http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/385/49176mugabeout.jpgIt may be too early to speak of a positive response to calls for a government of national unity. It would be most encouraging to conclude that both parties are agreed on the essence of a GNU. But this would not be an accurate or even remotely hopeful analysis of the scenario. First, there is the violence in which unarmed citizens have been victims of mayhem. Secondly, there is the unresolved question of who should head this GNU - Tsvangirai or Mugabe. If this were going to turn out to be a defining moment for Zimbabwe, you could argue, with good reason, that both men would lower their own personal expectations in favour of their country’s and their people’s. But would that be realistic? asks Bill Saidi.
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In essence, what came out of the African Union summit in Egypt, which presumably ventilated the Zimbabwean imbroglio thoroughly, was to leave it to the people to gird their loins for what might turn out to be a bruising or an amicable struggle to rescue the country from the brink of a disaster.

The mildly critical declaration for a call for a government of national unity contained no muscle that one could detect from a distance. Its politeness, as with everything the AU has attempted on Zimbabwe, must have been greeted by huge yawns of boredom by both combatants in the struggle.

It was Zanu PF, rather than the MDC, which appeared to react with a degree of animation to the proposal. Sikanyiso Ndlovu, the Minister of Information, sounded so upbeat it was as if the AU had responded specifically to his government’s call for a government of national unity (GNU). The MDC, almost predictably, introduced the rider that such an arrangement ought to be headed by Morgan Tsvangirai, who beat President Robert Mugabe to the presidency in the 29 March presidential election. Zanu PF would probably engage in a fit of gnashing of teeth before responding to that proposal - just as predictably – with the rejoinder that its leader ought to be the head of such a government.

This will be on the nebulous basis of his so-called victory in the 27 June farce which Zanu PF insists was a free and fair affair in which 85 percent of the voters, presumably, voted freely for Mugabe. There were widespread reports that some voters marked their ballots with “You will rule yourself, not us – we are fed up with you”.

How Zanu PF reached the conclusion that all voters turned up at the polling booths willingly shouldn’t surprise any objective analyst of the Zimbabwean situation. From the beginning, Zanu PF wanted it known throughout the world that it would not accept an arrangement which it had not controlled. The 29 March elections produced results which showed the party being resoundingly trounced by the opposition. But almost all that was overturned: the government took its own sweet time to announce the results. By that time, according to the opposition, “certain things” had been “doctored” and Zanu PF had suddenly performed quite creditably in all the polls.

Yes, it had lost its parliamentary majority in one fell swoop and had performed less than spectacularly in the presidential stakes, but it would live to fight another day – in the run-off of the presidential election.

About 70 people, most of them opposition supporters, were killed in the run-up to the run-off. Mugabe declared publicly that “only God could remove him from office”. It was the kind of contemptuous statement Mugabe has recently made to emphasise his utter disregard for even the elementary requirements for a free and fair election.

Why he would expect the opposition to participate in such a poll is beyond comprehension. Nobody, not even Thabo Mbeki, with his mealy-mouthed stance on Zimbabwe, could speak of the poll as anything other than what others thought of it: a travesty and a sham.

Mbeki would not use those words, but even he must have been frightened at the temerity with which his political idol seemed to regard that charade. Mugabe was swiftly sworn into office and just as speedily flown off to Egypt for the AU summit. Television footage of his reception by his colleagues at Sharm el-Sheikh suggested most of them were a little embarrassed, if not ashamed, at his presence. He may have met some of them privately, but there was notably no TV footage of such tête-à-tête meetings.

What we did see, though, was his media spokesman, George Charamba, almost foaming at the mouth as he shooed off reporters from the president. It was amazing that Charamba found it necessary to tell the West, on camera, “to go hang”. At some time in the future, that portrait of him may return to haunt him time and time again.

Mugabe himself was shown as if he was about to lunge at a reporter who apparently had asked him a question which he evidently found “cheeky”. All in all, it was not at all a worthwhile public relations exercise for Zimbabwe: the president, a man generally regarded as being unfriendly to the media, could only have sent that reputation plunging to the pits of notoriety.

The performance of the AU at the summit was once again as shameful as that of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which somehow agreed to hold a summit in Idi Amin’s capital of Kampala, at a time when that odious dictator had displayed the worst traits of a megalomaniac, with a touch of cannibalism thrown in.

Only Raila Odinga seemed courageous enough to speak on camera of a call to expel Mugabe from the AU until free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. This is crucial for any future debate on the Zimbabwean situation by the AU or by any other regional or international blocs.

Elections in the country have generally contained an element of farce which most African leaders have refused to acknowledge as such. One good reason for this is that there are only a handful of African countries which could boast of truly free and fair elections since their independence. Many are led by people who achieved power through the barrel of the gun.

Although Mugabe has recently boasted that Zimbabwe’s independence was won solely through the armed struggle, it should not be forgotten that there were protracted negotiations in London – with not an AK47 in sight - at which all the players took part and had to sign an agreement.

Angola and Mozambique, which became independent after a 1974 coup in Portugal ended that country’s colonial adventure in Africa and elsewhere, were handed their independence, virtually, on a platter. Incidentally, that did not ensure a smooth transition. Hundreds of lives were still lost in the internecine bloodshed that followed this orderly handover of power.

In Zimbabwe, 20,000 were killed in a virtual civil war after 18 April 1980. After the AU summit, there appeared to have been noises of conciliation emerging from both Zanu PF and the MDC. It may be too early to speak of a positive response to calls for a government of national unity. It would be most encouraging to conclude that both parties are agreed on the essence of a GNU. But this would not be an accurate or even remotely hopeful analysis of the scenario.

First, there is the violence in which unarmed citizens have been victims of mayhem. Secondly, there is the unresolved question of who should head this GNU - Tsvangirai or Mugabe. If this were going to turn out to be a defining moment for Zimbabwe, you could argue, with good reason, that both men would lower their own personal expectations in favour of their country’s and their people’s. But would that be realistic?

The 27 June election was described as a “joke”, which would sound ghoulish if you considered that people were being killed even as the voting got under way or when the president was being sworn for another term of office. Why most people do not dwell on the bloodstained nature of the election campaign is probably an “African thing”. Most election campaigns on the continent feature a certain amount of bloodletting, witness that in Kenya.

Many Zimbabweans, observing from afar the TV footage of the gory situation in Kenya, swore it would not happen in their country. But it did and most were thoroughly disgusted that they had allowed themselves to be duped by Zanu PF into believing that the party had turned over a new leaf and would exit the political arena quietly, having been thoroughly humiliated by the MDC.

Mugabe was in competition with nobody, Tsvangirai having pulled out and being holed up in the Dutch embassy in Harare. Tsvangirai has been criticised for not standing firmly alongside his supporters in their time of greatest need. He has spent time in exile in Botswana and South Africa, apparently fearing for his life.

One point in his favour is that there is no denying that, if an opportunity was presented to his enemies to liquidate him, the chances are that they would grab it with both hands. He has been severely brutalised in the past, by the war veterans and by “men in dark glasses”, officers of the murderous Central Intelligence Office (CIO).

In 1990, one such officer was charged, found guilty and sentenced to a term in prison for his part in the attempted assassination of Patrick Kombayi, then a candidate for the opposition Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM). The two men were pardoned by Mugabe. Officers of this same clandestine unit have reportedly participated actively in the so-called “retribution” campaign launched by the government and Zanu PF after the 29 March elections.

The impunity with which this campaign was carried out convinced many people, previously unable to believe such brutality could be carried out in the name of a government professing to be democratic and a respectable member of the international community, that Zanu PF was in a real bind. Its chances of winning the election had been eroded by an economy so tattered and derelict its likelihood of ever recovering seemed almost non-existent.

It is this tottering economy which the government has said has been the target of Western economic sanctions. The government, in fact, blames the sanctions for all its economic woes. But an influential British commentator has dismissed sanctions as an effective tool against what he calls “brutal rulers” of Mugabe’s ilk.

Simon Jenkins says in an article in The Guardian newspaper this week: “Economic sanctions are a coward’s war. They do not work but are a way in which the rich elites feel they are ‘committed’ to some distant struggle. They enjoy lasting appeal to politicians because they cost them nothing and are rhetorically macho.” Jenkins refers specifically to the decision by the supermarket group Tesco to stop buying produce from Zimbabwe, “while the political crisis exists”. He contrasts this with the stance of the company’s competitor, Waitrose, which has decided not to stop buying from Zimbabwe. “It believes withdrawal would devastate ‘the workers and their extended families.”

There has never been any universal applause for economic sanctions against recalcitrant nations. Jenkins makes the point by referring to sanctions imposed on a number of nations which he claimed had no effect whatsoever. “In almost every case, sanctions make the evil richer and more secure, and the poor poorer.” Jenkins quotes the dictionary meaning of sanctions “as a specific penalty enacted in order to enforce obedience to the law”.

While he suggests that only an invasion would be effective, he refers to the invasion of Iraq as being considered as “a step too far.” “We toss gestures that will not bring about Mugabe’s downfall, only make the poor less able to resist his thugs. And all so that Tesco can feel better for a day.” "Yet there are many who believe that “every little bit helps”. In other words, even the mildest inconvenience to the people of an offending nation is likely to have an effect on their attitude towards the government.

Zimbabwe’s economy is in the proverbial doldrums, some of it totally unrelated to sanctions, but caused by malfeasance and maladministration. For instance, Mugabe himself has railed against his own cabinet ministers over the corruption involving the land reform programme. Some of them have two, three or even four farms, when he has decreed that they should have only one. Moreover, others have not developed these previously white-owned properties to their previous level of productivity, using them for speculative purposes, instead.

In insisting that the sanctions have hurt most ordinary, average-income earners, the government had hoped to persuade voters not to continue with their support for the opposition. The idea has been to paint them with the same brush as the West, which the government alleges launched its anti-Zimbabwe campaign after the land reform programme.

All this has failed to impress most voters, because, for a majority of workers, the luxuries accorded to cabinet ministers and the heads of parastatal companies are so lavish, they cannot imagine the country suffering any real pain from the sanctions – unless there is a political reason for making the workers the main targets and sufferers.

And since the opposition draws most of its support from the workers, that conclusion is not difficult for them to arrive at. Tsvangirai once said he believed if the South Africans imposed any kind of sanctions on Zimbabwe, they would have such a devastating impact on the economy Mugabe would soon rush to Mbeki on bended knees to beg him to reverse the decision, in return for anything he wanted – including the immediate re-opening of direct talks with the opposition.

Recently, the MDC leader has not been vocal on sanctions, perhaps in the perhaps forlorn hope that Mbeki, under enormous criticism for his lacklustre performance as the main mediator, would at last bend to the wishes of the Zimbabweans and make their geriatric and despotic leader the kind of deal he wouldn’t resist.

* Bill Saidi is the deputy editor of The Standard, an independent newspaper in Harare.

* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Civil society organisations (CSOs) held, from June 22 to 23, the third Citizen’s Continental Conference in Sharm El Sheikh ahead of the Eleventh African Union (AU) Summit. The Continental Conference provided space for African citizens, the Diaspora, CSOs, and other concerned parties to discuss the summit agenda including the AU audit and the peace and security situation in Zimbabwe, Darfur and Somalia, among other issues. The eleventh ordinary session of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State, convening under the theme of water and sanitation, will also consider the merger of the Court of Justice and the African Court on Human Rights of the AU, the current food crisis, the appointment of the members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

As the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe announced its pull out of the run-off election scheduled for June 27, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) observer mission, one of only two official observer groups in the country, confirmed acts of violence perpetrated by government supporters against opposition members.

Child abduction, which is already a serious problem in Cote d’Ivoire, may worsen in the run up to presidential elections later this year as political hopefuls using traditional myths of human sacrifice to improve their electoral chances will fuel an already significant market for stolen children, according to the Ivorian police.

As the International Crisis Group (ICG) questions the willingness of the Guinean government to hold elections in 2008 as planned, donors and opposition party members say it is not just political will but practical concerns such as a funding shortfall that put elections into doubt. ”Conditions are not yet ready for elections in 2008 – they are not ready at a technical level, the lists are not revised yet, there has been no census, and there’s not enough money in place yet,” an analyst based in Conakry told IRIN.

A row has erupted between Kenyan government with International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) over claims that Nairobi is sluggish in detaining Rwandan genocide most wanted fugitive Mr Felicien Kabuga. Arusha based tribunal is frustrated by Kenyan government failure to catch and hand-over genocide suspect despite evidence showing that Mr Kabuga is a frequent visitor to the country.

The African Union has sent a team to investigate fighting this month between Djibouti and Eritrea close to strategic Red Sea shipping lanes, the top AU diplomat said on Friday.

The Central African Constitutional Court has declared itself 'incompetent' to pass a ruling on the impeachment of General-President Francois Bozize as solicited by the former leader of the Central African bar association, Barrister Zarambaud Assingambi.

Although the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) does not seem to be recruiting children in Uganda, women and children are still present in its ranks, and the rebel group is allegedly enlisting young people from neighbouring countries, according to a United Nations report.

The United Nations human rights chief today called for justice and accountability in response to the campaign of political violence that has marred Zimbabwe’s electoral process. The Southern African nation has been beset by deadly unrest since the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.

The Government of National Unity of Sudan, the Government of Southern Sudan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have signed an agreement to support the reintegration of 180,000 ex-combatants and to facilitate their successful transition back to civilian life.

The voting polls have opened and some voters have begun gathering at polling stations as Zimbabwe enters into a second round of Presidential elections, amid international disapproval. The situation in the country's capital, Harare, is reported to be tense. About 5.9 million Zimbabweans are registered to cast their ballots at the 9 000 polling stations over the next 12 hours. The voting process is expected to be overseen by over 400 Southern African Development Community, South African and international observers.

Kenyan MPs should accept that their allowances are going to be taxed. More Kenyans of goodwill and means have accepted that they too will be similarly taxed so that we as a country start to take care of the poorest of the poor, and avert a return to the chaos and destruction of the first quarter of this year when mass youth unemployment exploded the myth of Kenya’s stability.

One of the legacies of apartheid South Africa and the Bantustan system is the unequal distribution of resources between urban and rural areas, which has created a perpetual divide that even under our democratic dispensation is not being bridged. The ongoing lack of importance given to rural South Africa in the post-apartheid era, has created a rural backwater where poverty is entrenched and where people are simply abandoned and expected to fend for themselves in the face of what can best be described as state apathy.

While the authors’ is spot-on with regards Mugabe, I think it falls short on the danger posed by the current opposition and the hypocrisy of the West. I personally don’t believe that an African leader should be condemned, punished or abandoned for standing up to the West. It is a quality Africa desperately needs in its leaders.

However, I think there are many other legitimate reasons why Mugabe SHOULD and MUST go. I have insisted that as Pan-Africanists and progressives, our responsibility is- an unconditional solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. Not with Mugabe, the dubious imperialists and certainly not with an opposition that is willing to be a tool of western imperialism.

I believe Zimbabweans are not only victims of the Mugabe regime paranoia, but are also direct victims of the inhumane sanctions by the West, as well as victims of the hypocrisy of the opposition that has prevented them from forming a independent and legitimate movement that is driven and controlled by the people.

Power to the people of Zimbabwe!

"The June 27 Presidential election is not an election, but a declaration of war against the people of Zimbabwe by the ruling party." (SA Congress of Trade Unions statement 24/6/2008). This is an important call to all Zimbabweans from civil society - you must boycott the forthcoming election.

The latest policy briefing from the International Crisis Group, finds that there is every chance the government will break its promise of credible legislative elections in December 2008, compromise economic revival and bury the independent commission of inquiry tasked with identifying and prosecuting authors of the bloody 2007 crackdown.

the blog of the Zimbabwe civic action support group publishes the complete text of the African National Congress’ statement on Zimbabwe which is radically different in content and tone from the official position of the South African government:

“While the ANC was sceptical of the feasibility of a run-off, we deferred to the judgement of the SADC leadership and that of the political parties in Zimbabwe and lent our support to the process. However, compelling evidence of violence, intimidation and outright terror; the studied harassment of the leadership of the MDC, including its Presidential candidate, by the security organs of the Zimbabwean government; the arrest and detention of the Secretary-General of the MDC; the banning of MDC public meetings; and denial of access to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, all have convinced us that free and fair elections are not possible in the political environment prevalent in Zimbabwe today
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The ugly incidents and scenes that have been visited on the people of Zimbabwe persuade us that a run-off Presidential election offers no solution to Zimbabwe’s crisis. In a society that is already highly polarised, a run-off election will only serve to widen the divisions. The very legitimacy of the run-off has already been severely compromised by the actions of both ZANU (PF) militants and those of state officials who do not even conceal their partiality in favour of the governing party.
…
We wish the MDC, ZANU (PF) and all the other parties in Zimbabwe the moral courage, strength and determination to urgently seek a viable solution to the profound problems facing their country.

GEF’s Outlook reports on a recent incident off the coast of Cameroon where local fishermen attacked a Chinese fishing trawler, rough-handled its Chinese occupants, and then made away with about five tons of fish:

“…this event may once again raise questions about Chinese motivation to be friendly with the continent. Analysts say that the new giant Chinese economy needs oil to tick; about 25-30 percent of China’s oil imports are from Africa.

Others also say the Chinese influx is also due to its willingness to trade without asking about people’s democratic and human rights conditions. In addition to that, they are ready to act quickly in areas of direct human interest. Instead of withholding help on the pretext of waiting for governments to come up with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers while thousands of women are dying during childbirth, China is direct. They build the hospitals for 10 times less, if not for free. Cameroon has tasted of such Chinese largesse.

However, some questions have been troubling Cameroonian if not African thoughts: Is it in exchange of such largesse that Chinese citizens are flooding African countries en masse? Do these acts of goodwill explain why Chinese businessmen are left to do as they please in African countries? The fishermen in the [Cameroon] story seem to think that there is some connivance between authorities and the Chinese industrial fishing companies that are practically sending them out of business.”

Icheoku profiles some of the most notable political murders in Nigeria that have either not been solved or whose perpetrators are walking around free:

“Take it or leave it, until these most heinous political assassinations and murders of the century which took place in Nigeria are finally brought to a conclusive end, there will never be a real peace in that country. All the Truth and Reconciliation Commission notwithstanding! …

Over the years, several personalities have been killed by the powers that be in Nigeria and all the world is told is that their death is a mystery or that armed bandits struck. Among these notable personalities that fell victim to these political assassinations and state-sponsored murders were Dele Giwa, Pa Rewane, Ken Saro Wiwa, Bola Ige, Barnabas Igwe, Harry Marshall, Dikkibo and Funsho Williams to just name a few. To date no one directly responsible or implicated in these criminalities has been brought to book. The reason is not for lack of suspects but that these prospective suspects are deemed untouchables because they are part of the powers that be that have run Nigeria aground and for so long. Nigerians have been silent for so long! Enough is enough and let the shouting begin!”

Clive Simpkins
Reflecting on recent events in Africa such as the attack on African immigrants in South Africa or the state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe, South African blogger Clive Simpkins argues that the much-vaunted African community spirit might be more of a myth than reality:

“I'm not going to suggest Eurocentric perspectives or solutions to these various scenarios. Rather, I observe with mounting dread, that they're symptomatic of the final death-throes of the once much-vaunted African Humanism, or Ubuntu. Many of the born frees (born post 1994) don't even know what Ubuntu means. Recent surveys indicate they don’t tolerate well, people outside of their own social or other ‘groups’. They're thoroughly entrenched in the conspicuous consumption trap of I, Me and Mine (IMM as I call it). It's all about their latest bling and baubles. They can perhaps be excused, or forgiven for their cultural disenfranchisement.

But for older black South African people, I'm beginning to think that what really prevailed was the dictum of 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. People were superficially united in their resistance to the common foe of Apartheid. With that tenuous thread gone, what we're seeing is actuality. A complete abandonment of any pretense at being our brother's keeper. Instead we persecute the brother (and sister) and cast him or her out.”

Ghana Blogs
Writing on Ghana Blogs, Michael Akenoo bemoans the unfulfilled potential of the Kente textile industry in Ghana:

“It is unfortunate however, to note that Ghana has never taken into consideration the great economic potential that the Kente industry has for Ghana. The Kente industry has been neglected and not given the necessary attention and development as it deserves to the detriment of the country. Thus, Ghana is losing heavily in terms of her economic potential in the textile industry on the world market today.

It is also unfortunate to note that many Ghanaians have developed a strong taste for wearing European clothes at work places, offices, churches, social gatherings, state functions etc. at the expense of Ghanaian clothing such as the Kente cloth, smock etc.

Opinion leaders and influential Ghanaians, who are in positions to advance the cause of the Kente industry, have failed to do so because they are somehow affected by the European cultural influence by the way they eat, dress and project themselves generally. For instance, one can often see Ghanaian lawyers, doctors, academicians etc. dressed in suit and tie to work, church, parties etc and occasionally putting on the Kente cloth, smock etc. as a way of projecting the Ghanaian culture.”

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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/384/48997zimpolice.jpgOn the 21st May 2008 the Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT) released a report titled Punishing Dissent, Silencing Citizens: The Zimbabwe Elections 2008. The report made it very clear that ZANU PF had embarked on a systematic programme of retributive violence in response to its electoral defeat on March 29th 2008. The report included an evaluation of the violence up until that point based on interviews with 681 people.

In addition to this, Appendix 3 of the SPT report contained information provided by a key informant who relayed their knowledge about the Joint Operational Command's (JOC) election strategy. Those who have been following events in Zimbabwe closely will see that much of what the source described to SPT has since come to fruition. (Appendix 3 of the report is included at the end of this mailing)

Sokwanele received similar information at the time that confirmed and supported the information that was published in the SPT report.

Our source has recently provided us with more information, this time in relation to JOC's preparations and plans for the Presidential run-off poll. Despite the fact that one of the candidates has withdrawn from the poll, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) states that the Presidential run-off election on June 27 will proceed. We are concerned that JOC's plans and strategies will continue as well.

We are so worried about the information relayed to us that we have decided to make it public in the hope that some of the obvious dangers can be averted. At this point we cannot verify whether what has been outlined to us will happen, all we can say is that our source has provided credible information before now and that much of what has been relayed to us in the past by our source has happened. There is evidence already that some of the strategies outlined below have already been taking place.

On these grounds we believe that this new information presents very real risks to safety and security of the people of Zimbabwe.

We ask that it is read carefully and that people forward the information to all their local media sources to warn of what could possibly happen.

Sokwanele has supplied various other sources with this information too, beyond this mailing

The information, conveying JOC's preparations and plans for the Presidential run-off poll, is as follows:

Zanu PF youths to be in every constituency, working with war vets, CIO, and the police to make sure Tsvangirai does not hold a successful rally. To do everything needed to frustrate his campaign.

Do everything possible to prevent MDC agents being deployed at polling stations. If necessary eliminate MDC polling agents.

All the voters in a ward should surrender their IDs to the village head, and have their names taken down. On the day of voting, the respective village heads should queue outside the polling agent with each member (voter) with a respective number. As much as possible voters shall profess ignorance of the ability to write on his/her own. Agents in the polling stations will be helping voters to mark X where it is necessary and forth with take down the patterns of voting against each individual.

The indoctrination bases are now fully armed, and most are getting logistical support from the army. Weapons held in the Darwendale armouries are to be distributed to the veterans, including bombs and grenades. Some polling stations to be bombed. MDC youths to be implicated and arrested.

War veterans to kill MDC MPs, working together with the Army and the CIO.

In the event that Tsvangirai still wins, the Nigerian scenario to be implemented. Abiola vs Abacha. MPs to be arrested and the electorate silenced. No results to be announced by ZEC in favour of Tsvangirai. All MPs who speak out shall be charged with treason and jailed.

Polling ballot boxes to be stuffed in remote areas by death squads who will be armed. They have been instructed to abduct and kill whoever gets in their way.

The elections to be ward based and the voting pattern of the 18 – 45 age group changed to make sure this group is disturbed. Results from wards to be scrapped, and the only source of information will be the constituency command centre. Life is to be made difficult for those seeking clarification on their names. Every police officer not to attend to names missing from the roll especially using radios.

Governor Gono to finance all the projects, including the buying of weapons.

All strategic points to be heavily guarded.

A lot of rigging to be done especially on postal ballot boxes. All forms of propaganda to be dismantled including the media. No officer shall watch any radio or TV station outside Zimbabwe state news. Each officer to vote in the presence of an intelligence officer.

Zimbabwe Intelligence Corps (ZIC) to provide logistics on the torturing of MDC legislators. All to be silenced. All retired generals to be recalled to national service.

More terror to be unleashed after elections. More people to be claimed, more displacements in the rural areas. Chiweshe to provide the statistics of voting patterns to assist in determining where terror to be unleashed.

MDC agents to be bribed in the rural areas – substantial amounts to be offered.

Information referred to earlier, taken from the Solidarity Peace Trust report 'Punishing Dissent, Silencing Citizens: The Zimbabwe Elections 2008'

Appendix Three: Interview with key informant on election strategy of JOC (see below)