Zimbabwe - A letter from the diaspora

GOING HOME: The year is 2004 and Caleb Dube, the former detective with the Zimbabwe Republic Police has been in exile in the United Kingdom for two years. A letter arrives from his old friend and colleague, Moses Musindo, alerting Dube to the fact that his former teacher and friend, Father Hugh Malloy, is in great danger. Friendship demands no less and Caleb Dube goes home to his native land. With no help from a partisan police force, Dube and Musindo set out to investigate. In the course of their enquiries deep in the rural areas, the two men meet a host of unforgettable characters, including Sami the AIDS orphan and Sami's friend, Tatenda, the hunter. The two boys are an indispensable part of the investigation and the search leads them to an old adversary of Dube's who holds the key to the mystery of the missing priest.
Click here to find out more or buy online

Countdown is a political detective story. It is fiction but the background is accurate and verifiable. Set in 2001/2 and the start of the land invasions, the book shows how the politicisation of the police force has led directly to the breakdown of law and order. In this hostile environment, two honest cops attempt to investigate a murder. Click here to find out more or buy online

30th April 2010

Dear Friends.
The UK is in the throes of an election campaign. For perhaps the first time in years the Brits actually seem to have woken up to politics and one of the reasons has undoubtedly been the television debates between the leaders of the three main political parties. The final debate was last evening and for someone used to elections 'Zim-style', it is fascinating to watch democracy - even if it is flawed - in action. Each time I see the party leaders on screen, I can't help wondering if ZTV, controlled as it is by Zanu PF, would ever host a debate between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara with questions submitted by a studio audience and all under the control of an impartial Chairperson! It's an intriguing thought but we all know it's not likely to happen while Mugabe is in power. The sight of Mugabe and Ahmadinejad, standing shoulder to shoulder at the International Trade Fair, was a reminder that dictators are not concerned with the democratic process - retaining power at all costs is their sole concern.
One of the complaints frequently heard from the British people is that "Politicians are all the same; you can't believe a word they say and they're all out for themselves." I suspect you would probably hear much the same comment in Zimbabwe. Sadly, that now appears to apply to both sides of the political divide; after one year of 'sharing' power with Zanu PF it seems the MDC too is not immune to the attractions of the 'good life', so much so that many of them appear to have forgotten their roots in the labour movement. It was profoundly shocking to hear Tendayi Biti talk as he did this week of amending the Labour Act in favour of employers so that wages could be cut 'depending on the state of the economy' and the right to strike would be limited if not prohibited. I remember hearing Biti when he was in London shortly after I arrived here. He was very impressive, not least because he appeared to be totally committed to the cause of the workers; a genuine social democrat. Yet five years later, when the UN estimates that unemployment in Zimbabwe stands at 90% and, for anyone lucky enough to have a job, the average wage is $150, Biti chooses to support not the struggling workers but the fat cat bosses.

Interestingly, the same comment is made in Britain about the governing Labour Party, they have lost touch with their roots and have chosen to support the bankers and big money. Once they are in power, politicians tend to treat the electorate as an unthinking mass but ordinary people, whether in the UK or Africa, are not stupid and they recognise immediately when politicians desert their core principles. The MDC is in real danger of doing just that if Biti's statement to business people this week is anything to go by. The hopes and dreams of ordinary people for a better life are forgotten as the politicians grow more comfortable in their newly found middle class life style.

The breakdown in education is highlighted by the revelation that 45.000 teachers have quit the teaching profession in the last decade. There are 5.200 Primary schools in Zimbabwe and they are 30% short of teachers; Secondary schools too have a shortfall of almost 30%. The result of this mass exodus is clearly shown in the abysmal examination results just published. 19% of the students sitting O level achieved Pass marks and at Primary School level a mere 7% of the children passed their vital Grade Seven exams. David Coltart the MDC M. Minister of Education seems to be an honest, hard-working man but it's hard to see what he can do to solve this problem without financial resources. The health sector too is similarly deprived of money and manpower; with just 47 surgical doctors left in the country, excluding ex-pats and missionary doctors. The truth is that Zimbabwe is broke, there is no money in the public purse but still, under the guise of Indigenisation, the greedy fat cats continue to exploit every loophole they can to enrich themselves even further. We hear this week that the Police Commissioner has applied for a licence to mine diamonds. Shall we now see the police mining diamonds at Chiadzwa while at the same time they beat up and kill innocent villagers to prevent them from earning a living? The Herald reported this week that the high court had approved the sale of 129.000 carats of diamonds though that report was subsequently denied by the CEO of African Consolidated Resources. By contrast, the Minister of Mines, Obert Mpofu, however, has made it absolutely clear that he has no intention of abiding by the Kimberley Process ruling. "We are going to benefit from our diamonds whether with the Kimberley Process or not." he said. When Mpofu says that 'WE' are going to benefit he is certainly not talking about ordinary Zimbabwean citizens. It is not the schools or hospitals who are going to benefit from the diamond bonanza, it is the already rich fat cats while the sick and the elderly die in abject poverty and the children are denied a future. Zimbabweans are entitled to ask whether their politicians, Zanu PF or MDC, really care about the people's welfare at all.

Tendayi Biti's recent trip to China in the company of Nicholas Goche in search of a Chinese loan, suggests that Biti has fallen for Mugabe's 'Look East' philosophy. Remembering that China's involvement in Africa has little to do with the observance of human rights and democratic freedoms and more to do with plundering Africa's resources, that is a worrying development coming as it does from a prominent member of the Movement for Democratic Change.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

23rd April 2010

Dear Friends.
In an interview with the South African Guardian on April 16th Graca Machel accuses the British of having a 'persistent imperialist mindset' with regard to its former colonies. Ms Machel may well be right about that; thirty and more years after her last African colony became independent, the UK is still coming to terms with loss of empire and status in the world. The average Brit, heavily influenced by the right-wing press, still tends to think of Britain as being somehow superior to the rest of the world. Thanks to cheap travel, ordinary Brits now see more of the world -including Africa - than ever before but, hearing people talk about their foreign travels, I am constantly amazed at how little they have gained in terms of increased understanding or appreciation of foreign cultures. This applies even to countries within Europe but when it comes to Africa, that attitude is even more marked. And the explanation for this is, in part at least, Britain's colonial past. Graca Machel argues that Britain should re-examine its relationship with its (former) colonies; they cannot, she says, expect to continue to be the big brother in the relationship.

For Africans living in the UK diaspora, it is easy to understand and empathise with what Graca Machel is saying. The burden of colonial guilt sits heavily on the British and often prevents them from speaking out on issues, such as human rights, that need to be aired but Ms Machel seems to be saying that the British government has been too loud in its condemnation of Zimbabwe in particular. Speaking as an ordinary member of the diasporean community, it is rare these days hear or read of any British government Minister publicly airing views on Zimbabwe. Ms Machel rightly points out that "there is much more to Africa than Zimbabwe" but she fails to acknowledge that Mugabe's misrule in Zimbabwe has seriously affected the world's perception of Africa as a whole, not excluding South Africa itself. The recent visit of the ANC's Youth Minister, Julius Malema, to Zimbabwe did nothing to alter that perception. "Yes, Zimbabwe has failed." Ms Machel admits, "I'm not saying things are OK, (that) they're all fine in Zimbabwe… Britain shouts immediately. Can't they just keep quiet. Let them do their own things. Let SADC deal with them." Unfortunately, as Zimbabweans know only too well, SADC has done little or nothing about the deplorable state of affairs in Zimbabwe for ordinary people. "Let them (the Zimbabwean government) do their own things" she proclaims and if that includes violence against innocent men, women and children, then so be it; the outside the world must remain silent. I find that argument singularly shocking coming, as it does from a woman who is an international advocate for women and children's rights, married to Nelson Mandela, the ikon of the anti-apartheid struggle. Is Graca Machel saying that no European - and nearly all European countries have a colonial past - has a right to comment on African misgovernance even when it includes overt violence against innocent men, women and children?

This week Amnesty International reports that one quarter of all the children in Zimbabwe are orphans yet the government of Robert Mugabe has forbidden NGO's from paying children's school fees. As Zimbabwe was 'celebrating' thirty years of Independence, the women of WOZA were spending the four-day Independence holiday in gaol, sleeping on bare cement floors running with human excreta. Their 'crime' was a peaceful protest about the high cost of electricity. No crime at all, but still the police kept the women in gaol for four days because they refused to pay an 'admission of guilt' fine. While Robert Mugabe shed crocodile tears at Independence celebrations over the violence in the country and appealed for peace and tolerance, it was his own Youth Brigade youngsters, the ones he once described as 'his new war veterans' some of them no more than children, who paraded in front of the crowds with their toy guns. And in my own home area of Murehwa a headmaster was frog-marched out of his school by so-called war veterans and accused of supporting the MDC. From the same area comes the report of a local Zanu PF Chairman, one Mike Chiwodza, telling MDC supporters, "We will kill you after the World Cup. This time we will kill you and get rid of your body in the Mazowe River or down mine shafts - even if you flee we will find your wives and children." These are the chilling realities of the "Let them do their own things" philosophy that Ms Machel advocates. She implies that Europe's colonial history precludes them from commenting in any way on events in Africa today. No one, black or white, can deny the evils of colonialism any more than they can defend the apartheid system which was ultimately defeated by men and women, black and white struggling and dying together so that a new generation of South Africans could live together in a democratic country. And their endeavours were supported by the whole world, including Britain, which gave refuge to the many victims of apartheid not excluding the ANC itself. Yet Graca Machel urges the western world, and Britain in particular, to be silent about Mugabe's evil dictatorial regime, a regime which she herself admits has failed!

To quote Edmund Burke, "All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

6th April 2010

Dear Friends.
On Sunday April 18, 2010 Zimbabwe will celebrate thirty years of Independence from colonial rule. After thirty years in which Robert Mugabe has been at the helm, it would be good to hear an honest assessment from the Dear Leader of the true situation in Zimbabwe but that is not likely to happen. It is too much to hope that the President will present a statesmanlike review of the situation in the country. Instead he will, I suspect, subject his audience to a history of the struggle and claim as always that it was Zanu alone that freed Zimbabwe and thus, in their minds, deserve all the spoils of victory over the colonial enemy.

I hope I'm wrong and that this Independence Day will see a new and more honest acknowledgement from Mugabe of his mistakes but I doubt that will happen, surrounded as he will be by all the military fat cats who keep him in State House and profit from his continued stay in power.

Credible reports (The Zimbabwean 15-21 April 2010) from the rural areas suggest that certain high-ranking military officers are in fact directing operations designed to intimidate and instil fear in the local populations. In Mutoko (Mash East) and Muzarabani (Mash West) local war veterans and CIO agents are seen openly touting brand new AK 47's, FN assault rifles and Uzi sub-machine guns. It would appear to be all part of the intimidation which precedes elections and together with fresh recruitment of the infamous Gezi Boys, it is a disturbing reminder of the violence of the 2008 elections. The presence of Green Bombers strutting around the rural areas, terrorising innocent villagers does not suggest that thirty years in power has taught Mugabe and his former ruling party anything other than maintaining power through the barrel of a gun. Violence is the only weapon left in Mugabe's bankrupt political armoury and he continues to turn a blind eye to the violent activities of his CIO agents and partisan police force.

A case in point this week was the discovery of Innocent Makamure's body floating in the Mwerahari river in Buhera district. Innocent Makamure was a state agent involved in the post-election violence in 2008. A couple of weeks ago Makamure returned to his home village to apologise to the villagers for his violent behaviour against them. He had not killed anyone himself he said but he wanted to tell them that he had been used by the former ruling party, ‘for peanuts' and he had paid the price. His wife had left him and his child had died. And all for what? Makamure asked. In short, Innocent Makamure had repented of his past misdeeds and stated his intention to go to the local chiefs and ask forgiveness. Then Innocent Makamure disappeared, only to be found floating in the river a few days later. "Suicide" suggests the local police chief; Makamure took his own life because of shame over his past actions. The dead man's family certainly do not accept that explanation and it doesn't seem likely that, having made a public confession of his crimes and relieved himself of his burden of guilt, Makamure would then take his own life. But, like so many other crimes committed in Zimbabwe we shall probably never know. Truth is a rare commoditiy in Zimbabwe these days particularly when it concerns Zanu PF's crimes.

Crime and punishment and in particular the death sentence was the subject of an informative news item this week. There are apparently 50 people on death row in Harare. Some of them have been awaiting execution for as long as 13 years. However heinous their crimes, that prolonged agony of waiting for death can hardly be considered a just punishment. But there's a problem: there is no Public Executioner! The last hangman resigned in 2003 and has not been replaced. "WANTED: one public hangman" is not an ad likely to attract many candidates despite prison officials'claim that "the job is very easy and no previous experience is needed. Candidates do not even need to be literate", the prison officials add helpfully! Apparently Zimbabwe has executed 65 people since Independence and despite having granted Presidential pardons to certain prisoners, the President has refused clemency to the 50 men now awaiting death. The issue of capital punishment is a controversial topic, particularly in Africa. Amnesty reports that worldwide, 137 countries have abolished the death sentence and even in Africa, at least 11 countries have done away with this extreme form of punishment, including our nearest neighbour, South Africa. Interestingly, Ruwanda, with its history of nearly one million horrific killings during the genocide in 1994, has abolished the death sentence as has Liberia despite its recent history of violence and the activities of the infamous Charles Taylor who is now facing trial at the Hague. If there is ever to be genuine consultation with the people over a new constitution, it is to be hoped that the question of capital punishment will be one of the topics covered in informed and objective discussion.

If all of this seems rather irrelevant to Zimbabwe's problems in 2010 the point takes on additional significance when we hear that the North Korean football team will train for the forthcoming World Cup in Zimbabwe. To add insult to injury, the North Koreans will be based in Bulawayo, the capital of Matabeleland where the Gukuruhundi massacres took place at the hands of the North Korean trained 5th Brigade. Despite Mugabe's lame admission that Gukurukundi was a "moment of madness" there has not been one single prosecution for the massacre of some 20-30.000 people.
As the "Sovereign State of Zimbabwe" commemorates 30 years of independence on Sunday it is difficult to see what exactly there is to celebrate. When, just two days before Independence, Woza women are thrown into gaol for nothing more threatening than peacefully demonstrating about the high cost of electricity and innocent rural people are terrorised by men with guns, the vision of independence still seems like a distant dream.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

9th April 2010

Dear Friends.
Returning to my desk after two weeks away, the one picture that shocked me more than any other was the image of Christian worshippers in Harare forced to conduct their Easter services in the open air. I have no religious allegiance myself but the concept of freedom of worship is basic to any democracy and the thought that Christians in Zimbabwe are prevented by the ZRP from entering their own churches is deeply shocking. And, as always in Zimbabwe, the reason for this assault on a basic human right is political. The ZRP in their partisan support for Zanu PF have chosen to back the ex-communicated 'Bishop' Kunonga for no other reason than his fanatical support of Robert Mugabe. Despite a High Court ruling that St Mary's Anglican Cathedral in Harare be shared between the two factions of the Anglican church, the police continue to bar Anglican worshippers at gunpoint from entering their spiritual home. The most shocking aspect of this dispute is the failure of other Christian churches to raise their voices in support the Anglicans; once again Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF have succeeded in dividing people. Through fear of incurring the violent retribution of the political class, the churches remain silent instead of speaking out on an issue which should concern all Christians: the freedom to worship. As a result, Kunonga and his handful of violent supporters remain in control and, with police protection, bar genuine Anglican worshippers from entering their own churches.

From the thuggish fanaticism of Kunonga, it is just one short step to the rabid rhetoric of Julius Malema, the ANC Youth leader who was in the country on a four-day visit at the invitation of Zanu PF's Youth League. Why he was in the country and whether he represents the ANC's official policies is not clear; he said he had come to learn from Zimbabwe's 'land reform' and the Indigenisation process. Whether he was learning or teaching, Malema was certainly singing from the Zanu PF song book. His own hymn of hate 'Kill the boer'- which has been banned in South Africa - rang out in Harare and is reported to have been sung with gusto by his Zanu PF hosts. The ANC defence of such songs as 'part of our liberation history' is hardly surprising when you consider that President Zuma's own theme song is 'Bring me my machine gun'.

It was while Malema was in Zimbabwe that the white supremacist, Eugene Terreblanche, was murdered back in South Africa. We have yet to understand whether there is a connection between Malema's hymn of hate and Terreblanche's killing. President Zuma's office immediately issued a statement designed to prevent any possible violent outbursts from any quarter and that appears to have had the desired effect, at least in South Africa.

But Malema's message, contradictory and illogical though it was, went down well in Zimbabwe with the likes of Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and other fat cat business leaders hoping to profit from 'Indigenization' which Kaukuwere describes as "the final blow against colonialism". In a message to the opponents of his Indigenisation Act, Kasukuwere repeated his earlier remarks that there was no going back. "We have no reverse gear in our gearbox. If there is an insane Zimbabwean who is opposed to the Act then he must go and die" Yet again, Zanu PF demonstrates that violence is their only response to opposition. The invitation to the young firebrand from South Africa was surely a desperate attempt by the former ruling party to re-ignite their flagging support inside Zimbabwe. When even war veterans say they are fed up with Mugabe and Zanu PF, as they did in Mutoko last week, then we can fairly assume that the writing is on the wall; desperate measures are needed; hence the invitation to Julius Malema who was received by Robert Mugabe in the presence of journalists. Malema said he would not talk with the MDC because they were not his friends and they had not been part of the Liberation struggle.

In the light of all this talk of violence and evidence of Zanu PF's clear intention to continue along the path of non-co-operation with its partners in the Unity Government, it is confusing to say the least that Morgan Tsvangirai should choose this moment to go to the EU in Brussels to call for the lifting of travel restrictions on 192 named Zanu PF individuals whose crimes have included horrific attacks against MDC members. Indeed the news this week that it is only the North Koreans who have taken up the offer to train in Zimbabwe for the World Cup is a painful reminder that Zimbabwe is prepared to host the very nation which provided the training of the notorious Fifth Brigade which carried out the massacre of 20-30.000 Ndebele people during Gukuruhundi in the 80's. It is incomprehensible to me that Morgan Tsvangirai of all people should be the one to intervene on Zanu PF's behalf with the international community when it is his own MDC followers who have been murdered and continue to be brutalised and arrested by Mugabe's police and CIO agents. If Morgan Tsvangirai hopes to convince the EU that Mugabe and the so-called Unity Government is on the way to a democratic future, the news that none other than Iran's President Ahmadinejad will be the 'honoured guest' to open the International Trade Fair in Bulawayo is hardly going to convince the Europeans - or the Americans for that matter - that Zimbabwe is a friend of democracy.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.