The govt recently passed a bill amending the Criminal Codification Act. Four of the amendments are welcome and uncontroversial as they relate to current crimes – increasing the penalties for rape, removing industrial hemp as a penalised drug etc. But one is HUGELY problematic. The govt has decided to create a new crime called: "Wilfully Injuring the Sovereignty or National Interest of Zimbabwe."

I have done a quick read of it and what jumps out at me is that the wilful injuring of Zimbabwe's interests is being done by this legally unsound amendment.

In the 1880s Lobengula’s court was besieged by fortune hunters. His father Mzilikazi had given hospitality to the missionary Robert Moffat, David Livingstone’s father-in-law and Lobengula now had Moffat’s son John Smith pushing English interests with the missionary Charles Helm. It was to Helm that Lobengula said: “Did you ever see a chameleon catch a fly? The chameleon gets behind the fly, remains motionles, advances slowly and gently. At last, within reach, he darts out his toungue and the fly disappears.

England is the chameleon. And I am that fly.”

I haven't shared a #PGSundayStory in a while, so here is one on a Tuesday.

My lockdown has about writing and collaborating. My brilliant writer friends Ignatius Mabasa and Tinashe Muchuri who edits me in Shona, will soon translate two of my books into Shona.

Details in April! For now, I am delighted to share a previous Shona translation.

This was done by the poet Musaemura Zimunya, in an anthology edited for Weaver Press by him and Charles Mungoshi.

Mungoshi is my favourite Zim writer, so it was an honour to be included.

Here is the first page:

To control a people, first study them. The Rhodesians excelled at this. This is NADA, the annual of the Rhodesian Internal Affairs Ministry. Published between 1923 and 1979, it had scholarly work on “native affairs” from anthropologists, sociologists, native commissioners etc. In these volumes are essays on elopement in Shona law, notes on Amandebele regiments, the Nambiya people of Hwange, the Chihota Dynasty, kugarira customs, polygyny among the urban Shona and Ndebele, a history of the Hlengwe people, succession, the Korsten baskemakers (Mapostori.

I may as well write about the things I miss. Like Venice! I’m researching an essay about Africa at the Venice Biennale. This is a picture I took of Gareth Nyandoro, Chikomborero Chazunguza and Masimba Hwati at the Zimbabwe pavilion in 2015. I call it “The Merchants of Venice”😀 I also call it “Zvibabest”😎. Behind them is work by Chiko Chazunguza. Chiko and I collaborated with Pearson publishing to bring Dambudzo Marechera’s MINDBLAST to an international audience. He did the cover art, I wrote the introduction! We did an official handover of the book

0/28 Here for you is a Sunday story from ROTTEN ROW called ‘Anna, Boniface, Cecelia Dickson’. It’s directly inspired by the children’s rhyme from my era and by Robert Altman’s take on Raymond Carver’s stories in SHORT CUTS. Enjoy. 1/28 If you come with me this way, straight past Town House on Speke Avenue, cross the flyover into Julius Nyerere, walk past Robert Mugabe and stop before we get to Kenneth Kaunda, we will find ourselves outside the downtown supermarket that used to be called Amato.

1/10 I’m sleepless with no hope of gaining any so I will do a quick social history of one of my favorite streets in Harare, the street called Rotten Row that is now supposed to be called Gamal Nasser Road. The name comes from French: Rotten Row is a corruption of Route de Roi. 2/10 This is because our Rotten Row is named after Rotten Row in London, established in 1690 to allow the double monarchs William and Mary to connect quickly across Hyde Park between two Palaces, Kensington and St James’s, hence it was called Route de Roi or “the King’s road”.

Some fascinating history for you. Charwe (Nehanda) was hanged together with her brother Chibaga, and others who included Hwata and Gumboreshumba (Kaguvi).

The daughters of Chibaga and Gumboreshumba fled to the newly established Chishawasha mission to seek refuge. Gumboreshumba’s daughter was called Dziripi. Chibaga’s daughter had been named by her aunt Charwe Nehanda, as their tradition demanded. Charwe gave this daughter the name Musodzi. Musodzi then took this name as her last name, was baptized Elizabeth and became Elizabeth Musodzi.

1/20 Those who know me know translaton is my big passion. And that I love Orwell. A few years ago, I started translating Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM. I got permission from Orwell’s estate @TheOrwellPrize and was joined by a bunch of people on Facebook. It was the most enormous fun. 2/20 We agreed to honour the main Shona variants in the dialect, so some animals speak in Manyika, others in Karanga, some Zezuru, and others Slang. So of the pigs, Squealor is Manyika, Major is Karanga, Napoleon and Snowball Zezuru. The narration is in neutral Standard Shona.

Because it’s the Ides of March, and because I am on a train speeding to see my boy child in a few hours, I am going to do an off the cuff translation, from memory, into the language of my ancestors, of Mark Anthony’s “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech.

The Ides of March, baby! Shwamwari dzadiwa, vagari veRoma nenyika ino,
Dondipaivo zheve,
Handina kuvuya pano kuzotutumadza Siza bodo, asi kuhomuviga,
Zvivi zvemunhu zvinorangarigwa warova,
Zvene zvaaiita zvichifushirwa nemapfupa ake,
Ngazvive zvimwezvo pana Siza.

1/6 In Covid-19, it’s clear the Government of Zimbabwe has no communications plan for crisis management. I don’t know if the crisis mgment plan is itself there, but if so, it is being so poorly communicated it suggests there is no plan as communications is an essential component. 2/6 Crisis Management aims to prevent or lessen damage from a crisis. A good comms plan is absolutely vital in supporting this aim. Among others, a good comms plan must be clear, truthful, time sensitive, authoritative, consistent and should aim to reassure and gain public trust.

THINGS FALL APART, or ZVOSE ZVOONDOMOKA, a translation project by me, yours truly, with the first three paragraphs in Shona, and the original in English.

Enjoy, and feel feel to suggest richer words!

@ignatiusmabasa @TinoChinyoka @tinsmush @matigary Mbiri yaOkonkwo yaipfuurira kune matunhu pfumbamwe ose ichidarikira. Akawana mbiri iyi neumazvikokota hwake.

Achiri jaya chairo remakore gumi nemasere, akaunza mukurumbira mukuru kune dunhu rake paakariga rimwe jinda rainzi Amalinze.

1/4 The problem of the proposed constitutional amendments is not tnat “ED will have greater powers than Mugabe”. This is hyperbolic propaganda.

The real problem is that it sets a dangerous precedent of changing a constitution that’s barely been implemented since it was approved 2/4 It’s also a spectacular own goal. For 2 years, government has done nothing about constitutional/political reforms they promised. And yet they’ve speedily approved this. They’ve set themselves back on foreign policy aims, e.g. rejoining the Commonwealth, deepening reengagement

I’m told that my most recent book is being sold at Innov8 bookshop in Harare. I’d normally be very happy but it is retailing for USD50. As it is not a hardcover, a picture book or printed on glossy paper, this is unjustifiable. Please spend your money wisely. Don’t buy it. When the UK edition is launched in February, I will make arrangements with my publisher to sell it in Zim for no more than the ZWL equivalent of USD20. I will distribute it myself, as I have done in the past. Books are not luxury products and should not be priced as such.

1/25 I’m signing off Twitter until 2020. It’s been wonderful to share my travels, book stuff, thoughts, gain new “followers”, follow many more in return. To say THANK YOU to my Twitter readers, old and new, I’ve adapted in 25 tweets my shortest story from AN ELEGY FOR EASTERLY. 2/25 It’s called THE CRACKED, PINK LIPS OF ROSIE’S BRIDEGROOM. Highly experimental and narrated in the unusual third person plural, it’s the story of a wedding from the viewpoint of the guests. It’s about those most beloved Zim pastimes: rumours, gossip and hypocrisy! Enjoy!