Results news: Disputed reports and counter claims

(Reuters) HARARE - Zimbabwe's opposition said on Sunday it had won the most crucial election since independence but President Robert Mugabe's government warned its opponents that premature victory claims would amount to an attempted coup.

(BBC) ...BBC Southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says the MDC is working on the basis of partial, unofficial results...

Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu accused Mr Biti and the MDC of "speculation and lies" and "causing unnecessary havoc".

The state-run Sunday Mail quoted the ministry's secretary, George Charamba, as saying that if Mr Tsvangirai declared himself president "it is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled".

Ziso: 'Calm before the storm'

Midnight, Harare, March 29

The night before Election Day and the Zimbabwean sky is calm and clear, not a sign in the peaceful starscape that all hell is about to break lose. Already the rustlings of the underground have reported incidents of intimidation and double-dealing, and the threat of violence looms in the shadows. Armoured tanks and riot police have crept into the city over the past few days - an intimidation tactic - a silent reminder that the eyes of the state are watching you. A paralyzing fear that they hope will accompany you into the booth in which you alone may sign your death sentence or grab your lifeboat with the crossing of an X. In the farmlands of Mvurachena, the intimidation and bullying of the isolated communities is obvious. There is a fear that breathes in this country, in both the homes of the poor and vulnerable and on the tables of the safe middle class, even in the hearts of those Zimbabweans far from home and thinking of their families and in the consciences of those within the ruling party still paralyzed into silence.

Harare is abuzz with talk of rigging. Even before the polling stations officially open in seven hours, boxes of stuffed ballots have been discovered. 9 million ballot papers have been printed for an electorate of 5.6 million people. And misinformation regarding the electoral law is being spread like wild fire. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has officially stated that the presidential vote will be counted and posted on site at all polling stations but ZEC-trained polling agents have been told to expect the presidential ballots to be counted at a central location. This is just one instance. Rigging has happened before and it will happen again - will this time be any different? Will objection to the steal be brought to justice? It has been the most peaceful run-up to an election that Zimbabwe has seen this millenium. Opposition candidates have been relatively free to campaign and create dialogue with the electorate. The atmosphere of multi-party democracy has been surprisingly refreshing after years of polarity, but the same could be said of the lead up to the elections in Kenya, in which the Kenyan people were obviously engaged and expectant that democracy would be delivered.

Tomorrow is going to be a hard slog for everyone involved in this election. In fact Tomorrow is most likely to last until Sunday, maybe Monday, possibly Thursday people are saying. Expect a Florida style stand-off and many days of expectation as the reshuffling of the entire authority of the country is counted in piles of yellow, blue, green and white ballot papers. Expect chaos and confusion in the so-called ‘harmonised election’. Expect excessive skullduggery and massive swindling, flagrant denials and unexpected announcements. Expect the unexpected. Whether Zimbabwe will fall into the pitfall of violence is the big question. Mugabe’s ‘degrees of violence’ have unleashed themselves on the people before, and the MDC’s youth have learnt to fight back in the backstreets of the high-density suburbs. But the Zimbabwean people are by and large peaceful and patient and pacifist. Perhaps too patient, but their pacifism is to be respected – they are a population that remembers a civil war in their lifetime. The poverty, desperation and pure frustration are at a high point but the fear and paralysis is still strong. Who knows what thunder and lightning, gales and hurricanes the storm will bring. We hope and pray that in the aftermath a new dawn will rise.

Fay Chung calls for a courageous turnout in the Zimbabwean elections tomorrow

In an interview with the BBC, candidate Fay Chung calls on the electorate to take courage and come out to vote for change in the elections tomorrow.

Earlier, a former government minister told the BBC that Mr Mugabe might not be able to prevent one of the two main opposition candidates from winning the presidential election.

"I think the issue is whether the electorate is going to be brave or courageous enough to come out in large numbers, because I think the rigging of the election has been possible when there were small numbers dividing votes," Ms Chung said.

"But if you have millions coming out to vote, it will be very difficult to rig. If the polling agents and the observers are very watchful, it will become more difficult."

Ms Chung, a Senatorial candidate now allied to Simba Makoni, conceded that "there are a lot of 'ifs'", but insisted that Zimbabweans were desperate for change after 28 years of Mr Mugabe.

"I hear people saying... 'We are being abused. If we keep on electing the same government, we will continue to be abused'," she added. "So the question is: will they vote for the MDC or Simba's movement?"

Ms Chung said Mr Makoni's decision last month to stand against the president because of what he described as a "failure of national leadership" had begun a "period of change" in Zimbabwe.

"The steps taken by Simba Makoni have broken a Gordian Knot in which we were so tightly strung that we did not know how to get out of it," she told Radio 4's World Tonight programme.

"I think that whether he wins or not - I think he will win - he has changed the political geography of the country."

Ms Chung also acknowledged there was a potential for violence similar to that witnessed after the Kenyan presidential election last year, regardless of the result.

Read the full article on BBC Online...

Ziso: 'A day in Mvurachena '

Zimbabwe, March 26

Fay Chung spent the day visiting her most impoverished constituents. Mvurachena encompasses suburban housing areas, and then the vast expanse of farmland that surrounds the Harare airport. Hopley Farm is home to a population of refugees who were violently removed from their homes in the high-density areas during 2005’s Murambatsvina (the disastrous ‘clean up’ of several hundred thousand urban dwellers homes). Hopley Farm was forcibly reclaimed during the fast track land redistribution program and given to the City Council. The refugees were invited to re-locate to the isolated area where they now live in makeshift squatter shacks. Three year’s later, the farm has been sold (at a very low price) to a relative of our incumbent president and the refugees once more face destitution. These are the povo, the poorest of the poor, many of whom have been engaged as activists in the campaign, seeking protection behind their senatorial candidate.

The campaign team then moved to a series of farms in which Fay informally met small groups of the community. In some areas there was a happy dialogue, singing and dancing and welcome; in others, the rumour that Simba might actually be planted by Mugabe reared its head during the question session. Simba’s late entry into the race and his ZANU PF credentials has been confusing to some but it is obvious when one hears his honest assessment of Mugabe that he could not possibly be acting on the Fist’s behalf. His smiling campaign poster is in stark contrast to the violent and stern campaign of the Fist. Mugabe’s railing against Makoni (calling him a flea, a prostitute, a sell-out while spitting and frothing at the mouth) has been the best PR campaign Makoni could have received and laid the population’s suspicions to rest, but in this remote community the doubt still lingered. On another farm, women who had previously been activated to support the campaign as polling agents ran away when they saw Fay approaching. Eight policemen lingered ominously in the background. In some areas there is still great fear of intimidation, and it is clear that crowds that have gathered in the day to listen to her speak have been bullied in the evenings when left alone with their pro-ZANU neighbours.

The evening was spent at a conference between Makoni and women’s groups. Makoni spoke passionately about the fact that women have borne more of the load of hardship in the past decade, and lived with great fear for themselves, fear that they will not be able to feed their children, fear that their loved ones will die in their arms. He then went on to lay out his vision for women’s equal participation and engagement in rebuilding the country, but not from a segregationalist perspective. His manifesto does not specify a section on women’s issues; his outlook is macro – the government will create the structure in which things start working again, and the people will be empowered to solve problems themselves. Integration and self-determinism are at the heart of his outlook on gender, “We are not going to solve the problem for you instantly, but we will remove the impediments to you solving the problem for yourself. We will be an enabling, not constraining leadership. Together - pamwe chete - we will solve the problem.” (The Mavambo gesture is two hands clasped together over the head: the ZANU fist of Black Empowerment and the MDC open palm of Change joined together to rebuild the country in Unity.)

Fay Chung spiced up the debate by pointing out that in her university days in the sixties there was only one black woman enrolled and 100 black men – ‘What are the reasons?’ she asked and called for in-depth research on systemic problems that disempower women in Zimbabwe. For instance, under a Mugabe law married women are unable to inherit from their parents. “If they want to inherit, they shouldn’t get married,” was Mugabe’s response to criticism. Although Simba’s gender policy is still vague, what was genuine was his willingness to listen, and he set up the meeting asking for a genuine response to his views and was not afraid to test his views in a room full of well-spoken women. He railed against the culture of ‘chef’dom (big-wigs are known as, and act like, chefs/ chiefs). “Government is about service, not being served.” Fay ended the conference by thanking Simba for his bravery, acknowledging the fearful environment that Zimbabweans live in where suffering takes place in silence without criticism of one’s leader, “Simba has cut through the gordian knot that Zimbabwe has been trapped in.”

Amnesty International reports on harassment as election nears

As Zimbabweans prepare to vote in national elections on Saturday 29 March, Amnesty International today (26 March) warned that the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly of opposition party supporters are being unnecessarily restricted.

Amnesty International's Zimbabwe researcher, Simeon Mawanza, has recently returned from Zimbabwe. He said:

'We continue to receive reports of intimidation, harassment and violence against perceived supporters of opposition candidates - with many in rural regions fearful that there will be retribution after the elections.'

Read more...

Ziso: 'It’s not working! But we’ll get it working again'

Zimbabwe, 25 March

Today Simba Makoni’s final rally took place in the high-density suburb of Kuwadzana before a crowd of some thousands. All future rallies have been cancelled by the government with claims of an apparent lack of police availability to manage disturbances. Nevertheless, those present are upbeat barely concealing their anticipation. The crowds bedecked in yellow (T-shirts, flags, and make-shift paper hats) proclaim Simba kaOne! The atmosphere is curiously non-violent. To underscore the mood of multi-party participation, MDC supporters suddenly crash through in a truck, their open palms and paraphernalia of red bursting into the throngs of yellow. They sing MDC chants and the crowd gathers round the spectacle, fascinated, curious and ever-hopeful for the proverbial T-shirt.

The songs end and there is a mad dash as someone shouts out that T-shirts are available. It is a false alarm, however, and the mood settles as it becomes clear that proceedings are about to get serious. A procession of vehicles arrives and people rush to line the dirt road, shouting, President awuya! (The President has arrived). But it is not Robert Mugabe and his firing squad of protectors, but Simba, who the people now call their President.

Makoni opens by greeting the crowd, clapping his hands according to custom. The crowd eagerly greet him back, clapping their hands in return. He immediately establishes a rapport that borders on camaraderie. Wearing a bright yellow hat emblazoned with Simba, and a sunflower pinned to his front shirt pocket, he begins by thanking the crowd for attending. His address is earnest and direct, without pomp or ceremony. He speaks in Shona and his introduction is peppered with the language’s subtle and indirect phrasing, “There are some people who, when they want you to listen to them, come to your shops and market places and order them to close to force you to come and listen to them speak at the stadium. Am I right?” There are loud cheers of agreement as the crowd enthusiastically replies, “Yes, you’re right!” For the next hour, his speech addresses the backlash that has been aimed against him and states his position on Education, Healthcare, Investment, Inflation and the Land Issue, denouncing the current government’s policies and ending each topic with the catchy, “Its not working, but we will get it working again!”

He performs with passion, and fiery conviction, moving back and forth across the stage with easy familiarity, not a politician, but a man on a mission to make sure that people understand what he stands for. For being widely described as a geeky technocrat he performs with surprising humour and aplomb, and the crowd laugh and cheer good-naturedly in response.

The late afternoon sun mellowed as the rally dispersed peacefully. It was a positive and upbeat gathering. The six-week campaign has been full of optimism and goodwill, but it is an uphill struggle against twenty-eight years of the Fist. Zimbabweans are ready for change. Saturday will be the Zimbabwean democracy’s final test.

Link roundup

Some selected mainstream, historical, and more esoteric links:

Coming to a Crunch
(The Economist, March 19th)
David Coltart
(Blog of a MDC MP and Human Rights Lawyer in Zimbabwe)
H-Net
(A review of Fay Chung's book, 'Re-Living the Second Chimurenga: Memories from the Liberation Struggle in Zimbabwe')
At Home Abroad; Shadow on the future
(New York Times talks with fay Chung in 1989, while she was Minister of Education in Zimbabwe)
Mugabe's Last Stand
(Newsweek, 22nd March)
Mugabe's Maneuvering Dims Hopes for Fair Election
(Wall Street Journal, 22nd March, sub required)

Ziso: 'Simba kaOne!'

Zimbabwe, 24 March

Simba kaOne! is the chant in the run up to Saturday. Simba One Time! It is most likely that the vote will lead to a run-off for the presidential election between the final two candidates. Simba kaOne! is a battle-cry for a landslide victory by the Makoni campaign and a New Dawn (Mavambo) for Zimbabwean politics, but the struggle for first place will probably continue with a run-off in another three weeks. Which two will remain in the game is the big question.

Makoni’s Harare rally was postponed from morning to afternoon, and then to the next day. Rumour has it there are security risks. His rallies outside of town have met with more hostility than the relatively calm urban centres. In fact, ZANU supporters are not to be seen in town at all. 2005’s Murambatsvina (Operation Clean up) made winning back the urban vote impossible and the ruling party is focusing its attention on the 70% rural electorate. Outside the city, ZANU food hand-outs are scheduled at the same time as Makoni rallies and road blocks make rural canvassing difficult. In the city, everyone is desperate to catch a glimpse of the Golden Boy. Tuesday’s rally will be the last real chance before campaigning ends.

Today Fay Chung supported a rally of the indomitable Margaret Dongo. Dongo is an outspoken ZANU war-vet who famously broke from the party in 1995 and, to ZANU’s shock and amazement, won her seat in Sunningdale as an independent candidate. She was Zimbabwe’s first independent MP and the first female leader of a political party. She speaks passionately about how women have a far greater role to play within our patriarchal society and lives by her word. A truly original character, it is her precedent that Makoni is following as a brave stand-alone candidate without a party. If he wins he’ll be the first president in recent history to win a campaign without a political party! Simba kaOne!

Post Dates and Entries

Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that we sometimes experience a delay between the writing of the field reports in Zimbabwe and their posting online. This is caused by some email delays and other issues. So, to make things as clear as possible what we now do is post each report as they come in and also include a report date in the text. This indicates the day the post was actually written.

Thanks! Zimbabawe Now.

Ziso: 'Can I have a T-shirt?'

Zimbabwe, 23 March

There are five more days before African democracy is tested in Zimbabwe. Anyone with experience of politics in Zimbabwe will tell you that democracy in a run up to elections comes down to T-shirts. A campaign cannot run without the ubiquitous T-shirt, with the candidates face plastered on the front. At every site the request is repeated ad nauseum, “Can I have a T-shirt?” Beware the naive candidate who opens their car boot – they risk a riot of violent looting and crowds wrestling over the precious items. The local T-shirt making factory has been open all weekend printing shirts for ZANU, MDC, Makoni. The most precious ones at this point must be Mugabe’s stern portrait emblazoned “Fist of Fury” – hopefully this T-shirt will soon be a collector’s item, a little piece of African history.

The Fay Chung Senatorial Campaign Team prepare for the Saturday election: Mvurachena includes over fifty polling stations within a vast urban expanse. The upshot of Makoni’s entry into the ‘harmonized election’ is that voters will have a wide choice for their various ballots, with the option of choosing MPs, senators and presidential candidates from varying parties at the same time. The concept is refreshing after years of no real choice. Polling-agents from four different parties (ZANU, MDC1, MDC2 and Simba’s Movambo movement) will be present to ensure that rigging does not take place. This is a first for Zimbabwean elections, which have previously had only one opposition polling-agent observing the voting. Fears are still high that the vote will be stolen in the chaos, but the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has assured the candidates that the presidential count will be presented outside each polling station as soon as counting is done.

No matter how well things are prepared, chaos and surprises are predicted for the big day.

Optimist: 'A Glimmer of Hope'

In addition to the on the ground reports from Ziso we will be posting a series of articles from Optimist. Optimist writes from Harare as someone who has been around Zimbabwean politics for long. This time round she sees some cause for hope and is strongly supporting Makoni, and welcomes Fay Chung's entry into the Makoni campaign.

"The entry of Simba Makoni into Zimbabwe's presidential race broke through the darkness of recent months to give us a small ray of hope. If someone within the ruling party can stand up and disagree and challenge the seemingly all-powerful ZANU-PF political machine, maybe each of us can stand up, speak out and do something to improve life for all.

I rejoiced when Fay Chung joined Simba's movement. Fay is known for her integrity, intelligence and concern for the poor. If someone of her caliber is also willing to take the risk of challenging those who have been in charge of this country since Independence, it gives all of us a bit of courage to do what we can to bring peaceful and positive change.

It won't be easy. Few believe that the coming elections will be free and fair. The state broadcasting company blatantly favours the ruling party, although it has been forced to broadcast advertisements by all parties. The government controlled print media publishes the most nasty attacks against all opposition candidates and parties, although it too publishes their ads. I can't say whether all parties have the freedom to campaign throughout the country, but at least it seems as if there is less violence this time.

The country is full of rumours about civil war, coups, rigged elections, a Kenya scenario! Perhaps these have been planted by those in power to prevent people from voting for change. We don't know what will happen next Saturday.

We can only hope that if all those who registered go out and vote, the will of the majority will prevail."

Optimist
Harare

Ziso: 'Red and Yellow Dance for Change'

Zimbabwe, 22 March

‘Lets get Zimbabwe working again’ is the simple campaign slogan. The parliamentary and senatorial candidates travel from constituency to constituency supporting each other’s rallies. ‘Simba kuVanhu’ is the chant – ‘Power to the People’ (a clever play on words). In Hatcliffe, a crowd draws round the campaigners, skeptical at first but slowly intrigued by the speeches. Is Fay Chung going to speak in Shona? She breaks the ice with her opener, “Sei muZhingzhong anokwanisa kutaura Shona?” (“Do you wonder who is this ‘zhing-zhong’ (slang for Chinese) who can speak Shona?) “How many people here have jobs?” she asks. “Hapana!” shouts the crowd (‘we don’t have!) A punter on the street tells me, “I won’t vote for Mugabe because he’s the reason that I had to leave college. With him a doctorate holder will be forced to be a tomato vendor”. And Tsvangirai? “The last time I voted for him, but it didn’t bring any change, so I’m not voting for him this time.”

In Avondale, at Trudy Stevenson’s rally a fascinating collaboration is taking place. The red of MDC mingles with the yellow of the Makoni camp. Behind the table sits Trudy Stevenson, one of Tsvangirai’s earliest and most hard-working supporters who now protests his autocratic leadership. Beside her is Arthur Mutambara, whose withdrawal of his nomination for presidency has allowed many former MDC supporters to rally behind Makoni. Fay Chung and Rudo Gaizdanwa sit in yellow, two former members of ZANU, now women leaders in the Makoni camp. MDC slogans are shouted, “Change! Change!” followed by Makoni chants. Activists in yellow dance with MDC supporters in red, the Zimbabwean flag waving above them. There is a sense of real camaraderie between former ZANU and MDC activists, a sense of reconciliation and moving forward. Trudy reminds the crowd that people from ZANU can change, after all Morgan Tsvangirai was once a member of ZANU!

A vibrant dialogue takes place between the leaders and the crowd who burst into song at any pause. “We are not fighting the white man,” shouts the chair, “we are fighting a system that needs to be dismantled!” Mutambara is the final speaker; he is vibrant and charismatic, “Be the change you wish to see in your country.” The rally ends in song. The atmosphere is festive and colourful, the leaders black, white, Shona, Ndebele and Asian, the crowd full of MDC and ex-ZANU supporters, with the odd real war veteran and white suburban. A reminder of the rainbow nation Zimbabwe boasted of being in the eighties before the flames of racism were once more inflamed.

Anticipation is growing for the Makoni rally on Monday in Highfield, the climax of the Easter weekend.

Ziso: 'Hushed Expectation in Harare'

From today until the elections on the 29th we will be posting a series of articles direct from the election campaign trail in Zimbabwe. Written by Ziso, who is following events from the ground, we will try and convey some of the unseen aspects of the elections as they affect those immediately involved and those directly affected by them.

Harare, Zimbabwe, 21 March

Harare waits in hushed expectation for the 29^th. The atmosphere in the city is amazingly peaceful. Before other elections, the city has been charged with fear of intimidation and an angry frustration bordering on riot, but in 2008 there is an uncanny quiet. On one street corner MDC supporters leaflet. A few streets down Makoni is holding a rally to a cheerful crowd. A happy yellow is the campaign colour and a confidence surrounds the team. It is Easter Friday and leaving the rally an equally large crowd of churchgoers sing their way down the street behind a cross. Political posters and graffiti line the streets. Whispers are a foot. Will more party heavyweights swing over in the last seven days? Its been calculated that for everyone on the voter’s roll to complete their ballot paper (filling in four different votes) each person will have to take less than 9 seconds at the polling booth. It’s going to be chaos. And the new constitution states that the presidential votes will not be counted on site but at central headquarters. The probability of free and fair elections undermines the positive determination of this opposition camp.

Everyone has their analysis of how the vote will breakdown – a runoff for the presidential election is inevitable, but who will it be between? Some say Makoni has saved the day by pulling votes away from Mugabe who would otherwise win through his hold of the rural areas. Others say Makoni is taking votes away from Tsvangirai who should win as Zimbabweans are surely fed up with the lack of food, clean water, electricity, fuel, soap, toilet paper, milk, seeds, drivable roads and money that works. But all opinions are speculation. On the one hand the Zimbabwean people are exhausted at the concept of elections; they have voted before with passionate determination without any change taking place. On the other hand, in this glum and hopeless atmosphere, there is a genuine interest in Makoni’s challenge and hope that it might mean that change is possible. The truth is that nobody knows what will happen, and thus the hushed silence in anticipation of the 29^th when the match kicks off and those who are quietly hedging their bets will finally have to take sides.

Zimbabwe: What Prospects from a Flawed Election?

Zimbabwe: Prospects from a Flawed Election, is the latest report from the International Crisis Group

In their opinion, the international community needs to have contingency plans ready in anticipation of rigged elections in Zimbabwe on 29 March that could precipitate a potentially violent crisis.

The report examines likely scenarios for Zimbabwe’s simultaneous presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections. Even though President Robert Mugabe has two serious challengers, including for the first time one from within his own ruling party, they conclude that he probably has the means to manipulate the process before, during and after balloting, sufficiently to keep his office, though possibly only after a violent run-off. If that happens, they predict that no government will emerge capable of ending the country’s long crisis.

Read more at http://www.crisisgroup.org/

Zimbabwe: a plane without a pilot

ZANU PF’s major weakness is the failure to renew its leadership, says Fay Chung, a former minister under President Robert Mugabe who, she says, may now be remembered only for the “sewage” that litters the streets and the “endless nights” without electricity.

Chung, a parliamentary candidate under Simba Makoni’s Mavambo formation, is widely acclaimed for her role in reforming the educational system after independence. In comments highlighting her disappointment with the performance of her erstwhile comrades in Zanu PF, she said they had “run down the country”.

She said there was evidence everywhere for everyone to see that the country lacked leadership.

“Even in the streets, you see pipes spewing out raw sewage, everywhere there is corruption, GMB (Grain Marketing Board) has no seeds, ZESA (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) has no electricity, there is general neglect. It’s clear Zimbabwe is like a plane without a pilot,” she said in an interview with The Standard.

Read more...

Makoni's Independent Candidates Attacked

Reports from the Zimbabwe Standard yesterday suggest that pressure and intimidation against the independent candidates of Simba Makoni is increasing.

OFFICIALS of Simba Makoni’s independent candidates for the 29 March elections yesterday reported two violent incidents against their members.

The Hatfield house of their Harare South candidate in the House of Assembly, Joram Nago, was besieged by suspected Zanu PF youths in the morning. In the afternoon, while driving from Hopley Farm where he was scheduled to address a rally today, Nago and his driver were stopped by youths who accused them of trying to enter a "no-go" area.

The Standard caught up with Nago as he made a report at Waterfalls police station. He told the police that after beating him, the youths took away his police clearance letter. A police officer acknowledged in the presence of The Standard they had cleared the rally. Yesterday evening, Nago was still to go to hospital for a medical check-up as he was assisting police investigators.

In the second incident, two pfficials one of their vehicles were attacked while waiting to fill up at a service station along Samora Machel Avenue and Fourth Street in Harare. Never Mutamba, one of those assaulted, said they were saved by Police Support Unit officers passing by the service station.

Fay Chung Appeals to ZANU PF

Writing back in 2004, Fay Chung, candidate in the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe, makes a call for ZANU PF to make the space available to foster the development of political renewal.

ZANU PF as the political parent, or even grandparent, now needs to let go of its children and allow them to form their own political views, their own policies and therefore their own political parties. It is incorrect and unsound to punish one’s children for having outgrown parental controls. Our children live in a different world from ourselves: they are better educated than we were and they have had more training in industrial skills than we ever had. We of the parent and grandparent generation came from a peasant and missionary background, and were not allowed to participate in industrialisation during the colonial era. Whilst it is true that 23 years of independence is not a great deal, nevertheless, the first post-independence graduates are now in their forties, and ready to take over from us. We should not continue to treat them as recalcitrant and disobedient children.

From her essay Opportunities for political renewal in Zimbabwe written in 2004 for Zimbabwe: The Past is the Future, Weaver Press

Mugabe's Response to Simba Makoni's Challenge

The Canadian Globe and Mail describes the reaction of Robert Mugabe to the candidacy of Simba Makoni. Not for the easily offended, Mugabe's colourful use of language and invective suggests just how desperate he is becoming as the elections loom in Zimbabawe.

It was the first time Mugabe publicly reacted to Makoni’s challenge which has injected a new excitement to the presidential race which appeared to be headed for a rematch of his disputed 2002 victory over Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Mugabe blasted: "What has happened now is absolutely disgraceful. I didn’t think that Makoni, after all the experience, could behave like the way he did and in a naïve way too, boasting that ‘I am Simba Makoni’.

“He doesn’t even have a party, he says ‘people come and join me I am amazing, I am a magnate, come to me and I am there to lead you’. No! You go to the people and the people find you, you don’t become self-important when you are looking for support.

"So I have compared him to a prostitute. A prostitute could have stood up also saying ‘I have boyfriends in the MDC, others are in Zanu PF, there is no party without my boyfriends, so I am going to the nomination (court) as well’. But you see, a prostitute could have done better than Makoni because she has clients.”

Personal attacks have become a hallmark of Mugabe’s survival strategy as he battles growing resentment to his continued stay in power, manifesting itself through rampant indiscipline in the Zanu PF ranks.

Makoni's Declaration To Run for President

On February 5th Simba Makoni announced his candidacy for the Presidency, as reported by the The Times in Zambia.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s hopes of cruising to victory at polls next month suffered a severe jolt today as his respected former finance minister Simba Makoni announced his candidacy.

Makoni, a member of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) party, said he would take on Mugabe at the ballot box as an independent in a move analysts said could unite the president’s opponents.

"Following very extensive and intensive consultations with party members and activists countrywide and also with others outside the party, I have accepted the call and hereby advise the people of Zimbabwe that I offer myself as candidate for the office of president," Makoni told a press conference.

"Let me confirm that I share the agony and anguish of all citizens over the extreme hardships that we all have endured for nearly 10 years now," added Makoni who was Mugabe’s finance minister from 2000-2004.

"I also share the widely held view that these hardships are a result of failure of national leadership and that change at that level is a pre-requisite for change at other levels of national endeavour."

A Chinese Song of 'Chimurenga'

Fay's Chinese origins and the story of how her family came to settle in Zimbabwe are described by an article in The Beijing Review

More than a century ago, in 1904, a 17-year-old young Chinese, leaving behind his wife and new-born son, came to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to make a living, as he had no chance of getting a share of his ancestral property, being the youngest among the five boys of a peasant family in Nanpan Village near Guangzhou. After 18 years, his illiterate village wife adventured into Africa all by herself to join him, knowing there was no possibility of his return to China. The brave woman overcame all obstacles of language and location in the course of her long journey.

This is not a fictional story, but a true account of what happened to the grandparents of Fay King Chung, the first woman Chinese minister of Zimbabwe and the first Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA). She worked in various capacities in the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education in the 1980s, before finally rising to the position of minister.

Read more...