To access the extracts and links to sources, click on the links on the timeline. The following news extracts have been mailed out to our subscribers today, with further updates to follow. Click here to subscribe to the Sokwanele mailing list, or follow the directions in the mailing footer (you must be connected to the internet to follow links in this mailing).
21 June 2010
Chaos and bickering mars constitution making process accreditation and induction
Chaos reigned supreme in some of the country?s provinces as the constitution making process commenced on Monday 21 June 2010. In Harare members of the constitutional outreach team were stranded after officials at Ambassador Hotel refused to accommodate them. As late as 23:00 hrs some members had not yet secured accommodation while few others secured accommodation with their relatives. COPAC coordinator Peter Kunjeku, who attempted to address the outreach team members unsuccessfully tried to convince the members to relocate to ZESA training centre, where he claimed to have secured accommodation for them. But the members could not accept the proposal and accused him of treating them like children. The COPAC members complained of hunger as they were not allocated allowances to purchase food since Monday morning. [ZZZICOMP Press Release – 22 June 2010]
Veritas circulate names and roles of outreach team members
Veritas circulate the names and roles of outreach team members by email. Veritas comment in their mailing on the lack of information being made available to the public: Veritas spent many hours trying to get updated information so we could inform the public. We kept being told that even the information published by the press was not necessarily correct or up-to-date. We took the decision to send out the outreach itineraries and lists of team members but with the caveat that there might be changes. The lack and lateness of communications has been very frustrating for those in civil society who offered to made themselves available for several months to assist in the process and have been kept hanging for almost a year. It also means that many professional people knowledgeable on constitutional matters will not be taking part.
Outreach program begins as soldiers set up bases in rural areas
While COPAC was busy deploying teams countrywide, the army has already set up bases for its soldiers at some of the rural district offices. SW Radio Africa report that soldiers camped at Masasa business centre in Buhera central and Mutiusinazita in Buhera south have been force-marching villagers to ZANU PF meetings for indoctrination. A top official in the MDC told SWRA that the armed soldiers were deployed to the areas a week ago, with specific orders to instruct villagers what to do and say during the outreach programme. ?The soldiers have had a head start. They?re patrolling the areas, force marching people to ZANU PF meetings. While the villagers are getting instructions of what they will say, they are privately informing us they will not go along with ZANU PF ideology over the drafting of a new constitution,? the MDC-T official said.
No room for gay rights in new constitution Mutasa
Didymus Mutasa, a powerful figure in President Robert Mugabe?s Zanu PF political party, said his party will see to it that homosexuality is outlawed in the new constitution and that stiff penalties will be put in place for those who engage in the practice. Mutasa, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Zanu (PF) politburo Secretary for administration, told villagers that his party had already taken a position on what should be included or excluded in the new constitution [Via RadioVop].
22 June 2010
Announcement that Harare and Bulawayo outreach to be delayed until after 12 July 2010
The day before public outreach teams are due to commence, it was announced that meetings in Harare and Bulawayo would be delayed until after 12 July 2010. It was argued that the postponement was necessary because of possible violence and because the meetings would clash with World Cup matches. [Via Times Live]
23 June 2010
Chaos and disorganisation delay the start of the outreach program
Organizational and logistical problems dogged Zimbabwe’s national constitutional outreach process Wednesday with outreach team members sitting in Harare and Bulawayo waiting to deploy but lacking the means to do so. Sources in Midlands province said teams there could not hold consultation meetings because they were still waiting for equipment such as cameras and recorders. The same happened in Mashonaland West where the team spent the day doing nothing for lack of equipment. [Via VOA]
Outreach meetings in Chinhoyi adandoned as tempers flare
Constitution outreach meetings in Chinhoyi are disrupted after tempers flared over the non-deployment of the police and the manner in which the meetings were organised, forcing the outreach teams to abandon the consultations. The tension at the meetings in Wards 1 to 7 was palpable and the disruptions started just as the teams were being introduced. An emergency meeting with the Constitutional Select Parliamentary Committee (Copac), the police, Mashonaland West MPs, provincial party leaders, the governor, and provincial and district administrators had to be called to try and resolve the situation and ensure that meetings would start on the 24 June. [Via The Zimbabwe Independent]
COPAC members told not to sloganeer or sing party songs during outreach
The Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) comprising of Douglas Mwonzora of the MDC-T and Paul Mangwana of Zanu (PF) has told members to desist from sloganeering or singing party songs during the Outreach Programme which began on Tuesday.There should not be any party songs being sung or slogans made, said Douglas Mwonzora, one of the COPAC bosses in Harare.[Via RadioVop]
MPs renting out official vehicles for outreach programme
Legislators are reportedly renting out their official vehicles for the constitutional reform process outreach programme muscling out members of the public who were looking to benefit from the exercise. The constitution parliamentary committee (COPAC) recently invited members of the public to lease their vehicles for the 88-day outreach programme for a fee of some US$80 per day. COPAC said it required 265 vehicles for the exercise which is aimed at gathering people?s input into the constitution making process. However the legislators are said to have high-jacked the programme with officials at the CMED confirming that some MPs were registering more than two vehicles. [Via New Zimbabwe]
ZZZICOMP monitors deployed to watch over constitution reform
More than 400 independent monitors have been deployed around the country to keep a close eye on the constitution-making process. The ZZZICOMP monitors will ?observe and report on the work of the Constitution Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC), the public outreach programme, the work of the thematic committees and the drafting committee, and the final document produced? to ensure the process is democratic, transparent and reflects the ?input of broad and diverse popular participation?. ZZZICOMP is made up of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). The organisation has sent out 420 monitors, as well as provincial coordinators and other key personnel. [Via The Zimbabwean]
Giles Mutsekwa (MDC-T) says AIPPA and POSA suspended
Co-Home Affairs Minister, Giles Mutsekwa (MDC-T), confirms that AIPPA and POSA have been temporarily suspended to allow for the smooth running of the constitution-making process. He emphasised that this applied only to the public outreach meetings. Under the Public Order and Security Act, the police must be informed before a public meeting is held, and authorities have often prohibited meetings by political parties or civil groups perceived to oppose the Zanu PF party. [Via The Zimbabwean]
24 June 2010
Mugabe’s spokesperson denies suspension of POSA and AIPPA
Robert Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba contradicts media reports saying that AIPPA and POSA had been temporarily suspended to allow the smooth running of the constitution outreach program, saying Government has not taken such a step, which is impossible legislatively anywhere and [The laws are] not there to ornament our statutes but to be applied fully and squarely. Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said the police would still enforce the laws ?because nothing had changed? [Via New Zimbabwe]
3 MDC activists abducted in Marondera
Three MDC activists were abducted by State security agents in Chief Svosve area?s in Mashonaland East province and their whereabouts remains unknown. According to eyewitnesses, Rodreck Shamu and Temba Masimara of Marondera East were abducted by a group of armed men who were driving a white double-cab CAM truck. Shamu was the first to be abducted at Twoboy business centre while the same people followed Masimara and kidnapped him at Village 17 in ward 21 of Marondera East. Another MDC activist, only identified as Makunyadze, was later abducted by the same people outside Marondera Hotel. The three had been instrumental in mobilising MDC supporters in the area to participate in the on-going Constitution-making process. The whereabouts of the three remains unknown and the MDC fears for their safety. [Via MDC-T Press release – 25 June 2010]
VOA news reports that many meetings failed to take place today
Authorities running Zimbabwe’s constitutional revision process fared somewhat better on the second day of a public outreach phase Thursday following widespread chaos the day before, but many consultative meetings still failed to take place or were called off for reasons ranging from logistics to disruption to threats of violence. Officials said incidents of disruption or intimidation were isolated, but accounts from around the country suggested the process is highly vulnerable in certain provinces to elements aiming to derail or delay it. [Via VOA]
Aggrieved women pounce on constitution-making process
The Financial Gazette reports on the importance of a new constitution for Zimbabwean women’s rights: Constitutionally, women in Zimbabwe have no right to, for instance, be guardians of their own children and consequently they are deemed second-class citizens culturally, whose rights to simple basics of life such as universal access to health and education remain among the least of worries for the citizenry […] To push for equality in politics, business, public life and homes, women?s groups are advocating for emancipation and empowerment through 13 key demands: equality; equal citizenship; non-discrimination; subjugation of custom and culture to human rights; women?s rights; children?s rights; a gender and equal opportunity commission; an electoral system that combines first past the post and proportional representation; the right to abort; the right to personal security; affirmative action including a 50 percent quota for women in decision-making positio ns; socio-economic, cultural and environmental rights; gender-sensitive public financing; and the direct application of regional and international human rights instruments.
Over 200 soldiers disrupt constitutional outreach in Karoi
On Thursday the MDC-T complained that 200 uniformed soldiers marched in the Chikangwe and Chiedza suburbs of Karoi, in the politically volatile Mashonaland West province. The soldiers were said to be chanting ZANU PF slogans and ?threatening to bring war to the doorsteps of those who will give different views to those of ZANU PF in the constitution consultation meetings?. Meetings scheduled to take place in Chinhoyi were cancelled after ZANU PF supporters disrupted them. According to a report issued by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition ?all hell broke loose at 11:30hrs today when an elderly ZANU PF supporter and four youths converged at Gadzema Domestic Signs Crche, and demanded to know what the outreach team was doing in the area.? [Via SW Radio Africa]
Matabeleland reportedly lobbying for devolution of power
The Zimbabwe Independent reports that Matabeleland groups are lobbying for devolution of power. Lobbying for decentralisation of power reached its peak this week, with calls for each of the country?s 10 provinces to have a right to self-governance and control of local resources. Provincial governors, currently appointed by the president of the country, should be subjected to an election to make them directly answerable to the people who elected them, proponents for decentralisation argue.
Outreach participants reading from scripts prepared by their parties
Participants at meetings at Matepatepa Country Club and Number One Play Center in Bindura Mashonaland Central Province participants were seen reading from prepared scripts allegedly written by their political parties during the proceedings. Both meetings were characterized by high levels of tension between opposing party members. That participants had to rely on party written scripts to make contributions is a serious cause for concern given that a constitutional making process must be non partisan and people driven. Clearly in this case people are being denied a right to freely air out their views. The absence of the police at both meetings did not help the matters either. [Via Crisis Coalition Press Release – 25 June 2010]
Trio lose court bid to be reinstated into COPAC team
The High Court has thrown out a bid by three members of a radical Matabeleland group to be part of the process to write a new constitution. Qhubekani Dube, Mqondisi Moyo and Phathisani Nondo were originally on a list of outreach teams published by the Constitution Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac), but were later removed after it was claimed they held dual political party membership. The trio mounted a High Court challenge seeking their reinstatement last week, but this was thrown out by Justice Justice Nicholas Ndou at the Bulawayo High Court today. [Via New Zimbabwe]
Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga interviewed by SWRA
Asked about the chaos in the outreach programme, Eric Matinenga replies: Look, it would have been abnormal not to ever have these teething problems. In an operation of this nature, of this extent, you always have a, this problem. I would be surprised that people would have thought that this would have been similar to day following night. It can?t be. We are embarking on a very extensive programme, we have been thin on resources and people are trying to make the best out of very challenging circumstances. Asked about meetings not taking place in Chinhoyi: Look, the information which I have would appear to be different from what you are giving me. Yes, I?ve been told that there have been difficulties in Chinhoyi but I?m told that the difficulties have arisen not on account of the explanation you give but on account of ZANU PF saying that it is MDC which caused the disruption. Asked about soldiers marching in Karoi: No it does not present a proble m for me, it presents a problem for the inclusive government. Asked about ‘script reading’ in Bindura: You know I really am unable to comment or to be drawn to make a comment in respect of the incident you describe because I simply have not received a report on it and I therefore am unable, from your report, to then seek to apportion blame. [Full interview transcript available on SW Radio Africa]
25 June 2010
JOC sends soldiers to enforce ZANU PF views in outreach programme
The Joint Operations Command (JOC), a state security organization only accountable to Robert Mugabe, is spearheading ZANU PF?s campaign to foist the Kariba draft on the people of Zimbabwe. Since the constitutional outreach programme started on Monday SW Radio Africa says it has been inundated with reports of soldiers roaming towns and districts intimidating people to toe the ZANU PF line. Armed and uniformed soldiers have been threatening and intimidating villagers to support ZANU PF views in many districts of Manicaland and Masvingo provinces. On Thursday Senator Morgan Komichi told SWRA they were receiving reports that in some areas the soldiers were toyi-toying and chanting ZANU PF slogans. ZANU PF is eager to include in the new constitution the contents of the so called ?Kariba draft?. It makes Mugabe eligible to continue in office with entrenched powers, for another 10 years, which means he would die in office and avoid prosecution for human rights abuses. [Via SW Radio Africa]
Traditional leaders in Hurungwe warn villagers to support the Zanu PF position
Traditional leaders in Hurungwe are doing weekly roll calls with villagers, demanding to know their wherabouts and forcing them to give notice whenever they travel, especially from their rural areas to urban centres. The villagers have also been warned against being ??misguided?? ahead of the consitution outreach programme. The roll call was aimed at sniffing out villagers who get poisoned influence during the constitution outreach programme. 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. RadioVop reports that villagers have been told to support the Zanu (PF) position paper that gives executive powers to the President saying the Prime Minister post was foreign to African politics. [Via RadioVop]
MPs banned from speaking to press
Lawmakers spearheading Zimbabwe?s constitution-making process have been barred from speaking to the media during the constitution writing process. Legislators said they signed oaths not to interact with the media. Douglas Mwonzora the Co-Chairperson of the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac) yesterday said: ?MPs in the outreach teams are not supposed to speak to the media. The media must deal with the chairpersons of Copac or (Jessie) Majome, the media person in the committee. We are doing this to ensure discipline in constitution- making process.? [Via NewsDay]
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Post published in: Politics