Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world

By David Coltart | Published November 3, 2006

Dear Friends,

As some of you know I have been speaking recently about the appalling fact that Zimbabwe now has the lowest life expectancy in the world (women 34 and men 37). Some of you may have wondered whether I had my facts right. It is often hard to graphically illustrate the scale of death in Zimbabwe and as a result the enormity of what is going on is not appreciated by many. In this morning’s Herald newspaper (Government controlled) there is the following little story tucked away:

Most Harare cemeteries almost full.
A critical shortage of burial space is looming in Harare, as most cemeteries are almost full owing to high mortality. A recent report from the Town Planning Department noted that the current active cemeteries, Mabvuku, which is 75 percent full, Warren Hills and Granville A and B were filling up at a very fast rate. At the rate at which people are dying, the four cemeteries may last for only about a year before they fill up.”

This story is just the tip of the iceberg. Cemeteries are filling up throughout the country. But no blood is being split – people are just fading away, dying quietly and being buried quietly with no fanfare – and so there is little international media attention.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) figures released earlier this year have attracted hardly any media attention and yet they should shout out the gravity of the situation for those who care. It is important to note that these figures relate to 2004 since then the situation in Zimbabwe has worsened dramatically. (Link to Annex 1, Basic Indicators for all Member States – WHO Report 2006)

I highlight a few comparative life expectancy figures:

Comparative Life Expectancy Figures (WHO 2006)

Zimbabwe is not a nation at war. It used to be able to feed itself and its neighbours. Zimbabwe used to have one of the highest life expectancy rates in Africa, up with South Africa. And these figures cannot just be blamed on Aids. Our neighbouring countries have the same incidence of Aids as us but their life expectancy figures are better (some substantially better) than ours as is demonstrated below:

Comparative Life Expectancy Figures for Southern African Countries with High Incidence of HIV/AIDS (WHO 2006)

The reason Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world is because there is no other country in the world where there is the following unique combination of factors:

  • one of the highest HIV/Aids infection rates in the world;
  • pathetic amounts spent on ARV medication by a Government that is more concerned about importing military aircraft from China than it is in protecting the lives of its people;
  • the fastest declining economy in the world;
  • the highest inflation rate in the world – over 10 times the next highest rate – Myanmar has a rate of 70%, Iraq a nation at war 40%;
  • the forcible displacement of some 700,000 of the urban poor last year (UN figures) and the bulk of these people still homeless over a year on;
  • several million people facing starvation;
  • Government which deliberately underplays the extent of the malnutrition crisis for political/propaganda reasons and on occasions frustrates the operations of the WFP and other humanitarian organisations.

In August 2002 Didymus Mutasa, presently the Minister for State Security (and the person in charge of Zimbabwe’s secret police) said “We would be better off with only six million people, with our own people who support the liberation struggle; we don’t want all these extra people.” Since he made those remarks the Government has deliberately withheld food aid from people in need and has made it incredibly difficult for humanitarian NGOs to operate. Human rights organisations have documented how food has been used as a political weapon. In the High Court judgement delivered on the 10th October 2005 in the case of Elton Steers Mangoma versus Didymus Mutasa, Judge Makarau, made the following finding at page 23:

I am satisfied that throughout the constituency, villagers were threatened with the withholding of food and other handouts and were denied these if they supported the MDC. It was made clear to villagers that supporting the MDC meant going without food and other handouts. The practise of withholding food and agricultural inputs was however not confined to one part of the constituency. It was practised in urban Headlands, in the resettlement areas and in the communal areas. The perpetrators of this practice were the leadership of ZANU PF at the village levels and the war veterans residing in the constituency.

In May 2005 the Government of Zimbabwe launched Operation Murambatsvina, a programme of mass forced evictions and demolitions of homes and informal businesses. The UN report released on the 22nd July 2005 estimated that 700,000 people had lost their homes, livelihoods or both. The report also stated that the Operation was carried out “with indifference to human suffering, and, repeated cases, with disregard to several provisions of national and international legal frameworks. A recent report of another NGO, The Solidarity Peace Trust, has found that in some instances half those evicted last year have already died – a direct result of this calculated act by the Government of Zimbabwe.

With an estimated 3500 Zimbabweans now dying every week (cf. Iraq with 700 per week) it would appear that the Zanu PF regime now either doesn’t care about its people or is deliberately engaged in a course of conduct designed to subjugate an entire nation. In the process hundreds of thousands arguably are dying every year in Zimbabwe; deaths which are largely preventable.

International Law has something to say about this:

Article 7 (1) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines, inter alia, Crimes against Humanity as the acts of

“Extermination” (paragraph [b]) and “Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health” (paragraph [k]) “when committed as part of a widespread attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack”.

Article 7 (2) (a) of the Statute states that an “attack directed against any civilian population” means “a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts (including extermination and inhumane acts) against a civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack”. In other words “attack” does not mean necessarily a “military” attack.

Article 7 (2) (b) of the Statute states that “Extermination” includes “the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population”.

In my view crimes against humanity have been committed, indeed are still being committed, by the Zimbabwean Government against the Zimbabwean people. But the international community is complicit because it is looking the other way.

Article 1 (B) of the Core Principles of the International Responsibility to Protect Doctrine states:

“Where a population is suffering serious harm, as a result of internal war, insurgency, repression or state failure, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to halt or avert it, the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect“

The international community is failing in its duty to protect Zimbabwean women and men who can now only expect to live until the ages of 34 and 37 respectively. The silence and inactivity of the international community regarding this catastrophe is profoundly shocking.

Yours faithfully,

David Coltart MP
Shadow Justice Minister
Zimbabwe

Bulawayo 31st October 2006

Posted in Letters | 5 Comments

Transcript of the BBC HardTalk Interview

By David Coltart | Published October 28, 2006

Stephen Sackur (SS) – President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is in his 80’s, his country is in economic collapse and his ruling party is divided over his succession and yet Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, seems preoccupied with internal battles. My guest today, in Johannesburg, is a senior member of the MDC and the question is does Zimbabwe’s Opposition have what it takes to mobilize the masses?

David Coltart welcome to Hard Talk.

David Coltart (DC) – Thank you.


SS – Where do you think Zimbabwe’s Opposition should focus its efforts against Robert Mugabe now? Should it be on the streets with street protests or should it be the Parliamentary process?

DC – I think we need to realise that this isn’t actually a sprint that we had hoped but more of a marathon and we’ve got to employ a wide range of tactics against this regime; it has to be not just in the streets – it has to be in the streets to get the worlds attention – but it also needs to be in the Courts, it needs to be in Parliament and it needs to be in the international community.

SS – You say it’s not a sprint, but everybody knows that we are entering the ‘End Game’ for Robert Mugabe, he’s in his early 80’s, he’s faces the decision about what to do in 2008 when his current term runs out. So these matters are now pressing – you cannot wait and decide strategy in the future.

DC – No, no, we are not waiting to decide strategy in the future, this is a plan that has been in place for a while and I think it is wrong as well to say that this is going to end with Robert Mugabe’s departure. This is a structural problem. This is an issue concerning a regime and it’s a problem that goes beyond Robert Mugabe

SS – When I asked you about street protests, you couched your answer very carefully. Does that mean you have some doubts about the decision for example of the Zimbabwe Trade Unions to go for a series of mass action protests over the next few weeks & months we believe.

DC – No, I have no doubts at all. I commend, we commend, what the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has done. We commend their bravery and the bravery displayed by other civic organizations such as WOZA and the National Constitutional Assembly. What we do say, however, is that this must be well organized and that it shouldn’t be the only focus.

SS – But hasn’t it been well organized?

DC – I think it has been very well organized.

SS – Do you think it seems like the Trade Unions were taken aback when the first rash of demonstrations took place, there were beatings, there were mass arrests and we saw Wellington Chibhebhe saying that perhaps they had to rethink, perhaps there will have to some sort of temporary suspension from protests. Were you surprised by Mugabe’s reaction?

DC – I think they were taken aback by the preemptive nature of the arrests even before they had commenced the demonstrations.

SS – Isn’t that odd that the opposition, as a whole, is still taken aback by the fierce response of the Mugabe regime which has been in power for 26 years and over the last 6 or 7 years has shown itself time and again to be prepared to use force to quell all street protests.

DC – I would agree with that, I think that many of the people, for example, in the north of the country have been taken aback by what has happened in Zimbabwe over the last 6 years. Those of us who come from the South West of the country of course know the true nature of this regime because we saw what it did in Matabeleland in the 1980’s and so we haven’t been surprised by the reaction of this regime. I think the farming community especially was absolutely staggered. They enjoyed 20 years of bliss and many people in Harare and in the North and East of the country have been completely taken aback.

SS – That was understandable 6 years ago maybe but it’s less understandable today.

DC – Well, I am always amazed by the brazenness of this regime. I’ve been surprised myself. I’ve been working in human rights for 23 years in Zimbabwe and I was staggered by the brazenness of what they did to the Trade Union leaders by beating them in the manner they did. They did not even try to give the excuse that they were beaten up in the streets. They were taken into cells and beaten up systematically.


SS – But you see a lot of people outside Zimbabwe will wonder at your surprise when in 2005, we had 700,000 people rendered homeless because of the mass clearance of shanty towns around some of Zimbabwe’s biggest cities. We’ve had the persistent reports from the Human Rights Groups of not just torture and beatings but also murder carried out by the Mugabe regime – and you tell me you are surprised that Union leaders were still being beating.

DC – Well I am not surprised that they are still being beaten; I am surprised that the regime has allowed the façade of civility to drop. One of the things that has distinguished the Mugabe, the Zanu PF, regime, from, for example, a regime like Arap Moi’s regime, is that they have shown some finesse in the past: they’ve always described themselves as democrats; they’ve always been conscious of their international image. So we are not surprised by the brutality but we are surprised by the brazenness of it.

SS – Your Opposition movement is split, why?

DC – What the world needs to understand is that any organization, any group of people, who are put under as much stress as the opposition have been in Zimbabwe in the last 6 years are ultimately going to crack. That’s what happens to marriages, many divorces …..

SS – So the Movement for Democratic Changes has cracked has it?

DC – I think it has cracked but this is a direct result of 6 years of brutality. Morgan Tsvangirai has been subjected to a treason trial before a judge who received a farm – he faced the death penalty. That has an impact on a person and the same applies to the rest of us.

SS – No one would doubt that Morgan Tsvangirai has suffered over the last 6 years and now it seems you have abandoned him.

DC – I don’t think we have abandoned him. There are as we speak, talks taking place to try and reunite or get a coalition agreed to. But those of us who are no longer with him have said that we need to go back to our founding principles and we don’t believe that Morgan Tsvangirai is the problem. We believe that there are people who have infiltrated who need to be dealt with by him and when that happens I have no doubt that a united front will be presented again.

SS – What kind of people had infiltrated?

DC – Six years ago, when the MDC was set up, I have no doubt that the Director General of the CIO was given a specific mandate to infiltrate….

SS – Mugabe’s Central Intelligence Organisation?

DC – That’s right, Zimbabwe’s equivalent of Stazi… was given a mandate to infiltrate and disrupt and if possible to destroy the opposition and I have no doubt that people have infiltrated during that period of 6 years and those are the people who are primarily responsible for organising and perpetrating the violence against members of the MDC.

SS – So you are talking about people close to Morgan Tsvangirai who, in your opinion, are infiltrators working for Mugabe’s intelligence?

DC – I wouldn’t say they are close to Morgan Tsvangirai, but they have certainly got themselves into key positions. I don’t think that Morgan Tsvangirai as an individual condones what has happened.

SS – But the fact is the split occurred when you and a number of your senior colleagues in the MDC decided it was right and proper to fight the Senate Elections that Mugabe had called for November of 2005. Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the Party, thought that was plain wrong.

DC – I think that the Senate Election issue was simply a ‘smoke screen’; it was not the real reason. There had been issues building over time and it just so happened that it was the Senate Election that acted as a catalyst for the split that occurred in October last year. There were philosophical differences.

SS – Philosophical, in what sense?

DC – In essence, I think it was a difference in views as how best to tackle the regime, with some saying we needed to use all means at our disposal, including participation in obviously flawed Senatorial Elections, whereas another faction of the Party believed that the electoral process was so flawed in Zimbabwe that it should be abandoned.

SS – Is it also the case that you believe that some in the Party wanted direct action perhaps contemplating violent action and you were not prepared to go down that path.

DC – Well, I personally have never been prepared to go down that route. Not just for moral reasons, but for practical reasons. I believe it would be foolhardy to tackle the Zanu PF regime on the ground it has the most experience in.

SS – We see that Morgan Tsvangirai says that your faction, the faction that chose to fight these, as you called them, ‘deeply flawed Senate Elections’ was playing directly into the hands of Robert Mugabe. You offered some sort of legitimacy to those elections, you also by creating this split within the Movement for Democratic Change did the work of the Mugabe regime for it.

DC – I don’t think we legitimised the elections at all. All rational people throughout the world know that Zimbabwe’s elections are deeply flawed ….


SS – If they are pointless, why fight them?

DC – It comes back to the philosophical question of – “are you going to use all means at your disposal or are you going to cut off those means?” The problem about not participating in elections is where does that end? Does it mean that one does not go into Parliament? Does it mean you don’t use the Court system and what signal does that send to the Zanu PF regime? Is the signal that you have abandoned your policies, your principles of using non violent methods of tackling this regime or is it that you are going to participate using the same methods used over the last 6 years?

SS – You have just given me a hint that behind the scenes there are some sorts of talks going on to try and heal the deep rift between the Movement for Democratic Change.

DC – One of the ways in which one can facilitate unity, once again, is by employing a certain term – ‘tough love’. You have to build up a faction so that it cannot be disregarded. Once it is there as a political force, that will encourage those, the hawks in the other side who believed that the Mutambara faction was not going to be factor in Zimbabwe politics, to think again. You force their hand to reunite and when those two groups reunite either as a united opposition or in some form of coalition or alliance then we will present a very powerful force against the Zanu PF regime.

SS – Do you think the problem perhaps lies in the nature of the Movement for Democratic Change? Did it not, in early days, receive substantial amounts of money for example from white farmers? We all know that Robert Mugabe made a great deal of political play of pictures of white farmers writing out cheques to the MDC. Haven’t you always been vulnerable to Mugabe’s powers that in the end you are a tool to the colonialist, imperialist powers in Zimbabwe and beyond?

DC – Let me challenge that assumption in the first place, you say that we received substantial funding from white farmers, that is part of Robert Mugabe’s propaganda, he was fortunate enough to get one television clip but we certainly didn’t get substantial funding. The MDC ….

SS – Are you denying that white farmers were early supporters in 1999 of the MDC?

DC – Of course white farmers were supporters, as well as people from the Churches, Human Rights groups, the Trade Union movement and other groups that wanted to restore the rule of law in Zimbabwe. But to say that we were somehow aligned with white farmers isn’t correct at all.

SS – Let’s be blunt about it. In a sense the extent of the problem you have is that you stand before me as a senior leader and spokesman of the Movement for Democratic Change as a white Zimbabwean. That is a problem for your Movement given the way Mugabe consistently plays the liberationist and nationalist card.

DC – Well it may appear to be a problem externally, but certainly internally it isn’t a problem. I was elected last year in a predominantly black constituency, a working class constituency, which is 95% black. I stood against a black woman Cabinet Minister and beat her with a 76% majority. There’s no problem within Zimbabwe. It’s one of the remarkable things about Zimbabwe, I think we have gone a step further, several steps further, than for example South Africa – race is a propaganda ploy employed by Robert Mugabe which gets a lot of currency in the international community but does not rub within Zimbabwe.

SS – But Mugabe is a canny political operator. I’m sure you can see that after 26 years. He does not make these statements and continue his tirades against people like you being the tool of Tony Blair and the colonial powers for no reason. He does it because it gives him political leverage.

DC – I think it used to give him political leverage but I that the truth is now coming out in Zimbabwe and I think that even in the region if we look at the last SADC Heads of Government meeting held recently in Lesotho, you will see that Robert Mugabe’s propaganda, the use of race, the use of land, is wearing thin.

SS – Can you be a coherent Movement and such a broad church bringing everybody from the white farmers on the one hand to the poorest black Zimbabwean who has suffered under the slum clearances on the other. Can there be a meaningful political party that embraces all of those people and everyone in-between?

DC – Well, we were originally a very broad church. White farmers are no longer a factor, there are perhaps 300 white farmers on the land, whites have gone out in their droves from Zimbabwe. There are hardly any whites left in the country. So it’s not as broad a church as it was and I think in the context of 6 years of struggle, we are refining our policies, we have a clearer ideological and philosophical direction.


SS – How bad do you think can things get in Zimbabwe? The UN special envoy to Humanitarian Affairs has called it a meltdown, inflation is running at over 1000%, 80% unemployment, many millions of people living on international food aid. Can it get worse?

DC – It can get far worse. One of the tragedies of not doing this interview in Zimbabwe is that you don’t see for yourself what is going on. Life for the average Zimbabwean is sheer hell now with rampant inflation, food shortages and an increasingly authoritarian and paranoid regime. It’s a hell hole at present. But unfortunately when we look elsewhere in Africa, if you take the extreme examples of Somalia and Liberia, it can go a long way down. One just hopes that because Zimbabwe is situated in the middle of Southern Africa, regional leaders will understand that this is a cancer in our region and that they need to take stronger measures to reign in this regime so that we can negotiate a way out of this mess.

SS – Do you think that Mugabe is going to have to go before his term ends in 2008?

DC – I think if we are to stop the suffering of Zimbabweans, if we are to tackle the economy, he needs to go today, he needs to have gone yesterday. But I think he is so fearful that he will hang on to the death.


SS – We spoke to Jonathan Moyo, who as you well know used to be his Information Minister now an Independent MP. He says that the ‘end game’ is upon us and that when it comes there will be huge splits within Zanu PF, the ruling party. He said there could even be civil war. Do you believe that?

DC – I believe that there is a danger of that. However I think what will restrain people is the memory of two civil wars in the recent past – the Liberation Struggle in the 1970’s and Gukurahundi in the 1980’s. Those two civil wars act as an enormous restraint on the people. Zimbabweans are remarkably peace loving as a result. But let me say this – that the only difference between the MDC and Zanu PF at present, is that the MDC’s split is out in the open, whereas Zanu PF has managed to paper over its split but the divisions are very serious. I think that change will come when the military and the police finally realize that the pool of patronage used by Robert Mugabe has dried up. When that happens, there’s a danger that they will fall under one or other of the Zanu PF divisions or factions and that could cause trouble.

SS – There have been negotiations in the last couple of years between members of the Opposition MDC and Zanu PF – do you believe there can be negotiations now or in the very near future?

DC – I think there have to be negotiations. One of the political realities of Zimbabwe is that despite what the Zanu PF regime has brought to bear on Zimbabweans, they still retain enormous support in certain areas of the country. For example in the Mashonaland rural areas up in the north of the country, Zanu PF still has core support and to that extent it remains a massive factor in Zimbabwe politics. There can be no settlement of the Zimbabwean crisis without Zanu PF’s involvement in that. Now I hope, of course, that we can deal with moderates within Zanu PF, and there are some, and bring them to the negotiating table so that we can thrash out an agreement regarding a new constitution which in turn will lead to the first genuinely free and fair elections in Zimbabwe since Independence.

SS – But are you prepared to say to Robert Mugabe, if he is to retire from the scene, and to his key lieutenants – are you prepared to say to them that you will offer them guarantees of safety, of the clearance of any suggestion of legal action against them from the table as part of a deal?

DC – I have much deeper human rights than political roots. I was a human rights Lawyer before going into politics, so the thought of granting amnesty to people guilty of war crimes is anathema, but that is a personal view. We have to take a practical decision; we have to weigh up whether it is worthwhile pursuing a prosecution against Mugabe against the deaths that are taking place every week – 3500 people are dying in Zimbabwe every week though the deadly combination of AIDS, poverty and malnutrition. We have to bring an end to that and the price we may have to pay may be to grant Robert Mugabe amnesty if it is going to bring an end to this calamitous situation that we face and provide him with a safe and secure way out.

SS – And if that does not work and Jonathan Moyo is right and there is the prospect of violence, civil strife inside Zimbabwe – will the MDC, in the end, make preparations for that and in the end fight if it has to?

DC – If I have my way, we will remain committed to the principles of Gandhi and Martin Luther King – I don’t believe that any form of violence is going to help Zimbabweans, if anything it will help a ruthless and paranoid regime. This is the argument we have made for 6 years. The one thing that the Zanu PF regime wants is for us to take up arms of war because they fought a guerilla war, they have the expertise…….


SS – Sorry to interrupt. Are you sure that no body in the MDC is currently contemplating or preparing for armed action?

DC – I can say, with absolute assurance, that in our faction ….

SS – Well it’s not actually what I asked you, what about the Movement for Democratic Change generally?

DC – Well I don’t know what some of the people who have been infiltrated into the organisation are planning but I certainly know my colleagues of like-mind in the other faction, people like Tendai Biti, and Morgan Tsvangirai himself, are not contemplating that and certainly if any of them are contemplating that then that would certainly secure us never joining up with them again.


SS – You spent more than 20 years fighting for human rights in Zimbabwe, you’ve spent the last 7 years involved with the Movement for Democratic Change – are you more pessimistic now than you’ve ever been about Zimbabwe’s short and medium term future?

DC – No I’m not pessimistic surprisingly enough, because I study history and I realise that dictators come and go and they are often the authors of their own demise. So when one looks at Hitler in his final days he became more extreme, more paranoid and I see the same happening to this regime. If anything I think the regime is speeding up its own demise and so in the context of this being a process, I see us nearing the end.


SS – David Coltart, thank you very much for being on Hard Talk.

DC – Thank you.

Transcript of BBC HardTalk Interview with David Coltart – 12 October 2006

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Hardtalk interview available for viewing online

By David Coltart | Published October 20, 2006

'Zimbabwe after Mugabe': David Coltart interviewed by Stephen Sackur for BBC Hardtalk

I’ve had many emails saying that some people have been unable to find the Hardtalk interview on the BBC website or that you were unable to watch it online. I can confirm that it is now available for viewing online via the BBC at a page titled ‘Zimbabwe after Mugabe’. This is the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6063888.stm.

In addition to that, I have added an audio file of the interview that is available for downloading by clicking on the link at the end of this post (to save it to your computer, right-click on the link and choose ‘save link as’). The audio file is in MP3 format and is 2.7MB in size. I appreciate that this is still a very large file for those who are trying to download via a dial-up connection. To make it easier for Zimbabweans, I plan to upload a transcript of the interview to the website as soon as possible. Please keep checking back.

If you know someone who would like to receive a copy of the interview transcript but does not have access to the internet, please ask them to send us an email requesting that we email the transcript to them as soon as it is available.

Hardtalk interview (MP3 audio file, 2.7MB)

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Interview on BBC Hardtalk to be aired Thursday, 12 October

By David Coltart | Published October 10, 2006

The BBC have apologized for the non-screening of the scheduled interview on 9 October 2006. Please be advised that the Hardtalk interview will now be screened on Thursday, 12 October 2006 at 5.30, 10.30, 16.30 and 20.30 Central African time. Please can viewers outside Zimbabwe doublecheck the times for their region by visiting the BBC Hardtalk webpage, which can be found at the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/default.stm

Hardtalk interviews can also be viewed online via the Hardtalk website (using the link).

Finally, if you miss the programme and would like to watch it, please do a keyword search for my name on the Hardtalk website and you should be ble to watch it there after 12th October as well.

Update: 12 October 2006
A breakdown of TV listings for BBC World is available here. Select 12 October, and your country from the time zone drop down menu – this will give you a full TV schedule for the day, including times for the Hardtalk programme.

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Representation of interest through civil society organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa – The Zimbabwean experience

By David Coltart | Published September 21, 2006

Systems of Representation and Democratic Practice in Sub-Saharan Africa

Speech given at Konrad Adenhauer Foundation Conference at Brussels 21/9/06

Representation of interest through civil society organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Zimbabwean experience

Zimbabwe has some of the best developed, established and run civil society organisations in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these organisations have been established since independence in 1980. Under white minority rule Rhodesia, as it then was, had very few civil organisations, and hardly any human rights organisations. Indeed the only human rights NGO of any significance were the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP).

Accordingly whilst civil organisations have played a very positive role in developing Zimbabwe, the fact that most of them have been established post independence, largely through Western aid, has enabled the Zanu PF regime to accuse many civil organisations are being imperialistic tools whenever they criticise the regime of human rights abuses.

There are now a plethora of civil organisations ranging from human rights organisations such as the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Zimbabwe lawyers for human rights and Zimrights, to developmental and humanitarian organisations such as the Organisation for Rural Association for Progress (ORAP) and the Matabeleland Aids Council. Government would never have been able to reach its developmental targets without the support of these civil organisations. For the first 20 years after independence government largely welcomed the establishment of civil organisations and recognised the complementary developmental role these organisations played. However since 2000 government has increasingly seen civil organisations as threats to its own hegemony.

To illustrate the role that civil organisations have played and how their relationship with government has changed in the last decade one should consider the establishment, development and work done by one civil organisation since independence. For this purpose I will use the LRF an organisation I have been involved with since its establishment in 1984.

Prior to the LRF’s establishment indigent people in Zimbabwe had very little access to legal services and the legal system in general. Aside from the CCJP there was no civil organisation which educated the general public about human and legal rights. The LRF was established to fill this gap. Between 1984 and 2000 the LRF established a network of legal advice centres throughout the country, especially in poor high-density suburbs in cities and in rural areas. It has trained hundreds of paralegals to run these advice centres. It also developed wide ranging education programmes to educate all sectors of society, including the police and the intelligence service, regarding human and legal rights. A publications unit was established which has produced legal texts ranging from detailed academic treatises to pamphlets designed to simplify the general law for the benefit of Zimbabweans. The publications unit has also, under contract from government, published the Zimbabwean law reports.

As you can imagine the government largely welcomed the role of the LRF as it is provided a service to Zimbabweans that the government had neither the means nor capacity to do. However that cordial relationship started to sour in the mid 1990s when the LRF started working with the CCJP to promote the interests of the victims of the disturbances which took place in the Matabeleland region during the 1980s, otherwise known as the Gukurahundi. Between 1982 and 1987 the Zanu PF regime deployed a North Korean trained army brigade, and known as the 5th Brigade, ostensibly to quell an uprising but in reality to further the Mugabe regime’s objective of establishing a one-party state. Some 20,000 people were massacred during this period. In the early 1990s legal advice centres were established in rural areas where these human rights violations had taken place. Many victims started coming forward with a variety of problems which arose directly from the abuses which had taken place in the 1980s.

In its attempt to respond to the issues arising from these human rights abuses the LRF together with the CCJP produced a human rights report in 1997 called “Breaking the silence-Building true peace”. The report documented the extent of the human rights abuses, the psychological consequences of the abuses and made recommendations to the government as to how the human rights abuses should be remedied. The report was deeply embarrassing to the Zanu PF regime which had successfully swept under the carpet the human rights abuses perpetrated during this period. The relationship between the government and the CCJP and the LRF immediately deteriorated and President Robert Mugabe went to the extent of accusing senior members of both organisations of being traitors and saboteurs. The relationship between government and the LRF has never been the same since, to such an extent that since 2000 some of the LRF’s projects which had very little human rights content, such as the advice Centre programme, have been threatened.

The experience of the LRF is shared by many civil organisations in Zimbabwe. That became especially so in the late 1990s when many civil organisations became the vanguard of the struggle to bring about a more democratic order in Zimbabwe. Formal opposition political parties in Zimbabwe, as elsewhere in the world, battled to source sufficient funds to work effectively and as a result much quasi political work was undertaken by civil organisations. For example the NCA spearheaded the demand for a new democratic Constitution and played a major role in opposing the government’s attempt to subvert the Constitutional reform process in early 2000. The government responded with hostility, so much so that by the late 1990s many civil organisations were under serious threat.

Many human rights activists and civil society leaders feared that the organisations they had painstakingly established over 20 years faced collapse. As a result many leaders of civil organisations decided that the only way to save those organisations was to challenge the very root of governmental power and as a result many of these leaders took on an increasingly political role and many went to the extent of joining the new political formation known as the MDC in September 1999. Whilst they made the MDC an effective opposition there were two negative side-effects: firstly, civil organisations were weakened by the loss of many of their leaders and, secondly, the government became even more convinced that there was a close and seamless relationship between these civil organisations and the MDC. That in turn led the government to intensify its attacks on civil organisations which culminated in the passage through Parliament of the NGO Bill in 2004. Although this Bill has never been signed into law it was designed to crush those civil organisations the government felt were too close to the political opposition.

The events of the last six years in Zimbabwe, including the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy, the estrangement of the Zanu PF regime from the West and the unrelenting attack on civil organisations have left many of them severely weakened. The Zanu PF regime continually makes threats against civil organisations. That situation has been compounded by the fact that many NGOs are starved of funds, partly as a result of governmental policies and partly because international donor organisations in many cases have withdrawn either wholly or in part from Zimbabwe. Many civil organisations have also been infiltrated by state operatives. Staff members of civil organisations have been at the receiving end of violence perpetrated by state agents or Zanu PF operatives. Others have been threatened, detained, assaulted and tortured.

Most civil organisations in Zimbabwe are still largely dependent on external, and in the majority of cases Western, donors. Whilst this has generally been a positive experience, the reliance on Western donors has also had its downside. As indicated above the Zanu PF regime has used the fact of Western support as evidence that these civil organisations have an imperialistic agenda. This in turn has allowed the Zanu PF regime to create the perception that many leaders of civil organisations are simply puppets of the West. Of course in the vast majority of organisations Western support has not determined these organisations’ agenda. On occasions donors have been overly prescriptive and sometimes even divisive, but that type of negative conduct has been rare.

One problem faced by civil organisations in Zimbabwe has been the undermining of some of their democratic policy objectives through being indirectly associated with Western governments that have implemented policies at variance with those democratic policy objectives. For example many Zimbabwean civil organisations have campaigned against detention without trial, denial of access to lawyers and torture. The breaches of these rights by Western forces in the Iraqi war and in the global war against terror have given the Zanu PF regime a powerful propaganda weapon to justify their own policies and actions. For this reason it has been important that Zimbabwean civil organisations demonstrate consistency and condemn breaches of fundamental human rights wherever they take place and by whomsoever responsible for these breaches. However in condemning such actions inevitably there is the danger that relationships between civil organisations and Western donor governments may be undermined. That however is a risk that Zimbabwean civil organisations must take if they are to be consistent and true to their founding principles and goals.

Miraculously most civil organisations have survived the onslaught of the last six years but many are now hanging by a fragile thread. It is incumbent upon Western governments and donor agencies to ensure that these civil organisations survive, many of which have been in existence for over two decades and many of which provide a beacon of hope to Zimbabweans and Africans in general. Sadly funding has been reduced in recent years and it is not certain whether some organisations will survive. Accordingly democratic governments have an obligation to do all in their power to ensure that these civil organisations in Zimbabwe do survive. This is important not just to ensure that they continue the struggle to bring about a new democratic order in Zimbabwe but also because many of these organisations will be vital components in building a new democratic Zimbabwean order in future. One of the tragedies of the last six years is that many government departments have all but collapsed and the very fabric of Zimbabwean society is under threat. Corruption is now rampant. Law-enforcement agencies now see the use of torture as the norm. Civil organisations will play a vital role in creating a new democratic order in Zimbabwe that not only delivers services but also establishes new standards of zero tolerance towards corruption and abuses of fundamental human rights.

There is one remaining frontier for Western donor organisations to consider in the context of assisting civil organisations which genuinely and effectively represent the interests of citizens in the countries they work in. Traditionally a distinction has been made between political organisations and civil organisations. But of course political organisations often have objectives which overlap with those of civil organisations. Through a combination of Western reluctance to fund foreign political parties and hostility displayed by many incumbent African political parties towards any form of foreign funding of opposition parties, many opposition parties throughout Africa have found themselves starved of resources. The fact remains however that in many countries the only effective civil organisations with representation country wide, in both urban and rural areas, are political parties rather than narrowly defined non partisan civil organisations. There is also an irony in that it was only through foreign funding that many of these incumbent political parties were able to defeat oppressive colonial regimes and come to power themselves. Many of these incumbent political parties used foreign funding not only to gain power but also to consolidate their power. And yet the same parties are themselves now at the forefront of opposing and criticising any attempts to fund democratic political opposition. Many of the same governments use the benefits of incumbency not only to maintain and consolidate their power but also to crush those striving to bring about a new democratic, transparent and accountable order.
In doing so many of these incumbent governments do all in their power to undermine legitimate non-partisan civil organisations. It is another irony that the future of these non-partisan civil organisations can only be guaranteed if new democratic orders are brought to the countries they operate in, and almost inevitably that will only happen if political opposition parties are enabled to flourish so that they can effectively contest for power.

Accordingly if Western governments are determined to ensure the growth and consolidation of civil organisations they cannot avoid the challenge of reviewing their current policies regarding the support of opposition political parties and movements in sub-Saharan Africa. In urging this only those political formations that are genuinely democratic and obviously committed to using non-violent means to attain power should be supported. Western governments need to establish objective criteria which will govern which political organisations will be assisted. These criteria should include the principle of not supporting ethnically based parties and supporting parties that have well-defined democratic ideologies, policies and principles. It is also important that a new contract or understanding be reached between the European Union and the African Union so that any support for political formations be done in a transparent and fair manner throughout Africa. Unless this happens there will always be the danger that Western support for political parties will be seen as some form of neocolonialism. However if this new proposed policy comes about as a result of dialogue and if it supports both incumbent ruling parties and opposition parties (subject of course to them objectively and ostensibly being committed to basic democratic standards) then it may well be implemented throughout Africa by consensus.

The connection between democracy and sustained long-term economic development is obvious. Accordingly long term economic development can only be assured if democracy can only be rooted throughout Africa. That in turn will only happen if all civil organisations which represent the interests of Africans, including political parties, are assisted in their establishment and development.

The Hon. David Coltart MP
Shadow Minister of Justice,
Zimbabwe

21st September 2006

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Statement regarding the arrest and alleged assault of ZCTU and MDC members

By David Coltart | Published September 15, 2006

The MDC expresses its deep concern and outrage regarding the pre-emptive arrests of ZCTU members and our colleagues in the MDC, the alleged denial of access to them by lawyers and alleged assaults of them by state operatives this week.

Notwithstanding the provisions of POSA, the Zimbabwean Constitution is quite clear regarding the right that Zimbabweans have to demonstrate peaceably. The provisions of POSA used by the ZANU PF regime to arrest people exercising this fundamental constitutional right are fascist laws no different to those used by the white minority regime in terms of LOMA. They were bad laws then and are no different now. LOMA did not prevent the legitimate demands of the people from being realised and in the same way POSA will not succeed ultimately in denying the people their rights. The sooner the regime realises that these laws will not solve the Zimbabwean crisis the better. The regime is advised to repeal POSA and then sit down with all Zimbabweans to negotiate a solution to the calamitous situation afflicting our nation.

We are especially concerned about reports that state agents have denied access by lawyers to those detained and that several of those detained have been severely assaulted. These two breaches of rights usually go hand in hand – when lawyers can’t get in to see their clients law enforcement agencies the world over feel they have licence to torture. That is the very reason why the United States Supreme Court recently, and very correctly, ruled that the denial of access to lawyers in Guantanamo Bay offended the American Constitution. Sadly this practice is routine in Zimbabwe and has been for decades. It must stop immediately and those responsible for both the denial of access and torture must be identified, rooted out of whatever state agency they belong to and prosecuted.

A specific call is made on the Attorney General to investigate these reports of denial of access and torture. It is the Attorney General’s responsibility to ensure that Zimbabwe’s Constitution is obeyed by all, especially by state agents and the police in particular. We expect that he will call for an urgent investigation into these allegations and that he will vigorously prosecute those responsible for these outrages if the allegations are found to be correct.

In any democratic country if subordinates are found guilty of serious human rights allegations the Minister under whom they fall take responsibility and resign. This is not the first time that the police, CIO and youth brigade in Zimbabwe have been accused of torture – there have been persistent reports (many backed by irrefutable medical evidence) over the last few years of these agencies being engaged in acts of torture.
Article 2 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or degrading Treatment or Punishment states:
“Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction”.
It is clear to all reasonable people that the ZANU PF regime has failed to comply with this basic international obligation. In particular the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister Kembo Mohadi, has failed to prevent torture being used by the police. He is deeply aware of the issue because it has been raised on several occasions with him in Parliament. He should also be acutely empathetic because he himself suffered torture at the hands of this regime in the 1980s. In all the circumstances we call upon him to resign.

Finally we are cognisant that this regime has in the past simply denied that torture has been used and so is likely to do so again. With this in mind the ZANU PF regime is reminded that “torture is an international crime over which international law and the parties to the Torture Convention have given universal jurisdiction to all courts wherever the torture occurs”. We are keeping records of those responsible for these heinous acts and will use all the means at our disposal to bring the culprits to book.

Martin Luther King once said “Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice”. That is precisely what we are doing and as sure as day follows night a real order of justice will be brought to Zimbabwe.

The Hon. David Coltart MP

Shadow Minister of Justice
Bulawayo
15th September 2006

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Letter to Bulawayo South Constituents September 2006

By David Coltart | Published September 14, 2006

Dear Friends,

When I last wrote to you in late May, explaining my views regarding the split in the MDC, I said I would write again regarding my general work as your MP, and this is now that letter.

Life in Zimbabwe continues to get harder for all her people except the ruling elite who continue to accumulate vast wealth on the backs of the very people they claim to represent. Since the March 2005 general election we have seen some of the worst human rights violations ever committed by this regime, especially the so called Operation Murambatsvina which destroyed the lives of so many poor Zimbabweans. Despite claiming that this was designed to improve the lives of people, 16 months after the operation the hard facts show that a tiny percentage of homes destroyed have been rebuilt by the regime and the vast majority of those who lost either their homes or source of income are in a pitiful state.

Furthermore despite the claims of the regime that there is an “economic turnaround” happening, it is clear to all thinking people that this is simply another lie. The recent so called “Operation Sunrise” action of the Reserve Bank Governor, with the approval of the regime, taking three zeroes off our currency, has not addressed one of the key economic problems, inflation. Indeed if anything this policy has fueled inflation. Aspects of the new policy show just how out of touch with reality this regime is – for example the decision to print new 1 cent notes is sheer lunacy because the cost of printing the notes is vastly more than what the notes are worth.

The divisions within the opposition have been most unfortunate and have greatly benefited the regime. But we must now move on and refocus on the root of the Zimbabwean crisis – namely tyrannical rule.

However the combination of misrule and the troubles within the opposition has given rise to feelings amongst Zimbabweans written about in Psalm 7:

“He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives rise to disillusionment.”

Many people in Zimbabwe are disillusioned and depressed and that is not surprising. It is in this context that the primary responsibility of leaders opposed to this regime is to provide the people of Zimbabwe with hope. Hope that this nightmare will end; hope that there are still leaders who are determined to do all in their power to bring an end to the suffering of Zimbabweans; hope that there will be a new dawn in which there is not simply a change of leadership but a positive change in the way Zimbabwe is run. In other words we have to do all we can to counter the disillusionment that so many feel.

Many of us in the opposition have been trying as hard as we can to be merchants of hope. It has been difficult because it is almost impossible to communicate effectively with our constituents in that we have very little access to the media and precious few resources to meet and generally to get our message out.

Accordingly this newsletter is primarily designed to give you some hope by explaining to you that I, along with many of my colleagues in the opposition, have continued to work tirelessly to achieve our common dream of a new democratic Zimbabwe.

Projects

As I explained in my Christmas 2005 letter to you I have been trying to raise funds to assist the most vulnerable people in Bulawayo South and I am pleased to report that many of the projects initiated some time ago are now bearing fruit.

Farming Project

A group of volunteers have worked hard this year to make the Bulawayo South Constituency Development Trust/Loving Hand Orphanage farming project a reality. Land has been cleared and a fence put up at the corner of Nketa Drive and (the very appropriately named!!) Guqula Road. A new borehole and water storage tank have been installed, a security hut constructed and electricity supplied to the site. As I write a new irrigation system is being installed. In the next few weeks the first crops will be planted. A stall will be built so that the produce of the farming project can be sold on site to Nketa residents. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Loving Hand Orphanage.

Land being ploughed in preparation for the planting of the first crop in August 2006

This project has been made possible through the generosity of two friends of mine who went to the same school I went to, Christian Brothers College, and through the hard work of volunteers from Nketa and other Bulawayo residents.

Cricket Nets

The Henry Olonga cricket nets which were opened last year are now being used daily. Two new cricket teams are now using them – the Jimbo and Rocky teams, shown here practicing at the Henry Olonga nets.

Members of the Jimbo and Rocky teams practicing at the Henry Olonga Nets, Nketa

I have sourced cricket equipment for use by the teams and recently the equipment was handed over to them. I am grateful for the generosity of the Sporting Chance organisation in Cape Town which donated the equipment.

Handing over cricket equipment 17 August 2006

I am delighted to report that I have recently secured funding for the construction of another cricket net in Emganwini and this should be built within the next few months. The same donor has promised to source more money so that further cricket nets can be constructed in Bulawayo South Constituency.

Aids Victims support centre

As you will recall from previous letters I have been working with the Emganwini community and the Toc H charity to secure funding for the construction of an Aids Victims Support Centre in Emganwini. Despite receiving assurances from two embassies that they would support the project a few years ago no funding has been forthcoming yet and we have been forced to look elsewhere for funding. In this regard I have now approached the European Union Ambassador who has said the EU will consider a funding proposal. I am also pleased to report that funding from a private donor has been secured for a portion of the project. In the interim the Toc H charity has raised sufficient resources to build the caretaker’s cottage on the site which was completed recently.

Relief Fund

Through the generosity of a private donor I have established a modest relief fund for the residents of Bulawayo South of which some Z$ 500 million (old currency) has been used to date, for example, to pay for school and university fees for bright children from greatly disadvantaged families. In the past year some 10 young people have been assisted in this way through the payment of their fees, clothing has been provided to Operation Murambatsvina victims and medical fees paid for destitute people.

Annual Soccer Tournament

On the 9th September we held the 2006 Bulawayo South Soccer Tournament at Nketa Hall football ground. After a very good day with some superb soccer being played Ward 25 edged out a combined Wards 5 & 6 team 2-1. For the first time we had a small netball tournament which I hope will expand next year to include teams from throughout the constituency.

Handing over the Bulawayo South Trophy on 9th September 2006 to the captain of the winning Ward 25 team

Aspen Ideas Festival

In July Professor Arthur Mutambara and I were invited by the Aspen Institute (an American think tank organisation) to speak at its Aspen Ideas Festival. We shared a panel with world renowned Ghanaian Professor of Economics George Ayittey and South African Jonathan Oppenheimer in discussing the state and future of Southern Africa. The Festival was also addressed by many prominent people such as President Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan, Secretary Madeleine Albright and Secretary Colin Powell, some of whom we had meetings with to discuss the Zimbabwean crisis. Professor Mutambara was granted the honour of being one of just seven of the invited speakers to give closing remarks at the end of the 6 day Festival. This proved to be a wonderful opportunity to raise the plight of Zimbabweans before a powerful audience of highly influential leaders and thinkers from throughout the world. Professor Mutambara rose to the challenge and gave an inspiring and moving address.

MDC

As you are no doubt aware on the 15th June 2006 after a process of consultation I decided to join the Mutambara faction of the MDC. In the statement I made at the press conference announcing this decision I said: “I will continue to work within the Mutambara faction and with friends and colleagues in the faction of the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai to unite the two factions. I remain absolutely convinced that the struggle for democracy will remain severely handicapped for so long as we are divided.” I have been true to my word and am working behind the scenes with colleagues on both sides of the divide in pursuit of this object.

I have recently been elected by the National Council to the position of Secretary for Legal Affairs and so have resumed my work in that regard.

General

I was elected by you to represent you in Parliament and to be a legislator. Regrettably the regime has undermined the institution of Parliament itself; it very rarely sits these days and when it does little productive work is done. However it is important that we do what we can to keep this institution alive as it will be a very important component in the rebuilding of a modern democratic state in future.

On the 9th September I had a very useful meeting with the residents of Ward 24 in Nketa in which we discussed the problems created by ZESA power cuts. As a result a letter has been written by me to the Minister of Energy setting out all the problems and suggesting ways of remedying them. I have no doubt that there are other similar problems being faced by you daily – if there are and you would like me to try to tackle them on your behalf please write to me or leave a note at my Constituency Office situated in the Housing Office in Nketa 6.

In closing let me remind you of the verses in Psalm 7 which follow the ones I included above:

“He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.
The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.”

History shows that dictatorships down through the ages are usually the authors of their own downfall and this dictatorship will be no different.

I have no doubt that the trouble that this regime has caused for ordinary peace loving Zimbabweans, who just want democracy and good governance, will rebound against itself. The very policies that the regime has implemented to prolong its stay in power (such as Operation Murambatsvina and changing the currency) are in fact speeding up its end.

However, until that happens we must rededicate ourselves to our founding ideals of democracy and non violence. We must remain united and determined to continue this struggle and not to yield to the regime. Through these means we will soon see a new, positive dawn arise in Zimbabwe.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Yours sincerely,
The Hon. David Coltart MP

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Letter to friends

By David Coltart | Published August 17, 2006

Dear Friends,

I don’t know whether you have been following the recent discussion on SW Radio Africa involving Tendai and Welshman. The last transcript has just been published and this excerpt is important:

“Violet: And, finally, you know, some have asked why the visionaries and luminaries in the MDC are wasting time and breath and fulfilling Mugabe’s agenda by fighting each other. Now, does the old saying ‘there’s strength in unity’ still resonate with the MDC intelligentsia and pro-democracy movements in Zimbabwe Professor Ncube?

Professor Ncube: Of course it does, and there’s absolutely no doubt that a single MDC united will have a much better chance, a stronger chance of actually dislodging the regime than a divided MDC. As we said at the beginning, the only person who is laughing all the way to the bank in respect of all the things which are happening on the ground to us as the opposition movement, as the democratic movement in Zimbabwe, is Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. So we are very, very alive to that.

Violet: Tendai Biti?

Tendai Biti: Well, I think as long as the vision remains alive and as long as all of us have hard looks to ourselves and in ourselves, I think time might heal us and I think that we should keep the flame alive. You know, I studied history; history is very funny; so many things have happened in history, so no one should write the democratic movement off. Far from it.”

Welshman has been so heavily vilified in the last year – he has been accused of being in league with Mbeki and Zanu PF. I have listened very carefully and studied all these allegations for a year and I have to say that I have not seen a shred of reliable evidence yet. On the contrary despite the errors of judgment on some issues that Welshman has made (as all of us have from time to time) I do not see someone who has been happy about the divisions in the opposition, or someone who engineered them as alleged. On the contrary I have personally witnessed someone who has been deeply distressed by what has happened and who desires unity – as evidenced by this excerpt. If I am wrong in this I am obviously a very poor judge of character and fact; and Welshman should be awarded an Oscar!

I think the time has come for us to reconsider who has actually been responsible for the divisions in the opposition. This time we must consider hard evidence and not mere unsubstantiated allegations. And if anyone has hard evidence of these allegations against Welshman could it please be produced so that we can assess it. If there is in fact no such evidence then we would all benefit from recognising who is in fact still committed to the vision of a new democratic non violent Zimbabwe and start working with them.

Congratulations to both Tendai and Welshman for their positive comments. Congratulations as well to Violet Gonda for this superb series. In my book all are patriots worthy of our praise and support.

Regards,

David

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Mugabe plans laws to silence critics

By David Coltart | Published July 31, 2006

Peta Thornycroft

Zimbabwe is poised to introduce draconian laws to silence its critics, both at home and abroad, who face 20 years in jail if they “publish or communicate a falsehood”.
Opposition members have condemned the measures as “the most fascist legislation this country has known”. The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Bill, went through its second parliamentary reading last week despite a multi-party report from the legal committee which described parts of it as “unconstitutional”.

It is the latest in a series of harsh security laws. Media legislation, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, was toughened up earlier this month to provide a jail sentence of up to two years for journalists found practicing without accreditation.

David Coltart, legal secretary of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said: “The section relating to crimes against the state in this bill embodies the most fascist legislation this country has known, far worse than the most draconian laws passed by the Smith regime. The sentence of up to 20 years amounts to a death sentence in Zimbabwe’s prisons.”

The latest law, which comes among a rush of new Bills, ahead of elections next March, makes it an offence to publish or communicate “to any other person a statement which is wholly or materially false with the intention of realising that there is a real risk of inciting or promoting public disorder or public violence or endangering public safety or, adversely affecting the defense and economic interests of Zimbabwe: or undermining public confidence in a law enforcement agency, the Prison Service or the Defense Forces of Zimbabwe; or interfering with, disrupting or interrupting any essential service,” that person “shall be guilty of publishing or communicating a false statement prejudicial to the State and liable to a fine up to or exceeding level 14 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 20 years or both.”
Critics have condemned the slack phrasing of the bill. “The question of what is a falsehood will depend on which judge hears the case,” said Beatrice Mtetwa, a human rights lawyer.

Mr Coltart said one clause in the new bill also makes it an offence for any citizen, either in Zimbabwe or outside the country to make an “abusive, indecent or obscene statement” about President Robert Mugabe, “even if it is a true statement”, he said.
One of the most outspoken critics of Zimbabwe’s political and humanitarian crisis, Archbishop Pius Ncube, head of the Roman Catholic Church in the second city, Bulawayo, said: “So they are going to stop us saying anything, even outside of Zimbabwe, even stop us writing a book?

“The truth must be told about the evil things they do. We cannot be quiet.” Patrick Chinamasa, the justice minister, who drafted most of the new laws, was unavailable for comment.

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Violence of the heart

By David Coltart | Published July 7, 2006

Zimbabwe Independent
Editor’s Memo

By Vincent Kahiya

A MARTIN Luther King commandment says “refrain from violence of the fist, tongue and heart”.

Most people can stop themselves from hitting others out of fear of arrest and can bite their tongue to refrain from saying something mean, but violence of the heart is challenging. Following this rule is imperative because things we think about, sooner or later, are going to come out in our actions.

Violent conduct in an individual comes from the heart. It controls the fist and the tongue. No wonder fists are raised menacingly when rulers proclaim “degrees in violence” or when they implore supporters “to strike fear in the heart of the white man”. The next time they stand up to preach peace, tolerance and co-existence the violent heart will still be beating.

In political parties violence is rarely regarded as a virtue. It is quickly denied and condemned even when it is at the heart of a party’s activities. But as long as violence has an imprint in the heart of the party no amount of cover-up and denial can hide its ugly face. Sooner or later it will come out in actions such as physical assaults, verbal attacks and other subtle threats.

The assault on Harare North MP Trudy Stevenson this week by youths allegedly aligned to the Tsvangirai-led MDC provides useful insight into intra-party violence and useful lessons of what happens when violence of the heart is not dealt with expressly.

Tsvangirai’s camp has denied culpability in the assault on the feisty but small and frail woman. Stevenson’s camp has fingered Tsvangirai’s supporters for the violence.

Tsvangirai’s secretary-general Tendai Biti in a statement denounced the assault on Stevenson. He said his faction did not support violence and wished Trudy a speedy recovery.

Also this week, Linos Mushonga, who was also at the receiving end in the attack, was on the Voice of America denouncing the Tsvangirai faction for the violence that left him with two broken fingers.

Remember this Mutambara quote at the beginning of the year: “How do we talk about a regime which is criminal and violent when you yourself are carrying out violent acts and violating your own party rules? We won’t be qualified to fight Mugabe if we are little Mugabes.”

This of course has been denied. It would be stretching honesty to breaking point for any party to confess violence and own up. It is not surprising therefore when Biti’s statement fingered Zanu PF for the violence. He said the “barbaric act of attacking political opponents has always been synonymous with Zanu PF and not the MDC”.

In another statement announcing the formation of a commission to investigate the violence he laid the blame on the CIO for being “at the centre of manufacturing evidence and issues in a bid to implicate the opposition…these old-fashioned divide-and-rule tactics will not fool us”.

But isn’t it that leaders of the two factions have fooled themselves into believing that the opposition movement would be stronger as a divided entity. Biti’s conspiracy theory of CIO involvement cannot be dismissed completely but the intelligence service will always find it easy to stage-manage a war between two already-fighting parties. And what better way to use violence to divide a party that split partly because of unresolved intra-party violence.

t is encouraging to note that a commission of enquiry has been formed to probe the assault on Stevenson and her colleagues. This is how past incidents of violent clashes should have been handled but they were not. Evidence was suppressed.

Recent revelations in this paper by Bulawayo South MP David Coltart on the failure of party leaders to mete out punishment to those accused of trying to murder party director for security, Peter Guhu, in September 2004 at Harvest House and the rehiring of youths accused of violence should be sobering to Tsvangirai’s henchmen who have told us that the party does not condone violence.

The probe should not just be fashioned to flush out the culprits but to put in place systems that send a clear message that violence will not be tolerated. That includes publicising results of probes and ensuring that senior party officials are not seen in the company of the criminal elements.

This observation by Coltart is important: “Young men often have a predisposition towards violence; that happens the world over and Zimbabwe is no different. What controls that predisposition is the manner in which it is handled by leaders. If it is not dealt with, a culture of impunity develops and violence perpetuates itself.”

It stays in the heart.

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