Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

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 ...

Da Guido Restaurant on fire as shown on the front page of the Sunday Mail yesterday. The restaurant is owned by ZANU PF cabinet minister Francis Nhema, whose workers appeared not bothered at all by the fire, to the extent that they did not call the fire brigade. It was the Sunday Mail reporter and photographer who ended up phoning the Fire Brigade. They took 20 minutes to arrive, and by that time, it was too late. Harare, Zimbabwe, 26 October 2009 A restaurant run by a ZANU PF cabinet minister in the Inclusive Government, Francis Nhema, was gutted by fire on Saturday. The fire, which is said to have started in the ovens of Da Guido Restaurant (it is an Italian joint that bakes pizzas in coal-fired ovens) also extensively damaged a bookshop owned by motivational speaker and businessman Miton Kamwendo and a Hair Saloon, whose owner apparent collapsed upon seeing smoke from the fire from a BP Service Station (Gas Station) nearby. The Sunday Mail reported yesterday that the damage need not...

"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...

It emerges now that the MDC-T is badly divided, with three factions all opposed to Morgan Tsvangirai working very hard to gain control of the structures of the party. Leading this race is the faction led by Lucia Matibenga, an MDC MP and former Women's Assembly Chair, who was ousted by Tsvangirai despite being elected at Congress to lead that body. In her place, Tsvangirai imposed Theresa Makone. The MDC-T leader is openly accused in National Council meetings of running the party in the same fashion Mugabe runs ZANU PF Harare, Zimbabwe, 24 October 2009 Revelations from within the National Council and the National Executive Council of the MdC-Tsvangirai show that the party is badly fractured, with three factions opposed to Morgan Tsvangirai all battling to gain supremacy in the opposition party led by the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. The infighting has gotten so bad, that the Minister of Energy in the Inclusive Government, former Harare Mayor Elias Mudzuri, who is also the Organising...

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,...

While Morgan Tsvangirai tours the region looking for diplomatic support, Mugabe and ZANU PF are busy buying votes and loyalty as evidenced by their actions in the last two days. Mugabe's party is telling struggling farmers that they can not get farming inputs because the MDC-T and the Prime Minister are still campaigning for sanctions in order to continue hurting the people so that they vote for the MDC. Harare, Zimbabwe, 23 October 2009 Only a day or so ago, I reported on this blog that ZANU PF was distributing 10 000 bags of farms inputs (seed, fertiliser and the like) in Uzumba, which is a stronghold of theirs. I said it was quite clear that ZANU PF was busy buying the loyalty of voters now, preparing the ground for the next election. As most of you know, ZANU PF campaign tactics hinge on two things: buying loyalty/votes and intimidation (which often escalates into violence). Now, it emerges that just yesterday, Ephraim Masawi, a senior ZANU PF member and Mugabe confidant, was a...

Morgan Tsvangirai is seen here with Arthur Mutambara in February announcing that the appointments of Permanent Secretaries by Mugabe without Prime Ministerial consultation was "null and void". He was subsequently sold (and bought) the dummy that the PermSecs were non-partisan civil servants!! This time round, Mugabe is throwing Tsvangirai another lifeline on one of the outstanding issues, allowing the Prime Minister to save face while accepting to go back into Cabinet and rescind his decision to disengage from ZANU PF. Mugabe has studied his Prime Minister (and the MDC-T) well. Harare, Zimbabwe, 23 October 2009 Robert "The Solution" Mugabe is getting very good at reading Morgan Tsvangirai, his Prime Minister and leader of the MDC-T. Today, it is announced that the MDC ministers nominated by Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara will be posted to their missions in December. Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (who vowed at the beginning of the...