Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Roy Bennett arrives at the High Court in Harare earlier today for the ruling in the applications brought by his lawyers as well as those brought by the Attorney-General. As Bennett arrived at court, Morgan Tsvangirai and his ministers were trooping into the Cabinet Room at Munhumutapa Building, which is just opposite the High Court. The MDC-T has now started attending cabinet meetings again ahead of a 30 day deadline given to them and ZANU PF to resolve all outstanding issues (including Mugabe's own issues) by Southern African leaders. Harare, Zimbabwe, 11 November 2009 Morgan Tsvangirai is, as I write this, attending a Cabinet meeting in Harare with all his ministers, after calling off his "disengagement from ZANU PF, Cabinet and Council of Ministers". Things have not changed, however, because the holding of cabinet today instead of the usual Tuesdays shows again that Mugabe is still firmly in control. Mugabe was out of the country attending a China/Africa Summit in Egyp...

President Joseph and Robert "The Solution" Mugabe soon after their talk at State House in Harare on November 2. Kabila was at the Africa University yesterday delivering a lecture in which he thanks Mugabe for helping prop up his father's government in the DRC. He also said it was a courageous move for anyone to share power with their former adversaries and says he should know, because he has done the same in the DRC. Harare, Zimbabwe, 04 November 2009 If anyone harboured any illusion as to where in Zimbabwe the loyalty of Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and current Southern African Development Community (SADC) lay, they were left in no doubt yesterday at the African University. Kabila was delivering a lecture at the University (the Dag Hammarskjold lecture named after the former United Nations Secretary General who died in a plane crash in the Great Lakes Region in the 1960s). Kabila thanked Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe for their intervention ...

Robert "The Solution" Mugabe and Joseph Kabila at State House in Harare yesterday. Mugabe basically told Kabila to butt out of Zimbabwe, saying that Zimbabweans are grown ups who can solve their own problems. This is echoing statements from SADC itself, whose Troika Foreign Ministers said in Harare last week that SADC can only "help Zimbabweans to help themselves".  The problem is that the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, is hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with Mugabe on his own. Harare, Zimbabwe, 03 November 2009 Robert "The Solution" Mugabe, the dictator of Zimbabwe, has effectively told the Southern African Development Chairman, DRC president Joseph Kabila to "butt out" of the Zimbabwe issue and leave Zimbabweans to sort out their own problems. Mugabe is only doing this because he knows that, if Morgan Tsvangirai is left to him and only him, he would be able to run rings around the hapless Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, who is finding it diffic...

Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and current Chairman of SADC, seen here with his new bearded look, has arrived in Zimbabwe, playing down the crisis in the country. He will meet with Mugabe and Tsvangirai, Mutambara today but is definitely not here to mediate on the crisis. Mugabe showed his contempt by sending his Vice-president to meet the DRC president, although he has traditionally been on hand personally to meet every single Head of State that has come to Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe, 02 November 2009 Joseph Kabila, the young man who was thrust into the presidential seat by army Generals upon the violent assassination of his father, appears to have learned the diplomacy game quickly. Kabila, the current Chairman of the Southern African Development Community, flew into Harare yesterday from South Africa, where he had gone specifically to get orientation on how to handle the Zimbabwe issue from the South African president, Jacob Zuma and to also understa...

Thabo Mbeki has "disengaged" from the Zimbabwe issue, Jacob Zuma is proving to be even quieter than his predecessor (despite the assurances we got from half-baked analysts when we pointed out that he would not crack the whip on Mugabe) and the rest of SADC is tired of the Mugabe/Tsvangirai circus. The Ministerial team currently in Zimbabwe will meet with Mugabe and Tsvangirai separately today and fly out of Zimbabwe without committing themselves to anything. For Tsvangirai, it is back to square one. For Mugabe, it is business as usual . Harare, Zimbabwe, 30 October 2009 Details emerging after the meetings the SADC Ministerial team had with ZANU PF and MDC-T leaders yesterday show that we were right yesterday in urging the world not to take the visit seriously as it was simply for show. Inside sources reveal that the team of foreign ministers from the Troika (the Organ on Defence and Politics) listened politely to ZANU PF and MDC-T presentations, made by negotiators from bot p...

As the SADC Ministerial team prepared to land in Zimbabwe (they are now here), the MDC was holding a press conference addressed by Nelson Chamisa, at which Edith Mashaire, the party's Security Administrator, recounted how armed men had attempted to kidnap her in the Harare City Centre two days ago. The police are being dismissive, with the Police Spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena saying this was just a stunt and posturing ahead of the visit by the SADC team. The police, clearly, have no intention of investigating the matter, although number plates have now been taken on two occasions. Harare, Zimbabwe, 29 October 2009 A team of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Foreign Ministers from that body's Organ on Defence and Politics is in Zimbabwe right now meeting with the political leaders of the country. Right off the bat, things are not looking good for Morgan Tsvangirai and his party. The meeting takes place as the MDC has effectively left government, refusing to attend ca...

The wave of abductions from last year has started again, signalling to the MDC-T what awaits them if they walk out of the Inclusive Government. The effort is being led by the security establishment, which even Mugabe allegedly has a hard time controlling. It explains a lot of the behaviour from Morgan Tsvangirai right now, insisting on remaining in government to try and minimise the impact of the inevitable assault on his party by ZANU PF as elections approach, whenever that may be. Harare, Zimbabwe, 28 October 2009 The MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai has confirmed reports that started reaching us last night that one of their employees and activist, Pascal Gwezere was "abducted" last night by armed men in a double cab vehicle. The abduction took place in the township of Mufakose in Harare. Gwezere is a very close relative of MDC-T Morgan Tsvangirai, his mother is a sister to Morgan Tsvangirai's own mother. Gwezere works in the intelligence department of the MDC. This "a...

Harare, Zimbabwe, 27 October 2009 The three main political leaders in Zimbabwe (referred to rather ambitiously as "The Principals") met late afternoon on Monday in a tense meeting that lasted four hours, with Mugabe insisting that he will not budge on any of the issues Tsvangirai wants addressed. Mugabe suggested that it was "pointless" to discuss the matters Tsvangirai has brought up because there was a SADC ministerial mission that is coming to Zimbabwe and he would rather wait to hear what they, as "impartial outsiders" say about who has failed to implement the GPA. This is a direct contradiction of the position taken by the State media today, who were briefed by the President's office that the SADC ministerial team was no coming to Zimbabwe to deal with the issue of the MDC-T disengagement from ZANU PF and the Zimbabwe cabinet. The team mission, duly reported state media, was decided on at the SADC Summit in the DRC in September, before the MDC-T a...

Morgan Tsvangirai seen here in South Africa. He has now returned home and is meeting with Mugabe as I write this. I will update you as soon as this meeting is finished. It is unlikely that anything of substance will come out of it, though. Mugabe has taken the strategy of making "promises" which will allow Tsvangirai to get back into cabinet and start engaging ZANU PF without losing face. These promises will, of course, never be honoured. And Tsvangirai knows this Harare, Zimbabwe, 26 October 2009 A few minutes ago, along Herbert Chitepo Avenue in Harare, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pulled me (and other motorists) to the side of the of the road with his motorcade (three brand new Toyota Land Cruisers, a maroon Mercedes Benz S340 and a Double Cab Toyota Hilux). The Landcruisers (which are not marked) are the ones with sirens, leading the way and clearing people out of Tsvangirai's way. The Prime Minister was on his way to his meeting with Mugabe, which is going on as ...

Robert "The Solution" Mugabe reads a brochure day before yesterday (Friday 22 October 2009) in Uganda as he attended an African Union Summit on Refugees. He has now returned home where he told reporters that he is not going to do anything the MDC-T and Prime Tsvangirai want him to do, essentially telling them to go and hang. Harare, Zimbabwe, 24 October 2009 Robert "The Solution" Mugabe has essentially told Morgan TSvangirai to go and hang, saying he and ZANU PF will not do anything about the issues the MDC-T are complaining about and insisting that the Prime Minister and his party will come back into government empty-handed. "They can go to any (SADC) Summit, any part of the world to appeal, we will not do that," Mugabe, who has been in Uganda attending an African Union Summit, told reporters. The Zimbabwean dictator also for the first time confirmed that he has reneged on his promise to swear in Provincial Governors and Resident Ministers from the MDC-T,...

Morgan Tsvangirai in his office on Monday, just before he left for a tour of Southern African countries to try and get support in his confrontation with Mugabe. Indications are that, as was to be expected, he has had no joy and will be back home to sit down again with Mugabe - so that he can be outwitted yet again. Harare, Zimbabwe, 22 October 2009 South African President Jacob Zuma has said through his spokesman that he is too busy to meet with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. He has a tight schedule "which does not accommodate the MDC President, Mr Tsvangirai," said Zuma's spokesman, Mr Zizi Kodwa. Apparently Tsvangirai tried to meet Zuma in Cape Town yesterday but failed. Zuma, indicating the truth of what we have always said on this blog that SADC washed its hands of Zimbabwe in January this year, told the South African parliament that "issues to do with Zimbabwe had been dealt with comprehensively at the SADC Summit in the DRC in September." Basically, th...

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T Deputy, Thokozani Khupe, working as usual on Monday, 19 October 2009 (day before yesterday) in Tsvangirai's government office at the Presidential Office Building, Munhumutapa in Harare. Tsvangirai later left the same day to tour Southern African countries to drum up support for his pull-out from "engagement" with ZANU PF in Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. This was to demonstrate that he has not left government and is still reporting for work as Prime Minister, although he and Mugabe are no longer talking to each other. I thought he said Mugabe was "The Solution"? Harare, Zimbabwe, 21 October 2009 Robert "The Solution" Mugabe yesterday convened cabinet despite the absence of MDC-Tsvangirai ministers. The Tsvangirai camp ministers, however, reported for work at their offices before proceeding to hold their own "cabinet" meeting at Harvest House in Harare. The move by Tsvangirai's ministers to hold a ca...

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, seen here two months ago in Uganda with Deputy Prime Minister Khupe from MDC - Tsvangirai and President Museveni of Uganda, has said he will remain in government and try to reconcile the two warring parties that have now "disengaged" Harare , Zimbabwe, 20 October 2009 Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has said before that if Morgan Tsvangirai left the Inclusive Government, then the MDC, which Mutambara leads, would also walk out of the government. However, the DPM seems to be having second thought.  Yesterday, he held a press conference where he announced that he will not be walking out of the GNU with Mugabe. Instead, he appears to be positioning himself as a mediator in the dispute between the two, since he can speak to both of them. "We are in the middle to promote dialogue, to push the national agenda", said Mutambara, adding that he and his ministers will continue to attend Cabinet meetings. Mutambara reveal...

Jacob Zuma, the South African president, with Joseph Kabila, the new Chairman of SADC and a Mugabe ally in the DRC in September this year. Tsvangirai left Harare yesterday without biding goodbye to his new best friend, Robert Mugabe as the relations between sour over outstanding issues. It is unlikely that Tsvangirai, who is visiting, Mozambique, DRC, South Africa and other SADC nations, will get any joy from the SADC leaders, who have made no moves to convene a Summit despite the pullout. Harare, Zimbabwe, 20 October 2009 Morgan Tsvangirai left Harare yesterday to tour Southern African countries in an effort to get SADC to intervene in Zimbabwe and "save" the Inclusive Government, while Robert Mugabe's staff insisted, as I told you over the weekend, that the Prime Minister had not communicated officially what his party's position is and therefore was still Prime Minister and the MDC still part of government. There is a cabinet meeting today at Munhumutapa Building in...

Bennett on his release from Mutare Prison on Friday, 16 October 2009 Harare, Zimbabwe, 18 October 2009 In a move that has been misinterpreted by international observers as "hope for the Coalition Government", the High Court in Harare postponed the trial of Roy Bennett on weapons and treason charges, which was due to start tomorrow. To understand how this plays into Mugabe's hands, you need to recall that the Defence team had forced the State to show its deck by going to the Mutare Magistrates' Court to apply for Bennett to be taken off remand because the State was taking its time bringing him to trial. They did not have a case. They had not given Bennett's lawyers the papers containing the outline of their case against Bennett. They had not given any indication that the trial was about to start any time soon This suited Mugabe, who did not want to swear him in and was using the fact that he had not yet stood trial and been acquitted to hold on to this position. Th...