Response to Alister Sparks' article on Mugabe

By Madibeng Kgwete: posted on 26 July 2007

In his article, “Imagine if Madiba turned evil” (Opinion & Analysis, 26 July 2007), Alister Sparks says he is amazed that “so many Africans, including South Africans, continue to admire Robert Mugabe”.

Well, I hope that, after reading this letter, he and many like him will no longer be amazed. I hope this letter clarifies the so-called “admiration” for Mugabe and that such clarification leads to sober, future debates on Zimbabwe .

First of all, the growing opposition for the West’s involvement in Third World countries should not be confused with support for those who are in disagreement with the West.

Simply put, those who oppose Britain and the United States ’ punitive actions against Zimbabwe mustn’t be thought to be Mugabe loyalists.

The most contentious issue about Zimbabwe at the moment shouldn’t be whether or not there are severe problems in Zimbabwe . That is too obvious. The question is: who, between Africa and the West, should be trusted with bringing the situation back to normality?

And my take is that a Western solution to the problems in Zimbabwe will not benefit the people of Zimbabwe . It has been said on many occasions by various analysts that Britain and the US ’s foreign policies are dictated by their powerful corporations.

We as Africans must continue to oppose any business solution to the political problems in Zimbabwe , and that must not be confused with support for any dictatorship. The problems our continent faces are bigger than individual leaders, no matter how powerful they may be thought to be.

Secondly, we must ask (and answer soberly) where Zimbabwe went wrong. Were the controversies that marred the 2002 presidential elections the scapegoats for a regime change in Zimbabwe ?

Is the problem rooted in the land reform programme and, if yes, does the seizure of land belonging to a few (not even a hundred) white farmers warrant the onslaught we have seen unleashed against Zimbabwe, a country of no less than 12 million people?

With regard to the 2002 elections, the recent SADC Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government, held in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, in March, noted that “free, fair and democratic presidential election were held in 2002 in Zimbabwe”.

On the land issue, the Summit “reaffirmed its solidarity with the government and people of Zimbabwe ” and further “reiterated the appeal to Britain to honour its compensation obligations with regards to land reform made at the Lancaster House”.

So, the message should be clear to Sparks , the West and everyone else: the Western countries, whose cupboards are so full of skeletons, cannot be trusted to bring a solution to the problems in Zimbabwe . You only need to look at where they have tried their regime-change menu to agree that they shouldn’t be trusted.

As for Sparks ’ conclusion that the elite “will start feeling the pinch – and they will turn against [Mugabe]” because of the collapsing economy there, well, that is a symptom of a well orchestrated regime-change.

The elite-vs-government scenario follows logic (if no remedy is found soon) and should not be seen as an intellectual argument.

An edited copy of this letter was published in The Star newsaper on 01 August 2007 under the headline, "West can't be entrusted with solving Zim crisis". The edited copy is accessible on http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3961373