Absolute rubbish! That is what I thought when I read through reports that Frank Muchirahondo, an employee of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was captured at the Forbes border post in Mutare on January 22nd whilst trying to flee the country. Absolute rubbish was the exact same thing I thought when reports first surfaced in mid December that there had been an attempt on Perence Shiri’s (aka Black Jesus) life. Reports stated that he was ambushed whilst travelling alone to his farm and was shot in the hand or arm or shoulder (there are a number of different versions of the story). After the incident he was said to have received medical attention at the Manyame Air Force Base hospital. Ever since that alleged attempt on his life, he has not been seen in public and there is no real evidence that he was in fact shot.
All of this I find very hard to believe because for one, the likelihood of someone like Perence Shiri travelling alone are slim to none not only because of him being the Air Marshall or a member of Joint Operations Command (JOC) but also because of his history of being at the forefront of Gukurahundi. These are more than enough to warrant that he is escorted wherever he goes. To add to that, an unnamed Senior Air Force of Zimbwbe official said it totally false that Shiri had been admitted to the military hospital.
At the time the reports came out, Minister of Home Affairs, Cde Kembo Mohadi stated, “The attack on Air Marshal Shiri appears to be a build-up of terror attacks targeting high-profile persons, Government officials, Government establishments and public transportation systems.” The alleged incident was seen by many as something that was made up so that Mugabe could declare a state of emergency which would effectively sideline MDC and leave him in complete control of Zimbabwe.
It is events like this that are among the increasing number of lies that the government has told in the past few months. Some weeks before the ‘shooting’, a number of activist including Jestina Mukoko were abducted and for weeks the authorities denied having any involvement in the abductions. Not to everyone’s surprise, the abductees were found to be alive and in police custody just before Christmas.
All of these events are just a taste of the lies that the Zimbabwe government is capable of coming up with. They can blatantly lie to its people and the world about what they are doing and not doing and it even more evidence to show that they cannot be trusted. Even with that being the case Tsvangirai and a number of other leaders still believe that a unified government can be formed in Zimbabwe. What is the point of going ahead with a unity government if you know for sure that one party cannot be trusted?
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