Celebrating Unity Day is a necessity

I read with dismay that there are some individuals who have gone to the constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of observing and celebrating the Unity Day as a holiday forgetting that this important day came about after the civil war which caused unbearable sufferings in the Midlands and Matabeleland regions in the early 1980s. Trying to reverse something which has become the people`s adopted day as holiday is the same as trying to tell some Christians that they ought to stop celebrating Christmas Day.

While it is their constitutional rights for Alexio Musundire the MDC-T Member of Parliament (MP) for Chitungwiza as well as some two civic activists Tinomudaishe Chinyoka and Coliwe Mufaki to take the issue of the National Unity Day to the Constitutional Court challenging its legality in being a holiday but their motive is questionable. This article as well is not about denouncing the move taken by the trio but it is questioning the time of that challenge as the Unity Day has been celebrated and commemorated in Zimbabwe more than two decades ago. Actually this day has been spiritually and physically recorded in people`s minds to the extent that doing aware with it may cause confusion and unnecessary panic in the country.

 The Unity Day which came about in 1987 after the warring former liberations movements, ZANU PF and PF ZAPU came together and signed an agreement to end the civil war needed to be accorded the respect which it deserves. A lot of innocent people lost their lives during that period which is referred to as Gukurahundi and there is no better way of remembering those who lost their lives during that time than having a holiday in remembrance of them. And anyone trying to trivialise this day is fighting to make some Zimbabweans to quickly forget their history which is counterrevolutionary. The trio should appreciate that those with their departed relatives and friends who lost their lives during that unfortunate era take this day as important since they get to rest and start remembering them in totality.

So the trio's arguments that the Unity Day is depriving them of their chance to do what they like as the government departments would be closed on the said day do not hold any water. The Unity Day which is celebrated on 22 December every year cannot all of sudden become something of a burden to some political activists who think otherwise. The Unity Day should remain in place and be celebrated as a holiday so that people have time to think and remember their departed friends and relatives who lost their lives during that time. It is surprising that the Unity Day which has been celebrated and commemorated since 1987 could be said to be disturbing those who might want to do business on that particular day when more than two decades nothing of that sort occurred.

Actually the fact that the Constitutional challenge of this Unity Day is fronted by the MDC-T MP and his political companions sounds like it is more of a political challenge than a constitutional one. Why is it that the so called civic activists claim that the Unity Day is interrupting them on their activities because government institutions would be closed on the day as if the Unity Day is the only day in the year which they would only want to visit government departments? It is total unbelievable to hear some people trying to arm-twist the importance of history for their political expedience.

 Such a constitutional challenge on the legality of the Unity Day standing as a holiday being observed by everyone Zimbabwean is devoid of merit because the day has been on the Zimbabwean calendar for more than two decades and for someone to try to eradicate if from the calendar is like trying to do away with any holiday in the country. Is it good for someone to say that Zimbabweans should not celebrate holidays like New Year`s Day, Easter Holidays, Independence Day, Workers Day, Africa Day etc. just because such holidays disturbs him/her of any business one is prepared to do on such particular days. Why has the trio targeted the Unity Day when Zimbabweans have other holidays that are always celebrated throughout the year?

The trio need to understand and appreciate that the Unity Day should be celebrated and commemorated by people by not going to work so that people have time to reflect and remember those who lost their lives during the Gukurahundi era which President Robert Gabriel Mugabe once described it "as a moment of madness". Taking a day off work makes one to appreciate the importance of why the Unity Accord was signed as people would be able to relax at different areas the same as they do in celebrating Christmas Day. So the trio should not try to trivialise that day for their political relevance as the move is not tenable. In actual fact Musundire and his crew are quite aware about the importance of this day but they are out to seek political relevance in the country.

So Zimbabweans should be united in respecting their national holidays as a way of respecting their national events. The National Unity Day must be respected and celebrated the same way as the Independence Day, the Heroes and Defence Forces Days because the Unity Day is important in that it is the day which the warring former liberation movements ZANU PF and PF ZAPU signed a unity accord which brought peace in the country when people were tormented by that Gukurahundi era.