Dear Family and Friends,

It took the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission almost five weeks to verify less than two and a half million votes that were cast in our Presidential ballot. In a country where junior school children have learnt to count, add, subtract and even multiply in millions and now billions in order to survive our collapsed economy, five weeks is insulting and highly suspicious to say the least.

After five weeks the ZEC declared the following results:

• Morgan Tsvangirai: 1,195,562 votes (47,9%)
• Robert Mugabe:      1,079,730 votes (43,2%)
• Simba Makoni:          207,470 votes ( 8,3%)
• Langton Towungana:    14,503 votes ( 0,6%)

Dear Family and Friends,

I am sitting in the shade of a big old Msasa tree writing this letter by hand because yet again the electricity is off. It is a magnificent day so typical of early winter in Zimbabwe: a wide blue sky, comforting warm sun and a refreshing gentle breeze. It's hard to concentrate on telling this tragic story of events here when so many jewels are on display just a few feet away: a blue headed lizard nodding on a lichen covered branch; lines of red soil left by white ants climbing ever higher into the tree; bright orange crane flowers and an exquisite red firefinch collecting feathers and fluff for his nest. Its a deceptive paradise where violence rages just out of sight and final election results have still not been released four weeks after people voted. Its a paradise which can only momentarily take our minds off the nightmare that has become Zimbabwe.

Dear Family and Friends,

Behind every tree, under every bush and around every corner, it seems there is a British enemy waiting to invade Zimbabwe.

"We must maintain the utmost vigilance in the face of vicious British machinations," Mr Mugabe warned as he spoke at his celebration of Zimbabwe's 28th anniversary of Independence.

Dear Family and Friends,

I received a call early one morning this week from a friend in a small country town. Speaking quickly and quietly for fear of being overheard, he told me of the frightening events that were going on all around him. Eight double cab vehicles had arrived in the town. Armed men in civilian clothes alighted. They had lists of names of people who had been involved in the election campaign for the opposition MDC in the area.

"They are hunting us down," he said. "Each and every one of us is being sought out, beaten and punished for supporting the MDC."

Dear Family and Friends,

As we stand exhausted and betrayed at this critical moment in Zimbabwe's crisis, it seems pertinent to look back over the last few days and record who said what.

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been an excruciating three and a half days waiting for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce the results of the March 29th elections. At the time of writing this letter at 3.30 pm on the 2nd April 2008, the full parliamentary results have not yet been announced. None of the figures for the Presidential, Senate and Local Council elections have been announced at all.