The current debate about the designation of hero status is interesting only in that it demonstrates how much of our national sovereignty Zanu(PF) has stolen over the years. The passing on of the late Joseph Msika has brought the nation to the point where it has to question the role played by Zanu(PF) in several state functions. (Pictured: John Makumbe)
The National Heros Acre does not belong to Zanu(PF) but to the nation as a whole. The fact that to date, national hero status is decided upon by the Zanu(PF) politburo is an insult to this nation, especially since Zanu(PF) is a minority political party. The March 2008 harmonised elections reduced Zanu(PF) to its correct size, that of a minority opposition political party. How then does a minority party decide on national issues without so much as any consultation with the majority party in Parliament? At best, national hero status should now be decided by a committee comprising representatives of all registered political parties in Zimbabwe.
Alternatively, there should be a non-partisan body comprising senior citizens from various walks of life. This body can be tasked with determining who is entitled to be a national, liberation or provincial hero. This body can be summoned to make its determination as soon as news about the death of a likely candidate is published. We know, for example that Msika died the day before the announcement was made but for some awkward reason, Zanu(PF) decided to withhold that information from the people of this country for more than 24 hours.
In the fashion of the presidential results of 2008, we were afraid that they would withhold the results for five weeks. By the time they made the announcement, most of the country already knew that the foul-mouthed old guy had gone. This is the man who once referred to the MDC as faeces. What then makes him a hero today? His death?
In my view, the MDC should fund-raise among the people of this country and buy private land which they will then donate to the people of this country for the construction of a truly national heros acre. The members of the public who are not Zanu(PF) supporters can then be designated national heroes and buried at that site. The site should be situated in a reasonably central location such as Gweru or Chivhu, in order to enable people from all over the country to access it without having to come to crazy Harare.
The MDC could do this with the support and participation of other political parties in this country that are also unhappy about the manner in which Zanu(PF) is handling this issue. The remains of such national heroes as Kombayi, Ndabaningi Sithole and numerous others can be exhumed and reburied at the True Heros Acre.
I am certain that such a development will get Mugabe and his puppies screaming murder against the rest of this nation. But drastic measures require to be responded to through drastic action. For too long now, Zanu(PF) has been doing what it likes with our dead. This has to be stopped if we are to build a nation that respects its dead as well as its living people.
The reason Zanu(PF) heroes are only declared when they die is because there is no guarantee that any living member of that party will remain loyal to Mugabe or to the party before they die. The party has largely become a burial society. Msika may have escaped the wrath of the people by going KUMAZIVANDADZOKA.
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