Mugabe sits in the sun in Egypt while at home his hit troops pick up teachers, farmers and students. A student leader, Marlon, just arrived in Johannesburg after he was searched for by the police, one of many, them inviting him to come down to Harare Central Police Station to have a talk. He was dodging them until the police turned up at his home. Fortunately he was not home then. Now his parents get regular visits and calls and he's afraid of what will become of them.

Here in South Africa many people are – and for very good reasons – angry with the double talk of the US, UK and others. Condemning Mugabe while supporting Mubarak. They see Zimbabwe as a (post)colonial ideological turf war. What they tend to forget about is the fate and aspirations of Zimbabweans themselves be they in Zimbabwe or in South Africa. They speak about Zimbabweans not with them.

In the meantime the African Union gathers in Egypt and Marlon is waiting to hear the news. "Don't tell me they did nothing" he was shouting over the phone yesterday "we are putting our hopes on them". Elinor at the office told me she could not sleep tonight thinking of what might not happen at the AU summit. Sometimes I feel like we are in a tunnel with no light at the end. With people like Bongo from Gabon, Teodoro Obiang from Equitoreal Guinea, Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, Kadaffi from Lybia in the AU I am not going to hold my breath today.