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

28th May 2010

Dear Friends.
If I was asked to define exactly what Zanu PF stands for, probably the only answer I could honestly give would be 'For living on past glories in their unswerving dedication to the Liberation struggle which ended thirty years ago; for their equally unswerving and blind loyalty to their 86 year old President; for their belief in their absolute right to rule Zimbabwe and own all its resources; for their use of violence as a legitimate weapon to remain in power; for their intolerance of all other views but their own and for their hatred of the west and in particular Britain as the former colonial power.' This last point has involved some very strange alliances. On the basis of the rather distorted logic that 'the west's enemies are automatically my allies,' Robert Mugabe has allied himself with North Korea, Iran and any other country whose autocratic rulers regularly rant about the evils of western imperialism and the US in particular. In the name of defending 'Zimbabwean sovereignty' Mugabe and Zanu PF have succeeded in making Zimbabwe a byword for all that is wrong with African politics. While the rest of Africa is slowly discarding dictatorships in favour of free elections and democratically elected leaders, Robert Mugabe stands out as an example of dictatorial rule, unwilling to accept change or criticism.

Public criticism of the president is a criminal offence which the Zimbabwe police are only to happy to use as an excuse to arrest Mugabe's perceived enemies. Mugabe's hatred of homosexuality is well-known and it could be argued that his view is shared by many deeply conservative African societies which do not share the west's tolerance of sexual difference. Whatever one's views on this culturally sensitive subject, the fact remains that gays and lesbians are as entitled to their human rights as any other citizens. The arrest and torture of two employees of Galz on Friday last for 'Undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe' appears to be nothing more than political harassment since the two were denied legal representation and had their offices searched, presumably without warrants. Many other MDC members have been subjected to exactly the same treatment. One victim of the Criminal Law Amendment Act was an MDC Senator Morgan Komichi who was alleged to have sung a song at a public rally which compared Grace's husband to a donkey which died a long time ago. How the police would ever prove in court that the song was intended to refer directly to the president was not clear but their statement that Senator Komichi "knew there was a real risk or possibility that the statement was false and that it could engender feelings of hostility towards or cause hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President or his office" gives some indication of the lengths to which the mentally challenged cops will go in their efforts to cause as much aggravation as possible to anyone perceived as an enemy of the Dear Leader. Like so many other ludicrous happenings in Zimbabwe it might all be very funny if it were not so deadly serious in its consequences for innocent people. More than once in recent weeks there have been disturbing reports of threats of violence that are about to be wreaked on innocent villagers in the rural areas 'When the World Cup is over'.

This is the first time the World Football Cup has been held in Africa and as such it should be an occasion for joy and hope that the African continent will benefit in real terms from this international celebration taking place in the Rainbow Nation. Sport brings people of different cultures and beliefs together and can be a huge force for good but in Zimbabwe it is being used by the men of violence as a threat against Mugabe's opponents. The message is clear: once the eyes of the world are no longer on South Africa - and indirectly on Zimbabwe - the thugs will resume their oppression of anyone who dares to oppose Zanu PF. It is this total intolerance of difference that reinforces the world's view of Mugabe and his party as a group of bigoted men and women who remain locked in the past, unable to move forward into a democratic future.

A long way away from dusty village politics, on Africa Day in Washington, the former US.Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Johnny Carson, himself an African American, was hosting a group of African leaders gathered to celebrate the occasion. Present at the gathering was the Zimbabwean Ambassador to the US, a certain Dr Mavenyika Mapuranga. Mr Carson had just completed a blunt assessment of Zanu PF's failure to implement the GPA when he was interrupted by an irate Mapuranga who, angered by the attack on Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe shouted, "You are talking like a good house slave. We will never be a US colony - you know that." I don't know where Dr Mapuranga obtained his doctorate but it's a pretty safe bet that it was probably at some foreign university, possibly American? We must assume that he is an educated, intelligent man but his response to criticism of Zanu PF is exactly the same as his less educated country cousins back home: insults and abuse. Despite boos and hisses of disapproval from his African brothers, Dr Mapuranga continued to shout abuse until he was finally hustled out of the meeting. But Mr Carson had the last word. He has good reason to know the true state of affairs in Zimbabwe having served as US Ambassador from 1995-1997. "You can sit in the darkness in this audience but the light will find you and the truth will find you." All those who kill and brutalise in the name of Zanu PF would do well to remember that.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

21st May 2010

Dear Friends.
Watching the Chanel Four documentary 'Mugabe and the White African' during the week raised many questions in my mind. Seeing the violence and horror experienced by Ben Freeth and his young family, I found myself repeatedly wondering if the farmer was right to expose the family to such danger. The innocent faces of the children revealed how little they understood of the mayhem that was going on around them; not once did the viewer see those beautiful children smile. Perhaps, when they are older they will understand that their parents were doing what they believed to be 'the right thing'. Does the cause justify the suffering it must inevitably involve for the families and - in Freeth's case - all the 500 workers he employs? The answer depends on each individual's commitment and in Ben Freeth's case it was his conviction – naïve some would say - that what he was doing in taking his case to the SADC Tribunal in Namibia would ultimately clear the way for all the farm invasions to be declared illegal and the white farmers being allowed to continue on their farms.

In essence, Freeth was asking "Am I, as a white man, a Zimbabwean citizen entitled to the same rights and duties as all other citizens as enshrined in the Constitution?" The answer, of course depended on the Mugabe government's commitment to the rule of law. The terrible beating that Freeth and his father-in-law received from Mugabe's thugs on the ground showed very clearly what the answer would be. While Mike Campbell and his wife lay in their hospital beds, too desperately injured to be moved, it was a bandaged and bruised Ben Freeth who returned to Namibia for the final verdict of the SADC Tribunal. The sight of the Government legal team stalking out of a properly constituted African court simply proved they recognised no law but Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe. When the SADC Tribunal eventually issued their verdict that the invasion was illegal and there was in fact nothing to stop Freeth and Campbell from returning to their land it seemed at first like a historic victory. Tears of joy all round, but within days Mount Carmel was burned to the ground and Freeth, his family and his workers had lost everything. That was how 'Mugabe and the White African ended'.

So, had the question been answered? Clearly not, in fact the film raised more questions than it answered. Are white people in Zimbabwe true citizens of the country or not? Is there such an entity as a 'White African', someone born and bred in Africa who knows no other home and whose roots are deep in African soil? Is colour the criteria by which we judge identity, what about mixed race people and those of Indian descent?

Fast forward to May 2010 and consider the case of another 'White African', Roy Bennett, the MDC's choice for Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Despite his recent acquittal, Zanu PF hardliners are still maintaining that Bennett cannot be sworn in because he was a fighter with the Rhodesians. The logic of this argument appears to be that anyone who was allied to the Rhodesian 'cause' cannot be considered a Zimbabwean and qualified as such to serve in the government of the country. This argument takes no account of the thousands of black and mixed race Zimbabweans who served in the Rhodesian security forces or the British South Africa Police as it then was, many of whom have since risen to positions of power and wealth in the independent Republic of Zimbabwe.

Now, we hear that another farmer is about to take his case to the SADC Tribunal to gain compensation for the loss of his properties. In a related development comes the news that Zanu PF has stipulated that only ten white farmers will be chosen to operate in the agriculturally rich province of Mash Central. The 'chosen ones' have been informed by the authorities; apparently their skin colour was no bar but perhaps large donations to the party have smoothed the way? You have to wonder why these 'White Africans' are any more acceptable than Freeth, Cambell, or Bennett? Zanu PF politics is the only explanation; race is simply being used as an excuse to pursue the political agenda of the Mugabe regime and their inalienable right, as they believe, to own all Zimbabwe's rich resources. Speaking at the G-15 Summit in Tehran last week, Robert Mugabe was in no doubt, "At the end of the day," he said, "black people must be able to say the resources are ours, our people own the mines, our people own industry." Mugabe wants what he calls 'aggressive indigenisation' particularly of the mining sector. If 'aggressive' means a repeat of the brutal land invasion techniques then Zimbabwe is in for some very troubled times ahead. The war vets too want a piece of the action; they have a right they say to share the spoils because they fought for Zimbabwe's freedom- though it's hard to believe that men who deliberately block food aid to AIDS orphans are genuine friends of the people they claim to have liberated.

As for the 'White Africans' - it seems they are paying and will continue to pay for the 'sins of their fathers' one and a half centuries ago. Speak out in their defence and you will be condemned as a 'stooge and bootlicker of the former colonizers' to quote Robert Mugabe; say nothing and the greed and vengeance will continue unchecked.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

14th May 2010

Dear Friends.
Like many Zimbabweans in the UK diaspora, I suspect, I found myself smiling ironically as events unfolded here this last week; there was an almost uncanny resemblance to Zimbabwe's recent election experience! Comedians had a field day with jokes about the Mugabe comparison and how the Zimbabwean dictator could teach the Brits a thing or two about how to rig elections and stay in power. Having lost the election pretty conclusively, Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared at first to be holed up in No 10 refusing to accept defeat. 'He has resorted to Mugabe's political philosophy' ranted one Conservative right-winger. The problem was that the Conservatives had not gained the clear majority required to govern. It all sounded very familiar to Zimbabweans who remember only too well how Mugabe dealt with the problem back in 2008. He simply got George Chiweshe his Electoral Commission Chairman (the very same man he now intends to reward by making him Judge President of the High Court!) to delay the publication of the results for five weeks. Then, surprise, surprise, the MDC's victory had miraculously metamorphosed into an insufficient number of seats to give them a majority. Out of this blatant vote rigging sprang the so-called coalition government, nothing to do with the will of the people or the 'national interest' - simply a way of maintaining the status quo.
Mugabe has said that he 'can do business' with the Tories, perhaps he thinks he can persuade them to lift sanctions? Mugabe, as always is living in the past, It is a very different Conservative party that is now in power; it is a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, a compromise, requiring trust and give and take on both sides, all in the national interest we are told. The crisis that had rocked the UK for five days was over. With absolute dignity and an honest admission of his own failure to win the election for his Labour Party, Gordon Brown resigned and quit No 10.Within hours David Cameron was the new Prime Minister of a coalition government. On the face of it, the 'national interest' had taken precedence over narrow party politics and the wishes of power-hungry politicians with inflated egos.

And as we were still recovering from these extraordinary events in the UK came the equally extraordinary news from home of Roy Bennett's acquittal on the capital charge of treason and attempting to overthrow Robert Mugabe. Interviewed by the British Guardian newspaper two days earlier Bennett had said he would not stand in the way of "restoration and reconstruction in Zimbabwe. A single post should not stop the process moving forward" he said, "So if it means that I should step aside completely and not be involved and that would move the process forward towards a fresh election and towards democracy, I would be the first to endorse that." Whether it was Bennett's conciliatory statement in the Guardian which led to some kind of 'deal' or a genuinely impartial judgement by Judge Bunhu we shall never know. The fact is that the State in the person of the incompetent Attorney General, Johannes Tomana had totally failed to prove their case against Bennett. In itself, that would not necessarily have meant an inevitable acquittal in Zimbabwean courts where Mugabe's judges have time and again failed to demonstrate their commitment to the rule of law in favour of political considerations. Whatever the case, Roy Bennett was momentarily a free man, all charges against him dropped. Then, on Wednesday 12.05.10 came the news that the State would appeal against the acquittal and in a further sinister development we heard that Bennett's passport – and his bail money - has mysteriously disappeared. One might expect Pachedu has suffered enough at the hands of his political enemies but Zanu PF's malice against him knows no bounds. Nelson Chamisa's comment as the trial ended that Bennett was an 'angel' was admittedly somewhat over the top but it was enough to inspire Jonathan Moyo into print. Writing in the Herald – where else – Moyo was at his poisonous best, describing Bennett as "an active member of the murderous Rhodesian Infantry during the Liberation Struggle. Just like former Nazis in Israel, former members of the murderous Rhodesian army are not angels but devils with no place in any government in a free Zimbabwe." It is certainly news to me - and to Israel I should think - that 'former Nazis' are hiding out there but then Jonathan Moyo was never one to deal in hard facts; propaganda and lies are his natural medium. We all know that Moyo is only saying what his master wants to hear. Mugabe's hatred of the popular and much-loved Pachedu is well-known. Sadly, Roy Bennett was correct when he said after his acquittal that "Zanu PF are still out to get me." It is glaringly obvious that the State's decision to appeal against Judge Bunhu's acquittal verdict is the result of pressure from the Zanu PF hawks. Reports that Tomana consulted Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice, suggest that Tomana's belated decision to appeal has more to do with Chinamasa's desire for personal vengeance against his old enemy than a concern for justice and the rule of law.

It was the Kenyan Prime Minister a couple of week ago who commented that coalition governments do not work in Africa. The fact is that coalitions cannot work anywhere, be it the UK or Zimbabwe, without trust between the parties and a shared commitment to the national interest. "Zimbabwe's political crisis is over" declared Morgan Tsvangirai this week. "The country is safe for investors."

Facts on the ground suggest otherwise. Roy Bennett's continuing persecution in the courts is just one example. Innocent villagers are also suffering at the hands of a vengeful regime that will brook no opposition to Mugabe's Kariba Draft which would ensure his continued stay in power. 'Operation Hapana Anotaura' - No one speaks – is hardly an indication that the 'crisis is over' – much as the so-called coalition government would have us believe in their desperate desire to court foreign investors.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

7th May 2010

Dear Friends.
The apparent tragedy of some five million Zimbabweans exiled from their own country may not be as great as it appears if those of us in exile are able to gain something from the experience. Providing one has an open mind, seeing how thing are done in another country can be a positive learning experience and something that will ultimately benefit Zimbabwe when or if the exiles return to the motherland.

Watching the electoral process in the UK over the last few weeks has certainly made me think about the nature of democracy and how it works. The one factor that was very clear was the huge influence of the media. From the television debates to the daily discussion programmes on radio, to the print and electronic media, it was very clear that the media was a crucial part of the democratic process, allowing people from all walks of life to participate in discussion of the issues involved. By the time UK voters went to the polls on Thursday they were reasonably well-informed about the issues thanks to a relatively free press and broadcast media. Each of the political parties had been given the opportunity to air their views and it was then up to the electorate to choose which party they supported and where they would place their crosses on the ballot papers. (How different it is in Zimbabwe where a state-controlled media ensures that only one point of view is heard and where only this week Robert Mugabe re-appoints Tafataona Mahosa as CEO of the Media Commission!).

While the UK was gripped by election fever, something was happening in Greece which was profoundly worrying for democracy. Literally thousands of Greeks took to the streets of the capital to demonstrate their anger at the Greek government's decision to cut jobs and wages and increase taxes. All this was the condition the Greek government had to agree to in return for a massive loan from the EU to rescue the bankrupt country. People on the streets vented their anger at the politicians demanding to know why they, the people, should pay for the corruption and misgovernance of their rulers which had been going on for over thirty years. The people blame the politicians, not only in Greece but all over the world. "We voted for you" the people say, "but you have failed us". Nothing illustrates better the truth that democracy does not end at the ballot box. Voting is merely the start of the democratic process. Democracy requires that the electorate remains constantly vigilant that the politicians they vote for behave properly. If politicians are corrupt and dishonest then the people need to let them know in no uncertain terms that their behaviour is being closely monitored by the electorate and civil society. In a true democracy, the will of the people remains paramount.

Sadly, as we see in Zimbabwe, democracy cannot flourish where a political party is led by a dictator who refuses to relinquish power - despite losing an election. In this regard, the comments this week of Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, are very revealing. "Zanu PF" he said, "is still in and will remain in control of the country's affairs. The set(ting) up of the inclusive government does not mean we surrendered power to the MDC. T. The inclusive government was just administrative" and he added that "his party would never hand real power to the MDC." Mudenge was clearly echoing his master's voice but he would do well to remember that, as in Europe, it is the economy and the hardships of ordinary people that will light the fire of public anger in the end. This week the CCZ calculates that a family of six needs $492.34 merely to provide their basic food needs. Add to that the $344 for rent, water electricity health and education and you have a total which is way out of the average wage earner's reach. As for the 90% unemployed, God only knows how they survive. While in this year of 2010, children of the poor are still being turned away from school for non-payment of fees, Zimbabweans well remember that it was Robert Mugabe, a teacher himself, who promised free education for all. That was before he and all his faithful party parasites had grown rich at the country's expense and forgotten - if they ever knew - that they rule, not through the barrel of a gun but through the democratic mandate of the people.

For Zimbabweans in exile all over the world in countries with very different cultures and beliefs, it is sometimes hard to hold onto hope that our country will ever become a democracy. It is indeed a long road to freedom and for the present, Morgan Tsvangirai is our only hope. Every struggle has its iconic face, commented an MDC official this week, for South Africa it was Nelson Mandela and for Zimbabwe it is Morgan Tsvangirai. "He is the face of the struggle against Zanu PF." It's hard to believe that a face alone is enough to deliver democracy to Zimbabwe but if it is the face, mind and spirit of a genuine democrat, a genuine man of the people who has the whole-hearted support of ordinary Zimbabweans, then perhaps our hope is not misplaced.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.