“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” – United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Not long ago, a young friend of mine went walking around a quiet upscale neighborhood with a video camera, filming the area, capturing images of insects in the grass, a newspaper sign and the people lazing about. He was hardly engaged in anything dangerous or political. But within five minutes, the police had rounded him up and threatened to charge him with the dastardly crime of Practicing Journalism without a License. “After all,” the officer in charge said, “there’s nowhere in the world that you can just go out and photograph things!”

The officer’s ignorance was not surprising since he had clearly never been anywhere else in the world. But, in truth, very few countries prevent ordinary citizens from wandering around filming or journalists from doing their jobs without the permission and control of the authorities. Zimbabwe is on a short distinguished list of nations that includes Yemen, Sudan, China, and North Korea.

That’s not the only abnormality in Zimbabwe’s media landscape. Little about it conforms to the way things are done across the globe – or to global or African standards. (more…)

There was a circus in Bulawayo. The colors and the madness were just too much for the usually laid back city.

It’s a comedy with the theme elections that was set and acted by people who have no regard for an election outcome.

Yet they want an election, people only ask why?

President Robert Mugabe, the 87 year old strongman who is physically frail and perpetually ill will for the 8th time represent Zanu PF in a potentially grueling election and will become the oldest man in the history of mankind to contest for the highest office.  An old friend of mine said to me recently that only death will save the nation from Mugabe and prevent his party from dying a natural death.

Maybe I should have been angry, but I was amused when Mugabe said at the Bulawayo conference that “we actually cheated on history.”  Without flinching, he told the nation that he and many more in the Government of National Unity (GNU) cheated their way into the Inclusive Government. (more…)

I was shocked and embarrassed to learn from the report produced by Zimbabwe Peace Project, Zimbabwe Election Support Network and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, that only 21% of  Zimbabwe’s youth attended the Constitutional Parliamentary outreach programmes and yet this piece of paper has a bearing more on their future rather than their political leaders.

Yet, these same young people who show no interest in their long term futures are quick to be used as thugs for 30 pieces of silver.  What is even worse is that in Manicaland province, ZANU PF party youth were used to monitor proceedings and vet participants at outreach venues, where participants were forced to declare their party positions.

In 10 years time, when most of the despots are gone six feet under, these youths will realise that they have been used and dumped like condoms.

To my fellow youths whose lives will be molded by the constitution I ask how can we complain when we were too lazy to participate in issues that have such a huge bearing on us tomorrow?

The referendum is coming and I can see the same youths being used to suit the needs of those who don’t give a damn about us.

What legacy will we hand to our children?

Shame on us

The Global Fund recently announced that it has stopped the application for round 11 of funding for HIV and Aids in Zimbabwe. http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/7649-zim-aids-funding-suffers-yet-another-big-blow.html We were told they were unable to raise enough funds and that major donors no longer see HIV and AIDS as an emergency compared to issues such as climate change.

In my country people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) are always surprised by the effort, attention and money that is being spent by successful local companies,  such as Delta and Mbada Diamonds,  on sport.  Both companies this year alone poured at least $2million into the soccer league and cup games.

These are not the only two major companies. Econet, Telone, and Old Mutual are performing well on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange yet you rarely hear about them donating money to HIV and AIDS programmes. (more…)

The death of the Mbuya Nehanda tree in Harare has been viewed with mixed feelings. Some say it means the death of a big person, while others say it means bad luck to the nation, as if Zimbabwe has not had its share of bad luck over the years already.

The tree is believed to be the one from which British settlers hanged Mbuya Nehanda, a Shona spirit medium who was also a hero of the struggle against colonial forces. It was accidentally knocked over by a council driver. (more…)

The ZANU PF conference was another moment to bring amazement to ordinary people of Zimbabwe.

It all started with the usual noise about the revolutionary party telling the us how the conference is going to pass resolutions that will drive the party and Zimbabweans in the right direction.

I am not going to say much on the resolution but what had me laughing was the announcement by the ZANU PF National Chairman Simon Khaya Moyo that each province is going to be given six tonnes free maize seed, with each delegate taking home 10 kilograms .

The ululating that followed was not for the benefit of the delegate but the person who is going to buy these seeds. (more…)

Election continue to haunt Zimbabweans to the point that when any politicians mention the “E” word, people start to quiver and shake.  There is no sense of celebration that should come with exercising our democratic rights. This will only change when all politicians change their ways.

Only when democratic reforms are fully instituted, torture camps are dismantled and perpetrators of political violence who continue to roam the streets are incarcerated will we see our grandparents in the rural areas accepting the holding of yet another poll.

As long as headmen continue to get orders from certain political parties, and farming inputs carry on being distributed on partisan basis, with those in charge demanding political party cards from the recipients our families will continue to view elections as a farce. (more…)

The recent survey published by Forbes magazine listing Africa’s richest people http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/89/africa-billionaires-11_land.html is certainly missing a whole chunk of the continent’s wealthiest.  With all the billions that we read about in the newspapers , how can the magazine leave out the dictators who have stashed their ill gotten wealth around the globe?  Forbes conspicuously leaves out those who have gained their wealth through oppression and corruption.   All Africans know that in reality the richest people in Africa are its leaders, both the past and the present.

The late Nigerian military ruler Sani Abacha, was a billionaire, another was Mobutu Sese Seko, the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo who amassed a personal fortune estimated by various sources at anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion.  Nigeria’s former military president, Ibrahim Babangida was worth over 12 billon during his time.

Strive Masiyiwe is the Zimbabwean on the list, but guess what – he isn’t allowed to come home, because those in power see him as such a threat. (more…)