Hope and scepticism among Zim expats

When the sun rose over Zimbabwe yesterday morning, a 37-year-old reality was changed forever with the resignation of Robert Mugabe on Tuesday evening. He resigned shortly before the country's parliament would have moved to impeach him. Former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to replace Mugabe. It is a historic event, not only for Zimbabwe but for the continent as a whole because what started out as an apparent coup shed not one drop of blood. Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, scattered across the globe, are expected to return to their country of birth and begin to rebuild what was once the breadbasket of southern Africa. While many throughout the diaspora are packing up their bags to finally take up jobs back home, jobs they are qualified for, some are sceptical of the new regime, saying “things do not happen overnight”. Nelson Shoko (48), a senior school teacher from Zimbabwe reduced to a street vendor in Namibia, says nothing much has changed. He has been in Namibia for three months and intends staying on for a while. “Things do not change overnight. At the moment Zimbabwe is a country without industries, a currency and without opportunities… We do not really know what will happen now,” he said. Shoko has a family of four waiting in Zimbabwe for his monthly pay cheque generated from the sales of airtime, biscuits, fruit and cigarettes. Shoko is just one of the many displaced Zimbabweans, regarded as the continent's most educated people, who have been reduced to menial jobs. Edwin Chiwone, a 36-year-old marketing professional who is making a living as a bus driver in Namibia, is a happy man, but has no plans to return to Zimbabwe. His biggest regret is that his father, a staunch anti-Mugabe activist, died before witnessing Mugabe's resignation. “I would have loved for my dad to have been here now… he died with a broken heart because all his children are scattered across the continent in pursuit of greener pastures which we didn't even find,” he said. Chiwone too, can only hope that things will eventually change for the better. “What has happened is the greatest thing in my lifetime. It is the epitome of democracy, but we can only pray and hope things change and improve. My son has never seen my mother, his grandmother… imagine how that must feel. Finally there is an opportunity that my people can live normal lives,” he said. Across the globe people celebrated with and for the thousands of displaced Zimbabweans, the resignation of Robert Mugabe is a promising step in rebuilding not only the country, but the lives of its people. In Namibia and throughout southern Africa ecstatic Zimbabweans took to the streets to celebrate what they believe is the real 'liberation' of Zimbabwe. Simbarashe Shuumba, who came to Namibia at the dawn of his adulthood when he just turned 21, said he is not waiting and will be returning home once he has gathered enough money. Shuumba has been a bus conductor for the last 15 years, living what he describes as a “pitiful life in a kambashu” in one of Windhoek's impoverished informal settlements. “We are happy. We are finally free from that monster Mugabe. He has stolen our dreams. Imagine if you go to school and university, you live with the anticipation of finding a job and make a decent living in your own country. We were robbed of that opportunity, we were trapped, enslaved in other countries.” JEMIMA BEUKES

Hope and scepticism among Zim expats

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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Hope and scepticism among Zim expats

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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