Finally the state media in Zimbabwe got it right. In a rare display of professionalism that we last saw in the decades gone by, the Sunday News of the 19th of August 2007 in a story headlined “Porn peddlers abuse Sandra, Joyce” published what could be an own goal by the desperate government of President Robert Mugabe that has tried to tarnish the iconic and illustrious image of Archbishop Pius Ncube. Reporter Nothando Ndlovu wrote that the market has been flooded with fake pornographic pictures of celebrities Sandra Ndebele and Tinopona Katsande. The paper admits that Zimbabwe has legislation against the production and possession of pornographic material, irrespective of age. “Provisions of the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act Chapter 10:04 prohibit the possession of such material be it a
publication, picture, stature or record. It is considered indecent and obscene,” admits the paper in an article that nails its sister Zimpapers publications and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television who are not only in possession of such illegal pictures and publications on the alleged illicit affairs by Archbishop Ncube but have also published and displayed in violation of the said laws among others. Selective application of the law, the absence of the rule of law and violation of the laws of the country could not have been more brazen and opportunistc.
Said the papers on the depicted pornographic characters: “At first glance, one would mistake the woman clad in black as our own Sandra Ndebele but on the second glance it is definite that she is not the one. The pornographic material which is the copycat ‘Sandra’ stars is run for at least 20 to 25 minutes showing the woman with two different men. However, experts have said that although it was clear from the clips that the character was not Sandra they said it was possible to superimpose someone’s head on a body. Aaron Dhawa, a graphic designer with a local company, Graphic Arts, showed how this could be done and actually went on to demonstrate how a face could be pasted on another body that is not his.”
Yes it is doable, you can paste Archbishop Pius Ncube’s head on a naked body and pass it for something genuine. The state, through its Central Intelligence Organisation(CIO), had not only a clear motive to do so but also the technology for it. The state media did not investigate the matter because it wasn’t their case but that of the CIO. It had the CIO odor from start to finish. Hence government silence on the violation of the laws of the country by such publications.
A rare diligence by a journalist revealed what all of us have been saying, which is that by publishing and/or displaying pornographic material on Archbishop Pius Ncube and others, the state media violated the laws of the country. But what is even more interesting is that the pornographic material itself may well be fake. And we want to allege that the state media did what it did on behalf of the Zimbabwean regime. They got the pictures from the CIO which directed them to publish them.
Armed with this “new discovery” the Sunday News then approached the Zimbabwe Republic Police for comment. The police through Assistant Inspector David Nyathi, Police Bulawayo Spokesperson said the police “were not aware that such soiled clips were in circulation but pointed out that being in possession of such material was a crime not only against the individual concerned but against the state”. The police called on all people with information that would enable them to smash the syndicate to come forwrd. “We are not aware of such an issue but I would like to draw our people’s attention because being in possession of such material(pornographic) is a crime, not only against the individual but against the state”.
This is hypocrisy of monumental proportions. The state media has not only published pornographic material of unprecedented nature but also continued to publish articles bragging about its possession of “tonnes” of pornographic material. Where are the police? Why double standards? Why selective enforcement of the law? Is the state media exempt from laws governing pornography? All of a sudden the police want to arrest and prosecute those who possess and distribute pornography! According to Assistant Inspector Nyathi the state media, by possessing and publishing pornographic material on Archbishop Pius Ncube and others concerned, has committed a crime not only against the Archbishop and others concerned but also against the state. As the APN Solidarity Coalition we believe the Assistant Inspector had the correct interpretation of the law. We now wait for the police to take action against the state media for possessing and publishing pornographic material on Archbishop Pius Ncube and others concerned.
In the light of the Sunday News story, the Archbishop Pius Ncube Solidarity Coalition demands:
· That the Media and Information Commission, Zimbabwe Republic Police and other law enforcement authorities immediately take fearless and concrete steps to punish the responsible media for the possession, publication, and display of pornographic material on what the alleged illicit love affairs by Archbishop Pius Ncube in violation of the laws of the country;
· That the Government of Zimbabwe immediately take steps to permanently end the selective application of laws.
The APN Solidarity Coalition believes that the Archbishop’s case demonstrates the manifest absence of an environment conducive for free and fair democratic elections. A climate of selective application of laws, smear campaigns against political opponents, concocted charges designed to silence dissenting voices together with a whole host of undemocratic laws like POSA and AIPPA can never be expected to produce a democratic election. Archbishop Ncube’s case and the role of the state in it and the subsequent publication of pornographic material on him and others and the brazen violation of their rights guaranteed under the laws of the country clearly demonstrates that Zimbabwe is far from being a democracy that many paid with their lives for. The Archbishop is being victimized for his stand on democratic institutions, values and principles. For the first time the Sunday News had it right: (a) laws governing pornography were violated by the state media when it published pornographic material on the Archbishop and others; (b) it is highly possible to create fake pictures of sexual nature using modern advances in technology.
Until proven guilty by a truly impartial and independent court discharging its mandate in accordance with international judicial practices and human rights instruments, the APN Solidarity Coalition will always hold that the Archbishop is innocent and is just being targeted in a smear campaign by the Zimbabwean government desperate to divert the attention of the people to trivia and silence democratic voices.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
Open letter to the president of Zimbabwe
By Tanonoka Joseph Whande
GABORONE
Dear Sir,
I am tempted to address you as ‘Your Excellency’ but I don’t want to lie. I love you, though. And I’m sure you have never doubted that, have you? Enough of that!
I still have those pictures I took of you in the late 70s when you visited us students in the United States. You came looking for money but now you are printing it in your backyard.
Congratulations!
You spoke about freedom - One man, one vote, self-determination and all that nonsense. Oh, you looked just right: rugged, weather-beaten and tired as if you were a real freedom fighter.
The yokels in the US actually thought you were in the forefront of the fight, dodging Ian Smith’s gunfire with as much ease as you kill your citizens today.
When you became Prime Minister, those same yokels, in unexplained euphoria, put your name forward for the Nobel Peace Prize. Oh, Bob, you are better than a chameleon.
We wish we didn’t know now what we didn’t know then. I still have memories of my visits to State House, remember? Once, a diminutive female operative in your security detail tried to stop me from chatting with you although I was there by invitation.
She was very protective of you, sir. Her name was Margaret and you did not promote her. Might as well not have because she soon discovered you were no good and left your employment.
She formed her own political party and harassed your stooges in parliament. Remember pocket-sized Margaret Dongo?
Surely, you remember Bob; she is the one that Solomon Mujuru wanted to demolish in Parliament after she publicly voiced that all male ZANU PF parliamentarians were your wives.
Even today, Bob, they remain as spineless as chocolate éclairs. Dear old Solomon is retired now and is busy counting the bundles you allowed him to make.
Ironically, Solomon is now using your money to see that his wife Joice replaces you. To my knowledge, you and Joice are the only ones who have never been out of the cabinet since Independence Day in 1980.
You at least achieved disaster but Joice has never achieved anything. And she wants to lead who?
Anyway, as I was saying, I still have memories of my visits to State House. The tea and the biscuits were out of this world, literally.
Your wife was such a gracious hostess. I mean your real wife.
I enjoyed the late Sally Mugabe as a news subject and as a mother. She almost tolerated democracy better than you, Sir.
She hid her bitterness well after the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) saved her from imminent defeat when my late sister, Julia Zvobgo, challenged her for the leadership of the Women’s League at that scandalous congress.
Sally was always nice to us since we always brought those old Thompson television cameras with us. Well, a gracious hostess she was although she rapped me on the knuckles once.
That’s when I found out that Sally didn’t like us editing her speeches or paraphrasing them. I also recall your visits to the television studios at Pockets Hill, a place you made sure was staffed by most who knew less.
Professionals were shoved aside in favour of those kids who you were with during the war. And I see one of those kids now represents you here in Botswana. He is now called ‘His Excellency.’
And I have a nuisance of a relative who prides himself with a photograph of you and me shaking hands and mumbling something to each other in 2004 when you came to pay your respects at my sister’s funeral.
I welcomed you well, didn’t I? But only a few months later did your CIO goons pick me up in Masvingo, accusing me of defilement because I had written that the late Edison Zvobgo was better than you in every respect.
Your goons intercepted the article twice but I still managed to get it to my editor (Zimbabwe Independent, September 10, 2004). They detained me in your name for four hours, Bob.
They didn’t give me tea but they told me that it is illegal to compare you to anyone. They also warned me to stop writing about your wife Grace.
And do you recall when ZTV suspended me after I took a bit too long to remove my cap as you stood right behind me in the Harare International Conference Centre during the Non-Aligned Movement meeting of 1986?
It was sneaky of you to materialise behind me in the auditorium as I was bent over assisting the crew with the television cables.
The bumpkins in the gallery reacted to your sudden appearance and started singing the national anthem catching me off-side. I tried to deny the charges but, with you as witness, I had no chance.
Television footage strangled any further arguments. It was two weeks without pay. That was serious. You should have tapped me on the shoulder, Bob. And, years later, why was I “asked to resign” from the broadcasting service, Bob?
At that time, there were certain political realities that made it rather difficult for them to fire me without your knowledge, especially since, earlier on, you had personally directed that I be part of the trinity sent to China. (The trip and stay in China were superb; thanks).
Or should I just ask ‘His Excellency’ at the embassy here in Botswana? He is a former workmate and, given his ties to you, might give me the scoop. Ah, well, forget about that.
Let’s talk about you for a change. For the first time in a long while, I see pictures of you with genuine smiles. I thought maybe you were just happy to see people suffering because of your ill-advised decree on prices.
Then I thought maybe you and the young lass are expecting another unnecessary one.
Then someone told me you are smiling to yourself all the time because your nemesis, Archbishop Pius Ncube, is reported to have been caught with his cassock up around his waist.
And you offered to pray for the Archbishop. You are only crying over Pius Ncube’s wounds because you are trying to get some salt into the wounds, aren’t you?
You are throwing a drowning man both ends of a rope, Bob. But you need to be a little careful though. When it comes to infidelities and people’s wives, don’t you think you should keep clear?
It sounds so much like a president the world has heard about. This president, we are told, had an affair with someone’s wife as his own wife lay dying. He then went on to marry the woman and seduced a Catholic Archbishop to solemnise the marriage.
The Catholic Church, of which I am a member, latent as I may be, disappointed me and millions of others by assisting this president in wrecking someone’s marriage.
No wonder the Vatican is paying millions to men and women abused by priests in California. But why do they have to abuse anyone, Bob? Can’t they negotiate like you did?
Well, even if the reports about Pius Ncube are true, it does not make you any better. Commenting on Ncube’s alleged transgression is drawing attention to the origins of your own marriage.
I am your man on the doorstep, Bob, and am advising you to keep mum on Ncube’s alleged transgression because you are reported to have done worse.
Anyway, keep in mind that Pius Ncube is not Zimbabwe and the people’s attention is not going to be diverted from removing you. You, Bob, are the grim problem, not Ncube’s escapades.
Don’t read too much into Ncube’s misdemeanour, Bob. Ncube is human, just like you and me. He is only one of millions disgusted by your rabid behaviour and if he faltered, it does not mean you are any better.
Unlike you, Ncube is not accused of murder and human rights violations or crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, which is better: Ncube’s skeletons in the wardrobe or skeletons in your mineshafts, Bob?
Now let me whisper in your ear: You are squatting in the vegetable garden, Bob; manure is not applied that way!
In our Karanga folklore, we have a proverb that says that only old people are afraid of the sound of sticks breaking, for they fear it might be any of their fragile old bones giving in.
The meaning behind it is that ‘only the guilty are afraid.’ I note you now hear twigs breaking all the time, Bob. I am sorry but the sound you hear is not folklore.
Your time is up, Bob, and the world, not Pius Ncube, is out to get you.
I am, Your man on the doorstep.
GABORONE
Dear Sir,
I am tempted to address you as ‘Your Excellency’ but I don’t want to lie. I love you, though. And I’m sure you have never doubted that, have you? Enough of that!
I still have those pictures I took of you in the late 70s when you visited us students in the United States. You came looking for money but now you are printing it in your backyard.
Congratulations!
You spoke about freedom - One man, one vote, self-determination and all that nonsense. Oh, you looked just right: rugged, weather-beaten and tired as if you were a real freedom fighter.
The yokels in the US actually thought you were in the forefront of the fight, dodging Ian Smith’s gunfire with as much ease as you kill your citizens today.
When you became Prime Minister, those same yokels, in unexplained euphoria, put your name forward for the Nobel Peace Prize. Oh, Bob, you are better than a chameleon.
We wish we didn’t know now what we didn’t know then. I still have memories of my visits to State House, remember? Once, a diminutive female operative in your security detail tried to stop me from chatting with you although I was there by invitation.
She was very protective of you, sir. Her name was Margaret and you did not promote her. Might as well not have because she soon discovered you were no good and left your employment.
She formed her own political party and harassed your stooges in parliament. Remember pocket-sized Margaret Dongo?
Surely, you remember Bob; she is the one that Solomon Mujuru wanted to demolish in Parliament after she publicly voiced that all male ZANU PF parliamentarians were your wives.
Even today, Bob, they remain as spineless as chocolate éclairs. Dear old Solomon is retired now and is busy counting the bundles you allowed him to make.
Ironically, Solomon is now using your money to see that his wife Joice replaces you. To my knowledge, you and Joice are the only ones who have never been out of the cabinet since Independence Day in 1980.
You at least achieved disaster but Joice has never achieved anything. And she wants to lead who?
Anyway, as I was saying, I still have memories of my visits to State House. The tea and the biscuits were out of this world, literally.
Your wife was such a gracious hostess. I mean your real wife.
I enjoyed the late Sally Mugabe as a news subject and as a mother. She almost tolerated democracy better than you, Sir.
She hid her bitterness well after the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) saved her from imminent defeat when my late sister, Julia Zvobgo, challenged her for the leadership of the Women’s League at that scandalous congress.
Sally was always nice to us since we always brought those old Thompson television cameras with us. Well, a gracious hostess she was although she rapped me on the knuckles once.
That’s when I found out that Sally didn’t like us editing her speeches or paraphrasing them. I also recall your visits to the television studios at Pockets Hill, a place you made sure was staffed by most who knew less.
Professionals were shoved aside in favour of those kids who you were with during the war. And I see one of those kids now represents you here in Botswana. He is now called ‘His Excellency.’
And I have a nuisance of a relative who prides himself with a photograph of you and me shaking hands and mumbling something to each other in 2004 when you came to pay your respects at my sister’s funeral.
I welcomed you well, didn’t I? But only a few months later did your CIO goons pick me up in Masvingo, accusing me of defilement because I had written that the late Edison Zvobgo was better than you in every respect.
Your goons intercepted the article twice but I still managed to get it to my editor (Zimbabwe Independent, September 10, 2004). They detained me in your name for four hours, Bob.
They didn’t give me tea but they told me that it is illegal to compare you to anyone. They also warned me to stop writing about your wife Grace.
And do you recall when ZTV suspended me after I took a bit too long to remove my cap as you stood right behind me in the Harare International Conference Centre during the Non-Aligned Movement meeting of 1986?
It was sneaky of you to materialise behind me in the auditorium as I was bent over assisting the crew with the television cables.
The bumpkins in the gallery reacted to your sudden appearance and started singing the national anthem catching me off-side. I tried to deny the charges but, with you as witness, I had no chance.
Television footage strangled any further arguments. It was two weeks without pay. That was serious. You should have tapped me on the shoulder, Bob. And, years later, why was I “asked to resign” from the broadcasting service, Bob?
At that time, there were certain political realities that made it rather difficult for them to fire me without your knowledge, especially since, earlier on, you had personally directed that I be part of the trinity sent to China. (The trip and stay in China were superb; thanks).
Or should I just ask ‘His Excellency’ at the embassy here in Botswana? He is a former workmate and, given his ties to you, might give me the scoop. Ah, well, forget about that.
Let’s talk about you for a change. For the first time in a long while, I see pictures of you with genuine smiles. I thought maybe you were just happy to see people suffering because of your ill-advised decree on prices.
Then I thought maybe you and the young lass are expecting another unnecessary one.
Then someone told me you are smiling to yourself all the time because your nemesis, Archbishop Pius Ncube, is reported to have been caught with his cassock up around his waist.
And you offered to pray for the Archbishop. You are only crying over Pius Ncube’s wounds because you are trying to get some salt into the wounds, aren’t you?
You are throwing a drowning man both ends of a rope, Bob. But you need to be a little careful though. When it comes to infidelities and people’s wives, don’t you think you should keep clear?
It sounds so much like a president the world has heard about. This president, we are told, had an affair with someone’s wife as his own wife lay dying. He then went on to marry the woman and seduced a Catholic Archbishop to solemnise the marriage.
The Catholic Church, of which I am a member, latent as I may be, disappointed me and millions of others by assisting this president in wrecking someone’s marriage.
No wonder the Vatican is paying millions to men and women abused by priests in California. But why do they have to abuse anyone, Bob? Can’t they negotiate like you did?
Well, even if the reports about Pius Ncube are true, it does not make you any better. Commenting on Ncube’s alleged transgression is drawing attention to the origins of your own marriage.
I am your man on the doorstep, Bob, and am advising you to keep mum on Ncube’s alleged transgression because you are reported to have done worse.
Anyway, keep in mind that Pius Ncube is not Zimbabwe and the people’s attention is not going to be diverted from removing you. You, Bob, are the grim problem, not Ncube’s escapades.
Don’t read too much into Ncube’s misdemeanour, Bob. Ncube is human, just like you and me. He is only one of millions disgusted by your rabid behaviour and if he faltered, it does not mean you are any better.
Unlike you, Ncube is not accused of murder and human rights violations or crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, which is better: Ncube’s skeletons in the wardrobe or skeletons in your mineshafts, Bob?
Now let me whisper in your ear: You are squatting in the vegetable garden, Bob; manure is not applied that way!
In our Karanga folklore, we have a proverb that says that only old people are afraid of the sound of sticks breaking, for they fear it might be any of their fragile old bones giving in.
The meaning behind it is that ‘only the guilty are afraid.’ I note you now hear twigs breaking all the time, Bob. I am sorry but the sound you hear is not folklore.
Your time is up, Bob, and the world, not Pius Ncube, is out to get you.
I am, Your man on the doorstep.
Message of solidarity
by Jeffery Fenwick; formerly Dean of St John's Cathedral, Bulawayo
Dear Archbishop,
I have for many years admired your stand for human dignity and justice in Zimbabwe. Having failed to convict you for telling the truth, ZANU PF is now fabricating charges of moral misconduct. ZANU's own criminal activities are many and manifest. I am sure that you will be vindicated - and I hope that soon.
Dear Archbishop,
I have for many years admired your stand for human dignity and justice in Zimbabwe. Having failed to convict you for telling the truth, ZANU PF is now fabricating charges of moral misconduct. ZANU's own criminal activities are many and manifest. I am sure that you will be vindicated - and I hope that soon.
Message of solidarity
by Hugh Phillips in England
Wish to express complete support for Bishop. If he has erred, it is wholly understandable viewed in the context of his stressful and heroic stand for the peoples of his country. If a man be not guilty, let him cast the first stone. If this case ever reaches the courts, it will be a further example of the collapse of the rule of law and a complete travesty of true justice.
Wish to express complete support for Bishop. If he has erred, it is wholly understandable viewed in the context of his stressful and heroic stand for the peoples of his country. If a man be not guilty, let him cast the first stone. If this case ever reaches the courts, it will be a further example of the collapse of the rule of law and a complete travesty of true justice.
EVIL!
by Graham and Pat Townshend
The forces of evil are gathering, and growing, and they strike hardest where goodness and righteousness stand firm in opposition. The current slander of + Pius is designed to unseat one of the fiercest critics of those forces. We pray that God will give Pius the fortitude, the courage and the will to endure this attack on his priestly calling, and so eventually to emerge triumphant over all who seek the destruction of that which is good, noble and godly.
The forces of evil are gathering, and growing, and they strike hardest where goodness and righteousness stand firm in opposition. The current slander of + Pius is designed to unseat one of the fiercest critics of those forces. We pray that God will give Pius the fortitude, the courage and the will to endure this attack on his priestly calling, and so eventually to emerge triumphant over all who seek the destruction of that which is good, noble and godly.
MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY
By Debra Mabunda in the United Kingdom
I love being a catholic, I love the church and I love the leadership in particular our Archbishop who in the last few years has become the voice of the voiceless. I am not surprised therefore that those who are perpetrators of the strife in Zimbabwe would stoop so low as to do what they have done to Pius. What the church should not forget is that this is not meant to destroy Pius, it is meant to destroy the Church in Zimbabwe and also make Zimbabwe loose hope. Its written, “I will strike the shepherd and the flock will be scattered" (Mathew 26: Verse 31)
Therefore brethren in Christ take heart, for we know what is happening and we are ready for it. It is our task as lay people to refuse to be scattered, divided more so made to question our faith.
The Archdiocese of Bulawayo is one of the best guided and United Dioceses in Zimbabwe and no one should be allowed to destroy that. We will carry the cross together and march on to Zion and no one can stand in our way. This is the time when roles are reversed; The Laity standing up for its clergy and protecting them against adversity. I pray and strongly believe together we will march through.
May the mother of god together with her spouse Joseph be with the Archdiocese at this time.
I love being a catholic, I love the church and I love the leadership in particular our Archbishop who in the last few years has become the voice of the voiceless. I am not surprised therefore that those who are perpetrators of the strife in Zimbabwe would stoop so low as to do what they have done to Pius. What the church should not forget is that this is not meant to destroy Pius, it is meant to destroy the Church in Zimbabwe and also make Zimbabwe loose hope. Its written, “I will strike the shepherd and the flock will be scattered" (Mathew 26: Verse 31)
Therefore brethren in Christ take heart, for we know what is happening and we are ready for it. It is our task as lay people to refuse to be scattered, divided more so made to question our faith.
The Archdiocese of Bulawayo is one of the best guided and United Dioceses in Zimbabwe and no one should be allowed to destroy that. We will carry the cross together and march on to Zion and no one can stand in our way. This is the time when roles are reversed; The Laity standing up for its clergy and protecting them against adversity. I pray and strongly believe together we will march through.
May the mother of god together with her spouse Joseph be with the Archdiocese at this time.
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