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When you hug a hyena, two things are likely to happen: the animal is filthy and will make you dirty and, secondly, it will devour you! One of the two will certainly happen.
This villager will not join the party of “sexcellence” neither can he praise sing it, no matter what those raking in the murky waters of illusion think and say.
Being no one’s poodle, this villager is fast becoming unpopular with the protégés of

imperialist forces.  In the past week, there was a barrage of attacks from the representatives of the imperialists, the villager is not amused, and will continue, giving political commentary as viewed from, and reflected in the village.
“Chamunorwa? Chamunorwa we! Kunyangwe mukandituka inga munonditya imi. Mapepa kutondinyora, hapana achanyara iwe. Vose  vakandiverenga inga vanondiziva. Kuroya nemasikati hapana achanyara iwe!,’’goes Thomas Mapfumo in one of his classics.

Land, our land
The land reform is the greatest thing ever to happen to this land of Munhumutapa as it brought the total reversal of the Land Apportionment Act! It returned the land to its former owners, the rightful owners and this villager makes no apology for it.
Ask Sydney Gwaze, one of the most successful farmers to emerge from obscurity as a farm worker to a prosperous farmer. Mugabe, this man the white man would love to hate, managed to wind the clock back.

If Mugabe brought independence, gave land back, indigenised resources, empowered blacks and brought one man one vote, democracy, good governance, accountability, which the white man was hiding under his supremacist carpet, what did the MDC formations bring? Sanctions?
An animal with a famous name does not fill the hunter’s basket! Famous in Europe infamous at home!
Maoko . . . maoko . . . maoko mudenga! Hezvoko, bwa . . . bwa, one time! Chinja!

The time is nigh
The village soothsayer foretells the future, communicates with spirits and inspires many.
It has become too difficult for this villager to avoid asking the soothsayer about the political developments in this country.
This time around, the soothsayer hobbled from his mud-and-pole hovel, which is now leaning backwards with age and without me even soliciting for his comment he talked about a frog.

“No amount of cosmetics can beautify a frog,’’ he started. “Zanu-PF that the culprits say in undemocratic has since formation religiously followed its own constitution and held conferences and congresses on time! But this Movement for Democratic Change, Tsvangirai has not. What democracy is it showing?’’ he continued.
This villager was impressed by the soothsayer’s knowledge whether from emanating from the occult authority or from his own knowledge.

MDC-T is putting up a brave public face after what happened in the smaller faction, called MDC-M or MDC-N, whichever, as this villager is reliably informed that there is uncontrollable dribbling and frothing at the mouth, as to when the congress should be held.
Quaking in the boots, gnashing of teeth and so on, backbiting, mudslinging, accusations and counter- accusations have become the order of the day.
Party insiders tell this villager that Tsvangirai is digging in, and does not want what happened at the smaller MDC-N.
If he is the democrat that the West wishes to portray him, let him follow the constitution of his party. Efforts to amend the constitution are said to have reached fever pitch, while Biti and others are said to be refusing a cosmetic approach to politics. The time is nigh and the future is awaiting the “real Democratic Party” to deliver.

Democracy is not a preserve of one person, not a preserve of the sellout party. This villager wants to see how the constitution will be tampered with. Why change constitution. Time is up. Chinja, chinja maitiro! Maitiro chinja! Hezvoko!

The Rhodesian tapestry
James Dzvete was one of the village elders, whose home like that of many black Rhodesians, was across the Dande River in the Sipolilo Tribal Trust Lands, themselves created as a racist way of separating the black majority from the whites. TTLs were also called reserves, from which the name ruzevha was coined. They were called reserves because they were reserved for the natives and the natives were holding the land in trust of the Queen of England. Yes, Queen of England in the land of Munhumutapa. There were no title deeds for natives or blacks in the TTL.

On the other divide, the Horse Shoe Commercial Farming area was a no-go area for blacks unless you were a farm labourer. Dande River was the demarcation and no villager would set foot that side. The farms had title deeds and hence were private property.

If your cattle crossed the river, the white farmer, aptly named Chimusoro because of his unusually big head, would beat the hell out of you.
This particular day, Dzvete discovered Chimusoro’s bull had crossed the river, chasing after his heifer on heat.
He tried to chase the bull back but it could not take it. He could not leave her newly found lady. Dzvete let nature take it course, but he was later to pay for it.
Chimusoro came after his bull on horseback, with supporting farm labourers and found the bull in Dzvete’s kraal.

The village was gathered and Dzvete was ordered to lie down, face downwards. Everyone, from his in-laws, watched in disbelief and disgust as his pair of trousers were forced halfway down, exposing his buttocks.

The man was flogged silly in front of the villagers, his in-laws included. Dzvete writhed in agony as he stood up and pulled his trousers up amid “oohs! . . . eeh! and iihs!” and so forth. Imagine the humiliation. Women could only close their eyes!
His crime was that he breached an instruction to drive back the bull on first site. It was a common phenomenon for the bull to cross the river in search of ladies.
Thereafter, each time Chimusoro came to the village on horseback, all man would hide behind the doors, others in toilets and similar unorthodox places. Rhodesia yaidzvinyirira!
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