Sunday, 15th June 2008

Howzit

It didn't take long, did it? Yesterday we read that Mugabe promised that MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai would not be arrested in Zimbabwe.

Today we read: "MDC Leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 11 other members of his election campaign team were again detained by police and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation just after 10:00 am on Saturday at a road block outside Shurugwi, in the Midlands province. They were then taken to Shurugwi police station."

Mugabe's promise lasted less than 24 hours. Now, how long do you think he will keep his word on promises made to the voters on how he intends to move the country forward?

"The arrest on Saturday is the third time the MDC leader has been detained since Thursday and many believe it is the intention of the police and security forces in Zimbabwe to intimidate and pressure the MDC into a Government of National Unity with Robert Mugabe as its Head."

Mugabe has lost the plot - of that we can be sure of. He says whatever it takes to get through each day and the next morning he and his forces come out fighting - in every sense of the word...

-o00o-

"Tendai Biti, the secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) appeared in court Saturday morning on charges of treason.

Biti, who is third in the top hierarchy of the MDC, was arrested on Thursday as he arrived at Harare International Airport from Johannesburg, after a two-month stay outside the country. He was brought to court in leg irons and appeared dejected.

His whereabouts remained unknown until he was brought to court this morning. Lawyers Selby Hwacha and Chris Mhike appeared on behalf of Biti. The lawyers said they had struggled to secure Biti’s court appearance on a Saturday as the police seemed reluctant to bring the leading MDC official to court. They had questioned the validity of a court order for Biti to appear in court on a Saturday."

This is Mugabe flexing his muscles - again. It is clear that no crime has been committed, but Mugabe's senior instigators have deemed that they must harass the MDC as much as possible.

Mugabe daily threatens the people and, of late, has taken to threatening to take his former freedom fighters back into the bush and start another bush war.

Is that, in itself, not breaking the law?

But remember that the law is applied entirely differently for ZANU PF...

"Hwacha said Friday that a judge has ordered the police to bring Biti to court. He said the High Court order had come in response to the MDC legal team’s court plea. The judge had ordered the police to explain why Tendai Biti should not be immediately released.

The police had refused to disclose where they were holding Biti or when they might bring him to court. They had only said he faced a treason charge, which can carry the death penalty. The police say the charges against Biti arise from a document published by his party before the March 29 presidential election."

Again, the police have ignored, quite deliberately, a High Court order - and we will see no consequence for their actions.

"Meanwhile an MDC official says the party’s headquarters, Harvest House, "like the rest of the MDC infrastructure, has been rendered totally impotent."

"There is no staff working out of Harvest House or any other office for fear of abductions, kidnappings and subsequent murders. The information department is struggling to put out whatever is coming out, out of the underground."

-o00o-

"The illegitimacy of this regime will certainly be confirmed if Mugabe declares himself a winner."

Mugabe believes that possession is nine tenths of the law. By holding office (illegally, I believe) he is under the misapprehension hat he is still the chosen leader of Zimbabwe, and hence is making all the rules and changes as he sees fit.

Now he has deliberately made a statement that should the MDC want to take power - constitutionally, democratically or otherwise - then he will see to it that that rule does not last long. He maintains that his party is prepared to go back to war.

"As a party we condemn violence in all its forms and wish to state that no single person should die on account of political differences. We won this election and therefore only the loser has a score to settle with the masses. This is why ZANU PF has setup bases across the country. Mugabe and his wife have been shedding crocodile tears by visiting MDC victims of political violence when his militia man are in fact the authors and perpetrators of the massacre.

In particular we want to condemn the role of Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri who has refused to carry out his duties. Chihuri is accountable for protecting ZANU PF thugs and creating a partisan culture of policing. We sympathize with those members of the police who have been humiliated, beaten, and violently tortured simply because they had refused to act on unlawful instructions."

The MDC find themselves in a very unforgiving situation. Whichever way they go they are going to get opposition - from either ZANU PF or the people of Zimbabwe. Given that Mugabe has ruled for 28 years and has made a complete mess of it, perhaps the wants and needs of the people should take some precedence.

"There has been growing momentum on the question of a government of national unity. Speculation is rife on this issue with some saying negotiations are taking place. Others say the agreement has already been signed. Nothing can be further from the truth. Since the announcement of the election date for a run-off, no one can change that date unless Robert Mugabe concedes defeat. It therefore means that a government of national unity negotiated before the run-off does not arise."

I, for one, am immensely happy with that statement. If the MDC won the majority, then why should they agree to share power?

-o00o-

Mugabe's Information Minister says that the regime is committed to a free flow of information...

"Authorities in Zimbabwe have banned wind-up receivers, a favourite among nongovernmental organisations seeking to promote access to information in rural areas. Their presence has often spawned listening clubs accused of tuning in on "illegal" foreign news bulletins broadcast through shortwave or AM. Instead of batteries, which are almost unavailable in Zimbabwe, the low-priced gadgets are powered by human muscle. Along with satellite dishes, ownership of a wind-up radio is enough to land villagers in trouble. "They have been warned that they must hand in those radios. It has become a subversive tool," says Rob Jamieson, chairperson of the Southern Africa Editors' Forum."

So the ZANU PF administration has banned satellite dishes and now wind-up radios. The printed media in Zimbabwe is jealously guard by ZANU PF.

Yup - they have got is tied up pretty neatly... and have instructed all forms of media not to advertise of feature the MDC party - except in a bad light.

A job well done, I think you'll agree.

(If you are pro-ZANU PF, that is...)

-o00o-

I am very happy that I left the ZRP over 20 years ago. There is just no way that I would have been willing to wear a shirt with Mugabe's picture on it. No way!

And I certainly would not have called anyone, or allowed them to call me 'comrade'!

"Police in Kwekwe last week were ordered to use ZANU PF language whilst at work and wear party regalia when off-duty, The Zimbabwean on Sunday has established.

According to the confidential minutes of a meeting held at the Cactus Bar, addressed by Assistant Commissioner Jangara, officers were told to refer to each other as ‘comrade’. They were also told they should campaign for Robert Mugabe. Those who did not comply would be fired or could even face execution."

In real terms, I think would face the bullet.

"At the meeting, all officers in charge of Kwekwe district stations were made to stand up with their juniors and chant ZANU PF slogans denouncing the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). They were also forced to sing Chimurenga songs."

How sad that the police force that I served in is now a shallow shadow of the establishment that it once was. And for this demise, we can point the blame at one person...

-o00o-

Just a couple of days before the March 29 election, "The state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying at a rally Wednesday that his ZANU PF party would accept defeat at the polls - and saying opponents also should respect whatever result emerges."

And yet in the run-up to the runoff in less than two weeks' time, "President Robert Mugabe is vowing that the country's opposition leader will never rule Zimbabwe and says he is prepared to fight to keep the opposition from taking power.

President Mugabe said Saturday that he would never accept the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leading the country."

How the story has changed! When he made the first statement, he was confident of a resounding victory - and reportedly was quiet shocked at the turn of events when the people voted against him. He then had the ZEC withhold the results for a month while the number were engineered the numbers to be more acceptable and force the second round.

As a direct result of the re-engineering, the announcement of an MDC rout by Tendai Biti before the ZEC's release of the 'official' results which now sees him up on 'treason' charges, the election goes to a second round allowing Mugabe to have his armed forces and militia beat his need to rule into the people.

Think about it. In the position of a voter, which man would you vote for?

-o00o-

And finally, a BBC audio report on the current situation in Zimbabwe here.

-o00o-

Twelve days and counting.

Take care.

'debvhu