Opinion / Columnist
Obama advocates for democracy
30 Jul 2015 at 13:54hrs | Views
It would be an oversimplification for a rather complex issue to use Barack Obama's speech to label President Robert Mugabe a dictator and accuse him of seeking to be a life President. This is a clear misinterpretation of reality and President Obama did not mention anything about Zimbabwe.
The United States President, Barack Obama, recently railed against the so-called African dictators and life Presidents, saying they were dragging their countries backwards. Obama opined that nobody should be president for life. He pointed out that countries perform better with new blood and new ideas. He further said that just like the African Union has condemned coups and illegitimate transfers of power, the AU' s authority and strong voice can also help the people of Africa ensure that their leaders abide by term limits and their constitutions.
The interpretation by the independent private media and self proclaimed political analysts that the remarks made by Obama, during his address in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were largely seen as a pointed attack on President Robert Mugabe and his Burundi counterpart, Pierre Nkurunziza, is misguided and an irresponsible assumption. It should be known that an assumption can never be a measurement of credibility.
A quick but shrewd glance at Obama's speech shows that there is no where he talked about Zimbabwe; so these interpretations are mere imaginations and hallucinations. The link of Obama's speech with Zimbabwe is farfetched and should not be taken seriously as it is being interpreted by novice politicians who are proponents for regime change.
Democracy has prevailed in Zimbabwe since independence as epitomized by the holding of successive democratic elections, the upholding of the rule of law and has an excellent trek record of human rights watch. It is correct for Obama to call on African leaders who undemocratically extend their terms of office or act as life Presidents to pave way for others. However to link that interpretation to Zimbabwe does not hold water as Zimbabwe has held several elections since independence. Two years ago ZANU PF and President Robert Mugabe overwhelmingly won the historic watershed harmonised elections.
President Mugabe has been in power for the past 35 years as people have continuously voted him into power without imposing himself. The man is currently at the helm of the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) which shows that he is a great statesman. Many realists and progressive minded people in Africa and the world over have upheld President Mugabe as an icon and a living legend.
It should be known that President Mugabe has not been snubbed by Obama when he visited Addis Ababa as some political malcontents and proponents of regime change would like the nation to believe . The real fact is that Obama was on a state visit as a head of state visiting Africa and the AU headquarters by virtue of his ancestry.
Source - Stewart Murewa
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
