The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has triggered an outpouring of public sympathy from all corners of the world. The public sympathy from Africa has not gone down well with some people.
“You will never understand Africans!” wrote Tracy Zille in one widely circulated WhatsApp message. “They are busy mourning an old woman who caused their nations great pain. Is this not a Queen of a country that colonized Africa and caused poverty in your land?”
How patronising! Who are you to presume to instruct a whole continent of 54 countries and over 1.2 billion people on whom they should love and whom they should hate!
Not so many moons ago, was America not a British colony. History tells us the two fought a bitter war of independence, a story repeated countless times throughout human history. Did the British and the Americans not bury the proverbial hatchet are the best of friends to the mutual benefit of the two nations?
Countries like Zimbabwe had the great misfortune of having tyrants like the late Robert Mugabe. It is no exaggeration to, after our independence, Mugabe tried to be more British than the British in everything he said and did. He had an inferiority complex and was overcompensating for it. The now late Queen Elizabeth invited him to stay in Buckingham Palace and even knighted the tyrant. Needless to say, he was chaffed to bits.
The friendly relationship between Zimbabwe and UK and the rest of the Western nation turned sour the latter refused to bankroll Zanu PF’s reckless spending and dared to criticize the regime for its failure to uphold human rights including failure to hold free, fair and credible elections.
Mugabe hit back and accused the British of sponsoring the country’s opposition for the purpose of regime change and recolonizing Zimbabwe. As Zimbabwe’s economy sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss as a result of Zanu PF gross mismanagement and rampant corruption has resorted more and more dictatorial measures to deny the people the free vote in order to retain power. And to hide his tyrannical activities, his anti-west rhetoric has gone into overdrive.
“Zimbabwe will never again be a British colony!” ranted Mugabe with the dramatic gestures of the boxer who has just delivered the knock punch! All shadow boxing because the British have never shown any intention of recolonizing Zimbabwe or any of her former colonies!
The iron is whilst Mugabe has made a big song and dance of stopping the British recolonising Zimbabwe, he has all but sold Zimbabwe to the Chinese for a song.
Last month Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, revealed that Zimbabwe sold platinum ore with US$52 billion to China to secure a loan worth US$ 200 million. The loan was used to buy farming equipment and it is the ruling elite who got the seized former white owned farms who benefited from the loan and, as usual, never paid back the loan.
It is not a secret that the Chinese are heavily involved in the looting of diamonds in Marange and Chiadzwa and in many other areas. Zimbabwe got rid of one colonial master only to have another and in replacing the British with the Chinese we jumped from the frying pan into the fire!
China does not care that Zanu PF leaders are corrupt and are responsible for the country’s economic ruins. Indeed, the Chinese are one of the foreign nations benefiting from the corruption and the Chinese are doing everything in their power to help Zanu rig the elections and stay in power.
The Mnangagwa regime has toned down the anti-west rhetoric in the hope the west will bankroll Zimbabwe’s economic recovery. The west has continued to demand democratic reforms as the condition for re-engagement.
Many Zimbabweans are joining the British people, the Commonwealth and many others across the world in celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s extraordinary life, mourning the death and in wishing her eternal peace. And long live King Charles III.
It would be very foolish for Zimbabweans to let the ranting a corrupt, tyrannical and vote rigging Zanu PF regime define who we are, especially when the “all weather” Chinese friends the regime has fostered on us are busy robbing the nation blind as we speak.