Mixed emotions on Mugabe Day
Tuesday was a holiday in Zimbabwe.
It was a day to remember and honour the legacy of the late former leader, Robert Mugabe.
Celebrated as Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day, February 21 is the late leader’s birthday.
The day was formally recognised as a national holiday by the current regime, a few days after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as the country’s leader following a coup which led to Mugabe’s ‘resignation’.
The regime said the day was meant to remind the masses of the late leader’s legacy.
What legacy, one may ask, considering our poor socio-economic situation which is as a result of Mugabe’s policies.
But of course there has always been mixed feelings about the late leader’s legacy who is still hero-worshiped by some and very much loathed by others.
In other aspects Mugabe, who passed away in September 2019 at the age of 94, was a great leader and if some of his policies had been properly implemented, I am sure things would not have gone haywire.
One example is the land reform programme, a noble idea meant to benefit the black majority but badly executed.
I am one of the proud beneficiaries of this programme and very grateful to Uncle Bob but I just wish land had not been forcible taken from the white commercial farmers as this also resulted in our economy collapsing.
It is this and more that divides opinion about Mugabe as evidenced by tweets about him and the day celebrated in his honour.
“The man inherited a jewel of Africa. And he managed to turn it into a begging basket. Going to the diaspora (mainly South Africa and Botswana) used to be a question of choice. But now we have millions of Zimbabweans in diaspora and most of them are miserable,” seethed Nyaladzani Tshuma while Citizen Chipo Munemo wrote, “What a heartless human being he was. I hate that I get to be reminded of him every year.”
Gerald Maguranyanga perhaps summed it up best when he tweeted, “Robert Gabriel Mugabe, 99 years old today. A fist pumping/pulpit thumping warrior who made many quake in their boots – and worse. Loved by millions across Africa and equally reviled by many at home and across the globe. His story cannot be told in a single book. What a man!”
And while the country was commemorating Mugabe day, the late leader’s son was also trending, though for wrong reasons.
Robert Junior appeared in court on Tuesday, charged with malicious damage to property as he allegedly vandalized a friend’s property worth US$12, 000 following a misunderstanding.
