By Tapiwa Kapurura
The uproar last week in Parliament over a man dressed in a national flag jacket simply exposed the ongoing paranoia in ZANU PF over an issue that was once downplayed as going nowhere.
Now the national flag has suddenly ceased to be a national cloak and has instead become a painful wound that reminds ZANU PF of #ThisFlag Movement spearheaded by Pastor Evan Mawarire.
As an agent for regime change, #This Flag was fighting for an end to corruption, injustice and poverty. Many took to the streets and the wave of activism shook a unassuming and complacent ZANU PF, making President Mugabe agitated to the extent of reaching for any open microphone to castigate the vocal young Pastor.
With the fear of the national flag colors that were once the pride (or rather, the implied sole property) of ZANU PF just after independence, current trends make many in the Revolutionary Party uncomfortable with the flag colors and that fear alone now makes any discussion about flag pride sensitive if not taboo.
In that rung of resentment, the sight of anything to do with the flag in Zimbabwe has become a symbol of the despicable existence of Pastor Evan. Put simply, the Zimbabwe flag has become the red rag before an angry bull in the arena and any sight of it has triggered anger and an appetite for belligerence. This bhachi (as Matigari puts it), is now renewed trigger for heartburn among ZANU PF leaders.
The story of this flag in Zimbabwe and across the globe brings a melancholic experience to the Zimbabwean situation. It could remind many of the story of the Coca-cola bottle in the comedy, “The Gods Must Be Crazy” wherein a discovered bottle thrown from an airplane into a remote Southern African desert first brought joy to some unsophisticated bushmen family who had never known a bottle in life.
Later the bottle became a cause of tears and animosity as family members bickered over the bottle around a fireplace at night. The family wound up throwing the bottle away as they took it for a strange curse after failing to understand the causes of their misunderstanding.
Last week’s school-yard-like brawl in the parliament of Zimbabwe by adult men and women was a circus that must be condemned in the worst of terms especially considering the current crisis the nation is facing amid countless issues triggered by corruption among top cabinet members in the Mugabe regime and named politicians from the opposition.
A few ladies complained of being fondled by police officers who made history by entering into the legislative chambers to restore order by evicting an MP whose national flag colors jacket was deemed offensive to ZANU PF members of parliament.
If it’s not an exaggeration to add flavor to the drama, one female MP even lost her garment in the surprise melee. As if that was already enough of the brouhaha, there was no sergeant of arms to restore order hence the invitation of police to stifle the scuffle.
Now the issue of the flag remains sensitive. No ZANU PF member wants to openly come close to the national flag. Mawarire is taken for a traitor or an infamous rubble rouser.
The issue now is for how long is the flag going to be hated or publicly rejected by ZANU PF? Also, since when did the national flag become prohibited contraband? How does possession of the national flag become a crime? It just proves the intensity of paranoia that has hit the ruling party.
In every flag now lives Pastor Mawarire and his demands to end corruption, injustice and poverty. In every flag now resides potential opposition to ZANU PF. Now it’s criminal to wrap oneself in a flag in a public place. There could be measures to make flag possession an uphill task. Whatever the case is, the flag of Zimbabwe is no longer ZANU PF property one hundred percent. It has now become national property but for a decent cause.
Mawarire helped to remind all the people of Zimbabwe about the relevance of the national flag as a unifying object of national pride and independence. It is through the flag that all people sing for unity, prosperity and common concerns.
Tapiwa Kapurura is a lawyer. He writes in a personal capacity. You can follow him on twitter. @TapiwaKapurura
