Linda Masarira on Prince Charles coronation

4 May 2023

By Mambokadzi WekwaMasarira 

The UK has been hiding behind being a donor government, yet they continuously perpetuate neocolonialism and imperialism. The unregulated forms of aid, trade, and foreign direct investment have entrenched poverty in Zimbabwe as Zimbabweans now suffer from a donor reliant syndrome. Zimbabwe, like many other African sovereign states, has been reduced to mere “flag independence” by external policy interference and economic control. Sadly, Africans have failed to contextualise mal-governance in terms of how external donors and companies often enable such actions to preserve lucrative economic arrangements that have led to so much corruption and unethical conduct in most Afrikan states. 

In short the UK never changed, Prince Charles being the man that hoisted the first Zimbabwe flag in 1980, still has interests in most mineral resources in Zimbabwe hence the invitation of our Head of State to the UK. 

The House of Lords and House of commons in the UK can't even see the speck in the eye of their country, they are always quick to criticise how Zimbabwe runs its own internal affairs? Is the UK so-called constitutional monarchy democratic?

What irks me the most is how my fellow countrymen fail to comprehend how they have been sold a dummy in the name of "democracy and its tenets". Who defined this democracy? Whose democracy is it? What colour is democracy? Where is the democracy when there is so much inequality in the world? 

This past week Zimbabwe has seen some awkward judgements on opposition activists. There is no coincidence at all knowing how infiltrated our systems have become that these judgements coincided with Zimbabwe’s President visit to Prince Charles coronation. 

Cecil John Rhodes remains should be removed from Matobo and sent to UK or burnt to ashes. His statue must also be removed as we can't continue revering men who destroyed our culture, desecrated our identity, and inflicted so much pain on native Africans who resided in now modern day Zimbabwe. What a lot of people don't understand is that during the colonial era the colonialists mastered our traditional systems and religion and have been using that against us. The bones and heads of the spiritual leaders that were killed during the colonial era should be returned to Zimbabwe and buried accordingly by their existing families in Zimbabwe. 

Our decapitated ancestors have a very real degree of agency from beyond the grave. We can't have our own ancestors displayed in a British museum as trophies. It is inhuman, unAfrikan & derogatory. 

In conclusion, Zimbabwe doesn't need aid, it needs reparations!