The best laid plans! At the beginning of the week {after submitting the list of Petitioners to the MET Police Diplomatic Unit on the 29th January - and got all 6 approved) we had Shamiso Moyo, detained and in Yarleswood! and then Chief Ndiweni is offered a minor surgical procedure - on Thursday 20th Feb! And these days it's best not to say - "can we reschedule" - as it might be in 12 months time, or longer. Not to worry we have another scheduled petition submission for the 5th March - only 2 weeks away.
Chief Ndiweni And I organise a recording of his intended speech on Tuesday 18th. We create a timed web article to appear at 13:45 on the 20th to coincide with the speeches on the day. The article is a written transcript and an audio embedded file so the recipient can hear the message too. It appears on our ZEXIT platform, in a section entitled "Chief Ndiweni's Diary"! Charles Kanyimo also writes and excellent article too - concerning Electoral Reform - something we will champion on the 5th March 2025. But we did not wish to publish before the 20th Feb petition had been delivered! So again we created a timed future publication - to appear at 14:30 on the 20th Feb. 2025 I hope ypou are all following this!
On the Wednesday night I look up the weather forecasts for home and central London - 70-90% chance of RAIN!!
Fortunately at 7:00 am on the Thursday 20th Feb - although very gloomy, and the ground was wet, it looked as if the rain had stopped. As indeed we did not get another drop until is started spitting at 3:00pm - after we had finished - as we use an ink-jet printer - any rain could literally wash away our arguments!
Arrived at Victoria Train Station at 11:30am. My heart-felt sympathies go to Josephine Jenje (one of our organisers) who messaged me to say she was on the Night Bus to London - so she could arrive on the Thursday morning of the 20th Feb - that's preparation indeed! I walk to The Zimbabwe Embassy, and nearly there, just catch the eye of Dickson Chikwizo (another organiser) as he passes me head down, who was going to get something to eat!
First there, and leaning in the doorway to the Zimbabwe Embassy is our old friend Peter Sidindi (in his very 'offical' looking peaked cap with Red Band - see Flickr images} - who I have not seen for a quite a few years. In fact several "old faces" appear over the next 30 minutes. So we start taking photos and the odd video too. You can see the whole day on our Flickr Platform - which now that stands at over 150 images [CLICK HERE to VIEW}. We meet up with a lot of well known faces from the past - and a great many new faces too.
Outside the Zimbabwe Embassy we meet with Tatenda Changambika, Ullbile M Nkwate {on X as @NkwateUlib17272}, Heath Simbarasche {on X as @SimbaHeath} and Shorayi Spencer Guzha all sent by Stanford Biti on behalf of CCC Southend Branch. Then we are introduced to Nolanga Evangelista Ndlovu (and her 'secretive' daughter), [Nolanga has quite a pedigree in ROHR, CCC and one time former Bulawayo regional board member of ZimRights - now a newly minted ZHRO member too.]. Lots more Zimbabweans were arriving at this time too.
Just then, and out of the blue, as it were, the State Mercedes with a ZIM 1 number plate arrives - difficult to see who is in it due to the tinted windows (to hide the guilty we suspect}. However, an oriental looking chauffeur gets out and opens the rear door, and out pops a skeletal looking old Ambassador in his blue Crombie Coat and a stylish Dark Fedora Hat! Ex-Colonel Christain Katsande himself.
Then in all the most spontaneous outpouring Rudo Yvonne Dodzo starts with a protest song - with all the other Zimbabweans joining in! it was absolutely brilliant: hatidi zvekupiwa order nema sasikamu (we don’t want to be ordered around by lunatics/saskam). The video of this event is also on our Flickr Platform - please view and listen to it HERE it was so good we also put it on Twitter/X {HERE} as did Thabo Makuyana {HERE}.
Not long after that hilarious skit we set off towards Trafalgar Square, to Whitehall to arrive under the gaze of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery - opposite the entrance to Downing Street - our ultimate destination. Here we organised ourselves for speeches, and whilst those were being spoken {including the message from Chief Ndiweni as referred to above} 4 of us went to present ourselves to the security of Downing Street MET Police Diplomatic Unit.
for Diana Machingauta, Rudo Yvonne Dodzo and Tawanda Matangambiri, it was an "eye opener" as all the Police inside the security gates were so friendly - posing for photographs and even taking pictures of us with our own mobile phones. The Police were smiling, they were jovial and honest. Even though the officer who accompanied us to the door of 10 Downing Street had a side arm, a 'tazer', stab vest and all that equipment - there was no threat! He was just a guy doing a job. Not like the Zimbabwe Police. The chap inside Downing Street was neat and tidy, his boots were shiny and black - his uniform well looked after.
We posed for photos at the famous doorway to Number 10 Downing Street - with the brass Letter box with the words "First Lord of the Treasury" the Official Historic Title of the Prime Minister. Next door - The Chancellor of the Exchequer has another title of "Second Lord of the Treasury" - so much history since 1682. So what was our purpose, what did we deliver to the PM on the 20th February 2025 - Well you Can Read it yourself HERE - CLICK for Petition Read/Or Download - opens in a new Window.
Now whilst some of us were playing at 'knocking on the door to 10 Downing Street', the rest of the activists were conducting speeches to continue with the general protest we had started that day. Several videos are now showing on Twitter
- See Josephine Jenje HERE,
- Tatenda Changambika HERE,
- Dickson Chikwizo HERE,
- Boniface Zengeni HERE
- Peter Sidindi HERE and
- Nobukhosi Dube [Twitter: @khosiedee22] HERE at these individual links;