No independent publications at Zanu (PF) Farmers Market

The small and unpopular market is strictly for vendors and clients following Zanu (PF)s culture of intolerance. Posters of Mugabe are displayed all over the walls.

Rural farmers who bring produce ranging from crops to poultry to the market daily are not allowed to read independent publications here. Only newspapers supportive of Mugabe and Zanu (PF) such as the Herald and its sister papers can be brought here, said a youth militia monitoring proceedings at the market, after instructing this reporter to put away a copy of The Zimbabwean of Sunday.

Normally instant justice is mete on people like you who bring undesirable publications at such gatherings. Imagine a farmer who knew Mugabe liberated the country from the British, to be told of a distorted version of the so-called democracy at the expense of our true heroes. That is unacceptable here. That was the reason why we did not install satellite dishes here. Farmers are only entertained with video clips by local comedians such as Kapfupi. They were warned against mixing with urban strangers as they would lose hard earned cash to thieves and be exposed to cheap politicking which discourages them from farming. This also helped minimize discussions on current affairs with people from Harare, whispered a truck driver who regularly transports farmers to the market.

Zanu (PF) touts at the market take advantage of fear instilled in the predominately women farmers to buy produce at unreasonably low prices. This left farmers counting loses and returning home virtually empty handed. The youths buy guinea fowl, which normally fetch $9, for only $3. They then sell them to local clients at $9 or $10 in full view of helpless rural farmers.

Regular customers at the market revealed the youths also took advantage of desperate women farmers coming from distant places, who put up at the market for the night. They engaged in near forced intimate relations with the women, some in their sixties.