Opposition leaders say nothing to celebrate on Independence Day

By Lance Guma
17 April 2007

On the eve of Zimbabwe’s 27th Independence Day celebrations, the two leaders of the country’s divided opposition united in acknowledging there was nothing to celebrate. Newsreel on Tuesday spoke to both Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara to get their thoughts on the celebrations. Tsvangirai said although it was an emotional day to reflect on past sacrifices the day itself had lost the nostalgia previously attached to it, mainly because the country had gone back on advances made after independence. He accused the ruling Zanu PF party of ‘Zanuizing’ the event and deliberately excluding everyone else. He said contrary to Mugabe’s claims it was actually the ruling party that has betrayed the ideals of the liberation struggle, not the opposition.

He said the party and its supporters would not be attending any of the festivities. ‘You cannot go to events where your participation is vilified and attendance is at personal risk,’ Tsvangirai said. Turning to the SADC initiative to appoint Thabo Mbeki as mediator, Tsvangirai said he was hopeful things will be different this time around as the initiative had the backing of the whole region. ‘What we need is success, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt.’ Mutambara echoed similar optimism warning however that they would not entrust their destiny to foreigners.

In his Independence Day message Mutambara said Zimbabweans did not owe Mugabe anything; ‘Mugabe was basically a spineless coward in the war, he never fired a single shot and was a lucky coward of the liberation war.’ He said Zimbabweans were responsible for their own emancipation since they are the ones who assisted ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas during the war. Mutambara said the country needed leaders who put national interests before themselves and that people should look for nation builders who can take Zimbabwe to the next level.