Zimbabwean Businessman Arrested for Insulting Mugabe

Tichaona Muchabaiwa is not a name the western media have picked up. He is a director at a fuel supply business in Zimbabwe called Comoil. Based on that job description, it’s fair to say that he’s not a dangerous radical dedicated to the destruction of the nation. However, in Robert Mugabe’s fascist Zimbabwe, it’s against the law to “undermine the authority of or insult the president,” and apparently, Mr. Muchabaiwa said something the man at the top didn’t like.

The police have refused to state exactly what the man said to land himself in such piping hot water. The official propaganda rag, The Herald, quoted (secret)police spokesman Andrew Phiri as saying, “The suspect was very uncooperative, abusive and made derogatory remarks against the president of Zimbabwe.” Like all good jackbooted thugs, they threw in a charge of resisting arrest without additional worries as to the extra paper work it would entail.

If convicted by the chief of the kangaroo court, Mr. Muchabaiwa could spend two years in jail, although often people who are convicted of committing free speech in Zimbabwe are fined and are forced to work for the state (community service or short-term slavery depending on whether Mr. Mugabe signs one’s paycheck). He’s almost certain to lose his job since his company is owned by Saviour Kasukuwere, a member of Zimbabwe’s parliament representing rural Mount Darwin constituency. Mr. Kasukuwere is one of Dictator Mugabe’s next generation and stalwart in the ruling ZANU PF party.

For those unfamiliar with Mr. Mugabe’s mismanagement of the formerly rich nation of Zimbabwe since he started running it more than a quarter of a century ago, a few facts are in order. The Central Bank sets limits on the amount of money a citizen can carry or deposit at a bank in an attempt to stop money laundering and to knock three zeroes of the currency to stabilize it (this never works without other economic reforms). Inflation reached 1200 percent in May. Unemployment in Zimbabwe stands at 70%, while the economy has shrunk 40% in 8 years. The land reform efforts of the government have thrown white farmers off of land and given the property, not to black farmers, but to black city-dwellers connected to the regime. Four million of Zimbabwe’s 14.5 million people have left the country looking for work, most going to South Africa and Namibia, where they are deported if found.

With all of that in mind, one wonders what Mr. Muchabaiwa could possibly have said that insulted Mr. Mugabe – it’s not possible to insult him. As for undermining presidential authority, Mr. Mugabe does that himself with his policies, his ego and his inability to admit failure. Mr. Mugabe is 82, and one can only wonder what God is waiting for – unless the Creator isn’t all that keen on meeting him.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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