Mugabe is not going to be happy until he has shut the likes of me up - and he can bring it on. I’ll happily give any of his security agents my address…

I do this blog by way of a civic responsibility to my fellow Zimbabweans. This is not something I do lightly. I do not do it for award or accolade - and I have a collection of emails saved on my machine that have come from various sources, maligning me for my efforts, abusing me for my opinions and statements and a few that threaten me bodily.

But I will not stop. Not unless the situation in Zimbabwe improves vastly - and then the likes of the page become superfluous.

“A number of journalists working for state media organisation have been assigned to a special task - spying on colleagues in a bid to flush out those moonlighting for foreign publications, including Zimbabwean online newspapers. The journalists in question have been promised generous compensation in return.“

Which is one of the reasons why I work alone - I am not employed by any newspaper or political party and I am not even a member of any political party, either English or Zimbabwean… I will not be shackled by other’s boundaries. I am totally and personally responsible for what is written here.

“Sources within both the state media and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), have revealed that some journalists, regarded by the authorities as patriotic, were last week paid $% million each as a deposit, with promises of ‘huge amount’ in return for furnishing the CIO with ‘tangible information’ leading to possible arrest of those secretly working as foreign correspondents under false names or under false accreditation.“

Five million? That works out almost £10000 on the official exchange rate, and £13 on the unofficial rate. How much to sell your soul to the devil?

“It was decided that getting at the journalists through their bosses was the easiest ways of nailing them. The idea was mooted by the Ministers of State Security and of Information and was passed on to us on Monday last week.” The intelligence agents were reportedly also requested to make friends with journalists in both the private and state media in order to win their trust and, that way, extract valuable information from them.“

Isn’t it sad when the information available on the internet, the post and the newspapers is to be governed by a few people who would prefer their allegiances to be driven by their wallet rather than their heart or head?

Patriotism indeed…