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Last conversation
with Nathaniel Manheru
(www.mmawere.com)
Posted
to the web: 22/02/2009 14:13:37
HISTORY will
record February 21, 2009, which is also the birthday of Zimbabwe’s
only post-colonial ruler, as the beginning of the decoupling of the
state and the ruling party.
George Charamba, an employee of the state, who credits himself for authoring more than 200 pieces that have been religiously published by the Herald, a state controlled newspaper, for the last 200 weeks, gave his farewell oration in his last instalment last Saturday, signalling the beginning of the end of the politicisation of the media and confirming the effectiveness of the inclusive government in beginning to dismantle the Zanufication of the state.
It is a significant day for Zimbabwe and for a man who had invested so much in maintaining and justifying the status quo ante; this must be a sad day for him personally as Zimbabweans will have to get used to a Saturday Herald without his lectures. He considers it a great honour to have occupied the centre page of the Herald for such a long period fully knowing that no one could dare challenge him or the views that he holds.
He acknowledges that the Herald after him must evolve, and he threatened that if real danger threatens the Republic, he might resurface. To Charamba, the Republic is and was never meant to be a people’s project but an instrument for the enlightened few to propagate their ideas and values.
Oblivious to the fact that a Republic is a state or country in which the people have an impact on their government, Charamba remains defiant even when his principal, President Robert Mugabe, has accepted that the people of Zimbabwe spoke eloquently on March 29, 2008, that they wanted a break from the past, that he alone is the best defender of the Republic by saying: “I have vexed the hostile world in defence of this only Republic I call my country.”
His last article was aptly entitled: “Evacuation: What colour is British policy towards Zimbabwe” as a follow up to the Wednesday issue of the London Times that ran a story titled "Elderly Britons given lifeline out of Zimbabwe".
This story announced a resettlement package offered to white Zimbabweans who wish to be resettled in the UK. The economic crisis facing Zimbabwe has had its own toll on citizens resulting in many black Zimbabweans voting with their feet. Even Charamba would agree those elderly pensioners, working people, the poor, young and dependent, need a safety net irrespective of their race as the last few years have exposed all to an unacceptable standard of living.
For white Zimbabwean citizens, a case has been made and continues to be made that they were primary beneficiaries of the colonial state and, therefore, they are and should not be entitled to any support. It is common cause that the focus of all humanitarian assistance is on the vulnerable poor. In the circumstances, it would not be unusual for countries like the UK to seek to intervene through resettlement programmes as part of the response to the humanitarian crisis facing Zimbabwe.
An argument has been made that the root cause of Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis is the impact of the targeted sanctions on the country’s access to international capital and money markets as well as the hostile attitude adopted by the West to the land reform programme.
It would be naïve to completely dismiss this argument but what is instructive is that even if sanctions were not imposed, the country would at the minimum need to have had its own plan to lift the country out of the current quagmire.
The role of race in the post-colonial state and its impact on nation building will continue to be a subject of numerous conversations for years to come in Africa. To Charamba and many of the people who share his worldview, Zimbabwe had no choice but to tackle the land issue in the manner that it did irrespective of the consequences.
It was not surprising that Charamba would not resist using his last column to respond to my article entitled: “Roy Bennett and the Zimbabwe we seek”. Charamba found my argument that President Mugabe has yet to accept that white people can be full citizens with the same rights and obligations as the majority black citizens to be less clever and rather clumsy.
To Charamba, President Mugabe is the only clever Zimbabwean who sees what other Zimbabweans cannot see. To Charamba, he is the liberator and can do no wrong and Zimbabwe belongs to people who share his worldview.
When I wrote the article, I sought to open an honest and frank debate on the questions of race, politics and nation building in post-colonial Zimbabwe. Only the naïve would argue that white Zimbabweans have not contributed to shaping the Zimbabwe that we see today.
I chose to comment on Bennett’s arrest not because I hold any brief on his behalf but the allegations against Bennett are no different from the allegations that were made against Morgan Tsvangirai, who is now Prime Minister, for which he was acquitted.
I have no doubt that Charamba, in the quietness of his time, would agree that the circumstances that have allowed him to dominate the Herald’s editorial policy even when it is patently clear that his views are partisan, are no different from the circumstances in which the police and the courts find themselves.
If Bennett was a senior Zanu PF member, I would want to believe that no such charges would have been preferred against him. After 29 years of one party rule, it is inevitable that the state institutions have been sufficiently compromised to give confidence to anyone that Bennett would get a fair hearing. More importantly, the GPA framework recognises the futility of political contestations when the people’s agenda is not addressed.
It is not clear what would be achieved in the interests of the nation if Bennett were to be convicted when it is acknowledged by all that he was one of the contestants for state power under the umbrella of MDC, a party that is now part of the government. The transition of South Africa from apartheid, for example, confronted similar challenges and at the defining hour all the parties agreed that it was time to move forward and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established composed of people who were not involved in the political contestations.
I have no doubt that if a member of the MDC were to read Charamba’s 200 articles, a rational conclusion could be made that the tone and language used would not be acceptable in any democratic constitutional order yet he was allowed with impunity to assassinate the characters of other people. The privileges accorded to Zanu PF members to use the state machinery to intimidate and harass opposition members were denied to the opposition.
My argument is that if Bennett can be arrested, then Charamba should also advocate the arrest of Zanu PF members who have committed numerous crimes with impunity. Perhaps it may be appropriate for a Commission of Inquiry chaired by an independent person to deal with the politically motivated crimes.
Charamba makes the point that: “Lastly, it is clear Zimbabwe has now ceased to be a colony, with Zanu PF rule being the leveller.” What does Charamba mean when he says that Zanu PF is the leveller?
He goes on to state that: “I have never respected natives who reason and store illusions of racial equality in circumstances of racially demarcated social inequities. Or retained privileges which mean unrelieved colonially induced penury for the other side. It is an argument of a happy slave drunk by a spoonful of sweet white generosity. As his eager tongue scrubs the insides and corners of his cheeks sweetened by white saccharine, he begins to think he eats for all of us, in which case the boat must not rock.”
Charamba has never been restrained in labelling anyone who does not buy his worldview on race. It seems that Charamba is not aware that in 1980, civil rights were restored to all Zimbabweans and by virtue of their numbers, black Zimbabweans were always going to be the masters of their destiny. Sovereignty was vested and remains vested in the people of Zimbabwe. For 29 years, the civil rights that people ought to have enjoyed including the right to recall non-performing state actors were diverted to state actors.
It would be wrong to argue that the powerlessness of citizens to shape their future in post-colonial Zimbabwe was solely a result of a white conspiracy. Rather, people like Charamba represent the most toxic weapons against democracy and rule of law. There is nothing that we can do to change what happened before 1980 but we all must be accountable for what we have done with the acquired freedom to change the future. I am not sure whether Charamba’s poisonous writings have contributed to a better Zimbabwe or a Zimbabwe that he wants to see.
A person born in 1980 is turning 29 this year and can tell a story of his or her life. However, after 29 years of independence it appears that no movement has been made to progress the Zimbabwean agenda. To people who are hungry today, what benefit is it to them to talk about the inherited social inequities. We must talk about the things that we have and should have done during the last 29 years as eloquently as we talk about the injustices of the colonial era.
Charamba also makes the following points that: “I fail to reconcile this miserable argument with Mutumwa Mawere who used to equip Zanu PF with clever arguments on affirmative action. Including inciting government to tackle the same Old Mutual Cross now attacks. Was that all showmanship? Or was Bennett supposed to be a test to his own quarrel with the authorities here? If it was, I am sure he got a plateful by way of feedback. You cannot have the same political forces who, through sheer shrillness, taught me to spell I-M-P-U-N-I-T-Y, now turning around to make a case for one, simply because the foot on which the boot rests happens to be white. Let Bennett’s supporters tell Zanu PF how Bennett should be released within parameters of rule of law and respect for the independence of the judiciary. I dare them.”
In responding to the above, it is important to state that there is nothing inconsistent about making arguments on affirmative action and defending the right of white people to be treated as full and equal citizens.
In fact, it would be wrong to suggest that white people disabled or prevented the post-colonial state actors from dispensing benefits to the majority. After 29 years in power, Zanu PF should stand on its record. The argument I made in 1996 that Old Mutual was not started by old people but by young people like us is still relevant today as it was then.
Charamba should explain why Zanu PF failed to nurture its economic champions so that today we would be see real alternatives to the so-called white power. Other emerging nations can boast of progress while Charamba seeks to use tired and old arguments.
I am not satisfied that the Zimbabwe I see today is the Zimbabwe that people fought and died for. The post-colonial state was supposed to serve its citizens and the need for accountability cannot be understated. In a democratic constitutional order, it is and should be irrelevant what colour of skin a citizen is. What should be important is what citizens have done to be the change they want to see.
By advocating for affirmative action, I was conscious and remain alive to the need to improve financial literacy among the majority. The law of gravity dictates that blacks in Zimbabwe who are the majority can and should create institutions that serve them and as consumers they have the power to change the supply chain if only they are properly led and inspired. Looking at the rear view mirror will simply not assist in the quest for a better Africa.
Charamba concludes by stating that: “The law shall take its full course in the case of Bennett and any other case. If anyone wants presidential pardon, let them remember this is a prerogative that follows full trial, full sentence. It is not what begins or aborts.”
With the inclusive government firmly in place, I sincerely hope that citizens will come forward with evidence of transgressions by Zanu PF members during the last 29 years so that the law can take its full course. We have the victims in our midst and the wounds are open, so Charamba must know that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Mutumwa
Mawere's weekly column is published on New Zimbabwe.com every Monday.
You can contact him at: mmawere@global.co.za
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