Nomangingamemeza

I am sitting on the train today and I am reading ZWNews and there is nothing good. It all just keeps getting worse. All around me are people who don't know or if they do don't give a toss what happens in Zimbabwe. I am suddenly filled with rage and despair all at once, because for all my caring what am I really doing? Am I not just the same as the people I ride train with every morning? When does the moment of obligation begin? I think of my kids and I am riddled with guilt, who will speak for them when the time comes?

Today the ANC released the following statement:

“It has always been and continues to be the view of our movement that the
challenges facing Zimbabwe can only be solved by the Zimbabweans themselves.
Nothing that has happened in the recent months has persuaded us to revise that
view."

WTF? Pray tell, what more can we do? We rejected the tampered with constitution in 2000, we voted for MDC is record numbers in 2002, and did the same in 2005. This March we did the same and yet we continue to suffer for our troubles. What do we do next? Take to the streets? Kill?

Here lies my moment of obligation...no one is coming to our aid y'all! Tis time to shit or get off the pot. I am going home in December....Irrational as it may seem I refuse to die in this country. I belong in Zimbabwe, ndirimwanawevhu. When the very people who terrorise us today decided to combat injustice they did when the last straw laid it's final blow and I think this is it now.

ZVAKWANA! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! SOKWANELE!

What Crisis?

This picture was in my inbox this morning and just when I was lambasting South Africa (Thabo Mbeki) for inaction in Zimbabwe. One would have thought the xenophobic attacks against immigrants that began last month in South Africa would have made this man open his eyes and take action but no, instead the Mbeki-led regime in South Africa has chosen to condemn Zimbabweans to death. We will never forget this Baba Mbeki asizoze sikukhohlwe! Infact all you African leaders take heed. Robert Mugabe will not live forever and when he dies the murders and deaths that will continue to occur Zimbabwe will be on your hands. The hunger you continue to foster and nurture will be at you doorstep. The ruthless morally void Zimbabwean youth will be your worst nightmare.

How can you be so comfortable with have this mess in your backyards? Sure you benefit now from Zimbabwe's evicted white farmers and the brain drain but there are only a few of those...what happens when the 16 year old who has stopped going to school and has no skills comes to your door begging for food? Only he shan't be 16 anymore will he? No, he will be a sad, hungry, disappointed and bitter young man. What then will you tell him? Is your hatred for white western powers so entrenched that you really cannot see that there is no more a western sponsored neo-imperial scheme being waged against Zimbabwe as there is one in your own countries. Neo-imperialism is everywhere Zimbabwe is as much a victim of it as any part of the Global South and really has no place in the immediate Zimbabwean crisis.

Robert Mugabe was stealing and in bed with the so-called neo-imperialists for years. Still is, because all of his subsidiaries are still making money in Zimbabwe. While the rest of you African leaders are now forced to be transparent and actualy do the right thing as public servants, Robert Mugabe is laughing all the way to the bank. You are all of the younger generation....Tsvangirai's peers and Mugabe is the last of the dinosaurs; you all know what the consequences of a dictator and mismanagement are, yet you continue to allow Mugabe to torture the people of Zimbabwe and perpetuate the stereotype of African incompetence.

We claim in Africa that the west bullies us and we have no sense of autonomy, well here is a situation in which the west is being meddlesome in a constructive way and we have the opportunity to exercise this autonomy and what do we do? Dig our heals and go back on our words. Levy Mwanawasa you coward! As the head of SADC you should by-pass South Africa and stick to your guns when criticising Zimbabwe. We lose legitimacy if we cannot challenge each other when we fail.

Zimbabweans cannot do this alone. Modakuti tidii? Tife here? I am not suggesting that you interevene physically, the spirit of resistance in Zimbabwe is there, we just need to know that we are not alone in this.

This is some fucked up bull shit right here.

There is no crisis indeed. You will live to regret those words...all of you.

Wither To Zimbabweans?

Latest news on the BBC is that immigrants are being attacked and sometimes killed in Johannesburg and the quitely acknowledged South-African xenophobia is manifested. Wait quietly acknowledged....wasn't Makwerekwere a hot song once? Ahh but I digress. I could I suppose rail against the South Africans and get pissed off at their behaviour which was my intention when I started this post but then again.......Mencken comes to mind "People get the government they deserve", if we don't like the behaviour of the South Africans....go home! This violence against immigrants in South Africa, the South African leadership's apathy to intervene in Zimbabwe, and the recent move by Botswana to make their border with Zimbabwe less porous; all of this makes me wonder if we are not seeing the beginnings of an Isolationist period in Africa. Hear me out: I think Isolationism is a splendid idea for African states. Why should we be each other's keepers when internally we have our own burdens to carry. Much as I hate to agree with him (for non-Zimbabwe related reasons) Mbeki was right "Zimbabwe is not a province of South Africa" we cannot expect intervention from outside for our problems just as South Africa cannot expect employing Zimbabweans to occur without consequence.

And so we wait...........

I am surprised at my anxiety and hope for the outcome of the vote at home. I spoke to K this morning and she sounded so hopeful and now I am sick with worry that the election is in the process of being stolen. At this point I'll give up the Hague for a new President and constitution. All we want is fot the old man to GO......This cannot go on....right....I mean we cannot have this go on ...... can we? The official result apparently will be announced at 0400 GMT so we wait..............................................

Vote 2009

I suppose I should post something given that my fellow Zimbos are going to be practising citizenry in the next few days.....but honestly I can be excited nor can be fired up about this anymore. The more things develop the clearer it becomes that only the death of RGM is going to bring any kind of hope for Zimbabwe. I mean how do they (Tsvangie and Makoni) even begin to compete with dead people on the voter roll, police escorts in the voting booth, intimidation and promises of violence from the army and the police?

At this point I await death but while I wait I can smile when I get a dose of Zimfeminizmo

Wolves in Sheep's clothing

The news this weekend has been centered on Dumiso Dabenbgwa's support of Makoni's presidential bid. Ladies and Gentlemen we need to err on the side of caution. Why are we not extremely suspicious of these people? The euphoria that has risen, especially among those of us in the Diaspora, is amazing. Simba Makoni is the name on everyone's lips. But no one is asking the real questions, the important ones. Why does Makoni deserve our support? Why are we so comfortable with supporting a man who has made up the backbone of Zanu support? Makoni has never been a people's politician, all his political appointments have been bestowed upon him by Rob. Do we really not see Bob's hand in all of this? Knowing Bob the way we do, would Simba Makoni not be in hiding if was his bid a truly independent one?



We need to wake up! These elections should not happen without a new constitution. Makoni stands to inherit the same constitution that has kept Mugabe in power. So far Makoni has not even reached out to civil society groups, the individuals who have kept their finger on the pulse and know better than most what it is the people of Zimbabwe want in their leadership. We need a clear and conscise plan, one that will ensure that the reconstruction phase, that is inevitable after Mugabe, will include the needs and interests of ALL Zimbabwean not the elites.



The entire country needs to do this together. We all need a lesson in democracy. Our leaders need to understand their responsibilities as publics servants, the people need to understand what it means to be a citizen and how to exercise their rights as citizens. The marginalised need a voice. Only then will elections and new leadership mean anything.

"It Makes Me Wanna Holler"

Thanks Nathan McCall.


What is to become of Zimbabwe? Who is supposed to dig the land between the Limpopo and Zambezi from under the rubble of corruption, oppression, depression, and disease? Last night in a rare moment I paid attention in class and learned. We have been reading Women's autobiography and the assigned text for this week was Shirin Ebadi's Iran Awakwening and one of the themes that came up in discussion is Ebadi's ability to remain committed to Iran while pursuing a Human Rights agenda, that she is driven by nationalism in creating a fair and just world within the context of Iran. This got me thinking about how near impossible it is to be critical of the current regime in Zimbabwe without being denounced as a sell out or a Western puppet. Why do Nationalism and sovereignty trump universal rights? How does one demand good governance from one's leaders without seeming to undermine nationalism?



The current line from leaders in Zimbabwe and their counterparts in SADC is that calls from the West for Mugabe to step down are a direct violation of the International System's rules on sovereignty. Cries for proper governance from within, are always dismissed as blind mimic of western interference. Opposition movements (not the party) face reprisals for demanding that the government do the right thing because their demands are represented as not their own but that of the West. But is the desire for proper governance and the practise of democratic principle only a desire that can only be Western? Universal Rights:the right to life, liberty and security should be standard, right? Regardless of where one lives n'est-ce pas? That's why these rights are Universal



Then somebody please explain to me why Robert Mugabe's actions are not being judged solely by his utter disregard to the Universal Rights? Why is it that anyone who criticizes this "Liberation Hero" is immediately dismissed as a Western puppet? The right to life, liberty and security are not privileges,we are all entitled to these and we are furthermore entitled to demand them from the people who we elect to lead us. The problem with African politicians and leaders is that they forget that their alias is PUBLIC SERVANT. Their job is to serve the public and ensure that what they do in office as representatives of the people is to protect the people's interests. This is what Democracy is meant to be.



It is quite possible to be a nationalist and still demand universal rights. Anything else is fascism. Yeah I said it and SADC is supporting Fascism. What is happening in Zimbabwe right now is fascism: individual interests are being ignored for the interests of the party and a rampant bastardisation of populism is at work. ZANU PF claims to be a party made up of the people for the people but the leaders in ZANU have long been disconnected from the people. The fact that ZANU leaders have 3 squares a day is clear indication that they are not with the people. These arseholes have no context for what life in Zimbabwe is like for the individual they claim to represent.



Fascism has been used for shock-value in contemporary political discourse and so I want to be clear that I know what I am saying when I say the current regime in Zimbabwe is fascist. Todays news: If Zim catches fire, everyone will burn. Ambassador Simon Khaya-Moyo in weighing on the looming March 29th election,was spouting some bull-shit in which he claims that there is no dictator in Zimbabwe, just meddlesome Western puppets bent on bringing down the government. The evidence of fascism lies in comments like this:

That is primarily the reason why the Zimbabwean people have for long been decrying the death of patriotic opposition with the capacity to come up with a national agenda and home-grown solutions to our problems," he said. It was only the people of Zimbabwe who could, through the ballot, tell the world whom they thought had their best interests at heart. The will of the people must manifest freely, uncontaminated by outside money.

Ok so when exactly have the people been decrying the MDC (which I am not a fan of but I work with what I have) as an un-patriotic opposition movement? I mean just read the loaded language in the quote patriotic, national agenda, home-grow solutions.....I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Of course Zimbabweans want to be patriotic and I am the first to call for African solutions for African problems, you don't need to convert me I joined the "Fuck neo-liberalism" church voluntarily and with relish. But this appropriation of ideals that normal people hold and attaching BS dictator logic to it is unfair and that SADC would buy this rubbish is disheartening. This tactic of defaming the opposition is not novel, god forbid dictators and authoritarian regime ever be original. Where is the opposition supposed to get funding from? It has to come from outside. These ZANU dogs forget that just 30 years ago the White Minority Rhodesian regime was accusing them of the same un-patriotic agenda that they now heap on the opposition movement. Where did they get their guerilla training and ideological indoctrination? It definitely wasn't homegrown. How fucken rich! That they would use the same rhetoric and torure methods used by the colonial oppressor is just rich, soap opera rich!

This is why I am no longer going to be silent in the face of other Zimbabweans who call me a sell-out and westernised when I criticise the government of Robert Mugabe. It is not Western to demand dignity for all citizens of Zimbabwe (women,children, and men,black, white, makaradi, indian,). It is not Western to demand that the public servants who represent Zimbabwean citizens are chosen by Zimbabwean citizens and not foisted upon us. It is not Western to demand, it is citizen to demand. And I am a Zimbabwean citizen and I am demanding. I am still a nationalist and I wear my Zimbabwean colours with pride but I will never again allow anyone to questions my allegiance to Zimbabwe because I demand justice.

Ndiri mwana wevhu - I am a child of the soil.

The Makoni Symphony

All I have to say is:

Ibbo Mandaza

Solomon Mujuru

These are Makoni's backers......better the evil you know.

Zimbabwe needs a new constitution more than we need a new president.

They call him Mr. Mugabe......

....no one can Fuck with Bob. Opened ZW NEWS today for a little update action and Mugabe meets Makoni is what greets me. Without even reading the article I knew that it was done, so much for Simba challenging Uncle Scar......but you've got to give Bob credit for managing to keep holding the strings of his puppet show for 28 years. If only that brilliance could be used for good not evil. Oh well that's it for this post I am taking a break from Poll-tix till something new happens

It's the new trend!

So it seems ZANU break-aways have become the new thing in Zim in the lead up to the elections . Today New Zimbabwe reports that Dabengwa leads Zanu PF revolt, to challenge Mugabe.....YAWN! Is this the same Dabengwa who was quick to give in to the Unity Accord so that he could get rich at the expense of the Matabele people? Ok, so it may not be fair for me to heap that responsibility on Mr. Dabengwa but .........
As you read the article further apparently Mr.Dabengwa has also been in talks with MDC to form an alliance. Is there anyone in ZANU the MDC has yet to invite to form alliances? Next week's news will be about Emerson forming an alliance...somehow though I don't see that one happening. I don't think Emmie wants to share power with anyone. It's Masvingo netara solo for Cde Mnangagwa, who may win Bob's favour again now that there is all this dissent within Zanu.

Mashingaidze's article in ZW NEWS today is sobering, he makes the point that all this new opposition that is coming up 2 months before the March elections may really be a toothless lion. If Bob refuses to delay elections till June, what real chance do any of the new Zanu hopefuls have of organising? Especially seeing as they will be sanctioned by the very laws they helped create?

With only two months to go, Makoni's supporters may not be
able to organise a challenge, the MDC may remain divided and, without adequate
oversight, the elections would be a forgone conclusion.

Enter Simba

The name Simba is associated with the sacchariny Lion King. Simba is the young lion cub, crown-prince, who leaves his kingdom in shame after his father dies at the paws of the evil uncle Scar . Uncle Scar is evil and is ruining the kingdom and he has allowed the hyenas to come and live with the lions...it's awful and then Simba comes back to save the day...Yay... "the circle of life" etcetera and so forth.



Well according to the news Friday, Zimbabwe is about to experience our own version of the Lion King as Simba Makoni has decided to stand for the presidential election and finally prove to me that he really is a big deal. Apparently the anti-Mugabe faction in Zanu has decided to launch a party.........Maiwe zvangu! Directing this new movie is Dr. Ibbo Mandaza.....oh joy...this man is one of those whom many forgive because "he has no choice but to enjoy the spoils of Zanu affiliation"...huh? Any way if I can use the Lion King analogy again, Ibbo would be Rafiki.



Look I don't much about Simba Makoni when he was Finance Minister I think I was at that age when snogging my Falcon College boyfriend was the most important thing. But I know that among the educated, sophisticated and advanced Zimbos he is really respected. There was outrage among the aforementioned group when the Western nations blocked Makoni's bid to head the ADB at the World Bank because of his former Zanu ties. All I ever hear is "Simba is a good guy". He is not a revolutionary he is a technocrat...kinda like Mbeki. The general consensus among middle-class Zimbabweans (oxymoron,i know) is that Makoni can make us the new South Africa......ah who care about the new South Africa, people just want to eat.



So now those who have been hoping for a Makoni Presidential bid can celebrate because apparently next week we may see the formation of a third or fourth political party in Zimbabwe. Which signals to me ( and I admit I am not informed enough to make thsi prediction, but f u! this is my blog) the end of MDC - Tsvangirai and MDC-Mutambara even if they are claiming unity for the March.



As far as I am concerned the MDC lost their privilege to represent the Zimbabwean people in government when they shamelessly aired their dirty laundry in public. When the leadership in the MDC exposed themeselves to be no better than ZANU, I lost faith. Our problem in Zim and Global South in general is the we give our leaders messianic status and we can no longer imagine anyone else leading us. (Look at the mess in Pakistan with Benazir Bhutto's (R.I.P) replacing her - WTF?) For all their shennanigans I for one am shocked that the MDC is still a viable party in Zimbabwe.



In my opinion they are ungrateful and they do not have the welfare of the Zimbabwean people at heart. Right now they are in secret talks with Thabo Mbeki and ZANU Pf and no one, not even civil society knows what they are doing or agreeing to. Once in a while we learn that they are in actuality giving in to ZANU. Then came the mess with the Women's Assembly and yet we still think that MDC is our answer. Can they really be trusted not to match or even top Robbie? At least with Robbie we know what to expect zvino ava who are newbies and foaming at the mouth for power are even more dangerous.



The person who take over after Robbie is going to have to have a cool head. This individual is going to have to know how deal with the anger that will be misdirected at the new government by the people who have been oppressed for 27 years. The new government will have to know how to respond to the demands of the people and how to quell the anger without bringing the army. Chaos doesn't even begin to describe what could possibly happen in Zimbabwe if ZANU loses and relinquishes power in March. Can MDC handle it? Especially now when they don't even get along and they have already had violent clashes among themselves? May be Simba is really who we need.....more so because he is pals with the guy who controls the army.



But like I said earlier what do I know about Simba Makoni...not much but anyone who is accused of "embracing the neo-liberal agenda of western countries" by Zanu probably has a way to dig us out of this economic Dante's Inferno. Now let me clear I am not promoting World Bank and IMF economic liberalism models for African democracy I think we can all agree that doesn't work. But what I am arguing is that here we have a guy who understands that without a solid political system there can never be a successful economy in Zimbabwe. Now what ideology informs that economy is another debate for another times.



In conclusion I would advise the MDC to follow their own advice to ZANU and they should "chinja maitiro".

Go Home and Vote

I am always keenly aware of what it means to be one in the diaspora, our presence outside the country is a double-edged sword. On one hand we are essential to those still at home because we send the much needed forex for them to eke out an existence. Without the thousands of dollars sent into Zimbabwe by the diaspora to relatives, who knows what would happen. On the other hand our staying away from Zimbabwe contributes to the further entrenching of Robbie and his crew. We lose touch with reality and to an extent our connection to the home country; we can no longer truly empathise with those left behind.
This morning I read a very short news blurb on VOA Zimbabwean Nongovernmental Group Urges Exiles To Return For Elections , and the guilt overwhelmed me. In 2005 I remember watching Ukraine's Diaspora gather on Michigan Avenue in Chicago in a show of solidarity for Yuschenko and democracy. It was so inspiring to watch and once or twice I caught myself getting choked up as I imagined Zimbabweans doing the same. Named the "Orange Revolution" this show of support by the diaspora for the resistance that was ongoing in the Ukraine I believe was powerful enough to allow some transparency in the democractic process and the eventual election of Viktor Yushchenko. That summer I remember writing passionately for a class about the power of the diaspora and how those outside who are maligned by ruling elites as traitors and defectors could really be instrumental in the fragile democratic process in Zimbabwe.

So here were are in 2008 awaiting the next round of elections and I really cannot see myself marching down Michigan avenues waving the Zimba flag nor do I see myself purchasing a plane ticket to go and cast my vote in March.
So my rhetorical question to self is two-fold....
What does it mean to be a citizen?
How do I exercise my citizenship from thousands of miles away?

Honestly we in the diaspora whether you support the ruling party, the opposition or no one are all spineless. It's great isn't it to sit here with a full belly, electricty, running water, and spew my pathetic rants about saving Zimbabwe when really I wouldn't have the guts to endure the life in Zimbabwe. I am ashamed of myself. Yes I contribute I suppose by being outraged everytime I read of some injustice or the other. I e-mail the news link to friends, I blog, I "spread awareness" but this awareness I am spreading doesn't seem to be a very catchy disease. Heck I seem to recover from every bout.

So what do I do? Man I wish I was one of those revolutionary types, the ones who don't just read books and newspapers but the ones who actually act. Like my beloved women of WOZA who remind me everyday that I am nothing but a candy-ass nose brigade.... and I am shamed.

New Year

Happy New Year! Election 2008....will it bring hope? Will it make permanent the current state of things? Friends and family without electricity for a full week. How does one wish them a merry Christmas and a Hppy New Year without the yoke of guilt weighing heavily? What is to become of Zimbabwe? I miss home and I so want to be back among my own................