Brown Velvet Awards. Arcadia Community Center. Harare. Zimbabwe. 24 May 2014

Speech by the Hon Mr Justice Christopher Navavie Greenland

“Simple Truth and Great Hope”

Thank you everybody.

I would like to start with some acknowledgements.

In the history of this Community Center we can accept that it has never looked better. The décor and ambiance is simply fantastic.

I also must express my appreciation to Tracey Jane Bell for having accorded me the honour of leading us in this conversation.

I do this with love; love of truth; love for all of you; and love for social justice.

There comes a time as regards every person, community, country, when it must seek to review itself, to see who and what it is. That review, as always, entails looking back.

Everything has a beginning.  So I must start somewhere.

I thought I should start on another historic occasion, that was played out on this very stage all those years ago.

This was when Herbert Foya Thompson, a renowned champion of social justice, turned to Bernard Ponter, a Parliamentary Candidate for Ian Smith’s Rhodesia Front Party in the Willowvale Constituency.

He said to Ponter, “What is it that you have in your heart? Do you really have no love in your heart; as a Jew, who endured the Holocaust, where millions of your people were incinerated and others even had their skins turned into lamp shades? How are you now able to come here and seek to oppress others? Do you have no shame?
Ian Smith had made a speech in which he solemnly promised to take us Coloured people “along” with him and his party, to take us along, like we were some sort of luggage.
Led by Eugene Robinson, God rest his soul, we then formed a “guard of dishonour” for Ponter and his entourage, and slowly hand-clapped them out of this Hall, never to return.  The Rhodesian Front was never able to hold another meeting in any Hall in our community across the country.

You see Herbert Thompson was concerned with truth. Truth is indeed ever simple. “Veritas oratio simplex est”, the motto of one of our great Schools, Founders High that, incidentally I did not attend, being a product of Sacred Heart Home and Embakwe Coloured School.

The truth starts with acknowledging history. What we can all accept beyond all doubt is that throughout history the World has always been a mess. It has been a litany of wars and strife from the very beginning; from the time Cain killed Abel.

This was because man has always been obsessed with difference; racial, ethnic, religious, cultural … difference. The obsession with rejection, on the basis of difference, has been a scourge on this planet. Right now we have a terrible problem of young girls who have been abducted in Nigeria because of this obsession. 

We also know that historically man had a culture of “invade, conquer and subjugate”. Apparently this was in response to the biblical exhortation to “go forth and multiply” .  So this is what man did, from time immemorial. The Greeks did it. So did the Romans. Genghis Khan is credited with killing more human beings when he overran Asia than were killed in the last two World Wars.

Of course, this region was not spared; and that is how we had colonialism. Our White brothers arrived and took over. The culture was “might is right”, as it had always been. In this region, King Shaka Zulu, Mzilikazi and Lobengula did the same.

And, of course you never treated those that you have conquered as equals. So when the brown baby arrived a problem needed to be resolved. It seems to me that it was resolved by keeping Black folk oppressed and keeping us sort of half oppressed.

And this caused us a problem; and still does. This business of being caught in the middle, has ensured that we have always been beset by problems to this very day. I recall an eminent Black journalist penning an article, in which he postulated that colonialism had brought much trouble to this region; including “bringing the Coloured”. I took issue with him on this and boxed him up good and proper. We are not a scourge like small pox.

The problem of being caught in the middle has never left us. We have always been seen and treated as being irrelevant. There has been ambivalence about us. The dominant groups, White and Black, have always been concerned with each other as “us … and them …” but with our community being treated as “the other”, irrelevant, ambivalent.

It is important to understand that the World only changed its “might is right” culture in 1948, after two bloody World wars and the Holocaust. It was only then that the World reviewed its culture and said to itself that this cannot be right. In the result it conceived and signed off on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations, as a paradigm mindset change. For the first time the World decided that there was such a thing as human rights, that you could not just go around grabbing and certainly could not enslave others. This was a paradigm culture shift for the whole planet.

The evil was that South Africa and Rhodesia defied this paradigm shift and repudiated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

And as said, we were always caught in the middle … as irrelevant … ambivalent … the other.

Now we need to go back to truth. What is the truth?  Before answering that question might I point out another truth … that the most powerful instinct that human beings have, is that of Hope. Hope surpasses all other instincts and feelings, even the instinct of survival and sex.  For instance, it is why people have voted the current government to power. It is because the government gives them hope. It is always about Hope.

So when we look at our community we find that, from day one, it is about the only community in the World that has never been obsessed with difference. In terms of skin tone and colouring our Black brothers and sisters range from midnight black to a nice shade of brown. White folk range from mid brown to snow white. We cover the whole spectrum. We range from ubu’m nyama tsu to ubu’m hlophe khe, that is from midnight black to snow white.

In addition, we include all racial, ethnic and tribal groups, as well as religions and cultures.

If you just look at a picture of our heroic soccer team that won the Castle Cup, all those years ago, you will see the whole spectrum of colour.

At my old School, Embakwe, every child could speak an indigenous language and we came from all the tribes in the region, covering then Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, Bechuanaland and Nyasaland. Some could even speak KhoiSan and could click away, sounding like typewriters.

We know that about 100,000 years ago a black woman, somewhere in this region, had children, who left and populated the whole planet. She is called Mitochondrial Eve. DNA coding has confirmed that she is the mother of nearly all of modern man.

I contend that our community represents the return of those children

The point to be made here, in the name of truth, is that despite this huge admixture our community has never been obsessed with difference. Our heroes have covered the whole range or spectrum of humanity.

So the truth is that … it is our community that is an example for the whole World, no more; no less.  It is … in our community that Hope reposes for this country, for this region, for Africa, for the rest of the World, for the whole planet, still beset with strife. The World needs to accept and appreciate the richness of diversity … as we do as a matter of course.

So Brown Velvet is the brand of Hope.

Before ending I think we should acknowledge the sacrifice made by many of our members such as Thomas Zerf, Charles Grey, Sisco Stool … who risked their lives to join the liberation struggle.  I was never brave enough.

We include those like Foya Thompson that were detained at Gonakudzingwa and David Kilpin who was sentenced to fifteen (15) years imprisonment for assisting freedom fighters and had his farm and possessions sold in execution by the Ian Smith regime.

Lastly can we have a moment’s silence in memory and honour of Richard “Sweetpea” Robinson who was hanged by the Smith government for trying to free all of us from oppression.

……. silence …….

Thank you.  May Brown Velvet be the brand of Hope.

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Being Honoured at the Brown Velvet Awards

Being Honoured
On 24 May 2014 our Coloured Community in Zimbabwe came together, for the first time in history, to acknowledge and honour its own in a gala evening of joyous celebration titled the Brown Velvet Awards.
Awards were conferred in various categories of outstanding contribution to our people and society in general.
I was privileged to receive the award, in the Groundbreaker category, for having served the course of justice as the first non-White magistrate in this region, then as a Judge in Zimbabwe and South Africa and for having been an expert advisor to three governments in this region, with Botswana and Namibia now enjoying internationally unmatchable Road Crash Compensation systems.
Serving as an expert on Carte Blanche's live coverage of the Oscar Pistorius Trial of the Century was seen as bringing honour to all of Zimbabwe.
No one can be more greatly honoured than by his or her own in his/her country of birth. It was the most wonderful moment of my life.
I can go on to rest in peace knowing that my life was not wasted, because it made a difference, howsoever small, to other human beings during revolutionary and trying times.
It is the hope of my community and I that our example of NOT being obsessed with difference, be it race, ethnicity, tribe, skin tone, religion or culture, will be followed by all of mankind. 

May the Brown Velvet brand be the message of HOPE for the planet.

The event was organised by Ms Tracey Jane Bell whose conceived the brilliant concept of Brown Velvet.

Rhodesians-Worldwide --- pitiful

This site is postured as being for Rhodesians to share their memories, thoughts and anything of interest.

By pure accident of birth I was born a Rhodesian and spent nearly 40 years of my life there.

Like any other country Rhodesia was an admixture of good, bad and ugly.

So all our memories are infused with this admixture of good, bad and ugly, as much as the specific details may vary from individual to individual.
It naturally follows therefore that when members discuss their memories we should see that admixture of the good, the bad and the ugly in varying degrees of balance at times.We should also expect to see debate, agreement, disagreement, even robust disagreement on aspects of claimed facts and circumstances.That is how humans behave. They agree. They disagree. They agree to disagree.

However if they are civilized, sentient and tolerant, they do this in a climate of mutual respect.What they do not do is to take virulent exception to that which they do not agree with, to the extent of then mounting a highly personalized attack and imputing bad motives to others in a way that is insulting and vilifying.

What they also do not do is to disentitle others from including the bad and/or ugly in a post about their memories.Good, bad and ugly were the reality and they occupy the same space in our psyche. They are inseparable. They make up who we are as human beings.

The reality here however is that we have what can only be described as a minority “vigilante” group, on the site, who take every opportunity to immediately go into attack mode, with insult, abuse and vilification if one dares include any bad and/or ugly in one’s memories, even if the post is receiving substantial appreciation in terms of “likes” clicked by others.

This morning the site administrator, Chris Whitehead, expelled me from the group.The reason was simply that I had challenged him to copy and paste just one comment by me that could be said to be “anti-White”, “racist” and/or objectionable in any way. Having failed to do this for some 12 hours he resorted to the bully boy solution of expelling me from the group.

This is the 5th Rhodie site from which I have had to leave.In each case the reason was very, very simple.The minority of vigilantes in the group ensured that I was hounded out.

Now that is exactly how Rhodesia was some 40 years ago. A rabid racist minority secured dominance over the White majority, many of whom were confused, concerned and ambivalent about embracing democracy for understandable reasons given the performance of African democracies at that time.However the real and imaginary fears of accepting democracy, equality, tolerance, acceptance of difference and diversity are long gone. But it is clear that they linger on in the hearts and minds of these rabid Rhodies.They are trapped in a time warp. They have been unable to step out of their Ian Smith contrived cocoon of ignorance, driven by fear. They are vainly perpetuating their unreal world of inequality and false privilege (a not too dissimilar malady now infects Trump supporters in the USA).

What they especially don't understand is that their hero Ian Smith was a racist hypocrite in that he actually fought in the 2nd World War to stop the 3rd Reich from denying his own people the very thing that he was denying the people of then Rhodesia, i.e, the right to choose a government of their choice.Ignorance drives them. Bigotry is their culture and mode. They imagine that Rhodesia was Xmas for all and that Ian Smith was some sort of Father Xmas .. lol .. lol. 

They don't realize that Ian Smith did not create the "good" that was part of Rhodesia. He inherited it and did NO good whatsoever, only bad, very very bad.  He turned Rhodesia into a pariah State, by declaring UDI, (right pic)  and plunged it into a bloody war from which it has never recovered ...and got us Mugabe that he was warned of time and time again.

These poor Rhodies are to be pitied. Really. 


PS: In May 2014 a lady named Suzan Bondi queried why I had been banned/expelled from the site. Being unable to explain or proffer any valid reason Chris Whitehead then expelled her from the site without setting out any reason. Suzan had taken a stance during the course of a debate on the sacred right of free speech. She was treated to a fascist reaction. Whitehead, in effect, had no option if he was to pander to the sad lot of racists that control that site.


PPS: I would encourage Rhodesians to join Zimbabwe, Rhodesia Worldwide.There they will find Rhodesians and Zimbabweans who understand that we are all equal, 

PPPS:  In early May 2015 I was expelled without warning from another Rhodie site titled "Born in Rhodesia".
This was done even though the majority of members were appreciative of my posts.The problem was my contention that Rhodesia also had bad and ugly and that I did not share their naive love of I D Smith.
The Adminstrators of this site (Roland John Mauseth) are the same lot that belong to a blog site titled "Rhodesians Worldwide" [http://www.rhodesia.com/uk_indx.html]  that propagates fanciful nonsense about the past that they cling to in their bigoted ignorance.

because we always were.

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Dear President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

You are sanctioning the condemnation, persecution and even killing of Gays and lesbians because of the way they achieve sexual gratification.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it was my impression that human beings achieve sexual gratification in countless different and even very imaginative ways.
This ranges from a man penetrating a lump of meat or a pumpkin to a woman using a cucumber or dildo.
No one on the planet has even suggested that humanity should take a stance against those who indulge themselves in this way.
So we all need clarification here as you are a leader.

Would you please enlighten us on what we need to make of the following --- ?
a) a person who uses a condom to enhance enjoyment of sex, i.e, "super ribbed";
b) those who indulge in oral sex;
c) a woman using a vibrator and/or a dildo;
d) a man using a blow up doll and/or blow up sheep;
e) men and women that masturbate ... have you not done this Your Excellency?
f) men who get "penis enlargement;
g) women who have labia enlargement;
h) men and women who bite and scratch during sex;
i) men and women who use whips ... etc ... during sex;
j) men and women who are gratified by watching others having sex or watching porn movies;
k) ......

We need understanding on why it is anal sex between men and mutual titivation between women that you think, believe, imagine and suppose should attract condemnation, vilification, persecution and even death for participants?
It just appears illogical, confusing, even silly to try to make distinctions between the activities listed above and your objection.
In all the above instances we seem to just accept that this is what human do ... because they are free ... free to choose how they want to achieve sexual gratification ... free to engage in what they find pleasurable ... that does not harm others, the planet or its creatures.

It seems to me that you are promoting hatred because these people are different.
This is exactly how so many people of Africa, in particular, suffered terrible.
They were condemned, persecuted and oppressed because they were seen as different.

Most importantly Mr President, can you explain what right you or I have to decide how two human beings should love each other and how they should express and act out that love?
This seems to be the cardinal question here.

Is it really right that we hate, persecute and kill others for bienf different and call it "our culture"??

It really does need a simple clear and sentient answer?

Thankfully, this has just happened. ----  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/arizona-governor-vetoes-anti-gay-bill

The dung beetle gets my vote

I managed to hook my wife by employing others to convince her that I was “a real dog”. However, once married, I was expected to prove that I was not. Women are strange? They are very interested in a man of questionable reputation, but once married, the husband must be absolutely above reproach?

So, to prove that I was rehabilitated, I would do the chocolate and flowers thing. I would also sing to her and recite poetry. This would include terms of endearment in different languages like – 'Je t'aime’ ‘Te amo’; ‘my liefling’; and round it off with “isigiqathuvi yami”. Since she did not understand isiNdebele, she naturally assumed that isigiqathuvi yami meant something endearing like the other terms. It actually means “my pooh/crap roller”, i.e dung beetle.

I was in very serious trouble when she eventually found out. But she has forgiven me. Like me, she has come to have the highest regard and love for the little creature that is referred to – the dung beetle, Scarabaeus viettei. Chikutamandove in Shona.

I first came across these wonderful creatures when, as a toddler, my granny would allow me to help her collect cow dung. This would be thoroughly hand-mixed and spread on the floor and walls of her hut. I don’t think there has been a happier toddler in the history of mankind. In the process we would have to pick out the dung beetles from the dung.

It is very difficult to explain how enrapturing the dung beetle was to my young mind, hungry for knowledge, exploring so diverse a world. The dung beetle is an insect, but he is not small and pesky. He does not sting, bite or give you a rash. No, he is beautiful to look at, ranging in colour from solid black to an admixture of other royal shades like emerald green and ermine. With his armor plated body and articulated limbs he radiates quiet dignity and immense strength. He is a picture of indestructibility. However he is completely non-aggressive, never seeking to threaten or destroy. And, despite being built like a tank, he can fly.

I was mesmerized at how this wonderful creature would get to work, rolling a ball of dung, with single minded purposefulness. The fact that he would do it going backwards, and that he was never deterred by the enormous size of

 the ball, made a huge impression on my hungry mind and other sensibilities. From day one I knew that the dung beetle was special, very special indeed. Some idea of how special this creature is can be gleaned from ---   

“Dung beetles play a remarkable role in agriculture. By burying and consuming dung, they improve nutrient recycling and soil structure. They also protect livestock, such as cattle, by removing the dung which, if left, could provide habitat for pests such as flies. Therefore, many countries have introduced the creature for the benefit of animal husbandry. In developing countries, the beetle is especially important as an adjunct for improving standards of hygiene. The American Institute of Biological Sciences reports that dung beetles save the United States cattle industry an estimated US$380 million annually through burying above-ground livestock faeces.
In Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) commissioned the Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965-1985) which, led by Dr. George Bornemissza, sought to introduce species of dung beetles from South Africa and Europe. The successful introduction of 23 species was made, most notably Onthophagus gazella and Euoniticellus intermedius, which have resulted in the improvement of the quality and fertility of Australian cattle pastures, along with a reduction in the population of pestilent bush flies by around 90 percent.
An application has been made by Landcare Research to import up to 11 species of dung beetle into New Zealand. As well as improving pasture soils the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Group say that it result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector.
Like many other insects, the (dried) dung beetle, called qianglang (蜣蜋) in Chinese, is used in Chinese herbal medicine. It is recorded in the "Insect section" (蟲部) of the Compendium of Materia Medica, where it is recommended for the cure of 10 diseases.” [1]

Pooh, crap, or whatever you want to call it, is a reality. You can’t wish it away. It is everywhere, produced by all creatures, all of the time. What goes in, must come out. Were it not for the dung beetle, the planet would be drowning in it. So while the elephant trumpets triumphantly, the buffalo bellows, the springbok pronks, the male impala fights over dominance, the male lion struts about marking territory, and man goes about polluting the planet … this little unpretentious creature quietly goes about its business of cleaning it all up. The dung beetle is the world’s sanitation department. It invented the concept of recycling.

The dung beetle gets my vote. It gets my vote on any number of counts; solid good looks, functional construction, efficient, effective, non aggressive, unassuming and diamond hard functional integrity. Which other creature embodies all these qualities and attributes? Which other creature can match the dung beetle on a cost/benefit or any other benefit test? Whatever cliche test you may wish to employ; making a difference; adding value -- this little fellow is champion!!!

At the moment the cockerel (jongwe) is the symbol of the ruling party in my birth country, Zimbabwe. Our national symbol is the "Zimbabwe Bird", a mystical bird conspicuous by its absence from the general scheme of things.   The cockerel is the epitome of a self centered, self serving culture. It has produced nothing to be proud of. We need the service culture of the dung beetle. The cockerel contributes little to the general welfare of its environment. It struts about lording it over others. It will crow loud and long. It is difficult to understand about what.  Certainly its highly aggressive micro sex sessions are nothing to crow about.

I vote that the Zimbabwe bird, which appears to have been chased off by the ZANU-PF cockerel in any event, should be immediately replaced by the dung beetle as Zimbabwe's national animal. Even symbolically the dung beetle is the obvious choice. Zimbabwe is in it. Proverbially, it is in deep crap … 75% unemployment, politically inspired violence, just for starters. It has got there, largely on account of the uncaring self serving, aggressive culture, epitomized by the cockerel. It now needs the only creature on the planet that has the skills to turn our crappy situation completely around to that which is wholesome and beautiful. It really is a no brainer.

Let us recognize this little creature for what it is. Let us accord it the recognition that it deserves. Let us show our appreciation. Let us open our minds and let it in.

As our collective psyche becomes imbued with this incredible creature, we will begin to understand. We will be concerned with truth; truth about physical and mental pollution, the well being of our planet and its creatures. We will set a new vision. Our mission statement will change. Our core values will change forever. We will commit to the common good as world citizens.

So vote with me that the dung beetle be adopted as our national animal, and that its picture be proudly festooned on all official flags and plaques, as our national emblem.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle

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Dear Professor Pierre de Vos,

You are a law  professor  of note, heading the law faculty of the University of Cape Town, probably our leading University in South Africa.

You are also routinely consulted by the media on legal matters and especially issues of social justice. There can be no doubt that you are regarded as a "rock of sense" and a "fountain of wisdom",  apart  from being a very competent legal resource to the nation.

All this is confirmed by your blog site which is a "must read" for most members of the legal profession.

Given this most impressive profile it came as a real shock to me when you  reacted  to a pitch I made to you on the now vexed issue of social justice in South Africa. The pitch was simple enough. It comprises the two (2) images accompanied by my text submission that South Africa had wrongly adopted what was represented in the first image,  whereas  it should  have  what was  represented  in the second (on the right).

Your reaction was -  "Please do not spam me with your reactionary  drivel".

Not to put to fine a point on it this  reaction can only be described as highly  contemptuous and insulting on all counts.  Not only does it say that my stance has no merit, worthy of any consideration, it  also  categorizes  me as what is known, in common parlance, as a "mindless dick head."  I was shocked through and through, and still am.

I  received  my  legal  tutoring from Professor Richard Christie,  internationally  recognized as the lead expert in  Roman  Dutch law of Contract. He taught me that the only proposition that cannot be challenged in  law  was that all propositions are susceptible to challenge, as law is not fixed and immutable. For this reason outright intolerance to any legal proposition was out, especially  as regards human rights.

However, faced with a  proposition, challenging the status quo as regards the vexed issue of social justice in South Africa, you were disdainfully dismissive and insulting. 

It is  pertinent  to point out that I have served the cause of justice in the Courts for over 35 years,  including  as a High Court Judge in both Zimbabwe and South Africa. My record as regards number of judgments  reported in the Law  reports for the time served is probably unmatchable in  this  region.  However, according to you, my stance is "reactionary  drivel".

Is it?  I don't think so ... not on the objective facts.

Now in the just heard case in brought on behalf of police captain Renate Barnard, who was twice denied promotion, because of her race, the Court set it face  against  a race based approach.
The judgment, written by Judge Mohammed Navsa, states that, though the Act is an attempt to create a non-racial and balanced society, 'it feels like a throwback to the grand apartheid design' and race  classification" ... i.e., precisely the point my first image graphically claims to illustrate.

In the circumstances, in this landmark case on affirmative action, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Thursday struck down the use of racial quotas in determining job appointments, finding that it was unfair to attempt to achieve employment equity through the employment of a race based numerical formula.

Judge Navsa therfore was constrained to say - 'If we are to achieve success as a nation, each of us has to bear in mind that, wherever we are located, it will take a continuous and earnest commitment to forge a future that is colour-blind". 

It is  pertinent  to point out that this was second  case  in  which the Superior Courts found the current transformational approach wrong for being race based. In a recent earlier case the court found in  favour  of Coloured Correctional Services officers on a similar basis.

The poster on the left proves that the current model is self  evidently  racist and  immoral  for being an exact crib of apartheid  culture. it is also patently absurd in that, for instance, a multi billionaire like Tokyo Sexwale is presumed to be disadvantaged and MUST be favored at the expense of a poverty ridden 25 year old White who had nothing to do with  apartheid.

The poster on the right  addressee  the problem of social justice without the racism, immorality and absurdity. It also serves to exclude the fat cats trading on their "blackness", that is now apparently pandemic.

There can be not the slightest doubt that my stance is fully vindicated. At the very  least  I was making a valid point that a race based approach harking back to  apartheid  culture was, at the very,  least  highly  problematical.

Given the position you hold as Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance and teaching in the area of Constitutional Law, and your public stature in South Africa it is very worrisome that you appear  oblivious  to an issue of human  rights  and social justice that is  staring  you in the face.

Your displayed  intolerance  to what has turned out to be a valid human  rights  submission is even more worrisome.

"A university is a place in which you are supposed to feel uncomfortable as your views are tested and challenged by other views ... But being educated means that you allow for the possibility that you might be wrong ... A university is not a place where you throw tantrums in public, or storm out of lectures on topics you do not like, or hurl insults at ideas that clash with your own..."  Prof Jonathan Jansen "It's Right To Be Wrong".

This is so, especially as it is a harsh reality that the current model has simply not worked.  The gap between rich and poor is one of the highest in the World.  The apartheid legacy of entrenched social injustice subsists.

What the current model ensures is -

a) that the issue of race, ethnicity and skin tone will remain in the forefront of the public psyche; 

b) that the Black majority will have a sense of grievance against the White minority maintained in their emotional intelligence;

c) that the incoming generation of young and growing South Africans will be infused with the notion that "Black good; White bad; Coloured/Indian/Chinese not too good/bad";

d) that the above will guarantee a new sense of alienation and grievance on the part of the ethnic minority groups;

e) that, in all these circumstances, nation building will have no chance of even being conceived  and South Africa will remain  a country in which race, ethnicity and skin tone are determinants of rights and privileges.

In this way, you and yours, are active participants in building a future socio economic model in which the great notion of a colour/race/ethnic blind society will be more or less as elusive as it was under apartheid. 
So the country has just witnessed quite a spectacular instance of how this racist mentality is pandemic, and able to scupper the very noble intentions of two great human beings, Dr  Mamphela Ramphele of Agang and Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance because, as Dr Mamphela correctly observed, "the country is still trapped in race based politics".

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PS: Jan-Feb 2017 sees another saga of murderous xenophobic attacks on Somali small business traders in particular.
My pleas go unheeded.

The Very Good In Robert Gabriel Mugabe

[Posted in the interest of having the whole truth]

The bush war for liberation was a long and very bloody affair. 
Many thousands of our people died, and were maimed, on account of Ian Smith’s racist intransigence. 

There was much reason to be bitter; to be hateful; to be vengeful. Robert Gabriel Mugabe was not.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was not the first to be forgiving, magnanimous and reconciliatory. It seemingly earned Robert Gabriel Mugabe a knighthood, but not a Nobel Peace prize.

Emphatic testament of this was that he appointed Peter Walls as our first National Army Commander. Peter Walls had been the Commander of the very forces used by Smith in a vain attempt to prevent our liberation in a bitter

war of attrition.

His commitment to true democracy was immediately tested when Edgar Tekere, President of his party, ZANLA, was involved in the killing of Gerald Adams, a White farmer. 
Despite Tekere’s position, and his claims that the killing had occurred unavoidable during the course of a legitimate security sweep of an area presenting as a threat to national security, Mugabe ensured that the law should take its course. 

In this way he was insisting that the taking of human life, White or Black, was prima facie unlawful and could only be resolved by our independent Court of Law and Justice. Tekere, as a Black liberation hero, and Gerald Adams, a White farmer, were equal under the law. 
The Trial Court was also specially constituted to reflect the demographics of our new born country, comprising a White Judge (John Pitman), a Senior Black Magistrate (Peter Nemapare) and a Coloured Provincial Magistrate (Chris Greenland). It is pertinent to point out that both Nemapare and Greenland had been Magistrates under the Smith regime. 
On conclusion of the trial Mugabe accepted the verdict and observed that “The trial was conducted according to the best traditions of our inherited judicial system”.
In this way Mugabe posted the rule of law as paramount.

He ensured that the judiciary was independent and staffed by competent Judges, drawn from our Black, White, Asian and Coloured ethnic groups. When I was asked to accept a judgeship it was explained to me that it was very important that the Courts be seen as representative of ALL the people. 

Notable is the fact that he ensured the appointment of Mr J C R Fieldsend, as our first Chief Justice, even though Fieldsend had agreed with a decision, handed down by the Supreme Court of Rhodesia, that the Smith government was entitled to govern. [Daniel Madzimbamuto v. Lardner-Burke]

During the five years I served as a Judge, not once was there any interference with the judiciary.

The Mugabe Cabinet also included the likes of Dennis Norman and Chris Anderson, holding the important portfolios of Agriculture and Public Service respectfully, despite having been senior acolytes of Ian Smith and his oppressive regime.

When corruption beset our young democracy he immediately appointed an independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate and report, i.e, the Sandura Commission. 

Mugabe ensured that our newly born country adopted and entrenched a Constitution that was an embodiment of all the sacred Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At that time it was probably the best in the World. Under it all were equal, possessed of all rights and privileges that accrue in a free society, whatever one’s race, colour, ethnicity, gender, creed, sexual orientation or religious persuasion.

In particular our rights were enforceable before the independent Superior Courts, whose decisions and rulings were respected, accepted and enforced by the State.
All this ensured that we all felt united as one people, as Africans, as Zimbabweans.
We felt safe. We felt proud.
We were filled with hope, great hope, of a wonderful future in which we could all realize our full potential as free human beings.
There was no "colour coding", no affirmative action and no "Black Economic Empowerment". Our people were going to realize our potential as ONE nation.

Then came Gukuranhundi in 1983. Because Mugabe was married to Communist/Marxist ideology he enlisted the services of North Korea.
Genocide was committed.
Once he found that he could do nothing about the culprits he was forever compromised and Zimbabwe became a de facto military State.
The rest is history ... very VERY BAD history.

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Also go to ----- http://proudlyzimbabwean.orgfree.com/index.html

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