UN clandestinely dispatched Tuliameni Kalomoh on a closely guarded mission

By Hama Saburi

The United Nations (UN) has secretly sneaked one of its top envoys into the country to assess the volatile political situation in what could result in the world body toughening its stance on the Zimbabwean government, which has been battling to defend its human rights record. The UN, which has twice rejected attempts by Britain and the United States to punish the southern African state for alleged human rights abuses, clandestinely dispatched the world body’s assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Tuliameni Kalomoh, on a closely guarded mission. Kalomoh, who is being hosted by the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa, arrived at the Harare International Airport from New York at around 9:00pm on Monday this week and is expected to depart for his base on Saturday at around 1:10pm.

While government officials said they were unaware of Kalomoh’s visit, sources told The Financial Gazette this week that the UN, which had taken a softer stance towards Zimbabwe, was now interested in seeing marked improvement in the country’s political situation. The UN envoy, who led a special mission to Liberia at the height of the insurgencies last year, wants to get an independent feel of the political situation in Zimbabwe and produce a report that would guide the world body in dealing with Harare. The Zimbabwe situation has been made tense by the feuding ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which have remained at loggerheads despite intervention by eminent African leaders such as South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo. “The UN would want to get his own assessment of the political environment. It’s a very discrete visit and they don’t want it to be known,” said the source. “They were no diplomatic protocols followed,” claimed the source.

The visit by Kalomoh comes a few weeks after the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) released a damning report that put to shreds Zimbabwe’s human rights record. The ACHPR report, which was shelved after a spirited opposition from the Zimbabwean-government led by Foreign Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge noted with concern the suppression of the basic freedoms of expression, association and assembly. It also condemned in the strongest terms a flurry of new legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which are meant to stifle the media and basic human rights. Harare, which is yet to respond to the report, dismissed the document as yet another attempt by Britain and its allies to weaken President Robert Mugabe’s government, which has ruled Zimbabwe since Independence in 1980. It said the African Union secretariat could have been infiltrated by forced bent on influencing the course of events on the continent. In the past, the UN has been critical of the independence of the judiciary following the arrest of retired judge Fergus Blackie, which it said was another clear systematic attack on the basic fabric of democracy, i.e. the rule of law. Eight judges including former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay were forced to leave the bench by government through a campaign of intimidation. But despite the criticism, it has rejected attempts by Britain, the US and other European countries to have Zimbabwe punished for alleged human rights abuses.

The head of the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa, Leonard Kapungu remained tight lipped about the visit when contacted for comment yesterday. Kapingu said: “It is confidential for now, try go get in tough with me after his departure, say on 7 August.” Kalomoh has been a special representative of the Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general in Liberia. He has served as the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affair of Namibia and as Namibia’s ambassador to the United States of America and High Commissioner to Canada. Kalomoh was educated in Namibia and India and he holds a diploma from Indian Academy of International Law and Diplomacy in New Delhi. He acts the role of conflict resolution that occupy the UN Security Council in Africa’s troubled spots such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone. While Mudenge could not be contacted for comment as he had accompanied President Mugabe on a visit to Malaysia, his deputy Abdenigo Ncube said he has not heard anything about Kalomoh’s visit. He referred further questions to a Mr Mazemo from the Foreign Affairs division of Europe and America who could not be contacted for comment by the time of going to press.

Source:Financial Gazette (Zimb)
URL: http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID…/p>