Merry Christmas

I wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

I will be in the rural areas with my family so I will be updating this blog after the holidays.

Enjoy yourself

Anti-Mugabe Regalia On The Move In Jozi

Zimbabweans here can easily be identified by their language but to a greater extent they are recognised through their regalia.

It is now common among Zimbabweans here in Johannesburg where I am currently visiting to wear t-shirts that portrays the situation back home.

I saw one Zimbabwean wearing an anti Operation Murambatsvina t-shirt with the inscription "Mugabe's police destroyed our homes" at the back. This goes to explain how people in Zimbabwe have suffered and continue to do so.

Of special interest to me was a t-shirt with the inscription "Mugabe bring back all banned newspapers and private radio stations".

So is Zimbabwe plunging itself in hell because of Uncle Bob? For how long shall we continue to see the government muzzling our press and undermining our constitutional rights to express ourselves freely?

Zimbabweans Stranded In Johannesburg

I have just arrived in Johanesburg, South Africa and I have witnessed a situation where bus operators are taking advantage of the festive season to hike fares willy-nilly.

The bus operators are now charging between R400 and R600 for a one way trip from Johannesburg to Harare. A visit to the Park Station revealed that several Zimbabweans were stranded at the terminus as they had no money to travel back home. The money they had budgetted for is no longer enough. It used to cost about R250 for a one way trip to Harare per capita.

One Zimbabwean who identified herself as Tinei Mangwiro of Mabvuku high density suburb told me in Joburg this morning that Christmas is going to be hell for him and his family.

"I had budgetted R300 for transport back home but now I don't where I will get the other money to top up my bus fare. I have had to come to buy groceries for people back home but it appears I wont be able to buy much items given that I had bought the rands on the black market".

Frank Chikowore Joins New Media

I introduce myself as Frank Chikowore, a Zimbabwean independent journalist who has worked for the banned Weekly Times as a senior reporter. I have also worked as News Editor of the Southern News, a southern African regional newspaper that was headquartered in Gaberone, Botswana.

There are developments in the NEW MEDIA where blogging has become the order of the day the world-over. I find myself in a situation where Zimbabweans are adjusting to the increased use of the internet because of the closures of independent newspapers and jamming of private radio stations by the sitting government. But as the government intensifies its crackdown on the independent press, people ought to get the news and information come what may.

As I introduce myself as one of the few bloggers based in Zimbabwe, I would want to urge the Zimbabwean populace to take bloggers seriously. I am doing this for a reason. I would not be wasting my hard-earned resources by blogging.

I am clear and resolute in this project. In this regard, I would want to urge all visitors of this blog to use it as a source of verified information.

I wish you pleasant reading.

TO THE GOVERMENT OF ZIMBABWE, I SAY FREE THE MEDIA! THE STRUGGLE FOR A FREE PRESS CONTINUES