New Zimbabwe.Com

17 March 2015

INFORMATION minister Jonathan Moyo has vowed to reclaim Tsholotsho North constituency for the ruling Zanu PF party in forthcoming by-elections.

Moyo lost the seat in the 2013 elections to Roseline Nkomo, then of the opposition MDC-T, and failed with subsequent efforts to have the result over-turned in court.

But Nkomo has now been expelled from Parliament, thanks to a decision by the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC-T to have her recalled for crossing the floor.

Curiously, Tsvangirai has vowed not to contest any new elections, meaning the constituency will most likely return to Moyo and Zanu PF.

Nkomo was one of the MPs who ditched the MDC-T to form the MDC Renewal Team after Tsvangirai refused to step down in bitter recriminations that followed the opposition party’s 2013 election disaster.

The former premier however, successfully petitioned Parliament to have all the 17 rebel legislators expelled from Parliament.

Following the decision, Zanu PF political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere called Moyo to arms saying on Twitter: “Jonso bring back our constituency. Bring it back home!”

The information minister obliged, telling Kasukuwere that: “Copied Cde National Commissar. This is a case of a lost but found constituency.”

All the MDC formations have ruled out participating in new lections until reforms are implemented to ensure credible polling.

Former education minister David Coltart lamented Tsvangirai’s move to recall the legislators.

He said: “Given that the MDC-T say they’re boycotting by-elections, are they happy to hand these seats over to Zanu PF?

“One thing is crystal clear from Twitter – both Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere issued deliriously happy tweets about the move. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.”

Welshman Ncube, leader of Coltart’s MDC formation, confirmed that the party would not contest the by-elections.

“We’ll not contest. We’ve not contested in a single by-election since the 2013 elections, whether for council or Parliament and we’ve said it several times that we don’t want to take part in any by election,” he said.

Times Live

17 March 2015

Zimbabwe’s speaker of parliament on Tuesday agreed to a request from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to expel 21 legislators who have broken away from the Morgan Tsvangirai-led party, an official said.

The 17 MPs and four senators are all part of the MDC-Renewal Team, which is led by the MDC’s former secretary general Tendai Biti. Biti, a lawyer, is extremely critical of Tsvangirai, accusing him of corruption and dictatorial tendencies.

The seats have been declared vacant and by-elections will be held.

Confirming the speaker’s decision, Jacob Mafume, spokesman for Biti’s breakaway faction, said: “There is only one winner in this and it is the Zanu-PF faction fronted by Emmerson Mnangagwa, which desperately wants more parliamentarians to counter the ones that [former vice president Joice] Mujuru has.”

Mafume told Sapa: “Morgan Tsvangirai has again worked with Zanu-PF, thinking that it’ll benefit him.”

President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF is divided between supporters of new vice president Mnangagwa and the former incumbent Mujuru, who was sacked in December. These by-elections give Mnangagwa’s faction — which is on the up — a chance to fill up seats with their preferred candidates, especially if, as is being anticipated, Tsvangirai’s party boycotts the vote.

The opposition is not fielding candidates in two by-elections this month, saying reforms are needed.

Zimbabwean journalist @nqabamatshazi tweeted: “Will MDC-T boycott these by-elections that they have caused? May someone explain the logic of this to me. I am lost.”

The MDC won a total of 70 seats in the upper and lower houses of parliament in the 2013 elections.

Senator David Coltart, who served as education minister in the 2009 to 2013 coalition government, tweeted: “There is no doubt in my mind that many of the 21 MPs expelled were some of the brightest and parliament will be all the poorer without them.”

But supporters of Tsvangirai were happy.

“That’s gr8 news but we should field candidates for those seats and stop this by-election boycott,” Michael Moyo wrote on an MDC Facebook page.

Harare analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya, of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, told Sapa that he did not believe Tsvangirai’s faction would boycott by-elections.

“I don’t think they were attempting to simply donate these seats to Zanu-PF,” he said, adding: “Without doubt, Zanu-PF will get some of the seats.”

Zanu-PF’s Saviour Kasukuwere, the environment minister, tweeted: “UMDC…21 seats…am waiting for these seats.”

MDC-Renewal recently merged with another breakaway opposition faction to form the UMDC (United Movement for Democratic Change).

Mail and Guardian

13th March 2015

The abduction this week of Zimbabwean journalist and pro-democracy activist Itai Dzamara has put activists in the country on edge. There is a widespread yet unconfirmed belief that Itai Dzamara was abducted by agents of the feared Central Intelligence Organisation.

The abduction put an end to what appeared to be a climate of improved political tolerance in the country.

Amnesty International has called on the Zimbabwean government to investigate the matter immediately.

Dzamara (36) was kidnapped by five men in Harare’s Glen View township on Monday morning when he was leaving a barber’s shop. The kidnappers are reported to have been in plain clothes and to have accused Dzamara of stealing cattle. They handcuffed him, forced him into a white bakkie with concealed number plates and drove off. His whereabouts are unknown.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba confirmed the kidnapping and said police were investigating.

But there is a widespread yet unconfirmed belief that Dzamara was abducted by agents of the feared Central Intelligence Organisation, which is notorious for conducting this kind of operation.

A thorn in the flesh
Dzamara was increasingly becoming a thorn in the flesh for President Robert Mugabe’s regime. In October last year, he delivered a petition to Mugabe’s Munhumutapa offices in Harare to demand that the president step down immediately and pave the way for fresh elections.

A month later he was beaten and left for dead by the police after leading protests in Harare’s central business district. The protests, dubbed “Occupy Africa Unity Square”, demanded Mugabe’s resignation for failing to deliver on his electoral promises.

This year, Dzamara and members of the National Youth Action Alliance invaded the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s offices to hand over a petition demanding that the ­commission should admit that it is seriously incapacitated and not able to act independently.

Dzamara was also a central figure responsible for mobilising demonstrators to protest against planned electricity tariff increases by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority last month.

“The abduction of Dzamara is deeply alarming,” said Noel Kututwa, Amnesty Inter­national Southern Africa’s deputy director for research. “The Zimbabwean authorities, especially the police, must urgently institute a search operation and do all within their power to ensure his safe return.”

Dzamara’s case has been taken up by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, which helped his wife, Sheffra Dzamara, to make a missing person’s report at Glen View police station.

“Since his disappearance on Monday, his mobile phone has been switched off and he has not had any contact with his wife, family and friends. Dzamara is being held incommunicado from his family and lawyers,” the organisation said in a statement. “His detention is illegal and violates fundamental rights protected under the Constitution of Zim­babwe.”

The organisation said Dzamara’s wife first went to the Harare central police station to file a formal missing person report, but the police refused to fill out the document and said she had to file the report at the Glen Norah police station.

“Lawyers have since filed an urgent habeas corpus application to compel whoever is holding Dzamara to bring him before the court so as to determine if he should really be in detention,” the organisation said.

Sordid history of abductions, deaths and disappearances

Zimbabwe’s state security agents have in the past been accused of torture, abductions and, in some cases, murder.

•?One of the high-profile cases that gripped the country was the disappearance in 1990 of Rashiwe Guzha, a typist in the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). Her alleged former lover and boss – the late CIO deputy director, Edson Shirihuru – was implicated in her disappearance. Shirihuru died in August 1993 while awaiting trial for Guzha’s abduction and disappearance.

•?In 2000, Patrick Nabanyana, an election agent for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legislator David Coltart, was dragged out of his home in Bulawayo by unknown men and has not been seen since.

•?In 2007, Edward Chikomba, a freelance cameraman and former employee of the state television company, was abducted by men in plain clothes from his Harare home.

He was found dead two days later 80km from Harare. Several reports said his killing was related to the footage he sold to international media of a badly injured opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been beaten in police custody.

•?Shortly after Robert Mugabe lost the first round of presidential elections to Tsvangirai in 2008, MDC activist Tonderai Ndira was taken out of his home in Harare, allegedly by eight armed men wearing masks and dressed in plain clothes.

His body was found in a Harare morgue by his brother Cosmas a week later.

•?Also in 2008, prominent human rights activist and Zimbabwe Peace Project director Jestina Mukoko was abducted during the night from her home north of Harare by state agents for allegedly being involved in plans for antigovernment demonstrations.

Mukoko, a former newsreader for state television, was accused of recruiting youths for military training with the opposition MDC.

She was released on bail three months after her abduction in March 2009. Mukoko was tortured for information and was moved among different interrogators.

Among other torture methods, her interrogators forced her to kneel in gravel for hours, denied her sleep and medication, and beat the soles of her feet for days.

Her whereabouts had been unknown for a considerable time, during which the police denied she was in their custody. She was later found in police cells

The Citizen

11th March 2015

Zimbabwe’s ruling party has accused Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai of “hijacking” the abduction of a pro-democracy activist in a bid to drum up support for the opposition, it was reported on Wednesday.

Journalist and activist Itai Dzamara, 36, was still missing following his abduction from a barber shop in a Harare township on Monday.

Rights group Amnesty International described his abduction as “deeply alarming”.

Zanu-PF spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo told the Herald newspaper: “I do not even know the person in question [Dzamara] but [Tsvangirai] is trying to find a case to please his masters because they have nothing to offer the people.”

Tsvangirai on Tuesday said he held President Robert Mugabe and his party responsible for Dzamara’s abduction.

The activist had been holding protests in central Harare calling for Mugabe to resign since late last year and has allegedly previously been beaten and abducted by police and suspected state agents.
However, Moyo insisted Zanu-PF was “not lawless”.

“If they reported to police we are law-abiding and if there is anybody who commits a crime, police know what to do,” Moyo told the Herald.

The MDC and government critics say the police are biased against the opposition.

Opposition politician and lawyer David Coltart said on Wednesday Dzamara’s disappearance was “another in a long line of people over the last three decades”.
Coltart wrote on Facebook: “I demand that those responsible release him immediately. This appalling conduct must end if Zimbabwe is to progress.”

Relatives of Dzamara, whose Twitter account says he is the founder of Trinity Media in Zimbabwe, travelled to Goromonzi on the outskirts of Harare on Tuesday to investigate claims of a body there, but found nothing, lawyer Charles Kwaramba told Sapa.

The Standard

1st March 2015

After years of being buffeted by numerous examination leakages, embarrassing boobs, and corruption scandals, the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) is desperately pinning its hopes on the electronic seals which it hopes will redeem its dented image and restore public confidence.

Zimbabwe has a history of examination leakages and what has been glaringly missing is the initiative to plug the loopholes that have been taken advantage of by some greedy headmasters or teachers out to make a quick buck.

But now Zimsec is making frantic firefighting efforts to defend its existence and relevance and that has come in the form of the electronic seals.

The software, which is called gridlock technology, consists of a box the size of a briefcase in which all the papers are stored. Once locked the case will only be opened via a remote system which will be operated at Zimsec offices in Harare.

Early this year Zimsec director Esau Nhandara said if anyone tampered with the lock, they would be able to pick that up.

The eagerly-anticipated technology will be piloted this year and will be used for the O’Level examinations, which have been the worst affected.
But concerns are abound that the corrupt practices and the gaps remain, and for as long as they are not addressed, similar incidents would recur, costing government millions of dollars in examination retakes and investigations.

“They have taken a better route but there is need to close all the possible gaps,” said former minister of education David Coltart.

Last year four O’ Level papers — English 1 and 2, Maths 1 and 2 — had to be rewritten after it emerged that there had been a leakage at Whata School in Midlands. This was not the first, second or third time either that examination papers had been leaked, or that there was some sort of bungling in the handling of the whole exercise.

Another embarrassing incident that had the nation in a big uproar was the botched Grade Seven Ndebele paper of 2013 which had some serious misinterpretation of the language.

Defending the blunder, Nhandara issued a statement in which he alluded to the fact that a team of experts had approved the paper and that it was above board.

“The paper is set by 10 experts from Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, Midlands and Bulawayo. These experts include college Ndebele lecturers both at Primary and Secondary level who train teachers, education experts from the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) and practising primary classroom teachers,” he wrote.

He argued that some terms which the generality of the people may find to be derogatory were Ndebele words which, when used, should not be taken out of context.

“Zimsec has no desire to undermine the integrity and heritage of any language in Zimbabwe. It endeavours to examine all the 16 indigenous languages identified in the constitution of Zimbabwe without any prejudice,” he said.

Legislators have also called for a complete overhaul of Zimsec which they say has failed an already ailing education system.

During one of their heated debates last year, members of parliament said that the repeated leakages were costing the body its reputation and credibility in delivering top examinations.

Hurungwe West MP Temba Mliswa even suggested that Zimsec be capacitated enough to own facilities to print exam papers so they would have control over the process.

The legislators said they now doubted the results because they may not be a true reflection of the pupils’ capabilities.

They were also not happy that headmasters used public transport when carrying examination papers. This followed a 2012 incident in which acting headmaster from some school in Bubi lost the papers while travelling from Bulawayo to his school.

Coltart said the solution was hinged on how the papers were delivered and secured thereafter.

“What was lacking was the safe reliable means of transporting the papers. We read about headmaster using public transport, that am hopeful will be addressed by the new electronic seals,” he said.
Commenting on the tattered image of Zimsec, Coltart said every time there was a leak, it reflected badly on the body.

However, the Zimsec spokesperson Nicolette Dhlamini said their integrity was still intact and they were still the best at what they do.

“Examination leakages are not peculiar to Zimbabwe, it’s everywhere in the region,” she said.

Star Africa

24th February 2015

Zimbabwe’s Chevrons lost by 73 runs to West Indies in a match played in Brisbane, New Zealand on Tuesday in which West Indies talisman Chris Gayle smashed the first double century in ICC Cricket World Cup history.Chasing a target of 373 runs, the Zimbabweans were bowled out for 289 runs. Their opponents had earlier scored 372 runs for the loss of two wickets (377/2).

Gayle etched his name in record books after scoring 215 runs off 147 balls, the first one-day international double-hundred ever scored in a World Cup.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura admitted after the match that there was “a lot of work to be done” ahead of the next Pool B tie against Pakistan on Sunday.

“I think we will be fine. We have to just forget about what happened today,” he said.

Former Zimbabwe sports minister David Coltart tweeted that the result did not mean the end of the tournament for the southern Africans.

“The Cricket World Cup is by no means over for Zimbabwe. Cricket & batting was impressive again-but we need to beat Ireland & Pakistan well,” Coltart wrote.

Zimbabwe is in Pool B with India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates and West Indies.

The Chronicle

By Clemence Manukwe News Editor

Conflict-of-interest questions have been raised over the voting of some MPs from across the political divide on the RBZ ( Debt Assumption) Bill after they benefited from the central banks initiatives that gave rise to part of the debt. The proposed legislation which is before Parliament, provides for the settlement of liabilities amounting US$31,355 billion incurred by the central bank during the Zimbabwe dollar era.

The Bill has already passed the constitutional taste as the Parliamentary legal committee has stated that it does not violate the country’s supreme law, but in some quarters ethical issues have been raised in the pending voting in parliament.

Former Khumalo Senator David Coltart said under international best practice, MPs should avoid conflict of interest as it erodes the public’s confidence in the integrity of Parliament.

“In the instant case, it is very clear that many of these parliamentarians received these loans and the effect of this, if the bill becomes law, is to expunge those debts. In other words, these MPs would have received a direct benefit as a result of the passing of this law,” said Coltart.

“The only way they can avoid this conflict of interest is as follows: firstly, at the very least, they should make a declaration regarding the precise details of the interest in the matter, and secondly, they should avoid the conflict-of-interest by recusing themselves from the debate and vote on the Bill itself.”

Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST) Director John Makamure said it was unfortunate that although the Bill seeks to settle the debt using public money is, not much details on the date have been disclosed.

He added that as a matter of principle, legislators who benefited must recuse themselves.

Makamure said it would be proper for the government to take over dated benefited the public interest such as when buying food during times of drought or drugs, not that which serve public interest.

“The nature of debate is also lacking substance as the matter has taken apart as an approach. MPs are not debating the implications of the Bowl on the economy,” he added.

Bulawayo lawyer Matshobane Ncube had a different take on the matter.

He said barring MPs from voting on the Bill would infringe on the constitution as legislators got RBZ support in their individual capacities, but they sit in Parliament on the representational capacity.

Ncube said after the government takes over the RBZ debt, it can still pursue all those who owed the central bank.

“The takeover does not mean that the debt has been written North. It means that the government has also taken over the rights to sue whoever owes the RBZ. The government is taking over the debt to ensure that the RBZ performs its duties without the encumbrance of the debt hanging over it,” said Ncube.

Presenting a report on the Ball in Parliament recently, the chairperson of the budget and Finance committee, who is also ZANU PF”s Mutoko South MP, David Chapfika said they were concerned that small creditors, the majority of whom are indigenous resources as operations have been affected negatively as a result of monies owed to them by the central bank, were not included on the schedule of those owed.

“The majority of the submissions were highly critical of the Bill in its current form for failing to address the position of individuals foreign currency accounts whose monies were transferred to RBZ by banks following a directive from the central bank.

“As such, members of the public viewed government is prioritising corporate creditors and ignoring ordinary people such as pensioners who lost their accumulated savings with insurance companies and those who lost funds when the RBZ unilaterally removed zeros, thereby further impoverishing innocent Zimbabweans,” added Chapfika.

Zimeye

12th February 2015

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa caused a stir Thursday when he came out opposing Justice Bere on the illegality of spot fines charged by police officers on motorists. Mnangagwa, against the judge, defended spot fines saying they are an administrative process that was put in place for the convenience of the justice delivery system.

His words and direct swipe at a sitting judge came at the peak of wide media coverage this week over spot fines.

In an interview with the State Media on the sidelines of a presentation at the Zimbabwe Staff College, Vice President Mnangagwa, who is also the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, said while the judge made his comment outside a court of law, what is important is whether the payment of spot fines is done in accordance with the law or not.

He said the payment of spot fines was “made to ease the administrative processes in the payment of the fines for travelling motorists”.

But last week Justice Bere blasted the police for demanding spot fines from errant motorists explaining that “there is no law which compels a motorist to deposit a fine with the police if he desires to challenge the alleged offence. But it looks like the motorists are being forced to pay these fines on our public roads irrespective of their attitude to the charges.

“It occurs to me that any collection made by the police must be made in terms of Section 356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07). That piece of legislation does not support the manner in which the spot fines are being collected and handled by the police,” Justice Bere said.

Police defiance

In response, the police defied Justice Bere’s Monday utterances saying they will continue collecting spot fines.

Senior Lawyer and MDC Secretary for legal affairs, David Coltart, said the outburst from the police was not surprising as spot fines had become a source of revenue for the ZRP.

“I am not surprised by this remark because we all know that the number of road blocks and the rampant fining which takes place at them is a key source of revenue for the ZRP,” said Coltart.

“The Chief Superintendent is correct in saying that remarks at the opening of the High Court are not binding as a judgement would be. However the ZRP should not be so dismissive of the learned Judge’s remarks and a more temperate reply would have been more appropriate.”

Coltart attacked the police for wanting to convict people instead of leaving that role to the courts.

“The ZRP are not there to convict people-they are there to identify crime/infractions of the law and then to bring those to the Courts to decide whether there is guilt or not. That right is entrenched in Section 69(1) of the Constitution which states “Every person accused of an offence has the right to a fair and public trial within a reasonable time before an independent and impartial court”,” said Coltart.

Abuse of Authority

However Mnangagwa said the government is worried about the abuse of authority by some police officers who are demanding bribes saying it requires the participation of all stakeholders to curb the vice. In his presentation to the officers attending the Joint Command and Staff Course Number 28 at the Zimbabwe Staff College, Vice President Mnangagwa said corruption and fraudulent activities are derailing efforts in achieving goals set out in the new constitution.

The establishment of independent commissions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Prosecuting Authority were deliberate efforts by the country to allow independence in the prosecution of cases.

Newsday

By Silence Charumbira

Legal experts have warned that police are in contempt of court for rebuffing and defying High Court judge Justice Francis Bere’s statement declaring that spot fines and impounding of vehicles is illegal.

Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi yesterday issued a defiant full-page statement insisting that it was business as usual for the police who will not brook calls to end the highly controversial and unpopular practice.

But as the war of words over Justice Bere’s statement escalated, prominent human rights lawyer Aleck Muchadehama pointed out that Bulawayo High Court judges, Justices Misheck Cheda and Lawrence Kamocha, set a judicial precedent on August 2, 2012.

In judgment number HB157/12, the High Court ruled motorists caught using mobile phones should be issued with tickets to pay fines later as long they have acceptable identification.

“A police officer cannot and should not insist on a spot fine on the basis that he is not in possession of a ticket book which ticket book is a necessary administrative tool for executing his duties. A police officer’s failure to carry relevant stationery cannot be used to curb and/or infringe people’s rights,” the High Court ruled.

Muchadehama said Justice Bere had, in fact, given the police free legal advice that they should take seriously.

“He has seen the people suffering at the hands of the police under the guise of admission of guilt. But typical of the police like a rogue organisation, they are throwing the free legal advice away,” he said.

Another lawyer, Chris Mhike, said the issue might have been debated in Parliament and deliberated on by Cabinet as alleged by the police, but the critical point was that no law was subsequently passed.
“One of the fundamental principles of law is that there should be no punishment without a specific law to justify the punishment. In the absence of an Act of Parliament or Statutory Instrument that legalises the conduct of the police, it is safe to conclude that the continuation of the spot fine practice and retention of funds by the force is controversial and potentially illegal,” Mhike said.

Information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo also waded into the debate with a social media post that attacked Justice Bere.

Moyo posted on his newly opened Facebook account that: “The judge was apparently willing and happy to misdirect himself to the point of making a very serious personal pronouncement that had the false ring of a court ruling.”

But constitutional lawyer and former Education minister David Coltart said the police should not be dismissive of the judge’s remarks and should have sought advice from the Attorney-General.

“There is a very important principle at stake here which goes to the root of our justice system and indeed Constitution. The principle is that one is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty,” he said, adding police were not there to convict people.

“This practice is illegal and unconstitutional and must stop. If the present government is even vaguely interested in respecting the rule of law, it should issue a statement immediately ending the practice and advising that the Constitution will be respected,” Coltart said.