Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Local Government Minister has had a decision he made to appoint a traditional leader in Hwedza nullified. Harare, Zimbabwe, 28 December 2009 Justice Anne-Mary Gowora at the High Court of Zimbabwe perhaps does not know how the ZANU PF patronage machinery works. That is why she has nullified the appointment of a Headman in Hwedza by Local Government Minister and Mugabe homeboy Ignatious Chombo. The Headmanship is for Goto Ward in the Hwedza Area. Strictly speaking, no matter what the modern laws say, Headmen are the responsibilities of the Chief of the area. Having a Minister appoint a Headman is akin to asking a Board Chairman to appoint a shop-floor supervisor, but that is how deeply ZANU PF is controlling the rural areas. This being Goto Ward, it would have been expected that traditional laws of natural inheritance dictate that Milton Goto, the obvious candidate, would have been appointed. But Chombo instead appointed a Madzimbamuto Chikowore to the job. This was in May 2007. Willard ...

Robert "The Solution" Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai at the launch of something they called "National Healing" barely three months ago. MDC-T supporters dismissed reports here of continued militarisation of the countryside as sour grapes from Mavambo and Simba Makoni supporters. They dismissed all our warnings as not true and said Mugabe is finshed. SADC should leave them to their Solution and not respond to any reports of camps in the countryside or any other reports now being promoted as fact by the MDC-T and its supporters, the very same reports dismissed as false when we exposed here. Harare, Zimbabwe, 04 November 2009 The Open Society Initiative, a South Africa-based NGO, has called on SADC to immediately send a delegation to Zimbabwe to monitor reports of an upsurge in violence in the country. This is coming a bit late. As far back as four months, we warned on this very blog that JOC had deployed 2000 armed personnel into the countryside (200 per province). But ...

"If you thought a beating on the buttocks was bad last year, this year, it will be a bullet in the head". According to the MDC Secretary for Welfare, this is what ZANU PF youths, accompanied by military personnel, are telling people in the rural areas, in a systematic and methodical intimidation campaign being carried out despite wishful thinking within the MDC-T ranks that they will be able to triumph at the next elections. The MDC-T has written and complained about this to the Minister of Youth (a ZANU PF member) and have been told to go and tell someone who cares. Harare, Zimbabwe, 24 October 2009 The MDC-T has written to Saviour Kasukuwere, a ZANU PF Minister in charge of youths to complain that it's supporters in the rural areas are being massively intimidated by ZANU PF Youths, who are going around the country accompanied by soldiers and "army details". Ian Kay, the MDC-Tsvangirai Secretary for Welfare wrote to Kasukuwere last week saying: "The inform...

Dr Simba Makoni, the leader of Mavambo.Kusile.Dawn party in Zimbabwe is being charged under POSA (Public Order and Security Act) with addressing 400 or more people last year in Glendale without police clearance. I suppose they can not find any other charge to stick! Harare, Zimbabwe, 03 August 2009 Dr Simba Makoni, interim President of Mavambo.Kusile.Dawn has been charged with "addressing more than 400 people" in Glendale during the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Makoni is due to appear in court in Glendale this week to face trial on the charge. I was with Dr Makoni in Glendale during the campaign and during the incident for which he is being tried and it is nothing more than harassment. Those who followed the Makoni campaign during the Presidential elections of 2008 know that the Doctor held very few rallies. His approach was to do "walkabouts". At every place where we arrived and where he did his walkabouts, we went to the local police station where Dr Makoni explain...