Messages From Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has rejected calls by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to enshrine gay rights in a new constitution.

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)

The Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) has booted out controversial army commander, Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba for participating as a Zanu (PF) technical advisor to the thematic committee on elections in the new constitution making process.

Douglas Mwonzora and Edward Mkhosi, the other co-chairpersons representing Movement for Democratic Change led by Tsvangirai and MDC respectively confirmed that the overzealous army chief, who is on record as saying President Robert Mugabe should rule for ever, was kick-off last week.

“He has been fired. Nyikayaramba is a serving soldier and therefore cannot be a member of COPAC especially at an advisory level, “said Mwonzora.

Mkhosi said the issue of Nyikayaramba was now water under the bridge.

“He has left. It is now under the bridge,” he added.

Munyaradzi Mangwana, while confirming that he was no longer with COPAC, said Nyikayaramba’s contract had lapsed.

“His contract with COPAC has come to an end so he has left. It is wrong to say he has been booted out,” he said.

The two MDC formations have long raised concerns about his involvement in the constitution-making process since he was serving member of the army.

(Source)

Zimbabwe’s much-delayed drive to draw up a new constitution as part of a power-sharing deal has been suspended amid a row between the two main political parties, a party spokesman said Thursday.

The mammoth process of public consultations for a new constitution began in 2009, months after the deal between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, but has been repeatedly disrupted and marred by violence.

The new delay was caused by disagreements between Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over the weight given to the public submissions, MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told AFP.

ZANU-PF favours ranking submissions according to the number of times they were raised during meetings to gather people’s views, he said. The MDC prefers an approach based on the quality of those submissions.

“ZANU-PF’s proposal is populist but it leads to the emasculation of voices in wards with less people than others,” Mwonzora said.

“Given that we had totally disagreed, we referred the matter to the management committee. The committee said the work should stop and they will give directions on the method to use,” he said.

The constitution committee had set September for a referendum on the draft constitution but the suspension is likely to cause a delay.

Public consultations over the constitution were repeatedly postponed after outbreaks of violence, with a Tsvangirai supporter killed when militant backers of Mugabe stoned a meeting in September 2010.

Mugabe, in power since 1980, and his long-time rival Tsvangirai formed the power-sharing government more than two years ago in a bid to stop a conflict sparked by disputed 2008 elections and to mend a shattered economy.

The agreement included plans for a new constitution and amended media and election laws to ensure free and fair polls.

Although no dates have been set for fresh polls, Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have said elections should be held this year with or without a new constitution.

Tsvangirai and his MDC party want reforms in place first to ensure a level playing field before the elections.

(Source)

ZANU PF has admitted it embarked on a nationwide exercise to coach people on how to contribute in the constitutional making outreach programmes.

The party’s Legal Affairs department conducted a series of workshops to ensure its position on the new constitution sailed through so that it could “achieve an outright win in elections for a post-GPA (Global Political Agreement) government”, documents possessed by Radio VOP indicate.

According to the party’s central committee report to the party’s conference in Mutare between 15 and 18 December 2010, the ZANU PF legal guru Emmerson Mnangagwa said in his departmental report that the countrywide meetings were intended to ensure the ideals and values of the party were captured in the new supreme law of the land.

“The department held several workshops to devise a strategic plan for the constitution making process and to have a party position on each of the 17 themes among other issues. The series of workshops were attended by participants comprising lawyers, university lecturers, senior officers, members of parliament, provincial members, members from the party’s research team and pastors among others,” said Mnangagwa.

“The workshops were aimed at devising an implementable people-centred strategic plan to ensure that the values, ideals and founding principles of the party were permanently imprinted into the supreme law of the country.

“To that end the main objectives of the workshop were to evolve strategies to counter the neo-liberal threats that western sponsored political parties posed to the ideals and tenets of ZANU PF.”

It has also been revealed that the workshops were meant to articulate the main principles of the Kariba Draft constitution, devise multi-pronged media strategy to reach the general populace and to come up with coordinated campaign strategies targeting all organs of the party.

The revelations come at the back of threats by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) not to recognise a draft constitution currently on the cards whose process is alleged to be flawed and not reflective of the people’s views.

President Mugabe also said in his foreword to the central committee report that 80 percent of the views gathered during the parliamentary Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) outreach exercise reflected a ZANU PF position.

“The conclusion of the COPAC outreach programme has sent a loud and clear message to the MDC and its merchants of confusion among our detractors who all along were doubtful of our party’s capacity to ably speak with and for the people of this country,” said the President.

“Now, there’s nobody who does not know that more than 80 percent of the views expressed and gathered during the outreach programme echoed and affirmed our ZANU PF views and positions on the content of the proposed new constitution for our country. What that has demonstrated is that, as the centre of governance, our party has formidable intellectual capacity for governing and running the country,” Mugabe boasted.

The constitution making process is currently in doubt as COPAC is grappling to raise about US$6 million to complete the drafting phase and probably come up with a document that will go to a referendum.

The constitution has been viewed by rival political parties as the basis for free and fair elections through addressing necessary electoral reforms, but the ZANU PF gathering in Mutare recommended elections to take place next year.

President Mugabe has in the past said polls will go ahead with or without a new constitution a move that has been criticised by the civic society saying the environment was not yet conducive and could result in bloodshed.

(Source)

The Third Session of Zimbabwe’s Seventh Parliament is set to bring in media reforms as outlined in the Global Political Agreement signed between Zimbabwe’s three main political parties in 2008. ZANU PF, MDC-T and the MDC signed the GPA ahead of the formation of the inclusive Government in February last year.

Opening the Third Session on Tuesday, President Mugabe said Parliament would debate the Media Practitioners’ Bill.

“A Media Practitioners’ Bill, which will repeal the part of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act which deals with the registration of journalists and privacy issues,” he said.

The Bill is expected to change registration procedures, rather than repeal them, as had been earlier reported.

(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)