.Public meetings to gather the views and ideas of Zimbabweans they want included in the proposed new governance charter were scheduled to start across the country last Wednesday and continue until November with a referendum on a draft charter produced from public contributions planned for later.
But logistical glitches, lack of transport and equipment combined to produce chaotic scenes with only a few consultative meetings said to have taken place in only two out of the countrys 10 administrative provinces since the launch of the exercise five days ago.
Political violence was also said to be rearing its ugly in some parts of the country as members of an apparently overwhelmed Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) leading the reforms struggled to get the outreach exercise going.
Imperialists
Civil society group Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC) reported that Zanu (PF) supporters disrupted outreach meetings in Chinhoyi accusing members of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) of planning to benefit from money from “imperialists”.
The group said in one such incident, five Zanu (PF) supporters accosted COPAC members in the Mashonaland West provincial capital and demanded to know what the outreach team was doing in the area.
“The five Zanu (PF) supporters started singing, ‘Nyika yakauya neropa’ (Zimbabwe is begotten of blood),” CZC said quoting a member of the COPAC team in Chinhoyi.
The Zanu (PF) members allegedly vandalised one of the vehicles used by the outreach team, forcing the abandonment of proceedings at the Gadzema Domestic Science Centre.
Over a hundred people who had come for the meeting were forced to go back home. Similar disruptions were reported at Chikonohono Primary School, also in Chinhoyi.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais MDC-T party complained that so-called war veterans had taken over the process to accredit outreach teams in the eastern border town of Mutare and were allegedly turning away all suspected MDC-T members from the consultation venues.
Tension
The environment was equally tense in other towns such as Bindura, Masvingo and Gweru where suspected Zanu (PF) youths were camped at meeting venues in a move meant to instil fear in members of the public.
“In Masvingo an army officer and well known Zanu (PF) activist, Major Badza, allegedly addressed villagers waiting to participate in the constitutional consultation meeting in Chivi North at Utete clinic, threatening to deal with them after the meeting if they give opinions opposed the Zanu (PF) position,” the MDC-T said.
In the small farming town of Karoi, uniformed soldiers allegedly marched through the suburbs threatening residents who would dare go against Zanu (PF) in the constitutional meetings.
“More than 200 uniformed soldiers allegedly marched in Chikangwe and Chiedza suburbs in Karoi, Mashonaland West chanting Zanu (PF) slogans and threatening to bring war to the doorsteps to those who will give different views to those of Zanu (PF) in the constitution consultation meetings,” the MDC-T said.
The three principals to Zimbabwes power-sharing agreement Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara this month appealed for tolerance and peace during the troubled outreach exercise.
Traditional leaders in Karoi are also allegedly conducting weekly roll calls of villagers under their jurisdiction, demanding to know their whereabouts and forcing them to give notice whenever they travel, especially from their rural areas to urban centres.
Poison
According to Radio VOP, the roll calls are aimed at sniffing out villagers who get ”poisoned influence” during the constitution outreach programme.
The villagers have also been told to shun rural professionals such as teachers and nurses in discussing constitution making inputs as they were likely to be misled by them.
At Hwiyo village under Chief Chundu, headman Mangwaira notified his subjects that they should seek permission to travel.
”We have to notify headman Mangwaira every Monday of our intended visits for the next three months because we do not know when these outreach teams will visit our centres” Radio VOP quoted a villager only identified as Norbert.
Hwiyo is situated about 50 kilometres south of Karoi town.
Villagers have been told to support Zanu (PF)s position paper that gives executive powers to the president.
Hurungwe Central legislator Godfrey Beremauro is allegedly moving around with youths from Karoi and Tengwe who are the only ones allowed to contribute during the constitutional debate.
The youths are part of coaching team allegedly formed by Zanu (PF) to hammer ordinary participants into line during the constitution-drafting process.
Coaching
The groups have been coaching participants at Zanu (PF) outreach meetings to unite under a draft constitution agreed by negotiators from the three main political parties in the resort town of Kariba in September 2007.
Zanu (PF) and the two MDC formations secretly authored the Kariba draft in 2007 but critics say the document should be discarded because it leaves untouched the immense presidential powers that analysts say Mugabe has used to stifle opposition to his rule for the past three decades.
Zanu (PF) supporters and soldiers have been campaigning for the adoption of the controversial Kariba draft constitution as the basis of the proposed new charter.
The alleged violence and intimidation by the soldiers and Zanu (PF) supporters have tainted the credibility of the constitution-making exercise which has also been rocked by squabbles among political parties over finances and procedure.
In other incidents showing the chaos that has characterised Zimbabwes constitution-making process from the beginning, COPAC officials failed to turn up for meetings in several towns, including the second largest city Bulawayo and parts of Manicaland province.
The no-shows by the COPAC teams were attributed to alleged fresh disagreements between COPAC and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), one of the major donors of the exercise to write a new charter for the southern African country.
COPAC co-chairpersons Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana of Zanu (PF), Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) and Edward Khosi Ndlovu (MDC-M) were by the time of going to print not reachable for comment on the alleged fresh dispute between the outreach team and UNDP.
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