Mugabe the African Castro
By Alois Phiri Mbawara
LONDON - I have always admired and respected our Chimurenga history starting from the First Chimurenga how our Ancestors Ambuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi played a massive role in protecting our Sovereignity and their resistance against minority rule.
These political figures, Nehanda and Kaguvi, will always be remembered, respected and will be a silver-spoon which will be passed on from one generation to the other – they are icons. So as the Second Chimurenga to a certain extent.
I strongly agree with a recent letter that said the liberator had turned monster. We all had respect for our liberators after independence till they started to take Zimbabwe as their personal property. Mugabe has managed to mislead the region, the African Union and others that the economic and political meltdown in Zimbabwe was due to economic sanctions imposed by the European Union due to his controversial land reforms. Mugabe used the land reform as a political gimmick not only as a way of propaganda to gain support from the Zimbabwean electorate but to spread controversy among Africans.
It is 100% true the land question has always been a driving force for independence for us as Africans. But the way it was done in Zimbabwe was with no logic and unconstitutional. Mugabe failed to address the Land issue according to the Lancaster House Agreement. He tolerated corruption, Kumbirai Kangai being the first minister to be accused of graft, within the government leading to the drastic meltdown of the economy. As a result many have lost their trust in Mugabe’s government. I strongly believe the Zimbabwean solution lies in the southern African region.
It is our civic right and responsibility to strive hard and expose to our African counterparts that the Zimbabwean situation is due to one’s misrule not a racial issue. We need to expose to our African brothers that the economic meltdown in our motherland is due to one who has jeopardised the agricultural system which was the backbone of the economy, one who has with no logic taken farms from commercial farmers (from a economy which is based on Agriculture) giving them to subsistence farmers. Differences between the two farming systems - commercial farmer produce for commercial bases and subsistence farmer does for his own consumption. We need to expose to our African brothers how it is impossible to campaign or win any election with the present Constitution. We need constitutional reforms. Why some African countries are not criticising Mugabe it’s because Mugabe's propaganda tactics have worked in selling the Zimbabwean situation as a bilateral dispute between Harare and London taking Africans back to the start of Pan Africanism hence the land reform in Namibia, South Africa giving Mugabe the Fidel Castro image. Castro has a long bilateral dispute with the West, mainly America, for his undemocratic style towards his people.
Even though I don’t fully support America's influence towards Havana, its pledge of US$80m to fund anti-Castro organisations in Cuba to spearhead the end of the Communist rule is wrong, it is very crucial for Cubans themselves to be on the centre stage of pushing for a democratic transition not a direct involvement of the Bush Administration this will give Castro support from his other communist allies China,Venezuela, Russia, Korea, Mugabe and libya (but now reforming). No wonder why he is celebrated as a hero throughout Latin America. In conclusion we Zimbabweans need to work with our African counterparts for them to acknowledge the Zimbabwean crisis. I think its high time we respect and follow the fundamental principles and rules of art of war, our attack formation has to change lets study and learn our opponents so as to win them, I think I have mentioned it before but now I mean it, Mugabe has succeeded regionally in using the colonial card to dismiss any EU interference and the more pressure given to Mugabe the more he gets regional support, that is why Kofi Annan is failing to openly criticize Mugabe because of Annan's Ghanian roots, the birth place of Pan-Africanism.
But it is a shame the original ideology of Pan-Africanism by Kwame Krumah was to serve the will the people but now it has been catastrophed by self interest it is now used to serve the will of African leaders. It’s high time we put pressure on our African brothers not to turn a blind eye on the escalating situation in Zimbabwe and to criticize them to save and sympathize with Zimbabweans not Mugabe. We Zimbabweans we should be in a position to dismiss and react to Sam Nujoma's notion. He recently threw a baseless defence of Zimbabweans from British invasion and educate them. What Zimbabweans need liberation from is the Mugabe regime. Let’s all try and stop this African Fidel Castro before it spreads in the region. Zimbabwe should be an example for Africa of emancipation from so-called liberators. It is important for us young Africans to realise and recognise the fall of prideness and oneless as Africans and push for a reform of African Union for the sack of our future and our unborn children. And as we always say our criticism is liberty, why because the Mugabe regime has never done anything for us the youth with our whole nation being denied their civic rights. Alois Phiri Mbawara is one of founding members of Free-Zim Youth, a youth organisation based in the UK.