Gbagbo is captured, so all dictators beware.

This is the pervasive feeling in the streets of Harare as people draw comparisons between the former Ivorian strongman’s demise and the future of our own President Robert Mugabe, a “leader” who has a ruthless streak and a penchant for violence.

The similarities between the two are countless but one thing that is patently clear for Zimbabweans is that no amount of intimidation, violence or defiance lasts forever.

Gbagbo’s capture for Zimbabweans who yearn for democracy but are shackled by Mugabe’s security systems is significant and indeed inspiring.

Like Gbagbo, Mugabe has a history of stealing elections, but Gbagbo who stole elections despite a clear defeat to the internationally recognised Alasni Qauttara, has finally bitten the dust. Even for the people who have thus far been ignorant about the events in North Africa now feel that something similar can happen to Mugabe. They have hope in time and a trust in God. (more…)

There is a common myth in my country that a man infected with HIV can cure himself by having sexual relations with a virgin.

This myth has led to the abuse of young girls and it is hampering the fight against HIV/Aids in Zimbabwe. There have been horrific cases of tiny defenceless babies as young as three months, 6 years olds and adolescents being raped in a bid to cure the deadly disease.

To make the issue even worse the perpetrators are sometimes close relatives, the very same people that these small children look up to for protection.

The organisations fighting for the rights of girls in Zimbabwe have documented these gross crimes and by looking at the statistics there is evidence indicating that the myth is growing in popularity.

Tragically, many mothers fear to report these cases to the police as most of the perpetrators are the bread winners or they are threatened by their husbands to keep quiet, or else risk violence.

One organization fighting for the protection and rights of girl child in, Zimbabwe Girl Child Network, says that one men raped at least twenty three girls and another raped all three of his daughters as they were desperate for the cure.

I stay in a high density suburb just outside Harare. And it never really occurred to me that I stay in place that has all the ingredients of a health disaster.

As I woke up today for a bath, the taps were dry. I quickly ran to a well and fetched water. It was very cold so I decided to warm it up but then there was no electricity.

Electricity and water are luxuries in my location and yet my neighbours and I rarely notice this sad fact. It’s not that we do not bathe; we do with cold water.

If you think that having a bath with cold water is bad then just wait a minute … the toilets are blocked and rivulets of sewage are a daily feature.

Apart from greenish flowing rivers of raw sewage, the place is also marked by giant anthills of uncollected garbage, and there are so many flies that I sometimes fear that the children who play and scour in the garbage live by the mercy of God.

My home in Chitungwiza is the place where the fatal cholera outbreak was first detected in 2009.

As I reflected I realised that all the pre-conditions for another outbreak are still there, now ripe because of the rains. The government of Zimbabwe is often slow to react and the consequences for me are too galling to contemplate if the conditions prevalent in Chitungwiza are not addressed.

Some countries talk of creating wealth while others are grabbing or amassing wealth at the expense of their citizens. When the Ian Smith regime declared its Independence in 1965, economic sanctions were imposed on his regime, but despite the regime being racial it managed to build its infrastructure and had a booming industry against the challenges they were facing.

By 1980 when ZANU (PF) took over, Smith had made significant progress towards building basic infrastructure for the country, despite a 15 year span of strict economic sanctions.

When Mugabe’s regime came into power the then President of Tanzania Julius Mwalimu Nyerere told him that he had inherited a “jewel of Africa”. Zimbabwe was the bread basket of Africa until 2000 when the ZANU PF government grabbed thriving farms and distributed them among its elite’. (more…)

Living in Zimbabwe as a woman I feel completely disempowered to do anything about the political situation and the effects it has on me and my family. The inclusive government, from what I can gather by the limited information I can access, is not delivering what it said it would after the horrors of 2008.

I understand that Zanu PF and the MDC are not working together in a manner to improve the political situation, alas from what I hear, it is beginning to get worse as talk of another election starts. Rumours of violence and political campaigning are gripping my community.

The decision makers are mostly men and the entrenched patriarchal system and cultural norms makes it ever more difficult for women to participate at any decision making level.  In 2008 there were 210 seats and only 30 (14.29%) were taken up by women.

Although at the grass roots level, women are active in mobilizing the electorate to vote in large numbers, their passion and activism is not reflected in positions of power despite making up 50% of the population. (more…)

The town of Harare is slowly but certainly regaining its former sunshine city status. The streets for the most part are clean and the robots (traffic lights) save for one or two work perfectly well. The people too are smart not withstanding the street kids.

Times have changed in the city centre and in the streets you can find the latest vehicles – for a moment you would think you were in a developed country, but this is Harare.

Also in vogue are street preachers who have now become a permanent feature and some offer free lunch through the gospel to the many unemployed who visit the city in search of the still elusive jobs.

If indeed religion is the opium of the poor, then here in Zimbabwe we are having an overdose of the drug. (more…)

Since the emergence of the MDC as a credible challenger to Zanu PF domination in 2000, violence has been a consistent feature, and often it is women who have been the greatest victims. Some have totally withdrawn from participating in politics altogether.

The figures speak loud about the withdrawal of women from elections.

From 1980 to 1985 Parliamentary sessions included 9 % of women who sat in the August House. 1990 to 1995 saw an increase to 14 % but the number declined in 2000 as a result of charged political contestation to 9,2%.

Although the figures picked to an all time high 22 % in 2005, the number declined in 2008 to 18 %.

Recently Jessie Majome, a top government official in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said that time has come for the nation to stand up against violence so as to enable women to participate in elections by creating a violence free environment. (more…)

This operation, which was launched by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, is a shameless and dubious programme only meant to discriminate against women and abuse their rights. This operation is about arresting and harassing commercial sex workers (prostitutes) yet it leaves out men who are players in this game.

The police are arresting women near night clubs or those found standing by the road side and charging them under the Sexual Offences Act for loitering and soliciting for sex, but the men who are buyers of this service are being left out.

I am told that these women are taken to designated farms and are left there to be “new farmers” without skills or the necessary resources and passion.

This programme has met with mixed feelings from some women’s organization and members of the public at large. The main question is, why arrest and harass the supplier (prostitute) of the services alone, leaving out the buyer (men)? Secondly why force women to get married when among the police ranks there are also single women and no one is forcing them into marriage?

Who said these commercial sex workers won’t sell their products in these farms and even if they are married, is there any guarantee that they won’t solicit for sex?

To address these issues both the supplier and the buyer have to face the law. There is no way the supplier will sell the product if it was not in demand.