By
Bernard Bwoni
There are some heroes who just fly beneath
the radar, largely go unnoticed as they get on with defining and reshaping this
nation. They are not celebrities, they are not on the conference main stage yet
they give and have given of themselves for the greater good of the nation.
Their lives inspire and yet we deliberately forget to acknowledge the selfless
sacrifices they made. The men and women who put their lives on hold to fully commit
themselves to liberating this country from the darkest depth of colonialism to
the revered pedestal of the liberties and freedoms we enjoy and take for
granted today. These are the men and women who have been through the mud and
mire, enduring unimaginable distress and privation for the love of their
country. There are many such men and women in Zimbabwe and they all deserve our
respect, recognition and reverence, precisely because they did not ask for it, they
earned in ways we can only imagine. And on this occasion this is about one of
the many who proved themselves during the bitter liberation war.
Emmerson Mnangagwa is a liberation war icon
from that school of thought which puts emphasis on cascading real power down to
the people, advocating for policies that focus on African self-sustenance and
self-reliance and deconstructing that neo-colonial structure that continues to
render Africans perennially indebted to those who subjugated and economically
exploited the African continent for centuries. He is a rare uncelebrated
liberation war giant who set about to help liberate this country from the
unjust Ian Smith regime from the tender age of 14 years old. Mnangagwa’s early
involvement is testimony to the tenacity and steel that defines this legendary
son of Zimbabwe. The daring operations they carried out within Rhodesia as a
member of the ‘Crocodile Gang’ which led to his eventual arrest and detention,
the unswerving, lifelong and ingrained ideological engrossment to the Zimbabwe
cause epitomise this liberation war icon.
Hushed heads are an embodiment of real power focusing on
action instead of words, and have ability to encourage ownership and develop
loyalty in unique ways. The big idea is earning the respect and Mnangagwa earned that during his
heroics during the liberation war. A young boy who believed in a cause, fought
for that cause displaying conviction, but not complacency. A young boy who got
arrested for a cause but never faltered and saw the liberation struggle to its unimaginable
bitterness and victorious conclusion. Silence is golden and certainly easier for
those that already have the analytical and introverted behaviors already in
place. Mnangagwa’s illustrious and effective war credentials clearly highlight
the quiet introvert who meticulously prepared, was present, properly planned
and practiced as they did with the locomotive incident in Masvingo (Fort Victoria). This is a man who grew up on the values of
the liberation of this country, confident but not over-confident with that
ability to think laterally, not hierarchically. As Zimbabweans we should define
our heroes and relate to them, imagine what drove them to put their lives on
hold to get out there and liberate this country. I am deeply indebted to all
heroes like Mnangagwa who have the country-defining values a part of their DNA
and the values still ineradicably etched to this day.
Any
nation not build on any values has no foundation and is no nation at all. For
you to believe in yourself you have to have some values to subscribe to. A
country with no values has no vision and with no vision there basically is no
future or growth. From that tender age he selflessly continued to sacrifice for
the liberation of Zimbabwe. Any ideology that focuses on improving the lives of
African people inherently threatens the irreversibly colonial and neo-colonial
establishment and as such forever ridiculed and suffocated.
This
is an individual hero introductory part of my ‘Liberation War Chronicles’ work
in progress which details the war path of each and every liberation war hero in
Zimbabwe.
Bernard
Bwoni can be contacted on bernardbwn@aol.com/ bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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