Tales of criminal action in Zimbabwe

In his wiliest dreams, Mbongeni Mpofu never thought he would come face to face with near death or handicap.But today he bears witness to his internal handicapness after he was stabbed to near death in Pumula East by a thug who was sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday.These are just but one of the few tales of criminal action in Zimbabwe

“From that day onwards l can feel it in my heart, mind and body that l am not the same and l will never be the same,” said Mpofu.

Amid the increased criminal activities at Mara turnoff along Hyde Park Road, Mpofu and his wife Sidumisile Moyo fell prey after the assailant, Shepherd Ncube, attacked them stabbing Mpofu in the chest and left rib several times and the wife on the palm.As a result of the deep cuts, Mpofu was admitted at Mpilo hospital where he had a splenectomy, an operation to completely remove his spleen.

 

“Doctors said my spleen was totally damaged and l had internally bled too much so there was no way it could recover but the liver could heal,” Mpofu said.

Mpofu and his wife Moyo both narrated on the effects of this surgery and the stabbing of the on the victim in an interview.Moyo said though the family was happy that Mpofu was alive, she constantly is not at rest and always fears something might happen to him as he is completely a new man.

“l am near to tears when l remember how he always says l will never be the same again it’s like he will be wishing for the worst like death,” his wife said.Staring at the ground with red watery eyes, she expressed her concern over her husband’s new nature and permanent scars. From being jovial, Mpofu has attained a new character of being reserved and quiet.

“He is always quiet and deep in thought even at night,” she said. “He even constantly runs his fingers over his scars but allows no one not even myself to look at these scars.”

She even observed that when her husband went to work he came back walking bent clutching his tummy nearly short of breath, sometimes with some people supporting him to walk properly.

“This is because he went back to work before he had fully recovered and l suspect the weather is not friendly to his operation,” she added.

With the mother of three earning little as a hairdresser it is impossible for her to meet the family demands and needs alone. Therefore Mpofu had to go back to work early to help his wife and family.“At work they said they cannot help a man at home so l have to be strong and work for my family,” said Mpofu giving a response from his workplace after asking for an extension for his leave. “Besides l still have to settle the hospital bill, which is close to $500.”

With all these problems hanging on the shoulders of this family, they find it difficult to move on or come to terms with what has happened.What is even devastating is that they are not getting help anywhere.Lovely Zimbabweans are we really out to kill each other?

Operation Sungai Maporisa

The LORDS of CRIME

The world never seizes to amaze me!!!

The beginning of this week saw the birth of a new operation- OPERATION SUNGAIMAPURISA- at Harare by the Zimbabwe Republic police.The move is an initiative to curb corruption by arresting all the corrupt officers such as those who accept bribes and are into illegal trades as proclaimed by the laws and regulations of Zimbabwe.

At first glance we all think this is like a good move if not the best but get a good eye at the context of this and tell me if you think it really is going to work.First as much as we may blame the police for taking bribes but we cannot expect them to stop with such a low salary that can hardly cover their basic needs as identified by Abraham Mas low.The economic situation in our country will continue to flower corruption within police so honestly that operation is not likely to help that much.Take note that we have been experiencing the massive corruption since the 2008s when the Zimbabwe economic situation was at its peak, where we at from hand to mouth the little that we could get our claws on.It is in this context that l wonder how they will stop if they still need that 'blood money' to carter for their needs and families.

Secondly consider this, do you really think that for corruption to manifest that much it is only mere policemen that are behind it?I think not. To run something illegal means having connections and building steps that even if there is no way out for you, you can not fall alone.What l am trying to say is that the policeman alone can not be behind this corruption, there are people in senior positions helping them to do it. Bribes are not the only;y form of corruption in our Zimbabwean police officers but there are others issues to.Believe it or not l do not think that they are willing to be exposed and lose their dignity.As a matter of fact they will help cover the tracks.

Do not get me wrong there are few policemen who are corrupt on their own and will be caught but beyond that...lets face it we fighting a loosing battle.But all hope is not lost we still have the true sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who stand for what they believe in. Just three days ago about twelve corrupt officers were arrested in connection with soliciting bribes. I just hope the spirit goes up before the virus corruption in the police gets stronger

The myth behind cultural imperialism

Welcome back dear comrades to the Poli-Sphere.Today l embark on a journey of  the mythical dimension of the thesis of cultural imperialism. According to this thesis,  developed countries, mainly the United States of America, define and standardise cultural values, civilisation and the cultural environment for the entire world to adhere to. It is however a debatable thesis which some people believe is truly happening in this era that we live in whilst other people think it is just but a myth misunderstood and causing confusion in line to the theme, first foretold by Jürgen Harbermass, globalisation.In reality l wonder,is it justifiable that one country can force the entire world to follow their cultures considering that some of the most influential people in continents such as Africa do not come from the American side and they have failed to be the gods of where they come from. The late  Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela  for instance was one person who was and is still believed to be very influential in Africa and had Africa around his fingers yet he alone could not change the world let alone this Africa that was in his palms.

Leila Green recites ‘‘as we consume the media we do not do it passively but in active manner that is selectively. ’ So can we say that, if this cultural imperialism thesis does  exist, the whole population of the underdeveloped countries are passive taking the western messages as the hypodermic needle theory suggest. I think not, we can reject the messages after all we are not as gullible as the cultural imperialism thesis perceives.

To add on this myth, the theory of cultural imperialism lacks precise definitions showing that it has not been thought about carefully. It has myriad definitions that have been put on the table by many different critical scholars such as Boyd-Barret and Schiller.Beltran1987:184 defines imperialism as “a verifiable process of social influence by which a nation imposes on the other countries its set of beliefs, values, knowledge and behavioural norms as well as its overall style of life.” On the other hand some separate the two as culture and imperialism and give imperialism the definition as “the practise, the theory and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan centre ruling a distant territory; colonialism, which is almost always a consequence of imperialism, is the implanting of settlements on a distant territory.” Sui-Nam Lee criticises the theory as says it is not specific and further proposes a new name for these thesis, Communication Imperialism, further complicating the complicated. 

Globalisation being simply defined as the process that promotes worldwide exchanges of national and cultural resources, perpetuates that no homogeneous culture exist but the world is practising the interexchanging communication of cultures where they combining their cultures to produce one dominant culture that will be democratically universal to the universe thereby compounding on Jürgen Harbermass theme of the world being a global village. If you ask me this is what is happening, globalisation not imperialism just that most underdeveloped countries like and adopt the western culture more than their on eastern numerous cultures.

To seal the deal, the theory of cultural imperialism is not well researched with concrete points of arguments to be argued as a fact.Bringing to light the issue of technological advancement, globalisation,structural functionalism thesis and human beings as active consumers leads to this thesis to be thought as a myth. Consider that time being the only coin of life we can not live in the same moment of time for eternity at some point we need and have to change to fit in.

Is global media a necessary evil in Zimbabwe?

Is the global media a necessary evil in Zimbabwe? Take note that the assertion that already exist here is that global media is bad. But what remains unanswered is if we truly need global media in Zimbabwe as bad as it. It is therefore in this moment that l try to bring out to you the woes and blessings of globally media in our country.

 This has been an itchy debate with some scholars like Ojo and Hickman arguing that global media presents massive threats on culture. However other scholars argue that with the lack of civilisation and the poor economic status of developing and underdeveloped countries, global media is an essential tool that seeks to help the communication processes of these third world countries from the government to the global masses. Thompson for instance argues how the global media has helped third world countries be noticeable in the global map, giving the example of the case of Rwanda genocide.

 

Take note that we live in an era of globalisation where this theory has made it difficult to classify news as foreign or domestic. Some things that may be foreign do affect us largely as Zimbabwe.Therefore some issues are difficult to place them in the foreign-domestic dichotomy.For instance think about the fall and rise of the US$, the news is foreign as the US$ is an American currency but it also becomes a domestic issue as it will also affect the Zimbabweans who also use the foreign currency.Therefore global media creates a bridge where it is difficult to classify news as either domestic or foreign.

Now think of a country that you have never been to yet you can tell the next person information and sites about it as if you have been there. You can actually relate with that country as if it is your own. It may feel lyk you live in carlifonia while you are in Harare.Its all the works of the global media helping us communicate with the world in just an instance or click of the fingers. Think of it in terms of the global village.

Global media also gives us that side of the story that we have not heard about in our contry, that angle the story which is hidden. As we speak most Zimbabweans are still not informed about what happened in the Gukurahundi era neither is there much documentation of the massacres. The global media came in hand by documenting and archiving some of the atrocities that took place. 

However not all is rosy with global media in Zimbabwe, it has negative effects and disadvantages that make it unfavourable and unnecessary in our motherland. Global media is very discriminatory in nature. When it comes to reporting issues in African countries, Zimbabwe included, it is as if Africa as a whole is another world so far away from the first world countries such that they can only imagine how we seize to exist in such a backward continent. Looking at how issues to do with HIV/AIDS are reported it is as if they affect third world countries only. 

The other problem about the global media is that they are more concerned with making profits and money. Serving the needs of Zimbabweansis secondary and will therefore do anything to maximise their profits. If our needs are not are priority then thaycant play the watchdog role.

destruction of settlements

This misrepresentation and bias really prevails in the global media They give what l would term half-baked stories lacking mostly the historical background or the reasons for that particular action. Reporting on operation Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe, the global media simply concentrated on the implications of the actions which led to the mutual perception that the president was a heartless man who left many Zimbabweans homeless and jobless. But they ‘forgot’ to mention that those were illegal settlements.

Keep in mind again the stiff and unfair competition created by the global media for our local media. Firms constituting the global media have more than enough funds, technology and expertise which is more than what l can say for my country. With all these weapons of competition our local media does not stand a chance. The performance of the Zimbabwe television cannot in any sense be compared with that of CNN and BBC.

 These are just but are few woes caused by the global media. Now do you really think we need the global media to create such a mess in our country for the good of recognition and global communication? Food for thought. Till next time my friends stay true.