The Sunday Mail
Sincere condolences go out to the families of those who lost their lives in yet another case of bombing in Nairobi, Kenya. The Kenyan police is overwhelmed with trying to deal with the aftermath and at the same time keeping the public informed
In between Press conferences and investigations, these latest bombings have left Kenyan police with no time to Tweet. During the Westgate bombing, the world was kept abreast via Twitter by their handle: @PoliceKE, this time their colleagues at the Interior ministry :@InteriorKE have continued to give constant updates via the popular social media platform.
Thinking about Nairobi makes me very thankful to be a Zimbabwean and living in Harare. Despite the negative publicity our country continues to receive, Harare is and will always be my favourite city in the world; and I have seen many great cities.
I met a London-based tourist in Victoria Falls in early April. I asked him if he was also going to visit Harare. He told me that he had been advised not to go to other parts of Zimbabwe and that only Victoria Falls was safe. He had flown from London to Nairobi and then to Livingstone. He was staying on the Zimbabwe side and we met on an early morning game drive.
By the end of the drive, he was decent enough to admit that he had learnt so much about Zimbabwe that he was going to book his next holiday to visit Harare.
Perception becomes reality! Our beautiful city is being placed at the same ranks as other cities that are violent, dangerous and prone to natural disaster and yet all we have are potholes and lots of sunshine!
Two bombings in Kenya kill 10, injure 70 – the Web.
In the same week that lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa is suing Trauma Centre owner Dr Vivek Solanki for defamation and claiming US$250 000, she has also been awarded the prestigious 2014 Ivan Allen Jnr Prize for Social Courage which awards US$100 000. If Beatrice would have her way, she could pocket US$350 000 before the end of the year plus of course her lawyer fees from various clients. In her award acceptance note, Mtetwa said she hopes the award will help swell the numbers of people prepared to stand up for what is right, she did not mention how she was planning to spend the US$100 000.
Interestingly, the same lawyer that is being awarded for being courageous in a so-called ‘‘hostile’’ environment is the same lawyer that is being accused for a gross misconduct and a corrupt act of bribing a senior officer at the National Prosecution Authority.
She claims that the allegation of paying a bribe has left her reputation as an upright legal practitioner damaged and she is now being seen as a dishonest, corrupt lawyer. On the other hand, Dr Solanki is standing by his allegations and even claims to have witnesses and a transcript. This is going to be one interesting court case! However, in the backdrop of all these allegations and awards, there are questions begging to be asked: who is the real Beatrice Mtetwa?
Is she a forceful lawyer who wants her way and can even pay for certain outcomes in her favour or is she the fearless lawyer fighting for justice? Or both?
Generally, people have mixed views. If you talk to the woman whose husband divorced her and he was represented by Beatrice Mtetwa – she will hyperventilate at the mere mention of Mtetwa’s name. ‘‘The woman left me with nothing, and yet internationally they are giving her award after award for being a champion for women.’’ If you get the views of a man whose wife is divorcing him and she is represented by Mtetwa, then he will also allege that Mtetwa is a ‘‘man-eater’’ who takes her own personal frustrations on any man she comes against in court.
If you then put together the amount of international funds that have been spent to further promote Mtetwa’s work and promoting her profile through international awards, international trips, documentaries made on her, grants and awards money, one is left confused. ‘‘Unotoshaya kuti zviri kufamba sei’’.
Then there is Beatrice the woman, the lover, the mother. Like most women in Harare, she will at some point pass through Hair World to get hair extensions and at some point host dinner parties and wear an apron and cook and be just a Swazi woman in love with yet another Zimbabwean man.
Mtetwa sues Solanki — The Herald 16 May, Another top award for Mtetwa, plus $100k – New Zimbabwe.com 15 May.
As more men rush back to court to have child support reduced, are they also reducing other expenditures like alcohol, entertainment, fashion, etc, in their lives? It is heartbreaking to see that ‘‘when elephants fights, the grass suffers’’. In this case the very same children that are having to deal with a broken down family, will continue to suffer as child support money is reduced. Apparently most of the men who applied for downward variation of maintenance they were paying last year, cited pressure from existing relationships. To me this then becomes a case of woman vs woman. Are we stopping to think what this is doing for our society in the long run? Yes the economy is not favourable, but why should the first thing to be reduced be child support? Yet in most cases the same men are frequenting beer halls, driving expensive cars and spending way too much on airtime and entertainment. Lack of planning is also a major factor.
Raising children is a long-term high cost commitment, but this does not seem to deter some people from bed-hopping and having children with various women, which further complicates situations by having plenty children in different households.
More men apply for maintenance variation. – The Herald, May 14, 2014.
