Fight, fight and fight!

Fight, fight and fight!

MUGABE

• Zim lawyer tells US Congress of torture

• Shumba condemns attack on magistrate

By Mordekai Shumba

“TO reach the port of heaven,” writes American author and Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, “we must sail; sometimes with the wind, sometimes against it – but we must sail not drift nor lie at anchor.”

The rudderless Zimbabwean ship, out of fuel, food or order is doing just that. It is drifting perilously without any shore in sight. The deranged captain is locked in his exquisite suite lynching the voices of dissent. Some crew, passengers and mice try to swim for it. The gale outside force some to climb back. Others are rescued but others are turned back.

However no one seems to have the audacity to shout “Mutiny!”. Zimbabwe requires action, brave faithful action.

Cowardice seems to be too common a word to describe Zimbabweans’ kind of hopelessness. In the face of the March 2005 general Elections Mugabe has now unsheathed his iron claws and is sending a ripple wave of fear across the country. The next elections may be Mugabe’s last as he approaches the evening of his life. He is one foolish man who marvels at his navel thinking it is the center of the universe. He has been given ample time to consolidate his power so that he can leave reverently.

The man has got a lot to his reputation to restore which is why he has octopusly clung to power. Mugabe aims to get a two third majority so that he will be able to change the constitution thereby perpetuating the life of ZANU-PF maggots in our national loaf of bread.

For too long the educated Zimbabweans have blended themselves “peace-loving” yet peace has become a setting blot on the western horizon of their memory. They say that they do not want violence and yet their national back is criss-crossed with wheals of whipping and torture. They have categorically been relegated to tail-place in the region.

"Mbeki is already known for his trademark permanent diplomatic balaclava on Zimbabwe and playing his anatomical trick of deaf mute attitude, thinking aloud that he is doing wonders..."

MORDEKAI SHUMBA

Against that back-ground the slow agony therein seems to be losing international attention that at one time was the only hope Zimbabwe had. In a publication by a South African organisation Themba Lesizwe called Civil Society and Justice in Zimbabwe one Piers Pegou writes, “…the apparent unwillingness of the African Union to censure the behaviour of rogue government under the dubious rubric of respecting sovereignty … reflects a lack of political will to address human rights violations.” The issue of Zimbabwe has even become a monotonous litany, lacking newsworthiness for the media.

Recently at his inauguration President Thabo Mbeki and his party ANC got a good left jab at the people of Zimbabwe by giving Mugabe a standing ovation when he irrelevantly arrived. Mbeki is already known for his trademark permanent diplomatic balaclava on Zimbabwe and playing his anatomical trick of deaf mute attitude, thinking aloud that he is doing wonders, refusing to acknowledge existence of a crisis. Probably he will apologise to Zimbabwe after we win our war, as he did to Rwanda. I can here him saying they were busy focusing on their ten years of democracy.

The hopelessness of the electoral system of Zimbabwe has caused the electorate to stop counting on their votes. They simply do not vote. They hate Mugabe with unalloyed fury and to have him for long is a merciless carnage on their rights. The idea that they love him because of land reform programme is an untrue canard. The Fast track Land Reform Programme was a pythonish kiss that served to smother Zimbabweans to political timidity. Because they have not fought him at his game they always will not be any higher than their ground floor selves.

That being so, Zimbabweans should now realise that only fighting will show the dictator the door marked “Éxit”.

Civil society so far has achieved nothing. Of course they have called for demonstrations that have attracted a palmful. The many Zimbabwean organisations bankrupting and shying off donors, are made of same old individual faces who are non-achievers. They have failed to raise the mood of unrehearsed spontaneity in the populace. They frustrate to unappeasable rancour with memorised litany like “without impunity”, “human rights issue”, “the rule of law”, blah, blah and other beautiful phrases that have become so hackneyed by overuse. We should learn to leave the stage for other dancers who can perform difference skills and movement. You cannot sing new tunes nor dance: what a horrible din!

Be that as it may, as one former student activist Tinomudaishe Chinyoka once said, Ït is not enough to clench one’s fist and put in one’s pocket, it must be used to strike.” We have rightly realised that we will never make a silk wallet out of that dictatorial pig’s ear. Therefore strike we should. It is better to burn out than rust out!
Shumba is Secretary-General of Concerned Zimbabweans Abroad based in South Africa
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