From the streets of Harare

for the next raid on
supermarkets.
But lo and behold, Prince Robert and Princess Grace recently invaded the
city’s hub, in the royal Rolls Royce, horses, guns and all the symbols of
the mighty.
“Gushungo, Gushongo,” a crowd of party supporters chanted. A stranger would
have believed all was well under the spell of this Gushungo old man,
especially with faces of opposition MPs among his audience.
In typical fashion, the speech by Robert Mugabe extolled the resilience of
his regime and failure of the regime change agendas, etc. He praised the
prevailing situation of empty shelves in supermarkets as a symbol of his
regime’s machismo. He boasted that SADC leaders had once again stood by the
regime after calling for the lifting of sanctions. He was quiet about talks,
the problem of Zimbabweans flooding neighbouring countries, etc. Forward
with Zanu (PF), forward with me and my violent egoistic ways of fighting
inflation, and there is no place on earth like our beloved Zimbabwe, he
reiterated shamelessly.
But the reality of Harare can no longer be missed even by the most stupid of
his loyalists. The old man is in probably the worst position ever. The SADC
mediation initiative led by Thabo Mbeki is dead and the culprit is Robert
Mugabe. That spells doom, not only for the old man, but the whole country.
The usually insipid regional leaders are left with no other option but to
turn the heat on the intransigent old man of Harare. The few remaining forms
of support in terms of trade and others from countries in the region will
further dwindle.
The economic recession is set to continue unrestrained as the self-destruct
button on the price war further angers the electorate ahead of next year’s
elections.
Zimbabwe risks a bloodbath and Mugabe’s characteristic deceptive tactic of
trashing attempted coup plots as insignificant plans by Britain are part of
the appearances that make up this regime. Mugabe has laid the basis for a
massive defeat of Zanu (PF) at the forthcoming elections, by margins that
make rigging ineffective. But one thing is almost certain, he and his party
will not let go of power.
The opposition, which seems to be unaware of the adage that desperate
situations demand desperate measures, will then be in for another rude
awakening. – hararestreets@yahoo.com