Mutumwa Mawere

On 18 July, 2008, President Mandela celebrated his 90^th birthday. 

The world has acknowledged and recognised President Mandela's magnanimity, courage, humility, and generosity of spirit and he now finds himself as a global brand celebrated for what the brand represents to humanity. 

Our generation is privileged to be alive and relevant as free Africans at this historic moment in the continent's development. Despite the transition to democracy, South Africa remains an unjust society.

Notwithstanding the fact that the sovereignty of Zimbabwe is constitutionally in the hands of citizens, the post election negotiations facilitated by President Mbeki exposes the fragility of the democratic order and confirms the view widely held during the colonial era that there was a need to prepare natives education and gradual acquisition of property rights before allowing them to be full participants in the democratic order. 

While it may be absurd for a country to go through an electoral process and then proceed with negotiations that on the face of it go a long way towards undermining the sovereignty of citizens, the stakes are so high in Zimbabwe that the interests of citizens have been reduced to a subsidiary status to the interests of the two contesting individuals i.e. President Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai.

On 18 July, the world joined South Africans in celebrating the birthday of former President Nelson Mandela. Although it would be unfair to compare Mandela and Mugabe because the social, political and economic dynamics in South Africa and Zimbabwe are different, it cannot be denied that the circumstances and issues that propelled the two into leadership positions were the same.

When Zimbabwe attained its independence in 1980, Mugabe was 56 and when Mandela became President of a democratic South Africa, he was 76.

The deracialisation of the South African government and the restoration of civil rights to all its citizens over 14 years ago represented a defining moment in the continent's history.

Whereas, the whole continent's economic progress was challenged because of the existence of apartheid in South Africa, the ownership of the destiny of the continent was finally placed squarely in the hands of the majority.

The decolonisation project was driven principally by a shared desire by all Africans to propel the continent beyond the civil rights issue. The most dominant issue facing post-colonial Africa apart from jealously guarding the gains of the national democratic revolution must be financial security for the millions of working Africans.

The 27th day of June, 2008, will remain in the annals of Zimbabwean history as the day of great betrayal of the promise of independence.

Given the history and role of President Mugabe in defining and shaping the post colonial political and economic agenda of Zimbabwe, it is important that a critical examination be made of whether in fact key foundational principles necessary for a democratic order ever existed in post colonial Zimbabwe.

It is now official that Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, the President of the MDC, has withdrawn his name as a candidate for the office of the President of Zimbabwe in the controversial run-off elections that was to be held on 27 June 2008.

What is not clear, however, is whether the elections will still proceed as scheduled or President Mugabe will be declared as a winner obviating the need for proceeding with the elections.

The decision by Tsvangirai suits President Mugabe whose desperation to cling to power at all costs is now common cause.

The end of apartheid in 1994 should have brought to an end the use in post colonial Africa of the following terms: colonialism and anti-colonialism, imperialism and anti-imperialism, capitalism and socialism and communism, class warfare, white supremacy and non-white resistance. These ideas during the decolonisation period, however, generated powerful anti-British, anti-Dutch, anti-French, and anti-American nationalist sentiment.

South Africa with the largest white settler community in Africa is the most developed country in the continent having inherited a sophisticated financial, mining and industrial infrastructure from the colonial/apartheid state.

After 28 years in power, I think President Mugabe would agree that Zimbabwe is not where any rational leader would want it to be.

With less than a week left before the runoff elections, it is time to stop, think and evaluate if it is conceivable that in the event that President Mugabe is re-elected he will be able to see Zimbabwe beyond its colonial past.

President Mugabe has already conveniently framed the issues on which citizens are to decide on who should be their President as more than a choice between the past and the future.

The last 52 years have exposed how ill prepared native Africans were in connecting the inherited colonial dots or points of light in an inclusive and progressive manner.

The architects of colonialism knew what they wanted in Africa and to a large extent the settlers were assimilated into the African setting on their terms. They adopted Africa as a new home and proceeded to build institutions that have in large measure witnessed uninterrupted growth.

Speaking at the burial of Retired Lieutenant-General Amoth Nobert Chingombe at the National Heroes Acre yesterday, President Mugabe said the following:

"Once again, we want to make it clear to the British and Americans that we are no one's subject, and never will be. We are the subject of ourselves, and we belong to ourselves. This country shall not again come under the rule and control of the white man, direct or indirect. We are masters of our destiny.

Equally, anyone who seeks to undermine our land reform programme, itself the bedrock of our politics from time immemorial, seeks and gets war.