As the world, including Zimbabwe, commemorates International Women’s Day,
members of WOZA find little to celebrate. As organisations, both local and international, take the opportunity afforded by International Women’s Day to speak out about the need for gender equality, respect for women’s right and an end to violence, WOZA joins the chorus. Yet we understand that women in Zimbabwe, and Africa as a whole, need much more than rhetoric – they need action. And actions speak louder than words.

cc Human rights activist Mary Ndlovu considers the possible outcomes of a four-week-old ‘unholy alliance between Zimbabwe’s former ruling party Zanu PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) and the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) into a ‘Government of National Unity’ (GNU). Already the GNU has survived the arrest and incarceration of senior MDC leaders, Zanu PF’s persistent failure to implement major clauses of the power-sharing agreement on which the government is based, and a car accident widely perceived as an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, which killed his wife.

Some have been critical of the MDC’s decision to enter into a power-sharing agreement with Zanu PF before a fairer compromise was reached. But, notes Ndlovu, with the countrywide collapse of public services – from schools to electricity, hospitals, water treatment and banking – many Zimbabweans on the ground believed it was necessary for the MDC to get inside the government to begin the process of reconstruction.

There is cause for pessimism. Zanu PF hardliners seem determined to sabotage the GNU rather than work with the MDC to build Zimbabwe. Some say the MDC has been able to accomplish little since its swearing-in, and that the longer they are unable make progress on disputed issues, the more they will lose credibility and attract criticism from former supporters. Others fear the MDC will be swallowed by Zanu PF’s culture of corruption and cronyism, with Mercedes Benzes rolling out for both boys and girls alike.

But there is also cause for hope. Optimists believe that the combination of the finance ministry and several important service industries are enough for the MDC to show the people that they are concerned and are prepared to commit themselves to work feverishly to begin the formidable task of reconstruction.

Moreover, adds Ndlovu, rumours abound that the military top-brass are using the detainees as pawns or bargaining chips to obtain amnesty for their crimes, afraid to rely on the forces they command. Optimists believe hardliners won’t be able to hold the country hostage forever, as subtle power shifts begin to show themselves on the ground with a large percentage of intelligence officers and lower-ranking soldiers said to be disillusioned with Zanu PF and welcoming of change.

Nevertheless, Ndlovu is critical of the MDC’s failure to make any attempt to mobilise people to demonstrate the departure of the old and arrival of the new, with the task left to others like students and civil society groups such as WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise) to test the waters and push the police to take a position.

It is unclear whether Tsvangirai’s injuries and bereavement will create a dangerous hiatus, causing the promise of the GNU to dissipate. What we do know, however, Ndlovu contends, is that each small step will be difficult and concessions will only be won through determination, perseverance and belief that progress can be achieved. And that belief can create reality.

cc Economic sanctions against Zimbabwe are worsening the plight of ordinary citizens in an already harsh climate and should be lifted immediately, urges an ‘Appeal for Zimbabwe’ launched in Mali in February. Signatories to the petition declared that drinkable water, food and medicine must ‘cease to be deployed as weapons of war’, and reminded the UK, the US and the EU ‘of the exorbitant social and human cost of the punitive measures’ they have used in a bid to drive regime change in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is grappling with 94 per cent unemployment, the highest inflation rates in the world and food shortages affecting an estimated seven million people.

President Barack Obama has extended for another year U.S. sanctions that target Zimbabwe's president and others linked to him, saying some people are continuing to undermine the country's democratic processes. The White House issued the notice on Wednesday, the same day that Zimbabwe's former opposition leader called for an end to political oppression and police violence in his first parliamentary address as prime minister.

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was injured and his wife killed in a car crash today outside Harare, officials from his Movement for Democratic Change party said.

Tsvangirai was with his wife, Susan, a party official and a driver at the time of the crash, the prime minister’s spokesman, James Maridadi, said in a telephone interview from Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. His injuries aren’t believed to be critical, Maridadi said.

Thousands of Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa have been displaced after an order by the Department of Home of Affairs for them to vacate a field in Musina where they have been living for several months. The order has seen some of the refugees leave the large open makeshift living quarters, known as “The Showground”, which Government claimed had become infested with germs and disease.

Her small tattered book is full of lists of orders for goods such as beer, maize-meal and chemicals. On another page are addresses and phone numbers of store managers while, on another, a list of names has been jotted down along with corresponding amounts. "This is my accounting book. It has my orders for goods that I am supposed to go and buy for my clients in Botswana, as well as a list of people who have paid and also those who haven't, plus those goods that are in short supply," Amai Towe, a Harare-based cross-border trader, told IPS with a satisfied tone.

The Botswana government has denied reports that it has a bailout plan for crisis-torn Zimbabwe. Botswana Finance Minister, Mr Baledzi Gaolathe told the weekly Echo newspaper that reports that his country, South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia have agreed to give emergency funding to bankroll Zimbabwe’s coalition government are false.

On 11 February at a ceremony at State House in Harare, presided over by President Robert Mugabe, the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and the two Deputy Prime Ministers, Thokozani Khupe and Arthur Mutambara, were sworn in. Addressing the small audience of invited guests, President Mugabe said: “I offer my hand of friendship and co-operation, warm co-operation and solidarity in the service of our great country Zimbabwe. If yesterday we were adversaries ... today we stand in unity. It's a victory for Zimbabwe.”

The Africa Democracy Forum (ADF), a network of over 450 democracy and human rights organizations throughout Africa, expresses its solidarity with courageous civil society groups in Zimbabwe as a number of political, social, economic, and humanitarian challenges still face the country’s critical transitional period.

Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe has dismissed as "nonsense" Western demands that he free up Zimbabwe's media in order to get sanctions lifted. In an interview with Zimbabwe television aired late on Thursday, Mugabe also denied foreign media reports that his family recently bought a luxury home in Hong Kong, and criticised Britain for plans to help some of its nationals leave Zimbabwe.

The National Executive of the MDC will meet Friday afternoon to discuss ongoing violations of the unity deal, that brought their party and ZANU PF into the shaky coalition government. On Tuesday Mugabe unilaterally announced the appointment of ministerial permanent secretaries without consulting the MDC. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his Deputy Arthur Mutambara then convened a press conference Wednesday to declare the appointments null and void.

Although cholera fatality rates and new cases are on the decline, the epidemic is still not under control. As of 26 February, 84,027 suspected cases, including 3,894 deaths had been reported by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, with a slight drop in the fatality rates to 4.6%.

Teachers in Zimbabwe have agreed to end their strike after the government promised to review salaries, and to appeal for substantial aid for schools. The teachers had been demanding their salaries in foreign currency to get around Zimbabwe's massive inflation. But they said the new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had been willing to listen to their grievances.

Five members, four women and one man, will spend the night in Harare Central
Police Station tonight following their arrest this morning whilst trying to hand
in a petition to the Minister of Education. Lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights have not been allowed access to their clients so the details of
what they will be charged with are not known. Food has been allowed in to the
group this evening (Feb 25).

cc The July 2008 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Zimbabwe African Nationalist Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) offered the first glimmer of hope in resolving the longstanding crisis in Zimbabwe. With the signing of the MoU, the parties began to negotiate a settlement to the crisis under the mediation of Thabo Mbeki, the then South African president. However, it is still unlikely that the current negotiations will lead to a political transition in Zimbabwe. The current regime will remain in power and block meaningful efforts at accountability for past violations. Though a political transition remains highly unlikely any time soon, it is important to consider the form that transitional justice could take in Zimbabwe if ZANU-PF were to lose political power. This essay discusses what shape transitional justice could take if some form of transition were to occur, while recognising the immense challenges to this becoming a reality.

LIMITATIONS OF NEGOTIATED TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

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FOR THIS ARTICLE'S NOTES, SEE THE LINK BELOW

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says he doesn't see why a terrorism case against a longtime rival has made news around the world. Mugabe's first public comments on the charges faced by Roy Bennett show the gulf between his Zanu PF party and the Movement for Democratic Change, two longtime opponents now trying to work together in a unity government.

Pia Engebrigtsen worked for 2 months as a nurse in Zimbabwe's Masvingo province during the country's cholera outbreak, in which MSF has so far treated more than 45,000 people. Here she shares her story of death, heartbreak, survival and saving lives against all odds.

Harare High Court judge Justice Yunus Omerjee on 19 February 2009 dismissed a bail application by detained freelance photojournalist Anderson Shadreck Manyere accused of acts of banditry saying he was facing a serious offence. Justice Omerjee ruled that the photojournalist had been found in possession of rounds of ammunition and faced a serious charge making him an ineligible candidate for bail.

Robert Mugabe on Thursday swore in 19 deputy ministers to a new unity government with opposition agriculture nominee Roy Bennett still held in detention on a criminal charge. The ceremony finalised the historic unity government formed last week after years of political turmoil between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).