Thursday, 19th February 2009

Howzit

This article shows just how determined the MDC are in ensuring change comes to Zimbabwe.

"Roy Bennett remains in custody today, and authorities intend to hold him until at least March 4, it was said in an MDC press release. As Bennett is held on charges of "terrorism," Zimbabwe military police backed by Mugabe have tried to use him as a political pawn to ensure their own blanket amnesty, no doubt sensing that Mugabe's ZANU PF party is bound to lose power in the near future. One of my colleagues who I've worked with in Africa and who I know and trust, said that when Roy Bennett was told that Mugabe's men were trying to use him to bargain for amnesty, he immediately said, "stick it."

I know Roy Bennett from my time in the region, and can say without a doubt that he is one of the most courageous men I've ever met, with an unending determination to fight for a safe and prosperous Zimbabwe."

Mugabe has a bad habit of telling people, governments a journalists to "go hang" - and not that long ago, he told journalists that the British are "bloody idiots".

I smiled when I read that Bennett told Mugabe's people to 'stick it' - it makes a subtle change from the people in Zimbabwe taking hit after hit from Mugabe's people.

The court overseeing Bennett's trial have remanded him in custody until March 4.

"MDC Treasurer General, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, Roy Bennett has been remanded in custody to the 4th of March 2009. The Magistrate indicated that he would hear submission and arguments on whether or not to grant him bail tomorrow (Thursday 19 February 2009).

These delay tactics are merely intended to frustrate and harass Roy Bennett into submission. Roy Bennett remains steadfast that he will not be used as ransom and horse traded for any political convenience. The inclusive government must give confidence to Zimbabweans that it respects citizens human rights. Roy Bennett must be released unconditionally immediately."

I have stated before that Bennett's arrest is a gamble by the JOC to allow them some immunity from prosecution. And the MDC are not playing ball.

"The people of Zimbabwe won't let Mugabe's military cronies get away with the crimes they have committed, and neither will Roy. Help keep this story out there, pass the word along."

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Apart from Bennett, Mugabe's administration is holding a couple of dozen other political prisoners. We have read of Jestina Mukoko. abducted from her home before Christmas - and the subject of court orders which state that she should be released into the custody of the Avenues Clinic.

These court orders are repeatedly defied.

Then there are the WOZA members...

"Four Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) activists who on Wednesday refused to pay admission of guilt fines following their arrest during a peaceful march last Saturday will appear in court today facing charges of disturbing public peace, their lawyer said yesterday.

"Police said they will take them to court tomorrow (Thursday) morning to face charges of disturbing public peace," said Kossam Ncube who is representing the WOZA activists.

Bulawayo police on Saturday arrested 12 WOZA activists for taking part in a peaceful march to mark Valentine’s Day and "spread the word of love during the country's political crisis". Ncube said police have since Monday failed to take the activists to court because they had no solid case against them, prompting the police to beg the activists to pay admission of guilt fines."

The members refused to pay the fines, preferring to face charges in a court of law - albeit that the courts are under the control of Mugabe and his loyalists.

"Police failed to lay a clear solid charge against the WOZA activists and on Tuesday and Wednesday begged them to pay admission of guilt fines so that they can be released,” said Ncube "Eight of the activists paid the ZW$20 guilt fine for disturbing public peace and were released but four others refused because they saw no reason why they should pay it since they had not committed a crime."

WOZA members are often victimised by Mugabe's police - and on the internet, we can watch videos of marching women being beaten mercilessly by the police in Harare.

WOZA is a peaceful organisation, and when challenged by the police, their response is to sit on the ground and offer no resistance.

"Objectives

• To impart knowledge and skills enabling women to make informed decisions.

• To build strength of character that demonstrates courage and leadership qualities.

• To increase participation in spiritual fellowship and love for thy neighbour.

• To teach women communication skills that will help bridge social and economic challenges.

• To facilitate the networking of expertise and skills between women. To teach women to defend themselves against violence.

To work towards elevating the standing of women in society.

Mission Statement

• To empower Zimbabwean women with knowledge and skills designed to stimulate courageous activities within the community.

Vision

• To enable Zimbabwean women to make independent decisions and actively participate in their community's development.

Sectors

• Civil Activism; Democracy & Good Governance; Education/Training; Human Rights; Religion; Women"

It is hard to imagine how handing out roses is interpreted as "disturbing public peace"...

"The WOZA activists who were marching, distributing fliers and leaflets were arrested a day after President Robert Mugabe swore in a power sharing Cabinet that is faced with the tough task of reversing the country's decade-long economic crisis. Their arrest followed the arrest of Roy Bennett, a top official of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party who is set to assume the post of deputy agriculture minister, in what the party said is a covert move by hardliners in Mugabe's ZANU PF party and military chiefs to derail the new unity government."

This is an orchestrated attempt by Mugabe zealots to push the boundaries of the MDC, forcing Tsvangirai to withdraw from the power-sharing government...

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More on ZANU PF playing both ends against the middle...

"The ZANU PF game on the issue of political detainees continued on Wednesday.

Three activists, including Zimbabwe Peace Project Director, Jestina Mukoko, have been at the Avenues Clinic since last Friday and a further two were hospitalised on Monday. But on Wednesday the High Court and the Magistrates court postponed hearings on some of the activists mainly because a police report on torture allegations was not brought to the courts on time.

Lawyer Charles Kwaramba said Zacharia Nkomo and Chiroto Zulu had to be taken to hospital by prison officials when their condition deteriorated in jail. They join Mukoko, MDC activists Ghandi Mudzingwa and 72 year old Fidelis Chiramba, who are under armed guard by prison officers at the hospital.

Several other civic and political activists are still incarcerated at the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. They are all accused of charges relating to a plot to overthrow the Mugabe regime."

When I was working as a prosecutor in Zimbabwe, failure to produce a report or any other relevant details pertaining towards a case put down for trial, then the court had the right to remove the case "withdrawn before plea" (and any further action against the accused would have to be done by summons), or the case could be thrown out completely. Where an accused person had submitted a plea but no further action is deigned by the court, the case would be "withdrawn after plea" and the accused would be found not guilty and acquitted.

Under the double jeopardy rule, a person cannot be charged twice for the same crime. (This also caused many a problem with investigating officers tending towards splitting charges...)

"One of the groups arrested, which includes Mudzingwa, Nkomo and Zulu, had two court hearings on Wednesday - one in the High Court for a bail application and then a remand hearing at the Magistrates' court. The three did not appear because they are in hospital but four others in the group did. They were Chris Dhlamini, Mapfumo Garutsa, Regis Mujeyi and freelance photojournalist Anderson Shadreck Manyere.

The last time they appeared in court the Magistrate had requested a report from the police on their torture complaints. But on Wednesday the report was not made available at the time of the hearing, so the Magistrate postponed the matter to Friday. Their lawyers said this also affected their bail application hearing in the High Court, which led to the matter being deferred to Thursday.

Their lawyer said the police did finally make the report available, but only after the court appearances. Not surprisingly the report exonerated the police of any wrongdoing. Kwaramba said this shows how wrong the Zimbabwe criminal justice system is "because these police are the same perpetrators of the torture but what the court is basically doing is that it is ordering the same people to investigate themselves and expect them to bring a credible report to court. It doesn't make sense at all."

ZANU PF do consider themselves both an immovable object and an irresistible force, meaning that they have the ability to move the goalposts at will...

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This is about the only part of the MDC plan of action that I question. Celebratory rallies do very little to help the sufferung people of Zimbabwe.

"Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is set to have an emotional public reunion with his supporters this weekend at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru. It is the party's first in a series of countrywide 10th anniversary celebrations lined up until the grand celebration at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on September 11, the day the party was formed 10 years ago. The MDC president, sworn-in as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister last week, will present a keynote address. Celebrations are scheduled in one of the 12 MDC provinces every month until September, according to spokesman Nelson Chamisa."

Mark my words here. Mugabe's police, war veterans, militia and anyone else he can muster, will take extreme action to ensure that the MDC celebrates nothing. And when you consider the huge expense that Mugabe's party is going to to celebrate his 85th birthday this weekend, you begin the realise the wastage that Mugabe-ites are prone to.

If Mugabe really believed in the Zimbabwean people, instead of spending huge amounts of money on food to feed his loyalists, he should consider investing the money into the country.

Why have a huge birthday thrash? He's had 84 of them already!

"The MDC has achieved a historic milestone in its 10 years of existence. This is a time for the party to take stock of its achievements and mourn its fallen heroes. The 10th anniversary comes hard on the heels of the party’s victory in Parliament on August 25 when chairman, Lovemore Moyo, was elected Speaker of Parliament," said Chamisa. The anniversary will also provide an occasion for the much-belated celebration of the MDC’s victory in Parliament on March 29 as well as Tsvangirai’s own victory over Mugabe on the same day and his subsequent elevation to the position of Prime Minister after a "painful compromise."

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I have written, quite a few times in the last couple of weeks, that Mugabe is very quiet. Very quiet - to the point that I believe he has been sidelined by the JOC and is now somewhat of a figurehead.

Otherwise I think we would have heard from him - by the bucket load!

"Newly appointed Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has overshadowed President Robert Mugabe ever since he assumed office on Thursday last week.

The attention has shifted from Mugabe who failed Zimbabwe in the past 29 years with much focus being directed to Tsvangirai. Political analysts said Tsvangirai was attracting great attention from Zimbabweans as well as the media include the state-run. The state-owned media used to attack Tsvangirai on a daily basis but the stance has change ever since the Prime Minister occupied an office at the Munhumutapa Building in Harare. Instead of publishing Mugabe’s stories and pictures, the local media is awash with pictures and stories on Tsvangirai."

These may be subtle changes, but the MDC needs to be aware that much of the Mugabe media show is just waiting for Tsvangirai to trip and then they will be pointing their accusatory fingers at the MDC, shouting to the watching world about the failure.

The fact that it was ZANU PF avarice and mismanagement that left the MDC with such a mess to inherit seems to have escaped their notice.

"The focus is on Tsvangirai as a leader than Mugabe. We will argue that Mugabe has nothing to offer to Zimbabwe, hence he is now suffering irrelevance compared to Tsvangirai," said the UZ lecturer. Tsvangirai who has fought many battles to unseat Mugabe is believed to be a symbol for change in Zimbabwe’s raod to democracy, according to the political analyst. On Monday, Tsvangirai met cabinet ministers before the inurgural cabinet meeting Tuesday. Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai attended the Tuesday meeting."

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I take it that the green flash on Mutambara's jacket sleeve is an oblique
reference to his green card...

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Take care.

'debvhu