Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, claimed on Friday that President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party no longer ruled the country. This is technically true. The Movement for Democratic Change won a majority of seats in Parliament after the first round of elections on March 29.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai launched a scathing attack on President Robert Mugabe’s rule of Zimbabwe on Friday, saying he had transformed a country rich in natural resources into a ”state of despair”. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) chief also vowed there would be no amnesty for perpetrators of political violence if he takes power.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will never vacate his office for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai even if he loses a run-off election next month, his wife said Thursday. Grace Mugabe told followers of her husband’s Zanu-PF party that Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change would not be allowed to take power under any circumstances.
The United Nations’s top human rights official on Wednesday issued a strong condemnation of the killing of opposition political activists in Zimbabwe. ”It is hard to get a very precise picture of the full range of the violence, or the exact number of politically motivated extra-judicial killings,” said Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
A month before a presidential election run-off, Zimbabwe’s opposition said on Tuesday conditions were not conducive for a free and fair poll, but still expressed confidence it would oust Robert Mugabe. "As of yesterday [Monday], at least 50 of our supporters had been killed in violent attacks." the Movement for Democratic Change said.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will respect the will of voters if they end his 28-year rule in a run-off election against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, the state-run Herald newspaper reported on Monday. Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the March 29 presidential poll but failed to win an absolute majority.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Sunday accused the United States of political interference and threatened to expel its ambassador, as his party began its campaign for next month’s election run-off. He told supporters in Harare that the Western allies wanted to control Zimbabwe’s resources.
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.
The Zimbabwe government on Thursday denied taking delivery of a consignment of weapons from China after a ship carrying the arms was prevented from unloading its cargo. ”The shipment did not dock and there has not been delivery as yet,” Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi told journalists.
Zimbabwe is on a path of renewal. On March 29 the baby was conceived. The birth pains and the labour might be arduous, but we are absolutely certain that the baby will be delivered. To anticipate the future we need to understand our past. The Zimbabwe crisis is inextricably linked to the nature of the post-colonial state.
China on Wednesday denied that a Chinese ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe had managed to get its cargo to the landlocked African nation, saying the ship and the weapons were on their way back to China. Zimbabwe would not comment at the weekend on reports that his government had finally taken delivery of a consignment of arms.
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.
It’s just another sunny afternoon in Alex, and foreigners are taking the opportunity to salvage what is left of their possessions. When the sun goes down, they’ll need to be back in their tents behind the palisade fence of the parking lot of the Alexandra police station, which has been turned into a tent city.
Zimbabwe’s ruling party on Tuesday dismissed as pure fantasy opposition claims that President Robert Mugabe’s military intelligence was plotting to assassinate opposition leadership. ”The allegations … have no foundation whatsoever,” Nathan Shamuyarira, spokesperson for the ruling Zanu-PF, was quoted by the state-run Herald as saying.
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.
Criminal elements were behind xenophobic violence in Alexandra, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Thursday. Speaking to journalists after a meeting with community and provincial leaders, she said not only foreign nationals were attacked, but South Africans were also forced out of their houses.
The horror facing Movement for Democratic Change members in Zimbabwe became apparent this week.
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.