I am very sorry to drop this all on you… With immediate effect, posting to this site will be put on hold as I have other priorities right now. My studies are swiftly approaching the taking of numerous examinations and I need to put my head down and do the graft.

I am not withdrawing completely, but am suspending operations on this page for the time being as I need to use the time elsewhere.

Hopefully you all will understand and appreciate the decision I have made.

Take care.

‘debvhu

Soon after the court had adjourned, Daniel Mutema (26) stormed back into the dock from the holding cell and threatened prosecutor Mr Zivanai Makwanya with death.

He bragged that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who is also the MDC-T leader, was going to rule the country and would pardon him.

“Iwewe mupfanha prosecutor ndoda kukuuraya kana ndabuda mujeri. VaTsvangirai ndivo vanenge vavekutonga next year vobva vandibuditsa. Mese muchapera (I am going to kill you once I am released from prison by Mr Tsvangirai who is going to be the president next year),” he said.

The court orderly, Constable Tracy Sekai Mukweya intervened and tried to stop Mutema from further insulting the prosecutor, but her efforts were in vain.

Mutema instead told Const Mukweya to mind her own business and accused her of being a prostitute.

He accused her of being used by President Mugabe and ZANU PF.

The armed robber further insulted President Mugabe. He was later whisked away by prison officers after wrestling with him for some minutes. Mutema is now facing a fresh charge of undermining authority of or insulting the President and will appear in court soon.

Harare regional magistrate Mr William Bhila sentenced Mutema and his accomplices Brian Juma (21) and Tatenda Nyanhemwa (21) to 12 years each in jail for armed robbery.

Mr Makwanya had called for a stiffer penalty arguing that the trio had committed a very serious offence.

“Crimes of this nature are on the increase and those targeted are taxi drivers.

“In this case they brutally assaulted the complainant and took away his belongings,” he said.

“The accused persons did not even show remorse during cross-examination. They had no mercy when they attacked him therefore they do not deserve mercy and there is no reason to suspend part of their sentence.”

On December 16 last year at around 9pm in Karoi, the trio approached Fredrick Madombiro, a taxi driver and hired him to Rydings School.

The cabman, who was in the company of three women, agreed to take Mutema and his accomplices to the school since Juma was known by two of the women.

When they were approaching the school’s main gate, Mutema ordered Madombiro to stop on the pretext they wanted to drop off and Juma suddenly grabbed him by the neck.

The three women escaped. The gang assaulted Madombiro and threatened to shoot him if he resisted.

They tied his hands with a string and took away his two mobile phones and US$1 520 cash.

(Source)

Tsvangirai told journalists yesterday that government had no choice but continue paying for Mugabe’s treatment outside the country if he is sick because it had a duty to do so.

The Prime Minister though, was non-comittal about Mugabe’s exact ailment. Quizzed by reporters on the ballooning foreign travel bill incurred by government, Tsvangirai shifted the blame on Mugabe’s health saying: “Certainly I don’t accept collective punishment.” He however, said Treasury had to pay because government could not watch the 87-year-old die.

“If the President is sick he should be attended to. And whether you like it or not, I think he may say ‘look, I was sick I had to go and get attention.’ And therefore the State has a responsibility of looking after its leaders,” said Tsvangirai.

Pressed on why he has failed to impress on Mugabe, who is reportedly battling cancer, to seek cheaper local treatment, Tsvangirai said: “He is certainly not suffering from malaria as you would understand which we can obtain at the nearest hospital. So I think there might be complications there.”

“And maybe the (medical) attention (available) of that is outside the country where you have got that expertise and you don’t have that local expertise. What do you want him to do?”

Added Tsvangirai: “But then if someone is sick, what do you want him to do? You want him to die when he can seek medical attention somewhere? I think those are justifiable excuses.

“But overally, I think the question of expenditure is a question that the minister (of Finance) is aware of, he has drawn the attention of Cabinet that foreign travel has become one of the most runaway expenditures. So we hope that we will all act with restraint over that issue.”

While Mugabe’s spin-doctors have frantically tried to obfuscate the reasons for his visits to Singapore, Tsvangirai yesterday gave it all away, confirming that Mugabe was consulting medical specialists abroad. During his latest visit to Singapore last week, the eighth such trip this year, Mugabe claimed he had gone on a “private visit.

Arriving at the Harare International Airport on Sunday morning, Mugabe denied his health is failing. “You want to ask me about my health? As you can see, this Mugabe is fit, but I don’t know about the other Mugabe,” said a puffed up Mugabe. Mugabe’s health has been the subject of constant local and foreign media speculation over the past decade.

He is said to be plagued by cancer according to confidential US embassy cables containing briefings with top Zanu PF officials. One cable said Mugabe had been spotted at Gleneagles, a top private hospital in Singapore.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said the GNU principals and Cabinet have blown $40 million in six months to June, a top-line ripple for the government’s total recurrent expenditure over the same period.

The three principals, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara were said to have collectively blown $29 million on travel alone.  Government officials, including GNU principals, have undertaken a series of overseas trips. It is believed that Mugabe withdraws at least $3 million on each of his medical trips overseas, a figure critics say is too high given that the country is broke.

Tsvangirai said it was unfair to blame all the principals for the budget overruns without itemising who spent what. “The question of expenditure, we cannot all be lumped into one expenditure item,” Tsvangirai said. “Surely you should examine who has spent what rather than try to lump us all and say we have all spent $29 million.

“Go and find out in terms of budget allocation what President Mugabe has spent, what was he allocated for, what Prime Minister Tsvangirai was allocated for and what he has spent, then we can have an objective discussion,” said Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai said his relationship with President Mugabe has evolved from “very acrimonious bitter enemies to a situation where I can say we are collaborative opponents, we collaborate in government as coalition partners.”

(Source)

“I think it was absolutely wrong to allow the Marange diamonds to be sold,” Edward Cross, a member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party, told AFP.

“I have evidence that the value and volumes of Marange diamonds are being underestimated and are being used to subvert the democratic process in Zimbabwe.”

His comments came the day after the Kimberley Process (KP), established to prevent trade in so-called “blood diamonds”, authorised the resumption of diamond sales from two sites in Marange.

The deal came after negotiations involving the World Diamond Council, Zimbabwe, the European Union, South Africa and the United States and “will remain under constant review”, said the Council, which monitors KP compliance.

It resolves a deadlock that had threatened to derail the KP, with India and China supporting a resumption of Marange sales over bitter opposition from Western nations, rights groups and the industry.

The Marange fields, one of Africa’s biggest diamond finds in decades, have been the site of gross human rights violations, according to rights groups.

President Robert Mugabe’s army cleared small-scale miners from the area in late 2008 in an operation that Human Rights Watch says killed more than 200 people.

Cross last month tabled a motion in parliament to push for the nationalisation of the Marange fields, arguing they have not been properly regulated.

“The reason for my motion in parliament was basically to have Zimbabweans control the diamond revenues. Right now what is happening is illegal in Marange,” he said.

Rights groups accuse Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, which shares power with the MDC in a tense coalition government, of funneling profits from Marange diamonds to senior military officials and party leaders.

(Source)

“Now they are showing that they are vicious and we will reciprocate because they have their properties here,” Mugabe said in the state-run Herald newspaper.

“We are not without means to reciprocate,” he said.

“It is violation of rules and regulations governing host countries of UN meetings.”

Mugabe’s wife Grace, his personal bodyguard, and four top officials were denied visas to attend to a meeting of the UN’s International Telecommunications Union in Switzerland, causing the trip to be cancelled, according to state media.

The six are on the sanctions list imposed by the European Union and backed by Switzerland, which is not an EU member. Switzerland has not commented on the visas.

Swiss food giant Nestle operates a factory in Harare, which produces cereals and powdered milk for the local market.

Meanwhile, The Herald said Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe on Sunday from a private visit to Asia — trips that have become monthly events amid reports that the 87-year-old leader is suffering from prostate cancer.

Mugabe has angrily denied reports that his health is worsening.

“You want to ask me about my health. As you can see, this Mugabe is fit,” Mugabe told the paper.

According to the WikiLeaks whistleblower website, Mugabe has prostate cancer which has metastasized, and has been advised by doctors to cut on his activities.

The cable sent to Washington in 2008 said Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono told the then-US ambassador, Jame McGee that Mugabe was told by doctors he had three to five years to live.

(Source)

Please could you circulate this widely. Voting closes on 31 October and the Chiredzi River Conservancy desperately needs to win the prize money:  5,000 Aussie dollars.

Thanks so much

Glyn

Dear Friends

YOUR VOTE IS NEEDED TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR A UNIQUE HERD OF ENDANGERED ZIMBABWEAN ELEPHANTS

 A herd of 70 elephants is under threat in Zimbabwe’s Chiredzi River Conservancy (CRC) which is located in the south eastern lowveld close to Gona re Zhou National Park.

The Chiredzi River Conservancy is once again being over-run by invaders who are setting fires, clearing areas, chopping down trees and destroying riverine forests at an alarming rate. The elephants are also under threat from wildlife poaching, habitat destruction and encroachment.

The invaders are chasing the elephants away from dams and other water sources using hunting dogs, burning logs and anything else they can get their hands on. Recent reports have indicate that stress is taking the toll on the beautiful creatures and they are now exhibiting signs of being emanciated. Lack of water resources is a recurring problem which is resulting in a clash between the herd and the invaders.

The elephants are now in danger of being shot or posioned. For the full story, history and to view pictures you can click on this link.

If you have a Facebook account, you can also like the CRC page to get updates and generate much needed awareness.

The CRC stands a chance to win a grant by having the most number of votes.Voting will close on 31 October.  Please vote by clicking on this link.

You will then get an email to confirm the vote. This money will be used to employ more patrol staff, supplies and equipment to protect the elephants in the meantime while an urgent solution is found.

Your vote will only take five minutes but it will make a big difference in the lives of these peaceful elephants who have the right to exist without fear and harm in the land they belong to.

Please also forward this to friends.

Mr Chinamasa told the BBC that gay rights could not be “smuggled” into the constitution because most Zimbabweans opposed it.

Earlier, Mr Tsvangirai told the BBC that gay rights were a “human right” that should be respected.

Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Chinamasa are from rival parties in a fractious coalition.

Their parties – the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zanu-PF respectively – are drafting a new constitution, which will be put to a referendum ahead of elections next year.

Homosexual is currently illegal in Zimbabwe, as in most African countries where many people view gay rights as un-Christian and un-African.

Last year, Mr Tsvangirai said “the ancestors would turn in their graves” if gay rights became enshrined in a new constitution.

We all know what people said about gay rights – it’s a total no; an almost 100% no”

Patrick Chinamasa Justice minister

But Mr Tsvangirai signalled a shift in policy in an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight programme.

“It’s a very controversial subject in my part of the world. My attitude is that I hope the constitution will come out with freedom of sexual orientation, for as long as it does not interfere with anybody,” Mr Tsvangirai said.

“To me, it’s a human right.”

In his reaction, Mr Chinamasa said Zimbabweans had firmly rejected gay rights when they were consulted on a new constitution during the government’s outreach programme.

“We all know what people said about gay rights – it’s a total no; an almost 100% no,” he told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.

Mr Chinamasa said Mr Tsvangirai made the comments for “propaganda” purposes, contradicting the position he had adopted in the cabinet.

“We can’t smuggle [into the constitution] the views of a prime minister who wants to please a certain audience basically, I suppose, to mobilise resources for his party.”

“I know personally he doesn’t believe it. He has said so many times in the cabinet,” Mr Chinamasa told Network Africa.

The election due next year will be the first since the MDC and Zanu-PF – led by President Robert Mugabe – formed a unity government after polls in 2008.

Those elections were marred by widespread violence and rigging, with Mr Tsvangirai boycotting a run-off vote.

The coalition – formed under pressure from regional leaders – has stabilised the country, but tension has been rising ahead of next year’s vote.

The two parties are yet to agree on political and security reforms to guarantee a free and fair poll.

(Source)

This is believed to be his eighth visit to Singapore this year.

Mugabe, who is reportedly suffering from several diseases consistent with old age, is expected to leave this morning on a commercial plane to Johannesburg where he will catch another commercial flight to Singapore.

However, presidential spokesperson George Charamba, who has on many occasions said Mugabe was enjoying good health and that he was not aware of the trip.

“I am in Buhera so I do not know what is happening there. Who is saying that the President is ill,” asked Charamba.

About a month ago, Mugabe traveled the same way to Singapore but Charamba had said that his boss was in Harare. Mugabe’s trip, which comes days after his ally Muammar Gaddafi was brutally killed by Libyan forces, will raise speculation on his health.

The last time he traveled to Singapore for the trip which Charamba said his boss had not taken, Mugabe claimed he had gone there on a private visit to see his daughter Bona, who is studying in the Far East country.

To his credit, Mugabe has remained fit for his age and in public, rarely shows any signs of ill-health and at one point jokingly challenged this reporter to a physical fight and went on to throw a few punches in the air to show his “strength.”

In one of the leaked United States diplomatic cables released by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, a US diplomat is said to have seen Mugabe checking in at a cancer clinic.

According to a cable originated by Joel Ehrendriech, a US official, Mugabe visited Singapore in May and August 2008 for cancer treatment.

Speculation on Mugabe’s health started swelling at the end of last week when he failed to officiate at a graduation ceremony at Chinyoyi and Bindura universities.

But Charamba denied that Mugabe’s failure to attend the ceremonies had anything to do with his illness.

“The President was not invited to officiate,” was all Charamba said although Mugabe as chancellor of all government universities in Zimbabwe, makes sure that he presides over the graduation ceremonies.

Mugabe was also due to travel to Switzerland at the weekend for an UN ICT summit and was supposed to come back via Singapore but suddenly changed plans.

A senior government official confirmed Mugabe’s sudden change of plans.

“President Mugabe was supposed to travel to Switzerland and would have come back via Singapore for routine medical checks but it appears something went wrong. He now has to fly tomorrow (today) morning.

“Air Zimbabwe had already made plans to fly him to Switzerland and then Singapore before coming back to Harare but all this has changed suddenly. It looks like he has something he urgently needs to attend to in Singapore,” said the government official.

Mugabe’s several trips to the Far East have gobbled millions of dollars at a time when the country is struggling to service a $9 billion debt and is reeling under a $700 million budget deficit.

SADC leaders at one time even expressed concern over his health and plan to persuade him to quit.

At some point, Members of Parliament from both ZANU PF and MDC considered impeaching him because of his advanced age and ill health.

It is not very clear what Mugabe is suffering from but sources close to him say he has prostate cancer; a condition which local doctors say is common to men of his age.

Doctors also say a man of Mugabe’s age is also prone to dementia. Charamba however, insists that the president has eye problems.

Yet another cable suggested that Mugabe had consulted a UN medical specialist about his medical problems.

“UN resident representative Victor Angelo on November 12 advised Ambassador Sullivan that Mugabe has consulted with a UN medical specialist about some of his medical problems. According to Angelo, Mugabe’s ailments include periodic convulsions and stroke like episodes (perhaps eschemia) brought on by diabetes and a lipid disorder which affects the covering of the brain,” US political officer Win Dayton said.

The octogenarian leader is said to have been shaken by the brutal demise of his long-time ally Gaddafi.

In addition to the loss, he also feels betrayed and was left depressed when he discovered that his most trusted lieutenants went behind his back and held secret meetings with Americans whom he considers as arch enemies, seeking his removal from office.

Mugabe has also been under pressure from his party which wants him to appoint a successor as they no longer have confidence in his leadership.

There are reports that ZANU PF hawks are planning to turn the party’s conference in December into an extra-ordinary congress where they are reportedly plotting to persuade him to step down.

(Source)

Observers see the tough talk of Mavimbela, former director general in the South African presidency, as the out­ward expression of a major shift in relations between Pretoria and Harare under President Jacob Zuma, who is clearly turning up the heat on the 87-year-old Mugabe in a bid to force him to rein in lawlessness by members of his party.

Political analyst Trevor Maisiri said: “The ambassador’s sentiments are a clear indication of a changing of the guard in Pretoria.”

Mavimbela, quoted in the state-owned Herald after meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the weekend, said: “We are not happy with the farm invasions that have been taking place in the country and South African farmers being evicted from their farms.

“Scores of farmers came to our offices for assistance and the majority have been rendered destitute, save for a few who have been taken in by friends.”

Earlier this month, ZANU PF youths in Nyazura evicted two South African farmers — Koos Smith of De Rust farm and Tienie van Rensburg of Rueben farm — giving them an hour’s notice to pack up their belongings and leave.

It is understood that the South African envoy has been irked further by Harare’s disregard for a 2009 bilateral trade agreement between the two countries, intended to protect South African investments in Zimbabwe.

Matters beyond
Mavimbela said that some matters “have gone beyond the level of the embassy and the situation now needs state-to-state dialogue”.

ZANU PF national chairperson Simon Khaya Moyo shrugged off Mavimbela’s comments. “The South African ambassador does not answer to ZANU PF and so there is no way that ZANU PF can deal with the issue. It’s a matter between two governments,” Moyo said.

In the past, Zim­babwe’s foreign affairs ministry has read the riot act to Western countries over their perceived involvement in the country’s internal affairs. Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi is well known for his brash style with foreign diplomats.

He could not be reached for comment.

This week Hendrik Olivier, the chief executive of the Commercial Farmers’ Union of Zimbabwe, welcomed Mavimbela’s public stance, saying that it would “help influence and hold in check” land invasions.

“Invasions have taken place over the past 11 years, despite Zimbabwe being a signatory of bilateral agreements with many countries, including South Africa.

“It remains to be seen whether the government will take the necessary steps to respect its trade agreements,” said Olivier.

Meanwhile, divisions have emerged over the indigenisation laws in ZANU PF and the coalition government, with the Affirmative Action Group, a militant black empowerment project linked to ZANU PF, splintering over the beneficiaries of the expropriation of foreign business interests.

The action group’s entire executive board, led by journalist-cum-businessman Supa Mandiwanzira, has stepped down, giving way to Philip Chiyangwa, a property tycoon and nephew of Mugabe.

The board has been accused of “having lost its way and put individual gain before mass empowerment”.

There have also been claims that $32 000 has been embezzled from the project.

(Source)

ZEC deputy chairperson Mrs Joyce Kazembe said in an interview on the sidelines of a voter education workshop yesterday the body did not have any money and would wait for the allocation to start its programmes.

The submission comes as the election body says it is lobbying for autonomy from its parent ministry. Mrs Kazembe said US$104 million would cover the referendum while US$115 million would fund the general elections.

“We came up with a budget we submitted to Treasury and as long as we get the money we are ready to roll,” she said.

“We have already trained our officers.

“The referendum budget was submitted through the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs because they administer the Referendums Act, while the general elections budget was submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.”

The budget will cover voter education, voters’ roll inspection, special voting, postal ballot and the actual polling.

Zanu-PF spokesperson, Cde Rugare Gumbo, said the money for the referendum and elections should be made available once the polls are due.

“Money for elections will obviously be made available,” he said. “We have always said that Treasury should expeditiously release the funds.”

Cde Gumbo said that the delay in releasing the money would not affect the election timeframe.

MDC-T national deputy chairperson Mr Morgan Komichi, who attended the voter education workshop, said an election roadmap was more important.

“Elections cannot be held when there is no money,” he said. “What is important at the moment is to put in place necessary measures for credible elections.”

MDC vice president Mr Edwin Mushoriwa said elections should not be held next year.

“We don’t believe elections will be held next year because we need a proper roadmap for credible elections,” he said.

Mrs Kazembe said they were lobbying for ZEC to have full independence like the Judicial Service Commission.

“We want to move away from using the Executive as a conduit,” she said.

“The intention or desire is, just like the Judicial Service Commission, that we get our budget vote direct from Parliament.”

Mrs Kazembe said ZEC remained independent when discharging its constitutional duties.

“When we implement electoral processes, we don’t take orders from any political party or individual or any authority,” she said.

“We don’t report to the Ministry of Justice when administering the ZEC Act.”

ZEC, said Mrs Kazembe, was in consultation with the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs on the provisions of the Referendums Act.

She said what needed to be determined was whether or not people should be allowed to vote wherever they are during the referendum or they should vote in their constituencies.

“One problem that arises with allowing people to vote from wherever they are is that, if five million people flock to Binga, for example, on the polling day we might not have sufficient ballot papers for that area,” said Mrs Kazembe.

(Source)