Driving out of the shopping centre where I work requires a deep breath, extreme concentration, and a small miracle each afternoon. Traffic can come at you from at least 5 different directions, and there typically isn’t much clear or agreed sense amongst the drivers who should be where,  who should yield to whom, or where one should, or shouldn’t park. The picture  below gives a sense of the chaos:

So, one might think that the presence of Zimbabwe Republic Police Traffic Section at this intersection would be a good thing. They could direct the traffic, clarify the no parking zones, and generally ease congestion and accident potential there.

Unfortunately, as I experienced this morning, their presence instead seems to create even more potential accidents, as they pull cars over into non-existent shoulders, causing cars to back up into the road and risk rear-ending one another. It’s hard also, when you see police here, not to assume they’re more interested in taking a few bribes than they are in enforcing road safety.

So, I phoned the police to find out What’s The Story.

First, I spoke to someone at nearby Highlands Police Station. That didn’t go so well.

Me: Hello – I have a question about a roadblock in Newlands. I’m not sure who the right person to speak with is?
Him: You can speak with me.
Me: Okay, thanks. Well, you see, there is this roadblock at the Newlands Shopping Centre where the shops meet the robots and its’ all very confusing there already, and so when they pull cars over it just makes more congestion and more potential accidents, and maybe they could their roadblock elsewhere, since I’m not really sure what purpose they are serving there?
Him: Are you saying they shouldn’t have their roadblock there?
Me: No, um, well, I’m just saying maybe there are other places that are better, and maybe I could speak with someone to find out why they are there?
Him: There isn’t really anyone I can recommend for you to speak with.
Me: Oh. All right then. Thank you anyway.

I had more luck with Inspector Nuta at the Traffic Section. I explained the situation, and he clarified a few things:

1. It’s only a road block if there are 8 or more police officers, drums, and “police ahead” signs. If there isn’t all of that, it is a traffic blitz.
2. At Newlands, the traffic blitz is there to enforce the stop sign for the drivers coming along the old road towards town.
3. Because there is no parking for cars the police pull over there, the police have been instructed to only pull over one car at a time. However, that creates problems when driver A gets pulled over for not stopping – But then sees drivers B, C and D not stopping and not getting pulled over – So sometimes police pull over more cars (and create more problems).

I suggested that maybe rather than trying to enforce that one stop sign, they could rather invest in better road markings for the whole of the area, so that it’s more clear for all of the traffic who has right of way where. Nuta said this was a fair point and would raise it with his superiors. Of course, I have no way of knowing if he will, but at least their PR machinery has clearly given the Traffic Section some helpful lessons in managing customer complaints and speaking with the public.

I also mentioned a possible “traffic blitz” I’ve seen on Ridgeway / Kew Drive a few times recently. That, Nuta thought, might not be a legal one, and could instead be a case of people misrepresenting the police. He gave me his number and that for his Officer In Charge, and asked that the next time I see them I phone him so that he could “race to the scene” to confirm whether “they are ours.”

It’s easy to get frustrated with the police in Zimbabwe, and assume that every encounter with them will be pointless and aggravating. But this morning’s phone call was a very positive experience. If you are in Harare and have questions about a road block, traffic blitz, or other police traffic behaviour you witness, phone them to find out more, and to report potential problems.

Harare Traffic Section: 04-460268
Inspector Nuta: 0772 929 172
OIC Traffic Chief Inspector Sabau 0772 910 590

Feeling disillusioned and alienated and the sense of belonging to an entity called Zimbabwe is fast fading. We have now had three consecutive elections that don’t seem to be helping in resolving the problems the nation has been facing for the past decade. If nobody bothers to respect the outcome of an election why then continue investing in such kind of a democracy? Isn’t it elections are supposed to help us resolve the great questions of our day, so that once one side of the argument wins, we can let it guide our decisions until the people feel the need for a change in direction? Alluding to everything and pretending to be enjoying every bit that comes with the election aftermath is now normal coping strategy as we continue to do soul searching on the direction the country is heading. For how long we will hold on depends on the men with the reigns over the mighty forces of the land.

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!

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

A few weeks ago, I found a leaking water pipe where I stay. I phoned a plumber, who came to look that very day, who reported that unfortunately the leak was below the meter – Which meant as a private plumber they weren’t allowed to do the work on the leak – I had to get in touch with City of Harare, as the leak was on their system.

The good news, I suppose, is that at least that meant there was a trickle of municipal water flowing through the system. The bad news was that I needed City of Harare to do the work.

After three weeks of phoning them several times each week, the City finally sent a crew round to take a look. They closed off the connection to the city water service, dug up the problematic pipe, and found it so corroded it practically crumbled when they lifted it out of the ground. But, they said, they couldn’t do anything more – They don’t have the material. So they left.

I phoned them again this morning to find out what to do now. We don’t have the material, I was told, but if you want us to do the work “chop chop” you can buy what we need and we can come do the work. If I have to buy the material myself, I asked, can I not just hire a private plumber to come and do the work? Nope – The problem is below the meter. So, I ask, I’m no plumber. How do I know what I need to get? We can come today to take another look and give you a list of supplies you can buy.

So, it takes three weeks for the City to come and address the problem in the first place. But coming to take a look to come up with a shopping list for a hostage resident is a same-day service.

Oh, and, it was very clear on the phone – They won’t pay me back for whatever I get.

Unfortunately, in a spirit of civic mindedness, I have been faithfully paying my council bills since 2009, so I won’t benefit from the write off of debts to the City. And, in all this time, my bill paying has resulted in sporadic rubbish collection, occasional patching of potholes (which doesn’t come anywhere close to addressing the dire state of our roads), street lights which don’t function, and a municipal water supply conspicuous by its absence. To add insult to injury, even as a rate payer, I don’t benefit from any investment in the city’s infrastructure – I have to buy my own material to ensure that the City will do work I am not allowed to contract a private plumber to do. Tell me again, what’s the incentive to continue to pay?

Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, Movement for Democratic Change President Morgan Tsvangirai has filed an election petition with the Constitutional Court. In it, he lists “numerous corrupt and illegal practices and other electoral malpractices and irregularities.” Tsvangirai argues that Zimbabwe’s 31 July election is void, and asks that it be set aside.

Tsvangirai’s election petition speaks of bribery, media bias, misuse of voter registration slips, turning away of voters at polling stations, problems with the use of assisted voting, and other irregularities. You can read the document submitted to the Constitutional Court here.

The case is set to be heard at the Constitutional Court tomorrow (Saturday) at 2pm.

However, regardless of the number of irregularities, or the strength of his case, the presidential election petition seems unlikely to change much in Zimbabwe. The Constitutional Court which will hear it is the Court of judges, appointed by President Mugabe, who created Zimbabwe’s 31 July farce election in their first Constitutional Court judgement of 31 May.

As one Kubatana supporter put it: “Tsvangirai should go for Plan B because going to court will change nothing. He will never win this battle against Mugabe.”

Update: In an affidavit submitted to the Constitutional Court the afternoon of Friday, 16 August, Tsvangirai said “it is with deep regret and sadness” that he was withdrawing the Presidential Election Petition. You can read Tsvangirai’s affidavit withdrawing the election petition to Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court here.