Reporting from Zimbabwe: a visit to Harare’s biggest township

In the township of Mbare, anthropology student Rowan Jones finds a complex picture of poverty and propaganda - plus a baffling level of support for Mugabe. In her second report from this troubled nation, she digs into recent political history to make sense of what she encounters.  "We are delivering democracy on a platter. We say take it or leave it." - Mugabe gives his first post-election broadcast My first day in Harare is a blur of opulence and finery at the city's only five star hotel, Meikles, which sits proudly on its own private road defended by armed guards. This is the kind of lifestyle that the ruling elite enjoy, and it seems miles away from the Zimbabwe that I have become familiar with. I'm here to attend a conference as part of my research, but as the meeting draws to a close I'm somewhat relieved to escape the rows of crisp white tables, lunch buffets, and circular chitchat to see the city as it 'really' is. I leave, dashing out into the roaring traffic to meet a friend of my grandfather's, who is sitting in his shiny development agency pick-up truck. Andreas has been living and working here for 30 years.