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afrol News, 6 February - "Enough is enough" or "Zvakwana Sokwanele" is the clear message from the Zimbabwean movement with the same name. In the streets of Harare, this underground group is starting to organise the mass action against the Mugabe regime eagerly awaited by the opposition. The leader of Zvakwana is not stating his name. Neither will he display the name of any other member: "This would result in imminent arrest under false charges and likely torture," he tells afrol News. Even if nobody has ever seen Zvakwana - the Harare-based movement does not have any address or offices in fear of being attacked by militants organised by the ruling ZANU-PF party - when the evening goes over to night, it is not possible not to hear them in the streets of Harare. The group is following the Argentinean example, organising its "Make a noise for freedom" campaign. Every night at 8 pm supporters in parts of Harare come out onto the streets to whistle and bang their pots protesting against the hunger they are suffering as a result of the Mugabe regime. "By doing this at 8 pm it also means that they are boycotting the ZBC's Propaganda News Hour," Zvakwana explains. - Our campaign is gathering momentum, says the Zvakwana leader. "That said, the deployment of militant youth and overbearing police in high density suburbs makes this simple exercise a dangerous one in these areas," he adds. Nevertheless, participation to this nightly, noisy protest is growing. "This initiative is expected to grow steadily over time as we build a culture of solidarity and commitment to sustainable change within our communities," he optimistically adds. The movement also has other forms of actionism. Several Zvakwana members actively resisted as Zimbabwe police were hindering the public from entering the supposedly open hearing in the treason trial against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. They have participated in demonstrations and rallies against the upcoming disputed international cricket event on Zimbabwean soil. Other protests are planned. Asked whether Zvakwana designs its campaigns to be within the current legal framework of Zimbabwe, the anonymous leader becomes ambiguous. "All our actions will fall within the framework of the constitution and in general the laws of the country. There are however certain draconian, unconstitutional laws that have been introduced in recent years. These will be defied." The Zvakwana leader however quickly adds that these actions not are to create yet more victims in the country. "At all times our movement will strive to uphold the norms of society and respect for human and individuals' rights," he assures. However, it is increasingly difficult to organise these peaceful mass actions against the Mugabe regime. The Zvakwana task force meetings need to be held at different locations, in deep secrecy. The group obviously is not being paranoid. Several members of Zvakwana had already "been arrested whilst engaging in acts of civil disobedience and acts of defiance of unconstitutional laws and controls, so to this extent the regime are attempting to take action against us as a movement," he says. Zvakwana only has existed for a few months, but it cannot be overheard. While the MDC opposition party is struggling to maintain its actions within the limits of the law, Zimbabweans are searching leaders that can head their mass actions to cause the downfall of the regime. The group therefore also has several "MDC cadres" within its membership, the Zvakwana leader claims. The group however "not formally linked to the MDC," he emphasises, but "a totally autonomous network of activists who cut across many sectors of the community." He names local churches, civil servants and others. The group admits the inspiration of their campaigns comes from abroad, "following in-depth research into successful cases of civil defiance elsewhere in the world." Nevertheless, all training, leadership and financing is purely Zimbabwean, he informs, and re-disappears into the dark.
Interview by Rainer Chr. Hennig, afrol News editor
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