Zimbabwe tomorrow celebrates 36 years of independence from colonial rule amid rising discontent even from those who made the ultimate sacrifice to liberate this country.
For years, war veterans have found themselves at odds with the majority of Zimbabweans for propping a regime that has become unpopular for running down the economy and trampling on citizens’ basic freedoms.
From the infamous farm invasions that began in 2000 to their murderous involvement in Zanu PF election campaigns, war veterans over the years gained notoriety that overshadowed their heroic role in the liberation struggle.
The status of war veterans was being slowly eroded by a few rogues that were now behaving more like soldiers of fortune than genuine liberators.
However, Zimbabweans began to see some change early this year as war veterans, disgruntled by years of misrule, began to speak out against President Robert Mugabe, who is now showing his true colours of being an intolerant and power-hungry politician.
Since 2014 when he fired then vice-president Joice Mujuru, Mugabe has been doing all he can to give First Lady Grace Mugabe the headway in the crowded race to succeed him.
He has done this at the expense of internal democracy in Zanu PF, shunting anyone who stood in Grace’s way out of the party and declaring them enemies of the country.
Along the way, Mugabe has also sacrificed people who propped him up during the liberation struggle and in the process has lost the trust of war veterans who thrust him into the leadership of the country at independence.
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The relationship has deteriorated to an extent that the former fighters are now openly telling Mugabe to retire and save the country from sliding further into poverty and despair.
Some of the former fighters even went to the extent of trying to demonstrate against Mugabe and his wife before the 92-year-old leader invited them to a meeting in Harare almost a fortnight ago.
The war veterans had a long list of grievances, but they were muzzled in typical Mugabe fashion before empty promises were made to fulfil their monetary demands.
For most Zimbabweans, the biggest take from the dissent shown by war veterans was that even the regime’s enforcers now realise that their leaders long deviated from the ideals of the liberation struggle.
Thirty-six years after independence, Mugabe and his family have no shame in seeking the best medical treatment in far flung Singapore while the rest of the population has to do with poorly-equipped hospitals that more often than not have no basic drugs.
The First Family can afford the luxury of dining in the best restaurants in Dubai, while over three million Zimbabweans are at the brink of starvation.
The catalogue of the misdeeds is too long to list here, but the long and short of it is that Zimbabweans may celebrate being free from colonialism today, but they are yet to realise the fruits of being independent.
Independence has only meant a change of skin colour for the oppressor for many Zimbabweans and it is a tragedy that war veterans are only realising it now.
It might have taken 36 years for the war veterans to reach their Damascene moment, but it is not too late for them to right the wrongs and make Zimbabwe great again.
Mugabe and his coterie of opportunists need to be reminded that they do not own this country.
That they helped liberate us from bondage does not give them the licence to personalise Zimbabwe and one day the masses will show them who the masters are.
