Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai believes independence day is not worth celebrating due to the myriad of challenges Zimbabweans continue to face everyday, which brings to question the surety of the country’s freedom.
In his independence massage to the people of Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai said since 1980, the country has never enjoyed the fruits of independence but rather suffer the stinking poverty.
“Today, we commemorate 37 years of our hard-won independence from the brutal, oppressive and racist colonial regime.
“I advisedly say commemorate and not celebrate because the stinking poverty around us and the extreme suffering of the people is not worth celebrating. Our current sad national predicament is not commensurate with the sacrifice we made as a nation in the brutal struggle for our independence,” he said.
He added, “Today is a day for serious reflection on whether the despicable state of the nation and the sorry plight of people can be regarded as the sum total of the true meaning of our independence.
“Independence came without freedom. It is sad that our brothers and sisters whom we correctly called freedom fighters are painfully realizing now that the country for which they fought has now been privatized by small, parasitic elite. Today, we even kill others for freely exercising their right to vote for a political party of their choice; a right for which so many sons and daughters of this land paid the ultimate price.”
Tuesday 18 April, marked 37 years of Zimbabwe’s independence.
The former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe laid the blame for challenges bedeviling the country on the ruling party in power since the country’s independence in 1980.
“But alas, this important national day has been hijacked; pick-pocketed by the ruling elite. It is a big day now mired by cheap sloganeering in a move that excludes other political players from joining the rest of the nation in celebrating our sacred struggle against colonialism,” said Tsvangirai.
