As long as the struggle is about the preservation of one man, then Zimbabwe will never be free!

Whenever I write something urging ordinary Zimbabweans to be more assertive and brave in demanding their rights, there is usually one excuse standing out above others.

If the citizenry embarks in any mass action against the oppressive, kleptomaniac, and corrupt regime, then the leader of the main opposition CCC party Nelson Chamisa will be arrested.

In fact, proponents of this view believe that the ZANU PF government is itching for Zimbabweans to become so frustrated and enraged such that they go onto the streets to protest.

That way, the President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa administration will justify a harsh brutal crackdown on the opposition, with the ultimate goal of arresting and incarceration Chamisa.

In so doing, the regime would have finally succeeded in taking Chamisa out of the game, so to speak – thereby removing Mnangagwa’s greatest headache and rendering the CCC virtually ineffective.

Furthermore, the brutal bloodthirsty government would love to do what it knows best: murder, in cold blood, any who dare challenge it – as already happened in August 2018 and January 2019.

There may be some sound logic to that line of thinking.

However, one unmissable problem immediately stands out.

First of all, as in all my previous writings, I have always advised Zimbabweans to begin with mass action that is non-confrontational – whereby no one’s life is placed in any grave danger.

I have suggested stayaways – where people, especially in urban opposition strongholds, simply stay in their homes for an agreed length of time – as a way of piling pressure on the regime to heed our demands for justice.

In grinding the economy to a standstill for that particular period, the message will be loud and clear to both the Mnangagwa administration and international community that Zimbabweans are fed up and they mean business.

My question in this case is always: in what way will people’s lives be in danger during a stayaway?

Further to that, how is that going to get Chamisa arrested and jailed – since he would not have called for any action that is violent?

In fact, peaceful demonstrations are protected under the country’s Constitution.

Be that as it may, let us say Chamisa is arrested – as we are dealing with a regime that has no qualms jailing opponents on all manner of spurious charges – with Job Sikhala easily coming to mind.

So what?

Is the Zimbabwe opposition seriously telling us that the struggle for our freedom is actually about only one man?

Should we continue languishing in poverty – in fact, with each day worse than the last – simply because we can not place Chamisa’s life on the line?

Really!

Has the life of only one individual become more valuable and precision that the 15 million ordinary Zimbabweans enduring untold pain and suffering on a daily basis?

If so, then the man was not called to be our leader and saviour.

A real savior will be ready and prepared to give his own life for the people to be free.

Surely, would Zimbabwe have been freed from the shackles of colonialism had our nationalist movements placed the preservation of their leader’s above all else?

Would they have launched the liberation struggle had the safety and comfort of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, or Ndabaningi Sithole, or later Robert Gabriel Mugabe taken precedence over the people?

I can just imagine both ZAPU and ZANU deciding not to take any action against the colonial regime simply because they did not want their leaders to be arrested and thrown in jail.

That is why, at times – in a moment of dejection and frustration – I just conclude that maybe the likes of Mnangagwa deserve to rule Zimbabwe for as long as they desire.

They exhibited the phenomenal grit that today’s so-called ‘liberators’ apparently lack.

Those who fought for the independence of this country spent nine, ten, eleven years behind bars – yet, neither did that stop or slow down the struggle nor did this deter more leaders from stepping up to the plate.

As a matter of fact, thousands of ordinary boys and girls, men and women perished in the liberation war for you and I – however, more cadres still came forth to join.

When it comes to the banning of nationalist movements, we all know that when one was outlawed, another was immediately formed.

There is no leader who can not be replaced!

There is no liberation movement that is irreplaceable!

Are we to conclude that Zimbabwe only has one capable leader – such that he needs to be protected by all means necessary, even if that means sitting idly by as the people suffer?

Now that is unbelievably disturbing!

Let me be brutally honest: any leader is dispensable – including Chamisa.

There is no one who can claim to be more special and whose life is more precious than the oppressed millions in Zimbabwe.

A leader who is genuinely called to free his people does not fear the oppressor.

Since we all love quoting the Bible, are we then honestly saying our ‘divinely-called liberator’ does not believe that God will protect him in the face of the enemy?

Even as a child – having already been anointed by God as a future king of Israel – David was not afraid to confront the terrifying Philistine giant Goliath.

In spite of the Israeli army and their king Saul being petrified at the taunts of this gigantic man – David, nonetheless, stepped up, fully believing that his God would protect him.

Which He did!

There are numerous believers in the Bible whose lives were miraculously spared by God – the most notable being Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

This was after Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II attempted to kill them – one thrown in a den of lions and the others in a burning furnace – for their unflinching faith in Jehovah God.

We were never given the spirit of fear – but that of love, power, and a sound mind.

Of course, numerous prophets of God – such as Jeremiah, Isiah, Ezekiel, Micah, and others – were brutally murdered in their work.

A similar fate awaited most of Christ Jesus’ apostles – according to tradition, ten were killed, and only John died of old age.

Indeed, the greatest of them all was Jesus Himself – who willingly gave His life for all of us.

Thus, for one to claim to have been called by God to lead and liberate his people – he also should be prepared to die, if need be, in the process.

His death can never mean an end to the struggle – since God would have already lined up other leaders to take over and continue.

In a nutshell, Zimbabweans have suffered enough and are in desperate need of a leader who takes them to the promised land.

That leader can not wait in the sidelines simply because he is afraid of being arrested and thrown in prison.

A real leader is ready to sacrifice everything for the people.

As long as the struggle is about the preservation of only one man – then Zimbabwe will never be free!

Let us get this straight: the struggle for Zimbabwe is about the people, not getting a particular individual into power.

What Zimbabweans are fighting for is far bigger than Chamisa and the CCC!

If there are those in it merely for Chamisa and CCC, then you are a huge hindrance and liability to the people’s liberation!