Zimbabwe has a storied history of valiant resistance, forging towering heroes whose contributions outlive them and make a nation out of a country. In successfully prosecuting the Second Chimurenga, David slew Goliath. David slew Goliath again via the land reforms. And once more David is slayingGoliath through indigenisation and economic empowerment.
These have never been easy pursuits; they have required men and women of unquestionable dedication to the nation.
President Mugabe spoke of these men and women back on August 12, 2002 as the country bade farewell to Dr Bernard Chidzero at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
President Mugabe said: “Bernard and all who lie buried here worked for the people, sacrificed for their well-being and that of our children. Today, in the eerie silence of this sacred Acre, they ask you and me many questions.
“What have you done with your life for your nation, for your people, for our children? Or are you negating the very illustrious essence of these proud and venerated men and women of honour we gather yearly to acknowledge?
“If Joshua Nkomo were to rise this hour, would you be fit to hold his hand and walk in step with him down the path that emanates from this very sacred shrine and ends in a great future for our country?
“If Leopold Takawira, Chairman Herbert Chitepo, General Josiah Magama Tongogara, Jason Moyo, Nikita Mangena were here with us today, would you embrace and greet them in comradeship, would you be found among the trusted cadres they would have inspected?
“The Old Man Tangwena, would he again stretch his age, cross the fierce, untamed Nyangombe, to join your cause, to applaud your actions? Would he invoke the spirits’ blessings for your pursuits in his profound communion with the dear departed?
“What is your cause today? Does it derive from and connect with the lofty ideals of these men and women we honour today? Or are you, through your actions, a willing traitor and second executioner of these heroes; willing posthumous betrayer of their cause, indeed the eager butcher of our revolution, our heritage and of the future of our children?”
It is to the standards of people such as Big Josh, the Lion of Chirumanzu, Chairman Chitepo, General Tongo, JZ, Cde Nikita and Old Man Tangwena that we should measure our thoughts, plans and actions against.
It is against such standards that President Mugabe called the nation to judge itself as we buried Dr Chidzero back in 2002.
Dr Chidzero never held a gun. He never fired a bullet at the imperialist settler. He never organised a pungwe. But he was called in 1980 to serve his country, to deploy his brain, energy and heart in service of Zimbabwe.
And he did it with distinction.
Last week, another man who never held a gun, never fired a bullet and never organised a pungwe departed this great nation of resistance and heroism. That was Dr Charles Utete, the first black person to head this country’s civil service.
Indeed, as said by his successor Dr Misheck Sibanda, Dr Utete more or less single-handedly established an African civil service after 90 years of white British colonialism.
It was not an easy task. Often it may have seemed thankless. The pay was public service scale. His talents and intellect could have earned him far much more in the private sector.
Still he answered the call. Like Dr Chidzero, his heart would not let him do otherwise.
Yes, the men and women who held guns, who fired bullets, who organised pungwes were at the frontline of creating a new Zimbabwe.
But once that new Zimbabwe came, it is men and women such as these who appreciated that the revolution had to be consolidated by a cadre of public servants who put the country and its needs above personal advancement.
While others ascribe heroism to themselves via self-serving and nationally destructive destabising social media campaigns that have zero ideological grounding, men and women like Dr Utete give their all to actually make a tangible contribution.
They don’t prefix their causes with hashtags, they don’t pontificate emptily on WhatsApp and Facebook, they don’t indulge in frenzied tweeting.
They work. They work quietly and hard.
And after they have run the race and finished their course, they can stand before Big Josh, the Lion of Chirumanzu, Chairman Chitepo, General Tongo, JZ, Cde Nikita and Old Man Tangwena.
They fight the good fight, and for that we toast them: Our Davids who do not shy away from Goliaths, indeed Davids who do not sup with Goliaths.
COMMENT: Fighting the good fight
The Sunday Mail
Zimbabwe has a storied history of valiant resistance, forging towering heroes whose contributions outlive them and make a nation out of a country. In successfully prosecuting the Second Chimurenga, David slew Goliath. David slew Goliath again via the land reforms. And once more David is slaying
Goliath through indigenisation and economic empowerment.
These have never been easy pursuits; they have required men and women of unquestionable dedication to the nation.
President Mugabe spoke of these men and women back on August 12, 2002 as the country bade farewell to Dr Bernard Chidzero at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
President Mugabe said: “Bernard and all who lie buried here worked for the people, sacrificed for their well-being and that of our children. Today, in the eerie silence of this sacred Acre, they ask you and me many questions.
“What have you done with your life for your nation, for your people, for our children? Or are you negating the very illustrious essence of these proud and venerated men and women of honour we gather yearly to acknowledge?
“If Joshua Nkomo were to rise this hour, would you be fit to hold his hand and walk in step with him down the path that emanates from this very sacred shrine and ends in a great future for our country?
“If Leopold Takawira, Chairman Herbert Chitepo, General Josiah Magama Tongogara, Jason Moyo, Nikita Mangena were here with us today, would you embrace and greet them in comradeship, would you be found among the trusted cadres they would have inspected?
“The Old Man Tangwena, would he again stretch his age, cross the fierce, untamed Nyangombe, to join your cause, to applaud your actions? Would he invoke the spirits’ blessings for your pursuits in his profound communion with the dear departed?
“What is your cause today? Does it derive from and connect with the lofty ideals of these men and women we honour today? Or are you, through your actions, a willing traitor and second executioner of these heroes; willing posthumous betrayer of their cause, indeed the eager butcher of our revolution, our heritage and of the future of our children?”
It is to the standards of people such as Big Josh, the Lion of Chirumanzu, Chairman Chitepo, General Tongo, JZ, Cde Nikita and Old Man Tangwena that we should measure our thoughts, plans and actions against.
It is against such standards that President Mugabe called the nation to judge itself as we buried Dr Chidzero back in 2002.
Dr Chidzero never held a gun. He never fired a bullet at the imperialist settler. He never organised a pungwe. But he was called in 1980 to serve his country, to deploy his brain, energy and heart in service of Zimbabwe.
And he did it with distinction.
Last week, another man who never held a gun, never fired a bullet and never organised a pungwe departed this great nation of resistance and heroism. That was Dr Charles Utete, the first black person to head this country’s civil service.
Indeed, as said by his successor Dr Misheck Sibanda, Dr Utete more or less single-handedly established an African civil service after 90 years of white British colonialism.
It was not an easy task. Often it may have seemed thankless. The pay was public service scale. His talents and intellect could have earned him far much more in the private sector.
Still he answered the call. Like Dr Chidzero, his heart would not let him do otherwise.
Yes, the men and women who held guns, who fired bullets, who organised pungwes were at the frontline of creating a new Zimbabwe.
But once that new Zimbabwe came, it is men and women such as these who appreciated that the revolution had to be consolidated by a cadre of public servants who put the country and its needs above personal advancement.
While others ascribe heroism to themselves via self-serving and nationally destructive destabising social media campaigns that have zero ideological grounding, men and women like Dr Utete give their all to actually make a tangible contribution.
They don’t prefix their causes with hashtags, they don’t pontificate emptily on WhatsApp and Facebook, they don’t indulge in frenzied tweeting.
They work. They work quietly and hard.
And after they have run the race and finished their course, they can stand before Big Josh, the Lion of Chirumanzu, Chairman Chitepo, General Tongo, JZ, Cde Nikita and Old Man Tangwena.
They fight the good fight, and for that we toast them: Our Davids who do not shy away from Goliaths, indeed Davids who do not sup with Goliaths.
RIP Dr Utete.
Share This:
More Stories: