How dare you say "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY ZIMBABWE"?

18^th April 2022

By Magadaline (Maggy) Moyo

When my sister Nomsa Tshuma witnessed the painful death of her husband, Elvis Nyathi, a fate she herself narrowly escaped, at the hands of rogue South Africans simply because he was a foreigner that supposedly took their job whilst there are no jobs in Zimbabwe. 

When we watched that Video of Elvis Nyathi being burnt alive to ashes by heartless South Africans simply because he had left Zimbabwe out of desperation. When lack of opportunities due to the dire economic situation caused by an uncaring and unprincipled government that pursues distractive policies and a narrow agenda that benefits only an elite few and their surrogates at the expense of the general citizenry forced him to seek a livelihood elsewhere.

Elvis Nyathi, like millions other Zimbabwean emigrants decided to take a job that most South Africans deemed demeaning because he knew the struggles back home. To him this was his Gold.

Now you are telling me “Happy #### 42yrs…”

How is my sister Nomsa Tshuma and her four children going to heal from the trauma of watching that Video of Elvis Nyathi being burnt alive to ashes in South Africa when in Zimbabwe we don't have such basics as just a simple running clinic with Paracetamol let alone mental health facilities?

42 Years of “independence” and Elvis's children are not attending school for lack of school fees. His eldest child wrote his O-Level exams but was denied his results simply because the family had not paid his school fees. Elvis Nyathi’s 14yr old child dropped out of school to herd cattle and the last-born could not attend school, both because the family could not afford school fees.

42 Years of pain and suffering!! 

42 Years of overcrowded prison walls of innocent people who speak against human rights atrocities!! 

42 Years of our youths turning to Crystal meth and other harmful substances to numb the pains of being orphans to HIV AIDS and other easily manageable health conditions and living in hopelessly dire poverty!!

42 Years of the pain experienced by oppressed women whose husbands are kidnapped and made to disappear in thin air by a rogue State because they dare speak out against the oppressive regime!!

 

42 Years of many children like Anna a.k.a Memory Machaya losing their lives during child birth because of forced marriages!!

 

42 Years of the pain of Gugurahundi victims who lost parents, brothers and sisters and even denied a memorial stone to console themselves and the pain they have felt after losing almost 20 000 people at the hands of specially trained army brigade!!

42 Years of seeing the likes of Marry Mubaiwa being dragged to before the Zanu-PF courts whilst on her death bed despite being someone who once was a partner of and has children with a Vice President!!

 

YOU SAID 42 YEARS? Do you fathom the pain felt by Sylvia Maphosa's children after their mother was killed by Zimbabwean army at age 52 whilst coming from work.

 

42 Years that include the pain of losing the likes of the Dzamara brothers, Itai and Patson who died fighting for a truly independent Zimbabwe!!

 

42 Years of dictatorship, 42 Years of tears of Zimbabwean children. 42 Years of being insulted as youth that we are not capable to lead Zimbabwe!!

About the author;-
Magadaline (Maggy) Moyo is a human rights activist and a member of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe’s UK Chapter. She is also the Coordinator of These Walls Must Fall Campaign in Manchester and works with various grass root organisations fighting for social justice and promoting the welfare of the girl child in Southern Africa. She is based in the United Kingdom and can be contacted by email on nombuso430@gmail.com