Messages From Zimbabwe

Last week’s issue of The Zimbabwean, which is edited from Britain, leads with a report on the possible exchange of Chinese weapons for illegally mined diamonds in Zimbabwe (see below).

If the information in this report is proved correct, it would indicate that the Mugabe regime is preparing a bloody coup to preserve itself in office, in defiance of its loss of the general election last year, its subsequent power-sharing deal with the Movement for Democratic Change, the Kimberley Process which regulates the global gem trade and a ruling of the High Court in Harare.

The report suggests that the Mugabe regime - believed to have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of independent miners when it sent the army to seize the diamond fields at Chiadzwa in November 2008 - intends to exchange “blood diamonds” for weapons from China . The report indicates that a runway suitable for this kind of traffic has already been constructed in the diamond fields and is almost ready for use.

If the report is proved correct, it would indicate a qualitative escalation of Chinese intervention in Africa.

Armament of a resurgent Mugabe dictatorship by China , in defiance of the power-sharing agreement, would represent the initiation of a new Cold War in Africa , at a time when the United States and Britain are tied down in Afghanistan and Iraq , and handicapped by a massive sovereign debt crisis.

Such a development would have immediate and immensely grave implications for South Africa , and would represent a military-political destabilisation of the entire region.

Construction of a mile-long runway at Chiadzwa would further present a direct challenge to COSATU, which organised a boycott by dockers in South Africa three years ago of Chinese arms shipments to Mugabe. - Paul Trewhela

HARARE - A mile-long runway capable of accommodating massive, long range cargo jets is being built in the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Zimbabwe, according to a British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.

Aerial pictures published in the newspaper show that construction work is well under way, with a newly built control tower apparently complete and the runway nearly ready for surfacing. The images also show what appears to be a tented army camp in the diamond fields, which would be in violation of Zimbabwean court orders and of an undertaking to the Kimberley Process, which was set up to prevent “blood diamonds” from conflict zones entering the global gem trade.

The paper quoted diplomats and analysts saying the runway was probably intended for arms shipments, probably from China , for which troops loyal to President Robert Mugabe would pay on the spot with diamonds. There are other airfields within a short distance of the mining area, and no obvious need for a runway long enough for transport planes to take off and land even closer to the mines. A Western diplomat said the existence of the runway, out of sight except from the air, was “extremely” worrying.

One of the mining companies involved in the development says that it is building the runway in order to comply with Kimberley Process rules that diamonds be transported in the most secure way possible, and that a private contractor is responsible for security. The Daily Telegraph article gave no explanation as to why such a long runway was needed.

According to human rights groups, hundreds of independent miners were killed when soldiers seized control of the Chiadzwa area in November 2008, since. Since then others have been compelled to work for only a fraction of the value of the diamonds they unearth. Officers use the proceeds from their sale to enhance their meagre pay - a ploy encouraged by Mugabe’s henchmen to help ensure the army’s continued loyalty.

But the construction of the runway suggests that the army wants to use its access to the raw diamonds - whose production is worth an estimated £125 million a month - to obtain goods from abroad, in particular weapons.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been briefed about the continued presence of the army at the diamond fields and the construction of the secret runway. A party insider said: “We know about it and it is extremely sensitive. We are very worried about what we have found out this week.”

China has long been Zimbabwe ’s main source of arms, but delivery has been more difficult since a shipment was blocked in South Africa three years ago. Other deliveries have come in through Beira in Mozambique , but government officials in Maputo , have expressed concern over the issue.

The army has also been frustrated in its attempts to buy weapons by finance minister, Tendai Biti, a member of the MDC, who has blocked new arms purchases since taking control of the treasury under last year’s power-sharing deal.

The new facility would give the Joint Operations Command, the military top brass who long swore they would never recognise Tsvangirai’s authority, a way to obtain weapons independently.

A Western diplomat claimed the head of the armed forces, Constantine Chiwenga, had been “very busy” with the Chinese recently, adding: “We are concerned he is buying weapons.”

A senior political source, who has seen the pictures, said: “ZANU PF believes these diamond fields will allow it to continue to defy outstanding issues of the political agreement.

“It only went into the inclusive government because it lost the elections but it has no intention of fulfilling the political agreement, and wants to go it alone. It needs an income to ensure loyalty among soldiers and other security forces.”

The diamond fields could be worth billions of pounds and make a vital contribution to rebuilding a country brought to ruin by Mugabe’s economic mismanagement.

Tens of millions of pounds worth of gems are smuggled into nearby Mozambique each month, mostly with the connivance of the army and police, to be bought by dealers from Lebanon , Belgium , Iraq , Mauritania and the Balkans.

The mines, whose rough diamonds have a characteristic and unappealing grey appearance, cover an area of 10 square miles. A British company, African Consolidated Resources (ACR), has a legal claim to them under a deal struck originally with the Zimbabwean government, but in 2006 the Mugabe regime went back on the agreement and declared the mines open to all comers.

Defence minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, denied any knowledge of the runway under construction in the area. “Ask the mining ministry or home affairs, they might know about it”, he said.

The mining minister, Obert Mpofu, also a member of Mugabe’s party, said he was on holiday and therefore could not comment.

The government insists the army has withdrawn from the mining concession area and the mines are now being run by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), ignoring a high court order granting that right to ACR.

(Source)

A car traveling back from the Beitbridge Border about 30 km from the border was seen traveling extremely slowly on the wrong side of the road and then stopped in the middle of the road. Another vehicle traveling towards the border drove very cautiously alongside in case it was a HIJACK attempt to discover the driver was covered in blood so they stopped to help. It transpired he had stopped at a lay bye to relieve himself and had been attacked by robbers. They broke both his arms and one leg and beat him severely around the head, they then stole all his luggage, his laptops, mobiles and even the shoes off his feet. They then stuck him back in the driver’s seat and left. The victim then managed to proceed slowly along the road till found. He was thankfully taken to Beitbridge hospital for treatment … how he managed to drive in his injured bleeding state is a wonder.

This is NOT the first incident that has been  reported along this road… Please be very careful and vigilant and DO NOT STOP on the side of the road or in lay byes you are a sitting target!

(Source: by email)

Pandemonium broke out in parliament on Wednesday after a ZANU PF legislator proposed to move a motion calling Prime HARARE - Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to call for the lifting of targeted economic and travel sanctions imposed on President Robert Mugabe.

The pandemonium was sparked after Mwenezi East Member of Parliament Kudakwashe Bhasikiti gave notice to move a motion compelling Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara to take lead in calling upon western governments to lift targeted travel sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his lieutenants.

But this did not go down well with Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Masvingo Urban Member of Parliament Tongai Matutu, who openly challenged Bhasikiti’s motives.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Nomalanga Khumalo then ordered the Sergeant at Arms to eject Matutu out of the House of Assembly. However, Matutu refused to leave the House insisting that he had done nothing to warrant an ejection. Mkoba Member of Parliament Amos Chibaya also joined in and defended Matutu resulting in pandemonium in the august House.

Khumalo was then forced to adjourn proceedings in parliament to Thursday after holding some consultations with the Chief whips of the three political parties represented in parliament namely ZANU PF, MDC-T and MDC-M.

“There was drama in Parliament. Khumalo is to blame for failing to handle the situation by ejecting Matutu,” said one legislator who asked not to be named.

ZANU PF’s politburo recently announced that it would make no more concessions in talks with the former opposition MDC party of Prime Minister Tsvangirai until the sanctions are removed. The declaration came after British Foreign Secretary David Miliband had said in Parliament that London would lift the punitive measures on advice from the MDC.

Western governments imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his close allies in protest against human rights abuses and the fraudulent 2002 presidential elections which Mugabe won.

A visiting group of British parliamentarians this week said the European Union (EU) will lift sanctions against President Mugabe and his top allies only after the Zimbabwean leader and his former opposition foes fully implement a power-sharing agreement signed in 2008.

(Source)

Zimbabwe’s High Court Wednesday admitted disputed email evidence implicating opposition politician Roy Bennett in a plot against President Robert Mugabe’s government.

Bennett, a white farmer and a senior official in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), faces a possible death penalty if convicted of illegal possession of arms for “terrorism, banditry and sabotage.”

Defence lawyers had asked the court to reject emails linking Bennett to the alleged crime, arguing that they had been doctored and that a key state witness, Peter Hitschmann, who is alleged to have conspired with Bennett, disowned them.

The court had previously thrown out confessions by Hitschmann linking Bennett to the crime, on the grounds that the statements had been extracted under torture.

High Court judge Chinembiri Bhunu ruled that the emails were created before Hitschmann’s alleged assault.

“The emails cannot be tainted by the alleged abuse suffered by Hitschmann,” Bhunu said.

“They are relevant and vital to the fair resolution of the case and are hereby admitted as evidence.”

The arrest and trial of Bennett, MDC nominee for deputy agriculture minister in a government set up by Mugabe and Tsvangirai, has raised tensions in the power-sharing administration. 

The state charges Bennett with funding a 2006 plot to blow up a major communication link in the country and assassinate key government figures. He is accused of having deposited funds in Hitschmann’s Mozambican account for the operation.

Bennett denies the charges, which he says are politically motivated. Hitschmann, an arms trader and key state witness who faced the same charges but was convicted in 2006 on a lesser charge of possessing dangerous weapons, has absolved Bennett.

(Source)

At 11 am today, 22 women in a private home were arrested in Pumula, a suburb of Bulawayo.  They are currently being held at Pumula Police Station. Most of the arrested are members of WOZA who were discussing the constitutional reform process. As lawyers were unable to respond, WOZA National Coordinator, Jenni Williams called the Officer in Charge at Pumula, Assistant Inspector Chimani, and asked him why the members had been arrested. He professed no knowledge of the situation.

The meeting was a private meeting of members exempt under all public order laws. Please call Inspector Chimani on + 263 9 422907 or 422898 and ask him to stop harassing WOZA members. Also advise him that there is an ongoing constitutional reform process countrywide and that they should participate and allow others to participate freely.

A later report states:

Members Arrested Today Released Without Charge

The 22 women arrested in Pumula today have been released without being charged. As lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights were unavailable to attend to the matter, WOZA National Coordinator, Jenni Williams, and Magodonga Mahlangu attended the police station and met with the Officer in Charge, Assistant Inspector Chimani. He advised that the members had already been released and apologised for arresting them, saying that the officers concerned did not realise that they were WOZA members.

WOZA would like to acknowledge the professionalism of Assistant Inspector Chimani but call on him and other police officers to stop the arbitrary arrest of Zimbabweans.

(Source: via Skype)

Dumiso Dabengwa who is leading the revival of Zapu has dismissed accusations that he is treating the former liberation movement as his personal project. Instead, Dabengwa has already hinted plans to retire from politics and concentrate on writing books about his experiences during the Rhodesian war and after independence when he was imprisoned by ZANU-PF.

The Zapu interim chairman says he is ready to have his credentials scrutinised at the party’s congress in May.

Dabengwa, who was speaking for the first time since six senior party officials were suspended late last year amid accusations that they had stood up to his alleged dictatorial tendencies, maintained that the revival of Zapu remained on course.

Zapu announced last week that it would hold its inaugural congress in May, a year after it formally withdrew from the 22-year-old Unity Accord with Zanu PF.

The split came amid dissatisfaction in Matabeleland over the way President Robert Mugabe was implementing the deal.

The suspended Zapu members who included Evans Ndebele, the owner of the now defunct ZEX Airlines, former Bulawayo police spokesperson Smile Dube, and former outspoken Bulawayo councillor Alderman Charles Mpofu accused Dabengwa
of perpetuating the Zanu PF culture.

But the former Zipra intelligence supremo says there is no room for dictatorship in Zapu because there were checks and balances to prevent power from being concentrated in an individual.

He said the Council of Elders, a body that consists of members aged 65 and above, holds leaders accountable at every level.

“The role of the council was defined by congress to be that of guiding the party, and to ensure that there is discipline in the party,” Dabengwa a,former Zanu PF politburo member, said.

“One would expect that if I was the so-called dictator I would by now have been brought before the disciplinary committee by the Council of Elders of  Zapu.

“The comparison with Mugabe has no basis and is far-fetched because in the first place no one in Mugabe’s party can even think of disciplining him.

“In Zapu the Council of Elders has authority to discipline even the chairman or president.”

The veteran politician who caused a stir when he abandoned Zanu PF on the eve of the March 2008 presidential elections to support Simba Makoni who was an independent candidate said although there were cases of indiscipline in Bulawayo, they were exaggerated by the media.

He added: “The party, like all institutions, be they political, religious, social or business, has had incidents of misconduct by a few members, such as our Bulawayo province which has had to deal with a matter within its area, and only to refer it to the national interim executive if they have any problem sorting out the disciplinary issue.

“The chaos is not there at all. It is an invention of the media, some of whom are hostile to Zapu,  of course.”

The May congress will culminate in the election of a substantive leadership from all levels, which means Zapu might have a new leader to represent it in next year’s elections.

Those challenging Dabengwa’s leadership say he must make way to youthful leaders who can give Zanu PF and the two MDC formations a run for their money.

Although Dabengwa did not rule out chances that he would lead the party in the next elections if he is nominated, he said he would have preferred to retire from active politics.

“If I had my way, after the Zapu Congress I would like to retire and concentrate on my ambition to write my book or books on my 70 years’ experiences, as a young boy, during the struggle, in prisons both before and after Independence, and about my involvement and contribution in the development of the our country since Independence,” Dabengwa said.

He said the party would be ready for next year’s elections and has already set up structures across the country.

Full interview:

In May last year Zapu announced that it was pulling out of the Unity Accord with Zanu PF over disagreements on the way the agreement was being implemented.

Zapu effectively became the most vibrant opposition party after Zanu PF and the MDC formations formed a unity government.However, the revival of the former liberation movement has not been smooth sailing and Standard’s Senior Reporter Nkululeko Sibanda (NS) last week interviewed Zapu interim chairman Dumiso Dabengwa and asked him about the various challenges facing the party. Below are the excerpts.

NS: How far have you gone with the revival of Zapu since the announcement of the pullout from Zanu PF in May last year?

DD: Zapu started its workshops outreach programmes after our congress in May. We started in August this year. We divided our programme into phases, starting with provincial workshops. All the provinces held and completed their workshops by end of October. The workshops looked into three main themes, namely, amendment of the Zapu constitution, the Zapu policy, the Zapu ideology, and our mobilisation strategy. We also took the opportunity during our workshops to mobilise our members to give their views during the outreach programme for the proposed new constitution. Presenters on the themes were people selected from among the Zapu Council of Elders, the interim executive and experts drawn from our membership. The second phase was the districts and branches workshops, starting from last November and is on course and has spilled over to this year and is set to be completed by March. The response has been very encouraging, in particular the injection of new ideas mainly from the youths, who are participating in a very meaningful way. As interim chairman, I have addressed some of the workshops, such as the Harare one, which encompassed the three Mashonaland provinces, Manicaland and Harare. I also attended the joint Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South workshop, and also addressed the Masvingo workshop, which included district representatives from the province. I also attended and addressed the Midlands workshop in Gweru, which also included delegates from some of the districts. I also attended the Matabeleland North inter-district workshop and later on went to address the Binga district workshop. The workshop sessions have been very educative.Whilst we thought we would be guiding the people on what the party and nation should be doing, we ourselves had a lot of lessons to learn. The contributions we got from all areas bore testimony to the political maturity among our people. We are clear from what we got from the people at the workshops what exactly the people want.

NS: Some of your critics in the party say you have not addressed any meeting since the congress and they suggest this has killed the momentum created after they announcement that you were leaving Zanu PF.

DD: In October last year when we discussed our party programme and resolved as the executive that workshops and the formulation of structures was our priority so as to re-establish the nucleus of Zapu in all the provinces and
districts. Some people felt this could be done in tandem with public
meetings but we felt, and I felt as much that we should concentrate on the workshops. However, we agreed also that where public meetings were to be addressed, party procedures for booking meetings should be followed in order to avoid chaos, where anyone in the party find themselves booking meetings without the authority or knowledge of the relevant party structures and authorities.

All provinces are currently in the second phase of conducting
district/branch workshops and this is an ongoing exercise countrywide

NS: There are reports of disturbances at Zapu meetings especially in Bulawayo. Could this not be an indication that the party is in turmoil?

DD: Zapu has not been rocked by any disturbances. The party, like all institutions, be they political, religious, social or business, has had incidents of misconduct by a few members, such as our Bulawayo province which has had to deal with a matter within its area, and only to refer the matter to the national interim executive if they have any problem for sorting out the disciplinary issue. The chaos is not there at all. It is an invention of the media, some of whom are hostile to Zapu, of course.

NS: Is it not that the indiscipline could be as a result of some members having lost faith in you as a leader?

DD: I am sure that if the party has lost faith in me they will express that feeling or decision at the Zapu congress scheduled for May this year, wherein delegates will elect substantive leadership.

I don’t have time to go about dispelling rumours, particularly this one. I will not as leader of Zapu respond to criticism on me done through the press, by unnamed people who I am not even sure if they are members of Zapu or they exist in the first place. All Zapu members are free to present criticism about me or any other party leader at rightful party platforms.

NS: What tangible progress has Zapu achieved since breaking away from Zanu PF?

DD: Tangible areas that have been covered by my interim executive since our election at the Zapu convention in December 2008 have been to convene a successful Special Zapu Congress in May 2009 and to implement what congress mandated us to do, that is to identify and reactivate Zapu structures throughout the country and to prepare to convene a full party congress within a year, which we are doing right now.

NS: It has been suggest that you are a dictator and your run Zapu like your personal property?

DD: One of the innovations that we came up with in reorganising Zapu was to create a Council of Elders, consisting of members aged 65 and above. There is a council of elders at all levels of the party. The role of the council was defined by congress to be that of guiding the party, and to ensure that there is discipline in the party. The council of elders is also responsible for conducting elections at all levels of the party.

One would expect that if I was the so-called dictator I would by now have been brought before the disciplinary committee by the council of elders of Zapu. The comparison with Mugabe has no basis and is far-fetched because in the first place no one in Mugabe’s party can even think of disciplining him. In Zapu the Council of Elders has authority to discipline even the chairman or president.

Our congress also recommended that there should be devolution of power to all provinces such that each province has authority to run its affairs in consultation with the national executive and council of elders. All these structures have their own programme and say at our executive meetings. Our decisions are collective; no one person has the final say on an issue.

NS: Is Zapu ready for elections next year considering that President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai are pushing for an early poll?

DD: Zapu is ready to participate in any election that would be called, any day now. Whilst we may not have as much resources as other parties, we have faith in our members who are prepared to sacrifice and give themselves up in order to achieve their goal. If elections were called any time, Zapu members will stand up and do everything possible to ensure that the party is able to
come out best.

NS: There are allegations ahead of your May congress that you will seek to hand pick delegates who will rubberstamp your bid to remain chairman. What is your response?

DD: As we draw towards congress, we have encouraged the provinces to work out and recommend to the Council of Elders how best the election of our party leadership should be done, such that we come out with reliable, honest, credible and committed leadership for Zapu. For instance some members in Harare have suggested that each province nominates at least two possible leaders for congress to consider. Other provinces are free to come up with their ideas. Each branch will be represented at congress, as will be each district and all provinces. So how would it be possible for anyone to handpick all those people?

NS: Do you still harbour any ambitions to lead Zapu after the May congress and will you represent the party at the next elections?

DD: If I had my way, after the Zapu Congress I would like to retire and concentrate on my ambition to write my book or books on my 70 years’ experiences, as a young boy, during the struggle, in prisons both before and after independence, and about my involvement and contribution in the development of the our country since independence.
In Zapu one does not choose to be in a position. There is no such thing as self-nomination. People nominate you. Yours is either to accept or decline the nomination. I have never and have no intention of nominating myself to contest anything.

NS: What should Zimbabweans expect from Zapu this year?

DD: Zapu is the mother of the revolution, together with ANC in South Africa, Frelimo in Mozambique, MPLA in Angola and Swapo in Namibia. Our main aim as Zapu is to reassert those values that the party had during the liberation struggle, which unfortunately we have not seen since independence. Zapu has identified a number of deviations and diversions from the goals and we are anxious to reconnect all the people of Zimbabwe to build a progressive, democratic, free and stable Zimbabwe for all the people.

(Source)

One of President Robert Mugabe’s security men was critically injured when his motor bike collided with a truck near Sam Levy’s Village in Borrowdale on Thursday evening.

The motorist is likely to be charged with negligent driving as he did not give way to the Presidential motorcade. President Mugabe was on his way to his Borrowdale mansion when the accident occurred.

The rider is part of the Presidential Guard.

The motorist was driving from Sam Levy Village near Domboshawa Road and the robot indicated that he had the right way but did not give way to the Presidential motorcade.

A Radio VOP correspondent witnessed the accident as the out-rider who led the motorcade rammed into the truck before swerving into a nearby ditch.

The Presidential Motorcade which has an ambulance in the convoy of about six cars did not stop to assist the Zimbabwe Republic Police rider who lay sprawled on the ground. He was later attended to a few minutes and is reportedly in a critical conditon.

The out-rider with a siren leads the way clearing the road giving ZIM 1 (President Robert Mugabe’s stretch limousine) a distance of  about 200 metres.

The Presidential Motorcade later follows in a diamond formation covering the tarmac with Mugabe’s limousine in between.

On hearing the siren the motorists on the road park their cars by the roadside to give way to the speeding Presidential motorcade. However on Thursday evening a motorist did not give the right way to the motorcade. It could not be established when the motorist would appear in court.

Several motorists have in the past been assaulted by Mugabe’s security men for not giving way to the Presidential motorcade. Some of the riders who led the motorcade have also been killed after some motorists fail to observe the unwritten law of giving way to the Presidential motorcade.

President Mugabe now spends most of his time at his mansion in Borrowdale mansion were he lives with his family.

In the past the First Family lived at State House which now normally used for State occasions before he retires to his Borrowdale mansion. President Mugabe’s motorcade has over the years been criticised as a waste of state resources.

(Source)

Former Information Minister and Tsolotsoh North MP Professor Jonathan Moyo has assumed control of State propaganda machinery in a delegate situation potentially setting up an explosive working relationship with George Charamba.

Charamba is Robert Mugabe’s spokesman and Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry and Publicity, and there is no love lost between the control freaks.

Highly placed sources at the Herald house said Professor Jonathan Moyo is being consulted by the editors before the publication of political stories.

“He has returned to his propaganda carrier as the editor of stories critical to the Movement for Democratic Change leader and the country’s leader Morgan Tsvangirai which we are running every day. If any reporter has finished scripting such stories Professor Moyo is phoned for verification. He at  times  personally  phones the reporter or the news room to  find out how such  stories were  written before  they  are published,” said the source.

The state media is currently running stories meant to denounce the MDC president for accusing him of having invited sanctions in the country.

This move by the state media to lambast Tsvangirai on the sanctions issue came after BRITISH foreign secretary David Miliband had said the west’s decision on whether to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe would be guided by advice from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party.

Miliband told the House of Commons last week that the UK government welcomed the recent agreement by the principals of the inclusive government to establish key commissions and would continue to press for progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.

It is also reliably understood that News managers at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation have given a directive to the effect that Professor Moyo be the only political analyst on all stories concerning the same issue.

“We have been told not to use skip the learned Professor when seeking political analysis on the Tsvangirai and sanctions stories. He has been described to us as the best person to analyze those issues, “said one senior female newsperson based at ZBC headquarters.

During his time as the country’ Information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo crafted media draconian laws which led to the closure of publications which were deemed critical to the former ZANU-PF party.

He is viewed as a media hangman by Zimbabwean journalists for the sufferings he caused after the closure of newsrooms in which hundreds of them were earning a living from.

(Source)

A Zimbabwean magistrate court on Tuesday gave four white farmers 24 hours to vacate their properties, the Commercial Framers Union (CFU) said on Tuesday.

The mainly white CFU, which last week criticised the power-sharing government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for failing to end chaos in the farming sector, said the magistrate ruled that the four farmers were guilty of refusing to vacate their properties.

The union said the farmers were slapped with a US$800 fine each and ordered to immediately move out of their homes and vacate their farms by Wednesday (today) evening – in a ruling that highlights worsening fortunes for Zimbabwe’s white farmers who have also come under increased attacks from Mugabe’s supporters since formation of the coalition government.

The evicted farmers are Algernon Taffs of Chirega Farm, Dawie Joubert of Stilfontein, Mike Odendaal of Hillcrest Farm, Mike Jahme of Silverton Farm – all from the south eastern district of Chipinge.

According to the CFU, the magistrate said if the four failed to vacate their properties as ordered by the court they would spend the next two years in jail and the union indicated that the farmers were preparing to appeal against the eviction orders.

“Under the Constitution of Zimbabwe everyone has the right to appeal but the magistrate denied them this right saying there was no doubt in his judgment. Urgent applications are currently taking place in Harare on behalf of the evicted farmers,” the CFU said, adding; “The farmers are desperately moving their life’s belongings into the local Dutch Reformed Church for safety.”

The unity government of Mugabe and Tsvangirai has watched helplessly as members of the security forces and hardliner activists of Mugabe’s ZANU PF party intensified in recent weeks a drive to seize all land still in white hands, causing deep frustration among the farmers.

The beleaguered white farmers, in a strongly worded statement last week labelled the ongoing farm seizures a “crime against humanity” and called on the coalition government to act to end lawlessness on farms in keeping with the 2008 power-sharing agreement that gave birth to the administration.

Under the power-sharing agreement Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who is third signatory to the pact, promised to restore the rule of law in the farming sector, including carrying out a land audit to weed out multiple farm owners – nearly all of them senior ZANU PF officials who have hoarded most of the best farms seized from whites.

The coalition government is yet to act to fulfil the promise to restore law and order in the key agricultural sector, while more farms – including some owned by foreigners and protected under bilateral investment protection agreements between Zimbabwe and other nations – have been seized over the past few months.

And to make matters worse, according to the CFU, police and judicial officers who are supposed to enforce the rule of law were also among the beneficiaries of the free-for-all land grab.

(Source)

The MDC dismisses the story in today’s Herald that Hon. Eddie Cross, an MDC national executive member and Bulawayo South MP has been suspended from the party.

For the record neither the MDC Standing Committee nor the National Executive met to make such a decision.

Furthermore, no official has been affected by the decision as claimed by The Herald.

We note with concern desperate attempts engineered by the detractors of the people’s movement who continue to churn out falsehoods.

No amount of fiction and falsehoods will shift the MDC from being the agent of delivering real change to the people of Zimbabwe.

Source: via Skype