A Heroes Day With No Heroes

By Makusha Mugabe

We used to look forward to this day to remember and celebrate our liberation war Heroes, but today was just another day for suffering children of Zimbabwe trying to find the next meal, with no end in sight.

While the economy is in melt-down, with the Minister of Finance borrowing to pay civil service salaries, the President is busy trying to extend his rule beyond the grave by having his wife and children take over ruling Zimbabwe as if it was a kingdom.

If he was a descendant of Zimbabwean royalty, we might be persuaded to believe that he has some royal prerogative, but he is a descendant of a Malawian migrant worker with no claim to any Zimbabwean royal blood.

The Heroes of our the Second Chimurenga must be turning in their graves, knowing that the man whom they put forward to negotiate and speak on their behalf because of his missionary education and good elocution has not only sold out what they fought for, but has crowned himself King of Zimbabwe by manipulating the selfish desires of his lieutenants.

The Heroes of the First Chimurenga, from Mlimo and his armies in Matebeleland to Mashayamombe, Nehanda Nyakasikana, Kaguvi, Mkwati and many unsung fighters who resisted colonisation of Zimbabwe, were fighting so they and their children would keep their wealth and have good lives.

It was the democratic spirit that inspired them and was infused in their spirit mediums like Chaminuka who could conjure up mist to aid their escape or swarms of bees to attack their enemies.

The earth was responsive to their struggle because they were fighting on their land for their land, to benefit them and their children, the same struggle that was taken up by Joshua Nkomo, a Kalanga whose fight was not tribally based, but inclusive of all Zimbabweans, even the descendants of Malawian migrant workers.

But the earth has ceased to be responsive to its sons and daughters, and in fact can be said to be punishing them for allowing the privatisation of what the heroes of this land fought for. After the heroes died selflessly to liberate this country, some have gone on to use the power of their governmental offices to control resources, to corruptly enrich themselves and their relatives, leaving the rest to to scrounge like refugees in their country.

Zimbabweans will be shocked to learn that Robert Mugabe is worth 3 billion dollars, that Solomon Mujuru’s estate was worth $9 billion when he died, and Mnangagwa is also a multi-billionaire, as are many of the Zanu (PF) ministers multi-millionaires, yet the people on whose behalf they claimed to be fighting are not having basic food, or even clean water in the cities.

This Heroes Day should be the last one where we don’t ask ourselves seriously whether the nation is still on the path that our heroes died for. At the very basic they were fighting for one-man-one-vote, i.e. that everyone should be equal, and on the more idealistic level they were fighting for gutsaruzhinji to satisfy the needs of the majority, or socialism.

But as soon as the war ended and some people entered state house, equality and socialism were left only for the poor while the so-called chefs started amassing wealth for themselves, generally through corruption, until Zanu (PF) was forced to adopt a Leadership Code, which, among other things, said corruption was an evil disease.

Leaders were bound not to accept or obtain gifts or consideration as inducement for doing or not doing any act in relation to the party’s business or business of the Government. They were bound not to use funds of the party or the Government, or produce receipts and/or account falsely for such monies with intent to deceive the party or the Government, nor make collusive arrangements with commercial or other persons or secretly obtain consideration for themselves or another person or fail to disclose the full nature of the transaction to the party or to Government, nor to decline to disclose their personal financial affairs or other assets to a properly constituted Government body of officials investigating corruption.

The code still exists on paper, but has been ignored, and nobody in Zanu (PF) has ever asked whatever happened to the code; some may have found their voices too weak to have influence, so they went along, and others just said, “if you can’t beat them join them.“

So sure enough we have now ended up with a society that is not equal, a nation of corrupt billionaires and paupers, billionaires who can afford to pay all the country’s bills and still have change left over.

Our soldiers died and some are still unaccounted for in the Democratic Republic of Congo where we were told they were fighting to stop rebels from taking over that country, yet rebels are taking over other countries in Africa everyday, with Zimbabwe not saying a word.

The motive was therefore the looting of diamonds, some of which were stock-piled in Zimbabwe and drip-fed into the now-legalised diamond trade from Marange. Partners and collaborators of the nation‘s head of state were reported in a documentary buying property in South Africa above the market price in order to launder this dirty diamond money.

And for anyone who wants to know President Robert Mugabe now owns 4046ha in Darwendale, 1000ha at Gushungo Diaries in Mazowe, 1 046 ha at Iron Mask Mazowe, 873ha at Sigaru Farm, Mazowe, 1200ha at Gwebi Wood, Mazowe, 1 445ha at Gwina Farm Banket, 1488ha at Leverdale Farm, Mazowe, 445ha at Highfield, Norton, 676ha Cressydale Estate, Norton, 575ha at Tankatara, Norton 1050ha at Clifford, Norton, 760 ha at John O’Groat Farm, Norton and 1200ha at Bassiville Mazowe.

This is publicly available information that many Zimbabweans have, but what have we done about it. Meanwhile at Chigwizi Camp, the poor residents of this drought-prone region of Masvingo are being forced to accept 1ha per family.

The land was taken from whites on behalf of the people, like you and me, but as another Heroes Day passes we find that what the heroes fought for has not materialised, except for their relatives and their comrades in the security services, Judges, provincial governors, and relatives of the First family; thus the likes Reward Marufu, Sabina Mugabe (three farms) Leo Mugabe (also three farms), Patrick Zhuwao, George Charamba, Dick Mafios, Joseph Chinotimba, Happison Muchechetere, Tobaiwa Mudede and so on having having farms.

All these people, having been allocated these farms, which most of them are under-utilising, they are all now busy defending their new positions as the owners of land in Zimbabwe, and they do not really care much about the overcrowded communal lands of Nyajena or Mutasa.

Very few are benefiting at the expense of the many who this Heroes Day have watched again while the rulers of this country paid false tribute to their Heroes, yet they have abandoned the way of the Heroes.

The unrest now breaking out at Chigwizi, among the Mapostori venting anger at the police, among our youths demanding jobs, and burning council vehicles all point to a people no longer at ease, demanding that the will of their Heroes, their own will, should be respected. ChangeZimbabwe.com