A friend was among those chucked off the Mazowe farming resettlement area, according to him and many others, to pave way for First Lady Grace Mugabe to expand her projects, whatever they are.
RASHWEAT MUKUNDU
My friend, who was frantically looking for alternative accommodation for his family, intimates that the First Family wants to turn their plots into a game reserve. At least this has also been confirmed by the Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha who stated that he would provide as much land as the First Lady wants.
As we talked about my friend’s predicament, we were headed to Graniteside industrial area, Harare, to retrieve his Japanese Bongo truck stuck at my uncle Samaita’s jobbing place. My friend paid Samaita more than $500 to have his Bongo fixed after an accident, now Samaita appears to have blown the funds without fully fixing the car.
As I had introduced my friend to Samaita, I had to mediate and nudge Samaita to finish repairs to the Bongo. I also took advantage of this short trip to fully understand what happened in Mazowe. My friend tells me that they have been under the protection of Mbuya Nehanda’s spirit through her medium simply identified as Ambuya.
Ambuya had also allocated herself a piece of land apparently stating that some of Mbuya Nehanda original things, including a walking stick and some items, had been left in Mazowe, she had therefore come back to reclaim them and apparently chose to stay for good.
Despite having no offer letters, the new farmers found security under the guiding spirit of Mbuya Nehanda. My friend says top Zanu PF officials including army generals and senior State intelligence officers would often visit Ambuya Nehanda to get advice on elections.
In the run-up to July 31 there was apparently a flurry of visits to Ambuya and assurances that her piece of real estate was secure, and I guess, as long as her predictions on elections result were correct and sweet to the ears of the Zanu PF leaders and the security men who surround them.
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My friend says indeed Ambuya delivered on her promise as Zanu PF trounced the opposition by wide margins. My attempts to argue with my friend that the dead know nothing and that this talk of Ambuya Nehanda’s spirit is ideal talk was met with resistance and a heated debate.
Apparently according to my friend, Mbuya Nehanda had gathered her community a day before the police raid. She had told the community that something bad would happen.
And indeed the next morning the police came with trucks and lorries and carted away everyone destroying the mud-and-thatch huts. To add to the belief in the protective power of Mbuya Nehanda my friend says the Mazowe police chief flatly refused to participate in the eviction of Mbuya Nehanda and her people fearing repercussions.
This again to my friend was a demonstration of the powers and influence of Mbuya Nehanda. Another gory story predicated by the medium is that those who had harassed her would meet a not-so-pleasant fate and that in the not-so-distant future.
And that the perpetrators of the evictions will come back to her begging for mercy and crawling on all fours.
My friend, however, says he will not go back to Mazowe even if Ambuya is taken back by whatever powers in this land. I asked which party the evicted Mazowe families voted for, and my friend says it was obvious Zanu PF.
While my friend says he will not go back to Mazowe, he still insists that Ambuya will be back and this by some spiritual means and fear that will be instilled in Zanu PF. A hardcore traditionalist, he insists the mhondoro (spirit medium) will not let this matter go unpunished.
I tell him, however, that the land reform needs a far better accountability system than reliance on spirits and intermittent romance with Zanu PF more so towards elections.
The Mazowe saga is a typical example of the intersection of politics, people’s unfounded beliefs, bad policymaking and political opportunism by Zanu PF. Here is a party that campaigned hard on the basis of empowering its own people and at an opportune time chucks them into the rain and open without the slightest of concern.
As I write, I am yet to hear of any concerted action to resolve this matter. The families, some dumped at a local chief’s homestead and others simply left by the roadside, genuinely believed in Zanu PF when they cast their vote on July 31. This vote was more than for Zanu PF: it was equally for themselves, their insurance to keep their pieces of land.
After all, Ambuya, as my friend states, had predicted the elections well and strengthened the local Zanu PF leadership to prevail.
As things stand, however, the party has turned against them. As for my friend, his maize was being stolen by thieves, his chickens and other stuff scattered among friends and his belief in Zanu PF shattered and yet his belief in Ambuya as firm as a rock. As we arrived in Graniteside, Samaita was nowhere to be found. The Bongo appeared to have been painted with a wall brush and it had two headlights of different shapes and sizes.
My friend’s misery was piled. This truck was meant to carry his maize being looted daily from Mazowe. I comforted him by promising to pursue Samaita to the end. And also that we have a thorough discussion on the state of the dead, can they protect us from the police, can they talk to us?
And that next time he must be aware that we need sound policies, not those based on voices in the wind. Zanu PF never believed in Ambuya, it simply wanted those around her to vote right.
After this was done, the party chucked her and her people out until 2018 when maybe they will be brought back, to utter another prediction and the chucked off again.
