I just hope the government learned the point of this poor teachers, and this teachers have learned the lesson of love to their students. I just hope that this will not happen again, the who suffers more is the Children. <a href="http://www.goldcoinsgain.com">Gold</a>

Zimbabweans do not subscribe to this nonsense Mvume. At this time, when our country is trying to reshape itself after years of economic melt down due to careless comments, statements and immature political overtures from people both in Zimbabwe and outside (Dandala included), the last thing we want to hear is this kind of waffling.  Prostitute for political support and money through other means, but do not use other people’s names in vain. The presidential candidate, Mvuma Dandala is seeking political populism by dwelling on issues outside the borders of his country. That is what mad people always do: some kind of escapism where stooges with no political visions use illogical ideas, bad judgment to steal news headlines. Such statements will be accepted by the new slave descendent black skinned white capitalist Obama and of course the entire capitalist weird world.To you Dandala and Obama, Down with you: Idiots of the century. You boot lickers of western imperialists. Hands off Zimbabwe: Concentrate on your political misadventure and mind your own station, Dandala, a mere Political opportunist who is bent on using popular politicians to gain support and funding from the world bullies (America and the entire western capitalist states). As far as we all know, the normal South African leadership is behind the new developments in Zimbabwe. Therefore who are you to pander into the capitalist ideology of demonizing international statesmen who do not support their world view? To say the list, you are an idiot, seeking cheap publicity from the bygones. Zimbabwe is in a new era, a transitional period where our leaders have seen reason to work together for the better of Zimbabwe. They now know who their really foes are: The enemies of democracy who want things their own way: The selfish world of the greedy:  Are you part of this world view, where only what you think and want is the right thing and everyone else is wrong. Down with you and; long live Africa, Long live pan Africanism. Down with fools, stooges and sellouts

  In the vernacular...."SOKWANELE" What is the world waiting for...another Darfur?   

  In the vernacular...."SOKWANELE" What is the world waiting for...another Darfur?   

Iwe Mandla, you are the one with a problem. All this name calling is not necessary. We know from past articles that you hate Tsvangirai. But here wanyanya adala. Tsvangirai only called those useless guys cowards. But you went to town with the name calling. Totally uncalled for, Tsvangirai no matter how much you hate him is still our best chance. You and Mutwakazi can support your PF-ZAPU if you want but leave MDC alone.

No one is perfect. Tsvangirai has made his share of mistakes, but he is still our best chance to remove Mugabe from power and save the country. Tsvangirai was right to call a spade a spade. You are calling Tsvangirai names but you don't want him to call the other people names. Please be fair. Those SADC leaders are cowards mani. Asi sure vanhu vachapera kufa ne cholera ku Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai should just go in as prime minister and do his best to show ZANU-PF that there are good peole out there who are not corrupt. Just like Nkomo he would have saved his peolple from certain death. He can use his parliament majority to change laws and make them work for the ordinary Zimbabweans. Lets support him and give it a try.

Nanso indaba ke bantwana bomhlabathi. Kuthiweni ngo Tsvangirai lo. I will tell you. If MDC was a democratic institution Tsvangirai wouldn't be its President. Tsvangirai's 10 year career with MDC is littered with brutal mistakes anga hlekisiyo. I tell you if people had their way Tsvangirai wouldn't be President and the MDC would still be united and by now they would be the ruling party in Zimbabwe. But No - they are playing out of the ZANU-PF play book - being democratic and law abiding as and when they feel like. No accountability to the people whatsoever. Why would you have secrete meetings (no daily press briefings at all) to negotiate the future of the people. The MDC needs to have a public indaba about this so that they can be held accountable and the people can say what they want as the way forward; as obviously Tsvangirai and Biti have no clue.

Watsho u Solomon Skuza wathi "batshele"! We are sick and tired of Tsvangirai and his incompetent gang. The similarities are disconcerting. When Mugabe was busy killing the people of Mthwakazi in MaNdebeleland during the period of Iskhukhula (Gugurahundi) other "progressive" leaders in Zimbabwe (Makoni & Company) were busy positioning themselves for power and did not do anything to help the people. Same thing here. People are dying of cholera, hunger, AIDS, ZANU militia brutality; yet Tsvangirai and company  busy displaying their ZANU mentality; traveling all over the world speechifying and negotiating for power! what power sharing! people want total freedom, protection of the law, jobs, and a fair shot at life. Don't worry Dubinduna MDC wont be able to take the people of Mthwakazi for granted any more - iyeza i PF-ZAPU!

By just reading through this article one gets a sense that MDC T, is not ready (or should I say - has failed to prepare) to lead Zim. They [MDC-T) just have no sense of the legal and procedural and constitutional scheme of things. And to think that Biti and them are lawyers! what incompetence. If you sign an agreement (e.g. car note) you are expected to follow the agreement through to its logical conclusion (that is, pay your car note every month). If you don't like the deal simply pull out of the agreement (of course there are always cancelation penalties). MDC signed a bad deal, they need to show leadership by either going through with the deal. (use the Zim parliament - which they control to fix ministries) or just pull out and bear the consequencies (violence from Mugabe). I personally think this was a bad deal from the start - Mugabe was on his knees (everyone including AU) was refusing to recognize him until Tsvangirai signed a deal making Mugabe President. Tsvangirai and his MDC cronies are fast becoming irrelevant in the Zimbabwe solution. MDC members need to rise up and hold their feet to the fire and make it clear if they are in or out. abantu sebe phelile yikufa bona belokhu be dlala.

Tonderai you are in the right direction - but let me to point out one thing here. You[r] analogy about Tsvangirai as father of the Zimbabweans is [a] problem here. As long as you MDC members characterize your relations with your leader as father-child, Zimbabwe will never be free. Thats the same ZANU-PF relation of Mugabe with ZANU members , Father-child. You have to begin to think of yourselves as adults who are responsible for your own destiny and are free to disagree and kick out Tsvangirai and his gang if they do not represent your adult views. other than that I agree with you, MDC needs to deal with this mess.

Sheer irresponsibility. Morgan has to grow up. MDC too.

This [is] becoming a problem. How can the father of the house leave his home under attack to seek help and then allow himself to be distructed by the nice life in [other] countries, and forget about his children still under attack. MDC must do [something] about this mess 

There he goes again. Last time he was caught up in the good life in South African hotels whilst MDC supporters were being killed by ZANU militants. the whole world had to beg him to come back. Now he is galavanting all over Europe whilst Zimbabweans are dying of cholera. What kind of leadership is this? what GPA? [if] he doesn't like the agreement (like most Zimbabweans) just pull out - no-one is forcing him! and come home and fight Mugabe face to face.

This is good news and can you please get us the details how it is organised and how one joins if he is out of the country.

I have read about the horrible inflation and wonder do corporations in Zimbabwe pay income taxes?  If so a great place to start reducing inflation and the shortages  is the elimination of those taxes.  Those taxes seem like a tax on the rich corporations however, they raise the price of everything and so in effect become a tax on all that is spent by anyone.  This is true no matter how small your income provided you spend it with a corporation or someone who buys from a corporation.

To me, this is meaningless and useless. What exactly were they signing here? This does not say anything of value.

We are all filled with sadness about this untimely loss. may they rest in peace. I knew Daniel & his family, very hard working and peace loving people and good SDAs. Silahlekelwe impela. Just a word of note to the community leaders who are co-ordinating things, lets do more for the surviving kids of this family and not spend a lot of donated money trying to send bodies to Zim.

This is really sad news, the Jamelas were wonderful people, very kind and spiritual. The whole community and SDAs have lost true brother and sister to all. I feel for the children. Its good to see our community leaders doing something to help, lets all call the numbers and donate something.

They will try everything to make black fight aganist black so that they can drain the resources without compensating.

I will reserve my comment on everything else Jonathan Moyo said about Nayrota's book, which I have just finished reading too.I must say though, that on factual errors, Jonono is spot on. Some of them are quite embarassing like the "Chidyausiku being appointed minister" and the Nkala "election in Kariba". I do respect Nyarota as a doyen of Zimbabwean journalism but I too found his constant reference to "Ndebele or Shona" identities of certain characters in his book, rather disconcerting. 

I deem it very unwise to mention Gukurahundi and the Hague during this sensitve campaign period. Gukurahundi is the reason for Mugabe deciding that he will stand again after first indicating that he would not stand in  2008. He wanted to prolong his stay in power to 2010 and when that failed he had no option but to stand again. Yes, Gukurahundi and the Hague etc. might win one votes in Matebeleland and we lose the chance to unseat Mugabe - is that what we want? Yes Simba has flip-flopped on this one and I am sure it was out of a realisation that scaring Mugabe is NOT the best way to win an election because you simply give him all the reasons to rig the election. Dabengwa suffered at the hands of Mugabe possibly far more than Tsvangirai did, but I believe he is being very clever when he avoids antagonistic language about Mugabe. I think we need to be more rational than emotional at this stage of our country.

It might be of interest to some that whilst they may write Tsvangirai off, the grass roots of Zimbabwe certainly haven’t and this has been very evident at Tsvangirai’s rallies.Here is a summary over the past 10 days:Tsvangirai:Mutare - Presidential launch 30,0000 (Border town);Bindura (last Saturday) 10,000 (rural centre);Shamva (last Sunday) 3,000 (small rural town);Makoni:Bulawayo - Presidential launch (last Saturday) 4,000 (Zimbabwe’s second largest city);Harare - (last Sunday) 2,000 ( Zimbabwe Capital).So as much as the marketing hype and media has gone makoni’s way, the people on the ground have been so brutalised by the regime that they don’t trust anything zanupf. Many say that this is a planned deception to keep zanupf, as an entity, in power.Time will tell.

Yes Simba is flip-flopping, but he is moving towards the good side. Guys lets give Zimbabwe a chance through Simba. He can not be perfect from the start, but with the right advice and input from us all he will get it. I have sent e-mails to all Makoni support websites I know asking for pressure on Makoni to come out in the open. I respect all the comments, they are fair, dialogue is good. Editor & Jeffrey thank you

Thanks Jeffrey and the editor for a critical take on this issue. It is significant that Makoni is flip-flopping on this important issue. If Makoni can wantonly decide who to pardon and who to prosecute without going through a justice system then how can Zimbabweans look themselves in the mirror and say they are supporting a free and democratic candidate. This is a national issue that requires a national solution. For all intents and purposes Makoni could be one of the perpetrators who needs pardoning in this issue. We need to take the Zimbabwean political discourse out of the politics of the selective application of justice. Dembare says that the inclusion of people like Dabengwa in the Makoni camp will ensure that this issue is dealt with. Dabengwa has been a member of ZANU-PF for over 20 years and in those 20 years he has failed to provide leadership on this issue. Which is why he lost twice to the MDC. Makoni has to come clean. We can not continue to let politicians think they own us. We elect them to carry out the wishes of the people. Ndex is right, Zimbabweans are not vindictive people and it is evident that a majority of victims are ready to pardon Mugabe if he comes clean. However this is not an issue for Makoni or Politicians to decide, it is an issue which the people of Zimbabwe have to decide. Makoni is indeed losing a lot of votes through this flip-flop.

It is true that this is a problem with Makoni, however I agree with Dembare that for the sake of change lets get Mugabe out first, have a new constitution and deal with Mugabe's crimes under a new government.

Ko Ndex how are you going to vote from the US. Tiri together mdara lets support Makoni. I think Makoni is afraid that if he says Mugabe will be prosecuted for human rights then he and the army generals involved will not hand over power. So for the sake of change lets support Makoni. Dabengwa and other senior Gukurahundi victims are working with Makoni, so they will make sure that this does not happen again.

This report nails it. Makoni can not continue to flip-flop between pardoning Mugabe and letting justice take its course. If ama Zimba want to pardon Mugabe which I think they will, they should do so freely without some ex-ZANU guys declaring pardons before they win. I am inclined to vote for Makoni but this issue keeps coming up.  

Mleya is right. he is not telling people how to vote. He is just saying pple should vote. Mleya is fair to all candidates. I support Makoni and I will call my home and encourage my pple to vote Makoni. I am not forcing them just asking. there is a website www.makoniforpresident.org if you want to donate.

This is encouraging, to see a Zimbabwean advocating for true democracy, without allegiance to party or tribe. Outstanding work Mleya! We are tired of people telling us what to do. Give the people information and let them choose who they want to vote for. Pundits should stop dividing the people. Mutambara MDC has Bulawayo delivered to Makoni? Says who! Has Makoni ever made a speech in Bulawayo! Tsvangirai has the urban vote locked? Says who! Let Tsvangirai and Makoni put up a tough fight to win the hearts of the people not just take people for granted.

Mleya blaz puda pachena mhani kuti uri kuside raana Tsvangirai. I also used to support Morgan, but Simba is a better candidate mdara. I agree with you kuti vanhu ngava vote! The first thing, first for Zimbos is that they want Mugabe out! So if the opposition is not united and split into 3 or 4 parts, Matibiri will be the only person to benefit. It’s a good theory mdara, but our only hope is kuti opposition unite against Mugabe then Mugabe will lose without splitting the votes.

Thats true, we should have an age limit for madara, just like at work.madara  ndiwo  arikunetsa, they should give young blood a chance. Just like in soccer; if you are over 35 sorry player! [in] politics [if] you are 65 we should say sorry crook - time-up!Madawo ndizvo!

MP Martin and other like minded Canadian leaders should be commended for caring so much about Zimbabwe and pushing for free and fair elections. Thank you MP Martin - Merci!

Morgan it looks like you have run away from Zimdaily because everyone there now has seen the light and dropped MDC, they are supporting Makoni now. Simba was not part of the atrocities said by Tonderai in the 1970s. Simba was a youngman in university in UK at that time. He did not take part. In the 1980s atrocities again Simba was not there he was working for the SADC. So it is clear that Simba does not have any blood on his hands, which is why ordinary people both Shona and Ndebele like him. Yes Simba needs to make his full manifesto public quickly, but with his track record of, standing up to Mugabe and condemning corruption and abuse of power we know he is the right man for the job. Tsvangirai should come in the coalition for a united front against Mugabe. Simba is loved by most people and can win against Mugabe. Tsvangirai on the other hand can not win. For the sake of Change lets support Makoni and remove Mugabe- Njobo what is this nonsense about footballers not being good for the office? Soccer starts are the biggest examples of human rights leaders. Have you ever heard that a soccer star made a tribal remark anywhere?- anywhere - Makoni ndizvo!    

I agree with Tonderai. Now that we all know that Makoni, up to the very last minute before he was kicked off was still claiming to be a politiburo member of a party with such a grisly history. What Change is he going to bring to the people. Yes Tsvangirai was once a member of ZANU, but he - unlike Makoni – made a clean break from ZANU. Tsvangirai disagreed with ZANU on principle and left with his dignity intact. Tsvangirai visited Matebereland mass-graves and apologized and condemned the atrocities. Today we hear that Makoni vows to heal Zimbos, how is he going to do it, where is his manifesto. Tsvangirai has his manifesto ready – so a vote for him is a sure vote. But a vote for Makoni is a shot in the dark simply because we don’t know what he stands for or who he stands with. Tsvangirai may not have a PhD but he is definitely more organized amongst the current opposition. Its ok to love Simba, he is a nice guy but it’s a irresponsible to vote for someone without knowing where they stand on issues. Have any of the “New ZANU” “progressives” thought about telling Simba to rally his supporters behind Tsvangirai for the good of nation? I guess that doesn’t apply to Makoni only Tsvangirai and the other opposition should make space for Makoni! Tsvangirai ndizvo!   

Good piece Njobo, Its good to see more Zimbabweans coming out in favor of freedom, unity and progress. However, I would like to correct one misconception that most Ex-ZANU PF supporters suffer from, which is clearly characterized here by Njobo. Njobo claims “Mugabe and ZANU-PF did an excellent job in fighting colonialism”. Where have you been Njobo – you mean you don’t know about the assassination of Hebert Chitepo, the assassination of Tongogara, the detention and “disappearances” of ZANLA combatants who were members of ZPA (the joint ZIPRA & ZANLA forces formed by the Patriotic Front). The brutal suppression of dissenting voices in Mozambique, the brutal killings of “sell-out” villagers (ask Chinoz what Mugabe does to “sell-outs”). What about the brutalities against Sithole supporters in Chipinge, what about brutalities against Muzorewa supporters in Manicaland. The list of gruesome atrocities is way too long. Nkomo’s ZAPU is not clean either. If Zimbabweans are to continue in this journey of discovering freedom, unity and progress; there has to be acknowledgement of past wrongs so that we can learn from them and avoid repeating the same grisly mistakes in the future. It is acceptable to acknowledge Mugabe and Nkomo’s varied contributions to de-colonization, however it is childish to equate excellence with their conduct. Every time we fail to stand up and condemn oppression, no matter how small, we impend the progress of freedom and unity. Lets stop re-hashing the “doctored” Mugabe history and speak openly about what he has done, what he is doing and what he is capable of doing. Peace built on a false foundation will not take hold let alone last.

Interesting indeed. I guess by Zimbabwean standards this amounts to progress and as most people here seem to claim, more options for Zimbabweans to vote for: MDC (Morgan) MDC (Professor M.) ZANU (Mugabe) ZANU (Makoni)..add in a few Matebele radicals (whats the name of the party from Byo) ..(all the Shona radicals are with Mugabe)real options indeed? I haven't heard anyone talk about the economy and restoration of the rule of law and our farms. Lets have that Madawo character  and other more credible analysts go back on tv with thier friends and tell us more about what Mr. Makoni will do for the economy and the rule of law. This time I will call in. 

Cde. Editor, thank you for another clean discussion. I have learnt not to take these simple things like having an open clean discussion for granted given what happens elsewhere. Makoni ndizvo! Tsvangirai knows that people were voting for him because there was no alternative. He knows he is no match to Makoni –pound –for- pound - when it comes to leadership. No one after Nkomo can unify Zimbabweans as Makoni can. You can look even here on this forum people like Ndex and Dembare agree that Makoni is a unifying person. Tsvangirai and Mutambara failed to unite against Mugabe, yet they claim they can unite the nation. I say that Tsvangirai should do what he originally said he would do which is to boycott the election. Tsvangirai is always calling for “stay-aways” – I say he should stay away from this election and watch Zimbabweans vote for Makoni and give Mugabe the boot!   

Grace raises some valid points. Yes we need to question Makoni’s intentions, sincerity and commitment to the Zimbabwean people just like we need to question Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai and MDC have had almost 10 years (since 1999) to show leadership  and vision . Yet all we have seen since 2001 has been childish misadventures in politics, zero leadership and down-right abuse of the little power they have. I agree with Makhosini in that; let then all run for office and the Zimbabwean people will chose the best candidate. This will also allow MDC to cleanse its self of useless leadership. Surely if Tsvangirai fails again to lead MDC to victory in the space of 10 years, MDC followers will finally take notice and elect a new leader who will enhance their chance of victory next time around. For now common sense and  popular Zimbabwean sentiment suggest that Makoni is unifying figure pointing to a Makoni victory in April ’08 (if they do not kill him).

Grace I read with interest your comments and while I agree with some of the issues you have raised, may I point out to you that for you to know Simba's Strengths and weaknesses, you got to study and do your own research about him. I want to believe that no-one listed Morgan's strengths and weaknesses for you and as such I encourage you to do the same for Simba and you will see the light at the end of the tunnel!The comparison between Simba and Jonathan is not unfair. It is common knowledge that Jonathan joined ZPF to revange against the Referendum loses he had suffered. Simba is a different case. The guy has stood up against Mugabe whenever unjust economic and social policies have been introduced and uses facts other than mass movements retoric! That is a politician there. Simba's resume is outstanding and can not be compared with Jonathan or Morgan Stvangirai at all. He qualifies to be a CEO of any organization and would come out untainted by corruption or favouratism at all costs - look at MDC - Tsvangirai has failed that test.While the Marathon is long, I certainly hope he is going to run it through and win against all costs. This is the right replacement for both Morgan and Mugabe combined!May I remind you Grace that Morgan too was put into ZCTU by Mugabe and they used to complimate each other well!

Simba is a great guy and all that, and most Zimbabweans have a romantic view of him, i.e. his is a bright promising leader who is being victimized by ZANU Leadership.  Really? I am kind of suspicious of all this. Why would an organized guy like Simba give himself only 4 weeks to run for office. Why the conflicting statements in just 2 weeks One week he is pledging allegiance to the genocide criminal - Mugabe, the very next week he is the saviour of the world running against the guy he was supporting a week before. It’s the Jonathan Moyo story all over again. One time he is having journalist arrested and the next time he is claiming to champion the very rights that he single handedly destroyed. Simba should come clean, who is behind him, is he fooling us or is he for real. With Tsvangirai at least we know where he stands and we know his weaknesses and strengths. We do not know who Simba is working with  – what about repressive characters like Mnangagwa, Kasukuwere etc – or is Mugabe using him to split the opposition vote? We need answers!  I think what Zimbabweans do not realize is that we do not know who Simba Makoni is anymore. Will the real Simba Makoni please stand up!    

Makhosini and Tonderai - your views are well put. I was in Zim during the Constitutional referendum and the 2000 general elections. Those events are very distinct, by then we as zimbabweans had not witnessed the Madhuku and Tsvangirai issues and as such worked with them only to realize later that they were not very different from Mugabe as they started panel beating their own constitution and removing opposition within their organizations. We have seen tsvangirai doing away with any talks that does not assure him keys to Zim Hse. Tsvangirai's lack of education and a clear understanding of current and economic affairs has been complicating everything and now we have a clear option in Makoni. The guy is intelligent and understands almost all issues that affect Zimbabwe and that is the alternative we have been missing. I hope and look forward to mutambara and everyone working with this guy as he has the ability to lead us into a different and better ZimbabweI encourage everyone to join in the makoni drive!

This is good news for Zimbabwe and should serve as a clear message to Tsvangirai and Mutambara that when you fail to take the initiative to lead other people will rise up and take over. MDC had a unique advantage to win this election and deliver Zimbabweans from the tyrannical rule of Mugabe. But they continue to squabble and fuss whilst people starve and die. Tsvangirai now knows that there is a new opposition leader in town who is loved by most Zimbabweans. To Makoni I say you have a tough road ahead you need to campaign hard and quickly tell us what you are bringing to the table; a simple press conference is not enough. We want to see you in Rusape, Murambinda, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Tsholotsho, and all over Zimbabwe talking to the people giving them a reason to vote for you. All of a sudden we have hope!

People in the Diaspora should not underestimate the sophistication of the Zimbabwean electorate. The Zimbabwean people have the ability to chose what is good for them through the ballot box. The referendum vote won by the NCA is a case in point, the MDC win in 2000 is another case in point. United front or not Zimbabweans will be able to chose the best person to lead Zimbabwe out of this mess, From the list of those offering to lead. Makoni stands out as a man full of promise. I think they should all run Tsvangirai, Mutambara , Mugabe and Makoni. If they all run then the people of Zimbabwe can show them in no uncertain terms who they prefer and we wont have any more wonder, splits, or hate speech from anyside. The winner will then form a government of national unity with other open minded Zimbabweans from all walks of life.   

Ndex I told you about NY Gaints blaz, vapfana came in with the Dembare spirit! Anyway – back to Zimbo. This is the way to go vakomana. Simba is definitely a better alternative to Morgan and AGO. Truth be told guys kuti we were all pulling for Morgan because we had no better alternative. I am an MDC card carrying member but this time around I’ll risk going to Zim to vote for Simba. We want new blood in Zimbabwean leadership just like a good soccer team needs new young players. (sorry Peter – we still think you are a great player – but new blood m’dara). Like I said before Zimbo politicians should take leadership examples from sports. Demabre had both Shona and Ndebele players; Highlanders had both Ndebele and Shona players. Even if ignorant people still called Dembare a Shona team and Highlanders a Ndebele team. Now both Shona and Ndebele find common ground in Makoni and support him. I have a suggestion guys – when Simba becomes President – in the interest of national unity and peace he should appoint 2 vice presidents;  Moses “razor-man” Chunga  and Madinda “Everyday”  Ndlovu!

Wataura wena, these guys have been given a clear penalty kick to score against ZANU PF and they start fighting amongst themselves kuti ndiyani achasimudza mukombe before they even kick the ball- Both MDC factions have let us down mani.

Guqula Makoni; this is what we have been waiting for. Any change in Zimbabwe is much better than what we have now under the draconian leadership of Mugabe. We all had lost hope and had resigned ourselves to the half hearted excises of voting for the disorganized MDC. Now the people of Zimbabwe have the audacity to hope, just like the Americans in Obama. Makoni is a candidate that will unite Zimbabweans of all walks of like; Ndebele, Shona, Blacks & Whites. If the diaspora could vote I am sure we would vote overwhelmingly for Makoni. Lets encourage the people of Zimbabwe to be open minded and vote for real change. This is one of those points where I think even Dembare and I agree!  Guqula Makoni, tshintshi 'zinto!

There goes another opportunity to remove Mugabe from power! I am left wondering where MDC got Tsvangirai from. The man does not seem to be different from ZPF at all and it looks like he has secretly vowed to keeep Mugabe in power or is it because of the type of advisors he has? Its about time we push Mutambara forward over Tsvangson because we are going nowhere with him.

This is a noble idea that we should not confuse with politics. The film refered to above is on http://www.youtube.com/tvnews2000 and the person who made the film has teamed up with Oliver Mtukudzi to set up a Trust named after th woman who dies in the film.They have been joined by the Head of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the Head of the HIV Unit at Parirenyatwa in mobilising Zimbabweans to help this good cause of helping HIV and Aids orphans. You can also read http://www.thestandard.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=14&id=7974The trust is contaced on angelinechiyaniketrust@gmail.comIf you watch the film clip on the link above you will throw away all your doubts, its heart breaking.

IngeMaiChenge vataura zvakanaka, Lets try to help our fellow Zimbos kumusha. Lets not wait for other people to help us. If the US & UK are sending food to rural areas lets join them and work together to help vakomana. Brighton good job m'dara ndiyo inonzi leadership ka iyoyo. Editor good job. Please ndapota hangu I have an idea - do you guys know kuti Zimbabwe's greatest team is also desparet for help, vapfana varikutiza team because there is no support lets send some donations to Dembare as well!

First let me says - Great job! to Sharon for giving us a clean and balanced paper here in Canada. (I don't know who she is I just heard Grace saying Sharon is the Editor). anywhere good job sister or editor! Ndex, why don't we try this. It has been established that sending money is not the best way, why don't we encourage each other to send stuff instead, like Shkangele has committed and see if ZANU will politicize the donations. In the mean time lets ask those of our brothers and sisters who are fundizs in laws and logistics etc to research this and come back and submit an article on how best to donate stuff to Zim. My point is lets not wait lets do something.   

  Good for you Skhangele you are a lady of action indeed, I think you missed a very important person in your thank you list; Grace; (since you singled out Makhosini) Grace is the person who first pointed out that sending money to Zim –even for charity - is a very tricky business. It is because of her clear articulation to the danger of enriching Mugabe that you finally decided to send stuff instead of money. I would play the devil’s advocate and submit that there are laws governing donations etc. Should you want to donate sanitary pads for example to Dimpamiwa Clinic you will first need to have your donation cleared by government, and the only way they can let you donate stuff is if you will hand it over to them and let them take credit. And this is how they take credit, they will give your donated sanitary pads only to those people who will confess to supporting ZANU. So it is my humble submission that humanitarianism and politics in Zimbabwe are so intertwined that you can not perform the other without affecting the other. I am with Grace in saying we need to hold ZANU accountable, put pressure on the fragmented opposition to present a united front and kick Mugabe out, only then can we bring meaningful help to the people of Zimba. If we send money of stuff to help peole in Zimba we should do that knowing that Mugabe will find a way to enrich himself or politicize the donations. I am not against helping, I just want all of us to think this through.     

Sorry guys I didn’t think my simple questions would create such a debate. Thank you Makhosini I think you have answered my questions, I will contact my home clinic in Dimpamiwa and find out what they need and I will rise funds from relatives and friends here and buy what we can afford and send those items there. I encourage all of us to do related things if you are from Mutoko call your local school and find out what the headmaster needs there and send him the items that you can afford to buy, it could be lap equipment or sports uniforms. Again thank you Brighton, thank you guys I enjoyed the debate.

Tonderai is right I think some of our friends are missing the point, Brighton is simply challenging us to get out of this mentality of wanting someone else to solve our problems for us. This is not a political issue, it’s a humanitarian issue. For example we do not necessarily have to send money to Zimbabwe, as Brighton suggested we could send medical drugs that are in short supply directly to public hospitals, we could ask independent charity workers like Hopewell what materials (other than money) he needs for his work and we could buy those and send them directly to him. I do support the fact that we should fight for our right to vote in the diaspora and that the opposition will need to present a united front to successfully dislodge Mugabe from power by democratic means. However I think these two things are different Brighton’s vision is humanitarian and Grace’s point is political. I think we can do humanitarian work without being political.

  Lets not lose sight of Brighton’s point, which is – we should be the good that we want to see in others. So if sending money to Zim will enrich Mugabe and the Crooks what then can we do to help the innocent suffering people back home? We need to resist the defeatist spirit of shooting down good ideas simply because they are tough to implement. The US & UK have sanctions against ZANU but they still send food relief to help poor people in the rural areas. Lets be creative guys and build on this idea. Zvingato pfamba Ndex!

  Ncube usiqalele indaba lapha, I agree with the ladies; there is no way anyone can send money to Zimba without enriching Mugabe and the ZANU connected Cash Barons. The only reason why they came after Butau is because he got greedy and did not want to give the chefs their share. Also why are MDC MPs quite about this whole issue, corruption has perverted the opposition as well. We should strongly demand our right to vote in the diaspora and then put pressure on MDC and other groups to put forward one Candidate under a unified opposition that we can vote for.  

First I should say "hats-off" to Sharon and her crew for keeping this paper balanced and clean (I haven't seen any one calling anyone names here). That said Brighton did put forward a real challenge and i applaude him for his vision. Further Skhangele rises a very important point in that by trying to do good (supporting charities financially in Zim) do we risk enriching Mugabe and the Cash Barons? The answer is clearly YES! There is no way right now that anyone can send money home without enriching Mugabe or the Cash Barons. The Cash Barons love Mugabe (as long as they give hime his share so he doesn't come after them). I think the solution is for us to up the stakes and begin to hold ZANU accountable first by demanding our vote in the diaspora and secondly by putting more pressure on MDC, NCA, and all other opposition groups to straighten-up and challenge ZANU in the ballot box.

Good piece Brighton, you have indeed challenged us to bring out the change that we are always crying for. Helping one person at a time

This is a visionary statement my brother Brighton. We need this kind of leadership within the Zimbabwean community in the Diaspora. However I have some questions. How would we send funds to charities back home with out enriching Mugabe and the cash Barons, the last time I checked Western Union was no longer doing USD in Zim? my understanding is that anyone sending money to Zim has to going either through Mugabe (the official nonsensical rate) or through Cash Barons (the black market). We need leadership on how to do this we are very willing to join you and help Charities in Zim.

I know Innocent and his brother who lives in Texas. They both speak fluent Ndebele and I believe it when Innocent says his family was also a victim of Gukurahundi. Keep writing tshomi and go back on tv and say some more stuff (those that disagree with Innocent should write the tv station and ask to present their own views), Murungu and Mthwakazi are showing maturing by disagreeing on issues and calling for Innocent's rights to be protected. Batshele!

Its sad that it took Madawo's misfortune of being threatened by ZANU for ordinary Zimbabweans in Canada to speak up. What is interesting is that everyone - those vano sapota Madawo and those that do not like his views that much - all agree that this is ZANU and are all united in acknowledging Madawo's rights as a journalist to write or say his views without fear of threats. We should speak out more and campaign for the Diaspora vote and then after we win we can ask "Murungu" to come back and farm in Rusape.Its obvious the CIOs are mad to see people uniting against intimidation.  

Murungu is right this Madawo fellow has been on tv waffling. I disagree with Madawo when it comes to his stand on when Mugabe changed - he said Mugabe was fine until around '97 or so. Mugabe has been a violent dictator from the beginning ask the victims of his horrible deeds in Mozambique in the '70s the whole world knows about 'iskhukhula' (gukurahundi) genocide in Matebeleland in the '80s. However Madawo's report is not pro-skhukhula and I can not say I read anywhere were he was supporting iskhukhula. The police should arrest this CIO who threatened Madawo to show ZANU operatives that there is a difference between lawless ZANU and Canada.  

I am an ex-Rusape white farmer who disagrees with Mr. Madawo on a number of issues more specifically his stance on land redistribution - he was on tv saying Mugabe was right about the Land (whose land)- Be that as it may I do not think journalist should be threatened willy-nilly this is not Zimbabwe this is Canada the culprits should be arrested.  

I have read Innocent's piece and i do not see anything on it that suggests pro-Gukurahundi ideas. Tonde is right this is ZANU-PF using intimidation tactics again trying to plant seeds of fear and division. Its all they know. Don't stop writing Innocent kept the true reports coming and let the world know how Mugabe and ZANU have destroyed our country and our people both Ndebele and Shona.  

Mugabe's CIO operatives have infiltrated Zimbabwean communities everywhere in the Diaspora from Dallas, Texas to Hillbrow in South Africa. Their primary aim has always been to identify those who are most vocal in speaking against the atrocities perpetuated by ZANU-PF and try to silence them through intimidation. Their most common tactic has been to threaten such activist saying harm will befall their parents or relatives back home since they can not do any thing to them in Dallas, The law here will definitely bring them to book. It is an escalation of intimidation tactics to learn that they have now directly threatened Madawo's life in Canada. The Zimbabwean community over there know who these people are and they should help the police catch these violence mongers. I am Shona but I grew up in Sizinda, Bulawayo and I witnessed atrocities committed against my uncles (my mother is Ndebele).