I flew up to Zimbabwe from SA with seven friends to enjoy Morgan’s
inauguration as the Prime Minister in the new Government of National
Unity. A lot of people, especially now, are saying that the MDC should
never have entered into the agreement but they didn’t really have a
choice. They had to do it for the people on the streets. That the MDC
had made the right decision was obvious from the reaction from the huge
crowd at Glamis Stadium when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai walked
out. The outpouring of joy, happiness and hope, rare commodities in
Zimbabwe, was overwhelming. And besides, the SADC heads of states had
promised that they would make Bob and the bad guys keep to promises
made. What could go wrong.
During the ceremony I phoned Roy. He was going to be sworn in as the
Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Roy had sacrificed more than anyone
else I knew to bring about a chance of a new tomorrow for Zimbabwe,
and I wanted to enjoy the moment with him. Bummer. He said he wasn’t
able to come to Glamis Stadium because he was in hiding. He’d been told
that he was on an abduction list. But Roy wasn’t down. The bad guys
after him were a small minority, intent on chasing Morgan out of the
Government of National Unity. President Motlante knew all about his
predicament. He’d phoned Mugabe on the Friday before and had told him
hands off Roy Bennett. Everything would turn out all right, he told
Roy.
The most common form of greeting in Zimbabwe the day after Morgan’s
inauguration was Happy New Year. Everyone but everyone wished each
other a Happy New Year. Strangers in the empty supermarkets. The women
selling American Dollar tomatoes on the side of the road. Ditto the
barman who sold me American Dollar beers. And even the policeman on the
obligatory roadblock. Especially the Policeman on the roadblock. Small
wonder because Morgan had just told him that he and all the other civil
servants, would be paid a minimum of US$200 at the end of February. And
the policeman had the broadest smile as he wished me a Happy New Year.
Not surprising when you consider that his take home pay at the end of
January was less than ten American cents!!! In the old Zimbabwe a
policeman would have to work for ten months to earn one American
Dollar. But that was all behind. This was a Happy New Year. This was
the new Zimbabwe.
Our party of seven met at Charles Prince Airport on the outskirts of
Harare at 12 o’clock on the Friday to go back home. My head was busy
trying to figure out what I had to do to wrap up my life in South
Africa so that I could be back home in Zimbabwe by the end of the year.
Then the guy who’d organised the plane said that we were going to be
joined by an extra passenger. Roy Bennett. Roy had been told that
Deputy Minister’s were only going to sworn in the following week, so
he’d decided to catch a lift back to Johannesburg with us. He was
going to help Heather pack up the house. As we waited to clear
immigration Roy’s enthusiasm was contagious as he spoke about the job
of getting Zimbabwe back on it’s feet and fixing everything that was
broken. It was a massive task but he was undaunted.
We got on the plane and were cleared for takeoff. The pilot taxied out
on to the runway and was about to put her foot down when the radio
squawked. We’d been told to abort take off and return to the terminal.
Straight away Roy knew that they’d come for him. He told us to stay in
the plane while he went to find out what the problem was. I followed
him to the Immigration Buildings. Roy walked up to the two plain
clothed men who’d ordered the control tower to pull the plug on our
flight. Roy asked them who they were and what they wanted. They told
him who they were was of no concern and that they were going to take
him to Marondera. As I watched they grabbed Roy and bundled him into
white Toyota and drove off. Luckily I was able to get the number plate
of the vehicle down and phone it through to friends who were able to
pick up the vehicle and follow it all the way to Mutare. If they hadn’t
followed the vehicle, I have no doubt that Roy would have been
disappeared.
We were told to stay on the plane to await the arrival of the police.
After two hours two members from the infamous Law and Order Section
arrived. they tried to bully the Immigration Official into admitting
that Roy’s name was not on the passenger list and that he’d been trying
to leave the country illegal. Which was absolute crap. We had a copy of
the pilot’s manifesto with Roy’s name third on the list. Then the
German Embassy arrived. Followed by some journalists. And then the
police changed their tune and they insisted that we take off.
My biggest regret is that we didn’t ignore the instructions from the tower and take off anyway.
Roy’s abduction culminated in his being charged with terrorism. These
actions are clearly against the spirit of the agreement that underpins
the formation of the GNU. As is the continued illegal detention and
torture of Jestina, Chris Dhlamini and others. As was the way Mugabe
bullied his way into swearing in an extra four ZANU Ministers. When
will South Africa and the other members of SADC stand up to Mugabe and
the Generals pulling his strings? They are blight on the region and
have reduced Zimbabwe to a collection of the most unfortunate set of
statistics ever. 95% unemployment in the country. Five million
Zimbabweans in exile out of a total of just twelve million. And of the
seven million Zimbabweans left in the country, six million require food
aid. A run away epidemic of Cholera that can only continue to hack
away at the world’s lowest life expectancy of just 34 years. What is
going on in Zimbabwe is genocide, plain and simple.
We have set up a fund called The Friends Of Roy Bennet.We need to raise
lots of money to look after Roy and his family. To look after Jestina
Mukoka. To look after Chris Dhlamini and Gandhi Mudzingwa and all the
other abductees. We need money to pay for their food and their legal
fees. We need to make sure the world does not forget them. Only when
they are released, only when the people who are responsible for their
abductions are out of the picture and no longer in a position to
continue to perpetuate the misery that is Zimbabwe, only then can we
start to fix what is broken.Account Name :Â F Friends of
Account Name :Friends of Roy BennettÂ
Acct No : 1589406079
Sort Code : 158952Â
Bank : NedbankÂ
Swift code:Â NEDSZAJJ
In closing I would ask you to circulate this appeal as widely as
possible. And please find room in your prayers for Roy and Jestina and
all the others,and especially for Morgan. Ask that he have the courgae
and conviction to do what he ahs to do to put an end to the madness
once and for all.