Until the lion learns to write

every story will glorify the hunter.

“As I watch the analysis and obituaries pour in for Mugabe, I think about how the men who freed Africa from colonial powers are remembered. You will read about a “strongman” and “autocrat”, a “dictator”. The list goes on. While these clumsy labels may work, they do not do the work o f describing their complicated legacies.

We’re in an era where we acknowledge the trauma that veterans of war endure and how it makes them do despicable things to themselves and others when they come home. There is a name for it- PTSD. The African is not given that compassion or nuance. The assumption is we are brutish, there is no complexity in or psyche or emotions.

So you will not read about Mugabe’s decade in prison here he was tortured, and he was not allowed to attend his child’s funeral. You will not read about the years of exile or the assassination attempts. You will not be told how many men like him were at war at home and abroad for decades, and what war does to the mind, body and family.

You will not be told about the remarkable intelligence and vision it requires to imagine the end of colonialism and embark on one of the most ambitious nation building projects Africa has ever seen- a land called Zimbabwe where black people rule. You’ve probably never heard the name Ian Douglas Smith, the brutal prime minister of Rhodesia, a white supremacist who targeted Mugabe and those who fought for freedom and how he was helped by the West. And how despite Smith’s racism and wickedness, he died in peace and prosperity. He wasn’t imprisoned. In fact, the west concluded when they wrote his legacy that he wasn’t that bad and was the type of leader Africans needed.

You will not read about the initial glory years, where education and literacy blossomed among Zimbabweans who once never had access to school under white rule or how private industry flourished for a brief period. How Mugabe placed anti-corruption rules in place. How the roads names were changed from honoring the white men who pillaged Africa, to honoring black heroes. How for a brief moment, Africa and black people paying attention looked on and thought, “this” might be the one that works.

You will read about the end. About Zimbabwe’s devolution from a place of hope, into a place where Mugabe brutalized the people, he once freed. The end is very important, we must not forget what happened to the Ndebele people and so many others who suffered and are still suffering. We must speak on it, because the devaluation and loss of African life is unacceptable. We must speak about how and why so many freedom fighters morphed into people we do not recognize. We must examine what thwarted the post-colonial movements, the forces both internal and external.

But do not let them scrub about the beginning and the middle. Do not let them paint a caricature of the African leader. Do not let them act like we are where we are because of a savage African. Interrogate the use of the word strongman, and how it is only used for black, brown and white leaders from “inferior” countries. Ask if they will also hold their own leaders who have overseen war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen to the same standards when they write their obituaries.

And let us talk about what fighting for freedom does to people in the long run. It is no coincidence that some of Africa’s greatest minds, were withered from the fight. And if you read about what was done to them you wouldn’t be shocked. Let’s talk about trauma, both collective and individual. I believe it was inflicted upon Mugabe, and ultimately, he inflicted it upon others. But we don’t use that type of language to talk about African leaders, we flatten their legacies. They are corrupt despots who destroy things you see. They are not men and women who once dreamed and took on super powers and won. In the western world such people are called “anti-heroes”, but when you’re an African you’re simply a villain. They’re not afforded the compassion we rightfully give veterans.

Anyways I feel great sadness not because Mugabe is dead, but because I know what Zimbabwe cold have been. I feel for a nation that has so much, but great powers have literally conspired against it. And the man they put their trust in eventually let them down too.

One more thing. They’ll use a lot of menacing photos of Mugabe, and it supports a specific narrative. But this is how he once looked. Again, a reminder that as we study his end, let’s not forget the beginning and the middle.”

-Christiana Mbakwe-Medina

Poignant article powerfully penned by my formidably clever friend, Christiana. I recently reread Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie, for the umpteenth time, and I have so much to say about this topic. I will just say one thing: Insight and incisiveness.

(BTW: I didn’t think I had any content for the day but I really really want to complete this winning streak of posting and a part of it is thanks to comments like LahMuz’s, the reader that encouraged this writer. Thank you. 😊 I put this up one minute to midnight, and I do not remember the last time I felt as accomplished! Lol!)