Everything is on target for the New Zimbabwe

I wrote this on Friday the 6th March before hearing about the death of Susan Tsvangirayi. I publish it today.

More than a week has gone by since I last wrote. Not a lot has happened. Roy Bennet is still languishing in the Mutare Prison. Jestina Mukoko has been freed on bail together with three other MDC activists. Part of the ‘deal’ to gain their freedom was that Mukoko and the other victims would refrain from pursuing the criminal acts of their captors through the courts.

Today we hear the Magistrate who first attempted to admit Roy Bennet to bail has himself been ‘arrested’. For what crime we have yet to hear.

The MDC has expressed ‘outrage’ at the continued detention of Bennet and their other activists. ZANU PF has not bothered to do anything other than that Chinamasa the Minister of (in)Justice has expressed his outrage at the UN for accusing Zimbabwe of ‘serious and systematic violations of human rights’. Chinamasa says we are no better or worse than ‘other states’ and we should not be singled out for special mention. It seems high time that Chinamasa became a victim of his own system so that he could appreciate what it is like to be kidnapped, incarcerated, beaten, tortured, made to lie with dead bodies in his cell and be grossly underfed by the system. Then denied bail because it seems like a good idea for someone at the time. He might feel a bit differently then.

But on a more positive note –perhaps – last night I met with an old and wise business acquaintance, highly placed in business and society in general in Zimbabwe, well respected by many for his business acumen and not known to be in any way corrupt. He smiled telling me that as he prophesied would happen when we last met in August last year we now had a new Prime Minister. I expressed my views that the new government was one of disunity rather than unity and that it would take a long time yet for an improved socio-economic environment to benefit the people. He said that I should not worry. Everything was on course. You know what it’s like when killing an old bull. It kicks and thrashes about, takes a long time, but it happens.

I added ‘eventually’.