More pressure on Mugabe as Zim embassy forced out of event
On Wednesday the German Crisis Action coalition forced the Zimbabwean embassy to withdraw from an “All Nations Festival”, a day when embassies in Berlin open their doors to the public, by planning a rally outside the embassy to mourn the death of democracy.

WOZA leaders finally released
Jennie Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu have finally been released on bail after spending six week at Chikurubi maximum prison, for holding a peaceful protesting. The leaders of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise were arrested on May 28th, together with 13 others.

Murehwa residents forced to supply food for militia bases
We received reports from the Murehwa district that villagers are being forced to ‘donate’ scarce commodities like maize meal, cooking oil and soap, to ZANU-PF’s youth militia and war veterans.

MDC MP abducted outside High court in Harare
The MDC MP for Buhera South in Manicaland, Naison Nemadziwa, was on Tuesday abducted outside the High court in Harare. Onlookers said they sawNemadziwa being bundled into the back of a car and driven away. The incident, in full view of shocked passersby, took place just after the MP had emerged from the court to hear an electoral petition filed by Joseph Chinotimba, the losing Zanu-PF candidate in the Buhera South constituency.

Mbeki’s mediation role more suspect after A.U. summit
There has been much criticism of the role played by South African President Thabo Mbeki at the AU summit in Egypt this week, and in the days leading up to it. Reports said Mbeki was lobbying African leaders to accept Mugabe as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe, and he made it clear that he favours a government of national unity, that features Mugabe at it’s head.

Tutu calls for Zim transitional government and peace keepersArchbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday night said South Africa had failed its “Apartheid era friends” by supporting Russia and China in the UN Security Council vote with regards to Zimbabwe.

Pressure mounts against Mugabe as global disassociation grows
The pressure on Mugabe is mounting, with a growing number of international leaders and businesses disassociating themselves from the dictator. Germany said it had asked a Munich-based firm to stop supplying Zimbabwe with paper used for banknotes.

African observer missions declare Zimbabwe poll not free and fair
Both the Pan African Parliament and SADC observer missions have announced that the run off election was not free and fair and that the run up to Friday’s one man poll did not conform to regional principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.

Cosatu urges Africa not to recognise Mugabe’s ‘win’
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced the results of the presidential runoff between Robert Mugabe and - Robert Mugabe on Sunday. According to ZEC, Mugabe won 85.51 percent of the vote. The Congress of South African Trade Unions immediately released a strongly worded statement urging other African countries to refuse to recognise Mugabe as a legitimate head of state.

Retribution in some rural areas as Bob prepares for another term
Our Harare correspondent said the urban areas are peaceful but villagers are being assaulted in the rural districts of Manicaland, because there were too many spoiled ballots and not enough votes for Mugabe. Our Bulawayo correspondent said that residents of Plumtree are being ordered to go to a war vets base called Sowezi, to prove that they voted by showing the ink on their fingers. Lupane residents are also being targeted because voter turnout was too low.

Violence and Mbeki only remaining pillars for Mugabe: MDC
The MDC have dismissed Friday’s one-man election as a sham and said Mugabe, ‘is only left with two pillars of support - South African President’s reluctance to come out strongly in condemning Mugabe’s terror campaign and halt the discredited run-off poll which took place Friday.

MDC polling agents abducted in Gwanda by-election
Reports say 2 MDC polling agents were abducted by Zanu PF militants during the parliamentary by-election held in the constituency Friday.

Result of sham poll illegitimate
The Southern African Litigation Centre has again defended its well researched claims that Morgan Tsvangerai is constitutionally and legitimately Zimbabwe’s new president.

Mugabe pushes ahead with election, without Tsvangirai
Robert Mugabe has vowed to go ahead with Friday’s presidential run-off despite opponent Morgan Tsvangirai withdrawal. The regime has ignored regional and international pleas to postpone the poll.

Mbeki boycotts SADC emergency talks on Zimbabwe
An emergency meeting of the Southern African Development Community in Swaziland Wednesday is expected to recommend to Zimbabwe’s political leadership that is should form a transitional government, as the first step towards resolving the crisis.

United Nations finally condemns Zimbabwe violence
For the first time the United Nations Security Council has unanimously passed a statement condemning the Zanu PF campaign of violence.

Jacob Zuma calls for urgent UN/SADC intervention on Zimbabwe
African National Congress President Jacob Zuma has described the situation in Zimbabwe as ‘out of control’ and called for urgent intervention by the UN and the regional SADC grouping.

Tsvangirai seeks refuge at Dutch embassy
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has gone into hiding in the Dutch embassy in Zimbabwe, a day after he announced he was pulling out of the presidential run-off election. MDC Treasurer Roy Bennett said Tsvangirai has been forced to seek refuge in the Dutch embassy because the party had received credible information of his imminent arrest.

Police raid MDC HQ and arrest over 60 victims of violence
30 armed riot police raided the MDC Harvest House headquarters Monday lunchtime and arrested over 60 victims of political violence seeking shelter there. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Newsreel most of those picked up were women and children who have fled violent retributions from Zanu PF mobs.

Kofi Annan says Friday’s run-off deeply flawed
Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan said Monday that the violent state sponsored crackdown on the opposition had understandably forced MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from the run-off.

Militia on Rampage in Mbare
More than 2000 youth militia are currently on the rampage in Mbare, central Harare, carrying out random attacks on innocent citizens.
Casualty departments in Harare are already receiving injuries from these attacks. Amongst the injuries so far recorded are bayonet wounds, lending credibility to the claims by civil society organisations of military involvement in this campaign of political violence.

Zimbabwe ruling party militants disrupt planned opposition rally
Hundreds of militant ruling party supporters have occupied the site of the opposition's main pre-election rally.
Armed youths from the ruling ZANU-PF are mounting road blocks to prevent opposition supporters from reaching Harare's show grounds. The youths are arriving by the busload.

Amnesty urges SADC to convene emergency summit on Zimbabwe
The Secretary General of the human rights watchdog Amnesty International Irene Khan has written to Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who is currently the Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), appealing to him to convene an emergency summit of SADC heads of state, in order to discuss to Zimbabwe’s deteriorating human rights situation.

Kadoma residents forced to pull down satellite dishes
Residents from the mining town of Kadoma awoke Friday morning to the sound of Zanu PF thugs demanding they pull down their satellite dishes or have their homes burnt down. On Thursday we reported a warning by Kadoma Central MDC MP, Editor Matamisa, who said Zanu PF youths bused in from the nearby Patchway Mine were planning a campaign of violent retribution in the area.

State agents hunting down MDC supporters who fled rural areas
We have received disturbing reports from MDC supporters who were hounded out of their rural homelands and are living a life of hide and seek, pursued by ZANU-PF agents. One activist who is in hiding said state agents are referring to the campaign as “Operation Tsuro ne gwenzi”, meaning hunt both the targets and those who shelter them.

Four more MDC supporters found dead
The MDC reports that 4 youth members were found dead near Harare on Thursday. An MDC official said a group of armed militia wearing ZANU-PF t-shirts attacked the home of MDC Senator Chitiyo in Chitungwiza on Tuesday. Chitiyo’s son was home with two others and they fought back. The ZANU-PF gang left but returned with 300 others. They threw petrol bombs into the house and rushed in. Chitiyo’s son was stabbed and died on the scene.

Two MDC activists shot dead in front of election observers
The level of the Zanu-PF sense of impunity reached new heights Tuesday when two MDC activists were shot dead, separately, in front of SADC observer teams. They were killed in Karoi and Hurungwe in Mashonaland West province. This comes as more African leaders joined a growing list of world and regional leaders calling on Mugabe to stop the violence against the opposition.

MDC Mayor’s wife found dead and ZESN observer murdered
The dead body of the wife of MDC Councillor Emmanuel Chiroto, who was recently elected Harare Mayor was found at a nearby farm on Tuesday. The 27 year-old Abigail had been abducted with her 4 year-old son by ZANU-PF thugs on Monday. Chiroto was not home so they petrol bombed his property. The child was later dumped alive at a police station and Chiroto is still in hiding.

Kenyan football fans chant ‘Mugabe must go’
Over 36 000 Kenyan football fans chanted ‘Mugabe must go’ as the Zimbabwean national soccer team walked onto the pitch for a World Cup qualifying match last Saturday. The warriors were beaten 2-0 by Kenya at the Nyayo National Sports Stadium in the capital city Nairobi. Just before that match the home fans made their feelings known about Mugabe’s continued stay in power, with one local blogger saying, ‘the chant of -Mugabe must go - echoed around the stadium from some 36 000 Kenyan fans.’

Tsvangirai takes campaign to ‘hotbed’ of political violence
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai will this week visit the three politically charged provinces of Mashonaland West, Central and East in the second leg of his election campaign for the June 27th presidential run-off. The provinces, all former strongholds of the Zanu-PF party until the March 29th elections, have borne the brunt of retributive violence against MDC activists, who overwhelmingly voted for Tsvangirai in the first round poll.

Attacks on families and abductions on the rise
As the date of the election run-off draws ever closer, it appears as if Zanu PF’s reign of terror is continuing to escalate, with a growing number of reports of violence, abductions and attacks on families of activists and MDC officials. The whereabouts of the wife of the MDC Mayor in Harare, Emmanuel Chiroto remains unknown after she and the couple’s four year old son were seized by a group of armed men at Chiroto’s house in Hatcliffe on Monday night.

ZANU-PF victimising police officers who voted for Tsvangirai
Desperate for votes in the presidential runoff poll on June 27, the ruling party is forcing police officers and soldiers to cast early ballots in front of their superiors. This is after warning them that they would be fired if they do not vote for Mugabe. Our Bulawayo correspondent Simbiso Dube reported that officers who voted for Mugabe were saluted, but some who were brave enough to defy the order have fled from their home areas.

Biti detention and treason charges trigger outrage
The continued detention of MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti under what have been described as cooked-up treason charges have triggered regional and international outrage. Biti was only brought to court on Saturday following a High Court order sought by his lawyers and granted by Justice Ben Hlatshwayo. Police took him to court while he was handcuffed and wearing leg irons.

Morgan Tsvangirai arrested yet again
MDC Leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 11 other members of his election campaign team were again detained by police and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation just after 10:00 am on Saturday at a road block outside Shurungwi, in the Midlands province. you can also read more on this story at the bloomberg.com website

MDC fund raising, Luton
The Zimbabwe community together with MDC luton branch will have a fund raising function Sat 14 June

Police impound MDC campaign buses and charge Biti with treason
With nothing to offer the electorate, Mugabe’s regime has resorted to frustrating the political campaigns of MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai. After arresting Tsvangirai on two separate occasions during his Thursday campaigns in Kwekwe and Gweru, police on Friday morning impounded his two campaign buses. Again on Thursday, police arrested Secretary General Tendai Biti as he arrived at Harare International Airport following 2 months of self-imposed exile in South Africa. Biti is being charged with ‘treason and communicating statements prejudicial to the state,’ after he pre-empted the suspected rigging attempts of the electoral commission by announcing the election results.

MDC claims government restricting movement of observers
The MDC has claimed election observers have been instructed to return to their hotels by 5pm each day during their stay in the country or else authorities would not be able to guarantee their safety. Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro said the idea behind restricting the observers’ freedom to move around at any time was unacceptable and a serious contravention of SADC guidelines on elections. The MDC has information observers have been told to clear their areas of observation by 5pm. Observers have also been told they must start their work after 8am.

Detained WOZA activists due to be released
After being kept in detention for about 2 weeks while the government delayed a bail appeal hearing, 12 of the 14 WOZA activists who were being detained at Chikurubi Maximum Prison finally faced the prospect of being released on Friday. A male MOZA activist that was at Harare Remand Prison was also due for release on Friday after lawyers paid bail. Lawyer Gift Mpisi, who is representing the WOZA detainees, said he had posted Z$ 5 billion each for their release. A car was on the way to Chikurubi to pick them up late afternoon.

Tsvangirai detained for two hours in KweKwe
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai spent two hours detained at Kwekwe police station after his trailblazing road show campaign was stopped from entering the town. Police mounted a roadblock outside KweKwe when word got to the authorities that the MDC leader’s new campaign strategy was attracting huge crowds. Luke Tamborinyoka, the party’s director of information, said Tsvangirai was travelling in a personalised bus painted in party colours. His motorcade travelled through Chegutu and Kadoma, before it was halted in KweKwe.

Mbeki, Kaunda and Makoni in bid to cancel run-off
South African President Thabo Mbeki, former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and losing presidential candidate Simba Makoni have all ganged up to help Mugabe avoid the election run-off. With Mugabe entering the election as a first time underdog, the trio are being accused of trying to help him by supporting the cancellation of the run-off and establishing Mugabe as head of a government of national unity. Tsvangirai has already made it clear there can be no power sharing before the run-off and that Mugabe would not be acceptable to lead any unity government.

Exiled Zimbabweans protest in London against SA's policy
A crowd of exiled Zimbabweans gathered outside the South African High Commission in London Thursday to demonstrate against the South African government’s policy on Zimbabwe, as well as the recent xenophobic violence that has forced thousands of foreigners out of South Africa.

Harassment of aid groups continues
A week after ordering non-governmental organizations to cease operations in the country, state agents have been descending on the offices of many NGOs to make sure they are complying. Hearing about this some organisations decided to close early on Thursday.

Mbeki finally admits there is a crisis in Zimbabwe
South African President Thabo Mbeki finally acknowledged there is a crisis in Zimbabwe when he told MP’s in Johannesburg Wednesday that violence in the country was a cause for ‘serious concern.' Mbeki has always downplayed the crisis, even telling journalists in April following the disputed elections that ‘there was no crisis.’ But with the increase of political abductions and killings Mbeki has been forced to admit that the violence and disruption of electoral activities needed to be addressed urgently. The MDC welcomed Mbeki’ statement but believes he could have done more.

NCA offices being forced to close by police and Zanu PF militants
The National Constitutional Assembly reports that its offices in Masvingo and Matabeleland South have been forced to close by police and Zanu PF militia. In Masvingo their offices were attacked last Friday by mobs who shattered the windows. NCA staff have also been exposed to personal threats with the militia’s saying the operations of NGO’s have now been banned. On Sunday police arrested the NCA Chairperson for Guruve Constituency, Biggie Bangira and on the same day the home of the NCA Information Secretary in Epworth, Musa Mabika, was torched by ZANU PF militia. Mabika’s wife and sister were severely beaten and are currently recovering in a local hospital.

Government launches ‘operation’ to remove satellite dishes
Continuing its oppressive campaign against the media, government has announced Operation Dzikisai Madhishi, which means ‘Operation pull down your satellite dish’.

MDC families targeted in escalation of violence
On Saturday the wife of Patson Chipiro an MDC district chairman for Mhondoro Ngezi was brutally murdered by a gang of Zanu PF militants who attacked their village. Chipiro was not at home and his children fled the scene on seeing the mob. This left Mrs Chipiro on her own and the thugs set about beating her. They cut off her hands and legs which killed her, and dragged her body into a kitchen hut which they set on fire. In Harare South Zanu PF thugs also set on fire a house belonging to the councillor for ward 1. The councillor, his pregnant wife and their 6-year-old son were at home. The child died in the blaze, the pregnant wife died on her way to hospital. The councillor survived.

Arrested WOZA & MOZA activists further remanded to Tuesday
The 14 members of WOZA who were arrested 2 weeks ago, appeared in court again on Friday and were further remanded until Tuesday. All the main WOZA officials are part of the arrested group, including coordinators Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu. They are being charged with conducting activities likely to cause public disorder and with distributing false information through their fliers. A WOZA representative said if they are brought to trial they would challenge the legislation under which they are being charged, because it breaches sections of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Tsvangirai detained again and rallies blocked by police
State security agents on Friday detained MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai on his way to a rally in Umzingwane from Bulawayo, in Matebeleland South province. This was barely 48 hours after he was detained for eight hours in Lupane, Matebeleland North. On Friday Tsvangirai and his convoy of Thokozani Khupe and party chairman Lovemore Moyo, were stopped at a roadblock at Esigodini south of Bulawayo. He was detained and taken to Esigodini police station where he was held for three hours and where police admitted they were acting on instructions from the top. The MDC have also been told that police have banned Tsvangirai’s rallies in Matabeleland.

Ban on aid organisations means life or death
The Zimbabwe government’s decision to ban the operations of humanitarian aid organisations has very serious consequences for the most vulnerable. Bob Muchabaiwa, programmes director for the umbrella National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, said the groups serve a wide cross section of the poorest, most marginalised people.

Three MDC officials killed in army petrol bomb attack
Zanu PF militants wearing army uniforms petrol bombed an MDC office at Jerera growth point in Masvingo killing 3 officials on Tuesday. A statement from the MDC said a truckload of militants arrived at the party offices at midnight and fired shots into the building. The attackers later petrol bombed the building that was also housing victims of political violence in the area. At least 4 activists are missing and presumed dead while another 2 suffered critical injuries and are detained at St Anthony’s Musiso Hospital. The charred remains of 3 bodies lay on the floor in the burnt out MDC offices and all had bullet wounds. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Newsreel they were still awaiting the positive identification of the deceased before they could release their names.

Violent Zanu-PF medical consultant loses lucrative EU contract
The former medical superintendent for Harare Hospital, Dr Paul Chimedza has had his lucrative consultancy contract with the European Union terminated following reports linking him to incidents of political violence. Chimedza, who’s checkered past saw him being removed from the top post at Harare Hospital following routine conflicts with other consultants, is no stranger to controversy. His intended move to assume the post of deputy secretary in the Ministry of Health in 1994 was also blocked following objections from doctors citing his dictatorial tendencies. Since then he has been in private practice. Ever since the campaign period in February this year, Dr Chimedza has been fingered in a number of violent attacks against MDC activists.

Mugabe in usual rant against the West at Rome food summit.
Robert Mugabe again used an international platform on Tuesday to try and divert attention from his much maligned domestic policies, and blamed western countries for trying to foment what he termed, ‘illegal regime change’ through economic sanctions. A controversial trip to the World Food Summit in Rome, Italy was always going to be an ideal setting for Mugabe to try and repeat the same anti-west rhetoric that failed to prevent his March 29th election defeat by the MDC and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Another MDC MP’s family attacked in Chivhu.
The family of MDC MP elect for Mbare in Harare Piniel Denga was attacked by a group of Zanu-PF supporters at Daybroke resettlement scheme in Chivhu on Sunday.

Health Minister implicated as 2 more die in Murehwa
We have received reports that there were severe assaults on MDC supporters on Saturday and Sunday. The targeted areas were Chemapango and KuDombwe in Murehwa North. The reports said the 2 who died were severely beaten at the shops at KuDombwe. Access to the deceased is being blocked by ZANU-PF gangs, as a result of which their names have not yet been verified.

Mugabe presence in Rome described as ‘obscene’
The presence of Robert Mugabe at a United Nations food summit in Italy beginning Tuesday has drawn a barrage of criticism from the MDC, western leaders and human rights groups. The Zanu PF leader arrived in Rome on Sunday accompanied by his wife Grace Mugabe and several senior government officials. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Mugabe had no right to represent Zimbabwe in Italy after losing the March 29th election, and that the veteran ruler should have been man enough to accept he had no mandate and legitimacy to be in Rome.

Mutambara expected to appear in court Tuesday
Arthur Mutambara, leader of a breakaway faction of the MDC is expected to appear in court Tuesday facing two charges, one for contempt of court for criticising a High court judge and another for issuing false statements likely to bring disaffection towards the regime. On April 20, Mutambara authored an article that was highly critical of Robert Mugabe.

Family of MDC spokesman assaulted in village raid
The 78-year-old grandmother of MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa, along with his mother and young brother, were severely assaulted early Friday morning when armed soldiers raided their rural homestead in Gutu. Two groups of soldiers numbering about 40 terrorised the villagers who were sleeping in over a 100 homesteads in the Chiwara Village. They demanded that villagers showed them Chamisa’s rural home while they shouted, ‘Tinoda Chitaka cha Chamisa (we want Chamisa’s heart)’.

Tsvangirai says Mugabe has turned Zim into ‘state of despair’
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday told his party’s newly elected parliamentarians and senators that the forthcoming presidential run-off would bring to a close one of the ‘saddest chapters’ in the country’s history.
Tsvangirai launched a scathing attack on Mugabe’s rule, saying he had transformed a country rich in natural resources into a ‘state of despair’.

Police in Bulawayo ordered to vote Zanu PF
Zimbabwe’s ruling party is reported to have ordered the entire police force to vote for Mugabe in the presidential runoff, in a desperate bid to ensure victory against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. According to the newly elected MDC MP for Mkokoba, Thabitha Khumalo, police officers in Bulawayo were summoned to Donnington Police Station Friday, where senior police officials told them they will have to cast their votes through the postal system and will fill in their ballot papers in the presence of superiors, who will monitor who they vote for.

Chombo ignores council elections, appoints commissions
The law in Zimbabwe stipulates that newly elected councillors should assume office immediately after the announcement of election results. Yet 8 weeks after the March election, they have still not been sworn-in. Now Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo has appointed commissions to run the country’s major cities and towns.

State agents want to dig up Tonderai Ndira’s body
State security agents have been visiting the Warren Hills cemetery in Harare, in a bid to locate Tonderai Ndira’s unmarked grave. The murdered MDC activist was buried last Sunday. His brother Cosmos told us that state agents had made several visits to the graveyard insisting that municipal gravediggers pinpoint the grave.

Government delays landmark farm case in Namibia, again
The landmark application brought before the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek by Zimbabwean commercial farmers was due to be heard at the Supreme Court in Windhoek, Namibia, on Wednesday. But the government of Zimbabwe delayed the hearing by asking for more time to prepare. Advocate Adrian De Bourbon, representing a group of 77 white farmers challenging eviction laws in Zimbabwe, said the Zimbabwe authorities promised not to evict the farmers or prosecute them at home until the next hearing, now set for July 16.

One dead in Murambinda as soldiers go on rampage
Manicaland province was rocked by a fresh wave of violence Saturday as armed soldiers and militias indiscriminately shot and beat up people at Murambinda growth point, leaving one person dead and 31 hospitalised. Acting with impunity, the soldiers and the militias, led by Zimbabwe National Army Colonel Morgan Mzilikazi, had total disregard for human life. All those seriously injured were taken to Murambinda hospital.

Police ordered not to arrest kidnappers
An active campaigner for the MDC, who was there when state agents kidnapped the party’s district chairman for Marondera, has provided further evidence that the ongoing abductions are part of ZANU-PF’s brutal strategy to ensure victory in the presidential runoff. Witnesses have identified the main perpetrators and the MDC have reported them to the police. But the police said that their hands are tied as they have a directive ordering them not to arrest the state agents.

UN human rights chief urges investigation of Zimbabwe violence
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, has called for a full investigation into the killings and attacks on opposition officials in Zimbabwe. In a statement released from Geneva she expressed her shock and concern at the killings and violence that have plagued the country since Mugabe and Zanu PF lost the elections to the MDC.

More councillors, village heads and MDC youth abducted
The abductions of political and civil activists have intensified as ZANU-PF continues its campaign to destroy opposition structures. The latest abduction was in Marondera where the wife of Ian Kay's campaign manager, Mable Penisara, was abducted Monday night. Witnesses say she was taken by armed thugs who had come for her husband. It is believed Tonderai Penisara managed to escape. Ian Kay is the newly elected MDC MP for Marondera in Mashonaland East.

SADC to meet over crisis in region and run-off election in Zim
SADC leaders are to meet on the sidelines of a conference in Japan to discuss the current political instability in the region and the deployment of election observers to monitor the second round of Zimbabwe’s presidential poll. The summit starts Wednesday and Mugabe is not attending, even though he was invited. Glen Mpani is the regional co-ordinator in the Cape Town based Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, and he said the time to pretend that all was well in the SADC bloc was long gone.

MDC pledge to extradite Mengistu if they win election
Ethiopia’s former dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam, is still enjoying Mugabe’s protection in Zimbabwe, but that could soon change. An Ethiopian Supreme Court sentenced him to death on Monday for the genocide that claimed the lives of 2000 and the torture of 2400 others. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said if party leader Morgan Tsvangirai wins the presidential run-off, Mengistu will be extradited to face justice in Ethiopia.

Abducted MDC candidate Jani found dead
The body of the abducted MDC Senatorial candidate for Murehwa has been found on a farm in Goromonzi. Shepherd Jani was abducted last Thursday by 4 men. Residents in Murehwa had tried to rescue him by picking up rocks and threatening the perpetrators, but the gang pulled guns and fired warning shots. Throughout the ordeal Jani was screaming for help.

MDC activist Tonderai Ndira given heroes burial
MDC activist Tonderai Ndira, who was murdered by militants loyal to Robert Mugabe, was buried at the Warren Hills Cemetary in Harare on Sunday. Ndira was abducted on the 14th May but his body was only discovered on 22nd May, in the morgue at Parirenyatwa hospital. Activists from various civil society groups and the leadership of the MDC were present at the funeral.

Even if Mugabe wins, he may not be there for long
There are credible news reports that Robert Mugabe’s health is failing. The UK Sunday Times reports that last week he flew to Singapore to have tests for prostrate cancer. It is believed that he has had cancer for some time and this sudden trip, in the middle of Zimbabwe’s crisis, could indicate that his condition had deteriorated.

Tsvangirai returns home
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai is reportedly back in Zimbabwe where he is due to start campaigning for the presidential run-off election that is scheduled for June 27. The MDC leader has been away for some weeks, and he delayed his return last week after saying their intelligence unit had uncovered information about an assassination plot. More than about 30 MDC party supporters and officials have been murdered by ruling party youths, so-called war veterans and armed soldiers since the March 29 elections.

Zanu PF youths burn magistrate’s property over MDC cases
Zanu PF youths in Masvingo on Wednesday morning set fire to a house and car belonging to Gutu resident magistrate, Musaiona Shotgame. According to the Zimbabwe Times website, property worth trillions of dollars was destroyed at the Gutu Mpandawana growth point as the rampaging youths accused Shotgame of being sympathetic towards MDC activists who had appeared before him in court.

Mugabe’s Bishop Kunonga excommunicated from Anglican Church
The die-hard ruling party supporter and former bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga, was this week excommunicated by the Anglican Church, along with several priests and other church leaders who supported his actions against the mother church. Kunonga openly supports the Mugabe regime and their oppressive policies. He was dismissed from the Church after he tried to withdraw the Diocese of Harare from the Church of Province of Central Africa.

Mujurus confront Mugabe over post election violence
Vice-President Joice Mujuru and her husband Solomon are reported to have strongly objected to the use of violence to coerce rural voters into voting for Robert Mugabe in the second round of the presidential poll. The Zimbabwe Independent reported Friday that the Mujurus raised their objections directly to Mugabe during a politburo meeting on Wednesday. Both husband and wife queried why war veterans were targeting people in Mashonaland East and Central provinces where Mugabe and Zanu-PF garnered most votes in last month’s harmonised elections.

Abducted MDC activist Tonderai Ndira found dead
The body of Tonderai Ndira, a prominent MDC activist abducted by Zanu PF militants from his Mabvuku home on 14th May, was found at Parirenyatwa Hospital on Thursday. His decomposing body bore the hallmarks of extreme torture as his lips and tongue were cut out. The dreadlocked activist who friends described as ‘youthful, soft-spoken and humble,’ leaves behind a wife and 2 children.

Pregnant woman bludgeoned to death for supporting MDC
A heavily pregnant woman who was three months away from giving birth was bludgeoned to death in a ‘horrific, brutal and frenzied attack’ that left her almost unrecognizable. Rosemary Maramba’s body was found in Nhakiwa village in Mutawatawa in Mashonaland central. Maramba is one of three people linked to the MDC, who were murdered in the area last weekend. The other two are Action Nyadedzi and a village head identified as Chitsungo.

Zanu PF thugs disrupt MDC funeral in Harare
I magine losing your loved one to senseless political violence and then on the day you try to bury them over 300 Zanu PF thugs descend on the