Contradictory reports about the Chinese vessel An Yue Jiang, which is carrying a lethal cargo destined for Zimbabwe, surfaced yesterday.

Some said it had offloaded its cargo of weapons in Angola while others reported that this was not the case.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said late yesterday that fellow trade unionists in Angola had informed them that the ship had left Luanda after unloading a cargo of cement and construction material only.

"No attempt was made to offload any armaments, and the ship sailed after taking on fuel and food.

Trade unionists, including from the port workers' union, maintained a watch on the ship and what came off and went on it throughout its stay in port.

The police were also present," the two unions said in a statement.

Lawyers from East Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had earlier announced that they were seeking legal action against the Chinese government over the arms supplies to Zimbabwe.

The Law Society of the Southern Africa Development Community and the East African Law Society said they had finalised preparations to institute legal action at the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the arms were offloaded.

China had announced earlier that it had recalled the An Yue Jiang.

The ship - carrying three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1 500 rocket-propelled grenades and more than 3 000 mortar rounds and mortar tubes - was recalled after pressure from civil society in the region and the refusal by dock workers at Durban harbour to offload the weapons and later from Beira port in Mozambique, where it was refused permission to dock.

The annual general meeting of the Council of Churches in Namibia has also added its voice to the civil society movement, condemning the deteriorating political situation in Zimbabwe.

It supported the call by the heads of Christian denominations in Zimbabwe (Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches) who appealed to SADC, the AU and the UN to work towards arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe.

They said there was a need for the immediate end to political intimidation and retribution arising from how people were perceived to have voted.

The AGM supported statements by the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Secretary General of the UN to the International Community and regional partners to intervene and stop weapons from entering Zimbabwe during "this vulnerable time".

They also encouraged all Christians to pray for a peaceful resolution and conclusion of the political process.

The Law Society of the Southern Africa Development Community and the East African Law Society announced their intentions at the emergency Pan-African summit in Dar es Salaam to discuss the election crisis in Zimbabwe.

The summit asked the African Union not to recognise the results of the vote recount in Zimbabwe.

Instead, it wants the continental body to appoint an independent high level Pan-African panel of eminent persons to deliver a political settlement to the country.

The lawyers also called on the AU to openly condemn the state campaign of violence against the people of Zimbabwe for exercising their democratic rights.

According to the participants, the mediation efforts spearheaded by SADC and endorsed by the African Union have failed to deliver the necessary solutions to Zimbabweans and to uphold the will of the people.

"The entire mediation process has lacked transparency, neutrality, openness and consultation of the majority of the people.

The SADC-elected mediator has shown a clear bias for the incumbent government and he should be removed from the mediation process with immediate effect," they said.

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