PROPHECY ABOUT MUGABE AND TSVANGIRAi COME TRUE!!!

An account from one living elder in Zvimba that connects the Mzilikazi, Robert Mugabe and Mogan Tsvangirai, and the significance of the number 28 among these Zimbabwe legends. On March 10, 1952, the Zvimba elder and James Chikerema were called by a terrified Robert Mugabe to hear a voice that had been haunting Robert Mugabe since his return from the University of Fort Hare.

Chikerema recorded the conversation with 'the voice' which was directed to Robert "Gabriel" Mugabe as follows: "In 28 years you will be King of Dzimbahwe but you will rule for only 28 years for today is born a boy who will take over from you 28 years into your rule. This boy will be 28 years old when your reign starts, and his own reign will commence when he is as old as you when yours starts, at 56.

I can't tell you how long he will rule, but by then you will have greedily destroyed the riches of Dzimbahwe". Robert Mugabe was too terrified to respond, so James Chikerema who was recording, asked, "But why this 28, 28 thing on our Son?" The reply, "Because Mzilikazi died in 1868 and after 28 years in 1896, the First Chimurenga broke out.

After 28 years in 1924, a foremost icon of the second Chimurenga, you Robert Gabriel Mugabe would be born. (I am the one who christened you "Gabriel" at your birth). Today (10 March 1952) 28 years later I come to you again, on the heels of your return from Mzilikazi's land (Fort Hare) where you had gone to acquire wisdom. Your life revolves around the number 28".

Chikerema, the elder and Robert Mugabe all began to tremble, but Chikerema still managed to ask again, "But why 28, Your Highness?" The voice continued, "You had been blessed to be Mzilikazi's reincarnate, and that you ably were during the second Chimurenga.

However it was foreseen that as soon as you become King you would become extremely cruel and try to wipe out the entire Mzilikazi tribe in senseless combat. A great man of Mzilikazi clan would die bitter at the age of 82. This apparent reversal of your magic number (28 to 82) would signal massive reversals in your fortunes and those of Dzimbahwe and you will start to behave irrationally until the boy born in 1952 turns 56 to take over from you.

This successor of yours has Mzilikazi's blood in him. His forefathers were in Mzilikazi's army and he is almost the same built as Mzilikazi -burly, short, dark and extremely brave. He has been trusted to succeed you as King of Dzimbahwe because of his love for the people. He will get massive support from the Mzilikazi people that you, Gabriel, previously persecuted and the unstoppable storm will drive you out of power. Dzimbahwe will start to flourish again under the new King to reclaim its place as Africa's beacon of wealth, order and peace.

Those who had fled your misrule will return to the motherland in droves, all to the betterment of Dzimbahwe. I see your temptation to try and stop this man from taking over from you and you will manage for only 28 days, not years, after which the whole thing consumes you! At that time, the support of your successor among Mzilikazi's people will have trebled, and it will also be rock-hard throughout Dzimbahwe.

Part of your predicament stems from the 28 head of cattle that your father stealthily drove from Mzilikazi's adopted land in 1945". The voice switched off, leaving the elder, Chikerema and Robert Mugabe dump-founded. The elder says he re-lived the 'vision' during the recent Zanu (PF) electoral defeat and just had to share it with as many people as possible.

Has anyone heard of this mysterious story before?

"WE URGE CITIZENS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES": NCA

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) strongly condemns the Zimbabwe Republic Police's failure to protect suspected opposition supporters across the country that are being targeted and indiscriminately brutalized and tortured for allegedly voting for the MDC.

We further condemn the behavior of some police officers who are taking part in these acts of harassing ordinary citizens in the streets. We hereby highlight to the security services of our motherland their duty: to protect the people of Zimbabwe. The NCA stresses that the police should cease being partisan, and act professionally, refuse to be reduced to a party militia. The Zimbabwean police should start executing their duties so as to protect their mothers, fathers, siblings, sisters and brothers.

The NCA expresses its dismay over reports that some uniformed forces (army and police) have been spotted escorting criminal elements, raising fear and substantiating suspicions that the move is sponsored by the state. We deplore the militarization of the state by the Harare regime. Mugabe has lost elections and is holding on to power through the assistance of the army and the police. Thus we call on security forces to be on the side of the people. The will of the people should be respected.

The NCA in light of the developments in the country implores all Zimbabweans to protect themselves from ZANU-PF hooligans and militia. We urge Zimbabweans to organise themselves in each and every corner of the country and form defense brigades to protect themselves against organised state brutality and detestable elements in our societies. Let the masses of Zimbabwe awaken to the fact that the government is at war with its people, thus the need to protect themselves. Let there be back up squads in suburbs to protect citizens' houses, property and human lives from ZANU-PF malcontents. Youths should organise and patrol their localities during the night to save their mothers, sisters and brothers from ZANU PF vampires’ purporting to be war veterans.

In the wake of Friday's attacks in Warren Park the NCA calls those that go to Pubs for drinking to be organised, vigilant and alert (be ready to react). We urge such to move in groups of six and above. We urge them to defend themselves. When leaving these drinking places we urge people to be in groups. Never walk alone.

Meanwhile the NCA is busy compiling names of alleged perpetrators who in the fullness of time will be summoned to answer at an impartial judiciary system for these gross human rights violations. Anyone who might be having names and/or information leading to the identification of perpetrators of these atrocities can contact any of NCA offices across the country.

There is a possibility of making our independence real.

Bumbiro Ngarinyorwe Nevanhu

National Constitutional Assembly,

NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON
MADOCK CHIVASA

PROF KEN MUFUKA LOOKS AT THE ZIM CRISIS VERY CLOSELY!

“OUR CHALLENGE AND OUR LEGACY”
“................................The atrocities in Matabeleland started in 1981 and ended 1988. Only the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace raised the issue publicly.

My thesis in this paper is that these extra-judicial activities consumed the greater part of the Zimbabwean Government until 1998 to the exclusion of Economic Planning...............................................”

Prof Ken Mufuka.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A keynote speech delivered at the First Zimbabwe Diaspora Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 7-9th, 2007.

By Kenneth N Mufuka, M Litt (St Andrews, Scotland) PhD (Queens, Ontario, Canada). Professor of History at Lander University in South Carolina, United States of America.

(Requests for scanned copies of the Original Speech can be made to mufarostig@gmail.com .)
@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@

Zimbabwe is blessed by the most dynamic population on the face of the earth. I have seen Zimbabweans laugh when they should be crying. I was told by a very reliable source in the journalistic fraternity that the Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Gideon Gono, welcomed three visitors just the other week. You see, Dr Gono's employers studied Voodoo Economics.

So there were standing before him, three izangoma, straight from the netherworld armed with their bag of tricks. “We will introduce ourselves, Sir”, they said. “This ZHERO counts up to ten, this ZHERO up to ONE HUNDRED and this ZHERO number three, he can count up to ONE THOUSAND. We want our jobs back.”

The story becomes even more bizarre and juicier. They say the Governor shut himself in the Bank Vault.

The problems that face Zimbabwe in 2007 can be traced to a style of Gevernment by President Robert Mugabe since he came into power in April 1980.

With hindsight, it is obvious that the Colonial Regime of Ian Smith had left sufficient fat in the Economy of Zimbabwe for the new Government to disperse and use as inducements to its supporters. Its opponents were equally silent for a long time until two factors came into play. These two factors were that in 1999, Mugabe decided that the white population, through their farming activities, controlled thirty percent of the country's wealth.

The white farming population numbered less than 4000 families. Such a concentration of wealth and influence outside the “authorised political structures” could no longer be tolerated. The second factor was that by disturbing the goose that lay golden eggs, the Economy collapsed in seven years. The role of the Church, until now, was ambivalent, but not entirely silent.

In the early years of Independence between 1980 and 1984, President Mugabe showed his intolerance towards Organisations and Political Parties other than his own. A pattern of Zero Tolerance for diverse views was set at the beginning of the Regime.
Judith Todd, the daughter of the beloved Missionary and former Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Sir Garfield Todd, wrote a book, “Through the Darkness: A Life in Zimbabwe”. She recounts the death of Josiah Tongogara, “in a car accident.” His death was never investigated.

It is unthinkable that a General of a victorious Guerilla Army would be driving in a truck in the dark without headlights. Judith Todd says that she did not know what to think about this untimely death.

Nkomo was initially included in the first Coalition Government, was demoted within one year and was hounded out of the country in fear of his life. False charges were put forward that his Party was planning a Coup against Mugabe's Government. Nkomo, in his biography, “The story of My Life” says that in all his long life, he had never worked with a less sincere man than Mugabe. In March, 1983, Nkomo's house was ransacked by the Secret Service and two men were shot dead.

Thereafter, thirty-two farms that belonged to ZAPU were seized without copmensation and thousands put out of work. The fact that the Co-operatives had been bought by the workers, from their pensions and contributions, was irrelevant. The point here is that there was no consideration for the Economics or the livelihoods of fellow Zimbabweans.

This writer worked as a Publicist for Ndabaningi Sithole , the Founder President of Mugabe's ruling party, The Zimbabwe African National Union. At Independence, in 1980, Sithole was falsely accused of importing Arms of War. These so-called “Arms”, shown in Court, were a classic Enfield rifle and two bullets. His farm was seized and Sithole died a broken man.

This writer was also involved through the Methodist Church with the Bishop Abel Muzorewa. After Independence, he was put in jail, placed under house arrest, charged with treason and discharged of all wrong-doings by Courts of Law. Nevertheless, he spent the latter part of his life in voluntary exile in the US.

The same story is repeated in the cases of Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku.
Arrested for treason in 1983, they spent time in jail, were discharged of any wrong-doings by Courts of Law, and yet they were not released from jail till 1987. There is a clear pattern of lawlessness and callousness towards human lives. These men had wives, children and families to support. No consideration to these matters was given whatsoever.

Barely a year after Independence, Mugabe set up a new Military Wing called the Fifth Brigade, trained and equipped by North Koreans. This Brigade by-passed all the rules and regulations and reported directly to Mugabe. They started operations in 1982. The recruitment was from ZANU militants. According to Judith Todd, one battalion was situated in the heart of Matabeleland. The voice of the Church was heard at this early hour, but very faintly.

Anglican Bishop Karlen of Matabeleland gathered information about certain graves and atrocities which had been committed in his area in the nane of “Gukurahundi” (meaning 'Sweet Clean.')

Bishop Karlen asked Sir Garfield to relay the information to Mugabe. Sir Garfield gave the papers to his daughter Judy. At a chance meeting with General Rex Nhongo (now Mujuru) and Brigadier Agrippah Mutambara, she described the contents of the letter from Bishop Henry Karlen. Bishop Karlen and Judy assumed that the atrocities were unauthorised by the Army Commanders. “Events chronicled were far, far worse than I could ever have imagined. It seemed that State Armed Forces – whether 5 Brigade or others too – had gone berserk in an orgy of violence against defenceless civilians,”she wrote. She placed the date as February 17th, 1983. That she dared challenge Mugabe's policy deserved severe punishment. She was raped by a senior officer.

A pattern had clearly emerged, and the atrocities in Matabeleland continued. Joshua Nkomo, in his book, also recounts an incident that involved former Zimbabwe-Rhodesian President Josiah Gumede. Gumede was “cruelly beaten and left for dead in his house for two days, in an attack by men of the Fifth Brigade.”

Further, in an Easter 1983 Statement, six Catholic Bishops of Matabeleland issued this statement, “We are convinced by incontrovertible evidence that many wanton atrocities and brutalities have been and are being perpetrated. We have already forwarded such evidence to the Government.”

Nkomo was subsequently arrested for possession of a Parliamentary speech ( a document the police considered subersive) and possession of 300 Zimbabwe dollars (while waiting for an Internal Zimbabwe flight.) While he was released, his four companions were unlucky. “They spent six months in prison, their only offence being to have been with me.” This kind of imprisonment is by police discretion, without any input from a judge.” Nkomo 236, 240.

The atrocities in Matabeleland started in 1981 and ended 1988. Only the Catholic Commission for Justica and Peace raised the issue publicly. My thesis in this paper is that these extra-judicial activities consumed the greater part of the Zimbabwean Government until 1998 to the exclusion of Economic Planning.

Despite their noisy announcements and fancy Economic Policy announcements, no rational and consistent Economic Policy was ever followed. The expansion of Education and Health faciities consumed the surplus left over from the Colonial Government. There was a lofty announcement that the Zimbabwe Government was to re-formulate Marxist Economic Planning.

The sum total of this new Economic thinking was that all humans were to be addressed as Comrades and all Government leaders were to follow a Leadership Code which did not allow them to own more than one house. As we all know, beginning with the Paweni scandals, the Willowvale Motor scandals, the Veterans Buildung Fund, and the Veterans Pension and Gratuity Fund, where some of them received more than 100 per cent disability payments while continuing to work: our Leadership enjoyed the benefits of Mercedes Benzes, their wives went shopping at London “Harrods” all the while proclaiming to High Heaven that they were Marxists, the wars in Matabeleland, in Mozambique and later in the Congo were unbudgeted and were paid for by borrowing and the printing of money.

Patrick Bond and Masimba Manyanya, in their excellent book “Zimbabwe's Plunge” says that the crunch came as early as 1987. In 1980 the debt service ratio to foreign exchange earnings was 4 per cent. In 1980 the ratio rose to 34 per cent. By 1990 the World Bank became the main lender. With US $3.5 billion required to keep the Government afloat, foreign debt alone was US$2.5 million. Interest rates dictated to by the World Bank rose to 40 per cent. These high interest loans killed the small business enterprises and were dictated by the World Bank.

Worse was to come as Zimbabwe entered into the Congo conflict: it had to pay US$980 million in one year. Thus we were borrowing in order to pay back our loans. What about Economic Planning and Policies?

The point I am trying to make here is that because of the wildcat domestic and foreign interventionist policies of the Zimbabwe Government, it soon ran out of money, and was at the mercy of the World Bank. From 1995 onwards, Gross Domestic Product declined, according to the World Bank figures. (Bond and Manyanya pp 45-47.)
The full impact of these adventures and ruinous domestic Voodoo Economics were not appreciated intil 1999 when 2700 white farmers were exposed to the same brutal treatment to which African opponents had long been subjected. Until this time, President Mugabe was awarded many honours by the World Community.

Edinburgh, for instance, awarded Mugabe an Honorary Degree, Honoris Causa on July 24, 1984. In 1991, the United Nations honoured Mugabe for fighting hunger and bringing about an Agricultural Revolution to Zimbabwe. In 1994, the University of Massachusetts followed suit.

We are interested in the Economic Policies of the Zimbabwe Government, and whether we can learn something for the sake of our children. We know now that there was no Policy as such and that contrary to Public Opinion, the Zimbabwe Government followed whatever blueprint the World Bank laid before them.

Chido Makunike has sent me a detailed argument on the false assumptions behind these Voodoo Economics. There is no doubt that Ian Smith's Economy was based on cheap labour and a vicious Class System. Zimbabwe had an opportunity to perpetuate, to a limited extent, that Economic System because it had the highest literacy rate (96 percent) in Africa and a sophisticated enterprising community; black, Asian and whites.

Could this new African Class make the Eurocentric global Economic System work in Zimbabwe? I believe that with some encouragement and modification, some neo-global economic system could have been worked out. A marriage between the new Black enterpreneurs and the old Colonial Establishment would have been worked out. China, India and the Malaysian tigers have made some accommodation with that model.
The headquarters of emerging capital today is the Gulf Emirates and Malaysia. But a requirement here is that the new enterpreneurs be left alone to apply their skills as they see fit with some assurance of Property Rights.

There is no such assurance in Zimbabwe today, and our emerging pool of knowledge has been driven abroad, unless they worship the Altar of Voodoo Economics; they have no place in Zimbabwe.

Mutumwa Mawere, emerging minerals sharp mind is cooling his heels abroad, Trevor Ncube, an emerging Media Mogul almost lost his nationality, Nigel Chanakira a banker is living abroad and Strive Masiyiwa a Communications Mogul is abiding his time in exile.

In short, all our emerging enterpreneurs have been exiled. How can we succeed in the Global Model we want to use? This also applies to Academics serving away from the Homeland. Zimbabwe with 96% literacy and an excellent system of Health Providers supported by the University Health System, could become a pace setter for the rest of Africa. My alma mater, the University of St Andrews in Scotland is at the heart of a country which has basically exhausted its mineral resources (except off-shore oil.)

However, St Andrews is the leader in the Educational System of Scotland. Within six months, sixty percent of all Scottish graduates migrate to the far corners of the world as teachers and engineers. Zimbabwe can be the Training Centre for all of Africa's future leaders.

According to my beloved friend Makunike, we must give credit to the Devil where it is due. We give credit to President Mugabe for challenging the Euro-centric hegemony and are able to get away with it. Hopefully, he will die in his own bed. If that happens, he will truly have pioneered new thinking about Economics in Africa. The Euro-centric Economic fundamentals have been overthrown. A well functioning agro-economy has been handed over to Brother Chinotimba.

Chinotimba (bless his heart) has no knowledge of a Global Economy, cares less about the market for flowers and fruits, and has no respect for Lord Sainsbury, the English grocery tycoon who partnered with former white market Agronomists. As for the Capital Market, the brother thinks it is a swear word. Makunike says here we see an example of throwing out “the many positives of the Rhodesian System of doing things, but without a better , or even a merely minimally functioning Zimbabwean System in its place.” (Makunike p 5). What then is to be our legacy?

The current system gives us a golden opportunity to conceive and affect a new system. Not all Colonial suppositions were wrong. For instance, the new bosses, without Capital, are in the habit of not paying their workers. Their flowers and their hot peppers cannot reach European markets in good time, either for Christmas, or for Valentine Day which are lucrative. We must sit down and start at the drawing board.

How much of the Colonial System can we adopt to suit ourselves?

We should also have a mixed society. In Iraq today, there are many mixed societies. One finds a herdsman bringing his goats right into the middle of Baghdad on a Scotchcart for sale at the flea market. It means that tribal areas in Iraq have been preserved for those who do not want to modernize at the Globalization speed.
Any man, in my book, who presides over such inflation and Monetary Depreciation, deserves the title of “Professor of Voodoo Economics.”

Year Rate of Inflation Zim dollar/for 1 US$
1980 7% 70 cents
1986 15% 35 Dollars
1992 40% 45 Dollars
2000 56% 150 Dollars
2001 132% 1000 Dollars
2006 1,281% 50,000 Dollars
2007 (June) 1,5000% 1,500,000 Dollars

In summary, my brothers and sisters, I will forever be indebted to you. I will be able to say to my grand children, I took part in the first Global Diaspora Conference.which laid down the ground rules for your future. It is clear to me that the problem in Africa, in the twenty-first century, is not about the tired old imperialists (though one can dispute the argument that Imperialists like the Devil never tire), but the indigenous abuse of power.

I would say that the rule of Law and the sanctity of Property Rights within certain areas need to be protected as a basis for investment. We may add that no man shall make a law to which he himself is exempted from.

We may also say that while the Colonial System is gone, we as Zimbabweans have benefitted most from its Educational System and that we want to share the facilities and human gifts already invested in this area with our SADC brothers and sisters.
I must also say that there are many examples of a new beginning in History. The prophet Joel told the Jews that in order to achieve such a new beginning, their old men and women must see visions and their young men must dream dreams.

You will be able to say to your grandchildren that you were part of the first Global Conference that expressed in some small way a new vision and a new dream for Zimbabwe.

We must be ruled by laws not by men. Secondly our background prepares us to be the leader in Education for the rest of Africa. Voodoo Economics is unworthy of us and a disgrace. This is our legacy. This Conference must not only see visions and dream dreams but implement them.

In my small way, starting in 1976, I made up my mind to educate one Zimbabwean child a year at Lander University. As I speak, fifty-eight Zimbabweans have passed through my hands. I will say to my grandchildren, dream and also implement your dream; here a little, there a little: it will add up.

I want to thank you all, the Board of the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum and our beloved Ms Norah Tapiwa for playing such a crucial role in organising this Conference.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

"ZVAKWANA"s MESSAGE ON INDEPENDENCE DAY!

The article from "ZVAKWANA" is available at

http://www.sokwanele.com/article/sokwanele/independenceday_180408.html

I see its not appearing in full properly here!

(Mailing list information, including unsubscription instructions, is located at the end of this message.)

Sokwanele - Enough is Enough - Zimbabwe PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

Independence Day: 18 April 2008 To my fellow Zimbabweans I cannot speak to you on the national media, but I speak to you from my heart - that freedom comes and your voice and your vote shall be heard. Morgan Tsvangirai, 17 April 2008 Statement made by President Morgan Tsvangirai: 17 April 2008 Today on the eve of Independence Day in Zimbabwe, I'm here to thank the World for the help you are giving the liberation struggle of our nation. This is, in many ways, the saddest Independence Day since our independence from colonial rule in 1980. Our people are literally starving; Zimbabwe is amongst the worst humanitarian crisis of this new century. Our humanitarian crisis has political roots, and that gives us hope, because political problems have political solutions. Zimbabweans have no food because of the policies of President Robert Mugabe; Zimbabweans have no schools, because of the policies of President Robert Mugabe; Zimbabweans have no hospital care, because of President Robert Mugabe's policies. And on March 29th, the people of Zimbabwe in their largely free election, repudiated President Robert Mugabe and Zanu pf and elected a new government. For three weeks now, the people of Zimbabwe have waited peacefully. They have waited for a peaceful transfer of power from the defeated old regime, to the democratically elected new government. So far that transition is not ok'd. Within days, Italy has counted and announced a new president, in the stark contrast to our situation back home. Zimbabwe waits. How long shall Africa's millions wait for democracy to enlighten a continent so rich and endowed in potential? How many more meetings to discuss crises from Rwanda, to Ethiopia, to Darfur, and to Zimbabwe? So the nations of the World have done what good neighbours should do: they have enquired; they've asked what's wrong. They've pounded on our doors. They fear that something is wrong in their neighbour's house and they've raised the cry of alarm. I want to thank Southern African leaders who met recently in Lusaka. You have let your voice be heard. I want to thank the leading industrial nations of the World, organised under G8. You have let your voices be heard. I want to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations. Yours is the voice of the whole World, and you have let the World's voice be heard. Each nation on its own Independence Day should celebrate its own independence; but it should rightly recognise the independence of others. Independence is raised on the fundamental rights of self-government which belongs to all people in all nations. While the voices of the World have been raised, many in Zimbabwe have not yet been heard. There remains no free press in Zimbabwe, so I am using the free news media of South Africa and the World so the people of Zimbabwe can be heard. We are not alone. And the World is with us. The World longs for us to take our rightful place again among the community of nations. To my fellow Zimbabweans I cannot speak to you on the national media, but I speak to you from my heart - that freedom comes and your voice and your vote shall be heard. The legal authority of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has expired. Their moral authority has been laughed away. What ZEC says no longer matters. What matters is the votes cast on 29th of March, and posted outside each polling station. Those votes elected MDC as the majority in Parliament, and elected me as President of Zimbabwe. The regime is conditioning people to believe that there is a run-off. There is no run off: we won this election decisively. In preparation for this, Robert Mugabe and his hand of criminals have unleashed an orgy of violence against the people. As I speak, our people are being murdered, their homes are being burnt, children molested, women raped. We have seen again the brutal vindictiveness of this man. We want to thank President Mbeki for all his efforts, but President Mbeki needs to be relieved from his duty. However, we've asked President Mwanawasa to lead a new initiative to urgently deal with the extraordinary situation we face at this moment. We cannot wait another day, we cannot wait another week: we need a special envoy or a special committee or a delegation to come to Zimbabwe immediately, and deal with the issue following the Kenyan model. [A delegation] who will stay in the country until an agreement and a solution has been found. Zanu-PF wants bloodshed, but instead we will shed light on that bloodshed. We shall fight with the truth, and take the strength of our courage and conviction to see the value of life, law and liberty, return to our country and to our continent. The movement has begun, and I ask you members of the media to join us in ensuring that the objective of democratic change in Zimbabwe is achieved. I thank you. In the absence of a free press in our country, Sokwanele is circulating this statement made by President Morgan Tsvangirai on the eve of our Independence Day. We are also including in this mailing a Statement released by the MDC party today (below), and we are providing a brief summary of some of the protests that have been taken place around the world, in support of the Zimbabwean pursuit of freedom and justice in our country. We are not alone. Statement from the MDC : 18 April 2008 Zanu PF hijacks people's independence Today the MDC would like to join all Zimbabweans in commemorating their 28th Independence anniversary. 18th of April is a day that we all cherish as it has brought us the independence that make us proud to be Zimbabweans and hold our heads high among other nations. However, as we celebrate this occasion, it is sad to note that our independence anniversary has been discredited by the Zanu PF regime that is masquerading as a government and as the custodians of our independence. Today the people of Zimbabwe have been denied a chance to celebrate their independence by an illegal regime that is denying them a chance to make sure that their gains of independence are enjoyed. In the 29 March elections, Zimbabweans went to the polls in their millions and voted for change and a new beginning. They voted for Morgan Tsvangirai as the President of Zimbabwe but however, 20 days after that day, the people of Zimbabwe’s hopes are being dashed as the results of the Presidential poll that President Tsvangirai won are being kept a secret by a scared regime. We are in a calamity as the people who are supposed to be celebrating are instead being beaten up by the police, the army and Zanu PF militia. Hundreds of innocent people including journalists are today in police custody. Homes of innocent villagers have been burnt in areas such as Mutoko, Murehwa, Chimanimani, Chipinge and Mudzi have been burnt to ashes simply because the people voted for the MDC in the last elections. In urban areas, residents are being forced to be indoors by 8.00 pm by a regime that is scared because it is in power through illegal means. People are now living in fear as the Zanu PF regime is using all forms of brutality in order to stay in power. As we commemorate this day lets remember our colleagues who have been killed, beaten and left homeless by the Robert Mugabe regime. Lets remember Tapiwa Mubwanda who was ruthlessly killed by Zanu PF militia in Hurungwe last Saturday. The world is taking action This banner, measuring 278m², was flown over the United Nations building in New York earlier this week at the same time that Thabo Mbeki was inside chairing a special meeting of the UN Security Council. To put the size into perspective, a football pitch measures approximately 210m²; there is no doubt that Thabo Mbeki saw the message - whether he got the message remains to be seen. In addition to that, Avaaz.org, the international organisation who organised the banner also delivered Thabo Mbeki a petition that has been signed by over 150,000 people so far. 150,000 people is a lot of signatures: it is the equivalent of the total number of people who voted in Matabeleland North province (according to ZEC figures!) There are three days of protests taking place in London outside the Zimbabwean Embassy. They started yesterday and end tomorrow on the 19th April. In Cape Town, two human rights groups joined forces and protested yesterday on behalf of Zimbabweans and against Thabo Mbeki's statement that there was "no crisis" in Zimbabwe - the signs at the protest say it all. Tomorrow, a public event will be held in The Hague - Africa Day 2008 - where the situation in Zimbabwe will be openly debated. In another gesture of support for the people of Zimbabwe, we have been told that there has been a 'media frenzy' over reports that a Chinese ship docked in Durban has a consignment of weapons destined for Zimbabwe. The South African people are not at all happy about having anything to do with the oppression of the Zimbabwean people. Satawu - the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union - have come out and refused to offload the ship. Their general secretary, Randall Howard, said: “Satawu does not agree with the position of the South African government not to intervene with this shipment of weapons... Our members employed at Durban Container Terminal will not unload this cargo neither will any of our members in the truck driving sector move this cargo by road.” He said the ship, the An Yue Jiang, should not dock in Durban and should return to China. Satawu are planning to enlist the support of COSATU to strengthen their position. Finally, also in South Africa, a group of Zimbabwean refugees have embarked on an amazing journey - a real march for freedom. They are walking all the way from Johannesburg to Musina to protest the fact the Presidential results have not been released yet. Apparently people are warmly greeting the walkers all along their route: cars are hooting in solidarity; they are being offered money, food and water; and people are coming out to join them and walk for a bit. We hear that in one town they passed through, the mayor came out and welcomed them. They will arrive in Musina today. The whole world can see what Robert Mugabe is trying to do and they are angry with his attempts to subvert the will of the people. They are also becoming increasingly frustrated with Thabo Mbeki's ineffectual policy of 'quiet diplomacy' . We all remember that Thabo Mbeki recently popped in to visit Robert Mugabe and emerged from the meeting to declare that there was "no crisis" in Zimbabwe. Well, five short days later - yesterday - the South African government's spokesperson has acknowledged the fact that "The situation is dire". Non violent action is having an impact. We are not alone Zimbabwe. Subscribe to receive mailings by sending an email to elections2008@sokwanele.com. You can also subscribe yourselves automatically via our website at the following address: www.sokwanele.com/join.html. Visit our website at www.sokwanele.com Visit our blog: This is Zimbabwe (Sokwanele blog) Send an e-card! www.sokwanele.com/sendcard/ We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression! Sokwanele does not endorse the editorial policy of any source or website except its own. It retains full copyright on its own articles, which may be reproduced or distributed but may not be materially altered in any way. Reproduced articles must clearly show the source and owner of copyright, together with any other notices originally contained therein, as well as the original date of publication. Sokwanele does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising in any way from receipt of this email or use thereof. This document, or any part thereof, may not be distributed for profit.

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www.sokwanele.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/elections2008/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.

Alternatively, please contact the list owner at:

elections2008@sokwanele.com

 

Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum mobilises for South Africa action!

Press Release


13 April 2008



The newly elected chair-person of the South-African based Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum, Mr Solomon Chikowero, has urged Zimbabweans based in South-Africa to remain resilient in the face of many challenges confronting them in the country.

Chikowero urged Zimbabweans based in South-Africa to unite and press for democratic reforms in Zimbabwe that will enable an environment that fosters stability to ensure a peaceful transition and reconstruction, for them to be able to go back home.

"Many of us are here for economic and political reasons, for as long as these remain unresolved then we are going to remain in foreign lands forever. We want to go home. The harmonised election on March 29 offered an opportunity for the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis, but it seems as though the Robert Mugabe regime will stop at nothing to disregard the people's will. No solution that does not respect the will of the people will be sustainable."

Chikowero urged Zimbabweans based in South-Africa to come out in their hundreds for a demonstration to be held on Wednesday the 16th of April, to press for a lasting solution on the Zimbabwean situation. South-Africa's President Thabo Mbeki at the weekend declared that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.

"We know there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, that is one of a ruling elite that refuses to accept that the people rejected it at the polls. We know who won in the elections, we demand that the results be made public for all without any further delays."

Note to editors
- Logistics and mobilisation will be handled by ZDF affiliates the Zimbabwe Revolutionary Youth Movement and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum
- Demonstrators will start gathering at 10.AM


CONTACT

Sox Chikhohwero
Chair-person - ZDF

+27 72 238 9192

Simon Mudekwa
0796192955

Gabriel Shumba
0726393795

Eddie Matsangaise
0724365798

"THE BATTLE MUGABE WILL NEVER WIN!" by Rev M S Hove

PRELIMINARY REMARKS:

It is very vital that the whole world should know that ZANU-PF has always had two faces. There is the face that is shown to the world and the face that the common man on the ground sees and brushes and inter-acts with.

We who have been part of ZANU-PF for all our adult lives can testify that ZANU-PF is a very dangerous organisation indeed. I will try to follow the bumpy journey that we have had with Mugabe and ZANU-PF since before the Independence of 1980.

It must be emphasized that Mugabe and ZANU-PF have always existed as some sort of under-dog. That is the underline that must never be ommitted.

BEFORE 1980.

When the Rev Ndabaningi Sithole broke away in the early 60s (from the main Organisation, ZAPU), the new Organisation, ZANU survived and thrived by demonising Dr Joshua Nkomo. He was presented to the people as a dangerous Ndebele who would revive the Ndebele Kingdom.

As with all propaganda, there must be some element of truth for the propaganda to stick. The majority Shonas had suffered untold hardships in the previous Century from raids by war-like Ndebeles. So anyone who could revive that experience in the hearts and minds of the people had a very easy task.

So it was very risky for Shonas to remain in Dr Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU. In fact, those that did deserve a lot of respect. There are numerous I could mention but I do not intend to list them in this particular submission. I cannot also list the numerous events where ZAPU supporters were tortured and murdered before Independence. The trend was for Shonas to support ZANU and forget about Dr Joshua Nkomo if they wanted to live and survive.

From 1973 when I completed the General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level) ie Form Four, I was a member of the United African National Council (UANC) which was led by the Methodist Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa. This UANC was the internal Organisation which grouped all the nationalists ie ZAPU, ZANU and the former ANC. The strategy was for the Smith Regime to treat the UANC in a softer light yet in fact it was representing the very same “banned” ZAPU and ZANU.

From 1974 I was staying my with my parents and my father was the Pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the black township of Rimuka in the small farming and mining town of Kadoma (then Gatooma).

Recruitment for guerilla fighters for both the ZANLA and ZIPRA (military wings of ZANU and ZAPU respectively) was done underground within the UANC. The young men we recruited went mainly to Mozambique to the ZANLA bases.

I remember vividly that we contributed monies in Kadoma to give the “boys” when their representatives came to us in Rimuka Townnship. We used to gather at the SQ's (Single Quarters) at Mr Nyamhuri's house (or more correctly , room).

Mr Nyamhuri was so committed to the struggle and I held him in the highest esteem.

What I didn't know and what didn't really concern me then was whether he was ZAPU or ZANU. To me these Organisations had been “swallowed” by the UANC and what was there was just the UANC and the UANC alone. But because of what I will relate later, may I mention that he was a fervent supporter of Dr Nkomo's ZAPU.

I was a Sub-station Attendant with the then ESC (the Electricity Supply Commission) and I was very angry with the racism of the white Rhodesia Front regime.

I had completed my Cambridge School Certificate with a First Division and I was angry that I was only taken by the ESC as a $7.92 a week Sub-Station Attendant yet white youths were getting in as Apprentices getting $40 a week.

I hated Ian Smith and I was committed to the Armed Struggle.

In March of 1975, 21 of us were picked up and I spent three weeks detained at the Rimuka Police Cells.

Detective Sergeant Zimani then told me that they were doing their jobs and they would continue with their jobs even in the event of Black Majority Rule. He specifically said, “Tichangoshaina zvakadaro. Tiri kushaina ende tichangoshaina.” (We will still thrive. We are thriving now and will still thrive then.)

HOW TRUE HE WAS AND IT BECAME EXACTLY AS HE HAD SAID!

Detective-Sergeant Zimani was a very smart, handsome light-skinned man. Many years later I worked in ZESA (The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) with a nephew of his who informed me that Mr Zimani did continue working a Senior Detective in the renamed Zimbabwe Republic Police and retired due to old age.

BACK TO MY STORY:

In the middle of April, 1975, some of were released but some were sent to the High Court in Harare (then Salisbury) and one was sentenced to death and two were sentenced to Life Imprisonment. The crime was “the recruitment of terrorists for military training.”

The young man who was sentenced to death was a very handsome, intelligent brother whom we had learnt to love, trust and admire. His name appears in the lists of people who were sentenced to death in the Salisbury High Court in 1975.

I escaped Death or even Life Imrisonment myself because I was 19 years old and it was assumed that I had been misled by the older people.

After my release I got a job as a Temporary Teacher at Mupamombe Primary School in the same Rimuka Township and I remember I was earning a healthy $59.75 per month.

I started in the Second Term and I hoped I would settle for a quiet uneventful life.

Sometime beginning of the Third Term, seven young Form One Students came to me and they said they wanted directions to go to Mozambique. I told them I was sure they needed to go to Malvenia and see from there. They asked me for financial assistance and I truthfully said I had none. I, however, wished them a safe journey and that was the last I heard from them.

On the 10^th of November (the same year 1975), Detective-Sergeant Zimani came to my Grade 5B Classroom with the Headmaster and I was told the Police needed me and could I get my jacket and everything. I was driven to Chakari Police Station where I spent exactly five weeks. Among the numerous visitors who periodically came to visit me was the same Nyamhuri who I had shared a cell with earlier in the year.

HERE IS WHERE I'M GOING TO:

On the 16^th of June, 1984, when I was now a District Secretary in ZANU-PF, I had to supervise the beating up of PF-ZAPU members and one of them was my same compatriot, Cde Nyamhuri. The full story of this particular black day is available in my “THE THOUGHTS AND MEMORIES OF A FORMER ZANU-PF CADRE” and the link thereof is available at www.finalpushzim.blogspot.com .

What made ZANU-PF members go on a rampage beating up and killing PF-ZAPU members? What made brother to turn against brother and children to turn against their parents etc etc??

I have related how the Rev Sithole's ZANU persecuted Dr Nkomo's ZAPU. Although there was some loose Alliance called the Patriotic Front, Mr Robert Mugabe (now heading ZANU) was so determined to lead the new Independent Zimbabwe. He fooled all who thought his Alliance with Nkomo was genuine.

There was great disappointment when Mugabe led ZANU to contest the Elections on its own in 1980.

He had made his task easier by assassinating a very respected Karanga General Josiah Magama Tongogara who was of the view that Mugabe and Nkomo should go into Zimbabwe as one united entity. The General held the ZAPU leader in high esteem and paid with his life for that posture.

FROM 1980 ONWARDS:

 It was so logical that Dr Joshua Nkomo and Mr Robert Mugabe should fight the Smith Regime as a one united front. At that time the battle was actually against the Internal Settlement Leader (Bishop Abel Muzorewa.)

The whites were contesting on their own for the 20 reserved seats. The 80 were “up for grabs” for the black Political Formations.

But to simple persons like myself, it would have been a wonderful climax if the Nationalist Movements were to share their victories together.

ALAS, ROBERT MUGABE HAD OTHER IDEAS!

Dr Nkomo's Campaign Team couldn't campaign in numerous areas.

Masvingo, Manicaland and many parts of Mashonaland. Many lost their lives. The situation became so bad Lord Soames was under pressure to disqualify Mugabe's ZANU-PF. In retrospect many wish he had done just that. But it would have been impossible to hold the Elections without Robert Mugabe.

ZANLA had left 4000 fighters in Mozambique who had not been declared at the Assembly Points and these would have destabilised the Elections of 1980 and whatever would come from them. So in spite of the violence, ZANU-PF was allowed to contest and “won” 57 seats, Dr Nkomo 20 with Muzorewa getting 3. The seats were given out using the proportional representation ie using the percentages of the votes gained.

But I later learnt that the ZAPU members and the ZIPRA combatants never really felt relaxed and happy in the new Zimbabwe. At that time ie 1981 to 1987, I was under the impression that ZAPU was a dangerous organisation which was plotting to “overthrow” Mugabe's ZANU-PF Government. Me as a Minister of the Gospel, I managed to talk to many ex-ZIPRA cadres who told me horrifying stories.

Many good persons were being locked up, ZAPU offices were being shut down all over the country.

The farms which the demobilised ex-ZIPRA Combatants had bought with their “De-mob” monies were confiscated by the State and even after the so-called “Unity Accord” of 1987, they have never been returned. These were called “Nitram Farms.”

The persecution of all of Mugabe's real or imaginary enemies during his 28 year reign of terror can never be fully quantified.

In my submission “IS ROBERT MUGABE THE MASTER-ASSASSIN” (refer www.bobchargesheet.blogspot.com), I tried to list all the persons I knew had been assassinated by Robert Mugabe's CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation.) I'm daily surprised by other additional names.

I had not listed Professor Masipula Sithole who allegedly had a heart attack while on a plane to the United States.

I had not listed Dr Swithun Mombeshora who had a very strange death. At that time we thought he just died in his sleep. Now we know more and I need to update my records.

WHY MUGABE CANNOT WIN THIS TIME:

The very cadres that Mugabe and ZANU-PF used in various evil and nefarious activities are too scattered this time. Some left the country due to the Economic hardships, some now support Tsvangirai's MDC, others support the Makoni-Mutambara Alliance and numerous are giving Interviews all over the world and a few like myself are blogging and are collecting information which heavily incriminates the same Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

Mugabe can never rig Elections this time and hope to get away with it. Within the most close networks are angry and disgruntled Operatives who were made to persecute their own friends, relatives etc. There is no Operative who doesn't have relations that suffered in one way or another during Mugabe's stranglehold on power.

The few that sing Mugabe's praises are the desperate ones who fear serious retribution in the event of another Government getting into power. These operate in difficult circumstances because their own colleagues leak vital information to the Opposition Forces hence making “Operations” very difficult, if not impossible.

How can MDC sypmathisers “rig” at 23 Polling Stations? Are we, therefore, alleging that those registered as ZANU-PF Polling Agents were actually MDC members?

That's very frightening!

So who is really ZANU-PF?

If members of the Politburo can break away just a month before a very vital Election, who is the committed ZANU-PF member?

In other words, can anyone be sure who supports Mugabe and who does not?

So how does Mugabe hope to win a re-run, if there is one? Does Mugabe not risk the danger of a worse loss?

Are Mugabe's advisers sincere? Or are they also Opposition sympathisers?

UNDERSTANDING THE ZIMBABWEAN PRESENT SITUATION:

After numerous Political Parties “fell” by the way-side, ZANU-PF made the blunder of being arrogant and complacent. It is important to mention that those that “fell by the wayside” were actually strangled by ZANU-PF.

Margaret Dongo, Chief Justice Enoch Dumbutshena, Edgar Tekere, Bishop Muzorewa etc etc. Graves were dug as their members were clubbed to death or were sent to other violent death.

Corruption then crept in and spread like a cancer.

When Cde Edgar Tekere mentioned in a Politburo Meeting that “we are getting too corrupt”, the reply was: “You see that door.....leave through it and form your own Political Party.” He did form ZUM and what happened to Cde Kombayi and numerous others is there for all to read.

Please go to my www.finalpushzim.blogspot.com and look for “APPEAL TO ALL JOURNALISTS AND WRITERS”, and “THE THOUGHTS AND MEMORIES OF A FORMER ZANU-PF CADRE.”

Mugabe was now a “Demi-God” who could neither be advised nor even approached by anyone. His own relatives, Phillip Chiyangwa, Leo Mugabe etc became filthy rich while the generality of the populace sank into deeper and deeper poverty. State funds were diverted to non-productive and dangerous adventures. The DRC war.... the Pay-outs to angry Ex-Combatants, the “Gracelands” projects by Grace Marufu-Goreraza-Marufu...... the list is endless!

When the Movement for Democratic Change was formed, then Mugabe and ZANU-PF decided to take the most risky leap ever taken....in the dark!

HOW THE “LAND GRAB” BECAME THE VERY LAST STRAW!

I was an Accounting Officer (Revenue) in the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority when the “Land Grab” began. As o former Credit Controller in the same Organisation, I knew who our “Big Customers” were. Farmers, Mining Companies and other big Industrialists gave us the big revenue.

Farmers had their own Transformers and used millions of Kilowatt-hours (Units.)

When the “Land Grab” began, revenue fell drammatically. ZESA never became the same after that. Remember many “big” customers were paying in Foreign Currency , if it was known they exported certain products eg beef products, flowers etc etc.

With the collapse of the Commercial Farmers, everything then followed like that Domino Set-up! Centres suplying farmers with implements also collpsed. Banket Farmers' Centre, Chinhoyi Agricultural Supplies etc etc. Each town had closures. Norton lost Farmers' Centres. So did Kadoma. Name every city and town!

The Cold Storage Commissions around the country closed for lack of beef products. My fellow-contrymen who had gone into the farms were selling beef at black market places and had no regard for business acumen since they had “inherited” the farms with all the beasts etc for free! All that was there to do was to thank Mugabe and ZANU-PF for the “Third Chimurenga.”

The Dairy Marketing Commissions closed down. No-one brought megalitres of milk. The new farmers were sitting on stools and milking just enough for their families. No bulk deliveries to town. The little that was being sold in towns was being sold at market stalls. Nothing much to talk about!

The Commercial Banks were holding numerous title deeds as Security for short-term and long-term loans that the Commercial farmers taken to supply their ventures with financial injections. Overnight they lost millions as Mugabe declared those Title Deeds just equal in value to “toilet paper.” Who knows how much was lost by the Banks due to this misguided “Revolutionary” move?

The new farmers who took over the farms were mainly “Cell Phone” administrators who did not live full-time on the land. Whenever they bought, say, fertilizer, they never knew if their Farm Managers used that fertilizer or actually sold it at cheaper prices and pocketing the ready cash. Which farmer can succeed if they send inputs and implements and not supervise how they are used?

Fuel that was sold to the new farmers at ridiculously low prices never reached the said farms.

The new farmers found it far more profitable to re-sell it to transport operators rather than take it hundreds of kilometres to their farms.

The whole tragedy that sorrounded the “Land Grab” can never be fully revealed.

It is not fully true that “Sanctions” are the only ones to blame for the Economic Crisis in Zimbabwe. The factors are so numerous, what's required for Zimbabwe is a completely new start!

The strongest ZANU-PF supporter knows that Mugabe and ZANU-PF can never preside over the re-construction of the country's Economy.

THE CONCLUSION:

I rarely have a formal conclusion in all my submissions.

This one, however, deserves a proper conclusion.

As I write this submission, its Sunday 13^th Apriland I'm receiving SMS's from Zimbabwe and from around the world. Those in Zimbabwe inform that Mugabe's last card is to replace the genuine Ballot Papers with those already printed which have the same serial numbers as the ones previously counted.

It works like this:

If an MDC supporter was given Ballot number BX 14567 and voted for the MDC, a new Ballot Paper with the number BX 14567 must be thrown into the Ballot Box with an “X” for ZANU-PF and the original one (which had an “X” for the MDC) destroyed.

No new Ballot Papers can be added otherwise it would destabilise the original total.

This is completely stupid, though, because the Information is already being circulated. Otherwise how else would I know about it from here in South Africa?

But it is incredible to believe that with the rigorous checking and cross-checking, it would have been possible for 23 Polling Stations ( or even one) to make a gross error where a certain number of votes could have been passed as Tsvangirai's yet they were actually Mugabe's.

The allegation means that all the four Boxes were miscounted. It implies that the alleged 23 Polling Stations; the votes for the President, for the Member of Parliament, for the Senator and for the Councillor were all miscounted.

All this happening (allegedly) in the presence of the candidate for ZANU-PF (who can never be absent), the candidates of the other parties, the Polling Officers, the Presiding Officer, the ZEC representative, the ZESN representative and the visitors from other “friendly countries.”

This allegedly happened at not one but 23 Polling Stations!

This allegedly happened in Zimbabwe where the State Officials normally support ZANU-PF.

This allegedly happened with the help of the Foreign observers.

So one can as well allege that it happened in all the 9000 Polling Stations. Who can dispute that?

At what stage were the anomalies discovered? After the results had been signed for and the results posted outside the Polling Stations? Then for four full days, nobody had noticed it? Then someone checked the figures of the 9000 Polling Stations and discovered that there 23 which were suspect?

Are there more to come?

Which idiot in the whole wide world would believe that trash?

If we expect to receive Donor Confidence to re-build our country, why engage in desperate tactics?

If we hope for Investor Confidence, why sink to such low levels?

AS EVERY SINCERE OBSERVER AND ANALYST KNOWS, THIS TIME MUGABE HAS FOUGHT THE BATTLE HE HAS NOT ONLY LOST......BUT CAN NEVER, EVER WIN. THIS DOES NOT MEAN HE WAS WINNING FAIR AND SQUARE EVER BEFORE.

ONLY THIS TIME THE MACHINERY LEAKS (AS BROTHER WILF MBANGA ONCE OBSERVED) LIKE A SIEVE!

Respectfully submitted,

Rev Mufaro Stig Hove.

www.zimfinalpush.blogspot.com