In a few days we will be celebrating 31 years of ‘freedom’ from colonial rule. The word freedom implies that people are free; free to do as they please within the law. Free to participate in the political discourse of their country without the fear of being brutalised. I am not sure that as Zimbabweans we can claim to be free in this sense.
31 years ago Zimbabwe became a state ‘…which governs itself independently of any foreign power’ (Bouvier’s Law Dictionary). This gave us the power ‘…to make laws, to execute and to apply them: to impose and collect taxes, and, levy, contributions; to make war or peace; to form treaties of alliance or of commerce with foreign nations….’ A new state with a majority government was born. We set out on a journey to the future.
I vividly remember the euphoria that engulfed the nation when ZANU PF came to power in 1980. Everyone was flapping their arms like a cockerel to show their joy that Jongwe had won. For the first time the majority black Zimbabweans had a say in how they were governed. As a grade 1 pupil I didn’t understand what this meant but I clearly understood that the people were happy. My teacher then, Miss Muganhu (later Mrs Kadhani) walked into class that day flapping her arm and with a huge smile. As I grew up I was to always associate that smile with the joy that people felt at gaining independence.
The euphoria translated into delivery as in the first decade of independence Robert Mugabe led a government that declared a policy of reconciliation, built more schools, funded universal primary education, and implemented many other policies that changed people’s lives. There was hope. I am a product of the heavy investment in education. Those of us who went to school and university after 1980 suddenly found ourselves with opportunities that had been closed to non-whites during the colonial period. The work of ZIPRA and ZANLA in the liberation struggle was paying off. Zimbabwe was prospering.
So 31 years on what is there for those who took advantage of the opportunities presented to them by independence? What is there for our children? ZANU PF gave us an education; they made us aware of the power of one man one vote. ZAPU and ZANU introduced us to democracy through the 1980 elections. It is ironic therefore, that both ZAPU and ZANU have collaborated to take away the power of our vote. In the post 1987 era ZANU and ZAPU became ZANU PF and they have systematically taken back the powers that we wildly celebrated in 1980. Now the country that started with great promise is a shadow of its former self. Many of those who went round flapping their ‘wings’ in 1980 are in their fifties and sixties. They should be looking forward to peaceful retirement but instead they are being kept awake by two things; the prospect of extreme poverty in retirement and the fear of being branded a member of the opposition. Those of us who are younger are kept awake by the fact that while those able to vote in 1980 got a chance to change the way they were governed and who governed them we cannot do that now because a cabal of ZANU and ZAPU leaders have conspired to take away this right from us. They gave us an education but their policies have taken away the jobs. They introduced democracy to our parents who in turn inculcated it in us but now they are taking away our votes.
It is this light that we have to reflect on the 31 years of independence. The joy we felt in 1980 has dissipated. We feel cheated. We are effectively under a new colonialism authored and finished in 1987 by ZAPU and ZANU. Those who freed us from the chains of colonialism have now chained us to a rogue nationalist agenda that forces us to support ZANU PF or die. The power of our vote has been removed as those tasked with adjudicating the electoral contests are not impartial. Your vote has full value or double value if you vote for ZANU PF but it has half or no value if you vote for the opposition. 31 years on millions of the born free generation are living in foreign lands running away from the economic and political meltdown presided over by the liberation parties. 31 years on the born free generation watches in horror as those who promised a land of milk and honey are enriching themselves while the masses are languishing in poverty. This is the legacy that ZANU PF has bequeathed us. 31 years of ‘liberation’ have no meaning for most young people. While much was achieved in the early years of independence the last ten years have been largely forgettable.
