Not much comfort for Christpowers parents

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: A letter from the diaspora

By Pauline Henson

Speaking on Thames TV last week, Robert Mugabe is reported to have told his interviewer that “opposition is a luxury”. What he meant, of course, was opposition to him and his views.

They say wisdom comes with age but at 89 Mugabe seems to have become even more authoritarian and intolerant of any point of view but his own. Unlike the other octogenarian on the world’s stage, Mugabe will not retire gracefully to ‘read and pray’ as Pope Benedict has done.

Not for Mugabe a time of quiet meditation and reflection before the end; he wants to die in office, seemingly oblivious to whether it’s good for the country.

Apparently the Zanu PF Youth League presented Mugabe with 89 gold coins for each year of his life. In contrast to Mugabe’s long life, young Christpowers Maisiri lived just twelve years – but then Christpowers father is a member of the opposition, what Mugabe calls a ‘luxury’.

The blessing of a long life was cruelly denied young Christpowers when he was burnt to death while sleeping in his bedroom. Mugabe himself has known the sorrow of losing a son but his Zanu PF thugs are immune to pity, seemingly deaf to their leader’s repeated calls for an end to violence.

Christpowers father, Shepherd Maisiri is an MDC activist and his son has paid the price for ‘the luxury of opposition.’ His twelve years of life began in the mountains where he was born after his mother escaped from Zanu PF.

In his short life, Christpowers had seen his mother raped, spent nights on the run from Zanu PF thugs and seen his home burnt out nine times. All this took place in Didymus Mutasa’s home area of Headlands.

So, what did Mutasa have to say about the tragedy? He said Shepherd Maisiri was a friend of his and what is more, Mutasa claimed, Shepherd Maisiri is a Zanu PF man; that was news to Shepherd!

Oddly enough, the story of Christpowers death was not even reported in the state media. There was a strange postscript to the story when CIO agents in an unmarked vehicle arrived at the Maisiri homestead.

When Shepherd asked them why they were driving an unmarked vehicle they told him their number plates must have fallen off on the rough roads leading to his Headlands home. It would be interesting to learn how many other drivers’ number plates, front and back, fall off while driving on rough country roads!

As the week progressed, the explanations for the tragedy of the young boy’s death grew more and more bizarre.

At a stormy cabinet meeting, the MDC’s Tendai Biti produced shocking photographs of Christpowers charred remains and, despite his earlier comments, Didymus Mutasa denied any knowledge of the incident – even though it took place in his own home area!

Then it was the turn of Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu PF spokesperson. “Zanu PF had nothing to do with it,” he declared, “it was all ‘staged’ by the MDC”.

There are reports that it was Zanu PF activists who caused the death of the twelve year old boy; true or not the fact remains that there is a rising tide of violence as the election date draws nearer. MPs demanded action from Robert Mugabe so off he went to see Augustine Chihuri.

“Not all violence is politically motivated.” Mugabe said, “Some people perpetrate violence without being sent by anyone.”

Not much comfort for Christpowers parents as they mourn the death of their son. Christpowers was buried at his home on Thursday in front of crowds of people who defied war veterans’orders not to attend his funeral. In Zimbabwe, Zanu PF politics rule over life and death.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle, Pauline Henson.