Kwinjeh ridiculed Africans, Your Shouts!

Kwinjeh ridiculed Africans, Your Shouts!

KWINJEH

• Julius Dewa: Mugabe has scathed African pride

• Matshazi: 'Kwinjeh ridiculed Africans'

• Mugabe's celebratory rant as Zim turns 25

• Zim gone 25 years backwards, says MDC

• Grace Kwinjeh: Happy birthday to an unfinished revolution

• No cheer as Zim turns 24

• Independence war mass graves found

• Mugabe calls on exiles to return

Grace Kwinjeh's Independence Day article 'Happy birthday to an unfinished revolution' has attracted several comments from our readers. Kuthula Matshazi accused her of distortion. Many of you don't agree

Editor - I can bet my last dollar that Kuthula Matshazi is one of them - I mean the dreaded frontmen sent to Europe and Americas by Zanu PF to spy on progressive Zimbabweans working outside the country for causes to improve the political and therefore economic environments back home.

In the same vein he asks Kwinjeh to return to Zimbabwe to partake in the political debates there. I ask him why he can not lead the way back home to practise journalism in Harare instead of doing so in Canada. We know you Kuthula, and we also know your roots. We are not surprised you just jump to criticise the Western World while at the same time, you reside in the their cities enjoying democracy and all its accompanying benefits and rights you would never at all recognize in your own African home.

Everybody has an ugly past - Europeans and African!! The difference is that some like the Western Democracies learnt from the ugly past and perfected their systems to benefit citizens. Even in Africa, there are tribes displaced and exploited by other tribes. The difference is the scale of injury inflicted by the Westerners and the local tribes. But like I said before, the ugly past remains ugly, no matter how you look at it. Leave Grace Kwinjeh to fight and complete the agenda that drove her to leave her country of birth to settle in the cold environs of Brussels. Some of us take her seriously. And we are many too.
Oliver Mudyarabikwa

Editor - I rarely write articles to newspapers these days . The last time I did was to the then Sunday Mail when it used to be a family newspaper. But I have been compelled to write this article because of what I thought was an unfortunate attack on sister Grace Kwinjeh by one brother Kuthula Matshazi.

In the first place I failed to identify Matshazi's actual problem because apart from simply accusing Kwinjeh of being a victim of western imperialism, he does not show us what she said which proves his point. What I see in brother Matshazi is that he seems to have fallen into the same pit that brother Tafataona Mahoso fell...that all Western is bad and all African is a victim of Western imperialism. If it is true that Kuthula is in the Canada, then I see no point in him trying to criticize Ms Kwinjeh for staying in Brussels. And someone does not become a bad person because of staying away from home, otherwise all Zimbabwean Ambassadors will be bad people, unless Matshazi's formula applies to some and not all people.

"Someone does not become a bad person because of staying away from home, otherwise all Zimbabwean Ambassadors will be bad people"

SURE MATARAMVURA

Second, sister Kwinjeh was simply trying to highlight the exceses of African dictators musquerading as liberators. Yes Europe and America could have
played their part in the colonization of Africa but I do not share brother Mahoso and brother Matshazi's views that Africa's current problems are more due to external influence as opposed to internal influence. If we look in particular at our country Zimbabwe, I doubt whether any of these guys can argue to the fact that when we became independent in 1980, very few of the ruling elite had any resourses of their own stashed somewhere and that 25 years down the line they are among the richest in Africa. The reason is that they got free money somewhere somehow through not in very straight forward means.

As an example, President Robert Mugabe claims that he got timber and other building material from Malaysia , China etc as a "donation". Mr Matshazi asks whether there is anything from the West for free. Maybe he should ask our President whether there is anything from the East for free. Definitely not. If it is true that such a "donation" materialized, no wonder why now Zimbabwe has to buy expensive fighter planes from China when corpses are rotting in mortuaries. So what we see is simply a group of people making noise about western imperialism and justifying the "Look East" policy without realizing that, in President Samora Machel's words "those eaten by a hyena are no better than those eaten by a lion"..its just a transformation from Western colonialism to Eastern (read Chinese) colonialism.

The ruling African Elite has caused more plunder to African resourses than the Western colonizers. You can cite many examples of this...in Swaziland,
where the King takes almost everything for his personal sexual satisfaction. In Zimbabwe, our own 81 year old president, together with his former
propaganda minister Jonathan Moyo, attracted news headlines for their shopping gusto. Consider the case of building a 25 roomed mansion when
people are struggling to survive. The guy has spent so much time travelling that the cumulative amount of foreign currency spent on travelling for him
and his "senior government officials" can pay a bigger proportion of Zimbabwe's foreighn debt, let alone for social services.

It is government policy that a day you spend outside the country, you are entitled to at least US$200 per diem (read pocket money) excluding hotel and money for air and road travel. Take a contingent team of 20 "senior government officials" together with guys from the CIO each getting this per trip and then make a rough calculation of how much it costs per night to stay in an expensive hotel in Europe and America...multiply this by the number of days these guys spend and by the number of the crew..and by the way do not forget to add Reuben Barwe there, then you can sympathize with the Zimbabwean tax payers who are paying taxes so high they fit those normally paid by a country in a war situation. You can also understand why Tony Blair caused all the refuse collection vehicles in Harare not to function and how Little Tony Blair caused the gasoline garages to run dry...hope my brother sees the point!!!

In Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi even went to the extent of building the Moi University using tax payers' money. Surely these guys are not being forced by European colonizers to loot the resources in their countries are they? So this is what sister Kwinjeh was portraying in her article my brother Kuthula Matshazi..you have to get real and stop thinking what all African dictators are failing to do is because of pressure from Europe and America. They are a mafia not liberators. By the way reports say brother Tafataona Mahoso is now driving "machembere"..(4 wheel drive similar to Colt). Long live the "revolution" brother Mahoso!
Sure Mataramvura

Editor - I have read what I can call satire from Grace Kwinjeh, and this girl has it on aher finger tips. We have soiled and blackened Africa on our own and everytime wrongs are pointed at us we pretend we still have unfinished business but we do not even have a clue of what we can do to finish this business.

That we always look at were a contibuter is staying and then conclude that she is being influenced by the colonists is wrong. Some of these people are happy staying in these countries where everything is done above board. They know they are protected by the law, but in Africa if you are not a governing party supporter the law is always against you. They know they have opportunities to grow, but in Africa you have to be supporting them to get opportunities. Human rights are respected and people can be arrested for abusing them but in Africa if you abuse human rights inthe name of governing parties you are considered a hero.

We cannot have a president in any of the civilised world telling a whole nation that we will strike fear in the hearts of a section of that country's community, and make their hearts tremble and survive to rule again. That sort of person would be gone before the sun rises, but in Africa we call that pan-africanism.

As for Matshazi, he writes from Canada which respects him as a person, and he is accorded protection from any harm. Here in the country called Zimbabwe, a green bomber can knock you senseless and you as the victim is made to pay a fine for conduct likely to breach peace. I wish he would come across these brigades when they are drunk as they sing 'Tisu maTaliban zviwororo zveMDC'.

"We have an unfinished business and this is to remove these pseudo nationalists and put in people who understand that the world is dynamic and if you remain in history you will remain history"

T MASHAYAMOMBE

And you want to call that an intricate issue of African experience where we have a group of people using government machinery to clobber others.

We have an unfinished business and this is to remove these pseudo nationalists and put in people who understand that the world is dynamic and if you remain in history you will remain history.

Can he tell us 25 years after independence we still want to see rotten bodies in a 70s mass grave daily on TV? Can he and his children stand this hogwash? He is in Canada, so he won't see the daily torture we are subjected to.

As long as Africans try to use the liberation rhetoric, this unfinished business will remain unfinished. We know revolutionary zeal is something else when it comes to votes but as the old dissappear from the scene, the a party which continuously tries to rely on history will also go.

Africa now needs people who will move forward, forget about history because if the Belgians took some diamonds from the DRC, they cannot recover that anyway, if Britain took beef from Zimbabwe, we cannot recover that, if America got oil from Kabinda, it's used and gone, why not look at what to do with what we still have which is a lot anyway?

Matshazi thinks African democarcy is different from the democracy being demanded by Brussels. No brother, democracy is democracy you can have Western democracy and African democracy. Let people choose in peace the leaders they want. Let anybody who wants to watch watch. He thinks democracy is when Caps plays Dynamos with Twine Phiri as the ref, Shakeman Tauro as first assistant ref, Tsungai Mudzamiri's father as match commissioner and Mr Leonard Tsipa as second assistant ref. To him that is the African way and should be accepted. Enjoy your stay in Canada bro but always remember because of this African theory, your brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe are starving. They blame it on drought but most of dams are spilling. Takambokohwa zvavamwe vaye vanga varima.
T.Mashayamombe

Editor - Nice piece by Grace kwinjeh. She can write when she wants to, hey.
Peter Moyo

Editor - I have just read Kuthula's response to Grace's article and thought I could add my thoughts to the debate. I was disappointed by Kuthula's article because of the fact that he is a journalist and lives in Canada. The questions he raised are those which can only be asked by someone who has not travelled outside Zimbabwe or a person who is so docile that he does not question anything said or done to him. I take this in the context that he said there are great opportunities for political space in Zimbabwe. Surely brother you can not be serious. Yes, everyone is allowed to support his or her political party but if we support our parties to the extent of glorifying anarchy then that is something else. I personally think that people in the opposition are the real people who are patriotic to our country. We hear on Friday they are going to devalue the Zimdollar and you are still clapping hands, do you have any conscience?

No, people in Zimbabwe need money from any source, it's only you and the privileged few who know that you can survive without aid who do not need it but obviously my mother in Chivi needs that. What is the difference between money from our new colonisers China and Brussels? Have you been to China and seen how the majority of those people live. It's pathetic! You would not accept any donation from that country if you knew how the majority of those people live. So what does China expect from us? We must follow their way of doing things, that is, oppress the majority and let the chosen few flourish. In China we have the legacy of Chairman Mao. And what is happening in Zimbabwe? We are always reminded about the liberation war. Can you draw any similarities?

Does that bring food to my table. Unfortunately life is lived forwards not backwards. We are told everyday how bad these colonialists are, how good is Pan-Africanism blah blah, do not be fooled by these rhetorical pyrotechnics from these African leaders. They do not even care about you and me, they are concerned about retaining power, period.

The Zimbabwe issue is very simple, very elementary that I was surprised when Kuthula said it's complicated. It's simple mismanagement of the economy
and abuse of power by a selfish leader.

I have wondered why some seemingly educated people go about repeating this tired rhetorical nonsense from our leaders. Even Mugabe knows that we know that he knows that we know he is lying. I think he is also surprised by the gullibility of people. That person is British through and through .

In Brussels or U.K where I live, they call a spade a spade and if you do not perform you are a goner. There are checks and balances and the seperation of powers is fundamental. You cannot run a country like a tuckshop and expect to prosper, you reap what you sow. In Britain you campaign by telling people what you are going to provide if elected, that is housing, education, health, jobs, crime reduction etc not what you did during the The Second World War. Nhamo!
Kudzai Rangarirai
Law student, Oxford

"Even Mugabe knows that we know that he knows that we know he is lying"

KUDZAI RANGARIRAI

Editor - I am pertubed and very disgraced by our sister Grace who thinks that there is grace being in Brussels. I for one was a little boy when the so called colonisers bombed villages and killed innocent natives including preachers of the gospel of God which they taught us through their machinising missionaries.

I think Grace you are entitled to your views to please your hosts for your probably continuous stay without your immigration status being centured for or against. Grace stop ridiculing Africans and especially Zimbabweans for you are no different to their struggle for soveregnity. Yes Mugabe has or might have his own mistakes but could they have amounted to such sinking levels had he been supporting the Westerners' views about how Africa should be run and organised? I find it distressing that Mugabe has only done what the former colonisers' Rhodesian government did and this is suppressing their constituence and subjects (of course killing and murder was part of the day--- in their regime). Tell me Grace where do you stand? And what have you tried to sought out in messmerising Africans and their level of politics?

I should gratefully tell you that I live and work in the Diaspora but I have never come accross a document of low stuff and fairly unfair like yours. I am not a journalist neither will I be one in the future but when I read about issues concerning our Zimbabwe I tend to spirit-level it with my background and the experiences of the early 70's and late 70's just before the end of the liberation struggle. I find it funny that Africans had to fight for their freedom and worse still the jailing, torturing, inhuman treatment and killing of revolutionaries by the former British formed and appointed Rhodesian government.

Anywhere Grace keep your hosts for now we shall keep our Zimbabwe forever.
Steady Shumba
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