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Obi Egbuna Jnr Simunye

On Thursday August 18, 2016 the US-based think tank the Atlantic Council whose headquarters is in Washington DC hosted Zimbabwean Pastor Evan Mawarire who is the face and spokesperson for #ThisFlag movement. From the moment the US-EU regime change agenda has intensified, Zimbabwean born neo-colonialist mouthpieces are almost guaranteed a plane ticket to come to Washington DC, where they will be paraded around by the numerous think tanks like the National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute whose focus is to put them on display in a manner that resembles the way our ancestors were put up for sale at slave auctions.According to the US State Department, there are 58 think tanks currently functioning in Washington who, according to their profile, represent a variety of opinions as they pertain to the ideological spectrum.

To call this the world’s greatest example of false advertising would be a gross understatement, especially since each and every think tank is an extension of the Democratic and Republican Party and the US Military Industrial Intelligence Police Complex, commonly referred to as Homeland Security.

What all these think tanks have in common is an uncanny ability to exploit their guest’s lack of knowledge about their aims, objectives and leadership, which is mainly because they are too consumed by their thirst for the spotlight.

Because Pastor Mawarire is both a man of god and a walking billboard for non-violence, how does he justify speaking before a think tank in which their Africa director Mr J Peter Pham, who actually introduced the good pastor, has been a member of the Snr Advisory Group of US Africa Command (AFRICOM)?

On the one hand Pastor Mawarire has used social media to discuss a culture of violence in Zimbabwe, yet he is in Washington rubbing shoulders with people who are involved with mechanism whose primary role is to remilitarise the African continent under the guise of civilising soldiers who are products of military regimes whom US-EU imperialism bankrolled and invented in the first place?

For Zimbabweans in particular and Africans as a whole who are extremely offended that Pastor Mawarire would allow himself to come to Washington to be paraded around like a fashion model on the runway, this is mild in comparison to the fact that he is completely ignorant about the history of the Atlantic Council, which since its inception in 1961 gives the impression of neutrality and autonomy, yet many of its prominent members end up taking strategic cabinet positions in the US Government.

These individuals include Mr James Jones, National Security Advisor to President Obama, Mr Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Anne Marie Slaughter, director of Policy Planning of the US State Department and last but not least Ambassador Susan Rice, the current NSA Advisor whose hatred for President Mugabe and zanu-pf stem from the failure of her pet project serving as the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs under the Clinton’s Administration to reinvade the Congo blowing up in her face when Operation Sovereign Legitimacy prevailed.

Since the narrative being used to describe Pastor Mawarire as a simple pastor who came out of nowhere and has been catapulted to superstardom on the world stage, his role as a man of the word should be put in proper historical context as it pertains to reactionaries in Zimbabwean history who also happened to be men of the cloth.

During the Second Chimurenga Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole was manipulated by the British and Rhodesians to turn his back on the armed struggle, and work in cahoots with US-EU imperialism to crush the revolutionary spirit of the genuine leadership and thousands of guerillas who gave their lives for independence and sovereignty.

Before this generation of Africans who have been robbed of Zimbabwe’s true history finish attempting to digest that level of betrayal, they must save room in their stomach for the buffoonery of Bishop Abel Muzorewa who during the Lancaster House negotiations found time to rub shoulders with arguably the most racist Senator in US history, Jesse Helms, who introduced Bishop Muzorewa to the leadership of Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Companies for the purpose of mortgaging future control of Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry if he emerged as leader of the country.

What this tells the African world is that Pastor Mawarire should never be characterised as a political accident who emerged as the voice of voiceless Zimbabweans due to his creativity on social media, whose church doesn’t even have 50 members that share his interpretation of the gospel of Christ.

The reality is that after all failed attempts to give former Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC countless political makeovers that conjure up the image of Frankenstein’s monster and the Africans who spend millions of dollars to bleach their beautiful black skin, along with civil society groups who despite funding and backing from the likes of George Soros, Carl Gershman and Madeline Albright have failed to bring home the bacon, US-EU imperialism went shopping for a new face and voice with the same message.

What is ironic is at the height of the US-EU backed Arab Spring movement in North Africa, Mr Tsvangirai is on record calling for a similar movement to be started in Zimbabwe.

What is creative about the This Flag movement in relationship to the neo-colonialist paradigm that it represents without shame is the willingness to desecrate its own flag, which shows blatant disrespect for Zimbabwe’s culture, history and political achievements.

The only response President Mugabe and zanu-pf have at their disposal is to reproduce US and British flags, for Pastor Mawarire and his supporters. This way there is no longer any confusion whose interests and aspirations they truly represent at the end of the day.

When Pastor Mawarire was discussing his commitment to non-violence he resorted to a tactic used by political novices the world over, by mentioning he met with Ambassador Andrew Young which was done to enhance his status and relevance, who he claimed told him about the power of silent protest.

It is hard to believe that Ambassador Young who when he visited Zimbabwe as a special envoy of US Secretary of State John Kerry during the previous Presidential elections, called for the immediate lifting of US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe, did not take the young pastor to task concerning the fact that since his time in the public eye, he has never mentioned the sanctions on any occasion.

Because Pastor Mawarire through the so-called #ThisFlag movement has decided to mock President Mugabe and zanu-pf on the question of Western finance and support, would he be ready to reveal to the world during his US tour, who they have decided to take funding from and who has paid the bills up to this point?

Another very unpatriotic gesture by Pastor Mawarire was his decision to state that his grandfather and father fought in the Second Chimurenga and have failed to see any tangible results. The biggest mistake the reactionary city slickers who have resorted to political showboating in Harare, is that they underestimate the respect and appreciation President Mugabe and zanu-pf have received for the land reclamation programme and indigenisation.

Obi Egbuna Jnr is the US Correspondent to The Herald and External Relations Officer of the Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association.

After his remarks which were overshadowed by a theatrical attempt to hold back tears, pastor Mawarire had a Q&A session by Chloe McGrath who is the visiting fellow of the Atlantic Centre’s Africa Centre in when he strangely acknowledged that Zimbabwe’s constitution allows citizens to speak to their leadership.

This was humorous because Ms McGrath has developed a monography on the future of authoritarianism and external support for non-violent resistance in Zimbabwe.

What Pastor Mawarire will be forced to learn is when prefacing his comments, the importance of never underestimating the knowledge of so-called African Americans, whose interest in Zimbabwe and Africa increases by the second.

Whoever told Pastor Mawarire to mention the conditions of prisons in Zimbabwe on a platform in a country that according to the US Department of Justice has 2 220 230 prisoners and 4 751 400 adults on probation or on parole, without acknowledging the fact that Zimbabwe only has 20 000 prisoners in total, was asleep behind the wheel politically speaking.

The best way to describe Pastor Mawarire and the #ThisFlag movement that it is a group of politically misdirected youths, who are at the crossroads, therefore have not decided whether to be fully-fledged regime change agents or a pressure group with reactionary tendencies.

Obi Egbuna Jnr is the US Correspondent To The Herald and External Relations Officer of the Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association.