News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

Zimbabwe’s #ThisFlag leader walks free

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 07:15 PM PDT

The Harare magistrate’s court has thrown out charges against Evan Mawarire - the pastor behind the #ThisFlag campaign.

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Harare - The pastor leading Zimbabwe’s new protest movement walked free from court on Wednesday after charges against him of attempting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian government were thrown out.

Evan Mawarire briefly thanked several hundred cheering supporters who had rallied throughout the day outside Harare magistrate’s court, singing and praying for his release.

“He was not advised of the subversion charges before he was brought to court,” his lawyer Harrison Nkomo told reporters, confirming the case had been dismissed.

“He was not properly brought before the court - that's why the magistrate refused remand.”

Mawarire, who started the popular #ThisFlag internet campaign in April, was an organiser of a one-day nationwide strike last week that closed offices, shops, schools and some government departments.

He appeared in court on Wednesday, with the national flag tied around his neck, to face allegations of running a campaign aimed at “overthrowing or attempting to overthrow the government by unconstitutional means”.

A recent series of demonstrations, the largest in years, have been driven by an economic crisis in Zimbabwe that has left banks short of cash and the government struggling to pay its workers.

Mugabe, 92 and increasingly frail, has previously used his ruthless security forces to crack down on any public show of dissent, and riot police were on duty outside the court.

The surge in protests has revealed long-simmering frustration in a country where 90 percent of the population is not in formal employment.

“The government should address the issues that citizens like Mawarire are raising instead of arresting innocent people,” Monica Chirisa, one of those who celebrated his release outside the court, told AFP.

Protest organisers had appealed for Zimbabweans to hold another strike starting on Wednesday, but their calls were largely unsuccessful with businesses and schools open as usual.

“They made sure that they arrested the people who are most vocal and fearless - that is why the response is not as good as it was last week,” Onias Marongwa, who works in a grocery store, told AFP.

Mawarire was brought into court through a back entrance, as scores of lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group offered to represent him.

“The arrest of Pastor Evan Mawarire appears to be a well-calculated plan to intimidate him and other activists,” Muleya Mwananyanda of Amnesty International said in a statement before his release.

Amnesty said about 300 people had been arrested for participating in protests around the country since they started last week.

Mugabe, who has named no successor, has overseen years of economic decline, allegedly rigged elections and mass emigration since he came to power in 1980.

Last week security forces used teargas and water cannon to disperse violent protests outside Harare that erupted over police officers allegedly using road blocks to extort cash from motorists.

Television footage showed police beating protesters with sticks.

Other protests have erupted at the border with South Africa over a ban on imports such as canned vegetables, powdered milk and cooking oil.

On Tuesday, Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo held a press conference to warn that anyone who took part in Wednesday's planned strike would face “the full wrath of the law”.

Many civil servants have been paid their delayed June salaries since last week.

In the southeastern town of Masvingo, most shops and offices were open despite the planned strike.

“The regime's machinery is very visible,” Takafira Zhou, leader of the Progressive Teachers' Union in the town, told AFP.

“Today's response to the strike is low as some people who took part last week had their salaries forfeited and they fear the worst if they are seen to be defiant.”

AFP

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Zim’s #ThisFlag pastor faces long jail term

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 10:55 AM PDT

If convicted of attempting to overthrow the Zimbabwean government, Pastor Evans Mawarire could face up to 20 years in prison.

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Harare - Evans Mawarire, a part-time Zimbabwe pastor who organised last week’s day long stayaway, was charged in the Harare magistrate’s court on Wednesday with attempting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe’s government.

The charges against Mawarire, who launched the #ThisFlag social media campaign in April, are so serious lawyers question whether he will be granted bail and said they feared that he could be in prison for a “long time”.

Hours after the normal court day ended on Tuesday, Harrison Nkomo, who is appearing for Mawarire continued to argue before magistrate, Vakai Chikwekwe, that the charges were different to those put to Mawarire when he was arrested at Harare Central Police Station on Tuesday.

Scores of supporters, wrapped in the Zimbabwe flag, chanted slogans, sang and prayed outside the shabby court house which was surrounded by police vehicles, a water cannon and many riot police and other security officials.

At first those in the packed courtroom laughed when the charges were put to Mawarire, but the atmosphere changed when they realised they were “so heavy,” as one lawyer later said.

Mawarire was arrested Tuesday after he went to the police to make a statement about how he organised a stayaway a week ago via his #This Flag site. He encouraged Zimbabweans to reclaim their flag and support a strike by many public servants who had not been paid their June pay cheques.

His messages, followed by many Zimbabweans across all levels of society, encouraged citizens to protest about 92-year-old Mugabe’s poor management of the battered economy where there is not enough cash in the banks for even poorly paid workers to withdraw their wages.

Zimbabwe uses US dollars since it abandoned its own currency in 2009 when it became worthless after years of hyperinflation and gross mismanagement of the economy by Mugabe and his government.

Many people answered Mawarire’s call on social media to stay away from work, or keep their children from school or refuse to sell goods in the streets. The pastor, who preaches non-violence, had called for another boycott on Wednesday and Thursday this week before his arrest.

Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo told the press on Tuesday that anyone who took part in the planned two-day strike would face “the full wrath of the law. I urge members of the public to desist from engaging in illegal protests,” he said

The law under which Mawarire is charged states that any person who attempts to unconstitutionally coerce or use physical force or violence or threatened boycott, civil disobedience or resistance to any law which would be a threat to the government would be guilty of an offence with a maximum 20 year sentence with no option of a fine.

“The arrest of Pastor Evan Mawarire appears to be a well-calculated plan to intimidate him and other activists” Muleya Mwananyanda of Amnesty International said in a statement.”Instead of suppressing dissenting voices, Zimbabwean authorities should be listening to protesters.”

Amnesty said about 300 people had been arrested for participating in protests since they started last week.

Last week security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters along the Harare commuter belt that erupted over police road blocks used to extort cash from motorists. A video of police torturing a woman by repeatedly beating the soles of her feet went viral earlier this week.

There have been several other protests against the government about the ban on imported goods as the economy continues to shrink.

Lawyers outside the courtroom on Wednesday said they believed that the charges against Mawarire were so serious that Zimbabwe Lawyers’ for Human Rights, who are defending him, will have to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court.

These veteran lawyers who have long fought Zimbabwe’s often partisan justice system say that the Harare magistrate’s court will be obliged to refer Mawarire’s case to the High Court for his appeal for bail.

“That means he is likely to be in prison for quite some time yet,” one said. “Let’s hope we are wrong.”

African News Agency

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#ThisFlag pastor ‘tried to overthrow government’

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 09:04 AM PDT

Pastor Evans Mawarire has been charged with attempting to overthrow the Zimbabwean government through his internet campaign.

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Harare - Zimbabwean pastor Evans Mawarire was charged on Wednesday with attempting to overthrow the government through an Internet campaign that inspired rare protests this month against President Robert Mugabe.

Mawarire appeared in a packed Harare courtroom draped in the Zimbabwean flag after spending the night in police cells as officers searched his house, church and office.

Mawarire's lawyer Harrison Nkomo said his client faced up to 20 years in jail and accused the state of ambushing the defence by changing charges without informing them.

Hundreds of Mawarire's supporters gathered outside the court, waving the national flag and singing protest songs, as anti-riot police kept a watchful eye.

“We are here in solidarity with a man of the cloth who is standing against a system that has impoverished the citizens of this nation,” Harare resident Pastor Ellard said.

Though Mawarire had called for further “stay at home” protests on Wednesday, queues built up as normal at bus and taxi ranks to ferry people to work, while most businesses were open.

Teachers reported for duty at most public schools, which are conducting mid-year examinations, while nurses and doctors were at work at state-run hospitals.

Mawarire last month posted a video online, that has since gone viral under the moniker #ThisFlag, venting his anger about deteriorating social and economic conditions in Zimbabwe and urging citizens to hold government to account.

“I am angered by the poverty and day to day struggles. The economy is not working and there are no jobs,” Zimbabwean activist Maureen Kademaunga told Reuters.

The preacher's social media movement has rattled 92-year-old Mugabe's administration, leading to accusations by the state against Mawarire of inciting public violence.

Anger is rising in Zimbabwe over high unemployment, corruption in government and shortages of money, which has seen people spending hours in bank queues to withdraw their money.

Zimbabwe's government warned protesters on Tuesday they would face the “full wrath of the law” if they heeded Mawarire's call, after his #ThisFlag movement organised the biggest anti-government demonstrations in a decade last week.

After his arrest, Mawarire supporters released a pre-recorded video urging Zimbabweans to stage another stay-away protest on Wednesday, although the early signs were that most people had not heeded the call.

Amnesty International said Mawarire's arrest was a calculated plan by Zimbabwean authorities to intimidate activists ahead of Wednesday's protests.

“Instead of suppressing dissenting voices, Zimbabwean authorities should be listening to protesters like Evan Mawarire,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International's deputy director for southern Africa.

Reuters

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Dlamini-Zuma slams South Sudan violence

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 08:39 AM PDT

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma slammed the violence in the South Sudan at the opening conference of the African Union Executive Council in Rwanda.

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Kigali - “Enough is enough. The violence in South Sudan is unacceptable,” Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the opening conference of the 29th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council in Kigali, in Rwanda on Wednesday.

Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), was addressing the Council on day four of the 27th African Union (AU) Summit.

Addressing AU heads of state, members of the media, civil society organisations and other Summit delegates, the trailblazing South African politician first complimented Rwanda on how the human spirit could overcome adversity, referring to the dark chapter in that country’s past when Hutu extremists wiped out approximately 800 000 Tutsis, and moderate Hutus, during the 1994 genocide.

Today the Rwandan capital Kigali was an example of how a city with a painful past could become a vibrant city of culture, economic growth, human development, and an example to the African continent, said Dlamini-Zuma.

The AUC chairperson then segued into how concerned she was about the conflict in South Sudan, which over the last week had claimed up to 300 lives.

“It is with grave concern that I see South Sudan erupting into violence just two months after the transitional unity government came into power with the hope of establishing peace,” said Dlamini-Zuma.

“The belligerents are back in the trenches and people are again barricaded behind the doors of their homes.

“The situation is unacceptable and we can’t just stand by as people lose their lives. The cost in homes destroyed, peacekeepers killed and girls abducted is too high.

“We promised not to spend our resources on conflict and the AU’s theme for 2016 is human rights. Enough is enough,” said the chairperson as she appealed for AU intervention where massive human rights abuses were being systematically carried out on the continent.

Dlamini-Zuma then called on AU members to stand together on the issue stating that none of the African countries had a clean track record when it came to the abuse of human rights. A new approach was needed in “silencing the guns” added Dlamini-Zuma.

“We must focus on health and education and put the African people first. In order to implement our dream of an Africa that is integrated and prosperous, we need to take the necessary action and have a Pan-African outlook.

“Jobs need to be created for the millions of young Africans entering the job market each year. Africa’s problem is that it is rich in resources yet so many people are still poor,” said Dlamini-Zuma.

The UAC chairperson then turned to the subject of Africa being self-sufficient.

Quoting former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, one of the founders of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Dlamini said: “He who can’t support himself can’t make his own decisions. Self-reliance and self-sufficiency are vital”.

Concluding her address to the Executive Committee, Dlamini-Zuma, a champion of gender equality, focused on the rights of women and girls.

Rwanda had worked hard towards the empowerment of women and girls and was a leader in the area, said the chairperson.

“Rwanda has a significant number of women in the government and many officials in the judiciary. The country was also pro-active in passing legislation which protected women and guaranteed their rights,” said Dlamini-Zuma whose tenure as chairperson of the AUC is coming to an end.

Dlamini-Zuma is not running for a second term in office of the 54-member bloc and could leave the post as early as this month.

“What we ultimately want is women and men working side by side in ending disease and hunger, resolving conflict and making the continent great,” said Dlamini-Zuma.

African News Agency

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Lesotho rocked by political bullying and a series of hits

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 01:13 AM PDT

The situation in Lesotho has got out of hand. Not only was an newspaper editor shot, but his chief executive has been charged with crimen injuria.

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Johannesburg - The situation in Lesotho has got out of hand.

Not only was Lloyd Mutungamiri, editor of the Lesotho Times and Sunday Express newspapers, shot and critically injured in an assassination attempt in the capital Maseru at the weekend, but Basildon Peta, the publisher and chief executive of the newspaper group, has been charged with crimen injuria.

The government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili accuses the newspapers of being too critical of it, and a spokesman for one of the parties in the coalition government recently went on air calling for Peta to be killed, accusing him of being a spy.

Mutungamiri was shot around midnight on Saturday as he parked his car after returning from work.

His wife, Tsitsi Mutungamiri, said she heard several gunshots and then screamed for help before going out of the home after the shots had ended. She found her husband slumped in the car, bleeding profusely after a bullet shattered his jaw.

Mutungamiri was initially picked up for interrogation by detectives last month, on June 23, after the Lesotho Times published two reports deemed to have defamed the powerful commander of the Lesotho Defence Force, (LDF) Tlali Kennedy Kamoli.

One report suggested that the Lesotho government was discussing a proposal for a hefty R40 million payout for Kamoli to exit the LDF in line with a recommendation by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) inquiry into Lesotho’s instability that Kamoli be relieved from his post.

Another story was a satirical column which argued that Lesotho was far better off without Lieutenant-General Kamoli.

Peta was subsequently summoned to the police and charged with criminal defamation and crimen injuria over the contents of a satirical column called Scrutator.

He was released on R30 800 bail. He is due back in court on Tuesday.

Africa Media Holdings (AMH), the publishers of the Lesotho Times, said it was clear the hit on Mutungamiri was a targeted assassination attempt.

Nothing was stolen from the editor, so robbery could not have been the main motive. The company expressed serious concern at the Lesotho government’s open hostility towards the Lesotho Times.

AU Commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma recently condemned the breakdown in the rule of law in Lesotho after an attack on the house of arch government critic and National University of Lesotho pro-vice chancellor, Professor Mafa Sejanamane.

The country has in recent times experienced a spate of killings. In one incident four people were shot dead at Qeme near Maseru.

The main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) said the four were its supporters who had attended its rally in the area.

The daughter of an ABC MP was shot dead on June 22 as she arrived home driving her father’s vehicle.

The MP, Lehlohonolo Moramotse, claimed he was the main target of the attack and the assassins had thought he was the one driving the car.

Lesotho has been on a downward spiral since the assassination of former LDF commander Maaparankoe Mahao, on June 25 last year, and the reinstatement of Tlali Kamoli by Prime Minister Mosisili after the latter was returned to power in the February 28 snap elections last year.

The snap elections were called after Kamoli launched a coup attempt on then-prime minister Thomas Thabane on August 30, 2014.

Thabane, who had fired Kamoli and replaced him with Mahao, fled the country, only to return under heavy South African police guard.

He and all the other opposition leaders are now living in exile in South Africa after various attempts to kill them by suspected LDF members.

They have vowed not to return as long as Kamoli remains head of the LDF. No arrests have been made in any of the shootings or attacks on suspected government opponents.

An SADC special summit on June 28 gave Lesotho a month to outline time frames for implementing the regional body’s commission of inquiry recommendations.

Independent Foreign Service

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Shocking scenes of Zim police violence exposed

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 12:44 AM PDT

Footage of Zimbabwe police violence confirmed as genuine have made their way on to many social media and news sites.

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Harare - Shocking scenes of Zimbabwe police violence confirmed as genuine by independent sources made their way on to many social media and news sites over the weekend.

This comes as lawyers say almost 300 people, including juveniles, were detained since unrest began at the South African border with Zimbabwe at the beginning of the month.

The police violence - in particular, one known as falanga (beating of the soles of feet) - was recorded in Epworth, an extremely poor suburb south-east of Harare.

In this minutes-long video, a woman can be seen and heard crying in pain as riot police smash the soles of her feet in front of her infant. Others nearby can be heard whimpering as the woman endures excruciating pain.

WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE

 

Lawyers in Harare and other violence monitors have confirmed the incident was filmed when police went to break up a group of people in Epworth where there had been anti-government demonstrations days earlier.

 

One human rights activist said he would send the UN the footage of the Epworth police violence.

“Zimbabwe police have disgraced themselves, again. And the UN should not use them any more,” she said.

Falanga was a torture by pro-Zanu-PF security officials, mostly around election time from 2000. Several opposition activists have been disabled by falanga.

Political violence eased after Zimbabwe embraced an inclusive government in 2009 and only isolated cases have been reported since then.

But now the political world has changed, rights activists say, because Zimbabwe has run out of money.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, ZLHR, is involved in securing release for most of those arrested.

“The problem we have is that because of high unemployment and cash shortages, it has become increasingly difficult for persons granted bail to pay it,” said Tinashe Mundawarara, manager of special projects at ZLHR.

Lack of cash and food in police cells are just two problems faced by those arrested.

The border violence began after Zimbabwe issued import permits ending free trade between the two countries. Zimbabwe is highly dependent on South African goods since its own manufacturing and agricultural sectors collapsed.

The state has not opposed bail for any of those arrested as magistrates say they are unemployed and without the resources to flee. At least four juveniles were released without having to pay bail.

The government is so short of money it has been paying public salaries late all year. In the past two months, even soldiers (always paid first) received pay several days late.

Last week, teachers, nurses and some other civil servants went on a two-day strike in protest at the late delivery of their June salaries. They have since been paid, union officials say.

Most banks, including South African and British banks in Zimbabwe, do not have enough cash to pay depositors, and all put limits on withdrawals.

Most regular South African exporters to Zimbabwe say they have not been paid for recent deliveries and will not allow any more goods to leave for the Beit Bridge border post until payments are resumed.

One of the reasons for the stay-away last week and protests by commuters was the never-ending roadblocks on most public roads.

Police stop taxis and fine them for the smallest infringements and sometimes on wrong charges, but the drivers do not have time or resources to challenge the accusations in court, and are forced to pay about R300, sometimes two or three times a day. The fines became so intrusive, some taxi drivers and commuters rebelled and there were open fights and stone throwing in the east of the city last week.

Motorists between Harare and Bulawayo regularly report they have to endure up to 20 roadblocks on the 430km journey.

Police told domestic media they had to extract money from those using roads to keep the force operational and because they say they are underpaid.

After all the arrests last week, analysts predict organisers of last Wednesday’s stay-away, called for by #ThisFlag social media, may find they have to abandon another this week as several organisers were arrested. One spent the weekend in cold, filthy, food-free police cells because his bail could not be organised before courts closed on Saturday.

#ThisFlag organiser Pastor Evan Mawarire spent Tuesday night in police cells after officers searched his house, church and office in the capital Harare as part of their investigations.

Mawarire was due to appear in court on Wednesday to face charges of inciting public violence, his lawyer said.

“He will appear in the magistrate’s court today (on Wednesday) at 8.30am,” his lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, said.

After his arrest, Mawarire supporters released a pre-recorded video urging Zimbabweans to stage another stay-away protest on Wednesday, although the early signs were that most people had not heeded the call.

Queues built up as normal at bus and taxi ranks to ferry people to work in the capital, while most businesses, including banks, were open.

Teachers reported for duty at most public schools, which are conducting mid-year examinations, while nurses and doctors were at work at state-run hospitals, according to Reuters reporters.

Meanwhile Rights body Amnesty International has lambasted Zimbabwe's government over the arrest of Mawarire.

“The arrest of Pastor Evan Mawarire appears to be a well calculated plan to intimidate him and other activists ahead of the national shutdown organised for tomorrow in an attempt to supress the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Southern Africa, said.

 

“Instead of suppressing dissenting voices, Zimbabwean authorities should be listening to protesters like Evan Mawarire. They have a right under Zimbabwe's constitution and international treaties ratified by Zimbabwe to express themselves, peacefully protest and defend their rights.”

Independent Foreign Service, Reuters and African News Agency

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