* The practicalities associated with COVID-19 are leading to some interesting trials. [ABA Journal]
* A residents’ group on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is lawyering up to take action against homelessness in the area that has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. [New York Post]
* The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act one week after the November election. [Hill]
* An attorney has sued his former law firm for allegedly jilting him out of a fee split for a lucrative client the attorney brought to the firm. [Texas Lawyer]
* A lawsuit in Alabama will determine if curbside voting will be allowed during the next election. If you can be sworn into the bar curbside, it seems like voting curbside should be no problem. [AL.com]
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s government on Wednesday said it had sought a meeting with the Vatican representative to understand whether Catholic bishops who accused it of human rights abuses and cracking down on critics were speaking on behalf of the Holy See.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi described a pastoral letter written by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference last weekend as “inappropriately prescriptive and grossly disrespectful”.
The bishops’ strongly worded letter said the country had a multi-layered crisis, including economic collapse, deepening poverty, corruption and human rights abuses.
Inflation running at more than 800% is the clearest sign of the worst economic crisis in over a decade and has evoked memories of hyperinflation under former president Robert Mugabe, whose 37-year rule was ended by an army coup in 2017.
Ziyambi said Harare authorities took offence to the bishop’s description of the government, headed by Mugabe’s replacement, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as lacking the knowledge, skill or emotional stability to resolve Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems.
“The statement constitutes an outright insult on the person of President E.D. Mnangagwa and his entire government, and is couched in language decidedly unbecoming of an institution such as the Catholic Church,” said Ziyambi.
“Government is compelled to engage the Vatican in order to ascertain whether or not such statements reflect the official attitude of the Holy See towards Zimbabwe’s leadership or whether these are merely the views of the various individuals concerned.”
Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo would meet the local Vatican representative, said Ziyambi.
Ziyambi denied there was a political crisis in Zimbabwe and said it was all social media hype.
But critics say several activists have been arrested, abducted or tortured for speaking against the government and accuse Mnangagwa of using the COVID-19 pandemic to stifle dissent.
Zimbabwe health workers protest against economic hardship and poor working conditions during the coronavirus disease outbreak in Harare, Zimbabwe July 6, 2020.
The country had had 141 deaths from covid-19 and 5378 recorded cases as of 20 August, nearly five months after the first fatality on 23 March. The people infected include 480 health workers, said the Ministry of Health.1
At 14%, the weekly percentage increase in infections in Zimbabwe from 5 to 11 August is also much lower than that of its neighbours. Botswana saw an increase of 33%, Namibia 31%, Zambia 26%, and Mozambique 22% in the same week, figures from the World Health Organization showed.2
Chiratidzo Ndhlovu, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Zimbabwe, believes that the country’s early imposition of lockdown may have helped avoid an initial surge in cases. “We didn’t have a lot of flights coming into the country. I think that may have protected us,” she said.
Serological testing capacity currently stands at 1000 to 1500 tests a day, up from just 25 tests on 10 April. But there are concerns in the medical community that testing is happening mostly in urban populations and that it may not capture current infection levels.
“There are several rapid response teams who do testing across the country, and those are the ones that get reported,” said Rashida Ferrand, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, currently seconded to head up the covid-19 unit at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare. “But that doesn’t tell you about the cases that are out in the community that don’t get tested, or die and never make it to care. The cases reported in the national statistics are definitely a complete underestimate, as are the deaths.”
Limited capacity
Reinaldo Ortuno, Médecins Sans Frontières’ head of mission in Harare, told The BMJ, “The number of tests outside Harare and Bulawayo is close to zero. [The authorities] are trying their best to improve the health system [and] to set up isolation facilities—they’re doing the piping for oxygen, getting the supplies. But it’s taking time.”
Several health clinics outside main urban centres have had to close after infections were reported there. The most recently reported case was that of Chikonohono Clinic in Chinhoyi, northwest of Harare, on 15 August.
Staff strikes at hospitals that remain open also mean limited capacity to care for patients. Ferrand’s 300 bed unit in Harare currently holds only 30 patients, partly because only limited numbers of patients are being referred.
The health workers’ strike, which started in June over insufficient provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) and low salaries has reduced capacity further (nurses earn the equivalent of US$30 (£22.70; €25.10) a month, doctors US$115).
Aaron Musara, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Senior Hospital Doctors Association, believes that more clinical staff would have been infected if the nurses had not been on strike. “The government is not taking the issue of PPE seriously,” he said.
Ortuno said that infections could rise, warning that “perhaps in October and November we will have a surge.”
But hospitals may still not be ready to handle any increase in cases, said Ndhlovu, who also chairs the National Medicine and Therapeutics Policy Advisory Committee. “We have tried to make sure that we get the isolation and treatment centres ready to receive patients,” she said, “but if we don’t have the healthcare workers, at a minimum, to take care of these patients, we are going to struggle.”
Zimbabwe can hardly pay decent wages for essential services such as in the health sector. It is in no position to raise the contribution required for the US$3.5-billion compensation programme for white farmers.
The broke Zimbabwean government has announced that it will pay white farmers a whopping US$3.5-billion as compensation for the losses incurred from the chaotic and ill-conceived Fast Track Land Reform Programme of 2000. The agreement, termed the Global Compensation Deed, was entered into between the government and the Commercial Farmers’ Union of Zimbabwe (an exclusive union for white commercial farmers) in July 2020.
This is in the face of a worsening economic situation and growing restlessness within the population. The land reform programme covers the thorny issues of property rights and rule of law. These have been a sore point between Zimbabwe and many western nations, and the basis for sanctions against the country such as the US’ Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Acts.
While the Global Compensation Deed speaks to the 2013 constitutional provisions as well as the promises of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, it has to be understood in the broader context of the Zimbabwean situation. Mnangagwa’s government – under pressure from a rapidly declining economic situation, boiling political temperatures and a restive population facing desperation and destitution – is eager for a different narrative and to win a few friends internationally.
Spirited efforts to rekindle international engagements have so far yielded little and the country’s circumstances haven’t changed. Zimbabwe can hardly pay decent wages for essential services such as in the health sector. It is in no position to raise the contribution required for the US$3.5-billion, even with a partial and staggered payment structure.
The land reform programme was at the core of international disengagement 20 years ago. The administration is hoping the latest move will curry favour with western governments and lead to a better reception of Zimbabwe from international financial markets. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that government would be setting up a fundraising team comprising his ministry and the commercial farmers to go on an international junket to raise the committed funds.
However, it will take more than compensating farmers to settle the country’s current crisis. Any such efforts are being fast overtaken by citizens’ rejection of state-sanctioned brutality that has escalated since the post-election violence of 2018.
But Zimbabwe is already deep in debt due to long-term bonds and is unlikely to attract more bonds from the international community. The country owes about US$8-billion to creditors, including the World Bank and African Development Bank. Financial institutions will reasonably be hesitant to lend money to Zimbabwe under such circumstances.
The sanctions imposed on the country by the European Union and the US were largely a reaction to the land reform programme which decimated property rights and contravened the basic tenets of rule of law. However, it will take more than compensating farmers to settle the country’s current crisis. Any such efforts are being fast overtaken by citizens’ rejection of state-sanctioned brutality that has escalated since the post-election violence of 2018.
The country’s failure to address human rights malpractices, economic mismanagement and political rights violations, among other pressing issues, stands in the way of improved relations with western countries.
The dire economic problems Zimbabwe has suffered since 2000 are a result of a cocktail of issues including poor administration, mismanagement of resources and corruption. The country has suffered intermittent food shortages and an inability to resuscitate the country’s agribusiness – the backbone of the economy.
Former president Robert Mugabe claimed that the land reform programme was aimed at empowering the black majority, yet more and more Zimbabweans face hunger and starvation. A few black farmers have been productive commercial farmers, but overall economic productivity has been low. The economy never recovered fully from the impact of the land reform programme, and unemployment rates and poverty are rising.
Unlike his predecessor, Mnangagwa is coming across as ideologically bankrupt and grasping at straws to lift the economy.
Currently health workers are protesting against poor wages, insufficient equipment and unfavourable working conditions. At the same time, the general public is challenging the erosion of livelihood options, the clampdown on civic space, the misuse of power and unbridled corruption. And the government is reluctant to address hyperinflation, cash shortages and a political crisis.
The agreement to compensate white farmers is one of Mnangagwa’s many symbolic actions that go against what the late Mugabe stood for. Unlike his predecessor, Mnangagwa is coming across as ideologically bankrupt and grasping at straws to lift the economy.
The issue of compensation has been controversial and highly divisive within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) over the past decade. It goes against the grain of core party thinking on property rights, land as a national asset and the injustice of land apportionment during the colonial era. Needless to say, it has drawn a spirited backlash from inside Zanu-PF among those who perceive this as a betrayal of the liberation movement.
However, the compensation journey is far from over. Zimbabwe is in an economic tailspin and the country’s international credit worthiness is such that no key international finance houses would risk lending it money. Paying white farmers billions of dollars that it doesn’t have won’t resolve Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis – and is certainly not a priority considering the country’s pressing needs in the face of a global pandemic. DM
A man waves a flag as he celebrates the resignation of Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe in front of the parliament in Harare on November 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Tony KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) read with grave concern, the governments response to the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) pastoral letter of the 14th of August 2020 entitled “The March is not Ended”. The government response presented by Mrs Monica Mutsvangwa, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, revealed the following worrying signs:
Responsibility: While the churches, including the ZCBC, have consistently identified the partial negative contribution of natural disasters and international isolation to government’s economic performance, it has however noted with grave concern that, the Government of Zimbabwe consistently takes no responsibility for its own failings characterized by corruption, policy inconsistencies and above all, failure to unite the nation towards a common vision. The denialism that characterizes the Government of Zimbabwe’s handling of criticism has now become a deeply worrying trend. The blame-shifting labelling of critical voices as ‘regime change agents’, and recently ‘terrorists’ smacks of the government’s unwillingness or inability to engage on the basis of ideas as well as robbing citizens of any hope that things can improve.
Personalization: Pastoral letters, including the “The March is not Ended”, are products of prayerful discernment by the college of bishops informed by compassionate listening to the experiences of the congregants. Singling out the Most Revd Archbishop Richard Ndlovu, can only be viewed as undermining the most important asset and character of the church that is its Unity. Our humble interpretation is that this is meant to isolate individuals from a collective discernment process with the sinister aim of diluting the collective voice of the church. The ZCC takes with exception any efforts to interfere with the unity of the Church for which Jesus prayed in John 17:21.
Courtesy: The government response was overtly too emotional and disrespectful for formal communication. Using public media to utter disrespectful communication against the person of Archbishop Ndlovu does not only present the government as inappropriately deploying the resources of the state, but also increases the toxicity that is already characterizing our public space. If the government had strong objections to the Bishops’ communication, it could have addressed those issues without appearing to be discourteous to the viewers of the only national television station. The government will do well through its public officials to instil positive engagement on the basis of ideas rather than to use public media to buttress negativity.
Unity: The government response to the pastoral letter “The March is not Ended”, also missed its unifying and national orientation but instead appropriated distorted historical links and false comparisons with the Rwandan genocide. While the comparisons are unfounded and outrageous, they also seem to be intentionally or unintentionally stoking ethnic and tribal divisions which actually resulted in loss of thousands of lives in Matabeleland and Midlands during the Gukurahundi. To frivolously associate the bishops’ statement with such a major deep scar in the history of the nation, is not only insensitive to the existing present pain of those affected by Gukurahundi, but also gives the impression that the government is paying lip-service to national healing and reconciliation. The government statement could have been worth ignoring if it was only falsifying history, but it cannot be ignored as it appears dismissive of the invaluable work done by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, under the ZCBC, to offer documentation of the atrocities committed by the army during that dark period. The legacy of Gukurahundi still stalks the nation as those past hurts remain unhealed. His Excellency, President ED Mnangagwa has on several occasions spoken of the need to find healing on these past hurts, yet the government position gives the false impression that the 1987 Unity Accord brought closure to that episode.
History: The ecumenical churches’ relationship with the state has been consistent from colonial Rhodesia to independent Zimbabwe. The government response presented by Minister Mutsvangwa, seeks to create false discontinuity between the contemporary bishops and the suffering servants of the past. Such a view misses the importance of continuity of Tradition within Christian theology and practice. The consistency with which the ZCBC and the ecumenical church have pursued justice, peace and unity cannot be forgotten. Coincidentally, the issues raised by the “The March is not Ended” of the 14th of August 2020 are fundamentally similar to calls by Bishop Donal Raymond Lamont in his Open letter to the Rhodesian Government on the 11th of August 1976. In both cases, the message was well-meaning and consistent with the prophetic traditions of Micah, Amos, Jeremiah, John the Baptist and even our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have responded to this salvation history with repentance found life. Those who rejected it suffered destruction, not only in a spiritual sense but also materially.
Calls
In light of the issues raised above, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches:
6.1 Seeks to affirm its solidarity with the spirit and intent of the “The March is not Ended” as honest communication aimed at calling the government of Zimbabwe to meaningful and respectful engagement to find solutions to the current pressing issues;
6.2 Seeks to enter into a collective discernment process to understand this government’s preparedness to engage and hence calls for the urgent convening of the National Episcopal Conference of the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations to deliberate on the state of the nation and agree on the appropriate ecumenical action;
6.3 Calls on all Christians and churches to pray for peace, well-being and courage for Archbishop Ndlovu, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the broad Christian Church in Zimbabwe as they will be demanded to exercise their prophetic and pastoral mandate for the nation;
6.4 Calls on all citizens to remain united across the denominational, ethnic, and political divide realizing that only through active, organized and peaceful citizens’ participation, the nation will be totally transformed;
6.5 Calls upon President ED Mnangagwa to provide leadership by retracting the personal attacks on Archbishop Ndhlovu and the church leaders, but invite the nation to an inclusive national dialogue towards a home grown solution to the challenges that are facing the nation
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Zimbabwe’s government and commercial banks are locked in a dispute over the costs relating to relief offered to civil servants and pensioners during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state had agreed to reimburse lenders for administrative charges relating to a foreign-currency allocation totaling $36 million a month, but the details are still to be worked out, Ralph Watungwa, president of the country’s Bankers Association, said by phone.
The Treasury said there is no need for lenders to be refunded.
“It’s a question of ethics on the part of the banks,” Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in a statement.
The three-month coronavirus allowance of $75 was announced in June and is paid in addition to Zimbabwe dollar-based salaries.
The southern African nation is in an economic crisis, with inflation surging to more than 800% amid a collapse in the local currency and households face crippling shortages of everything from fuel to food. Teachers, nurses and bankers are demanding to be paid in U.S dollars, despite a shortage of foreign currency.
The central bank has been asked to intervene in the dispute, Watunga said.
There is a general perception that there is no film industry to talk about in Zimbabwe. This argument is mostly based on comparisons with other well-resourced film economies, such as Hollywood, or even South Africa’s.
Based on my study of the Zimbabwean film industry I disagree with this view. Zimbabwe does have a film industry, but perhaps, not one that meets everyone’s expectations and certainly not one that can be comparable to Hollywood’s formal value chain.
Zimbabwe, like many other developing countries, faces political and economic challenges and the film industry’s problems are compounded by a lack of either governmental or corporate support, which has led media scholar Nyasha Mboti to observe that the sector is “orphaned”.
There are, nevertheless, efforts at the grassroots, of various informally constituted cottage industries producing video-film products. These include video-films shot in as little as a week, on very low to zero budgets and by remarkably lean crews (who may also feature as the acting talent). These efforts should be celebrated as indications of enthusiasm, creative genius and sheer endeavour that auger well for the future of an industry (by any definition).
Making it work
In a recent paper I argue that making a film in most developing countries is mégotage, as observed by the ‘father of African cinema’, Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. The mégotage metaphor means that producing a film in such contexts is a desperate endeavour, akin to scrounging around for cigarette butts.
It is such a grit and grunt, huff and puff affair, to the extent that even a 10-minute short film has to be admired.
Evidence on the ground shows that the mégotage sometimes pays off. Zimbabweans are known for their resilience and ability to kiya-kiya (‘make things work’ in the Shona language) when faced with what seems to be a dead end. A large portion of the country’s economy is characterised by such kiya-kiya efforts, as anthropologist Jeremy Jones observes.
Kushata Kwemoyo poster. Mirazvo Productions/Rain Media
Zimbabwe’s film industry appears to thrive under very difficult circumstances. Recent video-films like Kushata Kwemoyo, Escape, Chinhoyi 7 and lately, the Netflix hit Cook Off, all made during the so-called Zimbabwean crisis (stretching from around 2000 to date) showcase the filmmaking talent and cinematographic capabilities abundant in the country. It’s what once led film scholar Frank Ukadike, in his book Black African Cinema, to remark that Zimbabwe was Africa’s Hollywood.
Chinhoyi 7 poster. Ster Kinekor
Ukadike made his remark more than 20 years ago. It was based on the film-friendliness that Zimbabwe exhibited back then. At the time, many Hollywood companies, including the Cannon Group who were popular for blockbusters like Missing In Action and Cyborg featuring stars like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, used Zimbabwe as a filmmaking location because of its splendid scenery, efficient financial systems and durable infrastructure. Famous faces such as Sharon Stone (in King Solomon’s Mines) and Denzel Washington (in Cry Freedom) graced the country as cast in the movies.
At the same time, Zimbabwe’s Central Film Laboratories serviced the southern African region’s film processing needs. All this promise has disappeared, owing to a combination of political and economic factors that have traumatised most economic sectors, and this is the source of the pessimism.
Riches from grassroots
What I celebrate is that, in the midst of such adversity, filmmaking continues to thrive. A critical mass of youthful filmmakers armed with camcoders, laptops, cell phones and an assortment of improvisations, has emerged and continues to keep the filmmaking impulse alive. Among the leading lights are Von Tavaziva (Go Chanaiwa Go Reloaded), Shem Zemura (Kushata Kwemoyo), Joe Njagu (Cook Off) and Nakai Tsuro (Mwanasikana), to mention just a few.
The trailer for the award-winning romantic comedy Cook Off.
Most of the time, their route to audience is the DVD or Youtube, often for little or no returns. But the enterprising ones, like Von Tavaziva, have discovered ways of beating the scourge of piracy by producing high volumes of DVDs and selling them at very affordable prices in accessible city spaces.
With proceeds from such endeavours, they mount their next productions – no government support, no bank loan, no moaning!
There are further encouraging signs, if the aesthetics of contemporary music videos is anything to go by. The work of Vusa ‘Blaqs’ Hlatshwayo and Willard ‘Slimmaz’ Magombedze indicates cinematographic competences that can further improve the video-film genre. A veteran of the crisis years, filmmaker Tawanda Gunda Mupengo (Tanyaradzwa and Peretera Maneta) told me that if people keep at it, the local art of filmmaking will only get better. He believes that emerging talent, even away from the major cities, should be encouraged and this will have a multiplier effect, not only on volumes of video-films, but also the human resource-base needed for profitable film business in the future. He says:
Let there be a competent crew in Masvingo. If that crew makes a film that is successful, they will breed a community of filmmakers. They will be training people on the ground when they are shooting and editing, so that we have vibrant little pockets.
The informal filmmaking practices (which are in fact Zimbabwe’s film industry), should be encouraged to thrive, with or without government support. The example of Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, which has grown from rags to riches, offers inspiration in terms of how grassroots efforts may blossom in the long run. As it was for Nigeria, so can it be for Zimbabwe.
MDC Alliance urges regional forum to ‘urgently intervene’ in Zimbabwe to maintain peace, security
ANKARA – Zimbabwe’s main opposition party has called for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take action over what it termed a “governance and legitimacy crisis” in the country.
The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC Alliance) issued the call in a letter after the 40th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held on Monday.
“We note that the communique of the just ended [summit] … has omitted the deteriorating governance and legitimacy crisis in Zimbabwe,” read the letter.
It said the SADC had “taken note of the security situations in some countries including Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo” and urged regional leaders pay equal attention to the “deepening crisis in Zimbabwe.”
“Under the cover of COVID-19, the government of Zimbabwe has intensified its crackdown on human rights defenders including journalists, lawyers, labor unions, civil society, the church and the opposition for exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” the MDC Alliance said.
“In response to citizen discontent owing to grand state corruption and plummeting socio-economic standards … the political elite has abused state institutions to carry out systematic abductions, torture, extra-judicial killings and unlawful arrests.”
The Nelson Chamisa-led alliance said it had recorded “at least 146 cases of human rights violations including 38 abductions” against its members in a short period before and after the anti-government protests in Zimbabwe at the end of July.
“We urge the SADC to urgently intervene in Zimbabwe in line with the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security in order to maintain regional peace and security,” read the letter.
The magistrate court in Harare ruled that Beatrice Mtetwa — an internationally acclaimed lawyer who has been at the forefront of defending the country’s human rights activists — be removed from representing award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono.
Chin’ono faces charges of inciting violence for his role in promoting protests against corruption in late July that were banned and led to a government crackdown on dissent.
The state accused Mtetwa of writing contemptuous letters to the country’s magistrates and high courts, and of running Facebook pages that denigrated the courts.
“In view of the submissions by both the state and the defence, the disqualification of the lead counsel Beatrice Mtetwa as requested by the state be and is hereby granted,” ruled magistrate Ngoni Nduna.
The posts undermined public confidence in the courts, the magistrate said.
“The picture portrayed a biased justice system and the world was invited to an outrage over abuse of human rights,” he added.
Mtetwa denied any knowledge of the Facebook pages.
She said the government was leading a “personal” attack against her with a “chilling effect” on other lawyers.
“The idea is to say to human rights lawyers: if you represent such a client we will come after you,” Mtetwa told reporters outside court, adding that her team would challenge the decision.
“The right to legal representation has been curtailed by a court which is supposed to be supporting that right.”
Mtetwa had served as the lead counsel for Chin’ono, who helped expose a multimillion-dollar corruption scandal involving the procurement of coronavirus protection gear and test kits.
The journalist has been in jail since he was arrested by armed police at his house in Harare on July 20.
Chin’ono had encouraged the public to join the July 31 anti-government protests via Twitter.
The protests were then banned, and around 20 activists who held demonstrations in their neighbourhoods were arrested and have since been freed on bail.
Those arrested included internationally acclaimed writer and Booker Prize nominee Tsitsi Dangarembga.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.
47 New Cases and 3 Deaths reported in the last 24 hours
