That people do not trust Zanu PF is a historical fact backed by numerous events since the party’s formation back in the 1960s.  That fact was cemented after the MDC National Executive Council agreed January 30 to get into bed with the party roundly condemned for running down the economy and horrendous human rights violations.

Instead of this important announcement being met with wild ululation, word on the street remains one of subdued hope – or total absence thereof – with sentiments like: “What the heck? Who cares anymore?” It is when the people’s sense of resolve and hope is destroyed that one looks at the whole thing about politics – African at least – as inherently flawed.

Do elections offer hope for the masses anymore? What about non-electoral political settlements like the one Zimbabwe is witnessing? These liberation parties have for long claimed ownership and entitlement of the nations they liberated from white minority rule, and it does not make any sense for the general populations that these elites seem to only accept the opposition into government only as lesser political entities under their phony tutelage.

What tangible space then does the victorious political opposition occupy to be able to change and reserve decades-old policies that were engineered by the liberation movements?

I listened to a group of unemployed men rubbing their hands with unbounded glee that the decision by the MDC to at last join Zanu PF in government was a harbinger of a change of their fortunes.

But another in their midst – perhaps from that Afro-pessimism school to which I happen to belong – was quick to warn them against premature celebration.  More like premature ejaculation perhaps: it’s over before it even begins! After muted consideration, another was instantly converted to that school. There was little or nothing to celebrate, they agreed. But as some would have said in different circumstances, “let’s give peace a chance,” so perhaps let’s give this experiment a chance.

Zanu PF is viewed as a “senior partner” by many here who watched ZAPU pitifully give itself one hard kick in the butt into political oblivion when Mugabe tricked that good man Joshua Nkomo into believing they were equal partners.”Yes we are brothers, but I am the big brother!”

That is the history many sceptics are reminded of today, and as long as there is no confidence in this formation of the GNU among not only the ordinary people but most importantly among the political players themselves as both parties are reported to have inveterate hardliners opposed to the union, then this is yet another historic triumph for ZANU PF.

And the people’s understanding of local politics does not offer any sunny side of contemporary Zimbabwe. For starters, does this mean for example the release of political prisoners? As far as recent developments and media reports go, Zanu PF has not yet committed itself in that regard. Are we likely to see Zanu PF dropping its tired rhetoric of calling the MDC-T puppets of the West etc? It would be incorrigible naivety to image Zanu PF having that instant conversion in a bid to move the country forward and up the Sisphyean path of economic recovery and the rebuilding of essential services. That conversion would sure be a miracle worth sneaking into the pages of the Bible.

What the people need is Mugabe to go peacefully not the mere signing on the dotted line of the GNU, that is what you hear everyday.

Many have tried – and many have failed – to change Zanu PF from within but only to question their own wisdom after dining with the Devil only to fail to dehorn it.

Zimbabweans agree the country must move forward, what they do not agree on is whether supping with the Devil is the right path. Better the Devil you do not know after all! While popular sentiment across the country and indeed the world is that what Zimbabwe needs is a total makeover with the absence of Zanu PF, it is instructive that the MDC is seen as having done this against its better judgement.

It can only be because there is something Zimbabweans already know about Zanu PF for this mass deception thing is being viewed as precisely that – mass deception. If only the MDC was being passed the poisoned chalice in the sense of Zanu PF leaving government. But what they have done is actually sit down to partake of the contents and return it to people who have taken gulps of a mysterious serum to render themselves immune to the contents therein.

Zanu PF is beyond caring, and the US government has already said it is sceptical about the whole thing, so imagine the Zimbabwean people themselves who for years have been forced to live with untold misery at the hands of Zanu PF. Their scepticism knows no bounds and with good reason.

Someone called Gina posted this interesting comment on the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum list serv recently:

I read today about a primary school teacher working across the border to raise South African Rand because she can’t use worthless Zimbabwe money. I wonder if she knew that the 100 Billion Zimbabwe dollar note is selling for $45 dollars Australian on e-bay. That’s $30 US  or 1,121,949,240 Z$. Zimbabwe Dollar notes from $1 to $1,000,000 sell for about $35 US. I find it incredible that coin and note collectors are paying so much for Zimbabwe money on e-bay when those that live there say it is cheaper to burn than newspaper.

I have a subscription to a magazine called Yes! In the last issue there was an article about the 10 things that science says will make you happy. Top of the list was “savor everyday moments” and I’ve been doing a lot of that recently.

Walking to work the other day I came across a little tortoise in my driveway. This was my second sighting so I decided to pick him up and put him even further back in the yard to try and make sure that he didn’t end up flattened on the road. But the next morning there he was, out and about again. So I made an emergency call to friends who I think of as tortoise experts. The tortoise changed hands and he’s been released in the bush.

I’ve started to see small groups of goats being moved from A to B in the eastern suburbs of Harare. Luckily I haven’t been running my dog on any of these occasions. He becomes uncontrollable at the sight of an egret, what then when he eyeballs some goats? Because he’s a bit of a handful, a friend brought me back a “no pull harness” from Washington DC. All well and good if your walking your poodle on Pennsylvania Avenue but not for the variety of encounters, goat and otherwise, that you might have on the streets of Harare.

In Highlands there’s this house built like a boat. At one point my walking companion suggested that it was a houseboat and would soon be towed off to Kariba. We realised this wasn’t the case when we saw a double lock up garage in its bow. Farai the Almighty is alive and well and living on Glenara Avenue.

One of my walking routes to work takes me along Princess Avenue and the other morning I saw the chef of China Town restaurant doing Tai Chi and very high knee kicks in his driveway.

And the other evening, on my way home, I saw Dr Paul going into the DVD store in Newlands Shopping Centre. I was taken aback in that childish way when we used to get excited when we saw one of our teachers having dinner out and thinking, Oh My God, Miss Williams actually eats, she’s normal! I found myself thinking the same about my dentist and wondering what movie he’d hire after a hard day’s drilling.

One of the best parts of my job is getting to read all sorts of different stories written by Zimbabweans. Fungai Machirori emailed Kubatana with her recent experience of buying a take-away, and in so doing, getting a bit more than she had bargained for . . .

I hate thieves. There’s nothing like working hard to get something that you really want, valuing it with the sweat that it’s worth, and then having someone come along with the audacity to snatch it away from you with their grimy hands. No doubt we’ve all had a share of this experience at some point in our lives: our money, our property, our livelihoods – all stolen from out of our unsuspecting grasp. Unfortunately, I too have a recent example of an act of robbery against me to tell.

Just this Saturday, I was a victim of a theft I believe was induced by the sorry desperate state of our nation and its people. After an excruciatingly long week of hard toil at work, I decided to treat myself by buying a six-piece box of fried chicken from a popular take-away chain that recently slashed its once over-inflated prices. “You’ve earned it,” I thought to myself, imagining how good the food would taste back home, once shared with family.

After the characteristically long wait in the take-away queue, I made my way through the Harare city streets, quite excited about my recent acquisition – it’s not everyday that people in Zimbabwe buy take-aways, you know! Wanting only to get home and feed my own hunger, I thought nothing of the voracious pairs of eyes I noticed lustfully undressing the maroon box in my hands. But, as I stood along a wide-tarred street, waiting for the traffic to thin out, my worst fear was realised. Noticing that my concentration was more on the road than anything else, a man in dirty clothes simply came up behind me, snatched my box of chicken, and then ran like his life depended on it.

Because it all happened so fast, I experienced a silent instant during which my brain failed to register the injustice that had just befallen me. But it was only an instant. For in the very next second, I was hot on my feet, pumping adrenaline in pursuit of my thief. “Hey, you!” I shouted as I sprinted like a trained Olympian. “Come back with my food!”

He probably hadn’t bargained for my energetic pursuit of him, figuring that a ‘girl’ wouldn’t even try. And he probably hadn’t bargained for the fact that I would shout an instruction to all passers-by ahead to grab hold of this thief who had just had stolen from me. And so less than a hundred metres into our encounter, he relented, falling onto the ground, handing me back my box.

My anger was evident, and I made it known to him by giving him a disapproving click of my tongue and telling him never to try to pull such a stunt over me again. “He’s just hungry,” reasoned two of the by-standers who had seen what had happened.

So did his hunger give him the right to steal from me? I didn’t give voice to this thought, but I took slight offence at the fact that I, as a victim, could somehow be painted as the bad person for having chased after what was rightfully mine.  Just because he might have perceived me as needing that box of food less than he did, didn’t give him the right to act on this assumption. Besides, I work hard and long to get money to fulfil my desires. My sweat, my money, my rewards.

I understand how Zimbabwe’s economic retrogression has forced many of its citizens to adopt activities they wouldn’t normally consider. To a certain extent, we have all become corrupt – some have left professional jobs to become illegal foreign and local currency dealers (whom most of us buy money from),others have crossed our porous borders into neighbouring countries, without legal documentation. And yes, some have resorted to theft as a means of survival.

So am I therefore a hypocrite if I condemn theft, but accept all other forms of maladies blighting our country? I don’t think so. Unlike the other examples of crime I have offered, theft is a self-seeking, no-cost, all-gain activity. Whereas the dealer on the street is hustling to try to make a living, the thief lets you do all the work for him or her, and then comes along to put their grubby fingers on your loot.

Some thieves justify their ‘profession’ by stating that they have been forced into this form of subsistence. With start-up capital (both mental and financial) lacking within their reserves, they simply resort to the simplest job on earth – stealing the benefits of another person’s toil.

“He should have asked for some of your food, instead,” observed a woman who’d watched the whole scene. That’s hardly likely to have worked, which is why I suppose my thief took the easier route. How many of us honestly stop to share our food with the hobos and street children? How many of us really make the suffering of anyone beyond our circle of friends and family ours?

Maybe that is why they steal from us. They’ve tried over and over again to beg for our scraps and left-overs. And still, we’d sooner overfeed ourselves than help any one of them out. Legendary Zimbabwean musician, Chiwoniso, highlights this societal contrast in her song ‘Iwai Nesu’ (God, be with us), when she sings:

Vamwe vaparara nenzara/ Some have died from hunger
Vamwe vachifa nekuguta/ (While) Some are dying from overeating

So, maybe theft is how they avenge our callousness; how they rebel against our moral unjustness.

But no matter what their reasons, I still hate thieves – the type that snatch, the ones who raid and pillage shops, homes and other private properties; even human bodies. And yes, I also hate political thieves – the type who snatch and rape democracy, who raid and pillage hopes and other private thoughts. Perhaps I shouldn’t direct all my anger towards the street robber who’s stealing to survive. Maybe I should rage at his mentors, instead – those seemingly ‘upright’ leaders wearing smart ties and suits bought with the blood and dejection of the robbed masses.

To temper my scepticism over this inclusive government, I’ve been reading what some of our subscribers have to say about it via SMS. I may not agree with all of them, but they are certainly hopeful. Here are some of the text messages we’ve received about Friday’s deal.

I think its a good move we a going to dismantle ZANU from inside. SADC PF has lost credibility both localy regionaly & internationaly.

–

Is that a gud idea?

–

Thank god for the agreement

–

Thank u very much. Tambai tsoro with honesty to the people…The suffering

–

What about the people abducted and jailed