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Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWEANS continued castigating MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday for saying he missed Rhodesia whose enduring memory for him was how he used to get drunk on one Rhodesian pound.Black Africans were largely restricted to drinking opaque beer as the racist settler administration claimed their minds were not sophisticated enough to handle the “higher’’ alcohol content in lagers and spirits of European origin.

Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Cde Cain Mathema said Mr Tsvangirai had nothing to offer the country.

“He is a British stooge who is always exposing himself more and more,” he said. “Why should we expect anything from him? We can’t expect anything better from him. He ran away from the Zanla camp during the liberation struggle. He is a spy and was recruited by the British intelligence services.”

Cde Mathema said Mr Tsvangirai was blaming Zanu-PF for the state of the economy, yet he was the one who caused the situation.

Bulawayo senator Cde Angeline Masuku said Mr Tsvangirai could be excused for his sentiments as he was not different from the former colonialists.

“He doesn’t know the difference between him and the colonialists,” she said. “If he was part of Zimbabwe, he will have understood, but he is in dreamland, Zimbabwe is going forward. God gave this country natural resources that will see us through.”

Zanu-PF Politburo member Cde Tshinga Dube said Mr Tsvangirai exposed his character and had shown that he did not value independence and freedom, but only “thinks of his belly”.

“Tsvangirai behaves like a fat dog that’s content with being fed, while being tied on a tree rather than the one which is skinny but free to look for its own food,” he said. “For the animal it’s even better because it won’t know that it’s imprisoned. He has just exposed the type of person he is.”

Zapu president Dr Dumiso Dabengwa said Mr Tsvangirai was losing his sense for nationhood by yearning for the colonial regime.

“I am against his wish of a Rhodesian rule,” he said. “We might have failed to deliver some of the things that we fought for, but it is about putting our house in order and working together to see what we can achieve.”

People living in Old Mutare where 35 bodies of Rhodesian atrocities victims were recently exhumed slammed Mr Tsvangirai, saying he had no place in independent Zimbabwe.

The villagers said it was time Mr Tsvangirai was examined by psychiatrists.

Mr Korasi Domboka (60) of Ward 23 said it was sad to note that some people were still nostalgic about the Rhodesian era 34 years after independence.

“I have been working in this area since 1972 as a farm labourer and it is sad to hear people like Tsvangirai uttering such rubbish,” he said.

“We suffered a lot at the hands of the whites and if you hear someone saying Rhodesia was better, that person’s mind should be examined because he is just sick.

“Bodies of Rhodesian victims are being exhumed at Matumba Six Gold Shaft showing the cruelty of the Rhodesians, yet someone who even served in Government as Prime Minister does not take these atrocities seriously.

“We used to see a Rhodesian army Landrover truck making trips to Matumba Six, but we never knew that they were dumping bodies there. It would make at least three trips daily showing that many people were massacred, yet we have someone who is hero worshipping these murderers. We will never support a person who does not respect us as Zimbabweans.”

A retired farm labourer with Malawian origins Mr Amos Kennedy said they used to suffer at the hands of Rhodesians who had a knack of assaulting employees for any wrong doing.

“Our lives have improved for the better, not the suffering we endured during the Rhodesian era,” he said. “We were slaves and the white farmers would beat us for any wrong doing. For someone to say Rhodesia was better, it is insanity at its worst and that person needs exorcising. He needs treatment before it is too late.”

Mr Patrick Makonde, a youth who is a resettled farmer in the area had no kind words for Mr Tsvangirai.

“What Tsvangirai said showed that he believes that Zimbabweans should remain servants for eternity,” he said. “We are totally behind empowerment of Zimbabweans and gone are the days of the master-slave relationship.”

Children of war veterans who fall under the Custodians of the Legacy Trust condemned Mr Tsvangirai’s utterances, saying they were an insult to fallen heroes.

“What he said is an insult to the thousands of people who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of this country,” said Ms Maidei Mujuru, who is the secretary for finance for CLT and daughter to the late national hero General Solomon Mujuru.

“It is a shame that he longs for Rhodesia where we were oppressed and viewed as second class citizens. He spoke like he is not Zimbabwean, he definitely is not part of us. He has shown that he is not fit to be our leader as he is selfish and inconsiderate.”