Tuesday, 25th May 2010

Howzit

Please remember that there will be no posting tomorrow or Thursday as I am travelling to London on a personal mission and will only return very late tomorrow night, so will take Thursday off to recover. Travelling by train with a damaged arm such as mine is not fun!

-o00o-

Yesterday was a very busy day for me, the wife and members of our family as our next door neighbour's family came to clear out the bungalow.

The heat perhaps didn't help, but by just before midday the place was clear and the keys can be returned to the housing office.

It was strange leaving the house empty because we have been so used of our neighbour being there. He was not a loud person by any stretch of the imagination, was very private - a real gentleman and a good friend.

The son gave me a gift from his father's effects, which I will hold dear...

My Gondo...

Oh, and the family also gave us a lovely wardrobe which is now the replacement for the ageing one we had in the bedroom - which, strangely enough, was given to us by the family of the original tenant in the bungalow on the other side of us who had pass away about 7 years ago.

The old one is now advertised on FreeCylcle (which, here in Derby is called Freegle)...

-o00o-

As the situation in Zimbabwe continues to slide into obscurity, there are a few things happening that make us wonder if ZANU PF is playing with a full deck.

"The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has raided a car dealership in Harare and stopped the auction of 75 cars as part of investigations into alleged tax evasion by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

According to a letter written to the embattled RBZ governor Gideon Gono by Imperial Motors, ZIMRA officials also seized records from the dealership that also trades as AJ Motor Centre.

"The ZIMRA officials have not given any reason as to why they have placed an embargo on our vehicles but much of their research and audit is focused on vehicles sold to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)," said Imperial Motors chief executive officer, Ajit Patel in a letter addressed to Gono and in Radio VOP’s possession.

"We have had many contracts with RBZ and these contracts are based on the nature that Imperial Motors are only facilitating the RBZ purchases of vehicles by carrying out the logistics and documentation for the vehicles."

The RBZ imported hundreds of cars some of which were used during the currency change programmes.

Some of the cars that still do not have registration books were later donated to government departments."

And while Gono's supply company was making money by selling motor cars to the Reserve Bank, he was also taking money out of accounts held at the bank 'in the national interest' and that money has not been replaced, even though Mugabe says that Gono is 'no thief'.

Perhaps if he had paid the tax on the vehicles, then there would have been no need to raid accounts...

"Movement of Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai alleged some of the cars were used to abduct its supporters by state security agents during the bloody 2008 elections.

In the letter, Patel pleads with Gono to ensure that his company is not inconvenienced by the raids."

That's a laugh - they want their company to continue as normal whilst the investigations continue...

"He said his company had been a supplier of vehicles to State House, the army, the police and other government departments.

A ZIMRA spokesman confirmed the raids and warned that the authority would deal with any tax evaders regardless of their status.

Property worth millions belonging to the RBZ has been auctioned by creditors as the central bank is broke.

It is alleged the central bank imported thousands of vehicles in the past five years without paying duty."

-o00o-

I am not a huge FaceBook fan, although I do have an account there.

This article lays bare just how easily the private writings on people can be publicly exposed...

"A security hole in Social Networking website Facebook’s database has seen many Zimbabweans’ online chats being laid bare before the whole world to see, potentially exposing some to political victimisation by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party, as the company abruptly changes its privacy policy.

Facebook made sudden changes to their privacy policy on the 21st April which opened up its search facility, experts charge. As a result, websites armed with the simple-code will now within a split second show-cast selected data residing in the social network’s inner database, as Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmahdinejad calls on the United Nations to force America to loosen its control of the Internet.

One of these website, www.youropenbook.org freely interrogates Facebook’s naked database and can display a series of search query results with just a click of the mouse. As of Monday, a search for 'Mugabe' (http://youropenbook.org/?q=Mugabe&gender=any) exposed a number of chats which included one written by a lady, name withheld, who had scribbled a short prayer from her mobile phone.

"Dear God, I know you’re busy with Darfur, the Middle East, oil spills, planes falling out of the sky, those damn North Koreans threatening to blow the whole world up, etc. But Lord, when you have a wee moment won’t you please check on my neighbour Bob Mugabe. I believe his building a modern day ark Lord. And you won’t believe where he’s sailing to!! I smell a rat."

According to some experts, the data which is exposed to the rest of the world is that of people who have their privacy settings set to open. However, without adequate computer literacy tagged with Facebook’s sophisticated settings, many Zimbabweans have become prey to this security-hole."

Well, if Mugabe is sending an Ark of animals to various countries, I think we will smell more than a rat...

But, as Zimbabweans, we need to be aware of the inherent problems and potentially harmful results of using the FaceBook website.

-o00o-

Mugabe is intent on nailing as many MDC members, officials and followers as he can - for doing very nearly nothing...

"A Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Senator has landed himself in trouble with the police for allegedly insulting President Robert Mugabe.

Senator Morgan Komichi, who is the MDC deputy organising secretary, is accused by Bindura police of undermining the authority of or insulting President Mugabe after he allegedly sang a song with the lyrics: "Chimurume chagire chandifungisa dhongi rangu rakafa kare kare," which the police construed to mean "Grace’s husband reminds me of my donkey which died long long back referring to His Excellence (sic) President Robert Gabriel Mugabe who is husband of the first Lady Comrade Grace Mugabe".

Police allege that Komichi sang the "insulting" song when he addressed a rally at Chiwaridzo Shopping Centre in Bindura on 24 January 2010.

Police say the MDC deputy organising secretary made the insults when he knew or realised that there was a real risk or possibility that the statement was false and that it could "engender feelings of hostility towards or course (sic) hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President whether in person or in respect of the President’s Office"."

It is quite amazing that Mugabe's police seem to spend their time chasing and arresting MDC personnel when he and his senior apologists are allowed to say what they want about the MDC. The power-sharing agreement of two years ago makes provision against 'hate speech', but that only seems to apply to the MDC.

"Komichi becomes the latest MDC official to be charged with insulting President Mugabe.

In January Nyanga North legislator Douglas Mwonzora was summoned to stand trial on allegations that he called the octogenarian leader a "goblin" at a rally he addressed at Ruwangwe Growth Point in Nyanga North constituency on 21 March 2009."

Mugabe can dish it out, but he can't take it...

-o00o-

Job Sikhala is finding out the hard way that becoming a political leader in Zimbabwe, standing against the losers of the 2008 election, is not as easy as he first thought.

And following his arrest at the weekend, he intends to speak about it all in a press conference tomorrow.

"Outspoken leader of the newly formed MDC-99 party, Job Sikhala, on Monday launched a verbal attack on Robert Mugabe, describing him as an 'unrepentant dictator'.

The former St Mary's legislator told SW Radio Africa that Zimbabwe has not moved an inch towards human rights reforms since the days Mugabe was in total power.

The MDC-99 leader was arrested on Friday for launching his MDC-99 party 'without informing the police'. He’s also being accused of insulting Mugabe.

On Monday Sikhala appeared in court facing the two charges. He was released from custody and told to pay $100 bail. He’s now set to appear in court for trial on the 7th June. The presiding magistrate ordered Sikhala to report weekly at St Mary's police station."

Mugabe did it to Tsvangirai and many of his followers, including high profile defendant Roy Bennett, and now he has his eyes set on Sikhala. Just about the only person he hasn't gone for is Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, leader of the smaller MDC faction.

Mugabe knows that the smaller faction has enough seats to swing the majority one way of the other, so instead of going after him, he is happy to romance him...

"Sikhala said he will hold a press conference on Wednesday to challenge the international community to confront Mugabe over human rights abuses and his intimidation of political opponents."

No doubt we will read of Sikhala being arrested tomorrow and being held on various charges which will include insulting the President, unauthorised public gathering, and more lesser 'crimes'.

-o00o-

Another newspaper report suggests that some of Tsvangirai's people are jumping ship to join Sikhala.

"Job Sikhala’s newly formed MDC-99 has taken Zimbabwe by storm with confirmed reports that several senior MDC-T and MDC-M officials have joined his party, The Zim Diaspora can reveal.

There is no doubt that the threat of Sikhala’s newly launched party against Zimbabwe’s mainstream political parties could have led to his arrest last week, as a means of trying to weaken him.

Sikhala is now facing trumped up charges of allegedly insulting Mr Mugabe and he is being charged under the notorious POSA.

Senior officials who have crossed the floor to join the Sikhala-led party include Mr Timevious Acropol, who was the MDC-T district chairperson for Zvishavane, his wife, Lilien, who was the party’s provincial treasurer, Ishmael Mavukazuva, who was the MDC-T vice chairperson for Zvishavane district, Robson Mugwagwa, Midlands South Provincial youth information officer, Mr Antony Musiwa, a member of the Mkoba district executive, Mr Josiah Makombe, secretary for Gweru Urban and Mr David Sabola who was the Gweru urban district treasurer.

In a document entitled "The Way Forward", the former MDC-T officials said most of the officials who crossed over to the newly formed MDC 99 were frustrated by Tsvangirai’s MDC-T.

The party officials said they felt betrayed in the struggle by their former MDC-T party which they said had deviated from the party’s founding democratic principles.

They said they while they had for all along pinned their hopes on Morgan Tsvangirai, they were horrified by corruption within senior MDC-T officials giving examples of the appointment of Hebson Makuvise as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to German yet he was direct maternal uncle of Prime Minister Tsvangirai, they claimed."

I suppose the difference is that we had so many hopes for the MDC when they beat ZANU PF in the parliamentary elections in 2008, but over two years later we see very little has changed and ZANU PF seem to run the country although they are really the political opposition.

Tsvangirai's MDC faction finds themselves almost toothless in the government, largely brought about by the stubbornness of Mugabe in allowing the party that won the election any power at all. As I have said in the past, probably the quietest and longer coup in history.

"The officials who have joined the new party said after trying in vain to reason with the party leadership on the way forward, they decided to join the new party.

"Following the party’s dismal failure to deal with issues of factionalism in the Midlands South province, we the so-called Jatropha faction together with several others who felt that the issue of factionalism has not been dealt with in a democratic manner, have decided to cross over and join MDC-99 as we seek to follow the roots and principles that led to the initial formation of the united MDC in the year 2009," read part of the statement.

"We have since realised that the term democracy no longer exists in the MDC-T party as leaders have become dictators that do not accept any dissenting voices," read part of the statement."

Well - they are entitled to their opinions, aren't they?

-o00o-

I would suppose that being the son of the most guarded man in Africa would have its problems. And being a teenager as well adds to the potential problems.

"President Robert Mugabe’s son, Robert Jnr, is said to be causing security nightmares for his personal guards preferring a normal life.

Eye witness at the posh St John's College in Borrowdale where he attends school, said last Friday Robert Jnr had caused mayhem at the school when he drove to the nearby Chisipite shopping centre to buy lunch with his white friend in a bid to get a taste of public life.

"While at the shopping centre the two entered into Bon Marche shop where they bought some ice cream, a life Robert is rarely exposed to," said a source. "It is at this time that the state security, which takes him home for lunch, arrived and discovered that he was nowhere to be found."

People who reside near the college said there were noises of sirens coming from all directions during that time.

"We thought maybe the president had come for a meeting with the school when we heard noises of his motorcade. Everyone’s attention was drawn to that unusual noise. We quickly rushed to the school and discovered that the state security was asking children about the whereabouts of Robert (Jnr) who at that time arrived in a friend’s posh car," said eye witnesses."

Methinks that Mugabe will not be happy with his son rubbing shoulders with white friends... y'see, the president is a rabid racist.

"Robert is always telling us that he is tired of being closely monitored by the security. He told us that he misses a great deal because of confinement and that is why he decided to jump into his friend’s car to go to Chisipite," said students at the school.

The students said he deliberately left earlier for lunch to avoid his security personnel."

I would think that Mugabe (Snr) will probably have stern words with the school - and I would also guess that a close security operative will probably be detailed to shadow him 24/7 - including school...

"We have heard that he has on several times been denied getting out with friends by our security and we are now afraid that he might cause us problems with the state security if he continues avoiding them," said the teacher.

Robert Jnr, who is said to be doing his upper six at the elite College is normally drove home for lunch by state security every day."

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu