bigwave3

“The wind of change is blowing through this continent. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact”

Part of a speech by Harold McMillan to the South African parliament on 3rd February 1960. Unfortunately, the wind of change looks like it might be blowing across Southern Africa again soon. There are two things which signal problems on the way in Zimbabwe. Firstly, there is the recent election result which saw Robert Mugabe’s party lose its majority, and a partial recount is now happening:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7355871.stm

“The BBC's Will Ross said the independent electoral commission's decision to withhold the results and then recount the ballot papers has led to widespread suspicion of bias, especially as Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF complained about the initial count”

“President Robert Mugabe denounced the opposition on Friday in his first speech since the election, saying "thieves" were trying to steal the country”

Secondly, there is the shipment of arms from China to Zimbabwe:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7354428.stm

“The ship contains three million rounds of ammunition for AK-47s, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and several thousand mortar rounds, according to South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper”

“Some fear Zimbabwe will use the arms to repress political opposition”

These two events are probably not linked - the shipment has probably been long planned -  but one can’t fail to connect them. I fear dark times are ahead for Zimbabwe.

Cheers, Tom.