Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Zimbabwe’s 31 July Election was free and fair, and that Robert Mugabe was duly elected President. This followed the submission of an election petition to the Constitutional Court by Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T, and the subsequent withdrawal of the petition when it became clear that the Electoral Court would not give the MDC-T access to the election materials they needed to support their election petition.

Mugabe’s inauguration has been scheduled for today – and yesterday it was announced that today would also  conveniently be declared a public holiday, so that everyone can attend. (As I recall, inaugurations in the past haven’t been public holidays.) Oh yes – And 30 heads of state (current and former) are expected among the guests.

So, never mind whatever plans, appointments, meetings or other obligations you may have had for Thursday 22 August, they’re all suspended. And hey – If 30 heads of state can clear their calendars to arrive in Harare at a moment’s notice, who are you to complain about a last minute public holiday. Besides, this year Zimbabwe has held a Constitutional Referendum with one month’s notice, and Harmonised Elections with six weeks’ notice. What’s a bit of last minute inauguration party planning?

But is it really that last minute? As this Kubatana subscriber comments, the timing of all of this makes it clear that petition withdrawal or not, there was only one possible outcome of the election petition before the Constitutional Court – Mugabe’s inauguration on Thursday. The “last minute” notion is just to add to the sense of theatre:

Claims that in Zimbabwe there is no rule of the law have been vindicated. How can a judiciary rubber stamp a ruling from Mugabe on Sunday 18 August that he will be sworn in on Thursday 22 August. Chidyausiku reiterated the same in his constitutional judgement on 20 August as if he was something new but a pre-determined statement. What a mockery of justice system in Zimbabwe? On the other hand Bhunu was delivering a judgement to order arrest of MDC lawyers for saying the courts are an appendage of Zanupf, a thing they the mdc lawyers where not supposed to say to the sacred Courts, infringing on freedom of speech as allowed in the constitution of Zimbabwe. Why are the courts not prone to criticism. The courts are above the law. I thought if they were not an appendage of Zanupf they should have simply proved that and not to abuse their powers infringing the constitutional rights of citizens and lawyers doing their job. Why should lawyers be intimidated in a free Zimbabwe? It a shame? What will the international and not sadc say about the rule of law in Zimbabwe and more on sanctions? What are we trying to prove to the superpowers? That we are dictators. That we do not reason? That courts are there to punish voices of reason? And not to protect or remedy from injustice amongst ourselves? Why oppress ourselves in the name of protecting one person over millions of God fearing people? Protect the ruling elite (Zanupf members only). The courts have failed this nation, proving there is no rule of law? They are biased. And the country expects foreign investment?  Hey God forbid! Ndanyara lusvika pekupedzesera. Ko kungoti yave one party state vanhu voziva ka, zvinei, than to pretend and wasting people’s time!

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Media intern: Local NGO
Deadline: 23 August 2013 (4:30pm)

A local Media NGO would like to call for applications for attachment/internship. The eligible candidates should be studying towards a qualification in Journalism and Media and any other related and relevant programme. To apply email your CV’s to: mediaintern.jurno [at] gmail [dot] com

Finance Intern: CRS Zimbabwe
Deadline: 27 August 2013

CRS Zimbabwe engages Interns as a corporate social responsibility to provide students with on the job practical training. The duration of the attachment varies depending on need and the tertiary calendar of the institutions but is usually for a year. CRS Zimbabwe intends to engage 1(one) intern for the period 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014.

Duties and learning areas
-Process payments and receivables in liaison with the Payables and Receivables
-Accountants, including compiling the checklists and transfer instructions
-Ensure that all payables transactions comply with CRS policies and procedures, CRS MAP of authorities, local statutory regulations and Acts (withholding taxes), donor policies and regulations, and contractual obligations (terms and conditions of contracts)
-Apply donor policies and regulations, CRS policies and procedures, GAAP, internal control processes and systems for transactions being processed
-Ensure vouchers have adequate supporting documents, approvals and arithmetic accuracy
-Provide the gate keeping function for all documents and ensure that all requests are correctly approved as per the CP’s Map of Authorities, have adequate supporting documentation, are correctly coded and charged to existing and correct T0/ T2 combinations
-Compiling bank reconciliations on a monthly basis
-Canceling and filing all processed vouchers in line with CRS’s filing procedures
-Project accounting in liaison with the Project Accountant
-Any other duties as assigned by the Finance Manager or designate

Minimum Hiring Standards
-Students in Universities, colleges or professional institutions studying towards an Accounting qualification i.e. Bachelor of Accounting Degree, CIS, CIMA, ACCA, BBS, HND
-Motivation to work under pressure and during odd hours

To apply
The deadline for submission of applications to the Country Representative is Tuesday 27 August 2013. Full application plus letter from the institution, addressed to the Country Representative should be forwarded to: 95 Park Lane, Harare or P.O. Box CY 1111, Causeway, Harare or 33A Duncan Road, Suburbs Bulawayo or email: taurai.musakaruka [at] crs [dot] org

Today we got fired up on chocolate cake (yes, call us dangerous why don’t you) as well as this little gem from Ibbo Mandaza on the election: a coup that has legitimised itself through an election. We found out why Baba Jukwa, and any other organisation working from their Internet bed, can’t inspire revolution: The platforms of social media are built around weak ties. Twitter is a way of following (or being followed by) people you may never have met. Facebook is a tool for efficiently managing your acquaintances, for keeping up with the people you would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with. That’s why you can have a thousand “friends” on Facebook, as you never could in real life. We agreed with Fungayi Mukosera that writing off water and power debts both persecutes good citizenship and illustrates what a truly brainless government we have. We got a whiff of Marko Phiri’s election induced PTSD infused with the belief that fresh beginnings were stolen on 31 July. We laughed when we read how Lenard Kamwendo has been trying to dodge election talk; my neighbours were even amused when they saw me on the roof and one of them asked if everything was okay? Knowing where I work the old man living next door came to my place asking me if the new government has also rendered me jobless. We liked the opening paragraph of an article by Richard Dowden writing for African Arguments: from the moment Robert Mugabe said he would step down from the presidency of Zimbabwe if he lost the election, it was clear that he knew he would win it. If he had not been certain of winning, he would not have called the election. Power – military, political, bureaucratic – is what he understands, loves and has enjoyed for 33 years. It’s more than love – it’s an addiction. Other African presidents try to cajole him. He charms and patronises them. British prime ministers and American presidents lecture him. He swats away their words and plays the colonialist card. Opposition movements challenge him. He crushes them with violence. Then he charms them. Mugabe will leave power when he wants to – or when his body gives out. We came across a provocative quote from Sisonke Msimang writing on the Daily Maverick – her whole article is well worth reading: as currently practiced, African standards, certainly in respect to elections and democratic governance, basically suck. We were inspired by an article that reflects on the rise in global protest as citizens lose faith in politics and the state and it got us questioning the protest apathy that personifies Zimbabweans. We agreed with Leon Hartwell that many Zimbabweans feel cheated because the credibility of the process that produced ZANU-PF’s victory was deeply flawed, thereby also betraying the essence of democracy. With 270 MPs and a Parliament designed for 160, Zimbabwe’s new Parliament will be standing room only. But not to worry, Marko Phiri writes: Yet we know from past experience that many MPs ignored sittings anyway, which means space will always be there! ZiFMStereo got a pom pom from us for making their birthday a day of action and cleaning up the rubbish and election posters in Newlands – You Rock! We came across Fungai Machiori interviewing Christopher Mlalazi, the author of Running With Mother which relives the Gukurahundi killings of the 1980s; on whether it’s time to put the pain of Gukurahundi behind us, Christopher responds: it is very easy for a perpetrator in any situation to say let’s forget about that, but it is not that easy for the victim to do the same, especially if the perpetrator is not forthcoming and sometimes tries to dismiss the whole issue as a none event. For the victim there is always the fear – that if the perpetrator is not forthcoming or apologetic, what can stop him or her from doing it all over again? We loved reading Dikson’s tribute (saying goodbye to our Marley) to Chiwoniso: if Mother Earth had a wind chime on her porch, it would be Chiwoniso with an mbira. We blogged a Q&A with the author of Hairdresser of Harare, Tendai Huchu, who reckons that you can never go wrong with sadza. We read an interview by Tinashe Mushakavanhu where he finds out more about how and why the gay activist Peter Tatchell arrested Robert Mugabe in London. And finally we’re thinking of making a useful offline product like rolls of toilet paper with inspiring messages on them for example: wipe out dictatorship. Please send us your slogan to: info [at] kubatana [dot] net

Look at me! I don’t even realise how unhappy I am until my aunt picks up the phone and I almost start to cry. I tell her that it’s not a nice feeling this “I told you so.” I tell her I can’t do this anymore. I tell her I can’t keep quiet and pretend that I’m some sort of functional type that can swallow all these election posters like there’s no tomorrow, and hey, everything’s going to be ok. Kind of like your mother saying sweetly, anyone for more chocolate cake when she knows you’re watching that lip of fat pout over your knicker line. The thing is people just keep coming. Wanting their fix, or their therapy. Sometimes they linger at the front door talking petitions, like, yeah babe they’re sure going to make a difference. Or if they get further in, past the gate, and the front door, they sink down and kneel on the floor in your office, talking possibilities. And all the time you’re thinking about slipping out the back door and going straight home.

Another death of a military man which in “normal” circumstances would pass unnoticed, yet a look at online bulletin boards Zimbabweans are once again on Speculation Avenue speeding with all sorts of conspiracy theories. When will this end? Are there no “natural deaths” or fatal accidents anymore in this country? And the fact that some are celebrating someone’s death paints a very disturbing picture about where we come from, what bred that anger, where we are going and how that anger will be dealt with.