Zimbabwe’s Missed Middle Path

I’ve never said this out loud, but it’s been sitting in my chest for years: maybe Zimbabwe should have taken the Reverend Sithole deal.

Not because we needed a softer colonizer, but because we needed a smoother runway.

The war gave us pride but robbed us of preparation.

Our fathers fought; they bled; they came home with victory but no manuals. And a country is harder to run than a trench. We expected miracle governance from men who’d spent their best years in survival mode. That’s not betrayal. It’s just reality.

Had the Reverend’s path been taken — a gradual, negotiated transition with real administrative mentorship — maybe we’d have built institutions instead of just flags. Maybe we’d still have had farms and factories before they were stripped by confusion and greed.

South Africa proved what a negotiated independence can preserve. They kept the system, then slowly replaced its soul. Zimbabwe tried to rebuild both at once and broke under the weight.

Still, I don’t regret our fire. It burned bright enough to remind us that freedom is real, but so is responsibility. The next revolution isn’t about guns; it’s about competence.