AS we celebrate the 39th anniversary of our independence, we must never forget what the 90 years of colonial rule entailed and the supreme sacrifice paid by our heroes to bring it to an end.
We must never forget that when Cecil John Rhodes colonised this country, he didn’t mean it to be a temporary venture that would last ‘only’ 90 years.
It was meant to be permanent subjugation.
The feeling of mental slavery inculcated through institutionalised racism, deprivation of basic human rights and the trashing of our culture was deliberate.
We must never forget this background for us to understand what turned out to be a countrywide virtual mandatory commitment to liberate ourselves.
The bloody price was accepted as an inevitable consequence.
As we celebrate our independence, we must never forget that we have always been focused on what our goal was.
We wanted ownership of our land and that meant control of everything on or below it.
That is what the late Dr Joshua Nkomo meant in the war cry he never tired of reminding the people of, that: ‘Ilizwe ngelethu.‘
That also explains why, at that time, the expression ‘mwana wevhu,’ among indigenes became a rallying call.
As we have pointed out before, it was because the colonialists’ desire to control both what was below and on our land that, that kind of thinking by indigenes was considered dangerous.
This explains why they have never forgiven former liberation movements.
That is the main reason ZANU PF, like all other former liberation movements, will never be accepted by Western capital.
Don’t be fooled by our erstwhile colonisers’ constant reference to abuse of human rights, disregard for the rule of law and questionable legitimacy or many other such red herrings.
The illegal sanctions imposed on us by the Western world are meant to remove ZANU PF from power because the Land Reform Programme reclaimed ‘stolen’ land from the imperialists.
Efforts by ZANU PF to take control of its minerals without giving priority to the interests of the West is considered anathema by our former colonisers.
Thus, as we celebrate our independence, vigilance, that hallmark of the liberation struggle must, more than ever, be exercised.
We should never lower our guard.
Like during the days of the war of liberation, the enemy would use any means, no matter how crude, to derail the struggle.
Immortalised nationalists, like Chairman Herbert Chitepo, were assassinated as prohibited chemicals were used to kill indigenes while quislings among us were enticed to betray their own.
At that time, these cruel deeds, instead of breaking the backbone of the indigenes, had the opposite effect of uniting them.
They remained determined to face the enemy head-on.
People were killed, houses were destroyed and all forms of coercion were used but to no avail.
As we celebrate our 39th independence anniversary, we should always remember, even against all odds, victory is always certain when united.
Instead of sanctions dividing us, they should make us even more resolute.
Let’s see through the machinations of the West and resist efforts to divide us.
We wish the nation a happy 39th independence anniversary!