There is absolutely nothing wrong about Zimbabweans celebrating President Robert Gabriel Mugabe’s birthday. At 88 he is after all, one of the world’s oldest sitting presidents — vintage material whom Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi wants declared a tourist attraction (never mind the comical irony).
It is perfectly in order therefore for his party Zanu PF to honour him in any way they like, including musical galas, and for his office to spoil him with an 88kg crocodile cake! I have a problem however when the party, in its ill-informed zeal to curry favour with the dear leader, allows sycophants to abuse little children in the manner witnessed at Chipinge Primary School, venue of the Saturday Bob 88 Gala.
Such galas are the baby of the Ministry of Information and Publicity, run by one of Zimbabwe’s fiercest anti-hate speech fighters, Comrade Webster Shamu. Yes, Shamu can be given the benefit of doubt that he may be unaware of everything that is put on show at such events, but those directly in charge of every script and sanction performance, are senior party officials including people like Retired Major Anyway Mutambudzi who coordinated the Chipinge Gala.
I was about to retire to bed, around 22:30hrs Saturday night, after watching some of the early performances when I was stopped in my tracks by the assailing voice of a little girl. She appeared to be around 7 years-old but certainly not over 10. The girl, going by the nickname “Senator Samantha”, was delivering a well rehearsed poem in praise of President Mugabe – a poem her teachers must have toiled to implant in her small mind so she could recite it with such flawless eloquence. Up till now I pray the child does not know the meaning of the contents of the poem she was made to recite. In another country, authors of that “poem” would have been jailed for wicked child abuse.
Part of the poem the child was made to recite (in Shona) on the grant stage, in front of cameras and on national television beamed from Zambezi to Limpopo went like this: Tsvangirai, ndaiona musoro kukura ndikati injere, ndange ndisingazivi kuti kurwara and . . . kwamuri imi mai veBuhera, Tsvangirai mwana wenyu kukudza dzoro, Tsvangirai isora rinoda kudzurwa.” And something about Finance Minister Tendai Biti – words like “. . .Tendai Biti, kurerera benzi padura. . .”
That I was shocked would be an understatement. And I am sure I was not the only one who was jolted by this obscene profanity. Here is a seven-year old being made to yelp insults at the Prime Minister and his mother – unprovoked. A little Grade Two child being made to recite to the nation a poem describing Tsvangirai as carrying a brainless big head – literally threatening the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe with death . . . “Tsvangirai is grass that must be weeded out”. What Tsvangirai or his mother or Finance Minister Biti had done to attract such an attack from President Mugabe’s birthday celebration party, God knows.
But the question is; what are we doing to our children Cde Shamu? What kind of speech is this being broadcast on national television? And – for those that coined the vulgarity – what was going on in your minds? The teachers who were given the task to get the child to memorise this obscenity — where is your conscience? Those that we saw on television urging the child on with wild cheers and ululation — what kind of humans have you become? Whilst children’s participation in society is acceptable the world over, the activities the children take part in have an impact on their socialisation. Encouraging children to insult adults, let alone national leaders who their teachers should ask them to respect, is not only unAfrican but outright gutter behaviour.
Responsible adults do not behave in the manner that Retired Major Mutambudzi did in Chipinge. Putting such obnoxious words into the mouth and mind of a young child is criminal. Politicians have a duty to ensure that whatever activities they involve children and youths in do not expose them to the harm similar to that little Samantha has been put.
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This is not the time to indoctrinate children and idolise violence by making little girls say words that Shamu or Mutambudzi would themselves not dare say in front of Tsvangirai. Zimbabwean children have suffered enough and there are hundreds of them who are still traumatised by the Zanu PF Border Gezi Project, who are desperately in need of getting back into society.
With election winds beginning to blow, Zimbabwe does not require irresponsible persons to politicise children and politicians should desist from violating children’s rights and sacrificing other people’s children for their own selfish ends.
What happened in Chipinge is shocking, regrettable and should never be allowed to happen.
People may be allowed to get carried away with bootlicking Mugabe to the ridiculous extent of proposing he be declared a tourist attraction — one of the World’s Seven Wonders — but let us just leave the children out of it!
