Three years after President Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power, a feeling of despair lingers in Harare. In the dusty streets of Dzivarasekwa, a densely packed suburb west of the capital, people are desperate and hungry.
One of them, Gerald Kamwenje, 44, a self-taught cobbler, spends the day in his makeshift shack repairing shoes. “I am living from hand to mouth; I can’t even afford to feed my family. Sometimes the only meal we have is roasted corn and on many evenings I skip a meal to ensure that my children can eat,” he said.
Last year, Kamwenje injured his left knee in an accident and is now permanently disabled.
“Life has become a struggle. With a disability I can’t afford to go seek treatment. My wife is also epileptic but I can’t afford to buy the medicine she needs. I can’t afford to send my children to school and I don’t remember the last time I was in a supermarket, because I can’t afford to buy food,” he said.
Variations on his story are repeated across Zimbabwe, which was caught in a deepening economic crisis even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
The local dollar has collapsed. Zimbabweans are caught between a rock and hard place.
“It’s a hopeless situation and the ordinary man on the street is suffering. I know protests are happening, but I am just too hungry and too poor to protest,” said Kamwenje.
Mnangagwa has blamed “dark forces” for Zimbabwe’s economic and political woes. “The Crocodile”, “the Enforcer”, “the Bodyguard”, “the Spymaster” — these are just some of the nicknames Zimbabwe’s president goes by.
But the one that has stuck is “Crocodile” because of his political cunning. When Mnangagwa came to power after the coup that ousted the late Robert Mugabe, he promised to revive the economy and create “jobs, jobs, jobs”, but he has struggled to keep his promises.
The mood in Harare is somewhere between exhaustion and anger. The popular slang word on everyone’s lips is zvakapressa, which loosely translated means being pressed down in a difficult situation. Unemployment has reached an estimated 90% and food and fuel are in short supply.
Zimbabweans spend long hours queuing for food, fuel and other basics — in most towns, vehicles wait in queues up to 2km long at filling stations. Inflation is soaring above 700% and foreign currency is hard to come by.
More than half of Zimbabwe’s population is facing severe hunger. Apparently oblivious to the irony, Mnangagwa recently declared a national day of fasting and prayer as a way to overcome the pandemic.
Sandra Manuwero, 34, a hair stylist and a mother of two, runs a pop-up backyard hair salon but says no-one can afford to get their hair done in the current economic crisis.
“Mugabe was better, he wouldn’t let us suffer like this,” she said.
“Life has dramatically changed; I can’t even afford to buy mealie meal because the price has more than doubled in the past month. I want a better life for myself and my children, but right now the future looks bleak.”
Nostalgia for the once-despised Mugabe, now affectionately known as sekuru, or grandfather, has become a common theme. “Under Mugabe, bread was always available. He would never let Zimbabweans starve like what we are doing now,” said Manuwero.
Recent weeks have seen rising tensions in the country as the economy implodes. Several opposition members and government critics have been arrested during antigovernment protests. In a televised speech this week, Mnangagwa labelled organisers of the protests as “terrorists”. He also vowed to “flush out bad apples” who he said were attempting to divide Zimbabweans.
Samson Gurupira, 38, a nurse at a government hospital, took part in a protest demanding that health workers be paid in US dollars.
“Nurses are starving; I am economically incapacitated,” said Gurupira. “I can’t survive on a monthly salary of ZWD5,000. I can’t afford to pay my rent and buy food. I am a qualified nurse but I have nothing to show for it. I feel like the government has really let us down.”
Zimbabwe is also facing a crippling public health crisis with doctors and nurses withdrawing their services from major hospitals.
Against this dismal backdrop, the only glimmer of hope is an online campaign with the hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter, launched after security forces blocked the antigovernment protests. At least 60 people were arrested in connection with the protests, and 16 were injured and required medical attention.
The campaign generated more than 700,000 tweets in two days and has captured international attention, receiving endorsements from regional leaders, celebrities and sports personalities.
But most people in the streets of Harare are not aware of it.
Rosemary Mudzamiri, 42, a vendor in Harare, said she can’t afford to buy data to go online.
“My daily struggle is to search for food; I don’t have the luxury to buy data. But I do hope something comes out of the campaign, because all we want is a better future and to able to earn a livelihood to support our family,” she said.
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