The violence and chaos of the land invasions in the period 2000 – 2002 spilled into the electoral process with endemic and brutal attacks on those opposed to ZANU PF, particularly in areas where opposition support was the strongest. In early May 2000, in the month before the June elections, Mbeki flew to Bulawayo. A photograph taken of Mbeki walking hand-in-hand with Mugabe on arrival was soon too become an all too familiar image of Mbeki and Mugabe together. Mbeki’s public displays of affection for Mugabe stand in stark relief to his apparently studied avoidance of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. During this visit Mbeki blamed the violence in Zimbabwe on the fact that the land question was still “unresolved.” A few weeks later Mbeki travelled to the United States where he declared, despite the continuing rampant violence, that there was no reason to think the elections in Zimbabwe would not be free and fair – “If you stand there a month before the elections and already discredit them, I don’t think that is correct”. Despite the widespread and systemic violence and intimidation, the Mbeki government’s observer missions for the parliamentary election of 2000 and presidential election of 2002 disingenuously tried to give these elections a clean bill of health. The observer group of 2000 led by now convicted fraudster, Tony Yengeni, pronounced the elections “free and fair” because the two days of voting had been marked by “tranquility”, thus quietly and diplomatically ignoring the months of mayhem, oppression and violations of human rights that had preceded the voting. On return to South Africa the report was amended in an attempt to avoid the farcical and “free and fair” was replaced. The result of the election was instead held to be “credible”. A similar approach was taken by Dr. Sam Motsuenyane who headed the South African Government’s observer mission for the 2002 presidential election. The report issued by this group announced that “the authorities charged with conducting the elections discharged their work satisfactorily, except for the decision to reduce the number of polling stations in some urban areas.” This exception alluded to so diplomatically in the report referred to the deliberate reduction of polling stations in key opposition strongholds which made it physically impossible for an estimated 400 000 voters (the margin by which Mugabe supposedly won the election) to vote in Harare alone. Court orders to extend the voting times were ignored or incompletely applied and voting regulations requiring booths to remain open while persons remained queuing to vote, flouted. Then, utilizing what was to become a common a diplomatic technique, the report stated: “Campaigning was characterised by polarisation, tension and incidents of violence and intimidation. The intention seems to have been to intimidate members of other parties” thus glossing over the fact that statistics reveal that over 90% of the violence was perpetrated by ZANU PF supporters upon opposition supporters. The report also noted that “The Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for a free press”, by-passing the fact that the only independent daily newspaper (The Daily News) had been under constant threat and harassment, including the bombing of its presses by government supporters and totally disregarded the fact that the Zimbabwe Government had total and exclusive control over all electronic media - of which it took full advantage to promote ZANU PF. The South African Government’s observer group nevertheless announced the elections as “legitimate”. Mbeki had also commissioned Judges Khampepe and Moseneke to observe