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Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Julius Mutyambizi-Dewa: "Africa Day: Zimbabwe Condemnation"
The Zimbabwean human rights lawyer emailed this piece to us in honour of African Day, which is today and celebrates the establishment of the Organization for African Unity (now the African Union). He argues that it is time for African leaders to cut the victimology rhetoric and to oppose those who undermine democracy and economic freedom, regardless of race. As we commemorate Africa Day, we recall the sacrifices that the generation before us had to make in order that they ended the centuries of injustices against our kind in general and Africa in particular. Indeed it will be those who don’t know who will look at Africa Day with contempt, wherever we are as long as we are Africans. That Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, Johnston Kamau Ngengi (Jomo Kenyatta), Ahmed Ben Bella, Augustinho Neto, Eduardo Mondlane, Abdel Nasser, and many others then stood for this noble cause- to redeem the continent from centuries of manipulation and oppression by nationals of other continents; in particular Europe. The talk then was the total eradication of oppression on the continent, then oppression was represented by Europeans who believed in using their powers of political, economic and military hegemony to build empires and they indeed had competed fiercely for the conquest of other people.Slavery, another product of hegemony, still remains the worst crime against humanity.

That Man in his right senses brought about a superficial concept of racial superiority and chose to take another of his kind but who had different skin and hair features and used this as a precursor to forcibly remove him from his motherland and took away all that made him human and reduced him to a rank equal to that of animals, is still the worst example of human prejudicing done to him. It is with this in mind that one of the founding fathers of Africa, my namesake Julius Nyerere, made it clear that the emerging Africa would never allow discrimination in reverse. This statement could also be taken to mean that the Africa then to emerge would also not allow the concept of “reverse colonial mentality”. The travaux preparatoires “negotiating history” behind the African Charter is a testimony of this realisation, brought about by centuries of marginalisation and mental subjugation. Readers of international law will be with me when I point that of all the regional human rights instruments Africa is the only one that mentions People’s rights and the continental human rights guru is known as the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights. Also as far as I am concerned the most progressive refugee law in the world is to be found in Africa. Indeed 25 May is significant, the time we celebrate Africa and hope for more, and that South Africa, the continent’s military and economic superpower and an aspiring candidate for the UN Security Council on an African ticket does not recognise 25 May as a public holiday is the most embarrassing thing in our lifetime, especially coming from a country all on the continent suffered so much to be free.As a Zimbabwean, I am no different and am today built with the same aspirations for a great Africa that were the bedrock for the founding of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union. I was not yet born then but I am as privy to the deliberations that led to this realisation of the Great African dream.

Then the real issues were apartheid in South Africa, UDI in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), fascism in Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Angola, and also the issue of the illegal annexation of Namibia by apartheid South Africa. The fact that today almost all but one country on the continent are free from control by a colonial power makes the achievement of the founding fathers immeasurable. Yet the maturity of Africa has also met with challenges and Africa will be doomed if we don’t realise this. Twenty–five years on Africa still begs from the West and the rest of the world and needless to say we are the laughing stock of mother Earth. It will be concubine defeatism to keep on pointing at the west for all our shortcomings. I am a proud African able to live with my challenges and will never be so paranoid as to say that the mistakes of yesteryear have brought to us perpetual suffering. Africa has to change its attitude and look at ourselves as the masters of our destinies. We are not the only one with a history of colonisation you see. After all the greatest country in the world today, United States of America, is a former colony not a former coloniser! Name them, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are all former colonies. Some of you will then say that but these are white countries and I will say well look at Singapore, Malaysia, India etc which are emerging as the future global economic leaders.Stereotyping our failures as being products of perpetual racism will take us nowhere and to me a believer in racial inferiority is as guilty of racism as a believer in racial supremacy. Do you believe it when I remind you that Haiti was a nation before Germany which was only formed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871? Why has Haiti failed to make a mark as a stable member of the community of nations and why is Botswana, which only became independent in 1966 more successful?

It is because we have failed as Africa to criticise ourselves that we lag behind everyone. As a Zimbabwean the fact that my country is being run down under the nose of Africa makes me sick. Today Africa’s competence in the eyes of the Zimbabwean is under test. The net difference between Robert Mugabe and Ian Smith is zero, although they represent different racial groups in Zimbabwe. But to the Zimbabwean at least Europe did something when Ian Smith was the Prime Minister in the then Rhodesia, they imposed sanctions on his regime. And we had in Australia then, the fiercest critic of the regime, notwithstanding that Australia is part of what Robert Mugabe now calls the “White Commonwealth”. Today Zimbabweans are humiliated day in day out as their government has reduced them to beggars and destitutes. It is clear that Zimbabweans are being harassed left right and centre by their brothers on the continent who have decided to forgo principles and support a president who is so obsessed with the love for power that he is prepared to see the entire country perish. If Robert Mugabe is a hero and he is being sabotaged by the West why doesn’t he resign in protest than let his country suffer because of him? Why if he would have sacrificed his life for the people of Zimbabwe will he let the same people die now? There are only two explanations to that, that maybe the Robert Mugabe we have today is just an impostor and not the real Robert Mugabe who together with Josiah Tongogara and other fallen heroes fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe, or Robert Mugabe is not really a hero, he has no principles and tried by all means to remain hidden from bullets so that he would seize the opportunity to rule Zimbabwe forever. For surely no principled liberator will enjoy the suffering of his people the way they do in Zimbabwe.The question that still remains is what is Africa doing for Zimbabwe? Why if we are serious about what we say, do we really want one person to detect the destinies of 14 million? Robert Mugabe has messed Zimbabwe, this is in the public domain and that he remains clinging to power explains how unembarrassable he has become. Some of the white farmers that Robert Mugabe begrudged are his former henchmen who decided to exercise their rights as Zimbabweans to associate with a political party of their choice. And looking at the history of Zimbabwean politics we can see that even among the black folk most of Mugabe’s former supporters have deserted and he has filled his ranks with political opportunists who were with Muzorewa’s United African National Council at independence in 1980.

This is why Chitungwiza, built entirely by Mugabe’s ZANU PF, has gone to MDC and Mudzi, Mutoko and Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe all former UANC strongholds, have supposedly gone to ZANU PF. It deduces into that Mugabe is now supported by a grassroots that doesn’t share with him the liberation philosophy. One wonders why Africa is so keen of protecting a person who is clearly in contempt of the principle against reverse discrimination. Worse still, Robert Mugabe continues to humiliate blacks on the international stage by his mismanagement of an economy that in 1996 was threatening to outgrow the Nigerian economy, but Zimbabwe only has 14 million people compared to Nigeria’s 100 million plus. It was with hope that in 1980 the late Julius Nyerere, then Tanzania’s President, told Mugabe “you have inherited a cake, don’t spoil it!” But the cake has been spoilt now and fingers are now being pointed at others. Most of the people now being blamed are former supporters of the struggle for Zimbabwe such as the entire anti-apartheid movement of the 1970s which included Jack Straw, Tony Blair, Peter Hain, etc.Lastly I believe if we are serious as Africa and if we want to keep attaching meaning to Africa day, we have to start by protecting its founding philosophy. Freedom from external oppression was part of the realities of the 1960-70s and partly the 1980s. But today’s realities are the oppression of blacks by blacks, and this has to be heeded.

That Sani Abacha and Idi Amini were black, and that Rwanda and Somalia happened in Africa’s eyes should provide the lessons for the future on the continent. Zimbabwe as Zimbabwe should have learnt. We were among the last countries to be independent and we saw how black on black oppression was destroying Africa. We saw it in Banda’s Malawi, Obote’s Uganda, and a lot more and Robert Mugabe should have known that if you really wanted to rule forever, you should retire whilst people still want you. This is why the late Julius Nyerere was the kingmaker in Tanzania’s politics until he died and this is why Nelson Mandela is the kingmaker in South Africa to this day, two terms after his retirement. That Mugabe has managed to destroy the economy and cry very loud later should be punished by an Africa that is principled and that doesn’t apply the law only on little Togo and not the bossy Zimbabwe. Come on, we don’t want another war in Zimbabwe but it doesn’t mean we are not capable. We have been looking at the relevance of Africa and the possibilities available and it is with regret that as far as Zimbabwe we remain a remote part of African pride. To us, Africa’s capability to call a spade a spade remains elusive. We are witnesses to a shameless cushioning of clear oppression and it is very sad that one of Africa’s promising countries is being left to die by its brothers and sisters. The AU and all the countries on the continent shall forever be guilt of complicity if the deteriorative trend in Zimbabwe continues. The consequences of oppression remain war, as the oppressed decide to turn the tables on the oppressor. We wouldn’t have wanted that in Zimbabwe but the irresponsible government there continues to push people to their limit and Africa should never be surprised if the Men and Women of Zimbabwe decide to show that they are fathers, mothers, daughters and sons determined to fight black oppression by whatever means necessary!