In a country where buying a newspaper may very well mean forgoing lunch, the only news is elegies to Grace and character assassinations of such and such. If one held one’s copy of The Herald to one’s ear, one might very well hear the slurping sounds of journalistic tongues kissing political boots. Those with a voice in the media no longer care about the man on the street. The only time the ordinary bloke enters the news is if he is caught with pants down, caught with hands in the till, or caught sitting in AU Square. Nothing makes sense anymore.
What we are witnessing in Zimbabwe – doctors’ strike, power shortages and virtual stagnation of the economy – is symptomatic of system failure which demands that those responsible resign. In other failed states, it is the frustrated youths that have led uprisings. The police brutality might very well embolden a people who have been docile for many years. A child who is beaten too often is likely to become numb to punishment.
The bridge ahead has collapsed. Oblivious of the looming danger, the campaign bus charges on, as politicians seek to preserve their ill-gotten wealth. Marvin Gaye asked the long unanswered question – ‘what’s going on?’ The youths of Zimbabwe – the majority of them jobless – have coined an alternative phrase: Unotoshaya kuti zvirikumbofamba sei.
Till next week, my pen is capped. Jerà
Post published in: News
As a former member of the BSAPO, I take umbrage at the comparison regarding brutality. Brutality might have been experienced at the hands of some members, but it was officially frowned upon and was not inculcated into the psyche of the force. Even towards the end, members of the public could still get professional service from that highly professional service. It was not for nothing that today, 34 years after its demise, the BSAP is still held in high regard as one of the great Police Forces of the world. As for corruption, even a hint of it was dealt with in the harshest of terms. Thank you