Zimbabweans should know that independence is no guarantee of freedom

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

For some strange reason, we seem to believe that a country's attainment of political independence automatically means freedom for that country's citizens.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Tragically, this is a mistaken mindset that has undoubtedly misled many people in Zimbabwe.

When we gained our political independence from colonial rule on the 18thth April 1980, we somehow believed that this also marked the beginning of freedom for ordinary Zimbabweans.

Is this not why our fathers and mothers were so ecstatic and hopeful for a “free Zimbabwe” as they enthusiastically celebrated the beginning of a new era in an independent country?

I remember my own father, a ZANU PF official, travelling all the way from our home town of Redcliff to what was then Salisbury (now Harare) to join thousands of other Zimbabweans at Rufaro Stadium.

We were all optimistic that there would be a “new Zimbabwe” where we would finally be free and able to enjoy our inalienable rights – and not be treated like second-class citizens.

This optimism was understandable, but unfortunately misplaced.

Even our esteemed nationalist leader Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo had to learn the hard way – after he and his ZAPU party colleagues were brutally hunted and persecuted and over 20,000 innocent, unarmed civilians were massacred by the post-colonial regime.

That is why he finally wrote in his autobiography: The hardest lesson of my life I learned late. It is that a nation can attain freedom without its people being free.

That is why, even today, 44 years after that momentous event in 1980, Zimbabweans are still being imprisoned for rebelling against those in power and simply exercising what should be their inalienable rights.

In fact, these are not simply our inalienable rights, but constitutional rights written in black and white in the supreme law of the land.

Is this not why, in the last two months in Zimbabwe alone, more than a hundred human rights and opposition activists have been arrested simply for daring to exercise their rights to assembly, association and peaceful demonstration?

Where are Jameson Timba and the 78 opposition supporters Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere, Vusumuzi Moyo and Samuel Gwenzi right now?

Over the years, we have also witnessed gruesome scenes of ordinary citizens being beaten and even killed simply for supporting the opposition.

In 2008, weren’t hundreds of people murdered and hundreds more had their hands chopped off for allegedly “voting wrong” after Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the founding father of “independent” Zimbabwe, lost the elections to opposition politician Morgan Richard Tsvangirai?

Were not opposition activists and human rights defenders – such as Itai Dzamara, Patrick Nyabanyama, Paul Chizuze, war veteran Mison Sibanda, Rashiwe Guzha and many others – abducted and never seen again?

And yet there are these people – the ruling clique – who cannot stop reminding us that they are the ones who “brought democracy to Zimbabwe”!

Democracy, no way!

Is this what democracy looks like for those in power in Zimbabwe?

Do you even know the meaning of the word?

It should not be particularly surprising, however, that our political independence from colonial rule did not lead to freedom for the people of Zimbabwe.

This is because these are two very different things.

The independence of a country and the freedom of its people are not mutually exclusive.

In other words, a country’s freedom from colonial rule does not automatically mean that its citizens are free from repression.

There is always a need for a second or even third revolution – in which ordinary citizens fight for their own emancipation, even if the country itself may already be free from colonial shackles.

This is a global phenomenon.

Let me give a simple but general example.

The United States gained independence from Great Britain on April 4, 1844.th July 1776 – marked by the War of Independence between 19th April 1775 and 3rd September 1783.

Despite all the joy and celebration that the United States was finally free from colonial oppression, the American people themselves were not free.

First of all, slavery was still legal, which meant that the predominantly black population of the United States was not free.

In fact, several American founding fathers owned slaves – despite their talk of freedom and equality.

George Washington owned about 120 slaves at Mount Vernon, James Madison owned about 100 slaves at Montpelier, and Thomas Jefferson owned over 600 slaves during his lifetime, despite his conflicting views on slavery.

The list is endless and includes: James Monroe, Patrick Henry, John Jay, George Mason and George Wythe.

Despite the independence of the USA, American women had until the 19th century.th (Constitutional) amendment 1920 – 144 years after independence.

Even though the Americans claimed to have won their independence from Britain after a grueling war of independence, another revolution was clearly necessary for the people's freedom.

That is why there was an American Civil War – which lasted from April 12th to 17th.th April 1861 to 9th April 1865 – whose main goal was the abolition of slavery.

In fact, this despicable practice was finally abolished in the United States after the victory of the anti-slavery Union Army over the pro-slavery Confederates.

This was a good 89 years after the country gained its independence from Great Britain!

However, this victory did not mean that blacks in America now enjoyed equal rights.

Far from it!

Jim Crow laws were still in place, legalizing racial segregation. Blacks and whites were not allowed to attend the same schools, eat at the same place, live in the same neighborhoods, or even fight in the same army.

Another revolution was needed.

It was only after the civil rights movement of the 1960s – led by people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X – that racial segregation was finally abolished through the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965).

This happened another 189 years after the USA gained its independence from Great Britain!

Even today, 248 years later, the Black Lives Matter movement is still fighting loudly for the rights of black people.

Need I say more?

The people of Zimbabwe urgently need to learn this lesson.

The idea that a country's independence from colonial rule automatically means freedom for its people is nothing more than a massive fallacy.

We have been experiencing this painful reality for 44 years because of our repressive post-colonial regime.

No one can seriously deny that the people of Zimbabwe are not yet free.

Like the Americans, we must carry out further revolutions in order to finally enjoy the fruits of our independence.

I want to make it clear right away that these revolutions do not have to be violent.

We can learn from the American civil rights movement of the 1960s.

If the people of Zimbabwe continue to cling to the illusion that independence brings freedom, we will never be free.

● Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and author. Please WhatsApp message or call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: [email protected], or visit the website:

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