The road to marriage appears sweet and easy. This is where all the fun happens. There’s the courtship, which is sometimes characterised by a whirlwind romance and the marriage proposal. Then there are various traditional ceremonies as the two families engage each other, and begin the process of becoming one. These run concurrently with the fun and headaches of wedding preparations. In fact, some of the realities begin to reveal themselves during these preparations (arguments about the finances or who should be invited or indeed even the disinterest of the groom in the intricacies of the whole affair).

When couples date, they always give it their best, but once they start living together, standards begin to slip and eventually, couples see each other for what they really are. The restaurant meals, which characterised their courtships, are now replaced by overcooked, or burnt home cooking. You now know the state your partner’s home was in, when they came to meet you on a date, because that home is now yours too, and you are the one picking up dirty knickers. When you dated, you said things like “Let’s not argue about something so small, we only have a limited amount of time. Let’s not waste it on arguing”. But now in the marriage, some of those issues swept under the carpet during your courtship, come back to haunt you.

You may also refuse to accept that you are now mixing in a different circle and that some of the friends you had may no longer be appropriate. You may even realise that in-laws you thought were so sweet and welcoming were really excited about you, because of your baby-making potential and within a year there are pointeded questions being asked about when the babies will come. While dating, you often spoke of how many children you’d like to have, not realizing that these were not just numbers you are throwing around and that the reality of these numbers and what they demand of you in terms resources is quite another thing.

Many couples begin to panic as they fail to adjust to that reality of marriage. This panic ranges from complete shock, which may lead to some people bailing out of their failing marriages, by either physically (cheating) or emotionally withdrawing. Other’s panic can manifest itself as anger, which leads to abuse of self (drinking too much) and of the spouse (violence). Others trudge on, to save face or later, on for the sake of the children.

So many people go into marriage with unrealistic expectations not really knowing the key issues that make their spouses tick and many may not realize that saying “I do” marks the beginning of a different process as opposed to the continuum of the more romantic beginning. This inadequate preparation for marriage is leading to so many problems (small houses etc.). Maybe if people are better prepared for the realities of marriage, things in Zimbabwe would be a little different, after all, “fore-warned is fore-armed”. I’m sure there are many married people who will read this article. I hope that some of you may even think that it really speaks to you. What would you have loved to know before you got married that would have prepared you for the realities of this very noble and serious institution?

Despite the optimism communicated, by the Health and Child Welfare Ministry’s Seretse Maphosa, I am having a difficult time believing that the Zimbabwean public is that ready and willing to go for HIV testing. Our aversion to testing goes beyond a lack of adequate and nearby testing facilities. The truth is many, if not most people, would rather not know their HIV status. Testing positive changes one’s life, and most Zimbabweans are not ready or adequately equipped for dealing with these changes.

I am curious to know what the Ministry’s plan is, beyond getting half a million Zimbabweans to get tested in 10-days. I would also like to know what other support systems they have for those who test positive, beyond the once-off, pre and post-testing counseling services we’ve all come to know and associate with HIV testing. Will they assist with treatment and medication those who test positive will consequently require? What are they doing concurrently with the testing campaign to combat stigma, which I believe to be the deadliest aspect HIV?

From Pambazuka, an article on one of my favourite artists, Kudzanai Chiurai:

State of the nation, according to Kudzania Chiurai

Born in 1981 in Zimbabwe, Kudzanai Chiurai is an internationally acclaimed artist now living and working in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the first black student to graduate with a BA in Fine Art from the University of Pretoria. Highly regarded as a leading voice of his generation, Kudzi has made a name for himself as a thought provoking artist who uses his art to highlight the many fallacies of our continent with specific focus on African leaders and culture. Chiurai’s early work focused on the political, economic and social strife in his homeland and has since evolved to reflect a continental dialogue that puts the state and its people at the centre of progress or the lack thereof. Seminal works like ‘Presidential Wallpaper’ depicted Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe as a sell-out and this led to Chiurai’s exile from Zimbabwe.

Armed with a paint brush and a strong desire for change Kudzi has become somewhat of a legend in the niche world of pan-African urban culture. For someone who has achieved so much in a short space of time with bodies of artwork that speak loudly, his humility, sensitivity and introverted personality are humbling, making for an interesting harmonious contrast between the artist and his work.

His latest presentation titled ‘State of the Nation’ is intended to explore aspects of a constructed African state that bears scars of political and cultural discourses. On a continent that has experienced more violent conflicts than any other, this exhibition follows an individual’s narration of events that lead up to the inaugural speech by the first democratically elected president. The conflict that exists between cultural vistas and postmodern political narratives is evident in Chiurai’s work. Themes range from rituals, genocide memories of Rwanda and the all too familiar propaganda machine of the state to win hearts and minds of the nation. The vivid and curated portrayal of political scenes and the fear it imposes on the general populace is both profound and sad. The political truth of our continent is captured in every line and colour and together the state of all our nations is laid bare.

Melissa Mboweni curated the exhibition in partnership with the Goethe Institute and collaborations with photographer Jurie Potgieter, singers Thandiswa Mazwai and Zaki Ibrahim as well as clever use of technology brought this body of work to life. Chiurai references child and woman soldiers, African liberation movements and civil wars. He tracks the similarities between societal, political and ideological doctrines of nations in tumultuous times of transition with the often-ignored impact these cacophonous changes have on citizens. The juxtaposing of public and private were highlighted in performances that took place in the streets of Newtown and in the exhibition space that fostered private conversations about the state of our own nation as well as the artist’s work. A sound and technology installation scores the gallery experience. The influence of hip-hop in Kudzi’s own life is evident in his installations.

In a style similar to previous bodies of work such as ‘Dying to be Men’ series and ‘Black President’, Chiurai’s constructed environments are enticing, seductive and explore real casualties of African independence and critically examine the role of state public servants in advancing democracy. This ‘State of the Nation’ exhibition is a timely theme that comes at a time when the continent is grappling with its democratic identity and the role of the state in bringing real freedom and justice to its people.

As an art lover and a follower of Kudzi’s work, I’m hoping his social themes will evolve to depict some of the goodness on our continent and the power of the individual in bringing about change in their own community regardless of the state. Kudzi has the ability, passion and drive to start painting imageries of Africa that shows progress and a people with an undying spirit for survival and entrepreneurship.

- Charles Nhamo Rupare
* Charles Nhamo Rupare is of Shona origin and lives life through the creative eye and dreams of Afrika regaining her dignity and her sons and daughters developing the necessary mental freedom to love peace and communal co-existence. He is an award-winning Afrikan-centred brand specialist, percussionist, writer and a Pan-Afrikan thinker. He is chief editor of www.kush.co.za, a co-founder of Kush Kollective and a Partner of TEDx Soweto.

Youth leader found guilty of sowing divisions and bringing the party into disrepute by disciplinary committee.

So says the headlines. But, why did they do it?

He certainly was divisive, and disreputable.

But, the ANC are a political party, so there are no principles involved. Only power issues.

Are they, the party, scared? They seem to be having trouble at the polls. Toilets, and inability to deliver reform and development. Promises not fulfilled.

Are they scared of a new DA, with a black (it has had a woman before) as it’s head? It takes all the coloured vote (which is significant, as opposed to the white vote), and keeps taking the Cape Provinces.

Do they feel race (and he is a racist) is something they need to keep swept under the carpet? Is the race card something they cannot afford to play anymore? Do they feel they have to actually put together a policy that is logical, and practical, and real? Do they feel they have to keep the radicals to the fringe, as a thing of influence, a tendency, but not mainline policy? They have been a party for 99 years, so they are far more mature than most ‘revolutionary’ parties, and now they take into account the historical fact that revolutionaries do not make good administrators. Are they showing themselves to be a ‘party’ in the classical sense – the role of a political party is interest articulation and aggregation, and they acknowledge that Malema does not aggregate enough interest for the party to articulate?

And why is he, a ‘youth’ leader at the age of 30? Surely he is mature enough (even if he is still writing university exams).

Please take a moment to read this heart-felt letter from Jenni Williams, National Coordinator for Women of Zimbabwe Arise, in which she shares sobering information about conditions in Zimbabwe’s prisons.

My name is Jenni Williams, national coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). I am persecuted for being a human rights defender, just getting over my 39th arrest and recovering from my 3rd stint in a Zimbabwean jail as a unconvicted prisoner. Arrested on the 21st of September World Peace Day, I spent 2 days in horrific conditions at Bulawayo Central Police and then 10 days at Mlondolozi female prison in Khami complex. This brings my tally to 73 days of my life spent in jails wearing the bright green dolly rocker tunic of a remand prisoner. Despite so many arrests, the state has been unable to criminalise my right to peaceful protest so they through a particular officer with personal grudges have now resorted to criminal charges of kidnapping and theft. Anyway that is just a bit of background, the real reason I write this is to make a heartfelt plea to Zimbabweans.

In Zimbabwean jails, you have nothing to do except watch and SEE what happens and to talk to other prisoners. Life in prison is dreary, many nights spent on hard floors, dirty blankets, stinking cells, long hours (16hours) of lock down in small overcrowded cells can surely drive one up the wall. I slept next to murderers, car jackers, thieves , fraudsters, prostitutes, all of them human beings trying to survive. I was not there to judge them but to share in the battle to eke out some form of dignity for oneself and avoid being harassed or beaten or tortured by prison guards. Counting the hours and days in your head or watching how the shadows change as the sun sets as you are not allowed to know the time becomes a favourite past time of many. A prison is supposed to be a place for correction and reform , but Zimbabwe’s prisons become places of slow death and places where one’s dignity and self esteem are stripped. I have seen none of the correction and reform except forced labour or nonsensical things like the daily watering down to clean the 12×25 meter concrete yard.

During 2008, time in prison was hell as there was such widespread hunger and skeletons habited most of Zimbabwe’s jails. Things have improved somehow in terms of supply of food in Mlondolozi but I am afraid to say the food is badly cooked and hungry eyes tell the stomach that it cannot finish the meal served on plastic plates as it is so unappetising. Sadza and spinach is such a simple meal to prepare if cooked in clean pots with clean water and with care but both are lacking at Mlondolozi. The sadza of an indescribable colour with relish of either spinach drowning in it water and not a drop of oil or beans swimming in an Olympic pool of liquid are the 11:30 lunch and 3pm dinner menu. Porridge too is a burden to eat as it is cooked in yesterday’s unwashed pots and 20% of inmates have that magic item called a spoon. Those with the other scare item called a toothbrush use one side for brushing and another for dribbling porridge into their mouths. And so I learn that eating is half hunger and a whole lot to do with how appetising the food is, the result, inmates don’t get their basic right to a decent cooked nutritious meal. Due to my friends and relatives I am able to get a meal and something for breakfast delivered to me daily but as before I find I cannot eat in those conditions and lost 4kgs despite spending most of the day sitting in the tiny yard. One appetite killer is the thought that someone in the cells who does not have relatives to visit and cannot stomach prison food will go for days without a morsel. My colleague Magodonga spent many meal times urging me to eat so I could take my antibiotics to treat the infection of my recent surgery. There was no bathing or shower facilities in Hotel Central Police station and my pleas for clean water for me to cleaning my wounds for 3 days fell on deaf ears, it was if I was asking for a rock from the moon. By the grace of God the antibiotics worked, and the infection has cleared.

I have three things to ask of anyone reading this note but I am no expert but just sharing based on experience. Firstly talking to convicted prisoners, it becomes so clear that that people can be too trusting and this sets them up for a fall. Please take time to study and analyse people and take more seriously advice on how to prevent crime or carjacking. Don’t leave your keys in the ignition and step out. Don’t trust strangers no matter the gender, smile or eloquence. I am not saying go through life being suspicious and lose confidence in the basic good of a human but take the time to THINK before you act. This will and can save you from injury, harm death and or even losing your property.

Following on from the basic good point, some of the crimes that resulted in prisoners being given the yellow dress of a convicted person could have been solved by facilitated dialogue processes. Again, I ask us to think and try to find other ways than to send someone to a prison that cannot feed them in a country that will not reform or correct them. Instead of prisoners coming out as reformed members of society they re-enter society as hardened criminals with little hope of being reformed. I am also talking to employers of domestic staff. The police and justice systems in our country are not working as they should so in the meantime society must find another way to peacefully deal with crime that involves genuine reform and correction and restitution. By the way I have had lots stolen from me and many break ins but because of who I am, I am deprived of my right to walk into a police station and report a crime as it has resulted in my personal persecution for my human rights work.

If you have a relative in jail, please visit them, they need to see you even if you have nothing to give except your smile and a teaspoon or an empty container to use as a lunch box! If you can donate food or practical things to Mlondolozi for the 100 women there, please do so but make sure there is a record of the donation or demand to give it to a prisoner direct or through charitable organisations. Send body cream but not face cream. Don’t send deodorant or things that women like to use to make themselves pretty and feminine because for strange undisclosed reasons feeling feminine is not allowed. During my stints I normally coped by reading magazines or short simple romance novels and prisoners and guards alike had always loaned these books to read so it is something that you can do to help pass the day or night, while waiting for Zimbabwe’s slow wheels of justice to take their course.

May I take this opportunity to thank the many whom I know had me and my colleague in their prayers.

God bless Jenni

Action:

Support Mlondolozi Prison. Contact them directly on +263-9-64228

Or send your support via Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO):
Stand No 12922 Ndhlela Way, Mbare, Harare
+263-4-780401/3, 770046
+263-772-485851, 77212177, +263-773-133673
elisha@zacro.org.zw, edson@zacro.org.zw, zacrehab@mweb.co.zw

The African National Congress under the leadership of President Zuma today stamped its authority by suspending the ANC Youth League executive.

Julius Malema the most controversial African National Congress Youth League leader has been suspended from the party for five years for provoking divisions within the ruling party and bringing the organisation into disrepute.

Malema popularly know for his reckless statements especially with the one he made in the media advocating for regime change in Botswana had his other executive members also receiving suspensions. Julius and his team recently led marches in Johannesburg, South Africa under the disguise of economic freedom for the poor yet he is living a lavish lifestyle. Just after leading the economic freedom marches Malema flew to Mauritius to attend a friend’s wedding leaving his supporters wondering whether the marches were for a real cause or just a way of diverting attention from hearings which were on going during that time.

Malema’s political career has been marred with allegations of corruption involving the awarding of tenders worth millions of rands.

The suspension of the ANC Youth League executive should be an example to other political parties in the region on how to discipline unruly party members.