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Big send off rally for Msika at White City

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The body of Vice President Joseph Msika has been flown to his rural home in Nyariri Village in Chiweshe to enable relatives to pay their last respects.

An air force of Zimbabwe helicopter carried the late Vice President’s body, departing from One Commando base in Harare to Mazowe District.

Msika died on Wednesday according to President Mugabe even though most reports put the date as Tuesday. Msika was born in Chiweshe and this is the reason his body has been taken there.

josephmsika2Later in the afternoon the body will be flown back to Harare whereupon it will be flown to Bulawayo and lie in state as his Matshemlope home. Zanu PF national chairman John Nkomo is accompanying the body on all these trips.

A big send off rally will be held for Msika at the White City Stadium on Saturday. Later in the evening his body will be taken to his family home in Harare’s posh Mandara suburb before the burial on Heroes’ Day on Monday.

Mutambara ousted in palace coup

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By Brian Mangwende

JOB Sikhala, the former legislator for St Mary’s, has declared himself the new president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-M), throwing the opposition party into confusion.

The so-called palace coup within the MDC-M came at a time Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara was in Uganda earlier this week together with President Robert Mugabe and co-Deputy Prime Minister, Thokozani Khupe on a tour of duty.

The latest development appears to show desperation on the part of Sikhala and some of his colleagues who appeared determined this week to disregard the party’s constitution in order to remain relevant within the MDC-M.

A section of the party’s constitution provides that members can call for an extraordinary congress if they are unhappy with their leadership where a vote of no confidence can be passed. Alternatively, they can also cause the party’s national council to relieve whoever they have lost faith in of his or her duties.

Section 5.2.5 of the constitution states that “an extraordinary congress may be called by (a) national council or (b) upon written request from at least one-third of members entitled to attend the congress or (c) upon the written request received from at least two-thirds from the provincial executive committee”.

The MDC-M security chief vowed on Tuesday that there was no formula for the removal of the party’s leadership. Sikhala and a number of MDC-M legislators have been on the warpath with Mutambara over the Deputy Prime Minister’s leadership style.

Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara had retaliated by suspending members of his national executive and lawmakers Abednico Bhebhe (Nkayi South), Njabuliso Mguni (Lupane East), Norman Mpofu (Bulilima East) and commercial farmer Alex Goosen for undermining his authority.

The legislators were later fired in a move they described as a legal nullity.
“There is no formula when one is at war like this one. We have suspended or rather thrown out the constitution for now. So whatever constitutional issues that are raised, fall away. The war cry is that Mutambara has to go. I am warning each and every one of our members that Mutambara is no longer part and parcel of the revolution we started in 1999,” said Sikhala.

“I have taken over total control of the party. I was given the mandate by party supporters countrywide after they noticed that the party had become an appendage of ZANU-PF through Mutambara. Mutambara has lost it.

“He has gone against the democratic change process. As one of the founder members (of the MDC), I can gladly tell you that we havereached a decision that we have to take control of the situation that we find ourselves in.
“Our actions have been endorsed by the majority of supporters and structures,” Sikhala said in an interview with The Financial Gazette.

MDC-M spokesperson Edwin Mushoriwa on Tuesday warned that the move by Sikhala was not only unconstitutional, but dangerous to democracy.
“People are allowed to say what they want,” Mushoriwa said.

“It’s a dangerous statement to claim that they have taken over the leadership of the party. If people are unhappy with the leadership, they can call for an extraordinary congress accordingly and the matter will be resolved there or alternatively, they can cause the national council to relieve the accused persons of their duties if found guilty.

“So for Sikhala and company to claim that they have taken over the leadership of the party is not true. If they believe they can takeover unconstitutionally, then that is dangerous for all the forces of democracy.”

The party’s Mashonaland East provincial chairperson, Shupikayi Mandaza, and Taurai Magayi, who claimed to be leading Chitungwiza province, threw their weight behind Mutambara’s ouster.

“I don’t believe Mutambara should continue leading the party because he has lost the party’s ideology,” Mandaza said. Source: Financial Gazette

ZINASU President & 3 others in court

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Zimbabwe National Students Union president Clever Bere and three other student leaders are set to appear in court Friday after spending two nights in police custody.

The student leaders were arrested at the University of Zimbabwe on Wednesday 5 August after addressing a student’s general meeting to discuss the challenges being faced by students at the institution.

The four are being charged under Section 37 of the Criminal Codification Act for…”participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, breach of peace or bigotry.”

On Thursday the four student activists were handed over to the dreaded CID Law and Order section at Harare Central Police station.

Meanwhile in Masvingo 5 students were picked up by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Law and Order officers at the Great Zimbabwe University campus yesterday late afternoon in connection with Wednesday’s protest at the campus over tuition fees.

Six CID Law and Order officers picked up the student activists at the college campus and proceeded to Masvingo Central police station. The six were detained at Masvingo Central Police Station yesterday evening and ZINASU is still to get more information regarding the detention.

Only three names of the detained have been confirmed so far and these are Tafadzwa Kutya, Gamuchirai Mukura and Cynthia Zuze.

ZINASU strongly condemns ‘the sadistic violations of students’ rights by the government of the day.

‘Arrests, detention of students are continuing unabated despite the peaceful manner in which students are holding their meetings,’ ZINASU said in a statement.

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Bere (right)

Harare bows to pressure on forced evictions

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The City of Harare has succumbed to the pressure that residents and other stakeholders put on them in protest against the forced evictions that were earmarked for Gunhill Squatter Camp and Newlands Arts and Crafts Centre.

The Coalition of stakeholders namely Amnesty International Zimbabwe Chapter (AIZ), Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Zimbabwe National Association of Housing Co-operatives(ZINAHCO), Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Traders Association,  representatives from the Gunhill informal settlements and Newlands Arts and Crafts conducted a meeting with the Harare Mayor and His Deputy on the 5th of August 2009 at Town House to discuss the issue of forced evictions.

The meeting came after members of the Coalition had already alerted other partners and stakeholders in and outside Zimbabwe appealing for their solidarity in the quest to convince the City of Harare to come up with a proper resettlement plan first before they could evict people.

The AIZ circulated the information to other Amnesty International Chapters around the world and also appealed to Harare’s twin cities like Munich and Nottingham. CHRA embarked on a massive media campaign to mobilize residents to lodge their objections to this move.

The Mayor and his deputy admitted that they had received numerous emails and phone calls from various stakeholders in and outside Zimbabwe who voiced their concern over reports of pending forced evictions. They said the situation was very embarrassing.

The two city fathers said that the Council had no intention whatsoever of evicting people but that they were in the process of finding out the needs of the people without shelter so that a proper resettlement plan can be developed.

The following resolutions were made at the meeting;

• CHRA and AIZ were tasked to work with Council to look into the needs of the informal settlers in terms of how they came to be where they are, whether they are employed or not and exact statistics of the number of people in informal settlements in Harare.

• The Council will then use that information to find alternative places for these people to be resettled where there will be proper sanitary facilities and public amenities.

• Council promised that they will consult with the Newlands Artists to find out where their market stall can be relocated. The Mayor told representatives from the Arts and Crafts Centre that they should be free to make suggestions on an alternative place that they would want to relocate to and then Council will make the necessary arrangements for relocation.

• The Council will make efforts to source resources for the construction of houses for people who do not have formal shelter in Harare. So far, funds are being mobilized through the Bill Melinda Gates Trust to help people without shelter in Harare.

• The Mayor confirmed to the Stakeholder Coalition that there is not going to be a second Operation Murambatsvina and that Council will not evict people before alternative places for resettlement are made available.

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Mayor Masunda

The Mayor of Harare, who is also a partner to the UN Habitat Organ, said that the City of Harare is actually taking into consideration the recommendations that are in the report produced by Anna Tibaijuka during the Operation Murambatsvina aftermath.

The recommendations in the report will be used as reference points on resettling the affected people. CHRA remains committed to advocating for good, transparent and accountable local governance as well as lobbying for quality and affordable municipal (and other) services on a non-partisan basis.

List of Mhunga bus accident victims

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The following people have been listed as having died in the Mhunga Bus accident:

Kudzai Mateveke (25), Monica Madzivanyimo (43), Nhandire Kudangiranwa (16), Isau Ndou (one year four months), Josiah Silas Magutsa (15) and Nyaradzo Muzondo (50).

Esther Maraire from Gutu, Yvonne Dengu and Armstrong Chiromo from Mt Darwin, Esther Ruzete, Clever Rashamira and Ruvimbo Rashamira from Gutu, Innocent Shaya from Unit K Seke, Jacob Magore, Esau Ndowa from Chivhu, Osly Muongemerwa from Bikita, Modesta Chiedza Marosva from Bikita.

Kudzai Mukandi from Gutu, Daniel Makusha from Zimuto, Joyce Taderera from Chirumanzu, Yeukai Ncube, Caleb Chimusimbe, Florence Rungano and Grace Mashoko from Chirumanzu. Others are Dadirai Taurai, Ivy Murinda, Carol Murinye, Auton Murinye, Nelson Mavhuto and Tineyi Gweshe.

Meanwhile Mhunga Bus Services has denied allegations that accidents involving its fleet which have claimed over 200 lives since 1995  were a result of juju.

This comes as the Government announced that it had indefinitely withdrawn the transporter’s operating licence, while the driver of the crash bus appeared in a Chitungwiza court facing 38 counts of culpable homicide.

The licence withdrawal affects all domestic and cross-border operations, Transport, Commu-nications and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche announced yesterday.

Tanda Tavaruva & Sons, the owners of the bus company, said it was unfortunate people thought they used juju to enhance their business.

Company director Mr Godwin Tavaruva said, like all Zimbabweans, they were greatly disturbed by the accident.

“It’s very unfortunate that Zimbabweans in some sections of society have started witch-hunting by suggesting that we are using juju in our business.

“Although it is common that whenever incidents like these occur, people speculate over many things.

“We strongly feel the allegations are unfair and unfounded as I personally lost close relatives who were travelling in that bus and as such I am also bereaved,” he said.

“We would like to convey our sympathy to the bereaved families for the sad loss of life. We are doing everything within our powers to investigate the cause of the accident,” he added.

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Clinton says SA must press Zim harder

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NAIROBI (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday she would press South Africa to use more of its influence to counter the “negative effects” of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

Clinton is due in South Africa later Thursday, her second stop in an 11-day trip to Africa, and is set to meet President Jacob Zuma in the coastal city of Durban Saturday. Friday she is due to meet the foreign minister.

“I do intend to speak not only with President Zuma but other members of his government about what more South Africa believes can be done to strengthen the reform movement inside Zimbabwe, alleviate the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe and try to use its influence to mitigate against the negative effects of the continuing presidency of President Mugabe,” said Clinton at a news conference in Nairobi.

Zuma has taken a harder line on Zimbabwe than his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, but the United States would like the new South African president do more to quicken the pace of reform in its neighbor.

The United States, troubled by what it sees as an absence of reform in Zimbabwe, has no plans either to offer major aid or to lift sanctions against Mugabe and some of his supporters.

Before any of that can happen, Washington wants more evidence of political, social and economic reforms, a U.S. official told Reuters before Clinton began her seven-nation trip to Africa.

Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, is blamed for plunging Zimbabwe into economic ruin. He argues that hyperinflation and a collapsed infrastructure are caused by sanctions imposed by the United States and others.

Targeted U.S. sanctions include financial and visa restrictions against selected individuals, a ban on transfers of military items and a suspension of non-humanitarian aid.

ZBC DJ's suspended over love scandals

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HARARE-The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has suspended Power FM duo DJ Squilla  (Tafadzwa Squilla) and Dr Zobha (Davis Mugadza) for throwing the broadcaster’s name into disrepute. 

DJ Squilla was suspended for ditching a Harare girl, actress Bridget Mutumba  better known as Sonia in the TV soap Small House Saga. She has been thrown out of her family home in Houghton Park after she slept out with Power FM’s DJ Squilla last weekend. The case attracted wide media publicity.

Mugadza was dragged to the Harare Maintenance Court by his former girlfriend Vimbanashe Ngara who said she fathered her son in 1999.
Ngara is demanding US500 each month for the upkeep of the child. Mugadza said he was prepared to pay US$50 each month as he was earning US$282.

He claimed he had three other kids to look after including his wife who is unemployed. Ngara blew the cover on Mugadza and stunned the court saying that the radio personality was making more money as he also doubled as Dr Zobha.He said he was raking thousands of dollars in private shows.

This is not the first time that Power FM have suspended the popular radio presenters. Mugadza and DJ Squilla have been replaced by Leander Kandiero and Glenda Takachicha on their Wednesday and Friday Breakfast Show slots. Source: Radio VOP

National student leader Bere arrested

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Harare-Zimbabwe National Students Union President Clever Bere was on Wednesday afternoon arrested after addressing students at the University of Zimbabwe outside the campus main library.

Hundreds of students had gathered at the library for a general meeting organized by ZINASU to chart the way forward on the issue of tuition fees which a majority of students have failed to raise. During his address Bere had called upon the students to remain vigilant and united so that their existence as students is not threatened.

The government was also called upon to prioritize education and improve the welfare of students in tertiary institutions. The university opened on Monday 3 August 2009 and placed notices informing students who have not paid fees that there are barred from attending lectures and using the library.

From the statistics coming from the bursar’s office it’s now clear that three quarters of students have failed to raise money for tuition fees, ZINASU said. Today’s arrest they said is a clear indication that freedom of expression on campuses is still to be guaranteed in the country despite the coming of the inclusive government.

clever-bere‘We appeal to Ministry of Home Affairs and college authorities to deal with students in a more civilized manner and allow students to gather and discuss their issues without being victimized. Lawyers have already been deployed to follow up the arrest. We will be updating you as soon as we get more information,’ a ZINASU statement read.

Zim Vice President Msika’s death confirmed

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By Patricia Mpofu

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwe’s first Vice President Joseph Msika has died, his ZANU PF party has confirmed Msika, 86, died Tuesday at Harare’s West End clinic.

ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo confirmed the death of Msika on Tuesday that had been subject of strong rumour in Zimbabwe but with no official word of confirmation or denial.

“It is a great loss to the nation and to the Msika family,” said Nkomo who is also a senior minister in Zimbabwe’s unity government responsible for national reconciliation and healing. 

Nkomo, among likely candidates to succeed Msika, said of the nationalist veteran: “I served under him in different posts during the liberation struggle. He leaves us at a time Zimbabwe is free. I have learnt a lot from him. He is an icon (of the freedom struggle).”

The former Vice President had been in and out of hospital since he suffered a stroke in 2005 at his home and was rarely seen in public this year.
One of the founding fathers of Zimbabwe’s liberation movement from white minority rule, Msika deputised the late Joshua Nkomo in the Zimbabwe People’s Union (ZAPU) party before they joined President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party after the 1987 Unity Accord.

He became one of ZANU PF and Zimbabwe’s two Vice Presidents following the death of Nkomo in 1999. Joice Mujuru, who was junior to Msika, is ZANU PF and Zimbabwe’s other Vice President. 

Like many of his liberation struggle colleagues, Msika spent years in jail for opposing the white supremacist governments of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe’s name before independence).

He was part of the ZAPU delegation to the 1979 Lancaster House talks that paved the way for Zimbabwe’s 1980 independence from Britain.
Never too diplomatic especially on issues he felt strongly about, Msika ruffled some feathers on both sides of Zimbabwe’s political divide during his decade-long tenure in the country’s second highest office.

For example, Msika three years ago publicly accused Mugabe and ZANU PF of attempting to falsify history by portraying themselves as the pioneers of Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence that he said was started by himself and a few others in the city of Bulawayo. 

In 2000, he courted the ire of the opposition when he labelled their supporters useless dogs. Msika is survived by his wife Maria and three children – Tambudzai, Shelton and Taguma. – ZimOnline

Vice President Msika Not Dead?

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By Denford Magora

Despite reports you have been reading online, Zimbabwean Vice President Joseph Msika has not died.

The Vice-President, who has been unwell for some years and whose premature “death” has been reported before, is on life support at a Harare private hospital as I type this, impeccable sources within government have confirmed.

The Vice-President was apparently put on life support in the early hours of this morning and is in a critical condition.

Msika took the slot left vacant by the death of veteran Zimbabwe politican, Joshua Nkomo, also known as Father Zimbabwe. Nkomo was the first black Zimbabwean leader of the resistance against colonial and Rhodesian rule.

The slot that Msika occupies in Government is reserved for ZAPU, the political party founded by Dr Joshua Nkomo and from which Mugabe and others split to form ZANU PF.

If something were to happen to Msika, John Nkomo, ZANU PF Chairman (ZAPU is now a part of ZANU PF) is guaranteed to become the next vice-president.

Confirmation of this would perhaps only come at the ZANU PF Congress in December.

josephmsika2Today, as I tried to confirm these reports about the VP’s “death”, I struggled with our by now routinely atrocious phone lines. It is impossible to get through to Econet from either Netone or landlines and this has been the case for some weeks now. The Vice President’s son’s cellphone appears to be switched off and the phone at Msika’s own home is going unaswered.

Still, a senior government official I spoke to confirmed with Msika’s aide that the Vice President is alive but on life support. Details will emerge during the evening.

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