Zimbabwean

By Gift Phiri

30 October 2010

The 13 million textbooks donated by the UN Children’s Fund to revive the struggling public school system are not getting to schools in rural areas, a legislator told Parliament last week.

Mutare South constituency representative Fred Kanzama told the House during question and answer time that two months after the launch of the book distribution programme, schools in rural areas were yet to receive the books. “From the day the launch was done …. there are no books that have been delivered and we want to know what is the position relating to that issue?” Kanzama said in questions directed to Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who was standing in for Education Minister David Coltart.
Mutambara said the most appropriate person to discuss in detail the question raised by Kanzama was Coltart, but added that the book were in the country and the only challenge was how to get them to schools. The books were supposed to have been distributed to the 5 500 public primary schools across the country by the end of last month.
Mutambara said: “The challenge now is logistics, how to move the books from the warehouses to the schools which is work in progress. We have managed to solve a major problem for our primary schools.” Kanzama asked if he could make arrangements for the delivery of the books to his constituency, to which Mutambara advised him to liaise with the ministry of education.
Teachers say distribution of the textbooks to schools could go a long way in helping restore Zimbabwe’s public education sector as one of the most competent in Africa. The books cover the four major subjects in primary schools, English, Mathematics, Environmental Science and either Shona or Ndebele

The Annual Lozikeyi Lecture

By Senator David Coltart

Bulawayo National Art Gallery

29 October 2010

The Lozikeyi Lecture now in its thirteenth year has been graced by the likes

of Professor Terence Ranger(1998), Professor Welshman Ncube (1999),

Marieke Faber Clarke (2000) Pathisa Nyathi (2001) and many other academics.

Queen Lozikeyi was one of King Lobengula’s senior wives. A conspicuous and

commanding figure, she was a big, bold and beautiful woman of ample

proportions and clearly the leading spirit among the Ndebele queens.

With a quick intelligence and ready wit she was also remarkable among Ndebele

women. After King Lobengula’s disappearance, she remained a power in the land

and took it upon herself to speak for the Ndebele people.

During the 1896 Uprisings, she was consulted by the Ndebele Chiefs as a woman

of considerable importance and large measure of political influence

and is said to have supplied the impis with guns from Lobengula’s armoury.

She was a contributor to the welfare of the local people; a talker and a

storyteller; a giver of gifts and a receiver of tributes. It is with great

honour of this courageous and yet humble and kind royal lady who once

graced this land with her royal presence that the National Gallery in

Bulawayo has named this series of lectures on regional history, art,

culture and identity after the GREAT INDLOVUKAZI.

Introduction

The artistic field is one of the most important areas of liberated and investigative thought, a bastion of an expressive cultural identity, the most communal in outreach; bold, entertaining, and intelligent. Any Nation which does not uphold such ideals and avenues, risks producing a people stultified, numb and unquestioning. It is the role of art to intervene in every society, to make conscious in the most intimate mode of our senses. Nothing could be more precious or urgent in the evolution of a nation.

Art as well plays a vital role in defining a Nation; in giving it an identity, a history, a present,  a future. It can also be balm for a Nation; it can heal and bond a Nation; it can enable it to recover from trauma and live again. For it can interpret hard times and reconcile us all to them and to each other. Pablo Picasso once said:

“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise truth”.

In similar vein the Irish poet W.B. Yeats in his poem ‘Ego Dominus Tuus’ wrote:

“The rhetorician would deceive his neighbours, the sentimentalist himself; while art is but a vision of reality”.

In  other words because Art is not actual reality it can usher reality in and help us deal with it in a moderated or graduated way – which in turn helps us individually and nationally to grapple with our past and current failings and successes in a palatable manner.

Zimbabwe is a nation with a bloody history; a history which has been littered for decades with serious human rights violations, violence, abuse of power, racial and ethnic discrimination. For the first 90 years post Zimbabwe’s colonisation black Zimbabweans were discriminated against because of their race and serious human rights abuses were perpetrated against them by successive white minority governments. The first 30 years post independence have been marked by serious and consistent human rights abuses including a politicide, if not genocide, which occurred in the mid 1980s in the South West of the country. In other words Zimbabwe has had a lot of psychological and physical trauma to deal with as a nation and Art has a critical role to play as we delve beyond subjective interpretations of history and begin to realise the truth of our past. As Yeats wrote – through art we get a mere “vision of reality”, but nonetheless and importantly a vision which is not reality itself but an objective truth about that reality.

Jesus Christ when being tried by Pontius Pilate said “And you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. Those words apply to us as individuals but also to Nations. For it is only when Nations grapple with their past, in its reality, not as a biased fiction, that they can start to deal with that past, learn from it and through that educative process build stronger foundations for the future. It is in this context that Art has a critically important role to play in the development of Nations. For through Art comes that “realisation of truth” and that “vision of reality” which enables us to get past the very first hurdle of acknowledging our past. And it is only when we have truly acknowledged and accepted our past that we can “Look into the future” in a constructive and positive way. Because if we dare look to the future without understanding our past then we are doomed to repeat our failures of the past.

The clash between Art and Law

This year has been a traumatic year for the National Arts Gallery in Bulawayo because it has been the focus of a clash between certain arms of Government and Art. The exhibition by Owen Maseko entitled Sibathontisele, regarding the Gukurahundi, has opened a can of worms. Shortly after the exhibition opened both Owen Maseko and the Director of the Gallery Voti Thebe were arrested. Subsequently the exhibition itself has was banned and Owen Maseko still faces very serious charges. At the same time the sculpture ‘Looking Into The Future’, of a nude man, which has the Bulawayo public has enjoyed for some 16 years, was also banned. In short that “vision of reality”, that “realisation of truth” that both these works of Art constitute is now being subjected to scrutiny and challenge by certain elements of Government and in the process I fear that an attempt to grapple with our past in a palatable manner is being derailed, with potentially fearsome consequences.

Our current Constitution enshrines the rights of Artists in two key clauses. Firstly we have the right of freedom of conscience.

Section 19 Protection of freedom of conscience

(1) Except with his own consent or by way of parental discipline, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of conscience, that is to say, freedom of thought and of religion, freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, whether alone or in community with others, and whether in public or in private, to manifest and propagate his religion or belief through worship, teaching, practice and observance.

That right is not absolute and is subject to the proviso in subsection (5):

(5) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be in contravention of subsection (1) or (3) to the extent that the law in question makes provision—

(a) in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health;

(b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of other persons, including the right to observe and practise any religion or belief without the unsolicited intervention of persons professing any other religion or belief;

Secondly we have the right of freedom of expression.

20 Protection of freedom of expression

(1) Except with his own consent or by way of parental discipline, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference, and freedom from interference with his correspondence.

That right also is not absolute and is subject to the provisos in subsection (2), for example:

(2) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be in contravention of subsection

(1) to the extent that the law in question makes provision—

(a) in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, the economic interests of the State, public morality or public health;

(b) for the purpose of—

(i) protecting the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons or the private lives of persons

concerned in legal proceedings;

(ii) preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence;

(iii) maintaining the authority and independence of the courts or tribunals or the Senate or the House of

Assembly;

In other words the Constitution enshrines the rights of Artists to create works of art at their pleasure so long as they do not affect, amongst other things, public order, public morality and the reputations of others. This is the great interchange between artistic freedom and law in Zimbabwe. I do not this evening have the time to delve into the intricacies of the boundaries of these respective rights and laws and of course these boundaries vary greatly from Nation to Nation and have been interpreted greatly by different Judges over time.

Suffice it to say that two different sets of laws have been used to curtail these fundamental rights of freedom of conscience and expression in Zimbabwe. In the case of Owen Maseko security legislation (based on notions of public defence, safety and order) have been invoked to proscribe his art. In the case of the sculpture “Looking to the future” the notion of “public morality” has been invoked to ban that piece of art. I will need to look at the two actions separately.

Owen Maseko

The case involving Owen Maseko is sub judice so I cannot comment directly on that case and will have to confine myself to more general comments about the use of security legislation to restrict politically critical works of art.

Let me say at the outset that nowhere in the world do artists have completely unrestricted or unfettered freedom to produce works of art which are politically controversial. For example works of art which incite violence or hatred against racial, religious or ethnic groups are banned. In Germany artistic works which for example deny the reality of the holocaust are illegal. Likewise any work of art that seeks to glorify or justify the holocaust would be illegal. The boundary of these laws is subjective and varies greatly from country to country but all countries have some restrictions.

However art works which are sombre and accurate visions of reality or which help nations to realise the truth of their past are not just allowed but are revered. For example the Holocaust Memorial near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is not a pretty work of art. It is in many respects ugly – a rambling, chaotic assembly of concrete blocks which in many ways is at variance with the glorious architecture which surrounds it. It is surrounded by beautiful parks and historic buildings such as the German parliament and the Brandenburg Gate itself. It is also obtrusive and large and in one’s face – it is impossible to ignore it. But it is a necessary work of art – a stark reminder of a terrible past which no-one should ever forget.

There are other terrible things that have happened in Zimbabwe – for example the Nyadzonia massacre which took place on the 9^th August 1976 was one of the darkest days of our history when well over 1000 Zimbabweans were killed or wounded on a single day. Should works of art which present a “vision of reality” or which realise the truth of what happened that terrible day be banned? The same applies to artistic works which graphically portray the horrors of apartheid. Internationally the same applies to films such as Saving Private Ryan and The Deer Hunter which do not glorify war and display it in all its horror and gore. Films like this take away all the glamour and gloss of war. The world is a better place for it because they act as a deterrent for future generations who otherwise would not have the slightest inkling of the reality of war.

Surely that is a principle that we need to uphold in Zimbabwe? The danger of burying reality is that we then do not confront it and learn from it. There must be a danger that if we frustrate these forms of expression that the anger that certain communities have will remain bottled up, only to fester and explode later. In doing so any hope of building reconciliation is lost.

I personally feel that it is a shame that we have never been able to deal with the reality of what happened in our nation in the 1970s through a truth, justice and reconciliation process. The white community has never had to confront the excesses and gross human rights violations of the Rhodesian Front war machine and the fundamental injustices of white minority rule and I think that the white community is all the poorer for it. I confine my comments specifically as a white Zimbabwean but the same applies to all racial groups in Zimbabwe. It is the great dilemma all citizens of our Nation have as we grapple with our bloody past. We pretend as if it didn’t happen; we run away from it and bury it.

The challenge for all of us is what we are to do with our past. Are we prepared to learn from it or are we determined to bury it and run the risk of repeating the shocking mistakes of the past. Whether we like it or not the past did happen and we need gentle means to deal with it.

It is in this context that Art has a vital role to play in reconciliation. For it can introduce us to our collective past in a relatively gentle way. It can introduce “visions of reality” and help us all as we “realise truth” and with that the mistakes we have made.

The tragedy of simply banning politically controversial art is that we then never get the opportunity to debate it and learn from it. Ironically by taking a step further and prosecuting an artist one stands the risk of further inflaming a sensitive issue and thus retarding any hope of reconciling communities.

In conclusion my belief is that art should only be banned on the grounds of public security when works of art are gratuitously inflammatory and not by any stretch of the imagination “visions of reality” but rather “visions of unreality or untruths”. Even then I believe that Artists should only be prosecuted when they are guilty of repeated and deliberate attempts to subvert truth with the intention of stirring up racial, ethnic or religious enmity or hatred.

“Looking to the Future”

The banning by the Censorship Board of the nude sculpture “Looking to the future” is fortunately not sub judice so I can direct my comments more squarely in that regard.

I know the statue well and I believe that its banning is not only ridiculous but also a violation of our fundamental constitutional rights. The statue is not promiscuous or suggestive in any way – it is simply an interpretation of the  male human body. It is also of course a fine work of art and we can be justly proud that a Bulawayo citizen is responsible for it.

I use the word ridiculous because the banning will subject us to international ridicule. For example would we in Zimbabwe ban the statue of David?  “David” is the masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17 metre (17 feet) marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence. Originally commissioned as one of a series to be positioned high up on the facade of Florence Cathedral, the statue was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504. Because of the nature of the hero that it represented, it soon came to symbolise the defence of civil liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states.

The point is simply that our own “Looking to the future” is no more promiscuous or suggestive than “David”, indeed if anything “David” is far more detailed and graphic. The banning of “Looking to the future” potentially makes us the subject on international ridicule, and by that I include the rest of Africa.

We also need to ask ourselves the question of where this banning order takes us. Does it means for example that all classical paintings of nude subjects are now to be considered against “public morality”? Should they all be banned and the books containing them destroyed? Where does this end up – are we to ban anatomy classes in medical schools?

I suggest that this is patently ridiculous and that the Censorship Board knows this. It is my belief that this banning was simply a foil – designed to divert attention away from the political banning of Owen Maseko’s works which has nothing to do with the maintenance public morality. In short my view is that the banning of “Looking to the future” was solely designed to give the politically motivated banning a veneer of moral respectability. It was designed to cast the National Art Gallery as some sort of illicit, immoral organisation which of course it is not.

As a member of the Cabinet responsible for this banning I cannot say in this forum what should be done about this. Suffice it to say that as Minister of Arts and Culture I do not support the banning and believe that it constitutes a fundamental and serious breach of artistic freedom as enshrined in the Constitution.

Conclusion

Zimbabwe is blessed by having a wide array of supremely talented artists. If these are artists are allowed to give full vent to their talents I have no doubt that they will not only help heal our nation but will also assist us in the serious challenge we face of rebranding Zimbabwe in a more positive light. For Zimbabwe is not a country of gloom and doom; it is as we know a country filled with amazing, courageous and wonderful people. Our artists are some of our greatest nation assets and I hope that during my tenure in office I can do all things possible to promote them both domestically and internationally.

New Zimbabwe.com

27 October 2010

By Dinizulu Mbikokayise Macaphulana

THE historical revival of PF ZAPU and the formal re-entrance of Dumiso Dabengwa in the troubled Zimbabwean political landscape are both very grave matters of history.

Very grave, first because of what ZAPU is, has gone through and aims to achieve in the contested Zimbabwean historical and political affairs, and also very grave because of what Dabengwa is, what he has gone through and the potential he bears to recover Zimbabwe from Mugabeism and restore her to political and economic normalcy with the deliverance of justice for victims of tyranny and freedom for captives of fear, guilt and hopelessness that the late Joshua Nkomo died still trying, at great personal and political expense, to achieve.

Both Dumiso and ZAPU, in reality, are victims of Mugabeism and ZANUism that have arisen from the ashes and the dust of genocide and ethnic cleansing either to haunt the perpetrators for justice or to let them loose. In my view, it is only those two possibilities and nothing else.

Dabengwa has two choices. The first one, which is dangerously likely, is that he will follow Nkomo’s costly path of clinging to nationalism and turning the other cheek while his opponents resort to ancestry and primitive tribalism and reduce him and ZAPU to an ethnic laughing stock.

That everyone agrees today that Dabengwa is not forming a new political party but reviving ZAPU indicates that ZAPU was previously suppressed, swallowed, destroyed or disturbed in its workings that it now needs to be revived.

There also is no denying that ZAPU, led by Joshua Nkomo, was a nationalist Zimbabwean political party. So what happened to it?

The tale of how such a colossal nationalist movement was reduced to a regional and tribal party is a textbook case of how genocidal tyranny destroys nations and robs a people of peace — worse that slavery and fascism combined.

In an Organisation of African Unity-organised conference in Addis Ababa in 1961, Joseph Msikavanhu of the then ZAPU noticed another ZAPU cadre Morton Malianga reading what looked like a confidential document. Upon grabbing it and reading it, Msika discovered with shock that it was a tribal manifesto and blueprint that chronicled how the Shonas in ZAPU should undermine the “zvimuNdevere” and take over the leadership of the party.

Eventually in August 1963, led by Ndabaningi Sithole and Leopold Takawira, a number of ZAPU cadres broke away to form ZANU on no other grounds except tribal reasons. In 1972, unarmed ZIPRA cadres were slaughtered by ZANLA cadres for no other reasons than that they were Ndebele.

In the first elections in independent Zimbabwe, Mugabe campaigned on no other grounds other than that the Shona people should not vote for a Ndebele. In 1982, Mugabe unleashed the North Korean trained exclusively Shona militia that massacred above 20,000 Matabele civilians for no other justification except that they were Ndebele and ZAPU.

The Shona-speaking ZAPU cadres were spared imprisonment and persecution while the Ndebele ones who escaped death were imprisoned or scattered into exile including Joshua Nkomo himself.  The many ZAPU supporters in Mashanaland were just warned to stop supporting the “zvimuNdevere” and left in peace while the whole of Matabeleland and the Midlands were surrendered to one of Africa’s most hellish genocides and whose proportions and enormity are yet to be told to the world.

In short, dear readers, this is how nationalism was killed in Zimbabwe. There was no way Mugabe could reduce and defeat Nkomo except to resort to the tribal and genocidal card. There was no ideological or political way in which ZANU could defeat ZAPU except to divide the country on tribal lines and reduce ZAPU to a regional Ndebele party that it has become.

Mugabe’s fatherhood to tribal politics in Zimbabwe does not need any DNA confirmation or forensic investigation. It is as obvious as the sky.

It was shocking and insultingly ironic, when a few weeks ago, Nathaniel Manheru had enough foolish temerity to ask how ZAPU had become a regional party. When ZAPU surrendered to ZANU in 1987, it was a brutalised and massacred victim of genocidal Mugabeism and ZANUism that had been effectively reduced to a Matabaleland and the Midlands political party.

It is clear that Mugabeism and ZANUism have divided Zimbabwe on tribal lines almost beyond repair. David Coltart and Welshman Ncube have publicly observed that it is not possible for a Ndebele person to be president of Zimbabwe through democratic electoral means. Very true this is because Mugabe “educated” and scared the people of Mashonaland into not voting for and accepting any form of Ndebele leadership. A Ndebele with political opinions can only be a sell-out, a CIO, a crazed separatist, a tribalist or worse.

On the other hand, Mugabe massacred the Ndebele into fearing and hating the Shona beyond measurement. If your father and mother’s killer and persecutor comes to your doorstep speaking in one language always, his language also becomes your enemy.

In reality, therefore, and not in wish and imaginism, in a free democratic electoral process it is not feasible for a Ndebele person to win the presidency of Zimbabwe. The electoral landscape is a dangerously anti–Ndebele by the deliberate design of Mugabe and his party.

I listened with deep sadness when Arthur Mutambara was speaking in London saying “there are extremists” in Matabaleland who were agitating for secession and separatism. The truth is that extremists, led by Mugabe, have already carved the country into two nations using genocide, tribal propaganda and economic marginalisation accompanied by cultural and linguistic colonialism against the Ndebele.

Led by Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC-T who are in essence Mugabeists and have harvested the evil fruits of genocide through the “anger” or “protest” vote that Matabeleland continues to give them, have not helped the situation by perpetuating ZANUism and Mugabeism in sparing Mugabe censure and challenge for genocide and ethnic cleansing.

In fact, the genocidal conspiracy between MDC-T and Zanu PF is a shocking story that is yet to be told to humanity in good time.

As things stand, true nationalism in the historical and political sense does not exist in Zimbabwe. It is a bleeding tragedy how the same victims of genocide and manslaughter are being accused of “extremism” and blamed for their painful condition when their reaction of anger and protest is a normal reaction that human beings give to murder and injury.

In various ways, the Ndebele people are being pressured and persuaded to apologise and to be sorry for what genocide and primitive Mugabeism has done to them. A people who were slaughtered as Ndebeles are being asked to react to their slaughter as Zimbabweans. Not only that, but are being challenged to persuade their killers to join them in their struggle for justice, which, dear readers in my humble opinion is an impossible task.

The Shona people of Zimbabwe will never participate in the struggle against Gukurahundi and Mugabeism because at one level, they are perpetrators at another they are beneficiaries and at the last they are unconcerned and biased spectators, whether they are in Zanu PF, MDC-T or in ZAPU itself.

In the pompous graffiti that Nathaniel Manheru churned out in The Herald, he accused Dabengwa of playing the “regional” card and challenged him to the traditional nationalism of ZAPU. In my view, to invite the Dabengwa-led ZAPU to campaign in Mashonaland as things stand in Zimbabwe is comparable to a hungry crocodile inviting a man to a wrestling match in the deep end of the wild sea.

Nathaniel Manheru knows that his master has done his evil homework of shepherding the Shona away from ever considering Ndebele leadership, and is inviting ZAPU to certain humiliation, a waste of time and money.

There are no doubts that Manheru fancies himself as a prowling information predator that patrols the dry savannahs of the Zimbabwean media landscape ready to pounce on any unprepared commentator that challenges the genocidal order. To the contrary, I think the fellow is a lousy propaganda mosquito whose thin noise only disturbs the slumbers of political fools and does nothing to frighten or convince discerning political observers.

The sad truth is that if Dabengwa works too hard to reach to the reluctant and largely unwilling Mashonaland voter, he stands to isolate and lose the Matabeleland voter who naturally sees himself as a victim of the Shona. This is the voter who is awaiting justice for Gukurahundi and has lost all belief in Zimbabwean nationalism.

So dear readers, in what grammar is Dabengwa to speak? From what lexicon is he to draw the vocabulary and idiom of his campaign? With what proverb is he to invoke nationalism and conjure the spirit of nationhood that existed before Mugabeism set in?

There is no doubt Dabengwa is a seasoned and decorated soldier and politician who is not called “the black Russian” for nothing. Let me attempt a description of the man.

Those who are close to him call him DD. Others call him “the intelligence supremo”.  Most of his colleagues refer to him as “the black Russian” because of his well documented mentorship by the Russian KGB.

He is of robust physical health and generous build. He is known to think very fast and speak slowly and guardedly. He listens to so many people and confides in very very few, leaving his mind and intentions largely a slippery subject of speculation and conjecture.

A former student of Anglican Cyrene Mission, he is gifted with an agile intellect and sober reasoning. Famous for wearing an expressionless face and speaking in a low and deep voice that carries a mixture of melancholy and unmistakable courage, he is said to possess a photographic memory and volcanic temper, yet he is one of a very few people who are known to smile and laugh when angry.

He carries the bleeding scars of Gukurahundi imprisonment by Mugabe and the painful loss of his mother to the murderous Rhodesian regime. He possesses a sugary personality that makes him dear to his friends who value his company and society and yet it is also true he has a number of enemies who fear and hate him to the marrow.

This in short, is the complex soldier and sophisticated politician whose intelligence background flavors his imposing personality and calculated approach to life. He once appeared on TV loudly and clearly advising citizens “to shake the Zanu PF government corridors of power” and the following morning he reminded everyone that he was misquoted, knowing that his point had been taken.

It may not be wisdom to take him lightly or underestimate his capabilities and potentialities. He definitely has ingredients of personalities who are known to wrestle with gods and seize history by the collar in the process listing their names among the children of destiny.

The chief reason why both the Koran and the bible are called the books of life is that they provide a wealth of scenarios and case studies that Christian crusaders, missionaries, Islamic jihadists, freedom fighters and others have learnt from and used to inform their varied purposes.

The barabas biblical scenario is one rich such scenario that I propose Dumiso looks closely at.

In the thickness of Roman colonialism of Israel, there arose two leaders from Israel.  Barabas was a radical of jihadist proportions who was imprisoned for plotting terror against Rome. Jesus Christ, the son of man refused politics and declared that “my kingdom is not of this world “and preached “turn the other cheek” ideology.

When time came for the children of Israel to choose one to be liberated between Barabas and the son of man, they chose Barabus and the son of man was surrendered to be crucified.

Since Jesus was the direct descendant of the warrior King David who did not only defeat the titanic giant Goliath but also slaughtered 200 philistines when he had only been asked to bring the foreskins of a hundred, the jews expected Jesus to provide such warrior leadership and they knew he was capable of it like his ancient ancestor Abraham who also slaughtered “many kings“.

Dabengwa must guard against a “kingdom” and leadership that “is not of this world” to the people who expect his leadership in challenging genocide and seeking justice for wanton murder.

Dabengwa cannot successfully escape that he is a Ndebele leader who is expected by the Ndebele and understood by the Shona to be coming to solve Ndebele political and historical problems. Believing and doing anything else will not be only an exercise in futility but also politics that are “not of this world” and leads to the political cross.

It is not Dabengwa’s fault nor is it his burden that Mugabeism and its genocidal ZANUism has polluted the Zimbabwean political and electoral landscape to such an unfortunate reality. Speaking in the language of real politik, the many but electorally inconsequential Shona people who have joined the revived ZAPU are good enough only to soften ZAPU and mislead Dabengwa into futile “nationalism” that is a recipe for failure.

Dabengwa and the revived ZAPU must learn from the sad example of Joshua Nkomo who clung to the pursuit of nationalism in a land of Mugabeism and ZANUism which led him t to a painful “harvest of thorns” — mass graves, tears and blood.

Nathaniel Manheru promised “to take off” his “gloves” in debating those who are purveying “Gukurahundi monologues”. I resolve to take Manheru seriously for the one reason that his words are an accurate indicator of what Mugabe thinks, not that there is anything important the graffiti journalist has to offer.

Instead of taking off his “gloves” to unleash a robust bare knuckled debate, I think he took off the ideological underthings of tired tyranny to expose the disgusting anatomy of genocide and Mugabeism that is struck with fear of a revived ZAPU.

Besides trying to lure Dabengwa to futile nationalism, Manheru and the CIO information engineers will obviously avoid direct and vigorous criticism of Dabengwa in order to sell the dangerous impression that Dumiso is sent by Zanu PF to disturb the MDC-T in Matabaleland. This, Dabengwa and ZAPU should be aware and deliberately move to lead ZAPU in a direct and unapologetic confrontation of Zanu PF.

Already some CIO agents have started spreading rumors that he is not Dabengwa but Tavengwa.  The Mugabeists will go that far to attempt to drive a wedge between Dabengwa and the people he seeks to liberate or who under normal circumstances he should seek to free.

It is true that a combination of guilt and fear has been used in Zimbabwe to domesticate and control Ndebele leaders. The guilt of appearing like a tribalist and the fear of being labeled a separatist ironically by founders of tribalism and separatism in Zanu PF and the MDC-T has kept Ndebele leaders politically shy and apologetic at the great political expense of the victims of genocide.

Dabengwa and Zapu have the opportunity to shake the guilt and the fear of empty labels and confront Mugabe head on. Among the many myths that the ZAPU information department should explode is that Tsvangirai and MDC-T are a genuine opposition to Zanu PF.

Dinizulu Mbikokayise Macaphulana is a Zimbabwean student living in Lesotho. He is contactable on e-mail: dinizulumacaphulana@yahoo.com

The second choice, which is painfully doubtful, is that Dabengwa will lead ZAPU into the real politik of first bringing Mugabeism and ZANUism to book for genocide and then restoring Matabeleland and the Midlands to their place in the historical and political affairs of Zimbabwe as provinces occupied by citizens and not victims.

Both the above choices are difficult choices. In debating these choices, and because of the presence of political commentators of the Nathaniel Manheru category on the Zimbabwean information scene, whose sad job is to try and lend respectability to tyranny and genocide, I am aware that I am entering a historical minefield and a political hard hat area for which I must be prepared for bare knuckled political and historical combat.

I believe that the time is now that ZANUism and Mugabeism must be exposed as Zimbabwe’s smelly political and historical armpits that they are and their role in polluting, poisoning and infecting the Zimbabwean historical and political landscape with primitive tribalism and ethnic hatred, which has created a near impossible environment for a free and fair election for political players of Dabengwa and the revived ZAPU type, must not escape exposure.

www.zimcricket.org

26 October 2010

It’s been outstanding.”  That is the verdict of the New Zealand A manager, Mark O’Donnell, on his team’s recent tour of Zimbabwe.  New Zealand A played three four-day matches against Zimbabwe A and won the series two-nil with one match drawn.

The weather was very hot, but they handled that well and they enjoyed their visit from beginning to end.

The possibility of a tour by a New Zealand A team to Zimbabwe was, according to Mr O’Donnell, first mentioned quite early this year, but did not take shape until the visit of David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, to that country when he spoke to his counterpart there, Murray McCully, and to Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, during the off-season.  It was not until about a month before the tour actually started, though, that it was confirmed as definitely on.

“It has been very useful for us,” says Mr O’Donnell, “as our domestic season starts early in November, and for the Test guys now going into our tour of India.  We have been very happy with how we have been treated and the quality of the cricket here.”  The tour itself has been unusual for modern cricket in that it consisted entirely of four-day matches with no limited-overs games, and Mr O’Donnell thinks that this was at New Zealand’s request, as preparation for their own first-class season ahead.  Certainly, though, this format has been for the greater benefit of the Zimbabwean players who are aspiring to play Test cricket.

Several of the tourists have visited Zimbabwe before, including the coach Rod Latham, who played here on their first tour under Martin Crowe in 1992.  They were expecting a hard struggle, with several Test players included in the Zimbabwe A team, not knowing at the time that the senior side were playing in South Africa concurrently.  Mr O’Donnell says, “I saw the Zimbabwe side at the Twenty-20 World Cup, where I thought they were on their way back in; they looked to have good people involved, they looked to have some structures there; they had ideas, they had three spinners for subcontinent-type conditions.  So it depended how many national players would be taking part, and we’ve certainly been impressed by the standard of some of the guys we’ve played against.  They just need to play against better opposition and get playing opportunities.”

It was unfortunate in one way that the tourists should have played all their matches in Harare, as a match in Bulawayo would have been a good variation and the cricketing public down there missed the opportunity of seeing them in action.  But they have taken the opportunities between matches to visit a game park near Harare and also made a two-day trip to the Victoria Falls, which were “magnificent”.  Mr O’Donnell was very happy with all the tour arrangements, testifying that they had been well looked after by Zimbabwe Cricket – “no wishes, no worries.”

The players who were on the last New Zealand tour to Zimbabwe – the captain James Franklin and Chris Martin – were impressed by the way the young Zimbabwe players they had encountered then, during the absence of the ‘rebel’ players, had improved.  “They still need to go up to the next international level, where the balls are into the deck rather than along it, where they can get more exposure to that.  Allan Donald, Jason Gillespie, Andrew Hall are all here and will emphasize the value of hitting the deck hard, being able to play off the back foot, doing the basics for a longer period of time.”

“They were a lot better than I was anticipating,” said James Franklin.  “The last time I was out here five years ago, the First Test was over in two days and the Second Test in three days, so my anticipations of the opposition weren’t that high.  But the standard has been really outstanding and I’ve been really impressed by the way the Zim A boys have done about their work.  They’ve shown really good batsmanship at times – Tino (Mawoyo) at the top of the order has been outstanding, and going as far down as Timmy (Maruma) who bats at eight and played some really good innings at the back end.  Their bowling has been improving – Chalkie (the only name by which the New Zealanders knew Tinashe Panyangara!) has been an unbelievable workhorse and bowled in really good areas with good disciplines.  His pace is not amazing but sometimes it doesn’t matter if you do enough with the ball.  All the guys have commented that if we can get through him, hopefully things will free up a bit.  He’s been outstanding.”

Mr O’Donnell remembered back to the first match of the tour when “we struggled to bowl people out, possibly predictable as we had just come out of our winter and our guys hadn’t bowled outside.”  Several of the Zimbabwean batsmen impressed him, but he said it was a case of players who had reached 20 or 30, or even 50, extending that without getting out, having to be got out rather than getting themselves out.  Fifties, as useful as they are, don’t win games.  Also the bowlers need to be prepared to bowl second and third spells towards the end of the day, which is as important as the first spell.  We didn’t do that too well in the first game, and in the second we were searching for wickets for a while.

“Bowlers need to be a lot more patient, bowl a heavier and harder length for seamers, wear the batsman down, cut down the boundaries, work a batsman over at one end.  All the Zimbabwe bowlers bowled all right at times, but just need to do it a little bit better and a little bit longer.  I do think one of the things they need to learn for international level is to bowl a bit quicker.  130k along the wicket is not going to get people out; you may be able to be a bit defensive and bowl on one side, but a good player is going to get on top of that.  Guys need to have a bit extra pace and have some skills, and some patience to bowl one side.  Heavy ball, fourth stump, hit the top of off – bowl those areas early to any batter.  (The Zimbabwe batsmen) have tended to nick out a bit, they tend to get inside the ball.  I think they need to play on decks that bounce a bit more; they need to be capable of playing off the back foot, capable of playing behind the ball, not beside the ball.”

James Franklin felt the local batting was definitely their strongest discipline.  “They’re pretty dynamic with the way they want to play and put paid to any loose ball which we bowled, which is always a good sign as a batsman.  I think there’s good talent there, but it’s obviously a matter of getting more discipline and more experience in the way they go about building their innings.”

The home captain Vusi Sibanda did not have a very successful series, but his ability was well respected by the New Zealanders.  “He’s got very good natural instincts and natural skills,” said Franklin.  “It’s probably just a case of harnessing those skills, getting more experience and learning how to bat for long periods of time.  That’s probably the case with all of them; Tino has been the only one who has been prepared to do that for a long period of time, whereas the others have probably played their shots more often than not, which can lead to their downfall.  They need to spend more time in the middle, and then there’s a good chance that a group of these players can go on and hopefully play well for Zimbabwe at the international level.”

Franklin feels that perhaps the weakest area of the Zimbabwe A game was the spin department.  “Conditions haven’t been greatly in favour of the spinners, but there were a few wrist-spinners floating around whom we played against.  Again, it’s a matter of experience and bowling more and more overs, and learning how to bowl in different conditions when the ball isn’t spinning – what do they fall back on to?”

He found the Zimbabwe A fielding really impressive – “probably more impressive than our fielding.  I think their ground fielding has been better than ours.  I’m really impressed with the way they chase the ball down and put their bodies on the line.”  The New Zealanders, though, did drop fewer catches than the Zimbabweans.  He said his team had been looked after beautifully in every way, the only slight disadvantage being that the net facilities were not always quite as good as they wanted them to be – but admits this is a worldwide problem.  Perhaps then Zimbabwe can aim to lead the world in this regard and become renowned for supplying outstanding net facilities at all times?

Both captain and manager felt that the Zimbabwean pitches were perhaps a little too batsman-friendly generally, and need to give a little more pace and bounce to the bowlers.  Franklin was very complimentary about the pitch for the final four-day match, which gave some assistance to the seam bowlers and also took a bit of turn.  “I think going forward in improving Zim cricket and helping the players improve their game and be able to cope with the demands of playing around the world, wickets more like that in this last game – sure it was over in three days and was a low scoring game – are the way to go.  That’s the way you develop your game – anyone can score runs on flat wickets but it’s a lot harder to score runs on wickets that do a bit, and seamers still have to get the ball in the right area and ask questions of the batsmen.”

Mr O’Donnell also stressed the need to get the best Under-17 and Under-19 players attached early to franchises, “or at least the opportunity to be with them on rookie or junior contracts in some capacity.  If they’re good enough they play, the age doesn’t matter, or at worst practising with those top franchises.  You want your best young players going up to that level, not just the same young players they’ve been with all the way through.  Give them playing opportunities, whether it’s first-class cricket or [B Division] cricket, which is a good bridge between the two.  The more they can play the better; that’s how they learn.”

New Zealand Cricket is keen to get reciprocal A tours with other countries, so hopefully it will not be too long before a Zimbabwe A team visits the Land of the Long White Cloud.  Mr O’Donnell feels it is important, as doubtless Zimbabwe Cricket also do, that as many such arrangements as possible are made with other top cricketing countries, to the benefit of all.

Newsday

By Fortune Moyo

25 October 2010

Patricia Nabanyama, the widow of Patrick Nabanyama, is pushing for her husband’s alleged abductors to be charged with murder, after he was declared dead last week.

Nabanyama, who was abducted under mysterious circumstances from his home in June 2000, was declared dead by Bulawayo provincial magistrate, Rose Dube.

The accused persons, who include Stanley Ncube, Ephraim Moyo, Julius Sibanda and Simon Rwodzi were initially charged with kidnapping Nabanyama.

At the time, the current Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, handled the case while he still practised as a lawyer with a Bulawayo- based law firm.

On Monday Coltart told NewsDay that one of the hurdles in the case was the amnesty pronounced by President Mugabe, which still stands to date.

“The problem that we face in this case is that the accused persons were never charged with kidnapping as that offence was covered by the amnesty pronounced by President Robert Mugabe in 2001.

Despite the fact that the kidnapping case was rock solid, they evaded prosecution because of the amnesty, which as far as I know is still in place,” he said.

Coltart said the murder charge was also levelled against them at the time, but was later dropped.

“The accused persons were charged with murder.

However, they all jointly alleged that the last person who they handed Patrick over to was Cain Nkala, who was also later murdered.

Due to this, and because the prosecution was not enthusiastic about pursuing the case, the murder case collapsed,” he added.

Zimbabwean law states that if someone disappears for seven years that person is declared dead.

The Zimbabwe Victims of Organised Violence Trust (ZVOVT), a Bulawayo based organisation that represents victims of political violence, and is representing Nabanyama’s wife in the case is demanding that the Attorney General’s Office retrieve past court records for the prosecution of the remaining war veterans, with the inclusion of additional charges of murder.

“All along the accused persons have been charged with kidnapping.

However, since the court has finally declared Nabanyama dead, the prosecution of the remaining accused should proceed and they should now be charged with kidnapping and murder Nabanyama’s wife is being represented by the organisation and these are her wishes,” said Bekithemba Nyathi, ZVOVT secretary.

Patrick Nabanyama, who was abducted under mysterious circumstances from his home in June 2000, was finally declared dead last week and his wife has applied for private prosecution of her husband’s alleged murderers.

A private prosecution takes place when the Attorney General (AG), who is the public prosecutor in every criminal case, officially declines to prosecute for whatever reason and then issues a nonne proseqie which is a certificate that allows one to engage any other lawyer or prosecutor, other than the AG, to deal with the case.

A private prosecution cannot proceed without the certificate. Nabanyama’s wife has applied for the certificate.

The Zimdiaspora

By Job Sikhala

www.zimdiaspora.com

25 October 2010

“There is only one President. Hanzi dai ndakaconsultwa”.

These words came from the colossal and unmatched Zanu PF strongman and Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe.

He was addressing a small group of no more than one hundred very old women of his same age who looked senile and starving at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare on Saturday 16 October 2010.

Mugabe was pronouncing the immediacy of the elections mid next year. He was berating his counterpart in government Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC T.

Such statement should not be taken lightly by any Zimbabwean worth his salt. It has a lot of confirmations and connotations.

There are the sick and feeble in mind including those who were once working with us who are now parading Mugabe as a sharp and reasonable person.

It makes someone wonder whether the sweetness of the gravy train would blind someone so quickly forgetting our suffering past.

The statement clearly authenticates Robert Mugabe as one of those old fashioned despots who have exceeded all forms of insanity.

Robert Mugabe is now the leader of all super despots the world over. What we know is that Mugabe has never consulted anyone since blooding his way up the Zanu PF ladder.

Since then his hymn and chorus has always been listening to his own voice and massaging his selfish political ego. A voice that supersedes his sense of humanity, if he has any.

I wonder whether Morgan Tsvangirai is serious for him to have expected a person of Robert Mugabe calibre to consult him. It is a public secret that Mugabe does not consult. The only time the two consulted each other and come to an agreement was a unison breach of the so called Global Political Agreement by abandoning the agreed 32 ministers and 15 deputies to a bloated 77.

One needs to check the Hansard to see how many of them are having the so called official Mercedes benz and high clearance vehicles in the calibre of Jeep Cherokees, Prados, Isuzu or Landcruiser VX and V8. These are the only things which Mugabe agreed and acceded to Tsvangirai because he wanted every one of them to qualify in the gravy train bracket minus David Coltart.

The common characteristics of a perfect dictator are to en suite any individual to suit in his straight jacket. We have noticed the statements of excitement from both Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara after having been sworn by Mugabe that the dictator is human like all of us.

Robert Mugabe pretended to be benevolent but beneath his heart he knew he would use cheap and greedy individuals who belatedly realized the dangers of being trapped. They have simply been used to give legitimacy to a dead and buried despot.

That’s why Robert Mugabe has energy to shout out his silly and stupid statements. He has quickly forgotten that the people voted him out in 2008.

He has only been given the lifeline through naivety of those who defeated him who invited him to come and lead them.

The dictator is now excreting right into their faces in public! They must stop inviting our sympathy because they are reaping rightfully what they sowed. So sickening is Robert Mugabe’s call for elections next year. Iwe mudhara knowing well that even if a ballot is called among his family of six, he will be defeated. Maybe his own vote and that of Russel will count to his side because he will be afraid of being denied supper because mubvandiripo.

It is only Mugabe’s quest to terminate more young lives that incites him to call for elections.

He wants to beat the natural designs of nature that him being 86 he knows God’s call is thus not far. He thinks he should not perish alone. The people of Zimbabwe must reject to be entrapped by Mugabe to engage in human extermination disguised as an election.

We are now wiser and cleverer. The people of Zimbabwe are going to give Mugabe a fatal blow, no matter how many dead bodies. The people shall exorcise the excessive demon of insanity of this dictator and the hour shall come.

Herald

25 October 2010

From George Maponga in MASVINGO

GOVERNMENT is in the process of acquiring about 70 vehicles worth nearly US$1,3 million for senior education officers to improve monitoring schools throughout Zimbabwe.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said the vehicles would be distributed to senior education officials in an attempt to improve education standards in the country.

Officially commissioning a classroom block at Helen McGhie Primary School in Masvingo recently, Minister Coltart said monitoring would defuse growing tension in some cases between parents and school authorities.

He said his ministry was concerned with increasing conflicts between school authorities and parents affecting business.

“We have already started the process of acquiring 70 vehicles that will be distributed to district education officers and these vehicles can now be bought after Government provided about US$1,3 million for the project.

“We want to make sure that there is increased monitoring in some schools because of late there has been a disturbing trend of disharmony between parents and school authorities. We want that to end,” he said.

Minister Coltart said Government would continue to improve education standards as well as maintaining standards achieved since independence.

He praised authorities at Helen McGhie Primary School for working well with parents.

Standard

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 24 October 2010

By Caiphas Chimhete

A Harare headmaster is suing four teachers for US$150 000 after they allegedly wrote to the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture accusing him of looting school funds. Vainona High School headmaster David Makanza, through his lawyers Muvirimi
and Associates, said the allegations by the teachers were highly defamatory and will jeopardise his chances of being promoted.
Makanza is suing Chekayi Madiridze who has since been transferred to Mt Pleasant High School, Caroline Todhlana, Rachel Matikinyidze and Tendai Rwafa. “We are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, payment of $150 000 being damages to our client’s reputation, from yourself and jointly with your accomplices, within 14 days from the date of this letter, through our offices and failure of which legal action will be instituted without any further recourse to you and the costs will be for your account,” the lawyers
said in a letter dated October 5.
The lawyers said the letter that the teachers submitted to the ministry was intended to lower the esteem of Makanza in the eyes of his employer. In the letter, the disgruntled teachers complained about the alleged misuse of funds and property by Makanza.
They alleged that they were not getting incentives while the revenue the school gets from renting out the school premises could not be accounted for. They also claimed that the school bus was regularly hired out for some church functions but the revenue was not benefiting the school.
“All the money is unaccounted for (and) the SDA is made to believe that the school does not generate extra money except from levy fees,” says the letter written to the Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister, David Coltart.
It was also copied to the Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The teachers called for an urgent investigation into the matter. Last week, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) again wrote to Coltart expressing concern about what is happening at Vainona High School saying it could compromise the quality of education at the school.
Raymond Majongwe, the PTUZ secretary-general said instead of convening a grievance meeting with the affected teachers as per regulations, the headmaster chose to “victimise five of the 29 teachers who appended their signatures to the grievance letter.”
The letter was also copied to Public Service minister, Elphas Mukonoweshuro, CID Fraud Squad and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
In an interview with The Standard last week Madiridze denied ever writing the letter that exposed the goings-on at Vainona High School. He said he only read and signed just like the other teachers.

Newsday

21 October 2010

By Mernat Mafirakurewa

Last month Finance minister Tendai Biti revealed shocking statistics that ministers in the inclusive government were ignorant of technology with a mere 10% bothering to open and use e-mail addresses.

He said some ministers even raised a storm over the amount of money allocated to the Information Communication Technology (ICT) ministry arguing that the portfolio was unimportant, if not irrelevant.

“I was shocked when I realised that less than 10% of Cabinet ministers have email addresses,” he said.

“I circulated a document to them under the pretext that I wanted to increase allowances, I was shocked that most of them did not have e-mails.”

However, the tide is changing, with several politicians from MDC-99, MDC-T, Zanu PF, Mavambo and MDC-M having started embracing online social networking to spread their political agenda.

With nearly 1,5 million people in Zimbabwe having some form of access to the Internet, it is clear that there is critical mass of people that politicians can access.

In addition, there are many Zimbabweans who turn to Facebook to stay updated on political developments in the country.

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai currently has over
56 000 friends on Facebook setting a platform for him to push his political message.

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, leader of MDC-M, has close to 5 000 friends while his secretary-general, Welshman Ncube, who has been linked with a bid to topple him at the next congress, has just over 400 friends.

A quick search for the profile of President Robert Mugabe’s showed several Mugabe profiles, an indication that people were using his name to create fake profiles.

Prominent politicians that have taken to social networks in Zimbabwe include ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa, David Coltart and Simba Makoni.

A cursory survey of the politicians’ Facebook postings showed that politicians address the mundane to the serious in their postings.

In one of his recent postings on Facebook, Nelson Chamisa, who is also MDC T spokesperson, said: “A dark political cloud is forming in Zimbabwe.

The storm looks inevitable . . . We are in God’s ever capable hands”.

A day before the Warriors’ match against Cape Verde, Saviour Kasukuwere, Zanu PF deputy youth secretary, wrote on his Facebook wall:

“Looking forward to victory.

Go, Warriors, go”.

Other politicians were even using the social network to advance their business interests.

Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Obert Gutu, posted that “once a lawyer . . . always a lawyer: Kindly be advised that Gutu & Chikowero Attorneys-at-Law is now live on Facebook.”

Gutu is also an avid Arsenal supporter. Finance minister Tendai Biti in his posting of September 26, acknowledged the importance of prayer.

“Good people I trust that as we continue executing this struggle against dictatorship and autocracy you all recognise the importance of prayer,” read his posting.

Job Sikhala, the leader of MDC-99 has also been using the social network to advance his party’s views on issues such as violence and the constitution- making process.

In his recent postings Sikhala said: “I wish to warn all mandarins, zealots and rascals from Zanu PF currently terrorising people in Masvingo in the current diabolical and murderous ‘Operation Kubudirana Pachena’ that I’m coming down there to defend the masses and I’m prepared for everything and anything.

For the record, I will be in Masvingo starting tomorrow. I intend to weed out these pests.”

Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, led by former Zanu PF stalwart and one-time preferred successor to President Mugabe Simba Makoni, has also created a Facebook page with links to the party’s website.

Mavambo, through the social network, said the right to own land and right to education were the two key objectives of the liberation struggle.

“Landless peasants, whose sons and daughters formed half of the freedom fighters, were fighting primarily for land,” reads part of former Education minister Fay Chung’s posting on the wall.

www.nzfgw.org.nz

By Esther Watt, NZFGW Fellow

21 October 2010

My year at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, studying for the LLM has been amazing. Academically, the year has been challenging and very rewarding. I took four papers relating to areas of my interest. Although the LLM paper in which I had hoped to write my thesis was unavailable this year, I was able to examine key aspects of criminal justice and human rights through the Civil Liberties and Philosophy of Criminal Law LLM papers.

The Civil Liberties paper looked at a wide range of issues, including the right to life, terrorism, privacy, freedom of speech, equality and discrimination. This paper involved intense class discussion about the state of the law in these contentious areas. Fortuitously, at the time of the class discussion around right to life and euthanasia, the Director of Public Prosecutions for England was seeking submissions from the public on guidelines he intended to provide relating to the discretion to prosecute in cases of assisted suicide. A group of around eight interested students from the class, including myself, decided to put together a submission to the DPP on the subject. This was one of the more rewarding tasks I have undertaken. We met several times as a group as well as undertaking individual research and analysis. The task involved many hours of discussion between individuals who felt passionate about the issue, often from very different perspectives. The challenge was to take these disparate views and mould them into a cohesive submission on an issue that is inherently fraught. The completion of the submission brought a great sense of achievement to the group.

The Philosophy of Criminal Law paper has been another highlight of the year. It was taught in part by Professor Andrew Simester, one of the authors of the textbook assigned to undergraduate students of Criminal Law in New Zealand, “Principles of Criminal Law” by Simester and Brookbanks. The course involved philosophical analysis of questions of criminal law, such as attempts liability, the harm principle and whether purely offensive conduct should be prohibited. The discussion, led by inspiring academics, required the members of the class to think about these issues on a deeper theoretical and jurisprudential level and develop arguments of principle, often about the relationship between criminal law and morality.

In addition to the academic aspects of the year, Cambridge has provided a wealth of extracurricular opportunities. These have included completing the submission on voluntary euthanasia to the DPP, volunteering to provide assistance to members of the Cambridge community, and attending talks given by inspiring people such as David Coltart, the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture of Zimbabwe, the Hon Judge Kevin Barker of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Lord Sacks, the Chief Rabbi.

I have been involved in the women’s branch of the Cambridge University Student Union and attended a dinner to celebrate 30 years of women at Caius, attended by 3 very impressive speakers who attended Caius in the early days of women’s admission and each of whom has achieved to the highest level of her chosen profession.

It has been both motivating and humbling to attend a College previously attended by Francis Crick, John Venn of the eponymous diagram, Stephen Hawking and Lord Cooke of Thorndon. It has been a wonderful experience to study at a University so steeped in tradition. As well as the invaluable academic and extracurricular experiences it has provided, I have met and made firm friendships with students from all over the world, which I know I will maintain for life. I am very grateful to the NZFGW and itsmembers for its support, without which I would not have been able to undertake the LLM at Cambridge.

Esther is one of the worthwhile recipients of an NZFGW Fellowship.