♪♫KNOCK KNOCK KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR♫♪

The 9^th April 2012 headline on The Daily Mail screamed:  BREAKING NEWS: Robert Mugabe reportedly 'fighting for his life' in Singapore hospital due to undisclosed illness.  What was actually alarming about this article is the report attributed The Tehran Times claiming that Mugabe had entered into “a gentleman’s agreement” which would see Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa taking over the leadership of Zimbabwe.

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the current Minister of Defense was Minister of State Security from 1982 to 1988. This means he oversaw the Gukurahundi massacres in which over 20 000 Ndebeles were brutally murdered. Mnangagwa also showed his propensity for brutality in the run up to & after the 2008 elections in which people were beaten, tortured, raped, murdered, others disappeared and scores were left homeless. Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s campaign manager in the highly contentious 2008 election. Mnangagwa has made it a point to portray Mugabe as vital so pictures of him looking frail are brutally censored.  It seems highly illogical to entrust a fragile nation to someone whose given middle name means trouble or distress. If The Tehran Times report is to be believed then this causes one to question whether Mugabe was compos mentis when he made the decision?

It is reported that Mugabe’s medical condition is said to be “critical”.  His family has reportedly chartered a flight to Singapore to be at his side. If diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks are to be trusted then the 88year old has prostate cancer which has metastasized (spread to other organs). Mugabe’s health (or lack thereof) has been the subject of much speculation over the last 5years. There have even been religious leaders predicting the demise of an African head of state which has been taken to mean the Zimbabwean octogenarian. Many people expressed great disenchantment after the death of 78year old Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi over Easter. Zimbabweans reacted with disappoinment & humour. One post on Facebook reads “I guess divine instructions were lost in translation, "And the Lord asked, if we take him who will lead the troubled nation in the transition?"  And the angel said "Joyce my Lord”.  And the Lord said "Take him then."  Moments later the Lord asked "Is he here yet? Bring him in he has a lot to answer to for the torment of my children." The Lord looks with utter surprise and disappointment and says "I said the 88 year old one not 78year old, and I meant Joyce Mujuru not Joyce Banda to take over. Ooops. (Act 2 scene II: enter Prophet Makandiwa)”

There is much worry that in the event of the death of Mugabe the two ZANU factions led by Vice President Joyce Mujuru and Mnangagwa would plunge Zimbabwe into civil war.  Mnangagwa’s hold on the army and State Security machinery is a great source of disquiet. At conception the Government of National Unity agreed that an election road map would be drawn up for free and fair elections after the bloody 2008 elections.  This has not been done as ZANU PF is holding the negotiations hostage by refusing to co-operate. Civic organisations have seen a sharp increase in politically motivated crimes. Opposition members are being assaulted and kidnapped. In the last three months reports coming out of Zimbabwe stated that the infamous torture camps were being revived in preparation for the rushed 2012 elections. These events do not bode well for the future of Zimbabwe.  Perhaps this would be a good time to send UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a smoke signal requesting for peace keepers before genocide occurs?

Audrey Charowa

Vice Secretary

MDC South East District

MDC Southend Branch Elections 13th February 2011

All roads lead to MDC Southend-On-Sea Branch Elections to be held at 268 Sutton Rd, Southend-On-Sea, SS2 5ET. A new team of tried and tested cadres will be elected to steer the branch and the party for the final elections to remove the despot Robert Mugabe and his regime, to us members of Southend-On-Sea it is not a question of positions but team work and commitment, it is a struggle which has taken to long to accomplish and will not need people who will tier before achieving our fundamental goal, MDC is a party of excellence and a government in waiting and out branch will strive to meet and satisfy the demands of our founding principles, i kindly invite you all to this important meeting and be part of the history, it’s not a day to miss, your vote is important.

Linah Mutambanuki
MDC Southend Hausunde

Zimbabwe Weekly Headlines February 4th, 2011

President Robert Mugabe has publicly stated last week that elections will be held this year with or without a new constitution. He added that he has the constitutional right to dissolve Parliament and call for fresh polls.

THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T), whose national executive met last weekend, has passed a resolution to the effect that the party will not contest any national election before the adoption of a new constitution. The party also demanded that there should be a clear roadmap on the polls after the adoption of the new constitution to replace the current compromise Lancaster House document.

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National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) last week had their entire cash resources seized by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) due to default in payment of fuel importation duties and other imports. With the seizure of its funds, Noczim was unable to effect payment for the petroleum which it had purchased, which petroleum was in tanks at Beira, in Mozambique, pending forwarding to Zimbabwe through the Beira Corridor pipeline.  As a result, a fuel shortage in Zimbabwe was imminent, with a major scarcity already prevailing in Harare.

Bearing in mind that Noczim is a government parastatal, and that Zimra is government’s revenue collection vehicle, I wonder what steps the government will take to prevent the wheels of the economy from coming to a complete halt.

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To many senior government officials in ZANU PF, the violent and chaotic land reform programme presented a perfect opportunity for them to get rich overnight.  They descended upon the most viable agricultural enterprises across the country like hungry vultures and devoured the assets. But today, the farms are ruined and without their equipment which was either sold or lay broken in the fertile agricultural soils. And consequently, the nation’s economy has crumbled to its knees.
It emerged last week that ZANU PF officials operating as the so-called Masvingo Initiative intend to seize a number of private preserves belonging to Germans, including the Save Valley Conservancy Trust.
A mob of about 150 seized Lake Chivero Recreational Park, Kumba Shiri resort, and several other sites around the lake, forbidding guests and employees from leaving.
Robert Mugabe's nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, has claimed responsibility for the invasions. Ironically, the invasions occurred while Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi was at a conference in Spain where he branded Zimbabwe ‘the world of wonders’.

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Traditional leaders and soldiers are being used by ZANU PF to force villagers in remote areas of Zimbabwe to sign a ZANU PF ‘anti-sanctions’ petition. The campaign is an attempt by ZANU PF to get more than a million signatures on a petition against the targeted restrictions that were placed on Robert Mugabe and his close allies by the E.U., the U.K. and the United States.  The petition shall then be handed to Western ambassadors for onward transmission to their capitals.

“Ticha gura maoko nemazino,” meaning ‘we shall be breaking hands and teeth’, was the chilling message sent out to villagers of Rusape, Gokwe and Masvingo province who fail to sign the document. If ZANU PF is so desperate to have sanctions removed, the simple and cost effective way of achieving this is by employing democratic principles that they vowed to when they took over power from the Rhodesian government.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has held an urgent meeting with Robert Mugabe to discuss escalating violence perpetrated by ZANU PF militia on MDC structures. The Prime Minister, who is under severe pressure from his party colleagues who are demanding protection,  is angered by  the way the police are selectively applying the law. As usual, Robert Mugabe denied planning the violence and shouldered the blame on mischief makers.

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It seems that convicted serial rapist Madzibaba Godfrey Nzira,  a self proclaimed prophet and ZANU PF supporter,  was pardoned and released from jail by Robert Mugabe in order to start a campaign to coerce members of the Apostolic sect to rally behind ZANU PF.  The convict, originally sentenced to 20 years, only served 7 years of that sentence.

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Zanu (PF) youths popularly known as Chipangano have this week visited vendors in Mbare demanding President Mugabe's birthday donations of $1.00 and voter registration receipts for the forthcoming referendum to choose a new constitution for Zimbabwe. The President turns 87 on the 26^th of this month.

Joao Matandirani
MDC Southend Hausunde