By Editor
A fierce ZANU-PF sponsored campaign to soil the good name of Girl Child Network (GCN) founding director, Betty Makoni has been intensified by President Mugabe's allies, The Zim Diaspora can reveal.
The campaign is being executed in a deceptive manner that has seen Mugabe's allies using fake identity to interview international organisations linked to the Girl Child Network in connection with Makoni's alleged maladministration of donor funds. The allegations have been dismissed by Makoni as fictitious.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/
Through her Girl Child Network, Makoni has helped rescue 35,000 girls from abuse and thousands more have found an empowering community and a public forum in which to speak out. For that she has beaten 7 000 other social workers around the world nominated for the CNN Hero of the Year. She has been screened to the top 10 contenders of the CNN Award and we can reveal that she might be crowned within the next few weeks in New York.
Makoni founded the Girl Child Network to provide a haven for young victims of sexual abuse. Trouble started after she produced a scathing report on the abuse of women and girls during President Mugabe's condemned Murambatsvina. The report was later circulated around the world. For that, President Mugabe has never forgiven her and was told face-to-face by Mugabe's closest ally Didymus Mutasa that her sins were unforgivable as far as the president is concerned.
The anti-Betty Makoni campaign has since become rough and is designed to block her from grabbing a life time achievement she is about to get from CNN, the world's leading broadcaster.
The latest onslaught by the state media confirms that President Mugabe is very angry with Makoni for crafting the Murambatsvina abuse report.
According to a story originally published by the state-media weekly newspaper, Umthunywa and then reproduced by two British-based Zimbabwean on-line publications, Makoni's Girl Child Network employees are living from hand to mouth after going for several months without pay.
But The Zim Diaspora can reveal that the Girl Child Net work does not keep full-time employees as it is only a network organisation. This explains that the story is another false attempt by Mugabe's men to smear a distinguished woman who has changed the lives of many suffering Zimbabweans.
The state media reporters who visited schools in Chitungwiza where Makoni used to help school girls claim to have met with a lot of complaints that the network boss had neglected them.Some of the school girls are no longer going to school due to lack of funds for school fees.
We can now reveal that the Betty Makoni story was initiated by President Mugabe's Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). The state media claims that some parents interviewed said their suffering children gave Makoni all the fame that she is enjoying now,and they are pained that she ran away and is in hiding in the UK.
The same report says a visit to Makoni's house in Vainona revealed that she had eight cars.
The report further claims that last month Makoni sent four people in the middle of the night to her personal assistant to take away from him a laptop, a car, a printer and a cell phone, an issue which Makoni vehemently denies.
According to one on-line publication, a letter addressed to the Oxfam Novib headquarters in the Netherlands dated 23 September 2009, Ger Roebeling the Interim Regional Manager for Southern Africa says Makoni is not responding to emails written to her in connection with financial maladministration. But Makoni says she is frequently in touch with Oxfam and was only an hour's drive away from their offices.
The article quotes Roebeling saying that GCN is not being run properly and that for some time, they had doubts on the way Makoni managed funds.
When The Zim Diaspora contacted Makoni for comment she said: The article is not something new to me. I have been accused of so many things before and I knew it was coming because some people are after me. Please make sure your correctly inform people why I am in UK and why I left Botswana".
"The article claims that the donor community has approached Mugabe's government. Honestly, where on earth have you seen a donor asking a Zimbabwe government-agent to issue out a statement to look for a director who left after such a professional handover. I feel there is a lot of information missing in their circles. You can actually see that in the whole article they have not even interviewed me," she said.
Indeed, by Mr Mugabe's standards, Makoni should be eliminated just as what happened to other Zimbabweans who either opposed or exposed him. Security insiders have told us that if Makoni had not been evacuated from Zimbabwe by Ashoka, she will be dead by now, just as what happened to Josiah Tongogara, Lockout Masuku, Edwin Nleya, Rashiwe Guzha, Sydney Malunga, Mthandazo-Ndema Ngwenya the list is too long.
Makoni was arrested in 2007 following directives from President Mugabe's henchman, Didymus Mutasa.
On being arrested Makoni was told that President Mugabe will never forgive her for exposing Zimbabwe's gross human rights violations during the Murambatsvina. Murambistvina was later recognised as a crime against humanity. Makoni was shown her file which was strapped in a red-ribbon, which, in intelligence language meant that she must be eliminated.
Perhaps this is evident enough why we are seeing such an unprecedented and damaging media onslaught coming just few weeks before her CNN Award. The media onslaught is timed to coincide with the Award.
Makoni was also implicated in the Jestina Mukoko case. However, she was never to be arrested again as she was secretly evacuated from Zimbabwe by Ashoka, an international organisation which recognises individuals of great influence in their communities. She was given temporary shelter at a safe house in South Africa. But as reports of abuse of women in Zimbabwe continued filtering through the news, Makoni's human rights conscience overcame her. She went to Botswana where she set up her headquarters and later evacuated 32 abused women through her network.
"Most of these women were severely abused and most of them needed operations. Mugabe's militia would push sticks into their private parts as a form of torture. Today these women are living a normal life and I am happy I assisted them," she said.
"I have compiled evidence that I hope will be used in prosecuting Mugabe in the international criminal court. Some of the evidence is scary and gruesome. I wonder why the international community has allowed Mugabe to kill, torture and plunder with impunity. There is no doubt Mugabe is a criminal," she said.
Although, today she is rated as Mugabe's number one target, Makoni has fought for nearly a decade to protect her country's young girls from sexual abuse. And, she has witnessed some of the worst cases of the myth in action.
But, even thoug Makoni has joined her husband and family in Britain where she thinks she is safe, Mugabe's allies, some of them even working from the British capital have started persecuting this noble woman. Yet, thousands of abused Zimbabwean women and girls would die to defend Makoni, the best human being to happen to their lives. They say Makoni changed their lives for ever.
Speaking from Francis Town, Botswana, Ms Tafadzwa Mundoti told The Zim Diaspora that she was so much indebted to Makoni and would do anything to defend her from "these appalling allegations against her".
"I was dying in Harare after being abused by Mugabe's men. Then Makoni came into my life at the right time. If she had not rescued me, I would be dead by now," she said, with tears rolling down here cheeks.
She added: "By now everyone including the international community should know that when you oppose Mugabe you should be prepared of being smeared. In fact at times Mugabe can silence you forever, look at what happened to the Bulawayo Archbishop Father Pius".
Makoni received The Global Friends’ Award and The World’s Children’s Prize 2007 WCPRC for her long struggle for girls in Zimbabwe to be freed from abuse and to have the same opportunities in life as boys.
Through the Girl Child Network (GCN) Betty has built three safe villages (also called empowerment villages) for very vulnerable girls and started 500 girls’ clubs with 30,000 members, mostly in rural areas and in poor townships.
Makoni saves girls from child labour, forced marriage, abuse, trafficking and sexual assault. She gives girls food, clothes, medical care, a home, the chance to go to school, and safety. Above all, she gives girls courage and strength to demand respect for their rights. Tens of thousands of girls have found their way to a better life because of Betty’s work.
She and GCN speak out on behalf of girls in Zimbabwe by constantly encouraging the government and different organisations to take care of the country’s girls. For Makoni, breaking the silence on rape of Girls, has in some instances led to her victimisation.
A victim of childhood sexual abuse, Betty Makoni used her experience to transform the lives of girls in southern Africa by creating a girls' rights advocacy group with 30,000 members in Zimbabwe. Founded in 1998, Girl Child Network (GCN) empowers girls and works to eradicate all forms of abuse and practices that impede their full physical, emotional and spiritual growth.
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed- Disclaimer :
- The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. ZimDiaspora is not responsible for what they say. Please keep your comments short and sweet. Obscene, tribalistic, racist, vulgar comments will be deleted.
written by Joseph Msipa, November 06, 2009
written by Lifa, November 06, 2009
written by casper, November 06, 2009
written by Nhamo, November 06, 2009
We support you, this is all Mugabe's work. Keep it up
written by Tendai Kaseke, November 06, 2009
Joseph Msipa is in the UK and mwana wa former Midlands Governor, Cephas. Akauya muna 2007. Haasi ku Netherlands kwete! Infact ari ku Birmingham! Tingatofumura zvakawanda, kusanganisira mudzimai weshamwari yake with whom he is co-habitatinig, whilst the friend toils away ku Zim! Mudzimai wa Ndlovu, weku....Hospital!
Msipa kana uine nharo ita pwee tifumure zve zvimwe, ne detail rese! Otherwise nyarara!
written by imbizo, November 06, 2009
written by Mokoena, November 06, 2009
written by mlindelwa, November 06, 2009
what exactly is wrong with male shona leadership. is it the culture that makes them so easily corruptible. is it misplaced ambition-get rich at whatever cost. are there any good shona men out there who believe in doing good. what is the shona woman's role in all this. are all ndebele people honest and reliable. sorry too many questions and too few answers from me.
written by Ryton Dzimiri, November 06, 2009
written by mlindelwa, November 06, 2009
the problem with zimbabwean politics is that too often we play the man and not the ball, thats the reality. but it can be changed by the likes of me and you folks willing to debate any issue with no taboo topics. of course we need to be careful that we do not inflamme the issue. my apologies if my previous contribution sounds tribalist.
written by beano, November 06, 2009
what I do know is that she is now in my country, (the UK) and has been found out very quickly, for being a deceitful, and dishonest person, trying her bullying techniques, and spreading money and resources to her friends and family, as well as herself.
She is now planning her escape route to Canada, in order to continue, with this egotistical charade, (just look at her responses to various responses to articles, its me, me, me, and what I've done, and not GCN or GCNW), don't be taken in by this woman, and if you are, don't say I didn't warn you.
written by Tichawona, November 06, 2009
written by Tichawona, November 06, 2009
written by eddie, November 06, 2009
written by nomsa , November 06, 2009
written by Lilly , November 07, 2009
written by Bhedzo, November 07, 2009
When i read this article i thought to myself,...."These Zanu Pf people must be ashamed of themselves"
Since when did Zanu Pf start doing accountability,whose money do they want to start account for?Corruption has gone unchecked in their time in govenment until this GnU then all of a sudden they are interested in checks n balances and guess what starting away from home.How laughable.
If they want to start checks n balances and accountability lets start in Zimbabwe and the first stop will be the Farms and who owns what and how.
written by Zim, November 07, 2009
.
Bob has done good things too and bad too.
written by moyo, November 07, 2009
written by moyo, November 07, 2009
written by admirer, November 07, 2009
written by Rusape mukamba villge, November 07, 2009
written by jabu, November 07, 2009
Rubishh waida kuona maga*roka apfeka dzelondon. Chifeve chomunhu. zvawafambira tsve takarasima nezvekupfeka. unengewo munhu we ZA.....U iwe
written by Chatya, November 09, 2009
written by marabi One, December 12, 2009
written by Tonderai Zvamakaita amai, December 12, 2009
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
