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Zanu PF Fools Day
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- Written by: John C Burke
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Lovingly entitled, "Zanu PF Fool's Day"; the 1st April 2023 at the Zimbabwe Embassy was the initiation of the campaign to expose the criminality at the heart of the Zanu PF regime. The Zanu PF regime has held Zimbabwe, as a nation "hostage" for far too long - 43 years this April 18th in fact. [Full image log on ZHRO Flickr CLICK HERE ]
Those brave few present, coming from as far away as Manchester, Coventry, Northampton, Gosport and Littlehampton, were there to "represent" all Zimbabweans who have been utterly disenfranchised by the Zanu PF regime back in Zimbabwe. That's not to say that many more within the UK diaspora should have been present - and the 18th April 2023 Demonstration {at the Embassy} and Petition {to 10 Downing Street, home of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak} will prove the depth for feeling personified by #GoldMafia and other criminality by the regime.
The numbers attending will always be a big factor when presenting a proposal and petition to the British - they are very much 'swayed' by the numbers - as they perceive "Voter Recognition" of an event or situation, that must be acted upon. The same is very true for pushing for democratic and humanitarian action to be promoted by the British within their sphere of influence, at both the UK Embassy in Harare AND on the International Stage. Here in the United Kingdom the Zimbabwean Diaspora has huge potential to assist those trapped by the regime in Zimbabwe. It is up to the diaspora to stand up and be counter {as the expression goes} and in this case literally too!
In November 2017 - the 18th November in fact: CLICK HERE to remember that day, the Hopes and Dreams for a Democratic Zimbabwe were Born - but now those dreams are left in tatters, as the nightmare began on that day inside the regimes psychotic imagination. Fast forward to March 2023 and the pre-launch of the Gold Mafia {at that time without a title - but certainly about corruption} many were apprehensive, most about an expose, but within the regime -'concern'.
Gold Mafia OUT
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- Written by: John Burke, Take2Zimbabwe and Zim Vigil
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As ZHRO/Zexit/Take2Zimbabwe/ZEMeta and CCC-Diaspora, we have added all four parts of this damning exposition regarding money laundering to the extent of USD $1 billion and Gold Smuggling by the creation of a link to the ZHRO YouTube Platform called "ZHRO - Crime Report" CLICK HERE
We are now planning demonstrations, further petitions and other campaigns to bring the crimes of the Zanu PF 'regime' in Zimbabwe to the greater public attention, for the express benefit of the Nation and Citizens of Zimbabwe.
- Part One released 23rd March 2023 {View part 1 of 4 here at this link}
- Part Two released 30th March 2023 {View part 2 of 4 here at this link}
- Part Three released 6th April 2023 {View part 3 of 4 here at this link}
- Part Four released 14th April 2023 {View part 4 of 4 here at this link}
Background: It mainly started in 2021, however endemic corruption and ruthless exploitation of the wealth of the natural resources of Zimbabwe has been going on for DECADES! Probably back to the {So Called} Independence on 18th April 1980!
However in 2021 the new President {after a military coup to replace Mugabe in 2017 and a rigged election in 2018 and European Union Assessment of the 2018 Elections}, was slated to visit the United Kingdom {under the auspices of the United Nations} for the Climate conference COP26 - Oct-Nov 2021. As ZHRO, ZAPU, ROHR and the then MDC(A) {now re-branded as CCC} we took our demonstration, firstly to the door of 10 Downing Street with a petition to {Boris Johnson} and also to the COP26 conference itself in Glasgow on the 1st and 2nd November 2021.
Even then we {ZHRO and VUKA} had created the banner stating "ZANU PF MUST GO" and ROHR had created "The Face Behind- Corruption etc" We all knew that Zimbabwe was being {and had been} plundered for her natural resources - for the exclusive benefit to the Zanu PF "elite" - including the arch criminal President Mnangagwa himself READ OUR OCTOBER 2021 PETITION HERE - we did not want Mnangagwa to enter the United Kingdom under any circumstances.
We had reminded the UK Government, that Mnangagwa was head of security under the 1983-87 Gukhurundi genocide {petition in July 2018 for that issue} and as the "Chief Strategist" as named by the Untied Nations in their 2002 report regarding the wholesale looting of diamonds from the DR Congo! It's not as if this was all news to the British Government.
Bad governance, not drought
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- Written by: Tendai Ruben Mbofana
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Bad governance, not drought, causing hunger in Zimbabwe!
It can not be denied that the 2023/24 agricultural season is one of the worst in Zimbabwe. This is largely due to the frighteningly low rainfall experienced as a direct result of the El Niño weather pattern that has affected most parts of the southern African region. It is a painful sight watching the miserable dry shriveled crops in most fields throughout the country.As a result, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), an estimated 3.5 million Zimbabweans, mostly in rural areas, are facing acute food insecurity this year.
The government of Zimbabwe is already in panic mode, seeking food assistance from several partners to help circumvent any potential disaster. Already, countries such as Russia, the US, China, and UN agents are in the process of sending food aid, mainly in the form of grains and cereals.
However, we need to be brutally honest with one another.
- What is the real reason millions of ordinary Zimbabweans are facing starvation?
- Can we genuinely blame the El Niño induced drought
- – or is the cause somewhere else totally divorced from the weather or climatic change?
For this, we need to look at a few case studies.
How are countries located in deserts faring when it comes to food security.
Let us remember that most places in the Middle East, for instance, receive far much less rain than we do here in Zimbabwe.
- In fact, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) gets an average 140 – 200 mm of rainfall per annum.
- Qatar receives less than 100 mm each year, and Saudi Arabia has less than 150 mm.
- On the other hand, in a normal season, Zimbabwe gets between 550 – 900 mm each year.
Yet, despite the fact that the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia perennially receive such little rainfall, their populations are never under any danger of hunger.
Actually, the UAE is ranked first in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and 23rd in the world in its food security [based on the GFSI (Global Food Security Index)]. Qatar is number one in the entire Arab world and 24th in the world.
What about Zimbabwe?
In most seasons – not just this year when there is a drought – we are ranked somewhere near the bottom.
- In other words, it really does not matter whether we have a good rainfall season or not, Zimbabweans are always in danger of hunger.
- During the 2022/23 season, more than 3.8 million people in rural areas faced food insecurity at peak.
- Remember, the 2022/23 rainfall season was arguably one of the best this country has witnessed in years – with the Zimbabwe government even boasting of bumper harvests, particularly of wheat.
Why, then, are we seemingly always facing starvation?
Yet, those in deserts are considered some the most food secure in the world?
This all boils down to the quality of leaders in power.
These countries, as the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, are governed relatively well, as their leaders ensure that their national resources are utilized to uplift the citizens’ standard of living. They really do not have much in terms of these resources, largely depending on petroleum and natural gas. Nevertheless, these are managed faithfully and for the good of the entire population. In so doing, the government (together with the private sector) import more than enough food for everyone – which every citizen is able to easily afford due to their high standard of living.
In Zimbabwe, nonetheless, in spite of massive deposits of platinum, lithium, diamonds, gold, black granite, chrome, nickel, and many others – we are some of the poorest people on the planet.
In the same breath, we have the highest inflation in the world – making basic commodities overly expensive for millions. We have some of the best farming land in the world, yet millions of Zimbabweans still rely on rain-fed agriculture, making them vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather.
The ZANU PF administration has practically done nothing in ensuring that our rural folk have productive land that is adequately serviced, particularly with reliable water supply.
- Where are our vast mineral resources going?
- Who are they benefitting?
- Each year, Zimbabwe loses over US$3 billion to smuggling, illicit financial transactions, and other corrupt activities.
- In all this, very few, especially in the ruling elite (and those connected to them), are ever brought to book.
- They can live in insulting opulence whilst flaunting this ill-gotten wealth in front of poverty-stricken Zimbabweans.
- That is why doling out highly expensive luxury cars to friends is never a problem for them!
Is it then surprising that Zimbabwe is ranked the 149th least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, according to the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International? Those are shameful statistics, for which our leaders should be very embarrassed… if they had any conscience at all. On the other hand, the UAE is ranked 26th in the world – with Qatar at 40th and Saudi Arabia at 53rd.
As much as these figures are far from impressive, however, they should tell us why, even with very limited resources, they are more developed than Zimbabwe. That is the reason, despite being in a desert, their citizens are never food insecure. In other words, whether a nation has plenty to eat or is on the verge of starvation has very little to do with rainfall patterns.
It has, nevertheless, a lot to do with the quality of leaders in the particular country. Zimbabweans are staring starvation in the face because of a corrupt and incompetent regime.
El Niño or not, we will still be hungry.
The Continued Persecution of Sikhala
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- Written by: Tendai Ruben Mbofana
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This morning, my eyes could not move from the image of opposition activist Job Sikhala as he disembarked from a prison truck. This was on his arrival for his conviction hearing two days ago, where he was found guilty of inciting violence by Harare Magistrate Tafadzwa Miti. As I fixed my attention on the picture, a plethora of feelings and emotions gripped (as if by some powerful indescribable force) my heart. At first, I was engulfed by a deep sense of pity for the man – as he stepped down from the truck – when I thought of the over one and half years he has languished in pre-trial detention. In all this, the courts have repeatedly denied him his right to bail – something held sacrosanct and guaranteed in section 70 of the country’s Constitution.
Then, immediately, another emotion took over.
This time, I could not help being overwhelmed by seething anger at this unpardonable cruelty by the Zimbabwe regime – which, it cannot be denied, has ensured this brave man is kept under lock and key.
Why?
- We all know – and so does the President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa administration – that Sikhala is possibly the only person in Zimbabwe courageous enough to take on the regime head-on.
- He is not afraid to mobilize the population into mass action – which is arguably the one thing that gives the corrupt and incompetent ruling elite sleepless nights.
- There is nothing else that terrifies those in power than the people of Zimbabwe rising up in their millions in finally saying ‘enough is enough’.
- We need to remember that there is enormous unstoppable power in numbers.
That is why, whenever I watch National Geographic Wild, I always hope one day those thousands (if not millions) of wildebeest would realize that, if they united and stood firmly together, they could actually defeat those lions!
In fact, as much as they may seem unrelenting in their onslaught on the opposition – nonetheless, the ruling establishment has so far ensured that they never attain power through elections. This is easily achieved through the wanton rigging of elections, intimidation of voters, restriction of democratic space, clampdown on the opposition, and abuse of state institutions. These are not mere baseless accusations plucked out of the air, but are facts even documented by various election observer missions, such as SADC and the EU.
As we speak, the main opposition lies in tatters, after some fierce internal squabbles – which are widely believed to have the backing of ZANU PF. In spite of these relentless attacks, the opposition has never had it in them to take any firm stance against the regime. They will talk and talk, promise and promise – whilst in all this, finding comfort in false hope and delusional thinking. Even I – had I been in power – would have never seen anything to be unnecessarily unnerved about with such an inept and inert opposition.
As such, the opposition is not regarded as a threat to the ruling party’s grip on power as much as Sikhala. The Zimbabwe regime can easily steal elections and sow seeds of division within the opposition hierarchy – whose own leadership abilities and devotion to democratic tenets are questionable. However, there is no way those on power can stop a people who are united by an uncompromising determination to stand up for their rights.
That is why the very thought of mass action is treated as some form of treason and insurgency – despite the fact that the right to peaceful demonstration is enshrined in section 59 of the Constitution. This explains the continued incarceration of Sikhala as the only person who has what it takes to mobilize the nation into peaceful action. A similar fate was faced by another opposition activist Jacob Ngarivhume – who was sentenced to four years in jail by Harare Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka in April 2023 for supposedly, again, ‘inciting public violence’.
This, whilst without any prima facie evidence availed by the prosecution.
It was a good thing that High Court judges Pisirayi Kwenda and Fatima Maxwell overturned both conviction and sentence. However, this was after Ngarivhume had already served a nightmarish nine months of his sentence. That is just how the Zimbabwe regime is petrified by those who call for demonstrations – no matter how peaceful.
As I was still looking at Sikhala's picture this morning, another feeling overpowered my thoughts. This was not the first time such painful images of imprisoned activists have touched the hearts of many people across the world. Who can easily forget those photographs of renowned South African anti-apartheid politician Nelson Mandela as he was being bundled into a prison truck?
This was soon after his life imprisonment sentencing, on 12th June 1964, at the notorious Rivonia Trial – together with seven other intrepid activists, such as Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki. Mandela was subsequently set free on 11th February 1990 after immense international outrage and pressure – leading to the opening of talks to end apartheid. I can also remember the images of then nationalist leader Robert Gabriel Mugabe as he sat pensively at Gonakudzingwa Restriction Camp after being jailed in 1964.
He was imprisoned there with leaders as Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, Ndavaningi Sithole, Enos Nkala, Edgar Tekere, and Maurice Nyagumbo – only to be released in 1974 after pressure, ironically from apartheid South Africa.
- What was the outcome of the incarcerations of these prominent activists?
- Were the oppressive apartheid and colonial regimes able to crush the spirit and soul of these valiant men?
- Did they become forgotten nonentities who were rendered irrelevant to the struggle for the oppressed people’s emancipation?
No, not at all!
As a matter of fact, their profiles only soared throughout the world. They were viewed as brave heroes who had been subjected to the most horrendous unjust treatment by cruel pariah regimes. The calls for their freedom were chanted and echoed from all the corners of the globe. Who does not know of music concerts, as those held at Wembley Stadium in 1988 and 1990 – when international singers converged and sang with one accord in demanding the immediate release of Mandela?
In fact, had it not been for these prison sentences, it is most likely Mandela would not have become the first black president of a democratic South Africa.
The same applied to Mugabe in Zimbabwe!
Is it then any wonder why this man (Mugabe) loved reminding everyone on how he ‘fought and sacrificed’ for this country? We now witness similar scenes with Mnangagwa – as he wants everyone to know how he was incarcerated by the Rhodesia regime, even escaping the gallows by a whisker. This account’s authenticity is irrelevant at the moment, although it is highly questionable.
Nonetheless, the fact remains that these leaders we have, particularly in Zimbabwe, regard their imprisonment as some badge of heroism and entitlement to power. Indeed, they were turned into heroes by their jailing. So, why do they seem not to realize that repeating the same treatment on today’s activists only makes them not just local but global heroes? Who can deny that Sikhala’s name is now on the lips of many politicians, activists, journalists, and even ordinary people across the world?
What is left now is a mega concert in Wembley Stadium demanding the Mnangagwa regime frees Sikhala.
- In actual fact, this is not the only thing awaiting the activist.
- If history has taught us anything, then this brave man has now been unwittingly placed on the path to Zimbabwe’s presidency.
- The oppressor never wins at the end – but the oppressed and persecuted are always the victors who raise to the top!
I wonder why Mnangagwa and his regime do not appear to understand this simple truth.
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