There was the usual complete mess-up of broadband and email so I have been almost completely cut off from the news but – surprise, surprise, after nearly four weeks, nothing much has changed in Zimbabwe, except for the worse. The MDC continues to be harassed and intimidated at every turn and their meetings banned by the police on the grounds that such gatherings are illegal; civic activists are picked up and detained for weeks at a time and Jonathan Moyo, that notorious political turncoat, has succeeded in getting the partisan Supreme Court to nullify the election of the MDCs Lovemore Moyo as Speaker of the House. What seemed at first another classic example of Moyos vindictive spite becomes clear when the political ramifications are considered. In terms of the current constitution if the serving president dies in office, it is the Speaker of the House who assumes office until elections are called. An MDC Speaker must ring all sorts of alarm bells in Zanu PF ranks; whether this indicates that Mugabes health really is fragile is not clear but surely it is all part of the power struggle in the succession battle.
On Thursday as Mugabe flew off to Addis Ababa for a meeting of the AU, came the shocking news of yet another arrest of an MDC top official. Minister Mangoma, a cabinet minister in the GNU was picked up not by a high ranking police officer but by a constable. Nothing could better illustrate the contempt Zanu PF feel for their partners in government. By my count there are now at least 4 MDC MPs in custody, not to mention all the other detained activists.
On a more optimistic note, there are indications that Mugabes attempts to decimate the opposition have not gone unnoticed by the rest of the world despite the massive coverage of his friend Gadaffis murderous regime to quash democratic voices in Libya. The US has warned Zimbabwe that co-operation with Irans nuclear programme is being closely monitored. Certainly, Mugabe and his Zanu PF party have some very unsavoury allies but then dictators must stick together, I suppose. Zimbabweans in the diaspora were all wondering at the start of the Libyan crisis whether Gadaffi would be given refuge in Harare like at least two other infamous human rights abusers. Now that would have focussed the worlds attention on Zimbabwe! But the Libyan leader goes on killing his own people, refusing to stand down and abide by the wishes of citizens he describes as drug fuelled and brain-washed. It remains to be seen how that particular crisis will resolve itself or whether the west will intervene. One thing is certain, dictators the world over must now be aware that they ignore the will of the people at their peril.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson author of the Dube books, the latest of which, Samis Story is available on Lulu.com.
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