Nothing has changed

via Nothing has changed – The Zimbabwean 15 April 2015

Those born before 1979 will remember travelling along the countryside in convoy, with military escort. The words ‘ambush’ and ‘landmine’ were phrases one learned earlier than one’s ABCs.

Nothing has changed. In a 20km drive within Harare, one will typically be ambushed five times by the traffic police who are expert at finding fault even on a brand new motor vehicle.

Whereas the Rhodesian soldiers asked for the whereabouts of the enemy – ‘upi lo gandanga’ – the police in ‘independent’ Zimbabwe demand ‘money for drink.’ Before, motorists only reached for their wallets in order to liberate their drivers’ license. Now, for the smallest infraction – failure to produce drivers’ license, reflectors missing – police heartlessly impound motor vehicles or demand a spot fine, rather than allowing offenders to make good their transgression within the usual 14 days,

Even when Ian Smith’s passbooks had become things we only heard in the anecdotes of our grandfathers, Mugabe’s police continued to stop pedestrians at random, demanding to see ID. Until human rights lawyer, Bryant Elliot successfully challenged the law in XXXXXXXXXXX it was an offence to be found without a national ID.

Pr- independence, the high density houses – in those days called the locations – received a limited supply of electricity. The government of the time did not expect the people in the ghettos to own too many appliances, beyond a few lights and a wireless receiver. Residents of these areas who were able to purchase fridges, TVs and irons often found themselves in darkness if they overloaded the humble 15amp fuse box.