By
Mbizo Chirasha
I am a Zimbabwean, Zimbabwe is the country in which I was born. It is my country. I don’t have another home except Zimbabwe. I need to live freely in my country of birth. Why do I not get the freedom I need? I wait and watch people gambling and playing games with my life, my freedom, my peace, my health and any other freedoms.
Political affiliation – I do not belong to any political party because of my job. My job is very much global and universal. I am a Poet, Writer, Blogger and Organizer of Events. I am supposed to work with anyone or everybody. I am supposed to relate and associate with every Zimbabwean irrespective of affiliation because I am apolitical in my standing.
My problem – I have been seeing strange stalking, attacks and threats soon after the Lit fest of 2017. I was quiet after the first attack but now I felt it is getting scary, dangerous and life threatening. I need to open up to the government, Media, International Organisations and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organizations because I don’t know who is doing this to me and who is planning to take my life and don’t know for what major reason.
Finer Detail of Threats
December 4, 2016 – It was midnight when a car pulled into the yard where I stayed. Doors of the car were banged hard to draw attention. I was the only male figure and oldest at the house. In a few minutes the car drove away. After an hour the car came again and continued to bang doors as per the previous hour. I didn’t come out to see. I heard people talking, mentioning my name and work on the phone. Instantly the car pulled away again. Later sleep was fast catching up with me. I remember I rose by 1.30am in a scary electrical shock. I was struggling to breath and sweating. My pillow was shocking like having been being electrocuted. My head was numb. I peeped out to the side of the window and there were people with torches, talking on phones. I just pulled to the side that was without shock and sat still waiting for morning. The idea was for me to go out but my instinct told me not to. They pulled away again, but came back by 3am, leaving an hour later. In the morning I woke up and told the next door neighbor I was still in shock and feeling very sick. I decided to leave the place for a better safe place away from my previous location. I told a number of poets, friends and artists about my encounter. Up to now I don’t have any clue why. Through serious research other friends told me it was a tool called Guntezza that was used to shock me, perhaps for killing purposes, disabling or kidnapping. It was a very bad experience for me.
Mid-January- While I had relocated to another place, I received calls from people who said they wanted to see me but were not saying their names and I didn’t bother much about it, though I still had a fear of the previous encounter.
January 22, 2017 – Three men approached me in various locations in Harare. They even called by my profession on Facebook and were very investigative in their approach. I would see them stalking me in most places I went and would cleverly evade them so they would follow but not get me.
On January 24 – I was coming out of a club one night and, as a friend I stayed with had visited another city that night, I asked to stay with another friend in one of the leafy suburbs of Harare. So by the time I wanted to jump ot of the car, the gate was wide open and my friend pointed out to me there was a person hiding by the tree near the room where I slept. So I refused the offer to stay, but my friend insisted and said he would not leave me. The man was wearing security guard gear. When my friend insisted, he just ran away without saying anything. I felt that if I was alone again I was going to die. So we left the house that night and I went into another location for my safety, life, freedom of work, association and movement.
On January 26, while in another location, I suspect that I was tracked because those I was staying with found a male figure at midnight leaning on the window of the room I was sleeping in. Upon seeing them he jumped the durawall and disappeared into the thick of the night. I got so sure that something would happen to me. My friends at that point calmed me down, so I continued to stay.
February 3, 2017 – I was having a drink at a restaurant. Some who were outside sent the waiter to call, purporting that they were police. I told the waiter if they are police why are they calling me outside, they should come in and arrest me where people are if I had committed a crime. It came to my attention that these were not police, they later came and went to wait in the car. I don’t know who might have told them I use private taxis for movement either. Later that day I was walking with somebody and we evaded them through another door, thick into the light of Harare. I told my friend that we were to delay going so we delayed until midnight to figure how we were to get home. While going to the station we discovered that we were followed by a white car that came just on our side. I remained standing and pedestrians who were coming our way came to our rescue because the car went off at full speed. We managed to finally get home that night.
February 4, 2017 – I decided to leave. I walked for the whole night looking for safety in the country I was born in, the country I learnt my primary and high school; a country I worked all menial jobs,gardening, housekeeping, child minding, farming, bata shoe company, teaching, writing, performing poetry and all that I do together. Hiding from my country, running for my life from stalkers, attackers and threat makers. It is very complicated, dangerous, scary and difficult to accept. I need assistance for my safety from the international organizations and my government.
Reason for Writing
I need the world, other writers, my family members, my government, my church mates, international organizations, my international writing and working colleagues, Zimbabwean Rights organizations and the general public to know my fate and my stranded situation. Some people are after my life or are after something from me.
I am a progressive Zimbabwean, who thinks Zimbabwean, African and global. I work with a lot of people and organizations across the globe. My writings, my profiles, my stories are published in more than 400 places across the world. I have also collaborated and published full poetry collections and books. I have worked with many organizations as a Creative/Catalyst/Interventionist, as well as a performing Poet in NGOs, United Nations and National Galas. I have so far initiated and worked on a series of projects that motivate, inform, educate and develop the Zimbabwean Youth. My writings touch on various matters that concern human life though thought provoking writing. I look forward to relate and work with progressive Zimbabweans, Africans and global citizens at large for the better of our world.
Quote of the day from me: REF – resilience – experience – faith.
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