Armed groups attacked and seriously wounded at least three white farmers in Zimbabwe after last Friday’s run-off presidential election.
Pressure mounted on the Zimbabwe government on Thursday to admit foreign observers to oversee a presidential election run-off amid fresh claims that pro-government militias were instilling terror in communities in the countryside. Meanwhile, there was still no word on when a second round should take place.
President Robert Mugabe’s party has failed to secure control of Zimbabwe’s Parliament in a partial recount of the March 29 election, results showed on Saturday, handing the ruling party its first defeat in 28 years. Results of a parallel presidential poll have not been released and Mugabe has been preparing for a run-off against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition.
President Robert Mugabe appeared unlikely on Saturday to win back control of Parliament in a partial vote recount after a police crackdown on members of the opposition, which accuses him of stealing the poll. About 13 seats have been recounted so far. Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF must win nine of 10 remaining constituencies to take back control of Parliament.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Friday rejected foreign criticism of his country as international pressure mounted for him to stand down. "Zimbabwe has a history and heritage and it will never be afraid. Zimbabwe is not for sale and Zimbabwe will never be a colony again," Mugabe said at the opening of an international trade fair in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe is in a state of crisis, the African National Congress (ANC) national working committee said on Monday. ”The ANC regards [the ruling] Zanu-PF as an ally. However, it is concerned with the state of crisis that Zimbabwe is in and perceives this as negative for the entire Southern African Development Community region,” said spokesperson Jesse Duarte.
Zimbabwe opposition supporters face the prospect of a heavy crackdown by security forces on Tuesday if they heed a call to launch a general strike to show their disgust at long-delayed election results. Police have been deployed throughout the country in anticipation of the strike.
Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis intensified on Monday after a high court judge threw out an opposition demand for the immediate release of results from the March 29 presidential polls. The opposition reacted angrily to the ruling, urging Zimbabweans to show their disgust at the hold-up by launching a general strike from Tuesday.
President Robert Mugabe will boycott a weekend Southern African summit on the Zimbabwe crisis, state radio said on Friday as the opposition called for a general strike to press for the release of election results. Mugabe signalled a further clampdown in the country with a ban on all political rallies.
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.
Zimbabwean police have arrested a New York Times correspondent who was covering the country’s election, the newspaper said on Thursday. ”We do not know where he is being held, or what, if any, charges have been made against him,” the newspaper’s executive editor, Bill Keller, said in a statement.
The opposition claimed victory on Sunday in Zimbabwe’s election as concerns mounted over a delay to the results of a contest that could see President Robert Mugabe turfed out of office. Meanwhile, the election was a peaceful and credible expression of the will of the people, observers from the Southern African Development Community said.
Eager to vote, Zimbabweans began lining up before dawn on Saturday for elections that present President Robert Mugabe with the toughest political challenge of his 28 years in power. The house of a ruling Zanu-PF parliamentary candidate in Bulawayo was reportedly bombed earlier in the day, shattering its windows.
A war of words has erupted ahead of election day in Zimbabwe this Saturday, with the opposition saying the government has already rigged the vote. These elections were ”never meant to be an even playing field”, said Nkosana Moyo, coordinator of presidential hopeful Simba Makoni’s campaign, in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe’s justice minister has dismissed as ”utter rubbish” claims by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that the political playing field is uneven ahead of national polls. Zimbabweans are preparing to elect a new president, Parliament and local councillors on March 29, but the MDC has expressed fears of vote rigging.
Zimbabwe police on Tuesday arrested opposition officials and a pilot delivering campaign material for Saturday’s general election at a small airport just outside Harare. An opposition parliamentary candidate representing Morgan Tsvangirai’s faction of the Movement for Democratic Change was among those arrested.
No image available
/ 29 January 2008
A Zimbabwe court on Tuesday ordered the release of a controversial British property tycoon who was arrested last week for breaching foreign-exchange laws and possessing pornography, his lawyer said. Van Hoogstraten was arrested last Thursday at his Harare home.
No image available
/ 27 January 2008
The notorious property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten has been arrested in Zimbabwe on charges of breaking the troubled country’s currency exchange laws and possessing pornography. Police detained Van Hoogstraten after a raid on his home last Thursday, charging him with collecting rent on his properties in foreign currency.
No image available
/ 23 January 2008
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party was given permission on Wednesday to stage a protest rally against President Robert Mugabe after its leader Morgan Tsvangirai was briefly detained by police. Police had slapped a blanket prohibition on the protest called by the Movement for Democratic (MDC) as a show of strength.
No image available
/ 31 December 2007
President Robert Mugabe’s spokesperson has accused former colonial power Britain and other Western countries of sabotaging Zimbabwe’s efforts to turn around its economy by offering a safe haven to criminals. The comments came after an MP from Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party, David Butau, fled to Britain last week.
No image available
/ 30 December 2007
A legislator in Zimbabwe’s ruling party has fled to Britain, fearing arrest in a police probe of foreign-currency payments he made last month, official media reported on Sunday. The state-owned Sunday Mail quoted unnamed sources as saying police wanted to interview David Butau, the Zanu-PF MP for a northern constituency.
No image available
/ 28 December 2007
Two sons of a former ruling party MP have been arrested on charges of siphoning about -million out of Zimbabwe as police in the country start targeting people linked to President Robert Mugabe’s powerful Zanu-PF, reports said on Friday. Police have also placed the head of the parliamentary finance committee on their wanted list.
No image available
/ 8 November 2007
Zimbabwe’s Attorney General has been arrested and charged with corruption in connection with allegations he promised to help a fugitive banker who had fled the Southern African nation, police said. Attorney General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele was arrested on Tuesday and then released after a statement was recorded.