President Mugabe being welcomed home by services chiefs — (from right) Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces General Constantine Chiwenga, Major General Trust Mugoba, Air Marshal Perrance Shiri and ZRP Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
‘Some African leaders coward’
Tuesday, 21 February 2012 00:00
Sydney Kawadza Assistant News Editor
Zimbabwe Herald
PRESIDENT Mugabe has branded some African leaders cowards who are prepared to sell out their countries for financial aid and material benefits.
In an interview broadcast by ZBC last night, the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said the leaders’ actions will trigger revolts if youths discover that they are being used to serve imperialists.
He said the current crop of leaders was quite different from revolutionaries who fought for Africa’s independence.
“Not only have they become cowards, but have become sellouts of our own people. Betraying, betraying the nations of Africa.
That’s that AU thing.
“They just think of money, money, money. Material things!
“If I speak against Britain and Britain is paying part of my budget, it is providing money I need for my hospitals, where shall I get this money?
“If I talk against France and I need French money to pay soldiers, to pay my civil servants, ah, where shall I get the money?
That’s the consideration.
“You go and kneel before Sarkozy, you go and kneel before David Cameron, kneel before Obama and say yes we shall do all you want us to do.
“All these leaders, and when you are kneeling, you are making your nation kneel before these young imperialists.”
President Mugabe said Africa was going through its worst period ever.
“Those who came together to form the Organisation of African Unity vowed that Africa would be freed from imperialism and colonialism.
“And you had them like Nkurumah . . . pledging that Ghana would not regard itself as free if any part of Africa was still under the yoke of colonialism and imperialism.”
He said the AU failed to act when NATO bombed Libya in search of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
“If anything, those of our leaders, those who are supposed to represent the African Union in the (United Nations) Security Council voted with Europe against their own countries.”
He said leaders are in danger of youths turning against them when they know more about their history under colonialism.
“Youngsters who get educated and see that oh no, the parents are still living the primitive lives of the past will not stand for it.
“Those with brains, with real knowledge of what happened in the past and they will always be, of course, a few of these and they will learn the lessons.”
“I hope, in Southern Africa, I hope we do not fall into the same stupid position as some of our leaders in the West have.
“Subjecting to dictation or dictatorship from the West and that is anathema and that is going to irritate our young people.”
Cde Mugabe said independent Africa has capacity to build resistance much more than before.
“If we had been that cowardly, would we have fought? We were prepared to go to prison, to go to jail, to die for our independence . . . why should we be more afraid than we were, more afraid than our predecessors?”
Africa, President Mugabe said, should always be prepared to fight against foreign invasion.
“You must be prepared, you just must be prepared, even as small as you are to stand for your principles and say do or die here I stand.
“That is what revolutions bid us to be.
“If leaders are going to act in a sheepish way, then you are not fit to be leaders at all.”
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