Muzorewa played critical midwife role to Zimbabwe

The Standard, Sunday 26 June 2011.

At 31 Zimbabwe has had a chequered history full of excitement. The late Bishop Abel Muzorewa was the first black Prime Minister who acted as the midwife for Zimbabwe. He played a very vital role by leading a government of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia against attendant difficulties of trying to forge a united nation. The double-barrelled name was just for convenience because the former ruling party of Smith could not accept change so fast.

For some of us GNU is another convenient arrangement which should not be taken lightly. We still have antagonistic camps that only came together to usher in the change that people wanted. It has been an insurmountable task, but not in vain. Who thought the two main parties would sit together and govern this beautiful land? It is indeed a daunting task.

On January 29 2003 I wrote a letter to The Herald which was published under the title, Round table talks are the answer. Excerpts of the letter went like this; “This is a letter of appeal to both, His Excellency, president Robert Gabriel Mugabe and MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai to come together as Zimbabweans and find a solution out of this quagmire. As I see it, round table talks are part of the answer or you force the people to determine their future.

“We are where we are because of the mistakes we have all made. The solution can only come when we have put our heads together and take stoke of our situation openly. Now we need men and women who are prepared to climb down from our known positions just to save the situation.

“Let us not fool ourselves by saying the old message that we will maintain our positions of not wanting to talk with the ruling party or the opposition party. These two parties and other stakeholders should be involved in seeking a lasting solution to the problem bedevilling this wonderful nation.

“The nation is suffering and the people are looking to you as leaders to help them out of this mess. Instead what we hear are entrenched positions that are so repugnant and intolerant. That is not good for the people you purport to lead. Both the two leaders can be worth hero status if only they can bury their differences and unite for a purpose.”

Little did I know that five years down the line, in 2008, they would finally take heed and come together and form GNU. Tough though it may be to accept, this is the result of Muzorewa's midwife role to Zimbabwe.

Rev Dr Levee Kadenge