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zimbabwe update
Zimbabwe: Police arrest 15 for 'illegal' political activity
2012-04-24, Issue 582
Zimbabwe police on Monday arrested 15 members of the MDC formation headed by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, including three councilors, in Tsholotsho district accusing them of holding political meetings without clearance. They will be charged under the widely-condemned Public Order and Security Act, the party said. Police were not immediately available for comment.
Zimbabwe: Investigate Zimbabwe’s virginity tests
2012-04-24, Issue 582
The Zimbabwe Unemployed People’s Association (ZUPA) has issued a statement calling for investigations into allegations that girls, some barely teenagers, at a primary school in Zimbabwe were stripped in front of their male counterparts while adults examined their private parts. 'If true, this would be one of the worst cases of abuse of the rights of the girl child which is why the Ministry of Social Services must immediately commission an investigation into the allegations.'
Zimbabwe: ZANU PF elections widens split in the party
2012-04-23, Issue 581
The bitter split between two warring ZANU PF factions has widened following the hotly disputed District Coordinating Committee (DCC) elections in most of the country’s provinces. The elections, that have seen many candidates linked to Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa romp to victory, have however been marred by reports of violence, intimidation and vote-rigging. Signs of growing structural fissures in the ¬former ruling party have emerged with key members belonging to Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s camp openly disputing election results from the restructuring exercise.
South Africa: Activists push SA to try Zimbabwe rights crimes
2012-03-27, Issue 579
Rights activists have begun a legal bid to compel South Africa to investigate and prosecute citizens of neighbouring Zimbabwe suspected of crimes against humanity. The activists argue that South Africa is failing to meet its obligations in international law. A court ruling in their favour would cause a headache for South Africa, which could see its courts clogged with prosecutions and its diplomacy with the power-sharing government in Harare hobbled.
Zimbabwe: Activists’ term is suspended
2012-03-22, Issue 578
A Zimbabwean magistrates’ court has given six activists accused of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe a two year suspended sentence and fined them $500 each. The six who include a university lecturer and former Member of Parliament Munyaradzi Gwisai were on Monday found guilty of a conspiracy to incite violence by a Harare magistrate.
Zimbabwe: Prosecution case against MFL leaders ‘shaky’
2012-03-26, Issue 578
The prosecution case against three Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MFL) leaders who are facing treason charges is shaky, their lawyer has said. Defence lawyer Sabelo Sibanda said the prosecution team has failed to produce evidence to prove that MFL leaders Charles Thomas, John Gazi and Paul Siwela, distributed flyers calling for the separation of Matebeleland and other parts from the rest of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe: Mugabe party escalates mediation spat with Zuma
2012-03-14, Issue 576
A Zimbabwean government-run newspaper has accused an expert attached to a parliamentary committee heading the country’s controversial constitution making of spying for South African President Jacob Zuma. The allegations followed a week of heated exchanges between Pretoria and Harare over the timing of Zimbabwe’s next elections. President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party last week accused South Africa of gross interference after its Foreign Affairs minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane insisted her government needed to see full reforms before elections are held.
Zimbabwe: Activists sue over torture
2012-03-15, Issue 576
Former law lecturer and socialist party leader Munyaradzi Gwisai, and five other activists arrested for watching videos of the Egyptian uprisings last year, have filed a $300,000 law suit against the police and both Home Affairs co-Ministers. A total of 46 activists were arrested when police raided Gwisai’s home, where the activists were watching videos of the uprisings in Egypt and North Africa. They were charged with plotting to destabilize the government. The majority were released, but six who remained in custody say they were tortured.
Zimbabwe: Full compensation ‘unlikely’ after Implats indigenisation deal
2012-03-15, Issue 576
An international mining analysis group has warned that platinum mining giant Implats will be unlikely to receive full compensation for its shares, which the group has agreed to hand over as part of Zimbabwe’s indigenisation laws. Implats, which owns the Zimplats mining firm in Zimbabwe and is the country’s largest single foreign investor, has conceded to the ZANU PF led indigenisation campaign, agreeing to a 51 per cent share handover.
South Africa: Bid to force South Africa to follow rights treaty
2012-03-07, Issue 574
The North Gauteng High Court is to hear an application to compel SA to abide by its legal obligations to investigate and prosecute high-level Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity. The case, which has been set down for hearing from March 26-30, is the first of its kind in SA. The court would have the opportunity to provide guidance on the scope and nature of the obligations placed on SA by signing up to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Zimbabwe: Leave Zimbabwe alone, Mugabe party tells SA
2012-03-07, Issue 574
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party has accused South Africa of gross interference in the country’s internal affairs. This comes after President Jacob Zuma’s government insisted that its troubled neighbour must institute serious reforms before holding fresh elections. South Africa’s Foreign Affairs minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, told her country’s parliament on Monday that 'our government expects that there would be no deviation from the provisions' of Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement. A member of Zanu PF’s top decision-making body, the politburo, Jonathan Moyo, said Nkoana-Mashabane had no mandate to comment on political developments in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe: Human rights activist goes missing
2012-02-28, Issue 572
A Facebook and Twitter campaign has been started to find Zimbabwean human rights activist Paul Chizuze who went missing on 8 February. According to a press release sent out by his colleagues and friends which has been posted on Facebook: 'Over the last three decades, Paul has been either employed by, or active with, the Legal Resources Foundation, Amani Trust Matabeleland, The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, ZimRights, Churches in Bulawayo, CivNet, and Masakhaneni Trust. Paul has worked tirelessly as a paralegal to track activists in jail and offer them support.'
Zimbabwe: Minister 'sick and tired' of Implats delays
2012-02-29, Issue 572
A Zimbabwean minister launched a verbal attack on Impala Platinum Chief Executive David Brown, saying he was 'sick and tired' of the mining group's failure to comply with local black ownership laws. Implats is the biggest foreign investor in Zimbabwe's mining sector and has become the prime target of a government drive to get all outside companies to hand over majority stakes in their local operations to black Zimbabwean investors.
Zimbabwe: Beitbridge prosecutors ‘too scared’ to handle MDC arrests
2012-02-29, Issue 572
State prosecutors in Beitbridge recently refused to handle a case involving MDC-T officials, who were arrested over the weekend for attending a party workshop. The prosecutors said the case was ‘too sensitive’ to handle, but our correspondent in Bulawayo told us they feared the powerful co-Home Affairs Minister and local MP Kembo Mohadi.
Zimbabwe: Rhodes exhumation blocked
2012-02-21, Issue 571
A group of about 50 Zanla war veterans last week allegedly stormed Matopo Hills in Matabeleland South Province, but were blocked by Chief Masuku after they attempted to dig up the remains of Cecil John Rhodes from the tourist resort area. Rhodes was buried on World’s View (Malindidzimu Hill) in Matopo National Park following his death in 1902. According to sources, they reportedly claimed the remains of the former colonialist were causing poor rains in the region. National Museums and Monuments director Godfrey Mahachi described the move as illegal. 'All I can say is that the reason why we are keeping Rhodes’ grave is that it is part and parcel of the history of Zimbabwe,' he told NewsDay.
Zimbabwe: Mugabe warns he can fire Zuma as chief regional mediator
2012-02-21, Issue 571
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said that he reserves the right to disregard efforts by South African President Jacob Zuma to mediate disputes in the nation’s troubled coalition government. Mugabe also repeated his pledge to hold elections this year, even if it means defying Zuma and other regional leaders who say new polls should be held only after a new democratic constitution is in place. 'This year we must have elections, they must take place with or without a new constitution,' Mugabe said in interviews aired by the state broadcaster on the eve of his 88th birthday.
Zimbabwe: Electoral support network analyses human rights in ballot report
2012-02-27, Issue 571
The consolidated Ballot Update is a creation of the findings from 210 long term observers deployed by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) in 2011. The Update seeks to provide an analysis of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe and implications for free and fair elections. 'While the GNU has brought a semblance of normalcy to the country, on the political scene, it has been a mixed bag of successes and failures to implement its letter and spirit. This update is a synthesis of data from observers deployed from April to December 2011.'
Zimbabwe: 'Mugabe won't sign Constitution that disqualifies him'
2012-02-14, Issue 570
President Robert Mugabe will not sign the draft constitution into the new supreme law of the country as long as it disqualifies him from contesting the next elections, a senior Zanu PF official has declared. Mugabe, who turns 88 next week, has already been endorsed as the Zanu PF Presidential candidate for elections set to take place later this year or in 2013. The Constitution Select Committee (Copac) last week published the first draft of the long awaited new supreme law of the country which has many sections which Zanu PF is strongly opposed to. Section 6.4.2 of the draft disqualifies from standing in Presidential elections, any person who has already held the office for 10 years, meaning that President Robert Mugabe cannot contest the next polls.
Zimbabwe: 29 NGOs suspended
2012-02-16, Issue 570
Zimbabwe has suspended 29 NGOs in what has been described as a renewed clampdown on aid workers ahead of elections President Robert Mugabe wants held this year. The veteran ruler’s Zanu-PF party, at its annual conference last December, tabled a report claiming that there were 2,500 NGOs operating in the country, and most of them were pushing a 'regime change agenda'.
Zimbabwe: Court dismisses acquittal application by ‘video watching’ activists
2012-02-16, Issue 570
A Harare court on Wednesday 15 February dismissed an acquittal application by a group of activists arrested a year ago for watching footage of the people’s revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. The six, including former MDC-T MP Munyaradzi Gwisai, were among more than 40 people arrested last February after watching the video at an academic meeting, which was raided by police. After their initial arrest some in the group, including Gwisai, were tortured in police cells and kept in solitary confinement at Chikurubi maximum security prison in Harare for weeks.
Zimbabwe: EU lifts more sanctions
2012-02-20, Issue 570
The European Union has lifted some more of its sanctions against top officials and institutions in Zimbabwe. An EU diplomat said the bloc was ending measures against 20 entities and 51 people - including the justice and foreign ministers. However restrictions on President Robert Mugabe continue.
Zimbabwe: Mujuru death inquest wraps up
2012-02-07, Issue 569
Testimony before an inquest into a Zimbabwean power broker's fiery death has ended, leaving the last hours of General Solomon Mujuru's life shrouded in suspicion that he was murdered by political rivals. After three weeks of hearings that have been closely followed in Zimbabwe, Magistrate Walter Chikwanha did not say when he would report his conclusions after hearing evidence from 37 witnesses. He can rule the death was accidental or criminal and in the latter case an investigation would be opened. Chikwanha could also declare an 'open verdict', effectively saying he was unable to reach any conclusion.
Zimbabwe: Typhoid exposes city council
2012-02-07, Issue 569
The recent outbreak of typhoid within the capital city, Harare, has brought with it immeasurable stress to both communities and the still-unwholesome public health delivery system, says this Financial Gazette article, which places the blame at the door of the local authorities. '...the outbreak of typhoid, whose casualties so far number close to 2,000 in the capital alone, exposes the delinquency ravaging our local authorities, particularly the Harare City Council where, despite the fact that rates and other services are being paid for in US dollars thanks to a hard currency regime adopted 2009, services still remain pathetic...'
Zimbabwe: Meeting aborted as Mugabe, PM clash
2012-02-07, Issue 569
A National Security Council (NSC) meeting slated for recently was cancelled after a fierce clash between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai over the composition of the attendees following the expiry of the term of office of one of the service chiefs, authoritative sources confided to The Standard last week. Sources said the meeting was potentially explosive as there was mistrust between the service chiefs and Tsvangirai.
Zimbabwe: WOZA activists released
2012-02-09, Issue 569
Activist Jenni Williams and a group of 13 other women, who were assaulted and arrested Tuesday at a demonstration by activists from the Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), were finally released Friday 10 February when they appeared in a Bulawayo court.
Zimbabwe: The sanctions standoff
2012-02-13, Issue 569
Zimbabwe must hold elections before the end of June 2013, but the reforms needed to ensure appropriate conditions are critically wanting, says the International Crisis Group. 'Opportunity for a calibrated, full removal of sanctions before the next elections, geared to broad progress on reform, such as perhaps existed three years ago when the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was fresh and the Inclusive Government formed, has probably passed. But a chance to promote progress and break the current deadlock still exists through a coordinated approach that distinguishes types of sanctions and focuses on specific reforms needed for those elections. It should be seized.'
Zimbabwe: Ncube denies conniving with Mbeki to split MDC
2012-02-02, Issue 568
Professor Welshman Ncube has once again denied claims contained in a book by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that he and former South African President Thabo Mbeki connived to split the MDC into two factions in 2005. In the book ‘At the Deep End’ Ts...
Zimbabwe: Typhoid stalks Harare
2012-01-31, Issue 568
Over the past few weeks some 900 residents of the Zimbabwean capital Harare have been diagnosed with typhoid, and about 60 have been admitted to hospital, say health authorities. There have been no confirmed fatalities from the disease, although seni...
Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai issues strong letter to Mugabe
2012-02-06, Issue 568
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has written a strongly-worded letter to to President Robert Mugabe outlining his problems with the coalition government. The leaked letter addresses areas such as land, violent acts, diplomatic protocol, arrest of min...
Zimbabwe: Mujuru inquest hears gory details
2012-01-25, Issue 567
The body of Zimbabwe’s first army commander General Solomon Mujuru had a hole in the abdomen and emitted blue flames when it was retrieved from his farmhouse that was gutted by fire last year, an inquest heard on Tuesday. Police Constable Clatwell Ga...
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