FROM THE STREETS OF HARARE (24-08-07)

in Harare city centre. We heard his sirens and all froze until the old dictator passed. That spontaneous gathering heard the outpouring of serious emotions as people really wondered what to do with Robert Mugabe just returning from Lusaka.

He returned triumphant, once again. The writing gets clearer on the wall, Zimbabweans are doomed and faced with even more terrible times. Mugabe has said he will not accept any constitutional reforms, he is pressing ahead with his self-serving reforms and preparations to rig elections while also “crushing” voices of dissent that dare disturb his “peace”.

But where are Zimbabweans? Following behind their opposition leaders, one presumes. And where are the opposition leaders going? They are committing themselves to the talks’ nonsense “because it deserves a chance”. In reality and in short, the opposition is dancing to the tune of Mugabe and his regime while issuing endless press statements as well as wasting people’s time on puerile things such as drafting a Mickey Mouse list of “real heroes”, and so forth.

Morgan Tsvangirai is known for it, and will likely boycott Mugabe’s rigged elections, but who cares when there will easily be other clowns to masquerade and contest? Do we hear shouts from Harvest House claiming “we will then take it from there”? Really? A repeat of the same system over and over again!

Arthur Mutambara might have no option but listen to Welshman Ncube and contest “because we are more relevant whilst in parliament”.

There is a lot of sympathy and solidarity with the opposition but the bottom line is: they don’t have political strategies serious enough to cause change. Mutambara has held endless press conferences threatening “defiance and confrontation” but is yet to show any signals. The shoulders of Josiah Tongogara and Nikita Mangena he claims to be riding on must be getting sore for nothing.

Morgan Tsvangirai’s promised long winter can’t even come in summer! His spokesman Nelson Chamisa keeps telling the world “change is around the corner” but it begins and ends there. Mugabe gets away with claims of peace and calm because the victims of his dictatorship are too nice to do anything when, for example, 32 innocent men spend four months incarcerated on the basis of pure lies by an illegitimate head of state.

We should not be surprised when the world believes Mugabe’s claims that Zimbabwe is not an urgent matter for the UN Security Council. Parliament is sitting normally with a substantive opposition, serious shortages of everything are being accepted peacefully by the people, and all the laws of the land – including evil ones – are being observed.

It seems Zimbabweans are bracing for yet another six years of the Zanu (PF) madness. It is really sad! – hararestreets@yahoo.com