Tatenda Gushungo

#TatendaGushungo

To my President Par Excellence,

Thank you for awakening us. Thank you for forcing us into self determination and thank you for deconstructing elements of the injustice of subjugation.

Your legacy shall never die. The younger generation have taken heed and they will carry it forth.....be it in the fees must fall protests to come; the cries for reparations; the call for land in still subjugated territories; deconstruction of the educational system or the tossing of Roman Dutch jurisprudence from our system. Yours is an unquenchable fire that is lit and burning in the hearts of men.

The fire is lit and even though it seems like ambers for now, it can no longer be smothered. Its destiny is set on a collision course between the enemy’s voracious greed to exploit against the innocent aspirations of ambitious African youths whose dreams of sharing in a prosperous future Zimbabwe will be stonewalled, as those greedy forces attempt to consigned them to a life of servitude and slavery.

It’s at this point that the subconscious knowledge that you already liberated them, will kick in and turn into an all consuming inferno out of their hearts.

Just as the Afrikaner derives his pride and inspiration from bigots like De la Rey and Smuts. How the Engels endear to the architect of our oppression, Rhodes. The American exalting the slave master Andrew Jackson. WE shall immortalize you Robert Gabriel Mugabe: the nullifier of Rhodes’ aspirations and the purveyor of Engel hypocrisy. The liberator of the African mind and soul.

Even though many of your people are ungrateful, you educated us, you created a black Zimbabwean business class that has gone forth to become iconic internationally. You showed us the face of neo-colonialism, you restored our pride and dignity by giving us back the land and resources but at a high cost.

You led Mozambique to victory over Matsanga and you kept the rebels at bay in Congo, which resulted in our nation paying the sacrifice of sanctions because your courage was disrupting imperial designs.

For 17yrs you guided us through the storm and kept the nation floating when it was expected to sink. You gave us the economy to crawl up the experience curve and learn how to solve our own problems and to not be the children of our oppressor.

Like Sekoa Toure, you taught us that freedom in hunger is more of a human desire than luxury in slavery. You exposed the hypocrisy of the upright and for that the world is enamored by your persona and rectitude.

Today, we walk in this freedom, wise as serpents, understanding the enemy’s ways, confident and proud as conquerors of mental constructs of colonialism because of your vision, resolute principles and sacrifice

You are the lion of the plains, a father to most and a hero to a nation and continent that are yet to recognize that reality. Yes, in true human spirit, you were fallible, you were far from perfect but in your weaknesses were great strengths: stubbornness- endurance, arrogance - confidence, obdurate- disciplined and your bias to your wife - love. You are a man of principle and ideology and out of that came your demise.

Today, I weep bitterly because as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, I know that the nation shall weep. We will cry for you in the not too distant future and we shall wish you would return, only for us to come to terms with the fact that men of your caliber are of a bygone generation and we should have treasured you more when you were with us.

We shall seek out those who caught what it is that you taught, for inspiration and if we are fortunate maybe we will pick out the remanence of your wisdom, as already the job of erasing your legacy has began in earnest with your children leading the charge.

You shall forever be immortalized in our hearts and you shall be our inspiration in time of need because your destiny was deeper than a passing epoch.

Our children will have a more enlightened perspective of your legacy and they shall carry you as the candle of the African Renaissance.

Nkrumah initiated Pan Africanism, Gaddafi reminded us, you planted it into our hearts and we shall complete the journey.......I’m not sure how but with your inspiration we will find a way in the same way you led a party on the verge of fragmenting to victory in 1980.

A fire has been lit and it’s just about to engulf a continent and a generation, as you have left something living in our spirits.

Tatenda Baba, Fambayi zvakanaka.

Rutendo Bereza Matinyarare