Police in Harare on the 22 April arrested and inhumanely assaulted, social justice activist Tinashe Lukas Chimedza. Tinashe had been billed to speak at an Education Rights Forum at Mt Pleasant Hall, in his capacity as the Zimbabwe nominee to the International Youth Parliament, whose topic was ‘Defending the Right to education, and Celebrating a legacy of Students Resistance’. Mr Tinashe was arrested on arrival at the venue, after being identified as one of the speakers.

Zimbabwean police have arrested the country's Finance Minister, Chris Kuruneri, on corruption charges. He has been accused of illegally dealing in foreign currency held outside the country, worth more than ZIM$6bn ($1.38m). He is the first senior official in President Robert Mugabe's government to be detained in a corruption crackdown.

Sixty-three people, 48 of them children, died from hunger last month in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, a health official was quoted as saying in a newspaper report on Friday. A top health official in the city, Zanele Hwalima, told the Zimbabwe Independent that "poverty, food shortages and inability to access nutrients" contributed to the deaths. Health officials in Bulawayo were not immediately available to confirm the figures.

After rolling out an armoury of anti-corruption measures, the government should broaden the anti-graft net to cover a wide cross-section of the economy if it is to earn plaudits for honesty and seriousness in its drive, commentators said this week. To bring back a semblance of credence to the anti-corruption drive, the crusade, which has so far been dismissed by critics as a smoke-screen ahead of the crucial 2005 Parliamentary elections, should cover key sectors, they said. The crusade should particularly cover the mining and agricultural sectors, among others.

This article considers the pivotal role that Zimbabwe’s diaspora could play in a post-Mugabe environment but points to the lack of action around such a forward-looking agenda or resources to support various aspects of Zimbabwe’s recovery.

The National Society for Human Rights says it is "alarmed" at the "Zimbabweanization" of not only the socio-economic and political, but also judicial, system in Namibia. "The Zimbabweanization of our judicial system, as seen in the ongoing erosion of judicial independence and circumvention of its effectiveness, becomes even more evident in what amounts to influencing intimidation of independence-minded Namibian judicial officers," said the NSHR in a press statement.

While corruption is evidently the talk of the day and infuriating everyone given its socio-economic implications, what is not easily appreciated is the fact that women and children are more affected by the scourge. Women are short changed in aspects of service delivery as they do not have the same economic clout to negotiate for qualitative services as their male counterparts. But countries that promote women's rights and improve their institutional frameworks have seen a marked decrease in corruption and their economies have actually boomed, says this commentary from the Zimbabwe Standard.

There are two possibilities for the parliamentary elections that the government has indicated will be held in less than a year's time, observes the International Crisis Group (ICG) in a new report. One is that a negotiated inter-party settlement or greatly intensified international pressure - or both - will produce the conditions for a free and fair electoral process. The other is that the ruling party will continue to stall on talks, rig the electoral process, increase state violence, and win a non-credible vote. "If the latter happens, Zimbabwe will probably be at the point of no return," says the ICG.

It has a reputation for being as calm as the lake that bears its name, but as Malawi heads into its third multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in May, serial attacks allegedly perpetrated by ruling party youth militias against opposition leaders and journalists cast doubts over the stability of the sliver-shaped central African country. The Malawi Human Rights Commission has warned that rising incidents of pre-election violence by the Young Democrats, the militant youth wing of the ruling United Democratic Front, is polarising the country along ethnic and regional lines. Political analysts, furthermore, worry that voters are losing faith in the democratic process. The upcoming vote marks the second consecutive poll to be marred by ruling- party violence.

Recent comments on press freedom from Information Minister Jonathan Moyo clearly confirmed the suspicion that repressive media laws reflect government's pathological terror of a free media environment in Zimbabwe, says the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ). According to media reports, Moyo dismissed the universally held doctrine of democratic societies that media freedom is an indivisible element of freedom of expression when he addressed diplomats at a luncheon. He told the diplomats that Zimbabwe did not believe press freedom was a basic constitutionally guaranteed human right because it was merely "the baggage of unipolarism" that "only came about after the end of the Cold War".

A Zimbabwean human rights body has criticised an African-Asian grouping which shot down a draft resolution on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe for the second year at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Geneva last Thursday. The draft resolution, mooted by the European Union and supported by the United States, would have expressed "deep concern" at what it said were "continuing violations of human rights in Zimbabwe, in particular politically motivated violence, including killings, torture, sexual and other forms of violence against women, incidents of arbitrary arrest, restrictions on the independence of the judiciary, and restrictions on the freedoms of opinion, expression, association and assembly".

At first glance Lupane seems no different from other rural districts in Zimbabwe. Its tranquillity, coupled with a canopy of luxuriant forest, gives no indication of the recurring droughts that plague the area. Situated 170 kilometres south-west of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second city, this is a place where appearance masks, rather than reflects, reality. Ironically, it is the district’s lesser revealed life and issues the media and politicians are now interested in. So too are observers and human rights officials, who have zoomed in on the district as the upcoming parliamentary by-election - scheduled for May 15-16 - draws near. The government of President Robert Mugabe is determined to win this one seat, after it lost all eight in the province to the opposition in the 2000 parliamentary elections.

More than 1500 farm workers and their families have been evicted by the Zimbabwe government from an export-processing farm in eastern Zimbabwe. The farm workers were thrown off Kondozi farm over the Easter weekend by police, who claimed that the property belonged to a state-owned land agency. The raid came a day after Information Minister Jonathan Moyo threatened that the farm would be taken from the private owner, despite a high court ruling in the farmer's favour.

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe should be held accountable for crimes against humanity, delegates attending the Second World Bar Conference of the Forum for Barristers and Advocates heard in Cape Town on Tuesday. "What is happening there could be summed up as a gross violation of human rights and Robert Mugabe and his henchmen must be made accountable for crimes against humanity," said Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

Yes our children are hungry, but what good is beating empty pots in protest against the exorbitant food prices? The idea of civil disobedience is forthcoming but will it really achieve anything? What needs to be taken into consideration is whom we are addressing the issues to and do they care? As citizens we should first understand the flow of our economy, that is, where is it coming from and where is it going to. Until we can answer these questions what arguments are we going to present to the rulers of the country? Maybe we all need fast track courses in business administration and economics to get the grounding of the economic flow of Zimbabwe? As it stands hyper-inflation is the result of high food prices.

How can we develop the economy first? After that how do we stabilise it? Then price controls. We need to start from the root of the problem. Where did we go wrong? What were our main sources of income for the country ten years ago? What are they now? Are we importing more than we are exporting? Are we now importing more than we used to?

Besides, if we are importing the basic things then we are looking at a very serious situation that requires much more than words and disobedience. How valuable are our exports if we have any at all? How are we proposing to rectify the problem? Do we have a reasonable percentage of investors? What are the investments in and how beneficial is it to Zimbabwe? Do we have more companies than we did ten years ago, and if so what good are they to our every day life? Where are the taxes going? Who is really benefiting in Zimbabwe? Are the rich, richer and the poor, poorer? How are we fairing on an African scale, are we lagging behind? If so how far behind are we from other African nations? How are we relating with the rest of the world and vice versa?

Bearing in mind that Zimbabwe has become a lawless totalitarian state, is putting our efforts in a worthwhile cause? We also need to realise that lobbying for reduction in food prices may have negative consequences. There is a much higher price to pay in all this and are we prepared for this? As a civil society what other methods are there of making food more available to the country? How else can we implement a system that is more responsive to our needs as a nation. I would say we are not yet ready because we are thinking with our "tummies" and not our brains.

What good is it to have a whole day of marching, screaming and shouting to have food prices reduced when it is impossible under the circumstances. We need to think rationally and act rationally like a nation with focused goals. We all need to start working hard to produce results for the benefit of the country.

We need to kill the element of corruption, because corruption is for short-term success and long-term failure. We need to be united and generate ideas from one another. We need to be more analytical about our surroundings for the continuance of the prosperity of our nation. We need real and well-thought strategies because it is never too late.

The economy has been scared so much already. These food prices only reflect the value of Zimbabwe’s economy. Much more needs to be done than just marching the streets screaming and shouting for food reductions. Is there no chance for a referendum? It may be a starting point to see how we fair in our requests and where we stand with those in power.

I believe that Zimbabwe is no longer as democratic as it seemed a while ago, therefore most peaceful movements in the last three to four years have resulted in damage to property, animals and people being killed and injured. So we should ask ourselves this, if those in power are fully fed and sheltered they will just look at the rest of the nation as a bunch of "hungry and angry" men. I am not trying to discourage people from expressing their feelings but it requires for us think carefully and logically.

We need to convince the police and the army that we are sailing in the same boat because by the end of the day we are still living in the same country. The police and the army are members of our own families, our fathers, mothers, children, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, they are also our friends, neighbours, fellow workmen, most of all they are human beings, Zimbabweans for that matter.

But can they stand up and really support their purpose for the country, which is to protects the nation from criminals, to act in pursuance of the rule of law, to honour their obligations with full respect for the law. What is the role of law in our society? Is it the corruption we encounter in our everyday life? The police, the politicians, as well as the society at large are cheating the system and therefore endangering our economy. Members of law enforcement need to realise that they have had a larger part to play in this downfall due to failure in their duty to protect citizens. It is not too late to make a change of things and reduce flaws in the system, particularly corruption. Is a civil disobedience the best that can be done? It is now time to wake up.

Monica, Newcastle

Zimbabwe's Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) plans to intensify livestock and game ranching programmes in Matabeleland South and North to promote agricultural production on land unsuited to crop farming. ZCFU president Davison Mugabe told journalists in Bulawayo that the union had tasked its regional offices in Matabeleland to consult local farmers in designing proposals for both game and cattle ranching projects.

Malnutrition due to the ongoing food crisis, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and overcrowded urban areas are all contributing to a rise in tuberculosis (TB) infections in Zimbabwe. Nicholas Siziba, the national coordinator of the Ministry of Health's special TB programme, sounded the alarm last week while visiting Matabeleland South province - one of the worst-affected in terms of TB rates.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has criticised government plans to acquire all privately-owned game parks and conservancies, saying the move is tantamount to punishing farmers who provide sanctuary for animals. WWF has since made an appeal to the Presidential Land Resettlement Committee, saying land acquisition should be based on sound ecological and business principles.

Police have launched a massive hunt to locate Zvakwana, a pro-democracy group that is calling for the removal from power of President Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwe Independent heard this week. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said they were worried about the activities of Zvakwana. "I can't speak about the hunt for them off hand. I will have to confirm," said Bvudzijena. "These people (Zvakwana), whoever they are, have been hiding and spreading material and literature aimed at inciting members of the public to lawlessness. We would be interested in talking to them."

That the ruling ZANU PF party won the crucial by-election in Zengeza occasioned no surprise at all to those who had witnessed the violence, intimidation, vote-buying and other serious irregularities that occurred in the constituency, both in the run-up the election and while it was in progress. “The results of the Zengeza by-election do not surprise us in view of the gross intimidation, violence and the callous murder of our member”, commented the MDC spokesman, Paul Themba Nyathi. The murder he was referring to involved the shooting of a youth at the home of the opposition MDC candidate, James Makore. Against such a background of bloody violence the reference by many reporters to the need to “level the playing fields” between the ruling party and the opposition is surely a misnomer. Playing fields suggest a game in progress, and that between players who accept that the game is to proceed according to certain well defined rules. What we have in Zimbabwe today should rather be called be called the killing fields.