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Richard

Subject: FW: The Changing Times Online - FOR SITE

Upcoming MDC petitions Attorney‐General’s Friday, August 21, 2009 Major Highlights Events Office 10th Matebeleland North 10th Anniversary Anniversary Celeberatory Celebrations Rally events

Matabeleland - Tinde Business Centre, North Binga and Hwange 29 August 2009 Bulawayo Prime Minister and Head of 13 Sept 2009 Government, Hon. officiates at the two-day Second Ministerial Retreat in Nyanga.

MDC security director, Chris Dhlamini The MDC has written to the Attorney‐General’s office for it to urgently deal with over 180 cases of murdered MDC supporters who were killed by Zanu PF and State security agents last year.

In a letter dated 20 August, 2009, the MDC said despite most of the cases having been reported to the Republic Police (ZRP) nothing suggested that police investigations ever took off.

“Reports in some cases were made to the local ZRP stations but the report references were not given to the informants. The police have not gone back to the informants or relatives to inform them of the levels of achievements in their efforts to deal with the said matters in accordance to the law,” the MDC security director, Chris Dhlamini said. “There is nothing to indicate that investigations ever took off. Some of the deceased were buried without having undergone post mortem examinations to determine the cause of their deaths.” “No death certificates are in place in cases where post mortem examinations were not carried out, a matter which has created problems for the relatives of some of the deceased’s, especially where the deceased left behind children with no birth certificates and in some cases debts,” he said.

Dhlamini said in terms of section 76(4a), the Attorney General had the power to order the Police Commissioner‐General to investigate and report to him on any matter which in his opinion relates to any criminal offence or suspected criminal offence. “The deaths occurred in 2008, over a period of time extending from April 2008 to December 2008. Total number so far verified as having lost their lives is 183 people. We will forward to you any further reports from our members as they come. Information available suggests that the deceased were murdered, by, in some cases people who the deceased’s relatives and neighbors will be able to identify or name,” Dhlamini wrote in his letter, which was also copied to SADC, JOMIC, the Public Protector and Ministers of National Healing and Reconciliation.

“Our Party believes that anyone found responsible for the politically motivated murders be prosecuted.”

Dhlamini wrote that the MDC believed that a proper investigation of the matter would be useful in that it would shape the form and content of national healing and reconciliation which the government and the MDC are participating in. Over 500 MDC supporters were killed by Zanu PF and State security agents last year. The Prime Minister's office

Minister PM’s Office urges repeal of citizenship laws

The Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai will review the controversial law that was used to strip thousands of people of their citizenship and right to vote because they were once citizens of other countries or because their parents were once foreigners.

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office, Hon. Gorden Moyo, said the Prime Minister’s office was working on a policy document on the citizenship law that will be submitted to Cabinet.

He said changes to the law were necessary to enable thousands of Zimbabweans who lost their citizenship or who have acquired citizenship of other countries to participate in national affairs.

“All we are saying is that let’s discuss about these issues. There are a lot of children who were born out of the country and acquired citizenship of their resident countries but they are also Zimbabweans who have lost their citizenship because of the dual citizenship law,” said Hon. Moyo.

Zimbabwe bars dual citizenship, while a 2003 amendment to the Citizenship Act tightened the law by requiring Zimbabweans who were once citizens of other countries or whose parents were once foreigners to formally renounce that “foreign citizenship” in order to qualify for Zimbabwean citizenship.

The law saw thousands of Zimbabweans being removed from the citizenship roll, in a plot by Zanu PF to whittle down the MDC’s support.

Most of those affected by the law were white Zimbabweans of European origin or black workers on white‐owned farms whose parents migrated from neighbouring countries and who largely supported the MDC.

Hon. Moyo said the proposed changes to the citizenship law were part of wider efforts to restore the rights of an estimated three million Zimbabweans or a quarter of the country’s 12 million people living in exile and to encourage them to participate in the recovery of the country. “We are working on a policy document that is going to increase the participation of Zimbabweans in the diaspora in the economy and other spheres,” he said. “We are still on the discussion stage but the policy is going to deal with issues such as the remittances of investments, repatriation of skills, refugees, restoration of voting rights and the citizenship question.” Hon. Tsvangirai has since called on exiled Zimbabweans to return home to help rebuild the country. MDC in Government

Minister Dzinotyiwei MDC’s Dzinotyiwei honoured

The Minister of Science and Technology Development and the MDC MP for Budiriro in Harare, Hon. Professor Heneri Dzinotyiwei has been recognised as Companion of the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management.

The recognition was announced at the Smart Partnership Dialogue held at Munyonyo in Uganda recently.

Hon. Dzinotyiwei will formally receive the award in London, UK in December.

Minister Dzinotyiwei is the first Zimbabwean to receive the award and has

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been involved with the partnership right from its formative stages and said he was delighted to receive the honour.

“It is a great honour and recognition of the extent of how Zimbabweans have been involved in the development of the concept of smart partnership, more so for me being a Minister of Science and Technology. It gives an image of our general thrust of science and technology.

“We are a country with a substantial community of scientists who can make a significant contribution in the region and in the international community,” he said.

Residents up in arms against Zanu PF MP

The residents of Hopley Farm in Harare South constituency are up in arms against Zanu PF’s MP for that area, Hubert Nyanhongo for duping them into believing that they had been allocated housing stands in the run-up to the March 2008 harmonised elections. Thousands of desperate home-seekers were last year given permission to build houses by Nyanhongo in a bid by the MP to buy votes. However, a real estate company, Pinnacle Holdings, which is owned by a former Zanu PF MP, Phillip Chiyangwa, last week ordered all people residing at the farm to move away from the site as they were the owners. Pinnacle Holdings, with the help of armed police officers, is razing to the ground the makeshift homes that the people had residents. Affected residents at the farm said it was unfair for Nyanhongo and Zanu PF to use them in securing votes for the party lying that they would give the voters non-existence housing stands. “I was approached by Nyanhongo who asked me to vote for him in return for a housing stand, which I was given before the elections in March last year. However, I was surprised when armed police officers came and told me to pack our things and leave immediately as the houses we had built were illegal and that they belonged to Chiyangwa,” said one irate resident who added that he had lost thousands of US dollars building his two bed- roomed house.

The move to remove the families some with small children has seen them sleeping in the open as they are saying that they have nowhere else to go. Nyanhongo is also being implicated in causing a wave of violence in the run-up to the June 27, 2008 presidential run-off after Zanu PF’s Robert Mugabe had been defeated in the Presidential polls by MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai.

MDC in Parliament

Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Moyo Parliament to press ahead with constituting commissions

The Speaker of Parliament, Hon. , has said insisted that Parliament would press ahead with nomination of candidates to various commissions meant to reshape and democratise Zimbabwe, amid signs of discord in Zanu PF over the implementation of the reforms.

Hon. Moyo said Parliament will next month announce dates when it shall interview candidates; rejecting State media reports that the nomination process had been suspended to give political parties time to come up with a mutually acceptable formula to select people to sit on the commissions.

“It is their own imagination and dreams,” Hon. Moyo said of the State media reports, which often reflect the views of Zanu PF.

“The next stage for us is that within two weeks we will be able to tell you when the next interviews are due. Around the 1st of September we will have the date. We are doing the process of shortlisting the candidates,” Hon. Moyo said.

The four commissions provided for under a Constitutional Amendment Number 19 are the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), Independent Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (IZEC), Zimbabwe Anti‐Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).

Once the commissions and the proposed new Constitution, they will pave way for free and fair elections with the whole process that began in February expected to last between 18 to 24 months.

MDC national spokesperson, Hon. also said the MDC was unaware of suspension of the nomination process.

The nomination of ZMC candidates has been mired in controversy after ZANU PF protested against the selection process after several of its allies failed to make it to the final list of nominees.

PROVINCIAL NEWS ROUND-

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CIO steps up terror campaign in Masvingo

Masvingo ‐ The widely feared spy organisation, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has stepped up efforts to widen its dubious operations in Masvingo province with reports that top provincial intelligence officers chaired a confidential meeting in the city of Masvingo last week. According to reports made available, the meeting which was held at a secluded place in the city on August 10 was meant to map the way forward on the establishment of torture bases in Bikita West and Masvingo Central.

The meeting was chaired by a top CIO operative identified as Takawira and was also attended by top army officials in the province.

It was agreed during the meeting that a torture camp would be set up in the Maregere area, Ward 9 in Bikita West while a similar camp would also be established at Gwamanjoma in Masvingo Central.

During the deliberations it was also resolved that a CIO agent would be planted in each of the respective rural district councils in the province with Bikita, Mashava and Zaka district councils being identified as problematic areas.

Highly placed Zanu PF sources also pointed out that the CIO was in the process of broadening its operational scope and the major purpose of the programme was to disrupt the training workshops on the Constitution‐ making process being carried out by the civic society organisations.

It is also understood that the operations would aim at diluting the MDC’s dominance in the rural constituencies of the province.

Meanwhile, Zanu PF’s Women’s League provincial chairperson, Shylet Uyoyo, has allegedly used her political muscle to force the withdrawal of a case in which she faces possible prosecution for threatening a local journalist.

Uyoyo, a powerful figure in Zanu PF, allegedly stormed The Mirror newsroom on April 2 this year and threatened the privately owned newspaper’s senior staff reporter Tatenda Chitagu with disappearance for allegedly writing articles Uyoyo claimed were meant to discredit her.

Uyoyo was scheduled to appear in court on August 19, but much to the surprise of The Mirror scribe and journalists in Masvingo, she did not turn up.

Chitagu was then advised that the case had been withdrawn.

“This is yet another sad episode where we see a partisan judiciary system. They are claiming that the matter has been withdrawn because of my failure to attend court sessions but ironically I have attended all the sessions and Zanu PF through the courts are simply trying to frustrate me and media freedom in the country,” said Chitagu.

MDC’s shadow MP for Chiredzi dies Chiredzi – The MDC shadow MP for Chiredzi East in Masvingo province, Walter Chirromo has died.

Chirromo passed away in Chiredzi on Wednesday after a short illness. Chirromo experienced harassment and intimidation at the hands of Zanu PF thugs last year. In announcing the sad news, the MDC provincial elections director and Masvingo Central MP, Hon. Jefferson Chitando, described Chirromo as a unique and hard working party cadre who was committed towards the development and growth of the MDC.

“I regret to announce the disturbing news of Chirromo’s death. He was a dedicated party cadre. He was a humble figure who was ready to work for the party at any given period. He was harassed and brutalised by Zanu PF thugs last year,” said Hon. Chitando.

Chirromo will be buried in Chiredzi.

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“No death certificates are in place in cases where post mortem examinations were not carried out, a matter which has created problems for the relatives of some of the deceased’s, especially where the deceased left behind children with no birth certificates and in some cases debts,” MDC security director, Chris Dhlamini said.

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