The question to ask is this, what is the special love that Gordon Brown has for Africans? Mugabe and the Sudanese government which has committed more atrocities against Africans? Why has Gordon Brown and the West not come down with the same heavy hands on Sudan as they have on Zimbabwe? Harare was a city where over 60% the true African workers worked as domestic workers so what is in such a past. For those who do not know, Britain and the West are using Zimbabwe to make a statement to South Africa, Namibia and other Southern African nations where African lands remain in the hands of those who stole them to warn these nations not to attempt reclaiming those lands. Bear in mind that the same British government and the West are supporting Israel in their bid to reclaim the land of Palestine while they remain resolved that sanctions on Zimbabwe will remain until the land holding rules returns to the 1990 position. Where is their much touting sense of justice? Africans should understand that the issue is the land. A one time German chairman of the EU said in a conference in South Africa on Indiginous People that "Whereas the EU recognizes slavery today as a crime against humanity, the EU does not recognize slavery yesterday as a crime against humanity, because the EU will not allow itself to be brought to a point where it will have to apologize or be required to pay compensation to Africa" As long as these former colonial powers resolve not to recognize their inhumanity aginast Africans, they will continue to demonize good African leaders from Shaka Zulu to Mugabe and Mbeki in order to look good.

Mr Kalu, I donot beleive that your thinking is clear. Are you now claiming that Zimbagwe should be left alone because Darfur has not been settled? What is the relationship between Africa's past and the refusal of a "dirty old man" to give way after loosing an election? By the way, what does an Ibo man have in common with the situation in Zimbagwe?

Mr Gradehelp,

Your ignorance is astounding!(let alone your spelling)

Does your statement suggest that an Ibo man should not be concerned with the affairs of another country? Or should we all be concerned with our own small patch of grass. The fight for economic and spiritual progress takes place on all fronts and cannot be hampered by the blinkers of tribalism.

Open your mind and close your mouth!

I beleive that you are the ignorant one and not gradehelp.

What my counterpart is ipmlying is that the ibo man does not understand what is going on in zim. It is not just a matter of blacks trying to fight imperialism, but most importantly, blacks killing blacks in the name of and old liberation war, greed, human rights abuses and etc. Until ibo man has lived in zim and has done some homework on what zanu has done and is still doing to it's people in zim, he and u all need to shut up or more politely reserve the comments.

Refer to articles on the: Rhodesian CIO (now the Zimbabwean CIO) who are now mugabe's henchmen, Gukurahundi atrocities, Operation Murambatsvina among others.

You must be blind deaf and stupid to believe Mugabe is a good leader. Good leaders go when they are told to go by their own people that is democraticaly voted out!. Good leaders don't engage in violence to put down opposition parties, good leaders Run their government with integrity instead of corruption. Don't tell me that Zimbabweans are prosperous under the Dictator Mugabe. Who are you have you ever been to Zimbabwe. Good African leader!? what an insult.

i hate heartless people in malawi

Thank you Chenjerai Hove. Your clarity of voice and analysis is inspiring in your humanity. This is evident and clear in your novels. I look forward to hear more of your voice and encourage all strong souls of Africa to invest in their own voices -- full of conviction, dedication and vision for the future. Be strong and well, not divisive.

This guy has just explained why there wont be a civil war in Zimbabwe, because no bady knows who is ZANU PF or MDC except for those who are active in politics.

Can someone explain this to me please? The guy was a school teacher, at a school in the middle of no were, 'pakati pechakasara ku Bikita'. A place which require all the effort you can get just to get there (kunoda kuti utorumira rundebvu kuti usvikeko) today from Harare, what about in the 1980s. This same guy tries to explain something alleged to have occurred in the 1980s in Harare or in London for that matter, while he was in Bikita. In doing so, he does it as if he was a mediator between Mugabe and the Rhodesian white generals. This guy is unbelievable. If i am asleep reading this please wake me up. More over, the guy explains as if these negotiations happened in his class room while he was under a desk.

'Another thing is that there is this liberation party mentality. Mozambique is the same. There is the liberation war party which led the liberation struggle. Botswana is the same. South Africa is the same. (Zambia changed. Malawi changed.) So they want to make sure that the liberation movements are not disrespected by removing their so-called hero as a villain. So there will be a soft, soft, soft approach.'

O-oh please stop! Where did they get you from???? A Liberation party in Botswana? This is desperate!!!

Chenjerai Hove no wonder you are in exile.

Tinashe,

It sounds like you might know one or two things that you did not want anyone else to know abot your boss Mugabe. It is appualing to read you commentary on the most revealing piece of work yet published by Mr Hove. I do not condone Mr Hove for making some outlandish comments about Mugabe, however, he gives us, the ordinary Zimbos a pigeon hole into what Mugabe is all about. Mugabe is a corned man who has ghosts from the past haunting him, and yet most of the culprits that are pepatrating the attrocities are trying by all means to keep him in power as a scapegoat. Do you remember Luarent Kabila...DRC...got killed by one of his own man for being a traitor of the common scandrouls cuase...Mugabe might be facing the same fate if he does not watch his back.

Tinashe, tell your boss that even the CIO will not be able to protect Mugabe, because his enemies are more than his friends. Tell him to leave post for the sake of his wife and kids. I believe they would like to grow up with a father.

Yes this guy shows the kind of fiction that the British can buy with the centuries of African slavery and colonialism that they conducted to build their economic empire. You would think after all this they would have the decency not to try to re-colonize Zimbabwe by putting in African stooges. It's great to see that some strong, uncorrupted African leaders like Mbeki are willing to stand up to all the pressure. We know of course that the well-oiled and well-financed Western media will step up its attacks on Mbeki as well as Mugabe.

With all due respects, the West (Brown) etc. will not intervene or interfere if nothing goes wrong in a country, and it's citizens are treated with respect and not abused, killed or maimed. Maybe we need an International Body or Organization to vote OUT a country's leaders that are not fit and able to look after its own people. This has notheng to do with the colour of its people. This we call humanity to all of us. We cannot live on the past (slavery, colonialism - "and yes - (were they so bad)- colonials, and white farmers, built most of these countries up, and if they, the West, were not there to help, mud huts and nothing else would have been in moste places" and peoples would been starved to death by now, like going on in Zimbabwe NOW!!!!!" - I would like MR Mbeki to stand up about the crime situation in South Africa, the killings of its peoples for a cellphone or a car or the burgled houses and farm people and worker killings the rape of women. The days the "African Stooges" like u call them, was in powder, many peoples were more happy than today. There was LAW and ORDER. Greetings and I wish and pray to God for all the peoples of Africa to be happy, in the most beautifull country God could give us.

What past haunting Mugabe are you talking about? The one where Mugabe and thousands of others fought to regain the country where most of the indigenous people like you were virtual slaves in their own country with settlers "owning" the land and people like you couldn't vote and were just low paid laborers? Is that the past that haunts Mugabe? Are you one of the pathetic history-ignorant Zimbabweans who long for the return of the white settler so you can get a "good" job? You should be grateful that there are men like Mugabe and Mbeki, for they are about the only thing that stands between you and neo-colonialism!

If you want an example of neo-colonialism then look no further than the massive acquisition of African resources by the Chinese.

Makomborero. How abrasive and imbecile are you? Mr Hove's story is travesty considering that he lived in the 1980s and the kind of experience he has. Kuita serudhara ngwavhunzwa padoro.

This guy is a very experience journalist, author and editor if what he said is true. We expect something better. He talked about:

-A liberation party mentality in Botswana a country that was never colonised and hence never had a liberation war/party. This simply shows that Mr Hove doesn't know where he is coming from or going.

-The freedom fighters unreasonably murdering people. Every body knows that their success of the second chimurenga was doe to a good relationship with the villagers, based on "fish in the water". These women and men had rules to follow and any shenanigans from them were severely punished and so does any from the villagers. Today that still applies as there are death sentences in may countries.

-People voted to stop being killed in 1980. The same people sponsored these freedom fighters by providing food and cloths and in many cases put them in disguise trying to hide them from Rhodesians. Many elders in Zimbabwe today are proud of talking about their contribution to that war in this way. Surely Mr Hove might be in exile running away from his father or grandmother/father.

-Mugabe militarised all the institutions – prison services, secret police. Everywhere is military. I wonder if Tsangirai was ever going to be a secretary general for ZCTU if every institution was militarised. You well know that whole medical system is full of doctors and nurses including Dr Stamps as Minister of health not a general. The ministry of education had Mutumbuka and Fai Tung as ministers of education,who are not generals. Finance ministry hand Murerwa as Minister not, who is a general. So which generals is he talking about. With over 90% of the population literate, Mugabe had his cabinet full of PhDs, most of which do not know how to use a gun.

-He made the reconciliation speech before the results were announced. When the British [transitional governor] Lord Soames saw that the results were leaning towards Mugabe's victory, and the army – the white generals – were prepared to take over that night, he told them, "You guys have to work under this guy." They said, "No, we don't work under a communist. We are going to take over." This kind of story is only believable if one of the general is telling it, not a school teacher in Bikita.

Makomborero you said " I do not condone Mr Hove for making some outlandish comments about Mugabe.he gives us, the ordinary Zimbos a pigeon hole into what Mugabe is all about.". Funny!!! What Mugabe is all about, the man has never stood 30 miters from Mugabe and if he did not for 20 minutes. He probably can tell you the "ordinary" Zimbabwean what Mugabe is all about.

Yes this guy shows the kind of fiction that the British can buy with the centuries of African slavery and colonialism that they conducted to build their economic empire. You would think after all this they would have the decency not to try to re-colonize Zimbabwe by putting in African stooges. It's great to see that some strong, uncorrupted African leaders like Mbeki are willing to stand up to all the pressure. We know of course that the well-oiled and well-financed Western media will step up its attacks on Mbeki as well as Mugabe.

Strong leader like Mbeki? You must be joking, he's one of the weakest leaders in Africa! You should be ashamed for believing this propaganda rubbish.