Zimbabwe Leading Stories
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From Zimbabwe Newspapers |
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This Week in Zimbabwe - Eddie Cross 22 October 2000 I am not totally sure, but I think we saw the subtle hand of God last week. On Monday our High Court was scheduled to hear a contempt hearing on the Capital Radio saga and the two officers concerned were the Commissioner of Police and one of his Deputies. It was a dangerous moment, they had been scheduled to go to Court on Friday but had stayed away and the Judge gave them an ultimatum – appear on Monday or face summary judgment and up to three months in jail. They appeared and in an historic judgement the Deputy was given a sentence of 30 days in jail or a fine for disobeying an order from a Judge on Capital Radio. The punishment was not the main issue, the question was would our Judges stand up to the pressure and would the Police comply? In the final analysis the Deputy was forced to accept his role as the "fall guy" and absolved the Commissioner from all blame – not true but good enough to save him from similar judgement. However the message was clear and every policeman in the country heard it – if you obey an unlawful order – you could go to jail and the powers that be will not protect you. Like the outcome of the election, it had all the features of the footprints of God – the timing, the subtle message, the careful balance, not enough to endanger the peace, but sufficient to warn every police officer and a few others. Now Phillip Chiangwa, a Zanu PF MP from Chinhoyi who is a real Mafia type figure is calling for a commission of inquiry into the judiciary and in particular the Chief Justice. They will not get anywhere with this unless they are prepared to behave unlawfully and the armed forces support the action – both of which options seem to be out of the equation at present. Nevertheless – if you are a praying person, you should pray for the people who drive the legal system here. The Judges, the Magistrates, the Lawyers and others. Last Monday the MDC executive sat down and considered what to do about the situation in the country. We debated for nearly three hours and then finally decided that the situation was so volatile that any call for mass action at this time could explode into uncontrolled violence. The wisdom of this decision was amply demonstrated the following day when angry riots against the falling standard of life and rising prices broke out. The Police responded in their usual manner with tear gas and force and little else. MDC was blamed and Jonathan Moyo came out with the statement that the riots had nothing to do with the price of food but were the result of an MDC inspired plan to topple the government. It took three days and the army to restore order and even then they know that the volcano is still there and could explode anytime anywhere. What was interesting was the way in which the Police struggled to control even these limited outbursts of violence. We are now consulting our social partners and deciding on the timing and the form, of any mass action we will call when we feel the time is right. That time is coming and when it does it will be decisive. This coming week, the Helen Suzman Foundation of South Africa is releasing its latest political survey of Zimbabwe. We hear that this will show further massive gains for MDC in the political sphere. This will soon be tested in Marondera West where a bi-election is to be held on the 25/26th of November. We have a plan for this election and a candidate (whom we are keeping under wraps to prevent the authorities getting to him or his family until the campaign actually starts). We will then have to protect him physically until the election. Our information suggests that this constituency, which we lost by a wide margin in the main election and which is in the so-called "Zanu heartland" will be won by the MDC. We wait and see, certainly this is a very crucial test and evidence of this can be found in the fact that a significant force from the CIO and the "war vets" has been working the constituency over for the past few weeks. As you may know, any party that wins more than 5 per cent of the vote in an election in Zimbabwe is entitled to funding from the exchequer. We won 47.5 per cent of the seats in the last election (52 per cent of the actual votes) and should have received some Z$31 million in public funding within 30 days of the election result. We learned that Zanu PF had taken an "advance" from government before the election (that was illegal), but then last week we learned that our share had also been paid to Zanu PF in violation of the Act. The pretext given was that we had not complied in time with the requirements of the Act. This was absolute nonsense and when we took the matter to the Courts they gave us an order freezing the Zanu PF bank accounts until this matter is resolved. If the truth be known, they probably arrogantly expected to win all seats in the past election and simply took the entire allocation – now they have to pay back the portion that is not theirs. What incredible behavior for a sitting government that has been in power for 20 years. This past week we also announced our intention to impeach Mugabe. Immediately all the armchair lawyers and the spin-doctors of Zanu PF sang out that we have no chance of success in such a measure, as we need a two-thirds majority in Parliament. We know that and that is not our purpose, we want to bring out into the light of day – and have it put on record in Hansard (faithfully printed by a Zanu PF company that got the contract without a tender), the full facts of this governments blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law. We also want to spell out the many ways in which the President has violated his oath of office in recent times. It will not be pleasant reading but it will be interesting stuff and will for the first time expose the skeletons in Mugabe’s cupboard. At the very least it will provide weeks of entertainment for those of us who have nothing to do because of the state of the economy and will be very embarrassing for the President and his friends. After three years of trying to circumvent the law and the constitution in an attempt to grab privately owned land and other assets in Zimbabwe, the government has at last acknowledged that they will not succeed in legally. The commitment of the farmers and the nature of the law are such that the legal obstacles are just too great. So they have now launched a real land grab – they are simply walking onto farms, ignoring the courts and any court orders. They are then pegging out the land and handing it to bemused peasants and urban homeless who are expected to start farming and to become "productive" in the 6 weeks or so that remain before the rains. The government is promising inputs and mechanical assistance with land preparation and are also promising cattle stocks. They are saying to the commercial farmers who are subjected to this treatment – you can stay if you want but you have to co-exist with these "settlers" until we can get around to your rights as land owners. The Minister of Agriculture said today that he is expecting to settle 150 000 families in this way in the next few weeks and has asked for funds to provide services to these new players. The Secretary General of the UN (who has a close relationship with Mugabe) sent two very experienced people out to assess the "fast track program" and they report back to him this coming week in New York. In the words of one of these two gentlemen "you have two choices – a fast track program which will be a disaster or a program over (say) 5 years which might have a chance of success". We wait for the Secretary-Generals response with baited breath. In the meantime our message to the farm community is "hou vas" (hold fast), the noose is tightening and its a matter of when, not if, the president goes and this long night of madness will surely pass. Eddie Cross |
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More on Zimbabwe Wednesday was not a good day for Mugabe. A trio of widows and Elliot Phebe appeared in court in New York and filed a claim for damages against the president on the basis of the incidents in which their husbands were killed in the elections. The MDC team introduced an impeachment action against the president in Parliament and the Helen Suzman Foundation confirmed the rapid decline in the fortunes of Zanu PF in the political sphere. It was the latter that provided the greatest shock – if he did not know it already, he will surely see the results of the latest survey and take them to heart. He is finished, kaput, finito – it’s just a matter of time. The survey was the third carried out by the Foundation since the beginning of the year and proved yet again how valuable this type of activity is. The report comes to a number of interesting conclusions – there were 1,4 million phantom voters on the voters roll in June, Zanu PF support is down to 13 per cent of the total population (MDC 47 per cent – balance don’t know). Urban Zanu PF support down to 6 per cent, rural only 17 per cent, 6 per cent in Harare and 4 per cent in Bulawayo. Only Mashonaland Central still has strong minority support for Zanu PF – 27 per cent. Other shocks – land is only an issue with 6 per cent of the population, whites are not seen as being a problem, commercial farmers are important and should not be interfered with in any way. Dissatisfaction with government is up by 91 per cent in the area of unemployment, 84 per cent in respect to the management of the economy, and 80 per cent in respect to the cost of living. The Foundation states "these figures are so high that it is difficult to find a government anywhere else in the world which has achieved such uniformly low ratings". It goes on to say "even if the government were to achieve positive results in any area this would simply be disregarded amidst a tidal wave of discontent and hostility." The state-controlled media are revealed as having virtually no influence – despite the effective monopoly of the electronic media. 74 per cent of all Zimbabweans want Mugabe to resign and a majority wants him prosecuted. Morgan is 3 times as popular and if he ran for the presidency today, Mugabe would only garner 13 per cent of the nations vote. This survey reveals clearly that Mugabe no longer has a popular mandate to govern. If he has any sense he will heed the MDC call for fresh presidential elections to be held. We do not mind if he runs or gets the Zanu PF party to appoint a new candidate, at least then any new president would have a popular mandate and the authority to start tackling the problems of the country. It also, like the survey in January/February, shows that the issues on which Zanu PF is campaigning on are not priorities for the average Zimbabwean. Their concerns remain the economy and the problems associated with its decline. In New York a Judge decided that Mugabe did not enjoy immunity and should be tried on the charges brought against him by 7 complainants. The case now goes to another court to determine the compensation that can be claimed. When this is decided the lawyers will go after Mr Mugabe’s assets all over the world. As they will not be paid unless they collect – you can imagine what will happen then. In Harare the MDC team lodged the case for impeachment of the president with the Speaker of the House of Parliament. He had no choice but to go along with the case on legal grounds and Mr Mugabe now faces weeks of indictment by his critics in Parliament. As we have some of the sharpest legal minds on our benches this will be a painful experience. This is also a first for Africa as a whole. As I said, Wednesday was not a good day for the president! He reacted with a speech in which he lashed out at everyone in the MDC. He reserved special attention for David Coltart and Mike Auret – saying that they would face arrest and prosecution. He then went on to say he would abandon the policy of reconciliation and that Ian Smith would face prosecution for genocide. Smith was in the UK at the time and responded in his usual way "if Mugabe wants to make a fool of himself, he should go ahead". In fact all the players in the 18-year civil war in Zimbabwe were granted an amnesty in 1980 and this is built into the present constitution – so he cannot do what he stated he was going to do. As far as David and Mike are concerned this was the latest of many such threats made against them by the president and others. It’s tough on them and their families and if you are praying for us they deserve your special attention. Down on the farm things are worse than ever. Government has abandoned any pretext of legality in its unprincipled land grab and farmers are being subjected to arbitrary invasions and settlement by people often forcibly removed from nearby communal areas. In one case that I came across a local worker received a message from his home to say his mother had been picked up by an army truck, hauled off to a commercial farm 100 kilometers away where she was dumped with a number of others. Bewildered she set off to walk home and the family was frantically looking for her. Desperate farmers and their staff are starting to fight back and the level of violence is rising. In the mean time the rains are about to start and land preparation is far behind schedule. It now looks as if summer dry land cropping will be down by 50 per cent. We can ill afford such a situation and must hope that on top of this we do not have a dry season. A drought would be a disaster at this time. Harare, 28th October 2000. |
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Press Statement Major Shocks in new Opinion Survey of Zimbabwe A new national opinion survey of Zimbabwe - the third this year carried out by the Helen Suzman Foundation with the assistance of Probe Market Research (a subsidiary of Gallup International) - contains many major shocks for the embattled government of President Robert Mugabe. The survey - carried out on a large national random sample of 2,000 voters in both urban and rural areas - is summarised in a report by the Foundation's Director, R. W. Johnson, Political Opinion and the Crisis of Zimbabwe, available either through Probe in Harare or through the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg. Among the report's major findings: 1. The electoral register on which the June parliamentary elections were fought was wildly inaccurate and included more than 37% more voters than actually existed. 2. Of those who did not vote 20% did so not of their own volition but because their names were omitted from the register, their Ids were confiscated or out of anxiety and intimidation. More than three-quarters of these were supporters of the opposition MDC. 3. 13% admitted that instead of voting for "the party I really liked" they voted instead "to try stop more violence and trouble". More than 90% of those voters were MDC supporters. Had they voted for the party they preferred Zanu-PF would have lost the election heavily. 4. Zanu-PF won 48.45% of the vote in the election but its vote has since collapsed to just 13% against the MDC's 47%. 5. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now leads Robert Mugabe as the choice for next president by a margin of 41% to 15%. Simba Makoni, the new Finance Minister, takes 8% of the vote. Even on the most favourable assumptions for Zanu-PF Tsvangirai would win a presidential election today by 62% to 38%. 6. President Mugabe's support has collapsed particularly in the capital, Harare, where only 7% now want to see him as president and among better educated voters (those with A levels and above) among whom his rating is down to 4%. 7. 49% of voters say the June elections were not free and fair due to violence and intimidation against only 43% who say they were free and fair. By 45% to 37% voters also say the elections were not fair due to vote-rigging. 8. Despite government propaganda and the farm invasions, only 6% now say that land is the most important issue - down from 9% in January/February. It has slipped from being the equal fourth most important issue to 6th place. Even among the remaining hard core Zanu-PF voters it is the most important issue for only 14% compared to 36% who nominate rising prices. 9. 81%, including 61% of Zanu-PF voters, say it is not sensible to blame the whites for the country's problems. Only 16% say they have complete confidence or some confidence that the government is telling them the truth. 10. Whereas in Jan/Feb 61% said the police behaved well, very well or all right now only 37% do. Those saying the police behave badly or very badly have increased from 40% to 57%. Only 28% think the police are politically impartial and 65% think they are not. 26% think the army is politically impartial - but 58% say it is not. 11. Those believing that you "have to be careful about criticising the government because harm might come to you as result" have increased from 68% to 74%. 12. Those who think that all big farms should be taken away from whites have fallen from 30% in Jan-Feb to 20% now. 69% think that white farmers should be left on the land or that white farmers who have left Zimbabwe should be invited back. 64% say the land invasions "have nothing to do with genuine land reform". Only 21% think the war vets "are just criminals who should be charged with their crimes" 13. Only 20% think Zanu-Pf can recover; 68% say it is in decline and will soon lose power. Only 8% think the party can be reformed/renewed under its present leaders. 14. 83% regret that fact hat whites are leaving Zimbabwe. 46% say it is terrible they are leaving since they have contributed a lot and belong in Zimbabwe. 85% regret the fact that blacks are leaving Zimbabwe but think it is "understandable" why they go. 50% blame the government because "they have been responsible for such people losing confidence in Zimbabwe". 15. 78% of voters oppose President Robert Mugabe's plan to take over white farms, mines and factories - and only 14% support those plans. 59% say this amounts to economic suicide. 16. 64% of voters say Mugabe is the major obstacle to change and improvement in Zimbabwe (with 26% disagreeing). 74% want him to step down compared to only 19% who don't. 56% would like to see him impeached against only 27% who wouldn't and 51% say that even if he resigns he should be put on trial for the crimes alleged against him. 24% say he should be offered immunity from prosecution in return for his resignation. Harare, 25 October 2000 |
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From The Star (SA), 27 October 'Zim to drop reconciliation and arrest Smith' Harare - The Zimbabwean government is treating "very seriously" the threats this week by President Robert Mugabe to arrest the former Rhodesian prime minister, Ian Smith, and other whites allegedly involved in "war crimes", reports said on Friday. Authorities were looking at how to revoke amnesties passed at independence in 1980 that pardoned combatants for human-rights violations during the seven-year war between the white minority Rhodesian regime and the black nationalist guerrilla armies trying to overthrow it, the state-controlled daily Herald said. It quoted only unnamed "well-placed government sources", but observers said this could be seen as shorthand for a senior official in Mugabe's information department. Authorities had been told to find "all records regarding the war crimes perpetrated by the Rhodesian government", the report said. "Some of the people involved (in committing war crimes) are on the bench and the legal fraternity," the official was quoted as saying. "This matter is being viewed very seriously," he said. "The instrument that was used to declare the amnesty is being reviewed in order to identify an appropriate legal process to revoke it." Lawyers said that major legal hurdles face any attempt to revoke the amnesty, as it applied equally to the Rhodesian forces and guerrilla forces, both of whom were accused of severe violations. "You can't do it piecemeal," said David Coltart, the justice spokesperson for the opposition MDC. "You have to do it for all parties." Mugabe's outburst followed the first moves by the MDC in the Zimbabwe parliament to impeach him for acts of "wilful violation" of the constitution. They include "condoning and encouraging" violence by his supporters against opposition parties in the run-up to parliamentary elections in June, and the lawless invasions of white-owned farms. Smith, during a speech to the Oxford University Union this week, condemned Mugabe as a "gangster" who "massacred people and fleeced the African nation". From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 28 October Man of flint sharpened by politics of Africa The former Rhodesian premier Ian Smith shrugs off President Mugabe's threat to try him for genocide, reports W IF Deeds THERE were one or two attending the Oxford Union debate young enough and naive enough to ask Ian Smith if he really was going back to Zimbabwe. They had read about President Mugabe's latest threat to arrest him and put him on trial for genocide. Smithy was gentle with them, reserving his scornful rejection of Mugabe and all his works for members of the press and those lined up against him in the debate. We hadn't met in this country since the Lancaster House conference of 1980. "I'm younger than you but I look older," he said accusingly. "You've had a lot more to put up with," I replied truthfully. He has now the gait of an old man, but nothing else has changed. In the days when he was the prime minister of Rhodesia and we occasionally met in his Salisbury office he made me think of an angular piece of flint. He still does. This time round, though, during a quiet talk we had when all the proceedings were over, an altogether different thought occurred to me. Ian Smith draws much of this flintiness and resolution from deep love of his country. He'd never leave it. Like the psalmist, he draws strength from the hills. Yes, he agrees with what President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has just said. "The final crash in Zimbabwe is quite close. But if they get rid of Mugabe, there's a future, because it's such a wonderful country." He is confident that the world shares his view. "If Mugabe goes, the world will rally round." Smith has been at the forefront of African politics, he began by reminding the Oxford Union, for 55 years, and he remembers, or has his own version of, every political move in the game through all those years. Much of his speech to the Union was no more than a grey recital of facts - his version of the facts. He left the fire to Margaret Dingo, the Independent Zimbabwean MP and co-founder of the National Liberation Veterans' Association, who spoke last on Smith's side of the House. Once or twice, George Galloway, the Labour MP, who was speaking last against the motion, winced at her invective. I watched faces in the audience as she spoke, marching up and down the space between the Union's front benches and making the rest of us, debating that African leaders put power before people, look like amateurs. Some faces were faintly incredulous. What was this talented African woman doing on Ian Smith's side? They were not the only ones to think that Smith's Rhodesia must have resembled Verwoed's South Africa. In fairness, it didn't. Smith has always had friends among black Africans. Mugabe's new threats against him, we agree, will add to his black friends. Even his relations with Mugabe are different from our perception of them. Mugabe is reasonable, Smith explains to me, as long as he's not in danger. The trouble comes when he feels he's on a slippery slope. Smith refers to Mugabe not offensively, but as if he knew for sure that Mugabe had gone off his head. "If they don't get rid of him, then we're for it. His own people have told him this." Privately, Smith is convinced that Mugabe will go. We turn to the immediate threat. "Do you think he's serious?" I ask. "No, he's in a state of panic. I'm going back to Harare. I don't think I am going to be arrested. But if that is what he wants, let him get on with it. I've a clear conscience. What is there to worry about?" This clear conscience was called sharply into question during the debate. They accused him of genocide. "We killed people," replied Smith coolly. "We killed people who were killing their own black people. They killed 50,000 Matabele [a reference to the slaughter of the Ndebele by government troops in the early Eighties when according to the most conservative estimates at least 10,000 were killed]. "We were fighting a war," he reminded his audience, "a war in which they were killing innocent people." He rejects angrily that his own regime was repressive. Those of us who remember Rhodesia under political siege from the world know that he has a point there. He could never have held out so long nor made Rhodesia as productive as it was - before war overtook him - if his relations with black Africa had been as bad as this generation attending the Oxford debate was led to believe. There are squatters on his farm, but they remain in one spot. "They can stay as long as they don't interfere. At one point, they told my people to move the cattle. I called the minister of home affairs . . ." It was not a problem. "But life like that is ageing," I suggested. Smith shrugged. It was one in the morning and he had been going non-stop through an Oxford evening for seven hours. From the BBC, 28 October Regional concern over Zimbabwe crisis Botswana has joined neighbouring South Africa in condemning what they say is a worsening political and economic situation in Zimbabwe. Botswana's Foreign Minister Mompati Merafhe said on Thursday his government had hoped that the political tension in Zimbabwe would subside after the closely contested June parliamentary elections. Instead the opposite had happened to the detriment of the economy, he said after meeting his South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Pretoria. Botswana's concern follows an unprecedented condemnation by President Thabo Mbeki of President Robert Mugabe's disregard for the rule of law and Zimbabwe's economic decline. There were violent demonstrations in the capital Harare and other townships last week as hundreds of people took to the streets to protest the high cost of living in the country. "We are somewhat disappointed that the political temperature in that country continues to rise," Mr Merafhe told journalists in Pretoria. "It is common knowledge that the Zimbabwean economy is on the brink, and we are concerned." Mr Merafhe said he supported President Mbeki's stance that Zimbabwe's neighbours should try to help the country out of its crisis. President Mbeki on Wednesday condemned the violence in neighbouring Zimbabwe, saying the occupation of white-owned farms was wrong. Mr Mbeki spoke as President Mugabe threatened to put on trial former white minority leader Ian Smith and other whites for war atrocities committed against blacks during Zimbabwe's liberation struggle. Mr Mbeki criticised the government's plan to seize thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks. "This conflict is wrong. This approach, this occupation of farms, the seizure of farms, the disregard for the law, these things are wrong, these things must be addressed," he said. From The Zimbabwe Independent, 27 October Mugabe impeachment on SPEAKER of parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday said the MDC’s landmark impeachment of President Mugabe for alleged wilful violation of the constitution and gross misconduct will go ahead. Mnangagwa, who on Wednesday requested time to study the articles of impeachment, said the motion was endorsed by the required one-third of the 150-member House and should therefore proceed. In line with parliamentary standing orders he said a representative committee would be appointed to investigate the charges against Mugabe. After that the committee will produce a report to be tabled in the House for debate, he said. The MDC said the committee’s recommendations should be available by December 31 so that it can be debated and voted on after February 6 when parliament resumes. Legal experts yesterday warned that - apart from partisan bias in the House - there were procedural obstacles that could block progress on the case. Issues relating to the voting system to be used - whether it should be an open vote or secret ballot - and the general modus operandi need to be worked out. The constitution is silent on the procedures to be adopted in such a case. In the United States the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over impeachment proceedings which are decided by secret ballot. That is unlikely to happen here, observers say. The unprecedented impeachment hearings could expose dark chapters in Mugabe’s record and provoke sensational disclosures, observers say. The arraignment of Mugabe comes at a time when a report by the Helen Suzman Foundation revealed that public opinion strongly supported his impeachment. The survey found 56% of those polled wanted Mugabe impeached with 51% saying he should even be charged after he resigns for crimes he allegedly committed during his term of office. Political observers have said the specific articles of impeachment against Mugabe are likely to include the torture of journalists and failure to uphold court orders on land invasions. Advocating and masterminding violence during the recent parliamentary election as well as undermining the rule of law are also likely to be key charges against him. The charges only relate to crimes allegedly committed during Mugabe’s current term of office. Those committed before 1996 were removed from the articles of impeachment because they did not apply. But it is thought examples of presidential wrongdoing dating back to the 1980s were cited as supporting evidence. The impeachment motion, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, demanded the investigation of the circumstances surrounding the killing of 35 people in the run-up to the June election, according to information the MDC has posted on the Internet. The MDC holds Mugabe responsible for the killings. “As a direct result of the president’s encouragement, condonation (and) incitement the following people were murdered by war veterans and other Zanu PF supporters between 27th March 2000 and the 28th July 2000,” the party said in the Internet document. The document named those killed before the election as Edwin Gomo, Robert Musoni, Doreen Marufu, Finashe Chikwenya, David Stevens, Tichaona Chiminya, Talent Mabika, Martin Olds, a Mr Banda, Peter Karidza, Lucky Kanyurira, Nicholas Chatitama, Mathew Pfebve, Alan Dunn, Laban Chirwa, John Weeks and Sgt Alex Chisasa. Others were Takundwa Chapunza, Onias Mashaya, Messiah Kufandaedza, Thadeus Runkuni, a Mr Simudananhu, Antony Oates, Finos Zhou, Patrick Nabanyama, Zeke Chigagwa, Mandishona Mutyanda, Wilhelm Botha, Samson Mbewe, a Mr Ndebele, as well as an unnamed MDC supporter and a school teacher. Said the document: “The president’s incitement of violence and death to achieve political ends and which has been acted upon by his supporters, is a very serious wilful violation of the constitution.” An MDC official said that his party was confident that, based on the examples they cite, and any further evidence an investigatory committee comes across, a fairly appointed committee would find grounds for impeachment. Regarding the incitement of violence, the document quoted Mugabe’s statements during the official opening of the Pungwe to Mutare pipeline project and interviews with the media. That included his recent interview with the BBC in which he said: “We gave them (farmers) shock treatment.” The MDC says that this provides additional evidence of responsibility. “In stating thus, the president confirmed that the violence perpetrated against commercial farmers was part of a deliberate directive emanating from himself and his government,” the party argues. It said by confirming the move to punish farmers, Mugabe not only failed to ensure the observance of the law but encouraged and indirectly participated in the denials of their protection under the law. The Internet document further stated that the instigation of violence and the killings negated freedom of association and expression as well as the right of the people to free and unhindered political choice. It said this also constituted gross misconduct. The systematic abuse of the prerogative of mercy was considered as the key premise for charges of gross misconduct. The MDC said Mugabe has a long history of subverting the course of justice by abusing his prerogative of mercy. “By constitutional convention, this power ought to be exercised in those cases which cry out for mercy,” said the MDC. “To use the power in placing the president’s friends and political allies beyond the reach of the law is an abuse of the power and hence an act of gross misconduct.” To substantiate its accusation, the MDC cited the April 18 1988 clemency order which it said mainly benefited members of the Fifth Brigade and security agents involved in the Matabeleland atrocities. The MDC document noted that Mugabe pardoned veteran politician Patrick Kombayi’s assailants in 1990 and Zanu PF supporters who attacked a Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace official during the same year while monitoring an election. The pardoning of former minister Frederick Shava, who was convicted of perjury at the height of the Willowgate Scandal, was cited as another presidential wrongdoing. The recent pardon of political criminals was also cited. “Clemency Order No 1 of 2000 constitutes a serious abuse of the president’s prerogative of mercy,” said the document. “During the period (January to July) covered by the amnesty thousands of politically motivated crimes were committed principally to advance the political cause of the President and his party.” The document includes detailed statistics of human rights violations, perpetrators and their political affiliations. Mugabe’s alleged toleration of corruption and the unilateral deployment of troops in the Congo were also included. |
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Zimbabwe Independent of 25 June 1999. Front Page Independent Comment Dear Mr President . . . WE take this unusual step of writing an open letter to you in the hope that it will draw your attention to the sorry predicament that our country now finds itself in. We are not ashamed to say this is a desperate attempt to catch your attention which has been focused elsewhere of late. In writing to you, we are driven by a deep love for this country and our concern that left unresolved the current rapidly-escalating crisis has the potential to cause serious instability. We are convinced that none of your ministers or advisors has the guts to tell you the truth about the misery that your government’s policies have caused. However, in the unlikely event that some of them have done so, then your disregarding their counsel has been the undoing of a once promising nation. The people that elected you to the highest office are suffering. The majority have no jobs, no housing and many are without safe drinking water. Few can afford the price of maize or fuel — when it’s available. As you are aware a recent CSO survey revealed that 76% of Zimbabweans live under circumstances of grinding poverty. None of this is the product of a media conspiracy as you suggested in South Africa. It is the hard reality on the ground which you are no longer able — or prepared — to see. South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are all suffering from falling mineral prices. But none of them faces the predicament we are in. We are pretty sure that none of this can be a source of pride to you. Believe it or not, the majority of Zimbabweans are disappointed in you. While this may have seemed an exaggeration 18 months ago, it is self-evident today. Go out on the streets and ask people what they think. They do not see any sense of urgency on the part of your government in solving the mounting problems that have turned their lives into a daily grind to make ends meet. Your inaction has caused the public you are supposed to serve to conclude that you are no longer interested in their welfare. They can be forgiven for thinking you have abdicated your responsibilities. Remarks made in South Africa that you cannot afford to buy your wife a car have been greeted with open derision. The standard of living enjoyed by those around you is legendary and the gulf between the country’s rich and poor is wider today than it was in 1980. Per capita GDP is less than half in real terms of what it was. This country has moved, in 19 short years, from being the region’s bread basket to being a net importer of food. Milk products are in short supply. So are basic foodstuffs such as bread, mealie-meal, sugar and paraffin. Holding a ceiling on prices ignores the causes of the problem — inflationary pressures caused by fiscal mismanagement — and addresses only the symptoms. Meanwhile, businesses that employ people are going to the wall. Your Industry and Commerce minister Nathan Shamuyarira said this week he was too busy to discuss the crisis with the CZI. The IMF which was prepared to throw us a lifeline is now having second thoughts in response to the imposition of price controls which have failed before and will create massive shortages. Instead of focusing on being productive, the corporate sector and those lucky enough to be employed are battling the negative consequences of your maladroit policies. High levels of inflation and interest rates, largely a direct result of your government’s profligate expenditure patterns, have severely eroded disposable incomes and curtailed investment and job creation. There is little, if any, foreign investment to talk about. You don’t seem to care. As the nation ponders on whether you will offer yourself for another term of office you must surely be concerned about how you will be remembered by posterity. Our political liberator yes — but also the man who played a central role in ruining all our dreams and those of generations to come. Which brings us to our next point. As you ponder your future in the privacy of your young family you must surely be concerned about what kind of a country they will grow up in. Is this the environment that you want them to inherit? While they might be prepared to forgive you, most Zimbabweans, born and not yet born, would find it difficult to do the same. With still some time left before your current term ends we believe you have a chance, that is if you set your mind to it, to make up for the chronic damage your administration has inflicted upon the country. And the point of departure, excuse the pun, is an easy one: namely to measure all your pronouncements hence-forth to ensure they engender trust and confidence. Thereafter to put in place a team around you that can rejuvenate your admini- stration in formulating and delivering on policy. Populist grandstanding is no substitute for effective governance. That sometimes means taking difficult decisions. But properly explained, those decisions would be readily understood so long as you and your cabinet set a good example. The simple fact is, if you care about Zimbabwe then it cannot be “business as usual”. Will you seize this opportunity? Or will you let the country drift towards the rapids of economic failure and social unrest? We would be glad if you did something other than watch the disaster unfold! |