AFRICAN EYE

The recent confession by Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda that he witnessed the torture and gruesome murder of more than 20 000 people in Matabeleland and parts of Midlands during the dark years of Gukurahundi in the early 1980s by soldiers from the 5 Brigade, but was powerless to stop it makes a sad but regrettable reading Why Mudenda has chosen to speak after 27 years of silence is not known but what remains salient is the fact that there is no retreat from the ubiquitous challenge posed by the continued lack of political will on the need to create peace and dialogue on Gukurahundi. Mudenda made these sensational claims during a three-day men’s fellowship conference organised by the Brethren –In-Christ church in Lobengula under the theme, “Peace and Justice” where he was guest speaker. He said though he witnessed it, he was too powerless to stop it.It boggles one’s mind why given the assumption that he has power today, why hasn’t he sought to seek redress on the matter. P

The new political dimensions that we witnessed in the past weeks have been full of drama full swing. On the political front, cabinet ministers chose to abandon their duties to follow the first lady “meet the people” rallies where some ZANU PF cronies, drunk with partisan idiocy, paralysed with hero worship sought to revamp their waning uncertain political careers in the face of smearing retribution by the first lady on those she alleged were causing factionalism that were threatening the continued grip on power by her husband. In all this hocus pocus, the public media notably; The Herald and ZBC led a full coverage of these rallies. I felt sorry for those paying licences to the “state” broadcaster who were “tortured” everyday by these rallies. Of course the state media must be commended for an “excellent” but lamentable propensity to make people of shallow intellect famous because of their proximity to the corridors of power. The functions of the whole government grounded to a halt

The song Mubikira by Leonard Zhakata best describes the plight or predicament that most hardworking home seekers find themselves in.In the song Zhakata laments the selective application of the law in a country ravaged by injustice and suppression. He describes those who oppress and wield political power as insincere to the attainment of justice and equality. “For how long shall people keep quiet? When the elephants fight, it is the grasses that suffer, “he sings. In the year 2013 I penned a story that was informed by the investigations I had done in the city of Gweru involving one Smelly Dube who owns a real estate company called River valley Properties, who donated a house valued at US$ 50,000 to President Mugabe. The reason, as she puts it, was to honour and appreciate the president for the land reform programme and empowerment. The company also gave more than 1000 high and medium density stands to civil servants and offered to provide building materials on a monthly basis paymen