Zimbabwe court bars top lawyer from representing journalist

August 18, 2020

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Zimbabwean magistrate Tuesday barred Beatrice Mtetwa, a top human rights lawyer, from representing a jailed journalist and ordered that she be prosecuted for comments posted on a Facebook page run by an American filmmaker.

Magistrate Ngoni Nduna also said he will forward his ruling to the Law Society of Zimbabwe for possible further punishment of the lawyer. Mtetwa was representing Hopewell Chin’ono, an investigative journalist who has reported alleged government corruption on Twitter and has been in jail for more than three weeks on accusations of mobilizing an anti-government protest.

Prosecutors in Chin’ono’s bail case last week asked the magistrate to order Mtetwa to step down, arguing that she had posted on a Facebook page called “Beatrice Mtetwa and the Rule of Law” proceedings that were held in camera.

The allegedly offensive posts called on the international community to speak out against Chin’ono’s imprisonment. Chin’ono told the court that Mtetwa had nothing to with the page. He said it was administered by an American filmmaker who produced a documentary by the name of the Facebook page, where people regularly post on human rights issues in Zimbabwe.

On Tuesday, the magistrate agreed with the prosecution and also ordered that Mtetwa should be charged with contempt of court. Mtetwa has over the past decades represented dozens of journalists, human rights campaigners and opposition leaders accused of plotting against the government. She also frequently speaks against human rights abuses in the troubled southern African country.

She has been arrested, detained and allegedly assaulted by police in a pattern of harassment and intimidation. Mtetwa said Tuesday’s ruling was meant to instill fear in human rights lawyers and could have the “chilling effect” of dissuading young lawyers from taking on human rights issues.

“The intention is to stop us defending a certain type of client … it means the right to legal representation has been severely curtailed and it has been curtailed by the courts,” she told reporters outside the court. She said she will appeal the ruling.

'This man lives forever': Zimbabwe's Mugabe is buried

September 28, 2019

ZVIMBA, Zimbabwe (AP) — A priest asked God to take pity on Robert Mugabe as the family of the longtime Zimbabwean leader buried him Saturday at his rural home. They chose a private farewell for one of Africa's most divisive figures after a weeks-long dispute with the administration that forced him from power.

"This man lives forever," declared the priest, to cries of approval. Mugabe died this month in Singapore at age 95 after leading the country for nearly four decades and being pushed into a shocking resignation as thousands danced in the streets. "I was ridiculed," a relative said Mugabe told them.

His coffin, draped in the country's flag, was carried by military pallbearers as his black-veiled wife, Grace, looked on. On display was a photo of Mugabe holding up his fist in a classic gesture of defiance, and a floral arrangement spelled out "Dad." Many mourners wore T-shirts saying "Liberator" and "Torch bearer."

Grace later stood motionless as the coffin was lowered into the grave and a choir sang "Remember me." Mugabe, who led the bitter guerrilla war to end white-minority rule in the country then known as Rhodesia, was Zimbabwe's first leader and ruled from 1980, overseeing a years-long slide from prosperity to economic ruin and repression. He was forced by the military and ruling party to retire in late 2017 after bitter political feuding centered in part on his wife's political ambitions.

Some of Mugabe's political rivals, including opposition figures who were routinely arrested or harassed during his 37-year rule, attended the service while longtime colleagues did not. Notably absent were senior officials from the ruling party that he led for more than four decades, including during the fight for liberation.

Just a handful of people in the gathering of some 200 wore party regalia, a sign of how the bookish, combative former leader died isolated from the people he called comrades for much of his adult life.

Mugabe's family earlier had agreed to a government request to bury him at the National Heroes Acre shrine in the capital, but only after a hilltop mausoleum was built to set him apart from the rest. Then the government on Thursday abruptly announced the family had changed its mind, leaving it with scaffolding around the partially completed memorial.

While some might blame his widow for the move, it was Mugabe himself who wanted the private ceremony instead of one presided over by the people who removed him from power, Grace's sister Junior Shuvai Gumbochuma said in a speech on Saturday.

"Some may be surprised by this small crowd given this man's greatness," she said. "I remember he presided over many burials of heroes that were attended by busloads of people. I thought one day such crowds would attend his own burial. What we did today was his wish."

She added: "I asked him why he didn't want to be buried at Heroes Acre and he responded: 'I was ridiculed.'" A spokesman for the ruling ZANU-PF party, Simon Khaya Moyo, called the choice of a private burial "most unfortunate."

In a statement, Moyo added that "we indeed respect the wishes of families of deceased heroes, hence we are saddened when maneuvers that border on political gimmicks begin to unfold on an issue concerning an illustrious liberation icon."

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a once-trusted deputy who helped oust Mugabe from power, was not attending the burial. State-run media reported that the government would be represented by the home affairs minister.

Only approved guests and funeral parlor vans were allowed, a decision out of sync with the local tradition that funerals are free for all to attend. One elderly neighbor threw a tantrum after being blocked at the gate.

"This gathering is a paradox," the priest told the gathering. "We are mourning at the same time we are celebrating because this man lived his life in a manner that many of us would want to emulate." Later, standing by the coffin, he prayed: "God, take pity on him. Don't judge him harshly."

Zimbabwe's Mugabe honored at state funeral, burial delayed

September 14, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — African heads of state joined thousands of Zimbabweans at a state funeral Saturday for Zimbabwe's founding president, Robert Mugabe, whose burial has been delayed for at least a month until a special mausoleum can be built for his remains.

More than 10 African leaders and several former presidents attended the service and viewing of the body of Mugabe, who died last week in Singapore at age 95, at the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare. The crowd filling about 30% of the 60,000 capacity of the Chinese-built stadium. Most of those attending were supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa drew boos from the crowd, as a result of the recent attacks in Johannesburg on foreigners, including Zimbabweans. An official pleaded with the stadium crowd to let him speak. Ramaphosa apologized for the attacks.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta described Mugabe as "a great icon of African liberation" and "a visionary leader and relentless champion of African dignity." The announcement Friday evening that that burial will be postponed until the building of a new resting place at the national Heroes' Acre Monument is the latest turn in a dramatic wrangle between Mugabe's family and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a once-trusted deputy who helped oust Mugabe from power.

Mnangagwa presided over Saturday's ceremony, attended by Mugabe's widow Grace, who wore a black veil. "A giant tree of Africa has fallen," said Mnangagwa, who hailed Mugabe as "a bold, steadfast revolutionary."

He praised Mugabe for seizing land from white farmers. "To him, this was the grievance of all grievances of our people," Mnangagwa said. "The land has now been reunited with the people and the people have been reunited with the land." He also called on Western countries to remove sanctions imposed during Mugabe's era.

"Go Well Our Revolutionary Icon" and "Farewell Gallant Son of the Soil" were among the banners praising Mugabe, who led the bitter guerrilla war to end white-minority rule in the country then known as Rhodesia. Mugabe was Zimbabwe's first leader and ruled the country from 1980 for 37 years, from years of prosperity to economic ruin and repression.

He was deposed in 2017 by the military and Mnangagwa in a bloodless coup that was marked by more than 100,000 people demonstrating in Harare's streets to demand that he step down. Following Mugabe's resignation, Mnangagwa took power and won elections the next year on campaign promises he would improve the collapsed economy and create jobs. But Zimbabwe's economy has lurched from crunch to crisis and some in the crowd expressed the view that life was better under Mugabe's rule.

"Bread was less than a dollar when we marched against him (Mugabe). It is now $9," said Munashe Gudyanga, 18. "I am just here to say 'Sorry, President Mugabe, we didn't know things will be worse.'" Some in the stadium sang an impromptu farewell to Mugabe, "When you left bread was a dollar," lyrics that implicitly criticized Mnangagwa, whose nearly two-year rule has been marked by rising prices, with inflation currently more than 175%.

The visiting leaders viewed Mugabe's the partially open casket, followed by a 21-gun salute, a flypast by Zimbabwean air force jets and the release of 95 doves, to mark Mugabe's 95 years. Mugabe's body is to be viewed in his birthplace, Zvimba, on Sunday and then will be held in preservation until the new mausoleum is ready.

In downtown Harare, many Zimbabweans were busy with their weekend errands, and expressed little interest in the funeral, which was open to the public. "What will I get if I go there? What will Mugabe do for me now that he failed to do when he was alive?" said Amelia Tukande, who was selling cellphone chargers along Harare's Samora Machel Avenue that leads to the stadium. "It is a waste of time. I have to work for my family."

Others said they would have wanted to attend the funeral but cannot afford transport fares. "I didn't like him, but I still wanted to attend just to see for myself that he is gone ... but kombis (minivan taxis) want $3.50 just to get to the stadium," said Amos Siduna, waiting in line at a bank to get cash, which is in short supply. "That's too much money for me just to go and say 'bye bye' to a corpse. Mugabe's corpse. No."

The mourning period for Mugabe's death has been marked by the ongoing drama over where, when and how the ex-strongman will be buried. The new resting place will be built near the stadium at Heroes' Acre, a national burial site for top officials of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party who contributed to ending white colonial rule

The mausoleum will be at an elevated site above the other graves, according to Mnangagwa and a Mugabe family spokesman. Grace had previously insisting on a private burial rather than the state funeral and burial in a simple plot alongside other national heroes planned by the government.

"We are building a mausoleum for our founding father at the top of the hill at Heroes' Acre," Mnangagwa said on state television Friday night, consenting to the Mugabe family's wishes.

Mugabe's body heading home to Zimbabwe for mourning, burial

September 11, 2019

SINGAPORE (AP) — The body of Zimbabwe's former President Robert Mugabe was being returned to his homeland Wednesday to lie in state before his burial in the African nation he ruled for decades. Mugabe died Friday in a Singapore hospital at age 95.

The ex-guerrilla leader took power when Zimbabwe shook off white minority rule in 1980. He enjoyed strong public backing in the initial years, but that support waned following repression, economic mismanagement and alleged election-rigging and he was forced out of power in 2017.

Many still regard him as a national hero, with some Zimbabweans even saying they missed him after his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, failed to revive the economy and used the army to crush dissent. Zimbabwe's Vice President Kembo Mohadi was seen at the Singapore Casket funeral parlor Tuesday afternoon, and police escorted a hearse from the building Wednesday morning to go to the airport.

A Zimbabwe state newspaper said his body would return to the country on Wednesday. The Sunday Mail quoted presidential spokesman George Charamba in reporting Mnangagwa and family members will receive the body at the airport named after the former president in the capital, Harare. The body will be taken to Mugabe's rural home before being placed in a stadium for public viewing.

Mnangagwa declared Mugabe a national hero and said official mourning will only end after the burial at the National Heroes Acre, a hilltop shrine reserved exclusively for Zimbabweans who made huge sacrifices during the war against white-minority rule.

Zimbabwe's information minister said Mugabe's body will lie in state at two stadiums in Harare for three days. His burial is scheduled on Sunday.

It's complicated: Zimbabweans see Mugabe's legacy as mixed

September 06, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Zimbabwean politician summed up her reaction to Robert Mugabe's death with one word: Complicated. Mugabe, 95, stood tall on the world stage for decades, first as a celebrated liberator and then as a combative enforcer, loathed by many of the Zimbabweans who once loved him.

The mark — a raw wound, some would say —that he left on long-suffering Zimbabwe will be felt long after Mugabe, who could be as charming as he was remorseless, died in a hospital far from home. In November 2017, euphoria swept Harare when Mugabe resigned after nearly four decades in power that saw one of Africa's most promising nations become one of its most dysfunctional.

Nearly two years later, much of the local response to his death Friday has been muted, indifferent or sullen, reflecting the fatigue and distraction of the daily hardship that is Mugabe's most enduring legacy.

"He died in luxury in Singapore. What about us, who can't even get medicines at hospitals here?" a woman shouted among commuters as she and dozens of others prepared to shove their way onto crowded, government-subsidized buses in Harare.

"Zimbabweans, you are an ungrateful lot," a man shouted back. "He gave you independence, and then returned the land from the whites." At one time, Mugabe was an electric figure, a champion of Africa's struggle to shake off the last vestiges of white minority rule on a continent that had been colonized over centuries. In 1980, he presided over the end of what was called Rhodesia and the creation of independent Zimbabwe, promising racial reconciliation and economic growth.

Then, things turned ominous. Thousands of Ndebele people were killed in the 1980s by a North Korea-trained military unit loyal to Mugabe, a member of the rival Shona ethnic group. In 2000, violent seizures of thousands of white-owned farms began, causing agricultural production to plunge. A land reform program favored Mugabe loyalists.

As the years went by, Mugabe was widely accused of hanging onto power through violence and vote fraud, notably in a 2008 election that led to a troubled coalition government after regional mediators intervened.

Under Mugabe, shortages of basic goods, collapsing infrastructure and economic hardship were the norm for Zimbabweans. They still are under his successor and former loyalist, Emmerson Mnangagwa. "Mugabe invokes two emotions: a hero of the liberation struggle and a villain toward the end of his administration," Morgan Tsvangirai, then the main opposition leader, said in an interview with The Associated Press after Mugabe quit. Tsvangirai died of cancer in February 2018.

"I ain't an expert on critical race theory; but there must be an explanation why predominantly white countries focus on his legacy as dictator whilst the predominantly black ones acknowledge his role as a liberator," tweeted David Tinashe Hofisi, a human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe.

Fadzayi Mahere, a Zimbabwean opposition politician, also alluded to Mugabe's mixed record. "Rest In Peace, Robert Mugabe," Mahere wrote on Twitter. "My response to your passing is complicated. I'm going to write a long piece. However, for now, deepest condolences to his family."

In ruthlessly hanging onto power, Mugabe seemed the antithesis of Nelson Mandela, the global statesman who led South Africa out of white minority rule and served one term as president. Yet Mugabe's criticism that Mandela was too soft on the country's white minority is shared by some black South Africans struggling for economic opportunities. Social problems in South Africa, Zimbabwe's wealthier, more powerful neighbor, have boiled into violence against African immigrants in past days.

A target of Western sanctions, Mugabe nevertheless enjoyed appreciation on the continent, serving as the rotating chair of the African Union in 2015-2016. His often frenetic travel schedule well into his 90s, and false alarms about his health, had many Zimbabweans musing sardonically about whether, indeed, the old man would ever die.

He showed his old gusto as late as March 2016 when an interviewer from state television asked him about retirement plans. "Do you want me to punch you to the floor to realize I am still there?" Mugabe told the interviewer.

Zimbabwean ruling party officials say they assured Mugabe ahead of his resignation that he would not be prosecuted for alleged crimes. Some people wonder whether his wife Grace, who at one time was positioning herself to succeed her husband and faces an arrest warrant in South Africa for alleged assault, might now be vulnerable.

For many Zimbabweans, Mugabe's rule was a deeply personal, often anguished experience. He embodied the country for the bulk of their lives, an immovable object whose longevity drove some to despair. Millions who couldn't bear conditions in Zimbabwe left the country.

Months before he was forced from power, even Mugabe seemed to see the end of the road. During a meandering speech at his birthday party in February 2017, he raised his fist in salute, but he also rested his drooping head on one hand. His hands gripped the podium. He talked slowly about his mission as Zimbabwe's leader, said he felt alone and described his life as a "long, long journey."

For Zimbabwe, it's been a long, long journey too.

Torchia reported from Rio de Janeiro. He covered events in Zimbabwe while based in Johannesburg between 2013 and 2019.

Zimbabwe comedian is latest in torture of government critics

August 23, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A wave of abductions, torture and arrests in Zimbabwe are targeting opposition activists and other government critics, the latest being a popular comedian dragged from her home by armed and masked men.

Barely two years after euphoric scenes engulfed Zimbabwe following the forced resignation of former repressive ruler Robert Mugabe, frustration and fear have returned. Comedian Samantha Kureya was this week dragged from her bed, stripped naked and tortured by masked men with assault rifles for skits perceived as anti-government. She spoke to The Associated Press from her hospital bed.

"I am living in fear," she said, complaining of "severe pain" in her legs and on her back. Kureya said the men claiming to be police officers dragged her from bed half naked and bundled her into a waiting car on Wednesday night. They beat her using short whips, forced her to roll in a stream of sewage and drink from it, she said.

"I was wearing my underwear and a T-shirt when they took me, they didn't even give me a chance to dress properly," she said. Her abductors forced her to strip naked during the torture and warned her against mocking the government before abandoning her to seek clothing and help from strangers, said Kureya.

She had received threats on social media before the abduction, she said. Her latest skit mocked security agents for beating up demonstrators that included elderly women. Political tensions are rising in Zimbabwe as the economy deteriorates with inflation at over 175% and growing dissatisfaction with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from Mugabe less than two years ago with promises of a "new dawn" and a "flowering of democracy."

Human rights groups say at least six activists were abducted and tortured by suspected security agents ahead of an opposition demonstration last week. Police later used violence to disperse demonstrators in Harare on August 16.

One of the activists abducted and tortured ahead of last week's demonstration, Tatenda Mombeyarara had visible wounds on his legs, hands, buttocks and back. His kidneys were damaged and doctors put metal plates and pins on his fractured left leg and hand, he said, showing AP a scan while lying on a hospital bed. He said he was beaten with sjamboks (short whips), gun butts and a wheel spanner and also submerged in a pool of dirty water at a quarry dumpsite.

"They told me 'you think you are a hero, all that will end today. You are going to die and your American sponsors will not save you'," said Mombeyarara, who has been in hospital for the past nine days. "I am still traumatized. The pain was unbearable. I thought I was going to die."

An opposition member of parliament said unknown people fired shots at his house Wednesday night, while a top official was arrested Thursday and accused of failing to stop supporters from demonstrating against the government. Since January, more than 20 activists have been charged with plotting to unseat Mnangagwa.

Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said the recent abductions and attacks "are being investigated" but denied that security agents were involved. "We cannot blame security agents (for the abduction) because investigations are still underway," he said.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana blamed the attacks on "a force" he associated with Mugabe "to impair President Mnangagwa's image as a sincere reformer." The U.S embassy in Zimbabwe and the European Union Delegation to Zimbabwe said in a joint statement earlier this week that reports of worsening human rights abuses were of "great concern."

Kureya, the comedian, said she would continue poking fun at the government despite her abductors threatening to "put a bullet" in her mother's head if she continues with her work. "That is how I survive," she said. "I don't have any other job, plus we all can't just keep quiet when things are as bad as they are in this country."

Cyclone's huge floods leave hundreds dead in southern Africa

March 19, 2019

CHIMANIMANI, Zimbabwe (AP) — Aid workers rushed to rescue victims clinging to trees and crammed on rooftops against rapidly rising waters Tuesday after a cyclone unleashed devastating floods in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. More than 238 were dead, hundreds were missing and thousands more were at risk.

"This is the worst humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's recent history," said Jamie LeSueur, head of response efforts in Beira for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. At least 400,000 people were left homeless.

The rapidly rising floodwaters created "an inland ocean" in Mozambique, endangering tens of thousands of families, aid workers said as they scrambled to rescue survivors of Cyclone Idai and airdrop food, water and blankets.

Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi said the death toll could reach 1,000. Emergency workers called it the region's most destructive flooding in 20 years. Heavy rains were expected to continue through Thursday.

"This is a major humanitarian emergency that is getting bigger by the hour," said Herve Verhoosel of the World Food Program. Many people were "crammed on rooftops and elevated patches of land outside the port city of Beira" and WFP was rushing to rescue as many as possible, he said.

Mozambique's Pungue and Buzi rivers overflowed, creating "inland oceans extending for miles and miles in all directions," Verhoosel said. Dams were at 95 percent to 100 percent capacity. "People visible from the air may be the lucky ones and the top priority now is to rescue as many as possible," he said.

The extent of the damage was not yet known as many areas remained impassible. With key roads washed away, aid groups were trying to get badly needed food, medicine and fuel into hard-hit Beira, a city of some 500,000 people, by air and sea.

Cyclone Idai swept across central Mozambique before dropping huge amounts of rain in neighboring Zimbabwe's eastern mountains. That rainfall is now rushing back through Mozambique, further inundating the already flooded countryside.

"It's dire," Caroline Haga of the Red Cross told The Associated Press from Beira. "We did an aerial surveillance yesterday and saw people on rooftops and in tree branches. The waters are still rising and we are desperately trying to save as many as possible."

Satellite images were helping the rescue teams target the most critical areas, Haga said. Rescue operations were based at Beira airport, one of the few places in the city with working communications. The waters flooded a swath of land more than 30 miles wide in central Mozambique putting more than 100,000 people at risk, said the aid group Save the Children.

"The assessment emerging from Mozambique today is chilling," said Machiel Pouw, Save the Children's response leader in Mozambique. "Thousands of children lived in areas completely engulfed by water. In many places, no roofs or tree tops are even visible above the floods."

"The full horror, the full impact is only going to emerge over coming days," Red Cross spokesman Matthew Cochrane told reporters in Geneva. Torrential rain was still lashing the region on Tuesday, and Buzi town could be entirely submerged within 24 hours, the aid group said.

Hardest hit was Beira, where thousands of homes were destroyed. The city and surrounding areas were without power and nearly all communication lines were destroyed. Beira's main hospital was also badly damaged. Large areas to the west of Beira have been severely flooded and flood waters have completely covered homes, telephone poles and trees, the Red Cross said.

Beira could face a "serious fuel shortage" in the coming days, WFP said, and its power grid was expected to be non-functional through the end of the month. The nearby cities of Dondo and Chimoio were also badly affected.

In Zimbabwe the death toll rose to 98, the government said. The mountain town of Chimanimani was badly hit. Several roads leading into the town were cut off, with the only access by helicopter. Residents expected the death toll to rise.

"We did over 38 burials this morning," Absolom Makanga, a Salvation Army divisional commander, told the AP. "It is difficult. We have to walk long distances because the roads are cut off but also because sometimes the graves are then washed away."

Among those fleeing on foot was Luckmore Rusero, who carried a small bag with his remaining possessions. His wife carried their 1-year-old child while their 11-year-old son struggled to keep pace as they joined many others in seeking refuge.

"Thank God we survived. There are no roads, no transport, so we have been walking for more than 20 kilometers now through the forests and the mountains," Rusero said. Some escaped with nothing but their lives.

"I fled naked," Tecla Chagwiza said. "I only received clothes in the morning from well-wishers who are also helping me with food." She said her family's home was destroyed and three neighbors were dead. Others were missing.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in the area on Tuesday, saying a number of countries, including the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Angola, were offering aid.

The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe said the U.S. was also "mobilizing to provide support" to partners in the three affected countries, but provided no details. The European Union and Britain also pledged aid.

Malawi's government confirmed 56 deaths, three missing and 577 injured in the flooding, which caused rivers to burst their banks, leaving many houses submerged and around 11,000 households displaced in the southern district of Nsanje.

Neighboring Tanzania's military airlifted some 238 tons of emergency food and medicine to the three countries.

Meldrum reported from Johannesburg.

Zimbabwe's president returns amid economic crisis, crackdown

January 22, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in Harare late Monday after cutting short his fund-raising trip in order to address the country's economic crisis and crackdown.

Mnangagwa was welcomed at Harare International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, former army commander who was in charge during the president's week-long absence and when the government launched a widespread clampdown in which 12 people were killed, more shot by troops and others dragged from their homes and beaten, according to human rights groups.

Mnangagwa hugged Chiwenga and chatted with him on the runway for 15 minutes. The president then told state broadcasting that his trip to Russia and Kazakhstan was fruitful and will benefit Zimbabwe in the long run. During his trip Mnangagwa met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked him for a loan.

Earlier Monday the government intensified its crackdown on dissent by charging the leader of the country's largest labor organization with subversion, as the courts ruled that the shutdown of the internet was illegal.

Zimbabwe police arrested Japhet Moyo, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, and charged him with subversion for his role in organizing last week's national strike. The arrest and Mnangagwa's return come after a week of turmoil. During the strike, some people went onto the streets to protest the government's drastic increase in fuel prices. The government said the demonstrations degenerated into riots, prompting it to launch a sweeping wave of repression. Security forces opened fire on crowds, wounding many bystanders, and went house to house in some neighborhoods, beating up many men, according to witnesses.

The government also imposed an internet blackout across the country. On Monday Zimbabwe's High Court ordered the government to restore full internet to the country. The shutdown of the internet was illegal because the Minister of State for Security, who ordered the internet closure, does not have powers to issue such a directive, said the court ruling. Only President Emmerson Mnangagwa has the authority to make such an order, said the court. Over the weekend the government restored partial internet access, but kept a blackout on social media apps like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter. The government alleges the internet has been used to organize violent demonstrations.

Zimbabwe's capital gingerly recovered from the week of tumult Monday. Most shops and businesses reopened, although many people are stocking up on food items in case of further unrest. Indicating the severity of Zimbabwe's economic problems, South Africa confirmed that it turned down Mnangagwa's request for a loan of $1.2 billion recently. "We just don't have that kind of money," South African treasury spokesman Jabulani Sikhakhane told the broadcaster, eNCA.

Activist and pastor Evan Mawarire has been jailed since Wednesday and has been charged with subversion against the government for which he faces 20 years in jail if convicted. Mawarire had used social media to support peaceful protests against the fuel price increases. The case against Mawarire is a "travesty of justice" said his lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa. His application to be released on bail will be heard on Jan. 23.

In the widespread crackdown, about two-thirds of the more than 600 people who were arrested have been denied bail, said Mtetwa. When Mnangagwa tweeted Sunday that he would cut short his European trip and to come back to Zimbabwe, he didn't mention the violence, saying only that he is returning "in light of the economic situation." He said his first priority "is to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again."

At Davos, he planned to appeal for foreign investment and loans, but the visit had been expected to be a challenge. His Davos visit a year ago came shortly after he took over from longtime, repressive leader Robert Mugabe, a move cheered by Zimbabweans and the international community.

But Mnangagwa has faced a year of troubles in which his administration failed to improve the collapsed economy, narrowly won a disputed election and violently put down anti-government protests. The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference last week lamented the government's "intolerant handling of dissent" and its failure to halt economic collapse, concluding that "our country is going through one of the most trying periods in its history."

Zimbabwe again forces 'total internet shutdown' amid unrest

January 18, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's government has again forced a "total internet shutdown," a media group says, after a days-long violent crackdown on people protesting dramatic fuel price increases. MISA-Zimbabwe shared a text message from the country's largest telecom company, Econet, calling the government order "beyond our reasonable control." The shutdown faces a court challenge from the group and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

On Friday, a prominent pastor and activist who faces a possible 20 years in prison on a subversion charge arrived at court, one of more than 600 people arrested this week. Evan Mawarire calls it "heartbreaking" to see the new government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa acting like that of former leader Robert Mugabe.

Mawarire is accused of inciting civil disobedience online. "It's a shame what's happening," the handcuffed pastor said Friday. "Our country is going through one of the most trying periods in its history," the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference said in a sweeping statement lamenting the government's "intolerant handling of dissent" and its failure to halt economic collapse.

International calls for restraint by Zimbabwe's security forces are growing, while Mnangagwa prepares to plead for more investment at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He announced the fuel price increase on the eve of his overseas trip, leaving hardline former military commander and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga as acting president.

Gasoline in the economically shattered country is now the world's most expensive. Zimbabweans heeded a nationwide stay-at-home call earlier this week in protest. Rights groups and others have accused security forces of targeting activists and labor leaders in response, with the United States expressing alarm.

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights has said it had treated 68 cases of gunshot wounds and 100-plus other cases of "assaults with sharp objects, booted feet, baton sticks" and more. Hungry residents of the capital, Harare, who ventured out seeking food reported being tear-gassed by police.

Soldiers were still controlling long fuel lines in Harare on Friday. Death tolls this week have varied. Eight people were killed when police and military fired on crowds, Amnesty International said. Zimbabwe's government said three people were killed, including a policeman stoned to death by an angry crowd.

The demonstrations amount to "terrorism," Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said, blaming the opposition. State Security Minister Owen Ncube thanked security forces for "standing firm." Zimbabweans had briefly rejoiced when Mnangagwa succeeded Mugabe, who was forced out in late 2017, thinking the new president would deliver on his refrain that the country "is open for business." But frustration has risen over the lack of improvement in the collapsed economy, which doesn't even have a currency of its own.

The UK's minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, has summoned Zimbabwe's ambassador to discuss "disturbing reports of use of live ammunition, intimidation and excessive force" against protesters. The European Union in a statement late Thursday noted the "disproportionate use of force by security personnel" and urged that internet service be restored.

Associated Press photographer Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi in Harare contributed.

US alarmed as Zimbabwe targets, beats activists amid unrest

January 17, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe said Thursday it is "alarmed" by credible reports that security forces are targeting and beating activists and labor leaders after a local doctors' rights group said it had treated 68 gunshot cases and scores of other cases of assault.

The U.S. also urged Zimbabwe's government to restore access to social media as the country faces its worst unrest since deadly post-election violence in August. Zimbabweans this week heeded a nationwide stay-at-home call after the government dramatically increased fuel prices, making gasoline in the economically shattered country the world's most expensive.

Hungry residents of the capital, Harare, on Wednesday reported being tear-gassed by police as they ventured out to seek food. "Are we at war?" one resident asked. The city was quiet on Thursday as people stayed home, with schools and many shops closed and soldiers controlling long lines at the few gas stations open.

Zimbabwe's state security minister late Wednesday said more than 600 people have been arrested. Prominent pastor and activist Evan Mawarire was in court in Harare on Thursday, accused of inciting violence online. He had been bundled into a police car while clutching a Bible.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa while traveling overseas has denounced what he called "wanton violence and cynical destruction" but appeared to side with authorities who blame the opposition for the unrest. He had announced the more than doubling of fuel prices shortly before leaving the country.

Zimbabweans had briefly rejoiced when Mnangagwa succeeded longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who was forced out in late 2017, thinking the new president would deliver on his refrain that the country "is open for business." But frustration has risen over the lack of improvement in the collapsed economy, which doesn't even have a currency of its own.

While Mnangagwa makes an extended overseas trip that will include a stop at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to plead for more foreign investment, former military commander and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a hardliner, is in charge at home.

In a grim recounting of alleged police violence this week, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said late Wednesday it had treated 68 cases of gunshot wounds and 100-plus other cases of "assaults with sharp objects, booted feet, baton sticks" and more.

It noted bites from the alleged unleashing of police dogs, and the "dragging of patients with life-threatening conditions" to court. Death tolls this week have varied. Eight people were killed on Monday when police and military fired on crowds, Amnesty International said. Zimbabwe's government said three people were killed, including a policeman stoned to death by an angry crowd.

The demonstrations amount to "terrorism," Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said, blaming the opposition. In announcing the hundreds of arrests, State Security Minister Owen Ncube thanked security forces for "standing firm."

Some Zimbabweans said the lack of social media meant they didn't know the situation and preferred to stay in their homes. "I can't tell whether it's safe or not, why should I take a risk?" said Elsy Shamba in Harare's Kuwadzana suburb, one of the areas where residents said soldiers indiscriminately assaulted people earlier in the week.

Zimbabwe police arrest prominent government critic

January 16, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe police armed with AK-47 rifles arrested Evan Mawarire, an activist and pastor, from his home in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday as a crackdown grew over protests against dramatic fuel price hikes in the economically shattered country. He was clutching a Bible when police bundled him into their car.

Mawarire organized what became nationwide anti-government protests in 2016 against mismanagement and then-President Robert Mugabe's long stay in power. "They are alleging that he incited violence through Twitter and other forms of social media in the central business district," said Beatrice Mtetwa, Mawarire's lawyer.

There were widespread reports of violence as the country faced a third day of protests over what has become the world's most expensive gasoline. This is Zimbabwe's worst unrest since deadly post-election violence in August that saw six people killed.

Zimbabwe's largest telecom company, Econet, sent text messages to customers saying it had been forced by the government to shut down internet service. "The matter is beyond our control," it said. Other arrests were reported. A spokesman for the main opposition MDC party, Nkululeko Sibanda, said in a Twitter post that "party leadership" had been detained. "This is only deepening the political crisis in the country," he said.

As President Emmerson Mnangagwa makes an extended overseas trip that will include a stop at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to plead for more foreign investment, former military commander and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a hardliner, is in charge at home.

Eight people were killed on Monday when police and military fired on crowds, according to Amnesty International. But Zimbabwe's government said three people were killed, including a policeman who was stoned to death by an angry crowd.

The anti-government demonstrations amounted to "terrorism," Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said on state television Tuesday night. The protests were "well-coordinated" by Zimbabwe's opposition, she said.

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said in a statement that it had attended to 107 patients by late Tuesday afternoon, with injuries including gunshot wounds to the head. It said most cases were in Harare and Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.

International concern has been rising over Zimbabwe after a burst of optimism when Mugabe stepped down in late 2017 under military pressure. The British minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, on Tuesday noted "worrying levels of violence" and urged restraint by Zimbabwe's security forces. But South Africa's foreign ministry said in a statement that "we're confident measures being taken by the Zimbabwean government will resolve the situation."

Streets were deserted in Harare on Wednesday. "Shops closed, schools closed, no public transport, petrol stations closed," said Human Rights Watch southern Africa director Dewa Mavhinga. "Food fast running out in homes," he added. Zimbabwe's acting president was "silent."

Tensions rise in Zimbabwe's capital after fuel price hikes

January 14, 2019

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Protesters have blocked roads in some parts in Zimbabwe's capital after the government more than doubled the price of gasoline. Police deployed in large numbers in Harare and few people ventured into the central business district on Monday. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the country's biggest labor federation, has called for a three-day strike this week.

Peter Mutasa, the labor federation president, says workers can't afford bus fares, which tripled in some cases. In the volatile Mabvuku and Epworth suburbs, residents barricaded roads and prevented public transport vehicles from operating in the area. Some people threw stones at cars.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana says the opposition, civil society groups and some foreign organizations are trying to use the fuel shortages and price increases to topple the government.

Passengers in Zimbabwe caught in bus fire; 40 killed

November 16, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Fire swept through a passenger bus in Zimbabwe, killing more than 40 people and injuring at least 20, some of whom suffered severe burns, authorities said Friday. A photograph posted on Twitter by the Zimbabwe Red Cross shows the remains of the bus that was completely incinerated late Thursday. The Red Cross said its teams responded to a "horrific accident" involving a bus heading to neighboring South Africa at around midnight.

"Combustible material was allowed onto the bus, thus causing a conflagration which entrapped, scalded and consumed innocent passengers," President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a condolence message. Mnangagwa said the government should "take appropriate measures which comprehensively deal with this growing menace on our roads."

The accident happened in Gwanda district, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba confirmed a death toll of more than 40. Last week, a collision between two buses in Zimbabwe killed 50 people and injured about 80.

Zimbabwe opposition rejects ruling and 'false' inauguration

August 25, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's main opposition leader said Saturday he respectfully rejects the court ruling upholding President Emmerson Mnangagwa's narrow election win and he called the inauguration set for Sunday "false."

Nelson Chamisa spoke a day after the Constitutional Court unanimously rejected the opposition's claims of vote-rigging and said it did not bring "sufficient and credible evidence." Chamisa said "we have the right to peaceful protest" and that other routes will be pursued now that the legal one has reached an end. "Change is coming," he said. "Political doors are going to be opened very soon." He gave no details.

Last month's peaceful election was seen as a chance for Zimbabwe to move on from Robert Mugabe's repressive 37-year-rule. Now Chamisa alleges "a new persecution" after a deadly crackdown on the opposition.

The 40-year-old opposition leader again said he won the election and that the southern African nation needs fundamental reforms that cannot be resolved by five more years of "vacant leadership." The 75-year-old Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe enforcer who has tried to restyle himself as a reformer, appealed for calm after the court ruling and in a Twitter post told Chamisa "my door is open and my arms are outstretched."

Chamisa responded with skepticism, saying the opposition had reached out to Mnangagwa for dialogue earlier but the president did not respond. Zimbabwe's electoral commission had declared Mnangagwa the winner of the July 30 balloting with 50.8 percent of the vote. It later revised it to 50.6 percent, citing an "error" but arguing it was not significant enough to invalidate the win. It said Chamisa received 44.3 percent.

Chamisa's opposition Movement for Democratic Change party late Friday issued an angry statement saying in the coming days it would announce a "vigorous program of action in response to this electoral theft of the century."

Chamisa on Saturday, however, said he didn't know where that statement came from. He said the party's national council will meet next week on the way forward, and he did not directly respond to questions about the possibility of a government of national unity.

Mnangagwa, who took power in November after Mugabe stepped down under military pressure, called the election Zimbabwe's most transparent and credible ever. The government badly needed a credible vote to help end its status as a global pariah, have international sanctions lifted and open the door to investment in an economy that collapsed under Mugabe.

Zimbabweans now await the final reports from dozens of Western observers invited into the country for the first time in nearly two decades. The observers noted few issues on election day but expressed concern over the harassment of the opposition that followed. Six people were killed two days after the vote when the military swept into the capital, Harare, to disperse protests.

Mnangagwa has said an inquiry would look into the deaths after his inauguration. Chamisa indicated that he felt threatened as an opposition leader. "By challenging a dictatorship you are signing a death warrant," he said. "We are ready for any eventuality."

Meanwhile, the 60,000-seat National Sports Stadium was being prepared for Sunday's inauguration, with soldiers drilling and workmen hanging colorful pro-Mnangagwa banners. "Rest assured of a brighter tomorrow," one banner said.

Chamisa said he would not attend.

New Amnesty International leader's 1st move targets Zimbabwe

August 15, 2018

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Amnesty International's new leader said Wednesday his first act is writing to Zimbabwe's next president about the disappearance of activist Itai Dzamara: "Whoever leads the new government must move to undo the injustices of the past."

Kumi Naidoo, a South African-born former anti-apartheid activist, took office as secretary general of the London-based rights group on Wednesday. His focus on Dzamara, who was abducted by suspected state agents in 2015 under Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe, puts further pressure on the government of President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former enforcer, to acknowledge past abuses.

Dzamara is the highest-profile activist to go missing under Mugabe's 37-year rule, which was marred by the Matabeleland massacre of thousands of people in the 1980s by a North Korea-trained military brigade, harsh repression against the opposition and sometimes violent land seizures from white farmers. The southern African nation eventually became an international pariah.

Last week President Donald Trump signed a law tightening the requirements Zimbabwe must meet for the lifting of U.S. sanctions, which include ordering an inquiry into the disappearance of Dzamara and other rights activists. It was a setback for Mnangagwa, who has tried to recast himself as a reformer since taking over after Mugabe's military-enforced resignation in November. Mnangagwa himself remains under U.S. sanctions.

Instead of addressing the abuses of the past, however, Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabweans to let "bygones be bygones" and move on from the repressive era during which, at different times, he held the posts of minister of state security, defense and justice.

The 94-year-old Mugabe last month dismissed Dzamara as "that character" and denied knowing of his fate. The former newspaper reporter was abducted when he was having a shave at a barbershop near his home. Two days before that, Dzamara told a rally organized by then-opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai that Zimbabweans should rebel against Mugabe.

Patson Dzamara, the activist's brother, was assaulted and arrested by state security agents after protesting the kidnapping by raising a placard in front of Mugabe when he was still president. On Wednesday he tweeted that it was "humbling" that Amnesty International's new leader decided to speak up for his brother in his first act in office. He called it sad that Mnangagwa "chose to ignore us over this."

Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa urges nation to move beyond elections

August 13, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's president has called on the troubled country to unite and "put the election period behind us and embrace the future" in his first public address since winning disputed elections.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa was speaking on the Heroes' Day holiday which commemorates the lives of those who died in this southern African country's 1970s war against white minority rule. Mnangagwa was to have been inaugurated Sunday but the swearing in ceremony was postponed because of the legal challenge to the election results lodged by the main opposition MDC party at the Constitutional Court.

The July 30 vote was largely peaceful and many had hoped it would usher in a new era for Zimbabwe but the capital was rocked by post-election protests in which the military opened fire, killing six people.

Mnangagwa blamed the opposition for the shooting deaths, saying they had incited violence. He, however, urged reconciliation. "We should never be deterred by temporary setbacks or regrettable events which we encounter in our course to build an open, free and democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe," said Mnangagwa, who was cheered on by supporters chanting his election campaign slogans.

"The time for politics is over . let us therefore march forward in peace, harmony and love," said Mnangagwa, an ex-vice president and longtime enforcer of former president Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November after pressure from the military.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has said Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party won the country's first election without Mugabe on the ballot. Mnangagwa won 50.8 percent of the vote, said the commission.

But in their court challenge to Mnangagwa's win, opposition lawyers allege "gross mathematical errors" and call for a fresh vote or a declaration that main challenger Nelson Chamisa was the winner. Mnangagwa's ZANU-PF party is expected to oppose the opposition court challenge. On Monday, he said such differences should not result in violence.

"Let us never allow our differences to separate us, to cause animosity or stir intolerance and violence among us," said Mnangagwa. "We are one people. It is indeed time for us to close ranks and collectively push our national agenda and forge our country to new frontiers of economic development."

Zimbabwe opposition says soldiers search for its supporters

August 04, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwean soldiers were searching parts of the capital for opposition supporters to detain after the disputed election, the country's main opposition party said Saturday, as some already were in court.

Nkululeko Sibanda, a top official in the Movement for Democratic Change party, spoke at a courthouse in Harare where about 20 detained supporters awaited a hearing. Sibanda said they were accused of inciting public violence.

"A lot of people are hiding," Sibanda said. "It's scarier than the Mugabe times." There was no independent confirmation of the allegation. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he wants to work with the opposition to rebuild the country after decades of repression under his former mentor, Robert Mugabe.

Sibanda said he was concerned that the government could try to implicate opposition supporters in the deaths of six people who were killed during a military crackdown in Harare on Wednesday. Soldiers opened fire on protesters, some of whom were rioting.

As riot police circulated in the capital on Saturday, supporters of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa urged him to keep fighting a day after he forcefully rejected Mnangagwa's election victory and alleged manipulation. Zimbabwe's electoral commission has said the president won with 50.8 percent of the vote while Chamisa received 44.3 percent.

Chamisa has said the opposition's own count shows he won the vote and that they would challenge the election results in court. "We're doing all to secure your vote & defend your WILL," he said Saturday on Twitter.

"What we want Mr. Nelson Chamisa to do for us is to not give up on our vote," said one supporter in the capital, Tisi Habis. "No matter what the (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) says, Mr. Chamisa is our president."

International election observers who were invited by Mnangagwa's government after years of being banned by Mugabe were pulling out after issuing mixed reports on Monday's vote. While the election itself was called peaceful, the observers expressed concern over the lack of transparency in the voters' roll and the "extreme bias" of state-run media in favor of Mnangagwa. And in a joint statement the observers criticized the military's "excessive" use of force.

A credible election is a crucial step for lifting international sanctions and attracting badly needed foreign investment in Zimbabwe's long-collapsed economy. Mnangagwa on Friday claimed the vote had been free and fair, praising the "unprecedented flowering of freedom and democracy in our beloved homeland" while saying he wanted an independent investigation into the deadly unrest.

The U.S. State Department late Friday encouraged the release of fully transparent election results and said anyone with grievances should pursue them through legal channels, adding that "we encourage all political leaders to show magnanimity in victory and graciousness in defeat."

Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa wins 1st post-Mugabe election

August 03, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa won election Friday with just over 50 percent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa received 50.8 percent of the vote while main opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa received 44.3 percent. The opposition is almost certain to challenge the results in the courts or in the streets.

While election day was peaceful in a break from the past, deadly violence on Wednesday against people protesting alleged vote-rigging reminded many Zimbabweans of the decades of military-backed repression under Mugabe.

Zimbabwe's president says he is "humbled" by his win. "Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams," Mnangagwa said on Twitter. "This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all!" Mnangagwa tweeted, after a week that began with peaceful voting Monday but spiraled into deadly violence in the capital Wednesday as the military fired on protesters.

Western election observers who were banned in previous votes have expressed concern at the military's "excessive" force in the capital, Harare. Their assessments of the election are crucial to the lifting of international sanctions on a country whose economy collapsed years ago.

Shortly before the election commission's announcement, Morgen Komichi, the chief agent for Chamisa's opposition alliance, took the stage and said his party "totally rejects" the results and said he had not signed the election results. Police escorted him from the room.

Later Komichi said the elections were "fraudulent" and "everything has been done illegally." He said he had refused an electoral commission request to sign papers certifying Mnangagwa's win. "We're not part of it," said Komichi, adding that the opposition would be challenging the election in the courts.

Commission chair Priscilla Chigumba urged the country to "move on" with the hopeful spirit of election day and beyond the "blemishes" of Wednesday's chaos: "May God bless this nation and its people." With the military still deployed in Harare, the capital's streets were quiet following the announcement of Mnangagwa's victory.

By the center where the election results were announced, Charity Manyeruke, who teaches political science at the University of Zimbabwe, said she was delighted. "There is continuity, stability," Manyeruke said. "Zimbabwe is poised for nation-building."

The signs that Mnangagwa's election will be disputed appears to deepen a political crisis that was worsened by Wednesday's violence in Harare as the military swept in with gunfire to disperse opposition supporters alleging vote-rigging.

The death toll rose to six, with 14 injured, police said, and 18 people were arrested at the offices of the main opposition party amid tensions over a vote that was supposed to restore trust in Zimbabwe after decades of Mugabe's rule.

While Mnangagwa and the ruling party accused the opposition of inciting the violence, the opposition, human rights activists and international election observers condemned the "excessive" force used against protesters and appealed to all sides to exercise restraint.

Police raided the headquarters of Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change party while a lawyers' group said Chamisa was being investigated for allegedly inciting violence. He and several others are suspected of the crimes of "possession of dangerous weapons" and "public violence," according to a copy of a search warrant seen by The Associated Press.

Chamisa, however, said police seized computers and were looking for what he called evidence that his party had gathered of vote-rigging by Mnangagwa's party. The evidence already had been moved to a "safe house," he said.

Mnangagwa called for an "independent investigation" into Wednesday's violence, saying those responsible "should be identified and brought to justice." Mnangagwa was a longtime Mugabe confidante before his firing in November led his allies in the military to step in and push Mugabe to resign after 37 years in power. Thousands of jubilant Zimbabweans celebrated in the streets of Harare, greeting the military with selfies and cheers.

Since taking office, the 75-year-old Mnangagwa has tried to recast himself as a voice of reform, declaring that Zimbabwe was "open for business" and inviting long-banned Western election observers to observe Monday's vote, which he pledged would be free and fair.

A credible election after past votes were marred by violence against the opposition and alleged irregularities is crucial for the lifting of international sanctions and for the badly needed foreign investment to help Zimbabwe's long-collapsed economy revive. Mnangagwa himself remains under U.S. sanctions.

While Monday's election has been widely judged as peaceful with a high turnout, the deadly violence that erupted on Wednesday brought back chilly memories of decades of repression under Mugabe. It was a reminder, as opposition leader Chamisa declared Thursday, that "'We have removed Mugabe but not Mugabe-ism."

The military deployment was the first time that soldiers had appeared in the streets of the capital since Mugabe's resignation. Some Harare residents expressed frustration and exhaustion at the dramatic change from November's exuberant expression of hope to the current tensions.

"We are a peaceful nation," said 29-year-old Sifas Gavanga of the latest chaos. "We don't deserve the death we saw."

Zimbabwe's ruling party wins control of parliament

August 01, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's ruling party has won a majority of seats in Parliament, the electoral commission announced Wednesday, as the country braced for the first official results of the presidential election.

The ruling ZANU-PF won 109 seats while the main opposition MDC party had 41 in the country's 210-seat House of Assembly. The commission said two seats were won by smaller parties and 58 seats had yet to be declared.

The commission said it would announce the results of Zimbabwe's presidential race, pitting President Emmerson Mnangagwa against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, only after all the votes have come in from across the country.

Western and other election observers were set to give their first public assessments of the election and whether it was free and fair. The opposition alleges the elections have irregularities, saying voting results were not posted outside one-fifth of polling stations as required by law.

Mnangagwa's government, meanwhile, accused Chamisa and his supporters of inciting "violence" by already declaring he had won the election, the first after former leader Robert Mugabe stepped down in November.

"Let me also warn such individuals and groups that no one is above the law," Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu said. Security forces "will remain on high alert and continue to monitor the security situation in the country."

The possibility of confrontation is an unnerving reminder of the tensions that pervade this southern African nation, debilitated by Mugabe's long rule. The 94-year-old former leader had been in power since independence from white minority rule in 1980 until he was forced to resign after the military and ruling ZANU-PF party turned on him.

Mnangagwa, a former deputy president who fell out with Mugabe and then took over from him, has said his showing in the presidential polls was "extremely positive" while urging people to wait for official results.

Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, has gone further, saying his own count shows that he won the election and that he's ready to form the next government.

"We won the popular vote & will defend it!" Chamisa tweeted Wednesday morning. Zimbabweans desperately hope the peaceful vote, which took place Monday, will lift them out of economic and political stagnation after decades of Mugabe's rule, but the country is haunted by a history of electoral violence and manipulation that means trust is scarce.

While the electoral commission has five days from the end of voting to release the final tally, the national mood is growing anxious partly because unofficial results are already swirling on social media.

Dozens of opposition supporters gathered Tuesday evening at their headquarters in the capital, Harare, celebrating in the belief that they had won the presidential election based on results they said they collected from agents in the field.

As they danced to music blasting from speakers set up on a truck, police with water cannon circulated in the area.

Counting starts after Zimbabweans vote in pivotal election

July 30, 2018

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — With hope and pride, millions of Zimbabweans voted peacefully Monday in an election that many believe is their best chance to escape the toxic politics and dead-end economics of the era of Robert Mugabe, who wasn't on the ballot for the first time in the nation's nearly four-decade history.

But opposition activists used to the violence, intimidation and vote-tampering that marred elections under Mugabe called for vigilance against the same kind of skullduggery this time around. Western monitors noted some problems at polling stations, but said it wasn't yet clear whether they reflected a deliberate effort to manipulate the elections.

"They may be peaceful, but we don't know how credible they are," said 51-year-old Classified Chivese, a voter who, like many Zimbabweans, is unemployed. Zimbabwe's political climate has opened up since 94-year-old Mugabe, who once said he would rule for life, resigned in November after a military takeover and ruling party move to impeach him. Throngs celebrated the removal of Mugabe, in power since independence from white minority rule in 1980, but many Zimbabweans view Monday's election as an equally important milestone.

More than 5.5 million people were registered to vote in an election featuring a record more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties vying for parliamentary seats. If no presidential candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held Sept. 8.

The two main contenders were 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former deputy president and longtime enforcer for Mugabe who has reinvented himself as a candidate for change; and 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who became head of the main opposition party a few months ago after the death of its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

After polls closed at 7 p.m. and vote-counting began, Mnangagwa appealed to Zimbabweans to be patient and wait for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce results. The final, official tally is expected within five days.

"Today, Zimbabwe experienced a beautiful expression of freedom & democracy," Mnangagwa tweeted. "No matter which way we voted, we are all brothers and sisters." Earlier, however, Chamisa said on Twitter that voting delays in urban areas, where his support is strong, were a "deliberate attempt" to undermine his election bid. The allegations by the head of the Movement for Democratic Change party intensified concerns about management of the election and the prospect of a dispute over its outcome.

The head of the European Union mission monitoring Zimbabwe's elections said his team saw "huge differences" in the pace of voting at polling stations. Voters at one location waited less than an hour to cast their ballots while others at a nearby station waited more than half the day, Elmar Brok said.

"In some cases, it works very smoothly," Brok said. "But in others, we see that it's totally disorganized and that people become angry, that people leave." He noted a case of the ruling ZANU-PF party delivering 100 people by bus to vote in a district where they didn't live. Observers have to check whether it was a single example or part of a pattern "which might have influence on the result of the elections," Brok said.

The fact that Brok and other Western observers were even in Zimbabwe and free to operate wherever they liked reflected a new transparency after years of Mugabe banning outside monitors. Still, there were concerns about bias in state media, a lack of transparency in ballot printing and reports of intimidation by pro-government traditional leaders who are supposed to stay neutral.

Among opposition objections was that the ballots listed presidential candidates in two columns of 14 and nine names, with Mnangagwa at the top of the second column — a spot that would presumably make it easier for people to vote for him. Observers say the law requires a single column of names in alphabetical order.

Also, millions of Zimbabweans living abroad, including in neighboring South Africa, were barred from voting unless they traveled home to do so. The government said it did not have the resources to organize voting for expatriates, many of whom are believed to support the opposition.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, accused of manipulating election wins for Mugabe in the past, has said this vote will be free and fair. "We need peace and we need everyone to be comfortable, to go out and exercise their right to vote without fear," Priscilla Chigumba, a judge who chairs the commission, said during voting Monday.

Chigumba also said police have been informed about two presidential candidates who might have violated the law by campaigning after the cutoff time. She didn't name them, but they are likely to be Chamisa and Mnangagwa, both of whom issued public statements on Sunday.

Despite Mugabe's troubled legacy, dozens of cheering Zimbabweans gathered outside the polling station in the capital where he voted. Struggling to walk, Mugabe raised his fist to acknowledge them. He made his way into the polling center, had his finger inked and was assisted by his wife into the booth.

On Sunday, Mugabe said Chamisa was the only viable candidate and rejected Mnangagwa and the ruling party, saying: "I cannot vote for those who have tormented me." Mnangagwa hopes an election viewed as credible will bring international legitimacy and investment to Zimbabwe, though a seriously flawed process could signal more stagnation. The president is himself the target of U.S. sanctions imposed on some government leaders and companies over human rights concerns during the Mugabe era.

Despite expectations that the elections could bring a better life, Zimbabwe remains plagued by the hopelessness of unemployment, cash shortages and moribund industries. Many problems are due to mismanagement exacerbated by the country's old status as an international pariah.

"We need change because we have suffered a lot here," said 65-year-old Mable Mafaro, a voter in Harare. Another voter was exultant, comparing the election to the end of white minority rule. "I'm so happy," said 28-year-old Tapiwa Kahondo. "This is 1980 for Zimbabwe. We are so happy for today."

Associated Press journalist Bram Janssen contributed to this report.