When Darkness Falls

Darkness has descended upon southern Africa. These days there is barely a spot of peace in Zimbabwe. How terrible and sad is the descent of that once pristine and prosperous country. It is often spoken of the Breadbasket of Africa that is no more. But Zimbabwe, to all accounts from those who have long since fled to safer shores, was more than productive farmland. It was a lush and peaceful place for years before and after the troublesome revolution of the late 1970's. Yet the wheels have come off and in a very bad way too.

After years of neglect from most of the world, suddenly the UN has woken up, stepped up and made a firm declaration against the utter outrage that prevails in Zimbabwe today. Alas, it is a bit too little, too late, many would argue. Common citizens are being tortured, intimidated, brutalised by thugs and cronies of the ruling party, ZANU-PF.

The despot president himself, Mr Robert Mugabe, has degenerated into a rambling megalomaniac, foaming at the mouth on every opportunity. Heaven forbid - the man has even reached to the divine by proclaiming to all and sundry that only God can remove him from power - what desperate dribble. Right, well perhaps God has given us democracy to remove the likes of him from power and yet Mr Mugabe reckons he'll declare war if the opposition MDC would win the presidential run-off elections on Friday and thereby put him out of power.

At stone-cold stiff long last, the pussyfooting South African president, Mr Mbeki, has begun to make cautious utterances over the dire situation in Zim. Still, it is the current leader of the ruling party, Dr Zuma, who today has expressed a clear denunciation of the farce unfolding in Zimbabwe. Several other African countries have already denounced the current situation in Zim.

Meanwhile, thousands of Zimbabwean refugees stream into South Africa, raising stress levels in a local economy already overstressed. Johannesburg is degenerating faster than ever. It's inner city resembles a Nairobi or a Kinshasa, not the financial capital of South Africa, the richest and most powerful country in Africa. Nervous inhabitants hide themselves at night in gated communities on the outskirts and cautiously commute to work and home on roads fraud with hijacking.

Cry the beloved country, indeed.