Just a yesterday, I had the great joy (not!) of watching Robert Mugabe (I refuse to call him “President”) in a Zimbabwe nationwide television broadcast, tell the country and the world that cholera in Zimbabwe has been arrested.

I found the use of that word to be rather funny, as Mugabe has all of his opponents arrested at one time or another. I would have liked to have seen this arrest though.

I also questioned Mugabe’s statement that, “The reason for war has gone” - or words to that effect.

Who was talking about war? Mugabe is the first I have heard to use that word with regard to the Zimbabwean crisis…

But I need to look at what Mugabe was attempting to say.

He claims that Zimbabwean medical personnel and the World Health Organisation personnel have managed to stop the spread of cholera - to the point that he says, “There is no more cholera.”

I struggle to understand how a country with an ailing medical service is going to get the better of a disease like cholera in just a matter of days. 24-hour television news stations have pegged the dead at about 800 people.

The South African government have declared a medical emergency in the Bietbridge border area with Zimbabwe.

Perhaps the most surprising things that I have seen, bar the videos of the sick and dying on the television, was the map of Zimbabwe that I found on the internet which detailed the areas where cholera has been found.

Mugabe claims that Bush, Sarkozy and Brown all are calling for military intervention. These calls by the world leaders have nothing to do with the cholera epidemic - which I do not believe is under control.

For Mugabe to actually come out with the word ‘war’ is typical of people of his genre.

Mugabe is ostensibly a liberation hero. Someone who lead the people to liberty from the colonial age. A man among men and a leader par excellence.

I disagree with these descriptions of Mugabe. He is a dictator that picks on the frail and innocent - because he can.

He makes all manner of allegations against the Movement for Democratic Change - to the point that having sent in a CIO probe to Botswana to find the alleged MDC ‘training camps’, and that probe having returned empty-handed, he has now managed to convince SADC that the camps do exist and SADC have sent in their own probe.

Botswana President, Ian Khama, has often stated openly that he does not regard Mugabe as the President of Zimbabwe and is illegitimately in power. So is makes sense that Mugabe should have a go at Khama.

This is normal. Mugabe is very good at pointing fingers of blame at all and sundry - and this contributes to the public being wrong-footed at almost every turn.

Mugabe has the ability to make the people look one way, whilst he commits some audacious move in another.

The cholera epidemic will cover for his clearance of illegal diamond miners in the Marange fields. I fully understand his need to clear the illegal miners, but I must ask the question why the government (I use the word advisedly) is broke if he has the control of the diamond finds?

Where has all the money gone?

Simple question – equally simple answer.

The vast majority, if not all, of the money from the diamonds has found its way into Mugabe’s bank accounts scattered all over the world, masquerading as legitimate monies.

Mugabe has not only ruined Zimbabwe, but he has set the country back probably 100 years.

A day later and the Mugabe regime are now backtracking big time and claim that Mugabe’s claim was ‘sarcastic’.

Go figure.

I look forward to reading the headline that parodies the line Mugabe took: “Mugabe Arrested”.

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man