Vol 51 No 15 | ZIMBABWE What mattered was the football 23rd July 2010 World Cup fever overshadowed both a spectacular political row and preparations for a new constitution Robert Mugabe has earned a reputation as one of the globe's leading gatecrashers but his poise, self-confidence and chutzpah have not rubbed off on his travelling entourage. Officially...
Vol 51 No 15 | ZIMBABWE Restless spirits 23rd July 2010 The Ndebele can't agree on a living leader and many still take their inspiration from the late Joshua Nkomo Sibangilizwe Nkomo, the sole surviving son of Joshua Nkomo (1917-99), is campaigning to exhume his father's remains from the 'foreign' soil of Heroes' Acre in Harare and transfer...
Vol 51 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Diplomacy by other means 25th June 2010 Harare’s foreign policy is splitting at the seams – and so is the awkward ZANU-PF-MDC coalition South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is beginning to tire of the political impasse in Harare. We hear that Zuma’s office has just sent a stern note to the...
Vol 51 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Newsdays and the old days 25th June 2010 The new Media Commission is finally operational and is issuing licences to publish newspapers. After a year’s foot-dragging, during which the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) tried...
Vol 51 No 12 | ZIMBABWE Abbey's all clear 11th June 2010 The recommendation by Abbey Chikane, a monitor for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for diamonds, that Zimbabwe be allowed to resume exports from the much contested Marange fields...
Vol 51 No 11 | ZIMBABWE Squashing the judges 28th May 2010 The courts, despite everything, persist in doing justice sometimes and the President is not amused The acquittal of Roy Bennett, Deputy Minister-designate of Agriculture and Treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), on 10 May gave President Robert Mugabe the chance to...
Vol 51 No 11 | ZIMBABWE Legal limits 28th May 2010 The Harare legal profession is enjoying itself at the expense of fellow practitioner Jonathan Samkange, a favourite in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front who shuns the human...
Vol 51 No 10 | ZIMBABWE Diamond disputes 14th May 2010 Quarrels over diamond concessions preoccupy politicians of all stripes and some adventurous foreign capitalists There are not many ways to get rich in Zimbabwe just now and the best is diamond mining. The business is dominated by the ruling clique in the...
Vol 51 No 8 | ZIMBABWE Spiriting away diamonds 16th April 2010 Backed by Police Commissioner General and junta member Augustine Chihuri, the Governor of Manicaland Chris Mushohwe has barred the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy from visiting...
Vol 51 No 8 | SOUTH AFRICAZIMBABWE The Malema effect 16th April 2010 The royal reception accorded to South Africa’s firebrand youth leader Julius Malema in Zimbabwe over the Easter weekend has proved counterproductive (AC Vol 51 No 7). As President...