Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Mugabe's Party Feasts While Zimbabwe Starves

Over 200 farm animals to be consumed during four-day Zanu-PF conference

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 19, 2008 12:30 PM CST

(Newser) – The government of Zimbabwe has planned a decadent feast for delegates from the ruling party while starvation and cholera run rampant in the general population, Time reports. Robert Mugabe and 5,000 Zanu-PF delegates will treat themselves to 124 cattle, 81 goats, and 18 pigs across a four-day conference now under way. "This truly is incredible in a country where millions of impoverished souls are starving," said an editor of thezimbabwetimes.com.

Besides inflation and financial mismanagement that has forced Zimbabweans to resort to a barter system, a cholera epidemic—which Mugabe has denied the existence of—has claimed 1,111 lives so far. And though Zanu-PF will eat well at its annual conference, new UN estimates say that nearly half of Zimbabwe’s population will need food aid in the next quarter.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe arrives at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008, where he spoke at the burial of Eliot Manyika, a government minister who died in a car accident. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe speaks to the United Nations General Assembly September 25, 2008 in New York. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I used to tell Mugabe not to use violence against the MDC, but he did not listen. He said that the power base of Zanu-PF was threatened. He was unrepentant. He believes violence is the solution.
- Dumiso Dabengwa, former Home Affairs Minister

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Has Prostate Cancer

2008 diplomatic cable said president could die in '3 to 5 years'

(NEWSER) - WikiLeaks' latest spill is a 2008 US diplomatic cable that says Robert Mugabe has prostate cancer that's spread and "will cause his death in three to five years," Reuters reports. The 87-year-old longtime Zimbabwe leader was apparently advised at the time to resign the presidency; Mugabe last year denied cancer rumors and his office had no comment on the cable, written by the former US ambassador to Zimbabwe. More»

Somalia Famine's Brutal Toll: 29K Kids Dead in 3 Months

All under the age of 5, according to the US

(NEWSER) - The UN has said that the famine in Somalia has killed tens of thousands, and the first specific estimate to emerge paints an even more heartbreaking picture. More than 29,000 children under the age of five have died in just the last 90 days in the southern part of the country, a US official told a congressional committee yesterday. The UN yesterday added three new regions in Somalia to the area deemed a famine zone, and noted that 3.2 million of the country's 7.5 million people require immediate lifesaving aid, reports the AP . (Click for more news on the toll the famine is taking on Somalia's children .) More»

Man Sent to Jail for Using Mugabe's Toilet

Alois Mabhunu should learn fate of appeal today

(NEWSER) - A Zimbabwe policeman has appealed the jail sentence he received for daring to use a toilet that had been reserved for Robert Mugabe. Homicide detective Alois Mabhunu has been languishing in a police detention barracks for a month after relieving himself on the forbidden crapper at a trade fair, CNN explains. Other officers guarding the toilet tried to stop him, and Mabhunu initially obliged. But later, apparently unable to fend off nature's call any longer, he pushed past them into the john. More»

WikiLeaks Could Get a Good Man Executed

Morgan Tsvangirai in trouble thanks to sanctions leak

(NEWSER) - Julian Assange once boasted that “there has never been a single report of any of our documents causing physical harm to any single person.” Tell that to Morgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwe prime minister who faces potentially lethal treason charges thanks to one leaked cable. A document last week revealed that Tsvangirai had told Western diplomats that sanctions were working to keep Robert Mugabe in check (click here for background )—and that’s ample excuse for the tyrant to attack, writes James Kirchick of the Wall Street Journal . More»

Zimbabwe's PM May Face Treason in WikiLeaks Fallout

Tsvangirai's support for sanctions prompts treason probe

(NEWSER) - Zimbabwe’s prime minister could face treason charges over material in WikiLeaks’ cable releases, the Guardian reports. One leaked cable suggests Morgan Tsvangirai said sanctions against his country “must be kept in place.” Now the attorney general is planning an investigation. “The WikiLeaks appear to show a treasonous collusion between local Zimbabweans and the aggressive international world, particularly the United States,” he said. High treason can bring the death penalty. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Mugabe's Party Feasts While Zimbabwe Starves