Vol 49 No 12 | ZIMBABWE Fighting democracy – Mugabe's last stand 6th June 2008 No matter how President Robert Mugabe does his sums, the odds are against him if there is a credible rerun of the presidential election on 27 June More than 50 opposition supporters have been killed and tens of thousands displaced since the first round. On 4 June, police briefly arrested the likely winner, Morgan Tsvangirai,...
Vol 49 No 12 | ZIMBABWE Change in Chikomba 6th June 2008 About 150 kilometres south of Harare, Chikomba District has long been the home base of the ruling party’s power elite. These days, however, it shows the same political...
Vol 49 No 12 | ZIMBABWE Sanctions and standards 6th June 2008 British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials are concerned whether the Zimbabwe operations of London-based Standard Chartered Bank violate European Union sanctions, according to emails seen by Africa...
Vol 49 No 12 | ZIMBABWE Mawere against Mugabe 6th June 2008 One of Zimbabwe’s most strident businessmen, Mutumwa Mawere, is winning his long battle for compensation with President Robert Mugabe’s regime over the ownership of his company Africa Resources...
Vol 49 No 10 | ZIMBABWE Dealing with a wounded tiger 9th May 2008 Led by its Legal Affairs Secretary Emmerson Mnangagwa, hardliners in the governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) cling to power in the face of internal dissent and the government's defeat at the 29 March polls. They insist that President Robert Mugabe will fight a presidential runoff vote against the Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai, probably in June or July, and will win by all means necessary. After almost a week of political paralysis in ZANU-PF following the 29 March elections, Emmerson Mnangagwa and his allies honed a fight-back strategy for the party that involves...
Vol 49 No 10 | ZIMBABWE Mnangagwa's return to form 9th May 2008 Legal Affairs Secretary and former Security Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has led the charge for Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) since he organised the party congress's decision last...
Vol 49 No 10 | ZIMBABWE Good COPS, bad COPS 9th May 2008 'We will get it done,' Daniel H. Overmyer assured Africa Confidential, leaning in conspiratorially. Overmyer is the President of Castle, Overmyer, Poole & Schubert (COPS), a merchant bank...
Vol 49 No 9 | ZIMBABWE Can the opposition fight and can it rule? 25th April 2008 New questions are raised about the leadership opposition's leadership This week as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s diplomatic efforts appeared to be paying off with growing condemnation in Africa of President Robert Mugabe and the discredited...
Vol 49 No 9 | ZIMBABWE The opposition line-up 25th April 2008 The division of the opposition into three rival components hampers its response to the government’s crackdown and its ability to mobilise against electoral fraud. Activists believe the Central...
Vol 49 No 9 | ZIMBABWECHINAARMS Oceanic turnaround 25th April 2008 The thwarted voyage of the An Yue Jiang – a Chinese freighter with a cargo of ammunition, mortars, mines and artillery bound for President Robert Mugabe’s government –...