Columnist / Zimbabwe vigil diary
Zanu-PF in denial
The dire situation in Zimbabwe has been getting of a lot of attention in the British media – particularly since the visit to Zimbabwe by a UN representative who warned that Zimbabweans were on the v...Published: 03 Dec 2019 at 21:56hrs | 699 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
SA worried about Zimbabwe
In a week which saw another brutal violation of human rights in Zimbabwe, South Africa offered a glimmer of hope that it could help resolve the crisis.South Africa's International Relations Mi...Published: 25 Nov 2019 at 20:10hrs | 4321 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Spaced out - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
There was a lot of space in Parliament when Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube delivered his budget. This was partly because the opposition was boycotting the occasion but mainly because of the surprise an...Published: 18 Nov 2019 at 09:14hrs | 237 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Sinking ship
With almost half the population now registered for food aid, the government is taking decisive action to deal with the threat - not by providing food for the people but by fattening up the army and po...Published: 10 Nov 2019 at 18:20hrs | 1889 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Mnangagwa alienates China
As President Mnangagwa goes through his pantomime head of state role, flying off all over the place in expensively-hired planes, Zimbabwe slips into mass starvation and hopelessness impelled by incomp...Published: 03 Nov 2019 at 17:13hrs | 6349 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
AU must act on Zimbabwe
The MDC says that the African Union must take action before the situation in Zimbabwe spirals out of control. It urges the organization to exercise the UN recognized ‘right to protect'.T...Published: 06 Oct 2019 at 21:04hrs | 1705 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Zimbabwe is Open for incompetence, deceit and corruption
Damning comments on the situation in Zimbabwe by the UN and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expose Mnangagwa's government as incompetent, deceitful and corrupt.A bad week for Zimbabwe be...Published: 30 Sep 2019 at 17:04hrs | 985 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Paranoia and self-delusion
The longer dictatorships last the more paranoid they become as they resist the pressures of reality bearing ever more heavily upon them. They eventually come to the state of self-delusion shown in an ...Published: 22 Sep 2019 at 16:09hrs | 1001 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Sympathy for the devil
The sham solidarity with Mugabe shown by African leaders at his funeral is in sharp contrast to the enlightened attitude taken by the African Union over the plight of African refugees and migrants str...Published: 15 Sep 2019 at 20:40hrs | 1385 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
An evil legacy
'The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones', observed Shakespeare. There will not be much good found in Mugabe's bones interred in Heroes' Acre.It is sur...Published: 08 Sep 2019 at 21:19hrs | 860 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Poison in Zimbabwe
The European Union's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Timo Olkkonen, says corruption is destroying the country. He said the international appeal for a couple of hundred million dollars to prevent mass starvati...Published: 01 Sep 2019 at 20:20hrs | 1781 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Police State
Within days of President Mnangagwa lecturing the West about how 'the rule of law is sacrosanct' in Zimbabwe, the police in Harare arrested representatives of rural teachers for trying peacefully to pr...Published: 25 Aug 2019 at 22:37hrs | 1490 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Zimbabwe Constitution ignored
The Zimbabwe government has made it clear that the much-vaunted new constitution counts for nothing. The MDC fulfilled the legal requirement to inform the police before Friday's demonstration in Harar...Published: 18 Aug 2019 at 22:45hrs | 1354 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Don't shoot on Friday
The Vigil demonstrated on Saturday against the failure of the government to implement the recommendations of the Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry into the army's murder of unarmed civilians during a de...Published: 11 Aug 2019 at 18:21hrs | 8632 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Unhappy anniversary
August marks the first anniversary of the army massacre of six civilians in Harare during a protest over the delay in releasing the election results. At least 35 others were wounded. The Motlanthe Com...Published: 04 Aug 2019 at 21:04hrs | 1156 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
A 'one day' economy
At a time when there is a shortage of virtually everything except poverty and corruption, the tale of the one-day bush bakery in an open maize field seems to sum up what is wrong in Zimbabwe.N...Published: 28 Jul 2019 at 19:26hrs | 2644 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Howzat! for corruption?
The endemic corruption in Zimbabwe has seen the country's cricket teams suspended by the International Cricket Council. ICC funding to Zimbabwe has been frozen and Zimbabwe is now unlikely to be able ...Published: 20 Jul 2019 at 19:26hrs | 1874 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Lying for his country
A diplomat was famously described as 'an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.' Lieutenant-General SB Moyo, Zimbabwe's chief diplomat as Minister of Foreign Affairs, fell so...Published: 14 Jul 2019 at 22:43hrs | 5882 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
The two faces of Zimbabwe
Zanu-PF popped the champagne to celebrate Zimbabwe's promotion by the World Bank from a lower income country to a lower middle economy. Apparently we now have an average annual income of $1,790....Published: 08 Jul 2019 at 08:28hrs | 1112 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
'Zimbabwe return to normalcy'
'Nation embraces Zim dollar . . . Country has returned to normalcy, President says'. This was a headline in the Chronicle. Sadly there is an element of truth in this. What we face is indeed 'normalcy'...Published: 01 Jul 2019 at 09:17hrs | 2973 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Here we go again
Mnangagwa has made clear that Zimbabwe will have its own currency again by the end of the year. Economist and former senior MDC MP Eddie Cross says it will be the strongest currency in the region. The...Published: 16 Jun 2019 at 19:04hrs | 743 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Biti challenges Ramaphosa
MDC Deputy National Chair Tendai Biti says President Ramaphosa has a key role to play in resolving the crisis in Zimbabwe. And he warned: 'If Zimbabwe implodes South Africa will suffer'.Biti w...Published: 09 Jun 2019 at 19:44hrs | 5367 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Embassy vs the people
The Zimbabwe Embassy refused to accept a letter from the Vigil on Friday and instead called the police to clear us away from the building. The letter protests at the involvement of Embassy officials i...Published: 02 Jun 2019 at 21:08hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Let them eat cake
At the time of the French Revolution Queen Marie-Antoinette, when told that people had no bread, is reported to have said 'Let them eat cake'. Some 230 years later Zimbabwe's new Minister of Energy, F...Published: 26 May 2019 at 21:14hrs | 2542 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Mnangagwa's mixed messages
It is ironic that Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa happened to be in London spreading the 'Zimbabwe open for business' message when it was announced in Harare that draconian power cuts are being...Published: 12 May 2019 at 23:13hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Mnangagwa must come clean on Gukurahundi
Today the Vigil presented a petition to the UK Prime Minister's residence urging her to insist that President Mnangagwa accounts for the Gukurahundi genocide.The petition reads: 'Zimbabwe has ...Published: 28 Apr 2019 at 17:29hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Bums to the wind
The Zimbabwean economist Tony Hawkins has urged President Mnangagwa to hold talks with the MDC leader Nelson Chamisa on the way forward for the country.Hawkins said: 'Ultimately the soluti...Published: 01 Apr 2019 at 07:35hrs | 1545 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
British diplomacy condemned - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
British diplomacy on Zimbabwe came in for a mauling in a parliamentary debate this week and there were demands to suspend any re-engagement with the Mnangagwa government, oppose Zimbabwe being readmit...Published: 04 Feb 2019 at 07:46hrs | 314 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Parliament debates trifles
At a time when many people in Zimbabwe wonder where their next meal is coming from and whether it is worthwhile taking someone to hospital for treatment, the House of Assembly has been preoccupied by ...Published: 06 Jan 2019 at 18:40hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Doctors' breaking point
A Vigil supporter who works for the needy in Zimbabwe says her job is becoming increasingly difficult. She sent us the following message from a desperate doctor. ‘I have tried my best n...Published: 30 Dec 2018 at 17:10hrs | 928 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Africa's richest woman
No it's not Grace Mugabe, though Grace is not short of money or farms or houses or cars or diamonds. It's someone rather younger - 45-year-old Isobel dos Santos who apparently accumulated a fortune of...Published: 25 Nov 2018 at 18:59hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Lonely country - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
A new Zimbabwean investment drive has been taking place in the UK with a delegation led by Priscah Mupfumira, Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry. She offered a few hollow banali...Published: 12 Nov 2018 at 06:55hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Something stinks in Zimbabwe
Riot police with batons and water cannon patrolling the streets. Disease spreading. Zimbabwe is open for business they say.The most vibrant sector of the economy disagrees. Reports say harasse...Published: 30 Sep 2018 at 20:19hrs | 2391 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Open letter to Finance Minister Ncube - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
You may remember the ever-popular Hollywood film Groundhog Day. (It seems to shown every day!) The film tells the story of a man who had to repeatedly relive the previous day until he finally learnt t...Published: 24 Sep 2018 at 07:18hrs | 691 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Mnangagwa, charity begins at home
What compassionate people they are, President Mnangagwa and General Chiwenga. A millionairess in Singapore wants to return home to Zimbabwe because her mother has died. So they charter a plane to to g...Published: 10 Sep 2018 at 07:23hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Charity begins at home - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
What compassionate people they are, President Mnangagwa and General Chiwenga. A millionairess in Singapore wants to return home to Zimbabwe because her mother has died. So they charter a plane to to g...Published: 10 Sep 2018 at 07:17hrs | 367 | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Back to 2008 - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
After two months of record heat in the UK, exiled Zimbabweans gathered outside Zimbabwe House in London on the final day of campaigning before Monday's elections. Rain at Chamisa's last r...Published: 29 Jul 2018 at 18:08hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Panic in the air
While the MDC announces a round-the-clock vigil for electoral reforms outside the offices of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the main concern of Zimbabweans in the UK seems to be not the looming el...Published: 23 Jul 2018 at 19:13hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
It’s the economy, stupid!
Three weeks to the elections and the only thing that is clear is that Zanu PF still has no idea how to turn around the economy. The state media reports that billions of dollars of investments are pour...Published: 09 Jul 2018 at 23:31hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
No to another stolen Zimbabwe election
The London Vigil has presented a petition to the Prime Minister's official residence warning the UK government not to trust President Mnangagwa's military regime until it is satisfied that the upcomin...Published: 17 Jun 2018 at 16:50hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Commonwealth to save Zimbabwe?
The Commonwealth is reported to have agreed to a rescue mission for Zimbabwe at its meeting in London this week during the visit by Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Lieutena...Published: 23 Apr 2018 at 07:04hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
The 'new' Zimbabwe
Murky dealings surrounding bankrupt Air Zimbabwe and the newly created Zimbabwe Airways have shone a light on the corruption and deceit at the heart of the Zanu PF government.The fiasco was br...Published: 17 Apr 2018 at 06:43hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Britain changes Zimbabwe policy?
Britain is reported to have adopted a radical new approach to Zimbabwe at odds with United States policy. A London-based fortnightly newsletter Africa Confidential says Britain is now promoting the id...Published: 08 Apr 2018 at 23:23hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Anti-corruption talk lacks conviction - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
President Mnangagwa's efforts to present a smiling clean new face to the outside world has been undermined by the inadequacy of his attempt to tackle the corruption that has laid waste to the Zimbabwe...Published: 25 Mar 2018 at 18:26hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Time is running out - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
The Mugabes are aggrieved at their treatment by President Mnangagwa. Despite vast government resources devoted to their imperial upkeep, they are angry at being forced to step aside from ruling Zimbab...Published: 04 Mar 2018 at 21:40hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Zanu-PF's culture is second nature to Mnangagwa's government
The human rights campaigner Pastor Evan Mawarire has made clear that he has no confidence in the government of President Mnangagwa. Speaking at a meeting in Parliament in London on Thursday, the #This...Published: 26 Feb 2018 at 07:43hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Britain engages new Zimbabwe regime
The new British Africa minister, Harriett Baldwin, will have found her visit to Zimbabwe full of the promise of change – the latest being the decision announced by Air Chief Marshal (rtd) Perence Sh...Published: 04 Feb 2018 at 18:35hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Strange green fruit in the banana republic
In these uncertain days people can be cheered up by the familiar. So it's good to have both Jonathan Moyo and George Charamba to divert us from our worries. They are, of course, not new to the enterta...Published: 17 Jan 2018 at 14:22hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Lunatics in charge
Four years after the vaunted new constitution was approved in a national referendum, Zanu PF has forced through an amendment restoring the President's power over the choice of the Chief Justice and ot...Published: 30 Jul 2017 at 13:31hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
Chimene appears to have been smoking weed again
Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Mandi Chimene appears to have been smoking weed again. Only a few weeks after raving about mbanja to Mugabe at his Mutare rally, she has come up with a proposal ...Published: 10 Jul 2017 at 10:04hrs | | by Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
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