Monster or hero?

By Susan Gibbs, daughter-in-law of a former Governor of Rhodesia.

Very few, black or white, genuinely mourn the death of Robert Mugabe. They may praise him as ‘an icon of Africa’s liberation’, but few will genuinely mourn his passing. Nor should they, for even by the abysmal standards of post-colonial Africa, ‘Comrade Bob’ was particularly bad.

In his first address after becoming President of Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) following the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, he surprised even his supporters by declaring in clipped English: “I urge you, whether you are black or white, to join me in a new pledge…to forget our grim past, forgive others, and forget.” Yet it was Mugabe himself who never forgot or forgave. Years ago a close friend of his said: “Mugabe hates…nobody hates like Mugabe.”

Not fully aware of the depth of this hate, nor of the spiritual battle being waged, many have searched for other answers to his murderous malevolence. The fact remains that Mugabe was no founding father of Zimbabwe: he was the appalling destroyer of the ‘Jewel of Africa’.

Mugabe’s True Colours

Mugabe in 1982In the midst of the ‘Chimurenga’ (Zimbabwe’s war of liberation from white rule begun in the 1970s by bush fighters), at a summit of post-colonial African leaders in Gabon (West Africa), crucial decisions were imminent on Zimbabwe’s future leadership. The choice was between supporting Mugabe or his arch-rival, Joshua Nkomo. Mugabe was armed and supported by China, while Nkomo was armed and supported by Russia. Mugabe won the day – but he wanted one-party rule and in 1984 Nkomo fled temporarily to England.

Soon after taking power in 1980 Mugabe showed his true colours, as a tyrant intolerant of opposition, consolidating his power in what became known as the ‘Gukurahundi massacre’ in Matabeleland. A conservative estimate concluded that 20,000 black civilians (including women and children) were slaughtered in what has been classified internationally as genocide.

As the nation plunged into decades of famine, an HIV epidemic and hyperinflation in which the central bank printed useless notes (in one night 12 zeros were wiped off the currency), the arch-proponent of pan-Africanism and Marxism sought to apportion blame for the chaos and turned on Zimbabwe’s 4,000 white farmers.

Nothing better sums up Mugabe’s madness: the farmers were among Africa’s most efficient producers of food, the backbone of the economy and essential to the country’s survival, yet he turned on them with murderous viciousness. In the six months before we left at the end of 1983, 10% of the white farmers in our district had been murdered (including, during one Easter holiday, two little girls - school friends of our son - on a neighbouring farm).

Years ago a close friend of his said: “Mugabe hates…nobody hates like Mugabe.”

Brazen Corruption

Few leaders in modern history have been more brazenly corrupt than Mugabe. As the nation sunk into impoverishment, he taunted his citizens by throwing lavish parties at which French champagne and caviar were served.

During those long years many of us kept praying and asking the Lord how he could keep getting away with it for so long. But in Zimbabwe the elderly are respected and as the only African leader who had fought in a ‘war of liberation’, Mugabe was venerated in surrounding countries. Eventually his people were so weakened that they were unable to rise up against him and ZANU, his political party.

Realising at one point that his country needed to work to feed itself, Mugabe briefly pacified white farmers by offering Denis Norman the job of Minister of Agriculture (Norman, previously a minister in Ian Smith’s government, now lives in the UK and runs a small Christian charity dedicated to helping those who suffered during the war years). But after Mandela was released in 1990 and the glory bestowed on Mugabe as the golden boy of Africa shifted southwards, Mugabe ceased trying to woo the world.

Mbare township before (left) and after (right) Operation MurambatsvinaHe sent army personnel to DRC to plunder their diamonds and rape their women, and used army brutality to pillage Zimbabwe’s own diamonds, leading to the suffering and deaths of civilians in Marange. One of his worst actions, in the middle of a very severe winter in 2005, was Operation ‘Clear out Rubbish’ (Murambatsvina) in which he bulldozed slums in Harare. This resulted in the loss of some 700,000 homes and livelihoods, with an estimated 2.4 million indirectly affected. This still haunts many in Zimbabwe today.

Learning to Forgive

Despite his fierce anti-colonialism, declared Marxism and determination to end British rule, Mugabe clung to many customs that echoed colonial rule and maintained a deep personal admiration for the Queen.¹

My father-in-law represented the Queen in his capacity of Governor of Rhodesia between 1959 and 1969 and Mugabe wrote a glowing introduction to his biography “honouring him as a man of principle and commitment”.

He later followed this up by sending the 5^th Brigade, his North Korea-trained praetorian guard, to kill our family.

We left the country, but the couple who bought our farm were murdered a few months later. We feel profoundly blessed to have escaped without having had a family tragedy. A great many of us have had to learn the true meaning of forgiveness. I remain overwhelmed and grateful for the privilege to have felt the closeness of God during those years. 

I remain overwhelmed and grateful for the privilege to have felt the closeness of God during those years.

How to Eulogise

Throughout his long reign, much of Mugabe’s corruption and depravity was unknown to the wider world, as he stifled freedom of expression. Newspapers faced censorship and a ruthless and unrelenting onslaught was mounted on journalists, media houses and individuals who dared express themselves. On one particular occasion I remember the Bulawayo Chronicle was published with an entirely blank front page.

The tragic wreck of a country Zimbabwe became remained two years after Mugabe was deposed in an army coup. Mnangagwa, who has taken over, was involved with Mugabe’s atrocities and is generally regarded as worse.

Reflecting on Mugabe’s death, Fr. William Guri (CSsR, PhD) said the following:

For me to eulogize Robert Gabriel Mugabe would be an act of great betrayal to the many people who died and whose lives have been damaged for life by his long rule.

To eulogize Mugabe for me is to capitulate and give up the struggle for human rights and social justice. It will be to celebrate the triumph of the evil over the good, the false over the true, the darkness over the light, the irrational over the rational, the inhuman over the human.

After thinking long and hard about Robert Gabriel Mugabe, I have concluded that it is alright to feel no sadness and grief. It is alright not to mourn. It is also alright not to feel guilty for not feeling sad and for not mourning. Much as he disregarded Christian values and much as he debased humanity, I shall not allow him to diminish my Christian faith nor my humanity, which in Africa we call Ubuntu.

“Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
Or birds taken in a snare,
So men are trapped by evil times
That fall unexpectedly upon them”

(Ecclesiastes 9:12)

Susan Gibbs is the daughter-in-law of the late Sir Humphrey Gibbs, former Governor of Southern Rhodesia. She is the author of Call Of The Litany Bird: Surviving The Zimbabwe Bush War (2011, Loose Chippings).

Notes

1 A devout Catholic, educated by Jesuits, Mugabe was also a deeply religious man. His mother lived with him during his early years in Government House and each morning they took communion together. As the years went by and we began to see the face of evil in his actions, many felt that the Vatican should have taken action against him. Instead (grotesquely, it was felt) he was even permitted to attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005.

The resignation of Jacob Zuma in its bigger picture.

The resignation of Jacob Zuma as President of South Africa is the latest event in a great shaking of the nations of that Continent. Many South Africans hope that Cyril Ramaphosa who replaces Zuma will deal with the corruption that has spread through Zuma’s nine years in power and quell the widespread social unrest that has destabilised the country.

South Africa’s woes are repeated in many other parts of Africa. It is only three months since Mugabe was ousted from power in Zimbabwe after many years of corruption and cruel oppression. The man who did most to expose Mugabe’s disastrous policies, Morgan Tsvangirai, sadly died this week after bravely fighting Mugabe’s violent oppression of democracy.

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and the greatest amount of natural resources but is riven asunder by political corruption and social unrest. The inept leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has allowed racial divisions in Nigeria to thrive to a dangerous degree. The threat of civil war has never been far away in Nigeria since the disastrous Biafran war of 1967-1970.

Perhaps the most tragic situation in Africa today is to be seen in South Sudan, the newest country in the world that was created in a severance from the northern, Islamic part of Sudan. Instead of South Sudan being a prosperous Christian country enjoying peace and protection from Islamic terrorism, the Christians have descended into tribal warfare that has devastated the economy, created massive refugee camps and brought deadly famine to millions of people.

But Christians in South Africa are already seeing hope, as Charles Gardner reports:-

Rainbow of Hope

Jacob Zuma’s resignation as South Africa’s President coincided with a literal downpour of heaven’s blessings as the drought-stricken land was drenched by an all-night cloudburst in the Northern Cape.

Zuma’s longstanding refusal to resign threatened the stability of an embattled nation already facing serious economic and social problems.

Cyril Ramaphosa is being sworn in as his replacement as I write, and I am hopeful of a brighter future for the ‘Rainbow nation’ that showed such promise following the success of its first-ever multi-racial elections in 1994. But the legacy of peace, prosperity and reconciliation left by Nelson Mandela was thrown to the winds of tribalism and strife that mirrored much of what has been going on in the rest of Africa.

Zuma’s refusal to resign threatened the stability of an embattled nation already facing serious problems.

The dawn of the New South Africa was preceded by a very worrying time when civil war looked a real possibility – and was widely predicted by the media – as the Zulu-led Inkhata Party threatened not to cooperate with the transition talks.

Thankfully, South Africa’s many Christians flooded sports stadiums to pray for a resolution, and Christian leaders like Michael Cassidy were used by God to broker peace. The nation was pulled back from the brink as a result, relatively little blood was spilt, and a wonderful new era dawned.

The Bandwagon of Political Correctness

Tragically, in recent years, lack of righteous leadership, along with non-cooperation with all parties of goodwill, has left a trail of destruction in its wake – violence has become rampant (especially in rural areas), along with corruption, unemployment and disease. And with the ruling African National Congress party strongly influenced by Marxism, South Africa has inevitably climbed onto the bandwagon of political correctness where anything goes except good, honest living according to God’s standards.

Part of the Government’s PC dogma is a thoroughly nonsensical accusation that Israel is now practising the ‘apartheid’ that so blighted South Africa, and they are using this as an excuse to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

The irony of the earlier threat to peace posed by Inkhata is that Zuma is a Zulu. But I don’t wish to taint the rest of his people – the country’s largest ethnic group – with his alleged corruption. They are a wonderful tribe; I was virtually brought up by a lovely Zulu woman, Agnes Nzimande. Indeed, they were once great warriors, who even defeated the British at the Battle of Isandhlwana in 1879, and their present King, Goodwill Zwelithini, is reputedly a believing Christian who has bravely challenged the Government over their anti-Semitic stance against Israel, urging them against loosening ties.

In the past, South Africa has been pulled back from the brink of civil war by the prayers of faithful Christians.

Wrong relationships have caused all these problems; politicians have allowed themselves to be influenced by the wrong people, leading to division and corruption. But we worship a God who is, above all, a God of relationships.

He himself is not alone, but acts in harmony with the Son and the Holy Spirit, and he calls us into a relationship with him. And when this happens, we also come into a right relationship with others. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind; and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40).

Putting Things Right

But there is now another rainbow of hope on the horizon. Before I had even heard the news of Zuma’s fall, my wife and I were still in bed having a WhatsApp conversation with friends in South Africa, who were touring the Northern Cape encouraging farmers to keep trusting God through these difficult times, especially the long-running drought that has blighted the country for so long. Not surprisingly, there has been much prayer for rain.

Our friends were travelling to a distant farm to hold a Bible Study on the eve of Valentine’s Day. On arrival, they could see a black cloud heading their way, and during the evening there was an almighty downpour. The heavens opened and the farmers were ecstatic. They rushed outside to measure it, and reported that they hadn’t seen that much rain in ten years

But more was to come! Our friends left the farmhouse at 10:45pm, but due to the downpour and their planned route being rendered impassable, they had to make a 100-mile detour over very rough roads to return to base.

It took them all night. Their truck got stuck in deep mud, and it must have been a frightening experience watching a river of floodwater rushing past as they prayed for help, which eventually came - complete with a tow-bar - to extricate them from the mire.

Their ordeal was matched with much joy, of course, because these God-fearing farmers have been faithfully praying for an end to the drought for a long time. The picture above was taken next morning – a rainbow (promise of God’s faithfulness) of hope now hangs over the land, no longer parched but drenched by the goodness of God.

And it stands as a reminder that South Africa and all the other nations on that great Continent’s long-term hope is to put their trust in the only One who can supply the rain, while at the same time putting their relationships right – first with God, and also with one another.

People power and the hand of God.

This week we have seen the fall from favour of two powerful politicians – Mugabe and Merkel. They have each held power in very different societies but their downfalls are both linked to the rise of people power.

People power signals the awakening of ordinary people to the misuse of power among the ruling elite that has been the source of oppression for far too long. It is now even affecting cruel dictatorships such as the Mugabe regime, which has dominated Zimbabwe for decades.

The popularist backlash has begun: where will it end?

Angela Merkel’s problems stemmed from her unwise single-handed decision to welcome more than one million asylum seekers from the Muslim world and to try to force other EU nations to follow the same policy. Her nearest neighbours - Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria - have all resisted this pressure.

Populist Revolts

Other parts of the EU are experiencing something similar - a populist reaction against decisions made by those in power. In France, Macron’s sudden rise to prominence reflected a workers’ revolt against both left and right traditional political parties. But his failure to please the workers has brought them out onto the streets in protest.¹

It remains to be seen whether a similar pattern will be followed in Zimbabwe if the vast army of unemployed do not see radical change with their new President, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Politicians in traditional parties throughout the EU are watching the growth of anti-establishment, populist movements with trepidation.

And what about the European Union itself? The cracks we have been forecasting in Prophecy Today UK are beginning to widen. The corruption at the heart of this evil institution with the gross rewards it pays to its unelected officials is becoming widely known and will bring its inevitable consequences. Politicians in the traditional parties throughout the European Union are watching the growth of anti-establishment, populist movements with trepidation.

The God Factor

Angela Merkel announces the failure of her coalition talks. See Photo Credits.

But the major factor that the Establishment does not recognise is the God factor!

Yes, certainly, the forces of social change that are sweeping Europe and other parts of the world, including traditional monarchies such as Saudi Arabia, are of sociological significance, but they also have theological significance! They are not simply generated by human ambitions or discontent: they all show signs of the guiding Hand of God!

The Prophet Haggai prophesying in the year 520 BC may not have known God’s timetable, but he certainly received a clear revelation of the purposes of God when he declared, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: in a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations…”.

We are certainly seeing a great shaking of the world of nature through storms, hurricanes, floods, droughts and earthquakes – arguably more than in any other period in recorded history; and we are also seeing a great shaking of the nations.

The forces of change that are sweeping Europe and other parts of the world all show signs of the guiding Hand of God.

This is where we need our Bibles more than sociological and political theory to give us a steer about what is happening and the likely outcomes of the forces of change that are driving the nations.

When we get a clear view of the nature and purposes of God, we have the necessary tools of analysis to enable us to understand what is going on in our world today. Without this knowledge we are left with our secular human frailty; alone in the universe, facing the gathering storms with winds of change reaching hurricane force and no compass or rudder to guide.

The two fundamental assets of the biblical prophets were: revelationary knowledge of the nature and purposes of God; and understanding of the sovereignty of God - that everything that happened was either because God directly willed it, or because he allowed it.

Exposing Injustice

So, what’s happening among the nations today? Certainly, we can see that in Europe and the West, God is exposing the corruption, injustice and oppression exercised by the ruling elite who misuse their riches and their power to pursue selfish aims and objectives.

As Jeremiah stated in his famous ‘Temple Sermon’ (Jer 7), God hates injustice and oppression. There is something in our fallen human nature that still reflects the image of God, in which we were created, that enables us to recognise injustice and oppression and to reject them. This is what is happening today as God turns on the light, exposing the corrupt financial, political and social systems of the modern world.

Mrs Merkel’s fall from power is likely to trigger elections in the new year which will benefit the far-right nationalist ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD) party, or even the ex-Communist Left Party. This will further destabilise Germany and could possibly trigger the collapse of the European Union, already under threat because of Britain’s withdrawal.

The two fundamental assets of the biblical prophets were: revelationary knowledge of the nature and purposes of God; and understanding of the sovereignty of God.

This gives an enormous opportunity to Britain to review the whole policy of offering enormous sums of money to the EU to allow us to come out from under its oppressive regulations.

But is the British Government sufficiently spiritually aware of what is happening in the world that political decisions can be made in line with the purposes of God? This is evidently not the case – unsurprisingly, given how few MPs are biblical Christians. This is where Christians are greatly needed to make their voice heard in the nation and to bring a ‘God-perspective’ into national decision-making.

Church, Arise!

At present there is very little indication that God-centred direction will come from the Church. But it is the Church that should be the prophet to the nation. In the absence of the word of God thundering through the naves of our cathedrals and from the pulpits of our churches, perhaps people power may yet emerge from the pews!

It is surely time for Bible-believing Christians to find every opportunity in this media-saturated world to declare the word of the living God to this godless generation!

The authorities in Israel were forced to take note of the disciples: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). May the backlash not only be seen on the streets, but in the churches as well!

Notes

1 E.g. Read more here.