Friday, 27th November 2009

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated.

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Yesterday I wrote about Zimbabwe being offered a place back in the British Commonwealth within the next couple of years. Before anyone really has a chance to react to the idea, Mugabe's administration has shot the idea down in flames.

"Zimbabwe shot down a proposal to return to the Commonwealth on Thursday after a senior official declared: "We don’t want to be part of the Commonwealth."

President Robert Mugabe pulled his country out of the organisation - a club of former British colonies - in 2003 and has been a fierce critic of Britain ever since.

However, the new political coalition in Zimbabwe has helped pave the way for a possible early return.

Leaders of Commonwealth countries - including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown - will gather for their biennial meeting in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday. Discussions will take place that are expected to set a timetable for Zimbabwe to be re-admitted at the next summit in two years time.

Officials say the re-admission will be linked to a series of political reforms being implemented by the Zimbabwe government."

Obviously Mugabe wants nothing to do with the Commonwealth.

I must say that I am somewhat surprised at the alacrity of the rejection. Mugabe has said he wants to be 'friends' with the Queen again, and he has been pleading with the UK to release buckets loads of money to help rebuild Zimbabwe (which he rule has destroyed), but he draws the line at rejoining the club...

"But Didymus Mutasa, Zimbabwe’s Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and a senior figure in Mugabe’s ZANU PF party told New Zimbabwe.com: "We left the Commonwealth by choice. If we want to go back, it’s us who are supposed to tell them.

"Their offer is empty of any meaning, it has no meaning. We went out voluntarily, nothing has changed. We still don’t want to be part of the Commonwealth."

Mutasa said they were unconcerned that Zimbabwe’s neighbours have remained part of the organisation, declaring: "It’s not a problem that our friends are members of the Commonwealth.

"We don’t want to be bothered by the Commonwealth. We won’t go back because we don’t want to be bothered."

I wonder if the knee jerk reaction was anything to do with the comment in an article about this yesterday in which it was suggested that 'the Robert Mugabe show is almost over'?

"The Commonwealth is a mere club, but it has become like Animal Farm, where some members are more equal than others. How can [Tony] Blair claim to regulate and direct events and still say all of us are equals?" he said."

ZANU PF should try looking in the mirror.

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Oh, don't talk such unutterable rubbish! The one thing that ZANU PF and all its allied wings - which includes the ZRP, the CIO and the army - has is a failure to experience any fear. Using fear a an excuse for breaking protocol is just rubbish!

"A senior police officer has said police were forced to bypass crucial procedure during their search for weapons at arms dealer Peter Michael Hitschmann’s house because they feared the possibility of gunfire.

"The enemy was going to fire at us and the public was going to be injured My Lord," Superintendent Arnold Zorodzai Lungisani Dhliwayo told a Harare court on Wednesday.

Dhliwayo, a state witness in the trial of MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett, had been quizzed by defence lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa why police failed to prepare a "contemporaneous" inventory of arms recovered at Hitschmann’s house.

"We were at the scene of a very serious case which involved terrorism and the security of the state," said Dhliwayo, who claimed he was also a soldier. "The enemy could attack us any time. We could not spend two hours at the scene."

First of all, the witness should define "enemy" and then should produce substantiation that the "enemy" were about to fire upon the people at the house. Just saying that there was an "enemy" and suggesting that they were about to fire upon them holds no water whatsoever.

"Dhliwayo, the investigating officer in Hitschmann’s case, said soon after recovering the weapons from Hitschmann’s house on March 6, 2006, they rushed for the safety of Mutare’s Adams Army Barracks where they completed the inventory.

During the trial, an evasive Dhliwayo insisted evidence gathered against Hitschmann was "overwhelming" although he failed to justify how Hitschmann, who is said to have connived with Bennett to purchase arms for purposes of banditry and insurgency, was later acquitted of the same charges.

He further said police could not go to Hitschmann’s house, the scene of the alleged crime, on their own as they feared the explosives which were part of the arsenal could explode without the advice of any bomb disposal expert."

The manner in which the 'evidence' is presented by Dhliwayo would probably suit a film script, but in real life, I think he has overstepped his remit.

Being able to testify in court with an air of drama is one thing - but substantiating the testimony is another thing entirely.

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I am willing to bet that the warrant of arrest is cancelled before anyone has a chance to execute the order - or that Mugabe will give instructions to the police not to act on the order.

Co-Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi, will probably also enter the fray making comments about Mutsekwa working hard to destabilise ZANU PF.

Let's see...

"A warrant of arrest for the fugitive Joseph Mwale, the reclusive CIO operative accused of masterminding the gruesome murder of MDC activists in Buhera during the run-up to the 2000 parliamentary election has been issued.

Co-Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa said: "We have directed that all people with criminal cases should be arrested, Joseph Mwale included."

He said he was confident Mwale’s freedom will now come to an end and he will, at long last, face justice. The fugitive CIO is believed to be hiding in Nyanga.

Mwale has eluded justice despite a High Court order to have him arrested and charged with the gruesome murder in broad daylight of MDC activists, Tichaona Chiminya and Talent Mabika at Murambinda Growth Point in 2000.

Chiminya, then an aide to Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader and Mabika, a youth activist, were petrol-bombed in their vehicle while campaigning for the party ahead of the 2000 parliamentary elections."

It boggles the mind that ZANU PF have ignored a warrant of arrest from High Court for Mwale's arrest - and, I am sure, they have assisted in the hiding of the fugitive.

The ZANU PF reaction to the new warrant of arrest will be nothing less than dismissive and I don't see Mwale being dragged into a court of law any time soon.

"Mwale and three ZANU PF activists, including one Kainos Kitsiyatota Zimunya, were immediately identified as the perpetrators of the brutal attack that shocked Zimbabwe. They have, however, remained out of custody on bail and the case has never proceeded.

Mwale, a CIO operative who is the alleged mastermind of the murders, has remained virtually untouched and appears to enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution.

Mwale’s whereabouts have also remained a closely guarded secret although Mutsekwa said he was believed to be staying in Nyanga. Early this year Mutsekwa, the MP for Dangamvura and Chikanga, said Mwale’s "honeymoon should now come to an end"."

And it is attempts like this to secure justice for the families of the dead men that ZANU PF continues to fight. It is amazing that ZANU PF lost the general election last year, but continue to rule the roost in Zimbabwe. But when it comes to Robert Mugabe, do we really expect anything less?

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The arrival of a South African mediation team in Harare has now been delayed until Sunday.

Another week has ticked by with no action against Mugabe's continued grasp on power - and it is apparent that not only will he fight to hang on to whatever power he can, but that the nee mediator, South African president, Jacob Zuma, is not particularly concerned at just how long the resolution of the crisis will take.

"A South African mediation team that was expected in Harare on Friday to give a push to talks on settling issues troubling the power-sharing Zimbabwean government will now arrive on Sunday, sources in Pretoria said Thursday.

They said negotiators for President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party, the Movement for Democratic Change of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and a rival MDC formation led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara wanted more time to focus on the agenda of vexed questions including the swearing-in of provincial governors promised the MDC and the tenure of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, both Mugabe stalwarts.

But Pretoria sources told VOA that President Jacob Zuma has become exasperated by continued delays in Harare and wants the parties to meet a December 5 deadline for resolution of the so-called outstanding issues set by the Southern African Development Community in early November."

Zuma is 'exasperated'? I don't think so!

Just like his predecessor, Zuma is obviously unsure of how to attend to the crisis - and, as I have written so many times in the past, Mugabe is the master when it comes to time-wasting.

They are looking to resolve problems that arise from the election which ZANU PF lost almost 2 years ago. What is it that is so hard about allowing the MDC to take their elected place in government? Why should they negotiate with the losers of the election and fight for the position in government which is theirs through the will of the people?

"Despite the signals of impatience in Pretoria, negotiators for members of the tripartite government took a break Thursday so Finance Minister Tendai Biti, lead negotiator for the Tsvangirai MDC formation, could wrap up his 2010 budget.

The negotiations will pick up on Saturday.

Political analyst Charles Mangongera told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that Zuma’s no-nonsense approach is likely to produce results."

I am not holding my breath as this feels very similar to the Mbeki announcement that a 'breakthrough' was expected - and nothing happened.

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With a huge crisis in Zimbabwe that has the potential to spoil the world cup footbal tournament next year, why was it necessary for the cup to travel through Harare - and why was it given to Mugabe?

"President Mugabe of Zimbabwe clutched the 6.5kg solid gold Fifa World Cup in his hands last night as the roadshow rolled into Harare. The cup is touring Africa before the continent’s first World Cup finals next year.

Mr Mugabe said that it symbolised the return of plundered wealth which should be retained by African victory in South Africa. Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the tournament."

In typical Mugabe style, he used the presence of the cup to have a go at the free world. What in earth were they thinking about, and what on earth did Mugabe think he might achieve by making such an outlandish statement?

Why did the cup even get to be held in Mugabe's thieving hands?

I know he has not got that many friends, but his making a comment like that just added to the list of detractors...

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Take care.

'debvhu

Thursday, 26th November 2009

Howzit

This page continues to focus on the sham trial of Roy Bennett on charges of banditry, terrorism and related firearms offences.

"The trial of Roy Bennett, the MDC senior official accused of trying to overthrow the Mugabe regime, continued on Wednesday with the cross examination of another state witness, Superintendent Arnold Zorodzai Dhliwayo. Journalists covering the terrorism case of the MDC’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate say the statements made by the state witnesses expose even more holes in this controversial trial.

Bennett is accused of conspiring with Peter Michael Hitschmann, a registered firearms dealer, to acquire weapons to 'eliminate' government officials.

SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa said that just like the first State witness, Dhliwayo’s testimony was full of inconsistencies and contradictions. The first State witness was lead police investigator Chief Superintendent James Makone, who told the court that Dhliwayo had recorded all the weapons found at Hitschmann’s house.

But Muchemwa said Dhliwayo contradicted Makone’s testimony, saying he only noted about half the weapons, as anything that might explode was left in the hands of military experts. This showed that the 'firearms' could have been tampered with by the military, who took over the investigations at an army barracks in Mutare when Hitschmann was arrested in 2006.

Muchemwa said most of the evidence Dhliwayo gave created laughter in the court as he contradicted statements made by the previous witness. He was also constantly caught off guard and seemed unable to answer any of the questions properly. Observers say there was often a clear indication that he may have been coached to lie, on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office."

It seems almost unreal that the sitting judge should allow the case to continue, but under the laws of Zimbabwe, the case must proceed - regardless of what is uncovered or proved by the trial.

As each day goes by, it becomes more and more apparent that the case is dodgy to say the least.

And the Attorney-General, a man who's unilateral appointment by Mugabe is one of the contentious issues within the power-sharing government, has been proved to be incapable of presenting a case, although the show piece is perhaps the worst example of all.

"Bennett himself told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the trial was an absolute 'farce and a joke'. He also said it would appear the State was using delaying tactics to prolong the duration of the trial. He said he also feared the trial could take several months, in spite of the fact that the State has so far failed to link him in any way to a plot to overthrow Robert Mugabe."

I am a little surprised that SW Radio Africa were able to interview Bennett during the trail. as this may seem prejudicial - but interview him they have, and the State's case is rapidly falling to pieces.

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"Michael Peter Hitschmann, one of the witnesses lined up to testify against MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett - facing terror-related charges - disowned his statements on several occasions after realising that he was facing more serious charges, the High Court heard yesterday.

Hitschmann, who has since served for 40 months for possession of firearms without a licence, allegedly implicated Bennett in the case.

Under cross-examination by lead defence counsel, Ms Beatrice Mtetwa, detective Superintendent Arnold Dhliwayo, said Hitschmann was earlier charged with lesser offences but changed his mind after realising that more serious charges were being preferred against him.

"Hitschmann only changed his story after noticing that he was being charged with more serious offences. The charges he was then facing attracted life imprisonment and death sentence," said Supt Dhliwayo."

I am a little staggered that the State case relies on tying Hitschmann to the 'confession' and the 'payment' and even though the State is unable to prove either, the case continues. Given that the case has garnered such interest, the sitting judge has no choice but to allow the case to run its course.

"Supt Dhliwayo, however, confirmed that the e-mails now being relied upon by the prosecution in the case were never used in Hitschmann’s trial.

"Yes, they were not used because they were not relevant to that case. We already had overwhelming evidence against Hitschmann and there was no need for producing the e-mails," he said.

In winding up her cross-examination, Ms Mtetwa suggested to the witness that police charged Bennett without using any of Hitschmann’s statements in an attempt calculated at deliberately falsifying the summary of facts in the case. She further told the court that the State should have indicated in the summary of evidence that Hitschmann once wrote and disowned several statements.

She also argued that the history of the recovered laptops was never stated in the police investigation diary logbook."

The Herald reporter should learn that the word is 'tampered', not 'tempered' when it comes to discussing the history of email on Hitschmann's laptop.

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Regardless of whether a visiting foreign judge is present or not, the trial of Roy Bennett will continue. And even if the sitting judge's remit is exceeded, the visiting judge is just an observer, nothing more.

"South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Azhar Cachalia is visiting Zimbabwe to observe the ongoing trial of Deputy Agriculture Minister Designate Roy Bennett, who is charged with plotting acts of terrorism in the country.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which is an international non-governmental organisation comprising sixty of the world’s most eminent jurists dedicated to the primacy, coherence and implementation of international law and principles that advance human rights, said Justice Cachalia observation of the trial will assist the ICJ to evaluate the fairness of the trial of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s top aide.

"Justice Cachalia’s experience will therefore be invaluable in assisting the ICJ to come to a conclusion on the fairness or otherwise of the Bennett trial process," said Martin Masiga, the senior legal adviser at the ICJ Africa Programme."

It must be noted that Cachilia's report will only be completed well after the completion of the trial - and will probably never be made public - so the whole thing will be an exercise in futility.

"The trial of Roy Bennett is significant as Zimbabwe goes through its transitional phase because serious allegations of executive use or misuse of the justice system to persecute legitimate opposition to it have been made," said Masiga.

The ICJ said the question as to whether the trial of Roy Bennett is in good faith at all or is politically motivated continues to overshadow his trial.

"The handling of what to charge Bennett with and the failure to explain the multiple changes in charges against him raised suspicion. The issuing of summons and/or arrest of some the lawyers defending Roy Bennett and his potential witnesses deepened the suspicions," the ICJ said."

The sad truth is that Mugabe will ignore any report - unless the report backs him and his zealots...

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I do note that the announcement was made by Zimbabwean authorities - not a word from British Airways... yet.

"A senior aviation official in Zimbabwe said Wednesday that British Airways would start flights to the country next year, two years after abandoning the route on viability grounds.

Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer David Chaota said the airline had agreed to resume flights to Zimbabwe between March and April next year after negotiations.

British Airways pulled out of Zimbabwe two years ago, citing viability problems, but observers suspected it had been pressured by London, which opposed President Robert Mugabe's government, to withdraw."

First of all, there was no fuel, and up until last year at least, Air Zimbabwe flights to Gatwick were having to stop en route at Lusaka to take on fuel.

I also wonder if the runways at Harare International have been maintained...

"British Airways will be coming back next year between March and April, and that is why we have hope (of more tourists) in 2010. The coming back of BA may also bring in other airlines."

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An article like this is perhaps a bit premature - primarily because even if Mugabe was no longer at the head of Zimbabwean politics, who would be? Another ZANU PF populist?

"Zimbabwe could be readmitted to the Commonwealth in two years if its unity government carries out a wide range range of reforms, and with the Robert Mugabe show coming to an end,

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to raise the possibility at a summit in Trinidad this weekend, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

"We want this offer to be on the table to encourage more progress," one diplomat told The Times. "There has been some, but on the human rights front things are grim."

A special Commonwealth committee has been looking at ways of returning the country to the Commonwealth so that it can use its professional networks to assist aid, reconstruction and humanitarian efforts."

I do believe that the intentions are honest, although I am a little stunned at the timing...

"Observers say indications from Harare suggest the government would welcome a return to the Commonwealth if the chance arose.

The South African Development Community set a 30-day deadline last month for Zimbabwe's president and prime minister to make progress in resolving their differences."

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Take care.

'debvhu

Wednesday, 25th November 2009

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated

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Now - this is important. From Tuesday through Friday next week I will only be posting as and when I can. The reason for this is that I will be on an SIA course which hopefully will result in me being 'security badged' which should, in turn, allow me to seek employment within the security sector.

I will endeavour to keep this page going in the four day period, but I am making no promises!

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Regular readers of this page will know of my support of WOZA - and it isn't every day that they are recognised for their efforts - let alone by the President of the USA.

"US President Barack Obama on Monday honored one of the co-founders of the Zimbabwean human rights group Women of Zimbabwe Arise and the group itself, presenting the Robert F Kennedy human rights award to Magodonga Mahlangu and WOZA in a ceremony at the White House.

In his remarks Mr. Obama also took a swipe at President Robert Mugabe, referring to him as a "dictator" though not singling him out by name.

Mr Obama praised WOZA's fight for social justice in Zimbabwe, noting that Mahlangu and co-founder Jenni Williams are due back in court in Zimbabwe on Dec. 7, charged with "conduct likely to cause a breach of peace" and if convicted could face a prison sentence of five years.

"By her example Magodonga has shown the women of WOZA and the people of Zimbabwe that they can undermine their oppressor's power with their own power, that they can sap a dictator's strength with their own," Obama said.

"Magodonga and WOZA have given so many of their fellow citizens of Zimbabwe that voice, and tonight we express our gratitude for their work," the president said in presenting the JFK Human Rights Award."

I did smile when the President came out with his version of the word "Gukurahundi" - it passed muster even though it was incorrect, as it is not a language that he grew up with.

I am immensely proud of Magodonga and Jenni... and all of the members of WOZA and MOZA.

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I am sure that when people read this article yesterday, that blood ran cold - but I do believe that this was a genuine 'technical fault' - nothing more.

"A SA Airlink plane, carrying Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday, was forced to turn back to Johannesburg after experiencing a technical fault on its way to Harare.

Officials in the prime minister’s office said the plane had just entered Zimbabwean air space when the fault was detected.

Tsvangirai touched down safely in Johannesburg shortly after 8am and caught a later plane."

Given that Tsvangirai has been a target for Mugabe's various wings for a number of years, I am sure that there will be a number of people asking telling questions, but I do not see an entire aircraft full of innocent people being brought down just to hopefully take out one individual...

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This is typical Mugabe... When his wife attacked a photographer in Hong Kong, somehow she qualified for 'diplomatic immunity' - there is nothing 'diplomatic' about an assault.

These two bodyguards could be prosecuted, but they are already back in Zimbabwe - and we would be naive in thinking that Mugabe may surrender them for prosecution...

"Two bodyguards protecting Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's student daughter in Hong Kong could be prosecuted for working in the city on tourise visas, officials confirmed on Monday.

The two bodyguards were found to be working on tourist visas after they allegedly roughed up two photographers in June outside Bona Mugabe's Hong Kong home.

They were spared prosecution because the Department of Justice ruled that they were acting out of concern for the safety of Bona Mugabe, who studies in Hong Kong.

However, after an investigation into their visa status, the Department of Justice confirmed on Monday that there is a case for the two bodyguards to answer. Working illegally in Hong Kong carries a jail term of up to two years."

Mugabe takes as many shortcuts as possible to avoid any added expense - and whilst he will shield the two from prosecution, he must also be aware of the damage that a case such as this will cause in diplomatic circles.

"Police have been advised to formally interview Mapfumo Marks and his female colleague Manyaira Reliance.

However, the pair are unlikely to face prosecution as they returned to Zimbabwe and have since been replaced by other bodyguards.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on Monday on whether any action was being contemplated against the Mugabe family."

Forget it. The Hong Kong authorities will just have to take the hit, but will be a little more aware of just how Mugabe and his henchmen treat foreign laws. And for guidance, all we have to do is to look at how they treat their own laws in Zimbabwe!

"Marks and Pepukai were reported to police on February 13 after allegedly roughing up two photographers, Timothy O'Rourke and Colin Galloway, outside the Mugabe's luxury house.

The fracas came just a month after another photographer, Richard Jones, was allegedly beaten up by Grace Mugabe, wife of Robert Mugabe, when he took pictures of her shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui at a time when Zimbabwe was mired in political and social chaos.

Grace Mugabe claimed diplomatic immunity over the incident and has since returned to visit her daughter.

Critics have accused the Hong Kong government of failing to apply the law fairly in the case of the Mugabes for fear of upsetting Beijing, which has a warm relationship with Zimbabwe."

This is the attitude that I question. Why is it that the Mugabe family can literally get away with murder? Why?

"No action was taken over the visa status of the two bodyguards at the time of the incident, even though investigating officers took copies of their passports which contained three-month visitor visas.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said of the investigation into the bodyguards' visa status: "Advice has been given to the police. Their investigation cannot be completed as the Zimbabweans have left Hong Kong.

"In the event that they return to Hong Kong, the police will seek to interview them and to complete their investigation."

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And talking of immunity, it would appear that Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has been offered a limited immunity and a safe exit strategy. But, and it is a big but, Mugabe will not allow him to just walk away.

Mugabe needs him - and, in the event of Gono vacating his post, he has the potential to bring Mugabe's house of cards crashing down around his ears.

"The partial immunity from prosecution granted to the Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono through amendments to the Reserve Bank Reform Bill "is a safe exit strategy" for a man under immense pressure to throw in the towel, political analysts said last week.

Parliament passed the Bill after it was amended to include a clause that gives partial immunity to Gono or any employee of the bank "for anything done in good faith and without negligence under the powers conferred by this Act".

Earlier in the week, ZANU PF MPs had threatened to block the Bill because they felt it was "targeted at an individual rather than an office"."

Gono is responsible for a little more than doing anything done in 'good faith' and could and should be held accountable for his actions. I ask who would be the one to make the decision as to what deeds were in 'good faith'?

"But the analysts said by agreeing to a clause that gives immunity to Gono, ZANU PF had, in a way, endorsed calls for the central bank chief to make way for fresh ideas.

They said ZANU PF can no longer bear with the pressure from both MDC and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the resolution of the outstanding issues to the power-sharing agreement with the MDC factions.

The MDC-T has been pushing for the removal of Gono from the RBZ accusing him of destroying the economy through quasi-fiscal policies and recklessly funding ZANU PF programmes."

Whoever has to make the decision would have to be aware that theft is theft, no matter how prettily it is decorated.

This is an attempt by ZANU PF to protect one of their own - a man who has now been sucked into the political sphere insofar as he is now the secretary for finance in the ZANU PF Manicaland Province.

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"MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett has described his terrorism trial, which began two weeks ago, an ‘absolute farce’ and ‘a joke.’ The MDC official, who has not been sworn into government as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture because Robert Mugabe is refusing to swear him in, said he is frustrated with the slow pace the trial is taking.

He told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the time spent in court is very little: "We have not even done a full three hours in court yet. If the court is supposed to start at 10 o’clock, we are only starting, most days, after 11am, having arrived there at 10 am and sitting a full hour waiting for the judge to come in… the whole thing is just a joke."

Last week the judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu, refused to recuse himself from the case after Bennett’s lawyers requested that he hand the trial over to another judge. The High Court judge had in 2006 handled the Peter Hitschmann trial which the defence team said showed he might be ‘prejudicial’ to Bennett. But he refused, saying the cases of Hitschmann and Bennett ‘were separate.’

Bennett said because of the slow pace the trial is likely to drag on for some months. He said so far only two state witnesses have testified and have failed to show a case against him. The first witness was Chief Superintendent James Makone who told the High Court on Monday that, despite the case going to trial, investigations against the MDC official had not been completed."

The pace of the trial is slow - but at least it is underway. It has taken forever to get to this point, and then the first State witness suggests that investigations are not yet complete!

Each day that the trial is drawn out, the more secure Mugabe feels.

As Roy Bennett says, he is everything that Mugabe hates - and he would like nothing more than to have Bennett at the end of a noose.

"The lead investigating officer also said, they had found evidence showing that Bennett had paid Hitschmann $5000 to acquire weapons to eliminate government officials, and the money was allegedly deposited in Hitschmann’s account in Mozambique. But the State witness failed to link the MDC official to the money deposited into Hitschmann’s account. Hitschmann is a registered firearms dealer.

Bennett said he found it bizarre that the case is nearly three and a half years old but the investigations are not finished. "Why go to trial if the investigations are not completed?"

He added: "And the second witness was a CIO operative from the President’s Office, and basically I don’t know why they called him because he had absolutely nothing to say."

"The whole thing is an absolute farce and there is absolutely nothing linking me to anything that has happened. Everything is going along on basically what happened to Peter Hitschmann, and based on the arms that were found in Hitschmann’s house - a case which was thrown out of court completely." These are the same charges that Bennett is charged with, and he says the state has failed to link him to Hitschmann."

The farce continues...

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Take care.

'debvhu

Tuesday, 24th November 2009

Howzit

Not long after lunch today I will be catching a bus into town, and then a second one to Royal Derby Hospital where I will visit the Pulvertaft Hand Unit and see the hand specialist. I will be taking with me my brown leather orthotic brace as I am praying that he will allow me to move from the white thermoplastic brace.

It is just over eleven months since the operation that started this latest episode which has seen me spend weeks in hospital and have some half dozen surgical procedures. The infection that began the whole thing is no one's fault as it does happen.

I just want to start to get on with my life.

-o00o-

If the investigations into the alleged crimes by Roy Bennett were not complete, then the State had no business referring the case for trial. And I do believe that the correct route forward is for the case to proceed without that information and seen through to the end.

If the policeman has spoken out of line, then let the system deal with his discipline.

"The investigating officer in Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) treasurer general Roy Bennett’s terrorism trial stunned a Harare court Monday when he said he was yet to conclude investigations in the trial of the deputy agriculture minister designate.

Chief Superintendent Sipho James Makone told the court while testifying in Bennett’s trial he was yet to obtain relevant documentation which reveals Peter Micheal Hitchmann’s Mozambican account, which the state says was used by Bennett to deposit cash to purchase arms.

Hitschmann, who is alleged to be an accomplice to Bennett, is also the key witness in Bennett’s trial.

Makone, the first state witness among 13 witnesses lined up to give evidence, said he did not find a need during the trial of Hitschmann to produce documentation that confirmed the details of the account."

If Makone 'did not find the need' and chose not to produce the exhibit - which it turns out the police do not have - then he has missed the boat. Courts have a method - tried and tested (excuse the pun) - and this cannot be changed to suit ZANU PF.

Without producing the back account, yet speaking about it, the State leaves an air of suspicion in the court.

"The court has already barred any evidence brought by the police which was purportedly extracted through confessions by Hitschmann during investigations. Hitschmann was absolved of any possession of dangerous weapons although he served a two and a half year jail term for possessing unlicenced weapons.

The defence, led by Beatrice Mtetwa said: "How can they bring a case to a trial when they have not completed their investigations?"

"How is Bennett supposed to respond to what they say they had not established through their investigations. What if they discover that they are trying him is based on what is not real? This is inadmissible evidence that we are saying should be struck out. The said amounts deposited in Hitschmann’s account on 13 February 2006 has not yet been supported in any way by the evidence."

We wait for some sort of ruling, although I do believe that the process is pretty straight forward. The suggestion of an account should be struck off.

-o00o-

So as not to dilute the poignancy of this article, I have reproduced it in its entirety...

"One man stands at the heart of a power struggle for the future of Zimbabwe. His name is Roy Bennett, and he is literally fighting for his life. The white former landowner and member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is standing trial for trumped-up terrorism and treason charges - proceedings that began Nov. 9. Zimbabwe's attorney general, Johannes Tomana, is leading the prosecution himself.

How this plain-spoken, sturdily built, third-generation Zimbabwean ended up on trial has much to do with his position as a practitioner in the country's most politically controversial industry: agriculture. Bennett was a coffee farmer, running one of Zimbabwe's many prosperous outfits until President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF Party government confiscated the land in 2003. The seizure was part of Mugabe's larger "land reform" scheme, officially intended to give land back to the black Africans deprived of it during colonization. In reality, the campaign resembled more closely what the country's own minister of justice, Patrick Chinamasa, called it - a kind of punishment for white farmers' forefathers being "thieves" and "murderers."

But it wasn't only Bennett's farm that landed him in his current predicament. Bennett was a parliamentarian and a key player in the MDC, which he joined in 1999. Being in the opposition made Bennett unpopular from the start, but things became worse after the land seizure, and especially after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's chose him for deputy minister of agriculture in the power-sharing government that took shape in the spring of 2009. Mugabe refused to swear Bennett in to his post, citing Bennett's ongoing trial - a refusal that featured high on the list of grievances that inspired Tsvangirai to boycott the power-sharing government in October. The prime minister has since returned to negotiations, with a looming deadline in early December to sort out disagreements with Mugabe.

Attorney General Tomoma (appointed by Mugabe) is accusing Bennett of providing $5,000 to purchase weapons in a conspiracy to overthrow the president. The defense says that the key witness, a former, legal arms dealer named Peter Michael Hitschmann, tried in 2006 on the same charges, was tortured into implicating Bennett. (Hitschmann was writing an affidavit claiming he had no reason to implicate Bennett in October, but the lawyer helping him was arrested and later released on bail.) If found guilty, Bennett faces life in prison or the death penalty.

With December looking ever closer and the coalition government dangerously near collapse, the conclusion of this trial will serve as a litmus test. At stake is whether the MDC and its supporters can work with ZANU-PF and its founder, Mugabe, a man who has proudly compared himself to Adolf Hitler. Bennett, for one, is confident that Mugabe's reign of terror will end, though not necessarily anytime soon. Speaking to journalist Laura Wells, Bennett explains why Mugabe is a racist, why Tsvangirai's wife may well have been killed thanks to foul play, and why, nonetheless, the opposition keeps fighting.

Foreign Policy: When Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai left the power-sharing agreement with Mugabe last month, he cited the government's treatment of you as one of his reasons for leaving. He has recently returned to the government and you are still on trial. Can Tsvangirai help you?

Roy Bennett: No, I don't think he can at all. Mugabe is still fully in control. [His party,] ZANU-PF, is still fully in control. The MDC has pulled out of that government to show that, unless we were taken seriously within the cabinet and there was definite power-sharing, we would no longer be part of that government or part of any dealings with ZANU PF. I am one of those outstanding issues; I need to be sworn in [as deputy minister of agriculture.]

FP: What do you think will happen to the current power-sharing agreement?

RB: You can't have an agreement where one side is doing what you've agreed to and the other side is totally intransigent, totally unreliable, and totally deceitful. Unless the sincerity and the proper [political] will to make this work come from above in ZANU-PF, [that is, from Mugabe] this thing will never move forward or succeed. It will all fall apart.

FP: Do you ever expect to be sworn in as deputy minister of agriculture?

RB: No, definitely not. I am everything he [Mugabe] hates, and I think it is a very big thorn in his side that I could be sworn in the agricultural portfolio, where I could expose a lot of the corruption, rampant corruption, theft, and bad policies that are taking place there.

FP: As a part of Mugabe's "land reform," the government has confiscated many, mostly white, landowners' property, including yours. In a 2004 session of Parliament, Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa justified land reform on the basis that your forefathers were "murderers" and "thieves." How does this happen?

RB: [Mugabe] has used the land and the race [issues] as a front to destroy opposition figures, to intimidate opposition figures, and to destroy an opposition constituency. You take my farm, for instance, and where I was. I was a senior leader within the Movement for Democratic Change. I had a farm that was under the Zimbabwean Investment Center, which gave it special protection, because I had an external partner through the export processing zone. One Easter, in 2004, when my wife and I were with friends on holiday in Mozambique, [Mugabe] moved the military in and took over my farm. I've never set foot back there. They took everything I own - even my clothes, my children's clothes. Since then, I've been in prison on three occasions; I've been arrested on more than 11 occasions. I've had my home searched for arms of war more than 15 times. I've had my workers killed. I've had my workers' daughters and wives raped.

FP: You have spoken about racism against whites within the current government. How deep-seated is it?

RB: The current government, especially under ZANU-PF, is full of hate. We [whites] don't see ourselves as whites; we see ourselves as Zimbabweans, and fortunately, the majority of people in Zimbabwe see it the same way. It's a small echelon of the ruling ZANU-PF and Robert Mugabe. But he, himself personally, is an avid, avid racist.

FP: You are now on trial for terrorism and treason. What evidence do they have?

RB: They have absolutely no evidence whatsoever. The whole issue is premised on the arrest of one Hitschmann in 2006, along with 12 other people. He was charged with exactly the same charges I'm being charged with, and so were the other 12. It was established in court that the warn and caution statement [a signed statement made under police interrogation] that he had given had been obtained under duress. It had also been proven under doctors' reports that he had been tortured. So that warn and caution statement was thrown out of the courts. All the terrorism and treason charges were dropped. They were dropped against all 12 of them. Hitschmann was then charged under a completely different offence. In his trial, I was never mentioned. And since then, he has contacted his own advocate and given an affidavit to say that he had absolutely nothing to say against me or to involve me in the proceedings of what I am being accused of.

FP: The current administration has put you in jail off and on during the past year, even against high courts' and the Supreme Court's rulings. How can they do that?

RB: There is no rule of law in Zimbabwe; there's selective application of the rule of law. Patrick Chinamasa, who is the minister of justice, destroyed the independent judiciary. When he was sworn in as the minister of justice, [he] interfered with the judges, forced them to resign and leave - any independent judges, replaced the judges with political appointees who he gave farms for patronage to make sure they would remain loyal and have the rulings that he wanted. And you can see even with my case, his interference is there the whole time.

FP: If the current President and his political allies have not treated you fairly before, how can you receive justice this time around?

RB: There will be no justice. You know, I don't know how they are going to do it. When Hitschmann gets into the stand and completely denies everything, and makes him [Attorney General Johannes Tomana] look stupid, I don't know what they are going to do or what their next move is. I honestly believe, in my case, that they are using me. I am very sure they will sentence me. And once they have gone ahead and sentenced me, they will go back to negotiate with my party to have an amnesty in order that their people that have done the murders and the killings during the last elections, when over 200 MDC people were killed, their eyes gauged out, their throats cut, killed in the most brutal manner. The perpetrators are known, and those perpetrators were instructed by Robert Mugabe himself to carry out those actions. I honestly believe that's what this whole thing is about, is to use me as a bargaining point for amnesty in order that those people will say, "He's on death row. Now he's going to hang, unless you agree to amnesty, across-the-board amnesty."

FP: You are potentially facing a death sentence or life in prison. How are you feeling about your trial?

RB: You know, when you enter into a struggle, and you genuinely believe in what you are doing, and you live under injustice, and you live under a regime that is dictatorial and oppresses people, there have to be sacrifices. I have a constituency that has placed me where I am. I have entered into this foray of my own will. And if I have to sacrifice by going to prison or whatever that exposes and shows this regime for what it is, so be it.

FP: You have said you'd be willing to die if that's what Mugabe and and his ZANU-PF want. Do you think it will have to come to that?

RB: It could easily come to that. You're dealing with total, total thugs and mafia-type people. They don't care. Right now it's the looting of the Marange diamonds. It's Robert Mugabe's wife together with [Reserve Bank Governor] Gideon Gono that are taking the gold, the diamonds - it's all about money. There is a company that has the claim to those rights. The high courts of Zimbabwe have ruled that that company can run that mine, yet the government has taken the mines in partnership with a South African company. They are illegally mining diamonds on somebody else's claim. The whole thing is so rotten, it's disgusting.

FP: Prime Minister Tsvangirai has seen many attempts on his life, suffered torture during multiple jail sentences under weak charges at best. He has lost his wife in a suspicious car accident in which he was also injured. Though he nominally has more power than President Mugabe, do you think Mugabe will defeat Tsvangirai?

RB: Definitely not. Mugabe and ZANU-PF's days are over. It's a process, and it's a matter of time for them to go. And it depends on how brutal they become and how willing they are to take Zimbabwe to the brink. But definitely, they will go. There is absolutely no doubt that Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF have lost the popular support of the people of Zimbabwe. And the more they become intransigent, the more they become vicious and try to repress people, the more it turns people against them and the less chance they have of ever holding onto power. They are just making it harder and harder for themselves while being intransigent and trying to force the fact that they must remain in power.

FP: Speaking of Tsvangirai's deceased wife, Susan, how do the investigations stand, and do you believe foul play was involved?

RB: I, personally, definitely believe that foul play was involved. There is no doubt about it in my mind. But, again, you know, that just shows the greatness of a man like Morgan Tsvangirai. The people in the country of Zimbabwe come first. He knows full well what happened to his wife. But it makes us closer together as colleagues and makes you more determined.

FP: Do you think Mugabe will ever be brought to justice?

RB: I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, hope so. Because one evil, evil man has destroyed a beautiful country that was the jewel of Africa. He's destroyed it; [there are] millions of people in abject poverty and suffering, and it's through his doing. So, at some stage, he's accountable for that."

-o00o-

Yesterday we read that Zuma was considering speeding up his intended visit to Zimbabwe - now we read that he has postponed the trip!

This is the big problem in Africa right now. There is no urgency, no desire to resolve issues in good time. The saying, "There's no hurry in Africa!" rings very true this morning...

"South African President Jacob Zuma has postponed his visit to assess Zimbabwe's troubled power sharing agreement after the feuding parties missed a deadline to kick-start negotiations but his advisors have expressed impatience over delays.

Regional leaders at a summit in Maputo Mozambique on November 5 gave President Robert Mugabe and his coalition partners 15 to 30 days to sort out their differences.

But the 15 day deadline to resume the dialogue elapsed without any meeting between the negotiators. The South African government says it now expects the Zimbabwean crisis dealt with by December 5.

President Zuma who was mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to facilitate dialogue between Mr Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara will now visit Zimbabwe on December 6."

And in the time that has been wasted - the 15 days - how many people have died needlessly in Zimbabwe?

"Meanwhile, the negotiations from ZANU PF and the two MDC formations were due to hold their first meeting later today.

The meeting would come against a background of worsening relations between the MDC factions and ZANU PF."

That meeting did take place - yesterday...

-o00o-

"Negotiators of Zombabwe's three main political parties have started talks to try and resolve the outstanding issues under a power sharing agreement signed last year in September.

The negotiators are meeting in Harare two days after a 15 day deadline set by the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security by which the negotiators should have started the negotiations.

Two of the negotiators from the two MDC parties confirmed on Monday afternoon that negotiations have started.

"I am in a meeting - our meeting has started," said Tendai Biti, one of the negotiators representing MDC party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Welshman Ncube who is one of the two negotiators from the MDC party led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambaraa also confirmed that the meeting had started."

"We have just started the meeting and I am right now in that meeting," said Ncube."

The meetings may have started, but just how fruitful they may be is anyone's guess.

ZANU PF are obviously intent on holding on to as much power as possible, whilst the MDC factions will attempt to wrest control into their courts. It must be remembered that ZANU PF lost the general election last year - and only 'won' the Presidency after they visited a reign of terror upon the MDC structures which resulted in the deaths over well over 100 people.

"Zimbabwe’s coalition government is yet to be fully consummated because of a number of outstanding issues that the three parties want resolved.

These outstanding issues led to the partial disengagement of Tsvangirai’s MDC last month. The disengagement ended early this month following the intervention of SADC.

Among some of the outstanding issues are the appointment of MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett who is yet to sworn in as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.

The MDC also wants the reversal of the appointments of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana and the appointment of provincial governors.

On the other hand ZANU PF wants sanctions imposed on its members to be lifted and the closure of the so-called pirate radio stations."

At the risk of repeating myself - targeted travel sanctions on ZANU PF are not imposed by the MDC - they are in place through the participating countries' governments. Take it up with them!

-o00o-

And finally for this morning, whilst the inter-party wrangling continues, there is much infighting within ZANU PF.

Don't you just love it when they argue amongst themselves?

"Rtd. General Mujuru's ZANU PF faction is pressing ahead with the decimation of Mnangagwa's power-base this time with the ouster of Joseph Chinotimba and Jabulani Sibanda in a crucial palace coup shifting the power of ZANU PF control.

Members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association aligned to General Solomon Mujuru are pressing ahead with the national conference to elect new executive members this weekend despite pleas from the current executive to defer the conference to next year.

The last national conference was held in 2002.

According to the organisation’s constitution, a new executive was supposed to be elected in 2005.

The leader of the organising committee which is co-ordinating the elections Retired Colonel Basten Beta said the conference would, among other issues, correct constitutional anomalies, which had resulted in the current executive serving more terms than stipulated in the constitution."

The ousting of Chinotimba is relatively important - when you consider that he never participated in the chimurenga, and therefore is as much a Zimbabwean war veteran as I am.

"There were a lot of constitutional violations and we hope to correct those anomalies at this conference.

The constitution is clear that a leader should serve for not more than two terms, but some leaders have already exceeded their terms. We want to elect leaders who look into the welfare of war veterans," said Rtd Col Beta.

He said it was expected that the new chairperson would come from the former ZANLA side because the last two chairpersons were from the ZIPRA camp.

"The last two chairpersons Chenjerai Hunzvi and Jabulani Sibanda were from the former ZIPRA and we hope that the new chairman should come from the ZANLA side," said Rtd Col Beta."

Hope and reality in Zimbabwe are two entirely different things.

"Deputy chairperson of the current executive Joseph Chinotimba confirmed the elections but said they had pleaded with the war veterans to put the elections on hold until early next year.

"We heard that there is an election on Saturday, but we have asked the war veterans to postpone the elections to January next year.

"A lot of preparations need to be done before the elections but of course some members are complaining that we are overdue. The best person you can talk to on that issue is Jabulani Sibanda," said Chinotimba.

Jabulani Sibanda is said to be behind the killing of opposition supporters in the run up to the aborted presidential run-off elections.

In 2003, he was demoted amid allegations of organising and attending a rebel meeting dubbed the "Tsholotsho Dinyane Indaba" that produced the Tsholotsho Declaration.

The meeting organised by Jonathan Moyo and funded by the rogue Zimbabwean businessman Billy Rautenbach had the intended purpose of backing Emerson Mnangagwa, who was supposedly being put forward by the group for the vice presidency against President Mugabe’s choice, Joice Mujuru."

Like most other things in Zimbabwe, the elections will be deferred, delayed, vetoed and sidestepped...

-o00o-

Oh, and here's a kicker for the day. Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono, has been appointed the ZANU PF Manicaland Province secretary for finance. This will lend credence to MDC's claim that Gono is a politically biased public figure...

Take care.

'debvhu

Monday, 23rd November 2009

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated.

-o00o-

As I indicated yesterday, this posting will probably only get out there a little late today as I have an early morning appointment at the dentist.

(Don't tell anyone, but I actually started the posting last evening just to get some sort of head start...)

Okay - the dentist has booked himself in sick and the appointments have been rescheduled for 8th December...

-o00o-

Obviously this article was written yesterday and suggests that the negotiation teams were due to meet yesterday. I wonder if they did - although you will excuse me if I say that I very much doubt it.

"Negotiators of Zimbabwe's major political parties are expected to meet in Harare on Sunday for formal discussions aimed at ironing out sticking points around the implementation of the Global Political Agreement, The Sunday Mail reported.

The meeting follows the lapse of the 15-day timeframe set by the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Co-operation for commencement of the talks. Mugabe's ZANU PF co-negotiator Nicholas Goche said his party and the two MDC formations failed to meet within the stipulated time-frame because MDC negotiators, Professor Welsham Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, were out of the country on ministerial business.

Earlier this month, the SADC Troika, comprising Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, Swaziland's King Mswati III and President Rupiah Banda of Zambia, held an ordinary summit in Maputo, Mozambique, to review progress made in the implementation of the GPA and told ZANU PF, MDC-T and MDC to immediately engage in dialogue."

Perhaps I may display my ignorance by asking the obvious... Just because MDC-M negotiators were travelling, would it have not been a sign of good faith to have at least met with the MDC-T negotiators in the mean time?

It couldn't have hurt!

"The deliberations were to be held within 15 days of the summit and not exceed 30 days. On the first Wednesday after the summit, the negotiators, Patrick Chinamasa (ZANU PF), Tendai Biti (MDC-T) and Prof Ncube (MDC), met informally before scheduling another meeting for last Monday.

This followed prior discussion among the principals to the inclusive Government, which outlined the issues the negotiators were to adhere to during their formal engagement. According to a communiqué issued after the summit, the deliberations were to include all outstanding issues arising from the implementation of the country's GPA and the January 27 SADC Communiqué."

It is quite obvious that MDC-M and ZANU PF are not particularly interested in solving the stalemate. I mean, it isn't as if the deadline was a State secret - even if ZANU PF did try to deny the existence of a deadline from SADC.

Almost every article that discusses the stalemate indicate that ZANU PF want MDC to remove the targeted sanctions on the hierarchy of ZANU PF and their families and associates... Why does ZANU PF insist that the sanctions are in place at the behest of the MDC?

If I am not mistaken, the travel sanctions have been in place since before the advent of the MDC!

"On the other hand, ZANU PF's key concerns are that MDC-T should participate in the implementation of the GPA by calling for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West."

When were ZANU PF going to stop behaving as if they won the general election last year?

-o00o-

"Zimbabwean First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe arrives in the country tomorrow,Monday November 23rd, to attend the African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) conference.

Her Ethiopian counterpart Azeb Mesfin who is OAFLA President arrives in Zambia the following day on Tuesday. Other First Ladies expected to attend the conference are Namibia’s First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba who is represented by Reverend Mrs Hilukiluah who has already arrived in the country.

The OAFLA Conference is intended to empower SADC First Ladies with information on maternal health issues and also develop a comprehensive SADC OAFLA sub-regional plan of action."

I have to shake my head. Who is Grace Mugabe? A former secretary that was the President's 'bit on the side' whilst his wife, Sally, lay dying an agonising death.

Half his age, she does not display the leadership qualities that her vaunted position may suggest. She has assaulted photographers in Hong Kong - and acts as if the laws of Zimbabwe (and further afield) do not apply to her. Mind you, she does take the lead from her geriatric husband.

"According to the statement, Technical Advisors of the visiting spouses of heads of states are already deliberating ahead of the First Ladies’ workshop which begins on Tuesday November 24, 2009. Among the planned activities is a visit-site tour to Matero Clinic in Lusaka where there is a support programme for mother and child health, and the State House Women’s Club, Nursery and Pre-School.

The workshop will close with a gala dinner at Hotel Inter-continental in Lusaka on Thursday November 26 whose major function will be to raise funds to help support OAFLA Zambia Chapter activities."

And there is the real reason that she is in Zambia - apart from spending huge amounts of money on trinkets and treasures to fill an aircraft to take home... she is there to get a decent meal!

How pathetic!

-o00o-

"Hugo Chavez has defended imprisoned terrorist Carlos the Jackal, saying the Venezuelan was an important "revolutionary fighter" who supported the cause of the Palestinians.

The Venezuelan President praised Carlos - whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez - saying: "I defend him. It doesn't matter to me what they say tomorrow in Europe."

Ramirez gained international notoriety in the 1970s and 80s as the alleged mastermind of a series of bombings, killings and hostage dramas. He is serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murders of two French secret agents and an alleged informant.

"They accuse him of being a terrorist, but Carlos really was a revolutionary fighter," Chavez said in a televised speech to socialist politicians from various countries."

Chavez is well known for his partisan opinions - and we also know that he has an open admiration for Robert Mugabe.

"Chavez also sought to defend other leaders he said were wrongly labelled "bad guys" internationally, including Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Chavez called both of them brothers and said he now wondered if Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was as brutal as he was said to be.

"We thought he was a cannibal," Chavez said of Amin, whose regime was notorious for torturing and killing suspected opponents in the 1970s. "I have doubts... maybe he was a great nationalist, a patriot."

And perhaps Pol Pot was a level headed human being, whilst Hitler sought to correct the wrongs of the West... Unreal!

Sometimes I think that these radicals say what they do for effect alone.

-o00o-

Why is it that people connected with Zimbabwe, one way or another, always seem to leave a trail of destruction, broken promises and unpaid bills behind them?

"As if sleeping on the floor in jail wasn't enough, former Zimbabwe finance minister Chris Kuruneri's bout of bad luck is continuing in South Africa. Civic association wants the city to bulldoze the house or face court action. His dream home - a four-level, eight-bedroom house in Cape Town with an elevator - may be reduced to rubble. That is if the civic association of the wealthy seaside suburb of Llandudno gets its way."

In comparison to the mansion that Mugabe built in Harare, this intended lavish home is a hovel!

" Chris Hayman, Kuruneri's construction project manager, said: "Dr Kuruneri has informed the council, through myself, that at this point he is not prepared to put more funds into South Africa because of the way he was treated last time. He will be selling his asset, which is the Apostle Road home. He has been trying to do so for the past six months to a year to fund the completion of the Sunset Road home." But due to the recession, Hayman said, it was difficult to sell the property.

Estate agent Shaun Kramer confirmed that he met with Kuruneri in Cape Town in 2008 to discuss the sale.

"It was a brief, professional meeting and he conducted himself in a very gentlemanly manner," was all Kramer would say. Kuruneri wants R14.5-million for the house, which has four en suite bedrooms, a study, central air conditioning, a utility room and a two-bedroom domestic's quarters."

You would think that a learned lawyer - an economist to boot - would be a little more circumspect in his ideals. He just abandons the project because he is unhappy with the neighbourhood reaction?

I really don't know where the legal mind has gone in Zimbabwe!

-o00o-

Despite anything that Mugabe has said since the signing of the two agreements with the two MDC factions, life as a peaceful activist in Zimbabwe is hard, tough and riddled with problems - like arrests and beatings.

And yet the ladies of WOZA continue to spread the word of democracy and continue to stand up for basic human rights...

"After the beatings by President Robert Mugabe's policemen, the overcrowded, lice-ridden jail cells, the degradation of nightly strip-searches, Jenni Williams and Magondonga Mahlangu still cling to hope for Zimbabwe.

They talk of hope that the devastated country still may be able to write a home-grown constitution, which would lead to real elections and recovery from the depths that a decade of increasingly malign misrule has dug.

How can these women, together arrested more than 50 times for leading nonviolent protests against the Mugabe government, still think such things?

"Look," Williams says, flinging out her arms, "we're trying to be optimistic here!" Both women laugh.

The women were interviewed in Washington in advance of Monday night's White House ceremony in which they are to receive the 2009 Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award from President Barack Obama."

Who can forget the video footage of the women being beaten whilst lying on the ground at Africa Unity Square, or the numerous cases that have been instituted against the various members and their leadership.

The one thing that I really like about WOZA is their refusal to retaliate. If they are confronted and beaten, they just sit down and allow the molesters to have their fun.

Now that takes dedication!

"An absolute for the demonstrations by WOZA and its newer male counterpart, MOZA, is nonviolence, the founders insist. No matter what, demonstrators are told, do not strike back.

Asked if the movement had been patterned after Mohandes Gandhi's, which ended the British Raj in India, Mahlangu said no, it was modeled on that of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Like King, Williams said, "We do it for social justice." And like King and his followers, they and theirs have paid heavily.

Williams and Mahlangu's latest struggle with Mugabe's judicial apparatus began a year ago after they were attacked and jailed for leading a sit-in to demand food for hungry Zimbabweans and a power-sharing government between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai after the octogenarian president claimed victory in what many believe was a tainted election last year.

"What WOZA is doing is putting our lives on the line," Mahlangu said. The aim always is to meet violence with nonviolence, she said.

Williams and Mahlangu expect little from the Zimbabwe judicial system, although WOZA and other activists often have been supported by judges who ordered them to be released. Normally the government ignores judges' writs and releases activists only when it wants to, they said."

WOZA - a Zimbabwean institution that we should be hugely proud of.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Sunday, 22nd November 2009

Howzit

Just so you know, tomorrow's posting will be later than usual as I have an appointment with the ivory mechanic* early in the morning. I need to get the ball rolling to get my missing front tooth replaced...

*dentist

-o00o-

I know that I have commented on this before - but this is serious - and for a change it is not ZANU PF that are delaying everything, it is the smaller faction of the MDC.

Have these people no sense of urgency?

"Zimbabwe’s main political parties have failed to meet for talks to resolve the country’s power-sharing dispute amid revelations that some of the negotiators had snubbed the negotiations and traveled abroad.

The delay in convening a meeting of negotiators from ZANU PF of President Robert Mugabe and the rival factions of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) saw the negotiators missing Saturday’s deadline set by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by which they should have agreed on outstanding issues from last year’s power-sharing agreement.

A spokesman for the main MDC wing led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said negotiators from a breakaway MDC faction had decided to travel on government business at a time the talks were supposed to have commenced this week.

"The deadline set by the SADC troika for the resolution of outstanding issues has once again been missed because of the intransigence, mischief and insincerity exhibited by the political players who are not taking the plight of the people of Zimbabwe seriously," the spokesman said."

The sad thing about this is that SADC will do nothing - as usual.

What they should have done is to have established the deadline and also told the three parties what was at risk if the deadline was missed. And even that would have resulted in delays as Mugabe is determined that if anything happens, it will be on his timing.

"An emergency summit of the Troika held in Maputo on October 29 gave the Zimbabwean parties 15 days to agree on outstanding issues from the Global Political Agreement, after which they should implement the agreed matters within the following 15 days."

-o00o-

"The deadline given by the regional community in Maputo passed on Friday without a single decision regarding the issues that are still outstanding being met. The political agreements were signed by the three Parties to the Zimbabwe crisis in September 2007. The reason was quite clear - ZANU and the Mutambara group simply do not know what to do. If they agree to do what the region wants, they are dead in the water.

But they signed the deal, they have nowhere to go and there have been intense discussions behind closed doors for weeks now. What to do? When MDC resolved to suspend all contact with ZANU PF in the Cabinet and Council of Ministers, they reacted with glee and started talking about "caretaker Ministers" and going it alone. Mr Mugabe made a speech in the Midlands where he said that the Zimbabwe dollar would be back before the end of the year. Rumours of the Reserve Bank printing new currency were rife.

But they had underestimated the sophistication of the MDC decision and the reaction of regional leaders. They also misread the full implications of the SADC decision to divert the management of the Zimbabwe crisis to the Troika. By doing so regional leaders reduced the status of Mr Mugabe from Head of State (at the SADC summit) to President of ZANU PF on a par with Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mutambara at the meetings of the Troika.

This past week an aircraft arrived at Harare airport with tons of new local currency on board. They tried to keep it secret but without success and we were called by people to say the consignment was at the airport. When this news found its way through the corridors in Harare speculation was widespread. The most frequently asked question was "why"?

Printing a new currency simply did not make sense, who would accept the new currency? It would mean a rapid and complete collapse of the already fragile economy - empty shops and no fuel. It would run the risk of a national revolt and it was doubted if the army and the police would accept the new currency. A violent reaction was probable; certainly the people did not want to see a new local currency so soon after the 2008 collapse.

There was only one logical explanation – ZANU was contemplating a UDI from the region rather than go along with what they regard as political suicide. This made complete sense - they could arrest the MDC leadership, appoint "caretaker Ministers" and simply go it alone. Issue the new currency and exile Mr Tsvangirai. That is exactly what Smith had done in 1965 in reaction to what the Rhodesian leadership regarded as unreasonable political demands by the international community.

But on reflection, even the crazies in ZANU (and there are many) would soon appreciate that Smith could contemplate such a move, encouraged by regional support from neighbouring States, particularly South Africa. Zimbabwe is a land locked State and very dependent on its neighbours. It is also a minnow – with a GDP today of less than Swaziland or Lesotho. A large army but poorly equipped and motivated. No major sponsors after China and other international States began to distance themselves from ZANU PF and its widely perceived rogue status.

Any talk of a UDI from the regional block would soon be heard in Pretoria and I have no doubt that it would be dealt with swiftly. So I do not expect to have to spend the next few weeks in a detention centre. I think the new currency will quietly go into storage at the Reserve Bank and will not be heard of again. I would guess that after a tense two weeks, the negotiators would be in discussion this weekend to decide what to recommend on the way forward on the issues to the Party leadership early next week.

MDC is not taking any chances and Mr Tsvangirai is visiting the leadership of the African Union (past and present) this weekend. He will be back on Monday just in time to pick up where the negotiators left off and reach a deal with his colleagues in government so that they can report positively to the President of South Africa when he makes his planned visit to the country.

El Nino is once again working its menace in the Pacific Ocean. In the past month temperatures have risen 1,5 c. and the signs are all there that this is not going to be as good a season as in 2008/9. The wet season has started and all areas have had heavy rains this weekend. Parts of South Africa have had floods, but typically for an El Nino season, parts of the Cape are bone dry and drought stricken.

We are busy distributing small allocations of fertilizer and seed to a target of one million families in the rural areas. I am sceptical that this will make much difference. What concerns me even more is that the international agencies that deal with the question of food availability to the disadvantaged simply do not have the resources to do the same job they did last year.

We have millions who do not have the money to buy what food is now available, tens of thousands of elderly and orphans by the hundreds of thousands – the remnants of the aftermath of 30 years of ZANU delinquency and failure. The Diaspora plays a key role by sending money to the affected families where the links exist, but they have problems this year finding the resources to maintain the flow of money to their relatives.

Then there is the ongoing saga of the trial of Roy Bennett in Harare. This dragged on all week with Roy’s lawyers tearing holes in the prosecution and the fabricated nature of the charges becoming apparent to all. Displays of weapons that are supposed to be evidence of the arms dealing by Roy were found to include weapons from another case altogether. No evidence linking Roy to the arms was presented and the State claimed State secrecy to withhold evidence on which they based their claims.

It’s very tough on Roy and Heather and you must keep them in your prayers. Thank you also for the funds sent through to Zimfund and others to help with his defence and other needs. Just be sure to email notification of any donations so that we can personally thank you and notify the family of your support.

But in all of this, just remember what we have said many times in the past - this is not a sprint, it’s a marathon and it takes not only physical stamina but also intellectual commitment. We are in this to the finish line. Perhaps for the first time we sense this is ahead and that the final leg is going to be in the form of a guided suicide for ZANU PF. They must make decisions in the next few days that will seal their fate in the next two years, perhaps even next year."

-o00o-

At last we see some reaction to the report by the Auditer-General on the corruption, theft and corruption within government before the formation of the unity government... hopefully a few heads will roll - but somnehow I doubt it.

Y'see, Mugabe was quite happy to allow Gono to help himself to foreign currency in accounts held at the Reserve Bank and ministers have obviously decided that their need outweighs the national need when it comes to State assets.

"Cabinet will soon decide on the course of action to take against ministers who looted State assets before the formation of the inclusive government in February amid indications that there is convergence in the thinking of the three principals in the transitional arrangement to wield the axe on those caught on the wrong side of the law.

In what might pass for the most callous abuse of power in the country's history, State assets worth several millions of United States dollars were pillaged closer to the formation of the unity government between ZANU PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change formations.

The plunder of government property and resources was brought to light by the Comptroller and Auditor-General, Mildred Chiri, in her report covering the first quarter of the current financial term.

Government critics are convinced that the few cases that were uncovered in the report could just be the tip of the iceberg that must be unravelled by a forensic audit."

It will be very interesting to see what is decided next week - but somehow I see the decision being delayed, just like the negotiations.

Time is Mugabe's friend - and I don't see him or his shower of incompetent ministers allowing Biti & Co deciding their fate.

"Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, told The Financial Gazette this week that he will table before his colleagues in Cabinet the damning report he received from the Comptroller and Auditor-General's Office on public accounts.

"I will table the report in Cabinet. Cabinet will then come up with a decision on the course of action to be taken," Biti said.

The minister could not immediately say when he intends to table the matter in Cabinet.

The audit report, compiled by Chiri, and tabled in Parliament last month lifted the lid on the looting of State funds and assets among other illegal activities that were perpetrated by some government officials before leaving office.

The report said a government minister went away with a Toyota Prado despite the fact that it was a pool car, which could not be handed out as part of his exit package, while another minister and his deputy are said to have looted a laptop each from the ministry."

I just don't see Mugabe allowing his ministers to bear the brunt of the crimina; activity - and in the event that they ministers are to be arraigned in criminal court, Mugabe will give them amnesty or somthing that allows them to escape punishment.

"At one of the mentioned ministries, the report said: "The former cabinet minister took possession of two motor vehicles which he had been using before leaving the ministry; the former deputy minister was authourised to purchase the vehicle which he had been using before leaving the ministry and the former permanent secretary took possession of four motor vehicles which he had been using when he left the ministry."

Chiri, who conducts three main audits - financial, value for money and specialised audits charged that the possession of the said assets by the government officials was not authourised.

At another ministry, Chiri said the former minister, his deputy and permanent secretary illegally took possession of three vehicles each belonging to the government. The report also detailed the abuse of funds and fuel."

I watch with huge interest.

"The report, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on November 3 by the PAC chairman, Tapuwa Mashakada, said as part of giving the office teeth, there should be amendments of governing legislation to compel the Finance Minister to table a remedial plan of action on any corrupt activities that would have been brought to light by the Auditor-General.

"The committee feels that if audit reports are to have the desired impact, the enabling legislation should place an obligation upon the treasury and the accounting officers whose accounts have been qualified to respond with a remedial action plan to the Comptroller and Auditor-General's annual report. The Comptroller and Auditor-General would then follow up on the action plan and report on action taken in its next annual audit," part of the PAC report said."

-o00o-

It has to be remembered that the crisis in Zimbabwe when it comes to hunger is a man-made crisis. A one man crisis. It is primarily caused by Robert Gabriel Mugabe. He has ruined the agricultural sector and when the economy collapsed - largely through the land grab - people no longer had the necessary money to purchase food for their families.

"About 1.6 million people in Zimbabwe risk going hungry and will need food assistance between now and the end of the year, the US based Famine Early Warning Systems Network said in a new food security assessment conducted in September.

About one million of those likely to require food distributions are in Zimbabwe's rural areas, the rest in the cities.

The report cites poverty and unemployment as factors in continuing food insecurity in the country, which has seen a series of bad maize harvests due to dislocation in the agricultural sector after a decade of land reform and chronic shortages of essential inputs such as seed and fertilizer."

Mugabe will deny this report is correct with pathetic announcements that the harvest this year will be bumper.

What interests me as well is the want that ZANU PF have that they control the food distribution...

-o00o-

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Saturday, 21st November 2009

Howzit

On Thursday, I spent some time on an editorial that looked at the inaccuracies of the voters' roll... This was following a shock revelation in parliament by an MDC MP.

"Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa on Friday said that the coalition government was looking for technical expertise and financial resources to overhaul the country's voters' roll which is said to be in shambles.

Mutsekwa said the new regime in Harare was looking for funds to sponsor the exercise which would include the recruitment of a team of qualified personnel who would go through the voters’ roll to weed out invalid names due to various reasons such as deaths.

"I have personally told Tobaiwa Mudede, the Registrar General, that the current voters’ roll will not take this nation to the next elections," Mutsekwa said in the latest edition of a weekly newsletter published by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai."

I do wonder whether Mugabe will accept this as the voters' roll, as it stands right now, is perfect for ZANU PF. Not only has it got ghost voters, but ZANU PF can ensure that these ghosts all vote for ZANU PF.

"A local pressure group last month reported that Zimbabwe’s voters’ roll was in shambles and should be completely overhauled before the next general election to eliminate cases of multiple entries and weed out ghost voters.

An audit of the existing voters’ roll conducted by a pressure group Sokwanele unearthed several anomalies in the current roll maintained by the Registrar General’s Office.

These include a surprisingly large number of people aged 100 and above. The audit identified names of 74,021 voters aged above 100 years on the roll used in last year’s harmonised parliamentary and presidential elections.

There were also 82,456 people registered who are aged between 90 and 100 years old."

I am not about to do it now, but using these figures, it would be very interesting to see just how these inflated figures enabled ZANU PF to re-engineer the figures in the presidential election last year.

Another aspect of the voters' roll is the evident non-existent of the voters. You may remember than a building site in the middle of nowhere was the registered residential address for umpteen voters... and this was just one example of the huge electoral fraud.

-o00o-

Mugabe and ZANU PF will stop at nothing to sustain the pressure on the MDC and the population. Despite the fact that they lost the general election last year, they are determined to block, obstruct and hamper any effort by the MDC to establish 'normal' governance.

"The State has invoked the notorious section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) to deny Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) transport manager Pascal Gwezere, who is being accused of stealing 20 AK47 riffles and a shotgun from an army barracks, his freedom.

High Court Judge Justice Charles Hungwe had granted Gwezere a US$500 bail. Tawanda Zvekare, representing the state, invoked the section , saying to appeal against the judgement.

The State is given seven days to appeal against a judgement by invoking section 121 of the CPEA and the suspects will have to remain in custody during the same period.

Justice Hungwe also revealed that the investigating officer failed to prove that Gwezere know the other suspects who are still on the run. The State had also failed to link Gwezere to the stealing of the arms as it intends to call witnesses who will reveal that they approached Gwezere with the intention of selling to him the stolen arms."

I find it more than just annoying that the Mugabe regime, represented by State council, should invoked the clause to keep Gwezere in custody, but it is clauses like these that the Mugabe regime has stated in the past are the 'residual influence of the old Rhodesian regime' - if that is how they felt, then a) how come it hasn't been changed, and b) how come the State is using the very legislation that they have complained about in the past?

"It was also revealed during the hearing that the police had arrested four people in connection with the arms theft and all the arms had been recovered.

Some of the people arrested are serving members of the army while others are "known army deserters".

A disappointed Alec Muchadehama said the decision by the State to invoke section 121 was a clear abuse of the law.

"This just an abuse of the section and you know we are challenging it at the Supreme Court. This has been used since the year 2000 to harass MDC activists and to anyone who they do not like. The judge had made a well reasoned judgement that the right to liberty was a fundamental right," said Muchadehama."

It beggars belief that the State should complain about the existence of a law when it is applied against them, but they use the same law section to their own advantage...

"He added that it was now in the public domain that there is a selective application of "not only this section but the law itself".

"The Attorney General’s office is now simply part of the State machinery, they are more like the state security agent and the police," he said."

-o00o-

Haven't we seen and read this before? And ZANU PF will either ignore the accusations or just increase the pressure already being applied.

"The MDC has accused ZANU PF of mobilizing its militia to re-open torture bases countrywide, to intimidate the electorate into accepting the controversial Kariba Draft constitution. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party says it has unearthed evidence that meetings are being convened to revive terror squads to harass, intimidate and torture people to endorse the draft constitutional document, which leaves sweeping presidential powers largely intact.

A Parliamentary Select Committee is supposed to be leading the constitution making process to ensure that Zimbabweans have a say in any new constitution. The co-chairperson of the committee, Douglas Mwonzora, told SW Radio Africa that their outreach teams would begin their work around the country on 29th November.

With these public hearings now imminent, ZANU PF is reportedly beginning the deployment of 'terror squads', to force people to accept the Kariba Draft. Meetings to discuss these deployments are already taking place. At Chief Nhema’s homestead in Zaka North, Masvingo, ZANU PF official Shenu Jeya openly told villagers that all militia bases set up last year during the violent presidential run-off had to be re-opened. Another meeting in Murehwa at Zihute Hall saw one district chairman, known as Siwela, telling the gathering that 'if they heard their neighbours screaming at night, they should remain indoors.' He also warned that ZANU PF youths were monitoring the movements of everyone in the area."

And somehow this is acceptable?

This is one of the reasons that Mugabe wouldn't let the United Nations torture expert into the country.

This is one of the reasons that Mugabe doesn't make too many comments in public anymore - apart from his stock anti-West rants - because there is evidence in the public domain as to what his members, activists and supporters are up to.

And what does the free world do about it? NOTHING.

"In the mining town of Bindura, where Tsvangirai began his career as a mine foreman, 43 war veterans called for a meeting at Killstone Farm. The meeting was chaired by a retired army colonel known as Siya, who said it was impossible to convince the electorate to vote for the Kariba Draft and as a result it was necessary to use violence. The MDC say similar meetings are being held in all the country’s 10 provinces.

The party has also expressed concern at the way victims of last years election violence are being forced to surrender blankets, tents and other kitchen utensils donated to them by aid organisations. At the end of October Nyepanai Chimusakati was forced into surrendering his building materials, to Roy Chihota Jenami, an aide to Chief Mutasa. Chimusakati, whose home was burnt down in June 2008, had 6 asbestos sheets, 2 window frames, 1 door frame and 6 bags of cement forcibly taken from him."

Nothing really changes in Zimbabwe except the date. And no one seems to be concerned enough to put a stop to it all.

-o00o-

I have often written of my dislike of Arthur Mutambara, and also of my opposing the splitting of the MDC party into two separate factions. And the main MDC faction, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has accused the smaller faction of assisting with the delay in beginning negotiations with ZANU PF...

"The mainstream MDC on Friday launched a stinging attack on negotiators from the MDC-M, branding their counterparts as 'mischievous and insincere' for delaying talks to resolve the outstanding issues in the unity government.

In a statement posted on their party website and widely circulated by email, the MDC-T said it was extremely concerned at the lack of urgency shown by ZANU PF and Arthur Mutambara’s party, in resolving the outstanding issues as soon as possible, as instructed by the guarantors.

"The deadline set by the SADC troika for the resolution of outstanding issues has once again been missed because of the intransigence, mischief and insincerity exhibited by the political players who are not taking the plight of the people of Zimbabwe seriously," the statement said."

Think about it. Mutabara is the 'accidental politician'. When the MDC split happened, he was plucked from relative obscurity and became the leader of the smaller faction.

His faction may have secured 10 seats in last year's election, but really what has he as the leader done?

He repeats Mugabe's mantra - fails to stand by the larger MDC faction - and now holds the dubious position of Deputy Prime Minister - which he has not used to the advantage of the Zimbabwean people.

The SADC deadline may be ignored by Mugabe, but this is no reason for Mutambara's faction to follow suit...

"SW Radio Africa is reliably informed that dialogue between the parties will now begin on Monday, though low level consultations will be held over the weekend. Negotiators from the MDC-T and ZANU PF have been on standby since Monday, waiting for the return of Ncube and Mushonga.

When negotiators from the MDC-T and ZANU PF met on Monday Welshman Ncube and Priscillah Misihairabwi-Mushonga, the lead negotiators from the MDC-M, were absent. Both are reported to be in Europe attending a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference."

The 15 day deadline has been singularly ignored and is now lapsed. What is SADC going to do about it?

At a guess, I would think they'll probably call another summit, invite Mugabe and his huge entourage and dream up some other useless 'cure'.

"The MDC is extremely concerned about the delays in appointing provincial governors, ambassadors and other senior government officials and the fact that Mugabe unilaterally re-appointed the Attorney General and the Reserve Bank governor.

ZANU PF meanwhile is only interested in the lifting of targeted sanctions on the ruling elite and the closure of external radio stations broadcasting into the country.

The 15 day deadline set by SADC is Saturday and its clear the parties will not meet that timeline. This has left the MDC-T seething."

Nothing that Mugabe does has any consequence for him. And the tacit support that Mutambara lends him does not help.

-o00o-

Theft of any description is serious - and probably moreso when the items stolen are tools of war and death...

"A Harare man charged with the theft of firearms from Pomona Army Barracks last month has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment after pleading guilty.

Three of his accomplices, who are members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), will be court-marshalled.

All the weapons that were stolen from the barracks were recovered. They include 21 AK 47 rifles and a shotgun.

Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka told the media Friday that the accused, who was not immediately identified, had been arrested a week after the theft of the arms on October 20 this year.

“We can confirm the arrest of four suspects in connection with a breaking that took place at Pomona Barracks and the subsequent theft of 20 AK 47 rifles, and one shot gun,” Mandipaka said."

This case is directly connected to the case that I mentioned earlier against MDC transport manager Gwezere. The problem that Gwezere's lawyers will have is that with a conviction against the civilian who might have implicated Gwezere in his confession, it will add weight to the State's case.

Does anyone notice a parallel with the Bennett case here?

"While the civilian suspect was convicted in an ordinary court, Mandipaka said, the other three soldiers, a serving member and "a deserter" would be dealt with in terms of the court marshals of the Zimbabwe National Army as they are bound by the Defence Act.

The civilian suspect, said to be a welder plying his trade in Harare’s Dzivarasekwa high-density suburb, pleaded guilty to the offence.

He had appeared before Harare magistrate William Bhila Friday afternoon who slapped him with the lengthy jail term.

He is alleged to have accompanied the soldiers on his vehicle at 1 am on October 20 to steal the weapons.

He was allegedly found with four of the weapons with the rest having been distributed among the other accused persons, who allegedly used a bolt cutter to break into the barracks’ armoury."

It all seems quite fortuitous that this case should run at the same time that Roy Bennett is on trial for other serious charges.

"MDC transport manager Pasco Gwezere was seized from his Mufakose home by armed police and state security agents a week after the break in, in connection with the alleged crime.

He was on Friday granted bail by the High Court but was denied immediate release after the state invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act."

-o00o-

And as if Zimbabwe doesn't have enough problems right now, it would appear that Mother Nature is also going to have her say...

"Southern parts of Zimbabwe are likely to be hit by floods this weekend, plunging human life and animals at risk, the meteorological services department has warned.

The heavy rains that have pounded Bulawayo, Matabeleland South and Masvingo provinces this week will culminate into floods in low-lying areas.

A senior meteorological officer based at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, Roger Munyira, confirmed that there was a risk that low-lying areas in the region could be flooded.

"As we speak, there should be some heavy rains in Botswana, especially around Francistown. The rains are moving in a north-easterly direction and by tomorrow (today) there should be some activity in the southern parts of the country namely Matabeleland South, Bulawayo and Masvingo," he said.

"The rains could result in flash floods because a lot of rain could be received in a short time, resulting in small streams being filled up and overflowing. Drains could also be blocked resulting in flooding."

Isn't it ironic that the same areas that were experiencing some of the worst droughts not that many years ago - and Mugabe refused to declare the areas emergencies - will be flooded - and, I summise, Mugabe will ignore the human risk factor and leave the people to their own fate?

"The heavy rains come against a backdrop of a violent storm that rocked Bulawayo and surrounding areas last week. The storm was accompanied by winds of up to 40 knots.

The winds destroyed homes and churches in suburbs such as Nketa, Emganwini, Cowdray Park, Norwood, Emakhandeni and Gwabalanda last week.

Electricity and telephone line poles were also not spared, resulting in a blackout in some of the areas and the cutting off of communication."

Perhaps we should make a note the power and telephones lines in Zimbabwe hardly ever work, so residents probably didn't notice the added problems bar the rain and wind.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Friday, 20th November 2009

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

-o00o-

PACHEDU (Roy Bennett)

Racist taunts from Chinamasa
Made Roy Bennett cross the line
Minor scuffle led to trauma
Jail was worse than any fine

Justice more than once miscarried
Babe knew naught of lost Estate
Nor how much Heather was harried
Brutalized by greed and hate

Tortured thoughts of one in prison
Suffering subhuman woes
Lice enjoy incarceration
With its excremental clothes

Freedom led to swift self-exile
Branded with new trumped-up charge
Treason in false weapon stockpile
One more travesty writ large

Promise of assured protection
Brought him back with hopeful heart
But denied his new position
Prosecutors made fresh start

With stale case and perjured witness
They made mockery of law
Tomana robed in absurdness
Ought to shamefully withdraw

Are they bent on a death sentence
Or eventual amnesty
To prop up their crumbling pretence
That Zimbabwe’s really free

Keep Roy Bennett here between us
Lend support through thick or thin
Justice can emerge victorious
Evil forces must not win

© duaneudd.com
18^th Nov 2009

-o00o-

We are getting used to Mugabe-ites pulling stunts that would make them look good - but sometimes these stunts beggar belief...

"Lawyers for senior MDC official Roy Bennett on Thursday accused Zimbabwe police of parading in court weapons not related to his terrorism trial in a bid to whip up public sentiment against him.

Bennett, an ally of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was arrested in February and charged with possessing weapons for purposes of terrorism, insurgency and banditry, charges which carry a potential death sentence upon conviction.

The case has raised tensions in a fragile unity government formed by President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change says the trial is political persecution.

On Thursday, defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said police had brought to court licensed weapons belonging to Peter Hitschmann, who prosecutors say implicated Bennett when the registered arms dealer was arrested for possessing dangerous weapons in 2006."

Think of it. Whenever the court convenes, the officers of the court make a big thing of carting the weapons into court - just to give the sitting judge an idea of the seriousness of the case - but now we discover that the weapons do not have anything to do with this case, but were used in the case against Hitschmann, the man who's 'confession' implicated Bennett.

In any decent, law-abiding country this sort of activity would not be allowed, but even though the defence has indicated that the weapons have nothing to do with this case, the initial impression given will be hard to cancel out.

But the defence lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has done a good job in teaching the Attorney-General just how tough court cases can be. I read on Denford Magora's blog that the AG was nonplussed at a ruling made by the judge and actually stated that he didn't expect the ruling - a thought perhaps that the case has a pre-written script?

"Mtetwa said police in Bennett's case had added several other guns, anti-riot grenades, stun grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition, whose origins could not be established and were never produced in the trial of Hitschmann, an accomplice witness in Bennett's trial.

Bennett is accused of paying for weapons found in Hitschmann's possession.

"This is part of a police publicity stunt to whip up public sentiment and misrepresent facts to this court," said Mtetwa.

Mtetwa also accused police of failing to document weapons found in Hitschmann's possession and that they were stored at an army barracks, making it possible that more weapons could have been added to strengthen the state's case."

And on the same blog by Denford Magora, there was an article which suggested that ZANU PF has a stockpile of weapons dating back to the chimurenga which they use to arm their brigands - and could quite easily have been used for other purposes, like being used as 'exhibits'...

"Hitschmann says he was tortured into implicating Bennett. He later recanted his confession in the presence of his lawyer.

Hitschmann, who was a policemen during white minority rule when Zimbabwe was known as Rhodesia, has also written to the attorney general saying he was not prepared to testify against Bennett because he had no evidence to give.

Mtetwa said Hitschmann had been tortured while in the custody of central intelligence operatives and the army.

State witness Sipho Makone, a senior police officer, denied the torture charges. The trial continues."

-o00o-

Just who is Tomana? Up until the time that Mugabe unilaterally appointed him, I had never heard of him...

"Zimbabwe’s attorney general developed cold feet on Thursday after MDC treasurer Roy Bennett’s lawyers demanded that crucial computer and police log evidence be produced immediately.

Defence lawyers Thursday demanded a police log book and 'recorded' laptop email evidence linking arms dealer Michael Hitschmann be produced. Attorney General, Johannes Tomana began saying that the logs were confidential and that the defence could only obtain them after a successful court application, which usually takes weeks to be approved. Tomana also defended his position saying that production of the log in court 'would jeopardise State security.'

When called forward, the police officer in charge Chief Supt Makone also began to say that the State was ‘relying on other information’ apart from Hitschmann’s affidavit."

The only 'State security' that would be under threat would be their ability to tell the truth and their reluctance to follow due process...

"There is a video clip showing Hitschmann confessing freely without any pressure."

"The e-mails are another form of evidence linking the accused to the offence," Makone said.

However, Hitschmann’s confession has been challenged on credibility grounds as Hitschmann has recently said that he confessed while under duress. Hitschmann was convicted and jailed for illegally possessing firearms and is a key prosecution witness. But Chief Supt Makone continued claiming that Hitschmann was never subjected to torture."

Obviously, with anything electronic, these days it is easy to show falsehoods from a computer - but the sentence that caught my attention was: "The State under Attorney General, Tomana claims that ‘e-mail messages’ implicating Bennett were downloaded from Hitschmann’s laptop." If the emails were 'downloaded' then they are open to abuse and can be rewritten.

But the defence knows of these emails as it is a requirement of law that the State gives their case in writing to the defence prior to the court case. Mtetwa knows what she is doing...

-o00o-

This was an editorial that I wrote yesterday...

"Robert Mugabe once threatened that he would rule Zimbabwe ‘from beyond the grave’. Well, it looks like some of his supporters have started without him!

I am 46 years of age - and in Zimbabwe I would be an old man - someone who has lived beyond the expected lifetime, which sits at about 44 years old.

And yet the Registrar-General, Tobiwa Mudede, would have us all believe the information in the current voters’ roll in Zimbabwe.

I would hazard a guess that my name is still on that roll, even though I never registered as a voter and my first vote ever was here in the United Kingdom!"

Read more...

-o00o-

As if the situation in Zimbabwe is not volatile enough, here we have a person selling ammunition...

"A Harare man has been jailed 20 months effective for selling firearm ammunition to members of the public without a licence.

Tichaona Kamikani (31) and his co-accused Martin Chinomona pleaded guilty to possession of firearm ammunition without a licence or permit when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Kudakwashe Jarabini on Wednesday.

The duo was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment but four months were conditionally suspended.

The court heard that between November 13 to 15 this year Kamikani, a senior security officer in the President’s Office and stationed in Tsholotsho, had 30 rounds of 7,62 by 39mm live firearm ammunition that he gave to Chinomona.

On November 15 this year, detectives from CID Law and Order Section Harare received information that Chinomona was in possession of firearm ammunition that he was offering for sale.

The detectives approached him purporting to be buyers of firearm ammunition."

It is interesting that the accused was a 'senior security officer from the President's Office' - I thought that Mugabe looked after jis own. Perhaps not as one of his security detail is so hard up for cash that he is attempting to sell the ammunition from his weapons!

And when you look at the price he was asking for each round, it borders on the ridiculous - and he has 20 months to think about his actions...

"The detectives subsequently arrested him when he returned with the 30 rounds that he was selling at US$10 each."

-o00o-

It is very apparent that the ante in Zimbabwe has been raised. Mugabe's security services are reportedly finding firearms all over the place - but I feel that much of the 'evidence' has been planted as ZANU PF seeks to remove various people from circulation with trumped up charges.

"In a dramatic event at Great Zimbabwe University this afternoon, seven student were arrest for possession of a gun in their room.

The students had gathered in Blessing Dubi’s room, one of the aspiring ZINASU National Executive Member candidate to try and caucus before the scheduled ZINASU National Bi- Annual congress on the 5th of December 2009.

The students were surprised when 15 college security guards pounced on them accusing them of holding an illegal meeting. The guards started beating them up and the students left the room in a rush.

The students quickly dispersed but to their surprise one hour after the disturbances, three students namely, Blessing Dubi, Robson Ruhanya and Zivanai Muzorodzi (SRC President) were picked up by police citing that they had found a fire arm in Blessing Dubi’s room after searching.

At first, the three students thought the police were joking but were shell shocked when four other students were picked up on similar allegations and were quickly whisked away to Masvingo Central Police Station."

Seven people gathered constitutes an illegal meeting?

I thought that the agreement signed by the three political principals in September last year allowed freedom to gather - but obviously not!

Article 10 of that agreement reads: "Recognising that the right to canvass and freely mobilise for political support is the cornerstone of any multi-party democratic system, the Parties have agreed that there should be free political activity throughout Zimbabwe within the ambit of the law in which all political parties are able to propagate their views and canvass for support, free of harassment and intimidation." So even if the seven were conducting a meeting, they were well within their rights...

"Security guards and the police have been on a rampage of harassing student activists and selected politicians on trumped up charges evidenced by the charges levelled on the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Designate, Hon Roy Bennet who is being charged with possession of fire arms.

These abuses should stop forthwith as it violate on the right to freedom of association and expression."

Mugabe is aware of the potential that university students represent. Indeed, so should Arthur Mutambara, who was one (reportedly) a 'student firebrand'.

I recall that when I was working for a car dealership on the Lomagundi Road, my journey home was often delayed because of student unrest at the University of Zimbabwe and many times the unrest deteriorated to running street battles with the police...

Mugabe has shifted his emphasis in oppressing the people of Zimbabwe - and I believe that there will shortly be an attempt by Mugabe and his supporters to cause the unity government to collapse, and thereafter it will be ZANU PF 'business as usual'...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu