by Hannes Wessels
This last week saw the broken people of Zimbabwe being being gunned down and beaten into merciless submission by goons deployed by a poorly disguised Junta determined to protect the ill-gotten gains of a miniscule minority at the expense of a benighted multitude.
Finding themselves destitute and bereft of hope, thousands took to the streets of Harare, Bulawayo and other centres on Monday to protest against a regime that promised reform but delivered only more ruinous misrule. The response to the protests has been swift, brutal and illegal, a communications blackout has been imposed and Zimbabwe is slipping into lawlessness; a failed state run by warlords, disturbingly similar to Liberia or Sierra Leone, is now a distinct possibility. The response from the international media and governments around the world has been pathetic; it’s as if they don’t want to know. God knows; if a white cop had bludgeoned a black man in the streets of Harare the BBC and CNN would have dispatched a battalion of reporters but this does not fit their false narrative so they look the other way.
For us who hold the country and the people so dear, the images of recent days are heart-breaking but they also enrage; and while the people who have governed this once prosperous, proud and peaceful nation are directly to blame, there is no doubt this human tragedy would not have been possible without the solid support, commitment and clever planning of successive British governments.
The genesis of this catastrophe goes back to 1974 when British agents, using their treacherous counterparts within the Rhodesian security establishment spirited Robert Mugabe out of what was then Rhodesia and into exile in Mozambique. From that moment on, he was earmarked by Whitehall for power and Labour Foreign Secretary David Owen worked assiduously to finesse his assent to high office. When British missionaries and their children were gruesomely murdered at Elim Mission by a ZANLA gang, Owen did his best to dampen the furore before going on to suggest Rhodesian soldiers were the likely culprits; a despicable lie and he knew it. But he was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths on behalf of the man he so wanted to lead a ‘liberated Zimbabwe’.
Owen’s mission was thwarted by an election won by the Conservatives led by Margaret Thatcher in 1979, but he need not have worried about his protégé. Mrs. Thatcher, despite having promised to recognise the moderate black majority government led by Bishop Muzorewa (who had won the only ever free and fair universal adult suffrage election in the country’s history) soon bowed to the demands of her Foreign Secretary Peter Carrington (described by Ian Smith as the “most evil man I ever met”) with powerful, almost unprecedented support from Her Majesty the Queen (the Sovereign is supposed to be apolitical) and reneged on her earlier pledge.
The so-called ‘Iron Lady’ demanded a new election under British supervision which was then ‘won’ by Britain’s favourite ‘freedom-fighter’ despite the breaking of all the agreed electoral rules. The message to the electorate from Mugabe’s people was clear; vote for us or we return to the bush and we will kill you. The strategy worked and the British were thrilled with the result. The pompous patrician, Lord Soames, was appointed as interim Governor and brushed aside the mountain of evidence of violence and intimidation for the greater good of freeing the people of Zimbabwe from servitude under their colonial and settler oppressors.
Prince Charles jetted in resplendent in his gold-braided Navy uniform to dance around the downing of the Union Jack and rejoice at the breaking of a thrilling new political dawn with his new best Commonwealth friends.
With the sun still low in the sky Mugabe and Mnangagwa sent troops into Matabeleland to silence a potential opposition and butchered thousands of innocent men, women and children. Alarm and outrage in some quarters was squashed by Mrs Thatcher’s new Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe who dismissed the slaughter as a response to a ‘legitimate security concern’. Mugabe, thanks to this defence on his behalf, learned quickly and correctly that he had a license to murder. Indeed, in 1994, during the Premiership of John Major, Mugabe was bestowed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath by the Queen.
Later, when Lord Carrington was asked by journalist, Heidi Holland, whether he thought that “Mugabe learned from the fact that he got away with the massacre of thousands of people in Matabeleland in the early 80s” and “if Mugabe got a sense of his own invincibility from Britain’s failure to condemn the outrage convincingly?”, Carrington replied “Did we sweep it under the carpet? … I suspect we did, didn’t we?…I expect we wished it would all go away, didn’t we? So, I suppose Mugabe did get away with it, and perhaps that did make him feel he could get away with anything.” Holland responded: “It’s a pathetic answer isn’t it?: to which Carrington responded, laughing, “terrible… I think it’s terrible but it’s probably the answer. But other than the killing of the Ndebele, it went terribly well under Mugabe at first, didn’t it?’.
Through successive governments led by John Major and Tony Blair the policy towards Mugabe was always empathetic until the start of the land invasions in 2000 when public opinion forced the British government to express its displeasure and distance itself. But this did not stop Blair’s government shipping hundreds of donated Land Rovers to the Zimbabwean police just before the cutting of aid to Harare. These vehicles came in very useful in the subsequent murder of farmers, looting of property and the destruction of the economy.
Fourteen years after the start of the land-grabs, the Conservative government, led by David Cameron, decided to repair and revitalise its relationship with Mugabe and despatched Ms Catriona Laing as ambassador to Harare to initiate the renewal of a better and stronger bilateral relationship. She set about this task with great gusto, showed almost brazen contempt for the political opposition, signalled Britain’s commitment to the incumbents and barely bothered to hide an almost childish infatuation with then Deputy-President Emmerson Mnangagwa who she quickly identified as her preferred ‘go to guy’.
In early 2016 she initiated an attempt to reduce the government debt (largely the result of state-sponsored theft) by facilitating the intervention of former Blair Cabinet Minister Peter Mandelson. Mandelson, a former communist, a.k.a. ‘The Prince of Darkness’, had become chairman of Lazard International after leaving politics and offered to assist in the raising of a $1.1 billion loan. Meetings with then Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa (he and his wife both recipients of stolen farms) followed but the loan was never made.
Mrs. Laing denied accusations of going so far as to involve herself in the internal machinations of the ruling party where she was said to be lobbying for Mnangagwa as heir-apparent to Mugabe. What is beyond doubt is she was disdainful of any alternative party forming a government and when she liked a Tweet stating that “too many freedoms have been extended for Zimbabweans and need to be trimmed” she indicated her intention to accept an unspecified dose of authoritarianism.
One MDC official accused her of “putting lipstick on a crocodile” and this indeed appeared to be the case when she appeared reluctant to criticise the government’s conduct before, during and after the flawed 2018 election. At this time she was photographed outside No. 10 Downing Street wearing a trademark Mnangagwa scarf along with a beaming smile. The new president sent a gushing note of appreciation saying the country’s prospects under his new administration were “.. as bright and positive as your wonderful scarf”.
Sadly, as we all know, this has not come to pass and the plight of millions of poor people is worse than it has ever been in the history of the country. Just why the British governing and media hierarchy have so diligently defended and nurtured a political monstrosity is perplexing. But perhaps Ian Smith was right when he insisted that British policy towards the country was, after UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) in 1965, driven solely by a vengeful desire to punish the rebellious whites who had defied them. In this they appear to have succeeded. But they destroyed the country in the process.
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I hope the the British Government have some remorse for their diabolical support of unadulterated, disgusting evil. Theresa May is a pawn of the New World order socialist vermin inhabiting and supporting the brutalizing of innocent people.
Oh dear how great could the pain be when they wake up to how despicable they really are.
Good luck….you’re going to need plenty when the time of reckoning arrives
This is the first time I have been in your site. Thank you so much for all this information. Please keep me up to date.
God bless and help the people of Zimbabwe. We left in 1977. Loved the country and the people.
To remember, and quote about the past, but do absolutely nothing but remember and quote, is futile. When will people realise that by doing nothing but share stories of the past, only keeps you in the past. If it is worth talking about then it should be worth doing something about. Although what you say, is the truth, it is still, only words. Unfortunately. And, unfortunately, these are all shared stories that end with the same conclusion, unfortunately.
He’ll that’s outrageous.contact the British national papers
An extremely sad situation. Happy, happy Africa is happy no longer, and has not been for a long time.
There’s never been any doubt in my mind whatsoever that from the get-go the British were out to get the Rhodesians who dared to defy HM government back in 1965. Even today they refuse to allow Rhodesians to remember their war dead at the Cenotaph each November 11. Utterly disgusting given the contribution Rhodesia made.
After reading this I feel utterly helpless, totally horrified & completely defeated .. the hands of the people are chained behind their backs .. when will their voices ever be heard? is it possible to hold any hope ??
Hi Hannes have met you a few times with Dog and am also mate’s with Ian Salt who has been copying me in on your articles is it possible to subscribe directly
Another good article. Thanks Hannes. As times passes, and with more and more previously classified material being made available to the public, and the continued indifference by the architects of the creation of the misery and desperation seen in Zimbabwe today, we gain a deeper and better understanding of the vile treachery, moral bankrupcy and pure evil of the governments of many western powers, in particular the British government. I have recently been browsing through a number of books on Rhodesia written in the 1960’s and 1970’s and phrases like ‘moral madness’ and ‘ethical insanity’ are used by the authors of some of these books in the context of Britain’s treachery of Rhodesia. I have been pondering these phrases and have been wondering about the significance of them in respect of where we are in Zimbabwe today and also further afield in the United States where we are seeing unhinged liberals like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in the House deliberatly obstructing President Trump from building a border wall which is clearly critical for the security of the United States. Nothing at all makes sense of what people like this are trying to do except when one applies the phrases ‘moral madness’ and ‘ethical insanity’ to them and the same can be said of the liberal lunatics, nut cases and immorally decadent in the UK. Never before have the words Perfidious Albion been more applicable. What a terrifying thought to think it is ethically insane and morally mad people that have been running this world for decades! Not only is this international gang of evil, morally bankrupt, thieving, liberal lunatics happy to see the destruction of any country that does not comply with their twisted ideology, but they seem to be more than willing for the same to happen to their own countries of birth and which have given them and their ancestors succour and in which they have raised their families if they do not comply. It is obvious that we can expect little help in Zimbabwe from the powers that brought this tragedy into existence in the first place. In my humble opinion, our only hope politically, is to rally behind Trump and other countries (Italy, Hungary, Poland, Brazil) that are breaking away from the stranglehold of these deranged people in any way we can. I believe only then do we have a chance of receiving either direct or indirect help to rid Zimbabwe and South Africa of despotic misrule. Donald Trump has hinted that he is not happy with white land expropriation in South Africa and has requested members of his government to keep him posted on the situation.
Yes Alistair post WW II saw the rise of this phenomenon and it’s truly frightening. Like you I feel there are powerful forces in the shadows manipulating events aimed at the destruction of what we now as Christian Civilisation and we are powerless to resist this process. The ‘swamp’ that Trump refers to retains real power in the US and he’s not been able to ‘drain it’ as he promised.
As always, Hannes, spot on. All I can say: Schadenfreude and exactly the same is going to happen in SA
My thoughts precisely, Hannes. Thank you. This a very well articulated piece and, together with the extra background knowledge, is a damning indictment on Britain and the West.
To now watch incredulously, from afar, as another wave of state initiated violence is inflicted upon an innocent and hapless population whilst the world’s press and supposedly decent governments say and do nothing, only reinforces the thrust of you article.
Hannes Wessels, a historian of Zimbabwe to be followed. It is a pity people haven’t listened and/ or acted on the truth (he tells) all through this disaster. Have no doubt, there is plenty more to come, unfortunately.
One of the great fallacies of the UK is that its empire was built “on the playing fields of eon”. It was actually built on the blood and sweat of the gutters of London, Sheffield, etc. The UK ruling class have ALWAYS treated their ‘little people” with disdainful arrogance, regarding and treating them as sub-humans. every war fought by the UK was awash with mostly their blood and they were killed as often by their own side for the merest infraction. The way that the May regime is treating its people now is no accident but part of along established order.
So, it is no surprise that they treated the Rhodesians this way and they will do so to anyone who does not fit into their view of world order. White South Africans also can expect no mercy from the UK establishment . It is all coming back to the “good old days” where the rabble knew its place.
And now Hannes, we have a new episode of atrocities currently being committed by those chosen by the British goverment. I have yet to read a single admission by the perpetrators of this shameful episode that they were wrong. They do not even have the guts to recognize what that proud country did for Britain in two world wars at the remembrance day parades at the Cenotaph in London. “Perfideous Albion” indeed.
I agree with you Patrick; not one of them has the guts to stand up and acknowledge their mistakes. A despicable bunch and now there is blood on the streets there is a deafening silence from these people.
Magnificent article…… and 100% accurate.
The whole of Africa is stuffed unfortunately. I wonder what the grand strategy for Africa is.? I think the Chinese may have put a spoke in the wheel with their influence now.I don’t believe there will be coup as the black leaders around will not let it happen. Zanu PF there for a long time unfortunately. A beautiful country plus all the others ,on their knees.
I have just received an email from Harare from someone who the Norbertine priests here are Healing.
‘All social media is blocked except email;1 1/2 hours wait at Pick nPay to buy grossly expensive groceries.No Diesel available,no water.
This article is hard-to-read truth which makes me so very sad, feelings of chained-to-the-floor helplessness engulf me. CRY MY BELOVED COUNTRY. God Bless the innocents.
In 1957, Ayn Rand wrote: “When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion. When you see, that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing. When you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favours. When you see that men get richer by graft and pull, than by work and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you. When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice, you may know that your society is doomed. ” – Ayn Rand
Sadly she’s dead right!