No image available
/ 22 May 2008

Zimbabwe: Where to now?

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.

No image available
/ 19 May 2008

MDC says snipers are lying in wait for Tsvangirai

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.

No image available
/ 15 May 2008

Criminals fingered for xenophobic strife

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.

No image available
/ 9 May 2008

Zimbabwe opposition rejects presidential run-off

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.

No image available
/ 3 May 2008

Mugabe to contest Zimbabwe run-off

Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe accepted that the opposition’s Morgan Tsvangirai won more votes in the presidential election and will contest a run-off in a political battle that has raised fears of bloodshed. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) cried foul after Zimbabwe’s electoral body announced on Friday that he had won 47,9% of the vote

No image available
/ 30 April 2008

Zimbabwe gloats over UN stalemate

The Zimbabwe government savoured a rare diplomatic victory on Wednesday after the United Nations Security Council failed to agree on how to respond to the country’s post-election crisis. Western countries such as former colonial power Britain had been trying to steer the council to adopt a common strategy on the situation in Zimbabwe.

No image available
/ 28 April 2008

MDC to brief UN Security Council

Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will take its claim of victory in last month’s election over President Robert Mugabe to the United Nations Security Council this week. MDC secretary general Tendai Biti will lead a delegation to New York, where he will tell a Security Council session that the party is not prepared to partake in a presidential run-off.

No image available
/ 24 April 2008

China recalls arms amid Zim crisis

A shipment of Chinese arms bound for Zimbabwe will be recalled after South African workers refused to unload the vessel and other neighbouring countries barred it from their ports, China said on Thursday. The recall came in addition to Western pressure over Zimbabwe’s election crisis.

No image available
/ 20 April 2008

MDC: There is a ‘war’ being waged in Zim

Zimbabwe’s opposition on Sunday accused the authorities of waging a ”war” that has killed 10 people and injured 500 others since disputed parliamentary and presidential elections. ”Ten people have so far been killed in Zimbabwe since March 29,” Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change, said.

No image available
/ 14 April 2008

Zim recount leaves MDC worried

Zimbabwe’s official presidential election results may remain secret for at least another week while substantial numbers of votes are recounted in a move the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says is designed to overturn fraudulently Robert Mugabe’s defeat and his Zanu-PF party’s defeat in Parliament.

No image available
/ 12 April 2008

No crisis in Zimbabwe, says Mbeki

South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday there was ”no crisis” in Zimbabwe after holding his first face-to-face talks with Robert Mugabe since the country’s disputed March 29 elections. Mbeki had stopped in Harare on his way to join Southern African leaders in Zambia for an emergency meeting on Zimbabwe.

No image available
/ 9 April 2008

Judge to rule on Zim poll delay next week

A judge on Wednesday wrapped up hearing an opposition petition demanding the immediate release of Zimbabwe’s presidential election results and said he would deliver his judgement on Monday. ”Conscious of the urgency of the matter, I should be ready for a judgement on Monday afternoon,” Justice Tendai Uchena told the High Court in Harare.

No image available
/ 8 April 2008

‘Don’t wait for dead bodies in Harare’

Zimbabwe’s opposition slammed the ”deafening silence” on Tuesday of Africa in the aftermath of the country’s elections, warning of blood on the streets unless pressure is brought to bear on Robert Mugabe. Meanwhile, party lawyers argued at the High Court for an immediate announcement of the result of the presidential poll.

No image available
/ 6 April 2008

Zim court delays election ruling

A Zimbabwe court delayed until Monday a ruling on whether it could order the release of presidential election results, which President Robert Mugabe is trying to hold up. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition says Mugabe wants to delay the result to help him find a way out of the biggest crisis of his 28-year rule.

No image available
/ 6 April 2008

MDC presses court for Zim election result

Zimbabwe’s opposition went to court on Sunday to try to force the release of presidential election results after President Robert Mugabe’s party called for a delay and a recount. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has won the vote and should be declared president.

No image available
/ 4 April 2008

Mugabe gathers top lieutenants

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and top aides thrashed out his survival prospects on Friday as the opposition upped pressure for presidential poll results to be declared after its parliamentary victory. The Movement for Democratic Change has lodged a court application demanding an end to the silence over the outcome of March 29’s presidential ballot.

No image available
/ 3 April 2008

Zim awaits presidential vote results

Zimbabweans waited anxiously on Thursday for an end to a deafening official silence over the outcome of their presidential election, after the opposition took control of Parliament. The country’s electoral commission wrapped up final results on the parliamentary contest in the early hours, in which President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party lost its majority.

No image available
/ 2 April 2008

Mugabe’s party loses control of Parliament

President Robert Mugabe’s party lost control of Zimbabwe’s Parliament on Wednesday and the opposition said that he had been defeated for the first time in a presidential poll. Official results, which have trickled out slowly since Saturday’s election, showed that Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF could not outvote the combined opposition seats in Parliament.

No image available
/ 2 April 2008

‘Zimbabwe is on the precipice’

Zimbabwe’s opposition was in contact with senior military and intelligence officials on Tuesday night to persuade them to respect the results of the election as pressure grew on Robert Mugabe, the President, to recognise defeat. Sources in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the contacts were aimed at winning the security establishment’s support.

No image available
/ 1 April 2008

No deal, say Zim opposition and govt

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe government both denied on Tuesday that they were in talks to arrange the resignation of President Robert Mugabe. At a news conference on Tuesday evening, Tsvangirai confirmed, however, for the first time personally that his party had won the elections.

No image available
/ 1 April 2008

Vote-rigging fears grow in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s ruling party edged ahead of the main opposition on Tuesday with over half of parliamentary election results released as concerns grew that President Robert Mugabe was trying to rig the vote. Riot police in armoured carriers patrolled two of Harare’s opposition strongholds overnight and residents were told to stay off the normally bustling streets.