They’ve made the bed, now we’ve got to lie in it!
Zimbos have a great sense of humour (sometimes if you don’t laugh you’ll cry!) and can literally put a smile on your face in the midst of a serious crisis.
I laughed out loud when I saw the cartoon used in this article; some people are really funny and creative, brightening up these gloomy days.
Harare’s Mbare high density suburb has been battling with bed bugs (tsikidzi in Shona) for almost two months now as the local authority struggles to find effective insecticides.
The outbreak has been attributed to sale of second-hand clothes from abroad coupled with unhygienic conditions in the residential area. By the way, second-hand clothes have been sold in Zimbabwe for decades.
There are now fears the bugs will spread to other areas within and beyond the capital.
While the affected residents are having sleepless nights, for some, it’s just another chance to poke fun at a dire situation while depicting existing challenges.
The bed bugs have jokingly been linked to President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) who is pushing to extend his rule to 2030 even though his two terms officially end in 2028.
There are various groups of people affiliated to the President, such as YoungWomen4ED, Youth4ED, Farmers4ED, hence the cartoonist came up with Tsikidzi4ED, funny isn’t?
I loved the comments under the animation too, with some saying even though the late former President, Robert Mugabe failed the nation, there were was never an outbreak of bed bugs during his rule.
“The gods must be angry, this is a bad omen, ED must step down before it’s too late,” wrote one Son of the Soil.
“First signs…as done to Pharaoh,” added Rozvi Emperor.
In the Bible, Pharaoh famously faced an outbreak of insects as part of the plagues sent by God to convince him to release the Israelites from slavery.
For some, it was a chance to vent their anger at the regime, especially after government spokesperson, Nick Mangwana posted on X in reaction to a video that captured the seriousness of the bug situation.
“You talking about tsikidzi is the height of hypocrisy. Your government looted health budgets, collapsed basic services and now you want to act shocked that bedbugs are taking over. People are sleeping in filth because ZanuPF stole the money meant for clean water, garbage collection and public health. The streets didn’t become dirty by accident, they were abandoned. Hospitals have no meds, councils are packed with bootlickers, tenders go to cronies. Now you come online pretending to care while you sit comfortably in a pest free mansion…this isn’t just a hygiene issue, it’s a corruption epidemic,” blasted one Blaz.
Meanwhile, the intense fumigation continues, with Harare City Council saying it will also target public transport to prevent the spread to other areas.
