Sunday, 11 January 2009
Why Mugabe is Moscow-bound
The President's secret bid to beef up his army with Russian troops
Zimbabwe's President and his family are officially on holiday, and currently enjoying their usual privileged vacation in Singapore, where they have many friends. But on January 17 Robert Mugabe is due to board a jet for Moscow, where he will finalise plans to bring in Russian troops to defend his tottering regime.
According to a top government source, all the preliminary plans for a Russian military presence in Zimbabwe have been made during the past few weeks. In Moscow Mugabe , who hasn't visited Russia since 1987, will meet with President Medvedev and his puppet master Prime Minister Putin, to finalise the deal that will have hundreds of Russian army personnel landing at Harare airport in the near future.
The arrangement is supposed to be kept quiet. The troops will come in the guise of technicians exploring diamond mining opportunities in the country. But diamonds are just a part of the deal Mugabe is brokering with Putin. The troops are really there to bolster Zimbabwe's defences against possible invasion.
As I have reported here before, while many of my more outspoken readers think the chance of a liberation force crossing the borders from Botswana or Zambia is just wishful thinking, Mugabe and his advisors take the threat very seriously indeed. They have listened to the calls for action emanating from Desmond Tutu and leaders of certain Southern African states. And they are taking the necessary precautions.
The deal will also include what might be described as Zimbabwe's friendly neighbours, Angola and Namibia, with the three countries combining their strength under the guidance of Moscow's military experts.
Zimbabwe's own troops, who recently rioted in the streets of Harare against their appalling living conditions, have been pacified partly by the distribution of substantial rations. Elephant meat, to be precise. So, whatever the outcome of a Russian military presence in Zimbabwe may be, one thing is certain - Putin's soldiers will experience a radical change in diet.
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
Mugabe's next move
How Zimbabwe's President plans to tackle his enemies now
Those of us who believe in freedom in Zimbabwe should brace ourselves. According to police sources, we can expect a wide series of high profile arrests this month, as Robert Mugabe moves finally to eliminate all official opposition to his reign as the country's dictator.
A senior member of the Harare CID, the law and order section, based at police general headquarters in Harare, has told me of plans to detain a number of national executive members of the Morgan Tsvangirai-led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The charges against them will vary, but they will include treason, attempted murder, terrorism, sabotage and malicious damage to property. The charges will be backed up by a well-prepared case using fabricated evidence and bribed or threatened witnesses.
The so-called evidence is being gathered by an unholy alliance of the police and the spy agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), and the general thrust of the charges will be to link the MDC with terrorism.
Members of the military will also be heavily involved, with troops testifying that they were hired by the MDC to bomb police stations and to attempt to assassinate senior government officials and military commanders.
Some soldiers will also testify that they were paid by the MDC to take part in the military riots that shook Harare last month.
"The idea is to build a strong case which will accuse the MDC of deliberately trying to spark public unrest, as an excuse to depose the President," the officer told me.
The MDC is aware of the plans. Its national spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, described any such charges as "trumped up". Perhaps so. But that doesn't mean they won't stick. Justice in Zimbabwe is a tender plant, and Mugabe and his men plan to stamp all over it.
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