Trevor Ncube Has Discovered That Free Speech Is More Complicated When You’re the Boss

Trevor Ncube has built his public standing on the case for a free press. Last month his own publishing company is reported by ZimLive to have gone to the High Court against 36 of its employees. ZimInd Publishers, which publishes NewsDay, The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent, is claiming US$100,000 over statements it says were defamatory, in a summons dated September 25, ZimLive reports. The … Continue reading Trevor Ncube Has Discovered That Free Speech Is More Complicated When You’re the Boss

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 12, 2026October 12, 20269 Comments

SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Gweru Has a Sewer Problem. Naturally, the Residents Are on Trial.

On 9 October The Herald reported that Gweru City Council is battling sewer blockages it blames on residents flushing plastic bags, nappies, sanitary products and rags, with sewage spilling into homes and streets in Mkoba, Mtapa, Senga and Ascot. The council has the contents of its pipes right. Mayor Martin Chivhoko told councillors that crews had responded to more than 300 blockages in a single … Continue reading Gweru Has a Sewer Problem. Naturally, the Residents Are on Trial.

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 12, 2026October 12, 20266 Comments

REALITY BITES, SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Zimbabwean Government, A Forecast Is Not a Disaster Plan

Hurricane Isaias came ashore near Destin, Florida, United States, on Friday night last week as a Category 2 storm. Its winds were 105 mph at landfall. By early Saturday, more than 726,000 customers in Florida and Alabama had lost power, and some Panhandle counties had briefly suspended emergency response because conditions were too dangerous. Everyone saw this coming. Forecasters had warned of storm surge of … Continue reading Zimbabwean Government, A Forecast Is Not a Disaster Plan

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 12, 2026October 12, 20261 Comment

SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

The Next Battlefield May Be the Data Centre Down the Road

In the early hours of 8 October a drone set fire to a Yandex data centre in Sasovo, a town in Russia’s Ryazan region. Yandex told AFP that the facility had stopped operating entirely. The outage reached Yandex Cloud and the products built on it, such as Yandex Disk and Yandex Documents, and Yandex shares fell more than 3 percent on the Moscow Exchange. The … Continue reading The Next Battlefield May Be the Data Centre Down the Road

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 11, 2026October 11, 202622 Comments

NOISY TRUTHS

Cheap Fuel Is Expensive If It Comes With a Geopolitical Bill

Washington has eased sanctions on Russian diesel, but has not said what it got in return. Diesel is expensive, American voters are noticing, and Vladimir Putin says he can help. On October 9, after a phone call with the Russian president, Donald Trump announced that Russia would supply diesel to American and global markets, more than 300,000 tonnes immediately and more in the months ahead. … Continue reading Cheap Fuel Is Expensive If It Comes With a Geopolitical Bill

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 10, 2026October 10, 202623 Comments

REALITY BITES

Zimbabwe Wants the World’s Money But Hasn’t Earned the World’s Trust

The IMF has signed off on another review. Harare is celebrating the wrong number. Zimbabwe wants back into the international financial system, and on October 8 it got a small step closer. Several outlets reported that the International Monetary Fund had completed the second review of the country’s 10-month Staff-Monitored Programme. Expect the government to treat it as a victory. It is a progress report. … Continue reading Zimbabwe Wants the World’s Money But Hasn’t Earned the World’s Trust

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 10, 2026October 10, 20263 Comments

REALITY BITES

President Mnangagwa, You Cannot Lecture a Farmer Out of a Drought

Zimbabwe’s farmers do not need another speech telling them the climate is changing. They need the means to survive it. Today, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged traditional leaders to mobilize rural communities toward climate-resilient farming ahead of the 2026/27 season. He spoke at the launch of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa program in Chivi, where he also warned that the country should expect normal to below-normal rainfall. The … Continue reading President Mnangagwa, You Cannot Lecture a Farmer Out of a Drought

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 10, 2026October 10, 20268 Comments

NOISY TRUTHS, Politics

A Succession Crisis Is Still a Crisis, Even When Nobody Admits It

On Friday, ZANU-PF’s Politburo was supposed to meet. It did not. The party blamed a “clash of programmes,” a phrase engineered to make a political event sound like a calendar error. But this was no routine gathering. The Politburo was expected to take up amendments to the party’s constitution ahead of its annual conference in Chinhoyi, October 12 to 17. The changes are meant to … Continue reading A Succession Crisis Is Still a Crisis, Even When Nobody Admits It

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 10, 2026October 10, 202615 Comments

Politics, REALITY BITES, Reflection

Today Is a Good Day, Apparently

My phone started ringing like hell on Wednesday evening. Friends, readers, as well as people I haven’t spoken to in months. “Could it be that Wicknell is dead.” “Is it true?” “You’re in Marondera. What’s happening?” “Can you confirm?” The funny part was that I was probably as uninformed as they were. Maybe more. The helicopter had gone down somewhere around Marondera. Six people were … Continue reading Today Is a Good Day, Apparently

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoOctober 2, 2026October 2, 202612 Comments

NOISY TRUTHS, Politics

What Happens When a Children’s Entertainer Won’t Stay Apolitical

Ms. Rachel is the current example. She will not be the last. There is an unwritten contract between children’s entertainers and the public, and it is stricter than the one we impose on almost any other kind of celebrity. Musicians are allowed opinions. Politics is practically part of the job description. Actors get more room too, because their politics usually exist outside the work itself, … Continue reading What Happens When a Children’s Entertainer Won’t Stay Apolitical

Kumbirai Thierry NhamoSeptember 23, 2026September 23, 202611 Comments

Zealous Thierry

Unapologetically authentic space for unapologetic reflections on Zimbabwean and Global politics, social justice, and the human condition: blending sharp critique with creative thought to challenge power and inspire change.

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