Violence: People Cry Out For Help

By Vusumuzi Sifile

FOR a few minutes last Tuesday the United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee played the role of security guard at Mvurwi district hospital — opening the gate for a 13-vehicle diplomatic motorcade to leave the hospital.

None of the people in McGee’s convoy were brave enough to do so. The gate had been closed by gun-totting police officers. Earlier, the armed men had threatened to force-march McGee to the police station "to verify some information".

They stopped only after someone reminded them the procedure did not apply to diplomats.
This was one of the four attempts by the police and Zanu PF militias to stop McGee and diplomats from the United Kingdom, Japan, European Union, the Netherlands and Tanzania from seeing victims of ongoing political violence in Mashonaland Central.

Earlier, they had been to Rhimbrick farm, where three war veterans — among them a 25-year-old — have converted a timber sawmill into a torture camp.

The convoy was nearly turned back at a roadblock on the way to the farm, but was later allowed to proceed. No explanation was immediately available for the attempt to halt the convoy.
At the camp, suspected opposition supporters are made to confess their political allegiance. The confessions are written in books kept by the older "war veterans" identified only as Kamba and Sadomba.

The 25-year-old, who identified himself as Jhim Gorejena, said he had "nothing to hide", but still refused to hand over a diary he was holding, and to let the diplomats into the camp.
He said they needed clearance from their superiors, whom he constantly referred to as "Hukuru".

But McGee led the delegation into the camp. By the time Kamba and Sadomba realised it, the diplomats had already entered the camp.
One torture victim, Evidence Amos said she was beaten for "celebrating Zanu PF’s defeat and for possessing an MDC T-shirt".

"After the beating, I menstruated for nine days. The bleeding stopped only after I had taken traditional herbs," she said.

Another victim, Carpenter Mwanza, at Mvurwi District Hospital, said he was tortured for five hours for defecting from Zanu PF to the MDC. Mwanza, 41, is a former Zanu PF councillor.
Jim Bennet, the manager of Rhimbrick farm, said they were "all scared".

"Zanu PF supporters, youths militia and war veterans have set up bases here for interrogation. Everybody is scared," Bennet said.

From Mvurwi, the envoys headed for Howard Hospital in Chiweshe, where dozens of violence victims, most of whom said they were teachers and opposition polling agents, have been admitted. The entire male ward is occupied by violence victims, most of them injured on the buttocks and the soles of their feet.

A doctor at the hospital said a "silent war was being fought against the people".
"We admitted 22 people last week alone and most of these were teachers and their spouses from the Chaona area where three people were alleged to have died on the spot from the beatings while one died on admission here," said the doctor.

The last attempt to disrupt the tour was to occur on the entourage’s journey back to Harare when police mounted a roadblock near Glendale. Diplomats were detained for more than an hour at the roadblock. The police said McGee and his team had breached diplomatic protocol by travelling to the province without informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

An altercation ensued after one of the officers at the roadblock, after hearing of the victims the diplomats had seen, allegedly told Kevin Stirr of the US embassy that "we are going to beat you thoroughly, too." The officer attempted to speed off, but could not as McGee was standing in front of his green Peugeot 306 sedan. In the process, he nudged McGee, forcing a scream from the envoy.

The British ambassador, Andrew Pocock said the violence was an attempt to "shift voting patterns".

"We saw how widespread the violence has gone with no geographic limit. It’s an effort to change the voting demographics of Zimbabwe," Pocock said.
The Dutch Deputy Head of the Mission, Leoni M Cuelenaere, said she was "shocked because there was too much violence".

McGee said they now had the "proof of the violence and we will show that to the government".
The head of the EU delegation in Zimbabwe, Xavier Marchal, said as far as they were concerned, the tour was within their mandate.

"When I presented my credentials more than two years ago I asked the President if I could go around and meet ordinary people in different parts of the country and he said ‘Yes, of course’. That is why we are here … and we are going around with some colleagues and we are looking particularly today at the issue of violence," said Marchal.

He said violence was now "the most important issue" in Zimbabwe.

No official comment was immediately available from Zanu PF. But addressing a public meeting in Harare on Thursday, a Zanu PF official Chris Mutsvangwa said "violence among Zimbabweans would not help in any way and should be condemned".

Mutsvangwa called on both Zanu PF and the MDC to "create a climate of tolerance, not letting political differences to be antagonistic".

The former ambassador to China said although the MDC had most victims of violence, this was partly due to the party’s threats that it would engage in "some form of retribution" against top officials in the current regime.

Police spokesperson, Wayne Bvudzijena, was also not reachable.

US embassy spokesperson, Paul Engelstad, said the police "didn’t want us to see the brutality going on in the rural areas where there are people crying out for help".

ZESN Calls For 'Urgent Reforms' Before Run-off

By Vusumuzi Sifile

THE Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) on Friday said there was need for "urgent" electoral reforms before the run-off presidential election on 27 June.

Announcing what it said were minimum conditions for the holding of the election, Zesn said there were a number of "fundamentals" that needed to be addressed before an election is held.
Zesn chairperson, Noel Kututwa said the current environment was not conducive to the holding of a run-off election.

Among other handicaps, Kututwa cited how ill-prepared for the elections the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was.

"We are calling for conditions conducive for ensuring the run-off presidential election represents the expression of the will of the people," said Kututwa.

In the run-up to the 29 March elections, senior ZEC officials told The Standard on a number of occasions the commission was ready for all the processes involved in the election.
But Kututwa said in the run-up to 29 March, "ZEC had shown little by way of readiness". Last week, he said if the commission was ready then they should "demonstrate this preparedness by holding the election in accordance with the law".

He said ZEC had to be transparent in its tabulation, collation and verification process.
Zesn has called for an end to the ongoing political violence before the elections are held, and that "all victims of political violence have access to humanitarian and medical aid".
On complaints that Zanu PF had been using State machinery to gain an unfair advantage over other contestants, Zesn said, as in the run-up to 29 March, all contesting parties should be given equal access to the public media.

Recently, the government indicated that observers from "unfriendly countries", mostly in the European Union and the United States, would not be allowed to observe the elections.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) last week reported rising cases of political violence, torture and intimidation of medical personnel by state security agents and Zanu PF supporters.

It noted the few remaining staff at most government hospitals were overwhelmed and stressed as cases of political violence rose by the day.

The association said the health workers were treating up to 60 torture and violence victims every day and have become "emotionally traumatised and depressed".
It said doctors and nursing staff, mostly at rural hospitals, were working under conditions of severe stress and had reported intimidation from state security agents and war veterans, who seemed determined to prevent them from treating the injured.

The association said in some areas war veterans and Zanu PF supporters threatened ambulance staff and prevented them from treating the injured.

"We are concerned that many victims are not receiving treatment as health workers are threatened," said ZADHR chairman, Douglas Gwatidzo.

The UN’s Children’s Fund has openly condemned the violence, saying it was appalled that innocent children were among victims.

Security Fears StopTsvangirai Return

By Vusumuzi Sifile and Caiphas Chimhete

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday cancelled his return home after claims by his party it had uncovered a plot to assassinate him.

Tsvangirai was to have arrived yesterday afternoon and address a star rally at White City Stadium in Bulawayo today.

But his spokesperson, George Sibotshiwe, told Reuters yesterday of the assassination plot:
"We have received information from a credible source concerning a planned assassination attempt against President Tsvangirai. We are not in a position to say whether this threat concerns the actions of the State or a non-state actor.

"In light of this information, and on the strong recommendation of Mr Tsvangirai’s security advisor, it has been decided that the President will not return to Zimbabwe today."
He could not give details on the alleged assassination plot.

But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in Harare yesterday Tsvangirai was "behaving like a spoilt child by making such stupid claims".

"If there are plans to assassinate him, why didn’t he tell you who is involved?" said Chinamasa. "He must stop planning his own assassination. He is spreading falsehoods, for what purpose, we do not know."

Chinamasa, the Zanu PF elections spokesperson, would not say whether Tsvangirai’s safety would be guaranteed if he returned home.

"I am not Tsvangirai’s keeper. I have nothing to do with his movements. He thinks he is very important in the affairs of this country. He only does what the British tell him to do. One day he said he was not taking part in the election, and then changed (his mind) to say he is taking part.
"One day he says he is not returning to Zimbabwe, and now says he wants to come back."
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chairperson, Lovemore Madhuku said although he was not yet aware of the assassination plot, it was "very important for Tsvangirai to be around, whatever the risks".

"I strongly feel he should be around. That is what a political struggle is all about. In politics, there will always be all sorts of risks and assassination threats, and as a leader he has to take the risk and be with the people in the struggle," Madhuku said.

Sources in the MDC said Tsvangirai wanted to "extract guarantees" President Robert Mugabe would abide by the electoral conditions the opposition party is demanding before he returns.
The sources said Tsvangirai was delaying his return in a bid to push Sadc and the international community to put pressure on Mugabe to agree to conditions before the run-off to ensure a level electoral playing field.

"It all has to do with the conditions which the party presented to Sadc. There is no feedback yet," said one source.

The MDC leader has said he would only participate in the run-off if Mugabe stopped the violence; dismantled torture camps and reconstituted the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), now widely viewed as an extension of Zanu PF.

Tsvangirai is demanding the polling be observed by the African Union (AU), Sadc and United Nations.

The MDC conditions were presented to South African President Thabo Mbeki, the mediator in the country’s political crisis. Last week, Mbeki met Mugabe and told the 84-year-old leader to stop politically-motivated violence, which has reportedly claimed more than 30 lives, mostly of MDC supporters.

The postponement of the MDC leader’s return comes at a time when cases of political violence allegedly spearheaded by Zanu PF militias and war veterans are on the increase.
Last Friday Tsvangirai, then in Northern Ireland at the 55th Congress of Liberal International, said he would return home for the run-off next month, for the first time since 8 April.
Tsvangirai told BBC in Belfast: "I must return to Zimbabwe to be with our people and to lift them out of the darkness."

He denied he was in exile and urged Mugabe to peacefully accept the verdict of the second round vote.

"I did not run away. I am not in exile. It was for strategic reasons. We had to engage with all the African leaders about the crisis."

MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said all political rallies across the country, including the star rally scheduled for White City today would proceed.

On Friday, the High Court quashed a police ban on the White City rally.

The police had banned the rally citing what they said was a tense political environment in Bulawayo that made it too risky to hold public political meetings in the city.
The delay of Tsvangirai’s return came a day after Mugabe told a Zanu PF Central Committee meeting to gear itself for the presidential run-off on 27 June.

MDC officials said Tsvangirai’s fears had been worsened by his beating on 11 March 2007, and his treason trial which ended in 2004.

A few weeks before the 2002 Presidential election, Tsvangirai was accused, but later acquitted, of plotting to murder Mugabe with the assistance of a Canadian, Ari Ben-Menashe.
The State case was based on Tsvangirai’s use of the term "elimination", which prosecutors said meant he would defeat Mugabe in the election and remove him from government.

Diplomats Visit Torture Victims, Pledge Support

By Vusumuzi Sifile

THE ambassadors of five Western countries, the European Union and representatives of Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) on Friday toured the Avenues Clinic in Harare where 33 victims of alleged Zanu PF terror are detained.

They immediately called for an end to the "absolute brutality" by Zanu PF supporters and offered assistance to the hospital to cope with the ever-increasing number of casualties.

The envoys represented the US, Britain, Germany, Spain and Sweden. Sadc organ chairman Angola was also represented.

Although The Standard could not independently confirm their allegations, all the patients who spoke to the diplomats said they had been assaulted by Zanu PF supporters.

Speaking after the tour, US ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said the situation was "horrible".

"What I see here is absolute brutality. How can an 84-year-old woman be assaulted simply because her children are MDC supporters? This is absolute brutality and it should stop. Violence in Zimbabwe should stop. Whoever is perpetrating it has to stop. There is no reason for this violence," McGee said.

He said he would "take the issue up with the government".

The British ambassador, Andrew Pocock, said the plight of the victims was "very moving".

"Seeing it personally gives you an idea of the human impact and the scale of this (the violence.) This is being done by the government against its own people. It is being done for one single purpose — to keep this government in power," he said.

The Spanish ambassador, Santiago Martinez-Caro, said he was "shocked" by the experiences of the victims, while his Swedish counterpart, Sten Rylander, said he would explore ways of helping the affected.

Among the most serious cases were a three-year-old child, and a woman who could not remember her age, but was estimated to be 84 years old, basing on events she could recall. The woman had serious injuries to her back and buttocks after being hit with bricks because her children are MDC supporters.

Her assailants later burnt her hut.

Two of the victims, the envoys were told, died on Thursday night, while five were still in a critical condition.

Outlining her ordeal, the old woman said it was "miraculous" that she had survived.

"I know the people who attacked me. I even called one of them by name and asked him to finish me off, but then he ran away. He was holding a knife. They then burnt my hut and took my four goats and one ox," she told the diplomats.

Another of the patients, a former teacher from Uzumba who was an MDC polling agent, sustained two broken hands and a leg. He said his assailants tied him to a tree before assaulting him.

"They left me for dead in the middle of the night. I am told the village head said he would deal with whoever would transport me to the clinic," he said. The name of the village head was not given.

Avenues Clinic matron, Patricia Tavaziva said of late they were struggling to cope with the number of victims admitted to the hospital.

"It is not easy. . . We are being challenged because of the numbers. The Counselling Services Unit (CSU) has so far handled more than 800 cases," Tavaziva said.

A doctor at the institution said although they were struggling to cope with the patients, for them "the biggest challenge is those people in the rural areas who have not been able to come here".

Tavaziva said two of the victims had died the previous night.

"One of them had brain injuries. The other was severely injured on the buttocks. . . There are three others who are critical," she said.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment.

Also in The Standard on 11 May 2008

Police intensify crackdown on dissent

By Vusumuzi Sifile and Jennifer Dube

THE police last week descended on civil society and the media, arresting two journalists, two trade unionists, a human rights lawyer and three student leaders in what civil society organisations say is as an intensifying crackdown on dissenting voices.

On Thursday, the police arrested the editor of The Standard, Davison Maruziva for allegedly "publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the state and for contempt of court".

He appeared before a Harare magistrate on Friday after spending a night in filthy police cells, and was released on $10 billion bail. His trial is set for 23 May.

The State argues that being an editor Maruziva undermined public confidence by publishing an opinion article by MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara in the paper’s issue of 20-26 April.

In his article, Mutambara expressed concern shared by many Zimbabweans then, that of a delayed announcement of presidential election results.

He also bemoaned the irony of celebrating independence amid continued economic meltdown and escalating violence, among other ills bedevilling the country, observations which the State alleges are false.

Maruziva shared the cells with Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders, president Lovemore Matombo and secretary general Wellington Chibebe, who were also arrested on Thursday.

They were charged with "communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the state and inciting public violence". The allegations arose from speeches they made on May Day.

But the two remain in custody after their bail hearing was deferred to tomorrow. Their lawyer, Alec Muchadehama told The Standard that the State had indicated if the two were granted bail, it would be opposed.

Human rights lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, was arrested on Wednesday for "undermining the authority or insulting the president".

He was granted bail and will appear in court on 23 May. Nkomo is said to have told Harare prosecutor Michael Mugabe to tell "his father who has failed to run the country" to step down. The State says Nkomo insulted President Mugabe.

In his defence, Nkomo, represented by Beatrice Mtetwa, will argue that he did not insult the President since "he is not the biological father of the prosecutor".

He will say Michael Mugabe’s father is Donato, the late brother of the President.

Nkomo will also raise in his defence his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed in the Constitution. He will say his comments were fair in the circumstances.

Two Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU) leaders, Faith Mutepfa and Privilege Matizanadzo, were arrested in Chinhoyi on Wednesday for inciting public violence.

A third student, Lothando Sibanda, was arrested on Friday, while ZINASU spokesperson, Blessing Vava, was allegedly abducted by militias and was said to be still missing at the time of going to press.

Another student leader, Courage Ngwarai, is said to have been arrested on Friday at Great Zimbabwe University.

ZINASU president, Clever Bere said they had been warned against "making subversive statements inciting students to rise up against the regime".

"From what we have got so far, Blessing was taken by the war veterans and we are yet to establish what could have happened to him. We are now very much worried about his security, and also about the dangers now facing almost all of us in the ZINASU leadership," Bere said.

Reports said police in Rusape were cracking down on vendors. The Standard was told yesterday they were rounding up newspaper vendors, accusing them of littering the streets with the papers.

Zimbabwe Union of Journalists president Matthew Takaona condemned Maruziva’s arrest as "unwarranted, misplaced and vindictive".

"The action is an ongoing ploy by the police to harass and intimidate journalists from carrying out their duties", Takaona said.

An official from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the arrests were "typical behaviour by a regime that does not have respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms".

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said it would lead marches on Saturday in solidarity with their counterparts in Zimbabwe.

First published in The Standard on 11 May 2008.

Scribes call for more media freedom

By Vusumuzi Sifile

ZIMBABWEAN journalists yesterday gathered at various locations to commemorate World Press Freedom Day with the key issues being calls for the repeal of repressive media laws, radical media reforms and an end to the use of "inflammatory messages and hate language".

Although the Constitution provides for freedom of expression in Section 20, it was noted that the same constitution has over the years been amended to achieve specific ends that curtail this freedom.

In Harare, representatives of media organisations and civil society activists were unanimous that media freedom in Zimbabwe had been "crudely curtailed", particularly during the last decade. There was optimism that a new political dispensation would come up with "acceptable legal instruments" that prioritise media freedom.

Among the laws viewed as hostile to the media are the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), Interception of Communications Act, Broadcasting Services Act, Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Public Order and Security Act, and the Censorship and Control of Entertainment Act, among others.

Over the last seven years, the government has used AIPPA to clamp down on privately-owned newspapers and radio and TV stations, as well as independent local and foreign journalists.
Addressing the commemorations in Harare, newly-elected Buhera West legislator Advocate Eric Matinenga said although press freedom was provided for in the constitution, it was not being fully realised because of the way it is managed.

"It is not the constitution which is wrong … It is not a question of not having that provision (for freedom of expression) in the constitution," Matinenga said.

He said although the media laws had been amended in December last year, the amendments were not holistic, but "meant to achieve a specific end – the elections".
"We need acceptable legal instruments that do not perpetuate the big man syndrome. The constitution must be transparent, participatory and should give people the legal will. Our current constitution is not very bad."

In Masvingo, the Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Sten Rylander deplored the recent arrests of foreign journalists who were covering the elections in Zimbabwe.

"We strongly believe that the government should have allowed international journalists to come and witness the elections and give an accurate picture of the situation in the country," Rylander said.

Representatives of the Zimbabwe National Editors' Forum, Voluntary Media Council, National Constitutional Assembly, Zimbabwe National Students' Union, and the organisations that make up the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe issued solidarity statements. They all expressed displeasure with the State media’s "dishonesty and delusional thinking".

The United Nations set 3 May as World Press Freedom Day in 1993.

First published in The Standard on 4 May 2008

ZIMSEC may fail to hold June exams

By Vusumuzi Sifile

THE Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) has not started registration for the May/June Ordinary and Advanced Level public examinations, raising fears the exams will not take place at all.

This has been worsened by the ongoing post election violence, which has forced many teachers not to return to their schools.

ZIMSEC and Ministry of Education officials were last week reluctant to discuss the issue with The Standard.

In past years, the May/June examinations were held from the end of May to the beginning of June. Registration for the exams was normally in February and March, and by the time schools open for the second term, students would have received statements of entry.

But with three weeks before the exams begin, ZIMSEC is still to come with examination fees.

“In the past, around this time we would have received statements of entry, but this year, students have not even been registered. As it is now, there are no indications whatsoever that the examinations will take off in a few weeks time,” said a headmaster at a Harare school.

ZIMSEC spokesperson; Ezekiel Pasipamire was last week said to be out of office. But an official who refused to reveal his name confirmed “it’s still not clear whether the examinations will be held this year”.

“We have not yet come up with the examination fee schedule for this year. This does not mean that the exams have been cancelled. Once the fees have been confirmed, we will advise the different examination centres,” said the official.

Another official at the Public relations Department, after confirming they were “also not sure what is going to happen”, requested that questions be faxed. She had not responded at the time of going to press.

Since taking over the administration of exams from the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate over five years ago, ZIMSEC has been accused of compromising on some key examination standards.

On many occasions, there have been complaints from students that they received results for subjects they never set exams for. There have also been instances when students have not been given their certificates on time, jeopardising their plans to advance their careers.

The Secretary General of the militant Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Raymond Majongwe said even if ZIMSEC were to announce the new examination fees, there were no teachers at schools to administer the exams.

“Right now I am with scores of teachers who have been forced to flee from Guruve by marauding Zanu PF militias. There are no teachers at schools because of the current crisis. As a union, we are going to call for a national strike in solidarity with our colleagues who have been harassed,” said Majongwe.

Education permanent secretary, Stephen Mahere, was said to be in meetings when The Standard solicited his comment. Officials at his office referred questions to one Bora in the Quality Control department. Bora said: “I have just arrived today (Friday), I don’t know anything yet”.

First published in The Standard on 4 May 2008.