adminObi Egbuna Jnr Simunye
From the moment it became public knowledge that President Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF had decided to test uncharted waters, and allow our former colonisers and enslavers to observe the upcoming inclusive elections in Zimbabwe, the African world began attempting to figure out what exactly outfits and mechanisms US-EU imperialism would send to do its bidding.
The answer, as we now know, is a joint delegation representing none other than the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute, led by former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright and US Senator John McCain respectively.
What mother Africa’s children at home and abroad have learned through analysing and studying US-EU imperialism’s diplomatic posture and overtures is the tone of their language truly serves as the most accurate and dependable barometer at our disposal.
Before an in-depth overview of the expression and sentiments of the delegates can be provided, a glimpse of the cultural make-up of this carefully hand-picked delegation is in order.
When it was announced that former Liberian president and Nobel Prize laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and the former interim president of the Central African Republic, Catherine Samba-Panza, were the co-leaders of the delegation, and would be joined on that team by US Congresswoman Karen Bass, along with former assistant secretaries of state Connie Berry Newman and Ambassador Johnnie Carson (who are all so-called African-Americans), the first thing that stood out was that obviously a mandate came from the very top that this distinguished group had to be dipped in chocolate.
Getting back to the ideological aspect of rhetoric and opinion, Mrs Sirleaf got the ball rolling by saying: “These elections provide an opportunity for Zimbabwe to make a clear break with its past.”
Mrs Samba-Panza followed that remark up like a Christian who catches the holy ghost in church on Sunday by saying: “Our presence here reflects the significance of these elections not only for the Zimbabwean people but all of Africa.”
Congresswoman Bass chimed in by saying: “I’m delighted to be part of the leadership of this joint IRI-NDI international election observation mission. We hope our presence will contribute to more credible elections.”
It appears that what might be necessary is for Zimbabweans to summon the ancestral spirits of some our heroines buried at the National Heroes Acre – Amai Sally Mugabe, Sabina Mugabe, Ruth Chinamano, Julia Zvobgo and Johanna Mafuyana Nkomo – who should tell younger sisters that its the colonialists and imperialists, not Zimbabwe, who need to break with the past.
A failure to heed that message and warning only means one thing – the leadership circle of this delegation is too dipped in milk to recognise the immense value of political, cultural and social decolonisation.
Only poster children and extended mouthpieces of US-EU imperialism would arrogantly thumb their noses, at this point of view, which is the primary criteria, when one arrives at the conclusion that spreading the gospel of neo-colonialism is an act of nobility.
What President Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF apparently decided was that they had blind confidence in Zimbabwe’s voting population who, driven by patriotism, will go and conduct their own investigations surrounding the history of NDI and IRI.
Zimbabweans already know IRI hired the Rhodesian Douglas Coltart as an uhuru fellow, thanks to the era of transparency and our appetite for empirical evidence and data, we know IRI has bestowed their FREEDOM award on some of Zimbabwe’s worst enemies – former US president Ronald Reagan, former US Secretaries of State Condoleeza Rice and Henry Kissinger, to name a few.
Instead of making such a condescending opening remark, Mrs Sirleaf could have used this platform to, in the spirit of transparency, share that she was also a recipient of this award, and apologise to the people of Zimbabwe for attacking them at the African Union 10 years ago.
Has Mrs Sirleaf forgotten her stern warning from Namibia’s former president Hifikepunye Pohamba concerning meddling in Zimbabwe’s political affairs?
Do Mrs Sirleaf and Mrs Samba-Panza realise that they owe their very existence to former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe appointing former vice president Joice Mujuru to her post, which got the ball rolling for women’s empowerment at the highest levels of government in Africa?
Another strategic move by this delegation was to hand the microphone to some daughters of Africa, because it is very doubtful that Ambassador Carson is capable of controlling his hatred for President Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF. In the spirit of burying the hatchet, would Ambassador Carson be willing to pay a courtesy visit to former Zimbabwe Ambassador Machivenyika Mapuranga, for the purpose of apologising for attacking Zimbabwe publicly at an Africa Day dinner?
When the US Institute of Peace hosted the Chatham House’s head of the Africa programme, Dr Alex Vines, in 2016, Ambassador Carson stated he informed Zimbabwe’s Government that if the Carter Centre was allowed to observe the 2013 inclusive elections, he personally would have recommended to former US president Barack Obama that US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe should be lifted.
The question is, was Ambassador Carson bluffing or was this an example of an unapologetic neo-colonialist reactionary having a tender moment, similar to when the ruthless and notorious mafia gangster Al Capone decided to set up soup kitchens in Chicago during the Great Depression. Speaking of a lack of political objectivity, Ambassador Carson is on NDI’s board of directors.
What could be a point of reference for Zimbabweans on the NDI was when the late former prime minister and MDC founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, received their W. Avirell Herriman Award in 2010. Another point of familiarity could be that the Civil and Human Rights icon, Ambassador Andrew J. Young, currently sits on the NDI senior advisory committee, he shares this distinction with a fellow civil and human rights trailblazer – former SNCC national chairman and Congressman John Lewis, who voted in favour of US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe 17 years ago.
Prior to the 2013 harmonised elections five years ago, Ambassador Young came to Zimbabwe as a special envoy of former US Secretary of State John Kerry, where he publicly called for the lifting of US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe, stating this isolationist and vindictive measure had truly run its course.
While Ambassador Young’s compassion for Zimbabwe is not to be questioned, hesitation to aggressively rally grassroots organisations to pressure US-EU imperialism to lift US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe and honour the Lancaster House negotiations, that he personally helped broker on behalf of the Carter administration would clearly have more long-lasting impact than a high-profile photo-op.
Besides the leadership circle, the IRI-NDI delegation brought in 22 short-term observers on July 24. This also includes 25 long-term observers, that includes 14 long-term observes who will be stationed in all 10 of Zimbabwe’s provinces. This included a five-day pre-Election Accessment Mission that lasted from June 3 through to the 8th.
This dog and pony show has conducted 200 international election observer missions and from their perspective, has earned them a reputation for impartiality and professionalism. The IRI and NDI’s white supremacist disposition puts them in an awkward position. If their findings are in diametrical opposition to the accounts the African Union and SADC, it will justify why the ruling party has never extended an invitation to them prior to this year.
It is no coincidence the MDC-Alliance and its candidate have a decision to call for and stage demonstrations aimed at disrupting elections around the same time that the IRI/NDI arrived on the ground in Zimbabwe. A decision must have been made to provide their benefactors with some entertainment in case they don’t have time to visit some of Zimbabwe’s most beautiful spectacles and landmarks.
Among the NDI and IRI’s main financiers are the United States Agency for International Development, which begs the question, what is the true purpose of this rather peculiar brainchild of former US president John F. Kennedy?
The message to IRI and NDI must be loud and clear, if you are so concerned with political stability in Zimbabwe, immediately lift the sanctions or confine your regime change activities to the place your ancestors enslaved our ancestors and conquered our native American sisters and brothers.
Obi Egbuna Jnr is the US correspondent to The Herald and External Relations Officer to the Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association (ZICUFA). Feedback: [email protected]
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