And in the Red Corner... And in the Blue Corner...

This past Saturday I witnessed a spat on Twitter between President Paul Kagame and British journalist Ian Birrell. Kagame was featured in the Financial Times series Lunch With ... (insert name of African politician) in which he claimed that because the UN and the international community (i.e the West) had failed to act on the 1994 Rwanda genocide they had no 'moral right' to criticize him. Birrell tweeted that Kagame was 'despotic and deluded' with a link to the FT piece. Kagame, riled by Birrell's tweet and he immediately responded and you can read the whole exchange, thanks to View from the Cave. What's probably most interesting about this conversation is that it's probably the first time a President and journalist have had such a lively exchange on Twitter - praise be to Twitter for providing a platform for spontaneous engagement which would previously have been at a press conference, a chance meeting or something of that sort... Unlike other world leaders (or former) who talk to no one and probably have their PR staff tweeting news links and press releases like Barack Obama (@barackobama), Nick Clegg (@nickclegg), Jacob Zuma (@sapresident) and Ban Ki Moon (@secgen), Kagame, like Hugo Chavez (@chavezcandanga) actually does it himself and interacts with people.

What was different about this particular exchange is that its one of the few times Kagame's engaged with a critic and it comes on the back of a painfully boring but rosy You Tube World Leaders interview in which as 'Africa is a Country' rightly put it 'Kagame spins You Tube'. It was a PR exercise -soft questions with no further probing from an interviewer who although smart, funny and likable on other occasions, was not the best choice for this gig. Kagame's had this social media friendly Prez rep for a while now (also see this) but after seeing Saturday's exchange the cracks are beginning to show because Kagame's not entirely the affable, savvy guy he's appears to be online. Sure he has his pluses but not where the Congo or political opposition are concerned.

Kagame didn't actually answer any of the questions posed by Birrell about his government's silencing of political and media opposition. Instead it was a slinging match in which the foreign minister, Louise Mushikwabo also got involved. In a rather strange move, she protected her tweets the very next day as if it was an act of self-protection from a threat, but its an act of hiding. Doesn't she know protecting your tweets only restricts who can see them, but those already following you, can still interact with you and retweet your tweets for others to see? Restricting dialogue won't stop truth-seekers and critics, nor does it advance the democracy and openness which Kagame claims his government does, in the YouTube interview.

Apart from a self-censoring foreign minister and an angry President slain by a journalist and a global supporting cast of tweeters and bloggers (:0), another interesting thing to emerge out of this online spat was the reactions of Kagame's supporters which ranged from blind praise of Kagame to the 'British' lack of understanding  of the Rwanda situation to censure of a Western journalist for disrespecting an African leader. It goes without saying that the staunch Kagame supporters would say this, but when seemingly more open-minded Africans also pick on Birrell's Westernness and re-buff his use of the words 'despot and deluded' because they're not fit for an African leader, there is a big problem. Birrell's identity has nothing to do with the facts - that Kagame shuts down debate in Rwanda and has had Congolese and Rwandan blood on his hands since 1996 - and Kagame's Africanness doesn't make him immune to being called a despot. Why do we get so defensive about these terms? When people call Bush and Blair war mongers, genocidaires and war criminals there's no problem, but African leaders are untouchable because they're African? Screw that. I'm a previous sufferer still in recovery mode from Afro-centric syndrome; a state of mind which mainly afflicts Africans raised in Africa: we always defend our leaders against Others (i.e Westerners) in the name of Africanness, even if we're defending the wrong thing, because the defensiveness that comes from the Them/Us relation borne of colonialism and lived neo-colonial experience is so deeply entrenched in our psyche. Not so say this is wrong - but there are times when its completely justified and necessary to take up this position and there are times when it just isn't. This incident and in some defenses of the crimes of people like Mummar Gaddaffi, Omar Bashir and Robert Mugabe it isn't. Sorry.

Farewell Mutambara, Hello Welshman Ncube.

all pics jacked from the net, y'know how we do.

It is with great sadness that I announce, Deputy Prime Minister, sometimes-Comrade, ever-esteemed Professor of Robotics Arthur 'Agostino,' 'Ago' Guseni Oliver Mutambara, is no longer head of the opposition faction, MDC-M (Movement fo Democratic Change under Mutambara as opposed to MDC-T under Morgan Tsvangirai). Professor Mutambara will also no longer bear the title Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe as this now belongs to Welshman Ncube, the newly elected leader of MDC-M. Mutambara's bombastic words that used to dazzle us in (informal) addresses to the nation, shall be sorely missed. His long winded, rhetoric-laden answers in interviews shall no longer be televised. Or transcribed. Or recorded. 
The man has been shafted. But no one dare questions, for this is how 'democracy' works in Zimbabwe.Like a never-ending Animal Farm, jobs change hands in the middle of the night so that by morning a new Snowball is in charge managing and manipulating the slogans of 'democracy' and 'change' for their own ends.
Two weeks ago Welshman Mabhena said, “Professor Mutambara will continue to be the Deputy Prime Minister. We have agreed that we are not going to redeploy him, as we want to continue tapping from his skills,”
But in recent days has said, “The feeling of the committee was that the office of the DPM should be occupied by the party’s most senior official...This should not be viewed as a demotion. It’s only that we are new to democracy. It happens in a democracy. If at one time you lead, the next you follow.”
But now is not the time to ponder why and how the party affairs crossed into the realm of national politics or inquiring whether the Unity Agreement permits a change of leadership or whether's Ncube's self-appointment is legitimate and procedural (See S.20(1.3)(3 k, p), S.20 (1.5)(7) of Unity Agreement). No, mourning Ago's loss is a far worthier emotional cause than the travesties of democracy that by every Zimbabwean should be used to by now. Words cannot describe the heaviness in the hearts of many who bid adieu to the sometimes-Comrade, backstabber/opportunist (delete as appropriate), oft-power-hungry ever-pompous Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Mutambara.

We wish him well in his new, modest backroom post as Minister of Regional Integration and International Co-operation. We also hope that his intelligence will shine through the bottom ranks of the party where he now sits 'ordinary card-carrying member'...It was only just a dream. 

Shem!

Best Wishes to Welshman Ncube (Wikileaks hysterics, acid tests and all), the new Deputy Prime Minister and head of the MDC opposition faction led by sometimes-Comrade, Prof. Arthur Mutambara. Shall the first order of business be to re-name MDC-M (MDC Mutambara) to MDC-N (MDC Ncube)? And when the urgent business of re-naming is over and done with, could the honourable leader do something about the ZANU youth who've started on their trigger-happy shooting sprees again alongside the war veterans' who've chosen holiday resorts as their invasion target? It's an election year and we all know what that means. Let's hope (self-announced) Deputy Prime Minister (in-waiting!) Ncube will be more pro-active in preventing the needless deaths of Zimbabweans, unlike in previous years when the MDC has basically buried its head in western tissues and wept, as ZANU militia butchered innocents. And when peace was to be negotiated, it was dictated and the opposition accepted. And when the truth was sought for justice to victims of the violent past, amnesty was granted and the opposition accepted. Strong words, I know. Hyperbolic/Flippant (delete as appropriate) in places, but nonetheless true...

Ho-hum.

 In this final, already-turbulent year of the unity government is it wishful thinking to ask whether it's possible that the leaders of the nation can actually steer Zimbabweans, despite the impending violence of the elections, towards greater political and economic stability? We simply cannot have another 2000 (farm invasions), 2005 (operation cleanup), 2007(destructive price controls) or 2008 (election violence & tanked economy) again.

The Chidamoyo Story

Fotocredit: Robin Hammond

The New York Times has this story on rural Zimbabweans from the Makonde valley having to barter peanuts and other agricultural produce for medical treatment from Chidamoyo Hospital. Parts of it are quite good and informative but other parts of the report are laden with all the typical cliches of abject poverty and desperation with saviour America on a mission and it's irked me. Take this gem for example: 

'The hospital’s cavernous chapel is now filled with what looks like a giant sand dune of unshelled nuts.'

or this:

'“It’s very difficult to get this famous dollar that people are talking about,” said Esther Chirasasa, 30, who hiked eight miles through the bush to the hospital for treatment of debilitating arthritis. Her son, Cain, 13, walked at her side carrying a sack of peanuts to pay for her care.'

The descriptions of the 'cavernous chapel' and arthritic Esther hiking through the bush leave quite an impression on one's mind: of the primitive and dreadful circumstances these people live in. Without taking anything away from the severity of Esther's suffering or the image of the chapel turned hospital as a place of refuge in a remote area, I think it's quite possible to write about that without casting Esther in the poor villager/victim role and the American hospital as the 'star-spangled saviour' stuck in the middle of nowhere in Zimbabwe. I find it annoying that the Heart of Darkness narrative continues to seep into stories in so many ways despite that it's 2010 and reportage and postcolonial* travel writing  has long moved on from this way of writing about places.

Admittedly my response to the problematic sections of this article is not impartial but I offer no apology for that. I'm tired of the aid discourse of victims and saviours. I always have a glass half-full perspective when it comes to all things Zimbabwe so I don't think the way this story is written gives much emphasis on the fact that the villages are actually able to produce crops and trade them for health care. Considering the myths about Zimbabwe's failed land project and collapsed agricultural sector, how is it that this story of agri-resourcefulness can be written in the same 'Zimbabwe is on the brink of disaster' tone? 


Barter trade has long been a part of Zimbabwean history (after all, that is how we met the Portuguese, the Arabs and the British) and has continued through the colonial and post-independence periods of modernity. Rather than go the long route of having to sell one's goods at the market (that must be travelled to!) for days or weeks to raise enough money for hospital care or school fees in some cases, this is an alternative and a short cut. In the mid-1990s when primary education for rural schools was no longer free, it was no surprise to hear stories of villagers bartering livestock for a term or a year's fees - depending on the beast. In more recent times, barter has become commonplace in the cities too, at my niece's school when fuel was in short supply in '08-'09 this well-equipped private school accepted fuel or fuel vouchers as payment of fees to keep it's fleet of cars on the road. Parents in the fuel business or with access to large amounts of fuel happily complied. Even businesses do it - trade offs of fuel or sugar happen all the time, why run around looking for US $, Botswana Pulas or South African Rands when commodities of value can be used? 

On the cultural and economic/technological front, the Chidamoyo story lacks context - I'm not in denial of the dire situation of these villagers, but context helps put into perspective the extent to which the situation is dire and how such stories of direness may be written. Peanuts are commonly used in Zimbabwean dishes so they're not 'melted into vegetables' as though that was a desperate move to shift the peanut butter to feed starving patients as the article suggests, but peanut butter is often used in Zimbabwean (mainly Shona, Chewa and Tonga) cuisine so it's the norm - a luxury in some cases to have peanut butter stew with vegetables or meat. On the economic/technological front, there have been a number of trial and error inventions of devices that can use peanut butter as a bio-fuel. If you look online, most stories suggest it can't be done, but offline there are stories that suggest it can. I remember some years ago somebody coming to my father's office to pitch his invention to him but my dad wasn't interested in buying it because we don't produce peanuts on a mass scale for the device to have been useful. As part of his pitch, the man had said that the Ministry of Education had expressed interest in the invention and they were looking it over and I don't know what's happened to it now, but if that man's idea hasn't taken off it might be worthwhile for this hospital to investigate the possibility of using peanut butter as bio-fuel for an eco-generator or using the sun as solar power. The hospital will need diesel to power the generator they're appealing for and if patients pay in peanuts and livestock, how will they raise funds to buy diesel?

So this story is not one of tragedy, but reality - were it not for the plea for funds for the hospital, there are parts of this story deserving of a so-what-that's-what-people-do-to-get-by response. I'm not dismissing this case, I'm dismissing the way the parts of the story is written. I just would like for stories to be placed in context and to move beyond the 'basket case' narrative. I'm kinda tired of always having that label stuck on me, my fellow people or my country. On the upside though, I do think the pictures of the villagers and what the hospital is doing are pretty cool. : )

(* i.e assuming the post-colonial moment began after the moment of encounter and not after political independence)

Old Song. New Video

This is a track by Comrade Fatso and Outspoken ft Chabvondoka which came out over a year ago and last month the official video was released. I posted the live version of this video some months ago ( iCan't hyperlink) and I still prefer it to this one. This is more sanitized and clean whereas the other one was much more potent because it was live, but still this is a nice video, some cool graphix. I don't know why the Shona translations are wrong - maybe not wholly wrong but they are incorrect in several places, these are just a few: hapana chakanaka means there is nothing good and toonana kuma streets means we'll meet in the streets, at 1:29 ivovanoenda kustars isusu tino atengesa means they go to stars (the night club) and we sell them (a play on the club name and the poor selling stars). Not nitpicking but #justsaying.

If you would like to know more about these guys checkout www.comradefatso.com. 

The Truth That Is Nadine Gordimer

Nobel Laureate and political activist, Nadine Gordimer is one of South Africa's best writers whose work I first encountered in university and have not stopped reading since. If you're looking for insight into the lives of ordinary people during the apartheid days I'd recommend The Conservationist, July's People (my fav'rit!) and The Burger's Daughter. Of course Nadine Gordimer's but one writer in a sea of many fine, accomplished South African writers but since this post is about her, I might as well point you to her good stuff. Below, are the best bits from an interview in which she spits some truth about democracy, Zimbabwe and Mandela :

Of South Africa: "We are still in the morning after. I cannot emphasis strongly enough, we have had 16 years [since democratic elections]. That's all. Sixteen years. It's not even a generation. And here you, in Britain and America, have had hundreds of years of working towards democracy, and it's still not perfect; you've still got poor people, you've still got xenophobia. But we're expected to have done it in 16 years."

...When Gordimer met Robert Mugabe, not long after he came to power, she thought "he really seemed to be a good man. It's the old thing of absolute power corrupts. He seems to have gone a little mad. And I also blame the wives. Very often the wives of these people become the world's biggest shoppers; including his. His first wife was a good influence, but this one comes to one of the biggest hotels in Johannesburg, brings her entourage, she shops like mad. She's also been to Dubai to shop. While all these people are starving." 

What does she think will happen when Mandela dies? "I can only compare it to the 27 years he was in prison; stone walls do not a prison make. Mandela was with us when he was in prison. And in a strange way, Mandela will be with us when he's dead and gone. I don't know how long that will last. But he will become more of an icon, just as Mahatma Gandhi did."

...The fiction might be what matters, says Gordimer, but it is the deeds of her life by which she wants to be judged. "That through the way you lived your life as a human being, rather than what you did as a writer, you could earn your way to being an African. I am an African. I am white. I in my humble way, and others in their much more brave way, have earned that right. Nothing else."

Zimbabwe: Who Got The Land?

By Ian Scoones

One of the most repeated myths about Zimbabwe’s land reform is that all the land went to ‘Mugabe’s cronies’; those with access to elite connections and benefiting from political patronage. This did, of course, happen, and continues to do so. Tackling such extreme excesses of land grabbing through a land audit remains a major challenge. But elite capture is not the whole story of Zimbabwe’s land reform; nor indeed the dominant one.

Who got the land? 

Who got the land and what is the profile of the new settlers? Our study of 400 households across 16 sites from Masvingo province showed by far the majority of the new settlers are ordinary people. About half of all new settler households are from nearby communal areas and another 18% from urban areas. These are people who had little or very poor land in the communal areas or were unemployed or with poorly-paid jobs and living in town. The remaining third of household heads was made up of civil servants (16.5% overall, but increasing to around a quarter of all settlers in A1 self-contained and A2 sites), business people (4.8% overall, but again proportionately higher in the A1 self-contained and A2 sites), security service personnel (3.7% overall) and former farm workers (6.7% overall). Farm workers made up 11.5% of households in the A1 villagised sites, with many taking an active role in the land invasions. In one case a farm worker organised and led the invasion of the farm where he had worked. Given that in other parts of the country, farm workers were displaced in large numbers, often ending up destitute, living in camps on the farms, this is perhaps surprising. Yet this reflects the extent and nature of labour on the former large-scale farms in Masvingo province. Unlike in the Highveld farms, where  large, resident labour forces existed without nearby communal homes, our Masvingo study sites were formerly large-scale ranches where labour was limited, and workers came, often on a temporary basis, from nearby communal areas.

Across all of these categories are ‘war veterans’. As household heads they make up 8.8% of the total population. The category ‘war veteran’ is however a diverse one. Prior to the land invasions, most were farming in the communal areas, a few were living in town, while some were civil servants, business people and employees in the security services.

....However, across our sample only 12% of households had a woman named as the land holder on the permit. The highest proportion of female-headed households was in the informal settlements, as women often saw the land invasions as an opportunity to make a new independent life and escape abusive relationships or accusations of witchcraft, for

example. 

So who amongst these groups are ‘the cronies’?

Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: Myths and Realities by

Ian Scoones, Nelson Marongwe, Blasio Mavedzenge, Felix Murimbarimba, Jacob

Mahenehene and Chrispen Sukume

will be published in November 2010

by Weaver Press in Zimbabwe (http://www.weaverpresszimbabwe.com/),

 Jacana Media in South Africa (http://www.jacana.co.za/) 

and James Currey in the rest of the world (http://www.jamescurrey.co.uk/)

ZoZo Afrobeat: Mugabe

Mugabe Song (excuse the hiccups)


Zozo Afrobeat is a 13-piece band based in new York and in April 2010 they released this protest song speaking out against the suffering of Zimbabweans under Mugabe's rule. Written by Kaleta, a former guitarist in Fela Kuti's band, the song calls Mugabe the African Hitler and calls for him to step down from power. Kaleta says, "Politics is essential to Afrobeat music... We speak truth to power. Without politics, it isn't really Afrobeat music." The word Zozo taken from the Goun and Fon word for "something hot," and the band is certainly stirring up some heat with it's music. 
Those in New York lookout for free gigs and the rest of you can checkout their website for more info and good beats: http://zozoafrobeat.com/live/

Of Firing Squads, Morons and Patriots

The above title partly comes from a phrase in a comment someone made on a friend's Facebook post about Gamuchirai Nhengu, the X Factor contestant everyone in the UK is buzzing about since she failed to make the final 12 or 16 as it were, last Saturday. The public mood has gone from sympathy to outrage when it was discovered that her family visa had been judged out of time by UKBA (UK Border Agency) and her mother was found to have wrongly claimed working tax and child credits and so because their application had been denied they are now subject to an administrative removal (not deportation) and will have to go back to Zimbabwe for a year before re-applying. Within a heartbeat the tabloid press had labelled the mother a 'benefits cheat' and 'thief' while a trail of xenophobic and racist comments were left on newspaper comment boards, Twitter and Facebook - there's even a Deport the Gamu Family page to rival the Gamu Should Have Got Through fan page that has now become the playground of xenophobes and vile racists. 

If anyone needed to know just how racist and moronic some members of the British public can be, this case is a perfect example but at the same if anyone needed to know just how generous and sympathetic the British public can be then this case is also a perfect example as the pictures of crowds bearing gifts pictured outside the Nhengu's family home show. The response of Zimbabweans has been nothing but sympathy and support, lobbyist groups and (disappointingly) a few the online press are doing their best to protest UKBA's decision. Zimbabweans in the diaspora and at home have stood in solidarity with the family, all until this morning that is. 

The News of the World published an exclusive interview with Gamu in which she pleaded for a chance to stay in the UK, claiming that if she was sent back she'd face Mugabe's 'firing squad.' Her words were: “It’s like I’m being sent home to a firing squad and they’re putting me in front of it, They will punish us if we go back. Our lives are in danger.” 

Firing squad? Punish? Danger? *Rolling eyes double time* Her lawyers may have advised this rather colourful response, the News of the World may have gotten a little creative with her words or Gamu may be so desperate she will say whatever she can to prevent her family's impending removal. Whatever it is, it's untrue. Zimbabwe may be a lot of things, but a hell hole of punishment it is not, neither do we have firing squads for people, least of all wannabe pop stars. There are people out there who genuinely face persecution if they return to the country, but Gamu is not one of them and if in reaction to this story one or two sick n depraved alleged  agents of the regime threaten her, it's to scare her but I honestly don't know how real that threat would be. So many Zimbabweans have milked the political unrest in the country to acquire a right of stay all over the world and these people are no different to Gamu because they want the opportunity to make a better life for themselves. While I completely understand the desire for the right to pursue prosperity and happiness, that desire does not mean pursuit by any means necessary and does not justify falsely maligning the already battered image of your country.

Right now Zimbabwe is undergoing transition, life is so much better there than it was three years ago when price controls wrecked the economy or ten years ago when war vets took over the farms. True, some political activists, writers, artists and singers are in prison or have been incarcerated, but others live in the country and carry out their political works without fear of persecution so where does a rising pop star all the way in Scotland get off making claims like that? The myth that 'Mugabe is the bogeyman and his henchmen are coming to get ya' shows just how low people's sense of patriotism that they'll sell out their country for South African, British, Canadian or American citizenship. Worst of it all is that it's to the detriment of genuine asylum seekers who face greater risk of deportation when stories like these get called out. Instead of going the sensationalist route, Gamu might have used this as a chance to highlight the claims of those who face real danger on the basis of their political or religious (Rastafarians) beliefs. 

She is young, but she is not stupid, neither are her lawyers and one hopes they start giving her the right advice before this gets any more sensational. She's already made a mistake of speaking to News of the World and has been a little too creative with her story. Why the heck did she sell her story to News of The World when it belongs to the same tabloid group that branded her mother a cheat and a thief when the benefits story broke on Tuesday. For the whole week, The Sun has been fanning the flames of xenophobic and racist angst against this family and the she goes and tells The freaking News of the World! She'd rather have kept her mouth shut and waited till better newspapers or TV channels came along and made sure not to divide the support of Zimbabweans - judging by the Facebook, Twitter and Zim news comments I've read the majority of people express their sympathy with her situation but are very pissed off with her for making such exaggerated claims, and rightly so. There are those who claim she's just a kid and she doesn't know any better, but with lawyers on your side, the folly of youth can never be the disguise for stupidity. This group argues that no one really knows how this story transpired and who said what exactly - fair enough, I hear you. However, there is a minority who seem to think it's okay because 'everybody does it.' That's just daft, you cannot legitimize lying just because others are doing it, especially now when things in Zimbabwe are so much better, very far from perfect, but a lot better both politically and economically. Maybe Gamu should go back home for a year to face the imaginary 'firing squad' so she can re-discover her roots and find just how much people are willing to help her, as one hip hop producer based in Harare suggested.

As for the judicial review, I really believe the family has a strong case, firing squads and bogey men nothwithstanding and taking into account: Inland Revenue's screwup in granting the mother credits, supporting case law concerning tax credits, EU Human Rights, Article 8 provisions on the right to a family life and supporting case law. Also, UKBA and X Factor screwed up by playing this out in public and if I was Gamu's mother I'd be hunting down Courtenay Griffiths to get him to take my case pro bono. Never mind that he's a criminal lawyer, I'm sure he, like many immigration lawyers, would relish the opportunity to stick it to UKBA and the Cowell pantomime.

The Truth That Is Courtenay Griffiths

"There are no fewer than five African leaders awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court.... How is it possible that in 2010 we have a situation where every indicted individual at the International Criminal Court is African and every investigation is, guess where, Africa?....Look, I am not suggesting that African leaders should not be on trial, but I do think that everyone has to be equal before international law....Why is it that the Tony Blairs and the George W Bushes of the world are not being investigated for conducting an illegal war? I am a defence lawyer, but if Blair came to The Hague, I would definitely have to switch sides and do some prosecuting."

Courtney Griffiths, Charles Taylor's defence lawyer 

speaking on the possibility of defending Robert Mugabe 

if the opportunity ever arose.

Freshlyground: Mugs too Chicken to Change?

ZOLANI on CHICKEN TO CHANGE' MUSIC VIDEO from ZANEWS on Vimeo.

In collaboration with the cartoonist, Zapiro, Freshlyground, one of CapeTown's feel-good funk bands released yesterday, 'Chicken to Change?', a cheeky song challenging President Mugabe to give up power. (If you think you don't know Freshlyground, think Shakira. They were the South African group found purely by chance to sing backing vocals on Waka Waka).

On the one hand I'm thoroughly amused by the thought of George Charamba, Mugabe's pressman foaming at the mouth and threatening any broadcaster who dares play the song in Zimbabwe with imprisonment under POSA (Public Order and Security Act: a draconian censorship law maintained from the colonial days (so much for African nationalism, huh)), and he's prob'ly on the phone to Bra Juju Malema trying to get Freshlyground, 'the bloody agents!', arrested under the proposed censorship laws in S.A - that the legislation's not yet been passed is besides the point, OTOH there are two things I'm uncomfortable with/dislike: a. that it's cute and rather simplistically positions Mugabe as 'the problem' when the situation's more complex than that and if Freshlyground are going to invoke 1980 in their video then, the expectation of a little more is warranted - no? Or maybe not, perhaps I'm r--e--e--e--a--a--a-c-h-i-n-g for things, and should just go with my initial reaction which was and still is, it's a really kif song!  ... but there's side b. which is less about the song and more about reception: that this may give more ammo to a particular group of Rhodesians as they call themselves (to be distinguished from White Zimbabweans), these are White settlers 'in exile' still moaning about the good old days before Mugabe became Hitler and how they wish the Blacks had never taken power in the first place. Checkout this picture of Zapiro's Mugabe and imagine what an old Rhodie might think:

jacked from the Zapiro FBook Group.

Sho 'nuff it's a funny caricature and would prob'ly make a great postage stamp, but there's also alot more that could be read into it. Of course artists shouldn't be censored from making art on the basis that it could incite a few nutheads out there, both the die-hard Mugabe loyalists who would see this as disrespectful representation and the Rhodies, who in the context of negative press Mugs has rightly n wrongly recieved, never hesitate to trot out their 'Mugabe the Baboon' images. Obviously I'm not trying to put this on Zapiro or Freshlyground, I'm thinking out loud out, or at least trying to...

...Moving on, if we still have a forceful opposition in Zimbabwe, not the newly come fat cats enjoying the ministerial perks of an inclusive government and not the ones who see the inclusive goverment through rose-tinted spectacles, compliments of Tsvangson Opticians, but the real members of the opposition, doing hard graft in the trenches whose slogan is Chinjai Maitiro (Change Your Ways) they will know how to use this song to invigorate the populace. And if they can't/don't maybe, Mugs will prove he isn't too chicken to change and giveup coz his body's weary.

 Checkout The Grauniad for more info on the video.

The Farcical Trial of Owen Maseko

Owen Maseko

Earlier in March this year a Zimbabwean artist, Owen Maseko was arrested for his artistic interpretations of the ethnic massacre in the 1980s (Gukurahundi) in the southern part of the country. He was granted bail a few days later a his trial was set to begin this past Tuesday. He is being charged under Section 31(a) (i) of the Criminal Code Chapter 9:23: Publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state. Apparently he falsely represented the state in his depictions of Gukurahundi and 'undermined the authority of the President' - that's the second bogus charge...Are they serious? 20 0000 people majority Ndebele and Kalanga ethnicity killed, and the best the state can do is continue to deny this ever happened - despite the overwhelming evidence. It goes without saying that Mugs n Thugs Inc do not give toss about an artist's right to free expression but c'mon Prime Minister Tsvangirai, Ministers Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa, and David Coltart and Deputy Minister of Justice Jessie Majome - one of you members of the opposition has got to have the testicular fortitude (excl J. Majome) to call this BS right out. Maseko's trial has been postponed to the 13th of September and as we knowing the snail's pace of the courts this could very well be like the neverending 'trials' and incarcerations of Jestina Mukoko, Roy Bennett and the WOZA activists...unless someone in power stops playing Zanu's ventriloquist doll for a minute and actually speaks up. This is more than about justice for Owen Maseko, it's also seeking some sort of recognition by the state for the atrocities against thousands. While the state may have the power to silence artistic expression with as much force as possible, it doesn't change the fact that Gukurahundi did happen, the 5th Brigade Army did kill thousand of civillians. This is your shameful history, deal with it!

Quotable Truths

Rhodesia, as a space, defines an English race that discovers through the process of conquest and appropriation the nature of its own civilisation. The English become a race only through relation to their empire;

Rhodesians as spokespeople of the discourses of empire are also naming their own identity. […]

It is in his struggle to discipline both the perceived unruliness of African nature and the nature of the Africans that the Englishman becomes his true self, and the Rhodesian who in turn has appropriated that discourse becomes his or her true self.

(Anthony Chennells 1996:103)

Cricket n Crickets

Henry Olonga's book is out, should be an interesting read.

If I'm lucky somebody's going to post me a copy to review...I'll be nice. Promise.

Henry Olonga is Zimbabwe's first black player, has been a high-profile opponent of Robert Mugabe's regime and, alongside current England coach Andy Flower, made a public show of dissent against the President when the 2003 World Cup came to Zimbabwe.

The pair famously wore black armbands to "mourn the death of democracy" during a match against Namibia, an action which brought about Olonga's retirement at 26. Zimbabwe last played a Test match in 2005 after the majority of the team's first-choice players went on strike following a dispute with the national board.

But discussions are under way to restore them to the five-day game as early as next year and Olonga believes now is the time for reintegration.

"I think on the whole it is right for Zimbabwe to move forward," Olonga said at the launch of his new book on Thursday. It is a difficult decision for me to say that because on the one hand I have protested against countries playing in Zimbabwe and been very up front about that. But I think what Zimbabwe needs now is a slow and steady reintroduction to Test cricket. It's not as though whenever Mugabe is out of power, we can start talking about it the next day. By then it is too late. We are starting to play well in one-day cricket now so let's use this momentum and get to the stage where they are a competitive Test side in three or four years. The way forward is for Zimbabwe to play some of the lesser teams first and if we don't get beaten in two days then we are heading in the right direction."

Olonga admits he remains uneasy about Mugabe's role in Zimbabwe public life but he knows a return to Test action is essential to give cricket in the country a chance to prosper."I would whole-heartedly support reintroduction because I want Zimbabwe back playing Test cricket, but we still have the problem of Robert Mugabe," he said.

"How do you deal with a man who has presided over the destruction of his own country through his own flawed policies? It's painful compromise but I think Zimbabwe is on the mend. Certainly it is cricket-wise but politically there is still a long way to go. Nevertheless, I think positions are softening. Zimbabwe, to their credit, have put in place some reforms and they've got a lot of experienced players back.

"Alistair Campbell is back as convenor of selectors, Heath Streak is doing some work as bowling coach. I understand Grant Flower is thinking of going back as a coach and Dave Houghton is also back doing some work with them. That these people are considering going back into the game there helps other countries see that Zimbabwe cricket has a measure of legitimacy now."

sourceofstory

My Two Cents: I don't know, much as I have maaad respek for de man dem, why are Heath, Alistair, Grant and Henry the mark of legitimacy? Has democracy suddenly been resurrected in Zimbabwe that they want to come back? Or is it a realisation that life goes on in Zim - Mugs or no Mugs, the hustle continues. As much as its nice to see these guys give support to the current team of fine players who've struggled to get to where they are now, I'm not entirely impressed, iCan't quite say what it is, but summink aint right. iAppreciate their calls in support of Zim playing Test Cricket, but the same people who protested against test cricket and were the catalysts in the mass exodus of the talent from cricket (Ok, 'cept 4 Heath Streak & Mluleki Mbangwa), now want us back in, really??? Asazi. Am iA H8r?

Current Zim Team,

 The Mountaineers

The GOAT, Brazil v Zimbabwe

pic jacked from The Grauniad. Foto cred. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Brazil played a World Cup friendly against Zimbabwe this past Wednesday and although we lost, 3 - 0 that really aint bad against the legendary Brazil. The last two goals were just waaay waaay too easy and The Warriors could've done better, but I'm proud of them. They got to play against Brazil, in ZIMBABWE! That is just the dopest thing of the year! Sorry Sizzla, I know you came but we're talking about Brazil here, BRAZIL! Needless to say The Grauniad were 1xtra pissy about it, and they once again show they have no understanding of wa'gwan in Zim rite now. They fail to see what this game meant to Zimbabweans at heart. Just for the pride alone, tatenda Gushungo, thank you for hooking this up Mugs (Mugabe), f'real! 

And maaad maaad props to the national cricket team who have been cruuushing India in the Tri-Nations Series (India, Zim & Sri Lanka) currently taking place in Harare. 

iHope they win this, our cricket team's been thru plenty hard times bec of Mugs n Thugs Inc.

Pimp, Push, Pimp, Push and Coast!

Gotta love the hand-holding, dat's like proper African politics, lol!

I was browsing through The Guardian's stories on Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Zimbabwe - as expected the stories were filled with much contempt and disdain for Ahmadinejad and Mugabe. Why is that all levels of informed critique go out the window when less favourable figures of the West are written about? In one article the Grauniad (not it’s not a typo, that's what readers call it) reporter scoffs at the suggestion that Iran is an emerging power...yet at least every other day, a story is published about the (faux) nuclear threat Iran poses to the world and how the 'global powers' must 'stop them'. So is Iran an emerging power or not?  Why the reluctance to admit it?

On Mugabe and Tsvangirai's different attitudes to Ahmadinejad's visit is seen by MDC-T as signifying that the ‘half-horse, half-donkey government’ is not working according to Nelson Chamisa (MDC, Min. of Information). But why this seemingly media-opportunistic negativity by MDC-T, did Prime Minister Tsvangirai not know Ahmadinejad was coming? I did. I read about it online in a Zim tabloid story about the Zimbabwean state visit to Iran led by Didymus Mutasa in March this year. So why the silliness Tsvangson?


The Gruaniad reports: "[Tsvangirai's] party, the Movement for Democratic Change, described the trip as "a colossal political scandal" and said that inviting Ahmadinejad to an investment forum is "like inviting a mosquito to cure malaria". " The full statement was thus: "Choice of friends defines character and inviting the Iranian strongman to an investment forum is like inviting a mosquito to cure malaria. Hobnobbing with dubious political leaders confirms stereotypes that we are a banana republic."


A scandal among whom; Africa or the West? Is the AU or SADC bovvered? Hello, hello...Is anyone there out there, anyone at all raising strong objections? *SMH* The MDC-T preached passionately about the rogue, ChinaInAfrica, but today who's offering Angola and Zambia low-interest loans? Notwithstanding the stories of Chinese exploitation of labour in the mines and flooding markets with cheap rejects, please put Deborah Brautigam's The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa on your Christmas wishlist, dear Tsvangson.


And while I'm ranting, let's remember Mr Prime Minister, that you yourself have also been 'hobnobbing' with 'dubious politicians' - how quick you forget what happened when you took your begging bowl to our Kenyan brother in the White House, then jet-hopped to the regional governor of Harare North at 10 Downing St then onto sweet Paris where Sarkozy's cheese and wine flowed, only to be quickly sobered up with the words: 'no cash shall flow till the 'rule of law' is restored.' Soon after that came the IMF's high-interest $500 million loan that came with a fifth shaved off to pay previous arrears.


Albeit differently, the carrot on the stick tactics of this group are also dubious: using political clout to make a point while making ordinary people suffer for it (e.g. visa restrictions, loan re-payments, deportations of Black asylum seekers, multinational corps jumping ship), is arguably more dubious and materially damaging than the promises of oil from Libya and Equatorial Guinea, for example. Eq. Guinea's promises were really just promises that failed to materialize and the deal with Libya fell through because Gadaffi was trying to hustle Mugabe and pay a ridiculously low price for NOCZIM shares. With other Midde East oil suppliers Mugabe had verbal clout, but couldn't throw down $, because the country was broker than a $2 hustler scrimping for change - thanks to corruption by Mug n Thugs Inc. and the kooky economics of zero-slashing and endless money printing of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono.


The bottom line is everybody who's somebody in global politics is a pimp or a pusher the rest are junkies hooked on aid or slaves in debt. Either, you become a playa on your own terms and protect your interests or you will get played - that's the cold trooof! I don't believe selective Western benevolence will help Zimbabwe and time will tell if Middle Eastern alliances are strategically a good thing for us, BUT this must be in recognition of this single truth:
Zimbabwe needs to be fixed up by honest Zimbabweans in order to enter the pimp and push game as a playa, not some crack addict perpetually begging for a few more hits on cred.

One last thing, why are these young girls wearing hijabs and the men in the background wearing taqiyahs? If early childhood memory serves me right, when Pope John Paul II came and errrybody turned Catholic overnite and today we are all Muslim???

pics by Desmond Kwande AP/Getty Images

Free Owen Maseko

[Joshua] Nkomo signs the [Unity] Accord, 1987

Owen Maseko has been arrested. His crime? He dared to be bold. Maseko opened his exhibition on Thursday 25 March at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, an artist’s impression of the harsh reality of Gukurahundi as well as the decades of oppression and violence that have characterised Zimbabwe. Gukurahundi was the name given to the violence in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the mid 1980s that led to the deaths of an estimated 20,000 Ndebele people, after ZANU PF unleashed the notorious North Korean trained Fifth Brigade in the area. In a combination of graffiti, 3D installations and his painting Maseko unflinchingly dared to tell the truth, adding his usual and whimsical element of humour.

Voti Thebe, the Acting Director of the Gallery, was also arrested, but was freed later the same day.

pics & story jacked from www.owenmaseko.com, 
also see www.sokwanele.com for info on  what you can do to help Owen Maseko.

Ndebele Votes Flushed Down The Toilet

Calling Mr President...

pic by liz johnson-artur

For those hip to UK politics...

Let Them Eat (Chinese) Cake...

President Mugabe

on one of his birthdays...

On the 21st of February 2010, President Mugabe turned 86 and threw a big bash

bankrolled by the Chinese Government, so says the Washington Post. 

How will the nation of Zimbabwe ever re-pay this gesture of kindness by our longtime communist friends of the east? For having spared the national coffers from being the President's personal withdrawal account this time around, three platinum mines and a diamond field would suffice.

Having stood unoppossed in the ZANU party elections in December '09, Mugabe is to stand for office in the next Presidential election in 2013.

 He will be 89...

Given this longevity streak - good genes and all,

would it be too early to predict he will stand for

the parliamentary elections in 2016?

He will be 91...

And no signs of dementia. (or so we think mmm)

  and when presidential elections come again in 2019, 

he will be standing strong at 94

and 2021 at 97 and 2025 100 and 2027 at 104!

Long Live Jongwe, only the weak die young.... 

.