I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that those of you who are genuine war veterans went through in order to fight for our freedom. I cannot imagine the sacrifice you made when some of you left all they had behind to join the liberation struggle with no promise that you would survive. The pain and anguish of being discriminated and oppressed in your own country of birth simply because you were born black must have been just too much to bear that you gave up your livelihoods. Your choice was to rather die fighting for your freedom than to live under a colonial system that oppressed all of us. I respect you for that.
I sat with my cousin the other day, who told me the horrid conditions that our liberation fighters had to endure. How the possibility of facing death each day was real and that they would dig graves first thing each day, in anticipation of impending death. He told me how food was scarce and how they survived on wild fruit and berries. He explained how they were never properly equipped to fight the war and treasured the few bullets they carried. How they had to sleep in caves or in the bush when it was raining not knowing whether you would wake up alive. It must have been a terrible experience that none of us who now take our freedom for granted can ever imagine.
For that I must honour your sacrifice and contribution. The sad reality is that the fruits of the sacrifices you made are hardly evident today because a few men have usurped the struggle as theirs alone. They have even used you and continue to do so. That saddens me.
In other countries war veterans are all heroes, there is no distinction on which political party you fought under. They are honoured each year in their totality. They are provided for, for the rest of their lives because we can never put a price on the risk and sacrifice which you took.
Today most of you who genuinely believed in a new Zimbabwe live in poverty and are forgotten. That is scandalous.
The Zimbabwe we want is not yet here. We can never accept this system that has been created mostly by those who were living in comfort while directing the liberation struggle from Africa capital cities. We cannot allow those who were overseas studying to be the heroes while most of you who suffered each and every day at the battle front and faced unimaginable danger, rot in poverty and destitution.
ZANU (PF) has dismally failed to create the Zimbabwe you all imagined and I continue to wonder when you will realise the great lie; the lie that only a few are heroes and that only a few are entitled to the benefits of our so called freedom.
In my books, we are not yet a free society; a country where the majority suffer poverty not because of the unwillingness to work or lack of talent can never be called free. We will only be free when we create a democratic society where each and every Zimbabwean can live up to their full potential. Where politicians do not control us or interfere in shaping the future we want.
It is shameful and embarrassing what our country has become and I ask you; are you going to accept this? You never accepted that a white man was better than you and therefore entitled to better life conditions, why should you accept that black men must dominate and oppress you? The black man has proven that he is worse than the whites you fought. He has become greedy and corrupt and cares nothing for you.
My dear brothers and sisters, I know that they are some who go around claiming to be war veterans, but we all know that they are fake. Why have you allowed your contribution to be soiled by a few misguided characters? Being called a war veteran is surely an honour that cannot be claimed by those who hardly contributed.
I feel pity for you and wish you would take the responsibility to make things right. The objectives of the liberation struggle were to create a country that does not oppress any man or woman; a country where all are equal under the law and are entitled to benefit from the resources of this country. If we look at all sectors of this economy, none of you are benefiting. In fact, it is as if you do not exist and yet you sit and accept this.
In the Zimbabwe we shall create, we will continually honour you and those who perished in Nyadzonya and Chimoio; those are our true heroes. We will ensure that you are looked after by the rest of us for the sacrifice you made and that you lead a decent quality of life, we owe it to all of you.
Zimbabwe belongs to all of us. It does not belong to an individual or a few men.
I therefore urge all of you to claim your honour and support the emergence of a free democratic and prosperous country. If there is any time that requires that same spirit that drove you into to the bush it is now because if not, we shall all lose that which you sacrificed for; freedom, justice, equity and prosperity for all.
Come let us reason together!
Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. He is also the secretary for Finance and Economic affairs for PDP. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com
Post published in: Featured
Well said brother Musewe! Well said.
There are many of war veterans who have propped up this Mugabe dictatorship because they believed they will have a share of the political power and economic wealth. And as long as they got the share, they have turned a blind eye to the reality on the ground that the dictatorship had failed to deliver the promise of freedom, liberty, human rights and economic prosperity for all Zimbabweans and not just those who fought in the liberation war and/or are the ruling elite.
War veterans like Jabulani Sibanda, Chinotimba and many others who have been terrorizing the people, denying them their freedoms and basic human rights to promote the Zanu PF dictatorship for a share of the spoils (many got nothing) should be ashamed of themselves for betraying everything of value the liberation struggle stood for. It is this mercenary spirit that tyrants the world over have exploited to the detriment of the people and the nation.
The least these rogue war veterans can do now is apologize to the nation for their treasonous betrayal of the liberation struggle, the people and the nation. It is most disheartening that these rogue war veterans are, instead of apologizing, offering their services as seasoned thugs to the highest bidder. President Mugabe has revised his offer to Mahiya and his lot and Mai Mujuru and Nelson Chamisa have yet to declare their bids! What a shame!
Great work brother Vince!
Sometimes it pays to call a spade a spade and, if necessary, a bloody shovel! War veterans like Jabulani Sibanda, Joseph Chinotimba, right up the ladder to Perrence Shiri, Emmerson Mnangagwa right up to Robert Mugabe himself have not only denied many of our people their freedom and basic rights but have shed the blood of over 30 000 innocent people for their own selfish political gain. How can someone who commits such a heinous crime still be considered a hero?
We must confront this rotten culture of entitlement and greed that has destroyed our nation. It is bad enough that people like Mugabe believed they were entitled to material wealth as payment for their contribution during the war but surely by denying the people their freedom, human rights and stripping them of all wealth he was making a mockery of his claim that he liberated the people. By murdering so many the tyrant crossed the double red line no nation worth its salt would permit!
Calling Mugabe and his murderous thugs heroes after all they have done to this nation will be an insult to all the true national liberation struggle heroes and heroines who believed in the freedom and dignity of all Zimbabweans and have never condescended to such demonic barbarism as Mugabe had done. All the dead true national liberators, the victims of Mugabe’s murderous reign of terror and all the nation’s ancestors will be spinning in their graves that treasonous sell-outs should be ever be counted among the nation’s honoured.
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because we made the big mistake of treating people like Robert Mugabe as gods whose material needs must be fulfilled regardless of the price to the nation. At a time when 90% are out of work and living in abject poverty, the public health and educations services have all but collapsed, etc. how can Mugabe spend $10 million on the birth of his grandson. $15 billions of public is looted and no one is arrested and not a single dollar is recovered. To crown it all Mugabe has his shown contemptuous disregard for the suffering of others and sanctity of human life.
In our effort to appease murderous tyrants and thugs we have ended up losing so much treasure, human suffering and even human lives. You give a tyrant like Mugabe an inch he will take one foot and will be back tomorrow to take a mile. Their greed knows no bounds!
We must reset the dial and restore our humanity and respect of human life. Every Zimbabwean has the right to life and the primary purpose of the state is to safe guard the life of every Zimbabwean their freedoms, human rights and economic rights. No one regardless of their back ground has the right to deny others their freedoms and human rights; those who do have by their action forfeited their own freedoms and rights.
It is not for you Vince Musewe or anyone else to bargain the freedoms, rights and the very lives of others with murderous tyrants like mangoes in the market. The rogue war veterans must know that in denying povo their freedoms and basic human rights including the right to a meaningful vote they were committing treason against this nation. This must stop forthwith; no nation in its right mind will ever tolerate that!
War veterans are subject to the rule of law same as everyone else; why should we have to “appeal” to them to respect the freedoms and human rights of others?