The Sun
| Mugabe mob beat farmer |
 |
 |
|
Mob
victim ... farmer Michael Caine
on stretcher yesterday in
Harare
Picture: REUTERS |
|
| |
| By NICK PARKER
THIS shocking picture shows why England’s cricketers yesterday begged
NOT to be forced to play in Zimbabwe.
A white farmer is taken to hospital after being beaten to within an
inch of his life.
Bloodied Michael Caine was set upon by a racist mob who took over his
land armed with bicycle chains, axe handles and vicious clubs called
knobkerries.
Mr Caine, in his 40s, was lucky to survive. He is just the latest
victim of Zimbabwe tyrant Robert Mugabe’s “land reform” policy.
Whites have been ousted from thousands of once-prosperous farms by
marauding thugs.
Twelve have been murdered. And the nation — now ruled by fear and
torture — faces famine.
 |
| Reign of terror ...
Mugabe |
England cricket captain Nasser Hussain and his team-mates yesterday
pleaded for their February 13 World Cup clash with Zimbabwe to be switched
to South Africa.
A statement from the team, who will today jet from Australia to
Johannesburg, read: “We’re all greatly concerned about the moral,
political and safety issues.”
The revolt is a massive blow to the England and Wales Cricket Board
which wants the game to go ahead.
But minutes from a Foreign Office meeting are said to have revealed the
cricketers’ lives could be in danger.
An arms cache found by Zimbabwean police was allegedly “for use by
Mugabe’s opponents against the England
team”. |
ABC News Australia
Zimbabwe likely to deport suspected
journalists
Five foreigners arrested last
week on suspicion of being undercover
journalists who had breached the
country's stiff media laws, are likely to
be deported, state television
reports.
The five - two Germans, a Finn, an American and a Kenyan - were
picked up by
police Friday along with a local journalist in Zvishavane, a
mining town in
the drought-hit south of the country.
The group was on
a field trip organised by the Lutheran World Federation, a
church-based aid
agency.
At least one of the delegates claims they were merely reporting
on relief
efforts for church publications, but police say their passports
prove they
are journalists who entered the country on holiday
visas.
Foreign journalists can only operate in Zimbabwe for short
periods, and have
to obtain a government permit before
arriving.
"Police investigations have confirmed that the five foreign
journalists
arrested at the weekend in Zvishavane had been working in the
country
illegally and without accreditation," the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation
(ZBC) said.
"Investigations indicate that all five
breached their visa conditions and
are likely to be deported."
The
television said that police investigating the case had found evidence
the
five wanted to report on Zimbabwe's controversial land redistribution
issue,
and not just church relief efforts.
Earlier reports had suggested the
five would be charged under the country's
Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which sets out a
penalty of up to 100,000
Zimbabwe dollars ($US1,800) fine or two years in
jail for working without
permission.
But by late Monday (local time) the five had not been
officially charged and
had not appeared in court.
If charged, local
reporter Fanuel Jongwe of the independent Daily News will
be the first
Zimbabwean journalist to appear in court for working without
accreditation
since a government deadline for all journalists to be
accredited ran out at
the end of December.
Mr Jongwe is reported to have submitted his
application for accreditation
with the media commission before the deadline
expired, but his application
had not yet been processed.
The Zimbabwe
Government, international and local aid agencies are currently
distributing
emergency food aid to some of the estimated eight million of
Zimbabwe's 11.6
million people threatened by famine.
Since the press law came into effect
last year, at least 12 journalists have
been arrested and two foreign
correspondents told to leave the country.
ICC chief rejects England fears
Tuesday 28 January
2003, 10:30AM
A plea by England's players to move their World Cup match
in Zimbabwe to
South Africa because of security fears was rejected by
cricket's global
governing body, the International Cricket
Council.
ICC's Australian chief executive Malcolm Speed, responding to
the England
players' statement, said he understood their concerns but
insisted it was
still currently safe for all six World Cup matches scheduled
to take place
in the famine-threatened nation to proceed.
Speed said:
"As recently as last Friday, the ICC board, including the
chairman of the
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), David Morgan, met to
consider this
issue and no member sought to present any argument to the
board to move the
game."
He insisted that calls for the ICC to pull out of Zimbabwe on
moral grounds
in protest at the human rights abuses of President Robert
Mugabe were
misplaced.
"The ICC is an international sporting
organisation with 84 members with a
variety of cultures, beliefs and
political systems," said Speed.
"Its members are in place to make
judgments on cricket administration and
not to take a political stance on
foreign policy issues. This is the role
and responsibility of
governments."
And he insisted that the ICC was doing all it could to
ensure player safety.
"We are committed to monitoring the safety and
security of players and
officials in Zimbabwe and this is being done on a
daily basis.
"There is in place a properly resourced and highly skilled
security
directorate that is responsible for the safety of all
teams.
"The directorate has put in place a thorough system to identify,
assess and
manage any safety and security issues and the tournament will
see
unprecedented levels of security for all games," explained Speed, who
added
the ICC had now made "several visits" to Zimbabwe.
Speed's
comments came ahead of Friday's scheduled ICC executive board
meeting where
Zimbabwe will again be discussed by world cricket chiefs.
The ICC has
taken advice from a "range of well-qualified safety experts" and
nothing they
had heard had shifted the ICC's position, Speed maintained.
"As it
currently stands, based on this expert advice the ICC board continues
to see
no reason to move the games," said Speed.
"Should the situation change
there is in place the system to alert the ICC
to this and a proper decision
making process to deal with any need to
relocate games," he
added.
Last week Speed confirmed that the Zimbabwe matches could be moved
to South
Africa, where the bulk of the February 8 to March 23 World Cup's 54
fixtures
are taking place, as late as four days in advance.
©2003
AFP
Telegraph
Safety factor England players' only
hope
By Derek Pringle (Filed: 28/01/2003)
In a
spectacularly bold move by a national team, England's cricketers have
made it
plain they do not want to play their World Cup match against
Zimbabwe in
Harare and want it moved to the relatively safer pastures of
South
Africa.
The issue has been sizzling away like a steak on a barbie,
generously
marinated by fact, fiction and opinion to the point where their
appetite for
cricket has been replaced by something bordering on
despair.
Popular opinion, at least in the United Kingdom, is behind them,
but theirs
is a lone voice in the cricket world since Australia and their
press
digested the facts of competing there (for all of about 48 hours) and
went
quiet. There was nary a peep from the other four Pool A sides -
India,
Pakistan, Holland and Namibia - due to compete in
Zimbabwe.
Unless Australia show a renewed interest in shifting their
game, Nasser
Hussain's men may find that the mountain will not move even for
Mohammed.
As the stance defies the wishes of their employers - the
England and Wales
Cricket Board, and the game's world ruling body, the
International Cricket
Council, who have stated that the tie will be played as
scheduled on Feb
13 - it might be seen as brave, moral even.
The
players know on which their bread is buttered, and should a
satisfactory
resolution not be found they will abide by the ECB's final
decision,
provided personal safety can be guaranteed. It is this safety, the
only
factor the ICC will accept with regard to moving the fixture, that
the
players feel confident will be breached, a fairly safe bet in a country
said
to be crumbling under President Robert Mugabe's tribal and racial
prejudices
against the Ndebele people and white farmers. But people here must
not be
fooled into thinking his policies are unpopular with everyone, for
they are
not.
A persuasive lever for having the fixture moved may come
on Thursday when
the ICC must decide whether to move the two matches in Kenya
as a result of
the hotel bomb there late last year which killed 14
people.
If those matches are shifted, a precedent will be set. As World
Cup
organisers, South Africa have some allegiance to Zimbabwe - the ANC
were
allowed to operate from their territory during apartheid - which is a
great
deal stronger than their relationship with Kenya.
The ICC, who
have commissioned an independent security firm from the United
States to
assess safety ahead of that meeting, may yet seek a compromise
that keeps
some games in Zimbabwe and Kenya, while shifting the most
sensitive ones to
South Africa.
The Foreign Office advise the risk against Asian countries
is minimal, so
their matches there could remain in place. That way, minimal
compensation is
paid while some games are retained.
The issue has
become a clumsy and emotive game of poker, with players
showing their ace,
the evidence of an arms cache to be used against them,
early on. With the
game in Harare able to be moved to South Africa as late
as Feb 9, perhaps
others are being kept back in case the current
intransigence
remains.
Yet there is much that does not add up, such as the pamphlets
and letters of
propaganda delivered to England's dressing-room in Sydney last
week.
Though no threats were directly issued against the players, has
anyone
wondered why Australia, scheduled to play Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, did
not get
them? Or why players from Holland, India and Pakistan, the other
teams
outside Africa scheduled to play there, have not had mail
shots?
Though most professional cricketers are motivated by
self-interest, Hussain
and his team have been placed in a difficult
situation. The lead shown by
Tony Blair's government has been
limp-wristed.
Saddam Hussein is clearly a more pressing case, but the way
the issue
(cricket was never a vote-winner for Labour) has been treated is
shameful.
Perhaps if England win the cup (unlikely), Hussain, having already
indicated
he will refuse to co-operate with any of Mugabe's public relations
stunts,
will refuse to shake Blair's hand as well when the Prime Minister
tries to
make his own capital.
The stance taken by the ICC, while more
considered, has been deliberately
hard-nosed. Since Malcolm Speed became
their chief executive, cricket's
ruling body have been run by lawyers. To
them, contracts are sacred, and
they will try to hold England to the
participating nations agreement signed
by the ECB last August with its
binding clauses to select "a full-strength
side" and fulfil all World Cup
fixtures.
By taking this hard line, the ICC are covering their back with
regard to
India's board, whose president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, has been making
life hard
for Speed over the rights contract binding India's players, many of
whom
have rival sponsors to those signed up for the tournament.
If the
ICC are seen to tear up one contract, Dalmiya will want the other to
go as
well. The dilution of India's commercial interest could have
potentially
devastating financial results for the World Cup.
Telegraph
Rift grows over Zimbabwe
By Mihir
Bose (Filed: 28/01/2003)
The future of the World Cup matches in
Zimbabwe could rest with Kroll, a New
York-based security firm after
England's cricketers yesterday made a plea
for their match to be moved to
South Africa.
Moving plea: PCA
representative Richard Bevan gives the players' view
The American firm have
been called in to carry out an independent security
assessment, which will be
presented to cricket's world governing body on
Thursday morning when they
discuss the situation there.
England's cricketers want their World Cup
match in Harare on Feb 13 to be
switched and are hoping that the
International Cricket Council will sanction
such a move.
A switch of
venue would remove the "moral, political and contractual
aspects" of playing
in Zimbabwe which, says the players' statement, have
been "weighing heavily"
on their minds.
But unless Kroll find the security inadequate,
contradicting the opinion of
the South African security experts, an ICC vote
sanctioning a move seems
unlikely, requiring at least seven of the 10
Test-playing countries in
favour.
But whatever happens, the Zimbabwe
issue has caused a deep split between the
England players and the England and
Wales Cricket Board, as was evident at
an extraordinary press conference in
London yesterday.
While Tim Lamb, chief executive of the ECB, shared a
platform with Richard
Bevan, managing director of the Professional
Cricketers' Association, they
parried each other's thrust and counter-thrust
like two fencers, never
drawing blood, but indicating the bad blood this
affair has caused. In an
extraordinary moment Bevan, while praising Lamb,
criticised the ICC for
allowing David Morgan, chairman of the ECB - and
Lamb's boss - to represent
England at ICC meetings. This forced Lamb to thank
Bevan for the compliment
and then defend his chairman's
honour.
Although England's players have been uneasy about playing in
Zimbabwe for
some time, the fuse was lit when Morgan was reported to have
said England
players had received death threats.
Bevan denied there
had been death threats, but the media highlighting of
this led to his public
attack on Morgan on Sunday before spending many hours
speaking with his
players.
Normally a PCA press release might take an hour to compose, but
this one
took so long that Bevan's phone bill last Friday alone came to
£432.64. The
players' remarkably hard-edged statement contained astonishing
details of
Foreign Office minutes.
On Jan 23 there had been a meeting
between players' representatives, the ECB
and the Foreign Office. Bevan
disclosed that the Foreign Office minutes
mentioned fire- bombing of a ZANU
(PF) office, the statement from the mayor
of Harare that he could not
guarantee security and "reports of Zimbabwean
police finding an arms cache,
allegedly for use by Mugabe's opponents
against England's
cricketers".
The minutes mentioned that the Movement for Democratic
Change, the main
opposition party, had said they would not publicly call for
protests, but
were looking for ways to use the match to demonstrate
popular
dissatisfaction with the regime. The minutes went on: "It has also
been
reported that others might have similar intentions. It is very hard to
judge
how this would play out on the day of the England match. There might be
big
opposition demonstrations, met with a violent police response, leading
to
the loss of control.
"In terms of managing a demonstration, we have
been advised that the
Zimbabwean police could contain small to medium
disorder, but would probably
do so in a pretty brutal fashion. If there was
serious disorder, the army
might be called in."
John Read, ECB
director of corporate affairs, who was at the Foreign Office
meeting,
contradicted Bevan, saying: "There was no explicit reference to a
cache or
arms being used against the England cricket team, but against the
World Cup
in a wider sense."
Bevan immediately retorted: "They did put it in the
minutes and there were
2,000 rounds of ammunition there." Lamb waded in by
saying: "The mayor of
Harare is not responsible for security in
Harare."
There was no hiding the divide. Lamb consoled himself by saying:
"What the
players have not said today is that they are refusing to play the
match. "
Bevan's hope is that something will turn up. He said: "World Cup
organisers
have indicated that the fixture can be moved as late as Sunday,
Feb 9, and
therefore we are keen to take as much time as necessary to ensure
the right
decision is made."
The ace in Bevan's pack may be the
Australian players, who are also said to
be restive.
A similar
statement by them could add to ICC pressure but, with India and
Pakistan
saying nothing, such action would reveal a racial divide on
this
issue.
The
Australian
US citizens get Zimbabwe
warning
January 28, 2003
THE United States has warned US
citizens of the risk of travelling to
Zimbabwe amid ongoing political,
economic and humanitarian crises and said
Americans in the country now should
consider leaving.
"Zimbabwe is in the midst of political, economic and
humanitarian crises
with serious implications for the security situation in
the country," the
State Department said.
"All US citizens in Zimbabwe
are urged to take those measures they deem
appropriate to ensure their
well-being, including consideration of departure
from the country," it
said.
The statement noted increased crime and lawlessness due to a
"precipitous
decline" in Zimbabwe's economy that had sent the unemployment
and inflation
rates soaring.
In addition, it said existing food
shortages could result in famine that
would, in turn, lead to general unrest
and a further deterioration of the
security
situation.
afrol
EU fails to renew Zimbabwe
sanctions
afrol News, 27 January - The
European Union's council of Foreign Ministers
today failed to reach an
agreement on a renewal of the targeted sanctions,
including a travel ban, in
place against the Zimbabwean authorities, which
expire on 18 February.
President Robert Mugabe will attend a Franco-African
summit in Paris the very
next day.
According to the current Greek Presidency of the EU, the
Council today "had
an exchange of views on the common position concerning
some restricted
measures against Zimbabwe," indicating the discussions had
been rough. No
conclusion was reached, but the Council was to "further
discuss the issue in
the light of that exchange of views."
Most EU
states, in particular Britain and the Netherlands, had urged the
Council to
renew the EU sanctions that prevent senior Zimbabwean officials -
including
President Mugabe - from travelling to Europe. The sanctions were
put in place
by the EU on 18 February 2002, "following the organisation of
elections
considered as not free and fair, political violence used notably
against the
opposition, serious violations of human rights and restrictions
on the
media," the Greek EU Presidency recalls.
These EU sanctions also include
an embargo on the sale, supply or transfer
of arms and technical advice,
assistance or training related to military
activities and an embargo on the
sale or supply of equipment that could be
used for internal repression, as
well as a travel ban on certain members of
the government of Zimbabwe and
others "bearing a particular responsibility
for the observed
violations."
Following an official French invitation to President Mugabe
to attend the
February Franco-African summit, the renewal of the sanctions
had however
been disputed. French President Jacques Chirac - himself under
pressure from
most African Heads of State to invite Mr Mugabe - has called
for "dialogue"
on human rights with the Zimbabwean President. It is assumed
that the
renewal of sanctions failed over French protests.
Also the
Portuguese government is reported to have supported the French
point of view
of lifting the travel ban. Portugal is also under pressure
from its Lusophone
ex-colonies to invite the Zimbabwean government to a
Europe-Africa summit due
to take place in Lisbon in April. Portugal wants to
avoid the embarrassment
experienced by the Danish government last year, when
a Europe-Africa summit
had to be moved from Copenhagen to Maputo
(Mozambique) after a controversy
over whether to invite Mr Mugabe.
The new French and Portuguese policies
towards Zimbabwe - especially
inviting Mr Mugabe to Paris - has angered
several European countries and the
Zimbabwean opposition. The British
government recalled that sanctions had
only been put in place after several
attempts to discuss human rights with
President Mugabe had proven a failure.
French Foreign Minister, Dominique de
Villepin, however yesterday repeated:
"We invited Mr Mugabe to Paris and we
hope he comes. We should apply flexible
sanctions."
The Zimbabwean opposition, led by the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC),
has called for continued international pressure against the
Mugabe regime,
which it holds responsible for "rising cases of torture" and
other human
rights violations. Pressure against Zimbabwe - and the ongoing
economic
collapse - had led to speculations that the ruling ZANU-PF party
was
considering a coalition with the MDC, sending President Mugabe into
exile.
The Harare opposition newspaper 'Daily News' also was disappointed
after it
found Mr Chirac joining a "conspiracy against Zimbabwe." It was
not
difficult to see "the hand of the South Africans and the Nigerians in
this
plot to weaken even further the EU stance against the Mugabe
government,"
the Harare daily noted. South Africa and Nigeria had been key
African
countries in preventing even further isolation of Zimbabwe's
regime.
ABC Australia
Tue, Jan 28 2003 3:33 PM
AEDT
ICC chief Malcom Speed
insists it is still safe to play in Zimbabwe. [Getty Images] |
 |
Aussie team to debate Zimbabwe issue
The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) says it
has "increased concerns" about Australia playing in Zimbabwe during next month's
World Cup and will talk to the players after tonight's Allan Border Medal
ceremony in Melbourne.
The English team left Adelaide airport en route
to South Africa this morning after urging the International Cricket Council
(ICC) to abandon plans to play in Zimbabwe.
English players' spokesman
Richard Bevan says the squad is concerned about the "moral, political and safety
issues" surrounding the matches.
"The players urge all parties to move
the fixture to South Africa and pay the Zimbabwe Cricket Union appropriate
compensation," Mr Bevan said.
There are also concerns over the reported
discovery of an arms cache, allegedly for use by opponents of President Robert
Mugabe against England's cricketers.
Last weekend it emerged that England
players, on their recently concluded tour of Australia, had received anonymous
letters at their Sydney hotel warning them of violence if they go ahead with
their match in Zimbabwe.
The ACA says it is in daily contact with the
Australian Cricket Board (ACB) and the Department of Foreign Affairs about the
issue.
Another regular meeting between players and representatives of the
ACB and ACA will be held tomorrow (Wednesday).
So far the ICC has
insisted that, despite political pressure, it will not move matches from
Zimbabwe in protest at the regime of President Robert Mugabe.
It is due
to reconsider Zimbabwe's host status at an executive board meeting on
Friday.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed says nothing has changed, and
has rejected the England players' plea.
Speed insists the ICC's
independent security experts say it is still safe to play in
Zimbabwe.
"As it currently stands, based on this expert advice the ICC
board continues to see no reason to move the games," Mr Speed
said.
"Should the situation change there is in place the system to alert
the ICC to this and a proper decision-making process to deal with any need to
relocate games," he added.
On Friday, Mr Speed confirmed the Zimbabwe
matches could be moved to South Africa, where the bulk of the February 8 to
March 23 World Cup's 54 fixtures are taking place, as late as four days in
advance.
Exemption
English cricket chiefs may ask the ICC for
a special exemption to allow their World Cup match in Zimbabwe to be moved to
South Africa.
They will argue their tournament-opening match against
Zimbabwe in Harare on February 13 is especially sensitive because of the
"historical ties between the two countries".
England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb said: "We might be able to argue that there
is a special case and request having the fixture against Zimbabwe moved to South
Africa."
Mr Lamb says cricket cannot afford a situation where the games
in Zimbabwe are also the scenes for anti-Mugabe protests, which could be
"ruthlessly suppressed with a possible loss of life".
Mr Lamb says there
are specific reasons for moving England's match in particular.
"Given the
historical ties between the two countries, since the founding of the country and
through the southern Rhodesia and independence periods, and in the light of the
relationship between the two governments, as well as the fact that England
players have been singled out to receive the propaganda leaflet, we might be
able to argue that there is a special case and request having the fixture
against Zimbabwe moved to South Africa."
Lamb added: "I am not going to
say definitely that we will play that card, but I have already dropped a pebble
into that pond."
Britain, once the ruling colonial power in Zimbabwe, has
enjoyed an often difficult relationship with the troubled southern African state
ever since white minority Prime Minister Ian Smith issued a unilateral
declaration of independence in what was then Rhodesia in 1965.
After the
lengthy civil war which soon ensued, Britain played a key role in facilitating
peace talks which led to Mugabe winning power in a multi-racial election in
1980.
But in recent years British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has
called for England to pull out of their match in Zimbabwe, has been one of
Mugabe's strongest critics.
England team revolt on
Harare
Hussain and his men raise the possibility of a
boycott
Paul Kelso and David Hopps in Adelaide
Tuesday January 28,
2003
The Guardian
English cricket was plunged into its deepest crisis
since the rebel tours of
South Africa yesterday when Nasser Hussain and his
players called for their
controversial World Cup match in Zimbabwe to be
rescheduled.
In a statement that raises the possibility of a boycott by the
15-man squad
and places them in conflict with the England and Wales Cricket
Board, the
players called on the International Cricket Council to relocate
the game to
South Africa.
In marked contrast with the ECB, which has
repeatedly said it can consider
only financial, security and "cricketing"
issues, the players said moral and
political doubts over the match had
informed their decision.
"The England players urgently request the
Zimbabwe match on February 13 be
moved to South Africa," the statement said.
"Without doubt the issues have
been weighing heavily on the players' minds,
taking into account the moral,
political and contractual aspects."
In
the statement the players cited increasing unrest in Zimbabwe and
concerns
that the match could be a focus for protests against Robert
Mugabe's
government.
"The players are greatly concerned for the welfare of the
people of Zimbabwe
and especially for opposition supporters, who may be
targeted by the police
using brute force as indicated by the FCO [Foreign and
Commonwealth Office].
It is very important that no Zimbabwean, or any
individual, comes to any
harm because of a cricket match in
Harare."
The players' opposition to the game, decided at a team meeting
in Melbourne
on Saturday, is far more entrenched than the ECB anticipated and
leaves the
squad in direct conflict with their employer.
The ECB has
refused to countenance a unilateral boy cott of Zimbabwe on
anything other
than security grounds. Yesterday the ECB chief executive Tim
Lamb reiterated
his view that the game should go ahead and questioned the
FCO advice cited by
the players.
"I have heard nothing in the FCO advice that conflicts with
the ICC's
position," he said. "There will be a further meeting of the ICC
board on
Thursday but at this moment we back the ICC line. The players have
not said
they are going to refuse to play the match."
However, Richard
Bevan, managing director of the Professional Cricketers'
Association,
declined to rule out the possibility of a boycott. It leaves
the ECB with
little choice but to seek a compromise or face a possible
revolt.
When
the ICC board met by teleconference last week to review security in
Zimbabwe
the ECB chairman David Morgan made no attempt to have the match
moved, much
to the irritation of Bevan and the players. A similar approach
on Thursday is
now unthinkable.
Lamb gave an indication of the arguments the ECB will
employ as he attempted
to reconcile the players' stance with the ICC's
insistence that the game
should go ahead.
"One thing cricket cannot
afford is for the image of an outstanding sporting
event to be marred by
scenes of mass demonstrations and protests ruthlessly
suppressed with
possible loss of life," he said. "The ICC would find it very
difficult to
cope with that. It is very important that nothing should
diminish the World
Cup."
If the ICC continues to heed its own security advisors, however,
there is
little chance of the match being called off. A confidential
independent
report, commissioned in secret this month, has concluded that
Zimbabwe is
safe for World Cup matches, despite widespread violence, famine
and
political unrest.
There is a strong suggestion, however, that the
matches due to be played in
Kenya will be switched to South Africa because
safety cannot be guaranteed.
This may be used as a precedent if England push
for their match to be
re-arranged.
There were signs last night that
Ali Bacher, the World Cup committee's chief
executive, was open to the
possibility. "I'm sure the ECB and the ICC will
give [the players']
sentiments every consideration. If a request came from
the ICC [to move the
match], we would be easily able to accommodate
that
request."
Meanwhile the first indications that the Australian
players share the
misgivings of their English counterparts emerged. Their
captain Ricky
Ponting said: "There's a little bit [of concern]. I think there
always will
be. I don't know what to expect until we get there, if we're
going. That
decision is probably up in the air a little bit."
In
Britain, a campaign to raise £1m to pay the compensation the ECB would
have
to pay for pulling out of the match in Harare has been launched by the
Aegis
Trust and backed by Bob Geldof.
"On a day in which perhaps thousands will
die of state-sponsored famine, the
English nation as represented by its
cricket team will be guests of its
perpetrator Mugabe," Geldof said. "Against
these facts a game of cricket is
wholly absurd."
Financial
Times
Call for UN force to check
food distribution in Zimbabwe
By
Nicol degli Innocenti and Judy Dempsey
Published: January 28 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: January 28 2003
4:00
Zanu-PF membership cards have been in
such demand over the past few
weeks in Harare they have run out. There is no
mystery behind the sudden
popularity of the ruling party in Zimbabwe's
capital, notoriously an
opposition
stronghold.
The "Green Bombers", a new
Zanu-PF youth militia that has taken to
presiding over the long queues for
food, now demand to see people's party
cards. Those without them are given a
simple choice: they can enrol on the
spot and keep their place in the queue,
along with their hope of being able
to buy enough to feed their families; or
they can refuse and be beaten up
for their defiance. At most, they can hope
to be allowed to leave the
queue
unharmed.
Small wonder the Green
Bombers' unorthodox enrolment campaign has been
such a success. People are
vulnerable. The food shortages, until recently
confined to the rural areas,
have spread to the cities. The World Food
Programme (WFP), which has been co-
ordinating relief efforts for nearly a
year, is now starting urban feeding
schemes.
Until now, the WFP has
endeavoured not to be drawn into Zimbabwe's
increasingly bitter political
crisis. It has engaged with the government of
President Robert Mugabe,
accepting the decline of the rule of law in
exchange for being allowed to
operate unhindered.
"We have no option but
to deal with the government," says one WFP
official. "By not openly
antagonising Mr Mugabe, we have succeeded in
setting up a countrywide relief
operation free of political interference. We
co-operate with 12 local
non-governmental organisations and in December
alone we fed 2m
people."
But now even the tolerant WFP has
had enough. In his meeting with Mr
Mugabe last weekend in Harare, James
Morris, WFP director, suggested
bringing a United Nations taskforce in to
monitor the government's food
distribution to verify its
impartiality.
"Mr Mugabe assured me there
is no political interference in food dis-
tribution," says Mr Morris. "But I
told him there is a credibility issue
with the rest of the world. There is
enough suspicion to warrant UN
monitoring. He said he would discuss it with
the cabinet."
By the WFP's cautious
standards this is a strong stance. "We do not
believe Mr Mugabe will accept
the UN proposal," says one WFP official, "but
we will keep the pressure
on."
The government strongly denies food
is being used as a political
weapon.
"The only politicisation of food is in the imagination of those who
want to
demonise the government," says July Moyo, minister of labour and
social
welfare. "The police patrol the queues just to maintain law and
order, and
the national service youths lend a hand. It is normal they should
mobilise in
times of need."
The WFP insists it cannot
put an end to the emergency without
liberalisation, scrapping the price
controls the government has imposed and,
most urgently, ending the monopoly
the state Grain Marketing Board
(GMB)
enjoys.
The GMB is the only legal
importer and exporter of wheat and maize,
the staple food. It buys maize at a
fixed price of Z$116 (US$2) for 10
kilograms, 18 times lower than the current
black market price of Z$2,000.
"I have
told Mr Mugabe he must let the free market work," says Mr
Morris. "With the
price of maize fixed well below world and regional market
prices, there is no
incentive for the private sector to
import."
But Mr Mugabe maintains food is
too important to be left in the hands
of "greedy profiteers". The government
blames the shortage of maize
exclusively on the drought. Economists say the
collapse in farm output is
because of a combination of factors, including the
weather, price controls,
lack of commercial imports and the consequences of
the "fast-track" land
reform programme.
"There is less acreage under cultivation and communal farms do not
have the
same yield as large commercial farms," says Mr Morris, "These are
facts. I do
not accept the irreversibility of land
reform."
International donors are more
worried about the future and the
apparent absence of plans to kick-start
agricultural production. "Ask the
government about their policies and you
draw a blank," says a western
diplomat. "Even the resettled subsistence
farmers are not given the
implements, access to water, seeds or fertiliser
they need."
"We are extending our
emergency operation by three months," says Mr
Morris. "But the world will not
regard this as a humanitarian emergency
forever. The government must put good
policies in place."
Prospects are bleak.
Rainfall is 40 per cent below normal. If it does
not rain in the next couple
of weeks, this year's harvest is likely to be
poor. And weather forecasts for
the next two agricultural seasons
are
gloomy.
As the forecasts are
creating despondency, Zimbabwe's metereological
office has been ordered not
to release them until cleared by the president's
office. So the government
has intervened, albeit not quite as Mr
Morris
intended.
Sanctions dispute
threatens summit
A summit between the
European Union and African states was last night
thrown into jeopardy after
foreign ministers disagreed over extending
sanctions against Zimbabwe and
inviting its president, Robert Mugabe, to
attend the April summit, Judy
Dempsey reports from Brussels.
Britain won
wide support for extending the sanctions that expire on
February 18, just
before President Jacques Chirac of France hosts his own
Africa summit in
Paris to which Mr Mugabe has been invited.
The UK, however, failed to have the sanctions regime extended as it
became
embroiled in the EU-Africa summit Portugal will host in Lisbon.
The
sanctions, introduced last year by the EU, entail a travel and visa ban
for
Zimbabwe's top leadership. The Portuguese are seeking an
exception.
ABC
Australia
Tuesday January 28, 2003 1:04 PM AEDT
England
considering Zimbabwe opt-out
English cricket chiefs are
considering asking the International Cricket
Council (ICC) for a special
exemption to allow their World Cup match in
Zimbabwe to be moved to South
Africa.
England's cricket chiefs will argue that their tournament-opening
match
against Zimbabwe in Harare on February 13 is especially sensitive
because of
the "historical ties between the two countries."
England
and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb said Monday:
"We might
be able to argue that there is a special case and request having
the fixture
against Zimbabwe moved to South Africa."
His comments came after a
statement issued on behalf of the England team
asked that the match against
Zimbabwe be moved to South Africa, which is
hosting the majority of the World
Cup matches.
England players' spokesman Richard Bevan said: "The players
urge all parties
to move the fixture to South Africa and pay the Zimbabwe
Cricket Union
appropriate compensation."
Bevan also said the England
players were "greatly concerned by the moral,
political and safety issues
that the fixture in Zimbabwe has raised."
So far the ICC has insisted
that, despite political pressure, it will not
move matches from Zimbabwe in
protest at the regime of President Robert
Mugabe.
It is due to
reconsider Zimbabwe's host status at an executive board meeting
on
Friday.
Last weekend it emerged that England players, on their recently
concluded
tour of Australia, had received anonymous letters at their Sydney
hotel
warning them of violence if they go ahead with their match in
Zimbabwe.
Ruthless
Lamb, sitting alongside Bevan on Monday, said
cricket could not afford a
situation where the games in Zimbabwe were also
the scenes for anti-Mugabe
protests which could be "ruthlessly supressed with
a possible loss of life".
And, after the conference finished, Lamb added
that there were specific
reasons for moving England's match in
particular.
"Given the historical ties between the two countries, since
the founding of
the country and through the southern Rhodesia and
independence periods, and
in the light of the relationship between the two
governments, as well as the
fact that England players have been singled out
to receive the propaganda
leaflet, we might be able to argue that there is a
special case and request
having the fixture against Zimbabwe moved to South
Africa."
Lamb added: "I am not going to say definitely that we will play
that card,
but I have already dropped a pebble into that
pond."
Britain, once the ruling colonial power in Zimbabwe, has enjoyed
an often
difficult relationship with the troubled southern African state ever
since
white minority Prime Minister Ian Smith issued a unilateral declaration
of
independence in what was then Rhodesia in 1965.
After the lengthy
civil war which soon ensued, Britain played a key role in
facilitating peace
talks which led to Mugabe winning power in a multi-racial
election in
1980.
But in recent years British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has
called for
England to pull out of their match in Zimbabwe, has been one of
Mugabe's
strongest critics.
On Monday, ICC's Australian chief
executive Malcolm Speed rejected the
England players' plea.
He said
nothing had changed following a previous ICC executive board meeting
Friday
when there was unanimous agreement, including that of ECB chairman
David
Morgan, to go ahead with the Zimbabwe matches.
Speed insisted the ICC's
independent security experts had said it was still
safe to play in
Zimbabwe.
"As it currently stands, based on this expert advice the ICC
board continues
to see no reason to move the games," said
Speed.
"Should the situation change there is in place the system to alert
the ICC
to this and a proper decision-making process to deal with any need
to
relocate games," he added.
On Friday, Speed confirmed that the
Zimbabwe matches could be moved to South
Africa, where the bulk of the
February 8 to March 23 World Cup's 54 fixtures
are taking place, as late as
four days in advance.
The
Times
January 28,
2003
Letters that forced players to think
again
By Owen
Slot
THE England players received letters from an opposition party in
Zimbabwe
that were long, detailed and carefully presented in order to sow
doubt in
their minds as to their safety when they are in Zimbabwe. It was to
these
letters that Nasser Hussain referred on Friday when he told David
Morgan, the
ECB chairman, that his team were unhappy about playing
in
Harare.
The letters, sent by a political opposition group named
Organised Resistance,
say that the policies of President Robert Mugabe are
strangling the growth of
cricket in Zimbabwe. They also detail the
oppression employed by Mugabe to
rule his
country.
Most cleverly, though, they put under the microscope the
security report
prepared by the ICC in December and pick holes in it, thus
suggesting that
the players will not be as secure as the ICC would have
them
believe.
"The report fails, either by choice or incompetence, to deal
with the
internal history of terrorism," the letter says. It then lists a
number of
websites where the facts can be found. And where the report says
that "no
foreign tourist has been killed in Zimbabwe for political motives",
the
letter again lists internet addresses where this is shown not to be
the
case.
Where the report states that a one-day international between
Pakistan and
Zimbabwe last November was trouble-free, the letter counters:
"Activists
managed to achieve material breaches of security during this
game. We will
not divulge the full nature of these breaches at this stage as
this would
compromise our initiatives should the games not be moved from
Zimbabwe. We
must stress that our initiatives would take the form of
nonviolent civil
disobedience. However, we cannot speak on behalf of the
more radical groups
in
Zimbabwe."
The letter concludes with an appeal to the consciences of the
England
players. If they played, it says, "you would be letting down the
next
generation of cricketers and the millions of Zimbabweans who are
attempting
to turn their country into a place where there is freedom,
democracy and the
release from hunger and poverty".
From The
Cape Times, 28 January
'War veterans' order attack on Zim
farmer
By Basildon Peta
A Zimbabwean farmer has
been seriously injured in an attack by suspected
Zanu PF members. Michael
Caine, 34, was taken to a Harare hospital in a
serious condition on Monday.
His father, Richard Caine, said the family was
awaiting a specialist's report
on the extent of his injuries. He said his
son had been beaten by young men
"being used by people who claim to be war
veterans" who wanted to grab the
farm. "I am not 100 percent sure whether
these youths are the green bombers
(Zanu PF youth militias), but they were
sent by people who claim to be war
veterans." His son had been ambushed as
he switched on the electricity on the
farm, near Harare, early on Monday,
Caine sen said. "I chased the attackers
away... If I had not been there,
something worse could have happened."
Although the government claims it has
completed its land reform programme,
there have been reports of renewed
violence against farmers in the past
week.
Fuel Crisis Cripples Courts' Operations
The
Herald (Harare)
January 28, 2003
Posted to the web January 28,
2003
Harare
THE on-going fuel shortage yesterday hit operations of
the Harare
Magistrate's courts after the Zimbabwe Prison Services failed to
bring
suspects for hearings.
The ZPS usually brings between 150 and
200 suspects remanded in custody for
hearings in a day.
But yesterday
only a few suspects on fast-track trials from the Harare
Remand Prison were
brought to the courts.
Prison officers indicated that few suspects had
been brought to court due to
the dwindling fuel supplies allocated to the
ZPS.
Lawyers and relatives of the accused were not amused with the
situation as
most of the suspects were remanded in absentia.
Among
those affected were convicted housebreaker Tendai Faku and notorious
armed
robber Ronald Chirara.
Faku was last year jailed for 10 years and is
still to be tried on several
other charges of robbery.
Long winding
queues have become the order of the day at filling stations in
Harare and
surrounding areas with no immediate solution to the fuel shortage
that has
gripped the country since the end of last year.
The shortage has resulted
in some people selling petrol at exorbitant prices
of $1 000 per
litre.
In some parts of Harare, the black market is now thriving with
unscrupulous
dealers selling fuel from their homes, work places and even from
the
back-door at filling stations.
Some commuter omnibus operators are
capitalising on the crisis and
overcharging commuters.
For instance,
commuters are being charged $100 for a trip from the city to
Mabelreign while
the stipulated fare is $70
During peak hours some operators are
increasing fares to as high as $150.
Mail and
Guardian
France scuppers EU Zimbabwe
sanctions
28 January 2003
10:15
The European Union's policy on Zimbabwe was in disarray last night
as
foreign ministers failed to agree on a new package of sanctions because of
a
row over France's controversial invitation to Robert Mugabe to attend
a
summit in Paris.
In Zimbabwe, the opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai said more than 1 000 of
his supporters had been tortured in the
past year by the Mugabe regime, and
called for an investigation by the UN,
Commonwealth and Interpol.
His Movement for Democratic Change said it was
"frustrated and
disappointed", by the EU's failure to agree further
sanctions.
The EU's visa ban, assets freeze and other punitive measures
imposed on
Zimbabwe's president and his top aides last year are due to expire
next
month, but have become embroiled in angry disagreements and
recriminations.
George Papandreou, foreign minister of Greece, the
current holder of the
EU's presidency, said after what diplomats called a
"difficult" meeting in
Brussels that another attempt would have to be made to
forge consensus. EU
ambassadors are expected to meet on the issue later this
week.
He warned that an EU-Africa summit, scheduled for Lisbon in April,
might not
go ahead.
Britain and five other member states warned that
they will not send their
heads of government to Lisbon if Mugabe is invited.
Several African
countries have said they will not attend if the Zimbabwean
leader is absent.
The crisis over the EU's so-called "smart" sanctions
has come to a head over
France's decision to invite Mugabe to a
Franco-African summit in Paris on
February 19, a day after the measures are
due to expire.
France came under fire for breaking ranks with its
partners, but if any of
its critics had objected, Paris would have blocked
the renewal of the
sanctions, which must be agreed unanimously.
"The
important thing is to ensure that we have the sanctions and continue to
make
clear our disapproval about the way the Mugabe regime works," one
diplomat
said.
Officials said a possible compromise was for future sanctions to be
governed
by majority voting if a country sought an exemption.
France
says it wants to discuss democracy and human rights with the
Zimbabwean
leader. Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, said
the measures
should be interpreted "flexibly".
The sanctions were imposed last year in
protest against elections that the
EU and the US branded unfair and
illegitimate. They were also in response to
the confiscation of white-owned
farms and the crackdown on the independent
press, the judiciary and the
opposition.
Anna Lindh, Sweden's foreign minister, said: "It gives a very
strange signal
if the EU is having sanctions against Zimbabwe and at the same
time is
inviting Mugabe, even if it is one country inviting him to a
special
conference."
Glenys Kinnock, the British Labour MEP, said:
"The future of EU sanctions
has now been thrown into a melting pot which
threatens the very survival of
those sanctions."
The whole episode has
shown the EU at its most ineffective, conducting
laborious negotiations to
agree a common policy only to have individual
member states seek
exceptions.
The United States has already called the French invitation
regrettable and
urged the EU to enforce the travel ban against Mugabe and his
close
associates.
In Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai said the spate of regime-led
violence had resulted
in some 30 political murders in the country between
January and November
2002.
"Our leaders are arrested, often on
trumped-up charges, in order to torture
them," he told a news conference. "A
number of MDC party functionaries have
been tortured and subsequently died as
a result."
Amnesty Interational and Zimbabwe's Human Rights Forum have
also reported an
alarming rise in cases of torture in Zimbabwe. They said
police stepped up
torture of opposition members, including four members of
parliament, in an
effort to crush dissent ahead of the cricket World Cup
matches to be played
in Zimbabwe, and forthcoming diplomatic efforts to
resolve Zimbabwe's
political and economic crisis.
The calls follow the
torture allegations by an opposition MP, Job Sikhala,
and his lawyer, Gabriel
Shumba. - Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers
Limited
2001
Business Report
Zimbabwe farmers get
R400m loan
Bloomberg
January 28 2003 at 08:08AM
Harare - Standard Bank Group's Zimbabwe unit
would lend Z$2.5 billion (about
R400 million) to black farmers taking over
white-owned farms, the
state-controlled Herald newspaper said, citing an
accord the bank had signed
with the government.
Farmers undertaking
livestock production, dairy farming, horticulture and
wildlife programmes
would qualify
for loans.
The newly settled farmers would soon receive
leases of at least 35 years on
the land given to them by the government.
Standard Bank would finance the
purchase of tractors, irrigation and other
farm equipment.
Other companies that had pledged support included Delta,
23 percent owned by
SABMiller, which said it would spend US$18.2
million.
President Robert Mugabe's government has seized about 95 percent
of
white-owned commercial farms, refusing to pay compensation. The farms
are
for resettlement by blacks who were dispossessed during colonial rule,
which
ended in 1980.
This strategy has contributed to a food shortage
that has left more than 6
million Zimbabweans facing starvation, according to
the UN. - Bloomberg
afrol
Peace prize for Zimbabwean
students' union
afrol News, 28 January - The Zimbabwe National
Student Union (ZINASU) today
was awarded a Norwegian students' peace prize
for its "efforts to promote
democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe." The
prestigious Student Peace
Prize, which is awarded every second year, includes
an award of Norwegian
kroner 50,000 (US$ 7,250).
ZINASU was awarded
the prize for its fight for students' rights, the
Oslo-based committee today
announced. The nine-member committee includes
Norway's ex-Foreign Minister
Thorvald Stoltenberg and representatives of the
country's leading student
organisations.
The committee's decision was based on ZINASU's active
protests against
"forced education in patriotic issues that were obliged by
the regime."
ZINASU also had protested privatisation of student quarters and
canteens and
government's "dramatic increase of university fees by 3000
percent."
The committee further emphasised that ZINASU had fought for the
right of
ordinary students to still be able to access higher grade education
and
"that the universities still be an arena of free discussion
and
opinion-making." Zimbabwean student also had led the fight for freedom
of
expression and the fight against AIDS.
Thus, "ZINASU has been noted
as a very important player in the fight against
the repressive regime of
President [Robert] Mugabe," the official reasoning
for awarding the prize
said. "They have demonstrated that student politics
hardly can be divided
from national political challenges, and have done
their work on this
reasoning."
According to the Norwegian students' committee, Zimbabwean
student have been
victims of increasingly harsh government persecution, "but
have continued
their struggle risking the own lives and health." The award
was to
appreciate their "admirable" dedication for fellow students and
"the
population at large."
Tinashe Chimedza, ZINASU Secretary-General,
agrees there is a common
struggle for Zimbabwean students and society at
large. "As members of a
society, we have a direct responsibility to take care
of society at large;
not only of our selves," he told the Norwegian
committee. "Taking on this
responsibility involves several serious
consequences for the activists of
the organisation," the student leader
however adds.
ZINASU remains one of the few civil society organisations
of size managing
to curb undermining efforts by the Harare regime. During
increased
government repression, the students' union has taken a clearer
focus on
human rights issues. "ZINASU is a dynamic organisation that may play
an
important part in the further struggle for democracy," Norwegian
students
note.
The Norwegian committee said it believed the award
would "be an
encouragement and a challenge to [Zimbabwean] student to
continue this
struggle, and at the same time being an appreciation of the
work that has
already been done."
Although the union's fight for
general human rights in Zimbabwe has been
given much attention, ZINASU also
has to defend its members against enhanced
government control of the
universities. "Robert Mugabe is both headmaster of
all our universities and
President of our country," explains Itai Zimunya,
the union's Vice-President.
"He controls everything, and we want to push for
his
departure."
According to Mr Zimunya, Zimbabwean barely can afford to
study nowadays,
students not being even able to afford one meal a day. He
fears that
government will push even harder to crush ZINASU's resistance.
"Government
has embarked on a new strategy to crush us," he says. "If we
are
demonstrating or protesting something, they send in 'war veterans' and
mobs
to beat us up."
The Norwegian Student Peace Prize is awarded
every second year and "goes to
a student or a student organisation that has
done a particular effort for
democracy and human rights." With this award,
Norwegian students wish to
give support and attention to students that have
done a particular effort
for these important rights, and highlight the role
of students in peace
processes worldwide.
The prize-winner receives
kroner 50,000, and is invited to Norway to receive
the prize, the committee
informs. "But equally important," Zimbabwean
students were to visit Norwegian
colleagues in several university and
college towns. "This way, he will get a
chance to present [their] case to
Norwegian students, and draw attention to
the conflict in question."
Daily
News
Bid to oust war vet leader
widens rift in Zanu PF
1/28/2003
12:05:44 PM (GMT +2)
From Chris Gande
in Bulawayo
Cracks have widened in the
Zanu PF camp in Bulawayo after a vote of no
confidence was passed in Jabulani
Sibanda, the provincial chairman, by the
party's central committee members in
the city.
The development follows the
arrest of provincial political commissar,
Mazwine Gumpo, for allegedly
organising a demonstration against
Vice-President Joseph
Msika.
Msika, who was in the city last
week, was heckled by a group of Zanu
PF supporters when he attended a meeting
where the ouster of Sibanda
was
discussed.
Dumiso Dabengwa, one of
the central committee members who attended the
meeting on Thursday where the
vote of no confidence was passed, on Sunday
said a report would be lodged
with the politburo, the party's supreme
decision-making organ on the
issue.
"We have sent a report to the
Vice-President Joseph Msika," he said.
Sibanda, apparently basking in the support he enjoys among party
supporters,
appeared unshaken by the move which he described as
"nonsense".
He said: "I was not elected by
the central committee, neither was I
elected by the central committee member
who wrote the damning report.
"I was elected
with them and not by them. I was elected by the people
and it is the people
who will decide."
The development has
further weakened Zanu PF's waning support base
in
Bulawayo.
Zanu PF supporters interviewed
on Sunday said they were fully behind
Sibanda and threatened to take action
if he was ousted.
The supporters who
staged a demonstration against Msika and other
politburo members carried
placards some of which read: "Down with Joseph
Msika" and, "Long Live Comrade
Jabulani Sibanda".
Sibanda is the Zimbabwe
National Liberation War Veterans Association
chairman for the
province.
He has been very vocal against
the alleged looting of maize grain from
the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) by
senior Zanu PF officials who allegedly
re-sold the scarce commodity at
exorbitant prices.
Sibanda has also been
accused of organising a demonstration at the GMB
depot early this
month.
Gumpo and two other Zanu PF
activists, Jackson Thebe, and Collen
Dziba, appeared in court last week
charged under the Public Order and
Security Act for failing to notify the
police of the demonstration.
They were
remanded on free bail to 7 February.
The
arrest last week of the provincial political commissar and his
colleagues
brings to 37 the number of Zanu PF supporters and war veterans
perceived to
be Sibanda's supporters.
The other 34
members were arrested during the GMB
demonstrations.
They are out on $2 000
bail each.
Daily News
Defence lawyers
accuse witness in Nkala case of
lying
1/28/2003 11:59:38 AM (GMT
+2)
Staff
Reporter
LAWYERS representing six suspects
in the Cain Nkala murder trial, said
yesterday Bryne Bonda, 20, a nephew to
one of the accused persons, had
either been bribed by the police or was
unduly influenced by the political
nature of the
case.
On Friday Bonda said a pair of shoes
and their laces recovered by the
police were the ones which he gave to his
uncle, Sazini Mpofu, one of
the
accused.
Advocate Erick Morris,
while cross-examining Bonda, however, said
although the pair of shoes
recovered by the police were worn out, Bonda had
told the court that he had
given his uncle relatively new shoes only two and
a half weeks
earlier.
Morris said Bonda, despite his
evidence, did not hesitate to say the
old shoes were the same pair which had
been recovered by the police.
Bonda is a
nephew of Sazini Mpofu, charged along with Khethani
Sibanda, Remember Moyo,
the MP for Lobengula-Magwegwe, Fletcher
Dulini-Ncube, the MDC national
director of security, Sonny Nicholas Masera,
and Army Zulu, with the murder
of Bulawayo war veteran leader Nkala in
November
2001.
Morris said: "The shoes now had
holes in the heels of the sole, marks
on the uppers probably caused by oil
paint and amateurish repairs, and
despite these differences you had no
hesitation to say they were the same.
"When did you write-off the $2 400 that Mpofu owed you for an earlier
pair of
shoes you bought for him? Was it in return for the 30 pieces of
silver that
the police gave you?"
Testifying earlier,
Bonda gave evidence which might have
incriminated
Mpofu.
He said a pair of shoes
and their laces recovered by the police where
the ones which he gave to
Sazini Mpofu, his uncle.
But under
cross-examination yesterday, he agreed the shoe-laces
produced in court could
just have been similar to the ones on the shoes he
gave Mpofu. But, he
maintained the shoes were the same.
It has
not yet been revealed in court where the shoes and laces
were
recovered.
Advocate Happias Zhou,
another defence lawyer, said Bonda was aware of
the politically-charged
environment while he was at Nkulumane Police
Station and this might have influenced him to incriminate his
uncle.
Advocate Edith Mushore said Bonda
knew of his uncle's
widely-publicised arrest and told the police what they
wanted to hear so
they could quickly release
him.
She pointed out Bonda's failure to
inform the police that the shoes
they had recovered were not the ones he had
given to Mpofu as they were worn
out.
The police, she said, failed to conduct a proper identification parade
since
they had showed Bonda only one pair of
shoes.
The trial before Justice Sandra
Mungwira, continues today with the
State calling its fourth
witness.
Daily
News
None so blind as Makombe not
to see the genocide
1/28/2003
12:03:17 PM (GMT +2)
By R C J
Bezuidenhout
The leader page article by L
Makombe on 20 January 2003 was not only
embarrassingly poor writing, but also
full of pathetic arguments and
homophobic
statements.
Who is this Makombe, and what
gives him the right to decide whom the
majority of Zimbabweans will vote for?
Does he honestly believe that there's
rule of law in the country because MDC
supporters are given bail? Why, in
the first place, are
they
arrested?
Is having a different view from
the ruling party really a crime in
a
democracy?
Makombe, if you do not believe
there is genocide taking place in this
country, why don't you take a trip to
Bulilima and talk to Bambadzi Ncube,
and try eating worms to survive? You
must be very naive if you think this
mass starvation is due to
drought.
In a well-managed economy people
are not allowed to die of hunger,
especially in a country (that was) so rich
in farming expertise, resources
and production. The MDC cannot be blamed for
this.
We all know who has been ruling this
land for the past 22 years. Yes,
Makombe, there is systematic genocide in
this country, through starvation of
the masses who are being punished for not
voting for Zanu PF. We all know
the last two elections were
rigged.
Since the government has not yet
made the census statistics public, we
do not know how many Zimbabweans have
left, or are dead or are "greedy
economic refugees outside the
country".
The next census, hopefully under
a new government, will reveal the
extent of President Mugabe's slow, but
certain, genocide. Not only Peter
Tatchell, but the whole world, will
recognise the extent of
this
catastrophe!
The reason the MDC
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai who, it must be stated
plainly, is the elected
President of this country is out on bail in the face
of trumped-up treason
charges, is that he is not guilty and the government
is ensuring a subverted
judiciary before bringing him to court for this
blatantly fabricated
charge.
As for Tsvangirai demonising
Robert Mugabe, you seem to be attempting
to do exactly that to Tsvangirai.
Have you not heard of POSA, the so-called
Public Order and Security
Act?
Anyone demonising Mugabe or any of
his cohorts is arrested immediately
and beaten up and probably poisoned while
in detention too. Ask MPs Job
Sikhala and Tafadzwa
Musekiwa.
Certainly Shonas and Ndebeles
co-exist and inter-marry, but have you
forgotten what happened in
Matabeleland in the early 80s? The Matabeles who
lost 20 000 relatives have
not forgotten.
It amazes me that you
actually admit "that the situation is not good
in the country, especially
economically", and you are one of the lucky 30
percent
employed.
It further amazes me that you
try to lay the blame on the MDC for
advocating change, be it through
sanctions or peaceful protest and have the
gall to talk about "the political
party trying to uplift the well-being of
the
people".
Which party? Zanu PF? They have
been spending money freely on
themselves and on globe-trotting for the past
22 years and not given a damn
for the people. Haven't you heard that Mugabe's
sister, his nephews and all
party heavyweights are helping themselves to land
allocated to war veterans
and poor landless peasants? I know because my farm
is one of them.
The most amazing statement
of all is "Why are the racists and
imperialists saying Mugabe must go?" I am
sure that, whatever your true
identity is, Makombe, if you took time to get
out on the streets and talk to
ordinary folk, they would tell you exactly
why.
Because, contrary to what you think,
it is not the imperialists who
are saying that Mugabe must go, it is all the
citizens of Zimbabwe who have
grown so weary of that
man.
I could go on tearing that whole
article to shreds; it was utter
garbage and, quite frankly, if I had been the
editor, I would not have
allowed it to go to print.