I grew up with Zambia and Zimbabwe, but I only stepped on
their soil for the first time in August. The flimsy, blue airmail letters which
when I was a child brought monthly news of my cousins, of Kaunda then Mugabe,
of sadza, puff adders, Lusaka, Livingstone and Harare were read out loud and
left me with vivid memories. My aunt and uncle left the UK in 1970, and my
cousin (one of five) with whom we are staying has lived half her life in Zambia,
and the latter half in Zim. Now an awards-winning expert in wild dog and
cheetah, she works with governments across southern Africa, promoting the
co-existence of wild-life, farm animals and humans. Living and traveling with her family for
three weeks meant we had the chance to glimpse Zim life which she is at pains
to say, gives her no authority to speak for others. Knowing a little about the
shattered lives and pain of fellow citizens, sharing whatever they could
whenever they could, feeling the impact of famine and fear but being able to
evade the consequences leaves her humbled and not daring to assume anything on
behalf of those for whom devastation was a reality they couldn’t escape. But
she and her husband are also determined that their country should not be a
hostage to the past, details of which much is still unknown because fear
remains a silencer while Mugabe lives.
And there is no doubt that they are waiting for Mugabe to die, as the only way he will leave office now is in a coffin. Hopes of overthrow or resignation never materialised, partly because of the refusal of Zim’s neighbours to support regime change and also the cultural commandment that you never challenge an elder. What is less clear is who will replace him. There are two high profile bitter rivals: vice-president Joyce Majuru who has Army support; and Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa who has the backing of the Intelligence and a reputation for evil. But of course they shouldn’t even be in office. Refusing to budge is not an unknown phenomenon in these parts and when the polls showed that Mugabe had lost the election in 2008, he rejected the people’s decision and insisted on staying. After pressure from Zim’s neighbours he offered the sop of sharing some power with the rightful victor, Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party. Tsvangirai, who for many years has fought peacefully for democracy, eventually accepted that this compromise was the only nonviolent way out of the impasse. This was grace personified as Tsvangirai and other MDC officials started to work alongside ministers who had been responsible for their beatings and persecution and the deaths of supporters.
Elections are scheduled again for next year, following a referendum on a new constitution which should be put to the country by February. Whilst constitutional consultations are being held around the country, the process is being subjected to the usual Zanu-PF treatment of intimidating the rural population into accepting Zanu’s ‘Kariba’ draft which would, amongst other things, allow Mugabe two more terms in office. He’s 86 and showing signs of intellectual deterioration so this is optimistic.
What became clear to us as we listened to people’s stories was that whilst Mugabe is responsible for the deaths and intimidation of hundreds of thousands of people, he is no ethnic cleanser. He is not interested in your tribe, only your support. His obsession with power knows no boundaries, to the extent that he conscripted the nation’s children into a control force from 2000 onwards. This youth militia were teenagers told they couldn’t get a job in the public sector without joining the National Youth Service. Subjected to beatings, abuse and brainwashing they were then sent to dispense fear and violence on MDC-T supporters before the country’s elections. One of the key democratic indicators will be the response of these ‘Green Bombers’ at the next election, many who now hate Mugabe but who also fear his reach and know his mercilessness.
Democratisation will also be influenced by the response of Zim’s neighbours, especially Zuma’s South African government at the time of Mugabe’s death. Will they finally intervene and insist on the verdict of the ballot box? Their experience too of ‘truth and reconciliation’ hearings could be invaluable in a country that would need to go through the healing process of understanding the past, whilst not being defined by it. And it would be wise for Zuma and his fellow Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to anticipate the ramifications of Zanu-PF’s illegal requisition of the Marange diamond mine. Discovered just four years ago, it is reported to be the biggest in the world, and locals were simply gunned down as Zanu and the Army moved in to take control. Although some sales of the industrial diamonds were recently ‘approved’ by the Kimberly Process, these blood-diamonds have already given Mugabe the undeserved gift of a totally new revenue stream and another reason for his Army to oppress their fellow men.
Yet in this country where the soil is rich, where there are enough natural resources to produce power and create wealth, which is breathtakingly beautiful and in which their citizens take such pride, there is still hope. When we sat with people and talked they would smile and said ‘you are here, we are not forgotten, there is hope’. The message I took away from time with staff at Mpilo Hospital (as described in my last letter) is however that this hope is fragile. Tsvangirai hasn’t delivered the transformation they yearned for and despite the tangible improvements, doubts are now expressed about further progress. Their disappointment is understandable. They have been patient for so long, risking so much to vote MDC-T for four elections now, never retaliating with the currency of violence that is spent so freely by Zanu-PF conscripts. Politically it seems to me as an outsider that right now Tsvangirai is doing all he can, hemmed in by corruption, injustice and lacking the international support that hope-to-God will rise when Mugabe dies. And practically, while excess has sapped the inspiration of hardship in the West, scarcity here stimulates stewardship and initiative that is humbling. Zimbabwe is still a country to be respected, despite its president.
