Now considered a scandalous breach of discipline by the new regime. But we are still in a post-Mugabe era and so the political dimension of Muziwapenyu’s actions were not a big issue and in the end it was largely overlooked. However, the use of alcohol as a weapon of oppression had lost its edge and so the use of military might to ensure control seemed to be the order of the day. Muziwapenyu has since become an advocate for HIV education. And he also opened up, albeit after five decades, about his service with the liberation forces. At the height of his political activism he was arrested and faced a series of charges such as forgery, theft, possession of firearms and dangerous driving. These were eventually dismissed after one of his lawyer colleagues conducted his own forensic test and found that the charges against him were baseless. His wife was also arrested and charged for the same reasons. She was one of the few people jailed during the Rhodesian military era but eventually acquitted. After Zimbabwe’s independence, she became involved in the struggle for a new dispensation and later worked as a teacher in a state school. Both husband and wife are regarded as people who care for their communities and give a sense of belonging. They are considered role models for the youths. One wonders whether those who charged him were aware of that. He passed away on March 1, 2014 at the age of 70. His wife had preceded him in death some years earlier. He is survived by five children, four from his first marriage. The last one is the product of his second marriage. The first three children have all been in prison. It is a sad story and one that seems to be getting worse in our country. I heard on the news that a 14-year old girl had been raped by men who broke into her home in Tembwe, the commercial hub of Harare. It was her fourth attempt, because each time she attempted to escape she was raped again by her captors. Police were said to have questioned the men who raped her but she has no support from the state to deal with the men who ruined her life and left her living a life of shame. She will have no security for the future as it has been said that the rapists will have nothing to fear from the courts. I have also heard of a woman who was raped after being forcibly taken into custody. She wanted to report the matter to the police but that facility was denied her because she had been arrested. The courts are no longer an avenue of justice. In 2007, President Mugabe addressed this problem by setting up Courts for Victims of Crime and those who support them but even this system has not delivered for people in crisis. The courts are so clogged that some judges have given up taking cases and left the justice system in a state of paralysis. The new Legal Affairs minister, Obert Mpofu, promised a new era of efficiency when he was elevated to that position. It would be fair to say that he has yet to make his mark. Zimbabweans are a caring people and yet we lack the most basic things in life such as food, clothing, and shelter. It is ironic that on Independence Day, the Zimbabwean people celebrate the liberation of a people whose government had made such proclamations about what had to be done with the land. This was true for the white Rhodesian settlers and also for their black counterparts, in order to gain political mileage. One way or another, the land will never be returned. There is a story about a white farmer who fell for a ‘green woman’ who seduced him. He paid her generously and he wanted to make sure that his wife could never find out about the arrangement. He asked for a black man to be dispatched and the ‘green woman’ said, “It will cost you a million dollars.” This was quite some money, as it was more than even a politician could afford back in the day. Anyway, he did not worry too much because he had an affair and he got his money’s worth. Then his wife had a fallout with her maid, for reasons still unknown to me. There was a lot of confusion with his wife’s maid, and as a result the husband was blamed for the whole situation. The wife, after thinking it through, began to think that the maid was also involved. So, she ordered the black man who was supposed to come for the ‘green woman’ to go ahead and ‘hunt’ for his maid. She called the ‘green woman’ and she asked for details. But she did not take the call and this was a big surprise because she was not supposed to be privy to the whole thing. I think the owner of the maid decided to take a hand in the mess. I am not sure how she got involved. But it seems he was the one who got hold of the maid and he ordered the black man to take care of her. The black man went back and the maid had to face his wrath. She ended up in the bushes and as a result, her husband had to die one day. He suffered paralysis after a stroke. I think it was a great stroke of luck for him as he could have been one of those people who are on trial these days. He might have been charged with murder. The old man would have been charged with being in a relationship with another man’s wife. This sort of thing happens in the world we live in. This is one of the ironies of human existence. It has now been a year since Zimbabweans voted for new leadership and the new leaders have given the impression that they have the people’s best interests at heart. But will we ever know how it will pan out? The main problem facing the country, as it is for the whole continent, is that the leadership has been elected by a minority. The leaders represent a very small percentage of the population. The political leaders have taken it upon themselves to manage the resources of the country. They run ministries like they were their personal businesses, which have made governance cumbersome and expensive. The leadership, after a lot of wheeling and dealing, then decided that it would have to consult the small group of members of parliament that is in support of the new regime. The ministers were given a directive to meet the small group which they did. It is unclear who is in the support group. There is one lady who is very vocal about her opinions. If she speaks for the movement it is not the first time she has represented an interest, and she has been at the fore throughout this period. It would be great to understand how all of this has come about. Some time ago, there was a decision to change the constitution. It was a very small team of people, but those who have not attended that meeting do not know how it went down. It was not done properly and it was decided that the original draft should be adopted. The change was to ensure that members of parliament, who also have to be voted in, are elected by the people in their constituencies. The argument was that they will have to serve their communities better, and also give their constituencies, which are quite small, a better deal. That would allow the ministry of local government to put a higher budget into those constituencies to allow them to flourish. This has not yet been done. The government then decided to change the land and property laws to allow the transfer of land from one person to another. The idea was that the old laws allowed for ownership and occupancy but there were loopholes for evictions. It has been said that the intention was to protect our black people’s interests and allow them the best deal. The leaders have been accused of giving out too many rights in order to gain political mileage but not doing the necessary work to allow our fellow Zimbabweans to move forward. The question that needs answering is why a government set up by a liberation movement cannot deliver the message that Zimbabweans are fed up with Mugabe’s leadership.