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fought by such people whose commitment to their mission is beyond measure. Despite the resurgence of neo-colonialism and an apparent attempt at recolonising this vast continent for its natural resources, the truth of the matter is that Africa today is “independent” from Cape to Cairo because there were some among us who answered the call of duty to dismantle colonialism.
It was not a job for the faint-hearted, and neither was it a job for today’s armchair critics who have created professions out of criticism, without proffering practical solutions. This is part one on revolutions and revolutionaries. Next week’s insertion will be so different because it will examine the subject through 21st century lenses.
One of the crème-de-la-crème revolutionaries, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro once remarked, “A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past.” He has managed that connectivity between future and past through his regular “Reflections with Fidel Castro”.
And, Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong also said, “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”
This week as we commemorate the silver jubilee of president Samora Moises Machel’s tragic death on October 19, 1986, we realise that all these strands from Commandant Castro and Chairman Mao piece together so well, for Cde Machel was one of those rare breeds this region has produced.
When we also want to see the permanent imprints that revolutionaries make, we take a look at the current goings-on in North America and Europe.
It has been interesting that another notable revolutionary who fought on various continents Che Guevara is actually inspiring some of the off-shoots of the US protest movement – the Occupy Wall Street, which last weekend was transformed into “Occupy the world”.
At the time of writing yesterday, Greek police estimated that more than 52 000 people were demonstrating in front of the Greek parliament in Athens at the start of a two-day general strike against economic austerity
measures. AFP published a picture with a demonstrator raising a banner with Che’s image.
This week’s piece is also very personal, and attempts to let readers into one of those very rare historical moments – how Zimbabwe responded to Cde Machel’s death and why we had that peculiar reaction.
On hindsight, when Cde Machel’s plane crashed under very mysterious circumstances, I shudder to think what could have happened in this region if today’s social media was readily available. It would have been catastrophic, and this region would probably have been burnt to cinders, starting with apartheid ruled South Africa.
I was a librarian then. When the shocking news was broken, I recall the reactions: “What? No, it’s not true. Not Samora. We still have to say thank you, so how could he do that to us? Please stop playing games about death. People like Samora don’t die.”
It was difficult to fathom that the man with the huge heart; infectious laughter and unparalleled sloganeering could just die. His slogans though in Portuguese became part of our lingua franca. But, revolutionaries don’t die. Che Guevara is now proving to the capitalist ideological system that he is still as useful now, as he was in the sixties.
We all wanted it to be a bad dream, but as I listened to the then ZBC’s Radio Three’s news on the hour every hour, the truth started sinking in, and with each news bulletin, the reality about that death became more unbelievable and ridiculous.
At lunch time, together with colleagues we did a post mortem. In our psyches, we were not only on the crime scene, but also at the just-ended meeting he had attended in Lusaka, Zambia; we were also the captain of his presidential Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft that eventually crashed, not in Mozambique, but the Lebombo Mountains in Mbuzini in apartheid-ruled South Africa.
The major question everyone asked was: how did that plane end up in South Africa? Why the detour? Was this really a plane crash or someone did him in, especially the apartheid government?
I recall a white colleague who underestimated the people’s feelings and what Samora meant and represented saying matter-of-factly, “Maybe, he was going shopping in Durban.”
To him, it was more or less like, “Big deal. Afterall he is a terrorist like all these guys in Government.” He did not realise that he had struck a raw nerve.
He probably was not even bothered that Samora Moises Machel was not just the first president of Mozambique who fought a grueling liberation war against the Portuguese occupiers, but that through the assistance of Zimbabwean security forces, he was fighting an insurgent group Renamo, a creature created by Ian Smith and P W Botha.
As more information about Samora’s death continued to come in, the most amazing thing happened: it plunged this whole nation went into mourning. It was unbelievable. No directives came from higher powers, but rivers of tears poured down for Samora Machel – the president, the liberator and revolutionary because people realised the special place he occupied in an independent Zimbabwe.
Those tears also signified something – a strong bond between Samora as Mozambique and Frelimo’s leader, and the people of Zimbabwe and their leadership. Just like Tanzania’s president Julius Nyerere; Zambia’s
Kenneth Kaunda and Botswana’s Sir Seretse Khama, Samora Machel had opened his heart, his country and resources and accommodated Zimbabwe’s freedom fighters, allowing them to use his country as their base.
Today, mass graves at Nyadzonia, Chimoio, and Tembwe do not just have remains of Zimbabweans, but Mozambicans as well. As I reflected what Samora meant to me as a Zimbabwean woman, I realised that his selfless giving and vision were all not for naught.
Today, Zimbabwean women stand up to be counted as women of substance, because Samora allowed female freedom fighters to fight side-by-side with their male compatriots in his country. There was no discrimination. He saw a situation developing where the likes of Cde Teurai Ropa Nhongo could be members of the Zanla forces’ High Command. It was a stepping stone for her and others to occupy positions of
leadership in various sectors. Today, as Vice President, she (Cde Joice Mujuru) inspires many, because Samora Machel said she could by just providing Zimbabweans that space in his country.
Would I even have gone to school, and had the exposure that fertilises my mind to express myself in a free country? As early as Grade One, I wanted to be a news anchor, but those were just fantasies. Money would not have bought that desire. Nurses and teachers were role models but after independence, a new crop arose. We started to see women doing the impossible, what some women call, “shattering the glass ceiling”.
Then, I remembered Cde Lazarus Nzarayebani teaching our drama group a song in preparation for Samora’s first state visit:
Ndimi mega Samora naNyerere
Ndimi moga makaita rudo
Ndimi moga Samora naKaunda
Ndimi moga makaita rudo
Mdimi moga Samora naSeretse
Ndimi moga makaita rudo
Chorus: Kubatsira, VaMugabe!
Kubatsirawo, VaMugabewo!
As a revolutionary who was too generous, dying so tragically and being Mozambique’s first head of state and government allotted him a special place in Africa’s history. However, Machel becomes an iconic figure in the sense that he had vision: Mozambique’s independence translated into southern Africa’s liberty.
Now, 25 years on, we look back, and we also look ahead. To this writer the pedigrees like Samora Machel are no longer personalities, but institutions – rich with ideas and solutions that the now and future generations can tap into to transform Africa.
Their bravery and resilience are lessons/tools that can be used to move on and create an Africa that can compete with the rest of the world on an equal footing.
Some of us have taken to castigating them, because of our failure to see that when they fought colonialism, the template they used was not dictated to by anyone. It was home grown, with progressive friends adding value to it by giving assistance.
To Cde Machel we say, “A luta tem que continua!” (the struggle MUST continue!), and Africa will never be colonised again.
Online Reporter