Chimurenga 4 Now!

Once upon a time, there was a prosperous country known as Rhodesia. It was a bread basket for the region and boasted a strong economy, developed infrastucture and an educated populace. Similar to the movie the Lion King when Scar took over Pride Rock and everything went to shit, the same happened to Rhodesia. A brutal and violent man named Mugabe came to power and chaos ensued.

Zanu pf has ruled over the country of Zimbabwe for 41 years since 1980. They inherited a robust economy and infrastructure from the Rhodesians in 1980 and over the decades managed to destroy the health and educational system. They committed a genocide in the 1980s that claimed the lives of at least 20 000 Ndebele lives. Zanu pf went on to loot the public funds in numerous corruption cases that left the people poor. Ian Smith has been vindicated and his prophecy of doom has been fulfilled. The 90s saw Zanu pf send its soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo to secure Mugabe and his gang's interest in the diamond mines. All of it was done in the name of pan-Africanism and to assist fellow dictator Kabila.

The late 90s arrived and President Mugabe went about completing his mission of establishing a one party state. He had destroyed his enemies in the Nkomo led Zapu and had eliminated any opposition within the ranks of Zanu pf. A referendum to create a one party state was held and was rejected by the vast majority of Zimbabweans. To add to Mugabe's worries, a party called the Movement for Democratic Change was launched under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai. MDC was a trade union based organisation allied with the student movement and had a mission to unseat Zanu pf and usher in a democratic new age. But Mugabe, being the violent demagogue that he was summoned his hooligans and played his trump card, the land reform.

The land reform or realistically, the land grabs was Mugabe's strategy to appease the war veterans, his Zanu pf cohort and to destroy the white farmers in one fell swoop. The land reform had little to do with distributing land to the landless and more to do with stealing the houses and farms of white people in a misguided attempt to follow in the footsteps of Mao and Stalin's persecution of kulaks and land owners.

With his machete wielding war vets off the leashes, Mugabe was now set to fulfill his communist dream and establish a one party Marxist state similar to Mao's China and Stalin's USSR. 

Long story short, the 'land reform' was a disaster. As much of a disaster as Mao's Great Leap Forward and Stalin's collectivisation in Ukraine. Rapid inflation was the order of the day. Bread queues and fuel queues were a common sight in Zimbabwe's cities. Millions of Zimbabweans fled the country in search of greener pastures and became a burden to neighbouring South Africa who has had to bear the brunt of Zimbabwe's economic woes. The MDC lost every election that they participated in for the simple reason that Mugabe rigged the elections and beat up his opposition and their supporters. 

Twenty years later Zimbabwe is still the sick man of southern Africa. SADC countries look the other way even if it means their porous borders are invaded daily by hungry Zimbabweans. The MDC plagued by infighting and fractured into half a dozen factions remains the main opposition under the young and charismatic Nelson Chamisa. 

So what now?

Though Zimbabweans aspire to one day hold democratic elections and remove Zanu pf peacefully, that day will never come. The truth is only a war will free Zimbabwe from Zanu. Like the spirit medium Mbuya Nehanda once said, 'Tora gidi, uzvitonge.' Which means take the gun and rule yourself. That is what we as Zimbabweans must do. If South Africa, Botswana and Zambia want Zimbabwean illegal immigrants to stop invading their country, they must assist us in a liberation struggle, our Chimurenga 4.

One possible scenario for Zimbabweans is to hire a mercenary army to fight and remove Zanu pf. A second solution is to make a deal with ex-Rhodesians to retake the country. If there are any Rhodesians who still day dream about the good old days, now is the time. We can parcel off some land to Rhodesians to establish that once great country. Perhaps they can make a small semi-autonomous state in Victoria Falls in exchange for military help in removing Zanu pf. 

It is time we show the bravery of our ancestors who ran at machine guns with spears. It is time we put aside the dreams of a democratic change and prepare to die and kill for our freedom. It is time we stop running like cowards to South Africa and face our oppressor. If we do not go to war with Zanu pf then we can expect to continue to be the wretches and laughing stock of the world. 

I wrote a book series about Shona culture The Shona Chronicles. Check it out.

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