Wayne Munroe, a farmer in Nymandlovhu (just outside Bulawayo in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe), has been under siege since early this morning. His property has been encircled by in excess of 100 “war veterans”.

He phoned the police in Nymandlovhu to inform them of the problem and was on the phone to them when 4 “war veterans” entered his office. He immediately told the member in charge that they were there and that a 303 (gun) was being pointed at his chest. He was forced to hang up. (more…)

We asked a colleague to write us a post about payday. This is his story.

Today is pay day.

I received a gross wage of just under $860 million. I also received benefits being $400 million dollars as a transport allowance and $67 million as a housing allowance. These benefits were awarded by the government as some sort of assistance towards the rising inflation. Gross earnings approx. $1,3 billion.

I then pay tax on these earnings (including the benefits calculated at a rate of 47.5%). I then have further ‘government’ deductions being aids levy, national employment council and national social security authority. (more…)

Some of you were cited on the BBC yesterday… I thought you’d like to know.

That was a quick aside … today I’m thinking about Malawi and ask that everyone else does too.

Thank you, all of you, for everything you are doing.

This was sent to us today. The picture was taken this morning, in Cape Town, South Africa. Now also here.

Thank you! Please keep sending us pictures like these to share with Zimbabweans everywhere.

The Nyasa Times has this report today and it seems a lot more plausible to me than yesterday’s Hollywood-style information regarding Venezula:

Malawi government has sent a top three man national intelligence experts to Angola to look at ways of helping Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe clear the weapons aboard the beleaguered Chinese ship that has docked in Luanda, Angola, Nyasa Times has learnt.

The Malawi team is comprised of Mr Clement Kapalamula – Head of Secret Intelligence Services (SIS), Mr George Masinga – Acting Director of Foreign Relations (Intelligence) and a Mr Matanga – Technical Engineer (Intelligence). (more…)

This is via a comment on our blog — an update on Simon “Dreadman” Mudekwa, the President of the Zimbabwe Revolutionary Youth Movement who is still in jail in South Africa and will be in court tomorrow.

So much is happening in Zimbabwe that we need to keep our eye on this story before it slips under the radar.

SWRadio Africa have a report where the people arrested allege that they were “assaulted by police when they were arrested”. (more…)

We needed this news so badly!

The two factions of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have decided to unite to form one party. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai made the announcement at a media briefing at Lanseria airport, outside Johannesburg, this afternoon.

He says the move will give the MDC a 57% majority in parliament. He says President Robert Mugabe must accept that he cannot rule without parliamentary control. (more…)

We have just received this with a request to do all we can to circulate information because it is such short notice. But at such short notice (!) there isn’t much we can do beyond blog it.

Can you help alert journalists based in South Africa to this information?:

President Morgan Tsvangirai will hold a press conference today 28 April 2008 at 4 p.m. to make a historic announcement.

The press conference will be held at Johannesburg’s Lanseria Airport, Allegiance Airways Lounge, when he returns today from a brief trip to East Africa. This lounge is located at Main Terminal Building upstairs.