ZANU PF IS SCARED OF GRASS CUTTERS BUT NOT CORRUPTION

In Zimbabwe, it is now a crime to cut grass if ZANU PF is not told first. That is how bad things have become. This is not a joke. It happened just a few days ago. A respected journalist and newspaper publisher, Matthew Takaona, was arrested simply for helping clear grass along a dangerous road near Mushayavanhu Primary School in Gutu. He was not alone. He was with other good citizens trying to help the community. But the police came after them like they were criminals.

Matthew Takaona is not just a journalist. He is also an opposition activist. Maybe that is the real reason why they went after him. He was arrested by a special police unit called Ferret. This is a team made up of police and intelligence officers. They did not even have a proper reason. The only problem, they said, was that he did not inform the local ZANU PF councillor, Benson Dandira, before cutting the grass. Imagine that. Cutting grass to stop accidents is now a problem in Zimbabwe if ZANU PF is not involved.

After holding him, the police failed to find a charge. They could not say what law he broke. Why? Because he broke no law. Cutting grass is not a crime. Helping the community is not a crime. The lawyers said so clearly. In the end, the police had to let him go. But the damage was done. This is what they do to activists and opposition voices in Zimbabwe. They want to scare us. They want us to stop doing good work. But we will not stop.

This is not just about Matthew Takaona. It is about all of us. Zimbabwe has been under the rule of ZANU PF for 45 years. That is 45 years of fear, poverty, corruption, and lies. People cannot speak freely. Journalists are beaten or arrested. Activists are followed, threatened, or jailed. Some even disappear. This is the life we live every day. We are tired of it.

As a political activist myself, I know this fear. I write and speak against ZANU PF because I believe in a better Zimbabwe. I know they watch me. I know they read what I write. But I will not be silent. Zimbabwe does not belong to ZANU PF. It belongs to the people. And the people are waking up. They are tired of being scared. They are tired of living without power, clean water, good jobs, or fair elections.

What happened to Takaona is just one example. There are many more. People are punished for simply speaking the truth or helping their neighbours. ZANU PF fears the truth. That is why they react with so much force. But no matter how many people they arrest, they cannot stop the truth from spreading. They cannot stop people from dreaming of freedom and justice.

I write this today to show the world what is happening in Zimbabwe. To tell the story they try to hide. Cutting grass should not be a political act. But under a dictatorship, even small acts of kindness become a threat. That is how you know the system is broken.

To my fellow Zimbabweans, do not lose hope. Every small action counts. Every voice matters. They want us quiet, but we must be louder. They want us divided, but we must unite. Let us keep speaking, keep writing, and keep fighting. For Matthew Takaona. For all the silenced. For the Zimbabwe we all deserve.

The grass may grow again, but so will the resistance. We will not be afraid. We will not stop. We are the future, and they are the past.