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Stanley Letsoko

In A New Crime, Mark Twain wrote that what we want now are not laws against crime, but a law against insanity. That is where the true evil lies.

Taking Mark Twain’s sentiments a step further, in Africa we need laws both against insanity and crime. Insanity, political injustices and crime are ubiquitous on the continent, and democracy as an antidote is failing the people of Africa.

In our support of Robert Mugabe some of us mistook his insanity for genius. Bruce Feirstein once remarked that the distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success. Those who still believe that Mugabe is a genius must judge him by his success.

So far Mugabe’s madness and defiance have achieved nothing but apathy, hopelessness and despair for the people of Zimbabwe.

Tyranny can never be equated with genius and if we continue to endorse Mugabe, we are not only as mad as he is, but also accomplices to the brutalities of his madness.

But in my disillusionment with Mugabe, I am equally disappointed by the irresponsible actions of Zimbabwe’s former colonial master, Britain, for reneging on the promises it made to Zimbabwe. Like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Mugabe is the ultimate creation of Britain’s unfulfilled promises.

The crooked actions of the British government did not just turn Mugabe into a monster, but also into a Messiah for those who feel wronged by such actions.

It is easy for the international community to condemn Mugabe for all his insanity, but if we were to diagnose Mugabe’s mental illness, Britain is actually at the heart of his disease.

However, we must all agree that those leaders who subject their people to despair and hopelessness inflicted by torture, brutality, humiliation and inhumanity deserve no sympathy or support from the people of Africa.

As Africans we are all extremely disappointed at the quality of leadership on the continent, in particular as reflected in the actions of the African Union’s endorsement of a government of national unity in Zimbabwe. Mugabe does not deserve to be in the next Zimbabwean government.

If Africa is really serious about democracy, our leaders need to refrain from endorsing tyranny and other forms of dictatorship on the continent.

The people of Africa are worried sick that just when we were hoping to enter a new era of democracy, it seems our leaders are taking us back to the dark days of post-colonialism characterised by dictatorships and the mayhem wrought by warlords.

It would seem that we have entered a new era in African politics in which, instead of stepping down, dictators must now be appeased with governments of national unity.

I must, however, hasten to mention that the situation in Zimbabwe is a bit different. A government of national unity is understandable, especially since the chief of police and the army in that country have made it clear that they will not support a government led by the opposition.

This creates a new challenge for all of us. If the opposition in that country was to become the government of the day, Zimbabwe would most likely be plunged into a civil war ending in a coup d’état. Without the support of the security apparatus, Zimbabwe is most likely to fall prey to another dictatorship – of a military nature.

There is also the dicey issue of Zimbabwean opposition politics, with most people on the African continent, including the people of Zimbabwe, not really knowing where they stand on the land issue.

There is a fear that with all the shady deals the Movement for Democratic Change has entered into with the West, during their campaigns to discredit and unseat Mugabe, that their turn to govern will be tantamount to payback time.