Thirsday, 9th July 2009

Howzit

Prison is not a place to be in Zimbabwe. Any time spent incarcerated in Zimbabwe is not only dangerous but could shorten your life - either through sickness or starvation...

This MP has been released on bail pending his appeal against conviction and appeal - and I am very happy for him - although it does little for those who remain behind bars.

"The MP for Mutare West in Manicaland province, Shuah Mudiwa - jailed for seven years two weeks back on charges of kidnapping - has been granted a US$2000 bail by a Mutare magistrate.

Mudiwa appealed against his conviction and sentence last week, and appeared in court yesterday where he won his freedom.

Mudiwa is accused with two other MDC supporters of kidnapping a 12 year-old girl in his constituency in 2007. He was sentenced to seven years in prison by Magistrate Hlekani Mwayera.

Two and a half years of the sentence were wholly suspended on condition of good behaviour."

It will be very interesting to see how quickly the case is reviewed - last week, it was highlighted that the jail sentence imposed on Peter Hitschmann in the same court, never came up for appeal in three years and Hitschmann finished his sentence before appeal.

I will keep a close eye on proceedings.

"Mudiwa challenged the sentence and was granted bail by the same magistrate.

The incarceration of Mudiwa and seven other MDC MPs facing trumped-up charges are part of a well-orchestrated campaign to intimidate and frustrate the MDC, analysts say.

Senior MDC officials say the Cabinet boycott last week was also aimed at protesting the jailing of MDC legislators."

Boycotting a cabinet meeting is hardly going to change Mugabe's mind on subjecting MDC MP's to untold pressure by accusing them of all manner of crimes and throwing them in jail for years.

"MDC officials claim the so-called hardliners are bent on frustrating the MDC and whittling down its majority in Parliament.

The MDC is the majority party in Parliament and the largest political movement in the country after it garnered 100 seats in the House of Assembly in the 29 March 2008 harmonised elections against ZANU PF's 99."

MDC-Tsvangirai has a majority of just one seat - how much 'whittling' does it take to regain the majority?

-o00o-

Here we go again. Having taken over the majority of the commercial farms in the country and still intent on removing all white commercial farmers, we have ZANU PF beginning to move in on the mines.

I half expect the mine grab to mutate into a firm grab and then a house grab...

"Hordes of ZANU PF supporters on Wednesday disrupted mining operations at Bikita Minerals, a major producer of lithium in Zimbabwe amid claims bigwigs in President Robert Mugabe’s party were angling for a take-over of the mine.

It emerged yesterday that senior ZANU PF officials here were bracing to take over the mine under the new measures stipulating at least 51 percent ownership by indigenous people in any mining operation.

Last year, the government of President Robert Mugabe crafted the controversial mining laws saying blacks needed to have the majority stake in Zimbabwe’s mineral resources."

If the land grab was anything to go by, not only will the mines be owned by ZANU PF personnel, but they will be systematically asset stripped and left as skeletons in the Zimbabwean landscape, producing nothing to add to the national coffers.

"On Wednesday, mining at the lithium-producing mine temporarily came to halt after the ZANU PF supporters, among them so-called war veterans, descended on the mine and harassed workers.

The marauding party youths also demanded the immediate dismissal of a white, accusing him of racism.

Leading the campaign was Retired Colonel Claudius Makova who, sources say, was positioning himself for a take-over of the mine."

'War veterans'? Any real war veteran would have to be at least my age and I'm 46! Yet the article talks about 'youths'... When are ZANU PF going to own up and actually tell the truth?

"We saw a group of ZANU PF youths coming at our work place and ordered us to leave saying that we were sell-outs for allowing whites to continue to milk the country’s resources," said a worker at the mine who requested anonymity.

"We ran in different directions and operations stopped. After harassing us they proceeded to the manager’s residence where they demanded that a white manager be dismissed.

"We only returned to work after an hour after the commotion at the whole mine premise."

Why has every move by ZANU PF got to be laced with racial hatred?

-o00o-

I hate this sort of thing. Not only because it is illegal, but whilst we are trying to tell the story of how hard life is in Zimbabwe, these people are showing an altogether different story about Zimbabwe.

"A Zimbabwean nurse has been sentenced to nine months' imprisonment at Liverpool Crown Court for obtaining a bursary and then employment in a private nursing home using forged documents.

Roy Kudzai Mapfumo, a part-time club DJ, overstayed his leave to remain in the UK and used forged documents to get his way around until he was busted following an investigation by the National Health Service (NHS) Counter Fraud.

Mapfumo of Southport, Merseyside, defrauded over £20,000 from the NHS and was convicted on two counts of false accounting in relation to the bursary and fraud in relation to obtaining employment."

Whilst I do understand the position that a Zimbabwean professional may be put in following their departure from Zimbabwe, I do not condone illegality. I have no sympathy for this man.

"The North Sefton Magistrates Court heard that in February 2001, Mapfumo was granted limited leave to remain as a student in the UK until the end of October the same year, but he failed to contact the Home Office when his leave expired.

He obtained a place on a three-year degree course in Adult Nursing at Buckinghamshire New University and was awarded an NHS student bursary of £20,317.10 using a forged vignette in his passport, which falsely indicated he had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

He applied for his job at the nursing home using his Zimbabwean passport together with a forged Home Office letter indicating indefinite leave to remain with no restrictions on seeking employment."

-o00o-

If this had happened in Zimbabwe, then people would have been arrested - but it was in Malawi and that is where it will end. Mugabe will make no mention of it, and his media mouthpiece, The Herald, will make nothing of it. Indeed, if they do mention is, it will be with allegations that it was set up by the West or the MDC...

"Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who stirs mixed feelings in many Malawians, received hisses at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre where he was attending the country’s 45th independence celebrations on Monday.

The celebrations, where he was the only other head of state with his host Bingu wa Mutharika, appeared to have been studiously shunned by the 16-member Southern African Development Community, SADC. Only two low-ranking officials from Mozambique and Tanzania attended among locally-based diplomatic staff.

Government sources said the SADC heads are sending a message to Mugabe that his failure to cooperate with their recommendations on the way forward for the Zimbabwe government will not be tolerated."

Like Mugabe took any notice or could really care less. He is out of Zimbabwe and travelling - and anything else is a bonus...

"Mugabe who is seen by local Malawians as only a titular head following the formation of a unity government with Movement for Democratic Change, MDC was hissed at on entry and was openly booed with his host from the over-crammed 25,000-seat er stadium in a show of disaffection with his presence in Malawi."

Mugabe has got such a thick skin that this would have made little or no difference in his life.

-o00o-

Did the MDC really think that Mugabe and ZANU PF would play by the rules when it came to a power-sharing government?

"Zimbabwe's power-sharing cabinet issued an ultimatum Wednesday to the three principals in the national unity government to resolve numerous issues that have been straining relations between the Movement for Democratic Change and ZANU PF sides of the government.

MDC and ZANU PF sources told VOA that Wednesday’s cabinet meeting was tense with extended and heated debate as members from the MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai clashed with their ZANU PF counterparts. The latter were said to have been agitated over last week’s MDC boycott of a cabinet meeting.

The MDC raised the stakes this week demanding compliance in full with the Global Political Agreement signed in September 2008 by President Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai and now-Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara. Senior members of the Tsvangirai MDC formation accused ZANU PF of attempting to torpedo the unity government."

Cabinet in Zimbabwe is not complete - because Mugabe refuses to swear in the deputy Agricultural Minister designate, Roy Bennett. Mugabe says that the criminal charges that Bennett is facing are serious and he cannot let him join cabinet.

The minister of finance, an MDC man, is facing charges of treason - but he is in cabinet.

Once more, Mugabe's decisions make little sense.

"Contentious issues include an ongoing judicial crackdown on MDC and civic activists, the delay in swearing in MDC Treasurer Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister, the appointments of provincial governors and the failure of the National Security Council to convene.

Government sources said the three principals will brief the cabinet next Tuesday on how much time they will need to settle the outstanding issues."

It isn't going to happen. A power-sharing/unity/inclusive government is a pipe dream...

-o00o-

The rift between the two MDC factions in Zimbabwe looks to widen after a report that was initially in Mugabe's media mouthpiece, The Herald, said that Mutambara (leader of the smaller faction) was calling for the appointments of the RBZ governor and the Attorney General to be accepted in the name if unity.

"Reported comments by Zimbabwean Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on Wednesday returned a dispute within the country's fractious national unity government over the tenure of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono to the political front burner.

Mutambara was quoted in the state-controlled Herald newspaper as urging Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to work with the central banker, accused by many of stoking hyperinflation and misappropriating funds, instead of demanding he be sacked or step down.

Reached by VOA, Mutambara said he could not comment as he was in a meeting."

I am surprised that Mutambara didn't deny the story - but just excused himself. If the story were false, then he should have jumped at the opportunity to clear himself.

His failure to do this is tantamount to an admission.

"The comments brought a statement from Mr. Tsvangirai's formation of the Movement for Democratic Change saying Gono must depart as agreed under the Global Political Agreement signed in September 2008 by President Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara."

Mutambara is showing himself to be a loose canon and his statements are more dangerous than perhaps even he realises.

-o00o-

Blogger's online spell checker still continues to pick up on correctly spelt words, offering an alternative spelling that is exactly the same as the word it is querying.

Oh well - it is a free service...

Take care.

'debvhu