Accident

Hello All,

It has been some time since I last wrote, for many reasons, not least of which was to see how things develop.

And then the very sad news that Susan Tsvangirai had been killed in an accident along the Beatrice road. Of course there was much immediate suspicion and a great deal of comment. Not having attended the scene of the accident, it would be wrong for me to try and air an opinion on it. Suffice to say, however, that I have attended a huge number of accidents on that particular stretch of road.. and I know it to be deadly. The road surface has never been great and now is suffering the same neglect that the rest of the country's infrastructure has suffered.

I would very gladly offer my services to investigate this matter if called upon to do so.

I think though, that by far the stupidist comment has come from that idiot Mnangagwa. The British? The Americans? No Mnangagwa, ZANU-pf - your backward contribution to the country has chased away most of the real law enforcement. It has chased away most of the engineers who maintained the once excellent road network. It has chased away VID inspectors. It has chased away professional ambulance staff. It has chased away Doctors and nurses. It has chased away most of the farmers. It has chased away most of the people from all walks of life who would make a country work and improve and develop to avoid accidents and tragedy.

It really is time that the entire police "command structure left" - what a pity they were the only ones encouraged to stay!

My condolences to Morgan Tsvangirai. The prices you have paid to get into a position to do good have cost you more dearly than any man should be made to pay. I hope you find the peace you and Susan have fought so for.

Later.

More "Arrests"??

Well it certainly didn't take long for the ZANU-pf militia to show their hand... the ink is not even dry on the paper of the Prime Minister's swearing in... and Zanu-pf and their pit bulls are up to their old tricks!

This must clearly demonstrate what the MDC are up against. The first thing that needs to happen if this government is to have any hope of surviving, is the re-organisation of the ZRP and internal investigations (by outside parties) as to the goings on. The so called "CID Law and Order" section needs to be completely disbanded and ALL of the personnel assigned there over the past ten years need to be arrested.
And this cannot be done by PISI (Police Internal Security Intelligence) - they themselves need disbanding, arresting and investigating. I personally have witnessed their method of "investigation" - usually this consists of beating any suspect you wish to fit to any "offence" with a length of armoured cable until a "confession" is obtained. And do not kid yourselves - this is routine.

Following the mass infusion of Zanu-pf loyalists into the force, all the precepts of a lawful force preventing and investigating crimes within the bounds of the law have disappeared. The so called officers have absolutely no training or ability to properly investigate anything by making appropriate "enquiries". There is no ability to back up charges with actual evidence and no ability to gather, examine or process scenes of crime for evidence which can then be scientifically evaluated for inclusion in dockets to be presented in a court of law.

That sort of thing is too much of a waste of time in ZANU-pf's eyes, particularly when there is NO evidence because NO offence has been committed or the evidence points back at them - it all becomes too costly and too inconvenient and certainly will not produce the desired result.

I note from the reports of Bennett's "arrest" that an actually "warrant" was obtained - who signed this warrant? And based on what evidence? bearing in mind what I said above, the other thing that springs to mind is the lack of impartiality of the judiciary. Clearly this is merely the old regime trying to stamp it's authority again and letting everyone know that they believe themselves to still be entirely and singularly in control of Zimbabwe.

I can assure you that if I were there now, in uniform and backed up by a few of my former colleagues (some of whom are still trapped in the militia).. In a few short hours I could put together, properly and supported by actual forensic evidence, water tight cases against most of the so called " state agents", CIO, CID and Uniform branch officers, right up to and including the laughable "commissioner general". I wonder what would happen if that happy situation occurred and we started arresting, detaining and producing before a proper court, these individuals? I am sure we would be the target of many violent attacks by ZANU-pf "gun-men" or other arms of their militia, probably even from within the so-called police itself.. but, with active policing and a good core of men, these criminals would very quickly be properly convicted and behind the bars they use stifle the people of Zimbabwe, Democracy, Law and Order, progress, Development and any other positive thing you can think of!

I guess the situation will continue along these lines for some time to come. It is going to be a very difficult road as the SADC are too cowardly to get involved really - they will, not doubt make some statement about it not being their business to interfere with the police and law in Zimbabwe etc, etc ad nauseum..
So actually, the situation on the ground is going to be VERY difficult to change. Until Mugabe and ZANU-pf have been dispossessed of all they have stolen from the people of Zimbabwe.

When you really examine thing and consider the whole picture, the law is still in a total state of collapse and while that continues... nothing can change.

No doubt the SADC, ZANU-pf, South Africa and everyone else who have IMMEDIATELY started jumping up and down for the removal of sanctions should now be told to look at what is happening and that NO MONEY is forthcoming until Bennett is released and all the so-called state agents etc are behind bars, being properly investigated, charged and convicted of the crimes they have committed and will continue to commit.

Sadly though, this whole episode points to the fact that these "state agents" and "police officers" and "soldiers" are all carrying on regardless because they know nothing will change and they feel they can act with impunity. There is absolutely no indication that they are trying to modify their behaviour because they might feel their time is at an end and that their behaviour will land them in trouble!
And I guess that basically says it all - they will continue doing what they want, when they want and how they want and that will be that. After all their provocation and ignoring the MoU and GNU agreements, when the MDC are finally forced to walk away they will still jump up and say it was the MDC's fault!

This is actually now approaching a very pathetic state.

A New Hope?

My apologies for a long absence... I have been trundling around Africa for a bit getting a first hand view of things... and they are dismal... .

Well today, finally, the man legally voted in by the people of Zimbabwe as their leader has finally been sworn in by the man illegally occupying the post of President.

I suppose that I, like about 99% of Zimbabweans am sceptical... And would anyone blame us? Lets be honest here - it seems Mugabe still hasn't released the activists that are being held illegally... nor, indeed, has he even tried to comply with anything that he doesn't agree with.

The Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, is busy making a lot of promises... I just wonder what he knows that we don't. If he were Prime Minister or President in his own right with full control of government, I wouldn't hesitate to believe him. Unfortunately, at this point, what I predicted some time ago has come to pass. He has, probably for the right reasons, decided to take up the challenge of trying to lead Zimbabwe and deal with the excesses of Mugabe and his party of thugs from within. And this means he has to handle ministries that are still ham-strung by Mugabe's grip on security. Any failure will bring Mugabe out shouting and pointing fingers!

And whilst most of us may question this approach, I am given hope by the open statements he himself has made - there is no trust between the two and he knows Mugabe's probable hope is to absorb him and the MDC in the same manner as he did with ZAPU. Also, the eyes of the world are a bit wiser to his plans, the news media firmly understands how Mugabe has acted in the past.. and so he will not quickly be able to just slide past his usual plan of firstly trying to absorb the opposition and secondly.. blaming them for everything.

It is still very fraught and, I understand, there are still many things to be negotiated.. in fact most of the fundamentally important pre-requisites of allowing this "marriage of inconvenience" to have much chance of working, remain outstanding.

But I truly think that Tsvangirai will have a chance at really frustrating Mugabe as much as Mugabe will frustrate him - hopefully, in the end, Tsvangirai will prevail - as tenacious as Mugabe is at hanging on, Tsavngirai has shown he is at standing strong and fighting for what he believes in. Hopefully it will be enough to bring the transitional period through to an end where a proper election can be held and Mugabe can be soundly defeated.

One of the biggest things Tsvangirai has to fight with is his parliamentary majority - and hopefully this will be one of the prime movers. As much as ZANU-pf and Mugabe must be wringing their hands in anticipation of a new inflow of foreign aid and investment on which they hope to feast, we can only hope the foreign donors will not be falling over themselves to hand over the cash. Sadly, I think, this is possibly the weak link in everything. I think that the initial position of the world that they want to see the government working MUST be rigidly maintained.

This, however, puts Tsvangirai and the MDC in a difficult position - they will have to deliver progress for the people in Zimbabwe.. without the rest of the worlds' money.. which is interesting. Zimbabwe is a beautiful country with a HUGE wealth of resources. Now the problem is, Mugabe and ZANU-pf's policies are all contrary to allowing the resources to be utilised and managed in the manner necessary to allow economic activity to help the economy recover. And that is going to be a big challenge to overcome. And it will be interesting to see how this can be done. In my opinion proper law and order is the main priority (of course, I am a cop - so it would be!).. but, the chaotic land grab which has taken place and continues to take place is illegal. Even if Mugabe changed the law to suit, the fact is, he initially allowed the law to be broken willy nilly. Farmers were targeted on the basis of their race (to my understanding, this is against the law).. Farmer were murdered, assaulted and harassed. Farmers had their property vandalised and stolen.. So all of that was illegal - and the law needs to recognise that. I personally DO understand the need for land reform, however, we need to remember that a large percentage of the farms which were grabbed, had changed ownership since Zimbabwe gained Independence.. and had certificates of no interest from the government. So yes, we would have to delve into the whole history of the land problem.. and approach it in a sensible manner. The farms need to be taken away from Mugabe loyalists. Their original owners need to be restored to their properties.. and that means reversing the whole land grab, before a proper reform can be undertaken... something which Tsvangirai has said will not happen.... So what now?

Before the economy can possibly recover, the farms need to be working again.. after all, the country had an agriculturally based economy... and it needs food.. now it is a fact that the Mugabe loyalists (illegally) occupying these farms have absolutely NO idea about farming.. and those farms where people have been resettled, have regressed to subsistence farming levels.

Quite a dilemma - since the police, army, air force and CIO are still firmly under Mugabe's control... and they are not likely to start upholding the law or trying to chuck the so-called generals and commissioner generals etc off farms that they have stolen and occupy without producing any food.. I guess it is going to be a hard, if not impossible road.. so we will have to watch carefully - but I should think that Mugabe's hopes of the world rushing in with money need to be dashed and remain that way.

I note that Mbeki and the SADC are already shouting for the world to drop sanctions and re-invest... I truly hope the world can respond by saying, very simply... Don't be silly! After all - aren't Zimbabwe's problems going to be resolved by Zimbabweans?

It is time for the world to stop being conned by Mugabe and Africa.

Sadly though, I am sure that the bleeding hearts will ensure Mugabe has a reason to to stay as his money will still be coming in.. and going out - to his bank accounts!

I watched, in disbelief, the amounts of money that the world is chucking at Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak.. especially when it is plain that the money is being sent via the Reverse (Reserve) Bank of Zimbabwe.. and into Mugabe's pockets! For the amounts of money that have been deployed to deal with this crisis, the water reticulation system could have been completely overhauled and medical supplies could have been shipped in and the problem brought firmly under control! I sat and listened to some high up lady in the UN doing an interview with UK TV about the crisis... and all I heard was stupidity - the answer - more and more money being channelled into Zimbabwe... and none of it being used for the dying people!

I would be very Happy though, to be heading home myself, shortly and going back into the force and seeing what effect I could have... but at this point, it would seem that the force is still too truly compromised and is, still, just a ZANU-pf militia.

Let see what happens over the next few days and weeks - and lets hope.

Later.

The Zimbabwe Shambles...desperation?

Well today the news is full of the story of Shiri's mishap with a bullet with many differing versions having him shot in the hand or the elbow or the shoulder and the would be assassins ranging from the army to the CIO to the police...

Who knows for sure? But one thing IS for sure - whoever did the shooting needs a kick up the portal for missing! But at least they DID do the shooting! And now the ZANU-pf bigwigs are in a panic for their personal security. I guess things are, at last beginning to affect them. The soldiers have warned of more riots and I doubt it will be long before the police stop reacting to riots. Still, it is all very slow and very painful. The good thing is that Mugabe and his murdering minions now have to keep looking over their shoulders... and even those who protect them are a threat now! I know a few of these people.. and I wouldn't trust them further than I can spit! Mugabe shouldn't either!

One of my readers has written in a comment asking what everyone can do? And I have to say that I too am a bit lost on this. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that writing to ineffectual politicians in ineffectual governments does little more than waste time and, perhaps, paper! If I were in a position to start some real activism, I would suggest a campaign of writing thousands of letters addressed to police stations all over Zimbabwe telling the policemen some simple facts such as:

Their actions are largely illegal.
They are serving a party and not the (legally elected) government and, therefore, are in breach of their oaths of attestation, particularly in reference to the bits that say "I do solemnly swear and make an oath that I will uphold the laws of Zimbabwe..."
That those of them actively supporting Mugabe and his party will be investigated and face charges when Mugabe is gone.
That their officers will all disappear when the time comes to face the music and they will be left holding the baby!
That Mugabe will, before too long actually be gone (He is 84 and simply will not live forever).
That they need to think of their own welfare and futures and that of their families and decide whether to keep ensuring these murderers who are stealing from everyone or help get rid of them so everyone can prosper again.
That the time is approaching when they WILL be called to account for their part in abductions, murder, theft and that turning a blind eye to it makes them just as complicit.
That they are, principally there to serve the people of Zimbabwe, not the Party of Mugabe.
And, perhaps quite a few other things, although I would tend to keep the list short and to the point.

Perhaps a direct campaign of letter writing by thousands of Zimbabweans directly to the police men and women themselves may serve to foment change in itself? I am clearly open to suggestions. My personal plan for the removal of Mugabe must, in order for it to remain a viable option, remain secret. Although I very seriously doubt it, I am always hopeful that someone with a bit of real influence somewhere, might take me seriously and get in touch. I firmly believe that with the efficient and selective removal of Mugabe and, perhaps one or two others, final collapse and restoration will be far more quickly achieved at far less cost in lives.
Lets see, if they had taken me seriously just after the recent so called elections and equipped me in the manner I had requested, Mugabe and his top men would now be a thing of the past. Yes, five or six lives may have been lost.. but then, how many people have died since those elections? It would seem though, that the CIA, by not condoning the violent destruction of six people, prefer, instead, to condone the violent death of thousands of others, the rape, torture and abduction of yet more. Not to mention the cost of millions and millions of pounds, dollars and euros still pouring into the country in aid.


South Africa's new president has clearly been bought off by Mugabe. South Africa's shameful stance at the UN (and Russia, for some bizarre reason?) has blocked yet another resolution on the matter. How hard is it to stand up and say - this Mugabe is illegal and we deplore him killing thousands of people? It is hard to understand what such a tin pot dictator such as Mugabe could possibly offer.. but then, let us not forget that Mugabe is reputed to be about the fourth richest man in the world and Kgalema Motlanthe is only the caretaker South African president - he has no hope of staying in office after the next general election in South Africa, so it would not be a far leap for the imagination to conclude that Mugabe has offered him a lucrative retirement in return for more of the failed "softly, softly" approach!

Let us see what happens next!

Regime Change... but How?

The news is full of Zimbabwe again.

And the international community is, more and more calling for regime change - something they should have done in 2000... but that is all anyone is actually doing about Zimbabwe - talking. And Mugabe cares nothing about words - they are cheap and they mean nothing. Mugabe is rich and has the guns - no one can do anything to him - unless they are prepared to bring more and bigger guns - and they are not!

South Africa, much to my surprise, is still not using it's power to move Mugabe - Why would that be? Has the new president already been bought by Mugabe? Without South Africa and other neighbours support - Mugabe would fold and die in weeks!

I was interested to see on Britain's Channel 4 news an interview with Mr Miliband, the British foreign secretary. The interviewer made the point that they will probably still be doing similar interviews complaining and deploring the Mugabe regime late in 2009 and beyond.. and Mugabe will STILL be there! And yes, you had better believe they will.

If you want regime change Mr Miliband, get in touch with me. As a Zimbabwean police officer, I have the right and the legal mandate to deal with criminals in that country - and, with a bit of equipment - I can have the job done within a few weeks - it will cost very little and will not involve a war!

I see that Zimbabwe feels it is under "terrorist" attack because someone with no money and no hope (since it was taken away by Mugabe and his thieves) took a shot at the criminal purportedly in charge of what used to be Zimbabwe's airforce. I think though, as one commentator said - if it was a trained person - Shiri would be dead! The loss of Shiri would hardly be a blow to the embattled people of Zimbabwe.

Mr Miliband, another thing - if you want regime change, get hold of the legally elected President, Morgan Tsvangirai and pledge support and recognition for him to set up a government in exile. Get the rest of the international community to follow suit, stop the UN from dealing with Mugabe and things will start to change.

And if you are worried about feeding the people - deliver the food by air. With parachutes. Directly to the people who need it. And protect your delivery aircraft with the RAF and other international air forces. That way, Mugabe loses his command of the food, one of his big power cards (and no matter what you or the international aid agencies say - Mugabe is still controlling the food.. and probably the medicine now). And I guarantee that the so called air force of Zimbabwe poses no credible threat, in fact knocking a few of his planes down in quick succession would send a very clear message to Mugabe. And other tin pot dictators like him.

Other than the above all that is set to happen is more talking. More deploring. More condemning. More nothing and More Zimbabweans dying.

And many are dying - I wonder how the CIA view things in Zimbabwe - when I last offered to eliminate Mugabe - they told me they do not condone violence... so why are they condoning it now??????

And on a personal note to Mugabe - be aware that if there was, indeed, a real "terrorist" or security threat to Zimbabwe - you would already be dead! I certainly hope to have the pleasure of personally arresting you, Mnangagwa, Shiri, Chiwenga, Chihuri, Bvudzijena and the hundreds of others who have pledged themselves to you. You are all common criminals. You have NO mandate to run Zimbabwe (or plunder it) and you need to go now.

No Progress

I have just listened to Morgan Tsvangirai's interview on SWradio Africa with some interest. Basically, Tsvangirai is not in Zimbabwe and his whereabouts are not being revealed.

And that is just how it should be. Unfortunately, many people at the grassroots perhaps do not understand this position and they are feeling a bit abandoned and vulnerable because they are facing the new onslaught from Mugabe's murdering minions. Sadly though, that is exactly how things need to be now.

The abductions are continuing unabated. Mugabe's own judiciary have ruled against him and instructed his militia (police) to find these people and they have ignored the court. The rest of the world is shouting out that this must stop and Mugabe has ignored them because he knows that they are saying "Stop!!! or else... we will have to say stop again!", but they will actually do nothing about it. If Tsvangirai re-appears in Zimbabwe who can honestly say that he will not be arrested and disappear. And on this occasion, Mugabe and his murderers will have an "excuse" to "arrest" him - as he is travelling without a passport.. which, of course, they are illegally with holding!

Mugabe knows that whatever he does, no one will intervene. So it is not without basis to imagine that he is very tired of the headaches caused by Tsvangirai and his party and, having tested the world's response thus far with all the current abductions.. of both high profile humanitarians, party members and even a baby (just to make sure he sees what everyone would say to extreme outrage), what he now knows is that whatever he does, there is no reaction or response that will cause him any problems - even if the same fate befalls Morgan Tsvangirai. So yes, Tsvangirai needs to stay well away from Zimbabwe at the moment. Especially since, whilst he is outside the country, he can really raise the international temperature.

It is still my contention though, that Tsvangirai needs to accept the Botswana governments' offer of a safe haven in which to set up a government in exile. But, before he does this, he will need to secure the support of the international community. They need to acknowledge that Tsvangirai IS the legally and properly elected leader of the people and nation of Zimbabwe. And they need to pledge to engage ALL their official business with this government in exile and absolutely ignore and stonewall Mugabe and his thieves.
The United Nations (yes, that clueless, hapless gathering of ineffectuality) must STOP inviting Mugabe and his people to anywhere. Mugabe's foreign officials need to be turfed out of their embassies and High Commissions and deported. This will begin the real process of telling Mugabe he is illegal and must go.
And this is not something outside the power of western nations who are finally calling for regime change (despite Mugabe's assertion that they have been for some time) to effect. Without the USA, the UK and the EU, the UN will stop functioning. Without the aid money these countries pump into Africa, the AU will fall apart and government will be unstable. The western world needs to stop feeding people the line that negotiating is the only way - they have done this for years and years in Africa in general.. and nothing has changed. Why? Because the great river of aid money continues to flow. So now, even in the midst of depression, they must still support this mass of corrupt governments in Africa that have no intention of changing their ways, or growing a backbone and standing up straight for what is right. Until that happens.. nothing will ever change or develop in Africa.

And, perhaps that is what everyone prefers - God forbid that an African Nation with its wealth of resources suddenly became viable! That would mean that the rest of the world might actually have to accord Africans their rightful place and that would mean they lose all control of Africa. We simply couldn't have that now could we?

Anyway, I digress!

Having secured the backing of the international community, if Tsvangirai set up government and pressure (real economic pressure) was applied to Zimbabwe's remaining recalcitrant neighbours to close the borders.. I guarantee a lot less people would die and Mugabe and company would, as Botswana and Kenya repeatedly point out, be gone in a few weeks. The suffering would end then and there and proper government could take over, proper aid could come in and function under the protection of the police and army, and that would be that. Tracking down Mugabe and his criminals could then be pursued with great detail and a LOT of money could be recovered to help rebuild the country!

Mugabe's remarks are becoming more and more crazy and his followers (which the world press still insist on referring to as "ministers") are becoming more and more rabid. It still amazes me though, that some news services, notably those in South Africa, continue to refer to ZANU-pf as "the ruling party".. they should be calling it what it is - Zimbabwe's illegal dictatorship.

MDC - it is time to set up government - not with Mugabe, but against Mugabe, as you have been elected to do. Negotiating is merely playing out the game Mugabe's way - you have nothing to negotiate - Mugabe and ZANU-pf lost the election, Tsvangirai and the MDC won the election - stop giving Mugabe any form of credibility by continuing this farcical and endless negotiating - step up and form a government. I, and many of my colleagues will sign to you as you are legally elected. You will find a fair number of colleagues trapped in the now ZANU-pf militias (police and army) will cross the border to help. And I am sure Botswana will assist - it serves to strengthen the MDC position and weaken Mugabe's grip on power!

Good News... and More Bad News

I have had time a busy at work and am preparing to go and assist with members of the Zimbabwean public displaced and dying from Mugabe induced cholera.. So, within the next few days, my postings will become even more sporadic as I am not sure what, if any, Internet access I will find on the borders of Zimbabwe!

I note that there are more "calls for Mugabe to step down".. I still cannot believe that western politicians believe that Mugabe would even pay the slightest heed to them - he is well fed, he is healthy, he has diamonds and other mineral wealth, he has large amounts of money that the western banking world cannot find, he has people whose loyalty he has both bought and obtained through threat - why would he give a continental what the "Mad Gordon Brown" wants? The only people speaking sense at the moment are the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the Botswanan administration. I am even dismayed to see that Jacob Zuma is taking the "mediation through Mbeki stance"!

I say again that the MDC should listen to Botswana and accept their offer - that will create a bigger problem for Mugabe and send the absolute signal that they are not going to play anymore whilst Mugabe and co prevaricate, abduct and murder still more Zimbabweans.

I see, however, that another ZANU-pf "cadre" has died.. in a road accident. He was on his way to "preside over" a zanu-pf election (I wonder why they still bother with the sham of an election - just appoint someone.. ZANU-pf has no care for elections or the will of the people!). Elliot Manyika has been widely acknowledged as one of the pioneers of the violence and abductions. It is my fervent hope that he laying dying and bleeding in the wreck of his vehicle and had ample time to feel a lot of pain and reflect on the fact that no ambulance or paramedic would be on their way to rescue him.. because his direct influence had helped destroy the infrastructure that supported such services. And I hope he realised that a huge contributory factor in his accident is the lack of law and order on the roads in Zimbabwe.. where the police have been converted to ZANU-pf militia and have no interested in enforcing the law!

Poetic Justice I would say - pity it doesn't happen to more of these criminals!

It is also widely reported that the abductions continue - and members of the so-called police are instrumental in this.

Police officers do not abduct people - they arrest them, charge them and bring them before an independent court which will decide whether the individual is guilty or not and if guilty, an appropriate punishment.

ZANU-pf militia masquerading as police officers abduct people regularly - they have to abduct them because in reality, they have no reason to interact with them otherwise. And these people are "disappeared"... this is not the work of police officers.

It is time that real police officers caught up in this mess walked out.. you are not being effective in mitigating the actions of the militia - so get out now, lest you be tarred with the same brush as them. It will be the fastest way for you to secure your future.

Later.

The Pathetic Response!

I have just watched, with complete amazement, Gordon Brown on the news... finally calling for regime change in Zimbabwe. But, of course, he is calling for Mugabe's friends to do it! And will England do??? Supply more money to aid agencies which cannot operate effectively and something like 31pence in every pound donated, is NOT used for direct assistance to those in need. And, to top all that, the money goes through where? The honourable reserve bank of Zanu-pf!

How pathetic!

Only Botswana thus far, has been forthright and straightforward. They have openly said Mugabe MUST go - they DO NOT recognise him as he did NOT win the election. Simple. And it is time for more than talk - the international community should be telling those neighbours of Zimbabwe that are still sitting on their hands and muttering about "quiet" (meaning silent) diplomacy that their intransigence will cost them aid, support and trade from the rest of the world if they do not end relations with Mugabe's illegal government now. If they did what Botswana suggests, and close the borders to any and all traffic entering Zimbabwe, particularly fuel - Mugabe would be done within a few days.

At least the storm is finally starting to grow, although painfully slowly. Will it produce a result? Unless definitive action is taken against Mugabe - NO. Mugabe couldn't care less. Nor could those at the top of his pile of thieves and murders.

When will Gordon Brown and the rest of the international community grasp the fundamentals here - Talk and targeted sanctions DO NOTHING. Mugabe uses the sanctions story as propaganda to justify his behaviour!

And really, as long as the idiots at the United Nations even bother to entertain Mugabe as a national leader - he will continue to believe he is!

Mugabe is not the president of Zimbabwe. Stop calling him that. There are no government ministers because there is no government.

The police force is merely the ZANU-pf militia and the army are the "enforcers" made up of common criminals. So who and what are we engaging? At best, a powerful warlord who has no shred of legitimacy.

I think that it is high time that Tsvangirai should move to Botswana and set up a government in exile. The international community should then engage all official business with him. Especially the United Nations who should invite him and not Mugabe to their conferences and functions.

The borders should be closed to Zimbabwe and humanitarian relief set up outside the borders to accept and assist Zimbabweans escaping Mugabe's hell - and I guarantee you that regime change will take place in a VERY short space of time. And I mean regime CHANGE - not power sharing which will clearly never happen.

Mugabe will frustrate every single process he is involved in and drag this on till many thousands die. And then, of course, the world will be outraged and many conferences, speeches and seminars will result and the world will say never again.. like Rwanda, like so many other places. Why not say it BEFORE thousands of people die? Is it just me? Am I missing something here?

And if you really want rid of Mugabe - get hold of me, provide me with what I need - and I will go and fix him. On my own! Instead, however, they will go on talking and condemning and demanding...

Reminds me of the old story about the unarmed policeman chasing a bad guy and he shouts "STOP".... "STOP or else"... "STOP or else.. I will have shout stop again!" very effective! I guarantee "STOP or I shoot" works much, much better!

You can shout whatever you like at Mugabe and his gang of criminals.. they DO NOT CARE.. get it? duh!

Later.

The Restlessness Is Growing

First on Friday.. then on Monday.. Mugabe's soldiers are starting to feel the realities of the country that they have helped to destroy. And then they have the temerity to actually riot about not getting cash from the banks??? This is the first really amusing thing I have seen in the midst of all the gloom and death.

It is amusing from a number of perspectives actually - these are the men and women who ensured that Mugabe's ruinous policies have been implemented. And they did this with impunity, shielded by the ZANU-pf system of patronage from the effects that they have forced upon the rest of the populace. And they felt nothing and cared less about it.. but now it is coming back to bite them and is it not wonderful??? And be sure, these are not isolated incidents, the discontent is finally starting to show amongst the ranks.. I bet the generals are feeling more and more uncomfortable by the day.

The second and more important part of these incidents is that the discontented soldiers have clashed with their erstwhile comrades.. the MP's on Friday and the Police (ZANU-pf militia) on Monday. On Friday it was an estimated 60 uniformed soldiers on the rampage, on Monday an estimated 200. So uniformed police fighting uniformed soldiers on the streets of Harare? I wonder what happens when the police cannot withdraw their salaries? Perhaps I am jumping the gun here... but this has all the makings of a final meltdown beginning.. what happens when the mobs of desperate people and soldiers want to confront ZANU-pf and their militia (the police) suddenly decide to step aside and NOT confront them? Does this mean we have another Romania and Nicolai Caeucescu situation?

There are many parallels between the economy and happenings of Zimbabwe and Mugabe and Romania and Nicolai Caeucescu - huge corruption and terrible governance resulting in an unfettered inflation rate, the government continually removing zeros in an attempt to keep the currency usable.. growing discontent among soldiers, regimes propped up by deadly state security police with no regard for law and order, confrontations on the streets and finally.. the people, soldiers and police will storm the party headquarters or parliament and suddenly the oppressors will find themselves in a world of hurt.

I think the can also be no doubt that Mbeki is not only biased, but as ignorant as Mugabe. South Africans must applaud the day that he was thrown out of the seat of power. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he lack the capacity to grasp even the most basic things. His now famous gaffe over AIDS was the first sign of stupidity to emerge clearly. Now he, as the so called "impartial" mediator writes the following to the Morgan Tsvangirai, the legally elected president of Zimbabwe:

"As you secure applause because of the insult against us that we are 'cowards', you will have to consider the reality that our people have accepted into their countries very large numbers of Zimbabwean brothers and sisters in a spirit of human solidarity, prepared to sustain the resultant obligations," said Mbeki in his letter written to Tsvangirai and published in full text by Sunday News. "None of our countries displayed characteristics of cowardice when they did this," he stressed in his letter."

Erm.. have you missed the point entirely Mr Mbeki? Why is it that those countries have had to accept these poor unfortunate people who actually used to form part of one of the best and growing workforces in Africa? The very people that used to feed Africa need help (and, mind you, they do not get too much help out the SADC countries in general).
And Mr Mbeki, if those very countries that you refer to had displayed real courage and faced up to one thieving man and his following of murderers and rapists, then they wouldn't have to be rescuing and supporting thousands of others. The have not, contrary to Mbeki's assertions, accepted them "in a spirit of human solidarity" they have admitted them out of guilt or just the fact that they are scared to lose what little support they get from the evil western world. And they are not prepared to "sustain the resultant obligations".. they are just too frightened to stand up like Botswana and tell Mugabe to go.

As Botswana quite rightly pointed out, if all Zimbabwe's neighbours closed the borders... this crisis would be resolved in a week. And a lot less innocent Zimbabweans will die. That is courage Mbeki - not kow-towing to a common criminal!

Later.

Botswana - The voice of sanity

Death no longer stalks the streets of Zimbabwe.. it walks around openly and just takes whoever it wants. The very people whose job description begins with "Protect Life", the police, are one of the main causes of upholding not the law, but the lawless and helping death to roam unfettered.

Every day now it is harder and harder to find any justification Mugabe has for hanging on. He must go. NOW. And his party militia needs to be rapidly replaced by a force staffed by courageous individuals who are properly trained, equipped and disciplined needs to move in rapidly to restore order.

Botswana is who everyone should now be listening to. And I would think that if Morgan Tsvangirai fails to secure an agreement in South Africa that is both workable and enforceable, he should take up Botswana's offer and go directly to Gaborone. And the rest of the world should just ignore Mugabe and start to deal with the properly elected government of Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately, it seems that many world leaders are picked for their ignorance. I was watching a report on Television tonight in which a British MP was was being interviewed. He referred, repeatedly to the government of Zimbabwe taking action to avert the health crisis exploding there now.. which "government" is it that he is referring to? Is there a government in Zimbabwe right now?????? If so, what is it's composition? Who is in it? What mandate do they carry from the people of Zimbabwe? News media needs to get to grip with the fact that ZANU-pf is NOT THE RULING PARTY IN ZIMBABWE! And they need to stop conferring legitimacy on Mugabe's gang of thieves who are raping the country and enriching themselves further, Mugabe is NOT the PRESIDENT and he has no ministers.

I was pleased to see the new individuals named in the sanctions, Rautenbach has made a life outside the law - he was a Rhodesian sanctions buster and, no doubt one of Mugabe's greatest assets - The rest of the world now need to do the same thing and a huge investigation to find his resources needs to start now. I have no sympathy and would be glad to see him in court - he is one of the white criminals who has not only supported Mugabe, but also made an absolute killing off the backs of the poor people in the country.. of which there are many. Other notorious names need to be added to the list, not least of which is Nicholas Van Hoogstratten.

It will be interesting to see what happens next, but I hope to see Tsvangirai in Botswana leading the proper government of Zimbabwe.

Later

End of Times

Well the situation in Zimbabwe has gone from bad to worse. And will continue to do so until Mugabe and ZANU-pf either leave or accept the MDC as equal partners. In point of fact, Mugabe and ZANU-PF have no business running, or pretending to run Zimbabwe. The MDC (T) are the ruling party and it is high time they accepted it.

I have been reading, with interest, the comments by the group of so-called "elders". I have to marvel at Carters views.. the current Zimbabwe is a result of his views originally, now he seems to be labouring under the mis-apprehension that if the MDC join Mugabe's government as junior partners, they will be able to curtail the excesses of Mugabe and the JOC through their parliamentary majority!

How did this man become a world leader? Does he really believe, for one second, that Mugabe and the JOC will allow MDC to do anything at all? What does a parliamentary majority in Zimbabwe mean? Perhaps it means the same thing as a popular majority? Where the winners are beaten and jailed and the losers just take over and do as they please?

There is only two options remaining and I applaud Morgan Tsvangirai and his party for sticking to it - either a proper unity government in terms of the original agreement (not the "altered" one) with proper power sharing and the police force under the control of the MDC (T), or that ZANU-pf finally concede defeat and hand over the government to the legally elected leadership.

It is either that, or the deaths will soar. One cannot help but accept now, that the country has hit the bottom. Reports coming out of the country indicate that there is no functioning economy, no proper infrastructure, no law and order, no police force, no health service, no hospitals, no water, no electricity, no food... just nothing at all really, other than fear and oppression stalking the streets. And it will take some not inconsiderable sorting out. Mugabe couldn't make it work when he had everything going for him, how does anyone imagine he can make it work now?

His regional isolation continues to grow and the ante is growing steadily between ZANU-pf and Botswana. And probably his other neighbours too. I am so pleased that Botswana, Africa's most successful economy and democracy have mage no bones by clearly stating that they do not recognise Mugabe. Other nations would do well to follow their example. Botswana is a true friend of the Zimbabwean nation and all it's people - their straightforward stance is very hard for Mugabe and the JOC to deal with and Botswana is leading the way in saving the people of Zimbabwe. That Mugabe and the JOC have deployed CIO agents into Botswana to try and bolster their story is quite amusing really (apart from the fact that it is a hostile action against a sovereign and democratic nation and completely illegal). What happens when they turn up empty handed? I guess it will just mean another lie that Mugabe and his propaganda machine will find some bizarre explanation for, because, as we all know, Mugabe is never wrong and never at fault. The only people who have caused this in his opinion are some shadowy foreign governments who, by banning Mugabe and his people from travelling, have engineered the collapse of an entire nation... I think it will be highly amusing when Botswana start arresting CIO agents. It may even be a decent excuse for raising the diplomatic pressure even further.

I have been giving some thought to Mugabe's travel ban.. perhaps this should be lifted - when he arrives in a foreign country he can be arrested - he is not the elected leader of the nation and, therefore, in my mind, not entitled to diplomatic immunity. In fact, he is a common and garden criminal and needs to be brought before a court to face his handiwork! If western government are still frightened of taking action against Mugabe, they can readily call upon myself to do the deed, as a Zimbabwean police officer. As such I have the legal right to arrest him and would not hesitate to deal with the thugs that accompany him on his various jaunts. In terms of Zimbabwean law, I could also appoint Zimbabwean citizens to assist me in carrying out such an arrest and they can, under my direct supervision, act with full police powers. I wonder how volunteers would step up to the plate?

I think though, Mugabe and the JOC really need to sit up and take stock, they are painting themselves firmly into a corner - once they have alienated all their friends, and the list grows daily, their options for a bolt hole will be gone. So when it all finally comes crashing down around their ears, they will find themselves standing in a desert, surrounded by the Zimbabwean people rightfully seeking justice and there will be no where to hide.

I wonder if these talks will resolve anything.. until people like the "elders" actually wake up and stop making ridiculous suggestions which would play into Mugabe's hands and give him some sort of legitimacy, I doubt anything will change. And while things do not change, ordinary people living in fear are continuing to die because of Mugabe and because the rest of the world is too frightened to say anything.

Mugabe and his JOC have brought a reign of terror to the simple and decent people of Zimbabwe in their lust for power and their personal greed.. does this not then make them the epitome of terrorists? That being the case.. where is the GLOBAL war on terrorism and why is it failing the people of Zimbabwe? Is it simply because they are not a religious group? or, more correctly, is it because Zimbabwe has no oil?

I wonder how people will react to real policing when it returns to Zimbabwe along with freedom and democracy... We pray for that sanity to return every day.

Later.

The Gathering Storm

Well I have been away with work and training commitments.. so my apologies for the lengthy silence!

However, in retrospect, the past couple of weeks have been oddly quiet.. It makes me think of "the phony war"... because suddenly the temperature is rising. Whilst the world has been focused on resolving it's financial woes and governments have been doing some inventive stuff to help their people out.. Mugabe's non-existent illegal government have been trying to focus on ways to remain entrenched and enrich themselves at the expense of the Zimbabwean people.

And to quote a phrase that has much significance for some, The Silence Has Been Deafening!

In fact, much of the famous sermon preached by The Very Revd. J.R. da Costa, in the Cathedral of St. Mary and All Saints in Salisbury, Rhodesia, on Friday, 8 September, 1978 at the service for those who died and were massacred in the Viscount air disaster Sunday, 3 September, 1978 is again very relevant. One just wonders why it is that the world feels that it should fail to react to the excesses of murderers because they can quote some feeble justification? I am beginning to wonder where the greatest evil lies.. Here is a Transcript of that Sermon.. if you read it, I wonder how many situations around the world it could apply to? (not having read the whole site where this transcript is located, I cannot say whether I have a view on their site).

Anyway.. now suddenly, it would seem that patience is truly wearing thin and the noise against Mugabe's is growing. And significantly, the noise seems to be growing in Africa. Mugabe MUST surely be starting to get the picture? But then.. does he ever or, if he does, do the infamous JOC? They must believe that they are in control of very powerful forces that can withstand any pressure! Either that or they are trying to realise as much wealth as they possibly can from these diamond mines in the hope that they can disappear with their ill gotten wealth and leave their moire junior officers holding the baby. I think though, that the time is approaching where Zimbabwe is likely to turn into another Somalia, controlled by warlords who prey on any source of wealth, even if it is people.

So now the South African government is turning up their vocabulary at last.. but I see that the ineffective Mugabe supporter Thabo Mbeki is still guiding the "talks"!

Mugabe, no doubt, hopes to come to South Africa and be supported in his bid to unilaterally form a government and try to force the MDC to participate.. If the South African government cannot put pressure on Mbeki to bring a proper resolution, then they must realise that these talks too, will fail.

Clearly, unless the MDC are given a proper and significant stake in government, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. And people will continue to die and the region will continue to suffer. The MDC are playing an extremely courageous game here and standing hard on their principals. There have been many who feel that Morgan Tsvangirai (the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe) and the MDC(T) (The true RULING PARTY) should have given more ground or capitulated to Mugabe, however, that would not produce a country with a viable hope for the future.

The MDC MUST have control of the police. In its ENTIRETY. Not on an unworkable shared basis. They must be FULL partners in the government. With any luck, that would help to tear Mugabe's gang of thieves apart as the number of areas open to them diminishes, I expect the party in fighting over the scraps will tear it apart and, finally, ZANU-pf will be consigned to history.

It will be very interesting to see what is found inside Zimbabwe when it is opened up. And I think that any talk of amnesty for Mugabe and his JOC needs to go away now. Clearly the promise of indemnity has not pulled them into an agreement and it will be pressure that will achieve that instead. So, they should be prepared to face the law. And they should be punished and the wealth they have stolen from the people will have to be recovered.

It is interesting to note that the JOC is even beginning to fight amongst themselves.. over the diamonds and the one name that keeps coming up is Perence Shiri, one of the greatest architects of the decline of the country and it's forces. I recall in 1983 when he ordered the arrest of a group of pensioners who had gone to the KGVI bowling club to play lawn bowls. These old people were detained without charge and harassed for an entire night in freezing conditions where cold water was poured onto the floor every half an hour. Very minor stuff compared to what is going on now with helicopter gunships mowing down un-armed people, but very definitely a precursor to what is happening now. And, in those days, what was his real motive??

I was also interested to see this photograph on the SWRADIO website:

I would point out, again, that these are hardly policemen.. more they are the ZANU-pf official militia. Their shabby uniforms, incompatible with any of the force's published dress orders (not that any standing orders are adhered to any longer) is indicative of the depths being plumbed by what used to be a great force. And well, arresting a vendor for selling carrots - they can only have one reason for doing that - they are beginning to get hungry. I wonder how long loyalty lasts on an empty stomach? Anyway, this is typical of the zanu-pf militia - when something serious happens.. like murder, rape, robbery or abduction.. there is not reaction. But when something minor happens.. well it is clearly time to turn out the riot squad!

Significantly, I note there have been a number of explosions at police stations in Harare.. but in itself, these too are a mystery.

Are they ZANU-pf looking for an "incident" to justify a new Gukurahundi? I wonder, Mugabe has been too quiet on this, even that criminal zanu-pf mouthpiece, Bvudzijena, has had little to say other than security is being tightened up.

Or, is this policemen and women beginning to get restless? I note that apart from some minor structural damage, there have been no serious consequences, injuries or deaths. Very curious indeed!

Anyway, lets see what tomorrow brings. I doubt it will be any kind of result, but at least the pressure appears, at this point to be growing.

Later.

And so where to now?

The disappointing result of the useless conference with the weak and corrupt representatives of African governments is still heavy in the air and it leaves the biggest question of all - so where to now?

Clearly Mugabe holds some kind of sway over this regional grouping of cowards who have basically endorsed his position. So should the MDC join Mugabe in his "government" or not?

And this must be the most difficult question to answer - if they do not, Mugabe will crow loudly and say he offered the hand of reconciliation to them. And, therefore, their misfortunes are of their own making. He will use this point to claim some form of "legitimacy". Conveniently forgetting, of course, that he lost the elections and shouldn't be anywhere near parliament anyway! But also, if the MDC withdraw now, Mugabe will not be held to an election in two years, but hold out for another four years!
If they do, Mugabe will ensure that everything his party does wrong is blamed on the MDC, whilst claiming every small positive thing (for lets face it -they can only be small things now) is the doing of his party. Also, if they do join this fiasco, they will be giving legitimacy to Mugabe's process. But perhaps they can use their majority in parliament to frustrate zanu-pf at every turn? And at least they can try to force the election agreed upon in two years. Although, with Mugabe still in control of the guns, that elections will be another rigged fiasco!

So, in reality, Mugabe has, as the Bearded Man has always predicted, entrenched himself and Mugabe will not budge. He will remain, no matter what the rest of the world thinks, for the next however many years doing exactly as he pleases, supported by his band of thieves and murderers whilst so-called "diplomacy" continues to blunder along, delaying everything, letting more people die, letting Mugabe's thieves continue to take what little is left and nothing will change.

And that IS the fact - nothing will change until Mugabe dies. And the only thing we know for sure about Mugabe is his ability to hang on. He is 84 now and one would hope he is on his last legs (I have often read stories written about his ill health, but they have, as always, turned out to be mere wishful thinking) - this guy will be here till he is 90 something - at least a further 10 years. I wonder how much more wealth will be stripped away by his corrupt "officials"? I wonder how many more Zimbabweans will die of hunger, disease and the violence unleashed by his militias?
And what will be done about it?

NOTHING!

It is time for a different approach. I am often asked why no one has assassinated Mugabe yet - well, it would takes certain tools and equipment to achieve a surgical strike to remove him - but those tools are relatively impossible to come by. We also do not possess that fanatical sense where a suicide attack could be considered. The sad thing though, is that with Mugabe removed, hiw policy of "divide and rule" policy will cause ZANU-pf to implode and allow the MDC to take over. So, remove Mugabe, and the problem will go, the JOC will have no one to support and they will fight amongst themselves as to who will take Mugabe's place and will render themselves impotent in the process.

There is a way to do this job, but no one will consider it because violence against Mugabe cannot be condoned. It's ok to condone it against helpless men, women and children though!

I wonder if the world has reached such a state of madness that they can only consider "diplomacy" against someone who couldn't give a continental about what they say and who does not feel any form of "diplomatic pressure"?

I guess at the end of the day, we shall have to wait and see how much Zimbabweans can take before they openly confront soldiers and police in the streets and a bloodbath ensues. Mind you, I always marvel at the amount of fear Mugabe and ZANU-pf have instilled in the people, otherwise they would already be confronting off duty personnel and it would be too dangerous for service personal to be anywhere other than where they are in force! But I foresee even darker days ahead for my suffering country. As I keep telling everyone, "it will get MUCH worse before it gets better" and they say well it cannot get any worse. Every time someone says that, it gets worse.

I think it is time to start lobbying to have the world cup football removed from South Africa and for other forms of sanction on the entire regional grouping.. but these are all slow long term measures which are unlikely to change anything for the people who are suffering and dying every day.

And I think that any suggestion of a "deal" for Mugabe and his followers should now be put permanently away. When things finally do change, these murderers MUST be pursued to the ends of the earth in the same way the Nazi's were. And they should be brought to justice and their ill gotten wealth MUST be recovered for the state coffers from whence it came. The people of Zimbabwe need to be empowered again and that can only happen when Mugabe and ZANU-pf finally get removed. And the net must be cast wide to include any persons who have acted corruptly as this all helps the bad guys stay in control. Anyone who supports or props up the regime which has killed so many of it's own people must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Later.

When is it time for war?

Like many Zimbabweans, I followed the latest non-developments with disgust. I suppose that whilst we have all known for some time now that Mugabe has no intention of sharing anything, I think we all hoped that his rule would be finally brought to an end now. Instead, the toothless gathering of corrupt African governments have basically endorsed Mugabe's theft of the entire nation by their inability to stand up to him. Sadly this malaise is international and ordinary people must wonder about the forces that control events. We have to ask why the developed nations continue to provide aid and support to the begging bowls of Africa, instead of holding it back until Africans learnt to behave with some integrity at least. But then, I suppose, we are asking that question of a morally bankrupt world. Still, the world, being driven by money and everyone feeling the pinch right now, should be taking a view on Zimbabwe - why on earth should the rest of the world be paying anyone in Southern Africa anything in any kind of development aid or support? Southern African nations will not put pressure on to rid Zimbabwe of a man who is not elected, a man who is basically a thief and a murderer and a man who is bankrupting an economically solid country for his benefit and the benefit of those around him, through the much vaunted "patronage" system (here read "looking after a band of brigands and cut throats to make sure they keep Mugabe in power").
The net result is that Zimbabwe will end up costing the rest of the world a vast sum of money to try and rebuild a viable nation when, if the correct pressure had been applied, it would instead be contributing to the region as a whole and taking the pressure off the world's purse.

The logic defies explanation!

And when is it time to say that "diplomacy" is simply not working, a military solution is needed? That famous cop out when the international community, particularly the labour government in the UK, rings out repeatedly and loudly - "this is a Zimbabwean problem and Zimbabweans must resolve it". Erm... how exactly does that work then? Do we expect that the beaten, starving and dispossessed people of Zimbabwe will rise up against the AK 47 and armoured vehicles? Perhaps they will be able to knock down the fighter jets with catapults?
And even if we are speaking "diplomatically".. how are Zimbabweans going to solve the problem? No matter how Zimbabweans vote, Mugabe wins. As he has done now - so Zimbabweans go to the regional bodies for help and they support Mugabe? So what next?

I challenge ANYONE in the international community to explain that statement to me.

I have also often read in forums and comments on news sites the view of many of the retarded people in the world who say that the international community should just disengage completely and let Africans get on with killing one another.. Convenient, but wasn't it the various colonial administrations that created large tracts of the problem?

So what now? Diplomacy is not going to work - so many months since the most irregular and flawed election in the world and still no progress, other than what Mugabe wanted in the first place - so despite the fact that Zimbabweans voted him out of power, he is still in charge and calling the shots... and diplomacy is not helping.

In the meantime, Mugabe and his cohorts continue to rape the country of everything of value. They steal from the aid agencies (although when this "irregularity" was going to impede the flow of even more money.. it was suddenly returned). The aid agencies continue to send money into the country for "humanitarian reasons" and this money is mis-appropriated to Mugabe's use. Mugabe and his followers are into diamonds, gold and anything they can get their crooked fingers on.

Add to this that they are in fact ILLEGAL and then the populace must turn to the police for help.. but the grand commissioner general is firmly part of the problem and the police force has been turned into a party militia.. so now what?

As a police officer myself, and a real policeman, not a zanu-pf militia man, I feel that it is my duty to arrest all of these people - but how do I go about it? Essentially I am dealing with criminal cartel protected by armed men, so how much force should I use to achieve these arrests? In terms of both Zimbabwean and international law, these are wanted people and they need to be brought to book. How do I go about that?

Additionally, in terms of Zimbabwean law and police procedure, deadly force may be used when:

a. Lives are at risk from criminals
b. A criminal attempts to disarm an officer
c. A criminal attempts to relieve an officer of prisoners

(there are more reasons, some quite complex, governing the use of deadly force, however these are the main and most pertinent)

In terms of the use of deadly force and in line with the precept of "minimum force", deadly force should be used as a threat (if possible and practical - i.e. warning shots), if that is not effective or possible attempts should be made to effect the arrest by injuring, maiming or otherwise incapacitating the accused. As a last resort, however, the accused may be killed, if killing is lawful under the circumstances.

Now, if we read and understand all that, and we accept that Mugabe and, particularly, the members of the so-called "JOC" (Joint Operations Command) are, in fact, criminals. So they should be arrested and brought before a court for trial. How does one arrest these individuals who are protected by well armed men?

It would seem that the minimum force required in this instance is armed conflict. Would this be justified? Well, all armed conflicts must be considered in terms of both human and financial cost.

How many lives would be lost in conflict? How many lives have been lost since Mugabe and his murderous regime have been in power? How many more will be lost for everyday he continues denying people access to health care?

In fiscal terms, how much money has Mugabe and his cohorts stolen? How much do they continue to steal? How much will it cost the country and its people for everyday he remains and wreaks further destruction on the economy? How much will it cost the region and the international community in aid and support? How much will armed intervention cost?

I think the answers are many and diverse, however, the facts are that people are dying every day and the financial cost is staggering. It needs to stop.

How do we stop it? I my mind it is quite clear, it is now time to remove the head from this snake. If they cannot be arrested (and I am not sure why - they are not legally the elected representatives of the people and therefore, not entitled to diplomatic immunity, so could easily be taken when they visit the UN or any of their other sanctions avoiding trips), then force must be considered, and there are many, many ways to neatly remove Mugabe and company without starting a full scale war. I personally have made representations to international security agencies with a view to getting equipment and minuscule funding to carry out the required operation. Sadly I merely received the pious reply that they "do not condone violence"! Not sure what they are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan then and, if this statement is true.. why are they condoning the violence of Mugabe and his followers?

I am hoping that a peaceful, diplomatic resolution will rapidly end this situation, but it seems unlikely. I admire and commend the MDC who are the legally elected representative of the people of Zimbabwe and I hope they continue to reject Mugabe's unworkable solutions. I also am ready, willing and able to take action against Mugabe if the right support is forthcoming.

Vain hope methinks - this stinking morass will continue ad infinitum because the African and International community still refer to him as "president" Mugabe and refuse to stand up to this little criminal.

Later.

Riots and Minimum Force

Hello All,

I, like many others have now been watching the news carefully today to see if there are any reports on the "negotiations" but, at the time of writing, there does not appear to be anything.

I did see the report on the demonstration by ROHR (Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe). And the subsequent reports of injuries and arrests.. And the photographs of the demonstration.

50 people arrested? 11 Injured? This picture, showing the demonstration does not show a mob of violent people which required aggressive intervention.

I know - I have seen real riotous mobs and, apart from carrying placards and banners, they are certainly not carrying anything offensive nor posing a threat to the public at large.

In point of fact, they seem to be quite a jolly crowd waving and smiling - and exercising their right to freedom of expression... erm I guess that is NOT a right in Zimbabwe at the moment!

But then... if you look a little more closely.. you see what the actual problem is - these people look like they are giving the dreaded MDC open handed salute.

Naturally then, the powers that be felt it necessary to intervene!

And so... enter the riot squad...

Firing teargas (CS ANTI RIOT IRRITANT).. And all hell breaks loose.

Suddenly everyone is running for their lives.

I think it pertinent to say here that police officers are required to uphold the law. And at the moment, the law says you may not protest (Just in case everyone discovers that ZANU-pf is not who they want to govern them). I imagine that the law itself is illegal and the process to make it "law" was illegal and it is a law made by an illegal regime (So yes, on top of everything else - it gets very complex when you start looking at an incident like this!).

But, for the sake of argument, let us just say that this is the law and police officers are required to enforce it. How should they be going about it?

I would tend to think back to my training and remember the definition of "minimum force" and that is as follows:

MINIMUM FORCE - this is the force required to be applied to reach one's objective, applied with a PREVENTATIVE and NOT PUNITIVE intent, and STOPPING WHEN IT IS NO LONGER NECESSARY.

Clearly this principal was not adhered to in this case. Did the police form a line? Did a senior officer address the crowd? Did he/she warn them to disperse? Was an attempt made to make arrests peaceably?

From the reports and pictures, I would say not.

So now, the officers involved in this attack have, themselves, committed an offence - assault and causing a breach of the peace to begin with, dereliction of duty also springs to mind.

That would mean these officers need to be arrested themselves. And they need to be charged.

I would say that if the MDC are given control of the Police, which will need to happen if any progress is to be made in Zimbabwe, then there are going to be a lot of "policemen/women" (I put these titles in quotations.. because I feel the force is now largely a ZANU-pf militia anyway), who will be finding themselves where they have put so many brave people just trying to stand up for themselves.

Creepimg Genocide

Is it not amazing that the world is still standing by, wringing it's hands and actually doing nothing.. whilst people in Zimbabwe are slowly being "eliminated"?

The MDC are quite correct in their stance to hold out over real power sharing. And they need to have control of the Police. Sadly, still now, relatively little pressure is being applied to Mugabe and ZANU-pf. And all the while that they are prevaricating, people (particularly the ruling MDC supporters) are starving to death or dying from cholera and many other things besides.

I often take news headlines with a pinch of salt - for instance, whilst they report widely on the deaths from causes such as starvation and disease brought on by infrastructural collapse, what about the people who are being turned away from hospitals and dying from "normal" diseases, because there are no doctors or drugs? What about people who are injured in road/domestic/occupational accidents? I would imagine that, in a pure statistical format, the number of these deaths is far greater than the cholera deaths and starvation deaths.. at the moment anyway. Of course, whilst Mugabe continues to cling desperately to power the situation will continue to deteriorate.. and more people will die.

And where does the blame for all this lie? It will take the setting up of a special section of the Zimbabwe Republic Police to concentrate solely on investigating all the murders, assaults, rapes, ZANU-pf sanctioned thefts, corruption and many other abuses of office and derelictions of duty. And it would take this section a not inconsiderable time to investigate all of this. And external help will be needed. Whilst much of modern day forensic work originated in Zimbabwe (A surprising but true fact - read CRIME SCIENTIST by John Thompson) - I would doubt that the current forensic labs will have the capability to recover and analyse DNA evidence.. or much else. And many experts who used to serve, particularly in Ballistics, will have to be recalled for service again. A very sad state of affairs, but like everything else, the ZANU-pf government inherited these institutions when they were cutting edge (the FBI used the ballistics lab in Harare on occasion because of their renowned expertise).

And at the end of the day, how much actual prosecution will be actually achieved as, with the passage of time, much factual evidence will be lost. Also, it begs the question.. who was behind it all? Was it Mugabe himself? Was it the JOC? was it individuals? Or was it all of them?

It will take one massive and intricate investigation and, I suspect, when this investigation takes place, vast fortunes will be recovered, which they must be and the money used for redevelopment and infrastructural repair. It will be interesting to see the reaction of those who have stolen so much when they lose it all!

And it will take a very organised prosecutor who is extremely diligent and thorough to bring these cases successfully to court. And the judiciary will need to be purged of political elements (although this may be easily achieved as most of them are accused persons themselves!).

Make no error, the task before everyone is gargantuan. But certainly worth doing. It is time though, for Mugabe and ZANU-pf, to be put under sufficient pressure to adhere to the terms and spirit of the agreement. They are holding out desperately because they know that once the power sharing agreement takes effect and the balance of power shifts out of their hands and into the hands of Zimbabweans.. the end will be at hand. So I do not expect them to go easily or quietly, but go they must. And the sooner the better and it is high time that the international community started putting real pressure on the African heads of state and the SADC to make it happen quickly.

Later.