By Stephen Sarkozy Chuma

Disturbing reports of ZANU PF hired sycophants who harassed Chief Ndiweni for standing for his people’s welfare should be condemned by all right thinking Zimbabweans.

The attack on the people’s chief is not only barbaric but a clear attempt by the ZANU PF government to emasculate and strip traditional leaders of their dignity and decorum.

Our history is flooded by a myriad of unpleasant cases whereby traditional leaders like chiefs and headmen were abused, tortured and stripped of humanity for merely standing on behalf of their suffering people.

In the past, heinous attacks on traditional leaders was usually perpetrated by colonialists who lacked understanding of the role of chiefs and the social fabric of our African society.

Chiefs like Mashonganyika, Mashayamombe and Tangwena were in the past subjected to horrendous torture and murder for standing on behalf of their people.

One of the reasons why our people waged the liberation struggle was to restore the dignity of our people and social fabric which usually revolves around traditional leaders like chiefs.

It is saddening that a party which claims to be proponents of the liberation struggle this time around is at the centre of harassment of our African traditional leaders.

Could it be that ZANU PF is trapped in the confines of the vicious cycle?

Or maybe the former liberation party is now suffering from the Fanonian case of Black Skin, White Mask?

For them to be, is to be like them!

They seem to have learnt everything from the colonialists and forgot nothing!

Just like as Ian Smith’s regime stripped the revolutionary Chief Tangwena of his rights and dignity, Emmerson Mnangagwa’s military regime is pulling a Smith on the brave Chief Ndiweni.

The more things change is the more they are remaining the same.

One of the revolutionary prophets, Mahatma Gandhi once said that the darkest hour is near dawn.

It was during our last darkest hour in the late 1970s that one of our traditional leaders, Chief Tangwena was humiliated and subjected to torture but what followed was a new dawn in 1980.

Chief Ndiweni is the Tangwena of our generation and the hour is now!

Stephen Sarkozy Chuma
MDC Youth Assembly National Secretary for Information and Publicity Candidate