A blackheaded Oriole is sitting in an avocado pear tree in my garden as I write this letter on a wintry Saturday morning. The electricity has been off for a couple of days, the fridge has defrosted, the milk gone sour and the geyser has long since run cold.

The bird's loud voice consists of a single, short, sharp call described in the bird book as: 'kleeu.' Again and again it calls: demanding attention and earning admiration. It takes a little while to locate the bright yellow belly and glossy black head of the bird amongst the leaves but when you do the search is worthwhile. Feeding on the soft green flesh of the avocado, the bird seems completely unconcerned at being watched. He scrapes away at the fruit with his pink bill, stopping to listen and then to call every few minutes and the magnificence of the oriole dissolves anger and frustration at a Zimbabwe still so far from being right.

As I stand watching the Oriole I can't help thinking of the strange and disturbing things going on around us this winter. A constitutional outreach programme riddled with intimidation, confusion and disruption as teams try to get opinions from a population still deeply fearful after a decade of being repeatedly punished for daring to differ and to strive for change.

Equally disturbing and out of sight but not out of mind is the case of Farai Maguwu. Head of the Centre for Research and Development, he was investigating and highlighting human rights violations at the Chiadzwa diamond mines. Mr Maguwu has now been held in detention without trail for over a month and is apparently to be charged with 'endangering Zimbabwe's economic interests.'

This week Amnesty International called for the release of Mr Maguwu but so far their words have fallen on deaf ears. Amnesty said that Mr Maguwu was: " being persecuted for carrying out his lawful work of monitoring and documenting alleged human rights violations by security forces at some of Zimbabwe's richest diamond fields." Amnesty International say that they consider Mr Maguwu to be a 'prisoner of conscience' and it is with a sense of despair and helplessness that we watch and wait to know the fate of a man who dared expose what's been happening in the dirty scramble for diamonds.

Diamonds, would I wear one knowing people have died for it - not a chance.

It remains to be seen if the Chiadzwa diamonds will be Zimbabwe's salvation or her downfall.