SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The MDC-T’s attempts to challenge the legality of the July elections continue to face serious difficulties, with two more electoral petitions being dismissed this week. Justice Chinembiri Bhunu on Monday said the petitions, filed by the losing MDC-T candidates in Marondera East and Hurungwe West constituencies, are “fatally defective,” because the individuals the candidates accused of being behind the alleged vote rigging there could not respond in the case. In the Marondera East constituency Tracy Mutinhiri was contesting the ‘victory’ by ZANU PF candidate Jeremiah Chiwetu, while Wilson Makanyange was contesting Temba Mliswa’s win in Hurungwe West. But Bhunu upheld the results and declared the ZANU PF candidates duly elected Members of Parliament. “In the final analysis, it is accordingly ordered that both electoral petitions filed by the petitioners are a nullity, void and of no force or effect,” Bhunu said. Bhunu said that the two petitions were not in line with the rules of the Electoral Court, which requires the full details of any person accused of corrupt or illegal practices. This includes full names and addresses, in order for those people to be summoned to court to respond to the allegations. Bhunu therefore threw out the MDC-T petitions on the technicality that, although the candidates listed chiefs, headmen and other traditional leaders as being behind the allegedly widespread rigging of the July poll, they did not give their full names and addresses. “Misinterpreting the law is, however no excuse for not complying with the law, for ignorance of the law is no excuse,” Bhunu said. Scores of challenges have been filed by losing MDC-T candidates since the disputed elections which saw Robert Mugabe and his party score a questionable ‘victory’. But the cases have seen little success for the Morgan Tsvangirai led party. This includes the challenge filed by Jameson Timba, the losing Mount Pleasant candidate, whose attempts to uncover voting irregularities have been halted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) ongoing failure to provide an electronic copy of the voters roll. Bhunu dismissed Timba’s application for a copy of the voters roll, saying the MDC-T candidate needed to first prove that the technical problems, which ZEC insists are preventing it from releasing the election voters roll, had been resolved.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Human rights activist Abel Chikomo, who was acquitted last week on charges of running an ‘unregistered’ organisation has said his acquittal is ‘not a victory worth celebrating’ because the oppressive system is still intact. Chikomo, who is the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Executive Director, was acquitted Friday after a magistrate found that there was ‘absolutely’ no case against him. Speaking on SW Radio Africa’s Cutting Edge programme, Chikomo said the state had ‘achieved its goal of obstructing my work’ because he had lost the ‘bulk’ of his time defending himself. Chikomo was arrested in February 2011 and since then his trial suffered four false starts, with the state at one time dropping charges against him. He said his trial was part of what he called a ‘grand, calculated system of attack on civil rights activists.’ On Tuesday Beatrice Mtetwa, who was also acquitted in another case, told SW Radio that her trial was a ‘deliberate persecution’ meant to incapacitate her ahead of the July 31st election. As in Chikomo’s case a magistrate found that there was no case against Mtetwa. Both cases were widely seen as part of the judicial harassment of human rights activists. Chikomo said that it was futile to celebrate his acquittal because as far as he was concerned more cases are likely to be brought to court in future. He said there was now a ‘deep culture of paranoia’ whereby the state will seek to ‘make an example of anybody whom it perceives to be an enemy’. According to Chikomo the police are abusing the criminal justice system by ‘dragging people to court to be investigated instead of being tried’. In his ruling magistrate Elijah Makomo castigated the police for taking Chikomo to court when there was ‘absolutely’ no case against him. Chikomo was facing accusations of conducting a survey on transitional justice, without registration, as required by the law.The state also alleged that he instructed two of his subordinates to ‘unlawfully’ source people’s recommendations on what kind of transitional justice they would prefer in the country.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

A senior MDC-T official, Jessie Majome, has approached the Constitutional Court seeking the endorsement of her decision not to pay for radio and television licences to the ‘biased’ Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBC). Majome, who is MP for Harare West, is refusing to pay for licences because ZBC is ‘openly biased towards ZANU PF’ and is also ‘anti-MDC’. In July ZBC inspectors, accompanied by the police, visited Majome’s home and warned her that she would be prosecuted for not paying for her licences. But Majome has remained defiant since and has also sought the court’s intervention in the matter. A Daily News report on Wednesday said Majome wants the court to declare that ‘noncompliance with sections of the Broadcasting Services Act does not constitute a criminal offence.’ In her court papers Majome argues that those particular sections are ‘unconstitutional’ and that the state broadcaster is infringing her right of ‘freedom of association by virtue of partisan programming’. The Harare West legislator argues that ZBC ‘compels’ her to ‘associate with ZANU PF by forcing her to know and hear at least something about ZANU PF’ each time she tunes to radio and TV. Majome says it is her right not to associate with a party she is ‘personally and officially opposed to’. On Wednesday Majome told SW Radio Africa that she was waiting for the court to allocate a date for the hearing of the matter. She said her lawyers were still preparing the heads of argument. Majome remained defiant saying paying licences to ZBC was akin to funding ZANU PF’s propaganda campaign. She said ZANU PF should fundraise like other parties and not expect the public to pay subscriptions to the party under the guise of paying for licences. She also called for plurality in the broadcasting sector saying ZBC was a ‘complete disaster’. Her comments come at a time when the government is being called upon to open up the airwaves to multiple players. The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) is responsible for licencing new players, but their board was handpicked by the then former information minister, Webster Shamu, and is comprised of ZANU PF allies and retired army generals. Although BAZ recently called for applications for new radio licences media players are skeptical. Outgoing executive director of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, Takura Zhangazha, recently told SW Radio Africa that while there was a ‘definite’ intention to open up the airwaves the gesture was not for the furtherance of human rights and democracy. The day before the BAZ call for radio applications Supa Mandiwanzira, the Deputy Minister of Information, told the Senate that government was in the process of licensing new radio stations ‘to get rid of pirate radio stations that have been spawning anti-Zimbabwe sentiments. The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe expressed its concern over the, ‘authorities contradictory action claiming to be interested in opening up the broadcasting sector, while the covert motive appears to the need to get rid of the so-called pirate radio stations.’

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The cash-strapped Gweru City Council has resorted to disconnecting the water supply of defaulting residents, in a bid to force them to pay up. Gweru council authorities say there has been a noticeable rise in the number of defaulters, following ZANU PF’s unilateral decision to force councils across the country to cancel residents’ debts ahead of the July 31st elections. Gweru Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi told SW Radio Africa that his council was not opposed to the cancellation, but he felt that residents were now withholding payments in the hope of another write-off. “The council is struggling to service its own obligations including paying staff, ensuring that paid up residents have access to clean water, maintaining the whole city infrastructure, among other things,” Hamutendi said. He said some residents had not bothered to pay anything in two months, and had created serious cash-flow problems for the council which was affecting service delivery. In the just-ended financial year, Gweru reported a budget deficit of $8 million, which authorities blame on Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo’s reprieve. Local businesses, which were not covered by Chombo’s directive, reportedly owe $13 million in unpaid rates. Mayor Hamutendi dismissed fears that disconnecting water supply could force genuinely hard-up residents to turn to unprotected water sources, thus exposing them to waterborne diseases. “Chances of this happening are very slim. There are boreholes in each ward that were sunk by non-governmental organisations and people can make use of this if they are disconnected,” he added. Meanwhile in Matebeleland South, Gwanda Town Council was without water for two weeks following a payment wrangle between the municipality and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA). ZINWA disconnected water to the town on November 7th over a $5 million debt, in defiance of a 2011 High Court order barring such a move. The local authority sought the interdict after ZINWA threatened to indefinitely disconnect water to the municipality. As part of the settlement, it was agreed that the municipality would remit 70% of its water revenue collections to ZINWA, and to approach the same court if either party reneged or defaulted. The municipality honoured this arrangement until Chombo’s directive saw $3 million being wiped from its revenue inflows. This caused the local authority to default, thereby giving ZINWA the excuse to disconnect supplies on the pretext that it was rationing rather than cutting off supplies. The disconnection affected even key facilities such as the Gwanda Provincial Hospital, which had to use raw water from the local river thereby exposing vulnerable patients to infections and diseases. Water supplies have since been restored after the authority paid $46,000 obtained through the sale of a stand to ZANU PF Transport Minister Obert Mpofu. Jaston Mazhale, the MDC-T councillor for Ward 7, told this station that Chombo’s debt directive had seriously eroded council revenue to the point where it was not possible to pay salaries or provide any meaningful service to residents. Mazhale also revealed that residents already owe the local authority almost half a million dollars, and this is crippling council business. “Residents have been reluctant to pay since the debt cancellation, maybe in anticipation of another one, we don’t know.“If government really was concerned about the welfare of citizens, central government should have taken over the debts owed by ratepayers because the cancellations do not make sense for councils that have a duty to deliver services.” Mazhale said the debt write-off had made the council vulnerable to politicians seeking political mileage to step in and “rescue” struggling authorities from a crisis created by the very same politicians. He said there was nothing philanthropic about Obert Mpofu’s ‘intervention’ as the minister had gained a commercial stand in the process, without going through the normal processes. In Harare an outbreak of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea has killed at least 440 deaths of children under the age of five. Health Minister David Parirenyatwa told journalists Tuesday that nearly 48,000 cases and 440 deaths from common diarrhoea have been reported countrywide this year. “Dysentery has accounted for 40,756 cases and 59 deaths while typhoid cases reported in 2013 were 1,475,” the minister said.“While most cases are emanating from the rural provinces, the cities and towns have also contributed significant cases with Harare, Chitungwiza and Kadoma reporting outbreaks of typhoid and dysentery in early 2013,” Parirenyatwa added. Harare has been experiencing serious water shortages for almost 15 years now owing to a number of problems, chief of which has been mismanagement by those tasked with running the authority. A recent report by international rights body Human Rights Watch: Troubled Water: Burst Pipes, Contaminated Wells, and Open Defecation in Zimbabwe’s Capital warned that Zimbabwe’s capital was at risk of another cholera outbreak. In 2008, a year-long cholera outbreak killed 4,000 people, and these were just the reported cases.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Just a month before Christmas Zimbabweans are standing in long winding queues to withdraw cash from banks, amid reports of a fresh liquidity crunch. Simon Muchemwa, our correspondent in Harare, told us that cash shortages and long bank queues, last seen during the 2008 meltdown when the Zim dollar was still in use, are now commonplace. After the July elections were controversially ‘won’ by ZANU PF, the country’s banking sector lost nearly a $1 billion to offshore accounts due to political uncertainty amid concerns about the new government’s economic policies. Muchemwa said depositors are no longer making regular deposits and this has resulted in most banks imposing withdrawal limits of $200, in an attempt to make the little cash available go around. Civil servants were last week paid their annual November bonuses and have been rushing to banks to access their salaries, a situation that has increased the demand for cash ahead of the festive season. Munjonzi Mutandiri, the regional coordinator of the newly formed political party the NCA, told SW Radio Africa that there is no debate the economy’s performance is linked to the politics of the country.‘In Zimbabwe it is clear that the government is arrogant and to a certain extent irresponsible for bringing economic ideas that are not in the best interests of the country.‘Their economic policies are not good for the country and that brings lack of confidence in the economy. The only way to remedy this is to go back to the drawing board and come up with a blue print that helps the nation and not individuals,’ Mutandiri said. Economist Luke Zunga agreed that the flight of money from Zimbabwe was because of the economic policies generated by the political system. ‘One of such policies is indigenization, so anybody who is sitting in Zimbabwe with a business there would think twice whether to keep their money or not. The political system doesn’t encourage growth in the economy itself and it is a derivative of the economic policies of the government,’ Zunga said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa on Wednesday upheld a landmark legal order, compelling the prosecuting authorities in that country to investigate crimes against humanity perpetrated in Zimbabwe. Last year the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa and the country’s police must investigate state-sanctioned torture and other crimes against humanity committed by Zimbabwean officials in 2007. The Court said that the authorities had a duty to probe allegations of torture as required by the Rome Statute, which South Africa is a signatory to. The Statute is the foundation for the International Criminal Court and as a signatory, South Africa is committed to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of serious international crimes. But earlier this month the NPA and the police approached the Supreme Court of Appeal in an effort to have the court order overturned. The authorities argued that that the international laws which the North Gauteng High Court based its original ruling on had been ‘misinterpreted’. The SA government had also previously argued that undertaking such investigations would interfere with its political mediation efforts in Zimbabwe. The ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal was delivered on Wednesday, with the full bench of five judges upholding the original, landmark order, passed down by the lower court. Described as a “landmark decision for local and international justice,” the ruling made it clear that the perpetrators of the crimes in Zimbabwe can be held accountable in South Africa regardless of where the offending acts took place. The Court noted that such crimes strike “at the whole of humankind and impinge on the international conscience.” The case was led by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) and was based on a dossier detailing a politically motivated attack on MDC members in Zimbabwe in 2007. This dossier was handed to the NPA in 2008 but the prosecuting body and the police decided not to take the case further. ZEF Director Gabriel Shumba told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling is “a huge victory for the international struggle against impunity.”“This order really seeks to narrow the divide between those in power and normal citizens, so that those in power cannot willy-nilly abuse its citizens,” Shumba said. The court’s decision is being welcomed by other human rights and justice activists in Southern Africa, because of the precedent it sets for the rule of law. According to SALC Deputy Director Priti Patel the ruling “confirms that the dispensing of international justice is not restricted to international forums, and commits the South African authorities to play their part in ensuring that torturers and other international criminals are held accountable for their actions.” The Lawyers for Human Rights group in South Africa, which represented SALC and the ZEF, also welcomed the ruling as fundamental. “The Court specifically stated that this is one of the first cases before South African courts dealing with jurisdiction for international crimes. We anticipate that this will be the first in a long line of cases developing this area of the law,” the lawyers group said. Former Chegutu farmer turned activist, Ben Freeth, meanwhile also applauded the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision, saying “crimes against humanity have continued for far too long in Zimbabwe.”“This opens up the road to pursue international criminal law – and slowly will begin to be part of closing down the culture of impunity through which the dictatorship is able to continue to destroy the lives of so many – and block the future for the next generation,” Freeth said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

A leading human rights activist says there is need for all arms of government to acknowledge and work together towards finding a lasting solution to Harare’s water problems.

Dewa Mavhinga is a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, who published the report “Troubled Water: Burst Pipes, Contaminated Wells, and Open Defecation in Zimbabwe’s Capital,” He told SW Radio Africa that the problem so far has been the reluctance by relevant authorities to “recognise that there is a problem, and act decisively to address it”.

Speaking on Thursday’s Big Picture programme, Mavhinga said the latest outbreak of diarrhoea in Harare should be read within the larger context of the general collapse of the public service infrastructure within the country.

“Water troubles are just the tip of the iceberg and just a symptom of the wider, cross-sectoral challenges countrywide, hence the need for all ministries to work together to address this.

“What is more worrying for us is the denial from public officials and this denial also extends to the failure by these officials at all levels of government to provide information about the degree of contamination of the city’s borehole water.

“Our research found that water from a third of the boreholes located within Harare is contaminated with raw sewage. And yet the information out there is that borehole water is safe to drink. This exposes residents to all typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea, etc. If people know the truth, then they can begin to take measures to protect themselves,” Mavhinga said.

Mavhinga urged the donor community, who have been instrumental in sinking boreholes in many of Harare’s residential areas, to come up with comprehensive measures to ensure that “when boreholes are sunk, they also regularly monitor contamination levels, and on the maintenance”.

Mavhinga said Human Rights Watch was in the process of lobbying the Zimbabwe government regarding the finding of the reports and the country’s human rights obligations.

“But we have been surprised by the hostility to the report findings from certain sections of the donor community have sought to deny that there is open defecation which is exacerbating the water contamination. This is because they want to believe that their interventions are sufficient when in fact on the ground, the situation is dire as the testimonies we gathered indicate,” Mavhinga added.

You can listen to the whole interview with Mavhinga on Thursday night’s Big Picture programme, Listen here.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

A ZANU PF provincial executive has promised traditional chiefs in Masvingo that they will all be allocated sugar cane farms in the lowveld before his term of office is up, a promise that has been ridiculed as a ploy by a farmer from the area.

The Minister of State for Masvingo and Mwenezi East, MP Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, whose term ends in 2018, told delegates at a provincial meeting in Masvingo that he was already working with the Lands Ministry to make sure all Masvingo chiefs got the cane farms.

But according to Gerry Whitehead, a Chiredzi farmer who travels in the lowveld extensively, most of the sugar cane farms have already been taken by ZANU PF and most were allocated to military chefs and top party cronies.

“There are absolutely no farms left here at all. They have taken everything it’s all been given out to the military and to the upper ministers. There are no other sugar cane farms that they can take,” Whitehead told SW Radio Africa.

He said the only possibility Bhasikiti could be considering is the area near the Tokwe Mukosi Dam that is being built in the lowveld. The dam already has water in it and construction is almost complete.

According to whitehead, the dam is opening up an estimated 30,000 hectares of land that will be available for farming, but it will take highly trained and experienced farmers and not rural chiefs to start growing sugar cane there.

Whitehead said the promise made by MP Bhasikiti is just another ZANU PF ploy to make the traditional leaders happy, adding: “They’ve got them on side now already through fear and through giving them farms and land and all sorts of promises.”

ZANU PF is known to have used traditional chiefs and sabhukus to mobilize their communities to vote for Robert Mugabe and for ZANU PF candidates in the July 31st elections. These traditional leaders are also being used to distribute food on a partisan basis, with MDC-T supporters being denied. In turn, they receive monthly allowances and are rewarded with top of the range vehicles and other perks.

As for the sugar cane farms in the lowveld that were already taken by ZANU PF, Whitehead said they are now producing 60% of what they used to. The only reason they are producing at all is because sugar companies like Tongaat Hulett have been hired by the military and political chefs to do the farming for them.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

In a move seen as part of a strategy to entrench its hold on the public mind ZANU PF this week dispatched a media delegation to China, which is has one of the poorest records of media freedom in the world. The Chinese government censors all methods of communication to maintain its hold on information and power. A 2012 Freedom House report said ‘China’s media environment remained one of the world’s most restrictive ’. A ZBC report on Tuesday said the delegation, which is led by the party’s secretary for information and publicity Rugare Gumbo, was going on an ‘exchange programme with the Communist Party of China.’ The report said the visit was intended ‘primarily to exchange ideas on how to modernise the print and electronic media in so far as information dissemination is concerned’. Also according to the report Gumbo is expected to meet with the Communist Party’s Information Department to discuss ‘methods of countering western propaganda and improving the effectiveness of the respective departments’. In late October information minister Jonathan Moyo and the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Lin Lin, discussed how China could ‘help Zimpapers to acquire a state-of-the-art printing press for its Bulawayo operations’. Lin was quoted saying China was ‘ready to assist in the development of the media industry’. Only in August the ZBC acquired from China a state-of-the art 12 channel audio outside broadcast van, worth more than $ 1 million. Media expert Dr Winston Mano told SW Radio Africa that Zimbabwe was seeking ‘to unlock Chinese support’ for the public media through ‘party to party relations’ as opposed to government to government corporation. Mano said China is ‘sensitive to the criticism it is receiving over its involvement in Africa’ and is trying hard to prop up its public image, hence the party to party cooperation. Mano said electronic media in Zimbabwe is badly equipped and ‘at the moment’ China is the only savior for the ZANU PF government with regards to new equipment. Relations between ZANU PF and the Communist party back date to the 1970s liberation struggle. Since Zimbabwe’s fall out with the West over human rights abuses and the land grab China and Zimbabwe have come closer, with the Asian giant at one time blocking UN targetted sanctions against its partner. The visit to China comes at a time when the government is seen to be embarking on a sophisticated strategy to emasculate the media, using various tactics. Only a few months ago Moyo embarked on a tour of media houses, with a charm offensive, urging cordial relations with his known adversaries. At the time his deputy, Supa Mandiwanzira, told the Senate that the government was in the process of licensing new radio stations to ‘get rid of pirate radio stations that have been spawning anti-Zimbabwe sentiments.’ A Thursday Herald report quoted Mandiwanzira urging media players to stop ‘spewing propaganda and politics’. Mandiwanzira warned media players that they would ‘soon be out of business’ if they persist with criticising President Mugabe and ZANU PF because ‘it has become unprofitable to do so’. The government has been intermittently jamming SW Radio Africa broadcasts since 2005, using Chinese supplied equipment and training.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Former COPAC co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora has described the debate on aligning existing laws with the new supreme law as a waste of time.

The MDC-T spokesman, who played a leading role in the drafting of the constitution, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the new charter is clear that any laws that are contrary to it are null and void.

Mwonzora was reacting to comments made by his former counterpart, Paul Mangwana, the co-chairman who represented ZANU PF who said they overlooked setting time limits on alignment of laws with the new constitution.

‘The moment the constitution was signed into law, that very minute all laws that were inconsistent with it fell away. There was no need for us to give a timeline to align new laws to the constitution because the alignment was automatic,’ Mwonzora said.

The former Nyanga north MP added; ‘I wish people could avail themselves time to go through the constitution. It is there in black and white in section three of the charter that any other law in the country that contradicts any provision of the new constitution, that other law will be null and void.’

Mwonzora, a lawyer by profession, explained that government ministries and departments which are administering old laws that are inconsistent with the constitution are administering illegalities and in most cases are operating illegally.

‘There was no need to put timelines for amendment of laws inconsistent with the constitution, because those laws fell away automatically the minute the constitution came into operation.

‘Our constitution is not as vague as some new critics say. To the contrary it is very clear. Zimbabweans however ought to appreciate that the coming into effect of a good constitution does not guarantee good constitutional practice by the state and its agents.

‘In Zimbabwe we have a typical situation where a good constitution is in bad hands. As long as we have an irresponsible and illegitimate government, our people will not fully enjoy the benefits of this constitution,’ Mwonzora added.

As an example he said the National Prosecuting Authority cannot charge anyone under the old POSA or AIPPA laws because they are not in sync with the new constitution.

‘For the avoidance of doubt, people should visit Chapter 4 of the constitution (Declaration of Rights) and read part 2, the section on fundamentals of human rights and freedoms and see if they can find POSA or AIPPA. Let’s not be swayed with what this regime has not done, but focus on laws that are prescribed in the constitution,’ Mwonzora said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Anger has followed revelations that a German firm is bypassing European laws that ban any financial involvement with Robert Mugabe, by being a major supplier to the First Family’s dairy business.

According to the news and analysis site Africa Confidential the German firm Wilhelm Guth Ventiltechnik has been supplying components to Robert and Grace Mugabe’s Gushungo Dairy Estate for the past four years. The components are supplied through the wholly owned subsidiary of the German firm, Guth South Africa.

This relationship has developed despite European Union (EU) targeted restrictive measures that are still in place against Mugabe and his wife. Imposed over ten years ago as a result of human rights abuses and vote rigging by ZANU PF, the measures ban any EU countries from doing business with the individuals or companies on the EU’s targeted list.

The European leadership bloc has lifted its measures against the majority of the Mugabe regime, but the ageing ZANU PF leader and Grace Mugabe remain targeted.

The Guth firm had not replied to Africa Confidential’s request for a clarification by the time the story was published on Thursday. There has also been no explanation from the EU.

Former Chegutu farmer turned activist Ben Freeth said the situation is “outrageous,” saying the Gushungo dairy estate exists at the expense of farmers who were kicked off their properties by ZANU PF.

“Germans must be aware of the way this company is operating, supplying someone who took a farm from Ian Webster, the biggest dairy farmer in Zimbabwe. This German company has come in and are quite happy to accept that someone can come in and steal someone else’s business and steal someone’s home and livelihood, and then do business with that person against European restrictions,” Freeth said.

To contact this reporter email [email protected] or follow on Twitter

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

ZANU PF has moved to dismiss as a “non-event” and an “unfortunate development” South Africa’s decision to uphold a landmark ruling, which compels that country’s prosecuting authorities to investigate crimes against humanity committed in Zimbabwe.

The Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa on Wednesday upheld the order previously handed down by the North Gauteng High Court, which ruled that the country’s prosecuting authorities had a duty to investigate crimes against humanity, even if those crimes were committed outside South Africa’s borders.

The ruling came after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and police refused to investigate a dossier detailing the torture of MDC activists in 2007 at the hands of ZANU PF perpetrators who, according to the document, travel frequently to South Africa.

The dossier implicates 18 ZANU PF officials and military generals in torture and human rights abuses, after a violent raid on the MDC’s offices. More than 100 people were taken into custody, including people who were working nearby. MDC linked individuals were detained in police custody for several days where they were continuously tortured, facing mock executions, waterboarding and the use of electric shocks.

Some of the victims fled to South Africa and a year later the dossier detailing the torture was submitted to the NPA by the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum and the Southern African Litigation Centre.

The prosecuting authorities refused to take the matter further, resulting in the legal battle to try and force an investigation. The North Gauteng High Court then ruled last year that the authorities had a duty to probe allegations of torture as required by the Rome Statute, which South Africa is a signatory to. The Statute is the foundation for the International Criminal Court and as a signatory, South Africa is committed to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of serious international crimes.

But earlier this month the NPA and the police approached the Supreme Court of Appeal in an effort to have the court order overturned. The authorities argued that that the international laws which the North Gauteng High Court based its original ruling on had been ‘misinterpreted’. The SA government had also previously argued that undertaking such investigations would interfere with its political mediation efforts in Zimbabwe.

The ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal was delivered on Wednesday, with the full bench of five judges upholding the original, landmark order, passed down by the lower court. Described as a “landmark decision for local and international justice,” the ruling made it clear that the perpetrators of the crimes in Zimbabwe can be held accountable in South Africa regardless of where the offending acts took place. The Court noted that such crimes strike “at the whole of humankind and impinge on the international conscience.”

ZANU PF’s newly appointed Prosecutor General Johannes Tomana has since dismissed the ruling and even ‘warned’ the South African government not to infringe on the sovereignty of the Zimbabwean justice system.

“The assumption is that rulings given in South Africa are applicable in Zimbabwe. The reality is that they are not. We are not bound by any judgments made in South Africa and in any part of the world. We have our own courts, our own constitution and that is what we will use to guide us”, Tomana told the Business Day newspaper.

David Cote from South Africa’s Lawyers for Human Rights (which represented the ZEF and SALC case) told SW Radio Africa that the importance of the court ruling is that it “confirms South Africa’s internal jurisdiction and that is to investigate these crimes under its own legislation.”

“The issue is not so much about prosecutions but about investigation and when does the responsibility and obligation for an investigation start,” Cote explained.

He added: “The Supreme Court of Appeal has said that in South Africa it starts when the evidence has been presented and the reasonable suspicion that South Africa might somehow be involved, such as when the alleged perpetrators travel to South Africa.”

To contact this reporter email [email protected] or follow on Twitter

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

A fire believed to have started in the kitchen at Chidamoyo Mission Hospital in Hurungwe is reported to have gutted part of the building and destroyed millions of dollars worth of critically needed anti-retroviral drugs.

According to the state-run Herald newspaper, technicians from the power authority ZESA were unable to determine the cause of the blaze, which started just after midnight last week Thursday and spread to other parts of the hospital. Some heavy duty equipment was ruined along with HIV drugs worth over $2 million.

Chidamoyo Mission Hospital was established in 1963 and has played an important role in the Hurungwe community since then. Fortunately, not all was lost to the fire.

The Herald said the maternity ward was able to continue with deliveries, the surgery theatre was reconnected Tuesday and the damaged kitchen has already been replaced by a makeshift one outside.

More importantly, limited supplies of tuberculosis and HIV drugs are being provided by Karoi and Chinhoyi hospitals. But this is a temporary arrangement and Chidamoyo will soon need crucial donations of the drugs again.

According to The Herald newspaper, the Minister for Health, Dr. David Parirenyatwa and Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, assessed the damage in person and promised to do all they could to assist in rebuilding the hospital.

But both are ZANU PF Ministers who have served in government for long periods, during which there has been a serious decline in the health sector. A shortage of basic drugs, equipment and qualified staff is affecting all government run clinics and hospitals. There are not enough beds at most institutions and no plan in place to improve the situation.

The fire at Chidamoyo Hospital was reported in the same week that the Herald published results of their own survey, which revealed that the cost of medical care in Zimbabwe is the highest in Southern Africa. Medical procedures in Zimbabwe now cost more than twice the cost in other developing countries like India, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Jenni Williams with Women Of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

By Nomalanga Moyo SW Radio Africa 29 November 2013

Scores of peaceful marchers from the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) pressure group were beaten and some arrested by police in anti-riot gear on Friday.

The women were on their way to Mat North Resident Minister Sithokozile Mathuthu’s offices at Mhlahlandlela Government Complex, where they submitted a petition outlining the needs and expectations of Zimbabwean women in the context of the on-going campaign against gender-based violence.

WOZA leader Jenni Williams said baton-wielding officers, who were accompanied by dogs, pounced on the group of women, chasing and beating them up.

“WOZA recently surveyed more than 7,000 members about the government’s Zim Assets (the economic blueprint Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation). We deliberately chose to submit the findings in petition form on Women Human Rights Defenders Day – November 29th – because we wanted to raise the profile of this important day.

“But the police went mad: they disturbed the peace, beat up and arrested people, and then dispersed others by chasing them for a distance covering at least 10km while threatening to unleash dogs on them,” Williams said.

In the process some activists sustained sprains and other injuries, including Williams herself who suffered a sprained ankle. It was not immediately possible to ascertain how many activists were injured but four women, including Williams, who were part of a smaller group held at Drill Hall Police Station, were hurt.

The main group was held at Bulawayo Central, and Williams spoke to SW Radio Africa while on her way to join them, after both groups were allowed to go.

The women were released without charge three hours later, at the intervention of the officer in charge at Drill Hall in Bulawayo, who simply said the women were free to go, without offering any explanation why the women had been violently and brutally arrested in the first place.

Williams explained: “He just came in and said we could go, there was no problem. We said to him ‘Just like that? When people have been beaten up and dogs almost set on them and you say there is no problem?’.”

The WOZA leader, who has been arrested more than 50 times, expressed concern at the heavy-handedness of Bulawayo police, which she said smirked of a tribal agenda.

She added: “We have long argued that police in Bulawayo have seemingly a tribal and regional agenda. Why is it that when we demonstrate in Bulawayo our demos are either stopped before they even start or our members are beaten up? Yet I can go to parliament (in Harare) and nobody will arrest me?”

The WOZA survey was conducted against the backdrop of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, but it went a step further to look “beyond the sphere of physical violence to consider the position of women in a society which perpetrates systemic violence and socio-economic disadvantage”.

Some of the issues raised in the survey included whether ZANU PF was capable of delivering on its election promises, or implementing the new constitution.

Many will not be shocked by the findings of the survey, which indicate, among other things, that Zimbabweans are not confident that ZANU PF has either the goodwill to ensure that the country’s resources benefit everyone, or inclination to implement the new constitution.

“Our members do not believe that they are benefiting from the indigenisation programme, and our petition lists a number of demands stemming from ZANU PF’s election promises.

“As WOZA we are urging Zimbabweans not to be cowed by police baton sticks or dogs but to stand up and demand accountability, a stake in the country’s economy and to defend their right to protest as enshrined in the new constitution,” said Williams. For more details about the WOZA activists’ ordeal, please click here.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Two MDC envoys have been spared in a forthcoming diplomatic reshuffle which will see President Robert Mugabe recalling some ambassadors.

Ambassadors Hilda Mafudze and Trudy Stevenson will remain in Khartoum, Sudan and Dakar, Senegal respectively, a Chronicle report said Friday. Mafudze is from the MDC-T while Stevenson is from the Welshman Ncube led faction.

According to reports three other MDC ambassadors, Acqueline Zwambila (Australia) Hebson Makuvise (Germany) and Mabhedi Ngulane (Nigeria), have not been spared. Two years ago Zwambila was summoned back to Harare over claims that she had stripped in front of embassy staff.

Mafudze and Stevenson’s survival will have raised curiosity, considering that Mugabe snubbed the MDC in his September cabinet announcement. At the time Mugabe said he could not have included opposition people in his cabinet because the MDC did not recognize his re-election after the July 31st polls. Mugabe also added that to be considered for a cabinet post they ‘must belong to Zanu PF because that is the wish of the people’.

Harare-based journalist and analyst Itai Dzamara told SW Radio Africa that by retaining the two MDC envoys Mugabe could be playing ‘a divide and rule card’. According to Dzamara ZANU PF is currently involved in a sweeping drive to coerce as many strategically situated people as possible, as a way to destroy opposition politics. Dzamara said many people stood to be ‘wooed because of the economic hardships in the country’.

The impending reshuffle follows revelations by foreign affairs secretary Joey Bimha that the government will be recalling 15 ambassadors in December. Bihma also told the parliamentary portfolio committee on foreign affairs a fortnight ago that some envoys will be redeployed. According to reports Bimha also told the committee that his ministry was ‘facing financial challenges’ but will be able to finance the country’s 45 foreign missions.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

As the EU appears headed towards lifting the remaining targeted sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and his cabal the member states have been urged to consider their move in the light of the worsening situation in the country.

The Zimbabwe Vigil said it was launching a campaign to ‘alert British MPs and other opinion formers’ to the ‘deteriorating situation’ ahead of the February 2014 meeting during which the EU will review the measures.

In a statement on Sunday the Vigil said it was doing so after ‘a number of EU leaders made it clear’ they favored ‘normalizing’ relations with Harare.

Only last week Greece caused indignation when its new ambassador to Zimbabwe, Leonidas Contovounesios, revealed that his country wants the restrictive measures removed by 2014 when it assumes the EU presidency.

SW Radio also reported last week about a German firm Wilhelm Guth Ventiltechnik which has been supplying components to Mugabe’s Gushungo Dairy Estate for the past four years, in contravention of the EU trade ban.

The Vigil said following ‘Belgium’s successful demand’ to lift the sanctions against the ‘dubious’ Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation it will be ‘difficult’ for Britain to hold the fort, hence the campaign.Vigil coordinator Rose Benton told SW Radio Africa that the organisation will be meeting ‘soon’ to discuss alternatives of spreading the campaign to the rest of the member states.

Benton said the campaign was part of the recommendations which came out of its ‘Restore Zimbabwe’ all-stakeholders conference held in London two months ago.

The London-based group said even if the EU was to lift the sanctions next February, it is the Vigil’s ‘intention is to stress Mugabe’s illegitimacy because after all individual member states decide who to ‘deal with’.

The EU imposed restrictive measures against Mugabe and his inner circle in February 2002 following the expulsion of the head of the EU observer mission Pierre Schori, amid an increase in human rights violations. However, over the years the measures have been carefully relaxed in response to specific reforms and in some cases travel bans have been lifted against certain individuals.

Presently 10 individuals, including Mugabe and one company, remain on the EU restrictive measures list.

However the Vigil believes that there should be no further relaxation of the restrictive measures because Mugabe remains an ‘illegitimate leader’.

The Vigil says it believes the July 31st elections were rigged and is ‘seeking’ help from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the International Bar Association to prove its case. In letter to British MPs the Vigil says the ZANU PF mafia is ‘clinging to power despite wrong-headed policies that have destroyed the economy and driven millions into exile’. The Vigil sees Zimbabwe lurching towards ‘North Korean-type siege mentality’ as ‘acts of violence, looting and intimidation by predatory gangs’ escalate.

The letter cites the revelations in ZANU PF business man Philip Chiyangwa’s divorce case as ‘an insight into the depths of corruption in the Zimbabwean mafia.’

In this case Chiyangwa’s wife is demanding a share in assets, which include a range of properties and a fleet of luxury cars, farms and buildings, indicating the scale of the wealth of the ZANU PF elite.

The Vigil has been demonstrating outside Zimbabwe House in London every weekend for the last 11 years, campaigning for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

The High Court will on Tuesday resume the case against the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart), who are accused of misappropriating an estimated half a million dollars from an AIDs charity.

The case was due to be heard last Thursday, but was postponed to give the two banking institutions more time to conduct talks. Both StanChart and the RBZ are seeking immunity from prosecution over the issue. StanChart has insisted they were following orders when they allowed the RBZ to take the forex.

In 2007 the RBZ, under the instruction of Gideon Gono, “centralized” all foreign currency accounts claiming this was an attempt to stem rising inflation and stabilize the economy. But the move effectively gave the RBZ control of more than a billion dollars worth of foreign currency being held by other banks and authorized dealers on behalf of their clients.

The Zimbabwe Aids Network (ZAN), a donor funded charity assisting in the battle against HIV/AIDS, fell victim to the RBZ “centralization” in 2008, losing an estimated $500, 000 from their StanChart account.

ZAN has challenged this seizure of their forex and accused both the RBZ and StanChart of expropriating their funds illegally.

Lawyer Belinda Chinowawa told SW Radio Africa that there is already a judicial precedent that the RBZ and StanChart should consider. Earlier this month, a Chinese-owned firm in Kwekwe, China Shougang International, won its case against Stanchart, after its funds were seized under similar circumstances.

Stanchart had denied responsibility and urged the Chinese firm to approach the RBZ for their money. But the Supreme Court disagreed, and ordered StanChart to pay the firm almost $50, 000.  Chinowawa said StanChart and RBZ should take this into consideration and negotiate a deal with ZAN.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Vice President Joice Mujuru’s faction scored a landslide victory in the party’s provincial elections held on Saturday, making her the odds-on favourite to succeed President Robert Mugabe.

Official results released by ZANU PF’s national chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo on Sunday showed Mujuru’s faction now controls nine out of the ten provinces. Mujuru has been fighting a bitter turf-war with Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa for the right to replace Mugabe.

However Khaya-Moyo said the results were still to be endorsed by the politburo. The highest decision making organ of the party will meet on Wednesday to look at the results, although it is widely believed results of the elections, characterized by chaotic scenes and violence, will be allowed to stand.

Results confirmed on Monday indicate that the Mujuru camp has taken charge of Harare, Bulawayo, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo and Matabeleland South provinces. Only Matabeleland North province was won by an ally close to Mnangagwa.

This weekend’s results brings Mujuru’s tally to nine, after her allies swept to victory in the Midlands, Mashonaland Central and Manicaland provinces, where elections were held last month.

Analysts were quick to point out that this should not be seen as an endorsement for Mujuru to take over the reins yet, as her rival is known to be a ‘great schemer’ and ‘a come back kid.’

Commenting on the conduct of the exercise, journalist and analyst Itai Dzamara said the elections were openly manipulated to favour one faction, which by all accounts points to a bitter fight ahead of the elective congress to be staged at the end of 2014.

‘This succession race is not over yet. There will be twists and turns along the way. The abuse of state departments to run the ZANU PF poll, marred by intimidation and bribery, has become so embedded in the party-thought process and conduct in elections that what has happened should not be a surprise at all. ‘This is a replica of the July 31st poll. The provincial elections were rigged by the CIO, police and army,’ Dzamara said.

Pedzisai Ruhanya, the director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, told SW Radio Africa that the most fundamental thing that people should note from the provincial elections is the similarities to the July elections.

‘The chaotic nature of the voters roll and, most fundamentally, the involvement of CIO, army and police, is a serious indictment on the election of the July poll where the unavailability of the voters roll was well documented.

‘To those that have been refusing the argument that the July 31st poll was rigged the weekend provincial elections is a good example that ZANU PF rigs its own elections and they also rig the national elections,’ Ruhanya said.

A political commentator who asked not to be identified, said the ZANU PF leadership fears losing elections so much that they will do anything to win.

‘This conditioning is the cause of the violent and chaotic internal and national elections. Maintaining power is a career and this makes winning elections a matter of life and death in the party,’ said the commentator.