Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

UPDATE: I’ve gotten several emails and comments saying this mansion is not Mugabe’s … the funny thing is that I’ve been told it’s really in Singapore … another one says South Africa … the most recent one says it’s Versailles. Everyone has an opinion about whose mansion it really is and they’re all adamant that they’re right. So, I dug around and found several newspaper articles with an aerial view of Mugabe’s mansion. I got a copy of the Andrew Meldrum (a journalist who lived in Zimbabwe for over twenty years) memoir WHERE WE HAVE HOPE to discern more about the Mugabe Mansion (dubbed Graceland by many since it was built for wife, Grace Marufu). I read Alec Russell’s BIG MEN, LITTLE PEOPLE and I got a copy of a book published by ZANU-PF entitled SALLY MUGABE, WOMAN WITH A MISSION. What I can conclusively say is that the image above does appear to be the aerial view of Mugabe’s Mansion and the photos below may (or may not) be of his mansion but they certainly COULD be given the size and opulence of the structure outside of Harare.

ORIGINAL POST: Supposedly, the opulent mansion to the right is the home of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. Located near the national capital of Harare, the mansion is an affront to many because of the desperate lives led by the majority of Zimbabweans. They currently have the highest inflation rate in the world. The life expectancy for all the citizens has dropped by decades under Mugabe’s despotic rule. Today, we met a woman who had been born in South Africa and raised in Zimbabwe. She and her family left Zimbabwe shortly after Mugube’s rise to power. A lovely woman with a smooth voice and generous heart, she graciously gave her voice talents for a sequence of the film. Ultimately, we ended up talking about all of the south African nations. We talked about Sally Mugabe, the early years following independence and the succession of majority rule. We enjoyed the African art and furnishings in their home. We talked about the art of the Ndebele and their feud with the Shona. An afternoon meeting literate and learned people is always enlightening. Spending the following days exploring those ideas with colleagues or partners and seeing where those discoveries can lead is a creative joy. I don’t know if it is the contrast of my life with the life of the average Zimbabwean’s that has me feeling so grateful this evening. Maybe it’s the joy of preparing the Zambian film for its screening in Lusaka. I guess I don’t need to know. All I really want is to be present as present as possible to the gifts of my life … and there are many! And, unlike Comrade Mugabe, I didn’t need to destroy anyone to have them.