A Brave Man
I heard the following story the other day, which I thought you might like to include among your blogs. It was from an impeccable source, though for obvious reasons I can’t give names, and it just goes to show how deceptive appearances can be. Not every high ranking police officer is a supporter of ZANU PF or an enthusiastic supporter of their hate and violence brand of politics. Far from it. Many senior and junior ZRP officers hate the trashing of professional standards and the zany orders they receive from the party top brass.
Some of our pastors from Bulawayo who are following up on victim
s of the infamous Operation Murambatsvina are obliged to travel widely in the region to make contact with those dumped in remote rural areas. Pastors and church workers alike are trying to extend the helping hand to these unfortunate victims of Mugabe’s ethnic cleansing. Once they have established contact, they then take them food and blankets, as well as trying to cover school fees, so far as the church’s slender resources will allow.
One of these brave church workers – let’s call him A.B. - recently had to visit a rural area in Matabeleland south for this purpose. His journey took him deep into territory now under the rule of terror imposed by one of the imposter ZANU PF Members of Parliament. (You will understand that I have place names and the names of the individuals concerned but dare not mention them for fear of retribution to those concerned) Anyway A.B. was speaking with one of the District Administrator’s assistants, a very helpful lady, when a phone call came through from the ZRP. A.B. was to return to the police station at the local growth point immediately.
This he did, in fear and trepidation, taking with him two other church workers who were accompanying him. On arrival at the police station they were summoned into the office of the ZRP inspector. The inspector dismissed the other two and when they were quite alone he addressed A.B. “Are you A.B. ?” he enquired (using the man’s real names of course) “Yes”, replied A.B. “Are you the same A.B. who was talking on Studio 7 the other night ?” asked the inspector. A.B. had indeed been interviewed on the radio a short while before, when he had spoken quite candidly about the terrible suffering caused by Operation Murambatsvina. Now, fearing the worst, he replied directly, “Yes, that is me.” A long pause followed, during which our church worker began to think his next stop would be in the police cells. Then at last from the superintendent, “Well done ! You are a brave man”.
A.B. let out a huge sigh of relief, as the superintendent went on to explain that these were the most difficult and dangerous of times. But the superintendent was himself a Christian who was trying to do the best possible thing in the worst of times. “When you want to visit your church members in this area,” he said to A.B., “You must be alert. Come to my office first and get a letter from me, saying you have my authority to give them food. If you don’t, you may be stoned or arrested or worse”.
