Worth a read to amuse you on a Friday afternoon . . . go to Ivor Hartmann’s blog.

Please read this press statement from Rooftop Promotions and email them a solidarity message to help keep them positive.

I hope this mail finds you well. As the “Rituals” 10 member team (8 artists, 1 driver and 1 Tour Manager), which was arrested at Nhedziwa Business Centre in Cashel Valley on 5 January 2011 and detained for two nights before being released by Mutare Magistate’s Court, is set to appear before the Mutare Magistrate’s Court on 17 March 2011 being charged with “criminal nuisance” under the Criminal Law (Codification & Reform) Act, we appeal to artists, cultural and civic activists to issue solidarity messages with the 10 as they stand for freedom of artistic expression.

According to filed papers, the group allegedly “intentionally and unlawfully made noise or disturbance and beating drums in a public place performing drama reminiscent of political disturbabces of June 2008 elections. The drama incited the affected members of the public to revive their differences”.

“This is clear suppression of our artistic work in promoting national  healing and reconciliation, through a play that has been seen by the  Organ on National Healing Reconciliation and Integration and has been approved by the Board of Censors, and discussing an issue (political violence) which the GPA and its principals acknowledge that it needs to be addressed. We are disturbed but not discouraged or disheartened, by this especially considering that we hold a valid censorship certificate from a board which falls under the same ministry (Home Affairs) and theatre is one of the exemptions under POSA.

This is a piece of art nominated for National Arts Merits Awards 2010 Outstanding Theatrical production which is meant to promote community driven healing and reconciliation and has opened constructive dialogue in communities in a 100 performances tour that began in mid- December last year and ended on 22 February 2011 having covered Harare, Manicaland, Midlands, Bulawayo, Matebeleland North, Mashonaland West and Central provinces” says Daves Guzha, Producer of Rooftop Promotions.

“Rituals” is written by Stephen Chifunyise after going through a research on community approaches to healing and reconciliation, directed and produced by Daves Guzha, featuring arguably Zimbabwe’s best theatre talent who include: Mandla Moyo, Zenzo Nyathi, Joyce Mpofu, Chipo Bizure, Silvanos Mudzvova and Rutendo Chigudu with music from Joshua Mwase and Norman Kamema. It is a story told in panoramic fashion chronicling how community initiated cultural solutions meet with serious challenges which either prevent their conclusive enactment or achievement of the desired results.

The cast stood for their artistic freedom and freedom of expression and now its time for us to stand with them by sending your solidarity messages rooftop [at] zol [dot] co [dot] zw or posting them on our facebook account: Rooftop Zimbabwe Group or on Twitter:- rooftopTITP or website:- www.rooftoppromotions.org

If you’re living in Zimbabwe and have good experience in communications and media, why not try for this . . .

Communications Support: Training and Research Support Centre
Deadline: 25 March 2011

This work is being implemented in the Training and Research Support Centre.

Aims: The aim of the consultancy is to provide support to communications work to the training and research activities of the organization, and specifically to:
i. Produce specific written training materials
ii. Participate in relevant meetings to support the development of communications materials including at community level
iii. Produce simplified or target-specific information and media materials from technical reports produced by the organization
iv. Redesign or reformat existing materials and reports produced by the organization to be suitable for policy, technical and community audiences
v. Provide mentoring, skills and peer review support to personnel in the organization to improve the quality of reports produced.

The work will be part time for about 5-10 working days per month over the period April-October 2011. It is envisaged that there will be additional work in April/May (about 20 days) and in July (about 20 days).

Qualifications of the consultant:
- Graduate or Masters level qualification in a field of relevance to communications and media sciences
- Proven experience for at least five years in communications work with technical, official and/ or community audiences
- Proven ability to design and produce communications materials (reports, briefs, leaflets, posters, DVDs) for a range of audiences, from policy and technical to community level . Proven writing skills
- Ability to use electronic and internet communication

Time period: A part time contract between April 1 2011 and October 30 2011, with options for renewal. The work will be based on outputs / deliverables and the consultant will organize their own time.

Conditions: Specific deliverables and their timing will be set in the consultancy contract and the consultant will organize their work schedule independently to meet these time frames. The consultant should have access to his/her own laptop and internet/ email communications, although facilities at TARSC may be made available on an ad hoc basis during the consultancy. The fee payable to the consultant is negotiable.

Applicants: Applicants should submit electronically to admin [at] [dot] org

- A letter outlining the skills and experience offered to this work and an indication of the expected daily fee rate.
- A full CV
- Two samples of media and communications materials on which the consultant was lead author.

The successful applicant will be notified in end March for interviews and the contract is projected to commence in beginning April 2011.

In this important statement below, WOZA makes several good points including the need for Zimbabwe to have a professional and non-partisan police force. And watch their Valentines Day footage on YouTube (see the link at the end of the statement):

Persecution by prosecution of Human Rights Defenders continues: Court appearances; Williams and Mahlangu avoid persecution; Release our comrades

SEVEN members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) appeared in Tredgold Magistrates Court today 16 March, they will reappear again on 23rd of March 2011. The 3 women and 4 men arrested on 28 February in two separate incidents in Entumbane and Mabutweni. Although reporting conditions were relaxed and they now only report once a week, charges were not dropped as there is resistance from the police officers.

Before they appeared in Court, the Defence lawyer Matshobana Ncube met with the provincial area prosecutor and the Attorney general’s office Mrs Cheda who indicated that they have formally requested a meeting with the District Commanding Police Officer Inspector R. Masina to obtain understanding as to the significance of the Supreme Court ruling to prevent the continued arrest of WOZA members by the police officers in defiance of the ruling. The Supreme Court ruling was obtained by WOZA leaders Jennifer Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu from a 16 October 2008 arrest and 3 week detention at Mlondolozi prison.

An update on the three women, Eneles Dube, Janet Dube and Selina Dube arrested during the 7th March protest were followed home and brought  to court to be formally charged.

On the 10th of March 2011 Lizwe Jamela of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights was advised by Bulawayo Central Police Station from Constable Runesu that District Commanding Police Officer (DISPOL)  Inspector R Masina had demanded that the three Eneles Dube and others  be formally charged. They appeared in court on 11th of March 2011 with Defence lawyer Kossam Ncube. They were charged with criminal nuisance as defined in paragraph 2[v] of the Third schedule to the Criminal Law [ Codification and Reform] Act, Chapter 9:23 as with section 46 of the said Act which basically means ‘blocking the pavement’.

They appeared before Magistrate Gideon Ruvetsa and Public Prosecutor Jeremiah Mutsindikwa, where they were remanded on free bail out of custody to the 21st of March 2011. Lawyer Kossam Ncube indicated to the court than on the 21st he will note an application of refusal of further remand.

WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu are currently on a speaking tour of the United Kingdom and United States of America. In the last month after the Valentines Day protests, Police officers launched regular visits to their homes and sent messages through members that they tortured to reveal the whereabouts of the leaders. Police officers also contacted a Human Rights lawyer, demanding he bring the leaders to Bulawayo Central Police station indicating that they ‘must prepare themselves for a long detention’. As a result of the supreme Court ruling which police are obviously ignoring, it was determined that they  of this heightened harassment and obvious ignoring of the Supreme Court ruling, Williams and Mahlangu have not voluntarily presented themselves to this persecution.

WOZA call on the all officers Zimbabwe Republic Police to professionalise and shake themselves from the choke of their political masters.  The days of reckoning will come soon and they will be faced with the guilt of their torture alone. They must not blindly follow the dictates of politicians to arrest and detain human rights defenders but should interrogate as decent human beings the letter of the law and the principle of investigate to arrest not arrest to investigate. We call on them to free all human rights defenders in custody including our Comrades Gwisai, Gumbo, Tafadzwa and others.

Please watch this rough footage of the Valentines’ Day protest that has got the state shivering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2-PrFvmwQs

The police raided the office of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition on Tuesday 15 March.

“The police, who were armed with a search warrant signed by Chief Superintendent Peter Magwenzi said they were looking for anything subversive such as T-shirts, documents and fliers or anything incriminating.” (ZLHR press release)

You really have to laugh at them – there’s nothing else left to do. This incident reminded me of something I read recently. Some food for thought for civic organisations in Zimbabwe . . .

Faking it

Slobodan Miloševic, Serbia’s warmongering leader during the 1990s, was a master of manipulation in the former Yugoslavia. But, as the endgame approached, even Miloševic lost his touch.

He and his henchmen had little idea how to cope with the mischievous Otpor (“Resistance”), the student movement that proved more effective in energizing opposition to Miloševic than his political foes had ever been. Even as Otpor’s members were arrested and beaten, they mocked the authorities. As one of Otpor’s leaders pointed out later, the regime found itself in a bind. “I’m full of humour and irony and you are beating me, arresting me,” Srdja Popovic said in an interview for Steve York’s and Peter Ackerman’s documentary Bringing Down a Dictator. “That’s a game you always lose.”

In advance of elections in September 2000, the authorities became increasingly enraged at Otpor’s success. Police raided the group’s offices in the Serb capital, Belgrade, confiscating computers and campaign materials.

Otpor exacted sweet revenge. On phone lines which they knew would be tapped, they discussed how they would receive a large quantity of additional supplies of election stickers and other materials at a certain time and day. They invited news photographers to witness the delivery. Then, at the appointed hour, volunteers began unloading boxes from a truck, staggering toward the Otpor office, apparently weighed down by the weight of all the pamphlets and posters.

The waiting police triumphantly moved in to seize the boxes. As they did so, they realised that the cartons were not heavy at all, but strangely light. They were empty – as empty as the police action itself.

Orders were orders, however. The police could not stop confiscating what they had been ordered to confiscate. Under the mocking eyes of reporters and other onlookers, the police impounded a large quantity of empty cardboard boxes.

Source: Small Acts of Resistance – how courage, tenacity, and ingenuity can change the world
Authors, Steve Crawshaw and John Jackon

Let’s get a Zimbabwean woman to get this!

UN Women’s Project Inspire seeking life-changing idea
Deadline: 30 June 2011

UN Women Singapore and MasterCard have started a joint initiative called “PROJECT INSPIRE: 5 Minutes to Change the World” to help you create a better world of opportunities for women and girls in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

The initiative is inviting submissions of life-changing ideas on how to make a difference. If you have an inspirational idea that can empower women, improve their livelihoods and change the world, then you can submit it here. If your idea gets selected, you can win US $25,000 to make it a reality.

The idea should be creative and should make a meaningful impact with the limited resources you have. It should be practical enough and must inspire others to do the same. It should be accessible, doable, measurable and sustainable. The idea should lead to the empowerment of disadvantaged women or girls through education, skills training, financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship.

Ideas should be submitted in form of a video running for a length of five minutes. Applicants sending the submissions should be 18-35 years old.

Besides the winner getting the $25,000 grant, there will be a special recognition to the Best Financial Literacy/ Livelihood proposal which will win a start-up grant of US$10,000. Finalists will get an opportunity to come to Singapore to present their inspiring idea to an expert judging panel. You will also attend a workshop on sustainable social entrepreneurship and presentation skills training.

Find out more