This press release just received from the Student’s Solidarity Trust.

Relentless onslaught on students!

In clear testament to its autocratic perfectionism, the Harare regime has continued on its sustained warpath on students in Zimbabwe.

In a shocking development, the riot police caused mayhem and pandemonium on the University of Zimbabwe on the night of the 24th of April, beating up students indiscriminately and firing teargas into the halls of residence.

The beatings and arrests were informed by students campaigning for posts in the coming SEC elections.

Apparently 7 student leaders were arrested and detained by the police, and were severely beaten.

This move is unprecedented, and speaks volumes of the intolerance levels of this regime, denying students their democratic choice to seek political office is the highest form of academic barbarism, and should be condemned at all costs.

Meanwhile the National University has again summoned student leaders for another hearing. The students have been summoned to another student disciplinary hearing with fresh charges on the demonstration they held on compass in February. This is follows their first hearing on the 28th March where they were charged with demonising the Government and the Vice Chancellor of NUST.

While they were awaiting verdict on their first hearing, they were this week summoned to yet another hearing with fresh charges against them. Letters sent by the University Admissions and student records read

• Contravening section 3.2.1 of Ordinance 30 - the charge being unlawfully and intentionally engaging in conduct which was reasonably likely to be harmful to the interest of the university by displaying violence by word or act towards of the security at NUST.
• Contravening Section 3.1.4. of Ordinance 30- unlawfully and intentionally engaged in conduct which was reasonably likely to be harmful to the interest of the university, by actively associating yourself with a group of persons who threw stones at the entrance of the main administration block, thereby destroying property of the university.

“You are therefore requested t o appear for a disciplinary hearing scheduled for the 2nd of May 2006 at 0830hrs” reads one of the letters to the four students. The university is likely to expel students seeing their quest to change charges into more serious ones.

The heightened and sustained attack on students comes at a time when the Zimbabwe National Students Union is organising for a historic congress, which will be mandated to elect a new leadership into office. The new leadership will be tasked to reclaim the space that students had lost. Students should now be in a position to echo the demands of downtrodden nation and should lead from the front, alongside the suffering workers, the weary peasants and the unemployed youths, in the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe. Long live the Union!

Read SST press releases relating to events in March here.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, students, University of Zimbabwe, university, riot police, human rights, justice

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Reading the papers in Zimbabwe is an interesting exercise, always.

I have a new hero, and if this guy started a political party I would be the first to join! This is the best anti-government protest staged in Zim for many a year!! (via AndNetwork.com)

A man has appeared in court in Zimbabwe`s second city, Bulawayo, charged with stealing a hearse. Fortune Maphosa pleaded guilty to stealing the hearse on Monday when he appeared in a magistrate court on theft charges in Zimbabwe`s second city.

Maphosa stole the empty vehicle from a funeral parlour but abandoned it when he ran out of fuel, the court heard. Fuel is not readily available in Zimbabwe due to the long running economic crisis facing the country.

When questioned of his action, Maphosa told a stunned magistrate Kholwani Mangena he stole the vehicle to dramatise Zimbabwe`s current hardship.

As evidence goes, the judge might not be impressed by this explanation.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, protest, action

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This week I was amazed at the level of horror that has become a normal part of daily life here in this country in a report from the usually pro government mouthpiece, the Chronicle. At times they actually do report the truth and I was horrified to have verified our housekeeper’s tale that the police were rounding up the many people who have been forced to resort to life on the street by the ineptitude of our so called leaders.

Blind beggars, street kids, mentally ill individuals, many of whom are in the last throes of AIDS, starving destitutes, from small kids to geriatrics, were thrown into the cells in a bid to clean up the city for Trade Fair 2006 – the non event of the year. These “criminals” were apparently released after a couple of days for the cops have neither the budget nor the resources to feed them.

Trade Fair used to be an event we all looked forward to because the city would get its annual spruce up in its preparation, traffic increased to a buzzing level and visitors would bring a different energy to our sleepy home, arriving from all over the world to exhibit their wares. Kids would race to the Luna Park with its rides and candy floss and there was always the end of the fair’s music festival.

This year the Fair is but another sad reminder of what could have and should have been, and yet another opportunity for the bullies in power to mete out punishment on the country’s persecuted and impoverished citizens.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, poverty, street children, homeless, AIDS, Trade Fair

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I recently travelled through the rural areas south east of Bulawayo and it soon became apparent that there were a number of things that were in stark contrast to the last time I was there, some two years ago.

There was virtually no livestock and the grass resembled a well conserved cattle ranch. There were a number of Kraals lying empty and abandoned.

There were very few young adults around.

Virtually no road traffic bar one car from Botswana.

The beerhalls seemed to be fairly empty and the business centres quiet.

Many of the maize fields were devoid of crops and relatively little land was cultivated despite the above average rainy season.

However, the few locals I did see were very friendly and waved a welcome where ever we went.

The reasons seemed obvious … the consequencs of the misrule of the Mugabe regime … unemployment, emigration, little or no seed and fertiliser and poor health care.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, Mugabe

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How I wish that I could slip down a hole at the bottom of the garden to escape the reality of Zimbabwe, 2006. Alas, no luck for us Zimbabweans, for ours is a deep, dark hole, one that allows no escape, for our chasm’s slippery sides prevent any exit to the path of freedom.

Was Alice’s dream world, with reality turned upside down, a nightmare or a reflection of the real world? Zimbabwe, like Wonderland, is a place where Queens can move swiftly and freely, kings move (and do) very little, and Alice, as a pawn, moves steadily straight ahead.

Allow me to indulge my inner life of fantasy and visit a land where knaves are rightfully imprisoned, evil kings dethroned, goodness abounds … enter this land of harmony with me.

“WonderZim – A Land that Could Have Been…”

I woke up early this morning to make sure I got a good seat at the stadium to proudly celebrate Zim’s 26th Birthday bash. The city’s spotless streets were abuzz with excitement for 26 years on, what an amazing place we live in.

Our freedom hero, rgm, stepped down from power six years ago paving the way for true multi-party democracy in this jewel nation of ours. We are a beacon of hope for the rest of our continent, a model for all to emulate. True to his word, our honourable ex-head of government created a nation of peace and harmony.

Free health and education, housing for all, jobs for all, a thriving economy, our agricultural sector a shining example of shared skills with an effective plan put in place to ensure land for all, backed up with great infrastructure and support services. The economy is vibrant, our streets are packed with tourists, many here to share a great line up of musicians and entertainers from the length and breadth of Africa to be followed by the football challenge of the year.

Children, linked arm in arm, skipped down the street as I passed them by, spontaneously breaking into song to celebrate their love for their country. Their fat, shiny faces a symbol of hope reflecting our country’s health and prosperity.

At the stadium, I finally made it, after hours spent in the carnival mood of long winding traffic to the main arena. The atmosphere was electric for the rest of the world’s cameras were there to record Africa’s quintessential success story. Messages of congratulation poured in from every corner of the planet ensuring our place in history as the African nation that marked the end of tyranny on our continent. Democracy groups, civil rights groups, every group dedicated to the dream of social equality and progress was there.

It was a party to beat all parties, the people of Zimbabwe united, regardless of colour, creed or race, regardless of political affiliation, age or social standing.

I love my Zimbabwe, how proud I am.

THE DREAM ENDS HERE, NOW FOR A REALITY CHECK… ZIMBABWE 2006

• Inflation – highest in the world at over 900%
• Health care – collapsed
• Education – all but collapsed
• Unemployment – highest in the world at over 80%
• Housing – destroyed at whim
• Agriculture – breadbasket to basket case
• Independence Day Celebrations - what’s to celebrate?

But, it was fun to dream…

Ever drifting down the stream –
Lingering in the golden gleam –
Life, what is it but a dream?

Lewis Carroll

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Zimbabwe has a history of violence, in both the public and the private sphere. Pre-colonial narratives disclose on-going conflict within clans over succession, and between clans over the process of state-building. The nineteenth century brought invasions by Zulu off-shoots and the occupation of the western part of the country by Mzilikazi’s Ndebele, followed by European invasion and conquest. Violence became the instrument again to dislodge coercive settler rule and achieve independence with majority rule in 1980. By 1980, Zimbabweans could hope for a peaceful development, but too many had learned a fearful lesson - power is gained and retained by the use of force. The use of state perpetrated violence as a political weapon has marred our post-independence history and deprived us of the opportunity to establish a democracy based on the will of the people.

The private sphere is less transparent, but few would dispute that violence is also prevalent in our personal relationships and in our institutions, whether it take the form of domestic disputes, disciplining of children, or sexual assaults on young girls and women.

The effects of violence and torture on human beings, whether it occurs in the public sphere, perpetrated by political enemies or state institutions, or whether it occurs within families, has been well documented by research in many countries. While some personalities are less affected, many bear deep scars which cripple their ability to form normal relationships throughout their lives. Unable to trust other people, the victims, traumatized and often emotionally disabled, live with suppressed anxieties and fears, while the perpetrators’ guilt and their memories of what they have done to others leads all too often to mental disturbance.

We are talking here not just of the effect on the victims; perpetrators of violence, too, are affected. Violence takes two, just like the tango. But violence in Zimbabwe does not conform to the classic dance routine. The normal, right-side-up and justice-based version of violence in fairy tales and mythology presents us with the evil, ugly (often male) perpetrator, who ravishes the innocent, beautiful (usually female) victim. The perpetrator is punished, the victim is rescued by prince charming, and equilibrium is restored.

That is the fairy tale. The Zimbabwean reality is quite different - in fact the very opposite. In Zimbabwe, the perpetrator is excused, if not glorified. It is the victim who is blamed for not avoiding the violence. Whether it is a girl who is raped (she should not have been there, or have tempted the perpetrator), a child who is beaten (he was disobedient), a wife who is thrown out of the house (she was a witch, or she did not serve her husband well enough), a white farmer beaten to a pulp (his ancestors stole the land and he didn’t give it back), or the tortured opposition member (he was working against a legitimate government) - the perpetrator is blameless. It is the victim who is seen to have caused the violence. In the public sphere, we have had amnesty after amnesty excusing perpetrators of unspeakable brutality and cruelty performed in the name of the state or of a political party. Domestic violence is routinely dismissed or ignored not only by the police who receive reports, but also by family members who try to persuade a woman that to be a victim is her destiny.

How did violence become so deeply ingrained in our culture, our relations with each other and our relations with the state? And how can the victims be held responsible? Is there no obligation on the perpetrator to stay his hand, to contain his emotions, and to find peaceful ways to resolve disputes?

Apparently we approve of physical force to achieve, not tranquility, but submission. And this lesson is learned, not first in the political or public sphere; it is learned initially in the home. Most children experience violence first in the home, then in the school. At home many - not all of course - witness violence between adults, most frequently perpetrated by their fathers against their mothers. They learn that it is acceptable; it is the privilege of the perpetrator and must be suffered and tolerated by the victims. Not because the perpetrator is right, but because he has the power. A substantial number of girl children experience sexual assault from early ages; they learn to suffer and to keep silent. And almost all children are “disciplined” by physical beating. By the time they reach school they are well socialized to accept beating, pinching, and slapping by teachers, which not infrequently becomes unacceptably abusive, intended to humiliate and rob a child of his dignity rather than to punish. Children learn to become victims of superior force backed up by the authority of a revered institution.

The next step in their socialization for violence is even more frightening - they are taught to become perpetrators of violence. This occurs in the training of police, where the young people are told that they must have the civilian beaten out of them. But it also takes place in some of the “best” of our secondary schools, particularly boys schools. The “prefect system”, passed down from the English “public school”, the molder of colonial officials, requires senior pupils, rather than teachers, to become responsible for the discipline of younger boys. Their duty is not to be leaders by example, by creativity and by sensitivity; their duty is to punish. They are permitted to exert considerable brutality, humiliating younger children by forcing them into uncomfortable positions, crawling on gravel on hands and knees, carrying heavy bricks. School administrations with little understanding of the means of developing leadership and morality support the prefects in the name of school discipline. There is little protection for the victimized. In one prominent religious boys secondary school a headmaster recently told his pupils that they must not report to their parents if they are punished by prefects; those who do have been further victimized. Where are the checks which would prevent the system from becoming abusive? What are these boys learning, both prefects and their victims? They are learning that there is no justice, that brutality and sadism rule. They are learning that when it is your turn to be victim, take the medicine and be quiet, and wait until it’s your turn to perpetrate violence yourself. You will get back at those who tortured you by torturing other innocents. Boys at this particular school in the junior forms will complain about their treatment, but those in the senior forms will tell you it’s all right “because we were treated like that”. Do as was done to you, not as you would like others to do to you.

We should not be surprised then that the experience of the family and the school is carried over smoothly into the public sphere. We are a nation of victims and perpetrators of violence. When we are not in power we will be abused and suffer injustices. When we see that we are being exploited and cheated by those holding political power we will shrug our shoulders and say “what can we do?” But when we get our own chance, we will be every bit as brutal as those who tortured us. How else do we explain the ministers who sit happily at the cabinet table with those who tortured them a generation ago? Victims of trumped-up “arms cache” charges preside over the same fabrications against others twenty years later. They seal their lips, keep quiet about their own mistreatment, and allow the torture of others.

As a people our solution to all conflicts is not to seek justice, to instill respect for human dignity and protect the powerless. Our solution is to resort to the coercion which is allowed by unrestricted power, a coercion which robs both victim and perpetrator of their ability to respect each other. We teach our children in our homes and in our schools that the powerful rule, with brutality if they choose; the weak must not offend them or provoke, for there is no justice, no reconciliation, only an endless chain joining one cohort to the next - first we become victims, then violators.

Are we surprised that our political life is plagued by violence and coercion? We shouldn’t be; it is all one seemless garment. Once we accept that human beings can be humiliated and abused we take on the roles, depending on our status in a given situation. Ian Smith taught us that only superior violence could dislodge a recalcitrant undemocratic regime; but once that regime was dislodged, we continued to allow violence to be the ultimate determinant in our political relationships. We simply took over the machinery from our predecessors and turned it on each other.

This is our heritage; will it also become our future? Is it possible to change? How do we build a democratic society, where many voices are heard, where persuasion and enlightenment prevail to create a political consensus, not violence and submission? It is not easy, given such a legacy. Those who are cowed, as are most Zimbabweans today, would rather suffer in silence than raise their voices in their institutions or march in the streets to exercise their rights. Journalists write about street protests as if they were inevitably violent, failing to understand the non-violent nature of civil disobedience. The present political opposition has seen that the violent way has brought disaster, and have vowed this time to dislodge a tyrannical regime through non-violent action. But they cannot resist using violence and intimidation (the threat of violence) themselves; they already seek to use coercion to establish hegemony in what they consider their own territory. Is it the only way they know? Have they not yet understood that the democracy and social justice which they claim to espouse cannot be built through coercion?

Change is always possible, but it takes a great amount of commitment and effort by those who wish to eliminate this culture of intimidation - violence on the one side and fear and submission on the other. It is, however, necessary, unless we are prepared to continue to replace one cycle with another of the same, with new perpetrators and new victims each time around. What can be done?

The most important thing is for political leaders to speak for non-violence, to practice it within their own organizations, to teach their followers the discipline of non-violence and to punish those who depart from its principles. And then they must go further, to teach them democratic and non-violent means of political organization; loyalties need to be built by open policy debate, argument and persuasion, in order to create a new politics that depends not just on tribe or personality and artificial unities, but binds people on the basis of ideas, and commitment to just solutions by leaders who respect others as human beings.

The day has not yet come for a public reckoning in which those who have brought suffering and confusion to our nation will be held to account. But some day it has to happen. We allowed the Rhodesian government and their adherents to go free for the sake of independence; we allowed the perpetrators of gukuhurundi to go free because we were forced to submit to them; we have so far allowed the perpetrators of violence against the MDC to go free. Only those who commit violence against members of ZANU PF are called to account. The impunity must come to an end. If we are ever to end the acceptability of public violence as a political instrument, people who promote it have to be punished, and punished publicly. That is the beginning. It will have to be accompanied by steps to build a political culture based on respect for difference, and the development of skills and commitment to peaceful methods of conflict resolution.

But what about our socialization as young people? What about the violence and abuse in our homes and our schools? It is important that we also deal with these problems, to stop our youth from learning to become victims and perpetrators at a young age. Violence in our institutions can only be effectively dealt with over a period of time, with the lead being taken by a government that itself eschews violence. Government must create the moral leadership which makes abuse in the schools unacceptable socially and legally. There are already strict controls on physical punishment in schools, but they are largely ignored by staff and administration, and parents who complain on behalf of their children find their children further victimized. This attitude can only be stamped out by a Ministry of Education committed to do so and by creating a framework for whistle blowing and complaints that will not punish the complainant. The same applies to violence in the home. It requires a cultural change, which comes slowly, and will only take place if a public mood which condemns violence is created by social and political leaders, who then introduce legislation and enforcement measures to reduce it.

For the moment we continue, entrapped in our various cycles of violence. Those who dream of an early political change to rescue us from this tragedy, need to study carefully how deeply all this abuse and the trauma it causes is embedded in society, and commit themselves to a long-term programme of social change. The peace-builders have a great deal of work to do. They must not only heal the wounds of past violence; they must also show the people that violence of any kind, whether public or private, degrades a human being, whether he is victim or perpetrator. Only when we are prepared to change some of these essential elements of our culture will we be in a position to take meaningful strides towards a peaceful Zimbabwe based on justice, not power.

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Technorati Tags: sexual assault, torture, Domestic violence, Zimbabwe, Independence, violence

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It’s 5.30am. Tomorrow is Easter Friday. I have been awake for hours reflecting back to Easter 2005. Resurrection, new life, hope (false hope maybe, but hope all the same) - these were things we had at this time last year as we were preparing for elections which took place on 31 March. The chance of a fair election was as slim as a pin, but we had an opportunity to vote and we were all united against the regime. Does anyone out there remember ‘Freedom Day’? How ironic and cruel it all seems now.

So another year on and where are we now? The opposition party has become self involved with in-house fighting while the dictator (remember our common enemy?) builds ground, not in the manner that is strengthening our country, but in a way that is further oppressing the people. It does not matter who is right and who is wrong, the fact remains that the MDC has neutralised themselves. We now head into elections with three contesting parties instead of two. We are no longer one strong force against the regime but have taken to turning against each other instead. The good, the bad and the ugly? Or is it the good, the good, and the ugly? For years a new leader was promoted and now the same people who spent their energy promoting, have changed direction.

Zimbabweans are left confused. Trust is broken.

Looking back a year in time for me just brings feeling of anger and disappointment. To hear comments like there is no ‘short term’ solution just adds salt to the wound. mugabe celebrates 26 years of ‘independence’ next week (another ironic dagger given that the anniversary is the day after Easter Monday). Where does ‘short term’ come into this picture? Some say that we would be hypocrites to replace one dictator with another, but is it not hypocritical to have given hope and then taken it away? Was it all just a waste of time? Have I just been blindly naive?

Everyone knows that politics is a dirty game - there is no room for idealism. After all, what is democracy if its not 51% of the people telling the other 49% what to do? Politics is about compromise, which is where the opposition has slipped off the rails. The people who promote themselves as our leaders should consider the fact that we do not have 10, 5 or even 2 years to start again. Both sides of the opposition (how ridiculous does that sound!) have lost yet another battle. People are dying NOW! Hope is fading fast.

As I write this, I know that this is the way it is but still I cannot end on such a negative note.

I am very tired. But we have to have hope.

Technorati Tags: Easter, Freedom, MDC, mugabe, independence, Zimbabwe

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A friend of mine works in Bulawayo as a Domestic worker and earns a salary of 1,5 million. His nine month old son is very ill the other side of Kezi towards the Botswana border. My friend’s elderly mother took the child to the local hospital but there were no medicines there. She then took the child to a mission where a foreign doctor helped her - the child was there in bed for two weeks. The child is now back at home with her but he is still very ill. My friend is worried that his child might have AIDS. He borrowed some money from his employer and is leaving to go home to see the child. The bus fare will be over half a million dollars. He plans to try and find the same doctor to find out exactly what is the problem. He says that he has very little information and is desperate to know what is wrong with his child. His worst fear is that perhaps the child is dying and no one wants to tell him. My friend is desperate. He wants to bring the child to town where he can look after him but is worried that if the child dies in town that it will be very costly. He is also angry and keeps saying that he can’t understand what has happened to Zimbabwe and what happened to the times when everyone had everything, food, jobs, medicines and good doctors and nurses. Mugabe has ruined everything!!!

Technorati Tags: AIDS, Zimbabwe, mugabe, health, inflation, poverty

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Of all the millions of Zimbabweans who have fallen victim to ZANU PF mis-rule the malnourished children under the age of five must surely rank as the most pathetic. They cry from hunger and deprivation, and the cries rend the hearts of their mothers, or if already orphaned, the hearts of their stand-in mothers, who have little or no food to give them. But because they are the most vulnerable group of all and have no means of collectively giving voice to the deep anguish they feel, their individual cries go unheard by those who could make a difference - the ruling politicians and their apparatchiks.

Be silent Zimbabweans, and listen - with care !
Can you not hear the cries of the little ones
condemned by your inhumanity to die of starvation,
or, at the least, never to reach their God-given potential -
rather to live stunted half-lives ?
Can you not hear the cries of the little ones -
for mercy ?
Not to mention justice.

One group of professionals who are alert to the tragedy is the country’s paediatricians and health care workers who have the daily task of tending the severely malnourished and often dying little ones. At a recent workshop in Harare organized by Doctors for Human Rights a number of papers were presented by practitioners who are deeply troubled by current trends resulting from the crisis levels of poverty and food deprivation and the regime’s refusal to engage seriously with the issue. One paper was entitled “Severe child malnutrition: an unnecessary and avoidable crisis”.

The problem is not a new one, but it is growing. A study carried out at a Harare hospital in 2003-4 showed that 55 per cent of children admitted then were suffering from malnutrition. Since that time the regime has significantly reduced the amount of feeding the international community is permitted to do through the World Food Programme and its local agencies, and in May 2005 it embarked on the notorious Operation Murambatsvina, dubbed “a catastrophic injustice … to Zimbabwe’s poorest citizens” by none other than Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations. At the same time, as agricultural production within the country has plummeted to all-time lows, the regime has failed conspicuously to import anything like the quantity of maize required to compensate for the deficit and feed the population. The result has been a predictable intensification of the suffering, especially of vulnerable groups like the under-fives.

One experienced nutritionist has put it this way:

“I contend that towards its citizens under the age of five, the Zimbabwe government is showing no lesser degree of disregard, considering their basic needs, than towards the victims of Operation Murambatsvina”.

For a number of reasons it is difficult to chart the increase in the phenomenon of severe child malnutrition, or indeed child deaths due to this cause, across the nation. ZANU PF politicians are in denial. They have no wish for the truth to be known and have therefore deliberately obstructed health officials who have sought to record the relevant statistics. One has only to recall how Jonathan Moyo when Minister of Information fulminated against the officials of the Bulawayo City Council’s Health Department for daring to record in a professional manner the basic data on deaths related to malnutrition, and one realizes just how sensitive the issue is to the ruling party. And apart from political interference there are other factors making any scientific assessment practically impossible. There are the number of child deaths in remote rural areas which go unrecorded. The majority of victims are not even taken to the country’s hospitals and clinics because the mothers or mother substitutes are often too poor to afford the transport fares. Add to this the masking effect of the AIDS epidemic, with about a quarter of the population HIV-positive, and the difficulty in accurately charting the national increase in child deaths due to malnutrition can be seen to be almost insurmountable. As one Bulawayo surgeon quoted in the Sunday Times observed:

“Put simply, people are dying of AIDS before they can starve to death.”

Of necessity therefore and for the time being, the evidence is somewhat patchy and incomplete. Much of it is anecdotal. This is no reason however to dismiss the harrowing accounts of suffering and such provisional assessments as those who are in the front line of the battle to save lives, have so far been able to provide. After all the children concerned are dying now, and it may take many years and the removal of the present regime, before the full extent of the tragedy becomes apparent to all. We cannot wait that long to sound the alarm. If we did we might well find ourselves in the sort of deep crisis the people in Rwanda or Darfur found themselves in before the international community began to respond.

Much of the following information was provided at the Doctors for Human Rights’ workshop referred to above. The balance was given anecdotally by busy medical practitioners whom our reporters were able to consult.

• On a snap one day survey at one of Zimbabwe’s largest hospitals 7 out of 8 children admitted were severely malnourished.
• Over 60 per cent of children under the age of 12 admitted to the same hospital are now there because of severe malnutrition.
• In a ward of 102 children 67 were found to be suffering with some form of malnutrition. Paediatric wards have been turned into malnutrition wards.
• Records of major hospitals in both Bulawayo and Harare confirm that malnutrition is now the prime cause of deaths among children.
• Among the under-fives admitted for treatment for severe malnutrition the mortality rate is 46 per cent in Harare. The corresponding figure in Bulawayo is 25 per cent.
• Of those malnourished child patients who die 46 per cent die within seven days of admission. In other words they were admitted too late to be saved.
• Of the children admitted to the malnutrition unit at Mpilo Hospital, Bulawayo, between April and July 2005, 62 per cent were HIV-positive.
• Deaths of malnourished children in the HIV-positive category (76 per cent) far exceeds those in the HIV-negative category (8 per cent)

Among the paediatricians whom we were able to consult there was a broad consensus that the problem of child malnutrition showed a marked increase in the last quarter of 2005. A comparison of the numbers of admissions of children suffering from severe malnutrition at Mpilo Hospital for example over the period October to December 2004 and over the corresponding period the following year, reveals an increase of nearly one hundred per cent. In simple terms the numbers doubled between 2004 and 2005. The doctors themselves were of the view that the increase could be attributed in large measure to the final cessation of the general NGO feeding programmes (by order of the regime) in April 2005, it taking about six months for the full effects of that stoppage to be felt. No doubt Operation Murambatsvina which started in May 2005 also contributed to the increasing levels of food deprivation. Much of the malnutrition is now urban-based, which is a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe and supports the thesis that the so-called “clean-up” operation was a major contributor.

Interestingly one Bulawayo doctor observed that among the parents or relatives bringing the severely malnourished children to hospital for treatment in recent months many were not dressed like “the very poor”. The inference drawn from this fact was that the relatives were not long-term destitute persons but rather were recently impoverished. This points to the “Murambatsvina factor”.

The severe restrictions placed upon the NGOs feeding programmes also had an adverse effect upon the medical rehabilitation of under-fives. Prior to the imposition of these restrictions and while NGOs were still able to supply clinics with such nutritious foods as the corn/soya blend, hospitals could discharge patients after successful treatment with some confidence that they would continue to receive the necessary quantities of nutritious foods they required. From April 2005 this was no longer the case. Clinics were often lacking the food supplies needed to provide the after-care and to help restore the nutritional deficits previously detected in the children, and so mothers stopped taking them there. It is not known how many children brought back from the brink of death by hospital intervention have subsequently relapsed due to food deprivation attributable to this cause.

Given the gravity of the situation some might wonder why we are not yet seeing significant numbers of “skin and bone” children such as were memorably recorded by television cameras during the drought and famine in the Sahel. This raises an important point which needs to be understood by all who have a concern for the under-fives. As one senior nutritionist explained, there are basically two ways of assessing whether the amount of food available to children is nutritionally sufficient. The first enquires, is it sufficient to keep them alive? The second, is it sufficient for them to reach their physiological potential?

The former criterion is employed in emergency relief situations such as occurred in the Sahel, and more recently in Darfur. The latter is the criterion that Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health has employed over very many years, and obviously the one doctors concerned with children’s issues would prefer to see adopted in non-emergency situations.

In the former case the standard method of measurement is body weight against height. Only those children therefore in whom height and weight are out of proportion are labeled as malnourished. A glance at such a child reveals his skinny, or wasted, condition. This is the classic mark of an acute nutritional emergency.

On the other hand if the yardstick is the child’s physiological potential a different measurement is used, namely body weight for chronological age.

The Zimbabwe Ministry of Health has designed a standard weight-for-age card for under-fives, thereby signaling its intention of charting children’s actual weight development against their growth potential. The internationally accepted range within which healthy development takes place is demarcated on this card by percentiles: the 3rd and 97th percentiles are set down as the outer marks which should not be exceeded. Given a healthy environment and sufficient caloric intake 94 per cent of children would develop along a percentile somewhere between these extremes, most of them clustered around the 50th percentile. By plotting weight-for-age on these cards it immediately becomes clear whether there is cause for concern about the child’s health.

If children’s weight is recorded in relation to their height, however, this may easily be missed. The point is that the growth rate of children for both weight and height can and does adjust to conditions of long-term food deprivation (low calorie intake) by reducing so that sufficient nutrients are available. The end result is a child who is both too light and too short for his age, but since height and weight are still proportionate the child “looks ok”. To the casual observer there is no problem here, nothing to suggest a nutritional deficiency. Only by enquiring the child’s age and comparing weight-for-age against an accepted norm is it possible to ascertain that he is lagging behind that norm - and this is exactly what the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health’s weight-for-age card for under-fives does.

The obvious question then for those concerned with the wellbeing of our children is whether the yardstick adopted by the Ministry of Health, which measures a child’s growth potential against actual growth, is the appropriate one for under-fives in Zimbabwe.

From a nutritionist’s point of view, and also in consideration of every child’s basic human right to adequate nutritious food, the answer must be a resounding “Yes!”. Such a right has long been recognized by the international community and by Zimbabwe. To quote the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 24 sub-section 2(b)),

“State parties will take appropriate measures to combat disease and malnutrition through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water.”

Or again to quote the International Covenant on Economics, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11(1)),

“The State parties …recognize the right of every one to an adequate standard of living for himself (herself) and his (her) family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The State parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right …”

Zimbabwe ratified this Covenant on 13 May 1991.

It would be wrong therefore, not only in a moral sense but also in a legal sense, to wait until an emergency situation arises and large numbers of skeletal figures start presenting for treatment. The crisis is already upon us and requires an urgent response.

Studies undertaken on under-fives in Matabeleland in 2002 revealed that malnutrition was then below the emergency threshold. However it is important to point out two things in relation to these findings. First, they were based on the acute nutritional emergency criterion which ignores the actual-against-potential growth factor, which the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health itself, at least in the past, was committed not to leave out of account. And second, between 2002 when the studies were done and 2006 subsistence farmers in Matabeleland have had to contend with a succession of poor, and sometimes very poor, harvests due to insufficient rainfall. Food availability has declined in a corresponding way and the people have been forced to adopt all sorts of survival strategies to cope.

Moreover in 2003 NGOs were playing a vital role in providing maize, beans and cooking oil which was of general benefit to the whole community. School feeding points had been established for children and extra mealie meal and beans were being provided for pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers. The recipients were heavily dependent on these feeding programmes. Yet in mid 2004, against all the future projections of experienced relief workers from the United Nations and the donor community, the regime declared that it was expecting a “bumper harvest”. On this pretext Robert Mugabe ordered international food donors out of the country and terminated a UN food survey which was then under way. The bumper harvest was of course totally illusory. On the contrary, and as firmly predicted by UN officials, Zimbabwe soon ran into a severe deficit of cereal grains, which it has only managed to offset minimally by the regime’s own efforts to import from the region. We have already alluded to the devastating impact of the restrictions imposed on donor food aid. The significantly increased number of young children presenting at Zimbabwe’s major hospitals towards the end of 2005 and subsequently with varying degrees of malnutrition is but one instance of this.

Malnutrition studies on under-fives based on actual-against- potential growth are few and far between. There is an urgent need for this kind of research, though finding qualified practitioners with the time to do it and then overcoming the regime’s natural reluctance to allow research in such a politically sensitive field, mitigate strongly against it. Such limited and informal studies however as have been undertaken, in rural Matabeleland for instance, tend to suggest that a significant number of children are experiencing episodes of static weight or actual weight loss. One study shown to us in which weight development of a random sample of under-fives was tracked from February 2003 to February 2006 revealed that nearly a third of those monitored had experienced actual weight loss at some time during this period. And most significantly the study showed that episodes of static weight or weight loss only set in late in 2004 after NGO feeding had been declared superfluous by the regime.

In his own words the verdict of the practitioner responsible for this study was as follows: “a government that once stood for an end to colonialist and racist notions of what ‘the natives’ were entitled to, and a Ministry of Health that once opted to make the realization of children’s growth potential the aim of its under-fives policy, have proven, when gauged by their own yardstick, not only their utter inability to deliver, but even their deliberate intent to sacrifice the well-being of their youngest citizens.” This is surely as damning an indictment of the regime’s track record in the medical field as one could ever expect from a professional employed in that field.

In summary we may say that while there is no general acute nutritional emergency yet evident in Zimbabwe there is good reason to be deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation. More than this, there is reason to act now, without delay, because of the regime’s own “utter inability to deliver” or, worse still, “their deliberate intent to sacrifice the well-being of their youngest citizens”. Few skeletal figures of the starving there may be at this point in time to shock the world into action but that is absolutely no reason for complacency. The fact is that, judged by their own yardstick, the regime and its health delivery system are already failing seriously and the suffering thereby inflicted on the nation’s children is increasing steadily. The urban figures presented provide a clear message. Current food insecurity and shortages are likely to continue for an extended period of time and this will only add to the misery. One has only to speak to some of the medical personnel in the front line of the battle against famine and its terrible effects, or to some in the caring professions like pastors and social workers, to sense how urgent is the problem. We cannot, we dare not, wait for the full scientific survey which would undoubtedly help, for that will not be forthcoming under the present regime. To wait for the regime itself to respond would be naïve and foolish. No. The time has surely come for the international community to come to the rescue of Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable through the intervention of the United Nations.

The report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty states that “state sovereignty implies responsibility … for the protection of its peoples”. It provides further that

“where a population is suffering serious harm, as a result of … state failure, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to halt or avert it, the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect.”

Let not the regime of Robert Mugabe prattle on about national sovereignty. They have had the opportunity - 26 years in fact - to provide appropriate protection for all the people of Zimbabwe and they have failed lamentably. Nor is there any prospect of the suffering of the people reducing in the foreseeable future. On the contrary. The time has come therefore for the international community through the agency of the United Nations, to do for Zimbabwe’s people what the regime is “unwilling or unable” to do. Let the United Nations intervene.

And until that happens let Zimbabweans who care join their protest cries to the silent cries of the little ones.

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Technorati Tags: hunger, World Food Programme, Health, AIDS, paediatricians, food supplies, nutritionist, United Nations, Zimbabwe, child welfare, famine, malnutrition, nutrition

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Eddie Cross has responded (by email) to our most recent article sent to our subscriber list. The article (dated 4 April 2006) is titled ‘More questions than answers’, and is available here on our blog, and here on our website. Mr Cross’s response is published below, in full:

Thank you for the publicity for my weekly news letter - I hope you will post this reply to your most recent missive onto your website and perhaps distribute it to your readership.

A few minor points.

1. The Zanu PF conference (it was not a Congress) at Esigodini in December was attended by about 1500 people - they had planned for 2500 but did not get the numbers they expected.

2. We held - as is required under our old constitution, the Women’s and Youth Assemblies concurrently with the main MDC Congress. About 4000 registered delegates were accredited to attend these events which were held on Saturday evening after the main Congress closed for business at 18.30 hrs.

3. That aside, we have 12 Provincial delegations - each of about 24 - 288, 120 Districts - also about 24 each, 2 888,1900 ward chairmen and 4500 branches. That takes us to 9 560, delegates plus the 4000 from the Youth and Women’s assemblies, plus the National Executive, National Council. We expected to have 10 000 delegates out of a estimated 2 000 possible. The total number eligible to attend were 17 000. The National Sports Centre only seats about 12 000 so we had serious capacity constraints. For this reason we had to restrict the numbers of women and youth delegates. There were no restrictions on the main MDC structures. Rural districts had much larger delegations than the urban - because of the numbers of wards and branches in those areas.

4. Accreditation on Friday was supposed to start at 10.00 hrs. In fact, with the very large numbers arriving - over 2000 arrived in Harare on Thursday, many from the most remote areas of the country like Binga, we only got underway at about 15.00 hrs. It took 6 hours and we were able in the process to weed out about 5000 people who were not delegates. It was in fact interesting that Harare - the host Province, had the smallest delegation in terms of numbers and this shows how effective the screening was.

5. On Sunday a team from civil society (Open Society and the NCA) were asked to conduct the elections - 36 candidates for 5 posts. They insisted on conducting their own accreditation to ensure that all who were voting were properly accredited - this took another 6 hours as anyone who attended the Congress would know. (It is clear from the text of the Sokwanlele letter that the author was not present). After this second accreditation process - more than 15 000 delegates were allowed into the venue and voting was conducted on a one man one vote basis with the results being reported by the numbers voting for each candidate and the number of Provinces where the candidates gained a majority.

6. By the time we are finished settling all bills, the MDC Congress will have cost us about Z$35 billion. The caterer in fact charged us Z$80 000 per meal which I thought was an outstanding price in the circumstances. We were able to pull those costs down a bit with donations of maize meal and beef. Only one major donor who was not in the MDC was involved and his contribution was about Z$400 million. The rest came from our ordinary members. Many delegates paid for themselves to get to Congress - we were able to help only 4 Provinces in this way. The cost of getting them home again was about Z$5,5 billion.

7. We are left with debts totalling about Z$14 billion which are now being addressed. Professionals are in charge of our accounts and I am personally satisfied that all donations were properly accounted for and used. We are determined that the MDC will be more accountable and transparent in this area than before.

It was a great celebration of democracy and people participation. Discipline and security was excellent and all those responsible for the success of this event worked hard to make it so. We opened bang on time and closed 30 minutes late - we were well within budget and had 60 per cent of the funding in place before we started. We are well aware of the fact that if we are to be taken seriously as an alternative government in waiting, that events like the Congress must be well run and managed. I think we demonstrated that to all who were there and in addition, we again demonstrated that we do have real structures in all parts of Zimbabwe. Stronger in some parts than others, but there are no “no go” areas in Zimbabwe as far as the MDC is concerned.

Warm regards

Eddie Cross
Chairman of the Institutional Reform Committee 2006 MDC Congress.

Sokwanele responds: We thank Mr Cross for his email. However, we maintain that one of the central questions raised in our article remains unanswered; namely, why did only 5000 people vote if 15,000 were duly accredited delegates? The absence of a response to that leads to the inevitable conclusion that 10,000 people attended as observers enjoying a few great meals in the process.

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Now that the congresses of the two MDC factions have been held many have been passing judgment regarding which of the two factions now is the real McCoy. For many it is simply a case of numbers and both factions appear to be playing the numbers game. For example, a recent article in the Financial Gazette explored discrepancies in reports on the numbers of supporters attending Mutambara rallies, stating that at one rally, the reports on numbers in attendance ranged from between 800 to 10 000 people (30 March 2006). It is however generally agreed that out of the two political congresses, one congress had 15 000 people and the other had 3000 people.

Some have interpreted those figures to mean that the one faction is 5 times more popular than the other. In fact, Eddie Cross committed himself to this view by stating that the Tsvangirai congress now demonstrates that the Tsvangirai faction enjoys the support of 95% of former MDC supporters:

“Well, both sections have had their Congress’s and I think we have the right now to say that the main stem of the Party and 95 per cent of its root structure, were left standing with Morgan Tsvangirai. The branch that broke ranks with Morgan over the Senate issue are in reality simply a broken branch that now lies on the ground without sufficient root structure to sustain its mass or deliver any fruit to its members. It will either die or become firewood - like Zanu PF or it will simply lie there on the forest floor a crippled and broken branch of the original MDC.” (Eddie Cross, “Seeing wood in the trees”, 20 March 2006 - here via ZimPundit)

The truth is that it is hard for anyone to judge how much support any political party has in Zimbabwe today. We all know that Zanu PF had thousands of supporters at its December 2005 congress in Esigodini and that Zanu PF regularly “wins” elections. Does that mean Zanu PF is wildly popular? Hardly. And despite the reported 15 000 people at its congress, the Tsvangirai faction of the MDC was not able to hold the recently contested Mayoral election in Chegutu. Likewise, for all the Mutambara faction’s stated strength in Bulawayo it was unable to hold on to two Council seats in Bulawayo.

The only way to test any party’s true support would be through a genuinely fair political process that would enable the public to listen to each respective party’s programmes and to judge for themselves the respective strengths of those policies and the people who would implement them. To say the least that is unlikely in present day Zimbabwe.

However before we even consider the numbers game there are two other factors that must be considered. The first is to consider the context of the respective numbers of people attending the two MDC factions’ congresses. What is particularly interesting about the Tsvangirai faction’s assertion that 15 000 people attended their congress is the claim that these individuals were all congress delegates:

The MDC Congress this past weekend attracted nearly 20 000 delegates and others who tried to secure accreditation to attend on Saturday and Sunday. In the end, 15 000 delegates were accredited (Eddie Cross, 20 March 2006).

At this juncture it is pertinent to recall the provisions of the MDC Constitution regarding the Congress. Article 5.2 states:

The Congress

5.2.1 The Congress shall be the supreme organ of the Party and shall be composed as follows:

(a) all members of the National Council;
(b) all members of the National Executive of Women;
(c) all members of the National Executive of Youth;
(d) all members of the Provincial Executive Committees;
(e) the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer from each District Executive Committee;
(f) the Chairpersons of the National Assembly of Women’s’ Committee and the National Assembly of Youths’ Committee from each district;
(g) the Chairperson of each Ward Executive Committee; and
(h) the Chairperson of each Branch Executive Committee.

There are 72 members of the National Council, 12 of the Women’s Executive, 12 of the Youth Executive, 144 members of the Provincial Executives (12 Provinces x 12 members in each), 360 Chairpersons, Secretaries and Treasurers on the District Committees (3 x 120) 240 Chairs of Youth and Women District Committees (2 x 120). The Ward and Branch Chairs are more difficult to quantify. However in some of the MDC’s best-organised Districts there have been no more than 5 Wards and 10 Branches giving 600 (5 x 120) and 1200 (10 x 120) people respectively. One should bear in mind of course that there are some places, particularly in Mashonaland rural areas, where there have not even been functioning Provincial structures never mind Ward and Branch committees. What should also be borne in mind is that there is some overlap in that some who are members of Youth Committees, for example, are also on the National Council and they do not have a double vote. In other words, in terms of the MDC’s Constitution, only some 2616 people are eligible to attend Congress as delegates. Even if one doubles the number of Ward Committees to 10 and 20 on average per District the numbers of those eligible to attend as delegates only comes to 4416.

This then begs the question - how could there possibly have been 15 000 delegates to the Tsvangirai faction’s congress in Harare? It simply is not possible. No one doubts the numbers of people there - one simply questions their right to be there, where they came from and why the organisers allowed them to be there.

It does appear as if not all 15 000 were allowed to vote. Consider what Women Chair Lucy Matibenga stated in her protest note published a day or so after the Congress:

“Even though they lost the election, the vote garnered by Gertrude Mtombeni and Sekai Holland was around 1 900 and 1 800 respectively while Pauline Gwanyanya secured over 500 Votes. Women therefore fared well in the numbers of votes they got for the positions that they stood for. (Statement of Lucy Matibenga, 21 March 2006)

It is pertinent to recall that Mtombeni stood against Thoko Khupe in the election for the Vice Presidency of the faction and observers present indicate that Khupe got some 3000 votes. In other words, some 4900 people cast their votes. Whilst this brings us closer to the truth of the number of lawful delegates, the number still seems high and one questions why it was that so many were able to vote - some 500 people more than the most liberal estimates (of those entitled to vote) voted. This sounds like something Tobaiwa Mudede would have been proud of!

So what then was the balance of some 10 000 people doing there? This is the second issue: would all of those present have been there had there not been some inducement? Eddie Cross again provides some insight:

“We ran the whole show on a shoe string - about 10 per cent of our budget, but were able to get all people going home last night enough money to travel. The final meal was served late in the day to ensure people had food before they travelled. Food was provided and served by Servcor who did an excellent job after the shambles on the first day went we were swamped with up to 20 000 people trying to get into the Congress. Eventually we fed them all on day one but on day two we fed only those with accreditation. These were about 15 000 and we had to bump up the food contract from 10 000 meals three times a day to 15 000 - thank goodness for private enterprise.”

“In an amazing way we were able to pay for Congress, we rented the Stadium, brought in professional caterers (at Morgan’s insistence) and were able to accommodate people all over the City. On Sunday we got all the Provincial Treasurers together and asked them how much money they needed to get home - we then went to a location in the City where we had what money was available and we were able to pay out 95 per cent of what was asked for - astonishing when you know that we had no support from any major donors and our State funding was arbitrarily handed over to the break away group in time for their Congress.” (20 March 2006)

For all the bitter complaints about the Mutambara faction having received Z$8 billion from the regime and having to run the Congress on a shoestring, there are some very interesting facts that emerge from Mr. Cross’s description of events. The Tsvangirai faction’s congress ran from Friday morning to Sunday evening. People were accredited on Friday and the congress proper was held on the Saturday and Sunday. By their own admission they got a private catering firm to feed some 20 000 people on day one and then 15 000 people the next day. These days a hamburger costs about Z$ 90,000. It is highly unlikely therefore that a private catering firm would have been prepared to cater for less than Z$ 100,000.00 per head. Conservatively, exceptionally conservatively, the food alone would have cost about Z$ 8 billion. It is very interesting to contrast the two congresses in this regard. Because of severe shortages of money the Mutambara faction held its congress on one day and was not even then able to feed all its delegates. The Zanu-controlled media had a field day reporting on this as indeed did Nelson Chamisa, the Tsvangirai faction spokesperson. There was clearly no such funding problem at the Tsvangirai congress.

This in turn begs two further questions. Firstly how many of the 20 000 people who attended were from Harare and only there because they knew they would get several square meals? Secondly, for all the complaints that the Mutambara faction received ‘all the money’, where has the Tsvangirai faction money suddenly come from?

So what then of the resolutions passed at the Tsvangirai faction’s congress? Many were expecting that they would put their money where their mouths are. After all they state that the reason for the break-up was because of their deeply held principle not to participate in fraudulent elections. In the run up to the congress there were statements to the effect that the congress would decide on a resolution to abandon the electoral process. The closest the congress got however was in Resolution 8:

“Noting the complete failure of the electoral process in Zimbabwe and the futility of pursuing an exclusive electoral struggle, the party resolves to engage in peaceful democratic confrontation and resistance to the regime.”

This was not quite what was expected - clearly those Tsvangirai faction members enjoying the fruits of Parliament are not ready yet to abandon their positions. Indeed the first action of the new leadership of the Tsvangirai faction was to announce that they would contest the Budiriro by-election! Finally Zimbabweans were told that the Tsvangirai congress would usher in a new brand of leadership that will lead the MDC in a new positive direction.

There is no doubt, despite the illegality regarding the numbers of people entitled to attend the Tsvangirai congress, that Morgan Tsvangirai does at present command considerable support amongst Zimbabweans. However, aside from Biti and Bennett’s elevation, the Tsvangirai faction’s leadership team has been weakened. The discredited and highly suspect Isaac Matongo (one of the foremost advocates for participation in the Senate elections) is still Chairman. (It is worth recalling that Sokwanele raised many questions about Isaac Matongo in an earlier mailing titled “You will know them by their fruits”: Is Zimbabwe’s CIO involved in the MDC split? - dated 10 February 2006 and available on our website). Matongo is now joined by Thoko Khupe, one of the most ineffectual MPs of the last 6 years (as Vice President) and Lovemore Moyo, Zanu PF Cabinet Minister Sithembiso Nyoni’s son-in-law (as Deputy Chairman). (We should remind readers here that Moyo had previously contested and failed to secure election to a post in the parallel structures of the Sibanda/Ncube faction of the party). Throw in Tapiwa Mashakada (one of those implicated in MDC intra party violence) and a few others of his ilk and it will be apparent that an overwhelming majority of the new leadership at best simply do not have what it takes and at worst have questionable loyalties. Tsvangirai’s controversial cabinet is not simply just still in place; it has been greatly strengthened by the congress.

Conversely, the MDC’s long-held position on non-violent political change in Zimbabwe has been weakened by conflicting statements from the Mutambara-led faction on the subject of the use of violence. Media reports early last month quoted Mutambara as laudably saying “We won’t be qualified to fight Mugabe if we are little Mugabes”. However, at a recent rally at Chitungwiza, Mutambara was reported in the Herald as declaring, ” We will not rule out using violence because this is still our option”. So which is it? And if he is against violence and the Herald has misreported him then a statement unambiguously clarifying what he said should be issued.

For clarification we turn next to statements made by Mutambara’s spokesperson, Morgan Changamire, who explains, “The MDC president, Professor Mutambara, is on record as denouncing violence of any form.” However, Changamire’s reiteration of that point was immediately followed by what can only be interpreted as a threat:

“This should, however, not be construed by Chamisa, and others like him, as a sign of weakness or lack of capacity on our part to defend ourselves when provoked. We wish to warn Chamisa that he is treading on dangerous ground. He has no monopoly of violence.” (Financial Gazette, 29 March 2006).

So, are we to conclude that the Mutambara faction denounces violence of “any form”, albeit with some exceptions…? What does that mean exactly? It’s worth reminding the Mutambara-led faction that the other political party that regularly justifies the use of violence in the name of so-called ’self-defense’ is Mugabe’s Zanu PF. Zimbabweans are tired of violence and of political parties that threaten each other with violence.

Changamire’s comments (above) emerged in connection with media reports that supporters of the Tsvangirai faction had attempted to disrupt the Mutambara rally at Chitungwiza - reports which raise yet another layer of questionable facts and allegations. SW Radio Africa tried to report on that story and, despite speaking to both factions in an effort to find out exactly what happened, was nevertheless forced to begin their article with the comment that “the split in the MDC leadership is now also creating friction among opposition supporters and making it difficult for journalists to get at the truth” (27 March 2006). If journalists with their well-placed sources can’t get at the truth, how can ordinary members of the public - voters and supporters - ever expect to be able to reach an informed opinion? Do either factions of the MDC consider this lack of transparency acceptable in a fight for democracy?

In the midst of all the statistical spin surrounding the Tsvangirai-led faction’s congress and the subsequent allegations and counter allegations of violence following the Mutambara rallies, it is apparent to all Zimbabweans that the opposition is now weaker than ever. Supporters find it increasingly difficult to know whom to believe. Morgan Tsvangirai for all his apparent personal popularity has been ring fenced, separated from his competent leadership. The greatest shame is that Tsvangirai himself appears to have been swept away by his faction’s own hype and propaganda and doesn’t yet understand the perilous position he is now in. But the saddest truth of all - one that both factions would be well-advised to wake-up to - is that while the opposition party is side-tracked by internal politics and squabbling, Zanu PF continues, unchallenged, machine-like, in relentlessly stripping Zimbabweans of their dream for democracy, human rights, and freedom for all in our country.

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