Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabwe's great pretenders
06 Jun 2011 at 12:15hrs | Views
If it is treasonous to tell the truth then I will do so gladly because these men will not stop.
Oh what a shame, it must be a terrible thing for any grown up man who seemingly has his faculties about him, to have to convince us that it is only Robert Gabriel Mugabe who can lead Zimbabwe. It must be a terrible thing to have to wake up each day and continue to pretend that which is not. To live a lie that must be sustained if he is to prevail and enjoy the privileges of adulating those that are in power. It is with this sadness that I listened to one of Mugabe's minions praising the dear leader at the independence celebrations and assuring us that without him we would not be free, that in effect, he brought freedom unto us and we cannot therefore expect to enjoy our freedoms unless he rules us. What a condemnation of history and the role of Zimbabweans in the past who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. The Joshua Nkomos who seem forgotten, the Herbert Chitepos, Jason Moyos, Josiah Tongogara and many more killed at their prime but by whom, we are still to know.
It is not Mugabe alone who delivered us from colonialism for we hear that arms he never bore nor in the field of battle was he ever seen. Rather it was the thousands of gallant Zimbabwean sons and daughters who went to the bush and threw their fate to the winds. In harm's way they put themselves and sadly some died and never returned home, some were maimed and others survived to this day. Some were forced to go we hear, abducted in the steal of the night, never to be heard of again. Is it not them who denied themselves the comforts of life, left relatives behind and fought fearlessly for our freedom which we still yearn for even today. Surely it must be them whom we honor today?
It is true that a lie repeated many a time will become a truth but shall we sit and watch as these great pretenders, ministers, governors, senators, corporals, generals, professors and thugs usurp the glory of those who brought freedom unto us and place it in the hands of their benefactor.
As for me, I am convinced that regardless of our pain, history will judge those that have brought it on to us harshly. For nothing that is unjust can ever be hidden no covered up by the continuing distortion of facts that we are continually pounded with.
As we fight for our freedom from the purported liberator, it is with much disgust and disdain that we must view those who promote the idea that a single man must make or break who we are and what we stand for.
Look at what we have become? We cannot claim to be free from oppression, cannot claim to enjoy those freedom our brothers and sisters died for and we can hardly be proud of what our country has become. Yet we must listen to a man as he claims that we owe everything to a group of charlatans whom none respect but fear only because they continue to use violence and repression to stake their claim on power.
If it is treasonous to tell the truth then I will do so gladly because these men will not stop.
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*Vince Musewe is an independent Zimbabwean economist based in South Africa. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com
Oh what a shame, it must be a terrible thing for any grown up man who seemingly has his faculties about him, to have to convince us that it is only Robert Gabriel Mugabe who can lead Zimbabwe. It must be a terrible thing to have to wake up each day and continue to pretend that which is not. To live a lie that must be sustained if he is to prevail and enjoy the privileges of adulating those that are in power. It is with this sadness that I listened to one of Mugabe's minions praising the dear leader at the independence celebrations and assuring us that without him we would not be free, that in effect, he brought freedom unto us and we cannot therefore expect to enjoy our freedoms unless he rules us. What a condemnation of history and the role of Zimbabweans in the past who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. The Joshua Nkomos who seem forgotten, the Herbert Chitepos, Jason Moyos, Josiah Tongogara and many more killed at their prime but by whom, we are still to know.
It is not Mugabe alone who delivered us from colonialism for we hear that arms he never bore nor in the field of battle was he ever seen. Rather it was the thousands of gallant Zimbabwean sons and daughters who went to the bush and threw their fate to the winds. In harm's way they put themselves and sadly some died and never returned home, some were maimed and others survived to this day. Some were forced to go we hear, abducted in the steal of the night, never to be heard of again. Is it not them who denied themselves the comforts of life, left relatives behind and fought fearlessly for our freedom which we still yearn for even today. Surely it must be them whom we honor today?
It is true that a lie repeated many a time will become a truth but shall we sit and watch as these great pretenders, ministers, governors, senators, corporals, generals, professors and thugs usurp the glory of those who brought freedom unto us and place it in the hands of their benefactor.
As for me, I am convinced that regardless of our pain, history will judge those that have brought it on to us harshly. For nothing that is unjust can ever be hidden no covered up by the continuing distortion of facts that we are continually pounded with.
As we fight for our freedom from the purported liberator, it is with much disgust and disdain that we must view those who promote the idea that a single man must make or break who we are and what we stand for.
Look at what we have become? We cannot claim to be free from oppression, cannot claim to enjoy those freedom our brothers and sisters died for and we can hardly be proud of what our country has become. Yet we must listen to a man as he claims that we owe everything to a group of charlatans whom none respect but fear only because they continue to use violence and repression to stake their claim on power.
If it is treasonous to tell the truth then I will do so gladly because these men will not stop.
----------------
*Vince Musewe is an independent Zimbabwean economist based in South Africa. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com
Source - Vince Musewe
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