Mugabe tortures human rights
activist
12 June
2010
STATEMENT FROM MAGUWU’S LAWYER TINOZIVA BERE
FRIDAY
Yesterday
Johane Zviuya and myself (Tinoziva Bere) returned to Mutare and left
Trust Maanda to process the High Court Bail Appeal and the review
application. We had been on this case daily since 3 June 2010 and in
Harare since Sunday morning.
We completed
our Bail Appeal papers but could not file because the record of
proceedings was not available for us to double check some of our
grounds. The courts were not fully operational because of the start of
the World Cup. Trust gave up around 4.00 p.m. any hope of getting the
court record. We will file on Monday first thing.
SATURDAY
- FARAI ILLEGALLY SNATCHED FROM REMAND PRISON LAST NIGHT!
We
have just received bad news from friends and relatives of Farai who we
asked to keep an eye on the ground that Farai was taken illegally or
without our knowledge or consent and without his consent from Harare
Remand Prison to Mbare's notorious MATAPI POLICE cells.
We deployed
our Harare based team member, Trust MAANDA to investigate and he rushed
to Harare Remand Prison demanding to see FARAI and if he has been taken
then the identity of the person or persons who took him, where they took
him too and what authority they had. Sadly, Yes, its true, FARAI was
taken last night by CID Law and Order, where the investigating Officer
(Detective Inspector Dowa) is based. The team operates under the
notorious MAKEDENGE, now a Chief Superintendent. Trust Maanda is now
headed to Harare Central Police Station, to Law and Order to demand the
immediate return of Farai to Remand Prison and access to him to assess
his condition. Beatrice Mtetwa has kindly agreed to assist and is also
headed to Harare Central Police station and will meet Trust there. The
plan is to seek an urgent High Court order for FARAI to be produced if
he is not produced on demand now.
We have
reason to fear this is for purposes of interrogation and or torture
considering the complaints by FARAI's brother of torture by some in the
same team of investigators. We prevented FARAI's possible torture or
harassment last week by being present at almost all normal times and at
the police station. We stopped the costly surveillance and visits
because normally once remanded the Police no longer have control or
access to the ACCUSED. But Zimbabwe is not normal and so anything is
possible. We noted the exasperation of the POLICE with our constant high
powered presence at the side of FARAI and are not surprised, (just
infuriated) that they have acted as they did.
If FARAI has
indeed been taken from PRISON to MBARE or any other place and should
FARAI suffer any harm to his rights or person, the LESSON for the court
who could have and should have liberated FARAI is that the courts that
do not act to protect the innocent and desperate victims of this
repressive systems do bear the blame for the wounds and or blood of
victims. These authorities are determined.
KIMBERLEY
PROCESS MONITOR ABBEY CHIKANE
Chikane may not be responsible for the actions of the ZIMBABWE
authorities but he bears full responsibility for exposing and reporting
FARAI whom he (CHIKANE) knows and or must have known is an innocent
human rights advocate. It was wrong, unprofessional and irresponsible
for an INTERNATIONAL process monitor to report FARAI or anyone to any
authority.
It was
especially irresponsible for him to have personally attacked and
denigrated FARAI in the media on issues brought to him and which he had
NOT and has NEVER investigated per his duty. When one reads the part of
his report about MAGUWU one is left with a distinct disgust of a kind a
human rights defender feels when listening to the POLICE law and order
persecutors of FARAI or to the hate talk of politicians that rule this
country.
I hope this
Abbey Chikane can sleep in peace every night knowing that an innocent
human rights defender is daily being persecuted at the instance of and
or the complaint of one he took into his confidence. I also hope that
the KP community realizes what is happening and how brutality has been
unleashed upon an innocent advocate for transparent inquiry into
allegations of blood letting and human suffering in CHIADZWA.
As I have
said before, whether true or false... the mouth that brought alarm is
being silenced before any transparent or thorough inquiry into the
allegations. Chikane made the allegations and the authorities have given
FARAI no peace ever since. In the meantime Chikane continues a
relentless personal and unfounded media attack on an innocent
defenseless incarcerated human rights defender. The authorities
bolstered by Chikane's public support have put maximum resources to
imprison and silence FARAI and announced NOT a single independent or
judicial inquiry into these serious allegations. If any sort of weight
is placed on what Chikane is advocating then it will be a shame to all
concerned including the Kimberly Process community. I hope Chikane can
look at himself in the mirror and feel proud...I hope when time to sleep
comes he has peaceful nights, otherwise how else could he live with
himself!
We will send
you an update as events unfold and pray that he is safe. Please do keep
FARAI in your prayers. He needs them most now.
Tino Bere &
Team
MDC Chief sees the
truth about Mugabe and ZANU
at last
But has yet to open eyes on Mugabe's plans on elections
By Basildon Peta
PRETORIA – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Thursday it was now
clear that ZANU PF never had the intentions to honour its commitments in
the global political agreement (GPA) which ushered the coalition
government last year.
Tsvangirai shared his continuing frustrations in his “marriage of
convenience” with President Robert Mugabe at a packed meeting of
regional civic society activists in Pretoria yesterday.
Despite the frustrations, he nevertheless defended the coalition
arrangement as a strategic necessity.
“Being a partner in this marriage of convenience has been a painful
experience but a strategic necessity that will enable us to reach our
destination albeit uncomfortably,” he told the meeting organised by the
Southern African Liason Office, regional NGO dealing with social issues.
Tsvangirai said it was now abundantly clear that Mugabe’s ZANU PF never
intended to implement much of what it signed up to in the GPA.
“Being in government with a partner who does not respect the very
agreement which they signed up to as a basis for that partnership is a
challenge, to put it mildly,” said Tsvangirai.
The Prime Minister cited Mugabe’s appointment last week of five new
judges, including a judge president, without consulting him as a clear
sign that Mugabe paid scant regard to the GPA.
He said there was a section of the bureaucracy that continued to resist
any changes to the status quo and a “security establishment leadership
that no longer feels safe in the unfolding new political dispensation”.
“Whether it is resistance to implement agreed democratic reforms, or the
looting and misuse of state funds and resources, or the lack of respect
for the rule of law and the constitution, or simply the ruthless
determination to retain power or usurp power at all costs and by
whatever means . . . all of this shows how fragile this marriage is and
how fragile the transition process is in Zimbabwe,” he said.
But fortunately, Tsvangirai said, the one thing he and Mugabe agreed
upon was the holding of fresh elections next year to give effect to the
will of the people.
It was therefore important to embark on a road map to those elections
without a return to violence and to ensure that they are free and fair
and the people’s will is respected. It was possible to achieve free and
fair elections with the support of the region.
He cited a few examples to point to the direction of the possibility of
free and fair elections. These were the constitutional reform process,
that had been delayed but was now underway, the reform of the electoral
system and this week’s decision by authorities to licence five new
newspapers including the popular and banned Daily News that is
now set to hit the streets.
He said his party’s tenure in the new coalition had been a steep
learning curve and admitted to making mistakes.
“We (the MDC) have had to learn the difficult business of government and
the messy business of coalition politics at the same time . . . ” he
said. “We have made mistakes and I am the first to acknowledge these and
to commit to learning from these mistakes.”
He said his party has at times been too caught in its own problems and
thereby “distanced ourselves from our traditional partners and our
allies. That is a mistake”.
“At times, too, we have been so distracted by the daily battles we fight
in government that we have lost some of the focus on the clear
principles for which we were elected. That is a grave mistake.” –
ZimOnline
MDC-T
resolutions
17th May 2010 00:36 GMT

By MDC Harare
16 MAY 2010
Resolutions of the MDC National Council
Harvest House, 16 May 2010
A Party of Excellence to deliver Real Change
On the 16th of May 2010, the National Council of the party met in Harare and
held an intense meeting in respect of which the following reports were
received;
a. The report of the Commission of Inquiry on the disturbances at Harvest
House.
b. A report and recommendations from the National Standing Committee of the
14th of May 2010.
c. A report by the Secretary General on the state of the party, the state of
the State and the strategic position of the party.
d. A report by the Organizing Department presented by the Organizing
Secretary Hon. Eng. Elias Mudzuri.
In addition to the above reports discussions were held on the following
matters; a. The issue of indigenization in Zimbabwe,
b. The issue of diamonds and the mining of the same in Chiadzwa, c. The
state of the economy and in particular the issue of the conditions of
service for the civil servants, and
d. The issue of human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Following extensive discussions, the following resolutions were made;
Violence and disturbances at Harvest House
1. That the party has a zero tolerance towards violence and condemns the
events of the 12th and 14th of April 2010.
1.2 That the following youths who were at the epicentre of the violence are
forthwith expelled from the Party; Rhino Mashaya, Shakespear Mukoyi, Stephen
Jahwi, Todini Todini and Francis Machimbidzofa.
1.3 That the above youths shall not participate in any activities of the
Party and that no member of the Party shall, within the context of Party
activities, associate or entertain the above.
1.4 That the Party condemns violence and offer training on non-violent and
non-confrontational programmes.
1.5 Initiate a process of dealing with trauma for victims of violence and
Party members.
1.6 The Party must adopt a progressive and robust approach on the cases of
employment and welfare.
1.7 Implement a non-violent conflict management and team building programmes
throughout the structures.
1.8 Develop, adopt and implement a sustainable cadreship programmes that
ensure that the party's core values of democracy, human rights, including
women's rights and solidarity are inculcated in all members.
Dialogue
2. That, the parties and the Principals of the parties must take measures to
implement and execute the agreed positions as reflected in the Negotiators
report dated the 3rd of April 2010 and more importantly, must enforce and
uphold the Implementation Matrix as prepared by the Negotiators.
2.2 That on the outstanding issues, which include the following matters; i.
The swearing-in of Roy Bennett,
ii. The issue of the RBZ Governor and Attorney General,
iii. Provincial Governors,
iv. National heroes,
v. Review and reallocation of ministerial mandates,
vi. The chairing of Cabinet,
vii. The unilateral alternation of ministerial mandates, and
viii. The position of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Information and Publicity doubling up as the Spokesperson of the President.
2.3 The party urges the immediate convening of a SADC Summit to resolve the
matter which SADC Summit should clearly discuss the roadmap to an election
and the guarantees to the legitimacy of this election.
Indigenization
3. On indigenization, the MDC believes in broad-based empowerment for the
people and for this reason condemns the current proposed indigenization
regulations on the basis that they are elitist, selective and a mere vehicle
for further enrichment of the rich few, self aggrandizement, patronage,
clientelism and further destruction of the economy.
3.2 The MDC recognises that the country currently suffers from lack of
growth, lack of capacity, lack of jobs and weak aggregate demand. To this
extent therefore, the major imperative should be that of growing the economy
so that more jobs are created, foreign direct investment flows in and
capacity is increased. The focus and attempt to redistribute a tiny sick
economy is wrong and misplaced.
3.3 It is our firm view that the original indigenization and empowerment act
should be repealed and be replaced by a new law that balances the
overwhelming imperator of growing and investment in the economy against the
fundamental obligation of broad based empowerment.
3.4 In any event, it is important to marry the indigenization programme with
the experience of the land reform programme. It is important to conclude the
land reform audit urgently so that lessons from the same are properly
applied to any programme that seeks to address the plight of previously
disadvantaged Zimbabweans.
Diamonds and Chiadzwa
4. The party notes with concern the lack of transparency and due process in
the handling of diamonds at Chiadzwa and in the granting of concessions and
mining rights in the same.
4.2 The MDC demands that all concessions and mining rights should be granted
on the principle of transparency and openness involving public auctioning or
public tender processes to be carried out by an independent authority.
4.3 That the current investors at Chiadzwa should comply with Zimbabwe's
laws, in particular the Zimbabwe Investment Act and are prepared to make
equity investment to the State, failure of which their rights should revert
to the State.
4.4 That due process of the law and all court orders issued in respect of
the Chiadzwa claims should be honoured and respected.
4.5 That all income from Chiadzwa should be accounted for transparently to
the State to enable the same to attend to capital and recurrent expenditure
and in particular the adequate remuneration of civil servants.
4.6 That the Zimbabwean government must speed up compliance with the
Kimberly Process and those concerned must equally speed up the process of
certification.
4.7 That the interests of the Marange people must be made paramount and due
process, decency and fairness must be applied in the processes of
compensations and relocations of affected Marange communities.
Resolution on violence and the rule of law
5. As a party, we are aware of the re-emergence of violence in the provinces
and the mushrooming of pungwe bases in the country.
5.2 We are also aware of increased intimidation and the threats and promises
that violence will be unleashed after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
5.3 We are also aware that attempts will be made to violently force citizens
of Zimbabwe to propagate for the adoption of the Kariba draft in the current
constitution making process.
5.4 The MDC strongly condemns violence and coercion in any form whatsoever
and demands that Article 18 of the GPA must be respected and honoured.
5.5 The MDC is also concerned about the selective application of the law
including the Attorney General's failure and reluctance to prosecute
perpetrators of violence following the March 2008 elections in clear breach
of Article 18.5 (c) and (j) of the GPA.
5.6 On another note, the MDC condemns the slow rate of work by the
Constitution Commissions appointed and sworn-in in March 2010. Three months
down the line, the MDC believes the Media Commission in particular ought to
have tangible results of its work.
5.7 The MDC further notes and condemns the continuous breach of Article 19
of the GPA and notes the hate speech and corrosive propaganda propagated in
the Herald.
Resolution on the state of the economy and conditions of service of civil
servants and workers in general
6. The MDC is a social democratic party born from the struggle of the
working people of Zimbabwe. To this extent, the MDC strives to uphold and
improve the living conditions of workers including the paying of reasonable
and equitable wages. The right to a basic wage being a fundamental right.
6.2 The MDC however recognises and abhors the destruction of the Zimbabwe
economy by years of Zanu PF mis-governance and misrule. In the last 13
years, the Zimbabwe economy has lost 60 percent of its value, has seen
continuous negative growth rate and has witnessed capacity utilization
shrinking to 4 -10 percent with unemployment reaching 85 percent.
6.3 In addition, a huge debt continues to stifle an economy that virtually
has no savings and no Foreign Direct Investment.
6.4 The MDC however feels that space can and should be created through
revenue arising from the transparent and professional handling of mining
resources and in particular income from diamond mining in Chiadzwa.
6.5 The MDC is also aware of thousands of ghost workers and Zanu PF militia
on the civil service wage roll. It is important that the civil service audit
be concluded as a matter of urgency. In this regard, we find it unacceptable
that the Public Service Commission continues to stall the same by refusing
to supply critical information to auditors.
6.6 We also express unhappiness with profligate government expenditure in
particular millions of dollars haemorrhaging through travel and subsistence
as well as huge amounts being spent on acquisition of non-productive capital
in particular motor vehicles.
6.7 The MDC also finds unacceptable the charges being levied by public
utilities and local authorities. These charges are high and bear no
reflections to a cost structure but rather to high wages and allowances that
are being paid to senior management in these service providers and local
authorities.
6.8 The party also finds unacceptable the huge speculative rentals being
charged on the people by greedy landlords in many residential areas. These
rentals are eating into the disposable income of the people of Zimbabwe.
6.9 In light of all the above, the MDC recognises the imperator of strong
and decisive leadership and discipline in the management of this economy if
the structural issues raised above are to be overcome.
Committing our Party, our country to God.
Mix of hope
and resignation about the return of independent press
Reporters without Borders
Fed up with years of inactivity because of
forced closures and still waiting for their newspapers to be given licences
to start working again, Zimbabwe's independent media journalists are
drifting in limbo - between hope and resignation - Reporters Without Borders
found during a fact-finding visit to Harare from 20 to 23 March, its first
trip to Zimbabwe after years of being denied visas.
"The Zimbabwean press has endured enough repression in recent years,"
Reporters Without Borders said, pointing out that Zimbabwe is ranked 136th
out of 175 countries in its press freedom index. "It is time for the
government of national unity to demonstrate its will to reform press
legislation and liberate the country's media. There have been enough
statements. We urge the Zimbabwe Media Council to quickly grant licences to
the media that request them."
During the visit to Harare, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Africa
desk met Jameson Timba, who is the deputy minister of media and information
and an adviser to the prime minister, human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa,
photojournalist Shadreck Anderson Manyere and members of the management and
staff of The Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard, NewsDay, The Financial
Gazette and the defunct Daily News.
Reporters Without Borders also met a foreign press correspondent, a state
media representative, and representatives of the Media Institute of Southern
Africa, the Zimbabwean Chapter (Misa-Zimbabwe), the Media Alliance of
Zimbabwe (MAZ), Zimbabwe Journalists for Human Rights (ZJHR) and Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). Reporters Without Borders regrets being
unable to meet the head of the Zimbabwe Media Council (ZMC), who did not
want to give an interview.
Iniquitous laws
The Zimbabwean press was still one of the most vigorous in Africa at the
start of the past decade. The public read the newspapers avidly every day,
especially The Daily News. Privately-owned and run by experienced
journalists, it was known for its independence and its serious, reliable
reporting. "It was a vibrant newspaper and when it came on the market, it
was a sell-out almost every day," said Annie Musemburi-Musodza, who used to
be former editor Geoffrey Nyarota's assistant. "It sold more copies than
The Herald, the state-owned daily."
But President Robert Mugabe, who has been on the Reporters Without Borders
list of "Predators of Press Freedom" for years, had the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) passed in 2002. It banned
foreign investment in Zimbabwe's media with the sole aim of killing off
The Daily News, one of whose shareholders was Scottish. It was followed
on 6 August 2007 by the Interception of Communications Act, which made it
easier for the political and police apparatus to give free rein to its
paranoia by allowing the authorities to monitor email messages and mobile
phone calls without having to seek court permission.
This repressive legislation, enabling close surveillance of journalists and
constant control of the press, is one of the biggest obstacles to media
development in Zimbabwe, an obstacle that the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ)
is determined to combat. By means of its Media Law Reform Project, this NGO
coalition is trying to get parliamentarians to completely overhaul the press
laws. It also wants to get "freedom of the media" added to freedom of
information in the Zimbabwean constitution.
When Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai reiterated his government's priorities
at the end of March, the presentation of a Freedom of Information Bill (to
replace the AIPPA) and a Media Practitioners Bill to parliament were
mentioned prominently. The 21 March issue of The Standard, an
independent weekly, said the government hoped to complete these reforms by
the end of the year.
Zimbabwe Media Council and return of independent
press
The Zimbabwe Media Council (ZMC), which has replaced the Media and
Information Commission (MIC), is supposed to issue newspapers with licences
and thereby open the way for the independent press to re-emerge. The promise
has hung in the air for months without materialising. "Let's be clear about
this," said lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa. "The ZMC is there to save the media. It
should be doing its job"
Created in 2009, the ZMC did not officially get under way until its
inaugural meeting on 18 March 2010. It was only after months of
prevarication and negotiations between Zanu-PF, President Mugabe's party,
and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Prime Minister Tsvangirai's
party, that the ZMC's nine commissioners were named. They are Godfrey
Majonga (chairman), Nqobile Nyathi (deputy chairperson), Chris Mutsvangwa,
Matthew Takaona, Chris Mhike, Henry Muradzikwa, Lawton Hikwa, Miriam Madziwa
and Millicent Mombeshora.
They are the ones whose job it is to receive and examine the applications
submitted by news media. At a meeting with the editors of all of Zimbabwe's
newspapers at the start of March, no less a person than the president asked
the ZMC to begin to work, fulfil its role and create a space for the media.
The prime minister, for his part, insisted that nothing is tying the hands
of the ZMC's commissioners. Nonetheless, nothing is happening and it looks
as though the ZMC is playing for time.
Reporters Without Borders hoped to meet with the ZMC's chairman, Godfrey
Majonga, during its visit. Several requests for an interview were made, but
without success. At first, Majonga insisted that he had nothing to add to
what was said at the 18 March inaugural meeting. Then he said he could not
give an interview on his own as the ZMC was a collective commission. "He has
held the position for only seven days," the deputy media and information
minister, Timba, said. "Give him a bit of time."
Jethro Goko, the head of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the
company that owns The Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday,
pointed out that it obtained favourable high court ruling in 2006. "We are
ready," he said. "We are just waiting for the ZMC to give us our licence but
we will not reapply because a ruling confirmed four years ago shows we have
everything in order. The ANZ does not have a lot of resources but we are
dedicated to providing the Zimbabwean people with credible quality
newspapers."
Another privately-owned daily, NewsDay, decided not to wait for its
licence in order to start working. When the newspaper threatened to begin
publishing without a licence in 2009, the permanent secretary in the
Ministry of media and information, George Charamba, warned that its
journalists would be arrested. NewsDay has gone ahead and hired
journalists, who are currently producing a four-page insert that is
distributed inside the weeklies The Standard and The Zimbabwe
Independent.
Government control of state media, persecution of
independent media
Meanwhile, until the ZMC starts issuing licences, the media landscape
continues to be dormant and subject to heavy government control.
In the state-owned media, for example, the hands of the journalists are tied
by their editors, who take their orders from the government. Amid a constant
fear of unfair dismissal, self-censorship is widespread. Six journalists
employed by the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) were
fired in 2008 for allegedly not giving President Mugabe enough coverage
during the election campaign.
ZBC's management took radio presenter Godfrey Gweje off the air in
March 2010 for making "subversive political comments" after he criticised
the low pay (189 US dollars a month) received by civil servants, then on
strike for better pay. The previous week, Wellington Toni was fired
as the Sunday News sports editor for referring on a website to
corrupt practices in the regional state-owned weekly The Chronicle.
"We cannot express our opinions," a state media representative told
Reporters Without Borders on condition of anonymity. "We are men, with
weaknesses, and we are afraid."
Freelance journalists and those working for the privately-owned weeklies are
often harassed or threatened. Constantine Chimakure and Vincent
Kahiya of the Zimbabwe Independent, for example were arrested
together in May 2009 and were subsequently the target of judicial
proceedings for a year before charges were finally dropped.
Freelance journalist Stanley Gama was summoned to Harare central
police station on 30 March, just two days after communication minister
Webster Shamu said the harassment of journalists should stop, and was
questioned by Chief Superintendent Chrispen Makedenge about his sources for
a story in the Zimbabwe edition of South Africa's Sunday Times about
a cabinet minister's alleged corrupt practices.
Two months before that, on 15 January, Makedenge made a death threat against
freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda over one of his articles for the
privately-owned newspaper The Zimbabwean. Makedenge, who has been
implicated in the abduction of journalists and MDC members, told Kwenda:
"You are not going to last this weekend." Kwenda fled the country.
Nick Maunze, an official in the Zimbabwean government's Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO), publicly threatened Godfrey Mutimba, The
Standard's correspondent in the south-eastern province of Masvingo, in
March. "You must be careful young man, very, very careful because I will
reduce you to nothing," he told Mutimba. "I do not care what your papers
write about me; they are useless and will not change anything. What I need
to tell you and your other reporters is that you should know that I have
dealt with even bigger fish which had thick heads."
Referring to opposition activist Job Sikhala, Maunze added: "I am the one
who forced Sikhala to drink urine when he was arrested and it is not hard
for me at all to deal with an even smaller fish and useless reporters like
you. What will you do to me?"
These are just a few examples of the threats and harassment to which
Zimbabwean journalists are routinely subjected.
Hounded news photographer Shadreck Anderson
Manyere
Kidnapped in December 2008, freelance news photographer Shadreck Anderson
Manyere, was subjected to an ordeal comparable to what was inflicted on
leading journalist and human rights activist Jestina Mukoko during
his next four months in detention. Charged with banditry, sabotage and
terrorism, he was held in appalling conditions, brutally interrogated and
tortured.
In the year since his release on 18 April 2009, he has had to report to a
police station in the capital under pain of being arrested again. This is a
major handicap for a freelancer as it means he cannot accept a job in the
provinces.
At the same time, Manyere is hounded whenever he works in the capital. He
was arrested while covering a demonstration by members of Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA) on 18 January 2010 and then released without charge. On 24
February, he was forced to delete his photos of a demonstration by pro-Zanu-PF
activists against western government sanctions against party leaders
including President Mugabe. He was arrested at a Harare court on 1 March for
taking pictures of detainees as they arrived to face charges of plotting
against the government. Told he did not have permission, he was taken to the
central police station. He was released the next day after paying a
20-dollar fine but his camera was confiscated.
Manyere told Reporters Without Borders: "Whenever I cover a demonstration or
an event, the police ask me: 'Are you working for The Herald or for
ZBC?' As soon as I reply that I am a freelancer, they try to confiscate
my camera and they often take me to a police station."
"They are after him, that's obvious," lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said. "They
want to push him to the limit and force him to give up his profession."
Three years of silence about cameraman Edward
Chikomba's death
On 23 March, the last day of Reporters Without Borders' visit, the police
raided a Harare art gallery and removed more than 60 photos that had been
put on display by the human rights group ZimRights. Most of the photos were
taken in the run-up to the 2008 elections and showed the use of violence to
disperse demonstrations. They also showed the current prime minister, Morgan
Tsvangirai, with his face swollen from being beaten while in detention.
Freelance cameraman Edward Chikomba, a former employee of the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), was one of the people who took
the photos of Tsvangirai. He was found dead in Darwendale (60 km west of
Harare) on 31 March 2007, two days after being kidnapped by four men
suspected of being intelligence officials. They went to his home in Glen
View, a high density suburb of Harare, and forced him to get into their
four-wheel-drive vehicle at gunpoint.
Chikomba was accused of selling his footage of Tsvangirai to foreign news
media. Since leaving the production team of "Vision 30," broadcast by ZBC
until 2001, Chikomba had been making documentaries independently for
individuals or news media.
According to his wife, who witnessed his abduction, Chikomba knew he was in
danger. "I am dead," he said, when he saw the four men arrive outside their
house.
No proper, independent investigation has ever been carried out into his
death.
Given the current state of the Zimbabwean media
and the urgent need to restore press freedom, Reporters Without Borders
makes the following recommendations:
To
the Zimbabwean government: Put a stop to the frequent police violence
against journalists, quickly foster a climate more favourable to free
expression for privately-owned independent newspapers, and open up
broadcasting, currently monopolised by ZBC. The two parties, Zanu-PF and
MDC, must work in a more determined and concerted fashion. It is time to
pass from words to action.
To
the Zimbabwe Media Council: Immediately issue licences to newspapers
that request them and conduct itself in a more transparent manner by ceasing
to be uncommunicative about its activities, which are not known to the
public.
To
the international community (SADC, African Union, European Union, UN and
bilateral aid agencies): Put more pressure on Zimbabwe to ensure that
opening up the media sector is one of the reform timetable's priorities.
To
South African President Jacob Zuma (as the person mandated by the SADC
to ensure full implementation of the Global Political Agreement, a
power-sharing agreement between Zanu-PF and MDC): Be firmer with President
Mugabe and Zanu-PF. By not cooperating fully with the MDC, President Mugabe
and his party are the source of several obstacles to implementation of the
power-sharing agreement and are thereby preventing Zimbabwe from advancing
with determination down the road of democratisation.
To
Zimbabwean journalists: Try to avoid the very marked polarisation of
political life by not taking a pro-Zanu-PF or pro-MDC position and by
respecting the principles of neutrality and objectivity in order to provide
the Zimbabwean people with better reporting.
War vets fed up with Mugabe
War veterans in Mutoko say they are fed up with
President Robert Mugabe violent policies and are seeking ways of breaking
free although they don't know how to do that.
Mutoko is in Mashonaland east, a stronghold area for Mugabe's Zanu PF.
"There are many of us who are fed up with the system but are afraid that if
they join ranks with the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change ) then they
will lose all they get from Mugabe such as land," said a spokesperson of a
group of war vets who say they are now facing persecution because they want
to break free, Misheck Nyakudanga.
According to Nyakudanga over a 100 bona fide war veterans in Mutoko and
Murewa are fed up of the system of violence but are unable to untangle
themselves from Mugabe's shrewd bondage.
"What we want as war veterans is a platform that will guarantee our safety
from Zanu PF, we are sick and tired of the intimidation in
rural areas," said Nyakudanga.
This comes hardly a few days when a Masvingo man, claiming to be a central
intelligence officer, Innocent Makamure said he felt used by the Mugabe
government and publicly apologised to villagers in his home area in Buhera
for taking a role in state sponsored violence that resulted in some MDC
activists beaten, tortured, harrassed and killed.
Nyakudanga said this group of war vets in Mutoko that had refused to
denounce and persecute MDC supporters in the bloody 2008 Presidential
Election run-off had their war benefits withdrawn, which include pension
funds and education assistance for children.
"We were called up and told that we should denounce the MDC. ...some of us
refused because we believed in the freedom of choice," he said.
According to Nyakudanga several war veterans were taken to Warwick Building,
a Harare Office of the Central Intelligence and threatened in a typical CIO
fashion to be thrown through the windows of a tenth floor building.
"We were summoned several times to Kangaroo Courts for re-vetting, some of
us we were declared that we never participated in the war of liberation,
even though I benefited from the Zd 50 000 grants that were given to war
veterans in 1997 and my membership number was 3545-08," he said.
Many war veterans in the area who faced the racist regime of Ian Smith, have
vowed that they will no longer be used by Mugabe to perpetuate his
stronghold on the nation for 30 years, said Nyakudanga.
Contrary to widespread belief that Mugabe is helping in the welfare of war
veterans, the former freedom fighters in Mutoko say they are
in fact living as paupers.