That November day: ‘Man in the Middle’ bares soul
NEVER has the anxiety of waiting been that agonising as it was on that November day in 2017. With hope’s dreams so palpable that one could touch them, and weigh them even; we kept on waiting.
Wherever we were; in kombis, offices, buses, cars, in the seeming comfort of our homes; at the butcher’s, the baker’s, the barber’s, hairdresser’ or even at the jailer’s abodes, we waited. Even those of us in the Diaspora, and, indeed, the entire world, waited also, for ours was a great story.
Glued to our screens, logged onto our computers and other social media savvy gadgets and with our radios within earshot, in spite of their differences in sizes, decibel output, brands and values, we were just fine, waiting.
We shared this moment, or moments maybe, of waiting, realising that, after all, we have been waiting, for it is only part of humanity; to wait. But on that November day, we somehow could not endure it a minute, an hour, a day, or a week longer, because the train of our dreams had been set in motion.
We, the people of Zimbabwe, shared that moment of nationhood, regardless of race, social class, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation.
Our hearts were so forgiving that we kicked harm, violence, and hate out of the window and in their wake tolerance, love and hope were engraved, as we hugged each other; just like it is supposed to be. It felt so great to be Zimbabweans.
Yes, together we waited, for that Golden Future Time was upon us; to be spelt out by those ice-breaking words.
It was never going to be easy. No! It had never appeared to be easy; to simply utter the words, and say to the world: I have run my race; and did I run it well!
As tidings played out behind the scenes, and those of us with “inside” information keeping us spellbound with their ‘tales’ from the Palace, we kept glued to whatever was close.
Time, the equaliser and prophet of memory, seemed to be at a standstill. Then, the man in the middle appeared. Gosh, could we read his face. We knew him, we sure did, and we know him still. We trusted him, yet we wondered how he could do it. How could he have approached him, like the proverbial carrier of sad news? We wondered also, if he, our then President of 37 years, the late national hero and revolutionary icon, Robert Mugabe, could give a listening ear to him.
But, then all we wanted were the words. The words, the words Cde! Say the words! Words can change outcomes; they have so much impact on dreams.
And the words did come, finally: “Asante Sana!”
How it could be? We wondered, yet we kept on waiting; and gave the man in the middle one more chance, to intimate to him, like a friend and brother, about the legacy of our collective struggle as Zimbabweans; to remind him about those principles fashioned in the trenches, and about the hopes of a nation in waiting! Waiting for a new dawn; a new dispensation.
Curiously, our man in the middle, was born in 1948 in Chiweshe in the month of November. Just imagine! So, November, it had to be, and November it was!
The Man in the Middle speaks. Father Fidelis Mukonori, the man who carried the burden of a nation waiting for glad tidings on November 19, 2017 on his shoulders, is not new to mediation, having been the man in the middle his entire life.
A long- time ally of former President Robert Mugabe, the cleric played a pivotal role as a member of the Zimbabwe National Elders Forum (ZNEF) in the mediation process leading to the late national hero’s resignation on November 21, 2017, thus paving way for the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa.
As he revealed in his memoir, “Man in the Middle” (2017), it is possible for people from different persuasions to join hands for the common good, if what drives them is harmony, peace, understanding and love.
The book, which was officially launched by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, who was the guest of honour, at Arupe Jesuit University in Harare on Thursday, chronicles Father Mukonori’s journey of strife, hope, resilience and determination in face of the challenges that permeate human life.
Leadership, he writes, “Does not always mean commanding”.
This is especially so, because leaders, as human beings, learn from others.
The cleric’s mediation journey started way back in 1974, when he became the youngest member of the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice (CCJP). He retraces his journey from then, through the liberation struggle where he became close to the late former President Mugabe and other revolutionary leaders like Simon Muzenda and Josiah Tongogara.
“I got to spend time alone with Robert Mugabe, Simon Muzenda and Josiah Tongogara, and it gave me a much better understanding of them as people, and not just as powerful politicians fighting a war,” he revealed.
“The significance of the CCJP meetings with the Patriotic Front leadership was historic. No church had done it before, to visit guerrilla leaders at their headquarters”, he writes on.
About picking sides, Father Mukonori points out: “Sides would not be picked blindly.
Ends never justified the means. I was as I continue to be today, a servant of God and his people.”
He is, indeed, a selfless servant of the Lord and the people, as he has been consistent on that note, which saw him being in the thick of things at the Lancaster House Conference in 1979.
Reflecting on his insider experiences at Lancaster House, the clergyman said his focus, like that of the Patriotic Front led by the late revolutionary icons, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, was to deliver his people from the clutches of colonialism.
When he was asked by Ken Flower, Head of the Rhodesia Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), who was in the company of director of the Special Branch Dan Stannard, what Mugabe and Nkomo were saying in the meetings, he told him that all they wanted was “a country where colour does not matter”.
He also reminded them that: “The Patriotic Front knows there are no Europeans here. Yet, you still call yourselves Europeans in your own constitution, and yet you are in Africa.”
Such tough talk amid colonial oppression and the culture of fear, consolidated his resolve to always remain on the side of the people, where the common good prevails over individual aspirations. It is this aspect of him that he demonstrated in November 2017, even though it involved his friend and brother, as they called each other, because it was only proper to do so.
They had come a long way, and knew each other well.
Mediation calls for patience, honesty and integrity. It is a gruelling task, as tempers flare from one end to the other.
“Though mediators are not politicians, they play a pivotal role in the political arena.
“During the 1979 Lancaster House Conference, we were engaged in talks that dragged for 17 weeks, and in the end, on December 17 that year, signatures came and a ceasefire was announced,” he revealed.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, just after the success of the negotiations between Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commanders and former President Mugabe, Father Mukonori opened up:
“For a long 16 hours daily we had to go back and forth the ‘Blue Roof ’, Mugabe’s residence and the barracks to ensure emotions were kept low.
“After discussing with Mugabe, I would go back to the barracks and brief the commanders until we eventually ended up at State House where the two parties could meet directly.”
The clergyman played a crucial role in the post- 2000 Fast Track Land Reform Programme as he was able to use his mediation skills to give peace and harmony a chance.
“When the land reform began, in Hwedza I had to temporarily go and stay there with the Svosve people; the ones who initiated the land reform programme at a then white-owned farm in Hwedza.
“Delicate as the situation was, there was need for mediation to be done, confrontations were not yet safe at this moment.
“I was then asked by white farmers to mediate between them and the Government during the whole land issue. I chaired their meetings as the mediator for eight months,” he told The Sunday Mail.
Still in 2000, Father Mukonori’s team intervened in situations involving ZANU-PF and the MDC, and he was the one chairing the meetings.
“All was negotiated in peace, no tempers lost, no bloodshed and no voices raised and that is what mediation does. It is for the good of the population,” he maintained.
Such is the power of mediation, and such also is the power of tolerance, unity of purpose and compromise.
For the good of the people, differences can be set aside.
It is a matter of compromise, because mediation, though key in conflict resolution and reconciliation, does not enforce outcomes.
It is always up to disputants to either agree or disagree, as they have control over the agreements to be reached.
However, through effective mediation, agreements can always be reached where the common good is the ultimate winner.
Africans, as Father Mukonori noted, can solve their own issues without interference from “wisemen” from the West.
Mediation is not a new concept in Africa, for it has been there since time immemorial, which helped the continent’s peoples in resolving conflict, and reconciling disputants, thus fostering peace, unity and harmony.