Home > Project Zimbabwe > Report from David Coltart

David Coltart's Mid-Year Report Letter to Bulawayo South

June 2004

Dear Friends,

In my last half year report sent to you in December I wrote of the great hardships being experienced by Zimbabweans. Sadly, these hardships have not diminished this year despite the propaganda being pushed out by the regime that the economy is improving. For all the talk of Reserve Bank Governor Gono's economic "miracle" the harsh reality for most Zimbabweans, except the rich ruling elite, is that life is getting tougher.

The other propaganda story of the regime is that the MDC is "ready for burial". With the ongoing closure of the Daily News, the theft of the Lupane by-election and the use of POSA to silence the MDC (just last weekend I was banned again from addressing a resident's meeting in Nketa) you may well wonder what the truth is. The truth is that the MDC, despite being subjected to an unrelenting assault in the last 4 years and especially in the last year, much in the same way that ZAPU was in the 1980s, is still very much alive and well. If any party is in great danger of falling apart it is ZANU (PF). This letter is to report to you what I, as your MP, have been working on as a small part of this larger effort being made by the MDC to bring democracy, freedom and a new beginning to Zimbabwe. I thank each of you for the part you have played, for your courage and for your continued commitment to work together to save our Beloved nation.

Parliament

As was the case last year Parliament has hardly sat this year. We had a two -week session in January, followed by a similar one in late March and for the last few weeks we have been sitting. As was the case last year, very little progressive legislation has been debated and much of the legislation is designed to clamp down even further on basic freedoms. For example, a new Electoral Bill has recently been tabled seeking to remove existing rights (such as to have access to the Voters' Roll). We in the MDC have continued to fight hard to stop these Bills from going through. If Zanu (PF) is as strong as it claims to be one wonders why it is necessary for them to have these oppressive laws to keep them in power.

As you may have read, a special Parliamentary Committee has been set up to investigate whether I am guilty of breaching Parliamentary Privilege and whether I should be punished. In January in a Parliamentary debate I raised a point of order arguing that certain MPs should not debate or vote as it appeared as if they had a pecuniary interest in the matter. In terms of Zimbabwean law it is a criminal offence for any MP to debate or vote in a matter in which he or she has a pecuniary interest. I tabled a list of MPs who had been reported (in some cases in the Herald and Chronicle!) as receiving farms and argued that as they would appear to have an interest in the matter (the debate was about ways of speeding up the process of acquiring farms) they should not participate in the debate leaving only those MPs who had not received farms to debate. This action deeply angered many Zanu (PF) MPs and I was accused of tabling a false document with the intention to deceive Parliament. As a result a Committee of Enquiry has been set up. It would be improper for me to discuss the operations of the Committee as it is still sitting. However suffice it to say that I am confident that I acted in your best interests and in terms of the law and Constitution of Zimbabwe. It is always important to shine light into dark places and that was what I was doing.

I continue to sit on the Parliamentary Justice Committee. Most of our work involves an examination of Bills which are coming before Parliament. Unfortunately space does not allow me to go into great detail about these Bills but a lot of time has been spent trying to ensure that we improve important pieces of legislation including the Administrative Justice Bill and the Electoral Amendment Bill. I have done considerable work on the Electoral Amendment Bill and will be arguing in the near future for substantial changes to the existing Bill to bring it in line with SADC standards. Without a fair, just and transparent electoral process we will never know true freedom in Zimbabwe. Without freedom our children will never realise their full potential. Without freedom, we cannot join the community of nations seeking to bring opportunity and prosperity to improve the lives of all their peoples.

The Bulawayo South Parliamentary office has now been opened for several months under the efficient and watchful eye of Nomakosi Nabanyama. We will shortly be installing a computer and refurbishing the offices to make it a better resource centre for the Constituency. I remind you that it is located in the Nketa 6 Housing Offices and is open during normal business hours Monday through to Friday. If you have concerns, suggestions or complaints please do call in, or drop off a letter, and I will do my best to respond to the issues you raise. I very much appreciate any ideas or suggestions you would like to share.

Projects

Over the first few months of the year you may have seen a few teams of young people in orange overalls digging holes along Nketa Drive. They have been preparing the first stage of our "Mustard Seed" project which I hope will ultimately result in Nketa, Umgwanin and Nkulumane being transformed into beautiful treed suburbs. The Bulawayo South Development Trust has bought some trees and shortly before the next rainy season they will all be planted. The Trust has put in a funding proposal to a donor to greatly expand the project and the initial response has been very positive. If the proposal is successful I hope that the Trust will be able to employ a lot more young people to plant trees throughout the high density areas of the Constituency. Once again I pay tribute to the hard work put in by the teams of young people who have worked so hard preparing the holes and to the Trustees. Thanks to each and all.

I am pleased to report that we have had positive responses from both the Swiss and Japanese Embassies regarding the Umgwanin Aids self help centre initiated by Clr. A.G. Ndlovu and Toc H and I look forward to seeing the completion on this worthy project.

MDC Legal Affairs Department

I had the great honour of presenting the MDC's Justice policy document to the MDC's National Conference held at the Harare Showgrounds just before Christmas. The document was ratified by the Conference and contains far-reaching and progressive justice policies that will transform Zimbabwe from the police state that it now is to a country in which everyone will be free. Included in the policies adopted by the Conference are proposals to enact a new constitution following an inclusive process, to establish a Truth Commission (to enable the victims of human rights abuses to have an opportunity to tell what has happened to them and to establish who has been responsible for the serious human rights abuses that have occurred in Zimbabwe over the last few decades) and to introduce major changes to our anti corruption legislation to ensure that all the guilty are brought to justice.

This year has seen us score significant victories in the Courts. The Treason trial of President Morgan Tsvangirai has concluded and whilst we still await the judgment I am confident that he will be acquitted of these spurious charges. As Advocate George Bizos (also Nelson Mandela's lawyer when he was charged with treason by the apartheid regime) said in his closing address: "the State has failed to prove any conspiracy to assassinate Mugabe or to bring about a coup d'etat".

Similarly the State case in the Cain Nkala murder trial has fallen apart. As you know several MDC members, including Treasurer General the Honourable Fletcher Dulini MP, were accused by the regime of murdering Cain Nkala. They have always protested their innocence. On the 3rd March 2004 Madam Justice Mungwira handed down her judgment regarding whether the State was allowed to use the "confessions" extracted from two of the accused. In ruling that the statements could not be used she found that the accuseds' allegations that the statements had been beaten out of them were "likely to be true" and that the police officers "conducted themselves in a shameless fashion and displayed utter contempt for the due administration of justice to the extent that they were prepared to indulge in what can only be described as works of fiction ". The Judge also stated that the "story of the existence or presence of a third force (being involved) cannot be discarded". These are very damning words from a Zimbabwean Judge and completely vindicate both the MDC and the accused persons who have always protested their innocence. We now await the conclusion of the case and the acquittal of all the accused. I am pleased to report that following the judgment the remaining MDC members who had been in prison for over two years were released on bail.

We still await the judgment of Justice Hlatshwayo in the first stage of the Presidential Election challenge case (which dealt solely with legal and constitutional issues) that was argued in November 2003. Our legal team is pressing for this judgment to be handed down as soon as possible. If we obtain a favourable judgment then the election of Robert Mugabe as President will be set aside. If the judgment is unfavourable we will proceed to the second stage of the trial that will introduce the massive evidence we have of electoral fraud and violence which characterised that election.

You will appreciate that the coordination of these matters has taken up a lot of my time but it has been rewarding. The MDC is committed to using peaceful and non-violent means to achieve democratic political objectives, which is so different to the violent methods employed by Zanu (PF) ever since its formation in 1963. An important part of those tactics is to use the legal system even although the regime has tried to subvert it. Although these legal battles have been time consuming they are establishing an important example for future generations and have had the additional benefit of exposing the unlawful actions of the regime.

Finally, I have been involved with my colleagues in the MDC Legal and Election Departments in the formulation of the 15 minimum conditions necessary for a free and fair election to be held. These are recorded on the last page of this letter. I encourage you to debate these conditions. I believe that unless they are implemented a free, fair and legitimate election cannot be held. We are greatly encouraged by the recently held elections in South Africa which complied with every single condition. We congratulate South Africa and see no valid reason why Zimbabwe, in its third decade after white minority rule, cannot enjoy the same democratic standards enjoyed by our neighbour in its first decade following white minority rule.

International Work

As part of the MDC's drive to explain to the international community what is going on in Zimbabwe I have made several trips to South Africa so far this year together with a visit to Britain, Denmark and Germany in March. The main thrust of these visits has been to speak to a new human rights report released by the Zimbabwe Institute in South Africa in March called "Playing with Fire". The MDC Legal Department played a major role in assisting in the preparation of this report which documents all the human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime against MDC MPs and candidates since 2000. In the course of my visits I spoke to Judges, Lawyers, Universities and met leading politicians including the former Prime Minister of Denmark, the Honourable Poul Rasmussen MP, German government Ministers the Honourable Claudia Roth MP and the Honourable Dr. Uschi Eid MP and the leader of the CDU party the Honourable Angela Merkel MP (who may well be the next Chancellor of Germany). In all the meetings I held I was impressed by the deep awareness and concern about what is happening in Zimbabwe. The regime thinks that it can fool the world about what is going on in Zimbabwe but in that it is woefully mistaken; indeed the regime does not appreciate just how much trouble it is in with the international community.

Divisions within Zanu (PF)

For all the propaganda in the regime's media that the MDC is falling apart the real story is that it is Zanu (PF) that is in increasing disarray. Zanu (PF) started to fall apart publicly at their conference held in Masvingo in December when the basic contradiction in the party was exposed again. Zanu (PF) has two very different groups of supporters - poor rural people who provide the bulk of the party's votes in elections but who have been intimidated over the years and who have believed the regime's propaganda - and the super rich ruling elite who control the party. These two groups do not often meet but one occasion is at the party's annual conference when the poor arrive in broken down buses and the ruling elite arrive in their brand new Mercedes Benz vehicles. The stark gulf between the poor and rich has forced Robert Mugabe to act against those in the party who flagrantly display their wealth and that has led to the arrest of several high ranking members of the party this year. But that in turn has caused deep anger and concern within the party because not all those guilty of corruption in the party have been arrested.

But there are yet further problems for Zanu (PF). In the last few months we have witnessed serious divisions emerge between the old guard and the mafikazolos, with Msika and Shamuyarira openly falling out with Jonathan Moyo and Made. In the last two weeks we have seen in the arrest of Treger directors, the arrest of Mawere and the refusal to give Mnangagwa an honourary doctorate at the Midlands University, an indirect attack on Speaker of Parliament, Mnangagwa. All these incidents have a connection to Mnangagwa and are directed by powerful forces within Zanu (PF) who are seeking to undermine him. These divisions will become more acute as the Parliamentary election looms.

In contrast, for all the nonsense spewed out by the regime's media about divisions within the MDC, and for all the regime's attempts to divide us along racial or ethnic lines, the MDC is as united as ever. Indeed it is ironic that the oppression of the regime against us has created a deep bond within the MDC. In our common trial we have developed a united vision of how we would like a new democratic Zimbabwe to be run.

The Way Ahead

We are now about nine months away from another general election. There is no doubt that if the electoral process were free and fair the MDC would win decisively. But of course the electoral process has been badly subverted and we are not under any illusions in that regard. Does this mean that we should just give up? President Tsvangirai said at a meeting just this past weekend that we must separate our preparations for the election from our decision whether or not to participate. As he pointed out, a soccer team must practise as hard as possible prior to a match and the decision whether to play or not must only be made shortly before the match once the team has considered the state of the ground and who the referee is. The same applies to the election. We must as a party practise and prepare as hard as possible in the run up to the election. Everyone has a role to play. Closer to the time when the election is due to be held we can then assess whether we should participate.

Every person must make sure they are registered to vote. Any person turning 18 this year must register in Bulawayo South. We have no doubt that the low key campaign to register voters in urban areas is designed to ensure that as few people register in towns and cities. If that is the case the regime will try to reduce the number of constituencies in urban areas because it knows that it is more difficult to rig the elections in these areas. So we must not fall for this trick. The current exercise ends at the end of June. I urge all of you with children to make every effort to get them to register and all adults must make every effort to ensure they are registered.

We, for our part, will continue to work with our partners in civil society, in Parliament and in the region and in the international community to force the regime to change the electoral process so that it complies with SADC and international standards. When that happens, we pray our beloved Nation's nightmare will draw to a close. Together then we can begin the road to rebuild our nation - protecting democratic freedoms and creating the environment for sustained and fair economic opportunity for all.

Each of you have suffered and contributed in your own ways and I am heartily grateful for your support. As the writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote: "It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security."

Best wishes,
The Honourable David Coltart MP


Fifteen minimum conditions for the holding of elections

1. the establishment of a genuinely independent electoral commission that will be responsible for running the entire election and the entire electoral process
2. the undertaking that partisan officials such as the present Registrar General of Elections and members of the military should not be involved in the running of the elections
3. a completely fresh voter registration campaign done by the UN or some other neutral and professional body
4. supply of an electronic (computer data base) copy of the voters' roll to all political parties
5. the repeal of those aspects of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) that curtail media freedoms
6. the reversal of administrative decisions that have resulted in the closure of the Daily News and the removal of all obstacles preventing the Daily News and other newspapers from operating freely
7. the liberalization of the broadcasting media and the opening up of state media to carry equal amounts of coverage of all parties' electoral messages pro rata to the percentage of votes they secured in the last general Parliamentary election
8. the disbanding of the Youth Militia
9. the repeal of those aspects of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) that curtail the freedom of political parties to campaign
10. the amendment of the Electoral Act to bring it into conformity with those aspects of the SADC Parliamentary Forum's Electoral Standard and Norms not referred to specifically elsewhere in this document
11. the use of translucent plastic ballot boxes of secure, single-piece construction
12. voting on one day, subject to sufficient numbers of polling stations being established and changes being made to the electoral process to enable all citizens and residents (entitled to be registered as voters in terms of section 3 (1) of Schedule 3 of the Zimbabwean Constitution) to vote
13. unhindered access to the entire electoral process by international, regional and domestic election observer missions
14. counting of ballots at polling stations in the mandatory presence of polling agents and observers
15. the use of visible indelible ink to identify those who have voted