Inside Zimbabwe President Mugabe's Memory Bank

Republic of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe arriving for the funeral of patriot Kumbirai Kangai in Harare. The president reflected on the struggle for national liberation., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Inside President Mugabe’s memory bank

Sunday, 08 September 2013 00:00
Zimbabwe Sunday Mail

Last week, we published the first part of President Mugabe’s speech at the burial of Cde Kumbirai Kangai at the National Heroes’ Acre which was well received by many readers both in and outside the country.

Below we publish the last part of President Mugabe’s speech.

In 1977, we had to sit and now organise ourselves. We had new people who had come into Mozambique from prison.

We had gotten rid of the Zipa group and were now going to run the entire affair, which included the struggle and the political work.

It was then we decided to sit and then organise ourselves in 1977.

Then it was decided that I should act as President. We gave Kangai transport nelogistics; welfare work yema refugees and so on and so forth.

He was a hard worker, Kangai. Very straight-forward, very correct, very respectful also and the years we spent together in Mozambique were years I got to know him better.

When he came back home and this was not to be after Geneva; it was to be after the Anglo-American proposals, which lasted another two years and yet another Lancaster House Conference which was in 1979 when then we had the new constitution worked out at Lancaster and we had to form a Government so that as a party we could be in Government.

And we said to ourselves: “Win or lose, we must be together with Zapu” and that is how then we formed our Government.

Kangai, Minister of Labour, for a start. So, as time went on now in a new situation, friendships, new friends found their way. We established new relations.

We interacted with the masses and we wanted, at each workplace, to have workers’ committees.

Raive basa iroro raisungirwa kuitwa naKangai in conjunction with our commissar kuparty. And we established quite a number of these workers’ groups, workers’ committees, and they needed help in building relations between the working group and management.

And we wanted the management to recognise them.

But what has not been said and must be said is that the elections were held in 1980 (and) were held in circumstances in which the environment was very ugly for the nationalists.

We had bombs planted at various places and kwaigara vanaana Kangai, there was an attack at night.

Iye Kangai anoti takatoita pronto: to lie down on your belly when grenades were thrown into the house; into the room where he was.

But all the same, though, as they took those positions, some shrapnel went into his eyes and he had to remain in hospital for quite a long time.

He did not, therefore, celebrate the coming of Independence in the way we did because he was not well. Ndavana Smith ava; the British settler.

They talk of peaceful environment now and they are loud. They are very loud in criticising our election, which was a credible election, with no disturbance at all in the environment. The British themselves never have an election of this nature. Kunomboita zvibhakera vachirovana nezvibhakera mumastreets. Kune dzimwe nzvimbo mapurisa kwaanokandirwa maeggs and so on.

But in our elections, it was absolutely quiet and people voted in a very calm atmosphere. But, alas! This one held in 1980 was terrible. Takapotswa nemabomb. Ikozvino mukaenda kumba kwataigara kuMount Pleasant, durawall iriko ikoko ine maspots, mamarks emapurisa anga ari desperate. You know young white police vaifamba husiku and so on.

I remember, once, we had my mother. Pakaputitswa bhomba, vakabvunza kuti, “Chii?” Ndakabva ndavanyepera kuti vanhu varikufarira Independence. I know she was very suspicious. So, there it is.

All the same, we won the election.

We had 80 seats to fight for and the British had secured 20 seats for their kith and kin zvichinzi 20 out of a hundred were for whites and whites only. Eighty could be fought for by anyone, black or white.

So, we fought for 80. Zanu got 57, Zapu got 20. We put (them) together and our seats came up to 77.

Muzorewa had three. Akanga apihwawo three helicopters ka neSouth Africa. Saka each helicopter for one seat.

Ndiye aitokampeina in style. We had to move in rugged roads in rough cars and dangerous circumstances. But we dared it all the same. And we won. VaKangai also was Minister of Lands at one time and that was the time we had the Land Acquisition Act in motion.

He had to go “pole pole” for a start: willing seller, willing buyer, willing buyer, willing seller. We couldn’t force under the Lancaster House Constitution. We couldn’t force the farmers to sell their land, it was said.

NaVaNkomo we had objected to this vachiti, “Aah, the Frontline States yakati don’t delay your Independence. Zvimwe izvi munozo correcta moga.”

So takati okay.

But that clause was to last for 10 years. We couldn’t change it for 10 years. It was entrenched for 10 years. Willing buyer, willing seller.

So, you would go to one farmer, yes, he says, I can sell you. The next one says, “No! I still want my farm” and see, you couldn’t get land with portions adjacent to each other big enough and wide enough to enable you to settle many people. That was not good for our resettlement programme.

We had to have farms adjacent to each other: two, three farms adjacent to each other. Anyway, we struggled on, managing to settle a few.

After 10 years, we changed the law and now it was no longer willing buyer, willing seller. It was acquiring land in the national interest.

The Government said we wanted land in the national interest. It had to be taken. So, the farmer couldn’t say no and this continued on.

But at one stage, and I think it was the time Kangai was still Minister of Lands, the UK government said it had done enough and Margaret Thatcher was not willing to give more money and we said if they do not want to give us money we had to forcibly take the land.

But we said let us negotiate before we take the land, let’s negotiate.

Margaret Thatcher was replaced as leader of the Conservative Party by John Major and we decided then to ask Major, when we had the Commonwealth meeting here, November 1991.

It was Major who was Prime Minister and I talked to him about this land issue and the need for the British government to continue to finance the programme.

He said he was going to look into it. He said was he was going to put together a six-man committee to look into it. John Major was very good. That team came from London.

It talked to our farmers, talked to European farmers, talked to our people and other stakeholders and went back and wrote a report.

When the report was ready, Major then said: “Can you send your own men to look at my own report and see whether it can be improved and I said, “Fine.”

I then appointed three. I think they were Cde Kangai, Cde John Nkomo and Cde Murerwa — Finance, Labour, Lands. So, they went.

Actually, it was when I took them to London, I flew them there. It was when we went via Egypt. At that time, our elder VaNkomo had fallen ill. He had been to Cape Town and things had not gone well.

So, we wanted to send him to Egypt because Egypt has a good military hospital there. So, we had him on board.

As we landed in Cairo, we left him there and then we went to London and deposited these three in London to look at the report that Major had now compiled after his men had been here. In the meantime, we went to attend some conference, probably OAU at the time, in the Cameroons, and we were to host it later here.

They came back, but they did not come back with the report. They came back with the views they had of the report and the three of them — Kangai, Murerwa and the late John Nkomo — reported that this report, which came out of investigations by Major’s six people, who came here, was very good. It was a good report. That is all they said. It was a good report.

Ndichada kunzwa VaMurerwa kuti: “Ko, sei musina kupihwa copy yacho?”

They took it for granted that it was going to be implemented soon, but, alas, it did not find time to be sent to us or to be implemented.

Before it was implemented, Major lost elections in Britain and in came this awkward creature —Blair.

Ndopakafira sarungano ipapapa.

He wanted to reverse everything. I met him in Edinburgh at the Commonwealth meeting and said, “What are you doing about the land issue? To the Conservative Party, concerned with the government, made an investigation and told us that they could continue to support the land reform programme.”

He said, “No. I have a team in my office. We will report to you in due course.”

All we got was just that letter from Claire Short; that woman, who bragged that she was Irish by birth and that Ireland was once a colony and since it was once a colony of Britain when it got
independence, Great Britain had no further obligation for it.

“So, we are in the same situation. You were once a colony. You are no longer a colony and we cannot support your programme.”

The answer was, “No. Isusu tongokuitai support poverty alleviation chete and that programme does not fit into this poverty alleviation one.”

Hanzi do not talk to us about colonial obligation. There is no such thing known as colonial obligation anymore. That dismissive . . . I said, “Is this your final word?” They did not reply.

Then our people were becoming impatient and soon, mawar veterans went on the rampage and started acquiring land. “Vasungei! Vasungei!” And there was that cry.

But I said, “Tinovasungirei? MaBritish akauya akabaka. Ndovanoda kutanga kusungwa. What they are doing is their demonstration. We will follow up by examining each piece of land they occupy, whether it is suitable for our land acquisition programme.

“It is then only the land would be acquired if we desire it to come into the resettlement area.”

Vamwe vakabva vati, “Kana ava vasina kusungwa, nesu tese tese.”

All mazibambela. They became so many. Umazibambela munomuziva? Anozvitorera pachiNdebele.

Ehe, so, everywhere now, nemaleaders ese vatopindawo vachiti apa ndepangu, apa ndepangu, apa ndepangu, baba iwe kani!

Tikati, “Ko, nhai Kangai, zvinoitwa sei?”

Well, we followed up anyway to the best of our ability to legitimise, legalise, to what needed to be legalised, and, where we did not, say give offer letters and that is the story.

He performed well in Government. He performed well also as our revolutionary fighter.

He trained all these people vatakawana variko vanaanaRugare Gumbo. They had to be trained, vese to use the gun. But when we started in 1977, we then had mapositions iwayo and Kangai was to be the minister of transport, to travel abroad, find guns and logistics, find cars.

I want us to thank, and he would have welcomed that message actually, to thank the Swedes. They had a programme each year, which helped us a lot. They enabled us to look after our refugees. They voted a sum of money, which was divided in 50:50 between Zapu and Zanu.

They said, “If you want to buy matrucks or vehicles for your other business that is not our matter. Isu hatinei nazvo izvo. We are giving you all this for your refugees, but how you decide to use the gift is up to you.”

And that is how we looked at ourselves. That is how we also managed to get the vehicles that we used. But no, we did not buy guns.

We had China that supplied us with guns every year. I went to China in 1977. I went with Tongogara and I think Mai Mujuru was with us there on that trip. In 1977, ’78, ’79 and we had enough supplies to enable us to equip upward of some 5 000 people with small arms, mainly lightweight, then later, heavyweight.

Then, when the commander said, no, now we require that we have some weaponry of sorts, mixed of heavy with light, takaenda kunaTito muna 1978, ’79, just before Lancaster House. I was in Yugoslavia. I was in Brijuni.

That is where the name of those Brijuni suits and shirts comes from; kumuganhu neItaly. That is where Tito was, but I was now a bit nervous. He wanted to attend the Non-Aligned summit, which was going to be in Havana.

And he said, “No, we want to go and correct that” because they were trying to bring the Soviet Union into the Non-Aligned summit as a friend. We have the Soviet Union on one side and America and the West on the other. That’s why we were non-aligned.

So, he attended and we, Nkomo and I, went to Havana. We left Havana for Lancaster House in October, early October, and the meeting was still going on. And I spoke to Tito when he was in Bryony and this was about September 1979 and Tito said, yes, they were going to arrange and I think Yugoslavia did.

We wanted now to take the struggle into peri-urban areas and 1979 was going to be quite a rough, rough time for the urban areas. And then they had also one African country which was prepared to help us with heavy weaponry. I won’t mention it.

There it was and it all went through Kangai. So, look at the road he walked. I have given lots of flesh to it so you can appreciate akafamba rwendo rwehondo rusina mutsauko and then in Government with us all the time. Mabhomba aya, he nearly went blind because of a hand grenade and the shrapnel. Fortunately wakarapika.

Of course, he did get ill not long ago. I was worried that he was getting unwell, but he recovered from that stroke, only for us to hear on that fateful Wednesday morning that he was gone. Well, Baba Mukonori vatipa mufananidzo uyu wevaviri vaiva naJesu pamuchinjikwa. Ndozvatinoitwa imi woye.

Paiva nevamwe vaitoshora struggle and kunotova nevamwe vanototi, “Chiiko chirikuitwa ipapa?”

Zvino isu, kana uri muchinjikwa, pana vanaVaKangai, tine . . . kune vamwewo baba vanoti, “Aah, dai taiswawo paHeroes’ Acre.”

Havaneyi nekuti tine mhosva dzatakapara. Vanotsigira nyika dzinoda kuramba dzakatigara matumba, dzine masanctions ari kutambudza vanhu vedu, vachienda vachikumbira masanctions, asi vanoti kana vafirwa vanoda vanhu vavo kuti vauyewo paHeroes’ Acre.

Uyo wakati, “Aah iwe, pamuromo pako hapana kunaka apo. Munhu watinaye uyu haana mhosva yaakapara. Taitonge tichiteerera kwaari. Zvaari mwana waMwari sekutaura kwake kuti mangwana kana tafa, tafira pamuchinjikwa, tezenge tonunurwawo naye kwaanenge ari.”

Ehe, chimwe ichi chakaita shunguka, chikati, “Haa, kwete. Zvisunungure.” Ndozvatiri kuitwa isu naanaTsvangirai, kunzi, “Hezvo, muchazviona zvamuri kutanda varungu.”

Hazvina kuenzana neuyu wekumuchinjikwa wekuti, “Aah, iwe, zvisunungure tione”?

Ndiko kwavarika, kudivi iroro uku kudivi ravo. Saka kune vamwe vedu vedivi irorowo, vanoramba zvido zvevanhu; vanoramba kuti zvatirikuita izvi zvekuti vanhu vasununguke; zvatirikuita izvi kuti vanhu pazvido zvavo, pamatongerwe enyika vanosungirwa kupembedzwa, kuva ndivo vanopfumiswa nehupfumi wenyika kwete kuti huve hupfumi wevari muhurumende.

Aiwa, varimuhurumende vatumwa. Varikunzi, “Titungamirirei tive nezvinangwa zvekushandira nyika yedu. Zvinotipa hupfumu pahuzhinji wedu isu vanhu.”

Kana pasina vatungamiri vanonzwa izvozvo, zvinohatisi vatungamiri ka. Ko iyo hondo takaenda tichiti toda kuzvisunungura isu varwi vacho chete?

Taiti toda kusunungura vazhinji, vave nerusununguko, vave nenyika yavo, vave nevhu ravo. Naizvozvo, ichiri hondo iyoyi, hupfumi hunobva pasi huve hwavo, huvapundutse.

Mabasa . . . itai mabasa, vana. Maskills enyu — vamwe vanova maengineer, zvakasiyana siyana. Ruzhinji rwevanhu, dzidzo yevana. Zvese zvinobva kuupfumi ihwohwo huchitsigira hutano hwavo, zvirwerwe zvavo kuzvipatara. Kwete kuti vave vanotambudzika. Kochiuya nyaya yemari kuti: aah zvipatara zvino bhadarisa vanhu.

Hurwereka hunotora munhu. Dzimwe nguva munhu anogara muchipatara masvondo nemasvondo. Haana mari yekubhadara. Tomuti bhadara chete? Kana asina kubhadara okandwa kunze? Aiwa!

Haingave hurumende yevanhu yakadaro! Hatidi! Ngakuveyi nemubhadaro unorerutsa. Hongu, hatingati munhu angabva awuya maoko-oko zvawo. Kana fundo yevana . . . inga takamboita zviye kuti kuprimary regerai vafunde pachena.

Ikozvino wani tirikubva munyatwa. Hatingade kubhadharisa vanhu zvinotyora musana. Asi ka, tinosungirwa kuti titange taita mabasa acho okuvaka hupfumi hwacho, zviripasi zvibude torega kuita ruchiva rwekuti apa pandawana apa ndepangu. Goridhe kana rawanikwa mune imwe province, province iye yoti, “Aiwa, iri nderedu.”

Ko madiamonds akazowanikwa mune rimwe futi province moti ndeedu. Aiwa, zvatakabvuma kuti zviitwe ndezvekuti nzvimbo iyoyo inocherwa inenge yasakadzwa ka, asi ngavayamurikewo ipapo. Asi hupfumi hwese huri pasi ndehwenyika.

Kunoita dzimwe nzvimbo dzisina. Vamwe hwavo hungava ivhu chete; vamwe vangave vanorima sugar chete. Zvino, toti, zvavanorima sugar, vanongonakirwa nayo nokuti ndeyavo voga? Masweet; vana voshaya masweets nokuti muri kurambirawo ghoridhe nengoda? Ava votiwo sugar yedu nemasweets wo tinoramba nawo tiwone kuti tea munoiyisa salt here.

Aiwa, hatidaro. Ndezvedu tose. Ndozvatinoda, ndozvakarwira Kangai. Ndakamuwona semunhu asiri mbavha; munhu anoshuwira kuti vamwe vapundutswe; munhu akazvipira iye kuti atambudzike, iye achitambudzikira vamwe; munhu anoda ruzivo kuti rwuyende kuvamwe. Nyika yose, anoda kuti vanhu vabatane, varambe vari pamwechete.

Anoda kuchengetedza tsika. Anokudza madzishe. Ndakazviwona zvese izvi maari.

Handina kumbowona zuva rimwechete munhauro dzedu dzePolitburo achiti shoko iri ririkurambwa nevamwe oti, “Aah, ndimi anani?”

Kana kuti apa pasarudzwa munhu uyu, “Ko, ini ndasiirweyi?”

Aiwa, iye aiti chandapihwa ichocho, ndichocho. Ndomwana wazvarwa kechipiri nemusangano weZanu-PF. Wakazvarwa naamai nababa, hongu. Asi, dzidzo yekuvakwa nemusangano, kuzvarwa patsva, ova nehunhu, asi hunhu hwako, orega kukangwana kuti kana wava mutungamiri iva netsika kwete kuva chidhakwa.

Pane varipo vanodzadzarika nedoro, asi mutungamiri. Kwete. Rega kudaro kana uri chidhakwa.

Unganwa kumba kwako wozvivharira ikoko. Asi ikoko nhamo yava yemudzimai wako. Zvidukupise.
VaKangai, ava, vanga vasingarove chipfuva vachiti, “Ndiri Samaita.”

Hongu, hapana munhu watingati ariperfect, asi paleadership vanga vachiedza zvavanokwanisa.

Nevavayishanda navo vese vanga vachivateerera, vachipana mazano anobva kwavari. That is what good leadership does.

Father Mukonori, mawuya kuzotibatsira nemunamato wezvemweya, nebasa ravakaita iri. Vangave vakaita zvitadzo apo neapo. Asi ini ndinofunga kuti Mwari anopundutsa vanenge vazvipira kudaro.

Takaudzwazve muzvinyorwa zvevapostori. Paul (kuma) Corinthians akati, “Hapana zvinangwa zvese zvinonzi the virtues zvinokunda chinangwa checharity, love for others.”

It is not love chete kuti ndinoda vanhu vangu. Kuratidza rudo rwako, kubatsira vemhuri, varikunze kwemhuri vanotambudzika. Kuzvipira iwe, and sacrifice. Kuti chinowuya ngachiwuye, asi handidi kuti vanhu vangu vasasununguke.

Can there be any better love than that love to love others? Ndozvatinodzidziswa. Let us be charitable. Let us develop this love. It means we will be united, tiine chido chakadaro tichidanana takadaro. We will become peaceful.

Kana vatinoshora ava . . . ehe, hatingarege kutuka kuti ehe, zvitototo, zvitahuna. Kuti vanwe zve. Asi hatingavanyime sadza kana vachitambudzika. Hatiti, “Nokuti hamutsigire musangano wedu hatikupeyi rubatsiro irworwo; kuti kudya kwatinohodha hakuwuye kwamuri.”

Kwete. Munhu wese weZimbabwe anosungirwa kuwana rubatsiro irworwo. Vana vake vanodzidziswa zvimwechetezvo. Varwere vanorapwa. Asi pane kune kumwe kwatinoti kunoenda vakaita poshi, piri, tatu. Kana tadarowoka, ndozvatinenge tatara. Kuno kowuyawo vakadaro. Tinenge tisingati ava vovigwawo nemutowo wavanenge vada ivo, ayehwa.

Tinenge tichiti ndiwo mutowo wekuti vanovigwa (nawo) vanenge vateerera gwara iri reZanu-PF rekuzvipira.

Saka izvi zvekuti vanoramba vachitinetsa vachiti nesuwo tinoda kuiswa ikoko . . . aiwa, hatidi kuramba tichizvinzwa.

Ndakavati, “Inga zvuru zvakawanda. Majuru akatipa zvuru zvakawanda. Ngavasarudze ka kwavanoda.

Isu ka takatsvaga pano, tikabhadhara mari, tikabva tapatsvinda. Mari takatobhadhara tatsvindisa nzvimbo yedu zvakanaka kuti ndopemagamba edu.

Ndopamunoti imiwo, nezvitototo zvenyu, moda kuiswawo pano. Kwete! Watirikuisa pano mutsvene pakuwona kwedu.

Igamba remagamba. Saka tinoti, “Kangai, wakatishungurudza, asi wakashanda basa rako zvakanaka. Kubvawangodonha usinayambiro? Zvakangokubata ndofunga. Hazvina kukuwanisa nguva yekutaura.

“Tinoti, go well, son of the soil.
“Go well, Cde at arms.
“May God grant you eternal peace.
“Tatenda.”