Media Alert

Media Alert
18 January 2010
Journalist flees Zimbabwe following death threats.Senior freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda has reportedly fled the country after he was allegedly phoned and threatened with death by a senior police officer.
Kwenda fled the country over the weekend after he was phoned on his cellphone on 15 January 2010 by the alleged senior police officer over a story reportedly published in The Zimbabwean newspaper. The police officer allegedly told him that he would not survive the weekend. Kwenda who is a member of MISA-Zimbabwe's Harare Advocacy Committee, is the director of the Artists for Democracy Zimbabwe Trust (ADZT). MISA-Zimbabwe condemns this development as yet another serious threat to media freedom and the right of journalists to conduct their lawful professional duties without fear or hindrance from any quarters.
MISA-Zimbabwe urges the inclusive government and the Police Commissioner General to unequivocally guarantee the safety of journalists and to assure Kwenda of his security pending full investigations into the alleged threats. For any questions, queries or comments, please contact: Nyasha Nyakunu Senior Programmes Officer
MISA-Zimbabwe
84 McChlery Drive
Eastlea
Harare
Zimbabwe
Telefax: +263 4 776165/746838
Mobile : +263 11 602 448/ 11 639 682
Email: misa@misazim.co.zw
Website: www.misazim.co.zw

Zimbabwe: New wave of violent farm evictions

PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Commercial Farmers’ Union of Zimbabwe ISSUED BY: CFU President Deon Theron 21 January 2010
Zimbabwe: New wave of violent farm evictions
The Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) deplores the fact that Zimbabwe’s Government of National Unity (GNU) has
failed to stop a few extremists from openly threatening, physically attacking and illegally evicting commercial farmers
and their workers. These ongoing acts of lawlessness, which escalated over Christmas and are spreading into other
provinces, violate the basic principles enunciated in the Global Political Agreement (GPA). In order to turn the
economy around and address the country’s shocking unemployment rate [over 90 percent] and now endemic poverty,
notably in the rural areas, Zimbabwe needs meaningful investment. However before this can happen, the international
community will need to see that the rule of law is not being applied selectively and that property rights, court orders and
signed agreements are respected.
Attacks continue despite BIPPA with SA
Despite the signing of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) with South Africa on
November 27, attacks on South African nationals operating productive commercial farms in this country have
increased. Since Christmas, there have been numerous attacks and evictions and, as we make this statement, these acts
of lawlessness are continuing.
In a widely publicized statement that shocked the international investment community, Attorney-General Johannes
Tomana said he approved of sending soldiers onto farms to help to remove their occupants for ignoring what he termed
“government directives”. We now have a banana farm in Manicaland which is protected by a BIPPA agreement with
Malaysia and the Netherlands invaded by the military, and the bananas being reaped illegally and sold in Harare. This
reckless statement by the Attorney General - and the subsequent action - will have severe consequences for our country
and the transitional government.
Zimbabwe’s army cannot legally be involved in law enforcement as the country is not operating under a state of
emergency. Before any soldier could even leave the barracks for the role Mr Tomana has suggested, the President would
need to officially declare a State of Emergency. Such a decision would have to be taken in consultation with Cabinet
and, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our government would also have to advise the UN Security
Council, through the UN Secretary General.
Failure to respect the rule of law
Our statutes clearly set out the legal requirements regarding evictions. The Attorney General’s Office must first
successfully prosecute an accused person in a court of law to completion, and government must then provide vacant
occupation before any beneficiary can move onto the property. To clarify the above, government must remove the
farmer from the farm through a court order, and only when the farmer has vacated the farm can the beneficiary legally
move on. The Attorney General does not have the authority to direct the military to take action against its own
citizens. Concurrently, new jambanjas[1] in the Karoi area are being proposed by the Area Lands Committee Chairman,
Temba Mliswa, a relative of Minister Didymus Mutasa. [Mr Mutasa was previously Minister of State for National
Security, Lands, land Reform and Resettlement in the President’s Office.]
Mr Mliswa is notorious for relying on intimidation and violence to achieve his objectives. He has operated with
impunity under the previous Zanu PF government and, despite the formation of the Government of National Unity,
continues to do so. In addition to oppressing Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers, Mr Mliswa is also threatening to
attack black A2[2] farmers who rent land to white farmers. The question needs to be asked: Under whose authority is
he acting? Furthermore, the CFU would like to know whether Mr Mliswa’s reckless promise to redistribute farms to
anyone who joins his jambanjas has any authority or justification.
We reiterate that these violently orchestrated jambanjas are completely contrary to the GPA and the rule of law. They
must be both rejected and put a stop to immediately by the GNU.
Allocation of any land must only be done in full accordance with the law by legally constituted bodies. It is time that
people like Mr Mliswa and the Attorney General showed respect for and complied with the conditions agreed to in the
Global Political Agreement, and adhered to Zimbabwe’s international commitments.
The SADC Tribunal based in Windhoek, Namibia, has ruled that the 17th Amendment[3] to the Zimbabwean
Constitution not only violates the principles of the rule of law but is racist. Racism is recognized universally as being a
crime against humanity, for very good reasons. It should never be tolerated by any state or government, whether it is
white-on-black, black-on-white, or any other variation. Racism is an evil, and Zimbabwe should now implement the
commitments it has made by the signing of numerous treaties against any state-sanctioned racism. Violations of this will
only invite new international action against Zimbabwe.
Clarification required by GNU
In view of the untenable situation and adverse publicity, we pose the following questions to the Government of
National Unity:
1. Should Zimbabwe, a voluntary signatory to the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERD), be forced to appear before the UN Committee established by the CERD Treaty [a committee which
reports directly to the Security Council] to explain the continuing invasions?
1. Can the members of the GNU afford to embarrass themselves and their country, as well as SADC and the AU,
by becoming a Security Council agenda item at this stage?
1. Can the GNU confirm that it is now government policy to take land back from black farmers because they have
chosen to rent it to white farmers?
1. Is the GNU committed to ensuring that 2010 will be a period of recovery for all Zimbabweans, or will the
nation continue to suffer under the lawlessness of a few?
We reiterate: what commercial farmers and their workers are being subjected to constitutes crimes against humanity.
It is time for the GNU to take a principled stand in this regard. As white commercial farmers, we are committed to
respect of the law and to producing food for this nation so that Zimbabwe once again becomes food secure. However,
we cannot achieve this without the unequivocal support of the GNU and without the restoration of the rule of law.
A burden on donor community and SADC
It is an appalling state of affairs that, as a result of the virtual destruction of the commercial farming sector, our country
has had to rely on food aid from the international donor community for almost a decade. We are also very conscious of
the burden that the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe places on our neighbours in the SADC region. The fall-out from our
political and economic crisis has had very serious consequences for the entire subcontinent, impacting on food security,
investment, development and tourism. It has also resulted in a mass exodus of well over three million people – men,
women and children, many of them rendered destitute - who have flooded into the region.
Commitment of SADC and South Africa
We thank the SADC leaders for their ongoing mediation and the South African government in particular for its
commitment to resolving the impasse. President Jacob Zuma’s well-informed and authoritative approach to the crisis is
of immeasurable value. The South African government’s statement of January 17 that formal contact has been made
with the Zimbabwean government on issues raised by South African farmers under siege in Zimbabwe represents an
important milestone in the decade-long crisis.
If the rule of law is restored and the situation on the ground in the commercial farming sector is resolved, every single
person in Zimbabwe will benefit, both in terms of food security and because our economy is agri-based. The CFU calls
on the GNU to meet with us and to commit itself to halting the farm invasions so that together we can to chart a way
forward for the rebuilding of Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector.
DEON THERONPresident
Commercial Farmers’ Union
Harare,
Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 4 309 800 Zim Cell: +263 912 246 233 E-mail:

Why I had to flee the country, by Stanley Kwenda

Why I had to flee Zimbabwe

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/sunday-issue/why-i-had-to-flee-zimbabwe.html

Written by Stanley Kwenda
Thursday, 21 January 2010 16:37
“FREELANCE journalist Stanley Kwenda was found dead on the outskirts of Harare. His remains were found dumped in a ditch along the Harare to Domboshava road . . .”
(Stanley Kwenda -- I felt like I was all alone to face a lynch mob)

An imagined worst case scenario, yes -- but one which after that strange and angry voice on the phone last Friday evening promised I would not survive the weekend, I could not say with certainty could never happen. I had to act immediately.
But the good news first. I am safe and sound in my hiding place. Who knows, all the news organisations that carried the story of how I fled Zimbabwe last week following the death threats would by now probably have been writing about my death.

Usual suspects
Sadly, all this is happening at a time when we should be celebrating the dawn of a new era of democracy in Zimbabwe. I saw it first hand last Friday evening that the usual suspects are still on the prowl – almost a year after a new coalition government came into office in Harare with a mandate to promote among other things the rule of law and respect for human rights.
Friday began with the normal routine, which means grabbing all the newspapers I can lay my hands on just to check what’s happening around.
I had just received a copy of British-based Index on Censorship 2009 Review. From the moment I flipped open the first chapter, I could never put the book down.
The stories told in the book of how some journalists elsewhere in the world have stood up to tyranny – with some even getting killed in the process – in order to be able to practise their profession are encouraging.
Although, I must admit, there is something quite disturbing about knowing that someone could order your death simply because you dared tell a story.
Somewhere, on one of the pages of the Index, there was a long list of journalists who have either been harassed, incarcerated or lost their lives in the line of duty. Interestingly, some of them were from Zimbabwe – and little did I know that by end of that day, I would be part of the statistics.

Death threats
This was after I received very specific death threats from a senior police officer in connection with a story I did for the The Zimbabwean on Tuesday newspaper.
At about 11 am I received a call on my phone and on the other end of the line was a gentleman who told me that a certain Sylvia who works for fast food outlet Chicken Inn wanted to talk to me.
The said Sylvia later called me on my cellphone. She said she wanted us to meet at some point in central Harare so that she could give me more information on how Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri had blocked Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai from visiting police stations around the country. Apparently this was the subject of my story in the 12th January edition of The Zimbabwean on Tuesday.
I asked her who she was and why she wanted to give me that information. In response, she said she was just any ordinary Zimbabwean who had information that was of public interest and that could be of help to the country.
She had used this same trick to dupe people at paper’s office to give her my cellphone number.

Unusual determination
Somehow her rather unusual determination to get the “story or information” to me left me wondering just why any genuine news source would pursue a reporter so much. Generally, things are supposed to be the other way round.
In no time, the lady called again. This time pleading with me to urgently come to the place in central Harare where she had earlier suggested we meet. At that point I realised I was being lured into a trap!
I told her to send her information to me via the newspaper email address but she insisted on a face-to-face meeting. At that point I told her off and asked her not to call me again.
But as I prepared to get my weekend into swing, I received a call at 7.15 pm on my mobile phone while I was having a drink with a friend at a local hotel.
The number of the caller was not displayed on my phone but I could hear a male voice on the other end of the line. Before I knew it, the man at the other end of the line was hurling threats and insults at me. “Kwenda, you are not going to last this weekend,” the man thundered in an audibly harsh and angry voice.
The man never gave me a chance to make head or tail of why he had actually called me. He was just spewing all sorts of profanities, while repeatedly reminding me that I was going to die, that I would be dead before fellow congregants at my church uttered the last word of the evening prayer that following Sunday.
For a moment, I was puzzled by it all, I could not just understand why anyone would threaten me with death when I can’t even harm a fly.

Licence to kill
But I was under no illusion as to the potentially dire consequences of ignoring the threat, especially when it dawned on me that the only person who could have been behind the threatening call was the senior police officer whom I had obviously named and shamed in the story published by The Zimbabwean on Tuesday.
I have never felt so afraid but on the day in question I was left trembling. The policeman in question belongs to a “special” group of security agents who seem to have “unofficial” licence to maim, torture, abduct and kill as they please. I was left with no option but to think of a way out.
For a moment, I thought of seeking sanctuary at a friend’s place. I also thought of calling my lawyer so that we could confront the caller.
But, when I tried to make a quick count of the number of court orders that have been ignored by the police and the number of people who have been tortured and sometimes killed by the usual suspects, it became so obvious to me that no one could guarantee my safety and security.
Neither the courts nor the inclusive government that has to date done pretty nothing to restore the rule of law and respect for human rights in the country could protect me.
I felt like I was all alone to face a lynch mob, there was no option but to leave the country.

Journalist flees Zimbabwe after death threat

CPJ: Journalist flees Zimbabwe after death threat
Written by Martin
Thursday, 21 January 2010 08:20
New York: Freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda ,a contributor to the private weekly The Zimbabwean, fled the country on Friday after he said he received a telephone threat from a high-ranking police officer, according to the paper’s editor, Wilf Mbanga.
The reporter identified the caller as Chief Superintendent Chrispen Makedenge, Mbanga said. The caller allegedly said that Kwenda would be dead by the weekend in connection with an article in The Zimbabwean, according to news reports. Kwenda had quoted relatives of Makedenge’s late wife making critical comments about the senior police officer, Mbanga said. Phone calls made by CPJ to Makedenge went unanswered. Police spokesman Wayne Bvujzijena told CPJ that no complaint had been filed and no investigation opened. He said police knew only what had been reported online.
“We call on the commissioner of police to thoroughly investigate this serious allegation against a staff member and to ensure that justice is served,” said CPJ’s Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “Just when it seemed that the media in Zimbabwe was emerging from years of repression, a journalist has been forced to flee for his life.” Local reports have said that Makedenge orchestrated the 2008 arrests of 32 former opposition party members and human rights activists, including Andrison Manyere, a freelance photojournalist. Manyere is free on bail but still faces several politically motivated criminal charges.
Manyere was detained by police for two hours on January 18 while filming a demonstration by members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise, according to the press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa.

Chidren's future, a challenge for politicians.

The tragedy of forgetting children in the new dispensation
By Michael Chipato
The United Nations News Centre published shocking statistics on Zimbabwean children in November 2009 and if they are a true reflection of the Zimbabwean children and women’s situation, then there is immediate need to visit the domain of human reason and basic logic- Children are the future.
The Zimbabwean experiences over the past decade and a half have been tumultuous, challenging and tragic for the future. Losses have been incurred across the social strata and children have not been spared from this impact. The Multiple Indicator and Monitoring Survey (MIMS), which was conducted in May 2009, reported a decline in access to many key social services for women and children, particularly for the poorest populations and in rural areas. The greatest impact of poverty always hits hardest on women and children who occupy the ‘highly risk vulnerable category’ especially in the developing countries.
Dr. Peter Salama, UNICEF Representative issued a statement that “... everyday in Zimbabwe 100 children below five years of age are dying of mostly preventable diseases.” Health and education provision collapsed and became affordable only for the rich, with teachers earning 100USD per month, the challenge that the government faces is huge. Employment creation, economic stability, increased trade to boost to build foreign currency reserves, human rights observance on the Rights of the Child can energise the nation to new levels where the welfare of the child occupies the centrepiece of the national economic regeneration agenda.
The data from the national survey, which had a sample size of 12,500 households in Zimbabwe, revealed constricted support to the country’s orphaned and vulnerable children. With 79 per cent not receiving any form of external assistance this exposes a wide gap in the welfare system which needs to be filled. The operations by NGO’s have effectively cushioned the violence inflicted by poverty on children through supplementary feeding programmes and rural microfinance initiatives for rural women in running programmes like Rural Microfinance Project (RMFP) by CARE International amongst many others which have community empowerment components.
The survey provides data on Zimbabwe’s progress in attaining international priorities like the MDGs, which includes among its targets reducing under-five mortality by two thirds by 2015. Health care services are a core component in managing the destiny of the nation’s children as they are future leaders and national participants in the nation building mission. The process is continuous and like a relay race in athletics, the baton must be passed on to an equipped team of healthy and educated children.
Zimbabwe has prided as the beacon of educational excellence from independence onwards fulfilling the demands of Article 2 of the Human Rights Act which underscores the centrality of educational rights. In his comments on the unity government’s commitment, Professor John Makumbe described it as,"... a standstill government; it's limping heavily because the involved partners are pulling in the opposite directions ... there is little this unity government can claim credit for.’’ The education crisis which started last year saw a marked depletion of teachers, plummeting school attendance rates from over 80 per cent to 20 per cent and postponement of national schools’ exams.
As long as the future is forgotten by half digestedly approaching child welfare and education in Zimbabwe, energies will be laid to waste. The welfare of the child must be central to demonstrate government’s commitment to rebuilding the country.
In his Christmas message, the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai underscored the shifting in focus by government, ‘from stabilisation to consolidation’. For the sake of Zimbabwean children and the future of a onetime prosperous nation, the cattle need to come back to the kraal, leaders need to disengage from disagreeing and favourably agree on what is best for the nation.This is an opportunity for all stakeholders to show their commitment to Zimbabwe and its children.
For too long the education system in Zimbabwe has been a shame and in shambles, yet this is the very empowering tool that can continue to liberate the country for the future.

New artists set to Go beyond borders

Wide World Artists takes Zimbabwean Music beyond borders!!

By Michael Chipato

A compilation album by upcoming Zimbabwean musicians has been released. The album called Zimbabwe Today a debut album of exciting new record label, Wide World Artists. Arrays of artists are set to benefit from the international this space that has been created by Wide World Artists.

Being successful in the music business involves the merge of talent and being at the right place at the right time and meeting to right people at the right time. Zimbabwean upcoming artists face promising international exposure if the opportunity that has been accorded to them by this initiative is taken to the next level in the next ten years.

Musician and filmmaker Jimmy Collins who is the founder of Wide World Artists said ‘Zimbabwe Today’ is the first major release from the new world music record label, Wide World Artists’ in its bid to provide opportunities for musicians from developing countries by bringing their music to international markets. ‘Wide World Artists stands for social change and supports a variety of initiatives, including Tariro: Hope and Health for Zimbabwe's Orphans, which will receive a portion of all proceeds from Zimbabwe Today.’

The Zimbabwean musical landscape has gone through a great revolution;
thanks to the popular local talent promotional era which saw the rise of urban grooves and other millennium and post colonial musical genres. The colloquial saying that, ‘local is lacker’ cannot be ignored in this musical development. There has however been a gap on the marketing sector where only the established artists have enjoyed the large chunk of international business whilst the musical freshmen have suffered promotional sterility.

Great and iconic musical figures like Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi, Alick Macheso, and Tongai Moyo are posited for retirement at one time or another and Zimbabwe must not watch music collapse, (not to mean the retirement of what they have produced-that definitely lives on even beyond the grave!!) many things have collapsed but music as the voice of reason and a conscience of the people must live on in all its varieties. The diverse nature of the compilation which features songs in English and Shona, has a pleasant mixture of styles ranging from reggae, traditional and urban grooves.

Traditional and household names on the musical plateau need unique successors and challengers to create brands that can take people through continuous years of entertainment and artistic celebration. Alexio’s Shaina is inspirational and The Land by Hope laconically explores the essence of identity. Shaina, by Alexio has top of the Zimbabwean charts for over six months...Incredible!!Romantic nostalgia, history and philosophy are exhumed in these fresh tunes in conventional style. Selmor Mtukudzi pelts a proverbial masterpiece that takes on a moral route that adults have a responsibility for the future; leaders have a responsibility in the manner those around them are shaped.

At a time where cyber life has taken over all forms of business transactions, this first compilation of popular Zimbabwean music shall be released over 10 years through online music stores like iTunes and Amazon. This can fully be
utilised to promote these new artists for income generating opportunities offered by the electronic marketplace.

The aim of the project is basically for promoting artists who are stifled and muscled out of musical battlefield - rings as a result of their freshness on the scene and financial constraints; these elements must never undermine the skills displayed in their artistic work.

Exposure stands as the key goal using online distribution and promotion WWA is set to bring young and upcoming artists to international audiences. ‘WWA hopes to create a community where any artist can succeed, based on the quality of their work, not their country of origin or economic means’. Artists in developing countries have been chocked and resultantly suffocated from lack of economic means especially in Zimbabwe where poverty and political upheaval has stunted development and growth for quite some time. This is a sad concept that artists must continue to explore through writing, song and theatre if artists are to be true mirrors of society.

Zimbabwe Today features eleven of the top young artists and bands from Zimbabwe, including world-famous Bongo Love, Selmor Mtukudzi (daughter of the legendary Oliver Mtukudzi), Alexio Kawara singer of Shaina, Willis Wataffi (of Afrika Revenge), Tendai Manatsa (son of Zexie Manatsa), Victor Kunonga and Transit Crew, amongst others. The compilation is an artistic exhibition of Zimbabwean talent in its diverse genres and linguistic variables which stands as mark of cultural wealth though expressed in a contemporary style.

Produced by musician -cum -scholar James Collins, and ethnomusicologist Jennifer Kyker, the album was officially released on December 15th, 2009. For purchase information and track samples, please visit: www.wideworldartists.com