shloboe boe
Ranga Mataire, Group Political Editor
WAY back in 2004, I was still a young journalist when the then News Editor told me I was wanted by Cde Chen Chimutengwende, the Zanu-PF legislator for Mazowe East who had been a Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication.
I wasted no time in finding his location and within minutes I was at his private office in the Avenues area near Five Avenue Shops. I was marshalled into a modest sparsely furnished office by a lady at the reception.
A bespeckled tall man with a bullish beard stood up to greet me. One thing that prominently stood out from his face was a wryly smile that told a story of a warm man ensconced in deep thought.
“How are you Cde?” the man said with a husk-like voice. I looked behind thinking he could have been addressing someone, not me. I didn’t think I deserved such camaraderie from a man who had taught at some of the most prestigious universities in Africa and Europe.
Seeing no one behind, I responded rather sheepishly; “I am fine Sir, I heard you called for me.”
By way of his hand, the man marshalled me to sit on the opposing chair.
“Yes, I called you to talk about your articles on Pan-Africanism. I have been observing for some time that
you have an interest in issues to do with African unity, consciousness and liberation,” the man continued saying as I was still trying to adjust myself on the chair.
I did not respond for what seemed like an eternity. I was not sure of the direction of his statements. He must have sensed my uneasiness.
“I am happy I have a young journalist with such a keen interest in such a subject area.”
I finally sighed with relief when it dawned that my reason for being summoned had nothing to do with any misdemeanours but a positive commendation. The man introduced himself as Cde Chen and for the next hour or so he took me on a contemporary African history lecture.
The following is an abridged version of the lecture, which I duly recorded with his consent and I was to discover later that the same conversation formed the basis of a paper he contributed to a book titled,
“The Making of the Africa-Nation . . . Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance” (2003) edited by Professor Mammo Muchie.
These were his words any interventions:
“Africa is the only region of the world with the most of its countries going backwards in terms of their socio-economic development. Africa’s marginalisation in the international system has also become depressingly total and has reached a frightening proportion.
“It is apparent that the ideologies of unplanned and uncontrolled market forces, foreign dictated and rushed privatisations as well as economic dependence on the West have all driven Africa to this catastrophe situation,” he said as he took a breath and looked at me as if to gauge my thoughts.
“But Cde Chen, you paint a very depressing picture of the post-independence era; there surely should be some success stories that you can talk about among those African countries?” I asked rather hesitantly.
“Yes, there are a few success stories but to a large extent, most African countries continue to regress in terms of development indicators. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in its 2002 economic report on Africa stated that Africa will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations at its Millennium summit. In Africa, levels of poverty, endemic diseases and unemployment are continuously and rapidly worsening.
“The availability of and quality of social services have greatly reduced. Social conflicts, often leading to ethnic or national hostilities, are on the increase. Political direction is faltering, external manipulation and interference is at its highest level.”
“So in other words you are saying Africa needs a second liberation struggle,” I asked as if to give him a breather. The man had so much to say and his voice sounded exasperated.
“We definitely need a second liberation, an economic liberation. The West finds it easy to manipulate and dominate Africa because of Africa’s political orientation and fragmentation into mini-states, many of which cannot ever be viable in their present forms. After independence, the West created — and has to this very day expanded and maintained a deadly network of puppets and collaborators among the African leaders through whom it implements its exploitative schemes in Africa. Apart from the West, this network is a beneficiary of such schemes and that is part of the essence of colonialism.”
I had to interject by asking him what could be done to reverse the seemingly debilitating situation obtaining across post-colonial Africa.
“So how can this situation you have painted be reversed?” I asked with a growing sense of confidence that the man was somehow treating me with respect like an equal.
“The only real way to reverse this situation properly and thoroughly is through what may best be called the second liberation of Africa based on the principles of Pan-Africanism and economic egalitarianism which will bring about Africa’s re-awakening, unification, anti-neo-colonialism, independence, self-reliance, democratisation and sustainable development.
“This second liberation struggle has already started as the only process, which can defeat the forces of neo-colonialism and stop the re-colonisation of Africa,” said Cde Chen.
He explained how this second liberation was to be undertaken by saying that it its origin and impetus was to be both international and local. He believed progressive internal and external forces were spearheading this second liberation, which he said was bound to take Africa deep into the 21st century.
“It must be recognised that the liberation itself is not an even, but a permanent process, which moves in stages or phases. The first stage was the African independence struggle, and the second stage is the second liberation struggle against neo-colonialism and imperialism, and for the unification of Africa, its democratisation and development.”
According to Cde Chen, the first liberation struggle had led to the independence of most African countries in the 1960s and 1970s. During these two decades, the ideas of Pan-Africanism and hope had gained ascendency. This historical epoch was aimed at the achievement and consolidation of Africa’s independence and for its development. The first liberation struggle of Africa against European colonialism was highly successful in terms of its objectives.
As I continued to converse with Cde Chen, it became clear that he was a great admirer of Kwame Nkrumah, the first independent President of Ghana, whom he described as the greatest Pan-Africanist of his time. He said Nkrumah had warned against the dangers of internal and external negative forces combining their efforts to reverse the gains of African independence. And to prevent this, Africa needed to be totally united, mass-oriented and fully committed to economic independence and a human-centred development process.
In his closing remarks to the conversation, Cde Chen said there was need for vigorous work in terms of research, mass communication work and action in support of the African Union and for what he termed a United New Africa.
“The strategy should be: one struggle, many fronts and different levels. There has to be a combination of efforts. The organisations and groups for a United New Africa should avoid sectarianism and factionalism,” said Cde Chen, as he gathered together bits of papers on his desk. I really felt uplifted by his aspiration for a new Africa. We chatted a bit about domestic politics before bidding farewell knowing that what I had gained from the conversation was an invaluable piece of history and information that I would never had gotten from any book.
It is sad that Cde Chen died without his goals of a united Africa having attained. He was an unwavering Pan-Africanist who believed that as long as Africa was fragmented, its voice on international affairs would remain stunted and not respected.
Born on August 28, 1943, the young Cde Chen attended Mutasa Primary School in Highfield and thereafter enrolled at Highfield Secondary School in the then Salisbury. It is in Old Highfield that he was initiated into politics in 1957 and became Zanu’s youth secretary for information in 1963. Prior to attaining tertiary education, the young Cde Chen went to Ghana where he received military training in 1964.
He later attained tertiary education (Ordinary and Advanced Diplomas) from Berkshire School of Journalism and TV in the United Kingdom.
While in England, Cde Chen launched his own monthly newspaper in London which was called “The Liberation Struggle” covering news and theoretical issues about the liberation struggles in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He was the Editor of this newspaper until 1974 when he decided to pursue post-graduate studies at the University of Bradford.
He was admitted as a PhD student at the same University in 1976 where his thesis was on “Mass Media and the State in Socio-Economic Development Process”. He, however, could not complete his thesis as he started moving from one assignment to another during that time.
Cde Chen later became a lecturer in Mass Communication and Head of the School of Journalism at the University of Nairobi from 1980 to 1982. Before his posting to Nairobi, Cde Chen had earlier served as Deputy Director and Senior Lecturer of journalism programme at the International Press Institute at City University, London in 1979.
He came to Zimbabwe after his stint in Nairobi and became the Zanu-PF provincial chairman for Mashonaland Central in 1986 until 1991. Cde Chen was a long time legislator and once served as Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications; Environment and Tourism.
He also served as a Senator and Deputy Senate president and was head of delegation for Zimbabwe to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).
