Well it was expected that the Mugabe operatives would have done this because they want to continue tyranny and are not interested in democracy...the SADC meeting should be boycotted indefinately until Morgan Tsvangirai and his top party officials can attend. Uncle Bob and his cronies should be told that they cannot attend unless the other group is in attendance. SADC should not receive uncle Bob and his cronies anyway until this matter is amicably resolved. Uncle Bob needs his ....infront of the ICC to answer charges

GOOD POINT!! WHAT SANE PERSON IS INTERESTED IN DEMON CRAZY??

You know its one thing to be subtle its yet another to be so blatant and arrogant, to know that the world is watching and still pull a move like this is baffling. I think Bob is not incharge anymore, because why would he embarrass himself so.

I suspect so. RMG is a rational person. He would not sanction such dastard and ill considered actions. ZANU has been infiltrated by mdc CIO ... out to destroy the TALKS. Do you agree Prem. Dont forget to say .."lunatic".

So the murder of 20,000 people was rational? Actually... the murder of the 100+ was. How else could he force people to vote for him...

LOL, the CIO is run by the ZANU-PF you moron.

Ok, phiri..share with us your views on this please. What right has mugabe's thugs got to prevent morgan and his entourage from attending an event?? Does this not show the whole tawdry exercise led by the biased innefectual thabo is just a sham and mugabe will never releinquish power or control of the country to anyone but himself??? What a shameful and disgusting turn of events!!

It is a waste of time asking phiri anything , I'm sure his answer will consist of rants and raves about the west , white Rhodesians , the British , the Americans and the shed blood of his umbilical cord in that order. So save your breath and typing space ! GreenBomb is probably bombed and Chiki , peeping at mens parts. Have a nice day ! Africa all over again !

Actually... I'm picking that Phiri and Greenbomber and Chiki and Kube and Aka will all simply ignor this one... like they do when backed into the corner with irrefutable evidence that Mugabe should not be president of Zimbabwe

makasa..awt..you guys kill me...ha ha. I laughed so much even though what you say is true. I have noticed the usual suspects are conspicuous by their absence on most of the forums that prove mugabe to be up to his usual crap. Instead they dash for the sewerage of the herald and swallow it hook, line and sinker!

You good Chaps have a wonderful time , it is always fun to read your posts and even more fun the ridiculous rubbish that is replied by messr's Chiki the peeper, GreenBomb , Phiri, akupfunde and the illustrious zanu pf , let me not forget loser or what ever his name is, all true natural comedians . Sad that the world lets Mugabe get away with his audacity but any more nothing surprises me ! They sold Rhodesia down the drain with straight faces and now those straight faces are covered with rotten eggs ! Stay well and cheers.

OK boys, yes l was going to ignore your posts and then something happened ....I condemn the weak gvt of Gt Zim which allows Tsvangi and his MDC retinue to fly in and out of Zimbabwe. They should have taken those passports ten years ago and open up Gonarezhou detention camp ... fill it with the maggots ... with a choice of leaving GT Zim and live in Botswana ... warts and bag and baggage with all their families .. the lot ...including their councillors, counsellors, advisers, MPs and any one who cares to join them. BUT TO ALLOW THEM TO GO ABOUT DESTROYINGB THE GOOD NAME OF THE IR MOTHERLAND IS CERTAINLY A WEAKNESS BY TEAM MUGABE. l am reconsidering giving my VOTe to Mutambara instead of ZANU because Team Mugabe ONLY react to events. They seem incapable of seeing Tsvangirayi gang for what it is .... a destructive element and NYOKAs .... SHATOs. If Tsvangi fails to sign for the UNIT GVT, which is his prerogative, the MDC should not be allowed the luxury of Flying in and out of the country. They must be forced to decide which side of their bread they to butter (to paraphrase a well known expres).

akafunny:They must be forced to decide which side of their bread they to butter: Ok..I can see the preoccupation with bread and butter etc.. but the actual saying goes like: Which side your bread is buttered on. Ok, got it now?? But your misquoted saying says it all..basically what you are saying is people should be forced to keep voting till they vote the way mugabe wants them to..or else! Great country to live in that would be dont you think. Pity you fled it for the dicatorships of the west where you are more preoccupied with buttering and slapping on the jam on your cheaply bought bread!!

English is not my mother tongue. For your information, l left Gt Zim in 1986. I was not running away from any thing. I just felt like going to live overseas.

Hello again Akupfunde ! Seems a shame to leave a great place like Zimbabwe with all it's hunger , starvation , brutalization to live overseas , what were you possibly thinking? Maybe the loss of blood from your umbilical cord caused a pause in your thought process. Still, all in all , a wee bit strange that an intelligent chap like you would leave all that behind in Zim to live in a wicked "western" country ! We may have to watch you a little closer , you maybe losing your mind and in need of help or just a hypocritical mischief maker ! Definately something to ponder !

just feeling like going to live overseas is not reason enough. you dont get up one morning and say " I feel like going to live in Iraq"..something must have compelled you. I really cannot for the life in me see the logic..here you had "suffered" years and years under the brutal and evil racist ian smith and it never crossed your clever mind to leave..and then when your hero takes over..you give him 6 years in the job and decide I have had enough of this crap..see y'all later?? No..come clean please and tell us the goddam truth boyo...why did you gap zims??

So you're saying a citizen of Zimbabwe shouldnt be allowed to come and go as they please? Come on.. is Zimbabwe a prison?

You still havent answered the question of why you support and condone a leader who is happy to murder, beat and torture his own people to keep power... how about this time?

Hello old Chap ! It is always a pleasure to witness your ignorance ! Gonarezhou was a wild animal park, perhaps you are referring to Gonakwadzinga? Seems you know stuff all about African history and how you stole the Bushmans land but cried like mfazis when after your umbilical cords bled into "bushman " sand , a stronger tribe tried to push you out but some stupid white colonisers saved you and let your types continue ! Now you pick on Botswana because they can see through your ridiculous claims. Please explain why Nyerere of Tanzania told BOBo that he was inheriting the "jewel" of Africa ? Was it because your umbilical cord bled in the sand ? I doubt it ! I thoroughy enjoy reading the rubbish you write , it only confirms to me why Africa is such a mess.

If I knew you personally , hell I'd buy you a pint for all the amusement you and your type provide with your ignorance and the vindication of what I have always said about why Africa was , is and always will be a mess ! You may want to see a ngana about the bleeding umbilical cord ! Good luck ,keep us posted on it !

HEY mfana, thanks for all tha. Mind you GOnakudzingwa is within Gonarezhou game reserve

As well it should be my Shamwari ! Hopefully you are still full of passion , you see, some of the rubbish you write here helps students at the think tank to understand Africa's problems and why there is such a mess !

Turnex and others, you are absolutely free to say what you want to say. The internet (web) is a true democracy in that sense. My views are not supremy, neither are yours. Contrast that to Southern Rhodesia, it was not free in any sense of the word. It was and continues to be a dictatorship, now being carried out by Turnex, aw Independent and Prem.

That said, you always assume I'm a pro-Mugabe supporter, despite me writing that Tsvangirai won the true legimate elections. My reservations about Tsvangirai, do not in themself imply that I support Mugabe. I only want the best candidate and policies to win. It would be rubbish for Tsvangirai for example to reverse land reform, weaken one of the best army and police force (only to replaced by your southern Rhodesia murderous forces), and prosecuter Zanu-pf supporters. Many in Zimbabwe would say those are reasonable thing to ask from Tsvagnirai and what is wrong with that! I have said several times that Tsvangirai need to communicate his vision of what Zimbabwe should be. Just replacing Mugabe is not enough!

Of cause Mugabe forces are wrong to detain Tsvangirai from attending the SADC meeting.

Turnex, Prem, aw independent, it seems to me you fellows spend all your time on the web...you must be enjoying the good "old" Rhodesia life style, while most of us are trying to survive!

Phiri..ha ha ha. Thank you for my early morning laugh. I actually burst out laughing when I read your southern rhodesia bit. I did not know you were into stand-up comedy as well as a chancer on politics. If you could please point out to me on the atlas where the great dictatorship of southern rhodesia is I would be grateful...might not be a bad place to spend a few days of my coming hols! At least I'd get to meet up with my fellow southern rhodesians and plot ways to dicredit mugabe and hasten his downfall..ha ha ha. thanks mate.

You cant say this is a dictatorship and then have your say. A bit ironic dont you think? When is Zimbabwe going to allow freedom of the press to reign?

Can you also please tell me where Tsvangirai has said he is going to reverse the land reform? I think you'll find that everyone is content with the land reform program and its Mugabe spreading lies saying that Tsvangirai will reverse it. Its simply not the case. And where has he said he is going to weaken the army and police? And replace these with southern Rhodesian forces? What nonsense. Why do you make this stuff up?

But you're right, Tsvangarai needs to be clear about his vision of what Zimbabwe should be, otherwise people like yourself and Mugabe will continue to make it up for him.

Hello Phiri , is that "Touchy Phiri " or "Phiri idge" like a cold box ! Again you have vindicated all I have told around the world how all you folk can do is "blame , blame, blame". The reason there is freedom on the internet is no thanks to BOBo or "JOKE ,JOC", if this was Zimbabwe , hell we would all be in Chikarubi, so the "West " you so despise allows us to communicate. As a student of Africa , totally unbiased, I have viewed Africa and the stupid tribalism that runs it , you lot could not invent a thing , you ought to be delighted the white fools built so much for you ,otherwise dear Phiri, where the hell would you be ? There are many good people in Africa,good Tutsis,Hutus, Manicas, Matabeles, Zulus etc but I must admit through all my studies there is a common thread , Xhosa, Shona and Kikuyu are usually the dregs ! I think Bobo claims to be Shona though God knows many questions are raised about where he was really born and why his father moved to Southern Rhodesia to help his family upgrade ! Read the record Dear Phiri ! In any event , to the few in the world who have really studied African history even though you or one of your mates think I operate a till (so what if I did), I must say your comments provide the world's great "Think Tanks " with much to review ! Good luck with Mugabe! Hope he never steps on you with his JOKE or Joc ! I'd also like to buy you a beer ,maybe a Henreichs Chubuku or a Rufaro Ngoto ! Cheers and thanks for the vindication !

The Shona shall rule you for ever because Gt Zim is 99.9% SHONA. Joshua Nkomo, Silundika, Burombo, Masocha Ndlovu, Morgan Tsvangirai and RMG are Shona .... the Kalanga and their cousins the Karanga, the Venda, NHANSVAs (wrongly called Nhambiyas), Ndau, Buja, Korekore, Zezuru, Jindwi, Garwe, Bocha, Barwe, Maunge, Korekore to mention a few examples are all members of the Great Shona people. Zulus, (people of the Heavens), Xhosa, Ndebeles from kwaNdebele in eastern Transvaal, where you belong, are also great. Every one is Great.

Ah the Shona ! The hardest people I have ever had the pleasure to teach ! No wonder Zimbabwe is a mess ! Bring back Lobengula !

I want to talk about you personally not invite me to show disrespect to the Great Dead. Leave Mr Lobengula alone in PEACE. He did his best. With your loose tongue you would not last a second under Mr Lolobengula. He was a strong displinarian. Talk about yourself.

Makasa, so you are the tribal guy! It seems like you are not even bothered or ashamed by your tribalism! Makasa sounds East African! You sound anglophilic in your ranting about Africa. I hope you are a truely crystal clear anglo. Or just another anglomianiac!

Ahem, statistics from the CIA world fact book:

Zimbabwe ethnic groups - Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%

AllAfrica fact book:

akapfunde is an idiot who can't even understand simple numbers.

Makasa, Phiri is an old man. Perhaps he would rather drink nourishing amahewu ( non alcohol drink made from left over sadza or hard porridge) Whew!

Good idea ! It may help his bleeding umbilical cord or was that Greenbomb ? I sincerely apologise to those chaps for getting them mixed up but then again they are also so mixed up !

Good idea ! It may help his bleeding umbilical cord or was that Greenbomb ? I sincerely apologise to those chaps for getting them mixed up but then again they are also so mixed up !

What a shame, but no big surprise, that so many contributors to this thread have chosen to completely ignore the update at the bottom of the article:

'Update: News agencies reported that the MDC leaders' passports were returned later on Thursday'.

So opposition leaders have not been stopped from leaving the country after all. Never let facts get in the way of a an unjustified attack on the government of Zimbabwe, eh?

You miss the point that the passports where taken away in the first place with no justification. This is not the sort of thing that happens in a normal country. You dont think its a big deal? How would you like to get to the airport and have your passport taken off you for no good reason. Its nothing but pure harrassment thats not needed in Zimbabwe at this time. Its really something kids in a sandpit would do.

I agree, the actions are purile, mischeivious and even provocative, but nothin more.

I have had much bigger run ins at airports than having my travel documents taken away for a few hours> You get over these things swiftly and I usually put them down to individual arrogance.

Ah , Ah , Ah Selector , I must admit in my studies , I overlooked you! My apologies , you seem like an intelligent fellow ,so even though your comrades think I operate a till and their umbilical cords bleed and I am a wicked Southern Rhodesian, has it ever occured to you , dear Shamwari ,that maybe Mbeki knows to keep his status as a mediator "true and unbiased ", he must get on the "wicked wests" invention of the telephone or "telefone"and inform Comrade Mugs and the JOKE /JOC they had better not ruin his place in history ? The tightskin drum probably would not have reached Mugabe in time and Tsavigarai might be in Chikarubi with Tendai Biti and ruined poor "Nkwenkwe" Mbeki's shot at that "evil wests " Nobel Peace Prize ! You too deserve a good Chibuku ! Hambe Gashle !

GNU is a non-starter. The ONLY viable option is to have a gov that is headed by MDC and that, out its mercy and compassion, gives Mugabe a ceremonial post. The guarantee of immunity would only be given IF he behaved and kept his mouth shut until he dies (God let that day come soon). Otherwise, MDC should leave the talks and let Mugabe and his murdering corrupt incompetent henchmen take responsibility for the collaspse of Zimbabwe. Why should MDC take part and parcel with these murderers??? Let them print more money and knock off more zeros and see if that helps. REMEMBER J. NKOMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn right...after tricking Nkomo mugabe then had him expelled from govt and the rest is history! you are right...if the country is going to collapse let those responsible for its collapse be the ones holding the baby when this happens..or they will resort to lies and deception and blame mdc.

It really is amazing to me how audacious this man can be. He does not care a bit about world opinion. African opinion up until recently has been a business as usual type of attitude and few countries have openly spoken out against him. He has silenced all oppostion to him in every election and rewarded his cronies who supported him. I think, giving this man a ceremonial position in the government to protect him from prosecution, would be a slap in the face to all who have suffered under his regime....unfortunately, it may be the only way.

"It really is amazing to me how audacious this man can be. He does not care a bit about world opinion. ... He has silenced all oppostion to him in every election and rewarded his cronies who supported him".

What a load of crock. First off, as the news article states at the end, all passports were returned within hours.

As for silencing opposition, Zimbabwe's opposition parties make international news including headlines in London and New York. Zimbabwe's elections have hit more headlines around the world than election in Britain and the US and have even exceeded headlines from the contentious and violent Pakistani elections, where many more people were killed in political violence and the opposition leader was assasinated.

Some silence! It's come to something when people start believing their own tripe, no matter how contrasting that tripe is with reality.

Selector - your post is either disingenuous or you have missed the point. It does not matter that the passports were returned a few hours later after Tsvangerai and Biti had missed their plane. They should never have been confiscated in the first place. The fact that they were, is a gross abuse of power by a despot and no doubt was a cause for embarrassment with Thabo Mbeki. I don't think that this sort of spiteful petty bullying will do Mugabe any favours at the SADC meeting.

As for international publicity, I don't think that anyone is suggesting that Mugabe is capable of silencing his ever more vocal international critics. The comment was aimed at the repressive tactics practiced inside Zimbabwe.

katz, I can think of much worse thing than being delayed for three hours at an airport, for whatever reason, as I try to depart a country for a destination less than a couple of hours away, on a Thursday evening for a meeting at the weekend.

As for the comment on silencing, neither Zimbabwe's infrastructure nor interested Zimbabweans voters are backwards enough not to have their fingers on the pulse of daily news and commentary that the rest of the world sees, reads and hears about their own country. The real difference, I imagine, is that Zimbabweans get a more balanced view inasmuch as they not only pick up on foreign news commentary about themselves, but they also get more of their government's viewpoint as well, something mainstream, Western media deliberately supresses or ignores unless the news plays into the hands of the portrait they like to paint of that country.

Hi Selector - I can see us going around in circles on this one; but hopefully you will agree with me that in the political circumstances existing in Zimbabwe at present, especially in the light of the recent / on going negotiations, the act of confiscating the travel documents of the person who won the most votes in the recent presidential election is bizarre at least. And then for The Herald to announce the next day that the parties will be resuming their discussions in SA makes the attempt to prevent or delay Tsvangerai all the more strange.

As for the freedom of the press in the West vs that in Zimbabwe lets leave that to the facts to speak for themselves.

Very bizzare indeed and crude!!!

Yes got thier passport back after three to four hours and only after Mbeki told them to or else!!!

Equally disappointed, after all the efforts we have tried to bring the two sides into dialogue. On the positive side, this is the sign that achievement is just around the corner.

Mugabe Fans, Shame be on you!

You mind has been colonised by the lunatic. We will need to embark upon a decolonisation process in your favour.

prem, interesting comment! How about your own decolonization?

Hey Phiri, visited your "Malawiwi" recently?

Dear Phiri, let it be known I was born free and now live in a relatively free country under a legitimate government. I go out of my country and come in freely. I bash my government if inflation starts moving over 8 per cent. I will march over parliament if ever our army guys claim they would not recognize an alternative government.

Now, I am lending my voice to the millions of Zimbabweans who would like to lead a life like me. In other words, I am joining forces with those struggling against those hidden forces preventing our Zimbas neighbours from realising their legitimate wish.

YOU CALL THAT A COLONIZED STATE OF MIND?

Come on frankly and join us to ensure that devils like Mugabe is never born on African soil in disguise of a hero who later on start to devour its own young capable lads on whose shoulders rest the development of the country.

Prem, I applaud you for doing "NGO" work for Zimbabweans. True , Zimbabweans are living day and night from handouts from relatives abroad and NGOs.

Is it possible that your mind can be colonized while living in the so-called first world? Yes, Prem!!!!! Just look at Americans who believed that liar and low "IQ" George Bush" about Iraq..and he repeatedly lied about everything else. Americans still voted for him...not once but twice..What kind of mind is that...Americans are totally uneducated...in their minds of cause. Blame Africans all you want, but the recent elections in the USA have convinced me that some minds need to be decolonized, regardless of geography!

Enjoy your first world, but don't pour scorn on third world countries. Idiots exists every in the world...

will zimbabwe ever know democracy? will tehy ever be wealthy? will they ever be free of egotistical dictators? Will they ever see progress as just a "white man's thing" incapable of an Africa? And finally, will they ever became a tech-buffed civilization like the west? i think tehy answer to all these questions should be discussed.

given the "talent" on here I rather doubt it. They all and one believe in the bogey man under the bed and dress him up as a racist rhodie white farmer...LOL

i hear you my brother/sister ^.^