We spoke about past government-sponsored atrocities against the innocent citizens of our country, the present difficulties we all face and the new governance culture we should sculpt if we are to embrace a new future with renewed confidence and hope.
We discussed the next election which we all agreed was watershed and how as political parties and networks we all need to coalesce into a huge coalition for change that will set a new paradigm for future generations.
We debated on many issues, as we should as a diverse and different people united under one flag. What soothed my spirit on the few occasions we disagreed was that we all meant well and want things to work in this beautiful country that we all love.
We hugged and laughed about our situation as we enjoyed all those traditional meals. I am still full with the food that we enjoyed together; those mounds of rapoko sadza and especially the goat meat that I was served in almost all the country’s provinces.
I will never forget the camaraderie and the friendly spirit as you welcomed me and my team into your homes. It all speaks to the hospitable spirit that defines us as a people; indeed the love that glows bright amongst us as an African people always with high hopes for the future of our children.
Pastors, pensioners, chiefs, headmen, village heads; I heard you all and your concern about the endemic fear that has been planted in your communities. You told me about your measly allowances that are now in arrears and how Zanu PF abuses you to discriminate people and frog-march them to polling stations. I heard your cry that this should not happen in our new society after 2018.
To the church leaders and pastors, I heard the concerns about how your churches have been politicized by a party desperate to get votes even in those sacred places where nothing else but worship of the Lord should take place.
You said clearly that we should not allow that to happen in the new Zimbabwe after 2018.
To civic society and the many groups that serve in our communities, I heard your prayers for peace in our land and your wish for a government that truly cares for its people.
To the civil servants, I heard you and I share your concerns about your collective dignity that has been eroded under this uncaring government that now responds to your very genuine grievances only when you threaten a crippling strike.
To the Venda, the Kalanga, the Ndebele, the Tonga, the Shangani and the Ndau, I heard your cries about exclusion; your fervent prayer that the new society we must create after 2018 must be genuinely inclusive and must make everyone feel proud to be a Zimbabwean once again.
Those with broken spirits; victimized and orphaned by State-sponsored atrocities, I heard your cries that we should slam the door shut on such violence and say ‘Never Again’. I heard your cry that we should put closure to State sponsored violence; that we should heal our traumatized communities through community reparations so as to at least allow your battered souls to forgive but not to forget.
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