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Lest We Forget: From LOMA to POSA
Public meeting commemorating the 1960 protests
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
Harare, July 24, 2003

Please note that this is a summary of the points presented by Mr Nyathi. It does not represent a direct transcript or exact quotations from his speech, and thus should not be used as verbatim citations of the presentation. Instead, they merely provide an indication of what the speaker discussed.

Nyathi began by telling the audience that Edgar Tekere and Eddison Zvobgo represent the Zimbabwe that could have been, and never was. He asked what had gone wrong.

He said that he could remember the events of July 1960, but that he could not link them to the current situation, because it was so similar to the present. He did acknowledge the need to carry out now the same sort of struggle that the 1960's represented. However, he said, in the 60's it was much easier to identify the enemy, because the conflict was so racially charged. It was harder now to describe the circumstance, particularly as people had learned that oppression does not belong only to whites.

Nyathi said that when he saw the size of the group gathered, he thought of the Final Push. He said that this is what the Final Push meant, that there are many ways to contribute to the struggle, either directly by participating with the MDC, or even indirectly or more personally, by making sure that one does not participate in the oppression.

Nyathi acknowledge that the issues raised by Tekere are current, and need to be discussed. He said that the MDC agrees that there is a need for a new Constitution, that is why they are part of the NCA, and are actively involved in the constitutional debate.

He said that the MDC does not have a problem with war veterans. Out of a National Executive of 48 members, 12 are war veterans. This is a high representation of a group that makes up a smaller percentage of Zimbabwe's national population. Moreover, Nyathi reminded the audience, no one has a monopoly on patriotism. Instead, everyone can be patriotic in his or her own way.

Nyathi said that there is a perception that the MDC is not interested in land distribution. He said that instead, there is no doubt that the MDC will have to help clean up the situation. But they insisted that land should not be used as an instrument to divide the people of Zimbabwe, nor should it be used to make Zimbabwe starve.

He said that he wished Zvobgo was present, to talk about a revolution that devours not only its children but also its fathers. Not only has it devoured the fathers, but it is making sure that they stay devoured.

Nyathi said that in 1960 he was a student leader at college, and he and the other activists were called puppets of communism. This was part of the sentiment of the then-ruling party that black Zimbabweans, without outside agitation, would never realise that they were oppressed.

Therefore, he was dismayed when, in 1999 when he was involved in the formation of the MDC, they were also called puppets of whites. Nyathi said that he was shocked that so few whites-and ones who were behind him in school-could be influencing he and other party members!

He said the absence of democracy, freedom and the values people fought for over the years had caused the continuation of the struggle. With those factors, he said, the struggle could end.

He commented that Tekere now speaks the same language Nyathi did in 1960-work together, join in, clean up. But, he asked, why should there be only one party. Why must all Zimbabweans belong to Zanu PF? He commented that once the liberation struggle overthrew colonial government, it was assumed that one no longer needed to confront it.

But he recalled in 1960 being in a group of other youths. They attacked other blacks if they opposed what they stood for, because they saw them as an obstacle. He said they took this intolerance to the camps outside the country. This tremendous intolerance, and the conditions and brutality it created in the camps, must be understood if Zimbabweans are to truly appreciate where they are today, and why.

Nyathi said that there is temptation to glorify the courage of the liberation struggle. But, while it was courageous, it was not as romantic as people want to remember it as having been. He said Zimbabwe has not properly investigated its history. Instead, some of the current problems in the country now can be traced back to those training camps, and to unresolved problems of the liberation struggle. The past, he said, has had a damming effect on the present, and must be dealt with.

With LOMA, Rhodesia sought to preserve power and retain resources. Of course, this did not work. Instead, it led to the armed struggle, and the destruction of a lot of the country. But despite this, LOMA understood the difference between "political detainees" and "criminals." POSA, Nyathi said, is obnoxious because it is trying to break up the political opposition. But it should not pretend that some one who does not get permission under POSA has committed an offence. This, he said, is excessive.

Further, he dismissed the argument that POSA, AIPPA, and other attempts at closing the space for democratic debate protects state security. Instead, such actions project the misdemeanours of the state, and further convinces those who believe that such governance is unacceptable.

Nyathi commented that since his release from two weeks in detention, MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai has refused to talk about his time in prison. He hopes that this is so that Tsvangirai remains angry and talks about it later. He said that it is a great betrayal as a leader, when people for whom you have fought turn against you and humiliate you. But, he said, Tsvangirai looked stately, and not humiliated. Because when you know what you stand for, you cannot be humiliated.

Nyathi likened this to the 1960's, when Rhodesian torturers could not understand how a crowd of people could lift Joshua Nkomo's car-with Nkomo inside it-because they held him in such high esteem.

In 2003, he said, the opposition leader was arrested for two weeks, but there were no riots. He blamed this not on apathy or cowardice but on the overall paralysis of the population, which simply could not believe that their own government, a black-led government which had fought a liberation war against oppression, could do such a thing.

Nyathi warned that if Zimbabwe continues in the direction it is going, people will become so angry that the actions of the 1960s will pale in significance. This, however, can be avoided, if something happens soon.

He reminded the audience that, clause by clause, the MDC divided the House of Parliament when it was debating POSA. It did this because, even though they knew they could not stop the law from being passed, they did not want to allow it to go unchallenged. He said that Zimbabweans, and people around the world realise that there can be no progress with such laws as POSA on the books, because they are laws enacted by people who are afraid of competition.

Nyathi said that in the MDC, they are well aware of the expectations placed on them. He acknowledged that people want the MDC to deliver them from the current situation, and said the party was committed to showing people a way out. Thus, he sees a transition phase as an opportunity for Zimbabweans to begin to heal, and to envision their own destiny.

Chris Hani once said, "sometimes you have to hug the hyena in order to get peace." He didn't, however, say how many Dettol baths you would need to clean yourself up afterwards.

Above all else, he reminded the audience, we are all Zimbabweans, and our destiny is defined by one Zimbabwe. At some stage, we must resolve our difference, Nyathi said.

On the question of talks, he said: "I am the party spokesperson. If there were talks, I would tell you. There are not." Above all else, he said, the MDC wants to talk about issues that really matter-jobs created, discoveries made, not POSA or AIPPA, etc.

He said the MDC wants the 500,000 Zimbabweans living in the UK, the 2.5 million Zimbabweans in South Africa and the 300,000 Zimbabweans in Botswana to come home because, he said, the things they left home to look for can be created here in Zimbabwe.

Nyathi told the audience that 2003 is a defining year for the MDC. They believe that 2003 should see Zimbabwe move out of the current crisis. That, he said, is why they have taken the bold step of going to Parliament to listen to Mugabe's speech.

He said that he received a lot of feed back from people about this decision. About 90% of the feedback has been positive, but 10% of people say that the MDC sold out. The MDC chose to attend the President's address in order to move Zimbabwe to the vision that the party has. They wanted to send the message that they are willing to remove obstacles, that they want the country to heal, that they want to find solutions.

Nyathi said that he is grateful to be part of the current process. He said the MDC understands the people's trust, and the duty that comes with that trust. He said it was time to recapture the dream of the 1960's the vision that led people to struggle, to fight, to cross borders and exist, not frightened, but confident in that dream.

He said the 1960's was the time of "mwana wevhu." Even in Matabeleland, that was the phrase that was used to greet comrades, to recognise one another, to bond and find commonality. The MDC, he said, also has slogans. These slogans again promote unity and encourage people to care for one another, to work together.

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