Tuesday, July 18, 2017

What Nelson Mandela means to me


Today marks 99 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela. What does the life of Nelson Mandela mean to me as an African? For many people of my age-group who started primary school in Zimbabwe in the early 80s, there was a deep nationalistic atmosphere all around us. I remember hearing over the radio terms like the “The ANC of South Africa”. I also remember the days of great sorrow and mourning after the death of Samora Machel. I know that many Zimbabweans regarded Samora Machel as their president more so as many of our soldiers were in Mozambique helping during the civil war. The name Nelson Mandela I would hear it in some of the songs. In early 1990 after Nelson Mandela was released from prison he visited Zimbabwe. I had started high school in the mining town of Kwekwe. On my way to school one day I remember meeting some students already coming back home as the day had been declared a public holiday in honour of Nelson Mandela. The only other time when an unplanned holiday was declared in Zimbabwe was in 1999 on the day that Joshua Nkomo was buried at the National Heroes Acre and like tens of thousands of Zimbabweans I walked all the way from Avondale to the Heroes Acre and back to witness the burial of this giant of our liberation struggle and that was the first and last time I ever visited the shrine. In 2013 after I moved to South Africa there would be another public holiday declared on the day that Nelson Mandela was buried.
The major roads in the city center of Harare are named in honour of African leaders of our Independence struggle such as Sam Nujoma, Kenneth Kaunda, Robert Mugabe, Nkwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela Avenue is the road that passes next to the entrance of  The Parliament of Zimbabwe such an honour to one of Africa’s consistent democrat. I was blessed to have worked along Nelson Mandela Avenue from 2004 to 2006. By the time I finished High school I was already disillusioned with some of my former heroes such as Robert Mugabe and Kenneth Kaunda. At the same time my admiration of Nelson Mandela only grew. For me Nelson Mandela represented hope in all that is good about Africa and after the way he lived his life he has become a standard bearer in how governance should be conducted. He did the unthinkable in Africa, relinquishing power after only one term! Many African Presidents from Robert Mugabe, Paul Kagame, Joweri Museveni, Joseph Kabila, Paul Biya etc. want to serve more than two terms on the pretext that they still need to do more work for the people yet Nelson Mandela and his comrades were in only 5 years able to preside over a process to craft and sign into law one of the most progressive constitutions in the entire world, set up enduring institutions such as the world renowned impartial judiciary, truly independent electoral commission, fiercely independent press, independent central bank, proper devolution of state power all the way to local government etc.
Unlike the rest of Africa, Nelson Mandela and his comrades made sure that the president would not have immunity and this is very important. Future generations will come to learn that even as a sitting president Nelson Mandela would go and attend a court session yet most African Presidents appear to be above the law. The reality in Africa just by looking immediately north of Limpopo river and also recently the disturbing trends north of Zambezi river where a state of emergency was recklessly declared. Surely it is not a sign of democracy where a leader of the opposition spends months in jail on a charge that he obstructed a motorcade of the president? Our rulers have actually become more ruthless than the colonial rulers. It seems our rulers have copied everything that colonial rulers did and they even give out harsher punishment. Right now being sentenced to prison in Zimbabwe even for a few months has now become a death sentence as there is no care for inmates yet the colonial masters treated these rulers better than the conditions they subject their citizen to. On 31 March 2016 I was stunned when I sat glued to the television watching the live judgement by the Chief Justice of South Africa when the court unanimously delivered a stern rebuke to the President for his failure to uphold the constitution of the Republic. As a Zimbabwean I could not believe this and I kept on saying,'Where else in Africa can a judge say this about a sitting president and be free the next day?' Who said that Africa should always be a follower? Through the actions of Mr. Mandela and his comrades, South Africa was ahead of even the old democracies in abolishing the death penalty and also granting the right to marry to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation.
The term talk is cheap is very true, look at the way that Mr. Mandela lived his life. Mr. Mandela identified with the down trodden hence he was able to voice out against the policies of his successor Mr. Thabo Mbeki when it came to people living with HIV. Mr. Mandela did not shy away from speaking out against the excesses of Robert Mugabe’s government when other leaders were willing to bury their heads in the sand. When Mr. Mandela was sick he was treated here in Sunnyside, Pretoria and not in Europe. In Nigeria it seems they voted-in a president so that he could access state coffers and spend months in London getting treatment and the same in Zimbabwe it is estimated that the president according to figures from national treasury has spent over $50 million dollars in a year traveling aboard mainly to get treatment in the Far East for himself, his wife and the birth of his grandson. Yet in Zimbabwe hospitals there is shortages of even pain killers and tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have to skip borders to get proper medical care in neighbouring countries.

In a world where immigration has become a polarising issue for which politicians can capitalise on to win an election, Mr Mandela married Ms Garcia Machel from Mozambique. Also in a world where there is so much polarisation Nelson Mandela could count among his friends people like Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro how many among us can say that about the diversity of our friends? Mr Mandela believed so much in the goodness of humankind as demonstrated by this quote in his autobiography Long walk to freedom ‘No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love come more naturally to the human heart that its opposite. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished”. All of us across different religions, races, tribes, abilities and disabilities, sexualities, social classes, nationalities etc. We should shun prejudice and embrace each other as loving one another is more natural than trying to feel superior over another person.
Nelson Mandela had words of wisdom when he talked about the importance of forgiveness when he said “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” Many people have a lot of hurtful things done to them in the past and by continuing to hold on to the grudges this also hinders their freedom and progress, these words holds a deep personal significance to me and I will try to live by them and free myself from any past mishaps that wants to keep on holding me down as a prisoner. For leaders in any field the way he started negotiations with the National Party also have very important lessons where he said,"there are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way."
Over the last few years South Africa has been going through some self-inflicted challenges due to the careless actions of the leaders but thanks to the efforts of Nelson Mandela and his comrades who laid a good foundation for democracy, this country will not become another failed African country. Within the next 5 months we might see a change of leadership at the top of government and the country starting to take another direction and if not in the next 24 month there will be definitely be change and whoever takes over will inherit one of the most established democracies in Africa. Nelson Mandela was right on this inauguration speech when he said,” Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world” Nelson Mandela was not perfect but he did his part and it is up to the current generation to do their part to take their community, country, continent and world forward and solve the current problems. We all have responsibilities, Nelson Mandela and his comrades did their part, remember it was the average South African voter who voted twice for Jacob Zuma with all they knew about him and luckily after the second national election he did not get the two thirds majority necessary to amend the constitution. The same way given the immense challenges that this planet is facing, voters in America decided to put a toddler in the White house and we are all having to deal with the consequences.
I end with these words from President Barack Obama on the death of Nelson Mandela when said "He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages”. Indeed Nelson Mandela is one of the most consequential leaders of all times, in my opinion he is in the same mold like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa etc.
Thank you Nelson Mandela for leading by example both in words and in deed. Because of you, the world now knows that Africa is not a dark and hopeless continent. Because of leaders like Mandela we now have hope and this century now belongs to Africa’s youth to take this amazing continent forward.
Rest in Peace our hero
Zorora murugare gamba redu
Ulale ngokuthula qhawe lamaqhawe
Here is my favourite article about Nelson Mandela that I came across 9 years ago and I have read it a dozen times and it still brings tears to my eyes.















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