Zim gov's belief in n'angas defies logic

“THE government and the President believe in African culture, we believe in spirit mediums. She said the diesel was coming from our ancestors, so we had to pursue it. The second reason is the current fuel problems. If we had not pursued it, she was going to blame the government.”
These were the words of Mashonaland West governor Nelson Samkange answering questions on why the government invested so much faith in claims by a Chinhoyi spirit medium that she had powers to produce fuel out of a rock.
To many, this came as a big surprise, because nowhere in the world had diesel been squeezed out of a rock. Had this hoax come true, it could have been the first such miracle in the world.
Pictures of barefooted government officials attending diesel rituals have been published in the press, raising questions about ruling ZANU PF party’s ability to steer the country out of the current political and economic quagmire.
It is the seriousness with which they followed the proceedings that will leave even a primary school kid worried about the future.
What if the trusted spirit mediums die?
To many, the pictures drew a lot of laughter. But behind the humour lies desperation, which calls for serious introspection into how the country is being governed.
At a time many Zimbabweans are looking for a few pennies to make ends meet, one can easily wake up and claim to the gullible ZANU PF government to have discovered a rock where United States Dollars, British Pounds and South African rands can be extracted.
At this level of desperation, any such claims can be taken seriously. Why not, when the spirit medium managed to enjoy royal status amounting to $5 billion dollars. Prosecutors are taking her as a mental case. But what about those who she took for a ride?
Two government taskforces, made up of no less than six cabinet ministers were set up to investigate the existence of the manna from heaven.
Serious questions must be asked. Is it through spirit mediums, or through proper political processes, that a country can be governed?
“The problem is that the government justifies everything that it does by quoting the liberation struggle, which it claims to have been led by spirit mediums. But this spirit notion does not apply today. It’s either you discover oil, or you don’t. From a scientific point of view, you have to discover it and not try and find it through some strange prayer,” said political analyst Takura Zhangazha.
But Minister of State for National Security, Lands, Land reform and Resettlement in the President’s office Didymus Mutasa, government’s front man in the diesel saga, said he believed the spirit medium because of the role they played during the liberation struggle.
Spirit mediums offered guidance and counselling to freedom fighters, he told The Standard, and “could manage miracles and strange happenings, anyone who was or claims to be part of this country’s liberation will tell you of the very important roles performed by our spirit mediums.”
So is it now government policy to govern on the basis of advice proffered by spirit mediums?
“It is very unfortunate, but it only shows the level of desperation of the government. Discovery of oil has been tried and tested. Where has diesel ever been found in its refined form? If a government goes to the extent of not being able to make its own analysis of a claim, then it would have run out of ideas. The diesel story is the clearest evidence of that so far,” said a political analyst who requested anonymity.
“It has something to do with the reported succession issue. These people who believed in the spirit medium thought that by doing so, they would make themselves legitimate successors to the President through the discovery of diesel.”
University of Zimbabwe political analyst, Eldred Masunungure, said the ruling party’s latest move to consult a spirit medium over the country’s complex economic and political problems is the latest signal of the levels of desperation to which they have sunk.
“I am not surprised by the government’s behaviour. It simply shows that the leadership is stranded and hopeless. They are now trying to invest their faith in miracles as a solution. They are hoping for some kind of salvation, divine intervention,” said Masunungure.
“Ordinary people can turn to sangomas and prayers but when a state does the same it really defies logic. How can the highest policy making body consult a n’anga for solutions? All it tells us is that they are looking for some psychological satisfaction to the problems. The diesel story is only a tip of the iceberg, there might be other cases of n’angas that are yet to be put onto the public sphere.”
The ruling ZANU PF party’s traditional beliefs were last year taken a gear up when it moved to “Africanise” parliament by erecting a granite chair in the house of assembly which will be used by President Mugabe. The "cultural reforms" makes the parliament look more like a safari lodge. A stuffed leopard and two antelope heads hang on the walls and a leopard skin adorns the granite chair used by Mugabe and two elephant tusks.
Aneas Chigwedere, the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, who was charged with spearheading the reforms in the house last year, said parliamentary reforms where in line with our traditional beliefs.
He said, “In our traditional society, the Mutapa or Mambo or Nkosi
was the Head of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. In this context,
the Speaker of parliament or president of the Senate simply represents the
jinda or induna [headman] of the State President. The chair or seat he
operates from is therefore, in essence, the State President's chair."
He said the chair represents a lion, which in turn symbolises power and authority in line with African culture.

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