Harare — They were young, exuberant and deliriously happy, rejoicing at the victory of their leader, Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe. And they made sure everybody knew it.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF youth supporters took over the streets of the capital in downtown Harare, driving up and down in cars, pick-up trucks and buses, hooting loudly, chanting victory slogans in the Shona language and singing liberation songs.
Riot police stood by indulgently, watching the youngsters have their fun.
Dozens of Zanu-PF members, dressed in clothing emblazoned with the portrait of Mugabe, reveled in mock burials of the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Tsvangirai was defeated by Mugabe in a bitterly-fought presidential poll, that sometimes descended into violence and intimidation. The MDC leader said Mugabe had robbed him of victory and prevented MDC supporters from voting, adding that the poll was the worst case of election fraud he had ever witnessed.
But the Mugabe loyalists rejected this outright. Cardboard coffins were the order of the day, and they paraded the neatly constructed miniatures around town, hoisting them on top of cars and shoulders.
Etched on the sides of the mini caskets were the words "Tsvangirai, rest in peace," and "Tea boy, rest in peaces", predicting the end of the opposition leader's burgeoning political career.
Young women wailed loudly, feigning grief as if at a funeral and throwing earth and leaves onto one model coffin erected on top of a car, after which there were peals of laughter, and guffaws from the men, followed by more pro-Mugabe chanting and more laughter.
There was also a distinctly anti-white and anti-British tone to the gathering. A car licence plate had been replaced with a small placard saying "Zimbabwe will never be a colony again."
White people were not welcome at the victory party.
Mugabe has accused Tsvangirai of being a stooge of Britain, the former colonial authority, and a puppet of minority white Zimbabweans who, the president says, are still trying to undermine his government, 22 years after independence.
London has led the international charge, firing a barrage of criticism at Mugabe, saying the controversial election was deeply flawed and a failure for democracy. Mugabe has accused the British prime minister of using Tsvangirai to try to re-colonise Zimbabwe.
"We don't want them here, sent them back to Britain where they belong and give us back our land," one young man told allAfrica.com, his breath reeking of alcohol. Spirits were clearly partly responsible for loosening tongues and lubricating limbs for some intricate dance steps and fist punching in the air, Zanu-PF style.
Mugabe's controversial land reform plan has seen self-styled Zanu-PF 'war veterans' seize and occupy commercial white-owned farms since 2000. Mugabe's critics, black and white, say the president has used the farm occupations as a political tool, but may not be able to control the consequences, nor the impact of the loss of once-prosperous farming concerns on the ailing economy .
The collapsed currency and economic problems, as well as political instability in Zimbabwe, have concentrated minds in the region, especially those in the country's giant neighbour to the south.
South Africa, with the largest and most dynamic economy in southern Africa, has tiptoed diplomatically around the Zimbabwean crisis. Pretoria says that this way, it can maintain a dialogue with Mugabe, using quiet diplomacy as the most effective way to move forward.
But with staple food, fuel and other essential commodity shortages in Zimbabwe, South Africa is aware that unknown numbers of desperate Zimbabweans are hoping to find a way to cross the border in search of a better life away from home.
The Harare government is not discussing these issues. Right now, it is basking in the glory of Robert Mugabe's electoral triumph, despite the contested ballot and victory.
Patrick Chinamasa, the justice minister, said Mugabe's success at the polls was a vindication of his land redistribution programme. He told reporters the government now had a mandate to complete the "unfinished business of the liberation war."
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Zimbabwe's African partners generally endorsed Mugabe's return to power. Significantly, most African observers - excepting the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum delegation - complimented the conduct of the presidential poll, describing it as legitimate, satisfactory, transparent and free and fair.
However, South Africa, Nigeria and others stopped short of calling the elections free and fair. Almost without exception, they noted long queues and delays in an unprecedented three days of, at times, chaotic polling at the weekend extended into Monday. Some mentioned pre-election violence.
Mugabe's young supporters were not interested in debating pressing national issues. They simply wanted to celebrate. But the absentee guest-of-honour at their party was their leader, Comrade Mugabe.
His image was ubiquitous - on T-shirts and printed cloth. However, the youth said they were longing to hear direct from Mugabe himself. They wanted to listen to his plans for the 3rd Chimurenga he says he will launch - the third liberation war to rid Zimbabwe of the last vestiges of colonialism.
