June - 2001

EDITORIAL

Zimbabwe s war veterans are at it again. Sponsored by the ruling African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) government of President Robert Mugabe, the former freedom fighters are harassing the people of Matabeleland as Zimbabwe gears up for next year s presidential elections. Chiefs and headmen, teachers, and civil servants are particularly vulnerable to the war veterans attacks, reports our correspondent Rodrick Mukumbira. Observers say that the veterans are punishing supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which wiped out virtually all of ZANU-PF seats in last June s parliamentary elections. They also say the latest round of trouble is reminiscent of the bad old days of 14 years ago, when government-sponsored commandos killed or maimed about 20,000 Ndebele-speaking people and rendered thousands of others homeless. Earlier, the war veterans had threatened the Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe over a pastoral letter the bishops had written last month calling for tolerance.

War of a different kind is happening all across the continent: the battle being waged by multinational pharmaceuticals against African governments over the provision of affordable generics to treat HIV/AIDS, writes Africanews Editor Clement Njoroge. But, due to the efforts of heroes such as Nkosi Johnston, the 12-year-old South African AIDS orphan who galvanised world attention at an AIDS conference last year by pleading the government to give AZT to pregnant HIV-positive mothers, the war is being won. Kenya has just passed legislation that would allow its government to have access to cheap drugs through compulsory licensing, parallel importation, and governmental use, a key weapon in the fight against HIV/AIDS. And Nyumbani Home for HIV-positive orphans in Nairobi has become the first organisation to receive generic drugs.

A cow, a cow, my kingdom for a cow& Cows are slowly losing their sex appeal in Swaziland because of disappearing land, the presence of foot-and-mouth disease, and the fact that they keep wandering everywhere, reports our correspondent James Hall. Men used to define their place in society and their very self-worth by the size of their herd. Now, thanks to upcoming legislation that seeks to brand cattle and end government subsidies, men will have to find another way to measure themselves.

Small-scale miners in the northern Tanzanian town of Mererani have accused a South African mining company of trying to capture the $100 million-a-year world market in tanzanite, a gemstone found only in Northern Tanzania, report Africanews staffers Matthias Muindi and Cathy Majtenyi. Ever since African Gemstones Ltd. (Afgem) started mining early last year, the area has been rocked by bloody clashes. The miners accuse the company of provoking attacks against them, while the company says the violence is because the miners are protecting a lucrative smuggling trade.

In our last issue, we promised to bring stories featuring on the Nuba Mountains unfortunatley heavy fighting erupted towards the end of last month. Our staff writer, Stephen Amin, had to cut short his trip after spending a couple of days in Lokichogio, Northern, Kenya. He has since gone back hoping that the situation has improved.