Messages From Zimbabwe

Former Matabeleland provincial magistrate Johnson Mkandla has seen all the anarchy unfolds under President Mugabe’s watch – he was detained three times without charge, the only reason for his persecution was his association with the late Sydney Malunga, Naison Ndlovu and other PF-Zapu leaders.

In his detention cell, in Bulawayo’s Stops Camp, he saw civilians being slaughtered in an abattoir-style. He saw dead civilians wrapped in blankets and thrown into the back of police trucks before being ferried into unknown destinations.

These victims of Mugabe’s brutality remain unaccounted for and calls for accountability are now getting louder each day as Mugabe’s life begins to show signs of finally coming to an end following decades of murder and plunder, he said.

Mkandla says, at some point in the 1980s, he had come to regard Stops Camp as a death camp where he often saw civilians being tortured to death and their bodies thrown away without being handed back to relatives for decent burial.

“The next thing there would be a story that so and so is missing or so and so committed suicide in a police cell. If that person was badly tortured with visible facial scars, they will prefer to hide away his body and then profess ignorance of what happened,” said Mkandla who remains visibly haunted by his harsh brush with President Mugabe’s brutal regime.

One Saturday night in the early 1980s, Mkandla found himself surrounded by heavily armed security officers in his New Magwegwe home. He was being accused of aiding and abetting dissidents in Plumtree where he had gone to preside over a court case in the border town. On his way back, CIOs alleged, he had given a lift to dissidents.

“It was about 12 midnight and I heard someone in a loud-speaker with lights beaming into my bedroom ordering me, my wife and children to come out of my house naked. We were also ordered us to raise up our hands and walk into a nearby public road and lie down there,” said Mkandla.

“Then after that, they unleashed dogs into my house, but the dogs came up with nothing. They started searching my house from 12 midnight up to 6 am but still came up with nothing. As though that was not enough, they took me to detention at Stops Camp,” he said.

“Imagine I was a magistrate then and my neighbours respected me a lot but I am seen coming out of my house with my wife in underwears. It is something that I will never forget throughout my life on earth. I want to see those people who did that to me punished. I want to face those people and ask why?  My association with Sydney Malunga and other Ndebele leaders stems from my history in PF-Zapu. I had been regional PF-Zapu chairman during the liberation struggle and after independence,” he said.

“When I was a student the University of Rhodesia I also worked part-time at the PF-Zapu offices in Harare. I have come to be close to PF-Zapu leaders and they all knew me hence even after independence we continued having a good association as we shared the same political ideology which had nothing to do with dissident activity,” he said.

Mnkandla laments the idea that political violence before 2000 in Zimbabwe seem to have been kept under the carpet yet more people died in the 1980s and now wants Zimbabweans to come together and address it.

“What the MDC seem to have experienced since inception is something that we experienced as soon as Mugabe took office in 1980.

“For example, while I was detained at Stops Camp in Bulawayo, I heard someone being tortured until his last breadth. I heard civilians’ screaming for help until their voices faded away as they finally die. During my detention at Stops Camp, I lost count of such situations. I would then peep through my small cell window and see plain clothes officers carrying the dead civilians into the back of trucks. Then they would simple drive away and after some few hours I would hear someone next to my cell screaming for help until he goes the same way,” said Mkandla.

Mkandla, now based in the United Kingdom after being threatened with a treason change upon his return in Zimbabwe for campaigning for Western sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies, says he remains upset on what happened to him and what he saw in his police with his eyes.

“I have first had information about how people in Matabeleland were slaughtered by Mugabe’s security agents. I want to tell the truth about all this, although I was detained three times as a magistrate, there was never a point I was tortured myself. The whole detention thing was meant screw me up as a human being,” he said.

Mkandla added that: “The main reason why I was not killed or tortured is that the BBC had reported my plight on numerous occasions, hence I was now known internationally so it was not in the interest of Mugabe’s image to kill me. They would just harass me, question me and I would simple tell them that I was just innocent”.

“We lost people in Matabeleland and those people died a painful death. I want if the killers are not being haunted by that.

(Source)

Zimbabwe’s coalition government should bring to justice individuals responsible for recent and past episodes of political violence say analysts, rejecting attempts by President Robert Mugabe to forgive perpetrators of violence and move on.

Analysts told The Zimbabwean that government could help stabilize the country by bringing to justice the organizers of violence on all sides. Acting President John Nkomo told celebrations to mark ZANU PF politburo member and presidential affairs minister Didymus Mutasa’s 75th birthday in Rusape on Saturday that Zimbabweans should forget past political squabbles which led to bloody clashes.

Nkomo spoke hardly a week after Mugabe told Defence Forces Day celebrations that Zimbabwe should not seek to convict goon squads who took hundreds of lives in organized political violence sparked by ZANU PF’s devastating electoral loss in the 2008 presidential and general elections. Mugabe also suggested a blanket amnesty for security forces, who used excessive force in dealing with opposition supporters.

Admore Tshuma, a Zimbabwean journalist and political analyst, said by calling for amnesty for those guilty of political violence, Mugabe was subordinating justice to political self-interest, thereby shielding criminal elements who perpetrated violence on his behalf. “There can never be any reconciliation without accountability,” Tshuma said. “Amnesty is problematic because it promotes impunity.”

Researchers have documented serious abuses across the country, with ZANU PF militants and State actors attacking perceived MDC supporters when victory was announced for the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai. MDC supporters later retaliated. Much of the violence was organized by local leaders and politicians from all sides, according to eyewitnesses.

Although many observers were surprised by the speed and scale of the recent violence, the underlying causes of the crisis are old and deep.

The failure to address systemic problems of governance and organized political violence was a direct cause of the recent crisis. And it dates back to the 80s. Nkomo said the squabbles between ZANU PF and ZAPU in the 80s “should be water under the bridge.”

“We need peace, unity and tranquillity to prevail so that we can move forward as a nation. If we say an eye for an eye, Zimbabwe will be blind,” Nkomo said.

But analysts urged the coalition government to support the various inquiries established under the February 2008 mediation process to investigate abuses by state forces and those responsible for the violence. How well these initiatives succeed will be central to the coalition government’s ability to improve the lives of Zimbabweans and stabilize the country.

(Source)

Two gay rights activists in Zimbabwe have been freed after six days in police custody where it is claimed they were abused and tortured.

Ellen Chadehama and Ignatius Mhambi were arrested last week accused of possessing pornographic material and insulting president Robert Mugabe.

Their employer, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (Galz), said the two were assaulted by police while in custody.

They were also made to bend their knees into a sitting position with their arms outstretched for long periods and struck with bottles when they weakened and fell, according to their defence attorney, David Hofisi.

Nelson Chamisa, a government minister and spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change, condemned the alleged abuse: “Ill treatment or inhumane handling of any human being for any reason goes against our philosophy. We do not believe harassment is the best way of doing business. It flies in the face of the democratic order.”

Chadehama and Mhambi were arrested last Friday for allegedly possessing photographs of gay sex and posting a letter in their office from former San Francisco mayor Willie Lewis Brown criticising Mugabe’s opposition to homosexuality. Under sweeping security laws it is an offence “to undermine the authority of the president”.

Magistrate Munamate Mutevedzi yesterday released the two on bail of $200 each until a trial set for 10 June, where they will face penalties of imprisonment or a fine.

Mutevedzi said provisions of Zimbabwe law on both allegations did not take into account the sexuality of suspected offenders.

Galz said Chadehama, 34, the administrator of Galz, and Mhambi, 38, an accountant, were married with children.

Homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe but arrests are rare and Galz operates openly. The public statements of politicians give cold comfort, however.

Mugabe, 86, has described same sex partners as “lower than dogs and pigs”. Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, has said: “Women make up 52% of the population …there are more women than men, so why should men be proposing to men?”

The case is the latest in a series of flashpoints raising fears that gay rights are imperilled across Africa. Last week in Malawi a judge sentenced a gay couple to a maximum 14 years in prison with hard labour after the men made a public commitment to marriage.

That decision was condemned by South African president Jacob Zuma yesterday in a rare rebuke to a fellow African nation.

“We have condemned the action taken to arrest people in terms of our constitution,” Zuma told parliament in South Africa, where same-sex marriages are legally recognised. “We need to persuade, we need to make people understand, we need to move with them. We have never adopted a confrontational stance on matters.”

Phumi Mtetwa, director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project in South Africa, said: “The torture and harassment of the Galz comrades and the raid of the offices expresses Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF government’s old tactics of dehumanising LGBTI people and Mugabe’s allies scoring political points by persecuting those who struggle for rights to equality.

“These struggles have to be seen in light of the increasing public homophobia on the continent – Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and even South Africa, to mention a few. The South African government has a constitutional obligation to challenge its counterparts to defend the human rights of LGBTI people on the continent.”

(Source)

The state security agent who went missing after denouncing President Robert Mugabe and saying he felt used by the government for taking part in the torture, harrassment of innocent Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists, has been found dead.

Innocent Makamure had apologised publicly to villagers here for the role he had played in the torture and killing of innocent MDC activists. He said he had gained nothing by his actions.

Makamure had also expressed his intentions to apologise to the chief of the area.

Makamure went missing after these statements.

His dead body was found on Monday afternoon floating in Mwerahari River, after family members intensified searches.

Family members had last week told Radio VOP that they feared Makamure had been killed.

Manicaland Police spokesperson inspector Philip Makomeke said they had not yet received confirmation from police at Murambinda Growth Point that the dead body found was that of Makamure.

“All we have is that Makamure is on our missing persons’ list. I am yet to check whether he is the one who was found dead on Monday,” said Makomeke.

Makomeke said there were high chances that out of frustration or mental disturbances, Makamure could have committed suicide.

“If someone is highly frustrated or mentally disturbed, there are chances that such a person can commit suicide,” said Makomeke.

Family members who pleaded for anonymity, due to fear of further victimization, said they highly suspected foul play.

“It is unfortunate that these people do not reform. They have killed innocent because he had chosen to tell the truth. He had repented and he wanted to live a free life but they took him and murdered him,” said a family member.

“We are all shocked because of his death but after missing him for more than a week, we suspected something terrible had happened. He is gone and we now pray for our safety,” said the family member.

(Source)

Zimbabwean human rights violators could lose the right to travel to SA if an appeal due to be brought in the North Gauteng High Court today succeeds in forcing the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to arrest known perpetrators who set foot in the country.

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), along with the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, is seeking an order setting aside a decision by the NPA not to prosecute 18 identified Zimbabwean human rights violators in the event they travel to SA.

The case, aimed at preventing SA from becoming a haven for those who commit crimes against humanity, is the first such action in the country. It arises from a dossier submitted to the NPA in March last year, two weeks before the violent election in Zimbabwe.

Earlier this year attempts were also made to secure accountability for the victims of the war in Gaza with a dossier being submitted to the NPA, said Nicole Fritz, the head of the SALC.

The Zimbabwe dossier included a legal opinion by advocates Wim Trengove , Gilbert Marcus and Max du Plessis about SA’s obligations under the Implementations of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Act .

The dossier contained numerous affidavits detailing personal experiences of widespread torture at the hands of the Zimbabwean police. Fritz brushed off suggestions that the case could jeopardise the fragile unity government, saying it was meant to prevent a recurrence of such abuses. “Security accountability can help stem the fallout in Zimbabwe,” she said.

Fritz said after a round of correspondence, SALC finally received a letter from the then acting NPA director Mokotedi Mpshe six months ago to the effect that he had been advised that the police did not intend investigating the matter.

The ICC legislation gives South African authorities the power to investigate and prosecute acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, no matter where those acts have been committed. This applies even if the perpetrators are not South African nationals .

The SALC maintained in its submission to the NPA that the senior Zimbabwean officials named travelled to SA fairly often, both for official and personal reasons.

(Source)

Two of Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF loyalists are on the verge of making it into the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).

The two loyalists namely Jacob Mudenda, the former ZANU PF chairman for Matabeleland North and Joseph Kurebwa, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) are on the list of 16 candidates shortlisted for imminent appointment to serve on the ZHRC by President Robert Mugabe.  

Mudenda, the former Provincial Governor for Matabeleland North was nominated amongst new ZANU PF central committee members for Matabeleland North.

Kurebwa is the UZ political scientist who is famous for toeing the ZANU PF party line by making a controversial pre-election survey tipping President Mugabe to score a “majority win” in last year’s presidential elections which he however lost to his long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai in the first round of elections. Tsvangirai failed to garner the mandatory majority to form a government.

A presidential run off that was marred by human rights abuses forced Tsvangirai to pull out of contestation and resultantly Mugabe became “victorious” in a one man race.

Kurebwa’s survey was labeled by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) project after it was disowned by the University of Zimbabwe’s political science department.

Other candidates on the list which was submitted to President Mugabe by the chairman of Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) and Speaker of Parliament Hon. Lovemore Moyo include former Chief Immigration Officer and lawyer Elasto Mugwadi, medical practitioner Douglas Gwatidzo, Benhilda Makomva, Irene Sithole, Eunice Velempini, Professor Carol Temba Khombe, former Bulawayo Mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, Sethulo Ncube, Kwanele Jirira, Stewart Nyakotyo, Sheila matindike, Kucaca Phulu and Ellen Sithole.

The sixteen were selected from 33 people who were interviewed to serve as commissioners on the ZHRC last month.

President Mugabe is expected to appoint eight members from the 16 nominees four of whom should be women.

He will also appoint a chairperson who should be someone who has been qualified for at least five years to practice as a legal practitioner and who is appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the SROC.

According to the Constitution persons appointed to the ZHRC shall be chosen for their knowledge of and experience in the promotion of social justice or the protection of human rights and freedoms.

Among other functions the ZHRC will promote awareness of and respect for human rights and freedoms at all levels of society and to promote the development of human rights and freedoms.

The ZHRC will also monitor and assess the observance of human rights in Zimbabwe and recommend to Parliament effective measures to promote human rights and freedoms.

(Source)

Since Retired Major General Paradzai Willings Zimondi assumed control of the Prison service, prison conditions have reached an extreme of cruelty and deprivation. Death by enforced starvation and the withholding of medical attention is nothing less than murder in the first degree.

The trusted Mugabe right hand man brought in and appointed corrupt generals and colonels, lacking administrative skills, required to run the commanding heights of the Zimbabwe Prison Service, a move which has led to this decay we witness today.

Things got worse when he brought in Retired Major (Woman) Kanonge to head the finance department, Retired Major Madzimure to head Transport, Retired Major Dube to head construction department, Retired Major Ndebele to head the quartermaster’s department, Retired Major Makuvire to head procurement department, Retired Major Chihobvu to head Intelligence, Retired Major Seulah, Retired corporal Maramba, retired corporal Mafuta, Retired Major Sibanda, Retired corporal Chirombo, Retired WO2 Muzanechita, Retired coronel Maredza, Retired Major Vincent Ndlovu and many more.

Most of Zimbabwe’s top military brass are veterans of the 1970s liberation war against white minority rule and are fiercely loyal to ZANU PF.

As for new recruits into the force, priority was given to the Mugabe’s hated youth militias, there is little hope that the Prison Service will become an impartial body in any near future.

The militia training camps, which have been in existence since 2001, are places where school leavers are imbued with “patriotic values” as defined by the ruling party. Graduates from these camps, known as Green Bombers from their distinctive olive green uniforms, have been used to terrorise government opponents at successive elections inside the prison and outside.

“The retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi should be arrested now and face trial for crimes against humanity”.

I am disturbed by the arrest and harassment of Junior Officers Thabiso Nyathi (35), Siyai Muchechedzi (35) and Thembinkosi Nkomo (28). They were arrested on Friday on charges under the Official Secrets Act, which prescribes lengthy jail terms for government employees who leak state secrets.

The three should be released with immediate effect and UN should intervene now.

In the name of the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, Commissioner Zimondi and his Deputy Commissioners, Retired Major Vincent Ndlovu and Washington Chimboza should be arrested for crimes against humanity - and, while awaiting arraignment by a SADC or European Court of Justice, they should be detained in their own jails.

The main causes of prisoners’ deaths included reduced meals, shortage of drugs and poor health environment in our prisons.

Prisoners went for days without a meal and were occasionally supplied with food only meant to keep a person alive such as the staple sadza (a thick porridge made from maize meal) and salted, unclean water.

More often than not, inmates in many of the country’s jails have to survive on a single meal in two to three days of sadza and cabbage boiled in dirty salted water because there is no money to buy adequate supplies. This led to an outbreak of pellagra disease that slaughtered over a thousand inmates around the country.

Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease caused by shortage of vitamin B3 and protein.

The functions of the Zimbabwe Prison Service are derived from the mission statement and the broad functions of the ZPS are as follows: To protect society from the criminal elements through the incarceration and rehabilitation of offenders for their successful re-integration into society, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control. Offenders come to prison as punishment and not to be punished

In the ZPS we believed that offenders need to be given a second chance through rehabilitation.

Conditions in our prisons are inhuman. The new government must act swiftly to address this situation or else the prime minister will be sucked into this mess. Every single day they spend without acting will be blood on their hands.

It makes me cry to know that the cabinet is being sworn in while one of them is being added to the tally of prisoners.

I appeal to the International community to intervene before the three youngsters are tortured to death. I know they are chasing after my head but the truth will be told even if they kill me.

Shepherd Yuda

(Source)