ZANU PF power entrenched by ‘exploitative’ Trafigura deal

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
27 May 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The planned takeover of the ZANU PF linked Sakunda fuel group, by a controversial Dutch multinational oil trader called Trafigura, has been slammed as an “exploitative deal” that entrenches ZANU PF’s grip on power.

The takeover of Sakunda is said to be part of Trafigura’s aims at “consolidating its grip on the fuel supply and distribution in Zimbabwe,” and to cement its relationship with Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF. According to a report by Africa Confidential  the deal has been done through Trafigura’s South African Subsidiary, Puma Energy Africa Holdings.

Senior ZANU PF and CIO officials have been linked to Sakunda for years, and the company has long been accused of supporting the party’s political and financial aims. For example in 2012, it was Sakunda that facilitated an estimated $40 million maize import deal with Zambia, after President Micahel Sata pledged to helped Mugabe’s re-election campaign.

More recently, in December 2013 Sakunda secured a $120 million loan from a French bank, which was guaranteed by Trafigura. It is likely this loan, which was given to the ZANU PF government, helped Trafigura in its plans to acquire Sakunda, despite already claiming a 60% stake in the local Redan fuel retailer last year.

With Sakunda and Redan under its belt, Trafigura now controls over 125 Zimbabwe fuel outlets, and also has exclusive access to the government owned Fekura oil pipeline that runs from Beira to Harare.

Economic analyst Vince Musewe told SW Radio Africa that the deal does nothing for the empowerment of Zimbabweans, and goes against ZANU PF’s own indigenisation plans.

“It is unacceptable that an entity like this comes in and buys out the market. The laws also states that in the retail sector, only locals can participate. This is the fuel retail sector, so there is much more to this than a straight deal,” Musewe said.

Also implicated in the Trafigura deal is the Brainworks Capital Management firm, which made news headlines last year after company founder George Manyere was paid $40 million dollars to prepare the Zimplats indigenisation agreement.

Brainworks, said to be investing in Zimbabwe’s fuel sector alongside Trafigura’s Puma subsidiary, facilitated the recent sale of Trafigura’s BancABC stake to the former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond.

Diamond meanwhile recently said he would secure a $207 million European bond for Mugabe’s government.

Musewe said these loans and related deals are all about securing ZANU PF’s grip on power, in exchange for Zimbabwe’s assets. He said this was “exploitative” and such deals were undermining Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.

“This is the same beast that has done all the corrupt deals in Zimbabwe since the 80’s and it is the international community that is assisting the further entrenchment of ZANU PF. Despite the rhetoric that they (ZANU PF) want to empower Zimbabwe, the economic space remains limited to ZANU PF cronies and this kind of deal demonstrates that,” Musewe said.

Trafigura meanwhile has had its own share of controversy and in 2006 was directly implicated in a health crisis in Côte d’Ivoire after a Trafigura chartered ship offloaded toxic waste at an Ivorian port. The gas caused by the release of these chemicals is blamed by the UN and the government of Côte d’Ivoire for the deaths of 17 and the injury of over 30,000 Ivorians.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Violence leader Chinoz embraced as Book Café ‘guest of honour’

Chinotimba dances with crowd at Book Café

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
26 May 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Buhera MP Joseph Chinotimba was last week embraced and welcomed as a guest of honour at the Book Café in Harare, where he reportedly “brought the house down” with his jokes.

Appearing at the Carnival Comedy Night at the venue, ‘Chinoz’ was pictured on stage, microphone in hand, making jokes and laughing with Book Café patrons.

The ZANU PF official has previously been the butt of Zimbabwean jokes, often described as a ‘caricature’ of politics in his quest to win the Buhera parliamentary seat in past elections. But since scoring a shock ‘win’ in the constituency last year, the jokes have seemed less funny.

The former Harare city council security guard rose to infamy during the 2000 land invasions when he and the combative war vets leader, Chenjerai “Hitler” Hunzvi, led the takeovers of white-owned commercial farms. Chinotimba styled himself “commander-in-chief” of the land invaders and openly advocated the use of extreme violence and rape.

He also advocated this level violence in Buhera during the 2008 elections period, and has been accused of being behind the deaths, assaults and rapes of many MDC supporters in the area.

According to eyewitness testimonies, on the 5th May 2008 Chinotimba raped an MDC-T member named Idah Munyukwi twice, after threatening her with a gun. Also under his instruction a group of about 21 ZANU PF thugs gang raped Memory Mufambi, an MDC-T supporter in Ward 18 of Buhera.

Mufambi, whose husband was a prominent MDC activist, was beaten unconscious by a mob of ZANU PF youth militia and war vets who then took her to their torture base where she was raped repeatedly over the course of a week. She suffered serious internal injuries as a result of the rapes, and has been in and out of hospital ever since.

Also in 2008, in Ward 27 area of Chapanduka, Chinotimba led a group of ZANU PF thugs who beat to death an MDC-T activist known as Sibamba. In another incident on the 18th May 2008, Chinotimba’s truck was used in the attack on Choukuse Nyoka Mubango in Ward 26. Mubango was axed to death in full view of his wife and five children.

MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora reacted with anger that Chinotimba was now being ‘embraced’ by society.

“It is hurtful and demeaning to see the tormentor being given this respect and being given a chance to perform as a guest of honour. It is arrogant on the part of government and it is unacceptable,” Mwonzora said.

He added: “The diplomatic community is forgetting that ZANU PF committed these horrendous crimes. We see them gracing these occasions as if everything is fine, and it is outrageous.”

Listen here to the 2009 interview with Chinotimba by Violet Gonda:http://www.mazwi.net/videos/joseph-chinotimba-the-comedy-of-zim-politics or See transcript here

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Zim farming community ‘shell shocked’ after violent Guruve murder

Charles Taffs of the CFU says that there has been a rise in lawlessness since the land grabs began

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
16 May 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The death of a young Zimbabwean woman, who was brutally beaten in an attack on her and her father near their Guruve farm, has left the farming community “shell shocked.”

Catherine Francis was out walking with her father Malcolm on Saturday when they were attacked by an as of yet unidentified group of suspects.

Full details of the incident are not yet clear, but it is understood the pair was found beaten and unconscious by a family member, after the attack took place.

Malcolm remains in a critical condition in hospital and is still being treated for serious injuries.

But Catherine passed away on Wednesday as a result of the brutal beating.

Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) President Charles Taffs told SW Radio Africa that he was outraged that these violent attacks are still continuing against the farming community.

“This is one of many murders that have taken place on farmers and farm workers, and it’s just continuing,” Taffs said.

The ZANU PF land grab campaign, launched over a decade ago by the Robert Mugabe regime, has seen the farming community, including tens of thousands of farm workers, face serious violence and deaths. To date, the perpetrators of the violence have never been brought to book.

“What we are seeing is a breakdown of the rule of law and people are doing what they please. The law has been selectively applied for 14 years and people are taking advantage of it, and the result is lawlessness,” Taffs explained.

He added: “From the community’s point of view, it’s like we aren’t even part of society, the white farming constituency. We are Zimbabweans and have every right to be here. What is happening is against every human rights charter this country has signed up to.”

“It is disgusting what has happened and I condemn it in the strongest terms,” Taffs said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Africa fights for immunity for government leaders

President of Sudan Omar-al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for genocide and crimes against humanity

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
16 May 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

Attempts to secure immunity from prosecution for African government leaders has been criticised as a potentially “detrimental” move that would impact on the rule of law and justice on the continent.

African Justice Ministers and Attorney Generals gathered in Ethiopia this week, where they were set to discuss a proposal to absolve sitting African leaders for their part in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The two day Ethiopia meeting was called to consider a draft protocol to expand the authority of the African Court on Justice and Human Rights to include criminal jurisdiction over these serious crimes. The draft protocol includes the proposed blanket immunity for heads of state.

Jemima Njeri, a senior researcher in the International Crime in Africa program at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the proposal “would be a major setback for justice for grave crimes.” She warned that this was a sign of Africa’s leaders “supporting each other,” at the expense of the rule of law.

“It is not right for African heads of state to include these amendments. It is detrimental to democracy,” Njeri told SW Radio Africa.

Human rights and justice groups from 19 African countries have since written to African governments, warning them that the rule of law is being threatened by the proposal.

“Impunity remains one of the biggest threats to human rights protection in Africa,” said Thuso Ramabolu, human rights officer at Lesotho’s Transformation Resource Centre, one of the signatories to the letter.

“It’s crucial for people responsible for mass atrocities to face justice, irrespective of their official positions. Immunity poses grave alarm and would create an incentive to hold on to power indefinitely,” Ramabolu added.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Constitutional Court will on Monday hear the latest appeal against a landmark order for the authorities there to probe crimes against humanity committed in Zimbabwe.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a court order from 2012 that compelled the prosecuting authorities in South Africa to investigate torture and other crimes perpetrated in Zimbabwe. This was after the police and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had appealed the original order handed down by the North Gauteng High Court.

The South African police have then filed another appeal in January this year, arguing that among other issues, an investigation would infringe on the sovereignty of Zimbabwe and damage diplomatic relations.

The case is being led by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) and was based on a dossier detailing a politically motivated attack on MDC members in Zimbabwe in 2007. This dossier, which implicates 18 high level ZANU PF members, was handed to the NPA in 2008 but the prosecuting body and the police decided not to take the case further.

ZEF Director Gabriel Shumba told SW Radio Africa that the latest appeal is “without merit,” and the ZEF and SALC “will vigorously oppose the appeal.”

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter