The High Court has issued an order compelling a state witness in the treason trail of three opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leaders to surrender equipment used to secretly videotape a meeting at which the MDC officials allegedly plotted to assassinate President Robert Mugabe. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, secretary-general Welshman Ncube and shadow minister for agriculture Renson Gasela are alleged to have met in Canada with representatives of Dickens and Madson, a Canadian political consultancy they allegedly attempted to hire to assassinate Mugabe.
Related Link:
Ben-Menashe witness charges daily rate
http://allafrica.com/stories/200303250698.html

On 24 March 2003, freelance journalist Stanley Karombo was released on Z$5,000 (approx. US$6) bail. Karombo was arrested on 20 March at the Mutare central police station at the instigation of Manicaland provincial police spokesperson Edmund Maingire. Karombo's lawyer, Peter Makombe, told MISA-Zimbabwe that his client was arrested under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), for allegedly practicing journalism without accreditation.

The Media Defence Fund and the Media Lawyers Network has expressed shock and outrage over the assault on lawyers, Gugulethu Moyo and Alec Muchadehama. "It has never been heard before that a lawyer can be arrested and detained for carrying out a duty imposed on him/her by the Constitution of Zimbabwe that grants everyone a right to legal representation," a statement said.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, which exists to assist victims of organised violence, has condemned unreservedly the recent violence that has been perpetrated by state agents on members of the public throughout Zimbabwe. This follows the stay-away called for by the main opposition party to express its deep concern at the ongoing deterioration of the state of the nation.

Philemon Bulawayo, a photographer with the Daily News, was arrested while taking pictures of police officers beating people in the Harare high-density suburb of Glen View. Zimbabwe was at a standstill from 18 to 19 March following a stay away call by the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.

Porta Farm, a 30-minute drive from the Harare city centre, is home to among some of Zimbabwe's poorest and most vulnerable citizens. It was meant to have been a temporary settlement, to accommodate the homeless cleared out of the capital by the image-conscious authorities when Queen Elizabeth II visited Harare to open the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting in 1991.

There is a mutually destructive stalemate between Zimbabwe’s illegitimate government on the one hand, and pro-democracy actors on the other. This destructive stalemate is inimical to regional stability and security, says a statement issued after a meeting held in South Africa in early March about the crisis in Zimbabwe.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has listed 15 urgent issues that the regime of President Robert Mugabe must address to avoid facing popular mass action by March 31.

It was a trip that had become almost routine. As a lawyer, Gugulethu Moyo was accustomed to visiting Harare police stations, but last Tuesday she walked into a nightmare when she attempted to secure the release of a photographer arrested while covering Zimbabwe's two-day national strike. The 28-year-old lawyer endured vicious beatings and two nights behind bars on the whim of the wife of Zimbabwe's army commander.

Over 250 people have been admitted to the main casualty wards in Harare since last Thursday. Many of the victims told how they were warned, during their attacks, not to report the incidents to hospitals or human rights organisations, says Zvakwana in their latest newsletter.
Related Link:
SA finally speaks up over Zim
http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/southern_africa/0,1009,55812,00.html

After a two-day anti-government strike, Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change yesterday vowed to escalate "mass action" to force President Mugabe's government to reform or leave office. The national strike was the biggest protest for more than two years against Robert Mugabe's 23-year rule, shuttng factories, shops, banks and other businesses in protest at alleged human rights abuses and the economic decline.
Related Links:
* Police fire tear gas to disperse crowd
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1084
* Protest fuelled by hunger
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1100&…
* Support for mass action
http://www.zvakwana.org/

“We write to ask for your views and possible assistance in trying to secure democracy and justice for the victims of the 1981-1987 Matebele atrocities committed by President Mugabe in the name of national security. The atrocities led to the deaths of over 30 000 citizens mainly of the Ndebele tribe, in a campaign Mugabe dubbed "Gukurahundi".”

Malaria and diarrhoea related diseases are likely to worsen the plight of Zimbabweans already battling to survive. This follows a year marked by floods, drought, and serious food shortages. According to the latest Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report by the UN Relief and Recovery Unit (RRU), there has been a sudden increase in malaria in Binga, Hurungwe and Kariba in the north west of the country and outbreaks have been reported in Bindura and Shamva districts in the north east.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of State for Information and Publicity Professor Jonathan Moyo has reiterated his intention to amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA). MISA-Zimbabwe however notes that the proposed amendments amount to nothing as far as democratizing the laws is concerned.

William Nyamangara, the managing director of Sovereign Publishers, and another company executive, Mhlabene Bhebhe, were detained at the Harare central police station on 11 March 2003, for allegedly printing subversive materials.

The International Bar Association (IBA) has called for the trial of Robert Mugabe for serious violations of international humanitarian law. The IBA addressed its call to all State Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC), each of whom has the authority to request that prosecution be initiated. The IBA urged that the first act of the ICC's Prosecutor should be directed at the alleged atrocities committed by Zimbabwe's President and his regime.

Zimbabwe will remain suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth until December when the Commonwealth Heads of Government meet in Nigeria to decide on a way forward, Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, said on Sunday.

In Zimbabwe 56% of the population is female and traditionally it is the mother who must provide sustenance despite meager budgets. We believe that it is the women who are at the end of the suffering chain and it is they who suffer in silence.

A behind-the-scenes succession battle appears to have begun following indications that senior ZANU-PF officials are exploring retirement scenarios for President Mugabe. Since the rigged March 2002 presidential election, the country has been heading towards state collapse. The economy is imploding, a government-created food crisis is turning Zimbabwe into a beggar nation and deepening state sponsored violence could degenerate into widespread unstructured conflict. At the same time, the international community has become even more divided. A new mediation effort is urgently needed that involves all relevant Zimbabwean stakeholders and aims to restore legitimacy to the government by creating a transitional administration, restoring the rule of law, finding an electoral compromise, reforming economic policies, ensuring genuine land reform, and creating an exit strategy for the president, argues the International Crisis Group.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and other civic organisations and political parties have called on the government to establish an independent electoral commission comprised of representatives from interested and relevant civic organisations. This call was made at a public hearing on the Electoral Amendment Bill, which was organised by the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs portfolio committee.