The Vigil made the front page of the Zimbabwe Herald this week (see below).  We are mentioned in the Herald’s interview with Hebson Makuvise, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Germany.  He reportedly says of activists in the UK "Every Saturday they gather at the Zimbabwean Embassy in the UK playing drums denouncing President Mugabe, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and the inclusive Government. They are then given some money by tourists who visit the embassy in the name of the suffering masses of Zimbabwe.”  He said he has tried without success to dissuade the activists from carrying out such activities.  

The Vigil’s take on this is rather different. Makuvise, Tsvangirai’s uncle and representative in the UK, tried to control the Vigil as he did the MDC in the UK. Check: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/ZimVigil-Diary-Entries/vigil-diary-archive-jan-feb-2008.html (17^th January 2008). We can’t forget how he thundered down to the Vigil with his goons and, oblivious to the irony, waved his fist at the Vigil Co-ordinator saying ‘How dare you accuse me of being a bully-boy!’  

Makuvise has come back from the dead through articles on the websites Zimdiaspora and Zimeye. (Check:
1.  http://www.zimeye.org/?p=19616, Stanford Biti blasts Morgan Tsvangirai for “leaked document”
2. http://www.zimeye.org/?p=19982, Rein in brother, Biti told
3.  http://zimdiaspora-bitiandmakuvise1.notlong.com, Finance Minister Biti must discipline brother Stanford Biti: Makuvise.
4.  http://zimdiaspora-bitiandmakuvise2.notlong.com, Stanford Biti hits back, likens Makuvise to maggot behaviour.
5.  http://www.zimeye.org/?p=20019, Makuvise opens lawsuit against website.) 

Judging by comments on these articles Mr Makuvise does not have many fans. 

The articles follow an MDC decision to launch an enquiry into allegations of corruption in the MDC UK. The investigations were carried out by a team from Zimbabwe led by Sam Sipepa Nkomo. Zimdiaspora published in seven parts what they said was the report leaked from Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s office. The alleged report detailed financial irregularities in the MDC UK and strongly criticized Makuvise. For his part, Makuvise is particularly angry with Tendai Biti’s brother Stanford, Chair of MDC Southend, who the Herald says is campaigning for the recall of Mr Makuvise from Germany and accusing him of embezzling party funds donated by well-wishers. 

The latest development is that Ambassador Makuvise says he is instituting legal proceedings against Zimdiaspora. No doubt he will be seeking donor funding to finance his legal costs! The Vigil offers its support to Zimdiaspora and recalls the case of former British cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken, who, under the banner of wielding the ‘sword of truth’, told a string of lies in a libel case in London and was sent to jail for perjury. Mr Makuvise must realise that he will have no diplomatic immunity in the UK. and that donors may, in their ignorant way, decide to feed the starving, help the ill, educate children and protect the innocent rather than sponsor Makuvise.  

PS why has this MDC report still not been published?  

We cannot attest to the veracity of the report published by Zimdiaspora. But you can find it by looking at the following:
1. http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate1.notlong.com, Zimdiaspora serialises Sipepa-Nkomo report on Chawora-gate.
2. http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate2.notlong.com, Chawora-gate Part 2: looting of MDC funds, breaches exposed.
3. http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate3.notlong.com, Chawora-gate Part 3 they failed to provide expenditure evidence.
4.  http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate4.notlong.com, Chawora-gate Part 4: £75 836.00 is missing from card sales only.
5.  http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate5.notlong.com, Chawora-gate Part 5: No asylum support letter without sex first.
6.  http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate6.notlong.com, Chawora-gate Part 6: They formed bogus company to milk funds.
7.  http://zimdiaspora-chawora-gate7.notlong.com, Chawora-gate part 7: They produced, sold their own party cards.

Senator David Coltart, the Zimbabwean Minister for Education, was given a friendly reception when he came to the Vigil at the end of his visit to London – a welcome that turned to cheers when he put on our bracelet ‘Mugabe Must Go’.  

Surrounded by Vigil supporters, he said ‘I know that many of you are very sceptical about this inclusive government. But I want to let you know that there is a group working very hard to make it work.  Don’t write it off. But you do need to continue the Vigil because things are by no means right yet.  We are all looking for the same thing: a democratic Zimbabwe where everyone can hold their heads up high.’  

We were pleased that Senator Coltart took the trouble to join us – even though many of us don’t share his optimism. Some Vigil supporters went to hear him during the week when he spoke at a meeting in Parliament about the dire situation in the Zimbabwean education system. Who could be against giving money towards education in Zimbabwe – even if Zanu PF gangsters are looting the country’s own resources that should be paying for it?  

Senator Coltart was only one of a horde of MDC leaders descending like locusts on London with their begging bowls.  It’s all very well giving money to education but the two other MDC ministers and the Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara were shaking the can for investment. They seem to have difficulty grasping that people are reluctant to invest in a country with no rule of law.  

A large contingent of our supporters went to hear Mutambara speak at a London meeting after the Vigil.  Apart from telling us about his massive intellect and brilliant education, he urged people with skills and capital to go home, brushing aside questions of violence and good governance, though he admitted a lot of work still had to be done. 

An unexpected addition to the ranks of the Pollyannas who see nothing wrong with Zimbabwe is the new Director of the British Council in Harare Jill Coates. She said “Zimbabwe is such a beautiful and peaceful country and not at all hostile like what is perceived in the UK media.” The columnist Muckraker in the Zimbabwean newspaper the Independent said ‘What do we call these remarks? Naïve or downright stupid?’ See: http://www.theindependent.co.zw/opinion/
27365-zanu-pf-retraces-steps-to-failure.html. The British Council no doubt keeps the British Sunday Times in its library. She will see in its latest edition new revelations about the scandal of the Marange diamonds.  

Apart from the visit by Senator Coltart, another highlight of the Vigil was the arrival of the valiant Smale father and son team (Adrian and Michael) who had cycled 85 miles from Salisbury to the Vigil in aid of charity. They set off at 6.30 am and were with us before 5 pm. They looked fit as fiddles when they arrived.  Vigil activist Josephine Zhuga organised a collection and presented the money to them. Their charity is Children Alone Trust which cares for orphans in Zimbabwe. They would welcome further donations – contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 07946 128 204.

Other points
·       Norman Mhunduru was pleased to hear he was the overall winner of our World Cup draw and was at the Vigil to receive his winnings of £50.
·       A Vigil member said how amazed she was when she encountered at the Vigil a friend from primary school who she hadn’t seen for 40 years.  She went on to say that she had also recently come across someone in a shop in London who had rented a room from her in Harare 27 years ago.
·       It is difficult to accept the assurances of the Zanu-MDC government that all is well in Zimbabwe when one of our activists was arrested and beaten up recently just for being in the country. We can’t give any further details to protect the security of people back home. If anyone wants to tell us all is well perhaps they will refund us the money we spent on getting our supporter out of the country (see our diary of 3^rd July).           

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check the link at the top of the home page of our website.  For earlier ZimVigil TV programmes check: http://www.zbnnews.com/home/firingline. 

FOR THE RECORD: 185 signed the register.