THE PEOPLE MAY HAVE GONE

A joke goes around in which Mugabe was asked when he'll bid farewell to the Zimbabwean people. In typical Mugabe style, he asked in response... "Where are the people going to?"

This joke gave birth to a whole brand of what has become known as Mugabe jokes.

Jokes aside, with the events of the last ten days which culminated in the farewell (aka resignation) on 21st November 2017, Mugabe may not have gone anywhere. Rather, the people have moved on when he stayed on the spot.

 

It is in the very nature of peoples not to be static. It is in the very nature of peoples to be in a constant mental journey even when the impression is given that they are pinned to the ground.

They are frightened by guns and made to fear even their own intelligence and ability to be masters of their destinies.

They become zombies… reduced to the management of a physical existence that is devoid of soul, aspiration and hope. They rely on the monstrous big brother to think for them, to tell what they can aspire to, to tell them what they can dream of.

But their zombified nature comes with a twist… They are on a journey… a mental journey unknown even to them. They move on… and as they do, their shadows remain unchanged... unmoved… until that moment when a zombie… one of them, suddenly awoken to his humanity realises that he doesn't have his shadow. He turns around, finds out that he's not alone. Everybody had traveled with him… without their shadows.

He speaks out.

The strongman hears him. Unsure how anyone had the guts to speak, he turns around, speaks to the bunch. He can see them… their shadows… since that's what they had always been… just shadows.

No-one responds. He screams. He waits. He plays for time.

Still… no-one responds.

No-one could possibly have responded… they're shadows.

Then he realises that he's alone… all alone.

He shakes his head, tucks his tail between his legs and walks away.

The joke had come full circle… the people had indeed gone away and their farewell eventually came. Or did we mistake a prophecy for a joke?

It happens to all of them… Mobutu, Compaore, Mubarak, Ben Ali… all of them. And for those who are still trusting the fever of large crowds of griotic support, WATCH OUT… THE PEOPLE MAY HAVE GONE.