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Good Morning. The conflicting and contradictory adjectives applied on this programme yesterday following the announcement of the death of the former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe have continued overnight. All of them reflect on the before and after. By before I mean the better days during which Mr Mugabe was regarded as an icon; the founding father of Zimbabwe. But then came the period after: a time of extreme cruelty and unimaginable atrocities when the visionary turned into a monster. It was so bad that the then Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu went as far as to describe Mugabe as Frankenstein. He called on the Zimbabwean President to repent and to restore his country’s fortunes. Here at home, the Archbishop of York memorably removed his dog collar on the Andrew Marr show in 2007 as an act of solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. He refused to wear it again until two years ago, when Mugabe was removed from office. During this programme yesterday Justin put a simple but profound question to Peter Hain: “what’s the future now for Zimbabwe?” Because, if nothing else, the people of a country that has been in the news as well as in many people’s prayers for as long as I can remember, continue to wait for economic stability and personal freedom without it yet being a reality. In the post-Mugabe era, the situation has hardly improved; indeed many believe it is even worse? Even the very basics of what most of us take for granted: a safe place to stay, water, food, a sense that we may dare to believe that we belong, would be a transformative experience for many in Zimbabwe. Still, they wait. Two years ago the catholic bishops conference there issued a statement calling for the sustainable normalisation of their country. This, they suggested, could only be achieved “through a people-inclusive and participatory process in a democratic way”. Any kind of a sustainable normalisation though is still some way off. Faith communities and NGOs are doing exemplary work to sustain and support a people who this morning reflect on the reality of their predicament even as all the analysis of the Mugabe era reverberates around them. So what is the future now for Zimbabwe? The Old Testament prophets said “take comfort; don’t lose heart; however long the suffering continue, keep the faith”. Such promises have sustained generations, even as they continue to ask: how long, O Lord, how long?