751-Chronology of Zimbabwe talks April to October 2007
Although South Africa was appointed facilitator for the Zimbabwe talks at the Southern African Development Community meeting in Dar es Salaam on 29 March 2007, it did not publicly announce the meetings of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change. But here is how the talks progressed.
752-Mugabe has to indicate by “body language” he wants change- Biti
Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube said negotiations with the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front were going on well on paper but a “paradigm shift” by President Robert Mugabe was critical to the success of the negotiations and Mugabe had to indicate by his “body language” that he wanted change.
753-Bennett says US funded Mbeki campaign against Zuma
Movement for Democratic Change treasurer Roy Bennett told United States embassy officials that South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande had told MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai that the United States government had funded South African President Thabo Mbeki’s African National Congress re-election campaign because Washington did not want Jacob Zuma to become South African president.
The government banned a march that was planned by the Movement for Democratic Change to protest against the government’s refusal to implement a new constitution before the 2008 elections and to postpone the election date from March.
755-Biti says Mbeki is full of b… s…
Movement for Democratic Change secretary-general Tendai Biti told United States embassy officials that South African President Thabo Mbeki, who was the facilitator of the Zimbabwe talks, was “full of b.s” after the South African leader had suggested that the leaders of the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, should meet President Robert Mugabe directly to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis.
756-MDC factions agreed to field Tsvangirai as president
The two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change agreed on 19-20 January 2008 to form an electoral pact and to support Morgan Tsvangirai as their joint presidential candidate. The two agreed to this after two-day talks that were funded by the Institute for Democracy in Africa chaired by activist Brian Raftopolous.
757-Talks dead, MDC in a quandary
Movement for Democratic Change Mutambara faction secretary general Welshman Ncube said on 29 January 2008 the Southern African Development Community sponsored talks between the MDC and the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front were dead.
758-MDC reunification collapses
The reunification of the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change that had been brokered by the two secretary generals, Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, collapsed over the issue of allocation of constituencies in Bulawayo.
759-US funded parallel vote count in 2008 elections
The United States through its Agency for International Development funded the parallel vote counting by the Zimbabwe Election Supervisory Network in the 2008 elections, according to a cable released by Wikileaks.
Movement for Democratic Change secretary general for the Tsvangirai faction, Tendai Biti said his party had won 96 of the 128 seats it had so far received results for and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had 60 percent of the vote in the presidential race with Mugabe trailing behind with 30 percent and Simba Makoni 10 percent.
761-Tsvangirai vacillates on results
The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change Morgan Tsvangirai told a press conference on 1 April 2008, three days after the polls , that he had received enough votes to avoid a runoff but avoided stating that he had won the elections.
762-MDC says Tsvangirai won presidential poll
The Movement for Democratic Change announced on 2 April that its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won the presidential elections with 50.3 percent of the vote. It said President Robert Mugabe had received 43.8 percent of the vote.
763-Observers concerned about delay in releasing results
Although the Southern African Development Community and the Pan African Parliament observer missions said the 29 March elections had been credible they were disturbed by the delay in releasing the results as this was part of the election process.
764-Tsvangirai says he won but ready for runoff
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he had won the 29 March elections outright but he was prepared for a runoff provided it was held 21 days after the announcement of the results.
765-MDC rejects recount, warns of violence
Movement for Democratic Change secretary general Tendai Biti denounced reports that the party was considering a government of national unity or a vice-presidential spot for party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and warned that there could be an outbreak of violence.
766-Biti says MDC will not take part in runoff
Movement for Democratic Change secretary-general Tendai Biti told a press conference in South Africa that his party would not participate in a runoff because its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won the presidential contest outright but most people believed that the party was once again posturing.
767-Zambian Foreign Minister says there is no crisis at all in Zimbabwe
Zambia’s Foreign Minister Kabinge Pande told a press conference soon after the Southern African Development Community summit that the situation in Zimbabwe was “not a crisis at all” and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai who had won the 29 March elections but had been denied his victory should be pleased with the outcome “because we’ve taken care of all his concerns”.
768-MDC parallel voting centre useless
The Movement for Democratic Change parallel voting centre which was set up to counter vote-rigging by the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front in the 29 March elections did not have the intended impact because the party waited too late to get it going.
769-Biti says Mbeki is now part of the Zimbabwe problem
Movement for Democratic Change secretary general Tendai Biti told diplomats in the Ghanaian capital Accra that Southern African Development Community mediator and South African President Thabo Mbeki had become part of the Zimbabwe problem because of his unwillingness to push Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
770-Mwanawasa accused Mbeki of being insincere about Zimbabwe
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa who was chair of the Southern African Development Community at the time of Zimbabwe’s disputed 2008 elections said the SADC mediator, South African President Thabo Mbeki, was counterproductive and insincere.
War veterans and Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front youths were on the rampage countrywide especially in the former ZANU-PF controlled provinces beating up suspected Movement for Democratic Change supporters and forcing them to attend ZANU-PF rallies.
772-ZANU-PF had three options after its 2008 defeat
The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front had three options after its 29 March 2008 election defeat, according to a cable released by Wikileaks. First, it could declare that President Robert Mugabe had won the election and declare a state f emergency if necessary but this would have required an obvious falsification of results.
773-SADC pushes for government of national unity
The Southern African Development Community was pushing for a government of national unity as a solution to Zimbabwe’s political crisis because it felt that a presidential election runoff would not end the impasse.
774-Biti says MDC is ready for GNH but without Mugabe
Movement for Democratic Change secretary general Tendai Biti said his party was ready for a government of national healing which included the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front as long as the “destabilising” Mugabe was not included.
775-Ncube says unity talks are on
The secretary general of the smaller faction of the Movement for Democratic Change Welshman Ncube said the Tsvangirai faction and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front were holding talks to form a government of national unity.
776-ZANUPF crackdown on opposition continues
The government crackdown on the opposition which was meant to assure victory for President Robert Mugabe in the 27 June presidential elections runoff continued unabated.
777-US warns Mugabe’s safety cannot be guaranteed if violence continues
United States assistant secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told Mozambican President Armando Guebuza that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s safety could not be guaranteed if he continued to use violence against the opposition.
778-SADC says climate not right for credible runoff
Zimbabwe was not likely to have credible presidential elections in the runoff planned for 27 June 2008, the director of the Southern African Development Community organ on politics, defence and security affairs, Tanki Mothae, said seven days before the poll.
Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai faction secretary general Tendai Biti, who was arrested on his return from South Africa on 12 June, appeared in court twice charged with treason, publishing documents prejudicial to the State, causing disaffection within the police, and insulting the President.
780-US piles pressure on UN security council
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice piled pressure on the United Nations Security Council to intervene in Zimbabwe before the 27 June presidential elections runoff arguing that conditions were not right and the situation was getting worse because of escalating violence.
Lawyers for Tendai Biti secretary general of the Tsvangirai faction of the Movement for Democratic Change lodged 11 complaints against the State for his ill-treatment in jail since his arrest on 12 June.
782-Tsvangirai comes out of hiding
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai scolded the mediafor sensationalising his going into hiding at the Dutch embassy rather than focusing on the continuing brutalisation of Zimbabweans at the hands of the government-sanctioned ZANU-PF youth and war veterans.
783-Mnangagwa denies new clashes in DRC
Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa denied that Zimbabwean troops were involved in any new clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tom McDonald, did not believe him.
784-Goche says he does not know who is calling the shots in DRC
The Minister of State Security Nicholas Goche told United States embassy officials that he did not know who was calling the shots in the Democratic Republic of Congo but he believed it was the Congolese people.
785-Mugabe says if the British won’t honour their obligations, we won’t either
When President Robert Mugabe heard that British Minister Clare Short had said that the labour government was not interested in colonial matters and would not honour obligations undertaken by the previous government, including land reform, he said: “If they won’t honour their obligations, we won’t either”.
786-Simba Makoni says we will not play chase after Johnny
Former Finance Minister Simba Makoni told banks, bureaus de change and leading exporters that a policy to devalue the Zimbabwe dollar had been agreed but this time everyone involved must stick and play together and not allow the parallel or black market to get too far away from the official rate.
787-CIO boss admits destroying vouchers in Tsvangirai case
Central Intelligence Organisation boss Happyton Bonyongwe admitted that his organisation had destroyed vouchers which proved that the organisation had paid Canadian Ari Ben Menashe who had implicated Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe.
788-Judge says CIO boss must answer questions about payment vouchers
Justice Paddington Garwe ruled that the certificate issued by Nicholas Goche, Minister of State Security, claiming that information on the operations of the Central Intelligence Organization was privileged, was valid but the certificate did not exempt CIO boss Happyton Bonyongwe from answering questions on his role in the destruction of the payment vouchers.
789-ZANU-PF becomes anti-democratic after formation of MDC
The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front had become anti-democratic after the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change reversing the internal democratic processes it had started.
The Movement for Democratic Change had a hectic travel ahead of the 2005 elections which covered Southern, North and East Africa as well as Europe and the United States.
791-MDC tried to lure expelled ZANU-PF politicians ahead of 2005 elections
The Movement for Democratic Change tried to lure Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front politicians purged at the 2004 Tsholotsho debacle which saw six provincial leaders suspended from the party for attending the meeting at which they allegedly planned to stage a smart coup against Joice Mujuru, John Nkomo and Joseph Msika.
Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell that Zimbabwe was expecting a harvest of 800 000 tonnes of maize but needed to import 1.2 million tonnes because farmers tended to keep most of their harvest in times of drought.
793-Zvoma forced to terminate US support to parliament
Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma was forced to terminate the United States government funded support to Zimbabwe’s parliament which was being channelled through the State University of New York.
794-Mandaza says the MDC is fractured, weak and irrelevant
Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza who was linked to the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front said the Movement for Democratic Change was fractured, weak and irrelevant so he did not think talks with ZANU-PF would go anywhere.
795-Gono gives copy of letter to Mugabe to US ambassador
Central Bank governor Gideon Gono gave a copy of a letter he had written to President Robert Mugabe recommending that the president ensures free and fair elections and open up the electoral process to international observers including the United States and Britain to United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGhee.
796-Poultry producer uses political patronage to survive
Poultry Producer Irvine’s Day Old Chicks used political patronage to survive using Labour Minister Nicholas Goche to evade price controls and central bank governor Gideon Gono to retain 90 percent of its export earnings.
797-Goche refused US offer for a Mugabe exit package
Labour Minister and close Mugabe confidante Nicholas Goche refused a Mugabe exit package that was offered by United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGhee, 19 days before the 2008 elections.
798-US ambassador says John Nkomo is too timid to assert himself
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front chairman and Lands Minister John Nkomo was too timid to assert himself and was leaving hardliners, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo and Agriculture Minister Joseph Made, to run the land reform programme, United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Joseph Sullivan said.
799-Who is paying for Mugabe’s Borrowdale home?
The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front was paying for President Robert Mugabe’s 25-room mansion in Borrowdale Brook.
800-Fears as government announces intent to nationalise land
There were fears that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front wanted to increase its political patronage when The Herald reported that the government intended to abolish title deeds and replace them with 99-year leases with wildlife and game conservancies being limited to 25-year leases.
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