Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Serious disagreements emerged within the government of President Mnangagwa immediately after the election observer missions' interim statements in Harare this week. Vice President Chiwenga reads the observer mission statements, especially the European and other Western powers utterances, as indication that there is not going to be any difference in the approach of the West to the newly elected government of Emmerson Mnangagwa. President Mnangagwa, on the other hand, is of the view that whatever criticisms are leveled at the country, its institutions and this election must be accepted as good faith criticism that should be incorporated into reforming key areas of the country that can make Zimbabwe a strong democracy. "Your strategy has failed," VP Chiwenga, we are reliably told, said to President Mnangagwa on Thursday this week. "It has failed. We open up more, allowing anyone to do what they want, Zimbabweans will think this is a sign of weakness on the p...

President Mnangagwa with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Harare earlier this year. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has spoken to Vladmir Putin in South Africa who promised to alert American President Donald Trump of what the ZANU PF government considers unfair prejudging of the elections by elements in the American Senate, specifically. We received this information earlier today. Both Mnangagwa and Putin were in South Africa for the BRICS summit, together with the Chinese President. The discussion with Putin was to discuss the various investments that Russia and Russian companies have committed to Zimbabwe, such as the Darwendale Platinum Group Minerals mining project. The Russians are also setting up a refining and smelting plant in the area. It was during the course of that discussion that President Putin asked about Mnangagwa's prospects in the coming election. The Zimbabwean leader responded by telling Putin that all indications are that he, Mnangagwa, is ...

All the drama that Nelson Chamisa is currently engaged is completely unnecessary and utterly self-defeating. The MDC Alliance and all the opposition candidates are well placed to stop any supposed rigging without damaging the institutions of our country that are needed to make sure democracy endures and Zimbabwe becomes prosperous. And stopping any potential rigging is so easy one now understands why most observers are now of the view that Nelson Chamisa and his Alliance are cry-babies who do not want to go elections at all for fear of a loss and to push for a non-elected GNU. ZEC has said that the Voters' Roll they gave out is clean, it has not ghosts on it. Chamisa and his people do not believe them. Fine. Skepticism is a good thing. But there is a better and more ironclad way to not only check this, but also protect the vote of Zimbabweans. Instead of insulting the ZEC Chair, alarming and demotivating his supporters will constant talk of a basically already-stolen vot...

JUSTICE Chigumba, the ZEC Chair, briefing observers at the Harare International Conference Centre earlier today, doubled down on a trend of refusing or failing the transparency test. She is within the law on everything she has done, but ignoring the key test of transparency impacts massively on the credibility of this poll, to the detriment of whoever end up winning this election. We have always defended ZEC against the baseless accusation thrown against them by an opposition that is bent discrediting the election in the hope of it being declared not free and fair and thereby, hopefully, forcing a Government of National Unity with Nelson Chamisa as Prime Minister, but the needless lack of transparency by the electoral body is now wildly carvoting in sabotage territory. Take Justice Chigumba's briefing with Observers today at the Harare International Conference Centre. One thing that has raised alarm bells is her announcement that the electoral body will not be using indeli...