Robert Mugabe is the reason I started blogging. My first blog ever was about him. I have never been ashamed to say publicly that he is among the living men I respect the most. Many African people do not know his story. They listen to the BBC’s version; the same BBC that did the ‘Untold story on the Genocide against Tutsis’; the same BBC people from whom Mugabe won back his independence and took back his people’s land. Listening to that is like listening to the French version of Kagame or the American version of the Vietnam war, ha ha ha…
Having lived in South Africa, I have never been scared to say publicly that beyond the cultural respect for an old man, I have no respect; I mean zero, for what Nelson Mandela represents and his legacy. I believed white people used him to eclipse the real heroes of the South African struggle and to rob the black people of their revolution. And there are many heroes: Steve Biko, Oliver Thambo, Walter Sisulu, even Winnie Mandela his ex-wife.
People thought Obama cried recently because he was saddened by failure for gun control and children shooting in the US; I think he cried because it downed on him, at the twilight of his second term, having received all white people’s accolades, nobel prizes, honors and glorification, that he has not done anything for the black people-half his people, people who prayed for him. He realized that, even though his father gave him a Muslim name, their condition has worsened under his rule. It finally downed on him that in fact the condition of half his people has worsened but now they can’t complain because they have had an Obama.
People will tell me Obamas and Mandelas did what they could; that they had no choice. Fine, Romeo Dallaire says the same thing too, but 1 million of my people died. Now Koffi Annan his former boss, another glorified person, is touring the world trying to sell his book about ‘Peace keeping!’. Jesus! He was in-charge of the UN peace-keeping while a genocide occurred, now he wants to sell his memoirs to younger generations…
What people should understand is that Apartheid is not over, far from it, that Mugabe is still in the struggle for independence. That he was offered the Obama and Mandela options, of facade freedom for his people, fame and fortune for himself and a grand legacy, but chose to remain in the bush. Mandela and Obama aren’t heroes, but victims of the Apartheid; victims being paraded like trophies. Mugabe refused that! I have to admit they gave it a shot, but they failed miserably ; which is why they were even more lionized in the West.
Mugabe certainly made mistakes, of course. But he tried and he is still trying, like Theodore Roosevelt once said ‘… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’ By this quote I want to tell my people, the young people, that status quo is unacceptable! It is latent oppression and alienation ; it is like cancer.
Mugabe will die soon, sadly. But I wanted to remind people, who Robert Mugabe truely is. There is much more about him and with little effort you can learn the truth. Just go on YouTube and watch his speeches, such as this one: bit.ly/23BlhRv. Not other people’s commentary of them, just the speeches.
Dali Thambo, the son of South African hero: Oliver Thambo did a documentary on the Mugabes, here: http://bit.ly/23BlwMr Dali was crucified by the media and other ‘civilized’ people in South Africa for that, but he couldn’t care less. So, I will take his example and say I couldn’t care less about the reactions of the ‘civilized people’ to this blog
I will leave you with a quote, by Solomon Malhangu, the first ANC fighter to be hanged by the Apartheid regime. Just before he died, he said: ‘Tell my people I love them and they must continue the struggle’ -April 1979.
I went at Union Building to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela when he died. I hope to meet Mugabe before he dies, shake his hand, and tell him that as a young African, I understand his struggle ; that I and a few others will make sure it lives on.
Viva Chimurenga, Comrade Mugabe,
With love, Gatete.