Sadly, I didn’t have space to say that Harare lawyer Mike Kimberley would be speaking on “The History of the Founder Members of the History Society”; Bennie Kaschula would talk on “Chiefs’ Regalia from 1890 to Today”; Colonel W Jansen’s topic would be “Military Uniforms”, Robin Taylor would lecture on “How the Railways Came to Harare” (I think he means Salisbury!) and prestigious Prince Edward School headmaster Kevin Atkinson’s address would be on “The History of PE School.”
Just some of the 14 themes scheduled to be the subject of informed learned presentations and Q&A sessions over a cultural weekend. Stamps, coins, medals and other ephemera were to be examined, discussed, valued, bought, sold, auctioned and swopped.
The first bit of the weekend went swimmingly, with upwards of 70 deeply interested members of the public digging out passports and driving all the way to Helensvale and gone.
Apart from the public lectures and exhibitions, further attractions were excellently valued US$5 meals at lunch and supper on Saturday, and Sunday lunch. On that same Saturday, brave members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police tear-gassed and beat up people attending a prayer vigil in the High-Density Areas, to the shock and, horror of the Free World and the dismay of Zimbabwe’s few friends.
About 60 (including some new faces) clocked in on the Sabbath Day at leafy Borrowdale Brooke, a purpose-built extremely low-density suburb, surrounded by rolling, verdant, well-watered, championship golf course, with its high, often electrified walls and top security at the boom simply to get in and out. It’s a suburb occupied by many different folk with one thing in common: loads of loot.
Again, all went well in the morning. Many participants, “resource persons” and Joe and Jane Public were enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch and looking forward to two final presentations on “Colonial Police Medals” and “Hugh Marshall-Hole”. (He was Administrator of Matabeleland during the Anglo-Boer War who, because of a shortage of small change — nothing’s changed in 110 years! — introduced the Marshall-Hole card whereby British South Africa Company postage and revenue stamps on printed cardboard were worth between one penny and 10-shillings and could be used to buy goods and services, pay wages, etc.)
Gripping stuff!
At this stage I am told, I was AWOL having lunch at Miller’s (no relation) Café in Borrowdale Village (see last Friday’s Zimbabwe Independent) Chief Inspector Plod of the ZRP (“A Force To be Reckoned Without!”) and his merry men in khaki, and those with the dark glasses and white Defenders, appeared on the scene, mob-handed. Organisers from the august scholarly associations were officiously warned this was an illegal gathering of more than three persons for which no permission had been asked or granted and the participants/speakers/exhibitors/public were to disperse with immediate effect or face the stern wrath of the law.
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Being law-abiding folk, they gapped, quietly, but muttering about “Latter-Day Fascism.”
I suppose it could have been worse. Some of the septuagenarians, octogenarians and upwards could have been tear-gassed, thrown into police vehicles (if they had any…if they had any fuel…) and hauled off to Remand for a day or two to appear, starving and lice-infested, before a magistrate (if they were not on strike) charged with breaking a law few, if any, were aware of, dreamed up, but rarely used other than when elections are on the horizon, by a paranoiac government terrified of the slightest criticism.
All that happened was the heavy-handed ZRP spoiled the weekend of a few score grey-haired and bald-headed amateur historians, military historians and pre-historians.
Now what worries me about this total disregard for people’s fundamental rights of worship, association, freedom of speech etc, is that you never know when this Mickey Mouse law might be enforced.
It is several years since police raided and shut the annual art exhibition of Debby Hart’s delightful wildlife paintings at Debbie Davies’ Zimbrella Showgrounds in Borrowdale, on the same pretext: it was an unlawful gathering of more than three persons.
Too right, sport, there must have been 300 art-loving “persons” enjoying pictures, food, wine and music; ZRP reservists helped man the entrance; off-duty cops (for a cash consideration) assisted visitors to park safely.
A couple of nights before the latest Borrowdale fiasco, on Thursday, I was guest speaker at a bi-monthly supper party of The Dining Club, a strictly black-tie and tux affair at The Bagatelle, Meikles Hotel.
There were about 30 members and guests there.
Did they really need permission to get together? Did they have it? If not, might we all have spent a cold, uncomfortable night in the stocks? Greendale Good Food & Wine Appreciation Society has — in its heyday and before this daft law was drafted — often attracted up to 77 punters to monthly luncheons. Even now, with most of the founder members at the Great Dining Room in the Sky or in the Diaspora — or, thanks to Comrade Gono — almost penniless, we still get between 15 and 30 to each event.
We have never asked permission to hold a lunch. As I understand it “permission” costs US$86 an application, successful or not. Which is government extortion. On my way home most nights I call in at “a” (not “The”) Harare club where often two dozen chums sit on stools at the same high peninsula table, nursing a dop or three, watching sport or major overseas news and chatting about it. Does that need “permission”…every night and some lunch times?
In the unlikely event I go to church, has the padre sought police permission for the 100 or so folk in the congregation; if 10 or 12 of us leave there and go on to someone’s home for a last minute morning coffee or impromptu Sunday braai, what should we do about “permission”. Do we risk having to jump into the swimming pool to avoid indiscriminate tear-gas?
Hell! The typical Zimbabwean extended, semi-extended or even nuclear family sitting down for nightly supper (if there’s anything to eat!) will almost invariably constitute an “illegal gathering” of more than three “persons”.
Personally, I would say this law stinks!
