As we, in the Diaspora, look at the internecine wars going on between two Zanu PF wings we are amazed to find that the party has not transformed itself to cope with two developments that have changed the nature of the struggle in British education was unique in that, requiring at least five subjects, English and mathematics being mandatory, it produced a thinking and almost a moral person.
The whole point of Shakespearean studies is to make the scholar aware of the constant conflict between man’s foibles and ambitions and the challenges presented by conscious Zimbabwe.
First, the education reforms started by Robert Mugabe (1980-1990) have produced a highly educated populace. Zimbabwe has a literacy rate and a level of education higher than that of Egypt, New Zealand and Australia.
The street vendors (especially the money changers) have been to university. Almost everybody has a General Certificate of Education (GCE). One aspect of an English education was emphasis on five subjects, English and Mathematics being mandatory.
The English syllabus was not entirely devoted to grammar, but to Shakespeare as well.
In my previous letter on the fight to the death between Mukuru (ED as his followers lovingly call him) and the war veterans who say they support Mukanya (Paramount baboon leader) I alluded to two things.
First, once the Pandora’s box is open, there is no knowing what will come out of it. The idiom refers to an uncontrollable situation.
The second issue is the advent of You Tube, emails, X (formerly Twitter) and other social media which even the US government has found to be out of control.
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At this point, I want to point out that because of almost a century of British education, the Zimbabwe population is the lost educated in Africa, even exceeding that of Egypt.
The Zimbabwe government has, in my opinion missed this point.
The apparatchiks such as former ministers Patrick Chinamasa and Chris Mutsvangwa forget that 80% of audience consists of British educated youths with Cambridge or London general education certificates (GEC).
Our rulers have forgotten that the whole point of a British education as designed by the great white missionary fathers such as Sir Garfield Todd was to create a moral being.
Shakesperean studies exemplify this target. I was reminded by listening to Sekuru Mbire, on social media that it was Marcellus, who reminded the prince of Denmark thus: “There is something rotten in the state of Denmark (read Zimbabwe).”
The second issue is that social media has overwhelmed politicians who once thought that they monopolised the world of ideas.
Similarly, despite a complete ban from public media, Donald Trump, through social media, overwhelmed the Democrats in 2024 by 5.5 million votes.
More importantly, Zanu-Pf leadership is failing to grasp that their audience is well educated and have access to international sources of information. The strategy of intimidation, false narratives and ad hominem attacks no longer wash.
Brother Chris Mutsvangwa’s attempt to “blacken” Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s name is a repeat of his denial of Joice Mujuru’s role in the liberation war.
Hamlet, like many Zimbabweans today, had been made aware at the very beginning of their journey by Marcellus who reminded them that: “There is something rotten in the state of Denmark (read Zimbabwe).”
Sekuru Mbire, a 75-year-old man on ZimLive TV illustrates the level of education now common among Zimbabweans.
Sekuru Mbire, laid out the frustrations of most Zimbabweans in three areas. The rottenness that is Zimbabwe today is all too obvious but emphasis should be placed on the closure of all avenues of remediation. “If a child asks his mother for more gravy in his plate,” he asked a rhetorical question, “is that a crime?”
Secondly, those who are enjoying the vast wealth of the country to the exclusion of others (including war veterans) do so with impunity, never mind that their wealth seems to be ill-gotten.
Sovereign wealth has benefitted foreigners, as natives see huge trucks taking away their minerals to foreign destinations.
Sekuru says that Zvikananda (compradors’-shadow entrepreneurs) drive Range Rovers while veterans wallow in poverty, favored with bicycles as recompense for their liberation sacrifices.
Kill the messenger.
The issue here is that Chinamasa is fighting a losing battle by suggesting that social media users can be monitored and punished for receiving contrary messages to those preferred by government.
Brother Chinamasa has learned nothing from the American experience. The social media has become a messenger to be reckoned with.
The US government tried everything it could to kill the messenger by closing Tik Tok. It failed dismally.
Government does not dispute the facts, nor does it seek effective remedies. In any case, the horse has left the stable according to these figures. Gambakwe registered 1.3 million viewers a day, Zim Live was registering 97 000 viewers and Kulliant registers over 80 000 viewers a day. These are huge numbers.
Even as we were preparing to go to press, Brother Hopewell Chin’ono sent me a report from London.
“I briefed the assistant secretary for Africa at the Commonwealth Office… about the blatant political persecution of Zimbabwean journalist and political prisoner Blessed Mhlanga.” (17 March)
A fool for a lawyer.
While we do not deny that Chris belongs to an elite club of lexicographers (people who study the meaning of words) his mouth is uncontrolled by his brain. A person who hires this brother as his spokesperson has a fool for a lawyer.
His attack on vice-president Constantino Chiwenga three days ago, published by ZimLive, once again proves the difficulty of controlling the narrative.
Calling Chiwenga, cruel, ignorant and an incompetent noncombatant defies the facts.
In fact, in the Nyajena campaign (1977) Chiwenga and Solomon Mujuru, with a 1 000-man force, stood their ground forcing the Rhodesians to withdraw.
Headmaster Joseph Mushuku is still alive and related this story to me.
The issues are very simple. Address the issue of unemployment, captured judiciary and indifferent display of ill-gotten wealth.
- Ken Mufuka is a Zimbabwean patriot. He writes from the US.
