Khampepe report muddies Mbeki's legacy

Legalbrief reports that the report, contrary to declarations by the Mbeki administration, confirmed suspicions of poll rigging and a litany of irregularities blamed on the state apparatus in Zimbabwe's 2002 elections. Moseneke and Khampepe found that 107 people had died in pre-election violence and intimidation in certain areas of the country. And the electoral laws were also 'drastically amended and manipulated by executive decrees', the consequences of which were felt on voter education and the voters' roll. Despite these findings, Pretoria went on to endorse long-time leader Robert Mugabe's victory. Not surprisingly, the fallout has been significant with Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai saying he is 'deeply appalled' by the report. The MDC-T leader accused Pretoria of 'wittingly or unwittingly aiding the subversion of democratic processes in Zimbabwe'. The Mail & Guardian, which secured the release of the report following a lengthy legal battle, notes that Tsvangirai has never accepted his defeat in that poll, or in subsequent elections. Poll think tank and electoral lobby group Election Resource Centre (ERC) has called on South Africa to apologise to Zimbabwe, notes a report on the News24 site. ERC said in a statement it was joining Zimbabwean voters and democrats everywhere in mourning the delayed release of the highly sought-after report. ERC demanded that Mbeki and President Jacob Zuma - who have spent more than six years fighting against the release of the report - make a public apology to Zimbabweans for denying public access to the report. Full Mail & Guardian Online report Full report on the News24 site

Not surprisingly, the Zimbabwean Government has rubbished as 'a nullity' the damning report. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said: 'Bringing a report that is 12 years old in politics is not very useful because as they say a day in politics can be like 1 000 years.' A report on the News24 site notes that Moyo said it would be unreasonable to waste time on a report that was written by two people on a nationwide election with more than 8 000 polling stations in 10 provinces, covering at that time 120 constituencies. And Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa - Justice Minister at the time of the vote - said the Khampepe report was 'rubbish' - the product of a racist South African justice system opposed to the seizures of white-owned farms taking place at the time. 'It's not the South African government. It's an individual judge who is biased against us because of the land reform programme,' he is quoted in a Business Day report as saying. Full report on the News24 site Full Business Day report

Irrespective of the outcome of the report, Mugabe will next week mount the podium at the Zanu-PF congress to the deafening hysteria of ululations, war chants and brandished fists of the assembled 3 000. In a column on the politicsweb.co.za site, Jan Raath notes that Mugabe's absolute rule is in its 35th year and it is apparent that he is so in thrall to his own authority that he has no awareness of his frailty. 'So three things are certain at this congress - he will not announce his retirement, the masses will endorse his continued leadership for another five years and not a breath will be heard on the issue of his successor. But it will be a very different Zanu-PF from the party congresses of the past. For the first time since its founding in a Rhodesian prison in 1969, the party is divided through the middle after a ruthless, coordinated purge that has stunned ordinary Zimbabweans.' Full column on the politicsweb.co.za site

And in another significant development, Mugabe this weekend changed the constitution of his ruling Zanu-PF party to allow him to directly appoint his deputies. This gives the 90-year-old sole power to anoint his successor. According to a report on the newzimbabwe.com site, Mugabe and his two deputies were previously elected by members from the country's 10 regions. The deputies automatically took up the same posts in government. The changes to the Zanu-PF charter give Mugabe an even tighter grip at a time when Vice-President Joice Mujuru has been accused of plotting to oust him at a party congress next month. A party official said 'far-reaching amendments' to the constitution means there will no longer be elections for deputies. 'They will all be appointees now and the logic is that this will bring cohesion in the party,' he is quoted in the report as saying. Full report on the newzimbabwe.com site