The ‘elected’ President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has slammed the door shut in the faces of three people that have supported, helped and participated in his rise to power in Zimbabwe.

He claims that the visit by Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter and Graca Machel to Zimbabwe has all the makings of a visit that is designed to assist the Movement for Democratic Change in the power-sharing dialogue ongoing with the mediation of former South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

Annan, Carter and Machel all tell us that the visit was intended to look at the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and would not be looking at the political crisis at all.

That was not good enough for Mugabe, and he denied the three visas to enter the country.

Potential aid could come from this visit, but lately we have seen Mugabe acting even more determined then ever that foreigners are not welcome in Zimbabwe… If it comes to that, even some Zimbabweans are not welcome in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe is intent on confusing the entire issue as much as possible.

That is deliberate as he wants to have a hand in any aid entering the country. He would prefer that such aid is filtered through his government - and I would think that the foreign exchange is substituted for the useless local currency.

When no hard currency is made available, the actual foodstuffs or provisions given as aid are ‘managed’ by ZANU PF and are often limited to just card carrying members of Mugabe’s party.

All very well and good if you are a ZANU PF member, but it makes life incredibly difficult for those others that do need assistance, when food and other aid is only given to Mugabe supporters.

When we look at the objectives of Annan, Carter and Machel, we should realise that Mugabe is intent on ensuring that not only that the truth does do get out, but it also ensures that the much-needed aid is not forthcoming.

Perhaps a good thing, as the majority of it is being given to Mugabe supporters only, but it beggars belief (excuse the expression) that Mugabe would go out of his way to make sure that nothing whatsoever gets to the people that he abhors and hates - the MDC.

Annan and Mugabe go back a few years whenAnnan was the Secretary General of the UN, whilst Carter has a history withMugabe going back to the negotiations in the late 1970’s between Mugabe and the Rhodesians.

Gracia Machel, now married to former South African President, Nelson Mandela, is the widow of the late Samora Machel, who often would assist the liberation movement during the chimurenga in Rhodesia in the 1970’s.

These three people have enough history with Mugabe to virtually guarantee their support, but they have recognised that the man is a dictator, a stranger in their midst, and not the person that they initially thought they were assisting.

All well and good - but when Mugabe slams a door shut, trust me - it stays shut.

So where to now, and what will become of the people of Zimbabwe who are hungry, unemployed, sick, poor and oppressed by Mugabe’s party members - including the police, army and air force?

What happens to them now that Mugabe has made it abundantly obvious that he wishes to hide the problem - instead of solving it?

I do notice that the three Elders are still determined to help Zimbabweans wherever and however they can.

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man