African leaders are tribalists, fuel tribal or ethnic wars

Political commentators have accused African leaders of being so much tribalists in their governance which is blamed for fueling ethnicity or tribal wars.

The accusations come in the wake of some citizens in Zimbabwe having called for the exhumation of Cecil John Rhodes remains from Matopos while South Africans have fought to have his stature removed from the Rhodes University Campas.

Journalist and political commentator Methuseli Moyo said African leaders - at least some of them - have taught their citizens that tribal, racial, religious and other forms of discrimination are ok.

"In Zimbabwe for instance, the Gukurahundi policy and atrocities were meant to condition citizens that ethnic Ndebeles are lice and should be crush (to qoute King Goodwill Zwelithini). Later, the so-called Third Chimurenga or Hondo yeminda was meant to condition us that whites are lice and must be crushed," he said.

"Our president (Robert Mugabe) repeated this position just last week when in South Africa when he declared that he did not want to "see a white face."

Moyo said recently, people in South Africa toppled statues, while some in Zimbabwe wanted to "repatriate" the remains of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes.

"Our politics is all about hatred, never about love," said Moyo.

"Dr Joshua Nkomo called the Zanu-PF syndrome "pasi this, pasi that". In SA, they chant(ed) "dubul'ibhunu".

The xenophobia we are witnessing in SA, and the ethnic conflicts within most African states, are the fruits of this type of politics. Until and unless Africa gets responsible leadership, there will be no peace in the continent."