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ZIMBABWEANS have expressed mixed feelings over Pastor Evan Mawarire’s decision to remain in exile.
Mawarire, founder of #ThisFlag protest movement that had turned a citizens’ platform for demanding accountability from the Zanu PF government, skipped the country with his family last week for South Africa.
It is believed he was en route to the USA.
The surprise entrant into the country’s protracted struggle for democracy emerged months ago to miraculously become the new face of the struggle.
The eloquent Baptist cleric was an immediate favourite with social media enthusiasts through posting videos which denounced poor leadership under President Robert Mugabe while calling on fellow citizens to stay away from work as a sign of discontentment against the government.
Mawarire, who popularised the wearing of the national flag around the neck, is credited for the successful stay-away which brought the nation to a standstill July 6.
The success of the job boycott raised the ire of the state which responded through locking him up overnight before a failed bid to press treason charges against him.
His arrest evoked deep emotions and affection among Zimbabweans, hundreds of whom braved chilly weather to attend his court hearing in a rare show of solidarity with their comrade.
In him, Zimbabweans had finally found a politically untainted hero on whose shoulders they would rally their cause to secure elusive democracy, so it seemed.
The discovery of a charismatic activist in the mold of Mawarire also brought renewed excitement among Zimbabweans based abroad.
But many were disappointed to hear on Tuesday that Mawarire had skipped the country for the safety of South African territory with strong rumours he was on his way to the USA.
Mawarire said in an interview with South African media he was no longer returning home for safety reasons.
South African-based Zimbabwean blogger Blessing Vava feels Mawarire did not betray his followers by fleeing the country.
“He had no choice. You cannot take chances with a ruthless regime,” he told NewZimbabwe.com.
“The Harare regime has a record of killing, jailing activists who question its leadership flaws and corrupt tendencies.”
Vava maintains the vacuum left by Mawarire in Zimbabwe’s democratic struggle will not be a drawback.
Tom Gumede, a Harare-based Zimbabwean, also feels Mawarire took a correct decision by prioritising his own safety at the expense of being labeled a coward.
“Mawarire represented the struggle for a better life for the poor of this country and his absence, while depressing, does not mean the struggle stops,” he adds.
“It only serves to warn the pro-democracy movement to up the game against tyranny and that is for the better.”
Journalist, Mlondolozi Ndlovu, was not kind with Mawarire whom he said had left the credibility of new entrants into the struggle in tatters.
“Mawarire generally is not a fighter,” he said.
“From what we have seen all along and from the questions that people have asked about him, it is clear that people who have toiled to keep the democratic train up and running should not be readily accepting new comers into the fold when questions still linger over their history.
“This leaves questions on whether people like Acie Lumumba, Temba Mliswa and all those who have been linked to Zanu PF before can be trusted with the struggle.”
Occupy Africa Unity Square activist Patson Dzamara also felt Mawarire had betrayed the prodemocracy movement while Bulawayo East MP Thabitha Khumalo said Mawarire was self centred.
“We are all under siege. He came out from nowhere with a brilliant idea and skipping the country so early is compromising the belief we were beginning to have with the flag initiative,” Khumalo said.
The MDC-T politician said Mawarire had exposed himself as someone who threw himself at the battlefront as a way of evading the hustles often associated with securing an American visa.
However, Mawarire would feel vindicated after President Mugabe on Wednesday issued fresh threats against him for allegedly attempting to subvert his government.
Source-New Zimbabwe
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