ZANU PF Beefing Up Terror Gangs Ahead of Elections

The former ruling ZANU PF party is recruiting young people from the countryside to train as soldiers in order to beef up its terror gangs, a former Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) officer claimed on
Wednesday.

Shepherd Yuda, who trained new recruits as an instructor during his stint with the ZPS told us the timing of the recruitment fitted in well with ZANU PF’s plan of unleashing another wave of deadly attacks against anyone perceived as a political opponent.

‘I was in the prison service for 12 years and I managed to cultivate close ties with people in the armed forces, including some in the dreaded CIO. What I have gathered is that most of those responsible for the atrocities two years ago fled the country in fear of reprisals,’ Yuda said, adding that others have
since retired.

Yuda is best known for risking his life secretly filming how members of the security services were forced to vote under supervision, during the one-man presidential run-off. He said those that are still in the service are either too old to be used as hired goons or have become uncomfortable killing
people.

‘I’ve been an instructor before and I know how a new recruit behaves. Because of desperation they are easily being manipulated by ZANU PF to join the army where they will be indoctrinated to talk ZANU PF, eat ZANU PF, sleep ZANU PF and kill for ZANU PF,’ Yuda added.

Two weeks ago, the armed forces public relations department announced that the army would be moving around some districts of the country recruiting soldiers. The exercise will run until December after which the new recruits will begin training in January and complete in June, when Mugabe is expected to call for elections.

The MDC also reported that in Gutu last week ZANU PF militia, led by Sipho Musarurwa, forced male students at Sotisi High School to register for militia training upon completion of their examinations.

Their statement said all male students in ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels at the school were forced to supply their names, age and names of their headmen to Musarurwa’s group.

Efforts by the headmaster and teachers to stop the process failed. The terrified students were told to prepare for ZANU PF militia training once they completed their examinations in December.

In the past week we’ve also been reporting cases of MDC activists being forced to go into hiding in some areas of Chipinge East after armed soldiers went around the constituency flushing out known opponents of ZANU PF and beating them up.

The soldiers are reportedly forcing villagers to chant ZANU PF slogans. Those that fail to chant the former ruling party slogans are deemed to be pro-MDC and face the wrath of the marauding soldiers.

And it’s not just soldiers involved in the latest repression. Last week there were reports suggesting that the Zimbabwe Republic Police is recalling retired police officers and war vets to take up vacant posts in the force to direct operations during the 2011 elections. The weekly Zimbabwe Standard reported that the re-calling of the ex-cops follows the scrapping of this year's promotional examinations for the police force, which were scheduled to start earlier this month.

The police have since arrested the author of that article, Nqobani Ndlovu, and charged him with criminal defamation. He is still languishing in jail, a week after he was arrested in Bulawayo.

Wiseman says civil servants were paid bonuses but it didn’t help as the cost of living continues to rise and prices of basic foods are unbearably high; and Nyorewa says Mugabe is an old founder leader of SADC and is taking advantage of the new SADC leaders naivety, to bully them and force them to
do as he wishes. The MDC & other parties should not rely on SADC to find solutions to the
crisis in Zimbabwe.

Whites Should ’Go Back To Where They Came From’

As the political climate in Zimbabwe worsens, state media has published a call for whites to leave the country.The Herald and the national broadcaster are becoming increasingly critical of perceived opponents of President Robert Mugabe in the run-up to next year’s polls.The Herald decided to publish a four-line SMS, which says whites should “go back to where they come from and stay there for good.” The anonymous sender said whites shouldn’t challenge us here in Zimbabwe.State editors are likely to defend letter-writers’ rights to freedom of speech – just as a minister allowed calls for reporters who criticised Mugabe to be hanged to go unchided last month.As elections loom next year, the pro-Mugabe media is getting increasingly critical of supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai and – now it seems – of whites.The sanctioning of this sort of message is likely to put off Western investors.

Students Forced To Register For Zanu PF Militia Training

Zanu PF militia led by Sipho Musarurwa last Friday forced male students at Sotisi High School in Gutu North, Masvingo province to register for Zanu PF militia training upon completion of their examinations. All male students in “O” and “A” Levels at the school were forced to supply their names, age and names of their headmen by Musarurwa’s group.Efforts by the headmaster and teachers to stop the process failed.  The terrified students were told to prepare for Zanu PF militia training once they completed their examinations in December.

The MDC Gutu North MP, Hon. Hamandishe Maramwidze later made a report over the incident at Gutu Police Station. Police investigations showed that Musarurwa was on their wanted persons’ list after absconding trial on charges of assaulting MDC supporters in 2008.  The police have since applied for a warrant of arrest against Musarurwa at Gutu magistrate’s court, which has been
granted.

Meanwhile, Evelyn Gurajena, the MDC Nyazvinzi ward secretary in Gutu North has died. She died last week from injuries sustained when she was attacked by Zanu PF militia in June 2008.  Gurajena was buried before hundreds of MDC supporters last Saturday at Nyazvinzi village. Her husband, Albert
Gurajena, who was an MDC activist, died in September from injuries following an attack by the same youths in June 2008.  The couple left behind five children, three girls and two boys.

Over 500 MDC supporters were killed while thousands were left with life threatening injuries after they were physical attacked by Zanu PF assisted by State security agents in 2008 following Zanu PF’s defeat at the hands of the MDC in the March 2008 elections.
Together, united, winning, ready for real
change!

--
MDC Information & Publicity Department

State Broadcaster ‘Strips’ Tsvangirai of PM Title

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been stripped of his title in news bulletins aired by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), as the broadcaster worsens its attacks on him, an observer as noted.

According to the observer based in Zimbabwe, ZBC news readers now regularly refer to Tsvangirai as the “leader of the MDC (T) party” instead of “the Prime Minister” as part of its hostile campaign against his party. In another example of the biased wording the ZBC news bulletins are using to
ridicule Tsvangirai, last Wednesday night the newsreader said: “Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC (T) party, has chickened out of elections.”

Political analyst Bekithemba Mhlanga says this is part of a bigger plot to make Tsvangirai appear insignificant, and that there is worse to come for him as the country nears an election, marked for
2011.

“ZANU PF is already in election mode and therefore they will do their best to denigrate Tsvangirai and render him as a non-person as it were. They realise if they continue calling him Prime Minister it gives him some sort of stature that ZANU PF does not believe he has earned,” Mhlanga said.

Despite the country being under a government of national unity (GNU), the state broadcaster remains tightly controlled by Robert Mugabe’s party and is used as a machine to churn out ZANU PF
propaganda.

Recently George Charamba, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, announced that the government has no plans to issue licenses to independent broadcasters, which is contrary to what is required by the global political agreement (GPA).

Charamba’s statement means that millions of Zimbabweans will be force-fed propaganda as the country goes into elections and beyond, if ZANU PF is allowed to continue ignoring the GPA.

Mhlanga says the best tactic the MDC has against ZANU PF propaganda is to rely on the support of ordinary people in Zimbabwe. “The MDC will have to rely on the moral integrity it has earned with Zimbabweans since the GPA was signed. The number of seats the MDC won last time and the number of votes that Tsvangirai got at the last presidential election were accumulated against a very violent and vitriolic ZBC,” he said.Mhlanga’s comments are in line with those of another political analyst,
Professor John Makumbe.

Makumbe says that the MDC will need to rely on its supporter base, rather on the Southern African Development Corporation (SADC), to force Mugabe to respect the GPA. This weekend both the MDC-T and MDC-M were outraged that the SADC troika did not meet to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe, as planned.“The MDC and Tsvangirai must focus on what the people of Zimbabwe can do and this demands mass mobilisation of people in preparation for elections and demonstrations that can force the intervention of the international community,” Makumbe told the Daily News.

MDC Supporters Flee As Houses Are Burnt

Harare, November 22, 2010 - At least 43 families believed to be Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters have fled their homes and are living in the mountains after marauding Zanu (PF) youths burnt their houses and assaulted them near Mhangura.

The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) has announced that villagers at Gambuli Farm were subjected to a series of attacks on their homes by well known supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF).

The marauding youths are said to be moving in the company of police officers.

“Some of the villagers now spend their days in the mountains and only come back to the village to sleep in the roofless huts. Only two homesteads belonging to Zanu (PF) supporters were spared.

“A well known Zanu (PF) supporter and headman from the nearby farm known as Mesmar has been reported to be moving around the farms in the company of police officers and a group of the party’s youth league demanding offer letters from villagers. Failure to produce the offer letters has resulted in
the villagers’ houses being razed to ground while others burn the thatched roofs of the huts.

“In a Murambatsvina-style destruction that has left many villagers shocked, the group at times asks the victims to destroy their own houses. Some of the houses have been left with only walls while others have been razed to the ground level.

“Some of the affected villagers said they were forced to destroy their properties and those who tried to resist the move were severely beaten up including the headman of the village only identified as Manhenga,” reads part of the statement from ZPP.

According to ZPP, the police officers allegedly fired gunshots in the air to threaten the villagers.The villagers are said to have moved to stay on the farms at the height of the farm invasions in 2000 led
by war veterans and Zanu (PF) officials.

The violations were reported at Chemagamba Rural Police Station in Chinhoyi but no one has been arrested.

Lessons From History For Tsvangirai, Dabengwa, Makoni and Mutambara

It is known to the whole world that Zimbabwe is facing serious problems right now and the feeling amongst many people is that the beautiful country is headed for the worst come next year. The ill fated marriage of convenience between sworn enemies MDC and ZANU (PF) is on the rocks and it is the general populace that is set to bear the brunt of their tug of war.
Just how the MDC found itself in this mess boggles the mind. What is clear though is that ZANU (PF) has been ‘smarter’ and shrewder than their foes.
The opposition team needs to regroup and perhaps to come to terms with the fact that they need reinforcement. It is disappointing that a trusted team with respected legal brains like Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube would sign a GPA with loopholes that ZANU (PF) would go on to manipulate.
The begging question is where were they?
That the opposition went on to expend so much energy and money on another ill fated exercise of the constitution making process is another clear sign that they have been inept and been caught napping. ZANU (PF) leaders must be looking back and going ‘phew’ in a celebratory mood, happy that they managed to diffuse the hot wind and air that the MDC had managed to create around them after the 2008 elections.Now Lovemore Madhuku and the NCA are saying we told you so. The constitution has been a ZANU (PF) document again and the MDC is strangely saying they will vote for it and discard it later.
All this shows how ill prepared the opposition was entering this agreement and how lacking they were in shrewdness and cunning. ZANU (PF) managed to divert their energies and attention from the real issue of removing them to mundane issues of a constitution that would never be the will of the people as long as ZANU (PF) is still there and ruling.
How could they have thought that Mugabe would put his signature on a document he didn’t agree with? It was like writing a letter to end a relationship with a lover knowing full well that he will be the one to sign it in the end.
ZANU (PF) also managed to discredit their enemies by making them gibber and gibber about sanctions and positions. Now ZANU (PF) has a tramp card for elections in the form of claiming that even the MDC know that the sanctions or restrictive measures are hurting the economy of Zimbabwe. We know full well that that is just part of the problem and not the whole. The MDC has spent months trying to get Roy Bennert sworn in as Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
In the meantime ZANU (PF) has been secretly telling its allies in the SADC that the MDC is trying to reverse land redistribution exercise by making a white man part of the agriculture equation. Couldn’t the MDC have been wiser than fall for that trap so easily? Don’t they know that perception is critical in politics? That’s the MDC for you playing all their cards wrong and leaving the MDC smiling with gladness with their Jonathan Moyos taking the opportunity to reflect Morgan Tswangirai as a charlatan and a quack.
Well there is an element of truth in that because the MDC has made claims they have not been able fulfill. That is not fair to the people of Zimbabwe and we certainly don’t want to be told that by Jonathan coming from the camp that is are problem number one. Zimbabwe needs the opposition but not the way it is.
Tsvangirai still has a role to play to remove ZANU (PF) but he certainly needs to view things differently now and he needs to come to terms with the fact that he cannot do it alone.
What has been clear to most Zimbabweans and any other thinking person with interest in the Zimbabwe problem is that our problem does not lie with the constitution per se, at least for now.

 The constitution needs to be changed but that is not Zimbabwe’s priority number one because even with a good one ZANU (PF) will still violate its provisions. So why waste time and money and get people maimed and killed over a futile exercise that won’t change anything but only serves to help ZANU (PF) buy time and push their agenda of stay in power? Get me right here; I am not one of those who think that the constitution is not critical. It is so critical for Zimbabwe that we cannot do it under ZANU (PF). What is of priority for me now is to remove ZANU (PF) and Robert Mugabe and start on a fresh page and write a new constitution.
One can safely say that the opposition has failed to read ZANU (PF)’s game plan. It is clear now that as far as ZANU (PF) is concerned elections in Zimbabwe are not just about the ballot box. The 2008 elections made it clear that it is the case in Zimbabwe. Where then is ZANU (PF)’s secret in all this? I do not claim that my view is exhaustive. There could be other variable in all this but the military variable is at the top of all this.
It is a ZANU (PF) tramp card bought with passion by the SADC and in particular, South Africa. The MDC can cry, rant and rave but as long as they do not come up with a package that satisfies the SADC that their intentions are not to reverse the ‘gains’ of independence they might as well forget ever making a difference in Zimbabwe. As long as the opposition does not blend their desire for freedom with some military credentials, they have a lot of waiting to do. This is not to say the SADC is right.
No! All I am saying is that they are well positioned to stall any attempt by the opposition to liberate Zimbabweans from the tight hold of a corrupt regime whose interest is only cargo inspired. The country recently got a good case study in the form of Ignatius Chombo who owns a property literally in all corners of the country. What is clear though is that ZANU (PF) has quite an ally in the form of SADC and I am convinced that the opposition does not see that.
If they did, they would spend sleepless nights addressing that.
Joshua Nkomo got it too late that Britain had sent Lord Soames to hand over Zimbabwe to Robert Mugabe in 1980. The late larger than life hero of Zimbabwe was bitten left, right and centre in that game. He did not read the game plan. He even went to Lord Soames to complain about violence and intimidation during the 1980 elections not realizing that Lord Soames’ mandate was to ensure that ZANU (PF) won elections. At least the late liberation hero admits in his book that he was not prepared for that shift. In his autobiography he admits ‘Nothing in my life had prepared me for a fight against my own brother.’ One could add a rejoinder to his admission and say ‘And I had not realized that at that time ZANU (PF) was not alone in the ring but was supported by Britain and of course America.’
Now will the fact that ZANU (PF) is not playing alone in the ring become clear for the opposition. Is what happened to Joshua Nkomo not enough to help them read ZANU (PF)’s game plan? Is it not clear that the SADC is Lord Soames reincarnate? And the SADC is as strong as Lord Soames right now.
Let me dampen their spirits even more and say even if Tsvangirai wins by 75% there will still be collation and recounting of election results for a long time if not forever. Am I saying therefore that we are stuck and doomed and cannot get ourselves out of this quagmire? By no means. What I am saying is that we need to understand that that is the case and move from there. We cannot wish away this reality but can only scheme against it and fight it. The battle is not just about ZANU (PF) but the SADC as well. It is about a generation of military veterans who are scared of coming to terms with the fact that Zimbabwe will one day have non of them as natural attrition begins to do duty.
Those who cared to observe the 2008 elections must have seen how ZANU (PF) made sure that Simba Makoni did not get any media coverage for his campaign. Why that? Was it because Morgan Tswangirai had suddenly become a loved one and Makoni the hated one? Remember Morgan’s famous adverts about ‘Morgan is More….? All I remember of Makoni’s efforts was his interview by the not so intelligent Happison Muchechetere.
That interview was an insult to Simba? Why did ZANU (PF) give more room to Tsvangirai? My considered view is that it was going to be difficult for ZANU (PF) to rig elections and refuse to hand over power to Simba and Dumiso Dabengwa. There was no sale out tag on these two and there were serious military credentials in this camp. There was no plan B after elections if Simba and Dumiso had won. ZANU (PF) would have had no choice but to hand over power to Simba who had come out of ZANU (PF) and had the backing of the former ZAPU intelligence supremo. ZANU (PF) knew and feared that.
Right now ZANU (PF)’s biggest fear is a proper coalition that dispels the perception that the opposition will reverse the gains of independence. The opposition has a good chance of ousting ZANU (PF) through that coalition. The challenge is coming up with terms that favor all parties involved.
The opposition needs to put the interests of the people of Zimbabwe first. South Africa and the SADC will not support ZANU (PF) against a balanced opposition.  I am not a prophet I can strongly predict that if they don’t swallow their pride and come together they will continue in that vicious cycle of politics.  And there will certainly be casualties in their camps. This time around there will be deaths and arrests and prosecutions. ZANU (PF) knows that they have overstayed their welcome and that opposition will try their level best to remove them from power. They won’t take that lying down. They will fight tooth and nail and their teeth and nails will sink into some people’s skins. Mark my words.
The stakes are higher for ZANU (PF) and they now come with some much confidence having diffused one of the most difficult pressure moments in 2008.
The 1975 situation has a few lessons for the opposition. This was the time when Ian Smith released Joshua Nkomo and Msika from prison and unwittingly asked them to stop the war which he called terrorism much to the chagrin of both Joshua and Msika.
Ian Smith agreed to hand over power to Nkomo and support that act also. It was Nkomo who rightfully raised the issue of Robert Mugabe and ZANU (PF) saying that they had a part to play. Smith left it in their hands to talk amongst themselves and come back to him with a stance. It was then that Nkomo called all opposition leaders through Kenneth Kaunda and Julius Nyerere to discuss the possibility of a unity accord in order to stop the war and take over power from Smith.
Sadly they failed to agree with people like Robert Mugabe and the late Hebert Chitepo strongly opposing the unity for self aggrandizement. And sadly too that missed chance to stop the war and carry on with life claimed many lives including that of Hebert Chitepo who was instrumental in refusing to work with Joshua Nkomo.

 Nkomo actually describes him in his autobiography as ‘that intelligent advocate who later became my adversary.’ If Tsvangirai continues with his arrogant attitude of saying that other opposition parties should join him, I will not be surprised if history repeats itself and makes him pay for letting a good chance pass. Makoni, Dabengwa, Mutambara and Tswangirai can do something about this with the backing of the people of Zimbabwe. They can enter into a temporary emergency landing agreement and part ways as soon as they land. We don’t want to prescribe a solution to them but we are crazy enough to think that a coalition that gives equal powers to Morgan Tswangirai and Dabengwa can work as a temporary measure.
A dual presidency is not a far fetched idea. Simba Makoni can play a critical role of putting the economy back on course while Mutambara negotiates better international relations in the capacity of Minister of foreign affairs. These parties can then work on the constitution and hold proper elections without ZANU (PF) say after two or three years. I am sure a lot of other possibilities can be explored. What is certain is that Zimbabwe needs a coalition.

Sadc Toothless Bulldog — MDCs

The two MDC formations on Sunday described the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) as a toothless bulldog after the bloc’s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security failed to meet in Gaborone, Botswana, on Friday to look into the deepening political crisis in Zimbabwe.
The statement come as Reuters on Sunday reported that South African President Jacob Zuma was expected to meet principals in the unity government next week for further talks on settling their disputes over power sharing.

Sadc executive secretary Tomaz Salamao told reporters that Zuma was expected to go to Harare by the end of next week to continue with his mediation efforts.

“After the Troika summit failed to take place, it was agreed that President Zuma should go to Harare again where he would hold talks with the three parties in the (political agreement),” Salamao said.

“After that he would be expected to make a recommendation to the chairperson Rupiah Banda on the next date for another Troika summit.”

The organ, chaired by Zambian President Rupiah Banda, was supposed to meet before the official opening of the new Sadc headquarters to discuss problems which have threatened to split Zimbabwe’s shaky coalition government, but failed because Banda and Mozambican President Armando Guebuza did not turn up.

Heads of state and government were supposed to consider the report of the Troika, that includes Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia, and come up with recommendations on how to deal with the worsening political situations in Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

However, Banda and Guebuza did not turn up for the scheduled meeting.

Zimbabwe’s inclusive government has been limping since President Robert Mugabe made unilateral appointments of ambassadors and judges a few months ago. President Mugabe also infuriated his partners by unilaterally re-appointing provincial governors and dragging his feet over the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), among other things.

MDC-T is also not amused by President Mugabe’s delays in appointing its Deputy Minister of Agriculture-designate, Roy Bennett.

MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti and party spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said they were disappointed by the way Sadc was handling the Zimbabwean crisis, adding that the regional body’s capacity was being tested.

“The credibility and legitimacy of Sadc is certainly put in jeopardy with such developments. Our leader was invited only to be told that the chair was not there. This matter deserves urgency and seriousness because there is a risk of a political slide which is not good for the people of Zimbabwe,” said Chamisa.

“Rome is burning and we don’t want to be consumed in the fires of violence and acrimony.”
Biti said they attended the meeting after being invited by the Sadc secretariat and were thus shocked when members of the troika failed to attend.

He said Sadc leaders had met in Caprivi, Namibia, last Friday and should have therefore known whether the meeting would take place or not.

“If what happened is a reflection of Sadc and Africa, then we have a long way to go. We were extremely disappointed with Sadc’s capacity or lack thereof because the confusion that was there is unparalleled,” said Biti.

“The critical question is whether people are able to stand up to the truth. Is Sadc able to stand up to bullies? ls Sadc able to stand up to errant members?”

Biti said his party wants President Mugabe’s breach of the GPA, such as the unilateral appointments and the failure to implement agreed issues such as media reforms and the land audit, to be addressed.

He said outstanding issues, which are the refusal of President Mugabe to swear in Bennett and the appointments of Gideon Gono as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor and Johannes Tomana as the attorney general, also need to be addressed.

MDC-T was hoping to press Sadc to ensure that the roadmap towards free and fair elections is followed and get answers on what happened to the commitment made by the Sadc facilitator on the Zimbabwe crisis, Zuma, to ensure that outstanding issues are dealt with within 30 days.

Zuma made the commitment at the Troika meeting held between August 15 and 17 in Windhoek, Namibia.

“There are also toxic issues such as the increased violence, the deployment of soldiers in the provinces, the deployment of Jabulani Sibanda in the provinces,” Biti said.

MDC-M spokesperson Edwin Mushoriwa said his party would have been surprised if anything positive had come out of Gaborone given what had transpired at previous Sadc and Africa Union (AU) meetings.

He said Zimbabweans should not put their hope on Sadc or the AU and instead fight their battle alone.

“This is not new. As a party we were going to be surprised if there was any action. Maybe people are now tired of our problems and even (President) Mugabe now knows that and is not worried about the Sadc and AU meetings,” said Mushoriwa.

“There is nothing that Sadc can do, except play a facilitatory role. It is up to us as Zimbabweans to deal head-on with the excesses of (President) Mugabe.”

The inclusive government is currently facing strains with both President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai saying elections should be held to put an end to the inclusive government.

Operation “Mugabe Zvachose” Launched

MUTARE – Zanu (PF) youth militia, war veterans and members of the uniformed forces have launched an operation called Mugabe Zvachose aimed at drumming up support for President Robert Mugabe (Pictured) in the forthcoming elections.

The team responsible for the operation is reportedly disrupting MDC political meetings in the province and at the same time stepping up pressure on MDC-T supporters to call Mugabe as the Life
President. The notorious militia is reported to be forcing other villagers including youths to march
in business centres to chant Zanu (PF) slow guns and shouting Mugabe’s name as Life President.
“The militia is disrupting the MDC political meetings because they know that the majority are against
Zanu (PF). They are now hijacking the meetings by forcing people to accept Mugabe as Life President. The people are being forced to march in business centres delivering the message that Mugabe is Life President,” said John Veremu, a villager in Chigodora, Mutare South.Human rights activists and analysts in Mutare said such episodes of violence and intimidation reflected determination on the part of Zanu (PF) to dominate the political space with a constitutional referendum and new national elections between now and 2012.
“I can confirm that we have been receiving reports that Zanu (PF) youth militia and war veterans have established torture bases in the province and have been disrupting MDC meetings. They are now forcing the people to shift focus to accept Mugabe as the Life President,” said Martin Matika a member from ZimRights.

Matika added: “Flaring violence has made many people reluctant to voice
their opinions in public meetings as the country moves into a referendum late this year or early next, and eventually in new presidential, general and local elections.” Some prominent human rights activists who are on the forefront of mobilizing the people to reject Zanu (PF)’s proposal to make
Mugabe the Life President have gone into hiding alleging harassment and intimidation by the Joint Operations Command (JOC), a panel of top military and security officials.
“Our meetings are being interrupted by some members of the central intelligence and plain clothes
police. Therefore people will not be free in expressing their independent views,” said Matika.Members of the JOC include Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa, State Security Minister Dydmus Mutasa,
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono, and the commanders of the Army and the Air Force.

Zimbabwe Police Raid Homes, Civic Groups Seeking Short-Wave Radios

Gwanda activist Jastone Mazhale said the police campaign to confiscate radios was motivated by the desire to silence alternative voices as the country braces for possible elections next year

Police in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South province have been raiding non-governmental organizations and visiting homes demanding the surrender of wind-up short-wave radios associated with the Voice of America’s Studio 7 program for Zimbabwe.

Civic activist Jastone Mazhale, chairman of the Gwanda Agenda, said police on Thursday visited his office and questioned him over the radios. Mazhale said the police officers indicated they were acting on orders from police headquarters in Harare.

Police are said to have raided households suspected of possessing such radios. Wind-up short-wave radios have been awarded to Studio 7 listeners in promotional contests and drawings, most recently in connection with Studio 7's LiveTalk call-in program.

Mazhale told Studio 7 that the effort to confiscate radios was an attempt to silence dissenting voices as the country braces for possible elections next year.

"They want people to listen to negative propaganda broadcast by the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation linked to ZANU-PF," he said.

Zimbabwe President Clamping Down On Access To Information

Rights groups have warned that Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF are trying to further stifle Zimbabweans' access to information, in a new controversial bill about to be submitted to parliament.

International media rights organisation, Reporters Without Borders, on Wednesday called for the
withdrawal of the ‘General Laws Amendment Bill’, announced last month and drafted by the ZANU PF side of the coalition government. The rights group said “the proposed law’s sole aim seems to be
to place additional obstacles in the way of access to information and thereby hamper the work of the media even more.”

The bill will allow the authorities to block public access to official documents, including judicial decisions, new legislation and public records. It would enforce copyright on all government documents, which could then only be published with the government’s approval, as the sole copyright
holder. For example, if a private organisation wanted to publicise electoral laws prior to an election it would have to get permission from the government, in addition to any permission it may require from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Also, if a human rights organisation wanted to publish details of a court ruling that, for example, affected the rights of citizens, it would have to get permission from the Justice Minister, who is
currently ZANU PF top-dog Patrick Chinamasa. All this would restrict the ability of ordinary citizens
to monitor what the authorities do and is completely contrary to international principles of good
governance.

According to parliamentary watchdog Veritas, the bill is clearly unconstitutional, because Section 20 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, that is to say freedom to “receive and impart ideas and information without interference”. The proposed amendment will hinder this freedom because no one will be able to publish laws and court proceedings without permission from the Government.

Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Jean-François Julliard on Wednesday said; “The bill will further aggravate the already precarious situation for Zimbabwe’s media.” He said it appeared to be a deliberate political move “designed to prevent any critical examination of the government’s actions.”

“The bill is extremely dangerous as it would allow the authorities to adopt unjust measures without anyone knowing and without anyone being able to protest. It shows that the government is rejecting transparency in favour of secrecy and abuse of authority,” Julliard added.

The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) also said this week that the proposed amendment bill would worsen an already heavily restricted media environment. The group said; “Clauses in the Bill published last month are a blatant attempt to gag the media from reporting on important government actions that are currently free from restriction.”

Loughty Dube, the Chairman of the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa(MISA), told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the current media environment was “restrictive
enough without new clampdowns.” He said there have been no meaningful changes to the media space since the inception of the unity government, despite promises in the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) to reform the restrictive situation.

“I do no see any meaningful reforms any time soon, especially not before elections next year. We are seeing already the restrictions against journalists so things are looking bleak ahead of elections,” Dube said.

The bill’s announcement has coincided with a number of developments in recent weeks that have raised concerns about a renewed crackdown on the media. Most recently, police in Bulawayo this week arrested Standard journalist Nqobani Ndlovu and charged him with criminal defamation, for a
story he wrote on the cancellation of promotional examinations in the police force.

The arrest followed the government’s announcement at the start of the month that no licences would
be issued for new radio or TV stations, saying there were no mechanisms in place to ‘monitor’ the actions of the independent broadcast media. Before that, two journalists, Nkosana Dhalmini and Andrison Manyere, were arrested while covering a public debate at the end of last month and were held for two days. An arrest warrant was also recently issued for The Zimbabwean editor Wilf Mbanga, in connection with an article critical of Mugabe that was published after the 2008 elections.

Zimbabwe Army in Massive Recruitment Ahead of 2011 Elections

The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)  has embarked on a massive recruitment drive of junior soldiers  to be used to spearhead a terror campaign against Zanu PFarch-rivals, MDC-T supporters in next year’s planned elections.

In a  recent statement to the media, the  ZNA public relations department said the institution will be moving around districts to recruit soldiers but inside source said that the exercise was meant to groom
fresh officers to be used during the elections.

Impeccable sources in the army said  that the recruitment, which began on Wednesday in Mwenezi,
will be held in the province’s seven districts until 10 December and will recruit soldiers who will begin training in January and complete in June, when President Robert Mugabe wants elections to be held.

The sources said the officers will undergo special training to unleash terror to villagers in the rural areas in a bid to wrestle Parliamentary seats that were grabbed by the MDC-T and make sure that Robert Mugabe sweeps to victory.

The exercise comes barely two weeks after another crop of soldiers had a pass out parade after completing their six months training, a development that shows  desperate efforts by Zanu PF to beef up its human resources ahead of the elections.

The operation is supposed to churn out fresh recruits who will be brainwashed and get training to terrorise villagers and whip them into supporting the former ruling party that is desperate from stopping a MDCT victory, said a source who declined to be named.

Although efforts to get comments from ZANA, provincial spokesperson, Warrant Officer, Kingstone Chivave were fruitless, a statement to the media recently announced the centres were soldiers would recruited.

The recruitment  exercise began  on Wednesday 17 November at Madyangove Secondary school in
Chivi and will move to Mwenezi on 19 and 20  November before proceeding to Buffalo Range army base in Chiredzi on 23 and 24 November.

The exercise will go to Zaka Secondary on 25 and 26 November Ushe primary school in Bikita on 30 November and 1 December, to 4-2 infantry battalion in Gutu on 4 and 5 December and  to Nemanwa growth point o 7 and 8 December.

The recruitment exercise will wind up at 4 Brigade, the provincial army headquarters in Masvingo  on 9 and 10 December.

MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa who recently was forced to cancel a rally after soldiers blocked villagers in Mwenezi from attending bemoaned the continued abuse of state institution by individual political parties.

“As MDCT we do not expect soldiers to participate in elections and or politics and we are also against the abuse of state institutions for personal political gain by political parties. We have been trying to tell the political leadership of the country to desist from using soldiers to beat innocent citizens for
selfish political gains,” said Chamisa.