Wednesday marks 27 years of Zimbabwe's independence. Max Mkandla is a former freedom fighter and leader of the Zimbabwe Liberators Peace Initiative, an organisation representing the interests of liberation fighters, mainly in southern Zimbabwe. He served as a Section Commander under the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) during the country's protracted war against colonial rule. Mkandla told IRIN he felt the government had betrayed the cause of the struggle.
"The independence that the nation will observe this week is in vain. Simply speaking, there is no independence to talk about because the government has turned its sword on the same people that fought gallantly to liberate this country.
"Opposition activists have been brutalised, tortured and killed; and those who advocate for freedom and human rights are in danger of this regime. I, for one, served as a commander under ZIPRA, which was a military wing of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), which was led by the late Joshua Nkomo.
"I sacrificed a lot to free this country, but my heart bleeds today when I see oppression and brutal torture of [opposition.]
"When I fought in the bush, indeed, all those who stood up and contributed in different ways towards freeing this country, we wanted our freedoms to be guaranteed; we wanted a right to vote, regardless of who you are and, most importantly, we wanted to live as freely as any other democratic and independent nation but, sadly ... our aspirations [have been blighted].
"They have brutalised, tortured, killed and maimed opponents and civilians since the Gukurahundi war, and they have destroyed the economy, ushering in an unprecedented poverty never seen before."
Gukurahundi, meaning 'the first rains of the season, which wash away all the chaff' in the Shona language, was a brigade sent to the southern provinces of Midlands and Matabeleland to curb dissent, two years after Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980. It killed 20,000 people.
"There is no independence to talk about. Government and ZANU-PF, and indeed President [Robert] Mugabe, should be ashamed of themselves."
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
