Mr. Ambassador, surely you can't deny that China treats Zimbabwe as a colonial outpos

As we say in Shona, ‘muromo hauzarirwi nerwizi' - the mouth cannot be dammed by a river - meaning it's easy to say anything, even when one knows it's untrue.

China's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhou Ding, could not have chosen a worse occasion to peddle half-truths and diplomatic spin.

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His recent declaration that Chinese companies' compliance with Zimbabwean laws is "non-negotiable" would have been reassuring - if it bore even the slightest resemblance to reality on the ground.

For ordinary Zimbabweans who live next to Chinese-run mines, work under abusive conditions, or watch their environment destroyed without any recourse, these words ring hollow and insulting.

The Ambassador's assertion that China is a cooperative partner, distinct from colonialists who "imposed their own rules," is perhaps the most disingenuous statement of all.

For how does one describe a relationship where local resources are plundered, communities are displaced, the environment ravaged, and the people left poorer than before - all in the name of "investment"?

This is not partnership; it is exploitation dressed in diplomatic niceties.

And yes, colonialists can indeed arrive by invitation - when greedy rulers open the gates and sell out their nation's sovereignty for personal gain.

If Ambassador Zhou doubts this, history offers many examples.

In the 19th century, African kings and chiefs signed treaties with European traders, welcoming them as "partners" in development.

These relationships, initially voluntary, soon mutated into domination.

The British South Africa Company, for instance, entered present-day Zimbabwe under the pretext of "mutual benefit."

Yet within years, the company had seized land, monopolized mining rights, and imposed foreign rule.

The same pattern unfolded elsewhere on the continent.

In Bechuanaland - today's Botswana - King Khama III invited the British to establish a protectorate to ward off Boer aggression, only for his kingdom to fall under British control for nearly a century.

Similarly, in Uganda, the Buganda Kingdom welcomed British missionaries and advisers to help mediate internal disputes, only to see its sovereignty swallowed by a "protectorate" that became outright colonial rule.

Colonialism, then, does not always arrive with invading armies - it often walks in through the front door, wearing the mask of friendship and development.

And the same pattern is unfolding today - only now, the colonizers speak Mandarin and wave the banner of "win-win cooperation."

Let us look at the lived reality behind the Ambassador's diplomatic rhetoric.

In my hometown of Redcliff, Chinese mining operations are threatening the Cactus Poort Dam, along the Kwekwe River - a vital water source for local farmers.

Blasting on the mountain next to the dam has destabilized slopes, raising fears of contamination and potential collapse.

The powerful explosions have also caused cracking in nearby houses and reportedly even on sections of the dam wall itself, while the onset of the rainy season now threatens to wash displaced soil and debris into the reservoir, accelerating siltation and endangering the dam's very survival.

The mining company has shown little regard for environmental standards or community welfare.

When residents raise concerns, they are ignored - or worse, intimidated into silence.

What law, then, is being "strictly complied with"?

In Mutare, the scenic Christmas Pass - a treasured landmark that has long welcomed travelers into the city - is being mutilated by open-pit quarrying by a Chinese company.

Huge scars now deface the once-beautiful landscape, with dust clouds choking nearby neighborhoods.

Environmentalists have decried the lack of proper Environmental Impact Assessments, but the desecration continues unabated.

The same can be said of Shurugwi's Boterekwa Pass, whose majestic serpentine beauty has been replaced by gaping wounds of reckless mining.

In both cases, the companies operate under the supposed supervision of the Environmental Management Agency - yet the destruction speaks louder than any paper compliance.

Even more disturbing are the countless cases of forced displacement.

In Hwange, entire communities have been uprooted to make way for Chinese coal mining projects.

In some instances, villagers were given barely any notice before bulldozers arrived.

Promises of compensation and relocation support were made - but seldom honored.

In Marange, families displaced by diamond mining remain destitute, living in squalor while billions of dollars' worth of gems vanished into thin air.

Similar stories echo in Uzumba, Mazowe, and Mberengwa, where villagers are told their ancestral lands now belong to Chinese investors who supposedly "follow Zimbabwean law."

The Ambassador's speech also painted Chinese firms as model employers.

Yet numerous reports - many captured in the Auditor-General's findings and investigative journalism - tell of Zimbabwean workers being beaten or even killed, overworked, and underpaid at Chinese-owned mines and factories.

Fatal accidents are frequent, and safety standards appalling.

When workers protest, they are often met with threats or dismissal.

The fact that only "7.5 percent" of labor disputes involve Chinese companies, as the Ambassador claims, says little.

In a country where labor rights enforcement is almost nonexistent and workers fear retaliation, statistics can easily mask suffering.

If Chinese companies were genuinely committed to ethical conduct, they would not need to be repeatedly summoned by their own ambassador to remind them to obey the law.

The very issuance of such a "strongly worded notice" betrays the truth - Beijing knows its investors are running amok in Zimbabwe, shielded by corrupt local officials who prioritize personal enrichment over national interest.

Let us be clear: the problem is not with China alone.

The culpability lies equally, if not more, with Zimbabwe's ruling elite, who have turned the country into an open field for exploitation.

They sign opaque deals, grant vast mining concessions without community consultation, and pocket kickbacks while claiming to promote "investment."

In return, the Chinese government provides political cover, loans, and glittering infrastructure projects designed to entrench this toxic dependency.

Ambassador Zhou may insist that "colonialists never arrive by invitation."

Yet Zimbabwe's experience proves otherwise.

When rulers place personal wealth above public good, they invite external domination.

When they silence citizens who question unfair contracts, they surrender sovereignty.

When they allow a foreign power to extract resources without transparency or benefit to the people, they perpetuate the very colonial patterns they once condemned.

Indeed, what development has followed in the wake of Chinese mining?

Roads remain impassable, schools dilapidated, clinics without medicine, and communities impoverished.

The wealth from Zimbabwe's minerals - its gold, coal, lithium, and diamonds - flows outward, enriching foreign shareholders and local elites.

What remains are craters, polluted rivers, and broken promises.

Ambassador Zhou's attempt to equate legality with morality is deeply flawed.

Even if Chinese companies were technically operating within Zimbabwean law - which is doubtful given the rampant corruption and regulatory capture - that does not absolve them of ethical responsibility.

Apartheid, colonialism, and slavery all once operated "legally."

Legality, without justice and accountability, is merely the weapon of the powerful.

For Zimbabweans, the question is not whether China abides by our laws, but whether its presence advances our national development and dignity.

The evidence suggests the opposite.

What we are witnessing is not partnership but plunder, not cooperation but capture.

It is a new colonialism - this time by invitation, sanctioned by those who claim to govern in our name.

True friendship between nations is built on mutual respect and shared prosperity.

But as long as Chinese firms strip our mountains, poison our rivers, and exploit our workers while officials look the other way, there can be no talk of "win-win."

Zimbabwe is losing - its people, its environment, and its future.

So, Ambassador Zhou, before preaching about compliance, perhaps you should visit Redcliff, Mutare, Shurugwi, and Hwange.

Listen to the displaced, the jobless, the exploited.

See the destruction your so-called "law-abiding" investors have left behind.

Then, and only then, can we have an honest conversation about what true partnership means.

Until that day, your reassurances ring as hollow as the empty promises that brought this new colonialism to our shores.

© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/