Zimbabwe Is Dying

The well-regarded African-American New York Times columnist, Bob Herbert, declares in his opinion column that Zimbabwe is dying. He goes on to discuss what many of us who have either been in that country or have friends there, have always known for a long time. Zimbabwe is dead and the murderer is no other than Mugabe. Dambudzo Marechera, obeying his poetic/prophetic instincts, noted this as far back as in 1978 in his novella, House of Hunger. Yvonne Vera did the same in her Stone Virgins. Yet Mugabe has always succeeded in fending of any criticism of his dictatorship and total lack of care by attacking the West and colonialism and imperialism and globalization and, what else?
When shall we put Mugabe on trial? And with him everything that he represents. And, hell, he represents a lot. Indeed, he stands for all that has gone wrong in African governance. He stands for the old guards of African liberation movement whose logical or discourse trump cards have always been to attack the West and, in doing so, remind the West of its guilt on the one hand, and, on the other, bring new generations of African thinkers and leaders to silence, for they dare not criticize those who are criticizing the West. This abysmal form of self-deceit has been going on in the African discourse for quite a long time. I dare say that it is the one most powerful cause of African moral and political decadence.
By the way here is the LINK to Bob Herbert's essay. Enjoy.