Army commander’s wife evades European Union travel sanctions

By Lance Guma
19 July 2006

A day after it was reported that an under-14 schools select team from Bulawayo was denied visas to the UK over fears they would not return, Zimonline reports that an army commanders wife managed to travel to Europe despite being on a list of banned officials. Jocelyn Chiwenga the wife of General Constantine Chiwenga travelled to France to receive ‘a little-known award’ on behalf of Zim-Safe, a protective clothing manufacturer she owns.

Zimonline reports that Chiwenga returned home last week Thursday and received a hero’s welcome from government ministers who flocked to receive her at Harare International Airport. The website quotes an unnamed official, boasting that the ‘sanctions were not affecting some of them.’ Mrs Chiwenga rose to prominence after invading a horticultural farm near Harare with a gang of armed thugs and giving the white farmer a few hours to leave. She threatened to harm him and bragged she had ‘not tasted white blood for a long time.’

In 2003 Mrs Chiwenga accompanied by her henchman Kelvin ‘Sporadic’ Chadenyika assaulted former Daily News lawyer Guguletho Moyo at Glen View police station. Moyo had gone to the station to try and secure the release of the papers photographer Philemon Bulawayo, arrested while covering the mass action called by the MDC that year. Chiwenga’s business interests have attracted the attention of the United States Treasury department, which also added her to a list of Zanu PF figures under targeted sanctions.

Grace Kwinje who spent several years as the MDC, EU spokesperson and is now the Deputy Secretary for International Affairs told Newsreel the loopholes in enforcing the travel restrictions were disappointing. She says the Zanu PF leadership continues to get some form of legitimacy in the eyes of the international community via these trips. She said the EU made a robust position on Zimbabwe but has failed to follow through with concrete action resulting in Zanu PF exploiting the weak system in place. Kwinje however said it was clear to many Zimbabweans their destiny was in their own hands and they should not rely too much on the international community for support.