On 24 December 2008 eight (8) of the current total of thirty-two (32) individuals abducted over the last seven (7) weeks were brought to the Magistrates’ Court in Harare under armed guard. These individuals were Jestina Mukoko, Broderick Takawira, Violet Mupfuranhehwe, Fidelis Chiramba, Collen Mutemagau, Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, and Pieta Kaseke. Also present was the two-year old minor, Nigel Mutemagau, who has been missing all along as he was with his parents (Violet Mupfuranhehwe and Collen Mutemagau), when they were unlawfully abducted on 30 October 2008.

Investigating Officer Chief Superintendent Magwenzi (who was present throughout the day at the Magistrates’ Court) refused to disclose to lawyers the whereabouts and condition of the remainder of the abductees, despite having advised lawyers the previous day that he was responsible as the Investigating Officer for all the abductees currently in custody.

Senior officials from the Attorney-General’s office, Florence Ziyambi and Tawanda Zvekare, refused to provide lawyers with the charges and relevant information from the dockets relating to these 8 individuals until the matter commenced in court in the afternoon. (more…)

Toasting our absent friends and family is a Christmas tradition in my family. I’ve always perceived it as a toast to those who have left us – those who can’t be with us but would really like to be. The Christmas table where we make the toast feels like the heart of the family, and my feelings are usually of sympathy for those who can’t be with us. I imagine them wishing they could be back home, possibly feeling a bit lonely wherever they are.

This year it feels different. I’m with family I haven’t seen for a while and part of the ritual of ‘catching-up’ involved a long list of “Did you know [insert friend's name] has left the country?” I’ve also been finding out about how family who have recently left are settling into their new lives in other parts of the world. (more…)

We were comparing stories about ‘police experiences’ and a friend of mine recounted a story from his recent long distance journey.

He’d been stopped by the police, for speeding, on a stretch of road that is well known for having speed traps in it. A few months earlier he’d had a huge argument with the police there when they stopped him and he knew he had not been speeding at all. So he said his first reaction when they waved him down was extreme irritation with himself; for not remembering that there would probably be a trap in the area, but most of all for not taking a careful note of his speed to know whether he was about to be falsely charged or not.

By the time the policeman arrived at his window to tell him he was speeding, my friend was already wound-up in a state of annoyance.

“I was NOT speeding!” he insisted. (more…)

When I wrote a Christmas letter at the end of last year, I never believed that the year 2008 would be worse than the previous year. That starvation, violence, torture, rape, murder, abductions, looting and arson would be a state sponsored and perpetrated part of almost every Zimbabweans lives, particularly those in the struggle for peaceful and democratic change in Zimbabwe.

The resilience of Zimbabweans is legendary. This year has been no exception. Some call it patience and resilience, others call it cowardice. Who is to judge? (more…)

AVAAZ are running another campaign for Zimbabwe:

The people of Zimbabwe are being ravaged by a spiralling cholera epidemic, hunger, violence and the accelerating collapse of their country. Talks to form a Government of National Unity facilitated by Thabo Mbeki have failed. Tensions are rising, and spilling over to threaten the stability of Southern Africa.

Only the South African government has the power to make a difference and secure a political solution, based on the will of the Zimbabwean people, behind which Africa could unite.

If enough Africans appeal to him for action, President Motlanthe of South Africa can act to resolve the crisis. So let’s send a thunderous message from across Africa to the South African leader — click below to sign the petition and then please forward this email to your friends and family…

Please sign the petition and then use the feature on the AVAAZ website to let as many people as possible know about it.

The SADC chair, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, acknowledged that an investigation into the claims had been opened because the allegations had been formally made. But he also said: “We never believed that.” He may as well have called the Zanu regime a bunch of liars – which they are.

Motlanthe, speaking to reporters in the South African capital of Pretoria, would not say why he thought Mugabe’s regime was pressing allegations the opposition was plotting violence, but noted there was “mistrust” among Zimbabwe’s politicians.

After dropping this bombshell on the state-of-emergency-plotting Harare-junta, Motlanthe went on to tacitly acknowledge that the Zanu liars were also Zanu thieves: (more…)

The MDC notes with disbelief the assassination attempt of Air Marshall Perence Shiri as reported in The Herald of 16 December 2008.

As a party, we condemn the use of violence in any form whatsoever as an instrument of navigating any political crisis or as a means of achieving or attaining any political goal. We therefore wish Perence Shiri a quick recovery wherever he is.

However, in our respectful view, it is important to identify and unpack the real reasons behind the destabilization and internal conflicts in Zanu PF which we consider to be behind the assassination attempt on Perence Shiri.

In our view, central to the slow and decisive death of Zanu PF is the fact that this is a nationalist party that is now fundamentally exhausted and tired. Exhausted nationalism creates conditions for internal destabilization and a discourse of internal civil conflict. When that happens, “The revolution begins to eat its own children.” (more…)

The Zanu PF regime has intensified its terror campaign against MDC supporters in Bindura, Mashonaland Central province ahead of its annual conference, which begins in the town tomorrow. Eleven of the 12 councillors of the Bindura Municipality have fled their homes after the police arrested Ward 10 councillor, Norbert Dhokotera and two other MDC activists in pre-dawn raids last night.

The three were arrested on trumped up yet to be disclosed charges and are detained at Bindura Central Police Station. (more…)