With his rival back in the country, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe fought for his political survival on Sunday as he kicked off his election campaign. Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai arrived home on Saturday after a six-week absence vowing to end the three decade rule of post-independence leader Mugabe in a run-off election scheduled for June 27.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe on Saturday for an election run-off with President Robert Mugabe and said the veteran leader wanted to ”decimate” Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) structures. Tsvangirai arrived at Harare airport aboard a regular South African Airways flight at about 10.30am GMT.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was on Saturday to return home to begin campaigning ahead of a presidential run-off election. ”Mr Tsvangirai is looking forward to going back. He has achieved what he wanted to achieve with his regional diplomacy,” his spokesperson said late on Friday.
Anti-immigrant violence has spread to Cape Town, where mobs attacked Somalis and Zimbabweans and looted their homes and shops, police said on Friday. Hundreds of African migrants were evacuated overnight from a squatter camp near Cape Town, the hub of South Africa’s prized tourism industry.
A Somali community in Johannesburg on Thursday accused police of firing live ammunition at its members as more xenophobic attacks were reported in Gauteng and former Cabinet minister Kader Asmal questioned claims of ‘third force’ involvement in the attacks.
President Robert Mugabe accused Zimbabwe’s opposition of embarking on ”an evil crusade” as he stepped up claims on Wednesday that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is to blame for mounting violence. ”The MDC opposition, formed at the behest of Britain, is on an evil crusade of dividing our people,” Mugabe said.
There is a growing danger of a coup by military hardliners in Zimbabwe to prevent opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from toppling President Robert Mugabe, a leading think tank said on Wednesday. The International Crisis Group called for African mediation leading to a national unity government led by Tsvangirai as the best way to resolve the crisis.
Zimbabwe’s opposition accused Robert Mugabe’s military intelligence on Monday of trying to wipe out its leadership. With opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai refusing to return home over fears for his safety, his number two, Tendai Biti, claimed he was one of dozens of top figures in the Movement for Democratic Change who were on a hit list.
Zimbabwe’s opposition accused the government’s military intelligence division on Monday of plotting to assassinate party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is due to contest an election run-off with President Robert Mugabe. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai postponed his return to Zimbabwe on Saturday after his party said it had discovered a plot to assassinate him.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called for an international peacekeeping force to be deployed in Zimbabwe to prevent any violence during a presidential run-off ballot next month. Zimbabwe is due to hold the delayed second-round ballot on June 27, when the opposition hopes to oust veteran leader Robert Mugabe.
When Gibson Nyandoro raised his arm and slowly unclenched his fist to make the open-palmed salute of Zimbabwe’s opposition at a rally eight weeks ago, it was a moment so loaded with symbolism that it stilled the crowd. This weekend, Nyandoro’s body lies rotting near the army barracks where he was tortured to death.
Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai will not return to Zimbabwe on Saturday, fearing an assassination attempt, an MDC spokesperson said. Tsvangirai had been expected to return home on Saturday ahead of a run-off election scheduled for June 27.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was to return home on Saturday bidding to deliver a knockout blow to weakened President Robert Mugabe in a run-off election scheduled for June 27. Mugabe acknowledged on Friday that he had suffered an electoral disaster in losing a first-round poll against Tsvangirai on March 29.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai vowed on Friday to lift his country out of the ”darkness” under President Robert Mugabe and voiced confidence he will win a run-off presidential poll. The comments came shortly after his party said Tsvangirai would go home on Saturday after more than a month away following disputed elections.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will return to Zimbabwe on Saturday after spending more than a month out of the country following disputed elections, a party spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced on Friday that the run-off presidential election will take place on June 27.
A Zimbabwe teachers’ union leader was detained by police on Thursday after his organisation publicised a list of attacks on its members since March’s disputed elections. Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, was picked up at the Harare High Court where he was attending a case of fellow union leaders.
Zimbabwe’s opposition reacted furiously on Thursday to the prospect of a run-off poll being delayed until the end of July, accusing authorities of flouting the law to help President Robert Mugabe cling to power. The Movement for Democratic Change feared the delay would be used to intensify a campaign of violence and intimidation.
Zimbabwe’s government is to invite the opposition to form cross-party teams to probe acts of political violence in the aftermath of the country’s March elections, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Wednesday. It is the first time such an idea has been floated by the ruling party, which has been accused of orchestrating a campaign of terror.
Zimbabwe’s run-off presidential election has been delayed and will now be held within 90 days of May 2, when official results of the disputed vote were released, Zimbabwe’s government announced on Wednesday. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat President Mugabe in the presidential poll, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off.
A report by six former South African National Defence Force generals might lead to action being taken to address the violence in Zimbabwe, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday. He said President Thabo Mbeki was waiting for a report from the generals on the violence before considering appropriate action.
Conditions are neither safe nor fair yet for a run-off election in Zimbabwe in which the opposition hopes to unseat President Robert Mugabe, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said on Wednesday. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is to face Mugabe in the second round after failing to secure an absolute majority in a disputed poll.
A pro-government rights outfit in Zimbabwe has urged President Robert Mugabe to consider declaring a state of emergency to stem a tide of post-election political violence, state media said on Wednesday. Levels of violence in Zimbabwe are escalating and could reach crisis proportions, the United Nations has warned.
Levels of post-election violence in Zimbabwe are escalating and could reach crisis proportions, the United Nations senior representative in the country said on Tuesday. ”These incidents of violence are occurring in communal farming and urban areas and there are indications that the level of violence is escalating,” Agustino Zacarias said.
Before Zimbabwe’s disputed elections in March, Z-billion could get you a room in a five-star hotel. Today, Gabriel Matope hopes it will buy him two litres of cooking oil — if he can find some. More than six weeks after the poll, Zimbabwe’s economic crisis is deepening every day and pushing ordinary citizens to despair.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s government intensified a crackdown against its political opponents on Monday, as the leader of the opposition prepared to return home to contest a run-off election. Journalists, union leaders and hundreds of political activists have been arrested since general elections in March.
Zimbabwe will not invite election observers from Western countries to monitor a presidential run-off unless they remove sanctions, state media said on Monday. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Zimbabwe would not bow to pressure to invite election monitors from Western countries and the United Nations.
President Thabo Mbeki’s role as a mediator in the Zimbabwean crisis took another knock after disclosures that he ignored the advice of two judges he commissioned to observe that country’s 2002 general elections. Mbeki commissioned judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke to observe the controversial Zimbabwean election in 2002.
Zimbabwe braced on Sunday for the return home of the country’s opposition leader, who has vowed to face veteran President Robert Mugabe in a run-off election despite the risk of further violence. Morgan Tsvangirai, who beat Mugabe in a first round of voting in March, is expected in Harare in the next few days.
The leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition group said on Saturday he would contest a run-off against Robert Mugabe after disputed elections on March 29. But Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he would only participate in the run-off if international observers and media had full access to ensure the poll is free and fair.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke on Friday with African leaders and former United Nations chief Kofi Annan for their insight into how to end Zimbabwe’s election crisis, her spokesperson said. Rice spoke to Botswana President Ian Khama, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
Regional mediator and South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Zimbabwe on Friday for talks on the country’s disputed elections ahead of a possible run-off that has raised concerns of further violence. The South African leader’s ”quiet diplomacy” approach towards the crisis in Zimbabwe has triggered criticism at home and abroad.
Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will not participate in a presidential run-off against Robert Mugabe, a top party official said on Thursday, after reports of escalating violence deepened a post-election crisis. The MDC believes its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the outright majority in the March 29 election.