Mugabe's 'cleansing' of Zimbabwe squad

The Observer (UK) ^ | June 1, 2003 | Andrew Meldrum

[Clive]

The political repression in Zimbabwe reaches into its cricket team. The squad who play the second Test against England in Durham this week has been purged of players critical of President Robert Mugabe and many of the officials who run the sport have close ties to the Zanu-PF regime.

Extensive inquiries by The Observer have revealed that:

· The Zimbabwe Test squad has been politically vetted and gagged to ensure that no player criticises Mugabe;

· Leading officials of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) are avid supporters of the Mugabe government and have helped to 'cleanse' the team politically;

· The ZCU's claims to be 'an apolitical organisation' - which were repeated by the England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb when he justified England going ahead with this series against Zimbabwe - are a sham

The ZCU decided to rid the team of dissident, anti-Mugabe players earlier this year after Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands during a World Cup match to 'mourn the death of democracy' in their homeland.

Flower, Zimbabwe's best batsman and at the top of his game, left the team in disgust at the political manipulation. Olonga received harsher treatment, being forced off the team bus, receiving death threats and being followed by state security agents. A vicious campaign in the state press has excoriated Olonga, but he is widely regarded as a hero in Harare's townships and even the rural areas where Mugabe's support is strongest.

In addition to Flower and Olonga, Alistair Campbell and Guy Whittall, experienced players widely regarded as concerned about Mugabe and his repressive policies, and who have complained about the 'politicisation' of the ZCU, are no longer part of the team. Two of the team's backroom staff, trainer Malcolm Jarvis and coach Kevin Curran, were also sacked in another sign of the ZCU's determination to ensure that the team would not embarrass Mugabe again.

'More than any other sport in Zimbabwe, cricket has become the flag-bearer of the Mugabe regime,' said a former national team member. 'I feel sorry for the young players because they don't know any better. It is tragic that, just as the growth of township cricket is bringing more black players into the game, the politicisation of the team has brought the sport into disrepute. As soon as democracy is restored, the cricket union must be depoliticised.'

Peter Tatchell, a leader of the Stop The Tour group who plan to stage protests at this week's match, said: 'This is probably the first time a British sports body has agreed to play against a politically vetted team.'

Only four of the Zimbabwe cricketers who played in the World Cup in February remain in a squad that has been shaped by a group of ZCU officials whose links with the Mugabe regime have been exposed.

Osvias Bvute, a ZCU board member who is in effect the organisation's 'political commissar', has played a key role. He was put there by Zanu-PF and is charged with ensuring 'political loyalty' to Mugabe. He personally threw Olonga off the team bus after his armband protest and also ordered him to stop wearing Zimbabwe cricket kit.

A recent player with the team who has seen Bvute at work said: 'He constantly tells team members that he has been to [information minister] Jonathan Moyo's office and been talking to him about cricket issues. If that's not being involved in politics in Zimbabwe today, nothing is.'

Bvute also headed off moves to remove Mugabe as the ZCU's patron. At a key meeting at which the subject was raised, he said that anyone who valued their continuing good health would not raise such an issue, according to cricket board sources. Asked what he meant, he replied: 'Well, you know, things can happen.'

Two other powerful Mugabe advocates within the ZCU are Ahmed Ebrahim and his son Macsood, known as Max. Ahmed, a retired judge who is the ZCU's vice-chairman, instigated the task force that led to the team being 'cleaned', while Max, the convener of selectors for the Zimbabwe team, does much of the work to ensure political obedience. ZCU chairman Peter Chingoka, who proposed renewing Mugabe's tenure as its figurehead, is another.

Two other board officials who are travelling with the tourists, team manager Babu Meman and ZCU managing director Vince Hogg, help the regime by refusing to let players comment on political issues. Heath Streak, the team's captain, is thought to toe the government's line because he does not want to lose his family's farm. It was was on a list of properties to be seized and was later taken off the list.

Andrew Meldrum reported on Zimbabwe for The Observer and The Guardian until two weeks ago, when he was expelled by the Mugabe regime.

[Clive]

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