Mugabe’s chilling warning to people of Matabeleland

Residents of the blighted region in southern Zimbabwe have good reason to fear conflict. Thousands were murdered by Mugabe’s army two decades ago for failing to submit to the domination of the ruling Zanu (PF).
But war is no longer the worst imaginable calamity. Matabeleland’s people are living with a more immediate threat – hunger. Drought has withered crops and the upheaval of the land invasions has left shops bare of maize and cooking oil, crucial ingredients in the Zimbabwean diet. It is no way to go into an election, particularly as many in the region hold Mugabe personally responsible for their empty bellies.
“People are hungry. That’s what really matters,” said Washington Sansole, a former high court judge who is now one of Mugabe’s sharpest critics in Matabeleland. “Mugabe wants to make out he is strong with his threats but people see that this is a president who does not even have the capacity to get food to people when they are hungry.”
At a small church in Hwange, the congregation feels threatened both by the lack of food and by the political terror visited upon them. But while the violence is sporadic, the hunger is always there. People at the church say ‘sadza’ – the staple made from maize – has disappeared from their diet. Many have only one meal a day.
“The president came here recently. He didn’t bring food,” said LK Dube. “We have had to kill our goats for something to eat or sell them to buy food. But you can only kill them once. We blame the president because he has the power.”
The anger has been compounded by profiteering. With the shop shelves bare of maize, an illegal trade has sprung up at double the official price. It is usually run by ruling party members and is a source of bitterness in the church.
Mugabe has boosted attendance at his rallies in the region with wholesale food distributions. People began queuing hours before the meetings in Hwange with plastic bags and buckets in hand in expectation of a gift of maize. Most were not disappointed, but it is unlikely to win their votes.
Intimidation has risen sharply in recent weeks in an effort to scare the Ndebele into supporting the president, even though they have consistently voted against Zanu (PF) for more than two decades. The ruling party’s militia has rampaged through the region, torturing overt opposition supporters. Mugabe’s henchmen have threatened collective retribution on those villages that do not support the president.
In the church, no one actually says who is bringing the terror. The identities are implicit and unspoken until a girl, about 12 years old, pipes up. “It’s Zanu (PF). They are forcing people to buy party cards or they beat you,” she says. Sansole believes the intimidation will not work. “I detect a mood of determination,” he said. “There’s a consensus here that Mugabe has to go.”