Zimbabwe's Animal Farm

Colonialism's most gaudy aspect is its violent racism. But its most lasting features are the system of control it leaves and the intellectual and emotional degradation it casts on its victims.

Robert Mugabe defeated the imperial rule of the white man only to turn around and adopt his method of governance. Mugabe didn't set the mold; he only practiced against what George Orwell's Animal Farm preached. Robert Mugabe and Ian Smith might look different, but they act the same.

Regarding the violence in Zimbabwe prior to the runoff election and the African condemnation of it, the New York Times reports Mugabe saying, “Some African countries have done worse things. I would like some African leaders who are making these statements to point at me and we would see if those fingers would be cleaner than mine.” His statement brings up two important points.

Firstly, Mugabe doesn't deny that his regime has engaged in state-sponsored violence to crush the opposition. He argues that other African countries have done worse, which leads to the second meaning. In this remark, Mugabe is arguing against the moral clout of African leaders. Mugabe implies that state-sponsored violence is acceptable in Africa, because its leaders to do not have the moral authority to criticize the murders and beatings in other countries. Mugabe's sentiment is that Africa is heretofore incapable of righting its own wrongs. To Mugabe, Africa is weak.

Interestingly enough, had the Rhodesian Front criticized Mugabe's guerilla tactics during the war of Liberation (as they surely did) in the same way as today's African heads of state, Mugabe would have made the same critique of Ian Smith's apartheid rule. However, in that situation, Mugabe’s statement would have been poignantly accurate. Nowadays, Robert Mugabe is spouting the same tired rhetoric as the colonists did back when the current dictator was a liberation hero. As did Ian Smith in the dying days of Rhodesia, Mugabe’s remarks demonizing African leaders are in an attempt to cling to power. His comments contradict his status as a hero against colonialism.

Ian Smith has recently left this earth and Mugabe is not far to follow. In the words of David Harold-Barry, "The curtain is about to come down on the era of old men and their worn out dreams." Stand up Zimbabwe!