ZANU PF FEARS GRASS CUTTERS MORE THAN CORRUPTION

Zimbabwe is not at peace. Our people are tired. We have been under the rule of ZANU PF for 45 years, and nothing has changed. Things are getting worse every day. Prices go up, salaries stay the same, hospitals have no medicine, schools are falling apart, and people are suffering. But instead of fixing the problems, the government is busy arresting those who try to help.

Last night, veteran journalist and now Masvingo Mirror newspaper publisher, Matthew Takaona, was arrested. What was his crime? Cutting grass. Yes, grass. He was not alone. He was working with others, just trying to make a road safer for children near Mushayavanhu Primary School in Gutu. The road was dangerous. Many people had complained before. But nothing was done.

So Matthew and some local citizens decided to take action. They cleared the grass so that cars and children could see better. It was a good thing. It was a community effort. But that upset the local ZANU PF councillor, Benson Dandira. Why? Because no one told him. Because it made him look bad. Because it showed that the people can help themselves without the ruling party. So he called the police.

But not just any police. He called the Ferret team, a crack unit made up of police and intelligence officers. These are the same people who should be arresting thieves, drug dealers, and corrupt leaders. But instead, they came to arrest a man with a grass cutter. This is how low we have gone as a country.

Matthew Takaona was taken away like a criminal. He was treated like a danger to the state. But when the police tried to find a crime to charge him with, they failed. They couldn’t find anything. Because there was no crime. Cutting grass is not a crime. Helping your community is not a crime. So they had to let him go.

This is the Zimbabwe we live in. A country where cutting grass is seen as rebellion. A country where peaceful citizens are treated like enemies. A country where ZANU PF is afraid of its own people. This is why I continue to speak out. This is why I am an activist. Because silence is no longer an option.

How can we build a country where even cleaning a road needs political permission? How can we grow when we are punished for doing good? How long must we live in fear of those in power? ZANU PF has turned the state into a machine that attacks its own citizens. If you are not part of their party, you are treated like an outsider—even if you are helping the country.

I write these articles not just to inform, but to remind all Zimbabweans that we are not alone. There are many of us who are tired. Many of us who want change. And that change will not come from silence. It will come from action. From speaking up. From helping our communities even when they threaten us for it.

What happened to Matthew Takaona is not just an attack on him. It is an attack on all of us who believe in doing the right thing. But it will not stop us. We will continue. We will resist. We will build the Zimbabwe we want, even if we must cut the grass ourselves, without fear.

ZANU PF can arrest us, scare us, or try to break us. But they cannot stop the truth. They cannot stop the people. The grass will grow again. And so will the spirit of freedom.