Mugabe sweeps back to power

A whiff of tear gas and of stolen victory hung in the air yesterday as Mugabe supporters took to the streets of Harare in raucous…

A whiff of tear gas and of stolen victory hung in the air yesterday as Mugabe supporters took to the streets of Harare in raucous celebration. Disbelieving opposition supporters looked on in dismay, writes Declan Walsh

"We are very unhappy. Right now everyone has a big questionmark over the victory of this guy," a security guard, Richard Amon, said minutes after watching a gang of Zanu-PF youths parade through the city centre.

"For six years to come there will be no change," he added despondently. The lead vehicle carried a coffin bearing the name of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, the failed opposition challenger.

Feared violent protest failed to materialise in Zimbabwe yesterday as the government deployed hundreds of riot police and army troops in the township areas.

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In Harare, where most people voted for Mr Tsvangirai, there were isolated outbursts of jubilation for the president's re-election. Some city centre shops closed early, fearing violence.

At lunchtime, a musician known as Comrade Chinx drove past the Zanu-PF headquarters in the back of a pick-up, thrusting a clenched fist into the air. Comrade Chinx appears every day on national television, singing songs of praise to President Mugabe.

In Mbare township police fired tear gas on a group of celebrating youths when they stoned passers-by. Calm was restored and some minutes later a triumphant cavalcade pulled up outside the district Zanu-PF headquarters.

Esther Matashu, 26, was among those dancing and singing. She was wearing a torn, dirty Zanu-PF t-shirt. "We support him because he fought for our country. He's our black man," she said.

Outside the building a large street banner read: "Hunzvi: War Vet for Real", a reference to Chenjerai Hitler Hunzvi, a notorious war veteran who led the invasion of white farms. He has since died.

A Street trader, Luckmore Gezi (21), said he had campaigned for President Mugabe in Murehwa, a rural area to the east. "Now I'm waiting for my land so that I can plough next year," he declared.

But many other Zimbabweans were depressed at the thought of another six years of Mugabe rule. Sitting on a city centre bench, Gibson M said he was "not enjoying the day, for many reasons". His eyes were still stinging from the tear gas attack he fled in Mbare hours earlier. Everybody felt the poll was stolen, he said, but they were afraid to protest.

"The government is stepping down on us very hard with the police. They don't want people to demonstrate because they know they can't meet our demands.Like most people, his main worry was the crumbling economy and not politics. His carpet laying business recently shut down; now he relies on money his wife makes selling hairbands on the street.

"We are heading for hardships and I don't think anyone can tolerate that," he said. "If I had wings, I wish I could fly away," he added despondently.

Resuscitating the ailing economy will be Mr Mugabe's first concern for his final term of office. Inflation stands at 116 per cent, the currency has collapsed and industrial and agricultural output are falling rapidly.

And, for the first time in generations, Zimbabwe is facing famine. The production of maize, the national staple food, has been drastically reduced, partly due to a regional drought but mainly because of Mr Mugabe's failed land redistribution policy.

If thousands of tonnes of maize meal do not arrive soon ­ and Zimbabwe has little foreign currency to pay for them ­ aid workers fear that up to one third of the country's 13 million people could be on the breadline.

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