But what is in plentiful abundance in our airport, and our banking halls, schools and countless other offices in Zimbabwe are portraits of President Robert Mugabe. Recently I’ve been pondering the extent to which Zimbabweans have become psychologically entrapped by the cult of Mugabe.
How does it happen that the portrait of someone so unpopular continues to “adorn” the walls of so many public places?
Like many North Koreans, Zimbabweans have slowly but surely been sucked into the cult of Mugabe. It appears that even famine; a decimated economy, rampant inflation and an extremely poor standard of living cannot dampen this adulation. This was evocatively illustrated to me when I looked at a photograph of some of the victims of "Operation Murambatsvina" – the Zimbabwe Government’s term for the mass evictions currently taking place in our country. The photograph shows people watching a bulldozer demolishing buildings. On top of a stack of possessions rescued from a shack, Mugabe’s portrait takes pride of place.
What stopped the person, who had been forcibly removed from his/her dwelling, in winter and without warning, from taking the portrait and smashing it over their knee?
Last month the North Korean government asked citizens to be ready for a protracted war against the United States of America. To prepare them for this the North Korean government issued guidelines for possible evacuation to underground bunkers. The guidelines suggested a list of items that citizens should take with them on their journey underground. These included weapons, food and portraits of leader Kim Jong-il. It was emphasised that citizens should protect the portraits, plaster busts and bronze statues of Kim.
In June 2004 there was a massive train explosion in the town of Ryongchon, which killed 150 people and injured 1200. In newspaper reports the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) congratulated four communist stalwarts who apparently died “heroic deaths” trying to retrieve portraits of Kim Jong-il from collapsing buildings. KCNA added that many others "evacuated portraits before searching after their family members or saving their household goods." Even if the KCNA was indulging in propaganda the fact remains that idolatry of Kim Jong-il was being encouraged.
There is no doubt that actions such as hanging presidential portraits in our public and private spaces involve us in the promotion and creation of powerful personality cults. This can end up being very detrimental to our pursuit of individual and collective liberation. The Korean Central News Agency last year denied that portraits of Kim Jong-il were being taken down from public places across the country and said that these were based on rumour and not fact. KCNA went on to say that this sort of speculation was part of a strategy of psychological warfare by hostile forces toward North Korea and that the venerable portraits would remain in place.
This statement substantiates the fact that Governments, be they African, Eastern or Western rely on a variety of tactics to insinuate their power and their influence over their citizens. There is no law in Zimbabwe that instructs citizens to hang presidential portraits in their space. Nor is there a law that forbids citizens from removing them. Legislation isn’t stopping us from asserting independence of action, fear is.
We continue to criticise opposition political leaders and civic activists for their lack of courage in confronting the ruling Zanu PF party head on. Yet many individuals and business leaders continue to uphold the adulation of Mugabe through public acts of support such as giving wall space to his portrait. If a citizen is too fearful to remove a portrait then reflect for a moment on how much courage it takes to face riot police and tear gas on the street.
In Zimbabwe today we must question authority at every level. As individuals who seek liberation it is important to be aware of how insidiously our lives are being infiltrated by the ruling party. And its part of our individual responsibility to stop them; as Bob Marley sang, none but ourselves can free our minds.
