Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Why is it that, after Nelson Chamisa came back from the United Kingdom, he has not repeated his demands about the printing of ballot papers? Why has he not uttered a single word about this, even though this was his song throughout the run-up to his trip to the UK and even during his interviews there? The answer lies in meetings he has had with Vice President Chiwenga after that trip. The meetings, according to informed sources, have come about as a result of the realisation that goalposts have shifted dramatically since Mugabe left office, something the MDC Alliance had not fully appreciated until they met with British officials in London. A clear message was given to Chamisa's delegation, apparently, that the British government was not going to make the mistake of the past, where they were seen to prejudge the election and the process leading up to it by making procedural demands. This time, the British are going to stand by the universal condition that the elections ...

Most of you reading this blog know that you can not mistake a call from "The President's Office". Yes, it is that unique number, the one with five zeroes in it (and it is a land line). The presidential switchboard numbers, as you will know, have 7 digits where most others in Harare have six. Well, I was extremely surprised at about 3 p.m. today to get a call from that number and even more surprised that the caller seemed keen to "clear the air" about the meetings I reported on yesterday between Tsvangirai and Mnangagwa. To start with, I was surprised that the caller referred to "the article you wrote in the Zimbabwean". I did not. I have never written for The Zimbabwean in my life, ever. I checked it out later and it turns out the article was taken from this blog by an online newspaper called The Zimbabwe Mail. The Zimbabwean then took the same article from the Zimbabwe Mail. This is now a familiar story with my articles. I must say that I have persona...

President Robert Mugabe "went ballistic" on Saturday when he found out Morgan Tsvangirai and Emmerson Mnangagwa have secretly  met up to six times since the MDC leader became Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is said to have met with the ZANU PF heavyweight, who has been confirmed already by Mugabe as his preferred choice for President, in Harare and at a farm in the Kwekwe area. Mugabe, told Saturday in a briefing about the meetings, is reported to have threatened to send the Minister of Defence back into the "wilderness" ( gwenga, was the Shona word Mugabe used, apparently). Although not immediately clear whether Mugabe was told what the mettings were about, he immediately saw this as a threat to his continued grip on power. Mugabe, although he has told Mnangagwa that he will most certainly now take over as head of ZANU PF and eventually President of Zimbabwe, likes things done his way. He believes Mnagagwa and Tsvangirai may be planning to sideline him, now that...