Tuesday, 27th September 2011

Howzit

When I was in the ZRP, many years ago, as a prosecutor and as an investigating officer, I would often find myself having to visit various prisons in and around Bulawayo - and even then, they were not in the best shape. And I can guarantee that Mugabe's administration spent next to nothing on the upkeep of the establishments, so they must be pretty disgusting now.

And then there is the treatment of the inmates...

A pressure group on Monday denounced what it described as the inhumane condition facing women imprisoned in police cells in Zimbabwe.

In a petition to the country's highest court, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) said incarcerated women were being forced to take off their underwear and shoes, while their cells have no light or sanitation.

"The application seeks to highlight the plight of women in detention, by showing the added hardships they have to endure on account of their sex.

"The filth, coupled with lack of access to sanitation, constitutes a violation of the rights of women in detention," Belinda Chinowawa of the Zimbabwe of Lawyers for Human Rights told the German Press Agency dpa.

The petition follows the recent arrest of four WOZA activists, who were detained at Harare Central Police station for demonstrating against escalating energy costs.

No amount of petitions or court orders will make the situation any easier - Mugabe has decided that the future for Zimbabwe is embodied by his own life, not the lives of lowly criminal Zimbabweans...

Every now and then there is a spark of logic in Zimbabwe, and when it does happen, we should celebrate the common sense being displayed.

The son of Midlands governor Jason Machaya and three other ZANU PF activists were beginning 18-year jail terms on Monday after they were convicted of beating an MDC-T supporter to death.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, on circuit in Gweru, said the sentence should send a “clear message on the sanctity of life” as he put away Farai Machaya, 32, Abel Maphosa, and brothers Edmore, 29, and Bothwell Gana, 27, for the killing of Moses Chokuda in March 2009.

Two soldiers, Obert Gavi, 25, and Tirivashoma Mawadza, 25, involved in the brutal assault on Chokuda, who had been accused of a break-in at the governor’s shop in Gokwe, were given suspended 12 month sentences.

In dramatic scenes outside the Gweru Magistrates’ Court building where the sentencing hearing took place, Chokuda’s father declared he would not be burying his son until the parents of the quartet “come to my own court”.

I wonder if ZANU PF will orchestrate a quiet release for the accused once the spotlight has moved on to other news...?

I interested in reading this...

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will publish his memoirs on October 1 after signing a multi-million rand deal with Penguin Books.

Tsvangirai, 59, will also make extra cash after flogging serialisation rights to eleven South African newspapers.

‘Morgan Tsvangirai: In at the Deep End’, “traces Tsvangirai’s political development and activism, laying bare the challenges and frustrations of his political life, up to and including the power-sharing agreements with President Robert Mugabe,” Penguin Books said in a statement.

The autobiography, Tsvangirai’s first book, was ghost-written by the journalist William Tagwirei Bango. Bango, who worked for the MDC leader for a time as his spokesman, previously worked for The Daily News as a news editor.

Penguin Books said Tsvangirai was “globally regarded as a courageous and indefatigable symbol of resistance in the face of brutal repression” adding that the book would chronicle his travails “from teenage mine worker to trade union leader to Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in a coalition government”.

So Kasukuwere will chase Standard Chartered out of the country - and then attempt to run it using Zimbabwean ownership. The result will be one decidedly ex-bank...

Zimbabwe has rejected Standard Chartered’s ownership plan for its Zimbabwean unit because it falls below the required 51 percent local stake, state media reported on Monday.

Under a controversial “indigenisation” law, foreign firms operating in Zimbabwe are required to sell a majority of their local business to black Zimbabweans. Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere told the state-controlled Herald newspaper that Standard Chartered had offered 10 percent of its operation to locals.

“The law is clear. It’s 51 percent share holding to indigenous people, not the 10 percent they are talking about,” Kasukuwere told the Herald. “Their plan is unacceptable.” Kasukuwere and Standard Chartered officials were not immediately available for comment.

Standard Chartered’s executive for the Africa region, Diana Layfield, met Kasukuwere last week and told him the bank wanted to retain majority control of its Zimbabwe unit, the newspaper said.

Kasukuwere in August gave Standard Chartered, Barclays and other foreign-owned firms, a two-week ultimatum to submit new ownership plans or risk losing their operating licences, a move that was sharply criticised by Zimbabwe’s central bank.

Mugabe doesn't listen to underlings in government - certainly not those of the MDC-T - and only wants to liaise with his own people. Chamisa's challenge will fall on deaf ears - and a very hard heart...

MDC-T organising secretary Nelson Chamisa yesterday dared President Robert Mugabe to stop his party’s notorious shadowy group Chipangano from terrorising Harare residents to prove he is sincere in his calls for peace.

The Mbare-based Chipangano is a violent political gang which features at most scenes of political violence defending ZANU PF positions by beating up perceived opposition members.

Chamisa yesterday said the 87-year-old ZANU PF leader, who has of late taken every opportunity to lambaste violence, must put his sincerity to the test by reining in the Chipangano rabble rousers.

The youthful and popular MDC-T leader was addressing a rally in his constituency of Kuwadzana when he challenged President Mugabe’s sincerity.

Chipangano has caused havoc in Harare where it has literally crippled the operations of elected public officials including the mayor and his council who have all but given up on the group’s disruptive and violent activities.

It is not a dare, nor a challenge - but it does bring Chamisa under the Mugabe microscope...

Take care.

'debvhu