urgency - a pressing importance requiring speedy action

emergency - a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action

Nothing happens in Zimbabwe by accident - it is all carefully choreographed, by design rather than default - and all usually timed to perfection.

Mugabe has a wonderful way of getting the word out onto the streets to make ‘happenings’ appear spontaneous, when, in reality, these events are planned well in advance.

The situation in Zimbabwe remains tenuous to say the least. The average life expectancy for Zimbabweans is less than forty years for males and females. Now throw in the cholera epidemic, which is decimating the already weakened members of the population.

The Mugabe administration has been accused of playing down the numbers – an example is Sky News broadcasting film footage of full body bags stored in hospital toilets - while on Thursday the epidemic has been declared an emergency and the health authorities have called for international assistance in stemming the tide.

To add in the final ingredient in the fatalistic mix that Mugabe presides over, we have the Zimbabwe National Army running amok in the streets of the capital, protesting the financial limits imposed on their money by the banks - and being shot at by police riot squads.

Not to mention the stories on the internet this week that suggest that Mugabe had the offending soldiers shot after a speedy court martial.

I am not going to go into the cause of the financial problem - suffice to say that it starts and ends with Mugabe and his Governor of the Reserve Bank, one Gideon Gono.

Mugabe has already voiced that it is the opinion of ‘the regime’ that the cholera outbreak is being deliberately spread by Western countries intent on fomenting regime change (sounds like an illegal drink, doesn’t it?). He has since added to these allegations that the rebellion by the soldiers was initiated and encouraged by the MDC!

Having declared a medical emergency, I believe that Mugabe is one simple step from declaring a full State of Emergency which is described as “a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties.”

The only problem I have with this is that Mugabe and his henchmen are not THE government – but merely a minority part in an as yet convened parliament and cabinet.

Once Mugabe has declared a State of Emergency, he can then effectively shelve any ideas that the MDC had of being part of any government, cabinet and the idea of a power-sharing alliance with the MDC factions goes out the window.

You will, of course, note that the constitutional amendment 19, which would establish at least the beginnings of a power-sharing government, has only been drafted, but not effected through parliament and therefore will fall away, no longer needed and neatly avoided.

Mugabe’s administration will be able to string the epidemic out as long as they need. By the time the State of Emergency is lifted, Mugabe will have had a chance to dig in even further.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he was to use his powers to re-landscape the political playing field in Zimbabwe, and will make it almost impossible to return to democracy without throwing Mugabe and his band of merry men physically out.

Not only will Mugabe bolster his own position and that of ZANU PF, as time passes, he will issue accusations against the Western world that will prove that the man has lost touch with reality. And to prove his point he will continue to ‘rule’ with a heavy hand - sucking the very lifeblood out of all that is good and right in Zimbabwe, blaming all his failures and problems on the Western world.

As I have stated before, one of the quietest coups in history.

And it is quite amazing how Mugabe goes from ‘urgency’ to ‘emergency’ with one move, ignoring the rules of necessity and the protection of mankind along the way.

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man