A nobody working to fight injustice in the world| Ex UN| Ex OSISA| Ex OSF Africa Programs Director |Tweets solely mine| Retweets not endorsements|
#Rights
To those who may want to delegitimize my voice by asking - on whose behalf do I purport to speak? I don't purport. I speak for and on behalf of myself!
This is the most emphatic, most unequivocal and most unapologetic condemnation of xenophobia that I have ever heard a South African politician give. Julius Malema has refreshingly evolved into a leading pan Africanist.
When
@DrObertMpofu
invaded our farm
#Esidakeni
and chased us out and installed armed guards we had just started to harvest our 800tonnes of onion; 200tonnes of butternut with 75000 cabbages almost ready to harvest. He took it all. Everything!
The past couple of days have been very difficult. Yesterday I lost a little brother to COVID-19 in Bulawayo. His journey has ended. My FB post, attached, narrates how our story began.
8 yrs ago I made a decision to leave my UN job in New York & come back home to Africa.The plan was simple but solid: work for a few more yrs, invest in a farm in Zimbabwe & retire by 50 to farm full-time.I worked for a few yrs, invested in a farm & now 50 have "lost"the farm.🤷🏿♂️😂
26 years ago today, my father died; suddenly, unexpectedly. It was a Sunday & I had last spoken to him from Harare on the phone the day before on Saturday evening. A rare thing because we hardly spoke on the phone, ever. He had asked me to come & see him at Parliament on Tuesday.
When doctors & nurses at Parirenyatwa & Mpilo Hospitals protest against low pay & poor conds, its YOU they're fighting for.The hospitals serve YOU.When teachers protests poor pay, its YOUR children's rights they're fighting for. It’s time YOU join the fight for YOUR own rights.
African leaders must know that there's no difference between an outright military coup & their calculated efforts to subvert democracy incl stealing elections, stifling political competition & dissent, unconstitutional elongation of presidential terms & abuse of citizen's rights.
The Tongas in Zimbabwe & Zambia, the Vendas in Zwe & S/Africa, the Tswanas in S/Africa & Botswana,the Ndebeles in S/Africa & Zwe. The Shanganis in S/Africa & Mozambique; the Swatis in S/Africa & ESwatini, Sothos in S/Africa & Lesotho. Same people! Tell me again about borders!!!
The change I yearn for in Zimbabwe is not the mere replacement of ZanuPF by CCC or any other party. It is the reconfiguration of power from political elites to the people.The recognition of women, young people,ethnic minorities & others as equal & fixing of historical injustices.
It's hypocritical to criticize Mnangagwa whilst celebrating Mugabe.Mugabe was Mnangagwa's boss for 50 years. ED hs only been President for 2.5 yrs.Yes, he's made a mess of it but please don't "whitewash" Mugabe to blacken ED more.He was Mugabe's henchman & they're both very bad.
Today we received a call from Mr. Dodzi at the Lands Office in Bulawayo to tell us that the Zim Govt has acquired our privately owned farm & tomorrow they are coming peg it & give it to people they have allocated it to.This isnt about land reform & we will fight it in every way.
That an individual affiliated to the ruling political party & the CIO can with impunity mobilise to grab a citizen-
@daddyhope
's private property is the clearest evidence that rule of law is nonexistent in Zimbabwe. Once critics are targeted it is undoubtedly persecution.A crime!
Young student, Alan Moyo has been in detention for over 30 days for his constitutional right to protest. Yet Priscilla Mupfumira (USD100m fraud), Obadiah Moyo (USD60m fraud), never spent a day in prison & Delish Nguwaya are free. This is the face of selective, weaponised justice!
Today is exactly 29 yrs since my father, Sidney Malunga died. He was 54 yrs-old. I was only 22 & 3 months from completing my law degree. He never saw what I became but has remained a strong influence in my life. I hope he approves. I wrote this 5 yrs ago.
Inconvenient Truth:
1.There's a mass exodus of Zimbabweans into South Africa.
2.This exodus strains social services in SA.
3.The exodus has been caused by a political, social & economic crises in Zimbabwe.
4.The exodus WILL NOT stop until the underlying causes are addressed.
Amazing what our uncaptuted institutions can deliver. An uncaptuted judiciary ordered a fresh election in Malawi & an uncaptuted electoral commission has delivered a free & fair election in which a sitting president has lost.State captute is our greatest threat.We must fight it.
I had the priviledge to speak at a convening by US
@VP
Kamala Harris in Lusaka to discuss private/public partnerships incl the role of philanthropies in promoting digital inclusion in Africa. My emphasis was that digital inclusion is essentially about advancing digital rights.
I am told that a very Snr Zanu PF official (I will name him soon) visited our farm in Nyamandlovu unannounced & asked questions about when it will be parcelled out & how many boreholes we have. We are ready to fight to defend it.We own it as blacks. Our fathers fought for us too.
We are informed that as we are being prosecuted today in Tsholotsho
@DrObertMpofu
has returned to Esidakeni farm and also re-installed his armed guards. All in defiance of High & Supreme Court orders. No prizes for guessing who's behind all this.
The official pictures from Wits came. I don't want to hear nywe nywe questions about the authenticity, validity, legitimacy wara wara of this and that 😂😂😂
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more."
Who will finish our unfinished business muningina?
We must accept that people who emigrated from Zimbabwe 20 years ago will likely never come back.Many have built lives, raised families, bought homes & acquired statuses in their adopted countries. It doesn't help that quality of life in Zwe remains below their adopted countries.
1| Monica Mutsvangwa's tribalistic statement shows that Mnangagwa & fellow archirects are unrepentant about Gukurahundi.They want to hide their criminal responsibility behind the entire Shona group.They can't. THEY committed the times & they must take individual responsibility.
I believe that
#ZanupfMustGo
for Zimbabwe to be saved. Do I hv a constitutional right to express this view?Absolutely! Is expressing a wish/demand that
#ZanupfMustGo
necessarily a demand for violence? Absolutely not. Do I believe in violence? No. I'm a critic of Zanu's violence.
I'm pleased to confirm that I received a message from my partners, Zeph Charles today to say "we're back on the farm
#Esidakeni
." Tomorrow we begin taking stock of the loss & damage. Rule of law must always prevail. The legal challenge to the Ministerial acquisition continues.
#BREAKING
: Former Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has vacated Esidakeni Farm following Supreme Court ruling, Monday. Mbonisi Mpofu, brother to Obert, who was occupying the farm house, removed his belongings around 12 midday, Thursday.
#Asakhe
Basically he invades our farm. Ploughs it by force and grows his crops. Installs armed guards to deny us access. Stops and threatens our workers from working with violence. Let's all our crops rot. And then flaunts it. Because he thinks he has power and can whatever he wants.
Let me put it simply: If ALL Zimbabweans decide, agree & commit to boycott ANY commercial enterprise especially one that produces perishables such as milk- Deindairy- it will collapse.Not in a year or month... in weeks, possibly days even. So TAKE NOTE of & UNDERSTAND your POWER.
I give you Professor Brian Kagoro,
@TamukaKagoro77
, Professor of Practice at the School of Law at SOAS. A pan African public intellectual. My brother. I have exercised extraordinary restraint to not be the one to break the news.
#ESidakeniFarm
: Meanwhile, we've secured judgement for USD339K for the damage caused to our tomato crop by Dumisani Madzivanyati. We'll be enforcing it to recover our losses. We will also be recovering our losses for our onion & butternut crop. There'll be personal consequences!
You can celebrate Mugabe all you want. Even have holidays & statues of him. Nothing changes what he was, did, destroyed & killed in 37 years in power: human lives, livehoods, hope and opportunity for entire & future generations. What a terrible legacy!!
#EsidakeniFarm
: Before our forcible eviction... and after the eviction of
@DrObertMpofu
by the High Court Deputy Sheriff on Friday. "They take a farm and run it down. Then go to the next farm and run it down." One after the other." More to follow!!
The world is finally taking a side: choosing to stand with the pple of Zimbabwe.The consequence of Zanu PF overplaying its hand & overacting with excessive brutality to peaceful protests on 31July.They can't rally Africa the way Mugabe did.Its downhill now.
#ZimbabweanLivesMatter
If everything related to Chamisa since Morgan's death is illegitimate, so is the presidential election in which he "illegitimately" represented the MDC & the ConCrt decision which recognized his locus standi. So too is the presidency of Mnangagwa. Let's have new elections now!
I am so proud of my country, Zimbabwe.I gather from the Minister of Finance that we will have a satelite in space in 2020. What excellent prioritisation! Once we have a satellite, I hope that in 2021 we can focus on less important priorities like health, education, power & water.
21 farms!!! 31000ha! And she has been allowed to keep ALL of them. And the govt went on steroids to acquire our ONLY ONE 500ha Esidakeni farm shared by 3 people. This is why EVERYTHING in Zimbabwe needs to change. The country “belongs” to a small politically connected elite.
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe:
The election was adjudged by SADC/AU/EU-
NOT free,
NOT fair,
NOT credible,
NOT transparent,
NOT peaceful.
Consequences-
The results declared are-
NOT a reflection of the will of the people.
The outcome is thus-
NOT legitimate.
The illegitimacy MUST be cured.
I unashamedly believe that we need a people's movt to save Zimbabwe.All of us MUST be part of it. It shd NOT BE politically partisan but shd be inclusive &patriotic.EVERYONE must participate in whatever way they can.We must SAVE OUR COUNTRY for our children, parents & ourselves.
Last night my co-directors at Esidakeni Farm were arrested.This is blatant abuse of power, state resources, institutions & officials. Aim is to undermine judicial decisions by the High & Supreme Courts; politically persecute us & violate our fundamental rights. We are not afraid!
I didn't inherit much from my father.He died a poor man.BUT he hd a great reputation, reservoir of respect & an army of loyal comrades.He also hd goodwill & appreciation of the pple he served.He bequeathed to me his lawyer & friend
@DavidColtart
now MY friend.Happy birthday Dave.
CCC MPs Recall: the ruling party, Zanu PF must understand that everyone & everything has a limit. Be careful not to push people too far. There is already a palpable sense that it stole the election. The logical thing is to make things work & normalize politics. This may backfire.
It's the big 50 for the SilverFox -the little boy in the jumpsuit. I'm most grateful for love, friendship, kindness from all of you. It's been a complete life. I'm at peace with many things incl past regrets. I accept that I cannot change the past; just the future.
#NoToInjustice
I spent the most fulfilling day at
#Esidakeni
Farm.The 8m onions we planted germinated well but not without weeds. So we tested a small patch with herbicide & it was terrible. We resolved on manual weeding which is environmentally friendly & creates jobs.
#OnionFarmingInZimbabwe
Never in Zimbabwe's 43 year old history has an election been so irretrievably discredited,
@ZECzim
so compromised, the electoral process so flawed & manipulated & the outcome so delegitimised prior to the first ballot being cast. This is no election. It's a sham. There's a cost!
The Patriotic Act just passed in Zimbabwe will not stop me criticizing the government of my country where I feel such criticism is not only warranted but also justified. Criticising the govt is actually a patriotic act, borne out of love for my country. No law can deny me that.
Some of you have asked what my PhD is all about. For decades we have debated Gukurahundi without engaging what exactly it was legally- under international law. I try to answer that question. I classify Gukurahundi under international law & discuss implications of classification.
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe: Some ask: Why bother to enter an unfair contest? What's the point? If the attitude of our fathers had been to wait until the conditions are fair to contest the status quo, we'd still be under Rhodesia. You fight the fight that you find under the conditions you find.
"I call upon SADC to urgently convene a special summit on Zimbabwe. If they don't do that they are culpable in the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe. I call on CSOs in other countries to get involved. We need to have a culture of accountability in SADC and Africa." Ian Khama.
I just spoke to
@MakomboreroH
who called to tell me he was out.😂. Like, I did not know. 😂
Me: I was very worried about you young man.
Mako: I know mukoma, I was worried about you worried about me.😂
Welcome back Mako!
My dad Sydney wld be so proud! In a sea of uncertainty & setbacks, there's always great news. My daughter has the best offers for university this fall: University of Edinburgh, University of Kent, Kings College, International University in Spain, Penn State; Howard University. 🙆🏿♂️
The reeking stench of misogyny & patriarchy hovers over Zimbabwe's politics.We never hear of dozens of kids most male politicians have with different women yet female politicians are slut-shamed by men everyday.A low-down dirty shame.I stand with women. Sistas keep your heads up!
GenocideWatch &
@IntlCrimCourt
must be alarmed & investigate Monica Mutsvangwa's
@InfoMinZW
ethnic hate statement regarding the Gukurahundi.References to Rwanda & her rallying of ethnicity signal a dangerous attempt to mobilise citizens ethnically.Its a stage towards genocide.
My message is directed at every security (CIO/MID/PISI), (ZRP/Law and Order), ZNA, Zanu PF & other that is part of FERRET or other squad. You WILL face justice. You can TRUST US on that.Remember Sudan sentenced 29 intelligence officers to death for torturing & killing protesters.
The Zanu PF ruling elite in Zimbabwe must pause & seriously take heed of the growing global
#ZimbabweanLivesMatter
movt vs its atrocities.The
#SaveDarfur
Movt that saw Bashir & his generals issued with ICC arrest warrants is a good reference point.Stop the brutality.
@nickmangwana
Between January & June Zimbabwe faces scarcity of onion which is supplemented by imports.We knew this when we planted 8m onion plants last year May with a protected yield of 800t. We lost the entire yield when Esidakeni was illegally invaded in Dec. See the link to food security?
Zanu-PF is taunting, testing & sending Zimbabweans a clear message: "we will keep abusing, torturing, killing & stealing from you until you stop us." It's now time for Zimbabweans to stop them.There's 14m citizens against just a handful of pple in ZPF who benefit!
#ZanupfMustGo
Silence helps the oppressor, never the oppressed.When ZanuPF brutalized Zapu, many didn't speak.When it brutalized ZUM many didn't speak. When it brutalised doctors, many didn't speak.When it brutalizes the MDC-A many don't speak.I speak for the oppressed & against the oppresser!
You may not know this story, but after the attempt on his life in 1983, Joshua Nkomo took refuge at my uncle's house near ours, for a week+ before escaping Zim. My uncle vacated his bedroom. You may choose to believe this next part or not. He left his nduku/tsvimbo. I have it.😂
Taking time to remember Morgan Tsvangirayi, the late leader of the MDC.This picture captures the indignity that comes with fighting for democracy & freedom in Zimbabwe. He was humiliated, assaulted, arrested, tried for treason. He didn't see Canaan but it's close! I can smell it.
S59 of Zimbabwe's Constitution provides that everyone has the right to demonstrate & present petitions & that these rights must be exercised peacefully.Jacob Ngarivhume exercised his constitutional right to peaceful protest & has been jailed for 4 yrs for doing so. This will end!
We must never forget that Joshua Nkomo survived assassination attempts in independent Zimbabwe, 1000s of his lieutenants & supporters killed in a genocide, his leadership team jailed for "treason", his properties illegally taken.He & his party & people suffered. That's his story.
So, is this a "one car at a time bridge"? In 2021? Such a long single car bridge. What was in short supply? Cement? Common sense? Or just integrity to properly use the money to build a proper bridge. Zimbabwe is doomed.
I hear that Zimbabweans have given President Mugabe a farewell befitting him. I am told there are more dignitaries than Zimbabwens at the National Sports Stadium.
1|I just received a message from my partner Zeph Dhlamini at Esidakeni.
@DrObertMpofu
sent his son & scores of people there.They are ploughing our fields.They chased our workers from the irrigation points & threatened them against taking pictures.This is what Zimbabwe has become.
The Zimbabwean diaspora sends over USD1billion a year to Zimbabwe.That's the highest contribution to the local economy.If the diaspora decide to change the politics in Zimbabwe including changing the regime they can.. not with votes, but with their money. Organise don't agonize.
Political leaders in S/Africa must accept the killing Elvis Nyathi as the inevitable outcome of their populist strategies. You dont unilaterally go door to door at workplaces/communities; demand to know who's a foreigner & then get shocked when vigilantes do the same & kill pple.
Zimbabweans overlook that Mugabe had an extra-marital relationship with his PA whilst his wife fought a life threatening chronic illness & fathered children with her whilst she was herself married.Many still eulogize him. Please stop selective & sexist moralizing against women!
After declaring butcher Shiri a hero, insulting the pple of Matabeleland via Mutsvangwa & rubbing salt into the Gukurahundi wound, we are told Pres Mnangagwa is meeting the so called Matabeleland Collective today to discuss Gukurahundi. Pse respect us. You're talking to yourself.
Thank you Bulawayo City Council for the honour. I can't count the number of times I have travelled on Khami Road, one of the two main arteries connecting the industrial & CBD with the townships, including our home in Mpopoma, over the years. Khami Road is now Sidney Malunga Road.
Whether you support Zanu PF, CCC, ZAPU, MRP, DUZ, MDC or whoever else, you have ONE thing in common.
If you have not registered to vote in the election you are a most useless supporter of your political party. If you support no one, then be prepared to accept whoever comes.
The AU and SADC Observers were too premature in calling the Zimbabwean election free, fair and peaceful. The results of the presidential election are not yet out and there are people shot by the army on the streets.
They'll tell you the election's a done deal. Already won by their candidate & lost by yours. That you shd not bother registering to vote. That it's pointless. But if they've won why are they still doing all these things? Even when rigged, it's never a done deal. Register & Vote!
The continued unjust inceration of Job Sikhala is beyond unjust. It is criminal. He must be unconditionally released immediately. One day soon, each and every one of those responsible will account and face justice. We must and will spare no effort for that to happen.
My twitter rules: I try to follow back everyone who follows me! If you are interested in me I want to be interested in you too. But if you are then rude, disrespectful, hateful & abusive to me OR others, I disengage & block you. You can't be civil to me only & abusive to others.
I just turned 52. Many people ask me to join politics😳.I consider myself too old for that. My father, a celebrated politician died at 54 after +34 yrs in politics-much of it in jails. Our political fortunes lie in young people. My generational mandate is to support young people.
If Zanu PF could order a "National Day of Fasting" during COVID-19, the people can have their "National Day of Protest" on
#31July
. No to double standards. Don't let the lockdown stop you from exercising your rights. Protest in whatever way you can respecting COVID regulations.
Power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely. In my 50 years I've watched people gain power & watched it transform their character into something unrecognisably ugly.I've seen the same people later lose power, consumed with regret, shame, guilt & fear of those they abused.
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe: African Observers (SADC & AU) & other international observers agree that the 2023 elections were neither free nor fair & not credible & transparent. The outcome is not a true reflection of the will of the people. We need new, supervised, proper free & fair elections.
The insult that we're puppets of the West, instruments of imperialism& unpatriotic is empty.I personally was radicalized by ZanuPF at age10.The many times armed, they kicked down our door at night, tore our house up& took my father away, I knew back then these were very bad pple.
Soldiers brought in to implement govt confiscation of private citizens' grain.What makes a govt official believe this is right? If I used MY seed, MY fertilizer, MY water, MY pesticides, MY labour & MY money why wld you feel entitled to MY produce. Zimbabwe is going to starve.
#31July
has succeeded already! The levels of fear & panic by Zanu PF tell me that there's nothing left of this regime. The day they truly face pple power, they'll be gone.The soldiers will have to make their own choice to kill for a thieving elite of take the side of the people.
Is the Zanu PF elite watching what is happening in Belarus, its all weather ally? It's just a matter of time. Quit whilst you can still discuss the terms.
China, USA, Russia & Europe all rightly have a plan for Africa & African countries based on their self- interests.Nothing wrong there. Question is- does Africa and African countries have a plan for China, USA, Russia & Europe based on its/their self-interest? Answer this please!
I hope that today Judge Tawanda Chitapi does the right thing & releases Hopewell &Jacob.
Some trivia:Tawanda as we called him in our 1st yr of law school was my tutor back in 1991 & one of the sharpest lawyers I ever came across. So his understanding of the law is not debatable.
There is a misplaced belief that certain people from the government security services in Zimbabwe and Zanu PF will and can never ever be held accountable for atrocities committed by them. It's a misplaced belief!!!
That's the tweet!