I had two contrasting approaches in framing this submission.
On one hand, my persuasion had been to make the primary focus of this contribution to public discourse narrowly on the media and the impact of the global developments on critical and alternative journalism in Zimbabwe.
In my monologue, the plight of Blessed Mhlanga , a classic case of repressing alternative voices, was going to present an entry point towards drawing parallels of shrinking democratic space on the domestic and international front.
The temptation had been to explore the complexities that confront media support organisations who on one hand are decapitated to respond to emerging threats and on the other have to somehow rise to the occasion in defence of freedom of expression.
From my standpoint, a narrow focus on the compelling need for the media to reorganise and reimagine advocacy in the post aid era would have added a voice to global efforts pushing back against emotive and sometimes racist policies to muzzle independent media.
My analysis was going to be informed by developments in the Zimbabwe's national assembly, wherein cosmetic changes to the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) were passed under the guise of the government's commitment to reforming the media.
These insignificant changes did nothing to substantially address the media reform national question and read together with the arrest of a journalist was prudent enough to serve as a call to action for defenders of media freedom.
However, the counter narrative in my monologue reflections made me think broader than the media sector, where I serve, to the machinations of the state to not only restrict the civic space but to deter citizens agency and meaningful participation in governance issues.
After all, the arrest of Mhlanga is not necessarily a message just for the media and journalists but for the political actors, audiences and citizens that resonated with the messages carried on the media platform.
This is why the charges against Mhlanga - for something he didn't say, on a platform he neither owns nor has a mandate to represent, are mere symbols reflective of the state of democracy and constitutionalism in Zimbabwe.
It is even prudent to note that the charges are being levelled at a time that there are elite conflicts on the extension of presidential term limits.
The contestations on the constitutionality of extending presidential term limits, which are sometimes playing out publicly are being posited as an internal matter - factionalism in the ruling party, when in actual fact these are national issues.
Mutilating the constitution for whatever reason goes beyond partisan interests and is something that should be subjected to public scrutiny and debated freely.
That doesn't seem to be the case, as the only debate finding expression in the state media and aligned media thereof is that of the legality of extending the presidential term.
The only other narrative covered on the same issue being the president's affirmations to constitutionalism and apparent disinterest to go beyond two terms.
Voices opposed to the constitutional amendment have been finding expression in alternative platforms, one of which is hosted by Mhlanga.
Beyond hosting those holding alternative views on presidential term limits, these platforms have given voices to those critical to government and have acted as whistle blowers on alleged corruption and malpractices.
The connection between being a conduit of critical voices and subsequent arrest of a journalist becomes easy to establish.
It also becomes easy to establish the intention of these broad provisions within our laws, such as the one used on Mhlanga or other such as patriotic provisions in the Criminal law, insult laws and even more drastic ones like the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) Amendment Bill, which seeks to enforce a restrictive regulatory regime for NGOs.
Such laws, typically drawn from autocratic countries playbooks, are meant to have a conformed citizenry with limited agency to participate in governance.
Yet all this is happening at a time that the globe is significantly changing from universally shared democratic aspirations to a more inward and transactional form of governance.
Governments, predominantly from the West, that would support the coordination of democratic support activities around policy research, citizens mobilisation and engagement, advocacy for reforms and behavioural change, among other such interventions are shifting their priorities and focus. And in radical ways.
The trend is likely to worsen to an extent that there might no longer be an incentive on the part of government to implement an NGO law at a time that most are going to suffer natural deaths as a result of this reconfiguration in global politics.
This little scope of support is going to bring with it new forms of engagement and with it new forms of narratives on what would be worthwhile to pursue from an advocacy point of view.
Naturally, there shall be a skills flight in the civic space, some conformity to the whims of the state and there will be fewer spaces for solidarity.
Whether that will embolden citizens - who had deferred their fight for their rights to civic society organisations - or it will further entrench the might of the state in silencing citizens voices will be a function of time.
What is definitely not in question is the imperative need for the organized civic society to reimagine their role in an era that will have little to no support from traditional donors.
Especially at a time that the civic space is shrinking and constitutional democracy is under threat.
It is not going to be an easy conversation at both a micro and macro level.
The commitment to the struggle and value proposition thereof is under threat and only those that can withstand resisting autocratic practices at premium risk but without remuneration will survive.
Of course, not all hope for freedom is lost and other supporters for the cause will emerge from within and without.
But even then, the post aid era is upon us. And now is the time to reimagine Zimbabwe's constricted civic society role in this new world order.
*Nigel Nyamutumbu is a media development practitioner serving as the coordinator of a network of journalistic professional associations and media support organizations the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on njnya2@gmail.com or +263 772 501 557