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Muckraker Column - Zimbabwe Independent

DEFENCE minister Sydney Sekeramayi has called on defence attachés accredited to Zimbabwe not to engage in local politics but to concentrate on giving military advice.

“May I remind you that the world over the defence forces as the most powerful instrument of the state apparatus must be apolitical for they are meant to guarantee the peace and security of every citizen in the nation irrespective of religious, political or social affiliation,” he said in a speech read on his behalf at a reception for the defence attachés.

This is as it should be. Political neutrality and professionalism go hand in hand. That is why it is unforgivable when senior military commanders intervene in election campaigns to inform the voting public who is or is not acceptable to the armed forces as a candidate. That is why the military must not play any role in electoral supervision. That is why it is unhealthy for ex-military officers to be given party-political posts after their retirement. That is why serving officers should not engage in private business.

Most of the defence attachés present at the reception last Friday knew that already. They probably wondered if their absent host did!

The official media recently gave coverage to the presentation of a cheque for $30 million to President Mugabe by Hear the Word Ministries pastor Tom Deuschle. Readers of the Independent have expressed their indignation in our letters columns. They will be even more angered to hear what Deuschle had to say at the ceremony.

“Pastor Deuschle said the church supported the freedom of the people but that should be expressed within the confines of the law,” the Herald reported.

Peta Thornycroft - Harare

President Robert Mugabe has issued a decree so draconian that it amounts to a “state of emergency” by stealth, human rights lawyers and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said yesterday.

New laws will extend periods of detention for those accused of both economic and political “crimes” from 48 hours to a month without bail. Hundreds of opposition political activists have been tortured over the last four years during the 48-hour detention period. Patrick Chinamasa, the justice minister, claimed the amendment to the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act was a tool to help police investigate those suspected of sabotaging the economy. “It is outrageous,” said David Coltart, MDC secretary for justice, who is also a human rights lawyer. “These regulations are nothing less than a Trojan horse which usher in provisions that give the regime State of Emergency powers without declaring one.” He said Mr Mugabe understood that the region and South Africa would not tolerate a declaration of a state of emergency in Zimbabwe. “Now under the guise of combating corruption, the regime has introduced 30-day detention which will undoubtedly be used to detain those who promote peaceful civil disobedience.”

Sunday Times (South Africa)

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has given himself powers of detention that allow his police to hold opponents of his regime in prison for up a month without legal process on charges of “subversion,” the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said.

The state-owned press reported at the weekend reported that sweeping presidential powers wielded by Mugabe banned judges or magistrates from giving bail to suspects, but only in cases of money-laundering, fraud and illegal foreign currency and gold trading.

However, scrutiny of the decree after it became available yesterday revealed that the law also applied to a wide range of offences under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), including “attempting to coerce” the government through boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience or “resistance to the law,” said MDC secretary for legal affairs David Coltart.

He accused Mugabe of making “a silent declaration of a state of emergency.”

The laws allow police to keep suspects in prison for a week without having to produce prima facie evidence. If the state is then able to produce evidence, the suspects can be held for another three weeks.

“These regulations are nothing less than a Trojan horse which effectively usher in provisions that give the regime state of emergency powers without actually declaring a state of emergency,” Coltart said.

POSA was used last year to arrest most of the MDC’s leadership.

None have been brought to trial.

MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube said Mugabe’s decree was “a rehash” of 30 day detention laws used by South Africa’s apartheid regime and the former white-minority Rhodesian government.

Mugabe continued to use them after independence in 1980, during the massacres by his security forces of about 20,000 people in Matabeleland.

The Third Chamber

During discussions in The Third Chamber in 2003 Zimbabwe was often used as a negative example when it came to democracy and good governance. The media were often victim to censorship, elections were manipulated and food relief was used as a political weapon. For the last few months the country has been out of the international spotlights. How is the situation in Zimbabwe at this moment?

We asked David Coltart, MP on behalf of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He has commented on the situation in his country on the website of The Third Chamber before.

Recently a trial has started against Philip Chiyangwa, businessman and MP on behalf of the governing Zanu-PF. He was accused of illegal conduct in obstructing police investigations into the corrupt activities of money market fund managers. Some observers see his trial as a signal that President Robert Mugabe is starting to take the fight against corruption seriously. How serious do you think we must take this trial?

“I’m afraid the trial is mainly a smokescreen, a diversion for a greater crackdown against the opposition. It might also play a part in a power struggle within the Zanu-PF. Whatever it is, smokescreen or power struggle, there is no way that Chiyangwa will end up with an effective jail sentence. If he is convicted at all, it won’t be more than a symbolic sentence.

President Mugabe is not getting any younger. Is there any pressure from within his party to step down or will he himself decide when the time has come?