By Wilbert Mukori- The late Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a corrupt, incompetent and murderous dictator whose love of power and wealth was insatiable. Zimbabwe, the country and nation have paid dearly for his greed. Anyone saying Mugabe is a hero, a liar with no sense of shame, humanity or justice.

Mugabe was responsible for the death of over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans in his fight to establish and retain his de facto one party, Zanu PF, dictatorship. His 37 years of corrupt and tyrannical rule has result in the total collapse of the country’s economy, a country that before independence was the breadbasket of the region is now dependent on food aid. Unemployment has soared to nauseating heights of 90% and been 80% plus for the last 20 years. The country’s basic services including health services have all but collapsed.

Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies betrayed the nation because Mugabe’s Zimbabwe is not what Zimbabweans, from the days of Mbuya Nehanda to the millions who have died since indirectly or otherwise, wanted.

Most of those singing Mugabe’s praise today are doing so because they benefited from the dictatorship or have been brainwashed into believing Mugabe can do no wrong!

Mugabe played a part in the liberation of Zimbabwe but only as mercenary, he had his eyes fixed on the price of being the country’s new lord and master after the white colonialists he was fighting. He did not care about freedom, human rights and not even the right to life. Only a first-class village idiot would call Mugabe a hero much less mourn the death of the corrupt and murderous dictator.

“Pidigori waenda, wanga achinyanya kuvhaira!”  (Pidigori (nickname for the bad one) has gone, he had become too boastful!) said Thomas Mapfumo in one of his songs, sung with Mugabe in mind!

Mugabe wanted to stay in power for live and hand over power to his wife Grace. Power was wrestled from him by his fellow Zanu PF cronies led by none other his henchman in chief, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in the military coup in November 2017.

It is said Mugabe died a bitter man and his dying wish was that he did not want to be buried at the National Heroes Acre and have Mnangagwa and other November coup gangsters pontificating over his died body. Most Zimbabweans could not care less, they have the economic mess and political paralysis he has left behind to worry about.  

The greatest regret for the nation is that they had failed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship during Mugabe’s life-time – if that would have accelerated the dictator and many of those around him deaths that would have been a bonus.

Dismantling the Zanu PF dictatorship still remains the greatest challenge to Zimbabwe’s very survival. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs; there will be no meaningful economic recovery.

Being sentimental over the death of a murderous dictator is simply a luxury that Zimbabweans can ill afford particularly when the dictatorship itself is alive and thriving! It will only encourage the sitting dictators and those to follow to believe the nation will worship them regardless their reign of terror!

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a servant follow him around and every time Aurelius received a compliment the servant had to whisper in his ear, “You’re just a man… just a man,” “Memento Mori” (“remember you are mortal”) to keep him humble.

It is not surprising that Mugabe did not want to hear the song “Pidigori waenda!” He did not want to be reminded that he was a bad person and worse still that he was mortal! His legacy of 30 000 deaths and the economic meltdown and his death confirms he was dictator and a mortal!