By Never Kadungure
Zimbabwe's security chiefs fearing prosecution for crimes against humanity are trying to use the arrest and detention of Deputy Agriculture Minister designate Roy Bennet, former television anchor Jestina Mukoko and 30 other political prisoners as bargaining chips to secure their own immunity from prosecution.
The former white farmer who lost his Chimanimani farm in violent land seizures several years ago is facing charges drawn from draconian legislation relating to terrorism, illegally possessing firearms, and attempting to leave the country illegally. The MDC have already dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
Authoritative sources within the MDC have told us that Bennet is aware of the ZANU PF conditions for his release and has refused to be used in the bargaining. He insists he is innocent of all charges placed on him. By Tuesday the police had changed the charges for a record equaling fifth time after realizing they would not stick.
Last year the notorious and brutal Joint Operations Command (JOC) spearheaded the murder of over 180 opposition activists to secure Mugabe's violent re-election in June. It is suspected the service chiefs behind the operation and their cohorts lower down the ranks have been unwilling to allow Mugabe to share power with Morgan Tsvangirai.
Bennet's arrest has already triggered speculation Mugabe may not be in complete control of the country. The other side of the coin is that he may fully approve of the strategy given his own reluctance to share power genuinely. It was always felt Mugabe did not think the MDC would join his government and when Tsvangirai said yes, Mugabe was shocked into confusion.
Meanwhile on Tuesday Tsvangirai held his first ever meetings with the ministers of Home Affairs (Kembo Mohadi), Defence (Emerson Mnangagwa) and National Security (Sidney Sekeremayi). MDC MP and co-Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa is still outside the country on party business and was absent from the meetings.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Have Zimbabwe's generals sidelined Mugabe?
February 17, 2009
Roy Bennett's arrest illustrates the military's opposition to a unity
government, and leads to the question: Who is in charge of Zimbabwe?
Martin Fletcher
Zimbabwe's generals gave plenty of notice. Before last year's elections they
declared that they would refuse to salute Morgan Tsvangirai if he was
elected President. When Mr Mugabe lost the first round of those elections
they unleashed such a wave of violence and intimidation that Mr Tsvangirai
withdrew days before the run-off to avoid more bloodshed. Last week they
pointedly boycotted Mr Tsvangirai's inauguration as Prime Minister.
The likes of Constantine Chiwenga, commander of the defence forces,
Paradzayi Zimondi, the prisons commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, the police
commissioner, Phillip Sibanda, head of the army, Perrence Shiri, the air
force chief, and Happyton Bonyongwe, the Central Intelligence Organisation
director, abhor the idea of sharing power with Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
Their objection is not just that Mr Tsvangirai "sat out" Zimbabwe's war of
liberation. If the MDC has its way they would also lose all the perks of
their jobs - the farms, mansions and luxury cars, the ability to siphons
millions of US dollars into foreign bank accounts - and face possible
prosecution for a litany of crimes including the massacre of thousands of
opponents over the past three decades.
These men - whom Mr Tsvangirai blithely describes as "residual resistance" -
are bent on derailing the new unity government by making it impossible for
the MDC to stay in without looking weak. Thus they refused Mr Tsvangirai's
demand that 30 prominent political activists be released before his
inauguration. When Mr Tsvangirai was sworn in anyway, they promptly arrested
Roy Bennett, the man he had appointed to be deputy agriculture minister, and
charged him with plotting an insurgency against Mr Mugabe. It was a move
calculated to strengthen the hand of those MDC officals who had argued
against forming a unity goverment with Zanu-PF, and one which will force the
MDC to review its participation unless Mr Bennett is released.
The big unknown is whether the generals are acting with the tacit approval
of Mr Mugabe, or are defying the President.
The former cannot be discounted, despite Mr Mugabe's public protestations of
support for the new government: he is a man of cunning and scarcely
disguises his contempt for Mr Tsvangirai.
The latter scenario is more alarming, and is lent credence by reports that
the generals have ignored repeated orders that Mr Bennett and the detainees
be released. It would suggest that Zimbabwe is either in the throes of a de
facto palace coup, or will shortly witness the real thing.
However awful Mr Mugabe's rule has been, his removal by the hardliners who
have sustained him in power all these years would be worse. It would lead to
a new wave of repression against the MDC, Zimbabwe's total isolation and
collapse, and an end to the Western humanitarian efforts that keep millions
of Zimbabweans alive.
Roy Bennett's arrest illustrates the military's opposition to a unity
government, and leads to the question: Who is in charge of Zimbabwe?
Martin Fletcher
Zimbabwe's generals gave plenty of notice. Before last year's elections they
declared that they would refuse to salute Morgan Tsvangirai if he was
elected President. When Mr Mugabe lost the first round of those elections
they unleashed such a wave of violence and intimidation that Mr Tsvangirai
withdrew days before the run-off to avoid more bloodshed. Last week they
pointedly boycotted Mr Tsvangirai's inauguration as Prime Minister.
The likes of Constantine Chiwenga, commander of the defence forces,
Paradzayi Zimondi, the prisons commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, the police
commissioner, Phillip Sibanda, head of the army, Perrence Shiri, the air
force chief, and Happyton Bonyongwe, the Central Intelligence Organisation
director, abhor the idea of sharing power with Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
Their objection is not just that Mr Tsvangirai "sat out" Zimbabwe's war of
liberation. If the MDC has its way they would also lose all the perks of
their jobs - the farms, mansions and luxury cars, the ability to siphons
millions of US dollars into foreign bank accounts - and face possible
prosecution for a litany of crimes including the massacre of thousands of
opponents over the past three decades.
These men - whom Mr Tsvangirai blithely describes as "residual resistance" -
are bent on derailing the new unity government by making it impossible for
the MDC to stay in without looking weak. Thus they refused Mr Tsvangirai's
demand that 30 prominent political activists be released before his
inauguration. When Mr Tsvangirai was sworn in anyway, they promptly arrested
Roy Bennett, the man he had appointed to be deputy agriculture minister, and
charged him with plotting an insurgency against Mr Mugabe. It was a move
calculated to strengthen the hand of those MDC officals who had argued
against forming a unity goverment with Zanu-PF, and one which will force the
MDC to review its participation unless Mr Bennett is released.
The big unknown is whether the generals are acting with the tacit approval
of Mr Mugabe, or are defying the President.
The former cannot be discounted, despite Mr Mugabe's public protestations of
support for the new government: he is a man of cunning and scarcely
disguises his contempt for Mr Tsvangirai.
The latter scenario is more alarming, and is lent credence by reports that
the generals have ignored repeated orders that Mr Bennett and the detainees
be released. It would suggest that Zimbabwe is either in the throes of a de
facto palace coup, or will shortly witness the real thing.
However awful Mr Mugabe's rule has been, his removal by the hardliners who
have sustained him in power all these years would be worse. It would lead to
a new wave of repression against the MDC, Zimbabwe's total isolation and
collapse, and an end to the Western humanitarian efforts that keep millions
of Zimbabweans alive.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Zim civil society at odds with GNU
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - National Civil Society Organisations met in Zimbabwe at an ‘All Stakeholders Constitutional Conference’ held in Harare on Friday, February 6.
The resulting Communiqué notes the inadequacies of the provision in Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement as a tool in the creation of a new people-driven constitution making process.
It re-affirms the commitment of civil society; articulated in the last 10 years; in relation to constitutional reform process which is people-driven and leads to a general election conducted in terms of the provision of that new constitution.
NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE
COMMUNIQUE
We civil society organisations in Zimbabwe, meeting at the "All stakeholders Constitutional Conference, in Harare on the 6th of February 2009;
Recalling the processes that lead to the creation of the Peoples’ Convention and subsequent drafting and adopting of the Peoples’ Charter;
Specifically recalling the spirit and letter of Article 3 of the Peoples’ Charter in respect of constitution making processes;
Being mindful of the Global Political Agreement, particularly Article 6 which relates to a constitution making process;
We the civil society organisations hereby affirm our commitment to the following:
1. We hold that Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement is and remains inadequate as a tool of creating a new people driven constitution. This is because the oversight role given to the Parliament of Zimbabwe in the same said article is undemocratic and subject to political party control as evidenced by the passage of Constitutional Amendment Number 19 on February 5 2009 and that this view shall be communicated to the political parties in the GPA as well as the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
2. We reaffirm our commitment to Section 3 of the Zimbabwe Peoples Charter which outlines both the content and process of a people-driven constitutional.
3. That civil society shall be guided by the principles articulated over the last 10 years in relation to constitutional reform, both in the People’s Charter as well as in Resolutions of the People’s Constitutional Convention of 1999 on the definition of people driven processes in relation to an All Stakeholders Constitutional Commission, National Referendum, National Outreach, Compilations and Draft Constitution.
4. That at the end of the constitutional reform process, there should be a general election conducted in terms of the provision of that new democratic constitution.
5. That the views sought and acquired after a public outreach and consultation process be made public as well as unchangeable by law or the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
The resulting Communiqué notes the inadequacies of the provision in Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement as a tool in the creation of a new people-driven constitution making process.
It re-affirms the commitment of civil society; articulated in the last 10 years; in relation to constitutional reform process which is people-driven and leads to a general election conducted in terms of the provision of that new constitution.
NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE
COMMUNIQUE
We civil society organisations in Zimbabwe, meeting at the "All stakeholders Constitutional Conference, in Harare on the 6th of February 2009;
Recalling the processes that lead to the creation of the Peoples’ Convention and subsequent drafting and adopting of the Peoples’ Charter;
Specifically recalling the spirit and letter of Article 3 of the Peoples’ Charter in respect of constitution making processes;
Being mindful of the Global Political Agreement, particularly Article 6 which relates to a constitution making process;
We the civil society organisations hereby affirm our commitment to the following:
1. We hold that Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement is and remains inadequate as a tool of creating a new people driven constitution. This is because the oversight role given to the Parliament of Zimbabwe in the same said article is undemocratic and subject to political party control as evidenced by the passage of Constitutional Amendment Number 19 on February 5 2009 and that this view shall be communicated to the political parties in the GPA as well as the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
2. We reaffirm our commitment to Section 3 of the Zimbabwe Peoples Charter which outlines both the content and process of a people-driven constitutional.
3. That civil society shall be guided by the principles articulated over the last 10 years in relation to constitutional reform, both in the People’s Charter as well as in Resolutions of the People’s Constitutional Convention of 1999 on the definition of people driven processes in relation to an All Stakeholders Constitutional Commission, National Referendum, National Outreach, Compilations and Draft Constitution.
4. That at the end of the constitutional reform process, there should be a general election conducted in terms of the provision of that new democratic constitution.
5. That the views sought and acquired after a public outreach and consultation process be made public as well as unchangeable by law or the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
More evidence of power sharing deal heading for collapse
There was ample evidence Friday that the shaky power sharing deal signed between ZANU PF and the MDC is headed for collapse. On the day a new cabinet was sworn in, chaos was the order of the day. Analysts say hardliners within ZANU PF are determined to torpedo the deal and the arrest of the newly appointed Deputy Agriculture Minister Roy Bennet was part of those moves.
Soldiers and police lead invasion of Mazoe Estates
As the new unity government between the MDC and ZANU PF continued to take shape this week, it has emerged that one of the country’s biggest commercial farms has been taken over by soldiers and police.
100 WOZA and MOZA arrested in Byo
WOZA and MOZA arrested in the streets of Bulawayo on Valentine’s Day
Press statement from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
Press statement from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Zimbabwe opposition leader sworn in as prime minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, opposition leader in Zimbabwe, was sworn in Wednesday as prime minister, capping a bitter battle with President Robert Mugabe over last year's disputed presidential elections, the BBC reports.
In his inaugural address, Tsvangirai called for an end to human rights abuses and political violence. Zimbabwe also faces a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 3,400 people, hyperinflation, a collapsed economy and a 90% unemployment rate.
Mugabe administered the oath of office to Tsvangirai at a ceremony in Harare. The two rivals then shook hands.
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