According to today’s NewsDay, the price of fuel has gone up from around $1.50 / litre for petrol to $1.70 / litre for petrol following last week’s election. It seems pretty hard to believe that this is what Zimbabweans were hoping would be the most immediate result of a Zanu PF win. If you haven’t already read it, check out the Zanu PF 2013 election manifesto. Since they’ve got such a resounding victory, they shouldn’t have any problems making good on their promises to develop, empower and employ Zimbabweans.

Update 6 August: Herald headline – Fuel price increase reports false: Zera

Zimbabwe’s dry winter months may mean that the veld fire danger is high. But the risk of people power exploding in the streets is low. The weather is cold, the sky is grey. Despite the MDC’s announcement that Zimbabwe’s 2013 harmonised election was illegitimate, it’s business as usual in Harare today.

We were discussing homosexuality because of an allusion to it in the book we were reading, and several boys made comments such as, “That’s disgusting.” We got into the debate and eventually a boy admitted that he was terrified/disgusted when he was once sharing a taxi and the other male passenger made a pass at him. The lightbulb went off. “Oh,” I said. “I get it. See, you are afraid, because for the first time in your life you have found yourself a victim of unwanted sexual advances by someone who has the physical ability to use force against you.” The boy nodded and shuddered visibly.“But,” I continued. “As a woman, you learn to live with that from the time you are fourteen, and it never stops. We live with that fear every day of our lives. Every man walking through the parking garage the same time you are is either just a harmless stranger or a potential rapist. Every time.” The girls in the room nodded, agreeing. The boys seemed genuinely shocked. “So think about that the next time you hit on a girl. Maybe, like you in the taxi, she doesn’t actually want you to.”
- Andrew Sullivan

Airports see more sincere kisses than wedding halls.
The walls of hospitals have heard more prayers than the walls of churches.

Source: browsery

The elections in Zimbabwe weren’t violent but it does not mean that they were peaceful. People can be silent but it should not be concluded that they are at peace. Just like during the times of the slave trade; the slaves’ singing was always consciously misconstrued by the English parliament to mean that they were rejoicing in their captivity yet they were doing so at the terror of a lash. Peace is a sacred and noble situation, which is intertwined to freedom. Silence is reverenced for a leader only when either he is loved or feared.

In Zimbabwe, our fear is a world secret, which is unfortunately unscrupulously taken to mean love therefore our silence, means peace. The people of Zimbabwe need freedom rather than fear to achieve peace. Peace in Zimbabwe has always been an induced situation to push an agenda of stealing political offices.

The people of Zimbabwe have been telling this story of repression and duress in our country for quite a long time now and it is just unfortunate that the world has now grown weary of empathy. The Prime Minister nailed it last week that the world stance now is shifting to legitimising the illegitimate. With the Chinese already leading the looting of resources from Zimbabwe, the West has felt the pressure to deal with and find ways to legitimise the corruptible kleptocrats for them to join in the looting spree of our heritage. It is hustler politics now, the days of recognising democratic and legitimate governments are fast petering away before they even show their full light in the world political play field. The world is grasping opportunistic politics now, like hustlers, countries are making more money when others are weakening. For media, I understand that capitalism does not allow them to keep on singing the same song of repression in Zimbabwe; even if its the fact on the ground, their viewership will be compromised. For heads of states to do the same like what is happening now with Zimbabwe; I fear that these hustlers will ruin the livelihoods of us the people and our children in this country.

“History repeats itself, it just gets the details wrong” – PvS