Zimbabwe story, is story of Africa
Friday, August 14, 2020
We have seen such crackdowns during Robert Mugabe’s reign. This time, the government even shut down social media, to ensure that the people could not coordinate their protests and thus, denying them a voice. We are back where we began. It’s the story of Africa. It is just what it is. There is nothing like true democracy in the sister country. It is no democracy when politicians enjoy office at the pleasure of the army. But today it’s not about the Zimbabwean army of which I talk. I talk of the gullibility of the African people.
When Robert Mugabe was deposed, masses poured out into the streets in celebration. The Zimbabwean army and President Mnangagwa were hailed as liberators. I penned an opinion piece for Mmegi then, decrying the anomaly in what I called the subversion of a constitutional order. I say a constitutional order, because the People of Zimbabwe have never known true democracy. There is always an unfortunate tendency to conflate constitutionalism with democracy, but the two, are not synonymous. I received a severe backlash from Zimbabweans who commented on the post. I was told in no uncertain terms, that not being Zimbabwean, the situation was none of my business. In a sense they were right. In another sense they were wrong. National sovereignty cannot be honoured in indifference to repression. At the same time, I understood. The people of Zimbabwe had suffered for a long time. They wanted change of a leader. It didn’t matter who succeeded President Mugabe. They were just tired. The Western world cautiously celebrated as the era of Zimbabwe’s strongman came to an end. But did it? We look back now, and must agree that President Mugabe was just a part of the problem. The real problem is, and has always been, the system. Nothing has changed, at all.
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