Sunday 29 June 2008

SADC

I wonder if this statement will remain unchanged? I commend the fact that it has been made, yet one wonders just how much effect it will actually have?

Harare - A team of observers from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said on Sunday that Zimbabwe's one-man presidential run-off election failed to reflect the will of the people.
"The pre-election phase was characterised by politically-motivated violence, intimidation and displacements," Angolan Sports Minister Jose Marcos Barrica, the head of the 400-strong team of observers, said in a statement.
"The process leading up to the presidential run-off held on June 27 did not conform to the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.
"Based on the above mentioned observations, the mission is of the view that the prevailing environment impinged on the credibility of the electoral process.
"The elections did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe."

I think the pressure has to come on to South Africa - the Mbeki - Mugabe mutual admiration society is too ridiculous for words! Is it not about time that the South African parliament, who do not appear to share Mbeki's views, passed a vote of no confidence? Although, as I said earlier, unless South Africa is put under pressure, that is not likely to happen. Given that Mbeki has to step down in 2009 as he is no longer the ANC candidate for the next presidency in that country, and Zuma (likely to be the next South African president) is no fan of Mugabe, there may be some progress in the next 12 months! Maybe!

Still, I do think that it creates an interesting situation as Mugabe will loose his greatest ally and protector - that will be significant! It is, after all, South Africa, which is aiding Zimbabwe and propping up his illegal regime - no wonder Mugabe is keeping the door open for negotiations. As I said, this may be the end of the beginning. When Mbeki is gone, then it will get really interesting - I hope that the MDC will remember this and negotiate from a position of strength in that knowledge. If they do not fade away in the meantime! They must set up their government in exile and the world must help them! Fat chance!

later.

Mugabe Wins

Hello all,

In a surprise result, our dear Robert Gabriel Mugabe has won with landslide margin! Mind you - not particularly hard to win a landslide when you are the only candidate.

I notice that George Bush has declared the government and presidency of Mugabe illegal and is drawing up a list of sanctions. Well - that will convince him for sure! Especially seeing as they couldn't even get the UN to condemn the election as illegal "the face of South Africa"!

I imagine we shall see real pressure being brought to bear on South Africa (NOT!). Like the withdrawal of the 2010 world cup - and other measures to show displeasure with Mbeki's outright support of his despotic neighbour. Despite everything that has been said and done and "huge amount of international pressure" - Mbeki and Mugabe continue without check. They will just ignore what has been said, Mugabe will attend the Au summit, get them all back on sides and the situation will continue to deteriorate in Zimbabwe over the five years.

And really, no one will do anything even mildly effective and nothing will change. If anything, by the next "election" the opposition will cease to exist.

The MDC need to change their game drastically. They should, by now, be arranging to form a government in exile and start doing everything they can to fight the Mugabe regime. I have to say that I have, on several occasions written to the MDC and have not, as yet had even the courtesy of a reply! I wonder if that is the level of their game? As such, they will now seriously begin to decline unless they do something about it. And pronto!

Later

International Intervention

At the behest of certain friends, I contacted the CIA recently with a view to getting assistance to remove Mugabe, surgically, without foreign forces in order to create a power vacuum where the MDC could install itself as the legal government.

I was e-mailed by "Jonas" asking all manner of personal questions (to which I provided the details of a serious Mugabe supporter! lol) and for some detail of what we were after.

I replied, with a basic outline of the plan, the piece of equipment needed and some funding (Well less than US$1 million - in case you were wondering!).

The nest day I received an e-mail saying,

"Thank you for your note.
We do NOT condone violence and will not continue contact with you or any persons with whom you are associated."

Hmmm! Do not condone violence eh?? So what are they doing in Iraq or Afghanistan pray tell?????

My reply:

Thank you for your reply. We are disappointed but have noted your response (this in reference to future developments, whereby I am sure the US will be queueing up for a bite of Zim's natural resources! lol). we will continue to seek an internal plan to rid Zimbabwe of Mugabe and his thugs.

I would like you and your colleagues, whenever you read of another Zimbabwean tortured or killed by Mugabe and his illegal so called government, to recall clearly that you do not condone violence.

So - that, again answers the question, will the international community be prepared, in any way, to end Mugabe's rule of Mugabeland?? Even when they are untraceable? NO.

The solution will, as always, have to come from within - but at much greater cost. But the time is at hand - every Zimbabwean and person of conscience must actually do something real to help. Writing letters etc will have the sum total of the square root of nothing effect on anything or anyone!

Despite that doom and gloom I would recall, however, to mind the words of Winston Churchill who said something to the effect of "This is not the end. Indeed nor is it the beginning of the end. It may be, however, the end of the beginning".

Later

Thursday 26 June 2008

Minimum Force

Over the past few days I have been considering how one could go about arresting Mugabe and the actual legal implications of such an action.

Whilst a police officer cannot be the judge of whether an individual is guilty or not, he does have to exercise some judgement, principally, he (and I use "he" for convenience - my first officer in charge was a woman!) must decide whether an offence has been committed and whther or not he should make an arrest. Also, an arrest is defined as the confining of a person and the restriction of that accused individuals rights.

As a properly attested police officer, it is my judgement that Robert Mugabe has committed numerous offences, and plenty we shall only be able to investigate or discover after he has been brought down from his lofty self imposed majesty. For instance, it is common cause that Mugabe has not been recently elected by a majority and that, owing to various breaches of the consitution (as detailed in Tsvangirai's withdrawal), the run-off is not legal and, at best, a farce. Therefore, it stands to reason that Mugabe is NOT the President - ergo, is it not treason for him to suggest that he will start a war to oust the properly elected Tsvangirai? And of course, there are a great many other offences for which he needs to stand trial, some of which should land him in the Hague.

Also, his so - called Commissioner, Chihuri, as I detailed previously, has also committed offences and should be immediately suspended and arrested.

So, given that minimum force, as defined in Zimbabwean law, is "the minimum force required to achieve the objective (of arrest, usualy) applied with preventative, not punitive intent and stopping when it is no longer necessary - how does one apply this to Mugabe. he is surrounded by armed soldiers and police (who, it could be argued are also committing an offence by aiding and accused). The minimum force, therefore, may include the use of deadly force in this case. therefore, following this train of thought - it must be legal to kill Mugabe - as it is lawful in the circumstances.

I wonder how the world would interpret this?

Interesting!

Lets see what Mugabe brings us tomorrow - obviously his "landslide victory!".

Later.

Wednesday 25 June 2008

The World Reacts - but no action!

Hello All,

I have, this morning, been reading on the various news services, the reaction of the world. Finally it has risen from mumbling to actual grumbling! But nothing real really. There was a report in the Times (London) of an MOD plan for military intervention - but when you get to it, really all they are talking about is a plan to rescue their own nationals from Zimbabwe. Nothing unusual there - although, from the British people's point of view - a waste of money. Apart from the Embassy Staff, all the other British nationals who are in the country are there because they are making a financial killing off the situation - and they should be responsible for themselves!

But real military intervention? Not a chance!

Given that Mugabe is no longer the President of Zimbabwe (he lost this election remember? Despite the slanted ground that he had in place even then!) - and Morgan Tsvangirai could legally be argued to actually be the President - does he not have the right to call for UN peacekeepers? So why then, when he asks for them - does the world shimmy shammy away and mutter about a negotiated political settlement?

And all the while, Mugabe has his thugs holding people in "re-education camps" where the beatings continue and starvation is still a weapon. Can you imagine what it must be like to be "re-educated" by retarded thugs? I challenge you to put yourself in the position of someone in one of these camps and imagine what it must be like - then decide whether all this political clap trap is worth anything other than to those politicians who like to be the proverbial empty vessels - making much noise, changing nothing and fluffing out their feathers. When the blood has been spilt and destruction wrought to rid Zimbabwe of Mugabe and his cronies - you can bet these same politicians will be queuing up to stake their claim to some of the not insignificant natural wealth of Zimbabwe - crowing loudly about how much they did!!

The world owes Zimbabwe much - they are the ones who put Mugabe in place, yet conveniently turn their backs on the trouble it has caused - saying "it is a Zimbabwean problem which must be resolved by Zimbabweans"! How nice - did they forget they gave all the guns to Mugabe too? So how then, do Zimbabweans free themselves from Mugabeland? At great cost - and this cost is the fault of the world. Perhaps we should all wake up and realise that there is no responsibility for anything that happens in Africa - despite the fact that the problems have been caused by the foreign governments in the first place!!!! There will, of course, be much hand wringing and wailing and gnashing of teeth after the blood is running in the streets though!

Anyway - it is a Zimbabwean problem - and we will solve it. Although probably not through negotiation - which has consistently failed over the past 8 - 10 years! It reminds me of a photocopied cartoon on the walls of many police stations in Zimbabwe which says, "Never argue with a baboon - people may not be able to tell the difference". Mugabe is clearly a baboon - no point in arguing with him then!

Later.

Tuesday 24 June 2008

Tsvangirai's Withdrawal, The Law.

Hello All,

Below is the full text of the letter written by Morgan Tsvangirai withdrawing from the elections (with thanks to The Bearded Man).

23 June 2008.Attention: Honourable Justice Chiweshe

The Chairman

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
7th Floor,
Century House
HARARE
Dear Sir,

Re: PRESIDENTIAL RUN-OFF ELECTION SCHEDULED FOR THE 27TH JUNE 2008

I write this letter to advise you that for reasons set out in this letter, it is no longer possible for the holding of the Presidential run-off election set for the 27th June 2008.

In my considered view, the conditions presently obtaining throughout the country make it virtually impossible for a proper election envisaged in both the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act [Chapter 2.13] to take place. This being the case, the election scheduled for Friday 27th June 2008 cannot be an election as provided for by our law and accordingly, it will be a nullity if it were to be proceeded with.

Section 107 of the Electoral Act deals with the withdrawal of candidature from a Presidential election. Subsection 1 thereof provides that a nominated candidate for election as President may, by notice in writing addressed to the Chief Election Officer withdraw his or her candidature before 21 days from the day or first day as the case may be on which the poll in an election to the office of President is to be taken. This section in my respectful view does not apply to a Presidential run off election. Section 110 (3) provides that where two or more candidates for President are nominated, and after a poll taken in terms of subsection (2) no candidate receives a majority of the total number of valid votes cast, a second election shall be held within 21 days after the previous election. It is quite clear therefore that Section 107 (1) was clearly not designed for a presidential run-off election as it would not make sense to expect a candidate from a presidential run-off election to give 21 days notice of his/her withdrawal where such election has to be held within 21 days anyway.

Section 107(3) makes it much more clearer that Section 107 does not apply to a presidential run-off election. It provides that:-“where a candidate for election as President has withdrawn his/her candidature in terms of this section, the sum deposited by or on his behalf in terms of subsection (1) of Section 105 shall be forfeited and form part of the funds of the commission”.

No money was ever deposited for the Presidential run-off election in terms of Section 105 by any candidate.

Furthermore, there has been no rules prescribed for the conduct of a presidential run-off election and in particular the notice period set for the withdrawal of candidature by a participant. Accordingly, any candidate wishing to withdraw his candidature is free to do so at any time before such an election.

In any event, as I have already pointed out, the election set for the 27th June 2008 is not a proper election but a nullity. In the circumstances, the question of the withdrawal from such an election and the notice thereof cannot be an issue.

REASONS FOR WITHDRAWAL

In terms of Section 61(4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is obliged by law to ensure that elections are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law.

Section 3 of the Electoral Act sets out in detail the principles which must govern democratic elections. This Section provides as follows:-

“Subject to the Constitution and this Act, every election shall be conducted in a way that is consistent with the following principles-
(a) the authority to govern derives from the will of the people demonstrated through elections that are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and properly on the basis of universal and equal suffrage exercised through a secret ballot; and
(b) every citizen has the right-
(i) to participate in government directly or through freely chosen representatives, and is entitled, without distinction on the ground of race, ethnicity, gender, language, political or religious belief, education, physical appearance or disability or economic or social condition, to stand for office and cast a vote freely;
(ii) to join or participate in the activities or and to recruit members of a political party of his or her choice;
(iii) to participate in peaceful political activity intended to influence the composition and policies of Government;
(iv) to participate, through civic organisations, in peaceful activities to influence and challenge the policies of Government;and

(c) every political party has the right-
(i) to operate freely within the law;
(ii) to put up or sponsor one or more candidates in every election;
(iii) to campaign freely within the law;
(iv) to have reasonable access to the media”.

What has been going on in this country immediately after the elections held on the 29th March 2008 is a clear testimony that the elections scheduled for the 27th June 2008 cannot be held efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law.On the 21st May 2008, after having noted the sad events that were happening, I instructed my Legal Practitioners Dube Manikai & Hwacha to write a letter to you setting out in detail various concerns which were an impediment to the holding of a free and fair election. For ease of reference, I attach a copy of the said letter. Sadly, that letter was neither acknowledged nor responded to. In my view, if your commission had taken steps to abide by its constitutional mandate, the situation would have probably not worsened. Regrettably, the situation since the letter from my lawyers has worsened to such an extent that no proper election can be carried out. I set out below few examples of the adverse conditions that vitiate the holding of a free and fair election as envisaged in our law:-

1. THE FAILURE BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO ENSURE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

Your Commission has failed to discharge its mandate in the following respects;

1.1 Your Commission failed to declare a winner of the Presidential elections as provided for in the Third Schedule of the Electoral Act. This point was well articulated by my lawyers in their letter of the 21st May 2008 and I associate myself with the submissions made in that letter in regards to this issue. In my view, a Presidential run-off election should have been conducted after due compliance by your Commission and in particular the Chief Election officer with this Section.
1.2 Your Commission has failed to stop and/or condemn continued utterances by senior Zanu PF officials including Mr Robert Mugabe to the effect that irrespective of the election result, Mr Robert Mugabe was not going to move out of his office. The failure by your Commission to condemn such utterances right from the beginning clearly encouraged Zanu PF, war veterans aligned to Zanu PF, senior Zanu PF officials and Mr Robert Mugabe to make it their theme during their campaigns that a President does not come to power through the electoral process but rather through the barrel of the gun. This theme which has become pervasive throughout the Zanu PF campaigns makes people wonder whether we are in an election or in a war.
1.3 Your commission failed to abide by the provision of the Electoral Act when it failed to conduct the presidential run-off election within 21 days from the date of announcement of the presidential elections results conducted on the 29th March 2008.

2. VIOLENCE
The violence currently obtaining in this country which has resulted in numerous deaths, destruction of homes, displacement of various people and injuries to people is something that is clearly in the public domain. As of today, the country has recorded at least 86 deaths, 10 000 homes destroyed , 200 000 people displaced and 10 000 people injured.

The victims have been MDC supporters. The violence has been clearly state sponsored and carried out in most cases by members of the Zimbabwe National Army and ZANU PF militia. It is true that in some instances our supporters have fought back, inmost cases in self defence. Because of our inability to access the rural areas, the above statistics may be understated.

If this present scenario is compared to the period towards the 29 March harmonised election, it is evident that the conditions on the ground have fundamentally changed for the worse. The above statistics clearly show that the electoral environment is not conducive to the holding of a free and fair election.

3. THREATS OF WAR

Throughout its campaigns, Zanu PF has threatened that there will be war if an MDC win in the presidential run-off is pronounced. Mr Mugabe made it quite clear recently that power cannot be taken by a pen but by a gun. War veterans aligned to him have articulated this position throughout the country. These sentiments were echoed by senior Zanu PF officials including the President’s wife when she clearly made the point that even if I was to win, I was never to set my foot at the State house. Mr Mugabe also came out on National television encouraging his party members to conduct a war-like campaign. These kind of threats coming as they did from Senior Zanu PF officials including the President of Zanu PF should certainly be taken seriously. Indeed, these threats were taken seriously by our population with the result that a free and fair election is something that cannot be dreamt of under these conditions.

4. PARTICIPATION OF THE UNIFORMED FORCES IN ZANU PF CAMPAIGNS

It is common cause that the Zimbabwe National Army through its senior officers has actively campaigned for Zanu PF and continues to do so. This has been the position with the Zimbabwe Republic Police where senior officials have publicly campaigned for Zanu PF. As if this was not enough, the senior officers of the uniformed forces have forced junior officers to vote for President Mugabe. On the 18th June 2008, my lawyers wrote to you advising you of these developments and the fact that officers from the police, prisons and the army were forced to apply for postal ballots. These officers from the reports we have received have already voted in the presence of a senior officer and were forced to vote for Mr Robert Mugabe. I attach herewith a copy of my lawyers letter dated 18th June 2008 which letter as usual was neither acknowledged nor responded to. In the circumstances, one cannot talk of a free and fair election which can be conducted on the 27th June 2008.

5. INTIMIDATION

The level of intimidation which is currently being subjected to our population particularly in the rural areas is alarming. People are being forced to attend Zanu PF meetings during the night. People are being told to record serial numbers on the ballot papers and disclose them to Zanu PF official who are responsible for carrying out the intimidation. These incidents have been brought to your attention but unfortunately nothing has been done by your Commission by way of assuring the voters that their votes are secret as was the case during the run up to the March harmonised elections. Infact, the voter education campaign which was reasonably conducted during the run up to the March 2008 harmonised election has not been repeated. You have simply allowed Zanu PF, war veterans aligned to Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe to scare the people by suggesting quite clearly that presidential run-off vote is between a choice of war and Robert Mugabe.

In my view, there can never be a free and fair election under these circumstances.

6. NON-ACCESS TO MEDIA

The law clearly provides that a political party is entitled to enjoy reasonable access to the media. My party booked space for its advertisements with Zimpapers newspapers namely Herald, Sunday Mail, Chronicle, Sunday News and the Manica Post which adverts were to commence on the 13th June 2008. We were advised that our publications could not be published because of the shortage of newsprint. What surprised us was that Zanu PF’s campaign advertisements are being carried in these newspapers on a daily basis. We also encountered problems with our electronic advertisements with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings which effectively resulted in our failure to have access to media. This is in sharp contrast with what occurred during the run up to the March 2008 harmonised elections where we were given reasonable access to the media. The importance of media advertisement in any election is quite critical and it is for this reason that media access was specifically provided for in our law. Without this right, there can be no free and fair elections.

7. THE BANNING OF MDC RALLIES AND MEETINGS AND DISRUPTION OF MDC MEETINGS

Since I launched my campaign for the presidential run-off elections, I have encountered numerous difficulties occasioned by agents of the State. I have been detained at police stations on numerous occasions and thereby denied time to campaign. Our meeting and rallies have been banned by the police. We have had to approach the High Court on no less than 3 occasions for the court to intervene to enable us to go ahead with our rallies. On the contrary, Zanu PF is being allowed to conduct its campaign rallies even during the night. In the few cases that our rallies have been allowed to go ahead pursuant to these Court Orders, Zanu PF supporters have disrupted such rallies. On Sunday the 22nd June 2008, our star rally in Harare, in respect of which a High Court Order had to be applied for to proceed with such rally was disrupted by Zanu PF supporters. Clearly it is impossible for any political party to campaign let alone to exist without being allowed to have access to the voting population. In these circumstances, it cannot therefore be said that the environment presently obtaining is conducive for the holding of a free and fair election.

8. DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF VOTERS AND LACK OF ACCESS TO RURAL AREAS

As you are aware voting in the Presidential election is constituency and ward based. In other words no person can vote outside his or her constituency and ward. The massive displacement of people already referred to herein (mainly from rural to urban areas) will result in the disenfranchisement of these people. The confirmed reports we have received confirm that there has been massive and systematic confiscation of national identity documents of our supporters by ZANU PF militia and people claiming to be war veterans. Until our supporters are able to replace these identity documents (which cannot be done by Friday 27 June 2008) they are obviously not going to be able to vote.

Furthermore, more than two thousand of our polling agents throughout the country have been arrested and kept in custody on flimsy allegations. They will certainly be unable to vote. We have trained replacement polling agents, but unfortunately we cannot possibly make arrangement for their deployment in rural areas as it is common cause that the rural areas have virtually been sealed off by ZANU PF militia, some members of the Zimbabwe National Army and people claiming to be war veterans. We will therefore be unable to deploy polling agents at more than 50% of the polling stations in rural areas. Certainly there can be no pretence of holding a free and fair election under these conditions.From the foregoing and indeed due to several other reasons not necessarily covered in this letter, it is quite clear that no proper election can be held under the present conditions.

The present conditions constitute a good example of conditions that vitiate the holding a free and fair election. My party and I have been giving serious consideration to this whole issue for some time, during which time it was hoped that a semblance of a conducive environment may be created as has been the case with other elections where we have participated under protest. The situation obtaining now is very different from what has been experienced in this country since independence. The violence, intimidation, death, destruction of property is just too much for anyone to dream of a free and fair election let alone expect our people to be able to freely and independently express to free themselves. For this reason, my party and I have resolved that we cannot be part to this flawed process. For the avoidance of any doubt the presidential election question remains unresolved until such time a free and fair election is held.

We accordingly urge you to abide by your mandate clearly spelt out in our constitution and in particular ensure that a proper environment conducive for the holding of an efficient, free, fair, and transparent election is held in the shortest period of time possible. It is only in that kind of an election that my party and I will participate in.

By copy of this letter ZANU PF’s candidate Mr. Robert Mugabe, the Chief Election Officer and your Commissioners are advised accordingly.

Yours sincerely

Morgan Tsvangirai
PRESIDENT

MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE

Cc: Mr. R. G Mugabe (ZANU PF Headquarters)

Cc: ZEC Commissioners


As you can see from the letter, which has been clearly set out and quotes, at length, the law - The MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai are making every reasonable effort to comply with the law. Their case is a very straightforward one. I am impressed to note that Tsvangira does NOT refer to Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe - which, of course, he is not. It is clear, from the articles set out in the letter that the law has not only been breached, but completely ignored by ZANU-PF.

Of course, the law doesn't apply to ZANU-PF, and their response (taken from NEWS24 in South Africa) is as ludicrous as their interpretation of the Constitution, the law (even their own questionable law):

Harare -

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe told a rally on Tuesday "we will proceed with our election" and accused the opposition leader of seeking to withdraw because he was scared of losing.

"We will proceed with our election ... Other people can say what they want, but the elections are ours and we are a sovereign state," Mugabe told a rally in Banket, north of Harare.

"MDC leader (opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai) saw this wave of political hurricane coming his way. He is frightened, frightened of the people."

ZANU-PF's interpretation of the law is simple - if it is inconvenient or may threaten to subvert their cause - it should simply be ignored. At the same time, they have much to say about what they view as being illegal about the MDC's actions - they need to be quiet, if the law doesn't apply to them, then they should not expect it to apply to anyone else - particularly when those others are doing everything to comply with the law!

I relish the day when I can appear in a proper court to hear what excuses or responses ZANU-PF will be forced to give - and how stupid they will look to the world when they do!

I was also reading through The Bearded Man's spot today and I saw that he had included some responses from readers on a news site. I have read some of their responses also - there are clearly also some out and out idiots who feel the need to write in and display their ignorance of the situation and how it came to be. But it does look, in general, that the world is fed up with Mugabe - It is time for him to go - he has had so many opportunities to step down peacefully and be regarded as a statesman - however, he has not - I would guess that this is because he is not a statesman. He is little more than a thug who came to power through the barrel of a gun - ostensibly to fight for the right to vote, although we now know that he has no intention of allowing anyone to vote, unless they vote for him!

More soon.

Monday 23 June 2008

Of Elections

Hello All,

Well the news is now all over the place that Tsvangirai has decided to withdraw from the elections. Good move or bad move?

There are those who believe he should not have withdrawn, even though there is no hope of him winning with Mugabe's thugs on the rampage and the so called security forces with their hands in their pockets and looking the other way! However, it does seem to say to everyone - don't bother to fight for me, because I wont fight for you. Even though it is clear to see that his true motivation was to protect the people who are bearing the brunt of this pre-genocidal activity (which the rest of the world will bewail and bemoan without actually doing anything!), there are those who will feel let down. Particularly the relatives and supporters of those killed, who will wonder why the blood was shed.

From a legal standpoint (if anything in Zimbabwe can be considered from that standpoint at all!), does his withdrawal not give Mugabe some legitimacy? I wonder, because of course there is no such thing as law in Zimbabwe today. Of course ZANU-PF is not beholden to anyone at all, they do try to make some sort of show of legitimacy at times (by saying that the vote must, constitutionally go ahead!) and at others when it doesn't particularly suit them, they just ignore it. The party propaganda machine is in full overdrive churning out the most inane nonsense to ever hit the planet being led by that idiot the anything but "Bright" Matonga - the party mouthpiece who is just staggering in his ignorance. And, of course the ZANU-PF politicians (if they can be so described!) are already jumping up and down claiming, quite rightly, that Tsvangirai had quit because he would have lost the re-run. Of course he would have lost - given the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe today, given the fact that Mugabe and his minions control the people tasked with the electoral process (although he is not too sure about trusting anyone - given that they nearly let him down during the recent election) - how would it have been possible to Tsvangirai to win - even if 100% of the votes cast were for him - he would not have won.

There are also those who feel that this is the right thing to do. And, I share Tsvangirai's sentiments on this (although at first I too felt let down!). But it does mean that the electoral process is dead. And that means that something else HAS to happen. I know that there plans afoot to start military resistance - the sad part about that is the fact that represents a long road at great cost, particularly in lives. The rest of the world needs to actually do something though - writing letters and making strong statements of condemnation are absolutely pointless. It just adds to Mugabe's propaganda store to prove that the "evil west" are just out to pick on him (conveniently forgetting how they put him where he was in the first place! And yes - Rhodesia could have dealt with the communist weapons, but they ultimately gave up because of Western Pressure!). Now is the time for Western Governments and press to STOP calling Mugabe the "President" - he has not been for quite a few years now, but lets all give up the pretence that there is any form of legitimacy there! The West also needs to help Tsvangirai to set up a government in exile and provide assistance and funding, whilst simultaneously apply FULL sanctions.

They need to tell Mbeki to get out of the way or suffer also - he is married to a Mugabe relative - does anyone still think their is any chance that Mbeki has any intention of doing anything constructive in this matter? And most of all, they need to show other African governments who will not behave that they are prepared to send in the troops. Then they need to let me, in my Z.R.Police uniform, handcuff Mugabe and prepare him for prosecution in the Hague. Will they do any of this or anything remotely useful? No - of course not - they will make loud, strong statements and call for the UN to review the situation. They will send letters to African governments decrying the pitiful state of things in Zimbabwe. and they will wring their hands some more as more and more photographs of the dead, tortured and dying emerge from Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, my colleagues will start to fight. They will have no support, no reserves, no infrastructure, few weapons, no food supplies other than what the beleaguered people can give them - but they will fight on and they are the only hope the nation has.

For a very long time now, everyone has had to play nice and show the world that we are trying to do the right thing and follow a legal process - but that time is now at an end.

Without the world helping, and I mean really helping - this is going to be another sad tale of murder, rape, and war in Africa - mind you, it is actually at that stage already!

Saturday 21 June 2008

Chihuri

Hello all - apologies for the absence - life and work take their toll!

I have entitled this piece Chihuri because I wanted to examine the whole legal position of the force. Chihuri has often stated, publicly, that he supports ZANU-PF and that he expects all officers to do the same. He has also stated that he would not salute Morgan Tsvangirai, should he win the election.

Perhaps his sentiments are just as well because, should the MDC take power - their first order of business will be to re-establish the rule of law. Chihuri has broken the law. Directly and publicly. He faces many charges, not the least of which include corruption, dereliction of duty and offences under is own, much coveted (although probably not legal) Public Order and Security Act (POSA). So - given a change of power - he would have no need to salute anyone - he would be pleading his case in court!

Given that Mugabe is illegally claiming to be the president - which he is not (and about time the world and the press stopped referring to him as such), he cannot legally sign anything into law. His so-called Police Commissioner is a wanted man, supported by his Deputy Commissioners and Senior Assistant Commissioners, etc! This would, effectively leave the police without any leadership at all! So what happens next? Is there someone amongst the ranks of the Assistant Commissioners who may be sort of OK enough to promote to steer the force through this, it's most difficult hour? Or perhaps it will be time to recall some retired senior officers? or look to the legions of professional officers who have routinely been passed over for promotion for someone suitable? It is notable that the Police non spokesman, or should I say ZANU-PF enforcers spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena has flown up through the ranks since becoming notorious for toeing the party line and supporting it through his press statements!

I wonder if there is an answer - the police force is the key to the Zimbabwe Situation - along with the army. And it bears serious consideration - because the last thing needed is to turn the police from a ZANU-PF instrument to an MDC one.

Later.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

Police Powers

Hello All,

A belated entry today.. Having been pulled over by the Thames Valley Police! When I asked the reason... "because we are the police and we can!!!!". No good evening, no "Hello, please may I see your licence" - just Blue lights, sirens and extreme rudeness! And when I made a complaint - his Sergeant, felt that his officer had not done anything out of the ordinary! And I was wearing paramedic uniform!

I guess that the days of proper policing in the UK are long gone. Funnily enough, my last dealing with the police was in another town when my car has been broken into. The police gave me a report number and suggested that I contact my insurance company. They told me that crimes of this type "were not attended as a matter of policy"!!!??

I recall in the days when the ZRPolice resembled a force - this type of thing would never have been tolerated! And if one doesn't attend every scene of crime - how does one establish MO, how does one make a crime map? How does one prosecute an individual other than if he is caught by mistake?

Hmm. Does make one wonder - what actually constitutes a "police state"?

Clearly no comparison can be made between the Zimbabwe of today and the UK - particularly where policing is concerned, however, with the introduction of ever longer periods of detention without a warrant or court - how different is the UK? Could it be argued that it is slowly but surely heading in the same direction as Zimbabwe? Or does it merely mean that the UK are finding out what it is like to guard against terrorism - and how difficult it is to draw the line between using the powers legitimately or to be heavy handed! These are decisions that need to be taken carefully by officers on the ground - or the risk stands that they will creep further and further to the point where the lines become so blurred that it is easy for corrupt individuals within government to further subvert the law - until eventually we end up with Zimbabwe!

More tomorrow.

Tuesday 17 June 2008

Police Officers under duress

Good morning all,

I was looking through the news on SWRadio's website and saw the story about police officers being forced to vote under the scrutiny of their superiors. Obviously, from a legal standpoint, this is in direct and absolute contravention of the police act which lays out precisely what a police officer may and may not do in terms of his/her political standpoint. Obviously though, this is also unashamed election rigging.

I was pleased to see that some officers saw fit to defy this illegal procedure and make the vote of their choice. Sadly though, these officers are in very deep hot water now. The type of hot water that costs your life.

I know, from personal experience that there are still a great many officers in service who are genuinely just police men and women - they have no interest or desire to be involved in the illegal behaviour of Mugabe and his so called government.

And that raises a number of interesting legal arguments. Mugabe, whom the world still refers to as "President" was not voted into office - either at this election, or the many of the previous ones - neither was a large portion of his cabinet. How does this affect the whole process of law? Surely any statutory instruments, laws, changes to the law, presidential decrees etc. are, by definition, just nonsense? I look forward to a day when they will be tested in a proper court - I think we would find that these "enactments" to be just what they are - rubbish!

But, of course - these arguments can range backwards and forwards and dribble on into the annals of history - for instance, another aspect of legality that bears examination goes back to Rhodesia days. The majority of the population were excluded from the political process - so were the laws passed then any more "legal"?? I recall that when I was in Morris Depot (The ZRPolice Training depot in Harare), we were taught that the premise for all law was, basically, a set of rules to govern society that are acceptable to the majority as a code of conduct. Funnily enough, the Law in Zimbabwe is Roman Dutch Law and it comprises two main parts - Common Law, which is pretty much based on the christian bibles ten commandments - things such as theft (Thou shalt not steal), murder (Thou shalt not kill) etc. Even Adultery (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife) was a part of common law until abrogated through disuse (Green vs Fitzgerald 1913).
The second part of the law is Statutory law - these are enactments passed through parliament and relate to the area of law that governs lesser offences and offences specific to the society that they operate in. There exists, within the statutes of Zimbabwe, various schedules of offences - which loosely classify the severity of the offence. All Common Law crimes are included as First Schedule offences. The First Schedule also includes things like Treason, Statutory Rape, Assault GBH etc.

So, it brings, to the fore, the whole premise of law and the society upon which the Zimbabwean society was built.

I think, however, that it is fair to say that we have to examine Law from the "fairness" with which it is applied. If that then, is our basis for law, then just about EVERYTHING that Mugabe and his so called government have done since he truly lost the popular backing - is illegal!

Certainly, this is the premise that I am using when I decide what I believe to be legal or illegal. The funny thing about Mugabe and co is that they themselves, do not consider themselves beholden to their own laws! So really, from any point of view, Mugabe and Co are illegal. I think they may have overestimated how much control they have over the forces in place to oversee the law. And the worm is certainly beginning to turn. They will find that they cannot cow everyone indefinitely - and with their "wonderful" management of the economy, the ranks of those who can see more clearly grows everyday. It will not be long before those "state agents" turn up to abduct a member of the police or army, only to find themselves arrested (not abducted, but arrested - for breaking the law!).

Time is against me - however, that is probably a good thing to stop me rambling on ad nauseum on a subject that whilst complex, is also fairly obvious!

More soon.

Monday 16 June 2008

Background

Hello all,

Zimbabwe is facing an election now, which we all hope will bring the much needed change. There is much coverage on the news about the terror and ridiculous conditions there - I will, as I go along and learn more about how to post all the various items, provide links to the various sources of news - although I do not wish to make them the main focus of this blog. There are a great many places on the web focusing on this already! I am a serving policeman, although currently outside Zimbabwe (I still have close daily connections within the force and have a very good knowledge of what is happening) and I would like to bring an in sight into what used to be an incredible police force and what has gone wrong. I also wanted to try and publish what I see as a path to getting the police out of the grip of Mugabe and ZANU-PF and back to being the national police.

I hope to include a great deal of diversity in what I post, including personal anecdotes, some background to what is happening on the ground as well as making comments on news items from my standpoint as a police officer. I will approach the news items as though these were incidents reported to me and what action should be taken by a police officer in Zimbabwe, according to the law - and by law, I refer to the law that stood prior to the 2000 referendum, where after the regime has ignored and changed the law to suit itself.

At this point in time, it is clear that I am, effectively, sitting on hill and crowing from afar, but I think it is clear that it would be impossible, at this time to do much else. Having said that, however, I can speak for many of my colleagues, on the ground in Zimbabwe, who are now at the end of their tether - and I am hopeful that this election will bring the change that has been hoped for. If it does not, then I think it will be clear that the political route is wholly ineffective and a new approach will have to be sought. I am aware that alternative initiatives are in planning at the moment. I am sure though, that most, if not all of us, would prefer to avoid any route that carries high risk to ourselves and the innocent people of Zimbabwe, whom we are sworn to protect. At some point, however, we have to reach a point where we find that a more acceptable cost than the continuing creeping genocide that is the situation at the moment. Clearly no solution is forthcoming from the international community at large who continue to sit on the sidelines and wring their hands. And hand wringing it most decidedly is - I have, in the past, approached Security agencies of foreign governments with an extremely effective, low cost plan to resolve the situation (without involving any of their personal and, therefore, in my view - the called for Zimbabwean solution to the Zimbabwean problem), or at least provide the basis for resolution - and their response has been the all too familiar deafening silence!

In an effort to avoid huge rambling columns, I will end today's post! More tomorrow!

Sunday 15 June 2008

Intro

Bear with me whilst I learn how to operate this blog!