Gweru, Zimbabwe-Imagine you are at the Olympic games. Your relay team is considered the best and expectations are high that gold will come your way. You are leading the race and everybody is cheering. You are about to pass the baton to the last man, but alas you refuse the stick and proceed to the finishing line. Your team is disqualified. You disappoint yourself, team, family, friends and the million fans both at the stadium and at home glued to television sets watching the event. The above might appear a dramatic sport anecdote but has come to become one true and synonymous with politics in Africa, where aged leaders rebuff relinquishing power to youthful blood despite waning energy to continue serving the people.
In Zimbabwe’s third largest city, Gweru, there is unparalleled leadership both from the Zanu PF party and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is the envy of many. Where as in other cities constant clashes between the rival political parties have been recorded, especially between the Governor who is appointed by the ruling Zanu PF and the now defunct Executive Mayor usually one elected from an MDC ticket, Gweru has been known for tolerance and close cooperation between these two offices. The outgoing Governor and Mayor, Cephas Msipa of Zanu PF and Sesil Zvidzai of MDC respectively are two politicians who are leaving their offices but leaving unquestioned legacies of political maturity. The two worked tirelessly for the development of the city defying partisan interests.
Last Saturday, the Zanu PF Midlands province wing threw a farewell party for outgoing Midlands Province Governor and Resident Minister, Cephas Msipa. At the age of 77 and from his brief speech, one could draw what kind of a leader the man regarded by many in the province as a father really is.
"I believe life is like a relay race. We should hand over the baton and if we do so we usually don’t go wrong. I want to pass the baton to Comrade (Jason) Machaya (the incoming Zanu PF Governor). If there is anything you don’t understand just phone me. There are no secrets in that office," said Msipa to rousing applause from the crowd.
Msipa said it has always been his wish to retire from politics and that it always disturbed him when he met youthful legislators, especially from MDC on his frequent visits to parliament in the capital, Harare.
"When I went to parliament, I met Chamisa (Nelson) (the MDC spokesperson who is barely 30 years old) and Job Sikhala (former St Mary’s legislator in the MDC Mutambara formation also in his 30s). I met these youngsters and looked at my age and felt bad that I continue rubbing shoulders with these young people."
The 77-year-old Zanu PF politician, who at one time accommodated 84-year-old President Robert Mugabe at his home during the liberation struggle, is one man who during his tenure as Governor had his office frequently visited by needy people seeking his assistance. Many remember him for his kind heart.
"When I wanted an emergency travelling document to travel to South Africa to buy medication for my little daughter, realizing the chaos at the passport offices I went through the office of the governor and there were many people needing his help but I managed to be assisted that same day,’ said James Chiseko of Mambo suburb in Gweru.
Msipa lent a hand to anyone regardless of their political affiliation. Speaking at the farewell party, Zanu PF’s outgoing minister of rural housing and social amenities, who was also President Mugabe’s election agent during this year’s harmonized elections, described Msipa as one man who represented everybody as Governor.
"He has no camp. He represented everyone as Governor. He stood fast in the national unity of this country. I don’t know of anybody with a quarrel with Msipa."
An education scholarship in his name, the Msipa Scholarship Fund, to help disadvantaged but talented children has been set. To date 22 billion Zimbabwean dollars has been raised.
Msipa, who has been Midlands governor since 2000 but has been in active national politics since the '60s, is one politician with a heart for Zimbabwe. He is touched by the current acute poverty gripping Zimbabwe, once considered the breadbasket of Africa. He is a father figure who wishes peace and prosperity for his country.
"Poverty is the biggest challenge facing this country. I want you (Mnangagwa) to say this to cabinet.
‘I want peace and prosperity for this country. We should end poverty in Zimbabwe. If I see people suffering, it touches me. VaMachaya (the incoming governor), if you see people crying you should cry too," said Msipa.
About five million Zimbabweans facing starvation are in need of urgent food aid. When humanitarian aid non-governmental organisations were banned just prior to the June 27 presidential run-off, being accused by government for supporting the MDC, Msipa was one of the few politicians in Zanu PF who complained about the move.
As Msipa passes the baton to fresh blood but continues to offer wisdom and advice to the young leadership, many people might ask, how many leaders in Africa and Zimbabwe included are willing to voluntarily retire from politics when age catches up with them? Many are corrupted by power and once they taste its sweetness find it hard to leave. Remember the Mobuto Sesekos from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Kamuzu Bandas of Malawi, the Idi Amins, the Suhartos? Our own 84-year-old President Robert Mugabe has been in power for 28 years since 1980, when Zimbabwe gained political independence from British colonial rule.
Will Africa’s leaders ever borrow from Msipa’s wise words that leadership is like a relay race and you have to pass on the baton? And if they do pass it on, how many can proudly stand tall like former South African president, Nelson Mandela, incarcerated at Robben Island prison for 27 years in apartheid South Africa, but only served one term before passing the baton to Thabo Mbeki voluntarily?
