One of Zimbabwe’s Senators has apparently argued that homosexuality is so rife in Zimbabwe’s prisons that prisoner’s should be provided with sex-toys – somehow she thinks this will prevent ‘the spread of homosexuality’ (as if it is a contagious disease):

Considering that some of the same-sex orientation (homosexuality) come from prisons and when those people are out they then spread that orientation, what measures are you putting in place to make sure that vice is stopped?

It seems she has a track record of this level of stupidity, apparently arguing last year that

the only avenue left to curb the spread of HIV among married people was by injecting husbands with an “immobiliser” to reduce their sexual desire. (more…)

Many years ago, while visiting the UK, I met a man who had moved himself and his family from South Africa to London. He had been in London for only a few days when I asked him how he felt about leaving ‘home’ and he replied, ‘London is home; I am at home now. I won’t raise my children to hear me talking about somewhere else as being home. I want them to have roots’. This guy is the first Southern African I’ve met who has consciously severed that mental and emotional tie to African soil and embraced a new identity.

I was reminded of him and this conversation recently. An activist friend of mine – a British passport holder because she was born in the UK (but raised in Zimbabwe)  to Zimbabwean parents – who has lived in London for the past decade has always called herself Zimbabwean. Her years overseas have been dominated by a desire to ‘go back home’: she has committed herself to fighting for democracy in Zimbabwe and every year without fail she goes back ‘home’ for a month or two, entering the country as a permanent resident. A few years ago she lost her right to vote, as did all permanent residents, and this year the immigration officials refused to stamp her passport with a permanent residents VISA even though they’ve never had any issues before (this, incidentally, seems to be happening to lots of people so we’re wondering if its another ZANU PF pre-election crackdown – that’s another blog). She asked the immigration officer: what do you do if the person you are dealing with spends 6 months in Zimbabwe and 6 months in the UK (as many do)? His answer: they are not Zimbabwean. So next year when she goes back she’ll travel as a tourist. And now if she ever wants to return home she will have to emigrate as if she is a foreigner – a person with no ties to the country at all (although her entire family still live here). (more…)

Amidst all the political verbage about Chihuri’s continued stay as Zimbabwe’s police chief, ordinary people are reminded every day of his inability to do his job.

A colleague of mine has stopped driving to work from her home in the high density areas. She says that the main road she has to take into town is now so crammed with police roadblocks you can see the next police roadblock further down the road while you are being harrassed at the one before.

She used to be frequently late for work due to the various roadblocks and police harrassment holding her up. So much so that she has decided it’s better for her work situation and her pocket to take a taxi into twon. The taxis, you see, get through the roadblocks faster. The police will leave a driver to wait on the side of the road while they turn to the more lucrative bribes they can solict from taxis. (more…)

The recent news that Zimbabwe has given the Libyan Ambassador 72 hours to leave our country, expelled by the Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi for recognising the National Transitional Council (NTC), embarressed me:

“The Libyan ambassador and his staff decided to renounce their allegiance to the government of Colonel Kadhafi. This act deprives the Libyan ambassador and his staff of any diplomatic status in Zimbabwe because Zimbabwe does not recognise the TNC,” Mumbengegwi told journalists.

“So it is in this context that the Libyan ambassador and his staff are required to leave Zimbabwe within the next 72 hours.”

Embarressed me, disappointed me – but maybe didn’t surprise me. Mumbengegwi is a member of the Zanu PF party, and its not surprising that they would hesitate to recognise an authority that managed to override a despot who had held power for more than forty years. They must have one eye on our own dictator who has ruled for more than thirty years, and the other eye on a potentially unsteady future ahead for themselves if the same happens in our country! (more…)

There are occasions when I read articles referencing Zimbabwe and it’s as if there is a massive distance between my sense of myself as Zimbabwean, and the words I am seeing on the paper. Today is one of those days.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) quotes a Libyan activist based in London as saying that reliable sources have informed him that Gaddafi has a plane loaded with gold bullion and currency, ready to take off for sanctuary in Zimbabwe:

“Gaddafi’s own private plane is loaded with gold bullion and lots of hard currency, mainly dollars, and is preparing to flee to Zimbabwe to stay there with his friend Robert Mugabe,” he said.

“We think this could happen very shortly because the Security Council is threatening to impose a no-fly zone and we think that Gaddafi will try to escape before this no-fly zone is imposed, possibly by tomorrow.”

Whether this is true or not is debatable, but what is not debatable, is the fact that Zimbabwe has a record of harbouring some fairly awful people. (more…)

‘Democracy is the tunnel at the end of the light’: these words, attributed to Vaclav Havel, were posted on Twitter yesterday by an Egyptian who went on to reflect that Egypt was exiting the light after their remarkable days of protest, and now entering the tunnel leading to democracy.

The quote struck me as brilliantly appropriate for Zimbabwe, but unlike the Egyptians, I find it hard to identify the moment of light that occured before we entered our long gloomy tunnel towards democracy. Surely we are not expected to celebrate and rejoice the GPA, signed two years ago, as a moment of ‘light’ in our history?

Stalwart supporters of the GPA will point to isolated examples of progress in an attempt to convince Zimbabweans that democracy is indeed closer; however, not even they can deny that the GPA has failed to deliver on the most basic demands dear to the hearts of Zimbabweans: extensive security reforms, electoral reforms, media reforms, a new constitution, basic human rights to be protected and upheld by a non-partisan police force. All other achievements seem paltry – an insult even – when measured against the things we still crave and believe are necessary for freedom. (more…)

People pray before a COPAC meeting in rural Matabeleland (Image via SPT website)

The Solidarity Peace Trust have circulated a very evocative article on experiences during the COPAC outreach in rural Matabeleland. It’s an emotive read, and pays gentle tribute to the quiet dignity of Zimbabwe’s people. I was especially moved and impressed by this description of one elderly gentleman’s carefully considered protest:

The desire to make it very clear to COPAC how national policy has driven the already poor into worse poverty was demonstrated graphically at that late winter gathering in Matabeleland, where we began this account. An old man rose up very deliberately in the middle of the meeting and came up to the front tables. As he walked towards us, he fished deep into his pockets, and by the time he reached us, his hands were full of coins and notes of all descriptions. These he thrust down in front of us, stood back and pointed at them – a pile of worthless Zimbabwe coins and notes of every denomination – the old ‘bearer cheques’ and the ones that came before and after these – hundreds, thousands, millions and billions in obsolete currency. (more…)

This letter to the Standard, written by the Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU), has been circulated widely:

Subject: Letter to the editor The Standard Newspaper

Dear Vincent Kahiya (Editor in Chief)

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the AU and Un instruments that speak gender equality and more recently the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. This protocol urges member states to take measures to discourage the media from reinforcing gender oppression and stereotypes as well as degrading or exploiting women especially in areas of entertainment and advertising and undermining their role and position in society. It is our belief that media houses, especially those that claim to be independent and progressive, like the Standard, reflect these values and principles in their publications and conduct. (more…)