion.
In a traditional ZANU-PF style the Acting President castigated the west for refusing to lift sanctions.
“The west has no interests in this country besides defending their own interests. They want our land and natural resources and a government that protects their interests,” he said. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)