Zimbabwe apologizes for weekend incursion at tourist sites
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/
Jan 24, 2011, 13:10 GMT
Harare – Member’s of Zimbabwe’s Zanu (PF) party on Monday apologized for
militants who forcefully entered a series of lakeside private boat clubs and
tourist lodges over the weekend, according to tour operator groups.
The incidents, along Lake Chivero, 20 kilometres from Harare, had created
fears that Zanu (PF) militias might be orchestrating a grab of the tourism
facilities. Mugabe’s supporters in the past have regularly seized
white-owned farm properties, often with the state turning a blind eye to the
practice.
However, the most recent incidents – conducted as Zimbabwean Tourism
Minister Walter Mzembi was at a conference in Spain trying to drum up the
tourism business in Zimbabwe – elicited an apology, said Gary Stafford,
owner of Shiri Kuimba, one of the clubs targeted over the weekend.
A mob of about 200, carrying posters with Zanu (PF) flags and portrait of
party leader, President Robert Mugabe, on Friday forced their way into Shiri
Kuimba, demanding to see the company’s list of assets. Simultaneously,
groups of veterans loyal to Mugabe entered and locked down about 20 further
sites.
There was no overt violence, said Stafford. But he noted that police did not
come until after party leaders arrived to get the trespassers to leave.
Then, on Monday, Stafford said he had been told by a senior official of the
state tourism company that vice-president Joice Mujuru, at a meeting with
the tourism company to discuss the trouble, had asked for her apologies to
be extended to the victims.
Zanu (PF) senior minister Ignatius Chombo denied any party involvement with
the weekend’s activities.