Zimbabwe is not a pariah state

Benny Tsododo
The furore surrounding the visit to Zimbabwe by Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams was rather puerile and a sign of extreme desperation on the part of those seeking to isolate Zimbabwe from the global stage.
The hullabaloo was triggered by a Canadian newspaper that carried a story suggesting that the visit by Adams would “give legitimacy” to President Robert Mugabe.

As expected, the proposition gained support from the pro-sanctions lobbyists, who took the opportunity to vilify Zimbabwe.
What is disappointing though is that this laughable suggestion drew tacit support from some Zimbabweans in the civil society and private media community.

A leader of the pro-sanctions lobby, Dewa Mavhinga, unreservedly buttressed the frivolous assertions saying, “Certainly it (Adam’s visit) is improper considering the timing and possibility that it could send a wrong message about the situation in Zimbabwe following the flawed elections.”

One wonders which “flawed elections” Mavhinga is talking about since the 2013 elections were roundly passed as free and fair by all reputable international organisations that observed them.

Another Zimbabwean and a columnist with a private newspaper, Vince Musewe, also submitted that the elections were rigged.
He was quoted saying: “He (Bryan Adams) is creating a false comfort zone. It’s inappropriate, and it’s not going to help. He could have contributed to the transformation by refusing to perform. High-profile people should refuse to go to African countries where ordinary people are fighting their rulers.”

Coming from the mouths of sons of Zimbabwe, such acerbic and misleading remarks are shocking.
It is unfathomable how anyone could wish ill to his or her country of birth no matter the gravity of their imagined disgruntlement.

Such thinking is obviously informed by a deep conviction that the country rightfully deserved to be slapped with sanctions and thus should be boycotted by all countries and personalities.

The rationale is unquestionably childish and predominant at children’s play centres. Innocent children sometimes believe that no one should play with their supposedly errant friends.

Yes, an errant friend should be alienated and boycotted. So goes the understanding in the children’s world.
So Bryan Adams should have boycotted the Western-sanctioned Zimbabwe.

What a convoluted consideration of issues! Truly, some people need to have their civil society and private media heads meticulously examined.

Whatever their gripe with President Mugabe, these Zimbabweans are plainly hired guns of the West trying to ingratiate themselves with the warped machinations of the cash-dripping Canada that has imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Canada also boycotted the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Canada is also home to a neo-imperial advocacy group, Partnership Africa Canada. This group was vocal in calling for the blacklisting of Marange diamonds in 2012.

It vainly cooked up negative reports about the alleged human rights abuses in Chiadzwa diamond fields.
This was done with the hope of arm-twisting the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme into denying Zimbabwean diamond mining companies the licence to legally trade its diamonds on the world market.

With this mentality, it is not surprising that Canada finds Bryan Adam’s visit unpalatable. But to think that someone could be agreeable to unsound claims that Bryan Adams’ visit to Zimbabwe could legitimise President Robert Mugabe, would be taking imaginations to schizophrenic levels.

Who said that Western artistes could endorse or legitimise African leaders? On what grounds could an artiste legitimise an African leader?
Such thinking is ludicrous and should be consigned to the confines of mental institutions. President Mugabe does not need anyone’s endorsement or legitimisation as he can only receive such legitimacy from the Zimbabwean electorate.

He was recently handed a fresh and valid electoral mandate after he delivered an overwhelming defeat to his political opponents.
Zimbabwe does not need Canada or their artistes to legitimise its leaders.

This brings in another intriguing comment by Yvonne Chaka Chaka from South Africa. The once revered musician appears to be trapped in the warped belief that she can decide how long our leaders can stay in power.

After her dreary new album flopped, she thought of reviving her evanescing career by piggybacking the neo-imperial “Mugabe-must-go” crusade.

She has obviously seen people being financially rewarded and globally elevated by the West for vilifying President Mugabe. Quite a number have received Legions of Honour, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, while others received awards named after some shadowy diehard colonialists.

With this in mind and considering her inconsequential UN ambassadorial role, Chaka Chaka thought she could gain commercial mileage by insulting our President.

Under this illusion, Chaka Chaka disrespectfully said: “As much as I love Mugabe I did not add him in the song because I think he has overstayed his welcome. If he had not stayed that long, then I would have added him because in a democracy he was that ‘big brother’ who changed with time.” Surely, who is Chaka Chaka to tell us that President Mugabe has overstayed in power?

Chaka Chaka is blatantly undermining our electoral choice as Zimbabweans. President Mugabe did not choose to remain in power but was periodically voted back into power because he still has to complete the pan-African revolution he started in Zimbabwe.
He is the repository of the black empowerment crusade currently underway in Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe’s stay in power has been endorsed by a majority of Zimbabweans and has nothing to do with Chaka Chaka’s spiteful opinions. She must concentrate on reviving her dramatically flopping career and cease from poking her politically tainted nose into the internal political matters of Zimbabwe.

Contrary to brazen lies by the boycott-seeking Western countries that Zimbabwe is an unsafe destination, the world now knows that Zimbabwe is not only a rewarding arts destination but also a safe tourism citadel.