Messages From Zimbabwe

A South African Minister allegedly described President Robert Mugabe as a “crazy old man” according to leaked secret communications from United States embassies published on Sunday.

Release of about a quarter-million previously secret communications from US embassies by Wikileaks, a non-profit organisation, plunged the US government into a global diplomatic panic with officials warning the development could endanger lives and fray key security alliances.

Most of the documents are from the last three years.

Prior to their release, President Mugabe was said to be among leaders subjected to unflattering remarks by US diplomats but the Zimbabwean leader will not have expected the criticism to come from across the Limpopo.

However, South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane did just that, describing Mugabe as “the crazy old man”, according to a cable from the US embassy in Pretoria.

The minister’s unguarded remarks could create problems for SA President Jacob Zuma who is mediating between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on behalf of the regional SADC grouping.

Meanwhile, former US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell is said to have written a scathing account of Mugabe and his time in the country when he left in 2007.

In a cable from Harare, Dell described the aging President as “a brilliant tactician” but mocked “his deep ignorance on economic issues (coupled with the belief that his 18 doctorates give him the authority to suspend the laws of economics).”

The US administration was in fire-fighting mode on Sunday after the release of the documents which show its ambassadors and officials making undiplomatic remarks about several world leaders and key allies.

A statement from the White House condemned the Wikileaks for the publication, warning that “these cables could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders, and … deeply impact not only US foreign policy interests, but those of our allies and friends around the world”.

The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, says the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.

Wikileaks also claimed it had come under attack from a computer-hacking operation.

“We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack,” it reported on its Twitter feed.

No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Assange’s organisation.

Wikileaks argues that the site’s previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

(Source)

Magistrate Samuel Zuze reversed his sentence on a Chipinge resident Gift Mafuka who was due to serve 12 months in jail for insulting or undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe.

The reversal of the sentence by Zuze follows the intervention of the influential rights group, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who had appealed to the magistrate on behalf of Mafuka.

Mafuka was accused of insulting Zimbabwe’s octogenarian leader when he saw two young boys aged between 12 and 13 wearing t-shirts with President Mugabe’s images and asked why they were putting on t-shirts with the image of an old person with wrinkles on the face. The Chipinge man allegedly told the two boys that President Mugabe was on his way out and that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was the president-in-waiting. He allegedly went on to threaten the juveniles before the minors ran away. But that was not before Mafuka ran after them and caught one of them whom he whipped.

Zuze ordered Mafuka’s lawyers to pay US$100 in bail money and imposed some reporting conditions for the Chipinge man.

Mafuka’s lawyer Langton Mhungu of Matutu, Kwirira and Associates, who is a member of ZLHR argued in his application for bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence that a conviction and a prison term was not the proper verdict that Magistrate Zuze ought to have reached.

The lawyer also argued that the evidence of the State witnesses was not sufficient to warrant a conviction and that the sentence imposed against Mafuka was too excessive and would induce a sense of shock.

“The witnesses were so inconsistent and unreliable. There was potential of lying against the accused person,” said Mhungu.

Mafuka, who has been serving his prison term at Mutare Prison after being transferred from Chipinge Prison, is expected to be released from prison once the clerk of court from Chipinge Magistrates serves the Warrant of Liberation to the Officer in Charge of Mutare Prison.

(Source)

THE Immigration Department has launched a manhunt for a British national, Mr Charles Heatly, who is reportedly working illegally as a “consultant” in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Office.

The Immigration Department wants to verify Mr Heatly’s immigration status amid reports that he is working in Zimbabwe without a permit.

The Briton is suspected to be a member of MI6, the UK’s overseas intelligence service.

Assistant Regional Immigration Officer Mr Evans Siziba said they wanted to quiz Mr Heatly.

“We want to verify his immigration status. We visited their offices (Adam Smith International) and we were told that he left the country for South Africa last Sunday.”

Asked if Mr Heatly had a work permit, Mr Siziba said: “We want to confirm whether he came for a visit or for business.

“If he is working in Zimbabwe using a visitor’s permit, he will be violating immigration laws because a visitor is not supposed to work in the country unless he/she has a work permit.”

Mr Heatly was reportedly working from Adam Smith International’s offices in Avondale.

Sources said immigration officers visited the premises on Tuesday and were told that he had left the country.

However, other sources said Mr Heatly was at the British Embassy that same day Ambassador Mark Canning gave a media briefing in which he said Mr Heatly was in Zimbabwe at PM Tsvangirai’s invitation.

Mr Siziba said: “We heard that information, but I don’t want to confirm that because we don’t have facts to that effect.”

The Herald is reliably informed that Mr Heatly entered Zimbabwe on a visitor’s permit soon after the formation of the inclusive Government in 2009.

He reportedly came after PM Tsvangirai requested technical assistance and subsequently helped establish parallel government structures.

He is also said to have helped draft documents such as the 100-Day Plan marketed by PM Tsvangirai and had access to classified State information.

It is understood that he had access to Munhumutapa Building, which houses the Presidency, the PM’s Office and key Government ministries.

He also reportedly mingled with Government officials at a retreat in Nyanga this year organised by the PM’s Office.

British Ambassador Canning on Tuesday said Mr Heatly was in the country under a special scheme managed by Adam Smith International and at PM Tsvangirai’s request for help from the UK.

Adam Smith International is packaged as a development agency funded by the British government but is understood to be a think-tank for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

(Source)

The British government has rebuffed President Robert Mugabe’s appeal for high level secret talks with the new British Prime Minister David Cameron, insisting that they would not undercut their EU partners on respect for human rights and rule of law, The Zimbabwe Mail can reveal.

We can also reveal that Robert Mugabe has been banging on a “Fresh Start” with the British government since the formation of the Tories-Lib Dems coalition government, but he has been rebuffed and told that the British government respects the EU policy on Zimbabwe.

Mugabe has also been told to respect his coalition partners and in the face of this rejection, this week, his State propaganda machine has raised the anti-British headlines since the formation of the British coalition.

This week, the State media under special instructions from former Information and Publicity Minister and political scientist Professor Jonathan Moyo, who is now playing a leading consultancy role of special advisor to Robert Mugabe’s favoured successor Emmerson Mnangagwa, concocted a story that the British and American governments are structuring a financial plan to back MDC-T’s election campaign next year and party leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai — who it said is also getting “expert advice” from a British intelligence operative.

A source in the Zimbabwe State intelligence has told our reporter this morning that, under special instructions, the State propaganda was conducting a paranoid reaction to a rejection by the British government to a Robert Mugabe’s high level approach for the normalisation of relations.

The propaganda goes on to say: “Apart from that, Mr Tsvangirai is understood to have engaged the services of British intelligence operative Mr Charles Heatly (or variously called Charles Beatle), who is said to be presently based in Harare and is helping with speech writing among other activities.

This is supposed to be a British Intelligence operative writing “Shona and Ndebele” speeches for Tsvangirai to use at rallies in the country side – this is laughing matter isn’t it!

“While MDC-T has claimed that Mr Tsvangirai’s visit was for State business, it has emerged that Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to France, Mr David Hamadziripi, was barred from the meeting.”: the propaganda is carried through.

So, if Mr Hamadziripi and every member of staff was barred from the meeting, which other source informed the Zanu PF source then?

We are also told in the propaganda: “Present in the meeting was Mr Tsvangirai, party spokesperson Mr Nelson Chamisa and Mr Jameson Timba, who is the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office.”

“Ambassador Hamadziripi and embassy staff were not allowed into the meeting.” So, who has become the source?

“He (Tsvangirai) used the trip to France to hold meetings with individuals who promised him backing.”

“The Americans could not understand why Tsvangirai was scared of an election because the party and its backers have fed them the myth that Zanu-PF is finished.

“Thomas Edmonds introduced Tsvangirai to Brad O’Leary, a prominent pollster in the US. O’Leary promised to mobilise funding to finance MDC-T’s election campaign next year.”

Then the author of this childish propaganda quotes himself saying – “Political analyst and Tsholotsho North legislator Professor Jonathan Moyo said: “Tsvangirai has been a recipient of a chain of dubious awards from Western organisations.

“What seems to be common about the so-called democracy awards is that they are all coming from regime change outfits.

“They allege that he is a champion of democracy yet facts on the ground show that he cannot be anywhere close to what they say about him.

“The whole issue here is about regime change and the US props up figures who posture as recognised international statesmen. They reward these people with dubious awards while claiming that they are championing democracy.”

For years, since the opposition gave him a rude awakening, Mugabe banked on the Tories regaining power in Britain, hoping that would help him normalise relations between his terrorist Zanu PF movement and the British government and the rest of the Western World.

He has tried to blame the British Labour party for his woes leading to the fall-out with the British government and in his mind, he has this old school Tories party run by ruthless conservative British businessmen who would seek mining rights, no matter the political situation, in exchange of political lobbying, but unfortunate for him the Tories party has transformed over the years and there is the new fresh faces not linked to the likes of the late Tiny Rowland.

Last week Robert Mugabe sent a delegation to the United Kingdom led by his Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi under the guise of “charm offensive”, a word repeatedly used at newzimbabwe.com.

Mzembi attended a panel of discussion at an international affairs think-tank alongside the UK’s Foreign Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, and the UK’s Zimbabwe Ambassador Mark Canning.

The youthful Zanu PF Minister who has escaped travel bans imposed by the West on Robert Mugabe’s mob, even went to town inferring that there was now a new thinking in Britain’s Zimbabwe policy following the fall of New Labour in this year’s UK elections which ushered in the Conservatives-Liberal Democrats coalition government.

“It is not just me who noticed a difference; even the Chinese government noticed a difference in Prime Minister David Cameron’s approach, which is more constructive, very refreshing and contemporary. I have no doubt in my mind that they find a generational connection with some of us and we must leverage that to advance our own interests,” Mzembi added.

In reaction to Mzembi’s over the top praise singing, a Senior British officials who attended the event called on Robert Mugabe to comply with the rule of law and human right. He also said Mugabe must comply with global diamond trade rules, and also told poor old Mzembi, point blank that Zimbabwe government must stop the smuggling of controversial diamonds from Marange fields.

“I would urge the Zimbabwe government to do all it possibly can to become compliant with Kimberley Process and that will mean that we will get much more money coming into the Zimbabwe Exchequer,” said Britain’s Africa Minister Henry Bellingham, in comments cited by Reuters.

He said the Marange diamond were funding “hardliners” when they should be benefitting the people of Zimbabwe.

The Britain’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mark Canning also weighed in and said most high-quality diamonds from Marange were “going out of the back door,” or being smuggled out of the country.

“The composition of Marange diamonds is very distinct… If you tip a pot of them on the table… you don’t see many of the top 14 percent on the table,” he said.

By the time Mzembi tried to deliver his dear leader’s message in privacy for a possible resumption of relations with the British government, it was already a toll order and the attempt did not yield any ground as each time he was referred to human rights and rule of law and corruption.

The British officials also insisted that any discussions should be on the basis of the Zimbabwe-UK coalition governments and not on party-to-party grounds.

Overall, the highly publicised Mzembi’s UK trip which was hyped by Newzimbabwe.com as “Charm offensive” in an article written by hired UK based former editor of Ibbo Mandaza’s Daily Mirror, was a dump squib, only generating childish reactions from the State media, throwing all toys out of the pram with propaganda accusations of the MDC-T link to the supposed British intelligence agency writing shona speeches for Tsvangirai.

Robert Mugabe cannot – “never ever ever ever” (to borrow from his Godly declarations) – hold an election without attacking the British and the United States, and so the change of government in the United Kingdom was going to be a lot tricky for him in the next general elections and so to pre-empt that tried and tested strategy, Mugabe-attack on the Brits and the US – normal relations have resumed – Brrrrrrrritain.

It’s election time Robert Mugabe invests a lot in propaganda, trumped up assassination attempts on his life and we’re now being told he is suddenly Ndebele and some weird and suspicious reports from Western Capitals giving raving views on a failed land reform.

(Source)

The MDC condemns the dismissal of Bindura mayor, Daniso Wakatama and another councillor, Christopher Mazembe by Ignatius Chombo, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development after a magistrate’s court acquitted the two on similar charges. What the MDC finds shocking is that Chombo decides to uphold a ruling from a kangaroo court presided by a handpicked commission, throwing out a ruling of a competent and legally constituted court.

If there is anyone who must be fired for corruption, it is Chombo himself following the recent publication of massive wealth and property which could only have been corruptly acquired. Chombo’s dubious commission found Mayor Wakatama guilty of a truly administrative issue such as collecting revenue from ratepayers and failing to bank it.  There is no way a Mayor of a town can move around the town collecting money from ratepayers.  This is purely a fabricated charge, which should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves.

After years of Zanu PF maladministration, corruption and embezzlement of council resources, Chombo and Zanu PF continue to meddle in the affairs of local authority with limited resources. No amount of firing and setting up of commissions of inquiries for democratically elected councils will cleanse Chombo of his grime. His actions are not only politically motivated, but are a clear evidence of abuse of office to further the interests of the opposition Zanu PF.  He should be stopped immediately from manipulating the law for selfish Zanu PF projects that affecting service delivery.

The MDC calls for a spirited campaign against Chombo by all progressive forces. It is an affront to democracy when Chombo, a senior member of a losing party, Zanu PF, continues to abuse a public office. Zimbabweans deserve real change. They want the councillors they elected to deliver quality service and not to be interfered with by a top politician who is facing serious enquiries on how he acquired his vast nauseating wealth.

(Source)

Once again, a golden opportunity beckons for SADC, as the principal underwriter of the Global Political Agreement on behalf of the African Union, to exercise its authority and notice the tears of the people of Zimbabwe as they grieve over Robert Mugabe’s stubborn refusal to let them off the edge of an extremely dangerous precipice.

For the past decade, Zanu PF and Mugabe have shown downright disdain for African initiatives and African solutions to Zimbabwe’s recovery and a smooth return to legitimacy, with far-reaching consequences on our common humanity at home and in the neighbourhood.

It is common cause that Zimbabweans continue to lead a nomadic life through SADC and even beyond for reasons which the regional grouping are fully aware of; and have the capacity – given a resolute political will – to attend to without risking further social disruption, needless loss of life and political turbulence. As the SADC Troika on Politics, Defence and Security meet in Gaborone, Botswana this weekend, Zimbabweans are waiting on a knife edge with bated breath for rock-solid guarantees on their future, now that the political stalemate in Harare has reached a crescendo sufficient to blur tomorrow and to mash the little progress towards peace and security during the past two years.

For the record, the fate of GPA is not, and has never been, at the discretion or benevolence of Mugabe and Zanu PF. Mugabe is a mere beneficiary, a bargain he rummaged after SADC nudged the MDC – the winners of the 29 March 2008 election – to soft-land the national crisis Zanu PF plunged Zimbabwe into through tyranny and a dictatorship. For that reason, Mugabe and Zanu PF must be restrained and stopped from adding fire to an already burning homestead in SADC’s tranquil environs.

The issues at stake are clear. The MDC insists on the full implementation of the GPA with specific timelines for action; the realisation of a total transitional reform agenda; the restoration of a Constitutional and civil order in national institutions; ending Zanu PF’s war psychosis which demands a heavy infusion of the security forces in civilian governance concerns, in particular the villagisation of the military; and the crafting and adoption of a new, people-driven Constitution that would pave the way for a open and fair, credible and legitimate, violence-free and dispute-empty national election.

The MDC believes the pace of the process, the results thereof, and the electoral environment shall determine the dates for national referendum on the new Constitution and a general election at which all Zimbabweans shall have a right to take part and decide their destiny. Any misguided attempt to short-change the process and to act out of nostalgic emotions shall drag us backwards into our dark past.

Since the 27 January 2009 SADC summit and communiqué, progress along that road-map to legitimacy has been painfully slow. Mugabe and Zanu PF ignored subsequent SADC resolutions, directives and deadlines purely out of their lack of respect for African mediation and wisdom; steadily eroding the hopes and confidence of Zimbabweans about the possibility of an imminent, lasting solution to the crisis.

By now SADC knows that Mugabe is likely to agree to whatever it says but behaves differently as soon as he returns home. At the weekend’s meeting, a monitoring and enforcement mechanism must be put place to ensure compliance beyond the existing shuttle diplomacy whose fruits remain still-born.  The MDC believes SADC’s reputation is sacrosanct and must be protected. Mugabe must never be allowed to get away with acts that compromise that regional esteem.

The MDC calls on the Troika and SADC to make clear to Mugabe and Zanu PF that the time has come for them to fulfill their side of the deal. The MDC remains fully committed to the letter and spirit of the GPA. The party has gone out of its way to make sure that the current transitional arrangement succeeds. For the sake of our nation and the entire region, the MDC kindly appeals to SADC to take a decisive stand and assist in normalising the volatile situation in Zimbabwe today.

(Source)

Honestly, ZANU PF is totally unimaginative, to say the least. How can a political party that has experienced so much loss of popular support continue to hold onto the very individual who has caused it to become a political leper throughout the country, if not the region?

How is it possible that none of the people in ZANU PF can summon the courage to tell the 86-year-old dictator that he has now become a serious liability to his political party? Is it possible that all the members of that crumbling party are so scared of Mugabe that they dare not tell him to his face that it is now time for him to retire from politics? No wonder, Margret Dongo once called all ZANU PF members of Parliament “Mugabe’s wives”.

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that it is not really Mugabe that these people are afraid of. Rather, it is Morgan Tsvangirai, president of the MDC-T that they are petrified of. They know that without Mugabe, ZANU PF is incapable of producing any serious electoral candidate at the presidential level who can stand shoulder to shoulder against Tsvangirai and expect to win.

That is very true as the results of the 2008 presidential race amply demonstrated. Indeed, it is strongly suspected that the published results had been heavily manipulated in order to give poor old Robert a respectable percentage vis-à-vis what Tsvangirai had received. In other words, Robert may have received much less than the 43% that was officially announced by the ZEC at that time. This means that in the elections of 2011 there will be worse rigging in order to give Mugabe a win over Tsvangirai. The people of this country know that Mugabe no longer has any capacity to win an election.

Media reports indicate that the ZANU PF’s violence machinery has already started operating in some areas, and some people have already had to leave their homes for safer areas. Tsvangirai has publicly stated that the MDC will pull out of the 2011 elections should violence be used by ZANU PF. Should this happen, then Mugabe will proceed with the elections since other smaller parties are likely to stay in the rat race.

This will give Mugabe the opportunity to argue that the elections were not a one-horse race. The nation will be forced backwards in terms of political development. Our situation will, once again, deteriorate to the levels of 2007/08. This will mean that sanctions will stay in place and Zimbabwe will remain a pariah state that is shunned by other countries.

Mugabe and his party will not receive any meaningful recognition and acceptance by other countries. Hundreds of thousands of our people will once again trek out of the country into the Diaspora. Our social sector will collapse as schools, clinics and hospitals will close down.

It will be as if the clock has been turned back to the year 2007. This will result in a lot of damage to a whole generation of young people, some of whom may never be able to attain a college education in their lifetime. The big boys will intensify their looting and primitive accumulation of wealth and wives. The Chombo example is but the tip of an iceberg. Several things can be done to prevent all of the above from happening. We should pray for God’s intervention to end the reign of some of our most cruel oppressors. It bothers me that the church no longer calls for days of prayer for the nation these days.

(Source)

Abbey Chikane, the out of control and all sorts Kimberley Process (KP) Monitor for Zimbabwe, has reportedly returned to that country on his own initiative last week and has cleared a batch of Marange diamonds for export. KP did not approve the resumption of such exports and the Working Group on Monitoring (WGM) had not sanctioned Chikane’s mission.

The fate of Zimbabwe’s diamond exports were not decided on at the recent KP Plenary in Jerusalem and therefore the WGM had not sanctioned another mission to country.

Diamond industry sources confirmed to IDEX Online that Chikane had gone back to Zimbabwe on his own and had certified diamonds.

The diamonds had reportedly not left Zimbabwe at the time of writing and it was unclear as to where the diamonds might be headed. Indian industry sources said they were closely watching the situation and were trying to ascertain exactly what was happening on the ground in Zimbabwe.

The value, volume and source of the diamonds that have been reportedly cleared for export by Chikane are also not known at this time.

Stephane Chardon, chairman of the WGM, said, “I am not aware of Mr. Chikane’s personal travel plans.” When asked whether goods had indeed been certified in Zimbabwe, Chardon replied, “Not by the Kimberley Process.” He went on to say, “The KP is in close contact with all the major stakeholders involved in this issue and we are working towards a negotiated settlement.” He declined further comment.

The country has three different stockpiles of goods. Diamonds mined in 2007-2009 by illegal miners, diamonds mined by Canadile and Mbada since that time and until May 28, 2010 when Chikane made his first mission to Zimbabwe and goods mined since the last auction in September.

Diamonds mined between the end of May and mid-September were approved for exports and were auctioned in two batches – in August and in September.

(Source)

A Zimbabwean boy aged four has been sent a letter from the Home Office informing him that he and his mother are facing deportation.

British-born Cher Siyamuanya, and his mother Netsui Karota, 28, received separate letters telling them they were ‘liable to removal’ from the UK.

But Ms Karota fears if she is returned to her homeland of Zimbabwe she will be executed or jailed for speaking out against Robert Mugabe’s brutal regime.

This would mean that Cher could be thrown into prison with her, or forced to live as an orphan on the country’s lawless streets.

An immigration judge said her story was ‘a pack of lies’ and ordered her out of Britain.

In a heartfelt plea to Home Office officials, she said: ‘I can’t go back there, I don’t know what will happen.

‘They sent me and Cher letters last month saying we are ‘liable to removal’, he can’t read or understand his, but he is worried when he sees me worried.’

Ms Karota came to the UK in 2006 after fleeing Zimbabwe via Malawi. Her parents were both murdered.

Ms Karota fears if she is returned to Zimbabwe she will be executed or jailed for speaking out against Robert Mugabe’s regime

She obtained a Malawian passport for the journey after being refused a Zimbabwean one as a member of the pro-democracy group, the Movement for Democratic Change.

UK officials believe she is Malawian and want to deport her and Cher, who was born in Liverpool Women’s Hospital, to that country.

But because of an extradition deal between Malawi and Zimbabwe, Ms Karota fears her and her son will be handed over to Zimbabwean authorities.

Ms Karota, who is vice-chairman of the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe, said: ‘They have seen me protesting here, at the gates of the Zimbabwean embassy in London.’

Since coming to Liverpool, she has become part of the community as a regular member at the Hope City Church, a volunteer for Woman Asylum Seekers Together and a member of the Liverpool African association. Cher did attend nursery, but his mother is now too afraid to let him out of her sight.

She added: ‘I just want to say something, even though things look so bad. I want people to know that I’ve been here and that I tried, for me and for my son.’

Despite being born in Britain, Cher is due to be deported as a member of the family of a person who does not have leave to remain in the UK.

Cher’s father is a Zimbabwean who was granted British citizenship and lives in the UK, but he only has irregular contact.

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: ‘Ms Karota’s case has been carefully considered by the UK Border Agency and by two separate courts. However, the immigration judge said she had told a pack of lies and invented a tissue of untruths in order to attempt to stay in this country.

‘The UK has a proud tradition of providing protection to those who genuinely need our help, but when someone is found by the UK Border Agency and the courts not to need our protection we expect them to leave.’

(Source)

LOCAL Government, Rural and Urban Development Mini-ster Ignatius Chombo is embroiled in an acrimonious property-sharing wrangle with his wife, Marian, from whom he has been separated for the past three years.

The protracted divorce and property sharing dispute is now before the High Court.

The estranged couple agreed to divorce, but failed to reach a settlement on the sharing of vast properties spread countrywide despite several pre-trial conferences held to try to resolve the matter without going to trial.

On Wednesday, Judge President Justice George Chiweshe referred the contentious issues to trial after another attempt to resolve the matter hit a brick wall.

During the civil trial, the court will seek to come up with a formula on how to share the matrimonial property.

The court will hear evidence regarding contributions made by each of the parties in acquiring the properties.

The court will look at money invested as well as generation of ideas.

The hearing date is yet to be set.

Mr Wilson Manase of Manase and Manase is acting for Minister Chombo while Mr Motsi Sinyoro of Sinyoro and Partners is representing Mrs Marian Chombo (nee Muhloyi).

The two separated in 2007 and Minister Chombo wants a divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

“The marriage between the two parties is irretrievably broken down to an extent that the two are not reconcilable and no prospects for . . . restoration of a normal marriage relationship,” stated the minister in his declaration filed with the court.

He says the two have not lived together as husband and wife for at least 24 months and there is no more love or affection.

Minister Chombo has pledged to look after their two children, born in 1986 and 1989.

“He will take care of his two children’s educational requi-rements, including air fares once a year to and from school, tuition and ancillary expenses,” he said.

Minister Chombo says during the subsistence of the marriage they acquired property like furniture, utensils and electronic equipment.

He wants the couple’s two houses in Alexandra Park and Greendale awarded to his wife.

The minister also proposes that all movable property at their Allan Grange Farm go to Mrs Chombo on condition that farming equipment which is not on loan or not yet fully-paid for is valuated and shared.

He also wants to be granted the first offer to buy the equipment.

Minister Chombo, however, is not agreeable to paying his estranged wife the US$2 000 monthly maintenance she is claiming, arguing that she can earn a living from the properties and businesses he wants to cede to her.

Mrs Chombo, in her summary of evidence, claims she was customarily married to the minister in the United States in 1985.

In 1993 she said they renewed their vows and remarried under the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:11).

“Defendant (Mrs Chombo) will testify that the relationship became strained when plaintiff (Minister Chombo) left matrimonial home saying that he wanted to sort out some personal issues and promised to come back home,” Mrs Chombo says.

She says since then the marriage has been strained but there are prospects for restoration of normal marriage.

Given a chance to reflect on the matter without undue influence, Mrs Chombo feels the marriage can be successfully resuscitated.

On the matrimonial assets, Mrs Chombo says she signed a post-nuptial agreement stating that they will share 50 percent of all properties acquired – whether held personally or in proxy – during the subsistence of their marriage.

She averred that on top of fixed assets including a borehole, generator, coldroom, it will be just for Minister Chombo to pay a monthly maintenance of US$2 000 until her death or re-marriage.

She also wants the court to award her 15 of the family vehicles that include:

4 Toyota Land Cruisers

3 Mercedes Benzes

l Mahindra

2 Nissan Wolfs,

1 Toyota Vigo,

1 Mazda BT-50,

1 Bus

1 Nissan Hardbody

1 Toyota Hilux

Mrs Chombo is also claiming other properties that include:

2 Glen View houses

2 flats in Queensdale,

A property in Katanga Township,

Stand Number 1037 Mount Pleasant Heights

4 Norton business stands

3 Chinhoyi business stands,

4 Banket business stands,

1 commercial stand in Epworth,

2 residential stands in Chirundu

4 commercial stands in Kariba

1 stand in Ruwa

1 stand in Chinhoyi,

2 stands in Mutare

2 stands in Binga.

4 stands in Victoria Falls

1 stand in Zvimba Rural

Chitungwiza (two residential and two commercial stands)

Beitbridge (four stands),

20 stands in Crow Hill, Borrowdale

10 stands in Glen Lorne,

2 flats at Eastview Gardens (B319 and B320)

1 flat at San Sebastian Flats in the Avenues, Harare

Number 79 West Road, Avondale.

Greendale house

Number 36 Cleveland Road, Milton Park

Number 135 Port Road, Norton,

2 Bulawayo houses.

Number 18 Cuba Rd, Mount Pleasant

Number 45 Basset Crescent, Alexandra Park,

2 Chegutu houses

1 Glen Lorne house (Harare)

2 houses (Victoria Falls).

1 Stand along Simon Mazorodze Road,

Norton (one stand)

Avondale (two stands)

365 Beverly House (one stand)

Bulawayo (three stands),

Mica Point Kariba (one stand).

She further wants the court to share farming equipment at New Allan Grange Farm including three tractors, two new combine harvesters, two boom sprayers and two engines.

She is also seeking an order compelling Minister Chombo to cede to her shares in the family’s 10 companies including Dickest, Hamdinger, Landberry and Track in Security Company.

Mrs Chombo, in her court papers, is also claiming cattle at Darton Farm, shared chicken runs, pigsties, a shop, grinding mill, house, mills, tractors, lorries, six trucks, five of which are non-runners, four trailers (three non-runners) and one truck.

She added that other interests were the Mvurwi Mine, hunting safari lodges in Chiredzi, Hwange, Magunje and Chirundu as well as properties in South Africa.

(Source: The Herald – via email )