HARARE, Zimbabwe ? Baba Jukwa's name is whispered in buses, bars and on street corners by Zimbabweans eager for the inside scoop on President Robert Mugabe's ruling party. One avid follower even climbs a tree in a rural village for a signal to call a friend for the latest tidbits from the mysterious yet stupendously popular blogger.
Baba Jukwa, or Jukwa's father in the local Shona language, is a ZANU-PF party insider, or "mole," who says on his popular Facebook page that he is disheartened by the "corrupt and evil machinations" of President Robert Mugabe's fractious party.
From its launch in March the Baba Jukwa page now has a larger following than either the president and prime minister with at least 200,000 followers.
The shadowy blog points to what it claims are exposes by well-connected insiders of Mugabe's health secrets, murder, assassination and corruption plots, and intended intimidation and vote-rigging ahead of upcoming elections scheduled for the end of July. It also, in some postings, calls for violent retribution against ruling party members.
Zimbabweans who follow Baba Jukwa now say they have unfettered access to what they have always wanted to know but never dared ask for fear of being arrested. Under the nation's sweeping security laws, it is an offense to undermine the authority of the president and national security operatives.
There is even a Baba Jukwa claim on the page that there is a bounty on his head, although it is believed there are several authors because the writing style of the posts changes from day to day.
After state-run media, loyal to 89-year-old Mugabe, said the president made a trip to Singapore for an eye check-up, the Baba Jukwa page stated: "When we welcomed him at the airport yesterday early in the morning our old man, ladies and gentlemen, looked weaned and very weak. It was clear that the chemotherapy process he went through in Far East Asia was still having effect on him."
It said Mugabe was suffering from a severe recurrence of prostate cancer.
With the catchphrase "tapanduka zvamuchose," a Shona term that he has "gone rogue," Baba Jukwa gives details of secret venues and times of undercover meetings.
ZANU-PF insiders have reported they are afraid to leave important meetings to go to the bathroom in case they are suspected of firing off smart phone texts to Baba Jukwa. The site has reported getting tip-offs from the midst of meetings of Mugabe's politburo, its highest policy making body, and other confidential gatherings.
Zimbabwe has an estimated 12 million mobile subscribers with 60 percent estimated to have direct access to the Internet through their cell phones, according to commercial company reports from the three main mobile networks.
Source: http://www.startribune.com/world/214913761.html
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