Mukoko and 12 other political detainees granted bail

By Violet Gonda

2 March 2009

13 MDC and civic activists, who had been abducted between the months of October and December last year, have finally been granted bail. The bulk of the activists were granted bail last Friday, but Jestina Mukoko, the Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), was granted bail on Monday. Lawyer Alex Muchadehama said a group of 16 people had been in police custody on allegations relating to plots of banditry and terrorism. 13 were granted bail and three are still appealing for bail in the High Court. Those three are MDC Security Officer Chris Dlamini, Morgan Tsvangirai’s former aide Gandhi Mudzingwa and photo-journalist Shadreck Anderson Manyere.

Muchadehama said of the 13 only seven have been able to meet the stringent bail conditions and are therefore free, while the remaining six are still in police custody as they have not been able to fulfill the bail conditions. The lawyer said they were ordered to provide title deeds of US$20 000, surrender their passports, pay a bail fee of US$600 and report to the police twice a week.So far only Mukoko, Broderick Takawira (also from the ZPP), Fidelis Chiramba and four others have been able to meet these bail conditions. He said the other six either don’t have travel documents or title deeds worth US$20 000.Muchadehama said for the last few months the police have denied knowing the whereabouts of about 10 other missing persons. But they have now said they will release these missing persons if the defence team drops court applications asking police to release them. This makes no sense but is apparently what the police are insisting upon. “If you withdraw applications seeking to identify where they are, they (police) were also prepared to release those people unconditionally. Without taking them to court, without charging them - notwithstanding whatever number they are, they said they are prepared to release them.” Muchadehama added.

He said the public prosecutor indicated to them that the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee and the President had directed the Attorney General to release the detainees. He said this is clear proof that there had never been any substance to the allegations of terrorism by the State but pure ‘political gamesmanship’. Muchadehama said: “This is not the rule of law, this is not justice. It’s politics taken to the wrong forum.”Those granted bail were: Concillia Chinanzavana, Manuel Chinanzvavana, Fidelis Chiramba, Violet Mupfuranhewe, Colin Mutemagawu, Pieta Kaseke, Audrice Mbudzana, Broderick Takawira, Zacharia Nkomo, Chinoto Zulu, Regis Mujeyi and Mapfumo Gautsa and Mukoko.

Meanwhile the MDC Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate Roy Bennett remains in jail.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Zimbabwe needs the church

A church network can deliver the aid that Zimbabwe desperately needs better than any foreign NGO

Richard Dowden
26.02.2009, Guardian UK

When states and institutions collapse in Africa through war or bad government, or when a government stops outsiders travelling, the churches become the only source of support and hope. Like the monasteries in bad times in medieval Europe, they become bastions of safety as well as providers of food and medical care. Unlike the foreign NGOs whose workers have to pull out when the going gets tough, church workers are usually local people, so the churches and their humanitarian operations never close.

In Congo in the war in the early 1990s I found one parish that was operating as a clinic, school, food store and feeding centre, hotel, shop, post office, airline, workshop, garage – and church. Even soldiers completely out of control are sometimes too frightened of the churches' spiritual power to attack or loot them. In Zimbabwe, foreign NGOs have found their work obstructed by the government and food aid has been persistently diverted to areas that support Mugabe and away from those in greatest need. NGO workers have been prevented from travel because they report back on repression by the security forces.

The aid donors are not providing help on the scale it is needed. They have decided to hang back until they can judge whether the new unity government is going to work before stepping in with a major rescue plan for Zimbabwe. That is probably the right decision. If they injected cash into the government at this stage it would probably be seized by Zanu PF.
The appeal by Britain's two leading Anglican churchmen for aid to Zimbabwe means that money raised will reach the people quickly with very low overhead costs. My question is why, when the Anglican communion has Christian Aid, already a well-established aid agency with a track record of delivery in such circumstances, did they issue an appeal for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel? And why did they not launch an appeal with church leaders from other denominations?

Zimbabwe certainly needs our help, with millions surviving on one meagre meal a day – if that. More than half the population is reckoned to be needing food aid. Cholera has affected 80,000 people and some 4,000 have died. Hospital workers on strike, unable to survive themselves on their ridiculously low wages made meaningless by hyperinflation, are now being paid to work by some of the churches and NGOs.

Too much newsprint has been devoted in the British press to the fate of the white farmers of Zimbabwe, reinforcing Africans' view that white life in Africa is more important to Britain than the lives of Africans. It also helps Mugabe in his propaganda war against Britain and his fantastical claims that Britain is only interested in its own people and wants to recolonise the country. The loss of the whites is great and catastrophic for the Zimbabwe economy but their physical circumstances are not as dire as those of many Africans. This appeal is for people who really need our help.

Tsvangirai, Mugabe & Mutambara meet to finalise appointments

By Tichaona Sibanda2 March 2009

Party principals to the Global Political Agreement met in Harare on Monday and agreed on a process that would see the appointments of permanent secretaries, provincial governors and ambassadors in the next two weeks.Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara all agreed on a process that would see an equitable distribution of all senior government positions. That process is being overseen by the Prime Minister, with help from his deputies, Thokozani Khupe and Mutambara.

James Maridadi, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, confirmed the process of identifying potential candidates for all senior government posts has started. It is believed Tsvangirai will consult with Mugabe on the final list before the new appointments are made public. In the spirit of the GPA, the principals agreed also to revisit the issue of the Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana.

A source told us the Prime Minister requested from the public service commission all curriculum vitae’s of current permanent secretaries and those that were appointed last week, but whose appointments have now been nullified. Members from the MDC have also sent in their CV’s to be considered for the senior positions.

Another source told us a formula that is likely to be used by the principals is that where a minister is from ZANU PF, a permanent secretary will also be appointed from within ZANU PF ranks. If the minister is from the MDC, then the permanent secretary will also be MDC.It is believed the Prime Minister has also requested information regarding the procedures used when appointing ambassadors and junior diplomatic postings.
Newsreel is reliably informed that the Prime Minister wrote a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi last week, asking about the number of diplomats posted outside the country.
A source in the Foreign Affairs Ministry told us the minister was tasked to give a detailed report on how long each ambassador has been posted abroad, when they are due back home and how many times each diplomat had been posted outside since joining the ministry.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Makoni, Mandaza do battle over funds

HARARE (Financial Gazette) - A bruising fight between presidential hopeful in the March 2008 elections, Simba Makoni, and academic, Ibbo Mandaza, for the control of Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) has sucked in the Swedish government after it emerged that the Swedes funded the project to the tune of over US$25,000 in a bid to unseat President Robert Mugabe.

The latest revelations could spark a diplomatic furor between Harare and Stockholm at a time Zimbabwe is re-engaging the international community to get its economy back on track. The law only allows political parties to get funding through Parliament and not from foreign donors to avoid interference in the country’s domestic affairs.
Mandaza, the project’s national coordinator, and Makoni crossed swords last year over the allocation of resources and the alleged failure by the former finance minister to transform MKD into a fully-fledged political party.

MKD’s provincial executives then passed a vote of no confidence in Makoni, demoting him to an ordinary card-carrying member while instituting investigations into how resources donated to the movement were used. Issues came to a head when Makoni allegedly took away all printing business from Mandaza’s company, SAPPHO, and awarded the contract to ART Corporation. Sensing this was going have an immediate financial impact on his printing business, Mandaza wrote to Makoni on October 30 2008 urging him to come clean on the donations he may have received as the movement’s presidential candidate.

Mandaza tried to play down the Swedish Embassy’s role in capacitating MKD saying the money from the Swedes came through a contract between his company, Southern African Political Economic Series (SAPES), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
This was after Makoni had reportedly queried and threatened to fire Mandaza over SIDA’s donation, prompting the latter to engage AMG Global Chartered Accountants to draw up an income and expenditure statement which exonerated Mandaza from any wrongdoing.
“Notwithstanding what you have been told by our mutual friend at the Embassy, please note that the Agreement is between SIDA and SAPES Trust; and obviously, it is was an arrangement that took into account during that period, the fact that Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn was being run from SAPES premises at 26 Deary Avenue, Belgravia.

The Financial Gazette discovered that the mutual friend being referred to was Sweden’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Sten Rylander.
Documents seen by this newspaper show that SAPES Trust contributed immensely to the birth of the MKD, providing offices and secretarial services from January 3 2008 to mid-April 2008, attending to the movement’s concerns, printing posters and fliers among other duties to the tune of US$30 096.50
In the documents, Mandaza said: “Of great significance here is the fact that all the US$25,385 was spent on work directly related to Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, against a budget provided to SIDA on 6 March 2008. In fact, such expenditure exceeded the budget by US$14,364.43 including the US$9,996, an amount MKD refused to pay SAPPHO Printing for the pre-printing work for the job subsequently completed at ART Corporation.

“Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn might have had enormous logistical problems were it not for the support rendered by the SAPES Trust, a task no doubt greatly facilitated and aided by the SIDA contribution. This was a period during which most estate agents and even hotels and public places were afraid to be associated with the movement that was challenging Zanu-PF. In the final analysis, only SAPES Trust and Rainbow Tourism Group provided space for meetings and those press briefings by Simba Makoni. Likewise, SIDA was one of the very few international organisations and the Swedish Embassy in Harare that gave Mavambo/ Kusile/Dawn both moral and material support.”
SAPES is said to have contributed at least US$30 096.50 plus US$12 364 which was said to be a deficit for the printing costs at SAPPHO.
Contacted for comment, Rylander said he had nothing to do with the issue, but pressed further, he opened up a little.
Although he denied having direct links with the MKD, he agreed supporting SAPES.
“There are no direct links with the Mavambo project. There was cooperation between us and SAPES and we don’t have any complaints in the manner in which they have handled our funding. We can’t be seen as an embassy to support political movements,” he said.

Mandaza could not be reached for comment.
However, Makoni referred all questions to the movement’s head of communications Godfrey Chanetsa who is aligned to him.
Chanetsa said: “Makoni has referred you to me because he probably doesn’t have a comment at the moment. I am aware of the intense debate over that subject between those mentioned in the documents you may have, but this is costing us as a movement.
“My function was to help campaign and as for the resources, Makoni and Mandaza should know where they got them, but I am sure they were legitimate and we complied with the country’s laws. Major political parties supposedly get funding from Parliament and that’s the law. This whole thing is costing us. I don’t think that we agreed that after the presidential election we waste a lot of time and energy throwing dirty linen in public.”

UN urges global community to assist Zim

Herald Reporter

02 March 2009

THE United Nations inter-agency humanitarian mission that was in Zimbabwe last week has urged the international community to support and strengthen relief efforts by humanitarian organisations in the country.In a statement from the UN Headquarters in New York, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and deputy emergency relief co-ordinator Ms Catherine Bragg — who led the mission to Zimbabwe — said the most acute manifestations of the situation included the cholera outbreak.The outbreak has already claimed over 3 000 lives."Despite tremendous efforts by both the Government and the humanitarian community in Zimbabwe to contain the cholera epidemic, major challenges remain," she said.Ms Bragg said there was need for continued assistance and resources to help Zimbabweans improve national food security."We have to ensure farmers have all the agricultural inputs they need for the next planting season, which begins in September. If we do not act now, we could end up next year with a situation similar to what we have today," Ms Bragg said.According to the statement, members of the mission noted the international community’s continued generosity to the people of Zimbabwe, saying additional resources will be required in the coming months to respond to the evolving situation in Zimbabwe.They stressed the need to start planning for early recovery, noting that rehabilitation of the basic infrastructure was required."To effectively contain cholera, water and sewage systems need to be urgently repaired coupled with a public health outreach campaign that goes down to the district and ward level," the statement said.President Mugabe met the mission last week and expressed his appreciation for the support Zimbabwe has been receiving from the humanitarian community.The mission also described their meeting with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and several Cabinet ministers as positive while it received assurance of full co-operation with the UN and its partners.It, however, stressed that the welfare of the people was largely the responsibility of the Government of Zimbabwe."We trust that the inclusive Government will quickly take the necessary steps to address the fundamentals of governance that would allow stability and economic recovery," the mission added.Addressing journalists at the end of the mission last week, Ms Bragg said the UN required a total of US$500 million to assist Zimbabwe with its humanitarian needs.Other members of the mission included Daniel Lopez Acuna, World Health Organisation director of recovery and transition programmes; Robin Nandy, senior health advisor at Unicef; Andrew Colin Parker, senior water and sanitation advisor with Unicef; and Timo Pakkala, the World Food Programme deputy regional representative.

British bank accused of propping up Mugabe regime

By Alex Bell

27 February 2009

A British bank currently operating in Zimbabwe has been accused of propping up Robert Mugabe, reportedly by transferring money directly to the dictator’s regime.
The accusations by the UK’s Foreign Office were made in internal British government emails last year, which showed concern about the involvement of Standard Chartered Bank in Zimbabwe. According to the emails, seen by the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, an internal Foreign Office briefing document accuses the bank of diverting money directly to Mugabe’s government, through a loans scheme.
According to the Telegraph, the one email, dated August 25 2008, says: “Standard Chartered risks real reputational damage if seen as passing funds to the Government of Zimbabwe.” A further email from July last year accuses banks operating in the country of ‘propping up’ Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank, which has a notorious reputation for diverting funds to Mugabe’s cronies. The August email even suggests that Standard Chartered should close its operations in the crisis ravaged country, reading: “We should ask the companies to take a long hard look at what they are doing and with whom.”
UK leaders have been particularly critical of Mugabe and in turn, Mugabe has repeatedly voiced his hatred of such Western powers. However the emails will likely cause more embarrassment for the British government as the bank, up until last month, was run by the recently appointed UK Minister of Trade and Investment.
Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe is 100% owned by Standard Chartered UK, but because it operates as a Zimbabwean registered company, its operations are not governed by EU targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime - which effectively cut all financial ties with the dictator and his known associates and supporters. According to a British opposition MP who obtained the emails, British banks have been able to ‘circumvent’ the sanctions restrictions by operating through Zimbabwean based companies. The MP has said the revelations “demonstrate just how weak and inadequate the sanctions rules have been - and the hypocrisy of the Government.”
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

2008 Human Rights Report: Zimbabwe

US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
February 25, 2009

Zimbabwe, with a population of approximately nine million, is constitutionally a republic, but the government, dominated by President Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) since independence, was not freely elected and was authoritarian. The last four national elections--the presidential election in 2002, the parliamentary elections in March 2005, the harmonized presidential and parliamentary elections in March 2008, and the presidential run-off in June--were not free and fair. In the March 29 elections two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) gained a parliamentary majority. Mugabe was declared the winner of the June 27 run-off election after opposing candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew due to ZANU-PF-directed violence that made a free and fair election impossible. Negotiations subsequently took place between ZANU-PF and the two MDC factions aimed at agreement on a power-sharing government. On September 15, all three parties signed a power-sharing agreement under which Mugabe would retain the presidency and Tsvangirai would become prime minister-elect; however, the provisions of the deal had not been implemented by year's end. Although the constitution allows for multiple parties, ZANU-PF, through the use of government and paramilitary forces, intimidated and committed abuses against opposition parties and their supporters and obstructed their activities. The Joint Operation Command (JOC), a group of senior security and civilian authorities, maintained control of the security forces, and often used them to control opposition to ZANU-PF.

The government continued to engage in the pervasive and systematic abuse of human rights, which increased during the year. The ruling party's dominant control and manipulation of the political process through violence, intimidation, and corruption effectively negated the right of citizens to change their government. Unlawful killings and politically motivated abductions increased. State-sanctioned use of excessive force increased, and security forces tortured members of the opposition, student leaders, and civil society activists with impunity. Security forces refused to document cases of political violence committed by ruling party loyalists against members of the opposition. Prison conditions were harsh and life threatening. Security forces, who regularly acted with impunity, arbitrarily arrested and detained the opposition, members of civil society, labor leaders, journalists, demonstrators, and religious leaders; lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Executive influence and interference in the judiciary continued. The government continued to evict citizens and to demolish homes and informal marketplaces. The government continued to use repressive laws to suppress freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, academic freedom, and movement. Government corruption remained widespread. High-ranking government officials made numerous public threats of violence against demonstrators and members of the opposition. A nearly three-month ban on the activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) exacerbated food insecurity and poverty. After the ban was lifted, security forces, war veteran groups, and provincial governors continued to interfere with NGO operations, hampering food distributions. Tens of thousands of citizens were displaced in the wake of election-related violence and instability, and the government impeded NGOs' efforts to assist them and other vulnerable populations. The following human rights violations also continued: violence and discrimination against women; trafficking of women and children; discrimination against persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and persons living with HIV/AIDS; harassment and interference with labor organizations critical of government policies; child labor; and forced labor, including of children.