International Business Times

14th September 2016

Former Minister David Coltart claims military will “do anything in their power to hang on” in 2018 polls.
Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF, and the military may be fracturing along generational lines but many underestimate party members and officers’ determination to stay in power as the 2018 general elections approach, former Education Minister David Coltart has claimed.

After decades of quelled frustrations under President Robert Mugabe’s iron-fisted rule, the country has been rocked by grassroots protest movements calling for change as the ruling party splits over who will succeed him (read below: Is Zimbabwe’s military splitting?).

The reportedly divided Zanu-PF will seek to extend its 36-year rule in the 2018 general election, but opposition political parties, which are hoping to force Zanu PF out, remain deeply disorganised despite a number of coalitions already in place.

Speaking to IBTimes UK, Coltart, who was Minister between 2009 and 2013 under the opposition MDC and Zanu-PF coalition government, claimed Zanu-PF officials will “do anything in their power to hang on” come 2018.

Is Zimbabwe’s military splitting?

The malaise comes during a bitter political battle within Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF, which has seen two rival factions, called the G40 and Team Lacoste, fight for control of the party – and ultimately for Mugabe’s succession.

It is understood that the head of Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), General Constantine Chiwenga, supports Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction Team Lacoste, backed by the war veterans. In the past, the “war vets” and Mnangagwa have been the key pillars underpinning Mugabe’s regime.

Meanwhile, Major General Douglas Nyiakaramba, chief of administration, is said to back Grace Mugabe’s faction.

While there are currently 34,000 living war veterans in Zimbabwe, the ZDF boasts an estimated30,000 active personnel and some 20,000 reserves, making it one of 16 most powerful armies in Africa, according to the Global Fire Power index.

“It’s hard to envision real change in 2018, partly because of the reality on the ground,” the politician said from the nation’s second-largest city, Bulawayo.

Africa’s oldest head of state faces a real threat of split within the armed forces, which could endanger the cohesion of his power base within Zanu-PF, but General Constantine Chiwenga, the commander of Zimbabwe Defence forces (ZDF), last month vowed his forces will stand by the embattled president.

Zimbabwe’s military has had a critical role in politics since the independence war against the white-minority state of Rhodesia.

‘We have underestimated the determination of the military to hold on to power’

“In the past we have always underestimated the determination of the military in particular to hold on to power. The division between the military hierarchy and Zanu-PF hierarchy has always been very difficult to differentiate,” Coltart explained.

“There has been so much fusion between the two. Even if Mugabe retires or dies, I still think that you’re going to have this streak of former war veterans – and now we also see this in people within the military – they will do anything in their power to hang on.”

Coltart, a veteran human rights lawyer, said he believes that only a complete fusion of Zimbabwe’s different parties under one political party will bring change in the 2018 general elections.

“A grand coalition is certainly something that we need. The division in the main opposition has been a gift to Mugabe and Zanu-PF. But there is a growing realisation that we can’t afford the luxury to remain divided – all these opposition parties are divided on personality rather than policy.

He added: “I am hopeful that there will be more cohesion but we have a long way to go yet. The ideal, of course, is to see not just a coalition but a complete fusion of these different parties under one political party – that would be the ideal. While I think that’s probably a bridge too far, what would be hopeful is at least a coalition in which you don’t split the votes but agree on a single opposition candidate for president.”

Africa Times

14th September 2016

The president of the European Commission announced plans Wednesday for a new Investment Plan for Africa with the potential to raise up to €88 billion.

The plan to support African economic growth will use public funding to attract additional public and private investment, President Jean-Claude Juncker said during his State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

The Investment Plan for Africa, designed to align with development aid programs, sets a €44 billion target for funds to alleviate the economic push factors at the root of the dangerous migration journeys of Africans seeking a better life, Juncker said.

That funding doubles as individual EU member states commit funds to the plan, and is coupled with a proposal to coordinate EU military missions abroad and border controls at home, within a unified structure.

“Europe can no longer afford to piggy-back on the military might of others or let France alone defend its honour in Mali,” Juncker said. “We have to take responsibility for protecting our interests and the European way of life.”

Juncker’s speech comes as the EU seeks to affirm its unity and move beyond Britain’s Brexit decision, and ahead of Friday’s special summit in Bratislava, Slovakia. EU President Donald Tusk said he hopes the Bratislava meeting will be a turning point in securing European borders.

Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau receive emergency Zika grants

Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau each will receive USD $1 million in grant funding to combat the Zika virus, The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) announced Wednesday. The emergency assistance is geared toward improved sanitation, vector control and related public health measures meant to control the outbreak.

The World Health Organization is carefully monitoring both countries where Zika-related microcephaly cases are reported. “Given its presence in Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau, the WHO warns it is likely the outbreak will spread to the rest of Africa,” the AfDB said in a statement. “Lessons learned from the Bank’s support to the Ebola outbreak, point to the need to respond in a timely and focused manner.”

Zika was first seen in Uganda in 1947, and reported across Africa and Asia in the decades before its resurgence – and the link to newborn microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome – emerged as a global health threat in 2015. Cape Verde officials report 11 cases of microcephaly to date, with at least five cases in Guinea Bissau. As of September 8, there were 6,500 confirmed Zika cases in 72 countries.

At WHO, infectious disease epidemiologist Christopher Dye said an Asian strain of Zika is at work in the Cape Verde cases, but an African strain may be present in Guinea-Bissau. The Americas strain has been ruled out in Guinea-Bissau, but WHO officials warn that African public health agencies need to remain vigilant.

Botswanan activists plan Gabarone rally to support Zimbabweans

Tuesday’s announcement of a new ban on protests in Zimbabwe, prompted by plans for a weekend demonstration in Harare, has led activists in neighboring Botswana to plan their own march Friday in Gabarone. The Botswana Civil Society Solidarity Coalition for Zimbabwe (BOCISCOZ) will hold the rally to call attention to human rights violations in Zimbabwe.

Botswanans have long supported their Zimbabwean counterparts, with calls from activists in both Africa and the U.K. for Botswanan President Ian Khama and the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) headquartered in Gaborone to intervene. Khama, who followed President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as last year’s SADC chairman, has long criticized Mugabe for causing social and economic upheaval across the region as migrants flee the policy and leadership failures of Zimbabwe.

Those failures continue to deepen opposition to Mugabe and the Zanu PF, even as Zimbabwe seeks to silence protest with a new ban on constitutionally protected demonstrations. The previous ban was declared unconstitutional by Zimbabwe’s High Court last week, but the new measure circumvents that ruling as the powerful Zanu PF protects its interests ahead of 2018 elections.

Analysts including former Zimbabwe education minister David Coltart, speaking to International Business Times, warn that the ruling party intends to stay in power at any cost.

SABC

14th September 2016

A lawyer and former Minister of Education in Zimbabwe, Senator David Coltart, says the rolling protests are putting pressure on the government.

This comes after the Zimbabwean Police re-imposed a ban on public demonstrations in the Harare Central Business District.

It is expected to last until the middle of October. This follows an earlier protest ban which the High Court suspended.

Speaking on AM Live, Coltart says, “Rolling protests in Zimbabwe are not effective on the day, but there is no doubt that they are building pressure on this regime.”

“The Zanu-PF regime has issued a number of decreases this year, they threatened to re-introduce bond notes, they banned imports, which effects the informal sector.”

He adds: “There is growing tension, it is very difficult to vent that tension, the one way has been through those demonstrations and stay-aways.”

International Business Times

13th September 2016

Exclusive: Politician’s warning comes as police issue new order extending protest ban for one month.

Zimbabwe’s former Education minister, and human rights lawyer, David Coltart has warned of a potential “increasingly hostile response from President Robert Mugabe’s regime”, including the use of the military and police to prevent an upcoming demonstration.

Last week, the High Court decided to overturn a two-week ban issued by Police officer commanding Harare central district Chief Superintendent Newbert Saunyama on demonstrations in the capital Harare. The same police official, however, issued a new banning order extending the ban for a period of a month.

The National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera), an amalgamation of political parties focused on demanding changes ahead of the 2018 general elections, filed a legal challenge to nullify the ban.

The former opposition MP described the new banning order as “a disingenuous, cynical measure taken by the state and by the police” which will necessitate a further court application being bought by Nera to have this new banning order set aside.

‘Demonstration will carry on in spite of ban’

In a statement published on 13 September, Nera confirmed that it will carry out further protests on 17 September in spite of the ban, highlighting Section 59 of the Constitution relative to Zimbabweans’ right to present a petition to the government regarding the need for electoral reform.

“The fresh banning order has been issued to circumvent the High Court and to prevent this demonstration from taking place,” Coltart said in an exclusive interview with IBTimes UK, highlighting police’s argument that, because it is a new order, it is not subject to the High Court order and declared the original ban illegal. “Nera will do it again on Saturday irrespective of any banning order, irrespective of what the high court says about the ban.”

Zimbabwe police brutality

Pictures have emerged of Zimbabwe protesters calling on President Robert Mugabe to step down beaten by riot police in Harare on 17 AugustTwitter
Highlighting how he believes that 92-year-old Mugabe “is feeling increasingly cornered” by the mushrooming variety of civic organisations asking for him to stand down, Coltart said he feared a regain in heavy-handed tactics to quash opposition.

Given Mugabe’s “enough is enough” recent comments and past allegations that Zanu-PF had used legal and extra-legal means to crush those who oppose Mugabe, Coltart said he expected that, if Nera demonstrates its determination to have the demonstration on Saturday, “we may see an increasingly hostile response from the regime, including the use of the military and police to prevent the demonstration.”

He explained: “We do know the history of this party and it is one that has been responsible for a genocide in the past and it is increasingly cornered. They said it – that they don’t care what the international community and unfortunately the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has largely turned a blind eye on the regime to respect its own Constitution.”

Police ban hearing in open court

The High Court application filed by Nera, Democratic Restoration Assembly (Dare), Harare resident, Standrick Zvorwadza and the Combined Harare Residents’ Association (CHRA), seeking the nullification of the ban will be heard in an open court on Wednesday (14 September).

The outcome of the hearing “is dependent on the judiciary”, which Mugabe has already threatened, according to Coltart.

“It is dependent on he judge presiding over this matter – who is to be commended for stating that that initial ban was illegal but should have said it was unconstitutional as soon as she heard the police had issued it,” he said.

“Despite the clear reading of the Constitution, it does depend on its interpretation by the judiciary which in the past has either been cowered by Zanu-PF or which has been completely subverted by Zanu-PF. We just don’t know – we remain uncertain about what action the judiciary will take”.

While lawyer Tendai Biti, who filed the legal challenge, said the new ban was shocking, Zanu-PF has supported the ban following violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters last month.

NewZimbabwe.com

19th August 2016

It has not been possible to download this article but the link is provided below.

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/opinion-30798-Zanu+PF+crumbles+as+the+MDC+re-emerges/opinion.aspx

The Tablet

By Rose Gamble and Sean Smith

Task of ousting Mugabe is too big for one person, bishops conference says as Mawarire plans UN protest in New York

Catholic church seeks to kickstart Mugabe protests stalled by pastor’s departure
The pastor who fled to the US after becoming the focus of a campaign against Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has announced that he is organising the biggest protest by Zimbabweans abroad at next month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Evan Mawarire believes he was forced to flee the country after being arrested last month in one of a series of protests against Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party. He also received a number of death threats before making the decision to travel to the US.

Speaking at an event in Washington DC set up by the think tank Atlantic Way, Mawarire spoke about his ethos for the peaceful protest movement his videos on social media gave birth to and how he only narrowly averted a charge of treason when he was arrested in July.

“My faith teaches us that violence only begets violence,” he told the audience of mostly Zimbabwean expatriates. “Whatever we obtain by violence, we would have to maintain by violence.”

In his absence the Catholic church in Zimbabwe have sought to widen the focus of the campaign – which is being called the #ThisFlag movement – saying that the current economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe is too great a task for just one person to remedy, in a statement this week.

“Pastor Mawarire initiated a popular project which, however, lacked a way forward,” Fr. Fradereck Chiromba, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference told The Tablet. “While we criticise or demonstrate we also need to be offering possible solutions. The task at hand is too big for an individual and cannot be left to individuals, he added. Chiromba called instead for leadership and unity in the country.

Pentecostal pastor, Mawarire’s #ThisFlag social media campaign galvanised ‘stay at home’ demonstrations in protest to the Mugabe government and the nation’s crumbling economy. Mawarire, as the face of the most coordinated affront to Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party in many years, became a national hero.

Following a public denouncement by President Mugabe in July, Muwarire fled to South Africa. Accusing Mawarire of being supported by foreign governments intent on destabilising Zimbabwe, Mugabe also said that the pastor was a fraud, during an address he made at the funeral of Charles Utete, the country’s first black cabinet secretary, last month.

Naming Mawarire for the first time, Mugabe added: “The Mawarires and those who believe in that way of living in our country, well, they are not part of us in thinking. They are not part of us as we try to live together.”

Earlier in the month, Mawarire was arrested and charged for ‘inciting public violence’. He was released on 13 July after a court ruled that the state’s efforts to increase the severity of the charges against him were unconstitutional. Thousands of Zimbabweans gathered outside of the Harare court in an expression of solidarity for the pastor. Mawarire announced that he was going to the US, “to think what my next move will be” in a video posted on Facebook on 12 August from South Africa.

The 39-year-old minister called on Zimbabweans to continue to stand up against “poor governance, corruption, theft of money and misgovernance” in the video. “Our power is in our unity, our power is in the fact that each Zimbabwean has decided to rise up,” he added.

The pastor is to apply for US citizenship, the South African national weekly newspaper Mail and Guardian Africa reported. #ThisFlag followers took to social media to express their disappointment in their campaign leader’s move. “You told people to risk their lives and protest against a dangerous government. You gave instructions and people followed. They did it because you, the leader of the movement, gave them the courage,” blogger and women’s rights activist, Jean Gasho, wrote in an open letter to the pastor.

Referring to activist Linda Musarira and 10 others whose trial date has been set to 25 August 2016 after they were arrested last month during the protests, Gasho said: “There are people out there who have risked their lives for Zimbabwe. And where are you as you make these offensive videos, jetting off to America for a better life…” she concluded.

“The absence of the pastor does not translate to the absence of the values that the movement he started represents. Ideas and values should never be tied to the face of a man. Values must be enough inspiration to fuel a genuine revolution,” Maynard Manyowa wrote on the South African news site, News 24, this week.

Zimbabwe remains in a season of discontent. Zimbabwe’s war veterans – a key supporter and a vital instrument in bringing Mugabe to power and keeping him there – have withdrawn their support for the president and boycotted National Heroes Day celebrations, which honour living and dead fighters of the 1970s liberation war against white minority rule.

This is the first time leaders of the group have failed to attend the celebrations since the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) was formed in 1990. The ZNLWVA, a prominent supporter of Mugabe for decades, said they will no longer back Zimbabwe’s nonagenarian president in the 2018 poll.

“We note, with concern, shock and dismay, the systematic entrenchment of dictatorial tendencies, personified by the president and his cohorts, which have slowly devoured the values of the liberation struggle,” and, “He [President Mugabe] has a lot to answer for the serious plight of the national economy,” the group said in a statement released last month.

“The war vet statement is one of the most significant events in recent Zimbabwean history. It was they who brought Mugabe to power in Mozambique in 1975 and without their support Mugabe will be deprived of a disciplined body of men who have been the backbone of Zanu PF for decades,” former Minister of Education, Sport, and Culture of Zimbabawe, David Coltart, told a South African news site.

Leaders of two opposition parties, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change –Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and former Vice-President, Dr Joice Mujuru of Zimbabwe People First, announced their decision to form a united front in a bid to unseat Mugabe in the 2018 elections, during a rally held at the weekend.