Full page advert in The Standard newspaper on 13th March 2011:

ATT: Honourable Minister P. Chinamasa
Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs
New Government Complex
Block A 6th Floor

Dear Minister Chinamasa

We write to your attention the fact that Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Welcome Zimuto, Antonator Choto, Tendai Mambeyarara and Edison Chakana are being held unjustly in Zimbabwe’s remand prison. The 6 were unjustly arrested while conducting a meeting at the International Socialist Organisation, in which developments in North Africa were shared verbally and visually on the 19th of February 2010, and have been incarcerated since. This group is now charged with treason, which as you know is a serious crime carrying he death penalty. We demand that the 6 be released urgently for the following reasons:

·    The 6 have been incarcerated long enough to allow the prosecution to conduct investigation, and now they are unjustly being denied of their freedom.
·    The charges are frivolous and it is clear to us that watching videos and discussing political developments elsewhere do not constitute a crime.
·    Our constitution allows the freedoms of association and assembly which they were exercising at the time of their arrest.
·    Democracy is not treason.

We would like to protest the subjection of Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai and his co-accused to inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment at the hands of the police while in custody.

This matter deserves your urgent attention, because justice delayed s justice denied.

Yours Sincerely

Concerned Zimbabweans

Dr. Gwisai and 45 others Detention Timeline

19 February 2011: Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 others arrested while watching a video and discussing protests in Egypt and Tunisia. Amongst the 45 are people living with HIV and AIDS, diabetics, students and economic justice campaigners.
19-23 February 20011: Accused held with no access to lawyers, medical  attention and running water.
23 February 2011: The 46 formally charged with treason (a crime that carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe), and make their first court appearance.
24 February 2011: Defence Lawyers, raise concerns around torture and denial of medical attention for the ill, or legal counsel for the group.
Monday the 7th March 2011: Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi, releases 39 of the 45 due to lack of evidence. Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Welcome Zimuto, Antonator Choto, Tendai Mambeyarara and Edison Chakana remain in custody.

Our Appeal
Dr. Gwisai and his 5 colleagues remain in custody for a crime they did not commit or for which they have not been found guilty. We urge you to join the campaign to have the six innocent people freed. You can do so by signing the letter above, cutting it and sending it out to the Minister of Justice. You can also sign an online petition at www.freethemnow.com and be sure to attend their next month court appearance on Wednesday 16 March 2011.

·    Justice delayed is justice denied
·    Democracy is not treason
·    Today its Dr Gwisai, tomorrow it could be you

Help free Dr Gwisai and his 5 colleagues. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. An injury to one is an injury to all!!

Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs
Hon Patrick Chinamasa
Government of Zimbabwe
New Government Complex
P. Bag 7751, Causeway
Harare,
Zimbabwe
Fax: 00 263 4 790901
Salutation: Dear Minister

The Attorney General
Johannes Tomana
Government of Zimbabwe
P. Bag 7714, Causeway
Harare ,
Zimbabwe
Fax: 00 263 4 777049
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

HE Mr Gabriel Mharadze Machinga
Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe
Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe House,
429 Strand,
London WC2R 0JR,
United Kingdom
Telephone:00 44 207 836 7755
Faxes:00 44 207 379 116
Email:zimlondon@yahoo.co.uk

I am thrilled to report the release of our colleague Lenard Kamwendo and 38 other detainees who had been facing treason charges in the case of the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe)’s Munyaradzi Gwisai and 44 others. In the Magistrate’s court in Harare today, Magistrate Mutevedzi held that there was no reasonable suspicion against 39 of the detainees, and they have been released.

But Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo of ZIMCODD and 4 others are still being held in custody. They will not appear in court again until 21 March – over a month since they were arrested for holding a meeting in which they discussed recent events in Tunisia and Egypt. They also deserve to be going home today. Free the 6 now.

The recent violent clashes experienced in various parts of the country are politically motivated and youths have become victims as well as perpetrators of violence. Instead of fighting for leadership positions, youths are seen fighting each other to defend old politicians to stay in power. Political parties in Zimbabwe have realized that there is power in the grassroots and have taken advantage of the high unemployment to use youths in election campaigning and to perpetrate violence. The situation in Zimbabwe currently portrays youths as unorganized, violent and undisciplined people.

Youths in Zimbabwe are not economically empowered with enough resources to sustain themselves. Whenever there are elections youths are promised jobs and a better future but these promises are never fulfilled.

The recent uprisings in North Africa have seen youths at the forefront in campaigning for change. Unemployment has been the primary driver of their involvement in the protests.

Politicization of public places like Mbare Musika and Gulf Complex has seen youths especially from ZANU PF going around beating people and stopping them from conducting business at these public places. On the other hand ZANU PF blames the MDC T leader, Tsvangirai, for making comments that incite violence. Youth representatives from opposition parties say that violence in Zimbabwe can only be stopped if police start doing their jobs rather than being used as a mafia tool of the State.

At a meeting held in Harare hosted by the Youth Alliance for Democracy, youth representatives from political parties acknowledged that the current trend of events in Zimbabwe shows that elections and violence go hand in hand and that youths have become dangerous weapons at disposal of any political party.  Youths should unite and campaign for an environment, which they can participate in, rather than continue to be used as agents of destruction.

I know the city council has not been able to remove rubbish from some parts of Harare but that does not we citizens should enjoy it. There is this rubbish pile by Kuwadzana and instead of the people burning it or even sitting as far from it as possible, some vendors sit near it and enjoy it. Life carries on like there is no serious harm to their health and that of their customers. I was amazed that people can actually sit that close to a rubbish pile and laugh and enjoy themselves. There is also a lady who was picking up some plastic papers, taking her time while she was bending towards the rubbish. She did not seem to be bothered by the foul smell coming from there. I do not even want to imagine what she wanted to with the plastic papers, I just hope she wanted to light a fire or something along those lines.

I really think Zimbabweans have become content with things going wrong. People seem not to care enough to at least do something about it no matter how small. I know the rubbish pile might not be going anywhere soon but people can at least burn it.

If they can’t burn at least stay away from it.

Election campaign messages that date back as far as 2005 can be seen on Chiremba Balancing rocks in Epworth. Due to limited advertising space in public media various political parties resort to putting their campaign messages on national monuments. Chiremba Balancing Rocks were declared a national monument in 1994 and are located 13 km southeast of Harare. The granite balancing rocks lie within a natural breathtaking scenic environment. These rocks were a famous feature on some of  Zimbabwe’s bank notes before the currency was changed to American dollars.

With another round of elections on the cards more graffiti is expected to besmirch these magnificent rocks since the site has been turned into a mere billboard. One would wonder if the ideas and energy taken by the people who spray painted these rocks is put to action we wouldn’t be having problems in marketing our country  to the outside world. Instead of showing their advertising and marketing skills by bringing more tourists to this place they decided abuse the place with political party messages.

It’s curious and pleasing to see The Herald, commonly referred to as the mouthpiece of mugabe, publishing comments criticizing their biased coverage of events in Zimbabwe:

We are not little children, Its ZANU PF youths who are attacking people and in this case looted while their victims are being arrested. You might lie but we are not stupid. Hope this time you will publish my comment

Its a shame really that your paper and the ZRP tries hard to apportion blame on unknown and unruly elements who looted shops when everyone knows it is the unruly Zanu Pf thugs who act with impunity that looted those shops. Shame on you Zimpapers. I challenge you to publish these comments in an objective manner. If you want evidence to prove it was Zanu Pf thugs…well the writing is on the wall for all to see BUT Zimpapers and ZRP.

Only the truth can set you free. Herald editorial, please dip deep inside you to find it. Humans should learn to work for their chocho.  Organisers of any demo must be organised first before they can try and organise anything. Even chaos requires organisation for it to be seen as it is.  We have too many Zimbabweans abroad than we have foreigners here. ” Hebrews 13:1-2 – Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers…” ***** Ex- 23:9 Don’t mistreat strangers.
**** Jeremiah 22:3 Defend the helpless and oppressed; don’t harm strangers, widows, orphans, or other innocent people.

Why is “The Herald” hell-bent on blaming ZANU violence on the MDC?? Are editors of this paper so incorrigible to the extent that they’ll sell their souls just to parrot ZANU lies??!! Its so sad – instead of correctly informing the nation that it was ZANU youths who looted other people’s hard earned resources this paper is just hell-bent on mis-informing the public in order to prop up a dying beast. Shameless yellow journalism at its worst!!!! I hope all comments condemning ZANU violence will be published here & not editorialized or denied coverage…

Here’s the Herald article:

Looters hit city shops

Herald Reporters

A DEMONSTRATION by Zanu-PF youths in Harare yester-day against what they said was slow implementation of indigenisation policies turned into a looting spree after being hijacked by rowdy elements. When the youths gathered at the Zanu-PF Harare provincial headquarters at around 8am for a demonstration that police had sanctioned, they cited among their grievances the Government’s alleged snail’s pace in implementing indigenisation policies. They were particularly incensed by Harare City Council’s decision last year to get into a joint venture with a South African firm to manage municipal parking, saying a local company could have also done the job. The youths said they were missing out on advancement opportunities because they could not compete with cash-rich foreigners who could rent expensive retail space in the city and pay large sums of money as “goodwill” to sell their wares. The toyi-toying youths marched into the city centre under police escort, but things turned nasty when another group joined them as they moved towards the Gulf Complex near Market Square, which houses numerous small retail shops. Many of these shops are understood to be run by non-indigenous people who have the advantage of paying higher rentals than locals and thus make it difficult for the indigenisation policy to take effect within that sector. The arrival of the other group resulted in a looting orgy at Gulf Complex and police say they are still investigating the matter. Shop owners hurriedly closed their shops and fled, fea-ring attacks similar to those seen recently in Mbare, Budi-riro and Epworth, after which several youths reportedly aligned to MDC-T were arrested. Harare Province police spokesman Inspector James Sa-bau said police arrested eight people for looting. “The original demonstration was supposed to take place from Zanu-PF Harare Province offices to Town House. The original demonstration was against the awarding of the parking tender to Easipark of South Africa. “We had deployed our personnel on that route. But when people were gathering, we heard there was another group at the Gulf Complex. We are still investigating the origins of that group,” he said. Insp Sabau said police arrested some known Mbare cri-minals who were on the police wanted list. He said police had since recovered some of the property looted yesterday. Chaos at the Gulf Complex saw people looting electrical appliances and household goods. The rowdy group ransacked shops and left many shelves bare. One of the looters jumped off the second floor of the complex when riot police cornered him and he reportedly broke both legs. Shop operators complained of huge losses, with some estimating them at up to US$20 000 each. Mr Moreblessing Muhamba said he lost goods worth US$10 000. “I sell original cellphones. They are all gone,” he lame-nted. Mr Derick Mawire said it would be difficult for many of them to resuscitate operations. “How do I come back? I’ve been wiped clean. I lost goods worth over US$5 000,” he said. Mr Nqobile Chidhobha said he lost laptops, television  sets, computer hard drives and four boxes of cell-phones. A survey showed that the complex — with close to 240 shops — has less than 30 Nigerians operating and a few Chinese. The rest of the operators are black Zimbabweans. The survey was prompted by allegations by some of the looters that foreigners had hijacked the complex. However, a Zimbabwean at the complex said: “If they need shops, they should follow procedure. “They should identify the shops operated by the Nigerians if it is what they want.” Mr Scott Sakupwanya, the president of Upfumi Kuvadiki — the organisers of the original demonstration — slammed the looting. “As youth we feel that the entry of Easipark from South Africa (to manage municipal parking) defeats indigeni-sation. “Youths should have been empowered to partner the city in the venture. “The demonstration was not partisan and included youths from all walks of life, but some hooligans hijacked the programme. “It is totally unacceptable and does not help our legitimate cause. “Indigenisation should benefit everyone regardless of political affiliation, but when people go and steal things then they hurt us when we are already hurting. “However, we will continue demonstrating until the ma-tter is resolved.” He said police should arrest everyone implicated in the looting. Their organisation will today deliver petitions to Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi, Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo and his Empowerment counterpart Saviour Kasukuwere dema-nding Easipark’s withdrawal from the city. By mid afternoon, Easipark marshals were not visible on the streets though it was not clear if they had been called off or had left of their own volition. It has been alleged that senior council officials have shareholding in Easipark and have employed their friends, girlfriends and party campaign managers. Zanu-PF Harare provincial youth league chairman Cde Jimu Kunaka said unruly elements hijacked the demonstration and they had then called their members            off. “We were infiltrated. Once we realised that, we called off the demonstration. We do not know who the looters are.” Sporadic demonstrations have been noted in Mbare, Bu-diriro and Epworth. These follow suggestions by MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai that the kind of chaos seen in Tunisia and Egypt in recent weeks was acceptable.

http://www.zimpapers.co.zw/news-categories/top-stories/1789-looters-hit-city-shops.html