This view appears mistaken, and when MDC-T minister Jameson Timba who was at the Summit in Johannesburg attempted to point this out in a press article, ZANU-PF politburo member immediately called for Timba and prime minister Tsvangirai to be arrested for allegedly calling president Mugabe a liar regarding the outcomes of the SADC Summit outcomes.
And indeed police obliged and arrested minister Timba on allegations of contravening section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codi-prohibits undermining or insult-Minister Timba was effectively abducted by police on Friday 24 June at the airport and detained at three different police stations for two days without food or water before his lawyer Selby Hwacha successfully ap-plied for an order at the High Court compelling police to pro-duce minister Timba in court on Sunday, 26 June which the police eventually did leading to his re-lease on the orders of the court.
On Monday, 27 June, hundreds of ZANU-PF supporters and so-called war veterans immediate resignation for unclear reasons. Minister Biti was back door without the knowledge of the rowdy protestors.
Alarmingly, police took no action to protect the minister or to disperse the protestors, who for the second time in three weeks had besieged minister Biti’s of mand, which was also not met, was for minister Biti to sign onto their ‘anti-sanctions’ petition.
These attacks on MDC ministers, coupled with continued public utterances by sections within the military that they view prime minister Tsvangirai as a national security threat who must never be allowed to country have been correctly interpreted by the MDC leadership as an attempt by hardliners within ZANU-PF to force the MDC out of the inclusive government and pave way for elections in 2011 under conditions similar to those that prevailed in 2008 where violence and intimidation was widespread, systematic and state-sanctioned.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai told party supporters that he would not pull out of the inclusive government even if police did Jonathan Moyo’s bidding and arrested him.
State media, both print and electronic, continue to indicate that elections will be held some-time in 2011 and to openly campaign for ZANU-PF while denigrating the MDC.
The political environment in Zimbabwe is deteriorating sharply and the looming strike action by civil servants over salary increases the president Mugabe had promised is likely to heighten tensions and weaken the struggling economy further.
Finally ZANU-PF’s call for elections has been boosted and bolstered by the ill-advised last week to let Zimbabwe renew Marange diamonds exports.
The decision was not reached by consensus as required and the United States and Canada publicly condemned that decision while civil society groups walked out of the intersessional meeting in the Demo-cratic Republic of Congo in protest over the decision.
Zimbabwe civil society groups constituting the Lo-cal Focal Point in the Kimberley Process will meet this week in Harare to formulate a formal response.
Fears remain that if ZANU-PF is allowed to resume sales of Marange diamonds in the absence of accountability on the revenue then such revenue may be used to fund an elections war chest that could fund violent polls.
The KP should urgently reconsider its decision to allow Ma-range diamonds to be sold under prevailing conditions. Dewa Mavhinga – Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Regional Coordinator
Post published in: Politics