During my early years I usually spent my school holidays divided between Mombeyarara and Chireya in rural Buhera and Gokwe respectively. There is one aspect that I found remarkably similar in both societies: accepting and handling the dead.
It was very rare to come across funerals as they are today. Children were not allowed near a funeral and would usually be moved to other places until the proceedings are finished. Those traditionally acclaimed humns such as 'Maria naMaritha or Mumureverer' and that significantly sumbolic glagged red cloth would alert us that something was not right. People then did not have to ask whether the deceased was a philanderer who would leave no skirt unturned, or did he have any evil, stained hands. Everyone was entitled to a decent burial and families would celebrate the deceased's life. They used to say 'Wafa Wanaka' (avoid cursing the dead). I too remember being told not to stare or to point at a grave. The significance of such myths was to save us from being haunted by such trauma (buka or kuvhumuka).
As time goes by so our attitudes change. In a country where the average life expectancy is low at nearly 49 years, it is not surprising that children bury each other. Although the tradition has not changed much regarding honoring the dead there is evidence of some men behaving rather badly. For instance, tyrant Robert Mugabe is sharp eyed at seizing these funeral platforms for political gains. In the past he has unleashed anger at his opponents at the National heroes acre on live television and there is no indication of him shifting his bad stance. I do not recall him making any comments following the killing of notorious dissident Richard Gwasela in the late 1980's. What I found outrageous were his comments and reaction to the death of one Zimbabwean nationaly who died in active service in Iraq while serving with the British Army in 2003. The late Piper Muzuvuru was not a traitor or a dog of war. He died doing the job he loved, may his soul rest in peace.
Today the most popular question when one passes away is "Ko afa nei. Handicho chakati kuuya ichi?" (What caused the death? Is this not HIV/AIDS?). Surprisingly, even Zimbabwe's untained eye can today diagnose highly complex conditions that an expert in the field would seek a second opinion on. Start going bald or get greying hair, they will say "We once told you". Interestingly, sharing a table with those you love can be a bad experience. You joke and giggle but by the time you leave for the toilet they whisper "did you see his red lips?" and the response "his eyes are too white, anorwara chete, ende vane HIV vanotaurisa (he must be HIV positive, he's talkative). Such is the problem of thought and stigma. However in the hour of need this is all irrelevant because whatever the cause, whatever the past, people would still come together, holding their peace and doing the right thing.
May 2nd saw an announcement by US President Barack Obama; that the worlds most wanted man, Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, had been shot dead by the US Navy SEALs in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This made me proud to be Zimbabwean. In my country we don't celebrate the death of a man. As outlined earlier, evidence refuting or supporting this view could be inconclusive. It seems that even the death of the most hated figure after Mugabe, former Rhodesia PM Ian Douglas Smith was received like any other. Smith once declared that no black men would rule Zimbawe during his lifetime. He was responsible for the massacre of hundreds of thousamds of Zimbabwean fighters during the Liberation struggle following his Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1965. He was so evil that he would facilitate donations of those famous poisoned 'Blue Jeans" (stone wash or Satani) to the freedom fighters. What remains unclear is whether Gordon Chavhunduka, the facilitator, knw that the chemicals in these jeans react in wet conditions, eating in to the flesh of these brave fighters. Yet, we appear to have accepted that past is past; Ian had to have dignity in life and in death.
Obama's words, "Justice has been done", are still ringing in my head. If Aristotle was alive today he would have been America's worst enemy. If justice means giving people what they deserve, then truly his modern heirs should be shaking their heads.
I saw euphoric crowds that thronged the White House chanting and showering all sorts of praise to Obama. It was only a week after Donald Trump forced him to produce his birth certificate to prove that he was a bona fide citizen. They celebrated the killing of a man who wreaked havoc and troubled America for many years. What is evident is the nature in which the horrific 9/11 attacks were carried out. Though Osama has urged Muslims to continue jihad against the US and Jews alike, he denied any involvement in the bombing and killing of 212 people at US embassies in Eastern Africa on that dreadful day August 7th, 1998. The world also knows that the CIA armed and funded the Afghan Mujaheddin during the war against the Soviets. Does this answer the conspiracy theories that the CIA created this monster? However, amid all this joy at the 'assassination' of Osama, the world has been united in principle but with emotions overshadowing morality, opinions have been divided.
It is important to understand how Osama Bin Laden was killed and whether that was the right thing to do. It seems that the US backtracked on its priginal statement that Bin Laden was armed. They later issued a statement to the contrary. This together with their refusal to publish images of dead Osama gave the leftists and conspiracy theorists another reason to doubt US claims. Whether the images would have been provocative and incite revenge or would make him a martyrm many people believe that these mistakes by America will fuel terrorism rather than thwart it.
Clearly there is no way of knowing the truth from the fairytale America tells us, given their recent spectacular display of verbal acrobatics. It is believed that in politics lies prevail. However, this makes the world more unsafe and uncertain. What is clear is that there are no elections to fill Osama's boots as it is in politics. By the time Obama is re-elected for a second term as a token of appreciation the world will be more dangerous because we do not know how these ideologically inspired extremists are going to respond. What is even more worrying is that we can't identify who the real enemy is. With radicalism a key issue deeply rooted inside a respectable religion, it will be hard to differentiate the two and to attempt tackling one without upsetting the other. So for America to treat the cause and not the effects; they need to set their goals clearly to avoid repeating these confusing and unhappy endings.
If Osama was unarmed just like his 9/11 victims it was wrong for the US to shoot him dead. As a former soldier myself the rules of engagement prohibit such action. But the rule of engagement isn't much help because it begs the question that is tat the heart of the debate; War on terrorism? Many would argue that justice is only delivered through a fair trial at a neutral courts of law, as was done at Nuremberg to those Nazis accused of crimes against humanity after the Second World War. Yjay, after all, is how Dr Rowan Williams thrilled me by revealing that 'the killing of an unarmed man' left 'a very uncomfortable feeling'. Another interesting moral dilema to this effect was that of a Navy SEAL, Marcus Luttrell, in 2005 when he had to cast a deciding vote on whether to release Afghan goatheards. He said 'It would be wrong wrong to execute these unarmed men in cold blood". The real point is not whether Osama was armed or not, as long as he did not pose an immediate threat, the life of any man is vital. Killing him this way because he was evil makes the US equally evil.
Given that their goal was to kill or capture as described by the US Attorney General Eric Holder, we can only make assumptions of what could have happened given these misleading statements. We are not told whether Osama did surrender to the SEALs. It will be reasonable to suggest that they shot him because he was about to detonate himself; a characteristic feature of al-Qaeda and its militant ally, the Taliban. In this case the SEALs had a duty to protect themselves and Osama's family.
A further assumption by contrast, given that the US always do things their own way, is that of the prisoner's dilemma. They remind me of the famous words of Don Corleone in the Godfather, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse". Osama must have faced a dilemma; we kill you now or get a summary executionat Guantanamo Bay at a later date. For this reason alone he must have looked like a bull knowing it is being fattened for slaughter.
Another scenario is to imagine Osama facing his six Navy SEAL capturers. He is unarmed. There he sits wearing a woolly hat and a brown blanket with his small TV set behind him. He is probably humming the old classics from te master of song, the late Simon Chimetu. It can't be anuthing other than Samatenga or Nguva Yakaoma. He is subsequently very high on 'verbal viagra' as we are told he had three wives. Osama might have had young wives, given that his family disowned him in 1994, the same time Saudi Arabia stripped him of his citizenship. What might he have said to the SEALs? "Take me to Britain alive where I can get money each week and a house for free?" Of course the US would argue "if we don't kill him now, imprisonment is clearly not in the public interest".
Surely some people would celebrate at this vengeance but, wanted or not, Osama Bin Laden was a son, a father, and above all a human being. Notwithstanding that I am with those who lost their loved ones on that dreadful 9/11 day. If I were President Obama I would condemn such overreactions in which justice and rights become casualties of evil. But even I would consider former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's words that followed Israel's orchestrated assassination of Hamas founder Abdel Aziz. He said that "the British government has made it repeatedly clear that so called 'targeted assassinations' of this kind are unlawful, unjustified and unproductive".
Besides, setting aside my personal moral and religious conviction, I am proud to be Zimbabwean. And its great to say I, and many alike, respect the dead.
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